Rooftop Gourmet

I love salmon… as you may have noticed from previous posts. Mainly because it is so versatile. You can pair it with red or white wine, grill it or poach it, serve it with simple/mild flavors, or bold and adventurous ones. Curry is something that in the past made me cringe but that is probably because I was hardly ever exposed to it. My grandmother used to make a cold curried crab dip during holidays and up until I was 23 years old those bites of curry dip were probably the only times I had ever eaten curry. Now that my palate has changed and I have tried all sorts of new spices and ingredients I will probably ask her to make it for Thanksgiving this year… and enjoy it. I have discovered that Yellow Madras Curry compliments the stronger flavors of Salmon beautifully.

Instead of making a dry rub with curry and coating the fish like I have done in the past, I decided to make a slaw with shaved fennel, matchstick Granny Smith apple, and shaved celery. I sauteed all of the components together with a little butter and Yellow Madras Curry powder. The warm slaw with curry worked perfectly with the earthy Salmon. The texture was perfect too because I only sauteed everything together for a minute or two. I like to drink Pinot Noir with salmon but not in this case. The spicyness of a Pinot would clash pretty harshly with the curry so I would choose an Alsacian white wine, or even a dry Riesling from Germany or California. I know these flavors are bold and in some cases foreign to most people, but it is worth a try. Wake up your palates and go buy Yellow Madras Curry, Red Curry, and other unique flavored spices. Don’t be afraid!!!

I woke up Wednesday morning and something was different. I had all my blankets on because the temperature dropped about twenty degrees and all my windows were open. There is a very specific smell that reminds me of Fall and the breeze that was blowing into my apartment was reeking of it. I don’t know whether it’s the cold air, the trees, or what, but it reminds of walking outside early in the morning on Thanksgiving before the football game. I was a little bit disapointed that summer may be over but also excited about Autumn; maybe a little bit too excited because I went out and bought pumpkins and squash.

I was still in the mood for something light for dinner after a long weekend of football food but I wanted to incorporate Fall flavors. I picked up some beautiful Halibut from Yankee Lobster in Southie, Butternut Squash, and some Haricot Vert (thin French Green Beans). Sage always reminds me of Fall so I snipped a few leaves from my herb garden. I had a great Albarino white wine to go with dinner which is typically a Spanish varietal but this one comes from California, which is very rare. It is called Tangent Albarino and is relatively inexpensive for domestic Albarino and it is delicious with all seafood. The owner of the winery’s grandfather actually brought back Albarino vines from Spain in his suitcase years ago and planted them in California; pretty cool story.

I sprinkled the fish with salt, pepper, and the finely chopped sage and pan seared it with some butter. Butter and sage are two flavors that compliment each other nicely and it wasn’t too much to overpower the delicate Halibut. I finished the fish off in the oven and plated it over a roasted butternut squash puree that I had made earlier. I simply roasted chunks of squash in a 400 degree oven with salt and cumin to kick it up a little bit and then pureed it in the food processor. Some sauteed haricot vert with toasted almonds and shallots rounded off the plate. The Albarino was perfect with the fish because of it’s killer acidity. Definitley what was needed to cut through the creamy puree of squash. I am looking forward to the Autumn months and the different seasonal flavors that I will be working with. That is why I love living in New England. I now have a plethora of pumpkins to work with so look forward to some pumpkin recipes.

After being landlocked in Denver, Colorado for five days (it wasn’t as bad as I make it out to be, lots of golf and red meat), I was craving a nice piece of fish. I had an idea that I’ve been toying with for a while, that I came up with after re-loading our cigar humidor in our store. I noticed that most of the cigar boxes are made out of really nice, aromatic Spanish Cedar. This is a huge advantage and a smart tool for anyone who loves salmon on the grill because most cigar shops or places that sell cigars have millions of extra boxes laying around. Instead of buying those pre-packaged cedar planks from Whole Foods, ask your local cigar shop or liquor store if they have any extra boxes laying around, chances are, they’ll dish them out for free.

I grabbed a few cedar planks and soaked them in water for a few hours to prevent them from burning on the grill. I seared the fleshy side of the fish directly on the grill first to give it some nice grill marks, then transferred the fish, skin side down onto the wood. Turn the heat down to medium and shut the lid of the grill to trap all of the smoke inside. When the Salmon is medium rare, take the entire plank off the grill with the fish still on it, and cover it in tin foil to infuse more of the smoky cedar flavor. In a small sauce pot, I sauteed some shallots and ginger before pouring in half a bottle of Pinot Noir and a ton of fresh grapes, ready to reduce and form a rich sauce to top my grilled Spanish Cedar planked salmon. I love brussel sprouts and bacon. I think the combination is classic but you really can’t go wrong adding bacon to anything. I roasted some brussels, and slow-roasted a huge slab of pork belly,which actually paired nicely with the smoky, woodsy salmon. The brussels got a little dark in the 400 degree oven but I loved the crispy leaves; they almost tasted like brussel sprout potato chips.

I finished the Pinot sauce with a pat of butter, which made it silky and decadent; the perfect amount of sweetness balanced with rich fruit flavor. In another small saucepan, I made some crispy shallots and carmelized ginger to top the salmon with, to give it some crunchy texture. I made the Pinot sauce with an Austrailian Pinot Noir that I also served with the meal. 2007 Ninth Island Pinot Noir, from Tasmania Austrailia. Silky tannin structure and light raspberry and cherry flavors. Very aromatic but not as earthy and spicy as a Burgundy.

This “New World” Pinot Noir is definitley worth trying with salmon. The smoky, grilled cedar aromas played nicely with the rich fruit and lush, velvety texture of the wine. The sauce that was made from the wine and the fresh seasonal grapes was just sweet enough to balance out the smoky salmon. Grab an empty cigar box from your local store today and grill some salmon on it.

Tonight was hot and muggy, and of all the things I could have made, seafood stew was probably the last thing that you would have wanted to eat…. As it turns out, I came up with a light, summery recipe for an alternative to the rich, spicy Cioppino (tomato based stews) that you’re used to. Seafood Stew is something that has been around for hundreds of years, whether from Portugal, Greece, Italy, or San Francisco. For the most part, it has been known as or marketed as a peasant dish. I have made spicy, rich flavorful, tomato based broth in the past and timely dropped in different types of seafood in order to bring all of the cooking times in sync, but tonight was the first time that I definitely stepped outside of my shell in terms of flavor.

I had wanted to make something like this for a long time, but it has taken a few years for me to eat enough Thai food and experience enough of these not so common flavors for me to feel comfortable working with them. I feel as though this fish stew is light enough to be served in the summer time and still find enjoyable. Since I recentley discovered the “upload photos” button on my blog, you will see alot of the steps that I took to create this dish. Classically, Thai and other Asian flavors are paired with dry or semi sweet white wines with intense acidity.

I opened a bottle of Sylvaner from the Alsace region of France and I found that it was a perfect match to the sweet and spicy broth that I created. Tons of fruit up front, floral nose, tons of minerality and acidity on the finish. Alone, this wine might be a little bit too sweet for me, but with the balance of heat from the chilies and brinyness of the seafood, it is a perfect match. The producer is Ostertag Les Vieilles Vignes de Sylvaner.

The protein for the stew consisted of scallops, Cod, Shrimp, Squid, and Mussels. The base of the dish, or the broth that I created was Thai influenced, including ingredients such as onion, garlic, thai chillies, green pepper, lemongrass, celery, basil, cilantro, lime juice/zest, red curry powder, coconut milk, and seafood stock. The full recipe will be available on the Gourmet Page of the website. I started layering flavors, one by one, making sure to season each component in order to create such a rich broth.

There is nothing I like more than sopping up some flavorful broth with some grilled rustic, chewy Italian bread. Here are a few pictures of the cooking process, which actually didn’t  take very long after I got all of the prep work done. After you bang out all of the prep work and have all of your seafood components set out and ready to go…. this meal only takes about 10-15 minutes to make. The different ingredients can seem foreign to alot of people but trust me, you shouldn’t be afraid to try them. This was relatively new to me too but it came out delicious. There really isn’t much room for error when all you are doing is simply layering different ingredients. I am sure most of you are used to seafood in a garlic, white wine based broth, or a spicy tomato broth. This is something that will bombard your palate with a whole new arsenal of flavors. Sweet, spicy, creamy, herbacious, briny, and Salty all in one. Experiment with some Thai/Island flavors and pair this dish with Alsacian Whites. Don’t forget to soak all of your flavorful broth up with grilled bread! I guarantee nothing will go to waste.

For the duration of the summer, we are offering a once in a lifetime deal on two great wines from two great vintages. The 2008 Crios Malbec and Chardonnay from Susana Balbo are two magnificant wines that should not be overlooked. Susana Balbo is a famous winemaker who has been making award winning wines since 1981. Her husband, Pedro Marchevsky, and her have been collaborating on certain projects and producing delicious juice under the names of Crios, Catena, Alamos, Ben Marco, and Nosotros. Last weekened, I opened both the Chardonnay and the Malbec and paired them with a grilled salmon dish that I came up with and was curious to see if both the medium bodied red and medium bodied white would both pair well with the dish. In my opinion, the Chardonnay was a better fit with the dish; the Malbec seemed to have a little bit too much tannin structure and body for the meal even though I usually drink red wine with salmon. There was plenty of fruit but that last kick of toasty oak and smokiness overpowered the fish just a little bit. The Crios Malbec would be great with any type of grilled meats or chicken. The Chardonnay, was very lightly oaked which gave the wine some solid structure. Great fruit, and acidity complimented the grilled fish. Compared to a classic California Chardonnay, the Crios is tame…. compared to an Unoaked Austrailian Chardonnay, the Crios is much more complex. An all around great white wine, perfect for grilled fish! If you are familiar with Catena Chardonnay but don’t want to pay the price… this is your wine! “Crios” means “little offspring”, which is what these wines are to the Catena family.

I whisked up the juice of limes, lemons, and oranges, with some fresh Agave Nectar (you can find this at your local Whole Foods, or liquor store). Agave nectar is very similar to honey but it’s much better for you. It is a natural sweetener that comes from the Blue Agave plant that resembles a cactus; the same plant used to make tequila. It has an amazing flavor and consistency especially when whisked together to make a citrus glaze for a grilled salmon. I simply grilled the fish, seasoned with salt and pepper, and brushed it with the glaze once on the grill. The natural sugars in the nectar carmelized on top of the fish and formed a sweet and citrusy crust. Buy a bottle and make a citrus glaze or use it to sweeten your coffee. On the side of the salmon I made a roasted sweet potato/yukon gold potato stack and a grilled zucchini salad with orange supremes and mint.