Rooftop Gourmet

Sometimes you need to splurge. Sometimes, you just get in one of those moods where there is one thing, and one thing only that will make you feel satisfied. My vice is a 2 inch thick, heavily marbled ribeye with a tub of white truffle butter, and fresh organic corn on the cob. It really doesn’t get any better than this. I must say, this meal is something that even talking about it and looking back on the pictures, gives me goosebumps every time.

This meal is hands down, one of my favorite things to make. It is so simple, and really accentuates the steak, putting the flavor of beef on a pedastel, not to mention it brings back memories from every summer I’ve ever experienced. Grilled steak and fresh corn on the cob have been a summer staple with me growing up coming from a household of somewhat picky eaters (meat & potato fanatics). Summer’s bounty… sweet corn is so easy to prepare. Thrown on the grill in the husk. The smell of the burning husk with the brisk breeze blowing the smoke into your face.

Rolling the warm ears in butter and sea salt. The sizzle of the primal cut of beef over an open flame. Giant flare-ups on the grill just reassuring you that there is enough fat/flavor in your steak. A mound of butter, emitting enough truffle flavor to make your knees buckle, slowly melting into your giant, cooling brick of beef. Sliced perfectly, medium rare on the inside, a black peppered charred crust on the outside. The freshly ground black peppercorns burning your lips, but cooled down immediatley by the sweet, buttery corn.

Paired with a giant, California Cabernet, there is no better summer indulgence. Dark, inky colored wine, bursting with enormous tannins and bold fruit. The occasionally rich, chocolate or mocha finish that seems to last until your next bite of meat, only to be repeated over and over. Try the 2005 Chappellet Signature Cab which just got a great score from Wine Spectator. Dessert is either an ice cream cone, or a whole lot of dental floss. Either way, this was hands down one of the best/most satisfying summer meals I have ever eaten.

After a 4 mile run in the heat and humidity, a light lunch, rain clouds forming, and Red Sox vs. Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball, all I could think about was comfort food for dinner. My girlfriend and I immediatley thought about spaghetti and meatballs with homemade red sauce but I wanted to spice things up a bit and try something different. I wanted to stick with the Italian theme since I had a bottle of 2005 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti waiting for us at home, which is relatively inexpensive considering it hit Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2008. I noticed that after dousing my herb garden with Miracle Grow the past week, the fresh oregano was spewing onto the deck and just begging to be used so I snipped off a bunch and smelled it. It was so fresh and pungent; it screamed Mediterranean flavors like lamb and olives. After deciding to stick within the spaghetti and meatball framework, we went to the supermarket.

I bought some ground lamb, green olives, ricotta cheese, sweet 100’s (baby cherry tomatoes), garlic, and meatball staple items. Rushing home to get all the prep work done before the first pitch of the game was challenging but exciting. I wanted to get my sauce going first, which was pretty simple. I preheated my oven to 400 degrees and roasted sweet 100 baby cherry tomatoes, with a diced yellow onion and 8 whole cloves of garlic for about an hour until all the baby tomatoes were wilted and the garlic was sweet and pungent. Probably one of the easiest and most simple sauces I have ever made.

While the tomatoes were roasting, my girlfriend got the meatballs going by soaking diced up white bread in milk (this trick combined with the dried breadcrumbs keeps your meatballs extremely moist), chopping the fresh oregano, and seasoning the lamb. I have realized at this point that I either need to start inviting more friends over for dinner, or stop buying way more food than I need because I always end up with enough food to feed an army. In this case, it isn’t so bad because leftover comfort food always taste better the next night. I flavored the ricotta cheese with some lemon zest, more chopped fresh oregano, parmesan cheese, and tons of chopped green olives, and crammed the mixture into a ziploc bag.

I decided to make the transition from spaghetti to manicotti because I didn’t want to miss any of the game because of constant fork twirling. One snip of the ziploc bag and I was piping the ricotta mixture into the al dente manicotti shells, which were then placed in a baking dish and covered with the roasted garlic/baby tomato sauce. The Spaulding Baseball-sized lamb meatballs were then seared off in a pan and roasted in the 400 degree oven until they were cooked throughout, just in time for the National Anthem. There is nothing like pulling the coffee table in about a foot on a Sunday night and eating comfort food infront of the television (even though the Sox looked pathetic).

The wine was a perfect compliment to the Mediterranean flavors in the dish. The tannins and acidity in the Chianti were balanced nicely with the creamy ricotta. The ripe, cherry flavors of the Sangiovese grape played off of the fresh pop of sweetness in the tomatoes and the roasted garlic, and the earthy terroir in the nose and in the wine was a delightful compliment to the gamey lamb with oregano. A southern Rhone red or a red from Provence would also be a great choice for a wine pairing with this dish. Overall, it was a great Sunday night classic comfort food dish with a twist worth making a second time; hopefully next time the wind at Fenway is blowing in.

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.

After cleaning out my fridge the other day I noticed that I still have about a case of Guinness leftover from a St. Patricks Day party that has just been occupying precious real estate. The thought of downing a pint of Guinness on a hot summer day makes me cringe, so my girlfriend and I decided to put it to good use. She took over the kitchen and did all the cooking while I was at work and had a nice slow cooked meal for me when I came home. She braised beef short ribs in Guinness beer, with some molasses, beef stock and some Chinese Five Spice. The flavors all came together perfectly. If you have never used Chinese Five Spice, you need to head out and grab a bottle from your local grocery store. This seasoning is perfect for rich beef dishes, chicken, and even fish or vegetables. Certain brands of Five Spice are slightly different, but for the most part it is a combination of Chinese cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground Sichuan peppers, and either ground star anise or ground fennel seed. The blend of sweet, savory and spicy come together to create an amazing dry rub or seasoning for a wide variety or meats or veggies. The cinnamon and cloves flavors were perfect after braising with the dark stout for a few hours. Five Spice would be a great seasoning for this winters’ new chili recipe. She served the short ribs (which were falling off the bone) over homemade roasted garlic mashed potatos, and a side of sauteed brussel sprouts. The meal was amazing! The molasses in the braising liquid not only helped thicken the sauce but added a hint of sweetness and shimmering glaze to the beef. Such a hearty, heart-warming meal could only be matched with a big, powerful, fruit-forward red. I chose the Stags Leap Petit Syrah from Napa. It was a match made in heaven. Gobs of dark, jammy fruit exploding in your mouth, balanced with powerful tannins. Hints of spice and earth but for the most part just rich, lush fruit forward red. A match made in heaven for braised beef short ribs!! It turned out to be a cold, rainy night too which made this comfort food meal perfect (and of course it was my turn to clean up) .