Tequila-Grapefruit Shrimp, Roasted Corn & Avocado Salad, Fennel Basil Calamari

Apologies up front for the delay between blog posts, it's been a busy summer! But these new ideas are sure to bring some inspiration to the table.  Summer is rapidly turning into fall and I wanted to make sure that I had some new ideas in the books before my mind switched into squashes, turkey, and savory dishes.  I had been itching to do some experimenting for a while and a recent journey to LA brought on the chance to play in a kitchen. In the events leading up to a Saturday night meal with my dear friends Kenny, Erica and their newest addition little Rowan, shrimp had been on my mind.  My friend Axel had mentioned something with tequila might be fun and interesting, so I took it and ran.  

It was a tough go at Whole Foods with no real dish in mind, so a lot of browsing through the local produce helped drive the dish.  I started with the shrimp. Limes, peppers/chilies, and cilantro is where I started, then I found some Grapefruits and that was the beginning of something good.  The dish came together like this: Tequila, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, cilantro, garlic, agave nectar, diced sweet peppers, and salt marinaded the shrimp. They were then skewered and grilled. Topped with supremes of grapefruit and sliced avocado.  The perfect bite; a shrimp, a supreme of grapefruit, and a slice of avocado. Delicious and perfect for summer.

To accompany the shrimp a few other dishes were constructed.  At the store we also ran into some awesomely fresh calamari.  Wanting to do something a bit different and out of the box, I again found myself stuck in the produce section.  I came across some beautiful fennel and my mind went to Sicily where I had seen calamari & fennel paired.  I grabbed some lemons, and remembered that Kenny had oodles of fresh basil growing in his garden.  The calamari was cut into rings, the fennel diced in to the same shape along with diced fennel frawn.  I added some thin slices of red onion, fresh lemon juice & zest, and a touch of agave nectar.  This concoction was sauteed very quickly in some olive oil.  It was pretty delicious upon first bite, but was definitely missing something.  After some debate, we came to the conclusion that this needed pasta.  Keeping the idea, but it's not quite there yet.  

Onto what turned out to be the star of the show.  I have made roasted corn salad in the past, but none quite like this.  With fresh corn roasting on the grill, I sliced up some beautiful radish and fresh cilantro.  Then I added some roasted pine nuts, and large chunks of avocado. Lastly, I grilled some green onions and diced up the char and threw it in to the colorful bowl.  Finished with some high quality olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt, this salad was hands down the best dish of the night.  You can expect to see this pushed on all my summer offerings!

The meal was completed with some cous cous and roasted peppers. A perfect starch to accompany all the flavors on the plate.  There was a ton of vegetables, herbs, and fruit making this a very healthy summer meal.  Thanks Kenny, Erica & Rowan for having us!!  

Slider Night, Edition 1

It was a Tuesday night and I was sitting around the house talking with my roommate Amy.  We were in separate rooms carrying on a loud conversation about what we wanted for dinner. I started listing things I had in the fridge, and she was firing off ideas and verdicts on my proposals.  The menu suggestions went from tacos, to meatloaf, to burgers.  Someone mentioned sliders, and we both paused and quickly agreed.  We assembled and made the quick trek to Whole Foods to gather ingredients.  From just a small thought, came a mountain of fun ideas.  We weren't going to make just one style, we were gonna create 3-4 different sliders.  It was time to play. 

First and foremost we had to do a classic.  I had some delicious black forest rubbed bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese.  With the addition of caramelized onions and a srirracha ketchup, that one was finished.  Easy.  

The second one that came to mind was using goat cheese.  We decided to put an heirloom tomato slice, and some crispy shallots.  In addition, we agreed it would need a sauce. Keeping on the garden theme, a roasted garlic aioli was to be constructed. A couple leaves of spinach and this one was ready.  

The third one took some time to get right, but we were very excited about it.  A roasted Anaheim chili would be the inspiration.  Pepper jack cheese would be melted, and a south western aioli would be the sauce that bound everything together.  This one was mouthwatering. 

And the final and fourth slider was tricky.  We both wanted something random and different.  As we wandered around the crowded grocery store watching all of the neighborhoodies get their organic produce, we landed in the seafood department.  Somehow we decided to get fresh dungeness crab.  It was discussed and decided that a crab salad would be made, and avocado to top the fourth slider.  We were excited. 

With the ingredients purchased, the hurricane of prep began.  Prepping four different sliders and all of the toppings proved to be an arduous task, but well worth it.  Drying and deep frying the shallots, making the crab salad, roasting garlic & the Anaheim pepper, and making homemade potato chips took about an hour and a half.  With the sauces were constructed and mini buns toasted, it was time to build.  The sliders began to tower as our mouths salivated.  Also a last minute dish was a crab salad with an orange vinaigrette and arugula was thrown together as a palate cleanser.  

After a few iPhone pics, we dove in.  All of the sliders were delicious, but we each had our personal favorites.  The goat cheese & heirloom tomato slider was my choice, and Amy leaned towards the roasted Anaheim chili & pepper jack creation.  There were definitely no losers in this battle.  Cant wait to do it again, this time for more than two people!  #slidertuesday. 

Grilled Watermelon, Boc Choy, Tofu and of course, Steak

I am very fortunate to have great clients that allow me freedom to plan their menu.  On a recent Saturday, I was asked to cook a birthday dinner for one of my favorite clients.  The menu was chosen to be Asian motif, however I snuck an appetizer in that didn't really fit the theme.  With 20 guests on the invite and a warm summer night, I looked to grill most of the menu.  

I had been experimenting with watermelon for a few weeks, so the appetizer I went with was grilled watermelon and cherry tomato skewers with fresh mozzarella and basil oil.  I made the basil oil by blending basil, olive oil, garlic and a few sprigs of mint, along with a pinch of salt, then straining it to get all of the solids out.  This would provide a wonderful topping to the fruit & cheese. I prepped the watermelon into nice sized squares and skewered them along with some cherry tomatoes.  These were hit with some olive oil and placed on a very hot & smokey grill.  The skewers were grilled for about 3 -5 minutes, until the tomatoes were splitting.  Once removed, they were arranged with some fresh mozzarella and topped with the homemade basil oil. Served with a few pieces of bread to sop up the oil and juices, the appetizer went over well and was finished quickly.

With the guests happily munching and drinking away, it was time to get the bulk of the meal onto the grill.  I had about 12+ pounds of NY Strip Steaks marinating overnight in my Asian Miso marinade (see Shark wedding post for marinade).  These went to the grill first.  Smoke and smells enveloped the patio and I had a few visitors wander over to the grill to see what was cooking. Cooked to medium rare, the steaks were pulled from the grill and left to rest.

On to the veggies! I had a handful of beautiful baby boc choy heads lightly seasoned with sesame oil and salt.  These hit the grill with some shitake mushrooms that had also been lightly marinaded.  After getting a sear, the veggies were placed in a warm oven to finish cooking while I attended to the rest of the grilling items.  I was definitely pressing hard at this point. Only half way through the grilling items and I was breaking a serious sweat!

The scary part was next... Tofu.  I had done all I could think of to prep this ingredient for the grill.  Marinaded over night, then dried for 2hrs on paper towels to firm up the outside, and finally brushed with oil and onto the grill.  With fingers crossed, I began to grill and flip the tofu.  I was fortunate that everything stayed together and the veggie protein had wonderful grill marks.  Topped with some charred scallions, this dish was ready.

The last thing on the grill was shrimp.  I had marinaded these in a chili, garlic, ginger mixture. These were skewered and placed on the grill as the guests were making their way down to the dockside dinning table.  Seared fast and placed back into the marinade which was bubbling away on the stove, the shrimp were ready along with the guests.

The sun was setting, and alpenglow was lighting up the beautiful mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe.  Dinner was ready. All the dishes had been finished and beautifully arranged by my assistant Jess.  The guests were hungry and the serving dishes came back empty in a matter of minutes.  As it got dark, the birthday cake came down and more wine was poured.  A great meal enjoyed by great people in an absolutely stunning setting.