Perfect Thick-Cut Steaks

(from Cook's Magazine)

Pan-Seared Thick-Cut Strip Steaks Rib-eye or filet mignon of similar thickness can be substituted for strip steaks. If using filet mignon, buying a 2-pound center-cut tenderloin roast and portioning it into four 8-ounce steaks yourself will produce more consistent results. If using filet mignon, increase the oven time by about 5 minutes. When cooking lean strip steaks (without an external fat cap) or filet mignon, add an extra tablespoon of oil to the pan. If desired, serve with a pan sauce, relish, or butter; see related recipes. Serves 4
2 boneless strip steaks (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches thick (about 1 pound each) (see note above) Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat steaks dry with paper towel. Cut each steak in half vertically to create four 8-ounce steaks. Season entire surface of steaks liberally with salt and pepper; gently press sides of steaks until uniform 1 1/2 inches thick. Place steaks on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in center of steak registers 90 to 95 degrees for rare to medium-rare, 20 to 25 minutes, or 100 to 105 degrees for medium, 25 to 30 minutes. 2. Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until smoking. Place steaks in skillet and sear steaks until well-browned and crusty, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each steak. (Reduce heat if fond begins to burn.) Using tongs, turn steaks and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer all steaks to wire cooling rack and reduce heat under pan to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 steaks on their sides. Holding steaks together, return to skillet and sear on all sides until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 steaks. 3. Transfer steaks to wire cooling rack and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes while preparing pan sauce. Arrange steaks on individual plates and spoon sauce over steaks; serve immediately.

Orecchiette with Horseradish and Parmesan

New-Harvest Olive Oil

• By Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite

(Photo: Kang Kim for New York Magazine. Illustrations by John Burgoyne.)

There are people who await each year’s arrival of fresh-off-the-presses extra-virgin olive oil as if it were the first white truffle. Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli of Frankies Spuntino are two such olio nuovo connoisseurs. They’ve had their own organic, unfiltered house brand pressed and bottled in Sicily, and the new shipment has recently landed at Fairway, Bierkraft, and Whole Foods Columbus Circle. This ultraquick pasta recipe showcases its ephemeral freshness and vibrant flavor.

Frankies Spuntino’s Orecchiette with Horseradish and Parmesan
1 pound box of orecchiette
4 ounces fresh horseradish (available at Whole Foods)
3 ounces Frankies Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 ounces tomato sauce
Pinch of crushed red pepper
6 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Parsley for garnish

Cook pasta in salted water. (1) While it’s cooking, grate horseradish. When the pasta is cooked al dente, reserve 4–6 ounces of pasta water, then strain and place pasta in a sauté pan over low to medium heat. Add the reserved water in stages and(2) add the olive oil, tomato sauce, and crushed red pepper, tossing the pan all the while (the entire process should take only a couple of minutes). Remove pan from heat and (3) add the horseradish, cheese, and parsley with one last toss.

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate Pudding
Recipe from the Tartine cookbook
Yield: 4 to 6 individual servings (or fills one 9″ pie crust)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup (14 oz) Whole milk (I used 2% with good results)
1/2 cup (5 oz) Heavy cream
1/4 cup (1 oz) Cornstarch
3/4 cup (5 oz) Sugar
3 TBS (45 ml) Cocoa Powder
3 Large eggs
1/4 tspn (1 ml) Salt
2.5 oz Bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

• Have ready a fine-mesh sieve placed over a large, heat-proof container.
• Combine the milk and cream in a heavy, medium saucepan and heat to just under a boil.(Be sure to just warm it and keep it under a boil, or it may curdle and “break” the pudding. If this happens don’t worry, it won’t taste bad, it just won’t be as smooth.)
• Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the cornstarch and sugar, and sift in the cocoa powder. Whisk until blended.
• In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the salt until blended.
• Add the egg mixture to the sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.
• Slowly add half of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. (NOTE: Add the hot liquid slowly, or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.)
• Pour the warmed egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk mixture and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture has visibly thickened and registers 208F on a thermometer. This should take 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how cold your eggs are (Be sure to warm it slowly, don’t be tempted to turn the heat on high. On medium-low heat it only took 3-4 minutes for me).
• Immediately pour the contents of the pan through the sieve. Add the chocolate and let the heat of the milk-egg mixture melt it.
• Once the chocolate has melted, blend with an immersion blender for a full 5 minutes until no lumps are visible. (I whisked by hand without any problems).
• Portion the pudding into cups. Let cool and serve at room temperature. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Steamed Sea Bass With Passion Fruit Beurre Blanc

Steamed Sea Bass With Passion Fruit
Beurre Blanc
Pair this dish with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

By Harvey Steiman
From Wine Spectator magazine

Sea Bass

1 whole stalk celery
1 onion, chopped
1 whole fennel, chopped (including leaves)
1/2 bottle dry white wine
4 sea bass fillets, about 1 1/2 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Passion Fruit Beurre Blanc (see below)
Roasted New Potatoes (see below)

Passion Fruit Beurre Blanc

4 to 6 passion fruits (enough to make 1/4 cup seedless pulp)
1/4 cup pan liquid from the fish
1 stick cold butter, cut into 8 to 10 slices
Salt and white pepper

Roasted New Potatoes

2 pounds small new potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Break the celery into ribs, rinse well and arrange in a crisscross pattern in a roasting pan large enough to hold the fish in one layer. Add the onion, fennel and wine to the pan and place it over a burner to bring it to a boil.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F. Place the fish over the vegetables, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover the pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Gently remove the fish fillets to a heated plate, reserving the liquid, and keep them warm while you finish the sauce. Transfer the fish to four heated plates and spoon a little sauce over the fillets. Serve with Passion Fruit Beurre Blanc, Roasted New Potatoes and boiled or steamed green beans.

Serves 4.

Passion Fruit Beurre Blanc

Cut the passion fruits in half. Scoop out the pulp and push it through a coarse sieve, catching the pulpy juice in a bowl. This removes the dark seeds, which can turn bitter if cooked. You should have 1/4 cup juice.

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the juice and put the rest in a wide saucepan with the 1/4 cup pan liquid. (Use the widest saucepan you can find; the wider the pan the faster this will go.) Boil the liquid until it almost evaporates, swirling the pan to prevent burning. Off heat, add the reserved tablespoon of passion fruit juice. It will sizzle merrily. As it settles down, start adding the butter, 2 or 3 slices at a time, swirling the pan to melt it evenly. Add the next few slices of butter just before the first ones melt. Return the pan to the heat for a few seconds at a time as needed to keep the pan warm. All you are doing is melting the butter and incorporating it with the reduced liquid. It should never come close to simmering. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and spoon over the fish.

Note: To make the beurre blanc ahead of time, omit the pan liquid. Instead, boil 1/2 cup white wine plus a few slices of celery and onion separately until the liquid reduces by half. Strain this mixture and use it in place of the steaming liquid. When the beurre blanc is made, store it in a Thermos to keep it warm for up to two hours. Do not try to keep it in a double boiler.

Roasted New Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Toss the potatoes with oil, season them generously with salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer in a roasting pan. Bake 30 minutes, shake the pan and continue baking until they feel tender when pierced with a knife or skewer, perhaps 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Pho

Pho Bo

For the broth:

5 pounds beef marrow or knuckle bones

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2 pieces

2 3-inch pieces ginger, halved lengthwise and lightly bruised with the flat side of a knife

2 yellow onions, peeled

1/4 cup fish sauce, plus more to taste

3 ounces rock sugar or 3 tablespoons sugar

10 whole star anise, lightly toasted in a dry pan

6 whole cloves, lightly toasted in a dry pan

2 cinnamon sticks
2 large bay leaves
2 teaspoons fennel seeds.

1 tablespoon sea salt

For the soup:

1 pound dried rice sticks, 1/16 inch wide

1/3 pound beef sirloin, slightly frozen, then sliced paper thin across the grain

For the garnish:

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1 pound bean sprouts

10 sprigs Thai basil

1 dozen saw-leaf herb leaves (optional)

6 Thai bird chilies or 1 Serrano chili, very thinly sliced

1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

Freshly ground black pepper.

1. Prepare the broth: In a large stockpot, bring 6 quarts water to a boil. Place the bones and beef in a second large pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Char the ginger by holding each piece with tongs directly over the stove burner on high heat. Char until lightly blackened and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Char the onions in the same way. Peel and discard the blackened skins of the ginger and onions, then rinse and set aside.

2. Vigorously boil the meat for 5 minutes, then transfer the bones and beef to the other pot of boiling water. Discard the water in which the meat first cooked. (This cleans the bones and meat and reduces the impurities that can cloud the broth.) When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the ginger, onions, fish sauce and sugar. Simmer until the beef is tender, about 40 minutes; occasionally skim the surface of any foam and fat.

3. Remove one piece of beef and submerge in cool water for 10 minutes (to prevent the meat from darkening and drying out). Drain, then cut into thin slices and set aside. Simmer the broth for another 50 minutes, then place the fennel seeds, star anise and cloves in a spice bag, add to the broth and add cinnamon stick and simmer for 30 minutes more. Remove and discard the spice bag and onions. Add the salt, and continue to simmer, skimming from time to time.

4. Prepare the soup: Soak the noodles in cold water for 30 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and, working in batches, dip the noodles into the boiling water for 10 to 20 seconds, stirring to keep them from tangling. Drain.

5. To serve, season the broth to taste with fish sauce, then bring to a rolling boil. Place about 2 cups of cooked noodles in each of six large preheated bowls. (If the noodles are not hot, dip them briefly in the simmering broth.) Place a few slices of the cooked and raw beef on the noodles, then ladle 2 to 3 cups broth into each bowl. The broth will cook the raw beef instantly.

6. At the table, garnish with onions, scallions and cilantro. Invite guests to top the soup with bean sprouts, herbs, chilies, lime juice and black pepper. Serves 6.

Steamed Halibut Steaks

Steamed Halibut Steaks
A dish that stands up to whites with personality

By Harvey Steiman
From Wine Spectator magazine

Ingredients, Recipes and Preparation Instructions:

1 whole stalk celery
1 onion, chopped
A few leaves of fresh fennel
1/2 bottle dry white wine
6 halibut steaks, about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Tangy Passion Fruit Sauce (recipe follows)
Roasted New Potatoes (recipe follows)

Tangy Passion Fruit Sauce

4 to 6 passion fruits (or 1/4 cup unsweetened passion fruit juice)
1/4 cup pan liquid from the fish preparation
1 stick cold butter, cut into 8 to 10 slices
Salt and white pepper
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

Roasted New Potatoes

2 pounds small new potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Break the celery into ribs, then rinse and arrange in a crisscross pattern in a roasting pan large enough to hold the fish in one layer. Add the onion, fennel and wine, then place the pan on the range and bring the contents to a boil.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F. After the vegetable-wine mixture has come to a boil, place the fish over the vegetables, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover the pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steaks.

When the fish steaks are done, gently remove them to a heated plate, reserving the liquid, and keep them warm while you make the sauce. Once you have done so, transfer the fish to six heated plates and spoon the Tangy Passion Fruit Sauce over the steaks. Serve with Roasted New Potatoes and boiled or steamed green beans.

Serves 6.

Tangy Passion Fruit Sauce

Cut the passion fruits in half. Scoop out the pulp and push it through a coarse sieve, catching the pulpy juice in a bowl. This removes the dark seeds, which can turn bitter if cooked. You should have 1/4 cup juice.

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the juice and put the rest in a wide saucepan with the 1/4 cup pan liquid. (Use the widest saucepan you can find; the wider the pan, the faster this will go.) Boil the liquid until it almost evaporates, swirling the pan to prevent burning. Remove the pan from the heat and add the reserved tablespoon of passion fruit juice. It will sizzle merrily. As it settles down, start adding the butter, 2 or 3 slices at a time, swirling the pan to melt it evenly. Add the next few slices of butter just before the first ones melt. Return the pan to the heat for a few seconds at a time, as needed to keep the pan warm. The goal here is to melt the butter and incorporate it with the reduced liquid; it should never come close to simmering.

Season to taste with salt and white pepper, then add the horseradish as a final touch.

Note: To make the sauce ahead of time, create your own base in lieu of the pan liquid: Boil 1/2 cup white wine plus a few slices of celery and onion separately until the liquid reduces by half, then strain the mixture. To keep this sauce warm, store it in a thermos (it will retain its heat for up to two hours). Do not try to keep it in a double boiler.

Roasted New Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Toss the potatoes with oil, season them generously with salt and pepper, and arrange them in a single layer in a roasting pan. Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, then shake the pan and continue baking until they feel tender when pierced with a knife or skewer, perhaps 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Fred Plotkin's Mortar-Ground Pesto

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Free/Newsletter_Tip_Main/0,,136,00.html

Put a half-dozen small basil leaves, stems and spines removed, into the mortar with 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt. Mash with the pestle in a steady rhythm, and continue to add more leaves (you'll need 60 small, or 30 large, leaves in all).

Halfway through add 2 cloves of peeled garlic with the green hearts removed.

When the garlic is almost incorporated, add 3 tablespoons of pine nuts.

Once the pine nuts are mashed, stir in 2 tablespoons each of grated Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano, then a 1/4 cup of olive oil.


The olive oil used for pesto, like the basil, should be delicate in quality. Ligurian oil is fruity and light, a far cry from the throat-catching Tuscan oils. Though Ligurian oils are becoming more available (look for brands such as Ranieri, Carli and Roi) you can get by with a mild and fruity oil from Italy, Spain or California. Because pesto is not a cooked sauce, the quality of the salt is important. Table salt can be too harsh. Coarse sea salt is preferred, but kosher salt will do in a pinch.

I can eat pesto with almost any food and have been known to spread it on bagels. More conventional uses include putting it on grilled or baked vegetables, meat, fish, poultry or bread. Pesto can even make canned minestrone special. Pasta, of course, is the ultimate mate for pesto. For a pound of pasta (enough for six people), mix 1/3 cup (or more) of the pasta cooking water with 3/4 to 1 cup of pesto to form a smooth sauce.

Grilled Pizza

SliceNY: http://www.sliceny.com/archives/2004/08/all_up_in_my_gr.php

Amuse-Bouche: http://amuse-bouche.net/2004/05/27/yes-virginia-it-can-be-grilled/


Jeffrey Steingarten: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,807445,00.html


Wine Spectator:

Any pizza dough recipe will work for grilled pizza-even dough bought from a pizzeria-but one with all-purpose flour will make a lighter, less bready pizza. Seven ounces of dough makes a pizza that can serve as an appetizer for two to four people or an entree for one.

A charcoal grill fired by lump hardwood charcoal (not briquettes) is preferred over a gas grill because it burns hotter and provides more flavor possibilities. However, you still need to create a cooler zone on the grill for better control over cooking. One way is to make a wall with a few bricks on the bottom of the grill. Put charcoal on one side of the wall for the hot zone. The cooler zone on the other side should have no charcoal.

At Al Forno, they create a sloping effect, with charcoal piled high at one end, less charcoal in the middle and no charcoal at the other end. This gives the maximum variation in temperature, allowing you to cook the pizza by moving it around as needed. It will still not be as evenly cooked as baked pizza. But that's part of the charm of grilled pizza.

Reinhart uses the entire charcoal grill as his hot zone and a gas grill as his cooler zone. This is handy if you are doing multiple pizzas for entertaining.

Turning out a grilled pizza is much like cooking a Chinese stir-fry. The cooking goes very quickly, so you have to have all your ingredients and tools at the ready-what the French call mise en place.

Set up a worktable next to the grill with enough space to keep the toppings, to roll out the dough, and to rest the necessary tools: cutting board, rolling pin, tongs, large spatula, pizza peel, oven mitts, a dish of olive oil and a pastry brush.

When the coals are bright red with a light ash on the surface, roll out the pizza. At Al Forno, the dough, which has rested for a few hours in a pool of olive oil, is not rolled but formed by hand into an oval or rectangle about 11 by 9 inches. Mine, using Reinhart's recipe, which made six 6.5-ounce dough balls, were about 11 by 14 inches. I've found that forming by hand-pushing and pressing with fingertips and knuckles-on a sheet pan is easier than rolling (especially when the dough is well-lubricated with oil).

The pizza should be somewhere between a sixteenth and an eighth of an inch thick. Don't worry if your pizza looks like it was formed by your 10-year-old. Again, it's part of the charm. Though Germon insists on forming the pizza immediately before grilling, you can get a leg up by forming the pizza 30 minutes ahead and letting it rest (covered) on a sheet pan in the refrigerator.

Once formed, lay the pizza on the hot zone of the grill; it will take about 3 minutes to cook. You'll probably notice some areas cooking faster than others. Move the pizza around, putting some parts over the cooler zone to achieve more even cooking. Use tongs, oven mitts and the pizza peel to help you do this.

After the bottom is done-it should be nicely charred and blistered but not burned-flip the pizza over onto the cooler zone of the grill. Brush the cooked side with olive oil. Then add the toppings, beginning with the cheese. (A list of toppings follows.) Don't try to cover the entire surface. Look for, as Reinhart puts it, "bursts of flavor" from your toppings.

Once the toppings are on, you can cover the grill and let the ambient heat cook the pizza the rest of the way in the cooler zone. Or you can put the pizza over the hot zone of the grill, again moving it around to cook evenly. This will cook the bottom faster but requires more attention. The entire process, from start to finish, should take about 7 to 10 minutes.

When it comes to toppings, less is more. One reason is that the thin crust gets soggy quickly. Besides, summer weather is more appropriate for lighter, fresher fare, beginning with ripe, local tomatoes chopped and mixed with basil, salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Make sure the tomatoes (and any other toppings) are well-drained before adding them to the pizza.

Because vegetables on grilled pizza don't get cooked as they would in an oven, use ones that are fine in the raw state, such as tomatoes, arugula and sweet onions. Or cook other vegetables ahead; roasted bell peppers, sautéed or grilled mushrooms, roasted eggplant and grilled asparagus are good choices. Fresh herbs such as basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano can be mixed in with vegetables or sprinkled separately.

For cheese, Reinhart suggests combining a good melting cheese such as mozzarella, Monterey Jack, cheddar or gouda (I like fontina) with a grated cheese like Parmigiano, Asiago or pecorino Romano. Al Forno uses Parmigiano and Bel Paese. These cheeses go on as soon as the dough is flipped and the olive oil has been applied, because they need to melt from the heat of the cooked side. Softer cheeses, such as goat and blue cheeses, go on last, after the other toppings.

Other toppings to consider are thinly sliced prosciutto or high quality Italian salami, strips of smoked chicken or turkey, olives, capers and pine nuts.

At Al Forno, the final topping is a drizzle of olive oil spiked with garlic, hot pepper flakes and paprika. The finished pizza is garnished with chopped scallions, though you could also use chopped fresh herbs.

Wines to accompany grilled pizza should reflect not only the lightness of the pie but the summer weather. Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice, especially if the pizza is heavy on the veggies. Sparkling wine helps to cut through saltier cheeses and prosciutto. Lighter, slightly chilled reds such as Dolcetto and Beaujolais are good too. But my favorite is a Rhine-style rose, one that has some stuffing and isn't too sweet. You know, the kind you would drink in the sauna.

Chilled Corn Lobster Soup (Michelle Bernstein, WSJ)

Chilled Corn Soup

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Active preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 5 ears), cobs reserved
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 leeks, white part only, sliced
¼ teaspoon curry powder
1 sprig tarragon
1 sprig rosemary
1 cup heavy cream
1 1-pound Maine lobster, cooked
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• In a medium saucepan, combine cobs and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

• Meanwhile, in a medium pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onion, garlic and leeks. Cover and cook without browning until soft, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder. Continue cooking, uncovered, for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

• Remove and discard cobs from the stock. Add stock, reserved corn kernels, and herbs to pot with the onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook another 5 minutes. Discard herb sprigs. Purée the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled. Remove meat from lobster and refrigerate. When the soup is chilled, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the soup cold, garnished with the lobster meat.