Grill Party 8/24/13

Another wonderful party for terrific clients.  The theme for the menu is basically a celebration of Summer.  They wanted to be able to incorporate the grill on the roof into the preparations which made for some really fun stuff.

A display of cheeses, cured meats, fresh vegetables and figs.

Crostini with Fresh Local Corn, Heirloom Tomatoes and Basil

The grill with Rosemary Skewered Beef Tenderloin, Smashed New and Fingerling Potatoes and Vegetable Skewers

Garlic Potatoes, Skewered, Smashed and Finished on the Grill

Fresh Mango, Red Onion, Cilantro and Lime Salsa

Grilled Shrimp and Mango Salsa Tacos

Grilled Vegetable Skewers with Salsa Verde Drizzled over top.

The complete menu-

Assorted Crudite, Cheeses and Cured Meats with Crackers

From the kitchen-

Zucchini Fritters with Basil and Parmesan.  Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.

Heirloom Tomato, Fresh Corn and Basil Crostinis

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Spears

From the grill-

Shrimp Tacos with Mango, Cilantro and Red Onion Salsa

Beef Tenderloin on Rosemary Stem Skewers

Vegetable Skewers with Salsa Verde

 Garlic Red Potato and Fingerling Potatoes

Mint, Lime and Cilantro Marinated Chicken with Greek Yogurt and Mint Dipping Sauce

Creamy Roasted Poblano Soup with Fire Roasted Corn

I think the poblano pepper does not get nearly enough attention.  It has such a unique flavor, and just the right amount of spice for a person who is a little wimpy, such as myself.

To make the soup you will need to blister (basically burn until black) the skins of the pepper(let's say three for this recipe), which can be easily done on gas stove top.  Simply place them directly over the flame and rotate every couple of minutes until black all over, then submerge in a bowl of cold water.  When the peppers are in the cold water rub the skins off with your hands.  When the black skin is gone, remove the seeds and give an additional rinse in cold water from the tap.  In a sauce pan place half of a chopped onion and one or two smashed cloves of garlic with a couple tablespoons of oil or butter.  Saute this over medium heat until the onion in soft and translucent.  Roughly chop up the poblanos and add to the pot then cover with about 4 cups of chicken stock and simmer for half an hour.  Puree the soup using either an immersion blender, a food processor or regular blender and return to the pot and continue to simmer.  Add in about a half of a cup of heavy cream, or to taste.  Adjust the seasoning.  The soup is delicious at this point, and could be served with just a little sour cream.  If you want to add the corn, use the same method as blistering the peppers and rotate the corn over the open flame until slightly black on all sides.  Remove the corn from the cob and place in the bowl with the soup.  Cilantro makes an excellent garnish.

Summer Vegetable Salad

A combination of steamed organic green beans, fresh local corn and heirloom tomatoes.  It goes great with many things- salmon, pork chops, roasted chicken and so much more...

Spaghetti with Parmesan and Shaved Truffle

Fresh Local Bicolor Corn with Basil Butter

Basil butter.  So easy, so delicious.  Pick and clean leaves of basil.  Submerge the basil in boiling water for a minute and then place it in cold water.  Dry the basil and place it in a bowl with soft butter, some salt and a little black pepper.  Using either a food processor or a immersion blender, puree the basil and butter together.

Dinner Tonight- Rosemary and Garlic Pork Chop, Garnet Sweet Potato,Steamed Fresh Local Corn with Basil Butter

A Simple and Summery Peach Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream with Fresh Basil

This dessert is easy to make and looks and tastes so elegant.  The directions are below.

Use frozen puff pastry, (I love Dufour), and lay out a rectangle of the pastry.  Slice fresh peaches thinly and lay out down the center of the rectangle. Sprinkle the peaches with sugar and a tiny bit of salt.  Fold the sides over and pinch down the edges as shown in the photo below.  Brush the edge of the pastry with an egg wash and then sprinkle a little bit more sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees until the pastry is nicely browned (should be about 20-25 minutes), then turn the oven off and let the pastry continue to cook through.  Serve with vanilla ice cream and sprinkle fresh basil over the top of the ice cream and pastry.

Chanterelle and Leek Risotto with Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

This was a huge hit.  And by huge hit, I mean that our two year old and 7 year old put away an adult size serving of this each.

Saute one leek, sliced thinly, and two tablespoons of olive oil and four tablespoons of butter until the leek is nice and soft.  Add in one and a half cups of arborio rice and continue to saute over medium heat for a few minutes until the rice is well coated.  Begin adding what will be a total of five cups of chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want to keep the dish vegetarian) about a half a cup at a time. I replaced one half cup of stock with a half cup of white wine. Each time you add more stock, stir the risotto until the rice absorbs most of the liquid.  While doing that quickly saute your chanterelle mushrooms in butter with a little salt until they release their liquid and are soft and cooked.  When you've reached the point with the risotto that you have only one cup of liquid left to add, add in the chanterelle mushrooms and continue to cook.  I added in a little fresh marjoram at this point.  A touch of thyme would work well too.  Adjust the salt and pepper level.  If you need to pause before serving the risotto, stop adding liquid at this point so that you still have half a cup to go.  This way, when you are ready to plate it, you can reconstitute it when reheating.  The risotto should be loose.  

For the asparagus, trim the ends from a bunch of asparagus.  Turn your broiler on high and move rack to the highest level, nearest to the flame.  Crush one or two cloves of garlic and place on a sheet pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and salt and fresh pepper.  Place the asparagus on the pan and swirl around until the asparagus are coated with the oil mixture.  Spread out in a single layer on the sheet pan and place under the broiler.  Cook until the asparagus starts to brown.  Pull out, toss around a bit and sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese over the asparagus and return to the broiler until crispy brown.

Place a mound of risotto on the plate, top with the asparagus, sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan cheese and herbs and a hearty grind of fresh black pepper over the top.