|
Ceviche of Tilapia with Salsa, Local Hot Peppers and Popcorn
Ceviche is one of my favorite foods to eat. Use impeccably fresh seafood and produce, and the end result is a symphony of refreshing flavors. Tilapia is a good choice, as it is highly sustainable, inexpensive and mildly flavored, allowing the flavors of the produce to
shine, as well.
Recipe serves 6.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Tilapia, thinly sliced on the bias (freeze or defrost halfway and slice while still half-frozen for better cuts)
1/3 cup Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
Pinch of Salt
1-1/4 cup Salsa, fresh or purchased
1 Lime, juice of
1 Jalapeno Pepper or milder or hotter pepper, local, fresh, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Popcorn, freshly popped, “on the cob” if possible
2 Tbsp. Cilantro, fresh, leaves of (plus any for the salsa, if you are making the salsa vs. buying it)
To Taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, toss fish slices with first amount of lime juice and season with a pinch of salt. Mix well and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Pour off lime juice and add fresh salsa and second amount of lime. Dividing fish slices among chilled plates, arrange the fish in a circular pattern in the center of each plate, keeping the salsa in the bowl, and spoon the salsa into the center of the fish. Garnish the plate with the jalapeno slices, a drizzle of olive oil, the freshly popped popcorn and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Eat ASAP!
Pan-Roasted “Frenched” Chicken Breast over Local Beefsteak Tomatoes, Thai Basil and Wax Bean Salad
Chicken breasts get boned out from the bird, leaving the first wing joint “drumstick” attached but cleaned to the bone and the skin on. The result is a multidimensional chicken offering that stands alone. Hot out of the oven, out of the pan and over a tender, raw salad of freshly picked ripe tomatoes, fresh snipped wax beans and basil, the heat and weight of the chicken causes its juices to mix with the tomato and basil for a light yet full-flavored, aromatic jus that is hard to beat.
Recipe serves 4.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Chickens, fryers or broilers, breasts removed and “Frenched,” with remains saved for other recipes
To Taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp. Thyme, fresh, leaves of, picked
5 Garlic Cloves, fresh, unpeeled
2 Beefsteak Tomatoes, local, ripe, large, cored, sliced 3/8” thick
1 pt. Yellow or Orange Cherry Tomatoes, halved
To Taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
1/2 lb. Green, Yellow or Purple Wax Beans, local, snipped, blanched
1/4 cup Thai or Green Basil, fresh, leaves of
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat olive oil in a hot, large, non-stick pan that is large enough to comfortably hold the breasts in a slightly spaced, flat, single layer. Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme. Slide each breast into the hot pan, into the hot oil, and swirl around the pan a touch before letting go. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves and continue to cook over medium-high heat until the skin is golden and crisp, not burnt. Flip the chicken and garlic, and continue to cook the chicken until the bottom is beginning to brown. Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Remove the pan from the oven and move to a warm place. Allow to rest, loosely covered with foil, where the temperature will raise to the proper 165-degree internal temperature.
While the chicken is resting, slice the tomatoes and divide by individual room-temperature serving plates. Season with salt and pepper. Top with the blanched wax beans. Scatter some basil around each plate. Slice the rested chicken and fan over the tomatoes and beans on each plate. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve.
Smoked Portabella & Local Chevre with Garlic-Rubbed Crostini
Two great items from PA – mushrooms and goat cheese – are paired together for a yummy, build-your-own crostini-type appetizer. Vegetarians and carnivores alike will love the meaty, full-flavored bites of portabella mushrooms with the creamy, tangy cheese.
Recipe serves 4.
Ingredients:
4 Portabella Mushroom Caps
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp. Garlic, fresh, chopped
To Taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp. Chives, minced
1/2 Baguette, sliced 1/4”-thick
1/2 Garlic Clove, fresh
1/3 cup Olive Oil
To Taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
1/2 lb. Goat Cheese
1 Tomatoes, cored, diced
1 tsp. Tarragon, fresh, chopped
1 tsp. Chives, fresh, slivered
Directions:
Marinate portabellas with following seven ingredients (soy sauce to chives), covered in the refrigerator, overnight. Drain mushrooms and pat dry. Season with additional salt and pepper.
Preheat an oven to 275 degrees F. Rub the baguette slices with the garlic clove and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake on a sheet tray until crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Cover and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Prepare a medium-hot grill and add a soaked tin-foil packet full of wood chips to create a hot smoking environment. Grill the mushrooms over direct heat, turning often, until nicely marked and just cooked. Remove the mushrooms from the grill and allow to cool. Allow the temperature of the grill to reduce to low heat, but continue to add more soaked wood chips if needed to maintain a mellow, even smoke. Wrap the goat cheese with cheesecloth and smoke, indirectly. Remove from the grill, wrap and chill.
When ready to serve, slice the mushrooms thinly on the bias. Pipe a rosette of the chilled, smoked goat cheese in the center of individual serving plates. Shingle the mushrooms around the cheese on one side of the plate and the crostini on the other. Garnish the plate with the tomato dice, tarragon and chives.
Sour Cream and Dill “Ranch” Dressing
This salad dressing is good on any lettuce or salad green, as it is full-flavored yet light in body. The dressing also is great on tomato and cucumber salad, or as a basic vegetable dip. Whatever you choose, pick the freshest vegetables to put it on.
Makes approximately 1-1/2 cups.
Ingredients:
1 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp. Lemon Juice, fresh
1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Milk or Half & Half
1 Tbsp. Dill, fresh, chopped
1 Tbsp. Chives, fresh, minced
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt
As Needed: Greens, Tomatoes, Red Onion and Cucumber, julienne
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Refrigerate to chill or for future use. Toss enough of the dressing with greens, tomatoes, cukes, etc., to just evenly and lightly coat everything. Serve immediately.
Griddled Sweet Corn Cakes with Wild Mushrooms, Crème Fraiche and Cave-Aged Cheddar
Try these easy-to-prepare treats when you have access to local sweet corn. The sweet, fresh corn pop – combined with earthy mushrooms and tangy, rich cream – pair for a fantastic end-of-summer or beginning-of-fall appetizer.
Recipe serves 6.
Ingredients:
2 ears Corn, fresh, cut from cob – one roughly puréed, the other with the kernels left whole
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 cup Chives, fresh, minced
As Needed: Clarified Butter, hot
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp. Canola Oil
2 pkg. Wild Mushroom Mix
1 Shallot, minced
1/4 cup Dry White Wine
1/2 cup Crème Fraiche or Clabbered Cream
1 Tbsp. Chives, fresh, minced
To Taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup Cave-Aged Cheddar, shaved (Green Valley Dairy is great!)
Directions:
For the corn cakes: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the first set of ingredients (corn to chives) and fold together well. Preheat a large, non-stick sauté pan or griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease with clarified butter. Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the hot griddle and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully flip and cook on the second side until golden and to the point where the cakes are entirely set. Remove to a foil-lined pan and keep warm.
For the mushroom ragout: In the same large sauté pan, over medium-high heat, melt the unsalted butter and add the canola oil. Add the wild mushrooms and cook, without flipping, until the mushrooms are beginning to brown. Flip the mushrooms and let them be, until they begin to brown on the second side. Add the shallots and toss. Add the white wine and cook until almost evaporated. Add the crème fraiche or clabbered cream and heat through. Remove from heat and add fresh chives. Check for seasonings and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
To serve: Place a corn cake in the center of a plate. Spoon on some of the mushroom ragout and add a few shavings of the cheddar cheese. Top with another cake, ragout and cheese. Top with a final cake. Serve immediately.
Southern Eggs with Mustard Hollandaise, Sautéed Collards and Smoked Pork Chop
If you like Eggs Benedict, you’ll love these. Enjoyed with your favorite bread or biscuits, this dish is a step up in flavor and you will want to lap up every bit of the zesty sauce. The heartier greens give a nutritional balance to the dish and – with the super-high-quality smoked pork chops – a ton of that Southern charm.
Recipe serves 4.
Ingredients:
5 Egg Yolks
1 Tbsp. Water
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Clarified Butter, hot
1 Tbsp. Stone-Ground Mustard
1 tsp. Chives, fresh, minced, plus additional for garnish
8 Eggs, as fresh as you can (they hold together better as they poach!)
1 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp. Bacon Fat
1 bunch Swiss Chard, Turnip, Collard or Mustard Greens, stems removed, rough-chopped, blanched till tender in boiling water, shocked, drained and patted dry
2 Tbsp. Shallots, minced
To taste: Kosher or Sea Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 Smoked Pork Chops (Groff’s is great!)
Directions:
For the hollandaise: Place a medium-sized pot over heat and bring almost to a simmer.
In a metal mixing bowl that fits over the pot of water (or a double boiler set-up), combine the egg yolks, water, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Whisk until light and frothy. Place the mixing bowl over the pot of water and continue to whisk the eggs until they reach a ribbon stage, or where they leave ribbons of egg in the wake of the whisk as they are being whipped. Start drizzling in the hot clarified butter, whisking constantly, allowing each ladle-full to incorporate into the eggs before adding more. Continue to whisk until all of the butter is incorporated and the hollandaise is light and fluffy. Whisk in the mustard and chives and season with salt, pepper and additional cayenne, if desired. Add a touch of warm water to thin down if preferred.
For the eggs: In a large, shallow pot of almost simmering water, with the vinegar added, poach the eggs by cracking them carefully into a small finger bowl or ramekin and gently lowering them into the hot water. After the whites start to solidify on each egg, carefully lift them off of the bottom of the pot, if they stick. Cook the eggs, trying to keep them from cooking together as they do, until the whites are just opaque (where there is no sign of translucency to the whites).
To serve: While the eggs cook, sauté the blanched greens with the shallots in the butter and bacon fat until heated through and tender. Season with salt and pepper and divide in the center of warmed serving plates. Add the pork slices to the pan and griddle to warm through. Place the pork slices over the greens. As the eggs are just finishing, using a slotted spoon, lift them out of the water, set the spoon down on an absorbent towel to remove any of the clinging water and then place the eggs over the pork. Spoon on a healthy amount of the mustard-hollandaise and garnish with fresh chives. Serve immediately.
|
