Flavors in Love

 As many of you already know, I teach a series of intimate cooking classes called Flirting with Flavors. My goal is to make cooking fun and sexy, and inspire all of you to get in the kitchen and put the sizzle back in your lives. One of the fundamental techniques that I teach is how to season and grill a perfect piece of fish….My guy Michael went fishing with his family last weekend off the coast of Montauk and caught nearly 120 pounds of striped bass!!!  I have been grilling that beautiful bass all week and I wanted to share with you two of my favorite preparations…..

And remember, if you want to keep it hot in the kitchen, sign up for my Fall Cooking Classes by clicking HERE.

HERB MARINATED GRILLED STRIPED BASS:
Serves 2

1 pound fresh striped bass fillet
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

In a shallow dish, marinate the fish with all the above ingredients for 1 hour.
Preheat a grill or a grill pan over medium heat. Lay the fish on the grill, and cook, turning only once. Cover and cook until fish is moist and barely flaking – about 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

Serve immediately with one of the following salsas;

ITALIAN TOMATO AND CORN SALSA:

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped

12 medium sized ripe tomatoes, halved, seeds squeezed out, chopped into ½ inch pieces

Pinch sugar

1 tablespoon dried oregano, or 3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

½ teaspoon dried chili flakes

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground pepper

4 ears fresh corn, shucked and kernels removed

2 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and onions, and cook on medium heat until very soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat often to prevent burning. Add the tomatoes, sugar, oregano, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Let simmer, stirring often, about 20 minutes until almost all liquid is absorbed. Stir the corn kernels and basil in the warm sauce.  Cook on low heat for 30 seconds. Adjust seasoning.

Grilled bass with corn and leek salsa

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup roasted tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed

1 bunch swiss chard, washed, cleaned and chopped into small pieces, stems included

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoons fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and butter. Add leeks and cook until soft and silky, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes on low heat. Stir in tomatoes, and cook for another 2 minutes. Add fresh corn and chard and season all with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another minute. Serve alongside the fish.

The summer is (sadly) coming to an end and sweet local corn will soon be a thing of the past. Here is one of my favorite corn recipes, Sweet Corn and Crab Cakes with Chipotle Remoulade…And to end the summer with flavor, click HERE to sign up for my September Cooking Classes.

SWEET CORN AND CRAB CAKES

* ¼ cup mayonnaise

* 1 large egg

* 1 teaspoon hot sauce

* 1 pound jumbo lump crab

* 1 cup bread crumbs

* ½ cup sweet summer corn kernels

* 1/3 cup finely diced roasted pepper

* 3 tablespoons olive oil

* Chipotle Remoulade to garnish your cakes with, optional

In a bowl, whisk together the mayo, egg and hot sauce. Add the crab, bread crumbs, corn, and pepper. Mix well, breaking up some of the lumps of crabmeat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Divide the crab mixture into approximately 8 equal portions, then form each portion into a cake, transferring the cakes as formed to a flat baking sheet.

In a large, heavy nonstick skillet (work in batches so you don’t crowd the pan), warm some of the olive oil over medium heat. With a spatula, carefully slide the crab cakes into the skillet. Cover and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Carefully turn the cakes, cover the skillet and cook until golden brown, crisp and just cooked through while remaining moist, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Serve some of the Remoulade on top of, underneath, or beside the cakes.

CHIPOTLE REMOULADE:

* 1 cup mayonnaise

* 4 teaspoons finely chopped scallions

* 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo

* 2 teaspoons lime juice

* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

In a bowl, stir together the mayo, scallion, chipotles, lime, and mustard. Keep in fridge for up to 3 days.

If you have only enjoyed clams dipped in melted butter in a shack near the Connecticut shore, or perhaps steamed open in white wine with garlic in Little Italy, you are going to be pleasantly surprised by how deliciously colorful and different they are in this Mexican-inspired preparation. Digging into a briny bowl of these spicy bivalves, their broth mopped up with good bread, the whole business washed down with plenty of cold beer, is the best kind of festive, laid-back outdoor eating I know!

Baja Beach Clams Steamed in Beer

(Serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as a main course)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small, fresh jalapeno chile, stemmed, and seeded if desired, and sliced into thin rounds
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 large plum tomatoes, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 2 cups light lager beer, such as Corona
• 24 small hard-shelled clams (littlenecks), well scrubbed and rinsed
• 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
• Wedges of lime, as optional accompaniment.

In a large, heavy pot over low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the jalapeno and garlic, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and green onion, raise the heat slightly and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the beer and clams. Cover the pan and raise the heat. Cook the clams, stirring them occasionally, and transfer them with a slotted spoon as they open to shallow serving bowls. (The time will vary, for only a few minutes to as long as 20.) Discard any clams that have not opened after 20 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer set over a deep bowl or measuring cup. Spoon the tomato mixture from the strainer over the clams, dividing it equally. Let the broth settle briefly, then spoon it over the clams, leaving the sandy residue behind.

Sprinkle the cilantro over the clams and serve immediately, accompanied by lime wedges for squeezing if desired.

Ceslie Armstrong from the You, Better show asked to come to my kitchen last week during her Fashion Week reporting. She requested that I cook a healthy and stylish dish for her audience, so I created this recipe. This is truly healthy cooking at its finest…. teeming with great Asian flavors, gluten-free, and quick enough for a busy weeknight. It’s healthy, Better!

SEARED LOIN OF TUNA WITH WATERCRESS SALAD AND SHIRATAKI NOODLES:

SEARED LOIN OF TUNA:

Serves 4

2 tablespoons soy sauce, reduced salt

3 tablespoons grated ginger (on microplane)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated (on microplane)

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 pound sashimi quality fresh tuna loin, cut into 3 x 1 inch pieces.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

3 scallions, finely chopped

In small bowl,  stir together the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, and lime juice.  Place tuna in a shallow container and marinate with the ginger/garlic/soy mixture.  Add a generous grinding of pepper to the tuna, and marinate  for 1 to 2 hours.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, warm the other tablespoon of  oil until hot.  Add the tuna to the skillet and sear, turning occasionally, until well-browned  on all sides and pink in the center, 4-5 minutes.

Transfer to a cutting board, slice thin and serve with the watercress salad and noodles.

Drizzle with the wasabi vinaigrette and garnish with sesame seeds and scallion.

WASABI VINAIGRETTE:

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon wasabi paste

Generous grinding of black pepper

1/2 cup canola oil

In a small food processor (or by hand in a bowl with a whisk), combine the vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, wasabi, and pepper. Process or whisk until smooth. Slowly add the oil, while mixing. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

WATERCRESS SALAD:

2 bunches watercress, cleaned well and tough stems removed

1/4 cup shredded daikon radish

1/4 cup shredded carrot

1/4 cup shredded purple cabbage

Arrange the watercress on the plate and top with daikon, carrot, and cabbage. Drizzle with a little of the vinaigrette.

SHIRATAKI NOODLES:

1 package Shirataki noodles

2 scallions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Cook noodles according to package instruction. Drain and rinse. Drain again and dry as much as possible. Serve alongside tuna and salad. Toss with vinaigrette and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

You all know by now how much I adore cooking with friends.

Being in the food industry for as long as I have, I’ve become friendly with so many amazing chefs and have watched their careers begin from ground zero and then soar 20+ years later. One of those extraordinary chefs is Wayne Nish.

I ran into Wayne a few months ago at the 30^th anniversary for De Gustibus, the cooking school at Macy’s Herald Square. We both taught at the school. I hadn’t seen him in a few years- since he closed his renowned restaurant March.

Wayne Nish has the distinct honor of having a total of 20 stars bestowed upon him by The New York Times over the past 20 years, as well as a Michelin star and countless other awards. An impressive feat for a man who created his own culinary education by tearing through Larousse Gastronomique, the culinary encyclopedia that taught him the nuances of pulling off a flawless béchamel and gloveboning his own poultry. Such was the foundation of Nish’s career, one which has spanned nearly three decades and a considerable range of cuisines.

He has been cooking in Singapore the last few years, at Prive and The Screening Room, but now he’s back in NYC and working on a new project. I asked him if he would come cook with me and catch up on our lives. Besides it was a good excuse for me to learn from a master chef!!!

It was more than pleasure cooking with Wayne….it was mind blowing exciting for me to be in my home kitchen with him. He taught me so many little tips and tricks. I had never made fregola before, and he showed me how easy it is to cook this Italian grain. (see recipe below).

We also slow roasted salmon, which I had never done before.  The philosophy is that when you slow roast a fatty fish like salmon, the collagen melts at the same rate that the protein transforms from raw to cooked. It comes out very tender and fully cooked through. Wayne calls it sex in the mouth…. Oooh I like that phrase…and yes, that’s what it tasted like. You’ve got to try it!!!

FRICASSE OF OYSTERS AND CLAMS WITH SPINACH AND FREGOLA:

3/4 cup fregola

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 lb of clams and oysters

1 small onion, sliced into rounds

1 cup beer

1 bay leaf

½ lb spinach

Chives and chervil for garnish

Bring 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth to a boil, then stir in 3/4 cups of fregola. Let it simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until done. Drain well and set aside in a bowl.

In a med sized pot with a lid, place shellfish, sliced onion, beer, and bay leaf. Add the fregola to the pot.

Let the seafood cook until the shells open (discard any that do not open).

Steam spinach in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Transfer the seafood and fregola to a bowl and garnish with the spinach, chives and chervil.

Serve with warm bread to soak up the sauce.

When I go grocery shopping in the winter, the bright colors of the citrus fruits just seem to leap out at me!The contrast of the vibrant oranges, limes, lemons and grapefruit against the dull gray of winter, call out to me.. Buy me! Buy me!!!  So I did.   Cold weather brings about the peak citrus season and that is what inspired me to create today’s recipe: Roasted Salmon with Blood Orange Salsa.

This dish is healthy, delicious, and perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Fresh wild salmon is roasted simply and topped with a beautiful citrus salsa (which can be made the day before to save time!)

Salmon is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat, due to the high levels of Omega-3s (which are fatty acids needed for a healthy heart), and Vitamin D (a vitamin that most Americans are deficient in!). Combined with the Vitamin C in the salsa, this recipe can’t be beat!

(And don’t forget to store all your citrus fruits at room temperature so that they can produce the most juice!)

ROASTED SALMON WITH BLOOD ORANGE SALSA

Serves 2 people

2 fillets of wild salmon, about 7 oz each

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Juice of 1 lemon

½ garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon agave syrup

Blood Orange Salsa:

2 chopped blood oranges (peeled, separated into segments, and halved)

Juice of 1 blood orange

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced red onion

Juice of 1 lime

1 grapefruit (peeled, separated into segments, and halved)

1 chopped lemon (peeled, separated into segments, and halved)

1 teaspoon agave syrup

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in a shallow baking dish and marinate with the cumin, lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, and agave. Let the fish marinate about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the Salsa: Combine in a glass bowl the following; chopped blood oranges, blood orange juice, white wine vinegar, minced red onion, lime juice, grapefruit, chopped lemon, 1 tsp agave, and the cilantro. Stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

When you are ready to roast the salmon, simply put it (in the same pan it’s been marinating in) into the oven for 15-20 minutes (25 minutes if you prefer your salmon a little more well-done). Then turn the broiler on, and broil your salmon for 4 minutes to create a nice caramelization on the top of the fish (this last step is optional).

When your fish is done, plate it on your individual dinner plates over a bed of arugula, and top it with the delicious salsa. Garnish it with the fresh cilantro and serve.

Products I recommend:

Le Creuset Baking Dish

Organic Blue Agave