CHEFS AND CHAMPAGNE AND THE HAMPTONS

We attended the James Beard Foundation's Chefs and Champagne New York event again this year.  It's an annual affair that honors chefs/authors/ distinguished folks in the food industry and is held at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, NY.    

As we did last year, it was a "last-minute decision" to attend this year's event, so we headed out to Sag Harbor for the weekend. Sag Harbor is my favorite town in the Hamptons and is only about four miles from Sagaponack.  Also, we thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit some of the places that we haven't visited for many years.  Many years.  For me, there are certain places and foods that are a must when visiting the Hamptons.

For example, the Lobster Inn restaurant in Southampton was always a favorite for lunch, and Gosman's Dock in Montauk is perfect for steamers--or any fish. (I know. Montauk isn't really the Hamptons.  It looks and feels more like the Jersey shore). And the Beacon restaurant across the street from the hotel in Sag Harbor is always a great place to enjoy dinner while viewing a beautiful sunset.  

First, the Lobster Inn for lunch.  We always enjoyed the Lobster Inn since we began visiting the restaurant about 14 years ago.  The Inn opened in1969 and has been known for its famous splat. 

Splat - Circa 2000

However, we learned that the Lobster Inn is now called the Lobster Grill after being sold and closed last winter.  The Lobster Grill is a new restaurant operating in the old Lobster Inn facility with no affiliation to the original establishment. I don't even remember if a splat was on the menu because we were ready for oysters, steamers, seared tuna, and a lobster roll.  It was a disappointment.  The oysters were not cleaned properly and had pieces of shell throughout the flesh and were tasteless. The steamers were decent, but the presentation was very sloppy.  The seared tuna looked better than the taste.  And the lobster "roll" was something placed between two slices of bread. 

Oysters

Steamers

Lobster Roll?

Seared Tuna

That was lunch.  After the Lobster Grill, it was time to check into the hotel and rest a little before Chefs and Champagne.

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne

The Chefs and Champagne event went well.  The weather was much cooler than last year and it wasn't as crowded.  Last year, the temperature in the tent must have been over 200 degrees and Emeril Lagasse was the guest of honor with Martha Stewart also attending. This year, Ted Allen was the guest of honor along with the award-winning judges of Chopped, which I learned is one of the most popular shows on the Food Network.  Really?  We chatted and sampled foods from the reception chefs, many of which were James Beard Foundation award winners.  And, as always, we tried to take a few photos.  I said tried.

Ceviche Classico

Chef Erik Ramirez

Chef Cesare Casella

Spiedini di Mortadella

Chef David Bouley

Veg Flan with Crab

Chef Marcus Samuelsson

White Gazpacho

Guest of Honor Ted Allen

Chef Daniel Humm

Chef Simpson Wong

Lobster and Shiso Bun

Chef Aaron Sanchez of Chopped

Chef Chris Santos of Chopped

Chef Geoffrey Zakarin of Chopped and Iron Chef

The next day it was a trip to Gosman's in Montauk. 

Before the Opening and Crowds

The food at Gosman's was much better than the Lobster Grill and certainly met our expectations.  First, was steamers served with fresh lemon, clam broth and drawn butter.  Then, spicy tuna tartare cones (a la Tom Keller).  And since Montauk is known for its fluke, the next dish was Montauk jumbo fluke served atop a tabbouleh salad, with lemon and a brown butter sauce.  Finally, jumbo shrimps stuffed with scallops and diced shrimps with roasted vegetables and potatoes served with a brandy-lobster sauce.

Steamers at Gosman's

Tuna Cones at Gosman's

Montauk Fluke

Stuffed Shrimps

After spending all day in Montauk, we returned to Sag Harbor about 2:00 p.m. and stopped in Muse in the Harbor (www.museintheharbor.com) for a quick martini and to say hello to our new friendly bartender.

Muse in the Harbor at Sag Harbor

We never made it to the Beacon.  Maybe next time 

FINALLY,  we cannot forget that all of this was possible because of our veterans.  This past weekend the Hamptons hosted an event to honor their local heros who served our country and lost their lives.  We saw numerous signs at establishments and local residents throughout the region who proudly sponsored the Wounded Warrior Project which raised funds for the Soldier Ride Organization.  As I always say, "Thank a Vet."  If it wasn't for them.  We would not be here today.

WHITE GAZPACHO WITH TOASTED ALMONDS AND GRAPES

White Gazpacho with Toasted Almonds, Cukes, and Scallions

Same as above with Grapes

I've been on a Latin-culinary kick for a few weeks.  I don't know if it's the recent visit to Zengo, or that I have a supermarket close-by that specializes in Latin ingredients, or it's the mid-summer heat wave.  Anyway, this past week was full of mango, pineapple and avocado salsas, seafood paella, and gazpachos, both white and red.  I didn't have "sandwich" bread or white bread, but did have mini croissants, so that's what I used for the white gazpacho which was very good at first, sans grapes.  Then, I tried the leftover gazpacho with grapes, and now I know why grapes are part of the dish.  This is adapted from several recipes on the Net, one from Dovetail restaurant and another from Ellie Kreiger.  And, as a side note, Chef Marcus Samuelsson will be serving a white gazpacho next week at the Chefs & Champagne event.



Peeled and Seeded Cukes

4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

4 mini croissants (or sandwich bread), crusts removed
1/2 cup warm water
8 garlic cloves

1/2 cup chopped scallion

1/4 cup Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons slivered almonds, lightly toasted, divided
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup green grapes, halved

Reserve one cup of chopped cucumber for a garnish. Soak the bread in water until soft, about 2 minutes. Place soaked bread, the rest of the cucumber, the garlic, 1/4 cup of the scallions, vinegar, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the almonds, and 3 tablespoons of  olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and process until cucumbers are completely blended, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season with pink salt.

All Ingrdients Ready to Blend

To serve, ladle gazpacho into a bowl. Mound reserved chopped cucumber, scallions, grapes and almonds in the center of the soup.

SEAFOOD PAELLA - ARROZ A LA MARINERA

Seafood Paella

This is a recipe adapted from Tienda.com http://www.tienda.com/

1 large onion, finely chopped

5 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Pink Salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of saffron threads

3 small squid, cleaned bodies sliced into 1/4-inch rings

1 1/2 cups medium-grain Spanish paella rice

4 cups lobster (or fish) stock

1 cup dry white wine
4 U5 colossal shrimps, peeled and deveined
2 # mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Saute the onion in the oil in a 15-inch pan until soft, stirring often. Stir in the garlic, and before it begins to color, add the tomatoes. Add the pink salt to taste the sweet paprika and saffron, stir well and cook until tomatoes are reduced to a sauce and the oil is sizzling. Add the squid and cook, stirring for about two minutes. Add the rice and stir well until all the grains are coated.

Separately, bring the stock and wine to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over the rice, bring to a boil, and add salt to. Stir well and spread the rice out evenly in the pan (do not stir again).

U5 Shrimps

Cook the rice over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, moving the pan around and rotating it so that the rice cooks evenly.  Lay the shrimps on top after 10 minutes and turn them when they have become pink on the first side.  Remove shrimps and set aside.  Keep warm.

Add more hot stock toward the end if the rice seems too dry.  When the rice is done, turn off the heat and cover the pan with foil.
Separately, steam the mussels with chopped garlic, about 1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup of water in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. As soon as they open, they are cooked.
Arrange the mussels on top of the paella.

SCALLOP CEVICHE WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER

This is an adapted recipe from Jean-Georges Vongerichten that was featured in the March 2002 issue of FOOD&WINE.  For the past decade, it has been another favorite at my dinner gatherings.  As was pictured in the original photo, I like to serve the scallops in Asian ceramic soup spoons set on a bed of ice with lemon moons to squeeze and drizzle on them, just like oysters are served.  Also, I learned that about 2-3 hours is the best amount of time to let the scallops marinate.  I tried letting them sit overnight once and it was too long.

1lb sea scallops

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon almond oil
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
Pink salt
White pepper
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice

Clean sea scallops, pat dry and cut into 3/4-inch dice.  In a medium bowl, toss the scallops with the citrus juices, canola oil, almond oil, and chili and season lightly with pink salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until the scallops are opaque.  They could be done in about an hour or up to 3 hours.

Add the diced roasted peppers to the scallops.  Season with pink salt and white pepper and stir.

Serve the scallops in large spoons set on a bed of ice. Or, just serve the scallops in their original bowl and provide spoons for each guest.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE SNAPPER IN CITRUS JUICE WITH MANGO SALSA

Red, White and Blue Snapper

The other day, my local fish monger had an abundant supply of whole red snapper. Also, he had some beautiful white and blue snapper steaks. I thought it would be interesting to cook them all and compare flavors, so I selected one whole mini red snapper, one white snapper steak and a blue snapper steak. Since it was the Fourth of July, how could I resist? 

I always make red snapper whole, usually steamed.  I have also made white snapper in fish soup recipes but never made a white snapper steak and have never made a blue snapper.   Although the red snapper was whole and the other two were steaks, they were all about the same thickness (although the photo looks decieving).  My idea was to cook the three fish together in olive oil, butter, fresh lemon and lime juice, garlic, fresh ginger, cilantro and slices of lemons and limes.

For the whole red snapper, I did the typical scores in each side of its flesh then added a slice of garlic, ginger and cilantro into each cut and also inside its cavity.  For each snapper steak, I brushed both with fresh lemon and lime juice, a sprinkling of pink salt and some pepper.

Then I placed a thin layer of olive oil into a pan and added each fish along with some more lemon and lime juice, garlic, ginger, and slices of fresh lemons and limes.  I also added several pats of butter onto each fish.  I put this trifecta into the oven, set at 425 degrees, for about 25 minutes. (A heat wave doesn't prevent me from cooking or turning on the oven.)

The end result was that all the fish were cooked perfectly and at the same temperature. They were tasty and moist and swimming (no pun intended) in their flavorful cooking juice.  Each one had its own unique texture and taste.  The red snapper was very lean and moist with a hint of sweetness.  The white snapper reminded me of Chilean sea bass where it had a very similar flakiness, texture and flavor.  And the blue snapper had a thicker flesh consistency with a much bolder taste similar to that of blue fish.  I served the dish with a mango salsa which was a perfect accompaniment.  The salsa was sweet with a little bit of heat.  I know. Mango salsa is not exactly a Fourth of July dish, but it is always associated with hot climates.  And it was a heat wave.  And it worked.

Cooked Fish.  Not picture perfect, but taste is perfect

Although I don't think that red, white and blue snapper(s) would be a selection on a regular basis, I believe that this combination of ingredients and cooking method worked extremely well and could certainly be used for any fish that has a similar consistency to snapper. 

For the snapper:

One small whole red snapper
One white snapper steak
One blue snapper steak
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sliced garlic
1/2 cup sliced ginger
1/2 cup cilantro - some chopped and some leaves
4 slices of fresh lemon
4 slices of fresh lime
1/4 cup olive oil
6 pats of butter
Pink salt
Pepper

Mango Salsa

For the Mango Salsa, I combined the following:
 
2 mangos, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup of red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of green chili pepper, seeded and chopped
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon lime zest