Clams Casino

Summer is upon us. Crossing the road requires advanced planning ( if I can take a right & then a left). People are settling in for the summer, my children seem to be very happy …Jess too. We dined in the “Tavern room” at the 1770 house on Thursday no kids just us.
Tonight may well have been our biggest night yet in the kitchen @ The Lodge. My post was the grill, Charlie Trotter and his wife came to visit. He was honored by The James Beard House at their annual Wolffer estate event. The day was perfect. They arrived early for the reservation, a surprise. Jessica was in for dinner with the Simon girls and she visited with the Trotteer’s…giving me time to catch up on the line.

The salad was top billing for me…….our 34 oz Porterhouse sold out
Charlie ordered Clams casino, crab cakes and a NY strip (med.)


Clams Casino

1 doz Little necks
Red Butter……1 lb soft unsalted/1/2 cup red pepper diced fine/ ½ cup shallots fine/ 2 tablespoons garlic chopped
4 sliced applewood smoked bacon

More Kitchen Chronicles

This morning was harvest day at The Little Kitchen. First a 1/6 pan of blueberries followed by garlic scapes. The garlic topset flowers are ready for Scampi. Trying to separate the tiny cloves with your fingers is futile. Best to peel the outer cover that remains away and then place your palm on top of the bulb over a counter top and press down with a twist. These little cloves replace pre chopped garlic for about a week. Combine in the pan with butter, opal and Genovese basil as the content begins to spit throw in 5 shrimp, a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt. Raul’s serving them with a bed of Jasmine rice and yellow zucchini cut into bit size pieces sautéed with butter and young onions.

At the Lodge it was Jansil Valley Brandywine tomato and Mozzarella salad. The tomato delivery arrived early, expensive tomatoes in an impressive box, very cold. When you go to the trouble of sourcing heirloom tomatoes expectations run high, these tomatoes were excellent yesterday. All the same we slice them and layered them with fresh mozzarella.
Layed out on the plate split in half along side a salad of Lemon cucumber sliced in half moons, tossed with garlic scape seeds and thinly sliced young onions in basalmic vinaigrette. The dish is finished with a squezze of basil oil followed by balsamic reduction over the tomato and mozzarella.

It was Sophie Mangus’s birthday today. Her party was at the beach, in the wake of a rain storm that crossed Long Island with a fury. As I drove to the beach the swans on hook pond caught my eye. It was if the family was waiting for me. With only one signet left they were happy to greet me and pose for the camera.

Pan Roasted Striped Bass

It’s getting hot in there. Last night we must have seen the temperature on the line exceed 120. Standing in front of the broiler, moving steaks from left to right, adding cheese to burgers, thumping the meat to test for doneness, no experience in cooking that I’ve ever had has been quite so extreme. The fish station is not quite as hot however it seems to get the lions share of our business. Striped bass is extremely popular, we’ve been serving it with asparagus, shitake mushrooms and grilled orange slices topped with citrus buree blanc.
The same dish is finding success at The Little Kitchen. Just outside the back door my garlic has matured. Yesterday the buds popped open and their light purple seeds are now exposed. Ancient looking plants in the last phase of summer life, hard to believe we’re already ½ way through the season.

Pan Roasted Striped Bass

1 30 inch striped bass should yield 8 to 10 nice 5oz pieces.
After removing the bones from filets (leave skin on) cut an x on the skin side of each piece, be careful not to cut into the sides just score the center of each piece.
When you are ready to begin cooking use a paper towel to dry the skin and the rub a tablespoon of soft butter on each filet. Set up a few sauté pans on high flame and place the fish skin down in the pans, no more than 2 to each pan. Place in a 450 oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

To prepare the burre blanc:
Squeeze the juice from 2 navel oranges
Chop 4 shalots
Dice 1 small red pepper
¼ cup white wine
1 lb unsalted butter (cut into 10 pieces)
Combine shallots and orange juice in a sauce pan and stir over high heat, then add the wine, reduce by ½. Now turn the heat down to simmer and add butter slowly, stirring with a rubber spatula, add more butter as each piece melts and then once all of the butter is melted add the red pepper. Remove from heat and hold in a warm place.

Grill 1 bunch of blanched asparagus tossed in oil and 2 sliced oranges rubbed w/ oil.

Sauté 3 cups of sliced shitake mushrooms with 2 chopped shallots, 3 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of herb and salt. When the mushrooms begin to get crisp over high flame it’s time to plate. Place a spoon full of mushrooms in the center of each plate and then top with 4 grilled asparagus pieces. Place 1 piece of fish on each plate and top with a slice of grilled orange then spoon the buree blanc over the fish.

Monkfish

The Lodge sold out of Monkfish last night, Saturday is fish night. Sunday no monk sold, stuck holding 10 lbs. The dish was to be sold as local Montauk Monkfish, pea pods from East Hampton, yellow wax beans from Sag Harbor, garlic & basil from our garden. The garlic buds were tossed with all else in the pan and they held shape, curly and bright green.
The staff was thin this evening, 2 waiters, one hit. No specials sold.

At the Little Kitchen garlic buds are reaching for the sky, the base of each plant almost as thick as my “pinky finger”. Behind The Lodge my plants are smaller and more plentiful. This recipe represents the seasons’ first garlic bulb harvest. Tops and bottoms made on to every plate.

Monkfish is thick, it takes a long time to cook. Use a hot oven and don’t pull it off the flame until it caramelizes on both sides. Prior to putting it in the oven hit the pan with a shot of white wine, if the liquid has been cooked off when you pull the fish from the oven, chances are the fish is cooked through. Place the filets on veg. prep and then hit the pan w/ a shot of chicken stock and a good pinch of herb, a pat of butter, reduce and top each piece of fish with a spoon full of “pan gravy”.

The Little Kitchen continues to rock with Raul and Julia in charge. Today our team Served 205 people for breakfast and lunch, 45 for dinner, the temp outside was 75 and every moment was full. Cool days and clear skies make every moment a little easier.

Pan Roasted Monkfish w/ Orzo, spring veg. & pan gravy

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, salt it and then add 1 bag of Orzo, after 5 minutes strain and add good oil, lay out on a sheet pan and refrigerate.

2 cups pea pods
2 cups yellow wax beans
3 slices spring garlic
1 tablespoon butter
6 young leeks, split stem to stern
4 garlic buds
2 cups of blanched orzo
¼ cup sliced basil leaves
½ cup chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste