Crime Rib (Food Lovers' Village) (26 page)

I sipped my wine. If feng shui brought this much life to a dusty old courtyard, it could work miracles at Bear Grass.

Ned offered to review their wine and drink offerings. That left Tony and Mimi, who exchanged a private look.

“Right now,” Mimi said, “all I can do is tell her I forgive her. Over the winter, maybe we can help her revamp her menu.”

“And add this filet?” I said. “Call it Drew’s Special?”

She wiped away a tear.

Ned poured more wine. “Fresca, did ya ever imagine, back when we started Summer Fair?”

The dark red liquid caught the light as she swirled her glass. “How it would grow? Take over the town for an entire weekend? That so many artists would come to depend on it?” She shook her head. “And now the next generation’s taken over, with their energy and ideas.”

“Time for s’mores,” I called. I’d prevailed on Greg Taylor to drop by this morning and hook up the propane patio heater and set up the charcoal fire pit. Landon handed me one of the long toasting sticks he and his dad had cut and I speared a plump white square, rubbed my stars, crossed my fingers, and hoped that Candy Divine’s marshmallows wouldn’t melt the moment flames licked them.

I crouched next to the pit and let my marshmallow turn a delicate golden brown, then sandwiched it between two of Wendy’s chocolate-covered graham crackers.

“Mmm,” I said, my mouth gooey and half stuck together. I raised the rest of my cookie in a toast. “Here’s to the sweet life.”

Hear, hear.

Tasting Notes

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C
ELEBRATE
S
UMMER
WITH
T
HE
M
URPHY
C
LAN

Triple Mezzo

In the Mediterranean world,
meze
or
mezzo
are what Americans call appetizers.

An antipasto of hummus, olive tapenade, and goat cheese. Use an ice cream scoop to mound the three spreads in the center of a serving plate and surround them with crostini, crackers, or pita wedges, sprayed with oil and grilled. Kalamata olives and chunks of feta make this extra special.

(Fresca shared her bestselling recipe for olive tapenade in
Death al Dente
.
)

Baked Stuffed Brie

If a perfect taste combo can be made more perfect, the sweet, earthy fig jam will do it.

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (about 30 minutes)

16-ounce wheel of Brie

¼ cup fig jam, optional

¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted (at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes)

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly flour a surface and roll the puff pastry into an 18-inch circle. Slice the Brie in half horizontally and place the bottom half on the pastry. Spread the fig jam and top with the almonds and parsley, reserving a few almonds for garnish. Replace the top half of the Brie. Brush the pastry edges with the beaten egg and wrap the cheese; trim the pastry if necessary. Place the package on an ungreased baking sheet. (If you don’t like how your wrapped cheese looks, place the seams down.) Top with the remaining almonds and bake for 20 minutes. Let sit about 10 minutes before serving, with crackers, crostini, or a sliced baguette.

Toasted Pecan Caesar Salad

Bill adds a tang to the classic Caesar with a touch of mustard and a few capers, along with a handful of nuts. If you are making your own croutons, add garlic and salt to the olive oil when you toss them before baking. Many good bakeries and specialty stores sell yummy croutons made from day-old bread—get to know your local Wendy!

½ cup chopped, toasted pecans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 medium clove garlic, crushed

pinch of salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1½ teaspoons anchovy paste, optional

1 teaspoon capers

½–1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, to taste

1⁄3 cup olive oil

1 large head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces

2 cups croutons

1⁄3 cup shaved or grated fresh Parmesan

lemon wedges, optional

Toast the pecans at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes. Remember that nuts continue to crisp up as they cool, so don’t overbake.

Coddle the egg:
Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the egg; boil for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the egg and cool it by rinsing it with cold water and letting it sit in a bowl of cold water. The idea is to heat the egg without hardening the yolk or white.

Make the dressing:
Mix the Worcestershire, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, anchovies, capers, and Dijon in a small bowl. Add the egg and whisk smooth. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking continuously. (If you add the oil all at once, it will separate and not emulsify.)

When ready to serve, put the chopped romaine in a large bowl. Add half the dressing and toss to coat. Add the rest of the dressing, the nuts, croutons, and Parmesan, and toss well. Serve on chilled plates with a lemon wedge. Serves 4–6.

Grilled Flank Steak

MARINADE

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

½ cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced

OTHER INGREDIENTS

1½ pounds flank steak, well trimmed of fat

2 large oranges, peeled, cut in half across the segments, and thinly sliced

fresh mint (whole leaves if small, or cut in ribbons, known as a chiffonade), for garnish

In a shallow glass or ceramic dish, combine the ingredients for the marinade. Add the steak; turn once to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, turning the steak occasionally. Remove the steak. Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and bring to a boil; set aside.

Heat the grill. Sear the steak 1½ minutes per side. Flip to the first side, brush with a little marinade, and cook 5 minutes, then turn and continue cooking, brushing occasionally with marinade. Test for doneness. (Flank steak is best cooked slightly pink; if well done, it becomes chewy.) Transfer to a carving board and cover with foil or a pot lid and let rest, about 5–7 minutes, so the juices can return to the meat.

Arrange orange slices on the outer edge of a platter. Slice the steak diagonally across the grain into very thin slices and arrange in the center of the platter; garnish with mint. Serves 6.

Erin’s Two Bean and Pesto Salad

1 pound fresh green beans (the thin or French style, also called
haricots vert
, works best)

1 14-ounce can white beans

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 small white onion, chopped fine (sweet, red, or green onions also work well, but a yellow onion will be too strong)

2 cups basil leaves

1 or 2 cloves garlic, to taste

½ cup olive oil, more or less

½ cup Parmesan, grated

¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

Steam the beans until tender-crunchy (start checking after about 3 minutes). Rinse, drain, and cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces, about 1 inch long. Rinse and drain the white beans. Mix the vegetables and beans in a large bowl and toss with pesto. Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled, by itself or on a bed of greens.

Pesto:
In a small (2-cup) food processor, loosely chop fresh basil leaves. Toss in 1 or 2 cloves of garlic—the pesto will blend more easily if you slice or chop the cloves first. Drizzle in olive oil and pulse. Add the oil and pulse until you get a good consistency for mixing with other ingredients. Add grated Parmesan and, if you’d like, pine nuts or walnuts, and pulse to mix well.

The World’s Best Grilled Chicken Breasts

The flavorful marinade makes this chicken incredibly moist. And since you’ve got the grill hot, serve with grilled naan. Brush olive oil on both sides of the naan and grill 3 to 4 minutes on each side. The grilling brings out the natural sweetness of the bread and is a great complement to the salad and chicken.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, well trimmed

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1⁄3 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1½ tablespoons olive oil

thyme sprigs for garnish

Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand or the flat of a chef’s knife, to promote even grilling. Place in a shallow glass dish.

Make
the marinade:
Put the mustard, vinegar, garlic, and honey in a small bowl. Crumble in the thyme and pepper flakes and add the salt; stir to combine. Whisk in the olive oil. Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover, and marinate; 2 hours is optimal, but even 20 minutes will make for a moist chicken. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, to kill off any germs from the raw chicken.

Grill:
Erin uses a gas grill, preheated to medium. For a charcoal grill, heat until the coals are gray. Lightly coat your grill rack with a cooking spray, if needed. Place the chicken on the grill, basting frequently with the cooked marinade, about 6 minutes on each side. And don’t flip the darned things back and forth—leave them put! Check for doneness, then transfer to a serving plate and garnish with thyme sprigs. Serves 4.

Huckleberry-Morel Tenderloin—It Woulda Been a Contender!

For a large group, cook a whole tenderloin and slice to serve.

SAUCE

1 medium shallot, diced

2 tablespoons butter

1⁄3 cup morel mushrooms, cleaned and chopped (if morels aren’t available, use the stems from your portobello mushrooms)

1 cup huckleberries or blueberries

2 tablespoons A.1. Steak Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup red wine

OTHER INGREDIENTS

4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed

olive oil

4 (6-ounce) filets or tenderloins

fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Make the sauce:
Sauté diced shallot in the butter until soft. Add the chopped mushrooms and sauté briefly. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until thickened and reduced by roughly half, about 10 minutes. (The sauce can sit while you steam the mushrooms and grill the filets.)

Prepare the mushrooms and steaks:
Grill your steaks to your desired temperature. Meanwhile, brush or spray both sides of the portobello caps with olive oil. Grill until tender, about 5 minutes a side.

Plating:
Place a mushroom cap on the plate, gills up, and top with steak. Spoon the berry sauce over the steak and mushroom, and garnish with a sprig of thyme. Serve with the rest of the red wine and enjoy! Serves 4.

Chocolate Mousse Cups

Don’t let the idea of mousse scare you—this one is super-easy. (Moose, now, are another story.)

3½–4½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 eggs, at room temperature, separated

pinch of salt

1½ teaspoons sugar

chocolate tasting cups

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a saucepan large enough to hold the rest of the ingredients. Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until they begin to form peaks. Continue beating and gradually add the sugar. Beat until the whites are shiny and hold medium-firm peaks.

Spoon about a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture and stir until nearly smooth. (Stirring a bit of the whites first makes it easier to fold in the rest.) Fold in the remaining whites until mixed, being careful not to overmix and beat out the bubbles. (A few streaks actually look quite nice.)

If you are using chocolate cordial cups, use a teaspoon and a small spatula to fill them. This recipe will easily fill 3 dozen cups, perfect for a reception or holiday party. The mousse can also be spooned into curved chocolate puffed rice wafers.

For an after-dinner dessert, spoon the mousse into individual serving bowls or a larger serving bowl. If you’re ready to eat, go ahead; if not, chill before serving. This recipe serves 4 but can easily be doubled.

(Erin discovered Dobla brand Dark Chocolate Cordial & Tasting Cups and Belgian Chocolate Thins puffed rice wafers at World Market, in her city days. Lacking a stash, she melts dark chocolate and paints it on the inside of small paper or foil muffin cups; she lets them harden, then fills them. Other fillings, including mascarpone, are also yummy.)

•  •  •  •  •

D
INE
C
HEZ
M
AX

Max’s Blue Cheese, Apple, and Walnut Salad

A 3–4-ounce chunk of blue cheese

½ cup walnut halves, toasted

mixed salad greens

one Granny Smith apple

olive oil and balsamic vinegar or a balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)

Toss the blue cheese (well-wrapped in plastic) in your freezer for about half an hour. Toast chopped walnut halves at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Place mixed greens in your serving bowl. Slice a Granny Smith apple thinly and layer on top. Add the walnuts. Use a cheese slicer or potato peeler to curl slices of blue cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or vinaigrette.

Max serves the salad on individual plates with the walnuts and apple slices on the side.

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

1 cup walnut oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl, or combine in a jar with a tightly fitting lid and shake to combine or emulsify the dressing. (Walnut oil is thinner than olive oil, so make sure the jar lid is tight and shake with care, to avoid a leaky mess.)

Max’s House Salad

mixed salad greens

½ cup hazelnuts, toasted (at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes)

¼ cup raisins

olive oil and orange Champagne vinegar

3–4 ounces crumbly goat cheese

Toss mixed greens with toasted hazelnuts and juicy raisins. (If your raisins are dry, plump them for a few minutes in warm water, then drain well. Best to do this an hour before serving, if you think of it, to let them drain and cool.) Dress with a fruity olive oil and orange Champagne vinegar, and top with crumbled goat cheese.