Summer Shrimp Roll with Tequila & Sangrita, Broadstreet Coleslaw

Summer is here and that means refreshing light food. While lobster rolls are all the rage right now, a very fresh shrimp roll is just as good. Paired with crisp coleslaw (homemade of course) it's a great meal. Finish it off with chilled tequila, some spicy Sangrita for a chaser and cold cerveza dipped in Lime Chili salt. Summer never tasted so good!

Shrimp Roll - Serves 4

1.25 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined.

2 large spoonfuls of mayo (about 1 cup)

2 Tbsp. Dairygold Irish Butter

Club Rolls

Minced Parsley

Paprika

1 shallot, finely diced

1 lemon, juiced and zest

S&P

Shrimp Court Bouillon:

3 stalks celery, rough cut

Shells from the shrimp

Black Pepper

Salt

1 lemon, cut in half and juiced

Fill a pot with cold water, add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes, then let steep another 15 minutes. Strain and reserve the liquid.

In a large bowl combine the shredded cabbage and all the other ingredients. There should be enough liquid to almost cover the cabbage mixture. Make sure to add enough mayo until the liquid is thick. Reserve in the fridge, best after 24 hours to marinate.

Heat oven to 425f. Butter the rolls, and toast till golden. Set aside.

Bring the shrimp court bouillon to a very low simmer, add the shrimp. Poach till the color of the shrimp turns pink and they feel firm to the touch. Don't over cook! Remove, and chop the shrimp in small pieces. Add the shrimp to a bowl with the mayo, parsley, lemon juice, shallot, 1 tablespoon butter and S&P. Add paprika to taste. Spoon into the warm rolls and serve with coleslaw.

Broadstreet Smokehouse Coleslaw

1 head cabbage, sliced thinly on a bias

Mayo

3 cloves minced garlic

2 carrots, shredded

Cider Vinegar

Half & Half

S&P

Garlic Salt

Onion Powder

Sugar to taste

Serve with Cold Blanco Tequila or a good Mezcal and the Sangrita.

Spicy Sangrita:

12oz tomato juice

6 oz Orange Juice

2 oz grapefruit juice (optional)

1 oz lime juice

2 oz hot sauce (I used habanero hot sauce, very spicy)

1 teaspoon salt and pepper each

Combine all ingredients and chill. Serve with tequila and cold beers dipped in Chili Lime Salt with lime wedges.

Sorbet, A series. Strawberry, Avocado, Lambic

As the first day of spring has just passed, it seemed fitting to tame the cold and start thinking of warmer weather. With an odd array of ingredients at hand, sorbet was spun and the results were fantastic. Each flavor had a unique texture, and the  balance of sweet, rich, and sour were highly refreshing.

Left to Right:

Strawberry, Avocado, Raspberry Lambic

The Avocado "Ice Cream" Sorbet right from the machine

Corn Soup with Chili Dorito Chicken

So I was given a challenge, to crust something with Sweet Chili Doritos and make it tasty. My thought process was corn chips and corn, spices with something cooling like cucumber. End result, corn soup with Dorito crusted chicken breast and cucumber crostini.

Caramelizing the corn

Crusted Chicken

Corn Soup after blending

The garnish in the bowl before the soup

Cucumber crostini with indian spices, peppercorns, and greek yogurt

The final dish, Spicy Sweet Chili Dorito Crusted Chicken, corn soup, blueberries, and paprika

The ingredients laid out

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Striploin

So for the 4th of July this year, I got a great whole strip loin steak from work for the BBQ. I had about a quarter of it left, and decided to do a simple roast. The flavor was incredible, and the meat was very very tender. Super simple to make, a meal like this is great cause once the prep work is done, you basically forget about it in the oven.

The Strip after being seared hard with salt and pepper, then rubbed down with chopped rosemary, garlic, pink salt, and olive oil. Roasted at 400f for about 20 minutes, then reduced to 375f for about 30 minutes.

The roast out of the oven. Resting for 15 minutes is essential. Final temp was about 140f.

The roast right after slicing.

Roasted Rosemary Garlic Strip loin with sauteed spinach and olive oil potatoes

2008 J Lohr Paso Robles Merlot

Lots of dark fruit and plum flavors, and also kind of gamey. Great with the roast.

Lamb Ravioli with greek yogurt

Homemade Lamb Ravioli with greek yogurt, mint, and piquillo peppers.

Sometimes as a cook you hit a home-run with a dish that you create. For me, this particular dish was just that. It had the perfect balance of tender black bass with a crispy skin, lemon-mustard leek veloute sauce with chervil, perfectly cooked wax beans that snapped when you ate them, and heartly smashed potatoes with chives. This is something I would proudly serve on my menu any day, with a cold glass of Gavi de Gavi.

For dessert, homemade cream puffs filled with whipped cream and glazed in chocolate

Black Sea Bass Filets, lightly floured and sauteed.

Steamed wax beans

Fish Fumet with Gavi white wine, then reduced and turned into a leek, mustard veloute

Smashed multicolored potatoes, with butter and chives

Cream puffs waiting for the chocolate to set

The other day, I had this craving for a risotto while I was working. We don't actually serve risotto at work, but oddly enough the smell of garlic emanating from someones order of steak tartar (the garlic is smeared on the bread for flavor) made me have this craving.

At home, the process was simple enough. Sauteed Cremini and Shitake mushrooms with thyme and rosemary were cooked and cooled. These were then added to the risotto which was cooked with chicken stock, Prosecco,  & white truffle oil. Once the rice was done, it was finished with black truffle salt and parsley.

I spotted the wine on the top shelf at our local wine store with some of the french wines, Aloxe-Corton. I knew this wine would be amazing (thanks to some past talks with my sommelier friend Vanessa) with a rich mushroom-y dish. It was a meal made in heaven.

The finished dish

White truffle and shitake risotto

A very nice wine indeed......