[last] weekend's dinner party: happy birthday ing

I could not have conjured up a meal more catered to each and every one of my Mom's strongly opinionated epicurean taste-buds if I had tried. I mean really, really tried. And so, I didn't.

You see, the Birthday girl herself picked out the meal for her very special day. And straight she turned to her favorite chef, Suzanne Goin and Sunday Suppers with Lucques. If there's any day that you deserve to have exactly what you want, just the way you want it, it's your Birthday. And this year, Ing wanted to celebrate with Wild Striped Bass with Farro, Black Rice, Green Garlic, and Tangerine--amongst a gaggle of other delectable goodies--and all prepared the day of, while various family members and friends lent their hands and mouths to the preparation of one epic meal of equally epic proportions.

Word to the wise (from the admittedly not-always-so-wise): This is a menu best suited for a smaller crowd. Smaller, perhaps, than even Suzanne's suggestion of six. And yet, we had ten. Because cooking batch after laborious batch of seared Sea Bass while trying desperately not (without succeeding) to melt out of your clothes (if you can't stand the heat...) and simultaneously "entertaining" a guest or two while tasting for seasoning and pouring that extra glass of gloriously chilled Sauvignon Blanc, was not exactly the easiest of tasks. In fact, it was downright daunting. Perhaps pushing a bit more towards masochistic. But hey, it's all for the best of causes. And silver lining? We became the entertainment.

Because understand this: This meal is so spectacularly special, refreshing, lively, I'd shutter at the thought of anyone not being able to treat themselves to it--if not but only once--to fully experience the mélange of textures and flavors that come together here. Each and every note pronounced and yet, with certain inexplicable subtleties that can only come from the most professional and well-seasoned of chefs.

And from the Birthday girl with the impeccable eye and taste to spot a phenomenal menu--the phenomenal menu--when she sees it.

"Sooo...should we, like, start soon?"

Wild Striped Bass with Farro, Black Rice, Green Garlic, and Tangerine

Recipe Courtesy Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin

Serves 6

6 wild striped bass fillets, 5 to 6 oz. each, skin on

3 tangerines, zested, plus 1-1/2 cups fresh juice

1 tbsp. thyme leaves

2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. granulated sugar

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

farro and black rice with green garlic pea shoots (recipe to come)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Season the fish with the tangerine zest, thyme, and parsley. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Remove the fish from the refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking, to bring it to room temperature.

Slice the stem and bottom ends from the tangerines. Stand the tangerines on one end and, following the contour of the fruit with a sharp knife, remove the cottony white pith. Work from top to bottom and rotate the fruit as you go. Then hold each tangerine over a bowl and carefully slice between the membranes and the fruit to release the segments in between. Discard all the seeds. You should have about 1/3 cup tangerine segments.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Swirl in the olive oil and wait 1 minute. Carefully lay the fish in the pan, skin side down, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the skin is crisp. Turn the fish over, lower the heat to medium0low, and cook a few more minutes until the bass is almost cooked through. Be carefully not to overcook the fish. When it's done, the fist will begin to flake and separate a little, and the center will still be slightly translucent. Remember, the fish will continue to cook a bit more once you take it out of the pan.

Wipe out the pan and return it to the stove over medium-high heat. Add the tangerine juice and sugar and bring to a boil. When the juice has reduced by half, turn the heat down to low and quickly whisk in the butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the tangerine segments. Taste for seasoning.

Place the farro and black rice with green garlic and pea shoots on a large warm platter. Arrange the bass on top, and spoon the sauce over the fish.

Grilled Pizza with Swiss Chard, Goat Cheese, Currants, and Pine Nuts

Recipe adapted* from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques

1 ball of fresh pizza dough

1 large bunch Swiss chard, cleaned, center ribs removed

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup sliced shallots

1 extra-large egg yolk

1/2 cup crème fraiche

6 ounces semi-aged goat cheese

currant-pine nut relish (recipe follows)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tear the chard into large pieces. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the shallots, and the thyme. Sauté a few minutes, add half the Swiss chard. Cook a minute or two, tossing the greens, and season with a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until the greens are tender.

Spread the greens on a baking sheet or platter to cool. When they've cooled, squeeze the excess water out with your hands.

Place the ricotta, egg yolk, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Purée until smooth, and remove to a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the crème fraiche, and season with a healthy pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and place on pizza peel. When grill is up to temperature, brush olive oil onto one side of the pizza dough and place (oil side down) dough onto grill. Brush the other side of the dough with olive oil, close the grill, and allow to cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, flip the pizza dough onto the other side and close the lid for another 3 minutes. Remove cooked pizza dough from the grill, turn it down to low, and bring pizza back inside.

Spread the ricotta mixture on the grilled pizza base. Arrange the greens on top and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Place back on grill (just before serving) for two minutes to heat through.

When ready to serve, spoon some of the currant-pine nut relish over the pizza and cut into slice with a pizza cutter or large knife. Pass the remaining currant-pine nut relish in a small bowl for anyone who would like a little more.

*The original recipe calls for making this into a tart with puff pastry. This was our alternative.

Currant-Pine Nut Relish

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 sprig rosemary

1 chile de arbol (or a sprinkle of chile flakes)

3/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/3 cup dried currants

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat a small sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, and add the olive oil, rosemary and chile. When the rosemary and chile start to sizzle, add the onion nad season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn the heat down to low, and let the onions stew gently for about 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a small bowl to cool and discard the rosemary sprig and chile.

While the onion is cooking, place the currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the currants soak for 10 minutes, and then drain well.

Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan the onions were in, and reduce it over medium-high heat to a scant 1 tablespoon. Stir the reduced vinegar into the onion mixture.

Add the toasted pine nuts, currants, and parsley to the onion mixture, and stir to combine. Taste for balance and seasoning.

fourth of july recap

Every time Summer rolls around, a rather fierce internal battle gets triggered and I start to question why in God's name I am living in New York City when I escape to Connecticut nearly every weekend. Truth of the matter is, I love being there. I mean, for one thing, it's home. But it's relaxed--nothing is rushed, it's a million times easier to get from point A to point B, I'm predominantly on the water with friends, and I will admit I tend to eat a heck of a lot better there too (perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I can actually cook in a spacious kitchen).

So again: Why am I living here? And not there?

As soon as the weather cools down again, I'll be reminded, I'm sure. But until then, I'll default to looking at these pictures, longingly and ad nauseum, until the next weekend I get to return home, boat bag in hand, and a head full of recipes to try, and snap some more.

Plum-Red Wine Sorbet: halved plums, red wine, sugar, water, orange peel, mint, peppercorns, basil.

Strained and pureed sorbet base ready for the ice cream maker.

Rosé on a boat.

I chatted with this lady for a few minutes to get the scoop: she and her husband caught the oysters in North Fork the night before and she was rinsing and shucking them to get them ready for the grill. Grilled oysters were to be topped with a simple mignonette sauce. I was practically doggy paddling my way over to her in hopes of getting a taste. No dice. But mad props to ya, Spots and Shots.

Bruschetta, olive tapenade, truffle tremor, and a sheep's milk cheese were brought and prepared by a friend and chef at Chocopologie in South Norwalk. Tip: befriend a chef as often as you possibly can.

White Peach Sangria: sliced peaches, orange, and lime, a sprinkle of sugar, a glug of triple sec, and fill the rest of the pitcher up with white wine. Allow to groove for at least a couple of hours. Serve over ice.

Great way to do mussels on the grill for a crowd: In a large disposable aluminum tray, add plenty of butter, some olive oil, copious amounts of grated garlic, a dash of red pepper flakes, and some kosher salt. Place tray on grill over high heat and allow butter to melt. Splash in some dry white wine, dump in your mussels, cover tray with aluminum foil, close the grill, and allow mussels to steam for a few minutes (until all the shells have opened. any unopened shells, discard). Top with tons of chopped fresh parsley, toss, and immediately bring to the table. Dig in.

Doing what (it would appear to be) I know best: grilled pizzas. In an ode to the holiday, I did one pizza with red onion, shredded mozzarella, and sliced, grilled kielbasa. It was then topped with a sprinkling of baby arugula, balsamic-marinated roasted red pepper strips, and served with a sweet-spicy mustard for optional dipping. Let's just say I may or may not have eaten my weight in kielbasa this weekend.

Scoop of Plum-Red Wine Sorbet, scoop of store bought vanilla ice cream, a few fresh blueberries: Happy Fourth of July.

This tends to inevitably be the aftermath: Bose cranked up to maximum capacity, blaring none other than the late Michael Jackson, ice cold Corona Light in hand. Happy place.

Hope you all had the happiest, most festive, safe, and more importantly, delicious, Fourth of July.

a happy memorial day

Disclaimer: No burgers and dogs to be found here. We took care of that the night before. So on Memorial Day we defaulted to grilled pizzas, which by now, I'm sure you're sick and tired of hearing about. But more often than not, it hits the spot like nothing else. And if it ain't broke, fire up the grill, and throw on some pizza dough. (My secret ingredient? Homemade garlic oil to brush both sides of the dough with so it doesn't stick to the grill.)

sparkling lemonade with peaches, mint, and lime

grilled pizzas with grated zucchini, white onion, goat's milk brie, and basil

grilled pizza with chaumes, white onion, arugula, and prosciutto

alongside? an arugula salad with sliced peaches

pizza makes it all better

Sorry. So sorry for my long hiatus and absence of posts. I've been sick. And for far too long for a "I'm never sick" kinda gal. And since the Mucinex, Claritin, Advil thing didn't seem to shut my symptoms up, it was to the Doctor I went, followed by the Pharmacy Counter followed by bed rest. For three days. No, really. I'm staring at a legitimate Doctor's Note. While I'm still not in tip-top shape, I'm rooting for this Antibiotic to rid me of this overall feeling of awfulness once and for all.

And ahh, sorry for that unintentional sympathy-fest. Just wanted to clue you all in as to my whereabouts as of late!

Anyhow, needless to say, there wasn't much good eats going on to report about, besides a few bottles of particularly delicious Orange Gatorade and some rotisserie chicken of which I could not tell you what it tasted like. However, on Wednesday Ing wanted to have some friends for dinner and in a dire need to feel and experience some sense of normalcy, I started writing a grocery list and directed the meal into place.

The sun was shining and even if I couldn't sit outside and enjoy it, I sent Ing out to the grill with pizza dough and homemade garlic oil and instructed her to slap 'em on the grill, oil up the other side, close the lid, and let that dough get some seriously handsome grill marks. In the kitchen, I thinly sliced some white onion and zucchini and got ready for my perfectly charred and 3/4 of the way cooked through pizza bases to come inside.

Then they were topped with shredded mozzarella, onion, and zucchini and drizzled with just a touch more garlic oil and into a 400F oven they went as soon as guests arrived to lovingly melt the cheese and soften the vegetables just a tad. Out of the oven, they were sprinkled with plenty of fresh basil, mint, and dollops of fresh ricotta.

I'm not sure a lovelier Springtime meal (for lunch or dinner) exists. And for what it's worth, I could actually taste it. Enjoy it. Shower in the sensation of fresh, vibrant flavors.

grilled pizza a la mario batali

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