Bass Week 2013

This week on the blog is going to be Bass Week. On Sunday I went fishing for striped bass in Montauk with some friends. It was so much fun! We chartered a fishing boat and pushed off at 5:30am. 

It was an early start for sure, but worth it. We caught the most fish right before/at sunrise. Maria caught this huge 35 lb striper.

I was catching bluefish for a while but finally reeled in two stripers.

Corn Broth and Frozen Corn

At the end of the summer, I suggest everyone goes out and buys 2 dozen ears of corn to freeze. Late August/September corn is so delicious, and having some on hand in the winter is such a treat. I like to saute it with chorizo, make corn and black bean salad, or make lobster corn fritters. Just throw the husked corn into boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then cut the kernels off the cobs. Put them into several ziploc sandwich bags and throw them in the freezer. So easy.

I also like to take all of the leftover cobs and put them back in the pot of water with a few onions and sprigs of basil and let it cook for an hour or so until you get this amazing corn broth. (You can throw in carrots or scallions or other herbs too.) I put that in the freezer, then use it for corn soups or chowders. It really adds an extra, deep, sweet corn flavor.

Brooklyn Farmacy

Brooklyn Farmacy is so adorable. It's an old-timey diner in a space that used to be a pharmacy. They have delicious milk shakes and the food is excellent. Jamie and I went on Saturday and had a great lunch. I had the pastrami sandwich and it was incredible. It was a pastrami sandwich on thin rye toast with melted cheddar cheese and sour kraut. It was so delicious and the cheese was gooey and it was so flavorful. It came with a little mustard to dip. Yum! If you're in the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, stop by for lunch. I also can't wait to try one of the sundaes. We were eyeing the people next to us who had some sort of peanut butter sundae that looked fantastic.

Spicy Pork Meatballs and Fennel Tomato Sauce

These meatballs are great - the pickled peppers give them a unique spicy flavor - and the sauce goes really well with them. The fennel gives it a little sweetness and not too strong of an anise flavor. I have lots of leftover meatballs, so I plan to make a meatball sub for dinner tomorrow. You could also just serve them with toothpicks as an hors d'oeuvre.

Ingredients:

Meatballs

2 lb ground pork shoulder

2 cups bread, cut into 1/4" cubes

2 tbsp chopped fennel fronds

2 cloves of garlic, mashed into a paste

10 pickled pepper slices, minced

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Blueberry-Blackberry Tarts

Jamie loves blackberries, and when he had all of his friends over to do his football draft (taking over our living room/TV) I needed an activity. We had this great tart pan that I still hadn't had a chance to use, so I thought it was a perfect time to try a tart. Yum! It was really great. Super fresh and summery, and the crust is incredible. You have to make it yourself instead of buying premade pie crust because the tart crust is different than pie crust. It's more like shortbread. It's a little tougher to work with, but it's so tasty. Jamie brought some to work and it was gone within half an hour. It's a bit of a labor of love, but well worth it. It's not too sweet and really concentrates the berry flavor.

Ingredients:
Crust
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled

Tart
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large egg plus 1 large white
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp grated lemon zest, plus 1 1/2 tsp juice
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp heavy cream
12 oz (or more) mix of blueberries and blackberries

Adobo-Marinated Fish

 

This is an excellent, affordable weeknight meal (from my fave Mexican book). The adobo sauce is pretty quick to whip up, and you can buy a cheaper type of fish (still want fresh) as you're getting so much flavor from the adobo. Top the fish with a little pico de gallo and a fresh squeeze of lime, and it's just delicious. I made it twice last week with blue fish (a fish I usually don't like, but in this case it works really well) and I think I may make it again this week. One time (pictured) I made a quick black bean dish as a side. Yum!

If you like Mexican food, I recommend keeping your pantry stocked with a variety of dried chiles. They last forever and they're great for making an impromptu chile powder or adobo. If they don't sell them near you, you can order dried chiles from Penzey's.

Ingredients:
Adobo Sauce
3 ounces guajillo chiles (about 12), wiped clean, stemmed, seeded, and deveined
3/4 cup water for blending, more if necessary
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 tsp fine salt, or 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cumin

Fast Mashed Canned Black Beans

This is a delicious side for Mexican food, and would be perfect as a layer for a 7-layer dip. It's incredibly easy, and very cheap, and I just love black beans. I probably don't even have to say it, but it's from Truly Mexican. (There's a theme this week...)

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, including liquid, plus 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp mild olive oil or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp  chipotle chili powder (or more if you like more spice)
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crumbled

Jalisca-Guajillo Salsa

This is a pretty easy salsa to make, and is excellent drizzled on tacos. Its more of a sauce than a dipping salsa, but is great in addition to some pico de gallo for tacos, or for serving with meat. It's from my favorite Mexican recipe source, thanks Jamie! It's great as an interesting additional beyond the more common salsas.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces guajillo chiles (about 6), cleaned, stemmed, seeded, and deveined
1/2 oz dried arbol chiles (15-20), cleaned and stemmed
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1.5" piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup water for blending
1 tsp apple cider vinegar, or more to taste
1/2 tsp fine salt/1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Directions:
Place the chiles in a medium pot with enough water to cover and bring to a simmer. Cook them until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger to the pot for one minute.

North Fork Wine

We're usually on the South Fork of Long Island, but for our anniversary (it's been a year today!) we wanted to head North to do a little wine tasting. It was so much fun! The weather was perfect and each winery we visited was great. It was really fun to see the differences between them and try all of the wines.

I think Palmer was our favorite - the setting was so pretty, and the 2009 Reserve Cabernet Franc was great, and the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon was really rich and deep and interesting, and the 2012 Pinot Blanc was fruity and crisp. We also went to Lieb, where our favorite was the 2008 Reserve Cabernet Franc. The tasting room is modern and somewhat industrial, and there's not much charm with vineyards in view or anything, but the staff is very attentive and explains the wines really well.