recipe: blta wedge salad

bleu cheese vinaigrette:
1/2 C olive oil
4 tblsp white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 to 2 tsp anchovy paste
1 C blue cheese crumbles
salt and pepper

4 hearts of romaine, cut in half
2 C cooked bacon, crumbled
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 radishes sliced thin
salt and pepper to taste
Serves 6-8

For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic and anchovy paste till blended. Stir in blue cheese crumbles and season with salt and pepper. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the salad, place the romaine wedges on a platter or individual plates and pour the dressing over each wedge.

Sprinkle the tops of each wedge with the crumbled bacon, sliced radishes, sliced shallots, season with salt and pepper, and serve chilled.

Adam’s hints:
BLTA = bacon, lettuce, tomato, anchovy…hold the tomato! Originally it was in the recipe but it didn’t work on-set and we never changed the name—my apologies for any confusion.

recipe: pistachio and pecan crusted rack of lamb

3 fully trimmed racks of lamb (about 1-1/2 lbs each)
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C dijon mustard
1/3 C pistachios, chopped
1/3 C pecans, chopped
1/4 C panko breadcrumbs
2 tblsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tblsp rosemary, minced
1 tblsp chives, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Serves 6-8

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Season each rack of lamb with salt and pepper and set aside.

Pour the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and sear each rack for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Place each rack, bone side down, on a shallow baking sheet and brush the tops of each with a generous amount of mustard and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the pistachios, pecans, panko, melted butter, rosemary, chives, salt and pepper and toss together until fully thoroughly combined. Cover the racks with the nut mixture and press the tops firmly ensuring the mixture will stick.

Place the racks in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops have lightly browned and the meat is pink in the center.

Allow the racks to cool slightly—about 7 to 10 minutes—before slicing and serving.

Adam’s hints:
—remove the lamb from the fridge about 25-30 minutes before you cook it. This takes the chill off and helps for a more even cooking.
—cook lamb to an internal temp of 120° for rare and and 130° for medium.
—don’t forget: the temp will continue to rise after you remove it from the oven.

recipe: tomato, prosciutto and arugula stuffed cheese puffs

Directions for puffs:
1 C water
3 tblsp butter
1-1⁄2 tsp salt
1 C all purpose flour
4 large eggs
3⁄4 tsp black pepper
2 oz gruyère cheese, grated
1 oz fontina cheese, grated
Serves 6-8

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Add the water, butter and salt to a medium sauce pan and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, stir in the flour and continue stirring to create a sticky dough allowing the raw flour flavor to disappear, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Pour the dough into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed.

Once the steam disappears, add the eggs one at a time. After the last egg has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold in the pepper and grated cheeses.

Drop spoonfuls 1” apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside and let cool.

Directions for pickled tomatoes:
1-1⁄2 C champagne vinegar
1-1⁄2 C water
3-1⁄2 tblsp sugar
3 bay leaves
1 small dried chili
12 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
24 cherry tomatoes, blanched with skins removed cheese

Place all the ingredients for the pickled tomatoes, except the tomatoes, into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer until the sugar and salt dissolves, about 7 minutes. Allow the mixture to slightly cool.

Place the skinned tomatoes in a bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over them to cover completely. Set side and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Directions for assembling cheese puffs:
12 slices prosciutto—baked crisp and cut in half
1-1⁄2 C baby arugula

Cut each cheese puff in half and fill with a couple pieces of arugula, a slice of prosciutto, and a pickled tomato cut in half.

Adam’s hints:
—everyone loves these…so I make a lot of them!
—I like to use a small ice cream scooper to dish out the dough so they are all the same in size.
—you can bake the puffs a day in advance. Just warm them up in the oven for a few minutes before stuffing and serving. You can even pop the crispy prosciutto in them while you warm the up in the oven and, once they’re warm, then stuff with the tomato and arugula.
—to bake the prosciutto: I use a wire grid cooling rack on a baking sheet. Just give the rack a spray of oil and place a thin layer of the meat on it. This is a great way to make sure it gets really crisp since air circulates better through the rack.
—bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes and keep and eye on it. In this case the meat is all ready cooked so if you like super crisp or a little chewy, you can adjust the cooking time.
—or don’t even bake it at all! Just stuff the prosciutto into the warm puffs and serve.
note: you can bake bacon the same way, just make sure its fully cooked before serving.
—experiment and try stuffing these with any cured meat such as: thin sliced Spanish chorizo, manchego cheese with a slice of quince paste… bresaola, sliced fresh tomato, with a thin slice of red onion and a sprig of watercress… crispy bacon, sliced tomato, lettuce and a dollop of basil mayonnaise…
—to skin tomatoes of any kind, cut a small X on the bottom and drop into boiling water. Let cook for 10-60 seconds depending on the size and then quickly remove to an ice bath. Once cooled the skins are easily peeled.
—the pickled tomatoes can be made several days in advance will keep well in the refrigerator.
—when serving these tasty treats, I like to sprinkle freshly cracked black pepper and a nice chunky finishing salt over the top…even spilling both around on the serving platter.

recipe: old-fashioned

1 tsp simple syrup
a dash of Angostura bitters
1 slice of orange
2 oz whisky or bourbon
splash of water
maraschino cherry

Fill an old fashioned cocktail glass with a few large ice cubes. Add simple syrup, bourbon, splash of water, a dash of bitters and a squeeze of orange slice.

Stir to mix and garnish with orange slice and a cherry.

Adam’s hints:
—this cocktail gets its name from its age…it just might be one of the first cocktail recipes ever.
—sometimes I’ll use brandy in place of the bourbon.
—when serving a straight forward drink like this, I’ll make sure to get good ice. Nice square cubes make this drink look really great and will melt slowly into the drink.
—try marinating the maraschino cherries in bourbon or whiskey for several hours or the night before. Just another way to jazz up this great drink.

recipe: warm fingerling salad

Directions for caper vinaigrette:
1 tsp anchovy paste
2 tblsp dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C white wine vinegar
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 tblsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
4 tblsp capers
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk together anchovy paste, mustard, garlic and vinegar. While whisking, slowly pour in olive oil then add tarragon, thyme and capers. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Directions for fingerlings:
2 1/2 lbs fingerlings
6-8 eggs
1 bunch asparagus

Boil eggs for three minutes per egg. When hard, move to a bowl of cold water and once cooled, peel, cut into quarters, and set aside.

Fill a fry pan three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil to blanch the asparagus. Gently place spears in boiling water and let cook for 3 minutes. Remove immediately and place in cold water. Once cooled, cut into pieces and set aside.

Scrub fingerlings clean under cool water and cut into halves. Put into a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and place in serving bowl.

Pour vinaigrette over fingerlings while still warm. Toss together with asparagus and eggs and garnish with fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

Adam’s hints:
—this warm fingerling potato salad is a fantastic modern twist on a summer grilling classic. The vinaigrette really gets into the tender fingerlings and each bite is packed with flavor.
—the vinaigrette, hard boiled eggs and blanched asparagus can be made up to a day in advance. Just bring to room temp before you mix the warm fingerlings.
—also try grilling the asparagus for an extra layer of flavor.