Because local food culture is so big here, and because I truly believe in it, I wanted to share news of a fun food demo I'll be helping with this weekend at the Union Square Greenmarket.
Teaming up with friend and cookbook author, Tracey Medeiros, I'll be at the Greenmarket this Saturday from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m to help Tracey promote her new Vermont Farm to Table Cookbook. You may remember me mentioning the book before, which uses recipes sourced with delicious, locally grown ingredients - also featuring the hard working farmers, foragers and artisans who help put those ingredients on your table.
At the demo, Tracey and I will be working on some beautiful fresh salad dressed with Amee Lemon Lavender dressing. It's a light, refreshing dish for summer, and I hope you have a chance to stop by and say hello. I'll be doing a little video segment with Tracey and as always, look forward to chatting with my readers and friends. There will be some fun Fooditka swag for you to grab as well. Hope to see you there.
Saturday, July 13th from 11:00 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Union Square Greenmarket - 17th Street between Union Square West and Park Avenue South
You may recall my recent behind the scenes interview with Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky at Bear Restaurant. I had quite a good time getting to know the folks behind this awesome operation and especially loved being in the kitchen and observing where the magic happens so to speak.
While in their very orderly cooking quarters, Chef Natasha illustrated the process used to make one of her signature dishes, a seared diver scallop with corn risotto. You can watch the video here to see how it's done, and possibly even recreate it at home, but I'd like to tell you more about its taste.
Seared Diver Scallops with Corn Risotto - If you'd like to get just a little taste of this instead of ordering a whole entree, you can do so, as it comes in an appetizer version too. The beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity, as there's only about 3-4 ingredients in it, and they all shine. The scallop is large and milky white on the inside but beautifully seared on the outside, boasting a caramelized crust. Chef sure made it look simple, but getting a perfect sear on the outside of a scallop without overcooking it isn't easy.
Overall, I like that the dish was seasoned simply with salt and pepper, as well as a "secret" little spritz of something at the end (I'll give you a hint...it's very fragrant). The corn risotto isn't actually risotto at all, but a refreshing corn salad that has only been put on the stovetop for a few seconds. The whole thing tastes like summer and is further decorated with fresh herbs from the greenmarket. It's really spectacular and I'd recommend starting your meal with it, or better yet, making it the main event.
Bear - 12-14 31st Avenue, Long Island City NY 11106
917.396.4939
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.bearnyc.com
Attending
a barbecue at my aunt Hela’s house for Father’s Day last week, everyone was
told to bring something. I like this
approach a lot because you get to taste dishes prepared in diverse styles, and
everyone gets their little moment in the spotlight.
Wanting to keep things light and refreshing, I went with a summery cole slaw
that I read about in the June issue of Everyday Food magazine. It appealed to me right away because it wasn’t
mayonnaise based, and therefore a lot lighter as well as because it used
refreshing citrus fruit such as oranges and mango. My favorite part of the dish, the fruit
really made an otherwise ordinary cole slaw shine - and because it was oil and
vinegar based, it felt light and vibrant.
I decided to add my special touch with some toasted pumpkin seeds, which
worked quite well, given the nice crunch they lent to each bite. Hope you get to try it as well, and feel free
to substitute the oranges and the mango with the fruit of your choice. I think apples and pineapples may work quite
nicely too.
Here's the recipe, I hope you enjoy!
As you can tell from the above shot, I added avocado slices to the recipe as well, which I think work well with corn. Overall, the dish took about 20 minutes to put together and what was even better was that I didn't feel weighed down or overstuffed after. It's a win win and I urge you to substitute tilapia or salmon with the protein of your choice.
You can find the recipe on Cookstr, courtesy of Domenica Catelli. Enjoy!
Tilapia (or Salmon) with Spicy Corn Salsa Recipe
