Edible Long Island Launch Party Prompts my Resurgence with an Autumn Panzanella Salad

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This past week I joined fellow Long Island food and drink enthusiasts at chef Tom Schaudel’s Jewel Restaurant in Melville, New York, to celebrate the much anticipated launch issue of Edible Long Island, a magazine that celebrates the stories of what we eat and drink, season by season. 

In typical Out East Foodie fashion I was tasting, sipping and photographing Long Island’s best food and drink while conversing with like-minded strangers and friends. 

Mirabelle Duck Rilette with cornichon walnuts marmalade

Jewel Restaurant: Oysters with Mango Caviar

Deb Aiza of Sweet 'tauk  

Roots: Dickens Cider with Candied Bacon

T.W. Barrit of Culinary Types blog

As I took a bite of the candied bacon strip that was in my dickens cider by Roots Bistro Gourmand, I locked eyes with my virtual friend T.W. Barritt, a contributor to Edible Long Island and author of his fantastic blog Culinary Types; I felt like I found my long lost friend. After a minute of us enthusiastically greeting each other, T.W kindly states, “You know Laura, you are a week behind on your blog.” Two different emotions came to mind: complete joy that he follows my blog weekly and major anxiety about what seems to be a setback. I am not sure if T.W. noticed but the sweat started to pool on top of my brow—it was a perfect start to our in person friendship. So thank you T.W. for following my blog and the gentle reminder (we chuckled together) on my delay. 

For over a year now it has been one big blur for my husband Chris and me, an amazing race of sorts to get our home Sheridan Green done before the years end. The combination of managing and constructing the building process, our professional jobs (that pays the bills), my blog and trying to nurture relationships with friends and family has been a feat. So once in awhile, sweat pools above my brow for feeling harried and other times overjoyed with excitement. 

Two weeks ago we were able to sneak away from the daily grind to have dinner with dear friends of ours in New York City; we had not seen them in two years. This gathering reminded me of the homemade meals and spirits we would share with family and friends: breaded grilled flounder with the infamous panzanella salad during the summer months on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, gnocchi made three ways for the Gnocchi Fest in December at our friends Bed and Breakfast, The Sea Spray Inn in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, cassoulet at my aunt and uncles in Weston, Connecticut where we would always cook a feast for no special occasion, corn and flour tortillas for fish tacos during the winter months in Todos Santos, Mexico at my aunt’s compound where my brother’s family from Bend, Oregon and other family members would get together for a vacation and last but not least sipping wines from the Willamette Valley visiting friends in Portland, Oregon.

However sad it may seem that we have not seen most of you in a very long time, I have a feeling it is going to be very hard to get rid of you once Sheridan Green is complete.

We are one month away from being moved in and as I type this the kitchen cabinets are being installed and the trim is getting set in place, Yippie! The 7kw solar array is ready to run the geothermal system so we won't have any energy bills or require fossil fuels to heat and cool the house. 

The hot yoga studio is ready for Heat Mizer temperatures, the kind of heat that us Bikram yoga fanatics love. The Edible garden above the carport awaits some attention, so in the meantime I have been taking biodynamic workshops with the great KK Haspel so we can apply those practices on our property. And for the first time in my life I am the proud owner of a car, a Ford CMAX hybrid; it has been one heck of a ride—no pun intended.

 

Soon all our friends and family from afar can add the East End of Long Island as your next viticultural and culinary destination. Not only will this be a home for loved ones to gather but a place where like-minded people can come together to talk story, enjoy amazing food and drink and share inspiration in a great space.

In honor of our friends, family and all the edible gatherings we have shared in the past I created an autumn panzanella salad to indicate where we are today. I had such fond memories making this salad over the years that I wanted to create one that reflected the season.

Cheers to all of you who have been so supportive, to T.W. Barritt for reminding me how fleeting time truly is and for my husband Chris who is making it all happen—I love you.

 

Autumn Panzanella Salad

ingredients salad

 

  • 1 dumpling and 1 acorn squash (you can use butternut squash) 
peeled, sliced and seeds removed and reserved.
  • 1/3 cup of squash seeds
  • 3 teaspoons of sea salt
  • 8 (3/4-inch cubed) whole grain bread
  • 5 red medium sized beets, peeled and quartered (reserve the beet tops for the salad)
  • 2 cups of beet greens roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh sage, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 10 slices of fresh ricotta salata (as you desire)

ingredients for vinaigrette

  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin oil
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon of cracked pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

 

 

directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Toss the cubed bread in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of sea salt. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  2. Take the reserved seeds from the squash and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with dash of sea salt and toast in oven for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Increase the oven temperature to 400°. Slice and peel the squash. Toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of sea salt. Bake for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Do not over cook. (note: you may find it easier to peel the squash (for acorn and dumpling) after the slices are baked
  4. Toss the beats in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and cover with tin foil. Bake for 40 minutes or until fork-tender.
  5. Slice the ricotta salata cheese and set-aside

    for vinaigrette
     
  6. Whisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette.
  7. In a large bowl begin to layer all ingredients (squash, beets, bread, seeds, and beet tops) except for the cheese. Lightly, toss all ingredients with the vinaigrette and let sit for 5 minutes. Place ricotta salata on top of the salad and serve.

    Serves 4 people

 

The Famous Montauk Clam Chowder Contest Inspires My Manhattan Style

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Last Saturday, I was one of eight tasters to judge the Famous Clam Chowder Contest that kicked-off Montauk’s 32nd Annual Fall Festival, hosted by the Montauk Chamber of Commerce. This competition is as fierce as the thousands of chowder lovers who lined-up—with commemorative mugs in hand—an hour before the 24 anonymous local restaurants started ladling more than 4,000 cups of their best New England and Manhattan style chowders. It was a perfectly brisk autumn day and nothing is better to warm the heart and soul than sampling two-dozen Long Island clam chowdas!

Actually, it would have been a feat to properly judge all the chowders, so we were split into two groups; I was assigned to the Manhattan style. A number was inscribed on the many cups of chowder that were placed in front of us; we had no idea which restaurants were in the competition.

I was fortunate enough to sit next to Silvia Lehrer, a culinary professional/teacher, avid practitioner of locavorism and the author of Savoring the Hamptons; a beautiful cookbook featuring everything delicious about the North and South Forks of Long Island. I figured if there is anyone who knew a thing or two about chowder it would be Silvia.

Let the judging begin!

The chowder was flowing as we sipped, slurped, chomped and judged each chowder on: appearance, body, balance of ingredients and depth of flavor. There were many varieties of this tomato-based chowder: spicy and chunky, clammy and briny, bacony and tomatoey, herby and brothy. John’s Pancake House (as we knew it #17) encompassed all of these flavors beautifully and placed 1st for their Manhattan style. Who would have ever thunk that a pancake house could win? The potatoes, carrots, onions and celery were perfectly sized and cooked, the clams were chewy (not like shoe leather) and sweet, the tomato broth was a lovely base, not too thick with a hint of bacon and fresh herbs. 

Entry numbers were being buzzed around for all those people who were last but not least to try the chowders. By the end, all the pots were empty—not a clam in sight. 

The winners for each style of chowder

Manhattan Clam Chowder 
1st: #17—John's Pancake House
2nd: #10—Shagwong Restaurant
3rd: #18—Inlet Seafood

New England Clam Chowder
1st:  #8—Sole East
2nd: #22—Gosman's Restaurant
3rd: Tie #21—Gurney's and #3—Tre Bella

I was so inspired by all the competitors that I had to make my own clam chowder; trying to recreate John’s Pancake House winning recipe purely on memory and taste. The clams I used are chowder hard clams that were raked in the Moriches Bay by Mattituck Shellfish in East Quogue.

Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe

ingredients

  • 3 dozen chowder hard clams
  • 4 cups of onions, finely chopped
  • 3 cups of carrots, cubed
  • 3 cups of celery, finely chopped
  • 3 cups of potatoes, cubed
  • 1 cup of pancetta, small cubes
  • 10 cups of homemade clam broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon of cracked pepper
  • 2 28oz cans of plum tomatoes
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • ¼ cup of vermouth
  • 2 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil

directions

  1. Wash the clams really well under cold running water —If you have access to an outside faucet you may want to clean them there; scrubbing off any sand and mud with a brush or scouring pad.
  2. Place clams in a large pot, and add enough water to cover clams by 2 inches. Cover pan and place over medium heat and bring to a low simmer.
  3. As the clams begin to pop open, transfer them with tongs to a large bowl. Discard any clams that have not opened after 20 minutes.
  4. When cool enough to handle, remove each clam from its shell, leaving the adductor muscles on either side of the clam attached to the shell. Transfer the clam meat to a bowl/plate and discard the shells.
  5. Strain the broth from the pot through a fine sieve lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth set over a large pot or bowl. 

    Note: The meat and broth can be refrigerated separately for up to 1 day before using. This yielded 20 cups of broth, you will only need 10 cups for the chowder. Freeze the extra broth for later use.

  6. Finely chop half the clam meat; set-aside. The remaining half cut into longer strips; set-aside
  7. In a large soup pot, sauté the pancetta over medium heat until the fat renders and gets crisp. Remove the pancetta and reserve the fat in the pot to sauté the vegetables.
  8. Add olive oil, red pepper flakes, cracked pepper, onions, carrots and celery; cook for 5 minutes until well coated. Then add the vermouth and deglaze all the bits for 2 minutes.
  9. Add the potatoes, and the canned plum tomatoes; as you add the tomatoes to the pot, crush them with your hands one-by-one and then add the remaining liquid from the can.
  10. Then add the clam broth, the finely chopped clam meat, bay leaves and thyme; simmer with the lid on for 45 minutes.

    Note: Do not add salt as the broth naturally adds enough.

  11. When the potatoes are soft, add the remaining clam meat and turn off the heat.

Yields: 12 servings. 

Sweet Vanilla Bean Risotto with Poached Seckel Pears

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Despite the warm weather we have been having in the tri-state area (no complaints here) the fall season is in full swing at the Union Square Greenmarket. The end of summer tomatoes are at their sweetest peak and still shining amongst the varieties of apple, cauliflower, kale, squash and a fruit that caught my eye — the petite seckel pear.

Although not equal in size to your average pear, these near bite-size morsels are just as flavorful and sweet. The apples have been really tasty this season and last year at this time I made apple turnovers that are definitely worth a try. 

My original intention was to make a butternut squash risotto (I love all things butternut squash) but these darling seckel pears stole the show from the golden-yellow, long-necked bowling pin shaped squash. Because I was so determined to make a risotto I decided to turn my savory dish into a sweet treat—vanilla bean risotto with poached seckel pears. 

Recipe for Sweet Vanilla Bean Risotto with Poached Seckel Pears

Poached Seckel Pears

ingredients 

  • 15 seckel pears
  • 1 cup of natural sugar
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup of pear cider
  • ½ vanilla bean
  • 2 tablespoons of golden raisins

 

directions

  1. Make a sugar syrup in a medium sauce pan with the water, cider, sugar and vanilla. While the liquid comes to a boil peel the pears leaving the stem on. 
  2. Poach the pears in the sugar syrup on a low heat for about 15 minutes or until soft. Place the raisins in the sugar syrup after 10 minutes of poaching. 
  3. Remove the pears and raisins from the sugar syrup to cool.

note: if you have leftovers store the pears with the sugar syrup in the refrigerator for future use.

Vanilla Bean Risotto

ingredients

  • 1 cup of Arborio rice
  • 4 ½ cups of whole milk
  • ¼ cup of natural sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise and seeds scraped
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese

 

directions

  1. In a small pot combine the whole milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, cinnamon stick and salt. Bring to a low simmer but do not boil. Keep the mixture warm while cooking the risotto.
  2. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute, until the rice is coated with the butter.
  3. Begin adding the milk, 1 ladle at a time to the rice and stir constantly until the milk is absorbed. You need to repeat this a few times until all the milk is absorbed. The rice should be al dente.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the mascarpone cheese and stir. The mixture should be creamy and loose. 

Note: the longer the risotto sits the thicker it will become. If this happens add some more milk.

Assembly

Spoon 3 heaping tablespoons of the risotto into a bowl or glass. Top with 3 poached seckel pears, a few golden raisins and a drizzle of the sugar syrup.

Serve warm. If you have leftovers simply refrigerate and serve again. Heat the risotto over low heat and loosen with a dash of milk.

Serves: 5