Watermelon Gazpacho
Ingredients
Soup
¼ watermelon, ripe
3 tomatoes, peeled
1 jalapeño, seeds removed
½ red onion
1-2 cloves garlic
½ cucumber, seeded
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup EVOO
Fresh dill
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Garnish
Watermelon, cubed
Cucumber, diced
Dill, chopped
Feta cheese, crumbled
Procedure
In a blender, purée tomatoes, jalapeño, and watermelon until creamy. Add EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and vinegar and pulse, Add onions, garlic, cucumber and dill and purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and blend. Put in refrigerator until well chilled.
Serve in chilled bowls and sprinkle with garnishes, serve chilled.
Salad of arugula, spinach, with roasted beets, goat cheese with white wine vinaigrette.
Purchase organic arugula, spinach pre-washed mixture
Bundle of red and golden beets, peeled and roasted on a baking sheet for 45 minutes in 350 degree oven.
Wine Wine Vinaigrette – 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar, 3/4 cup of good EVOO, 1T honey – Mix together thoroughly,
Arrange greens on plates, place cut goat cheese on top, then place sliced beets on top and drizzle with vinaigrette
Grilled Halibut with fennel-red onion-orange topping
Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill over high heat.
Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the fish and season with salt and pepper. Grill 4 minutes on each side until fish is firm but not tough and cooked through.
Topping can be made prior to grilling fish
Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.
While fish cooks, peel the orange as you would a melon: cut off ends, stand it upright and cut off skin and pith in thin strips from top to bottom. Cut orange across into thin slices.
To preheated skillet add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, the fennel and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook 3 to 5 minutes until seared and beginning to soften. Add vinegar to the pan and give it a shake. Remove from heat and toss in the oranges, the parsley and oregano. Adjust seasoning and top fish.
Pork Belly Bosc with Pear Puree
(serves 4)
3 lb pork belly
salt
pepper
fresh thyme
chili flakes
1 onion
2 large carrots
handful garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 cup white wine
Preheat oven to 450F. Chop carrots and onion into big pieces. Place in a roasting pan with garlic. Chop up a about a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves and combine with chili flakes, salt and pepper in a bowl. Any remaining thyme sprigs can be tossed in with the vegetables.
Place the pork belly on a cutting board skin side up. With a sharp knife make parallel lengthwise cuts about 1 cm away from each other through the skin and deep into the fat but not enough to penetrate the meat. Rub the spice mixture all over the meat, getting in between the cuts of fat and on the bottom. Place pork belly fat side up on the vegetables.
Put in the oven for 30 minutes then turn the temperature down to 325F. Cook for another 30 minutes at 325F. Remove from the oven and pour off any excess fat. Add wine and return to the oven for another hour.
Baste the pork with the juices. Then remove the vegetables and wine into a container. Put the pork back in the oven for another hour or until crispy on the top and fork tender.
Pear Puree
6 Bosc pears
1/4 cup of sugar (1/2 cup if pears are not ripen)
Pear pears and cut in slices, removing the core
In pan with pears, sugar and water and bring to boil until pears are tender
Drain and put in a food processor and puree
On a plate put some puree and place slice on pork belly on top. The sweetness of pear will compliment the saltiness of the pork belly.
Beef Filet Medallions with caramelized shallots over gruyere cheese mashed potatoes and haricot verts
4 filet mignons
6 shallots
6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 cup Gruyere cheese grated
haricot verts
Beef – cut into medallions and marinade in Alegro marinade. Grill over medium high heat for about 4 minutes until medium rare. Meanwhile, cut shallots and place in skillet with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Stir shallot until caramelized.
Potatoes – peel potatoes and boil in water until soften. Drain water from potatoes and place back in boiler. Add 1/2 cup of cream, 1/4 stick of butter, and cheese. With a hand mixer, whip potatoes until creamy. Salt and pepper to taste.
Haircot Verts – In boiling water with a little salt, place beans in for three minutes, drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking and crisp beans. Drain beans.
To plate, put mashed potatoes on plate and top with medallions and shallots, place a serving of beans on the plate.
Creme Brulee
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
