"Real" Baby Carrots Roasted with Thyme and Garlic

Carrots roasted with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil at 450F for 20 minutes. Sliced garlic and thyme tossed in and roasted for an additional 3 minutes. Simplicity at its best.

Saveur's Second Annual Summer BBQ in NYC - June 27, 2011

I had the good fortune of getting invited to Saveur's Summer BBQ last week at The Frying Pan in NYC.  The weather was perfect for being boatside on the Hudson enjoying a bounty of grilled meats from some of New York's top toques and refreshing drinks courtesy of Ommegang Brewery and Grey Goose Vodka.

Things started out favorably with glazed pork belly sandwiches from Marc Murphy of Landmarc and Ditch Plains.

The lamb burger with basil mayonnaise from Sean Rembold of Marlow & Sons was a highlight for me.

 No BBQ is complete without some grilled corn. Hill Country did a very nice job with theirs.

While grilled sausages are also a summer BBQ mainstay, Missy Robbins of A Voce upped it a notch with her grilled lamb sausages. These reminded me to add A Voce to my list of restaurants I would like to try.

Geoffrey Zakarian served up a pretty standard plate of saucy ribs from his new restaurant, The National.  While the ribs were low on the excitement spectrum, they were still pretty high on the taste spectrum.

John DeLucie's (The Lion, Waverly Inn)  lamb ribs were a bit too fatty for me, but it may have just been that I was too full by the time I got to them.

Unfortunately, I was much too full before I spotted Marco Canora's smoked lamb ribs.  I am sad that I did not try one of my favorite chefs' dishes, especially one that looked this good.

Marcus Samuelsson and his crew from Red Rooster were there cooking a fabulous blackened catfish with fried caper slaw, a dish I was pleased to have once again after enjoying it only a week ago at his restaurant.  I have been told by some that the photo of Chef Samuellson is equally satisfying as his catfish.

Alex Guarnaschelli served some nicely cooked—but too sweet for me—BBQ shrimp.

Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen prepared some massive brisket sandwiches topped with potato chips.  Although one of these guys made me too full for much of anything else, it was a lot of a very good thing.

If only food served on boats could always be this good!  Kudos to Saveur for an outstanding event.

Bacon and Corn Risotto

I love risotto almost as much as I love sweet summer corn, so corn risotto has been on my cooking wish list for some time.  I don't know what took me so long to make it, as it's a truly awesome dish, especially when enhanced with a healthy dose of bacon--corn and bacon are a match made in heaven.  The key to the risotto is the corn broth; you add the entire cob, all of the husk, and even the string to a pot full of water and allow it to simmer for an hour.  What you end up with is a light broth that imbues the risotto with wonderful corn flavor.

Bacon and Corn Risotto
Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients:

• 2 ears of corn, unshucked
• 6 cups water
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 lb smoky bacon, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Shuck the ears of corn, trimming off any browned parts of the husks.  Place the husks and the strings in a large stock pot.  
2. Remove the kernels from the corn cobs and set them aside in a bowl.  Chop each cob into three equal-sized pieces and add them to the stock pot.
3. Fill the stock pot with 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and partially cover the pot.  Simmer the corn trimmings for 1 hour.  Season with salt and pepper and keep the corn broth warm.  
4. Add the bacon to a medium-size saucepan and heat over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is slightly crispy, about 3 minutes.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
5. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of bacon fat from the pan and reduce the heat in the pan to medium-low.  Add the onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
6. Increase the heat to high.  Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to crackle, about 2 minutes.
7. Pour the wine into the sauce pan.  Stir the contents of the pan constantly until the rice has absorbed all of the wine, 1 to 2 minutes.  
8. Reduce the heat to medium.  Holding a strainer over the saucepan, ladle in just enough of the corn broth to cover the rice.  Keeping the risotto at a simmer, constantly stir the rice until it has absorbed nearly all of the broth.
9. Stir the corn kernels into the rice.  Passing the brother through the strainer, add enough to barely cover the rice.  Stir the rice until it has absorbed the broth.  
10. Continue to add just enough broth to cover the rice and stir it constantly until the rice is soft and the risotto is creamy.  This will require at least 2 cups of broth total. 
11. Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese.  Season the risotto with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

  

Italian Seafood Stew

 Stew in mid-August? No thank you.  Seafood stew? Well, now that you mention it...

Italian seafood stew, tomato-based and chock full of just about any seafood you want, is one of my favorite dishes that I have made this summer.  I used a recipe from Marco Canora's Salt to Taste, spiking the tomatoes with plenty of lemon and tossing in calamari, little neck clams, mussels, shrimp. and cod.  However, hot summer days are not meant to be spent fretting over recipes, so toss in whatever spices and seafood you like.  Just keep main components the same-- a soffrito of celery, fennel, and onions, a can of crushed tomatoes, a splash of white wine, and some perfectly cooked seafood-- and you are guaranteed a great seafood stew that, when washed down with a crisp white wine, just might take you from a small studio apartment to a beach on the Amalfi Coast.  Unfortunately for this New Yorker, I was quickly awakened from my dream by a truck barreling down Second Avenue, but I plan to revisit it by making this stew at least one more time this summer.   

Soft-Shell Crabs with Corn and Chorizo

I'm not sure what got into me this weekend, but when searching for a recipe to for some soft-shell crabs I had purchased, Chanterelle was the first cookbook I pulled off my shelf.  Normally, this cookbook from the late Chanterelle, arguably the first restaurant to bring New American cuisine to the Manhattan, is the last cookbook that comes to mind when I am in need of a simple summer recipe.  Even the simplest  recipes in the gorgeous book require require several pans and a few hours of prep time, making them nearly impossible to pull off in a small kitchen.  Up until this weekend, the cookbook had been relegated to use only for inspiration, so I don't know what made me do it, but I am sure glad that I took the book for a spin with this recipe for soft-shell crabs.  Not only is it fairly easy to make, but the crispy crabs served over a sweet creamy corn with a touch of spicy chorizo present a beautiful combination of flavors, textures, and colors.  This recipe makes more than enough corn and chorizo oil for one dish, so reserve each for another use; both are delicious.

Soft-Shell Crabs with Corn and Chorizo
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
  
• 1 link uncooked chorizo, chopped into 1/4 pieces
• 1/2 tsp hot Spanish smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp sweet Spanish smoked paprika
• 3 tsbp butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tsp flour, plus more for dredging the crabs
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• kernels from 2 ears of corn
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Place the olive oil and chorizo in a saute pan and cook over medium heat.  Cook until the oil becomes reddish-brown and the chorizo is crisp, about 20 minutes.  Stir in the paprika.  Remove from the heat and remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and reserve.  Pour the oil into a small bowl and reserve it as well.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle 1 tsp flour over the onions and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring the entire time to prevent the flour from burning.  Pour in the white wine and bring it to a boil.  Add the stock and corn and let the mixture come to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Season the corn mixture with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove 1/3 of the corn to a blender and blend it until it is creamy.  Stir the creamed corn back into the original corn mixture and set it over very low heat.
3. Place the chorizo oil over very low heat to warm it. 
4. Head the vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until it is nearly smoking.   Season the crabs with salt and pepper and dredge them on both sides with flour.  Place the crabs shell-side down in the hot oil and cook until they are crisp and browned, 4 to 5 minutes.  Flip the crabs and cook until the other side is crisp and browned, 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove the crabs to a paper towel-lined plate. 
5. Spoon the corn sauce over each serving plate.  Top the sauce with two crabs .  Drizzle a tsp of the chorizo oil over each plate.  Top each plate with the chorizo pieces and serve immediately. 

Seared Scallops with Fava Bean Puree

If you've ever been to Manhattan when the temperature rises above 80 degrees, you understand just how hot living in a New York apartment can be.  For studio-dwelling cooks like myself, the overheated Manhattan apartment is especially unforgiving; turn on that oven and you will have an uncomfortably warm apartment for hours, no matter the output of you air conditioner.  For this reason, come Memorial Day, I pretty much give up on all braising and roasting and relegate my cooking repertoire to searing and stir frying until cooler weather arrives.  This recipe for scallops with a fava bean puree is one of the typical types of recipes I turn to during the warm months.  Boil the fava beans, gently warm the puree, and quickly sear the scallops and you have dinner on the table in about 20 minutes.  More importantly, you won't break a sweat before or after you eat. 

Seared Scallops with Fava Bean Puree

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. fava beans, shelled
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. scallops 
• 1 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Blanch the fava beans in a pot of boiling water until they are soft, about 8 minutes.  
2. Drain the fava beans and cool them in ice water. 
3. Peel the skins off of the fava beans and add the beans to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse the beans until they are pureed. 
4. Pour in the cream and broth and run the food processor until all ingredients are well combined.  Season the puree with salt and pepper.  
5. Spoon the puree into a small pot and warm it over low heat.
6. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels.  Season them on the both sides with salt and pepper. 
7. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once the butter has stopped foaming, add the scallops.  Cook them undisturbed until they are well browned on each side, about 1 minute per side.  
8. Spoon the fava bean puree onto plates.  Top the puree with the scallops and serve them immediately.

Gazpacho

I couldn't let summer pass by without making a batch of gazpacho. This past Labor Day weekend, I used a recipe from Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table to make the Spanish tomato-based soup that is a celebration of summer's bounty. I was slightly dismayed when my soup turned out pink in color, as every other gazpacho I've eaten is bright red, but fortunately the flavor profile was every bit as bright as any gazpacho I've had.

Gazpacho
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed day-old country bread, crust removed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 lbs. ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 small red onion, minced
• 1 Italian frying pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 2 kirby cucumbers, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chilled water
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar

Directions:

1. Place salt, garlic, and cumin in a mortar and pestle and mash to a smooth paste.
2. Place bread in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze lightly to extract excess water.
3. Place bread, tomatoes, peppers, onion, cucumbers, and salt mixture in a large bowl. Let sit for ten minutes.
4. Place half of tomato mixture in the bowl of a food processor. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and process until smooth, approximately one minute. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.
5. Place remaining tomato mixture in the bowl of the food processor along with 1/4 cup olive oil. Process until smooth and pour it into the bowl containing the rest of the soup.
6. Add sherry vinegar and water to the soup. Pour into a blender, or using an emulsion blender, blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Taste soup for salt and vinegar.
7. Place soup in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours before serving.

Larb: A Perfect Dish for Summer

Larb may be a dish from Northern Thailand and Laos, but I can't help but wonder if its creators invented the dish knowing that many years later, inhabitants of New York would need some refreshing and hearty dishes to get them through their hot summers. Simple to prepare and best at room temperature, larb, bursting with the refreshing flavors of lime, galangal, fish sauce, cilantro, and mint, really is a perfect dish for a hot summer night.

The most difficult part of making larb is purchasing the ingredients, which will definitely require a trip to a well-stocked Asian market, and preferably one that serves a Thai or Lao clientele. While you're there, buy fish sauce, galangal, lime leaves, and roasted rice powder. The good news is that you will get to make many more larbs before you need to return (store the lime leaves and the galangal in the freezer). I cheated and used some powdered galangal that I already had on hand:


The remaining ingredients can be purchased at any store: oil, ground pork, mint, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and lime juice. Cook the pork in a skillet, mix it in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, and serve it with jasmine or sticky rice, and some summer rolls. The below recipe is a simplified larb recipe adapted from Penn Hongthong's Simple Lao Cooking, but the Significant Eater, who grew up eating plenty of larb herself, proclaimed its flavors just as authentic as the real deal.



Larb Moo (Pork Larb)
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 tbsp. peanut oil
• juice from 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp galangal, minced, or 1 tsp ground galangal
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, minced
• 1 tbsp roasted rice powder
• 1 tbsp lemongrass, minced
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup mint, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Add pork and cook until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Set pork in a bowl and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
3. Mix pork with remaining ingredients and serve with rice.

Mussels with White Wine, Shallots, and Pancetta

Cooking dinner in my apartment in the summer is always a challenge. No matter whether I use the oven or the stove, my studio will remain about ten degrees warmer for the rest of the night. I can only enjoy so many cold suppers, so I have a few favorite dishes for the summer that are studio-apartment friendly. One of those dishes is steamed mussels. The dish can come together in less than half an hour, and the most time consuming part is scrubbing and debearding the mussels. Making the dish does fill my apartment with the aroma of mussels and butter, but that is much more tolerable in my opinion than a hot apartment.

Feel free to experiment with the ingredients in the recipe. As long as you keep the ratios the same, there is an endless number of possibilities. Substitute Belgian beer for the wine, cream for the butter, or add a mix of herbs to the broth. So long as you serve the mussels with a crusty baguette (heated in the toaster oven, not the oven), you'll have an easy and enjoyable meal in the comforts of your cool apartment.

Mussels with White Wine, Pancetta and Shallots
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 2 cups white wine
• 2 large shallots, finely minced
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1/8 lb. of pancetta, diced
• 2 tbsp. butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until fat is rendered and pancetta begins to brown, about 3 minutes.
2. Add garlic and shallots and cook until shallots are soft, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add wine to pot and bring to a boil.
4. Add mussels to pot and cover. Cook until most of the mussels have opened, about 6 minutes. Remove mussels from the pot and set aside in a large serving bowl, discarding any mussels that have not opened.
5. Bring liquid in pot to a simmer. Whisk in butter and taste for salt and pepper.
6. Pour broth over mussels and serve with a crusty baguette.

Pappardelle with Corn, Bacon, and Mushrooms

Corn with pasta? Authenticity aside, don't knock it until you've tried it. This recipe was adapted from Andrew Carmellini's Urban Italian. Carmellini states that despite helming the stoves at some of New York City's finest Italian restaurants, he's a Midwesterner at heart. For that reason, he always manages to add corn into his menu when corn season arrives in the summer. If it's good enough for Andrew Carmellini, it's good enough for me; this pasta is excellent, I should add.

Pappardelle with Corn, Bacon, and Mushrooms
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh pappardelle pasta
• 4 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed
• 3/4 cup of bacon, diced
• 8 oz. thinly sliced button mushrooms, stems discarded
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• pinch of ground cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Add half of the corn kernels, the milk, and the cream to the bowl of a food processor and process until nearly smooth, approximately 1 minute. Set aside.
2. Add bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until fat has rendered and some pieces begin to crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms and remaining corn kernels to skillet and cook until they begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to low. Using a mesh strainer to filter out the solids, add the milk and corn mixture to the pan. Press the solids in the strainer with a spoon in order to extract all of the liquid. Simmer mixture for another two minutes or until it has thickened slightly.
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
6. Add cayenne pepper to skillet. Stir well. Remove pan from heat.
7. Drain cooked pasta and add it to the skillet.
8. Add parmesan cheese to skillet and stir well.
9. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.

I Tried Zucchini and I Liked It

Ever since a rather unfortunate incident in my childhood, I had vowed never again to eat zucchini. At the behest of my parents, I had taken a small nibble of the bitter, soggy vegetable in order to have a plate of Oreos for dessert. As much as I once loved Oreos, I remain unconvinced that my minuscule tasting of zucchini was possibly worth it.

Well owe it up to a bout of locavore lunacy, but guess what ended up in my Greenmarket tote last weekend? Yes, two heirloom varieties of the forsaken fruit (complementary membership to the Culinary Studio Fan Club for anyone who can remind me what varieties these are):


After cursing myself for purchasing a food I had vowed never to eat again I decided that I better suck it up and eat my zucchini. After all, it had been about 17 years since I had last tried it; I may have not matured by much in that time, but I'd like to think that my palate has. It was time to give zucchini another chance.

Owing zucchini a fair opportunity to make me take back all the bad names I had called it and the ugly glances I had given it on restaurant menus, I took care to peruse my cookbooks to come up with a recipe that made the vegetable sound palatable. Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's The Flavor Bible stated that black olives, pecorino cheese, mint, and lemon juice pair well with zucchini, and since I had all of the ingredients on hand, I decided to make a raw zucchini salad with them. I also owe thanks to Nate Appleman's A16: Food + Wine for additional inspiration on both the technique and the recipe.

So, did the recipe give me a new found love for zucchini? While I doubt I will be craving zucchini in the near future, I no longer count myself among the zucchini haters. Hell, I ate two platefuls. Zucchini and I have come a very long way indeed.


Zucchini Salad with Mint, Pecorino, and Lemon
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large zucchini
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 handful mint, minced
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
  
• Juice from half a lemon
• 3 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut ends of zucchini and discard. Thinly slice zucchini lengthwise.
   
2. Place zucchini in a colander and toss with kosher salt. Let colander sit in the sink until zucchini begins to wilt and soften, about ten minutes. Rinse zucchini well and pat dry. Set aside in a large bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss well. Serve immediately.

Spaghetti with Fava Beans and Pancetta

Pasta with fava beans is a traditional spring-time dish in Southern Italy. Locally grown fava beans may not be available in New York until summer, but it's still perfect dish for warm weather no matter the time of year. The fava beans add a refreshing sweetness, while the pancetta makes this light dish just hearty enough. I adapted the recipe from A16: Food + Wine; follow along to my photographed directions:

First, set your mise en place (red onion, pancetta, red pepper flakes, blanched and peeled fava beans, spaghetti, pecorino, black pepper, olive oil):


Next, saute the red onion in olive oil over medium heat:


Add the pancetta to the pan and was cook until it begins to get crispy:

Lower the heat to low, toss in the fava beans, pepper, and a ladle of pasta cooking water:


Toss the everything together with the pasta, add some olive oil, and top with grated pecorino cheese and serve:

Gooseberry Chutney

My brother, who is currently living in England recently asked me how to cook gooseberries, very tart berries that are prevalent in British markets. I told him that not only had I never seen gooseberries sold in the New York, but that even if they were sold here, I would not have the faintest idea of what to do with them. A recent trip to the Union Square Greenmarket proved me wrong, as I did find gooseberries for sale. Determined to cook a gooseberry recipe that would provide me with an answer to my brother's question, I purchased a pint of the berries.

Thinking that a gooseberry dessert would be too predictable, I opted to make a gooseberry chutney that I adapted from a recipe in Matt Tebbutt Cooks Country, a cookbook I purchased on my recent trip to London. I served the chutney atop seared duck breasts. The sweet and tart chutney played a wonderful counterpoint to the rich duck. I think even a Londoner-- or my brother-- would approve.


Gooseberry Chutney
Adapated from Matt Tebbutt Cook s Country

Ingredients:

• 1 pint gooseberries
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 200g sugar
• 1 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 2 tbsp. mustard seeds, toasted
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until chutney thickens to a jam consistency, 15 to 20 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Making a batch of strawberry rhubarb compote was the perfect way to celebrate a gorgeous July 4th weekend. This recipe is adapted from Thomas Keller's Bouchon. It is delicious as a topping for ice cream, pound cake, yogurt, you name it.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
Makes approximately 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. strawberries, cleaned quartered
• 1 lb. rhubarb, cleaned and trimmed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan.
2. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for about 4 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another two minutes.
4. Remove from heat and bring compote to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Two Simple Summer Desserts

Although these first few posts on my blog may indicate otherwise, I really do try to eat healthy during the week. On the weekends, I let go a little (and frequently), and cook as unhealthy as I feel like. I’m a runner, and I tend to run upwards of 20 miles on the weekends, so I figure I can eat whatever I please on the weekends to make up for the calories I burn. In line with my eat myself to self to death on the weekends philosophy, I like to treat myself to a desserts on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend, in an effort to make a dent in the outrageous amount of berries (strawberries, blueberries, and cherries) that I purchased at the Greenmarket yesterday, I made two simple desserts:

Balsamic Glazed Strawberries (apologies for the blurry picture)

• Mix equal parts balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Take off heat and mix in halved strawberries. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry Crisp for One

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix a handful of blueberries with about a teaspoon of vanilla. Add bluberries to ramekin.
• Mix by hand a small handful of rolled oats, a small handful of cornmeal, a dash of nutmeg, a dash a cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, and a teaspoon of butter. Put mixture on top of blueberries.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
• Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

A BLT to Celebrate the First Day of Summer

I try to make it to the Union Square Greenmarket bight and early every Saturday, before the crowds of tourists (and the heat) set in. Usually, I am half asleep as I make my way through the market shopping for a week’s worth of meats, veggies, eggs, and cheese. Today was no exception, until I happened upon my first sighting of beautiful New York tomatoes at Cherry Lane Farms. I was quickly reminded that today was the first day of summer, and what better way to celebrate the day than to make a nice BLT for lunch? Among the rest of my bounty from the Greenmarket were a $4 beefsteak tomato from Cherry Lane, a $1 head of romaine from Paffenroth, a $13 package of bacon from Violet Hill, and a $4 loaf of multigrain bread from Bread Alone. Combined with some very non-local Hellman’s mayo (I’m not quite ready to make my own mayo from local eggs…yet), I have the result of today’s Greenmarket excursion:

A pricey BLT, indeed, but well worth it. Happy first day of Summer 2k8!