LOBSTER RISOTTO

This recipe is courtesy of Jay Coburn the former Owner and Executive Chef of restaurant Chester in Provincetown. Jay will soon be opening Chester at Home a gourmet catering firm that will create small dinner parties and intimate events. Find out more at www.chesterrestaurant.com. Jay says that this dish is great for a dinner party because it can be prepared in advance, held and then quickly completed just before service. (See tip in the recipe).

The secret to this dish is the delicious stock. You can make a simple version by boiling the lobster bodies in water to cover for 20 minutes, but Jay's version is much better. We prepared the lobsters by boiling them but at the restaurant they kill the lobsters first and then steam the bodies, claws and tails separately. Our approach works but the restaurant way yields more flavorful meat although we know that many home cooks are uncomfortable doing it that way. Either way, keep the meat a little under done so it doesn't over cook when heated in the risotto.

Serves 6 for a main course.

STOCK

Ingredients

3 1-1/2 pound lobsters
2 Tbsp plus 1/4 cup olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small fennel bulb, cored and chopped
1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
10 cups water
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 28-oz can plum tomatoes
2 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
3/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs fresh tarragon
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add lobsters, return to a boil and cook for 4 minutes.

Remove lobsters and let cool.

Remove claws and tail and set aside.

Place lobster bodies in roasting pan and drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Put in oven and roast for 45 minutes until slightly charred.

Meanwhile remove meat from claws and tail. Chop meat and reserve in the refrigerator. Discard shells from claws and tail.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large, heavy stockpot over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, onions, carrots and fennel, and sauté, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add roasted lobster bodies, water and all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Let cool and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Strain again through a cheesecloth for a more refined stock (optional).
Hold stock for use in the risotto or chill or freeze for future use.

RISOTTO

Ingredients

2 quarts reserved lobster stock
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Reserved meat from claws and tails of 3 1-1/2 pound lobsters, slightly undercooked
4 oz. grated Parmesan, Pecorino or Asiago cheese
2 oz. unsalted butter, cold

Method

In a stockpot bring lobster stock to a low simmer.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until glossy, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice and cook, stirring, until kernels are slightly translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until evaporated.
Add one cup of simmering stock and stir constantly until absorbed by the rice. Add another cup of stock and stir until absorbed. Repeat process of adding stock, stirring and reducing.

In 10 minutes, begin tasting rice. You want it to be tender but with a hint of crunch; it could take 20 minutes or more.

(Tip: Hold risotto at this point by spreading it on a sheet pan and refrigerating. Then reheat and finish just before you are ready to serve.)

Add lobster meat to hot rice and stir for a minute to heat lobster through. And half of the grated cheese and the butter and stir vigorously to incorporate.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat and serve garnished with the remaining cheese.

Tracy's Wine Recommendation: Enjoy a "big" style Chardonnay with this dish, it highlights the rich flavors of the lobster beautifully. Make sure you don't serve it too cold though, as it will contrast too much with the warm and soothing feel of the risotto (Dianne gives some good general advice: 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, take the white out of the fridge and put the red in!). Try: Benziger Chardonnay (Carneros/Napa, California) $16.99...Not only yummy, but also happens to be an organic/biodynamic wine.

PALIO PIZZERIA'S CAPE COD CALZONE

We're big fans of this calzone and the good folks at Palio Pizza were kind enough to share their recipe with us. Although we used their dough-to-go, they told us that results at home would not as good as theirs because home ovens can't match the high, even heat of their brick ovens. After trying both versions we agree but don't let that stop you from trying it yourself. The key is to stretch the dough as thin as possible.

Ingredients

Corn meal and flour for dusting work surfaces
1/2 of a large package Palio Pizza dough-to-go
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup mozzarella cheese, finely diced
10 oz peeled shrimp, roughly chopped and very cold
1/2 cup chopped clams
2 Tbsp garlic minced
Squirt or two of fresh lemon juice

Method

Place pizza stone in oven and pre-heat to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
Sprinkle corn meal and a little flour on a pizza peel and set aside.

Roll dough with a rolling pin out to a disk roughly 8 inches in diameter.

Using your hands (put your fists in the center of the disk and work outward), gently stretch the dough until it is very, very thin. Gently lay dough on pizza peel.

Drizzle olive oil on one half of dough.

Spread 3/4 cups of cheese on the half of dough with olive oil.

Add shrimp, clams and garlic on top of cheese.

Fold uncovered half of dough on top of the half with the shrimp mixture.

Press edges of calzone together lightly and sprinkle top of calzone with remaining cheese.

Slide calzone onto hot pizza stone.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese starts to get brown spots.

Squeeze lemon on calzone and serve.

Tracy's Wine Recommendation: Dianne and Doug actually went back to the restaurant after our recipe tasting to try the wine and the calzone together again-Palio's brick oven lends a special something to the way the crust comes out and they wanted to be sure it was as it should be (tough job, huh?). The right wine for the job turned out to be a white blend from Sicily. The wine worked wonders for both the yeasty flavors of the dough and the delicate flavors of the shrimp and clams.

Try: Cusumano Angimbe Chardonnay/Insolia (Sicily, Italy) $16.99.

STRAWBERRY ARUGULA SPRING SALAD

My sister Vanessa brought this to a family celebration to great acclaim last year. The combination of ingredients may sound strange, but they work. More of a main course, than a starter, especially if you add the optional toasted pecans and cheese. Do make sure you buy the freshest arugula and strawberries, say at a farmers’ market for the brightest flavors. Serve with a crusty loaf of good bread and Tracy’s wine selection and you’re good to go.

Ingredients:

1 pound of baby arugula, washed and dried thoroughly
1 pint strawberries, sliced thin
1 small Bermuda onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup pecans, toasted (optional)
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled (optional)
1/3 cup corn oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp chopped onion
1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp paprika

Method:

In a blender, combine corn oil, white vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds, chopped onion, Worcestershire Sauce and paprika. Mix until all the ingredients are completely dissolved. Toss salad ingredients with dressing and adjust seasoning to taste.

Tracy’s Wine Recommendation: I love pairing wine with recipes like this because it’s a challenge to work with lots of flavors: sweet, salty and vegetal, in this case. A white grape varietal well known in Austria but little known here—Gruner Veltliner—is certainly up to the task. The wine’s crisp, refereshing mineral qualities are great for salads and vegetables, and the slight peachy notes work with both salty and sweet. Example: Anton Bauer “Gmork” Gruner Veltliner (Austria) $14.99.

CHEF JOHN’S BAKED STUFFED SCROD WITH NEWBERG SAUCE

Serves 4

Nothing says Cape Cod like scrod and sea scallops for an entree. Flaky white scrod is excellent for rolling and stuffing. Sea scallops make the stuffing moist like the ocean air of a Cape Cod morning. The Newburg Sauce tastes good on just about anything, but for some reason it seems to tastes better on a cool spring night east of the Bourne Bridge.

If you are wondering what scrod is, Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a young fish (as a cod or haddock)”. Scrod in restaurants is indeed just young cod. There is a small difference in the quality of the meat in the immature fish. I’m sure a sophisticated palate could probably make the distinction, based mostly on texture. The truth to buying scrod is to make sure that it is fresh. When scrod is frozen, the flakiness of the fish tends to form more ice crystals within the layers. This sometimes can make the frozen fish taste synthetic, so always try to buy it fresh.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup fresh sea scallops, finely chopped
1-1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1 Tbsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 egg
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
4 1/2-lb thin scrod fillets
4 slices prosciutto ham

Method:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl add chopped scallops, bread crumbs, chopped garlic, egg, salt and pepper. Mix completely so the egg moistens all the dry ingredients. Separate the mixture into 4 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. On a baking sheet, lay out the scrod fillets. Place the ball of seafood bread crumbs in the middle of each fillet, and wrap the thinnest end up and over the ball. Then roll the rest around the stuffing so the entire ball is wrapped in the fish fillet. Use toothpicks to secure the rolled fish so it will bake in the rolled position. Next take 2 slices of prosciutto and lay them over the top of each fillet and wrap and tuck under the roll. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Remove toothpicks. Top with Newburg Sauce. [Note from Chef John: Please remember to count the number of toothpicks you use so that you can be sure you have removed ALL of them before serving!]

NEWBURG SAUCE

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp butter
3 tsp flour
6 Tbsp dry cooking sherry
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Mix the butter and flour together to make a paste. Heat a sauce pan to medium heat and add the butter and flour, whisking continuously. Once butter melts and begins to bubble slowly, turn heat to low and, continuously whisking, add in the sherry, then the cream, then the salt and paprika. Remove from heat, add the parmesan cheese and serve over the baked stuffed scrod.

Tracy’s Wine Recommendation: This dish would work very well with a moderately oaked French chardonnay. Look for a wine with enough body to stand up to the stuffing and the sauce, yet with a good dose of acidity to balance the rich flavors. Example: 2005 Jean Thevenet Macon Pierreclos ($18.99).

CREAM SCONES

yield: 12

Ingredients

1-1/2 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
3 cups pastry flour
1/4 - 1/2-cup organic sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 to 1-1/3 cups heavy cream (mixed with 1 tsp almond extract optional)
1-1/4 cup chopped Torn Ranch dried plums or apricots
    (soaked in warm water, then drained)

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl. Blend to mix.

Add the butter cubes and mix quickly with fingertips until butter pieces are about the size of peas, some larger is okay for flakiness. Add cream and mix lightly with hands until dough starts to come together. Add more cream if mixture seems dry. You want it to be moist but not sticky. Add dried fruit. Knead dough in bowl until it just comes together, then turn onto floured surface and knead into a 10" round. Using dough scraper or sharp knife cut in half then turn and cut in half again. Cut each quarter into three scones. Place on paper lined baking sheet and chill 15-20 minutes. Brush tops of scones with egg wash/cream blend and then sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top and set in centers.

GRILLED FLAT IRON STEAK SALAD WITH ARUGULA, PARMESAN, SHALLOT-SOY VINAIGRETTE & CRISPY ONIONS

This recipe is courtesy of Anthony Silvestri, sous chef of the fabulous Ocean House in Dennis Port. Silvestri is fond of using asian ingredients and techniques to put a fusion spin on classic recipes.

Ingredients:

4 6-oz. flat iron steaks
8 oz. arugula
4 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
4 Tbsp minced chives
1 onion, thinly sliced and fried
4 Tbsp chili oil

Marinade:

4 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp minced scallions
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Shallot-Soy Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
2 Tbsp minced shallots
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Method:

Combine marinade ingredients in a 10-gallon bucket. Let steaks marinate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Grill steak to your liking. Let rest at room temperature before slicing.

Combine all ingredients for shallot-soy vinaigrette, except grapeseed oil, and mix thoroughly. Slowly add 1-1/2 cups of grapeseed oil to form an emulsion.

Toss arugula in shallot-soy vinaigrette. Assemble on plate and top with sliced steak. Garnish with parmesan cheese, minced chives, fried onions and chili oil.

Tracy’s Wine Recommendation: Soy-based dressings can be tricky when pairing wine, especially when the other components of the dish are especially delicate. In the case of this recipe, however, the grilled steak balances the soy and together they are perfect for a medium bodied, fruit-forward Merlot. Example: Snoqualmie Merlot (Washington) $10.99.