SUMMER AND SEAFOOD

 

                                        Summer and seafood

 

          Summer finally has come in full bloom as we approach our nation’s 250^th birthday celebrations. Exhibitions, parades, fairs, concerts, barbeques and fireworks are on schedule for everyone as we proudly celebrate this memorable event in history on the 4^th of July, that continues to shape our everyday lives. One of my fond memories is celebrating the 4^th of July at a concert in front of the US Capitol Steps, with Aaron Copleland conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, and the fireworks bursting overhead at the finale.  

          For the cook it is easy to adapt to this celebration with blue, red and white accents on the table. Even a red, white and blue potato salad is effortless as many of our stores carry small potatoes in all those colors. However, summer in Maine has the added advantage of plentiful seafood, providing easy and lighter fare for hot summer days when some meals are likely to be taken al fresco dining, which we get from the Italian habit of eating outdoors when it is warm.

                                       Smoked salmon sandwiches

          Local smoked salmon can be the basis for a leisurely lunch attractively presented on open-faced sandwiches and takes very little effort to construct an appetizing plate.

          Start with slices of a baguette or thin slices of roggenbrot (dense rye), spread with butter or cream cheese, cover with a piece of thin sliced salmon, onion and capers. Serve with sliced hardboiled egg, olives, pickles or grape tomatoes and garnish with dill if desired. Seve with lemonade or another cool drink in the shade to relax and savor the day.

           My recent encounter with a very recalcitrant lobster started innocently enough. My very good friend Dan generously offered me a lobster from his first haul. I have been the grateful recipient of such a gift now for many years and was looking forward to cooking it at home that evening. Alas, when I removed the seaweed from the cooler in which the lobster arrived and picked him up to dunk in the pot, I almost dropped the enormous angry creature from surprise as it poked its long antennae toward my face and waved furiously it’s barnacle encrusted claws. It barely fit the pot, requiring force to keep the lid down. It was extremely hard shelled, required garden shears to cut open the tail and 20 minutes of pounding with a hammer on a cement floor to break the claws, but that bigger than a dinner plate sized lobster had a lot of delicious meat, some of which ended up in the following salad.

                                                 Dilly lobster salad

          Cutup 2 cups bite size lobster meat from claws and/or tail. Prepare the dressing by mixing: 1/3 cup sour cream, 2 tsp. chopped capers, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. juice from dill pickles, 2 tbsp. chopped dill and ¼ tsp. lemon pepper.

          In a bowl gently mix the lobster with 1/3 cup finely chopped celery and the dressing, Chill for a couple of hours and serve on romaine lettuce with crusty bread.

                                                            Summer snapper

          This tender and colorful fish dinner for two comes together easily and quickly. Prepare the vegetables ready to sauté in one pan and have another medium pan ready for the fish.

Vegetables: ½ thinly sliced onion, ½ red and ½ green or yellow pepper seeded and chopped, 1 diced Roma tomato and 1 tbsp. chopped capers.

          Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter in a medium pan and sauté onion for 5 minutes, stir in red and green pepper, tomato, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and capers and continue to sauté for additional 3-5 minutes.

           Cut 1 lb. skin-on snapper in half, season with salt and pepper, dredge in flower shaking off excess. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter to hot but not smoking, fry the snapper on medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side and remove from heat.

          Serve fish with a side of the vegetables and a steamed ear of corn. Garnish with lemon and dill.

          Happy 4^th of July!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

SERIOUS SUMMER SALADS

                                        Serious summer salads

           The summer solstice approaches on Sunday, May 21^st. Interestingly the date for this varies from year to year because our human yearly calendar is set for 365 days but it takes the earth 365.25 days to orbit the sun completely.  So, humans have to adjust.

          The cook wisely adjusts seasonal menus to reflect not only available produce but also to look toward our lighter and cooler tastes with colorful eye appeal. We savor green and crunchy salads not only for lunch but also sometimes for dinner, which require additional tasty combinations of greens with vegetables and seafood or meat. 

                                      Shrimp salad on artichoke bottoms

          In a small bowl mix the dressing: ½ cup sour cream, juice and grated zest of ½ lemon, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp. chopped dill 1 tbsp. chopped capers, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper and ½ tsp. salt.

          Thaw ½ - ¾ lb. medium cooked shrimp, cut in half and remove tail cartilage. Place in a medium bowl, add 1 finely chopped shallot and 1 finely chopped stalk of celery. Thoroughly mix in the dressing and chill for at least one hour. Serve on arugula and drained canned artichoke bottoms. On the side add sliced seedless cucumber and radish salad tossed with seasoned rice vinegar, crisp chilled dilly beans and crusty bread, fitting for a steamy day lunch or light supper.

                                      Provençal beef and potato salad

          This recipe has an old and interesting history in my kitchen. The legendary Commissary restaurant in center city Philadelphia served this outstanding salad to our enjoyment many years ago and shortly after, “Gourmet” magazine responded to other readers request for it. Both the restaurant and “Gourmet” are no longer in existence, but the recipe still survives only slightly modified in my kitchen with delicious results. It requires a bit of advance planning but is most certainly worth the effort. This recipe is for 4 generous servings.

          Prepare the dressing by combining in a blender: 2/3 cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup white distilled vinegar, 2 tbsp. chopped dill or parsley, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp. sugar, ½ tsp. pepper, 2 chopped garlic cloves and 2 tsp. anchovy paste.

          Scrub and cook 1 and ½ lb. of new potatoes in salted water for 15-16 minutes until just tender. Drain, cut in about 1-inch pieces and toss with the dressing while hot. Refrigerate for 3 hours minimum or overnight.

          In a large bowl mix in the potatoes: 2 cups of bite size cubed, cold grilled steak or roast beef, 12 halved cherry tomatoes, 4 tbsp. chopped capers, 4 tbsp. chopped dill or parsley, ¼ cup halved pitted Kalamata olives and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on romaine lettuce sprinkled with chopped dill or parsley.

          It is still strawberry season, so I could not resist making a strawberry-rhubarb pie. The combination of the seasons first fruits makes such a delicious sweet-tart dessert.

                                          Strawberry-rhubarb pie  

          Wash, trim and cut fresh juicy rhubarb into 1-inch pieces to make 2 cups. Hull fresh strawberries and cut in half to make 2 cups of strawberries. Blend together in a small bowl 1 and ¼ - ½ cups of sugar with 3 tbsp. cornstarch.

          Line a 9-inch pie plate with 1 sheet of prepared pie crust from the Deli department in your store, fitting the crust to the bottom of the plate. Spread ¼ of the sugar mix on top. Toss the fruit with the rest of the sugar mix and turn into the prepared pie plate. Spread out evenly, dot with 1 tbs. butter and fit the top crust over, pinching the rim to seal. Cut vents on top, brush lightly with heavy cream and sprinkle with nutmeg.

          Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. To prevent dripping place a piece of aluminum foil on the rack below the pie at this point and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the filling can be seen bubbling through the vents. Cool to lukewarm or room temperature to serve and enjoy.

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

CHICKEN TO THE RESCUE

 

                                     Chicken to the rescue

          June is a busy month and arrives waving its flag-on-Flag Day, the 14^th day of this Semiquincentennital year for USA. In addition, we have Juneteenth, Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice not even counting all the graduations and weddings clustered in this thirty-day period. While parties and gatherings all involve food, the home cook can be overwhelmed with such preparations and is likely to look for quick shortcuts to come up with tasty and satisfying regular meals.

          At times like this the home cook loves roast chicken as a staple not only for a delicious dinner, but also as source for tasty ready-cooked meat for additional meals. One of the benefits of our modern food purveyor system is the ready availability of Rotisserie chicken at our supermarkets which comes as a time saving boon for the cook. After the initial meal of roast chicken, there are limitless delicious possibilities for the remaining chicken meat and even the rest of the carcass for soup.

                                        Lemony creamed chicken

          Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large pan and sauté 2 cups cut up mushrooms with 2 sliced shallots and 1tsp. salt for 5 minutes. Stir in 1and ½ tbsp. flour and when incorporated, stir in 1 and ½ cup chicken broth and juice of ½ lemon. Cook on low heat to make a smooth sauce for about 2 minutes. Stir in 2-3 cups bite sized leftover roast chicken for 2-3 minutes to heat thoroughly then stir in ½ cup half and half and heat without boiling. Serve hot on rice, pasta or toast with a green salad.

 

                                                 Tangy Chicken salad

          Prepare the dressing by mixing thoroughly: ¼ cup sour cream, 1-2 tsp. white wine vinegar, ½ tsp. lemon pepper, ¼ tsp. celery seed, 1/3 tsp. dry mustard, 1/3 tsp. onion powder and ½ tsp. salt.

Salad: coarsely chop 3 cups of leftover roast chicken, 1 chopped stalk of celery, ¼ cup chopped dill cucumber pickles, 1 tbsp finely chopped onion and 1 chopped hard-boiled egg. Thoroughly mix the salad with the dressing and serve on lettuce.

                                                   Spring vegetable soup

          Sauté 1 large, chopped onion in 1 tbsp. olive oil for 5 minutes in a 3-4 qt. pot.  Add leftover bones from 2 roast chickens (one previously saved frozen), 4 cups water, 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. salt, 4 cloves, ½ tsp. lemon pepper 1 tsp., thyme, 2 large carrots and 2 stalks celery halved. Add additional water to cover all solids, bring to boil, lower temperature to simmer and cover to cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

          Remove carrots to set aside, strain the liquid through a sieve and return to the pot. Cut the carrots in bite size and return to the pot. Add ½ cup Ditalini pasta, 2/3 cups frozen string beans, 1 cup frozen peas and cook for 8 minutes, add ½ cup frozen corn and cook for additional 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp. pesto and serve hot with crusty bread.

          As the 13^th century old English song states with some translation: “Summer is icumen in, Loudly sing, Cuckoo!”

     (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)