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Extra Healthy Salmon Burger

For years, we have made salmon wraps with the trim from whole fish. As we prep the filets for our dinner menu, there is always some trim left over from the belly and around the head. Now we have two uses for that extra protein.

To make this yourself, you can start by cutting all of the trim pieces (or left-over filet) into small cubes. Then, mix the cubes in a bowl with precooked (and brought to room temperature) quinoa, Sofrito, parsley and seasoning salt.

Mold the mixture into the size of your favorite burger and place it on a flat grill (or in a cast-iron skillet) over high heat. Cook to your liking (it takes three minutes per side for a salmon burger to be cooked medium).
Service with a sliced kale salad tossed with feta, blueberries, quinoa and red wine vinaigrette. Sweet potato fries are fun to add, too.

EXTRA HEALTHY SALMON BURGER (serves 4)

- 1/2-pound salmon
- 1-cup red quinoa, precooked and set at room temperature
- 3-Tbs Sofrito (finely diced red pepper, red onion, jalapeño, garlic, salt and olive oil)
- 1-tsp seasoning salt (ground white pepper, ground cumin seed, kosher salt)

A Dinner for a Leader: Supporting "The Trotter Project"

I grew up with Charlie Trotter, we both graduated from New Trier High School. Later we met again when I had the opportunity to cook with him at the James Beard House in New York. That was 1997 and from that day forward, we stayed connected. When Charlie passed away this November, it was devastating to the industry, not to mention his family and friends… and to me. Charlie was a leader. I was happy - and proud - to follow.

The Trotter Project honors the legacy of Charlie through programs, services and events promoting culinary and personal excellence. Its mission is to create a sense of community among individuals dedicated to these principles. It is a project that I feel honored to promote. It is my intention to raise funds and awareness for it. My special dish this weekend is planned to do just that.

My Arborio Crusted Sea Scallops creation is my favorite Charlie Trotter-inspired dish. Charlie featured an Arborio Crusted Oyster dish in his seafood cookbook years ago. That’s where the inspiration sparked.

Please consider trying the recipe and making a donation to The Trotter Project. Charlie Trotter Day is a good idea; the culinary center in his name is an outstanding one. I hope to play my small part in pushing both along.

For more information on "Charlie Trotter Day", watch the video:

I think of Charlie almost every day. We are now responsible to carry on his focus of excellence in the house he built for the culinary world to come together and celebrate all things delicious.

ARBORIO SEA SCALLOPS and EGGPLANT CAVIAR FOR THE TROTTER PROJECT 
(serves 4)
For the puree:
1/2-cup mirpoix (diced onion, celery, carrot)

Boil 4 fresh redskin potatoes ahead of time and hold at room temperature.

1 medium eggplant (diced)
2 sunburst squash (diced)
4-Tbs sofrito (finely diced red pepper, jalapeño, onion, garlic, cilantro, vegetable oil)
2-Tbs olive oil
1-Tbs seasoning salt (kosher salt, white pepper, ground cumin seed)
1-Tbs La Chinata (smoked paprika)
1 lemon (juiced)
1/4-cup chopped parsley and oregano

Toss all, place on a sheet pan and roast in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Then, place in a processor and add a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Run until smooth.

For service, combine the following in a sauté pan over medium flame and stir for 3 minutes:
2 sunburst squash (diced)
1/4-cup mirpoix
2-Tbs olive oil
2-Tbs sofrito

Remove from the flame and add the eggplant puree at room temperature. Place on the back of the stove.

Puree 1/2-cup Arborio rice until powder in a spice grinder.

Dip scallops in egg whites. Then roll them in the Arborio flour.  Season with the seasoning salt (described above).

Place 3 scallops per person in a large sauté pan with 1/4-cup of grape seed oil preheated over medium to high heat.  Turn scallops after a minute or two when golden brown.  Repeat the process on the other side and transfer them to a dry pan to place in a hot oven.

Plate by adding 1-Tbs of sour cream to each plate.  Then flatten with a spoon.  Add 2 spoons of eggplant caviar and 3 slices of boiled potato, then add the scallops (3 per plate) and a handful of pea sprouts.  Finish the potatoes with salt and herb.

Lauren Bacall

I was driving home from a farm in Sullivan County, New York this morning when I heard the sad news of Lauren Bacall’s passing.  My old pal Peter Stone was close with Lauren.  For years, they would have summer lunches together at Estia’s in Amagansett.  

She was kind, soft-spoken and sharp as a tack.  We had lots of conversations about her house on Further Lane.  She said it was a dark day when she sold it and often wished that had never happened.  Peter was a playwright and screenwriter who had worked with Lauren in the 60s and 70s.  Since then, they had long lunches full of laughter.  

My best memory of Lauren Bacall comes from her taste for the perfect BLT.  Once she learned that I had a garden, she got into the habit of asking me if the tomatoes were ready as soon as she arrived at the restaurant.  The order that followed was always the same:  BLT on lightly toasted white bread with just a touch of mayo. 

Today at both restaurants, the Bacall Special will follow her request.

Halibut Roasted in Parchment

My oldest child Lyman has a taste for fish. She likes it fresh and soft, cooked with a little more than a splash of wine and a pinch of salt most of the time. Tonight was a special dinner; Lyman just finished her summer internship in Manhattan. As the Jitney she was riding turned off the L.I.E. and headed for the Sunrise Highway, we traded text messages. I asked her what she wanted for dinner. She responded, “Should we do fish?” followed by, “Will you bring some of the lovely Rosé home, too?”

I chose halibut because it’s my favorite. We keep a box of parchment paper on hand at the Little Kitchen for all kinds of uses. Sometimes it lines a sheet pan for drying herbs. Sometimes it is used to make it easier to remove a batch of brownies from a pan. Tonight, parchment came in handy as we cooked — or actually steamed — our halibut.

The Little Kitchen’s garden is full of squash, onions, tomatoes and basil. Cooking fish in parchment requires more than the fish, so the gardens’ contribution made our meal perfect.

For your meal, start with whatever vegetables you wish to use. Soften them in a sauté pan with butter (or oil) and add the herb at the end. Season to your liking. Then, place the parchment over a roasting dish and lay the warm vegetables on the paper. Follow with the fish filet. The filet should be cut into pieces a little thicker than your thumb. Sprinkle with salt, then hit it with a squeeze of lemon. Close the package with a fold. Then add a second tighter fold to seal. Now place the roasting dish in an oven that has been preheated to 375 degrees F.

The fish will be ready by the time it takes to make a small pot of rice and toss a salad. As for my dinner for Lyman, I also cut off the kernels of six ears of corn. I added three tablespoons of butter and seasoned the corn with salt and pepper. Then I tossed the corn into the oven in a matching roasting dish wrapped in parchment, too.

HALIBUT ROASTED IN PARCHMENT

2.5-pounds halibut filet (cut into 12 pieces)
1 large tomato (diced)
2 zucchini squash (diced)
6 scallions (chopped)
1/4-cup fresh basil (chopped)
3-Tbs unsalted butter
1 small red pepper (seeded and diced)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon (juiced)

Roast at 375 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.