Valentine’s Day. I love going to a restaurant. The trouble is that it is hard to find an intimate restaurant. One without a television anywhere in sight. One with suitably romantic music playing. One with discreet lighting and low noise levels. bistros, brew pubs, farm-to-table kitchens, we’ve got by the tonne. Romantic restaurants are a rare thing. Don’t you agree?
So why not create a little ambiance at home this Valentine’s? Candlelight, a good soundtrack, a table set for two with linen napkins, the good china, silver, and crystal all goes into setting the tone for a wonderful meal and memorable evening.
Now, I love to cook. But if your talents lie in other directions, take advantage of take-out from a favorite restaurant, prepared foods from Whole Foods, Fresh Market, your local fish monger or butcher. Or prepare what you know best, just make sure that the ingredients are fresh and take a bit of care with the presentation. An omelet aux fines herbes, green salad with a Dijon vinaigrette, crusty bread and a bottle of the best champagne you can afford will be the highlight of any evening!
In case you like to muck about over the stove, the kind PR people at Panna have offered Easy and Elegant Life’s readers a couple of celebrity chef Michael Anthony’s (of NYC’s Gramercy Tavern) recipes from their new app and wonderful website. Panna is video-based to help you see how to prepare a recipe while you’re engaged in cooking and offers advice from chefs, wine-merchants/sommeliers on food and drink pairings! A subscription is $14.99 a year and looks like a good deal for those who are visual learners.
Enjoy! And, of course, don’t forget to dress for the day….
Fried Oysters with Pickled Ginger Aioli
Michael Anthony Executive Chef/Partner
Yields: 4 servings
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 7 hours
Tip: Do the pickles anywhere from a one day to one month in advance so that the ginger can fully pickle. The sauce can also be made up to a week in advance.
Fried Oysters
12 medium-sized oysters, shucked
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups breadcrumbs (such as panko)
4 eggs
Water
1 quart grapeseed or canola oil
Pickled Ginger and Garlic Sauce (recipe below)
Procedure:
1. Heat oil to 375F in a large pot.
- While oil is hearing, whisk eggs and a teaspoon or two of water in a small mixing bowl to create an egg wash.
- Shuck oysters, removing meat gently with a spoon and make sure they are clean of shells. Wash and reserve the shells.
- Lightly bread each oyster by dredging each first in flour, then egg wash, then roll in breadcrumbs. Handle carefully, and knock off any excess dredging flour, egg, or breadcrumbs.
- Fry oysters in oil at 375°F, several at a time, for no more than 20 to 25 seconds; the outside should be golden brown while the inside still barely cooked.
- To serve, place fried oyster back in their cleaned shells. Top with a dollop of pickled ginger and garlic sauce. (Recipes follow.)
Pickled Ginger
(This will yield extra pickled ginger than necessary for the oyster recipe, but can be stored for up to a month, or recipe halved.)
4 oz. ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp salt
Procedure:
- Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add sliced ginger to the pan, and immediately remove from heat.
- Pour into small mixing bowl and allow to cool for 6 to 8 hours.
- Pickled ginger will keep for up to two weeks in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Pickled Ginger and Garlic Sauce
(Yield: 1 pint)
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup grapeseed oil
½ cup olive oil (s/a/a)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 tbsp pickled ginger, minced
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce
Procedure:
- In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and Dijon mustard until smooth and emulsified. Add canola oil very slowly, drop by drop to start, then in a fine drizzle, whisking constantly. This will emulsify with the yolks. Add olive oil in the same manner. Should be thick and emulsified.
- Add vinegar, lemon juice and zest together until doubled in volume.
- Fold in garlic, pickled ginger, salt and soy sauce.
- Let sit for about an hour to let flavors come together. Taste and season as necessary, perhaps with a bit of pickling liquid. Can be made up to one week in advance.
To serve:
1. Place an oyster in each cleaned shell.
2. Top each with a small dollop of sauce, and a slivered slice or two of pickled ginger.
Michael Anthony
Lobster with Basil-Lemon Butter
EQUIPMENT
Food processor
Spatula
Microplane or other fine zester
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Large pot
Large slotted spoon
Plate
Spoon
Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
BASIL-LEMON BUTTER
1 Stick (4 oz., 113 g) Unsalted butter, room temperature
Juice from .5 lemon
.5 tsp. (3 g) Lemon zest
.25 Bunch fresh basil, leaves picked washed, and chopped
.5 Shallot, peeled and minced
2 T (5 g) minced chives
Pinch salt
Fresh-ground pepper
LOBSTER AND TO FINISH
Two 1.5 Pound (.68 kg each) live lobsters
Water
Sea Salt
Olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Sea salt
1 Recipe Basil-Lemon Butter
Step 1
Put a large pot .33 full of water — enough to steam, but not fully submerge the lobster — to boil. Meanwhile, make the compound butter by placing butter, herbs, shallot, lemon, salt, pepper, and zest in bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, adding water 1 spoonful at a time if necessary to loosen and blend properly. Transfer seasoned butter to small container, cover and hold at room temperature. (This can be made in advance, refrigerated, and brought back to room temperature for serving.)
Step 2
When water has boiled, add sea salt, approximately one handful for each quart of water. Add whole lobster and steam for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Remove lobster from pot using a large slotted spoon or tongs. When cool enough to handle, break down the lobster in this order, placing each piece of meat gently on a plate: First remove the claws. Then, separate the tail from the head. Break the thick leg attached to the claw into two pieces at the joint, using the kitchen counter as leverage. Break claw into two pieces, loosening at the joint. Split claw open with back of a chef’s knife, and twisting at 90 degree angles.
Step 4
Lay each tail on its side and press down to crack. Do not smash. Use thumbs to peel shell away, and pull the tail out. Trim away any ragged, small pieces of meat. Break down the elbows by gently breaking shell with the back of a chef’s knife in several places and peeling away the shell. Gently scrape the albumen from the meat.
Step 5
To finish, use the back of a spoon to smear some compound butter on the plate’s rim. Slice lobster tail in half lengthwise, and arrange with other lobster pieces on the plate. Garnish meat with an additional dollop of butter, sea salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
