Saturday, July 27, 2013

soBro skewers



Seafood and a charcoal grill are naturals and we grill in the ClockTower backyard. The fish cooks quickly and retains its moisture, and gathers smokey flavors. 

Let’s grill seafood en brochette.



For a party of six or so assemble six large sea scallops, one salmon steak...


...less than a pound of monkfish and about a pound of jumbo shrimp.

Butterfly the steak and cut it into equal sized cubes.


Slice the scallops into halves.


Trim the monk to a similar size, and leave the jumbo shrimp whole.


Ready?

Now slice a couple lemons very thin and prepare small bamboo skewers.


One of each piece slides on the skewer.



Now for the marinade, one cup of plain yogurt, one shallot diced, one tablespoon of fresh ground pepper, a small fist of chopped fresh dill plus the juice of one whole lemon, then salt and mix it up.


This is lighter than eggy, mayonnaise based sauces and pure white, so add a bit of turmeric to give it a healthy, pale yellow glow.


Then dump it on the skewers, cover and refrigerate over night. 


Yum. 

Everything can be prepared ahead so all you have to do
 with your guests is hangout, drink and grill.


We’ll use toasted brioche for sandwiches, so let’s make a sandwich spread.



Put a big dollop of crème fraîche into a non-reactive bowl and chop a handful of little French-pickle cornichons. 

I do love that word. :-)


Mince in a tablespoon of capers, add another bit of dill, a lot of ground pepper, one teaspoon of good Dijon mustard and the squeeze of half a lemon.


Mix and let it marry in the fridge overnight.

jj

And now the fun part!

Make sure your grill is very hot, roast your potatoes with olive oil, salt and rosemary and sear the skewers quickly on each side.



Now toast your brioche to give them fancy grill lines, butter them with the crème fraîche pickle-spread and serve with coleslaw and lime wedges, to make a hot seafood, citrusy sandwich.


Every bit as good as it looks!  Ah, fleeting summer.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013

they call this an improvement



113 year old traditions are not destroyed and hauled away lightly.


But that’s about to happen in the Bronx.


Since 1900--even before Teddy Roosevelt was in office--City Island visitors have been welcomed by this antique bridge, but all that’s about to change.



The test bores for new bridge foundations have been completed.


And the low bidder has been chosen, Tutor Perini, a California firm.


The CityIsland Councilman and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. have both objected to this bridge project, and the locals are up in arms.



But the $102.7 million price tag is the lowest of 11 bids and it is looking like the old bridge has no chance.

I think that’s sad. 

They could refurbish and reinforce that old bridge for a fraction of that cost, and retain City Island’s “old fishing village” flavor.


Instead, this will be the first cable-stayed bridge
 in New York State.

The designer says the “H” shape refers to sailing boats.


Perhaps.

It just looks like a huge, out-of-place Honda logo to me.


Better go cross that old bridge, if you have not. 


Another charming olde Bronx artifact will be lost,
 and very soon.