Salt Crusted Striped Bass, Endive & Arugula Salad w/ Peaches & Almonds, Summer Vegetable Gratin, Cheesecake with Strawberry Coulis

Whew what a meal.  I am tired just typing the title!  I will start with the cheesecake which turned out the best.  The process wasn't all that different from most cheesecake recipes except for the use of a water bath and the addition of heavy whipping cream.  It was so good!  It also was beautiful and didn't crack thanks to the water bath.  I whipped up the strawberry coulis condiment to serve alongside.  Those of you reading that have this cookbook...TRY THE CHEESECAKE RECIPE!

For the salt crusted striped bass, I actually had to use a whole five pound red snapper. (Striped bass isn't in season right now).  I mixed up a mixture of kosher salt and egg whites and packed it around the fish while I tried not to look at his pitiful eyes staring at me. 

After roasting in the oven, cracking the salt crust, and fileting the fish it was ready to serve.

The summer vegetable gratin was a layering of eggplant, squash, tomatoes, zucchini with bread crumbs and parmesan baked on a bed of onions and garlic.  It was a great recipe to serve to make use of the bounty in the farmer's markets and gardens right now.

The endive & arugula salad consisted of the two lettuces tossed with sliced peaches and almonds.  It was dressed with a dressing made of the peach puree from the book which is cooked down peaches flavored with spices and canned.

All in all...a great meal!

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Hamburgers, Plum Zinfandel Jam, Candied Pecans, Pickled Watermelon Rind, and Garden Herb Vinaigrette

Happy 4th of July!  I took advantage of the long weekend to knock out a few recipes.  I didn't necessarily serve all of these together but thought I would post a quick synopsis and keep chipping away at the list.  Forgive the hodge podge collection in this post!

I started the weekend by working on a few of the "lifesavers."  I had picked up plums to make the plum zinfandel jam, tackled the pickled watermelon rind, and made the candied pecans.

The plum zinfandel jam was super easy.  I started with a bunch of plums and a bottle of red zinfandel.  Did I really need to go further?

I cut the plums into pieces and simmered over the stove with the zinfandel and sugar until I had the mixture hot enough to make jam. 

The candied pecans were toasted in the oven for about an hour and half after tossing with a little honey.  They caramelized and darkened in color and were ready to serve.

I served the plum zinfandel jam with a wheel of brie and crackers and the candied pecans.  Both items were the perfect item for a cheese tray appetizer. 

The pickled watermelon rind actually was the pickled inner lighter green part of the watermelon.  After soaking in salt water it was ready for pickling in a mixture of sugar, spices, and apple cider vinegar.  The mixture was a sweet vinegary bite that was a delicious accompanient  to the brisket Matt smoked on his smoker. 

 The garden herb vinaigrette dressed up a salad that was served along with a homemade lasagna (not from the book) while my parents and brother visited us.  The dressing was exactly as named... garben herbs and oil and vinegar.  The result was a bright crisp vinaigrette that was light and flavorful.

Last but not least were the hamburgers. I know what you are thinking.  Why is a hamburger in this book along with dishes like duck, rack of lamb, and veal?  Well, this one was definitely "fancy" because I had to grind my own meat for the hamburger.  Mom and Dad gave me the meat grinder attachment for my mixer for Christmas and I haven't had the opportunity to use it.  I broke it in with the hamburger recipe.  I started with a whole sirloin piece, chuck piece, and brisket piece.  I cut into smaller pieces and tossed with seasonings. It took me a few tries of all of the meat getting crammed in the attachment and Matt casually suggesting that maybe I should read the directions (isn't that backwards?) before I finally had the thing working and meat was coming out and I had a working slaughterhouse in my home kitchen.  It took me an hour to grind all that meat but I finally made it and had fresh ground hamburgers.  I grilled the burgers and served with slices of American cheese.  The pictures of the burger project didn't really turn out...after all that work, I was ready to eat!

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