Time: 9:03 am EST

Place: 3224 Cathedral Avenue NW
Washington, DC
USA

Snapshot: On the House Breakfast Special...

Backyard Arugula, Spinach, Chard and Lettuce
Farm Fresh Poached Eggs
Grated Pecorino
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Squeezed Lemon
Flake Sea Salt
Ground White Pepper
Flat Leaf Parsley

For the Lobster...
3 Wagshal's lobster tails
Clarified butter
1 fresh sprig of rosemary
Pinch of cayenne

Heat a large heavy bottom sauté pan over medium high heat and add just enough clarified butter to coat the bottom. Place the lobster tails in shell sides down. Add the sprig of rosemary and cover. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the shells turn red... about 5 minutes or so. Turn off the heat. When the lobster tails are cool enough to handle... remove them from the sauté pan to a cutting board and save the sauté pan for later use. With kitchen scissors... slit each lobster tail straight down the length of its underside. Remove the lobster meat from each of the three tail shells. At this point the tail meat should be undercooked and almost raw in the center. Cut the lobster meat into bite size pieces.

Reheat the saved sauté pan over medium high heat and add the bite-size lobster pieces. Add a pinch or two of cayenne. Cook the lobster for about 2-3 minutes or so. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Risotto...
Clarified butter
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
Sea salt
2 cups Aborio rice
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 shallot, chopped finely
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken or shellfish stock, warmed through
3 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut off the cobs
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved and slow roasted... see recipe above
1 generous pinch of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 cup finely grated Pecorino
1 Tablespoon of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped finely + more for garnish
More sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
More clarified butter, grated Pecorino and flat leaf parsley to garnish...

In a heavy, wide bottomed pan on a medium flame, heat enough clarified butter so that it barely coats the bottom surface and until it's hot but not smoking. Add the onions, shallot and garlic and a generous pinch of sea salt and cook until onions are clear and soft, about 5 minutes or so. Mix in the rice and stir until well coated. Up the heat to medium-high, add the wine and cook until evaporated.

Then, begin to add warmed stock a couple of ladles at a time and stirring until liquid is absorbed... turning down the heat as the rice thickens. This process should result in a creamy and tender but not overly soft risotto and should take about twenty minutes or so. About 15 minutes into the stirring... almost at the end of cooking... stir in the corn kernals. Taste for doneness... the risotto should be al dente or soft but with a slight bite in the middle.

Remove from heat and stir in the lobster pieces with all of the pan drippings, the slow roasted tomatoes, rosemary, parsley and Pecorino. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. Plate and garnish each serving with more freshly grated Pecorino and chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve immediately on warmed plates.
Serves 6.

Don't pitch those wrinkly, eye-popping overripe Russets that you've been storing all winter!!! They'll be just the thing to satisfy your hunger when your cupboards are bare.

Last night it was...

Sweet, overripe Russets... peeled, cut into thirds and cooked in a pot of low boiling, salted water until soft.

Drained and hand mashed with gobs of Kerrygold butter and chopped flat leaf parsley.

Seasoned with flake sea salt and freshly ground white pepper.

DELICIOUS!!!

Date: April 20, 2012

Time: 1:25:18 pm EST

Place: Whole Foods Market, Georgetown
Washington, DC
USA

Snapshot: Radishes...

One of our favorite spring snacks...
Ice Cold Whole Baby Radishes dipped in Melted Butter then dipped again in Flake Sea Salt... DELICIOUS!!!

We had our butcher at Wagshal's butterfly two 6+ pound chickens and then cut them in half. When we got home we dried our chickens with one of our "meat undershirts", seasoned them with kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper and browned them in olive oil in a heavy bottom Dutch oven... one at a time. As they browned... we removed them from the pan and set them aside. Then we poured off the fat drippings leaving just enough to barely cover the bottom.

In the same pan we then added a handful of peeled garlic cloves and 2 peeled and quartered onions to brown. We returned our chicken to the pan and added a whole bulb of unpeeled garlic studded with 5 cloves, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 3 cinnamon sticks and 3 bay leaves. We seasoned again with kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, anointed all with a cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of chicken stock and put the lid on our Dutch oven to braise our chicken.. long and slow... in a preheated 300 degree oven.

About 3 hours in... we added one cup of spicy green olives and 1 cup of jumbo raisins and returned our chicken to the oven to braise covered for another hour or so.

To serve...
With a large slotted spoon we move our chicken mixture to a serving platter to keep warm. We then reduce our pan juices and pour them over everything. Garnish with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and serve. Enjoy...

In this Just Simply... Cuisine recipe ... the sweetness of the clementines and asparagus balance beautifully with the richness of the duck.

If using a gas grill... turn all burners to medium high and preheat to 400+ degrees. If using charcoal... heat coals until red hot.

For the Duck Breast...
2 Wagshal's Magret Duck Breasts
2 Clementines, Sliced Thinly
2 Small Sprigs of Fresh Mint
6 Sprigs of Fresh Chives
1 Pinch Crushed Allspice Berries
1 Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1 Pinch Freshly Ground White Peppercorns
2 Cloves of Garlic, Coarsely Chopped

For the Asparagus...
2 dozen Asparagus Spears
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic, Coarsely Chopped
Toss asparagus with a generous pinch of chopped garlic and
enough olive oil to coat.

For the Vinaigrette...
The Juice of 2 Clementines
4 Chives, chopped finely
1 Scant Pinch of Cayenne
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of Sea Salt
Freshly Ground White Pepper
Combine all the ingredients and stir.

To Cook...
Cut duck breast in half and place skin side down.
Season halves evenly with the garlic, allspice, red pepper flakes and white pepper.
Layer the Clementine slices, mint and chives on two breast halves.
Make sandwiches with the breast halves, flesh sides together.
Tie together with kitchen string.

If using a gas grill... turn middle burner(s)of the grill to the lowest setting.
If using coals... move red hot coals to the outer sides of the grill.
Place stuffed duck breast over indirect heat source.
Close grill lid.
Cook for 8 minutes or until the bottom skin is crisp and golden brown.
Flip duck breast and cook for 7+ more minutes.
Cook until medium rare turning occasionally for another 5 minutes or so depending on the thickness of the meat... the meat should spring back when poked.
Transfer duck to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile grill the asparagus, turning until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer to a warm serving platter and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn off grill.

To Serve...

Cut string and remove stuffing from duck breasts. Cut breasts on the diagonal into ½ inch slices. Layer slices on top of the asparagus. Drizzle vinaigrette over all and garnish with fresh chive. Serve immediately.

Ingredients...
1 lb. Wagshal's Wild Alaskan Halibut
Unbleached White Flour
Sea Salt
White Peppercorns
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
White Wine
½ cup Water
2 Leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced into half moons
1 Shallot, peeled, trimmed and sliced thinly
2 Scallions, washed, trimmed and sliced thinly
1 handful Spinach, washed and stems removed
2 cloves Garlic, chopped finely
Generous pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1 handful of Grape Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped finely
Wedge of Meyer Lemon

To Cook...
Heat a heavy, wide bottom skillet on medium high.
Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet.
Add the leeks, shallots and the white parts only of the scallions.
Season with sea salt and freshly ground white peppercorns.
Sweat for 3 minutes or so, stirring once or twice to cook evenly.
Remove vegetables from skillet and set aside.

Season Halibut with sea salt and freshly ground white peppercorns.
Dust it lightly with flour.
Shake off excess flour and add the fish to the skillet skin side down.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes.
Anoint with a generous splash of white wine and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the water and cover.
Turn heat down to medium low and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Add the spinach, the reserved vegetables and the grape tomatoes.
Cover again and cook for 2 more minutes or until the spinach wilts and the tomatoes are just warmed through.

To Serve...
Remove fish and vegetables to a warm serving platter.
Anoint all with the juice of the Meyer lemon wedge.
Garnish with reserved green scallions and chopped parsley.
Serve immediately and enjoy!