Fall Flavors

One of the great fall flavors I remember is lobster. Visiting Maine in the fall after the other tourists have left gives you the feel of a wilderness getting ready to rest. The leaves have changed and a jacket is definitely required after sundown. The air is damp and heavy with a mix of salt and earthy pine. You walk the streets after dark feeling the isolation, a feeling that everyone is out somewhere else having fun and you are here-alone. Then a noise grabs you and a light beckons. Soon you are out on a wharf surrounded by music, lights heat and steamed lobster; sweet and succulent. When my good friends at the fish market had a lobster sale-really ridiculously cheap this fall flavor was on the menu. This pan seared lobster was served with some incredible butternut squash gnocchi and a sage champagne sauce.

The Great Pun’kin

Here is a picture of our dessert from scratch (including roasting  the pumpkin, squash and making homemade ricotta);  Roasted Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Cheesecake on a Ginger Graham Crust with Chambord Chantilly Cream and Caramel Sauce.

Doc on Daytime video

For those that missed the segment on national TV last week, here’s the clip. Please enjoy and let us know your thoughts!

Daytime and …Nationwide

OK, secrets out. We just finished taping for our first national media appearance. We will be on DaytimeTV, a nationally syndicated program on over 100 stations nationwide. We filmed today and will air on the Thursday, 14th October segment. I will be making the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tomato Coulis and Tarragon and Roasted Poblano Chili Oil. I’ll post shortly a list of the NBC affiliates that air around the country. Spread the word, enjoy the show and let us know what y’all think!

Thanks!

-Doc

Fall is here:Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tomato Coulis and Tarragon & Poblano Chili Oil

Something is in the air besides the noise of my pager going off every morning at 3am (hence the delay in posts)-It’s Fall! So to encourage the fall feeling, here’s a dish with fall flair.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tomato Coulis and Tarragon & Poblano Chili Oil

• 2 (about 1 pound each) butternut squash
• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 cup sweet onion (rough chop)
• 2 carrots (rough chop)
• 2 ribs of celery (rough chop)
• 2 leeks (white part only) (rough chop)
• 1 shallot (rough chop)
• 2 cloves garlic (rough chop)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 qts chicken stock (or vegetable nage for vegetarian version)
• 1 Tbs maple syrup
• 1 Tbs honey
• Roasted  Grape Tomato Coulis (recipe follows)
• Roasted Tarragon & Poblano Oil (Recipe follows)
• Roasted corn for garnish (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, seed and roughly chop the squash. Place in an oven proof baking dish and lightly cover with 1 Tbs oil, salt and pepper. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until tender. Remove the squash and allow to cool. In a large heavy bottomed pot, add the butter and remaining oil. Sweat the vegetables for several minutes; do not allow them to brown. Add the lemon juice and the white wine. Allow the wine to cook off until almost gone. Add the chicken stock, maple syrup and honey. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Then in small batches in a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it has a homogenous consistency.

To serve, place the soup in the serving dish. Drizzle with the tomato coulis. Drizzle with the tarragon & roasted poblano chili oil and garnish with fire roasted corn.

Roasted  Grape Tomato Coulis

• 1 pound sweet grape tomatoes
• 1 Tbs tomato paste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes just start to split. Transfer to a food processor. Run the pureed tomatoes through a fine sieve and add in the tomato paste.

Tarragon Poblano Chili Oil

• 1 ounce fresh tarragon
• 1 red pepper
• 6 poblano peppers
• ¾ cup olive oil

Roast the red peppers and poblano peppers, allow to rest sealed in a zip loc bag and remove the skins. Remove the leaves from the tarragon and discard the stems. Place the peppers in the food processor along with the tarragon and oil. Puree. Strain the puree through a fine sieve and reserve the oil.

Roasted Corn Garnish

• 2 ears of corn, roasted
• Juice of 2 limes

Remove the kernels from the ears. Mix with the lime juice.