Hey Guys!

If you've visited your local Farmer's Markets lately or even the produce section at your finer gourmet grocer, you've seen beautiful, fresh cherries which are finally creeping into season! These antioxidant-packed stone fruits are insanely delicious and usually my favorite recipe for them is as follows:

1. Buy one pound of cherries.
2. Wash one pound of cherries.
3. Eat one pound of cherries.

However, as is true with vegetables, roasting really brings out the cherry's bittersweet bite. Try this simple recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

7 cups cherries, stemmed but not pitted
1 tablespoon olive oil

STEPS:

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place cherries on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Bake for 35 minutes, or until your cherries split. Let the cherries cool for at least 20 minutes, and then squeeze pits. Refrigerate until ready to eat.  

Some cherry-picked ideas:

Tossed together with almonds, butter lettuce and other soft lettuces, and goat cheese and dress with your favorite slightly sweet dressing.

Instead of strawberries, use roasted cherries with your shortcake recipes.

Cherries pair beautifully with duck.

Instead of the standard chocolate, heat up your cherries in a sauce pan and pour over vanilla ice cream. Simple, perfect.

You can substitute cherries for almost any of your trifle recipes which call for fruit - especially those that also have chocolate.

Happy Cherry Season, everyone!

-Audie

They are finally here!

This marks the near arrival of summer and this is where Bryan and I can agree on what goes on our menus. Both of us grew up in the 301 and those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s the Maryland area code - I am representing the hometown on this one. I have soft shells on the menu and serve these Chesapeake treasures with pride. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what these guys are, let me break it down:

When Blue Crabs grow, they actually outgrow their shell.  As this happens, they shed or molt their exterior hard shell and for a number of days and are left with a thin paper-like shell, thus making the entire thing edible.  I fly them into LA all the way from Maryland and they arrive alive and fresh.

In Maryland, the best way to enjoy crabs is with Old Bay and buttery corn on the cob.  I love taking familiar flavors and recreating them in a way you may not have experienced before. In this case, I bread the crabs in finely ground corn flakes – that’s right, cereal. From a box. It gives the crunchiest texture and enhances the sweetness of the crab. I deep-fry them softly in 350* vegetable oil until golden brown and season lightly with sea salt. I then make a corn puree and add butter and Methyl Cellulose to it. This allows me to create the look and texture of scrambled eggs with the taste of corn on the cob. For the old bay element, I juice fresh red bell peppers, turn the juice into a gelee then blend old bay into it - this becomes a very balanced ketchup-like sauce reminiscent of that Maryland spice mix…courtesy of McCormick.

The soft shell season is short so don’t wait to experience this Maryland staple! Check out my poor phone photography of my dish in the restaurant.  If you happen to come across a good soft shell dish, sneak a photo and send it in!

Where is the best soft shell dish on the eastern shore???

-Michael

Hey everyone,

Some friends were telling me they went to an olive oil tasting - the oils were all handed out in tiny disposable cups. I actually find that the best way to try different oils is to make a small pour directly into the center of your palm, and then slurp it up. People will look at you funny, but they'll be missing the best way to sample the subtle differences between olive oil flavors. Your slightly salty skin will do exactly what salt does with everything else - flavors will become brighter and enhance the natural undertones of the particular olive oil you're trying.

Speaking of great olive oils, I was turned on to the Williams-Sonoma house olive oil and while it's classically grassy, it has more of a buttery hit with a light peppery finish.

Is there an olive oil you swear by? Let us know.

Have a great weekend.

-Michael

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share with you an insanely easy but delicious doctored mayonnaise recipe. The featured flavor is Piment d' Espelette - a pepper from Espelette or "Basque Country" in France. The European Union has given the pepper a protective designation, ensuring that only peppers grown in Esplette itself may be called 'Piment d' Espelette.' The heat level is similar to paprika, but the flavor is much darker and smokier. It's great on fish and ham, and will and will always impress your guests - even if you're just serving sandwiches for lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of mayonnaise (I actually prefer Vegenaise here, strictly for taste)

2 teaspoons chopped shallot

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar

I 1/2 teaspoons of Piment d' Espelette

Maldon salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Prepare:

Finely chop the shallots - the soft onion hit is nicer than crunching down on raw garlic. Combine all ingredients with a wooden spoon and ideally store in a mason jar to keep for a few days in your refrigerator.

Let me know how it turns out.

Enjoy.

Cheers,

Bryan

Hey everyone,

So, people often ask which kind of asparagus I enjoy and like to prepare - Fat stalks? Pencil thin? White? And the truth is, I sort of love them - sometimes even prepared together. I find the mix of slight texture difference to be the best way to bring out the deliciousness of both colors. White Asparagus, although occasionally hard to find, even in season, isn't all that exotic. The white color comes from a process called "etiolation" which is simply a deprivation of light.

Now, we're entering prime White Asparagus season - usually May and June will produce your thickest, most buttery stalks, and you'll be able to find them at Whole Foods or other produce-savvy grocers. Unlike its green counterpart, you really must always peel them. Start a third of the way down, and peel a few strips off the entire stalk and then snip the ends, just where the stalk naturally bends. While there are many ways to prepare all veg, and certainly roasting is more than delicious, if you have a grill, you now have your favorite new way to prepare your White Asparagus, and likely green as well.

It couldn't be easier:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Maldon salt
1 bunch white asparagus, trimmed, 1 bunch green asparagus, trimmed, peeled and halved length-wise (try to get similar widths)

STEPS:

1. Par boil your asparagus for about 3 minutes, if that.

2. Shock in 50% ice and 50% water to prevent carry over cooking, keeping the asparagus slightly crisp.

3. Drain and toss with olive oil.

4. Grill over the hottest coals for about 1 or 2 minutes, or until slightly marked with grill lines.

5. Remove from coals and toss with salt.

6. Finish with another drizzle of olive oil and consume.

For me, working with a simple, perfect ingredient means letting its flavors and textures shine, but I'd love to hear how you guys like to work with asparagus. Let me know in the comments.

Enjoy.

Cheers,

Bryan