A Festive Summertime Fête
Fourth of July vibes featuring a TomatoTini, crabdogs, gremolata fries and a half melted Baked Alaska.
TomatoTini. The official cocktail of summer.
I woke up a couple of weeks ago and decided that the July edition was going to need a little more pizzazz, so I called up my friend, neighbor and chef extraordinaire, Amber, and talked her into a collaboration for a festive little dinner party for a much needed summer holiday aesthetic.
After bouncing some ideas around we landed on the idea of a crabdog. Sure you could call it a crab roll, but what fun is that? The recipe is simple, the favors are popping and it is so darn good. We paired the crab creation with a fresh take on fries, seasoning them with the magic of gremolata. So bright and zesty, the perfect duo for a summery feast! Plus these savory elements wonderfully complimented my current obsession, the TomatoTini. After the ‘clear as day’ negroni that Anne Scharrenborg made for the May edition, I had not been able to stop thinking about developing my own clarified cocktail. So I went down the rabbit hole that is google and created a little summer worthy cocktail featuring one of the absolute best summertime ingredients around… tomatoes. And it was absolutely *chefs kiss* perfection. The process of fat washing the alcohol leaves you with a savory, silky smooth cocktail that is far too easy to drink. Topped with basil infused olive oil, it was as though you were drinking a fresh caprese salad… The perfect way to start the mini summer soirée! Dinner was divine, remarkably easy and perfectly approachable – The largest endeavor being the cocktail, which was 10/10, totally worth it.
TomatoTini. A clarified tomato martini that tastes exactly like you’re drinking a caprese salad.
Crabdogs for a summer fête. Say less.
The dessert was another story however. A total disaster. A visual disappointment and utterly frustrating. Yet, still very delicious. I contemplated murdering the half melted mini Baked Alaskas and disposing of any evidence of said failure before my guests arrived, serving up some ice cream and cake croutons in lieu of my failed pièce de résistance as if that was my plan all along. But I put a whole day into this dessert and though my little freezer failed me and I did not allow myself enough time for my imagined fête worthy masterpiece, I ultimately could not bring myself to toss it all out. They were somehow beautiful. And they were honest. (I am trying to be less invested in perfection and more into the wonderfully imperfect experiences.) So the melty globs sat in my freezer waiting to be lovingly (and laughably) presented after the dinner dishes had been cleared. I toasted up the remaining meringue that managed to not end up on my freezer shelf and we tucked in. Despite not at all being what I had imagined visually for a festive dessert, it was still quite delicious. One day, the creation I had so lovingly envisioned will undoubtedly come to life but today was not that day.
Study of a failed Baked Alaska.
Determined to show the Baked Alaska whose boss, I shall try again one day, allowing more time for my freezer to actually freeze, and I am sure that from the lessons I learned in my premier attempt, it will be much more successful. I also highly recommend that you do not do as I did and make a dessert for the first time for a dinner party. What can I say? I love to live dangerously! Xoxo The pastry chef who tried.
TomatoTini
Crabdogs
Gremolada fries
Baked Alaska (a beautiful failure)
Crabdog
By Chef Amber Sullivan
Crabdog filling
Handy Lump crab meat (55/77 jumbo lump, 1 pound)
1/3 cup Kewpie mayo
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice from half a lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon
1/4 cup mixed herbs such as Chives, dill scallion parsley
2 ribs of Celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced Shallot or red onion
1/2 teaspoon Old bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Horseradish
Salt to taste
Melted salted butter
Relish
1/3 cup cornichons chopped
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallot or red onion
1 tablespoon Dill
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Preserved lemon
Black pepper
In a large bowl, comine all ingredients with the lump crab meat. Do not over mix as you want to maintain large piece of the crab for the crabdog. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, combine all relish ingredients, mix throughly and set aside. Melt your butter and toast your bun then lightly brush the surface of the bun with melted butter to generously coat. Pile on your crab mixture, top with relish and trout roe. Et voila! You have a crabdog masterpiece.
Gremolada Fries
By Chef Amber Sullivan
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Parmesan
Combine all of the ingredients for the gremolada together, sprinkle atop fresh baked fries and toss. Plate the freshly seasoned fries and grate parmesan to your hearts content. Yes, it’s the simple and so freaking delicious!
TomatoTini
By Moi
6 oz tomato juice from about 5 medium/small tomatoes
1 1/2 oz simple syrup
A few cracks of fresh pepper
Pinch of kosher or sea salt
3 oz lemon juice
15 oz gin
6 oz whole milk (this cannot be substituted)
Purée your fresh tomatoes and strain the juice through a fine sieve. Pour 6 oz of tomato juice into a large mason jar, add the simple syrup, salt, pepper, lemon juice and gin. Give the mixture a nice mix and add in the whole milk, gently stirring. Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Using a fine sieve lined with a paper towel or coffee filter, allow the mixture to strain through the fine filter. This will remove any of the milk solids, leaving you with a beautiful, savory and smooth batch cocktail.
Shake or stir over ice until well chilled, pour into a martini glass, drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and serve with garnish of cherry tomato and mozzarella pearl. Cheers!
