Brunch @ Diner, Williamsburg

We spent the weekend in New York and had an amazing brunch at the Diner in Williamsburg. The combination of local seasonal ingredients, tasty drinks, good company, and relaxing, sunny weather made for an ideal Sunday morning.

For the best bloody mary bar in existence, Sam and I usually turn to the East Coast Grill. It'll always be our go-to place for the drink (my favorite cocktail) in Boston. However, the version served at the Diner is arguably superior to anything I could fix up, even with the Grill's extensive bar. The Diner's bloody mary had a touch of herbs to it, garnished with sage flowers and pickled cauliflower, among other things. Because of the added punch of fragrance, it may very well top my list. I'm going to have to start experimenting at home to see if I can reverse engineer this deliciousness!

Jacob had an omelette with gruyere and salsa verde. Not a conventional combination, but it really worked. In all our dishes, the eggs were really fresh and bright.

Quite possibly the best fried oysters I've ever had. They were bursting with flavor and topped with a nice mix of lightly sauced herbs and fennel, over eggs. The Diner probably got them from Marlow & Sons next door, known for its fresh oysters.

Sam had biscuits and gravy, with a salad of fresh local greens. It's always nice to have something healthy and seasonal in your brunch! Also, on a side note, the portions were just perfect. Sam and I usually leave most brunch places engorged and on the verge of a food coma. But brunch at the Diner hit the spot, satisfying the tastebuds and stomach without going overboard.

Overall, a phenomenal brunch place! If I lived in New York, I would definitely frequent this restaurant.

Grilled Lamb with Spinach and Chickpea Stew

INGREDIENTS

• lamb chops
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 7 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• salt, pepper
• chickpeas
• carrot
• celery stalk
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion
• 1 bag spinach
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoke paprika
• 1 tsp corrianger
• 1/2 tsp urfa peppers
• stock
  

The night before, soak dried chickpeas in water and leave overnight.
In a food processor, combine 4 cloves garlic, rosemary, olive oil (about 1/4 cup), and juice from 1/2 lemon. Marinade lamb in this mixture overnight or at least for 2 hours.
After chickpeas have soaked, simmer with roughly chopped carrot, celery stalk, 1/2 onion, one crushed garlic clove, and two bay leaves. After an hour or two, drain the chickpeas and separate the chickpeas from the other ingredients.
Mince two more cloves of garlic, dice 1/2 onion, and cook in a saucepan over medium heat with 1 T olive oil. When the onions are soft, add chickpeas, spices, and chicken or vegetable stock to just cover the chickpeas. Let simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Add spinach in batches and let it cook down. Season with salt and pepper.
While the chickpeas are simmering, grill the lamb chops. Serve with olive oil and lemon.

Crispy Red Snapper, Stir Fried Vegetables, Green Tea Sushi Rice with Furagake

Fish:
Season with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and cook over medium high heat in a non-stick pan with a bit of canola oil.

Vegetables:
Julien carrots and bell peppers. Mince one clove garlic and 1 teaspoon ginger. Stir fry in a wok over high heat for one minute. Add snow peas. Season with soy sauce and a bit of rice wine vinegar.

Rice:
Rinse sushi rice, add a tea ball with green tea, cook rice. When done, season with salt and pepper.

Shrimp & grits with collard greens

I haven't cooked a ton of Southern food in the past, but we had a bunch of collard greens from this weeks produce delivery, so I figured it would go well with this dish. A basic version of shrimp and grits is really easy to make...just cook the grits and add shrimp, but it's really good to dress it up with a little Cajun style stew. A lot of recipes use milk as the basis for the grits, but I choose to make a homemade shrimp stock using a bunch of shells from some Main shrimp that had been sitting in the freezer. Here's my take on this Southern classic.

INGREDIENTS:

• Shrimp (about 4-6 per serving)
• 1/2 red bell pepper (small dice)
• 1 stalk celery (small dice)
• 1/2 vidalia onion (small dice)
• tasso (small dice)
• 2-3 Tbsp flour
• 2-3 Tbsp butter, + 2 Tbsp butter
  
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 5-6 cups shrimp stock
• 1 cup course ground corn meal
• salt
• pepper
• Cajun seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• red pepper flakes
• lemon
• 1 bunch collards, sliced into 1/2 to 1" strips

Directions for the stew
Melt the butter in a pan over medium high heat. Once melted, add an equal measure of flower and stir together. Keep cooking and stirring the roux until it becomes a very dark brown. Add the diced trinity (bell pepper, onion, and celery) and cook until soft (about 3 minutes). Add the diced tasso (Dice an amount that is equal to the amount of bell pepper, celery, OR onions. You want all four of the ingredients to be in equal parts). Cook for another 2 minutes. Season with cajun seasoning (~1/2 tsp), salt and pepper. Add the milk a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Then add about 1 cup of the shrimp stock. Let simmer.

Directions for grits
Bring about 4 cups shrimp stock to a boil. Add 1 cup corn meal and stir. Keep stirring as the corn meal absorbs the liquid and the mixture begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Once it is at a porridge like consistency, add 2 T butter and 1/2 -1 cup grated cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Directions for collards
Cut out think stems and slice collards across into 1/2" to 1" strips. Heat up 1 T olive oil in a pan and add 2 cloves minced garlic and a dash of red pepper flakes. When the garlic begins to brown, add the collards. After 1 to 2 minutes, add about 1/2 cup water or chicken stock. Turn the heat down to medium, cover, and let simmer. Before serving, toss a bit of lemon juice or cider vinegar in with the greens.

Directions for shrimp
Heat up 1 T butter over high heat. Add 1 clove on minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. If the butter begins to brown, turn the heat down a little. Add the peeled, deveined shrimp and saute for about 1 minute. Add the shrimp to the stew.

To serve, add a few spoonfuls of grits to a bowl or plate and top with the shrimp/stew mixture and collards. Serve with lemon slices.

Orange glazed pork belly with assorted greens

Staying with the local theme we've been on for the last couple weeks, this meal uses some salad greens from our local organic produce delivery and pork belly from Savenor's Vermont supplier.

I used this recipe and didn't bother making any changes, so just click through for the recipe. It takes a bit of time since you have to braise it, but the actual active prep time is fairly low.

Pork loin chop, swiss chard, celeriac and turnip gratin

The major components of this meal were all local. The veggies were from the Boston Organics local delivery box and the pork comes from a farm in Vermont that Savenor's has recently started sourcing from. Here's the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pork chops
  
• salt
  
• pepper
  
• fennel pollen
  
• white wine
  
• 1 T butter
  
• 1 bunch swiss chard
  
• 5 cloves garlic
  
• red pepper flakes
• red wine vinegar
• 1 celery root
  
• 1 turnip
  
• 1-1.5 cups cream
  
• gruyere
  

Slice the celery root and turnip into 1/8" rounds (use a mandoline if you have one). Add to a pot with the cream and 3 cloves of smashed garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Butter a gratin pan and add the celery root, turnip and cream mixture. Grate enough gruyere cheese on top to cover. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

Rinse the chard, cut off thick stems, cut into 1" strips. Heat up 1 T olive oil in a saute pan, add 2 cloves of minced garlic and a dash of red pepper flakes and cook over medium high heat until the garlic begins to take some color. Add the chard. Season with salt and pepper. Let the chard cook down a little then add a splash of white wine. Let this cook down some more. Add about 2 tsp to 1 Tbsp of vinegar. 

Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, and fennel pollen. Add to cold pan and turn heat to high. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, flip, and cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Cooking times will vary depending on how thick the cut is. Remove the pork chops and let rest. Add 1/2 cup of white wine to the pan and scrape up anything stock to the pan. Mount with 1 Tbsp butter. Serve the pan sauce with the pork.