Cooking for a Cause

Seared jumbo scallops from The Lobster Place get a lift from pumpkin, sweet potato and coconut puree and a tasty garnish of fresh goat cheese and peptias toasted with Saigon cinnamon.

I’ve never needed a reason to cook but this past weekend took on special meaning when I catered a three-course dinner on Manhattan’s Upper West Side — all to support Breastcancer.org.  Facebook fans may recall the charity bowling event I worked on in 2010 with the brilliant and tireless Breastcancer.org organizers, volunteers and the elite of the NY digital media world.  Working with our generous partners, Pasanella & Son Vintners and The Lobster Place, Word of Mouth donated a customized 3-course dinner for 6 for the high bidder in a wildly successful silent auction.  The dinner was the most bid-upon auction item in an evening that raised nearly $500,000 for Breastcancer.org, a terrific nonprofit organization that provides the most comprehensive, reliable, personal and up-to-date information about breast cancer.

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Stew is an easy and elegant main course.  Photo by Adbi Aminlari for 3 Photographers.

Mrs. P was the lucky winner of the dinner and this past Saturday was the day she chose to dazzle guests overlooking the Hudson River at the beautiful UWS apartment she shares with Mr. P and their gorgeous twins.  Now, I haven’t catered out-of-home for serious clients in several years so I did have a slight case of the jitters.  Fortunately for me, Mr. and Mrs. P  were the perfect clients — enlightened foodies but down-to-earth and delightful.  The best part for me was the wonderfully equipped and roomy (for Manhattan) kitchen!  Mrs. P and I designed the menu (see below) around her favorite dish — lamb in any form.  I suggested a Moroccan spiced lamb tagine, one of my signature dishes, and we took it from there.

I paired the lamb tagine with a delicious curried whole wheat cous-cous with preserved lemon and dried cranberries.  For a starter, Mrs. P selected Seared Jumbo Scallops with pumpkin, sweet potato and coconut puree.  The puree had a nice sweet and sour component that balanced nicely with the buttery richness of the enormous scallops, kindly donated by The Lobster Place.  I garnished the dish with fresh goat cheese, cilantro and pumpkin seeds toasted with sea salt and Saigon cinnamon.

For dessert, I combined several of Mrs. P’s favorite flavors and went with a Turkish inspired custard pie with caramelized apples from Martha Stewart Living’s November 2010 issue.  This dessert is very loosely based on a traditional Turkish bread pudding called ekmek kadayfi.  Instead of soaked bread or crumpets (as has been suggested), I wanted to use a shredded phyllo dough called kataifi. It’s a lovely presentation that makes the dessert look as if it’s sitting in a delicate nest. According to Martha, this dough is “easy to find.”  Yeah, right, Martha… maybe if you live in Turkey!  I contend if you can’t find it in NYC, it probably doesn’t exist.  I visited no less than 10 markets and called a dozen more.  Perhaps I could have found it if I trekked to the outer limits of Brooklyn but I became impatient and decided to shred it myself from fresh phyllo dough I found at Zabar’s.  It looked more like fettucine than an angel hair pasta-like nest but it was still pretty cool. If you’d like to try this recipe at home, I suggest you order the kataifi from Amazon!

Custard Pie with Caramelized Apples takes it’s cue from a popular Turkish dessert.

Once the menu was set, I called upon Ryan at Pasanella and Son Vintners.  Ryan is a wine expert extraordinaire and he selected pairings (see below) that went amazingly well with this menu.  Since Mr. P is something of a connoisseur, Ryan’s expertise was a godsend!  Since I was “working” (labor of love, really!), I didn’t have the chance to sample the wines, but Mr. P and guests gave big thumbs up to the Jasnieres (perfectly paired with the scallops) and the organic L’Ancien Beaujolais. 

I loved this menu because it is relatively simple to prepare but elegant and guest-worthy.  You can make the puree and braise the lamb up to 2 days in advance.  The stew can be simmering on low when your guests arrive and you can make the pie and mix the ingredients for the cous-cous earlier in the day.  You need less than 15 minutes to prep, cook and plate the scallop dish and the cous cous needs less than 10 minutes. You can even skip the pie and use a purchased dessert to make this an ideal meal for mid-week entertaining.  Mr. and Mrs. P even added a lovely cheese plate to kick off the evening.

All in all, the evening was very successful and I was very happy to offer up a meal for a very good and important cause.  This year’s Bowling for Breastcancer.org event will be held at the Lucky Strike Lanes in NYC on February 16th.  To participate or donate, click here or find how you can organize a bowling event in your community.

Many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. P for their generous donation to the cause and for making such a wonderful evening possible.  And, my undying gratitude to Ryan and Pasanella and Son Vintners as well as Brendon and The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market for their very generous donations.  Both establishments are exciting markets — unparalleled in their fields.  I promise, you won’t be disappointed if you make them must-stops on your next NYC foodie field trip!

Three-Course Menu

Assorted Cheese and Crackers - Chateau Ducasse White Bordeaux /2009, L’Ancien Beaujolais/2009

Seared Scallops served over Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Puree (recipe below) - Pascal Janvier Jasnieres/2009

Moroccan Spiced  Lamb Tagine served with Curried Whole Wheat Cous-Cous with Dried Cranberries - Franck Balthazar Syrah/2009

Custard Pie with Caramelized Apples

Moroccan Mint Tea

Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Puree forms the base for perfectly seared scallops.  The puree doubles as a delicious soup.  Or skip the puree and serve it chunky over rice for a great vegetarian main course.

Recipe:  Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Coconut Puree

Serves:  8 -10 as a puree, 6 - 8 as soup

Ingredients*

2 shallots, finely diced

1 1/4 pounds trimmed pumpkin or butternut squash**, cubed

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/4 tsp. Hot pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped cilantro plus 2 Tbl. for garnish

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tbl. Thai fish sauce, or to taste

2 Tbl. fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. fresh ground blad pepper

1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds toasted with salt and Saigon Cinnamon

1 oz. fresh goat cheese

* This puree can be served as soup or left unpureed and served over rice as a vegetarian main course.

**If you use butternut squash instead of pumpkin, add one medium carrot, peeled and chopped.

Prepare

In a medium stock pot, heat 1 Tbs. olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook until golden (about 3-4 minutes).  Add the pumpkin, sweet potato, garlic, coconut milk, broth and cilantro and bring to a boil (if you’re using squash instead of pumpkin, add the carrot).  Add the salt and hot pepper flakes and simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce and lime and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Taste for salt. (Let stand for up to an hour for the best flavor. Transfer contents to a blender and puree until silky smooth.  Reheat before serving. (Can be made up to 2 days in advance).

Serve from a large soup bowl or in individual bowls. Grind black pepper over generously and garnish with goat cheese, cilantro and pepitas toasted with sea salt and Saigon cinnamon.  Can also be used as a puree.  Top with seared sea scallops, shrimp, tilapia, chicken, pork or lamb.

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