I'm pleased to introduce this cookbook in the works written by my brother, Herbert Morris, chef of the Saltmarsh Inn.
Herb is responsible for the great food we serve at the Inn. He no doubt got his chops from our mother, Justine, who was our chef for years, a fantastic cook whom Herb helped with fascination from an age when he could barely see over the counters and stood on a milk crate to stir the soup.
He continued his cooking career serving aboard various ships in the Navy, then trained at the Cordon Bleu, Paris on the GI bill. Commander's Palace in New Orleans and Daniel (Boulud) in New York are among the fine dining destinations he's captained. When Justine retired, he returned to Rowley and his childhood kitchen.
Bon appetit ... Harris Morris.
SALADS
Frisee salad with Dijon vinaigrette
Frisee is a slightly bitter salad green, a small, crisp, curly-leafed endive, called chicoree frisee in France and sometimes called chicory in the U.S.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound frisee leaves; washed, dried, trimmed and torn
1 bunch fresh chives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
PREPARATION
1. Combine frisee and chives in a salad bowl.
2. Whisk vinegar and mustard together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Blend well.
3. Drizzle in oil, whisking steadily. Blend well.
4. Toss with frisee just before serving.
SPIRITS
Smoking Bishop
Aunt Polly Patience, Captain Leander Morris's wife, wrote this recipe with a precise feminine hand in the margins of one of his scrupulously-kept logbooks on a page describing a winter voyage to St. Petersburg. Evidently he adopted it as a sovereign remedy for his crew when venturing into colder climes.
Roast slowly rinds of orange or lemon pierced by cloves.
Brew spices in a spider (cast iron pan), kept solely for the said purpose.
Cinnamon, mace, cardamom, allspice, cloves, peppercorns, whatever thou fanciest.
Add sufficient water to satisfy each topers's mug with a few drams.
Bring a-boil, move off flame, simmer. Strain liquor through an old stocking.
Add brew to mug with a thimble of Demerara (sugar). Fill with claret (need not be the best).
Heat pokers on hearth until they gloweth like the devil's own damned pitchfork.
Plunge into a mug. Hold while the wine spits and sputters like Satan himself.
Reheat the poker` upon the hearth and repeat. Ye will taste the very flavor of the fire itself.
This is the most-requested tall summertime drink for sipping on the terrace outside the inn's taproom. It's simplicity itself. The proportions are flexible and forgiving, but it requires the following specific ingredients, which combine in some sort of chemical magic.
Bourbon lemonade
INGREDIENTS ...
Jim Beam bourbon
Nantucket Nectars lemonade
ice cubes, small, as from an ice machine
fresh mint on the stem
marashino cherry (optional)
tall ice tea tumbler and long spoon
PREPARATION ...
1. Chill tall ice tea glasses in the freezer.
2. Add a large spring of mint to each frosted glass. Muddle slightly with the long spoon.
3. Add ice. Pour in lemonade to several inches below the rim of the glass.
4. Add 2 or 3 fingers of bourbon. Stir with the spoon.
5. Garnish with another mint sprig and a cherry, if it makes you feel happy. Serve.
TAPAS
Bluefish Pate
INGREDIENTS ...
1/2 pound bluefish fillets, skin-on and de-boned
1 cup hickory chips, soaked for an hour
extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon Cognac
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1 lemon, juiced and strained
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chives, minced
Tabasco sauce
PREPARATION ...
1. Build a fire with a dozen briquettes in the corner of a covered charcoal grill. Spread and top the coals with the hickory chips when they're covered with ash and at a medium heat (hand at 5 inches for 5 seconds).
2. Brush the fish with olive oil and sprinkle well with salt and pepper.
3. Place the fish, flesh down over the coals. Cook covered for 4 minutes. Move away from the coals, re-cover and cook for about 6 minutes more or until the flesh is thoroughly opaque.
4. Remove from grill and allow to cool,
5. Flake the bluefish into a food processor, disposing of the skin.
6. Add the cream cheese, butter, Cognac, Worcestershire sauce and pulse until mixed.
7. Add the onions, half the lemon juice, parsley, chives and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Pulse again until mixed.
8. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt, pepper and Tabasco as needed. The consistency should divided the difference between a pate and a mousse.
9. Serve immediately spread on toast or crostini or cover and refrigerate for a day or so.
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