Volume 10, Issue 105 - May 26, 2006

Hello ,

I hope you have all enjoyed this week with Chef Jon Gatewood from Gatewood's Restaurant in beautiful Danby, Vermont. If you are ever in the area...do drop in for a great meal. Have a great weekend...You deserve it!

"I hope you enjoyed my small ode to spring and summer. I leave you with one of my favorite meals I enjoy on Mondays during the summer. Why Monday? I close the restaurant and hang with the family at home. This is also a very easy meal that can be prepared the day before to allow for more free time."

Chef Jon Gatewood

Mexican Shrimp Council - Less is More, More than Ever. When you've got something this good, why cover it up? Find Out More!

Guinness Stout and Vermont Maple Marinated Flank Steak with Grilled Sweet Corn

For the sweet corn I just take as many ears as needed and throw them on the top rack of my grill, after I pull the flank steak off to rest, and cook them covered 5 minutes or so. Fresh sweet corn just needs to be heated not exactly cooked to be enjoyed. You may peel back the husk if you like and remove the silk. Maybe add a little butter if you like but I love it just the way it is.

Serve the steak with the Potato-Tomato Salad recipe that follows.

Guinness and Maple Marinade

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 can Guinness Extra Stout
1 cup maple syrup, c grade
2 sprigs rosemary, crushed
2 bay leaves, crushed
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed

2 pounds flank steak

Preparation:

Combine ingredients. Marinate your flank steak for 24 hours. Season with salt and grill to desired doneness.

Let rest 5 minutes before carving.

Potato-Tomato Salad

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds new potatoes; red, Yukon and purple
1 tablespoon salt
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade
2 tablespoons chives, chiffonade
1/4 cup grain mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Put the potatoes in a medium pot with the tablespoon of salt and add enough cold water to cover by an inch or two. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through but not mush.

Strain and cut the potatoes in to quarters or halves (almost bite sized) while still hot. Toss with the mustard and mayonnaise. Let cool some.

Meanwhile cut any large tomatoes in half (leave the small ones whole). Chiffonade your basil and chives. Add to the potatoes with some black pepper and check the seasoning for salt.

Vermont Maple Syrup:

Vermont produces of the finest maple syrup in the world. This natural delicacy is produced under standards of quality developed over the years by sugarmakers in conjunction with the Vermont Legislature. The Vermont Maple Law prohibits the use of additives or preservatives, and assures absolute purity. Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the US, producing about 37% of the total U.S. crop each year. Every county in Vermont produces maple syrup, with an estimated 2,000 maple producers in the state. In 2000, those producers made an estimated 460,000 gallons of maple syrup, with a value of approximately $13,340,000. Known as Vermont's “liquid gold,” pure Vermont maple syrup is the best syrup you'll find anywhere.

Secrets behind Vermont famous maple syrup:

Vermont has an ideal climate for growing sugar maple trees, an ideal climate for good sap flow, and a syrup making philosophy that’s been handed down for generations. An air of romance associated with this long established industry calls back people each year to hear the roar of the raging fire, to inhale the sweet aroma of the boiling syrup, and to enjoy the unmatched flavor of pure Vermont maple syrup. Forty years are required to grow a maple tree large enough to tap. A tree ten inches in diameter is considered minimum tappable size for one tap. For each additional six inches in diameter, another bucket (tap) may be added. It takes 4-5 taps to produce enough maple sap (40 gallons) to produce one gallon of syrup. The normal maple season lasts 4 to 6 weeks, sometimes starting as early as February in southern Vermont and lasting into late April in northern Vermont.

Vermont has a strictly enforced maple grading law controlling standards of density, flavor and color. The grade of maple syrup must be plainly and correctly marked on each container, along with the name and address of the producer. Vermont's law requires syrup to be free from any preservatives or other additives. Pure Vermont maple syrup is an excellent source of organic sugar. Vermont maple syrup is made into pure maple sugar, maple cream and maple candies by evaporating more water from pure maple syrup and controlling the crystallization process during cooling.

Vermont Maple Syrup Production:

Maple syrup is made from maple sap, collected from sugar maple trees in late winter and early spring. The sap is a very dilute liquid containing from 1% to 7% sugar, varying from tree to tree and averaging around 2% sugar. A 7/16 inch hole is drilled into the tree to a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches. Into this is driven a spout, modified pieces of pipe from which a bucket is hung or pipeline is run. The pipeline carries the sap directly from the tree to the storage tank. To make quality maple products, the sap must be fresh and cold, which means it must be gathered and boiled often. In modern sugar orchards, small plastic tubing is attached directly to the spouts, which then flows through small plastic tubes to larger pipes directly to the storage tank, saving the labor of gathering the sap. Other sugarmakers use large gathering tanks which are pulled by tractors or horses through the woods to the sugarhouse and emptied into an elevated storage tank to await boiling. From storage tanks the sap flows to the evaporator, large pans varying in size, usually about 5 feet wide to 16 feet long. Evaporators have two pans - the flue pan and the syrup pan. The sap flows first to the flue pan, which has a bottom made of flues to provide a greater heating surface, and then to the flat bottomed syrup pan. The pans are divided by partitions, which creates a continual but very slow movement of sap from the point where it enters the evaporator around the many partitions and finally out as syrup.

It takes a long time for the 2% sap to be condensed by the evaporation process to the exact density of maple syrup. If cooked too thick the syrup will crystallize, and if too thin it will ferment. Sugarmakers use a hydrometer to check the density. When the hydrometer settles in the liquid syrup to a mark designating the correct density, the syrup is drawn from the pan and then filtered again to remove the nitre (sugar sand) that has developed in the boiling process. From the filtering tank, the maple syrup flows into retail containers or into 35 and 50 gallon drums to be packed later. The syrup is packed hot and sealed according to Vermont law.

Source: Vermont Holiday Inn

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Grand Marnier Rice Krispy Treats with Bittersweet Chocolate and Fresh Cherry Compote

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

2 pounds cherries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup kirsch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 pound butter
10 ounces marshmallows
2 ounces Grand Marnier
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 pinch salt
6 cups Rice Krispies
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Preparation:

Pit the cherries and cut in halves. Mix the sugar (you may need more or less sugar depending on the ripeness of the cherries), kirsch, nutmeg and cherries in a bowl and let mascerate an hour or so. If the cherries don't release enough liquid to dilute the kirsch some add a little seltzer. Set compote aside.

In a big sauce pot over medium heat melt butter. Add marshmallows, Grand Marnier, orange extract and salt. Stir until melted. Stir in Rice Krispies then pour into a greased baking pan. Press using plastic wrap and let cool some.

Cut into triangles and drizzle chocolate over. Let cool. Serve topped with the compote at room temperature.