When the chef Scott Clark is cooking for a big bunch of friends, his goal is always to deliver a dish that’s “more than delicious,” he says. “It should also show off.” For Clark, 39 — who owns Dad’s Luncheonette, a diner in a historic train car in Half Moon Bay, Calif. — that might mean trying a new technique (making custard with Earl Grey tea, for instance) or plating with a little pageantry, like dolloping yogurt on a slice of cake before finishing it with a sprinkle of citrus zest.
For our Summer Entertaining Issue, we asked Clark and two other Bay Area chefs to share foolproof but impressive recipes that can be scaled up, prepped ahead or pulled together in a flash — ideal dishes, in other words, for feeding a crowd on vacation. For the chef Nite Yun, 42, who runs the Cambodian restaurant Lunette in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, no big group meal is complete without a generous portion of quick-cooking greens. They “pair with almost anything,” she says. When cooking for his friends, Geoff Davis, 37, the chef and owner of the soul food restaurant Burdell in Oakland, serves family-style platters that highlight summer produce, like blackened fish with sweet corn grits and tomato vinaigrette. And Clark prefers his summer spreads capped off by something cold, celebratory and indulgent, like his nostalgic icebox pie flecked with tea leaves. The rest of the menu, he says, “depends on how much I like the people.”
Geoff Davis’s Blackened Cod With Sweet Corn Grits
This recipe is adapted from a fish and grits dish that appeared on the opening menu at Burdell. The grits can be made up to a day in advance and reheated, and because the fish is blackened, it’s nearly impossible to overcook. “You’re burning it on purpose,” says Davis. “It’s pretty easy to pull off and you look like a rock star.” For best results, Davis recommends waiting until Sungold tomatoes and sweet corn are at their peak in your region. Look for apricot-orange tomatoes and ears of corn with bright green husks and plump kernels.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
Sweet Corn Grits
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6 ears of sweet, peak season yellow or bicolor corn
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3 fresh bay leaves
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4¼ cups/1 liter milk
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3½ tablespoons/35 grams kosher salt
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½ teaspoon/2 grams black pepper
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¾ cup/150 grams stone milled yellow or white heirloom corn grits, like Anson Mills
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1 tablespoon/20 grams white miso
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14 tablespoons/200 grams unsalted butter
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¾ cup/85 grams aged white Cheddar, grated
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⅓ cup/100 grams cream cheese
Tomato Vinaigrette
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2 cloves garlic, microplaned
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2 tablespoons/30 grams fish sauce
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¼ cup/55 grams sherry vinegar
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1 tablespoon/15 grams tomato paste
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½ cup/100 grams olive oil
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2½ tablespoons/20 grams kosher salt
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½ teaspoon/1 gram Aleppo chile flake (or gochugaru)
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1 cup/200 grams Sungold tomatoes, halved
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3-5 spring onions/50 grams scallions or spring onions, thinly sliced
Blackened Cod
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1½ tablespoons/20 grams ground black pepper
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1½ teaspoons/5 grams ground white pepper
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2 teaspoons/8 grams smoked paprika
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2 tablespoons/25 grams brown sugar
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5 tablespoons/40 grams kosher salt
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2½ teaspoons/9 grams onion powder
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½ teaspoon/2 grams cayenne
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½ teaspoon/1 gram ground celery seed
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½ teaspoon/2 grams dried oregano
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2 large, skinless, black cod fillets, about ½ pound/220 grams each
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Canola oil
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10½ tablespoons/150 grams butter
1. To make the grits, shuck the corn and remove the kernels. Set aside. Prepare a stockpot with 12.5 cups/3 liters of water, and add the leftover cobs and corn silk along with the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid and discarding the cobs and silk.
2. Add 8.5 cups/2 liters of the stock to a heavy bottomed 4-quart saucepan along with the milk, salt, pepper and grits. Simmer, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking and adding small amounts of hot water as needed if the grits become too stiff to stir easily. After about an hour, the grits should be tender and thick enough to hold a large spoon or spatula upright for 3 to 4 seconds. At that point, stir in the corn kernels and miso, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter, Cheddar and cream cheese. Set aside and keep warm.
3. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients except the tomatoes and scallions, then add in the tomatoes and scallions and season to taste.
4. To prepare the fish, season liberally on all sides with the blackening spice, reserving a few pinches for later. Heat a large pan, preferably cast iron, over high heat and add enough oil to just coat the bottom. When the oil starts to smoke, add the fish to the pan. After 90 to 120 seconds, add the butter and let it brown. Once the sides of the fish turn opaque, after about 2 to 3 minutes, flip the fish and turn off the heat, letting the residual heat from the burner cook the fish through, about 2 to 3 more minutes.
5. To serve, arrange the fish fillets over a bed of grits and add a spoonful of tomato vinaigrette. Finish with a sprinkle of blackening spice.
Nite Yun’s Stir-Fried Water Spinach
This recipe, which is deeply flavorful thanks to fish sauce and salted soy beans, was a staple at Yun’s first restaurant, Nyum Bai, before it closed in 2022. Today, it lives on in her book “My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook,” due out Sept. 23 from 4 Color Books. Yun likes to use water spinach — an Asian green also known as morning glory, tra koun, ong choy and rau muong — because it’s fast-cooking, with a naturally sweet flavor that pairs well with proteins like fish and chicken. Look for bright green bunches with long, slender stalks at the market. If you can’t find water spinach, kale or green cabbage will work just as well.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
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1½ to 2 pounds water spinach
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2½ tablespoons/10 grams grapeseed or other neutral oil
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6 garlic cloves, minced
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1½ tablespoons/30 grams salted soy beans, preferably Yeo’s brand
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1½ teaspoons/10.5 grams fish sauce
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1½ teaspoons/7.5 grams granulated sugar
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¾ cup/165 grams chicken stock
1. Slice off the bottom 3 inches of the water spinach stems and discard. Pick the leaves from their stems, give them a good wash and set them aside in a colander to drain. Feel the stems: If they’re a little tough, give them a squeeze to soften, which will make for more pleasant eating. Slice into 3-inch pieces, then wash and place next to the leaves in the colander to drain.
2. Add oil to a wok or medium-sized frying pan and set it over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the salted soy beans, fish sauce and sugar. Stir, then add the water spinach stems and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and the water spinach leaves. Cook until they soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve, ideally with steamed jasmine rice.
Adapted with permission from “My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook” by Nite Yun with Tien Nguyen. Published by 4 Color Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Scott Clark’s Earl Grey Ice Box Pie
Adapted from Clark’s cookbook “Coastal: 130 Recipes From a California Road Trip,” which was published by Chronicle Books this past spring, this dessert is a love letter to the chef’s favorite beverage: Earl Grey tea. Assembled in advance, it’s finished à la minute with yogurt, orange and lime zest. Using high-quality whole leaves — as opposed to tea bags — will impart the best flavor and color.
Makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients:
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1 cup/120 grams graham cracker crumbs
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⅓ cup/65 grams sugar
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½ cup/75 grams unsalted butter, melted
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¾ cup/130 grams sugar
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¼ cup/35 grams cornstarch
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3 large eggs
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Pinch of kosher salt
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1¾ cups/400 milliliters whole milk
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½ cup/120 milliliters heavy cream
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⅓ cup/35 grams loose Earl Grey tea leaves
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3 ounces/85 grams white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1. To make the pie crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until smooth and sandlike. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
2. To make the filling, mix the sugar and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking to combine.
3. In a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat, bring the milk, heavy cream and tea to a boil. Turn off heat and let steep for 2 minutes. Whisk a third of the hot milk mixture into the sugar and egg mixture to temper it, then pour the sugar-egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk mixture. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Pour the custard into a blender, add the white chocolate and blend on high until it’s smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the filling into the chilled pie crust and freeze the pie until set, about 3 hours. Let the pie rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Top with a dollop of yogurt and grate orange and lime zest to garnish.
Adapted with permission from “Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Road Trip” by Scott Clark. Published by Chronicle Books.
The post Three Easy Dishes to Make for a Crowd This Summer appeared first on New York Times.
