- [Andrew] I'm excited to team up with my friends
at the Botanist Gin again for this episode of "Basics"
to celebrate Father's Day.
I'm making a surf and turf,
so I thought it was appropriate to start off
by making a martini highball,
a refreshing summer riff on the classic Botanist martini.
We're starting by adding ice to a collins glass,
followed by one ounce of the Botanist.
The Botanist is a smooth, complex, well-balanced spirit
that is made at the Bruichladdich Distillery,
world-renowned for single malt Scotch whiskeys.
The flavor of the gin comes from 22 herbs and botanicals
that are hand foraged on Islay,
a small island off the coast of Scotland.
Next, we're adding one ounce of dry vermouth
and two dashes of orange bitters.
To finish, we're topping off the glass with some soda water
and lemon garnish.
This cocktail will be great for toasting with your dad
or someone special to you this weekend.
Let's get down to basics.
(bright music)
So I'm gonna make a sort of
three-course surf and turf dinner,
starting with a very easy surf and turf appetizer.
I've got a half dozen dry scallops
that I'm further drying by virtue of a paper towel.
Then wrapping with some strips of speck,
which is just smoked prosciutto.
So you could also use prosciutto.
Securing in place, ideally with metal skewers,
but wood skewers will do.
And keeping an eye out for any scallop feet,
this little flap of muscle
that's sometimes left hanging on its side.
It's perfectly edible,
but a little tougher than the rest of the scallop,
so it is often summarily removed.
Next up,
we're arranging these guys on a lightly lubricated rack
set into a rimmed baking sheet, one that is broiler safe,
because that's where they're headed.
I also wanted to try arranging a couple lemon halves,
hoping to catch a little char from the broiler
which can help mellow out their flavor.
Everybody's getting dusted with a little bit of kosher salt.
Then these guys are headed directly under a broiler
set to medium or low if your oven has that option,
for five to seven minutes
until the speck is lightly charred
and the scallops register 125 degrees Fahrenheit
at their thickest point.
And that's all there is to it.
Speck or prosciutto crisps up quickly
so you don't have to worry about overcooking the scallop
like you would if you wrapped them in bacon.
Next up, we're gonna really stretch the definition
of surf and turf with cauliflower representing our turf.
It does, after all, grow on land.
I'm gonna make a Sicilian cauliflower salad,
first cutting the cauliflower in half,
placing pyramidal slices along its triangular core,
which then can be pulled out, and then half the cauliflower.
I'm going to separate into bite-sized florets.
Nothing bigger than, let's say an inch,
in any given dimension.
The other half, once cored, I'm gonna slice nice and thinly.
We're leaving this half of the cauliflower raw
so you want to get it as thin as possible.
The other half, on the other hand, we're gonna roast,
tossing it with a generous guzzle of olive oil.
And I mean really toss it,
massaging the oil into every nook and cranny
to ensure even browning.
This is headed onto a rimmed baking sheet
and into a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven
for about 20 to 25 minutes,
shuffling things around about halfway through.
Then with five minutes left to go,
I'm gonna sprinkle these guys
with a quarter cup of pine nuts so that they too,
can get a little bit of oven lovin'
before they go in the salad.
Once everybody's all roasty toasty,
we're letting this cool completely
before proceeding to assembly.
We're combining both the cauliflowers in a large bowl
and then assembling a quick anchovy dressing
to fulfill our surf side of the equation.
Into a high-sided bowl goes a quarter cup of olive oil,
one tablespoon of sherry vinegar,
one clove of crushed garlic, half a shallot, finely minced.
About a third of a cup of packed parsley leaves,
finely chopped.
And one-and-a-half teaspoons of anchovy paste,
or two minced and mashed anchovy filets.
Add a pinch of kosher salt,
few twists of freshly ground black pepper,
and using a tiny whisk or fork,
gently beat this guy into a creamy emulsion.
Taste for seasoning, and we're good to go.
So we got garlic, anchovies, and pine nuts.
The only thing missing to make it really Sicilian
is a third of a cup of currants.
But you could also use raisins.
Pour our anchovy dressing over top.
Give everything a spirited toss,
and you have one of my very favorite preparations
of cauliflower.
A good mix of roasty and raw flavors, a super rich dressing,
pine nuts and just a little bit of sweet dried fruit.
I literally made this for a dinner party
the day before shooting this episode.
Now finally onto the more classic surf and turf.
I'm starting with two lobster tails
that I'm going to prevent from curling during cooking.
Inserting two wood or metal skewers
right underneath its bottom membrane.
I'm doing this because I wanna reserve the shells
for serving.
I'm snipping off any excess skewer
and bringing these guys over to a pot
of just boiling water, where I'm going to poach them.
That is hold them at this barely sub boil,
where the water's just kind of
spookily meandering around the pot,
more gently cooking the lobster
and keeping it from getting tough.
Once their thickest point reaches 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
If serving hot, these guys are ready to go.
But I'm going to drop them into an ice bath
because I'm gonna use them to make a sort of lobster salad
that I think is gonna be a nice contrast to our steak.
Let these chill for five to 10 minutes, fish 'em out,
snip around the outside of the bottom membrane
to peel it off.
Then that big, beautiful hunk of lobster meat
should just jump right out.
This stuff's getting chopped into bite-sized pieces
and then I'm combining it in a bowl
with one stalk of finely chopped celery.
About a quarter cup of fresh dill, likewise finely chopped.
A quarter cup of mayonnaise, preferably homemade.
The juice of one half of one lemon.
Pinch of kosher salt, few twist of pepper,
and a couple splashes of your basic most hot sauce.
Stir to combine the lobster with the dressing
and scoop it back into your reserved lobster shells.
This gives it a very classic steakhouse in the 50s look,
which is very dad.
Next up for the steak, I wanna make a chimichurri butter.
So I'm gonna take the stuff that goes in chimichurri
and put it in some butter.
One tablespoon finely chopped oregano.
Two tablespoons of finely chopped parsley.
One clove of crushed garlic.
A quarter teaspoon of red pepper flake.
And a teaspoon and a half of red wine vinegar.
The vinegar's not really gonna emulsify into the butter
but it is going to inform it with its flavor.
Set this delicious stuff aside at room temperature
to keep it soft.
The steak,
I'm simply sprinkling the salt generously on all sides
and letting 'em sit for at least 30 minutes,
up to an hour-and-a-half before cooking.
Then I'm patting them dry.
And for inch-and-a-half thick New York strips like these,
I'm gonna drop them into a generously oiled,
ripping hot cast iron skillet.
First, slamming them with medium high heat,
until they have a nice char on all sides.
Then once they've got some nice color,
I'm turning down the heat to medium
and gently finishing cooking them through.
Normally I would finish these guys in the oven,
but if you're also making the scallops,
then you're gonna be using your oven's broiler.
So it takes some supervision and deft temperature control,
but you can finish thick steaks
like these entirely in the pan.
For medium rare,
I'm looking for 125 degrees Fahrenheit
at their thickest point.
Because once we remove these steaks
and allow them to rest for 10 minutes
before slicing and serving,
they're gonna keep climbing another five to eight degrees.
To serve, you can optionally pre-slice the steak.
This makes for an attractive option,
fanned out along one side of the plate,
and then we're smearing it down liberally
with our chimichurri butter.
Make sure to rest your steak on a warm plate
so that it doesn't cool off too much before serving.
Arrange the lobster salad alongside it.
Place some totally gestural frisée
in the center of the plate for better symmetry.
Some lemon slices for the lobster, and there you have it.
My favorite steak and lobster for our surf and turf trio.
My Dad couldn't join me for this shoot
but I wanna wish him, my brother,
and anyone special in your life that you wanna celebrate,
a Happy Father's Day.
Cheers.
Thanks again to the Botanist for sponsoring this episode.
I'm excited to partner with them again this summer
to bring you more new recipes and delicious cocktails.
The Botanist is distilled in Islay, Scotland,
by the same team
who crafts award-winning single malt whiskeys.
The same care goes into the Botanist,
creating a complex and balanced spirit
that is great in a martini or any gin cocktail.
Stay tuned to the channel
for what the Botanist and I do next,
and head to the link in the description
to get a bottle for yourself and try it.
(breezy music)