Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt or margarita salt
• 1 juicy lime
• 1 cup (8 ounces) fresh watermelon juice
• 1 cup (8 ounces) tequila
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) Cointreau
• Ice cubes
• 2 to 4 pinches of chile powder (optional)

Directions

Spread the salt on a saucer. Cut the lime in half, and set aside half of the lime to use later. Cut the other half into 2 wedges, or 4 wedges if making 4 drinks. Run 1 wedge around the rim of each glass, then dip each rim in the salt, making sure you coat the entire rim. Or, instead of lime juice, dip your finger in a little corn syrup and run it around the rim. The salt adheres better than when you use lime juice, and you get a nice sweetand-salt flavor.

Pour the watermelon juice, tequila, and Cointreau into a cocktail shaker and squeeze in the juice from the reserved lime half. Fill the shaker with ice, cover, and shake.

Fill the salt-rimmed glasses with ice and strain the watermelon mixture into the glasses. Top each margarita with a pinch of cayenne.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 bunches (about 10 ounces total) baby carrots in assorted colors, tops trimmed
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 cups mizuna, watercress, ancho cress, or arugula greens

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Have an ice bath (a bowl of ice water) ready. Using a vegetable peeler, peel ribbons of carrots from half of the carrots. Place in the ice water to chill (the ribbons will curl after a while in the water).

Place the remaining whole carrots on a baking sheet; drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the edges start to caramelize, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside at room temperature. Lower the oven temperature to 350 F.

Toast the pine nuts in the oven for about 10 minutes or in a small pan on the stove top over medium-low heat, shaking constantly, until brown and fragrant; pour into a bowl to cool and set aside. Toast the cumin seeds in a small saute pan over medium heat, tossing or stirring constantly until fragrant, and then pour quickly into a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind into a powder. Alternatively, use ground cumin.

For the dressing, in a medium bowl, whisk the cumin with the lemon and lime juices, salt, and pepper; slowly whisk in the 1/4 cup olive oil.

Remove the carrot ribbons from the ice water and pat dry with paper towels. Peel, pit, and slice the avocado.

Divide the avocado slices and roasted carrots among 4 salad plates. In a bowl, toss the carrot ribbons and greens in the dressing, and divide among the plates.

Sprinkle a few pine nuts on each salad and serve.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 8-ounce rib-eye steak, about 1 inch thick _(see Note, following)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Small pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions

Let the meat sit out at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the grill to high heat.

Season the meat all over with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Grill on one side until nicely caramelized with dark grill marks, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn over and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes.

Let the steak rest for 5 minutes, then slice the meat and divide between 2 plates. Serve with just about any of the side and supporting dishes in chapter 8 (page 159).

Note: I prefer to cook the whole 8-ounce steak, let it rest, and then slice it for 2 servings. But you can also cut the steak in half down the middle before you cook it and serve two 4-ounce portions.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• BISCUIT TOPPING
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream


• FRUIT FILLING
• 3 cups fresh blackberries
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the biscuits
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour, cornstarch, or all-purpose flour
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water


• Heavy cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

For the biscuit topping, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Work the cold butter into the flour with your fingertips until it forms pea-size clumps. Add the buttermilk and cream and stir gently with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Set aside while you make the filling.

For the filling, in a bowl, combine the blackberries, sugar, lemon zest, tapioca, and salt. Toss lightly. Pour into a 1-quart ceramic or other baking dish. Dot with the butter.

Dust a work surface with flour, and with a rolling pin, roll out the biscuit dough to 1/2 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut into 2-inch blocks. Set on top of the berries. Whisk the egg and water together and brush the biscuits with the egg wash. Sprin-kle with the sugar and bake until the filling is bubbling and the biscuit topping is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Let standminutes before serving.

Serve in bowls and pass a pitcher of heavy cream to pour on.

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb rice flour
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 4 oz. ground pecorino/grana padano
• 1/2 ea. nutmeg ground
• 1/2 ea. lemon zest
• 1 TB. Kosher salt
• 1 t. ground black pepper
• 1 ea. egg


• Mix all together and roll in balls.
• Roll in rice flour or cornmeal.


• For the Alla Norma Sauce:
• 2 C. tomato puree
• 1 C. roasted red peppers or canned piquillo peppers
• 4 cloves roasted garlic
• 2 t. salt

Directions

Slice eggplant with skin on about 1/2 " slices. Salt and sweat for 30 minutes on paper towels. Keep in low boy and fry to order.

Cook gnudi in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Cook sauce with some butter and toss in gnudi.

Fry eggplant to order. Plate gnudi and sauce on top of eggplant. Finish with basil and ricotta salata.

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients

• 980 g. butter
• 560 g. sugar
• 800 g. almond paste
• 400 g. egg whites
• 200 g. egg yolks
• 800 g. A/P flour
• 8 g. Kosher salt
• 20 g. almond extract
• 10 g. red food color
• 10 g. greed food color
• 40 g. ground pistachios
• 40 g. amarena cherries or rehydrated and drained dried cherries, minced

Directions

Cream the butter with half of the sugar and almond pasteuntil fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and almond extract and salt. Sift in the flour and mix just to combine. Whip egg whites by adding remaining sugar gradually to soft peaks.

Divide dough into 3 bowls. Add the pistachio and green color to one mix. Add the cherries and red color to one mix. Leave one plain.

Spread in parchment lined pans. Bake at 325 convection for 10-12 minutes, just until set. Cool completely.

Sandwich together the layers with the white in the middle with apricot jam. Weight the pans overnight. Finish top and bottom with dark chocolate mixed with a little oil. Keep refrigerated.