Food as Transport: Rainy Day in Miami or Summer in Santorini
Visions of impossibly blue skies, white houses on a hillside, turquoise seas next to deserted beaches have long fueled my unrealized dreams of a summer in Greece. After a long week on the road I came home to a rainy Miami with the forecast of a total weekend washout. What to do, What to do?
Why not invite my favorite travel companions for A Summer Night in Santorini menu. I cued up Zorba The Greek station on Pandora and headed off to the fish monger.
The Menu
- Saganaki
- Roast Prawns with Sherry Head Shot
- Grilled Octopus Confit over Spinach salad
- Grilled Lamb Chops
- Assorted Grilled Vegetables and Pita
- Taziki
- Super chilled Assyrtiko Santori white wine
- Lemon Gelatto and Fresh Berries
The Night
Our good friends Kathleen and Gladstone arrived with Kathleen's mom Claire who was visiting from Tallahassee. Wine was opened and Mike and Glad threw the prawns (room temperature), heads on and oiled down, on the grill with just a bit of salt and pepper for 2-3 minutes a side. For added fun, when they brought them in we cut the heads off, poured a shot of Spanish sherry and shot it down. Opa!
I put the brandy soaked, floured kasseri cheese for the saganaki in a pan to fry before setting it on fire and serving. More Opa! The boys headed back out to quickly grill lamb chops and pita. From there, more wine flowed, platters filled the table and the rain soaked night slowly took on the starry glow of a Santorini evening.
The Details
My favorite fishmonger is Lorenzo's in North Miami Beach. If you haven't been there you are in for a treat. Shake off the fact that this place hasn't been updated in 50 years and head straight to the fish counter. I picked out a 3 lb. octopus and 6 beautiful head on prawns.
Tip: You can always call Lorenzo's or your fish monger, the day before you need something and they will make sure to pick it up fresh that morning at the market. If it doesn't look good at the market they won't get it and will call you with alternatives.
A stop at Total Wine produced the Assyrtiko Santori, not much selection of Greek wines, but this one did nicely and had a $12 price tag. Also got a nice Spanish sherry for the Prawn head shots. On to Whole Foods for the kasseri, lemon gelatto and fresh berries.
I decided to confit the octopus to keep it moist. Very simple process, Be Brave! After cutting the head off, removing the beak and rinsing well (they would do this for you at Lorenzo's), place the octopus body in a saute pan. Cover with oil and bring to barely a simmer, take off stove, cover and place in a 300 degree oven for an hour. When done take out of oil and throw on a hot grill just long enough to char. Slice and serve over fresh baby spinach with a light vinaigrette.
The octopus can be made a few hours ahead and stored in a gallon zip lock bag in the fridge. I grilled it and the vegetables about an hour before my guests arrived, sliced the octopus and placed it over the spinach in the fridge. I only needed to toss with the vinaigrette before serving, the veggies can be left out and served at room temp. I prepped my veggies and lamb chops earlier in the afternoon as well. I made the taziki the day before, here is an easy recipe from Ina Garten. I had very little to do once the party started except to have fun and be transported to Santorini for the evening. Opa!
