Verve
Holiday Entertaining at Home with Alfred Portale
By David Gibbons
Our family was lucky enough to have owned a beach house in the Hamptons and we were doubly fortunate to count among our next-door neighbors a family whose husband and father is not only one of America’s greatest chefs but also a good guy and a fine friend. The first time I remember inviting Alfred Portale over for a meal, on the occasion of my daughter’s first birthday, I very consciously planned a “down-scale” menu because it was just too nerve-wracking to try to put together something sophisticated and coherent when a well-known professional chef would be eating—and presumably judging—my offerings. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and drank canned drinks I had chilled on ice in a big outdoor trash can. Alfred was happy as a clam. He told me, “I really like it when people can relax and eat regular food.”
Over the years, I learned that Alfred the person—as opposed to Chef Portale, the guy in the starched white Gotham Bar & Grill coat—was a regular sports fan from Buffalo who was just as happy watching a football game with a beer in his hand (preferably the Bills, as long they were winning) as he was spooning beluga caviar washed down with vintage Champagne. Alfred and his wife Helen taught me about beef on weck (Buffalo’s take on a roast beef sandwich) and encouraged the development of my career as a foodie.
Our families grew close and we spent many a holiday meal together. The occasions became less intimidating very early on as I discovered what was really important to Alfred: family and friends getting together over a simple, hearty meal prepared with a sparing, subtle touch. Alfred’s three cookbooks are tours de force of elegant cuisine presented in stunning visual packages. Most people know he’s the chef who pioneered and popularized “tall food,” emulating the lofty aspirations of Manhattan’s buildings and the people who inhabit them. They may not know he was a star high-school football player who was also a successful jewelry maker and that his passionate hobby is making beautiful wood furniture. He brings the same precision, focus and drive employed in those pursuits to his cooking. When you peel back the layers of sophistication, what you have are simple, delicious recipes that highlight local ingredients and Mediterranean-accented new American cuisine.
Being of 100% Sicilian stock on both his mother’s and father’s sides, Alfred has strong Christmas memories not only of suburban Americana—ranch houses covered with silently syncopated blinking lights, bringing home the tree tied to the roof of the station wagon on a frosty December evening, kids falling asleep in the pews at church on Christmas Eve—but also of large family gatherings with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, everyone contributing their specialty to multi-course feasts—Uncle Sam’s venison, Aunt Annie’s lasagna, grandma’s secret cookie recipe. Christmas Eve dinner, in preparation for midnight mass, was the mother of all feasts. Catholic lore dictates the courses should number at least seven (for the seven sacraments) but possibly as many as twelve (for Christ’s disciples), thirteen (the disciples plus one) or more.
In my household, holiday entertaining has always begun with Alfred’s recipe for turkey, featuring a stuffing of mashed potatoes, sausage and chanterelles (found on p. 277 of his first book, Alfred Portale’s Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook, Doubleday, 1997) and combining the traditions of both his and Helen’s families. Following the advice in Alfred’s book, we put into practice some of the key principles of modern haute cuisine, the first of which is to insist on the best, most authentic natural ingredients. The formula—which, by the way, is equally good for Thanksgiving, Christmas and beyond-- starts with ordering a fresh, free-range turkey from the New Jersey purveyor D’Artagnan (800-327-8246; www.dartagnan.com). Be sure to make your own turkey stock to use as a base for the sauce or gravy (no shortcuts there, please—Christmas only comes once a year). The turkey itself should be for 20 minutes per pound at 325° and basted about every 20 minutes with stock; start with 2 cups in the pan and add more as needed.
Alfred’s second and third books, Alfred Portale’s 12 Seasons Cookbook (Broadway Books, 2000) and Simple Pleasures (William Morrow, 2004) contain plenty of ideas and inspiration for holiday feasts at home. You get the most bang for your buck—whether your gathering is large or small—by selecting delicious uncomplicated roasted meat recipes, splurging for the occasional luxury ingredient and by offering multiple, discreet “auxiliary” courses, many of which can be prepared well in advance: soups, crostini, elegant side dishes and, of course, desserts. Poached pears in red wine is a great example of a delicious make-ahead dish embodying tradition (Italian), simplicity and elegance. You can add festive flavor accents to foolproof standbys, for example jazzing up macaroons and/or panna cotta by adding coconut. (See recipe references and suggestions below.) Holiday gatherings tend to be large so don’t forget to plan ahead, spread out the tasks, doing as much advance prep as possible hours or even a day or two in beforehand, and don’t hesitate to delegate. “I wouldn’t exactly call it potluck,” says the chef, “but it’s always a good idea to ask people to bring salads, side dishes and desserts.”
Christmas dinner at the Portale's when Alfred was growing up invariably began with shrimp cocktail followed by a pasta course—usually ravioli—and then a main dish of prime rib. After dinner, the men would sit around the table peeling and eating roasted chestnuts while sipping their after-dinner drink of choice, mostly grappa or vin santo. With Helen and their two daughters, Alfred has a tradition of traveling for the first week of the school winter break so the celebratory family meal has been shifted from Christmas to New Year’s Eve. “I work most of the day at the restaurant,” he says, “then we have a late dinner at home, with a few friends and family--always something fancy. We typically start with Champagne and caviar.
In Helen’s family, they liked to start with smoked fish so often we’ll have some salmon we either cold-smoked or cured. For the main course, we’ll have a either a whole roast sirloin or rack of lamb.” Serve either cut of meat in classic fashion: the rack of lamb in herb-and-breadcrumb crust, the roast beef with a bordelaise sauce of reduced red wine, shallots and butter, and truffled potatoes on the side. A good domestic rack of lamb at any fine butcher is recommended but rather pricey. Australian lamb is a less expensive alternative. For roast beef, buy a prime cut and ask for the first four to six ribs, which are less fatty. Cold-smoking fish can be a little complicated; curing it, gravlax-style, is quite simple and makes for an excellent festive appetizer.
Recipe references and suggestions: In Alfred Portale’s Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook:
Roasted Prime Rib of Beef with Caribbean Spice Rub (serves 6 to 8)
This is a good method of jazzing up a roast for the holidays. You can also cook it simply with just a rub of salt and pepper or, alternately, with the simple herb rub below. If you choose to use the habaneros, be careful: they are very hot. For a more challenging (and tastier) method of cooking, roast the beef in an outdoor grill over a fire of real charcoal with oak or other hardwood chips that have been pre-soaked. Bank the fire on one side of the grill and place a disposable aluminum roasting pan with ½ inch of water in it on the other side. Add a handful of charcoal and additional wood chips) every 40 minutes or so. Roast the meat on the side of the grill above the pan.
1 10-pound prime rib of beef
Coarse salt
For the spice rub:
½ cup chopped onion
8 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
3 tablespoons light olive oil
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 habanero (or Scotch bonnet) chiles, halved, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
Prepare the spice rub: Place the onion, garlic and olive oil in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until pureed. Transfer the puree to a bowl and stir well to form a thick paste.
Marinate the roast: Trim the fat on top of the roast to a thickness of ¼ inch. Score the roast on top with several crossing diagonal cuts about ¼ inch deep. Massage the roast all over with about ¼ cup of the coarse salt then with about half the spice rub. Spread the remaining spice rub on top of the roast. Cover the meat and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.
Cook the roast: Remove the meat from the fridge and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 450°. Place the meat in a large pan, fat side up and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325° and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast reads 130°, about 2 ¼ hours. Allow the meat to stand for 20 minutes before carving.
Herb rub (alternative): Start with the same three ingredients as for the Caribbean Spice Rub, pureeing them in the food processor. Then add 2 tablespoons each of chopped fresh rosemary and thyme, 1 tablespoon dried sage, and 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper. Massage the meat with the salt and the herb rub and proceed with the recipe.
Potato Puree (serves 8)
Adapted from Alfred Portale’s Simple Pleasures
The incredibly delicious mashed potatoes they serve at the Gotham Bar and Grill (with all sorts of roasted fish, meat and chicken dishes) have evolved slightly over the years. Here is a current version, the ideal accompaniment for your holiday roast. Sour cream can be substituted for the crème fraiche and half & half for the whole milk.
Coarse salt
5 pounds red or Yukon Gold potatoes
1 1/3 cups crème fraiche
½ cup whole milk
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Freshly ground white pepper
Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well. Return the potatoes to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring, until excess moisture evaporates and they being to stick to the bottom, about 3 minutes. Pass the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl (or use a masher), and combine them well with the crème fraiche, milk and butter. The potatoes can be kept warm in a double boiler over simmering water for up to 2 hours.
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
(about 4 ½ dozen cookies)
Adapted from Alfred Portale’s Twelve Seasons Cookbook
These are a modern, softer alternative to the traditional rock-hard double-baked Italian biscotti.
1 ¼ cups hazelnuts
1 stick (4 ounces) butter
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground espresso coffee
3 eggs
12 ¾ cups flour
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup Valrhona chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Allow the nuts to cool and then coarsely chop. Place the butter, sugar and ground espresso in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle. Cream these ingredients together for about 4 minutes on medium speed. Slowly add the eggs, followed by the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda and continue mixing until it forms a soft dough. Work the chopped chocolate and nuts lightly into the dough. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap tightly and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and form three 12-inch logs with the dough. Place two of the logs on one baking sheet, separated by at least two inches. Place the other log on the other sheet and bake in the oven until the logs are lightly brown and feel firm, about 25 minutes. Halfway through the baking, switch the position of the baking sheets. Remove the logs from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Cut the logs slightly on a bias into ½-inch slices using a sharp, serrated knife. Place the slices on the baking sheets and bake until crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the slices over about halfway through the baking process.
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