Three Recipes for the Perfect Labor Day Weekend

The Mozza Cookbook

Labor Day weekend?s often considered the last chance for enterprising chefs to assemble their final alfresco meals before being retreating indoors for the long winter. For those in need of a new dish, or colorful inspiration, we asked some of the season?s most innovative female chefs what they?ll be making this weekend.

To drink, Nancy Silverton, owner of Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza, two landmark Italian restaurants in Los Angeles, suggests a classic cocktail favorite with a new twist. For a casual?and easy, even for kitchen novices?starter, Karen Leibowitz of Mission Street Foods, the popular pop-up restaurant in San Fransisco, suggests a personal recipe with fresh vegetables and everyday refrigerator stand-bys. And for an unexpected main course, Jennifer McLagan, a chef noted for her fearless experimentation with every part of the animals she cooks with, suggests a daring take on traditional kebabs.

THE SIGNATURE COCKTAIL
Silverton suggests her Gordon?s Cup cocktail, excerpted from her upcoming cookbook, The Mozza Cookbook (Knopf), on bookshelves now. She calls the drink ?a play on the traditional British cocktail, Pimm?s Cup, made with gin instead of Pimm?s,? and a perfect compliment to a good summertime meal.

Gordon?s Cup
For the simple syrup (makes enough for 4-6 cocktails):
1?4 cup sugar
1?4 cup water

For each cocktail:
9 thin slices cucumber (preferably Japanese cucumber)
2 ounces Plymouth gin
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 and 1?2 tablespoons simple syrup

To make the simple syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.? Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool the syrup to room temperature. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

To make each cocktail, use a wooden pestle or spoon to muddle 6 of the cucumber slices in an old- fashioned glass and fill the glass with ice cubes. Combine the gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. Strain the cocktail into the glass with the muddled cucumbers, garnish with the remaining cucumber slices, and serve.

THE EASY-BREEZY SALAD
Not everyone wants to have a formal dinner party. Leibowitz suggests an alternative with her dish?a personal recipe that reflects the innovative cooking style of her cookbook Mission Street Food (McSweeney?s).? The book, co-written with Anthony Myint, founder of the food truck turned pop-up chain of the same name in San Francisco, is out now.

?At the end of the summer, I like to make a simple dish with fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, and red onion, plus any leftovers I want to use up in the fridge. Yesterday, for instance, I chopped up some zucchini and half a red onion, and set those to saut? in some olive oil while I cut corn kernels off the cob and broke up some chicken meat from the previous night?s dinner?but you could use almost any meat.

?Add the corn and meat to the pan?you really just want to warm them up?and then the tomatoes at the end. Season with salt and pepper, and add basil if you have it on hand. I like to serve it with warm tortillas, preferably coated with melted Monterey Jack, but it?s also good as a side dish.?

THE DARING MAIN COURSE

While McLagan?s dish, Peruvian Heart Kababs, may sound like a stretch, it?s a surefire dinner party thriller?and almost guaranteed to be a new experience for any guest. McLagan, noted for using the whole of an animal, as in her new cookbook, Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal (Ten Speed Press), out September 13. ?For me September is a month of new experiences,? she tells us. ?People move and everyone goes back to?school,?or?work, or to face new challenges. So what better time to try a new taste? This dish is the perfect way to celebrate the end of summer and new beginnings.?

Peruvian Heart Kebabs (makes 8 to 10 skewers)
13 ounces (375 g) trimmed beef heart
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
? teaspoon black peppercorns
2 serrano chiles, stems removed
1 clove garlic, germ removed
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Cut the heart into ? inch (2 cm) cubes and place in a bowl.

Toast the cumin seed in a small frying pan until fragrant, about 1 minute. Place in a spice grinder with the salt and peppercorns, and grind. Add the chiles and garlic and grind again, then transfer the mixture to a small bowl and whisk in the vinegar and olive oil.

Pour the mixture over the heart pieces in the bowl and toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat the grill to high. Thread the heart pieces onto 8 to 10 wooden or metal skewers and grill over high heat for about 4 minutes total, turning once.

Alternatives: Veal heart, lamb heart, whole poultry hearts, gizzards, or liver slices, but only marinate liver 3 to 4 hours.

Source: http://fashion.elle.com/culture/2011/09/02/three-recipes-for-the-perfect-labor-day-weekend/

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