506 PIERMONT AVENUE
PIERMONT, NY 10968
(845) 359-7007
EXECUTIVE CHEF/OWNER: PETER X. KELLY;
CHEF DE CUISINE: GEORGE DEMARSICO;
XAVIAR’S RESTAURANT GROUP BEVERAGE DIRECTOR: BILLY RATTNER
What eventually became Chef Peter Kelly’s flagship bijoux is actually his second go-round by that name. Kelly’s first Xaviar’s debuted in 1983 and was located at Highlands Country Club in Garrison. When he opened that Xaviar’s (his first restaurant), Kelly was a superannuated twenty-three. To cover his modest start-up costs (about nine thousand dollars), Kelly had to sell his car.
“I hadn’t been trained as a chef, but I knew what I wanted. I wanted dinner to be an event—six courses paired with six wines. Really, Xaviar’s was a mid-1980s restaurant—like the Quilted Giraffe.” The second Xaviar’s in Piermont opened four years after the first and shows a chef who can—finally—indulge his taste for luxury. Xaviar’s is truly tiny, a jewelbox of only forty seats, but it glitters with costly details: lavish flowers, soft candlelight, buttery linens, Baccarat crystal, Versace china. Almost instantly, this second venture by a self-taught chef who had to sell his car to enter the business snagged four stars from the New York Times and top ranking in the Zagat Survey and stole the hearts of locals. Xaviar’s has been the host of hundreds of proposals and important anniversaries since it opened in 1987. When talking of Xaviar’s, Kelly’s voice takes on an uncharacteristic lilt of tenderness. “It’s where we do our most haute work. We have the ability to touch each guest a little more warmly.”
(SERVES 4)
For the ragout:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8–12 cloves garlic, roasted
1 cup mushroom stock (chicken stock may be substituted)
½ pint Del Cabo tomatoes, sliced in half (cherry tomatoes may be substituted)
8 ounces fresh morel mushrooms or 2 ounces dried morels that have been soaked in water
16 fresh shiitaki mushroom caps, quartered
1 cup cooked orzo pasta
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the cod:
1 cup miso
½ cup mirin
½ cup sake
¾ cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce
4 (5–6 ounce) black cod fillets, boneless and skinless
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
To make the ragout: Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and allow it to melt without browning. Add the roasted garlic and cook about 1 minute. Pour in the stock and tomatoes. Add the morels and shiitakis and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked orzo and cook the ragout until it’s heated through, about 1 minute. Season the mixture to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Reserve the ragout while you finish the dish.
To prepare the cod: In a nonreactive bowl whisk miso, mirin, sake, honey, and soy until fully combined and smooth. Slip the cod fillets into this mixture and marinate in the bowl, covered in plastic wrap, for at least 4 hours (or, preferably, overnight). Do not allow the cod to marinate more than 24 hours or fish will start to cure.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Remove the cod fillets from the marinade and wipe off most of the liquid, leaving just a thin film on the fish. Rub a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil and place the cod on the baking sheet, leaving an inch or 2 between the fillets. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. After the fish has been in the oven for 5 minutes, remove and place under the broiler. Broil the fish for about 30 seconds. Serve with the orzo ragout.
(SERVES 2)
For the vegetables:
4 ripe doughnut peaches
Extra-virgin olive oil to coat
Salt and pepper
1 head garlic
3–4 fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
1 baby artichoke, trimmed
10 pearl onions, peeled
¼ cup shelled fava beans
¼ cup shelled English peas
6–8 asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch lengths
¼ cup finely diced carrots
¼ cup finely diced zucchini
¼ cup finely diced yellow squash
For the veal:
1 double-cut veal rib chop (approximately 20 ounces), trimmed to 1 bone
Salt and pepper
¼ pound quartered mushrooms
2 sprigs each fresh thyme and sage
2 ounces Madeira
½ cup veal stock (chicken broth may be substituted)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
To prepare the vegetables: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the peaches on an oiled cookie sheet; rub each with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the peaches in the preheated oven and roast for 15–20 minutes, or until the skin is blistered and peaches are very tender. Remove peaches from the oven and allow them to cool. When they’re cool, cut the top from each peach and, using a spoon, scoop out the stones. Leave two peaches whole and cut the other two into a dice. Set aside.
Cut the stem from a head of garlic to expose the tips of its cloves. Drizzle the exposed cloves with a bit of olive oil, wrap the head of garlic in foil, and bake in the preheated oven until the head is soft when you squeeze it with tongs, 30–40 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the potatoes (they can bake simultaneously). When the garlic is soft, allow it to cool and reserve six to eight cloves.
Place scrubbed fingerling potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place them in the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool. The potatoes will be quite firm. Cut them into a ½-inch dice and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Have ready a bowl filled with ice water. For the artichoke, trim off the tough outer leaves and base. Place it in the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Remove the artichoke from the pot with tongs or a skimmer and shock it in ice water. Leave the water boiling as you prepare the rest of the vegetables. When the artichoke is cold, drain and cut it into quarters or eighths. Remove its fuzzy interior choke and reserve the rest.
Place the pearl onions in the boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes. Shock them in ice water, then drain and set aside. Drop the shelled fava beans in the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove the favas from the pot and shock them in the ice water. When cold, slip off their filmy skins and set aside.
Place the shelled peas in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the peas from the pot and shock them in the ice water. When cold, drain and set aside. Repeat the blanching/shocking process for the asparagus, carrots, zucchini, and yellow squash, adding ice as needed. Do not overcook the vegetables; they should be blanched until just tender. Reserve while you finish the dish.
To roast the veal: Place a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Season the veal chop on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the veal chop in the pan and sear over medium heat for 4 minutes. Turn the chop over and continue cooking on the other side for 4 more minutes. The meat should be well bronzed.
To the pan add the quartered mushrooms, diced peaches, artichokes, fingerling potatoes, roasted garlic, and pearl onions. Place the fresh thyme and sage on top of the chops and place the pan in the preheated oven. Roast for 12 minutes. Remove the veal from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Allow it to rest (at least for 10 minutes before slicing) while you finish the sauce.
Return the pan of vegetables and veal juice back to the stovetop over high heat and sauté for 1 minute. Add the Madeira and the veal stock (or chicken broth) and boil the mixture until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the peas, fava beans, asparagus, carrots, zucchini, and yellow squash. Add the butter (cut into small pieces) to the pan. Swirl the pan to incorporate the butter. Spoon the vegetables and sauce onto two warm dinner plates. Place one whole roasted peach on each plate; slice the veal and lay it over the vegetables. Serve.