Terrance Brennan brings grilled lobster to The Dish

The son of a Virginia restaurateur, Terrance Brennan fell in love with working in a kitchen starting at a very young age.

After studying and honing his cooking style in many of Europe's finest Michelin-starred restaurants, Brennan returned to the U.S. and introduced his Mediterranean-inspired American cuisine. In 1993, he opened his first restaurant, Picholine, which quickly earned him three stars from The New York Times and two stars in the Michelin guide.

Here's how to make some of his signature dishes: watermelon and arugula salad with feta and tapenade, grilled corn with manchego and smoked paprika, wrinkled "seawater" potatoes with two sauces, grilled lobster with chanterelles and rhubarb vinaigrette, pavlova with summer berries and blackberry gin fizz to drink!

Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Feta and Tapenade

3 TBS freshly squeezed lime juice

¼ Cup plus 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Black Pepper in a mill

¼ Cup Tapenade (see below for tapenade)

About 3 pounds of seedless Watermelon. Rind removed. Cut into 1 inch cubes

4 Cups loosely packed arugula (about 2 ounces arugula) Tough stems removed, well washed in several changes of cold water and sun dry

½ Cup crumbled goat cheese feta (from about 3 ounces cheese)

Cooking Process:

Make the vinaigrette: Put the lime juice, and oil in a mixing bowl and whisk them together. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and about 6 grinds black pepper. Add the tapenade to the bowl and stir it into the vinaigrette.

Divide the watermelon cubes among 4 chilled salad plates. Dress the arugula with the vinaigrette and divide among the plates, piling it atop the watermelon. Scatter some crumbled cheese over each salad. Serve.

Variation Use sheep's-milk or "regular" feta in place of the goat cheese feta

Tapenade

1 cup pitted Niçoise olives (from about 2 ½ ounces pitted olives) or 4 ounces pitted olives

2 (Preferably salt - packed) roughly chopped anchovy fillets, soaked drained and patted dry

3 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained

3 small garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 TBS cognac (optional)

Black pepper in a mill

Cooking Process:

Put the olives, anchovies, capers, garlic, 4 grinds of a pepper mill, cognac and orange zest in a blender. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin steam, stopping to scrape the sides down periodically with a rubber spatula I necessary. Continue to puree until mostly smooth but a bit pulpy,

Transfer the tapenade to a container, if using, and season with 4 grinds of pepper, or to taste

Cover and refrigerate the tapenade for up to 1 month

Grilled Corn with Manchego and Smoked Paprika

4 ears of corn, husked

2 TBS of mayonnaise

8 TBS of finely grated Manchego cheese

1TBS smoked paprika

1tsp cayenne pepper

1 lime cut in 4 wedges

Salt to taste

Cooking process: In a small bowl mix the Manchego, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and set aside. Turn the grill on to medium high heat with the rack about 4 inches from the fire. Place corn on the grill and cook until a majority of the kernels have developed a dark char. About 8-10 minutes. Place on a platter and brush the entire corn with the mayonnaise. Sprinkle with Manchego spice mix on all sides. Season with salt and lime to taste.

Wrinkled "Sea Water" Potatoes with Two Sauces

2 lbs. small waxy new potatoes

3TBS sea salt

1lbs. rockweed seaweed (optional)

Cooking Process

Place ½ of the seaweed in the bottom of a wide heavy bottom sauce pan that holds the potatoes in one layer. Sprinkle salt evenly over the potatoes. Place remaining seaweed on top of the potatoes. Add enough cold water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until the water has evaporated and the potatoes are very tender. Remove seaweed leaving the potatoes in the pan and arrange on a medium size platter. Turn down the heat to low and cook the potatoes for a few minutes gently turning them occasionally, until the potatoes are dry and wrinkled and covered in a fine powder of salt. Place potatoes on top of the seaweed and serve.

Mojo Picon

4 pc whole piquillo peppers (or 3 cooked and peeled bell peppers)

3 pc medium peeled garlic cloves

½ tsp. of ground cumin

1tsp of salt or to taste

1tsp cayenne pepper

1TBS sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar

¼ cup of water

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Cooking Process

Place all the ingredients in a blender; slowly blend in olive oil until emulsified. Serve or store in a glass jar for up to 5 days.

Moja Verde

1cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

½ cup loosely packed Italian parsley leaves

½ tsp. ground cumin

1tsp salt

3 medium peeled garlic cloves

4TBS water

1Tbs of sherry vinegar

1Tbs finely diced shallots

Cooking Process

Place all the ingredients in a blender except the olive oil and shallots. Slowly blend in olive oil. Pour into a glass jar and stir in shallots. Serve or cover up to 1 week.

Grilled Lobster with Chanterelles and Rhubarb Vinaigrette

4 Maine Lobsters, about 1-1/2 pounds each

Kosher Salt

2Tbs grape seed oil

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, (plus more if cooking lobster in advance)

¼ Cup finely diced shallots

2-1/2Cups cleaned, trimmed, halved or quartered chanterelles (from about 6 ounces chanterelles)

Black pepper in a mill

Rhubarb vinaigrette (see recipe)

Cooking process

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with two TBS of salt. Using large kitchen tongs place lobsters in the pot and cover. Cook for 2 minutes and remove lobster from pot and place on a cutting board. When lobsters are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise along the back. For the mushrooms: Heat the butter in an 8-inch sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the shallots and a pinch of salt and sauté for 2 minutes. Lower the heat, add the mushrooms, and cook until tender, approximately 12 minutes. Season with salt, and 3 grinds of pepper, or to taste.

Heat the grill to medium high heat and place the rack about 3-4 inches from the fire. Brush the lobster lightly with the grape seed oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place lobster meat side down on the grill and cook for 3- 5 minutes. Turn lobsters over and continue to cook for another 2- 3minutes.

Divide the rhubarb Chanterelles among 4 dinner plates. Place lobster top of the mushrooms and drizzle2 TBS of rhubarb vinaigrette on top of each lobster and serve

Rhubarb Vinaigrette

½ Teaspoon ground allspice, preferably freshly ground

½ Teaspoon ground cardamom

1 Teaspoon grated fresh ginger

½ Cup water

1 Cup Rhubarb, 2-inch dice (from 6 ounces rhubarb, 1 to 2 peeled stalks)

½ Vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped

1 TBS sugar

1 Teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup of grape seed oil

¼ red wine vinegar

Cooking process:

In a 2-quart saucepan combine the spices, ginger, water, rhubarb, vanilla. Sugar and salt.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer until the mixture is dry, approximately 20 minutes, let cool. Add vinegar and whisk in grape seed oil.

Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Pavlova with Summer Berries

Pavlova:

½ Teaspoon white vinegar

2 Large egg whites, at room temperature

1 Teaspoon fine sea salt

6 Tablespoons superfine sugar

½ Teaspoon cornstarch

Crème Chantilly

Berries

2 Cups fresh berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries (preferably a mixture of all three)

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup granulated sugar

½ Vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped

Cooking process:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw four circles, 3 ½ inches in diameter each, on the paper, leaving about 2 inches of space all around each circle.

Preheat the oven to 300 f. Pour the vinegar into a bowl and set it aside

Make the Pavlova: put the egg whites, vinegar, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks are just beginning to form. Gently and gradually sprinkle in the superfine sugar (adding it all at once will cause the eggs to collapse), and continue to beat on high speed just until the whites hold their shape. (The eggs should look almost dull; if they look wet a granular, they've been overmixed and will break down, and you should begin this step over again with new eggs, vinegar and salt)

Sift the cornstarch into the egg-white mixture, folding gently with a rubber spatula until all is incorporated, being careful not to deflate the whites by overmixing.

Transfer the egg-white mixture into a pastry bag fitted with the plain tip and pipe four rounds 3 ½ inches (diameter) by approximately 2 inches (height) onto the lined cookie sheet, using the diagram as your guide, in a spiral with increasingly narrow circles that taper toward the top. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the meringues in the over for another 25 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the meringues (pavlovas) cool to room

Berries

2 Cups fresh berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries (preferably a mixture of all three)

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup granulated sugar

½ Vanilla bean, slit lengthwise, seeds scraped

Cooking process; Mix all the ingredients in a medium stainless steel bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, occasionally tossing them gently

Crème Chantilly

1 Cup cold heavy cream

2 Teaspoons Superfine Sugar

½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Cooking process

Pour the cream into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks form, then gradually add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whisk until incorporated. Serve

To serve, use a small paring knife to remove a tablespoon-size hole from the top of each pavlova. Spoon some of the berries into the hole with some of the juices. Top with some crème Chantilly and serve.

Black Berry Gin Fizz

3oz Gin (Hendricks)

1oz lime juice

1tsp super fine sugar

2oz sparkling rose wine

9pc black berries

3 medium basil leaves

1 basil top

Cooking Process Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice cubes. Add gin, lime juice, sugar, 6pc of black berries and three basil leaves. Shake vigorously for 10 sec. Strain into a 12oz chardonnay glass that is ¼ filled with ice cubes, top off with sparkling rose and garnish with three black berries and the basil top. Serve