Just For The Grill Of It

Christopher Lee, The Saturday Early Show's Chef on a Shoestring, prepares a three-course meal for four on a budget of $40. He's preparing almost everything on the grill.

Life has been good to Lee since he was on The Saturday Early Show last summer. Since then, he has gotten married and continued to rake in rave reviews and awards for his work in the kitchen of Striped Bass.

Striped Bass in Philadelphia re-opened a couple of years ago with Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill at the helm as executive consulting chef. However, chef de cuisine Lee was truly hands-on in the kitchen, and was promoted to Executive Chef this past fall.

This summer, Lee was named one of Food and Wine magazine's "Top Ten Best New Chefs." Last year, he won the James Beard "Rising Star Chef of the Year 2005" award. The honor goes to a chef under 30 whom the foundation feels has and will continue to make an impact on the food world.

Saturday's menu includes:

Grilled Fennel Salad with Citrus and Goat Cheese
Grilled Striped Bass in a Corn and Tomato Vinaigrette
Grilled Peaches with Funnel Cake and Ice Cream.

FOOD FACTS

Fennel: This vegetable has a broad bulbous base, pale green celerylike stems and bright green, feathery foliage. Both the base and the stem can be eaten raw in salads or cooked using a variety of methods such as braising or sautéing. Fennel is often labeled "anise," which scares of those who don't like the flavor of licorice. However, the flavor is much sweeter and more delicate than anise, particularly when cooked.

Striped Bass: Striped bass has a moderately fat, firm-textured flesh with a mild, sweet flavor. Chef Lee says you can substitute salmon, cod, branzino, halibut, swordfish or red snapper for the bass in this dish.

Funnel Cake: This pastry is actually a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty. A pancake-like batter is poured into hot oil and fried until crispy and brown.

RECIPES

Grilled Fennel Salad With Orange Citrus, Goat Cheese, and Dill Dressing

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients
3 heads fennel
1 bunch parsley
2 oranges
1/4 pound goat cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch dill (remove the stems and chop)
salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the grill on high.
   
2. Clean the fennel bulbs very well and cut each bulb into eight pieces. Toss the fennel in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the grill is hot, lightly grill the fennel on both sides until tender. Reserve until needed.
   
3. Meanwhile, segment the oranges. Then pick and rinse the parsley; try to eliminate large stems.
   
4. In a medium-size bowl, add the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and chopped dill. Mix the dressing well. Season with salt and pepper.
   
5. On four large salad plates, place the fennel equally in the center of each plate along with the orange segments. Drizzle the dressing around the plate and garnish with the parsley and crumbled goat cheese.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients
4 6-ounce fillets of striped bass with the skin off (wild or farm-raised)
4 ears of sweet corn
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and cut in half
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 bunch chives, sliced thin
2 shallots, mince
2 garlic cloves, mince
1 bunch fresh basil, pick leaves
salt and pepper

Method

1. Blanch the corn in a large pot of salted boiling water for 5 minutes and remove. Cool the ears of corn. Once they're cool, remove the kernels from the cob. Reserve until needed.
   
2. Meanwhile, pre-heat the grill on high. Season the striped bass fillets with salt and pepper. When the grill is hot, rub a little oil on the each side of the fish and place the fish on the grill. After 2 minutes, rotate the fish 45 degrees, this will give the fish diamond shape grill marks; repeat on the other side. It should take a 2-inch-thick fillet 4 minutes on each side to cook through. Add one minute to each side for every inch of thickness.
   
3. While the striped bass is cooking, heat a medium-size sauce pot over high heat. When the sauce pot is hot, add the butter. When the butter begins to brown, add the garlic and shallots and swirl the pot until the shallots are tender but the butter is still brown. Then add the extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic, lemon juice, cherry tomatoes, corn, chives, and some picked basil leaves to the pot. Swirl the sauce for a couple of seconds to infuse all the flavors and season with salt and pepper.
   
4. Add the cooked striped bass fillets to the center of four dinner plates and spoon over the sauce, garnishing the plate with the corn, tomatoes, and fresh picked basil leaves.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients
4 ripe yellow peaches
1 pint vanilla ice cream
2 cups funnel cake batter

Funnel Cake Batter Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Powdered sugar, for garnish
1 cup fry oil (any oil with a high burn point)

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix the batter well and make sure there are no lumps. The batter should be pancake consistency. If it's a little too thick, add some milk; if it's too loose, add some more flour. Reserve until needed.
   
2. Cut each peach into four pieces and remove the pit. Lightly toss the peaches in a little extra virgin olive oil. Place the peaches on the grill and grill both sides. It takes about 1½ minutes on each side.
   
3. Meanwhile, heat a medium-size pan with the oil in it. When the oil is hot (about 375 degrees is optimal), start to drizzle the batter into the oil using a back-and-forth motion. When the funnel cake begins to brown on one side, flip and brown the other side. Once the funnel cake is golden brown, remove and sprinkle with powder sugar. Total cooking time will vary based on the heat or your oil and how thick you drizzle the batter. Make four.
   
4. On four small plates, place the funnel cake in the center of the plate and garnish with vanilla ice cream and the grilled peaches.