Melt butter in a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add chestnuts and toss to coat well. Season with salt and saute until dark golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle in the rosemary, remove from heat, let cool. Chestnuts can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
In a saucepan combine chicken stock, onion, and vegetable of choice. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Place half the vegetable mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Repeat with remaining vegetable mixture. Set aside. In the same saucepan, melt the butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook ad stir till mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in the blended vegetables. Cook and stir till soup is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Season soup with your choice of thyme, garlic powder, basil, parsley, nutmeg, sage, curry powder. Garnish with croutons and bacon.
Cut the bread into ½ inch slices. Lay the bread in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides of each slice of bread with the garlic-butter mixture. Bake in a 325 oven about 10 minutes, Turning once, until golden brown. Salt the crostini while it's still hot out of the oven.
In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse until very finely chopped. With the machine on, drizzle in the olive oil and process until the dressing is nearly smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape the dressing into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes.
For the crudité
In a large bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the olive oil, chives and parsley. Add the rutabaga, cauliflower, kohlrabi, apple, Pecorino and almonds and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the crudités in the lettuce cups with the Green Goddess dressing on the side.
One day in advance: Slice the bodies into rings. Put them in a zip lock bag with the tentacles and pour the buttermilk over them. Squeeze the air out of the bag and put it in the refrigerator over night. There are enzymes in the buttermilk that will break down the squid and tenderize it. When you are ready to serve: Heat oil to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk the flour and spices together in a shallow pan. Drop the squid into the flour mixture. Toss to coat with flour. Set them aside on your lined sheet pan. Repeat with the rest of the squid until it’s all been dredged in flour. Fry the calamari in hot oil Pour about 3 inches of oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Set it on the stove over high heat. While the oil is heating, line a sheet pan with paper towels. Set it aside. The oil is ready when you dip a piece of calamari into the oil and bubbles form around it immediately. Fry the calamari in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pot. Stir them around with a slotted spoon as they fry, turning them over so they cook on both sides. They’ll take about 3 to 5 minutes to fry, depending on size, thickness, etc. When they are beautifully golden brown, remove them from the oil. Drain them well over the pot. Then transfer them to your paper-lined pan. Sprinkle with plenty of kosher salt and chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges or a side of tomato basil dipping sauce.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Toast the walnuts in a large saute pan for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, port, pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the walnuts to the saucepan, stirring to evenly coat them. Using a slotted spoon, drain the nuts very well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the walnuts on it in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 minutes, stirring once, or until the nuts are mostly dry; let cool. Separate any nuts that stick together. Meanwhile, simmer the syrup over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Set the Stilton on a serving platter and place the walnuts in a separate bowl. Drizzle the port syrup over the cheese and serve with the nuts.
Place 2 large dill branches on the bottom of a deep glass dish. Place 1 piece of fish, skin side down on the dill. Mix salt, pepper and sugar together and rub half of the mixture into the flesh of the fish and top with 2 large bunches fresh dill. Rub the rest of the seasoning into the flesh of the other half of the fish and place it flesh side down over the fish in glass dish. Place remaining dill on fish. Wrap the whole thing in foil and put a cutting board on top and then a brick. Leave the fish in the frig for at least 48 hours. Turning every 12 hours. Scrape off al spices and the dill and clean with paper towels. Freeze for a couple of hours before slicing paper thin. Slice horizontally with a sharp filet knife. Serve with square black bread. Accompany with dill mustard sauce.
For the sauce
In a food processor mix mustard sugar and egg yolk. Slowly drizzle in the oil and process until thick. Add remaining ingredients and blend.
Peel and devein shrimp. (see "how to" page) Bring 2 quarts of water to a vigorous boil. Drop the shrimp into the water. Bring back to a boil and shrimp will be done if they are small. cook for 1 minute for medium shrimp, 2 minutes for large shrimp and 2 1/2 minutes for colossal shrimp.
Immediately plunge shrimp into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and give them the perfect texture. Drain and chill.
Cut an “X” in each nut on the flat side. Spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
After the chestnuts have cooled, peel the leathery shell off. Then hold it between your thumb and forefinger to squeeze it out of the thin skin around it.
Cook chickpeas: The night before soak chickpeas in plenty of water: water should cover the chickpeas by 1-1.5 inches. Next morning rinse and drain the chickpeas well. Transfer them to a cooking pot and one inch over the chickpeas with water. Cook covered on low heat for about 1 hour. Drain, reserve the cooking liquid and wash the chickpeas in 2-3 changes of cold water. Now peel them.
Process all the ingredients in a food processor. Stores in frig for up to a week. Garnish with olive oil, pine nuts, paprika and mint.
