Put down the shovel, trowel and weed-digger. And while you’re at it, stow the grill and freeze the hot dogs. The warm, often dry days of September are great for entertaining outdoors and sharing your seasonlong horticultural endeavors with family and friends. And the good news is you don’t have to slave over a hot barbecue.
For Robert Burcenski, longtime master chef of two renowned restaurants, Tallgrass and The Public Landing, in Lockport’s downtown historic district, late summer is a time to celebrate the harvest season with a simple but elegant meal. In the courtyard outside Burcenski’s Lockport loft, black-eyed Susans, Starfire phlox, snapdragons, roses, herbs, ornamental grasses and splashes of colorful annuals are setting the stage for late-summer parties that draw oohs and aahs from guests. Burcenski, who designed, planted and maintains the garden, calls it a labor of love.
“Guests move from the larger parking area into this small, private and romantic atmosphere. It’s constantly changing with things coming in and out of bloom,” he says.
When he’s not at Tallgrass preparing multicourse dinners, which might include unusual and exotic delicacies such as sauted lobster medallions with lime beurre blanc and mangoes or herb-encrusted lamb loin with chevre cr(degrees)me fraiche, Burcenski is busy at his other restaurant, overseeing a bustling kitchen and creating new dishes.
When it comes time to relax with friends, he aims for a fun, stress-free event. Throwing a successful party outdoors–which means enjoying it while hosting–is within anyone’s grasp, he says. It just takes careful planning and gradual preparation a week or so before.
His main concern is the weather. “Otherwise, the good thing about entertaining out in the garden is that a lot can be done ahead of time. You don’t have to stand over the grill.”
When planning a party, Burcenski first sits down with pen and paper. “Part of the preparation is writing down your thoughts and talking with someone else who’s going to be involved. That’s very importantbecause the menu can change greatly as you talk about it,” he says. He often will begin with a theme that is based on his travels. “My inspiration comes from visiting other countries and tasting their cuisine. I keep in mind something I can bring back, whether it’s from France, Sicily or Belgium,” he says. He has hosted a late-night beach party featuring seafood, torchlights and mood music to re-create the flavors, scents and sounds of the Caribbean. For a more intimate party of six, Burcenski hosted a cooking show-and-tell where each guest brought a partially prepared dish that they discussed before cooking and serving it. “They loved that,” Burcenski says. For late-summer entertaining outdoors, he prepares an imaginative menu that doesn’t demand hours over a stove or grill. He believes last-minute grilling prevents hosts from spending time with guests. “The food doesn’t have to be hot. It can be room temperature or cold.” Besides using locally grown corn, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and peppers, Burcenski makes frequent forays into Michigan for vine-fresh melons, plums, blueberries and peaches. “Those are the kinds of things you want to use now. You can serve them chilled or precook them,” he says. Fresh peaches are sometimes combined with sugar and spices, topped with granola and baked ahead of time. He purees other fruits for use in frozen desserts.
“I also like the versatility of ratatouille,” he says of the Mediterranean vegetable stew. “It can be used as a base under a tomato or grilled fish or it can be served hot. It can be an appetizer, a salad or a main course.”
Once he decides on the theme and a menu, Burcenski turns to the garden for inspiration. “One thing that’s nice in terms of the visual experience is using potted plants. They make the garden more versatile,” he says. Pots of annuals are placed between perennials that have finished blooming.
Because no chemicals are used in his garden, Burcenski often garnishes dishes with fresh edible flowers. When his `William Baffin’ rose bloomed again recently, he floated a few bright pink petals in bowls of green vichyssoise. He uses nasturtium leaves as a base for meals such as grilled fish. “I like the taste of nasturtium leaves in salad and the flowers add color,” he says.
His table settings often feature whatever is blooming in the garden. “There are all kinds of possibilities. I’ve used stems of shrubs and trees. For scent, you can use a little mint or basil in table bouquets.” And don’t overlook weeds.
When the courtyard’s limestone and brick walls were constructed but before the garden was in place, Queen Anne’s lace, thistles and goldenrod quickly appeared. Some were dried and others had just come into bloom. “They had great texture,” Burcenski says. He threw a party, “which was sort of based on a happening–weeds!”
Vegetables, such as celery, with its leaves intact, and parsley and other herbs, make their way into his table decorations. “I’ve used miniature carrots with their leafy tops in clear glass vases [filled with water]. The top becomes the bouquet. Fennel has a nice feathery top too,” he says.
After creating eye candy with flowers and food, Burcenski selects music for the occasion. Although he prefers live music–he once placed a violinist among the flowers–CDs work finetoo. “Music always adds to the setting,” he says.
At a recent harvest-party gathering, Carol Hauge of Lockport was enchanted by Burcenski’s garden and table settings, which included an eclectic mix of elegant wine and champagne glasses; inexpensive, colorful rice-paper napkins; bright yellow plastic party plates and bowls; and handcrafted sterling-silver knives, forks and spoons.
“There’s something special about summer parties with fresh ingredients. And in this garden, it’s very much like being in the south of France with its elegance, serenity and variety,” Hauge says.
Burcenski’s successful 20-year culinary career could be attributed to “thinking outside the box,” or, in his case, outside the pot. “I like to take certain traditional things from other cultures and then turn them around and make them into something else,” Burcenski says.
“Take steak and potatoes. I might think about how I could use them as something else by changing the temperature or textures. That’s always fun,” he says. He might re-create that combo as a potato soup garnished with smoked beef tenderloin. Or as a beef tartare served with a cold potato sauce. “It’s taking a familiar food and using it in a different way.”
The next time you’re thinking about whether to buy American cheese or mild cheddar for those charbroiled burgers, how about surprising your guests instead with a harvest celebration of cold stuffed breast of veal or a fresh-from-the-garden vegetable salad? Perhaps some prawns sauteed with ratatouille-stuffed tomatoes and poached peaches in basil sauce for dessert? (See recipes for these dishes in accompanying story.)
“Smoked duck breast is always greattoo. You have to think in the opposite direction rather than always going down the same old road,” Burcenski says.
TIPS FROM THE MASTER
Here are some tips from Robert Burcenski, longtime master chef of Tallgrass and The Public Landing in Lockport, for an easy end-of-summer dinner party in the garden.
Try to empty your refrigerator so you have plenty of space for party ingredients. That can be a problem, says Burcenski, especially if you have children. A second refrigerator is handy for those who frequently entertain.
Design your menu so you can do a little each day to avoid the last-minute crunch. Clean and, if needed, cook vegetables and fruits ahead of time. Some things can be made two to three days before the party.
Use some of the newer, colorful paper products-napkins, tablecloths and plates-for splashes of color and easy clean up afterward. Mix and match your silverware with paper goods.
Spruce up the garden a few days before the party, removing dead flowers and bug-chewed leaves.
When cutting fresh flowers (or weeds) for arrangements, Burcenski brings a pail of water to the garden. He places the cut stems in the pail and cuts them again under water before placing in a vase. “This lets the stalk take up water and helps keep the flower open,” he said.
Use pots of white-flowered and silver-leaved plants to lighten up a patio or deck in the early evening.
Look for perennials on sale now.
“I go to nurseries and discount stores. At this time of year, they’re usually marked down 50 percent.” Plant them soon, so they have at least six weeks to develop strong roots before the average first frost date of Oct. 15.
Buy patio torches or candles if your party will last beyond dusk.
— Nina Koziol
THE MAKING OF A PARTY
Here is a schedule for preparing Robert Burcenski’s party menu. The schedule should help ensure you get to relax and enjoy your guests when the night of entertaining arrives.
TUESDAY. Shop for ingredients; deadhead flowers in garden.
WEDNESDAY. Make ratatouille and sauce for sauteed prawns and ratatouille-stuffed tomatoes; refrigerate.
THURSDAY. Make green vichyssoise; refrigerate.
FRIDAY. Cook peaches, make cream filling, sauce for poached peaches with basil cream and basil sauce; refrigerate.
SATURDAY MORNING. Clean patio furniture and cut flowers for arrangements. Set table. Make deep-fried basil leaves.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON. Saute shrimp; peel tomatoes. Assemble prawns, tomatoes. Assemble peaches. Refrigerate both.
SATURDAY EVENING. Relax and enjoy your guests, says Burcenski (above).
HARVEST PARTY MUSIC
Robert Burcenski chose these CDs for music to accompany his Harvest Party:
– “Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical,” compiled by David Byrne (Luaka Bop records, $16.99)
– “Andean Legacy” (Narada records, $16.99)
Frederic Chopin, Nocturnes. Several versions of these piano pieces are available.
– “Romantic Music of Edward Joseph Collins: Folk Songs and Dances for Piano,” performed by Earl Wild (Composers Recordings Inc., $16.99).
— Nina Koziol
