Annie Foley is a familiar name among the Island community. She’s been in the food business for quite a spell. Even as a child her North Star was food. “My dad would hand me the New York Times food section, and I’d cut out articles and think, ‘That’ll come in handy someday,’ and it did.”
Foley moved to the Island by way of a friend. “I was living in London, and I met Jamie Hamlin [of V. Jaime Hamlin & Sons Catering] at a dinner party. We became friends, and she said, ‘Next time you’re in the States, come to the Vineyard.’ I did, and I loved it so much I moved here.”
Foley’s catering company, Annie Foley Catering & Special Events, has been kicking since 1990. “In the beginning, I was doing everything,” she said. “Do you remember ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’?” I nodded in the affirmative. “I was the guy keeping the plates spinning.”
Luckily, over the years, Foley has built a great team, and has been able to delegate: “I love my team. We’re a well-oiled machine.”
Karen Dutton, a tried and true member of Foley’s team, joined us. I asked Dutton what her favorite part of the cooking process is. “I like prep work best. I blast music and go for it.”
For our In the Kitchen With … Foley and Dutton made Corn Fritters with Basil Aioli, Seared Sesame Tuna Spoons with Nobu sauce, pickled ginger, and wakame, and ShuMai Dumplings. “We chose these because these are things customers order a lot,” Dutton shared.
For the Corn Fritters, Foley used Maldon salt, which is a nice, flaky sea salt from Europe, and corn from Morning Glory Farm. “I love being able to use fresh ingredients from local farms,” she said. “For the Corn Fritters, I make them gluten-free. To me they just taste better.”
Dutton poured the batter into small circles on a hot pan, flipping them like baby flapjacks. Once cooked, Foley took over and topped them with Basil Aioli. Though not complicated, they tasted decadent. I ate three within what felt like three seconds.
Foley bought the raw tuna for our meal at Larsen’s in Menemsha, cut it into small squares, and seared it with sesame seeds. She placed the squares on a porcelain Chinese soupspoon and added pickled ginger, followed by Nobu sauce. “A lot of people want something light, so these are very popular,” Dutton noted. I’m not always a raw-fish gal, but these were refreshing and scrumptious, and I could absolutely see why clients liked them.
To make the Shrimp ShuMai Dumplings, Foley placed all the ingredients into the center of dumpling wrappers, pinched them at the top to gently seal them, and laid them on a few leaves of lettuce in the steamer. “The lettuce keeps them from sticking,” she explained. The dumplings steamed for about eight minutes. They were beyond yummy — bright, fresh, and satisfying — and not so overly complicated. I think even a novice like me might give these a try!
Corn Fritters with Basil Aioli
½ cup basil leaves
⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 cup gluten-free flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour, available at Cronig’s)
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
salt and freshly ground pepper
¾ cup buttermilk
1 large egg, separated
2 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cob (from Morning Glory Farm, if possible)
2 Tbsp. minced chives
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
vegetable oil, for frying
In a small saucepan of boiling water, blanch the basil for 30 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Squeeze the excess water from the basil, and transfer it to a blender. Add the mayonnaise and purée. Transfer to a squeeze bottle.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the egg yolk. Stir together and then fold in corn, chives, and melted butter. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white to soft peaks, and fold it into the batter.
In a large saucepan, heat 1½ inches of oil to 325°. Drop four to five 2-tablespoon-size dollops of batter into the hot oil, and cook like pancakes, waiting for the bubbles before you flip over until golden brown (about 2 minutes). With a slotted spoon, transfer the fritters to paper towels to drain; season with salt. Serve right away with the basil mayonnaise.
Shrimp ShuMai Dumplings
1 garlic clove, chopped
½-in. piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
½-in. piece lemongrass, chopped
½-lb. shrimp, peeled, cleaned, and deveined
1 tsp. soy sauce
½ tsp. rice wine vinegar
½ tsp. sesame oil
4 scallions, chopped
¼ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. white pepper
24 round wonton wrappers
30 Roman lettuce leaves
Place garlic, ginger, and lemongrass in a food processor and pulse six to eight times, or until finely ground and well-combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Dice shrimp, and place half into the food processor with soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, half of the chopped scallions, and salt and pepper. Process until a smooth paste just comes together. Pour filling into a mixing bowl, and fold in the remaining shrimp and the other half of the scallions.
Test flavor by sautéing a small piece of filling. Adjust accordingly. Place a tablespoon of the mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper, bring all the sides into the center, and press the filling together.
Fill a pot with 2 inches of water. Top with steamer and line steamer with a layer of lettuce leaves, and arrange shumai on top, 1 inch apart. Cover steamer with lid, and place over medium-high heat. Steam shumai for 8 to 10 minutes, or until shrimp has just cooked through.
Serve shumai hot with ponzu sauce, a mixture of soy sauce and sesame oil, or Momofuku Chili Crunch mixed with ponzu sauce.
Nobu Sauce
4 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. water
1 tsp. granulated sugar
pinch of sea salt
½ tsp. powdered mustard
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp. vegetable oil
4 tsp. sesame oil
grated ginger to taste
Whisk all the ingredients together. Put into a squeeze bottle.
Sesame Tuna
½-lb. tuna
black and/or white sesame seeds
Maldon salt
pickled ginger
wakame
Cut the tuna into 1- by 6-inch logs, roll in seeds, and sprinkle with salt. Sear on all sides for 30 seconds. Rest, then slice into squares.
Place the tuna slices on a porcelain Chinese soupspoon, and top with chopped pickled ginger, wakame and a dash of Nobu Sauce.
To learn more about Foley, check out her website, anniefoley.com. You can follow Foley on Instagram at instagram.com/anniefoleycatering and Facebook at bit.ly/FB_AnnieFoleyCatering.
