A Quiet Dinner

Most of the time my trips to the heartland are filled with unrestrained indulgence and experimentation in food. Fortunately I've been busy and enterprising this trip which - while unexpectedly lucrative - has left little room for me to play. As much as I would like a full blown 12 course plated dinner I don't have the time. But there is possibility for a more intimate and limited dinner, maybe 3-4 courses for 5-6 people.

This got me thinking about the importance and meanings of a highly complicated meal vs a simple one. You have progressions of textures, intensities and flavors to take into account. Is it harder to make a three course meal vs a 7+? With 5-7 courses, one or two can miss and the meal will still be a success. A three course can only get better with each plate or it will be a dissapointment. On the other hand with each addition it becomes increasingly difficult to create a meaningful succession.

This is all I had in mind so far:

Soup

Fresh Pasta

Braised Meat

Dessert

Catering Event

I survived my first catered event ever. I was to provide 4 appetizers for a Christmas cocktail party for 50 people. The food cost ended up being about 28% which I'm really happy about. The menu was nothing special and the food wasn't my finest, but it was a really good experience. This is the platter I made for the spring rolls to go on.

The Menu

Classic Bruschetta
Mini Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Sesame Chicken Skewers with Soy Dipping Sauce


This is the dressing I made for the tomatoes which were tossed right before I built the bruschetta on site. I will probably make it again because it went so nicely with the mushy hot house tomatoes - it is December.


Sherry-Tomato Vinaigrette

1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1T amontillado sherry
3/4 cup good EVOO
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs chopped garlic
1 Tbs minced shallot
25 grinds black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt

Heat 1-2T of the olive oil in a pan. Add the tomato paste and cook until both oil and tomato paste are rust colored. Add sherry and reduce au sec. Set aside to cool. Combine all ingredients in a small container with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously to emulsify right before serving.

Thanksgiving Plated Dinner

A work in progress.

Warm Cauliflower Panna Cotta
Smoked Sablefish, Caviar, Roasted Cauliflower, Persimmon-Lemon-Thyme Sauce

Cream of Watercress
Poached Lobster, Hearts of Palm

Terrine of Duck
Duck Ham, Chanterelles, Foie Gras, Pecans

Butternut Squash Ravioli
Rasin-Brown Butter, Glazed Squash, Sage, Walnuts

Intermezzo of Apple Sorbet
Calvados, Candied-Ginger

Venison Loin with a Chestnut Crust
Juniper Mustard, Braised Red Cabbage, Madeira Jus

Turkey
Leg Braised with Cranberry-Turkey Chorizo, Traditional Stuffing, Glazed Roots
Breast Roasted with Cranberry-Oyster-Cornbread Stuffing, Skin Crisped in Orange Honey

Pear Tart
Pear-Honey, Lavender, Vanilla-Goat Milk Ice Cream, Pink Peppercorn Mignonette

Pumpkin-Spice Egg Nog
Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Crispy Gingerbread

Thanksgiving

I want to create a feast of orgasmic proportions. Something that celebrates the harvest and the end of the season. Fall is the best time of year for food. I don't want to mess with turkey or thanksgiving too much, no one will as happy. This is what comes to mind when I think of fall and thanksgiving.

apples
bourbon
cauliflower
celery
chestnuts
cranberry
cru beaujolais
dessert tart (not pumpkin pie)
duck
fennel
figs
lobster
maple syrup
marjoram
oysters
pears
pumpkin pie spice
sage
spices, star anise, cinnamon stick, clove,
squash
turkey breast, sous vide
turkey sausage
turkey stock
valpolicella
venison
walnuts
wild mushrooms

I really want to make a turkey sausage this year, regardless of how I use it. Maybe something with cranberries and cinnamon for a kind of chorizo. I'll likely adhere closely to traditional favorites based on this list. It would be fun to do a really extravagant 7-10 course plated dinner though

Croton-Harmon to Corton-Charlemagne

I'm going bitches!

"French Kisses"

Eddie Leroux gave this name to a cheese-flavored pate a choux puff (gougere) piped full of truffled goat cheese, or a stiff truffle bechamel. Bechamel works the best because the sauce thins as its heated inside the gougere and comes out creamy and earthy. The flour doesn't dampen the truffle flavor at all. The goat cheese is a lot more acidic and will make the gougere soggy after a short time. Still delicious and you should eat them immediately regardless.

There's really no end to what you could pipe into these little bad boys. I'm particularly fond of smoked salmon mousseline.

Gougeres

700g milk
700g water
750g AP flour
300g butter
200g gruyere
14 eggs
30g salt

1. combine milk, water, butter and salt together in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add flour and stir vigorously 15 minutes.
3. Put the appariel in a mixer and add eggs one at a time.
4. add cheese
5. Pipe into tear drop shapes. Smooth out any wrinkles with fingers.
6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
7. bake at 350 until puffed and golden. Turn down oven to dry out.

Fish on Sunda(e?)ys

I appreciate all the work of a complicated meal a lot more when I can throw together something like this in ten minutes on a lazy sunday afternoon. This is the striped bass trimmings I had leftover that I sauteed with a watercress salad and sweet pepper vinaigrette. Normally I wouldn't bother putting up something with zero effort and such a crappy photo, but this was so damn good I just had to post about it.

One of the dinner guests friday was allergic to citrus so I made her this same salad with shrimp in place of the regular shrimp dish. The peppers are pureed with the skins on, making it slightly bitter. It worked suprisingly well with the watercress. I think of complementing bitternesses as a kind of culinary russian roulette with slightly worse odds, but this turned out very nice. The dressing is and sweet and greasy with the fish and crispy greens- mmmmmmm. I'm gonna eat some ice cream and take a nap.

Sweet Pepper Vin.

2 sweet peppers, stemmed and seeded
3/4-1 cup off-dry white wine
2 sprigs thyme
1 small fresh bay leaf
1oz chopped sweet onion
3/4 tsp rice vinegar
1-2T olive oil
salt

Puree the pepper and wine in a blender. Strain the liquid into a pot and reduce with onion and thyme to about 1T. Add the vinegar and oil.

I make this a little heavy on the oil and light on the vinegar so it's more like a sweet emulsified sauce than a dressing. I just put the reduction in one of those little brandname plastic 2oz containers and shake it up with the oil and vinegar.

6 Course Summer Dinner

Menu

Serrano Ham, Marinated Olives
Chateau St. Michelle Blancs de Noirs, Columbia Valley NV

Chilled Hierloom Tomato Soup, “Panzanella” Crouton
Thyme, Basil
Honig Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 2005

Shrimp with Chilled Charentais Veloute, Avocado Puree
Meulenhof, Riesling, Erdener Treppchen Auslese, Germany 2003er

Warm Buttermilk-Poached Poularde with Sweet Corn Emulsion
Radish, Smoked Paprika
Domaine Weinbach, Pinot Blanc Reserve, Alsace, France 2005

Grilled Wild Striped Bass with Green Curry, Pickled Mango
Grilled Scallions
Theo Minges, Riesling, Gleisweiler Holle Kabinett, Pfalz, Germany 2004

Braised Oxtail Ravioli, Glazed with Red Wine Jus, Roasted Shallot Puree
Santa Rita, Cabernet Sauvignon, Medalla Real, Chile 2004

Tasting of 4 Cheeses
Roquefort Le Vieux, Cave Aged Tallegio, Raw Milk Manchego, Hook's 10yr Aged Cheddar
Brazil Nuts, Dried Fruit

Vanilla Panna Cotta, Blueberries, Honeyied Macadamia Nuts
Bonny Doon Vineyard, Muscat, Vin De Glaciere, California 2005


9 guests, I cooked, my loyal droog waited the table. This never would have worked without an experienced server. In reality most of this food was mind numbingly simple, almost everything was based on a fruit/vegetable puree. I'd like to think everything was perfectly balanced and delicately nuanced. A few things fell a little short. The sweetness of the ravioli was a little out of control as was the spiciness of the curry sauce. The star anise adds an entirely new dimension to the dish. If I made it again I might simplify the profile and single out spices. The flavor of thai basil is amazing, I would have liked for it to come through a little more. It was a fun meal. More photos here.

My biggest regret of the night is not getting the good pictures I wanted. Clearly the presentations in general needed a little work. The shrimp might have benefited from a green melon sauce, the pink on pink wasn't too nice. The chicken looked great, even though the picture sucks.

The soup was about half raw tomato puree folded into the cooked soup. The tomatoes on the crouton were blanched, peeled and marinated in olive oil with salt and thyme. I spooned some of the delicious oil over the grilled bread.

I have developed a new appreciation for chicken breasts. I marinated it for two days in seasoned buttermilk. Brought it up slowly up to about 145-150F in a ziplock bag, mimicking a sous vide method. Right before service I dipped the portioned meat back into the warm salty buttermilk. The result is incredibly tender and delicate.

I have no idea what happened to the sauce for the fish. I added a green chili puree at the last minute to a mussel based sauce with the idea that it would brighten up once heated. It turned a nasty camo brown when it hit the hot liquid. Maybe pureeing the raw chilis affected this somehow. The flavor was good and it seemed to be one of the favorites of the meal.

Anyone looking at the flickr from the party would find it hard to believe that the brown turd on a plate was the most delicious course of the night. The oxtail was braised in red wine, port and beef stock which was reduced to glaze the finished ravioli that sat atop the roasted shallot puree. The filling was just shredded meat seasoned with salt, pepper and a little of the jus.

Steve started eating the last panna cotta before I got a picture.

Green Curry Sauce for Fish

2 1/2 cups white wine
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed, sliced
1 (2") knob ginger, crushed
1 1/2tsp cumin seed
1 star anise pod
1T corriander seed
1 1/2# mediterranean mussels, cleaned
1 sprig basil
5 stalks cilantro
1 bay leaf
6 white mushrooms, chopped

Add everything except the mussels to a pot and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Add the mussels and cook until they open or are apparently dead. Strain and discard solids, reserve mussels for another use. Reduce liquid to about a cup. Thicken as deemed appropriate. At the last minute stir the green puree into the sauce and adjust seasoning.

Green Chili Puree:
5 jalepenos
1 1/2 bu. green onion, green part only
1 lime, zest and juice
salt and pepper

using a vegetable peeler, peel the jalepenos. Remove the seeds. Puree the ingredients in a blender and strain. Chill immediately.

Sweet Corn Emulsion Sauce

5 ears corn, cut off the cob
3T butter
5 saffron threads
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp white vinegar
3T water
3T olive oil
salt, sugar

Brown the butter in a pan and add the corn. Sweat until very soft. Puree with remaining ingredients. Strain. Should be sweet with a smooth velvet mouthfeel.

Roasted Shallot Puree

3# shallots
2 heads of garlic
2T butter
2T grated parmesan
olive oil

Toss the shallots in olive oil and roast at 375F until very soft. Do the same with the garlic. Puree everything together and strain.

Charentais Veloute

1 charentais melon, chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed
1 2" knob ginger, crushed
lemon juice, and zest
1/2 cup white wine
salt

Add the wine, half the melon, lemongrass and ginger to a pot and cover. Cook over low heat until melon is very soft. Remove the ginger and lemongrass and discard. Puree with the remaining raw melon. Strain.

Salmon Gravlax

I've wanted to do this for awhile and finally got around to it for an afternoon lunch with a couple friends. I first encountered this recipe during the Zachy's Wine Auction held at Daniel. Usually a side of salmon is enough for both days of the auction, but last time they went through two whole fish. I think its that good. When it's done well it's wonderful with citrus and dill fragrances complementing the salmon flavor. It's one of the best expressions of one of my favorite fish.

1kg coarse sea salt
500g sugar
1 orange, juiced and zested
1 lime, juiced and zested
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 bu. dill, chopped
1/2 pound salmon filet

Combine the ingredients except for the salmon. The mixture should be like barely wet sand. If it's too wet add more salt and sugar in the proper 2:1 ratio.

Trim the salmon to a uniform shape. Remove any excess belly flap and reserve for another use. Use a flat container like a pyrex baking dish. Pack the cure all around the fish. Make sure every bit of the fish is covered. Refrigerate overnight 8-12 hours.

Afternoon Lunch

Sangria

Salmon Gravlax with Arugula

Potato Salad

Grilled Sardines with Zucchini and Red Pepper

Cinnamon Panna Cotta with White Peach

I saw these molds at the local kitchen store and immediately thought of John Canner who never really understood what panna cotta is.

This turned out nicely because I used lighter dairy than cream. I peeled the white peach a little too early so it kind of oxidized which I didn't realize would happen. I owe this whole presentation to Ruth who taught me how to unmold panna cotta. The first one I tried dipping in hot water and it completely melted.

If I did it again I would add a little gelatin to the peach syrup which kind of ran off instead of nicely glazing the peach. The red wine was reduced slightly with sugar added. This was a nice end to a dinner of fresh pasta with sun dried tomatoes and basil and an arugula salad with pears and crispy lardons.

Panna Cotta for 2
100g half and half
30g whole milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
dash buttermilk
1 cinnamon stick
1/8th tsp vanilla extract
sugar (as desired)
1/3 sheet of gelatin

bloom gelatin in cold water. bring the other ingredients to a boil and add gelatin. Stir to dissolve. Pour into molds and let it set in fridge for 8 hours.

Peach Glaze

1 peach, chopped, skin on
36g sugar
36g water

heat the sugar and water over medium heat to dissolve. Add peaches and simmer 5-10 minutes. Strain and discard solids.

2 years to the day!

Happy birthday sandwich cult! I've watched you grow from a picture of beer and sushi to an elongated stumbling conquest of discovery. I'm so proud of you! I started baking class today and I baked you a cake.

I should also take this time to clarify the may 2005 post "Ketchup? Not on My Frites!" post. I really do love ketchup which is why it's so painful to watch it's abuse.

I'd also like to thank Pierre Leblanc, who taught me that cream can be a sauce.

Zen and the Art of Cast Iron Maintenance

I can't think of anything better on a Saturday than curing my cast iron. When I moved into my current apartment I bought three cast iron skillets for $10. They proved to be not the highest quality so I'm taking the liberty to redo the "seasoning" myself and make my house unlivable for a short time. It has taken me a little while to get right so I thought I'd share my findings.

When you cure a piece of cast iron, you burn a lipid enamel onto the surface to protect it from rust and mold. Since it's made of oil, soap - especially strong dish soaps - will eat away or dissolve the cure. Because you never really wash it the seasoning grows and becomes strong over time.

Axiom: The hotter the metal gets, the more effective the cure will up to about 700F when it starts to burn off.
It will smoke no matter how you go about it. I recommend using a grill. If you do it in an oven you'd better have a powerful hood or a fan with serious horsepower and a well ventilated house. The most success I've had is to get the pan screaming hot ~600F and add the oil in stages by painting it on with a paper towel and a set of tongs. It burns very thin even, layers onto the surface almost immediately . I don't recommend this because it's really dangerous. For some reason hydrogenated fat or fat solid at room temp with the exception of butter work the best. Lard is traditional but vegetable shortening seems the popular choice.

1.Heat the Oven as hot as it will get or a grill to about 600F.
2.Scrub the pan aggressively with dish soap and steel wool until it's gray and lifeless.
3.Dry the pan with paper towels and put it on the grill or in the oven face down to dry it
4.apply add a thin, even layer of shortening or oil.
5.Place face down in oven/grill 15-20 minutes.
6.Apply more fat. Repeat at least 3 times.
7.Cool and enjoy.

If you want to skip the re-application process just add a single layer and leave in oven/grill 1-2 hours. The resulting surface is a beautiful jet-black. If there's nothing stuck to the pan all you need to do to clean it is rinse it in hot water and wipe it out with a paper towel. If something is stuck to it you need to use kosher salt to abrade it off the surface without

To Clean:
1.Rinse with hot water.
2.Pour in a good bit of kosher salt.
3.Scrub with a paper towel (the salt will abrade the crusted on stuff)

The most delicious way to cure your cast iron: If your cure is in need of a little mainentence, this recipe evens it out really nicely.

Cinco de Mayo

I feel like maybe I should preface this with the fact that I did absolutely nothing today I have no Mexican heritage to celebrate, but I do love to sit at home and dream of mexican food. Instead of looking up and learning about regional classics I decided these dishes would be appropriately delicious and deliciously tacky.

I finally gave in to the bottles of pomegranate juice placed in strategic promotional positions throughout the local market which in turn led to the pomegranate margarita. Not Mexican at all but it tasted good. I thought if I were to celebrate this holiday this is what I'd like to make today. Veracruz snapper would be great, but I wanted to keep it simple and not ruin it with a real Mexican dish.

Cinco de Mayo Menu

Pomegranate Margaritas

Crabcake with Pumpkin Seed Sauce

Smoked Pork Tamales with Apricots

Banana Mousse with Cumin and Mexican Chocolate


Pomegranate Margarita

puree pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, lime juice, triple sec ice and fresh mint. Serve immediately


Crabcake with Pumpkin Seed Sauce

prepare a crabcake with brunoise, celery, red and yellow pepper and chopped cilantro.

onions
garlic
red jalepeno
vermouth
chili de arbol, rehydrated
tomato paste
cilantro stems
pumpkin seeds
oil
salt
chicken stock

Toast pumpkin seeds in the oven and allow to cool. Grind in a spice grinder to make a pumpkin seed flour. Reserve.

Sweat onions in oil 5 minutes. Add garlic and chilis 2 min. Add tomato paste and cook another 2 min. Add vermouth and reduce au sec. Add pumpkin seed flour and cook 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Make more roux with the pumpkin seed if the sauce is not thick enough. Strain and serve.
prepare a crabcake with brunoise, celery, red and yellow pepper and chopped cilantro.

Banana Mousse with Mexican Chocolate

1 mexican chocolate tableta, highest quality
2 bananas, ripe
1/2 tsp fresh ground cumin seed
1 T chopped toasted peanuts
1 T banana liquer
ground unsweetened, un-alkalized cocoa powder
small bit of fresh vanilla bean scrapings or tiny bit of vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 sheet gelatin
salt


Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Heat 2 Tbs of water until very hot. Dissolve the gelatin in the water and cool slightly. Puree the banana and banana liquer with the gelatin water and a pinch of salt.

whip the cream to nearly stiff peaks. Fold a third of the banana puree into the whip cream. Slowly fold the rest of the banana into the cream in installments. Serve right away or refrigerate.

Crumble mexican chocolate pieces over the mousse.

Pork with Green Apple Curry

This is a really easy dish made with little effort. I took bone-in pork chops about 3/4" thick and removed the rib section. I seared the chops and the rib pieces. Added some onion, green apple and few pieces of red pepper. Deglazed with about a cup of white wine. Braise for about an hour and a half until the meat is tender. Add the chops back in and cook through, another 5-10 minutes. Degrease and stir in about 2 Tbs of curry paste and bring to a boil.

curry paste:
1 medium onion diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs oil
3-4 Tbs curry powder

Sweat the onions 10 minutes and add garlic for another 10 or until garlic is cooked thoroughly. Add the curry powder and cook until it starts to smell nutty and fragrant. Puree in a blender, adding water as necessary. If you want to make a curry oil or vinaigrette it would be best to toast the spices in the oil and puree all of it together before straining.

Extracting Essences

(picture coming soon)

Living in Hyde Park, I suddenly have way too much of two things I never had in the city; time and space. I recently moved into an apartment following my dutiful return to CIA. Since then I've also been able to do something else I never could in the city; cook. The school's resources provided an easter weekend feast, which proved therapeautic, even in the midst of a chaotic move. Despite the havoc the move has wrought on my bank account I could still swing for the $2 a pound strawberries the local market had on special. It seemed like a good deal even though the price reflects the quality.

I tried making jam using a different technique. I cleaned and quartered the strawberries and crammed them into a pyrex bowl, covered with a tight fitting waterproof lid. I then put the bowl into a pot of cold water - about half submerged - and brought it up to a boil for about 40 minutes. I wasn't really sure what affect this would have. I guess I assumed it would cook the berries slowly and I would open the container to find a rich viscous preserve. This is not what happened. When I opened the container the strawberries were gray and lifeless floating in a pool of rich syrupy liquid. This process had somehow pulverized the berries causing them to give up everything except their cell structure. The liquid tasted amazing and was very clean and free of solids. It was like a pure extract of strawberry. If you were to freeze and thaw the berries it would have a similar result to a lesser extent. I don't really know what to do with it, but it's exciting. I reduced some down and poured it over pancakes. If I had an ice cream maker it might make for a good sorbet.

I remember reading about this in an excerpt of On Food and Cooking. Mcgee has a passage from the medieval chef Taillevant. He describes using this method to extract juices from meats to make jelly for invalids. It's exciting to think about the potential. Is it possible this technique would have the same results with anything, animal or vegetable? I'm going to play with it more.

Now here's a recipe for Pickled Ramps cause spring has sprung and these are delicious.

1# ramps
1 cup good apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 1/2T sugar
1T salt

Clean the ramps. Trim and discard the leaves and root ends. Wash thoroughly in water and dry. Bring the water and vinegar to a boil. Add the salt and sugar and stir to dissolve. Taste the pickling mixture to make sure it's delicious. Put the ramps in a jar or whatever container will be used to store them. Pour the hot pickling liquid over and cover. Let the ramps steep 10-15 minutes and refrigerate. Let sit for at least 24 hours. Great for sandwiches and salads.

Easter Weekend Dinner

Clams David
steamed in a bouillabaisse broth with bread

Cold Asparagus Salad
Mustard Dressing, Poached Egg, Pecorino Toscano

Fresh Pasta with Wild Mushrooms

Grouper Two Ways:
lightly cured with a blood orange reduction and sauteed with a chervil sauce

Top Round of Lamb Roasted with Herbs and Garlic
warm fava bean salad with mint vinaigrette

Strawberry Pie with Chantilly

Braised Hake with Red Pepper and Green Onion

1 ½ pounds skinless hake filet, portioned
½ white onion, diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 jalepeno, minced
1 bunch green onions, cut into 2” lengths
1 red pepper peeled and diced
1 fresh bay leaf
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 T olive oil
2 T tomato paste
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 cup chardonnay
2/3 cup dry sherry
2 ½ cups good fish stock
1-2 T sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
2# white potatoes, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350. Toss the potatoes with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast until tender.

Sweat the onion in olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalepeno, celery, bay leaf and sweat 5 minutes. Add the spices and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until rusty colored about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and sherry and reduce until sauce is very thick. Add fish stock and bring to a boil. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Check for seasoning. Strain vegetables and discard, or leave in if you want that. Add sauce pack to a large saute pan and bring to a boil. Add the hake, green onions and red peppers. Braise until hake is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Finish with sherry vinegar and a little olive oil. Serve immediately over potatoes.

Happy New Year Message

The kitchen staff of Daniel and I wish the Sandwich Cult a happy new year. I've learned much after a few months of adventure in the culinary mecha of new york city. I will dutifully share the tips, secrets, joys and dissapointment of this exceptional reality.

I'm trying to turn this blog into a more accessible publication. Hopefully this process will be finished sometime before spring. It should be kicked off by a short series on my experience of total immersion in haute cuisine, which has - to say the least - changed my life. Until then there will likely be more gaps in publication.