STIR THE POTS

Winter food

Tasting the stars

Luck was with me a few months ago, as a Twitter exchange with Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin (see below) won me dinner. A very good dinner, let me add. 

Yup, I found a photo online of another Le Bernardin, this restaurant in Winston Salem North Carolina. Thankfully I was able to schedule my prize after the holidays, but sadly missed Michael Laiskonis's famed desserts. Anyway, so off I went last week, my normally casual attire replaced by a jacket, tie... an entire suit. I was off to Le Bernadin!

Getting there, the rooms were buzzing. My wife noticed a famous Bollywood actor sitting across from us. What I immediately noticed was great service; water poured, wine list given, then taken away, with an inviting announcement that our wine was "taken care of, already." Remembering some nods and signals made between staff as we entered, I guessed that our Twitter award was going to be worth any need to put my neck under the strain of a suit and tie.  

From that point onwards, everything just became a dance of the senses, each dish's detail and array of flavors, well, I won't be overstating it to characterize it as amazing. Since words won't capture it as well as some photos, allow me to just share a few below. 

Gustare: To taste

The amuse was phenomenal, with us already gulping down some bubbly things were looking good.

Amuse: Tuna tartare, Sea Urchin, and Butternut squash soup.

1st Course:

Caviar Waygu Beef, Langoustine and Osetra caviar tartare black pepper vodka creme fraiche and gaufrette potatoes.

Wine: Montlouis "Triple Zero" Domaine de La Taille aux Loups NV

2nd Course:

Tuna: Ultra Rare Yellow Fin Tuna; Spiced Dashi gelée Green Peppercorn Iberico Chutney

Wine: Chablis "Vielles Vignes, Domaine Savary, Burgundy 2009

3rd Course:

Lobster:

Butter Poached Lobster Tail; Spiced celeriac, Earl Grey -Citrus Sauce

Sake: Yuki No Bosha, Yamahai Jumai, Akita

4th Course: Codfish

Codfish, Artichoke "Barigoule" Perigord Truffle Butter

Wine: Chassagne Montrachet, 1Cru Les Caillerets, Marc Colin 2006

5th Course: Hiramasa (Amberjack)

Laquered Hiramasa; Chayote Squash, Sofrito Broth

Wine: Barolo, Mirafiore, Piedmont, Italy 2007

6th Course: Black Sea Bass

Crispy Black Sea Bass; Pickled Cucumbers Black Garlic-Persian Lime Sauce

Wine: Syrah,Copain, Tous Ensemble, Anderson Valley, California 2009

Desserts:

Panna Cotta

Greek Yogurt, Candied Buhdda's Hand, Basil seeds

Wine: Torrontés Sparkling, Deseado Familia Schroeder, Patagonia

Chocolate- Olive Oil

Dominican Chocolate Cremeux, Toasted Bread, Brown Butter, Marcona Almonds

Wine: Passito di Pantelleria- Sangue d'Oro, Sicily 2009

Fin....

Thank you, Le Bernadin! Thank to your wonderful staff. Thank you, Twitter. And most of all, thank you Chef Eric Ripert. Next time you Tweet a request, fortune be with the lucky first reader.  

 

Fin de l'année

Don't toss your tops

The other day in a market, I heard a woman ask a grocer to have the tops from some radishes taken off.I couldn't help remarking to her, "you can saute them." When buying beets at my local market, I always keep the tops. Theyr'e meant to be eaten! Sauteed, braised, mixed in pasta dough, go for it! Tonight I made a risotto with beet juice, stems and the tops folded in at the final minutes of cooking. We served it with a broiled chicken breast, marinated with a hint of ginger and lemongrass...fabulous! So if you see some tops, cook'em!

Fish wieners

I went sleeveless on my wieners today at work. And I made them with fish too. 

Frenchified comfort food was my goal. I whipped up a mousse of scallops, chopped up some fish, added herbs and spices and rolled it in tube shaped sausages.  Lightly poached in water, then cooled, we finished them in a pan with a bit of oil to lubricate the skinless wieners, and a nob of butter for flavor.

Being a bit outside, we garnished it with some "champ" potatoes, mashed spuds with cabbage and scallions (of Irish origin). We added a mix of chantrelle, beechwood, and portabella mushrooms, as well as a Burgundian shallot and parsley assaisonment. Going really old school, we poached some bay scallop, and garnished with the "old" Beurre blanc, bit of kaffir lime leaves and ginger. Delicious.

Photo's: Food

 

 

 

Octopus in a hurry

Last time cooking octopus, I followed what's known traditionally as the "pot no water method," just adding some aromatics and then giving it a slow covered roasting in the oven. All good, but slow is... slow. Sometimes you want a pulpo salad a bit quicker, right?

Last weekend, I bought two pieces and just plopped them in a pot, added water with some vinegar, bay leaf and let it boil for about a half hour. At the market, a man in line had asked me how I cooked octopus. It turned out that he and his wife had just vacationed in Spain, enjoyed the local variety enormously, and now wanted to try making it home. So I told him what I just told you. And then I went home and tried to follow my advice. It failed miserably. 

Well, my new found food market friend, I hope you had better luck. My 30 minute boil method led to an awfully tough piece of "pulpo." Well, after scratching my head a moment, I decided to take out my Fagor pressure cooker, which ten minutes later, well, success! Or at least decent enough to attempt this blog entry. So if you're the fellow I spoke to at the store the other day, big apologies for my directions but here's some new ones... pressure cook it!

Oh and here is the salad, tender and delicious impromptu  pulpo a'la plancha with salad.

Pocket for a falafel

My first falafel was eaten in the mid-east. Only it was mid-eastern Connecticut, the white-bread suburbs of Fairfield County, where my family moved from Europe decades ago when I still had lots of hair on my head. I still remember the lunchtime introduction, coming via an invitation to a wealthy kid's house who had an Israeli nanny. Delicious!  If flavor memories could speak, they'd sing a sensational song. Tel Aviv pop meets Cairo evenings. 

Through the years, nostalgia has transformed into a hardcore legume fritter addiction, stoked by periodic visits to Mamoun's famous falafel, as well as the pushcart seller "Jimmy's Falafel," a stand on Brooklyn's Atlantic Ave. introduced to me by my brother and fellow chef, Philippe. 

More recently, I have tried to feed the longing with visits to local Lebanese shop in my neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens. But too often, rather than fry it fresh (or at least reheat them in an oven) the local guys simply pop what's made into a micro-wave - a downright uncivilized way to serve something which, when done right, is light and delicate rather than just pumped up greasy fry food. 

And if you think I'm getting high-toned about what is and isn't civilized, talk to Kamal Mouzawak, a man who claims this dish has divisional fault lines and tracks everything about the dish from which chickpeas are used to its origins. Nevermind, I am hungry and I couldn't care less about those human propensities towards nationalism, especially with food. Above (and below) are photos of my own attempt to create the perfect falafel right at home. 

My recent falafel were made with straight chick peas, though you can also use a mix with fava bean. In the future, I will play with other legumes;, black bean, lentils, etc. And while usually they are deep fried, I just used a shallow fry pan for the frying. I guess it made me feel less guilty. 

Falafel are great with virtually any sauce, or just a salad with some yogurt, adding tahini, pickled turnips, hummus, or hot sauce. The flavor pairings are endless, alone or adorned. Personally, I most love mine eaten within a sandwich, especially with pita.

My falafel mix screamed "pita," (or chanted it, anyway), so I was happy to oblige, whipping up a sourdough version. Summer is a good time for quick flat breads.

With all sorts of available formulas, I picked this one from a wonderful source, Barbara Abdeni Massad's book,  Man'oushe. I played with 40 percent leavened flour, and added in some whole wheat for rustic taste.

The August humidity high and the  kitchen hot, I already had some kick'n liquid levain. And it only took a 30 minute bulk ferment, dividing the dough, and a 10-15 minute rise after rolling out the pita.

Love to watch the dough rising, puffing into pillow like spheres on the hot stone.  Mind the steam when you rip into these pita, as it's hot!

So if you're in the mood for mezze and a quick flat bread, pita and falafel offer plenty of pocket to fill with good eats.

My summer eats

Just some things I've been making to eat lately....enjoy!

Purslane, tomato and mozzarella salad.

Flounder filets a'la plancha with corn,jicama, black bean salsa

Grilled tuna salad Niçoise

 

Falafel salad

 

 

Momofuku pork belly buns...just had to have some!

 

 

Pistachio, almond, and cranberry cantucci

Pasty

Looking through the weathered pages of my The New International Confectioner book recently, my eyes fell on a recipe for Cornish pasty. The origins and history are interesting, as being a basic dish of British miners, they included specific fillings that included "beef, potatoes and rutabaga (rutabagas were referred to as "swedes"). Recently the pasty has been designated "PGI," which stands for protected geographical indication. Whatever, these egg washed meat pies have ancient origins, and legend has it that miners would eat the ends, saving the middle half for later meals.  

My own introduction to this British staple came visiting England, finding them in a London kiosk during a walk. On that typically British wet and windy day, I found warmth and cheer in a "Guinness filled pasty," a huge flaky creature filled with beef morsels and a dark gravy.

 Pasties are great comfort food, and so this weekend - seekng comfort, I used that concept to prepare a batch, filling them with lamb rack trimmings, onion, diced potatoes, and a range of spices including, mace, mint, coriander, pepper, salt, and sumac. If you want to keep it simple, go with curry and add some vegetables.

 

Crimped edges are characteristic of basic pasties. That said, they are usually usally aso crimped in the middle. The tuck-and-weave is very similar to empanadas,so I had no problems turning out the model for a perfect pasty. Mind you, as I used duck confit and foie gras fat in my dough, it was richer than the basic miner's variety. .These pasties were rich, flaky, and simultaneously reminded me of strudel and a South American empanada. 

 

Actually, it seems the world has many variations on this type of food; pastel, pâté en croûte, empanada,burek, or samboosa. There are endless sources for a great meal, but I'll call this one a pasty.