IDEAS IN FOOD

Cornish Game Hens

These birds were designed for the grill. When they are split down their backs and butterflied they open up plenty of surface area for marinades and seasonings to stick to. Our marinade consisted of miso, honey, low sodium soy sauce (because of the miso not our fear of salt), rice vinegar and rosemary from our weed patch. It took just a few hours for the marinade to blend with the birds. Then, a hot grill and some careful turning produced a caramelized and occasionally charred exterior with a moist and juicy interior. When we pulled the birds from the grill we let them rest for five minutes. The juices which exuded from the resting birds were a perfect dipping sauce as we finger carved the birds. (What is finger carving? It's when you just start ripping into the ingredient at hand tearing and eating like a hungry savage.) The only change I would make would be to make a little extra marinade and keep it aside, uncontaminated, to pour on the birds when they came off the grill. That and perhaps a hefty handful of sliced green onions folded in would add to the enjoyment.

Happy Memorial Day and Make Sure to Get Your Grill On!!!!

Melon Shrimp Oxalis Feta Saltwort

An Evolving Garden

With the weather warming and the book deep in copy edits it was time to face our weed patch/garden. Amaya and I dug in and removed the weeds we did not want to consume. In their place we planted a variety of herbs we picked up at the Trenton Farmer's Market: lemon verbena, purple sage, globe basil, spicy basil, African blue basil, chives, and lemon thyme. We love herbs and they are not only accents to dishes they are the influences behind much of our cooking. Their aromas are captivating and smelling several of them at the same time provides the spark for combinations we may not have thought of. And then there are the flowers. Many of the herbs we picked up had some beautiful flowers. It was amazing to taste the flowers, more delicate than the herb itself and wonderful when a few are placed on the palate.

Honeydew, Smoked Coconut and Fava Beans

Here is a closer look at two versions of the melon-fava bean-smoked coconut mosaic we paired with soft shell crabs. We eventually chose to use the thicker melon to add more juiciness to the dish. The thinner melon slice with the mosaic on top shows promise for some tile preparations. We are looking into using this version done with beets to pair with fish. Time and results will shape this evolution.

Onion Tartare, first draft

Ash cooked onion is chopped roughly and blended with egg yolk, mustard, cornichons, lemon zest and juice and olive oil. The combination resembles the meatiness in taste and texture we crave from traditional steak tartare. Sprigs of not salty saltwort and aged Pecorino complete the dish.

We discussed working on an onion tartare before my trip to California. I certainly believe the trip, a wonderful meal at Coi and a healthy discussion on food with Daniel Patterson helped clarify and drive the sensibilities behind this assemblage of ingredients. This tartare is in its infant stage. It is delicious but can certainly mature and develop. A bit of refinement, editing and clarity will help this dish grow into something great.

Salumi Central

We wrote about Chris Cosentino's home of Tasty Salty Pig Parts when it first opened. We were thrilled at its arrival on the salumi scene and were equally disappointed it was 3000 miles away with a retail shop in the amazing food driven and cook-centric Ferry Building. A quick trip to the San Francisco/Oakland area gave me a great excuse to eat at Incanto and then bring Aki and Amaya a most wonderful souvenir, a bag full of cured meats. Forget the soft stuffed animals, go for the soft stuffed nduja. And nothing says love like lardo. Sure, I picked up a few of the pieces for me as well but this is a gift of love.

That's my story and I'm Sticking to it.

First Time

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to my first In-N-Out Burger. I was excited because this would be my first time eating one right off the griddle. My previous experience with the burger was vacuum sealed and eaten at room temperature, an incredible experience, just not the same as eating at the restaurant. I ordered and sat back as they cooked my double double and fries to order. I was expecting greatness and the burger delivered. On the other hand I did not understand the fries. They were super crisp but chalky dry on the inside. If a french fry could have a stale texture this was it. And I did not know how this was done. I watched them cut and cook the fries right in front of me. So I left wondering and still excited to return. Next time I will just get another burger.

Removing Layers

Beneath the charred and crackling crust of the onion are layers of onion tender onion flesh, sweetened by their long slow exposure to the heat of the grill. When we peeled back the skin I was expecting a soft puree of onion flesh. What we found was an intact onion with its distinct structure, just tenderized in texture and with a fuller and richer flavor. We ended up removing the skin and roughly slicing the petals to serve warm with butter steamed filet. Eating the two together sparked the idea of onion tartare. The grilled and charred flavor of the onion could happily balance minced cornichons, mustard seeds, shallots and hot spring egg-onion soup mayonnaise.

 

The question then arises, do we serve it on its own or as part of another dish, a complimentary accent. We could even serve it with steak tartare, a parfait or layered assemblage, which would then divulge distinct flavors and textures as the dish is eaten.

Cooking Near Ashes

We cooked this onion not on the grill or buried in the ashes. Rather, we put it below the main grill grate and near but not touching the ashes. The onion cooked slowly and became sweet and tender with some resistance left to its structure. It has us thinking about the middle ground. A place and a way to cook which adds heat, char and does so with a subtle hand.

Adding Flavor

Everyday we cook we come across crossroads where we have the choice to add flavor to a dish or just proceed as we have always done. When I was first exposed to professional cooking I was taught to soak softshell crabs in buttermilk. I did not know why, I did not ask. My job was to clean the crabs and cover them with buttermilk. Fifteen years later we looked back at the procedure and wondered about the addition of flavor. That was a few weeks ago. One softshell preparation had the crabs soaking in our smoked coconut-lovage milk. Another round of crabs were marinated in Oldbay and A-1 buttermilk. The crabs were then dredged in flour and deep fried in a blend of rice bran oil and smoked tallow. The results were more flavorful crabs with flavor profiles which were now dish and ingredient specific.

The small addition of the marinade sparked thoughts of other moments to introduce flavors into our cooking. When making pate a choux, what flavor is your milk, butter, flour and eggs? Look at that, a classic with four distinct possibilities to add flavor not including mix ins. We are faced with an option at every turn in the pathway of cooking. It is up to us take the time to pause, examine and seize the opportunity.

Strawberries and Brie

Now that we are growing, albeit small amounts, our own strawberries we see them in a different light. The ones we save from the rabbits are special treats, often eaten by Amaya. As gardeners we are not very good. Weeds grow faster than we can keep up. Knowing that we are selective weeders. We let the weeds we want to eat grow with the fruits and vegetables we initially planted. In our strawberry patch oxalis and purslane have popped up. Seeing these edible delights together sparked the idea of putting them all onto the plate together. To add some richness to the ingredients we added powdered brie cheese. The addition of the tomatoes came about because we liked what we saw at the store and their own fruity characteristics would work well with the strawberries and weeds. We used some grassy olive oil, inspired by the grass now taking root in the strawberry patch, to dress the strawberries. Finally a few drops of minus 8 vinegar syrup completed the thought process.

BBQ 25

  
Occasionally publishers contact us to ask if we'd like a copy of a book or two. We have a big enough library that we tend to be somewhat choosy about which books we say yes too. (A lucky place to be in, as we well know.) Recently Harper Collins offered us a copy of Adam Perry Lang's new book BBQ 25 and Farm to Fork by Emeril Lagasse. We said yes to both and they arrived today. Now it's a rare day when we can be surprised by a book but BBQ 25 was so darned smart right out of the box that I couldn't help but share. It's a board book with plastic coated pages, compactly sized at 8"x5". With a little pressing it happily seems to stay open for easy access and even better, every single recipe is written and illustrated on two pages facing each other, so whatever page you turn to has all the information you need to complete the dish. Pretty cool. Now we haven't actually tried any of the recipes but the design was so clever that we couldn't resist writing about it anyway. It's inspiring just to flip through it and we don't say that about every book that we open.

And for the record the new Emeril book surprised the heck outta me. It's got some really fun stuff in it, and this coming from someone who's never bought an Emeril cookbook. After reading some of these recipes I can honestly say the man can cook.

* It turns out that Adam Perry Lang also has a more complex and equally intriguing BBQ cookbook out this spring which we did not know of until after writing this post. It looks like I will be off to the bookstore to pick up this companion piece.

Green Olive Seasoning

We have been looking at how we season our meat. Some ingredients are not always ideal to use as a flavoring agent because of the form they are in. With the assistance of a bit of liquid nitrogen forms can change. I was looking at green olives, a fetish of mine, and decided to powder them to season our flank steak. We added some brown sugar, garlic powder and salt and then grilled the meat. The quick seasoning was delicious, though a longer seasoning, actually a cure shows great potential in our next evolutions.

It Is Still Spring

Enjoy the green.

Scrambled Eggs Super

Now it's no surprise that one of Amaya's two favorite bedtime books is Green Eggs and Ham, but have you ever heard the story of Scrambled Eggs Super, special deluxe a la Peter T Hooper? It's another great selection for young foodies from Dr. Seuss. Consider the first page:

I don't like to brag and I don't like to boast,

Said Peter T Hooper, but speaking of toast

And speaking of kitchens and ketchup and cake

And kettles and stoves and the stuff people bake...

Well I don't like to brag, but I'm telling you Liz,

That speaking of cooks, I'm the best that there is!

Why, only last Tuesday, when mother was out

I really cooked something worth talking about!

If ever there was a children's book about an aspiring young chef, this is it. It chronicles the adventures of Peter T Hooper as he searches for the finest freshest eggs pilfered from the best tasting birds from around the world, culminating in the very finest Scrambled Eggs Super the world has ever seen. As always Dr. Seuss delights in taking personalities and situations to the extreme while beginning with a very plausible scenario. It's a tongue in cheek look at cooking written over fifty years ago that still manages to remind us (the parents) of modern day gourmet clubs that focus on extreme eating and exotics from around the world. At bedtime Amaya chooses her two books. Most of the time we start with "Ham" and end with "Super" and by the time Daddy is done reading Amaya is usually sound asleep.

What's In Your Heavy Cream?

We've been reading labels lately and it's an eye-opening experience. No matter whether or not you love or hate the use of hydrocolloids, the places they turn up will surprise you. Our recent dessert project had us making ice cream. Normally we buy our raw milk and heavy cream under the Trickling Springs label and they are delicious. Under the gun we had to resort to some supermarket organic brands. On a whim Alex checked the ingredient list never expecting to actually see anything but heavy cream.  Imagine our surprise to read: Organic Grade A cream (milk), sodium citrate and carrageenan. Another big organic brand had: Cream (organic), carrageenan.

Information tends to come in waves. Not long after that we read a blog post about organic milk and cheesemaking that rang a bell for us. As we worked on cheese recipes for the book we had trouble with milk from the most readily available organic brands. Not that we have anything against pasteurization or the use of hydrocolloids per se, but ultra pasteurization and organics don't necessarily mesh in our brains and we wonder why anyone would need to add hydrocolloids to really good heavy cream. We understand the science behind why carrageenan and sodium citrate would be added but not necessarily why the need exists. Maybe it's simple naivete to expect heavy to cream to be only that. Or maybe it means we need to take a closer look at what we're buying and why. 

A Variety of Bubble Size

When we were working on our book we looked at both nitrous and CO2 as bubble providers. It turns out that using the isi canister designed for whipped cream while using CO2 charges provides the greatest variety of bubble size and consistent volume in the aerated product. Here is the picture of our aerated chocolate with the bubbles captured with a total of 0.3% total hydrocolloids in the recipe.

Asparagus and Pecorino

To saute asparagus tips in salted butter accented with a few drops of lemon juice and some shavings of aged pecorino is delightful. It all sits on the plate, ready to be eaten and enjoyed.

Strawberry Jelly

It does not always have to come in a jar.

Allagash Beer

Recently we've gone through a bit of a beer phase. While we always appreciate a well crafted brew, our normal beverage of choice is wine. The recent streak of warm weather inspired us to see what great beers were available in our neck of the woods. Of course instead of discussing one of the many fine local breweries today we're highlighting Allagash Brewery in Portland, Maine. One way or another we always seem to be drawn back to that beautiful little treasure trove of a state. Although not especially known for it's food and drink (other than seafood of course) there is a lot to be found here for the enthusiastic foodie.

Take a look at their website for the full story. We'll just note that Allagash focuses in on Belgian style beers and their myriad permutations. Belgian beers to my mind are notable for their soft, almost creamy texture, intense layered flavors, and sipping quality. These are beers to be savored not to be used as hot weather thirst quenchers. They pair beautifully with food and are equally happy to stand alone. Belgian beers encompass a wide range of styles.

The beers crafted at Allagash are all bottle conditioned. Bottle conditioning is a process where the beer is dosed with yeast and candi sugar before sealing the bottles so that a final fermentation period takes place during storage. Because of this the beers can appear cloudy and have sediment but don't let that deter you. A little yeast goes a long way in terms of flavor. Bottle conditioned beers that are stored properly can age in your cellar for several years. This is a good thing because ounce for ounce really good beer can be as expensive as wine, a fact which can surprise the novice when they get to the checkout counter. Allagash offers a series of barrel aged beers that are absolutely delicious and definitely worth exploring. They are only available in larger 750ml bottles, which makes sense because the larger bottles are believed to age significantly better than the small ones.

Belgian beers are marked by an abundant creativity within their essential parameters. There are Abbey and Trappist style ales, strong golden ales, lambics, witbiers, brown ales, amber ales, pilsners, saison, and a variety of seasonal offerings. With enough research you can find exceptions to every rule and the only constant seems to be a quest for flavor. Malt is the backbone of Belgian beer and as with grapes, there are different varieties that are best suited to specific types of beer. Different sugars are also employed with the malt or during bottle conditioning depending on the style of the beer. Candi sugar is made with a superheated sucrose solution that is deeply caramelized to add more complex flavors than a simple granulated sugar would. There is a variety of yeast strains that can be used alone or in various combinations to produce Belgian style beers. Finally the type of hops you choose will have a profound impact on bitterness levels and the final flavor of the beer.

Unsurprisingly Alex and I saw the words "barrel-aged" on the label and immediately reached for the Allagash. We tried the Confluence and the Interlude. To our taste the lighter style and fresh, citrusy flavor of the Confluence was perfect for this time of year. The beer was balanced and flavorful with a lingering fruity finish. The Interlude was a spicy complex beer that seemed more like a fall beer than one for the warmer weather. It was bigger and more complex on the palate, inviting us to savor the long, soft finish. It had weight on the tongue and a slightly mouthwatering quality that probably came from the barrel aging. It would be a great choice for food pairing and actually an Allagash dinner would be a lot of fun, perhaps something we can do in the near future.

One Year In Our New Digs

Today marks the anniversary of our leap into home ownership. Being down here in PA has been pretty special. The people, the home, the experiences are truly remarkable. To celebrate, some drink champagne, we eat cookies. These are some of my favorite, toffee-chocolate chips. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy vicariously. Great ideas are simmering and new thoughts brewing. Thankfully we have the opportunity to share them.

Asparagus Trimming

There is something calming about trimming asparagus. The aesthetic is striking and the process is engaging. A close examination of the spears and tips shows the removal of the leaves and a shaping of the bottoms rather than the traditional universal peeling of the spears. Does the work make the asparagus taste better? If you eat with your eyes first, then yes. While cooking is often looked at as diner centric, the cook needs to enjoy and appreciate the process as well.

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

We decided to cook the sausage in the broccoli rabe. We took nuggets of beautiful sausage and nestled it into the leaves and stems of cleaned broccoli rabe. We arranged the two on a perforated grill pan and let the heat do the rest. The flames licked the leaves of the broccoli adding char and toasty notes while the sausage steamed and caramelized depending on where it was in the mixture. The result was a blend of textures and tastes which we happily married with crusty bread, sweet butter and fine wine.

What is interesting is the variety of textures and tastes which were generated from relatively simple ingredients prepared in an even simpler manner. The overall enjoyment of the meal was far greater than what we expected. The experience shows us that while lots of planning and thinking are good, some times unthinking produces equally exciting and delicious results which we may have previously overlooked.

Blackberry Druplets

Kind of look like caviar, wonder what we could do with them?

Fruit Filling

minced musk melon, feta cheese and wood sorrel

an intense and refreshing combination

delicious straight from the mixing bowl, destined to be wrapped in a shrimp sheet

New Arrivals

I'm always happy to see the UPS man. I probably order an appalling amount of stuff online but it is both cost and time effective for me, something I can do one-handed on my iphone while Amaya sleeps. And frankly, in most cases I can get better prices online than I can in stores. When I can't then Alex shops for us. This week I was particularly happy to see the UPS man because some of our favorite cookbook authors have relatively new books out. (Hey I have a toddler, I can't keep up with all the new releases anymore.) David Lebovitz's new book Ready For Dessert was a no-brainer. We own all of his books and they are always great. He has a wonderful palate and his recipes are solid gold. The second book to arrive is Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf, another automatic buy because they produce books that are beautiful and informative. They transport us to far off lands and always provide inspiration in and out of the kitchen. Now I just have to find the time and space to read them...

Milk Zest

With the questions about what happens to milk when you add 3% low acyl gellan we figured a picture might solve some questions. The amount of gellan in this milk is off the charts for a use as is product. However, when it is use in pasta fillings, vegetable purees, ice cream bases and herb sauces it adds an incredible mouth feel while holding onto excess moisture and emulsifying fats.

Smoked Escarole

How does this change your approach?

Bacon Cream

Years ago in a kitchen far, far away, Clio, we made a sauce handsomely named bacon emulsion. The sauce was amazing; a dark rich chicken stock reduced down with bacon and onions, pureed, strained and emulsified with butter. A touch of CRP, a dash of soy sauce, a splash of lemon brought the base into balance. 

With that as the inspiration we infused milk with smoked ham hocks and crispy bacon. We added a few seasonings, that is arbitrary. We thickened the milk with a portion of a gellan-milk block (3% gellan by weight for the block). The result is a silky smooth puree of bacon which is now spreadable. Time to go back and revisit the original bacon emulsion, add a few aromatics and bring this hybrid into action for BLT season.

Onion Soup Extract

Onion flakes have been in our pantry for as long as we have been cooking. They are used sparingly, in fact we cannot remember specific uses until recently when we were making our own "Everything Spice" blend. 

A conversation with our friend Adam about Indian food prompted other uses for onion flakes, specifically for sauce preparations. The flavor of toasted onion flakes, experienced in our spice blend, is rich and reminiscent of onion soup, particularly  the instant variety. After some time mulling the taste about in our heads we decided to toast the onion flakes by themselves. The result was a rich caramelized onion flavor. It was not a long leap to combining them with some water, a touch of soy sauce and caraway (an incredibly versatile and complimentary spice) to make a quick pressure cooked extraction. We put the ingredients in a mason jar and cooked them for 25 minutes. The result was the most decadent onion soup we have come across. The only thing missing was a dash of sherry, brandy or perhaps chartreuse. 

The moral quandary comes to question with the use of onion flakes. Should we make our own? What have we done by making an onion essence better than using fresh onions and slowly cooking them down to make as in the traditional preparation? We do not make flour, we do not make oil, we do not make wine or whiskey. Is it blasphemy or ingenuity using onion flakes to create a delicious result?

We did not even get interesting with the flakes. We just toasted them in the oven. What if we smoked them or pickled them first? What if we added other spices and incorporated flavors with them? The crossroads of delicious is often clouded by the fog of culinary acceptance. What does it tell us when we know our results are tastier?

Composed Acapella

The cheese is delicious. Like its name it is enjoyed, as it should, on its own. As cooks, just putting ingredients on a plate is not possible. We brought a few other elements to the plate: musk melon, watercress, broken brown butter puree and grains of paradise. The ingredients work well together. A harmony of flavors which some how fits the inspiration.