Saturday, November 29, 2014

My better half's blog

As it turned out, both Dorothy and I started publishing about the same time. She, because I said "You'll never do it" and me? Just because I've got all this extra time on my hands now.

Please check out:
North West Re:past

Thanksgiving, and Giving Thanks

Every year, since 2010, Thanksgiving marks an anniversary. Tuesday night of that week, I felt a sharp pain that would not subside. That night it snowed. When there's the rare snow in Seattle, you can't drive anywhere - there are no snow plows and we're all hills here. Wednesday, I finally said to Dorothy "we have to try to get to the hospital, I can't stand the pain any longer." Her all wheel drive Subaru got us there. Very few staff members were at the hospital - seriously, when it snows here, everything stops. But there was an ultrasound technician, and a Doctor's assistant. I was told I had cancer. But no one could tell me stage, prognosis, etc. I left with pain pills.

Thanksgiving day was a house full of guests and we had to do a ton of cooking. I grinned and bared it to get through the day, telling guests I had strained my back lifting the cooler holding the brining turkey.

I wasn't able to see a Doctor until Monday, when I learned all about what I had, got scheduled for surgery that Friday, scheduled for chemo starting in January, etc., etc.

So, each Thanksgiving, I give a special thanks to all the professionals who helped me through my treatment, and that I've been clear of cancer ever since.

This year was a much smaller affair. Three guests makes five for dinner. And our guests, being cooks in their own right, want to share the fun of preparation, so we were up for only the turkey, mashed and sweet potatoes, stuffing and gravy. An easy year.

We picked up our 17 pound heritage bird from Stokesberry at the farmer's market in Ballard on Sunday. A fresh bird, never frozen. The turkey went into the apple juice brine on Monday evening, and then into the refrigerator downstairs to soak until the big day.

We prepped the stuffing and the sweet potatoes Wednesday night - we have one small oven and the bird would occupy it all day.

First up the stuffing:

Peel the chestnuts. This year, we used the microwave and kept the nuts wet. Worked like a charm. So much better than Martha Stewart's hot oven process with hotty burny fingers. First slice an X through a spot on the shell, let the nuts soak briefly in water, then into the microwave on high for about a minute. Keep them wet when you take them out, and peel away. Most will peel easily, but there are always a few stinkers that'll give you grief.
Slice then toast the bread.
Get the herbs prepped - we used thyme, sage, parsley.
We added cubed apple, and sautéed onion and celery. Start mixing.
Add the bread, cubed, and sautéed sausage (sweet Italian), chicken stock, and mixey mix. Taste for seasoning, then pour into the baking dish and bake.
Next up, Dorothy's favorite sweet potato dish:

She makes a gratin of sliced sweet potatoes and leeks, adds seasoning and thyme, pours over melted butter, then bake covered with foil. Simple, delicious.

Note to self: it's a good idea to peel the sweet potato before slicing...



On the big day, I roast the bird at 350°F until the thigh reaches about 160°F, then let it rest covered with foil for about 30-40 minutes. That allows the juices to redistribute, and get any other items re-heated in the now empty oven. I also cover the bird with a sheet of foil while roasting (just placed on top, not tucked) to protect the breast from the broiler element in my oven - it runs too hot and burns the top of the bird. Here it is, all tightey whitey!
Nothing left to do but enjoy the weather and set the table!

The remains of the day:
It was a relatively cool day, so first fire of the season! Yea!
Tomorrow, clean up the mess. I purchased three warming trays a few years ago. We set these out, put all the food in them to keep them warm, and let everyone serve themselves. No mass of platters on the table with no room, and the constant doing what Congress doesn't do, you know, passing stuff. Easy. No, they don't get put on the table like this - they've cooled and are stacked so I can get back to the computer.
Nothing left to do but take a nap!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Fish for dinner

Seattle's location, on Puget sound and by the Pacific Ocean, gives us access to the best fresh fish from the waters off Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. One of my favorite activities on the weekend is to go shopping at Central Market in Shoreline, the town just north of Seattle. Their fish counter is one of the best in the region.

Recently, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch moved a number of Pacific fish from the Avoid column, to the Good Alternatives or Best Choice. This is a result of effective management of the resources. More information about the recent changes can her found here and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list for the Pacific can be found here.

Rockfish, a slow growing and slow reproducing fish, in one of these.

At Central, the Rockfish fillets looked and smelled extremely fresh, one came home with for dinner that night.

I made a compound butter with orange zest, tried desperately to make several suprêmes from a Clementine, lightly seasoned and dusted with flour the servings, and dinner was served. Plated with navy beans cooked in homemade chicken stock, sautéed spinach, and a wedge of winter squash.

Also, there are only two humans in this house, so any recipe I post that I make up, it's going to be usually for 2 people.

Compound Butter

1 tablespoon orange zest (about half an orange worth)
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) soft butter

Mix the ingredients together, and place in the refrigerator to harden. This makes more than you'll use for two servings of fish. Keeps in the refrigerator a week or more.

Fish

Serves 2

2 four ounce portions of fresh Rockfish
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons butter
several Clementine suprêmes per serving, or one orange suprême per serving

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then drag through the flour to lightly dust them.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter in a pan large enough to hold the fish without crowding, and when the butter has finished sizzling but before it starts to brown, place the fish, former skin side up, in the pan. Let them cook for about 5 minutes or so, until the fish is well browned and about cooked halfway through.

Carefully flip, and cook until finished, about another 5 minutes.

Plate the fish, place a suprême or two on top along with a small nub of the orange butter. Enjoy!

Nota bene:

In the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, Rockfish has recently been brought back to the Good Alternative and Best Choice categories. Except, it's not that simple. It's for Rockfish that have been caught using hook and line. Alaska bottom trawled Rockfish it still on the Avoid list. I didn't have that factoid in my head when I bought the fish. And, Central tells you the origin, and sometimes method of its capture. The Rockfish they had - trawled. I will have a word with the fishmongers about that.

Also, what the hell does Nota bene mean? It's a Latin and Italian phrase that means "note well." In other words, PAY ATTENTION!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Maiale al Latte, Pork Cooked in Milk

Introduction:

I first encountered a recipe for pork braised in milk when I purchased a copy of Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking back in 1992. Turning to the section on pork, there it was. The first recipe in the section. I recall being somewhat disgusted by the thought of braising meat in milk. So, I never made it. After all, other than pork and milk, the ingredients were merely butter and vegetable oil for browning the pork, and salt and pepper for seasoning. How could that be good? By the 1990s, industrial pork production was filling grocery stores with flavorless, lean pork. And this dish is all about the pork.

I encountered the idea again in the April of 2008 issue of Gourmet Magazine. At least there were more flavors being introduced, including juniper berries, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, and garlic, but still I didn't go for it.

So, when I saw a recent post on Tasting Table featuring a recipe, I thought I'd give it a try. After all, I have access to organic heritage breed pork here in Seattle. Good pork. This recipe is also simple on the herbs - using only sage, bay leaves, garlic, and lemon zest.

But what recipe to follow?

I dug out my copy of Hazan's book, and the April 2008 issue of Gourmet to get to Ursula Ferrigno's version. Then, a search on-line for other versions. I collected ten recipes, scaled them all to 2.5 pounds, and converted them to equivalent units.

The recipes are similar in that they all use a minimum of ingredients. The Gourmet recipe has the most additional flavors. Hazan's the least. All the others are somewhere in between. Two techniques are used: Stove top cooking and oven braising. The stove top versions require more messing around with stirring than the oven versions. All the recipes have all the milk added at the beginning, except Hazan's, where part is put in, it gets evaporated, more is added, it gets evaporated, etc. Funny how the simplest recipe in terms of ingredients is also the most labor intensive.

So, which to make? I couldn't decide. I mean, I have no point of reference on what this is supposed to taste like. So, I decided to go with testing two versions: Hazan's and Gourmet's. The two most distinctive versions.



Materials and Methods:

I obtained two pork shoulder roasts, each a bit over 2.5 pounds.

I worked from a scaled down in size version of Ferrigno's oven-based recipe, and followed Hazan's as written in her stove top version. The difference between the two recipes, other than cooking method? This:

(Recipes I researched are linked below - Hazan's wordy recipe is presented)

Discussion:

Both versions start with browning all over.


The stove top version is fussy to make - the several additions of milk, the need for active monitoring and stirring makes the process a fair amount of effort. The oven version - set it and forget it (except for several flips of the meat). The caramelization of the milk was more complete with Hazan's version. And the curds were smaller from all the manipulation. I obtained about a half cup of sauce from Hazan's method when done and a bit less than a cup from Ferrigno's version. This is disconcerting because Ferrigno's recipe states that after straining the sauce, reduce it to two cups. I'd have to add water or milk to bring it to this level, and I didn't want to do that.

In process, Hazan's then Ferrigno's:


After removing the pork from both dishes, and straining the sauce (and setting them all aside), I added about a half cup of water to each pan and worked all the caramelized fond off the bottoms and sides of the pans, then added that now darkly colored water to the set aside sauces.

Hazan's first, then Ferrigno's:


The extra darkness on Hazan's happens if you let it go too long between manipulations. It's not burned, but almost...

So, did they taste good? Did they taste distinct from one another? Well, I was somewhat disappointed by the flavor. The two meat samples were indistinguishable and both tasted of, well, pork. Ferrigno's sauce had the flavors of the added herbs, but it didn't effect the flavor of the pork. So, a lot of time and effort for braised pork of no flavor beyond just pork. I won't make this dish again. There are way too many interesting and delicious things to make with pork shoulder.

 

References:

Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Page 417, 1992
Ursula Ferrigno, Gourmet Magazine, Page 137, April 2008, link
Emiko, Food52, link 
Samin Nosrat, Chio Samin, link
O Tama Carey, SBS, link
Ginny Grant, Cuisine, link
Steve, oui, chef, link
Mary Ann Esposito, Chio Italia - Bringing Italy Home, Saint Martin's Press, 2001, link 
Editors, Tasting Table Test Kitchen, link 
Ms I-Hua, msihua.com, link


Marcella Hazan's Recipe:

Pork Loin Braised in Milk, Bolognese Style

Servings for 6


Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds pork rib roast (see note below)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
2 1/2 cups, or more, whole milk


Note: (edited)

Recipe calls for bone on rib roast. Remove the loin from the bones so it can be browned more thoroughly. Cook the loin along with the bones added to the pot.

Another cut, Boston butt (pork shoulder) can be used.

Do not cut away any of the fat.

Directions:

1. Choose a heavy-bottomed pot that can later snugly accommodate the pork, put in the butter and oil, and turn the heat to medium high. When the butter foam subsides, put in the meat, the side with the fat facing down at first. As it browns, turn it, continuing to turn the meat every few moments to brown it evenly all around. If you should find the butter becoming very dark, lower the heat.

2. Add salt, pepper, and 1 cup of milk. Add the milk slowly lest it boil over. Allow the milk to come to a simmer for 20 or 30 seconds, turn the heat down to minimum, and cover the pot with the lid on slightly ajar.

3. Cook at a very lazy simmer for approximately 1 hour, turning the meat from time to time, until the milk has thickened, through evaporation, into a but-brown sauce. (The exact time it will take depends largely on the heat of your burner and the thickness of your pot.) When the milk reaches this stage, and not before, add 1 more cup of milk, let it simmer for ten minutes, then cover the pot, putting the lid on tightly. Check and turn the pork from time to time.

4. After 30 minutes, set the lid slightly ajar. Continue to cook at minimum heat, and when you see there is no more liquid milk in the pot, add the other 1/2 cup of milk. Continue cooking until the meat feels tender when prodded with a fork and all the milk has coagulated into small nut-brown clusters. Altogether it will take between 2 1/2 to 3 hours. If before the meat is fully cooked, you find the liquid in the pot has evaporated, add another 1/2 cup of milk, repeating the step if it should become necessary.

5. When the pork has become tender and all the milk in the pot has thickened into dark clusters, transfer the meat to a cutting board. Let it settle for a few minutes, then cut into slices about 3/8 inch thick or slightly less, and arrange them on a warm serving platter.

6. Tip the pot and spoon off most of the fat - there may be as much as a cup of it - being careful to leave behind all the coagulated milk clusters. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, and boil away the water over high heat while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose cooking residues from the bottom and sides of the pot. Spoon all the pot juice over the pork and serve immediately.

R.I.P

So here's April 2008. I have to say, re-reading the recipes in these old issues of Gourmet has been interesting. How hard they worked to impose a standard on how to write directions. And it was so devoid of any voice of any writer. Hard to say if this is good or bad. Just, "different."

Nota bene: One of the items that some of the recipes included, that neither of mine did, was lemon zest. I think that would be a welcome addition, and perchance, make this worth making.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Crab Cakes

So here's the issue. I never "got" crab cakes. I grew up (well, as much as anyone admits that I've grown up) on the east coast. This isn't a place of pride piece. It happened. Not my decision. That's where my parents made a home. And I didn't grow up with crab cakes. Not something we had in my family in Connecticut.

So, I have no pride of place when it comes to crab cakes. Take them or leave them. And mostly, I'd leave them.


Seriously.

Now, fried clams? Bellies on! We're talking war!

Eastern Blue Crab? Whatever. Whenever I had a "crab" cake back then, it was so unremarkable, it was forgettable. All filler, no thriller. Never understood the religious devotion to those sodden bread cakes. That's why I put crab in quotes. There wasn't much, if any. If you can imagine the packaging, the ingredient list would be (starting from the highest amount to the lowest amount): Bread crumbs, onion, celery, carrot, mayonnaise, Old Bay, mustard, herbs, spices, water, crab. Ugh. Why bother?


And then. Met Dorothy, lived with Dorothy, married Dorothy. She has a bit of a connection to the eastern shore of MD. And her family knows crab cakes. Loves crab cakes. All thriller, no filler.


And I have to admit, those I had on that god-forsaken terrain called the eastern shore… They were good. Quite good.


So, as a Seattle resident, why do I talk about this? Because the west coast has the best crab, bar none. The Dungeness crab is royalty. And it's big and meaty. And it is fantastic alone, and this is why is makes the best crab cake.


Last night, I made crab cakes. Meat from one crab, about a cup and a half worth or more, mixed with a little Dijon mustard, an egg, a little finely chopped shallot, and then Panko - oh heaven.



I didn't intend to make a post for the blog with this, so no recipe. I didn't follow one. Just mixed it up. The only picture I have is before they were cooked.
You can see the chunk-o-crab. Yes, it was chunk-o-crab delicious. Or was that Crab-o-chunk-alicious? Toss up. Served with sautéed spinach and a hash of leeks and potatoes. Now that’s good crab cakes.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Revisiting an old friend, Oriental Style Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Introduction:

From 1990 to 1994, I house sat for a family from about New Year’s until school started in the fall and they returned to town. My friends affectionately called the house “The Big House.” It had this wonderful series of decks in the backyard, a fully forested backyard, overlooking a stream. And there was a hot tub. And there was a gas grill too. I lived grandly during that time and was able to entertain.
I made this once for a friend and was really blown away by it at that time. Or, perhaps, it was I was amazed at how well it turned out and how it might impress my “friend.”

I was thinking about the recipe recently and finally set to searching for it. It’s from the July 1991 issue of Gourmet, the dear departed favorite food magazine… On page 78, the following appeared:

Q. I love a good grilled steak, especially one that’s been marinated. Do you have a recipe?
Jim McGinnis
New York, New York
A. Long on flavor and a breeze to make is robust, gingery

Materials and Methods:

Oriental Style Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

As Published:

As Made:

2 Tbs vegetable oil
Olive oil
2 Tbs Oriental sesame oil
You know, toasted sesame oil
14 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Used dark brown
13 cup soy sauce

13 cup Sherry vinegar
Rice wine vinegar, really
3 scallions, chopped
White and green parts
2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

12 tsp hot red pepper flakes

2 lbs flank steak
Flat Iron Steak

Directions as published (roughly):

Place all the ingredients except the steak in a blender, and blend until smooth. Place marinade and steak in a zip-top bag, massage a bit, and let marinate chilled for at least 6 hours or overnight. 
Remove steak from marinade, discard marinade, and grill steak over hot coals (4-6”) for 5-6 minutes each side for medium rare. Transfer steak to cutting board, let rest 10 minutes, then slice it thin across the grain.

Changes to directions:

Since I have a flat iron steak, grilling time is different. Flank steaks are thicker and take longer. Also, I marinated the steak at room temp for 2 hours. And I used a big cast iron skillet. A hot cast iron skillet! SIZZEL!

Discussion:

Tasty. Yes, Tasty. As good as I remember? Maybe not. Maybe so. But good. Actually quite good. I think in the future I'd go not with brown sugar, white is OK. I didn't detect the molasses kick from brown. And I don't know that it's needed. And a bit more sweetness. Not much, perhaps 10%. Switching brown for white might just do it. But, the citrus balance is off. It needs more. Double it, I think.

So, here it is resting:

And now, dinner:
Served with steamed rice, a sprinkle of black sesame seeds (really, the crunch is worth it), sliced scallions, and kimchi. Of course.

Conclusion:

Yes, I'd follow this recipe again, with my modifications. For those who like heat, double the pepper flake, or more. And more garlic is OK too. Since I served it with kimchi, that wasn't an issue on the plate.

RIP:

 

First Post

I can hear you. "Another food blog."

Well, that and then some, as I intend. But yes, another food blog. My twist is I'm a science guy, so along with testing and improving "one-off" published recipes, meaning, "I made this from the Times last night, here's my review and notes for improvement," I will also compare several recipes side-by-side and scale them to show how, say, six different Bulgogi recipes differ, and then my notes on how the one I followed and changed turned out.

I hope the adventure turns out to be fun and informative. For all of us.