Chef at Home

Archive for January, 2010

This dish has been taking its own sweet time getting to the table. It combines the results of our work on staining our five minute and fifteen second eggs, with ham hocks cooked sous vide and the dark horse of the dish, braised collard green sauce. The finishing element is black bean sprouts. The staining of the egg blends a marbled appearance with the flavor of harissa, which we used as the backbone of the staining solution. The hocks yielded gelatinous and decadent nuggets of fresh pork and the collard green sauce has the deeper flavor of smoked ham married to the sweet slow cooked greens. The black bean sprouts add a fresh, green note and textural contrast to the final dish.

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This dish has been taking its own sweet time getting to the table. It combines the results of our work on staining our five minute and fifteen second eggs, with ham hocks cooked sous vide and the dark horse of the dish, braised collard green sauce. The finishing element is black bean sprouts. The staining of the egg blends a marbled appearance with the flavor of harissa, which we used as the backbone of the staining solution. The hocks yielded gelatinous and decadent nuggets of fresh pork and the collard green sauce has the deeper flavor of smoked ham married to the sweet slow cooked greens. The black bean sprouts add a fresh, green note and textural contrast to the final dish.

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Amaya loves her lemons. The first time we watched her grab one and sink her teeth into it we were slightly horrified. "This can't be be good" was the immediate thought that flashed through my brain. Amaya wrinkled her nose and shivered as she chewed on her piece of skin, then she gave us a big smile, spit out her bite, and promptly sank her teeth back into the fruit for more. Such is the power of a Meyer lemon.

When we were living in New York we had a Meyer lemon tree. It flourished for my aunt and sat in the a sunny corner of the dining room. It was much more than lemons, as the glossy green leaves and white flowers were cheerful and fragrant for much of the year. The Meyer lemon tree was originally imported from China and believed to be a cross between a lemon and a Mandarin orange. It is relatively easy to purchase dwarf trees for your home and theoretically they are quite easy to care for. Alex and I have managed to kill both a lemon and a lime tree so we can't honestly speak from experience on that. They are primarily grown in California here in the states and just happen to be in season and available in our neck of the woods right now.

When buying Meyer lemons we look for brightly colored thin skins and fruit that feel heavy in the hand. That's true for almost all produce as a light weight indicates dehydration from a long shelf life and excessive time spent in storage. As Amaya will contest they are on the sweet side with a bright floral flavor that perfectly complements their sunny complexion. It is rounder and smoother than your everyday lemon and on looks alone it will beguile you. The fact that they are utterly delicious and produce large amounts of juice for their size make them that much better.

Now that cold and flu season is in full swing we like to prepare a variation on Laurie Colwin's hot lemonade. Meyer lemon juice, hot water, honey and a cinnamon stick, blended to taste and reinforced with the spirit of your choice. We find that one lemon makes two generous mugs of lemonade. It's our variation on the rock and rye liquor that was mixed with tea and used to ward off the chill in times gone by. These Meyer lemons are just like sunshine in a glass. The drink warms you from the inside out and helps make the world feel like a better place on a damp and chilly evening.

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The question is which direction to take these individual bites.

Raclette, Chowder, Gratin…

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Amaya loves her lemons. The first time we watched her grab one and sink her teeth into it we were slightly horrified. “This can’t be be good” was the immediate thought that flashed through my brain. Amaya wrinkled her nose and shivered as she chewed on her piece of skin, then she gave us a big smile, spit out her bite, and promptly sank her teeth back into the fruit for more. Such is the power of a Meyer lemon.

When we were living in New York we had a Meyer lemon tree. It flourished for my aunt and sat in the a sunny corner of the dining room. It was much more than lemons, as the glossy green leaves and white flowers were cheerful and fragrant for much of the year. The Meyer lemon tree was originally imported from China and believed to be a cross between a lemon and a Mandarin orange. It is relatively easy to purchase dwarf trees for your home and theoretically they are quite easy to care for. Alex and I have managed to kill both a lemon and a lime tree so we can’t honestly speak from experience on that. They are primarily grown in California here in the states and just happen to be in season and available in our neck of the woods right now.

When buying Meyer lemons we look for brightly colored thin skins and fruit that feel heavy in the hand. That’s true for almost all produce as a light weight indicates dehydration from a long shelf life and excessive time spent in storage. As Amaya will contest they are on the sweet side with a bright floral flavor that perfectly complements their sunny complexion. It is rounder and smoother than your everyday lemon and on looks alone it will beguile you. The fact that they are utterly delicious and produce large amounts of juice for their size make them that much better.

Now that cold and flu season is in full swing we like to prepare a variation on Laurie Colwin’s hot lemonade. Meyer lemon juice, hot water, honey and a cinnamon stick, blended to taste and reinforced with the spirit of your choice. We find that one lemon makes two generous mugs of lemonade. It’s our variation on the rock and rye liquor that was mixed with tea and used to ward off the chill in times gone by. These Meyer lemons are just like sunshine in a glass. The drink warms you from the inside out and helps make the world feel like a better place on a damp and chilly evening.

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When I was growing up I was lucky enough to be taken to the theater more often than most kids. I loved it, absorbing the music and the costumes, getting carried off in a story filled with drama and pageantry. The fact that we always went out to dinner beforehand made the entire evening an event. One of our favorite pre-heater haunts was Victor's Cafe 52.

That restaurant was my first exposure to Cuban food and like the theater that followed dinner, it took me to another place. I loved everything about that restaurant. The fact that most of the diners were speaking another language made it feel exotic and otherworldly. The fact that the food was delicious was an added bonus. Somehow the black beans and rice were unlike anything I'd ever had before and believe me I ate plenty of rice. The ropa vieja was a favorite as was the beefsteak Duran. Suckling pig and savory rice dishes were also delicious. But it was the green sauce that won me over. We started every meal with small, sizzling casseroles of garlicky shrimp and clams in green sauce. The shrimp were delicious, it's just that versions of that particular preparation could be found in many other places. It was the clams in green sauce that drew me in, and stayed with me, prompting me to answer "Victor's" whenever I was asked where to go to dinner before the theater. They were something special. Briny and earthy, they spoke of land and sea, bright blue skies and tropical horizons. I would pry each small clam from it's shell, bathe it gently in the sauce and carefully convey it to my lips. The flavors were bold and soft at the same time, evolving in my mouth as I chewed on the delicate meat. Frankly I could have made a meal of just those clams with good bread and a Shirley Temple or two.

As I grew old enough to ask questions about the food I found out that backbone of that dish was parsley and garlic. It's a simple and stunning combination that finds its voice in cuisines around the world. Earthy, herbal and balanced, that combination can make almost anything not just edible but worth savoring. It's been well over a decade since I last ate at Victor's Cafe. Although I'm sure it has change immensely over the years, as restaurants do, it's comforting to know it still exists there on the edge of the theater district. I like to imagine it filled with the buzz of happy dinners, basking in the scent of parsley and garlic. I like to think of it as a slightly magical combination that brings happiness whenever I employ it in my own kitchen.

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The cabbage is sauteed in butter and seasoned with Meyer lemon juice and sesame oil. The final grating of aged Gouda demonstrated the old adage the whole is often much greater than the sum of its parts.

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