Archive for the ‘Ideas in Food’ Category
Carabonated Young Coconut Water
July 25th, 2010
We were working with young coconuts at the same time we were playing with carbonated cocktails. One thing led to another and the result was carbonated coconut water, fresh from the shell. The effervescence really carries the aroma of the coconut, like sea breeze on a tropical island. While this is just a glass of carbonated coconut water the pathway is now clearly defined and we are excited about creating and consuming our upcoming discoveries.
Posted in
Smoked Capers
July 25th, 2010
Lillet Infused Musk Melon
July 25th, 2010
You Still Need to Know How to Cook
July 25th, 2010
In the world we live in digital scales, circulating water baths, and controlled temperature cooking are becoming commonplace. They are wonderful additions to any kitchen and help make cooking more foolproof and precise. The problem that occurs when technology takes the lead is that we can forget basic cooking techniques and why we need to understand them. Take a look at your handwriting. The more you type, the less you write, and the less beautiful or legible your handwriting becomes. Sure, functionality, speed and consistency are important, but there is something special about a gorgeous piece of meat (or two) cooked properly in a salt dusted skillet; it's fat renders into the pan and the constant turning (a la McGee) allows for uniform cooking and a beautiful crust. A quick pan sauce made with wine and butter, finished with fresh herbs snipped from the garden and a warm rest (we used a pyrex pan with a lid) resulted in different textures and flavors playing off one another with delicious results. The depth and consistency of the crust changes with each bite and the inner meat is supple and juicy. It may take a little more effort by the cook but every so often old school is the only way to go.
Aroma At the Bar
July 25th, 2010
We have added one more class to the our schedule at Craigie on Main. Cocktails, both the craft and consumption, have always been fascinating subjects for us. The use of aromatics in great drinks, either as a supporting flavor or as an accent note, is the focus of this convivial workshop Tuesday evening at the bar. Tastings of food and drinks are part of this workshop.
Ideas in Food and Craigie on Main
will be hosting a unique seminar focusing on: Aroma at the Bar
Call Craigie On
Main at 617-497-5511
to make your
reservation.
$100 per person
(Credit card is
required upon reservation)
Aroma
Tuesday
July 27, 11pm
Aromas
are highly complex messages being decoded by our brains. Although humans no
longer need their sense of smell to survive, it is an integral sense in
experiencing many of life’s pleasures. We will discuss aroma in the context of modern
mixology. Looking not only at
spirits themselves and how we combine them, but also at the use of
complimentary and contrasting aromas that help us create, enhance, and even
amplify aroma and flavor in cocktails.
Braised Beef Fat
July 25th, 2010
When we prepare rib eye steaks we are always trimming and shaping the end result. For a long time we rendered the large hunk of fat and meat, which runs on the top of a rib eye along the bone, to make fat for cooking and cracklings for sauce. The other day when we were cleaning up a half a rib eye primal, we noticed that this hunk of fat looked remarkably like Mangalista pork belly in its marbling and meat blend. We decided to cut the meat off in one chunk, season it and slow cook for 24 hours at 70°C, the way we cook our beef cheeks. The result was a piece of beef fat which could then be sliced and sauteed like pork belly or foie gras. The fat caramelizes the same way it does on the outside of a roast and the interior is tender and bursting with flavor in your mouth. My first portion was about 60 grams in size when I started cooking and it rendered some fat in the cooking process.
I really enjoyed the flavors of the fat, but consuming it straight from the pan after lunch left me feeling a bit off. Five years ago I could easily have ingested a hunk of roasted fat with no repercussions. Times have changed and so have I. So, is this a useful preparation? Yes. We just need to do some fine tuning and figure out how much is the perfect portion for a specific need. One avenue we are looking at is dicing the fat and frying it like bacon lardons. Or slicing it like bacon to recreate that crusty skin on the top of the roast. Imagine that in a sandwich. Time and tasting will decided where we take this. (and don't think our smoker won't see some action in these tests)
The Lobster Roll
July 25th, 2010
As anyone who has been reading this website for a while probably knows, my family has several different lobster traditions that date back for as far as I can remember. When Alex joined the clan he didn't have particularly strong feeling about lobsters one way or another besides wanting to cook them better than anyone else. It wasn't that he hadn't eaten lobster before, he just didn't have the passion for consuming lobster that Aunt Marie and I brought to the table. It wasn't long before he learned to understand the importance of this singular crustacean.
In my mind summers are synonymous with the ocean, mostly eastern Long Island, Cape Cod, and the New England coastline. Given my druthers, as much as I enjoy where we are now, one day we'll have a home on the water, by which I mean by the ocean, either in Cape Cod, Rhode Island or southern Maine. Frankly I love being on the coast even more in the winter when the beaches are quiet and slightly untamed, the wind whistles, and dogs can run free in the surf. There's nothing like the light on the water, the ever-changing landscape, and the freedom of knowing that the entire world is just a few steps over the horizon. But I digress.
Summertime is largely about the ocean's bounty, littleneck clams on the half shell, steamers dug straight from the sand, thick New England clam chowder, and incredibly fresh lobsters simply steamed and eaten out of hand. I'm a bit of a purist and when good lobsters are to be had I don't even require butter for dipping. The hard work that goes into extracting each sweet, briny morsel makes the entire meal taste that much better. Alex has a different approach.
Like many cooks he prefers to do his prep work in advance and then enjoy his meal with minimal effort and maximum enjoyment. And like many chefs, he believes that gilding the lily can make it look and taste better than it does straight from the stem. So his preparation of choice is the lobster roll. A good lobster roll is a subject for endless debate. Everyone has their preferences and prejudices. For Alex, it should be bursting with extremely fresh lobster lightly dressed in a mayonnaise based sauce with a touch of heat and fresh herbs. He's a big believer in the griddled hot dog roll for the proper texture and crunch. In New England this invariably means top split buns with straight sides that are fried in butter on the two outside flat sides before being stuffed. People feel so strongly about their rolls that several mail order lobster purveyors offer lobster roll kits complete with buns for the true addict.
To be honest I've never been completely convinced by the classic bun. If the roll is properly filled it tends to fall apart and the griddled exterior leaves me with greasy fingers, amplifying an already messy situation. Not that I have any issue with eating with my fingers, food really does taste better that way, it's just that if I'm going to get messy I want to be able to lick the mess from my fingers and melted butter just doesn't ring those bells for me. Now that Amaya has arrived on the scene there is little time for a leisurely (or focused) meal of cracking and poking, so lobster rolls have become the "go to" for fresh lobster at home. She is quickly becoming an aficionado, partial to the claw meat, sweeter and easier to chew, but perfectly willing to inhale any and all lobster in her vicinity. It was clear that I needed a better bun.
We made this latest batch of lobster rolls with a slightly spicy mayo and Martin's Long Potato Rolls. I had my sandwich while Alex and Amaya were out. While it was delicious I knew it could be better. I couldn't get away with changing Alex's favorite lobster meal without significant improvement. Fortunately I knew exactly how I was going to make the ones for Alex and Amaya when they got home. I simply opened up the rolls, spread the inside with sweet butter, fried them to a crisp golden brown, sprinkled them with salt, stuffed them with lobster and rushed them to the table before the rolls had time to cool down. There was warm, crunchy bread and cool creamy salad, the sweetness of the potato bread brought out the sweetness of the lobster and the rolls were sturdy enough to stand up to lobster meat without being too rustic for their purpose. They were still messy and fun to eat, they were just a bit more manageable. And there were no greasy fingers. In fact these lobster rolls were pretty damned good. I'm sure lots of people have been griddling the inside of their rolls for years but it was a new innovation for us and it made a world of difference. Now we just have to get out hands on more lobsters to do it again.
Summertime Poppers
July 25th, 2010
We are making fresh polenta on a regular basis and occasionally we end up with some left over. Aki took the opportunity to use up some recent leftovers by stuffing them into jalapenos from our weed patch and wrapping them with bacon. These were then baked in the toaster oven and consumed before blinking. The results were delicious and the only disappointment was that we did not make more. (Our pepper plant while prolific has a tough time keeping up with my jalapeno fetish.) Guess we will be buying some peppers to supplement my new corn stuffed popper habbit.
Belly Belly
July 25th, 2010
Gently cooked salmon belly served with a relish of bacon, cucumber and yogurt topped with salted cucumber seeds. Lavender and lime add aroma and pique the palate.
Smoked Capers
July 24th, 2010