Archive for March, 2009

No Recipe for Success

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

I am not big on recipes. I should rephrase that; I am not big on exactly following recipes. In my opinion, recipes should be used for ideas and inspiration. Recipes make me feel unbelievably restricted and stifled. In fact recipes remind me of science class. The accurate measurements are always going to yield a “perfect” and stable product. What fun is that? I want to create, explore, and be impulsive. I found out early on that science class and I were not a good match, so my dislike for recipes should have come as no surprise. However, by not using recipes you throw yourself into the unknown.

I showed up for catering class at the beginning of this past quarter and our chef instructor said “if you ever want to be a real chef, don’t use recipes.” Finally some praise for not following directions. So for the entire class, we had no recipes, just ingredient lists–we were challenged. Each night we were expected to serve our preparations to 50 hungry culinary students and school chefs. Umm, I was having second thoughts; I wanted some recipes. There was nothing I could do; I had to suit up in my uniform and move with the uncertainty the quarter.

Night one. I was assigned tuna tartare on toasted brioche. I had never made tuna tartare. I had an hour and a half to create my dish and pack up for service. I took my dish seriously and quickly began to chop, season, and taste. Chef walked by and told me that my dish looked beautiful. It gave me the confidence to serve my first “customers.” Everyone liked the appetizer, but there were some other students who created the clear favorites.
INGREDIENTS: sushi-grade tuna, lime juice, cilantro, avocado, s and p, brioche, black olive garnish.

Night two. I scored the skirt steak tacos with tomatillo salsa. I prepared the entree and headed to the wine room to serve. I had the hit dish—I was the only student to “sell-out.”
INGREDIENTS: Skirt steak, rosemary, thyme, garlic, olive oil, onions, cilantro, lime, Mexican cheese, tomatillos, poblano pepper, lime juice, tortillas.

[No Picture Available, busy serving]

Night three. I was assigned to a group. We are making a two-course meal for ten. This time we received a preparation list, not an ingredient list. Chef was kind enough to tutor the group on correct pronunciations.
Appetizer: Salmon and crabmeat bavarios (ba-va-waa) garnished with salmon caviar, crème fraiche and chives served over a mustard vinaigrette dressed mache (lettuce varietal)
Entrée: Roasted pork loin, sage polenta cakes, fig relish, haricots verts (green beans), roasted tomato and thyme jus.

Night four. Mystery basket night. The true test. Each team was given two sheet trays—one with appetizer ingredients and one with entrée ingredients. Each group was expected to use all of the provided items. Our group debated various preparations and finally decided on the menu.
Appetizer: Flageolet beans sautéed with leek, seared sea bass with a lemon sun dried tomato vinaigrette, roasted butternut squash with onion, garnished with caramelized salsify (saul-se-fee (root vegetable)) and fennel.
Entrée: Seared hanger steak, rosemary polenta cake, brandy mushroom sauce, roasted cauliflower and green beans.

Catering class was exhilarating and demanding. Each night felt like a performance—the adrenaline rush, the potential mistakes, the execution, and the relief of accomplishment after service. Perhaps you do not want to be a “real” chef and you like your recipes, but you know what you are going to get night after night. “Real” chef or not, try cooking this week without the recipe, feel the thrill and who knows you might just surprise yourself. And if not, at least it will make for a good story.

Posted in Butternut Squash, Fig, Flageolet Beans, Hericots Verts, Leek, Polenta, Roasted Pork Loin, Sea Bass, Steak Tacos, Tomato, Tuna Tartare | 3 Comments »

Check out these Mussels

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

My Garde Marge class (cold food preparation) has covered everything from seafood to cheese in the past two weeks. It made me think of Ireland.

It was three years ago in March when my family headed to Ireland to visit my brother, Charlie, who was studying in Cork, and the European relatives. I knew we would hike the rugged terrain—check. I knew we would hit the bars daily—check. I knew I would feel sick driving on the winding roads—check. But gourmet journey? Check.

The first food stop was the English Market in Cork. Charlie said this was his “grocery store.” The open building was two floors of unique flowers, organic cheeses, colorful produce, and fresh seafood. I was ready to move to this city knowing nothing more than the epicurean market.

We packed up the car and set off for Kinsale—a seaside village on Ireland’s southern coast. I am not sure how, but I made it to Kinsale without getting carsick (my seat was in the trunk of the station wagon) and was starving. We decided on a restaurant called Fishy Fishy. This restaurant is only open during the mid hours of the day and you can expect a long wait. Fishy Fishy is a fine dining restaurant, but it is incredibly comfortable–I mean it’s just lunch. I felt so content sitting there for a long meal and eating my fish. I fell in love with the owners, Martin and Marie, who are passionate about simplicity and enhancing the local Irish flavor.

Our last stop was Kilcrohane, home of the McCarthy family (my family) farm, just south of Bantry. You travel on a dirt road to the small town that has two bars, a grocery store, and not much else. It is a strange feeling knowing that you are probably related to more than half of the town. One of our “relatives,” James O’Mahoney, took the crew on a hike down the Sheep’s Head Trail (best walk in Ireland). This is a hike that takes you along the spectacular coastline through roads, farms, and rocky trails to land’s end. Luckily we had stopped at the small grocery store just before our journey and picked up some Irish cheddar. I love my Irish cheddar, but it just tasted so good in Ireland that sunny day knowing that when you looked out at the water the next stop was the United States. I think we bought every last block of cheese at the Kilcrohane grocery store.

Before we headed back to the states we celebrated Uncle Florence’s 86th birthday at O’Connor’s Seafood. I could not get enough of the fresh mussels and the white wine sauce. I did not want to leave; I wanted to take that bowl mussels out to the bay with a loaf of bread and just sit there all day.

Mussels in White Wine Reduction

6 oz uncured bacon – small dice
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 shallot – brunoise (very small dice)
1 tsp leek — brunoise (very small dice)
1 ½ cups white wine
2 TBS parsley – chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
handful of parsley
1 cup good chicken stock
1 pound fresh mussels – debearded

Place chopped bacon in cold fry pan, cook over medium to high heat. Once cooked, remove bacon (on paper towel) and most of fat.  In the same pan add the butter, shallots, and leeks—cook until tender (approximately 3 to 4 minutes). Add white wine (turn heat off while you do this) and cook over high heat until it has reduced to a small layer on the bottom of the pan. Once reduced add the, bacon, parsley and heavy cream, cook 4 minutes. Finish sauce by pouring in the chicken stock, stir and cook for 5 or more minutes. Add mussels (make sure they are all closed) and steam covered until they open (approximately 4 minutes). Serve with good dinner bread.

Posted in Mussels | 2 Comments »

Taco Epiphany

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

It is Lent. Cod is selling like crazy every Friday night. I am Catholic so I am buying.

I grew up Protestant; meatless Fridays are relatively new to me. My mom said she always knew I would become Catholic. I guess it was a giveaway when I thought it was “cool” to make the sign of the cross at our dinner prayers with my (Catholic) grandma Pfister (Little Grandma).

Just after college, Brian and I were dating and both living on the north side of Chicago. He introduced me to the Lenten fish fry. Again, this was pretty “cool.” I loved going to the Duke of Perth across the street from my first apartment. We would walk in, work our way past the crowd of faithful Friday vegetarians, grab a brew, and after a long wait–eat the perfectly prepared cod.

Once I became Catholic, meatless Fridays were a good excuse for sushi and fish tacos. Why was this so much fun? Isn’t Lent suppose to be a time of fasting and somber reflection? While a fish fry or sushi night are hardly dishes of sacrifice, not eating meat does make me conscious—conscious of the fact that it is Lent and I need to do something different. And different is cool; for me that is loving two sides of one faith.

Faithful Fish Tacos

canola oil
1 ½ cups golden ale (any brand will do)
3 cups flour
2 pounds tilapia
¼ head of cabbage – shredded
4 lime wedges
crema or crème fraiche for garnish
Cilantro for garnish
cherry tomatoes for garnish
tomatillo salsa for garnish (recipe below)
s and p
corn or flour tortillas (I suggest the brand El Milagro)

Heat a large fry pan over moderate heat, add the canola oil until 1 inch thick. Make sure there is no chance the oil could spill out of the fry pan. Cut the tilapia into small strips. Mix a 1:1 ratio of golden ale and flour in a large bowl (I used 1 ½ cups of each.) Pour the remaining 1 ½ cups of flour into a separate bowl.  To cook the fish, dredge the fish through the flour and then the beer batter mixture; place in fry pan. Cook approximately 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove and place on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the tortillas in the microwave (use paper towels).

Make a buffet of all of the ingredients and let guests construct their tacos.

Tomatillo Salsa

5 tomatillos (found at Whole Foods)
2 poblano peppers
1 serrano pepper
1 ½ cloves garlic
½ lime (juiced)
handful of cilantro
s and p

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the husks and stems from the tomatillos. Add the tomatillos to the water and par boil (boil slightly longer than blanching). Remove the tomatillos from the water and let cool for about 5 minutes. Roughly chop the poblano and serrano peppers (only add the seeds if you are looking to make the salsa very spicy). In a food processor add the garlic and pulse until chopped. Add the peppers and cilantro leaves to the food processor—chop. Roughly chop the tomatillos by hand, then add the tomatillos and lime juice to the food processor. Combine the ingredients until pureed. Add more lime juice if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Posted in Fish Taco, Tomatillo Salsa | 4 Comments »