Gumbo

21 Dec 2010 9 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , ,

Cajuns

Let’s get this out of the way right from the start — I’m not from the South. In fact, I’ve never even been to Louisiana. (The closest I ever came was briefly dating a girl from Shreveport. And I once sat next to Paul Prudhomme at Chinois on Main.) But like everyone else, I did get caught up in the Cajun craze a couple decades back, and could be caught slapping dried thyme on anything that had once moved and blackening it. What endured from that time was a love for gumbo.

While I may not be from N’awlins, I do consider myself a connoisseur of all things rich in flavor and heavy in calories and slow cooked and stirred with love. Food that requires patience. Gumbo is one of those great, simple dishes — like Italian bolognese or French cassoulet — that is so much more than the sum of its relatively mundane ingredients. Don’t cook it in that new stainless pot you got for your birthday; cook it in something old and preferably cast iron, black with use and memory. Gumbo gets better the longer it sits around, the longer the flavors have to integrate. And I got better at making it the longer I sat around, the longer my cooking and my soul had to integrate.

This recipe goes well with something — anything — fried: shrimp, crawfish, oysters, catfish, corn dough. It goes well with accordion, slow acoustic blues and a six pack of beer — that much better if you make the music yourself. I invite all y’all from the south to chime in with your own variations.

File Gumbo with Catfish
Serves a whole bunch

2 quarts chicken stock
1 lb okra, cut into chunks (frozen is okay)
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, cut into slices
2 stalks celery, cut into slices
1 8 oz can peeled tomatoes, smashed
canola oil
1 kielbasa sausage (or two andouille sausages), cut into slices
1 lb catfish, cut into chunks
1 tbsp dried thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 heaping tbsp flour
1 tsp filé powder (optional)

Note: if you have trouble finding catfish, you could use shrimp or even chicken thighs instead.

Put a couple tablespoons of oil into a large pot, and fry the okra over medium high heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. Add the sausage slices and onion and continue cooking for 10 minutes more, until onion is wilted and beginning to turn golden. Add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the tomatoes (To smash, I like to squeeze them in my hands right into the soup — it works well and it’s kind of exciting. But you could put them in a large bowl and smash them up with fork instead.) Add the chicken stock, turn heat to medium low, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Add catfish chunks and thyme and continue simmering. In the meantime, put a quarter cup of canola oil in a frying pan. Heat over medium high. Add 2 tbsp. flour and cook, stirring frequently, to make a roux. If it’s too soupy, add another tbsp. flour. The roux will begin to darken after about five minutes. You want to keep cooking, stirring frequently, until it reaches the color of milk chocolate. Turn off the stove. Add the roux to the gumbo, stirring in. Then add the chopped parsley and the filé. Cook for another 10 minutes and serve, over white rice with a dash of Tabasco, if you’d like. Or leave in the fridge for a day or two and then it’ll really taste good.

Veggies A to Z

09 Dec 2010 9 Comments

by scolgin in Cooking Tips, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

People often ask me what to do with this or that particular vegetable. So I’ve put together a very brief primer with some of my favorite preparations for a variety of veggies, A to Z. (This list is by no means complete, rather just some of the ones that make it to our table the most often. If you have a specific vegetable you’d like some help figuring out, shoot me a message in the “Comments” and I’ll do my best to offer creative solutions.)

I’ve deliberately left out things you already know what to do with (the tomato — which is actually a fruit anyway — lettuce, potatoes, etc.). I’ve also omitted kohlrabi — I have no idea what to do with that thing.

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Artichoke
You can do no better than “steamed” (i.e. boiled) artichoke served with mayonnaise infused with a little fine olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and some garlic shaved on a microplaner. Another good preparation is to steam the artichoke until tender, then spread open the leaves as best you can. Drizzle liberally with olive oil infused with garlic shaved on a microplaner, then sprinkle with salt, lots of parmesan and bread crumbs and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. If you’ve got young, tender artichokes, trim off the top, peel off tough outer leaves until you reach the lighter green inner leaves, and shave on a mandoline. Serve as a salad with squeezed lemon, drizzled olive oil, flaky sea salt and shaved parmesan. (My dear friend, Clay, just reminded me to let people with an artichoke fetish know to check out the Artichoke Festival in May in Castroville, California — the “Artichoke Capital of the World”. 2011 is the 52nd annual version. Marilyn Monroe was the first Artichoke Queen. Clay and I once shared this adventure many years ago, and witnessed countless artichoke-related atrocities.)

Arugula
Italian arugula salad. Upcoming post on this. And in a tri-tip sandwich with aioli on crusty slipper bread. Once again, this will be coming in a post soon.

Asparagus
For thin stalks, toss them with some olive oil and sea salt, and roast on a sheet of foil at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until crispy. Medium stalks you can do the same prep, but cook on a hot grill outside. For fat stalks, peel with a potato peeler up to the tips, steam and top with butter, a fried egg and shaved parmesan. Asparagus also makes a great soup cooked in chicken broth, pureed and finished with a little cream.

Beets
Best fresh and not out of a can. Boil, peel, cut into cubes and toss with greens (oak leaf lettuce, arugula, etc.), candied walnuts and blue cheese. Dress with olive oil and sweetened rice wine vinegar. Or make borscht.

Broccoli
I have traumatic memories of steamed broccoli from childhood. I overcame them with an Italian preparation — douse liberally in olive oil, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and crushed red pepper, and cook in a small baking dish in a hot oven until all soft and crispy. You can also add bread crumbs and parmesan for a treat even your picky kids will love.

Cabbage
The three best uses for cabbage, in my humble opinion, are 1) Korean kimchi, 2) shredded in Baja fish tacos, and 3) Irish corned beef & cabbage. Oh, and cole slaw with some good BBQ.

Cardoon
Most people make a look like a dog hearing a high-pitched noise when I mention cardoons. Beloved in Italy, they are relatively unknown in the U.S. Closely related to the artichoke, they are massive gorgeous plants. You eat the stems instead of the blossoms (as with artichoke). They have a celery-like texture and a mild, lemony artichoke flavor. Remove fibrous strings, cut into 2-inch segments and blanch in acidulated boiling water for 20 minutes. Then sauté in olive oil or butter and serve in a pasta. Or dip in egg, flour and then fry in olive oil as a appetizer.

Cauliflower
The can’t-miss preparation for this I discovered when I accidentally forgot that I had cauliflower in the oven and cooked it for 3 hours. It had caramelized and basically turned into candy. Cut or break apart the cauliflower into lots of pieces. Douse liberally in olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cook in a 375-degree oven for 60-90 minutes, tossing once or twice, until soft and golden. I also like cauliflower in a pureed soup, with a little cream. Shave white truffles over the top if you’ve got ’em. (And who doesn’t?)

Celery
Celery is a great flavor in other things (i.e. chicken stock, brunoise for bolognese sauce, etc.). On its own, I like it poached, breaded and fried (that’s one preparation, not three!). Or shaved thin and served as a salad with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and a little crumbled blue cheese.

Celery root
One of the great unsung heroic vegetables. With a subtle celery flavor and big meaty potato-ish heartiness. Wash well, peel. And then either make a soup by cooking it a long time in chicken stock, pureeing and adding a little cream at the end. Or grate with carrots and onions and dress as a salad with a French vinaigrette that incorporates a little mayonnaise.

Corn
The preparation that launched a blog! Shuck the ear, brush it with mayonnaise, squeeze lime juice over it, sprinkle with chili powder and flaky salt, and grill on a hot BBQ until golden and brown in places. Crumble queso cotija over cooked corn and serve. I also like to cut the ears off, puree them with water and a little cream, and add at the last minute to a risotto. Corn risotto with grilled salmon will be a keeper in your recipe file.

Eggplant
Cut into chunks, boil in water until soft, drain and mash up, add some sweetened rice wine vinegar, chopped cilantro, cumin and a little tomato paste for a killer Moroccan salad. (I’m planning a Moroccan post soon and I’ll do a better version of this recipe). If you have one of those huge eggplants, cut it into big disks, dip it in egg then bread crumbs, fry in olive oil then sprinkle with salt afterward. Helpful eggplant hint: if you sprinkle salt on the cut pieces of eggplant after you’ve sliced it, the vegetable will release much of its water, which makes it easier to cook.

English peas
Risi i bisi, a Roman rice dish: Heat a quart of chicken stock, add 1 cup arborio rice and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the shelled peas and cook another 10 minutes until rice is done. Spoon porridge-y mixture into soup bowls, top with a drizzle of olive oil, chopped Italian parsley and freshly grated parmesan. Fresh peas are a gift from the gods.

Fava beans
One of my favorites! In the spring when they’re young and fresh, peel the beans from their pod and skins, and serve as a salad with nothing more than fruity olive oil and flaky salt. Or cook in chicken broth, puree and add a little cream for a great soup.

Fennel
Shave thinly on a mandoline and serve as a salad (see above preparation for artichokes, and simply substitute the fennel). Note — the inside of fennel bulbs can be sandy, so be sure to soak and/or wash carefully. I also like fennel caramelized and cooked on pizza. And cooked,  pureed and strained through a fine sieve, it makes a great flan.

Kale
My two favorite kales are Russian kale (which is pretty and feathery when young) and Tuscan black kale (cavolo nero). I like kale sauteed with chopped garlic in olive oil, and then tossed into a pasta.

Okra
This is an odd vegetable but fun to cook with, fun to eat, even fun to say! I skewer them, drizzle with oil and soy sauce, and grill on the barbecue as part of a sumiyaki dinner. They’re also an essential part of gumbo.

Peppers
This is a pretty broad category. Bell peppers I like to roast at a high temperature until blistered, then rest in a plastic bag, peel, cool and make an Italian salad — strips of pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, salt, pepper and a few little strips of anchovy. For peppers like Anaheim, pasilla or poblano, I do chilis rellenos — cook, rest and peel in the same way as above, then carefully open, de-stem and de-seed, and then stuff with cheese of your choice, dip in flour then stiffly whipped egg whites (with yolk folded in at the end) and fry in canola oil until golden on both sides. Serve with a tomato sauce.

Radicchio
Douse with olive oil, sprinkle with flaky salt and grill until wilty. Serve grilled in a salad. Or cut into eighths lengthwise, brush with olive oil, and cook on a pizza with caramelized fennel, sausage and freshly cracked eggs.

Rutabaga
What!?

Spinach
Spinach salad with mustard vinaigrette, bacon and blue cheese. Spinach sauteed in olive oil and garlic as an Italian side dish. Spinach sauteed in butter and ponzu as a Japanese side dish. Here’s a fun technique: Heat about an inch of oil in a wok, fry a few spinach leaves at a time until crispy, and serve on top of grilled fish with butter and lemon.

Summer squash (inclusive of zucchini, yellow squash, etc.)
My yoga teacher sister likes to slice squash in little circles, douse them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt, lay them out on foil and cook until they are caramelized and crispy. This is one of the best preparations. You can also shave them into long, thin strips on a mandoline and use in place of wide noodles as a kind of veggie pasta. Or slice thick, dip in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in olive oil.

Swiss chard
This is one of my favorite veggies! Especially the kind with the golden stalks, which add a gorgeous color to pastas. Chop roughly, sauté in olive in which you have crisped a couple pieces of pancetta. Toss with penne, deglazing the cooking pan with a little pasta water. Crumble pancetta in and top with freshly grated parmesan. My other favorite use for swiss chard is in Mexican tortilla soup, pureed into a smooth silky green soup. I’ll do up a post about this soup one of these days…

Winter squash (inclusive of kabocha pumpkin, acorn squash, butternut squash, etc.)
Roast until caramelized and serve with butter. Or peel and throw in water with an onion, cook for an hour, puree, add salt and pepper to taste and finish with a little cream.

Yam/Sweet potato
I peel these, cut into batons, cook in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and lightly fry in a large pan in grapeseed oil until golden, then sprinkle with a little kosher salt and a bit of sugar. They’re also great as tempura.

A New Installment of the World’s Best Ribs

02 Dec 2010 11 Comments

by scolgin in Pork, Recipes, Video Tags: , , , ,

I’m a little bit fickle, I’ll admit, with my continuing declarations about the world’s best ribs. That’s because almost every good rack of ribs is the best ribs I’ve ever tasted. You could rub motor oil on a rack of ribs, grill them, and they’d make my blog. I’m quite sure I’ve declared one rib preparation or another “The World’s Best Ribs” on several occasions in this forum alone. But this time I’m pretty sure I’m sharing the world’s best ribs recipe with you. Well, that is, at least until next time.

Hawaiian preparations are always some of the best with ribs — the smoky, fatty richness of the ribs blending perfectly with the sweetness and complex flavors of tropical fruits. One of the best racks I cook includes a marinade/glaze of coconut syrup, pineapple juice and fermented Chinese black beans. The particular recipe below, prepared in the video above, takes its cue from Korean kalbi. Serve it with the monster good Asian red cabbage slaw to win friends and influence people. For four people:

Hawaiian Soy Glazed Ribs

1 large rack baby back ribs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated on a Microplane grater (or minced)
1-inch piece of ginger, grated on a Microplane grater (or minced)
1 tsp sesame oil
a few shakes crushed red pepper
1 tbsp butter

Peel membrane off the back of the rib rack (use a flat head screwdriver to get started). Cut rack into two or three sections. Salt and pepper the ribs while you make the marinade.

Put brown sugar and soy sauce in a small saucepan with a little water. Add garlic and ginger over medium heat, and simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat, stir in sesame oil and red pepper, then fold in 1 tbsp butter.

When sauce cools, use half to baste the ribs and marinate an hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge. Heat a gas grill to medium. Put the ribs on the grill and cook for about 20 minutes on each side, basting frequently with the reserved marinade to create a nice glaze. Cut mini-racks into individual ribs and serve with monster good Asian slaw.

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Monster Good Asian Slaw

1/2 small head red cabbage, grated or finely shredded
3 scallions, sliced into 1-inch segments and then slivered lengthwise
1 small carrot, peeled and grated
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp mayonnaise
salt & pepper

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, scallions and carrot. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Beverage suggestion: Kona Brewing Company Longboard Island Lager, a nice fruity viognier from California’s Central Coast (I like Andrew Murray), mai tai, Anchor Steam

Sonoma Market Breakfast

13 Nov 2010 4 Comments

by scolgin in On the Road, Recipes, Video Tags: , , , , , ,

One sparkling winter Sunday morning in Sonoma County, as mist rose from frozen fields through the bare leaves of apple trees, with my wife and kids, my mom and the Wine Guerrilla and miscellaneous sisters, we went to a favorite spot for breakfast. Willow Wood Market Café in the tiny one-horse town of Graton. If you’re ever hungry and meandering along the Gravenstein Highway north of Sebastopol some morning, I suggest you hang a left on Graton Road and do the same.

Unraveling scarves and jackets as we settled around a large table, the comforting scent of sausage and coffee filled the sunlit room. Browsing the menu, my eyes gravitated toward the usual suspects: steak and eggs, smoked salmon, french toast and sausage. And then I spotted an interesting choice: the “market plate breakfast”. Warm polenta, a farm fresh egg, spinach cooked with coppa, roasted tomatoes and camboloza toast. It was a surprisingly harmonious symphony of morning flavors — even the things you wouldn’t expect on a breakfast menu like spinach and blue cheese.

Your kids might screw their noses up at this breakfast, as mine did. That’s just fine… give them Eggos, and save this gem for the grown ups. Did I mention it’s the perfect brunch, particularly when served to friends with a good, spicy Bloody Mary? Cheers.

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Sonoma Market Breakfast
Note: for my version, I like two eggs per and use pancetta instead of coppa

for each breakfast:

2 eggs
1/4 cup dried fine polenta
1/2 cup spinach
1 slice pancetta
5 or 6 heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 slice crusty bread
1 slice (or 1 tbsp crumbled) blue cheese such as cambozola or gorgonzola
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Cook the polenta first: use 2x the water of the dried polenta you are cooking. Heat the water to a boil and add polenta, lowering heat to medium-low. Cook polenta, stirring every few minutes and adding water as it cooks away, for 20 minutes until thick. Cover and set aside.

While the polenta is cooking, roast the tomatoes. Make a little pan out of foil, add the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the spinach, cut each slice of pancetta into a few pieces, and saute until rendered and crisp in a tbsp or so of olive oil. Add spinach and cook briefly until wilted. Toast your bread slices and top with a little blue cheese while still hot.

Lastly, cook your eggs. They served poached eggs at Willow Wood, I like to fry them in a pan with a single flip. To compose your Market Breakfast, place some polenta on a plate with the tomatoes and cooking oil drizzled over the polenta. Put the spinach and pancetta next to the polenta, and the eggs next to that. Put a slice of toast on each plate, sprinkle some good sea salt and pepper over the top, and serve.

The Emperor of Steaks

06 Nov 2010 2 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes, Video Tags: , , , , , , , ,

This blog spends a lot of time in Italy, particularly the north. (In our mind, at least, if not in reality…) And now, I humbly present the king of all carnivorous northern Italian preparations — Bistecca alla Fiorentino.

6 lbs. of dry aged porterhouse, courtesy Harvey's Guss Meat Co.

If you have a crappy steak you bought from Costco, by all means — smother it in A-1, teriyaki sauce or sauteed mushrooms. If you have a good steak or a great steak, there is no option but Fiorentino. This will be the simplest recipe I have given you yet. And perhaps the most important. Unless you are a vegetarian. This will not work with a tofu cutlet.

Bistecca alla Fiorentino

rib-eye or porterhouse steak on the bone (about 1/2 lb or more per person), cut at least 1 inch thick
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup arugula per person
lemons
sea salt & pepper

Take the steaks out of the fridge an hour before you will cook them. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.

Get the grill as hot as it will get. 600 degrees or above is good. Sear the steaks on each side, about 3 minutes per inch for medium rare. (Use a sharp steak knife to poke into the steak and make sure it is cooked to your liking.)

Here’s a neat trick my friend, Greg, taught me: On a cutting board, drizzle a little more olive oil, squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Remove the steaks from the grill and place on the cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. (The olive oil and lemon juice you put on the cutting board will soak into the meat when you cut it, and will bind to the meat juices so the steak will remain juicy.)

When they are done resting, slice the meat first off the bone, and then cut across the grain into 1/3 inch thick slices. Spread half a cup of arugula on each plate, arrange 4 or 5 slices of steak on top of the arugula. Squeeze lemon juice over the meat and arugula, drizzle some olive oil over the top as well. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

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