An Alaskan Cook's Exploration of Food and Technique

Meat on a Stick

2008-10-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to learn more and more varied cuisines from around the world. Something from every continent or culture to help me understand the combinations of ingredients and regional spices. Today it is North Africa and the Middle East. This is a food that I have only very recently had any experience with whatsoever. That is thanks to this great little restaurant called Falafel King. They have as you might guess great falafel stuffed pita sandwiches with tahini and pickles that are way good. Also Shawarma and kebabs to satisfy the meat eaters.

Tonight I wanted to use the grill for maybe the last time before the snow falls. I will still use it after but it is a lot easier to use when you don't have to shovel your way to the damn thing. So tonights menu was marinated lamb kebabs, tabouleh, and an appetizer/amuse of gorgonzola and almond stuffed date wrapped in bacon and grilled.

For the dates I will leave it up to my blogging friend Kitty. She has a great explanation on her blogs Club Kitty Spain - Part 2 - Prep and Club Kitty Spain - Part 3 - Let's Eat!. They are super easy and let me tell you they are delicious.

The kebabs have to marinate for sometime so lets start with those. I used fresh mint, garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, chile flakes, salt, fresh cracked pepper and fresh grated cinnamon.

This was mixed with the juice of 2 lemons and about 3 times that amount of olive oil.

Now for the lamb. Again it was the ladies and gentleman at Mr. Prime Beef that came through for me. They had great boneless leg of lamb. I took this thing and carefully cut away the fat cap. Save the fat.

Then take the meat and cut into roughly 1cm x 2cm x 2cm pieces. Like cubes cut in half.

Put all the lamb and the fat into a plastic bag with the marinade.

This goes in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours.

Now for the tabouleh. Take your bulgur wheat and cover with boiling water. I had about one cup of wheat so I used about 2+ cups of water.

This can soak for about 30-45 minutes. Taste to see that the grains are fully hydrated. Then drain in a strainer lined with paper towels. When most of the liquid has drained. Take the corners of the paper towel and fold over the top. Then lift the package and gently squeeze out the rest of the excess water.

Put into a non reactive bowl. I then picked one whole bunch of Italian parsley and about 7-8 stems of fresh mint. Wash this and then either lay out on paper towels and pat dry or you can use one of these fancy salad spinners.

I ran a knife through the parsley and mint.

Then finely dice up a red onion, one seeded and peeled cucumber, and about 4 green onions. Everything goes into the wheat. I then juiced 2 lemons and seasoned that with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then drizzled and whisked in olive oil to make a citrus dressing. Pour the dressing into the tabouleh mixture.

Stir to incorporate and then put into the fridge to allow the flavors to combine.

After your lamb has marinated for at least 3 hours, pull it out and start putting onto water soaked bamboo skewers. While trolling the internet for kebab recipes I came across the idea of putting fat between the pieces of meat. So I did. Piece of lamb and then a small piece of fat. Repeat. The idea is to let the fat keep the lamb moist and juicy. You could also do this with bacon which is always a good idea.

Now toss these on a hot grill and sear. Then flip once and take off when they look right.

I also put those great little bacon wrapped date things on the grill.

Plating was super easy. A couple kebabs, some tabouleh, and some dates with a garnish of lemon.

The red onion and cucumber added just enough texture and flavor to the salad to make it hit the spot. Prior to adding those it was a bit "leafy". The kebabs though were delicious from the start. The mix of flavors and that hint of mint are uniquely tasty.

As for the dates, you have to try those damn things. They are a wonderful mix of salty, sweet, crunchy, and creamy. I used tamari roasted almonds and that added even another layer of flavor. Delicious.

Flavors of Fall

2008-09-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

The season is definitely changing. There is snow coming lower almost every night on the Chugach mountains. That coolness in the air brings on a taste for a whole different menu selection. So tonight I put together a meal with as many foods from the season as I could squeeze on one plate.

Pork chops seared in duck fat and finished in hard pear cider, sweet potato gnocchi with a gorgonzola cream sauce, and brussel sprouts roasted with deep smoked bacon. How is that for a kick ass meal?

Lets start on the gnocchi. I steamed up two peeled and chopped sweet potatoes.

Cook these until a knife slides in easily.

I set these in the steamer basket up on my kitchen window sill to cool off.

When they are cool, smash with a potato masher or with a potato ricer if you have one.

Now add in an egg and some flour. I started with a 1/2 cup but ended up adding quite a bit more to get the dough to the right consistency. I estimate using about 1 3/4 cups of AP flour after all was said and done. This is my first time making gnocchi so I was unsure of the consistency needed. I made it kind of like a soft orrecchiette dough.

Divide the dough into several balls and roll those out into ropes. Then cut those up into small pieces. Use extra flour so that the cut sides don't stick.

Now take a fork and gently roll the tines across the dough balls so as to leave raised edges on the gnocchi. It takes a little practice. I found that placing on ball on my left hand and rolling with the fork in my right. You will get faster as you go. They should look something like this.

I set these aside to dry while prepping the rest of dinner. Next on the list was cooking some bacon. I got this extra smoked thick sliced at the butcher shop. Isn't it pretty.

This was cooked slowly over low heat. Then set aside. Save some of the grease. I was unable to find fresh brussel sprouts so I went with frozen. Cut the larger sprouts in half. Toss with the bacon grease and chopped up bacon pieces.

Now everything starts to go fast. I took this oppurtunity to clean up and start some salted water to boil.

Put the sprouts in the oven for about 25 minutes at 375 F. Stir every 8 minutes or so. They will come out looking something like this.

Start some duck fat to heating in a skillet. Season up some THICK cut pork chops. I got these at the same butcher as the bacon, Mr. Prime Beef.

Seasoned these with just a little salt and pepper and some fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and just a little dried sage.

Sear these in the duck fat on high heat to get a nice color.

I gave these about 4 minutes per side and then poured in some Hard Pear Cider that I found while looking for the apple kind. Tasty stuff.

Cover this with a lid and set the heat to low. Let braise for about 10 minutes.

Now is the time to start on the gorgonzola cream sauce. In a sauce pan start some whole milk or 1/2 & 1/2 to warming. Add in a hefty chunk of a good quality gorgonzola cheese.

Season the milk with salt and lots of pepper. Allow the milk and cheese to just barely simmer so as to reduce and thicken.

Now pull out your pork chops and allow to rest covered. I pulled out when they still felt medium rare to the touch. The carryover will fully cook them.

Start your pan juices and cider mix to reducing.

Now is the time to toss your gnocchi into the salted boiling water. When they float to the top taste one. They should be little pillows of delicate sweet potato goodness. Pull out with a slotted spoon. I put them right into the cheese sauce. I made too much sauce for the amount of gnocchi but not to worry.

With your pan sauce reduced, add in some whole grain mustard and whisk together. I also added in some of the herb blend and just a bit of fresh Italian parsley.

I used a slotted spoon to get the drowning gnocchi out of the extra sauce. Worked perfectly. Serve with the sprouts and the chop. Make sure to sauce the chop.

Some meals just come together well. This was a lot of work but I gotta say the results were definitely worth the effort. Everything was just as I had hoped. For my first try at gnocchi they came out so delicate and flavorful. You have got to try this meal at least once.

Pad Thai by a White Guy

2008-09-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

Didn't know the Thai word for Gaijin. This is my first attempt at a traditional Thai street food. I am fairly familiar with all of the ingredients, so this becomes more of an exploration of technique. I have some work to do. Maybe a new wok to buy as well.

Lots of recipe sites can be found when you Google this dish. I think after a short search that this is the best one I found. Check it out. It is basically the recipe that I follow here.

Chez Pim, Pad Thai for beginners

I started the process by soaking the tamarind paste in hot water.

Now let this soak until it is cool enough to handle with your paws. Start breaking up the paste. I then started using a whisk to smash and mix the concoction.

When you get the consistency of ketchup, strain out any rind or seeds.

Now for the rest of your sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the tamarind sauce, 1/2 cup of fish sauce.

Add 1/4-1/3 cup of sugar. The authentic calls for 1/2 cup of palm sugar but I didn't have any on hand. Finally toss in some chile sauce. I like spicy so I went for about 1/4 cup of this.

Bring this to a low simmer just until everything is mixed and the sugar dissolves.

This is not the best smelling concoction. It is very strong, the tamarind is extremely tart like vinegar. But not to worry. So now start prepping the rest of your ingredients. Cut up the firm tofu into matchstick size pieces.

I wasn't happy with the peanuts at the bulk bins so I went for unsalted cashews. Break these up with the back of your knife.

Begin soaking your rice noodles in warm water. I like the thinner rice noodles. Many people like to use the wider flat noodles. Soak these until they just become pliable. You don't want them to overcook later on in the wok. When ready, toss them into a collander to drain.

How lucky am I to have such a great Asian market? New Sagaya even had the Chinese chives. I think that they are just a version of garlic chives and you can easily substitute green onions here.

So here is my work so far. Usually in wok cooking the bulk of the time is during prep.

So I don't have the right tools to do this correctly from here on out. But I make do. My wok is a cheap nonstick hand me down and I am using a flat top electric stove. Not the best combo but I seem to make it work. Turn the eye on high and wait till the wok is HOT. Then add some oil and it should start smoking almost right away.

Toss in the tofu and let it get some color. Then just a bit of the sauce.

Now the garlic and then the noodles. I suggest making small 1-2 portions per round. If you add too much food to the wok it will lose heat and you end up with boiled noodles. So keep it just a couple portions at a time. And always keep the food in the wok moving. Now about a 1/4 cup of your sauce.

If the sauce cooks out too fast you can always add a bit of water. Now make a well in the bottom.

Side note. I should have put the shrimp in that well but I was following the order that the linked recipe suggested. In the future I will follow my own instincts.

In the well crack an egg and allow to just set up.

Now stir the egg in. Here is where I added the shrimp and had to struggle to get them fully cooked. Now finish with the nuts, bean sprouts, and chives.

I also squeezed in a bit of lime. Serve IMMEDIATELY. Dress with condiments such as bean sprouts, nuts, chives, lime wedges, and chile sauce.

Definitely check out the Chez Pim link. It is a big help to anyone trying this dish. I don't recommend trying to photo blog this your first time out ( like I did ). Things need to move fast and I was barely able to keep up the pace while trying to shoot pictures.

This was a late night munchy meal for me. Talk about hitting the spot. Much cleaner and less oily than Pad Thai from many restaurants. Hell, now I am hungry.

Cheers friends. Be sure to leave your thoughts and if you haven't already dones so, go ahead and subscribe to the blog.

Gamberetti con Polenta ( Shrimp and Grits in the Italian Style )

2008-09-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have cooked this dish many times, many different ways. Sometimes with white wine, with white corn, no sausage, mirepoix, basically the canvas is wide open for your interpretation. Today though, I am trying to stay true to my Italian roots. Hence the Italian sausage, Italian parsley, and polenta.

I got started by assembling most of the ingredients. Polenta, flour, organic chicken stock, Italian parsley, yellow onion, shallots, garlic, fresh spicy Italian sausage, some orange chiles, and my sharp chefs knife.

Was actually going to cook a different shrimp dish tonight but I couldn't find head on prawns. So these Tiger prawns looked better than the rest at New Sagaya's fish counter.

I shelled and deveined these. I made sure to get rid of the tails because that is one of my peeves when eating shrimp dishes. Why in the hell would someone leave the tail on in such a messy dish?

Set those aside for now. The polenta takes the longest so let's start there. I started with 2 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of 1/2 & 1/2. That was seasoned with salt, pepper, and a couple of small bay leaves and allowed to come to a low boil.

Now slowly pour in 3/4 cup of polenta or course ground yellow corn meal while whisking the liquid.

This will thicken very fast. Stir often to keep from sticking. Turn the heat to low and stir every couple of minutes. At this point I had an epiphany concerning the similarities between properly cooked polenta and risotto. The expression of the grains creaminess is only released through slow and patient cooking and constant stirring.

At the end of about 35 minutes of cooking I added a little more stock, some 1/2 & 1/2, a pat of butter, and a dusting of parmesan.

To get the timing right on both of these dishes, you will need to start your shrimp dish about 15 minutes after starting the polenta. Drizzle a skillet with olive oil and add 1 diced onion.

Let these go just until they start to pick up some color.

Now add in your orange chiles, sliced garlic, and shallots.

After about 3-4 minutes it is time to add your half moons of spicy Italian sausage.

The Italian sausage I used did not add enough fat to make a proper roux. So I went a little crazy and decided on adding a large spoonful of duck fat. Olive oil will work too.

Now add in about the same amount of flour as you added in fat. Stir to combine.

This will start to stick so quickly add about 2 cups of chicken stock and stir thoroughly. Make sure to scrape the bottom so as to loosen anything that has stuck.

This will quickly thicken and turn into an amazing gravy. Taste and season. I added more sea salt and fresh cracked four pepper blend.

Now add in your shrimp and about a 1/4 cup of chopped flat leaf Italian parsley.

Cook only long enough to turn the shrimp pink. When they barely start to curl up they are done. Do not overcook.

Plating is simple. I use a bowl because it just makes sense. Large mound of polenta in the middle and top with lots of shrimp and gravy.

This is true comfort food at its finest. Give it a try and I promise that you will not be disappointed.

Rockfish in Umido and Cavolo Nero

2008-09-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

This is a blog that is completely inspired by my fellow food bloggers. First was the fish in Umido that my friend Lesley blogged about. Halibut in Umido. Next was the Cavolo Nero blogged on by my friend Kitty. Both of these women are excellent cooks and you should check out their pages.

Don't let the Italian names scare you off. These are two fairly simple recipes that are not only healthy but oh so flavorful.

Don't you just love fresh fish?

The Cavolo Nero takes the longest so lets get that cooking. This isn't actually the Tuscan variety but everyday Kale is close enough. Greens like this really do it for me. They just seem so healthy.

Now is a good time to start rendering some bacon over low heat.

While those are cooking, Wash your greens.

Oops, I almost forgot that you are supposed to pull the green off of the tough stems.

Finish washing and then blanch for about 4-5 minutes.

Pull these out and put them into the skillet after the bacon is finished. I then slice the bacon into lardons and sprinkle over the top. Sautee over medium heat using tongs to turn frequently.

The liquid will cook out eventually. When this happens just add a little chicken stock to keep moist.

I decided to go with some Quinoa as my "starch". Just rinse thoroughly and allow to drain in mesh strainer.

After about 35-40 minutes of working on your greens, add in some finely chopped garlic and shallots. Let all the liquid cook out and carefully allow some of the greens to crisp. Season with fresh cracked pepper. No salt because the stock has lots and should be plenty after cooking out.

Here is the finished quinoa. It is simply cooked with 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. Seasoned at the end with salt, pepper, a little butter, and some fresh parsely.

Now for the fish. Black Rockfish are definitely in my top 5 of favorite fish to eat. They are a whitefish with scales that are a great empty canvas for the flavors you want to add. Mine were caught by my cousin Greg on a trip he took out of Seward Alaska.

These filets were trimmed up and cut into 2 pieces. Season with salt and pepper and then dredge in flour.

Here is my mis en place for the Umido. This includes halved grape tomatoes, fresh dill, thyme, red onion, Italian parsely, and some dry white wine. I used a Fume Blanc.

Drizzle your pan with some olive oil and toss in your onions. After a few minutes, toss in your sliced tomatoes and some capers.

Then after another few minutes, toss in your parsely, dill, thyme, and garlic.

Stir to combine the flavors.

After most of the moisture has cooked out of the tomatoes and onions, deglaze the pan with your white wine.

Cook out most of the wine. Then add in some chicken stock. The recipe now calls for tomato passata. Well I didn't have the time to make my own so I thought subbing stewed tomatoes would be a good idea. It wasn't the best idea. I needed to take a potato masher to the large chunks of tomato to help break them down. Let the sauce simmer to reduce.

Gently place your floured filets into the sauce and spoon some over the top. Put into a pre-heated 375 degree oven.

These took about 17 minutes to fully cook. Never commit the sin of overcooking fish. Don't be afraid to pull out your pan and check with a fork for doneness.

Here you go. A very health delicious meal from super fresh ingredients that you won't be able to find at any restaurant.

I was impressed with the mix of flavors on this. I have rarely cooked with capers in the past but that will change. They add something very new to a normal tomato sauce. The slow cooked greens had picked up a smokiness from the bacon and from the browning. A real treat for anyone.

I served with an Italian White.

If you like the food be sure to say so. If you don't, then say that as well.

Not Your Everyday Bacon and Eggs

2008-08-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

I should have been working more today than I did. The thing is, I was struck with inspiration and it wasn't work related. Over the last couple of days, I have seen an amazing style of ravioli and an even more inspiring photo of roasted pork belly. The ravioli was on Michael Ruhlman's blog at http://blog.ruhlman.com/ .

Two seemingly unrelated coincedences. In my twisted mind I immediately put the two together. Just like those Reese's commercials from back in the day. "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate".

Well this isn't peanut butter and chocolate. This is something far more serious. I will start with the "Bacon". While not really bacon, it is the very same cut of pork. Mr. Prime Beef once again came through for this cook. They had 1-1.75 lb pieces of pork belly in the freezer. I took a 1.5 lb piece and brought it home to thaw.

So to start on this puppy, I got going on the spices. This is coriander, anise seed, 4 peppercorn blend, and course sea salt.

These were coursely ground in the coffee grinder. I generously applied them to both sides of the pork belly. On the skin side I scored the skin so as to help in rendering. Next time I will use a carpet knife with a short setting so as to not score so deep.

This goes on the grill. I started with the skin side down over high heat to start the crisping.

I also decided on a little bit of smoke flavor. These were cherry wood chips. After just a few minutes, I flipped over and took off of the direct heat. I put the pork belly on indirect heat to slowly roast on the grill.

We are off to a great start. Now just leave this on indirect heat and forget about it for at least 2 hours.

I took a break and opened some wine. Because this meal was going to be so rich, I went with my new favorite white.

This wine just seems to fit this 2 day long "Dog Days of Summer" that we are having in Anchorage. I think it reached 68 F today. It was the best day all summer. (Is that sad?)

Now on to the egg portion of this meal. Just make a small batch of pasta. I used one cup of AP flour and one whole egg and one egg yolk.

If you haven't made fresh pasta already, just go look at Mario Batali's recipes on FoodTV.com. I mixed this up. Then kneeded for only about 2 minutes. I have recently read about no kneed bread and no kneed pasta. So to try out the philosophy, I only kneeded for a couple of minutes. Then allowed the dough to rest wrapped saran wrap at room temp. Roll it out in a pasta roller all the way to it's highest setting. Mine ended up like this.

These sheets were allowed to set while I worked on the filling. Sautee some fresh baby spinach in olive oil. When it is finished, chop it up fine. Add the spinach to a mix of whole milk ricotta, one egg, grated parmesan, chopped fresh tarragon, oregano, and thyme. This was seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix thoroughly.

To this mix I added just a bit of finely chopped Ruby Red Grapefruit zest.

Now lay out your sheets. Add a teaspoon full of your filling mix and make a well in the center. Just like when you are making pasta.

Now carefully place an egg yolk into the well. Have extra eggs. I bought a whole dozen just for this process. I ended up breaking a few just while separating the yolks. This never happens any other time. Go figure. They should look like this.

Top the ones you have done correctly with just a tiny bit of the ricotta mix. This will help protect the yolk while in the boiling water.

Brush the pasta with an eggwash. Damn this recipe uses a whole lot of eggs. Now top with another sheet of pasta and squeeze out all of the air. I used a pint beer glass to seal up the two sheets. It took a little work to gather up the filling into a tight enough package to seal with the glass.

Trim off any excess pasta and set aside. When your pork belly is done, pull off the grill and allow to rest.

Gently place your egg yolk ravioli into generously salted, gently boiling water.

This will take only 2 minutes to cook. While it was in, I melted some butter in a hot pan. When it just barely started to turn brown, I sqeezed in some Ruby Red grapefruit juice.

Shake this around in the pan just until it emulsifies. It won't take much effort. Just a little motion. Pull out the ravioli, slice the rested pork belly, top with some finely grated parmesan, chopped tarragon, and finally with the grapefruit brown butter sauce.

I think that I am on to something here. Let's just see how the egg yolk filling turned out.

Oh my God! Perfecto.

The flavor of these two dishes are amazing all by themselves. Together, with this super easy sauce, they make something almost beyond description.

I will try. The yolk once cracked, floods the dish. It gives a richness like yolks always do. The skin of the pork belly is oh so crunchy and crispy. It tastes like pork rinds but oh so much more intense. The meat/fat layers of the pork belly are just ever so tender. They almost melt like a confit of duck but just a little firmer. Finally the simple and quite sparing addition of the grapefruit to the butter gives a refreshiningly sweet/tart bite to this very rich meal.
Definitely not your everyday bacon and eggs.

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