foodie nyc

Fried Egg, Smoked Paprika Mushrooms, Cashews, Cilantro Juice

Of course, I've had the classic runny egg over asparagus dozens of times, with nothing but appreciative bouts of sighs and moans.    But after a recent dinner at Blue Hill, I realized that I've only really experienced the  joys of the runny egg on either asparagus, or as a garnish for a starch.    Blue Hill served a  runny, poached farm fresh egg in what I vaguely remember as a watercress broth.   Vibrantly green, the fresh, herbal qualities of the cress inspired me to consider what other bursts of garden freshness could match well with a runny egg.

Certainly, I needed texture as well.   Something to absorb all of the rich, eggy runniness.   I had a ton of cremini mushrooms on hand.    As they were really the main partner for my runny egg, I kept the 'shrooms whole to add a substantive quality to the dish.    I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil, smoked paprika, cayenne and a touch of garlic near their conclusion in the pan.   I roasted some whole cashews in an effort to add a crunchy texture to the dish.

The Blue Hill inspiration came in at the end, when I juiced a bunch of cilantro as my herbal, garden fresh component to the dish.    I ran the cilantro under very hot tap water for only a minute or two.    Blanching the herbs in a traditional manner leaches out some of the raw,  garden fresh flavors I was after.      I thought about making a vinaigrette with the cilantro juice, but wanted to keep the flavors really pure.     After placing the fried egg on the mushroom and cashews, I simply spooned some of the cilantro juice around the plate, with a squeeze of lemon juice around the cilantro.     The cilantro juice was not overpowering whatsoever, to my surprise. After the runny egg was broken, the yoke, cilantro and mushrooms became a single medley of flavors.    The earthiness of the mushroom and the smoky depth of flavor from the paprika were enhanced by the egg yoke, then accented by the fresh, garden flavor of the cilantro juice.    

Fried Mint Crusted Lamb, Celery Root Cake

I have professed my love for Michel Richard's Happy in the Kitchen  on this site several times.    One particular dish that I found visually arresting in the book was the contrast of rosy,  pink lamb loin crusted with bright green, fried basil.   I decided to give this technique a go, but went with the natural combination of mint and lamb instead of basil. 

The first attempt at crusting the lamb with fried mint was a bit tricky.   As you can see in the pictures, it was difficult to get the crust to adhere to the lamb.   The general process is to fry the mint, puree it with a bit of bread crumbs, then egg wash the lamb and apply the crust.    I chose to sear the lamb, then egg wash, crust it, and finish the cooking in the oven.   Searing it first may have made the crust application more difficult.   But I was apprehensive about crusting the raw lamb and losing the vibrant green mint color while it roasted for a long time in the oven.   Hmmm.

I've yet to perfect the presentation, but it has tons of potential.    The crust adds a crispy texture, and most importantly, explodes with a concentrated, fresh burst of mint with each bite of lamb.

The other experiment here was the celery root cake.    After reading Richard's book, you'll quickly learn about forming an ingredient in plastic wrap, sometimes freezing it to ensure it holds its form. 

Pureed celery root is smooth and silky.    After boiling it, I set out to puree it with a thickener of a blond rioux - butter and flour just cooked together until thick.  I let the mixture cool, formed it into little cakes, then lightly dredged the cakes in flour.   (In retrospect, I would have made the cakes thicker and more compact).    I wrapped them in cellophane and froze them for a few hours to form.    A day would have been best, but I didn't have the time.     I took the cakes out of the freezer and immediately dropped them in oil for a quick fry - just to form them and get them a bit golden.    The inside was warm and soft, the exterior was crunchy and had a nice texture.     The creamy celery root was the sole flavor, which was a nice foil for the lamb yet mellow enough to compliment the intensity of the mint crust. 

I probably could have used a sauce here - maybe something bright and vibrant like a mint oil, or even a simple jus.   The fried shallots were a nice bonus garnish. 

I certainly have not aced this dish or the techniques involved as of yet, but wanted to share it with you regardless.   A work in progress is rarely worth filing away, in my opinion.

Related:    Mint Crusted Tuna  

The Many Lives of Focaccia

I have always been a fan of focaccia.    I think my first memories of eating it were with my Uncle Beef, who also taught me and many others how to make it from scratch.

Out of nowhere,  I've had a few different encounters with  focaccia that really opened my mind to the variations in which it's served.   

Wood Oven Roasted Focaccia

You may recall that I spent a week cooking with a chef in his restaurant outside of Florence.    I had a few completely revolutionary focaccia experiences with him that started this focaccia awakening.    On the first night I arrived to work with Chef Claudio,  I helped him prepare for an outdoor party at his bed and breakfast.    I watched him make the dough for the focaccia, pretty much in the typical way I was used to making it (more on that below).    However, he had an outdoor wood oven.   After watching him make a few, I took over and made the focaccia in the wood oven for the rest of the afternoon.     Rolled the dough.   Dimpled it with my thumbs.   Salt, olive oil, then added it to the piping hot wood oven.   Obviously, the wood flavor made this a focaccia experience that I could never forget.    At the same time, there wasn't that soft, spongy interior that I was used to tasting.   Not bad, just different.

Fried Focaccia

The next day in his restaurant kitchen, Chef Claudio made the same focaccia dough, but this time fried it in olive oil in free form pieces.   He served them warm with salt and sometimes rosemary as bread to start the meal.   Fried Focaccia.    Brilliant.

Three Toppings

Around the holidays last year, Uncle Beef made focaccia for us at home, but somehow I was able to weasel my way into making the toppings.   After laying out the focaccia dough onto a sheet pan and dimpling with thumbs, I then applied three different toppings.    The first was a truffle salt (which you may recall I broke up with a few months ago) and rosemary, but my favorite was whole red grapes gently cooked in balsamic.   A bit sweet, a bit tart and a sprinkle of pine nuts for texture.  The third topping was a mojo - a few varieties of herbs ground with olive oil and garlic in a mortar and pestle.

Crispy, Chewy Pizza

My local pizza place, Muzzarella, has a very crispy, thin focaccia crust that is my go to late night neighborhood slice these days.      The copious amounts of olive oil and the super hot oven make the focaccia pizza crust crunchy and chewy at the same time.  Right on.   

Light and Airy

And finally, on the airy section of the focaccia spectrum, I recently bought a slice of Whole Foods focaccia I saw in their bakery.    No joke, the airy interior was something like two inches thick.    Sliced down the middle and layered with salami, goat cheese and truffle oil, it was an airy, soft sandwich that once again made me rethink the focaccia I had in Italy.   

I'm sure someone will write me a passionate email telling me that there's one right way to make focaccia.  But somehow, I'm concluding the best way is every way.

The base recipe for focaccia is below.

The Weekend Tasting Series Menu: October 2007

Sorry for the outage here lately.   I've been recuperating from The Weekend Tasting Series while also taking a bit of a hit at work.   Overall, I thought the experience was a complete success.   Some of you may know that I'm my harshest critic, yet I feel satisfied that the experience lived up to my initial vision.   I thought I'd share the menu(s) and discuss a few cooking highlights for me.   

Coming Full Circle

As I mentioned a while ago, I think the most exciting part about this blog for me is chronicling my cooking adventures for you on an ongoing basis, then seeing my menus come from the ideas on this site.  For instance, you've read about savory waffles here before.   And the idea behind Fig Rockefeller.  And my favorite pork recipe.   Or my thinking behind Vanilla Bean Ginger Bouillabaisse.   

In many ways, it's a full circle interaction with those of you who actually come out and taste the finished result.   I am a big fan of many blogs out there, food and otherwise, but what I often miss is the ability to be able to connect the website to a real, human experience.   I'm excited that I'm posting food ideas and dishes on this site, but also giving readers a chance to actually enjoy them in person.   Integrating the blog with my events wasn't always a goal, but I hope it continues.    It seems to be mutually fulfilling for me and the guests who I spoke with at the events.

The Beauty of Smoked Duck

I'm going to save the smoked duck breast I featured in the third course for another post, but overall, it's certainly going to be part of my future arsenal.    Go out and give it a try.   Hudson Valley has a great smoked duck.   You can even order some  at Fresh Direct.   One evening during the events, I served it warm as an accompaniment to soft cheese pierogies in a sage sauce.    On the other nights, I served the smoked duck as an accent to slices of seared duck breast.    Smoked duck and I are now beyond dating.   We've kind of in lust right now.   We're approaching love, so when it hits that level, I'll do a post.

Williamsburg Felt Like Home

I haven't spent much time shopping or cooking in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, for those of you reading from elsewhere.)  I really didn't go to a big market for much of the ingredients I needed to fill in the gaps on a daily basis during the weekend.   I went to a local, small butcher shop, a fish shop, a produce store, all within a few blocks from each other.   I felt like I was thrown back in time to the quaint, hometown I have in my head, but  seemed to have missed by only a few years before the invention of one stop shopping.   Quite refreshing.

Flavoring Bechamel

You know the traditional bechamel sauce.   I love spiking it with a single, pronounced flavor.    In this case, smoky, spicy chipotle as a drizzle with fresh, warm figs.

Bottlerocket Rocks

I picked up all of my wine for the events at Bottlerocket.   These guys are the real deal.   They have a passion for pairing wines with food and flavors, and I really enjoyed working with them to pair the wine with the menu.   Of the wines we served, I think the consensus favorite was the Clos du Prieur, Syrah, 2003.   Big, delicious but not a crazy fruit bomb.    A great, untraditional pairing for curry and pork.

Hope you can make it to the next set of events.   The mailing list is the best way to find out about them the moment they are announced.

(PS.  For those of you who attended the events, the above is the menu from 10/14.   After the jump are the menus from 10/12 and 10/13.)