slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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Cool stuff.
I've found those small food processors to be the best thing for making mayonnaise or any other emulsified cold sauce -- much better than a blender. For a food processor, I have one of the KitchenAids with a mini-bowl inside so I could have a large bowl and a small bowl processor all in one. I probably use the small one more frequently.
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It should be pointed out that there is a big difference between eating a food that contains enzyme-producing bacteria and just eating a food that contains the target enzyme. The enzyme-producing bacteria may (depending on the bacteria) survive the environment of the stomach, take up residence in the intestines and continue to produce the target enzyme or provide other benefits (such as breaking down molecules we cannot digest into molecules we can digest).
That said, presumably some non-produced enzymes do appear to have some activity in the digestive system. Two good examples are lactase pills and Beano. Whether there are enzymes that provide any substantial benefits when consumed in the form of natural raw foods strikes me as unclear at best.
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Very nice. Thanks for checking with Sitram!
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I often make involtini, but never with the skin. I use the thighs. I stuff, roll, toothpick, brown, and then finally braise. Your technique seems to be essentially the reverse, but with the skin on, and with the filling held together by the tight wrapping. Did you get any significant overlap of the skin when you rolled the legs, or did shrinkage take care of that? I would be concerned that some flabby skin would be tucked under the outer part of the skin which gets crispy.
I think this is easier to do with the whole leg than just the thigh. You have more to work with that way.
My usual method of making them, and I usually make enough to fill a small Pyrex baking dish) is to roll them up with the skin on in foil as described above, pack them into a baking dish and bake them in the oven some unspeficied length of time until done (it's hard to overcook leg meat in this context). Then I cut a hole in the foil, drain the liquid into a small saucepan (this becomes the sauce), unroll and place the chicken onto a baking dish and broil them until browned on the outside. I've never had any problems with flabby skin, because the skin seems to shrink a bit anyway during the first stage and render out most of its fat.
I've actually never made it your way. For some reason, I tend to stay away from using toothpicks to hold things together.
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Sam, what were the spices you used with your veggies and chicken? Just S/P? Also the veggies look wet, was there some chx stock there or were they just moist from the cooking?
No spices. Just salt and white pepper. I am, in general, not a fan of heavily spiced chicken skin. I like the salty chicken flavor to come out uninhibited.
The vegetables were blanched to not-quite-tender in salted water and then shocked in an ice bath. Then they were reheated just prior to service in a very intense reduction of chicken broth. Once warm, I placed the vegetables on the plate, plated the chicken and mushrooms, then mounted the chicken glace with butter to thicken it and give it some gloss, gave it a touch of fresh lemon juice for acidity, threw in some minced parsley and drizzled the sauce over the vegetables.
Sam, were the legs wrapped in foil so tightly that no water got in from the bath? How much drying off and patting did you have to do before browning the legs afterward?Exactly. I wrapped them rightly in several turns of heavy duty foil, then twisted the ends to pack everything tightly together. Completely watertight -- in fact, a fair amount of liquid came out when they were opened (this went into the sauce).
Prior to browning these pieces, they rested for a while and then I patted them dry. Ordinarily, I brown the skin under the broiler when I do chicken legs like this. But it seemed like a waste to do with just two pieces.
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Just for the dessert record, I did make bread pudding for Sunday's dinner party.
Okay, here is the rest of tonight:
Here are the legs. I've deboned them, so they are now rectangles of skin-on dark meat. The turnip greens and diced mushrooms went inside, then they were wrapped in heavy foil and put in a water bath in the oven.
Here I am cooking the breast meat (skin side down about 70% of the time) and also browning the skin on the cooked leg meat rolls.
Meanwhile, I needed a drink. The true classic Martini: 2 parts gin, 1 part white vermouth, a dash of orange bitters and a lemon twist.
Here is one view of the finished dish.
Here's another.
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I love that you're so proud of your meal tonight, that you didn't have any mishaps...all during a food blog.
Yes, congratulations Marlene. That looks great. It's always intimidatingly touch-and-go when you're using a technique you haven't used much before. And spit roasting is not as easy as it looks.
Okay, Sam...whatcha gonna do about dessert? Think fast, buddy.
I know some people will revile me for this, but... I... I... don't usually eat dessert.
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Okay, chicken with Spring vegetables.
Rather than roasting a whole chicken, I am going to cook it in sections off the bone. The legs will be deboned, stuffed and gently poached; and the breasts will be fried for a crispy skin. This will go with a melange of Spring vegetables glazed with butter and chicken stock.
Here are the vegetables. I'll blanch/shock the turnips, onions and radishes prior to the glazing step. I'll also blanch and peel the fava beans. The morels I'll cook separately, and the asparagus is tender enough that it doesn't have to be blanched. I want everything with just a hint of crunch left.
Here's the chicken. It's free roaming/organic. I'll stuff the legs with (blanched) turnip greens and diced mushrooms.
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Tuesday's breakfast.
Yadda yadda yadda.
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Sam, please clarify this: First, you referred to the potato dish as "German potatoes." Later, you said "German banana potatoes." Finally, when you showed the final photo, you said "Russian banana potatoes." So, what is it? Does the name change with each cocktail you drink?
Sorry. Probably the booze talking. The variety of potato is "Russian banana." The dish itself is inspired by Peter Luger's "German potatoes," which as far as I can tell is diced roasted potatoes.
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We could do Thai food for the mystery meal, but only if I get to borrow JosephB.
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I looooove Charbay vodka. I haven't actually seen it in NYC, only when I am out in SF. Is it actually available here in NYC?
I am by and large not a fan of vodka, but it is useful for the occasional drink and Charbay does make a good product. That is their blood orange vodka that I bought because I wanted to try making a kumquat-based drink from Town called Convent in Chile.
The best place to get Charbay is Astor Wines down by Astor Place. That is actually probably the best area to get liquor in Manhattan, because right around the corner from Astor Wines is Warehouse Wines & Spirits. These two places combined likely represent the best selection of liquor in Manhattan.
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Nothing fancy tonight. And light. We definitely wanted something light.
First, though, a drink. . .
This is the Pear Martini from Blue Ribbon. 2 ounces Belle de Brillet, 1 ounce citrus vodka, 1 ounce fresh line juice.
In the glass and garnished.
For dinner tonight, we made "hot soup featuring garlic" as the main event. In this case, it was what I call "faux pho" -- bean sprouts, slivered garlic, boiled short ribs, cilantro, scallion, garlic chive and pieces of paper thin lime with hot beef broth poured over.
Just what the doctor ordered after a night of overindulgence.
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I'll be browning and finishing in the oven, too ... Sam, will you expand on your method for the steak a little, like oven temp and roasting time? Any buttering after it came out?
I saved all the rendered fat and poured it back over the steaks on the platter. It's important, in this style, to cut the steak right on the platter on which you will be serving it (after resting the steak in the same platter). That way all the juices from the steak are in the platter and can be spooned back over the steak. For this reason, I didn't feel like it needed any additional butter. For a grilled steak, though, I like a pat of anchovy butter or herb butter melted over the steak in the platter.
For the roasting stage, I stood the steaks up on their end bones (something you can't really do unless it's a very thick steak), put a thermometer probe down into the strip and roasted them to 125 degrees in a 350 degree oven.
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Marlene, here's the truly amazing thing: Thanks to bergerka (still asleep), the kitchen this morning looks exactly the way it did before I started cooking yesterday. Maybe even better.
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This morning's breakfast:
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Wow, slkinsey, where do you get your cool cocktail stuff like Fee Bros. products, falernum, and the white Rhum Barbancourt?
Most of it I buy at regular NYC liquor stores. The falernum and bonded Laird's I think I ended up finding at Spec's in Houston, TX the last time I was down there.
If you can't find the Fee Brother's stuff (and it's fairly well available via online order), just contact them. They're good people: http://www.feebrothers.com/
And for bitters, don't forget Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6.
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I'm barely conscious, but let's see if I can sum up. I just didn't have it in me to do this at 1 AM. . .
First, a little bit more of the prep and cooking:
Here we have some spinach and shallots before and after processing in preparation for being turned into creamed spinach. Always fun to see how much the spinach reduces in bulk.
This is the caramel for the bread pudding at two different stages.
Here's the bread pudding just before the custard went on to it. It's brioche cubes, caramel and Ghirardelli double chocolate chips. The custard was made from egg yolks, milk and cream.
Here's some of the food cooking on the stove. Browning the porterhouse before standing it up on the end bones and moving it to the oven; German banana potatoes cooking with olive oil, pieces of whole garlic and, later, some rich chicken stock; mushrooms roasting in the oven with butter, thyme and, later, some bread crumbs and parmigiano-reggiano.
Then it was time for a drink. 2 ounces of Laird's bonded applejack, 1/4 ounce of 2:1 demerara simple syrup, 2 bid dashes of Fee Brothers aromatic bitters. After we had that, a few of us were still thirsty, so I made a 2:1:1 Sidecar with Domaine Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice.
Here are the two cocktails in the glass. The old fashioned applejack cocktail is on the left, the Sidecar on the right. Fat Guy brought over a dry kielbasa that we nibbled on with our drinks, along with some radishes ewindels brought. I've never had a dried kielbasa before. It was pretty good.
Dinner proper started with a salad. Long julienne strips of cucumber, paper thin slices of red onion, chopped white anchovies, lemon juice and good Sicilian unfiltered evoo.
Then it was time for the main event.
Creamed spinach with crispy shallots (wilted/pressed spinach, cream, parmigiano-reggiano, crispy fried shallots).
Russian banana potatoes. These cooked such a long time that the chicken stock I had added to the pan glazed on to the outside of the potatoes and caramelized/maillardized to much that the potatoes were like candy.
The roasted mushrooms.
The steaks. These turned out incredibly delicious. Really first rate. Just as tender as could be. And, at this thickness, cooked almost more like a roast. Each slice tended to be the same degree of doneness throughout, but there was a range of doneness available to satisfy most tastes. I preferred the rarer pieces, but even the tail pieces (which were cooked to a full medium at least) were juicy and delicious.
By the time I got some food on my plate, I had lost the discipline to take pictures. Maybe later I'll take a few shots of the (shockingly small amount of) leftover steak to give an idea of how it looked in slice form.
Since we found ourselves wanting something to drink, I was able to reach into my cellar and pull out a little something.
This picture is after Fat Guy and I decanted it. As you can see from my avatar, I've been drinking the good French reds for quite a few years.
Here is the finished bread pudding. ewindels also brought a strawberry tart. Both were most delicious.
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So far this is what I have on the menu for this evening:
Cocktail: An as-yet unnamed variation on the Tombstone -- 2 ounces of Laird's bonded (100 proof) applejack, 1 teaspoon 2:1 demerara simple syrup, 2 big dashes of Fee Brothers aromatic bitters, stir with cracked ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with fat lemon twist. Fat Guy may bring something to munch on.
Then a salad: Cucumber, red onion, mint, and a touch of white anchovy.
Then the steak: um. . . this will be steak
And the sides: I'm going old-school -- creamed spinach, German potatoes and roasted mushrooms.
Dessert: chocolate caramel bread pudding.
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Fairway on a Sunday? Godspeed.
I seem to have very powerful Fairway-fu. Probably due to the fact that I've got no trouble elbowing back.
I can't wait to see the steaks done. A question about the steaks though. Why salt them 24 hours before cooking. I thought that this was a no-no, as it will draw out the juices.A little salt on the outside won't draw enough liquid out of a 3 inch thick steak to dry it out, but it will get a nice bit of flavor into the meat. Also, what liquid it does draw to the surface is then available for Maillardization. As far as I know, salting steaks the day before is a French technique.
(Side dishes of sauteed onions and mushrooms with a dash of sherry for mine please.)Mushrooms! That's what I was almost forgetting!
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Ok, I can do that. I'll need both ovens right up until we sit down for dinner so it can be cooking while we're eating.
Exactly. I find that guests appreciate a break between a heavy dinner and dessert, so I often don't put the bread pudding in the oven until we've stopped eating dinner.
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I've never made bread pudding before, so I assume I can make it ahead and then re warm it for serving?
Actually, I find that the easiest thing to do is cube up the bread and put it in the cooking dish (along with raisins, nuts, caramel, chocolate chips or whatever else you're adding -- if anything), make the custard right before dinner guests arrive (this is just whisking egg yolks with hot cream heated in the microwave and some sugar) and pour it over the bread, then let it soak in while you're eating dinner. Half an hour before you want to have dessert, toss it in the oven. Very simple.
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Nothing like starting off Sunday morning with a few cappuccini.
On Sunday mornings at the slkinsey household, we tend to have either waffles or bagels. Since we have an additional day off, why not both? This morning was bagels.
These are from Absolute Bagel on Broadway between 107th and 108th. We always get their "mini-bagels." Their hand-rolled mini-bagels are, many people agree, the closest thing going these days to the "NYC bagels of the old days." They're just big enough to fit in the palm of your hand, with a nicely chewy crust and just the right amount of the traditional toppings. Not sweet like H&H. Of course, an "authentic traditional NYC bagel" like this could only be made by a family from Thailand!
Here's one with a schmear of lox cream cheese. This is the last thing I'll eat before dinner.
On the agenda for today: get a haircut, try to spend at least 60 minutes on the stairmaster to pre-burn off a few pieces of steak, go to Fairway for additional ingredients for tonight's dinner, prep for dinner, eat myself into a coma.
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When possible, I like to get my ricotta from Alleva down in Little Italy. I think they make the best ricotta in the City (although their mozzarella can't hold a candle to the product out on Arthur Avenue). When I don't have time for to go down there, Fairway sells an excellent ricotta from behind the cheese counter -- fresh, dense and creamy.
eG Foodblog Tag Team: slkinsey and Marlene - A tale of two kitchens..
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
It's a secret. Let's see who can figure it out. Here are my ingredients:
Leftover short rib meat, leftover bean sprouts, leftover mushrooms, leftover asparagus, shredded carrots I had around, scallions, red bell pepper, rice, various spicy pickled vegetables, red pepper paste, eggs and two large thick bowls made of stone.
Begins with a "B" . . .
Ends with a "P" . . .