eG Foodblog: David Ross - Black Pearls of Gold

[little ms foodie]

beautiful pictures David! Have you ever done a traditional clafouti (no crust and in the cast iron pan?) if not I urge you to as they are wonderful! also have you tried not pitting the cherries?? there is a distinctly different taste- you get a real almond flavor in the background when the pits are left in and surprisingly having the pits in makes you really enjoy each bite of the clafouti!

when you get a chance there is a wonderful thread in the cooking section on clafouti and the great Paula Wolfert even chimes in with some info!!!

I love the look of those pork chops! great idea!!

Can you comment a bit on the restaurant scene in Spokane? In my day the Campbell House and Ankony's were the go to places but I'm sure newer more up to date places exsist??

[David Ross]

beautiful pictures David! Have you ever done a traditional clafouti (no crust and in the cast iron pan?) if not I urge you to as they are wonderful! also have you tried not pitting the cherries?? there is a distinctly different taste- you get a real almond flavor in the background when the pits are left in and surprisingly having the pits in makes you really enjoy each bite of the clafouti!

when you get a chance there is a wonderful thread in the cooking section on clafouti and the great Paula Wolfert even chimes in with some info!!!

I love the look of those pork chops! great idea!!

Can you comment a bit on the restaurant scene in Spokane? In my day the Campbell House and Ankony's were the go to places but I'm sure newer more up to date places exsist??

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I've tried Clafouti every which way, including the ways you described-without the crust and with the cherries left unpitted. I tend to agree with you that unpitted cherries actually have more flavor. We just have to convince the uninitiated people in our families that there is more to a cherry than a pitted cherry.

Campbell House is only open now for private affairs like weddings. Ankeny's, which used to be at the top of the Ridpath Hotel, is closed. It unfortunately closed when the Ridpath was sold. They are remodeling it and it should open soon under the new hotel ownership.

Luna on the South Hill is one of the better restaurants in Spokane and they are what you and I call 'Northwest Cuisine.' They have probably been open 15 years.

The Davenport Hotel was just named as one of the top hotels in America, and they the main hotel dining room is good. The original chef from the Davenport, Ian Wingate, left the hotel a couple of years after it reopened and has two good places downtown-Moxie which is American cuisine and an Asian style restaurant.

The South Hill has a couple of newer restaurants, one being Vin Rouge which is a bistro style wine bar. I haven't been there, but it is getting good reviews. We are getting better in terms of the numbers of good restaurants, but for a metro area closing in on 500,000 people we still have a long way to go for a city of our size to have a decent restaurant trade.

[David Ross]

I'm a bit behind on posting the 'dinner' photos.

Sunday I had those big fat pork chops out of the Southern cast iron skillet.

Monday night I did some chicken breasts with a green 'chimmichurri' sauce and more of Sunday night's potato salad.

The original idea was going to be making a spice paste of North African flavors, but I didn't plan well and didn't have everything on hand that I needed. So I improvised and made more of a Mediterreanean/North African (whatever) style spice paste for marinating the chicken. I used dried red pepper, fennel seeds, ground coriander, Garam Masala, dried Mexican oregano, lemon, mustard and cumin seed mix. I guess I was all over the map with this one. I thinned it with some olive oil and then rubbed the mixture over chicken and let it marinade in the refrigerator overnight.

I sort of cheated on the 'Chimmichurri' sauce-it wasn't authentic like the Argentinian recipe because I added some Asian ingredients-Cilantro, Basil, Parsley, Rice Vinegar, Chile Oil, Toasted Peanut Oil and Toasted Sesame oil. I added some olive oil at the end, along with lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Here's the final dish, the spice marinated chicken breast that I roasted in a hot, hot, hot oven. The sauce drizzled on and around the chicken and some potato salad. It really is the perfect dish for a quick, weeknight dinner. Spicy too.

Ooh. Let's call it 'Spice-Rubbed North African Medittereanean Chicken with Asian Arentinian Chimmichurri Sauce on Deviled Potato Salad.' We can sell it at a 'Fusion' restaurant for $39.95!

Actually it tasted as good as it looks, even if the flavors were all over the map.

When you have a schedule like mine, you don't have time to cook much during the work week. But it's still important to eat good food, it just takes some planning on your days off. I try to keep things simple during the week, like grilled meats and vegetables.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here's what is on the menu at Chez Ross this week:

Sunday-Pork Chops with New Potato Salad and Mushroom Cream Sauce

Monday-Chicken Breast marinated in Spices and served with a ChimmiChurri Sauce and New Potato Salad.

Tuesday-Grilled Lamb Chops with Pasta

Tonight will be a Game Hen cooked on the rotisserie and served with salad greens.

Enjoy the photos.

[David Ross]

You may not realize that the South-central part of Washington is where we grow Asparagus. Here is a story I did on Asparagus that originally appeared about 6 years ago on the site I used to write for. I recently re-wrote the piece and I hope someday I can get it published with some photos:

Asparagus: The Spear of Spring!

by David Ross

It’s been about 25 years ago now. I don’t remember the exact date or the day of the week, but I do know it was in the Spring, probably late April or early May. What I do remember, and I came to realize many years later, is that day so many years in the past, now stands as a defining moment in my lifelong culinary journey. That day I saw with my own eyes how asparagus grows.

At the time I was going to college-er, partying at Delta Chi Fraternity-at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

I had traveled up to Seattle to meet my girlfriend Marnie and her Mother, Dale, for a drive across Washington State to the town of Walla Walla.

Marnie was on her way to Walla Walla to check out Whitman College and I was along for the ride.

I remember we were about halfway between Pasco and Walla Walla, when Marnie shouted-"Look, there it is, there it is!"

The only change to the flat, moonlike landscape that I saw were a few rolling hills and a housing development off in the distance.

“Look closer,” Marnie said, “you can see it coming up out of the ground.”

We slowed the car down and I could start to see what I thought Marnie was describing-it looked like one of the numerous Christmas tree farms that have become one of the prime agricultural crops in the Northwest.

But what I thought was going to turn out to be row after endless row of Noble Fir seedlings, turned out to be something quite different.

It wasn’t until we pulled off the highway and turned down a side road that I started to realize why Marnie was so excited.

It wasn’t spiny little fir boughs peeking out of the soil. No, it looked more like a green stick with little spikes on top. Close your eyes and think of hundreds of those Jolly Green Giant characters poking up and smiling at you-that’s almost what I thought I was seeing.

All I could see was a vast expanse of dark brown clods of dirt, rock and a few mounds of grass here and there.

But it wasn’t an illusion. No, something green was popping out of the field-it was-asparagus!

Here I was, standing along the fence line looking down upon what some in the culinary world would argue is the ultimate spring vegetable. When gently steamed until just done, a spear of asparagus is tender yet crisp. Asparagus is healthy too; it’s packed with vitamins, primarily potassium. There it was-virgin spears of asparagus waking up from the bed of nature.

Walla Walla, Washington, is named in honor of a local tribe of Native Americans.

Walla Walla is nestled in the prime agricultural expanse known as the Columbia River Basin-the areas surrounding the mighty Columbia River as it makes a wide turn out of Central Washington at the Tri-Cities towns of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick.

The river then bends down into the high desert plains bordering Oregon at Umatilla and Hermiston as it makes its journey west into the scenic Columbia River Gorge, ultimately pouring into the Pacific at Astoria, Oregon.

The Columbia gushes millions of gallons of pure glacial, mineral-rich water into the surrounding farmlands of the Basin. As a result, the Basin is considered some of the most prime agricultural land in America.

Walla Walla is best-known as the home of the “Walla Walla Sweet” onion-recently named by the 2007 Washington State Legislature as the “official” state vegetable of Washington.

But Walla Walla isn’t just known for sweet onions-it is noted for growing fresh peas, dried lentils, and a new and expanding wine industry.

While the Walla Walla Sweet has gotten most of the recent press coming out of the Statehouse, asparagus has quietly waited in the wings-knowing it deserves every bit of recognition as its onion cousin.

Higher-education is another important player in the local economy, and that was the reason for our car trip to Walla Walla all those years ago.

Walla Walla is the home of the private liberal arts school, Whitman College. Whitman is arguably an ivy-league caliber college way out West.

In 1836, Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa founded the Whitman mission near present day Walla Walla to serve the spiritual and educational needs of both the Native American’s of the area and new settlers from the East.

The Whitman’s were killed in a violent uprising in 1847. By 1859, Whitman College was established in their honor to carry on their mission of education.

While I was standing next to the field of asparagus that day, I realized that up to that point in my life I hadn’t thought much about how asparagus was grown.

In America we tend to grow crops and animals in terms of maximum density per inch of space, so I could not imagine that asparagus grew this way, one tiny stalk poking through the soil. I must have thought that it grew on some sort of bush or tree and one would just reach up and grab a bunch.

I wasn’t much of a cook at that point in my life, I certainly wasn’t writing about food and cooking, and I rarely ate asparagus. Only about ten stalks per square foot of ground-imagine how much broccoli or how many tomatoes grow in the amount of earth.

Aside from the question of how asparagus was grown, I never considered it one of my favorite foods. Mother usually served it only once a year on Easter Sunday-and it was awful. It smelled bad and was boiled until it was limp and could barely hold its shape. It was slimy and had soaked up so much water it had any nary a bit of any kind of flavor.

The final death knell for a kid-asparagus was a putrid green-the color of all vegetables that should never be eaten-Brussels sprouts, spinach, peas and beans.

As I got older, I ventured into cooking, first as a serious hobby, later in the form of writing about food and cooking and in recent years cooking on television.

At about the same time that I was getting seriously into writing and talking about food, “grilled asparagus” was fast becoming the preferred method of cooking.

Little black grill marks look trendy, but for me, just me, grilling asparagus isn’t the best technique to draw out the true flavor of this delicious spear of Spring.

I linked my adult dislike for grilled asparagus to a frigid display onboard a United Airlines flight in so-called ‘First Class’ on a flight from Portland to Chicago in the late 1980’s. Sitting on a too-small plate of ‘Grilled Swordfish,’-(wakeup call to airlines, don’t cook bad fish in a small galley in an enclosed airplane cabin)-was a mound of frigid, stringy, grilled asparagus. It was one of those sad food memories that become imbedded in your food psyche, clouding your judgment for years. It sounded good on the menu, it didn’t look good on the plate and it tasted worse than it looked.

For my taste, the only added benefit to grilling asparagus is that it is left with a hint of smokiness when it is grilled over charcoal or hardwood. Don’t even ask me to describe the taste of asparagus poorly grilled on a gas barbecue.

In the coming years I questioned what I thought was my well-informed palate. Wasn’t I supposed to like asparagus? Grilled asparagus is in all the popular food magazines, why don’t I like it? Isn’t anyone serious about food required to like asparagus?

It became a question that I wouldn’t answer until I finally came to the realization that it wasn’t the asparagus’s fault, it was me. I had never eaten fresh asparagus properly cooked. What a revelation, (that’s a joke friends). Buy a fresh delicious product in season, cook it simply and precisely, and then enjoy its beautiful, natural flavor.

There is much debate about the best size of asparagus and which size spears yield the best flavor. I tend to think it is a matter of personal taste. I can’t tell you what is best for you, I can only relate my personal experience and then let you experiment with different sizes of asparagus before deciding which size you prefer.

Walk into any Morton’s steakhouse tonight and the waiter will wheel before you a wagon heaving with all cuts of prime beef, double cut lamb and pork chops, shanks and flanks, along with gargantuan stalks of fresh asparagus.

It’s a proven marketing technique, show the diner the biggest of everything and they’ll think it’s the best-the thickest filet mignon, the double-double lamb chop, the spears of asparagus as wide as your fist.

Morton’s online menu currently lists asparagus prepared in two ways-“Steamed Fresh Jumbo Asparagus, Sauce Hollandaise” or “Grilled Jumbo Asparagus, Balsamic Glaze.” Note the word “Jumbo.” And from what I hear, it sells, so that tells me the patrons of Morton’s at least like their asparagus big, really big.

I happen to be on the other side of the debate about asparagus-bigger isn’t always better so to speak. I prefer “medium” size asparagus stalks-about as thick as your middle finger. I shy away from the giants, they tend to be tough and fibrous. I also overlook the ‘baby’ or ‘fine’ size asparagus in the market. Too thin and the asparagus breaks when I trim it and it just doesn’t pack enough flavor in that little pencil thin neck.

Once you’ve brought the asparagus home from the market it’s best to cook it within a couple of days. If you buy your asparagus fresh from a farmer’s market, it was probably picked that morning and will hold up fine for a few days. But if you buy it from the supermarket it may have been picked days ago, going from field to processing plant, through a couple of distribution centers and delivery trucks before it gets to the produce section. Cook it quick or it will start to decompose and get mushy.

Asparagus lives in the open air so I figure it doesn’t need to live in the refrigerator before I cook it. Some say wrap it in wet towels, others say store it in the refrigerator, standing the cluster of spears upright with the stem ends in cold water to keep them moist and green. I suppose that works, but I just put it in a nice wicker basket on the kitchen counter. It adds to the mood of Spring in the kitchen and it doesn’t spoil before I use it.

I use what I call the ‘wet’ method of cooking asparagus. In other words, I cook the asparagus in some sort of liquid-steamed or blanched in water or a flavored broth to draw out the most pure, natural flavors. In some recipes, I combine the asparagus with a second liquid; say cream in a soup or mousse.

As I learned that day so many years ago, asparagus is unique, and expensive, not only because it grows one spear at a time but because it is such a precious, tender little commodity of nature.

When cooked properly, asparagus is moist, tender yet crisp and absolutely delicious. The perfect spear of Spring.

Asparagus with Crisp Prosciutto and Honeydew Sorbet

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Prosciutto, tender asparagus and honeydew-a combination of salty, herbal-woodsy and sweet flavors. This is a simple appetizer that shows the first crop of Spring asparagus can be so much more than a limp, mushy side dish for Sunday’s ham. If you’ve never discovered the delicious and intensely green melon liqueur Midori-you must-it is simply the nectar of the honeydew.

Simple Syrup-

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 cup water

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mint leaves and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the syrup for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to thicken.

Remove the syrup from the heat and strain into a bowl, discarding the mint.

Pour the strained syrup into a bowl and cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Honeydew Sorbet-

2 cups chopped honeydew melon

1 cup simple syrup

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup Midori melon liqueur (substitute with Vodka)

Place the melon, simple syrup, mint leaves and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Puree the mixture until it is smooth, about 1 minute.

Stir in the Midori liqueur, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Pour the honeydew mixture into an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20 minutes, or until the sorbet starts to set. Spoon the sorbet mixture into a container with a tight fitting lid. Place the sorbet in the freezer until it is frozen through, about two hours.

Asparagus-

8 spears of asparagus, ends trimmed, skins peeled

4 slices prosciutto, cut in half

Fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

Mint leaves for garnish

Heat 1 quart of salted water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the asparagus spears and blanch until just tender, about 3 minutes.

Remove the asparagus from the water and drain in a colander. Let the asparagus cool to room temperature.

Remove the sorbet from the freezer and let it cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes or until it is thawed enough to be able to easily scoop into serving portions.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Brush the skillet with a little olive oil.

Add the prosciutto slices and sauté until just crisp, about 30 seconds. Turn the prosciutto over and sauté for another 30 seconds.

Remove the prosciutto from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

To serve, wrap each asparagus spear with a slice of prosciutto. (Note: to keep the prosciutto in place, secure it with a toothpick, just keep the toothpick on the underneath side of the asparagus so it doesn't show during service).

Place a scoop of the honeydew melon sorbet in a bowl. Add two spears of the prosciutto wrapped asparagus on either side of sorbet. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Dungeness Crab Salad on Asparagus Mousse

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Asparagus Mousse-

1 lb. fresh asparagus, stalks trimmed and stalk end cut off

2 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

1/3 cup fresh tarragon leaves

2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

½ cup hot water

1 cup heavy cream

Combine the chicken broth, water and tarragon in a heavy pot. Bring the broth up to a boil, then add the asparagus. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the asparagus until very tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the asparagus. Take the tarragon out of the liquid and reserve the cooking broth.

Place the asparagus in the bowl of a food processor. Add the lemon juice and process, adding some of the reserved cooking broth to that the asparagus takes on the consistency of a thick puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the gelatin and hot water together in a small bowl.

With the processor running, add the gelatin and hot water mixture, then add the cream. The asparagus mixture should be the consistency of a smooth puree. If needed, add additional cream to smooth out the asparagus mixture.

Pour the asparagus mixture into small non-stick molds and refrigerate. Let the asparagus mousse chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette-

4 whole, large, fresh tomatoes

Fresh thyme leaves

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Sherry wine vinegar

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oven to 300 .

Cut the tomatoes in half, then scoop out the seeds.

Place the tomato halves, cut side up, in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle each tomato with some fresh thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Drizzle each tomato half with extra virgin olive oil.

Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 4 hours.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Remove the tomatoes from the baking dish onto a work surface. Scoop the tomato flesh into the bowl of a food processor, discarding the skin from the tomatoes.

With the processor running, add the sherry wine vinegar and olive oil. Process the tomatoes until they are the consistency of a loose puree. Add additional olive oil if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dungeness Crab Salad-

8-10 oz. Fresh Dungeness crab

1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Make the Dungeness crab salad just before serving.

Add the crab, chives, and lemon juice to a bowl. Gently toss the crab, keeping the meat in big pieces. Drizzle just a bit of olive oil over the crab and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Gently toss the crab again.

To serve, remove the asparagus mousse molds from the refrigerator.

To unmold, run a small paring knife under hot water. Gently slide the knife around the each mold. Place a plate or wide serving bowl on top of each mold, and then invert the plate. The asparagus mousse should release from the mold onto the center of the serving plate.

Top the asparagus mousse with some of the Dungeness crab salad.

Spoon some of the Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette around the Asparagus Mousse.

Poached Salmon on Cream of Asparagus, Clover Sprout Salad

Serves 4

Most of us use only the top half of a stalk of asparagus, the part with the tender spears on the end. But you’re paying for every single ounce of asparagus you buy, and it’s expensive. Don't let those chewy stalks go to waste!

The stalk of the asparagus spear can be put to use as a base for sauces or I like to use older asparagus as the base for a lush and creamy soup. Poaching the salmon keeps the fish soft and tender, and this method of cooking prevents the salmon from overpowering the flavor of the asparagus.

Cream of Asparagus-

1 lb. asparagus, skin peeled, ends trimmed, cut in 1" pieces

¾ cup half and half

½ cup chicken stock

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

Dash cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dried dill weed

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Heat 4 cups of water to a boil in a heavy stockpot. Add the asparagus and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the asparagus and drain.

Place the asparagus in the bowl of a food processor. With the processor running, add the half and half and puree for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, lemon juice, tarragon, cayenne and dried drill weed and puree for another 1 minute.

Heat a heavy stockpot over medium-low heat. Transfer the asparagus mixture from the food processor to the stockpot and let the asparagus mixture cook and thicken. If the cream of asparagus becomes too thick, add additional chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Clover Sprout Salad-

1 cup clover sprouts

1 tbsp. tarragon wine vinegar

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Toss the clover sprouts in a bowl with the tarragon wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Salmon-

4 6 oz. salmon filets

4 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice

1 tbsp. black peppercorns

3 stems of fresh tarragon leaves

1 fresh lemon, cut in half

1 tbsp. sea salt

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Whole tarragon leaves for garnish

Pour the fish stock into a deep stockpot. Place the stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the peppercorns, tarragon leaves, lemon halves, and sea salt.

Gently place the salmon filets in the hot stock and cover the stockpot. Reduce the heat to medium and poach the salmon in the broth just until it becomes firm, about 10 minutes.

To serve, spoon a small circle of the cream of asparagus in the center of a wide serving bowl. Place one of the poached salmon filets on top of the cream of asparagus. Place a small bunch of the clover salad on top of the salmon filet and garnish with a fresh tarragon leaf.

[Pan]

David, please tell us more about clover sprouts. Are those for red or white clover? Can you buy them, or do you need to forage them? How do they taste?

[David Ross]

David, please tell us more about clover sprouts. Are those for red or white clover? Can you buy them, or do you need to forage them? How do they taste?

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They are the tiny little sprouts of clover and what we find in our markets are usually from the green or white clover. I always joke that we get the leftover sprouts after the farmers have planted their clover fields for the cattle. Actually the ones I buy are grown of course for consumers, human consumers, and they are sold in the produce section next to the alfalfa sprouts and radish sprouts. The brand I buy is packed in small, clear plastic containers.

The taste of the clover sprout is not as 'grassy' as alfalfa sprouts and bit peppery, but not as spicy as radish sprouts. Great question.

[kbjesq]

David, you have a great blog going on. I don't have experience with huckleberries but in NE where I grew up, we had plentiful blackberries, blueberries and sometimes raspberries. I wistfully recall picking them and eating them out of the bucket on the way home. Thanks for reminding me of that time of my life with your huckleberry tales.

Anyway, my hat's off to you. I went to BB&B today, bought a cherry pitter and made clafouti (no crust). I posted a picture of it in the dessert thread. It was very tasty, indeed.

Thanks so much for the inspiration.

[racheld]

Where do tupperware lids go?  If you know, let me know.  About every three months I find I have more bottoms than tops.  I take my tupperware to work.  I bring my tupperware home.  I wash it, I put it away, then I come back later and there are more lids than bottoms.  It's like one of those bad episodes from 'The Twilight Zone' when the store mannequins came alive at night only to go still during the day.  I think the tupperware comes alive at night, then it flies away and we don't ever see it again.

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I think your tupperware lids are up there in tupperware heaven having a party with all the lids that have gone missing in my house over the years.

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If anyone's interested, I have all the bottoms ever made---some quite odd-shaped, as in "ham" and "bread" and "pickles." About fifty pieces are missing the lids, some by natural attrition, and about forty by the disaster of catering a picnic for a client. She wanted everything in Tupperware, all packed into several of my ancient Red Man picnic baskets.

I told her just to set all the empty items on the porch and I'd pick them up in a couple of days; when I arrived, her young daughter and Grandma searched high and low, finally calling client at work, and she affirmed that she put them out.

Daughter came in from porch with an "Uh-Oh!" look on her face, hesitantly waving a knob-flapper, on which was the local DAV logo, with a hearty thanks for the donation. We scurried to the local outlet, told them our predicament, and they made us welcome to search the shelves. Two baskets out of three found, plus almost all the Tup-bottoms, but no lids. They said they'd keep an eye out for them, but the hundreds of lift-'em-with-a-forklift boxes in the workroom, each spilling forth assorted clothing, books, toys and other unnameable esoterica, gave us little hope.

So I have lots of things to use for bird-waterers, flowerpot bottoms, warm dinners for ShedKitty through the long cold of Winter, and just the right size if we ever have a roofleak, and that has to do.

[David Ross]

David, you have a great blog going on.  I don't have experience with huckleberries but in NE where I grew up, we had plentiful blackberries, blueberries and sometimes raspberries.  I wistfully recall picking them and eating them out of the bucket on the way home.  Thanks for reminding me of that time of my life with your huckleberry tales.

Anyway, my hat's off to you.  I went to BB&B today, bought a cherry pitter and made clafouti (no crust).  I posted a picture of it in the dessert thread.  It was very tasty, indeed.

Thanks so much for the inspiration.

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Wow, and one beautiful Clafouti you did make. I almost was licking the computer screen the photo is so delicious. If I inspired you to bake that beauty then you've given me a great compliment. Thank you.

[David Ross]

Where do tupperware lids go?  If you know, let me know.  About every three months I find I have more bottoms than tops.  I take my tupperware to work.  I bring my tupperware home.  I wash it, I put it away, then I come back later and there are more lids than bottoms.  It's like one of those bad episodes from 'The Twilight Zone' when the store mannequins came alive at night only to go still during the day.  I think the tupperware comes alive at night, then it flies away and we don't ever see it again.

←

I think your tupperware lids are up there in tupperware heaven having a party with all the lids that have gone missing in my house over the years.

←

If anyone's interested, I have all the bottoms ever made---some quite odd-shaped, as in "ham" and "bread" and "pickles." About fifty pieces are missing the lids, some by natural attrition, and about forty by the disaster of catering a picnic for a client. She wanted everything in Tupperware, all packed into several of my ancient Red Man picnic baskets.

I told her just to set all the empty items on the porch and I'd pick them up in a couple of days; when I arrived, her young daughter and Grandma searched high and low, finally calling client at work, and she affirmed that she put them out.

Daughter came in from porch with an "Uh-Oh!" look on her face, hesitantly waving a knob-flapper, on which was the local DAV logo, with a hearty thanks for the donation. We scurried to the local outlet, told them our predicament, and they made us welcome to search the shelves. Two baskets out of three found, plus almost all the Tup-bottoms, but no lids. They said they'd keep an eye out for them, but the hundreds of lift-'em-with-a-forklift boxes in the workroom, each spilling forth assorted clothing, books, toys and other unnameable esoterica, gave us little hope.

So I have lots of things to use for bird-waterers, flowerpot bottoms, warm dinners for ShedKitty through the long cold of Winter, and just the right size if we ever have a roofleak, and that has to do.

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A website that I visited recently said that it takes up to 1,000 years for Tupperware to disintegrate in a landfill. What hath we wrought on our land. Your Tup-ware story is the funniest one I've heard so far. Maybe I should change my earlier statement to "what hath I wrought on eGullet by'eth my Tupperwareth tale."

[Smithy]

Here you are, midway through your blog, and I'm just coming to the party! I'm enjoying it, even though I have to hustle to catch up. Thanks for the great stories and the great P.R. I'll have to try Horizon next time I have the opportunity. Being in the Midwest as I am, I'm usually at the mercy of Northworst.

I'm curious about your being able to bring your home-packed lunch through the lines. Does TSA give you a pass because you're an employee, or do you have to be careful about what you pack?

I have a FWIW comment from waay back on the first page! I suspect that (at least sometimes) when people are asking how big your house is, it isn't because they think that Size Matters. If they're like me, they're comparing notes on use of space. My first house was 760 square feet and cozy, but plenty big for large dinner parties, even if we did spill over into the living room, parked on the floor, the couch, the piano bench. My current house is considerably larger, and I'd still like to rearrange things. It's always interesting to see how much space is really necessary, and how it might be done better without spending beaucoup bucks and getting building permits.

Your food looks wonderful! Thanks from this quarter, also, for the huckleberry education. I'd always assumed they were more like boysenberries.

[Smithy]

These are photos of drawers that hold some of my tools.

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I'm puzzled over the aluminum implements in the right-middle of this photo, just next to the squeeze bottle. The one on the right looks like a garlic press. Is that right? What about the one to its left? And is that white thing in the bottom center a cake decorator?

Great fun, peering into other people's drawers!

[David Ross]

Here you are, midway through your blog, and I'm just coming to the party!  I'm enjoying it, even though I have to hustle to catch up.  Thanks for the great stories and the great P.R. I'll have to try Horizon next time I have the opportunity.  Being in the Midwest as I am, I'm usually at the mercy of Northworst.

I'm curious about your being able to bring your home-packed lunch through the lines.  Does TSA give you a pass because you're an employee, or do you have to be careful about what you pack?

←

Great question about bringing lunches through airport security. The only 'perk' I get as an employee is that often times I can go through a special line that is reserved for employees, first class passengers or mileage plan members. I have to follow the same rules as everyone else as far as liquids go. I so miss not being able to bring soups through in the winter.

[David Ross]

These are photos of drawers that hold some of my tools.

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I'm puzzled over the aluminum implements in the right-middle of this photo, just next to the squeeze bottle. The one on the right looks like a garlic press. Is that right? What about the one to its left? And is that white thing in the bottom center a cake decorator?

Great fun, peering into other people's drawers!

←

You're spot on! The two metal tools are garlic presses. I never really plan ahead which one I might use, or if I'll chop the garlic by hand with a knife.

That plastic thing, and the plunger type plastic tool above it is designed to be a cake decorator, but it is incredibly versatile. I think the last time I used it was during the Holidays. I filled it with foie gras mousse with black truffles and stuffed some quail. Imagine, using a $2 buck plastic tool to fill quail with foie gras. Whatever works.

[David Ross]

One advantage of bringing lunch to work when you are cook is that you've probably got great leftovers to bring in your lunch bag-uh, my Walmart bag, remember?

The downside to bringing in mysterious lunch items are the leers, sneers and jeers that you get from your co-worker's when you put something that "stinks" in the microwave.

Most of the people I work with don't like any type of fish, (amazing that there are people in Seattle who don't like salmon).

If I crank up the microwave to re-heat some seafood lasagna, boy do I hear about it.

They can't even handle a bagel with lox. You can't even smell lox unless you stick your nose in it, and even then, if it's good lox, all you'll smell is a hint of salmon and maybe a bit of dill or lemon. I think they can't get over the idea that I'm eating fish for breakfast. (Wait till I pop some Miso Salmon, rice and preserved vegetables in the microwave next Tuesday).

Of course, most good food-like a juicy, medium-rare steak and crispy onion rings, is best when it is served the first time-not two days later.

Most leftovers, unless it's tuna casserole, don't withstand the humidity of a refrigerator or the nuclear heat of the office microwave. That steak becomes over-done and rubbery and the onion rings are limp and coated with slimy breading.

But there are some tricks you can use to turn that steak dinner into a delcious lunch that will make your office mates jealous.

Let's talk about that big T-Bone you're going to barbecue this weekend. It's huge, 24oz. and almost 2" thick.

After dinner, cut the leftover, beautifully medium-rare steak into thick slices. Now take put some soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, toasted peanut oil, ginger, garlic, sliced green onions and sesame seeds in a bowl. Stir it up good. Put the steak slices, and any steak juices, in your 'Tupperware' bowl. Add the dressing and let the steak marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

You'll need to buy some mixed greens and some fried 'Chow Mein Noodles.' You know the stuff, the little fried noodle bits we ate when we were kids. While you probably ate 'Chung King' brand, today there are a number of Asian brands that make crunchy chow mein noodles.

If you have to be chi-chi, make your own 'Wonton Crisps,' by cutting some egg roll wrappers in small strips and deep-frying them. They'll stay crisp in a brown paper bag on the counter.

So now we are ready for work-we've got our tupperware of marinated steak, another container of greens and finally, a small container of crispy chow meain noodles for some texture to our lunch-'Asian style steak salad.'

You have to keep the greens undressed and dry and in a separate container from the steak. If you toss the greens with the steak and the dressing before you leave for work, you'll have some dreadfully limp greens by lunch time.

So that's one idea for how to break through the 'Top Ramen' for lunch routine.

Here's another visual example of left-overs for work, a 'Fried Soft-Shell Crab Po-Boy.'

I usually make a nice lunch on my days off. Last Saturday I made a couple of 'Po-Boy's.'

My seafood market had some frozen soft-shell crabs. The freezing didn't seem to hurt the poor little devils at all-they were delicious and fresh tasting in the final sandwich.

I coated the crabs in seasoned fry mix with Cajun seasoning. Here are the crabs fried. (Use caution when frying, soft-shell crabs have LOTS of juice that spits out).

Here is the final 'Soft-Shell Crab Po-Boy'-deed fried crabs on a hoagie roll with shredded iceberg lettuce and spicy mayonnaise. To make the mayonnaise I added lemon juice, cayenne pepper and some Worcestershire for some added Cajun kick.

The key to taking this to work for lunch is to keep all the elements separate and then make your 'Po'Boy' at work. I wrapped two of the fried crabs in foil. Yes, they will get soft in the fridge, but I have a toaster oven at work that I used to heat and crisp them up. I wrapped the bread separate from the lettuce and mayonnaise so it wouldn't get soggy-then spread the mayo on the bread just before putting on the heated crabs. A delicious work lunch.

You should have seen the looks on other employees when they saw me biting into a sandwich that had little legs sticking out the ends of the bun!

[kbjesq]

Wow, and one beautiful Clafouti you did make.  I almost was licking the computer screen the photo is so delicious.  If I inspired you to bake that beauty then you've given me a great compliment.  Thank you.

←

David, it is entirely your fault.

You see, I now wish that I hadn't learned how to make this fabulous Cherry Clafouti. I awoke at midnight with one thing on my mind. Clafouti. So against my better judgment and to the dismay of my waistline, I had a midnight snack of Claflouti. Intending to just have a bite or two from the edge of the container, where it would not be missed, I accidently discovered that the custard in the middle was less set, still soft and jiggly. I had tossed the cherries with the cherry brandy as you suggested, and between the brandy-flavored cherries and that soft custard, well, let's just say that I had more than the two bites that I intended.

I may be the only person on earth who will be glad when cherry season is over. I have been led into temptation!

[David Ross]

Yesterday we took an employee out for lunch to celebrate her 25-year anniversary with the company.

I ordered the "Copper River Salmon served on Mashed Potatoes with Basil Oil and Saffron Riesling Sauce."

I didn't get a photo, and you wouldn't have wanted to see it if I posted one.

I get really mad when restaurants, decent, fine dining restaurants, don't put on the plate what they post on the menu. So-here is a blow by blow of where the kitchen went wrong:

-The filet of salmon looked like it was cut from the back end of the tail section of the fish. A flat, no more than 3/4" thick piece of salmon. It was a good-sized portion, but the tail of the salmon isn't the choicest part. When you are paying for fresh Copper River Salmon you should be served a very thick slab cut from the center of the filet. The salmon had been grilled over a gas flame-evident from the black 'grill marks' and the black, oily sheen that slid off the salmon making a black oil slick on the edges of the white plate.

Have you ever cooked something on your outdoor BBQ grill when the gas flame was TOO HOT? Right-it sears the surface of the meat with a black oil slick that oozes onto your plate.

-The Basil Oil with Saffron was intensely flavored and a beautiful, deep-emerald green color. Basil and olive oil are good accompaniments for salmon because the spicy, licorice flavor of basil complements the strong oils in the salmon. The only criticism I had was not with the flavor of the oil but the amount. The mashed potatoes were literally swimming in a soup of basil oil.

-There was hardly any of the Saffron Riesling Sauce to be had. I thought I saw a small yellow speck of the sauce peeking out from under the mashed potatoes, but I couldn't be sure. There were a few strands of saffron threads floating in the green basil oil so I guess they delivered on that promise of Saffron.

Now a sauce made of sweet, effervescent, riesling wine sounds like a nice counterpart for an oily fish like Copper River Salmon. But I'm not so sure that it is appropriate to pair two totally opposite flavored sauces-Basil Oil and Saffron Riesling Sauce-with a strong flavored salmon like Copper River.

Note to restaurants-keep things simple and don't overcomplicate a dish. You don't need to throw everything in the pantry into this dish. The basil, probably. The Saffron, maybe. The Riesling, o.k, but on it's own. Maybe in a Buerre Blanc spooned over the salmon filet but sans the basil oil.

And please don't try to fool me by putting something on your menu and not delivering it on my plate!

[AzianBrewer]

One advantage of bringing lunch to work when you are cook is that you've probably got great leftovers to bring in your lunch bag-uh, my Walmart bag, remember?

The downside to bringing in mysterious lunch items are the leers, sneers and jeers that you get from your co-worker's when you put something that "stinks" in the microwave. 

Most of the people I work with don't like any type of fish, (amazing that there are people in Seattle who don't like salmon). 

If I crank up the microwave to re-heat some seafood lasagna, boy do I hear about it. 

They can't even handle a bagel with lox. You can't even smell lox unless you stick your nose in it, and even then, if it's good lox, all you'll smell is a hint of salmon and maybe a bit of dill or lemon.  I think they can't get over the idea that I'm eating fish for breakfast.  (Wait till I pop some Miso Salmon, rice and preserved vegetables in the microwave next Tuesday).

Of course, most good food-like a juicy, medium-rare steak and crispy onion rings, is best when it is served the first time-not two days later. 

Most leftovers, unless it's tuna casserole, don't withstand the humidity of a refrigerator or the nuclear heat of the office microwave.  That steak becomes over-done and rubbery and the onion rings are limp and coated with slimy breading.

But there are some tricks you can use to turn that steak dinner into a delcious lunch that will make your office mates jealous. 

Let's talk about that big T-Bone you're going to barbecue this weekend.  It's huge, 24oz. and almost 2" thick. 

After dinner, cut the leftover, beautifully medium-rare steak into thick slices. Now take put some soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, toasted peanut oil, ginger, garlic, sliced green onions and sesame seeds in a bowl.  Stir it up good.  Put the steak slices, and any steak juices, in your 'Tupperware' bowl.  Add the dressing and let the steak marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

You'll need to buy some mixed greens and some fried 'Chow Mein Noodles.'  You know the stuff, the little fried noodle bits we ate when we were kids.  While you probably ate 'Chung King' brand, today there are a number of Asian brands that make crunchy chow mein noodles. 

If you have to be chi-chi, make your own 'Wonton Crisps,' by cutting some egg roll wrappers in small strips and deep-frying them.  They'll stay crisp in a brown paper bag on the counter.

So now we are ready for work-we've got our tupperware of marinated steak, another container of greens and finally, a small container of crispy chow meain noodles for some texture to our lunch-'Asian style steak salad.'

You have to keep the greens undressed and dry and in a separate container from the steak.  If you toss the greens with the steak and the dressing before you leave for work, you'll have some dreadfully limp greens by lunch time.

So that's one idea for how to break through the 'Top Ramen' for lunch routine.

Here's another visual example of left-overs for work, a 'Fried Soft-Shell Crab Po-Boy.'

I usually make a nice lunch on my days off.  Last Saturday I made a couple of 'Po-Boy's.' 

My seafood market had some frozen soft-shell crabs.  The freezing didn't seem to hurt the poor little devils at all-they were delicious and fresh tasting in the final sandwich.

I coated the crabs in seasoned fry mix with Cajun seasoning.  Here are the crabs fried.  (Use caution when frying, soft-shell crabs have LOTS of juice that spits out).

Here is the final 'Soft-Shell Crab Po-Boy'-deed fried crabs on a hoagie roll with shredded iceberg lettuce and spicy mayonnaise.  To make the mayonnaise I added lemon juice, cayenne pepper and some Worcestershire for some added Cajun kick.

The key to taking this to work for lunch is to keep all the elements separate and then make your 'Po'Boy' at work.  I wrapped two of the fried crabs in foil.  Yes, they will get soft in the fridge, but I have a toaster oven at work that I used to heat and crisp them up.  I wrapped the bread separate from the lettuce and mayonnaise so it wouldn't get soggy-then spread the mayo on the bread just before putting on the heated crabs.  A delicious work lunch.

You should have seen the looks on other employees when they saw me biting into a sandwich that had little legs sticking out the ends of the bun!

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I am drooling all over my desk by just looking at it.

[David Ross]

The man and the master:

I wanted to give you a teaser photo for a subject that I will be discussing with you this weekend-dining in Las Vegas.

This is a very special photo for me. It was taken this year on May 17 at a private dinner at Guy Savoy restaurant in Caesar's Palace. I was attending a private dinner as part of the Bon Apetit Magazine Food and Wine Focus.

This is my photo with the Master, Chef Guy Savoy. Chef Savoy was in the kitchen that night. We also celebrated the one year anniversary of the opening of the restaurant-and in celebration, the President of Caesar's Palace was there and presented the chef and his staff with a special cake.

I think that will be quite the teaser to get you excited about looking forward to the menu-and photos, from this very special dinner. Come back to my blog soon for the details.

[snowangel]

Ah, David! The nuking the stuff in the office microwave. Why was it never OK for me to reheat leftover curry and add some Thai basil leaves but it was OK to nuke microwave popcorn (ewww!)

Good use of leftovers for lunch at work!

I'm excuted to see your upcoming LV meal!

[David Ross]

Ah, David!  The nuking the stuff in the office microwave.  Why was it never OK for me to reheat leftover curry and add some Thai basil leaves but it was OK to nuke microwave popcorn (ewww!)

Good use of leftovers for lunch at work!

I'm excuted to see your upcoming LV meal!

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You really can get creative with leftovers for lunch. You'll get some stares, but so what. I'd rather eat my food than the junk they put in vending machines.

I have found microwaves are good for heating water for hot tea.

I've re-heated many a Thai Seafood Curry in the work microwave so don't think you are alone. Nuclear seafood is tough, stringy and stinks!

[David Ross]

Remember last night I said that during the work week I try to keep my dinners simple-like grilled meats and vegetables?

Well, last night I did a 'Rotisserie Game Hen with Greens.'

YOU CAN SLICE IT--YOU CAN DICE IT--YOU SET IT AND FORGET IT

Here, in all its glory, is my infamous 'Showtime Rostisserie Grill' brought to you by the one and only Ron Popeill. I told everyone on Monday that my blog would be personal-at times maybe too personal. Have you admitted to anyone on eGullet that you have a 'Showtime Rotisserie Grill?'

Maybe some of you are like me. I've got all the latest fou-fou kitchen equipment-a $350.00 KitchenAid Pro Mixer to mix focaccia dough and a $150.00 French Mandoline to hand-cut waffle fries.

But one of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment I bought from the guy who hawked hair for men in a spray can.

Yes, you really do just set it. No, you don't really forget it. You need to keep an eye on that bird spinning around.

The 'Showtime' is, in my opinion, simply the best rotisserie type grill I have ever used. It is perfect for any type of meat, fowl or pork you would normally roast in the oven.

The 'Showtime' is especially good for making perfect Rotisserie Chicken. As the bird turns the fat and juices baste the bird in a continuous motion-turn after turn after turn. The bird turns out juicy and with golden, crisp skin. Delicious, and an easy way to make a weeknight dinner.

I rubbed this game hen with olive oil and that was it. No salt, no pepper, no seasoning. Since game hens are small they can slide on the rotisserie spit, so I trussed the bird with cotton string to keep it from slipping as it turned. I brushed the game hen with melted butter about 4 times during 1 hour of roasting.

And here is the finished game hen served with a salad of mixed greens dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

[lucylou95816]

David, your hen looks great! I bought one for my grandma a few years back, but she couldn't really use it, so she gave it to me. I tried it once, but it disappointed

I still have it, so you may inspire me to try it again.

[David Ross]

Last night for dinner I made fresh halibut with a simple butter sauce, mixed rice and grilled zucchini.

I menitioned earlier in the blog that during the work week I try to keep my dinners simple by limiting the dishes to grilled meats and vegetables. Last night was the best of the past week's simple dinners. I am thankful to be going into some days off and I can really get cooking.

You might think that because I live in the Pacific Northwest I get seafood cheap. That's not the case.

While I may not pay as much for halibut that has to be shipped fresh to North Carolina, I still pay a steep price as you can see in this photo:

That's right-$18.99 a pound for fresh Alaskan Halibut-and it is worth it.

I've always thought the best halibut comes from Alaska starting in the Spring and running into mid-Summer.

There seem to be two factors that have the most impact on the price of fresh halibut. One is the size of the fishery each year. We call it "the size of the run," meaning how many halibut are in the water each year. If the 'run' is small that obviously makes the price of halibut in the market go up. The size of the run of halibut can be affected by weather conditions, water conditions and even the dang sea lions that eat up so much of our seafood. We seem to be in an endless war in the Northwest between predator-sea lion-and prey-the halibut. Sea lions also take plenty of our salmon. The story of the salmon being eaten up by sea lions is a blog unto itself.

The second biggest factor that affects the price of our seafood is the weather. If there are big storms and the boats can't get out for a few days we see an immediate spike in the price of halibut. It happens that quickly. Just like the price of gas for your car can go up from one day to the next.

I seasoned the halibut with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and some Cajun spices. I use the exact same method every time I cook fish filets-seared in a hot cast iron pan for 4 minutes per side then the pan is put in a 425degree oven to finish roasting the fish for another 5 minutes. This halibut filet was about 1 1/2 inches thick and I cooked it for about 13 minutes total between the searing and roasting.

I made a simple butter sauce for the halibut. I had to improvise a little because I didn't really have what I needed to make a classic Buerre Blanc. Usually I use chopped shallots reduced in white wine to make the flavor base of buerre blanc. I didn't have either wine or shallots, so I substituted chopped green onions and tarragon wine vinegar. I added some lemon juice and then boiled the mixture down to a glaze. I added about a teaspoon of lobster stock base and then took the pan off the heat. I then added the butter and swirled it around the pan to combine the butter with the reduced vinegar sauce. Just before serving I strained the solids out of the butter sauce and then spooned the sauce over the finished halibut.

This is the final dish showing the halibut on top of a mixture of wild, brown and white rice. I added some grilled and chopped zucchini to the rice. I spooned some of the butter sauce over the fish and garnished it with snipped chives from my garden. Enjoy.

[Peter the eater]

David, you are a gifted cook and storyteller. Among many other things, I love the "showtime chicken"! I take great pleasure when I pull out the George Foreman Grill to do salmon or chicken with skin when we have dinner guests. I look forward to the big finale in Nevada!