tajarin al burro e salvia

In 2006, Perbacco opened in the Financial District of San Francisco, giving a legitimate option for Piemonte cuisine just a few blocks away from my office. It was at Perbacco that I first heard of, and tasted, what was to become one of my all-time favorite pastas: tajarin.

Tajarin comes from the Langhe region of Italy, an area known for its Barbaresco and Barolo as well as its white truffles. The pasta itself is simple but decadent: flour, egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Nothing more.

making the time for handmade pesto

With all of the modern conveniences we have at our disposal, our first impulse might be to pick up a container of pesto from the market rather than make it from scratch. Even if we do decide to make pesto at home, we're usually thinking of using a blender or food processor to speed up the process.

But there's definitely something special about making pesto with an old school mortar and pestle: a softness to these otherwise strong, pungent flavors that you can't get with a blender... a slower integration and smoother, silkier texture to the pesto... more of a natural sweetness from the garlic.

More importantly, making the pesto with a mortar and pestle engages all of your senses and connects you to the ingredients and how they come together. You actually breathe in the sweet aroma of fresh basil, see the way the texture of the salt helps break down the raw garlic, and understand how crushing the pine nuts into a thick paste releases the oils that help emulsify and integrate the garlic to the basil. The 15 minutes of effort is well worth the end result, which can be transcendent.

Classic Pesto

2 tightly packed cups of fresh, unblemished basil leaves (stems removed)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup mild extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
pinch of kosher salt

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and a pinch of kosher salt together until a paste is formed. Chop the basil into a rough chiffonade---don't chop the basil too finely, because you want to do most of the crushing and pulverizing with the mortar and pestle. Add the pine nuts and a small handful of the basil to the mortar and crush together with the garlic to form a fine paste. Add the remaining basil and continue crushing until well integrated. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, stirring constantly. Add the parmigiano-reggiano and stir to combine.

The simple pleasures: Beef with Thai basil

As we wrap up another month of frugality, I have to admit that this year was much easier than previous years. I didn't miss eating out all that much---it helps when your favorite restaurant is closed to move to a new location---and I only really craved a drink whenever I watched an episode of Mad Men...

With all of the cooking we did at home, we cycled through lots of the old favorites: hot pot, chicken poached in sake, tagine, pizza... and the thing I noticed most was how truly delicious the simplest dishes can be. Sure, it's nice to have an opportunity to eat a perfectly prepared sous-vide beef short rib with peanut and broccoli puree with a dehydrated gelatinized sheet of Guinness, but there's something special about the pleasure of simple, well executed dishes. No production, no esoteric flavor combinations, no unexpected twists. Just undeniably tasty food...

...like a 15-minute bowl of spaghetti, adorned only by brightly flavored San Marzano tomatoes and a bit of garlic, basil and chili flakes. Maybe a rich, warm soup with good crusty bread on a cold winter evening. Or hamachi kama, always a favorite, dressed only with a touch of salt and oil before being broiled for 10 minutes to crispy goodness in our toaster oven.

A good stir fry is also always a winner: quick, simple and satisfying. For me, stir frying is all about knowing the different temperature zones of your wok so you can be sure to get the best caramelization and flavor you need to make the dish sparkle.

We had some really nice Thai basil on hand, with a bit of good quality, thinly sliced beef, so I threw together this quick dish for lunch. The Thai basil is the star here, its sweet, enchanting aroma and flavor enveloping the tender, seared beef.

Stir-Fried Beef with Thai Basil

1/2 lb beef top round steak
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 green onions, cut into thin strips
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 bunch Thai basil
1 teaspoon chili sauce or chili oil (optional)

Cut the beef thinly against the grain. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar and corn starch. Add the beef and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Drain.

Heat wok over high heat. Add the oil and heat until smoking. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 10 seconds. Add the beef and cook until caramelized, about 2-3 minutes (depending on the heat of your wok). Remove beef and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of oil in your wok.

Bringing wok back up to high heat and stir fry yellow onion (with a pinch of salt) until softened, approximately 2 minutes. Add red pepper and cook for an additional minute. Add the beef and green onions and stir fry for 60 seconds. Add Thai basil leaves and chili sauce/oil, toss well, and turn off heat.

Serve with steamed rice.

our go-to buttermilk ricotta pancakes

Back when we were living back in Oakland, CA, L and I made a regular habit of grabbing brunch at the reliably delicious and cozy Citron. Apart from the fantastic fresh baked scones, probably our favorite dish was their version of ricotta pancakes. Impossibly fluffy and light, with a paper-thin wispy crisp crust on the top pancake on the stack.

The pancakes, unfortunately, weren't always consistent--it really depended on who was on the line during brunch service (and perhaps the level of hangover from the night before)--but when they were at their best, they were truly magical... a standard against which to measure any other pancake.

Here in Seattle, we've had some terrific brunches at places like Boat Street Kitchen, Geraldine's, and Tilth... but we haven't yet found pancakes that really satisfy the same way that Citron's did. So from time to time, we've experimented with making our own version. Some recipies relied exclusively on ricotta and whipped egg whites; others capitalized on the chemical interaction between buttermilk and baking soda and baking powder. Most of the time, these trials resulted in pancakes that were fine, sometimes even very good... but not quite at that "super special" level...

...until this morning.

The recipe we used is our adaptation of a winning recipe from a contest held by bedandbreakfast.com, relying on a combination of both the richness and activation power of buttermilk and the lightening power of folding in beaten egg whites. The main difference in our version is an increase in buttermilk and the omission of the citrus--I think lemon can be a great flavor addition, but the strength of the acid creates too much of a reaction with the baking soda and baking powder.

But I think the most important part of this recipe is the waiting time, which ensures that all of the baking powder and baking soda has sufficient time to react with the acids in the buttermilk; you can literally see a difference in the batter after letting it rest.

Try it out... you'll never think of buying packaged pancake mix again.

Buttermilk Ricotta Pancakes

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, oil, buttermilk, ricotta cheese and vanilla extract. Whisk together until smooth.

Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together until flour is just incorporated.

In a small stainless steel bowl, beat egg whites just until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the batter just until incorporated. Let set for 10 to 15 minutes.

Spoon batter onto a lightly buttered pan or griddle over medium low heat. When bubbles lightly form and the bottom is set, flip gently (about 3-4 minutes). Pancake is ready when both sides are golden with barely crisp exteriors.

Serve with fresh fruit or maple syrup.

frugality, simplicity... and chili

Those of you who know us are familiar with our tradition of making January our annual "month of frugality," during which we significantly limit the things we can purchase. We do this as a way of taking a break from the excesses of the holidays, and to start the new year out with a fresh perspective on what it looks like to live more simply. And we then try to figure out something positive to do with the money we save. So during January, our expenses end up boiling down to just two categories: groceries and gas.

And I give up alcohol for a month. That's right. My last adult beverage was a glass of cava, which I finished 2 seconds before midnight on December 31st with S+K. And in about 5 hours, I'm going to welcome in the month of February with either a Manhattan or a Negroni at Cafe Presse with those same friends. Perfect.

This year's month of frugality has been a good one. As in past years, I managed to shed a couple of pounds (who knew alcohol had so many calories?), and we saved a good chunk of change to donate to Habitat for Humanity and Three Cups of Tea. I was a little surprised, though, at how obsessed I became with making certain things. First, it was meatballs... then bread... then chocolate chip cookies... pancakes... roast chicken... back to cookies... and bread. All such simple things, but precisely the kind of soul-satisfying comfort food I've been craving all month. I'm pretty certain I would have gotten into better shape if it hadn't been for those cookies.


So today is the last day of this fantastic month. When the sun rises tomorrow, I'll be able to go out and have an americano and a pain au chocolat from Besalu, ease back into the spellbinding grasp of Spinasse, or indulge in phenomenal sushi at Miyabi. But before that could happen, I needed to make one more simple, satisfying meal.

Chili.

This was born of necessity more than anything else. Lav was heading back home from the gym and I was looking for a simple, fulfilling (and filling) meal we could make with what we had in stock. In our fridge: leftover roast chicken breast, celery, baby bell peppers, an onion, celery and tomatoes. In the pantry: a can of butter beans. 45 minutes later, Lav came home and declared this one a keeper.

White Bean Chili with Chicken

1 medium onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 celery rib, diced
1 cup diced baby bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
1 lime or meyer lemon
1 can butter beans (or other white beans), drained
2 cups leftover chicken, torn into large chunks
2 cups water (adjust more or less to desired consistency)
1 teaspoon flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
a few pinches of paprika

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion with a generous pinch of kosher salt until lightly caramelized, about 4 minutes. Add the diced celery, bell peppers and garlic and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Making a well in the center of the saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour to make a quick roux. Once the flour is lightly toasted, add the cumin and paprika and stir the roux
until it is well incorporated with the vegetables. Deglaze with the white wine and stir until nearly dry. Add beans, tomatoes and water, stir thorough, cover and simmer until thickened--about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and turn the heat to low. When chicken is heated through, squeeze in the juice of 1 lime, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Garnish with shredded cheddar, cilantro and a few good shakes of Tabasco.

parsley pesto broth

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon the Dark Days Challenge from Urban Hennery. Basically, the challenge unites a bunch of bloggers in an effort to cook at least one meal a week featuring 90% local ingredients. And each week, a recap is done of the ideas and creations from participating bloggers. What an awesome idea.

So here's my first submission; a fairly simple dish where everything except the olive oil and pecorino romano was sourced from the Puget Sound... even the dried pasta was locally produced (from Papparadelle's in Pike Place).

---

One of our favorite places for a late night meal in Seattle is Union downtown. The bar serves a terrific menu after 10 pm, the cocktails are carefully and expertly crafted, and the prices are absolutely fantastic for the quality of the food.

Among my favorite Ethan Stowell dishes is any pasta he makes with his parsley pesto broth, often paired with pristine mussels. Most recently, we tried a preparation with cavatelli that was outrageously good...

So tonight, I made a first attempt at replicating the dish at home. I followed a standard pesto recipe, but substituted the basil with parsley leaves and used grated pecorino romano rather than parmigiano reggiano for its more assertive flavor and saltiness.

The best part of Stowell's parsley pesto broth is its dilution. Rather than dressing his pasta with straight pesto, he dilutes it (either with broth or cooking liquid from the pasta) to make a much thinner consistency. The flavor still envelopes the pasta, but you get a beautifully green lingering broth that oozes out, robust and packed with flavor, keeping the pasta from getting clumpy or greasy from the pesto.

parsley pesto

1 large bunch flat leaf parsley (roughly 4 cups of leaves)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in blender, discarding the parsley stems. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down the parsley. Add pecorino romano and salt; blend until smooth. Transfer to small bowl.

pasta and mussels in a parsley pesto broth

2 servings of dried pasta (cavatelli and orichiette work very well)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb. large mussels (roughly 8-10, rinsed and debearded)
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 strip of bacon, diced (optional)
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons of parsley pesto

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking: In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and gently saute until translucent. Add bacon and continue to cook until the bacon is crisp. Add mussels and toss to coat. Deglaze the pan with wine and put lid over pan. Cook until the mussels have steamed and opened, approx. 2 minutes.

Once the mussels have opened, remove them from the pan. Add parsley pesto to the pan and heat to loosen the pesto and incorporate the broth in the saute pan. Add pasta to the sauce and toss to coat, adding pasta cooking liquid to the pan to further
loosen the pesto as needed, until the pesto has a viscous, soupy consistency (like potato leek soup). Add mussels back to the pan and toss again to coat. Remove from heat and serve.

Serves 2 people.

quick and easy chocolate cake

I woke up yesterday morning to a fleeting beam of sunlight that was overcome by gray clouds of intermittent rain, and the first thought to enter my head was how fantastic it would be to have chocolate cake... for breakfast. Lav quickly concurred.

As luck would have it, while scrolling through some Associated Press news headlines on my iPhone (still in that mental fog between sleep and full consciousness), an article popped up with what may be the easiest chocolate cake recipe I've ever seen. Now I'm not much of a baker--that's more Lav's domain, given my lack of that all-important combination of precision and patience--but this seemed absolutely foolproof... and from an authority like Francois Payard, no less.

Sure enough, less than an hour later we were enjoying a proper breakfast of moist, rich chocolate cake and coffee.

CHARLIE'S AFTERNOON CHOCOLATE CAKE
from Francois Payard's "Chocolate Epiphany," 2008

Start to finish: 35 minutes (15 minutes active)

Servings: 8 to 10

baking spray (cooking spray blend of oil and flour)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces 60 percent cacao chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Place a rack at the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 F. Use the baking spray to coat the sides and bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan.

In a small saucepan over medium-high, bring the butter to a boil, stirring several times to prevent it from burning. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the flour and mix well. Add the chocolate and butter mixture, then mix only until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake the cake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 F and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely in the pan. Unmold and serve.

Hainanese (Singapore) chicken rice

When we first got married, Lav and I didn't watch too much television. She liked watching ER, and I pretty much only watched ESPN and the occasional cooking show here and there. Then, somehow, she got addicted (in a very serious way) to Lost and we both started watching the Office and 30 Rock. These days, I'm also still pretty hooked on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, which really caught my attention after the episode in Beiruit.

The first episode of this season had Tony romping around Singapore, tasting all sorts of awesome food. The first dish he tried from a hawker stand was Chicken Rice, a national dish of sorts. It's a simple dish, but the component flavors are such principal colors of the palate that it's easy to see why good Chicken Rice is so esteemed.

After reading through a few suggested recipies online and comparing those with what I saw in this episode, I decided to wing it. The basic process is simple: boil a whole chicken until it is done, then immediately shock it in an ice water bath to congeal the remaining fat (for texture) and separate the skin from the meat. Everything else, from seasonings to dipping sauces, is completely open to personal creativity and preference.

My version of Hainanese Chicken Rice

1 4-5 lb. whole fryer, preferably free-range/organic
2-inch segment of ginger, peeled
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 carrot, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup white rice
sesame oil
salt and pepper, to taste
dipping sauces (see later comments)

Slice off the flap of chicken fat/skin from the neck cavity of the chicken and set aside.

Fill a large stockpot with enough cold water to submerge the entire chicken by at least 1 inch. Be sure to leave enough space for water displacement from the chicken. Add smashed garlic cloves, ginger, and the neckbone of the chicken (if included) to the water and bring to a rolling boil. Drop chicken into the boiling water and cover. Bring the liquid back to a boil as quickly as possible and boil vigorously until cooked through, approximately 25 minutes. Be sure to cook chicken thoroughly, but do not overboil. The best way to check for doneness is with a meat thermometer; the meat should be at 165 degrees F). Once chicken is cooked, remove from the pot and immediately place in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Keep the pot of water at a boil to reduce by at least 25%.

In the meantime, slice the reserved flap of chicken fat into small pieces and render the fat in a skillet over medium heat to obtain 2 tablespoons of fat. Reserve. Once the chicken is done boiling, stir in rice grains and lightly toast them in the fat over medium heat until the edges of the grains are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the rice to a rice cooker and use the cooking liquid from the stock pot to cook the rice.

While rice is cooking, add carrot and green onions to the pot containing the boiling chicken broth. Season broth with salt and pepper to taste, remembering that the broth should be mild in flavor (not salty!), with only a delicately fragrant hint of chicken and ginger. Once the carrot is cooked, serve the broth as a simple soup.

Once the chicken has cooled completely, remove the meat from the bone, trying to keep the skin intact. Slice thinly and dress with a light drizzle of sesame oil. The meat should be accompanied by kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper on the side, in addition to your own choice of dipping sauces. Serve with the steamed white rice, which should have a wafting fragrance of chicken imbued into each tender grain.

We made a slew of simple dipping sauces to accompany the chicken, among them: sweetened light soy sauce with chopped jalepeno, chili oil, soy sauce and sesame oil, meyer lemon juice, black bean sause, seaweed paste, toasted nori flakes, and ume paste. Let your imagination dictate the variety of flavor accents to use.

I can't think of a simpler dish that utilizes the chicken so efficiently, with little to no waste whatsoever... a perfect meal for "frugal" January.

The possibilities of bone marrow

"if you're going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the whole thing..."

Few statements exhibit the kind of simple truth embodied in Fergus Henderson's philosophy on food and eating. Armed with this basic premise, and lacking any formal culinary training, Henderson opened St. John in 1994, receiving critical acclaim for his honest, soulful cooking. He eventually spread his "waste not" gastronomic ethos through his 1999 book, Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking. How influential was this book? Well, Bourdain called it "the new bible for cooks," and it certainly helped popularize the use of offal in restaurants.

Henderson's signature Roasted Bone Marrow with Parsley Salad (although based on a traditional preparation) is legendary. Even Bix in San Francisco acknowledges the importance of his contribution by calling their version Marrow Bones “St. John” with a Parsley, Caper and Shallot Salad; incidentally, one of the most delicious dishes I can recall.

Over the weekend, Lav and I found some amazing cuts of beef leg bones with huge lobes of bone marrow at Uwajimaya... four healthy sized portions for a measly $2. I started to contemplate a few of the ways I wanted to prepare the marrow. We'd definitely do the classic roasted bone marrow with toast points, which took care of two of the bones.

In The French Laundry Cookbook, Thomas Keller recommends removing the marrow from the bones prior to soaking the marrow in ice water for 12 to 24 hours to extract blood from the marrow. This is done primarily to prevent the marrow from spoiling, and you should technically be able to keep the marrow in the bone during soaking and roasting; but removing the marrow prior to soaking may create a cleaner flavor. It also gives you the chance to parboil the empty bones, which helps in removing the tougher connective tissue from the bone for a cleaner appearance.


We used the marrow from a third, smaller bone to make a decadent bite of fettucine. My initial intention was to make a cream sauce using melted marrow. Lav was watching a rerun of No Reservations (in Osaka), and I heard Bourdain going nuts over takoyaki... which reminded me that we had some beautiful sushi-grade slaces of octopus in the refrigerator, a perfect textural and flavor balance for the rich marrow.

This is an incredibly rich dish; portion size is only intended to be one mouthful per person (to avoid palate fatigue... and cardiac arrest). Here is the resulting recipe:

fettuccine, bone marrow "alfredo", octopus

2 ounces dry fettuccine, enough for 3-4 forkfuls when cooked
1 tablespoon fresh bone marrow
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon flour
1 tablespoon
thinly shaved shallot
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 slice sushi-grade octopus
freshly grated nutmeg
5-6 parsley leaves, chopped
kosher salt and pepper

Boil fettucine in salted water until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat butter in a pan over medium heat until foam subsides. Finely dice the fresh marrow and add it to the pan until the marrow is nearly completely melted. Add shallots and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add flour and cook until a roux develops and turns a light golden brown. While whisking, slowly incorporate milk until sauce achieves the desired consistency and is uniformly creamy. Remove from heat and stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Add the cooked fettuccine to the sauce until pasta is well coated. Dice the octopus and mix into the fettuccine. To serve, twist one mouthful of fettuccine around a spoon and sprinkle parsley on top. Makes about 4 servings.

We have one more lobe of marrow left, and I have a couple of ideas I still want to try...

bone marrow, fergus henderson, alfredo

Mom's sake-poached chicken

I have distinct memories from my childhood of waking up late on a Sunday morning to the sweet, floral aroma of warm sake wafting throughout the house. Those were the Sundays when my mom was making "sake chicken," a simple dish of chicken poached in sake and ginger. My dad loved this dish and would drink up the resulting broth like soup... perfect for a cold winter day. I even remember the feeling I had the first time I got to taste the broth: my youthful curiosity was quenched and my palate intrigued by the rich, invigorating flavor of the sake, which permeated deep into the chicken... with just a small hint of bitterness from the residual alcohol. I knew from an early age that I'd like sake.

Here's my version of the dish, with a few vegetables added and a bit of chicken broth to round out the poaching liquid. Mom tried it and, while it is different than hers, she gave it a thumbs up. That's all the endorsement I need.

As an added bonus, this is an incredibly inexpensive dish to make. The following preparation should cost about $12 and is enough for 6 people when served with rice. One liter of sake might sound like a lot, but sake only has about the same amount of alcohol as wine (14-15%), most of which will evaporate away. You should be able to find 1.5 liter bottles of junmaishu-type sake for $7 or less at your local Asian market. We got a bottle yesterday for $4.99 at 99 Ranch Market. DO NOT use premium sake unless you've got money to burn.


Sake-Poached Chicken

10 chicken legs
1 medium daikon radish, peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 medium yellow onions, chopped into large chunks
3 large carrots, chopped into 1-inch segments
1 2-inch section of ginger, sliced
1 liter sake (a simple junmaishu, like Ozeki Dry or Sho Chiku Bai)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Using a cleaver, chop off the ends of the drumsticks and discard. Chop the remaining portion of the drumstick into 2 pieces, cutting through the bone and exposing the marrow. If you prefer boneless pieces of chicken, use boneless chicken thigh instead. Season the chicken with kosher salt and pepper.

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and saute onions until they begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium high and add daikon and carrots. Cook for 1 minute. Return the chicken and any juices to the pot. Add 1 liter of sake and bring barely to a low boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low or low and keep at a gentle simmer, uncovered, until most of the alcohol has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and cover, simmering for another 20 minutes. Taste broth for seasoning. Turn off heat and add sesame oil.

Serve with hot rice, or ladle into a bowl and enjoy as a soup.



technorati tags: sake, chicken