Top Chef S4E2

I’m still stunned – utter disbelief - that cooks of this caliber would serve food – in a competition none the less – without tasting it.  Nothing leaves my kitchen until i’ve tasted it and done my best to make it perfect.  I’m not always successful, of course……..and on that note, back to “Cooking Colicchio” tomorrow – salt-roasted salmon – yummy!

Top Chef S4E1

We were sure that deep dish pizza would quickly come in to play on series 4 of Top Chef since it was being filmed in Chicago so it was no surprise that the first Quickfire Challenge was to put ones own twist on the classic pie. If it were me, i’d top my pizza with a tangy tomato sauce, sweet italian sausage, blanched broccorabi, and fontina cheese. 

I thought the elimination challenge was brilliant – testing fundamental cooking skills in head to head competition.  Since i’ve never made at least half of the eight items on the menu, i announced my intentions to work my way down the list. Now we have a household competition underway. Stay tuned!

cheeeeese sauce

Apologies dear reader, I have been neglectful of my kitchen, my plan, and my blog. From the few meals i’ve prepared lately, i have one triumph to report:  cheese sauce.  One of my goals is to be able to cook the things i crave from restaurants, and good cheese sauce on pasta is one. 

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
1 cup Gorgonzola, crumbled 
walnuts, ground (1/2 – 3/4 cup)
salt
pepper

Make a blonde roux; whisk in wine and reduce by half. Whisk in stock and when it begins to reduce, add cream.  Simmer to thicken – just a couple minutes. Stir in cheese and walnuts. Season to taste.  Excellent over mushroom ravioli or tortellini – add a chiffonade of basil or slivers of sundried tomato or roasted red pepper for colour…….

 Terra Cotta Pasta Company (several locations, including South Portland ME) makes a delicious wild mushroom and shallot ravioli that was perfect with this sauce.

steak

I’ve cooked more meat in the past month than in the past year and things are starting to come together.  Heat oil in pan, add meat (in this case a steak), brown each side, add butter and herbs, baste with butter and pan juices while cooking a few more minutes on each side.  G taught me to make a fist and poke the flesh between thumb and forefinger for a “doneness guide” – looser fist for rarer meat, tight for well done.  It works and once again, the meal is delicious – G thinks the butter helps disperse the herb flavour through the meat. 

 Huh – good quality meat, cooked properly, tastes good.  Who woulda thought?!

thinking like a chef…

Every year we have a Mardi Gras party.  We invite practically everyone we know, promising food, live music, and interesting beverages.  Usually 40-50 people show up.  The menu has evolved from a pot of gumbo to a selection of hot and cold appetizers, two or three hot dishes, and a few desserts (plus a variety of delicious contributions from very generous friends!).  While planning this year’s menu, we tried hard to provide a variety of flavors, textures, etc.   The other challenge was logistical – kitchen time, pans, serving dishes – i hadn’t thought much about that before.

 This is what we served – given that there weren’t any leftovers, i’d say it was a success.

sausage-stuffed mushrooms
artichoke squares
veggies w/dip
crab dip
deviled eggs

cream cheese w/pepper sauce
pickles
bread/crackers/etc

shrimp etoufee
chicken andouille casserole

Roasted Fish

I love fish, but for some reason, i never cook it.  Shrimps, scallops, mussels, clams, and oysters are all frequent visitors to my pans, but plain old fish, never.  I think i’ve been afraid to cook it.  After this week, my confidence is marginally boosted…..

Roasted Fish, Take One:  Saturday morning, with all intentions of heading to the local fish market, i run out of time and find myself at the megamart.  The recipe calls for striped bass or a litany of firm-bodied alternatives, only one of which is available, and that one i would not feed my cat.  I settle on haddock – it looks fresh, smells perfect, and even though i don’t like haddock, i’m excited to cook it.  Except – it has no skin, and this recipe is all about crisping the skin.   I gingerly attempt to follow the roasting instructions, but ultimately the result is perfectly-cooked not-roasted fish — not fried, not browned, not anything but flaky, moist, delicious, and utterly unphotogenic.  Dinner company loved it; i prefered the stunning oven-roasted kale (topped with gruyere) that i served on the side.

Roasted Fish, Take Two:  Harbor Fish is my favourite fish shop.  Quality fish for reasonable prices.  They even have my striped bass – but i’d have to buy the whole fish, and it’s too big for tonight and i don’t want leftovers.  Sea bass it is – smaller, thinner, but perfect.  I hope.

While reheating the leftover kale, i study the recipe.  I think this fish will be cooked in a fraction of the time and i’m worried it won’t have time to brown.  Into the hot pan…it sizzles, doesn’t splatter…in two minutes the filet looks ready to turn…i think.  How do you tell?  I guess you cook a lot of fish and study it!  Some of the skin sticks when i turn the filet the first time.

Ultimately, the fish was perfectly cooked – flaky and moist, with crispy skin – but i feel like i’m missing something so will try this recipe again.

Roasted Chicken

I’ve lived 40 years without roasting a chicken; better late than never i reckon. Read the recipe, make a shopping list, and off we go to the shop…..the recipe calls for a three pound chicken; the smallest the butcher has is six pounds. The recipe also calls for fresh herbs to tuck inside; not an herb to be found at the local shop but the garlic and lemons look nice. Surely this will work?

Tom doesn’t tell me much about trimming the chicken or how to adjust the cooking time for the larger bird – i consulted the Joy of Cooking on these points. Apparently my butchering skills can use work – i apologised to the poor bird for mangling its neck. Quartered the lemon, peeled some garlic, and stuffed the (clean, dry) cavity.

Tom’s trussing instructions are helpful and i practiced a few times, tying and untying the twine. It held nicely as i plopped the bird on its side in a hot cast iron pan with a thin coat of oil. After about six minutes, the sound changed – almost quiet compared to the initial sizzling – and the side was nicely brown. Managed to flip the bird and repeated the browning process; set the chicken breast-side up and put the pan (with chicken, of course) into the oven.

After 30 minutes, i added some butter to the pan and began basting the chicken about every fifteen minutes (the directions say to “baste occasionally”). I also tossed some potatoes in the oven (lovely little ones from the winter farmer market, quartered and tossed with olive oil and herbs). After 90 minutes, the bird was cooked – the thermometer in the thigh read 170F. I let the chicken rest while i pan-roasted brussel sprouts, then plated the meal. The chicken was perfectly cooked with a faint lemon taste. I was surprised how tasty it was.  Recipe One:  Success.

Hello world!

I looked around the kitchen recently and found my cupboards full of seemingly random food.  It’s not that i can’t find a recipe to use everything, but i want to be able to look at the cupboards – or at the market – and “know” what to do with it, how to cook it, what goes with what…..  It’s not even that i can’t cook, but i’ve hit a wall in thinking about food. 

I recently received Tom Colicchio’s book “Think Like a Chef” and am hoping it will do just that, while teaching fundamental skills as well.   My cooking techniques are definitely lacking – for example, i have no clue how to roast a chicken.   This blog will document the journey through the pages.  Recipe One:  Roasted Chicken.  Stay tuned!