Yesterday was an unfortunate return to unseasonal weather, and gray to boot. Grilling just wasn't in the cards, but I had more fish from FreshDirect-- wild snapper, which wasn't cheap but 4 stars and listed "Great Right Now." I've been generally very happy with the quality of FD's seafood-- it's fresh and tasty and mostly wild caught. But I've had two recurring issues, namely scales and bones. The head-end of the snapper fillets had way too many bones, and while I realize some of the bones are hard to remove without wrecking the flesh of the fish, these were little ones that could be pulled with a tweezer. For $18.99 a pound I expect the pin bones to be removed, and there should be no scales at all. That's just sloppy.
But as I said the fish itself was terrific. Again branching off from Legal Sea Foods' cookbook, I steamed 2 7 oz. fillets in aluminum foil with some thinly sliced ginger, 2 sliced garlic cloves, a splash of white wine (I used some indifferent, leftover chardonnay that someone brought over a while back), and some fresh lemon juice. Wrap it in foil and crimp the edges to seal it and bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes.
WARNING: Be careful opening the foil, as very hot steam will vent out. Piercing the foil can vent the steam safely, but the downside is that if the fish isn't done, you now have holes in the foil.
I served this was a melange of roasted Brussels sprouts, carrots, green pepper and snap peas and more of that Delavenne Champagne I wrote about yesterday. Enough said...
I also made a lovely top round roast with port reduction that will be tonight's dinner. I'll leave that for another day.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Back on the horse (and out at the grill!)
In the Spring a young man's fancy may turn to thoughts of love, but I'm a little older and I've already found it so my thoughts turn to flame-charred hunks of food. It's grill season. And it also right now happens to be soft-shell crab season.
For those who aren't aware, Atlantic blue crabs molt their prior year's shell around now leaving just a soft, crunchy, edible coating. You can literally eat the whole crab, claws and all, and boy are they good-- breaded and fried, broiled, but especially grilled over a charcoal fire.
Last night I grilled soft-shell crabs and blackfish fillets, both top picks last week from FreshDirect (the blackfish seems to have sold out), and both were excellent. The simple preparation adapted from the Legal Sea Foods cookbook (which I recommend highly):
Dunk the crabs and fillets one at a time in the mixture and well coat them
Grill (or broil if you must)
Crabs should be grilled face up for 3-4 minutes then turned over for 1-2 minutes. They cook quickly. They are delicious served as is, but today's lunch was the last crab on a challah roll with avocado and ripe tomato.
The blackfish fillets will take 15-20 minutes to cook through, depending on thickness. The fish should be just opaque in the middle. Fish that's too flaky is generally overdone.
My wine recommendation? A dry white like Sancerre can't miss, but my personal choice is dry Champagne. We enjoyed the fish and crab last night with Delavenne Brut Rose, a 2010 gold medal winner at the Concours d'Epernay. Although brut, the tinge of raspberry gives slight sweetness in the finish offsetting the acid (lime), savory (garlic), and salt (fish) flavors of the meal. The Delavenne has displaced Veuve as my favorite Champagne, and I'm so glad I bought half a case when WTSO had it on sale a few months ago.
For those who aren't aware, Atlantic blue crabs molt their prior year's shell around now leaving just a soft, crunchy, edible coating. You can literally eat the whole crab, claws and all, and boy are they good-- breaded and fried, broiled, but especially grilled over a charcoal fire.
Last night I grilled soft-shell crabs and blackfish fillets, both top picks last week from FreshDirect (the blackfish seems to have sold out), and both were excellent. The simple preparation adapted from the Legal Sea Foods cookbook (which I recommend highly):
- juice of 1 lime
- 4 tbl olive oil
- 1 minced garlic clove
- pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
Dunk the crabs and fillets one at a time in the mixture and well coat them
Grill (or broil if you must)
Crabs should be grilled face up for 3-4 minutes then turned over for 1-2 minutes. They cook quickly. They are delicious served as is, but today's lunch was the last crab on a challah roll with avocado and ripe tomato.
The blackfish fillets will take 15-20 minutes to cook through, depending on thickness. The fish should be just opaque in the middle. Fish that's too flaky is generally overdone.
My wine recommendation? A dry white like Sancerre can't miss, but my personal choice is dry Champagne. We enjoyed the fish and crab last night with Delavenne Brut Rose, a 2010 gold medal winner at the Concours d'Epernay. Although brut, the tinge of raspberry gives slight sweetness in the finish offsetting the acid (lime), savory (garlic), and salt (fish) flavors of the meal. The Delavenne has displaced Veuve as my favorite Champagne, and I'm so glad I bought half a case when WTSO had it on sale a few months ago.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Don't abandon hope!
I have not completely given up on this effort, and I will write again. Unfortunately, I've been fighting a cold for over a week so I've been avoiding wine and alcohol in general. I haven't been able to cook very much either, and there's another good reason for that I cannot publicly write about. But hopefully in the next week or so I'll have more food and wine thoughts to share.
In the meantime, if anyone got lucky with some of the deals on the WTSO Marathon today, congratulations. There were some spectacular values, like 2005 Langoa Barton for 49% off, '98 Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame 45% off, and 2006 Latour Batard Montrachet for 52% off. My evil coworker sent me the e-mail, but I managed to be a good boy and restrain myself. Since I'm out of cooler and cellar space, it's best I not buy any more wine that needs to be stored for a while anyway. But the sale is going on until midnight so happy hunting to the rest of you!
In the meantime, if anyone got lucky with some of the deals on the WTSO Marathon today, congratulations. There were some spectacular values, like 2005 Langoa Barton for 49% off, '98 Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame 45% off, and 2006 Latour Batard Montrachet for 52% off. My evil coworker sent me the e-mail, but I managed to be a good boy and restrain myself. Since I'm out of cooler and cellar space, it's best I not buy any more wine that needs to be stored for a while anyway. But the sale is going on until midnight so happy hunting to the rest of you!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
A Quick One
I've run dry the last two weeks or so, and sadly it's due to lack of time rather than material. The good news is I have at least two more posts on tap this week. This one will be short before bed.
So two weeks back we're having a nice family dinner with stir-fried veggies-- snow peas, broccoli, and cauliflower, and maybe carrots. Alex, our 3-year-old, isn't so into them so we get the brilliant idea that the snow peas are green, alien tongues and the carrots are alien fingers, which makes her laugh and gets her more interested. She starts putting snow peas in her mouth and wiggling them on her lips like a tongue then slurping them up and a similar story with the "fingers." Now this is certainly not the path to perfect Miss Manners table etiquette, but given the choice between her eating healthy vegetables and gaining the approval of high society matrons, I'm going with the veggies. High society can kiss green, alien booty...
And I wish you all a fine evening...
So two weeks back we're having a nice family dinner with stir-fried veggies-- snow peas, broccoli, and cauliflower, and maybe carrots. Alex, our 3-year-old, isn't so into them so we get the brilliant idea that the snow peas are green, alien tongues and the carrots are alien fingers, which makes her laugh and gets her more interested. She starts putting snow peas in her mouth and wiggling them on her lips like a tongue then slurping them up and a similar story with the "fingers." Now this is certainly not the path to perfect Miss Manners table etiquette, but given the choice between her eating healthy vegetables and gaining the approval of high society matrons, I'm going with the veggies. High society can kiss green, alien booty...
And I wish you all a fine evening...
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Birthday
So one of the reasons I didn't post for a couple of days was Monday was my birthday. My wonderful family kept me well fed and feted from Saturday through Monday. Saturday night was an intimate, just-the-three-of-us dinner at Le P'tit Paris, a bistro just off Prospect Park on the Windsor Terrace/Park Slope edge in the old Da Vincenzo space, which I was sad but not heartbroken to see close. (Da Vincenzo had excellent pizza and Italian comfort food, but there's little shortage of that in Brooklyn.) We'd been there once before, where I'd enjoyed a lovely rendition of Coq au Vin, but we had not back for quite a while. Saturday the regular special is Boeuf Bourguignon. Braised short ribs are one of life's great comfort foods, and I've experimented with beer and wine on a number of occasions, and the results were tasty. Having classic Boeuf Bourg at LPP left me wondering why I bothered trying to improve on the formula. As is often the case, the French set a culinary standard that bears little room for improvement no matter what fancy techniques or exotic ingredients are employed. That's not to say I won't keep trying nor should you, but every once in a while it's good to go back to basics to remind ourselves of the benchmark. The preparation is normally over pasta, but the waiter happily substituted a mushroom risotto, for me a much preferable choice. (But then risotto is always a winner with me.) I had no prayer of finishing the whole meal, but short ribs and risotto only get better sitting overnight.
I also enjoyed a glass of 2006 Domaine de Beausejour from Chinon in the Loire Valley. Chinon red wines are based on Cabernet Franc, called Breton there I have learned. (The Internet knows everything.) I am by no means an expert in Loire wines, but I enjoyed it and would happily drink it again. A rich dish like BB could have used a stronger pairing though, and I would probably try something a little more assertive from their impressive list by the glass. (It's on the bottom of the menu at the above link.) There are even two selections from Languedoc, a region with which I have no experience at all. Even though it is the largest wine region in France and grows both Cabernet and Pinot Noir, probably scandalizing both the Bordelais and the Bourgognois simultaneously, as well as the Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre traditional to the bordering Rhone region. You do not commonly find Languedoc appellation wines in most wine shops or wine lists in the U.S., or at least I don't, but then an authentic French bistro run by two guys named Olivier and Matthieu can be expected to dig deeper. I highly recommend a visit if French comfort food done perfectly sounds remotely appealing. (If it doesn't, I'm not sure how I can help you.)
I also enjoyed a glass of 2006 Domaine de Beausejour from Chinon in the Loire Valley. Chinon red wines are based on Cabernet Franc, called Breton there I have learned. (The Internet knows everything.) I am by no means an expert in Loire wines, but I enjoyed it and would happily drink it again. A rich dish like BB could have used a stronger pairing though, and I would probably try something a little more assertive from their impressive list by the glass. (It's on the bottom of the menu at the above link.) There are even two selections from Languedoc, a region with which I have no experience at all. Even though it is the largest wine region in France and grows both Cabernet and Pinot Noir, probably scandalizing both the Bordelais and the Bourgognois simultaneously, as well as the Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre traditional to the bordering Rhone region. You do not commonly find Languedoc appellation wines in most wine shops or wine lists in the U.S., or at least I don't, but then an authentic French bistro run by two guys named Olivier and Matthieu can be expected to dig deeper. I highly recommend a visit if French comfort food done perfectly sounds remotely appealing. (If it doesn't, I'm not sure how I can help you.)
Promised tuna
So I promised my seared tuna and sauteed spinach recipe from two Sundays back. Really easy. The key is good quality, fresh yellowfin or other meaty tuna in a nice thick fillet. If you're in NY, Fairway usually has reliable fish, or find Blue Moon Fish at one of several Greenmarkets. (Get there early, as they sell out fast!) If you're elsewhere and financially flush, Whole Foods is usually a good bet as well.
Combine 4 tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice, and some cracked black pepper in a dish, and microwave just slightly to melt the honey so it all dissolves together. Rinse and dry the tuna and marinate for 30 minutes in the soy-honey sauce. Heat oil (grapeseed or olive is fine) in a cast iron skillet (where would I be without mine?) over high heat until it starts to smoke. Drop the tuna in the pan and sear for about 2-1/2 minutes, turn and sear the other side for 2 minutes. The fish should have a nice seared glaze about 1/4 deep and still be rare in the middle. Or better yet use an instant read thermometer to 120 degrees for rare, 125 for medium-rare.
The spinach is similar to last time, but in this case I toasted almonds, added spinach and some other mixed greens and finished with sweet lime juice. I always finish sauteed spinach with vinegar or citrus-- the last post explained about chelating agents which help capture iron. In this case the acid in vinegar or citrus helps your body absorb more iron from the spinach. And lime juice and balsamic vinegar both taste great anyway so it's a win-win.
As I mentioned, this paired well with a 2003 Val di Suga Brunello. Brunello di Montalcino, to use its full name, is one of the various "super Tuscan" wines, often with super (high) prices. But I found it several months back on wtso.com for about $30 a bottle. It's a bargain at that price-- luscious with dark cherry, soft, ripe tannin structure and some balanced acidity (hence the fish pairing), with coffee and more cherry in the finish. It normally retails for $57, which would be less of a value.
Combine 4 tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice, and some cracked black pepper in a dish, and microwave just slightly to melt the honey so it all dissolves together. Rinse and dry the tuna and marinate for 30 minutes in the soy-honey sauce. Heat oil (grapeseed or olive is fine) in a cast iron skillet (where would I be without mine?) over high heat until it starts to smoke. Drop the tuna in the pan and sear for about 2-1/2 minutes, turn and sear the other side for 2 minutes. The fish should have a nice seared glaze about 1/4 deep and still be rare in the middle. Or better yet use an instant read thermometer to 120 degrees for rare, 125 for medium-rare.
The spinach is similar to last time, but in this case I toasted almonds, added spinach and some other mixed greens and finished with sweet lime juice. I always finish sauteed spinach with vinegar or citrus-- the last post explained about chelating agents which help capture iron. In this case the acid in vinegar or citrus helps your body absorb more iron from the spinach. And lime juice and balsamic vinegar both taste great anyway so it's a win-win.
As I mentioned, this paired well with a 2003 Val di Suga Brunello. Brunello di Montalcino, to use its full name, is one of the various "super Tuscan" wines, often with super (high) prices. But I found it several months back on wtso.com for about $30 a bottle. It's a bargain at that price-- luscious with dark cherry, soft, ripe tannin structure and some balanced acidity (hence the fish pairing), with coffee and more cherry in the finish. It normally retails for $57, which would be less of a value.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sunday Sauce
So I promised my Sunday sauce recipe. Everyone and his grandmother (usually literally the grandmother) says they make the best tomato sauce, and really who's going to argue with a nice old Italian grandma? The wonderful thing about sauce though is that you can experiment with just about anything in the kitchen and have fun with it.
My basic sauce is fresh plum tomatoes (10-20) often plus a can of San Marzano tomatoes if I don't have enough fresh. Blanche the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes until the skins start to split then douse in cold water. At this point if you have a food mill you can run the tomatoes through it to remove the seeds, peels and stems, but unless you're making a lot more than I do (family of three in NYC house = not that much storage and only so much sauce we can eat) peeling and cutting the stems by hand is not too hard. I don't bother taking seeds out myself, but cut the tomatoes in half and scoop them out if you feel so inclined.
I then in a large pot (dutch oven or gallon+ saucepan) heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and then sweat a cup of chopped onions (I like cippolinis, sometimes sweet onions, and I've been known to add shallots too) and a quarter cup of minced garlic (unless I've roasted garlic) for several minutes until they glisten and start to yellow (not brown). Toss in several twists of fresh ground pepper, a pinch or two of sea salt, and stir up. Add a healthy splash of red wine (open a bottle to serve with dinner or leftover wine is generally okay too but absolutely not cooking wine, never cook with anything that started out unsuitable for drinking) to deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes and reduce to medium low heat. Let simmer and crush up the tomatoes using a wooden spoon or other nonreactive implement. Add a couple handfuls of fresh basil leaves and roasted garlic (mash that up too). Let simmer for a couple of hours and season to taste.
For controversy, discuss sweetening sauce. Tomatoes are acidic so there's nothing wrong with adding a bit of sugar or other sweetener if you think it necessary. Riper tomatoes are sweeter and will need less sweetening. Personally I'll use a touch of honey if I want it sweeter, but last Sunday's batch needed none.
Enjoy the sauce with the rest of the wine. I used Val di Suga Brunello, and drank more of it with the seared tuna I made the same night. Val di Suga is wonderful like most Brunello, and they do not even have a website that I can find. If pairing red wine with fish sounds like blasphemy, it is not entirely. Received wisdom is that red wine and fish creates an unpleasant aftertaste, but it isn't always true. The truth is more subtle, and the chemistry is now understood to be a reaction of iron with fish oils. Red wines without iron can be drunk with fish, and chelating agents will reduce the iron content and the fishy aftertaste regardless. Organic acids like citrus and vinegar are chelating agents, which explains why lemon or beurre blanc (butter blended with vinegar) make fish taste better, and why acidic white wines pair well.
Finally, I've found some practical use for that biochemical engineering degree that cost me so much time and money!
My basic sauce is fresh plum tomatoes (10-20) often plus a can of San Marzano tomatoes if I don't have enough fresh. Blanche the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes until the skins start to split then douse in cold water. At this point if you have a food mill you can run the tomatoes through it to remove the seeds, peels and stems, but unless you're making a lot more than I do (family of three in NYC house = not that much storage and only so much sauce we can eat) peeling and cutting the stems by hand is not too hard. I don't bother taking seeds out myself, but cut the tomatoes in half and scoop them out if you feel so inclined.
I then in a large pot (dutch oven or gallon+ saucepan) heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and then sweat a cup of chopped onions (I like cippolinis, sometimes sweet onions, and I've been known to add shallots too) and a quarter cup of minced garlic (unless I've roasted garlic) for several minutes until they glisten and start to yellow (not brown). Toss in several twists of fresh ground pepper, a pinch or two of sea salt, and stir up. Add a healthy splash of red wine (open a bottle to serve with dinner or leftover wine is generally okay too but absolutely not cooking wine, never cook with anything that started out unsuitable for drinking) to deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes and reduce to medium low heat. Let simmer and crush up the tomatoes using a wooden spoon or other nonreactive implement. Add a couple handfuls of fresh basil leaves and roasted garlic (mash that up too). Let simmer for a couple of hours and season to taste.
For controversy, discuss sweetening sauce. Tomatoes are acidic so there's nothing wrong with adding a bit of sugar or other sweetener if you think it necessary. Riper tomatoes are sweeter and will need less sweetening. Personally I'll use a touch of honey if I want it sweeter, but last Sunday's batch needed none.
Enjoy the sauce with the rest of the wine. I used Val di Suga Brunello, and drank more of it with the seared tuna I made the same night. Val di Suga is wonderful like most Brunello, and they do not even have a website that I can find. If pairing red wine with fish sounds like blasphemy, it is not entirely. Received wisdom is that red wine and fish creates an unpleasant aftertaste, but it isn't always true. The truth is more subtle, and the chemistry is now understood to be a reaction of iron with fish oils. Red wines without iron can be drunk with fish, and chelating agents will reduce the iron content and the fishy aftertaste regardless. Organic acids like citrus and vinegar are chelating agents, which explains why lemon or beurre blanc (butter blended with vinegar) make fish taste better, and why acidic white wines pair well.
Finally, I've found some practical use for that biochemical engineering degree that cost me so much time and money!
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