15 Apr

Gravlax

Posted by admin in Recipes.

As I have mentioned before, especially while traveling, lox in one form or another is a fave breakfast for me. Not wanting to wait until being on the road to enjoy, I cure my own.

Gravlax ready for slicing

Making gravlax is a straightforward process of dry curing a salmon fillet with a mixture of salt, sugar, and dill. It cures refrigerated for 24 hours or more. Salt to sugar proportions vary by personal preference. Salt draws moisture from the flesh, while the sugar returns moisture and the accompanying flavorings. Pastrami seasonings are a common variant. Wanting a spicier version, influenced by Chef Marcus Samuelsson, I cured this salmon with the addition of Berbere Spice to the traditional dill cure. Mark Bittman, in the “Minimalist: Gravlax without Fear…“, explains the process along with recipe variations.

Sliced thin, I roll the lox and serve on a cracker, or a halved new potato with creme fraiche and caviar. Or simply presented with minced onion, capers, and a sliced bagel slathered with cream cheese. In another presentation, I use lox in Eggs Cocotte. Eggs Cocotte (shirred eggs), are basically eggs, cheese, and cream baked in a ramekin in a water bath.

Eggs Cocotte with Shiitake and Lox

Eggs Cocotte with Shiitake and Lox

Ingredients
(per serving)

1 Fresh Egg
2 ounces Sliced Lox
1/4 cup Sliced Shiitake
2 Tbls Sliced Shallots
1 Tbl Olive Oil
3 Tbls Cream
1 ounce Shaved Parmesan
Butter to “grease” ramekin

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Butter ramekin
  3. Sweat shallots and shiitake in olive oil; transfer to ramekin
  4. Place lox on top of shallots and mushrooms
  5. Crack egg on top
  6. Pour cream around egg, taking care not to cover yolk
  7. Add cheese a top cream
  8. Place ramekins in water bath
  9. Bake until whites are set, but yolks are still flowing (approximately 20 mins)

Serve as first course, or with a slice of bread for dipping and fresh fruit for breakfast, brunch, or dinner.

13 Feb

What Makes a House, a Home?

Posted by admin in Uncategorized.

Our first house, the plan was to move within five years. Ha! Now twenty-five years later, wanting to age more gracefully into “old age”, we are finally moving from your first home into our second house.  From a four story (counting basement and attic) house in the city, to a single floor ranch situated on 2.65 acres in the country, the move has been slow and relatively orderly.

An orderly move is needed since we are downsizing from 1900 square feet to 1600.  If it doesn’t have a place in the new house it’s not being moved.  Organize, sort, keep, donate, toss, clean… the process moves forward.  The new place is transitioning into a home as furniture moves over… bedroom furniture, living room, dinning room, and the wares of the kitchen.  But what truly makes a house a home?  For us, filling the house with delectable aromas!  Inviting friends over for a meal, more than entertaining, inviting friends and family to share our abundance.

First aromas to fill the house… simmered smoked ham hock for the perfect winter meal, split pea soup.  The next day, chicken stock made simmering a classic blend of bay, thyme, leeks, carrots, celery, and parsley with chicken.  First meal… pan seared Alaskan King Salmon, sautéed Swiss chard with toasted pine nuts, and raisins, then using the chicken broth for “creamed” truffle scented quinoa topped with leeks and mushrooms finished with white balsamic cream.

Wonderful aromas to christen the house.  A wonderful meal enjoyed in our new home.  Next?  Small gatherings of friends over for brunch, leading to a Spring fling of campfire cookery.  Love friends helping making this house our home.  Love creating scrumptious faire in our new home!

20 May

Cast Iron Skillet

Posted by admin in Philadelphia/East Coast. Tagged: , , .

I don’t recall much else but cast iron used by my mother while growing up, skillets, fry pans, and Dutch ovens all with a beautiful patina of black developed from years of use and care.

My childhood memories take me to a time where frugality was essential whether it was using leftovers for the next day’s meal or knowing how to make an inexpensive, common cut of beef or pork taste of dishes we could not afford. Making do with what was at hand was also usual like making pastry bags by folding parchment paper or a grocery sack to pipe the decorations on her frosted cakes. One of my favorite meals, fried potato patties, was made from the previous evening’s dinner of chuck roast, where the beef was ground and seasoned, used to fill leftover mashed potatoes that were then fried in butter and olive oil. Crispy and full flavored this leftover meal I always looked forward to with anticipation.

Once I recall my mother buying another cast iron skillet to add to her collection. It looked nothing of the pans she was using, not black, but a silver-grey. Seeing how her old pans use to look, I set about to clean her old “dirty” skillets to look like new again. Using a Brillo pad I made that old pan shine! I remember the gasp from my mother when she saw what I had done. After regaining her composure, she expressed her appreciation of my intent, with a little chuckle; then I received a lesson on how to season cast iron.

Simple delicious foods prepared with love, but obviously much more than food was prepared in my mother’s kitchen. Frugality, creativity and many other life lessons were taught, not the least were patience, understanding, and nurturing.

16 May

Tortilla Trufada

Posted by admin in Recipes. Tagged: , , .

Tortilla Trufada

½ cup  Olive oil
8 oz       Oyster mushrooms (or combination of oyster and shiitake), finely chopped
2            Onions (approx. ½ lb.), quartered, thinly sliced
1lb (approx)     Potatoes, boiled, quartered, thinly sliced
7                          Eggs, large
2 Tbls                 Chicken stock or broth (optional)
¾ tsp                  Truffle oil (white or black)
TT                        Salt & pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet, sauté mushrooms until they are lightly browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a bowl.

Add another 2 tablespoons olive oil, add the onions and cook over medium heat, until they are very soft and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes. When the onions are done, add another 3 tablespoons of oil to the skillet, then add the potatoes. Cook over low heat, stirring very gently, until the ingredients are mixed and the potatoes are infused with the oil. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the mushrooms and gently stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and let cool completely.

Place eggs, chicken stock, and a few pinches of salt in a large mixing bowl and beat until the eggs are just scrambled. Add the potato mixture and the truffle oil and mix until well combined. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

Heat about 5 teaspoons of the remaining olive oil in a heavy 8-inch skillet, over medium-high heat until it is just beginning to smoke. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and flatten it with a spatula until the top is fairly even.  Reduce to the heat to medium-low. Cook, moving and shaking the skillet, running spatula around the edge. Cook the tortilla in this fashion until the top is a little wet, but not liquid. Run the spatula under the tortilla to make sure that no part of the bottom is stuck to the skillet. Top the skillet with a rimless plate slightly larger than the skillet and quickly invert the tortilla onto the plate. If the skillet looks dry, add a little more olive oil. Carefully slide the tortilla back into the skillet, uncooked side down. Shake the skillet to straighten the tortilla and push the edges in with the spatula. Reduce the heat to very low and cook the tortilla until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 3 to 4 minutes. Invert the tortilla again, as before and cook on the first side for another minute.

Invert the tortilla onto a serving plate, let cool a little, then cut the tortilla into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature. To serve as tapas, cut the tortilla into cubes.

Serves 12 as part of a tapas selection, 8 as a light main course.

 

Adapted from: “The New Spanish Table,” Tortilla Trufada (Truffled Tortilla) 2005

16 May

Tortilla

Posted by admin in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , .

Writing of Mother’s Day spurred memories of my first visit with my Spanish family. It was during my 1967 Spanish High School trip, a ten-day tour through Spain with a one-day side trip from Malaga to Tangiers on the northern tip of Africa. It was a fascinating adventure from the very beginning. Generalissimo Franco was on the last legs of his reign, but still very much in power. Spain was just beginning to emerge from years and years of economic depression. The stark variances of cultural change were evident from the time we landed in Malaga. A modern airport with commercial jet aircraft landing and taking off on runways lined with vintage WWII aircraft. We rode to our hotel in a commercial bus better than any I had ridden in the states, while passing mule drawn carts loaded with milk.

I said this was my Spanish class trip, but languages are definitely not my forte. I had “muy un poco” understanding of the language, just enough to cause trouble. While in Madrid I met the Spanish family. Excited to have their American cousin in their home, they were more than eager to prepare a meal in my honor. They, except for my Aunt Cora, spoke less English than I spoke Spanish. Here is where the confusion starts. I grew up knowing a dish my mother made as, “tortilla”, that I adored. This is what I requested. Here I am sitting at the dining room table surrounded by my Spanish family that is totally perplexed that this mundane dish, an unadorned, simple omelet is all that I wanted. A little explanation is needed here; I was expecting a beautiful golden thick omelet of fried potatoes and onions. My mother as I mentioned called this “Tortilla”. I did not know that tortilla in Spanish meant “Omelet”. What I thought I was going to receive was “Tortilla de Patatas”. After several, “…are you sure? …are you sure, all you want is an omelet?” I was finally served the omelet, just as Europeans prefer, lightly cooked on one side, flipped in half and served close to raw on the inside. Confused, but polite I cut into the runny eggs and had my first bite… I swear, my whole body froze at the texture of the eggs. I’m thinking, “…these eggs are not even done…how I’m I going to finish this?” I don’t want to insult my relatives, and it’s getting hard to control my gag response! Three bites are all I can manage, when I say “…thank you, I’m full”. I’m sure they chalked this unnerving encounter up to a finicky American teenager. I don’t think they ever heard the real story.

Like any omelet many ingredients can go into the dish. I’ve made them with sweet red pepper, or with apple as an ingredient. I have seen them with asparagus or with artichokes, with tuna or chorizo. My mother’s was always the simple classic of sauteed potatoes, onions, salt, pepper and eggs.

A variant based on a recipe out of, “The New Spanish Table,” by Anya von Bremzen (2005), is my current fave. It is a tortilla of eggs, potatoes, caramelized onions, and oyster mushrooms, with white or black truffle oil. As all tortillas it can be served as a main course or as part of a Tapas selection. Checkout: Tortilla Trufada.

12 May

Why “Salty Peas”

Posted by admin in Uncategorized.

The perfect breakfast while traveling, for me, bagels and lox…full flavored, sweet and salty, the cured salmon paired with its accoutrements is both light, yet satisfying.

Childhood memories of Sunday brunch includes a simple toasted bagel with a schmear of cream cheese, a thin slice of lox, all topped with minced red onion.  Since then I’ve found lox presented in many ways as with crispy potato latkes as a dinner or luncheon appetizer topped with creme fraiche, to the more common breakfast or brunch plate.  Even as a brunch plate the accoutrements for lox vary considerably.  Sliced ripe, red tomatoes, onion, green beans, cornichons, diced egg white, riced egg yoke, watercress, lemon wedges, and caviar all have joined the plated presentations.

While traveling in the upper peninsula of Michigan we stopped to visit friends in Marquette. Sitting down with my wife and her friend I was excited to find, yes, bagel and lox on the breakfast menu. When asked, the waitress proceeds to describe the platter. “It comes with house cured salmon…”, hmmm, that’s impressive; “sliced toasted bagel, minced onion, thin sliced tomato, cream cheese, and peas”.  Wait, back up here, “Peas”, I ask? “Yes, it comes on all of the fish platters”.  As I’ve mentioned, many small tidbits are offered to provide contrasting texture and flavors to the basics of lox and cream cheese, but peas? The thought of soft, cooked peas did nothing for me, as a matter of fact, it was a deal breaker.  I tell the waitress to give me a moment to look at the menu again.  As I do, I’m also envisioning the plate she has described, as if by a strike of lightning it dawns on me, what I hope, she meant.  I look at her whimsically and ask, “…back to the lox and the peas, are the peas…capers?” Her response, “Is that what they are called?!”

A side light of this story, I was in Marquette holding a TIPS Alcohol Awareness Training Program. The Owner of the restaurant and the chef were in attendance.  I shared my story with totally different reactions from the two.  The owner just smiled and chuckled, while the chef turned beet red, angered that the server did not know what a caper was. Especially, as she said, “I just went over the whole menu and ingredients!”  I’ve returned many times since, and yes the waitress is still there, and she remembers me from that incident.  My quip now when ordering the lox plate is to ask if the “Salty Peas” are still being offered.

12 May

Mother’s Day Tribute

Posted by admin in Philadelphia/East Coast, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , .

Spanish Memories

My mother was born in Santander, Spain early in the 1900’s. Soon after my grandparents immigrated to the United States settling in Philadelphia. A story of struggle and tragedy, yet stories of accomplishment, adaptation and attainment…but that is a story for another time. My mother I am told was non-judgmental, creative (though not in the kitchen) and welcoming. I say, I am told, for but a few treasured memories of my own, most memories of my mother are from her older sister, my Aunt Mary.
When I was 4½ my mother died of pancreatic cancer; Aunt Mary, a single parent, moved in with her family to take care of us since my father as a union organizer, was frequently on the road, out of state. Now an amalgam of two families totaling seven kids, frugality was ever important. Childhood memories definitely focus on the flavorful creative meals that Aunt Mary provided. Early on everything was done from “scratch”…cakes, puddings, icings, to the point of using parchment to fashion cones for piping decorations and birthday greetings onto cakes. Sunday, as I remember, was spaghetti and meatball night; Friday’s dinner rotated macaroni and cheese, or egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches, or my favorite “Tortilla de Patatas” (we just called it tortilla); and frequently, a Tuesday/Wednesday sequence of first chuck roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, followed the next evening with pan fried meat filled potato cakes. These last two meals epitomized the frugality always displayed in preparing meals.

Chuck roast, an inexpensive cut, was prepared simply seasoned, braised with carrots, tomatoes and onions. The meal was always accompanied with plenty of mashed potatoes and gravy…yes, of course the gravy was prepared by deglazing the pan! This Tuesday meal, luscious as it was, actually became pre-prep for Wednesday’s dinner. As a child it was fun to help, attaching the meat grinder by tightening the screw clamp to the bottom of the kitchen tabletop, inserting the blade and grinding plate and finally hand cranking the grinder, sometimes passing the cooked roast beef twice through the grinder depending on the consistency Aunt Mary would want. Then the meat would be seasoned with salt and pepper and loosely mixed with sautéed chopped onion. A mound of the ground mixture was placed into a hollow of the day old mashed potatoes and sealed. Flattened, the cakes were lightly floured then fried a golden brown. The meal was completed with the gravy from Tuesday night, a vegetable and applesauce.

Throughout childhood helping in the kitchen was an important and desired activity, whether it was shelling eggs, using the food mill to puree soups, grinding meats or making a breakfast favorite, almond flavored French toast. Not until adulthood did I realize the impact Aunt Mary had on my appreciation for food and also the subtle Spanish influence that forms the foundation of my interests and my desire to explore different cuisines. When I was age ten, my father re-married and from then till her death in 1989, I called Aunt Mary, “Mom”.

“Spanish Memories”, was adapted from an originally published article in the ACF Capital Professional Chefs’ and Cooks’ Association’s, Capital Culinary News.

5 May

Hello world!

Posted by admin in Uncategorized.

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