Spork or Foon?

Spring Vegetable Soup

  
I think any cook or chef can agree that we all get excited when spring comes around. Fresh fruits and vegetables start popping up at stores and greenmarkets and shelves and stands are overloaded with a beautiful array of colors and shapes from varying types of produce.  Beautiful, light green stalks of asparagus, full, bright orange carrots, beautiful peas in dark green pods, deliciously red, ripe strawberries spilling out of their baskets - the list goes on and on.  So when I saw this soup when thumbing through Thomas Keller's Bouchon Cookbook, I jumped on the train and headed down to the Union Square Greenmarket. Unfortunately, at the time (2 weeks ago) it was still a little early in the season, so I was only able to get some gorgeous carrots and perfect fingerling potatoes. I headed to the supermarket, got some asparagus, cabbage, leeks, parmesan, prosciutto, shiitaki mushrooms, scallions, and plum tomatoes to finish out the soup. 

I had to replace the fava beans with lima beans. NEVER AGAIN. I hated them when I was young, and I thought to myself, "Well, I'm an adult now. Maybe I won't hate lima beans." WRONG. GROSS. They are disgusting, mushy, bugs of grossness and I'll never consider them again. And they were CANNED, to make matters worse. BLECH.

Besides the lima bean issue, this is an amazing, amazing soup.  It definitely takes more time than any soup than I have ever made before.  First, a tomato confit is prepared by cooking tomatoes sprinkled with fresh thyme, salt and pepper on very low heat for 5 to 6 hours until they are dry.  Later on, I cooked ham with fresh garlic cloves, then added the carrots, leeks, cabbage, chicken broth, and a bouquet garni and finally added a huge chunk of parmesan (yes, a whole chunk) and the potatoes as the soup cooked and developed wonderful flavors. The soup is best when it sits for a day, but I couldn't wait it out.  I blanched some asparagus, and added the asparagus, mushrooms, and scallions and enjoyed the most delicious spring soup that has ever passed these lips. 

Spring Vegetable Soup adapted from the Bouchon Cookbook

For the Soup

1 large carrot

One 2 1/2 inch thick wedge of savoy cabbage

1 small leek

1 to 2 celery stalks

4 to 6 small fingerling potatoes

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 Oz. prosciutto (not sliced - but you can use sliced prosciuotto if you have to)

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bouquet Garni

One 1-oz piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Garnishes

1 pound fava beans, in the pod

16 medium asparagus spears

24 small shiitake mushrooms, cleaned

2 tbsp chopped italian parsley

2 tbsp minced chives

Shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

For the soup:  You will need 1/2 cup each of the sliced vegetables for the soup.

Peel the carrot and cut away the ends.  Cut it lengthwise in half, then cut each half lengthwise again to give you 4 pieces.  Cut each piece crosswise into 1/4-inch thich slices.  

Remove any dark outer green leaves from the cabbage and reserve for antoher use.  Place the wedge cut side down on a cutting board and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide slices. 

Cut away the dark green leaves and root end of the leek, saving them for the bouquet garni.  Cut the leek lengthwise in half and risne well under cold water. Cut each piece of leek lengthwise in half and hten cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide slices.

Wash and trim the celery. Use a paring knife to pull away the strings, then cut the stalks into 1/4-inch-thich slices.

Wash the potatoes. Cut away and discard the ends, then cut the remaining potatoes into 1 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the ham skin or fat side down and the garlic and swirl the pan for a few seconds to coat the garlics, then sweat the garlic for a minute or two.  Add the 1/2 cup each carrot, cabbage, leek, turnips, and celery, stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add 1 cup potatoes, the bouquet garni, Parmigiano, and stock and bring to a simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

MEanwhile, prepare an ice bath.  When the potatoes are tender, pour the soup into a bowl or other container and chill in the ice bath until cold, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (This soup is best refrigerated for a day.)

For the garnishes: Prepare an ice bath.

Shell the fava beans and peel the skins from the beans (peeling the beans before cooking them prevents gases from being trapped between the beans and their skins that could cause discoloration). Remove the small germ at the sideo f each bean. (You should have about 1 cup). Blanch the beans in a large pot of generously salted water for about 5 minutes or until tender.  Using a skimmer, immediately transfer to the ice bath to chill.

Cut away the bottom third of each asparagus spear and sicard. Cut the remaining spears on a sharp bias into pieces about 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. Blanch the asparagus in the boiling water until just tender and trasnfer to the ice bath to chill.  When they are cold, drain the favas and asparagus and spread on paper towels to drain.  Cut off and discard the mushroom stems, then cut the mushrooms into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

To complete:  If any fat has solidified on the surgace of the soup, remove and discard it. TRansfer the soup to a saucepan, and remove and discard the bouquet garni and Parmigiano.  Remove the ham, cut away any excess fat, and cut into lardons about 1 1/2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick.  Return the lardons to the soup and bring the soup to a boil.

Add the mushrooms to the soup, reduce the heat, and simmer for a minute.  Add the fava beans, aparagus, and remove from heat.  Stir in the parsley and chives, taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Brussels Sprouts and Smoky Onions Cheddar on Toast

 
 

OK. I know that title may not sound that appealing to most of you. I know many of us would not equate "brussels sprouts" with "delicious".

But it is time to make a change, my friends.  Brussels sprouts, when prepared well, can be sublime. And I love, love, love using recipes that only use the leaves of the brussels sprouts (less room for error).

These brussels sprouts are mixed with diced, smokey onions that have been sauteed with smoky paprika. 

Let me also stress how important it is to use a good paprika. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I once used a paprika I bought at...  ... ...  CVS.  For months. It was a dollar.

I was in a bind!  I needed paprika and I couldn't find a grocery store!  

Wow. I'm embarrassed.

Well. Needless to say, that paprika did not have much flavor.  I replaced it with a much better, much more expensive jar of paprika and my life has never been the same.

Back to my description. Where was I?  Ah, yes.  These brussels sprouts are mixed with diced, smokey onions that have been sauteed with smoky paprika. The slightly tender leaves still hold a little bit of their crispness and provide a pleasing texture. The mixture is then put atop a crisp toast that is covered in melted, sharp cheddar cheese. The result taste is complex and surprising and phenomenally good.  Jack and I couldn't get enough of these. I will definitely make this again and again...with real paprika.  

Never again will I buy my spices from CVS Pharmacy! 

Brussels Sprouts with Smoky Onions on Cheddar Toast adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

1 pound brussels sprouts, thinly sliced lengthwise

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika

4 slices of multi-grain bread, toasted

4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350F. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook brussels sprout leaves until they are just tender, about 5 minutes.  Drain and pat dry.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the paprika, cover and cook on low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is just tender, about 10 minutes; add a little water if it dries out.

Add the brussels sprouts to the skillet and cook until tender throughout, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the toasts on a baking sheet, top with cheddar. Bake for 2 minutes, until the cheese is melted; mound the brussels sprouts and onions on top and serve. 

Top Chef with Teanna - Season 6, Episode 4 - Warm Cured Trout with Deconstructed Bernaise

I must apologize this I was Tardy for the Party on this one.  

If you didn't recognize that saying, I was giving a shoutout Kim of Real Housewives of Atlanta. Check out her song. Laugh a little.

I got off track with my scheduling a little bit on this one.  And sadly, after making about 15 winning Top Chef meals, this is my first failure.

Can I have a moment of silence for the dish?

..................

Thank you for your concern.

This was the most complicated dish I have made so far (but I haven't yet gotten to Season 2, which is chock full of Marcel's foams and gelees). The deconstructed Bernaise called for xantham gum, which by no means is a hard to find ingredient (check out Whole Foods if your supermarket doesn't have it), but I couldn't justify a $15 purchase for a teaspoon of xantham gum when I never use it otherwise.  It also called for Transglutaminase Activa RM (meat glue) to shape the fish. I was fresh out.  

Let's start from the beginning. I prepared my brine, which consisted of water, salt, orange and lemon zest, tarragon, long red peppers, sugar and coriander seeds.  This smelled like the most wonderful of wonderful brines.  There was a lot of salt, but I figured that that was just because it was curing the trout. I wanted to cure myself in it. But instead, I placed the fish in and let it cure overnight.

The next day, I started to prepare the deconstructed bernaise. And this is where everything started to take a turn.  The bernaise called for sherry vinegar, turmeric, long peppers, shallots, and chicken demiglace, which a grapeseed oil and xantham gum to be added at the end. I didn't make any chicken demiglace because I sometimes think I'm super brilliant and don't read recipes ahead of time, which always leads to mistakes.  I was also just fresh out of veal bones and chicken carcasses (I used it with my Transglutaminase Activa RM),  so I decided to use chicken stock and wing it.  And because I was not using xantham gum, I needed something to make the sauce thick. So I started off by maxing a white roux and then added the rest of the ingredients.  It worked like a charm. I was walking on air!  I was singing Nobody Gonna Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder.

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride

Nobody gonna slow me down, oh no

I got to keep on moving

Good song.

The fish was to be cooked in a cryovac bag with an aromatic cooking oil in an immersion circulator.  I could go with the "I was fresh out of cryovac bags and I still haven't unpacked my immersion circulator" thing, but I fear that joke just got old.  So instead, I decided to bake the fish in a 425 oven for 15 minutes, which obviously changed the texture of the fish.  But that was not the problem. The problem was that I completely forgot the aromatic cooking oil (seriously, I didn't realize that I didn't do it until I just referred to the recipe right now) which consisted of orange and lemon zests, tarragon, long red peppers, olive oil, shallots, coriander and fennel seeds.  Listen to all of those flavors, people!  I wasn't even Tardy for the Party on this one! I just didn't show up!

The dish called for pommes souffle. In case you do not know the method to cooking pommes souffle, I'm gonna break it down.  Two pots of oil:  one at 275 degrees, the other at 380 degrees, in this case. Take some thinly sliced potatoes (1/16 of an inch), put them in the first pot and wait for the pot to BUBBLE OVER and then place them in the second pot until they puff up.  

I'm all about setting fires in my kitchen, but it is often not on purpose. So I decided to make shoestring potato chips by using a julienne slicer and frying the potatoes. 

I was excited to try the dish. I plated all of my ingredients, took some photos in the quickly setting light, and took a bite. 

SALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLT!

I mean, SO MUCH SALT that I had to spit it out.  Like Padma spit out Arianne's dish last year! Like Kathy Lee Gifford spit out Jeff's dish last year!  Like Teanna spit out her own dish yesterday! 

Like, my heart started pounding and my blood pressure rose, I'm-not-even-kidding-you salty.

Which was a shame, because the fish smelled SO good. Of tarragon and orange and coriander.  And the deconstructed bernaise was so interesting and tasty. And my chips were awesome.

So what did I do wrong?  Did I accidentally use too much salt in the brine?  I did cut the recipe in half, so maybe I accidentally put the whole amount of salt listed in the recipe in. Was it the fact that I forgot the aromatic cooking oil? Where did I go wrong? Tom Colicchio, I need your help!

This dish was definitely on the more challenging side of any dish I have made so far, but even after all of my problems, I wouldn't say that it was impossible.  It actually was very easy to simplify.  

Scary Scale (out of ten): 7

Would I make it again?  I'll let you know when my salt headache goes away. 

Warm Cured Trout adapted from Brian Voltaggio and Mike Isabella

12 Servings

INGREDIENTS

6 (½ lb portions) trout filets

For Brine

300 ml water

100g salt

50g sugar

10g coriander seeds

10g fennel seeds

2 long peppers

5 fresh tarragon stems with leaves

¼ bay leaf

1 orange, zested

1 lemon, zested

For Reduction Sauce/Base

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

350 ml sherry vinegar

8 fresh tarragon stems with leaves

2 long peppers

2 shallots, sliced

20g turmeric

½ cup chicken stock

350ml grapeseed oil

For Shallot Garnish

¼ cup minced Shallots

1 ½ cups Verjus (or 3 pints Port + 1 pint Red Wine Vinegar)

For Julienned Potatoes

1 Russet Potato, sliced into julienne

Cooking Oil

 

DIRECTIONS

For Trout:

Dust trout with transglutaminase and attach filets flesh to flesh head to tail to make 3 cylinders. Roll tightly in plastic wrap.

While trout sits in refrigerator for 35-40 minutes to set shape, make brine by mixing ingredients together and completely dissolving salt and sugar. Cool down.

Combine ingredients for cooking oil and heat to make aromatic oil.

Preheat oven to 350.  Place trout filet in oven and bake for 15 minutes.

For Reduction/Sauce Base:

Combine ingredients except grapeseed oil. Reduce to a third of the original volume.

Add grapeseed oil right before plating.

For Shallot Garnish:

Combine ingredients for shallot mixture and reduce until the shallots are al dente.

Strain out shallots and reduce the liquid to au sec. Coat shallots with reduction.

For Julienned Potato Chips:

Heat oil to 380 F.  Fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from oil, season with salt salt.

To Serve:

Place trout on plate.

Spoon warm béarnaise sauce on the side.

Place garnishes in the sauce.

Rest potato chips on trout.

Olive Tomato Squares

Let's talk about my love for this appetizer, shall we?

I always get nervous to make dishes with sundried tomatoes because I think of the episode of Friends where Monica bonds with a very handsome chef over the outdated sundried tomato.

"What's up with the sundried tomatoes?  What is this, 1985?"

Preach on.

Also, I haaaaaaaaate olives. Hate. Loathe. Makes me feel like a bad food person because I hate them so much. But I ams what I ams and what I is is an olive hater.

But this dish has changed me.  I served these little nuggets of wonder when I catered the Fashion Designer event. They are super easy to whip up (you can use pre-made basil pesto if you are short on time) and taste like the most awesome pizza bite you have ever tasted (if you are lactose intolerant, because really, pizza is best with tons of cheese) but are much more elegant.

I'm in love.

Make sure you use a soft bread, don't toast it too too much, and next time, I would make thinner slices of bread. Also, use best quality ingredients, because this dish could be quite salty if you are using the cheapy stuff.

Great, great appetizer. Do make.

Click here for the recipe. 

Mascarpone Stuffed Dates

A short and sweet description for a simple appetizer:

Deliciously plump dates are stuffed with a sweetened mascarpone cheese and rolled in cocoa powder to make the perfect party dish. 

I mean, come on. Does it sound any better than that?

Make sure you get plump dates, rather than the dates that are bagged or prepackaged.  The last thing that you want are dates that are hard as rocks that make you wonder if you are chewing a date or a piece of your tooth that has chipped off. 

Otherwise, these are totally addictive. I could swim in a sea of that sweetened mascarpone cheese. It won't be pretty, but it will be delicious.

Click here for the recipe. 

Ham, Fig and Manchego Tartines

A few weeks back, I catered an event for a New York City fashion designer.  I felt super important. 

Even Countess Luann from Real Housewives of New York was there! I had totally made it.

I was faced with the challenge of making delicious canapes for the event, however, I needed them all to be cold appetizers, as I do not have the equipment to serve hot food on location.

When I saw the recipe for these tartines, I knew they would be stellar.  Salty cured prosciutto, sharp manchego cheese, and sweet and creamy FIG BUTTER.

Say it again. Fig Butter.

This stuff is stellar.  Mix some fig preserves with some butter, put it in the fridge to serve, and eat it ALL. OF. THE. TIME.  This stuff is dangerous. You could eat it by the spoonful.  And then you'll remember that you are eating spoonfuls of butter, get slightly naseous, and then take another bite because it is so good.

But, lo!  There are many potential health benefits to butter:

From Body Ecology:

Butter is rich in the most easily absorbably form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.

Contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and candida.

Contains lecethin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.

Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.

Is a great source of Vitamins E and K.

Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.

Protects against tooth decay.

Is your only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints. 

And many more benefits! So go eat away! I'm going to munch on a stick right now. 

This will forever be a go-to sandwich.  They looked prettier when I served them at the event, but for photo purposes, I was running short on time (read: needed to haul ass and get to the event, so why was I sitting in my apartment and taking photos?  Don't worry, I made it an there an hour early. I'm responsible! Hire me!)

Click here for this stellar recipe and remember: Butter is better. With fig.

Top Chef with Teanna: Season 6, Episode 3 - Soy Braised Pork Belly with Soy-Mustard Sauce and Peanuts

OK, so I've decided to change up my approach to this weekly Top Chef portion of my blog. I normally would write a recap of the episode and then comment briefly on the dish. But my boyfriend, Jack, pointed something out to me:

"You can read a recap anywhere," he stated. "I'd want to know what your experience was like.  Was it hard to find the ingredients? Was the recipe easy to follow? Things like that."

I've got a smart one on my hands, people.

And I must say that I agree. In his week one blog, Tom Colicchio asked:

Recently an article written about the lack of time that people are spending cooking hinted at Top Chef as being part of the reason. With the feedback I’ve received from viewers, including countless nine- and ten-year old boys and girls who watch devotedly and are now in the kitchen cooking away, I have to believe it’s quite the opposite. Your thoughts?

Well, Tom, I'm glad you asked me personally. I think that Top Chef has been a huge contributor to the explosion of interest in food, restaurants, chefs, ingredients, etc.  I often use the Top Chef recipe database as my go-to source for new recipes. I know that many of the recipes seem daunting, with countless ingredients and foreign (to home-cooks) techniques. But I hope that this little part of my humble blog will show readers that it is, in fact, not scary to cook Top Chef recipes. 

Unless they are Marcel's. I'm still nervous for when I hit one of his recipes up. I think I'll be all geleed and foamed out by that point. 

So, I will no longer be writing recaps, but will let all of you, my friends, know what it is like to cook this dish. Maybe I'll even assign a "Scary?" factor. 

This week's winning dish was by Michael Voltaggio - one of the brothers who seem to be two of the strongest competitors in the competition. Michael won last week's challenge with his strange-but-delicious play on chips and guacamole: a guacamole filled lime meringue served with a corn puree. This week, he won with another innovative dish.

The dish consisted of some fairly common ingredients: your usual celery, carrots, and onions for a mirepoix for the slab bacon.  Then you've got your soy sauce, powdered ginger, and mustard (both yellow and whole grain).  Throw some mango chutney into the mix for a sweet and spicy combination that smelled like heaven when reducing on the stove. 

I thought I would have some problems finding some slab bacon. I don't normally shop for slab bacon, so I thought it would be like asking for something crazy like goat leg. Surprisingly (or stupid of me to have thought it), it was actually very easy to find slab bacon.  I headed to the neighborhood supermarket and waited patiently while the butcher scolded a worker when he found blood in the sea salt. I politely asked if they had slab bacon, he directed me towards a different section of the store, and I quietly made a note to myself never to shop there again. Luckily, my slab bacon was tightly wrapped, and I was able to get all of the remaining ingredients in one trip. 

I returned to my kitchen, prepared my mise en place, and scored my bacon.  I was excited because it was my first time scoring bacon and I felt super-professional. 

It's the little things, people.  

I browned the bacon, skin side down, in a bit of sesame oil, flipped it over, filled the pan with some water and my aromatics, covered it with a bit of aluminum foil and popped it in a 275 F oven for 2 hours.  Easy enough. 

I then prepared the glaze. It went a little something like this:

Put all of the ingredients in a pan. Reduce. 

HOLLA! I'm, like, SO good at this.

The recipe called for a significant amount of cornstarch, but I am not sure why, because my sauce was beautifully thick within 15 minutes.  No need for cornstarch when there is... well... no need for cornstarch.

Two hours later, I grabbed my bacon, slathered on some sauce, sliced it up, placed it in some romaine hearts, added some chopped peanuts, snapped some photos and took a bite. 

The dish was delicious.  Moist, juicy, and tender, with a great smoky flavor, and topped with a sweet and spicy chutney.  The added texture of the crisp romaine hearts and crunchy peanuts were a great addition. I removed the bottom layer of skin when I ate it because, frankly, there is enough fat in bacon that I don't have to eat the ACTUAL fat of the bacon, lest I would like to put on 20 pounds and feel my arteries clog with each and every chew. 

You can watch beloved contestant Fabio Viviani's video on BravoTV.com, which is a great tutorial piece each week.  However, he does make the dish a little differently than directed in the recipe.  I know Italian men like to do things their way (I'm Italian, there is nothing wrong with that) or the way of their grand-a-ma-ma, so I won't be one to argue. 

I give this dish a Scary factor of 2 (on a scale of 1-10), mainly because of the blood in the sea salt at the grocery, which has nothing to do with this dish, but really, come on, that's a little scary. 

Click here for the recipe.

Top Chef with Teanna - Season 6, Episode 2 - Guacamole-Filled Meringue

I don't know what I want to talk about more this week - the episode or Fabio Viviani's online tutorial about how to make the winning dish.

I guess I'll start with the episode.  The cheftestants start off with this week's Quickfire - the craps challenge.   We are in Vegas, so we're talking about a game that no one that I know understands, so when I find myself around a craps table, I just cheer when people look happy and groan and scream and throw my drink when people look sad.  But this challenge was a bit easier to comprehend. Roll the die, cook a dish with that many ingredients. There were many decent numbers rolled(come on! Couldn't someone have rolled a 2?!), and only one person was cursed with a low number 3.  The chefs cooked their hearts out while guest judge Todd English watched on.

As a side note, I have never noticed how much Todd English looks like a soap-star with his dark hair and smoldering gaze. He belongs on Days of Our Lives. 

Todd and Padma walked around and tasted each dish. As Todd was doing so, I liked to imagine soap opera music in the background and walked around the room.

Long story short, some people cook some really bad stuff, including some people already too familiar with the bottom, like that chick with the piercings all over her face that make me slightly nauseous who always seems to know that she did something wrong but never does it right when she is actually cooking the dish, and that blonde lady who made a bad underseasoned dish last week and followed it up with... a bad, underseasoned dish. But the winner of the dish was one of the two twins, who I have yet to be able to tell apart, but this is the one from the West Coast. 

The cheftestants are then given their challenge: the ladies must cook for a bachelor party and the men must cook for a bachelorette party.  Well, one gay cheftestant wasn't too happy with this, because she felt that it was unfair to cook in this challenge when she herself is not given the same equal rights that she very much deserves, and made her case known. And known. And known again.  As annoying as she may have been, she has a very valid point, and in all seriousness, I can't wait for the day that this is no longer an issue and that same sex-couples are allowed all of the rights which are supposed to be granted to every United States citizen.  And I know we will get there, just as women and minorities did in their quest for equal rights. 

The chefs were to pair their dishes to three shots - none of which I remember the names of except for tequila. The bride and groom told their respective chefs what they were looking for in the menu. 

Fast forward to the party, and then men and women walk around the pool to their respective sides. The men start taking shots, the women strip off their clothes. How apt. 

The men really seemed to like their dishes, as did the women. The judges liked some of the girl's dishes well enough, but really loved the men's dishes, which included the twin's dishes of a sorbet that was made with the same ingredients as one of the shots and a play on chips and guacamole, making a macaroon and stuffing it with guacamole.  After the party died down, the men stripped down and showed us their lovely rolls a'plenty as they jumped into the pool And so did my beloved Mattin!  I cried, fearing for his neckerchief! What if its beautiful red color should fade?  Luckily, we see Mattin hanging his neckerchief to dry and all is well in the land. 

The judges awarded the winning dish to the twin who didn't win the Quickfire for his creative dish of "chips and guacamole" and sent home the blonde girl who was in the bottom for every single challenge for, you guessed it, her dish that had no flavor. 

Now on to the fun part: Fabio.  As you may know, Fabio is famous for his soundbytes with such gems as "This is Top Chef, not Top Scallop!" or "I am front of house. They could give me monkey ass to serve in clam shelf and we -a gonna win".  

I watched his instruction video for the dish, as Top Chef didn't post the recipe, and I was not disappointed.  Fabio told us of the intricacies of the stages of whipping meringue.  "How you call it? What's it-a called? Hard-a peak, soft-a peak. Eh, there are several different stiffness. We like it hard-a stiff. That's a joosta wrong by any means." and how to judge how much salt and pepper to use. "You have a pressure probe-lem? Little salt.  You no like-a pepper? Don't put it in."

But man, was this dish fun. And so easy and fast to put together.  If you don't have a problem making meringues, I would say to make this dish for every party. The crunchy-sweet meringue pairs so well with the citrus flavor of the guacamole, and it rests atop a delicious sweet corn puree.  Don't make this without the puree!!! It totally completes this dish. I didn't like it without it. But with the puree... well...  I'd take a noogie or two for this dish.

Guacamole Filled Meringue from Top Chef

Meringue

4 egg whites

1/2 tbsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

zest of 1 lime

Guacamole

2 avocados

2 limes

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 tbsp cilantro

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Corn Puree

2 tbsp butter

1 ear corn

1 cup cream

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Meringue

Preheat oven to 200 F.  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Add egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, and lime zest to a stand-mixer filled with a whisk attachment.  Whisk on medium low until sugar is dissolved.  Raise mixer speed to medium high and whisk until meringue holds stiff peaks, about five minutes.  Fill a piping bag with meringue and pipe small, 2 inch mounds onto tray.  Bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until meringues are firm.  Let cool.

For the Guacamole

Mix all ingredients and puree in a blender for one minute until smooth. Set aside.

For Corn Puree

Heat butter over medium heat and add corn.  Cook for two minutes.  Add cream and let boil for 30 seconds.  Let cool slightly.  Puree in a blender at set aside.

To assemble

Place 2 tbsp corn mixture on a plate. Pipe guacamole mixture into the bottom of each meringue, place atop corn mixture. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Smoked Salmon "Tartare" on New Potato Slices

In the latest and final installment of "The Appetizer Diaries", I present to you Salmon "Tartare" on new potato slices. 

Originally, I wanted to make Thomas Keller's Salmon Tartare Cornets.  I knew they would be a lot of work, but that the payoff would be totally worth it. Unfortunately, I couldn't find sashimi grade salmon anywhere, so I needed a new salmon recipe.  So I scrambled and found this recipe way back in the Archives of Gourmet Magazine, June 1995.  

1995! My first year of high school! The year of Windows 95 (Thanks Bill Gates), the announcement of the upcoming new DVD technology, the first computer generated film: Toy Story, a pre-crazy Mel Gibson in blue face paint as Braveheart, the end of the MLB Baseball strike, the song that would never get out of your head: "I'll Be There for You" by the Rembrandts (better known as the "Friends" theme song), and apparently, fake salmon tartare.  

But let me tell you something.  Apparently 1995 got something right, because this dish is amazing.  This dish is a textural delight. Slightly firm potato slices are topped with a creamy mixture of diced smoked salmon mixed with creme fraiche with crunchy diced red onion and chives thrown in.  These flew off the trays.  Best of all... these are ready in 10 minutes. Holla! 

The Thomas Keller dish would have been a lot of work for a great payoff and these were a small amount of work for a great payoff. So I think it worked out just fine.

Smoked Salmon Tartare on New Potatoes adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Yield: Makes 24 hors d'oeuvres 

6 red potatoes, 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter (about 3/4 pound)

For "tartare"

1/4 pound smoked salmon, chopped fine

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup creme fraiche (use sour cream if you do not have creme fraiche) 

Slice potatoes into twenty-four 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Boil potato slices, covered, until tender, about 10 minutes, and cool completely. Potato slices may be steamed 1 day ahead and kept in a sealed plastic bag, chilled. Bring potato slices to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.

Make "tartare":

In a bowl stir together "tartare" ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble hors d'oeuvres:

Brush tops of potato slices with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Top each slice with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon "tartare".

Belgian Meatballs

This is another appetizer that was served at Jack’s parent’s 30^th Anniversary party, and they were a huge hit, if not, the favorite appetizer at the party.  These meatballs, by Radikha of Top Chef fame, were soft and light, but had the addition of some interesting spices such as nutmeg and turmeric to make them really stand out.  I cannot recommend them enough. And no, Remy did not get her paws on these.  You think those toothpicks are there for easy handling?  No, they are there for doggy defense. 

I'M KIDDING of course! Remy would figure out how to get around the toothpicks. 

Belgian Meatballs adapted from Top Chef

These are supposed to be served with a chive mashed potato and after tasting these, I can see how they go wonderfully with the mashed potatoes.  Click the Top Chef link for that recipe.

MEATBALLS

1/2 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 tablespoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

2 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

SAUCE

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

MEATBALLS

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine all ingredients except egg and bread crumbs. Add in the egg and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.

SAUCE

Cook flour and butter on medium high heat to med roux. Add other ingredients and let simmer so the flavors marry.