Spork or Foon?

Jean Georges Grilled Burgers with Asian Pickles

 

When summer rolls around, all I want to do is eat hamburgers and drink frozen margaritas.  But in the back of my head, there is always that annoying voice saying "Don't do it! It's summer! Go to the gym! Work on your flabby arms!" So instead of munching away on a juicy, medium rare hamburgers topped with lettuce, tomatoes, american cheese and lots and lots of ketchup sandwiched in between a doughy, toasted bun studded with sesame seeds, I stick to the salads and shrimp cocktails cursing bathing suits and sleeveless tops. 

But since we are still stuck in the depths of this long, cold, endless winter (seriously Winter, isn't it about time you head down to the Southern Hemisphere?), I will eat all of the burgers I want. And there is no better burger to chow down on than this burger created by the famous Jean Georges.  Food and Wine Magazine sums it up best when they say that "superchef Jean Georges Vongerichten gives his phenomenal burgers fun Asian touches, like a Russian dressing flavored with miso and the zippy hot sauce Sriracha, and crunchy pickles made with a rice vinegar brine."

I mean, seriously. They used the word zippy. ZIPPY. I need to find a way to use that word. 

These burgers are incredible.  They are a drip-down-the-side-of-your-hand, can't-take-big-enough-bites type of burger. Divine. Delicious. Incredible. And totally worth all of the calories. 

Jean Georges Grilled Burgers with Asian Pickles adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

INGREDIENTS
PICKLES
 
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 Thai green chile, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 small seedless cucumber, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick (1 cup)
 
RUSSIAN DRESSING
 
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped cornichons
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 teaspoon Sriracha chile sauce
Salt
 
BURGERS
 
2 pounds ground beef sirloin, formed into four 1 1/2-inch-thick patties
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 kaiser rolls, toasted
4 large Boston lettuce leaves
4 slices of beefsteak tomato
 
Make the Pickles: In a saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, salt and chile to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool. Add the limejuice and pour the brine over the cucumber slices. Press the cucumber slices down into the liquid with a small plate and place a can on the plate; let stand at room temperature for 4 hours.
 
Make the Russian Dressing: In a bowl, combine the ketchup with the mayonnaise, cornichons, shallots, vinegar, miso and Sriracha and season with salt.
 
Make the Burgers: Light a grill. Season the patties with salt and black pepper and grill over high heat, turning once, until the burgers are charred outside and medium-rare within, about 6 minutes.
 
Spread the Russian dressing on the rolls and cover with the lettuce and tomatoes. Top with the burgers and pickles; serve.

Sirloin Steak with Creamy Potato "Risotto"

  
"Teanna, it smells insanely good in here."

Jack entered the apartment after yet another 15-hour day at work of running proformas and building financial models (exciting stuff) and shot straight to the kitchen (which is right next to the front door, so I guess instead of shot, I should say, "took two steps towards the kitchen and was in the kitchen").  He looked over my shoulder and captured the scents of nutty butter and caramelized onions that wafted from the saute` pan. 

"What is it?"

"Potato risotto," I informed him, feeding him a bite. "You can take it for lunch tomorrow."

"But I want it now." he insisted.

"Well, you can't have it now." I said sternly, but with a slight chuckle in my voice.

"Why not?" he stomped.

"Because it's 10:00 pm and I need sunlight. I have to photograph it tomorrow." I said matter-of-factly. 

He looked downtrodden, but acquiesed.  Frankly, this is something he has learned by know.  When one dates a food blogger, one needs to be prepared to eat the food until it is properly photographed. 

But it was well worth the wait.  Yukon gold potatoes are diced into an 1/8" dice, cooked with finely chopped onions, a bit of heavy cream, and finished off with cayenne pepper, parmesan cheese, and topped with chives.  The result is a sublimely creamy potato "risotto" with gooey parmesan cheese and a slight bit of heat in the back of the mouth as a result of the cayenne pepper. The potatoes are toothsome, and if not told otherwise, one would definitely think this was risotto. Best part is?  It takes a quarter of the time to make this dish as it does actual risotto.

Oh, and the steak is good, too.  But we all know the star of this dish. 

Sirloin Steak with Creamy Potato Risotto adapted from Bon Appetit

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, then 1/8-inch cubes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth (I used beef stock and it was delicious)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
6 6-ounce beef sirloin  steaks (each 3/4 to 1 inch thick)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon (or more) olive oil

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add potato cubes and cayenne pepper; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken (or beef) broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, adding more chicken (or beef) broth by tablespoonfuls if dry (mixture should be creamy with some sauce, not dry), about 8 minutes. Add cream and simmer until potatoes are tender but still hold their shape, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in cheese and chives. 

Sprinkle steaks with coarse salt and pepper, then chopped thyme. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook to desired doneness, adding more oil as needed, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Divide potato risotto among plates. Place steaks on plates and serve.

 

Lamb and Eggplant Shepherd's Pie

  

I am always drawn to dishes that are a bit different. "Out of the norm" some may say. "Weird." say others. 

Jack and I are actually both similar in that department.  If we are at a restaurant with dishes like sweetbreads, veal cheek, or stuffed pig's feet, you can be sure we'll order it. Once, I ordered bone marrow at a restaurant and a fellow dining guest asked, "Why would you order that?"

"Hello!" I exclaimed, as if that was the dumbest question in the world. "Because it's delicious!"  And then I shoved a piece of bread covered with the fatty, brain matter-resembling marrow in her face.  

Needless to say, she was not pleased.  

Now, this dish is not that far out there, but it is different, so when I saw it on the cover of Bon Appetit last year, I always wanted to make it.  And this past week, I finally did. 

Let me tell you this. This takes all day to make.  All. Day. Each ingredient is separately sauteed in the same pan almost as if each ingredient is a building block of flavor in the walls of the pan. First, eggplant is tossed in salt and left to sit for an hour to draw out all of them moisture, then sauteed until tender. Next, lamb shank is tossed in a bit of flour and sauteed in the same pan (sans the eggplant). The lamb is then set aside and onions are sauteed until tender.  Afterwards, the pan is deglazed with white wine before the diced tomatoes, garlic, beef broth and oregano are added.  The lamb is then added back into the pan and slowly cooked for an hour.  Next, the eggplant is added back into the pan and the flavors are allowed to marry and the broth thickened for another 45 minutes.

Like I said. All. Day.

The mixture is then put into a baking dish (the recipe calls for a 9x13" dish, but I used an 8x8" dish) and topped with delicious mashed potatoes (and I will forever use this for my mashed potato recipe. Love.) and baked for an additional 45 minutes. 

The resulting dish is a wonderful marriage of of sweet, tender eggplant, deliciously moist lamb, a deliciously fresh tomato broth and creamy mashed potatoes.  This dish is GOOD.  Really, really good. And I don't think anyone would be scared of these ingredients.  If you have all day, please, please make this. 

It's always good to get out of our comfort zones. With or without stuffed pig's feet.

Lamb and eggplant shepherd's pie - adapted from bon appetit

FILLING

• 1 1-1/2-pound eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes
• Coarse kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons (or more) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 pounds well-trimmed boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
• All purpose flour
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups beef broth (preferably organic)
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

TOPPING

• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp  whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely grated sheep's milk cheese (5 to 6 ounces)

PREPARATION

FILLING

• Scatter eggplant on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt; let stand 1 hour, tossing occasionally. Rinse eggplant and pat very dry.

• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl.

• Sprinkle lamb generously with coarse salt and pepper, then dust with flour to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add half of lamb. Sauté until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer lamb to large bowl. Repeat with 2 tablespoons oil and remaining lamb.

• Add 1 additional tablespoon oil to same pot, if needed. Add onions. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until very tender, about 10 minutes (bottom of pot will be very dark). Add wine to pot. Increase heat and boil until wine evaporates, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice, broth, garlic, and oregano and bring to boil. Add lamb with any accumulated juices. Cover; reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour. Uncover and continue to simmer until lamb is very tender and gravy thickens slightly, about 45 minutes. Stir in eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. (I used an 8x8" baking dish)

TOPPING

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 14 minutes.

• Meanwhile, melt butter with oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add milk and bring to simmer.

• Drain potatoes. Return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add milk mixture and mash potatoes until just smooth. Stir in cheese. Season with coarse salt and pepper. Drop potatoes over filling by heaping tablespoonfuls, covering completely.

• Bake pie until filling is heated through and topping is golden, about 45 minutes.

 

Meatloaf Sandwich: Baby Arugula and Russian Dressing on Whole Grain Bread

 

In my previous food experiences, if there was anything that was less appealing than meatloaf, it was leftover meatloaf.  And few things were less appealing than meatloaf except for, say, broccoli covered in Velveeta cheese.  

I shudder at the memories. 

However, since I have finally found a phenomenal meatloaf recipe that has forever changed my opinion of meatloaf, I wasn't afraid to change it up a little with the leftovers.  I had seen several recipes for meatloaf sandwiches recently.  I never imagined eating meatloaf in a sandwich before, but then again, I could never imagine eating meatloaf willingly, so the sandwich thing wasn't far off.

This sandwich, which tops the leftover meatloaf with Russian dressing (or, actually the shortcut Russian dressing:  4:1 ratio of mayonnaise and ketchup) and arugula.  The meat, which was still deliciously moist and even more flavorful the next day really  worked well when paired with the creamy dressing and peppery and fresh arugula. 

As I sit here and write this, I wonder where that picky little child in me went.  Me, a meatloaf lover?

Oh, how I've changed. 

Meatloaf Sandwich adapted from Epicurious

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon ketchup
• 2 slices whole-grain bread, toasted
• 2 slices

meatloaf, about 1/2-inch thick

1/4 cup baby arugula leaves

Stir together the mayo and ketchup in a small bowl. Spread on one side of each slice of bread. Lay the meat loaf over one slice and top with the arugula leaves. Cover with the remaining slice of bread, mayo-side down. 
 

The Best Meatloaf Ever. Even for Meatloaf Haters.

   
 
I hate meatloaf. Hate upon hate upon hate. When I think of meatloaf, I think of the dry, strange meatloaf from my youth (sorry, Mom).  Meatloaf is Public Enemy #2 in my kitchen, right there behind cilantro.

The sad thing is, Jack loves it.  We were out at a popular sandwich place in NY a few weeks back, and Jack was deciding between a chicken cutlet sandwich or a meatloaf sandwich. 

"Which should I get," he asked me, while staring up at the board. "Meatloaf or Chicken Cutlet?"

"MEATLOAF?!" I exclaimed. "That's disgusting. Chicken cutlet." The Italian in me would never let Jack pass up a chicken cutlet sandwich. Especially because I was getting a salad and I wanted a bite.

Jack looked at me incredulously. "I love meatloaf," he defended.  But as a good boyfriend, he got the chicken cutlet. 

Fast forward to a few weeks later.  I was in my kitchen, trying to decide what to make for dinner. I wanted to make something simple and delicious, and I was stumped.  I opened up some of my favorite recipe sites for some inspiration.  There, on the first page, was a large picture of meatloaf.  I clicked right past it, not even giving it a moments thought.  Then, I stopped myself from clicking any further. 

Let me try the meatloaf, I thought to myself. It'll make Jack's night.

The meatloaf is a delicious combination of pork, veal, and beef flavored by a sauteed mix of celery, carrots and onions, robust garlic, (or as we in the food world like to say, a mirepoix) Worcestershire sauce (I love saying that word), cider vinegar, spicy cloves, plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and parsley. Prunes and bacon are also listed in the recipe, but I left them out.  The last time I made Jack something with prunes in it he almost spit it out, and I forgot the bacon. 

I served it alongside mashed potatoes, but I did something along the way that made them go beyond mashed and turned them ultra-creamy and dense.  I almost threw out the mixture, but it was actually delicious. I have no idea what I did. I boiled the potatoes for an hour, peeled them, put them in my food processor (I like to do that to get very creamy mashed potatoes) and processed with some milk and salt. I must have processed way too long, but I loved the outcome. 

When it was time to serve dinner, Jack still had no idea what I was making. When I put down the plate above on the table, he almost jumped for joy. When he tasted it, he did jump for joy. Then I tasted the smallest piece, wondering if this was any good.

Not only was it good, it was delicious.  It was out of this world. And not, I wish I could throw this meatloaf into outer space out of this world. It was out of this world good. 

Maybe I'm a meatloaf convert? 

Maybe only with this meatloaf. 

The Best Meatloaf Ever adapted from Epicurious

• 1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium celery rib, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 pounds ground mix beef chuck, pork, and veal
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low, then cook until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Add to bread-crumb mixture.

Finely chop bacon and prunes in a food processor, then add to onion mixture along with beef, pork, eggs, and parsley and mix together with your hands.

Pack mixture into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a 13- by 9-inch shallow baking dish or pan.

Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf registers 155°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Top Chef with Teanna - Season 6, Episode 8 - Pork Leg Pate

HOLLA!

I'm back! With a shiny new camera!  I am the proud new owner of a Nikon D3000, which is basically the replacement camera for the now defunct Nikon D40, but sounds so much cooler because there are more 0's in the name. 

But I am in love.  I don't know much about cameras, but I do know that it is faster, takes better photos in less light, and IS NOT BROKEN, which was the problem with my last camera. 

On another note, I swear I'll be a better blogger. I haven't been consistent, I haven't been keeping in touch with my favorite bloggers, I haven't been on Twitter, and I miss the community! When things calm down a bit, I'll be back with a vengeance! For now, I still love everyone so much! 

But on to bigger and better things.  Mainly, Kevin Gillespie and Pork. This week's challenge had the cheftestants cooking pork for the famed Charlie Palmer.  And of course, the winner of the challenge was Kevin, who is not only extremely talented, but in love with the other white meat - so much so that he has a pork tattoo adorning his arm, which he happily showed the judges.  Luckily, it wasn't adorning another part of his body (because, frankly, if you're going to have a tattoo of a pig, you may as well go all out and get it tattooed on your backside).

This has to be one of the easiest Top Chef recipes I have tried to date.  The ingredients only cost me about $15 for 1/3 of the recipe for the pork, star anise, mushrooms, cherries, and heavy cream. I only ended up getting ground pork instead of pork and fat back (um?) and had to get canned cherries instead of fresh.  Additionally, I subbed almond flour for hazelnut flour, because that is what I had on hand. I learned that quatre epices is a spice mix used mainly in France and the Middle East, but is just a fancy way of saying "2 tablespoons ground black pepper, or a combination of 1/2 tablespoon white and 2-1/2 tablespoons black pepper, 2 tablespoons ground cloves, 2 tablespoons ground nutmeg, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon." 

The recipe took a total of 20 minutes to throw together, even though there are three different segments.  Each part of this recipe was delicious on its own, ESPECIALLY the mushroom mixture, which was absolutely glorious. Almond flour was cooked in a mixture of butter and canola oil (I didn't have 1 pound of pork fat on hand, unfortunately) and used to saute a mixture of mushrooms.  The mushrooms are then tossed in a homemade mayonnaise and sprinkled with parsley. The mixture of earthy, nutty mushrooms, textural almond flour, creamy mayonnaise and lemony parsley is pure perfection.  

The pork terrine was firm, tender, and wonderfully spiced with the quatre epices. And finally, cherries, although canned, took very well to the pickling process and were the key to bringing this dish together. 

When Jack tasted the dish, he loved it so much, he didn't even have time to do his happy dance. Huge score in my book.  Although I do miss that dance.

Click here for the recipe.

Duo of Kobe Beef with Creamy Polenta

I prepared this over the summer as part of my Top Chef with Teanna series from Season 1, but never got around to blogging about it before the new season picked up.  But it really is a phenomenal dish, and although I had to use a flash (it was dark by the time we served it), it still is deserving of a post. 

This is a dish from season winner Harold, from the Season 1 Finale episode. Lorraine Bracco was a guest judge, and the chef's were asked to prepare a five-course dinner and pair wines from her vineyard with their dishes. This episode was at the height of Sopranos fame, although it was around that time when David Chase was doing very odd storylines where Tony Soprano did peyote in the dessert with some girl, which is not very mafia-like to me and forever changed the way "Don't Stop Believin'" was viewed forever. 

The beef was incredibly tender, and the two different textures of the short ribs and strip loin worked perfectly with one another.  The polenta was rich and creamy, but filled with butter and cheese, so I only had a bite, lest I wanted to gain five pounds just from my side dish.  

Funny side note:  I made this dish for our weekly dinners with our friends Chris and Chelsea while we were all living in DC.  Chelsea and I were talking in the kitchen as I was preparing the polenta, and I was so embarrassed when I threw in an entire stick of butter and a whole container of mascarpone cheese. No one should have to witness that.  If I'm going to eat that much butter, I'd rather not know about it. 

Luckily, the dish was a huge hit, regardless of the butter.  Tom Colicchio said in his blog post on the episode that this dish was lick the plate good.  And it was.  Hands down, this was one of my favorite dishes from the season (although I liked everything from that season, unlike this season).  It was very simple dish to make, and one that didn't require me to be in the kitchen for hours. 

Oh, and ere is an example of the poorly written Top Chef recipes from seasons past. Luckily, they have changed this and made much more comprehensive recipes.

Duo of Kobe Beef by Harold Dieterle courtesy of Top Chef

Ingredients
5 lbs. Kobe Short Ribs
2 qts. Red Wine 
1 qt. Chicken Stock 
2 qts. Veal Stock (I subbed beef stock)
2 pc Onions 
1 pc Celery 
5 pc Fresh Tomatoes 
1 cup White Polenta 
2 cups Milk 
1 cup Cream 
½ cup Butter 
½ cup Mascarpone Cheese 
2 oz. Morels 
2 oz. Asparagus Tips Blanched 
4 oz. Butter 
20 oz. Kobe Strip Loin 

Assembly:
Sear the Ribs in a Braising pot till golden brown. Add the vegetables and caramelize.  Add the red wine and reduce by ½. Then add the stocks and cover. Braise for 4 hours or until fork tender.  Remove the bones, portion into 3 inch cubes. Strain the reduced sauce and place the short rib cubes back in the sauce. 

In a sauce pot heat the cream and milk. Whisk in the white polenta. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Constantly stirring to avoid lumps. Add the butter and the mascarpone. Season generously. 

Heat the butter in a sauce pot, add a little drop of water and emulsifies. Place the morel and poach. Add the asparagus at the last second and season. 

Heat a sauté pan with oil and season the Strip loin heavily. Pan roast the beef on both side and place in the oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven baste with butter and cook till med rare. Rest beef for 4 minutes and slice 
into 2 oz. pieces.

Top Chef with Teanna: Season 6, Episode 7 - Kobe Beef with Tomato-Cardomon Broth, Petit Bok Choy and Asian Pear

After some missteps with the last few Top Chef Recipes, it looks like I am back on track with this one, because this dish was GOOD.  Really, really good. Sweet, complex, flavorful, and filled with a vast mixture of ingredients that, when combined into one dish, brought together a delightful variety of flavors and textures.  

And the dish was invented by my two favorites: Kevin and Jennifer.

Sure, I love the Voltaggio brother's, too, but one of them has a Michelin star. That is like asking Tiger Woods to play golf against... me.  Ok, maybe not me, but someone who golfs a lot, like... Justin Timberlake.

I'm reaching here. It's early and I know nothing about golf. 

When I first looked at the ingredient list, I almost fainted.  All in total, there are roughly 30 ingredients required for this dish. And there are a lot of steps.  And some hard-to-find ingredients.  The main protein for the dish was a Kobe Beef skirt steak, but unfortunately, I was unable to find Kobe beef, so I had to stick with plain old skirt steak. Secondly, the dish called for sambal, a southeast Asian condiment that seems to come in several different variations that can either be spicy or sweet. Obviously I could not find this. 

Other than the extensive ingredient list and many steps, this recipe is actually quite easy to make.  Plum tomatoes are combined with ginger, garlic, star anise, fennel, cardomom, shallots, beef scraps, chicken stock and sugar to make the most incredible broth.  And when I say incredible, I mean I-want-to-drink-it-by-the-glass, which is probably the reason Jennifer won the challenge (the broth was her creation).

I marinated the strip steak in hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic, cilantro, basil, soy sauce, molasses, and orange juice. I wanted to drink that marinade after the meat was sitting in it as well, but I'm sure that would have been dangerous. 

Finally, a salad was made by blanching and shocking baby bok choy, grilling an Asian pear and cutting it into batons, shaving fennel, and supreming mandarin oranges (I had to use clementines) and tossing it in a lime-fennel vinaigrette.

Although time consuming, the dish is not very challenging and comes with a huge payoff.  

Click here for the recipe. 

On a different note, I'm very upset with the person that was sent home this week. Sure, said person annoyed me a little bit on the show, but really, that person is a far better chef than some of the remaining chefs. There is always one chef who goes home way too early (Remember Tre from Season 3? Heartbreaker.), but it always stinks. 

Top Chef with Teanna: Season 6, Episode 6 - Not Deconstructed Mole`

Please forgive the photo.  This is the first of what will be many photos with my iPhone, as my camera is in ICU and I do not have a point-and-shoot. 

So I messed up.  Big time.

This past week's Top Chef challenge asked the cheftestants to take classic dishes and deconstruct them.  I love deconstruction, and I was so excited to make whichever dish won.  Except for the one that actually won. I've never had mole` (pronouced mo-lay), and I'm wasn't even sure what it was supposed to taste like.  All I know is that mole` looks like poop on a plate.

I went on to the Bravo TV Recipe Finder and typed in Mole`.  I found Kevin's (the winner) mole` dish and went shopping for the ingredients.  Dried figs, pumpkin seeds, unsweetened chocolate, black raisins, watermelon, bananas, dried ancho chiles, pumpkin seeds, duck... you get the gist.  I had to go to three stores to find duck breast. 

Jack and I were having a friend over for dinner, so Jack suggested that I make this. I was a bit nervous, as I did not know whether or not said friend would enjoy this dish.  Although he has a fantastic palate and a taste for find foods, I was pretty sure that he wouldn't know what mole` was.  Point in fact:  Jack emailed him, saying that "Teanna is going to make a chicken mole dish from Top Chef." , when he got to my apartment, he asked "So what is chicken mole?" (pronounced mole - like Cindy Crawford). 

It didn't matter, though, because I didn't even end up making the dish.  I had started to make the mole, which was above and beyond easy. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for 40 minutes. Blend. Done. 

Jack sat down on the couch and asked "So, how are you going to plate it?"

"Well," I said confidently, "I will spread the mole` on the bottom of the plate, top it with the duck, then the tequila marinated watermelon, then sliced avocado, then sprinkle on some pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and then some cilantro for garnish."

"No," Jack said. "That's not what it looked like on the show.  They were all separated on the plate."

"I know, it is weird.  The presentation isn't very deconstructed to me. But that is what it looks like in the picture."

"Are you sure it wasn't the mole` he made the week before?" Jack inquired.

I paused for a long time.  "He made mole` the week before?"  I asked, afraid to hear the answer.  I hadn't really paid attention to the previous week's episode.

"Yes." he began, "It wasn't very good."

I grabbed the remote and turned on my television. I went to my DVR list, pulled up the previous episode of Top Chef. And lo and behold, it was the wrong dish.  I cursed myself.  I scrambled on to the Top Chef Recipe Finder to see if they had the deconstructed recipe posted. They didn't.  Our friend was coming over in an hour.  There was no way I was able to figure out a recipe for this dish in that amount of time. 

I had to think fast. I had $20 worth of duck breast ready to be cooked.  I decided to make a duck breast ragu` with pappardelle (which was awesome, by the way) and figure out what to do with this mole later.  

The next day, I decided to make the dish for Jack and I for dinner using chicken instead of duck. I assembled the dish as it was made during the Rancher episode and served it. The mole` really did look like poop on a plate.  Now, sometimes dishes that look like poop on a plate are delicious.  But this really was not.  It wasn't bad, per se, but it was no wonder if fell in the middle of the pack. I did love the tequila marinated watermelon, though, but otherwise, it was a very lackluster dish. I threw out the remainder of the mole, knowing I wouldn't use it again. 

I will try to conquer the winning dish this weekend and give a two-fer next week. Wish me luck.

Get the recipe here. 

And, of course, I just checked the website, and the recipe is finally up. Thanks, Bravo. 

Top Chef with Teanna - Season 6, Episode 5 - Roasted Pork Loin with Creamy Polenta and Dandelion Greens

Here it is. The winning dish from the episode.

And I can't seem to figure out why. 

Let's just say this... the rest of the dishes seemed weak. At least from the show's editor's perspectives.  The judges didn't seem to be crazy about any of the dishes.  So I guess that's why this dish won?

Or maybe it's me. Maybe I've lost my mojo.  Last week's dish was an epic fail for me, and although this isn't an epic fail, this is a "meh" fail, because I wasn't doing backflips for the dish like I usually am with the winning dishes. 

Maybe it was in the preparation.  Maybe it was the brilliant way in which Bryan Voltaggio prepared the dish. And maybe that is why he has a Michelin Star and I do not. 

But this dish seems so... simple.  Jack and I make this sort of dish all of the time when we can't figure out what else to cook.  Pork loin with polenta.  I make my polenta a bit healthier than this dish (and most polenta calls for), cooking it in chicken stock and using parmesan cheese and no butter rather than the usual whole milk/butter/mascarpone cheese combination. 

I marinated the pork in the most wonderful smoked paprika, cumin seed, rosemary, thyme, garlic and olive oil mixture.  I sauteed the dandelion greens. I made the polenta.  I glazed the turnips (meant to be rutabaga, but I couldn't find it) in a sauce of honey, chicken stock, vinegar, and sherry. I cooked the pork. I took a bite.

Nothing. 

No wow. No pizzaz. No huzzah. No HOLLAAAAAAA.  Was every other dish that bad or did I miss something in the directions?

OK.  I took a little hiatus to read the judges blogs about the dishes and gail said this of the winning dish:

Bryan’s Roasted Pork Loin, Corn Polenta, Dandelion Green & Glazed Rutabaga was definitely the highlight of our meal. It exemplified what I wish many others had done: used ingredients appropriate to the environment and cooked in a manner natural to the equipment at hand. Bryan composed the plate to showcase the pork, which was well roasted, but still juicy. The vegetables and polenta each added their own taste and texture – sweet, creamy, and just a little bitter. It was exactly what I wanted to be eating at that moment, or at any cowboy barbecue, for that matter.

Doesn't she even sound so sweet in her blog? Is Gail Simmons the nicest person on the face of the earth?  Can she be my boss?

Seriously, I'm looking for a job.  Hire me. 

So I guess I was a little unfair.  The chefs were asked to cook on a ranch, outside, in 100+ degree heat. So maybe Bryan did do the best job. And maybe I'm just bitter that Mattin and his red neckerchief will no longer be part of the show, as he was cruelly sent home for a bad dish.  But he wears a neckerchief!  Surely we could have kept him around a little longer! Did anyone see the dance he did when he won the quickfire? Why wouldn't you want to keep him around?

Click here for the recipe. And please... a moment of silence for the neckerchief.