Dover Sole Meuniere

At my restaurant we used to sell a Grilled Dover Sole, until we decided to change the menu for the winter season. On a nightly basis I would deftly fillet the Dover Sole for our customers, and I decided one night that I would have to get some at home and make it in a more "classic preparation". For those who don't know, Dover Sole A la Meuniere is a classic french dish which literally translates as in the style of the miller's wife. Since the miller always had flour around, the fish is lightly dredged in flour, then cooked in butter till golden brown. The addition of butter cooked till brown, lemon, and parsley completes the dish a la minute to create the Meuniere Sauce.

This dish is well suited to a crisp white wine, with either a lot of acidity such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a rich Chardonnay or Chablis.

If you have never had a chance to taste Sole Meuniere, then you should try to find a place that serves it. Its such an amazing dish, with a complex flavor and a firm textured white fish.

Dover Sole a la Meuniere with a quick style Ratatouille

Sauteed Salmon with Sweet Potato Apple Puree

Sauteed Wild Pacific Salmon, sweet potatoes cooked in apple cider, pureed with a brunoise of gala apples. Frisee with a lemon champagne vinaigrette.

Valentines Day Salad 2008

Blood Orange and Mustard Vinaigrette Salad, Blood Orange Strawberry Reduction and Raspberry "Hearts"

Homemade Ricotta "Postage Stamps"

Being super busy with work lately hasn't given me much of an opportunity to post about the cooking in my new kitchen that I have been up to.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to make pasta from scratch, and create my beloved Ricotta Mushroom "Postage Stamps" with duck confit, and sage-brown butter sauce. A dish that require a lot of work, and a labor of love, but is truly spectacular in its end result. Im very proud of this one, and so I had to share it with everyone.

Ricotta Stuffed Postage Stamps with Sage Brown Butter Sauce, Duck Leg Confit, Pecorino Romano, Julienned Sugar Snap Peas.

Old Photos from Cuisines of Asia's at the CIA

Preserved Meyer Lemons

Durian Durian - or who cut the cheese?

Durian Fruit. Synonymous with foodies all over the world as the dreadful smelling, often misunderstood fruit with a cult-like following. You may have heard the myths, the legends about the Durian Fruit; how the fruit could clear out an entire room with its smell, that you can't drink alcohol while consuming the durian or you body will become so hot that you will feel as if you were on fire, and that it is one of the best tasting fruits in the world.

Well, I had to try it for myself....and see what all the "stink" was about.

First off, the durian is a big fruit. Weighing approximately 7lbs, its like a spikier watermelon. The shell is so rough, that the spines from the fruit easily ripped through the plastic bag it was brought home from the supermarket in. (Good old H-Mart, in Little Ferry, NJ). It wasn't "cheap", as it cost me nearly $9 for the fruit. It would, however, have a high yield and would feed quite a few people.

Once I found the proper spot to open the Durian (usually along a dark lined area that appears on the fruit after a day or so), I plunged my chef's knife into the fruit and slit it in half...

Immediately I was overcome by a very strong smell, very much like sulfur or a freshly laid fart. I wish I could come up with a better description, but after careful consideration that really is the best one for the smell. Thinking to myself that if the aroma matched the taste, this would possibly be the most vile thing I had ever eaten. I decided to venture forward anyway...

Carefully exposing the soft, milky white flesh of the fruit itself, I grabbed a spoon and scooped out some. Similar in texture to custard or rice pudding, I placed the contents of the spoon into my mouth. To my surprise, the flavor was pretty tasty! Tasting very much like a cross between a mango and a honey dew melon, it was sweet and subtle, with a milky, creamy aftertaste and sweet finish. As for the texture, I can't say I was a big fan, but I tend not to like custard like foods anyway.

I cut the melon into quarters, and kept on eating. The more of the durian I ate, the more I likened it to a soft cheese, like a fruity brie or Pierre Robert. The flavor really was quite good, but the smell was so strong that it was hard to make sense of the two together. I decided then and there that this was the strangest thing I have ever tasted to date.

All fear now dispelled, I think I understand the Durian and all its stinky goodness. While I didn't become one of those durian-hooked addicts, I did appreciate how unique its flavor was. I think that if a chef used the Durian fruit with a combination of some coconut milk, or cream in an application like a smoothie or creamy dessert where the aroma could be dissipated by the cooking or other ingredients, the Durian could really shine.

I hope that my research into the Durian will help people out there understand this fruit a little better, and take it more out of the exotic strange food land. While I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, hardcore foodies might find it strangely amazing or utterly revolting. But until you have tried it, I don't think there is anything else quite like it in the world.

The durian in its mesh bag

The spike laden Durian Fruit, ready to be cut open

The halved Durian. You can see the multiple chambers containing the white flesh

The Durian flesh

Chinese Lacquered Spare RIbs

Just a short post right now, but I found an old picture of some Chinese Spare Ribs I had made, and they just looked so good that I couldn't resist posting the picture.

A quick marinade with soy sauce, a splash of yuzu juice, garlic, ginger, ketchup, chili flakes, siracha, & honey, and some time overnight to absorb the flavors; then slow cooked in the oven at 3:25. Basted with a reduced marinade, the ribs were tender and deliciously hot and sweet.

How to Cook Mussels!

Mussels are one of my favorite things to make when I crave a simple seafood dish, as long as they are fresh and of the very best quality. Simple and delicious, they are an almost sexy dish to prepare, and its easy for even the most basic home cook. Just as important as the mussels are having a good, crisp and very cold glass of Muscadet to go with them. Mussels are very easy to prepare, but often times I think people are scared to make them at home because they aren't sure if they are getting fresh mussels, or cooking the correctly.

With the following steps, you will make a mussels appetizer that will make any food critic happy. Sometimes the simplest things in life are truly the best.

Inexpensive Muscadet is an amazing pairing with mussels. Normally I would remove the price sticker from a bottle before serving it, but I wanted to show everyone that a really good wine doesn't have to break the bank.

Super sexy mussels cooked in white wine, shallots, garlic, and parsley.

Remove the mussels from the pan with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Cover with the sauce from the pan. Serve hot, with cold glasses of the Muscadet wine. Enjoy!

Add the mussels to the pan. Stir, and cover. Cook over medium heat until all the mussels have opened. Add some chopped parsley, and mix well.

Open up that Muscadet you bought, and drink a glass. Add 1/2 cup or so of the wine to the pan, and stir until the whole thing looks creamy. Add 2 tablespoons of water, and stir. Bring to a simmer.

This is what the sauce should start to look like. Add 2 tablespoons more of butter, and melt over medium heat, constantly stirring.

In a large pan (we call it a rondeau) add 1 tablespoon of butter, and melt over low heat. Mince one large shallot, and add to the pan. Add 3 cloves garlic, minced. Add a few parsley stems, about 1 to 2" long, and reserve the parlsey leaves. (mince these, as you will add them later). Sweat the shallots, garlic and parlsey stems over medium heat, until soft.

Start with 2 lbs. of mussels, fresh and clean. Check for freshness by appearance, all the mussels are closed, and there is a clean, sea smell. Anything that smells fishy is bad. Clean the mussels in cold water, removing any debris, or "beards" on the mussels. Set aside, and cover with a damp paper towel.

Death By Dessert or a Sampling of Heaven

Sometimes as a chef, I get a little carried away. When the craving to cook and create strikes, who am I to ignore it?? Especially when there are guests over, who are looking for a little snack. And like any chef, the urge to impress, wow, and instill a sense of happiness in those we cook for is a powerful one.

Having been re-gifted a bottle of CEV Icewine, I set about trying to create a few mini-desserts that would match well with the wine. Here are the results:

Vidal Ice wine with slices of Meyer Lemon Tarts

Hudson Valley Local Fresh (unpasteurized or homogenized) milkshakes with orange-vanilla ice cream, dulce-de-leche wafers dipped in sweet Pedro-Ximenez reduction, and caramelized

ginger-sugar chips.

Chocolate dipped bananas with chocolate dipping sauce, cara-cara oranges, and a Kahlua-coffee shot.

The Petite Elvis - sauteed banana, peanut butter and bacon.

The CEV Vidal Icewine. No where nearly as delicious as the desserts unfortunately.

The meyer lemon tart in the oven.

Mise en place for the lemon tart. Not sure what that means?? See this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place

Blind baking the tart shell.

Cioppino

According to wikipedia, Cioppino is: a fish stew derived from the various regional fish soups and stews of Italian cuisine. Cioppino is traditionally made from the catch of the day, which in the dish's place of origin is typically a combination of dungeness crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish with fresh tomatoes in a wine sauce, often served over spaghetti or other long pasta and toasted buttered bread, either sourdough or baguette. The dish is comparable to bouillabaisse, burrida, and bourride of the French Provence, suquet de peix from Catalan speaking regions of coastal Spain, and to cacciucco and brodetto from Italy .[1]


Ok...enough of that. To me, Cioppino is a kind of comfort food, a dish that serves well to an informal party of people that are coming over for dinner, with some good cold white wine such as a Seyval Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc. (Maybe a cold beer too!)

To me, a good Cioppino has just a little heat, a variation of seafood including a firm white flesh fish (sea bass, haddock, monkfish), clams, mussels, and even some shrimp. Scallops add a great variation and I would add them if I wasn't allergic to them. Next, a balanced broth of tomato, fennel, saffron, clam juice, and onion needs to tie it all together. Add some garlic bread or rouille (french garlic aiolli) and your in for a treat.

My recipe is below. I hope you enjoy it.

The final dish, Cioppino. Serve in a deep bowl and don't forget the garnish!

An assortment of clams and mussels, cleaned and covered with a damp towel to keep them fresh till cooking time.

Beautiful heirloom cherry tomatos, of various colors.

Iranian Saffron. Some of, if not the best.

Clam tomato vegetable broth. The base for the dish.

Cioppino recipe:

Ingredients -

1 Large Onion, Diced

1/2 Bulb Fennel, Diced

Fennel Fronds for garnish

Parsley for garnish

Saffron, 1 pinch

4 Cloves Garlic, Minced Finely

1 Bell Pepper, Diced

Olive Oil as needed

24oz Clam Juice

16oz Tomato Juice

1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, Halved

Seafood - 1.5 lb white firm flesh fish, 1lb mussels (clean very well), 1/2lb clams, 1lb shrimp or 1lb scallops

Method

In large pot, add olive oil, then onion & garlic. Saute till tender, add fennel and bell pepper. Cook till soft. Add saffron, cook 1 minute till aromatic. Add the liquids, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 30 minutes. Season.

Add the seafood, bring liquid to a simmer, cover till fish is cooked and all the shellfish open. Add in cherry tomatoes. Cook 1 minute. Serve in bowls, with garlic bread. Garnish with minced parsley and fennel fronds.

Enjoy!

Welcome to Amuse Today!!!

A look into culinary creativity and chaos.....one day at a time

2010