Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Fig season is so brief (about five minutes total for the huge tree in our backyard much beloved by the squirrels) that I’m usually content just to eat these juicy morsels as they come from the market, accompanied by thin slices of walnut bread smeared with Gorgonzola or Roquefort.. (And you know perfectly well that morsels refers to the figs, and not the squirrels)
Perhaps once a season I’ll make a fig and raspberry tart, but more often, if I want to fiddle with figs I’ll make Nigella’s Figs for a Thousand and One Nights, as I did for dinner guests last night.
It’s supremely easy and pick-up-the-plate-and-lick-the-last-drops-of-sauce good.
And, yes, you DO have to hunt up both the rosewater and orange-flower water. And, no, you may not substitute anything for the mascarpone cheese. You will, as always, be glad you obeyed my dictates.
By Casey Ellis, . Filed under Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Monday, May 18th, 2009
He had me from the Author’s Note: “I apologize to those whose stories were left on the cutting-room floor.
I also apologize to those who wish their stories were left on the cutting-room floor.”
Th author is John DeLucie and I hope he’s already at work on a second book because I consumed this one in a few delicious big gulps of reading pleasure.
This is one terrific romp through kitchens good and bad. Along the way, there are tales of celebrities, crises (both culinary and personal) and casually-tossed-off recipes that sound sensational.
I saw DeLucie demo a ricotta frittata on the Today show, thought him charming and had his book on my Kindle within minutes. (Have I mentioned how much I love my Kindle?)
Here’s just one passage to whet your appetite for more;
I learned how to lard fish, which requires wielding razor-sharp knives without the benefit of health insurance. First you tackle the basil with your paring knife, creating bullets of the thinly rolled basil. Next you open up surgical-like slits…and delicately insert the basil.. When the fish gets roasted, the basil is dissolved under the high heat, leaving a fragrant, green herbaceous flavor enhanced wih a hefty pinch of sea salt and a dollop of extra-virgin. The dish was sensational, but what a pain in the ass.
I’d love to hang out in a kitchen or around a table with DeLucie. That seems unlikely, but reading his book has been a delightful next-best-thing.
By Casey Ellis, . Filed under Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Monday, May 11th, 2009
She shredded green papaya with amazing speed, using a funky little tool that resembles a Cub Scout craft project gone awry.
Green Papaya Salad
[ a simplified version of Ms. Vy’s}
Shred enough green papaya to measure 100 grams. of short strands.
Rinse in fresh cool water, then soak in cold water for 15-20 minutes. Drain well.
Shred a small amount of raw carrot, just to add a bit of color to the salad.
Combine 1 TB lime juice, 3/4 tsp. sugar, 2/3 tsp. fish sauce, 1 tsp garlic puree and 1 tsp pounded red chile.
Add dressing to shredded papaya and carrot. Toss, then add 2 cups of slightly cut up herb leaves, ideally using a mixture of Vietnamese mint, anise basil, coriander and green shiso., if available, although other varieties of mint and basil work well.
Add a dash of roasted sesame oil and a tablespoon of peanut oil. Mix quickly and gently, preferably using chopsticks.
Garnish with roasted sesame seeds and a tablespoon of roasted peanuts.
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Meeting Ms. Vy — restaurateur and cooking teacher extraordinaire — was one of the highlights of our Viet Nam trip. After a delicious dinner at her newest restaurant, Morning Glory, I was looking forward to the cooking class the next day, and it didn’t disappoint.
Informative, encouraging and witty, Ms. Vy spoke passionately about the ingredients available at Hoi An’s marketplace. “It’s so easy,” she said, “to fix great food when you have beautiful ingredients. Freshness is a fixture of Vietnamese cuisine.”
A highlight of the class was the Vietnamese crispy pancake we each made — way too long and complex a recipe for this lazy blogger to type out but incredibly delicious. Do NOT visit Hoi An without eating at Morning Glory. Fit in a class with the fabulous Ms. Vy and you’ll add some marvelous recipes to your repertoire. An enchanting chef in an enchanting land.
Much easier to make than the crispy pancakes is this grilled chicken dish. There’s considerable chopping time involved, but the resulting layers of flavor are worth it.
Grilled Chicken & Lime Leaves
3.5 pounds boneless chicken thighs, skin on
Chop, then pound (individually):
2 TB. red shallots. chopped
2 TB. garlic
3 TB lemongrass
2 TB fresh galangal
3 TB fresh turmeric
Mix the pounded spices together with 1 tsp. sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 TB fish sauces, 4 tsp crystal brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili sauce, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp. five spice powder.
Shred 2 TB young lime leaves very fine. Save a few shreds as garnish; chop the remainder. Add to the spice mixture.
Coat chicken well with the spice mixture,. Add 1 TB roasted sesame oil and 1 cup peanut oil. Let marinate at least 30 minutes
Place chicken pieces skin side down, fold in half, skewer and then spread out the meat to cook evenly.
Grill 3-4 minutes per side for thick pieces, 2 minutes a side for thin ones (which Ms Vy prefers ).
Serve with a salad of banana flower, green papaya or Chinese cabbage dressed with lime juice, fish sauce and a dash of sugar.
By Casey Ellis, . Filed under Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, April 6th, 2009
It may be old news, but remembering Manresa chef David Kinch’s victory on Iron Chef still delights me.
In the above photo Kinch is introducing his team and acting as though they’d lost: “Whatever the outcome, ” he said with a somber expression, “I want you to know how superbly these two performed.”
The room — filled with 100 Manresa fans– got very quiet.
And an hour later the room got very loud, resounding with cheers. Victory. Major victory. Victory as sweet as the maple syrup in the famous Arpege/Manresa egg.
The food blogger and the chef watch the cabbage magic.
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Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
It began — as so many of our travel adventures do — with food. We’d stopped on the narrow, rutted road to explore fields filled with vegetables and herbs when suddenly the air was filled with whoops and shouts as a gaggle of young children came racing towards us.
One of the women in our group had spotted a small school on the other side of the road and asked the teacher if we could visit. The children were taking no chances that we’d change our minds.
They danced around us, hugged our knees, leaped into our arms and said “Hell-O! Hell-O” over and over. Back at the schrool they sang us a song and looked through our camera lenses and hugged us some more.
I pretended to be a locomotive and soon had a chain of living train cars behind me.
["What did you do in school today, Tamh?"
"Pushed a fat American lady around the playgorund!"]
I broke free for a moment to peek into one of the two classrooms and found this little girl working away, completely uninterested in the silliness outside. I predict she’ll be the first female president of Vietnam.
By Casey Ellis, . Filed under Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 20th, 2009
We found lots of elegant restaurant fare in Hanoi. This deconstructed paella with three kinds of rice was a treat at Green Tangerine, a charming little spot near the Water Puppet Theater. The pastries at Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Metropole were exquisite and a trio of soups made a lovely starter for a fabulous end-of-the-bike-tour banquet catered by the hotel.
But my strongest culinary memories of Viet Nam cluster around the profusion of wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables. In “Catfish and Mandala” the aurthor describes Viet Nam as a country of “skinny people who eat all the time.”
So how come I gained weight there? Could it have been a few too many croissants, fried spring rolls and crispy pancakes? If so, they were worth every ounce.
By Casey Ellis, . Filed under Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
The mountainous area around Dalat is a gardener’s paradise. Vegetables, flowers and coffee trees thrive. While pushing my bike up a particularly steep hill I noticed poinsietta bushes as high as my shoulders, covered in blooms.
The central market is one of the most interesting we visited. These artichokes had stems 10-12 inches long and looked as beautiful as Castroville’s finest.
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Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
This pretty little platter had two more fresh spring rolls in the top left hand corner of the tray, but I’d quickly snarfed them down before I remembered to pull out my camera.
One of the women on our trip has reached spring roll saturation. “Not another one, ” she vows. But I haven’t begun to tire of them and have been enjoying them at lunch and dinner most days.
In the lower left are some tasty little beef rolls, encased in a leaf whose name I have forgotten. Crispy fried shrimp and green papaya salad on rice crackers complete the platter. This and an icy cold local beer made a perfect poolside lunch.
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Sunday, February 15th, 2009
After a marvelous dinner at Morning Glory in Hoi-An (my favorite fare of the trip so far) we went back to the restaurant the next day for a cooking class. I’ll be posting recipes after I get home and have a faster internet connection.
Pictured are the ingredients we used to marinate boneless, skinless chicken thighs - yup, we used all of them and the results were fabulous, though I went a tad heavy on the chile paste.
When I get home I think I’ll train the grandkids to do Viet Namese-style mise-en-place for me.
“Here, my angels. Start chopping.”
By Casey Ellis, . Filed under Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
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