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Archive for October, 2010

Fresh, Local, and An All’round Good Guy – That’s Chef Bill Telepan

Posted in Chefs on October 22, 2010 | 4 Comments »

 

Although he doesn’t know it, Chef Bill Telepan and I go back a long time.  I remember being so excited when Ansonia, the first restaurant at which he was the “star” chef, opened in our Upper West Side neighborhood in the early 90s and we quickly became frequent diners.  The neighborhood was considered a culinary wasteland and Bill’s apprenticeship with the world-famous Alain Chapel indicated that we were in for greatness – which, in fact, was true.  Ansonia didn’t have a terribly long life and we lost Bill to midtown and further culinary honors when he gained 3 stars from the New York Times at JUdson Grill.  But, in 2005 Bill returned to the UWS with his very own restaurant, Telepan (72 West 69th Street, 212-580-4300, www.TELEPAN-NY.com) and we were once again treated to his signature dishes prepared simply and elegantly from fresh, local ingredients.

One of the first New York chefs to promote seasonality through working directly with local farmers, as chef-owner of Telepan, Bill does much of the farm to table marketing himself throughout the week.  Taking time from running the restaurant, shopping the local farmers markets, being a very involved father, and leading the culinary program for Wellness in the Schools, Bill very kindly took the time to chat with me while sitting in his getting-ready-for-service dining room.

We talked a bit about his career and the focus of Telepan which will be celebrating its 5th anniversary in December.  “I have lived on the Upper West Side for 20 years and had coveted this space for my own for years before it actually happened.  I very much wanted to create a welcoming, easy-to-experience neighborhood restaurant which, as it turns out, is exactly what Telepan has become.  We do get a fair number of Lincoln Center attendees but mainly we have developed a loyal neighborhood crowd, many of whom I now consider friends not just customers.”

Knowing that Bill is most known for his support of local farmers I asked him how he would describe his seasonal cooking.  “I cook a simple style of American food;  individual, drawn on my life experiences, what I like to cook, where I’ve cooked, my favorite cookbooks (his own Inspired by Ingredients), each season’s bounty, and the melting pot that defines New York City.”  He continued, “Personally, I eat far less meat than I once did and I find that my customers follow suit.  I think that from this moment on vegetables are going to be the new pork belly.”   “Has much changed since you first began your career in New York City?” I inquired.  “Very much so,” Bill answered.  “We have many more local ingredients with which to work – meat products as well as vegetable.  This allows us to change our menu more frequently than we once did.  I now present new items monthly instead of seasonally.  Sometimes I bring back dishes that I particularly loved in the past – often as they were, but sometimes with a new twist.  Coming up, we are going to feature an all artisanal cheese menu as well as a take on the old classic, cordon bleu, using pheasant.  I am always learning new techniques working with new products.  Cooking is still fun!”  What more could one ask for in contemporary dining?

Bill and I talked a bit more about food than I had intended as I really wanted to hear about his involvement with the Wellness in the Schools (WITS) project (www.wellnessintheschools.org).  Having watched Bill’s sweet daughter, Leah, grow up I knew that somehow it was her attendance at our local public school that must have been the catalyst for his participation.  And, it was, in fact part of it.  He met Nancy Easton, a fellow parent at a PTA meeting at PS (for those non-New Yorkers, Public School) 87 who had, with a couple of other moms, formed a wellness committee to improve their children’s lunches.  The moms had, themselves, made 200 to 300 healthy sandwiches to distribute to the children on a weekly basis.  Bill suggested that they get into the hot food part of the school lunch program and as soon as he made the suggestions, he was inducted.

Although the beginning days were difficult dealing with an entrenched bureaucracy, rather than give up, Bill decided to devote 3 days a month to making the program work.  His determination, along with the devotion of Nancy Easton and other volunteers, has taken the program from 1 school and an enhanced salad bar to 19 schools with a defined culinary program of 1)Tex-Mex Monday, 2) Pasta Tuesday, 3) Chicken Wednesday, 4) Sandwich Thursday, and 5) Pizza Friday.  All of these meals are created using the procurement list (see my NOTE) provided by the city school system but worked into only healthy recipes.  Each school’s cafeteria staff is aided by a part-time culinary school graduate along with volunteers from WITS.

Not only does Bill help Wellness in the Schools develop recipes, he actually goes into the schools and cooks alongside cafeteria personnel.  The program also brings cooks into the classroom to show children a specific ingredient, explain how to prepare it, give the children a taste, and then offer recipes to take home and share with their parents.  And, in conjunction with Share our Strength and City Harvest, WITS is beginning a new project that will help teach adults how to shop and cook.

It is Chef Telepan’s hope that Wellness in the Schools will be a required program in all of New York City’s schools before too long.  And, that the current program working in 19 schools can be taken to other school systems since its size is basically the same as many school districts across the country.  I asked him if help was needed to expand the program.  “Definitely,” he eagerly answered.  “We need volunteers with some basic cooking experience who are willing to travel to a specific school to help with prep work in the kitchen.  This is a program started by volunteer moms and will expand in the same way.  Plus we just need people to spread the vibe about what we are doing.”  Although many chefs are known for their generosity and do offer their expertise to many programs, I happen to know that Bill is the only New York City chef devoting what could almost be called part-time job hours to this exceedingly important not-for-profit program.

I thanked Bill and told him that I would try to urge my readers to join the WITS team – I even suggested a motto – “Keep Your WITS About You!”  Sorry for the pun, but I couldn’t resist.  Please email Signeg@wellnessintheschools.org to volunteer time or go directly to the website to donate money to support their programs.  I can think of no better way to help conquer obesity, diabetes, and heart disease before each of these tragic diseases has a chance to take hold.

 

NOTE:  The USDA provides schools with commodity foods, ordered through a prescribed list.  Many of these foods are prepared items like breaded chicken nuggets, although there are fresh fruits such as apples also on the list.  In what would generally be termed minimally-equipped kitchens, New York City schools prepare lunches for almost one million students a day and are reimbursed a little over $2.00 for each reduced-price lunch and about 25¢ for each paid lunch served.

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Biffy’s Trip to Oz (no red slippers needed)

Posted in Uncategorized on October 22, 2010 | 4 Comments »

 

A couple of weeks ago I ran into a long-time neighbor as each of us were on our way to pick up odds and ends for dinner.  Our boys grew up together and now we are grandmothers, still singing the glories of our families as we meet, intermittently, on the street.  Biffy (Elizabeth Malko) is Australian – well, she once was – and had just come back from a visit home.  She was absolutely bouyant with tales of her trip.  It all sounded so inviting that I asked her to email her memories to me.  She did and here they are – doesn’t she just make you want to call Qantas and go down under?

 

FROM BIFFY:  I’m back in Oz–Australia–down at Newport Beach, NSW, off-season deserted, at the southern end of the beach, just me and a cormorant drying stretched wings by the rock pool. In the early 50′s I found a shark’s egg nearby. It looked like a twist of seaweed in the shallow water. I still have that egg at home in New York. Walking back towards the surf club, two teenagers with surfboards check out the surf, while sulphur-crested cockatoos bob up and down in the beach grass.

Later, in the butcher shop, The Dependable Butchery on Barrenjoey Road, where we have come to buy a leg of lamb and sliced ham, my brother Donald and his wife Sue introduce me to the butchers; with much animated conversation and laughter they confirm what Donald told me at breakfast that morning as he broke off a piece of buttered toast and wiped up the remains of an egg with ham: “sliced ham from the leg of the female pig is the best”.

The butchers continue to work and chat, Sue takes a closer look at other cuts of meat while I’m fixated on the variety of lamb: Butterflied Legs, Marinated Butterflied, Rolled Shoulder, Chump Chops, Loin Chops, Cutlets, Shanks, Lamb Kidney, Lamb Frys, marinated cubed lamb labeled Sweet Lamb Curry, Lamb and Rosemary Sausage. I don’t see lamb brains. Fronds of brightly colored plastic ferns are tucked between trays of the various meats.

Yes, I’m definitely back.

I wasn’t thinking lamb as the plane approached Sydney. It was seafood, oysters and prawns that I was looking forward to eating again. So when Donald announces “Now is the time to have lunch on the boat before the weather changes,” I know it’s prawn time.

With a bag of cooked unshelled prawns, a couple of lemons, bread rolls, container of coleslaw, we drive across to the other side of the Peninsula, the Pittwater side, where the boat is moored.

On board, Sue picks up the plastic alligator that successfully keeps birds off the deck, and adjusts ropes. Don starts the engine and we head north towards Lion Island, the foreshore of Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park on our left.  Dramatic clouds fill the sky. Unable to describe what I’m seeing, all I can say is, “Look at the light, look at the light!”

We stop near Mackerel Beach, set up lunch on deck, peel prawns. They are delicious.  Prawn heads with long thread-like feelers soon fill the discard- bowl. When it starts to rain, we move into the cabin and reluctantly head back to the dock as the wind picks up.

My oyster-fest starts on the Pittwater side of Palm Beach. A been-there-for-ages low key waterfront favorite is under new management and is now called The Boathouse. We order Pacific oysters and linger for the view. For me, it is all perfect.

Sydney Rock oysters are ordered when I lunch with nieces at the popular Barrenjoey House restaurant on Barrenjoey Road, which is also on the Pittwater side of Palm Beach. The day is cool and sunny, and we opt to sit outside for the view of the water beyond the Falkland pines on the other side of the road.

Later, we drive over to Palm Beach–”Palmy”–a great stretch of beach which curves from the southern headland to the northern headland with its lighthouse and entrance to Broken Bay.  Wet-suited board riders and body surfers have it all to themselves.

A Monday night dinner at another Peninsula restaurant, the Starfish, in Avalon, the cuisine referred to as “modern Australian,” “modern Asian.” It is to be a quiet evening with my nephew Peter, his wife, and her daughter. That all changes to a table for twelve after various members of a family I know and Peter grew up with unexpectedly appear. No longer locals, the group includes the award winning restaurateurs, Chef Robert Molines and his wife Sally, who opened their first restaurant in the Hunter Valley wine country in the early 70′s.  My “starters” that evening?  Seared scallops.

Staying with my sister, Mag, in Lane Cove, a northern suburb of Sydney. What we like to do at the end of the day is buy Sydney Rock and Pacific oysters from the local fish shop to eat at home. Served with a squirt of lemon, a glass of wine, and buttered bread on the side–Australians love their buttered bread. At A$1.25 an oyster, which is half the price of restaurant oysters, we often indulge.

Mag and I go to Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales, expecting to see the annual Archibald Prize exhibit. We find that it closed the day before. We walk through galleries with familiar artworks and then go upstairs for lunch in The Restaurant. Oysters, prawn confit, barramundi, wild rocket, all of it delicious, all of it almost upstaged by what we see through the restaurant’s floor to ceiling windows: a fierce storm moving over Woolloomooloo Bay that ends with a spectacular rainbow.

Leaving the Gallery we look across to the Domain, at the expanse of lawn edged with enormous Morton Bay Fig trees. These trees are a bonus for me.

West of Sydney, crossing the Blue Mountains, we are on the way to Donald and Sue’s farm in the Capertee Valley. Sue asks if I’d like to stop for pies at the Pie in The Sky Roadhouse. Of course I do. I’d not eaten an Oz pie in a long time.

The Pie in The Sky Roadhouse has corrugated iron roof and walls, all painted cream, weathered, with an extra long bench out front. Inside, freshly baked pies fill the display case. A sign on the wall lets us know the special: Chips & Gravy A$4.50. We buy meat pies. I ask for one to be heated, add a blob of tomato sauce, and head for the car. It’s hot, it drips, it’s a true Oz pie, and I forgot to ask for extra napkins.

The next stop is Lithgow, and then on to Capertee.

Approaching the pub, the Royal Hotel Capertee, the few buildings on this stretch of the road seem empty, vacant, except for the house opposite the pub, the one with a corrugated iron roof and bullnose overhang. The verandah has a couple of metal chairs, a wheel barrow, and stacked wood.  Passing here, I know it’s just a few more miles to the turnoff for the farm.

Sue’s on gate duty, getting out to open and close them as we drive cross other people’s properties, the rutted dirt road eroded even more from recent rain. The last time I was at the farm was January 2002, summer in the southern hemisphere. Everything was dry and parched, the golden elm in front of the house drought-stressed, dropping leaves. Now healthy leaves are dropping because it’s autumn.

As we approach the house, I’m excited to see the recently restored blacksmith’s cottage.  It’s time for tea. In the kitchen of the house, Sue’s heirloom tea cosy, the one her grandmother knitted that looks like a cottage, covers the teapot, as it did in 2002. But the scantily clad pinups from the Jax Tyre Service 1960 calendar that hung on the wall are gone.  In the bathroom, there’s the familiar reminder: PLEASE KEEP SHOWERS SHORT AS WE ARE ON TANK WATER.

Early the next morning on the way to the outside loo, I was delighted to see Lola the llama peering over the fence. No longer guarding sheep–they were sold during the drought–Lola now hangs out with the heifers.

Morning attire is work gear for everyone except me. I’m walking up to the dump, rust-central, the final resting place for discarded metals: farm equipment, water tanks, vehicles, car parts, a jumble of once utilitarian stuff.  Cautioned, “look out for snakes and spiders”, I never see anything more menacing than the body of a Singer sewing machine. A few selected pieces never made it up to the dump, and sit, farm sculptures, in the grass below.  For me, this is all like one great big installation, a Storm King Art Center in Capertee.

Meanwhile, the others are spreading wood chips over soggy ground and shoveling them into road-ruts. Preparation is under way for the arrival of Peter and his sisters, Mandy and Lou, and Donald’s birthday dinner. The electricity is out. As most of the cooking is done outside in a kettle-style or propane-fueled Weber, this isn’t a big deal, just an annoyance. Leg of lamb, corn, veg, gravy.

The next day we all walk through the paddock at the back of the house, past the dam where Donald likes to hit golf balls. Close to the burial site of early settlers we find places to sit and look across the Capertee Valley–the widest enclosed valley in the world–in the distance, sandstone escarpments, buttes, billowing clouds.

My Oz mantra kicks in again: “Look at the light, look at the light.”

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Garlic is Good

Posted in Recipes on October 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

 

I would guess that you are tired of hearing me report about the bounty of the garden this past summer, especially those of you who don’t have access to Farmer McGregor’s patch, a neighbor’s lot, or a booming farmer’s market.  I, fortunately, had a bit of all three and each one was overflowing with many different types of garlic.  Our neighbor, Eric, had a bumper crop (see it drying in the accompanying photo) and shared a-what-seemed-to-be great amount with us.  Since the two most used ingredients in my kitchen are garlic and olive oil, I am quickly depleting my store.  I have already roasted a big batch which is now frozen by the tablespoonful to flavor soups, stews, and sauces all winter.  The remainder is kept is a slightly cool, dry spot (for me, a closet) with the hope that it will give me fresh cloves until early winter.

Store-bought garlic really can’t compare with freshly grown.  And here is the reason why.  I recently learned that almost all of the garlic in our supermarkets (along with everything else) comes from China; brought in daily by the container load!  Angelo Zingone, my local green grocer, told me that when he began selling fruits and vegetables, all garlic either came from local farmers or from California, then it started coming from Mexico, and now he can only get China-grown.  Isn’t this a shame when our nearby upstate New York farmers can grow it by the truck-load?

Should you have an overload of garlic, here is a good roasting method and an easy party-time or snack recipe in which to use it.  Although roasted and other prepared garlics are available in most supermarkets, I don’t recommend using them.

ROASTING GARLIC:  Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Lightly coat either unpeeled whole heads (if serving whole on a platter with grilled meats, make a nice, neat slice off the top) or peeled individual cloves with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil, and place them on a baking pan in the preheated oven.  Whole heads will take about 25 minutes and individual cloves about 12 minutes to become soft and aromatic.  To make roasted garlic purée, roast whole heads and, when done, unwrap, cut off the tops, and squeeze out the lush, soft flesh.  One large head will usually yield about 2 tablespoons garlic purée.

Spiced Garlic Cheese Pot

Makes about 4 cups

 

1 pound fine quality cheddar cheese, cubed

½ cup minced onion

2 tablespoons roasted garlic purée

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Cayenne pepper to taste

½ cup sherry wine, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

 

Place half of the cheese, along with the onion, garlic purée, chives, mustard, and cayenne pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Process until very smooth.  With the motor running, add the sherry and olive oil and process to incorporate.  Add the remaining cheese and process until very thick and smooth.  If the mixture seems too thick, add additional sherry, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.

Scrape the mixture into a nonreactive container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.  Will keep, covered and refrigerated, for a couple of weeks.

Use for cocktail tidbits on toasts or crackers, melted on rye toasts, beaten into mashed potatoes, or as a filling for sandwiches, celery sticks, or endive spears.

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Clafoutis

Posted in Recipes on October 22, 2010 | 2 Comments »

 

I am well aware that cherry season has passed but looking though Steve’s catalogue of photographs of my cooking forays, we found these glorious cherry photos along with some remnants of the dessert I love made with them.  I just had to share the photos so, in the middle of fall, we are going to have a hint of early summer.  Don’t worry, you can also make the dessert with other fruits in the months ahead.

Once upon a time I asked a French friend what she thought was the homiest of all French desserts and, without thinking, she said “clafoutis.”  At the time I don’t think that I had ever tasted this dessert but, being a lover of nursery desserts I’m sure that I immediately hunted down a recipe and took a stab at this traditional French country dessert.  It was my idea of dessert heaven and it quickly became one of my favorite “go-tos” when longing for a simple sweet.

The main ingredient in the traditional Limoisin recipe is black cherries complete with their pits.  Folk lore says that leaving the pits in enhances the flavor during baking.  Being all too familiar with the dentist’s chair and the cost thereof, I choose to take on the arduous task of pitting the little gems and have not found the flavor to any less deep and rich.

After making clafoutis for years (only in the early summer when the market was lush with ripe, juicy Bing cherries) I somehow let it slip by the wayside.  This past spring, researching something that I’ve now forgotten, I was reminded of my old favorite.  Once again clafoutis became a frequent dessert, perhaps because, this year, cherries were so abundant and relatively inexpensive to boot.  And, once cherries disappeared I began using other fruits and berries – soft, ripe plums and berries, wild and tame – and now I’m looking forward to using juicy pears.  I have even been thinking about making one with cranberries for the holidays. And, what about some prunes (or proomes as you know we call them) soaked in Armagnac?  Only recently did I learn that when made with fruit other than cherries, a clafoutis is called a flaugnarde.  Whatever it is called, I call it delicious!

 

1½ pounds ripe Bing cherries, pitted

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Zest of 1 lemon

3 large eggs, separated

Pinch salt

¼ cup Wondra flour (or sifted all-purpose flour)

¼ cup heavy cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

A couple of tablespoons confectioners’ sugar for dusting

 

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Place the cherries in a shallow baking dish (either round or a 9- to 10-inch rectangle).  Add ½ cup of the sugar along with the melted butter, tossing to mix.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes or just until the cherries begin to soften.  Remove from the oven, stir in lemon zest, and set aside.  Do not turn the oven off.

Combine the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle.  Beat on low to blend; then, raise the speed and beat for about 4 minutes or until light and airy.  Add the cream, flour, and vanilla and beat to blend.  Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and set aside.

Using a hand held electric mixer (unless you’re a glutton for punishment and want to beat the egg whites with a whisk in a copper bowl), beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the egg batter, folding until just barely blended.

Pour the batter over the warm cherries.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the top has puffed up and is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.  Serve warm.

 

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Octopus – A Current Favorite

Posted in Recipes, Stephen Kolyer on October 18, 2010 | 2 Comments »

I think that the fish guys at Citarella are beginning to think of me as “the pulpo lady” since if I am not buying it, I am inquiring about its availability.  I don’t know exactly when my love of octopus developed – I certainly didn’t grow up eating it.  And it began before I co-authored The New Greek Cuisine with Chef Jim Botsacos of Molyvos Restaurant (molyvos.com) in New York City where I learned much about cooking this extraordinary cephalopod.

Although once upon a time octopus was difficult to come by unless you had an Italian- or Greek-owned fish store in the neighborhood, it is now available, fresh, from most fine fishmongers and many supermarkets sell it frozen (which is just fine for this dish.)  Freezing is, in fact, often a good thing as it helps insure that the flesh is tenderized.  Only the tentacles and body are edible.  But none of it will be edible if improperly cooked.

Baby octopus can be quickly cooked (see post May 2009 for Octopus Salad) but I poach the larger ones before using.  I got some practice using the poaching method with Chef Botsacos and you will find the method for it along with lots of terrific “new” Greek recipes in his book The New Greek Cuisine, Featuring 150 Recipes from Jim Botsacos, the Chef of New York’s Acclaimed Molyvos Restaurant.  The following recipe is his and it will yield enough liquid to poach a mess of baby octopus or a couple of large ones.

 

Poaching Octopus:  Combine 1 gallon cold water with 1 cup white wine vinegar, 1 lemon, halved and juiced into the liquid, 8 black peppercorns, 4 bay leaves, and a good handful of salt.  Place over high heat and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Put on a pair of heavy rubber gloves and, holding the octopus by the head, dunk the body into the simmering water 3 times, leaving it submerged for about 3 seconds each time.  (This is my favorite part as it is called “scaring” the octopus because the tentacles will curl up as you plunge the octopus into the hot water).  Then, you simply drop the “scared” octopus into the simmering water, raise the heat, and bring the liquid to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes or until the octopus is tender.

Drain well and either use as desired or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

 

Pasta with Octopus, Tomatoes, and Greens

Serves 6

 

¼ cup olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

One 28-ounce can chopped Italian tomatoes in juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

2 large octopus, poached and cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup bottled clam juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large head escarole (or other green of choice), well-washed and chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

1 pound package sturdy pasta such as penne, orecchiette, or conchiglie

 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes or until just beginning to soften.  Add the tomatoes along with the basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

Add the octopus and clam juice and bring to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Uncover and add the greens, a bit at a time, folding them into the tomato-octopus mixture.  When all of the greens have been added, bring to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes or just until all of the greens have wilted into the sauce.

While the sauce is finishing, cook the pasta.

Drain the pasta and return it to its cooking pot.  Add the octopus sauce and stir to combine.

Pour the pasta onto a large serving platter, sprinkle with lemon zest and parsley.  Serve immediately.

 

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Sarde in Saor (or in plain English) Sardines in Sour Sauce

Posted in Recipes on October 18, 2010 | 2 Comments »

 

When I was growing up the only sardines we knew were those packed tightly into a can, usually in oil but sometimes in a tomato sauce.  And, frankly, I didn’t like either one.  Fresh sardines, the staple of many Mediterranean cuisines, were completely unknown in the United States until recent years.  Citarella, my local fish market, almost always has them, particularly throughout this past summer.  They are relatively inexpensive and high in some of the good stuff we’re supposed to be ingesting.

Having had our share of Pasta con le Sarde in Sicily, I vowed never to make this classic Sicilian specialty so I usually simply grill them.  However I recently remembered another dish that I had eaten in Italy and decided to pull it together for a pre-dinner snack.  I think it is a dish associated with Venetian cooking – it is simple to make and is great party food.  The combination of the rich oily fish with the acidic vinegar and sweet raisins is perfection.  This recipe is enough for 6 or so.

 

¾ cup olive oil plus more if necessary

½ pound sweet onions, peeled, halved, and cut, lengthwise, into thin slivers

1 bay leaf

Salt to taste

Cracked black pepper to taste

½ cup wine vinegar (red or white)

1½ pounds fresh sardines, cleaned, rinsed, and patted dry

Wondra flour for dusting

½ cup toasted pine nuts

½ cup golden raisins

 

Heat ½ cup of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  When hot, add the onions and bay leaf.  Season with salt and cracked black pepper.  Cover, lower the heat, and cook at a bare simmer for about 20 minutes or until the onions are very soft and sweet but have taken on no color.

Add the vinegar and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened just a bit.  Remove from the heat.

Lightly dust the sardines with Wondra flour and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining ¼ cup of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the sardines, a few at a time, and fry, turning once, for about 6 minutes or until cooked through and crisp.  Using a slotted spatula, transfer the sardines to a double layer of paper towel to drain off excess fat.  Continue frying until all sardines are cooked.  If the flour sticks to the pan and begins to burn, wipe the pan clean and use fresh oil to continue frying.

Place a layer of sardines in a ceramic dish.  Cover with a layer of onions and a sprinkle of pine nuts and raisins.  If needed, season with additional salt and cracked pepper.  Make 2 more layers.  If the mixture looks a bit dry, add some extra virgin olive oil.  Cover and let marinate at room temperature (unless your kitchen is very hot – if so refrigerate) for at least 2 hours before eating.  The dish will hold, covered and refrigerated, for 3 days.

 

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A Reader’s Cookbook

Posted in Books on October 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Red Rock Press is ready to release my latest tome,  A Reader’s Cookbook, in  November.  A compendium of recipes from around the world that are matched with writers from a specific region meant to inspire members of book clubs to cook and serve the foods of their featured author’s home base.  Hope it gives both readers and cooks a bit of inspiration.

To Pre-order the book please click on the link below.
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Taking a Trip with Arlene Feltman Sailhac

Posted in Chefs, Uncategorized on October 13, 2010 | 2 Comments »

 

Of all of the people I have met and worked with during my 40 years writing about and working with food, my most favorite personality and now long standing friend has been Arlene Feltman Sailhac, founder of the renowned and innovative DeGustibus at Macy’s cooking school, a thirty year New York City culinary institution.  A couple of years ago, Arlene decided to take a break from the “classroom” and very quietly sold DeGustibus to Sal Rizzo, another talented culinary innovator.  But, to the good fortune of food lovers everywhere, she decided to concentrate on culinary travel through a new company she formed, Food“o”Philes, featuring unique and boutique culinary vacations for the discerning traveler.

Arlene’s years of show-casing most of the world’s greatest chefs (and her marriage to one, the esteemed Alain Sailhac) has allowed her to engage in the most extraordinary holidays.  Although I had spoken to some of her clients who had sung the joys of Food“o”Philes journeys, I had not spent much time with her talking about her adventures.  So, I recently cornered Arlene in the DeGustibus culinary center (where she was subbing for Sal who had torn his Achilles tendon) to hear more about her comings and goings.

I immediately asked Arlene about her change of venue.  “Food“o”Philes is a true extension of what I had been doing through the years at DeGustibus.  As you know, we had done some trips so I had a bit of experience at arranging culinary adventures, but doing it as a full-time job has been enormously taxing as there are so many details to create a luxury travel experience.  My main goal, other than worry-free travel, is to have my clients meet food personalities in their own environment, making the trip as much a cultural experience as a culinary one.  I strive to give an immediate sense of place to the traveler.”

I inquired if she found the chefs that she knew well to be different on their home turf than in she had found them to be on the DeGustibus stage.  She chose to talk about 2 chefs that I knew, Charlie Palmer (Aureole {New York and Las Vegas}, Dry Creek Kitchen, Sonoma, California among others – charliepalmer.com) and Cesare Casella (Salumeria Rosi, New York City – salumeriarosi.com).  “To see Charlie at home in Healdsburg was extremely different than watching him work in New York.  His comfort zone with the products of the area was amazing – we got to experience California’s wine country in a very up-close and personal way.  And to be in Lucca (Italy) with Cesare was like returning to your long-lost family – by the end of our stay we seemed to know everybody in town and everybody seemed to have some connection to Cesare.  It was unlike any trip I could have planned without having a long-standing relationship with the chef.”

My curiosity was piqued by Arlene’s “sense of place” determination so I asked if she had found a difference in the regional products of the various international areas she has taken her clients against those of America’s farmer’s markets.  She thoughtfully replied that “in Istanbul, the eggplant and artichokes were certainly different but not necessarily better BUT how they were grown and what was done to them made the end result exceptional.  As well, in Sicily, we had a difficult time measuring the traditional way of preparing swordfish – thinly cut, flat and relatively dry – with the American way of presenting a thick and juicy slab.  And throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean we have now experienced caponata in about as many permutations as possible and none as simple as we were used to.”

After chatting for a bit, it appeared to me that Arlene truly is offering a “unique and boutique” travel experience just as she advertises.  She told me about the private dinner presented by a Caribbean consul (stationed in Istanbul) for her group of 25 travelers.  She was asked the interests or careers of each one so that the host could match the Turkish guests with the interests of Arlene’s individual travelers.  And, all 55 diners were seated at one long table overlooking the Bosphorus.  A young chef who had been a student at The French Culinary Institute (in New York) where Chef Sailhac is Dean Emeritus introduced the group to Turkish culinary traditions including a day in his father’s restaurant.  Plus all of this culinary excitement was only part of a trip that included trips to the famous ruins in Kusadashi and Ephesus.  Friends were made and new travel plans made that would be very unlikely on an ordinary guided tour.  And, all expenses and meals, other than air travel, are included; there is not one issue to concern the traveler, except bringing back their own memories.  The frugal traveler certainly can’t compare!

I inquired about future travel projects and learned that immediate plans are for a five day trip to Charleston, South Carolina coming up on October 19th (see http://www.foodophiles.com for complete details) as well as an intensive trip to Lyon for the Bocuse D’Or on January 19, 2011 mainly, to quote Arlene, “to cheer the competing American team on to a win in this world culinary competition.”  The latter should be an amazing trip with Arlene and her husband, Chef Alain, introducing the Food“o”Philes group to the culinary history and expansive feasting for which Lyon is known.  And, in the planning stages, trips to Japan, Puglia, and Basque country.  Arlene also reminded me to tell you that all suggestions for excursions anywhere in the world are welcome.

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Goodbye to Café MeiMei aka Café Ribant

Posted in Uncategorized on October 13, 2010 | 1 Comment »

A year ago an old chef-friend, Robert Ribant, asked my advice as he opened his own restaurant.  As much as he tried and as much as I tried to assist, the under-financing of the venture, the size of the restaurant, a name (Café MeiMei {the name of Robert’s dog}) that to most diners signified an Asian spot (subsequently changed to Café Ribant which only furthered the confusion), the open kitchen generating heat into the dining room, the difficulty in finding staff to stick it out while business grew, inexperienced backers, and Robert’s idea to cook 4-star food in a tiny kitchen at very reasonable prices all conjoined to bring down the curtain after less than a year of operation.  It, once again, brought home the fact that did not matter how creative, inspired, and interested a chef might be – it does take more to make a restaurant work.  All young cooks should take heed!

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Tofu Lunch

Posted in Recipes on October 13, 2010 | 3 Comments »

 

Every week I try to make lunch for the guys at Loupe Digital Studios who keep this site looking fresh and sassy.  Michael, my number one guy, is a vegetarian so I am having fun coming up with enticing vegetarian dishes that can appeal to the meat-eaters also.  Often I put tofu front and center as it is one of Michael’s favorites.  Here is a photo of such a lunch:

Bottom layer – couscous cooked with orange juice and vegetable broth and seasoned with grated orange zest, chopped cooked (not hot as Michael hates hot and spicy) green chiles, and a small amount of roasted onion.

Topped with:

Grilled asparagus

Sliced tofu lightly coated with Wondra flour, salt and pepper and grilled on a stove-top grill pan.

On the side:  A sauce made with vegetable stock, citrus, green bell peppers, green chiles, onion, garlic, cilantro  – rather like a Puerto Rican recaito

The guys sent the dish back clean!

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