A baking and gardening journal. Mostly.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Right here. I haven’t watched the final episode yet, but I know if was very close. Needless to say, I am now 2 for 2 predicting the winner of Top Chef – Masters. Now if I could only get the winner of the regular Top Chef right instead of having them lose in the finals…
By Iron Chef Leftovers
A couple of friends of mine were feeling under the weather and I made them some chicken soup to assist in the healing process. I have fond memories from my youth of my dad making the soup from scratch in the winter – but it was an all day process. These days, there are plenty of times where Mrs. Iron Chef feels like soup for dinner and tells me later in the afternoon. I really am not a fan of canned soups – the veggies tend to be completely mush and they have entirely too much sodium in them, so fortunately, I devised a way to make it in roughly 20 – 30 minutes, depending on how soft you want your veggies. The soup is a heck of a lot better than the canned stuff, but not quite at the Jewish grandmother level, but it is much easier to make. The recipe below is really just a base, feel free to add in whatever veggies you want, or if you want to make veggie soup, just leave out the chicken and substitute veggie broth for chicken.
The Software
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 medium carrots diced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 ribs of celery (including the leaves) diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 parsnip diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 small head bok choy roughly chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 cloves of garlic (smashed but not diced)
2 bay leaves
1 supermarket rotisserie chicken
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 oz cognac (optional)
1 cup beef broth (optional)
The rind of a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (optional – see final notes below)
Salt
Pepper
The Bird
Yes, just buy a supermarket rotisserie chicken. They are perfect for this soup and already cooked. Taking the bird apart is a hands-on experience (literally), so make sure the meat is cool enough to handle. It is an easy thing to do and doesn’t actually require a knife to do it, but you will get your hands messy. You are also only going to need the dark meat. It doesn’t matter if you only like white meat – get over it. The dark meat has infinitely more flavor and it won’t dry out. Save the breasts for chicken salad (my take on my grandmother’s recipe coming soon) or some other application where all of the flavor is being delivered by the sauce/dressing/seasonings. First, remove the skin from the entire bird. Please don’t throw it out – it is delicious and good for you (lots of vitamins and contrary to what you may think, fat does not make you fat). If you don’t want it, bring it over to my place, I will be happy to take it from you. Next, remove the wings, legs and thighs from the body and remove the meat from the bones (you can discard the bones) and set aside. Then remove the breast meat from the carcass. Set that off somewhere so you are not tempted to use it. Now the fun part – pick all of the remaining meat off the carcass. There is probably some fat left on there, which you can just get rid of, but work at getting everything else off. It doesn’t have to be completely stripped, just get all of the major chunks of meat off (especially off the back). There is a surprising amount of meat that people tend to leave on the carcass with roast birds – most of it very tasty. This exercise will show you just how much you are wasting. Take all of the dark meat, roughly chop it and set it aside. Save the body cavity – we need it for the soup.
The Soup
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the carrots, celery, parsnip and onions and cook until slightly softened but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broth, garlic, bay leaves and chicken body cavity to the pot and bring to a boil. When a boil is reached, reduce heat to medium low and add soy, cognac, Parmigiano rind and bok choy. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the veggies reach your desired state of doneness. Remove from heat and remove the chicken carcass, garlic, rind and bay leaves. Add the chicken meat to the soup (it is already cooked, so you are just warming it up with the residual heat from the soup). Check the seasoning – add salt and pepper to taste.
Final Notes
This is wonderful served by itself or over some rice or small pasta like orzo. If you want a thinner broth, add water to the soup as necessary (just remember to recheck the seasoning if you do this). Cool any leftovers and portion them out. This recipe makes 6 – 8 meal sized servings of soup and you can easily extend it past that if you want to add more veggies/broth/water to it. You ask, why would I have the rind of Parmigiano Reggiano and add it to the soup? Simple – flavor. If you have Parmigiano at home, keep the rind in a zip top bag and put it in the freezer. If you don’t have it, go to the cheese counter of any store that carries it and ask them if you can have some of the rind. They will usually just give it to you. It makes a huge difference in the flavor of the soup.
by Coltrane
Most adults are convinced that the food they ate as kids wasn’t well made or of high quality.
I think I’ve figured one element of it. But first, a story..
Last night I had dinner with friends in a neighborhood pub. The place was packed with locals. The crowd included a high proportion of families with young children.
The pub was loud due to the big crowd and a complete absence of soundproofing. The service was slow and inattentive. Our $14 entrees “should” have been about $8-10. The food was “meh”—it wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad… it really wasn’t anything, there was nothing interesting about it. It just sat on the plate.
But that’s the thing– the food and service didn’t have to be good. The pub was the only “family friendly” place in the neighborhood. It was going to be packed regardless of whatever the kitchen threw out there, or whether the waitstaff could correctly remember our orders. (They couldn’t, on two out of our three entrees the waitress missed something. She also forgot one of the three drink orders.)
Of course, that’s what happens when you put kids into the equation. Families don’t tip well in a place like that. They’re also not appreciative of good food. (Find me an eight year-old with a truly discerning palate.) The parents are just relieved that they don’t have to cook and do dishes. So long as the food is edible, and Timmy doesn’t refuse to eat the Mac and Cheese he asked for, the parents aren’t going to complain.
When faced with bad tips and unruly kids a good waitress is going to find somewhere else to work. A good cook is going to find another restaurant where they appreciate his skill.
That’s why we remember the food being so “meh” when we were children. It’s because it was “meh”. That Chinese place you remember from when you were young? Family Friendly. That Mexican Joint? Family Friendly. Anyplace that kids can go with their families is not where the adults that care what the food tastes like go to eat. It was true then and it’s true now.
My advice? Upon entering a restaurant, look around. If you see a large population of pre-teens you can count on getting marginal food and service. If you’re ok with that, fine, stay and eat.
Otherwise go elsewhere and enjoy good food with the adults.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
If you are watching Top Chef Masters and haven’t caught up, look away now.
A few months ago, I made this prediction about the final 4 on Top Chef Masters – My picks for the finals – Rick Tramonto, Marcus Samuelsson, Jon Waxman and Mark Peel. Well, I am 50% on that prediction. Samuelsson and Waxman have made it to the final 4. Peel and Tramonto were big disappointments, but hey, I will take it. I was disappointed to see all 3 Seattle chefs get eliminated in the first round, but I was happy to see Jody Adams last a few rounds. Thierry Rautureau had possibly the best moment at Critic’s Table – when the judges asked about his food, Rautureau said his problem was “a French guy was trying to squeeze a 7 course meal into one dish.” I still think that Samuelsson is going to win, but Susur Lee seems like he might put up a fight.
Overall, I really don’t like this show – the editing is terrible, the critics are annoying and there isn’t the intensity of the competition of the regular Top Chef show, but it is mildly entertaining, so I end up watching it.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Parmigiano Reggiano. It is the undisputed king of cheeses (hence the Reggiano) and nothing really compares to its grassy, nutty flavor. Cook’s Illustrated did a taste test (sorry, no link, it is subscriber only) and nothing came close. This question was printed in the Seattle Times and the answer, given by a professional food writer, was vague and really not helpful. Yes, the really high end Parmigiano is pricey, but there are several less expensive sources (granted, they aren’t the highest quality, but will still blow the doors off any other cheese): Costco, Trader Joe’s and Seattle based PFI (probably the best cheese selection in Seattle, but they do have a 1 pound minimum on any cheese) all carry Reggiano at less than $13 a pound.
The writer of the question said that Reggiano was no longer in his budget. I use the stuff in a good deal of my cooking and a pound lasts me almost 6 months (you really don’t need that much unless you want whatever you put it in to taste like Reggiano and nothing else). Between the small amount you need of Reggiano and the larger amount of any other cheese you need to get the same flavor, my guess is that you would spend roughly the same amount a year on cheese. If you are going to do that, you might as well go with the king.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
In case you were a fan, long time Seattle restaurant, Brasa, in Belltown has shut its doors. Normally I am sad to see places that have been around for 10 years close, but Brasa was the site of my single worst dining experience in Seattle (If I can find my review of it, I will add it), so I say goodbye and good luck to the owners and sadly, Brasa will not be missed by me.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
I really like the concept – a restaurant and a butcher shop and why not? There isn’t really any reason why a place that makes it’s own cured meats shouldn’t sell them retail. Laurelhurst Market, it the Laurelhurst section of Portland is such a place. There is a small butcher counter where you can buy any of their house made pates, bacon and sausages as well as select cuts of high quality meat (grass fed and organic) at very reasonable prices compared to your local mega mart. It made me want to get a cooler and ice and bring some home, but I was there for the restaurant, not the butcher shop.
The restaurant space is nice – a big open space with high ceilings and an open kitchen. You would expect a deafening noise level in there, but Laurelhurst Market has done something that I wish more restaurants with high ceilings would do – they covered their ceilings with noise reducing cloth, making it so you could actually hear the conversation with the person next to you. This place is busy too – on a Sunday at 6 PM there were no open tables and by the time I left at about 8, there was a waiting list that was still a few people deep (they don’t take reservations either). What is the draw? Very solid food, relatively inexpensive prices for the quality and quantity of the meal. This is a steak place with quality of a high-end place (think Jak’s in Seattle or Ruth’s Chris) and the prices of Outback Steakhouse. The appetizers range from 5 to 14 dollars and the entrees range from 13 to 32 dollars with the majority of the menu clocking in at under $20. Sides are ala carte, but range from 5 to 7 dollars and are large enough for sharing. Desserts range from 6 to 9 dollars.
We started out meal with a small charcuterie plate – for $6 we got to taste a sampling of the house made meats – Country Pate, Venison Pate, Liverwurst and Mortadella. All were excellent, with the Venison Pate really stealing the show. It had a wonderful flavor without being gamey. Next course involved the sweetbreads and house made mozzarella. The sweetbreads came crispy on a bed of braised bok choy and onions in a savory beef broth. The sweetbreads were perfectly cooked and the broth brought an amazing complexity to the dish. The mozzarella, house made to order, was a generous chunk of cheese, served still warm with strawberries and balsamic vinegar. While fantastic, it seemed to be more appropriate for dessert with the sweetness of the berries and balsamic balancing the creaminess of the cheese. For a main course, steak frites and tri-tip with grilled romaine were on deck. The tri-tip was perfectly grilled just short of medium rare with a side of caramelized onions and a béarnaise sauce. The onions worked extremely well complimenting the meatiness of the stake, and the béarnaise was a nice accompaniment to the dish. The grilled romaine was a smoky, crunchy, salty, sweet delight, very well done. My only real complaint – they sauced the steak rather than having the sauce on the side. The steak frites was a wonderfully smoky flat iron in a brown gravy with some of the best frites I have had in a while – wonderfully crispy on the outside, flaky within. My complaint – where was the aioli? Dessert was their take on a s’mores, deconstructed – a house made marshmallow cube, melted bittersweet chocolate and a rosemary graham cracker – chased by a shot of Maker’s Mark whiskey. A gooey, chocolaty mess, totally worth it and easily filling for 2 people.
Overall, Laurelhurst Market lives up to the rave reviews that people are giving it, just be prepared to wait for a table if you don’t get there early (they do have a bar that will make the wait easier). Now, if we could just get the same type of place in Seattle…
By Iron Chef Leftovers
For fans of the Stumbling Goat Bistro pre-ownership change in 2008, Seth Caswell, the former chef at the Goat, has surfaced with his new restaurant on the top of Queen Anne, emmer&rye. After at least one no-go on opening the restaurant and a stint as an occasional chef at Wallingford’s Art of the Table, Caswell finally opened his, local/organic/sustainable place this winter, taking over the converted Victorian that formerly housed Julia’s. Emmer has the atmosphere of having dinner in someone’s house – all of the walls are in tact, so the restaurant is comprised of several rooms, lending a very informal feel to the meal.
The meal was everything you would expect from Caswell. The emmer&rye salad was refreshing – wild arugula, some grains (I believe it was emmer and rye) for some texture and an amazing apple-balsamic vinaigrette. The greens were lightly dressed, allowing the pepper of the arugula to come through but not sacrificing flavor the dressing. The spring vegetable soup was a light puree of fresh vegetables, but the star was the nettle puree which added an earthy flavor to the soup. The Bolognese was a healthy portion of orrechiette pasta accompanied by a slightly creamy pork and beef Bolognese with just a hint of heat – a fantastic meal but not one you would want to undertake on a warm day. The salmon came perfectly seared medium-rare with a refreshing parsley and fiddlehead salad. Caswell also brought along his pastry chef from the Goat and, as wonderful as the meal was, the deserts were the star – butterscotch pot de crème and rocky road brownie. The pot de crème had nice balance and was not overpoweringly sweet as most butterscotch desserts tend to be and the rocky road brownie, was pure evil – basically deconstructed rocky road ice cream, except the individual pieces were just as good as the whole.
My only knock on emmer is the wine list – it is small and reasonably priced, which is good, but there is a serious lack of northwest wines maybe 5 or 6 out of the 25 or so bottles available. If you are going to promote locally sourced food, you really should be promoting local wine one also. There is no excuse for the lack of local choices – we have 600+ wineries in the state and emmer can really make an impact by having a nice selection of smaller affordable wines on the menu.
We were there for the Dine Around Seattle promotion, but price-wise, the menu is quite affordable – apps range from $8 to $12 and entrees range from $16 to $19. Both the apps and entrees come in a small and a large size, so a party of 4 could literally order the entire menu. I suspect that the current menu will change as ingredients become available seasonally.
by Coltrane
Peter Reinhart gave a highly entaining and informative class on bread, April 17 at Sur La Table in Kirkland. He signed copies of his new book “Artisan Breads Everyday.” (As well as many of his other books.)
During the class he referenced this 15-minute clip on Ted.com.
Here’s his “stretch and fold technique” on Youtube, and this is his “Shaping a Boule” (French Bread) technique. Both were presented during the class at Sur La Table.
It’s not a Peter Reinhart post without reference to the Bread Baker’s Apprentice. If you’re at all interested in baking bread, buy the book. You won’t be disappointed.
And thanks to Peter for such a funny and engaging class.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Posted this evening on Facebook by author and sometimes comedian Trevor Corson:
I guess I expect this from someone who wrote a book about lobster sex. My comment- “The better question is what were you doing with dried pollock in your cupboard?”
FlatbreadGarden 