Spicy Shrimp Cocktail

The earliest mention of seafood cocktails in America is from the late 19th century. Especially popular during prohibition to replace the spirits that were missing during that the darkest hour of our American history! Earliest concoctions would typically include oysters and it was down south in the bayou that shrimp were more plentiful that we see the inclusion of the briny sea creatures included in the mix. The recipe below is my take on a classic. I tend to like things spicy so if you prefer less so cut down on the hot sauce and chili paste.

1 pound 31 to 40 count shrimp poached for three minutes chicken broth with shells on (I think the smaller shrimp work best for this recipe as they tend to be sweeter than the larger shrimp). Let cool in broth and remove shrimp from broth and remove shells. Even though the shrimp are small for this application chop shrimp in half or thirds. Also the broth you now have is very flavorful. Freeze for future application such as sopa de Lima!

1/4 cup ketchup

1/5 cup Heinz Chili Sauce

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1/2 red onion (small dice)

1 rib celery (small dice)

teaspoon chili paste (sambal olek is my favorite)

Hot sauce to taste

salt and pepper to taste

juice of half a lime

Cilantro (chopped)

Mix all ingredients add shrimp leaving some cilantro aside for garnishing. Let flavors marry in fridge for 30 minutes to one hour. Serve in small glasses with spoon top with cilantro leaves.

White bean and prawn omelet Spanish style

This is a riff on a Jose Andreas recipe.

For the beans:

1 pound small white navy beans
2 sprigs Rosemary
3 Bay Leaves
Water to cover by 2 inches
2 tablespoons Olive oil

Soak beans 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse beans. Place in heavy dutch oven or stock pot. Add cold fresh water to cover beans by two inches. Add bay leaves, rosemary and olive oil bring to a simmer. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes partially covered until beans are tender. Shut off heat and keep covered until needed (store in fridge up to 1 week).

For omelet (makes 2 individual servings):

4 to 5 eggs beaten with a little water

4 ounces oyster mushrooms (stems removed hand torn)

2 roasted piquillo peppers (from a jar) sliced

1/2 white onion fine dice

1/2 pound of 41 /50 count shrimp (smallish)*

Cilantro (a few leaves hand picked)

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

Sal and Pepper

Olive oil

Heat two 6 inch non stick pans over medium low heat. Add a small amount of oil each pan to cover bottom of pan approx. 1 tablespoon each pan. Let oil heat for 1 minute and then add diced onion. Sweat onion for 2 to 3 minutes and add torn oyster mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute and add prawns spread evenly throughout pan in one layer. Allow prawn to cook 2 minutes and turn prawns and mushrooms. Cook another 2 minutes. Add both paprika's split evenly among the two pans. Add 1 cup of bean drained of their liquid and cook for one minute. Flattend out all ingredients so that they fill the pan in one layer. Add 1/2 of beaten eggs to each pan. Add salt and pepper and slice piquillo chili's scattered on top of the eggs. Do not stir let the eggs set. You may have to twirl the pan to get the eggs in every crevice. Cover pan for 2 minutes and slide omelet onto warmed plate. Top with cilantro leaves. Serve with crusty bread and a nice tomato, onion avocado salad.

Jose Andres is god or devil or maybe both......

I have been a huge, huge fan of Feran Adria (of El Bulli fame) for years……this guy is the father of molecular gastronomy after all. Molecular gastronomy is basically creating new ways to cook, display and eat food the likes of which would send our good friend Escoffier into fits of unbounded pleasure……of course modern chefs have the benefit of new chemical processes and techniques not available at the turn of the 19th century. For my part molecular gastronomy is a pure reductionist view of food......

While I have not had the pleasure of dining at El Bulli under Adria or at the London Savoy under the masterful hand of Escoffier I did have a chance to dine under the watchful eye of Jose Andres……long time student of Feran Adria.

So for those of you that seek ultimate culinary experiences like a crack addict seeks….well crack…..than this posting is for you…….

The Bazaar
At SLS Hotel
465 S La Cienega Blvd

Lapin au Vin (Rabbit Stew)

The first time I had rabbit was in 1989 in Paris. I was visiting my little sister who was working and going to school there at the time. My older sister and her husband were in Paris at the same time for the same reason. The trip itself was loads of fun and filled with lots of first time eating experiences but one of the most memorable was the day I was wondering around Paris on my own and stumbled across a small out of the way bistro in the 12th arrondisement. I ordered a rabbit stew that was served with simple boiled potatoes a green salad and a carafe of red wine. The weather that day was foggy, drizzling and cold (It was December after all) so the meal was perfect to warm me up. The bowl of stew came out steaming, I took my first bite and the rabbit was tender and slightly sweet with a subtle hint of barnyard gaminess. It went perfectly with the lightly boiled potatoes sprinkled with a dusting of parsely and fresh cracked black pepper. Ever since that meal I have been a big fan of rabbit and order it whenever I can. Recently a new upscale market opened in my neighborhood and they sell fresh farm raised rabbit. While it is neither foggy or cold in southern California at the moment I could not resist trying to recapture my Lapin au Vin.

Lapin au Vin

1 fresh rabbit cut into 6 pieces (see picture)

1 cup flour (seasoned)

4 slices thick cut streaky bacon (diced)

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion diced

4 garlic cloves

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon thyme

8 crimini mushrooms

2 carrots diced

1 stalk celery (diced)

1 cup red wine

2 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper

Cut up the rabbit and rinse in cold water and dry (make sure to remove the kidenys on the inside of the rabbit set aside for a nice little snack later - simply season with salt and pepper and suatee in a little butter). Sautee diced bacon until fat is rendered and crisp. Remove bacon set aside for later. Season rabbit with salt and pepper and dredge in seasoned flour. Add butter to hot pot and rendered bacon fat and brown rabbit pieces in batches until browned all over. Set rabbit pieces aside. Sautee onions and garlic 5 minutes. Add thyme and bay leaves and sautee 2 minutes. Add wine reduce by 25% add rabbit pieces and chicken stock until it almost covers rabbit. Simmer for 90 minutes. Remove rabbit pieces from stock and let cool. Strain solids from stock and discard. Place strained stock back in pot with rabbit that has been removed from bone and shredded. Add diced carrots and mushrooms and simmer for 30 minutes. If too dry add more stock or water. Adjust seasoning and serve with mashed potatoes.

Recently a kind and thoughtful friend gave me a selection of Italian sweet peppers (capsicum annum) from her local farmers market.

While I love all things capsicum and these are great fried up with a little onion I thought I would make a slightly more complex but typical antipasti that captures the slight sweetness of the pepper and combine it with the richness of tuna.

Roasted Italian Sweets with Oil Poached Tuna

6 Italian Sweet Peppers
1 jar imported Bonito del Norte (Tuna in oil - Spanish or Italian are the best for this)
Olive Oil for drizzling
Capers

Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkling of smoked paprika (optional)

Roast the peppers until charred on all sides. Place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to allow peppers to steam. Remove charred skin from peppers careful not to rip or tear the pepper. Slice of the stem end of the pepper and make a cut down one side and open up the pepper flat on a cutting board. Remove seeds and any of the white veins inside the pepper (they can sometimes be bitter). Slice the pepper in half logway so you have two long strips of the pepper. Repeat on all peppers. Drain the oil from the tuna but keep the oil for later. Carefully remove the tuna from the jar and do you best to make long strips of the tuna. Lay pepper flat on board with inside of pepper facing up. Place strip of pepper across the pepper and roll from the skinny end to the thicker end of the pepper. Place on serving platter and repeat until all peppers and tuna are rolled. Season with salt, pepper, paprika (if using) and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil (oil from the tuna is fine but use fresh oil if preferred) and top with capers. Serve right away or let set at room temperature for and hour or so to let flavors mingle.

The rest of the meal was comprised of (going clockwise from 9 o'clock) hummus, caprese salad with fresh tomatoes from our friends Ian and Rachael's tomato plants, a simple fennel, celery and spring onion salad and padron peppers from Spain sauteed in olive oil with a sprinkling of sea salt and a fresh bagguette.

Tapas and Shish Kabob

We had a few friends over for a little bbq and drinks. For some reason when I plan a dinner party of any sort my creative juices start flowing and from what was a simple throw some burgers and hot dogs on the grill becomes a shish kabob, mint feta orzo salad, 2 homemade salsas, chorizo, boudin blanc, wagyu hot dogs, sweet Italian sausages, tapas frenzy…….

I can’t seem to help myself but in the end it was loads of fun and I hope tasty for the guests. First lets begin with the tapas. I had originally thought about doing some kind of gourmet devilled eggs…you know topped with a bit of tobiko (flying fish row), or Spanish tuna in oil with capers…..that kind of thing. The above flavors still came into play but I decided to cut the perfectly cooked boiled eggs (9 minutes with a bit of vinegar in the water and a hole punched in the big end of the egg with a push pin and slowly dropped into the barely boiling water) across the egg latitudinally and lay them in the egg cup with various toppings. Possibly a picture of my mis en place will give you an idea of where I ended up on the devilled eggs idea.

Upper lelft you have crispy shallots going clockwise you have seaweed strips, smoked trout, anchovies in chili oil, spanish tuna in olive oil, boquerones, piquillo peppers and out of the picture is a bowl filled with sliced scallion, radishes, parley leaves and capers and a small tub of tobiko.

No real recipe here just put on it what you like......here is one of my creations.

Now onto the meat part of the evening, as I said we did have quite the selection of sausages that included the following:

Boudin Blanc (nice pork sausage with a hint of brandy and I think allspice), Chorizo, wagyu beef hotdogs (amazing!!) and some good ole' sweet italian.

Luckily enough we have a nice baker nearby that does these amazing fresh hot dog and hamburger buns.......put a few kinds of mustartd, some catsup, mayo and a soome HP sauce and you are go to go once the sausages come soff the grill.

Okay now for the shish kabob......5 pounds shank end of leg of lamb bone removed by you or butcher but make sure to keep it for a future stock. Cut lamb into approx 1 inch cubes trimmed of silver skin and some of the fat. Make the marinade by pulsing together the following in a food processor:

1 bunch mint

5 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons rosemary

Handful of parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Process into paste and toss with meat. Marinate overnight (huge difference in flavor if you leave for 24 hours). Make kabobs on metal skewers with the following pattern - red onion, meat, peppers - repeat....will look something like this:

Grill a total of 8 to 10 minutes turning every couple until all 4 sides have felt the heat. Should give you a medium rare kind of thing going on.

Will save the recipe for delicious orzo, mint feta salad for a future post.

Salmon Tartare

Salmon Tartar

½ pound sashimi grade salmon (belly if possible)
2 tablespoons Olive oil
Lemon zest and juice (1 lemon)
Black Pepper
Capers
Sambal
Serrano chili deseeded fine dice
Chives
Salmon Roe
Shallot
Salt


The key to good tartar is the texture of the protein you are using. Too large of a dice and the mouth feel is all wrong – chunky not silky smooth. Then again using a food processor will turn the flesh gummy and sticky. Take your time when dicing the salmon use a very sharp knife and make long thin strips across the fatty grain of the flesh and then turn to make small almost bruinoise like (small ¼ inch dice).
Place diced salmon in a chilled stainless steel or glass bowl and add olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and pepper (hold off on the salt for now). Place in fridge for 30 minutes covered with plastic wrap.

While salmon is resting in the refrigerator prepare condiments and place in a bowl:
Lightly chop 1 tablespoon capers
Dice Chili
Chop Chives
Dice Shallot (small dice)
½ teaspoon sambal
Mix all together

Remove salmon from refrigerator and add above mixture and add salt to taste. Mix in one tablespoon of the salmon row and mix gently. Use ring mold to plate and top with remaining salmon row. Serve with a small smear of crème fraiche on the plate so guests may take as little or as much as they like to mix into each bit of tartar.

Char Siu (a sino porcine experiment)

The first thing you will find as you research this dish on the web and in cookbooks is that this dish is impossible to duplicate at home. Well I for one saw that as a challenge. Can't duplicate at home my ass.........well as much as I hate to spoil the outcome for you I have to say most of those cautionary tales were correct......it is impossible to completely duplicate the sweet, salty, sticky deliciousness that is char siu but you can get pretty damn close.

I found two of the biggest challenges were the cooking technique and one elusive ingredient called maltose. The cooking technique that is normally employed in Chinese restaraunts that make their own char siu (you know the ones I am talking about that have red glistening pieces of pork and whole ducks haning in the window) is done in a large oven in which you hang the pieces of meat or fowl. Most home ovens of course are not large enought to allow you to hang meat in this manner. Most recipes suggest that you lay your pieces of meat on a racked baking sheet. While this will give you a decent finished product it does fall a bit short. I employed a gas grill and wood chips for smokiness and I came up with a pretty good appoximatuion of the Char Siu I have had in Chinese eateries.

Char Siu

5 pounds pork butt trimmed of fat and cut into 3 equal pieces slicing with the grain.

Marinade:

1/2 cup honey

2-1/2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon five-spice powder

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 ounce (about 1 cube) wet bean curd (see note)

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 teaspoon red food coloring

Marinate pork pieces overnight or up to 48 hours. Remove from marinade and truss into cylindrical shapes (see picture above). Soak wood ships for 30 minutes and preheat grill on high. Place disposable aluminum pan under one side of grill grate to catch the fat from the meat. If three burners turn of the 2 closest to drip pan and leave the third on high. Place meat away from high flame and near cool side. Monitor heat (should stay around 250 F) until pork is cooked through - 2 hours or so. Remove prok let cool and remove string and slice thinly serve with steamed rice and a cool cucumber salad.

Note: Wet bean curd is fermented tofu sometimes call Chinese Cheese. Can be found in most asian makrets. Has strong flavor not unlike ripe blue cheese.

Bleu Cheese and Garlic Hamburgers

American fast food chains have done more to lower the culinary level of the hamburger than any other food. I don't care if you pan fry your burger in a cast iron skillet or if you grill your burger on a wood or gas BBQ but please oh please follow a couple of simple rules.

1. Grind your own meat or find a butcher that will grind your choice of cuts for you on the spot (only if you plan to use it that day).

2. Don't muck it up with a bunch of "stuff" mixed in with the meat. Such as breadcrumbs, eggs or other ingredients that mask the real beef flavor....after all that is what we are after - the umami that is beef.

Recipe:

Makes 4 1/2 pound burgers

1 pound chuck steak and 1 pound sirloin steak (ideally you want about 15% fat)Cut steaks into cubes and feed into meat grinder (I have an old fashioned hand crank model). Put a chilled stainless steel bowl under the output area and when finished grinding place bowl in fridge (uncovered) until ready for use.

To add to burger mix:

1 tablespoon Fish Sauce

4 garlic Cloves put thru garlic press

Salt and Pepper

Burger toppings: (these are up to your taste and this is a recipe for bleu cheese and garlic but take the basic burger mix and use it as you like).

Sliced good quality dill pickle

2 Hard boiled eggs sliced

1 head of garlic roasted for 1 hour and made into a paste with a little olive oil

Bleu Cheese - I used a nice Stilton for this recipe

1 thinly sliced Shallot or red onion

2 sliced Roma tomatoes

Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

Ketchup

Prepare grill on high for 15 minutes and clean grill grates. Take ground beef out of fridge and add 1 tablespoon fish sauce - yes I know I said don't muck this up by adding stuff but trust me fish sauce in a burger will be subtle and truly enhances the beef flavor. Add 4 cloves of garlic pressed thru a garlic press and fresh ground black pepper (I tend to go heavy on the pepper but that is a matter of preference). Do not add salt at this point (beyond what is naturally in the fish sauce). Salting your meat now will cause it too expel it's juices and turn out dry. Mix meat gently (don't over mix) using your hands until ingredients are incorporated into beef. Form into 1/2 pound balls and press between two hands to form patties (Slightly thin and flat is what we are looking for). Lay on chilled plate. Once BBQ is up to temp and clean - oil grates with a little veg oil using a paper towel dipped in the oil rubbed onto the rates using tongs to keep your hands away from the heat and the inevitable flare up. At this point sprinkle salt on both sides of the patties and place them on the grill. Shut the lid and let grill for 2 to 3 minutes. Using spatula flip burgers over. If they are sticking wait another 30 seconds the meat will release from the grill once it has a chance to relax in the warmth! Once flipped over close grill lid for 2 minutes. Flip one more time and add bleu cheese (a little goes along way so cover top of patty in one layer but don't pile it on). Close lid and grill 1 more minute. Remove from grill onto fresh plate and let rest 5 minutes. In the meantime lightly toast the hamburger buns (I am lucky enough to have a bakery near by that makes fresh hamburger buns every day but use what you have available or make your own!).

Once buns are toasted take bottom of bun and put some mayo and a little Dijon mustard in a thin layer. Lay sliced eggs and tomatoes and sliced pickles. Place rested burger patty on the bottom bun. Spread on teaspoon of roasted garlic paste on top bun and place sliced onions on top of burger and add ketchup if desired. Place bun on top and serve. I normally slice my burger in half for easier eating but that is your call.

Enjoy!

Shrimp fra Diablo Primevera

Okay probably not a traditional pasta dish from Italy but a piquant, spicy tomato sauce with shrimp and roasted vegetables sounds great for a Sunday evening meal........

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1/2 onion diced
1 stalk celery small dice
1 carrot small dice
3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large can whole plum tomatoes pulsed 4 times in food processor
1 teaspoon pepperincino (red chili flakes)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 Bay Leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
couple of pinches of sugar
1 cup dry white wine

Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or saucepan. add onion and saute until translucent. Add smashed garlic and carrots and celery. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until limp. We are not looking to brown the vegetables. Add chili flakes, tomato paste, thyme and oregano. Allow tomato paste to turn a slight rust color about 3 minutes then add sugar. Turn heat to high and add white wine (don't let sugar burn). Cook until all the wine is evaporated. Add the pulsed tomatoes and the bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables
Large dice of the following:
1/2 onion
2 courgette
6-8 stalks asparagus
1 cup broccoli florets
1 yellow diced pepper
1 tomato seeded
Mix all in a bowl with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Place onto a baking sheet and into 425 F oven for 15 minutes or until the edges of the veg start to brown. Remove from Oven and set aside.

Shrimp and Pasta
A dozen 21 to 30 count shrimp peeled and deveined
toss in a bowl with a little olive oil, chili flake and salt.

Saute in a saute pan 1 to 2 minutes per side and pull

off heat and place on plate. Set aside.

In same pan saute a little spinach (this is optional) set aside

Cook pasta per directions on package. I suggest Spaghetti or Farfalle.

In pot where pasta was cooked and drained add some sauce (1 cup) the roasted veg and the shrimp. Bring to temperature and add pasta stirring to coat and add spinach. Serve with fresh basil or parsley and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Technically you should not put cheese on a seafood pasta but what the hell I like what I like.

Trip to Koreatown and Koreatown Galleria Market

Recently my closest and dearest food buddy and I took a trip to Koreatown in Los Angeles to vist the well known Koreatown Galleria. The Koreatown Galleria is a multi level shopping mall with all things Korean and an upscale Korean grocery store in the baesment. Los Angeles has the largest Korean born population outside of Seoul so there are lots of Korean food markets in this area of LA but this is probably the best known and probably the most expensve! Here are a few pictures from my recent trip. Lots of fun and interesting food finds........

Kim Chi, Kim Chi and more Kim Chi

One of my favorite areas in any market is the seafood counter and the counter at the Galleria did not dispaoint!!

The fish all looked fresh and tasty......but the squid were truly spectaclular the sashimi looked great as well.

Wow this Uni looked amazing and how many times do you get a chance to buy live abalone! The image below is a sea squirt (think sea sponge). Typically pickled or stewed but still researching their culinary uses.

Some Korean rice wine and Korean beer.......perfect pairings with spicy Korean foods. All in all a pretty interesting trip to the land of the morning calm.