Tag Archives: Sarah Rich

June 11, 2014 · 3:50 pm

UNSCENE SHREVEPORT : HERBED PORK CHOPS AND MEXICAN CORN

This is my first post from the Shreveport Unscene. The project is a year-long event designed to advance music, the arts, and food in the Shreveport area. Sarah and Evan are doing a two week residency with the goal of  promoting the use of fresh fruits and vegetables in restaurant menus and, along the way, in the family menus of the community. They will be cooking with products from the local farmers market and challenging local chefs to do the same.

Shreveport has a rich food tradition with many Southern and Louisiana specialties. But like much of the South, its food is heavy on deep frying – chicken fried steak, Southern fried chicken, fried catfish and hush puppies, not to mention Natchitoches meat pies, corn dogs, fried pickles, and even deep-fried ice cream. Bucking that tradition will be a challenge.

On our day of arrival, Sarah and Evan went to the farmers market, which is held twice a week. The market is much larger on the weekend, so during the week the choices were limited, but they found fresh pork chops, onions, garlic, new potatoes, sweet yellow peppers, corn from a Mennonite colony in nearby Arkansas, blueberries, raspberries, and fresh cream.

They augmented these products with prosciutto from the gift basket in their room and red onions, cilantro, vegetable oil, and balsamic vinegar from the nearby grocery store. Then they cooked our evening meal from all of this bounty, sort of as a trial run. Sometimes it’s ok to be a guinea pig.

Farmers market pork chops and garlic about to be browned
Browning the pork chops before finishing them in the oven
New potatoes, sweet yellow peppers, and onions
Fresh corn dry roasting in a hot sauté pan
New potatoes, sweet yellow peppers, and onions fork tender
Pan-roasted corn with yogurt, queso fresco and Old Bay seasoning ready for the oven
Potatoes, peppers, and onions topped with herb mixture and prosciutto
Cilantro, red onion, and balsamic vinegar topping for pork chops and potatoes
Pork chops hot from the oven
Mexican-style corn ready to be served
A finished plate for everyone

RECIPES

Herbed Pork Chops

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 large pork chops
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled but whole
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped coarsely
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 red onion, diced finely
  • 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
  • balsamic  vinegar

Method

  1. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat, Add the pork chops, garlic, and onions. Brown the pork chops on both sides. Then transfer to an oven-proof dish and place in the oven preheated to 375.  Roast for 20 minutes or until done to your liking. Adjust the seasoning.
  2. In the meantime, combine the red onion, cilantro, and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. When ready to serve the pork chops, top each with a large tablespoonful of the herb mixture

New Potatoes, Onions, and Sweet Peppers with Pancetta

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 large white onion, chopped coarsely
  • 4 sweet yellow peppers cut crosswise into 2-inch slices
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 of  reserved herb mix (see recipe ab0ve)
  • 3 ounces prosciutto, sliced into thin ribbons

Method

  1. Add the potatoes, onion, and peppers to a large saute pan over medium high heat with the oil.
  2. Stirring frequently, cook the vegetables until they are soft. Remove from the heat. Serve topped with half the herb mixture and the prosciutto.

Mexican-Style Corn with Yogurt and Queso Fresco

Ingredients

  • 6 ears fresh corn, shucked and silk removed
  • 1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt
  • 1 pound Mexican queso fresco, crumbled
  • Old Bay seasoning (note: one of us is very sensitive to spicy food, so that was the choice of seasoning. Ground chiles or chili powder would also be very good.)

Method

  1. Over high heat, dry roast the corn, two or three ears at a time, until they are lightly charred.
  2. Transfer to an oven-proof pan or dish. Spread the roasted corn with yogurt and then sprinkle with queso fresco and seasoning.
  3. Place in the oven preheated to 375 for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serve immediately.

 

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June 10, 2014 · 4:02 pm

BREAKFAST BURRITOS

When I was considering this post, I thought, “Who doesn’t know how to make a breakfast burrito? More than that, who doesn’t have his or her own favorite?”  While all of that is probably true, I decided to write this post anyway.

Part of the reason is that I just made some breakfast burritos for my wife, who started out before dawn to drive more than 14 hours and more than half way through Texas to visit her sister in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and then to pick up our grandson from the airport to take him to Shreveport, Louisiana, where his parents will be involved in a two-week-long food and cooking demonstration. I will join them and plan to send posts about the events, including my daughter’s demonstration on how to butcher a whole hog! You read that right, and I plan to document the event for posterity.

The second reason for the post is that whenever I visit San Francisco, I always make breakfast burritos for Evan and Sarah as they rush out the door to the restaurant. After the birth of their new son, they have both gone on diets, so I have been told that there will be no more breakfast burritos. So I thought I needed to share with somebody.

Garden spinach herb wrap-size flour tortillas
Clockwise: cherry tomatoes, red onion, crimini mushrooms, sharp Cheddar cheese
Breakfast sausage browning in vegetable oil
Stir in the frozen hash brown potatoes
Add two fresh eggs to the scramble
Finished burrito filling
Toast the tortillas on a hot skillet or comal until lightly toasted on both sides
Put the filling in the middle of the tortilla
Fold over the two sides before rolling from one end
Serve while still hot

RECIPE

Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil + more as needed
  • ¼ pound breakfast sausage
  • 2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
  • 3 crimini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup diced red onion
  • 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup diced green chiles
  • ¼ cup salsa
  • Cholula hot sauce, to taste (optional)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 extra-large flour tortillas (10½ inch wrap size) I used garden spinach herb flavor, but you can choose any flavor)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté until the pink color is lost, breaking it up as it cooks.
  2. Stir in the frozen hash browns, adding more oil if needed. Stir frequently until the potatoes begin to crisp.
  3. Stir in the mushrooms and sauté until they give up their liquid and the mixture is nearly dry. Then add the red onion and tomatoes. Sauté until the onions and tomatoes are softened.
  4. Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the eggs, mixing them in thoroughly. When the eggs have nearly set up, stir in the green chiles and salsa. If you want more spiciness, adjust the seasoning with hot sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low as you prepare the tortillas.
  5. Heat a large cast iron skillet or comal over a high flame. When the surface is hot, place one of the tortillas on the skillet and bake for 15 seconds or until it is lightly browned. Turn and bake the other side until lightly browned and the tortilla is softened. Do not cook too long, or the tortilla will become stiff. Set the first tortilla aside and then bake the second.
  6. Place half of  the sausage and egg mixture  in the middle of each tortilla. Fold over opposing edges, and then roll up from one end. Serve immediately or wrap in foil so it can be taken on the road. If you are going to eat them at home, you can cover them with red or green chile sauce.

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May 8, 2014 · 9:33 am

SEA-SALT-SPRINKLED CHOCOLATE SABLÉS

Rich Table changes its dessert menu almost on a weekly basis, so chocolate sablés are on and off the list. But they are never off for long because they are so popular, and the restaurant regulars insist on them. These tasty little sandy cookies (Sablé is the French word for “sandy”.) are a great way to end a meal, especially when combined with ice cream, a light mousse, crème brûlée, or panna cotta.

The texture of the cookies is sandy because the ingredients are mixed together very lightly so that the crystals of sugar do not completely dissolve, so be careful not to over-work the dough.

This particular version adds a light dusting of smoked sea salt. I used smoked Halen Môn, a Welsh sea salt harvested on the Isle of Anglesey from whence my great-grandfather and great-grandmother migrated many decades ago.

It is interesting how well chocolate and salt seem to go together. You certainly see the effective combination in these cookies, but also increasingly in ice cream and chocolate bars.

Unfortunately, this is not Sarah’s authentic recipe, but it is pretty close to the real thing. The cookies are fairly easy to make, although there are several steps, and there are a couple of tricks along the way. These were a big hit at our recent potluck birthday party.

Ingredients
Shaped cookie dough ready to be chilled again
Halen Môn smoked sea salt
Cookies shaped and salted, ready for the oven
Cookies cooking on a rack

RECIPE

Sea-Salt-Sprinkled Chocolate Sablés

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 1¼ cups flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • water
  • smoked sea salt (Halen Môn or your favorite brand)

Method

  1. Place chocolate in freezer compartment of refrigerator for 10 minutes. Then grate onto a sheet of waxed paper using the fine side of a box grater. You will generate static electricity with the grating, so “ground” the gratings by touching them before you pour them into a bowl. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and sea salt.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until just combined. Do not over-beat. Then mix in the egg yolk.
  4. Add the dry ingredients and mix together briefly until just combined. Do not over-beat.
  5. Fold in the grated chocolate with a spoon or spatula.
  6. Squeeze the dough into a ball with your hands. The warmth of your hands should melt the butter slightly so that the dough comes together.
  7. Place the dough in the middle of a 16 inch long piece of waxed paper. Shape the dough into a log about 14 inches long,  3 inches wide, and 1 inch high, along the length of the paper.  Fold the waxed paper over the log, pressing the paper firmly against the dough. With the palm of your hand, flatten the log slightly so that it forms an oblong in profile.
  8. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more.
  9. While the dough is chilling, heat the oven to 350°F,  and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  10. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/3  inch thick slices with a very sharp knife. The dough will be very firm, so you will have to use some pressure on the knife to cut the slices.
  11. Arrange the cookie slices on the two cookie pans with at least 1 inch between them.  With a pastry brush, and in batches, moisten the tops of the cookies with a few drops of water. Sprinkle each moistened cookie with a few grains of sea salt. Chill again in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  12. Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool on the pans for 5 minutes, and then transfer to baking racks until completely cooled.
  13. Serve. Makes about 24 oblong cookies.

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May 4, 2014 · 12:34 pm

CAJETA

It’s May! And I think that Spring may be here. Lots of flowers are in bloom, but we have experienced freezing weather for the last week. As well, it is a month of birthdays: three of our circle of friends are having birthdays within a week of one another, so we are planning a mass celebration. I am making the dessert. My plan is to make takeoffs from Sarah’s Rich Table desserts – salted chocolate sablés and buttermilk panna cotta. Neither of these is an authentic recipe from Sarah (Do you think Dad could talk her out of trade secrets?) but they should be close. I also plan to gild the lily – it is Spring, remember? – with Mexican cajeta to pour over the panna cotta.

Daffodil
Daffodil
Pasque flower
Pasque flower
Irises against an adobe wall
Iris

The recipe for cajeta comes from the superb cook book, Authentic Mexican, by Rick Bayless and Deann Groen Bayless (William Morrow and Co., New York, 1987, p 293). Even though the recipe calls for regular white sugar, in the past I have used piloncillo, the small cones of unrefined sugar that you can find in Mexican and Central American markets. This time, though, I decided to go with turbinado. The other decision was whether to use goat’s milk or cow’s milk. The authentic version calls for goat’s milk, and it is easy to buy from the stalls selling goat cheese at the farmers market or in cartons at health food groceries, so I went with that.

The only tricky things about the recipe are: (1) don’t let the mixture boil over when you add the baking soda, (2) stir occasionally so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom, and (3) watch for the change in the size of the bubbles as it boils, because that is the sign to let you know it’s almost done.

Cajeta is akin to caramel or butterscotch sauces, and it can be used in exactly the same way. It is delicious over ice cream, fruit, cake, etc. I guess you could just eat it straight out of the bowl, and some folks probably do.

Goat’s milk, turbinado sugar, and stick cinnamon
The milk and sugar mixture foams with the addition of baking soda
Small bubbles form as the mixture boils gently
The bubbles get larger and glisten as the cooking nears completion
A pitcher of cajeta ready to serve

RECIPE

Cajeta

Ingredients

  • 1 quart goat’s milk
  • 1 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1½ inch stick of cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon light rum

Method

  1. In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the goat’s milk, sugar, and corn syrup, stirring until completely dissolved. Add the cinnamon
  2. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to the boil and then  remove from the heat and stir in the dissolved baking soda. It will foam up, so stir it vigorously to prevent boiling over.
  3. Return to the heat and adjust the temperature so that it simmers gently with a low boil. Stir frequently from the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching.
  4. Check frequently and stir. After about 30 – 45 minutes, the mixture will have reduced to about half or less, and the bubbles on the surface will change in size and become more glistening.
  5. Turn down the heat to medium-low, allowing the mixture to reduce still further, but stirring very frequently to prevent burning.
  6. When it has thickened sufficiently  – it should coat the spoon but still be fluid – remove from the heat. Cool for a few minutes, and then stir in the rum.
  7. Allow to cool completely and then transfer to a serving dish or to a wide-mouthed jar. It can be refrigerated for later use, but reheat gently before serving.

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May 1, 2014 · 11:51 am

LIPTAUER CHEESE

In a recent post, I described an amazing feast we enjoyed at Bar Tartine in San Francisco. One of the co-chefs, Cortney Burns, is featured in an article titled, “Dairy Queen” in the Spring, 2014 issue of Culture: the Word on Cheese, a beautiful quarterly magazine all about cheese. Before our recent visit to the restaurant, Sarah and Evan said we should be sure to get the Liptauer cheese spread. Unfortunately, it was not on the menu that night, so we didn’t get to give it a try. I’m not sure, but I suspect that Cortney is behind the spread being on the menu because of her obvious interest and expertise in cheese. Liptauer cheese, like the pimento cheese I wrote about a while back, is a classic from earlier days, commonly seen at cocktail parties. I guess with the renaissance of cocktails, there is a renewed interest in cheese spreads as well. Liptauer cheese is the name for both the soft, fresh, sheep’s milk cheese originating in Liptauer, Hungary, and the seasoned spread made and enjoyed in Austria, Germany, and other European countries.  You probably won’t be able to find the original Liptauer cheese at your local cheese monger, but fortunately you can make a reasonable facsimile using cottage cheese or cream cheese. If you want to turn your spread into a dip, just add enough sour cream to suit your taste. Also, for some tastes, this version may be a little bland. You can spice it up with cayenne or your favorite hot pepper sauce to taste.

Cream cheese and butter
Capers, chives, parsley, scallions, caraway seeds, and cornichos
Use anchovy fillets or anchovy paste
Liptauer cheese ball ready to be served
Cheese ball and pumpernickel bread
Liptauer cheese spread on pumpernickel

RECIPE

Liptauer Cheese

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • anchovy filet, mashed (or about 1 inch of anchovy paste)
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
  • 1 tablespoon capers, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chives, minced
  • 1 tablespoon green onion tops, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped cornichons
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • cayenne or pepper sauce (optional, to taste)
  • finely chopped chives or green scallions or paprika for covering the cheese ball.

Method

  1. In a food processor, pulse the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
  2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients until evenly combined.
  3. Refrigerate until firm, at least two hours or overnight. When firm, shape into a ball and cover in plastic wrap. Chill again.
  4. Roll the chilled cheese ball in chopped chives or green scallion tops (I used a mixture of garlic chives and scallions. Alternatively you can roll it in paprika.)
  5. Serve at room temperature with fresh, crusty bread – preferably dark rye – or crudités.

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April 19, 2014 · 5:14 pm

EATING MY WAY THROUGH SAN FRANCISCO – BAR TARTINE

Recently we were visiting in San Francisco around the time of the birth of Sarah and Evan’s second child. By the way, it’s a boy! During our visit we, of course, paid a visit to Rich Table and had a great meal. But the night that Mommy and the new brother came home from the hospital, we wanted to make it a special family evening, so Susan and I went to Bar Tartine in the Mission district.

The restaurant is part of the Tartine group operated by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery fame. The co-chefs at Bar Tartine are Nick Balla and Cortney Burns, who are friends with Sarah and Evan. To help us celebrate the new baby, they really pulled out the stops to make it a memorable evening for us as well as for our family. They certainly did that!

The bread on the table was freshly baked  famous Tartine Country Loaf baked by Chad Robertson himself. The bread is one of the best in San Francisco. I say one of the best because Sarah makes a killer loaf of Douglas-fir scented levain for Rich Table.

Of course, we followed Sarah and Evan’s recommendations for what to order, though to tell the truth, I don’t think you can miss on ordering anything on the menu.

The brine-pickled vegetables are deceptively simple. A colorful plate of root vegetables comes to the table and you find immediately  that the fresh tastes and crunch  of each has been preserved even with a tangy, lightly pickled overtone.

Bar Tartine Brine pickled vegetablesThe potato flatbread with garlic and sour cream is a must. The beautiful presentation makes it almost too pretty to eat – almost, because when you take a bite, the flavors come together and literally seduce you to finish the whole thing.

Bar Tartine Potato flatbreadThe smoked potatoes with black garlic are very unusual. If you don’t like smoked foods, then don’t order them, because they are definitely rich with fresh wood smoke. The black garlic adds its own overtones. It is very popular in restaurants in the Bay Area as well as the whole country. It has been used in Asia for centuries as a food and as a health supplement, but it was commercialized in the US by Scott Kim. He says the garlic is fermented in conditions of controlled heat and temperature while others say it is not fermented but rather deeply caramelized by the Maillard reaction over several weeks. Whatever the process, the result is garlic that turns inky black,  given up its pungency, and gained a rich flavor that has been said to have elements of molasses, chocolate, and umami. Kim now provides the black garlic from his operation in Hayward, CA.  (Just down the road from Gilroy, the self-proclaimed “Garlic Capitol of the World”. ) You can learn more about the product or even order your own from Blackgarlic.  I can’t imagine someone not liking the very earthy flavor of this creative dish. The whole new potatoes are  beautifully garnished, tender and very tasty. Unfortunately my shaky image doesn’t do them justice.

Bar Tartine Smoked potatoesThe beet and blue cheese salad comes  beautifully presented. Now, I am not a big fan of beets in any form, but this salad makes even me a believer. The beets are sweet as they always are, but that plays off the blue cheese so well.

Bar Tartine Beet and blue cheese saladThe beef tartare on koji (an Asian “yeast” – a form of Aspergillus used to ferment various foods including miso, soy sauce, and sake) toast with bottarga (salt-cured fish roe) is beautiful. Fortunately we had a very informed server who filled us in on all of the ingredients. This is unlike any other beef tartare you have ever eaten.

Bar Tartine beef tartareI’ve eaten lentils lots of different ways, usually in a dal or soup, but never sprouted, so the visual impact of the sprouted lentil croquettes with kefir and coriander is spectacular, and the taste is unlike any of those other lentils that I have eaten.

Bar Tartine Sprouted lentil croquettesMy green chili fisherman’s stew with collard was very spicy – much too spicy for Susan – but it came as an emerald-green broth filled with seafood and hen-of-the-woods mushrooms. And collard!! When one is used to the limp, damp clot that’s called collard greens in a Southern cafeteria line, you are unprepared for the lovely, delicious variation presented in this dish.

Bar Tartine Fisherman's stewHard as it is to believe, we had room for a little dessert “amuse” of meringues, rugalach, and candied fruit along with a complex carob mousse with goat cheese and black walnuts.

Bar Tartine kugeleh and meringuesBar Tartine Carob mousseAfter such an incredible feast we went back to our beds. In the meantime, the new family had their own very special celebration, and two new brothers got acquainted.

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April 7, 2014 · 3:16 pm

EATING MY WAY THROUGH SAN FRANCISCO – b. PATISSERIE

It is hard to say enough good things about the b. Patisserie. This French-style bakery has been open only a short time , but it has already collected a lot of awards and a big following. It is located in Pacific Heights/Laurel Heights at 2821 California Street. The chef/owner, Belinda Leong, a friend of Sarah and Evan, is an experienced pastry chef with many awards. She is formerly the pastry chef at the Michelin-starred Manresa in Los Gatos, CA and has also spent time in the fabled Parisian patisserie, Pierre Hermé.

The main attraction of b.’s is, of course, sweet pastry in the French style, but there is also a wide selection of granolas, mousses, quiches, and tartines so you can enjoy a nice lunch or snack with dessert. There ae pln†y of tables inside as well as some comfortable chairs outside. If you prefer, you can have it all packed in a box to take home, but then you have to forego the very interesting people watching.

There is a wide selection of croissants from plain (Is there such a thing as a “plain” croissant?) to a completely decadent chocolate, banana-almond version that is filled with a velvety banana cream.

The kouign amann is a wonder. Made of a light dough (I think it is puff pastry) and shaped like an opening flower bud, the outside is a caramelized brown, crisp and glistening with sugar crystals, reminiscent of a palmier. Break open the petals and the inside is filled with a nectar from the transformed sugar inside. You will need extra napkins even if you eat it with a fork.

The passion fruit-flavored bostock is redolent of almonds and the wonderful scent of passion fruit. The creamy little cake is so elegant and so flavorful.

When we visited, it was lunch time, so I ordered a muffuletta tartine. If you have been to New Orleans, you probably have had a muffuletta from the Central Grocery in the French Quarter where it is said the sandwich was invented more than a hundred years ago. The original is served on a giant Italian bread roll with provolone, salami and cappicola. The thing that really makes it a muffuletta and different from other subs, heroes, and po’boys, though, is the unique “olive salad” rich with garlic, olive oil, chopped olives, and pickled vegetables.

Belinda’s muffuletta nails the flavors of the original, including the olive salad. But it is so much more: served on a thin slice of flavorful toasted French bread slathered with olive salad, covered with Black Forest ham, Genovese salami, and mortadella topped with provolone melted under the salamander. Only one word: delicious.

To help you make your own muffuletta, either like the original or as a tartine, I am providing you with one of our family secrets, a recipe for olive salad that we collected when we lived in Louisiana and have subsequently included in our family cookbook.

Fresh spring tulips on the table
Waiting in line at the pastry case
Kouign amanns and bostock
Kouign amann and chocolate banana-almond croissant
Mont Blanc: crème brûlée, chiffon, pear and blood orange compote
Granola
Muffuletta tartine
Wild mushroom, goat cheese, and braised leek tartine
Seasonal pear-berry kouign amann

RECIPE

Louisiana Olive Salad

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup chopped green olives
  • 2/3 cup chopped black olives
  • 2/3 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup chopped pimiento
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 anchovy filet, mashed
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Method

  1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients
  2. Let stand over night at room temperature.
  3. Use a generous serving when making a muffuletta.
Louisiana olive salad

Louisiana olive salad

 

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March 27, 2014 · 12:02 pm

SHAMELESS

We are back in San Francisco awaiting the birth of our new grandchild. It will be Sarah’s second child, and she is more than ready for her pregnancy to be over. While we wait, we are trying to give her a hand as well as helping our son and his family in Silicon Valley. This seems like an opportune time to visit Rich Table. Sarah is not going in, and Evan is working full throttle. The three-year-old will soon learn he is not the center of the universe.

Last night we had a wonderful feast with delicious offerings from the menu.

Rich Table is well known for its inventive, modern cocktails, but we settled on traditional standbys – an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan. Both were very well made, and they were even better with a few  sardine chips (potato chips with sardines woven into slits and served with horseradish creme fraiche) and radishes with toasted fresh yeast. The radishes seem appropriate as the Rich Table menu is festooned with a red radish drawn by Evan’s father.

Old fashioned
Manhattan
Sardine chips, horseradish creme fraiche
Radishes, toasted fresh yeast

For starters. we both chose the chilled spring onion soup sever over bay shrimp and green strawberries that had been lightly pickled. Who could believe that a green strawberry could taste so good.

Chilled spring onion soup, bay shrimp, green strawberries

Chilled spring onion soup, bay shrimp, green strawberries

For my pasta course I chose cappellacci (full name: cappellacci dei briganti – literally, brigands’ hats – shaped like little caps) with beef tongue, escarole, and sun dried tomatoes. Rich with butter, the dish was delicious and everything worked together so well. The tongue was tender and flavorful.

Cappellacci, beef tongue, escarole, sun-dried tomato

Cappellacci, beef tongue, escarole, sun-dried tomato

Susan chose black onion chitarra, a sort of pasta made with a form of tight, parallel wires nicknamed a chitarra or “guitar”. The pasta was dark with the black onion and served with manila clams, almond, and spinach. Another delicious dish.

Black onion chitarra, manila clams, almond, spinach

Black onion chitarra, manila clams, almond, spinach

For my main course, I ordered glazed pork cotechino (a traditional Italian sausage) served with asparagus diamonds, sour orange, and a sunchoke coulis. Susan had the swordfish with artichoke and seaweed barigoule, and fava greens.

Glazed pork cotechino, asparagus, sour orange, sunchoke
Swordfish, artichoke-seaweed barigoule, fava greens

We could not pass up dessert; we didn’t really try. My choice was panna cotta with a burnt sugar sauce. Susan chose white chocolate cheesecake with fennel and pomegranate  seeds. We both got California creamsicles as an amuse bouche, and Susan finished off with Rich Coffee containing house made Irish Cream!

White chocolate cheesecake, fennel, caraway, pomegranate seeds
Panna cotta with burned butter sauce and orange shortbread crisp
California Creamsickle
Rich’s Irish Cream

No shame with any of that. Here that comes. Sarah and Evan are in the running for Food and Wine’s Best New Chef contest. They are in the list of California contestants. You can vote early and often by logging in to the website and casting your vote. Here’s the link:

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2014/03/24/the-peoples-best-new-chef-california-chefs 

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March 24, 2014 · 4:35 pm

HORSERADISH MAYONNAISE AND PUFF PASTRY EMPANADAS

The other evening we were invited to a dinner party. It was a little bit of a pot luck, and we were asked to bring a light appetizer. I decided to use some puff pastry from the freezer to make empanadas, but that seemed a little bland, so I also made some mayonnaise as a dipping sauce.

Mayonnaise is so easy to make, and it tastes so much better than the bottled kind, that it seems crazy not to make your own. Especially when you have a fool-proof recipe (so far at least) from one of the world’s greatest chefs. Michel Roux of the Michelin-starred, much-honored Waterside Inn in England, has written a beautiful little book simply called “eggs” (John Wiley and Sons, 2005) filled with amazingly creative, not-so-classic and classic egg recipes including, of course, mayonnaise.

I doctored up the basic recipe using some tricks from Sarah and Evan. The additions of freshly grated horseradish and finely chopped chives or green scallion tops make a great dip that perks up the empanadas.

I filled the empanadas with hearts of palm, parsley, and grated Parmesan, but you can let your imagination run wild: tiny button mushrooms, little shrimp (is that redundant?), water chestnuts, olives (seed removed, of course), cubes of cheese, dolma filling, etc., etc., would all be good. I don’t know, but maybe a little oyster would work.

This recipe makes 20-24 appetizers depending upon how big you make the empanadas

RECIPES

Horseradish Mayonnaise

Ingredients

  • 2 egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup peanut oil, room temperature
  • juice of ½ lemon, more if needed
  • ¼ cup freshly grated horseradish
  • ¼ cup chopped chives or green tops of scallions

Method

  1. Put the egg yolks, mustard, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl with handles and/or on a towel or other non-slip surface. Combine with a balloon whisk until smooth.
  2. Whisking continuously, add a few drops of oil. When the oil is completely incorporated, add more oil, repeating the process  until the mayonnaise thickens. You may then add the oil in a more continuous stream, but pause occasionally to make sure the oil is fully incorporated before adding more.
  3. When all of the oil has been incorporated, whisk for another minute or so until the mayonnaise is smooth. Then add the lemon juice. The mayonnaise will become visibly less yellow. Adjust with more lemon juice, salt, and pepper to suit your taste.
  4. Stir in the horseradish and chives or scallions. Add more of either to suit your taste.
  5. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to use. This should hold for several hours.

Puff Pastry Empanadas

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly and finely grated
  • 1 sheet commercial frozen puff pastry, thawed according to directions
  • 1 14½ ounce can hearts of palm, drained and cut into ½ inch coins
  • 1 egg, beaten well with 2 tablespoons water

Method

  1. In a small bowl, combine the parsley and Parmesan cheese. Set aside
  2. On a lightly floured work surface, open the thawed sheet of puff pastry. With a lightly floured rolling pin, flatten the pastry to about 1/16 inch thick
  3. Using a 3 inch circular cookie cutter (a 2½ inch biscuit cutter will do) cut circles in the flattened pastry dough. Working quickly, place a palm coin and about ¼ teaspoon of the parsley/Parmesan mixture in the center of each circle.  Paint the edges of the circles with the egg mixture, using a small pastry brush.
  4. One by one and using your hands, stretch the dough gently to cover the palm disk. Pinch the edges of the half-moon empanada closed with your finger and then seal with the tines of a dinner fork
  5. Arrange the empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  6. Paint the tops of the empanadas with the egg mixture, trying not to let it drip onto the parchment.
  7. Bake in the middle of an oven preheated to 400°F for 15 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.
  8. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
  9. Serve with the dipping mayonnaise either at room temperature or gently rewarmed.
Egg yolks, mustard, salt and pepper ready to receive the oil
One cup of peanut oil
Whisked mayonnaise
Horseradish
Horseradish mayonnaise
Parsley and grated Parmesan
Puff pastry empanadas ready for the oven
Baked puff pastries

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March 11, 2014 · 12:42 pm

YOSEMITE AND THE AHWAHNEE HOTEL’S CHEFS’ HOLIDAY

One of my activities during the recent hiatus from my blog was a child-sitting assignment in Yosemite National Park. (A rough chore, I admit.) Our daughter and son-in-law had accepted an invitation to participate in the Ahwahnee Hotel’s annual Chefs’ Holiday. They did a cooking demonstration of two of their most popular dishes and then cooked a sit-down dinner for around 150 enthusiastic diners.

Of course, everyone knows about the magic of Yosemite National Park. The scenery is so gorgeous that you cannot avoid a gasp when you first see it. The crashing cascades, still water, towering monoliths, and beautiful meadows are spectacular.  Ansel Adams’s  black and white images are classics that less talented photographers like me try to imitate.

Fresh snow in Yosemite
Sun trying to break through the morning mist
El Capitan in the mist
Still water
Half Dome

Click on image to view gallery

The Ahwahnee Hotel is less well-known although it has been there since the 1920s. The story goes that an aristocrat from England came around the turn of the twentieth century to take in the beauty of the Valley, and there was no lodging up to her standards or expectation. Thus, plans were developed to build a hotel that would suit the most discriminating visitor.  The hotel was built in a secluded meadow with a singular view of Half Dome; it was built of redwood-stained concrete so as to avoid the fires that had destroyed so many of the classic national park lodges of the time. There were lots of amenities, too, with a large staff, beautiful dining room, and comfortable guest rooms. Over the years, the hotel has been well maintained and remains the place where park visitors go when they want to feel a little pampered.

Our first night arrival was late, so we ordered drinks and bar food in the handsome Ahwahnee Bar. The food was good, but inexplicably the chili (in the western United States) was served Cincinnati-style with lots of cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. OK, but not my favorite.

The original gate house at the Ahwahnee Hotel
The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park
The Ahwahnee Hotel
The Ahwahnee Hotel
The dining room of the Ahwahnee Hotel
The lobby fireplace in the Ahwahnee Hotel
Half Dome from the lobby of the Ahwahnee Hotel

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During the tourist season, Yosemite is well known to be a crowded place, but in the winter there are many fewer visitors. This makes it wonderful to see and photograph the various sights, and it also affords the hotel the opportunity to sponsor some special events. The oldest is the Bracebridge Dinner which is held during the Christmas season and features an English banquet along with costumed players and singers. The Vintners’ Holiday highlights some of the most famous California vineyards and wines. The Chefs’ Holiday attracts well-known chefs and food experts from all over the country for cooking classes and unique dinners in the beautiful dining room.

Straight-up Manhattan at the Ahwahnee Bar
Cincinnati-style chili at the Ahwahnee Bar
Crab dip with bruschetta at the Ahwahnee Bar

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Sarah and Evan demonstrated two of the most popular dishes at their San Francisco restaurant, Rich Table: porcini-dusted donuts with a fluffy raclette sauce and sardine chips accompanied by horseradish sauce. Then with the help of the kitchen staff rom the hotel, they prepared a several-course dinner and wine-pairing for 150 people.

Sarah Rich talking with a participant at the cooking demonstration
Evan Rich at the cooking demonstration
Sardine chips with horseradish sauce
Porcini-dusted donuts and raclette sauce
A flight of wine glasses lined up for the dinner and wine pairing

Click on image to view gallery

While Sarah and Evan were working, Grandma and Grandpa were obliged to take care of the three-year-old. That meant walks to landmarks, playing in the fresh snow, and observing a herd of beautiful – and tame – deer. It was a most enjoyable task in a beautiful place with few tourists.

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