Mezcal-ocura, Part 2

So, I started this blog mostly as a diary for my trip to Mexico (now nearly 2 years ago, boo hoo). We spent a great deal of time in Oaxaca, eating tons of nieves (my real reason for trip) and studying up on mezcal for a mag that sadly ended up folding before we could publish.

Here is a mezcal post written while we were in Mexico.

A few weeks ago Caroll's (carolltaveras.com) amazing photos from the distilleries in Oaxaca and the secret mezcal drinking club in Mexico City were featured as a "Photo Story" on the fantastic photo website, FOTO8 out of London. Looking at the photos gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, just like the delicious Del Maguey Chichicapa I sampled the other night. So much flavor that I could taste it for hours afterwards. So worth it. Look for it, it's one of the truly great mezcals exported to NYC.

Here is a little video of Caroll in action at Los Danzantes distillery in Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca. Note the Shostakovich playing in the background. Distillery manager, Hector Vazquez, believes it helps improve the flavor of the various mezcals during fermentation...These are the kinds of crazy cool people who make great mezcals...

Julie, Julia and me...

So much fun! I did a party for Julie Powell (the Julie Of "Julie and Julia" if you've been under a rock). I couldn't say no so was up until the wee hours with my good buddy Emily making all sorts of fun and Frenchie Julia inspired (and straight-up authored) recipes.

Tiny tartlets of Quiche Aux Oignons, Mini phyllo cups of coq-au-vin, Cauliflower a La Grecque (an oldie-but-goodie I forgot about almost completely from le Frog Academie (FCI)), an heirloom tomato aspic (had to add that both for the season and for Julie), and some really cute radishes (I forgot my anchovy butter!) which I was pleased to hear Julie comment was one of her favorite things to snack on.

For dessert I busted out Julia's clafoutis recipe and used the last sour cherries of the season. I left the pits in which shouldn't cause cyanide poisining but will definitely produce a gorgeous almondine scent (noyaux in French, cheries) Also made that crazy delicious (and quite friendly recipe to follow) French mirror glass tart from Gourmet's last September's Paris issue-fierceness with white currants, oh my.

Flipping through Mastering the Art of French Cooking (the Julia Child magnum opus that was the basis for the Julie/Julia Project in the first place) was such fun. I rarely follow recipes for anything other than pastry so it was very interesting to do so with Julia's. Certain things were completely strange (not seasoning or marinating the chicken for the coq-au-vin (I had to do salt and pepper, sorry Julia) and some were just so old school (using a buerre manie to thicken the sauce). All in all, exhausted as I was (try contemplating the word aspic "ass-pick" in your fourteenth hour of work. It's pretty hilarious) I had such a lovely time and am very happy for Julie who turns out to be a very cool girl. It was lovely chatting with her about her experience with the recipes, etc. I can't wait to check out her next book-sounds like it was a super interesting investigation...That's it for now.

WSJ OMG!

A few months ago I did a food styling job for the Wall Street Journal’s style magazine, WSJ, and had to keep it under wraps until now...The assignment was for a page called “The Nose” that focuses on one person’s top olfactory memories (smell is the strongest memory). I think the concept of the page is totally fascinating and we won’t even talk about me and my nose here, but I think it’s pretty funny I was the stylist for the shoot...

I was asked to prepare cumin-scented lamb shanks which I did and hopped in a taxi over to NoHo studios to shoot them with the awesome team of Boyle + Gardner. Here is a link to the page on the website where my shank is sitting along with other items picked (ahem) by horticulturist, Daniel Hinkley.

http://magazine.wsj.com/gatherer/the-nose/americas-leading-horticulturist/

Shout out to my Yum Yum girls!

I recently spoke with someone at Crain's about working with Yum Yum, a catering company-cum-kitchen incubator in Brooklyn's DUMBO. The women who run Yum Yum, Chef Vanessa Cantaeve and Gracia Walker, instantly felt like my kind of peoples. They not only introduced me to Pandora radio (via their Bobby Brown station, no less) but have hosted me in their kitchen for some larger catering jobs in the past few months which I will share once I extract the photos from my broken digicam.

I didn't realize the article was even published yet, but here it is:

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090412/SMALLBIZ/304129986

Thanks again, ladies and hope you've had a great weekend! Looking forward to "Rockin' Witcha" real soon....x

Spring Colors, Peter Pan Donuts

Assignment: Vegetarian Banh Mi

Besides being terrifically trendy banh mi are a favorite of mine ever since I fell in love with them on East Broadway in the '90's. Really I've always been a sandwich girl (growing up in Brooklyn sandwiches are a big part of life--I can order one in under 10 seconds--"smokedturkeyandprovoloneonarollmustardandnottoomuchmayooilandvinegarlettucetomatoespeppernosalt").

When I first tried banh mi, or Vietnamese sandwiches, I felt like they were created just for me. Crusty on the outside warm, soft baguette, roasty meat, smushy pates, crisp sweetly pickled vegetables, bright, feathery cilantro, spicy al dente jalapenos, and nottoomuchmayonaise. Now, I have to say, sometimes I feel bad for mayonaise. It gets a bad rep. My dad almost made my sister break up with her high school boyfriend who, when he first came over for dinner brought a jar, which, he explained, he put on everything. "I don't like that kid" was my dad's response to the idea of having Hellman's spread all over his homemade food. Many people feel the same way, but sometimes it's just necessary. And, admittedly delicious.


Onto the sandwich...

So, I have to make various banh mi for a party next week and needed a vegetarian option. I went to the local hippie health food store looking for some kind of veggie pate with no luck. The only one they had and were out of the salesgirl explained wasn't even that tasty. As I was deciding what to use as the "meat" I came up with the (ok, not so revolutionary) idea of using tofu stuff. I was already doing a big roasted vegetable skewer thing with mushrooms, eggplant and cauliflower so decided to go soy-based. I have actually been eating quite a bit of tofu lately as I am trying to cut back on meat consumption (so I don't die from the Bacon Chocolate Pudding Cake, etc.). Plus, food cost-wise, tofu is cheap! Yippee!

So, first I had to make some sort of pate out of the tofu and found some good recipes on the internet. I did a bit of a mash up between recipes and shopping my cabinets. Also, I wanted to infuse a bit of Asian (or any) flavor. I chose to steam the mixture of firm tofu, walnut meal (for some texture), spicy dried red peppers, soy sauce and my funky Spanish pocini salt (oh-so umami). This was steamed in an oiled bowl/ramekin for about 35 minutes in the bamboo steamer. Then cooled. It sliced up quite nicely, see pic.


Meanwhile I did a quick pickle of carrots and cucumber in water, white vinegar, sugar and salt. When it was time to assemble the sandwich I pan seared some "Teriyaki" baked tofu product from Trader Joe's (will marinate my own for party or try seitan maybe) and crisped up the split baguette slathered in mayo in a 375 degree oven. Then I just put it all together with some cilatro and hot sauce (didn't have jalapenos today). It was really satisfying and delicious! If you are in search of a filling and flavorful veggie sandwich and feel like punching out the next person to offer you a grilled vegetable and goat cheese sandwich, this is the ticket!

Back of the Bag+Back of the Fridge

Last summer I had to pull a chocolate dessert out of my...clients' cupboards. Luckily, I found this amazing recipe on the back of a bag of King Arthur al-purpose flour. I forgot about it for awhile until, as has happened much recently (see the Citrus Curd Tartlets), I found myself craving a sweet dessert but cringing at the idea of going out in sub-zero weather.

So, what do I have lying around? I break out the recipe--flour? Check. Cocoa powder? Check. Sugar, vanilla, butter, water: check, check, check, definitely check. And since I make it in individual sized portions in ramekins the whole thing from start to finish doesn't take more than 30 minutes.

What could be better? Here's the answer: I've made it a couple of times since and, as usually happens when I'm cooking, have messed with it a little bit and think it's much improved with some additions. It's great as is, but sometimes has a bit of a flour-y, bland flavor. Even so, people love it no matter what (I have made it for a client dinner and for friends recently). But, here's what--bacon, parmesan cheese, fluer de sel. And what's next--malted chocolate powder, peanut butter.

This tastes like a good old American dessert. It doesn't have the same flavor as a Callebaut bittersweet chocolate/Jean-Georges-copycat-yawn-molten chocolate cake. That's why I reached for the bacon, Maker's Mark, etc.

For the bacon, render a couple of slices of bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. I used the rendered fat to grease the ramekins. Sprinkle some crumbled bacon on top of the filled ramekins, bury a couple of pieces inside. For the parmesan (hopefully Parmaggiano) shower a filled ramekin with Microplane grated cheese and when it comes out of the oven it will be an almost invisible but crispy, salty layer of goodness. It reminded me slightly of cracking into a creme brulee, in other words, pretty effin' perfect. Next time I'll stick a ball of peanut butter whipped into marshmallow fluff (helps keep the peanut butter together while heating and melting. I'm thinking Ovaltine plain mixed with cocoa powder or chocolate flavored Ovaltine and adjusting the sugar....Served it last with wine and ginger poached pear.

Deep Dark Chocolate Pudding Cake

This rich chocolate cake is ultra-quick and simple to prepare. As it bakes, a delicious fudge sauce magically forms in the bottom of the pan; to serve, spoon the cake and hot sauce into a dish, then top with ice cream or whipped cream (if your diet can handle it!) Serve this cake hot (or warm) from the oven, or at room temperature; as the cake cools, the sauce thickens into an applesauce-like consistency.

1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ( 1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups (9 ounces) sugar
2 1/4 cups (18 ounces) water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) butter, melted, or vegetable oil
1/2 to 3/4 cup (1 7/8 to 3 ounces) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

I added a capful of Maker's Mark as well.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cocoa. If the mixture is lumpy, rub it through a sieve, or sift it. Stir in the water, vanilla, butter, and nuts, if you're using them. Gently stir till everything is just combined. It looks so liquidy, not much thicker than heavy cream. You'll think, "there is no way this is going to set up" but believe me, it does. Don't worry...

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 45 minutes; when done, the top will be set, and the bottom bubbly. Remove the cake from the oven, and serve warm.
Yield: 1 cake. (I do this in individual-sized ramekins; you can get between 6 and 8)