spenser magazine

Stewed Rhubarb Recipe

Tue, 22 Apr 2014 23:33:00 -0700

This is the recipe that accompanies Suzanna Crampton & Imen McDonnell’s recipe for Rhubarb Sheep’s Milk Ice Cream in the Spring 2014 issue. The leftover cooking liquid can be used to flavor lemonade, tea, or even just sparkling water. The liquid can also be reduced to a syrup consistency and then drizzled on top of the rhubarb ice cream. This recipe makes just enough for one batch of ice cream, but the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

Stewed Rhubarb

Makes 2/3 cup needed for ice cream recipe

1 ½ cups diced fresh rhubarb (about 4 large stalks)
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup water

1. In a small saucepan set over low heat, combine the rhubarb, sugar, and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved and the rhubarb has softened, about 10 minutes. Strain the rhubarb from the cooking liquid (reserving both separately). Allow the rhubarb to cool to room temperature and then store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to make the ice cream. Use the cooking liquid as noted above.

Photo by Hilary Kline.

A Distinct Lack of Seasoning by Joel LeVangia Through no fault...

Sat, 19 Apr 2014 08:32:00 -0700

A Distinct Lack of Seasoning
by Joel LeVangia

Through no fault of anybody’s except really my own, I happen to know more about how difficult it is to make a film than the average person. As a result, I am generally less inclined to give filmmakers a hard time. Especially when they did as good of a job as the creators of the new film Tasting Menu with the lighting, and the shot selection, and the camera work; and successfully managing costs and shooting schedule with one totally dominant location that did nothing to detract from the film.

Unfortunately, I am unable to forgive people who go through all of that effort and trouble with great technical skill – when they ultimately have nothing to say. Much better to have applied their talents to a documentary highlighting the inspiration of the film in all of its glory – Ferran Adria’s El Bulli – than to take a cardboard version of “Love, Actually” and superimpose it on a lightly fictionalized molecular-gastronomy-temple-by-the-sea locale.

The conceit that there need be no conceit has been the downfall of many a filmmaker. I’d much rather have the Coen brothers, Barry Sonnenfeld, Barry Sonnenfeld’s camera, and a ton of free time – than the sophisticated crew and beautiful location that Tasting Menu offers me.

It’s not fair, in the absence of decent writing, to criticize the actors. So, I will single out those character-creators who – like chefs in a cooking show vending machine ingredient challenge – were able to make something tasteful out of nothing. Those would be Stephen Rea (a diner), Vicenta N’Dongo (the chef), Togo Igawa and Akihiko Serikawa (the Japanese investors), and the “annoying chick” who shepherded the Japanese guys, the pediatrician, and more or less the maître ‘d. (The annoying chick who shepherded the Japanese guys, you would think, would not make this list, but she did a very hard thing – which is to be endearing and charming while being the annoying chick shepherding some Japanese guys. Her name is Marta Torné. She was great. Nice job, Marta.)

I can say this – for those people to whom El Bulli is the ultimate Grateful Dead concert opened by Phish and MC’d by Timothy Leary – this movie could have represented some certain food-centric nerd-appeal. But, incongruously, Tasting Menu gives short shrift to the food. The actors say “That’s amazing,” after they slurp their aloe-leaf margarita, but you don’t get the full geek-out that would bloom repeatedly during a night at El Bulli or El Celler de Can Roca, whose equally talented chefs consulted on the film. There is no scene in which the chef drops her welding mask to protect her eyes as she caramelizes a spiderweb. At no point does anybody run out of plutonium for the flux-capacitor, thereby dramatizing the impossibility of actually enjoying the same bite twice. Which, you know, is something you can do in movies. Almost even more so than Ferran Adria or the Roca brothers can in real life.

Look. I respect these guys who made this movie. I like what they wanted to do, I like the way they did it, and they’re clearly better at it than I am. However, they did not take the time to marry their backdrop to their storyline on a molecular level. And that, frankly, is what the movie is about – taking the time to arduously create a ridiculously complex, yet simple thing that leaves a lasting impression. They sure talked around it, but they couldn’t serve it up.

(The film opens in theaters this weekend. Photos: scenes from TASTING MENU, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.)

James Beard Award Nomination

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:19:38 -0700

We are proud to say that spenser has been nominated for a 2014 James Beard Award in Visual Storytelling along side Food & Wine Magazine and The Local Palate. Our regular husband and wife contributing photographers Jessie Kriech-Higdon and Chris Higdon along with our Design Director Jen White are being considered for their work on three features from this past year. Those three features are “Controlled Burn” from the 2013 Spring Issue; “The South’s Sweet Elixir” from the 2013 Fall Issue; and “Lead Us Into Temptation" from the 2013 Winter Issue. Click on the tiles below to see the nominated feature stories.

Campfire Coffee. Via Tutku Demir.

Sun, 05 Jan 2014 21:26:32 -0800

Campfire Coffee. Via Tutku Demir.

Condiments for Mohinga (Photography by Mikka Tokuda-Hall) These...

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 16:01:06 -0800

Condiments for Mohinga (Photography by Mikka Tokuda-Hall)

These are the condiment recipes that are meant to be served with one or both of the mohinga recipes appearing with the “Culinary Kaleidoscope” feature in our Winter 2013-14 issue. The recipes are excerpted from Naomi Duguid’s latest book, “Burma: Rivers of Flavor” published in 2012 by Artisan Books.

Fried Shallots and Shallot Oil

Makes a generous ¾ cup flavored oil & about 1 ¼ cups fried shallots

Here you get two pantry staples in one: crispy fried shallots and delicious shallot oil. Drizzle shallot oil on salads or freshly cooked greens, or onto soups to finish them. You can fry up shallots each time you need them, but I prefer to make a large batch so they’re around when I need a handful to flavor a salad.

The trick with fried shallots is to cook them slowly, so they give off their moisture and get an even golden brown without any scorched or blackened patches. Once they’re removed from the oil and left to cool, they crisp up.

1 cup peanut oil
2 cups (about ½ pound) thinly sliced Asian or European shallots

1. Place a wide heavy skillet or a large stable wok over medium-high heat and add the oil. Toss in a slice of shallot. As the oil heats, it will rise to the surface, sizzling lightly. When it’s reached the surface, add the rest of the shallots, carefully, so you don’t splash yourself with the oil, and lower the heat to medium. (The shallots may seem crowded, but they’ll shrink as they cook.) Stir gently and frequently with a long-handled wooden spoon or a spider. The shallots will bubble as they give off their moisture. If they start to brown early, in the first 5 minutes, lower the heat a little more. After about 10 minutes, they should start to color. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally to prevent them from sticking to the pan or to each other, until they have turned a golden brown, another 3 minutes or so.

2. Line a plate with paper towels. Use tongs or a spider to lift a clump of fried shallots out of the oil, pausing for a moment to shake off excess oil into the pan, then place on the paper towel. Turn off the heat, transfer the remaining shallots to the plate, and blot gently with another paper towel. Separate any clumps and toss them a little, then let them air-dry 5 to 10 minutes, so they crisp up and cool. (If your kitchen is very hot and humid, they may not crisp up; don’t worry, the flavor will still be there.)

3. Transfer the shallots to a clean, dry, widemouthed glass jar. Once they have cooled completely, seal tightly. Transfer the oil to another clean dry jar, using all but the very last of it, which will have some stray pieces of shallot debris. (You can set that oil aside for stir-frying.) Once the oil has cooled completely, cover tightly and store in a cool dark place.

Toasted Chickpea Flour

Makes 2 cups

For this distinctively Burmese pantry staple, which is very easy to make and store, chickpea flour is simply lightly toasted in a skillet. Chickpea flour is made from ground dried chickpeas (garbanzos) and contains no gluten. The flour is available in South Asian groceries (the common name for it in India is besan), some health food stores, and specialty stores. Keep it in a well-sealed bag in a cool place, as you would any flour.

Make this in any quantity you wish; I usually make 2 cups at a time. Use in salads to add a layer of flavor and texture, and also to thicken sauces and soups, as directed.

2 cups chickpea flour

1. Place a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add the flour, and use a wooden spoon to stir it frequently as it heats and starts to toast. Lower the heat to medium if it starts to brown quickly, and keep stirring to expose all the flour to the heat. After about 6 or 7 minutes, it will start to change color. Lower the heat a little and continue to stir as it gets a little more color, then remove from the heat and continue to stir for another minute as the pan starts to cool. The whole process takes about 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Transfer to a wide bowl and let cool to room temperature. Store in a clean, dry glass jar, well sealed.

Green Chile Paste

Makes ¾ Cup

8 green cayenne chiles
¼ cup hot water
⅛ teaspoon salt

1. Crush the chiles in a mortar, or use the side of a cleaver or chef’s knife to crush them on a cutting board. Slice each one crosswise into 3 or 4 pieces. Place in a bowl with the water and salt and set aside to soak until ready to serve.

Red Chile Powder

Makes about ½ cup

Cooks in Burma tend to have a light hand with chiles, leaving guests to add more heat at the table by adding condiments such as chile oil, chile powder, and various sauces.

This powder packs a punch, so use only small amounts of it in recipes. The dried red chiles are dry-roasted for a few minutes in a skillet or over low heat on a grill. It’s important to not let them scorch, which would make them bitter. I grind mine with the seeds, using a food processor; you can also remove the seeds before you grind the chiles. The with-seeds version has more heat and is coarser looking. It’s worth making a large batch of this.

2 cups loosely packed dried red chiles

1. Place a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, lower the heat to medium and add the chiles. Keep moving them around in the pan to help them roast evenly and to prevent charred spots. After about 3 minutes, they will be softened, aromatic, and a little darkened. Alternatively, grill the chiles briefly on a charcoal grill over a low flame, turning them frequently to prevent scorching, until softened and aromatic. Remove from the pan or grill and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2. Break off the stem ends of the chiles and discard. You can empty out and discard the seeds or keep them for a hotter powder. Using a food processor, or working in batches in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, grind the chiles to a powder (be careful not to inhale it). Store in a clean, dry jar.

Deep-Fried Chayote Fingers

Serves 4

In Burma, this fried treat is made most often with bottle gourd, but chayote is more available in North America, so that’s what I use. Chayote is a pear-shaped gourd that originated in central America. Substitute zucchini if you wish.

These are easy to make and a real crowd-pleaser, crispy and tender at once, with a hint of ginger. Be sure to get your condiment sauces ready before you start cooking, because like any deep-fried snack, these are best eaten hot. Serve as a snack or appetizer or to accompany mohinga.

About ½ pound chayote (1 medium), bottle gourd, or zucchini

Batter

½ cup rice flour
⅛ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
Scant ½ cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon minced ginger
Peanut oil for deep-frying

1. If using chayote or gourd, peel it lengthwise, cut into quarters, and scoop out the seed. Thinly slice lengthwise. If using zucchini, cut into 2- to 3-inch lengths and slice into matchsticks. Set aside on a plate.

2. Combine the rice flour, turmeric, and salt in a bowl. Add the water and whisk to blend to a smooth batter. Add the ginger and stir. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, set out tongs, a spider, or a slotted spoon by the stove. Put out several more plates to receive the cooked vegetables.

3. Heat 2 inches of the oil in a deep fryer or a stable wok over medium to medium-high heat. Test the temperature by dropping a small spoonful of batter into the oil: it should sink and then rise, without burning. Stir the batter. Pick up a clump of 2 or 3 slices of chayote; drag them through the batter to coat and then slide into the oil. Once the batter starts cooking, it will hold the slices together in a bundle. Repeat with 3 or 4 more bundles, without crowding. Cook for 7 or 8 minutes, until golden all over, using tongs to move the bundles around so they cook evenly. When they’re done, lift them out of the oil, and transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining vegetable slices and batter.

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right."

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 06:00:49 -0800

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”

- Henry Ford

Ornamental

Sat, 28 Dec 2013 12:41:00 -0800

Ornamental

Last Minute Cookbook Gift Ideas (a.k.a. our favorite new...

Mon, 23 Dec 2013 10:53:32 -0800

Last Minute Cookbook Gift Ideas
(a.k.a. our favorite new cookbooks of the year)

For the sweet tooth:

Mast Brothers Chocolate: A Family Cookbook - The Mast Brothers are pioneers of the bean-to-bar craft chocolate movement and men-about-Brooklyn. For those who covet their seemingly curated lifestyle, there is "Mast Brothers Chocolate: A Family Cookbook" where they share their unique story and recipes for classic American desserts like chocolate cookies and cakes, brownies, bars, milkshakes, and, yes, whoopie pie. Known for the quality and creativity of their generous staff lunches, it is no surprise that there are mouthwatering savory dishes as well, like Pan-seared Scallops with Cocoa Nibs and Cocoa Coq au Vin. This book is the book for the chocolate lover in your life.

Sweet - This is one of those cookbooks that is destined to become a well-worn classic, with home cooks passing down their butter-stained, dogeared copies from generation to generation. Haven’t had the pleasure? Well, Valerie Gordon, the cookbook’s author, is the Los Angeles based creator of award-winning sweets and baked goods sold at two new restaurants, a longstanding boutique, and multiple farmer’s market booths. “Sweet” is filled with a comprehensive collection of her favorite desserts like petits fours, cakes, truffles, and cookies that have been gilded with the addition of candied rose petals, atomized chocolate, fleur de sel, matcha tea, and other special ingredients. Our favorite part of the book, Valerie’s re-discovered desserts from some of Los Angeles’ most iconic and bygone restaurants like Chasen’s and the Brown Derby. Brilliant.

The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book - From Melissa and Emily Elsen, the talented sisters who own and operate the renowned Brooklyn pie shop and cafe Four & Twenty Blackbirds comes the ultimate pie-baking book. Despite being focused on one of the most humble of desserts, the pie, Melissa and Emily have put together a pie-baking book that’s anything but. This groundbreaking collection features a detailed and informative techniques section and more than one dozen pie recipes for each season of the year. These are unique and mouthwatering creations such as Salted Caramel Apple, Green Chili Chocolate, Black Currant Lemon Chiffon, and, a customer favorite, Salty Honey.

From the standard bearers:

Manresa: An Edible Reflection - There isn’t much to write about David Kinch that hasn’t already been written. Kinch is, in a word, influential. His Northern California restaurant is lauded as one of the best in the world and he is genuinely kind and humble. In his first cookbook, “Manresa: An Edible Reflection” Chef David Kinch details the creativity behind the food of Manresa and its profound connection to the land and sea of Northern California. Featuring more than 300 pages of recipes, stories, and exquisite images of the ingredients, dishes, and surrounding landscape that make the restaurant a true culinary destination, this cookbook is a testament to Kinch’s passion and creativity.

Coi: Stories and Recipes - There is no restaurant in the United States that is more intimately tied to its chef than Coi and Daniel Patterson. To step into the dining room at Coi is to step into the mind of one of the most curious and creative chefs in the world. Patterson’s cookbook, “Coi: Stories and Recipes” tells the story of this restaurant, its dishes and Patterson’s philosophy. Beginning with a look at California - how Patterson arrived there and its influence on Coi - the book takes the reader into the Coi kitchen, and through an eleven course Coi tasting menu. It does so by way of a series of short and engaging essays, which reveal the story and inspiration behind the restaurant’s creative dishes. The stories behind a further fifty selected dishes are also narrated, and are accompanied by conversational recipes.

D.O.M. Rediscovering Brazilian Ingredients - Once described by Chef David Chang as more interesting than the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the Word, Atala is renowned for a devotion to regional cuisine using indigenous Brazilian ingredients. Atala works closely with anthropologists and scientists to discover and classify new foods from the Amazonian region and bring then into fine dining. His new cookbook is a testament to and a journal chronicling those discoveries. It tells the individual stories of 65 of the unique ingredients that are used in the kitchens at D.O.M., located in São Paulo, Brazil, and Alex’s relationship with them. Each ingredient will be accompanied by a recipe for one of the dishes in which it is utilized and a beautiful image of both the ingredient and the finished dish.

From the heart:

L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food - In the fall of 2008, Chef Roy Choi burst onto the Los Angeles dining scene with his now world-famous Kogi BBQ. But this wasn’t any ordinary restaurant with chairs and tables or even walls and a door. Nope, Choi was cooking some of the city’s best food out of a roving taco truck, offering Korean barbecue tacos and quesadillas out on the streets of L.A. to one and all. With his first cookbook, Choi pays homage to the city he loves, capturing the inventive, creative, and border crossing spirit of our spenser’s hometown, Los Angeles. A gritty love letter to the City of Angels, “L.A. Son” is the story of Choi’s love of food and his evolution as a chef. It includes sixty inspired recipes for everything from kalbi and kimchi to chorizo and carne asada. It is a transporting, multifaceted story that tells the unlikely tale of how a Korean-American kid went from troublemaking in the streets of L.A. to becoming an acclaimed chef.

Ivan Ramen: Love, Obession and Recipes - This book is being marketed as the be-all-end-all guide to ramen from Ivan Orkin, the New York-born owner of one of Tokyo’s top ramen shops. And it’s certainly that. Orkin’s passion for ramen is contagious, his story fascinating, and his recipes to-die-for, including master recipes (and we mean master) for the fundamental types of ramen (Orkin’s principal ramen recipe in the book is 36 pages long), with variations on each. But the book is much more. The book also chronicles Orkin’s circuitous and heart-wrenching journey from dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker working at restaurants, like Lutèce and Mesa Grill, to the chef and owner of one of Japan’s most-loved ramen restaurants. After experiencing the tragic loss of a wife, who was Japanese, and unborn child, Orkin learns that fear of failure was something to be pushed aside. He had already suffered the worst in life and this was the catalyst that led him from New York back to Tokyo, in search of that cultural connection to a country he so dearly loves.

For the history buff:

Historic Heston - Flipping through this latest book from master British chef Heston Blumenthal, one might think of the chef’s creativity and obsession as something akin to the madness of King George. Or, as the New York Times calls it, “a headfirst dive down the rabbit hole, with Blumenthal as the Mad Hatter.” The enormous book, which weighs upwards of 8 lbs., charts a quest for identity through the history of British cooking that stretches from medieval to late-Victorian recipes. Start with thirty historic dishes, take them apart, put them together again using modern ingredients and technique, and what have you got? A sublime twenty-first-century take on delicacies including meat fruit (1500), quaking pudding (1660), and mock-turtle soup (1892). Heston examines the history behind each one’s invention and the science that makes it work. He puts these dishes in their social context and follows obscure culinary trails, ferreting out such curious sources as The Queen-like Closet from 1672 (which offers an excellent method for drying goose if you were every wondering). What it adds up to is an idiosyncratic culinary history of Britain.

Winter white.

Sun, 22 Dec 2013 23:00:18 -0800

Winter white.

"We light candles in testament that faith makes miracles possible."

Thu, 28 Nov 2013 10:00:00 -0800

“We light candles in testament that faith makes miracles possible.”

- Rabbi Nachum Braverman

12 Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood

Sat, 19 Oct 2013 21:42:00 -0700

The folks at The Restaurant at Meadowood have released the schedule and list of guest chefs for The Twelve Days of Christmas 2013 (see after the jump).

For the uninitiated, twelve influential chefs are invited to cook in collaboration with Chef Christopher Kostow at the Michelin 3-starred Napa restaurant. Twelve great vintners are invited along to pair their favorite wines. Last year saw John and Karen Shields, formerly of Town House, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions, David Toutain of Agapé, and Josh Habiger and Erik Anderson of The Catbird Seat, among others.

Tickets for the series aren’t cheap, but reservations still book up fast. The dinners are $395 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Guests who prefer an expanded menu amidst the kitchen action (that photo could be the view from your table) may reserve seats at the Chef’s Counter for $750 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Day 1: Friday, December 6
Chef Andy Ricker (Pok Pok, Portland and New York)
Mike Grgich and Violet Grgich, Grgich Hills Estate

Day 2: Saturday, December 7
Chef Rodolfo Guzman (Boragó, Santiago, Chile)
Juan Mercado, Realm Cellars

Day 3: Tuesday, December 10
Chef Carlo Mirarchi (Blanca and Roberta’s, Brooklyn, New York)
Andrew Mariani and Adam Mariani, SCRIBE Winery

Day 4: Wednesday, December 11
Chef Tim Cushman (O Ya Restaurant, Boston)
Stephen Martin and Dennis O’Neil, Checkerboard Vineyards

Day 5: Thursday, December 12
Chef Ashley Christensen, (Poole’s Diner, Raleigh, NC)
Freddy and Mary Constant, Constant, Diamond Mountain Vineyard

Day 6:Friday, December 13
Chef David Chang (Momofuku, New York)
Larry Turley, Turley Wine Cellars

Day 7: Saturday, December 14
Chef Matthew Accarrino (SPQR, San Francisco)
Tuck & Boo Beckstoffer, Tuck Beckstoffer Wines

Day 8: Tuesday, December 17
Chefs Mark Ladner and Brooks Headley (Del Posto, New York)
Glenn Salva, Antica Napa Valley, Antinori Family Estate

Day 9: Wednesday, December 18
Chef Rasmus Kofoed (Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark)
George Peterson, Spring Mountain Vineyard

Day 10: Thursday, December 19
Chefs Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns (Bar Tartine, San Francisco)
Jon and Lily Berlin, El Molino Winery

Day 11: Friday, December 2
Chef David Kinch (Manresa, Los Gatos, CA)
May-Britt and Denis Malbec, Notre Vin, Malbec and Malbec Cellars

Day 12: Saturday, December 21
Chef Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA)
H. William and Deborah Harlan, Harlan Estate

To reserve lodging & dinner packages, please call 855-953-2435 or email[email protected]">[email protected].

Kitchen Photo courtesy of The Restaurant at Meadowood.

Basic Pie Dough

Fri, 04 Oct 2013 01:02:58 -0700

For our Tennessee issue, we turned to Dale Mackey, owner of Dale’s Fried Pies in Knoxville, Tenn. for a little inspiration and for her candied sweet potato fried pies. When making a fried hand pie, Dale reminds folks that the consistency of the dough should be a little bit “wetter” than regular pie dough. With regular pie dough you are just rolling it out once and you are done manipulating it, she says, but with a fried pie you are cutting it, folding it and crimping it. If the dough is erring on the side crumbly, it is going to be too hard to work with when trying to crimp it shut.

While Dale keeps her pie dough recipe a closely guarded state secret, we did manage to get the basic ingredients out of her, which means that you can use this basic double crust pie dough recipe to great success.

Basic Pie Dough

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter
8 tbsp. cold water

1. Add the flour, salt, and sugar to the work bowl of a food processor. Process briefly to combine. Cut the butter into ½-inch pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using short on-off pulses, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are the size of small peas.

2. Add 3 tbsp. of the water to the bowl and pulse on and off again for 5 seconds. Add 3 more tbsp. water and, again, pulse on and off for another 5 seconds. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. water and pulse on and off for another few seconds. Remove the lid and pinch a piece the dough. It should hold together easily. (If it doesn’t, add another tbsp. of water and pulse to incorporate).

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and shape it into a solid ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out. Roll out the dough as directed in Dale’s recipe in our fall issue. Just be careful when frying.

Here’s a sneak peak at the cover for our all-Tennessee...

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 22:14:36 -0700

Here’s a sneak peak at the cover for our all-Tennessee fall issue. Coming soon! Cover photo by Denny Culbert.

“Sometimes you need to stick your hand in the fire to...

Fri, 06 Sep 2013 21:34:56 -0700

“Sometimes you need to stick your hand in the fire to remind yourself that it’s hot.” - Chef Sean Brock at Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville Tennessee (by Mind of a Chef).

This beautifully shot video from Alison Chernick is titled...

Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:15:04 -0700

Mario's Meats on Nowness.com

This beautifully shot video from Alison Chernick is titled Mario’s Meats, but it highlights the creativity and craftsmanship of one of our favorite chefs here in LA, Chad Colby, chef at Chi Spacca.

This past Sunday, Good Foods Award winners and Merchant Guild...

Mon, 19 Aug 2013 21:12:36 -0700

This past Sunday, Good Foods Award winners and Merchant Guild members set up shop in a section of the Marketplace at Union Market, the central marketplace for Washington DC dating back to 1931. Revitalized in the 21^st century as a combination retail, wholesale, and restaurant space, the Good Foods event offered the public a chance to sample and purchase Good Food winner jams, krauts, charcuterie, chocolates and more.

Nestled in two short hallways, the event had the feel of stumbling into a private party where we were happy to see old friends like Escazu Artisan Chocolates and meet new acquaintances like the folks from Fullsteam Brewery who regaled us with a persimmon infused ale.

PHOTOS: HILARY KLINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Bademiya roadside food stall at midnight in Mumbai, India.

Sat, 03 Aug 2013 14:38:28 -0700

Bademiya roadside food stall at midnight in Mumbai, India.

Changing of the Guard?

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 07:30:45 -0700

A few folks have asked us if we know who is going to end up as the pitmaster at the new Schmidt Family Barbecue in Bee Cave, Texas. The restaurant, which is still being built, will be owned and operated by Susie Schmidt-Franks, Keith Schmidt, and John Fullilove, all three grandchildren of Edgar “Smitty” Schmidt, longtime owner of the famous Kreuz Market bbq restaurant in Lockhart, Texas (see “Family Reunion” in the new summer issue of spenser).

We think John Fullilove is a likely candidate to start. Here’s why. For much of the past decade, John has been the manager and pitmaster at Smitty’s Market, the Lockhart bbq joint owned by John’s mother, Nina Sells. John’s natural ability to smoke a beef brisket is often credited as the reason Smitty’s, which opened in 1999, was named one of Texas Monthly’s quinquennial “top five best barbecue” places in the state two times in a row (2003 & 2008).

Over the past year, according to Nina, John has been taking time off from the pits and James Fullilove (John’s brother) has come back to his hometown of Lockhart to be the new manager. It sounds to us as if John simply needed a break. Consider what Texas bbq writer Daniel Vaughn says about how hard it is to be a pitmaster year in and year out.

“The pitmaster, who is open six days a week, is waking up at some ungodly hour in the morning,” Vaughn says. “They will be working the pits until ready to open. Then they spend the entire day working in conditions that aren’t the healthiest, breathing in unfiltered smoke and, just through quality control, consuming a meal of barbecue every day. You add all those things together, and it is something that many pitmasters don’t wish on their children.”

From an operations standpoint at Smitty’s, we are interested in seeing what James has in store for the business. He is already working to bring back Charles Kreuz’s original butcher shop at the front of the 100 year-old building with the intention of selling a wide variety of fresh cuts of meat to local customers. He’s also started smoking his own beef jerky for retail sale at the restaurant. While the jerky is still in the product-testing phase (James says he’ll keep tweaking the recipe until he gets it just right ), we were amazed as to how much smoke flavor he could get into one dried piece of beef.

When the plans for Schmidt Family Barbecue were announced, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Chad Franks, Susie’s husband, would be the pitmaster at the new restaurant. Chad has been training with Kreuz pitmaster Roy Perez to learn the ins and outs of the bbq business. Keith, who also owns Kreuz Market, told us that the siblings’ long-term plan for the business is to have Chad as the pitmaster, but he hopes that John agrees to be there in the beginning to lend his years of experience to the new operation.

“Chad came here (to Kreuz) for about six months to learn from Roy,” Keith says, “but it is also pretty likely that John is going to be working the pits.”

John is holding his own cards a little bit closer to his vest. When asked about the Bee Cave restaurant he simply said the following.

“I try to stay quiet about barbecue and things seem to work out well,” John says. “But we (Keith, Susie, Chad and John) all talk daily about the plans for the new restaurant. If you think about what we are doing, it’s just salt, black pepper, and red pepper. If there is something is wrong with the barbecue, it’s our fault.”

Photo: James Fullilove standing at the fresh meat counter at Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, Texas. Credit: Meredith Paige.

Thomas Keller's Chicken Brine

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 06:01:00 -0700

This is Chef Thomas Keller’s basic brine recipe for use with his buttermilk fried chicken that appears in the new summer issue of spenser. According to Chef Keller, “the key ingredient here is the lemon, which goes wonderfully with chicken, as do the herbs: bay leaf, parsley, and thyme.” This amount of brine will be enough for 10 lbs. of chicken.

5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaves
5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaves
1 bunch (4 oz.) flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch (1 oz.) thyme
½ cup clover honey
1 head garlic, halved through the equator
¼ cup black peppercorns
2 cups (10 oz.) kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
2 gallons water

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to three days.

Recipe published with permission from “Ad Hoc at Home” by Thomas Keller (Artisan Books, 2009). Buy your own copy here.

Rye Steamed Buns w/ Beef Tongue Pastrami, Horseradish Leek Sauerkraut, and American Mustard

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 05:01:27 -0700

Ryan Farr is the owner of 4505 Meats, a phenomenal butcher shop and catering company in San Francisco. We spoke with Ryan for our 2013 summer issue about his new cookbook “Whole Beast Butchery” and his mouthwatering recipe for beef tongue pastrami (see pg. 42).

Because the process to cure and smoke the beef tongue takes upwards of two weeks, we knew that we had to do something more than your traditional deli sandwich to match the scale of the pastrami undertaking. Enter the rye steamed bun.

We’ve had great success in the past making David Chang’s steam buns recipe from his “Momofuku” cookbook. But those buns are as white as Wonder bread and we just weren’t sure whether the recipe would hold up to the heartier rye flour. Because Chang’s recipe amps up the traditional steamed bun dough with added fat and salt, we are happy to report that the finished rye version is as good as the original.

To round out the sandwich on this day, we added horseradish and leek sauerkraut from Midori Farms near Seattle and American mustard from Revival Market in Houston. But you could just as easily sub out the mustard for a bit of Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing for an updated take on the Reuben (albeit with pastrami instead of corned beef).

Rye Steamed Buns
Makes 50 buns

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 ½ cups water, at room temperature
¾ cups dark rye flour
3 ½ cups bread flour
6 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. nonfat dry milk powder
1 tbsp. kosher salt
Rounded ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature, plus more for shaping the buns, as needed

1. Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with the dough hook. Add the flour, sugar, milk powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and fat and mix on the lowest speed possible, just above a stir, for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should gather together into a neat, not-too-tacky ball on the hook. When it does, lightly oil a medium mixing bowl, put the dough in it, and cover the bowl with a dry kitchen towel. Put it in a turned-off oven with a pilot light or other warmish place and let rise until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 hour 15 minutes. (We successfully used an electric oven with the light turned on - ed.)

2. Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper or a knife, divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 5 equal pieces. Gently roll the pieces into logs, then cut each log into 5 pieces, making 50 pieces total. They should be about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and weigh about 25 grams, or a smidge under an ounce. (It really helps to use a digital scale here - ed.) Roll each piece into a ball. Cover the armada of little dough balls with a draping of plastic wrap and allow them to rest and rise for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut out fifty 4-inch squares of parchment paper. Coat a chopstick with whatever fat you’re working with.

4. Flatten one ball with the palm of your hand, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 4-inch-long oval. Lay the greased chopstick across the middle of the oval and fold the oval over onto itself to form the bun shape. Withdraw the chopstick, leaving the bun folded, and put the bun on a square of parchment paper. Stick it back under the plastic wrap (or a dry kitchen towel) and form the rest of the buns. Let the buns rest for 30 to 45 minutes: they will rise a little.

5. Set up a steamer on the stove. Working in batches so you don’t crowd the steamer, steam the buns on the parchment squares for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment. You can use the buns immediately (reheat them for a minute or so in the steamer if necessary) or allow to cool completely, then seal in plastic freezer bags and freeze for up to a few months. Reheat frozen buns in a stovetop steamer for 2 to 3 minutes, until puffy, soft, and warmed all the way through.