Tag Archives: Food Anthropology

January 31, 2010

Twiced Baked Goat Cheese Souffle

By swfoodworks

Souffles seem to be shrouded in mystery and admonishments; “Don’t walk near the oven while baking”, “Speak in hushed whispers, if at all”, “Never, ever, open the oven door while baking!”, and so on.  The following recipe and technique will help you call ‘bullshit’ on those ideas, and allow you to continue blaring your Kings of Leon album while you’re baking.

This recipe is brought to us by Chef Louise Duhamel (hi chef!) and my friends at www.lickmyspoon.com (hi steph and hua!).  A quick calculation shows me that I must have produced this recipe over 100 times during my time with Chef, teaching dozens of students how to make it.  And the Cypress Grove cheeses which inspired me to make this version were a gift from Stephanie and David after a long and well fought battle at this years’ Fancy Food Show.

The best thing about this “Swiss Style” souffle is that you can make it in advance, and then re-bake it to serve.

Soufflés a la Suisse

Here’s what you’ll need

  • 6 oz butter (melted) plus more (4 oz) for buttering dishes
  • 6 oz AP flour
  • 1.5 cups cream
  • 4.5 cups whole milk
  • 12 oz cheese
  • 12 eggs (separated)
  • 2 cups bread crumbs or grated dry cheese (like Parmesan) for coating dishes
  • 2 quarts or more of water for water bath
  • Salt, pepper, nutmeg, all to taste

Souffle is a pretty straightforward technique.  The two items that will ensure your success are; proper planning, and pretty much non-stop execution.  So turn that oven to 400 degrees and follow the pictures below!

Get all of your ingredients together.

Butter some ramekins really well.  Then coat them with the dry cheese, or bread crumbs.  Smaller, straight sided dishes work best, but I’ve also baked this in large pans with good results.  You’ll be baking these in a water bath, so make sure they fit into another, larger pan that can hold water up to 1/2 the height of the dishes.  :)

Separate your eggs.  I like to use this 3-bowl method.  I separate three or four whites at a time into the smaller (white) bowl, and them dump them into the bigger (red) one.  That way, if I mess up some whites, I don’t screw up the whole batch of whites, just a couple.

Measure out the butter and start to melt it.

Measure out the flour.

Measure out the cheese.

Once the butter has melted, whisk in all of the flour at once.  Thus begins the roux.  Keep the heat on a medium-low setting and keep an eye on it.  Whisk regularly.

This recipe asks for a blonde roux, which cooks for about four minutes, and should look like this as it cooks.

Loosening a little.

Bubbling.

More bubbles and kind of mealy looking is where we stop cooking.

Whisk in the dairy, and continue whisking through the thickening process.

You’ll see the mixture start holding to the sides of the pot.

And then it will thicken to a heavy paste-like consistency.  Make certain that the mixture comes to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 3 minutes, while whisking.

Then, pour this hot mixture over the goat cheese, and whisk it all together.  Conversely, if you were using a firm cheese (cheddar, smoked Gouda, etc.), you would want to add the cheese to the pot while on the heat to melt the cheese well.

NOTE:  If you need to stop for a coffee, or text message break, this is your chance!  You will need to let the mixture cool a little before you continue.  When you come back, make sure the oven is ready with a rack in the lowest setting, make sure the water is simmering, and get ready to proceed.

Season the mixture with salt, pepper, nutmeg, (cayenne?!) or other appropriate garnish.  Remember to over-season slightly.  The last step is the incorporation of egg whites which will not be seasoned, and which will expand your base two fold.  For each future bite to be tasty, you must correct the seasoning now.

Once the mixture is only warm (not hot) whisk in the egg yolks all at once until well combined.  If you are worried that the mixture is still hot, but you want to get on with it, temper (by slowly whisking) some (up to half) of the hot mixture into the yolks, and and then whisk the egg-batter into the remaining dairy batter.

Start whipping the egg whites.  We’re going for a soft peak egg white.  There’s a little science here, and it’s worth thinking about.  If you over-whip the whites (stiff peak, or -gasp- dry) the souffle won’t rise as much as it could.

Temper in 1/3 of the egg whites into the dairy/cheese mixture.  (Then finish with the rest of the whites.)  Fold the whites in pretty gently.  The first step will lighten the batter so that you don’t have to work as hard to incorporate the remaining 2/3 of whites, and they will have a greater chance of retaining their captured air.

Ladle this fluffy mixture into your buttered/crumbed(cheesed?) dishes, leaving 1/4″-1/2″ room from the top.  Then, carefully pour the simmering water into the pan(s), covering the souffle dishes by 1/3 up to 1/2.  Pop these pans into the preheated oven on the lowest rack and bake.  The time will depend on the size of your baking dishes and other variables.  Check them after 15 minutes and then every 3-4 minutes.

Here’s how they should look when they are done.  Nice and golden, about double in height.  Whether you will eat them now or later, take a paring knife and carefully run it around the outside of the dish, to loosen the souffle.  If you want to eat these right away, go for it.  They are great right from the oven.  If you want to use them another day proceed with the following:

Remove from the oven, and let them sit for five minutes in the water bath.  Then, remove from the pans, and allow them to cool somewhat.  As soon as you can handle them (even with a kitchen towel), un-mold the souffles, and set them upright on a wire rack to cool further.  Once they are about room temperature, they can be refrigerated for future use (well wrapped, on in an airtight container).

To bake for “Twice Baked’ goodness:

  • Allow the little guys to come to room temperature (or give them a short zap in the microwave, you can pronounce it Meek-row-wave if you want it to sound fancy).
  • Brush (or pour) a little cream (or half and half, or just plain milk) on the top.
  • Place souffle on a piece of parchment or little square of aluminum foil, or a small oven safe dish.
  • Pop them into a 350-400 degree oven until the souffle has re-risen well, and has reached 140 degrees internal temperature (check with thermometer or by feeling the warmth of a knife blade inserted into the middle of the souffle)

Once the souffle has reached the right temperature, serve it with a little salad, or some fresh fruit, or whatever sounds good to you.

If you don’t have little ramekins, use an oven safe baking dish like this one.  When you un-mold the souffle, cut it into servings and proceed with storing and re-baking steps.

We ate this goat cheese number with a green apple salad and walnut vinaigrette.  This recipe makes quite a few souffles, depending on the size of your dishes, so feel free do reduce it by half.  Or just bake a whole bunch of them.  They don’t stay in the refrigerator for very long because they are just right for every meal of the day.  I hope you find this recipe to be a fun one.  I know that I really enjoy the process and the results.  The twice baked version has a light and fluffy interior along with a slightly crisp and caramelized top, which is a great combination in both the flavor and texture categories.  Have fun with this one, and let me know if I can help!

Bon Appetite!

-Scotty

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen, Cooking

January 18, 2010

Striped Bass with Beet Green Ravioli and Citrus Beurre Blanc

By swfoodworks

This post is a beast.  There’s a lot of information to chew on, but why not?  :)   That’s how much I love you.  We’ll look at three major components, and break them into digestible literary servings.  Part one; the ravioli.  And away we go!

Beet greens are sometimes discarded in the kitchen.  However, if you wash them well and pull the leaves apart from the stem, you’ve got a great braising green that’s flavorful, colorful, and free.

For the ravioli filling, I have a small dice of shallot, fennel, and garlic, along with some currants.  Sweat these aromatics in a little olive oil until they are tender, and then reserve them.

Cut up your clean beet greens, and saute them in the same pan, until they are pretty tender throughout.

Bring all of the first items together in a large bowl, and add the zest of a small lemon, a good dusting of nutmeg, and season with cayenne pepper and salt to taste.

Set the whole mess in a strainer or colander to allow the excess liquid to drain.

Set up a little station with the greens, a little egg wash (one egg whisked with a couple tablespoons of water), the fresh pasta sheets (2), and a couple of ring molds.

Portion out the filing, and brush around the filing with the egg wash.

Press around the filling with the first (smaller) ring mold, to ‘seal’ the egg wash, then cut out the ravioli with the larger ring.

Put a pot of salted water on to boil while your assembling the ravioli, and boil them once they are assembled.  Or, refrigerate (or freeze) for future use.

Here’s what the finished product may look like!  If you are going to serve them right away, go ahead.  If you will serve them once they have cooled and you need to reheat them, just drop them into some boiling water for 30-45 seconds, and you should be golden.

And now, the beurre blanc.  Beurre blanc, is simply a white wine and butter sauce. In this case, we’re replacing some of the white wine with citrus juice.  Here’s the standard ratio that I use for making 2 cups of sauce:

  • 2 cups white wine (here I replaced half the wine with equal parts orange and lemon juice)
  • 2 TBSP. white wine vinegar
  • 4 shallots (diced)
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 2 cups butter (cold, cut into thumb-sized chunks)

Put the diced shallots, wine, and vinegar into a pot, and reduce au sec.

Here’s a look at au sec.  It means ‘to dry’ or almost dry.  There’s a bad joke in the kitchen which goes; “Hey what comes after au sec?  Awww shit!”  Which is actually true.  If you reduce past the au sec point, ‘aww shit’ will be the first words out of your mouth.  Because you’ve almost certainly burnt the hell out of your sauce.

Add the cream, and reduce it by half.  This is going to help you keep the sauce from breaking.  Technically, if you add cream you’re making a beurre fondue, I think, but I won’t tell if you don’t.  After the cream is reduced, whisk in the butter pieces.  Here’s the only important point about the butter incorporation; you want to keep the sauce warm throughout.  That means you need to keep enough heat on the pot (but not tooo hot) to be able to incorporate the butter with out letting the sauce cool.  Make sense?  You want to keep everything in the pot hot to melt the butter, but not so hot that you break the sauce.

Once you’ve got all the butter incorporated, taste for seasoning.  Add any of the following: a squeeze of lemon, cayenne, salt.  Then strain the sauce.  In a restaurant, I would strain out into a thermos to keep the sauce warm.

At home, I strain out into a coffee mug that I’ve warmed up with hot water.  It will keep the sauce warm long enough for me to get the rest of the plate put together.

With thin skinned fish (like this bass from MA), I prefer to keep the skin on and sear the skin to keep it crisp and delicious looking.

Get the pan nice and hot, with a little vegetable oil.  Lay the fish in, skin-side down, and sear.  Season the flesh side of the fish as well.  At the point you see above, the fish is ready to be basted to finish.

Toss a couple tablespoons of butter into the pan with the fish.  Once it melts, start pouring the hot butter over the top of each fillet until the flesh is cooked (opaque).

Reserve the fish to a paper towel to rest while you put the rest of the plate together.

Quickly reheat the ravioli in some boiling water (with a little salt).

Dress the plates with the citrus butter sauce.  For presentations like this one, I like to put the sauce down first.  I think it looks cleaner, and when you eat the dish, you get some of the sauce in every forkful.

Remove the ravioli with a slotted spoon or spatula, and place them on the edge of the sauce.  Follow with the fish, and garnish.  Here I’ve used a little beet green and some tiny lettuces.

This is the kind of fish dish I could eat all the time.  I love the ravioli’s sweet/savory profile.  The sauce is light and rich all at once, and the fish is delicate and crisp.  There are so many textures and flavors all coming together, I love it.  I hope these pictures inspire you to give this dish a shot (or one like it!).  I’m sure you’ll find it satisfying and delicious.

Here’s to your best!-

-Scotty

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen, Cooking, Food Anthropology

January 11, 2010

Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup

By swfoodworks

I’ve just recently accepted a client who wants me to make one soup per week for him.  For the whole year.  This offering is a great start for our relationship.  It’s easy to make, it utilizes some items your might have kicking around anyway, and it only gets better as the week progresses.  When I was working as the Sous Chef for Ottimista in the Marina, I used to make this pretty often.  There are a few dishes based on the ‘cucina povera‘ or cooking of the poor that have been popularized over the last several years.  Old bread (or stale bread) is put to use in several of them.  Here’s what you’ll need to pull this off:

-Some bread (baguette, Tuscan loaf, or some other un-garnished bread), herbs, onion, garlic, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, some stock or broth.

The Basic Recipe (yields about 1 gallon)

  • 2 onions (small dice)
  • 1 head garlic (thin slices)
  • 1 small (6 oz) can tomato paste
  • 1 pound bread (small dices, toasted)
  • 1 tsp. crushed chili flakes
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 medium (28 oz) cans tomato puree
  • 4 (14oz) cans stock
  • 4-8 TBSP. Fresh Herbs (minced)
  • 2-4 TBSP. red wine vinegar
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by cutting the bread into little pieces.  Get an oven going at 350 and toss these guys in until they are slightly toasted and dry.  Set a timer for about 15-20 minutes and check them every few minutes if they aren’t quite done.

Meanwhile, cut up the onions -

And the garlic.  I like to use a little Japanese mandolin.  Mind the finger tips!

Sweat the onion, garlic, and chili flakes together with a little olive oil until the vegetables are soft and translucent.

Like this -

Now, add the can of tomato paste and cook it for a couple of minutes.  This will develop a little richer flavor.  Next, add the wine, and reduce the wine by at least half.  Then add the crushed tomatoes and half of the stock.

It might look something like this -

At this point add the toasted bread bits.

Add the herb (and bay).  I like to use leafy herbs in warmer months (basil, tarragon, parsley), and stemmy herbs (rosemary, thyme, even sage) in colder months.

Put a lid on it, and let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Check the consistency, and add the remaining stock if desired.  The bread will continue to soak up liquid during the cooking process, so depending on the type of bread you’ve chosen, and the consistency you prefer, you will find you need more stock (or not).

This is the thickness that I like.  It’s sort of reminds me of a chili soup.  Now you should make your tastes for seasoning.  Adjust with the red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper as needed to your liking.

I chose to garnish with some creme fraiche,  balsamic, and a little extra virgin olive oil.  Fresh herbs are also a welcome finish, as is grated cheese, or whatever your heart desires.

I hope you enjoy this soup.  It is hearty, and bright all at once, and you can take it in many directions.  52 weeks of soup are looming large on my horizon.  I’ll try and send the best ones your way.

Cheers, my dears-

-Scott

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen, Cooking

December 6, 2009

Thomas Keller’s Newest Book

By swfoodworks

Hey there -   If you read this blog even a little, you know I’m a fan of technique over recipes; ratios over complications.  If that sounds like something you might like to delve into, check out this new book.  The Ad Hoc at Home cook book has just recently been released, and it’s delicious.  Like all of Keller’s books, the photos are sexy, the writing is inspirational, and the mofo is heavy.  But this is a buttoned down T.K.  This is the backyard, crack a brewsky, slip into my yacht loafers T.K.  According to insiders, we can thank Chef Dave Cruz for this accessibility.  He spent months with out a day off in order to work on this book, and he put his heart and soul into it.  Bravo, Chef.

Here’s Chef Keller and me.  Chef Cruz is in the background right.

I had a copy signed for a friend, and the inscription reads “It’s all about family”.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Cooking

November 23, 2009

Cooking Vocabulary and Notes (Whipped Potatoes)

By swfoodworks

Our second chapter in the series that follows my last coaching session.  Mashed (or whipped) potatoes are filled with emotion.  It seems like every family gathering has someone who is ‘responsible’ for the potatoes.  And that person, having assumed the ‘responsibility’, becomes very serious about the business of potatoes.  Zealous even.  The method, recipe, specific ingredients, equipment?, and timing become a rigid and sacred heirloom, greeted at the table with raised eyebrows and verbal cues of admiration.

So I get it.  People really like mashed potatoes; really, really.  And they have a proud place alongside our other sacred foods (pies, roasts, gravy, cookies).  And I love this.  I love that people can get worked into a froth over a vegetable dish.  That’s the power of food in action.

All I intend to lay out in this article are the bare-bones of this dish.  When you cook at home, employ as many variations and tweaks as you see fit.  Here’s the basic out line for the potatoes my client and I made.

Whipped Potatoes -

  • Wash the potatoes well (we used one large Russet)
  • Cut into uniform pieces
  • Put in a pot with just enough room to hold the potatoes covered by less than an inch with cold, salted water.
  • Bring the pot to a simmer
  • Bay / Thyme / Garlic / Peppercorns are all welcome
  • Cook until a paring knife easily enters the flesh
  • Drain, saving only the potatoes
  • Return the potatoes to the pot and cook them over a medium high heat for a couple of minutes
  • Add the dairy (milk, butter, cream, sour cream, you name it) by whisking it into the potatoes (we used about 2 oz. of butter and a cup of milk)
  • Add the seasoning (salt, pepper, cayenne, wasabi, olives, chopped basil, etc.) by whisking it in
  • Correct the seasoning to your taste and keep warm or serve right away

And now the fun begins, endless variations, and some technical thoughts.

First, if you don’t want or like the skins, peel and proceed.

Some people simmer the potatoes whole, some like smaller pieces.  No big whoop.  The only point to remember is that if the pieces are smaller, the cooking time will be shorter, and therefore the cooking water should have more salt in it.

Choose a pot that will hold the potatoes and water (or stock), but it doesn’t need to have much more volume than that.  If you are cooking four potatoes in three gallons of liquid, here are the things you are doing:  wasting time, energy, and potato flavor.  It will take a lot longer for the water to come to a boil, and the essence of the potato will be diluted instead of kept close.  Just a thought.

Always taste the water before you start cooking.  If it’s over-seasoned, there’s no coming back or saving thirty minutes worth of cooked potatoes.

I like to add bay, fresh thyme, and garlic to my cooking potatoes, if I have them around.

Cook until you can put your paring knife into the potato without resistance.  Get those guys out of the water, and put them back into the same pot (minus any not-potato bits).  At this point you could put a lid on them while you are heating up your dairy, or just continue full speed ahead.  If you are making gobs and gobs of potatoes, I recommend heating the dairy up first to avoid a gummy mess.  If you are only cooking three or four potatoes, dive in.

Cook the potatoes in the dry pot, and you’ll get rid of some unneeded moisture, making room for the absorption of more dairy goodness.

For making mashed potatoes, go ahead and use your potato masher.  They will have lumps, and the lump lovers will rejoice.  If you prefer a smoother, lighter consistency, invest in a sturdy wire whisk.  Whisking produces a more homogeneous, emulsified end result, and I dig it.

The final step could be the addition of flavor enhancing garnishes.  For instance, my client and I made Wasabi Whipped Potatoes.  As a final touch we made a slurry (a mixture of powder and liquid, resembling heavy cream) of wasabi powder (a quarter cup total) and whisked that into the potatoes.  It added a pleasant lingering peppery note.

Don’t forget to season.  Potatoes love salt and pepper, and they can be really one dimensional in their absence.

As Harold McGee points out in On Food and Cooking:

Waxy potatoes require more mashing to obtain a smooth texture, exude more gelated starch, and don’t absorb enrichment as easily.  The classic French pommes purees, pureed potatoes, are made from waxy potatoes, pieces of which are pushed through a fine sieve or food mill and then worked hard – to the point of having what an eminent French cookbook writer, Mme Ste-Ange, called a “dead arm” – first alone and then with butter, to incorporate air and obtain the lightness of whipped cream.  American recipes take a more gentle approach, sieving mealy varieties and carefully stirring in liquid and fat to avoid excessive cell damage, starch release, and glueyness.

I try to avoid ‘dead arm’ at every step, so I’m on board with using mealy potatoes (the Russet, Long White, and Yukon families).  I hope that there are some take home point in here.  A well-made bowl of potatoes is a delicious gift.  Cherish the next one you enjoy.

Never Stop Thinking / Learning -

-Scott

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