Old Old Books

Recently I have found more and more ways to love my city. With fun restaurants and bars always opening, there are plenty of options for the foodie to explore. My co-workers and I recently had an amazing opportunity to expand our epicurean knowledge in a different way. As a lover of text and a passionate cookbook collector, I was thrilled when we went behind the scenes at the Library of Congress to check out the collection of rare/antique Gastronomy books.

Among the highlights was an 1678 book on English cookery by Robert May, a 16th century Japanese book on cutting fish, and the first published American cookbook. All of which seem even cooler once we realized they are our (the American people’s) books, and can be browsed and handled with needing only a library card.

One can easily see the trend of citing historical meals and dishes in contemporary fine dinning. With Grant Achatz opening NEXT this week, and chefs like Heston Blumenthal replicating lavish British feasts, one must look not only to the future for inspiration, but into the past as well.

Palena Beef Feast.

All right, All right, two things right off the bat… First one, yeah… I’ve been busy, but FPL lives on and soon we will return it to its former glory and beyond. Second, there need be no puntastic title for this post… Sometimes in feasts, in titles, and in life, all you need is the essence of thing, simple, focused, perfect.

Beef feast… who does that??..? In a time when pork holds the (unenviable) crown as king of the oft eaten animals, it takes real guts to put an ode to the humble bovine on your menu. Having had the opportunity to sample many the beef dish at Palena (full disclosure… former employee), I knew as soon as I heard the beef feast existed that I would have to go experience it for myself. A six course, family style meal to be enjoyed with no less than six people. Well FPL readers that time has finally come… and gone. Since I was not able to make the meal last forever I will now have to make do with documenting it on FPL for posterity.

Beef Feast 2011

Where to start… well obviously with a crudo…

Would that I had taken a picture before we dug in... Or for that matter if only wordpress would allow me to rotate this picture 90 degrees clockwise...

This dish was tiny pieces of hand cut tenderloin laid out with Parmesan reggiano, arugula, and olive oil. To be fair, those not accustomed to this sort of dish weren’t won over by it however for those who were, it was a great start, a subtle and primal dish which eased us in to the meal to come.

If only my fish tank were this clear...

Next came the beef consomme…

Oxtail consomme with (among other things) turnip ravioli. When this dish came out I heard a lot of, “turnip ravioli?”, but five minutes later not a bowl among the ten of us had anything left inside. Soup like this is very hard to explain outside of saying, super good(although I’ll try). It’s meaty and sweet from vegetables, its light but very flavorful, it’s accompaniments ensure that no two bites are the same and you are guaranteed to wish you had a bigger spoon. If you’ve never had consomme at Palena…

After soup? Well heart and tongue of course…

Served family style, plated for easier FPL photography...

As opposed to the crudo which as I said did not completely win over the less adventurous eaters in the party… this dish, which was definitely the one they were the most nervous about, converted them for life!!! The braised tounge and grilled heart were fantastic, however the accompaniments on this dish should not be overlooked. The peppery marinated watermelon radish, the rich and bitter punterella lettuce tossed in Ceaser dressing, the sweet caramelized onions, and the herbaceous green sauce took this dish waaay over the top (tied with the steak dish for my favorite).

Next up oxtail vachinara…

Toasted spaghetti...

Chef Boyardee can suck it!!!

Coda alla Vachinara, the roman oxtail stew with tomato, pinenuts and raisins, has long been one of my Palena favorites. Here it’s  served on the bone and its every bit as delicious as I remembered. Flavored with a bit of cinnamon, this dish fulfills every meat lovers wildest dreams, super meaty (beefaroni be damned, this is the beefiest), slightly sweet, bright complex flavors, served with toasty spaghetti… Killer dish!

Hopefully at this point you won’t have stuffed yourself so full that you’re not sure how you can keep eating because it ain’t over yet…

Holy cow!!! (HAHAHAHA I am not funny)

Entree… As if any of the last three courses couldn’t have stood up as entrees… What would a beef feast be with out a piece of steak but oh lord what piece of steak. This house cured piece of ribeye blew me away. I can’t for the life of me figure out how it can possibly be cost efficient to serve a piece of beef this good. This meal truly has to be the best value in town ($65!!!). The beef was served simply in true Ruta fashion with just some simple marinated beans, some lemony greens, and a horseradish cream, (it was a dream, you know what I mean, the beef wasn’t lean…). I am running out of superlatives, but that sh*t was amazing!!!

No. More. Meat… No problem. Time to take advantage of another little bovine byproduct… Milk. Take the milk, add a little of this, pinch of that, shake it up and what do you get? Cow cheese (ridiculous mischaracterization of the cheese making process)!!! Sadly at this point after several cocktails and glasses of wine, I forgot to record the name of the cheese or take a picture but rest assured I will find out the name and edit it in here later.

Last course…

Take the milk, add a dash of this, a palm full of that, freeze it up eh viola… Buttermilk icecream (even more egregious misrepresentation of how to make icecream).

Last but not least...

In what was a great, reasonably light finish to our symphony of cow, we had buttermilk ice cream, poached blood orange and some simple sugar cookies.  Soooo. Fuuullllll.

 

 

Well FPL readers, if you haven’t already decided to go get this for yourself then you are either vegetarian, or have some screws loose. If you can’t find enough people, call me up… I’ll go again.

-Cow loving beef eater

Monkfish liver torchon

Who doesn’t love a cold snack of Monkfish liver? Well, as much I try to convince myself to like this stuff, its tough. That didn’t stop me from trying to prepare it correctly though. Also named Ankimo in Japanese, Monkfish liver is rich and has a robust flavor of the ocean. The texture is amazing, once cooked, it resembles Foie Gras. I prepared my Torchon as I would with Foie Gras. The liver was soaked in several changes of ice water to remove blood and any impurities on the outside of the liver. I then de-veined it by gently cutting out  the main artery that runs along the outside. I cured the liver for 24 hours with 1.5% salt and .35% pink salt, and a light seasoning of paprika, white pepper and honey. After curing, the liver was rolled tightly into a log and vacuum sealed in a plastic bag. I cooked the liver for 3 hours at 147 degrees according to the recipe in ‘Under Pressure’, the “sous vide” book by Thomas Keller.

Once cooled, the Torchon was firm and easy to slice. The texture was creamy and dense, with a rich flavor, offset by a mild spice and sweetness from the cure. Overall I was very happy, the seasoning ratios seemed spot on, and the cooking was consistent all the way through. Still, it is what it is, a very assertive flavor that is not for everyone, the trick is to incorporate garnishes which would both complement the flavor and round out any of the ‘Fishy’ notes.

Good Pork

The cooking argument, product vs. technique, is something I always find interesting. The food industry is in a great spot right now because we have access to more and more local products that are far superior to the mass produced ones. At the same time there are new cooking techniques out there that no one would have dreamed about 20 years ago. While many home cooks and chefs will argue that buying high quality, locally sourced ingredients is a must, I respectfully disagree. With great technique, anyone can turn mediocre ingredients into something great.

While cruising the Best Way for taco fixins, I noticed a nice chunk of pork loin on sale for $2.10 a pound!!! I know what your thinking, choosing the discount meat at a Latino supermarket may not be the best idea, but I have had nothing but great success with their pork. So for $2.80 I went home with a 1.5 pound chunk of pig loin.

I seasoned the loin with 1.5% salt, and a spice mix of cumin, bay, and fennel. I quickly seared the fat side of the meat and then cooled the meat back down again in the freezer. I cryo-vacd the meat with some butter and thyme and cooked it ‘sous-vide’ for 1 hour at 147 degrees, then cooled it in an ice bath. The next day I quickly seared the meat again and warmed through in a low oven. The result was amazing; by cooking the meat slowly at a low, consistent temperature, the texture was uniform and juicy.

In the end I was able to take a cheap piece of mass produced pork, and turn in to something really amazing by using great technique. I am not advocating for the end of local farming, but I think we need to challenge ourselves to improve the way we cook, not just the product we cook.

Sausage Fest

Torn between a ‘cold cut’ and a emulsified sausage, my indecision turned sublime. I wanted to focus on technique with this batch, my goal was to create a smooth texture without using a food processor. I settled on a mix of chicken high and pork shoulder to make up the grind of the sausage. After cleaning the meat of sinew and excess fat, I ground it three times though the smallest die. The ground mix was chilled, then whipped in the Kitchen Aid mixer using the paddle attachment. By mixing the proteins at high speed, it created a smooth texture, and by adding a little cream to the mix, it became more rounded. I used half of the amount of the ground mix weight for my garnish: diced lean chicken, walnuts, and some fat back and salami.

Always looking for an excuses to use my immersion circulator, I cooked the sausage at 147 degrees for 1 hour. The result was a juicy product that was cooked ‘medium’ all the way through. A great batch all around. By looking for different ways to achieve a desired texture, I was able to create something that had a unique feel and expand my repertoire.

Late Night BBQ

As you can clearly see from this ‘great’ photo, I had a kick ass BBQ sandwich on Saturday night. The location: The American Ice Company. The what, you ask? The recently opened bar on V and 9th street, around the corner from 930 club. Having only been open since mid December, the place was packed. My advice, go now because like it’s sister Marvin, on U street, AIC is gonna be the ‘it’ bar this spring/summer. With a great selection of draft and can beers, patio seating, and the rough around the edges look, you can expect the bike rack outside to be filled with fixed gears around the clock. Half Marvin, half Red Derby, the vibe is awesome and has some tasty BBQ to match.

After a few $4 PBR tall boys, I was all but forced to order one of the “All Nighter” sandwiches. The sandwich of plain white bun, pulled pork, and melted cheese hit the spot. The flavor of the meat came through, while striking the right balance of juicy/saucy/melty, the classic J/S/M trifecta. I’m sold, see you soon American Ice Company.

Dish of the week: Warm headcheese salad

Headcheese? Testa? Formage de Tete? What does that even mean?  First of all it’s not cheese. Deceiving yes, but also delicious. Headcheese refers to the technique of slow cooking a head of pork, picking off the meat, and finally packing the meat into a terrine mold. The end product resembles a meatloaf, specked with the various parts of the pigs face…oh yeah.

This past weekend LD and I had a interesting, and tasty version of this classic at 2Amys in D.C. Instead of being packed into ‘loaf form’, the meat was served chopped up as a warm salad enhanced with a zippy dressing of lemon and chili. Little matchsticks of purple carrot, and plucked celery leafs gave the dish a nice crunch. As a huge fan of pork, I loved the way the deep, rich flavor of the slow cooked meat, contrasted with the bright flavors of the garden.