The talented women chefs who were practicing in Lyon, France at the end of the nineteenth century were affectionately called meres, mothers.Their reputations rested on their mastery of cuisine bourgeois, home cooking raised to a higher level by the application of passion and perfectionism. Curnonsky wrote, "without resorting to artifice, this cuisine attains that peak of artistry: simplicity." They did not cook to impress. Their demeanor did not allow for thrills. It was and is the joy that they lavished on their food, the comforting, motherly warmth of their simple honest cuisine that made them loved.
They understand the intuitive and organic nature of cooking. Their hands revel a mastery of knowledge rooted in years of kitchen toil. They learned, as I did, the basics of cooking from their mothers, you in turn learned from their mothers, and they learned from theirs and so on. It is the meres that paved the way for some of today's greatest chefs. They treat their ingredients with respect and possess a fundamental understanding of how to harmonize flavors. Fresh ingredients, careful mixing of flavors, simple methods of preparation, and slow cooking over properly controlled heat are all patiently combined through a love of food. After all, cooking is about charm, seduction, sharing, and above all, loving those for whom you prepare the feast.
Market inspired menu of the meres:
Pate de campagne with pistachio(meat)
Pate de Grandmere with prune(meat)
Chicken liver mousse with red wine gelee(meat)
Citrus gravlax(meat, gluten free)
Escarole, ham, and vegetable soup(meat, gluten free)
Duck confit(meat)
Roasted baby gold and candy-stripe beets(vegetarian, vegan, gluten free)
Beet, local goat cheese, and walnut salad(vegetarian, gluten free)
Sauteed escarole with pine nuts, garlic, chilies, and sultanas(vegetarian, vegan, gluten free)
Red wine onion marmalade(vegetarian, vegan, gluten free)
Roasted whole onions stuffed with vegetable couscous(vegetarian, vegan)
French walnut tart(vegetarian)
Be inspired by the market and taste local flavor!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Creating a Dish
Bleary eyed, I stroll into the cold dark kitchen. The quiet unnerves me. The only sound is the low hiss of the refrigerator compressor. Memories still lurk in my mind about table 6 and their charred, hard as charcoal steak that was returned because it was "not well done enough!!" First order of business, turn on the coffee machine. While the black liquid "gold" brews, I light the pilots on the stove and ovens and turn on the menacing ventilation hood. The sound deafening at first like a jet engine. Then, it settles into a constant throbbing hum. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee waffes across the kitchen signaling that it is time for the morning jump start. Cup of coffee in hand, where to start?
A great meal starts in the market. Every chef learns this before he dices a single onion or carrot. Every day what looks good or appeals to the senses varies. Was there a frost in Purcellville, did it rain in Leesburg, are they in a dry spell in southern Pennsylvania? The fate of natural products hangs on nature's whim. Alain Ducasse, one the world's greatest chefs, mantra of what defines good cuisine is "60% ingredients, 40% technique." It is true. Without great products, we cannot have great recipes, without great recipes, we cannot have a great menu. Thus, a menu starts with great ingredients.
Ideas are born at the markets. Ingredients speak for themselves in some nonverbal language. Marketgoers and chefs alike pick, prod, smell, squeeze, taste before they buy. A rolodex of taste memories helps us choose what is best. Green beans don't look so "hot" today, how's the asparagus? Beef tenderloin looking a little small today, but look at that leg of lamb! Change as you will, let the market inspire you!
Menu for the Week:
American red snapper in green curry broth (meat)
Escarole, ham and potato soup (meat)
Citrus cured Atlantic salmon (meat)
Caramelized onion marmalade (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)
Limited quantities:
Medjool date and blue cheese tart (vegetarian)
Creamed savoy cabbage with smoked salmon (meat)
Braised red cabbage with apples and honey (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)
Hearts of escarole with blue cheese and walnuts (vegetarian, gluten-free)
Grilled radicchio with aged red wine vinegar and pine nuts (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)
A great meal starts in the market. Every chef learns this before he dices a single onion or carrot. Every day what looks good or appeals to the senses varies. Was there a frost in Purcellville, did it rain in Leesburg, are they in a dry spell in southern Pennsylvania? The fate of natural products hangs on nature's whim. Alain Ducasse, one the world's greatest chefs, mantra of what defines good cuisine is "60% ingredients, 40% technique." It is true. Without great products, we cannot have great recipes, without great recipes, we cannot have a great menu. Thus, a menu starts with great ingredients.
Ideas are born at the markets. Ingredients speak for themselves in some nonverbal language. Marketgoers and chefs alike pick, prod, smell, squeeze, taste before they buy. A rolodex of taste memories helps us choose what is best. Green beans don't look so "hot" today, how's the asparagus? Beef tenderloin looking a little small today, but look at that leg of lamb! Change as you will, let the market inspire you!
Menu for the Week:
American red snapper in green curry broth (meat)
Escarole, ham and potato soup (meat)
Citrus cured Atlantic salmon (meat)
Caramelized onion marmalade (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)
Limited quantities:
Medjool date and blue cheese tart (vegetarian)
Creamed savoy cabbage with smoked salmon (meat)
Braised red cabbage with apples and honey (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)
Hearts of escarole with blue cheese and walnuts (vegetarian, gluten-free)
Grilled radicchio with aged red wine vinegar and pine nuts (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Winter Kitchen: Cabbage
I know that this is an odd subject to talk about, but I was reminded the other day when a vendor at the market opened a new tub of sauerkraut how awfully(good) it smelled. My first thought was of the classic dish, choucroute. Braised pork belly, sausages, onions, garlic, ham hocks and a nice German beer to wash it down.
Cabbage whether you like it or not is one of the stables of a winter kitchen. This vegetable, which boasts a long culinary history, displays its green or red maturity in autumn and winter. When the weather is ruthlessly cold outside, it makes for a comforting vegetable from the kitchen garden.
The Celts of central and western Europe had much to do with the distribution and popularization of cabbage as a food plant. Although the evidence points to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor as the place of origin of the species, Celtic knowledge of it was so ancient as to have influenced the Latin name, Brassica (from the Celtic word bresic, meaning "cabbage"). Another way the Irish saved civilization!! The Greeks and Romans ate cabbage to stave off the effects of too much alcohol. Cabbage was introduced to America in 1541-42 by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada on his third voyage. Because of its popularity among Europeans, it was doubtless planted in what is now the United States by some of the earliest colonists, although there is no written record of it until 1669. In the 18th century it was being grown by American Indians as well as by the colonists.
Cabbage is used the world round. Kimchi in Korea, saurkraut in Northern Europe, coleslaw in America just to name a few. Its uses and cooking methods are numerous. Eat it raw, pickled, braised, in soups, stews, stuff it(Grammie Annie's stuffed cabbage and Mom's sauerkraut onion pierogis!!!!!)
Long live the family Brassica!
Menu for this week:
Creamed savoy cabbage with smoked salmon
Braised red cabbage with apples and honey
Hearts of escarole with blue cheese and walnuts
Grilled radicchio with aged red wine vinegar and pine nuts
Other options as well
Arugula salsa verde
Vegetable couscous
Be inspired by the market!
Cabbage whether you like it or not is one of the stables of a winter kitchen. This vegetable, which boasts a long culinary history, displays its green or red maturity in autumn and winter. When the weather is ruthlessly cold outside, it makes for a comforting vegetable from the kitchen garden.
The Celts of central and western Europe had much to do with the distribution and popularization of cabbage as a food plant. Although the evidence points to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor as the place of origin of the species, Celtic knowledge of it was so ancient as to have influenced the Latin name, Brassica (from the Celtic word bresic, meaning "cabbage"). Another way the Irish saved civilization!! The Greeks and Romans ate cabbage to stave off the effects of too much alcohol. Cabbage was introduced to America in 1541-42 by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada on his third voyage. Because of its popularity among Europeans, it was doubtless planted in what is now the United States by some of the earliest colonists, although there is no written record of it until 1669. In the 18th century it was being grown by American Indians as well as by the colonists.
Cabbage is used the world round. Kimchi in Korea, saurkraut in Northern Europe, coleslaw in America just to name a few. Its uses and cooking methods are numerous. Eat it raw, pickled, braised, in soups, stews, stuff it(Grammie Annie's stuffed cabbage and Mom's sauerkraut onion pierogis!!!!!)
Long live the family Brassica!
Menu for this week:
Creamed savoy cabbage with smoked salmon
Braised red cabbage with apples and honey
Hearts of escarole with blue cheese and walnuts
Grilled radicchio with aged red wine vinegar and pine nuts
Other options as well
Arugula salsa verde
Vegetable couscous
Be inspired by the market!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Chocolate
The magically rich and bewildering flavor of chocolate inspires pleasure and fascination. The Aztec Indians considered it the beverage of the gods. A beautiful and frothy Mexican hot chocolate in Oaxaca even in the throws of a heat wave delivers happy goodness.
Chocolate is derived from the beans of the cacao tree. Today, they are classified like the wine crus of France. Tasted for its potency, flavor, and varying floral and bouquet notes, each region whether from Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, The Ivory Coast, or Madagascar has a distinctive profile.
Single estate chocolate derives itself from a single estate growing cacao beans. Like grapes, each estate has "terroir." The beans are flavored by the ground around them. Thus, chocolate like wine has appelations d'origine controlees. The best way to taste this "terroir" is through its bitterness. The chocolate is not sweetened by sugar and milk used by Belgium and Swiss chocolatiers.
Since wine and chocolate have such similar characteristics the combination has magical effects. The problem? Wine has water content and that greatly effects chocolate. (powdered chocolate for hot chocolate doesn't count!!) How we solve the problem is by reducing the wine to a glaze, thus eliminating most of the water content. This concentrates the flavor of the wine and helps to bring out its flavor. When added to ganache, chocolate melted with cream, we are able to combine the two and bring together two beautiful and complimentary flavors.
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Menu for this week:
Single estate Venezuelan chocolate and a reduction of local red wine(limited supplies)box of 6
Braised salsify with garlic and gremolata
Braised endive with fennel seed and walnuts
Potato-leek-Stilton soup
Chicken noodle vegetable soup
French onion soup(limited supplies)
Goat cheese stuffed gourgeres
Winter quinoa tabbouleh
Arugula, mint, olive, orange and aged ricotta salad
See you at the market!!
Chocolate is derived from the beans of the cacao tree. Today, they are classified like the wine crus of France. Tasted for its potency, flavor, and varying floral and bouquet notes, each region whether from Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, The Ivory Coast, or Madagascar has a distinctive profile.
Single estate chocolate derives itself from a single estate growing cacao beans. Like grapes, each estate has "terroir." The beans are flavored by the ground around them. Thus, chocolate like wine has appelations d'origine controlees. The best way to taste this "terroir" is through its bitterness. The chocolate is not sweetened by sugar and milk used by Belgium and Swiss chocolatiers.
Since wine and chocolate have such similar characteristics the combination has magical effects. The problem? Wine has water content and that greatly effects chocolate. (powdered chocolate for hot chocolate doesn't count!!) How we solve the problem is by reducing the wine to a glaze, thus eliminating most of the water content. This concentrates the flavor of the wine and helps to bring out its flavor. When added to ganache, chocolate melted with cream, we are able to combine the two and bring together two beautiful and complimentary flavors.
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Menu for this week:
Single estate Venezuelan chocolate and a reduction of local red wine(limited supplies)box of 6
Braised salsify with garlic and gremolata
Braised endive with fennel seed and walnuts
Potato-leek-Stilton soup
Chicken noodle vegetable soup
French onion soup(limited supplies)
Goat cheese stuffed gourgeres
Winter quinoa tabbouleh
Arugula, mint, olive, orange and aged ricotta salad
See you at the market!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)