It looks like Top Chef is officially an American cultural phenomenon, as the show was parodied on SNL for the first time this weekend, complete with a dead-on Padma Lakshmi impression and a cameo from Christopher “More Cowbell” Walken.
And because nothing is more American than watching both your television and computer screens at the same time, check back into ES tonight for Live Blogging Top Chef, with this week’s host, Liza.
One of my biggest challenges when cooking is being creative in the kitchen. When it comes to following a recipe I’ve got it down; I can pretty much replicate someone else’s dish to the smallest detail. However, when it comes to creating a dish with the random ingredients in my kitchen, I’m at a loss. Due to my lack of creative juices I try to put my own spin on the things I cook, I’ll copy a recipe but make a few changes. I figured this a great way of teaching myself how to be a better cook so hopefully one day I wont be following the leader.
A few weeks back I was in New York and decided to pay a visit to Top Chef alum, Dave Martin’s Crave on 42nd. It’s not a bad restaurant if you like your food sweet! Everything was coated in either sugar or cinnamon; the sugar high upon leaving was unbelievable. But Dave’s signature black truffle mac n’ cheese was amazing and I knew I had to recreate this.
On the bus ride back I was perusing Food & Wine magazine and came across this white chocolate coated grapes with an orange curd from Citronelle DC’s, Michel Richard. I knew I had a meal in the making.
Luckily, I had just been asked to cater my boss’ baby shower — a perfect opportunity to experiment with these two new recipes. Although I couldn’t stick my boss with the bill for the pricey black truffles, I did manage to find a worthy substitute.
The recipes and pictures after the jump.
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In last week’s Who Cooked It Better?, Giada De Laurentiis put some serious smackdown on Rachael Ray. With more than 340 of you weighing in, Giada’s prosciutto-wrapped scallops are preferred to Rachael Ray’s by a whopping 86% to 14% margin.
Speaking of RayRay, she may be on the market for a new nemesis, because her frequent sparing partner, Mr. Anthony Bourdain, has a powerful new enemy.
You may remember that Bourdain earned the ire of the vegetarian/vegan community with this quote:
“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food.”
Well the folks over at the new Hezbollah Tofu blog are putting their money where their morals are. They’re cooking their way through Bourdain’s classic Les Halles Cookbook, in an attempt to prove that his fatty, meat-y, extra cheesy recipes can be just as tasty sans the animal products. Hezbollah Tofu’s first challenge is one of the Les Halles mainstays: French onion soup.
Bourdain’s version, on the left, starts with a meat-heavy broth that calls for both chicken stock and bacon. Complicating life for the vegans is a whopping six ounces of butter. This delectable mess is topped with crispy baguette croutons and grated Gruyere cheese. (Real, imported, Gruyere, obv.) If that’s not enough food snobbery for you, the recipe calls for a Bouquet Garni (that’s chef-speak for parsley, thyme and bay leaf). Complete recipe here.
It obviously won’t be easy for Hezbollah Tofu to top Tony B’s gooey bowl of goodness, but she gets downright creative on Bourdain’s ass, losing the bacon and subbing in black trumpet mushrooms blanched in a sherry/vegetable stock mixture. And this is no bland, tofu-based fake cheese – tahini, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and more go into this delicate un-cheese. In a final attempt to out-fancy Bourdian, the vegan FOS is topped with toasted almonds. Complete recipe here.
So, dear readers…
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Photos: Chowhound, Hezbollah Tofu.
You’ve probably noticed that I’m lazy and never go to the grocery store so most of my dinners are pantry items, which is why our Edible Pantries page is so important in figuring out how to be a spontaneous cook. And if you do a quick search for “feta” you will notice the redic amount of recipes that contain this wonder cheese. And you know what, Tim, I’m not going to finish “redic.” I think it serves its purpose as an abbreviated word. (Background – one time Tim and I met for lunch and I said “redic” and then he said “ulous” and I laughed really hard and then got pisted.)
Regardless, through this pantry dinner night, I found a new way to work with feta – melted in a pasta sauce. Oh, and you’ll probably think that I’m a liar when I start naming all of these fresh veggies and herbs that I used in this recipe after I declared my non-store going ways, but actually, all of these fresh goodies were presented to me by Dad Gansie. He’s great. When 80 and I were driving back from NYC a few weeks back it only made sense to stop by Cherry Hill on the way to DC. And as Dad Gansies go, he used his Sunday to stop by the food store (Produce Junction, I think it’s called) and whatever he bought himself, he bought me one too.
So with all of this fresh food, plus the shit from the pantry, I present to you:
Feta and Parsley Sauce with Whole Wheat Angel Hair
Sautee mushrooms in butter and extra virgin over low heat, until done to your likeness. Set aside and keep warm (I do this by putting it in a covered tupperwear container.) With the same pan, add more extra virgin and on high heat add asparagus spears that have been cut into fourths. After the spears have been tossed around a bit, place a lid on and “steam” them for a few minutes until bright green. Set aside with mushrooms.
Okay, and if you can multi-task in the kitchen, which believe me, takes YEARS to figure out, do this while the veggies are cooking: In a blender, puree a handful of parsley, 2 garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, juice from half a lemon, 3 plastic containers of half and half, salt,pepper and stream in extra virgin. But, before the blending occurs, mash feta with just a touch of extra virgin so it’s a bit softer, then add to the blender. The texture of the sauce will be a bit thick, but wait – it’ll be okay. Trust me.
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Maybe because 80P is always telling me to keep my voice down, I never notice how loud or quiet a restaurant is – I just scream regardless. But apparently I might be the only person that feels this way. According to a 5-part investigative report by Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema, noise is the number one complaint about eating out.
He explained the severity through this over-the-top story:
Brown, a 35-year-old senior finance manager at a Washington nonprofit, planned to propose to Rebecca Oser at Central Michel Richard downtown just before Valentine’s Day. Fueled by a few drinks, Brown says, he pulled out a gift-wrapped box containing a sapphire ring from his jacket pocket before the dessert course. It should have been a memorable moment. Instead, Brown found himself competing for Oser’s attention with a bustling open kitchen, CNN anchors on overhead TVs and a conversation at the next table that got louder when another person walked over to say hello.
Despite the distractions, Brown popped the question: Rebecca, will you marry me? He’s not sure if he actually heard the reply, but he got the response he was looking for. Oser, a 29-year-old project director, slipped on the ring and came around the table to sit beside him.
First off, public engagements should be outlawed. You’d think that for this most special of all nights people would want to be in private. I know I don’t want to see a blubbering bride-to-be flashing a diamond around to people she doesn’t know. Get a room! (The best engagement story I’ve heard so far is from my friend, Jules – she was in her sweatpants when Gary proposed! And, she’s letting the bridesmaids sport these gorgeous, absolutely re-wearable dresses! Love you, Jules!)
Anyway, I’d absolutely rather enjoy food in a loud restaurant (my fav place, Bistrot du Coin, was rated the nosiest place in the city!) than in a setting where I have to whisper for fear of everyone hearing my conversation.
When 80 took me to Vidalia for my birthday, we actually both hunched over the table (well, maybe I was hunching because I was hungover) so 80 could whisper to me the details of the previous night’s Happy Hour without completely appalling the neighboring table.
But here, take a look at Tom’s articles and let me know your thoughts on restaurant noise.
We don’t get much baking done here at Endless Simmer. It’s not that we don’t have a collective sweet tooth (we sure do), it’s just that with all the measuring and timing and instruction-following, baking doesn’t quite fit into the creativity-fueled anarchy that guides our cooking world view. It takes so much discipline, attention, and, I don’t know, skill. Not for me.
Fortunately, Alex is much more of a patient, science-y type, which balances out well. She broke out the baking soda and measuring cups this weekend to throw together this chocolate cake while I made chiles rellenos.
Kind of a brownie kicked up a few notches, the cake isn’t as chocolate-y as it looks, with just a little cocoa powder going a long way, and the surprising addition of oatmeal keeping it rich and moist. Hmm…I’d tell you more about it, but again, don’t really know about baking. Regardless, it’s delicious and not too complicated.
The recipe, from Alex’s pal Eliza, and another vanity shot, after the j.
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