Wednesday, August 30, 2006

cod cheeks test kitchen: roast chicken

this is the first dispatch from the cod cheeks test kitchen on brannan st. in san francisco (not to be confused with the numurous other test kitchens we have spanning the globe), and we decided to go with a simple dish that actually has a lot of opinions on how to make it, roast chicken. asking a chef how to roast a chicken is like asking a high school kid to point to china on a map - you're going to get a lot of different answers. we've tried quite a few - buttering the chicken before roasting it, rubbing it down with various spices, putting a lemon and an onion in the cavity, and many, many more. this time it was back to basics, and the results were one of the best chickens we've ever had.


the cod cheeks test kitchen, while it holds thomas keller up as mini-god (ask us about how we missed the chance to have dinner at his house - make sure to bring the kleenex), didn't have any of his 'official' cook books, a situation that was remedied last week when we received 'bouchon' as a 1st wedding anniversary present. we must say it is a beautiful book with some great recipes, incredible detail, and fantastic photography. the very first recipe, before anything else, is simple roast chicken.

the best part of the recipe is the simplicity.

1) wash the chicken, pat it dry (make sure it is completely dry) - turn oven on to 450 degrees

2) sprinkle kosher salt and pepper in the cavity

3) truss the chicken (here is a good diagram of how to truss a chicken), which makes it easier to handle and cook more evenly.

4) sprinkle another two tablespoons or so of salt on the chicken as well as some ground pepper.

5) put in a large saucepan or roasting pan and put in the oven for 50-60 minutes depending on the size of the bird (i had 4 1/2 pounder and took the full 60 minutes).

6) remove from the over and put on the stovetop, add about 2-3 teaspoons of minced fresh thyme to the juices, then baste the chicken.

7) remove from the pan and let sit on a cutting board for 15 minutes.

8) cut chicken down the middle breast into two pieces, slather some unsalted butter on the meat and serve with dijon on the side.

that was it, and it produced a very juicy flavorful chicken with a beautiful brown skin. we did cheat a little bit though - we did steps 1 through 4 a day ahead of time, and then refrigerated. this is a little trick we picked up from a friend of ours who told us it is the secret to the famous roast chicken at zuni cafe here in san francisco. in general, she told us if you can plan it out, buy any meat two days ahead of time, salt it, and then refrigerate. after doing this a few times, we can tell you it is spot on. we were initially put off with the idea of not buttering the chicken before roasting it, thinking that was the secret to the beautiful brown color, but keller's recipe assured us that the salt would do the trick (and the butter creates steam, which takes away from the crispness) and he was right - how could we ever have doubted him?

in the end the tasters agreed it was pretty damn good chicken - simple to make, hard to screw up, and delicious.

next up we are going to tackle some salmon rilletes - any recipe that involves clarified butter is ok in our book. .. .

Monday, August 28, 2006

ny times part 3 - beer run!

ok - this is the last of the 3 posts with links to the ny times - i promise, unless i see something tonight, then i will write about it, and i'll be a liar - but a liar who can make mean beef cheeks, so it's a wash.

this article is from the time sunday travel section from 3 or 4 weeks ago, and it's basically a beer tour of the czech republic - so you take napa, replace the wine with beer, and drop it eastern europe - sounds good to me!

i've seen the whole idea of food tourism pop up more and more in the past few years - whether it's a week in tuscany in a country kitchen or a month in thailand sampling the cuisine, it seems like it's taking off - and it seems like a lot of fun, albeit serving a very specialized group.

for me, this beer tour sounds like a good plan, and since i actually go to eastern europe quite a bit (the benefit of having a polish wife), i may have to stumble my into a few small villages to taste the local brew.

getting in the door

if you live somewhere with a bunch of 'hot' restaurants, you know the hassle and planning involved in getting a table sometimes. trust me, living in san francisco, i've been on the phone trying to get through to the french laundry, 2 months to the day of when i want to dine there, hitting redial over and over, and never getting through.

there was a great article in the new york times on sunday (yes, i have a backlog of great ny times articles i need to write about - be patient, there is another one coming) about planning a culinary weekend in ny that involves per se, babbo, and
le bernardin in a single weekend - quite possibly the best weekend ever for a food lover, and that could require an angioplasty monday morning, but oh so worth it.

Going to Napa, but Skipping the Vineyards - New York Times

This article was in the ny times last week and i dig the premise. go to napa for the food - the great thing is all the restaurants have great wine - there in napa!! i haven't had a chance to eat all the restaurants listed (a few though - bouchon being one of my favorites), and i still don't have a french laundry meal under my cap, but when i think napa at think point in my life, the first thing that comes to my mind is food, then wine, oh, and nascar.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Tequileria - SEA-TAC Airport

I wasn't planning on doing 3 posts tonight, but my flight is delayed by 2 hours and I've been sitting in a bar for most of it sipping the finest Sam Adams that $6.75 (plus a shot for only $2.50!) will buy.

Since the only bar in the Southwest terminal is Tequileria that is where I chose to sit. The wait staff is friendly and cute and quick with drinks. The guy next to me is bombed. Your typical airport bar.

Remember that scene in The Matrix, where Keanu Reeves has his first meal aboard the Nebachunezzer? Remember how he gags and says it tastes like cardboard or paste or something inanimate and bland? That is what the food at Tequileria tastes like. It's yummy in an industrial factory floor kind of way. Fortunately, baseball is on and beer is good.

Sapphire Asian Cuisine - San Francisco

Sometimes, I work out of the Cod Cheeks San Francisco office. For me, a suburbanite, this is quite a treat. Big buildings, great restaurants, belligerent homeless people. Ah, city living. But when I do come to the city, I love to sample the restaurants that we have near the office. One of our favorites is Sapphire Asian Cuisine. Our nickname for the place is 'Sketchy Chinese Food', but damn is it good stuff.

I've been trying to lose weight, so going there is liking an alcoholic going on the a tour of the Pabst factory. It isn't pretty. My favorite dish is the Orange Chicken. It is like heaven in a styro-foam container. If you told me that their orange chicken has no chicken and it was made from hog balls and orange flavored goat semen, it wouldn't change my opinion one iota. It's that good.

Their lunches are affordable by SF standards and if you get there at noon, you will see a huge line. Don't be intimidated, it moves with the efficiency of a well choreographed ballet. You will be out of there in less than 5 minutes. As a bonus, I've been told, but have never frequented, that at night, the place becomes a Chinese discoteque. How sweet is that?

Isami - Seattle, WA

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I travel is that when I offer to take a client to lunch and they pick a very bland or very run of the mill place.

My most notable incident of this happening is when I was in Houston, dying for a steak, and my client took me to Beni Hana. I get it, their feeling is that they always eat steak and want something different. But hell, what happened to when in Rome...

So I was very glad that when I asked my client what he wanted to eat that he asked if sushi was okay. Okay, hell, I could eat sushi for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and never tire of it. He picked a great place, Isami, in the Uwajimaya center in downtown Seattle. It was great. The fish was fresh and the service was excellent. What else can you ask for in a sushi joint?

I had unagi, taco, and something called a sea dragon roll that consisted of 5 different fishes lightly baked in tempura. That was excellent. It had tuna, mackerel, salmon, yellow tail and something else that I can't recall, but it was good. My only complaint, if I had anything, was that the wasabi wasn't spicy enough.

That isn't huge. Aside from that, it was an excellent lunch and a highly recommended place.

That's it from the man on the street looking for something to eat. Next time, something in the 408 as I don't think that I am traveling much in the near future.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Kyoto Palace - Campbell, CA

Last night, on the recommendation of a neighbor, we took the kids to Kyoto Palace in Campbell. While I'm not usually one to want to see how my food is made and I thought, damn, those places are pretty expensive to drag the kids along, I was assured that it would be excellent entertainment for 2 four year olds and a 2 year old and that it was pretty cheap. I probably won't speak to that neighbor for several months.

I'll assume that if you know what a Cod Cheek is, you typically eat fairly well and places like Kyoto Palace aren't in your regular rotation. If you aren't familiar with Kyoto Palace, take Beni Hana, take down the signs and replace them with Kyoto Palace signs and you've got it. Kyoto Palace received it's first strike when I had to navigate the Pruneyard parking lot fighting every half-tard with a Suburban in the San Jose area for a parking spot. Once I finally hiked the 500 yards to the restaurant, we were told that they did have a table for us, oh wait, no we don't it'll be 10 minutes. 20 minutes later and 3 hell raising toddlers later, we were seated at our table.

Whoever thought that a place with a hot griddle embedded in your table would be a good idea should, in theme, commit hari-kari. Luckily, we didn't have to hit a burn unit on the way home. I can easily imagine children standing on their chairs to see better and placing the palms of their tiny little hands right onto the griddle.

In defense of Kyoto Palace, our cook was decent. As they say, you can't make chicken salad from chicken shit. He was funny, fairly polite, did cool tricks with shrimp, eggs and the other stuff he was cooking up for the table. Our server, James, was awesome. Drinks always full, kids always happy. He needs to bail from that place and get a job at a much higher end place than that. He'd make a mint.

My food, however, should have been half as good as James. I got the salmon dinner, which came with vegetables marinated in something that could only be described as Katie Couric's armpit sweat after 5 sets of clay court tennis. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer my salmon to be grilled and should have known what I was getting myself into. It wasn't as bad as the vegetables, but I wouldn't order it again.

On a positive note, the kids dug their rice and tempura vegetables. They liked watching the guy flip the spatulas around and clang them and thought it was really funny when he drew a picture of a pooping chicken with egg yolk (I thought that was pretty awesome, too).

In the end, our bill was $65 and that is only because Holly also only ate appetizers. We also had no booze. Had she gotten an entree and we had a couple of drinks, we would have surpassed the benjy mark, which for me, better make it a damn good meal.

That's the word from the man on the street looking for something to eat. Going to Seattle this week, hopefully will have some good meals to report on up there.

Friday, August 18, 2006

the fatted calf

it seems like the artesianal food movement is heading into forcemeats (a scary word that basically means salami, sausage, pate, etc.). there is an outfit here in san francisco called the fatted calf that started making an appearance at the ferry building's saturday farmers market, and i have been slowly tasting their wares. everything i have had so far has been above par, and suddenly i am seeing their product pop up all over the place, most notably at boulettes larder and cowgirl creamery. i've talked to some of the guys who run this place briefly while buying some pate, and they are just a bunch of young 30's guys who love doing what they do, and it comes out in the flavor of their food. the biq question is, is this the start of a small artesianal movement in this part of the food industry, much like cheese has been going through in the past 15 years, or just one small company making some great food?

c|net launching chow (again)

Hello, my name is Daniel and I'm an ex-New Yorker (via LA, CA). Once upon a time I worked as a chef in a 4-star restaurant called Per Se. I am currently living in San Francisco and working at a small internet search company in Silicon Valley.

My first post to 'cc is just a teaser announcement (and excuse me if you've already heard.)

After recently buying and "re-launching" Chowhound c|net decided it would launch a companion site based on the shortlived, ex-chow magazine. The new format is supposed to be an edgier, funkier version of the magazine that flopped. It's coming soon...if you care, watch this space.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

it's official

even though i have been writing posts for a few weeks now, i officially launched www.codcheeks.com today. it is definitely in it's early stages with many changes and improvements coming down the road. one big change going forward is that i won't be going it alone, but will have some other smart food people helping out - i've tried to get a diverse group of people and am continuing to look for more. i'll go into more detail about the contributors at another time, but the quick list consists of a real live frenchman, a former cook at per se in new york, an uber smart law librarian/foodie, and our man on the street in the south bay. . .i think we will get a lot of different thoughts and observations up here, and that is what we want.

this will simply be a place for people to talk about food - everything from great restaurants, recipe recently tried or discovered, trends in the food industry, and anything else food related that strikes peoples fancy. if you have any thoughts or ideas on things you want to see, i encourage you to email me and let me know. this will be an ever changing experiment, and this is only the first step.

Monday, August 14, 2006

then just don't eat it!

there has been a movement growing around the country to get foie gras banned, claiming it amounts to cruelty to animals. there is a ban taking place in california starting in 2008, and the a ban set to take place this month in chicago. i can sum up my opinion of the situation pretty succintly - these people are idiots.

first of all, aren't there a bunch of other animal rights issues that should trump this? i have to imagine the overall population of foie gras eaters in the united states is pretty small compared to, lets say, the amount of people who use cosmetics, lotions, shampoo, etc that is tested on animals.

secondly, by making such a big deal about this, you're creating more people out there who now actually know what foie gras is and are probably more likely to to try it. . .the surest way to make someone want something is to tell them they can't have it. it's like telling a fat person, let's say oprah for example, that she can't eat - the first thing she is going to go do is stuff her face. . .is that what you want?

i liken it to the whole issue of indenceny on tv and radio - if you don't want to watch it turn the channel - better yet, get rid of your tv. if you don't want to eat foie gras and are offended by the fact that it could be on the menu, then don't go to those restaurants and don't order - save it for people like me who would eat it on toast for breakfast if we could.

enough talking about it - everyone's homework for the week is to go out and eat some fois gras - and if you live somewhere where the man is keeping you from eating it, you can gaze lovingly at this picture and pretend . . .

Thursday, August 10, 2006

slow food

i just finished reading my first installment of 'the snail,' the magazine put out by slow food, an organization set up to 'protect the pleasures of the table from the homogenization of modern fast food and life.' it's a pretty interesting organization and it is starting to pick up momentum. many people associate it with some sort of weird vegan thing, but it is actually aimed at making sure all food is protected, including rare breeds of cattle and swine, so that we will have a chance to eat their meat, drink their milk, and eat their cheese.

i'm a member of the sf convivium the fancy italian word for 'chapter), and there are conviviums all over the country, and more importantly, the world. . .they even have a chapter in kentuckey! mostly it involves learning more about food, going to events around different types of food, visiting farms where your food is grown, and most importantly, becoming educated on sustainable farming, eating locally, and supporting your local farmer. . . all good things to do, plus you get to eat really good organic vegetables and meats - nothing wrong with that! so, long story short - check out slow food - it's pretty interesting. . . .

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

think my wife would mind?

came across this great ink work at A Full Belly. if i had to do it all over again, i think i would get the pig on one arm, but i am not sure about the carrot - sort of a wimp in the vegetable world - now asparagus - that's one tough hombre.

Upclose

bacon ice cream!?

came across the story of bacon ice cream from the washington post on another food site. seems like most of the comments about the odd flavors of ice cream include the word 'interesting,' which is always code for this 'this tastes like shit but i dont want to offend the chef.' i'm up for a scoop - trip to delaware anyone?

brined pork chops

man, those were some good pork chops! i've heard a lot of people talk about the benefits of brining pork chops vs. not brining them for a long time, so i decided to test it myself. the pork chops came out extremely moist and tender and were some of the best chops i've ever had, and surprisingly, not very salty. you can take the juices from the roasting pan and create a sauce by putting in a little white wine and reduce it, then adding some butter at the end to thicken it up, but i decided to taste them sauceless, and they were good. . .

the recipe for creating the brine is pretty simple:

1. you start with the base of the brine by combining 2 qts of water, 1/4 cup of salt, and 1/4 cup of sugar in a pot.

2. from that point you can pretty much add whatever else you want to flavor your chops with. i added some crushed garlic cloves, dried chili peppers, and come crushed corriander seeds.

3. bring the whole mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. pour it from the pot into whatever bowl/tupperware you will be using for soaking the chops, and let it sit until it becomes room temperature.

4. take the pork chops of out the fridge, and put them out, uncovered, and let them come to room temperature too (about 15-20 mins).

5. add the pork chops chops to the brine, and refrigerate for at least 24, but more than 48 hours.

6. when you are ready to cook, take the porkchops out of the brine and let them rest on a plate at room temperature for about 25 minutes.

7. pre-heat the oven to 375 (you can also grill these, in which case, you can stop reading now)

8. in a heavy bottomed pan, add some vegetable oil, and put on medium-high heat. once the oil is hot, cook the chops on each side for 2-3 minutes or until brown and then set aside (this can be done in batches if need be - add more oil as needed too).

9. once all the chops have been browned, place them in a roasting pan, and put them in the over for 15-20 minutes based upong the thickness of the chop.

10. once they are done, remove the chops from the roasting pan and set aside.


optional:
11. set roasting pan to straddle both burners on the stove top and turn both burners on medium heat.

12. add 1/2 cup of white wine, and reduce by half.

13. add back any juices that have accumulated from the chops while they have been sitting.

14. add 1-2 teaspoons of butter and remove from heat.

its pretty simple rescipe and it produces some great pork chops. .. . enjoy!

the ultimate salad

michael bauer, the restaurant critic for the sf chronicle (and to steal a line from peter rose about playing baseball, "i'd run through hell in a gasoline suit" to have that job) started blogging a few months back, and it's been nice to get short observations from him about the restaurant world, culture, customs, etc. it's a lot less formal than a full review, and it's a nice treat to read about the places he likes to eat during his down time, favorite dishes, etc.

one of his more recent blog entries was about caesar salads - it's a great post (read it here) and it reminds me of being a kid and going out to dinner with my grandparents at a small french restaurant in san rafeal, ca. named la petite auberge - that is where my love for the caesar started. of course, in true old world style, the waiter would roll a cart out table side and mix the salad in front of me, always starting with one raw egg. . . it can't be beat. bauer offers some thoughts on the best place to find a caesar salad in san francisco these days, and i think i will make it my mission to give them my own taste test before the year is up!

Monday, August 07, 2006

a food blog . ..also, avacado mousse with crab

so i was thinking that one of the reasons i had such a tough time posting to my blog is that i really don't feel like the daily minutae of my life needs to be documented - i need blog about something i actually love talking about - so i thought about it, and came us with food! i find that i have no trouble posting to the group site i am a contributer too (www.pleasureproviderclub.com) with regularity, since it is all about food, eating out, etc. so i think i will try to do some of that here too. there may still be some random musings about non-food subjects too, but i see this more and more morphing into a food blog. . .

to start, i am positng this crab and avacado mousse recipe, it's pretty easy to make and has a pretty big 'wow' factor. i got the recipe from the chronicles food section, and it was created by Victor Scargle (to read the full article, click here, which i must say, always has great recipes. i have been substituting poached salmon which i let come to room temperature, since ewa is pregnant and can't do shellfish. also, i always put the plates i am serving on in the freezer a few hours before (a la a good tar tar) to get them nice and chilled. if you need to get food forms for mousse, i got mine at sur la table (after going to william sonoma, who didnt have any)- also, you can just go to the hardware store and get then to cut PVC pipe - anything between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches in diameter would work. enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

Crab:
18 ounces Dungeness crabmeat
1 bunch chives, chopped
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Avocado Mousse:
2 avocados (about 6 ounces each), pitted and peeled
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 Roma tomato, cut into small dice
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Citrus Salad:
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 tangerine
1 Meyer lemon
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
1/2 cup micro cilantro, or regular cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS:

To prepare the crab: Drain crabmeat and squeeze out excess liquid. Pick through the meat to remove bits of shell; leave claws and large leg segments intact if possible. Toss the crab with the chives, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

To prepare the mousse: Using a food processor, puree the avocados with the lime juice and Tabasco. Use a rubber spatula to transfer puree to a bowl. Fold in the tomato, onion and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

To prepare the citrus salad: Slice off the ends of the grapefruit and then the rest of the peel, including the pith and thin white outer membrane covering the flesh. Remove grapefruit segments by cutting between the membranes with a paring knife. Work over a bowl to catch the juices. Set the sections and membranes aside. Repeat with the tangerine and lemon. Squeeze the excess juice from the membranes into the bowl, discard the membranes, and pour the juices into a skillet.

Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Whisk the reduced juices to blend, then slowly whisk in the grapeseed oil until the dressing has emulsified. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

To serve: Place the ring mold or can on a salad plate. Fill the mold about one-third of the way up with the avocado mousse. Smooth surface with the back of a spoon. Place one-sixth of the crab mixture on top of the avocado mousse and press firmly. Remove the cutter or can carefully and repeat for each additional plate.

Toss the cilantro with the citrus sections and any juices that have accumulated, and place on the plate next to the crab and avocado, dividing the mixture evenly among the plates. Drizzle the citrus reduction on the plates and serve.

Serves 6