Corned beef to be:
I have 11 lbs of beef being cured for St. Patty's Day... 9 lb Pat LaFrieda Prime brisket, 2 lb "too good for jargon" brisket. This picture was taken pre-trimming of fat. Don't worry, I didn't trim too much.
The brine is made using the Ruhlman recipe.
I miss seasons with fresh produce
Just a few older photos I had lying around from this past fall that never got turned into posts. When I go to the depressing farmers market with nothing but bread, meat and roots, I look back at these and yearn for the spring. I know I'll buy infinite ramps and asparagus, ASAP.
A summer tomato salad w/ goat cheese
Sauteed cod with chanterelles, pea shoots and beurre blanc from Ad Hoc
Sauteed cod with chanterelles, pea shoots and beurre blanc from Ad Hoc
Roast maitake aka hen of the woods mushrooms, from the Craft cookbook
Seared Wreckfish with Bok Choy and Soy-Ginger Vinaigrette
Pretty much straight out of Le Bernardin's cookbook, I subbed chopped mature bok choy in for baby and my homemade hoisin sauce for oyster sauce. Wreckfish is a relative of grouper, highly sustainable and all that jazz, but more importantly, it has a very nice meaty chew to it. All in all, very satisfying.
If anyone knows of a good brand of vegetarian oyster sauce or a recipe, please let me know.
Vegetables as creative outlets
Vegetables are more than just good for you. As José Andrés put it, fruits and vegetables are exciting, they are full of flavor and aroma and texture. This particular item is something I served as a side dish, and it really packs a flavorful punch.
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet kombu
- 1 handful of bonito flakes, about .1 oz
- 1 quart water
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 large or two medium daikon
- 4 tbsp miso of choice
- 1 yuzu, or more realistically, 1 lime
- Put the water, soy and kombu together in a pot and bring to a bare simmer. Maintain for 15 minutes. Add the bonito flakes and allow to steep for one minute. Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the bonito flakes and kombu, and you've got dashi. Put back in pot, season with the mirin, and return to a simmer.
- Peel the daikon and slice into thick rounds, about 1.5" thick. Pare off the edges of the daikon cylinders to prevent overcooking and make a more interesting shape (see photo). Add the daikon rounds to the dashi and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until translucent and tender. If you find you need more stock, feel free to thin with water - next time make more dashi! I used a very small pot, which prevented this issue. Test for tenderness with a paring knife or skewer.
- While the daikon is simmering, mix the miso, juice of the citrus and zest of the citrus. It should be the consistency of a thick tomato sauce, but not chunky. If the mixture is too thick, thin with a little bit of the dashi.
- When the daikon is fully cooked, serve the daikon pieces with a little bit of the citrus miso spooned around it.
Simmering in dashi gives the daikon a lovely soft texture, mellows out the harsh, radish-y spice and gives it a hint of savory and smoky character. The miso is both salty and sour and gives some real zing to a simply cooked vegetable.