My Kitchen My Table

Ham for the Tailgater

The day after Christmas my football team – Go Trojan’s! was sadly in the Emerald Bowl. The only redeeming part of this equation is that the Nut Bowl is blocks away from home. With rain threatening I decided to host the pre-game tailgater in the loft instead of in the parking lot. What better than to have civilized cocktails and fill up on food other than hot dogs and ten dollar beers before braving the storm and heading to the stadium?

Since everyone had been gorging on food for the past 2 days, I wanted to keep it simple with a dose of comfort. Ham was the call. It could be sliced to serve in sandwiches or fly solo with mustard and the reduced glaze on the side. Best of all, prep would be minimal.

After sticking a bunch of cloves on the top and pouring the glaze over it, it simply cooked for 90 minutes and voila – perfection, so succulent, it received three cheers and won fans from both sides of the game.

12-14 lb smoked ham
several whole cloves – enough to cover the top and around the sides
6-8 oz jar of mango chutney
1/2 cup smooth Dijon mustard (I prefer the spiciness in the smooth vs. the seeded but you could use either)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
4-6 garlic cloves

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Put the ham in a deep baking dish or Dutch oven. Put the cloves in the top, about 3/4 inches apart. In a blender or using an immersion blender, add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth then pour over the top of the ham so it runs down all sides. Heat in the oven for 60-75 minutes until the top is golden and the ham is warm.

Remove the ham and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. While the ham is resting, pour the glaze and juices from the pan into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Serve along side the ham to drizzle over the top.

Once the ham has been devoured, be sure to keep the hock and make split pea soup.

MKMT Cookbook Club – Ad Hoc at Home

On February 21st the MKMT cookbook club will cook from Ad Hoc at Home - the acclaimed (and out of stock until the beginning of February) new cookbook from Thomas Keller. Touted as an “accessible” cookbook for the “home cook”, Ad Hoc At Home features 200 recipes for family-style meals inspired by the eponymous restaurant in Yountville.

I confess that I am skeptical about how accessible a Thomas Keller cookbook can be after The French Laundry and Bouchon, - both stunning books but more for coffee table viewing and fantasy land vs. rolling up the sleeves and cooking for family and friends.

So in the spirit of living life outside of the comfort zone, the cookbook club embraces the challenge at hand and gathering at the table to serve up classic American food Chef Keller style.

One of the recipes that we have to look forward to….

From Ad Hoc at Home: Buttermilk Fried Chicken

If there’s a better fried chicken, I haven’t tasted it. First, and critically, the chicken is brined for 12 hours in a herb-lemon brine, which seasons the meat and helps it stay juicy. The flour is seasoned with garlic and onion powders, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. The chicken is dredged in the seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk, and then dredged again in the flour. The crust becomes almost feathered and is very crisp. Fried chicken is a great American tradition that’s fallen out of favor. A taste of this, and you will want it back in your weekly routine. –Thomas Keller

Ingredients
(Serves 4-6)

Two 2 1/2- to 3-pound chickens (see Note on Chicken Size)
Chicken Brine (recipe follows), cold

For Dredging and Frying

Peanut or canola oil for deep-frying
1 quart buttermilk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coating

6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt
Rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish

Directions

Cut each chicken into 10 pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast quarters, and 2 wings. Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken pieces, add in the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer, or the chicken may become too salty).

Remove the chicken from the brine (discard the brine) and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Pat dry with paper towels, or let air-dry. Let rest at room temperature for 1-1/2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.

If you have two large pots (about 6 inches deep) and a lot of oil, you can cook the dark and white meat at the same time; if not, cook the dark meat first, then turn up the heat and cook the white meat. No matter what size pot you have, the oil should not come more than one-third of the way up the sides of the pot. Fill the pot with at least 2 inches of peanut oil and heat to 320°F. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.

Meanwhile, combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer half the coating to a second large bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set up a dipping station: the chicken pieces, one bowl of coating, the bowl of buttermilk, the second bowl of coating, and the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Just before frying, dip the chicken thighs into the first bowl of coating, turning to coat and patting off the excess; dip them into the buttermilk, allowing the excess to run back into the bowl; then dip them into the second bowl of coating. Transfer to the parchment-lined pan.

Carefully lower the thighs into the hot oil. Adjust the heat as necessary to return the oil to the proper temperature. Fry for 2 minutes, then carefully move the chicken pieces around in the oil and continue to fry, monitoring the oil temperature and turning the pieces as necessary for even cooking, for 11 to 12 minutes, until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked through, and very crisp. Meanwhile, coat the chicken drumsticks and transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Transfer the cooked thighs to the cooling rack skin-side-up and let rest while you fry the remaining chicken. (Putting the pieces skin-side-up will allow excess fat to drain, whereas leaving them skin-side-down could trap some of the fat.) Make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature, and cook the chicken drumsticks. When the drumsticks are done, lean them meat-side-up against the thighs to drain, then sprinkle the chicken with fine sea salt.

Turn up the heat and heat the oil to 340°F. Meanwhile, coat the chicken breasts and wings. Carefully lower the chicken breasts into the hot oil and fry for 7 minutes, or until golden brown, cooked through, and crisp. Transfer to the rack, sprinkle with salt, and turn skin side up. Cook the wings for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the wings to the rack and turn off the heat. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter. Add the herb sprigs to the oil (which will still be hot) and let them cook and crisp for a few seconds, then arrange them over the chicken.

Note on Chicken Size: You may need to go to a farmers’ market to get these small chickens. Grocery store chickens often run 3 to 4 pounds. They can, of course, be used in this recipe but if chickens in the 2-1/2- to 3-pound range are available to you, they’re worth seeking out. They’re a little easier to cook properly at the temperatures we recommend here and, most important, pieces this size result in the optimal meat-to-crust proportion, which is such an important part of the pleasure of fried chicken.

Note: We let the chicken rest for 7 to 10 minutes after it comes out of the fryer so that it has a chance to cool down. If the chicken has rested for longer than 10 minutes, put the tray of chicken in a 400°F oven for a minute or two to ensure that the crust is crisp and the chicken is hot.

Chicken Brine
Makes 2 gallons
5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaves
1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch (1 ounce) thyme
1/2 cup clover honey
1 head garlic, halved through the equator
3/4 cup black peppercorns
2 cups (10 ounces) kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
2 gallons water
The key ingredient here is the lemon, which goes wonderfully with chicken, as do the herbs: bay leaf, parsley, and thyme. This amount of brine will be enough for 10 pounds.

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Cheers to the New Year!

The end of a decade… the beginning of a decade… it seems like just yesterday my table was full of friends in formal wear celebrating the arrival of Y2K and watching fireworks over the San Francisco Bay from the rooftop. Where do the years go?

Shouldn’t the New Year be celebrating one’s birthday anyway? It’s so much more personal. Since that’s still several weeks away, I reflect on this past year and decade, and look ahead to the future energized with anticipation.

And since I’m not one to make resolutions that will not be kept (who wants to beat themselves up because another year has passed and the muffin top has prevailed); the intentions for 2010 are threefold.

 Live outside of the comfort zone
 Be mindful of making sustainable choices
 Laugh more

With these aspirations in mind and a big glass of champagne in hand, Cheers! Let the escapades of 2010 commence!

Happy New Year! Bonne Année!

Memories of North Shore Hawaii

Finally, the additional photos that were promised from Hawaii; it’s been a whirlwind since returning and I have at last found time to be true to my word.

How much would you bet that the shrimp girl lives in a killer house with billion dollar views when she’s not hawking spicy shrimp in the graffitied Giovanni’s truck all day – cash only please…. And how about that brillo pad next to the sink to scrub the garlic shrimp out from under the fingernails? That’s serious. Go Paul!

Huli Huli chicken in the dirt parking lot – I am still in awe of the assembly line of skewered chicken on the back of the truck and queue of haoles and locals in front of the truck cash in hand patiently waiting for the next batch to make its way off the skewer and onto the chopping block. I wonder if I could replicate this in front of the loft before Giant games and other events that take place at AT&T Park?

Does anyone notice that the common theme is the “cash only”… how North Beach of the Hawaiians…

Rounding out the pics are tropical fruity wonders of the Hale’iwa Farmer’s Market. Sure wish delights like these would grow in the garden instead of the weeds and worms that have taken up residence.

Aloha!

Aloha Haoles

Aloha! MKMT is in Hawaii for a few days. Yesterday found us speeding up the King Kamehameha Highway in the Jeep Wrangler convertible to the North Shore of Oahu in search of big waves – hello Bonzai Pipeline – and local eats. I had heard that there were shrimp trucks, shave ice and Huli Huli chicken not to be missed.

First stop, Giovanni’s Shrimp truck in Hale’iwa. We pulled the jeep off road and into the dirt lot where three food trucks and a kiosk to get a lomilomi massage were set up. Upon approach we realized that our lunch companions were ten big tattooed Samoan dudes riding shiny Harley’s. We bellied up to the heavily graffitied truck and browsed the menu. It featured shrimp in 3 ways – all extremely garlicky in varying degrees of spiciness over rice with additional garlic sauce and a garlic hot dog – served over rice or in a bun. I had a flash back of college days and Killer Shrimp in Venice Beach although eating shrimp in a dirt parking lot out of a truck is a bit different – and more of an adventure than eating shrimp out of a bowl in a strip mall in LA…..

We opted for the shrimp and rice, most popular style, which included 12 succulent shrimp with 2 scoops of rice and the garlic hot dog on a bun vs. rice which was served with crunchy toasted garlic sprinkled on the top.

Next on the stop was Aoki’s Shave Ice where we attempted to remove the garlic flavor from our mouths. I had the Hawaiian Local Favorite – how’s that for an original name, which was a combo of banana, pineapple, and guava. The banana was overpowering. I will try another flavor the next time. Our timing was perfect because we were able to walk right up and order. 30 minutes later when we passed by again the line was out the door and down the street.

Next stop… big waves…. until we drove by the daily Hale’iwa farmers market and did a big U-turn so we could go see the local flowers – orchids to die for, Plumeria, Bromeliads, Birds of Paradise, and on and on with stunning tropical flora. After the flora fascination and realization that buying everything in site was not a good idea we poked around the produce stalls and saw avocadoes the size of nurf footballs, little gem pineapples that smelled so sweet we were tempted to bite right in. We bought one for later and it was gobbled up in no time – core and all. All forms of imaginable produce – tropical and not were found in the stalls and everything was big, luscious, and healthy. It sure put the current production of my garden back home to shame.

The highlight of the market were the two Hawaiian guys sitting on a long plank of wood making poi the old fashioned way – rolling it out on the wood. Apparently due to health codes this technique is no longer used or legal (no photos allowed), but these guys still maintain the practice to preserve their heritage and tradition.

We finally made it to the big waves. They were BIG. In addition to the waves and surfers along the coast there was a surf competition that was taking place and the shore was full of onlookers.

Classic Hawaiian surfer girl image… she was jay-walking across the highway tanned skin, teeny bikini, a little dog under her arm and guitar across her shoulder on the way to cheer on her surfer sweetie and play some music in the sand….Aloha!

On the way out of the North Shore we saw billows of smoke off to the left and identified the smell as bbq… The Wrangler took a sharp left into another dirt parking lot where we found a line queued up for the Huli-Huli Chicken – slow roasted, over a bbq rotisserie style. This was my first experience with the Huli Huli chicken and it was entertaining to watch the production of preparing the birds, rotating them on top of the flat bead full of hot briquettes then chopping them up to serve.

We ordered the half chicken and pineapple slaw – the chicken was moist and slightly spicy and the slaw, while good in concept was runny and could have used some more pineapple chunks. By the time we sat down, the line was another 20 people deep – this place is a machine.

More photos to come, but here are a few from the iphone and a recipe I found for the shrimp. I haven’t personally tried it yet, but the reviews were good….

Shrimp Shack Garlic Shrimp
Add a scoop of rice to serve one as a meal.
• 1/4 c. olive oil (sub. butter for extra artery clogging power)
• juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 8-10 or more good sized cloves of garlic, minced. You can never have too much.
• 1 T paprika
• a dozen shrimp, the biggest buggers you can find
• sticky plastic tables, stray cats, graffitti (optional)
• lemon wedges (optional)
Sautee everything but the shrimp over medium-low heat until the garlic is a nice golden brown. While shrimp is cooking, spill soda on the plastic table to create authentic stickiness. Crank the sautee heat to turbo and add the shrimp. Keep stirring until the shrimp are just barely done. Remove immediately to prevent them going all rubbery and flavorless.
Serve shrimp over rice, scraping all the little garlic bits onto the rice. By now the stray cats will have been drawn by the aroma and your shrimp truck experience is complete!

MKMT Goes to France

MKMT is on the way to France to spend 4 days in Paris followed by a week long culinary tour in Provence with Culinary Getaways, a culinary travel company that specializes in cooking tours in France, Italy, and the Napa Wine Country operated by my friend and MKMT cookbook club participant, Sherry Page.

While in Provence, our small group will be staying at a farmhouse in the heart of the Luberon for a week of cooking, visiting markets and learning about making cheese, growing olives, and tasting wine. What could be better than that?

Here are some of the highlights of what I’ll be doing….

 A visit to a wine cave with a notable history in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
 Lunch at acclaimed Chef Daniel Hebet’s restaurant Le Jardin du Quai in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
 A day in Avignon with Chef Julien Charvet that begins with shopping at the Les Halles market followed by a return trip to his atelier where we will cook together using fresh, local ingredients.
 A visit to the Wednesday market in St. Remy (one of my personal favorite places in Provence)
 Exploring the chocolate creations of local chocolatier, Joel Durand, salt tasting, and seeing how the famous soap in Provence is made.
 A tour of an olive mill near Mausanne les Alpilles followed by an olive oil tasting.
 Cheese tasting with Claudine Vigier, a Master Cheese Affineur, who owns the best cheese shop in Provence.
 Lunch at Chez Serge, in Carpentras. Last year, Serge Ghoukassian was named 2008 Sommelier of the Year for France by Gault-Millau. The plan is to spend time in the kitchen with Serge where he will make a special lunch paired with regional wines.

A Bientôt!

Luscious Little Cheese Balls

These luscious little goat cheese balls with lavendar honey were my late afternoon snack at BarnDiva in Healdsburg.

Laura Chenel goat cheese is mixed with dices of heirloom tomatoes, rolled into balls, breaded with panko, then popped into the deep-fryer and salted when they came out. The outside was crisp and crunchy and the inside warm and creamy – and light pink thanks to the tomatoes.

They were the perfect bite – sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy with a lovely presentation on a rustic board with lavendar honey and scattered blossoms.

Harley Farms

For years I’ve had this romantic notion of living on a farm with small animals – goats, sheep, chicken, maybe a pig; eating fresh eggs and making soap and cheese. So when the opportunity presented itself to take a field trip and tour the Harley Goat Farm I was in.

Harley Farm has been putting out award winning goat cheese for the past 10 years. Located in Pescadero, CA the goats live a simple and stress free life wandering around their ten acre pasture eating a blend of several types of grasses that have been refined over time and contribute to the smooth and mild flavor of the goat cheese.

The land was originally a dairy farm and 20 years ago Dee Harley bought it after moving to the area from the UK. She didn’t know what she was going to do with it and through a series of serendipitous events she is now a passionate goat farmer who practices sustainable methods and treats her goats with love and care.

The two hour tour is informative and lets the guest walk around the pasture and interact with the goats – they like a good head rub and ear scratch, test their hand at milking a goat – just like squeezing a pastry bag, learn the process of making goat cheese, make a herb and goat cheese round then enjoy the cheese in the top of the bard overlooking the farm with fellow visitors.

There are three categories of goats on the farm and they are kept in separate parts of the pasture. The kids who are born between Feb-March frolic and play with each other growing up and getting ready to be bred. The milkers have the babies and produce the milk and the retired milkers spend their twilight years well fed and taken care of. It is a good life no matter which category as everyone is well fed and watered and has ample room to roam.

The milking goats are milked twice a day and the yield is one gallon of milk per goat which translates into 1 pound of cheese. With 100+ goats in the milking category, making cheese is a full time job. And Harley makes several from a traditional plain smooth goat cheese, to ricotta and feta (personal fave), and then several herb and garlic infused varieties.

This goat farming business is a demanding 24/7 job, there’s nothing romantic about it other than the notion that is fading from my head. For now, I’ll pass on the farm but will seek out the Harley and have vivid memories of the process involved from goat to table that produces these scrumptious cheeses.

Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland

The line for Voodoo Doughnuts that Sunday morning at 10am went around the block.

It was a dilemma to stand in line for 20-30 minutes for a doughnut which I certainly didn’t need after a weekend of eating… oh yeah, and just having breakfast….

But there we were in the line, not able to say no to what some doughnut aficionados consider to be the best doughnuts around. Plus, the fast would begin on Monday so why not fill my pie hole with a doughnut.

The line moved quickly and before we knew it we had entered the inner sanctum and would have to order within minutes.

The pressure was on; there were so many options.

I selected the namesake voodoo doughnut, a doughnut in the shape of a person covered with chocolate, filled with cherry goo with a pretzel poking out of it’s belly button.

My travel mate and buddy, Beemer selected the Arnold Palmer, a cake doughnut covered with lemon and tea powder with a fruit loop in the center.

They say that the doughnuts must be eaten immediately so we popped them in our mouths and were silent. In less than a minute, they were gone and there was a consensus that our doughnut diversion was indeed a good idea.

MKMT Cookbook Club Does Brunch

The next MKMT cookbook club will be on November 1st and will be taking a break from our traditional format. After several years of meeting at 4pm on Sunday afternoons and cooking from a single book, we will meet for brunch at noon.

Everyone has been challenged to bring their favorite brunch recipes to share along with the book they are from and copies of the recipe for everyone. In the end we will have a collection of the best of the best brunch recipes; ready to head into the holiday season armed to serve the best brunch ever to friends and family.

The change in format has been so well received that several people have already weighed in with what they’re planning to bring. And let me tell you, people are cooking to impress… while there may be a fruit salad and a scone or muffin, I have a feeling that most of the dishes will be creative and competitive.

At this point, I’m hoping to come across a fabulous, must share recipe on my trip to France. If that fails, two cookbooks that I have recently added to my collection are A Table in the Tarn and Celebrating with Julienne. Both have brunch recipes and while they’re not tried and true to me, they might be given a try.

Cheers to brunch!