Week 6, Cooking Day 6: Freedom Food

Sorry for the delay, but here is my long overdue post on February 16, my final day of cooking week.


The end of cooking week.

While most of the food I prepared during cooking week were dishes that I might at some point decide to incorporate into my diet as "staples," I decided to wrap up my week of Hypercooking with one meal that would go a bit above and beyond and into the realm of "fun as a special treat": French Food.


My stupid burned sushi, fucking with me harder.

My inspiration for French Food day came out of two recollections: 1) i remembered that I love French onion soup more than any food in the world and 2) I remembered that, oddly enough, I was given a comestibles firing torch for Christmas in 2005 which I'd used once and no longer had in my possession. From these two thoughts came the impetus to go full monty: a four course meal of French Onion soup, blue cheese-pecan-pear salad, creme brulee, and a powerful, fancy main course. Racking my brain for fancy courses, I came up with nothing, but then the idea of roast duck was floated in my ear and I thought, Perfect!

These were my recipes (click titles for links):

French Onion Soup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
5 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Blue Cheese-Pecan-Pear Salad
1 to 2 Asian pears
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 pecan halves, toasted
2 heads Romaine lettuce, leaves only
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
5 fresh basil leaves, minced
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

"Duck"
1 whole 6 lb duck
1 bay leaf
1 confusing set of instructions, care of Julia Child
1 nervous idiot unqualified to cook duck
Beef stock, garlic, onion, other ingredients to season
Salt and pepper as necessary

Creme Brulee
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup superfine white sugar plus 6 tablespoons
1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean

As you might have guessed from the above, my duck didn't come out so great. I didn't think out the recipe well enough, understand the totality of cooking process required, or know anything whatsoever about preparing a frozen bird in a package for edible consumption. I tried, and despite one mega drama queen "go-in-my-room-and-turn-the-lights-off" moment, I did come through with something in the end. It wasn't terrible, but it a) wasn't good, and more importantly, b) it wasn't "roast duck" (or even roasted) at all. So, bummer.

But luckily, save the duck disappointment, everything else turned out great--especially the soup and the dessert. And we made so much creme brulee that we were able to eat it for a few days afterward.

I'd also be remiss to not credit Becca for helping a lot in preparing the creme brulee ("Umm Ben, i think you want egg yolks and not egg whites, yeah...") and E-bad for talking me off the ledge when i thought duck failure was spelling the end of my humanity. Had I taken the Ice Princess's advice and began preparing stuff early in the day I'm sure I would have had less headaches but thankfully these two helped me pull off (to some degree) what was for me a very challenging task.

Here's some photo documentation--a little less thorough than with the other days because I was running around the kitchen trying to make four dishes at once:


Onions begin to cook and carmelize


Carmelized onions now cooking in shitty red wine.


The nearly finished soup is waiting to be ladled into crocks and topped with baguette and gruyere.


Sugar and creme mixed into egg yolks for C.B.


C.B. custard put into crocks and ramekins for cooking


Cooked C.B. custard beginning two hour refridgeration process.


Attempting to pull a wing off of a duck. I truly have no idea what i'm doing.


At this point I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Nervous breakdown imminent.


Post-drama meltdown, mind lost, hunger and insanity taking hold.


French onion soup: no matter how it looks to you, this came out GREAT.


And voila, food to be eaten (finally). 11:50 pm. Note the brown meat on plate is duck.


Firing a blow torch was undoubtedly the best part of preparing this meal.


Some good brulee action.


The cracking of the creme brulee.

Overall I had a great time even though I spent too much time and money on everything, but it was definitely a great learning process and I feel much more prepared now to do this kind of thing again (and also now feel ready to incorporate one of the other three dishes into another meal). There was a lot of mess and the apartment smelled like bad duck and everlasting sushi (from the night before) for a few days, but it was a wonderful end to a truly special week.


Just a beginning sniff at the massive amount of dishes--let alone general cleaning--needed to be done.


Doorknobs having a C.B. the morning after (he missed out first time around)

love,
Jeffrey

Week 6, Cooking Day 6: Sushi

I came off the superhigh of Thursday's risotto victory feeling great about the world and looking forward to a climatic weekend of gastronomic excitement. Didn't quite turn out that way, but it was still a great time. I don't have time to dish all the details right now, but here are the photos for Friday's wonderful sushi debacle with old friends JRC and Mike M (yes, it was a total fuck-up debacle, but it was still a night worth remembering).

More later on this and Saturday, but for now photos:
























more to come!!

love,
JB

Week 6, Cooking Day 5: Mushroom Risotto

Tonight's meal was really and truly a success. I feel like I've been "building up" over the course of this week toward something grand and glorious.

Coming over this evening were my friends Renaissance Man Jayson Greene, Stacy F, and the Shrimp Cracker. As Jayson and Stacy are known "foodies", I had a sense from the beginning of pressure to try and pull off something worthwhile. Whenever I think of food pressure, I am reminded of a touchstone film of my adolescence, Big Night, and the powerful scenes involving Tony Shalhoub and his relationship with the dish risotto. Two things were impressed upon me during that film: 1) do NOT serve someone two starches ("side of pasta with the risotto please") and, more importantly, 2) risotto is a treasurous dish whose preparation requires laborious care and tenderness in order to execute properly. I remember those scenes so vividly and I think of them everytime I think of risotto.

I had never made risotto before; though it is true in the past that I have stood by and "assisted" the Ice Princess with her own risotto--"Stir!" "Stop!" "Hands off!"--I had never even considered that I might be able to make it myself. Which is reasonable, because beyond any doubt instilled by Tony Shalhoub's fearmongering, again: I don't ever cook; to think of stepping up to the plate with a risotto is sort of laughable. But then, stepping up to the plate with any kind of foodmaking seemed laughable before this week. Elevating from hot dogs, Annie's Mac n Cheese, and the occasional Ortega sauce tacos to any of the things I've made this week is a little unreal and it still seems pretty crazy to me that i've done any of it at all. So yes, risotto, for the gold.

Once i'd made my decision to go forward, it was time to decide upon a flavor direction. During an unforgettable weekend this summer in Montreal, I had an excellent risotto in a red sauce with plum tomatoes, but really, in my limited experience the best route to take with risotto is to use it as a vehicle to celebrate the magical fungi of the family Agaricaceae.

Recipe, and more below.

Mushroom Risotto
8 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1.3 pounds fresh portobello and crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon truffle oil
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
Fresh Italian parsley, for garnish

"Italian Salad"
Green leaf lettuce
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp warmed chicken stock
Sea salt & black pepper


Adding the risotto. Frantic stirring begins.

You'll notice the ingredient "truffle oil" listed. The taste of truffles or even truffle oil is pretty heavenly, and makes an almost crucial addition to any mushroom risotto. Truffles themselves are prohibitively expensive, particularly for a person who is half-expecting to make something awful. Given that I am a man who appreciates a little over-the-top excess, I made the sort of crazy/sort of awesome decision to spend $18.95 on a bottle of black truffle oil. Now, I am quite familiar with the hubbub over truffle oils and whether or not any of them actually contain real truffles, but you know, whatever: i'm comfortable with the fact that neither my chef-ing skills nor my taste bud sensors are exactly of Alain Ducasse and that like many Americans, I am occasionally down with "bigger than life flavors that are amped up with aromatics."

Before embarking on any of this, however, I consulted with the Ice Princess on her opinions about truffle oil: "good when not overused, gross when not." I also asked her advice on cooking risotto in general and she had this to say:

Jeffrey, I know you are a retard, but you can do this. Just follow these instructions and you'll be fine.

1. dice onions
2. add oil to pot, let it heat up for a couple of min, but not smoke, on med. heat
3. add onions. cook for about 5 min until translucent. dont let them brown.
4. add about 1/2 cup of white wine. scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen bits.
5. add rice.
6. let it toast for a min or two till there is no liquid in the pan.
7. add chicken stock (you have about 10 cups or so of it in a pot on the stove warming) a ladel at a time and stir.
8. add more stock, only adding when liquid in the pot cooks off.
9. when risotto is soft enough stop adding liquid (about 20- 30 min) add some butter and parmaesan
10. VOILA

I basically stuck to these instructions and, excepting the moment where I freaked out for a second wondering whether or not I was supposed to have already cooked the risotto in a pot (like rice) before putting in the pan, it all went well and great and the risotto came out perfectly. Coupled with the salad and homemade dressing and it was a meal of great satisfaction, and best of all that it was shared with three great friends.


One of these is good and the other bad. You might guess that "table wine" means bad.


Believe it or not, he's put some faith in me.


Once again, my tools fail me: risotto must be separated into two skillets to continue.


And then it's time to recombine for the final act.


Mmmm.... risotto. Mushrooms. Add parmesan. Yum.


These are cold hands, dirty hands. Also like this and this. Salad.


Mmm. Plated risotto and salad, nearly ready to eat (needs parmesan).


Motherfuckers is like, "Ok, smile now, but please, SIT DOWN ALREADY."


Bites are moments away....


After you eat a good meal, everyone gets fuzzy and the room turns red.


Thank you Stacy and Jayson. AMAZING.

And I leave you with this video:

Week 6, Cooking Day 4: Fettucine with Asparagus and Ginger Cream Sauce w/ Orange-Olive Salad

After last night's late night shenanigans, I set out with a game plan tonight that I would make something exciting that also wouldn't keep me up washing dishes at 2 a.m. Pulling out a cookbook my mom gave me a while back, I found an interesting seeming recipe:

Fettucine With Asparagus and Ginger Cream Sauce
3 large shallots
2 tablespoons coarsely grated ginger
16 ounces asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3.4 cup plain yogurt
6 ounces fresh fettucine
2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano

With Orange-Olive Salad
2 eating oranges, peeled and sectioned
12 large Greek olives, packed in oil
Drips of olive oil

I've never tried to make anything like this dish before. I've definitely eaten plenty of food in the vicinity, but it feels like i've almost specifically never tried to make a dish like this before. Also, until a few years ago, I adamantly disavowed olives and asparagus, but as for some reason I felt this recipe calling me when I saw it in the book.

It turned out to be relatively easy to make as well, metered out in simple steps and requiring nothing more complicated than trying to time the steps in a fashion where each runs one to the next, ie simple child cooking stuff. But the result was tasty and off-my-typically beaten path. I particularly enjoyed that the sauce was ricotta-yogurt, giving the dish a somewhat more Mediterranean complemented especially by the excellent orange-olive salad. This salad was ridiculously simple--peeled and sectioned oranges, combined with tasty Greek olives and dashed with olive oil, but it also presented lovely and unfamiliar flavor combinations that made my palatte excited.

Coupled with the wine Suze brought, i'd say the dinner was exactly the type of meal I'd hoped for and right now I feel pretty great. Now onto tomorrow night, risotto.

Pictures:


Sous chef Suz preparing the orange for me.



The saute immediately after adding yogurt-ricotta mix.


Voila! Fettucine with Asparagus and Ginger Cream sauce.


The yummy orange-olive salad, up close.


Suz is freaked out about eating, ginger, olives and oranges all at once.


Messy kitchen, post-cooking.

Week 6, Cooking Day 3: Chicken Enchiladas

[If reading on Wednesday, check back later after I have time to add more detailed "pithy commentary"]

Had a last minute change of plans tonight and no Ice Princess or roast chickey. Which was at first disappointing, but ultimately turned out fine. It was cold and snowy and I decided that I was in the mood for something filling and, boom, Enchiladas came to mind.

I've never made Enchiladas before--if I haven't made it clear yet, I've hardly made anything before. But this is the point, so went again to food.com and found this great recipe from young kid Tyler Lawrence.

Chicken Enchiladas
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

For some reasons, it took E-bad and I visits to FIVE stores before we were able to gather all the ingredients necessary. Which I thought was hilarious because it's not like I live in Sutton Place; but then, maybe that was the point. The recipe said "Prep time: 1 hr / Cook time: 15 min" but it definitely took at least that. Venturing out to the super market began at 7:30 and plates cleaned and dishes washed at about 12:15. Right now I am so full I have literally been contemplating making myself puke so I will be able to sleep (which, for the record, is nothing i've ever done before).

I would say that on all fronts the meal was a great success--everything made came out great, and E-bad made some plantains to go along as a sweet treat quasi-desert. Photos below. Bring on the rest of the week.


Learning to skin a chicken, one flap at a time.


Chicken, post-skinning/deboning; pre-cooking


Una casa hispanica por una noche


Focusing intently to minimize the cuts/burns


Some of the post-prep / pre-cook mess. Definitely helps to begin cleaning midway if you can.


The sweet plantains are coming alive.


This was WAY more food than we needed (there were three of us and we didn't touch the white tray)



Obama sweeping the primaries in the background.


I could use some work on my "plating" skills (umm, yeah).


Shrimp Cracker and E-bad discuss whether or not they will plan to let me make them dinner again.