Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Chicken and Figs



















Wine: petite rousse 2005

Fig Season is very short. We purchased figs for the last couple of weeks and usually ate them with prosciutto.

We decided to make one of favorite recipes from The Zuni CafĂ© Cookbook by Judy Rodgers: Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar. The recipe is straight forward, although like most cooking the better the ingredients used the better the result. I went to the Santa Monica Farmer’s market and purchased some figs that we added to a few we had purchased over the weekend at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. The main reason I went there was because I wanted to go to Vicenti Market to purchase Smart Chicken. We think it is the only market that currently sells Smart Chickens in Los Angeles. I don’t know if the smart refers to the Chicken, the butcher or the owner of the company, but the chickens are good!

We started with a salad made from Fresh Apricots (stone fruit is in the market now). We made a sauce of Mexican Crema and Saba. To the salad we added Prosciutto and Almonds that we bought from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.


CHICKEN BRAISED with FIGS, HONEY & VINEGAR


Learning to identify good figs is an annual ritual at Zuni. As each year's fig crop appears, I always ask the new cooks if they have eaten many before. Often, particularly from those new to California, the answer is, "Not really," and I envy them the pleasure of what lies ahead.
"Look at them. Feel them. Plump can be good, but not unless they are really heavy for their size and they need to be tender."
A tentative squeeze.
"Taste it. How is it? And that cracked one. It's kind of light, but check any¬way. How about that one, it looks flawless, and it's heavy, but it is kind of hard. Taste it."
After a wary nibble, "It's not that great."
"Now look at that one. Shrunken and wrinkled is actually good, as long as it is heavy. 'Pristine' isn't usually a good sign. If you look for pretty, you may miss the best ones. Just keep tasting until you can tell. And then try to remember how 'that look' and 'that feel' taste."
This last applies to all produce, all meat, all fish, all cooking.
We use a lot of figs at Zuni, in every course. This dish is Greek in inspiration, and it is a crowd pleaser. We use fleshy Kadota figs, syrupy and with a blush of pink in the center when ripe, though you can use Smyrnas {re-christened "Calmyrna" or "Calimyrna" when grown in California}, Excel, Adriatic, or plump-ripe Black Mission figs as well. Use wildflower or chestnut honey. The fla¬vor of lavender honey is too persuasive.
We sometimes serve this dish with a salad of raw fennel ribbons and frisee or arugula, with wedges of fried pizza dough to sop up the sauce. Grilled bread is a fine and practical alternative.

FOR 4 SERVINGS:

4 chicken legs (8 to 9 ounces each}
Salt
About 2 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
1 medium yellow onion {about 8ounces), root end trimmed flat, peeled, and cut into 8 wedges
About 1/2 cup dry white wine
About 2 tablespoons dry white vermouth
About 1/2 cup Chicken stock
1 bay leaf
A sprig of fresh thyme
A few black peppercorns, barely cracked in a mortar
About 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
About 1 tablespoon honey
8 to 10 ripe fresh figs - Kadota, Smyrna, Excel, Adriatic, or Black Mission

Seasoning the chicken {for the best flavor and succulence, do this step 12 to 24 hours in advance}:
Trim the excess fat, then season the chicken evenly all over with salt {we use a scant 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken. Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Pat the chicken legs dry; this will make them less likely to stick. Heat a scant
2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, then add the
chicken legs, skin side down. The oil should sizzle, not pop explosively, when
you add chicken. Adjusting the heat as necessary, cook until the skin is evenly
golden, about 8 minutes. Turn the legs over and color only slightly on the other
side, about 4 minutes. Pour off the fat.
If your skillet is ovenproof, arrange the onion wedges in the spaces between the chicken legs; otherwise, transfer the chicken to a shallow flameproof braising dish that will easily hold the chicken and onions in a single layer, and add the onions. Add the wine, the vermouth, and enough stock to come to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Bring to a simmer and add-the bay-leaf , thyme, and cracked black peppercorns.
Place, uncovered, in the oven, and cook until the meat is tender but not quite falling off the bone, about 40 minutes. The exposed skin will have turned golden and crispy; the liquid ought to have reduced by about half. Remove from the oven and set on a slight tilt so the fat will collect at one side of the pan.
Combine the vinegar and honey and warm slightly. Taste. The vinegar should dominate, but without making you squint. Trim the stems and cut the figs in half.

Skim as much fat as possible from the braising liquid, then set the pan over
medium heat. Bring to a boil and swirl as you reduce the liquid to a syrupy con¬sistency. Distribute the figs evenly around the pan, add about 2 tablespoons of the vinegar-honey syrup, and swirl the pan to diffuse the bubbling, amber syrup without smashing the tender fruit. The sauce will be glossy. Taste - it should be rich and vibrantly sour-sweet. Add more, or all of the syrup, to taste. The vinegar adds a bright but unstable note of acidity, which will fade with boiling, so sim¬mer for only a minute or less.
Serve each chicken leg with 2 wedges of sweet, soft onion and 4 or 5 fig halves, bathed in a few spoonfuls of the sauce.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Eating in Support of Amnesty for Immigrants





























We decided to have a cook and re-create a Mexican dinner that we often ate at The Border Grill. I am sure almost all of the staff are illegal immigrants. The recipes are from: Mesa Mexicana by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.

We started with a Fresh Summer Salad.

We made Grilled Turkey Breasts with Vinegar and Cracked Pepper. The breast is sliced very thin like a scaloppini and quickly grilled. It served on a bed of Seared Greens.

We made Baked Yams with Lime and Honey to accompany. Mexican Crema is poured over the Yams as a garnish.

It is a great meal and re-heats well!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Slow Cooked Copper River Salmon










We went to the Hollywood Farmer's Market and purchased lots of vegetables. Just before we left we noticed the fish monger was featuring Copper River Salmon. It would be the last week it would be available. We changed our dinner plans (we had plan to go out) and purchased the salmon so that we could enjoy it one last time this year. We again used the slow cooking method, cooking it at a very low temperature on a bed of onions. We seasoned it with the Okinawa Salt that we had purchased in Japan. It is the best salt!

We grilled Corn on the Cob, and Asparagus as side dishes. It was a warm summer night and we started on the deck with a great plate: Fresh Black Mission Figs, Prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake, and Cheese. We had a bottle of Les Arnevels Rose Cotes de Provence - 2006.

For desert, we had purchased a box of Cherries at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, we pitted them and baked them with butter and a little sugar. We then served them over a Brownie from La Brea Bakery. Decadent but delicious!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Steaks: 2, 3, 4 & India Mango


















We had three more steaks from Harvey to eat. One steak was previously cooked. We grilled the final two. We made some great salads. One was made with Corn, another with Almonds, Saba, White Nectarines and Prosciutto. For dessert we had the Fresh Mangoes we had purchased at the Indian Market. They are fabulous. If you like mangoes go to an Indian Market! You can read about them here.

Monday, June 04, 2007

1st of 4 Steaks



























Wine: Notari Micodemi Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – 2004

Cathy is extremely busy with a rush project at work. We wanted to make an easy dinner. Grilling steaks sounded like the best plan. I went on Monday to our favorite butcher: Harvey Gussman. I arrived just as he was closing, but had pre-ordered 4 aged porterhouse steaks. Sorry Brett, know you wanted them, but I ordered them on Friday!

We went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market on Sunday, for the first time since our return from Japan. It was loaded with early summer vegetables. We bought a wide variety of tomatoes, potatoes, porcini mushrooms, corn, etc. The plan is to serve the steak in four different ways on four different nights. One steak each night.

For this first night we grilled two of the Porterhouse Steaks. We will only eat one, on Tuesday night we will serve the second steak room temperature. We Grilled Corn on the grill, much more than we would eat, because we plan to make a salad with the grilled corn and tomatoes on a subsequent night.

On Sunday night we went to Mozza, and they were jammed as usual. Matt helped us score some food to go. We watched the second to last Sopranos and had Italian food. How great is that? Will Tony get wacked in the finale? We only ate half of the chopped salad.

For a first course we had the other half of Mozza Chopped Salad.

We grilled the corn by smothering the corn in butter, salting then wrapping individually in aluminum foil. When the steak is almost done we throw the corn cobs on the grill. We remove the steak and tent. When you hear the corn begin to sizzle, with tongs we remove the aluminum foil and grill directly to finish.

We also made Corina’s Potato / Fava Bean Hash. It is served at her restaurant: Canele, the best restaurant in the Silverlake area by far! We have previously described the recipe (look at post of April 2, 2007 for recipe). It is great. The recipe calls for fresh mint, the one thing we didn’t have. I went to our local Indian market: India Sweets & Spices to pick up some mint. The United States has never allowed India Mangos to be imported. They just changed the law. The market had fresh Mangos from India. They had just arrived. They are supposed to be the best. I bought one, will report soon!

For desert we had Budino, which is a butterscotch like pudding from Mozza. It was great!