Bohn Mi Sandwich

Yesterday, for the second time, I was able to scarf down a delightful Bohm Mi sandwich from Pho Sure. It is consistent and quite delicious. The restaurant is located at 120 Christopher St between Bedford and Bleeker. The sandwich is a very reasonable six or so dollars and can quickly be prepared making it a great take out option. If my memory serves me correct it is a spread of pate, pork, pickled dikon and carrot, cilantro, and siracha on a delicious Vietnamese baoguette. The bread is one of the focal points of the sandwich, and deservingly so. It is not overstuffed with meat or seasoning and the flavor and texture of the bread is very important to the overall flavor profile of the sandwich. This particular baoguette had a very flaky texture with an almost sweet and not overly bearing yeast flavor. Perfectly complimenting the ingredients.

While waiting, I talked to the gentleman who took the order. Pleasant fellow with quite a thick Vietnamese accent. Despite the language barrier he was quite knowledgeable and accommodating and explained very well that Vietnam has a heavy French and Asian influence in it's cuisine. Techniques of Classic French cuisine is combined with both French and Asian flavors to create quite a flavor profile unmistakeable and unique. I mean honestly, where else do you spend six bucks on a sandwich and get pate as a condiment? Not McDonald's that's pho sure....get it...pho sure?

I highly recommend anyone who is in the Manhattan area take a trip out and test out the various sandwiches or Pho at Pho Sure. Quite delicious and a good deal none the less.

Retraction/Addition:

As per a recent conversation with whom we will call "Jack" it was brought to my attention that my prejudice against all things not properly called butter, (margerine, Smart Balance, etc) came as a little harsh. Although I still stand in my opinion of all things foux in food I figured I would post the following pictures as a representation of the source of my prejudice. To add, I do strictly disregard Smart Balance or the like as being edible. I also say, if you like spreadable butter there is no reason why you can't take butter and whip it until its airy and spreadable and then refridgerate. You can also mix it with a good olive oil, virgin or extra virgin depending on your pallete to make it more spreadable. Or of course, you can always let the butter sit out at room temperature for several hours or invest in a butter bell. (http://www.butterbell.com/) I simply say, if your butter has more than 2, or at most, 3 ingredients many of which you cannot pronounce, take a second look at what's available. If you can't eat butter for whatever reason, you should probably just being staying away from it all instead of investing in the fake stuff as a suitable replacement. Just read about margarine and its past or the infamous "diet soda" phenomonen which we all know is bull**** and yet we all fall for it.

Butter Ingredients:

Not so much butter....

Whipped Butter Recipe:
Place soft but not warm or room temperature butter in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip on low for about 30 seconds or until it begins to loosen up a bit. Kick the speed up to high and whip until airy. You can add a but of oil to help emulsify the air, just a touch. Just watch the consistancy rather follow a specific recipe. Refridgerate and spread away.

Na'cho Mama's Fish and Chips

So look. Fish is ugly, it can be slimey, it's intimidating but...it's just food after all. It's pretty cheap, if you buy right, and it tastes freakin delicious so get over it, find a good fish market, a sharp knive and get to work.

Buying whole fish can be quite economical. Once you learn to butcher the few types of fish you might come across, it becomes pretty simple and quite quick. I'm not saying you will be ready to work at Le Bernardin, but you will be more than capable to throw together a meal for a few guests. There are a few very simple rules to buying whole fish that can easily be memorized. Always, always, always start with the smell when picking out fish. It should not smell fishy. It should be on ice and not sitting in its own juices. The flesh should be firm and not very slimey. The eyes should be clear and round not flat and cloudy. Pay attention to the signs at fish markets also. They should tell you if the fish was previously frozen and where it comes from. Don't refreeze previously frozen fish and DO NOT be afraid to ask your fish monger questions or for help. That's what they are there for and that's what you are paying them for.

Anyways, on to the better stuff.
So, I was lucky enough to get a nice whole trout which I promptly took home, on ice, and took apart to cook for my lady. We had a nice "fish and chips", aka, Poisson et pommes frites. Sans malt vinegar, but we did throw in a semi decent burre blanc, butter sauce, and a very acidic lemon sauce to top. I'm not going into crazy specifics for the recipes right now but I'll briefly describe at least the techniques behind it. As for filleting the fish, just youtube how to filet a flounder or trout or red snapper or whatever fish tickles your fancy.

For the French Fries, Frites, Fried Potatoes: If your normal, French, or uber patriotic; respectively

French fries are generally a two step process. You cut your fries then dry them well. If they sit too long they will oxidize and turn brown so don't leave them on a sheat pan for an hour while your oil heats up.

Fry the potatoes at 300-320 degrees until tender all the way through. Shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Let them cool and drain well. Heat the oil up to around 375 and put the fries back in until golden brown. Remove from the oil and season immediately. The fries should be crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. It takes a little bit of playing around when you're using a dutch oven as a deep fryer. The temperature will swing wildly in different directions so, one hand on the food, the other on the gas knob.

The Fish
The fish was incredibly simple. I filleted it into two pieces about 8 inches long and cut them both on a bias. The trout was about 2 lb's and was easily enough to feed two people. I left the skin on and dredged the skin side in a little bit of flour, although I'm told Wondra works a little better. I seared the skin on medium heat in a little butter and olive oil. Keep in mind how fatty and how thick the skin is, if it's a thick cut you don't want to sear it on too high heat or it won't render completely. Flip the fish after the skin is crisp and lightly browned and warm the bottom side through.

The buerre blanc sauce was a classic recipe that I got from cooking school. Nothing crazy and quite unimaginative but pretty good I suppose. I'll post the recipe another time.

At the end I took a little vinegar, sugar, lemon juice and supremed lemon. Tossed it in the drained pan that I pan seared the fish in. Let it warm up just a touch and spooned it on top of the fish.

Sorry for the not so typical post but I'm kind of scattered, have a lot to do and a bunch of stuff to read and not a lot of time to get it done so I'm kind of flying through this. Hope at least someone out there might at least try making the french fries. They are definitely worth the effort. Don't forget you can season fries with anything. Lately, my palate is enjoying onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and celery seed.

Beer Bread

If you're like us and a fan of beer (see Dan's previous blog entry for more information: http://chefdaniellouis.blogspot.com/2010/07/six-points-breweryridiculous.html) and who's NOT a fan of bread, I mean, seriously; then here's the recipe for you:

   

Beer bread!

It's sweet & cakey with just a hint of beer flavor and a great alternative for cornbread with a bowl of chili. It's even good toasted with honey and a cup of coffee in the morning.

How to make:

-3 cups AP flour
-2 tbs baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbs honey or your favorite nectar/syrup sweetener (I used Lyle's Golden Syrup )

- 2 tbs melted butter
-2 eggs slightly beaten
- Your favorite 12 ounce beer! (I usd Yuengling)


Thoroughly mix ingredients together (will be VERY sticky) and pour into a butter-greased 9x5x3 loaf pan and bake on 375 for about an hour, or until crust is nicely browned and a fork or tooth pick comes out clean.

Yum Yum Duck Breast

So, Miss Chloë visited me yesterday evening for some dinner. We just happened to have some mallard duck laying around, which I'm sure you all do. So we seared it off and put it on top of some nice lentils and a peach-apricot beurre blanc. How, you ask? Easy.

So, duck breast is very fatty, you can tell from the picture that even we didn't get the chance to render it down as well as we all might like, but it was still delicious. The actual meat is quite lean but since ducks swim in cold water there is a healthy layer of fat under the skin for insulation. To consume, it's best to render the fat the best you can, creating a nice crispy skin that is amazingly delicious. What you want to do first is rinse and dry your duck breast very well. take a sharp knife and score it at a 45 degree angle at a width of about 1/2 inch per score. You want to score the skin and fat as deep as possible without cutting the meat. After the first row of cuts rotate the breast and cut it at a 90 degree angle.

Start off a 10 inch saute pan with about 1/4 inch of canola oil, or preferably duck fat, on medium low heat. Give it about 5 minutes to warm before again, patting dry, salting and placing your breast into the pan. Let it sit, undisturbed for at least 5 minutes before giving the pan a nice little shake. The breast should loosen off the bottom and continue to render. You want to let this cook for between 20 and 25 minutes on medium-low to low heat. The fat will render very slowly and the point is to time the browning of the skin with the rendering of the fat. After the skin is rendered take the breast out and put the pan on high heat. Let it warm for a minute then place the breast in and cook for about 2 minutes. Don't overcook it at this point. You just want to sear the bottom and it should be just about cooked through already.  Finish cooking the breast and let it begin to rest and purge. (Notice the blood on the plate)

For the Sauce:

After searing the duck, drain as much fat as you can and place on medium-high heat. Add diced peaches and apricots. As you can see by the picture above, my dice was quite large. I would recommend half the size of that but it doesn't matter all that much. Once they are softened you can squish them with a fork and all is good. Cook until the fruit just starts to soften and add about a cup of duck stock. Mild chicken stock will work just as well. Reduce the stock by about 80 percent. There should be about 3 or 4 tablespoons of liquid in the stock. At this point you can adjust the acidity by adding some vinegar or whatever acid you like. I used about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar dissolved. Let this cook come to a simmer then remove from the heat and begin to whisk in about 5 ounces of very cold butter cut into small squares. Put in about 2 pieces and whisk until melted before adding two more etc. Keep moving the sauce back and forth from the heat but be warned, if the sauce comes back to a boil the butter will separate and your screwed. When adding the last piece of butter make sure the heat is completely off and the sauce has begun to cool down a bit. This will help it hold together and not break. Add the soft fruit to the soft and taste for seasoning. Yum.

The lentils I simply cooked in water with several pinches of salt. After they were done I drained them and stired in some vinegar to brighten them up.

The plating was easy and self described and although it wasn't good enough to be served at my future restaurant, Daniel Louis' it was pretty damn delicious.

Birthdays. Steak. & Leftovers.

We just got back from a quick weekend away to visit both of our moms who happened to both be celebrating their birthdays. Small world. A group of us went out to Morton's steakhouse and managed to go home with a doggy bag or two, or 4. What to do with delicous steak leftovers? How about some upscale grilled cheese steak sandwiches. Here's how to make 'em:

What you'll need:
- Steak from your favorite steak house.
(Mine happened to be cajun ribeye)
- Red onion (Sliced Very Thinly)
- Sliced tomatoes
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Ciabatta bread
- Butter
- Mayonnaise
- Apple cider vinegar
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Pepper

To make the sauce to spread on the ciabatta bread, whisk some mayo and apple cider vinegar together with salt and pepper to taste. Add the dried parsley and some garlic powder. Taste the seasoning and adjust the acidity with some lemon juice. Spread generously over sliced ciabatta. Grease a pan with butter, like real butter not that stupid spreadable goop, we prefer Land o'Lakes unsalted sweet cream butter. Or homemade for that matter. In thin layers, place steak, onions, tomatoes, salt, and cheese on the bread.

Here's Dan showing how to layer the sliced steak, onion, tomatoes and cheese all together before placing the sandwich into the frying pan.

Cook them as you would grilled cheese. Dan rendered some beef fat and added just a touch of butter to the pan and cooked them on medium low heat till golden brown and delish.

Dan says, "Some would argue that this is a panini, but it's not, and they are wrong."


Happy Birthday moms!