Monthly Archives: October 2008

Random culinary items from around the ‘net

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Firstly, a happy Halloween to those of you out there celebrating today.

Now, speaking of Halloween, the recent Iron Chef America battle between Michael Symon and Chris Cosentino has a certain, “ghoulish” flair to it.  Offal fans should tune in, because both chefs go to work on offal in various forms–brains, livers, kidneys, gizzards, blood–you name it, they’re cooking it. 

I caught a recent showing, and there is no doubt in my mind that Chef Cosentino really knows his offal, inside and out (my apologies for the terrible pun). Food Network looks like they are showing the Offal Battle again tomorrow, so be sure to catch it or set your Tivo.

Mike Pardus, famous for his teaching at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, has been posting and making instructional videos over at Bob del Grosso’s awesome blog, A Hunger Artist.  Two videos in particular caught my attention:

Breaking Down a Bird – “101″

and

Total Utilization of a Duck

Both posts are jam packed with information.  People pay tons and tons of money to learn from Instructor Pardus, so when he talks, I damn well listen.

Finally, I was fortunate to receive an e-mail about fava beans (I’m still trying to learn all I can about them) from Patrick Ganey, who writes over at Duck Fat and Politics.

Here’s what he had to say:

Favas get a skin on them and when they have that they’re on their way to
being starchy.  I live in Minnesota and run into the problem of a
too-short spring; when the temperature is too high, favas drop their
flowers and don’t form pods.  The only fresh ones I get are the ones I
grow.  Large seeded varieties are delicious raw, dipped in a little fine
sea salt or eaten with a shaving of Parmesan.  We have a beautiful cheese
made locally – a hard, sheep’s milk cheese that has a nuttiness that’s
perfect with favas.  A light steaming and then a saute in a pan is also a
way to keep them at their freshest.

With dried favas, I use them in cassoulet and other stews, and like
small-seeded varieties.

He’s also got a post up with more information here. Thanks Patrick!

Roast Pumpkin

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What is vital here is the pumpkin.  It must be an organic blue pumpkin (Hubbard) or Jarrahdale–a pale blue-skinned, very hard-fleshed, delicious pumpkin, which can be obtained at heath-food shops.  Once you have tried one, the large, orange, woolly variety will become a thing of the past in your life.

shame
Pronunciation: ˈshām
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English scamu; akin to Old High German scama shame

1 a: A painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, usually felt after not updating a blog for TWO WEEKS.
Now that I’ve beaten myself up a little bit, since Halloween is right around the corner I figured working with pumpkin would be the perfect update.  Not only was this recipe incredibly simple, it really opened my eyes to how pumpkin should taste.
Mr. Henderson is quite right: carve the big orange ones or turn them into pies.  Delicious Jarrahdale pumpkins like this one are just perfect for savory dishes.
The flesh of the Jarrahdale was very, very, very hard.  I had to fight with it for about 8 minutes before I was able to halve the darn thing.  This is with a large, razor sharp knife to boot!  Once I had it open though, all of the seeds and membranes were removed, with the seeds being saved for roasting later.
I cut the halves as close to 3/4-inch slices as I could, which was exacerbated by the tough flesh and rind.  The slices were then dumped into a pot with olive oil and lots of salt and pepper.  I double checked the oven to make sure it was hot enough, and placed the pumpkin slices inside.
Twenty minutes later, the majority of the pumpkin flesh was soft so I yanked the pot out of the oven.  The very tips of the slices were overly cooked and dry, but the rest of the pumpkin was perfectly cooked, with a richer pumpkin flavor than I expected.  The texture was very smooth, and I think that if I made a purée out of it with a little butter and cream, it’d be dynamite.   Actually, I think I’ll give that a shot tomorrow.
One down, ninety six to go.

Rabbit With Pea And Fava Bean Purée

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This dish lends itself to the gentler flesh of tame rabbit, rather than wild.  You could substitute chicken.

It’s good to be back and updating!  Before I get into the recipe, I wanted to congratulate Carol of French Laundry at home fame on her announcement of Alinea at Home!  I recently got my copy of the cookbook in the mail, and I just can’t wait to see how she pulls off some of the dishes.  If anyone can, Carol can.

Also, Hank over at Hunter Angler Gardener Cook has an amazing post up about salmis, a classic French preparation. Check it out!

Now, on to the recipe.

This is the last dish in the book that uses fava beans, so I wanted to go ahead and finish off the extra fava beans I had left over from the last update.  This time the recipe called for me to remove the gray jackets, so only the bright green kernels remained.

I started things off by lightly browning a whole chopped up rabbit that had been seasoned with salt and pepper. Once the pieces were done …

… I added some leeks, onions, and a potato to the pot for sweating.  Mr. Henderson instructed me to make sure that nothing colored too much, and eventually return the rabbit to the pot.

Chicken stock, garlic, and a bundle of parsley and thyme were also added. I brought the heat up until a gentle boil was reached.  From there, I dropped the heat and let things simmer for almost an hour.

When the time was up for the rabbit, I removed all of the pieces and set them aside in a warm place. Their absence was filled with the peeled fava beans and some peas.  This time I made sure to cook the beans until they were the right consistency.

Now, to pass on a bit of info:  If you try and make hot purées in a blender that uses rubber connections to spin the blades, the heat of the food will cause those connections to get soft, and break off.  I’m now in the market for a new blender.  I’m currently looking at this one that Mr. Ruhlman recommends.

A quick plating, and the dish was complete.  Mr. Henderson mentions that the rabbit and purée should be served with hot beets and a minty vinaigrette. “The combination of colors looks very fine and it tastes fantastic.”  I can attest to the truth of that statement, because between me, my wife, and a friend we polished off the whole rabbit!

One down, ninety seven to go.