Sorrel, Chicory and Crispy Ear Salad

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Ryan

This is a fine accompaniment for Brawn. You will need a pig’s ears, cooked as in the recipe on page 39.

This was one of the first recipes I completed during the 24-hour cook-a-thon that happened many moons ago. Since its preparation was a solo act, I’ll just present it in the usual fashion.

Two blushing-pink pig ears are a nice sort of hello, aren’t they? My face just broke out into a broad grin as I recalled how excellent they turned out. If you like bacon on your salads, I’m going to do my best to sway you into considering fried, sliced pig ears instead. Mind you, bacon usually doesn’t need the swipe or two from a disposable razor to remove a few stray embedded hairs. This pair of ears did.

Wow, I’m not doing a great job so far swaying you. Um, moving on.

The ears went into a simmering pot of pork stock for an hour to cook. Fairly straightforward and simple, which was great because I needed to tend to other dishes I was preparing at the same time.

An hour later I fished the ears out, and set them aside to cool and firm up before I sliced them.

It’s just easier to slice pig ears when they’re firm. Here’s a tip for those of you attempting to fry pig ears: you can’t slice them thinly enough.

Really thin slices crisp up wonderfully, and the cartilage is just enough to provide an interesting textural aspect along with the rich porky flavor.

With the hard part completed all that was left was preparing the greens.

First up was the sorrel. Sorrel leaves are packed with tart, lemongrass notes that liven up salads something fierce. They’re one of my favorite discoveries so far from starting this website. I removed the stems from each leave and washed them thoroughly.

Mr. Henderson calls for two heads of chicory, but since I was the only person going to give it a shot, one would more than suffice. A few quick chops and the chicory was ready. I then mixed the chicory with the sorrel, a handful of curly parsley leaves, a small amount of capers and a shot of vinaigrette. A few choice slices of pig ear on top and the salad was finished.

Light, simple and refreshing. This recipe is an excellent way to use spare pig ears if you’ve purchased a whole hog’s head to make brawn or a terrine. And bacon lovers, how’s that salad topping looking to you? From one bacon-lover to another, you need to give this a shot.

One down, thirty nine to go.

Onion Soup and Bone Marrow Toast

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Ryan

I’d like to take a second to wish my mother a speedy recovery from her cancer surgery. You’re a trooper Mom, and we love you.

This recipe started off as many excellent recipes do: with a spoonful of duck fat and four pounds of thinly sliced onions cooking together. Mr. Henderson instructs us to shoot for softened, lightly caramelized onions, which can take up to an hour to achieve.

When I was happy with the amount of browning on the onions, in went a bottle of good Normandy cider and a little chicken stock. The heat was raised until a slight simmer was going. The onions needed to cook down just a bit more.

As the onions cooked, I turned my attention to the marrowbones. I cranked the heat on the oven and placed the marrowbones inside to roast.

I’ve been asked many times about roasting bone marrow from people that want to try making some of Mr. Henderson’s recipes at home. My advice to them is always the same: Oven at 450, marrowbones on a baking sheet, leave them alone for 15 minutes, then check to see if the tops have crusted over. If you undercook them you’ll end up with semi-solid marrow that won’t spread over toast easily. You don’t want to let them go too long though because the marrow will happily melt completely leaving you with a tasty but hard to deal with puddle of fat. And that’s not good eats.

Quickly I started slicing into the loaf of French bread I bought to make toast. A sprinkling of olive oil was added to each slice and I slid them into the oven alongside the marrowbones.

Once the tops of the marrowbones had properly crusted I removed them and the toast from the oven. The delicious and gooey marrow was spread thickly on the slices of toast with a healthy dash of salt.

To assemble the dish I poured a healthy amount of the onion soup into a deep bowl, placed one of the marrow-adorned slices of toast on top of the soup and, to finish it off, I dropped a handful of chopped parsley “dump-truck style” all over everything.

I’m a big fan of onion soup in general, and this is a fine, fine specimen of the onion soup genus. The duck fat and marrow added the rich, luscious flavor and mouth-feel that one would come to expect from onion soup, while the cider brought lots of nuanced flavors and a slight amount of extra sweetness. I can’t wait to make this again, it’s an easy and delicious way to present bone marrow to people who might be afraid of it on its own.

Now is your chance to meet Hank Shaw!

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Ryan

I’m sure that I’ve mentioned his name a few times on this site but if you don’t know who I’m talking about, Hank Shaw is the genius behind Hunter Angler Gardner Cook who has written a very well received cookbook. We’ve linked and talked back and forth for as long as my website has been around, and now you too get the chance to meet the accomplished author in person and try some of his recipes made with your area’s local bounty. How cool is that?

Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Hank is driving around the country doing dinner/book signings to promote his book, and having been to the first one I can tell you right now: Go make reservations, quickly.

Austin’s much celebrated Fino did an excellent job putting their own twist on Hank’s recipes, and the food was blissful. I mean, I can now say that I’ve had a squirrel rillette amuse bouche. Can you say that? Doubtful.

Photo by Holly Heyser

Above is a picture of Paul C. snagging on of the last Clams Casino, which was followed by Spring crab salad, a mind-blowingly great Provencal Fish Bisque with saffron, a herbed wild boar sausage, Hank’s version of Doves a La Mancha done with local quail (see below), and a blueberry sorbet based off his mulberry sorbet.

Photo by Holly Heyser

Those plump little quail were so mouth-watering I ended up making a very similar version for a few friends recently. If you want to be inspired, check out the dates and places below. This is one culinary event you DO NOT want to miss.

JULY 16 – Stella at the Cedar House Sport Hotel in Truckee. (Click for reservations)
JULY 24 – Forage SF in San Francisco. Hank will be cooking an all-wild tasting menu with Iso Rabins. (Click for reservations)
AUG. 18 – Sea Rocket Bistro in San Diego. This will be an all-sustainable, all-local seafood feast! (Click for reservations)
SEPT. 6 – Ludivine in Oklahoma City. (Details on tickets to come)
SEPT. 13 – Poole’s Diner in Raleigh. (Details on tickets to come)
SEPT. 20 – Bibiana in Washington, DC. (Click for reservations)
SEPT. 22 – Public in New York City. (Click for reservations)
SEPT. 28 – Craigie on Main in Boston. (Click for reservations)
OCT. 2 – Farmstead in Providence. (Click for reservations)
OCT. 5 – Eleven in Pittsburgh. (Click for reservations)
OCT. 11 – The Corner Table in Minneapolis. (Details on tickets to come)
OCT. 17 – The Drake Hotel in Toronto. (Click for reservations)
OCT. 20 – Vie in Chicago. (Click for Reservations)
OCT. 27 – Bin 119 in Billings, MT. (Call 406 294 9119 for reservations)

Salt Cod, Potato, and Tomato

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Ryan

I’m not sure exactly how the whole “cook twenty four hours straight” shtick managed to float itself to the top of my brain pan, but somehow we managed to pull it off and it’s time I went through and described the process and results for each recipe completed. First up, Salt Cod, Potato, and Tomato.

Here’s a picture of my trunk space full of all the ingredients we needed for the 24 hour cook-a-thon. A total of four grocery stores were visited in a span of about two hours. It felt oddly similar to this:

As midnight crept closer and closer, I started trying to figure out which recipes I could do on my own and which ones needed the touch of a professional. The Salted Cod, Potato and Tomato recipe was fairly straight forward and similar enough to the Salt Cod, Little Gem and Tomato salad I’d made last year that I felt confident starting with it. When the clock stuck twelve, I began.

The tomatoes and garlic needed to be roasted, which would remove moisture and sweeten both. The tomatoes were cut in half and the green hard piece removed as that part is tough and not much fun to gnaw on. My wife was more than happy to lend me a hand by peeling and trimming the ends off the garlic, and when she was finished we placed both the tomatoes and garlic in an ovenproof pan.

Salt, pepper and a healthy dash of olive oil joined the party and the dish was then placed in a medium hot oven until everything was soft and thoroughly cooked.

Did you know that your local supermarket likely carries salted cod? It’s true! Most places sell little wooden boxes stuffed with salt-cured cod in your seafood department. Here’s the innards of such a little box, which is perfect for most recipes. Each fillet was washed free of salt and placed in a cool bowl of fresh water to re-hydrate the fish.

While the roasting and re-hydrating was going on, I focused on the potatoes.

Both the potatoes and salted cod eventually found themselves gently boiling on the stove. When the potatoes were properly soft, I removed them from the heat, drained the excess water from the pot and set them aside. The cod needed more time to soften so it was left on the stove while the other ingredients were tended to.

Right before I started assembling the dish I realized that an important component had been forgotten: the hard-boiled eggs! Thankfully my range has an extra larger burner I can use to quickly boil water. Minutes later, I had three eggs cooling down in ice water, ready to be peeled and chopped.

With everything ready, it was time to put the dish together. The poached salted cod, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, a handful of chopped parsley and all the olive oil used for roasting went into a big bowl and were tossed by hand.

A single serving was carefully placed in a bowl and topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs.

It’s amazing how a single ingredient can play so many roles, but salt cod pulls it off so well. I’m assuming it’s due to the fact salted fish has been a staple of many European diets dating back well over 500 years. That’s a long time to experiment and tweak, and we’re all luckier for it.

This recipe is great for a filling-but not too heavy-lunch. As I’d found out with the Salt Cod, Little Gem and Tomato salad, the fish flavor was shy, almost demurely happy, letting the tomato take center stage. The potato and egg add a hearty element while the chopped parsley lends a bit of peppery bite to each forkful. A simple, elegant dish that’s easy to prepare and enjoy. I’ve made this once more since the marathon, and it was just as enjoyable.

One down, forty two to go.

Bon Appetit interviews Mr. Henderson

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Ryan

Hello all! I’ve been busy running and gunning, but don’t you think for a second that I’ve not been paying attention to the ever-changing, ever-intriguing world of food. As a matter of fact, Hunter Angler Gardner Cook writer Hank Shaw is in town right now and I have been oh-so lucky to have spent a good amount of time talking, cooking and laughing with him and my buddy Paul C. Hank is driving from state to state promoting his newly released book “Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast“. He also had a chance to sign copies for the people who donated during my crazy 24 hour cook-a-thon so, if you’re expecting a copy from me, it’ll be on it’s way to you this weekend–graced with Hank’s signature.

One of the things we talked about was Bon Appetit’s piece on Mr. Henderson which you can find on shelves now. There’s only one problem:

THEY DON’T MENTION MR. HENDERSON ON THE COVER AT ALL!

When I mentioned my irritation of the omission, claiming that Mr. Henderson had contributed more to cooking than Mrs. Paltrow ever would, Hank set me straight.

“I’ve seen her book actually, and it’s solid.” Hank said.

“Really?”

“Really, and you need to take something else into consideration Ryan. She’s a going to sell pallets of her book and people will likely cook from it. To you and I, Fergus isn’t far out there at all, but to the soccer moms and people who’ve never cooked before he’s a niche chef, cooking weird things. She’s going to have a big impact, and cooking will be better for it.”

It stung a little thinking of nose-to-tail eating as niche, but I couldn’t even begin to dispute his point. He was right, and I knew it. It’s my hope that some day the general population won’t gag at the idea of eating tripe, but that day isn’t here yet. It was a sobering conversation, but the wake up call was appreciated.

For you and I though, this article is excellent. Much love to Christine Muhlke for the insider’s view of a Sunday Roast with the Hendersons and to Ditte Isager for the exquisite photography. Each picture caused the grin plastered to my face to expand wider and wider. Below are pictures of the piece, but I highly suggest running out and grabbing a copy because of the recipes which include the oh-so-delicious Roast Bone Marrow with Parsley Salad and instructions on making quite possibly the best Chocolate Ice Cream to ever grace the planet. Yeah, it really is that good. Cross my heart.

You can check it out online too, but grab a physical copy if you can. Help support our food-writing friends.