Margarita Time!

Several years ago, we had the BEST Margarita we'd ever had: in the Baccarat Bar at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The quest began for a perfect Margarita. We've been making this for a while, but now it's time to share.

Margarita Recipe!
From Mike and Trish, 4-19-07

Tequila: 3 parts
Cointreau: 1 part
Lime Juice (freshly squeezed): 2 parts
Simple Sugar Syrup: 1 part
ICE
Salt (coarse, sea salt)

Make Simple Sugar Syrup ahead, and store in a jar, refrigerated. To make, heat 1 part water (e.g. 1 cup) to boiling in a pot, add 1 part (e.g. 1 cup) granulated sugar, boil until all sugar is dissolved, cool before using. This makes enough for several margaritas.

The drink:

Wet the perimeter of a glass with lime juice. Salt the rim with coarse sea salt. Add the four liquid ingredients. Mix, add ice, and garnish with a lime slice on the rim.

Soupe au Pistou

Earlier this summer, before I started this diary, Michael made this soup from Richard Olney's book "Simple French Food" (Wiley Publishing, 1974). This soup was really our first demonstration this summer of the absolute best that the vegetable world can offer. I was so taken with this soup, that I emailed family and friends the link to the recipe online:
http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/Simple+French+Food/Soupe+au+Pistou+%28Vegetable+Soup+with+Basil+and+Garlic%29

While redundant somewhat, I am reprinting it here. Make sure you have a nice ciabatta or a rustic French bread, and some ice cold butter, to accompany. With each bite of soup, recover a dab of pistou from the broth. You will be utterly amazed. I nearly fell out of my chair.

Soupe au Pistou
(Vegetable Soup with Basil and Garlic)

Serves 4 to 6
(From Olney) The French have imposed their own pronunciation on the Italian minestrone to describe a hearty soup of boiled vegetables and pasta. The Provençal pistou is a pomade of garlic, fresh basil, grated cheese, and olive oil, descendant of the Genovese pesto. A soupe au pistou is a minestrone into which, at the moment of serving, a pistou is incorporated. Beyond that point of definition, no two are alike.

Soup
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finely sliced crosswise
6 oz. sweet onion, finely sliced
6 oz. carrots, peeled, split, woody core removed, finely sliced
12 oz. potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, sliced
10 oz. pumpkin-type squash, seeded, peeled, coarsely diced
1 lb. (before shelling) fresh white beans (or the equivalent of precooked dried beans)
Bouquet garni: celery branch, parsley, bay leaf, thyme
2½ qt. water
Salt
6 oz. fresh green beans, tips snapped, cut crosswise (a handful at a time) into approximately ½-inch lengths
2 or 3 small, firm zucchini (about 8 ounces), cut into ¼-inch slices
1 cup short or “elbow” macaroni

Pistou
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 packed handful fresh basil leaves and flowers
Salt
Pepper, freshly ground
1 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
1 medium-sized, firm, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut into pieces
1¼ cups olive oil

Add leeks, onion, carrots, potatoes, squash, white beans, and the bouquet garni to salted, boiling water and cook, covered, at a light boil for about ½ hour. Test the beans for doneness and, if necessary, cook a bit longer, or until they may be crushed with little resistance while remaining still completely intact. Add the green beans, zucchini, and macaroni, and cook another 15 minutes until the pasta and green beans are done but not too soft.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the pistou: Pound the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper to a paste in a good-sized mortar, using a wooden pestle and alternating between pounding and turning with a grinding motion. Work in some cheese until you have a very stiff paste, then add about one third of the tomato, pounding and grinding to a paste, more cheese, a bit of olive oil, more tomato, and so forth, the final addition of cheese bringing the consistency to that of a barely fluid paste. Add the remainder of the olive oil slowly and progressively, turning the while. It will not produce a genuine emulsion and should not. It will have to be mixed thoroughly each time it is served out to the soup.

Serve the soup boiling hot, with the mortar of pistou at the table. Each diner stirs a small ladleful (1 or 2 tablespoons) into his soup. (NOTE: I recommend serving, as Michael did, in a French onion soup-style bowl: it is deep and not very wide, so the pistou stays relatively together at the top and the soup retains heat. With each spoon of soup, you can easily grab an edge of pistou. Then, a delight in eating this soup is the gradual re-introduction of pistou at some advanced point in the meal. Once you run out of your first helping of pistou, you will want to restore it to your bowl, by the tablespoon (!), to accompany the remainder of the soup. )

Rice, Two Delectable Ways

Here are two rice recipes that occur within a page of each other in Claudia Roden's "The New Book of Middle Eastern Food" (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2000). I love both of these recipes but particularly "beg" for the first. We have not modified either recipe from the original, except for adjusting the proportions of butter and olive oil in the second. While I am sure that we must have made the first one, at least, for visiting family, I always yearn to share, and thus think about our family when we have it. As always, Michael discovered this book, and these recipes. I just go along for the ride (and the tasting!). Note that the remarks that follow the "serving" size guidelines are directly from the Roden book. I've preserved these remarks, and of course credit her fully for the recipes and the notes, because they add interest and context to the recipes which are already wonderfully exotic.


Roz bel Zafaran
Spiced Saffron Rice
(Trish's favorite, as marked in our copy of Roden's book....)

Serves 6 Yellow rice is a festive, celebratory dish, prepared for its delicate flavor and decorative quality, and in the hope that its color will bring joy and happiness. This spiced version is particularly delicious.

2 cups basmati or long-grain rice
3 cups chicken stock (we make our own and freeze it for use over time, or buy organic stock)
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds (they are rather large, and green. If you are unfamiliar, visit an international , Asian, or Indian market to secure this important ingredient).
6 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks, about 3 inches long
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads (Trader Joe's sells good saffron for a reasonable price)
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil (best if half one and the other)

Rinse the rice in water under the tap until the water runs clear.
In a sauce pan, bring the stock to a boil with the cardamom seeds, cloves, and cinnamon sticks and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the saffron and a little salt and pepper, then pour in the rice. Bring to a boil again and stir well, then lower the heat to a minimum and cook on low heat with the lid on for around 20 minutes. When done, small holes will appear on the surface of the rice, and the rice will be tender.
Stir in the butter, cut into pieces, or the oil (we use both, half and half).
Serve the rice hot, in a mound, or press in a mold and heat through in the oven before turning it out.

(Note: I can't help but mention that you will see how the cinnamon sticks expand and encapsulate some of the rice. The rice that becomes trapped is so intensely flavored, and I always look forward to scooping it out for a solitary delight. Michael is not a fan of those bits, so there is no competition. But you may be surprised when you prepare this with your loved ones at home!).

Sabzi Polow
Rice with herbs

Serves 6 Iranians have a predilection for fresh herbs, which they use in huge quantities. This traditional Iranian New Year's dish consists of rice cooked with a variety of fresh herbs. Their greenness is believed to ensure a happy and "green" year ahead. The herbs are chosen according to individual taste and mood, and to what is available. Favorite Iranian herbs include tarragon, chives, flat-leaf parsley, dill, fenugreek, and cilantro. Choose 3 or 4 or use them all, but try to use fresh ones.

2 cups basmati rice
salt
A huge bunch (2 cups) of mixed herbs, including tarragon, chives, flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and dill, finely chopped
6 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil

Wash the rice in warm tap water and drain in a collander.
Bring plenty of salted water to a boil. Pour in the rice and boil for around 12 minutes, until the rice is slightly still undercooked. Add the herbs and scallions, then drain off the water at once (by pouring the mixture into a collander that retains the rice and herbs). The herbs will cling to the rice.
In the same pot, heat half the butter and oil. Pour in the (herb-coated) rice, add the remaining butter and olive oil and some salt. Stir gently, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and steam for 15 to 20 minutes over very low heat.

A variation of the above would be to add the herbs at the end, after the rice has been steamed.

Super (fried!) Snapper

Summertime is perfect for a fish fry. Tartar sauce is required. We made this last weekend and it's the best yet.

Fried Snapper

1/2 pound very fresh snapper filets, boned (with needle-nose pliers) and cut into pieces (around 3 by 2 inches)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cayenne pepper and paprika
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup light beer (the original recipe called for club soda, but beer works well)
oil for frying (canola is what we used)

Wash the fish in running water, and pat with towels to dry. Run your fingers over the surface of the fish to discover the small bones. Using the needle nose pliers, pull each bone straight out, minimally removing flesh and keeping the filet intact. This takes a bit of time and patience, so sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy the task. When you are done, cut the fish into fry-able chunks (as above).
Mix the dry ingredients well, then add the beer. Stir well to mix, until smooth. Coat each filet by dredging through the batter.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees F in a shallow frying pan. Confirm the temperature with either a laser thermometer or a candy thermometer. Fry the fish until golden brown, turning after around 1 minute. Overall frying time for 1/2-inch thick filets is approximately 3 minutes.
After frying, drain on dry towels and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.

Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise (Best Foods light is best)
1 tablespoon dill pickles, chopped
1/2 tablespoon onion, grated
1/2 tablespoon parsley
1/2 tablespoon capers, chopped finely so that they "disappear" into the sauce.
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic

Mix the ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate. The flavors blend with a bit of aging (over an hour or so).

Fall (and Summer!) Vegetable Ragout

It seems apropos to launch this blog with a celebration of Alice Waters. Michael has most of her cookbooks. His craft is in knowing, based on the season and his own evolution in taste and ability, what to try and when.

Here's is what we nearly fell out of our chairs about last night. It was really diffcult to save half of it for another meal, but we will be glad we did:

Fall Vegetable Ragoǔt
from “The Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook” Alice Waters, 1982, Random House, NY. P. 140.

Serves 4

1 large, very ripe tomato
1 red onion
6 to 8 mushrooms
1 small zuchinni
¼ pound green beans
1 medium sweet red pepper
12 to 14 fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic
¼ cup virgin olive oil
about ½ cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
unsalted butter to taste
lemon juice

Peel, seed, and dice 1 very ripe tomato. Thin-slice 1 red onion, and quarter 6 to 8 mushrooms. Slice 1 small zuchinni into ¼-inch rounds. Top and tail ¼ pound green beans and French-cut them. [NOTE: Michael didn’t French cut the beans. They were fresh from our garden, picked earlier in the day, and were, instead, blanched, transferred to ice, then cut into 1 to 1-1/2-inch long pieces---very good!]. Stem and seed 1 red pepper and cut it into thin slices. Stem 6 or 7 basil leaves, 2 to 3 sprigs parsley, and 2 sprigs thyme, and mince them finely with 1 clove of garlic.

Blanch the green beans [as above] for 4 minutes, refresh [in ice water, to stop the cooking], drain, then set aside. Heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan and add the sliced mushroom, the onion, the red pepper and a little salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat. When the vegetables have softened slightly, add the tomato, the minced herbs, the zucchini, and a little chicken broth for moisture. (At this point only about ¼ cup of the broth will be needed). Season again lightly with salt and pepper. Light seasoning should follow each addition, as it helps the vegetable flavors come together.

Lower the heat, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are just crisp and tender. Add the blanched green beans, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Add 6 to 7 whole basil leaves, and more olive oil and unsalted butter to taste, and stir the ragout over high heat for ½ minute. The vegetables’ flavors should marry in a rich spicy sauce, but the vegetables should remain crisp.

Welcome, to Mike's Cooking !

This is Trish, wife of an extraordinary cook, Michael. A good friend at my workplace (a university) corrected me once when I said that Michael was a "student of food". Rather, Josh says "No, he is a scholar of food". I agree, and just like other scholars who endeavor in their field for years, Michael just keeps getting better.
Usually it's dinner. Most nights I find myself saying: "I wish ______could taste this!" Michael is fine with cooking for two, but he loves to please anyone who can taste the difference. Sometimes we are filling that blank with "Mom". Sometimes it is another relative or friend. But I am usually the only recipient of his extraordinary meals that are the culmination of his: studying countless recipes for probably hours and hours every week, buying cook books and scouring each for possibly the only 1 or 2 "good" recipes, studying websites and cooking magazines for recipes and techniques, continuously researching and updating his kitchen tool chest (pans, pots, knives, sharpeners, garlic presses, green bean Frenchers), faithfully shopping at our farmer's markets for the best produce every week for the last decade, growing all the herbs required for most dishes, growing summertime vegetables, shopping selectively for the best chicken, finding the best butcher for meats, learning where to find the best olive oil (now by internet shopping), discovering the best Italian canned tomatoes and learning where to find them locally, buying candidate bread loaves at local artisan bakeries (and using them for fresh breadcrumbs if they're not his favorite for toast or croutons), keeping several loaded lemon trees a few steps from our kitchen courtyard.....The list is so long, but we get the picture: Michael is devoted to good ingredients in good food. He doesn't have blanket disclaimers like "fresh" or "only organic" or "natural" or "gourmet". No, it just has to be "good" in his world, to qualify. He knows by reading a recipe what works. Sometimes he's fooled, but rarely. He loves to be the generator of a sigh of satisfaction, but he never gloats and doesn't expect any accolades. He is happily on a continuous quest for facilitating the eating pleasures of those he loves. Oh, and I should not forget that he does eat out, with just as much selectivity and verve that guides his cooking. Everyone knows: if you want to know where to find good food, just ask "Mike".
So, enough of the entree. This blog is to record, some of the experiences we have with Mike's cooking. My role in cooking with him is mainly being his sous chef, and washing many, many plates and pans, and also (!) frequently being the only "guest" at his table. Over the years, I have developed opinions and favorites. But they keep shifting because he grows, continuously. Here, I just want to provide a forum where others can read about his latest fantastic flavors. An occasional restaurant review may float in.