Mar
2010
Chorizo and pine nut stuffed dates
Here is yet another recipe for the ladies of Innis Arden.
.
Medjool dates - use a sharp pairing knife to make a short cut along the pit to remove it and provide a pocket for your stuffing.
Dry cured Spanish chorizo - small dice
pine nuts - toasted and roughly chopped
fresh thyme - stems removed and finely chopped
sherry vinegar
olive oil
.
in a bowl combine the chorizo, pine nuts, thyme and mix
add sherry vinegar and olive oil to taste - the mixture should be lightly dressed
with a small spoon stuff your dates and line them on a sheet pan
bake at 350 until hot
top with olive oil and sea salt - serve
.
a quick note about sourcing product - everything for these recently posted recipes can be sourced from the following three phenomenal Seattle shops
.
The Spanish Table - great for olive oil, piquillos, pimenton, etc.
Pike Place Fish Market - ridiculously fresh seafood and excellent salt cod if you don’t want to make your own
Frank’s Produce - The best fresh produce in the market, hand’s down.
Support these local businesses!
Mar
2010
Recipe! Bacalao-stuffed Piquillo Peppers
Look for a few more recipe posts from the Spanish food and wine exercise that we recently presented at Innis Arden in Seattle. And please do check out the notes we’ve posted on the wines below!
.
Bacalao-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers
.
Serves 6
.
12 piquillo peppers – the Spanish table in Seattle’s Pike Place market has these
¾ # fresh atlantic cod
kosher salt
bay leaf
peppercorns
cayenne
thyme
garlic – whole cloves crushed w/ skin on
3 cups whole milk
½ # potatoes
olive oil
pimenton
.
salt the cod generously and place in a perforated pan covered in the fridge for 2 days
combine milk, bay, cayenne, thyme, garlic and peppercorns – bring to a low simmer
rinse cod and poach in milk mixture until cooked through
remove cod – let cool – remove any bones and/or skin
cook potatoes in milk mixture until tender and remove
strain milk mixture
add potaotes and cod to a mixer or large bowl
using a paddle or masher mix the potatoes and cod, adding the milk and olive oil as need to reach a smooth
consistancy
check seasoning and cool
stuff peppers with cod mixture and roast until hot and slightly crispy on the edges
serve with pimenton and finishing olive oil
Dec
2009
Pairing Breakdown: Aged Champagne with Porcini Mushrooms ala Plancha!
This is the first in a series of posts offered in explanation of the pairings we put together for the Marx Foods ecookbook. The series is intended to give insight into how wine nerds like us think about pairing food and wine.
.
Porcini Mushrooms ala Plancha with Aged Champagne. Hell yes. pg 4
.
Aged Champagne is a pleasure all too rarely endulged. Most of us have had occasion to slurp down some young bubbles — and lord knows that can be entirely fulfilling, but well-made Champagne with a little age on it can turn into a magical beverage. The texture can be enthralling, and the wines take on delicious savory notes that play beautifully against the background of still-vibrant citrus and tree fruit.
.
The most prominent savory note in aged champagne tends to be mushrooms, which is what led us directly to this pairing. Champagne offers excellent acidity, which is necessary to cut through the richness of the preparation (butter!). And then there’s that dose of sweet that does wonders for the fleur de sel sprinkled on top of the porcinis:
Most Champagne is topped up with a dosage of still wine and sugar before being corked. The amount of sugar in the dosage constitutes it’s stylistic designation. The majority of Champagne is made in the Brut style, which by law can contain no more than 15 grams per liter of sugar in the dosage. A good producer will keep the dosage below 10 g/l; he harvests ripe fruit, and so doesn’t need much additional sugar to cover up the sharp bitterness that unripe fruit will develop with time.
.
I’d recommend a Vintage champagne with 10 or more years of age. The following vintages would rock with this pairing: 1999, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1989, 1988.
If you can find it, Vintage Champagne that has been recently disgorged (”RD”) would be extra fabulous. Wines with this designation have been aged on their lees for longer than typical. Vintage champagnes are required by law to be aged on their lees for at least three years (most are aged for longer), and recently disgorged wines are aged sur lie for even longer. The lees impart additional complexity to the wine and also offer it “food” to keep growing. Sur lie aging promotes long-life and great flavor development.
.
Here’s a short list of Champagne producers that we dig:
Apr
2009
Crunchy Cauliflower
I have “borrowed” this recipe from one of my favorite local restaurants, Spinasse. Located at 14th and Pine, it is 2 blocks from my house and way too easy to go there multiple times a month. Opened about a year ago by the talented Justin Niedermeyer, the cuisine is all about Piemontese classic dishes from vitello tonnato to crudo to roasted goat…..and then to pasta. The pasta is sublime, the gnocchi in brodo (broth) is ridiculously good, simple but so well crafted you feel like you could eat a portion twice the size and not think twice. I could wax poetic about this place but there is a great blog post that you can find here.
.
A couple of visits ago we had roasted cauliflower that blew my mind and since we seem to make this at my house about once a week. We ordered it thinking that it was going to come like any other roasted vegetable, cut into florets and roasted with olive oil/butter, salt and pepper. When it came to the table we were surprised by a quarter of a head of cauliflower that appeared to be either extremely well carmelized or perhaps burned to a crisp on the two cut sides. Knowing that Justin and his crew wouldn’t send out burned food we dug in with enthusiasm. The outside is crunchy and sweet with a perfectly cooked interior, soft but still with a little tooth to it. I asked my favorite bartender Michelle how this was made because I wanted to eat it everyday for the rest of my days and she simply laughed and said “You tell me, Mr. C.I.A.!”. After a moment looking dumbfounded it came to me - “Cast Iron!” - whew, all that schooling did pay off.
.
So here is the process. Heat your well-seasoned cast iron over medium heat. In the meantime, quarter your cauliflower and season liberally, making sure salt gets into the innards of the quartered piece. Add some high heat oil to the pan such as peanut or grapeseed. Place the cauliflower cut side down and sear for 15ish minutes until well carmelized, it will look almost burned. Flip onto other side and repeat. By the time the second side is done the inside will be perfectly cooked. Finish with a drizzle of delicious olive oil.
