Category Archives: Food & Dining
Culinary Alchemy in Scottsdale
The Stetson Salad
There are many elements that might make a dish extraordinary. It might contain hard to find ingredients or ingredients of spectacular quality. It might be prepared with techniques that require serious skills or significant attention. Often it is the recipe that is the key, suggesting a mix of ingredients that by themselves are fairly ordinary, but when mixed together create a fabulous symphony of flavors and textures.
One dish that particularly exemplifies this is the Stetson Salad at Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale Arizona. It has been described by reviewers as “life changing”. While that might be a bit dramatic, the salad is wonderful. This almost pedestrian list of ingredients (below) is presented to you deconstructed in beautiful ribbons of color like a Rothko. When tossed they are brought together with a creamy, fresh-tasting Basil Buttermilk dressing. With the first bite you realize that everybody has a role, a role in flavor, texture and color. Bitter,sweet, salty. Rich, crunchy, creamy. Yellow, red, white, green. Each bite is savored in a joyous analysis and adjectives flood the mind (ok, maybe it’s so good you have to be dramatic). You at once taste the individual elements but also the medley. The surprising star to me is the smoked salmon. Its rich texture and smoky flavor add an unexpected yet perfectly paired element.
This is one of the things I love and appreciate about cooking. The creative cook as the Conductor: choosing his players, assigning the roles, creating the balance and directing the presentation. Simply a salad? Yes, but also an example of the delicious results the daring culinary alchemist can achieve.
Israeli couscous • Arugula • Roma tomatoes • Smoked salmon • Asiago cheese • Toasted Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) • Black currants • Dried corn
Boar and Burrata in Marina Del Rey
I had an exceptional meal the other day. Actually it seems like I have a lot of exceptional meals so by definition they shouldn’t be
exceptional…but they are.
It was at a charming little restaurant in Marina Del Rey on probably the most horrific stretch of road in Los Angeles, and from what I have seen there is plenty of competition for that title. Once inside however the place was small and warm, like a comforting family owned restaurant in a Tuscan village. After a very warm welcome from the owner, a seat at a corner table and a glass of Barolo I was very happy to spot two menu selections that featured ingredients that are unusual to find.
The first was a salad featuring Burrata and Heirloom tomatoes. Burrata is a cheese originally from Puglia in Southern Italy and is always served very fresh. It looks like a luscious pillow where the outer layer is moist, fresh mozzarella and the inside is a mixture of mozzarella and fresh cream. When made correctly it is so creamy and delicious, no wonder Burrata
means “buttery”. When I cut into it the cream flowed out and mixed with the tomatoes and golden olive oil creating the most delicious essence. Combined with the softness of the cheese and gentle crunch of the gorgeous heirlooms it was extraordinary.
The other item was Wild Boar in a Brunello reduction. With more flavor than traditional pork but not quite “gamey”, boar is full of character and complex pork flavor. An ugly beast for sure, but what a wonderful culinary gift (not to mention the shaving brushes). The Brunello reduction added a deep, rich color and flavor. It was beautifully presented with root vegetables and was just fabulous.
The restaurant’s name is Locanda Positano and is very close to LAX. Take a redeye and enjoy.
London’s Burning But The Steaks Are Just Seared
MrPorter.com is a fantastic website featuring men’s uber-luxury items (for you ladies see Net-A-Porter.com). This is certainly not a discount site, the items are fabulous and full price. It also offers some wonderful articles on style, fashion, food and drink. The perspective is decidedly British and the writing is Monty Python meets James Bond. Follow the link for an entertaining little tidbit on beef philosophy and a tutorial on how to properly cook a steak. I use this method myself but use a cast iron skillet and finish the steak with black truffle butter.
After viewing the four slides on cooking a steak follow the link on the first page to the Hawksmoor site. The Hawksmoor is a high-end steakhouse in London. Check out the site and then immediately book first class reservations on BA and a suite at the Connaught, then click on the cow on the left side of the site for a nice tutorial on cuts of steak and proper preparation.
Italian Hams and Dutch Machinery – The Case for Intelligent Design?
Berkel Slicer Circa 1930
I was in Chicago last week and was having cocktails at Oseteria via Stato on a beautiful night. Behind the bar near a wood burning pizza oven, I spotted a vintage Berkel. For those not familiar with the Berkel, it is truly a functional work of art, very good at doing one thing: slicing meat very thinly. In the late 1800’s, a Dutchman named Welhelmus Adrianus Van Berkel worked as a butcher outside of Rotterdam. The guy was also very interested in engineering. Needing something to do in his garage at night, he set out to invent an automated meat slicer, and he was not willing to sacrifice quality for efficiency. After much trial and error, he created two innovations: a convex blade that simulated hand slicing and a moveable tray that precisely fed the meat to the blade. In the process, he created a beautiful machine.
San Daniele
I got to thinking about how cool it is that this machine from 19th century Holland made it possible to improve on an Italian work of art that dates back to before Christ. That work of art is prosciutto (dry cured ham). True prosciutto uses thighs of very specific pork varieties. They are salted and left to age in the open air for 8 months. This is when the magic happens. The climate and natural surroundings help give the meat distinct character. For my favorite from San Daniele, the Adriatic Sea air filled with ocean fragrances blows up the Tagliamento river and mixes with the cold mountain air off the Dolomites. This creates a fairly dry climate with gentle winds which are ideal for aging meat. The meat is rich and luscious and has a certain sweetness as compared with hams from Parma. The heat from your mouth melts the fat and the flavor is awesome.
A gift from San Daniele
So where am I going with this? These ancient hams are absolutely best sliced paper-thin. There’s another challenge… the fat runs in strips and too much friction in slicing can cause it to melt. Enter the Berkel. The precise adjustment of the table allows for mega-thin slices and the convex blade reduces friction because the only part of the blade touching the meat is the edge. Coincidence, or was the Berkel crafted by divine decree to caress the beauty out of the Prosciutto? Either way, these two artisan products seem destined for each other, and the epicurean world reaps the rewards of the marriage.
Voyage d'un Bon Vivant 