Mamie Nona's Coq au Vin

No technically my mamie's recipe as a coq (hen) is nowhere to be found. She had scribbled this recipe numerous times, although in latter years she would just talk and I took notes. Whenever I made this dish and proudly let her know, the inevitable question arose: "but did you use a coq"? If I could find a hen I would, as the whole point was to cook and stew these tough old ladies until they became tender and edible. My humble value add to this dish is cutting the pancetta slab into dice rather than cubes. They are still big enough in size to provide nice taste and texture rather than to dominate every mouthful. 

chicken thighs, legs, wings (breast not a high priority)
1-2 onions
1-2 carrots (cut into 1 inch cylinders)
celery stalk

chives

1/4 garlic clove

buttter

light olive oil

bottle of best red wine you're willing to use (on the gutsy side)

3/4 cup home-made chicken stock (I made one from chicken necks last time)
1/4 cup cognac

1 tblsp ruby port
1 clove

half dozen black pepper corns

corn starch
pancetta slab (cut into dice as opposed to cubes)
button mushrooms

1. marinate chicken overnight in red wine, veggies, cognac, pepper and clove
2. take chicken out of fridge an hour before you need them
3. separate chicken and veggies, try to remove moisture by dabbing with paper towel
4. heat up a casserole, add a thumb of butter but mainly oil
5. season chicken generously with pepper and salt
6. when oil is hot, saute chicken pieces skin side down (don't touch them, let skin brown nicely all around)
7. when skin side nicely brown flip around and do the same (making sure they develop a nice color; keep heat at highest possible level without burning the chicken)
8. remove chicken from casserole working in batches if necessary; remove fat and add a small thumb of butter, a little oil and brown the veggies
9. sprinkle with some corn starch, not too much
10. once veggies browned, return chicken to casserole followed by the marinade and chicken stock
11. put in oven 150-160 degrees for about 90 minutes (slower cooking, lower temperature will lead to a more tender chicken)
12. a half hour before the chicken is ready, saute the pancetta dice until nicely rendered, remove and place over paper towel to reduce excess fat; remove excess fat from pan
13. add sliced mushrooms into same pan, with a little bit of butter and oil, salt and pepper until mushrooms are nicely browned; add some minced garlic and mix until they are well cooked and coat the mushrooms; add a little ruby port and continue cooking until liquid is eliminated
14. when chicken is done, gently remove from pot (as it will fall apart), retain the carrots and place aside; strain the sauce through a chinois
15. put chicken and carrots back into casserole with strained sauce, pancetta and mushrooms until heated through
16. serve on a nice, heated while oval platter with minced chives sprinkled over the top

Tonight's Dinner

 A lovely dinner for the Noddins between the holidays.

• Leeks vinaigrette David
• Mozzarella, Cantabrian anchovies, home-made chilli oil
• Beet-stained gravadlax on seed bread & the works: labneh, shallots, chives, lemon zest & oven dried capers
• Robuchon mash with fontina & confit wild mushrooms (souvenir de ma grand-mere)
• Foie gras, slow cooked onion compote on toasted baguette
• Boudin blanc aperitivo style, calvados-flamed & caramelized apples
• Brie de Meaux stuffed with a mix of truffle, Brillat de Savarin & creme-fraiche 
• Herb sald with chicken broth reduction vinaigrette 
• San Sebastian burnt cheesecake

Steak Diane

It took a Steak Diane to re-engage me. Loving what this dish represents: grand old dining devoid of pretension, tired hotel restaurants serviced by life-long devoted staff, in this case more likely an elderly gentleman in bow tie and apron cooking table-side in absolute control of cognac-induced flames, drizzling spoonfuls of sauce in repeated fashion, little by little over delicate little cuts of caramelizing filets. 

beef filets 

sliced brown button mushrooms

1 red onion

2-3 shallots

2 cloves of garlic, mashed to a paste with salt 

fresh tarragon, thyme, parsley, chives

maldon sea salt, ground black pepper

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup Madeira

Cognac

1 TBS sour cream

1 TBS dijon mustard

butter

1/3 cup home-made fond de veau or 1/2 cup chicken stock

1. flatten out steaks between parchment paper, to about a half to 2/3 of an inch thick
2. saute onions, followed by shallots and then mushrooms once the latter have caramelized somewhat
3. add salt to draw moisture out of mushrooms, add some (not too much) chopped tarragon and 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
4. when mushrooms have let off their water, add Worcestershire sauce, followed by Madeira and cognac; light the latter and let burn off before reducing sauce gently; add fond de veau or chicken stock, season with salt and pepper to taste
5. caramelize the filets on high heat in a separate pan until desired done-ness, let rest 10 minutes while sauce is reducing
6. right before adding the steaks to the pan with sauce, stir in a little mustard and sour cream until well incorporated, followed by some butter
7. let steaks warm through for no more than a minute to avoid further cooking
8. add a tiny drizzle of cognac and stir through to give a little contrasting bite to the fat
9. serve up on a warm heated platter with chopped chives and parsley on top

 

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

We know that risottos need to creamy and smooth. Typically that's done with butter, but here I've made a mushroom veloute which is both delicious and creamy.

combination of mushrooms, whatever looks good
EVOO
butter
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
garlic
chives
onions
arbrorio
best chicken stock
dried porcini
parmesan

1. soak porcini and eliminate sand
2. put garlic and mushrooms in a pan and saute with some EVOO
3. keep sauteeing until some caramelization sets in
4. deglaze with some what wine
5. add some porcini water to pan
6. season again and whizz up in a blender until you get a smooth veloute
7. saute chopped onions in butter and olive oil in a separate pan until golden but not browned
8. add rice (one handful per person) and let get sticky in pan
9. add white wine and once boiled down, add stock slowly and stir for about 18 minutes
10. toward end, add veloute to rice and fold in gently
11. ready to serve when desired consistency reached

Carta Musica, Bottarga, Chilli

Udon Mentaiko

From my favorite Japanese resto in Hong Kong. Secret recipe so the restaurant will remain nameless!

starch, best quality Udon
mentaiko
good quality vegetable oil
butter
fresh lime
fresh lemon
shiso
korean chilli powder

1. boil udon and save the water; heat oil on low heat, then add mentaiko and butter
2. add udon, turn heat up and add udon water until creamy and rich
3. add a couple of squeezes of lemon and lime
4. once plated, add shiso and chilli powder, as well as some extra mentaiko for garnish

Los Angeles Observations

Oh that blue sky and uplifting optimism that permeates everyone and everything. It'a a pity there's never enough time to sample more. I guess these little teaser trips keep us going back. Only regret is not going to Animal to this time, but still lots of highlights:

• Trois Mecs: luckily got a table, with the standout being the black truffle grilled cheese. 
• Rustic Canyon: our top dish here was better than anything at Trois Mecs: the Clam Pozole Verde
• Gjelina's: what's there not to like about riding your bike from Santa Monica via Venice to Abbot Kinney for lunch at Gjelina's? Highlight was ricotta gnocchi, beluga lentils with squid and salsa verde and the gob-smacking butterscotch pudding with salty caramel.
• Bestia: hugely popular Italian run by a charming young couple who have just gone for it. The gent is Israeli so traces of the Middle East in some of the dishes including the chicken liver which was spread around the interior of a terra cotta bowl like one would do with hummus in Beirut.
• Tasting Kitchen: around the corner from Gjelina's and feeling a little more grown-up. Smart crowd and Med fare not bad at all. Interesting that Jonathan Gold puts Gjelina much lower on his top 101 resto list. Although maybe slightly less refined than Tasting Kitchen, the flavors are gutsier at Gjelina.