In anticipation of the various gatherings that occur around this time of year, we’ve pulled together five of our favorite cookbooks from recent months. Each day this week, CH will feature a different cookbook and a recipe, the sum of which will make up a complete holiday meal. Today’s…
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In anticipation of the various gatherings that occur this time of year, we’ve pulled together five of our favorite cookbooks from recent months. Each day this week, CH will feature a different cookbook and a recipe, the sum of which will make up a complete holiday meal. First up:…
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We drink a lot of juice at CH. Pressed juice is always our preference because we find it better tasting and more nutritious than that made with traditional juice machines that shred. While it’s easy to get our hands on great pressed juice in NYC, it’s not readily available…
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LA bartender Matt Biancaniello whips up a sweet summer cocktail with a new liqueur
From Heaven Hill Distilleries, makers of Elijah Craig whiskey and Rittenhouse Straight Rye, comes Mariposa, the first agave nectar liqueur on the market. Mariposa, which is concocted from 100% agave tequila and premium vodka, is named for the Spanish word for butterfly, paying tribute to the Monarch species indigenous to the Tequila region of Mexico. With an aroma of gardenias and rose oil, the liqueur makes for a highly mixable ingredient for sweet cocktails. For those wishing to limit or eliminate processed sugars from their diets, agave has become a popular alternative, and bartenders have found agave to be a helpful substitute for simple syrup and honey.
Bartender Matt Biancaniello of the Library Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in LA created a special cocktail with Mariposa that incorporates the flavors of summer. Biancaniello fills his bar with the freshest ingredients from no fewer than three local farmers markets every week, and strives to create new combinations from seasonal flavors he finds. Inspired by the Nicholas Family Farms blueberry juice, Biancaniello bucked his usual habit for intricate, ingredient-rich cocktails to blend a simple recipe that can be easily replicated at home.
2 ounces Mariposa
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce fresh blueberry juice
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with fresh blueberries and a slice of lime. (Alternative options: pomegranate or grape juice would also work well with the floral notes in the Mariposa.)
Mariposa is currently launching across the US this summer, and will be available for $25.
The ultimate foodie guide for this Olympic season
In the lead-up to the Olympic games in London this summer, a superlatively comprehensive guide to the best of the city’s food has just landed. Eat London 2 revamps the original 2007 edition with a new and updated array, taking the reader through the most toothsome digs in 15 London neighborhoods. The mouthwatering arrangement is the product of restaurateurs Peter Prescott and Terence Conran, who present the book as their personal guide to restaurants of the British capital.
While the recent economic climate may have lead to mass penny-pinching, the recession has not dimmed the vibrancy of the UK’s cafe, food and restaurant revolution. With foodie havens opening their doors daily, the streets of London have never been more plentiful. Cheap eats and Michelin stars fill the city, and with all the options around, a guide like this is indispensable to residents and tourists alike. The fold-out maps guide you through London’s labyrinthine streets, giving direction without the stigma of a traditional guidebook.
Whether you’re into food carts, gastropubs or fine French cuisine, the collection’s range has something for everyone in each neighborhood. To augment the directory, quotations from notable chefs and recipes for signature dishes are plated up alongside restaurant descriptions. Those who can’t make it to London will be sated by preparing a homemade dish of cuttlefish with broad beans and mint from Moro or Dover sole with Beurre Maître d’Hôtel from Lutyens.
Insider details for city eats are also given by notable local chefs. According to Chris Galvin of Galvin La Chapelle, “London is the greatest melting pot of ethnic cuisine in the world today and finally, we are blessed with lots of ‘young guns’ cooking and serving daring dishes and concepts.”
Eat London 2 is available from Octopus Books and on Amazon.
Paul Virant goes through a year of pickles, preserves and aigre-doux
From Paul Virant, chef-owner of the Chicago area’s Vie and Perennial Virant, comes a collection of recipes and techniques geared towards foods with a long shelf life. “The Preservation Kitchen” traces the Michelin-starred chef’s mission to dish out local and seasonal meals, offering instructions on proper canning techniques, full meal recipes and seasonal advice for pickled vegetables and fruit jams.
The vibrantly photographed kitchen companion is rife with stories surrounding Virant’s forays into preservation and his Midwestern heritage: “I grew up eating pickles,” he writes. “My grandmothers, both from Missouri, were avid canners, their summer meals often punctuated with a plate of tart dill-marinated tomatoes served straight from the refrigerator.” While the anglo-American influence is heavy in his recipes for pickles and preserves, his classical French training shines through in his exhaustive treatment of aigre-doux and mostarda.
Virant offers a practical set of guidelines for safe canning, breaking down the science and proper measurements for beginners, before launching into pickles, the foundation of his canning program. Going beyond strawberry preserves, the variety of recipes brings creativity to canning, from peach saffron jam and ramp sauerkraut to Virant’s Beer Jam Manhattan, which sweetens bourbon with a stout syrup and gets a brandied sour cherry as a garnish.
Recipes for preserves from the early parts of the book—which each come prefaced with a thoughtful introduction and chart outlining volumes and percentages—are later incorporated into seasonal meals in which Virant combines fresh ingredients with pantry-ready canned items, like grilled and pickled summer squash salad; chicken liver mousse with arugula, currant mostarda and grilled bread; and buttermilk ice cream with brandied peaches.
Shipping 3 April 2012, “The Preservation Kitchen” is available from Random House and on Amazon.
A nutty French refreshment from LA’s Victoria’s Kitchen
A longstanding French tradition, almond water has been produced in small batches by nut lovers around the globe for hundreds of years. Bringing this all-natural treat to the masses is Victoria’s Kitchen, a small, family-run company started by husband-and-wife duo David and Deborah Meniane to “honor the importance of family and traditions that are passed on from generation to generation.”
Loaded with the nutrients found naturally in almonds, the gluten-free beverage still uses Grandma Victoria’s original recipe of water, natural almond flavor, pure cane sugar—and, say the founders, her love—for sweetening. Although some may be put off by the added sugar, we can assure you the mild taste is just right.
Victoria’s Kitchen is available in select stores across California, Texas and Florida, as well as online where a case of 12 16oz bottles sells for $27.
A delicious day in the life and land of Nudo’s collaborative community
Since we covered Nudo’s “adopt-an-olive-tree” program a few years back, we’ve been repeatedly impressed by their commitment to bridging the gap between consumers and their food. With a global community of adoptive tree “parents” as well as a localized community of collaborative growers, the Nudo family goes far beyond their fields and presses. It’s a close community as well, with owners traveling to visit their trees and help with the harvest. The farm-to-table connection results in an olive oil that bears the innovative personality of those involved. On a recent visit to Le Marche as the brand’s guest, we met the trees, farmers, and olive millers who define Nudo Italia.
Beginning our day of immersion we left Casal Dei Fichi—our residence for the visit—early for the olive groves. Driving through Le Marche, it’s easy to become hypnotized by the textures of the trees and vines that decorate the landscape like massive bolts of corduroy. We arrived at Rosalio, the Nudo groves, where we picked and raked olives from the branches, which were collected and gathered on nets that ran down the hillside. When asked whether olives could be eaten straight from the tree, Nudo’s founder Jason Gibb explained that fresh olives are extremely bitter and even peppery (I tried one anyway. He was right.). He then told a story about a tree that grew by a cove, its olives falling into the sea. Washed in the seawater over time, the olives were found and enjoyed by a passerby—the reported discovery of brining. Gibb’s story fits with the Rosalio vibe, which is itself a kind of Italian fairy tale.
Leaving the groves by mid-morning, we arrived at the Corradini olive press to make lemon olive oil. Our freshly harvested olives were separated from their twigs and leaves, washed and sent into a basin where three granite wheels pulverized the fruit. Lemons were tossed whole into the mash, which let off a citrus scent of the infusion at work. After an extended cold mixing and going through a series of centrifugal presses, the oil was finally extracted and bottled, ready to be consumed after sitting for a month. This modern pressing process minimizes the olive paste’s exposure to air ensuring optimal freshness and the brightest possible flavor.
Gibb explained that the press charges by weight, so many farmers harvest later in the year when the olives are lighter, having begun to desiccate on the tree. He also notes that older growers prefer the traditional nylon press, which is more of an open-air process that results in an oil that goes rancid more quickly. Tasting oils produced in both the new and old ways I found the difference to be remarkable—olives pressed in the traditional manner had a much more basic, even blurry flavor. Nudo harvests their olives when they are just becoming ripe, paying a higher price to produce a better product.
Lunch came courtesy of Nudo collaborator Paolo Beretta and his wife Paola. The two run an “agriturismo” in Cossignano called Fiorano, where they grow olives for oil and grapes for wine production. Beretta worked most of his career as a dentist—a detail that’s evident in his impeccably maintained groves, vines and wine production facilities. Paola prepared our lunch alongside her mother, who were the keepers of a transcendental stuffed olive recipe that they were kind enough to share with us (see below).
Their “Olive Ascolane” was a delightful appetizer alongside the Fiorano wine. The olives were stuffed, then battered and fried in a mix of the family’s extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil. The fleshy “tenera ascolana” olives are favored in this rustic dish, which is named for the town of Ascoli Piceno. The piping hot morsels were filled with mortadella and parmesan cheese, as well as minced turkey, beef, and pork.
Our route to dinner in the charming village of Loro Piceno was met with a pleasant interruption at Peppe Cotto, the local butcher. The unrestrained character of Piceno serenaded us with a pigskin trumpet—which complimented his bowtie, also made of pigskin—as he served up vino cotto, or cooked wine, with a wheel of sausage on the rim of the glass.
Before leaving, he found time to give a live performance of a composition that was written on a sheet of dried skin. His fat sculptures were truly mesmerizing, decorating the display case with familiar characters and animals. Of all his eccentric performances, it was the puppet show enacted with the carcass of a chicken that left us reeling on the way out the door.
Visiting this community made the experience of tasting Nudo’s product even more special. As a region with a blossoming agriturismo business, it’s a definite destination to add to any foodie’s vacation wish list. In the mean time, to get a taste for yourself, check out Paola’s mother’s recipe for “Olive Ascolane” after the jump.
Photography by Josh Rubin and Masiar Pasquali
Olive ascolane
Ingredients for 4
“Tenera ascolana” olives
Pork—200g/7oz
Turkey breast—200g/7oz
Beef—200g/7oz
Mortadella—100g/3.5oz
Parmesan—80g/2.8oz
Eggs—4
White wine—1 glass
Nutmeg—to taste
Salt—to taste
Pepper—to taste
Bread crumbs—as required
Flour—as required
Extra virgin olive oil—as required
Sunflower oil—as required
Brown the chopped meat in a pan with a little oil, add salt and pepper and drizzle with white wine. Cover as soon as the wine has boiled away and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Place the cooked meat in an oven dish with the finely chopped Mortadella, the grated Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, a whole egg and a yolk. Mince finely with a chopping knife or with the mixer until smooth and thick. Stone the olives by cutting off the flesh in a spiral—start at the top of the olive and try to cut the flesh off in one piece. Take a piece of meat about the size of the original olive in your hand, roll into a ball and spiral the flesh of one olive around it. Then dip the ball first in the flour, then the beaten eggs and finally the bread crumbs. Do this for all the olives. Heat up the extra virgin olive and sunflower oils until boiling and deep fry the balls until golden brown. Serve hot or warm as a nice starter.
Our interview with the Korean pub grub master chef
Korean ingredients are popping up in the most unlikely of places. A few years ago a kimchee slider would have been a curiosity, but now in cities across the country bibimbap-inspired breakfast dishes and Korean flavor in comfort foods are taking their place in the culinary scene. Chef Debbie Lee has made a name for herself creating menus at several restaurants, appearing on the Food Network and now, with her new cookbook, Seoultown Kitchen, she shares her take on Seoul’s pub grub with recipes for small plates, skewers and cocktails.
Lee lives in Los Angeles, a city home to a massive Koreatown estimated to have more than 3000 restaurants, from Korean BBQ joints and noodle houses to tofu hot pot cafes, not to mention dozens of bars. For the last year she has been rolling around town in her Ahn-Joo food truck serving up her favorite Korean pub grub dishes, and has a brick-and-mortar snack bar set to open. We asked “Chef Deb” to sit down for a beer and a bite—spicy kimchee fried rice—to talk more about the cookbook, as well as the tastes of her childhood, her love of bar food and the origin of her Korean nachos.
Korean food has become part of daily food culture in several cities across the U.S. People have caught on not only to the great flavors and textures of the cuisine, but also their range of uses. Whether you are eating a classic bibibap or if you are jazzing up a burger with some kimchee, what’s not to love?
It’s my favorite way to eat. Being a chef and working restaurants all day long, Korean pubs are great to go to for a late-night meal, have a drink and unwind with your friends. It’s a ritual in Korean pop culture, contrary to the notion that we eat Korean BBQ every day. Galbi is like our steak and is eaten on special occasions, not for daily dining.
A lot of it comes from my childhood with my grandmother in the kitchen. Then having my own interpretation of my favorite items that I order in a Korean pub.
The concept of the Korean nacho was inspired from the classic take on tteokbokki. Typically the dish is wok-tossed with vegetables, sometimes pork belly and chile sauce. Nowadays the thing to do is to top it with cheddar or mozzarella cheese and broil it. So it got me thinking of taking it apart in a separate way while still keeping the concept of the original dish.
On 10 November my brick and mortar Ahn-Joo will be open daily at the Americana at Brand in Glendale, California. A true Korean snack bar!
Check out Chef Debbie Lee’s recipes for kimchee fried rice and Soju sangria after the jump, and watch a Korean grandmother’s tutorial on how to make kimchee here.
There are two things that I always want when I’m in a Korean pub: One is Korean fried chicken and the other is kimchee fried rice. Kimchee fried rice is the ultimate bar food and is great with a cold beer or a bottle of chilled soju. The spicy flavor of this quintessential fried rice melds perfectly with the sweetness of the twice-fried pork belly and the creamy texture of the fried egg yolk. It’s the best thing to make with surplus rice and kimchee. If you don’t have pork belly, I suggest using bacon, hot dogs, or even Spam.
1/4 pound pork belly, skin off, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
Sea salt and white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sesame oil, for frying
2 cups kimchee, julienned
1/4 cup Korean peppers (gochu), sliced into rings
4 cups cooked Calrose rice, chilled
1/4 cup kimchee juice, poured from a kimchee jar
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 tablespoon roasted and salted sesame seeds, for garnish
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the pork belly, soy sauce, and mirin. Season with salt and white pepper. Set aside. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork belly for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until the marinade caramelizes on the meat. Set the skillet aside, letting the pork continue to cook off the heat for about 10 minutes. Slice crosswise into 1/4-inch strips and transfer to a bowl. Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sesame oil and warm for 1 minute. Add the reserved pork belly, kimchee and Korean peppers and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the rice and break it up with the back of a wok ladle, tossing
constantly to prevent it from sticking to the wok. Add the kimchee juice and scallions, and season with salt and white pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside. Heat another nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the vegetable oil and warm for 1 minute. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook sunny side up until done. Season with salt and white pepper. Place a mound of fried rice on 4 separate plates and top each mound with a fried egg. Garnish with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.
I highly suggest making this the day before, so the fruits have time to steep with the soju.
1/2 cup grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup diced Korean pear- shingo
1/2 cup diced mango
1/2 cup diced plum
One 375-ml bottle of soju
One 8-ounce can aloe vera juice
1 ounce Grand Marnier
2 ounces simple syrup
1 lime, cut into lime wheels and then quartered, plus 4 wheels, for wine glass garnish
In a large container with an airtight lid, combine all the ingredients
except the garnish. Mix well and cover. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, if not overnight. Transfer to a serving pitcher and pour into the wine glasses. Garnish with
lime wheels.
A new print publication takes on nature with fresh eyes
As the name implies, Wilder Quarterly examines the natural world with unconventional eyes. The newly launched print magazine is the brainchild of Celestine Maddy, a finicky 33-year-old who took up gardening four years ago when she moved into a ground-floor apartment in Brooklyn that came with an overgrown backyard. When the advertising strategist turned to the handful of publications focused on horticulture, she found them all to be too in-depth for a novice or too boring to hold anyone’s interest. Wilder Quarterly is the upshot of these frustrations—the first issue presents a 164-page spread art directed by Wieden + Kennedy’s Monica Nelson.
While there is plenty of advice on growing, the quarterly is more concerned with the culture surrounding gardening—filmmaker Jonathan Caouette reveals his secret urban oasis, mycologist Paul Stamets discusses plant intelligence in the modern world, fermentation buffs stress pickling in autumn and seed bombing is taken back to its roots in 1970s NYC. Wilder editor Kate Sennert sheds light on urban farming with an investigative article on the socio-economic implications of community gardens in New Orleans instead of the typical story on farm-to-table freshness.
Comparing her first successful batch of strawberries to the rush of nailing an ollie, Maddy’s fresh perspective on gardening gives hope to anyone lacking a green thumb. “I still kill stuff, part of the joy of gardening is to try and try again.” Like skateboarding, when gardening you’ve got to keep going no matter how many times you may fall.
While Wilder is definitively a “young person’s growing and gardening magazine,” Maddy has made sure to include something for all experience levels, from novice to expert. With snippets of poetry, offbeat photos and mouthwatering recipes, the print-only publication is an enticing read for anyone who appreciates all that nature has to offer.
A sneak peek of the inaugural issue can be viewed online, where you can also purchase a copy of Wilder Quarterly for around $19. Buying a subscription ($60) helps support the Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit that provides free summer camp to children from disadvantaged communities. The first 100 CH readers to subscribe with the code WQ1011CH15 will receive a 15% discount.
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