Snails Alive!

This week’s topics include another trip down Southern memory lane for the WF (fried chicken!), Grandma’s gravy, my favorite mashed potato method, mmmmm.... snails, a first time dish for the WF, and a review of Petite Maison in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Restaurant Review – Petite Maison, Scottsdale, AZ.  Recently the Red joined me on a business trip to Arizona and we met our friends R & S for dinner at a place of their choosing – a French restaurant called Petite Maison in Old Scottsdale, Arizona.  Before we met them, R actually asked me if I liked French food.  Uhh… yeah.  What part of aspiring Francophile was unclear?!

First, the setting.  This is a tiny French country restaurant in the desert.  I’m not going to lie.  The very idea seems a bit off.  But, lord knows I have an open mind about food and you can’t judge a book by its cover, so in we go.  

Check out the utter coziness of this place.  All wood interior, and I bet it doesn’t seat more than 25 people inside.  Great place to sit and enjoy a dinner the French way, which as near as I can tell means you need at least 2 hours to make it through dinner.

We order various appetizers, including a cheese plate (oh how I love the fromage) and, wait for it,…. Escargot.  Yep – snails.  Neither the Red nor R would join us for the delicate morsels (I can’t imagine why).  You know the Wannabe Foodie was on those snails like a rat on a cheeto.  They were divine.  Then again, anything cooked at high heat and drenched in butter and garlic has to be good. 

The Red ordered the Festons (seared sea scallops) and I ordered something I had never seen before – Joues de Veau.  Ok, WF, enough with the Frenchy McFrench crap.  What is Joes de Veau? 

Braised veal cheeks. 

Alright, before you get on your huffy bike and call down condemnation on me for eating veal, ..well..  Ok, you’ve got me.  There really is no good justification for eating veal, particularly once you learn how these animals are raised.

However, I had never seen these items on a menu.  Anywhere.  Halibut cheeks?  Absolutely.  Veal cheeks?  No.  I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to try something completely new.  I mean, come on!  I’ve got a food blog, and you can only write so much about hillbilly comfort food!

The cheeks were one of the most succulent things I’ve had.  Imagine fall apart beef short ribs.  Now add in the buttery flavor of veal and a lot more tenderness.  Very nice.

The Red’s scallops were very tasty, but when I tried my first bite I leaned over and said “Did you notice that there’s sand in those?”  You really can’t overlook something like that.  The grittiness of sand as you chomp into something?  Not good.

Dessert?  They had what is probably my favorite dessert, if it’s done right.  Souffle de Grand Marnier.  A vanilla soufflé which they cut into at the table and pour a Grand Marnier cream sauce into.  This thing rose 3 inches off the soufflé dish and was probably 5 inches tall.  The Red and I shared one, which I washed down with some Courvoisier Cognac.  I swear.  I could eat a couple of these things all on my own.  Absolutely fabulous.

The Overall Review of Petite Maison?  All in all, pretty good French food for respectable prices.  Not “Oh my god” good (except for the soufflé), but pretty good.  I would recommend this place to friends and readers. 

The WF’s Continuing Theme of Hillbilly Comfort Food.  First, the backstory.  As I mentioned in prior blogs, I spent my early childhood (through elementary school) in the South.  How South, you say?  Jackson, Mississippi.  South enough for you?

I grew up watching the matriarchs of my family make various Southern staples.  One of these was pan fried buttermilk chicken.  I often revisit this dish at home, and it always brings a smile to my face.  I mean really – what kind of commie freak doesn’t love fried chicken?!

My recipe – I marinate the chicken in buttermilk for 10-24 hours.  This last time, I also threw in some lemon thyme and German thyme into the buttermilk.  I drain the chicken and season it with paprika, cayenne, granulated garlic, and sea salt.  I then dredge the chicken in plain old flour, and let it sit on a rack a few minutes before frying it.  The flour and the remaining buttermilk are more than enough to make a great crust.

I fry the chicken in my big ol’ cast iron in about a quarter inch of canola oil.  My grandma used shortening, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.  A quarter of an inch is about all you need.  Remember that you’re going to almost fill the pan up with chicken and you only want the bottom half of the chicken frying.  A quarter inch or so of oil is plenty.

A note on how hot the oil needs to be.  A lot of cooking shows and recipes insist that the oil needs to be an exact temperature.  I’m sure they’re right, but I never saw my Southern matriarchs using thermometers to check the oil temperature.  They would just drop some flour in the pan.  If it sizzles nicely, the oil’s hot enough.  It’s really not more complicated than that.

I fry the chicken about 6-8 minutes per side, or until it’s done.  I do, however, use an instant read thermometer to make sure the chicken is fully cooked.  I know Grandma didn’t need no stinkin’ thermometer, but I simply don’t have her mad fried chicken kung fu.  I’m trying, but I’m not there yet.

I served it with my Grandma’s pan gravy (yes, it’s made from scratch with a little of the oil and some drippings), sautéed fresh green beans, mashed red potatoes, and a fresh caprese salad that our neighbor brought over. 

The review?  This is truly awesome chicken and quintessential Southern pan fried chicken.  Lots of crunch and slightly salty.  I spent a lot of time with the gravy and it was about as good as I can make gravy.  You just can’t have fried chicken without a good gravy, and mashed potatoes.

A note on mashed potatoes.  I’ve tried them every way you can make them and I’ve settled into a simple recipe.  I boil whole or half red potatoes with cloves of garlic in salty water.  I like the reds because they hold up a lot better, and the boiled garlic gives a nice, mellow garlic flavor when it’s blended into the final dish. 

I run them in my standing mixer with butter, a little milk, kosher salt, and pepper, but I don’t blend them until they’re a uniform puree.  I leave lots of chunks, and it’s not overly creamy.  Just good, simple mashed potatoes.

I always make lots of mashed potatoes.  They are comfort food for the Red and never go to waste.

Happy cooking.

WF 

The Gospel According to the Wannabe Foodie

This week’s topic include an uncharacteristic introspective by the Wannabe Foodie, camping is not synonymous with bad food, I make comfort food, the gospel according to the Wannabe Foodie, and a random travel note for your enjoyment. 

The WF’s recent hiatus.  I recognize that the last couple of posts haven’t followed the normal once per week schedule.  I simply haven’t felt very ‘bloggy’.  Frankly, I haven’t been cooking much, which partially explains the lack of ‘blogginess’.

This lack of cooking also likely explains my generally cantankerous nature lately.  Everyone’s got something(s) they enjoy doing and which relaxes them.  For me, that’s cooking, whether it’s just for the family or for 30 people, and writing about it.  Lately, I haven't been doing enough of either. 

Tonight I’m cooking (see WF comfort food below) and writing about it and all’s well in the world.

Enough with the uncharacteristic introspective and on with the blog. 

Camping food doesn’t have to suck.  Another hobby of the Wannabe Foodie is camping, whether it be in a tent or in our old camper trailer.  The peace and quiet, the abundance of stars, and cocktails around a massive campfire… What’s not to like?!

However, when camping, I do not subscribe to the notion that you have to eat crappy food.

A group of friends and I recently did our annual Dads’ camping trip.  It’s just the Dads and the kids.  Oddly enough, the wives seem to enjoy the weekend with an empty house more than the actual participants.  Funny how that works.

We always eat well.  Check out these dinners….  Thursday night – bacon-wrapped venison tenderloins and sirloins, salad, baked beans, and the WF’s homemade rosemary garlic bread.  Friday night (the WF’s night to cook) – seared silver and king salmon fillets, lime-butter corn (fresh lime zest is the bomb on corn on the cob), salad, and bread.  Friday night – marinated tri-tips, misc. sides, and lots of red wine.

Who says camping sucks?!

Comfort food for the WF.  As some of you know, I spent my early childhood in the South.  As a result, there are some dishes which are pure comfort food to me.  One of those dishes is chicken and dumplings.  It’s like chicken pot pie and chicken soup, all in one dish.  I’m sure there are some godless heathens out there who have never had this dish.  Shame on you and your food snobbiness.

As a child, I wasn’t smart enough to pay attention to how my aunt and grandma made this dish, so I’ve resorted to attempting to recreate it.  I’ve tried a few recipes and I think I’ve finally found one that I think is absolutely awesome.  It’s Tyler Florence’s recipe and it includes buttermilk dumplings.  Chicken and Dumplings Recipe.  The Things and I love this dish.  I’m pretty sure the Red just loves Tyler Florence.

Whenever possible, I use my own smoked chickens and homemade stock made from the carcasses.  If I don't have my own smoked chicken meat for the dish, I'll substitute a rotisserie chicken from Costco.

Here’s the final dish.  

The review?  Pretty darn good and quintessential comfort food.  Seriously, no matter how bad your day was, if someone puts a bowl of this in front of you, you will smile.  I promise.  The fragrances of the buttermilk dumplings, the sweet pearl onions, the earthy garlic, the floral bay leaves…  It’s enough to make a grown man cry. 

One criticism of my own dish – it needed a bit more salt.  That’s the upside and downside to using your own stock.  It has absolutely no salt in it, so you have to add salt to whatever dish you’re using the stock in.  I struggle a bit with bringing enough salt to the dish without adding too much.  It’s a delicate balance and I’m working on it.

The Gospel according to the Wannabe Foodie.  I believe that there are certain truisms and rules by which you should live your life.  Some of these are:  a) don’t piss into the wind; b) if you piss off Mom, inevitably Dad will get pissed off as well (it takes you well into adulthood to understand why that occurs); c) karma is a bitch; d) as a man, you always need to keep more money in the proverbial marital bank than you think you need because inevitably you’ll do something stupid and force a withdrawal; and e) One of the Red’s truisms – when it comes to romance and dating, the woman always knows what’s going on.  The guy is often clueless.

Go ahead and try to argue that last truism.  I dare you.

I suggest that there is another truism in life that some of you may not be aware of.  If you’re at a restaurant and macaroni and cheese is listed as an entrée (not on the kids’ menu) or highlighted among the sides, order it.  Somebody in the kitchen thinks their mac ‘n cheese is so good that it deserves to be on the menu.  They learned it from their grandma or mom, or that classically trained chef in the back just can’t resist the urge to revisit a childhood favorite.

90% of time or more, the mac ‘n cheese will rock.  Trust me on this.

Here’s an example – the lobster mac ‘n cheese at the Corner Office in downtown Denver.  More on that in a future blog, but it is one of my absolute favorite meals anywhere.

Random Travel Note.  So recently I found myself in the security line at an airport.  As I’m approaching the ID checkpoint, I engage one of the TSA officers in conversation.  This officer was literally doing nothing other than leaning against a pole and not-so-intently watching the crowd.  Great use of tax dollars.

As we’re chatting, I almost respond to a question with “Yes, sir,” but I stop myself.  This is clearly a middle age man.  Short hair, masculine facial features, pot belly, pants worn low due to pot belly, etc.  And then I pay attention to the voice.  Nope.  That’s a woman.

Glad I didn’t call her sir.  That would be like asking a robust woman when she’s due only to find out that she’s not pregnant.  I’m pretty sure I would have been in for one hell of a cavity search if I called her sir.   

It’s Pat!

Happy Cooking.

WF

The Holy Grail of Steaks

This week’s topics include a new kitchen toy for the Wannabe Foodie, a random travel note that I’m still trying to digest (gotta love Vegas), I find the holy grail of steak preparation, and why my friends are better than yours. 

The Wannabe Foodie’s latest toy.  A new lodge 10” cast iron skillet, with grill ridges.  Check it out:.  

Nice to cook steaks, burgers, hot dogs, etc., on the cooktop.   Like all cast iron, this beauty will take all the heat you can give it, and you need high heat to get some nice grill marks.

Its inaugural use was for bratwursts.  Mmm…..  Bratwurst…..  And, yes, of course, they were boiled in beer before being grilled.  What am I, new?  Served them on big rolls with Beaver Brand Wasabi mustard, and some other stuff that resembled side dishes.  But, let’s face it, it was really a meal of bratwurst and that other stuff.   

The review of my new toy?  Cool addition to my collection of kitchen toys and fun to use.  The only down side is that it’s a bit of pain to clean, particularly since you can’t use soap.  The down side of the ridges, I suppose.

Side note - kosher salt and olive oil are a very good way to scrub cast iron.  

Steaks, Revisited.  So, I admit that I seem to dedicate a lot of space and time in this blog to steaks, and I make no apologies for that.  We’re talking steaks!  Unless you’re a vegetarian, is there another protein that makes you happier to be at the top of food chain?  Methinks not, except maybe king crab.  In short, there are few better meals than a well prepared steak with a great red wine. 

I am on a quest to make the perfect steak.  I’ve cooked more than my share of my steaks in my time and frankly, I’m pretty good at it.  But I’m always trying to get closer to the ‘true’ steakhouse steak.  The holy grail, dare I say. 

Alas, I think I’ve found it.  As you may recall from a prior blog, I’ve seen the light and now grill my steaks over lump hardwood charcoal, and my charcoal of choice is Ono charcoal made from Kiawe.  Bring them up to room temperature and throw some kosher salt, pepper, and olive oil on them right before they go on the grill.  Sound familiar?

Note the time when I put the salt on – right before they go on the grill.  The traditional thinking is that salting earlier than that will draw the proteins out of the meat and dry it out.

Do you know what I’ve learned?  That’s BS. 

Yes, it’s correct that you don’t want to put your meat in a salty marinade well in advance of cooking.  You’ll have chewy, ceviche-esque steaks before you even cook them.  Not good.

However, that is not what we’re talking about here. 

So, recently I grilled my favorite steaks, ribeyes, and I rubbed some black, volcanic, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper on the steaks a few hours BEFORE grilling.  Here they are after the initial rub. 

When I pulled them out of the fridge, you could see a slight sheen on the outside of the meat.  This was the proteins being drawn to the surface by the salt.

I followed my normal cooking method and these steaks came out with this absolutely, beautiful crust which you would normally associate with a steakhouse steak.  You could barely make out the grill marks as the crust was so uniform.    

The review?  Truly amazing, spectacular steaks.  Slightly salty, a hint of fresh pepper, and a true crust surrounding all of that beefy goodness.  The best steaks I’ve ever made.  Period.  End of story.  I’ll keep trying to improve this aspect of my culinary abilities, though I really don’t know how I’m to cook steaks any better. 

To recap – salt the steaks 3-5 hours before cooking and rub it in.  Take them out of the fridge at least an hour before grilling.  Brush with a little olive oil right before you grill.  Grill on REALLY high heat to your preferred temperature.  I try to pull thick steaks at 125-130 and thinner steaks at 130-135.  Don’t forget carry-over heat.  Let them rest on a rack uncovered or lightly covered for at least 5 minutes.  Note – you don’t want to wrap them completely.  It will produce steam inside, which will soften up the crust you’ve worked so hard to produce.   

Give this method a try.  I promise you will impress your friends and family. 

Why my friends are better than yours.  You may recall that a few weeks ago a friend of mine had me over and poured his 1994 Chateau Lafite Rothschild and 1986 Silver Oak.  Muy impressive, to say the least.

This week, our friends L&L bring over a bottle of 1995 Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.  You may recall that Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ cab (not those impostors over at Stags Leap Winery) was one of the wines that beat the French in a blind taste test in Paris in 1976.

They also brought a bottle of 1995 Stag’s Leap Winery cab (yes, that’s the impostor winery). That’s quite a duo of bottles to open with friends! 

Here’s the complete selection of wines we quaffed that evening: 

Lucky us, eh?

Like I said, my friends are better than your friends, at least in the wine department.

Random Travel Note.  So, I’m in Las Vegas for work.  It’s 108 flippin degrees.  As I exit the freeway, I can’t help but notice the guy walking down the offramp.  You know the area I’m talking about.  The right side of an offramp where there’s no sidewalk and where no is supposed to be walking. 

Ok, WF, that’s weird, but not 'mention it in your blog' weird.

He’s got a dog hat on, which is probably a foot tall.  And he’s got a six foot tail dragging behind him.  Not sure where he came from or where he was going, and it’s 108 degrees outside!  Wow.  I really wanted to take a picture, but I was driving by him too fast to be able to pull out my phone. 

And, yes, I know this post was tardy.

Happy cooking. 

WF