Halloween

This year Halloween falls on a Sunday it looks like a lots of people going to be on the streets. In the restaurant we always have had fun with it. This year we have arranged a collaboration with Animal Heaven an animal shelter from which we adopted Truffle – our black cat from. Cats from the shelter will line the side walk in front of our handsome restaurant Klee Brasserie to be adopted. Of course in the restaurant we’ll serve animal themed foods such as duck pate – our cat loves it and for the sweet tooth we’ll serve super moist dulce de leche cake.

(Truffel our cat)

Tres leches cake 
I love this succulent milk dripping cake it’s easy to make and the right matche for a kid and adult party a like. 


(tres leche cake with baby pear)
 
Tres leche cake
(recipe yields 24 portions, 1 cake 13x17-inch cake)1/2 cup butter 

1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-½ cups all-purpose flour  
1 teaspoon baking powder 
2 cups whole milk
1 (1 cans 14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (1 cans 12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour one 10x5-inch baking pan.
2. In an electric kitchen mixer on high speed setting, with paddle attachment whip butter and 1 cup sugar together (4-5 minutes or until fluffy and pale white). Add
eggs one at the time and the vanilla extract.
3. Sift flour and baking powder then add to butter mixture (2 tablespoons at a time, on low mixer speed setting); mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven (30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when pierced in the middle). Pierce cake with a fork (this will absorb milk from next steep) and cool completely.
5. Combine whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together in a mixing bowl then pour over the top of the cooled cake.

(pate with cranberry leather) 

Let the dogs out...
Brats – Dogs & Wieners our other restaurant is all about sausages.
Brats will focus on a Bratwurst made with all natural beef and chicken in a “quicky” version meaning small enough for kids to pop in their mouths at once. Of course there will be the Animal Heaven truck outside with cute puppies (to be adopted) meanwhile we’re getting ready for a serious Halloween crowd...

(are you scared yet?)

 

FAMILY DINNER

Food shopping
Being in the restaurant business is sometimes unforgiving especially when “normal” people enjoy their time with their family and gather around a restaurants table and dine together. We hospitality people obviously need to work during peak social times such as weekends and holidays. All that time working in a professional kitchen makes you forget about food shopping for your own family - actually in our household my spouse Lori takes care of that – thank God!

(sometimes it's all what you got - Swiss chard stems) 

 
A household kitchen
When I look around the kitchen to cook I find a Beba which is one of those baby mixers (for feeding our daughter Arabella), stainless pots and pans from a reputable company and a fancy toaster. I originally equipped our kitchen with a commercial bar blender, a pricey digital scale measuring exact grams besides ounces, a commercial table top kitchen blender but to my surprise they are all stored in the very back of the kitchen cabinet and get dusty since we rarely use them. Frankly home cooking turned out to be different than I originally thought it would be.

What to cook for the family?
Lori stocks the pantry with spices such as pepper, salt, a few Indian type of spices since she likes to cook hearty grains, and some baking ingredients like brown sugar, whole wheat flower and chocolate chips. The refrigerator is stuffed with a few different olive oils and vinegars next to some seasonal vegetables & fruits, some midnight snacks such as mixed olives, Marcona almonds and cheese, insane amounts of yogurt and then Lori’s impulse buy of the week – this week it’s giant whole wheat tortilla wraps. Needles to say every Sunday night I feel like I’m on the Iron Chef show again presented with a basket of limited and random ingredients without a secret ingredient.  But we always make it work.   

(whole wheat pasta spaghetti with Swiss chard pesto)

The latest supper
The pantry shows whole grain pasta, olives, nuts, onions, cheese and some Swiss chard stems. 

Whole grain spaghetti with caramelized onions, olives and Swiss chard pesto
(recipe yields enough for a family of four)

 

1 pack whole grain spaghetti pasta
sea salt such as Baline
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion
1 bunch Swiss chard
2 tablespoons pitted, sliced mixed olives
3 tablespoons almonds such as Marconas
black pepper grindings
2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese

1. In a pot (1-gallon sized) bring salted water to boil then cook pasta “all dente” (7-9 minutes or read package instructions and reduce that time a bit) then pour pasta into a colander (keep ½ cup of the pasta cooking water).
2. Rinse Swiss chard then cut (1/2-inch), keep stems and leaves separate. Cook leaves in vegetable oil (5 minutes or until wilted). Combine cooked Swiss chard leaves with almonds in a kitchen blender (I used the baby blender). Peel and cut onion (1/8-inch thick slices). Cook Swiss chard stems and onions (5-8 minutes or until soft) add olives.
3. Combine pasta (still warm) and pasta cooking water with Swiss chard/almond puree and onion/Swiss chard mixture then using kitchen tongs toss pasta with ingredients and heat thoroughly.
4. Transfer pasta onto plates then sprinkle with the grated cheese.

 

Chef’s Tips:
- toast half of the almonds in a skillet until golden brown in color then fold into a kitchen towel and crush with the bottom of a small pot. Use other half of almonds in Swiss chard puree.

- sprinkle good extra virgin olive oil over your plated pasta.  That’s what that good oil is for (not for cooking!) 

Sometimes these home cooked day-off meals turn out into a several coursed feast soup, salad, dessert with the occasional amuse bouche course thrown in next to a lovely bottle of wine & some grappa – depends what’s in Lori’s pantry. 

 

 

TASTY OR NOT TASTY...THAT IS THE QUESTION

Tasty or not tasty…that is the question
Last week I happily attended a discussion where Heston Blumenthal (renowned chef of Fat Duck restaurant, England) was the star guest. One of the subjects was flavor and what makes us like or dislike certain foods.  It was interesting to hear what he had to say. Stated simply, he thinks it’s a combination of habits, culture and memories (and ideally the great preparation of food). Earlier that day my spouse and I had discussed taste when Arabella our daughter seemed to enjoy an accidental mouthful of cat litter way more then her oatmeal that we had cooked for her. Heston’s flavor theory did not apply to baby Arabella -- since she is nine months old I guess her taste still is in the developing stage and eating is definitely associated with newness, adventure and experience.

(Emmenthaler cheese close-up)

 A stinky story
It is a bit paradoxical that a moldy and stinky gooey pile is served on a marble slab in front of me. Theoretically it does not seem to fit into the delicious food category but in cheese you want these characteristics. Often creamy and noticeably grey/blue spotted moldy. That is what many people find even more appealing.

(left - stinky Fourme d'ambert cheese from France)
(right - smelly Swiss Gruyere with that hint of hazelnuts) 

The last time I attempted to eat an Asian fruit named Durian -- also known as “stinky fruit “  -- it had an incredibly rotten smell. I actually gagged with disgust when I tasted this fruit and it seemed inedible to me. I wasn’t into having cheese characteristics in my fruit – but that is just me.  It is interesting to note how context and culture really do come into play.  I am accustomed to cheese having these qualities and rather than disgust its admiration I feel for those nasty cheeses.  But I’m sure to many the nastiness of the durian yields that same sense of appreciation. 

(left - local cow's milk cheese from Hawthorne Valley Farm)
(right - house-made ricotta still warm - delicious)  

Cheese has a long history going back to the times when milk was transported in a slaughtered animal’s stomach. Originally cheese served as a holding vessel which has natural enzymes in it and makes animal milk curdle.  Eventually that curdled milk lead to a soft crumbly cheese. People figured out that milk was able to be stored for many days or even a month without refrigeration, which was not even created or known at these times.

Cheese is versatile
In Europe we’d create tasting menus in most restaurants where I worked and for certain there was a cheese course towards the end of the menu. Here in the States we have many guests ordering cheeses as an appetizer right from the beginning of their meal or sometimes as a late night snack.

Cheese often finds its way into diverse seasonal salads either crumbled or thinly sliced in my restaurant. Currently we feature a soft crumbly cow’s milk from a nearby certified-organic farm. It compliments seasonal escarole or arugula salad wonderfully next to roasted squash tossed into the mix.
 
(left - a sharp sheep's milk cheese with black pepper corn)
(right - a soft goat's milk cheese 30 days aged with a hint of paprika) 

Cheese Tips

• If cheese is refrigerated remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before eating – this way the cheese will come to room temperature and taste much better (just like wine)
• Store cheese in a tightly sealed Tupperware-style container in the refrigerator – otherwise stinky cheeses will “contaminate” neighboring foods such as milk, eggs or butter
• Go with spiced or heavily seasoned crackers or breads if you serve an inexpensive cheese.  For better cheese go with simple unseasoned crusty bread or crackers

Chef’s Note: In preparation of our newest restaurant – Little Cheese Pub - we changed course; it was supposed to have many more wines and focus on cheese and wine pairings.  Now there are a lot more beers on the menu.  Focused tastings of beer, wines and cheeses together – and a lot of research -- brought us to the conclusion that a cow does not eat grapes but rather tons of grain, which is one of the main ingredients in the beer making process. The subtle grain flavor nuances in beer pairs perfectly with cheese.  Truth in taste guided and ultimately shifted our concept.

 

 

OKTOBERFEST MUSTARD COMPETITION!!

During Oktoberfest we’ve been making our own sausages, which are very good. To be frank, a commercially produced sausage does not even come close to our house-made one. Believe you me I have eaten just about any sausage out there.
 
(house-made mustards)

 The control of each step in the sausage making and the balanced list of fresh ingredients -- starting with excellent small farm raised meats, fresh herbs, fresh garlic and instantaneous spice grinding makes all the difference. We have the sausage-making down by now.

Condiments
I love condiments. Commercially there are plenty available such as Dijon mustard, ketchup, A1 sauce … just to name a few. Different sausages need various flavored mustards which we have been crafting from scratch -- it’s a piece of work but well worth in my opinion.

Beyond “French’s”
There are actually 3 kinds of mustard seeds - white, brown and black. Black mustard is hard in texture and the most pungent in flavor. White mustard seeds are much larger compared to the other varieties and much less pungent. Brown mustard seeds are somewhere between in flavor, and are often used in combination with the other mustard seeds to get the desired flavor blend. It reminds me a lot of the blending of grapes in the wine making process to achieve the desired balance of flavor profile. Brown mustard is your everyday Joe and is used in your usual ballpark mustard and in pickling.

 
(Oktoberfest wiener sausage with red wine mustard)
 
Making basic mustard
There are really no boundaries in flavoring your mustard.  Following are steps for making your own basic mustard, using 2 cups of brown mustard seeds.

1. Cover mustard seeds with water then place in the refrigerated and store in the refrigerator.
2. Pour mustard seeds in a strainer then rinse (this will clean away the slimy residue – which is normal)
3. In a pot cook mustard seeds on low heat setting (1 to 1½ hours or until mustard seeds are soft). Stir bottom of pot every once in a while with a pastry spatula to prevent scorching
4. Pour cooked mustard seeds into a strainer then rinse with cold water
5. Blend mustard seeds in a kitchen processor until a smooth texture is achieved (5-8 minutes) and add 2 cups of rice vinegar, Kosher-style salt and cayenne

Here are some mustard ideas for spicing things up (not to be used all together!)

• Cook 1 cup of red wine until reduced to 1 tablespoon then add to basic mustard
• Cook 1 cup of blueberries in a pot covered with a tight fitting lid on low heat setting for 10-15 minutes and add to mustard
• Add 1 tablespoon of Sriracha or 1 tablespoon of Tabasco for mustard with a kick
• In a pot on low heat setting cook 6 cloves of peeled garlic in ½ cup vegetable oil until soft then add to basic mustard 

  
(house-made curry and tomato mustard)
 
Mustard Competition
There is plenty of space for creativity to create your own favorite mustard. Drop me a note with your mustard flavor idea (don’t worry about the recipe –we’ll create it). If we choose it to serve in the restaurant you’ll win dinner for two in our new restaurant Brats – Dogs & Wieners!
  
(mustards every where...get your creative juices flowing) 

 

IT'S THE SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE

It’s the simple things in life…
At the recent opening of our new restaurant Brats – Dogs & Wieners, many invited guests commented a lot about a menu item – potato salad of all things. It conveys comfort and hominess; most likely you had someone in your family or circle of friends who prepared it soooo good. Lori, my spouse, always says “this is ridiculously good” every time she has the potato salad. 
 
(potatoes at the farmers market)

Kartoffelsalat
I worked in a very good Austrian restaurant in Vienna  -- Steirereck. Mrs. Reitbauer the owner and face of the dining room of that restaurant made potato salad every day herself. She bunched up the sleeves of her elegant dining room suit and went to work in the kitchen. She was very particular about mixing all ingredients together when the potatoes where still steaming hot from cooking. This way, vinegar, oil and the flavor of spices would melt together. That recipe was nearly a ritual, as she spoke a heavy rather rare dialect meticulously preparing that Kartoffelsalat which tasted like potato heaven. What goes without saying is that we used local Austrian fingerling potatoes, which had a natural nutty flavor and buttery texture. Another potato memory is apprenticing in Joel Roubouchon’s restaurant close to the Champ Elysees in Paris – we made a feathery,  buttery potato puree – boy he really liked us to use butter (and it was delicious)!

 

Steaming versus boiling
Currently at Brats I prefer to steam my potatoes versus boiling them in water.  If you don’t have the equipment for steaming I suggest covering the rinsed potatoes with luke-warm water and then season them with garlic cloves, salt, caraway seeds thyme or rosemary. When steaming potatoes in a double boiler all that becomes unnecessary since the potato flavor is not “washed out” in water - all that you get is the particular nuance of your chosen potato.

Soil
You can use supermarket Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. I’m fortunate to work with a farmer that grows 15 types of fingerling potatoes in the local Hudson Valley soil.  Many thousand years ago his land was covered with dark nutritious lava soil and a body of water (the Hudson River) which now helps grow versatile, wonderful tasting potatoes.
 
(Lamb schnitzel layered with broccoli rabe and potato salad)

 Following is a simple recipe inspired by Mrs. Reibauer’s potato salad:

 Kartoffelsalat
(recipe yields potato salad for four guests)

 2-½  pounds potatoes such as fingerling  
1 red onion
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard, grainy
2 teaspoons sea salt such as Baline
½ cup rice vinegar
15 grindings black pepper
3 pinches cayenne
½ cup vegetable oil such as canola
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Steam potatoes until soft then peel them. Cut warm potatoes (½-inch thick)
2. Peel then cut onions (1/8-inch cubes)
3. In a kitchen blender combine mustard, salt, pepper and cayenne then process and add oils slowly (this will create an emulsion/vinaigrette)
4. Combine vinaigrette with potatoes and onions then mix with a rubber spatula

 

Chef’s note: it makes a big difference to combine the potato salad with a rubber spatula instead of using a metal spoon in this way the integrity of the sliced potatoes is assured.

Chef’s tip: The key of making real good potato salad is mixing warm potatoes with vinegar, oil and spices.