Radio Kitchen

Every Tuesday morning at 8:35 WYPR listeners are treated to a tasty serving of culinary advice on "Radio Kitchen".  Hosts Al Spoler and Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen offer up-to-date advice on the best in local ingredients, cooking techniques, recipe ideas and gadgets for the kitchen.

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#950 - Greetings From Maine

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Earlier this summer Al and his girlfriend spent several days in the seaside village of Camden, Maine,  where they stayed at the Hartstone Inn.   As luck would have it, not only was this a superb inn, but one of the owners is a superb chef.  Al invited Chef Michael Salmon to be a guest on "Radio Kitchen," and give us the Down East take on summer eating in Maryland.


Grilled summer squash is a staple, and Chef Salmon likes to use it as a bed for a featured protein.   Either cut into thin strips, or julienned (and grilled in a basket), zucchinis and yellow squash work well that way.   Sweet white corn will find its way into relishes, which summer melons like our cantaloupe form a base for summer soups.   Grilled peppers accompany a broad array of dishes, and peaches will be turned face down on the grill.   Our blue crab is known in Maine, and the Chef loves to build salads around its sweet white meat.


Here's a recipe for one of Chef Salmon's favorite dishes:  Grilled Salmon
Let's get Michael's take on the following foods:  summer squash, sweet white corn, peppers, melons, peaches, crab, and rockfish.

One dish that caught me eye in your cookbook is Grilled Salmon Nicoise, a variation on the classic French Salad Nicoise.   What I like about it is that all of the ingredients are really easy to come by in Maryland.

GRILLED SALMON NICOISE
 As served at the Hartstone Inn by Chef Michael Salmon
 
6 plum tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 lb. small potatoes (Peruvian Purple or Yukon gold)
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1/2 lb. haricot verts (or fiddlehead ferns)
4 6 oz. salmon fillets, skinned and boned
4 hard boiled eggs cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup olives (nicoise or kalmata)
one head of Bibb or Boston lettuce (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the paper with olive oil.
2.  Core and cut the plum tomatoes in half lengthwise and place them cut side up on the baking sheet.  Drizzle the tomatoes with 2 tbs olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper.  Bake until browned on top.
3.  Place the small potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from hot water and cool slightly.  Cut the potatoes in half or quarters, place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper and the rosemary, and bake in the 375 oven for about 20 minutes.
4.  Toss the beans in boiling salted water and blanch for about 1 minute.  Plunge them into ice water to cool.
5.  Dress the salmon fillets with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Using a fish basket, grill the fillets about three minutes per side (depending on thickness) not allowing it to over-cook.
6.  Re-heat the beans and dress with olive oil, salt and pepper.
7.  To serve (optional step:  create a bed with leaves of cold, washed Bibb lettuce) create a mound of potatoes in the middle of each plate.  Top with the haricot verts and the salmon fillet.  Place the eggs and three roasted tomatoes on the side, and sprinkle some of the olives about.  Dress with a mustard vinaigrette.

The Hartstone Inn is in Camden, Maine.  Their email address is:  info@hartsoneinn.com 

Chef Michaels book is called In the Kitchen with Michael Salmon.


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#949 - Corn In All Its Glory

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An avalanche of fresh produce is hitting us squarely these days, and shopping at the grocery store or the farmers markets is pure hedonistic pleasure.  High up on everybody's list of welcome seasonal foods is sweet corn, that delicious emblem of all that's right with summertime.  We are blessed to have an over-abundance of locally grown corn here in Maryland, and Chef JP of Cork Restaurant has proven there's more than one way to shuck an ear of Silver King.

Original Recipes by Chef Jerry Pelligrino

Corks’ Corn  Salsa

Ingredients:


6 ears fresh sweet corn, blanched for 4 minutes, cooled and cut from the cob
1/3 cup chopped green onion, white & green parts
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper
Ground cumin to taste (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preparation:

1.  Combine all ingredients except for the salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
2.  Remove from refrigerator and season with salt.
3.  Serve corn salsa liberally with crab cakes, soft shells or your favorite grilled fish.


Corks’ Creamed Corn

Ingredients:

6 ears fresh sweet corn, blanched for 4 minutes, cooled and cut from the cob
1 pint heavy cream
1 small yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a sauce pot, combine the cream, onion and garlic.  Carefully bring the mixture to a boil being careful not to allow the cream to boil over.  Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken.   Carefully put the hot cream mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  The sauce may be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week.  When ready combine the corn and sauce.  Heat until hot and serve.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 strip of bacon, chopped
1 small  yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 ears fresh sweet corn, blanched for 4 minutes, cooled and cut from the cob
1 bay leaf
3 ½ cups heavy cream
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon leaves

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the bacon and fry until the bacon renders its fat, but doesn't begin to brown.  Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft.  Add the carrot and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.  Add the heavy cream and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a bare simmer.  Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the cream from burning on the bottom of the pot.  Add the potatoes, corn, red pepper, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.  Add the tarragon and serve hot.

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#948 - Summer Cocktails

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Last week we talked about chilling things down a bit with cold soups.  This week, we'll keep the thermostat on low and discuss something even more lively.  If you'll be doing any entertaining this summer, you should be prepared to get something cold and tasty into your guests, and that ought to include some hot weather cocktails.  Here are some great ideas Jerry came up with.


Strawberry Rhubarb Manhattan

4 oz. Bourbon
4 Strawberries, hulls removed and cut into quarters
½ oz. Rhubarb Simple Syrup Simple
A squeeze of lime juice
4 basil leaves, shredded
Strawberries for garnish

Add all the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.  Shake until well chilled.  Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with a strawberry.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

4 stalks of Rhubarb cut into 1/23 inch pieces
½ a vanilla bean
2 cups sugar
4 cups water

In a large sauce pan set over medium high heat, bring all the ingredients to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Carefully pour the hot liquid through a strainer and chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Watermelon Mojito

Watermelon Ice Cubes

Cut 24 ice cube size pieces of watermelon and freeze on a sheet try lined with plastic wrap overnight.

Watermelon Juice

5 lbs watermelon flesh, seeds removed
3 limes, zested and juiced
1 cup sugar
Cheese cloth

Drape three layers of cheese cloth over a one gallon container so it sags two inches into the container and secure with butcher’s twin. 

In the bowl of a food processor, purée the watermelon and lime juice in batches.  Place the purée on the cheese cloth and store in the refrigerator overnight.  The next day there should be a substantial amount of watermelon ‘water in the container.  Carefully remove the cheese cloth and squeeze any remaining liquid out of the purée.

For the cocktail:

2 oz. silver rum
4 mint leaves
4 ounces watermelon ‘water’

Fill a Collins glass with watermelon ice cubes.  In a shaker filled with ice, shake all the ingredients until well chilled.  Strain over the watermelon ice cubes.  Garnish with a mint sprig and serve.

Peach & Rosemary Tequila Sunrise

12 ripe peaches, peeled and cut into ½ inch think slices
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bottle silver tequila

In a one gallon container, infuse the tequila with the peaches and rosemary in the refrigerator for one week.

For the cocktail:

2 oz. Peach and Rosemary infused Tequila
2 oz. orange juice
2 oz peach nectar
Splash of Grenadine
Peach slices for garnish

In a Collins glass filled with ice, add the tequila, orange juice and peach nectar and mix.  Drizzle some grenadine over the top and garnish with a peach slice.

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#947 - Chilled Soups

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Given the abundance of food that is available to us during the summer, it makes a lot of sense to see how much diversity we can work into our menus.  One item that can easily disappear from the summer table is soup.  Customarily, we have our soups piping hot, better to ward off the chill of winter.  But we can very easily put that chill into the soup and come up with recipes that refresh us during the hot months.

 
Of course,  the classic chilled summer soup would be Gazpacho.   Gazpacho is a liquefied salad, and the versions are endless.  We particularly like one version that uses golden tomatoes.


Nearly all chilled soups are either vegetable or fruit based.  It's not a time for big meaty concoctions.  Either can be made in a smooth, pureed style, or in a chunky style.  There's also the option of taking a recipe to the savory or the sweet side.  Either works just fine.

Here are some tips:

 -The blender or food processor will be your best friend.  We need to process the ingredients, making them chunky or fine as desired.  Remember to peel and clean away any vegetable or fruit parts you don't want to eat, in particular seeds and skins.

-Following the processing, a good strainer or a china cap can help smooth out the texture.

-Chill everything before making the soup, this includes not only ingredients but the mixing and serving bowl.

-Plan to season more aggressively with a chilled soup.  The low temperature can mute flavors.

-Your liquid base can be a broth (chicken or vegetable for most savory soups), fruit juice, wine, chillled cream, buttermilk, or just plain water.

-Let your imagination run wild when it comes to toppings and garnishes.  Whipped creams, sour cream, croutons, snips of herb, sprinklings of grated nuts, broccoli florets, pomegranate seeds, lemon or lime zest, or pieces of a soup's principal ingredient all work well.

-In terms of chilling, the longer the soup stays in the refrigerator, the more the flavors will intermingle, and the more intense the seasoning will become.  Therefore, overnight is not a bad idea.

-Many hot soups can be re-invented as chilled soups, but you have to use your discretion.  Cream of tomato, yes, chicken noodle, no, fresh pea soup, yes, pea soup with ham hocks, no.

-For fruit soups, melons are the hands down ingredient of choice.  It's easy to get nice big chunks of melon to work with, and they process very, very easily.  Just be sure to get melons with a lot of flavor!

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#946 - Jamaican Jerk

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Sooner or later, whether it's during a Caribbean vacation or a City Fair, you're going to come across a stand selling Jamaican Jerk food.  Putting aside the obvious bad jokes, a dish like Jerk Chicken can be a real eye opener.  We decided to look into this very old approach to seasoning and see what we could find out.  And first of all, we realized that Jamaican Jerk recipes are not for the timid palates of the world.

First of all, Jerk refers not only to the seasoning, but to the whole grilling process.  The Jerk seasoning is quite hot and spicy, with a distinct sweetness to it.  It can be dry, as a rub, or wet, as into a Mexican mole.  The objective is to produce a grilled dish that has tons of flavor, and a succulent texture.  This is one of the classic, long slow cooking dishes of the New World.

The original techniques are ancient, and probably go back to Africa.  A band of escaped Caribbean slaves known as The Maroons, were practicing the technique as early as the mid-1600's.  The name comes from the Spanish word "charqui" which means dried meat.  Think "jerky."  Since preserving meats was a preoccupation of people before refrigeration, the peppery Jerk rubs and sauces were inevitable.  As the centuries wore on, influences came from as far afield as China for the combinations of spices in the melange.

There are three key ingredients:  Scotch Bonnet peppers (near the top of the Scovill scale!!!), allspice, and thyme.  Other additional improvisations are welcome.  For the dry rub, you can switch out Cayenne Pepper for the Scotch Bonnets.  When working with the peppers, wear rubber gloves, and lose the seeds and the inner membranes of the peppers.  Do not ever touch you face or eyes!  Prepared Jerk seasonings are widely available for the convenience seeker.

Jerk sauces are the more common delivery option:  it can be as easy as throwing a short list of ingredients into a blender, and creating a thick sauce, much like a Mexican mole.   For the wet sauce, if Scotch Bonnets are too much, you can substitute the somewhat milder Jalapeno peppers, but don't lose the heat altogether, since that is the trademark of Jerk cooking.

One typical Jerk recipe calls for:  allspice, brown sugar, garlic, SB peppers, thyme, scallions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and soy sauce.  Process in a blender and slather on the meat.  Remember that most grilling recipes want you to marinate your meat in the Jerk sauce overnight.

The most common meat to get the jerk treatment is pork.  A typical pork shoulder recipe would call for long slow cooking, and serving the meat in big chunks.  A chicken jerk recipe is usually a slightly lighter affair, with more vinegar and brighter flavors.

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#945 - Cooking Ideas for the Fourth of July

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If you don't have your grill set up yet, you still have a few days left before you'll be facing misdemeanor charges from the Food Police.  Grilling on the 4th of July is about as American as it gets, and our very own Grill Master Jerry Pellegrino of Corks Restaurant  gives us some fantastic tips.

1.  One of the biggest mistakes people make is grilling their food on too high a heat.  If you have a propane grill, you can usually keep one burner off, giving you a cool zone.  Likewise with a charcoal grill, you can bank the hot cinders on one side and keep the other cooler.  Don't be afraid to do some long slow cooking on the grill.   

2.  Give your marinades a chance to work.  Meat takes hours, if not over night.  Fish, on the other hand, can be marinated very quickly, since the acids in the marinade actually "cook" the fish without heat.

3.  Consider adding aromatic wood chips to your fire.  Hickory, applewood and mesquite are easy to come by.  Be sure to soak them first, to allow a longer, smokier accent.

4.  Look for some of the less common cuts of beef:  tri-tip, tarus major and flat iron steaks are all tremendous on the grill, but  usually benefit from long, slow cooking.

5.  Consider par-boiling your chicken before grilling.  Thick chicken breasts can take a while to cook through, and if the grill is too hot, you can scorch them before they're done. 

 

Here's nice recipe that Al worked up for rack of lamb.

Grilled rack of lamb ribs with an herb crust
A Radio Kitchen Original Recipe

One rack of lamb ribs (usually 8 ribs) trimmed of excess fat, but not Frenched
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tbs dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil to blend

1.  In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, then add enough olive oil to bind them altogether in a thick paste.

2.  Pat the paste onto the meaty side of the ribs, covering them entirely.

3.  Place the ribs over the hot part of the grill for about 4 minutes, allowing them to be nicely seared.  Remove the ribs to a cooler part of the grill, and roast covered for about 20 minutes over indirect heat.

4.  When the visible fat has melted away, and the juices run clean, the ribs are done.

Each rack will serve two hungry people.

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#944 - Rhubarb

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Rhubarb is a funny kind of vegetable.  Although it is famously bitter, it is almost always used in desserts.  The bottom part of the plant is a lot like scarlet celery, the top, like a fern.  And oh yes, the top part is poisonous, so they say.  Many people confess that early bad experiences with rhubarb kept them away from it.


Al fell into that group,  but a recent encounter has brought him back into the fold.  While Jerry agrees this might be one of those love it or hate it foods, we had a guest , Chef Isaiah Billington of Woodberry Kitchen who prepared an incredible dessert with rhubarb.

Isaiah's idea was to first marinate diced raw rhubarb in a vanilla/sugar water to give it a bit of sweetness.  He then made a buttermilk whipped cream (extra thick) and some toffee crumble.  Plating worked like this:  place a 3" ring mold on a plate, insert a shortbread round to act as a bottom, mix a couple tablespoons of chopped raw rhubarb into the whipped cream, spoon it into the mold, and top with the toffee crumble.  On top if this, he placed a scoop of rhubarb sorbet, which was a subtle, sophisticated fillip.   The entire dish was wonderfully creative, perfectly balanced, and a great presentation of one of our most interesting local products.  The rhubarb incidentally came from Ed Fountain's Eastern Shore farm.


Here are two ideas for a savory rhubarb dish that Al thought up.

Radio Kitchen Original Recipes

Rhubarb Relish for Shrimp

Half sweet onion finely diced
4 rhubarb spears, cut into thin strips lengthwise, then into one-half inch lengths
2 cups chicken broth
3 tbs honey
dash of Tabasco sauce
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbs fresh finely diced cilantro

1. Simmer onion in chicken broth until tender.  Add rhubarb pieces, and cook over very low heat until tender, only a couple minutes.
2.  In a cup, combine honey, and seasonings, and blend well, thinning with a little of the chicken broth.
3.  Drain the rhubarb, and pour the honey mixture over it.  Stir well with a fork, mashing the rhubarb slightly.  Sprinkle the cilantro onto the relish, and stir in.

Grilled Wasabi Rhubarb

4 spears of fresh rhubarb, cleaned, trimmed and cut into one inch lengths.
Olive oil
Half cup of creamy wasabi sauce (light green in color)
1/4 cup honey

1.  Drizzle the oil on the rhubarb and toss to cover.
2.  Place the rhubarb in a grilling basket for vegetables.  Put the basket on a hot part of the grill, and shake it frequently to allow the rhubarb to even sear.  This should only take two minutes.  Remove the rhubarb to a cooler part of the grill, away from direct flame, and let it cook another 2-3 minutes.
3.  Blend the wasabi sauce and the honey together.  Check for balance and add honey if needed.
4.  On a serving plate, spoon a puddle of the wasabi-honey sauce into the middle of the plate.  Mound a dozen or so pieces of rhubarb in the puddle and drizzle a little moor sauce over them.  Serve immediately.
serves 4

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#943 L'Estaminet and the State of Cooking - part 2

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Last week Al told you about a marvelous little restaurant he found on the Caribbean island of St. Martin called L'Estaminet  (www.estaminet-sxm.com).  He was delighted by all the up to date techniques they employed there, and Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Corks was kind enough to explain how these are being used by better chefs everywhere.  Today, we thought we could look at a few specific dishes, and troll for some ideas.  Chef Ina Urfalinno was kind enough to send us a few of her secrets, which we would like to share.  Al records these notes:

1.  The first dish I encountered at L'estaminet was a salad, described in the menu as fig, goat cheese and eggplant, three ingredients I love.  I thought I would have nicely cut up chunks of these ingredients scattered artfully across a bed of greens.  What I got was a cylinder of three ingredients, about 4" tall and 11/2" across, nestled on a plate of greens.  What sold the dish was the purity of the flavors.

Technique:  make a simple puree of fig that keeps its substance and firmness,a mixture of goat cheese and cream, and a mixture of cooked eggplant and cream.  Season as you will.   Next:  using a transparent plastic tube (lubricated with olive oil or a spray) place the fig on the bottom, the cheese in the middle and the eggplant on top.  Chill for at least an hour and then unmold.

Further applications:   I would try using ring molds not only for one item but as a means of stacking  various elements for dramatic presentations.

2.  The next things I discovered was a Brussels Sprout Mousse that blew me away.  Giving vegetables an entirely new look is always fun, and transforming them into a mousse is a creative way of putting them on the plate.   Ina started with about 12 ounces of Brussels Sprouts which she cooked in water until they were tender, but still very green.  She combined them with cream and mixed them in an electric blender.  For a final grace note, she added just two or three drops of Ylang Ylang oil, which is valued for its aroma.

3.  Emulsions:  these are thoroughly blended mixtures of oil and a featured ingredient such as basil that are stabilized.  An emulsifying agent such as lecithin de soya is useful to keep the mixture bound together.  Also a very good food processor is necessary to first puree the ingredients into a very fine texture, then to blend them with the oil at very high speed.  In a cautions that you want to get a maximum of air into the mixture.  Mayonnaise is a classic emulsion, but variations are endless.  In a served a basil emulsion, and we've read about others based on products as diverse as red peppers, herbs, tomatoes, peanuts, lemon, and carrots.

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Radio Kitchen - L'Estaminet and the State of Cooking - part 1

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A few weeks ago Al was lucky enough to spend 9 days on the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean.  The island is known for its high caliber of gastronomy, which is a great attraction.  He found a marvelous little restaurant in the town of Grand Case called L'Estaminet, which absolutely delighted him.  Al ate there three nights in a row, and had enjoyable chats with the owners Carole Dutil (front of the house) and Chef Una Urfalinno.  (Go to www.estaminet-sxm.com for info.)

 The restaurant was not only wonderful, but it was so up-to-date that it was like was dining on the set of Top Chef!  Al made notes and brought them back to Chef Jerry Pellegrino for some added insight into what's happening in better restaurants all over the place.

Here are some of Al's notes, made during and after his meals.

1.  The use of unusual molds.  The salad of figs, eggplant and chevre was not what I expected.  What they did was to prepare a creamy but firm mousse with the ingredients, and then stack them in a tube mold, then unmold them.  The result is a three layered cylinder that laid across the shredded greens.  The flavors of the ingredients were absolutely intact, but they had been physically transformed.

2.  We were encouraged to dress our salad by squeezing flavored oils out of smalltubes (remember the little tubes of tire cement we used to have?). On my plate were basil cream and arugula oil.  Again, the flavors were intense.  I also encountered a vanilla oil that was served with a dish of sea bass.

3.  Foams:  on my cream of butternut squash soup, they added a dollop of hazelnut foam.  Delicate flavor and fascinating texture.  Widespread use today.

4.  Emulsions:  as an accompaniment to a dish of sea scallops was an emulsion of combawa limes (also known as Kaffir limes, intense with lemongrass notes).  Dabs of emulsions graced many of the plates.

5.  Exotic ingredients:  the combava limes,  espelette peppers (a staple of Basque cuisine).  Roast sea bass was cooked with a licorice stick, giving a slight anise character (vanilla and licorice with the sea bass).

6.  Salts were featured as both seasonings and garnishes. They were all coarse grained, often colored.  One dark grey salt had been smoked and it was fabulous.

7.   A frothy mousse of Brussels sprouts was spectacular.  The flavors were intense and spot on, with nothing interfering.

8.  For dessert, I had a Death by Chocolate experience.  One feature were the chocolate flavored "pop rocks" that explode delightfully in your mouth.

9.  Other nice ideas:  crumbled cashews as a coating for the sea bass; quinoa as a bed for the fish; cepes mushroom ice cream; alsamic vinegar and cocoa reduction; pineapple gazpacho with green tea cream and wasabi caramel; scallop "burgers" stuffed with foie gras and truffle panade.

  

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Radio Kitchen #941 - Rubs for Grilling 5-31-11

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Last week we talked about the start of outdoor grilling season, and today we'd like to continue the theme by talking about a technique that can really magnify the flavors of any kind of meat or fish you throw on the barbie.  We're talking about rubs, and although you can buy them, they are fun to make.  They are nothing more than a mélange of dried, powdered ingredients including salts, peppers spices,  herbs, sugars, and of course, prized family secret ingredients.

Although you can just throw your steak onto the grill, it's often not a bad idea to accent the flavor with marinades or rubs.  The purpose of the marinade is to allow the acidic liquid to tenderize the meat, which often means a long slow soak overnight.  Thick slices, or roasts benefit very little from marinades, but thinner slices can be much improved.  The rub on the other hand does not penetrate the meat, but rather, coats it.  It should cook into a flavorful crust which will also add aromatics to a dish.

  • For fish, Jerry recommends a rub of tandori sauce, slices of ginger, cumin, coriander, paprika and salt.
  • For beef, try a mix of garlic and onion powder, ground thyme, sage, chili powder, and smoked salt.
  • For pork, you'll start with brown sugar, add paprika, fennel, chili powder, black pepper and lemon zest.
  • Finally, buy a big oversized shaker with big holes to use when sprinkling on your own special rubs.
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