Pacific Dover Sole with Brown Butter Sauce

I was in the market today and I saw some Pacific Dover Sole for sale and decided to buy some. Pacific Dover Sole tends to be less firm (and a bit less flavorful) than Atlantic Dover Sole, but otherwise has similar properties.

I first dredged these fillets in flour before pan-frying them in olive oil. Because they are so thin, it takes only about 5 minutes (3 minutes on one side, two on the other) for them to become crispy, yet still moist in the middle. I pulled them out of the pan and re-seasoned with a little bit more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I then put about two or three tablespoons of butter in the still hot pan, and when it began to bubble and brown, I squeezed a little bit of honey and stirred. After about two minutes, I put in a generous spoonful of capers and little it cook for about 30 seconds. I then finished the sauce with the juice of one lemon, stirred, and then spooned the sauce on my fish.

This was pretty perfect. The fish had a nice crunch, yet was still moist. The brown butter sauce had a hint of sweetness to it, but was balanced by the acidity of the lemon juice, with the capers imparting a pleasant brininess to the dish. This took about twenty minutes to make. A great weekday dinner!

Dashi and Japanese Soups

I have been experimenting with Japanese soups the past couple of weeks and I feel as if I have finally have gotten the hang of it. The major breakthrough has been my ability to make a decent dashi from scratch. Dashi is the mother broth for most Japanese soups and is basically composed of two ingredients: kombu and katsuoboshi. Kombu is a thick, dried stalk of seaweed, which you place in a pot of water slowly brought to a simmer. After the kombu steeps in the water for about 15-20 minutes, you remove the kombu, take the pot off the heat, and then put in a handful of katsuoboshi. Katsuoboshi, also known as bonito flakes, is dried, fermented skipjack tuna, which is essential for a good dashi. You leave it in the hot, kombu-flavored water for about 10-15 minutes, and then strain. You now have dashi, an acrid, smoky, fishy, and to me, unappetizing liquid. However, you essentially end up with a pot full of pure, liquid umami that, with the addition of just a couple of ingredients, is the foundation of some delicious soups.

The simplest one is probably miso soup. All you have to do is put in about a tablespoon of miso for 4 cups of dashi, bring it to a boil, and then you're done. Add some finely chopped scallions, tofu, and a little wakamane (dried seaweed) and the result is something indistinguishable from a restaurant.

Another great dish is Udon Noodle Soup. Here, you get your four cups of dashi, add two tablespoons of dark soy sauce, and one tablespoon of mirin (a sweet Japanese rice alcohol). Bring the liquid to a boil and then put in some udon noodles, and you get a classic noodle soup. I gussied it up with chopped scallions and sliced kamaboko (Japanese fish cakes), maybe throw in some wakamane and an egg, and you get a classic Japanese dish. A subtle dish that has hints of sweet, salty, and umami interacting with each other in a comforting, homey soup.

Considering how easy dashi is to make from scratch, I don't think I can go back to granulated dashi bouillon anymore.

FYI: If you need to buy kombu, bonito flakes, or instant dashi, and you don't want to leave the District, you should go to Hana Market on 17th and U St NW (across the street from the police station). They have all the ingredients there.

Miso Soup with Soba Noodles

I decided to make miso soup for lunch today. But, rather than use instant dashi, I decided to make dashi from scrath. Basically, you steep "kombu," which is a thick, dried seaweed, in a pot of water and gently heat it. Right before it starts to boil, pull it off the heat and then put in a handful of bonito flakes and stir. Let that steep for several minutes and taste. Once the smokiness of the bonito has seeped into the stock, strain. You now have dashi, the foundation for most Japanese soups.

In order to make miso soup, put the dashi back in a pot, add a generous spoonful of miso (I used Japanese white miso, which is the lightest), and simmer. I also put in wakamane, which is a thin, tender seaweed and some finely chopped green onions. After boiling the soba noodles in a separate pot, I threw it in the miso. Not very authentic, but hey, it's a Saturday afternoon and it is better than Cup O' Noodle.

Sticky Lemon Chicken with Champ

I found this Gordon Ramsay recipe on Youtube and decided to give it a try. I took some fresh thyme and two cloves of crushed garlic and put them in a pan with olive oil. After the garlic softened, I took four bone-in chicken thighs and browned the skin side first and seasoned the other side with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. After the skin got crispy and brown, I flipped them and seasoned the skin with salt and pepper. After that was done, I splashed some soy sauce and champagne vinegar [the original recipe calls for sherry vinegar] into the pan and let it reduce into a syrup. I then threw in some Meyer lemon slices on top of the chicken and squeezed some of the Meyer lemon juice over the thighs. I also cut a little more fresh thyme on top. I gave the pan a shake and then placed about half a cup of water in the pan to let the chickens braise a little. After the water evaporated, I put in some clover honey to thicken the sauce and add sweetness. I then chopped some fresh flat-leaf parsley and threw that on top, and then pulled the pan off the heat to let things rest.

I then made the "champ," which is basically mashed potatoes with scallions and apparently a traditional preparation in Ireland. Simple enough: boil peeled potatoes, heat some heavy cream, mash potatoes in heavy cream, throw in some chopped scallions and butter, mix, and serve.

This was a great dish. It actually seems like a spin on Filipino Chicken Adobo, where you get the savoriness and saltiness of the soy sauce with the brightness of the lemons and vinegar. Of course, the western bit is the addition of the honey, but it doesn't add too much sweetness while giving the sauce a nice viscous texture and conveys a floral hint to the aroma. The sauce also added a lot to the champ, marrying well with the slight bite of the scallions and the richness of the potatoes. So, here, you have a very Western dish with very subtle Eastern notes [the soy sauce, the "adobo" of the chicken, and the use of scallions in the champ]. Lovely.

I also enjoyed the Meyer lemons, which I don't believe I have ever had before. Meyer lemons are essentially a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange, so you get less acidity and slightly more sweetness [though not sweet enough to eat on their own]. They are grown in California and I believe they are only available in DC during the winter months, so get them now while you can. Definitely a subtler fruit than regular lemons and actually refreshingly pleasant to bite into when you're eating this dish.

Scrambled Eggs, Ramsay Style

I have been experimenting with scrambled eggs recently. Usually, I would beat them in a bowl, slowly pour the mixture into a hot pan with olive oil, and stir continuously with a fork, slowly folding the curds of eggs as they form. If anything, this technique was probably more like an omelet than scrambled eggs, but it was pretty flavorful and the constant stirring ensured that the eggs wouldn't dry out.

However, I stumbled upon a clip posted on Youtube of Gordon Ramsay making scrambled eggs with a technique I had never seen before. What he did was to put the eggs in a pot, put a pat of butter into the eggs, and then begin beating the eggs with a spatula while cooking it over a fairly high heat. You continue stirring, taking the pot off the heat at times to ensure that eggs don't burn, dry out, or overcook. When the eggs have set, you season with salt and pepper and then put in a dollop of creme fraiche in order to cool the mixture and give it richness. What results is a custard like concoction that has a rich, velvety texture. My version above used heavy cream instead of creme fraiche, but was otherwise identical. I also placed some chopped chives on top to give the dish a little bite. The key, I think, is the continual stirring in order to prevent burning or huge curds from forming...not wholly dissimilar to the old technique I used to make scrambled eggs. Anyway, it is good to have something else in my repertoire and I will probably use my old technique solely to make omelets now and use this one when I want to have something a bit more luxurious and rich for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a late midnight snack.

Linguine alle (canned) vongole

This was a quick pasta dish I made the other day out of random pantry goods I found buried in the back of my cupboard. Basically I just started off by heating some crushed garlic, chopped anchovies, and red pepper flakes in a pan. I then deglazed with some crappy Chilean chardonnay. After the wine reduced, I tossed in a small can of chopped clams with the liquid. I waited for the liquid to reduce and tossed in the cooked linguine (slightly more than al dente) into the pan with a little bit of pasta water. Tossed the linguine several times in the pan to coat the sauce evenly throughout the pasta, sprinkled some chopped flat leaf parsley (vastly superior to curly parsley), tossed it again, and then plated it. And, it came out much better than i expected. The semolina from the linguine seemed to slough off into the sauce as it cooked in the pan, given the sauce a pleasant, yeasty texture. The clams were ok, but the anchovies helped provide needed brininess; if I were to ever make a sauce with fresh clams, I think adding anchovies would be superfluous. And the herbaceousness of the flat leaf parsley added some lift and brightness to the dish. Not bad for a ghetto pasta dish thrown together in 15 minutes.

Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

Over the weekend, I decided to try roasting a chicken for the first time. I consider myself fairly competent at throwing together a pasta dish, grilling or sauteing chicken or steak, and whipping up a simple vinaigrette and salad, but I have avoided more complicated dishes involving proteins until recently. But, having done fairly well with a pot roast and the coq au vin, I decided to do a simple roast chicken. And, in my opinion, it turned better than I could have hoped.

I think the key with roast chicken is simply getting quality ingredients. So, I stopped by Whole Foods, bought the whole bird (which was only 20 cents more per pound than at Safeway) and some fresh herbs. When I got home, I first left the chicken on the counter to get to room temperature. According to Thomas Keller (I saw a clip of him roasting a bird) , this is done to allow the bird to cook more evenly. I don't know if this is scientifically true, but he's Thomas "French Fucking Laundry" Keller, so I'll give him a benefit of a doubt.

All I did with this particular roast was: season the cavity liberally with salt and fresh ground pepper; prick a lemon with a skewer and stuff it and some fresh sprigs of thyme into the cavity; truss the bird with some butcher's twine; place it in an oven-safe saute pan; liberally season the top with coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and chopped fresh thyme; and place it in the over at 450 degrees for 45 minutes. After I pulled it out, I let it rest for about 5 minutes, carved it, plated the breast, thigh, and leg, squeezed a little juice from the lemon into the pan juices over and spooned the elixir over the meat.

The breast was moist, the thighs and legs thoroughly cooked, and the oysters of the bird were absolutely delicious. The coarse sea salt formed a crust on the skin, giving it a wonderfully crisp texture. And the pan juice, by itself without any additional trimmings or tricks, was the perfect sauce. Basically, this was a really satisfying dish that practically cooked itself.

Brownies

I made these brownies back in St. Louis when I had a proper oven which could do fancy things like bake breads and roast meats, unlike my current oven which can only hold my extra pans. I basically followed the recipe in the Joy of Cooking, though the sugar I used was half granulated and half brown. After you finish baking, little chunks of gooey molasses (from the melted brown sugar) riddle the interior of the brownies, imparting a rather chewy texture. Though the picture makes them look like a turd loaf, people enjoyed them a lot. I haven't made them in three years, unfortunately, and I don't even remember the recipe. I would have to find my old cookbook and try it again sometime...once I get an oven that can actually cook food.

Spaghetti with Puttanesca Sauce

Tonight, I decided to make Spaghetti with Puttanesca sauce. This is a good dish to make during the middle of winter because you don't need the freshest produce. Canned plum tomatoes work very well with this dish and all of the other major components (garlic, shallots, capers, olives, and crushed red pepper) are available year round and tend to keep a long time in the pantry or refrigerator.

I also had some leftover parsley from another dish I made and decided to chop it up and throw it on top of the dish. In hindsight, the dish would have probably been served better with a flat leaf parsley or fresh basil that had a little more bite and flavor than curly parsley. Regardless, the parsley gave the dish some herbaceousness to counterbalance the brightness of the tomatoes, the tartness of the capers, the salt of the olives, and the heat of the red peppers. I even tossed some freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano on top as well, but actually preferred the spaghetti without it. There is so much going on in the dish as is that the Parmesan clashed with all the other flavors. Otherwise, I thought it was fairly successful (if a bit messy) and would recommend it. Just don't oversauce.

Coq au Vin

In order to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, I decided to make Coq au Vin for the first time. Because of the chill, I have been in a braising mood lately, recently making a pot roast. Since I had some leftover wine and stock from my pot roast, I decided to do another braised dish, and thought I might as well try to class it up with a Gallic classic.

There are few things more satisfying to eat in the middle of winter than a braised meat or poultry dish, especially when it is smothered in buttery mash potatoes. For this dish, I made a fairly straightforward Coq Au Vin (with some modifications...it is hard to find old rooster in the supermarket shelves). The one twist was that I chose to mash sweet potatoes rather than regular potatoes, and threw in a little extra butter for good measure. I just wish I had a blender or strainer in order to make them a little smoother. Flavor wise, I thought my dish was great. Appearance wise....you be the judge.