Gourmet cooking for the home chef
After years of watching various TV chefs skilfully do this or that in front of a live audience I started to make note of all the techniques they perform with the intention of duplicating them exactly. After all I aspire to be an accomplished and reknown chef just like them simply by watching and absorbing the skill while sitting in front of the TV with a Negroni cocktail by my side.
Well, it doesn’t work that way. Continue reading “Roast Red Peppers for Retirees”
This posting is inspired by an item appearing on a certain Chef John’s website foodwishes.com. I suspect even without my self-imposed enhancements this dish is a winner, so I offer many thanks to Chef John for the inspiration. It appears below after the scholarly dissertation that follows:
To begin I must point out that I discovered the Chef’s recipe navigating Allrecipes.com under the search term “shrimp scampi.” Aside from leading me to a good site for this topic, as well as a fine recipe, the exercise opened up the opportunity for me to step into the classroom to take aim at all those chefs and restaurants that use the terms in combination on their menus. “Check out tonight’s shrimp scampi special!!”
Although demonstrating a knowledge of the issue Chef John unabashedly ignores any difference among shrimp, prawns and scampi and makes no apologies. He believes they are one and the same animal, the only difference lying in local usage. Prawns cover all species and are served in Great Britain. All three terms, shrimp, scampi or prawns are used interchangeably in the U.S.
Now for the facts: Actually gamberi is Italian for shrimp, and scampi is Italian for prawns. Crevettes and langoustines are found on menus in France, the former being shrimp and the latter prawns. Neither country considers the two terms as interchangeable as far as I can tell.
Basically I concluded that two of the three animals on the list, shrimp and prawns, are pretty much the same, differing mainly by size. However in Italy scampi are considered different creatures, distinct from the smaller shrimp which, as noted, are called gamberi.
So ordering “shrimp scampi” in Italy is sort of like ordering a dish that might be called “Lobster crawfish” on the menu. The U.S. restaurants who feature “shrimp scampi” are unwittingly leading the customer to think the dish consists of one animal variety when in fact the description technically covers two different species.
Like crawfish, scampi look like lobsters that failed to grow up, having a hard shell and long thin claws. These are called langoustines in France and have their own taxonomic description (nephrops norvegicus) . The smaller shrimp varieties can be small or large, even jumbo, and have an infinite number of official names within the same family but are essentially interchangeable.
To be sure I consulted the Italian websites, which are not always reliable, just as the ones in the U.S. However I managed to land on one that I consider authoritative that clearly speaks of shrimp (gamberi) and scampi as entirely different animals. Scampi are the larger species associated with the French “langoustines” mentioned above. Gamberi are what you use to make shrimp cocktail.
So it’s OK to think of shrimp as prawns and vice versa but don’t expect to find true scampi at Luigi’s Italian Restaurant down the road from you. Luigi probably has never served real scampi in his life. Luigi does however proudly serve “shrimp scampi” most often with overcooked shrimp drenched in garlic oil and spread over a half-pound of overcooked linguine marinara.
Last word: Some food writers have tried to cover up the confusion by calling “shrimp scampi” a distinctive way of cooking shrimp. After all the digging around on the web I decided I don’t buy that explanation. Nice try though. Just remember that there’s no such thing as “shrimp scampi” in Italy.
Time’s up. School bell having rung here now is my variation of Chef John’s excellent, and to my reckoning authentic recipe for garlic shrimp, otherwise known at Luigi’s as “shrimp scampi”. My additions are white wine (very typical in Italy), home made roasted red peppers peppers, and the yellow or red cherry tomatoes. Down the road someday I’ll look up some dishes that call for langoustines or scampi.
for 4-5 persons
Set up your mis en place with the lemon juice, white wine, olive oil, capers and brine, parsley, peppers, tomatoes.
Peel and devein the shrimp leaving the last segment intact. (I don’t devein the smaller shrimp).
In a saute pan bring up to high heat the 1/4 cup of oil and the butter. The idea now is to sear the shrimp quickly without fully cooking it. Cook the shrimp until it just begins to lose its translucence. This is the tricky part, requiring a full glass of Barbera for fortification – for you not the dish. Then add all the other ingredients except the parsley and bring back to high heat. Stir vigorously until the shrimp have lost all translucence. Immediately remove from heat and allow to stand for a minute, constantly stirring. Stir in the parsley.
If you want to serve this over linguine follow the box directions. Otherwise set the timer for 9 minutes (al dente) or 10-11 minutes (fully cooked) and be sure to use plenty of salted boiling water. Throwing in some olive oil will not prevent sticking so save your money. Just keep stirring periodically with a wooden fork (wooden forks are hard to find so it’s ok to use one of those dumb plastic spaghetti spoons that look like a turned-up cupped hand asking for a tip no example of which can be found in my kitchen).
I make this dish often but can’t resist the temptation to add a generous dose of finely chopped anchovy each time. This is making me hungry already.
Here is a universal side dish if ever there was one. Plus it kicks spinach up more than one Legassian notch for sure. Lay it down alongside any preparation based on beef, pork, fish or fowl. Or better yet make it up “family style” in the event you are among the rare parents whose kids love spinach.
The trick is to avoid a watery blob on the plate, so I set the prepared spinach on a paper towel for a few minutes before serving. Also, only a hard cheese will work with this recipe. Soft cheeses like mozzarella or muenster will render a gooey mess. Which reminds me that this recipe, with a few additions like mozzarella and peperone is sometimes found in spinach “calzones,” at least in Rhode Island whence I came.
Ingredients
Preparation
My words spewed forth effortlessly as I assumed a classic Aristotelian posture. Right arm raised, forefinger pointed up, and left arm holding my waist as if I wanted to make sure my toga didn’t fall off. 
If you have the misfortune of finding yourself on Washington’s Capital Beltway, alias Hell’s Freeway, where snails can get to your destination well ahead of you, there is an exit that will take you westward to a land virtually unspoiled by urban civilization, noise and pollution. It lies at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Taking the Interstate 66 exit you will glide past the clutter and cacophony of Washington’s overbuilt Virginia suburbs and enter a region loaded with history, natural beauty and people in no hurry at all.
In this particular rural neighborhood one can visualize a long line of soldiers in grey uniforms, accompanied by assorted cannons, caissons, horses and random camp followers making their way to the nearby Shenandoah Valley where their leader, a certain General Stonewall Jackson, will begin a brilliant campaign that soon will lead everyone to believe that ultimate victory by the South in the Civil War is a foregone conclusion. This is Civil War country and a place worth visiting.
On one recent excursion to that area, requiring a passage around the character-building DC Beltway my GPS guided us off onto I-66, heading west toward the Blue Ridge foothills, toward the bucolic Virginia farmland landscapes and ultimately to the intended destination for this trip, a town called Washington in Rappahannock County and to a famous bed & breakfast called the Inn at Little Washington.
Little indeed. The town is basically one intersection – no light – with shops and houses stretching for about two blocks in all directions. The connection to George Washington is a bit murky but he supposedly passed through the neighborhood at one time or another for a pit stop before he took on the British. The Inn itself is as little as the town but it is home to one of America’s greatest kitchen magicians – the Inn’s chef-owner Patrick O’Connell.
Chef O’Connell is a person who can probably duplicate any classical dish from any ethnic or regional cuisine in the world with his eyes closed. However his masterpieces are not strictly classic. They are original creations in every sense yet they have features easily and gratefully recognizable by classical one-track-minded amateur cooks like me.
For proof I refer to his superb cookbook, the somewhat curiously titled “Refined American Cuisine” (Bullfinch Press, New York, 2004). Refined indeed, as if there is a version of traditional American cooking that is not refined?? Well, if not then Chef O’Connell accomplishes the refinement with subtle touches from the classical repertory that give American cuisine an added measure of respect. In the words of the well known Boston-accented Portuguese-American celebrity TV chef, “he kicks it up a notch.”
The perfect example is his version of mac ‘n cheese prepared with Virginia country ham and shaved white truffle, all of which is enclosed in a parmesan crusted basket. It’s an inspired reinvention of an everyday American household dish that echoes classical themes. The obvious classical connection is shaved white truffle – a staple accent in all sorts of dishes from France and Italy mostly, but also found in many other European traditions. The American star ingredient is of course the Virginia country ham, a close cousin of Italian prosciutto. Close but not too close mind you.
Some background on mac n’ cheese that you can and should skip:
Chef O’Connell’s combination of ingredients recall a highly popular dish from Rome and Central Italy called Maccheroni alla Gricia Tartufati. The name “Gricia” comes with a long story as to its origin but in short is associated with a town called Grisciano, just as pasta all’ amatriciana is linked to the nearby town of Amatrice. Other continental relatives of “mac ‘n cheese” are Rome’s famous pasta cacio e pepe, and pasta alla carbonara.
All three varieties have cheese, usually pecorino romano, coarsely ground black pepper , creamy sauce and a cured pork component, whether pancetta, guanciale or prosciutto. Truffles slices are not always a part of the old country versions but many upscale Italian restaurants, Pagnanelli at Castelgandolfo outside Rome for example, finish the dish with a sprinking of shaved black or white truffle.
So, putting all this together, upon returning home from a fairy tale experience at the Inn, I decided I would someday soon attempt Chef O’Connell’s formula for mac ‘n cheese straight from his cookbook (p. 108) and then, in the spirit of friendly competition, maybe at my next house party, include also a serving of my recipe for Maccheroni alla Gricia Tartufati. I then would ask unbiased volunteers to sample each one and render an opinion. Of course as a person who, if nothing else, can tell the difference in a dish between Virginia country ham and pancetta or prosciutto I already have an opinion but I’ll keep it to myself.
Not wanting to leave the wrong impression I can testify that Chef O’Connell’s elevated version of American macaroni and cheese is five-star and could easily bring me back to Little Washington many more times henceforth.
Before presenting his recipe I should note that fresh truffles are tough to latch onto and in any case will put a big hole in your wallet should you find any. Truffle oil on the other hand is readily available in specialty stores like Balducci’s or on line. So in a pinch a drizzle of truffle oil will provide you with a rough idea of what the real thing can do in a dish like this.
For 4 persons
Garnishes:
The following narrative on preparation is paraphrased from the Chef’s published recipe.
Cook pasta in 4 quarts boiling salted water until roughly half done. (See my comment below). Drain and place in a small bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil and toss to keep from sticking. Set aside to cool. In a large saucepan over medium low heat melt the butter. Add garlic and shallot and sweat for 5 minutes (not you, the garlic and shallot). Do not brown (nothing worse than burned garlic). Add the cream, bring to a boil, and simmer on reduced heat until cream has reduced by 1/4 and coats the back of a spoon.
Whisk in the grated cheeses and stir for a minute or so until all is melted and smooth. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Chef O’Connell suggests the optional step of passing the sauce through a strainer. This is not necessary. Any particles of fully minced garlic and shallot will be undetectable once mixed with the pasta. Add the partially cooked pasta and simmer all ingredients “for a minute or two to make sure the pasta is warmed through.”
The words in quotes are verbatim from the cookbook and give me some concern. Note that Chef O’Connell recommends cooking the pasta until about half done. Warming it up later on for a “minute or two” in the white sauce will not complete the cooking as sure as I’m sitting here in front of my laptop! So best to cook the pasta until at least “al dente” and save yourself a potential embarrassment.
Place a parmesan wafer basket on each of four dinner plates and top with 1/2 cup of the pasta. Ladle a portion of the sauce on each and top with the julienned Virginia ham, chives and crispy onions. Finish with shaved slices of white truffle. (Honestly I would skip the onions and opt for toasted bread crumbs. The fried onions are a bit of a stretch for most people. It is unnecessary if the only purpose is to add a sort “gratin” crunch to the dish. In any case the onion flavor is a little tough to detect since the slices are so thin).
All right, and now. . . . .
Chef Ludovico’s Mac ‘n Cheese “alla Gricia”
For 4 persons
Cook pasta in 4 qts. boiling salted water until “al dente.” Drain and place in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. Allow to cool. Meanwhile saute’ pancetta or guanciale in a large saucepan until most fat is rendered. Remove from pan and drain off fat, leaving a little coating in the pan for flavor. Add butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil and at low heat saute’ garlic and shallot until softened and translucent. Return pancetta or guanciale to the pan and add the cream, bring to boil, then reduce heat and allow cream to reduce by 1/4. Whisk in the grated cheeses and stir until melted. Add the cooked pasta salt, pepper and nutmeg and warm thoroughly.
Serve pasta on baked parmesan baskets or bowls. Top with a sprinkling of the garlic-flavored bread crumbs and sliced white truffles (hope you had a good trip). Otherwise drizzle with truffle oil.
For the parmesan crisps: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Have four cereal bowls standing by upside down. Start with 6 oz. or more grated imported parmesan cheese. Line a baking sheet with oven paper lighly oiled on top. Divide the cheese into five mounds, around 2 heaping tbsp. each one, and place on the sheet (five because one of them is bound to break apart when being molded into a basket or bowl shape). Spread each mound around to form a thin flat circle making sure there are no spaces within the circle. Each disk should be about 7 inches in diameter with at least 2 inches of space between each. Bake for 5 minutes or so until disks just barely beginning to turn brown. If they brown start over because burned parmesan tastes like stale tobacco.
Remove from oven and place the warmed disks on top of the cereal bowls. Allow the edges to fall so that a basket shape is obtained but make sure the top surface is flat against the bottom of the bowl so the basket will stay in place on the plate. Once hardened carefully remove from the bowls and lay the baskets onto the serving dishes. If they set up properly and don’t break apart you can apply for an honorary certificate of achievement from the Cooking School at the University of Parma, Italy, the home town of Parmigiano Reggiano.
For the crispy fried onions: Using a mandolin thinly slice 1 Spanish onion into rings. Dredge in flour, shake off excess and deep-fry in 350 degree oil for about 30 seconds. Drain on paper towels. At my dinner at the Inn the onions were crumbled and sprinkled atop the pasta. In the cookbook photo they lie whole in ring form on the plate. Now if you can make a batch of paper thin onion rings without having them stick to one another in a tangled mass you should apply for an honorary certificate of achievement from the Cooking School of the University of Seville, Spain, home town of the Spanish onion.
If all this sounds like too much you can always reach for the the Kraft mac n’ cheese, drizzled with a tablespoon or two of truffle oil, which by the way costs about five times as much as the mac n’ cheese box.
