Mission: Cook! (34 page)
SERVES
6
FOR THE CORN BREAD
3
/
4
pound (2
3
/
4
cups) cornmeal
1 pound (3
3
/
4
cups) all-purpose flour
3
/
4
ounce (1 tablespoon) baking powder
3
/
4
pint (1½ cups) sour cream
3
/
4
cup milk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) melted butter
FOR THE COUNTRY GRAVY
2 cups half-and-half
1¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) butter
3
/
4
cup flour
2 cups (16 ounces) chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
FOR THE COUNTRY STEAK
Six 5-ounce flat-iron steaks
Salt and pepper
1½ cups milk
1½ cups flour
1
/
8
cup canola oil
FOR THE SPINACH
2 ounces canola oil
1 large red onion, finely diced
10 bunches of fresh spinach, washed and drained
Juice of 2 fresh lemons
Salt and pepper
EQUIPMENT
A loaf pan, greased
Preheat
the oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sour cream, milk, eggs, salt, and melted butter. Bake in a greased loaf pan for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Scald the half-and-half in a small saucepan. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Add the scalded half-and-half, chicken broth, bay leaves, black pepper, and salt, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Remember to remove the bay leaves before serving.
Whilst the gravy is simmering, prepare the steaks and spinach.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper, then pound them flat with a meat mallet. Moisten the steaks in milk, then dip them in flour. Repeat, as this will give you a nice even coating. Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Fry the steaks in the oil until golden brown. Remove to a utility platter and pat off excess oil. Let rest.
Heat a sauté pan. Add the oil and onion. Cook until translucent. Reduce the heat to low. Add the spinach and lightly sauté, enough to break down the spinach, but do not overcook. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat.
A Note on Sandy Spinach
Fresh spinach is among the greens with an uncanny ability to retain copious amounts of sand. Remembering that patience is a virtue, soak them repeatedly in successive bowls of clean water until you see that no more sand is falling to the bottom of the bowl. For the Country-Fried Steak with Corn Bread and Wilted Spinach recipe, it is especially helpful to dry the spinach with a salad spinner and/or pat it dry, since you will be sauteing it. Dry greens will be less apt to spatter in the sauté pan.
SERVES
6
FOR THE CRAB
½ cup (4 ounces) mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1
/
8
teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Splash of Tabasco
½ red onion, diced small
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ pounds colossal crabmeat, picked over for shells
½ teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Microcelery greens
FOR THE FENNEL SALAD
1 fennel bulb, shaved paper thin with a mandoline or a meat slicer
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and julienned
Juice of 1 lemon (squeezed over the apple)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1
/
8
teaspoon chopped chives
1
/
8
teaspoon chopped fennel frond (top leaves of the fennel)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese
FOR THE CHIVE OIL
1 bunch chives
1 cup canola oil or grapeseed oil
EQUIPMENT
A 2-inch-diameter circle cutter or ring mold
A blender
In
a large bowl, mix together a dressing of mayonnaise, chives, Old Bay seasoning, Tabasco, red onion, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Place the crabmeat in another bowl and pour on enough dressing to coat. Toss the crabmeat very lightlyâtry not to break the crabmeat into small pieces. Let sit in the refrigerator.
Prepare the fennel salad by tossing the fennel in a large bowl with the apple along with the lemon juice, olive oil, chives, fennel frond, parsley, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well.
To make the chive oil, start by having a bowl of ice water ready. Then briefly cook the chives for 10 to 15 seconds in a quart of boiling, salted water and strain. Place the chives into the ice bath, then remove and pat dry with paper towels. Cover and turn on the blender and whilst it is running, add the dry blanched chives through the feed tube (so they will get chopped), and then slowly add the oil through the feed tube, blending until all the chives are incorporated with the oil.
PRESENTATION
Place the crabmeat in a 2-inch round mold in the center of a plate. Carefully and gently pull the mold away without knocking down the crabmeat. Place the fennel salad on top of the crabmeat. Place the chopped parsley and microcelery greens on top of the fennel salad. Drizzle the chive oil with a spoon around the crab mixture.
SERVES
6
FOR THE CHICKEN
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
¼ cup light olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 slices Bel Paese cheese
FOR THE WARM CABBAGE SLAW
½ cup chopped bacon
1 red onion, diced
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 head of white cabbage, thinly sliced and core removed
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup chopped chives
3 ounces Boursin cheese (optional)
Preheat
the oven to 325 degrees. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. In an ovenproof sauté pan, heat the oil until the pan is smoking. Sear each side of the chicken breasts until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
Place 2 slices of tomato on top of the chicken and then top with a slice of cheese.
Finish the chicken in the oven, 25 to 30 minutes, testing for doneness.
Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, cook the bacon until all the fat is rendered out and it is crisp. Remove and set aside on paper towels to drain.
In the same pan, cook the diced onion in the bacon fat until translucent. Melt the butter in the pan, add the cabbage, and toss with the onion, cooking until it is wilted but still crisp in texture. Add the rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, crumbled bacon, and chopped chives, and cook together for a couple of minutes.
Note: If you want to make the cabbage salad richer and really creamy, add Boursin cheese into it just before serving.
Adjust the seasoning and serve.
PRESENTATION
Place a little of the cabbage mix into the center of each plate and top with the chicken.
SERVES
6
30 U/15 shrimp (under 15 shrimp per pound), peeled, deveined, tail on
1 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup white wine
6 plum tomatoes, medium diced
1
/
3
cup tomato juice
1
/
3
cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped basil
1 cup chicken broth
1¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter
Pasta (your choice) or rice, over which you will serve scampi
6 basil sprigs
2 fresh lemons, cut into 12 wedges
Bring
a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Dredge the shrimp in the seasoned flour. In a sauté pan, heat the oil and sauté the shrimp until light golden. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a utility platter.
To make the scampi sauce, use the same pan and add the wine and cook, reducing by half to intensify the flavor. Then add the tomatoes, tomato juice, lemon juice, garlic, basil, and chicken broth. Let reduce until thickened, then add the butter. (Begin cooking the pasta at this point; cook to al dente.) Simmer the scampi sauce on low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Place the shrimp back into the sauce.
Drain the pasta.
PRESENTATION
This can be plated individually, or on a single serving platter with a bed of pasta or rice in the center. Arrange the shrimp on top and spoon the sauce over. Garnish with basil sprigs and lemon wedges. (Your guests may enjoy squeezing the juice from the lemon wedges over the top to their liking. I think the lemon juice adds another “layer” of flavor to the scampi.)
A Note on Shrimp Sizes
Shrimp (and scallops) are sold by count per pound. The larger the shrimp is, the lower the count per pound. “U” represents the word “under.” U/15 shrimp are of such a size as to equal a “count” of fewer than 15 shrimp in a pound.
L
EAVE ROOM FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL STYLE TO SHINE THROUGH. AT THE
end of the day, I don't ever believe in slavish devotion to a recipe. Generally, if you go to the trouble of memorizing the name of one of my recipes in this book, say, Short Ribs Braised with Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and Bacon, you are well on your way to figuring out a preparation for this dish of your very own.
We are all a result of the confluence of influences in our lives, and we each communicate those influences in a different way. Personal travels, holiday traditions, the news of the day, friends and family, nature, TV, art, magazines, and for me, especially music and weather, all shape our unique sense of style. I am an Englishman, and my style is influenced by my homeland to a degree, but it is also constantly evolving as I open myself up to new sensory stimulation. It is all reflected on my plates, because that is how I communicate myself to people.
Go forth and communicate. I hope you enjoy these dishes in style.
SERVES
6
FOR THE POACHING LIQUID
Thyme, about a handful, stripped from the stems and chopped
Tarragon, about a handful, stripped from the stems and chopped
2 to 3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
Enough water to cover the lobster tails
6 lobster tails
Remains of the segmented orange prepped for salad
FOR THE DRESSING
½ cup hazelnut oil
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon lightly chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
¼ cup diced Bermuda onion
1 tablespoon orange juice, if preparing dressing in advance
FOR THE SALAD
½ pound white grapes, halved, and seeds removed
½ pound black grapes, halved, and seeds removed
½ pound red grapes, halved, and seeds removed
1 kiwi fruit, roughly chopped
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, and diced
1 Bermuda onion, diced
2 peaches, finely sliced with skin on
1 navel orange, skin and all white pith peeled off, segmented
3 avocados, removed from black skin and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons white truffle oil
GARNISHES FOR PLATING
1 head of butter lettuce
About 6 radicchio leaves, thinly sliced
Leaves from 1 or 2 endives
1 or 2 peaches
EQUIPMENT
12 bamboo skewers
This is an expressive interpretation of the main element in the dish, featuring a palette of color and taste.
(The dressing benefits from being refrigerated overnight. Don't add the fruits in advance because they will oxidize. Add instead 1 tablespoon orange juice to the dressing so that it can infuse with the other flavors.)
