Started with a beautiful Prather Ranch 18″ skirt steak, dried but without having marinaded or brined. Cut off two 5″ pieces and went for the double-dip breading with a touch of curry powder, buttermilk & egg. Then reduced down the cooking stock from my delicately poached oyster mushrooms (which was itself from my curried spinach), and thickened at last minute with the addition of the left-over spiced breading flour, brought to a boil. Ate with a lovely Vino V Syrah, 2006.
Lightly ground whole mustard seed, cardamom, and anise, and mixed in with salted curry powder for a lovely salmon spice mix. Roasted at 450F. Paired perfectly with a slow-cooked creamed spinach and a glass of Sancerre.
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Lightly breaded the bone-in air-chilled chicken breast with about equal parts flour, curry powder, ground pasilla chili, and salt. Fried in a combination of peanut oil and rendered bacon. Once the chicken was done, I threw in the Choy Sum — great flavor.
Cheated a bit on Amanda’s recipe — no nutmeg so I did a touch of allspice and some cinnamon. Out of whole milk so I combined half & half and 1%. No confectioner’s sugar so I went with brown sugar — but still came out delicious. A touch of citrus (I used lime) really does make a difference.
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons (one half stick) of unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- Juice of half a lemon
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, milk, eggs, and nutmeg in a bowl. Beat lightly. Leave the batter a little lumpy.
- Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet with a heatproof handle. When it is very hot, pour in the batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown.
- Sprinkle with the sugar and return briefly to the oven. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and serve with jelly, jam, or marmalade.
Inspired by the shaved brussel sprouts at Noe’s own Contigo Kitchen & Cava on Castro & 24th, I pulled out the mandolin, thinly shaved over a dozen sprouts, and tossed them with a improvised dressing of the oil from my preserved Moroccan lemons, a touch of salt and fresh lemon juice, and shaved and toasted almonds. Drank down with the most fantastic, refreshing & balanced white wine from Copain, a favsie in Sonoma on Eastside Road. Roussanne, as I’ve since learned, is a Rhone varietal, and one of six white grapes permissible in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC.
Cleaned and patted ducks dry before scalding with a highly improvised lacquer of dark molasses, champagne vinegar, salt and boiling water. Left dried ducks hanging for 9 hours before pre-roasting (65 minutes) at 375 and then finishing in Dan & Kenny’s oven at 500+ broil for another 15 minutes. Ate with homemade pancakes, Hoisin and scallions. Fine pairing with light, citrusy beer.
niko klein