Ficelle, aka Small Baguette

Yeah, I know it’s been a long time since there was a last post.  This is typical of a new blog, people are pumped to start it, but they never actually continue after a few months.  That’s why most of you have specific blogs that you read in your RSS feeds, and ours isn’t one of them.  Well, this is my attempt to not let chewandbrew die, and pull back the few readers that we had.

Let me begin with an excuse; I’ve been very distracted in the past few months with an old friend of mine.  We’ve rekindled our nearly broken relationship, (much like this blog), and have started getting along again.  After some research from friends and strangers alike, I’ve learned why I started to hate this old friend, and how I can once again begin to entertain having another relationship with it!  This friend that I speak of is nearly as old as humankind itself and without it world hunger would be 7-fold if we wern’t dead already.  The friend I speak of is bread.  Leavened or Not, Flavored, Shaped, Baked, Steamed or Boiled, Bread has been with us for many years and with my disregards to the late Atkins (he’s an idiot), it is still a staple food and shall continue to be.  Hell, with an introduction like this I’m nearly tempted to say, as Alton Brown may, Bread Is… (duh duh duh duh nah nah nah UH UH), GOOD EATS.

Currently I’m not going to give out any recipes, but will give you a simple link that might make you love or hate bread more than you already do.

The Baker’s Percentage

Sure, maybe you hate math, and if so, then you should continue to bake as cookbooks suggest and measure everything with the godawful volume measurement scale, but if you truly want to bake good breads (and I hope that you do), then you should break out a calculator.  Once you get a calculator in your hand, and a digital scale in your kitchen, with a little know-how, you should find what is the Zen of Bread.

Add us back onto your RSS Feeds, as we’re back, and there will be more and more focus on breads and their primary ingredient, grains.

This idea started way back in February, when we were shopping for the now infamous Valentine’s Day dinner and picked up a box of salted cod while we were in the “Taj-MaWeg”.  The box sat in the cupboard for all this time, while Jimmy and I pondered what on earth to do with it. We googled, we wiki’ed and pondered… for 2 months.

Then, one day we found a video of a wonderful Argentinian mom-type making a casserole type dish and, lo and behold… we are making balcalhoada.

THE HISTORY BITS
Baccalà is Italian for salted cod, which requires numerous soakings to remove all the excess salt.  When you actually see the cod, you’ll notice it is literally covered in salt, a perservative, allowing it to be fresh for months (maybe even YEARS) without going bad with no need for refrigeration.  In the Italian days of yore,  this dried out flattened fish was often used to spank unruly children and the term baccalà was used as a term for such; as in, “You better behave yourself or I’ll give you baccalà!”. Jimmy tried this practice on me, as a bit of fun, but do not suggest it as it causes quite a mess and the dog ended up a little sick from licking up all the salt on the floor.

Now, for what you REALLY came for….
THE RECIPE
1 lb salt cod fillets, preferably skinless and boneless
3/4 to 1 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil
Milk (optional)
2 large yellow onions, sliced
1 large tomato, sliced (optional)
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, but not peeled
4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
About 40 pitted black olives we used Kalamata olives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salted Cod come two ways, either already skinned and de-boned, or in whole filets.  If available, get the pre-skinned and sans bones.  It’s much less work.

Also, this is where a Dutch Oven comes in handy! If you have one, I will be coming by when you least expect it to relieve you of this burden in a very ninja-like way that I cannot discuss any further, or I’ll have to kill you.  Jimmy and I used a Pyrex cassarole dish and it worked just as well. Whatever you use, it MUST have a lid.

PREPARATION
1. The salted cod MUST be prepared beforehand, which means you have to plan to make balcalhoada a few days from when you actually want it.  Trust me, this will make it even tastier! To prepare, first RINSE the cod filets. This will get rid of… um… SOME of the excessive salt.

2. THE SOAK: the cod will need to soak for AT LEAST 48 hours with several changes of the water. (This is why we suggest getting the prepared filets; its already a bit of work, heh!) Without some experiance, it is more than likely, you will wash away ALL the salt, and will need to add it back in.  But adding in, is easier than taking back out!

(flash forward 2 days)

3. Warm up oven to 350 degrees (from now on, I pledge to put this first.  Now that I’m starting to cook and read recipes a lot, I appreciate having this information right up here in the beginning!)

4. In a medium saucepan, place the now de-salted cod and enough milk and/or water to cover, and allow to simmer for a few minutes -enough to “codify” the milk then remove the fish and set  aside.

4. Now, IN THE MILK MIXTURE, parboil the potatoes, and then slice into 1/4 inch slices

6. GENEROUSLY coat the bottom of the Dutch Oven/pyrex dish with olive oil. Trust me on this, if you think you are using too much, it most likely is NOT for this recipe.

7. Place layer of onion rings, then potatoes (this is not a strict process, layer whichever you want first). Break up the cod filets and place in a layer, followed by the eggs, tomatos, olive oil and olives.  Alternate the layers as you wish until the dish is full.  Add salt and pepper as you wish to your taste (we put it on the tomato layer) and use the oil, again GENEROUSLY, with the fish layers

8.  Cover the dish, and stick in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until your nose and curiousity can no longer be appeased.

This dish is very good for creative cooks.  Its long and globe trotting history allows for lots of variations; recipes call for peppers, or a layer of a hearty green and serving over rice.

We served ours withone of Philly’s own delicacies; broccoli rabe!

Just a sandwich, simplicity at it's finest.

This post spawned from a photo competition that a few friends and I host every other week.    The topic was sandwiches, or sammichs as I like to say.  I figured since I’m taking pictures of the sandwich, might as well catch up on a long overdue ChewandBrew post.  So, lets get started shall we…

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Homemade Chips!

Now I will start off by saying I have known the owners of this place for years but I haven’t seen them in years! So I decided it was a good night to stop in and see how the restaurant was doing, and I have to tell you I’m glad I did! From the second I walked I was greeted by one of the nicest waitresss I ever had the pleasure of eating under.

We sat at our table and I guess because the waitress saw 3 bottles of wine for 2 people she knew we were trying to get down to business. We popped open the first bottle and sat back to enjoy the environment that Pura Vida offered us. It was a nice mix of Latin music and sizzling of the open kitchen. I have to tell you I’m always a fan of the open kitchen. It gives you the smells of what good food should smell like, you relax and think to yourself “If it smells this good it will taste good.” To no surprise it did just that.

NomNoms!

The Chef Charles started us off with a appetizer made with sauteed squash and cheese layered with a green Curry sauce on the side. The presentation of the dish alone tasted good. I took my first bite it and with the combination of flavors that exploded I melted back in my chair and said to myself “Damn Charles got good!”.

Umm Fried Bananas!!!

For my main course I had mixed enchiladas Chicken, Pork and Beef. The chicken and pork tasted good but the highlight of the dish was the beef! It melted in my mouth like beef should. I’m not the chef but it tasted like it was braised in a vat of love! After we had our dinner

Who's Got Beef!

and finished the first bottle of wine charles brought out a lovely Fried Bananas with a scoop of ice cream in the middle. Now I”m not huge on sweet things for dessert but when it came out it looked so good you would be a idiot not to eat it!

It was cooked perfect!

So all in all Pura Vida is a great little BYOB tucked away in the corner of Northern Libertys. With tons of charm and a chef that takes pride in his the flavorful yet simple dishes. Go there bring some booze and have fun with great people!

http://www.puravidaphilly.com/

Ready to nom!

A few days ago, as I was walking home from work and speaking to Jimmy on the phone, I re-noticed Otolith Sustainable Seafood on Girard Avenue here in Philadelphia. Jimmy had to go to the doctor earlier and was diagnosed with bronchitis.  I decided to do something nice for him and headed across the street to see what all the hubub (PSST!!! Link has recipes at the end!) was about.  Don’t get me wrong, I love seafood and I love being sustainable and as nice as I can to the environment.  But, I’m also cheap.  And fresh, beautiful fish is often expensive at the grocers and from who-knows where and under what circumstances it was caught, kept and shipped. Its made me a little off seafood lately but I hungered for it, so off I went.

Aritan Brossard, the owner and former Alaskan fisherman, greeted me as I came into the downright spartan store; two huge glass front freezer cases and a counter, with no cash register! I spoke to Aritan about tastes and sustainabilities of various sea creatures and he suggested Alaskan Cod.  I purchased the regular Alaskan or Pacific Cod, but might have gone for the Black Cod, which is a more succulent fish; often compared to sea bass whose livelihood has been threatened due to over-fishing.  Cod is much more sustainable, able to re-produce heartily in the wild and therefore, a better choice for those who have that in mind. He armed me with recipes and tips galore and I was on my way.

One of the recipes, intrigued us because of its Asian influence, which both Jimmy and I always enjoy.  And, it seemed easy and delicious, which always wins points. The recipe calls for “kasu lees” which neither of us were familiar with.  A quick search through our old and dusty cookbooks (read “the internet”), revealed that Kasu is a byproduct of sake making, often used as a soup base or a fish marinade (makes sense).  Tofu lees or doufu zha, which “is the insoluble carbohydrate residue that is left over after the production of soymilk or tofu” (thank you, Soy Info Center!), is basically the same thing as Kasu lees, only with Tofu. Since both are hard to find in the US, we went a different direction.

Recipe and more pics after the break

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Mongolian Beef Fire Pot

On the way home from work I get a txt from Mintee telling me that he was sick  and our plan for to nights chew and brew was not going to happen. So I’m sorry but the Corned beef recipe will have to wait for another day! Still in my car and heading over the bridge on I-95 back into Philadelphia it hit me. Mongolian Beef Fire Pot!!! I once had a dish called this at a restaurant on South St called Guru. It was a dish that is a adaptation of the classic Mongolian Beef that you can get at your local Chinese restaurant. With a bit more heat, a little bit of sweet and a hell of lot more style I bring you my version of the Mongolian Beef Fire Pot.

Recipe and more pictures after the break.
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Umm...eat em up!

Come and knock on my door…I’ve been waiting for you…So after a long day of homework for Erica and I and a long day of work for Nick, we all definately needed a homecooked meal.  Our kitchen had been neglected for one week too long.  That’s what happens when Beer Week happens in Philadelphia.  So we all took a day off from the drunken madess and got to the cookin.  Nick has this habit of finding some of the most difficult cooking methods to try out when he’s the most hungry, so off to the grocery store we rushed to find the ingredients for a customized risotto.  Of course being meatitarians we can’t leave out so good ol’ fashioned flesh.  Here it is, hope yous guys like it.

Recipe and more pictures after the break.

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After a long-short day at the ski shop,  and no time for food, I ransacked the kitchen, knowing good and well the cupboards were bare, and the fridge was empty.  Beth and I were going to the grocer that evening, but I was starving, and couldn’t wait any longer.

Hearty, Loving, and Oh So Good!

I had already started soaking about 2 cups of Blackeye’d Peas that morning with no sense of direction for dinner, I wasn’t sure if I should make Hopping Jon, or maybe some Blackeye’d Pea Cakes (coming soon).  So when I finally made it home, there they were, already soaked, plump and begging to be cooked.

It was beginning to snow outside, and during the winter I have 2 things that warm me up from the inside out.  That’s a toasty Grilled Cheese and a cup of Tomato Soup, or…    Split Pea Soup.

I knew I had split peas, seeing how they only cost about 50 cent a bag, and can be used for a few different applications, like, thickening other soups, or supplying a base for homemade veggie burgers, or even a viscous napalm gel to catapult onto annoying neighborhood kids. Everyone should have a bag or 2 stashed away for those lazy, hungry, or vengeful days.

Beside the Splitpeas were bags of dried Morel, and Lobster Mushrooms.  I’ve never really liked mushroom texture, but I love the flavor, so I thought I would give it a try.

Recipe after the break.

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We would eat ourselves if we had mouths

I made potato waffles the other day as a side to a small and beautiful steak for Jimmy and I.  Call it “Steak ‘n’ Potatoes on Steroids Flavor Crystals”.  They are easy to make, hearty and delicious.

I find it a little disturbing that they are often made with “reconstituted potato flakes”.  Probably because of my short time in Idaho, the land of the potato, yet could not find one unless I was in the fanciest of restaurants.  I found out later, Idaho produces nearly one third of the potatoes grown in the United States and exports the vast majority of them, leaving their citizens with eating Washington State (yes, they are known for apples, not potatoes) potatoes, or “reconstituted potato flakes”.  There is an excellent bar in Boise that makes a tasty, authentic Mai-Tai (complete with sugar cane stick, candied flower and Gosling’s Rum float) though.

Recipe and more pictures after the break.

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Valentine’s Day has never really been a big deal to me nor Beth, but hell, it seemed like a great excuse to cook, so…

It was just the two of us, and besides having 4 Malpeque and 4 Prince Edward oysters on the 1/2 shell (shucked by yours truly, [they were, yes young Jedi]), some steamed stone crab claws drowned in butter and fresh squeezed lemon juice, blood orange Martinis with a splash of Fever Tree bitter lemon, toasted French Batard bread with roasted veggie bruschetta, and some awesome cheese called Petit Basque from France, we also made the following:

What you see here is a filet of red snapper with lemon zest and rosemary, broiled to purr-fection and topped with a beurre rouge sauce (using only our own homebrewed Chilian wine of course) lying on bed of braised red swiss chard.  The little critters you see next to them are something I came up with in the grocer whilst walking around for 3 hours+.  They are oil toasted and split Pee Wee fingerling potatoes with a modest slice of browned white eggplant and spore-atic [yes, this pun is intended... in fact from now on, just assume ALL puns are intended] pieces of morel mushrooms, and topped with a De-seeded, Capsicum-Extracted, Fire-Roasted Habanero and Rehydrated, Dried, Organic (grass-fed, yogurt-massaged) Morel Mushroom blended in Fage Total Classic Greek Yogurt with Living Acidophilus Culture.  (Whew, Holy Adjective Overdose, Batman!)

It’s our day off, so no recipes kids. If you really want them, just ask in the comments.

NOTE: one should probably stay away from the monument to food hedonism known as Wegmans when one is flush with cash and hungry.  Just a warning.