mis en possible

This town (Austin, FWIW) has a severe lack of coleslaw that I like. The fast food chains tend to be too sweet, some restaurants have some that’s too soggy, some put bell peppers in it (why I’m not sure, but they make me very ill so must be avoided at all costs), and there are a few places that I won’t name that I’m not even sure if they’ve heard of coleslaw yet insist on putting something under that moniker on the menu. Bone Daddy’s is decent, though, but I don’t go there very often.

So rewind to a few weeks ago and I was looking for a good coleslaw recipe. I tried a few, and, though satisfactory, none really stood out as being exceptional. I wanted the rich flavor of a traditional coleslaw but with a twist, something to make it interesting. Also, the first recipe I tried made like 129309101 servings. I swear, we had a coleslaw slum sprout up in the ice box.

The next week I abandoned said recipe and went my own direction. I added a bit of spice in the form of both Tabasco added to the dressing and the single-most-potent cayenne pepper I’ve ever had in my life. Needless to say, ‘3 alarm’ coleslaw was not exactly the direction I wanted to go.

Then I got on a ‘healthy’ kick and I needed to lighten it up a lot. The first recipe I’d tried required a cup (yes, a cup) of mayonnaise. I mean, there’s no real way you’re going to make coleslaw ‘healthy’ but give it a good punch, a good flavor and you can cut down the portion size.

In order to infuse some flavor, I turned to my new stand-by: Smoked Paprika. This is secret weapon #23 in my ‘hey where did THIS flavor come from?’ arsenal of tricks. You can blend this stuff into sauces, sprinkle on meat, salads, vegetables, whatever and get an instant ’smoked’ flavor that you can’t get anywhere else.

But why stop there? Instead of the standard Tabasco, I used hot sauce made with chipotles. And not quite as much of it so as to save what few taste buds I had left, and to balance it out some of the flavors, I added in another secret weapon (#27), Yuzu vinegar.

I made this once and it was still missing something, or rather, two somethings: a bit of sweet and a bit of texture. The second time I experimented, I added in a handful of raisins and a handful of almonds. I was very happy with the results.

So here it is:

“Smoked” Coleslaw

Ingredients:
1/2 small head of cabbage, sliced thinly into strips of about 2″ in length
3 scallions, sliced thin on an extreme bias
1 large carrot, grated
1 shallot, small-dice
1/4 cup golden raising
1/4 cup thin-sliced almonds (roasted, if you wish)
Salt and pepper to taste
Smoked paprika (1-2 tablespoons, to taste)

Assemble the cabbage, onions, carrot and shallots in a bowl. Give it a pinch of salt and maybe a grind of pepper or two. Make the dressing (below).

Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss (this is more of a ‘fold’ really) with a pair of tongs until evenly distributed. It may not seem like enough dressing. Trust me, it is.

After the dressing has been absorbed, add the raisins and the almonds, and sprinkle the smoked paprika over the top. This will seem like a lot of paprika. It’s not, but start small and add more as desired. Toss/fold until all elements are more-or-less distributed evenly.

Put plastic wrap over the bowl and place in the ice box to chill for around 2 hours or so before serving.

Dressing:
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Yuzu vinegar
1 tbsp whole-grain mustard
1/4 cup Kalamata (greek) olive oil, extra virgin
10-12 dashes of Chipotle hot sauce
Salt

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and mayonnaise until fully incorporated. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking somewhat furiously (actually, with the mayo and mustard, you can be pretty slack about how much you whisk). Once olive oil is in, dash the hot sauce in and stir until incorporated.

Plating:
When I plated this, I laid out a bed of Mizuna greens (another secret weapon, though seasonal) and dashed a bit more paprika on top.

At the aforementioned Whole Foods, I acquired the aforementioned grass-fed beef; two cuts to be exact: a rib eye and a “London Broil” which is odd, because a London Broil is what you do to certain types of steak. It was flank or something, pretty tough cut and about 12 oz worth, so I decided that I’d try a marinade:

1/2 Cup Mushroom-Flavored Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon rice-wine vinegar
2 ‘quarter-size’ pieces of ginger, finely-diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 shallot, finely diced
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
1 Teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

I let the marinade sit overnight and the next day poured it over the seasoned and trimmed steak and vacuum packed it. Into the refrigerator for 24 hours for a ‘get some flavor’ timeout.

Picking up on a recent article in Cook’s Illustrated, I liberated the steak from its packaging, gave it a quick bath and dried it off. Horizontally, I inserted a meat thermometer timed to go off at 115 degrees. I put it in a cold oven and turned it to 200 degrees. About 40 minutes later, out came the steak, out came the thermometer, and in it went into a bit of olive oil in a smoking hot pain — 3 minutes one side, 2 minutes the next. After letting it rest for 5 minutes, I sliced it about 1/4 inch thick across the grain and served it over the top of some mixed greens on top of jasmine rice, with a ginger, soy and lime vinaigrette.

The result? Pretty much perfect medium-rare and a ton of flavor. I was iffy on the dressing (as you’ll see, it’s not posted here), but the rest was really good. I don’t generally do a whole lot with Asian flavors, but this worked really, really well. The remainder of the beef I sliced paper-thin and it will be headed toward a sandwich very, very soon.

And thumbs up for the grass fed beef. It’s odd, but you can actually taste the difference. It’s no waygu, but it’s good.

Our weekend shopping trip yielded something I’ve been after for quite a while. I’d seen them on TV and I’d read articles about them, and finally, there they were in the produce isle: watermelon radishes.

Watermelon radishes have a flavor that’s not harsh like many other varieties, and a distinct sweetness in the center. As I’ve read up on these, I realized that we had younger plants so I expected a bit of a bite on the end of them and was pleasantly surprised; they did indeed have a bite, but it was smooth yet peppery, and you could definitely get the hints of sweet if you didn’t eat the outer edges. It was a flavor that deserved to stand on its own a bit in a dish so the vehicle I chose for it was a simple salad.

I’d made a batch of dressing the other day to test the blender’s ability to emulsify vinaigrettes without the aid of any emulsifiers such as mustard. It used a raspberry vinegar and a touch of agave nectar for a bit of sweet and shallot for the depth of flavor.

I brought out the mandoline and sliced the radish into 1/16th inch-thick disks and let them marinate a bit in the vinaigrette, and then topped it with a bit of soft goat cheese, sprinkled it with a rough mince of chives and gave the final plating a thick pinch of fleur de sel.

The verdict? This was good. Plate licking good. It had a perfect balance of salt, sweet, bitter, bite and depth. It was a good illustration of not having to fuss too much with the food — simple flavors, tasting like themselves, blending into something that reaches beyond the individual ingredients.

And fortunately, I have two more of these little guys to slice up!

Watermelon Radish and Goat Cheese Salad
Raspberry Vinaigrette and Chive

4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

2 Small Watermelon Radishes, sliced 1/16th inch rounds
1 package of soft goat cheese (4oz)
minced chives
Fleur de Sel
Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Directions:

Take the slices of radish and marinate them for 15-20 minutes in a thin coating of the vinaigrette.

Divide radish slices between plates evenly. Add small dollops of the soft goat cheese (hint: cut a corner of the little package and ’squeeze’ it out, cutting off bits with a knife or pinching them off) across the radishes. Sprinkle liberally with minced chives and, if desired, add a splash more of the vinaigrette. Before serving, dust with a medium (two-finger) pinch of fleur de sel.

Dressing: Raspberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/3rd cup raspberry vinegar
1 small shallot, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons dark agave nectar or honey
1 cups grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallot, honey (or agave nectar), a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Continue whisking briskly while pouring the oil in a steady stream. Once the dressing is emulsified, set aside and let flavors come together. Re-season as necessary.

Options and notes:

This dressing is best made a day ahead of time and will keep for around a week. The amount of oil can be adjusted to your liking; the above represents the usual 3-to-1 vinaigrette ratio though I prefer my dressings closer to broken. A mild extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil could be used in place of the grapeseed oil.

(Yes, these vinaigrette recipes will all look the same, pretty much!)

Bon appetit!

We signed up for a local deliver-to-your-door food thing here in Austin (Greenling) but so far the results have been mixed. We ordered parsley but we got curly parsley (who uses curly parsley?). One week we ordered baby greens and we got beautiful mesclun greens. The next week, with the same order, we got pre-packaged baby lettuce. The potatoes have been small but good and their ’surprise’ items have run the gamut.

But this week, I was in for quite a surprise.

I have a thing for microgreens and I’ve no idea why — they’re elegant, delicate, they can add color and a touch of flavor without making the dish into a salad. So being as I use them mostly as a garnish and the packages to which I have access are few, when preparing our New Year’s Eve dinner, I had to separate, by hand, the bright Bull’s Blood Beet microgreens from a package of Mediterranean greens. It took over an hour. Ick. I looked on the website of the grower and I was saddened to find out that many varieties are only available to the consumer through blended packs like the one I’d sorted through.

I arrive home and the wife tells me that I’ll be happy with the surprise. Sure enough, an entire package of Bull’s Blood Beet microgreens!

I love these because they’re a great color and they add just a hint of sweet beet flavor to a dish. I know there are contingents of people who don’t like beets, but this isn’t an overpowering beet taste, just a touch along with a bit of pepper and a bit of ‘fresh’ from the greens themselves.

So before they go bad, I had to do something with them. The result is the following recipe (which I will warn, doesn’t have the usual number of exact measurements):

Bull’s Blood Beet, Watercress and Warm Prosciutto Salad

Ingredients:

Watercress, leaves only (enough to cover the bottom of 4 medium sized salad plates completely)
4 semi-thick slices of prosciutto (about 1/16th of an inch thick or so)
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (enough to sprinkle lightly on the greens and a bit heavier on the bacon)
1 small package Bull’s Blood Beet microgreens
Dressing (recipe to follow)

Directions:

Slice prosciutto into small planks and saute them on medium heat until desired done-ness (I prefer slightly crispy). A bit of oil can be used but it is not necessary. Set aside and let cool a bit though not completely. If necessary, remove excess oil by placing bacon on a paper towel.

Gently toss the watercress leaves in around 4-6 tablespoons of the dressing or until minimally coated. You want the flavor and the knowledge that the dressing is there, but not be overwhelmed. There will be leftover dressing and a lot of it. Enjoy.

To plate:

Cover the bottom of a salad plate with one layer of the dressed watercress. In the center, pile the slices from one piece of prosciutto. Lightly dust the watercress with the cheese and cover the bacon with a bit more liberal dose. Pile a good helping of the beet greens, undressed, on top of the bacon.

Options and notes:

Prosciutto is not for everyone and it might be hard to find sliced a bit thicker — it can be replaced in this recipe by regular bacon cooked however you like or, if pig is not your fancy, I’ve tried a similar recipe with bresaola (air dried beef). I also do not salt the greens in this dish as the bacon and Parmigiano will provide ample seasoning. If you work quickly, the bacon will slightly wilt the watercress. If there are any left over bacon drippings, those can be poured on as well.

Dressing: Sherry-Yuzu Agave and Dijon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/4th cup sherry vinegar
1/4th cup yuzu vinegar
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 small shallot, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons dark agave nectar or honey
1 1/2 cups grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together vinegars, mustard, shallot, honey (or agave nectar), a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Continue whisking briskly while pouring the oil in a steady stream. Once the dressing is emulsified, set aside and let flavors come together. Re-season as necessary.

Options and notes:

This dressing is best made a day ahead of time and will keep for around a week. The amount of oil can be adjusted to your liking; the above represents the usual 3-to-1 vinaigrette ratio though I prefer my dressings closer to broken. A mild extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil could be used in place of the grapeseed oil. Yuzu has a lemon-ish flavor and lemon flavored vinegars might work as a substitute but taste as you go as I’ve not tried them!

Bon appetit!