new beginning:
this is the stuff i did for my first guest stint @ Globetrippin, where i am returning this saturday to do a revisit-cum-art-show w/my grrrrrrrrrrrl, the divine miss M.
salmon ceasar salad
semi artisan croutons with st. andre & brie, alternatively
artisan, by my definition, refers to that which is made completely by hand with a special eye for excellence. in the case of the croutons, i made the wheat bread for them but to be honest, it was a bit dense for sandwiches, (so i'll need to play with the recipe again, before i release it) but perfect sliced into rounds, tossed with luscious grass-fed butter, garlic, & parsely. this i alternated with a fine baguette from the whole foods nearest me @ 98th & columbus. i think whole grain alternated with white was a perfect aesthetic choice for my crowd that night, but if you want to use exclusively wheat, that's beautiful.
this is so simple - adapted from my time @ angeli mare, in santa monica, ahhh, california kitchens - where the grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrls rule!
cut the croutons into rounds, & toss in a large bowl with melted butter, minced fresh garlic, parsely, olive oil, & butter. lay flat on a sheet pan & bake @ 375 for about 15 - 20 min or until toasty.
add a smear of st. andre, softened, &/or brie, softened.
ceasar salad dressing:
olive oil 1 cup
red wine or champagne vinegar1/2 - 2/3 cup
6 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
thai fish sauce 3 drops, 2 anchovies, or for vegans, bragg's amino acids
sea salt
pepper black or tri-colored
parsley
thyme
2 TBPS mustard
a girl's handful of grated parmesan
this is also from angeli mare. throw everything except the oil, parsley, & the parmesan into a blender. when blended, add oil slo-o-o-wly till emulsified. pulse blender to add cheese, then parsley in that order.
serve w/croutons slathered w/brie & st. andre, alternatively.
seared tilapia butter shrimp sauce
season tilapia, set aside
4 TBPS butter
1 # shrimp, shelled
lemon juice
2-4oz chicken stock reduced to a glace
white wine or champagne
heat the pan to smoking, then add the tilapia. let it get a nice crust on both sides, thensautee till cooked through.set aside. add shrimp to the pan till pink, then remove. add champagne, reduce then add stock, reduce, then the lemon juice, & the butter, in 1 TBSP pieces till the sauce is mellow, sexxxy & glossy. serve the shrimp cascading over the sauce over the tilapia.
i always look @ a bunch of books, & meditate on the romance of the region before i experiment with a nation's cuisine. in this case i did all of that but it was my scandalous friend, S, who supplied the advice for the finishing touch: saffron is fat, more than water soluble. so it makes best sense to steep the saffron in milk (or yoghurt, i think as well) rather than in water - more potency, better color/flavor. i call that a win for you, & for your diners, right?
the other touch, also added by S, is the toasting of the nuts & dried fruit in butter, before adding to the rice.
persian rice-
1/2 cup of cream, (grassfed or other fresh, preferably hormone-free) heated almost to the boil, w/ a pinch saffron threads steeped like tea set thisaside while you assemble & cook other ingredients
basmati
butter
apricots, medium dice
dried cherries
walnuts chopped
slivered almonds
pistachios
gold leaf if you have it on hand - not as crazy as it sounds you can get this @ indian/middle eastern specialty stores such as india spice & sweet, & kalyustan's & in a pinch, pearl paint! lol - sounds industrial - but it is sterile -
1 - melt the butter in a rice pot or dutch oven
2 - stir & fry the rice in the melted butter
3 -add water, bring to boil, & bake for 20 - 25 min.
while the rice is baking, go ahead & melt some butter over medium heat. add to the butter the dried fruit, & let them sizzle a little before adding the nuts to lightly caramelize. then add the cream to this mixture, bring to a simmer, & add the saffron to this, (as S specified, saffron is fat soluble, so you will get a more extreme flavor/color if you add it to milk than to water. - genius. milk, like blood, is thicker than water. yes.)
once the rice is baked, let it rest for a touch & then add your milk/nut/saffron miture to the rice.
yes chile.
this is pure fusion based on my parent's background(s) - my paternal grandmother is jamaican.
but the rest of my dad's family is southern. & the sauce is a cult hit from a peruvian place...whew! jamaica/southern/persian/peruvian, huh? i calls that fusion.
curry fried chicken
1 3-lb. fryer cut into pieces.
curry paste - patak's
yogurt
1 egg
garlic paste
ginger paste
flour
curry powder to taste mixed w/flour
mixed seasoning salts - old bay, borsin, or salt & pepper
coconut oil to fry
marinate the chicken in a mixture of yogurt, garlic, ginger, & curry paste 8 hrs - to overnight
heat the oil to popping
pull the chicken from the marinade, & dredge in flour/curry mixture. drop in oil till the pieces float.
voila.
pio pio dipping sauce
1 bunch cilantro
1 habanero green
1 sweet green bell pepper
6 cloves garlic
blend.
aioli:
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic
2 TBSP vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 cup olive oil
throw everything except the oil in a blender. add the oil first in drops, & then faster till the mixture turns white & is emulsified. if it separates @ any point, add 1 TBSP of hot water, & blend again.
now combine the two. this is the dipping sauce for the chicken.
then returned to do an encore tilapia for these (literary) addicts uptown who kind of refuse to eat anything else that i make - got to give the people what they want, right?
& added this to that menu:
salmon baked with a falafel crust on a bed of hummus that swims in a cucumber-lemon-tomato salad
that to be honest, i over salted & for a salient reason that i will get into @ length in the recipe:
then, talk about fusion!!!
joined forces with the FAB.U.LOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. ms. nucomme davis-walker's witches brew to cater some fun, truly sexxxy brunches. ms. davis-walker is a singer, bartender party-thrower whose fusion life is working out quite nicely; every time i have worked with her, she has been on her way to another gig: the first week, she was catering the mos def 'ting in Ft greene park, & the next, right after the japanese fusion brunch, she was on her way to another private party in williamsburg. (talk about fusion...when brunch was slow, i just packed up my operation & accepted her gracious invitation to the next gig) i trailed with her for a few events, & what i like about her set up, is that she has a set menu that can travel the world: there is always a
pancake
fishcake
greens
some sort of potato
eggs
taco
japanese tacos, huh? i know i know who'da thunk it but doing research, i found an actual blog featuring a japanese taco truck in japan. yes. in japan.
this got me thinking: & this is what happened...
tamago (japanese omelet) stuffed with maittake-shiitake rice:
3 cups sushi rice
4 - 6 oz maiitake mushrooms,
8 oz shiitake mushrooms,
4 oz crimini mushrooms all rough chopped
1 med onion &
2 shallots, diced
1 cup dashi
3 cups water
butter
soy sauce
sautee the onions till soft, on a med-high flame. add the mushrooms & go @ it till they are sweated out & mostly toasty brown. remove half the mixture, then add rice. coat in sautee oil, then add dashi & water, cover & steam for 20 min. set aside, then heat the skillet again. when popping hot, add the onion mushroom mixture, sautee for a sec, then add the cooked rice & toss for a few secs. add soy sauce. done.
satsumaimo (japanese sweet potato) pancakes with adzuki bean syrup
adzuki bean syrup:
1 # adzuki beans
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup maple syrup
& nucomme had some wonderful berry compote that we mixed in @ the end. - there's that fusion again...
cook the beans & sugar to soft & process or blend to a smooth paste. add maple syrup & the berry compote.
serve w/the pancakes.
3 satsumaimo boiled & mashed
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tspbaking soda
2 eggs
4 oz melted butter
1 & 1/2 - 2 cups yogurt, buttermilk, or milk w/a squeeze of lime/lemon (creates the same acidic environment as fermented milk & reacts well w/the soda for a high rise)
- or pancake mix w/ one egg, & milk or buttermilk -
sift all dry ingredients together, then combine all wet ingredients & to this, add the mashed sweet potato mix - just to combine. do not over mix. these are not flapjacks.
heat the skillet to popping, but not smoking. add the butter to melt, & drop a pancake of whatever size you desire into this hot oil, & turn the heat way down. when the disk is dry on top w/many holes, flip it. there should be a nice buttery crust on that bad boy. cook on the second side till the pancake bounces back when touched, or when a toothpick comes out clean.
tamago (japanese omelet) stuffed with maittake-shiitake rice with scallion (the beautiful purple ones from above are some stunners from park slope food co-op - more on that later)
a lot easier than it sounds:
make the omelet with 3 eggs: heat a skillet, add butter, & the scrambled eggs. add some scallion slices. make a really thin omelet, & flip it over w/or without a spatula. add the rice mixture & fold the egg over this.
satsuma-age (deep fried fish cakes) - panko crust (((can be made w/a variety of fishes)))
i used marinated mackerel from sunrise mart - {yaaaaaaay sunrise mart!!! pne of my favorite markets in the city for both arcane & common japanese ingredients - everything from 15 different soy sauces to fresh yuzu airflown in from japan in season - LOVE.} & you can find this in their frozen section.
& salmon about 2 lbs. you can use fresh or canned, totally up to you.
minced shallots
onion
scallions to taste
bread crumbs to mix
panko (japanese bread crumbs) as coating
1 egg
sea salt
pepper
oil to fry
while the oil is heating over a medium high flame,
mix all together except the panko. make disks (the size is up to you i have made the anywhere from burger sized to damn near quarter sized.)
roll the disks in the panko.
fry till golden brown & gorgeous.
grilled chicken taco with miso
one whole chicken split down the middle, or a whole chicken cut up
corn tacos, about 20
2 TBSP miso
soy sauce
indonesian chili sauce (but don't be fooled ALL asians use & love this stuff)
sake
avocado
julienne shiso (japanese cousin of basil. unfuckingbelievable)
rice is optinal
marinate chicken in the liquids for some hours (1-6) then throw these on the grill turning frequently. once the chicken is opaque & firm, w/the meat falling off the bone or moving easily in the joint, it is done. remove from flame & let cool. once it is @ about room temperature, pick the meat off the bone.
dry toast the corn tacos in a dry skillet.
fold the shredded chicken & some teensy slivers of shiso into the taco shell. optional is the avocado & the mushroom rice. i liked it all 3 ways -
interesting week - there is an online debate raging about the question of beyonce's feminist leanings: objectified male fantasy? nouveau feminist who uses what she's got to get what she wants?
as a feminist/womynist who supports & advocates pornography/sex work as one of the world's oldest hustles, & as someone who makes no judgement of any woman's choices (as long as those choices do not involve self-harm or harm of another) i have to say that i am split down the middle on that one - in my grrrrrrrrrrrrl nicole moore's blog -
http://thehotness.com/2011/06/28/beyonce-the-f-word/
"the comments are flying fast & furious - w/every position from her as a modern, more convenient form of traditional woman-hood as in this comment:
i don’t really see Beyonce doing anything all that challenging to any status quo. Her numbers may be bigger but I’m betting that’s a product of a growing market and not necessarily her changing the game that much. Beyonce is succeeding in all the ways that feed into mainstream male fantasies: a strong sexy independent woman with her own loot and ideas but who knows to fall back and let her man play the lead. how is this challenging anything?"
to nigroes touting her as the second coming of the triple goddesses yemaya/oya/oshun.
as a goddess worshipper i find that one a bit hard to swallow. but the question begs to be asked, as she is a woman of many contrasts: modern day man tom (a woman who kow-tows to men's desires, borrowed from uncle tom), or a woman's woman who knows how to market her sexuality & milk it for its unlimited power?
i'mma have to call her a fusion feminist.
she takes a page from a # of books: writes her own songs, her songs tend to lean toward self sufficiency re: bugaboo, i got it, irreplaceable & of course independent women, controls her image in media to a large degree.
as for her hyper-sexualized image, as a strident feminist, i, too was shaking my ass to 'bitches ain't shit but hoes & tricks' in the 9-deuce & i knew all the lyrics!!!
so we've all got work to do.
of course my greatest problem w/her politics is her crowing about her need to keep bbq sauce in her purse for international travel, & her burning desire to locate a mcdonald's no matter where she is in the world.
for that one, i need a sit down & an explanation - LMBAO - thoughts?
speaking of independent women (& men) - happy 4th...
peace & power
RE Beyonce and Mickey D's--every rapper or European hiphop promoter i've ever interviewed sez the same thing-- how first thing off the plane our youngfolk want to betaken to the sacred golden arches--even before they get take to the weed. That generational palette suffers from its latch-key roots for sure. B is from Dallas to boot so hence the BBQ fetish. Our folk in general aint exactly known worldwide for our adventurous palate's anyhow. Or for even traveling much en masse.Like most Americans across classes.
ReplyDeleteRE Beyonce and girlpower--feminist is a label many sisters i know tend to be best ambivalent about. But few reject Empowerment as an ideal. B is definitely selling that as her iconic and entreprplatform. But this pop moment is one where Black women creatives are increasingly marginal and inivisible. In this context B's realized independence as a self=-produced self managed self directed multi-platinum pop star is pretty extraordinary. Cant agree shes not challenging the status quo because the status quo for Black women in pop and R&B especially, has always been male management, direction and dependency.
Man Tom? I think her biggest fans are women and gay men. Unlike Rhi and Minaj she doesnt read as bimbo and trust, her being married to Jay is an erection killer for hella dudes. B is a total ewntertainer and show woman compared to the other top-selling broads out here--her all woman band is kickass, she dances her ass off, she can really sing --well enough to impress Luther and Tina and me--and she's got memorable self-penned hooks. Id pay good money to see her and Mary but not Rhi Nikki and the rest on down.
interesting that this is the first post of mine that you have ever responded to. not the bill duke piece, but this one...
ReplyDeleteyou're sounding like less of a cultural critic & more like one of her fans or 'stans'. there is a distinctly defensive tone to your reply, & it is a tone that matches the one often heard by those who love her. what i don't understand is that people who keep themselves in the public eye willingly open themselves to public debate. she is arguably the most visible black female performer of our time. & yet i get the sense that i am not allowed to have any opinion except positive about this performer.
hmmm.
as for the bbq/mickey d's obsession - i am a food writer/blogger. of course this is of interest to me. so her tastes are common. doesn't make the statement any less ridiculous.
i guess your well-worn sense of irony doesn't allow that to many (female) feminists, the sight of a dyed blonde tottering on 30' heels being described as a feminist is comical.
sorry.
i suppose that some men would be intimidated by the prospect of knockin hova from his throne, but if that were a universal truth then hip-hop wives would have never been a bone of contention in the first place.