Hello again,
I have a couple of President's Day weekend experiences to recount and a fabulous recipe to share from them.
Last friday Cindy and I spent a couple of hours at Michael Mina's restaurant at 335 Powell St., San Francisco. It was one of those memorable meals with the service so unobtrusive and slick. There were many highlights, notably the 1997 Harlan Estate Napa Cab gifted to us by Gretchen De Baubigny but if I had to pick a foodie 'moment' it would be the Maine lobster pot pie.
So, here is the recipe for a dish richer than Fort Knox for 4 people:
Times:
Prep: 30 min
Inactive prep: 30 min
Cook: 1 hr 30 min
Total: 2 hr 30 min
Lobster:
4 live lobsters or 1 1/4 lb fresh cooked lobster
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1/2 bulb fennel
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups fish stock or clam juice
2 tablespoons sauvignon blanc
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 pound cooked fresh lobster meat
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (not "baby" peas)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons cold fresh lard, diced (1/4 pound)
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water or heavy cream, for egg wash
Directions:
Saute the onions and fennel with the butter in a large saute pan on medium heat until the onions are translucent, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the flour and cook on low heat for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, wine, salt, and pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the heavy cream.
Cut each lobster (shell with meat) at the claws, the body and tail into 4 equal pieces meat into medium-sized cubes. Place the lobster, frozen peas, frozen onions, and parsley in a bowl (there is no need to defrost the vegetables). Pour the sauce over the mixture and check the seasonings. Set aside.
For the crust, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the lard and butter and pulse 10 times, until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Divide the dough in half and roll out each half to fit a 9 1/2-inch round by 2-inch high ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish. Place 1 crust in the dish, fill with the lobster pieces, and top with the second crust. Crimp the crusts together and brush with the egg wash. Make 4 or 5 slashes in the top crust and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.
North Bay Farmer's Market (Sundays)
On Valentine's Sunday, my love and I went down to the Marin County North Bay Farmer's Market at the Civic Centre, San Rafael. It isn't perhaps as large and varied as the Ferry Building market in San Francisco, but there are still myriad stalls of fresh produce.
Amongst seemingly several hundred weight of produce in paper bags, I also bought a shoulder of grass-fed lamb, a sadly under-used meat in the US. Only 1.5% of meat sales under Uncle Sam's watch are of lamb, which as a European, is a statistic that flabbergasts me.
Lamb has such richness and delicacy of taste, yet is strong enough to stand up to and prevail through the strong spices of sub-continental and North African cookery. I stuffed mine with garlic cloves and fresh thyme and slow cooked the 3lb boneless joint for 2 hours at 220 F. I would have bought bone-in lamb - whether it be rack of lamb, tandoori lamb chops or bone-in deigi ghost, the French, Indians and Pakistanis have all taught me how much more flavourful bone-in lamb. I also picked up some parsnips that I seasoned and roasted with yams and some broccolini which we steamed and served with melted butter.
Salad fit for a President!
I have a couple of President's Day weekend experiences to recount and a fabulous recipe to share from them.
Last friday Cindy and I spent a couple of hours at Michael Mina's restaurant at 335 Powell St., San Francisco. It was one of those memorable meals with the service so unobtrusive and slick. There were many highlights, notably the 1997 Harlan Estate Napa Cab gifted to us by Gretchen De Baubigny but if I had to pick a foodie 'moment' it would be the Maine lobster pot pie.
So, here is the recipe for a dish richer than Fort Knox for 4 people:
Times:
Prep: 30 min
Inactive prep: 30 min
Cook: 1 hr 30 min
Total: 2 hr 30 min
Lobster:
4 live lobsters or 1 1/4 lb fresh cooked lobster
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1/2 bulb fennel
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups fish stock or clam juice
2 tablespoons sauvignon blanc
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 pound cooked fresh lobster meat
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (not "baby" peas)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons cold fresh lard, diced (1/4 pound)
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water or heavy cream, for egg wash
Directions:
Saute the onions and fennel with the butter in a large saute pan on medium heat until the onions are translucent, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the flour and cook on low heat for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, wine, salt, and pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the heavy cream.
Cut each lobster (shell with meat) at the claws, the body and tail into 4 equal pieces meat into medium-sized cubes. Place the lobster, frozen peas, frozen onions, and parsley in a bowl (there is no need to defrost the vegetables). Pour the sauce over the mixture and check the seasonings. Set aside.
For the crust, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the lard and butter and pulse 10 times, until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Divide the dough in half and roll out each half to fit a 9 1/2-inch round by 2-inch high ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish. Place 1 crust in the dish, fill with the lobster pieces, and top with the second crust. Crimp the crusts together and brush with the egg wash. Make 4 or 5 slashes in the top crust and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.
North Bay Farmer's Market (Sundays)
On Valentine's Sunday, my love and I went down to the Marin County North Bay Farmer's Market at the Civic Centre, San Rafael. It isn't perhaps as large and varied as the Ferry Building market in San Francisco, but there are still myriad stalls of fresh produce.
Amongst seemingly several hundred weight of produce in paper bags, I also bought a shoulder of grass-fed lamb, a sadly under-used meat in the US. Only 1.5% of meat sales under Uncle Sam's watch are of lamb, which as a European, is a statistic that flabbergasts me.
Lamb has such richness and delicacy of taste, yet is strong enough to stand up to and prevail through the strong spices of sub-continental and North African cookery. I stuffed mine with garlic cloves and fresh thyme and slow cooked the 3lb boneless joint for 2 hours at 220 F. I would have bought bone-in lamb - whether it be rack of lamb, tandoori lamb chops or bone-in deigi ghost, the French, Indians and Pakistanis have all taught me how much more flavourful bone-in lamb. I also picked up some parsnips that I seasoned and roasted with yams and some broccolini which we steamed and served with melted butter.
Salad fit for a President!
This was Monday's lunch. I'll post the recipe midweek when I'll be covering great seasonal salads. Stay tuned and please feel free to share any food highlights you have enjoyed.
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