Text 1123, 111 rader
Skriven 2006-05-04 15:16:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE SACERDOTE
Ärende: tastes 619
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 DS> Steaks.  Yeah.  Remember a while ago we were talking about cheap
 DS> eats and Tad's Broiled Steaks?

Not long ago at that. I said I'd go sometime for s*s and giggles.
May yet do so, but you've spoiled the surprise. [g] There is also
a cheap steakhouse on, I think, Powell St. in San Fran that I
am always tempted to try out when I'm in a truly declasse mood.

 DS> The steaks were cooked exactly as ordered, with mine very rare and
 DS> the rest of the group getting medium.  They were tasty, though a
 DS> bit on the salty side (brined or "enhanced" I guess since I never 

Ah. 99 steaks. I don't like 99 steaks done very rare, as the
sweet mineralliness of the meat is masked by the marination.

 DS> saw a salt shaker behind the counter.)  Spuds were big, creamy
 DS> northeastern potatoes; garlic bread was a split sub roll spread
 DS> with garlic, ladled with melted butter and tossed on the grill to
 DS> crisp up with the steaks.

Cardell's in Harvard Square was the first place I ever saw
this delicacy, which is often called Texas toast but which
I never encountered in Texas.

 DS> I wouldn't hesitate to go there again, but as we wandered around
 DS> we found far too many other very interesting places (both big and
 DS> sparkly and dingy little holes) that we are going to want to
 DS> experience first.

That's why in 35 years in the northeast I've still never been.

 -=> Dave Sacerdote said to Dale Shipp <=-

 DSh>  The fat that comes to the top when you cool the broth is 
 DSh>  sort of the same thing as schmaltz.  I think that Dave 
 DSh>  Sacerdote regularly makes it by rendering the fat out of 
 DSh>  raw chicken skin in a skillet -- with the delicious side 
 DSh>  product of crisp chicken skin.

Mmmmm. Reminds me that today I had a Foremanized chicken:
actually, it was done on a diner griddle with a weight.
The dark meat was really good; the white sawdusty. The
skin, once crisp, had been altered with a brushing of
BBQ sauce, unfortunately. This was at Jay's, a lunch
joint next to Divino, where I'd wanted to go, only it
was 1:55, and they wouldn't seat us even though the
sign says that lunch was 12 to 2.

 DS> Quite quite quite.  Yes.  Any type of rendered chicken (or goose)
 DS> fat can be called schmaltz, but the very best schmaltz is slowly
 DS> rendered from skin and fatty bits in a skillet over low heat, to
 DS> completely cook off extraneous liquids and proteins, and flavored
 DS> by cooking onions along with it.  :smack smack:

I've seen a few recipes that call for boiled fat, but
most (and certainly the most flavorful) schmaltz used
in cooking is that such as you describe.

 DS> After slow cooking like that, I pour the fat through several layers
 DS> of cheesecloth to filter out any remaining impurities.
 DS> Properly clarified that way, it will keep a LONG time in the
 DS> fridge without going bad.  Eventually, however, it does start to
 DS> oxidize.

We had some clarified goose fat from 2004 that didn't start to go
funny for at least a year. It may still be there in the fridge.

Luis Caseiro's red snapper
cat: fish, main
servings: 1

6 oz fillet of red snapper
1 leek, white part only, cleaned
2 Tb olive oil
15 mussels
1 c diced white onion
olive oil
1/2 ts saffron [M says: too much]
1 c diced Roma tomatoes
1 c shrimp stock or water
1/4 c heavy cream
s, p
olive oil

Seared red snapper in a mussel saffron soup with crispy leeks

Discard yellow center of leek. Flatten white leaves and
julienne. Soak in ice water at least 1 hr. Drain well. Heat
olive oil to 350F and deep-fry leeks until crisp. Set aside.

Steam 10 mussels in 1 c water. Strain liquid and set aside.
Remove meat from mussels (debeard, too!).

Wilt onion in sufficient olive oil. Add saffron and cook 5 min.
Add tomatoes, mussel broth, shrimp stock (or water), and
mussel meat [M says: do not add mussel meat until 15 min later].
Cook 30 min. Add cream. Whiz in a blender, strain, and set aside.

Using a sharp knife, make 3 slits on the skin side of the fish.
Season fish.

Heat a saute pan. Add olive oil and when it begins to smoke, add
the fish, skin side down. Cook until skin is crisp. Flip fish
and add the sauce and the remaining mussels. Cook until mussels
open. To serve: arrange mussels in a bowl; top with fish. Pour
sauce over and garnish with crispy leeks.

Alfama restaurant, NYC, Global Traveler magazine 4/06, fixed
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