My forgotten oyster tasting

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Malpeques on ice

East Coast Malpeques, the world’s finest oyster

There is a story about Robert Benchley, or maybe it was James Thurber, in which he was awakened in the middle of the night by a brilliant story idea, scribbled furiously on the note pad at his bedside, then fell back into a blissful sleep. In the morning he looked at the notepad and it bore two words: “write book.”

I feel the same way about my oyster tasting hosted by Finn the Fishmonger a few weeks back, a Yelp event where we tried what were allegedly 3 of the 5 oyster species in the world and washed them down with rare beverages from Remarkable Liquids. I dictated madly into Evernote, was amused at the voice-to-text mistakes (Google’s voice capture app really does have a potty mouth) and then sat down to write this post and for whatever reason it was all gone. But I’ve still got the photos so let’s go from there.

Our host and purveyors

Eric from the Cheese Traveler, Dora from Finn the Fishmonger and Jeremy from Remarkable Liquids… thanks guys.

  1. There are probably way more than 5 oyster species in the world but it doesn’t really matter because oysters are total shape shifters depending on growing conditions. Take the same species and cushion it in a hanging net vs let the waves wash over it and you’ll get a totally different result.

  2. I finally found an objective reason to be glad to be on the East Coast: Malpeque oysters, AKA Bluepoints. These good sized morsels in tear drop shaped shells are universally said to have the best balance of taste and quantity of meat, and after comparative tasting I totally agree. In the 19th century they were so plentiful that they were eaten like potato chips and if you were in New York you could get them right out of the Hudson; their numbers have declined dramatically through overfishing and environmental factors but good marine husbandry has ensured a continuing supply.

  3. For something different, try the Belon. This Is the plate shaped oyster that appears in all your Renaissance still lifes. (Sadly, I failed to take a picture of it.) It’s hard to find and not particularly popular because of an unattractive brown layer and a coppery taste, but it’s worth pursuing if only to try something distinctively different with a history behind it.

Two Roads Workers Comp

Two Roads Workers Comp, one of several appropriately paired Belgians.

  1. Though I am an unrepentant IPA drinker, I have to agree with Jeremy of Remarkable Liquids that Belgians with their funky farmhouse yeast are the right beer to drink with oysters.

  2. According to our hostess, Finn co-owner Dora, the proper way to taste an oyster is to a/enjoy the initial taste and mouth feel; b/consume it in two bites and see what develops as the outer surface is breached to discover what’s inside; c/watch for an after taste, a few seconds after the second bite has slithered down your throat.

  3. If you happen to be in Guilderland, NY (a suburb not far from the state capitol offices) be sure to check out Finn the Fishmonger. The store has that briny but not fishy smell of a good fishmonger. A great selection of seafoods at fair prices, including cook-at-home dinners to take out and eat fresh. And oysters!

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Recipe: Grandma Eggplant

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Grandma Eggplant with Mandram

Grandma Eggplant with Mandram

Another Southern classic from my friend Judy Cromwell, who writes: My grandmother would cook her dinner in the morning and set it on the top shelf of the stove until it was time for the evening meal. She would make me whistle as I passed the stove to make sure I hadn’t stuck one in my mouth. I learned to swipe one while whistling as I was walking by and eat it as I was going out the back door. That’s how much I loved these patties. Makes about 6-8 patties.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 large egg, beaten
2 T melted butter (“1/2 inch thick slice of butter (from the shorter, fatter cubes) plus a sliver”)
1-2 T flour
1 t ground black pepper
3/4 t poultry seasoning
Bacon grease
1/2 t salt*

Method: Boil eggplant chunks in salted water until tender, about 5 minutes after the water returns to boil. Transfer to a colander and squeeze out all the water using the back of a spoon and a paper towel; drain a few minutes to get rid of the last of the water. (Too much residual water and the patties won’t stick together.) Meanwhile, beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add spices then eggplant, then butter (if the eggplant is still warm you can use softened butter instead of melted, thus saving a dish), finally flour. Stir to mix. It should have the consistency of gloppy pancake batter. (If it’s too liquidy to hold together, add a little more flour.)

Grandma Eggplant

Grandma Eggplant

Heat some bacon grease in a non-stick skillet to medium heat and transfer the batter with a tablespoon, carefully depositing a spoonful in the grease and then pressing flat. Patties should be about 4″ in diameter. Cook in two batches (save some bacon grease for the second batch, until brown on each side. Serve 2 as a main course, with mandram or gravy.

  • The original recipe did not contain salt, but I think that’s because Grandma’s salted water had a lot of salt in it.
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Battle Mandram: A family history

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

Judy Cromwell is a longtime friend who frequently comments on my recipes. She agreed to share her Mandram recipe and contributed this bonus description of her family’s tussles with this dish through the decades.

Chef Otis’ interest in recreating southern salads from his childhood brought to mind a southern salad prepared by my family as I was growing up in Long Beach CA. Chef and I discussed Mandram, a relish-like salad that originated in the West Indies at some point before 1900 when my grandfather moved to SoCal from Central Alabama.

Here is the original as made by my mother, and subsequent versions of hers and my Uncle Nip’s. They were competitive with one another, and here Battle Mandram raged.

Mandram – Childhood Version circa 1947 and before
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and rough chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled with a paring knife, seeded, and rough chopped
1/4 red onion, rough chopped (less if the onion is really strong)
1 green pepper, seeded, inner white parts removed, and roughly chopped
Apple cider vinegar
Vegetable oil to taste
Salt and pepper

Mix all together. Salad can be refrigerated or left at room temperature until serving.
Comment: Way too much vinegar. As a kid, I picked out the vegetables.

Mandram – Uncle Nip’s Version circa 1976
Years later, after my mother and uncle retired, they began to experiment with the recipe. The first change I remember was from my Uncle Nip — the addition of chopped, canned Ortega chiles. In all honesty I don’t remember ever eating this version, but it sounds delicious, similar to salsa fresca.

Mandram — Mom’s Updated Versions – Globalization of Groceries Version circa 1980
No. 1 Then my mother began making it with rice wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. Thank God she did this. The mild, sweeter vinegar was a blessing to the recipe. Now I was able to eat the whole thing, vinegar and all. When I was growing up there was no rice wine vinegar in the supermarket. Culinary globalization at its finest!

No. 2 Once hothouse cucumbers began appearing in the market, they replaced the old fashioned fat, seedy cucumber. This truly transformed the dish by increasing both flavor and crunch, although my mother continued to use both varieties, for no reason in particular that I know of.

No. 3 When Vidalia and Maui became available, they replaced the red onion. What these babies lacked in beauty and crunch they replaced in flavor. So delicious!

Mandram — Nip’s Update circa 1984
I believe that my Uncle Nip also made a version with scallions. My mother made this for us once but I didn’t care for it. The white part of the young onion was too strong and had the same adverse effect as did the apple cider vinegar. The green parts would be delicious, with perhaps a bit of sweet onion also included.

Regards,
Judy

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Recipe: Mandram (Chopped Vegetable Salad)

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Mandram

Mandram

Mandram is a chopped vegetable salad that may have originated in the West Indies, according to Mandrang or Mandram | The Vintage Cookbook Trials. I learned about it from my friend Judy Cromwell, who provides her own history with the dish in a guest post. It’s refreshing and pleasant on its own or can be used as a relish. Makes about a quart.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and rough chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled with a paring knife, seeded, and rough chopped*
1/4 red onion or sweet Vidalia onion, rough chopped (less if the onion is really strong)
1 green pepper, seeded, inner white parts removed, and roughly chopped
1 T rice vinegar (not sweetened sushi vinegar, just plain rice vinegar)
3 T safflower or other vegetable oil
½ t Kosher salt
¼ t ground pepper

Method: prepare the vegetables as described, mix with liquids and salt and pepper in a serving bowl. Refrigerate at least an hour; it will throw off additional liquid during that time. Serve as a side salad or for spooning on meats and savory items.

*Judy told me her mother always peeled tomatoes with a paring knife so I tried it and it works. Best if the tomatoes are on the ripe side so the skin is loose. The results are similar to my standard method which is to parboil tomatoes until the skins split, but faster because you don’t have to wait for the water to boil.

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Looney for uni (sea urchin gonads)

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Uni

Fresh uni shown for scale with a copper penny, with which it shares certain taste characteristics

The email from Catalina Offshore Products brought some exciting news: premium uni, normally $18.99 for a 120 g tray, was on sale for $13.99 for one day only. There was a minimum purchase of $50, meaning I had to commit to close to a full pound of this magical ingredient–a decision which took me about 30 seconds to reach.

The next day a perfectly packed refrigerated box arrived. I tucked in and was surprised at the mild flavor. I guess I had never experienced uni the day after it was harvested. Day two was more what I expected: briny with the taste of the sea and a mysterious texture somewhere between oysters and caviar.

Did I eat several of these “tongues” straight of the tray? Yes I did, since there were no others who wanted to share. The fresh taste did not waver over 4 days, even though the purveyors recommend 2 days, and then it was time for experimentation.

Uni Ramps Linguini

Linguini with uni and ramps

Search for “sea urchin roe recipe” (if you search for “uni” you’ll get colleges) online and you’ll find a few recipes. I’m suspicious of those that want you to use maybe a pound of uni (value $50-100 or more) in a way that masks its taste. Feels like the recipes were incubated in a food lab and you could easily substitute another protein.

I had some ramps on hand so tried this pasta recipe but the taste of both the ramps and the sea urchin disappeared in the sauté pan. Much better was Mario Batali’s linguini recipe (apparently sea urchin is very plentiful in Sicily where it originated) in which the heat of the just-cooked pasta is used to warm ripe tomatoes, thin slices of yellow squash and the uni. It was good, but not $20 per serving food cost good.

Batali uni linguini

Mario Batali uni with fresh tomatoes and squash; sprinkle some uni bits on top so you get full credit for the ingredient

My final experiment was with a sea urchin mousse published in Gourmet, and originated by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It was fussy but I followed it to the letter with one exception: uni will not pass through a sieve, so I beat it up with a whisk and removed the bits that would not puree. The result was unmistakably uni umami, but cloaked with the civilizing influences of cream, lemon and ginger. I’d serve this to an “I don’t like uni” crowd, so long as I’m able to sneak into the kitchen and finish their uneaten portions after.

Uni Mousse

Sea urchin mousse with ginger vinaigrette

By this time a week had passed and I’d lost some tasting days to a business trip. The final tray was not yet gamy and suspect (and was certainly better than some uni I’ve been served as fresh in certain sushi restaurants) but it had lost its subtlety: it was coppery and a bit bitter. Time to move on.

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New York is to craft beer as California is to wine

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Beer Sample

Shmaltz founder Jeremy Cowan gets a pour from a visiting brewmaster

Well, maybe that’s a bit aspirational. But I was quite impressed with the quality and depth of the state’s craft beer movement as exhibited at yesterday’s first ever “New York Statewide Collaboration Brew Day”.

The event was hosted by Shmaltz Brewery in Clifton Park, where in the morning visiting brewmasters got together to brew a unique ale featuring New York-grown ingredients. I arrived in the afternoon for the collaborative tasting session, where the brewers were pouring for each other from the jugs they’d brought along. A special treat was strong ale from C.H. Evans of Albany, brewed in bourbon and rum barrels procured from their neighbor across the street Albany Distilling Co.

Tanks of Beer

Forest of tanks at Shmaltz Brewing Co

I spent some time with Paul Leone, Executive Director of the New York State Brewers Association, a trade group representing what he says is a $3.5 billion craft beer industry in the state. His group excludes national brands with local facilities, though not Rochester’s Genesee, a big brewer which I learned is also experimenting aggressively with craft beers. I asked Paul if there were legal or legislative barriers in this over-regulated state that he’d like to see removed and he said really no, the legislative environment is quite positive for brewers.

I also spoke with Greg Chanese of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, who told me about his Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail map which will soon be interactive and is now available in pdf form. Print it out and get it stamped by each of the breweries on the trail and get a free commemorative beer glass.

Shelby and Paul

Shmaltz’s Shelby Schneider with brewmaster Paul McErlean

The event culminated with a walkthrough of the facility with Shelby Schenider, Shmaltz Marketing Director. I was reminded that when I arrived in the region some six years ago Shmaltz was brewed on a contract basis at Olde Saratoga Brewing Company. Now they’ve got row after row of gleaming tanks and capacity sufficient to be a contract brewer to other folks. That’s quite a trajectory and good news for beer lovers, because strong sales have been an impetus to try new things.

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Recipe: Olive Bread with Rye Starter

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

Olive Bread with Sourdough Rye Starter

I have to say this is the best olive bread I have experienced, with wonderful tartness due to large amounts of rye starter plus a long fermentation. Makes two 1 1/2 lb loaves.

Ingredients:
225 g  rye starter at 100% hydration*
500 g all purpose flour
340 g water**
1 c pitted olives, coarsely chopped (I used a mixture of Kalamatas and Mediterranean green olives)
1 1/2 t Kosher salt
1 t lemon zest, grated or finely chopped
3/4 t Herbes de Provence, dried

Method: Mix rye starter, flour and water and autolyze 30 minutes. Add salt then knead with your preferred technique (I did four sets of stretch-and-folds, 15 minutes apart) until gluten is well developed. Cover and bulk ferment at room temperature for 3 hours, then transfer to refrigerator and proof for at least 48 hours. Bring back to room temperature; flatten dough on your work surface and knead in olives, lemon zest and Herbes de Provence. Shape into two loves and proof in bannetons till nicely risen, about 2-4 hours. Preheat cast iron dutch ovens or baking stone in a 500 degree oven. Load the bread and immediately reduce heat to 475 degrees. Bake covered for 20 minutes if using dutch oven, then remove cover and bake 25 minutes more or until nice and brown.

*This is a lot more starter than I usually use, and an important factor in the tartness of the bread. If you don’t have rye starter you should make some, using the method described here using whole rye/dark rye flour and an equal measure of water by weight. I guess you could substitute white flour starter if you don’t want to wait to build a new starter, in which case I’d recommend using 125 g rye flour/375 g white flour.

** UPDATED: dropped the water volume slightly after further experimentation. If you are comfortable shaping very wet dough, feel free to add more.

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Recipe: Mexican Grilled Corn

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Grilled corn Mexican style

Mexican Grilled Corn

Those street vendors know what they’re doing when they’re making Mexican grilled corn. The intense heat of the grill causes the corn kernels to caramelize. You know it’s hot enough when they start to make a cracking noise, like popcorn. Serves 4-8.

Ingredients:
4 ears good fresh corn (cut in half if you want smaller portions as a side dish)
Salt
Mild chili powder
Lime juice (optional)

Method: Shuck the corn and soak in salted water for a couple hours. Grill over high heat, turning so each side gets dark kernels but is not burned (see photo). Remove from heat and sprinkle with chili powder and optional lime juice before serving as an accompaniment to grilled foods.

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Recipe: Secret Recipe Ramen Burger

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Mmm... Ramen Burger

Secret Recipe Ramen Burger towers above conventional counterparts

Don’t be distracted by those ironic burgers using dried ramen noodles instead of a bun. If you like ramen and you like burgers, here’s the secret way to have the best ramen burger. Makes 4 burgers.

Ingredients:
1 lb. good quality ground beef
Noodles from 1 package dried ramen noodles for soup (I used Shin Ramyun)
1 vegetable packet from the ramen package
1/2 to 1 spice packet from the ramen package (if you use the full packet it will be pretty spicy)
1/4 c beer (I used Ithaca Flower Power) or soju

Ramen Burger mis en place

Ramen Burger mis en place

Method: Crumble up the ramen noodles and mix into the ground beef along with the seasoning packet ingredients and beer. Allow to rest 1 hour for flavors to mix and beer to be absorbed by the ramen. Shape into 4 patties and cook according to your preferred method. Serve with standard burger condiments or experiment with sriracha mayo, kimchee etc.

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15 Church shows how to make a good restaurant great

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Fried Oysters at 15 Church

Fried oysters with liver pate at 15 Church, Saratoga Springs NY

Had Mother’s Day dinner at 15 Church in Saratoga Springs, NY, a place that’s been open just about a year and has recalibrated our definition of fine dining in this amiable but touristic destination. The pre-opening expectations were high: a centrally located but long abandoned historic building rehabbed at great expense (I remember walking by in the dead of winter as heated sidewalks were in the process of installation), a legendary chef in local icon Jason Baker, and a solid management team led by Paul McCulloch, a guy with a lot of big restaurant experience. 15 Church has not disappointed, and didn’t miss a step when Jason Baker departed for health reasons and was replaced by Brady Duhame, a locally raised chef who is a CIA graduate.

I’ve had a few meals at 15 Church at this point and none has been short of superb. This consistency is unusual in a tourist town where often crowds of transient diners, who may not ever come back, cause the house to scramble and possibly resort to shortcuts to ensure everybody gets fed. Tonight I found myself musing on why 15 Church has become a world class restaurant in an environment when even a little dedication would put them ahead of the many local places that charge almost as much for mass-produced food.

Empty butter dish at 15 Church

Cultured butter, now transferred to the house focaccia

Aside from the usual food excellence (why WOULDN’T you want liver pate with your fried oysters?) I took pictures of two telling pieces of evidence. First is the empty cup of cultured butter sprinkled with sea salt which is served (not empty at that point) with excellent focaccia as you sit down. This butter is at the perfect spreading temperature/consistency. A couple of degrees colder and it would be stiff; a couple degrees warmer and it would start to melt. But 15 Church has figured out the ideal temperature and the butter comes out at that temperature precisely, night after night.

Paul McCulloch tends to business

Co-owner Paul McCulloch setting tables at 15 Church, Saratoga Springs NY

My second piece of evidence is the picture of the gentleman setting the table, who happens to be Paul McCulloch. Everybody pulls their weight there and everybody supports everyone else; if a table needs to be prepped and Paul is nearby, why wouldn’t he help out?

Add to this the fact that Chef Brady Duhame has a hell of a lot of fun at his job. He effortlessly turns out the traditional dishes the high rollers demand (one of our party had a massive $50 NY strip that was worth every penny) while indulging a lively personal curiosity about rare and raw fish, Kewpie mayo and uni. His zeppoli (like donuts, but stuffed with ricotta cheese and served with a sweet cream sauce and caramel sauce) have become as locally prized as a winning ticket for a trifecta at the Saratoga Race Course.

I’m hardly the only one who has noticed what is going on at 15 Church. It’s very difficult to get a reservation (but not impossible, so try if you’re in the area) and many of the key dates during track season are completely booked months in advance. But they’re opening a patio next door where 50% of the seating will be first-come-first-served and the central attraction will be a raw bar. I’m there.

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