Ms. Glaze's Pommes d'Amour

Crispy Sweetbreads, Pomelo, Citrus Veal Jus

2012-01-26T22:06:56-08:00

"Do your yoga friends know you eat brains and thymus glands and crazy stuff like that?" He asks popping a crispy morsel in his mouth after expertly swiping it through sauce...

"Um, no, how's the new dish?" I ask with arms folded and one eyebrow raised.

"Clean. Crispy. Sauce is tasty. Great starter with champagne – is there champagne?"

(Hmmm...maybe he's okay after all...)

What is a pomelo? It's like a grapefruit on steroids but sweeter without the bitter aftertaste. Be forewarned the pith is about an inch thick. Veal sweetbreads are the thymus gland.They have a mild flavor with a slightly spongy interior. Cooked correctly they should melt in your mouth.

I found out how delicious sweetbreads were only after I started cooking them professionally.

During a promotional photo shoot for Guy Savoy's website inbetween my cooking shifts, Guy himself sent me his ris de veau dish as a present (from my meat station, nonetheless). I couldn't very well send them back – they were covered in truffles! Total life changing experience. There is something to be said for tasting your food.

I am picky about how they should be cooked and prepared. I like 'em extra crispy on the outside and tender inside. I do not like them roasted – too mushy for my taste.

Here's the technique: soak the glands in ice water for at least three hours to draw out any impurities, changing the water twice. Blanch sweetbreads in a pot of simmering salted water for 45 seconds then shock in ice water to stop the cooking. Peel off the thin membrane that surrounds the gland. Cut into nice bite size pieces about 65g each. Store morsels wrapped in a slightly damp kitchen towel in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

Season morsels with sea salt and sear in a cast iron pan with salted butter continuously basting. Add more salted butter to the pan when remaining butter begins to brown. Baste, baste, baste. The sweetbreads are done when they are brown on all sides.

For extra crispiness: drain sweetbreads on a paper towel when golden brown then cook one more time before serving in the same way.

The sauce is simply a reduction of veal stock and pomelo juice squeezed from the pith after segmenting. I finished the sauce with a little butter for a gloss. Easy! Place pomelo segments around sweetbread morsels and garnish with micro herbs and chives.

Persian Saffron Orange Cake

2012-01-08T17:02:34-08:00

My dusty pastry skills were recently tested when a Persian friend asked if I would recreate his Grandmother's orange cake perfumed with cardamom and saffron. Then he gave me his Grandmother's relic bundt pan to make it in. Then my mother gave me her 1970's Persian cookbook. No way out!

Why I am not a pastry chef is sort of a mystery in my family. My last name really is 'Glaze'. My first spoken word was "cake" (the precursor to "hotdog"). And I'm probably borderline diabetic considering my insatiable sweet tooth.

What went wrong...

I was briefly thrown into pastry chefdom at the age of 21 when the now famous but then unknown pastry chef, Elizabeth Falkner, left Ristorante Ecco. I was only the nighttime Garde Mangé cook (cold apps, salads, and pastry assembly) with no cooking school degree and little knowledge of baking.

Left an anthology of recipes, I picked up the slack. I learned two things: I prefer to see food cooking in front of my face instead of hoping and praying it will turn out okay before dinner service and I have trouble not taste-testing everything I create.

Was it Shakespeare who wrote: "Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers"?

Even so, true to my first utterance, I love cake. Unadulterated. Fresh and fluffy. Although there is a time and place for buttercreams and Italian meringues, I prefer it "as is" with minimal frosting. Maybe with a dollop of barely sweetened vanilla bean whipped cream. Or maybe not.

I make cakes at home by hand, without electric aid, because it's a great arm and ab workout and lessens the guilt factor when I devour half in one go.

It does take extra time, but then again, making cake is a labor of love...

I wonder if his Persian Grandmother knew that saffron, cardamom, and orange scented fresh cake brings a lingering sultry frangrance to the kitchen and, well, romance to the table?

Persian Saffron-Orange Bundt Cake

Serves 2-10 people, depending how you slice it

2 2/3 cup sifted organic cake flour (I like Guisto's)

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 big pinches Persian saffron threads (crumble with finger tips before adding, I like to see some of the the threads in the cake crumb)

1 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cup sugar

Zest from one medium orange

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup orange juice

4 large eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour a traditional bundt pan. In a small mixing bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, cardamom, saffron, and vanilla powder. (Or add vanilla extract at the end of the butter creaming step).

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter adding the sugar little by little. Mix with the back of a wooden spoon if making by hand until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. Or, if in a hurry, use the kitchenAid. Add the eggs one by one, incorporating fully after each addition. Add the orange zest.

In a clean mixing bowl with a clean whisk beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry and put in the fridge until ready to use.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter in three parts alternating with the milk and orange juice beating with a wooden spoon or hand mixer until smooth. Come on people get those arms moving!

Using a rubber spatula fold one quarter of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Then add the rest and continue to fold until no white streaks remain. Carefully pour batter into the bundt pan and smooth surface with spatula to even out. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Normally when I can smell the cake throughout the house, it's close to being done. And note: that if you can smell the cake and then suddenly you stop smelling it, it's overdone. Weird.

Immediately invert cake onto a cooling rack. Glaze with a citrus syrup (mixture of orange juice and powdered sugar reduced on stove top) or sift powdered sugar over the top. Or just eat it as is. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream, some chopped pistachios, and candied orange rind or zest.

Note to Chef: this cake batter can be used for two 8-inch cake rounds instead of one bundt pan. Lessen the cooking time by ten minutes.

Wild Mussels! How to Clean & Debeard

2012-01-04T00:06:37-08:00

Jeeps McGee, my trusty vehicle, starts up with a gutsy roar. The performance exhaust shakes me with thunderous throaty vibrations. My coffee cup perched precariously on the dash spills while disco competes for attention on a station I don't remember ever having set (was I really listening to this last night? Yikes!). My overnight duffle is happily absorbing the jus de chaussette I was very much looking forward to. Some happy New Year this is!

After an onslaught of holiday parties, I am throwing in the cocktail dress and pulling on the workboots. I sink a few bucks into Jeeps McGee's big belly and put San Francisco in the rear view mirror. Pescadero here I come...

Me and McGee are so in our element. We are noisily cruising down 280, bouncing up and over the curvy Skyline mountains down to Highway 1. I reach Half Moon Bay and my 33-inch flame tread tires screech left onto the Coastal Highway.

Ahhhh, the ocean....

Today is beautiful. The Winter sun crisp illuminating the Pacific on my right like a bright and blinding sequined serpent. The fields on my left bleak and mostly tilled under with random rotting pumpkins left unloved. Cypress trees, like tortured twisted shadows with desperate outstretched arms edge the endless blue. Weathered farms dot the coast.

Artichoke soup, dungeness crab, and olallieberry pie – here I come!

Farmer's Kate and Jeff of Echo Valley Farm meet me at Pescadero beach with crowbars and baskets in tow. We find a giant wave washed rock a little too far out in the receding ocean covered with cloistered blue mussels. Prying tools in hand we go to work.

It's low tide, we should be safe, the tide pools surrounding us are dry and thirsty. Sea cucumbers and anemones hibernate in the squinty bright sun.

Prying bivalves loose, we opt for the bigger ones. The small ones, although tender, are just too much work and not enough meat to show for it.

And then it happens, while our backs are turned and my farmer friends are happily chatting about Spring planting plans – the sea sneaks up on us and takes us all by surprise. We are super soaked!

We grab our gear and make a dash inland trying to find our footing in the tide pools that are now under water. How did that happen?

Back on the farm we dry off and prepare the mussels. This is not a quick process. Wild Mussels are sandy and bearded and covered with mini barnacles.

If storing mussels for a day (or two at the most), kept dry in a single layer in the refrigerator with a damp kitchen towel over top. In a restaurant I store mussels in a perforated tray over ice in the fridge, but never in ice – they will die. Throw away any that have cracked shells. If shells are open tap lightly, if the bivalve closes it is still alive. Otherwise it's dead.

When ready to use, place mussels gently in a bucket of cold water for 30 minutes. This will help the little bivalves filter out some of the sand. If they are kept in fresh water for an extended time they will die. Under running water scrape and/or scrub off barnacles and remove beard (or byssus) by grabbing the brownish threads with fingertips and yanking back & forth and side to side down by the hinge. Place cleaned mussels into a separate bucket of cold water to continue filtration.

The byssus thread is edible, but sand likes to stick to it and it's not exactly pleasant to chew – unless you like to eat hair. However, if a few go un-bearded, it's not the end of the world.

Our bright orange wild mussels taste like Pescadero coast: robust, briney and beautiful. The salty mussel liquor quintuples the white wine I've used to steam them open. I've never seen so much bivalve liquor before! This I strain with cheesecloth and reserve for various recipes.

Prince Edward Island (PEI) mussels, which are found in most markets, can be steamed directly with other garnishes (Curry & cream? Fennel, saffron & white wine? Tomatoes & capers? Ginger, garlic, & lemongrass?) because they are not sandy and do not need to be strained. Most farmed mussels require just a rinse before using.

But the liquor of wild mussels will need to be strained or the sand left to sink to the bottom of the pot and carefully avoided. I prefer to strain it out but this means my sauce or broth will take extra effort to finish. Totally worth it.

We are taking the mussels to a pot luck party at Pie Ranch down the coast towards Santa Cruz. I opt for a true marinara sauce (a tomato sauce with seafood – as the name implies) for our offering. We cook up pasta, toss it with our rich tomato-caper-mussel sauce enhanced with white wine and mussel liquor, sprinkle chopped parsley over, and head out back along the coast to the barn dance and dinner.

Sun sinking. Sky, a burst of pink and mussel orange. Clouds streaked greyish purple against the flame colored backdrop. Salty sea air stinging noses and wind whipping hair everywhere, we hold on tight in Jeeps McGee.

It's time to kick up our heels Pescadero style...

Citizen Cake Clam Chowder

2011-12-14T16:07:48-08:00

It seems that I am the last to find out that both Orson and Citizen Cake will be closing their doors in SF. As the Chef de Cuisine who opened the last reincarnation of Citizen Cake I find this disheartening. All that work! My team was talented, the recipes developed iconic, and it was a lot of fun. We put our hearts into it.

This goes to show how hard the restaurant business is. I am sure that Elizabeth Falkner will reinvent herself soon either as the next American Iron Chef or in another venue. She is a creative powerhouse. For more info visit the Sf Chronicle post.

I created this clam chowder for Chef E at her request and it quickly became a lunch time favorite. We both agreed that the clams should be whole and in the shell. The soup was made to order every time. And there is no flour or thickener in the broth – just clam stock, white wine, and cream.

Besides the usual clam chowder accoutrements: bacon, potatoes, celery, shallot, and onion I also added thin wedges of fennel, leeks, tarragon, and fried dill.

A good twist of freshly ground black pepper over the top and it's off the passe and on its way to the table...

Citizen Cake Clam Chowder

Note to Chef: this recipe can easily be expanded. The recipe is for one entree size order of soup.

1/2 pound little neck clams, washed in cold water to remove sand if any

1 long stalk celery, diced

1/4 yellow onion, diced

1 small shallot, minced

1/2 leek, white part only, diced

3 small yukon gold potatoes or similar fingerling variety, quartered

1 clove garlic, shaved or sliced very thinly

1/2 fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch wedges,

1 tablespoon tarragon, brunoised

1 sprig of dill

2 slices of Applewood thick-cut bacon, cooked and diced, reserve fat for frying dill

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup clam stock or sea juice of premium grade

1/4–1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons canola oil

Twist of freshly ground black pepper

Croutons

Heat canola oil in a medium size skillet or sauté pan on high. (The skillet should be just big enough to fit all the clams in a single layer – no bigger) When it shimmers add onions, shallots, leeks, celery, bacon and potatoes. Toss to coat. Add clams and turn down heat to medium. Do not brown the mirepoix.

Cook vegetables until translucent, about 4 minutes, then de-glaze pan with white wine. Let alcohol burn off for 30 seconds and add clam stock to cover half way up clams. Add garlic and fennel wedges then cream and cook until potatoes are done and clams are opened. About 4-5 more minutes. Check seasoning – normally I don't need to add salt to this.

To fry dill for garnish: heat bacon grease on medium-high heat if there is at least 1/4-inch rendered and toss in the tops of dry sprigs of dill and stand back – it will splatter. The dill can also be fried in a deep fryer or canola oil. Remove dill after 30 seconds with a spatula and drain on paper towels. This can be made hours in advance.

Plate chowder in a shallow bowl with fried dill on top and tarragon sprinkled all around. Finish with freshly ground black pepper.

Kale and Fuyu Persimmon Salad, Blue Cheese Beignets

2011-12-07T12:52:03-08:00

The secret ingredient in this kale & fuyu persimmon salad is hidden in the vinaigrette: the bizarre and fascinating citron known as Buddha's Hand.

The fleshless fruit imparts a lovely fragrant sweet lemon essence minus the furniture polish aftertaste. Use the zest in just the same way you would a lemon. It can be candied, blended up in vinaigrette (pith included- it's sweet!), or displayed as a fragrant center piece on the dining room table. It also makes a sexy twist in a glass of champagne.

Take the ingredients of this salad and use them simply or, if you feel like spending an hour on a dish that will be eaten in less than thirty seconds, you can follow my lead!?! I've sugared the walnuts with maple syrup, fried Cambozola blue cheese in beignet beer batter, and served the persimmon roasted in honey and sliced raw. Either way the flavor profiles hit all the right notes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter plus the varying textures make for an exciting first course.

Blue cheese beignets are a guilty pleasure. If you're not a salad lover they also taste good with a juicy steak. But, it's hard to resist a crunchy beignet oozing salty blue gooeyness all over a sweet roasted perimmon...

I like kale raw, it's so much healthier that way. And if I'm popping fried cheese balls in my mouth I favor the idea of a cleansing antioxidant chaser. Here's farmer Jessica with a fresh picked bunch of curly kale at Echo Valley Farm...

Kale & Fuyu Persimmon Salad with Blue Cheese Beignets, Buddha's Hand Vinaigrette

serves 4

1 bunch curly kale, stems removed, leaves torn bite size

1 fuyu persimmon, sliced thin

1/4 small red onion, shaved thin

1/2 cup toasted walnuts (sugared or not, email me if you want recipe)

1 buddha's hand, two fingers finely chopped including pith (about 3 tablespoons)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon orange blossom honey, or local honey

1/2 cup olive oil

Cambozola Blue cheese

3/4 cup flour

4 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup beer

Canola oil

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

For the vinaigrette: combine rice wine vinegar, honey, and chopped buddha's hand in a blender and mix on high speed for 30 seconds. On low speed drizzle in olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Taste and adjust to your liking.

For the blue cheese beignets: in a small mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients (cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder). Gently stir in beer with whisk until batter is mostly smooth – a few lumps are okay. Refrigerate for at least an hour up to a day. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper before using.

Make cambozola blue cheese 1-inch balls by rolling cheese in between palms and refrigerate. When ready to fry heat canola oil in a deep fryer to 350˚F (following manufacturer instructions) and have a plate lined with paper towels handy. With a spoon dip cheese balls in batter and coat thoroughly, then quickly lower into deep fryer. Drain on paper towels. Beignets are done when golden brown. Serve immediately.

Assembly: toss sliced persimmon, shaved red onion, and kale with vinaigrette, season with sea salt & pepper, and plate. Serve beignets alongside. Scatter walnuts around plate or mix in.