COCO

When Phaidon called to let me know I was invited to be in this book I had no idea what it was about. Then, I recieved a nice letter explaining how the decisions were made to chose the chefs. It was chefs choosing chefs! Not just any chefs but the power houses of the industry internationally. I am honored and in awe to be in the company of such great chefs from around the world. To be chosen to be in this great book by my mentor and elder statesman of offal, Fergus Henderson, is a great honor. To see more about the book, I’ve included the press release below, as well there is a link to pre order the book on amazon.

COCO
10 World Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs

Ferran Adrià (Spain), Mario Batali (USA), Shannon Bennett (Australia),
Alain Ducasse (France), Ferguson Henderson (UK), Yoshihiro Murato (Japan),
Gordon Ramsay (UK), René Redzepi (Denmark), Alice Waters (USA), and Jacky Yu (Hong Kong)

A mobile ice cream van in London. A Michelin-starred gastropub in New York. The dining program at the American Academy of Rome. A restaurant in a small village in Bali. A café in Tapei. A sandwich shop in Portland, Oregon. A mecca for offal obsessives in San Francisco. What do all of these seemingly disparate places have in common? They are where you will find some of the best chefs of today toiling away, and they are all in COCO: 10 World Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs (Phaidon Press; November 15, 2009; $49.95 hardcover), an unprecedented look at culinary movers and shakers from all corners of the globe that follows in the footsteps of Phaidon’s internationally popular 10×10 series.

The 100 chefs, creating the most innovative cuisine, include talent from Singapore to Spain and Australia to Athens, Georgia. Whether experimenting with new techniques and adventurous combinations or sticking to simple, delicious traditional dishes made with fresh, locally-sourced produce, these culinary artists have taken their craft to such impressive heights that they have captured the attention of these 10 top master chefs. With its vast and varied selection of recipes, COCO is an unrivaled snapshot of what is happening in current gastronomy.

Arranged alphabetically, COCO presents each chef over a gorgeous, full-color, four-page spread. Beginning with an inspiring and insightful essay from the chef curator explaining their pick, the chapter includes a brief bio, sample menu, and images of the restaurant, the kitchen, the chef at work and dishes, as well as accompanying recipes. While the selected chefs hail from different parts of the world and cook very different styles of cuisine in very different types of restaurants, they take their ingredients and methods equally seriously, perfecting their work. They have been selected not only for their food, but for their cooking philosophy and also the way they run their kitchens and how their restaurants have contributed to the culinary world-at-large. As Mario Batali writes in his essay on Hugh Acheson, “Making great food is only the half of it. Real energy and true talent come through when food is thoughtful.”

Part cookbook, part international restaurant guide and part who’s who in the international food scene, COCO showcases recipes that are completely doable like David Chang’s (Momofuku, New York City) Mackerel with Kimchi Puree, Oyster and Radish, Allison Vines-Rushing’s (MiLa, New Orleans) Sweet Potato Pappardelle with Roasted Shitake Mushrooms and Shaved Sheep Cheese, and Russell Moore’s (Camino, Oakland, CA) Lamb Leg a la Ficelle with Braised and Grilled Ribs, Merguez Sausage, and Fresh Shell Beans and the purely aspirational like Mads Refslund’s (MR, Copenhagen) Burning Fields: Aroma and Textures of Burning Fields, Glynn Purnell’s (Purnell’s, Birmingham) Duck Rolled in Licorice Charcoal, Japanese Black Rice, Tamarind, Licorice Puree, Salsify, and Green Beans, and José Avillez’s (Tavares Rico, Lisbon) Roasted Pigeon, A “Ferrero Rocher” of Truffle and Foie Gras, Sautéed Chard, and a Cinnamon-Flavor Sauce. The culinary icons also each share one of their definitive recipes such as Alice Waters’ Chicories Salad with Brandade Toast, Fergus Henderson’s Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad and Mario Batali’s Two-Minute Calamari, Sicilian Lifeguard Style.

And of course, a culinary book this visionary in scope wouldn’t be complete without a restaurant guide so that readers may travel the world to experience the gastronomic artistry for themselves.

TITLE:  COCO: 10 World Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs
PUBLISHER:  Phaidon
PUB DATE:  November 15, 2009
PAGES:  440

Brittany Risher; Chris Cosentino photo by Lisa Hamilton

Use this list to stock your kitchen, and you’ll have all the tools you need to prepare an impressive meal

Sure, Iron Chef’s Kitchen Stadium is stocked with every pan, knife, and other food gadget ever made. But chances are you’ll never attempt a cookdown with Mario Batali. What you need are the essentials. To help ensure that you have the things you truly need, we talked to Chris Cosentino, chef partner at Incanto in San Francisco and partner and owner of Boccalone (boccalone.com), an artisan salumi business.

The first step, he says, is to determine what your cooking goal is. “”There are so many pieces of equipment,” Cosentino says, “but you don’t need to worry about them all. If you know what you want to do, you can set up your kitchen accordingly.”

Here are the things he recommends the average at-home chef should have on hand to make anything from a fast bite after work to an impressive dinner date.

1. A Cutting Board
“Having a proper wooden cutting is where everything is going to start from,” says Cosentino, who likes Boos cutting boards (johnboos.com). Go with wooden—although plastic is non-porous, you’re likely to put deeper knife marks into it, making it hard to clean and disinfect. And bacteria thrive in those scars.

Also, wood won’t dull your knives as quickly, and it draws bacteria below the surface—and therefore away from your food. In fact, a study by researchers at the University of California-Davis Food Safety Laboratory found that used, scarred wooden cutting boards had almost the same amount of bacteria on their surfaces as new wooden ones.

2. Knives
All you need are four: chef’s knife, paring knife, boning knife, and fillet knife. The paring knife is for smaller, precise work such as peeling, trimming, coring an apple, and sectioning an orange. The chef’s knife is your Jack-of-all-trades. Use it to chop, mince, and slice vegetables, fruit, herbs, and meat. The boning and fillet knives are self-explanatory.

Cosentino likes Japanese knives because they hold an edge better, he says. When you’re shopping, be sure to pick up the knife and hold it as you’d use it. “When you hold it, is it like an extension of your hand, or is it like having your shoe on the wrong foot?” Cosentino says. “You should like the way the handle feels and the weight of the knife.” If it feels right in your hands, it’s a good choice.

3. A Slow Cooker
“You want a cast-iron, enameled pot—what I call a braiser—to slow-cook items in,” says Cosentino, who has used his Calphalon slow cooker to do everything from make tomato sauce and jam to braise meat and cook a whole chicken. It’s extremely versatile (use it on the stovetop or in the oven) and easy to use: Just prep the ingredients the night before, put them into the pot before you leave for work in the morning, and when you come home, you have dinner. And, since the pot is heavy-bottomed, the heat is dispersed evenly, so you have less chance of burning your food.

4. Pans and Pots
Keep things simple (and your cabinet uncluttered): again, four is the magic number. Start with a saucepot to cook soup in and a larger pot to cook pasta in. Then look for 8-inch and 10-inch sauté pans made out of a non-reactive material, such as cast iron or stainless steel. “Aluminum can react with acidity and change the flavor of foods like tomatoes and asparagus,” Cosentino says. He uses Calphalon in the restaurant kitchen and also recommends Demeyere cookware.

But you don’t necessarily need to buy your pans and pots individually—a set may be the best option. “If you want the basics to make beautiful meals, buy a set, and, boom, you have all the pans in the world you need,” Cosentino says. “As long as have a stove and electric or gas, you’re set.” They’re also cheaper and you’re more likely to find sales on sets than on separate items.

5. A Pepper Mill
If you want your food to taste good, this overlooked item can make a big difference in flavor. Cosentino says to think about it this way: If you buy preground pepper at the store, who knows how long it’s been sitting there? And how long was it sitting prior arriving at your supermarket? He recommends grinding peppercorns with a Peugeot mill.

6. The Basics
Don’t overlook the obvious things such as a whisk, mixing bowl, spatula (Cosentino likes fish spatulas, which are good for both delicate and heavier foods), and the one thing no man can do without: a grill.

7. The Extras
Pass on the onion goggles, but if you have a few extra bucks, there are two nonessentials Cosentino thinks are worth it: a pizza stone and a Benriner mandolin (benriner.com).

- Buy a stone, and all you need to do is hit the grocery store for prepared dough and the toppings of your choice, and you’re ready to make a pie that tastes better—and has less grease and fewer calories—than delivery. “A pizza stone helps keep the oven temperature constant,” Cosentino says, and that results in a perfect crust.

- Use the mandolin for an easy way to julienne vegetables or cut them into matchsticks. You can quickly slice tons of vegetables and fruit with it, so you don’t need a knife, and they’ll all be uniform size, which can turn an ordinary salad into an impressive-looking course when you invite your girlfriend over for dinner.

To some the idea of a spreadable salumi is a bit out there, to me it’s perfectly rich, spicy, porky goodness. Nduja is  a classical salumi from Calabria that has spread its way into my heart and others around the country. The most commonly asked question is what do I do with it? There are so many uses; pizza, crostini, bruschetta.  So, here are a few recipes to keep everyone busy for a while, one is from me and the other from the great pastry chef and italophile Gina Depalma.

Warm Nduja & Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

4 servings

4 slices of crusty Italian bread

1 package of Boccalone nduja

3 peeled garlic cloves (2 chopped and 1 sliced in half lengthwise)

5 ripe heirloom tomatoes (preferably a mix of several different varieties), thickly sliced

Zest of 2 lemons

1 cup torn basil leaves

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Zinfandel vinegar

Kosher or sea salt to taste

Coarse ground black pepper to taste

1. Brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil, then grill on both sides until golden brown with dark grill marks.  Set aside.

1. In a sauté pan heat 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil over medium flame.  Add chunks of nduja (scoop these out and discard the casing), lemon zest, and chopped garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently then deglaze with vinegar. Remove from heat.

1. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper.

1. To serve: Rub grilled bread with sliced garlic clove, layer the sliced tomatoes, top with the warm nduja and basil.

1. Slice bread slices diagonally and serve.

Seriously Italian: Breadcrumb-Stuffed Vegetables

Posted by Gina DePalma, July 9, 2009 at 9:00 AM

“Besides being cheap and accessible, breadcrumbs are truly a blank canvas for individual creativity.”

Verdure Ripieni, or stuffed vegetables, are popular in many of Italy’s regions, with varying nods to local ingredients and traditions. Through the ages Italians have always relied on breadcrumbs as an economical and easy way to stretch a few ingredients into something tasty and belly-filling. Although these beauties make a terrific side dish for grilled or roasted meats, they’re hearty enough to be a meal on their own.

Besides being cheap and accessible, breadcrumbs are truly a blank canvas for individual creativity. Remember this golden rule for seemingly simple dishes: when working with only a few ingredients, make sure they are top notch, and treat them with the utmost care. There is far less room for error when a dish has only two or three elements.

Homemade breadcrumbs are best, and most Italians insist on making their own. I picked up a small sourdough boule at the farmer’s market last weekend for mine. I trimmed the crust just a tiny bit and cut the bread into even-sized cubes, leaving them uncovered for about a day to dry them out, then toasted the cubes until they were slightly brown. After a few batches in the food processor, I had a huge pile of tasty crumbs of variegated gold. If you can’t make your own, breadcrumbs from the local bakery are the next best bet. I don’t trust supermarket breadcrumbs. Where did they come from, and when were they made?

I could have used full-sized vegetables, but I found some miniature tomatoes and sweet peppers at the farmers’ market that inspired a diminutive theme. I cut zucchini into thick rounds, and wedged some sweet Vidalia onions. With a small paring knife, I cut the core out of the onions to create a crater to hold the crumbs. I cut the peppers in half and removed the ribs and seeds, cored the halved tomatoes, and made little cavities in the center of the zucchini rounds.

To finish the vegetable prep, generously grease a baking dish that will snugly hold all the vegetables with extra-virgin olive oil, then arrange the vegetables inside, brushing them with more of the oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To season 3/4 of a cup of breadcrumbs, I heated three tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. I had some ‘nduja from Boccalone in the refrigerator, so I melted about an ounce of that into the oil; you can infuse the oil with minced garlic, or a squirt of anchovy paste, or render some finely chopped pancetta, prosciutto or guanciale in the oil to enrich the crumbs.

I mixed the crumbs with oil, and added a handful of minced, chopped herbs: I used parsley, marjoram, basil and mint from our garden. I also added three minced scallions and a few spoonfuls of grated Pecorino Romano; grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano works too. A few squirts of fresh lemon juice ties all the flavors together.

Cram the crumbs into all the nooks and crannies of the vegetables, and create little mounds on top. It isn’t necessary to be neat and fussy since the crumbs that fall between are going to make a delicious “sauce” when it is all done. Store any leftover crumbs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for the next use; they are delicious tossed with al dente pasta and olive oil.

Drizzle over more olive oil over the top, and pour a splash of white wine and enough water into the bottom of the pan to come up about one-third of the depth of the vegetables. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake the vegetables for about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and add a little more water if necessary, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the breadcrumbs are toasty on top.

We decided to make a meal out of our verdure ripieni, serving them with herbed rice and a simple salad—a colorful, economical and nutrition-packed meal.

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This didnt make the cut for No Reservations, but just the ability to see him drink FU2012 was priceless. The ability to work on such a special project with lance at hanger 1 has been great. He is a mad scientist and genius with distilling Enjoy the video.

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A few years ago Anthony Bourdain came to Incanto for dinner and my buisneess partner Mark Pastore wrote a great letter called “when royality comes calling”. It was a crazy day when he came for dinner a few years back nervous and star struck I cooked and cooked, hoping not to blow it. Now fast forward to this march an I get a phone call from zero point zero production that they want to film No Reserations. I am honored to be part of such a great show which has been stacking up the emmy nominations. Thanks to my team and all staff on hand the restaurant looked great on the show. Thanks!!

Click on the image to hear the show.

I love mint, and there is no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. More importantly, I have found it to be the most widely used herb in Italy. After doing a lot of research I found a few cool bits of info I thought would be great to share.

The mint family, also known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, is a large family of aromatic herbs which include the likes of basil, rosemary, sage, savory, oregano, thyme, marjoram, and lavender. I use all of these herbs with frequency, but I can’t get enough of the mints. With over 25 species and hundreds of varieties such as bergamot, chocolate, citrus, pineapple, spearmint, and nepitella just to name a few, their range of use is immeasurable. Attached below is a post by the great pastry chef Gina Depalma from Serious Eats.

Seriously Italian: Mint in Italian Cooking

Posted by Gina DePalma, June 4, 2009 at 8:30 AM

Note: On Thursdays, Babbo pastry chef Gina DePalma checks in with Seriously Italian. After a stint in Rome, she’s back in the States, channeling her inner Italian spirit via recipes and intel on delicious Italian eats. Take it away, Gina!

Last week, there was some scuttle on my Twitter timeline about fresh mint. It all started when @ruthreichl tweeted something she picked up from my friend Chris Cosentino of Incanto Restaurant in San Francisco; @offalchris told her that mint was the most widely used herb in Italy. How could that be true? The consensus was that surely basil or rosemary must hold that crown.

I’m solidly with Chris on this one. Mint is indeed a universal ingredient in Italian cooking, grown and used enthusiastically by home and restaurant cooks alike, from the top to the toe of the boot.

This may be a perplexing notion for some of us, because we’ve become used to tasting mint in its most exaggerated and gargantuan form, in breath refreshers, toothpaste and chewing gum. When we aren’t swishing super-concentrated minty mouthwash, we find it blasted into chocolate candies, ice cream or frappucinos. By far, the most tragic misuse of mint is when buds are plucked and poked into desserts as a bizarre form of herbal tree-garnish, destined only to be tossed aside and gathered up with the dishes.

In reality, mint leaves have a far less concentrated flavor and subtle presence, bright, sweetly refreshing and cool. As a culinary herb, mint plays well with similarly bright notes of basil and parsley, and Italians often use it in combination with both. Mint’s bracing crispness can be used to cut the rich intensity of a meaty dish or sauce, and to sweetly compliment the acidity of tomatoes or citrus. Its coolness both tames and highlights the fire of peperoncino.

In Italy, mint grows everywhere, wild and untamed, foraged from fields and forests by cooks and the occasional farm animal. It is also heavily planted, as ground cover to prevent erosion or decoratively among flowers and vines. When I was growing up, my mother always planted mint, no matter where we lived. In apartments, she placed mint and basil together in long window boxes, or guerilla-gardened it along the sunny side of our building. When it got too bushy, she picked it and threw it into her pesto, or into a ripe tomato salad with red onion and basil. We dried the leaves on a sunny windowsill and stored them in a sealed crock for use in the winter, to rub on lamb roasts and stir into bean soup.

Are you inspired to try mint in your cooking yet? Here are just a few of the ways Italian cooks like to use mint, from across Italy’s varied regions:

• In Rome, ribbons of fresh mint are used in combination with anchovy, red onion and peperoncino for Roman-style artichokes.
• In Umbria, mint is simmered into a braise, or brasato, of veal with porcini mushrooms, with more chopped fresh mint stirred in the sauce and strewn on top before serving.
• In Marche, mint spikes polenta served with lumache, or snails cooked in tomato, onions, wine, mint and other fresh herbs.
• In Piedmont, fresh mint is added to agliata—a mortar and pestle mix of garlic, olive oil, mint, basil and lemon juice. This agliata verde is mixed into fresh cheese, spread on crostini, or tossed into hot pasta.
• In Sicily, minced mint is added along with parsley and basil to caponata, and contributes color and flavor to salads with fennel, olive and blood oranges. And don’t forget my Sicilian-style Baked Cod!
• In Calabria and Basilicata, chopped mint is added to smoky, charred eggplant salad, with peperoncino, olive oil and red wine vinegar. My Calabrian mom also adds plenty of mint to her famous pickled eggplant and marinated mushrooms.
• In Tuscany, mint is used in the tomato and bread salad panzanella, tames the assertive flavor of tripe, and brightens wild rabbit and boar ragus. After dinner, it is tossed with sugar and fresh frutti di bosco, or woodland berries.
• In Venice, mint is to used flavor any number of cold seafood preparations, especially insalata di polpo, or octopus salad, and it is also added to flavor risi e pisi, or rice and peas. Mint is also used in sardine in saor, the classic Venetian preparation of sweet and sour sardines.
• In the lakes district of Lombardy, mint enhances the sweet flavor of trout and other sweet-water fish, simply sautéed and bathed with olive oil, sweet onion, fresh mint and lemon.
• In Abruzzo, mint is tossed into tiny polpettini, or meatballs, of veal, mushrooms and farro, topped with a chunky tomato sauce with more mint and fresh basil.
• In Emilia-Romagna, melons from Reggio are tossed with fresh mint and dribbled with aged balsamico. Mint is also added to a sauce of caramelized onions and a bit of cream to embellish fresh tagliatelle.
• In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, mint is combined with Montasio cheese in a sauce for polenta or fresh pasta. Mint is also stirred into side dishes, or contorni, of grains, like barley and risotto with wild mushrooms and other mountain herbs.

Besides being endlessly versatile, mint is insanely easy to grow, even for apartment dwellers. Try planting different varieties; in addition to bright green spearmint, try variegated pineapple mint, black peppermint, and orange or chocolate-scented mint. Now is the right time of year; it grows lickety-split, and you’ll have plenty of mint to harvest until the first frost.

WWW.wherefoodiesgo.com

So if you have any questions or things you might want to know make sure you get your questions in.