Cooking and Dining, Top Chef-style

Calling all Top Chef fans!

Have you dined in a restaurant manned by a Top Cheftestant from any of the three shows? Have you tried cooking any Top Chef recipes at home, either from the show itself or from a cookbook written by one of the cheftestants? If the answer to either question is "yes," we'd like to know! If you're willing to write about your experience - with photos - we'd love to feature your post here on All Top Chef! If you're a blogger, it would give your blog some extra exposure, and if not, it might just be fun to share.

If you'd like to participate, please drop us a line at alltopchef@gmail.com and let us know!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 10.31.10

Congratulations to Season 3 contestant Brian Malarkey and his wife, Chantelle, on the birth of their twins, Sailor and Miles. (Looks like Brian's still sporting the hats.)

Stefan Richter is still swaggering and swearing, according to this LA Times interview with him (and his girlfriend), which says he will be opening a restaurant in Finland, where he claims he's a superstar.

Stefan will also be appearing with Season 1's Candice Kumai (who now has a show on TLC) at a benefit for the National Kidney Foundation November 7 in LA.

And congrats to Season 1 finalist Tiffani Faison for her current restaurant, Rocco, making Boston Magazine's Top 50 restaurant list, as well as for her participation in the Project Trevor/It Gets Better Project, pulling together a benefit at Rocco shortly after returning from filming the upcoming TC All-Stars season. More on the event from the Huffington Post here.

Eater.com thinks it has uncovered an update on Season 7 winner's Michael Voltaggio's new restaurant.

Sam Talbot is "stoked" for November tastings in anticipation of his new Soho resto at the Mondrian opening in February.

And Top Chef Masters Season 2 winner Marcus Samuelsson will offer a preview dinner of his much-anticipated, but still not open, restaurant, Red Rooster Harlem, on November 15.

To leave you with a bit of Halloween cheer, want to know what judge Eric Ripert dresses up as? Click here, where he reminds us that cooking is not heart surgery.

And darn if I didn't just have an 11th hour thought for a costume I would get a kick out of wearing.

Happy Halloween!

TC News and Information 10.18.10

Guest judge for this Wednesday's episode of Just Desserts will be Michael Laiskonis, Executive Pastry Chef of Eric Ripert's Le Bernadin. Read his recap of last week's episode here and more of his thoughts on the show here.

Here's a peak at what Ripert recently cooked up at 10 Arts with his protege, Season 6 finalist and returning All-Star Jennifer Carroll, including suckling pig!


Jennifer Carroll is among the TC contestants who will appear at the Food & Wine All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas Nov. 5-7, hosted by Gail Simmons. Also scheduled are Fabio Viviani, Carla Hall, and Hosea Rosenberg, according to this item.

Michael Voltaggio, Fabio Viviani, and Season 6's Ron Duprat will appear at the Philadelphia Food & Wine Festival Oct. 29-31.

At a recent appearance in Wisconsin, Season 6 Finalist Bryan Voltaggio revealed that he was offered the chance to appear on the upcoming Season 8 All-Star season, but declined, according to this interview.

Season 7 winner Kevin Sbraga recently talked to NPR.

And according to this item, Season 7 finalist and returning All-Star Angelo Sosa's restaurant, Xie Xie, has closed.

TC News and Information 9.20.10

We all have our opinions about Season 7. Executive producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves offer their own critique here.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of Season 7 finale parties and Just Desserts premiere parties last Wednesday. Zagat offers up a comparison of the Gail Simmons/Food & Wine finale bash at Craft (where Ed Cotton confirmed he will not be appearing in future TC’s – which presumably includes the all-but-certain All-Star Season 8) with the premiere party hosted by Johnny Iuzzini (at which no desserts were served).  

Gawker attended the F&W shindig, encountering a Padma “lost in the fog of forgetfulness,” then fled to watch the episode elsewhere, as no one in the party crowd seemed to care to watch it.  

DCist reports that viewing parties for the final S7 episode at Eric Ripert's West End Bistro, The Oval Room (where S7 contestant Tamesha Warren is the sous chef) and Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery were sparsely attended (but as someone who lives a long way from D.C., I still would have loved to be one of the few).

Just Desserts contestant Yigit Pura's restaurant, Taste, hosted a TC:JD viewing party, which definitely included desserts, which you can see more of here.

Kevin Sbraga reveals more details about the restaurant he hopes to open with the $125,000 he earned as Season 7 winner, while runner-up Ed Cotton says he would have sat on the money but still has aspirations for his own restaurant...

Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard has finally opened her new restaurant, Girl and the Goat, which Chicago Magazine offers an in-depth review of here. And Season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg’s new food truck business gets a thumbs-up from his hometown paper in Boulder for its global cuisine here.

Heather H. (as in Hurlburt), winner of the Top Chef: Just Desserts Episode 1 Elimination Challenge, talks about TC:JD and her prior competitive cooking experience here.

And TC:JD contestant Zac “Gold Dust” Young will be adding fried whoopee pies, seasonal doughnuts, and a chocolate soufflé with salted peanut caramel and nougat ice cream to the menu at NYC’s Flex Mussels restaurant according to this report.

The charming and multi-talented Hubert Keller (he’s also apparently a kick-ass DJ), whose Top Chef judging experience goes back to Season 1 and who is fondly remembered by many for his resourcefulness in cooking pasta in a dorm-room shower on Top Chef Masters Season 1, returns as a judge on Just Desserts this week (he’s alternating with Dannielle Kyrillos of Daily Candy – anyone else heard of her? I hadn’t). In other news, Hubert’s Las Vegas outpost of his San Francisco-based Fleur de Lys has closed but will reopen as a tapas restaurant with a lower price point in December according to this report.

 [Still from Anthony Bourdain's Alternate Universe]

And finally, because he may be one of the most beloved Top Chef judges of all time, even if he wimped out on the snarkiness in his Season 7 appearance, a bit of Anthony Bourdain news. Tony is writing a “graphic novel” (aka comic book) about “ultraviolent food nerds.” In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess I am a Bourdain-o-phile (yes, I actually plunked down $46.50 to see him live and wrote about it at length here). 

So that’s my inaugural post as a brand spankin’ new member of the ATC team. Any links you especially liked – or didn’t? Any news you’d like to see here that I’m missing? Please let me know in the comments or via email.

Thanks!
eggy

Cooking with Top Chef 3.25.10

This week, Jenn Murphy of Sweet Water tries out a recipe from Top Chef Masters season 1 winner Rick Bayless and one from TCM1 finalist Michael Chiarello. Thanks again, Jenn, for sharing your kitchen experiences with us.

I just had to try this soup by Rick Bayless.

I actually didn't realize he was so famous for it until, um, 30 seconds ago when I did a quick google seach with his name and the soup. I just wanted to give a Mexican recipe a try.

Mexican flavours are not ones I indulge in much. I think I've been a bit jaded by my general perception that Mexican food has been franchised out and reduced to chihuahuas yapping about tacos and quesadillas.

On one of the few occasions that SeaBass decided to take me on a romantic dinner date (this was at the beginning of our relationship. The attempts at romance have only gone downhill from here) he made a reservation and would only tell me that he was taking me out for a wonderful meal of "real" Mexican food at this restaurant he had heard about. As we drove closer to our destination I started to get a bad feeling about just where he had "heard about" said restaurant.

Woman's intuition is a powerful thing.

We were headed for "Mexicali Rosa's". He had heard about it on the radio. In one of their incessantly repeated commercials.

We were headed for the typical Mexican fair of tortilla chips and salsa and crappy margaritas. I was trying very hard to be pleasant.

The funny thing was that SeaBass totally didn't recall being inundated with commercials with this place. He was sure that someone he knew had given him a hot tip on a great place.

Their ad agency better have been well paid.

SeaBass also did not recall, until he saw the sign for the restaurant, that we had just eaten at another one of their franchises a couple of weeks before with some of his rowdy friends.

Yep, his romantic destination was filled with families with screaming children, drunken boys and bad food.

I think that's the night he gave up control in our relationship.

Hmm...maybe some good did come out of it.

I have for some time now been wanting to give Mexican fare another chance though. Especially since my brother just returned from a trip during which he got to experience a bit of the real Mexico. No Acapulcan resort food on this journey.

Now he keeps walking around mumbling about "tortas" every time he gets within hearing distance of me. Can anyone help me with this?

Back to Bayless and his Sopa Azteca. It was damn good. I loved all the layering of flavours involved. The tomato base was very nice on its own but building on the soup with the condiments and garnishes to suit your own taste was my favourite part.
(Full disclosure: This pic is from Bayless' website. I was having an off day when I made the soup and hated all the pics I ended up with. I had a bit of a temper tantrum and deleted them all. I am a huge whining baby. Thank you for understanding.)

Sopa Azteca
(adapted from Rick Bayless recipe on bravotv.com)
Serves 6

*1 large dried pasilla chile stemmed and seeded
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 med white onion sliced
3 garlic cloves peeled
2 quarts chicken broth
**1 large epazote sprig
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cubed into 1/2 inch
1 large ripe avocado pitted and flesh scopped out
1 1/2 cups Mexican melting cheese
approx 4 cups broken tortilla chips
1/2 cup mexican crema, sour cream or creme fraiche
1 large lime cut into wedges

*no pasilla chiles in my neck of the woods. I used a scotch bonnet and dried red chili.
** I substituted some dried oregano and savoury

Quickly toast the chili over an open flame (or in a dry pan over medium heat on both sides) for just a few seconds. Break chili into pieces and put in blender with tomato and juices. Heat oil in large saucepan over med. high. Add onion and garlic. Saute until golden. Remove onion and garlic with slotted spoon (leave behind as much oil as possible.) Put onion and garlic in blender with tomato and chili. Blend until smooth.
Return pan to med high heat. When pan is hot add tomato puree and stir constantly until reduced to tomato paste consistency (approx 6 mins.) Add chicken broth and epazote (or herbs.) Reduce heat to med low and simmer 15 mins. Season with salt. Approx 5 mins before serving add chicken to simmering broth. Divide acocado, cheese and tortilla chips up soup bowls. When chicken is cooked (5 mins) ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cream.

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Here's how my brain functions (or malfunctions - I leave that for you to decide) if I don't like what I perceive to be the personality of a given singer/actor/chef/general celebrity type I cannot, in turn, enjoy any of their work.

Take Bono of U2 for instance. He seems like a pompous ass to me. That's exactly how I describe him any time the topic arises. Luckily for me it seems to arise often and I get to shout out "pompous ass" and get all kerfuffled about my obviously very valid judgment of his pomposity.

Another good example: Alanis Morrissette.

I don't care that she's Canadian, I really don't. I care that her songs back in the day were ridiculous and stupid and therefore she is obviously a fool. Don't get me started on the now infamous "Ironic" lyrics. Complete idiocy.

And so I couldn't even stand to be in the room when one of her songs was played. Back in the 90s I was so well known for harbouring these strongly held opinions about people I totally have no personal knowledge of that my friends once took it upon themselves to trap me in a room and force me to endure Morrissette and her Ironic philosophizing.

It was pure torture. I still have nightmares.

The point is that this character trait of mine informs a lot of what I do and don't do in my life. I'm a little rash, I jump headlong into things.

I love as easily as I hate though. In fact, I don't like much. I love, I hate, there's not much in between for me.

Also, not really about the nightmares by the way, I'm not that pathetic.

So what does this have to do with Top Chef? Well it has a lot to do with Chef Michael Chiarello from Top Chef Masters.

The guy was a bit of an ass on the show. Sometimes more than a bit. He seemed to be dealing with some serious insecurity and self confidence issues. He was totally intimidated by Chef Keller and in every championship round made some mention of a personal competition between himself and Keller that Keller seemed to be totally unaware of.

When former Top Chef contestants arrived to act as sous chefs in one round, they all immediately felt the overcompensating ego of Chiarello as the "master" made them run ridiculous errands in the kitchen to prove their prospective worth to him. Those who were chosen to be on his team he treated like lesser beings and not the seasoned chefs they all certainly are.

Oh yeah, and he was also totally put off by the idea that former Top Chef winners would have a hand in deciding the Masters winner, stating clearly that they were not qualified to judge his food.

As you can see, I was a little annoyed by the guy.

Actually I more accurately vacillated between being super put off by his attitude and feeling incredibly sorry for him that he couldn't enjoy the comaraderie and friendly competition the way the other chefs seemed to because he was just so busy trying to prove himself all the time.

But his food looked good dammit.

I actually struggled with myself about cooking one of his dishes because his personality bothered me so much.

My own ego insisted that if I gave in to cooking Chiarello's food I would be giving in to...well, I don't really know what....his yucky pomposity I guess.

Then rational brain had a chat with ego and talked ego down off the ledge of self importance and all the voices in my head realized the whole discussion was stupid and really all any of us really wanted was some short ribs.

Does this mean I'm maturing? Growing more rational or less dramatic?

Probably not. I'm pretty sure most rational mature folks don't have multiple arguing voices in their heads

And also I still won't listen to U2 and I'll still throw up a little in my mouth if I hear Alanis Morrissette in my vicinity. And I still won't watch movies with Russell Crowe and..well..you get the idea.

But a good short rib dish? Well I guess I have to draw the line somewhere.

I wanted to try this dish because the ribs are brined before braising and I haven't done that before. This extra step of marinating the beef in salt and really imparted some nice flavours on the meat.

My favourite part of this dish was actually the cabbage. It was so softly sweet and tender. The onions were subtle and sweet. The julienned carrots and raisins were visually beautiful and added a nice level of sugar to the cabbage.

They were such a perfect match for the ribs. Another brilliant dish in which the whole is that much greater than the sum of its parts.

On their own I found the ribs to be very good if a little too salty for my taste (salt loving dad thought they were just perfect). They were tender and falling off the bone and when met with the cabbage the whole dish gained a wonderful balance of flavours and textures.

Brined Short Ribs with 5 Onion Cabbage
(adapted from Michael Chiarello's recipe on bravotv.com)

Brine
2 quarts water
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups kosher salt
2 tbsp. juniper berries
3 bay leaves

Bring all ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let the brine cool completely and then cover the ribs with brine and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Ribs
4 lbs. cross cut short ribs
olive oil
2 cups onion coarsely chopped
1 cup carrot coarsely chopped
1 cup celery coarse chopped
1 cup red wine
1 quart chicken stock

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove ribs from brine. Pat dry. Heat a high sided saute pan over medium high heat until hot. Add a layer of olive oil to the pan. When the oil begins to smoke add the ribs and brown on all sides. Note: They will brown very quickly due to the sugar in the brine. After browning place the ribs in an oven safe dish. Put onion, carrot and celery to saute pan and cook over medium heat until well caramelized. Add vegetables to dish with short ribs. Pour red wine into saute pan. Deglaze the pan and then simmer until reduced by half. Add stock to wine. Bring to a boil and then pour liquid over ribs and vegetables. Bring the ribs to a boil on the stovetop. Then cover and place in oven. Bake until tender (approx 4 hours).

5 Onion Cabbage
1 cup leeks sliced (white parts only)
1 cup green onions sliced (white parts only)
1 cup shallots diced small
1 cup red onion diced small
1 cup yellow onion diced small
1 cup grated carrot
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 head savoy cabbage

Sweat leeks, shallots and all onions and carrot in olive oil. Add raisins. Saute for a few minutes. Add cabbage and cook slowly until very soft (approx 2 hours). Stir frequently.

If you have a Top Chef Recipe Experience to share with us, please drop us a line at alltopchef@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Cooking with Top Chef 3.5.10

This week, Jenn Murphy of Sweet Water tries out another recipe from Top Chef Season Six and then switches shows and cooks up something from Top Chef Masters. Take it away, Jenn!

This is the first dish of Jenn Carroll's that I've cooked during my Top Chef experimentations. There is something about her style that intimidates me - and this dish certainly includes a lot of elements for one plate (at least for a home cook like me.)

I am extremely happy that I decided to tackle this recipe though.

This was Jenn's version of a deconstructed meatloaf (though it seems more like a deconstructed meat lasagna to me - either way, it's good so I'm not complaining.)

The tomato sauce is the best sauce I've ever made...and so simple, so very, very simple. I was licking that stuff off my plate.

The bechamel was brilliant and a perfect balance to the basic flavours of the tomato. I am always a fan of adding chilis to my Italian cooking, so this bechamel made perfect sense in my mind (and in my mouth.)

The lasagna tossed in lemon butter lifted all the other flavours and added an element of freshness.

And of course, a well sauteed steak never goes amiss.

The outcome of this dish is worth the effort for sure.

Another word about the sauce: If you try cooking nothing else from this recipe, make the sauce! I beg you! I love it so much that I plan to make it again on its own as a soup. I might add something akin to the bechamel to make a cream of tomato.

I'm drooling .

Flat Iron Steak, Mascarpone Bechamel, Tomato Sauce and Parmesan
adapted from Jenn Carroll's recipe on bravotv.com

Tomato Sauce
1/2 head garlic finely sliced
2 shallots sliced
1/4 lb butter
1/2 bottle white wine
1 16 oz. can san marzano tomatoes with juicw

Sweat garlic and shallots in a large saucepot until transluscent. Deglaze the pot with wine and reduce mixture. Add tomatoes and juice and cook out acidity. Blend until smooth. Pass through chinois. Season with s&p.

Bechamel
1/8 lb butter
1/8 lb flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
*1/2 cup creme fraiche
pinch nutmeg

Combine butter and flour in a pot to make a roux. Cook out flour. Slowly add milk whisking constantly. Simmer until thick. Whisk in mascarpone and creme fraiche. Season with nutmeg, s&p and crushed chili flakes to taste.

Herb Puree
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
1/2 bunch fresh basil
1/2 bunch fresh oregano

Blanch herbs in salted water. Shock in ice bath and drain. Blend until smooth. Season with s&p.

Pasta
*4 sheets of fresh lasagna
1/4 lb butter
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

Cook pasta. Melt butter and mix in lemon juice and zest. Toss cooked pasta in lemon butter.

*The original recipe calls for handmade pasta. I intended to make my own but the mangled hand demanded that I take a store bought shortcut.

Steak
8 oz. flatiron beef (2 steak portions)
ground chili flakes or very finely diced hot pepper

Heat pan on stovetop. Dry steak thoroughly. Season with S&p. When pan is well heated add steak. Sear on all sides and cook to medium rare.

To Plate
Lay tomato sauce on plate. Steak on top of sauce. Pool bechamel on either side of steak. Lay lasagna on top of steak. Herb puree on lasagna. Garnish plate with grated parmesan and pecorino.

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Anita Lo's Soft Scrambled Eggs with Shitake and Oyster Sauce

I've been wanting to try this recipe since I saw Anita Lo make it on Top Chef Masters.

Top Chef Masters is, by the way, relatively new to me because I, as a Canadian, am treated to second rate television programming and am forced to wait patiently for my Bravo produced food porn until it is picked up by the Canadian Food Network.

Yes, I realize I could just watch it online. I get some sick pleasure from making myself wait.

So yeah, I watched Anita make this dish - with one hand tied behind her back - and it just seemed so beautiful and simple and elegant. Many of the Masters' dishes have intimidated me but this one just called out to me to try.

...I also tried out Art Smith's fried chicken this week - I'd say it went over pretty well since I had none left to photograph. It even won my dad over!

But back to Anita's egg dish. It was definitely the most simple of all the Top Chef dishes I've attempted thus far and it is definitely one of the tastiest. The slight Asian flavour of the oyster sauce is beautiful in the creamy eggs and the meaty shitakes are a wonderful contrast.

A plating explanation:
I tried to plate the dish the same way Chef Lo did. The problem? Chefs have these fancy tools that seem to just cleanly pop the tops off the eggs and leave you with a nice clean edge and a lovely little egg bowl for you dish.

I had only a sharp knife a tiny bit of patience. This is what I ended up with - the ghetto egg cup.

......damn, maybe I should have just tried to play it off like I was going for a rustic plating?

I heartily suggest everyone give these eggs a try. Delicious and simple.

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Shitake and Oyster Sauce
adapted from recipe by Anita Lo found on Bravotv.com

4 eggs (tops removed and bottoms saved if you want to be ghetto-fancy)
1/3 cup heavy cream
*1 tbsp chives chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
s&p
3 tbsp butter
4 shitake caps very finely diced

*I couldn't find chives so I used the green parts of scallions.

Whisk together eggs, cream, chives, oyster sauce. Taste and season with s&p. In saute pan melt 3 tbsp. butter over high heat. Add shitakes to butter. Season with s&p. Remove from heat. Add eggs to pan with mushrooms. Over low heat whisk egg mixture slowly to form curds. Stop when eggs are still soft and creamy. Garnish with chopped chives.

Cooking With Top Chef 2.10.10

Jenn Murphy of Sweet Water keeps on trying out recipes from Season Six of Top Chef. Here are two more delectable dishes:

This is my first attempt at one of Brian V.'s dishes. It was also the elimination challenge winner from the fifth episode.

I had high hopes for it even though I'm not a super-huge pork chop fan (pork chop makes me think dry and lacking in flavour.)

I'm also not a big fan of dandelion greens (too bitter)....or rutabaga (a staple in Newfie boiled dinner and therefore forever tainted in my mind) for that matter.

I do love me some polenta though!

The fact that I am not enamored of the main ingredients in this dish is actually what drew me to it. I wanted to be challenged to open myself up to flavours that I typically wouldn't consider cooking or ordering on a menu.

The verdict?

Pork loin? It was moist, tender and yummy. Marinating the loin cut for an hour before hand definitely gave it a texture that I hadn't experienced before.

Dandelion greens? Still overwhelmingly bitter...until combined with the polenta and the pork. Then the bitterness was neutralized and I enjoyed the combination.

Rutabaga? Time to give the turnip a second chance, I say. Also, my love of braised veggies is once more re-affirmed.

Polenta? Always a winner. I'd never had it with mascarpone before. It certainly won't be the last time though.

As a whole dish I have to say this may have been my least favourite so far.

Don't get me wrong, it was good. It just didn't excite me or inspire me in any way. I am reminded of the judges suggesting a kind of safety on Brian's part. I can see it in this dish. It felt safe and standard - good but not special.

Roasted Pork Loin with Polenta, Dandelion and Rutabaga

3 5 oz. center portion pork loin steaks

Marinade

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp crushed cumin seeds
1 sprig rosemary
1 clove garlic sliced
6 sprigs thyme
1/2 shallot sliced
sea salt

Polenta

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup dry polenta
1/8 cup mascarpone
1 tbsp unsalted butter
s&p

Dandelion

1 bunch dandelion greens
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup red onion diced
1/2 cup oyster mushrooms

Rutabaga

2 rutabaga cut into pieces 1/2 inch high and 1 inch diameter
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sherry
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

Pork Marinade:
Mix together marinade. Pour over pork chops and marinate covered in fridge for 1 hour.

Rutabaga:
While pork is marinating heat chicken stock, vinegar, sherry and honey until forms glaze. Add in butter. Add in rutabaga and cook until tender (about 30 mins).

Pork:
Remove pork from marinade and dry thoroughly with paper towel. Sear pork on stove top until medium to medium rare. Baste pork with butter, rosemary and garlic. Let rest. Roast oyster mushrooms in pan with pork fat until browned. Reserve for plating.

Polenta:
Heat whole milk to simmer and pour in polenta. Stir constantly for 10-15 mins until desired consistency is reached. Add in mascarpone and butter. Season with s&p.

Dandelion:
In small saute pan heat butter to a froth. Add in red onion and cook until translucent. Add dandelion and lemon zest. Cook until braised.

To serve:
Spoon polenta on to plate. Dandelion greens and mushrooms on top. Sliced pork on top of that. Rutabaga on the side.

---

I love a good lettuce wrap. And this one was definitely not a disappointment. I loved every bite of it.

Once again I found myself questioning some of the individual components of the dish (specifically the glaze for the pork) but when everything came together it was perfection.

I should really just suck it up, admit that my palate is inferior and stop questioning the professionals!

Michael's recipe called for smoked slab bacon which, damn small town shopping, I could not find on that particular day, so I used a piece of smoked pork shoulder instead. Yummy!

The crushed peanuts with cayenne and ginger were a delicious topping. I'm not a big fan of ginger but paired with the cayenne it was created a beautiful boost to the roasted peanut flavour.

I ate so many of these wraps! I love a dish you can just put out and allow people to put together as they choose. It's definitely one I will be keeping in my reserves.

Without further ado I give you:

Braised Pork with Soy Mustard Sauce and Peanuts
(adapted from Michael Votaggio's Top Chef recipe on bravotv.com)

1 1/2 lb. piece smoked pork shoulder
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 onion sliced
1 carrot diced
2 sticks celery chopped
3/4 gallon water
1/2 quart soy sauce
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/8 cup yellow mustard
1/8 cup ginger powder
1/2 cup roasted peanuts crushed
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 head romaine lettuce
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Indian style mango chutney

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Score the skin of the pork shoulder creating cross cuts along the surface. Heat sesame oil in large, deep oven safe dish or pot. Sear the pork skin side down in sesame oil until browned. Flip pork over and add vegetables to pot. Add water and 1/2 the amount of powdered ginger. Cover with foil and place in oven for 2 hours. While pork is cooking mix soy sauce, mustards, honey, mango chutney, remaining powdered ginger and 1/2 quart water. Bring to simmer and allow to reduce for 20 minutes. Add cornstarch and water mixture a little at a time to thicken liquid to a glaze. When pork has cooked, remove from braising liquid and brush with glaze. Slice pork into thin pieces. Mix crushed peanuts with cayenne and ginger powder to taste. Separate leaves of romaine.

To Eat
Place slices of pork in romaine leaf. Spoon more glaze over top. Sprinkle peanuts on top.

I served everything as pictured, with a bowl of the glaze on the side to add as wanted. Casual, delicious dining.

If you've been cooking up some delectable dishes with Top Chef recipes, we'd love if you shared them with us. If you're interested in doing so, please drop us a line at alltopchef@gmail.com.

Cooking With Top Chef 1.27.2010

Jenn Murphy of Sweet Water is back again with two more Top Chef season 6 dishes. Enjoy!

I think the name of this dish is a bit misleading. However, to list all of the starring components in the title might cause you to faint from hunger before you even get through reading it.

This is one of those special dishes where, to quote the great Tom Colicchio (and other random, lesser notables), "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Bites of each ingredient on its own are tasty in their own right. But a single bite including a taste of each component part makes the dish a whole other thing; an experience unto itself.

Yes, I'm gushing.

But the thing is, I'm in awe of someone who can take all these separate ingredients and make them work not just as a harmonious whole but also showcase each ingredient independently of the rest.

I'm gonna go ahead and guess that that's part of what made Michael Voltaggio the winner of Top Chef this season.

So, about the dish...

I know it seems a bit summery for, well, the dead of winter but it was just what I was looking for after all the holiday heaviness. Refreshing and light.

An important note, I used Atlantic Cod, not Black Cod as in the original.

Did you know that Black Cod isn't even really Cod, it's sablefish?

No? Neither did I.

"Knowing is half the battle."
G.I. Joe (Real American Hero)

I am very aware of the issues of sustainability and over-fishing of this fish. In fact that's partly why I chose to use it and not Black Cod.

I'm a Newfie (half-Newfie anyways) and my family in Newfoundland was greatly affected by the moratorium placed on the cod fishery by the Canadian government 15 years ago.

Atlantic Cod is part of my heritage, and I wanted to give it a moment in the culinary spotlight (however faint the spotlight of this blog might be.)

There is some good news for the Atlantic Cod. It is being successfully farmed and wild Cod stocks have recovered to the point where limited fishing is being once again allowed off the coast of Newfoundland.

Proof cod fishing has re-opened? We have a freezer full of the stuff, brought back from my Dad's trip "down home" this past summer.

But now back to Michael Voltaggio and his delicious creation.

It's been a while since I cooked anything Asian inspired. I almost forgot how much I love it.

Each ingredient was so vibrant but so balanced. All the bright citrus contrasted with the earthiness of the dashi broth and the delicate cod.

And then there was the watermelon. That was the most surprising part of the dish for me. I wasn't totally sure how watermelon would fit in with citrus, fish and Asian flavours. But the watermelon really tied everything together.

So amazing!

There was a lot of prep for this dish (my arm hurt from zesting) but the actual cooking was totally simple.

And so good! Did I mention it was good?


Here's the recipe:

Dashi with Miso Cured Cod
(adapted from Michael Voltaggio)

1 lb. fillet cod
1 cup miso paste
1/4 cup mirin
1//4 cup tamari soy sauce
5 sheets kombu
3 cups water
1 cup bonito flakes
2 cups shitake mushrooms (sliced very thinly)
1 tbsp. grated ginger
3 oranges (zest and juice)
3 lemons (zest and juice)
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 roma tomatoes (peeled and sliced thinly)
1 bunch green onions (green parts only) sliced thin
1/4 large seedless watermelon
1 lime (zest and juice)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Mix miso, mirin, and tamari soy sauce together. Spread on sheet tray. Place fish on tray flesh side down. Marinate for an hour. Place kombu in pot with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Add bonito flakes. Steep mixture for 3 minutes. Place sliced shitakes in a bowl and pour steeped kombu mixture through a strainer and over the mushrooms. Add ginger and allow to come to room temp. Chill mixture over ice bath. Add orange, lemon and lime zest and juices, tomatoes, green onions and soy sauce. Cut watermelon into 2 inch thick rectangles and marinate in lime zest, juice and olive oil. Remove fish from marinade. Wipe off excess cure and Pat dry thoroughly with paper towel. Cut into serving sized portions and slowly sear in a pan with oil (skin side down.) Sear until skin is crispy then flip and finish cooking. Allow fish to rest.

Place marinated watermelon in bowl and spoon in dashi broth. Place fish on top. Garnish with green onion.

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Three out of the four Top Chef recipes that I have recreated thus far have been Kevin's.

What's with that?

When I look at the list of recipes that I copied down from the Bravo website (no criteria other than instinctive stomach growling) there is a fair mixture of the different chefs. But something about Kevin's dishes have just drawn me to make them first.

Maybe it's the apparent simplicity of Kevin's food that makes it seem like a good way to wade into Top Chef re-creationism.

Or maybe it's the obvious comfort food aspect of Kevin's cooking. The stick-to-your-ribs ingredients and preparations are perfect for this time of the year.

Still, maybe it's because when I start out to cook one of Kevin's dishes I recognize that my Mom would have loved it. The flavours are bold, but simple. The ingredients stand on their own. There's no completed technique or scientific component to cloud the experience of the food. It's just straightforward good cooking and a wonderful understanding of flavours and how to bring disparate components together on a plate.

The simplicity in Kevin's dishes is derived in part from his focus on local, sustainable and organic ingredients. This is another reason I'm drawn to his recipes.

When you look at Kevin's food, at the same time thinking about his food philosophy, you can't help but realize the simple logic of a focus on the ingredients in your immediate environment.

"What grows together, goes together."

Logic.

Kevin's food is harmonious. It is comfortable. Most importantly it is damn good.

And that is in no small part due to his food philosophy.

For this week's Top Chef recipe I cooked one of Kevin's finale dishes; the one inspired by his mother. There was something about the decadence of cooking just the chicken skin for the dish (after so many years of eating skinless chicken breast I couldn't resist!) That and the squash puree that Tom Colicchio specifically complimented Kevin on totally called out to me.


Southern Fried Chicken Skin with Squash Casserole and Tomato
1/2 onion julienned
1 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic mashed
* 1 1/2 cups butternut squash diced into even pieces
3 tbsp heavy cram
lemon juice to taste
2 cups cherry tomatoes
skin from one chicken
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp salt
frying oil
olive oil

* I used 2 small carnival squashes that I received in my Good Food Box. The taste is quite similar to butternut squash but milder.

Chicken Skin:
Remove skin from chicken. Remove all fat from skin (should have only thin layer of skin remaining.) Place in small bowl or ziploc bag and add salt, pepper, cayenne, sugar. Rub mix all over skin. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Blot dry with paper towel. Fry in oil at 370 degrees until golden brown. Break into shards.

Squash:
While chicken skin is refrigerating: Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until lightly caramelized. Add diced squash to onions. Reduce heat to low and simmer until squash in fully tender (about 30 mins.) Add cream to squash mixture.
Transfer squash to blender (or hand blend) on high. Season with s&p and lemon juice to taste. Pass through chinois. Reserve mixture.

Tomatoes:
Score tomatoes. Blanch them in boiling water and then shock in ice bath. Peel skins.
Season with s&p and olive oil.

To Serve:
Spoon squash mixture onto bottom of plate. Top with tomatoes. Sprinkle on chicken skin shards.

I know Kevin wasn't totally on his game in the final challenge and I know that (obviously) it wasn't the favourite dish of the day. But it was still a damn good dish.

For me it was another experience of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

On it's own, the chicken skin was pretty salty for my taste and the tomatoes, well, I wasn't sure I understood their role at first. The squash, on the other hand I could eat anytime, anywhere, under just about any circumstance.

A bite of all the components together though? Suddenly the chicken skin is refreshed by the tomato and balanced again with the earthy squash. The citrus of the squash cuts through the density of the chicken and adds brightness to the raw tomato.

Each ingredient is most effective in bringing out the notes of the others.

Another Top Chef success!

If you've been cooking up some delectable dishes with Top Chef recipes, we'd love if you shared them with us. If you're interested in doing so, please drop us a line at alltopchef@gmail.com.

Cooking With Top Chef 1.20.2010

Jenn Murphy of Sweet Water is an avid cook and photographer and the combination makes for some drool-worthy posts. Over the past two months, Jenn has prepared four recipes from the sixth season of Top Chef, and she was kind enough to share her experiences with us at All Top Chef. So without further ado, please to enjoy the fruits of her labor. At least virtually. :)

Every season of Top Chef has outdone the last. After Top Chef: Vegas I'm not sure how it could get any better.

The talent on the show was incredible. The food produced was both beautiful and, more importantly, yummy.

Or at least I think it was yummy. I'm mostly taking the judges' word for it that having to decide a winning dish based on basic use of salt and pepper as seasoning because the overall taste level was so high means that the food was incredibly good.

Why didn't it occur to me until now to actually attempt to cook some of my favourite dishes from the show?

I'm gonna go with the old stand-by and say that my general lack of the use of logic had a lot to do with it.

But no more will I sit idly by and drool at my television.

Of course, that's partly because the Top Chef season is over (and I'm crying inside).

I started with Kevin's recipe from the second last episode. I was totally in love with the dish the moment I saw it. It was gorgeous on the plate and a beautiful showcase of the flavours of carrot and beet.

Roasted Beets and Carrots with Carrot Top Puree
(adapted from recipe by Kevin Gillespie)

Ingredients

1 pound Beets (I used the local golden and candy-cane beets I had)
1 lb Baby carrots
2 tablespoons Butter
* 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Syrup
1 cup carrot tops
** 1/3 cup green onion (green parts only)
1/3 cup parsley
1/3 cup tarragon
1Z2 cup honey
2 cups olive oil
*** Dubliner cheese

* I made a syrup by cooking down apple cider until thick.
** The original recipe called for chives, which I couldn't find.
*** Original recipe called for San Andre cheese - a no go for me. As a note, San Andre is apparently made in the style of a pecorino so the next time I make this, I'll be going with that type of cheese.

Directions

Beets:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Trim ends off beets making one side a flat surface.
Place beets in a large pan with the flat side down
Cover the bottom with 1/8 inch of water.
Cover pan with foil.
Cook at 400 degrees for 90 minutes.

When cooked keep covered with foil until beets reach room temp.
Remove beet skins.

Carrots:
Peel carrots and halve.
Cut into similar shapes.

Place carrots in single layer in deep saute pan.
Cover with water, butter and apple cider syrup.
Cook uncovered on medium high heat until liquid is absorbed and carrots are just tender. If carrots are not tender add more butter, water, syrup and cook a little longer. Remove from pan immediately and let cool.

Carrot Top Puree:
Combine carrot tops, green onion (chives), parsley and tarragon in blender.
Add 6 ice cubes. Add enough olive oil to cover 3/4 ingredients.
Blend on high. Add water if mixture gets too thick. Season with s&p. Strain mixture.
Put strained mixture in covered container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Honey Vinaigrette:
Boil honey in pot. Keep close eye on honey to observe it darkening by stages. When it has darkened a few stages add apple cider vinegar. Bring to boil. Season with s&p.
Whisk in 1 cup olive oil.

Putting it all together:
Toss the carrots and beets with vinaigrette. Spoon puree on to plate. Top with vegetables. Add thinly shaved cheese.

The verdict: This was SO good. I had to beg SeaBass to leave me enough veggies to take photos today. Immediately after posting this I will be finishing that little bit off!

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A couple of days before Christmas I tackled my second top chef experiment: Georgia Style Braised Pork Shoulder.

I went with another Kevin Gillespie recipe (let me tell you now that there will be no rhyme nor reason to the dishes I choose to cook other than what local ingredients I have to choose from and what sounds tasty at the time.)

Kevin's food is really appealing to me in it's flavour profiles and also in the simplicity of the preparations. As a home cook I feel comfortable with his recipes.

Pork Shoulder
1 pork shoulder roast
4 pieces celery diced
3 onions diced
1 very large carrot diced
1 cup yellow mustard
1 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
dash black pepper
salt
8 cups water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Slice pork shoulder into 8 oz. portions. Season with s&p. 2 tbsp. oil in large stock pot. Heat oil to sear pork shoulder portions until browned. Transfer to large vessel to collect juices. Add vegetables to same stock pot and carmelize until golden.
Return pork shoulder (and juices) to pot on top of vegetables. Add in remaining ingredients. Mix well. Place in oven for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from braising liquid and shred.

Serve with Eli's potato salad (recipe to follow)

I found my shoulder a little dry so I decided to add light coating of a Georgia style (vinegar based) barbecue sauce. It ended up going really beautifully with the flavours of Eli's potato salad and really brought the two components together.

Georgia Style Barbecue Sauce
3 1/2 tbsp. white vinegar
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
2 tsp butter
1/4 of 6 oz. can tomato paste

Combine everything but tomato paste in small pot. Bring to boil. Add tomato paste and stir until well blended and thickened.

Eli's Potato Salad
1 lb. russet potatoes
1/2 red onion julienned
1 piece celery small diced
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup yellow mustard
1/16 cup pickled relish
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1/8 cup sour cream
s&p

Boil potatoes and red onions in salted water until tender. Shock in ice bath and drain. In a large bowl mix vegetables and egg. Mix together mayo, mustard, relish, vinegar and sour cream. Season dressing with s&p. Add to salad and mix until potatoes cream together.

Serve with Kevin's pork shoulder on top.

My verdict on the dish: Deliciously tasty. The only potato salad I generally enjoy is my mother's but this one was wonderful and creamy, the mustard adding a nice boost of flavour.

The pork shoulder was subtly seasoned with the pork flavour really coming through. It had a beautiful texture.

I couldn't stop snacking on it and SeaBass was totally into it. Definitely worth trying.

Please tune in next week for another installment of Cooking With Top Chef. Jenn shares with us her experiences making Michael Voltaggio's miso-cured cod and Kevin's southern-fried chicken skin.

If you've been cooking up some delectable dishes with Top Chef recipes, we'd love if you shared them with us. If you're interested in doing so, please drop us a line at alltopchef@gmail.com.