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The recipes that follow are from my recently published cookbook, “A Cook’s Table” Food and Wine Together (co-authored with Todd Wernstrom). The recipes are designed to lean against a specific grape varietal. And each Recipe will suggest a wine profile to compliment the dish… I have always labelled my style of cooking as wine friendly. And it was clearly that each chapter in the book should be headlined by a grape varietal. So, enjoy classical as well as new dishes, that have, and will stand the test of time. They allow the wines to show what is best and most compelling about them rather than overwhelm what is in your glass. For a deeper look, find, “A Cook’s Table” respectively at Amazon.com Barnes&Noble.com and at Two Chefs Restaurant. I urge you to find a proper glass, dig out your favorite pot or pan, start slicing and dicing and enjoy.
Jan Jorgensen
Camembert Frit
Serves 4
Camembert, Brie’s bigger brother, is terrific when fried crisp, and is a great way to end a meal. It can also be served as part of lunch.
This is a dish that can be served early or late. If served for lunch, perhaps accompany it with roasted asparagus or root vegetables. If it’s the finishing touch after dinner, then toast would be appropriate.
It’s customary to spoon on a dollop of blackberry jam to add a little sweetness to the dish if you’re so inclined. Or leave the jam out to keep it entirely savory. Camembert does have a unique flavor, which intensifies a bit when served warm.
Ingredients:
4 4-oz Camembert servings
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup almonds
3 cups panko or other breadcrumbs
Prepare three pans: one for the beaten egg; one for the flour and cornstarch; in a blender, grind panko crumbs and almond until fine for the third.
Step 1. Soak the Camembert in the egg wash, then cover the cheese with the flour mixture, return the Camembert to the egg, finish by applying the breadcrumb mixture to the cheese. Repeat with the three other pieces of cheese, setting each aside after completing each process. Make sure the cheese is thoroughly coated each time. There can be no uncovered surfaces on the cheese, with the egg part being the most important step as it is the glue for the dry steps. Refrigerate the cheese once breaded.
Unconventional blackberry jam:
Usually a jam will use granulated sugar to develop its sweetness. I like to use the sweetness from different food groups when making “sweet” food, simply to make sure that the sweetness is natural and not just sugary.
3 cups fresh blackberries (overripe, if possible)
1/2 cup white pearl onions, peeled and quartered
1/2 stick butter
1 cup rich veal stock, reduced to ¼ cup
zest of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
In a small pot, melt the butter, but do not let it take on color, then add the pearl onions and simmer them on low heat until lightly caramelized. Add the blackberries, lemon zest and cinnamon, and let the mixture stew into a tight, not watery, sauce. Once concentrated, add the reduced veal stock, bring to a simmer, and let it cook for a few minutes, adding maybe a small sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Prepare a pot with hot peanut oil, bring the temperature to 325. Gently place the breaded Camembert into the hot oil, let it fry to a golden crisp color, remove from the hot oil and drain on a paper towel.
Serve on a piece of toast or with vegetables as mentioned before.
Kitchen Wisdom:
Camembert is often available in 4-oz triangles, but a small wheel can also be cut into servings. If doing this, freeze the cheese before the breading and coating steps take place.
What to drink:
If you skip the jam, then essentially any Syrah style will do. If adding the jam, the Washington style works best. It has the backbone that lower-acid New World versions don’t but also a nice fruit-forward ripeness that mimics the jam. If you’re in celebration mode, Côte-Rôtie would be an even better match.
Whole Roasted Chicken
Serves 2-3
Roast chicken rules. If you ask just about anyone, they will tell you that nothing beats a beautifully roasted chicken. Then there is the question of the egg. Not the order of its appearance but how important eggs are to cooking. For me, eggs allow a universe of possibilities in the kitchen. You’ll note that there are actually more egg-centric recipes in this book than actual chicken recipes—at last count, anyway. That said, a cookbook without a roast chicken recipe would be incomplete, particularly in light of our focus on wine and food together.
The skin is the most important part of a roast chicken. The flesh of chicken, regardless of how it is cooked, is relatively bland, though it’s certainly true that the dark meat parts have more inherent flavor. The hard part is not just getting the skin perfectly crisp, but being able to carve the finished bird without destroying the skin and losing the precious juices. If you don’t have a very sharp knife, please move on to another recipe!
The choice of the bird is important. There are actually a bunch of different birds available, and all are not suited for a proper roasting. You want one that is 3 1/2 to 4 pounds. Make sure you thoroughly dry the bird inside and out as moisture promotes steaming. Truss the bird so the wing bones and legs are hugging the breast. (There are literally thousands of trussing videos out there if you’re not sure how to do this fairly basic but essential task.)
Preheat the oven to 400. My preferred cooking vessel is a cast iron skillet. I think it promotes crisper skin. Generously salt the bird inside and out. Place it in a suitably sized skillet breast side up and put in the oven. Roast until the skin has turned lightly golden-brown, and then lower the heat to 325. Roast for another 50-60 minutes. Test by feeling the thighs. They should feel soft (use an instant-read thermometer, if you prefer). And that’s all there is to it.
However, there are lots of additions that can be made. You can add fresh herbs and lemon in the cavity. You can roast the bird on top of a mirepoix. You can loosen the skin of the breasts (carefully so they don’t tear) and rub butter on them or even bacon. But the key to getting the skin super crispy is to allow the skin’s fat to render out slowly. Adding butter or bacon will certainly add flavor but they also will create more moisture which will sort of “boil” in the space between the loosened skin and the meat. You could, however, smear a little butter and scatter some chopped herbs over the breast 10 minutes before the roasting is done without doing much harm.
Kitchen Wisdom:
Allow the bird to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving (there are just as many videos out there demonstrating how to properly perform this task, one that is not complicated but must be done correctly so as to not tear the bird into jagged pieces) so the juices can redistribute. Pick the carcass free of the many tasty nuggets remaining before you discard it.
What to drink:
The default with roast chicken is Chardonnay. And there’s nothing wrong with that. However, we think that Syrah’s combination of earthiness, fruit and freshness are just the thing to accompany your lovely bird. A lighter style would be best as the chicken’s flavor profile is not big. A basic villages-level wine from the Northern Rhône would work well.
Mississippi Mud Cake
Serves 8
My first Mississippi Mud Cake experience happened to take place on a scheduled day off many years ago. I had been asked to work a private event but because the guests were very late, I became bored and fidgety. The head chef noticed this, handed me a recipe and said, “Make this.” It seemed to be a fairly simple task, so I started measuring, weighing and making the batter, but this batter was more gooey, sticky and doughy than “muddy.” In that age-old kitchen parlance that means a lot more than its three-word command, Chef said, “Do it again.” In my haste to impress, I had simply skimmed over parts of the recipe on the assumption that a chocolate cake is a chocolate cake is a chocolate cake. It isn’t, so make sure you read and understand the steps for this one. Your reward will be the best chocolate cake you’ve ever made or had a slice of! And the secret to this chocolate cake is that it is as much Mississippi mud as it is Mississippi swamp, so follow the steps precisely.
Ingredients:
2 cups freshly brewed, strong American coffee
1 cup bourbon
3 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 sticks butter, cut into small pieces
2 tsp baking soda
4 whole eggs
1/2 tsp salt
In a large bowl, combine hot coffee, bourbon, sugar and chocolate chips. Place over a double boiler and mix with a whisk making sure that sugar and chocolate have dissolved completely. Then whisk in the butter a little at the time.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt onto a sheet tray. In a separate bowl crack the eggs, and set aside. Remove the large bowl from the double boiler and add half of the flour mixture and whisk. Incorporate the eggs, then add the remaining half of the flour mixture and combine thoroughly. Pour this batter into a buttered and sugared bundt pan, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 300 degrees in the middle of the oven (on convection mode if available).
This is a difficult cake to check for doneness because of its desired “muddy” texture. But a crisp top with crisp and sugary edges is a good sign that the cake is done. I like to test the cake with a wooden skewer to see the “mud” texture and feel its temperature on my lips. It should feel hot. Remove cake from the oven when done, and let rest inside the bundt pan at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours.
Flip out the cake, cut into wedges and serve with freshly whipped whip cream, chocolate ganache or ice cream.
Kitchen Wisdom:
Make sure you go over the recipe before starting. While that should always be the procedure before tackling any recipe, not doing so here will lead to this dessert being less successful than it should be.
What to drink:
This is a fairly easy dessert to match with a sweet wine. The general rule, as has been pointed out before, is that your dessert shouldn’t be sweeter than what you’re pouring alongside it. Obviously, this cake is very sweet. For this one, go with a Ruby Port or an LBV if you’re willing to spend a bit more. If you really want to invest, you could go with a Vintage Port, but best to keep it on the younger side because Vintage Ports tend to “dry out” as they age (the residual sugar will still be present decades later but it will just act differently).
If it all goes wrong. Make a reservation…
Two Chefs Restaurant
8287 South Dixie Highway, Miami
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