Books: Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen

Posted on March 14, 2012 by The Knife and Steel

Ethan Stowell is definitely in my top 3 favourite chefs, and he very well may be my favourite. I’ve had some of the best meals of my life at his restaurants in Seattle, which is a pretty impressive statement when you consider that I’ve been blessed to eat meals at the restaurants of Gordon Ramsay, Daniel Boulud, and Michel Roux Jr. That being said, one of his restaurants, Anchovies and Olives, was one of GQ Magazine’s Top 10 New Restaurants in America in 2009. The restaurant is amazing.

His food is Italian. Not the Italian you find at Olive Garden or Spaghetti Factory, but the Italian that is truly Italy. The beauty of Italian food is truly in the quality of the ingredients used and the skill that Italian chefs have in celebrating the ingredient for what it is and not trying to make it into something else. Most of the recipes in this book only have 4 or 5 ingredients and the method of the recipe is dead simple. Ironically, that is really what shows off Ethan Stowell’s talent. It’s his ability to only use a few ingredients and do virtually nothing to them, but in the end present a dish that is complex and exciting.

Here are the first couple paragraphs of the Introduction in the book. They say it all.

“Okay, this is my ideal dinner. There are two of you – cozy, but not alone. Laughter and music float around you, as does the muted percussion of silver on porcelain. There’s that soft light that makes everyone look better and a bottle of wine on the table. It doesn’t have to be pricey, just good. Out come a series of plates, not too small, not too big, but shareable. I’m not talking about doling out little bits onto dainty saucers – more like a bowl of handmade pasta set down between you with two forks sticking out of the steam. Or maybe it’s an impeccably fresh crudo, the ocean flavours clean and bright, that preps you for the grilled zucchini salad, or maybe a tangle of white beans and grilled shrimp. What follows is a perfectly roasted quail or fresh branzino you unapologetically suck off the bones.

The goal is a series of tastes. Each of you gets to try a little bit of everything, watching just enough of each dish so you feel sated, but not so much that it dulls your enthusiasm for the next dish issuing from the kitchen, whether that’s a soft-boiled egg with anchovy mayonnaise or beef carpaccio or maybe some orecchiette with grilled octopus and Taggiasca olives. This is the way I cook in my restaurants, and this is the way I eat. This is the way I hope you will eat, too.”

Ethan Stowell has four restaurants in Seattle: Anchovies & Olives, How To Cook A Wolf, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, and Tavolata.

You can get more information on Ethan and his restaurants via his website: http://ethanstowellrestaurants.com/

This book is available on Amazon for $25. Just click HERE.

Recipe: Southwest Breakfast Skillet

Posted on March 12, 2012 by The Knife and Steel

Breakfast is by far my favourite meal of the day. Breakfast skillets are probably my favourite type of breakfast. Beware though, it’s not a healthy breakfast. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure, Saturday morning with the paper kind of breakfast. Get ready.

Southwest Breakfast Skillet
serves 4

8 eggs, poached
4 russet potatoes
butter
sour cream
salsa
green onions, sliced thin
tabasco
white cheddar

Cut the potatoes into half-inch cubes, leaving the skin on. Heat butter in a pan and add potatoes, cooking on medium-high heat until they develop a golden brown colour and start to crisp up. Throw them in a 400°F oven to finish cooking, tossing a few times during cooking. Near the end, season with salt and pepper and add grated white cheddar cheese and let it melt in the oven. Divide the potatoes into 4 small skillets and top with sour cream, salsa, and tabasco sauce to taste. Top with two poached eggs and green onions. If you don’t know how to poach an egg, check out this earlier post with a recipe in which I explain the process. Serve with thick cut toast and some fresh squeezed OJ. Hungry yet?

Recipe: Spicy Chili

Posted on March 9, 2012 by The Knife and Steel

Chili is THE ultimate comfort food. It’s hot, filling, savoury, fatty, and it sticks to your bones. Generally when I make a pot of chili I just freehand the ingredients and fix it as I go. In the end it ALWAYS ends up tasting great. For your sake I’ve made a recipe you can follow for it, but feel free to use less or more of ingredients like cayenne, chilies, or really anything. Oh, and do yourself a favour and make a double recipe and freeze some of it up so you can use it later when you need that comfort food fix.

Oops. Just noticed you can see me in the spoon. Oh well.

Spicy Chili
yields approx 4 litres

3/4 lb lean ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne Pepper
5-10 crushed small dried chillies
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all spice
Basil to taste
Thyme to taste
Ketchup to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Salt to taste
Olive oil
Water

Sweat your onions and garlic with olive oil and salt in a large thick bottomed pot. Add spices, herbs, and peppers and cook out for a couple minutes. Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce. Add ground meat and water and mix together. Cover and let simmer for 1 hour. Top with grated cheese (I like to use Asiago cheese) and sour cream. Sit down on the couch with your chili and some crackers and enjoy.

Ingredient Focus: Sablefish

Posted on March 8, 2012 by The Knife and Steel

I love fish. I love cooking fish, I love eating fish, I love seeing fish at the aquarium, I love swimming with fish (snorkelling, not Old School Italian Mob style), and I love catching fish. One of my earliest memories is of fishing for Brook Trout in the small streams in the woods behind my grandparent’s home in Newfoundland. Come to think of it, this memory of catching my food, cleaning it, cooking it, and eating it probably played a large role in my eventual decision to become a chef.

One of my favourite fish to cook is Sablefish. Also known as Black Cod, it is a delicate white fish with a mild flavour and firm flesh. It can be poached, seared with a crisp skin, and roasted. It pairs excellently with winter vegetables (at the restaurant right now we’re serving it with a Butternut Squash puree), earthy flavours, and rich sauces.

Do yourself a favour and go to your nearest fish monger and pick up some Sablefish for dinner!

For a bit more technical and scientific data on Sablefish check out this link: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/sablefish.htm

For some recipes from chefs whose names you will recognize follow this link: http://www.canadiansablefish.com/recipes.htm

Recipe: Truffled Poached Egg Salad on Rye

Posted on March 7, 2012 by The Knife and Steel

This is one of my favourite lunches because it’s filling, easy to do, and healthy. It’s great for breakfast or dinner as well. All you have to do is poach an egg, make a simple vinaigrette (a guideline of 3 parts oil to 2 parts acid always works), toss the greens in it, and layer it up. In this particular recipe I add apple slices, goat cheese, and a truffled honey vinaigrette. If you want to know how to poach an egg you can find the directions in another post by clicking HERE.

Truffled Poached Egg Salad on Rye with Apple and Goat Cheese
serves 4

4 eggs

100 ml olive oil
50 ml white or black truffle oil
25 ml honey
100 ml white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
mixed greens

1 apple
soft goat cheese
4 slices of dark rye bread, thick

Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the greens with the vinaigrette to lightly coat. Poach the eggs and toast the bread. Thinly slice apples with the peel still on. Place salad on top of the toast, apples and crumbled goat cheese on top of the salad, and top everything with a poached egg. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on top of the egg. Enjoy.

Recipe: Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Posted on March 1, 2012 by The Knife and Steel

Ricotta is a cheese that I usually avoid at the grocery store. The problem with generic ricotta is it is usually drastically under seasoned, very grainy, and really lacks depth. Enter homemade ricotta.

This weekend at the restaurant we need some ricotta so I decided that I would make a batch and make it good. This was my first try but I had heard it was really easy. If you’re interested in starting to make your own cheese, this is a great place to start.

**Please excuse the photos, all I had was my phone.

Whole Milk Ricotta
yields 1 pound

3.75 L whole milk
125 ml whipping cream
1 teaspoon citric acid powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt

In a non-reactive pot combine the milk, cream, citric acid, and one teaspoon of the salt. Mix with a whisk to combine. Over medium-low heat, slowly bring the temperature up to 185°F. Stir the milk frequently and gently with a rubber spatula. Once the milk nears the desired temperature you will notice that the curds start to separate from the whey (the clear-ish yellow liquid). Run your spatula around the edge of the pot to loosen the curds and make them rotate. Once the milk reaches the right temperature, remove from the heat and cover. Let stand undisturbed for 10 minutes. Line a strainer with cheese cloth over a bowl and gently ladle the curds into the strainer. Gently toss the remaining teaspoon of salt in the curds. Bring the corners of the cheesecloth together and hang over a bowl in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Andddddd you’re done! Enjoy the best ricotta you’ll have ever had.