A Celebrated Dessert - Olive Oil Cake with Meyer Lemon Marmalade

I've kind of had it with the cult of celebrity in this country. It appears that Armageddeon is about to occur as Brangelina has finally become oversaturated in the media and hopefully is on the wane. How about those sorry excuses for parents, Jon and Kate? I am pro-family, but seriously these people have no business raising kids and doing such a poor job of it in the public spotlight. I am going to start paying TLC to stop broadcasting these nitwits. Even our current President and his movie star wife have moved to a stratospheric level of celebrity. First, a "night out" to New York City for dinner at Blue Hill and a Broadway show. Followed up by the world's most publicized romantic "date night" the next week in Paris. Isn't it enough already? I am ready to put a dish towel over my head, roll up into a fetal position and eat a TV dinner.

But perhaps my biggest beef with the whole celebration of the famous is occuring around the cooking world and "celebrity" chefs. Mind you, I am not resentful of anyone's success but these days you can't swing a prosciutto around without hitting a well known culinary master. I thought I would have escaped all of this attention moving to the quaint little town of Mill Valley outside of San Francisco several months ago. Nice. Quiet. People mind their own business here. That is until Tyler Florence of Food Network fame moved to the neighborhood and set up shop in town. Tyler Florence Mill Valley graces the downtown, a pleasant ode to good cooking. Sort of a cross between a Sur La Table and a Pottery Barn. I met Tyler in his store and ran into him at jury duty (seriously) a few months back. A nice man with a lovely family. Until his fork was stolen. You see, he has two 6 foot forks above his store entrance as part of the signage. The local press was aghast. "Dude, Where's My Fork" screamed the headline of the Mill Valley Herald (see the photo and story here). Worse than that, Mr. Florence realized the minor press goldmine this likely end of year senior prank has provided. He started twittering about it with posts like "All right guys, someone stole one of the forks off the front of my shop. WTF?" I am just not going to escape this, am I?

I really like things that are understated. And tasteful. Food. Design. Art. Architecture. People. No need to scream all the attention in the world towards whatever you are doing/hawking/feeling every chance you get. Ina Garten, subtely promotes herself this way. Although certainly a celebrity by any measure, with several successful cooking shows, cookbooks and a cooking product line to point to. She walks a fine line in regards to overexposure, seemingly doling herself out in reserved bits and pieces. More my speed.

And there is definitely no need to publicly position yourself as the world's leading authority on any given food topic either. I was watching superstar chef, restauranteur and author Michael Chiarello of NapaStyle and Food Network fame gumming about how to properly salt a dish on one of his shows. The overly confident Mr. Chiarello has a near religious devotion to using gray salt (sel gris) on virtually everything. He talks about it incessantly. Walking into his flagship store NapaStyle, a cross between a Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, one can't help being taken aback by the sheer number of different types of salt he has for sale. Black Salt. Hawaiian Lava Salt. Himalayan Pink Salt. A Jihad of salt. And this man suffers from overexposure. His other cooking shows including Easy Entertaining, and the new Top Chef Masters series on Bravo TV, all while launching his latest restaurant, Bottega, gives him ample opportunity to throw salt on everything (one). Don't get me wrong. I respect the man as a chef, he is very talented. But the constant din of selling the brand is getting to be too much.

My birthday came and went a few weeks ago and my parents thoughtfully sent me a cookbook for a gift as I am a big collector. I chuckled when I opened the package - "At Home with Michael Chiarello". I thought to myself "There is no getting away from this now, is there?" Thumbing through the book a week later I decided to cook something out of it as my parents would be visiting for the weekend. A nice gesture I thought, put the star chef's cookbook into action. My mom called. "Honey, you'll never guess who we just met?" she screamed joyfully through the phone. "We just had lunch at Bottega in Napa Valley and Michael sat down with us for 15 minutes". "Oh", I said sounding half excited and half reaching for a TV dinner. "And we're bringing you his pink Himalayan salt!"

All that said, I really like Mr. Chiarello's approach to desserts. Simple. Understated. Not overly pushy or fanciful. I am not a big dessert maker, and definitely not a proficient baker as I have written about previously here. I decided to make his olive oil cake with marmalade to balance Ina Garten's Provencal Style Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart for dinner. This was a true success. Flavorful. Moist. Slightly different but delivering satisfaction in every bite. A real celebration. Making and eating it made me feel like a star all while watching TV while having dinner.

Olive Oil Cake* with Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Serves 6

Ingredients for Olive Oil Cake
3/4 C Olive Oil plus extra for pan
1/8 C orange juice
1/2 tsp grey salt or fleur de sel
1 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs at room temperature (recipe uses 1 1/2 eggs)
1 C granulated sugar

1/2 C + 2 Tbsp milk
1/8 C french brandy

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped

Ingredients for Meyer Lemon Marmalade

6 Meyer Lemons

1 C granulated sugar

Other Ingredients

Vanilla Ice Cream for serving (optional)

To Make the Olive Oil Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 10 inch cake pan and set aside. In a non reactive sauce pan reduce orange juice over medium heat by half, about 6-7 minutes. Season with salt and set aside to cool completely.

Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder into a medium bowl and set aside. In another medium bowl beat one egg using a mixer with a paddle or hand mixer until combined. Discard half the egg mixture. Add the second edd to the beaten egg mixture and combine until blended well, about one minute. Add the olive oil, milk, sugar, brandy, orange juice, lemon zest, and rosemary. Combine with the mixer, about one minute. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Tap the pan on the counter 2-3 times and then bake in the oven until set and a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove cake from oven and allow to completely cool on a rack. Run knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto a plate.

To make the Meyer Lemon Marmalade

While the cake is baking, wash and dry the lemons. Cut them in half and juice them, reserving the liquid. Using a melon baller or a spoon, remove the remaining pulp and white pith from the inside of the lemons. Cut the lemons into 1/8 inch strips. Place lemons in a non-reactive sauce pot and cover with 4 C of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for one minute. Drain the peels into a mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Return the peels to the pan and repeat the same process two more times. On the last boil, drain the peels but do not rinse them. Return them to the sauce pan and add the reserved lemon juice and 1 C of sugar. Cook over a medium low heat for 30 minutes, skimming off the white foam as it cooks.

To Finish the Olive Oil Cake

Spoon the 4-6 T of the warm marmalade over the cake, spreading it all over the top. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.

* Olive Oil Cake recipe adopted from "At Home With Michael Chiarello

A Beauty Queen's Dinner - Argentine Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri, Red Onions and Arugula

Sometimes life can get very complicated and outsized. Power. Beauty. Politics. When all these conditions come together they can be life changing for some. Entire countries have been changed by such forces. I am not talking about Ms. Alaska runner-up and one time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Or even the calculatingly attractive Ms. California, Carrie Prejean. Beautiful women born into tragedy. And certainly politically reaching with differing degrees of power. But their influence is so dimunitive really. True beauty and power comes from strength, elegance and simplicity. Something that can be very big.

I learned of this beauty on a trip to Argentina learning about the primary force that has shaped this amazing South American country. I am not talking about Eva Peron (Evita), the larger than life "Queen of the people" that made something out of herself from nothing, putting an imprint on her people's psyche and becoming an international cultural symbol of Argentina. I am talking about the beauty, strength and elegance of Argentinian cooking - grilled beef with chimichurri sauce. This is food that means something. It's big and intense like the country it comes from. And full of flavor. It moves people.

Evita was the illigitimate daughter of the mistress to a local aristocrat. Born in 1919, she spent the next 20 years living under the spector of this social taboo while taking all her talents to make something of herself. Her success in cinema and acting allowed her to bridge talent and opportunity together. Her life was one of power, accomplishment and tragedy. Although not a beauty queen, she was treated as royalty by the monarchs and institutions of Europe as Argentina's First Lady and one time populist vice-presidential nominee. By the time she died at age 33, she had ascended to be one of the most powerful political leaders in the country and an international icon.

I have been very fortunate to have visited Argentina twice, both times staying in the nation's stunning capital, Buenos Aires. The capital, like the country, is a land of largess. The vast open spaces of the Patagonia. The ascending and spectacular Andes mountain range. And beautiful people - sometimes with outsized personalities (deservedly or not) of Italian and German ancestry. Argentines display a playful South American casualness wrapped around European elegance. Wide boulevards. Beautiful architecture. And then there is the food. Argentina is proud of its culinary heritage and it should be. Buttery and flaky empanadas, a nod to French baking with a twist of Latin American soul. Big and bold wines like the country's famous red Malbec from the vast and beautiful Mendoza wine country. Or my favorite export, the fabulously characteristic white wine Torrontes.

Yet all of this doesn't really characterize what Argentina is. It is a country of beef. Although that sounds odd, it's true. Trust me when I tell you I love a good steak and I have had the opportunity to have some of the best in the world. I've tucked into Kobe beef bred from Wagyu cattle of Japan at $200 for a 10 oz filet in Tokyo. Each steer is fed a special diet, rubbed with sake and pampered with little allowable movement contributing to a soft and velvety experience. All in all not bad. The famous Tuscan T-Bone "bistecca alla fiorentina" of Val-de-Chiana? I ate it in Florence at Il Troia (Sostanza) , a restaurant whose influence only rivals the city's Renaissance Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. I would definitely go back for dinner here.

But a simple and somewhat unexplainable fact remains. Argentine beef tastes better. Why? Some say the large open rich grass pastures of the Pampas allow the cattle to forage in a free range setting. Others believe the limited use of feedlots and antibiotics makes all the difference. I honestly can't say what is behind the phenomenon. But I can tell you that if I had three steaks in front of me: a kobe filet, a bistecca alla florentina T-Bone and an Argentine New York Strip, you would have to pry the Argentine steak from my cold dead hands. Asia? Sorry. Europe? No thanks. South America's beautiful and tragic Argentina wins hands down.

All that said, the source of the beef matters when you are making your own. It's not terribly easy to get Argentine beef in the United States (but widely available in Holland - go figure). That said, you can create your own version with a good cut of New York Strip, filet mignon or skirt steak. If you go to Argentina you'll be going to an Argentine steak house, called a parilla, and ordering the Bife de Lomo, essentially a filet mignon. I am not a big fan of filets because while they are soft, they usually lack flavor. "Lomos", as they are called, literally rule. They are that good. They are "Evita big" in terms of taste and natural stature and they will change your perspective on what defines a steak. You'll order this with a glass of Malbec and then send me a nice email telling me how thankful you are that you read my little meat missive.

For this recipe, I opted for free range, grass fed skirt steak. Simply seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled for about 4 minutes and I am mentally in the fashionable Recoleta district having an oral Tango*. I am a big fan of Chimichurri sauce, a mix of parsley, garlic, chili pepper flakes and olive oil. Argentines put it on everything and it's excellent. There is something about adding chimichurri to warm meat that imparts a scent like no other. I feel like I am back in Buenos Aires, sitting in a 100 year old cafe, with marble countertops and antique wood walls, having a 3 hour lunch. Although not necessarily Argentinian, I served my version over a bed of olive oil and sea salt seasoned arugula and cherry tomatoes. The warmth of the meat lightly cooks the vegetables with a drizzle of chimichurri on top. Big. Bold. Powerful. Simple. And beautiful. Not eating it would be a tragedy of beauty queen proportions.

Recipe for Argentine Grilled Skirt Steak

with Chimichurri, Red Onions and Arugula

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 Lb skirt steak or New York strip steak

1 red or bermuda onion, cut into thick rings

olive oil for coating

Kosher or sea salt

Ground pepper

8 oz of fresh arugula

12-16 cherry or grape tomatoes

Chimichurri Sauce

1 C flat leaf Italian parsley, stems removed

3 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

1/2 C olive oil

Make the Chimichurri Sauce

In a small food processor combine the parsley and garlic cloves. Pulse several times (10-15) to chop it coarsely. Alternatively, you can chop the parsley and garlic by hand. Place in small bowl. Add vinegar, salt, pepper, chili flakes and stir with the olive oil. Set aside.

Grill the Steak and Onions

Heat a grill or grill pan over a medium flame. Rub olive oil on the bermuda onion slices and season both sides with salt and pepper. Grill over a medium to low heat for 5 minutes per side, flipping once, until soft and slightly golden. Remove onions to a platter.

While the onion cooks rub steaks on both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place steaks on a hot oiled barbeque or grill pan and cook no more than 2 minutes per side for skirt steak on a medium high flame for a total of 4 minutes, or 5 minutes per side for a New York Strip on a medium to medium high flame for a total of 10 minutes. Remove steaks from heat source to a platter. Cover with foil and let rest while you finish the remaining steps.

To Serve

On a serving platter, place arugula and drizzle with 2-3 Tbsp of good quality olive oil. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Cut half of the cherry or grape tomatoes in half and scatter around the plate. Scatter remaining whole tomatoes on the plate. Toss with the arugula and then arrange for presentation. Slice the steak into strips crosswise with a diameter of 1/2 inch to 1 inch based on preference. Drizzle with some of the chimichurri sauce. Place grilled onions over the top of the platter and serve with the remaining chimichurri sauce on the side.

* Normally this is eaten with a big red Malbec wine and it totally works. That said, it was close to 1oo degrees the day I made this. I served this with iced white sangria as I have blogged about here, but used an Argentinian Torrontes for the wine. It completely worked, balancing out the tanginess and spice of the chimichurri sauce. I am not a big fan of strictly doing red wine with meat and white wine with chicken or seafood. The white sangria worked well here.

You Want Fries With That? Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, Caramelized Shallots, Thyme and Mushroom Broth

I am not a big fan of fast food but it's been an exhausting week. Double cheeseburger with bacon and fries? I'll do that. Slice of cheese pizza with extra hot pepper? That is right in my wheelhouse. Iranian Osetra caviar with creme fraiche on blini? OK, not fast food in the typical sense but I love caviar - and, well, you can eat it quickly while sipping the right champagne. Mind you, I am not talking about traditional fast food now. That's fine and it has its place. What I don't care for is ready prepared or pre-made "gourmet" food that masquerades as something delicious. Why? Because more often than not it doesn't come close to tasting good.

Walk into any supermarket, gourmet, or otherwise and you'll see what I mean. Refrigerated cases loaded with beautiful looking and bland tasting pre-made food. And it's pricey. If you are going for "gourmet" fast food and the value to deliciousness ratio is out of whack that's a culinary sin.

We can take this a step further and look at "freshly made" items you can find at the grocery store. You know what I mean. "Fresh" pasta. Refrigerated sauces. Pre-shredded cheeses. One word. Say it with me...Flavorless. You know I am right. Frankly, I'd rather have a cheeseburger.

I've been working 12 to 14 hour days the last two weeks on a big deal and I have been pretty tired - hardly a beautiful life for me. Oddly, several of my friends seem to be galavanting off to Europe right now. That's what I need. A break from the drudgery. The Plaza Mayor in Madrid with memories of tapas and sangria. That could work. Lobster grilled over coconut husks at a warung in Bali. I am on that beach mentally right now. Or perhaps the best of the lot. Eating at Ristorante Sibilla in the hills of Tivoli outside Rome. Popes have summered here for centuries. When the Gods on Mt. Olympus got tired of ordering takeout pizza they went to Sibilla for the most amazing pasta you have ever eaten.

When I work hard food becomes even more important to me. And it needs to taste good. So imagine how I rolled my eyes when I got home the other day and a package was waiting for me from the nice people at Foodbuzz, the blog advertising network I belong to. Intrigued, I opened the 16 inch box. It seemed unusually sizable, given the fact that I couldn't recall ordering anything. I opened it curiously pulling out Styrofoam, and then paper, and finally several blocks of dry ice. And what treasure was awaiting me when I got to the end of this culinary rainbow? A package of freshly made Wild Italian Mushroom Agnolotti from Buitoni. Yeah, you are reading that right. Buitoni. The people that make fresh pasta and sell it mass market.

I haven't blogged much lately but felt the need to inject some creativity into my life given the blood sucking world of corporate IT that I work in. A gourmet pasta that Foodbuzz was offering to some of their publishers presented a challenge. I was tired and hungry but I told myself I could whip something up based on what was in the fridge with the agnolotti. I peered into my refrigerator to see what I could work with. Cremini mushrooms? That was obvious. Further in the vegetable drawer I located some fresh thyme. I always have thyme on my hands (cute, considering how hard I have been working lately). An unused shallot lay threadbare, looking sorry for itself. He was in.

I got busy chopping the shallots and caramelizing them with olive oil over a medium heat. I sliced some mushrooms and sauteed them with shallots to a golden brown. Setting aside some of the shallot mixture I deglazed the plan with some Ferrari-Carrano Fume Blanc in the fridge door. Not exactly drinkable as it had been open for about a week but perfect for cooking. A couple of cups of vegetable stock and some chopped thyme went into and got boiled down for 15 minutes while I tossed the agnolotti in to cook. Buitoni recommends 4-6 minutes, gently boiled. I went with four minutes figuring that no self respecting Italian chef would cook pasta and then pour sauce over it. Certainly not the ones that cook at Sibilla. Why not finish cooking the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti in the thyme and mushroom broth to take advantage of flavor infusing and thickening? When the broth reduced, I strained it into a bowl and then added it back in the pan on a low heat with the reserved shallot and mushroom mixture I had sauteed. I finished cooking the pasta on a low heat for another few minutes. Gently placing the al dente pasta into warmed bowl, the broth with slices of mushroom and caramelized shallots was ladled over. A few shavings of fresh Parmesan and some fresh thyme on top finished this little fast food challenge off.

And the result? I am pretty confident the Pope that summered in Tivoli where Sibilla now stands would have genuflected with pleasure. The finished product was exceptional. I must say while I don't typically buy fresh pasta in a store, Buitoni has done an excellent job creating a very high quality product. The pasta has a toothsome but flavorful density. The well seasoned mushroom mixture included cremini and portobello mushrooms and grana padano and Parmesan cheeses. I served this with a Sparkling Rose from Chandon from Napa Valley. I love sparkling wine and champagne with food and this completely worked. A taste of Caramel Fleur de Sel gelato at the end made this experience la bella vita.

I don't typically review products in my blog and would not have gone out of my way to have bought this product if it hadn't been sent to me. Grazie to Foodbuzz and Buitoni. We really enjoyed this. I guess I need to re-visit the original premise of this post. I think I am beginning to like fast food.

Recipe for Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Caramelized
Shallots, Thyme and Mushroom Broth

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 package Buitoni Riserva Brand Wild Mushroom Agnolotti
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
8-10 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2-3 T olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 T thyme, finely chopped (divided use)
2 cups vegetable broth or stock*
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese for grating
Crusty French or Italian Bread

Method
In a medium saute pan heat two TBSP of olive oil. Add shallots and cook until soft and beginning to caramelize, about 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add mushrooms and saute until slightly golden about 5 minutes. Add additional TBSP of olive oil if the pan is to dry while the mushrooms first start to cook. When mushroom are nearly done season with salt and pepper. Remove 2/3's of the shallot and mushroom mixture to a small bowl.

Raise the saute pan to a high heat. Add wine and deglaze, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the wine has evaporated. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth and 1/2 of the chopped thyme. Bring the broth to a boil and reduce to 1 cup. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt and pepper if necessary. While the broth is cooking down heat a separate 3 quart saucepan with water and bring to a bowl. When water is boiling add in agnolotti and cook gently for four minutes. Meanwhile strain the broth into a bowl pressing the solids with the back of a spoon to extra out any remaining liquid. Discard the solids. Wipe out the saute pan and add the strained broth back in over a low heat. When the pasta has finished cooking for four minutes transfer it to the saute pan with a slotted spoon. It's OK if a little of the pasta water makes it into the broth, that only adds to the finished product. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes.

To Serve
Using the slotted spoon, place the ravioli in two warmed bowls. Ladle the sliced mushrooms and shallots over the top and pour any remaining broth into the bowls. Grate the Parmesan cheese over the top and sprinkle with the remaining fresh chopped thyme. Serve with bread on the side to dip into the broth.

* The type of vegetable broth or stock you use will change the outcome of this dish as there are so many different types. I used Pacific Garden Organic Vegetable Stock for this. They use tomatoes as part if the broth base giving it a richer texture and a darker color. A lighter stock, such as Swansons will provide a somewhat different outcome, more "en brodo" style the way tortellini is served in Italy. No less delicious, just different.

"Slap Yo Mama in The Face Good" Pulled Pork with Kentucky Black Bourbon BBQ Sauce

All right. Don't start with me because I don't want to have to get in your face. I don't just like barbecue. I feel barbecue. Ribs. Brisket. Pulled Pork. Call me crazy why don't you. Barbecue is real food. Wood. Smoke. Marinades. Brines. Dry rubs. And sauces. We can go a few rounds on sauces.

Oh I have had the good fortune of eating in some
of the best restaurants in the world. World famous Guy Savoy's namesake temple to gastronomy in Paris (twice). American legend Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville. Le Cirque 2000 in New York. And perhaps, my favorite of the lot. Restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain. They are all wonderful. But they are not barbecue. You can have a passion for cooking. But no cuisine (other than French or Basque, perhaps) is considered "a passion". Except that is for barbecue.

I thought about this passion long and hard. And then I pulled out my crock pot. You probably think I need a slap in the face. But I'll get to that later.

Democracy and the Bill of Rights? Important milestones in governing our nation. Women's Suffrage. Its impact on civil government cannot be underestimated. The Civil Rights Voting Act of 1964. No doubt a gut wrenching change millions had to deal with. All of these milestones of society emerged through conflict. This country was founded on barbecue.

This kind of cooking is complicated. I don't mean the actual technical act of the cooking itself. Low and slow. Mesquite and Hickory. Indirect heat smokers. Nothing overly complicated at an execution level. Find a heat source. Light a fire. And let it go. The complexity comes down to a simple issue. No one can agree what defines real barbecue.

First of all, what meat do you use? Beef. Pork. Chicken. Once that is sorted then you have to argue about what is the best cut. Brisket. Loins. Ribs. Racks. Butts. Shoulders. Legs. Sausage. Some misguided people actually believe only beef brisket qualifies as BBQ. But I am a pork lover. I am ready to make my stand so bring it on.

And then there are the flavoring bases. Marinades. Dry Rubs. Wet Rubs. Brines. Vinegar based sauces. Tomato based. Heat. Sweet. Spicy. Smoky. I'm a wet tomato based sauce lover. I've actually had heated conversations about the whole wet vs. dry method of BBQ cooking. Don't invade my personal space on this topic as it won't turn out too good for you.

Now you just try having a rational barbecue conversation with someone from Memphis, or Texas. Kansas City or Georgia. Birmingham or Santa Maria. There is no agreement on what constitutes real barbecue. BBQ is a passion. Someone just might get hurt.

You'd think with my love of low and slow cooking I would sing the merits of mesquite. Or perhaps smokers. But I don't. Yeah, I'll stand outside in the hot sun for hours, clothes smelling of smoke. Wiping sweat off my brow. I'd rather pay someone else for that commitment however. But I still love eating barbecue at home. Which is why I use my slow cooker. I'm getting funny looks from people across the country right about now. But for my favorite type of barbecue, pulled pork in a sweet and spicy tomato based sauce, there is simply no need.

Simple and easy to make, a little water, some sliced onion and a good cut of pork are all that is needed to turn out fantastic BBQ. And the key for this recipe is that when the cooking is half way done you simply drain the water and chop the meat. Adding back in some homemade sauce and fresh chopped onion for the second round of cooking forces the meat to put off its liquid, causing a tenderness that forces a concentration in flavor. I've had pulled pork sandwiches at Smoki-O's in St. Louis. A small altar to porcine eating. This version is just as good.

I like making my own barbecue sauce. There are plenty of good versions you can purchase that are store bought. But I feel that if I am going to skip the whole "smoke your own and make a personal commitment" experience, the least I can do is cook my own masterful sauce. Oh, I'm a sauce guy as you well know and as I have written about previously here. In this version, I ad libbed a basic Steven Reichlen tomato based treatment, substituting a cajun rub for a dry BBQ rub and adding in extra cayenne. For me, the whole reason to do a tomato based sauce is to get the interplay of spicy versus sweet. You can start modestly and then add in 1/4 teaspoons of pepper to get to the right "low burn". I had a reasonable rendition of this at Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham a few times. They have been making BBQ since 1958. Although I call this a "Kentucky Black Bourbon" sauce, technically it isn't since it isn't purely vinegar based. I add in Balsamic vinegar and a touch of bourbon. A couple of bites of this and you'll start trash talkin'.

OK, OK. Calm down now. It's not done in a smoker. Or over wood. But this is cooked slowly and comes out meltingly tender. As my friend Bren over at FlaN Boyant Eats likes to say this is "slap yo mama in the face good". Let the fighting begin...

Recipe for Pulled Pork with Kentucky

Black Bourbon BBQ Sauce & Creamy Slaw

Serves 4

Ingredients

Pulled Pork
3-4 lb pork butt or shoulder
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce

Kentucky Black Bourbon BBQ Sauce
1 cup Heinz ketchup
1/2 cup Heinz or similar chili sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 TBSP prepared yellow mustard
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP bourbon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper, with more to taste for heat

Creamy Slaw
2 cups sliced red or green cabbage
1/2 carrot grated
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 TBSP sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
11/4 tsp pepper

For Serving
4 soft hamburger buns
Dill pickles

Method

Pulled Pork
Put 2/3 of the sliced onion on the bottom of a 6 qt or larger slow cooker/crock pot. Lay pork roast over the onions. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and lay remaining onion slices over the top. Set cooker on "High" for 4 to 5 hours. Do not break the seal of the lid. Remove pork to a cutting board and let rest for 5 mins. Drain liquid and discard onions in slow cooker. Chop the pork into 1 to 2 inch pieces and add back into the crock pot. Add chopped onions and 1 1/4 cups of BBQ sauce and stir. Cook for an additional 4-5 hours on "Low" stirring 2 or 3 times. Using two forks, shred the pork.

Kentucky Black Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Combine all ingredients with 1/2 of the cayenne pepper in a 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil slowly and stir. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally until thickened. Check the sauce for heat and add more cayenne if needed.

Creamy Slaw

Whisk together the mayonnaise and the sour cream until smooth. Add in cider vinegar, salt and pepper and stir. Mix cabbage and carrot with the dressing and let sit for 30 minutes.

To serve the Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Wrap the buns in foil and heat in a 275 degree oven for 10 minutes. Mound 1/2 cup of the pulled pork on the bottom bun half. Place 3-4 TBSP of slaw over the top. Slather the top bun half with some of the remaining BBQ sauce. Serve with dill pickles on the side.

Lazy Sunday, Lazy Blog

I haven't wanted to do an entry like this on Chefectomy. The blog is supposed to be clever and witty with some sort of unique travel angle thrown in for good measure. All centered around a food topic I want to write about with an accompanying recipe. A bit of a racy overtone between the sexes seems to get added in as well. Usually more often than not. But March flew by and Spring is here. I felt like I needed to at least put up one posting for the month. I'm a lazy slug.

It's not like I haven't had lots to blog about. I've done more good eating and cooking with blogging inspiration to follow in the last 30 days then I can remember. NOPA. Beretta. Lark Creek Inn. The Slanted Door. All excellent restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area with unique cooking leveraging the best locally grown food you can find anywhere.

I was going to do a whole blog thing on bacon. Who doesn't like bacon. "I am sure I can come up with something clever around bacon" I said to my wife after having some Hobbs Bacon on a sandwich recently. Hobbs has reached near cult status in Marin. Anytime bacon reaches cult status that's got to be worth writing about. And there is an excellent chance that the global financial system is also coming off the rails when such status is reached. I googled "bacon blogs" for a bit of inspiration. Man was I over my head when I saw the results. I Heart Bacon. Bacon Unwrapped. One person even does a recipe devoted TO BACON everyday on The Bacon Show claiming "one bacon recipe per day, every day, forever." How do you compete with that on the cleverness factor? You probably need to become a big executive at AIG. Everyone loves bacon, even highly overpaid insurance executives. But alas - no blog bacon love.

I had delectable burrata cheese on a pizza at Beretta's in the Mission a few weeks ago. If you don't know what this product is, you really need to track it down and try it. It's conceptually like fresh bufalo mozzarella, but really nothing like it when you taste it. It has a flavor that is uniquely creamy and sweet but works against a savory backdrop of virtually any good ingredient. Although delicious, no real blogging inspiration from buratta at Beretta's.

I got over to Bi-Rite Creamery last night after dinner at The Slanted Door in the San Francisco Ferry Building. If you plan on visiting the Golden Gate Bridge (which I am obsessed with), or go to Ghiradelli Square, or take a cable car ride down Powell street to the Embacadero you need to skip all that. Simply head over to the Mission District and order the salted caramel ice cream. It is an ode to deliciousness. Your trip will be complete and considered a success. You need do nothing further other than write and thank me for helping you realize what ice cream is (and isn't). I read some article a month or so ago about how salted caramel had entered the mainstream and this was recognized in the fact that Barack Obama loves the stuff from a specific purveyor up in Seattle. As much of a fan as I am of the President, he needs to duck out of Washington and head over to Bi-Rite for a double scoop. I guarantee you the AIG bonus mess will be a distant memory after this. I suppose I could write a political blog.

So all of this leads me to the posting I am putting up. Not very creative I realize, but it was a beautiful, lazy Sunday in Marin County and we went out to San Rafael Farmer's Market and then for a walk throw our neighborhood in Mill Valley. A few photos to share and hopefully some blogging inspiration will follow...

A neighbor's tulip garden in Mill Valley

Meyer Lemons down the street

California Poppies in our front yard

Organic Strawberries from the San Rafael Farmer's Market

My Cheating Heart - Easy Cassoulet

All right, I haven't always told the truth when it comes to affairs of the heart. I am a liar. And a no good cheatin' two timer. It all started with an innocent run around in Paris. Undeniably the world's most romantic city. I wandered the streets looking for love. A fashionably svelte interlude at the Hotel Crillon? Too expensive. Perhaps something more natural and affordable in the Latin Quarter - non, non...I wanted to savor this indiscretion. I was seeking the best cassoulet I could find in this overwhelmingly gorgeous city.

I walked discreetly through the 6th arrondisement avoiding Jacques Cagna's expensive flagship namesake. I craved something tawdry and cheap. Peasant food. But there she was - the bistro La Rotisserie d'en Face. Understated and elegant. I sat down shamelessly calling out my desire. The two of us. Alone. Me, with my fork, playfully amused at the bubbling earthenware dish. And every bite of that cassoulet made me want more. Rich. Warm. Smooth. Soulful. When I was done there was only one word to describe this sensational entanglement. Afterglow.

I haven't been totally honest with you. I know I have written in the past that I favor cooking techniques more than specific types of foods or cuisines as I have written about here. OK. I'll admit it. I have straight out lied to you about this and I am sorry. I actually have a favorite food. And it is cassoulet. A love affair really.

You know how in some Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, where you are reincarnated and come back in the next life as a higher form than your previous existence? I want to come back as cassoulet. But there is one little problem. And since I am coming clean about my past I'll admit I am not just a liar. I am bearing my soul right now. I'm a cheater too.

I cannot stand the process of making a traditional cassoulet. Anything that takes three days to prepare and countless hours to come out of the oven - well let's just say I'll pay someone else for that guilty pleasure. Soaking beans overnight. Breaking and re-doing the crust of the baked stew as it soaks up cooking liquid in a hot oven. It's really too much for any one person to undertake. However, I can't begin to describe the delight of a perfectly executed French cassoulet. A rich and thick garlicky base. Beans that are creamy yet firm. A touch of thyme, my all "time" favorite herb. And then there are those meats. Duck confit. Sausages. Bacon or lardon. Nestled warmly in an earthenware dish under a duvet of golden crisp breadcrumbs. Excuse me, I need a moment to myself.

All that said, I like to make "cheaters" cassoulet if I am not ordering off a menu. Not as good as the original mind you. But in a pinch it's hard to beat. Cassoulet typically uses a white bean, such as a cannellini, although I also have had excellent versions with lentils. And the meats can be whatever you enjoy. Lamb, duck breast, pancetta, or cubes of pork. I am a sucker for duck and fortunately you can find reasonably priced duck confit nowadays at gourmet supermarkets like Whole Foods. I almost always buy a duck confit and crisp it in the oven for cheaters cassoulet. It gets you close to the original with virtually no work.

And the beans. I used pre-cooked and canned cannellinis. Sure you can buy dried ones, pick them over for rocks, and soak them overnight for the traditional experience. But why do all that when the final product of this method is only marginally better? I'm just saying...

A cold evening. A warm dish of cassoulet with a glass of Cote du Rhone. Thoughts of Paris running through my mind...I'll two-time any day for a little of that action.

Recipe for Easy "Cheaters" Cassoulet

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 duck confit legs

2 sausages (Italian, Garlic, whatever you like), cut into 1/2 inch rounds

4 oz applewood smoked bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 yellow onion cut in 1/2 inch dice

2 carrots cut into 1/4 inch dice

6 garlic gloves, peeled and thinly sliced

5 sprigs of fresh thyme

5 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 C chopped peeled Italian tomatoes

2 14 oz cans of cooked cannellini (white kidney) beans

Dash of cayenne pepper

salt

pepper

1 1/2 C fresh bread crumbs

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

3 Tbsp butter

Method

Heat an oven to 400 degrees or 375 if using a convection oven. Butter a 13 inch earthenware dish.

In a large oven proof skillet (14 inch diameter) place duck confit legs and roast in the oven for 15 minutes until crisp. In a bowl combine chopped onion, carrot, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and sliced garlic.

Remove skillet from oven and set duck confit legs aside. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crisp, about 3 minutes. Move bacon to the side of the skillet and brown sausage on both sides about 3 to 4 minutes. Add duck confit legs back into the skillet. Add vegetables and cook until nicely carmelized and soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and beans. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium high heat until are ingredients are blended. Add enough water to just cover the beans and bring to a boil. Carefully remove the duck confit with tongs into the earthenware baking dish and then cover with the beans mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 35 minutes.

Combine bread crumbs, minced garlic and chopped parsley in a bowl. Melt butter. Remove foil from baking dish. Season cassoulet with a dash or two of cayenne pepper, salt and ground black pepper. Cover cassoulet with breadcrumb mixture and drizzle melted butter over the top. Cook uncovered for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and let the dish rest 2-3 minutes while your dining partners ogle over how beautiful your hot little dish is. Serve.

Recession Gourmet - Scallops with Escarole, White Beans and New Olive Oil

I am not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I am going to break that rule for 2009. The politics of change have pushed me to this. I want to challenge the general eating public to resolve to eat well this year. This country has been through a lot over the last eight years. Republicans. Democrats. Independents. No agreement on how to move forward, with one exception. It's time to eat well.

Now that we are done with all the politics of division, its time we had an honest conversation ourselves. Shouldn't we resolve to luxuriate in good meals? A lot of problems can be solved by good eating. And with a new administration arriving in Washington DC, let's all pledge to spend money on things that are important. Not roads. Or bridges. I am talking about quality ingredients.

It's time for investment we can understand. I don't mean $350 billion TARP program congress just passed because Wall Street failed us. Or the $800 billion economic stimulus plan President elect Obama wants. We are in the worst depression in a century. But that is no excuse to have poor food pass our lips. Quite frankly I don't see how we can afford not to eat well.

So here is an economic plan for you that will help you save money this year and might just save the economy. I am calling this attitude (or resolution) "Recession Gourmet". Dine out less this year and invest in some good ingredients that you can prepare yourself. Elevate good dishes into great ones through their intelligent and judicious application. Think of this as your personal culinary stimulus.

The new year also means there is new oil. And what Nuevo Olio should we invest in? Tuscany, where olive oil is as cherished as Catholicism? Perhaps. Andalucia, which anchors Spain's position as the largest producer of quality oil in the world. Maybe. The olive orchards at Les Baux en Provence. Shocking that we could actually consider something from France from just a few short years ago. But nevertheless, tempting.

All that said, I'd rather you stay closer to home. Local. I did just that over the holidays buying some beautifully fruity extra virgin olive oil from McEvoy Ranch grown in Petaluma, CA. Bold. Herbacious. Silken. Spicy. The United States now produces some of the best olive oil in the world. At $30 a bottle, it wasn't cheap. But the way it elevates a good, simple dish into something extraordinary. Well, let's just say that's good for Main Street.

For New Year's Eve, we discussed a sinful menu. Over the top really. Caviar. A Filet Mignon Roast. Lobster Ravioli. Champagne. Yet none of that seemed right in these uncertain and more frugal times (except the champagne which is a judicious expenditure to celebrate - not done as an everyday occurence).

We settled on a few fresh scallops, seasoned well and seared perfectly. And they rested upon a bed of humbly braised escarole, salty prosciutto, and meltingly comfortable, yet modest white beans. Not our typical New Year's Eve fare. Finished with some meyer lemon zest and a drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil turned this dish into something worthy of an inaugural dinner on the cheap. As this was the beginning of a new chapter (annually, politically and culinarily) we couldn't bring ourselves to scrimp on the champagne, so we paired the scallops with Veuve Clicquot.

A few high quality ingredients. Simply prepared. I pledge to live as a Recession Gourmet. Now that's a resolution I will take an oath to preserve and protect...

Recipe for Scallops with Escarole,
White Beans & New Olive Oil
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 head of escarole, quartered with core
15 oz can of white (cannellini) beans, rinsed
2 oz of prosciutto or applewood bacon
1 bay leaf
1/2 onion, peeled and halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups chicken stock
4 fresh divers scallops
Salt
Pepper
4 TBSP olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 meyer lemon

Method
Bring a pot of saled water to a boil. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water.

Cook the escarole in the boiling wat for 3 minutes. Remove with tongs and then submerge in the in the ice water. This will stop the cooking and preserve the color. Squeeze out the excess liquid and remove the core. Cut the escarole into 2-3 inch strips and set aside.

Put the beans, prosciutto, bay leaf, onion, garlic and stock in a pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and onion and discard. Strain the beans, reserving about 1/2 cup if the cooking liquid. Using tongs remove the garlic and prosciutto. When cool enough to handle cut the prosciutto into 1/2 inch strips. Mash the garlic into a paste and stir into the reserved stock.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the escarole, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 3 minutes. Add the beans and the prosciutto and cook for one minute. Stir in the cooking liquid and cook for one more minute. Taste and add salt or pepper, if needed. Keep warm.

In a medium saute pan add 2 TBSP olive oil over medium high heat. Dry the scallops and then salt and pepper them on both sides. Cook for 2 minutes on the first side. Flip them using a spatula and cook an additional 90 seconds.

Divide the escarole and bean mixture between two plates. Place two scallops on top of each plate. Using a micro plane, zest some of the meyer lemon over the scallops. Drizzle with excellent extra virgin olive oil and serve.

The recipe was modifed from Alfred Portale's Simple Pleasures. Of all the cookbooks I have (and I have a lot) this is one of the best ever.