top chef experiment: take nine (brined short ribs with 5 onion cabbage)

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.

top chef experiment: take nine (sopa azteca)

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.

How

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.

top chef experiment: take eight (soft scrambled egg 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.

two days late and one top chef challenge post short

So I was totally determined to have a recipe ready for this month's Chef it Yourself Top Chef challenge (Anamaris chooses random ingredients and you go to town coming up with the best dish you can create.)

I actually did manage to come up with a dish and get it prepared by the deadline - despite my stupid messed up finger, which is making me so f$#@ing clumsy!

I'm actually pretty sure my injured digit is acting independently of the rest of my hand as payback for being dumb enough to stick it in a plugged in appliance meant to pulverize food items.

Anyways, like I said, I finished the dish and then left to walk the puppies, deciding I would photograph and post when I got home.

And then I fell through the ice....into the water.

No fear faithful readers, it wasn't very deep (otherwise I wouldn't have been out there - I do have some common sense. I'm not sure where it's vacationing this week but I do have some.)

I was soaked up to about the butt area and we were luckily close to home so I walked as fast possible with soggy boots and frozen stiff pants back to the house - with SeaBass laughing his own dry butt off behind me. He's such a comfort.

The upshot of the situation is that by the time I got dry and warm and comfortable again it was night.

And this is what it looks like when I try to shoot food at night

It looks poopy and I will not settle for it. I determined to give up the competition deadline and re-shoot the next day.

Which is when Sugar Dog got attacked by another meanie dog at the local dog park leaving her with some serious gashes (this is after the oven cleaning extravaganza.)

This brings me to today. And now I'm ready. Are you?

This month's ingerdients were: ginger, dates and couscous. Totally out of my element but I was pretty happy with what I made. My measurements are pretty loose because I was really still playing with the dish but I'd like to share it anyways.

 Maple Glazed Pork Loin Chops with Date Sauce and Toasted Couscous with Pine Nuts

3 Pork Loin Chops

Glaze
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
2 tbsp maple syrup
a couple dashes of hot sauce
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar
s&p to taste

Mix ingredients together and pour over pork.
Allow to marinate 3 hours to overnight.

Date Sauce 
1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic finely diced
1 cup chopped pitted dates
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp grated ginger
candied ginger (optional)
1 tsp chipotle pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
season with s&p

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in sauce pot.
Add in dates, balsamic vinegar, ginger, chipotle and paprika.
Stir and allow to saute for a moment.
Add in chicken stock and allow sauce to reduce to desired consistency.
Season with s&p.
Blend sauce to a smooth consistency.

Couscous
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup pine nuts toasted (or slivered almonds toasted)
1 tsp orange juice
1/4 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp. butter
s&p


Prepare couscous as directed.
Saute prepared couscous and toasted pine nuts (or almonds) in pan with butter.
Stir in orange juice and zest.
Season with s&p.

top chef experiment: take seven (flat iron steak, mascarpone bechamel, tomato sauce and parmesan)

 

Wow! It took me sooo long to write this post.

(Also, please forgive any typos as I'm typing with an index finger the size of a sausage. As for typos in any other of my posts? Well, I'm just not that into reviewing my work...it's called laziness people.) 

I did manage to complete the Top Chef meal that was so abruptly interrupted by my kitchen appliance related misadventure last night. And I will say it was well worth it.

I'll admit that I didn't include the herb puree pictured here on our actual supper plates just because it's the element of the dish that I was working on when I did the stupidest thing ever and I really couldn't stand eating with it anywhere near me...it does look nice on the plate though!

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.

top chef experiment: take six (braised pork with soy mustard sauce and peanuts)

First off I'd like to state that it's actually not my fault that I keep returning to my beloved pork for these Top Chef recipes. As I comb through this season's recipe files I'm actually amazed that I didn't notice just how often the chefs (not just Kevin) were working with the delicious pig. The recipes involving pork also tend to be the ones that seem most accessible to the home cook.

So there, I'm not being biased....not totally anyways.

For this week's experiment I wanted to take on another of the elimination challenge winners. So Michael Voltaggio's lettuce wrapped, asian influenced braised pork was calling my name. 

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.

more top chef food porn

Not yet sure what day it is, what time it is or what country I'm in having just returned VERY late last night (i.e. the darkest hours of pre-dawn) and being so over tired, having not yet slept...

I'm not even sure anything I just wrote makes any sense at all!

But I wanted to pass on a link to a blog dedicated to all things Top Chef, the aptly titled All Top Chef. There you will find enough Top Chef related info to keep you satiated until the next season begins.

And (now for a little shameless self promotion) you will also find guest posts from yours truly summarizing my adventures in Top Chef cookery.

Top Chef fans rejoice!

top chef experiment: take five (roasted pork loin with polenta, dandelion greens and rutabaga)

I had every intention of making two Top Chef dishes this week, to make up for the fact that I'll be away enjoying the relaxation of warmth and sunshine for the next seven days.

That didn't happen.

I'll explain to you exactly why that didn't happen when I return home safely from my week of all-inclusive solitude. Let me leave you hanging a little by saying simply that I have not yet even begun my journey to my resort destination and already the unforseen adventures and mishaps are beginning.

p.s. Have I mentioned that this will be my first time ever traveling alone?

So, I hope you will all forgive my absence next week and grant me grace based on the fact that this particular dish involved the most multi-tasking and completion of independent components that I have yet endeavoured to master.

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.

top chef experiment: take four (southern fried chicken skin with squash casserole and tomato)

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!

Any requests for next time? Dishes? Specific chefs?