Rooftop Gourmet

This past week, I’ve been on vacation spending some relaxing time down the Cape with ”Hurricane” Earl and hanging out in the city. Even though Cape Cod is as far south as I’ve ventured this past week, the other night I whipped some a good ol’ southern chicken n’ biscuits to get ready for the New Orleans Saints NFL kickoff game of the week. I figured that it was blog-worthy since they are the defending Super Bowl Champions (now I’m starting to think that I jinxed myself because Tom Brady got into a car accident this morning).

Being away from work all week is boring as hell so I spent a greater portion of the afternoon making homemade pickles and braising chicken thighs.

Chicken and biscuits (or chicken and waffles) is a southern tradition that usually involves frying the chicken. I wanted to put my own spin on the dish by making it a bit healthier and a tad more interesting by taking the it to the island of Jamaica mon.

I went to the store and bought a jumbo pack of chicken thighs for about $1.69. I love chicken thighs because the meat is darker and more flavorful than the breast meat. When you slow cook the thighs in their own juices, the meat takes on a rich duck-like flavor.

I simply seasoned the thighs, with the skins still attached, with salt and fresh cracked pepper before searing them in a screaming hot dutch oven. The fat in the skin and bones releases into the pot and makes the skin golden and crispy. Just when I obtained a quality sear, and crunchy skin, I removed them from the pot partially cooked. I then cranked up the heat and threw in my mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onions) along with some smashed garlic cloves and let it sit in the pot to get some nice color.

Eventually, I was going to strain everything in the pot to make my sauce, so I wanted as much flavor to caramelize on all of the veggies as possible.

Once soft and dark, I deglazed my pot with some white wine, letting it simmer away to concentrate flavors. I did the hokie pokie and put all the thighs back in, almost covering them with some chicken broth.

A few torn basil leaves, and the basil flowers went in as well before I popped the lid on and threw it into a 325 degree oven to braise away. Slow and low with help the meat tenderize and fall off the bone with ease. In the meantime, I got started on my pickles.

I freaking love pickles… not just your typical pickles, but pickled everything. What most people don’t realize is that you can pickle all sorts of other vegetables such as onions, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus… you name it. You can even pickle fish and eggs if you want to. The act of pickling is a form of preservation as well as flavoring. Not only does it give veggies a sweet, tangy, acidic snap, but it also makes them last for weeks! As basic as possible, a pickling solution is sugar that is dissolved into vinegar, boiled, and steeped over whatever it is you want to pickle.

The proportions vary, as well as other ingredients that you can add to give your pickles flavor, spice, sweet or sour.

For this dish, I made pickled red onions, for their beautiful pink color and tang, and pickled chilies for some heat. I boiled some white wine vinegar, white wine, sugar, black peppercorns, mustard seed, coriander seed and a few dried bay leaves until all the sugar was dissolved. I tried smelling the concoction but it burns your nose and makes your eyes water.

After five minutes of simmering, I let it cool slightly and poured it over my red onions and chilies. The pickles take on the flavor of the concoction the longer they sit in the brine, and the chilies lose some of their power, but still pack a mean punch. I wanted some type of vinegary pop to the slow cooked, braised chicken that would give it some life that it needed.

 A few hours in the fridge and they were good to go. After an hour of waiting impatiently for my chicken thighs, I pulled it from the oven and threw the pieces into a bowl to cool down. I took all of the natural jus that was left in the pot and strained it through a fine mesh strainer and into my sauce pot.

The braise yielded about two cups of liquid which I was very excited about. I let it simmer away and reduce to concentrate the natural chicken flavors. Even without making a quick roux, the sauce was thick, dark and gravy-like. Instead of finishing the sauce with some Cognac (like I do at Thanksgiving) or Marsala, I opted for the Rastafarian route. My friend Chris just returned from Jamaica a few weeks ago and brought me back a rare Jamaican dark rum called Blackwells.

This rum is the brain child of famous record producer Chris Blackwell, the man who found and produced Bob Marley. From Reggae to Rum, Chris has transitioned smoothly. His rum is aged and as golden as some of Bob’s records. The smooth, fragrant rum has flavors of coconut, molasses, and flambeed brown sugar.

I poured about a half of a cup into my natural chicken jus and let it simmer away to incorporate the flavors. The result was a trip! The authentic, warming flavors of homemade chicken soup combined with some sweet island flare. I couldn’t wait to pour this all over my pulled thigh meat! I removed the skins from the thighs, and thinly sliced them into fine strips.

 I got my hands dirty, fishing around for bones and cartilage, and successfully managed to remove everything from the succulent meat. I have never seen chicken so moist and flavorful in my life. Just to add another twist on the southern treat, I folded in a handful of torn basil leaves to the chicken meat. The combination of fragrant basil and juicy chicken was awesome, especially when I dipped a chunk into the rum laced jus. The combination of basil and coconut flavors in the rum was reminiscent of a Thai curry.

Since my baker was back at school this week, I relied on the Pillsbury Dough Boy for my baking portion of this meal. One thing I am good at is following directions on the outside of a metal tube. I sliced the warm, flaky biscuits right of the oven and adorned a half with a mound of my pulled chicken thigh meat. I went into a trance while spooning the aromatic jus over the top, watching it slowly drip down the side and become absorbed by the biscuits like a sponge. Fresh from the fridge, I topped the chicken with a heaping handful of tangy pickles and cracked open a 16oz. “tall boy” of Red Stripe Lager. The braised chicken thighs literally melted in my mouth as the Jamaican Jus kept the meat damp and flavorful. By the time I got down to the foundation biscuit, it had transformed into a sponge that tasted like a rich rum drink. “Could this be Love”, I thought as I washed down my Jamaican brew to aleve the fiery kisses of the pickled chilies. Man I can’t get enough…. kinda like Chicken & Biscuits!

 On another note… my friend Leigh from Nella Pasta was selected by Daily Candy to be a finalist in a small business entrepreneur contest. Her homemade pasta company that her and her partner Rachel started about a year ago has really taken off. They focus on using all organic ingredients from LOCAL farms. If you get a chance, please vote for them here… so that their dreams of making it big can come true.

http://www.dailycandy.com/startsmallgobig/vote.html

Since this was the first year we had our new roofdeck, we wanted to get a feel for what types of vegetation grew best in certain areas. We have every herb imaginable, tons of different peppers and chiles, and some scattered flowers. The one thing we don’t have are tomatoes. Thankfully, my co-worker Doug overplanted his garden and has a surplus of fruits and veggies that he doesn’t know what to do with.

 Last week I walked into work and spotted a half dozen, unidentified orbs sitting on the counter. They were about the size of a lacrosse ball, lime green in color, with dark green stripes. It felt, and smelled like a regular tomato except it looked as if Jessie James had given it a paint job.

I inquired about the tomatoes, but even Doug had no idea how these rare fruits popped out of his soil. After some further investigation, I realized that this “Tiger Tomato”  is actually British. Back in 2006 a specialty foods supermarket called Marks & Spencer created this cross-bred fruit and now varieties of it are “popping up” all over the United States. It looks and tastes like a green heirloom tomato and a tiny, flavor packed cherry tomato all in one. If you let the bright green Tigers sit on the vine a tad longer, apparently they turn a dark, brick red color but still maintain their olive green stripes.

I was so excited to bring these home and compose a beautiful salad because their appearance was striking. Once I sliced a few open I realized that their flavor was equally as impressive. The flesh is quite firm and shiny, but the inside was ripe and juicy… a perfect canvas for me to paint a mouth watering picture. I felt like I was running my knife through a green Cincinnati Bengals helmet.

 I chose six different ingredients to add flavor, balance flavors, and help bring out flavors of the tomatoes. The first thing I did was start slicing up some slab bacon, to add some rich, smoky flavor and texture to the salad (I knew Doug would be proud). Pre-cut bacon can be too thin for certain things so I either have my deli slice me some slabs of pancetta or track down a brick of bacon. My slab bacon is maple and corn on the cob smoked, giving it amazing flavor. The sweetness of the corn and maplewood pair nicely with the pig.

 I cut it into thick match sticks because once you slowly render out the fat, the pieces shrink significantly, and I wanted a solid mouthful in each bite. The next ingredient in my salad was finely minced red onions to balance out the sweetness of the tomato. Something pungent like a red onion is the perfect culprit to do the job.

Then I added some crumbled goat cheese to cut through the acidity in the fruit and bring a tangy, creaminess to the dish. So far, this tomato salad was shaping  up like your classic steak house appetizer, but not for long. We all know that traditionally, tomatoes and fresh basil are the perfect marriage… not in this salad however.

 Lately, you don’t put the words “Tiger” and “marriage” in the same sentence. The basil kicked the green Tiger tomatoes off the plate so I sprinkled the dish with the more exotic, freshly picked tarragon. The long, thin herbs draped gently over thick slabs of fruit and gave the salad a taste something different.

The faint, anise flavor in the tarragon was foreign to the tomatoes but unique and delicious. To give the salad that final “pop” it needed, I finished it with tons of fresh orange zest that I spritzed over the top. The tarragon has a flavor similar to fennel, which is a perfect match for orange supremes, so it only seemed fit to bring the two flavors together in this salad.

 A tiny sprinkle of coarse Celtic sea salt, some fresh cracked pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and this baby was ready to be devoured. This salad was so bright and colorful, I almost didn’t want to touch it. I managed to slice the Green Tigers thick enough so that the cool racing stripes were still visible. 

As complex as this tomato salad was, it clearly wasn’t going to be sufficient for my whole dinner. I quickly made some wild rice and poached a few pieces of tilapia in some white wine, orange slices, and parsley. I placed the delicate fish on top of a mound of earthy rice and took some leftover fennel that I had in the fridge.

I made a quick salad of thinly sliced fennel stalks (not just the bulbs are edible) and garnished it with the fluffy fennel fronds and some kalimata olives. I popped open a bottle of 2009 Burgans Albarino from the Rias Baixas region of Spain. This wine was young and fresh, bursting with acidity.

 It was light golden in color and had aromas of white flowers, orange peel, and a freshly cut apple. On the palate, the wine is lively and medium bodied with traces of orange marmalade, peach pit, and minerals. It was so crisp and clean that it was a refreshing match with the garden tomato salad. Together, the two absolutely hit it off.

 The Green Tigers were smothered with all different mistresses of flavor, all balancing each other out in your mouth. The rich smoky, bacon…the unusual tarragon presence… the zingy orange zest… and the creamy goat cheese all came together to showcase the beautiful tomatoes, which were clearly the highlight of the dish. I don’t know where Doug got these tomatoes, but hopefully they come back in next year because they were definitely worthy of a (striped) Green Jacket.

Salsa Verde or “Green Sauce” is something that is used in many different countries and cuisines. The green-ness refers to the color of the ingredients in the sauce, rather than the sustainability of the ingredients. Italian salsa verde is like a chunky pesto with the addition of capers and anchovies, while Mexican salsa verde is made from roasted tomatillos and jalapenos. Every country has their own version of “green sauce” and it’s a great way to freshen up any dish.

Consisting mainly of fresh herbs, and some type of acid, the sauce can transform a rich, hearty ingredient into a light, summery meal. With a heat wave upon us, I was craving a dinner that would satisfy my red meat craving, yet keep me from sweating and feeling gross. I decided to make my own, “not your average” salsa verde by combining different green ingredients from all different cultures. Basically this was an American Salsa Verde because it was new, fresh, and a giant melting pot of ingredients.

I started out a base of finely minced shallots and garlic. This sauce is served raw so make sure to get those knives working hard because no one wants to bite into a large piece of raw garlic. The next ingredient I tossed into my mixing bowl was edamame. Edamame is a Japanese, immature soybean that is boiled or steamed in the pod. You usually see them on the tables of sushi joints, served as an appetizer because they’re a simple snack that is packed with nutrients. They have the texture of a fresh lima bean and the color of Kermit the Frog. The next ingredient I added to the mix was some thinly sliced haricot vert; France’s elegant version of green beans.

 Haricot vert is the fancy term that the French gave to the slender, chop stick sized green beans. Unlike the American version, the haricot vert are half the size and uniformly straight. I thinly sliced the long beans and added them to the bowl to give a slightly firmer texture and flavor.

 I then rinsed off some capers (a component in the Italian salsa verde) and tossed them into the mix to bring a salty, briny pop to the sauce, along with bunches upon bunches of chopped fresh, Italian flat-leaf parsley. The parsley really brings all of the ingredients together and makes the sauce light and fresh.

 Lastly, I chopped up a handful of fresh mint to add another element of flavor and freshness. Mint is to the Greeks, what basil is to Italians… they put it in everything! I rounded out the sauce with some high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. I stirred it up until it reached the salsa-like consistency that I was looking for and I let it hang out on the counter for a while so that all of the flavors could meld together and meet one another.

 In the meantime, I boiled some baby Yukon Gold potatoes and tossed them with some butter and sea salt as well as prepared my skirt steak. As you have probably noticed, I eat a lot of skirt steak. It is clearly my new favorite, wallet happy, flavorful alternative to pricey rib eyes and dry aged sirloins. It looks like an accordion and is sometimes referred to as the beef diaphram.

 It comes from the “plate” section of the cow, right below the ribs of the animal. What is lacks in tenderness it makes up for big time in flavor, you just need to learn a few simple tricks in order to make it seem tender. Skirts are usually marinated, pounded, or slow-cooked to tenderize them, but simply grilling and slicing on the bias works just fine. If you picture the long, stringy grains of muscle all flowing in the same direction, you want to hold your knife perpendicularto them. Breaking up the strands by thinly slicing makes it easier to chew as opposed to a mouthful of rubber bands. I seasoned my skirts with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and some balsamic vinegar for some sweetness. They only take a few minutes on the grill, so you really have to let your grates get glowing hot before plopping them down.

 Once the steak had some time to rest off the grill, I sliced it and poured my beautiful, bright green salsa verde all over the top. Each random component glistened in the golden olive oil and slid down the side of the skirt. I topped it with a small salad of picked whole parsley leaves, mint leaves, lemon zest and sliced Fresno chilies. The Fresnos gave the dish a touch of heat that balanced out all of the other bold flavors in the sauce. I chose to pair this steak dish with a unique wine from an up and coming growing region in the United States.

The 2007 NxNW Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon sounds like it would come from a place the Muppets would live, but Walla Walla is actually a grape growing appellation of the Colombia River Basin in Washington State and Oregon. The NxNW stands for North by Northwest, and is a collaborative project created by four distinct wine makers who are blending grapes from different plots of land in the area.

The idea is to focus on a single grape varietal and showcase the different ways it is affected when grown in different terriors. It’s a perfect wine for this “not your average” salsa verde because just like the sauce, it has Cabernet grapes that were grown in all different vineyards blended together to create something magical. Of all the wines, I have ever seen, NxNW hands down has the most informative label. It has everything from the select vineyard sites and percentage of grapes from each, to the type of soil and dates of harvest. The wine was a dark purple color and surprisingly chewy for a low alcohol Cab. It was apparent that the fruit was the main focus in this wine.

Cherry, plums, and black raspberries flood your palate with hints of oak and roasted red peppers. After the third or fourth sip, the wine opens up and takes on a sharp cola flavor. The intense fruit played nicely with the char from the grill and the tannins were smooth enough not to overpower the light salsa verde. Thankfully we weren’t eating outside on deck in the 100 degree heat because this wine was big… too big to drink when sweating through your clothes, but perfect with this dish in the air conditioning.