CHERRIES

                                   cooking time: 30 to 45 minutes

            There is a tiny restaurant in Paris near St. Germain des Pres that is always jamb-packed with Parisian locals. That’s always a good sign when you are looking for a reasonably priced restaurant. The name is Machon d’Henri. The kitchen is so small, I think they can only ‘finish’ each order.

            On the first night I ate there, I saw a large jar of what looked like cherries high up on a counter top, and I ordered them for dessert. I was completely floored. They were the best sugared sour cherries in alcohol that I had ever tasted. This recipe is inspired by that dessert. I’ve made a few changes to accommodate what is available in North America. Where the Parisian restaurant used small fresh sour cherries, I used dried cherries, either sour or the black Bing variety. I also added the Port.

            This is a great recipe to make in a large quantity and keep on hand (needs no refrigeration) or transfer into small jars for gifts.

MUSIC: Piano music works well. For the classically minded, Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, or J.S. Bach: Well tempered Clavier. For jazz lovers, try the SOLO MONK album.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:

1. Dried whole cherries, two cups. Any dried cherries will work, but the bigger, the better, and black cherries are exquisite. Taste them to determine how much sugar you will add. The black/Bing cherries are quite sweet.
2. Port wine, 1 bottle. This must be Ruby Port, not Tawny Port. We’re talking cooking Port. The cheapest you can find is perfect.
3. Sugar, not usually more than ½ Cup
4. Vodka (optional), about ½ Cup
5. Glass jars, either quart size or jam jars (8 ounces).

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

• In a large pot, reconstitute the cherries and sugar in Port wine. Use the whole bottle. I usually bring to boil with the sugar and then let sit, covered until cool.
• Transfer to either large or small glass jars.
• Optional: add a splash or more of vodka to each container.
• Store indefinitely- they get better and better over time.
• Add more alcohol (port or vodka or both) if some evaporates over time.

CADENZA: Serve over vanilla ice cream as an easy, ready-to-go dessert. Also good plain in a bowl or with heavy cream. No need to worry about spoilage. There’s enough sugar and alcohol in this recipe to prevent any kind of spoilage. No refrigeration is needed.

WINE:          A dessert wine will do nicely. Sauterne, Ice wine, Port. If your liver is healthy, move to brandy or cognac.

LAMB CHOPS FOR STOVE TOPS

                         

                                    Prep time: 1 hour dry marinade

                                    Cook time: 6 minutes, approx.

                                    Serves: 2 or 4

            A good lamb chop is a carnivore’s delight. There are a million ways to deal with lamb. This recipe is based on simplicity, but with huge up-side potential in flavor.

            For those of you who favor racks of lamb, I have news for you. A rack of lamb is more about presentation than good eating. The reason is that racks are cut so the tenderloin piece is removed. The only meat on a rack of lamb is the piece of strip loin which is not as tender as the tenderloin. Much better are the “loin lamb chops” that have a piece of tenderloin and a piece of strip loin, analogous to a beef T-bone or Porterhouse steak. Also, this dry marinade works best when all sides of the chops are covered. In a rack of lamb, the inner meat doesn’t get exposed to the great flavorings. This marinade, however, enhances any lamb cut. The thickness of the chops is not crucial, although it influences cooking time.

MUSIC: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, or I Wanna Be Around by Tony Bennett, or anything with Sting (solo albums, or The Police). If you prefer classical, try Shostakovich or Prokofiev string quartets. They are challenging but beautiful!

HERE’S ALL YOU NEED:

1. Lamb loin chops (4)
2. olive oil, high grade extra virgin, about 2 or 3 tablespoons
3. garlic, 1 clove, minced
4. thyme, fresh or dried, 1 heaping tablespoon at least
5. rosemary, fresh or dried, 1 heaping tablespoon at least
6. kosher salt
7. pepper

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

• Crush the herbs quickly in a mortar and pestle to bring out their flavor.
• Place chops in a bowl and add olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Leave at room temperature for up to 3 hours. Thirty minutes is the minimum if you are in a hurry. Stir occasionally. Cover the bowl if you don’t want to be enticed by the lovely aromas.
• Cook chops on medium high heat (skillet, broiler or outdoor grill—I prefer a skillet on the stove top). Cook to desired degree of doneness and give some direct heat to all sides, including the bone. I like mine rare, but medium rare is acceptable. Any more gets tough and dry. For rare, usually about 4 to 5 minutes, assuming you have room temperature chops to start with. Doneness is largely by feel, i.e. how firm the meat is becoming. Cooking tongs work beautifully to test doneness and to move the chops around.

CADENZA: serve with carrots rosemary (see blog), roasted parsnips and red peppers, or pasta with a creamy sauce.

ALTERNATIVE: Use herbs de Provence instead of thyme and rosemary.

WINE: This calls for your biggest red. California Cabernet sauvignon; Australian Shiraz; or, best of all, a big French Bordeaux.

KYOTO SALMON SOUP

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

            During a trip to Kyoto, we learned valuable cooking secrets from our host, Yoko. She made this fish soup for us when we arrived, jet lagged and tired. She made it in a boiler pot, right on the table, adding ingredients to cook as she removed the cooked items into our bowls, and it was an ongoing sampling feast.

            I have modified the dish for a western kitchen. This soup is intended to be an entire meal, and once you have the correct ingredients lined up, you can’t go wrong. Play around with different fish (although shrimp doesn’t work well). I prefer Atlantic salmon because of its rich flavor and amount of fat. In Japan, Yoko even used blowfish (that’s the one that kills you if you get any contamination from the poison sac). Basically, any fish firm enough to withstand poaching will be fine, but I focused on salmon.

MUSIC: Let’s see: twenty minutes. Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no. 1 is gorgeous. Or, the Japanese composer Toru Takamitsu is important and beautiful, worth listening to. Or forget about all those, and put on Tenderly, by Buddy DeFranco, and then the version by Chet Baker, as you are cutting the fish.

HERE’S ALL YOU NEED:

1. Salmon, 1 pound, warmed to room temperature. (You can use any other fleshy white fish instead of, or along with the salmon).
2. Bok choy, one large or three baby, chopped coarsely
3. Tofu (soft, silken variety), one container
4. Ginger root, cut in thin strips, total about 1 heaping Tablespoon
5. Green onions, one or two, chopped coarsely
6. Mushrooms, quartered into small bite size pieces. (button, Cremona, Enoki, oyster, shiitake are fine), total up to 2 Cups max.
7. Soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons
8. Rice vinegar (NOT low calorie/low sodium), 2 Tablespoons
9. Garnish: soy sauce, rice vinegar, spiced soy (eg Ponzu).
10. Rice: about 1 Cup Japanese sushi rice, cooked in a rice cooker is best, but any rice is fine.

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

• Cook rice.
• While rice is cooking, cut tofu into cubes, and fish into large bite-sized pieces
• In a 4 quart 10 inch sauce pan or wok or boiler pot, place enough water to accommodate the ingredients (2 inches in the sauce pan, or about 1 ½ to 2 quarts).
• Add onions and ginger and heat to near boil.
• Add soy sauce and rice vinegar.
• Add mushrooms and boil gently for 1-2 minutes.
• Add bok choy.
• Add fish and tofu and adjust heat down so there is no active boiling.
• Cook until fish is done, about 5 minutes (with salmon, just done, or a little underdone is better for texture than over done.

CADENZA: Serve soup over rice in a bowl. Splash with additional flavorings: soy sauce, rice vinegar, flavored soy such as Ponzu or other Japanese equivalent. Black or mixed ground pepper is also good. Don’t burn your mouth!

WINE: Tea is best. Beer is second best. Sauvignon blanc third. I often go with the third. Why is that?

Carrots Rosemary

                                                Prep time: 10 minutes

                                                Cook time: 30 minutes

                                                Serves 2

            We all cook carrots. The are hard to ruin unless you overcook them in plain water and they lose their flavor.

            This recipe I picked up from my mother because it looked so easy and fool-proof, and the carrot flavor is enhanced through the cooking. And the rosemary, well, it is the perfect herb to use with carrots.

IN ESSENCE: The carrots are combined with just the right amount of water so that when the water is boiled off, they continue to cook and brown slowly on one side until ready to serve, without any need for turning, stirring, etc.

MUSIC: Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue. This, sadly, became the United Airlines theme music, but the whole piece is beautiful and worth knowing. Leonard Bernstein’s recording is my favorite (he conducts and plays the piano).

HERE’S ALL YOU NEED:

1. 3 medium carrots, peeled
2. Butter: 1 tablespoon minimum, up to 2 tablespoons
3. Rosemary: dry or fresh, 1 teaspoon
4. Kosher salt
5. Pepper, a few twists of a pepper grinder
6. Sugar, small pinch

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

• Cut the peeled carrots into pieces 2 inches long, ½ inch wide
• Place in a shallow sauce pan (I use an 8 inch, 2 quart pan)
• Add water enough to just cover carrots
• Add butter, salt, pepper, sugar, rosemary
• Bring to a boil on high heat, uncovered
• As water level gets lower, turn down heat gradually until heat is at lowish when the water is totally evaporated
• Keep on low heat to medium-low until ready to serve
• You shouldn’t have to stir or turn the carrots at all, they will brown lightly on one side. If they are getting too hot and look like they will burn, turn with a spatula and reduce the heat.

CADENZA:

            Carrots are fantastic with lamb. Good also with pork, chicken, beef, or fish. For a vegetarian treat, serve with soft polenta and grilled mushrooms.

WINE: Either red or white go well with these carrots. I favor a red Bordeaux.