A Happy Bunch of Guinea Pigs 開心的白老鼠

Neither Rena nor I have been on the ski slopes for many years after moving back to Taiwan. In March, we finally made it to a ski resort in central Japan. (we missed the quake by two days) So, we skied with these "people" for three days, but didn't really get to know each other until we landed back in Taipei. Somehow, chitchat topics shifted to food and restaurant discussions, and people's face LIT UP. Anyway, a few new Facebook friends were added at the luggage pickup. In early April, I asked if anyone is interested in being guinea pigs (天竺鼠, "白老鼠" 的意思) for my new cooking class recipe, and voila all these people showed up at our house for dinner. "You cook, and we'll pay for ingredients." Sure sounded like a good deal to me.

我和 Rena 在搬回台灣後都沒有再去滑雪過。三月時，我們終於跟到了一個滑雪團去了日本苗場， (好險沒遇到 311) 和一群同學們滑了三天，但三天都沒有好好認識新朋友。反而是飛機降落後在機艙內談到美食，突然大家就熟起來了，在等行李時大夥兒很快互相交換了 FB 的帳號。四月初, 因為料理課的新菜單需要做些練習，我隨興問了有誰有興趣當白老鼠，試試我的新菜單，很迅速的就邀到六個滑雪的朋友，"你負責料理，我們付食材"，那有甚麼問題!

Dinner Menu for 30 Apr. 2011:

• Appetizer:
  Seared Scallop Arugula Salad
  Orange & Balsamic Vinaigrette
  香煎干貝芝麻葉沙拉, 配香橙 & 巴薩米克油醋
• Main Course:
  One-sided Seared Salmon
  Leeks with Beurre Blanc
  生煎鮭魚 佐甜蔥 & 法式奶油醬汁
• Dessert:
  Crepes with Fresh Fruit & Vanilla Ice Cream
  Nutella Filling and Raspberry Syrup
  法式可麗餅, 搭配新鮮水果, 榛果巧克力醬 & 覆盆子糖漿

I've made scallops a few times before, but can't say I got it down to repeatable steps. Since I am going to be teaching this to students, I've referenced a few more recipes, even videos from Gordan Ramsay and Ming Tsai. The key is really high quality scallops patted dry and hot skillet. Rena and I both love Arugula, and so I wanted to include that in the dish. Last year, I found a herb supplier in a local traditional market, so I no longer buy my herbs from over-priced high-end super markets. (gosh I really hated paying US$3 for a small bunch of chives) The scallops I used were the frozen packs from Costco, originated in Nantucket or somewhere in New England. Because of all the homework I did, this appetizer turned out well tonight, better than the scallops we had at Jean Georges Shanghai. Definitely ready

之前有做過幾次煎干貝，但都沒有把步驟熟練。既然這次是要教學生，我上網參考了幾個不同的食譜，也參考了地獄廚房主廚 Gordan Ramsay 的 Youtube 影片。看來訣竅是要用高品質的干貝，下鍋前先充分擦乾，還有無敵熱的平底鍋。我和 Rena 都很喜歡芝麻葉，於是也想把芝麻葉包含到課程內，台灣最近有蠻多供應商的，像我在濱江市場就找到了一個攤子，是專門供應台北高檔西餐廳的，各式香草西式蔬菜應有盡有，我終於不用再去微風或 Jason's 花冤枉錢。干貝是 Costco 賣的美國冷凍干貝，size 夠大品質也很好。因為有做功課，今晚的干貝前菜算很成功，比我們在上海 Jean Georges 吃到的還棒。

When we were renovating our house, our designer installed black glass wall in the kitchen. Glass in the kitchen not only makes it easy to clean, but also allows me to use florescent markers to write my menu du jour -- really just more fun for guests in the whole dine-at-home experience. (a must photo-shoot spot)

當初在裝潢時，設計師建議我們安裝黑玻在廚房裡，一來好清洗，二來他考慮到我做菜時可以拿螢光筆寫當日的菜單，替來吃飯的朋友們增添許多樂趣。(這塊變成必拍)

This salmon recipe was stolen from Michelin-starred Chef Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook (though I never saw it on the menu the two times I visited the restaurant). I make this dish for guests from time to time, and I'd say most sashimi eaters just love the dish as it brings you several textures all in one bite. The bottom is a crispy layer with lots of caramelization flavors, the cooked flesh brings a silky bite to the palate, and the raw part simply melts in the mouth. I highly recommend this cooking method if you can get your hands on super fresh salmon. I also wanted to include this dish for my cooking class because it uses beurre blanc, a classic French butter sauce for fish. Beurre blanc just works awesome with salmon.

這個鮭魚食譜是來自於米其林星級主廚 Thomas Keller 的 Bouchon 餐廳 (雖然去了兩次 Bouchon 都沒在菜單上看到)，我久久會做一次這道菜，而且通常會為喜愛生魚片的朋友們帶來驚喜，因為這種煎法會讓鮭魚有很多層次。鮭魚的底部微焦，中間煮熟的肉因鮭魚的油脂非常的多汁鮮嫩，但生的部分反而會在嘴巴中融化。如果可以買到新鮮的鮭魚，我個人建議可以試試這個煮法。另一個挑選這道菜的原因是法式奶油醬 beurre blanc，是個很經典的法式醬汁，再搭配上鮭魚是個很不錯的組合。

My cooking class is centered around French cuisine, so crepe was a good choice for the dessert dish. I've tried a number of different recipes from the Web and cookbooks, but none of them yielded the fluffy texture of the crepes from creperies in Paris. This one day, I tried Thomas Keller's recipe, also from the Bouchon cookbook, and man this was it! The secret ingredient is heavy cream, which adds another depth into the flavor spectrum. Also, anyone who's been to a creperie knows there's probably a thousand ways you can dress a crepe. I personally like ice cream and a tangy sauce...or banana and Nutella...or simple lemon juice and powder sugar. You get the idea. There's also a ton of savory crepe recipes out there, but I'll have to get to them one of these days.

既然料理課叫做"餐桌上的法式香頌"，可麗餅當然成為甜點的不二選擇。之前有試過幾個不同的可麗餅食譜，但都無法做出我在巴黎吃到可麗餅的那種鬆軟口感。有天試了我的食譜聖經 Bouchon Cookbook 裡的可麗餅食譜，終於找到了! 讓可麗餅鬆軟的秘密武器是生奶油 (whipping cream)，也讓看似平凡的餅皮增添了許多香味。去過可麗餅屋的人都知道這東西大概有一千種吃法，我通常喜歡餅上面加冰淇淋和偏酸的糖漿...或香蕉和 Nutella...或簡單的檸檬汁和糖霜。真的是很多種 XD 另外，鹹的可麗餅的吃法也很多種，來慢慢排進我的 to-cook 清單吧...

Thanks to my new batch of culinary lab rats -- hope you guys enjoyed the food and wine!
感謝各位料理白老鼠捧場 -- 希望大家都吃得喝得很開心! (算見識到你們葡萄酒的海量...)

 

Date: 2011.4.30

Who Could Resist Risotto 誰能抵擋義式燉飯的魅力

It's been two weeks since I cooked my first ever risotto dish. Coming home from a few "scallop mishaps" while teaching my cooking class on Sunday, Rena asked if I could make risotto for dinner.

"Can we have risotto and scallops tonight.....? YOU make it!"
"Sure, why not?"

For one thing, I love risotto myself, especially that al dente core of each rice grain. But, what I really wanted to do was properly sautee scallops using the right ingredients, just to make up for what happened in class.

兩週前第一次煮了義式燉飯。今天在教料理課時發生了些"干貝意外"，回到家後 Rena 說今晚想吃燉飯，

"晚上可以吃 risotto 跟干貝嗎.....? 你煮!"
"uh...好吧"

我自己蠻喜歡義式燉飯的，特別是那硬硬的米心，但主要還是想好好的煎出漂亮的干貝，彌補上課時的小狀況。

As I was making the stock, I started thinking about how to plate the dish to make it visually pleasing. (is "plating" a hobby?) I remembered picture of a risotto dish made by a Michelin-starred chef in Rome, on how he was able to mold the rice into an elegant cylinder instead of the typical "blob" in a shallow bowl. I haven't used my molding toys for eons anyway, so that was the plan. I also remembered my mother gave me a bag of dried Japanese scallops from home. Dried scallops are highly prized in Asia, and bring a fantastic element into otherwise plain vegetables or soups. I decided to add that into the risotto, I mean, we've already got fresh scallops, so why not add more scallop flavors into the equation. Dried scallops are easy to use - pretty much soak it up in water to re-hydrate and you're ready to go. The soaked water also contains tons of flavor so that'll be part of my stock.

Cooking, a lot of times, is about improv, like stand-up comedy.

開始做高湯時，在想燉飯擺盤要怎麼弄才會好看 (擺盤能算是嗜好嗎?)，突然想到有次看到一位在羅馬的米其林星級主廚做 risotto 的照片，是用模子把飯塑成圓形, 而不是一陀擺在盤子上的做法。反正我的圓形模子也大概八百年沒用了，決定來試試這擺法。另外，我媽前陣子給了我一包乾的日本干貝，想說已經有煎的鮮干貝了，再多加些干貝應該 OK 吧? 自家料理通常都不計成本，而且泡乾干貝的水也可以替高湯增添味道。

做菜常常是很即興的，想加甚麼就加甚麼，有點像老外的那種台上即興表演。

Making risotto requires a bit of patience, because you really have to ladle stock in slowly and stir diligently, or you won't end up with the right creamy consistency. In the end, I had onion, sauteed mushrooms, dried Japanese scallops, and English aged cheddar cheese in the risotto. A bit of departure from classics, but I think it worked well.

料理燉飯還蠻需要耐心的，因為高湯必須慢慢地加入鍋裡，然後不停地攪拌讓義大利米的澱粉釋放，才會最後有很濃稠的外表跟口感。今晚的燉飯裡有洋蔥、煎白姬菇、瑤柱、英國 cheddar 乳酪。沒有很遵循傳統，但覺得這樣的中西組合還不錯。

Seared scallops are really simple to make - pat dry scallops thoroughly, remove "foot", season with sea salt and white pepper, heat stainless pan with grape seed oil till super hot, sautee 1 minute on one side and 30 seconds on the other and get them out of the frying pan as soon as humanly possible.

For plating, I molded the risotto, placed scallops on top, and added some chopped tomatoes as garnish. I happened to have a bottle of basil oil from class, so that was squeezed around the risotto. Right when I thought I was done, I remember Serena's mother gave me a small bottle of truffle oil! Mrs. Hsu gave me all these imported expensive Italian ingredients and asked if I could cook them and take pictures of the dishes. What a rough request, right? Anyway, the ring of truffle oil on the plate was the final touch to the dish.

煎干貝的作法超簡單: 擦乾干貝，移除小肌肉，用海鹽和白胡椒調味，平底鍋放入葡萄籽油加到高溫，第一面煎一分鐘，第二面煎三十秒，然後迅速的將干貝從鍋子裡取出。

我把燉飯用圓形模子擺好後，上面放了三顆干貝，然後再加上少許的碎番茄點綴。中午教學時剛好有一瓶羅勒油，就在飯的周圍擠了一圈。就在覺得已經完成時，記得 Serena 的媽媽送了我一瓶義大利進口的松露油，徐媽送了我一些義大利的食材，說只要我煮好拍照片給他就好了，真是好康啊! 最後當然就在盤子的外圍滴了一圈的松露油來做 finish。

We ate the Italian flag that night.

晚上吃了義大利國旗。

Scallops and truffle oil really match perfectly. Risotto has so many variations so I don't think I'll run out of risotto ideas any time soon...risotto with pesto...saffron... We'll see what I feel like next time. I wonder what would happen if I use Asian short-grain rice to make risotto - might have to give that a try later.

干貝搭配松露油只能說是絕配。義式燉飯的作法很多種，應該很難重複，青醬燉飯...番紅花燉飯... 就看下次要煮時的心情如何。不知台灣本地的白米是否可以用義式燉飯的做法煮，可能下次要來試一下。

Date: 2011.6.26