I am so honored to have been asked to participate in Natasha’s summer guest blogging series. I am also thoroughly jealous that she is gallivanting across the motherland whilst we guest bloggers wither away in the deep American heat, but what can you do? This guest post could not have come at a better time for me. You see on Tuesday, July 27 I will be making my small-screen debut on Gordon Ramsay’s new show on Fox called MasterChef. I wrote about my experience here, and it was one thing to be there, but an entirely different (read: nerve-racking) matter to wait for it to unfold however the powers that be see fit. I have been so nervous the past week I could power a house with my frenetic energy, and putting together the various components for this post have been my only respite. Thank you again for the gracious opportunity, Natasha, I hope to live up to your very high bar!
As part of Natasha’s series, she has asked that I recreate a classic meal using some assorted goodies from the kind people over at Marx Foods. They sent me a looter’s bounty from which to choose, so I wasn’t able to narrow it down to just one ingredient. I’ve decided to showcase two utterly American dishes updated for 2010. We will start our dining experience with a flaming Steak Diane, featuring Marx mushrooms and flor de sal. Marx Foods has a well-tailored selection of dried mushrooms from which to choose that are all lovely in Steak Diane. I used their black trumpet mushrooms. I top the Diane with a fantastic finishing salt from Portugal called Flor de Sal. Its crystal structure is a thing of wonder and the way it melts on your taste buds means you don’t need a lot to achieve culinary perfection. As you may have guessed from my blog name, I LOVE salt. I make my own salt from the waters of the North Pacific (just for fun) and I recently hosted a salt-tasting party showcasing more than 60 salts, , so when I say Flor de Sal is worth its salt, I mean it profoundly. To finish our tour of classic Americana-gone-modern, we’ll satisfy ourselves with an ice cream sundae. The flavors? Fennel Pollen Saffron on the one hand, then Tepin Chili Mexican Chocolate on the other. The whole thing gets drizzled in reduced balsamic syrup and we are all set for takeoff to America circa 2010.
Why Steak Diane? This dish of somewhat dubious origin was very popular in steakhouses during the 1970’s when tableside flambéing was de rigeur. It only takes a moment to bring the dish together as long as you have your mise en place set up correctly, and its major claim to fame is the fact that it gets lit on fire (usually in front of astonished diners) right before being served.
I like to serve my Diane with Morel mushrooms when they are in season, although the black trumpets were a savored welcome addition. I use Hine cognac instead of the more typical brandy as the ignition liquid. I like the robust flavor the cognac adds, as well as the clean way it burns. The complete Steak Diane recipe is available here on my website. Note that this dish is completely gluten-free if you ground your own mustard seeds. Here is a quick video encapsulating the ease with which you can recreate the Diane experience. Don’t worry, I didn’t even lose my eyebrows lighting the dish on fire!
A more complete version of this video is available for your viewing pleasure here. If you like it, tell America’s Next Food Network Star Youtube Challenge.
Now that we’ve satisfied our savory selves, let’s move on to more important matters: DESSERT! I knew I wanted to do an ice cream sundae since I’ve been churning out ice cream at a rate of a quart a day; it’s National Ice Cream Month (declared by Ronald Reagan) so you can’t blame me, can you? Quite honestly, I wanted to turn pretty much everything in the Marx goodie box into ice cream (Madagascar vanilla beans, flor de sal with caramel, Anaheim chilies, oh my!) but I wisely narrowed my focus. I decided to channel modern Bollywood with the included fennel pollen and mix it with a touch of saffron for a robustly-colored, rich Eastern delight. This just may be my new favorite ice cream. Though it’s a toss-up between that and the Tepin chili Mexican chocolate, which has just the right deep, throaty bite that is perfect for one serving. I have been using my SOUS VIDE machine to make ice cream custard lately- it is a gem! The real beauty of it is that all I have to do is blend up my ingredients, put them into a heat-resistent container, set it in the water bath at 185° F and walk away for three hours. All of those ice cream custards that required steeping and straining before tempering the eggs and whisking them in are perfect in the sous vide because it sort of steeps as it custards (thickens, congeals?) and all you have to do is strain out your big stuff (vanilla bean, mint, etc) once it’s set. Regardless, you can make these ice creams the typical steep-whisk-thicken way too, in fact I’ll write the recipe for a traditional method and if anyone has questions about how to do it sous vide, just let me know. I’m choosing to include the recipe for the saffron fennel pollen because it’s not a common combination, and it really turned out chop-lickin’ delicious.
Fennel Pollen Saffron Ice Cream
©Linda Miller Nicholson
Note: Xanthan and guar gum are included as optional ingredients. They act as stabilizers to help the ice cream stay smooth for easier scooping ease once frozen. They can be found in the baking section of your local Whole Foods, most natural foods co-ops, and even most well-stocked nutrition stores. Look for them near the gluten-free products since they are commonly used in gluten-free baking.
• 1.5 c whole milk
• 1.5 c heavy cream
• ¾ c sugar
• ½ tsp fennel pollen
• Pinch of saffron strands
• Pinch of salt
• 5 egg yolks (I use 3 chicken, 2 duck since I like the flavor and thickness duck eggs add)
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
• 1/8 tsp guar gum (optional)
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, half a cup of heavy cream, sugar, fennel pollen, saffron and salt. Place the remaining cream in a medium bowl with a fine-mesh strainer over the top. Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.
2. Once the milk mixture is reaching the point of simmer and the sugar has dissolved, pour half of it into the eggs, whisking constantly. Continuing to whisk, add the egg mixture back to the saucepan and keep it on medium low heat. Stir constantly until the custard thickens to coat the back of a spoon- anywhere from one minute to five. Do not unman your stirring post- you don’t want scrambled eggs for ice cream!
3. Once the custard has thickened, pour it through the strainer into the waiting cream. Add the xanthan and guar gums a little at a time (if using) and whisk madly to incorporate them, as they have a tendency to glop up. Stir this mixture over an ice bath until cool, then chill thoroughly before churning in an ice cream maker, following manufacturer’s instructions.
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This guest post is part of the 5 Star Makeover Summer'10 Special:
Ten special bloggers have been invited to recreate different classic dishes of their choice and share them on the 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures blog. These guest posts will be featured every Monday from June 28 to August 30. This event is sponsored by MarxFoods, an online store that offers fantastic high quality gourmet products. In September, a final roundup of these makeovers will be posted and readers will be able to vote for their favorite recipe to receive a fabulous prize.
Ten special bloggers have been invited to recreate different classic dishes of their choice and share them on the 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures blog. These guest posts will be featured every Monday from June 28 to August 30. This event is sponsored by MarxFoods, an online store that offers fantastic high quality gourmet products. In September, a final roundup of these makeovers will be posted and readers will be able to vote for their favorite recipe to receive a fabulous prize.
