Archive for December, 2007

Each year we fight as to whether we will eat out, go someplace, or celebrate on December 31, or if I should cook.

This year, the cooking won, based on the success of last year’s chocolate soufflés and the stuffed cabbage.

Course 1: Heirloom Tomato with Smoked Cheese

I had planned a creamy soup, but when you take someone else to the store, things can change.

I layered slices from two different heirloom varieties among smoked mozzarella cheese. I also added sea salt, and dressed them all with a sweet red pepper relish and EVOO.

Delicious. Especially good for December and tomatoes.

Course 2: Lemon Chicken

I succeeded again at perfect chicken. Split the breasts, and pound them thin(ner), coated in coarse pepper. Dredge them in a mixture of egg, cream, and water, then into a mixture of romano cheese, lemon zest, and salted flour.

Next, into the olive oil they go, then they rest while the sauce is prepared. Here they are, in their resting state.

Next, combine sweet onion, garlic, and crimini mushrooms in super hot olive oil. Add salt and red pepper flakes. Add 1 cup of Pinot Grigio (or your favorite white wine) to the pan, and simmer. Add the chicken back, and cover for 5-8 minutes.

At the end, mix in some lemon juice, and serve!

Broccolini

This takes skill to get right: cook too long, it’s limp and awfully colored. Cook not long enough, it’s difficult to eat. The key here is a two-step process (first in boiling water, then in hot oil). Add to salted water for 5-6 minutes, then take out; do not shock in ice water. That’s fine for regular broccoli, but not this variety.

Add to hot garlicky oil, add salt and pepper, and at the end, add a little lemon juice. Yum. Tender and delicious.

Pasta

I mixed copious amounts of EVOO with garlic and chopped heirlooms for a quick sauce. Garnished with chives and parmesan cheese, freshly grated (but of course, maestro, of course…).

Eat! Celebrate all that was good with 2007!

We still have a copious supply of lemons from our earlier Lemon Dinner. This used up but only 2!

Dessert? Yes, I took it easy this year… dessert will be served later thanks to the chefs at the Fresh Market… very berry pie.

I think a sandwich can be a gourmet expression, something so good, it stands up with other more haughty forms of cuisine just fine, thank you. I’m always on the lookout for how to make a better sandwich. The other night I made a good one.

Messy Chef Prosciutto

I took some rustic Italian bread (okay, Ecce Panis Neo Tuscan Boule), and on each lightly toasted slice (I know, the iPhone doesn’t really give it justice), I spread a curious mixture I picked up at Joe’s Market: a sweet red pepper relish. It smelled like tomato salsa, but didn’t taste like it (I swear). It was kind of chunky and wet, and sweet. Not bad.

On top of that went thinly-sliced provolone cheese, and then 2 pieces of prosciutto di parma. Yum. Next, slices of Roma tomato, salted with fleur de sel, then another 2 pieces of parma ham. Wrap that guy up, cut him in two, and that was half of dinner.

It was delicious; the sweet relish, salty tomato, and the ham, was just great. The textures here were the real winners. Too much prosciutto, and you’ve got texture issues. Not enough, you can’t taste it! This was just right.

As if that wasn’t enough, I augmented dinner with soup.

Messy Chef Mushroom Soup

I always make “cream of mushroom soup” the same way, many times with small variations. I start with onions, and end up with a smooth soup (blending it in the blender), then add choicer mushrooms at the end with heavy cream.

This one used:

• 1 carrott, sliced
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• butter, EVOO
• crimini mushrooms, dried chantarelles, soaked
• sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
• vegetable stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Sweat the onion, carrott, and garlic until soft, and gaining color. Add the crimini mushrooms. I threw-in a shot of red wine. Then once the alcohol burns off, I added the stock, plus a little water. Next, add the soakers: tomato and mushrooms. Bring to a boil. I sometimes also add crustless bread cubes to add body, but did not here. Blend until smooth in the blender, then add heavy cream, and shiitake mushrooms. Add salt and pepper. Bring to simmer before serving.

The soup is always rich, flavorful, and satisfying.

Gusto Restaurant is located in Stuart, Florida, serving northern-Italian cuisine.

If you drive around the small-town streets of Stuart, not far from the Roosevelt bridge, you’ll no doubt catch a glimpse of the small restaurant with a big sign: Gusto, serving an inspired Italian menu.

I was impressed with the level of service at Gusto, but not the noise level. While Gusto’s does have small bar area, it was the dining room that lent to loud echoes and chatter among guests.

I had their French-inspired dish, the Dover sole with a piccata treatment (capers and lemon). It was a decent-sized entrée, with each bite more delicious than the last. Other entrées included the cream-sauce adorned filet mignon and the pollo with farfalle. My mother ordered the chicken pasta, and bemoaned us with pleasure with each bite. She later confessed it was greasy, and suspected that pancetta in the sauce gave it this quality.

I, for one, enjoyed the Gusto experience. They served tasty food, from the bread, to the entrées. Salads and desserts were less impressive; the tiramisù, for one, was uninspired and dull. Yet, I’d return again, for the smells, the inspired menu, and the opportunity to try another dish on their menu. I might opt, however, for a less busy night, hopefully proffering less noise and quicker service from the kitchen.

Eleven Maple Street is located in Jensen Beach, Florida.

This was my second visit to 11 Maple, a gourmand’s destination in the so-called treasure coast area of southeastern Florida. Located in a small cottage among more touristy destinations, this quaint, eclectically-styled restaurant serves creative interpretations of excellent cuisine.

Two menus were presented to us; one a long list of “small plates” and another of entrées. Our server Joy was a pleasant host. Our only real complaint for the restaurant was its choice of tap water. My parents informed me this was “Florida tap water” which smells smokey and is not palatable. We were not offered any other water choices for the evening.

I had their kobe hanger steak small plate, served with fried onion rings and a mayonnaise-based sauce. The beef was excellent, and the flavors all combined nicely with the wine choice of the evening, a Shiraz/Cabernet blend from Lake Breeze in Australia.

My larger plate of duck breast and confit duck leg was also tasty. The confit leg was less well executed; the breast was good, and the accompanying sauce (with smokey sweetness) was great. Other entrées and dishes included sea bass, elk, tofu soup, and a calamari salad.

Two desserts were ordered: pear cake and their white chocolate bread pudding. Both were very well received by all at the table. We of course left too full, but everything on the plate was enjoyable, and as my dad remarked, “A work of art” (referring to presentation).

I have no reservation in recommending your visit to 11 Maple Street in Jensen Beach. From the decor, to the variety of dishes, to the relaxed atmosphere, there is bound to be a good time for all.

N.B. For those reading and paying attention to the star ratings, I felt I could not give 11 Maple a full 5-star recommendation. The level of service(s) offered, one wrong order, etc., eclipsed the restaurant from a designation of full, top-quality in rating. With small adjustments, this location could attain a 5-star rating based on the criteria we use at MessyCuisine. This visit followed an earlier one in 2005. Our impressions the second time around were more favorable, and we wish the outfit on a continued course for success.

Here is my review from December, 2005, detailing my first visit to 11 Maple Street. I awarded it 4 stars then.

After Christmas this year, my family and I dined at 11 Maple Street in Jensen Beach, Florida. My parents had chosen the location, and deemed it “the best we can offer.” It had supposed been rated #1 in the “Treasure Coast” area of south-central Florida, on the Atlantic coast.

It’s an old house, and during warmer weather, you can eat both inside and out; for us, we sat in the largest of the interior rooms, off to side of the main building which also included restrooms and the kitchen. I’ve eaten at many good places in my life (I’m not boasting, but I am rather fond of reminding myself how good life has treated me), and it seems restaurants can do two things to impress people, their guests: good service, good food. I think good service is easier than good food. And great service says nothing about the quality of food. True exceptions in the business are those that excel equally well at both food and service, but this distinction is important.

I saw more of an emphasis at 11 Maple on the food, more so than the service. This is not to say you’ll be treated poorly here, but simply, they’re not going to go overboard for you. This is not a place where napkins get re-folded when you walk away from your table; you may have to ask for a knife after yours has been taken away, and your waiter may not always be within eye’s view, should you need something.

The decor of the restaurant was special, and I imagine eating in one of their little alcove rooms is special too. Where touches made the atmosphere inviting, others directly in front of us were missing: the plates, the silver, the glasses were unimpressive. The tap water they served was really poor. It tasted like charcoal. So, on one hand, I’d lump service, and ‘table service’ together as “just okay” at 11 Maple. The surroundings, and the food, were much better.

The menu changes regularly, and their selection of appetizers and main entrées was impressive for its variety. I could hardly pick too many from their list that might disappoint. We ended up choosing 2 sea bass entrées, 1 hanger steak entree, and one beef tenderloin entrée. For appetizers we sampled the arugala/balsamic pear salad, the crisp artichokes, and the spinach/calamari salad. All were delicious. Strong flavors were had on mine, but the whole thing was delicious. Pear, blue cheese, and the sweetness from balsamic vinegar was excellent. Scent was imposed by way of porcini mushrooms. Odd mixtures of ingredients, but satisfaction followed.

The fish entrées had strong flavors. I loved mine; it was characteristic of a strong woody, smokey flavor. Another didn’t like the dish as well; he felt the flavors were too strong, and things tasted “burnt.” The favorite, for me, was the smokey, dense flavor of roasted tomato and corn which served as a base for this dish. The hanger steak entrée was stunning, but less-estatic comments were delivered by way of the tenderloin entrée.

The Riesling wine I chose went superbly with the fish. It was a less-than-excellent match with other things I sampled. Despite any good judgement I had by meal’s end, I had to try one of their desserts.

Their coconut sorbet was served in a martini glass; the glass was anchored on the plate using chocolate sauce. This dessert was creamy and rich; the glass was composed of pineapple chunk-sized pieces of frozen coconut sorbet. The texture when biting into each one was incredible, a real treat, and a 5-star dessert. It was my cold-sensitive teeth, however, that got the best of me, but if you can stand biting into cold fare, this was the restaurants tour de force. It is rich, when eaten in full, so like I did, I would recommend sharing it.

In all, the meal at 11 Maple St. may in fact be one of the best the Treasure Coast has to offer. For me, everything was delicious, but improvements in service and perhaps the wares on the table would make it truly world-class. The good news, however, is you don’t need to dress formally to enjoy great, creative cuisine.

I took some nice photos of the Christmas dinner I made at my parent’s home.

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Haricot-vert (Green Beans) with Garlic and EVOO
• Lemon Oven Baked Potatoes with Garlic and Parsley
• Ciabatta Bread with Lemon Juice and EVOO
• Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Ham
• Chocolate Mousse with Ground Macadamias

The soup has been a favorite this holiday season. I roasted one butternut squash in the oven, and later scooped-out the flesh into a broth. For this recipe, I used one large sweet onion, garlic, brown sugar, salt, pepper, celery and boxed chicken stock. After simmering this for 20 minutes, I blended the contents together in a blender (in batches) until smooth, and added it back to the pot with nutmeg and heavy cream, more salt to taste.

You can thicken the soup with the addition of more squash, day-old bread cubes, or a roux mixture before blending.

The potatoes were popular (second best, according to my mom), based on Yukon Gold’s, placed on a hot sheet pan with EVOO and black pepper. These are baked in the oven, turned twice. Right before serving, add a mixture of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley. Stir, and return to oven for 5 minutes before plating. Add salt to taste.

The ham was dressed with a mixture that formed a glaze. I took one red onion, 4 cloves garlic, and sautéed these until translucent. I next added two types of mustard, cider vinegar, and water, and boiled the mixture down. I added two rings of canned pineapple, and some pineapple juice. Before cooling, I added brown sugar, orange juice, and black pepper.

This thickened glaze was scooped on top of the ham, which had been sliced to reveal crevices. 15 minutes before serving, I basted the ham with more glaze, uncovered. Ham directions said to cook it until an internal temperature of 135 F. Before carving, it had risen to 143, according to the digital thermometer.

The mousse was not as light as I had hoped. I made it one day ahead. I scooped into bowls with toasted and ground-up macadamia nuts.

• chocolate bars
• heavy cream
• egg whites
• sugar syrup
• vanilla

First, melt your chocolate over a low flame (double boiler method). Next, whip your egg whites to soft peaks. Create a sugar syrup (3:1, in favor of sugar) to around 300-325 degrees. Stream into the egg whites, while still beating. This creates a so-called cooked white mixture, or Italian meringue.

Next, whip the heavy cream, and fold into the cooled, yet melted chocolate. You will sacrifice some cream earlier on to temper (cool) the chocolate.

Next, add the meringue, with a folding motion. Our mixture was too dense; I think we used too much chocolate for the amount of cream/egg whites.