Issue 46 | Saveur

Pork Belly Soft-Tofu Hot Pot

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:23:06 +0000

Freshly made tofu is traditionally used for this dish, but commercial silken tofu is a good substitute. The recipe is from Ktown's popular B.C.D Tofu House. Get the recipe for Pork Belly Soft-Tofu Hot Pot ». James Baigrie

Freshly made tofu is traditionally used for this dish, but commercial silken tofu is a good substitute. The recipe is from Ktown’s popular B.C.D Tofu House.

Makes: serves 2-4

Ingredients

¹⁄₄ cup solidified rendered beef fat or lard
2 tbsp. Korean crushed hot red pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 scallions, trimmed and minced
3 oz. pork belly, cut into 1/2" cubes
3 cups rich beef broth
1 sheet laver or nori (dried seaweed in thin sheets), optional
1 (18-oz.) container silken tofu
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 egg

Instructions

Heat a medium stone pot or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add beef fat, crushed red pepper, garlic, and half the scallions, and cook, stirring frequently, until fat melts and garlic and scallions are fragrant, 1–3 minutes. Add pork belly, and fry, stirring frequently, until just cooked through without browning, about 3 minutes. Carefully add broth, and boil vigorously until slightly thickened, 20–30 minutes.
Meanwhile, use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to cut several wide strips from the laver, if using, and set aside. (Save remaining laver for another use.) Drain silken tofu, and add to pot (silken tofu is very soft and will break into large pieces). Bring broth back to a boil, and cook until tofu has warmed through and breaks into smaller pieces, about 10 minutes. Add remaining scallions, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in sesame oil, and garnish hot pot with reserved laver strips, if using.
To serve, carefully bring boiling hot pot to the table, break egg into hot pot, and allow to poach for a few minutes before eating. Serve with bowls of hot steamed rice, if you like.

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Braised Beef Short Ribs

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:53:36 +0000

Woo Lae Oak in Los Angeles garnishes its version of this dish with thinly sliced strips of plain omelette.

Makes: serves 4-6

Ingredients

6 dried shiitake mushrooms
6 dried red dates
3 lb. bone-in beef short ribs, in 3–4"-long pieces
2 cups mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 medium daikon, peeled, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 2" pieces
1 (2") piece ginger, peeled and lightly crushed
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
3 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 2" pieces
1 cup soy sauce
¹⁄₄ cup drained canned ginkgo nuts
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil

Instructions

Put mushrooms and red dates together in a medium bowl of hot water, cover, and soak until soft, about 1 hour. Drain, trim, and discard stems from mushrooms. Set mushroom caps and dates aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large, heavy-bottomed pot of water to a boil over high heat. Make 3 crosswise cuts into each piece of meat, just down to the bone. Add meat to pot, and cook, skimming foam that rises to the surface until most of the foam subsides, about 10 minutes. Drain meat in a colander, and rinse well under cold running water.
Return meat to clean pot; add mirin, daikon, ginger, garlic, and enough cold water to cover meat and daikon (about 6 cups). Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
Add carrots, soy sauce, and reserved mushrooms and dates to the pot. Increase heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until meat is very tender, carrots are soft, and liquid is slightly thickened, about 1 hour more. Just before serving, add ginkgo nuts and sesame oil, and simmer until just heated through, about 5 minutes.

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Chestnut Stuffing

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:21:54 +0000

Traditionally used for stuffing fatty birds like goose because of their high starch content, we like using chestnuts in stuffings for leaner birds like turkey as well, for the sweet nutty flavor they impart. Get the recipe for Chestnut Stuffing ». Christopher Hirsheimer

Chestnuts “roasting on an open fire” (or on wintry street corners) are emblematic of the holidays. Higher in starch and lower in oil than most other nuts, they are also traditionally added, especially in European countries, to the stuffing for goose, to help soak up the bird’s abundant fat. We like chestnut stuffing, too, in leaner birds like turkey, capon, and chicken, just for the flavor.

Makes: serves 10-12

Ingredients

¹⁄₂ lb. butter
6-8 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cups torn white crustless bread
4 cups peeled roasted chestnuts
1 tbsp. fresh thyme or winter savory leaves
¹⁄₄ cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add bread, stir until well combined with shallots, and continue to cook until bread is lightly browned.
Remove skillet from heat, add chestnuts and thyme, and, using your fingers, break up about a quarter of the chestnuts. Drizzle in cream and stir until stuffing is just moist but not packed together. Generously season with salt and pepper.
Spoon warm stuffing into turkey, truss, and bake. Or transfer stuffing to a medium buttered baking dish with a cover. Bake for about 30 minutes covered; then uncover and continue to bake until stuffing is hot and lightly golden on top, 15 minutes more. Garnish with a large sprig of fresh thyme or winter savory, if you like.

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Southern Corn Bread

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:36:41 +0000

Coarsely crumble this classic corn bread for use in stuffings.

Makes: serves 6

Ingredients

7 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups yellow or white cornmeal
²⁄₃ cup all-purpose flour
5 tsp. baking powder
1 ¹⁄₂ tsp. salt
1 ¹⁄₂ tsp. sugar (optional)
1 ²⁄₃ cups buttermilk
4 eggs, well beaten

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a medium cast-iron skillet or baking dish with 1 tbsp. of the butter and set aside. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar (if using) together in a large mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and eggs and beat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Add remaining butter and stir until just mixed.
Pour batter into prepared skillet or dish and bake until golden, firm to the touch, and cracked on top, about 30 minutes. Set aside to let cool.

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Trussing a Turkey or Chicken

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:30:09 +0000

4. TYING:
Push the needle under the legs through the thigh and the soft flesh under the breast and out to where you started. Pull the two ends taut, and tie them in a double bow. As you tie the two ends of twine, the bird will pull together into a solid "package.". Christopher Hirsheimer

When chef Guy Savoy trusses his Free-Range Turkey with Foie Gras Stuffing, he does it the French way. Follow these instructions to make this job an easier one.

1. THREADING:

Thread an 8” trussing needle with a 24” piece of cotton kitchen twine, and use it to sew up the cavity of the stuffed turkey, tucking the tail up and under and then sewing it closed.

2. TRUSSING:

Rethread the needle with a 48” piece of twine, and push it through the soft part of the lower thigh and out the other side in the middle of the leg. Leave enough twine to tie off at the end.

3. TURNING:

Turn the bird over, breast side down. Push the needle through the wing and neck skin and out through the opposite wing. Then truss through the center of leg to lowest part of opposite thigh.

4. TYING:

Push the needle under the legs through the thigh and the soft flesh under the breast and out to where you started. Pull the two ends taut, and tie them in a double bow. As you tie the two ends of twine, the bird will pull together into a solid ”package.”

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Sourdough–Sage Stuffing

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:32:14 +0000

Fine bread crumbs make a more elegant stuffing than bread cubes do.

Makes: serves 12

Ingredients

¹⁄₂ lb. butter
3 medium yellow onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 head celery, trimmed and finely chopped
Leaves from 1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped
¹⁄₂ cup finely chopped fresh sage leaves (about 6 large sprigs)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cups fine fresh sourdough bread crumbs
¹⁄₂ cup Chicken Stock

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook without browning, stirring often, until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add celery, parsley, and sage. Generously season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Add bread crumbs to onion–celery mixture and toss until well combined. Add chicken stock and mix until stuffing is just moist but not packed together. Adjust seasonings.
Spoon warm stuffing into turkey, truss, and bake. Or put stuffing into a buttered baking pan and bake until hot and golden on top, 30–45 minutes.

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Light Mussel and Pumpkin Soup

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:48:29 +0000

Don't try to make this elegant soup with Halloween pumpkins. Instead, try kabocha squash, or Cinderella or cheese pumpkins, often available in autumn at farm stands and specialty markets. See the recipe for Light Mussel and Pumpkin Soup ». Martin Schreiber

Don’t try to make this elegant soup with Halloween pumpkins. Instead, try kabocha squash, or Cinderella or cheese pumpkins, often available in autumn at farm stands and specialty markets.

Makes: serves 4

Ingredients

6 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
1 lb. mussels, cleaned
3 cups dry white wine
3-4 lb. of pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs parsley, chopped

Instructions

Melt 2 tbsp. of the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium pot over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add mussels, wine, and 1 cup water; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Strain mussels through a colander set over a medium bowl. Set broth aside. Remove mussels from their shells (discard any that don’t open), and discard shells. Set mussels aside.
Melt remaining 4 tbsp. butter in same pot over medium heat. Add pumpkin, and cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Add reserved mussel broth, and simmer until pumpkin is very soft and broth thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.
Working in batches, puree pumpkin in a blender until smooth. Return puree to pot over medium-low heat, add mussels, season to taste with salt and pepper, and heat until warm (do not boil). Serve in warmed soup bowls, and garnish with parsley.

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Thanksgiving In Paris

R.W. Apple Jr. — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:48:15 +0000

Saveur

It was one of those unexpected 90-degree days in June in Paris—the kind that turns the Champs-Élysees into a boulevard in Marseilles, with the jeunes filles flaunting their Mediterranean finery—and there we were, girding for Thanksgiving dinner.

Ah, Thanksgiving. It is the uniquely American holiday, linked to our very beginnings as a people and burrowed deeply into our national culture. Heirloom family recipes. Eating too much. Watching Uncle Fred drink too much and tell the same stories year after year. Football games. And the obligatory walk afterward, to shake down the sweet potatoes and the second helping of stuffing. Wherever we go, we do our best to rekindle the memories.

I’ve spent some nutty Thanksgivings in various parts of the world myself. I’ve eaten C rations. Once, in East Africa, I celebrated the holiday by roasting a bird called a greater bustard (bustards are gallinaceous creatures, just like turkeys). But I’d never, ever, had Thanksgiving in high summer before.

The idea was to preview a French interpretation of the holiday meal so that it could be photographed and reported on for the November 2000 issue of SAVEUR. My wife, Betsey, and a couple of old buddies from Saigon days, Morley Safer of CBS News and Jonathan Randal, former senior foreign correspondent for the Washington Post, had agreed to take part.

The dinner was to be served midmorning at Version Sud, near the Arc de Triomphe—one of four bistros owned by the celebrated Parisian chef Guy Savoy. My orders were to report at 8 a.m., well before the rest of the gang, in sufficiently good shape for asking cogent questions about the meal of Monsieur Savoy and Gilles Chesneau, who was to cook our feast that day. I made it, a little the worse for the wear. Savoy greeted me with a glass of white wine and a hard cheese, salers, given to him by a client; chablis, I can testify, makes an ideal breakfast wine.

Turkey was probably introduced into France in the mid-16th century and was served at the wedding banquet of Charles IX and Elizabeth of Hapsburg in 1570. Today, under the names dinde, dindon, and dindonneau—designating female, male, and young turkeys, respectively—it appears from time to time on French menus, but it is no more a restaurant mainstay in France than kidneys are in America.

And Thanksgiving, that quintessential all-American holiday, has never figured importantly on the French calendar—a fact that inspired Art Buchwald’s most famous column, written in his salad days at the International Herald Tribune, in which he sought to explain “Le Jour de Merci Donnant” to the French, complete with a description of the Pilgrims’ voyage on board the “Fleur de Mai”, with the redoubtable “Kilometres Deboutish” as one of their leaders.

Why, then, should Guy Savoy actually celebrate the day? Why should the chef of a two-star restaurant (worth three, in my view), known for his nonpareil artichoke soup and super-succulent veal chops, mess around with something like this? Well, for one thing, he spent time in America in the early 1980s, running a restaurant in Greenwich, Connecticut. (He still gets to New York occasionally and counts himself a devotee of Nobu, Peter Luger, and the Mercer Kitchen.) Besides, Savoy told me, he thought the French needed more holidays to celebrate. “In the old days,” he said, “we had only the Fourteenth of July—our national day—and Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, plus the religious holidays, of course.” “I don’t know,” remarked Safer, ever the provocateur. “When I was working here, it seemed as if there was a holiday or a greve [strike] every other day.”

In any event, since 1995, Savoy has served an annual Thanksgiving dinner at his bistros (as well as a Valentine’s Day truffle dinner at his formal restaurant). Offered only on Thanksgiving evening, it costs just 200 francs (less than 30 dollars) and sells out quickly. The crowd, he reports, is evenly split between French and American clients. “The French used to wear blinders,” he said, “but they’ve taken them off. Today we long for the foreign. That’s why today you can eat around the world in Paris without getting on a plane. As for the Americans, they like the foie gras and the mussels because they’re exotic, something they’re not used to.”

We had been told that we didn’t actually have to eat our midmorning Thanksgiving dinner; just taste it athletically enough for photographic purposes. But we are mannerly people, after all, who wouldn’t have wanted to hurt the chef’s feelings by sending full plates back to the kitchen. Besides, all of us are gluttons, and the food was free, if somewhat unseasonal. So we sat down to dinner at 10:30 a.m. in a back room with appropriately pumpkin- colored walls. Bread flavored with cumin and parmigiano came first, followed by a soup of mussels and fresh pumpkin—”the exact color of the chair in that van Gogh in Amsterdam,” observed Safer, his mood clearly improving. The main course, roast turkey stuffed with a light foie gras-larded mousse of bresse chicken, had the cooks in the group marveling at its moistness. We explained to chef Chesneau that millions of Americans were doomed to chew and smile their way every fall through birds as dry as pemmican. His secret, he said, was to rub the turkey with fistfuls of butter, put it into a cold oven, and raise the temperature gradually, basting the bird with every increase. When it was done, the chef said, he poured out all the fat and deglazed the pan with white chicken stock. We would have told him that he was a genius, but our mouths were full.

With the turkey came pureed sweet potatoes with bacon strips (about one potato to every gallon of double cream, I estimated), parsleyed carrots, and slim green beans. Norman Rockwell would have approved. Then there was a small green salad, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar that had been reduced on the side of the stove, and a slightly warmed reblochon. Finally, a tart—two-thirds pumpkin and one-third apple. Perfect, especially with a glass of sweet muscat de rivesaltes. “That’s not your mother’s apple pie,” Betsey observed. “The chef has managed to tame the hateful pumpkin, not once but twice in a single meal.”

Jon Randal—who has lived in Paris for 40 years off and on and is as much Frenchman as American—gave his seal of approval to the experience as well. “Not only was it a good meal,” he said, “but we got to tell a few lies, and the room was air-conditioned, too.”

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Oyster Stuffing

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:48:31 +0000

This cornbread and oyster dressing is a holiday staple around the Chesapeake Bay. Christopher Hirsheimer

Adjust the ratio of oysters to bread crumbs in this recipe according to taste—and budget.

Makes: serves 8

Ingredients

2-4 cups shucked oysters with their juice
10 tbsp. butter
4-6 cups fresh fine white bread crumbs
3 ribs celery, trimmed and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Put oysters into a colander set over a bowl and set aside to drain. Reserve juices and discard any bits of oyster shell left in the oysters.
Melt 8 tbsp. of the butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add bread crumbs and fry until crisp and golden, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. Spread bread crumbs on a baking sheet and set aside to let cool.
In same skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add celery and cook until bright green but still crunchy, about 3 minutes.
Mix bread crumbs and celery together in a large bowl, then generously season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in oysters, taking care to keep them whole. If stuffing looks too dry, add a little of the oyster juice. Spoon stuffing into turkey, truss, and bake. Or transfer stuffing to a buttered baking pan and bake until hot and golden on top, about 30 minutes. Garnish with celery leaves, if you like.

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Corn Bread–Sausage Stuffing

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:32:01 +0000

See the Recipe. Christopher Hirsheimer

Recipes for stuffing—also known in some circles as “dressing”, apparently for reasons of Victorian modesty—vary according to taste, geography, and/or ethnic heritage. Rice and pecans show up frequently in stuffings from the South, as does, not surprisingly, corn bread. Corn bread made at home from scratch greatly improves this stuffing.

Makes: serves 10-12

Ingredients

¹⁄₂ lb. butter
6-8 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cups torn white crustless bread
4 cups peeled roasted chestnuts
1 tbsp. fresh thyme or winter savory leaves
¹⁄₄ cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add bread, stir until well combined with shallots, and continue to cook until bread is lightly browned.
Remove skillet from heat, add chestnuts and thyme, and, using your fingers, break up about a quarter of the chestnuts. Drizzle in cream and stir until stuffing is just moist but not packed together. Generously season with salt and pepper.
Spoon warm stuffing into turkey, truss, and bake. Or transfer stuffing to a medium buttered baking dish with a cover. Bake for about 30 minutes covered; then uncover and continue to bake until stuffing is hot and lightly golden on top, 15 minutes more. Garnish with a large sprig of fresh thyme or winter savory, if you like.

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Free-Range Turkey With Foie Gras Stuffing

Organic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:35:51 +0000

Guy Savoy not only stuffs his turkey with foie gras; he also uses super-premium poulet de bresse, a special chicken raised according to strict government controls in Bour-en-Bresse, France, for the stuffing’s chicken mousse. A high-quality free-range chicken is an adequate substitute.

Makes: serves 4-8

Ingredients

For the Stuffing

10-12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat, cartilage, and tendons
8-10 oz. fresh foie gras
2 tsp. salt
2 egg whites
1 cup heavy cream, chilled

For the Turkey

1 (8-10-lb.) free-range turkey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ lb. butter, softened
2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

For the stuffing: Cut chicken into large pieces, transfer to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. Cut foie gras into 1” cubes, transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.
Put chicken and salt into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to a finely ground paste. Add egg whites, and pulse until well combined. With machine running, gradually add cream, processing just until all cream has been added and mixture is smooth. Transfer to bowl with chilled foie gras, and gently fold together, using a rubber spatula. Cover, and refrigerate stuffing until chilled.
For the turkey: Rinse turkey, pat dry with paper towels, and liberally season, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Spoon stuffing into turkey cavity; then sew cavity shut, and truss turkey using a trussing needle and kitchen twine. Rub butter all over bird; then transfer to a rack set in a large, heavy roasting pan.
Set oven rack in lower third of oven. Put turkey in oven and set oven to 200°. After 30 minutes, increase heat by 50°, and baste turkey with melted butter in roasting pan. Continue increasing oven temperature by 50° increments and basting every 30 minutes, for a total roasting time of 1 1⁄2 hours; then increase oven temperature by 25° (to 375°), baste, and roast until bird is golden brown and the internal temperature of the stuffing registers 160°, 1 1⁄2 – 2 hours.
Transfer turkey to a platter and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, drain off excess butter from roasting pan, put pan on top of stove, add stock, and cook (use 2 burners if necessary) over medium heat, scraping browned bits stuck to bottom of roasting pan with a wooden spoon, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and keep warm. Untruss turkey, transfer stuffing to a serving dish, and carve turkey. Serve turkey and stuffing with sauce.

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