Making A Mess

To continue my laziness… more meat!

AUSTRALIA DAY

At my new backyard in Sydney!

Everybody has great holiday potluck ideas. But the problem is: there is usually only one oven, one stovetop in the host’s kitchen. After all that dedication and effort you must’ve invested in your beautiful dish, you certainly don’t want to reheat it in a microwave or served it lukewarm when it’s supposed to be piping hot. So what I brought to this year’s Christmas get-together was Salmon Gravlax: elegant, delicious, healthy, room temperature, and ready-to-serve! 

This recipe is an adaptation of the traditional Nordic Salmon Gravlax, which literally translates into Salmon in the Grave, or Buried Salmon. Dating back to the Middle Ages, fishermen from Scandinavia used to catch a lot of salmon and they would treat it with a dry cure of salt, sugar, and dill, then bury it in sand for the added pressure. This would greatly lengthen the salmon’s storage time and more significantly, create a whole new culture of processing and consuming salmon!

Ingredients - Salmon Gravlax

• 1 Large, preferably center cut, Atlantic (Chinook/Spring) Salmon Fillet, skin* and bones removed
• Splashes of Calvados**, an apple brandy from Normandy, France
• 3/4 cup Coarse Sea Salt
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Large bunch of fresh Dill, chopped
• A few stalks of Lemon Grass, bruised (banged with the back of a knife) then chopped

Ingredients - Dill Mustard Sauce

• 1/4 cup Grainy Mustard
• 1 Tsp freshly grated Horseradish, or 1 Tbsp prepared Horseradish
• 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Honey, or to taste
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Handful fresh Dill, chopped

Method - Salmon Gravlax

1. Pat dry salmon fillet. Lay it in the center of a very large piece of plastic wrap, or a collage of smaller pieces. Douse with generous splashes of Calvados.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine salt and sugar. Mix evenly. Spread EVENLY across the top of the fillet. Pat down gently to form a crust.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine chopped dill and lemon grass. Mix evenly. Spread EVENLY across the top of the salt-sugar crusted salmon fillet. Again, pat down gently.
4. Cover tightly with the plastic wrap from all sides. 
5. Put something heavy on top of the “packaged” fillet, around 1-2 pounds. (I used 2X 3 cans of V8 vegetable cocktail.) Leave it alone in the fridge for around 12 hours.

Method - Dill Mustard Sauce

1. In a mixing bowl, combine mustard, horseradish, vinegar, and honey. Whisk until smooth. 
2. Keep whisking, SLOWLY drizzle in olive oil. 
3. Mix in chopped dill in the emulsified mustard sauce.

Assembly

1. Take out the fillet from the plastic wrap, rinse under COLD water to remove excess salt and sugar. Pat dry. 
2. Take your sharpest knife, carefully slice the cured salmon into thin slices.
3. Enjoy it on its own, with a little bit of the dill mustard sauce, or on a nice piece of dark rye with some cream cheese. Follow your taste buds and let your imagination run wild!

It was obvious that this Christmas party was going to be carb-filled. So I opted to serve my Salmon Gravlax on top of crispy, refreshing endive pieces, with a little bit of goat cheese for some tanginess, and my homemade dill mustard sauce to tie everything together. This recipe works superbly with salmon, but it can also be adapted to cure any fatty fish. 

* You can leave the skin of the fillet on until after the fish has been cured. But you might want to give the curing process a couple of hours longer. On the other hand, it does make the slicing job a whole lot easier.

** Vodka would work great with this too but I happened to have some Calvados in the cupboard. I’m always looking for niches in recipes to add my own flare and to spice things up. Also, apple and dill are a match made in heaven and on earth! If you think something might be good in your head, there is only one way to find out if you are brilliant or cuckoo: give it a try!

I first learned how to make Baklava (not then but now with Orange-Cardamom Syrup) in a Greek restaurant that I used to work at: CAVA. There was this one lady from Greece who spoke very little to no English at all. But she was adorable and most of all, she was the master chef behind most of the amazing dishes we made! It was, let’s just say interesting, to communicate in the kitchen, especially during the service rush. For example, to say rabbit, as we used to do a balsamic braised rabbit dish, we would put two fingers on top of our heads as if we were bunnies… I had a lot of fun working there. 

Back to the Baklava, she used to make it out of walnuts and soaked it in a simple syrup after, which was infused with lemon/orange zests and cloves. They were so good that I used to sneak one or two home after work, once in a while… ok once in a couple of days haha. Since then, I’ve always wanted to make my own. And of course, I had to spice things up a bit to my personal taste! There is tradition, but there is also innovation. Ha!

Ingredients (make about 2 medium baking dishes)

• 4 cups toasted Walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup Dried Apricots, chopped
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp ground Cinnamon 
• Pinch of Salt
• Enough Phyllo Pastry Sheets*
• Enough non-salted Butter, melted
• A few Pistachios, chopped
• 2 cups Orange Juice
• 1 1/4 White Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp ground Cardamom

Method - Baklava

1. Combine and mix walnuts, apricots, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. 
2. Cut your phyllo sheets according to the bottom dimensions of a deep glass/ceramic baking dish, preferably rectangular/square.
3. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the baking dish with butter. Top with 1 sheet of phyllo. Brush the phyllo sheet with butter. Repeat for 7 times. (So there are 8 buttered sheets of phyllo lining the bottom of the baking dish.)
4. Spread out enough of the walnut-apricot-sugar mixture to cover the entire surface. 
5. Top with 2 more buttered sheets of phyllo. 
6. Repeat Step 4.
7. Top with 6 more buttered sheets of phyllo.
8. After buttering the top of the final phyllo sheet, CAREFULLY, using a sharp serrated knife, slice the “raw” baklava into desired shapes and sizes. 
9. Bake @ 325F for about 40-45 minutes, depending on their sizes and shapes.
10. While still hot, pour Orange-Cardamom Syrup on top. Watch the syrup drip through the cracks, smell the wonderful blend of aromas, and listen to the sizzling sound of caramelized sugar/syrup. 
11. Finish with sprinkles of chopped pistachios. 

Method - Orange-Cardamom Syrup

1. Combine orange juice and white sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
2. Add ground cardamom. Stir. 
3. Let cool.

* Once you open the phyllo pastry, you want to work quickly as the sheets dry out extremely fast. It’s a good idea to keep a damp towel around to lay on top of the pile of phyllo sheets that are not being used for the moment.

I’m bringing these to the family Christmas dinner/potluck tomorrow night. Who in their right minds wouldn’t love these? And the best part, it looks as if it took some serious Kungfu to make this from scratch but in reality, it is quite simple and straightforward. All it takes is a little patience and delicate touch. LOVE, of course, is absolutely ESSENTIAL.  

Miss summer? Here is a simple Watermelon Salad that’ll bring back a taste summer. But only for a second because that’s how long it’ll take you to munch it down! 

It’s amazing how simple ingredients can be transformed into something extraordinary by a little culinary alchemy. Experiment with flavors and remember, simple is often best.

Ingredients

• Ripe Watermelon, cubed
• Fresh Basil*, chiffonade (finely sliced)
• Key Lime (or regular lime) Zest, enough that you smell it**
• Key Lime (or regular lime) Juice, just a touch
• One of your best EVOOs (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• Salt, just a touch (not to make it salty but to enhance the natural flavors of things)
• Black Pepper, freshly and coarsely ground (this is important!), enough that you smell it**

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 
2. GENTLY toss to dress up the watermelon. If you must, use your fingers but not a metal spoon.

* Mint is a good substitute for this. And feel free to try other herbs that are fragrant, summery, clean, and crisp in flavor. I’ve never tried it but off the top of my head, some workable candidates include cilantro, arugula, sorrel, chervil, and dill. So in other words: have fun!

** Trust your senses. If it looks good, smells good, then it probably tastes good. 

Brutti ma Buoni is a traditional Italian meringue cookie made with almond and vanilla. It is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Who doesn’t like that, right? Try having one, or a half-dozen, with a cup of frothy latte or an espresso in the afternoon. I’m sure you’ll fall in love with these because they are simply heavenly!

The name “Brutti ma Buoni” literally translates into “Ugly but Good”. But why make them ugly when you can make them pretty? I’ve set my heart on my own version of the cookie, which contains less sugar, and a combination of almonds and hazelnuts. With no butter, low sugar, and only a tiny bit of flour, these actually make a pretty healthy snack as they pack in a lot of protein with the egg whites and nuts. 

Ingredients

• 6 Egg Whites
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 Tbsp All-purpose Flour
• 1 Tbsp Amaretto
• 1/2 Tbsp pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup whole Almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup whole Hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Method

1. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar until frothy. 
2. Place the bowl on top of a pot containing boiling water. Add cocoa powder and flour. Continue whisking with an electric hand mixer, on medium-low heat, until mixture has thickened, about 12-15 minutes.
3. Once the mixture achieves the consistency of a medium-thick pancake batter, take it off of the heat, whisk in amaretto and vanilla extract. It’s normal that this will loosen up the mixture a bit. Don’t panic.
4. Fold in nuts. The resulting batter should be similar to dense oatmeal in consistency. If it’s runny, heat it up over a double boiler again and don’t forget to stir constantly. 
5. Using two teaspoons, one by one, make quenelles out of the batter. Place them in a single layer, separated by an inch, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake @ 325F for about 25 minutes. 
6. Let cool to room temperature before serving. 
7. (Optional) Dip cooled cookies into melted white chocolate for that extra touch of sweetness and cocoa butter richness. 

Buon Appetito!