If you know me, you know about my obsession for eating and cooking poultry. Chicken is a staple here at The Majestic because it is so cheap and versatile, but occasionally, I also like to cook duck, turkey, or Cornish hens as well. Inevitably, they end up being some of my favorite creations that I prefer over beef, pork, fish, or shellfish hands down.
It's in debate as to whether or not that Potato and Leek Soup/Vichyssoise is of American or French origin. Many sources credit Louis Diat of the Ritz-Carlton in NYC as having invented it in 1917 for a roof-top garden restaurant, and it would have been served cold. Vichyssoise is named after the town of Vichy, which is near where Diat grew up. I guess you could say that both schools of thought are right since it was a French chef who invented it in NYC. If it's served hot, it's called Potato and Leek Soup and if it's served cold it's called Vichyssoise.
This evening I discovered a delicious, yet obscure French classic, Dark Soubise. It's named for an 18th century French nobleman, Charles de Rohan who was the Prince of Soubise according to Larouse Gastronomique. I was introduced to it a couple of months ago when it made a brief appearance on the menu where I work served on a delicious cheeseburger. Out of curiosity and in the name of research, I prepared it on Monday as part of my weekly cooking project. We had it for dinner after work tonight and WOW! What a wonderful treat - hearty, deep, and rich in flavor without weighing heavily on the stomach. Best of all, you can make it from chicken and beef scraps that might otherwise go to waste.
Organization
Almost ten years ago, a really interesting book by Michael Pollan was published called The Botany of Desire. The main premise of the work is taken from view of the plant and how humans have directly been affected by their evolution. It's a fascinating take on how apples, potatoes, tulips, and marijuana have evolved over the past decades and centuries in some cases. Dan and I watched the documentary film made by PBS based on the book a few nights ago and I was particularly taken with it. It got the gears cranking in my head, and now a simple trip to the grocery has become an anthropological riddle.
Another fun and successful day has passed in the kitchen at The Majestic. I unexpectedly received the night off from work, so I headed out to the market at 3 pm. Food cost around $50 this week and cooking time was about 4 hours, so it was very much an average evening in terms of cost and time investment. I roasted a lot of things today because my kitchen is rather drafty. If I have the oven on the entire time I am cooking, it heats up the scullery nicely. It's a nightmare in the summer, but I'm glad to have it in the very cold winter months.
Organization
Pecora is the Italian word for sheep. When you see a Pecorino from now on, you will automatically know that it is made from sheep's milk. They are some of my favorite cheeses of all time! I haven't met too many that I don't like. The Italians really have a handle on them too. I love the nutty, salty, tangy notes of Pecorino followed by that melt-in-your-mouth buttery flavor on the finish. You might be surprised to learn that sheep's milk has the highest butterfat content of the three milks (cow, sheep, and goat) commonly used to make cheese which accounts for that buttery flavor. The aged examples that I've had are some of the most profoundly delicious and complex cheeses that I have eaten. I could wax on poetically for hours, but I'd like to let you know about one in particular that I've enjoyed recently called Pecorino Fiore Sardo.
There's a new cheese on the block for all of you curd nerds out there. It was unveiled at L'Espalier in Boston about a week or so ago by Allison Hooper of the Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery. For right now they are calling it Cheese #17, but it's bound to be getting a snappy new name once it officially hits the market. It's a goat's milk cheese with cow cream added and is modeled on Robiola from Piedmont. It has a soft creamy paste with a lovely bloomy rind and little bit of a yellow/orange tint from a touch of b. linens. I was lucky enough to be able to try the cheese and for something that looks so mild, it sure does pack a punch. There is a ton of goaty flavor balanced out by just enough sweet cream and that funky earthy finish of a washed rind that I love so much.
