Chef Daniel Angerer's Blog

WINTER SALAD

Salad Experience
If you are located where winter has kicked in and cold weather has taken over in exchange for mild temperature then tender salad greens are not happening anymore! Local farms are not selling many of these greens now but many of my guests still want the salad experience.
 
(mache & radicchio with William pear, pomegranat seeds with carrot ribbons)

Enough Now…
We still have mesclun greens at the local supermarket which has traveled far too many miles and frankly I have had it -- for the past10 years those pre-cut mixed greens have dominated every salad. Granted it’s easy to fix a pretty salad with a minute by tossing some bottled salad marinade over some pre-washed mesclun. All that defeats the purpose to me if I compare it to a local, seasonal salad if you have the option to get your hands on it.

Salad Bonanza
Tender Boston bibb lettuce, hearty winter spinach, tiny Brussels sprout heads, radicchio, purple baby Kale, mache, green-yellow veined Romaine leaves are just few winter greens. These guys can’t wait until the warm season is over and flourish in the cooler time of the year.  They are often harvested in their baby stage making them more tender. 
 
(Winter spinach with pickled, schaved red cabbage with French blue cheese)

Tricks & Tips
• Radicchio and endive can sometimes be quite bitter, so soak them for ten minutes or so in a mixture of luke-warm water (4 cups) and powdered sugar (1 tablespoon), so their natural bitterness will be mellowed.
• Slice Brussel sprouts with a knife or a slicer such as a Mandolin thinly then sprinkle lemon juice, salt and extra virgin olive oil over it. This will soften the Brussel sprouts.
• Mix tender purple baby Kale with Boston bibb lettuce and endive for a nice color palette.
• A blue cheese such as French  Fourme d’ambert or a sharp sheep’s milk cheese such as Manchego from Spain is a satisfying counterpoint to a sturdy winter salad.
• Introduce pomegranate seeds, grapes or pears  -- all are good companions and add another dimension to your salad.
• I love textural contrast in my salads so I am a sucker for large pretzels which I thinly slice and then bake and then sprinkle in my salads. Also nuts such as fancy Marcona almonds crushed  in small pieces are lovely too.
 
(sliced pretzels to add texture to salads)

 What Should Your Salad Wear
This is the part where a lovely salad can go haywire with imbalanced or overpowering flavors or a dressing that does not make your salad pop.  Here is my stand-by favorite dressings.

Every Day Mustard Vinaigrettere
(recipe to dress four salads)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 grindings black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon-style grain mustard
2 tablespoons vegetable oil such as canola or grape seed oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine rice vinegar, warm water, sea salt, black pepper grindings and mustard in a Tupperware-style container then cover with a lid and shake vigorously for twenty seconds or so.
2. Combine oils with vinegar/spice mixture then shake container to combine ingredients.
 
(heart of romaine with purple heirloom cauliflower and coriander croutons)

Greens?!
I have a repertoire of winter salads which I revisit in my kitchen every year but one question remains: why are radicchio, endive and such considered greens? Let me know!

 

CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE...

Memories
When I was a toddler I still remember getting roasted chestnuts at the Christmas fair or at the ski jumping competition in Innsbruck (where the Olympics were held in 1976).  Perfect since winters are bitingly cold there - it would warm you up.
Chestnuts are typically served around Christmas and the New Year. I try to relive those toddler memories here in New York during the holiday season when we walk along Fifth Avenue passing Rockefeller center with those beautifully decorated show windows and get a bag of roasted chestnuts from a typical street car vendor. Too bad that these chestnuts are waxy and taste far from that memory back in the day in Innsbruck.
 
(pumpkin tart with chestnut/mascarpone cream and candied chestnut) 

The Best Chestnut
Compared to Asian or American chestnuts I came to the conclusion that European chestnuts tend to be more pleasantly sweet and nutty tasting with notes of vanilla and a similar texture to baked potatoes when roasted.
I have cooked with chestnut products from Italy and France and they have become my favorite.
 
(chestnut soup with speck crisp) 

Marrons & Castanea
We’ve made bread and pasta with Italian chestnut flour (made with dried chestnuts then ground). I find Sicilian chestnuts are the richest in flavor when roasted and crushed. I make a cream of French marron glace (syrup glazed chestnuts) for a mascarpone and chestnut cream opera cake which has been a big winner during the holidays in the restaurant. These chestnut products are sold in delicatessen stores either canned (marron glace) or already peeled and frozen (for roasting or soups) they are high priced but well worth it for the upcoming holidays.
I have yet to try a chestnut liquor from Portugal which I’ll get my hands on it as soon I  come across it in a store.
 
(chrushed roasted chestnuts with nappa cabbage)

(chestnuts already peeled and frozen)

Stuffing
Since I really like stuffing I came up with a stuffing for this year’s turkey.

Chestnuts & Cranberry Turkey Stuffing
(stuffing for a 14 pounder)
 
1. Roast (350 degree Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes) peeled Italian chestnuts (4 cups) with thyme leaves (1 teaspoon) and sliced garlic (4 cloves) then toss with cubed baguette-style bread (12 cups cut into 1-inch sized) and flat leaf parsley (3 tablespoons).
2. Heat whole milk (2 cups) in a pot (1-quart sized) then season with salt and fresh pepper (to taste).
3. Combine milk mixture with large eggs (3) stirring continuously with a wire whisk then pour over bread/chestnut mixture. Let mixture sit for ten minutes then stuff turkey.

You can have the turkey I’ll go for the stuffing. I told you I REALLY like stuffing.

DIFFERENT THANKSGIVING SIDE - MASHED CHOKES

I have no beef with pototaes and they are deservedly a Thanksgiving side staple.  But if you want to try another mashed root that’s a bit quirky and delicious and perfectly in season … try sunchokes!
 
(Mangalitsa pork with sunchoke puree, roasted chantarelle mushroom and horseradish mustard)
 
What’s a Choke
A sunchoke is a gnarly and unevenly shaped tuber vegetable (tubers have nutrient storage vehicles allowing them to winterize, e.g., potatoes). They are harvested around November in North America, and like their name suggests they are members of the sunflower plant family. At first sight you could mistake one for a ginger root. Sunchokes are commonly called Jersualam artichokes – which they are not – though they have a somewhat similar taste to artichokes.
  
(cabbage & sunchokes)
 
Spirited Shavings
Topinambur – that is what we called them in Europe. I can remember different preparations like in France, we’d take a truffle slicer and shave sunchokes raw over salads. Sunchokes are a great companion to truffle preparations with a lovely nutty taste and a crunchy texture. Warning, do not consume to much of it raw – they give an expressive flatulent reaction.
Let’s not forget that in Germany they make “Topi” from sunchokes which is a spirit which probably can be described as firewater.

You Say Potato I Say Choke
Chokes are an ideal substitute for potatoes if you want to avoid starchy food (diabetics for example). Sunchokes have inulin (a polysaccharide) which is easy to digest. A golden brown syrup is made out of sunchokes which is sweeter than sugar and commonly sold in health food stores.

Recipe for Sunchoke Mashies (with almond milk)
(recipe yields enough for four portions when served with your turkey)

8 cups sunchokes (2-4-inches long)
2 gloves garlic
3 tablespoons vegetable oil such as canola or gape seed oil
1 tablespoon Kosher-style salt
10 grindings black pepper corn
2 pinches cayenne
1 cup almond milk (recipe page xxx)

1. Peel sunchokes with a vegetable peeler then cut (8 cups peeled sunchokes cut 1-inch long). Peel garlic then slice (1/8-inch thick).
2. In a pot (2-quart sized) heat vegetable oil on low heat setting then add cut sunchokes, garlic, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Cook mixture for 35 minutes covered with a lid or until soft when pierced with a knife then add almond milk (1 cup unsweetend almond milk) and continue to cook for five more minutes.
3. Transfer cooked sunchokes into a kitchen processor then process mixture to a tmash/puree.  Serve as you would mashed potatoes.
 
(sunchoke puree with truffle honey)

 
(sunchoke soup with toasted pumpkin seeds)

Soup’s On 
Here is my recipe for sunchoke soup. It is definatly one of my favorite vegetables for soup making.
(recipe yields four soup portions)

1. Rinse sunchokes with water and scrub clean then cut with a knife (no need to peel, about 8 cups chokes sliced 1/8-inch thick).
2. Peel onion and garlic then cut (1/8-inch cubes).
3. Heat vegetable oil in a pot (1-gallon sized) then combine cut sunchokes, cut onion and garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg then cook on medium heat setting for 15-20 minutes or until sunchokes are soft, stirring once in a while with a spoon.
4. Combine vegetable broth (4 cups) and water (2 cups) with cooked sunchokes then bring to boil and continue to simmer on low heat setting (20 minutes).
5. Transfer cooked sunchoke mixture into a blender with a ladle (reserve about two cups of sunchoke cooking liquid). Process sunchoke mixture until it has a smooth consistency (add reserved sunchoke cooking liquid, depending on your preferred consistency). Adjust seasoning with salt and fresh pepper.

Chef Tip: Drizzle some Austrian pumpkin seed oil over the sunchoke soup before serving.

 

POOR-MAN'S SOUS VIDE - FOR YOUR THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Sous-vide
“under pressure” (translated from French) may be also known as cryovack cooking. In a commercial context, food items are placed in vacuum pouches and then the oxygen is removed with a cryovack machine and cooked at various low temperatures (usually between 120-190 degrees Fahrenheit).
Zip-loc style bags do a similar job and are good to use at home and are of course a practical and economic alternative. 
 
(turkey leg sausage two ways, with lingonberries and kapocha squash)

Under Pressure – Cooking the Thanksgiving Turkey
The pressure is on to have a delicious bird. The legs should be cooked all the way through, the turkey breast should be moist and tender and a crispy skin should wrap the whole thing, and let’s not forget the stuffing that has to be cooked/heated to at least 165 degree Fahrenheit to be safe for consumption in the very middle of your turkey. Let me tell you something to relieve the pressure: whether you steam the turkey first then finish it in an oversized frying vessel or whole roast the thing on low temperature and finish it on a high heat setting IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN. See, a turkey leg needs longer to be cooked through all the way compared to the breast, and the stuffing does too. Meaning the bird parts have to be cooked at different temperatures and times for optimal results. And be sure to cook it through otherwise salmonella bacteria might come into the game if present. More info about salmonella...
If the center of turkey is not heated to 165 degree Fahrenheit (for at least four minutes) salmonella bacteria might enter your body and you spend some quality “seating” time in the bathroom. Happy Thanksgiving.

Some Restaurant Cookery Tricks
In the restaurant we cook anywhere from 14-20 huge turkeys on Thanksgiving day next to fish, meat options and various matching sides. I have my family most of the time over at the restaurant at some point during that day to dine and celebrate and I don’t have to worry about a perfectly roasted turkey. Not only do I obviously have more help than the average home cook but we also cook turkey in a different way. If you don’t have to show your turkey whole -- like on just about any cover of most of the fashionable food magazine around this time of the year (showing turkeys which are most likely not edible anyway) then try my recipe below. (If you need a model turkey for display you can always have one for looks then the below recipe for taste!).

Recipe for sous-vide turkey for home:
Special equipment for this type of cooking consists of large Zip-Log style bags, a pot filled with hot water and a kitchen thermometer. Not bad right?  These guidelines work for any size turkey.
- Cut turkey breast from breast bone, then cut turkey legs from cavity (cut/remove leg bone out of turkey leg). Leave skin attached to legs and breast.
-Prepare a simple turkey brine by mixing Kosher-style salt with water (1 cup salt : 1 gallon water). Brine turkey parts for 24 hours (for a turkey around 14 pounds or an eight pounder around 12 hours and so forth).
-Rinse turkey with water (this will wash off brine). Wrap turkey and a small rosemary branch (about 2-inches long) tightly with plastic wrap, forming sausage like tubes (this will give it a nice shape and seal in juices when cooked).
-Transfer wrapped turkey parts into large Zip-Loc style bags (2-4 bags depending on size of turkey parts). Press air out of bag then close plastic zipper. 
-Fill a pot (large enough to hold turkey filled bags) with hot tap water then heat to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
-Preheat oven to highest setting (450-500 degrees Fahrenheit).
-Put turkey stuffed bags into hot water pot and cook turkey. My turkey parts cook for 50 minutes. (A rule of dumb for cooking time at that temperature is 25 minutes per inch of turkey part thickness, a few minutes more or less is not a problem.) Temperature of water will lower when you insert the turkey stuffed bags. The temperature should be kept at 165 degrees Fahrenheit (check temperature with kitchen thermometer). You can achieve that by putting the setting of the gas stove (or electric stove) on lowest heat setting (if cooking water gets too hot add a cup of cold water). The temperature is a no-brainer it just takes a little trial and error to get the temperature right, it depends on your stove.
-Take turkey parts out of Zip-Loc style bags and unwrap from plastic wrap. Dry turkey parts with kitchen paper towel then season with salt and fresh pepper. Heat vegetable oil in skillet and cook turkey on all sides (5-10 minutes) until browned. Baste with walnut sized piece of butter if you like. Rest turkey parts for five minutes before slicing.
  
(Left: we tried different brands of cooking pouches all performed well at low temperatures. Beyond 170 degress Fahrenheit the Zip-loc brand was our favorite in terms of durability)

(Right: turkey sausage & shoulder steak in water bath cooking)

Quality Family Time
Turkey cooked in this style will always be moist and it really is kind of fool proof. Let’s not forget the extra worry free time with your folks or friends not having to baste that sucker every ten minutes in order to get moisture and that beautiful “magazine cover” copper skin.

(can't wait to cook some vegetables for the turkey)  
 

TRICK OR TREAT - GIVE SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT!

Business Not as Usual
What do you cook on a day like Halloween when most of your employees dress up and business – of course - is not as usual. Well we had some “grueling” fun too.
 
(black cat party invitation)

Black Cat Party
Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this year (which is in many restaurants like in mine the busiest day of the week) I wanted to create a somewhat fun environment still focused on food in the restaurant. We came up with a “black cat Halloween party” theme for the day.
 
(pumpkin seed crusted fried chicken, black Tuscan kale, sweet potato puree)

Black Foods
Tinkering in my repertoire of daily menu additions which we have been cooking recently we came up with a menu which incorporated many black foods such as black garlic, black radish, black Tuscan kale, pumpkin seed crusted fried chicken (since New York is in a little of  a fried chicken craze lately). Going with the cat theme we made cat ear noodles (you didn’t think we were going to cook cat) and lastly a dessert – chocolate pretzel devil’s cupcakes which we served with a cherry-cranberry milkshake The dining room was decorated with a few hand carved jack-o-lanterns and some of our service team members were dressed in cute cat outfits.
  
(left photo: pumpkin sheet with cat ear noodles and Lynnhaven goat cheese sprinkled with black garlic)(right photo: chocolate pretzel cupcake with cranberry milk shake)

Recipe for pasta with pumpkin
1. Cut pumpkins in half then season them with apple cider spices such as cinnamon, clove and nutmeg and roast them at 320 degrees Fahrenheit until soft (1 ½ or so).
2. Scrape the “pumpkin flesh” with a soup spoon out of the skin then put on a scale. Reserve pumpkin flesh (about 1/2 cup) for later step in recipe (step 5).
3. Take weight of pumpkin flesh then weigh a ratio of one percent (1%) agar agar to total weight of pumpkin flesh (e.g. 500g pumpkin flesh : 5g agar). Dissolve agar in cold water (e.g. 1 cup : 5g agar) then boil in a pot constantly stirring with a wire whisk. Combine boiled agar and pumpkin flesh then cook for two more minutes constantly whisking.
4. Spread boiled pumpkin/agar mixture on sheet tray (about ½-inch thick) then cool in refrigerator.
5. Cook orecchiette pasta to desired tenderness (preferably al dente) then toss with reserved pumpkin flesh (from step 2). Season cooked pasta with salt and fresh pepper. Cut pumpkin sheets with knife or cutter to desired shape then heat in oven (5 minutes @ 300). Transfer heated pumpkin sheets with spatula on plate then spoon pasta on top of it and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and fried garlic chips (white garlic may be substituted, sliced thinly then fried @ 320 degree Fahrenheit).

 
(yes, I admit I have a thing for inflatable toys. Inflatable black cat crawling down the outside facade of restaurant with Lori/the host.)