Chef Daniel Angerer's Blog

LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT PARTNER - CHEESE & COMPANIONS...

I’ve been looking for accompaniments for our cheese plates in the new restaurant which is opening soon.  I wonder if this is the kind of study and pleasure a sommelier feels trying to find the perfect yet unexpected balancing and harmonizing of flavors and that satisfaction when the flavors sing together?  Well, here are some of my favorite cheese pairings:

(blue cheese with a drizzle of rosemary honey mellows the strong flavour of blue cheese) 

 Sweet cheese accompaniments
Honey steeped with herbs such as lavender and rosemary which are both very fragrant --almost pungent -- make a great fit with aged cheeses such as Emmenthaler and Gruyere from Switzerland which are made from herbaceous cow’s milk grazing in the Alps. Blue cheese paired amazingly well with black truffles, simply chopped and combined with chestnut honey.

(pickled vegetables make a great companion with medium textured cheeses such as Emmenthaler)

 Sour cheese accompaniments
We like pickled vegetables such as Jalapenos which lend some heat, combined with crunchy carrots. A simple pickled cucumber does the trick too especially paired with fairly young double or triple cream chesses. All that rich wonderfulness in a cheese paired with that acidity of pickles and spices works really wonderful.

(candied apple moustarda)

And then there is moustarda
I know moustarda from working in an Italian restaurant when I prepared it to accompany a boiled mixed meat plate called bollito misto. It matched the strong beef, pork and mild chicken flavors just perfectly I thought it may pair well with cheeses in a similar way. It hit like a lighting strike - a combination of sweet, spicy and acidity harmonized all the components we sought or to accompany our varying cheese board.  We serve it in a little ramekin and it works perfectly. 

(pear/cranberry moustarda sweetened with maple candy - great for Thanksgiving turkey) 

 

Moustarda
(recipe yields 2 cups)

4 tablespoons brown mustard seeds

4 cups apples such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Braeburn

1 tablespoon honey

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 tablespoon salt

1. Soak mustard seeds in water for 24 hours then put into a colander and rinse with water. Combine mustard seeds in a pot with water then cook on low heat setting for 60 minutes or until soft. Poor mustard seeds in a colander then rinse with water (this will rinse off sticky residue)
2. Peel apples and cut into cubes (discard core). Cook cut apples in a skillet on medium heat setting then add honey, bay leaf, chili flakes, salt and cooked mustard seeds

Chef’s Big Sour Apple Note:
I get exhausted from New York City’s restaurant stress but strolling through the Farmer’s Market is a relief - a short trip to a hidden gem outside the city of sorts. But the other day when I was hunting for the perfect apples for my moustarda a bag of carefully selected apples, about 20 different ones, all hand chosen –was stolen from my usual spot where I collect various vegetables from other stands! I know when life gives you lemons you make lemonade, but what do you make when someone steals your apples?!

 

 

THE GOOD SIDE OF COLD WEATHER...

Cold weather let’s us eat differently - stews, pot roasts and soups can be found on restaurant menus and in home kitchens. Such dishes make me feel hugged, they’re heart warming and remind me of my grandmother’s and mother’s cooking when I was growing up in the alpine region of Austria.

(seafood chowder with cod, octopus, squid, shrimp, leeks, potatoes and Maine cranberries) 


Chowder classics and not so classic
I revisit chowder style dishes every year. In New England chowder is a stew made with seafood enriched with milk and/or cream and usually a nice chunk of ham. New York can claim a chowder too - Manhattan chowder which is tomato-based. You may encounter corn chowder on plenty of menus with its whole kernels - usually thick and gooey. To me classic chowder recipes tend to be way too heavy since they are laden with cream.  Instead I like to enrich mine with nut milk such as almond or walnut milk so the dish becomes creamy without being cloyingly thick and heavy.

(fancy New England chowder with crispy ham and caviar)

My favorite chowder
Following is a recipe showcasing the bounty of a fall/early winter forest. Terrific mushrooms make a tasty chowder. Depending on your budget a  “mélange” of three different mushrooms makes a soup taste balanced -- one mushroom for a nutty flavor profile, one for texture and another for an earthy scent.  If you can get your hands on fresh porcini they have all three flavor components in one, though they might break the bank!  A good stand-in is the dried porcini, which has to be soaked in water before using.

(mushroom chowder with almond milk) 
 
Mushroom Chowder

(recipe yields four soup portions)

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2 leeks

4 potatoes such as Russet or fingerling potatoes

2 cups mixed mushrooms such as shitake, white button, Portobello (or my favorite porcini mushrooms)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil such as canola

salt, to taste

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

4 cups nut milk such as almond milk

fresh black pepper grindings, to taste

1. Peel onion and garlic then cut (1/4-inch cubes)
2. Cut leeks into rings (1/4-inch thick) then let soak in a bowl filled with luke-warm water (move steeping, cut leek with hand in bowl to assist soil particles dropping to bottom of water bowl)
3. Remove stems from mushroom caps and discard. Rinse mushroom caps with water then cut (1/4-inch cubes)
4. Peel potatoes then cut (1/4-inch cubes)
5. In a pot (1-gallon sized) heat vegetable oil on medium heat setting then add cut onions and garlic then cook (10 minutes or so stirring with a cooking spoon once in a while). Season mixture with salt and pepper then add cut mushrooms and cook (10 minutes). Add flour to mixture and stir to incorporate then add nut milk and 2 cups water. Bring mixture to boil then add cut potatoes and continue to simmer for 20 minutes on low heat setting

 

What is nut milk?
Nut milks are a great fill-in for animal milks with a silky consistency and nutty flavor. You can make your own by toasting nuts such as almonds in a skillet until they have a golden color then process them in a kitchen blender with water for about five minutes. I use a ratio of 4 cups of water to 1 cup nuts.  Let the nuts and water steep for two hours then strain trough a fine mesh sieve before using.

Chef’s Tip: Serve chowders with crackers or crusty bread to soak up the very last drop of soup in a bowl.

 

 

 

BRUSHING ASIDE BRUSCHETTA

I haven’t been the biggest fan of bruschetta – it just didn’t do it for me. Like many I’ve had bruschetta in restaurants numerous times but it never tickled me enough that I’d prepare it in my own kitchen. Too often it seemed to be an afterthought or simply it struck me as someone cleaning out their refrigerator – are there some beans or chopped tomatoes left - toss it with some dried Italian herb, then heap it on yesterday’s bread which touched the grill briefly and here you go you have a presentable dish. 

(sweet potatoes with ricotta salata and radish on Italian bread) 
 
Then Again …
Recently I have been exploring bruschetta’s possibilities. Since we are opening a cheese focused restaurant I have been munching away on various breads, crackers and toasts deciding what to add to our menu, and, well bruschetta made a come-back into my world.  Heaping seasonal vegetables onto good grilled bread appealed to me.  So we created some delicious bruschetta variations with all kinds of vegetable of the moment – just picked up early in the morning from the farmer’s market.

(shaved sunchokes and crushed chestnuts bruschetta with Italian parsley)
 

The Fun’s in the Variations
Technically bruschetta is simply the grilled bread brushed with olive oil, garlic and some herbs originating in the Abruzzo region of Italy.  The tomatoes and basil are the most basic or traditional variation so why not keep going and have some more fun with raw, thinly sliced Jerusalem artichokes or fennel. Or try adding pickled vegetables which work great too – we have done pickled, paper thin shaved cauliflower and beets or add cooked vegetables if you prefer. The fact is these little vegetable laden toasts are a great snack in appetizer portion size or they can be prepared in a larger portion for the entre part of the meal.  You can see I’ve turned the corner and am ready to make my whole meal of these now.

Bruschetta tips
O When we started working with bruschetta we thought we did good by
cutting off the crust of the bread – think again! These toasts were not wholesome or toothy -- in fact they were boring.  So we came to the conclusion that bruschetta needs

the crust. It was missing that satisfying crunch when biting into the bread and that side-to-side head twist when you wrestle it into your mouth

O A connector is needed between bread and topping. I suggest some sort of a puree
or crushed vegetable e.g. beans – this way the topping won’t fall off when
biting into it

O I prefer to serve bruschetta slightly warmed so the flavors are more
intense

Following is a recipe which will get you started and since holiday socializing season is upon us it’s nice to have a simple snack recipe on hand.

(cranberry beans, tomatoes and red wine bruschetta on sourdough) 

Bean & Red wine Bruschetta
(recipe yields four portions)

2 cups (small can) cooked beans
1 cup red wine such as Chianti
1 sprig rosemary (2-inch long)
Salt, to taste
Fresh black pepper, to taste

1. In a pot (1 quart sized) cook red wine on medium heat setting for ten minutes
2. Pour beans into a strainer and reserve the liquid
3. Combine cooked red wine, strained beans, rosemary and season with pepper and
continue to cook until mixture is dry (ten minutes or so)
4. Drizzle bread with olive oil then brown in a skillet over medium heat setting (or
brown in a toaster)
5. Distribute bean mixture over browned toasts, discard rosemary sprig

Chef’s tip: Rub a garlic glove cut in half into bread before toasting – this will add a faint
garlic scent

What goes into a burger
We have a new item on our menu in honor of a member of our kitchen team – Joe’s burger. Joe is our right hand man in the kitchen and he is passionate about his burger.  He  mixes up a mean combination of herbs and spices including a bit of ground coffee which was used a while back when burgers became popular many years ago. Lemon-thyme is another ingredient which gives it a nice touch besides salt and fresh pepper.

(layers of juicyness)

Let’s talk meat – and learn Japanese
In searching for the best burger meat we tried many different kinds of beef and ended up with Akaushi which is a cattle brand breed in Texas from the Wagyu beef family. The beef is 100% all natural, hormone free and sourceable. Wa-gyu means Japanese cattle and Akaushi translates to red cow – so it is a red Japanese cow and it’s surely becoming the new hot beef to hit the market.  Wait and see!

Schnitzel-ing your burger
We needed to work with a beef brand, which has tons of flavor and juice since we wanted to cook the burger in a schnitzel style meaning instead of charring the burger on a grill. We had great results by using the chuck part which is richly marbled and hence very juicy and moist in the finished burger. We’re using finely ground Japanese bread crumbs with a dusting of flour and a brush stroke of egg wash to encrust the raw burger patty and then we pan-fry it – this keeps the natural juicy meat sealed-in versus having it drip down the grill and losing it like when cooked in a traditional grilling way. The schnitzel burger really showcases the terrific quality of the Akaushi beef. So not every burger has to be charred – but it depends on the meat!


(house-made pickles)

Burger accompaniments
A grilled pickle – made in house lies proudly on the side of the burger. Then the layering starts - a crisp salad leaf, terrific Vermont cheddar and a sturdy and rich brioche bun makes sure to absorb the extra juices. You can have it with our house-made tomato condiment or grab the Heinz bottle - it’s fantastic both ways. Potato gratin is served on the side and seals the burger deal.

(a daily salad leaf for our schnitzel burger)


Chef’s note
If you can get your hands on really good meat such as the above mentioned our way of cooking a burger is worth a try.

(potato gratin, pickle, salad leaf and schnitzel burger)