blood’s a rover

Over the last few months I’ve developed a friendship with Tim and Manny, a couple of guys (and couple) who also happen to be half of local electronic/pop/experimental group Atole. Last Saturday Atole played the second to last slot at PDX Pop Now!, a huge, free, all ages music festival showcasing 48 local bands over three days.

As far as I know, it was the biggest audience they’d ever played to, and I was really pulling for them. I’ve been to many other Atole shows, and both minor and major things have gone wrong at several of them. I could tell how stressed Manny was that night, but once they started their set and the audience started feeling the music, everything came together.

While Manny danced and sang delayed, looped, no-lyric vocals, Tim and Howie provided rhythm and spacey noodling on their keyboards and laptop. Mikey kept the beat on his drums, and his high-hat blowing apart during the set didn’t even phase him.

While watching Atole rock the house that night, I felt something that I haven’t felt at a show in a long, long time: pride. In my teens I would see kids I knew perform in dives in New Haven or Providence, and I would always feel like I was rooting for them to do well. But because now I only go to shows by bands that I don’t know anything about or that I already like, I’m either a stranger or a fan.

With Atole, I happily watched my friends do well while standing off to the right of the stage, and I could only imagine how it felt for them to get the response they did. It was a great show.

The unwashed masses

GOODNIGHT PORTLAND!

According to several notable food writers, and many, many websites, the best pizza in the U.S.A. can be found in New Haven, Connecticut, a few minutes from where I grew up. Of all the pizzerias in New Haven two in particular tend to be referenced together in hushed tones whenever the topic comes up, online or in print:Pepe’s and Sally’s. I’ve been to Pepe’s before, and it was, indeed, phenomenal. On my recent trip back east my dad and I tried to go there for lunch, and to our dismay discovered at least a hundred other people who had the same idea. The line stretched out the door and down the block like people camping out for a concert.

BAR, 254 Crown St.

So instead we went to Modern Apizza, where I enjoyed a perfect margarita that put every pizza I’ve had on the west coast to shame (sorry, Ken). The secret to making such amazing pizza is not much of a secret: fresh ingredients, homemade dough, and ovens that are hot as hell. Like 800 degrees hot. Hot enough to cook a pizza to perfection in less than three minutes. Both Pepe’s and Sally’s use coal-fired ovens, which sounds both rustic and badass, and far less common than wood.

By the time I got home, I was craving more thin, crisp pizza, and something about the time of year made me want to throw a Pizza, Beer & Movie party. So I bought a decent pizza stone, found a recipe for dough, called some friends, bought some toppings, and had at it.

Pizza dough is so incredibly simple to make, I can’t figure out why people bother buying it from Trader Joe’s. All you do is mix 1 tablespoon of yeast with 1.5 cups of warm water, let it start bubbling, and then mix it with 3.5 cups of flour, a little salt, a tablespoon of olive oil, mix well, and you’re done.

Knead the dough all together by pushing and folding it over several times, and then place it in a lightly oiled bown for an hour or two to double in size. Then punch it down, roll it up, cut it into pieces, and then roll it out with a rolling pin.

I decided to use stone ground whole wheat flour, mainly because I like saying “stone ground whole wheat flour.”

On one pizza, I made homemade pesto out of olive oil, pinenuts, and basil and marinated shrimp in it all afternoon. On another, I used Italian sausage and shiitake mushrooms. I also made two margarita pizzas, topped with large basil leaves that I fried to a crisp in olive oil.

Things were looking very, very good, and then catastrophe struck. Even though I had pre-floured the plates that the pizzas were resting on, they completely refused to slide off onto the preheated stone.

Instead, they slooooowly drooled off the plate like alien saliva (except delicious) and ended up in a messy pile of dough and toppings.

Such a depressing sight.

After berating these “pizzas” like an abusive parent, I slammed the oven door closed in disgust. In the end they were all edible, but the difference between what could have been and what actually happened almost ruined my night.

Oh well, they still tasted good.

UPDATE!

After the unfortunate events detailed above, I knew that I would have to redeem myself, and soon. So last night I gave it another shot, this time using parchment paper as suggested by someone who witnessed my previous pizza disaster.

Pesto, shrimp and mozzarella

Pesto, French blue cheese, toasted walnuts and mozzarella

Let’s try this again…

Success!

After about 4 minutes.

And with that, I’m friends with pizza again.

“Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy.
And cooking done with care is an act of love.”
-Craig Claiborne

The day after my sister’s wedding, most of our extended family was still in town, so I decided (with a little prodding from Aunt Stacey) to tell my family how much I love them by cooking a special meal for everyone. But what to make?

After great consideration, I decided on two dishes that, based on the effort it takes to prepare them and the quality of the final product, almost conveyed my feelings: Coq au Vin and Confit Byaldi, both of which I’ve made before, but was excited to try making again.

Confit Byaldi

I was actually planning to just make Coq au Vin, and then I remembered the vegetarians in the family and decided to add a veggie dish. Since I’ve already posted the full recipe for Confit Byaldi here, I won’t bother reprinting it below, but here are a couple pictures from this time:

Dos Hermanos

 
Ready for the oven

Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin is a French country dish traditionally made with an old rooster, hence the name. Multi-day marinating and low-temperature stewing tenderizes the tough but flavorful bird. I have yet to make it actually using a rooster, though I’m working on getting one soon. The first time I made it, it came out really well, but I used a recipe. This time, I used my instincts, and it came out even better.

What I love about this dish is the way that it builds- it starts out strong, and then you add a couple of things and it gets even better, and then you add a couple more things and it gets even better than that: it’s all very exciting to watch (and smell). 

For my personal take on Coq au Vin, you will need:

1 medium chicken, or a pack of breasts and thighs
2 bottles of Pinot Noir, preferably from Burgundy (one to drink, one for the marinade).
Carrots
Celery
Onions (pearl onions, if possible)
Thyme (some for garni, some to chop)
Parsley (some for garni, some to chop)
Sage
Garlic
Bacon
Mushrooms (I use shiitake, because I use shiitake in any dish that I can)
1 Orange (for the peel)
3 cups of chicken broth
1 small can of tomato paste

Up to three days before you’re going to cook everything, lay a bed of thyme, parsley, and sage on the bottom of the dish you’ll be marinating the chicken in. This is known as garni, and usually you tie it in a bundle, but I’m all about maximizing surface area.

Lay the chicken on top of that, then chop the carrots, celery and onions and toss those over the chicken.

Pour a bottle of wine over the whole thing. Cover and place in the fridge for as long as possible.

On the day you want to cook, separate the chicken, wine, and vegetables. You’ll be using all three components again shortly. Dicard the garni. If you want, add some fresh chopped thyme to the veggies.

Amazing looking, right?

Brown the chicken lightly in olive oil, just enough to make it easy to debone. It will finish cooking in the pot. You don’t really have to do this, I guess, but I like when everything in a dish is edible. Which means that if I were a dog, I wouldn’t debone the chicken. Or cook it.

I take a lot of pictures while cooking, but I don’t
have any of me while cooking. I like this one.

Begin by cooking the veggies in the chicken broth until nearly tender.

Mix in the tomato paste, reserved wine, and the browned
chicken. If it’s soupy, raise the heat to reduce the liquid.
(Evaporating wine is one of my favorite smells, by the way.)

 
Julia Child recommends blanching the bacon for a few minutes to dull its
smokey flavor, which can overpower the dish. I happen to agree with her.

While the chicken is getting cooked, sauté the mushrooms and bacon.
(This is another one of my favorite smells.)

Mix in the mushrooms, bacon, orange peel, and parsley. It’s pretty much done.

My friend Nick came up from NYC for this dinner, and I got the sense that
he enjoyed being adopted (i.e. harassed) by my family for a couple of hours. 

At the last minute I decided to grill several pounds of asparagus.
The recipe is: asparagus, salt, pepper, olive oil, heat.

The Confit Byaldi after 2+ hours of baking. Things are coming together.

Do you understand what I’m trying to say?

Food writer Harriet Van Horne said that cooking is like love, in that it should be entered into with abandon or not at all. I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I refuse to half-ass it when it comes to meals or relationships.

And it feels just as good to express your love for someone by preparing them a meal as any other form of affection, because cooking out of love tells your friends and family, literally:

“Here, eat this. I want to help keep you alive, and I want to
provide you with as much enjoyment of this life as I’m able.”

“You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”

-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Three weeks ago I was back in Connecticut for my sister Caitlin’s wedding. These are my pics:

Mother and Daughter

Three Little Birds

Why does she look so skeptical?

“My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.” -Rodney Dangerfield

Le Groom

Here comes the bride

“Mawwidge. Da weeson we ah gadderd togedder…”

I…………do.

First Kiss

Big Pimpin’ (My brother Shane)

Jack was unmoved by the ceremony, but he’s been divorced twice.

The Shepard Siblings

Shane arrived in an F-15

May I now present…

Let the drunken dancing begin!

Grandfather and Bride

Mom’s two sons

I have such a crush on the groom’s grandmother, Helene Schmidt.
93 years old (!!!), former professional dancer, current amazing dance partner.

Dominick and Caitlin Pirecca
July 6th, 2008 

I’m in love.

Yes, it’s with a grill, and no, I don’t own the grill, and that has led to perhaps the first feelings of envy and coveteousness that I’ve ever felt in my life, but it’s true, and it’s pure, and it’s a fact.

Last year, my good friend Michael acquired a well used, 1-1/2″ thick ceramic Japanese grill at an estate sale for the paltry sum of $20. And ever since, I’ve been dreaming up things to cook with it.

The thick steaks we made on Mike’s birthday last April turned out beautifully, but since it hasn’t felt like summer in Portland until just a few weeks ago, the grill has been sadly dormant most of the year.

Until now.

Made by Sakura Kamado, this thing is heavy, old,
and a perfect marriage of form and function.

“…and that’s how I lost my eyebrows!” 

In honor of the start of summer weather, I decided to try and prepare a tandoori prawn recipe by the Indian chef Suvir Saran. I saw this recipe prepared on an episode of Bittman Takes On…, and thought it would be perfect to attempt on Mike’s grill.

Ingredients: 

2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon cumin seeds or 2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons toasted chickpea flour (besan) or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala or curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
12 colossal or very large shrimp (about 2 pounds), shelled
Salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 lemon, halved.

Directions: 

1. Over a bowl in a cheesecloth-lined strainer or a coffee filter, drain yogurt for at least 1 hour (if longer, refrigerate). NOTE: This is important, especially if you’re marinating overnight. I didn’t drain the yogurt for a full hour, and the excess water got absorbed by the shrimp and made them a little mushy.

2. If you’re using whole cumin, toast the seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat, shaking, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Grind 2 teaspoons of the cumin seeds to a powder in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle and set aside.

3. Stir together the ginger, garlic, flour, ground cumin, pepper, garam masala and turmeric in a bowl large enough to hold the shrimp. Stir in the lemon juice and then the drained yogurt, a bit at a time, stirring until smooth after each addition. Add the shrimp and toss to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours; overnight is fine.

4. Preheat the oven to 550 degrees, or as near that temperature as you can get it. (Or, if you are grilling, skip to step 5.) Put the shrimp in a single layer on a rack in a foil-lined baking pan, sprinkle with salt and roast 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 15 minutes, then brush with the melted butter and roast another 10 minutes, until cooked through.

Ready to go

5. To grill prawns: When you’re ready to cook, start a charcoal or gas grill; the fire should be very hot — you should barely be able to hold your hand over the core of it — and the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Grill the shrimp for 3 minutes on each side; let rest 15 minutes off the grill, then brush with the butter and grill 5 to 10 more minutes, until cooked through.

Check out the corn pentacle! It’s more proof that this grill is magical.

Yep.

6. Arrange the shrimp on a platter, sprinkle with the reserved toasted cumin seeds and squeeze the lemon over. Serve hot.

7. EAT.

Later this week I’ll be posting yet another Bittman Takes On… inspired recipe that Mike’s grill played an essential role in realizing…

Somewhere over New York State, 5 a.m., 7.5.08

This weekend while hanging out and grilling anything that moves, you may want to consider whipping up a batch of delicious, refreshing mojitos- my personal, inexact recipe is found below:

You will need:

A bunch of limes (at least 6)
A bunch of mint
White Rum
1 Liter of soda water
Sugar (about 1 cup)
Water
Ice

Mix an equal amount of sugar and water in a small pot over low heat, until the liquid is clear. Remove from heat. This is called “Simple Syrup”, and is used in lots of other drink recipes.

Squeeze all the limes into a deep bowl. You will probably have about a cup of juice. Then add lots of mint leaves. Lots. Then muddle the mint in the lime juice with a wooden spoon. This releases the mint oil from the leaves. Toss all that into a pitcher, then add all of the soda water, lots of rum and enough simple syrup to camouflage it. Stir it all together and add ice. Garnish with a slice of lime and/or mint leaf. Drink.

Now wasn’t this a good idea?

…was a great idea.

The Stepping Stone Cafe, 7.4.08

At three o’clock this morning I was awakened by the loudest and distinctive thunderstorm that I’ve ever heard.

It sounded like a granite piano crashing down a flight of stairs. 

It sounded like a lead firecracker.

It sounded like god eating a mountain.

It sounded like wooden ships running aground on the darkened sky.

It sounded like all of that, and all happening directly over my bed.

While laying there I realized, with my guts still quivering with the sound of wild electricity, that there’s maybe nothing better than feeling perfectly safe while beholding such incredible power.

The soft rain that followed soon after seemed to whisper, “O.K., show’s over, everyone go back to sleep.”

So that’s what I did.