But before I get to that, the phone call what started this dinner was one from my Dad to me earlier in the week. I get my interest and flare for cooking from my Dad, and I don't think I've ever had a bad meal at his house. He told me that he was taking cooking classes from a friend in his neighborhood to hone a few of his skills in the kitchen, namely sauce- and stock-making. Fortunately, I relayed that I had three stocks in the freezer and that I would employ two of them for our meal. We shoptalked for about 45 minutes, after which I couldn't get the smile off my face. When you're young you don't see how you'll ever be like your parents, but when you get older, there's no greater validation than to lord your strengths over them while denigrating the senile wretches as scrapple of a dying generation.
Thai Beef Salad
1 1-lb. beef tenderloin steak
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp Sriracha, dat good shit
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 inches garlic root, minced
1 Anaheim pepper, diced, seeds and all
4 medium carrots
2 ribs celery
1 red bell pepper
1/2 a red onion
large handful cilantro
medium handful basil
smaller handful mint
2 chopped green onions, just the green parts
kosher salt
Set the oven on 400F.
Mix fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and Sriracha together. Throw in the minced pepper, garlic, and ginger. Adjust sauce to fit your tastes. If you like saltier, more fish sauce. If sweeter, more sugar. If spicier, more Sriracha.
Peel and cut the carrots and celery into matchsticks (long, thin sticks).
Julienne the red pepper and onion.
Mix the sauce and veggies together in a large bowl.
Salt your tenderloin. Get a heavy-bottomed skillet or saute pan and put it on high heat. Add oil. When the oil smokes, gently place the tenderloin in the pan.
Brown each side of the steak for about 3 minutes. Place the entire pan in the oven, and let the steak finish cooking in the oven for another 8-10 minutes (8 on the rarer side, 10 on the more medium-well).
Take the steak out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes. Everyone says that the juices go toward the middle of the meat during cooking and they redistribute as it sits, but that's a myth. What actually happens is that during cooking the cells contract, pushing the juices out of them, and when the steak cools the cells relax and reabsorb the juices. After proper relaxation, slice yo' beef against the direction of the lines in the meat (against the grain).
Toss the meat into the veggies and sauce, and finally toss in the herbs and green onion.
Crab bisque with arancini
Arancini are a traditional Italian rice ball made with risotto, dipped in egg wash and breadcrumbs, and fried to crispy.
2 cups arborio rice
3 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp oil
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
8 oz. crab, claw meat or jumbo lump
kosher salt
ground white pepper
First, make the risotto: Put the stock in a medium stockpot and bring to a simmer on medium-low heat.
Place the oil in a saute pan on medium, and add the carrots, celery, and onion. This trifecta is a classic culinary base called mirepoix. Saute the veggies until the onion is transparent and the carrots less firm, and add in the arborio rice and butter. Saute 5-10 minutes. The rice will begin to smell toasty/buttery. Add a large pinch of salt and pepper.
Using a soup ladle, ladle in a few scoops of warm stock. Stir constantly. Once the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, add another few ladlefuls. Repeat this process until all the stock is gone. Risotto is less about the rigid amount of liquid, and more about texture. When the rice begins to taste soft with just a hint of bite in the background and runs just a bit when pulled back and released, it should be nearly ready.
Turn off the heat. Toss in the parmesan and crab. Season to taste.
At this point, you have fully-cooked risotto. To make arancini, you want to spread the risotto onto a sheet pan and cool it in the refrigerator. I had no such time, so I put it in the freezer for a quick chill while I made the bisque.
4 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
Pinch ground cloves
3-4 sprigs worth of thyme leaves
1/4 cup brandy
5 cups crab stock, or 3 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water
1/4 cup crab
1 cup risotto
1/2 cup heavy cream
Handful chopped tarragon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Cayenne pepper
Place a large stock pot on medium high heat and add the oil. Add the carrots, celery, and onion, and saute until the onion is transparent. Add in the bay leaf, cloves, thyme, and brandy. The brandy will smell very strong at first, then the alcohol will cook off.
Add in the stock and crab, bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for an hour.
Remove the bay leaf, add the risotto, and puree in a blender in batches.
Return the soup to the stock pot, and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer the soup, covered, while you prepare the arancini.
1 cup peanut oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
Put the oven on 350F.
Set a pan over medium-high heat with 1 cup peanut oil.
Take the risotto out of the fridge.
In two separate bowls, scramble two eggs, and in the other, pour in 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs.
Form the risotto into golf ball-sized balls and put them on a large plate. Take each ball, dip it in the egg, and then the Panko. Gently place each ball in the hot oil. Don't fry more than 7 balls at a time.
When one side is golden brown, roll it over and brown the other. Place on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
Spoon the bisque into a large, shallow bowl, and put 4-5 arancini in the middle. Serve with a sprinkling of tarragon, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper.
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