Lobster and Potato Chip Salad

Recipe: Lobster and Potato Chip Salad
Page: 86
Date Cooked: November 9, 2012

As I come to the end of this project, I have been ticking off the last few recipes in each category. This salad recipe was the last of the 10 salad recipes listed in A Great American Cook. Thus having made 9 of Jonathan Waxman's salads I was familiar with his vinaigrette technique. However, the write-up to this recipe informed me that Alice Waters taught him the balsamic vinegar and olive oil base for a vinaigrette. The spin on this vinaigrette is the addition of the red pepper juices after blackening, blistering, and steaming.

Ingredients: Lobster (not pictured), russet potato, olive oil, Kosher salt, black pepper, red bell pepper, green beans, oak leaf lettuce, balsamic vinegar, and basil leaves

I brought a pot of salted water to a boil, added the lobster, and cooked for about 8 minutes. I pulled the lobster out of the pot, let it cool, removed the meat from the shells, and cut into small chunks.

Left: Cooking lobster
Right: Bit-sized pieces of lobster

I peeled the potatoes. I tossed the potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. I spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and baked them till golden brown.

Making potato chips

While the potatoes baked, I roasted the red pepper till blackened and blistered. I let the pepper steam in a bowl . I peeled the pepper, stemmed, and seeded it. I then cut the pepper into strips and reserved the red bell pepper juices.

Blackened and blistered red peppers cut into strips

I brought a saucepan of salted water to a boil. I topped and tailed the green beans. I added the beans to the water and cooked for a few minutes.

Cooking green beans

I washed and dried the lettuce. Tossed the lettuce with the basil, green beans, and lobster. I then tossed it all with the vinaigrette. I arranged the salad on a plate and decorated it with the red pepper strips and potato chips.

Lobster and Potato Chip Salad

The salad was really good. It felt light and fresh. There were various textures on the plate - the crunch of the potato chips and the crispness of the green beans worked well with the other components of the salad. The vinaigrette was simple and didn't overpower the lobster. My one complaint would be the size of the green beans, perhaps cutting them in half would have worked better. All in all a well-rounded salad with lots of flavor.

Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon, Quail Eggs, and Endive

Recipe: Smoked Salmon, Quail Eggs, and Endive
Page: 91
Date Cooked: October 25, 2012

The combination of potatoes, smoked salmon, and eggs is pretty typical. This recipe just ups the ante, particularly with the use of quail eggs and endive. Jonathan Waxman mentions a few locations to get quail eggs, such as Chinese supermarkets or a specialty store like D'Artagnan (http://www.dartagnan.com/). While D'Artagnan is great for many products, my advice to you is to definitely go to the Chinese supermarkets if you can. A pack of 15 quail eggs will cost you almost $9.00 from a specialty store. Yet a pack of 10 quail eggs at the Chinese supermarket cost only $1.50. A price differential you just can't beat.

Ingredients: Red potatoes, unsalted butter, salt, pepper, lemon, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, Belgian endive, smoked salmon, quail eggs, and dill

I washed the potatoes and cut them into wedges. I put butter in a skillet to melt, added the potatoes, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and put the skillet in the oven for the potatoes to roast.

Roasting potatoes

In the meantime, I prepped the vinaigrette. I juiced the lemon in a bowl, added rice wine vinegar, and whisked in the olive oil till the vinaigrette emulsified.

Making the vinaigrette 

I cut the bottom ends of the endive and arranged the spears around the plate. I spooned some of the vinaigrette onto the endive spears and placed the salmon on top of the endive. I tossed the roasted potatoes in the remaining vinaigrette and added the potatoes to the plate.

Assembling the salad

Then it was on to frying the quail eggs. I fried them in a pan with some butter, just until the yolks set.

Frying quail eggs

I placed the fried quail eggs on top of the salad and served immediately.

Smoked Salmon, Quail Eggs, and Endive

The salad was good. The salmon really shined and I enjoyed the tartness of the vinaigrette. I also have grown to appreciate potatoes in a salad, something Jonathan Waxman has done before (Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad). Furthermore, the quail eggs did have a different taste and texture when compared to chicken eggs.

The most time consuming aspect of this recipe for me was handling the quail eggs. The small size of the egg makes it a bit tricky. But after a few eggs, I seemed to have gotten the trick.

Overall, it was a great salad. However, I'm not sure I would go to the hassle of using the specialty ingredients if I played with these flavor profiles in the future. Perhaps a different type of lettuce would be fine and a chicken's egg would also be suitable.

Enjoy!

Sweetbread and Celery Root Salad

Recipe: Sweetbread and Celery Root Salad

Page: 89

Date Cooked: September 5, 2012

I've eaten sweetbreads many times, but I had never prepared them myself before this recipe. The introduction to this recipe didn't ease my apprehension about cooking sweetbreads either... "under- or overcooking sweetbreads renders them inedible." But I had to take it as a challenge and on with the recipe I went.

Ingredients: Sweetbreads, white onion, garlic, jalapeno chile, white wine vinegar, bouquet garni (not pictured), salt, black peppercorns, celery root (not pictured), heavy cream, unsalted butter, bacon, olive oil, cabbage, rice wine vinegar, and flat-leaf parsley

I soaked the sweetbreads in cold salted water for a couple hours, changing the water once. 

Sweetbreads soaking in salted water

In the meantime, I thinly sliced onion and garlic. I also cut the jalapeno in half. I placed the onion, garlic, and jalapeno in a pan with white wine vinegar, water, the bouquet garni, salt, and the peppercorns. I brought it all to a simmer and let it simmer.

(1) Sliced white onion (2) Sliced garlic (3) Halved jalapeno

I added the sweetbreads to the court bouillon and simmered until the sweetbreads were just cooked through. I removed the sweetbreads to a colander and ran it under cold water to stop the cooking. I poured the court bouillon into a bowl to cool. Once the court bouillon cooled, I added the sweetbreads, covered the bowl, and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

(1) Simmering court bouillon (2) Sweetbreads in court bouillon (3) Sweetbreads post-simmer

The next day, I strained the sweet breads from the court bouillon, peeled the membranes, and sliced them into rounds.

Sliced sweetbreads

I peeled the celery root, cut it into cubes, and placed them in a saucepan with cold water, and some salt. I cooked the celery root till tender. I drained the celery root and transferred it the food processor. I pureed the celery root with cream, butter, salt, and pepper.

Celery root puree

I sliced the bacon into strips and cooked it in a skillet with some olive oil until the bacon browned. I removed the bacon with a slotted spoon and let it drain on a paper towel. I sliced the cabbage into strips and added the cabbage to the bacon fat  and stirred until the cabbage wilted. I added the champagne vinegar and simmered until the cabbage is tender. I seasoned the cabbage with salt and pepper and kept it warm.

Cooking the bacon

Sauteing cabbage

I heated butter and olive oil in a skillet. I seasoned the sweetbreads with salt and pepper and cooked them in the skillet, sauteing the sweetbreads until browned on each side.

Sauteing the sweetbreads

Then it was on to putting it all together. I spooned the celery root puree into the center of the plate. I topped it with the sauteed sweetbread slices. I then surrounded the puree with the cabbage and sprinkled it with the bacon strips. I topped the salad with some chopped parsley and it was ready to eat.

Sweetbread and Celery Root Salad

Well first things first...cooking sweetbreads, not that hard. Actually it was quite simple. And the salad was delicious. It's pretty hard to compare it to something else. But all the parts worked nicely together. The fat from the sweetbreads and bacon was cut by the cabbage and the parsley. The salad as a whole was a little monochromatic (except for the parsley) but like I said it tasted really good.

Enjoy!

Wild Mushroom Salad

Recipe: Wild Mushroom Salad
Page: 78
Date Cooked: February 15, 2012

This recipe somewhat follows a technique I used in a previous recipe, Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad, where you use the hot bacon fat to wilt the greens. In this recipe, you use the warm mushrooms tossed in a vinaigrette to wilt the greens. The fun part of this recipe was looking for wild mushrooms and once I saw them in the store, I knew it was time to pull this recipe out.

Ingredients: Sourdough bread, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, mixed wild mushrooms - shitake and hedgehog, prosciutto, shallot, sherry vinegar, walnut oil, chives, sage leaves, black pepper, mixed torn firm lettuces - endive and romaine, and basil leaves

The first step was to make the garlic croutons. I cut up the sourdough bread into cubes and baked until golden. In the meantime, I minced the garlic. I put the croutons in a bowl and mixed in the rosemary, olive oil, and garlic.

Making garlic croutons

I cleaned the mushrooms and cut them into bite-sized pieces. I put the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toasted them for just a few minutes. Once they were toasted, I poured the pine nuts in a bowl and seasoned with a bit of salt. I also sliced the prosciutto into strips.

1. Cleaned mushrooms 2. Toasted pine nuts with salt 3. Sliced prosciutto 

Then it was on to the vinaigrette...I minced the shallot and put it in a small bowl. I whisked in the sherry vinegar and the walnut oil. The recipe also calls for hazelnut oil - but since I couldn't find any, I simply used double the amount of walnut oil. I then stirred in the chives, sage, and pepper. I also put the lettuces in a large salad bowl and mixed in the basil.

1. Vinaigrette 2. Mixed lettuces with basil

I heated some olive oil in a large skillet until almost smoking. I added the mushrooms and seasoned with salt and pepper. I cooked the mushrooms until they were nice and golden and then quickly added the vinaigrette.

Mushrooms with vinaigrette

I added the mushrooms to the lettuce and tossed. I added the pine nuts, prosciutto, and croutons and mixed it all together. Finally, I seasoned it with some salt and pepper.

Wild Mushroom Salad

This salad was delicious. The crunch of the croutons and pine nuts, the earthiness of the mushrooms, the freshness of the lettuces, and the salt and fat of the prosciutto worked harmoniously. It tasted just as good as it looks. I want to make note of one of the mushrooms I used - the hedgehog mushroom. It smelled amazing. I could not believe the intense amount of flavor that came from this one mushroom. JW mentions really trying to use wild mushrooms for this recipe to get all the flavor of the salad and it makes sense. Overall, a beautiful, delicious salad.

Enjoy!

Sesame-Crusted Goat Cheese Cakes on Greens

Recipe: Sesame-Crusted Goat Cheese Cakes on Greens
Page: 75
Date Cooked: October 12, 2011

When I first purchased this cookbook and began flipping through it. The picture associated with this recipe completely stood out to me. The contrast between with the black and white sesame seeds is really striking and I was excited to see how it would turn out for myself.

Ingredients: White sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, salt, pepper, unsalted butter, shallots, olive oil, sherry vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, soft goat cheese, basil, and mesclun

The first item of business was to get items toasted and roasted. I placed the white and black sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toasted them in the oven for a few minutes. Afterward I sprinkled them with some salt and pepper. Furthermore, I placed unpeeled shallots, melted butter, olive oil, and salt onto some parchment paper - which was then folded into a double folded packet. The packet was put into the oven and shallots roasted until tender. Once the shallots roasted and cooled, I peeled them and left them whole.

Left: Toasted sesame seeds Right: Packet of shallots

Then it was on to the vinaigrette. I put some sherry vinegar into a bowl and whisked in the sesame oil, olive oil, and shallot oil (from the parchment packet). I also stirred in the shallots and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Vinaigrette

I brushed a baking sheet with olive oil and then began preparing the got cheese cakes. I placed the white sesame seeds in one bowl and the black sesame seeds in another. I cut the goat cheese into small rounds and rolled half of the round in the white sesame seeds and the other half in the black sesame seeds. I put the goat cheese cakes on the baking sheet and allowed them to warm in the oven for a few minutes.

Left: Goat cheese cake assembly Right: Two-toned goat cheese cake

I shred the basil and combined it with the mesclun. I then tossed the greens with the vinaigrette to coat it lightly. Finally, I laid the greens on a plate and placed the goat cheese cakes on top.

Sesame-Crusted Goat Cheese Cakes on Greens

Everything about this dish just worked. The textural contrast between the goat cheese and the sesame seeds was great. The sherry vinegar based vinaigrette played off nicely with the goat cheese. And the greens lent a sense of lightness to the heavy taste of goat cheese.

Rolling the cakes in the two colored sesame seeds was a little harder than I expected. You have to work quickly because the warmth of your fingers makes the goat cheese even softer. However, I felt that even if I had mixed the two colors together, the dish would remain visually pleasing.

I do want to make a note here that JW's vinaigrette recipes have been spot on! I could not get enough of that vinaigrette, it was sooo good. It makes eating greens and salads more interesting and somewhat new again. And I really appreciate that.

Overall, I think it was a beautiful salad. I know some people aren't the biggest fan of goat cheese but I think this recipe helps cut that richness and may change some minds.

Enjoy!

Three-Tomato Salad, Version 2

Recipe: Three-Tomato Salad, Version 2
Page: 74
Date Cooked: August 7, 2011

The summer tomatoes have looked wonderful at the store and I couldn't help but buy some. I later remembered that there was another version of JW's three-tomato salad that I made earlier and figured why not get another recipe down. The last salad recipe really celebrated the pure taste of a tomato and so I had high hopes for this one as well.

Ingredients: Red tomato, yellow tomato, orange tomato, small tiny assorted tomatoes, green basil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil

The first step was to slice the large tomatoes and place them alternatively on a plate. I then cut the small tomatoes in half and julienned the basil. Note: the recipe actually calls for red or purple basil as well. I couldn't find any so I used additional green basil. 

1. Tomato slices 2. Halved small tomatoes 3. Julienned green basil

I then placed the basil into a bowl with the red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I drizzled some of the vinaigrette on the sliced tomatoes and then tossed the small tomatoes into the bowl of vinaigrette. Finally, I placed the small tomatoes on the plate and garnished it all with some pepper and basil.

Three-Tomato Salad Version 2

I thought the salad was delicious. Overall, I can say that the salad recipes in this cookbook have more or less turned out to be quite delicious. The tomato salad stayed true to the taste of the tomatoes. The vinaigrette, pepper, and basil just highlighted those flavors. All in all it is a simple, beautiful, and tasty salad. The presentation is also quite impressive. It's one of those great summer salads that would be nice to serve to guests.

Enjoy!

Greens, Pancetta, and Poached Egg Salad

Recipe: Greens, Pancetta, and Poached Egg Salad
Page: 81
Date Cooked: February 26, 2011

This particular recipe is a result of Jonathan Waxman's "quandary of coming up with a special egg dish at [his] restaurant Bud's in New York City" and I can say it is more than just an egg dish. This was my first time poaching an egg in red wine and I'm still not sure if I did it correctly. Nonetheless, I completed the dish.

Ingredients: Pancetta, shitake mushrooms, pepper, Beaujolais, red wine vinegar, curly endive, mustard, olive oil, and eggs

The pancetta is cut into thin strips and sautéed until crispy. The pancetta is removed from the pan, leaving the fat. Chopped shitake mushrooms are then placed into the same skillet, peppered, and cooked until lightly browned.

Top Left: Chopped pancetta strips
Top Right: Chopped shitake caps
Bottom Left: Crispy Pancetta
Bottom Right: Shitake sauteed in pancetta fat

While the mushrooms cooked, the Beaujolais and red wine vinegar were placed in a saucepan and brought to a simmer. The endive was washed and dried. Then the pancetta, shitakes, and pancetta fat were all added to the endive and tossed.

Left: Beaujolais and red wine vinegar simmering
Right: Curly endive tossed with pancetta and shitakes

The mushroom pan was deglazed with some more red wine vinegar. Mustard and olive oil were added to the pan and cooked for a few minutes. 

Mustard vinaigrette in the making

Finally, the eggs were poached in the red wine mixture. This step was a little harder than I expected and also the eggs looked a little strange having been poached in red wine. Nonetheless, all the components of the salad were now ready. The vinaigrette was tossed into the salad and the poached eggs were placed on the top. 

Greens, Pancetta, and Poached Egg Salad

Alright, I want to make note that I don't think this is the prettiest looking dish - that is the red wine poached egg is well kind of ugly. And this may very well be because I didn't poach it quite right but I guarantee you I did the best I could. 


Despite the visual, the salad was amazing. I ate it ravenously - every bite just got better. The shitakes were perfect - cooking them in the pancetta fat was just brilliant. Not only did it retain its meaty texture you got a bit of the salt from the pancetta and the additional pepper. The poached egg on top added a whole new dimension. Once you broke the yellow of the egg into the salad, you were able to sop it all up with the other salad components. And again it was just damn good. 


All in all, I loved the salad. Heck, I made it two nights in a row, I thought it was soo good. Now if only I could get that red wine poached egg to look pretty!

Enjoy!

Garden Salad

Recipe: Garden Salad
Page: 72
Date Cooked: February 14, 2011

This is the fourth Jonathan Waxman salad I have delved into. The previous salad recipes (Warm Squid Salad, Three Tomato Salad, Version 1, Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad) provided inspiration for my day to day cooking may that be a new found appreciation for the kumato, basic vinaigrettes, or even a new green such as dandelion. This recipe was the quintessential basic salad and I wasn't particularly inspired.

Arugula, Boston lettuce, baby frisee, black pepper, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil 

The recipe called for a variety of greens - from which I chose arugula, Boston lettuce, and baby frisee. The lettuce is washed and dried and placed in a bowl. Black pepper is added along with a touch of salt and the lettuce is tossed.

Washed and dried lettuce in bowl

Next, a small amount of balsamic vinegar is added to the greens and then tossed. Then the olive oil is tossed with the greens. You've added enough olive oil once the "salad glistens." And well....That is the end of the recipe.

Garden Salad

The salad tasted fine. But it wasn't anything exceptional by any means. Apparently, according to Jonathan Waxman, the key is to "always add the vinegar first." Why this is the case - I have no clue. I tried to find something about it, but came out of the search with no consensus. I want to assume it has something to do with the chemistry of oil and vinegar. Overall, the greens were good and the salad was just simple.

Enjoy!

Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad

Recipe: Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad
Page: 82
Date Cooked: December 6, 2010

My favorite part of this project is buying ingredients I have never bought before. I'm sure we all have this experience, you cruise down the grocery store isles and look at something, comment to yourself how interesting it is, and then make a mental note to come back to it. However, more often than not, you never seem to pick it up, despite the numerous mental notes.

I can say this about many ingredients required for the recipes I've made thus far and it holds true for this one as well. Dandelion has remained an ingredient that I consumed only when served to me at a restaurant. Many times, it is also presented in small quantities. With this recipe, I got a good sense of the flavor and texture of this leaf. And all in all, it made for an interesting salad...Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad.

Ingredients: Butter, small potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, bacon, dandelion greens, shallots, sage, olive oil, mustard, sherry vinegar

The potatoes were the first items that needed preparation. They were cut into slices and spread in a roasting pan. The garlic was peeled and smashed and added to the pan. Finally, melted butter was drizzled on top of the potatoes and garlic. The pan was placed into the oven till the potatoes were golden and tender.

Pan of potatoes, garlic, and melted butter to be roasted

While the potatoes roasted, the bacon was cut into "lardons"; the dandelion stalks were removed and the leaves were cut; the shallots were minced; and the sage leaves were chopped.

1. Lardons of bacon 2. Dandelion greens 3. Minced shallots 4. Chopped sage

Once the potatoes were done, the garlic was discarded, and the warm potatoes were tossed with the dandelion greens. Bacon and olive oil were placed into a skillet and cooked till golden. The bacon along with some of the rendered bacon fat was tossed into the dandelion greens. In the meantime, the shallots cooked in the remaining bacon fat just until softened. And just like the warm ingredients before it, the shallots were tossed into the greens.

1. Only potatoes 2. Potatoes, bacon, and bacon fat 3. Potatoes, bacon, bacon fat, and shallots

And of course no salad is complete without dressing. So as the warm components continued to wilt the dandelion greens, the dressing was prepared. Mustard and sherry vinegar were added to the pan and whisked well. Then the sage was added. Finally, on low heat, the mixture was whisked with some olive oil until the dressing emulsified.

Left: Mustard, sherry vinegar, and sage mixture
Right: Completed dressing 

The dressing was poured over the dandelion greens and tossed. Finally, the salad was seasoned with black pepper.

Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad

I would categorize the Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad as one of those not so healthy salads. I mean come one people - butter + olive oil + bacon fat does not equal a healthy salad. Despite the non-diet disclaimer, the salad was delicious. Every ingredient played off of each other. The slight bitterness of the dandelion greens, the fat of the bacon, and the crisp earthiness of the potato made it a perfect combination.

I was surprised to find that the bitterness of the dandelion greens was indeed mild. Jonathan Waxman hits on this point in the introduction of this recipe - describing how warming the dandelion leaves three times (potatoes, bacon and bacon fat, and shallots) wilts the greens and removes some of the bitterness.

My one and only complaint was that I found the dressing to be a tad oily. I felt that not as much olive oil was needed in the last step of the dressing preparation. Despite this one hiccup, I would make this salad again. I mean, I did end up eating two servings in one sitting.

Enjoy!