HUNGRY GERALD

As part of Exquisite Maiko’s birthday dinner the other night, SJ prepared a real oldie-but-goodie: a gratin of cheese, onions and newly picked Prince Edward Island potatoes. A time honored rustic French dish that does not get enough play these days. It is called Gratin Dauphinois if cream is used as the braising/binding agent and Gratin Savoyard if beef stock is used instead. Thinly sliced potatoes are placed in a heavy casserole that has been strewn with chopped garlic. Butter, cheese and cream (or beef broth) are added and it is cooked in a moderately hot oven. The heat is turned up at the end (or the dish is placed under the broiler) so a nice brown crust is developed. It is the definition of comfort food. SJ added shavings of cheddar and swiss cheese to the dish as well as sliced onions. SJ used milk instead of heavy cream in the dish. Made SJ unhappy. Felt it made the gratin watery instead of unctuous. Too picky. HG found it super delicious. Gratins usually accompany roasted meat. HG finds this a mite heavy. HG likes a gratin to stand on its own, accompanied by nothing but a green salad and red wine. Garlic lovers might try to find James Beard’s recipe for a gratin. HG recalls his gratin utilized olive oil, a bit of white wine and many, many cloves of thinly sliced garlic. Guaranteed to keep Count Dracula at bay.

Getting bored with HG’s press agentry for Exquisite Maiko’s kitchen wizardry? Too bad. Stop reading. But, if you want to know how to make magic with farm raised salmon read on. After a day of Prince Edward Island beach fun, EM julienned the remaining vegetables in the refrigerator (cabbage, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, onions) and tossed them in a bowl with a marinade of rice vinegar, sake, mirin and soy sauce. A slab of salmon was cut into manageable pieces about two fingers long and two fingers wide. These pieces were dusted in flour and sauteed until brown in canola oil. The salmon then went into the bowl, absorbing the the marinade flavors. The marinade had “cooked” the vegetables. This salmon dish was served with perfectly cooked rice, EM’s braised Japanese eggplant and some sriracha (for HG, the sriracha addict). The sublime appetizer was EM’s hand-made pork gyoza. EM will spend a day making gyoza and keeps batches in the freezer. EM has been cooking busily during her stay on PEI. HG’s dream came true: Fantastic dishes prepared at home daily by a talented Asian chef. The dream ends as EM, SJ and family return to Brooklyn. Soon,HG/BSK will be back in New Mexico. There are culinary consolations. Awaiting HG in the high desert paradise HG shares with BSK: BSK’s fabulous roast chicken. Adobo dusted pork chops. Green salads BSK prepares with the lettuces cultivated by HG/BSK’s organic farmer neighbor. Braised escarole in broth with onions, garlic, pancetta and white beans. Green chile stew with peppers freshly roasted at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Pasta showered with herbs from BSK’s garden.BSK is a locavore and HG’s palate reaps the benefits. And, when HG needs a respite from healthy home cooking, it is off to El Parasol Restaurant in Pojoaque for a steaming bowl of cholesterol rich menudo. Land of Enchantment, indeed.

SJ returned to Prince Edward Island after his labors in steamy New York. SJ was accompanied by a surprise, a surprise carefully concealed from HG: a visit from the joyous, golden presence of Restaurateur Daughter Vicki. The excellent woman did not come empty handed: Wine, cheese, salumi, artisan pasta were amongst the treats she brought. Three days of feasting began with each family member displaying their culinary chops. Exquisite Maiko sourced a dozen mackerel, so fresh they were still frozen in rigor-mortis, from a Naufrage Harbor fisherman who refused to accept any money for his catch. She deftly produced mackerel-3-ways: tataki (roughly chopped raw fish with scallion, ginger and soy sauce); Shime Saba (marinated mackerel filets served with ginger and scallion); Sashimi (beautifully sliced raw fish with a sauce of ponzu and EM’s own secret Onion Dressing). EM also produced a variety of salads: fresh water shrimp with avocado, soy-sauce and wasabi, cellophane noodles mixed with strips of egg crepe, etc. And, to show off her mastery of the flame EM cooked some tiger shrimp to perfection in the Spanish style with crispy garlic and a dusting of smoked pimenton. BSK countered with BSK’s spectacular sauteed sea scallops. Naturally, scores of Colville Bay and Savage Harbor oysters were consumed. Ears and ears and ears of seasonal corn on the cob (shucked by Grandson Haru and cooked using BSK’s infallible method) and the first tomatoes of the PEI season (with local feta cheese) were on the table. SJ produced a great platter of herbaceous linguine. This was the SJ technique: SJ chopped every herb in the garden (basil, mint, sage, parsley, marjoram, etc.); sliced 2 cloves of garlic paper thin (in the Goodfella’s style), added some chopped anchovy and mixed it all together with salt and pepper. He then heated about a 1/2 cup of olive oil until it was almost smoking and poured it over the herb-anchovy- garlic mixture causing a huge sizzle and the release of an extraordinary fragrance or herbs, garlic and olive oil. Tossed it over warm pasta and mixed it all up. SJ also produced some very good pizza topped with sliced potatoes, olive oil and mix of goat cheese and mozzarella. Restaurateur Vicki did a knock-your-socks off pesto. RV bought a huge bag of the freshest basil from the Charlottetown Farmers Market and using methods learned from RV’s husband, chef Marc Meyer, did a pesto that had sublime texture, taste and aroma. The ambrosial mixture clung to every fold of the special pasta RV brought from New York. Yes, these were three days of incomparable family fun and festivity.(Sadly, daughter Lesley R. and family were back in Rhode Island and so LR couldn’t contribute her exemplary Italian/Provencal dishes and delicious countenance). And, what did HG contribute to this delightful extravaganza? HG ate. HG drank. HG made judicious and complimentary comments. True artists, after all, need an appreciative and knowing audience and HG was glad to oblige.

Periodically, Exquisite Maiko delights the HG/BSK famille with spectacular tempura. Cod, sole, scallops, haddock and shrimp are given the EM treatment which renders them crisp, light as a gentle breeze and full of flavor without even the slightest hint of grease. These are served with room temperature soba in a broth topped with scallions, slivers of nori and a bit of wasabi. Last night, EM introduced some delightful innovations with the help of PEI’s bountiful summer harvest. Beautiful just-picked eggplant was done two ways: Braised in a sweet and fragrant sauce and as crisp, tempura slices. In addition, EM found some fresh okra and created a dish that would convert even the most dedicated okra hater. Rather than slimey, EM’s okra was firm, room temperature and sauced with a number of subtle and elusive ingredients (EM has her secrets). EM also prepared oyster mushroom tempura and was ready to do even more vegetables–asparagus, onions and zucchini. But, having had copious amounts of the seafood tempura, a halt was requested. EM received applause for her matchless Japanese cuisine.

In the past, HG enjoyed mackerel in its traditional marinated form, often found as an entree in Paris bistros and modest French eateries in New York’s West Side. Other than that, mackerel was an unknown food for HG — a mystery fish sometimes spotted in lurid tins in the dusty shelves of the supermarket. Little did HG know that he would one day meet Exquisite Maiko and sample her deft way with this fish, a fish that is found in abundance in the seas off Prince Edward Island. Yesterday, EM visited the fishing port of Naufrage and came away with a gift of a dozen mackerel pulled from the sea just hours before (Yes, the fishermen gave EM the fish for free because the catch is so abundant and there is no market for fresh mackerel on PEI. Go figure.). Last night, EM served the mackerel in three different forms: As thinly sliced sashimi on a platter beautifully garnished with slivers of tomato, scallion and ginger. As tataki, finely chopped and mixed with rice vinegar and other flavors and then topped with scallions and nori. As then as filets, grilled simply and consumed with a bit of soy sauce and sriracha. In addition, EM cooked some Mapo Tofu, tofu in a spicy, ground pork sauce. Sensational. Prince Edward Island is far from Japan but EM has made the HG/BSK kitchen into a tiny corner of culinary Tokyo.

This Prince Edward Island summer it has been a pleasure to both watch the preparation (and finally to eat) some of the variety of dishes in the repertoire of Exquisite Maiko. The food is Japanese but not ultra traditional: western influences pop up here and there and EM’s inventiveness adds unique layers to all of her dishes. Suffice it to say, there are many surprises. One night, HG presented EM with a thick filet of salmon. Usually, HG prepares this in the French bistro style–unilateral. That is, sauteing it skin side down without turning. Not EM. First, she cut the salmon into a dozen bite size pieces. (EM is not beguiled by the American practice of serving great haunches of roasted or broiled meat or overly large pieces of fish). The salmon pieces got a quick sizzle in corn oil and were then gently poached (in sake and a tiny bit of soy sauce) on a bed of slivered red peppers, carrots and onions. Accompanying this was a salad of cherry tomatoes and cucumber. What made this salad extraordinary was the play of textures. The cucumber was cut two ways: Into the thinnest spears imaginable and into thicker batons. The cherry tomatoes got a quick plunge into boiling water and were then peeled. It all made a marvelous meal but not easy to duplicate unless you have EM’s knife skills (which resemble those of a surgeon). On another evening, a neighbor presented us with some mackerel pulled from the sea earlier that day. HG had hopes of EM’s incomparable mackerel sashimi and sushi. Didn’t happen. EM examined the fish closely and determined they had been kept in water for too long after the catch. Still very edible but not quite right texturally for raw eating. So, EM fileted the fish, rinsed the filets in cold water and then dried them very carefully in layers of paper towels. They were then grilled for a few moments and served under a cloud of freshly grated daikon radish. Soy sauce and Japanese pepper were added. This was served with a salad which, once more, highlighted EM’s knife skills. First, EM made some super thin crepes made entirely of eggs. These were cut into uniform, matchstick sized pieces. A cucumber and slices of black forest ham also received the matchstick treatment. Transparent noodles were cooked, quickly chilled and rinsed unitl room temperature. (A light dressing of rice vinegar and soy sauce was added). EM placed equal sized mounds of cucumber, ham and egg on the bed of noodles. It made a pretty sight. Among the elements of EM’s approach appreciated by HG is EM’s lack of fear of high cholesterol animal fat. EM recognizes that fat is flavor. And, since animal fat is not found very much in the Japanese diet, EM pulls out all the stops when preparing a dish dependent on a fair amount of fat. This was the case of the oxtail broth/stew EM prepared on a recent stormy, unseasonably cold evening. The broth, long simmered, was clear and punched through with the flavor of black pepper; the surface glimmered with slicks of unctuous fat — just enough to make the broth savory yet not greasy. Of course, the perfectly beefy oxtails were rimmed with a juicy layer of fat. As HG writes this, HG eyes EM across the room: What other wonders does EM have up her kimono sleeve?

The Rhode Islanders — Gifted Daughter Lesley, Profesore/Dottore Massimo, Beautiful Granddaughter Sofia (and visiting friend from Bologna, Valeria) are here. Our Prince Edward Island pals, Philosophy Professor Neb and architect/wife Silva (designer of HG/BSK’s PEI home) came to dinner before setting out for European conferences and trips. Lots of folks. Time to create a spread: BSK poached a chicken for HG’s Shredded Chicken Pan Pan (chicken in a spicy Szechuan peanut-scallion-garlic-Chinese pickle-soy-vinegar-oil sauce served room temperature on a bed of thin pasta.) Lesley made a Newfoundland fresh water shrimp salad with mayonnaise, lemon juice and tarragon (from BSK’s herb garden) plus a platter of sliced tomatoes with feta cheese and freshly picked basil. EM did her signature salad of room temperature cellophane noodles with shredded ham, cucumber and egg. Plenty of wine, locally brewed beer and excellent bread from the Cardigan Farmers Market. Neb and Silva brought olive oil gelato for dessert. Sounded strange but tasted great. A fine and joyous feast for family and friends.

HG has enjoyed some of the world’s great fish dishes. Sole swimming in fragrant butter at Le Dome in Paris. Perfect grilled Dover sole at J.Sheekey in London. Crisp sauteed Long Island flounder at Esca in New York. Shad and shad roe at two New York landmarks of yesteryear–Christ Cella and Gage & Tollner. Sublime striped bass at the greatest of all seafood restaurants–New York’s Le Bernardin. As good or better than any of these dishes is the sole prepared by HG’s Japanese daughter-in-law, Exquisite Maiko, the talented chef/caterer. HG has enjoyed this EM creation with fish purchased from Whole Foods (Santa Fe); Fairway (Brooklyn) and By The Bay Fish Mart (Prince Edward Island). All splendid but the PEI version is the best since the fish is just hours out of the sea. Here’s how EM does it. First, garlic slices and then shredded, preserved kombu are gently browned to a crisp in canola oil and drained on a paper towel. EM then places the sole in the remaining oil — still fragrant from the garlic and seaweed. Adds sake. Covers the pan and steams over a medium/low flame. When done, the sole is placed on a warmed platter. EM adds soy sauce to the pan with the oil and sake mix. Swirled and reduced slightly, this sauce is poured over the sole. The final touch is topping the dish with the garlic chips and crisped seaweed. As interpreted by EM, this is Japanese cooking at its best. Light. Fragrant. Flavorful. HG/BSK will try to replicate this dish in EM’s absence. Are sure it will be tasty but will lack that special Maiko magic.

SJ, Exquisite Maiko, grand-son Haru, grand-daughter Teru are on Prince Edward Island with HG/BSK. EM, much to the delight of HG, has been busy in the kitchen. EM is a masterly chef and turns out some dishes that have Japanese soul but are rarely found on the menus of Japanese restaurants. Some nights ago, EM accompanied braised chicken with a tureen of sauteed bean sprouts, snow pea pods and oyster mushrooms. Bean sprouts are usually innocuous but EM does something magical and they became succulent while retaining crispness. Last night, EM soared. The meal started with a chawanmushi, a savory Japanese custard made with eggs beaten with dashi broth, soy sauce and salt. Slivers of mushrooms, yellow beans and corn kernels were added (no chicken or shrimp which she usually adds). The mixture was poured into individual bowls and steamed. The result was food poetry: a silken custard, accented with the smokey notes of dashi, that yielded exquisite bites of the fresh vegetables that were suspended within — a delicate, yet robust dish where EM’s masterly technique celebrated the integrity of the ingredients. The main dish was equally unusual. Buta no Kakuni, pork belly with daikon radish and hard boiled eggs. Served over rice and enriched with the fragrant braising liquid created by cooking the pork belly and daikon. This is a two day dish. The pork bellies are first seared, then cooked at a low boil with ginger, scallions, sake and water. Finally they are left in the pot and refrigerated overnight. In the morning, all the fat is removed and the pork is simmered together with mirin, sugar, soy sauce and dashi broth — the daikon and the eggs are also added. EM’s attention to detail is revealed in the shape of the daikon, each piece cut into a uniform size reminiscent of a child’s building block. The dish is powerful and rich in flavor but oddly light on the palate. A piece of Japanese culture illuminated by EM’s creative wizardry.

Born and bred in Italy, an authority on many aspects of Italian culture and cuisine, HG’s son-in-law, Profesore/Dottore Massimo R., a distinguished academic, dismisses orzo, one of HG’s favorite pasta shapes. “Only in soup,” declares Massimo. Yes, it’s great in soup. BSK makes a delicious egg drop soup in the Roman style to which HG likes to add orzo and a topping of grated parmesan and ground pepper. But, HG likes to accompany almost everything — fish, meat, grilled vegetables — with a steaming bowl of orzo. A favorite orzo preparation is mixed with fried onions and mushrooms (plus garlic and olive oil, of course). HG also loves it mixed with anchovies and capers. HG even likes orzo for breakfast with a few pats of butter and a dollop of Greek yogurt (better than oatmeal but not as healthy). HG bows to Profesore/Dottore’s judgment on Pirandello, Palladio, Giotto, etc. but when it comes to his denigration of orzo, HG must respectfully disagree.

As a side-note HG’s daughter-in-law Exquisite Maiko, one of the great chefs walking this earth, also disparages orzo as a pasta “pretending to be rice” and ending up with neither of the great qualities of rice nor pasta. Once again, HG will happily fress on EM’s heavenly tempura while keeping a warm bowl of orzo on his table. “More for me!” says HG.