Get Pickled!

bluecashew Paella on Kettlehole Road, Montauk NY

....an annual late summer trek to Pam's Pad in Montauk, brings us all to the question "what gastronomic meal are we going to cook?!" ... a difficult query because we have to beat last years, last weekend or even last night's meal. Last summer, our dear friend, the highly regarded chef and cooking icon, Corinne Trang released her third cookbook Asian Grill. Pamela and I had a blast flipping through the beautiful pages, choosing our tempting meal choices. We then stumbled upon the Coconut, an alien fruit!, we were timid to try to understand "the coconut" in it's fresh shell form. From Asian Grill we learned how shop for, break and make coconut cream, milk and snack on the fresh meat. We whipped up a fresh Coconut Curry, accompanied with a gorgeous Green Papaya Salad. The end of the summer meal has stuck on our minds for a year. All our friends were impressed.

This August, while shopping for new new products at the trade show NYIGF, Gregory and I were stopped in the aisle by one of our perky paella pan wholesalers. We had a lovely chat, she was happy to find that bluecashew Kitchen Pharmacy carries her product. We talked about my own version of Paella (I have passed the recipe on to a few lucky customers who popped into our shop). Our conversation turned to methods of cooking Paella, I talked about my bluecashew Paella and told her of how I stirred my Bomba rice. I was scolded!!!!, she scornfully said "You never stir your Bomba rice when you make Paella!!!" .....I was a bit baffled, I always thought that making Paella was sorta like making Risotto...well I was very wrong. A mere shrug, I turned to Gregory and I said, "the next time I make Paella, I guess I won't stir the rice," he said "you are never are supposed to stir Paella!"

....the opportunity arrived on excursion to Montauk...

At Pam's, anyone who knows or has been graced with an invitation for a meal is in for an wonderful experience, a treat always to be remembered. On this trip, we were entertained by Gregory's High School buddy from Miami, Sergio Baradat also a new friend of Pam's, Phillip Graybill, master surfer and musician photographer. Pamela and I helmed the flames...excuse me, I mean the Bosch electric cook top. Paella actually worked well on the Bosch electric stove top. From Gosman's Fish Market, we purchased all the fish and shellfish which came directly off the day boat. Pam and I chose Monk fish, squid, Shrimp and mussels.

When we were preparing the Paella, I was very tempted to stir the Bomba rice...there were many times I wanted to just slowly, place that wooden spoon in the paella pan an give a quick ol' stir...but I held back! When it came time to place the pre cooked fish onto the Saffron Bomba rice, I wondered how would the melody of fish and shellfish would manage to mix in the rice... it was like magic, the Paella came out of the hot oven, just like a spainish chef prepared the meal. Anyway enjoy...I give you bluecashew Seafood Paella....

oh....thanks Pamela!, for all the food memories on Kettlehole Road!!!!

bluecashew Seafood Paella
makes 6 to 8 servings

Alioli
8 garlic cloves, minced
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups of mayonnaise
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Mash the garlic and the salt in a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a medium bowl. Whisk in the mayonnaise, olive oil and lemon juice. Refrigerate until cold, can be prepared 1 week early.

Fish Stock
1 1 ½ pound lobster split
5 8-ounce bottles of clam juice (use the CORA available at Adams Fairacre Farms)
2 cups of water
½ pound medium uncooked shrimp, peeled and deviened (shells reserved)
2 fresh parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
½ cup of dry white wine
1 teaspoon saffron

Cut the lobster tail and claws from the body. Cut tail into 4 pieces. Crack claws. Cover and refrigerate tail & claws. Cut lobster body into large pieces. Bring the clam juice to a boil in a large pot. Add the lobster body pieces, shrimp shells parsley and bay leaf, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain stock into a large measuring cup, pressing solids with the back of a spoon. If stock measures more then 5 ½ cups, return and simmer until reduced to 5 ½ cups. Mix in wine and saffron. Can be prepared one day before.

PAELLA
18 Mussels, scrubbed and debeared
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 pound squid with tentacles

3 medium tomatoes

½ cup of olive oil
1 pound monkfish
1 ½ cups fine chopped green pepper
12 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 bay leaf, crumbled
3 cups Bomba rice
½ cup frozen peas

1 4 ounce jar of pimentos drained
sliced long

minced parsley

Place mussels in a large bowl. Add enough COLD water to cover. Add the cornmeal and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Drain well. Rinse and drain again.

Gently pull tentacles and viscera from the squid. Remove the quill. Cut off tentacles and cut in half. Discard the viscera and the quill. Cut the bodies into ½ inch wide rings. Cover bodies and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the tomato crosswise, coarsely chop or grate onto a large plate, discard skin. Transfer tomato pulp to sieve and drain. Set aside. You can use canned tomatoes too…

Bring fish stock to a simmer. Cover and keep warm over very low heat. Place paella pan over two stove top burners or one large burner. Add oil and heat over medium heat. Add the lobster tail pieces and claws saute for 2 minutes, transfer to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Add shrimp and monkfish to the pan. Season with a little salt, saute for 2 minutes; rotate the pan for even heat. Transfer the shrimp and monkfish to the lobster bowl. Add the squid saute 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, saute 3 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of alioli and paprika and stir and combine. Stir in the tomato pulp, 1 tablespoon parsley and a bay leaf and cook two minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the tomato mixture. Add the fish stock and the peas and cook until the rice is partially cooked and liquid is thick, NO MORE stirring from here on, simmer for about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Remove from heat.

Add shrimp monkfish and any accumulated juices in the bowl to the top of paella. Arrange the mussels (on their sides), lobster and the pimentos decoratively atop the paella. Transfer the paella to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the rice is almost tender(al dente). Remove the paella from the oven cover with foil and let stand 20 minutes at room temperature. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with a side of alioli.

Your guests might enjoy a pitcher of Red or White Sangria to accompany the meal.

Sean

Make Believe?

Cheese and Nut Loaf with Wild Mushroom Sauce

The other day, Gregory came home from family business & the scorching Miami heat to the “chilly” Hudson Valley (we have been having a terrific summer!!!) Anyway, he needed a hearty, nice meal to arrive home too. Last Christmas our wonderful neighbors across the street Anna, David and their super kids Julian and Violet Yaffe, gave our home a vegetarian cookbook "The Greens Cookbook" by Deborah Madison. Anna had suggested the Cheese and Nut Loaf with Wild Mushroom Sauce. So, I took Anna’s suggestion and whipped up this wonderful hearty delight. Boy! Was the vegetarian terrine tasty and rich, cooked in an Emile Henry Loaf Pan it came out like magic!!! The loaf was soft, dense and was definitely a satisfying main coarse, served with a side of garlic string beans from Davenport Farms. The next day, as a left over, we put slices on toasted12 Grain Bread for lunch. A extra yummy sandwich….

Cheese and Nut Loaf

1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
1 ½ cups walnuts
½ cup cashews
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ cup mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
½ to one ounce dried shitake or porcini mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes in hot water and chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons thyme leaves, chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1-tablespoon marjoram, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1-teaspoon sage, chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried sage
4 eggs beaten
1-cup cottage cheese
9 to 12 ounces cheese, grated (use a variety of cheeses, depending on what you have on hand and make sure they go well together…I used Gruyere, Mild Cheddar, Jack.
Ground Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Begin by cooking the brown rice, unless you have some cooked. Roast the nuts in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, and then chop them finely.

Cook the onion in the butter over moderate heat until translucent; then season with salt and add the garlic, chopped mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and herbs. Cook until the liquid being released by the mushrooms has been reduced. Combine this mixture with the rice, nuts, eggs, cottage cheese, and grated cheese. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and additional salt, if needed.

Lightly butter an Emile Henry Loaf Pan; then line it with buttered wax paper or parchment paper. Fill the pan and bake the loaf at 375° Fahrenheit until the top is golden and rounded, about 1 to 1 ¼ hours. The loaf should be firm when you give the pan a shake.

Let the loaf sit 10 minutes before turning it out onto a serving plate, then take off the paper. Serve with the Wild Mushroom Sauce (see below)

Wild Mushroom Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups Wild Mushroom Stock or Broth
1-tablespoon tomato sauce or 1 teaspoon of pureed sun dried tomatoes, I combo-ed and used both!
4 tablespoons cream
Salt
Pepper

Melt the butter in a Viking Cookware Saucepan, then stir in the flour with a sauce whisk, cook over a low flame for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat to let cool slightly. Bring the mushroom stock to a boil; whisk it into the cooled roux. Stir in the tomato and the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!

SBN

Joseph Joseph Colander

I'm pretty privileged that I have a decent sized apartment in Manhattan but as is typical, my kitchen is quite diminutive, so space is tight.  A few companies have begun to tackle this issue with space saving accessories using collapsable designs and highly flexible polymers/elastomers (plastics and rubbers).  There's no getting around cookware of course - not until someone develops a foldable stainless steel - but the clever chaps at Joseph Joseph have shown ingenuity in their innovation and saved me approximately 12 cubic inches with their Folding Colander.  I picked one up yesterday from bluecashew, while I was taking a drive with my dogs.  The colander is a cinch to assemble, comes in a single piece of polypropylene, folds and locks quickly and easily.  Collapsing it took a few practice runs to get the knack of but having it flat so I can store it with my cutting mats is brilliant.  The old metal colander went straight into my growing storage of old items that will fill my (future) summer house.  

I am interested in how long the seamless joints last - though I know that polyprop. is pretty durable I am a little skeptical - but I trust that sufficient testing was done in prototyping.  Honestly, if it lasts a year I'm happy to reinvest the $20 purely for the great design and the space I'm saving.

Eva Solo

Denmark's total population is less than half that of New York city and from these mere 5.5 Million people some of the world's greatest designers, engineers and scientists - and I was always led to believe that you needed sun to grow. The Danes are nevertheless, amongst the progress people on the planet and have, in many ways, defined contemporary architecture furniture and industrial/product design.

This prominence is felt at bluecashew and no more acutely punctuated by the Eva Solo range of home and kitchen accessories and tools. Just about two years ago I worked hard to track down a supplier of the Round Knife Magnets but I couldn't find one in the US, forcing me to import them directly from the great land of the Danes. The effort was worth it. Without knives on them, they're a work of art. Simple, subtle, beautiful. I've had people ask me what they're for and enjoy their appreciation as I pull a clean cleaver out of the dishwasher and plant it securely on one of the super strong magnets. Oh yes, the magnets are so powerful I managed to give myself a serious blood blister when installing them - I really must read instructions!!

In any small kitchen, space is of course of the essence and these compliment my sense of spatial efficiency.

Who the Hell Am I?

Winding our way home from a spa in the middle of Catskills, we decided to drop in on our old friends Sean and Gregory at bluecashew. Being a dab hand in the kitchen and a product designer by training, I always enjoying perusing the wares there and on this occasion, more than before, I got the sense that this is more than a store, it's an experience. I can't bring myself to call it an inventory, it's more of a collection and it's curated with profound insight of home function and exquisite taste for great design.

So, while I was gushing over the beautifully crafted Joseph Joseph range the supremely functional Viking products and all the Danish masterpieces (such as Eva Solo) that are difficult to find anywhere else, I asked if I could begin to exercise my product design chops by contributing to the Dose (this blog).

So, back to the title of the post: Who The Hell Am I? For a formal profile it's probably easiest to look at my Linked In profile and in brief I am Founding Partner and Creative Director of a digital agency called Last Exit based in New York City and London, UK. Born and raised in London I started my career as product designer and was lucky enough to work with agencies such as PDD. I have a deep fascination and passion for ergonomics and the human-machine interface. Something that is so critical in the design of kitchen products/accessories: high functionality and utility, safety and beauty.

I've guest lectured and critiqued at many design schools on both sides of the Atlantic and hold two degrees in Engineering/Product Design and 3d/Spatial Design - I never wanted to leave school! I love, love, love the great outdoors and think of my kitchen as a meditation chamber - it's so cathartic, no?

So, with Sean and Gregory's blessing and G's assistance, I'm going to post wee articles here from time to time and will focus my writing on the products and the designers themselves. Lovely!