A BIRD FOR THE AGES

All part for M'sakhan Roast Chicken! 

This is an ancient Palestinian dish using a biblical spice rub called sumac- a red berry fruit when dried achieves the almighty tartness of a lemon king. (The recipe came from partners Yottam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, from their cookbook - of the former's last name. When I listened to their interview on Splendid Table.org, they described this dish as the best dish one will ever eat in his life.) They were right. I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food in general, and cook a lot of them at home, but this one broke my heart - in a good way, of course - because it went straight to my stomach!

Amazingly simple to do! Marinade the following overnight (use your hands):

• Whole (field-running) chicken, cut up (tell your butcher to reserve the spine to make for stock)
• 2 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced
• 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp ground sumac (rub on each piece)
• 1 tbsp freshly ground all spice (rub)
• 1 tbsp freshly grated cinnamon (rub; also, break pieces of the stick and add)
• 1 cup chicken stock (use the reserved spine; add parsley stems and whole pepper corns)
• salt and pepper (I used black volcanic salt from Hawaii; get it from Kalustyan's on Lex and 28th) 

The next day, preheat oven to 400 degrees, and on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper -  (by the way, toast some Spanish pine nuts in butter the night before, too) - then transfer the chicken on the sheet, skin-side up, pick the onions and Meyer lemons and top on the bird, spoon some marinade juice over each piece, dust generous amounts of za'atar spice, swirl olive oil back and forth across - and then roast the bird in the oven covered with a sheet of foil for 40 minutes (remove afterwards; point is to lock-in succulence and moisture), then continue to cook for another 20 minutes (check skin color charring), then high broil for 3 minutes to burn the onions and lemons to generate the caramelization of all the nutrients! Remove from oven and you are done.

Look at the picture above. That's how the dish should look on a nice white platter sprinkled with pine nuts and fresh parsley.  The white dip is actually garlic yogurt. Salivating already? I am.

Serve with warm pita bread (the best comes from Damascus Bakery in Brooklyn, just next door to Sahadi's; tell Fanny, the counter woman from Indonesia, to get you the fresh ones from the back- Gary said so). Eat with your hands - and kneel to the north star! That's how good it is.


  

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GOTHIC

PORTO WINE RUM PUNCH
I have to be honest: there's a lot involved in this drink. But - if ingredients are prepared in advanced, with a jigger and a cocktail shaker in hand - nothing is impossible through a blustery winter night in the city.

 Ginger Syrup:
Cook loads of peeled, small pieces of ginger root in a simple syrup and add one, just one, allspice berry and one twist of orange peel. Reduce. Set aside.

Preserved Lemon Juice (+Cranberry syrup)
If you've been following my blog, you know that most of my whole spices and preserved/dried fruits are bought from Sahadi's in Brooklyn,  http://www.sahadis.com/. (I love and have an "affair" with that store.) In a pot, boil water and add the preserved lemons, and cover. While boiling and lemons become soft, carefully pierce their heads with the tip of a paring knife to release the "brown blood" juice (you'll see). Boil a little more, and when water turns dark and the fruits are breaking, turn off heat, and press the lemons to disintegration with a slotted spoon. Let cool, then filter through. Go to your fridge and get the cranberry preserved you'd made from Thanksgiving and scoop out the syrup into a ramekin - and add in equal measure the homemade preserved lemon juice. Got it?

Fresh-squeezed orange juice (Thank you, folks, for not letting me explain this. And while you're at it, please don't forget to peel some lovely twists.)

Kopke L.B.V. 2007 Port Wine (Douro, Portugal)
Rum (I got mine from the Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands; go there if you wish for the same brand)
Whiskey (Scottish Royale Salute, from the Middle Ages)  
Seltzer (Go buy one from Duane Reade; I'm not going to stretch it)

READY BARTENDER?
Fill shaker with ice, pour one jig of Port, one jig half-and-half of rum and and whiskey, one jig a third each of ginger syrup-lemon juice+-orange juice, cover and shake like a spray paint (if you wish, like a graffiti artist from Bushwick.) Did I mention you must've already purchased or have, perhaps, received as gift, a set of Victorian brass-rimmed coupé glass? (See inset) Well, that's really the point of this drink : Gothic! Pour the "blood" in the "chalice," pour the fizz, stimulate with an orange twist, and grate over the nutmeg nut - before you pray (I mean, drink). Silence, please. 

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FAVA BEANS GRATIN ASPARAGUS MAC-N-CHEESE

A lot of work, but worth it! It's cold outside and will be snowing so here's mama  and papa bear's recipe. Mash cooked fava beans (I would use my hands) - and add over caramelizing minced red onions under low heat, and let them brown a bit, stirring occasionally. Gauge color, then add slivered garlic and stir through; salt, pepper, chili flakes and sea-salted dried oregano it, and cook for another five minutes. Set aside.

(Preheat oven 425 degrees) 

Melt butter in cast iron pan, low heat, and add the undercooked penne lisce pasta (I used Delverde), the blanched asparagus (bias cut), ribbons of seeded peperoncini and mix well; salt, pepper, chili flakes it, then add milk and incorporate through. Microplane nutmeg over, more black pepper - and now break chunks of French brie, Spanish blue and grate large pieces of pecorino on the mac - incorporate once -  do it again (so you're cheesing twice; keep on top, don't incorporate) - then add chopped fresh herbs over (I used thyme, rosemary and parsley), and then the fava beans gratin that had been set aside; press it down gently, finish with more chili flakes, more pepper, swirl some oil, working your way from the middle to the rim all around (you don't want any spills in the oven when milk and cheese boil; why there is a baking sheet under the cast iron). Bake for about 20 minutes. See browning in the picture. 

 Serve in bowls. And don't forget to call mama and papa bear over! You have bibs? I thought so.

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"SPLENDID TABLE"

Sicilian-style Uni and Poblano Chile Linguini

I have to credit this dish from a couple we met at SomTum Der (a Thai restaurant in the E. Village specializing in Isan cuisine), next table to us.
He was, no surprise, from Sicily, a retired former "Master of the Universe" Wall Street banker (I think; I got the "Master" joke from Brian Williams, the NBC network anchor always out to report "straight news comedy"- I'm a big fan), and she was from central Vietnam. They are world travelers, with no kids. All right, then.

I salivated over Master Raymond's description of the uni roe pasta his ancestors make, using pristine Adriatic Sea urchins (spines still moving), with slightly toasted green chiles and oil. The key here is, of course, freshness - not even half-life's time when harvested and picked from their natural habitats. Because I am in New York, I went to the full-time Japanese supermarket near St. Marks Pl., Sunrise Supermarket, and got me a tray of uni for $15.99. Yum. Poblanos, well, anyone can close their eyes and get one of those anywhere here in the city, even on the sidewalk, and there you go.

The salted water I used to cook my pasta in came from the picture below (the liquid after blanching the okras, Brussels sprouts and garlic). Once al dente, set aside in colander. Heat half butter-half oil in the same pot, on low, while adding thyme leaves and the minced poblanos. Toast a bit; then add in the noodles, integrate well, heat is still low, integrate again, and now add the uni (before integrating make sure to sprinkle some calamansi juice over the roe). Remove from heat, and add some pecorino cheese, some fresh-cracked black pepper, some oil, integrate, done. Since you're so cool, have a cigarette before eating.


Calamansi-Okra "Baba Ganoush" - on toasted baguette

This is easy, folks. Again, blanch the veggies as mentioned above, until tender but intact. Put veggies in bowl, mash the okras and add pomegranate seeds, salt and pepper, olive oil, calamansi juice - integrate all to taste! You'll be surprised.

Thank you, Master Raymond for the inspiration!

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THE MORNING AFTER

LAMB TAGINE CUBAN(O) SANDWICH!

First, make the slaw salad: raw Brussels sprouts, red onions and Sahadi's pickled red baby eggplants. Pretty simple - just oil and salt and pepper the veggies and juice half a lemon over your hand. Set aside to soak.

Next, the egg. Two! In a non-stick fryer, add one tbsp of Amish roll butter (I got mine from Belfast Co-op, Belfast, ME - the best butter you will ever live for!), and two tbsp of unfiltered olive oil (from Agata and Valentina, Greenwich Village), and set heat at the lowest dial. When butter and oil combine, break eggs carefully over, salt and pepper them, a little chili flakes, and let them "soufflé." (You don't need to handle the eggs at all, just maybe lift the pan later in the process of cooking and swirl the oil around to lap over the whites and around the edges of the yolk - and that's it. "Braise" the eggs for about 10 minutes until the "sun" is molten. A technique I learned was to cover the pan with a sheet of foil to cook the yolk faster over-medium or well done.) 

To assemble the sandwich, spread over some Herbes de Provence dijon mustard on pre-toasted focaccia flat roll, some mayo if you like, the slaw salad, the leftover lamb tagine from Thanksgiving (shredded), the molten eggs (with drippings from the pan), sprinkle fresh herbs - tarragon, thyme, sage - press in the hat, take a deep breath, EAT, and salute Castro baby!
 

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