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Late at night last Thursday, a couple of glasses of whiskey deep, I decided to challenge gnarlyhotep to an old-school GWS cook-off because he called me a name. The terms: 3 dishes and a drink, served to at least 4 or 5 people (my initial wording was ambiguous). The theme: Butter, Egg, Lime, Cilantro. It made sense at the time. The result? I invited some friends over for dinner and when they asked why I had to explain to them about inter-forum politics. Also I gave myself heartburn. The menu for the evening: Steelhead ceviche with coconut milk Classic Spanish tortilla Ginger-scented shortbread and lime curd Brown butter-infused Royal Hibernian Punch A note: I was cooking for around 6 hours, and I didn't really take any great pictures of the end products because I was tired and also because by that time the sun was down and the lighting in my house isn't really great. Onward! Steelhead Ceviche I've never made ceviche before. Actually all of these are new dishes/techniques. That made it extra fun, but also extra tiring.      The fish I de-skinned and chopped up. I was trying to use those fingernail clippers to pull the fine bones out of the filet, but it didn't work. I ended up just cutting them out (couldn't find needle-nose pliers). The fish marinated in pure lime juice for around 45 minutes while I diced up some aji limon and Jimmy Nardello peppers, zucchini, shallot, and cilantro. I added half of the veggies to the lime and fish and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. The other half I added right before seasoning in order to maintain the crispness. Right at the end I added coconut milk to mellow it all out a bit. This was definitely my favorite of the night, and was really stinking easy. Spanish Tortilla A Spanish tortilla is a potato and onion omlette. I'd actually tried this once before and burnt it to poo poo, so I was much more cautious this time.      The potatoes (Yukon Golds or other waxy variety ideally) were sliced as evenly as I could manage and then shallow fried. Apparently you want them cooked but not browned, so the oil shouldn't be too hot. These were strained in a colander. Then I drained a lot of the oil and sauteed up some diced onion and sliced garlic. Again, cooked soft but not browned. This was also strained. Then I beat up 6 eggs in a large bowl with a bit of salt and pepper and mixed in my potatoes and onions, taking care to not break up the potatoes. The pan (which I'd thoroughly cleaned out) was heated with a small amount of oil until it was pretty hot, and then I added the egg/potato mixture. This cooked at medium-high for about a minute, then at lowish temperature for another 6 or 7. Once the bottom had set and gotten pretty brown I had to flip it, which involved placing a plate over the pan and then flipping it without spilling, which was stressful. I slipped it back into the pan and tucked in the edges. It cooked for another 8 minutes or so and then was done. It was served in slices, and the leftovers reheated wonderfully. Ginger Shortbread and Lime Curd I've always wanted to do lime curd. This was the most tedious of the tasks, but the cookies themselves were a blast. I don't really have any pictures of the curd-making process except the ingredients, since I was whisking the whole time and forgot to take pictures.      For the curd I mixed up 5 ounces or so of lime juice and 3/4 cup sugar with a half cup unsalted butter, 5 egg yolks, and a tablespoon of microplaned lime zest. It all got whisked continuously over medium heat until it got to the nappe stage (it would coat the back of a spoon and you could draw a clean line through it with your finger). Or almost nappe at least, I think I rushed it a bit and it didn't set quite as firmly as would be ideal. I fine-strained it once I took it off the heat and let it set in the fridge. The cookies were the King Arthur shortbread recipe, except I microplaned some ginger and then pressed it with a spoon in a fine strainer like a ghetto chinoise to extract the juice. Also I used really fancy expensive butter, which helped make the cookies insanely crisp and wonderful. I pressed a little divot in them as soon as they were out of the oven to better hold the curd, which I applied at the moment of service. Brown Butter Punch This is one of the few punches from David Wondrich's Punch! that I haven't made yet, and I don't know why. It's a classic style, and it calls for Madeira, which is one of my favorite fortified wines.        The recipe in Wondrich calls for 2 bottles Irish whiskey, 1 bottle rainwater Madeira, 12 oz. sugar, 12 oz. lemon juice, and 2 quarts cold water. I cut it in half for the evening, and started off by infusing my whiskey. I browned a stick of butter, poured it into a mason jar, and then poured the whiskey in after. I let it infuse over night, shaking occasionally to recombine. I would have liked to have had more time to infuse, but alas. In order to infuse with something fatty – butter, coconut milk, bacon – and not have greasy booze, you use a technique called fat-washing. Basically once you're done infusing you can put the liquor into the freezer, which solidifies the fat firmly enough that it can all be strained out quite easily. That's what I did here. To start the punch proper I peeled 5 lemons and muddled them into the sugar to sit. The sugar draws the oil from the peels, which give the punch a rich lemon flavor without adding more acidity. I usually like to do this overnight, but I ended up only being able to have it sit for 3 hours or so, which is still not bad. When I was ready to assemble I dissolved the sugar with the lemon juice and a bit of water, poured in my butter-infused whiskey (I used Bushmills because it's a mellower, more breakfasty Irish that I felt would be complimented by butter flavor) and my wine, topped off with water, and finished with a grating of nutmeg. Oh, and several large chunks of ice that I hacked off of a block in my freezer. If you'd like to learn more about the fine art of punch making and punch service, I highly recommend Punch!. Also, you can get a reasonable primer by following the various links in this post of mine in the cocktail thread. Verdict I love these sorts of things because they make me try making dishes I've never hosed with before. I had a blast, and my friends and family that came over to eat had fun too, although I'm not sure whether or not they quite understood my explanations for why this meal happened. 
Kenning fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Oct 15, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 20:56
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:05 |
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Hi Jim.
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Sep 30, 2015 22:08
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Thanks guys.Jose posted:ranitidine or whatever the zantac off brand is called where you are is good for heartburn if you take it before drinking op It's usually not too big of a deal, but the ceviche/punch/lime curd triple threat really made things go down.
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Sep 30, 2015 23:17
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It was quite good before the coconut milk. I probably would have drained some of the lime juice off if I wasn't using coconut milk though.
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Oct 1, 2015 02:17
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Turkeybone posted:You spelled colander wrong and Rainwater is the pussiest of all the Madieras. But otherwise well done. I'm not going to use my 10 year Boal in a punch. Also thanks for the note I fixed it!
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Oct 15, 2015 06:47
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