Dishes of the Year: 2011

This is not something I normally do, but I've come across some great food this past year and decided to compile a list of my favorites. Now, some of these I've had since before this year and they were so good they conquered this year's list as well.

Here it is:

Koji-Pickled Horse Mackerel

NAOE

[Sunny Isles, FL]

Chef: Kevin Cory

Utilizing the bacteria used to create miso, soy sauce and sake for the pickling of an already stellar ingredient such as horse mackerel, koji (also known as aspergillus oryzae) made for a great agent in flavoring and inspired me to no end. This was a part of Kevin's 13 course omakase offering from one of the best , if not the best, Japanese restaurants in Miami.

Pork Belly. Butterscotch. Bok Choy. Kabocha. Corn Powder.

Pubbelly

[Miami Beach, FL]

Chefs: Jose Mendin & Sergio Navarro

This was the first dish I tried on my first visit to Pubbelly around the first month that they opened. Was absolutely blown away by the tenderness and great marrying of butterscotch and pig. A welcome kabocha purée and bright bok choy to soak it all up.

BBQ Shrimp

Redlight

[Miami, FL]

Chef: Kris Wessel

An undeniable classic. A definitive signature of Kris Wessel's amalgam of New Orleans and Southern Florida cuisine. Served with a side of bread to soak up the Worcestire-laden sauce that is absolutely addictive.

Diver Scallops. Pickled Plum. Sea Beans. Lardo.

Roberta's

[Brooklyn, NY]

Chef: Carlo Mirarchi

Though I was squeezed into a cramped corner of the bar in this hipsterful establishment last minute, I knew I was in for something spectacular. The standout dish of the evening was this lovely plate of perfect diver scallops. What most impressed me was the genius pairing of sweet and acidic freshness from the pickled plum, salted fat in the form of thin lardo strips and a rounded and snappy salinity from the sea beans. It all made so much sense.

Sticky Pork Belly. Cream Soda. Crunchy Turnip. Charred Scallions.

Ideas in Food Cobaya

[Miami, FL]

Chef: Alex Talbot

What most made me happy about this dish was the fact that I could actually taste the cream soda flavor in the pork belly. The crunchy turnip representing a preserved turnip without the overwhelming salinity. Charred scallions are always delicious. A great pairing overall.

Soft Shell Crab

Fatty Crab's

[NYC]

Chef: Zak Pelaccio

Seasoned and fried to perfection. Don't remember what it was served with but I know it was successful. Washed it down with a barrel-aged cocktail.

50/50 Burger

Norman Bros. Produce

[Miami, FL]

Best burger I've had to date. 50/50 means the beef is ground with 50% bacon. Served with avocado, a delicious sauce and all the other fixin's. Only available on Friday's. Worth the trip down south.

Smoked Brisket

ChowDown Grill

[Surfside, FL]

Chef: Joshua Marcus

I don't stop craving this perfectly smoked cut of beef. Served with spicy pickles (usually cauliflower and brussels sprouts). It's been on Chow Down's specials board for a while now. Good thing I'm in walking distance.

Staff Meal

Pan-fried Marlin

Buttered Kohlrabi-Honeydew Mash

Sumac BBQ Pulled Pork

Kohlrabi Greens

Jalapeño Vinegar

The idea of the staff meal has always intrigued me.

The dichotomy of chefs creating high-end, well crafted and beautiful dishes every night sitting down to take a quick break enjoying homely rustic practically leftover fare.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

It may even ground a chef, digging deep into a soulful bowl of top quality ingredients almost as if your grandmother started a catering company. Bulking up to have the energy to continue service through the rest of the night.

Clearly, I don't have a staff of any kind but I utilize this same application to my everyday meals. Through experimentation, I usually yield enough for one or two dishes. There is a lot of leftover product and makes for an easily composed dinner or a more interesting breakfast.

Here I topped some marlin steaks with the leftover sumac BBQ pulled pork that i made plenty of sandwiches with, stuffed into squid bodies and used to garnish fried eggs.

The kohlrabi-honeydew mash plays off the flavors of the honeydew-pickled broccoli from previous posts and the classic application of buttered broccoli (the stems begin my favorite part, which I find kohlrabi to essentially taste like one giant broccoli stem with cabbage tendencies)

The wilted kohlrabi greens were a last minute given, enhanced with a touch of jalapeño vinegar. Ideally, I would prefer to braise the greens in a ham hock broth to compliment to the southern BBQ flavors.

Overall made for a very satisfying lunch.

Sumac BBQ Pulled Pork

Dry rub of sumac, paprika, brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, ground mustard, ginger, pepper & salt.

Oven roasted pork ribs for 200ºF for 4 hours, then dropped to 175ºF for 3 more hours.

Pulled by hand.

Pressure cooked fatty rib trimmings in ginger ale, ketchup, onion & water for 1 hour.

Reduced pressure cooked stock with garlic, thyme, jalapeño, worchestire, aji amarillo & dijon.

Folded in pulled pork.

Thanks to Harold McGee & Ideas in Food for the researched influence and tips.

Coffee XO Sauce

dried shrimp

ancho chilies

garlic

espresso with sugar (colada)

fish sauce

shoyu

oyster sauce

raw cocoa

bacon

thyme

sesame oil

chili oil

olive oil

black pepper

black shrimp paste (blacan)

Clearly, a last minute XO sauce (hence the already made colada). This is an idea that's been in my notebook for quite some time and finally decided to make it happen with whatever was around. It was delicious, don't get me wrong, but I do love how open something like an XO sauce is to a myriad of flavor combinations.

The basis for XO is generally: dried seafood, garlic, oil, smoked meat and chilies. Think about how many ways that can go.

I cooked the mixture until almost dry and rehydrated it with more espresso and the water used to originally hydrate the dried shrimp and chilies. The espresso and cocoa rounded it out nicely, lending bitter-ish tones for a more complete thought.

Broccoli & Honeydew

Broccoli stems marinating in honeydew brine

Separated, peeled & trimmed broccoli stems.

They are currently marinating in a mixture of honeydew juice, salt, brown sugar, coriander & vinegar. (This could be great with kohlrabi) I used the leftover trimmings to cover and keep the stems submerged in the brine.

Marinating vegetables in fruit juice is an open door to countless possibilities. Revealing a surprising sweetness from something as vegetal as say, a broccoli stem.

Pickling can change the character of a vegetable. Incorporating fruit juice gives it nuance.

Other ideas off the top can be:

Bamboo shoots in pear

Beet stem in rhubarb

Daikon in plum

Carrots in orange/apricot

Equal Treatment

Crispy Pig's Foot

Five Spice Broccoli Floret

Boiled Stem

In most dishes there is a main focus. A protein, if you will. This is the star of the dish to which all supporting elements bow down by sacrificing their best qualities and lift the focal protein to new heights. Something to look forward to could be the equal treatment of ingredients. What if a juicy ribeye sat underneath the humble potato or roast chicken was the underlying flavor to a plate of root vegetables? What I've done here is given pig's feet and broccoli a chance to work together in creating an overall flavor and allowing their distinct textures to bounce off of one another.

Please don't think I simply sprinkled some five spice powder on broccoli. I toasted and ground sichuan peppercorns, star anise, ginger, cinnamon, cloves & brown sugar. Sifted into a pan, brought to heat and added oyster sauce, chili oil, fish sauce & sesame oil. Added some of the broccoli cooking liquid to loosen it up and tossed the charred broccoli florets in the sauce.

The pig's foot was simmered in vegetables, kaffir lime leaves, thyme, chicken stock & Leffe Blonde Ale until tender (5+ hours) removed from the bone, layed flat on a dry pan and weighed down. Heated the pan on low heat until crispy then glazed with reduction of strained cooking stock.

The broccoli stem was simply boiled in salted water (though pickling in cucumber & apple juice might be the better next step).

Together it brings forth the flavor of Char Siu Pork.

Equal treatment to both ingredients.

Turf & Turf.

Shredded Shiitake Stems

ideas are a-flowin'

A Breath of Fresh Air

The next time you're at the office or by the cup holder of your Scion, reconsider that jug of Dentyne Ice (usually something like Polar Bear, Ice Thunder or Global Warming flavor) or the "interestingly" flavored Altoids in your ironical lunch box. Look to the wet & dry mukhwas and paan's of India. A breath of fresh air to dub you a heir of fresh breath.

Mukhwas is most commonly sold and served dry, usually with fennel seeds being the dominant character. Paan is slightly different in that it is often made from crushed betel leaf and areca nut with an endless array of other grains, seeds, nuts, essential oils, fruits and spices. The wet varieties I prefer ten times over the dry. It's like chewing tobacco potpourri, as unappealing as that may sound. Overwhelmingly floral, I've been chasing it with various flavors to see how it pairs. Goes great with chocolate and citrus. This will make for an interesting dessert.

Beef Tendon "Sticky" Rice

This is a quick meal for the afternoon. I've been recently experimenting with the notion of beef tendon stock acting as a great gelatinous addition to rice, giving it a more glutinous or risotto-ish texture. The dish is far from pretty but flavor is intact and up for exploration

Here I paired the "sticky" rice with shiitakes, brussels sprout leaves, beef tendon, crispy cauliflower and sunchokes.

The Leftover Pan

Sometimes laziness can spark a good idea. In no way do I promote laziness, but through it I discovered the leftover pan. The same pan I cooked bacon on in the morning, I also made popcorn in the afternoon, seared beef in the evening, wilted greens, sauteed garlic and then fried eggs in the next morning. Everything adding more flavor to the next. Not entirely developed, but a simple and interesting concept. Should be interesting if ever deglazed.