ribs-saveur-03-2009

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

1/105

NUMBERMARCH 2009

w w w . s a

S a v o r a W o r l d o f A u t h e n t i c C u i s i n e

16 TEM PTING WAYS TO COOK ARTICHO KES

0 7 4 8 2 0 0 8 6 8 4 1

0 3

MARCH 2009 US $5.00

RHUNGGOU

PA G

PerfectCatfiPA GE 2

3CLASSCAKE

RECIPEPA GE 40THE

WORLDSBEST

RIBSHOW TO MAKE GLAZED,

HAWAIIAN-STYLE BABY BACKS,PLUS A GUIDE TO RIB CUTS

AND MOREPAGE 78

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

2/105

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

3/105

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

4/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

5/105

For

once,

underextend

yourself.Enough already.

Your PDA wont die

from a lone ly heart.

The inbox wont explode

from the incessant barrage

of priority e-mails.

And be lieve it or not,

business will continue

at rapid-fire pace

despite your notable

absence. Skeptical?

Talk to a Trex owner.

Freed from the boundaries

of limited design options,

and free from the

high maintenance of

wood decking, youll

find they have everything

they needand a

whole lot less.

www. g.. om

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

6/105

Blissful

A

A

A P

A

N Z

C

N E

C

B

E

H

M

P C

S A

W V

www.antama .c

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

7/105

Ships Registry: e N

We invite you to indulge. To stand at the ra

quiet awe of calving glaciers and blazing su

To savor the simplicities of fruit and the com

of wine; to breathe the sweet air of midnig

the equator; to surrender to an aernoons

We invite you to make all five senses thank

at once. We invite you, and we are at your s

Call your Travel Professional or 1-877-SAIL

or visit www.hollandamerica.com.

Invigorate your senses.

ww.a am g.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

8/105

Picked on a volcano, served by the sea atgohawaii.com/films

From the slopes of Haleakala-to the shores of Lahaina, see how the farm to table

movement makes Hawaii Regional Cuisine so unique. Watch this enticing short video

and other stories of Hawaii. Then start planning your own adventure at gohawaii.com.

. a .c

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

9/105

NO.

SAVEUR

CUSTOMER SERVICE:Have a question? A problem? Heres how to contact us. For subscrip-

tion-related queries, call our toll-free number (877/717-8925) or write to P.O. Box 420235,

Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. From outside the U.S., call 3 86/447-2592. Occasionally, we

make portions of our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer

products and services we think may be of interest to you. If you do not want to receive these

offers, please advise us at 877/717-8925. Send all editorial questions, complaints, and sug-

gestions to 15 East 32nd Street, 12th Floo r, New York, NY 10016. You may also reach our

editorial department via fax at 212/219-7420 or e-mail us at [email protected]. For article

reprints, please contact our reprint coordinator at Wrights Reprints: 1-877/652-5295, or

e-mail [email protected].

COV ER

Hawaiian-style kalbi.

P V B

54 On the Jersey shoclassic old Italian rand taverns remain frozeeating is remembering.B J O

62 Whether you steamit, stuff it, or grill choke is a flavorful and versatile harbinger of springlossary of varieties and mB D P

78 The foodways owhere comfort fooa distinctly local characterof a unique confluence ogeography, and immigranB S M

F E A T U R E S

40 The most elegant dessertsin Europe are still made inAustrias fabled capital city, where theDemel pastry shop is a living monu-ment to the Hapsburg era.B N M

CLOCKWISEFROMLEFT:VIR

GINIEBLACHRE;ANDRBARANOWSKI;LANDONNORDEMAN

54

62

40

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

10/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

11/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

12/105

P. S A V E U R

C O N T E N T S

14 At , weve always workedhard to make sure that the recipes play a star-ring role in every story.B J O

17 A tribute to MiamisRascal House deli; artisanal absinthe; buy-ing kitchen knives in Mumbai; fine diningon the Trans-Siberian Express; and more.

25

Some of the most exciting wines inCalifornia are made behind nondescript steeldoors in a Santa Barbara County industrialpark.B G F

28e mighty channel catfish,mythologized by the likes of Mark Twain andMuddy Waters, may be the only fish in Amer-ica that tastes better farmed than wild-caught.Plus, a guide to Americas best catfish houses.B H L

32e tiny Japanese sweets knownas wagashi are masterpieces of confectionerycraftsmanship.B K S

35One womans resolve to take

authentic Neapolitan-style pizza to the city ofCalcutta has given rise to a most unlikely localspecialty: handmade Indian mozzarella.B I S

38 Real Hungarian goulash is a sa-vory, restorative soup, not the flour-thickenedstew most of us have come to know.B C B

89 A ribs lov-

ers primer on the most popular cuts; a step-

by-step guide to trimming baby artia gallery of tried-and-true home-bakand more.

96 How to find our products and destinations from this iB H L

100 Soldiers brdinner in Anbar Province, Iraq.P L. G

W , USMC

RECIPES

F O R A N I N D E X O F R E C I P E S A N D M E T H O D S B Y C A T E G O R Y , S E E P A G E 9 4 .

FARE

Rascal House Whitefish Salad ...........................................................18

I N G R E D I E N T

Fried Catfish..............................................................................................28

C L A S S I C

Gulys (Hungarian Goulash) .............................................................38

V IENNA PAS T RIES

Amade us Cookies ...................................................................................52

Marmorgugelhupf (Marbled Coffee Cake) ..................................52

Russische Punschtorte (Russian

Punch Cake) ...........................................................................................52

Trffeltorte (Chocolate Truffle Cake) .............................................53

AT LANT IC CIT Y

Angelos Marinara Sauce .....................................................................61

Veal Parmesan .......................................................................................... 61

Baked Manicott i .......................................................................................61

A R T I C H O K E S

Braised Ar tichokes ...................................................................

Stuffed Artichokes ....................................................................

Fettuccine with Artichokes and Chicken .........................

Skirt Steak with Artichoke and Potato Hash ...................

Greens and Artichokes Stew ................................................

Cream of Artichoke Soup .......................................................

Lemon Aoli .................................................................................

Chimichurri .................................................................................

Tarator Sauce .............................................................................

Pepper and Coriander Brown Butter Sauce ....................

HAW AII

Hawaiian Cowboy Beef Stew ...............................................

Miso-Glazed Fish......................................................................

Hawaiian-Style Kalbi (Soy S auceMarinated Ribs) ....

Hijiki Namasu (Pickled Seaweed Salad) .........................

Fried-R ice Omelette ................................................................

D E P A R T M E N T S

FROMLEFT:INDRANISEN;AN

DRBARANOWSKI(2)

2835

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

13/105

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

14/105

E - - C James Oseland

D E Dana Bowen, David McAninch

E F E Todd Colem an

M E Georgia Freedman

A D

David Weaver

P D Larry Nighswander

S E Sarah Karnasiewicz, Beth Kracklauer

K D

Hunter Lewis

E - - L

Sofia Perez

W S E

David Wondrich

A E , O T

Katherine CancilaP E

Paul Love

A E

Karen Shimizu

A K D

Ben Mims

C C Judit h Sonntag

C E

Carol Smillie

A

Michae la Ale xande r-Dani el, Jes sica Baldas sare, Juman, Judy Haubert, Brandon Johnson, Jordan S

beck, Jeannette Waters (Kitchen); Alexandra Colli

thi Daniel, Jessica Glavin, Leah Koenig, Louise MLeslie Pariseau, Tanya Piacentini, Diane Ruen

C E

Jeffrey Alford, Lidia Bastianich, Rick Bayless, RaymoTom Chino, Sally Clarke, Naomi Duguid, Maria Guli, Christopher Hirsheimer, Madhur Jaffrey, Peggy Kner, Jeremy Lee, Dave Lieberman, Stanley Lobel, SheiDeborah Madison, Shane Mitchell, Andrea Nguyen,

Presilla, Judy Rodgers, Chris Schlesinger, Grace

C P

Andr Baran owski, Pen ny De Los Santo s, BenMicha el Kraus, L andon Norde man, Barba ra

P D

Jeff Ca ssell

P M

Courtney Janka

A D D

Suzanne Oberholtzer

A A

Julia Arana, Sommer Hatfield Coffin,Shannon Mendis, Mike Rettew

P A N: C : P.O. B , L, ON N

P.

This month at SAVEUR.COM youll find a guide to eating out in Atlantic City, New

Jersey; a collection of the best Italian-American recipesfrom the SAVEUR archives;

tips for the home baker; cooking with Mexican cotija cheese; simple recipes for

Mississippi-style hush puppiesand fried artichokes; a photo slide showinside Demel,

one of Viennas finest pastry shops; and many other exclusive online features.

Discover delicious dishes in the SAVEUR recipe files.

Become a part of SAVEUR.com by signing up in our members section.

isMonthat.

ANDRBARANOWSKI

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

15/105

P

Mer ri Lee Kin gsl y, 212 /21 9-7 [email protected]

A P , M

Kristin Cohen, 212/219-7402

N Y A S

Joa nne Kon sta nti nak os, 212 /21 9-7 406 ,

Exe cut ive Trave l Dire cto rMel Moo ney , 2 12/ 219 -74 13

Steve Mumford, 212/219-7441

S D

CANADA : Debbie Topp, 905/770-5959

CARIBBEAN /ME XI CO: Sharon Mariner, 305/692-8864

DETROIT /MI DW ES T: Stephanie Karris, 312/252-2854

FLORIDA: Breda Kellner, 561/676-7302

HAWAII : Debbie Joseph, 808/739-2200

MI DW ES T: Lisa Cacciatore, 312/252-2853

NEVADA/SOUTHERN CAL IFORNIA: Shaheena Rauf,

310/2 27-89 52

NORTHWEST : Nathalie Spelman, 415/875-3435

SOUTHEAST : Susan Segal, 404/238-0727

SOUTHWEST : Jo Neese & Julie Lee, 972/386-6186

SPA IN /SWITZERLAND: Carol Shamieh, 41/43/844-3356

TH EMA RK ET: Michelle Goode, 407/[email protected]

O

Ama nda Harr is, 407 /57 1-4 700

M

Amy Man gin o, Mar ket ing Dir ect or

Libby VanderPloeg, Advertising Art DirectorMat t C ham ber lai n, Sen ior Mar ke tin g M ana ger

Mel iss a L uka ch, Sen ior Mar ket ing Man age rCorinne Tisei, Associate Promotions Manager

W C

Ania Z awi eja

M L

Donna Kohn Snow

R D

Heather M. Idema

S R A

Hilda Gorgissian

C

Jona s Bonnier

C E O

Terry Snow

Dan Altman (Chief Operating Officer)Randall Koubek (Chief Financial Officer)

Bruce Miller (Vice President, Consumer Marketing)Lisa Earlywine (Vice President, Production)

Bill Allman (Vice President, E-Media)Shawn Larson (Vice President, Enterprise Systems)

Cathy Hertz (Vice President, Human Resources)Dean Turcol (Vice President, Corporate Communications)

John Mill er (Br and Dir ect or)Mart in S. Walk er (Pub lis hin g C ons ulta nt)

Jere my Thom pson (Cor pora te Cou nse l)

F C S, /-.E O www.bonniercorp.com

NO. P.

##.!(!%

##)-$##$$%

&%#

$

#(%.%&

##%$/!

!&$!!!#)!&

/

!2#)!!

#'%!%%

"%%!/

',-,

2/3 cup low-fat (1%) milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

1 dried bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustardPinch grated nutmeg

4 ounces Cabot 50% ReducedFat Cheddar, grated

2 cups raw broccoli florets

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into spears

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

1 pound small new potatoes, cooked

1 In medium saucepan, whisk togethermilk and cornstarch until cornstarch iscompletely dissolved (tilt pan to checkfor any remaining lumps). Add garlic,

bay leaf, mustard and nutmeg.2 Place pan over medium-low heat.Whisking constantly, bring mixture tosimmer; continue whisking for 1 minute.3 Add cheese and whisk just until cheese

is melted and smooth. Remove from heat,discard bay leaf and transfer mixture tofondue pot or place saucepan on warmingtray. Serve surrounded with vegetablesfor dunking.

) " # !&$ 1 ""%*# !# 0 .!$ $#'$

Nutrition Analysis:Calories 112, Total Fat 4g, Saturated Fat 2g, Sodium 320mg, Carbohydrates 13g,Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 8g, Calcium 190mg. Based on 6 servings.

WOR L D

S B E S T C HEDDAR

www.cabo tcheese .coop

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

16/105

P. S A V E U R

. Wedidnt do it because we like messingwith a good thing; we did it because

were always striving to make a good thing evenbetter. You might not notice the difference atfirst, but take a closer look at any of the arti-cles in this issues feature section, and youllsee that weve given our recipes more room tobreathe. Instead of placing each in its own,self-contained box alongside the words and

pictures of the storya format that has beenstandard in since it debuted, backin 1994weve giventhe recipes their ownsection at the end ofeach feature article.

Why the break fromtradition? e answerto that question, really,lies in our test kitchen.Thats where every

recipe in isdeveloped and refined,where our ki tchendirector, Hunter Lewis,and our executive foodeditor, Todd Coleman,along with the restof the kitchen staff,go through the oftenmessy but always grati-fying process of making the same dish over andover again until it looks and tastes right. Everystep of the way, they take notes, recording how

many times they stirred the ingredients brais-ing slowly in a pot, how deeply they scored acut of meat before marinating it, how long theytoasted the whole spices before grinding themfor a curry. en, when they finally arrive atperfection, Hunter and Todd sit down to writethe recipes.

Writing a recipe is demanding work; just likeany other kind of writing, it requires thoughtful

phrasing, consistency, and rigorous editinstock to skillet and boil will not get tfollowing those instructions the same rSlowly add stock, whisking to remove bbits from bottom of skillet, and bring toboil. Over the past few years, though, found ourselves more and more challeour mission to give readers thorough tions that are easy to follow and a pleasuand that can teach readers something

ing. e sourcproblem? It wathose little recipWhile we lovthey allowed tpes to live in thof the story, quently we hadaway valuable wmake the text fithem. Sure, thetions worked fithe recipes w

ing somethingprocess.

So, we editodled with odirector, David and tweaked thAnd tweaked more. And thenmore. What wup with is cont

this issue. Its still a work in progress, buttheir new home at the end of each articrecipes can tell an even richer story than

eres room for extra cooking tips, wiing notes, food-shopping suggestions,sorts of other content about preparing aing the foods described in the article.

So, read, savor, and get cooking!while, wel l keep working to make surecipes, and everything else in the maare the best they can be. JAME S OSEditor-in-Chief

Change Is GoodHonoringtherecipesin meansgivingthemroomtogrowW

F I R S T

Kitchen assistant Judy Haubert tests a recipe.

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

17/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

18/105

Spices in artwork:

Dill weed, ginger, cloves, tarragon, chicken stock base, turmeric and chili powder.

!

"

!

$ ! !

"! %

" " " %

# ! "

$

2008ACHFoodCompanies,Inc.SpiceIslandsisaregistered

trademarkofACHFoodCompanies,Inc.

www. a tama .c

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

19/105

Memories and Marvels from the World of Food, plus Agenda and More

F A R E

OldRascal

, House was thised Land. It

Wonderland. It was a

ally raised glass for thetoast LchaimTo l

To more-objectiveers, the Rascal House a deli; okay, a great deleven the best deli in thbut basically a place good whitefish salad. Sall mourning it. e c172nd Street and Collinin Sunny Isles Beach, Fnow a fancy gourmet fo

After 54 years, Miamis

ish deli converted. It March of last year.

The Rascal HouseCohens Rascal House, asign stated, referring toman who opened it inwas the place where Imost Jewish and the moican. At first glance, wha young woman in theshuddered at its aqua but I soon became enait, along with the blon

paneling and red upinside. When my parento Miami for their winRascal House becameand last stops on my vafter my parents died, i1980s, it became a reasofor a trip to the city. always long lines. is

T

NO. S A V E U R

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

20/105

P. S A V E U R

F A R E

only restaurant where my father,the epitome of impatience, waswilling to wait. I never told himthat I actually loved waiting inline there. ats where I observed,as waiters waltzed by bearing plat-ters of food, what my all-American,Maryland hometown couldntteach me about Jewish food.The portions weregargantuan, fromthe six-inch-highmeringue pies to pas-trami sandwichesthat were so tall theytended to flop over.The matzo ball wasonly half submergedin soup, and the halfgrapefruit was really a whole onewith the top lopped off. When we

eventually took our seats, the tablewas covered with bowls of pick-les and slaw. Any bare spots weresoon filled with house-made rollsthat everyone took home in dog-gie bags. ose rolls probably stillsit in freezers across south Floridatoday; Im waiting for them to goon sale on eBay.

Rascal House was every Jewishholiday at once. Any day of theyear I could order Hanukkahslatkes, Passovers macaroons, and

the blintzes with which we brokeour Yom Kippur fast. Photos onthe walls attested to Frank Sina-tras and Jackie Gleasons havingbeen customers. But I was moreinterested in the habits of every-day patrons. What did they drinkwith their dinner? Whatorwhomdid they talk about? Imarveled at the dress codes. Menwore warm-up suits in tropicalcolors we didnt see up North.Women counterbalanced them

with fussy discomforts: platform

shoes, teased and tinted helmetsof hair, and an hours worth ofmakeup.

I also noticed the numbers tat-tooed on tanned wrists. Eventually,I began to see Rascal House asnot only a living museum of Jew-ish-American cooking but also a

kind of cultural halfway housefor Jews who had started theirlives in pre-Holocaust Europeand ended them in Miami. Itmade me joyful to find thesesurvivors chattering with theirfamilies. It reminded me thatthe ordinary is cause for cele-bration. Phyllis Richman

RASCAL HOUSE

WHITEFISH SALAD

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

We love this creamy salad (shown on

previous page) on a toasted bagel half,

topped with tomato and onion slices.

12 small red onion, finely chopped

1 lb. smoked whitefish or trout ,

skinned, bones removed13 cup mayonnaise14 cup sour cream

1 tbsp. chopped dill

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

Freshly ground black pepper, totaste

1Place the chopped onions in a bowl

and cover them with cold water. Let the

onions soak to mellow their bite, about

15 minutes. Strain and set aside.

2Use a fork to flake the fish into a

bowl. Add onion, mayonnaise, sour

cream, dill, lemon juice, egg, and cel-

ery. Stir to combine and season with

pepper. Serve immediately, or cover

and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

otherdirection while driv-ing west on Route N111

in central Portugal, and you justmight miss the tiny village ofTentgal. Composed of a clusterof quiet, winding streets, Tentgal(population 2,275) is suffering thesame fate as many rural Portuguesetowns: during the past half century,younger residents have up and leftfor larger cities. One native, how-ever, returned, determined to reviveTentgals illustrious gastronomicpast, one pastry at a time.

Olga Alexandre Gonalves

Cavaleiro, 37, is the owner of O

Afonso, a pastry shop dedipreserving the pastis de ta crisp-shelled, finger-lon

filled withdoce de ovos, a of egg yolks, sugar, and watugal has a rich tradition, the religious and the calorwhen it comes to dessertseveryone had chickens yeasays Cavaleiro, eggs were oa tithe to convents and monand they had to do someththe yolks. (Legend has it whites were used to starcwimples.) e result is array of egg-laden doces con

(convent sweets),

such as

ONE GOOD BOTTLE Many absinthes are harsh, but St.

George Spirits Absinthe Verte ($75), made in Alameda, Califor-

nia, is anything but. Our favorite of the many newly available

absinthes (U.S. regulations prohibited the spirits sale until

2007), it owes its unusual mellowness to a base of a brandy

(instead of beet alcohol) infused with 11 herbs and spices, includin

anise, riccola mint, and tarragon. Contrary to rumor, wormwood, a

that all absinthes contain, doesnt cause hallucinations or madness, t

given the spirits 120 proof, diluting with waterwhich turns the

opaque and releases its aromatic oilsis a good idea. Karen Shim

G

A Sweet History

forlivanmsuft

y.sd

alf

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

21/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

22/105

Cutting EdgeO to Mumbai, I was captivated by theextraordinary selection of handmade kitchen knives availablefrom mobile vendors, like the man pictured in this photo,and at market stalls, where artisans sharpened carbon-steelknives at spinning whetstones and fitted blades with handles

fashioned from wood, metal, and plastic. Some of the bladeswere painted, which helped to prevent rust; others had a holefor hanging; and still others were secured to their handleswith tightly wound wire. Lyla Bavadam, a Mumbai-basedjournalist, told us that some of these chakkuwallahs(knifesellers) travel door-to-door, offering their wares for as little as40 rupees (about a dollar) apiece; they also sharpen knives ona whetstone affi xed to their carts. While professional cooksin India may own specific knives designed for different pur-poses, such as ones with long, thin, and flexible blades, whichare perfect for slicing vegetables, most home cooks employa single all-purpose knife. I bought a few knives from thisparticular vendor and have taken to using them for all sorts

of tasks; they serve as a reminder that kitchen implementsneed not be expensive to perform beautifully and feel goodin our hands. Todd Coleman

P. S A V E U R

F A R E

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

23/105

w . t g. o

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

24/105

P. S A V E U R

F A R E

I living andteaching in the easternRussian port of Vladi-

vostok during the early 1990s, Ispent many a weekend riding theTrans-Siberian railroad, that his-toric stretch of Russian track thatspans nearly 6,000 miles betweenMoscow and the city I called home.Not only was it a delightful way totravel, but in a country that reachesacross two continents and 11 timezones, it was often the onlyway totravel from place to place withouta car. e one downside was thefood: I quickly learned to avoidthe grungy dining cars with theirmonotonous meals of mystery meatand mashed potatoes. Savvy Rus-sian travelers packed their own fareor dashed outside when the train

had pulled in to the station to pur-chase dishespirozhki (savorymeat pies), say, or fresh poppy-seedbunsfrom local vendors, usuallyelderly women who transportedtheir wares to the train platformson sleds (in the winter) or in babycarriages (in the summer).

Fast-forward to the summer of2007, when I was a lecturer on aTrans-Siberian railroad tour orga-nized by National GeographicExpeditions. The last thing I

expected to encounter on that

trip was fine dining. And yet, onthe first night, I was seated at alinen-draped table and served anappetizer of cold sturgeon, smokedsalmon, boiled shrimp, and blackcaviar. Waiters wearing bow tiesfilled our crystal glasses with dry

Russian sparking wine.

Having studied Russian history,I knew that this ramped-up menuwas not a novelty but a comebackstory. When the Trans-Siberianrailroad was built, between 1891and 1916, it was the longest rail-way in the world, and many of its

dining cars represented the height

of sophistication, allowing to savor their journey in stWorld War I, the Bolsheviktion, and the ensuing RussWar changed all that. Dunext seven decades under cnism, food service on the trnothing to write home abo

Over the past decade, has tourism has increased acformer Soviet Union, the exof dining on the rails is enrenaissance. In 2007, GWa British company that ruist trains in Russia, intrthe Golden Eagle Trans-SExpress, the train on whichhired as a lecturer. e $25private luxury train incluelegant dining cars and ern kitchen car where ch

out classic Russian spelike buckwheat blini, Ukborscht, seafood salads, anrian pelmeni dumplings.more, the ingredients coufresher: each time the train to the station, chefs hostock the larder. What aeat local, at 75 miles peSharon Hudgins

T P, page 96mation about Tentgals

absinthe, and dining by rai

A Table with a View

To dine on real food while watch-

ing the world glide by is one of

the great thrills of train travel.

In 1923, the English writer G. K.

Chesterton compared the experi-

ence to the pleasure of picnics

[having] a character adapted to

its abnormal and almost adven-

turous conditions. Though

many long-distance train com-

panies started doing away with

fancy dining cars when air travel

became more accessible, the

ones featured here still nobly

uphold or have reintroduced the

tradition. Jayanthi Daniel

While sitting under

the domed glass

ceiling of the Napa

Valley Wine Trainsdining car, passen-

gers feast on dishes

like polenta with

mushroom ragot,

paired with wines

from vineyards along

the trains route.

Since 1832, the

Strasburg Rail Road

has traversed Penn-

sylvanias Amish

country. Its popu-

lar dining car offers

regional favorites,

including baked

ham and shoofly pie

(a molasses-based

dessert).

The Alaska Rail-

road Denali Star

serves up breath-

taking views ofMount McKinley,

as well as Alaska

salmon with cran-

berry vinaigrette,

smoked salmon

chowder, and rein-

deer sausage.

You can taste your

way across Canada

aboard VIA Rails

Silver and Blue ser-

vice, which travels

from Toronto to Van-

couver and serves

Canadian wines with

the likes of local

Albertan prime rib

and smoked trout.

TheDanube E

travels from B

sels to Budap

Istanbul. Desito evoke the b

glories of train

it has luxe far

dishes like gri

pork medallio

with dauphino

potatoes.

RIDE AND DINE

W

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

25/105

Forbidden Loaf.What the taste of a Tillamook Vintage Baby Loaf has brought together,no one may put asunder.

tillamookcheese.com

w . n . m

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

26/105tillamookcheese.com

Loaf will find a way

Vintage Baby Baby Loaf Vintage Baby Loaf Wedge of Vintage

Nothing can keep us from the taste of a Tillamook Vintage Baby Loaf.Loaf will be patient, aging naturally for two years, developing its

bold, extra sharp flavor. And loaf will always be there for us when weneed it, sweeping us off our feet and whisking us away to the robust,

full-flavored taste we always dream about.

. n ma .com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

27/105

NO. S A V E U R

I growing up in Santa Bar-bara, California, a few decades ago,dozens of vineyards had recently been

planted in the surrounding hills, and local wineswere starting to flood the markets. My parents,like most area residents, were enthusiastic sup-porters of this new industry, and I came of agedrinking those wines. e ones I remember were

big and oaky, like most California wines at thetime. Anything but subtle, they hardly seemedto reflect the nuanced environment in which thegrapes were grown: a vintners wonderland ofmicroclimates made possible by Santa BarbaraCountys unique locale, on a sharply curvingstretch of the California coast where vast rangesof foothills and valleys are bathed alternately infog coming off the ocean and hot air rolling infrom the deserts to the east.

A few years ago, however, after Id left Cal-ifornia for New York, I started to find winesfrom Santa Barbara County that were nothing

like those I used to drink. ere were bright,strikingly crisp sauvignon blancs; supple, OldWorldstyle pinot noirs; inky and complexsyrahs; and even some excellent wines madefrom grapes I hadnt known were being grownin California, like tocai friulano and nebbiolo.I noticed something else that was surprising:some of the best of those winesincluding onesof which Id been reading effusive reviewswere coming from Lompoc, a small city thatmost Californians, if theyd heard of it at all,associated with the nearby federal prison andair force base.

Soon, my father and other people I knewback in Santa Barbara were talking excitedlyabout something called the Lompoc WineGhetto, an area on the edge of that town wherea cluster of wineries had opened, one rightnext to the other. Intrigued, I decided to visita Lompoc winemaker named Steve Clifton;his two wineries, Palmina and Brewer-Clif-ton, had been earning praise from the likes of

the wine writer Robert Parker, who, back in2001, declared Brewer-Clifton wines his sin-gle greatest revelation of the year.

When I arrived on a bright fall day at theaddress Clifton had given me for Palmina

Wines, I was sure Id come to the wrAfter driving past miles of steep vinhilly grazing lands, I ended up at anpark, gazing at rows of prefabricatedblue steel warehouses. Palmina loo

C E L L A R

Pioneer SpiritAwinemakingrenaissanceistakingplaceinanunlikelycornerofCaliforniaB Y G E O R G I A F R E E D M A N P H O T O G R A P H S B Y J O S H WA N D

W

Clockwise from top left, scenes from the Lompoc Wine Ghetto: Steve Clifton of Brewer-

Palmina wineries; a winemakers lunch in the Santa Rita Hills; a mural in downtown Lompoc;

ville of Samsara Wine; Kris Curran, the former winemaker at Sea Smoke; sorting bins outsidwinery; a vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills; the entrance to the industrial park that houses th

Wine Ghetto; decanted wines in the tasting room at Palmina.

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

28/105

P. S A V E U R

C E L L A R

like a place to buy offi ce carpet than a winery,but when I walked inside, it was clear Id cometo the right place: workers were busily pickingthrough freshly delivered grapes, readying themto be loaded into a crushing machine.

I found Clifton, a boyishly handsome 44-year-old, peering into a steel tank of freshly pressedjuice. As he showed me around, he explainedthat his other winery, where he and his busi-ness partner, Greg Brewer, make single-vineyardchardonnays and pinot noirs, was just a fewyards away in a larger but otherwise identicalbuilding. And beyond that building were the27 other wineries that occupied the ghetto, allhoused in similar spaces.

Having other winemakers right next door

is one of the best things about this place, Clif-ton told me. When youre off by yourself in awinery on a vineyard, you dont get as much ofa chance to taste other peoples wine. You gettunnel visionin the industry they call it cel-lar blindnessand you start thinking that yourwines taste good because theyre all youre usedto. Here, we taste wines together all the time,and it gives me a much better yardstick for howmy wines are doing.

e communal spirit of the Lompoc WineGhetto is in some ways the result of the fact thatSanta Barbara was for many years overlookedas a wine region. It wasnt until the 1970s, longafter Napa and Sonoma had become well-regarded viticultural areas, that a few intrepid

winemakers started up in this part of Califor-nia. Grapes were already being grown in SantaBarbara County, but most were being sold toNapa and Sonoma wineries. And because muchof the land in the county was parceled into large

ranches, it was diffi cult for those pioneers to buyland and establish their own vineyards. So, theystarted making wine the way it has traditionallybeen made in places like Burgundy: by buyingthe fruit from trusted local growers and mak-ing the wine somewhere else nearby.

While most of Santa Barbara County ben-efited from the local wine boom, Lompoc, anunprepossessing town made up of low-slungsingle-family homes, didnt, at first. For nearly70 years, the citys economy has depended onnearby Vandenburg Air Force Base, the LompocFederal Corrections Institution, and the areas

cabbage and artichoke farms and cattle ranches.e city, however, happens to be located nextto the Santa Rita Hills, the smallest and, in theopinion of some experts, most promising of thecountys viticultural areasa circumstance thatwasnt lost on a Santa Barbara County wine-maker named Rick Longoria, who moved thewinemaking facilities for his Longoria Winesto an industrial park in Lompoc in 1998. Steve

Clifton and Greg Brewer followed a yeLompoc is a really unique situation

Clifton explained. Its the only incorcity in the area, so they were able to mapermitting process easier than it is anelse in the county, and theyve also heup the utilities you need to run a winecitys incentives worked, and soon moa dozen wineries set up shop in the inpark, most of them run by young vintnhad little money (Brewer-Clifton waswith $12,000) and who had previousworking for other, more-established w

or renting space in communal facilitieample and affordable space and an enability to control the winemaking pLompocs vintners were free to pursutimes daring visions, and within a coyears, a surprisingly large percentage were producing great wines.

Late in the day of my visit to Palmina,ful of winemakers from the ghetto stowith some of their more recent wines.invited everyone to gather around a taroom off the production area, and wetasting. Rick Longoria opened his Cuve

chardonnay, an apple-y, bright wine nahis wife; Victor Gallegos, the general mof Sea Smoke Cellars, which has gained renown in recent years, brought all threwinerys pinot noirs: alluring, complethat have earneda cult follow-ing in Californiaand beyond; andChad Melville ofSamsara Wine and Sashi Moorman oman had both brought syrahs that, made from grapes grown within ten m

one another, were utterly different in boand flavor. As for Steve Clifton, he intus to a bright, citrusy tocai friulano andnuanced nebbiolo. Each wine had as dpersonality as those of the winemakerselves, and I left Lompoc that day wcertainty that the wines being made in and sun-bathed native county were onto get better and better.

TASTING NOTESA wide variety of wines, made from grapes grown

in Santa Barbara County, is produced in the Lom-

poc Wine Ghetto; here are some of our favorites.

See the pantry, page 96, for sources. G.F.

BREWER-CLIFTON MOUNT CARMEL CHARDON-

NAY 2007 ($68). This crisp chardonnay could

masquerade as a sauvignon blanc, with its bright

pear flavor and kick of lemony acidity.

FIDDLEHEAD HAPPY CANYON SAUVIGNON

BLANC 2006 ($25). Winemaker Kathy Joseph

makes only pinot noir and sauvignon blanc, includ-

ing this delicate wine, which offers hints of grape-

fruit and tropical fruit.

LONGORIA STA. RITA HILLS FE CIEGA VINEYARD

PINOT NOIR 2006 ($40).A robust cherry aroma

with hints of gorgonzola cheese gives way to a

darkly fruity, spicy, and slightly tannic flavor.

PALMINA HONEA NEBBIOLO 2005 ($70).This

wine, from a varietal usually grown in Italys Pied-

mont region, delivers an intriguing earthy aroma

and a well-balanced blend of black cherry and eu-

calyptus flavors.

PIEDRASASSI SYRAH 2005 ($55). This deep,

smoky, complex wine has jammy black currant

flavors and a touch of woodsiness; it is made by

Sashi Moorman of Stolpman Vineyards and Peter

Hunken of Black Sheep Finds.

SAMSARA MELVILLE VINEYARD SYRAH 2006

($40).An inky, deep purple wine with a sweet, al-

most chocolatey nose and a flavor redolent of stone

fruit and black pepper.

SEA SMOKE SOUTHING PINOT NOIR 2006

($60).This elegant pinot, one of three the winery

makes, is the winemakers favorite. With hints of

smoke, oak, and red fruit, it is pleasingly balanced.

STOLPMAN VINEYARDS SANGIOVESE 2006

($32). Light but full-bodied with notes of resin,

dried cranberries, and currants.

101

101

101

1

1

246

P A C I F I C O C E A N

CA

LI

F

OR

NI

A

120W 11930W12030W

35N

3430N

SAN LUIS

OBISPO

KERN

VENTURA

SANTA BARBARA

SantaYnezValley AVA

Sta. RitaAVA

SantaMariaValley AVA

Sa

n Rafa

elM

ts

.

Sa

n Madr

e Mts.

Sa n t a Yn e z Mts.

SantaBarbara

Lompoc

20kilometers

0

20miles

0

WProfiles of Lompcmakers and tasting on more wines at ./

WHEN I ARRIVED AT THEPALMINA WINERY, HOUSEDIN AN INDUSTRIAL PARK MAUP OF IDENTICAL STEEL WAHOUSES, I WAS SURE ID COMTO THE WRONG PLACE

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

29/105

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

30/105

P. S A V E U R

oclock on aSaturday night when I walked intoTaylor Grocery, and that meant I was

going to have to wait. After putting in my namefor a table, I took a seat amid the crowd on theedge of the ramshackle wood porch, where peo-ple were lazing away the evening and lookingout onto the main road of the tiny town of Tay-

lor, Mississippi. e scene in the parking lot infront of this former country store looked likean Ole Miss tailgate party. Men sipped beersand Tennessee whiskey from Styrofoam cups.Dogs loped among rows of gleaming pickuptrucks, more than a few of which had out-of-state plates.

Id come, like everyone else, for the catfish.After an hours wait, I sat down, and soon myprize emerged from the fryer piled on a platewith a lemon wedge, some tartar sauce, anda mound of hush puppies. I took a bite, andthen another. Dusted in cornmeal flecked with

black pepper, the golden filets had a satisfyingcrunch that gave way to delicate, sweet whiteflesh. I waited outside for the dinner rush todie down and, later, introduced myself to thecook, Brandon Hughes, a bearded man in hisearly 30s who was sporting a Social DistortionT-shirt. His right forearm bore a tattooed out-line of Mississippi. Catfish is to Mississippiwhat crawfish is to Louisiana, Hughes said ashe lowered a fry basket full of cornmeal-dredgedcatfish into burbling peanut oil. Everyone eatscatfish here.

ere are 28 species of catfish (so named

because of its whiskers, or barbels, which theanimal uses to search for food) indigenous toNorth America, and many others native toparts of Asia, where catfish is also prized, but itis Ictalurus punctatus, commonly called chan-nel catfish, that is Hughess medium and thecatfish favored across the American South. espiny-finned, fat-lipped omnivore may neverwin a beauty pageant, but no other American

fish can lay claim to such an enduring mythol-ogy as that of the channel catfish. In Life onthe Mississippi, for example, Mark Twainwrote of seeing the rivers roaring demon, acatfish more than six feet long and weighing250 pounds. And in his song Rollin Stone,Muddy Waters cast himself as a free-swim-ming catfish, an object of desire.

e fish Hughes was frying up at Taylor Gro-cery that day had never been swimming freealong a river bottom, though. It came frozen ina box bearing the imprint of Heartland Catfish,a purveyor of farmed fish located in the Mis-sissippi Delta. Indeed, a great majority of thechannel catfish eaten these days in the UnitedStates is farm raised, and it may be the worldsonly widely consumed fish that tastes betterfrom an industrial farm than when caught inthe wild. Given the depletion of the oceans fishstocks, this kind of sustainable aquaculturetheU.S. Catfish Industry has won accolades from

organizations like the Monterey Bay AquariumsSeafood Watch program for safe farming prac-ticesis no small thing. For cooks, the delicate,mild flavor of farm-raised channel catfish makesit a perfect canvas for a whole palette of flavorsand a wide range of preparations, from rmou-lade-smothered poboys to fiery curries.

e fish I had in Taylor was a far cry fromthe catfish I grew up eating in my home stateof North Carolina. I fished from the banks of afriends pond and would fry the filets in a skil-let, but no matter how much buttermilk andTabasco I used, those catfish came out tasting,

more often than not, like their muddy home. Itsthe muddy flavor of the wild-caught fish, cou-pled with the animals homely appearance, thatlong ago gave catfish a reputation in many partsof the country as a trash fish. Its a misconcep-tion that a single bite of perfectly fried farmedchannel catfish will instantly erase.

What makes farmed catfish taste better?Looking for answers, I drove from Taylor

southwest into the vast floodplain of tsissippi Delta, the heart of the U.S.industry. After entering Leflore Couthe center of the state, I passed mile afof five-foot-deep catfish ponds separlevees wide enough to accommodate atruck or a tractor.

Forty years ago along this flat stretch

I N G R E D I E N T

Pride of the DeltaInMississippithecatfishisking,andfarmersaredeterminedtokeepitthatwayB Y H U N T E R L E W I S

I

FRIED CATFISH

SERVES 2

The cooks at Carmack Fish House in Vaiden

sippi, serve this dish (facing page) with tart

and a side of hush puppies. For recipes for b

sides, go to saveur.com/issue118.

Canola or peanut oil, for frying

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 13 cups flour

14 cup seasoned salt, such as Lawrys

2 tbsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper 4 35-oz. boneless, skinless catfish file

page 96)

12 lemon, cut into wedges

Tartar sauce, for serving

1In an 8-qt. pot, pour in oil to a depth of

oil over medium-high heat until it registers

a deep-fry thermometer.

2Meanwhile, combine cornmeal, flour, s

salt, baking powder, and pepper in a large b

the catfish and toss to coat. Gently shak

excess cornmeal mixture and transfer carack.

3Working in 2 batches, fry the catfish i

oil until golden brown and cooked through

minutes. Using tongs, transfer catfish to a w

ing rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to

Transfer fish to 2 plates and serve with

wedge and tartar sauce.

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

31/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

32/105

way, cotton was king. Cheaper cotton could begrown elsewhere, however, and the price of theother local cash crops, corn and soy, dropped,so Delta farmers dug ponds, flooding them withwell water. In 1968 this fledgling venture yielded12 million pounds of catfish. By 2003 as muchas 650 million pounds was being harvested.

H C comprises two largeprocessing facilities situated just off U.S. High-way 82 in the town of Itta Bena. In a smalllaboratory kitchen next to Heartlands load-ing zone, Stanley Marshall, Heartlands flavortaster, greets me just as a farmer walks inwith a two-pound live catfish in a plastic bag.Marshall, 52, clad in work boots, jeans, anda T-shirt, has what Richard Schweid, authorof the excellent history Catfish and the Delta(Ten Speed Press, 1992), calls a million-dol-lar tongue. Marshall has sampled more catfishthan anyone else in the Delta and arguably

more than anyone on Earth: some 250 fish a

day, five days a week, for the past 26 years.Marshall sliced off the tail section from the

farmers fish, placed it in a Styrofoam hot dogcontainer, and microwaved it for two minutes.As the farmer looked on with apprehension,Marshall raised a steaming forkful of the fishto his nose and inhaled, nodded with approval,and then took a bite. Its on flavor, Marshallsaid, telling me that he had tasted fish from thisparticular farm three times already. He handedme a piece. Were always looking for that mild,nutty, buttery-type flavor. e unseasoned fishhad a mild, neutral flavor and aroma. If heddetected the faintest smell of wet dirt, algae,or decaying leaves, the fish from this batchwould not have been deemed ready for harvest.Relieved, the farmer unloaded his truck, some2,850 pounds of sleek channel cats, and drovehome with a payday of $2,565.

Later that day I was seated in the cab ofBubba Cobbs pickup, watching from a levee

as four workers in a small aluminum boat cor-

P. S A V E U R

I N G R E D I E N T

Carmack Fish House 24973

Highway 35, Vaiden, Missis-

sippi (662/289-5082).This

humble establishment, little

known to outsiders, is a rural

Southern treasure; it serves

catfish that were raised in

limestone ponds in eastern Mis-

sissippi and fries them up both

as filets (pictured above) and as

thick, meaty steaks. Make sure

to try the tangy house-madecoleslaw.

Catfish Hole 4127 West Wed-

ington Drive, Fayetteville,

Arkansas (479/521-7008).

This popular eatery in west-

ern Arkansas sells more catfish

than any other restaurant in

the state. The crisp breaded

catfish filets come with excel-

lent homemade hush puppies

(a traditional Southern catfish

side).

Cowtown Cafe 20248 State

Highway E, Bloomfield, Mis-

souri (573/568-2250). This

300-seat catfish oasis in the

southeastern corner of Mis-

souri has been around only

since 1995, but its already a

regional institution. Try the

tender fried catfish with the

houses signature fried pota-

toes cooked with onions and

bacon grease.

Hucks 2811 South Trail Drive,

Denison, Texas (903/337-

0033).The cornmeal-crusted

catfish filets at this restaurantin North Texas are as good as

any youll get in the Mississippi

Delta, and the Cajun shrimp

and country fried steak are

local favorites.

Middendorfs 30160 High-

way 51 South, Akers, Louisiana

(985/386-6666).This 75-year-

old Louisiana institution,

damaged by Hurricane Ike last

year but now back in business,

is lauded across the South for its

ultrathin, melt-in-your-mouth

fried filets. Fresh local blue crab

is added to the menu in thesummer.

Taylor Grocery 4 County Road

338 #A, Taylor, Mississippi(662/236-1716). A former gen-

eral store located eight miles

south of Oxford, this catfish

haven (above)long a favorite

of Ole Miss studentsserves

up luscious, crisp-tender corn-

meal-crusted filets flecked with

plenty of black pepper.

6 GreatCatfish HousesFamily-style fried-fish restaurants, often known as catfish houses, are fixtures across a broad swath

of the American South. Call ahead before you make a pilgrimage: many rural catfish houses are open

only on weekends. Here are six of our favorites. Ben Mims

ralled nets to harvest catfish from a pbuyer for Americas Catch, a Heartlanpetitor, Cobb drove us along muddatop the levees, touring a handful of tpanys approximately 490 ponds. e in keeping the fishs flavor pure is the bottom-feeding scavengers to feedthe muddy pond bed but on the suthe water. Dinner arrives with the soumechanized blower, which tosses floatlets of finely ground corn or soy into thWhen the fish hear that blower, its liing the d inner bell, Cobb told me. crucial step is to maintain clean ponother freshwater fish, catfish hydratselves by absorbing water through theIf the pond contains muddy runoffmuch blue-green algae, the fish will that telltale muddy aroma and flavor.

As if the uphi ll battle against Nature and snooty eaters werent e

the high cost of grain and fuel last son top of foreign competition, forcefarmers to abandon fish altogether andto growing soybeans. During my timDelta, the catfish farmers I talked withbled about the less regulated farmedimported from Asia. ey also talkeabout something cal led delacata. JusPatagonian toothfish became Chilean catfish too may be destined for an upnomenclature. Later this year a small page of U.S. farm-raised catfish will befilets labeled delacata. Processed from

fish, the custom-cut filets will be motwice the size of regular catfish filets aat a higher price. Lets face it, catfishthe best name, especially for people outhe South, says Jeremy Robbins, a mfor the Catfish Institute, the industry gcharge of the makeover, which farmewill propel a fish with an inferiority cbeyond the deep-fried South and ontro menu near you.

I tried delacata at Giardinas, a whitcloth restaurant in Greenwood, Mississithick, 11-ounce pan-roasted filet was as

mild, and delicious as a red snapper. If aof name is what it takes to burnish thisfishs reputation, I said to myself as I swanother bite, more power to PR. Persobelieve that Mark Twain uttered the beleast the most succinct, marketing taglithink of: e catfish, he wrote in LifMississippi, is a plenty good enough anybody.

FROMLEFT:REBECCALATIMER;COURTESYTAYLORGROCERY

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

33/105

Y o u r P o r t o f S o l a c e

2009 United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.

Join local chefs, celebrity and other top winemakers from St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, California,

Atlanta, Miami and New York fo r an is landwide, five-day cul inary event. Feast on gourmet dinners, at tend

wine seminars and dont miss the annual culinary competition with wine tastings from celebrated vintners.

For information, visit stcroix foodandwine.com. Proceeds from the St. Croix Food and Wine Experience are

donated to the St. Croix Foundation.

Expand yourculinary boundaries.

St. Croix Food and Wine Experience, April 14-18

www. tamag.

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

34/105

P. S A V E U R

S O U R C E

I , made frequent trips twhere he was born, to visit his parents, and when he cahe never failed to bring me and my siblings gifts: go

charms from Buddhist temples; rice-paper balloons that inflacollapsed with a crackly sigh; and, my favorite, boxes of the traJapanese sweets known as wagashi. Inside each box, wed findpopping array of shapes, colors, and textureschewy rice cakes,shaped like leaves or flowers, blocks of red bean jelly, and on and

Wagashi, in their various incarnations, have been made in Jamore than a thousand years. ey were originally simple fruit a

confections, but by the 16th century their making had evolva mature art, their shapes and ornamentation evoking the f

nature, and they had become an important component otea ceremonies. Wagashi have traditionally been made from

dients central to Japanese cuisine, such as red adzuki beanare pressed into an, a sweet paste; glutinous rice, which is

making a springy cake called mochi; and seaweed, which ito make an agar gelatin known as kanten. Eventually, as Japainto contact with other cultures, foreign ingredients were embrainstance, kasutera, a European-style cake made with eggs, becamlar in the 17th century, after Portuguese traders began visiting J

Dad still showers his kids with wagashi, but now he bucloser to home: at the New York City outlet of Min

Kitchoan, a Japanese confectioner founded in 1947moto Kitchoans treats are made in Okayama, a preknown for the cultivation of fruit, and seasonal fresare the star ingredients in a number of its finest wagasas sakuranbo, a springtime treat consisting of a singl

suspended in kanten.My favorite wagashi is the adorable, hamburger-like

generous dollop of red bean paste between two mini whecakes. Its the perfect companion to my breakfast coffee. Lu

never have to worry about running out of them, because every tdown to my last one, my father comes around with a fresh box

moto Kitchoans wagashi are available by the piece or in sets fro$75; to order, visit www.kitchoan.com or call 201/313-9355.

Fine ArteseJapaneseconfectionsareminimasterpiecB Y K A R E N S H I M I Z U

Clockwise from top left: tsuya (pancakes with red bean paste), sa

(cherry in seaweed jelly), nonoutage (red and white bean pastes

in green tea paste), oribenishiki (red bean and chestnutfilled cak

neriyokan (red bean jelly), hanatsubomi (yuzu filled with white bea

tsukininishiki (chestnuts in red bean jelly), and shunsaika (spong

covered mochi filled with bean paste and white chocolate).

W

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

35/105

The SAVEUR Chef SerieALEXANDRA GUARNASCHELLI is no stranger to foodies.

Before she scored a cooking show on the Food Network, shed spentsix years as executive chef at Butter in New York City, where she still

delights diners by bringing together the familiar and the unexpected.

On her show, The Cooking Loft, shes reeling in even more admirers by

NWK][QVOWV[QUXTM I^WZN]TNWWLUQ`ML_Q\P XTMV\aWNXMZ[WVITQ\a ?M

talked to her about what shes cooking right now.

How would you describe your cooking?

I try to make food that people crave, because thats what keeps them coming

JIKS ;XMKQKITTa 1 TW^M TWKITQVOZMLQMV\[ 1 \ZMI\ \PMU[QUXTa J]\ 1 [\ZQ^M \W LW I

bit more with them than just put them on the plate. As the chef MarkMiller once

told me, Thats not a cooking philosophythats a shopping philosophy.

Are you excited that its March?

Yes! And no. March is sort of a tough time. It feels like spring. It can be so

warm that some people come to the farmers market asking for strawberries.

But really, youre still stuck in what some people might consider root vegetable

purgatory. For chefs, this time of year is like the night before Christmas. You can

smell spring. You cant wait for fava beans and asparagus and peas. But you have

toat least for a little while longer.

So whats a chef to do?

4]KSQTa 1 TW^M _QV\MZ ^MOM\IJTM[ ?Q\P [XZQVOXZWL]KM aW] KIVR][\ _I[P Q\ LZa

it off, and put it on a plate with lemon juice and olive oil. But my winter favorites

just need a little more love. I roast rutabaga with nutmeg. I mix lovely parsley

root with celery root to make a soup with just a little cream. And I take kohlrabi,

[PI^M Q\ ZMITTa\PQV IVL[I]\uQ\ Y]QKSTa_Q\P [\IZ IVQ[M IVLVQ[P Q\ _Q\P ITQ\\TM

TMUWVR]QKM ?PMV1UZMITTaNMMTQVOLW_V 1 X]TTW]\ ZIUXXQKSTM[ XMIKPRIU[

IVLW\PMZ \ZMI\[ \PI\ 1 UILM _PMVJZQOP\MZ I^WZ[ _MZM I^IQTIJTM

ADVERTISEMENT

ILK898>8N@K? 9LKK

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

36/105

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

37/105

NO. S A V E U R

I Indian-born fathersfamily in Calcutta I have adored Indian flatbreadspillowynans, buttery parathas, whole-wheat chapattis, and more.

Being half Italian, though, Ive always steered away from one kind offlatbread in India: pizza. e countrys biggest cities now boast suchchains as Pizza Hut and Dominos, but the pizzas those places sell are,as a rule, dismal when compared with the crunchy, olive oilrubbed

squares Ive devoured in Rome, the lightly charred thin-crust piesnative to Naples, and the satisfying, cheesy slices I eat in New YorkCity, where I now live. e pitfalls of Indianized pizza are many, butnone are more dispiriting to me than the cheese: usually processedspreads or packaged slices.

ats why I was delighted to find Fire and Ice, a Calcutta pizzeria

that opened in 2005. When I first visited the restaurantmother in a sari and a sul len teenager playing a handheld vshared a pizza at one table, while a hip, young couple cat another. e pizzeria attracts a steady flow of upwardCalcuttans, who have developed a taste for the establishmpolitan-style pizzas. e thin-crust pies are minimally topthe mozzarella is perfect: milky and rich, moist but not oiand toasted brown in spots.

How, I wondered, did they come by mozzarella like thcutta? When I phoned Fire and Ices owner, Annamaria to find out, she told me an interesting tale of global interse1988, Forgione, a Neapolitan, moved to Kathmandu, Nher husband, a Brit who had accepted a teaching job there. started her first pizza parlor in the city, also called Fire anyears ago, she made do at first with a local ly made cows mcalled kanchan, but found it to be heavier than she liked. Ifrozen mozzarella from Italy was prohibitively expensive bhigh excise taxes and bureaucratic tangles.

Still, Forgione wasnt willing to compromise. I like to the way theyre done in Italy, she said. I want people to kit would taste there. After reading up on Italian mozzarella

sulting with a Danish-run dairy in Nepal that was workingfarmers on improving the qua lity of their mi lk, Forgione a technique in which she mixed cows milk with the higheof buffalo, which makes the mozzarella softer. Initially tsetbacks: the Danish government canceled its dairy projcheese-making facility Forgione set up in her house didnbecause transporting the milk there required preservatives it unsuitable for the production of cheese. Eventually, thogione partnered with a Nepalese farmer named Achyut Ghiwas able to provide the milk and, following Forgiones specmake the mozzarella himself.

By mid-2005, Fire and Ice Kathmandu was a loca l instituForgione decided the time was right to open a branch in Indi

tled on Calcutta and flew Ghimire in to train two young Bein her mozzarella technique. All she needed now was a reliaof milk. As luck would have it, the Italian consulate in Cainterested in funding a dairy farm but didnt quite know wheFurther inquiries led Forgione to the Institute for Indian MChild, a charity that runs a rural health and education proje

R E P O R T E R

Melting PotAuthenticmozzarellainBengal? Wheretheresawill,theresawayB Y I N D R A N I S E N

I Ss most recent article for was Sweet Leaf(November 2007).

Chandan Samanta, a mozzarella maker at the Institute for Indi

and Childs Mozzarella Unit in West Bengal, India, above.

S

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

38/105

P. S A V E U R

R E P O R T E R

Calcutta, and she connected the dots. With thehelp of the Italian government, the institutesMozzarella Unit was born. Using the micro-credit systemin which women too poor toreceive bank credit are offered small, collat-eral-free loansthe Mozzarella Unit helped

women in the village of Sonarpur purchase 110cows, whose milk the Bengali cheese makerswould use to produce mozzarella.

When I visited Sonarpur, Shafali Mandal, aparticipant in the microcredit project, paradedher snow-white cow before me with evidentpride. Mandal told me that the project has beenan important source of income for her family.Every morning, she and the other women carrytheir cows milk in metal urns to the MozzarellaUnit, housed in a concrete building a short wayup the road, where they are paid a slightly higherthan average price as an incentive to keep thecows well fed and the milks fat content high.Fire and Ice then buys the cheese from the Moz-

zarella Unit.Cheese making is nothing new in India,

where the cottage cheese known as paneeris served in such dishes as saag paneer, a

curry with spinach and mustard greens, andpaneer bhorji, a scrambled eggslike prepara-tion. I felt fairly certain, however, that SatyaBhandary and Chandan Samanta were theonly mozzarella makers in a ll of West Bengalwhen I v isited them at the Mozzarella Unit.eir work space looked like a science class-room, with its massive steel pots and keroseneburner. e lush banana groves outside wereworlds away from Campania, Italy, wheremozzarella is thought to have originated inthe 12th century. Yet the two men carriedout the rituals of Italian cheese making with

practiced ease: curdling the milk with citricacid and rennet, draining the whey, and slic-ing the curds.

Bhandary, sitting on a low stool, placed

the curd slices in a metal pot. Whhad melted, he folded the solid massand pressed down, then folded and again. He stretched the cheese above hand dropped it back into the pot, rethe motions a few times before handmass to Samanta, who stood at a woSamanta flattened the cheese, folded flattened and folded it again. Next, in fluid motion, he gathered the edges toball, which he lowered into a saltwatwhere it would soak for three hoursbeing prepared for delivery to Fire an

Samanta plucked off a morsel of thfresh cheese for me to try. e taste wItaly, but the image it brought to m

was of a young woman in a green sariing her cow with maternal tenderneForgione, too, the project is as muchpeople as it is about cheese. I thinsuccessful, she told me, you have t

success for others, too.

THE LUSH BANANA GROVES

OUTSIDE WERE WORLDS AWAY

FROM ITALY, YET THE TWO MEN

CARRIED OUT THE RITUALS OF

ITALIAN CHEESE MAKING WITH

PRACTICED EASE

T P,page 96: More infoabout Fire and Ice Pizzeria.

. amag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

39/105

?[n Qcnb Dis

2009 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.

eatwisconsincheese.com

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

40/105

P. S A V E U R

I Budapest adecade ago, Ive enjoyed introducingvisiting American friends to Hungar-

ian cooking. Always, I start my guests off withthe one local dish most of them know: goulash.At least they think they know it. When youask for that dish in Hungary, you wont get theflour-thickened, sour creamlaced stew thats

come to be called goulash in the States. In fact,you probably wont get a stew at all but a deli-cious, savory soup. Formally called gulyslevesbut more often known simply as gulys (pro-nounced GOO-yash), its one of many soupsthat figure in the Hungarian culinary canon,including almaleves, a chilled apple soup, andJkai bableves, a bean and smoked-pork spe-cialty named for the 19th-century Hungariannovelist Mr Jkai.

at Hungarys best-known dish is so liberallyinterpreted outside its home country has longbeen a source of some annoyance among Hun-

garians. In the classic Hungarian Cookery Book(George Vajna & Co., 1934), the early-20th-century Budapest restaurateur Kroly Gundelcomplained, Without wishing to give offenceto my colleagues abroad, I am forced to statethat they usually spoil the reputation of thatexcellent dish. In traditional gulys, paprika isa key ingredient, just as it is in the Americanizedversion, but the real thing contains no flour orsour cream; it derives its luxurious texture andintensity of flavor from a slow, easy simmer.

Beef is the meat of choice (though a thicker,mutton version, called birkagulys, also exists).

In fact, the wordgulysmeans cowboy, a nodto the dishs supposed origins among medievalHungarian cowherds, who stewed meat untilall the liquid disappeared, dried it further in thesun to preserve it, and then, when they wanteda quick and hearty soup out on the range, sim-ply added the dried meat and some water to apot and heated it over a fire. Even today, manyHungarians, including my husband, occasion-

ally cook gulys in a bogrcs(cauldron) over anopen fire, which imparts a subtly smoky flavor.

When I make gulys, I start by sautingonions in bacon fat or sunflower oil. Next, Iadd cubes of beef and brown them; then I putin a few spoonfuls of Hungarian sweet paprika(never the hot kind) before pouring in waterto make a broth. After it has all simmered for

about 45 minutes I add diced potatoes and tiny,pinched dumplings called csipetke. e resultis a dish as hearty as its American cousin but atonce more refined and more restorative.

Most Hungarian cooks follow this basic rec-ipe, but even traditionalists diverge on certainpoints. Some skip the potatoes or the dump-lings; my mother-in-law adds dried marjoramand chopped garlic, carrots, parsnips, toma-

toes, and fresh banana peppers. e restaurateurGeorge Lang, who acquired Kroly Gundelsnamesake establishment in 1991, allows for theaddition of caraway seeds, while the author ElekMagyar, in e Gourmets Cook Book: Hungar-ian Cuisine(Corvina, 1970), insisted that theyspoil the touch. Ive tried gulys both waysand many other ways besidesand have neverceased to find it a delicious surprise.

GULYS(Hungarian Goulash)

S ER VES 4 6

The recipe for this hearty, savory soup (lef

from Katalin Bnfalvi, the authors mothe

who lives in the village of Bony, in north

Hungary. Hungarian sweet paprika (see p

confers a singularly deep, rich color and fl

4 tbsp. sunflower or canola oil

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 12 lbs. beef chuck, trimmed and cut into

cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black

pepper, to taste

14 cup sweet paprika

2 tsp. dried marjoram

2 tsp. caraway seeds

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, cut into 12 cubes

2 medium parsnips, cut into 12 cubes1 12 lbs. medium new potatoes, peeled a

cut into 12 cubes

1 tomato, cored and chopped

1 Italian frying pepper, chopped

1Heat oil in a 5-qt. dutch oven over medi

Add onions, cover, and cook, stirring o

ally, until soft and translucent, about 10

Increase heat to high. Add beef and seas

salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, stirring o

or twice, until the meat is lightly browne

6 minutes. Stir in paprika, marjoram, cara

garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minucarrots, parsnips, and 5 cups water. Bring

reduce heat to medium. Simmer, covered,

beef is nearly tender, about 40 minutes.

2Add potatoes and cook , uncovered, unt

about 25 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and p

cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and p

taste and serve with rye bread, if you like.

C L A S S I C

Soup of AgesTomanypeoplefromoutsideHungary,realgoulashcomesasarevelationB Y C A R O L Y N B N F A LV I

S

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

41/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

42/105

P. S A V E U R

Pastry chefs decorate Easter tortes

in Demels production kitchen.

ww. g. m

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

43/105

NO. S A V E U R

VIENNAS SWEET

EMPIREFor more than two centuries,

Demel, Austrias most enduring andlegendary confectionery shop, has been

a bright light at the center

of Europes r ich pastry tradition

B Y N I C K M A L G I E R I

P H O T O G R A P H S B Y L A N D O N N O R D E M A N

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

44/105

. n m .

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

45/105

NO. S A V E U R

V I E N N A P A S T R I E S

I the first time I set footinside Demel, Viennas famous pastry shop. It

was the summer of 1973, and I was apprentic-ing in the kitchen of a hotel near Zurich aftergraduating from culinary school in New York.

As a 25-year-old student of the pastry arts, Icouldnt wait to get to Vienna, the world capi-tal of sweets, to taste the confections Id beenreading about for so many years. When a breakin my work schedule appeared, I boarded atrain for Austrias capital city, checked in toa $10-a-night hotel, and followed my guide-books directions to the historic First District,in the center of town. ere, steps from theimperial Hofburg palace, sat the pastry shopof my dreams: K.u.K. Hofzuckerbcker Ch.

Demels Shne (Imperial and Royal Court

Sugar Baker Christoph Demels Sons), orDemel, for short.

For a few years leading up to that trip, Ihad devoured every mention of Demel inglossy food and travel magazines. But noth-ing could have prepared me for the sensoryoverload of encountering all the Vien-nese classicsdense chocolate sachertortes,

jam-filled linzertortes, strudels wrappedin papery-thin pastry, pastel-frosted petitsfours, and morehoused inside gleamingglass cases tr immed with polished brass and

wood. For every familiar dessert there was

an unfamiliar one, covered in buttercream,meringue, marzipan, or chocolate glaze, aswell as trays of cream-filled buns and puffpastries. I stood there, agog, until I startedto wonder why none of the black-clad host-

esses were offering me a seat. It dawned onme that, in my jeans and leather jacket, Iwasnt exactly dressed for the occasion. Mostof the men in the dining room wore suits,and many of the women had donned pearls.Had I known then that Demel was the draw-ing room of Viennas high society and thatthe staff had a reputation for ignoring those

who didnt fit the mold, I might have packeda sport coat. I respectfully took my leave.

Once outside, I snapped as many photos ofDemels elaborate window displays as my Insta-matic camera would allow; they were decoratedfor autumns hunting season with forest logsand leaves fashioned out of sugar and meringue.Right then and there, I vowed to return to

Demel in the future, not only as a customer

but as a serious baker. Someday, I told myself, Iwould get inside that bakeshop and learn howEuropes most extraordinary sweets are made.

F , D is a living ves-tige of the Austro-Hungarian empire, whichcame to power in the 13th century andreached its peak during the rococo era, whenthe house of Hapsburg, based in Vienna, roseto dominate not just Austria but also Slovakia,Hungary, and most of what we now refer to aseastern Europe. Beginning in the 1870s, underEmperor Franz Joseph, Vienna, as well as Buda-

pest and Prague, became a hotbed of cultureand the arts. A flourishing of the culinary artsensued, the empires cooks drawing from both

western and eastern European traditions. eemperor and his wife, Elisabeth, hosted elaboratefeasts at the Hofburg palace, where savory courses

were followed by intricately prepared sweets thatwere often richer and even more fancifully dec-orated than those found in France.

Viennas supremacy in the pastry afrom those regal traditions and exchange of ideas between cultures wempire. Another factor was the citycoffee, epitomized by a rich Kaffeetion, which blossomed during the 18Pastry shops during that period sertoo, sealing the everlasting bond befee and sweets and establishing thesocial institutions.

Demel was one of those pastry shops.called Burgtheater Zuckerbckertheater Sugar Bakery), for its locathe citys main theater, it was foundLudwig Dehne and became knownsspeisen (sweet dishes) and the

gant mehlspeisen (flour-based dishes)

Austro-Hungarian pastry chefs were to build their reputations: cakes, dpuddings, and a vast array of boiled treats. e bakery was sold in 1857Dehnes bakers, Christoph Demel, wrelocated it to a street near the impe30 years later. e move was a strasoon Demel had become one of a hpastry shops (along with Sluka, HGerstner, which also still exist) allowply the palace with sweets. Empress

was famously fond of Demels candand its coffee, which she had sent to

each morning.Demel also became the social Viennas upper crust,

DEMELS GLASS PASTRY

CASES, STOCKED WITH

SACHERTORTES,

LINZERTORTES, AND

MORE, SPARKA

SENSORY OVERLOAD

Federico von Berzeviczy-Pallavicini, above left;

Amadeus cookies (see recipe on page 52), above

right. Facing page, guests in Demels dining room.

N M is the director prog rams at the Institute of Cul ination in New York City and the amost recently, The Modern Bakerlishing, 2008).

(continued o

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

46/105

From russische punschtorte to

trffeltorte, the pastry cases at

Demel feature 90 different cakes,

pastries, and cookies daily.

. .

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

47/105

. .

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

48/105

P. S A V E U R


and its popularitycontinued to grow even after the Hapsburgempire collapsed, in 1918.

It did suffer one memorable setback, how-ever, involving the citys most belovedchocolate cake. In the 1930s, the story goes,Demel purchased the recipe for its signaturesachertorte, a two-inch-tall cake glazed withapricot preserves and coated with a shinychocolate icing, from the Sacher family, whohad opened the Hotel Sacher in 1876. Afterselling the recipe, the Hotel Sacher contin-ued to make the cake, but differently: it splitit into two layers and added apricot preservesbetween them. Litigation ensued, and theHotel Sacher won the right to call its cake

the Original Sachertorte.

After the war years, the shop enjoyedanother golden age, which lasted throughthe 1960s, under the ownership of KlaraDemel and her husband, Federico von Ber-zeviczy-Pallavicini. An architect and designer,Berzeviczy-Pallavicini introduced the beauti-ful boxes and wrapping papers still used by theshop today. He also collaborated with chefs onthe over-the-top window displays that I ogledon my first visit, all those years ago.

I back to Demel,though it took me more than 30 years. Need-

less to say, I was better dressed this time around.I was also a professional pastry chef and couldmore fully appreciate the inspired handiworkthat went into the bakerys astonishing arrayof sweets. Some things had changed at Demelover the years: in 2002, the bakery was boughtby a Vienna-based international gourmet foodcompany, and its no longer such an exclusivescene. But I was pleased to discover that the

pastries at Demel were every bit as sumptuousand meticulously crafted as on my first visit.

Sitting at one of Demels marble-topped tables,I sampled a slice of russische punschtorte (Rus-sian punch cake), a rum-spiked sponge cakelayered with rich custard cream and frosted withsoft meringue (which is kissed with the flamefrom a blowtorch to give it a caramelized flavor).Each bite was a carefully considered layeringof flavor, texture, and aroma. Equally sublime

was the trffeltorte, a buttery chocolate cakefilled with an airy whipped chocolate ganache(cream mixed with chocolate) known in Viennaas parisercreme (Parisian cream).

Over the years, Id clung to my dream ofgetting inside Demels kitchen, and this time,

I had an in: Id arranged to meet with the

shops head chef, Dietmar Muthenthaler, theman in charge of every crumb of cake andcookie Demel produces. Muthenthaler, 44, anative of the region, has been baking sincehis teens and has worked in some of the fin-est pastry shops in Vienna. When I arrivedon the day of our appointment, he led metoward a back room where a floor-to-ceilingplate-glass par tition overlooked the produc-tion area. As we chatted, we watched someof the best pastry cooks in Europe ice cakes,decorate chocolates, and cut out thousands oftiny cookies from sheets of dough. When I

first came to Demel, in 2002, Muthenthalersaid, I found antiquated production methodsthat had never been updated, because Demelis Demel, and Demel never changes. It was alot of work to develop more-effi cient ways ofproducing Demels specialties and retrain thestaff accordingly.

I peppered Muthenthaler with questionsabout the finer points of making Demels most

popular sweets, including one of my fthe marmorgugelhupf, a marbled veViennas famous coffee cake that is bafluted mold. By way of answering my qthe chef led me into the production

warren of rooms with soaring ceilings.hardly believe it: 35 years after my firs

was finally in Demels inner sanctum.I inhaled deeply and was met wi

familiar and reassuring scent of butsugar baking together. Before me wasof intense but methodical activity takinamid ovens and storage racks, a sheetering dough, mixers of several sizes, anand yards of wood and marble tabletobakery like Demel, where almost eve

is shaped, filled, or decorated by han

tables, or benches, as they are ca lled, aryou find the most interesting work. bakers sliced towering stacks of rouninto layers; at another, a woman was a cake by holding it from below withgertips and maneuvering it to make a spatula that she held in her other hanother bench workers piped pasters onto glossy cakes, while nearby aapprentice was rolling brioche dough incylinders and then shaping them intbraids, and other designs.

At the end of my tour, Muthenthaler

me back for an even more close-upence, and I spent the following two Demels production area, learning make everything from

AT DEMEL,

EUROPES BEST PASTRY

COOKSFASTIDIOUSLY

ICE CAKES, DECO

RATE COOKIES, AND

MOLD CHOCOLATES

Marbled coffee cake (see recipe on pa

above left; a young customer at Deme

right. Facing page, Dietmar Muthe

Demels head chef.

(continued from page 43)

(continued on p

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

49/105

www. mag. m

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

50/105

TORTE 101The construction of a classic Demel

layer cake like the russische punschtorte

is a relatively straightforward process.

First, cream filling is piped onto the

first layer 1. Next, the second layer is

added, doused with rum, and topped with

filling 2. Once the top cake layer has

been added, the meringue frosting 3is

applied 4. On top of that goes a layer of

decorative meringue flourishes on the

sides5and top6. Finally, the meringue

is lightly flame-toasted7and topped with

candied violets and chopped pistachios8.

1

7

8

2

6

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

51/105

Russian punch cake (see recipe on page 52).

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

52/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

53/105

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

54/105

P. S A V E U R


P. S A V E U R


AMADEUS COOKIES

MAKE S 24 CO O KIE S

These chocolate-dipped sandwich

cookies are filled with a luscious mix-

ture of pistachios and almond paste.

for the cookies:

1 34 cups flour

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 34 cup confectioners sugar

2 egg yolks 12 tsp. fine salt

for the filling:

12 cup shelled and unsalted

pistachios

1 tbsp. sugar

3 12 oz. almond paste, at

room temperature, chopped

(see page 96)

2 tbsp. cherry liqueur, preferably

kirsch12 tsp. vanilla extract

for the glaze:

12 cup sugar

3 tbsp. light corn syrup

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, pref-

erably 54%, roughly chopped

1Make the cookie dough: In a bowl,

beat 12cup flour, butter, and confec-

tioners sugar with a handheld mixer

on medium speed until pale and fluffy,

12 minutes. Add yolks one at a time,beating until smooth after each addi-

tion. Add salt and remaining flour; beat

to make a dough. Halve dough, flatten

into 2 disks, and wrap each with plastic

wrap. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

2Make the filling: Heat oven to 325.

In the bowl of a food processor, pro-

cess the pistachios with the sugar until

finely ground. Add almond paste and

process until combined. Add the kirsch

and vanilla and process until combined;

set filling aside.

3Transfer 1 dough disk to a lightly

floured surface and roll with a floured

rolling pin to a 18 thickness. Using a

1 34 round cookie cutter, cut out 24

cookies. Repeat with remaining dough

disk. (Combine and reroll scraps to

make 48 cookies in all.) Place cookies

1 apart on 2 parchment paperlined

baking sheets and bake, rotating pans

halfway through, until cookies are pale

golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

4Meanwhile, make the glaze: Bring

sugar, corn syrup, and 3 tbsp. water to

a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over high heat.

Remove from the heat, add chocolate,

and swirl pan to coat the chocolate

with the sugar mixture. Let sit without

stirring to allow the chocolate to melt,

about 5 minutes. Slowly stir the choco-

late with a rubber spatula until smooth;

set aside to let cool slightly.

5Spoon about 1 tsp. of the filling onto

24 cookies and top with remainingcookies. Gently press cookies together

to sandwich them. Dip half of each

cookie into the chocolate glaze. Trans-

fer to a rack and let the glaze solidify.

MARMORGUGELHUPF

Marbled Coffee Cake

SERVES 10

Austrian bakers make this coffee cake

with a gugelhupf mold. (See page 96.)

Weve found that a 1 12-qt. bundt cake

mold works just as well.

17 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 34 cups flour

2 oz. semisweet chocolate, pref-

erably 54%, roughly chopped

2 tbsp. dark rum

3 tbsp. cornstarch12 tsp. salt12 cup confectioners sugar, plus

more for dusting

2 tbsp. lemon zest

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

5 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1Heat oven to 325. Grease a dark

metal 1 12-qt. gugelhupf mold with

1 tbsp. butter. Add 14cup flour and

shake to evenly coat the inside of mold.

Invert and tap out excess flour; set

mold aside. Set a medium bowl over

a 1-qt. saucepan of simmering water.

Add chocolate; melt. Stir in rum andset aside to let cool slightly.

2Sift together remaining flour, corn-

starch, and salt; set aside. In a bowl,

beat remaining butter, confectioners

sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla using

a handheld mixer on medium speed

until mixture is pale and fluffy, about

2 minutes. Add egg yolks one at a

time, beating after each addition. Add

reserved flour mixture to butter mix-

ture in 3 additions, beating to combine

after each addition. Set batter aside.

3In a large nonreactive bowl, beat egg

whites with handheld mixer on high

speed until frothy. Sprinkle in sugar and

beat to form stiff, glossy peaks. Whisk

one-third of egg whites into reserved

cake batter to lighten it. Using a rubber

spatula, fold in remaining egg whites to

make an airy cake batter.

4Fold one-third of the cake batter

into the reserved chocolate mixture

to make a chocolate-flavored batter.Spoon half of the remaining cake bat-

ter into the buttered mold. Spoon all

the chocolate batter into mold and top

with remaining cake batter. Using a

butter knife, swirl the chocolate batter

into the cake batter to create a marbled

effect. (See page 90 for more infor-

mation.) Smooth the top. Bake until a

toothpick inserted in the cak

out clean, about 55 minutes.

cake to a rack; let cool. Unm

and dust with confectioners

RUSSISCHE PUNSCHT

Russian Punch Cake

SERVES 16

The hallmarks of this elega

cake are a creamy custard fi

a meringue frosting. See To

page 48, for illustrated step

instructions on how to make t

for the filling:

1 14-oz. packet powdere

8 egg yolks 12 cup sugar 13 cup cornstarch

1 34 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, halved

lengthwise, seeds scra

and reserved

for the cake:

5 tbsp. unsalted butter (

melted)

1 12 cups flour

4 eggs, separated 34 cup sugar 12 tsp. salt 12 cup dark rum

for the meringue frostin

2 cups sugar 12 cup confectioners sug

1 12 tsp. cornstarch

11

2

tsp. cream of tartar 4 egg whites

for the garnish (optiona

16 candied violets

1 tbsp. shelled and unsa

pistachios, finely chop

1Make the filling: Combin

See page 90 for techniques on marbling a cake, chopping chocolate, and other

helpful baking tips. For hard-to-find ingredients and baking tools, see page 96.

www. antamag.com

8/12/2019 RIBS-Saveur-03-2009

55/105

NO. S A V E U R


NO. S A V E U R


and 14cup cold water in a small bowl

and set aside. In a large metal bowl,

whisk together yolks, sugar, and corn-

starch; set aside. In a 2-qt. saucepan,

bring milk, cream, and reserved vanilla

seeds to a boil. While whisking con-

stantly, slowly drizzle milk mixture into

yolk mixture. Place bowl over a 2-qt.

saucepan of simmering water. Cook,

whisking constantly, until mixture

thickens, 45 minutes. Remove from

the heat and whisk in gelatin mixture;

let cool to room temperature. Cover

surface of filling with plastic wrap and

refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.

2Make the cake: Heat oven to 325.

Line bottom of 9 springform pan with

parchment paper. Grease pan with 1

tbsp. butter. Add 14cup flour; shake to

evenly coat inside of mold. Invert and

tap out excess flour; set

ribs-saveur-03-2009

Documents