Wild Orata and Roasted Asparagus

As I expand my culinary knowledge, I look to those around me for help. For right now, the people I'm around 50+ hours a week are my co-workers at Esca. I am constantly asking our current Chef d'Cuisine for advice and easy techniques I can practice and master at home. Also, part of my job is being able to answer the most obscure questions guest might have about the food. For example, "Is there any garlic in the preparation of the whole fish? I'm extremely allergic to garlic." or "How exactly does the Chef prepare this fish? I would love to try it at home." Maybe these aren't the best examples, but I need to know the ins and outs of all our dishes. For that reason, I have become extremely interested in preparing whole fish - something that is on our menu daily.

One fish we have 80% of the time is an Orata or Mediterranean Sea Bream. It is a mild fish that is a little denser, meatier and less sweet than a Cod (for all you folks in Maine). I didn't have to work tonight and spent all day fileting Orata so I figured I'd come home and try roasting one for myself. I went to the fish market on 40th and 9th (by far one of the best in the city) and had the fish guy scale and gut a small Orata.

The nice thing about whole fish is that it has the head and bones in so it adds a ton of flavor. All you have to do to season it is put a little salt, pepper, lemon, garlic and rosemary in the cavity and you're ready to go. Here is a picture of tonight ingredients (I'm doing roasted asparagus with Parmegiano Reggiano as the side).

As you can see, an Esca-esc dish only takes 9 ingredients - most of which you should always have on hand anyways. The only purchases needed are the fresh fish (and any fish would work really), some good cheese and the veggie of your choice.

My ingredients included:

- 1 whole Orata (about 3/4 pound)

- 1 lemon, thinly sliced

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 10 spears of asparagus per person

- 1 large sprig of rosemary

- Salt and pepper for seasoning

- Olive oil (I use Primo which is what we use at Esca to finish off our whole fish dishes)

- Parmegiano Reggiano to shave on the roasted asparagus

The first thing you need to do is oil a sheet pan with some olive oil (I use off the shelf extra virgin olive oil) and place the whole fish in the middle (see below).

Next you want to stuff the cavity so the flesh can absorb as much flavor as possible while roasting. It might be hard to see, but the picture below shows the fish stuffed to the brim. First, sprinkle the inside liberally with salt and pepper. The cavity isn't huge and you want the flavor to get all over the inside so I slice the lemon as thinly as possible (thank you good knives!), rip the rosemary off the stem so it is in small pieces and crush two or three cloves of garlic so they are also as thin as possible. Layer all the aromatics in the fish starting with lemon on the bottom, then some garlic and rosemary and finishing with lemon on top (a lemon sandwich inside the fish).

At this point, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Cover the fish in olive oil, more salt and pepper and put it aside until the oven is ready. Next is the roasted asparagus. I bought a bundle from the Westside Market yesterday so I'm cooking it all at once. Cut the bottoms of the asparagus off and lay them flat in a sheet pan. Cover in olive oil, salt and pepper. Shake the pan back and forth (carefully) in order to cover the entire asparagus in the oil and seasoning.

Once the oven is preheated put both sheet pans inside. The fish should be on top with that shelf in the middle. The asparagus can go right below. Cook for for 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven and its calibration).

And the finished product right out of the oven and on a serving platter. The meal is delicious, is sure to impress dinner guests and is so easy and fast, I just wrote this blog in the 30 minutes the two dishes were in the oven :)

The only thing left to do is filet the fish to remove bones before eating or to just tackle the fish and make sure you chew slowly so you can catch any bones before you swallow them. Enjoy!

(Sorry for not writing a step by step recipe. Hopefully, this is easy to follow... If not, leave a comment and I can write it out step-by-step. I just need to run because my fish is getting cold!)

The Ultimate Chopper

My mom kicked butt with my birthday presents this year. I've noticed that as I get older (and don't worry, I know I'm still a baby - at least that's what my co-workers tell me on a daily basis) I become more practical. I guess I knew it would always happen but now that I'm 23, living on my own and living frugally thanks to student loans and credit card payments, I appreciate the little things in life that make my hobby easier. As you all know, I love to cook. The down side to living in New York is kitchens are small. For all my Richmond friends- most kitchens, although bigger in size, have about a quarter of the counter space that UFA apartments had while we were in school. This makes things hard because gadgets are what make cooking fun and less labor-intensive.

Since college, I have collected a few kitchen essentials: measuring cups, a nice wooden cutting board, a micro-plane, a steamer and good pots and pans. However, I have been lacking in the chopping, cutting, slicing department. As I said, my mom kicked butt and got me the ultimate combination of all things chopping, cutting and slicing: a 7-cup Cuisinart Food Processor and three knives! I now own a 5 inch pairing knife, a 7 inch utility knife and a 9 inch chef's knife. I cannot tell you what a difference they all make. My first recipe to try with my new arsenal of equipment? Potato Leek soup that required a lot of chopping, thin slicing, cutting and pureeing.

One of the best gifts I have ever received was "The Joy of Cooking" cookbook from Nick for our one-year anniversary. I had seen this recipe in there before and had always wanted to try it because of a wonderful Potato Leek memory I have from my childhood. Digress to Morgan as an 11 year old. We used to go to this restaurant in Amsterdam that focused on South African cuisine. I cannot remember the name but I distinctly remember walking down a dark, cobble stone street and seeing the South African flag waving above the door. The memory I have is of our whole family sitting around this table and, I am pretty sure, there was no one else in the restaurant. If there was, the food was so good I didn't notice. I remember not knowing what a leek was but knowing that I loved potatoes so I tried this mysterious soup. It was love at first bite. Before my birthday presents the thought of thinly slicing potatoes by hand and having to use a not-so-great and not-so-accessible blender to puree the soup was daunting. I was determined to try.

Here is the recipe:

Potato Leek Soup

Makes 8 cups

3 T. unsalted butter

8 large leeks, cleaned thoroughly and chopped (white part only)

3 medium or 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (1 1/2 pounds)

6 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a soup pot over low heat. Add the leeks and cook over low heat until tender, but not brown … about 20 minutes.

Add the potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer until the potatoes are soft … about 30 minutes.

Puree mixture until smooth. Season with the salt and pepper.

Thin if necessary with additional stock or water. Reheat gently to serve.

The scary parts of this recipe to me where the leeks being chopped and the potatoes being sliced thinly. I like being in the kitchen but knife skills are not my strong suit. I try so hard but nothing ever comes out the right size or thinness. I am getting better and every recipe helps improve my skills and my new knives make the job infinitely easier. The food processor took out all the stress. I just roughly cut my leeks into 2-inch long pieces and fed them through the feeder into the chopping blade. In 20 seconds, I had 8 perfectly chopped leeks. I had the butter melting while I did that so it was just a matter of detaching the top part of the processor and using a spatula to pour all the leeks into the melted butter.

While those sweated out a bit, I cleaned the chopping blade and replaced it with the slicing blade. After peeling the three potatoes, I used my chef's knife to cut them into roughly equal sized "cubes" of about 1 inch by 2 inches long. I turned on the slicing blade and fed the cut potatoes into the processor. In 30 seconds, I had three perfectly (and more importantly evenly) sliced potatoes to cook in the chicken stock.

Once everything was added together and cooked until tender, the last step was pureeing everything together. I had to divide the soup into three different batches to puree because, after all, it can only hold 7 cups and I had about 9 cups of un-pureed soup. When I was done, all I had to do was clean the food processor (which is dishwasher safe- I just don't have one), the chef's knife, the cutting board and the pot. Easy as pie. I cannot wait to try another recipe in the food processor again soon!

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Currently Eating/Cooking: I am not sure why but I have been craving chicken nuggets lately. It might be the colder weather and the need for comfort food but I just want them all the time. In an effort to be a little healthier I have been getting Morning Star Farms Meatless Chicken Nuggets. They are delicious and only 190 calories for 4 nuggets -the perfect amount the curb a craving. Truth: I had them for dinner last night and lunch today...

Currently Craving: Pizza! The comfort food is killing my attempt to be healthy right now. I made dinner plans with a friend for tonight and as soon as she mentioned a pizzeria in her neighborhood I got so excited. Can't wait for a New York slice (or two) tonight.

Currently Reading: The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. I am really trying to expand my wine knowledge and palate so reading my way through this "bible" is helping me with that. Definitely worth checking out for any food and/or wine lovers.

Currently Obsessing Over: If this blog didn't make it obvious... my food processor. I truly do not know how I lived without for so long.

Writer's Block

I have so much to write about but, I must apologize, I am having so much trouble getting my thoughts down on paper (or guess it would be on my keyboard). I have sat down four different times and can't seem to get my ideas to sound the way I want them to. I promise a post is coming soon. Here is what you have to look forward to:

- The Chelsea Chocolate Show from November 13th

- My birthday goodies my mom got me for my kitchen!

- My attempt at Potato Leek soup

- A surprise dinner out on the town (happening tonight!)

I hope to find my groove again soon! Keep suggestions coming!

... and a sneak peak from the Chocolate Show

Chocolate is a Girl's Best Friend

Sorry for the absence! It's been another month of craziness. Last time I wrote, I was still on a high from my meal at Le Bernardin. I had a plan in mind for my next blog - the Chocolate Show - but was so sick the weekend after my fantastic Friday night meal. From there, I went into a crazy week of work, then my mom was in town, then Thanksgiving and my birthday in one week and, now, here I am.

Now- the Chocolate Show. One of my co-workers had been talking about the show for weeks and, honestly, I was a little let down. I was extremely excited to go to the show on my day off (Friday) but woke up so sick that morning. I spent all day in bed but was determined to make it the next day. I worked the lunch shift that Saturday sicker than a dog and was exhausted and wanting to go home but I made my way to Chelsea. Perhaps my mood and health at the time affected my feelings towards the show but here are some of the highlights.

Before I explain my two favorite things about the show, I'll give a little background on the show.The Chocolate Show has been around for 13 years and takes place at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th Street in Chelsea. It runs for four days in November(Thursday-Sunday) and is open to the public for $30/person. The point of the show is to bring together lovers of everything chocolate related. This year, the booths included everything from chocolate tea, chocolate literature to dessert wines for the perfect pairing. Also, it is not just for New York. Although it includes a lot of local, small businesses, larger international chocolatiers participate as well.

Now picture this. You're sick - fever, no taste buds and the chills- and you get to fight your way through thousands of chocolate enthused New Yorkers... Ok, my mood and health that day definitely ruined the experience for me... Although I was not in the best of spirits, I'm glad I got to see what the Chocolate Show is all about. Now for the highlights.

NibMor Chocolate. This is a chocolate to taste before learning all the ins and outs of this New York-based chocolate company. NibMor is luscious, silky, and sweet but not overwhelming. Although it looks and tastes just like any other chocolate bar, it is different. NibMor Chocolate is completely dairy and gluten free, organic, raw, vegan and contains no refined sugar! I know, crazy. They feature tons of different chocolates from milk to dark, almond filled to bittersweet. The perfect gift for a health nut who loves chocolate!

The other highlight of my short trip to the show was the beverage selections. Below is a picture of a tea booth that offered every mixture of teas imaginable- including, of course, chocolate tea. Although the tea was nice it was no where near as nice as the dessert wine booth -and tasting- at Quady Wines. There were four dessert wines to taste - Essensia, Electra, Starboard and Elysium. All offer different aromas and pairings from pound cakes to dark chocolate. My favorite was the Electra. Although my taste buds were not working 100%, I was able to taste the subtle sweetness of this wine made from the orange muscat grape. Here is the websites description- a) because I don't trust my sick taste buds and b) it was almost a month ago:

With the first sip you feel the wine; light as springtime, delicately sweet, refreshingly crisp, a bouquet of flowers with the taste of peach and melon. Electra is electricity for the mouth!

I actually enjoyed the dessert wine so much that I purchased a bottle on the spot in order to take advantage of, not only a discount, but free shipping as well! I chose this wine for the taste but also for its pairing ability with the numerous desserts I know would be at my family Thanksgiving in Connecticut. I excitedly opened the wine while pies and cakes were being cut but, unfortunately, I was the only one who enjoyed the pairing of homemade apple pie and the sweetness of the orange muscat dessert wine.

Overall, I am glad I made my way to the show. I am definitely going to check it out next year in an effort to change my mind about the show as a whole. Anyone interested in a November trip to NYC in 2011? Keep me posted!