Eat this Word: Romesco

by jbfauthor on January 25, 2010

WHAT? Catalan hodgepodge. This classic sauce is a specialty of the Tarragona province in the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain. About the only ingredient chefs can agree on is the special red pepper that gives the sauce its name. Some contend the formula should be nothing more than a simple mixture of olive oil, red pepper, and bread, while others liven it up with flavorful ingredients, such as garlic, wine, chili powder, paprika, almonds or hazelnuts, and vinegar to the blend. Regardless of the recipe, the final product is usually a smooth paste, typically served with grilled poultry or fish. Each spring, there is a competition among fishermen in the Serrallo district of the province to produce the best Romesco. Before thousands of spectators, the Romesco-masters—who only pass their secret recipes on to their sons—set to work with their mortars and pestles to compete for the championship title. WHERE?

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Recipe: Fennel and Arugula Salad

by jbfauthor on January 25, 2010

We love the fresh, bright flavors in chef Michael Giletto’s fennel and arugula salad, which he prepared at a recent Beard House dinner. Simple and delicious, this dish is perfect for a weeknight meal; adding rich duck breasts or seared scallops makes it extra special.

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Eye Candy: Icewine–Pear Granité

by jbfauthor on January 22, 2010

Chef Jason Parsons surprised guests with this extra course at last Thursday's Beard House dinner. He combined pear juice and icewine to create a tart granité, and garnished the intermezzo with flower petals, gold flakes, and a delicate twig from an icewine vine. See more photos of Parsons's elegant menu here. (Photo by Geoff Mottram)

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Eat this Word: Salsify

by jbfauthor on January 22, 2010

WHAT? The world is your oyster plant. For such a mild-mannered root vegetable, salsify has attracted an unusually high number of ardent defenders and passionate detractors. Unique, delicate, superb, mild, mysterious, its champions insist. Bland, mushy, faded, forgettable, its critics rejoin. Salsify is also known as oyster plant, because when cooked, it's alleged to taste like the mollusk. (More disagreement on this point.) There are, however, a few facts everyone concedes: Salsify is a carrot-shaped winter vegetable. Thomas Jefferson grew it, and a vegetable garden remains the best place to find it in contemporary America. It's much more common in Europe, where people use it in stews, soups, and fritters or simply sautèed in butter. White salsify and black salsify (technically called Scorzonera) are used interchangeably. WHERE? Michael Giletto and Alina Eisenhauer's Beard

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