October 29, 2003 Ask the Chef Article

October 29 2003 ... Ask the Chef ... John Pisto

Q: Hi John, My husband was just given several bottles of bourbon, scotch, tequila, gin, etc. When I was preparing to put them away. I noticed they were all quite old. One bottle in particular has peeked my curiosity. It is a pintsize of Old Fitzgerald 100 proof sour mash bourbon. Distilled 1940, bottled 1945. This bottle still has its original seal and has never been opened which makes it now 63 years old. To me this is a very valuable find. My question is: what is this valued at? I have done extensive internet research but have discovered this Kentucky bourbon distilled at Stizel-Weller was closed in 1991. So is this a valuable bottle of booze? What is its value? Thank you so much for your help.

Via e-mail, Regina (Ricki) Anich

A: If it were mine, I would not sell it - period. However, $1000 would be tempting. Do I want to buy it? No thanks. Have a party and enjoy it! Life's too short!

Q: John, Here in Fort Worth, Texas, there is a lovely family Italian restaurant on Magnolia Street, called Palermo's. They serve an unbelievable Lobster Ravioli dish (and I'm not talking about the ready to cook stuff that a well-known "Italian Garden" chain restaurant now serves). It's so perfect! It has huge ravioli shells filled with nice big pieces of lobster and the creamy "Alfredo like" sauce is soooo rich! It's killing me that I can't get this one to work at home. Do you know of a secret recipe to making this dish as rich and beautiful?

Sincerely, Tolli Thomas, Via e-mail

A: Well Tolli guess what? I called and talked to a wonderful lady who is the chef at Palmero's. Her name is Sofia Suthas. Her mother is Sicilian, her father is Swiss and she has been there 8 years and runs this medium sized family restaurant with her husband. She was very happy to share this Lobster Ravioli Recipe and it sounds pretty easy. She uses a

hand cranked pasta maker and a pasta dough using 1/2 semolina and 1/2 flour and egg recipe. To make: Steam frozen lobster until cooked (defrost first). Cut into 1/2" pieces and taste for salt and pepper. Add a bit of ricotta cheese, just enough to bind the mixture together, then add a bit of chopped fresh basil and that's it. Roll out the pasta (set on #7) and make a ribbon about 14 to 16 inches long and 4 inches wide. Place a spoon full of mixture on one side all the way down every 2". Moisten the one side with egg white and fold over and seal with your fingers. Then using a crimper cut out the ravioli. Now let's make the sauce: Sauté chopped garlic in olive oil 5 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook down to a medium sauce. Cook ravioli's until they float to the top of the pot. Drain well then add to the cream. Serve 5 ravioli's per person, garnish with chopped fresh basil. Sounds pretty simple to me folks!

Q: This weekend I was in Monterey and saw you on TV preparing a pasta sauce with dried mushrooms, crushed tomatoes and cinnamon. Did not get all the ingredients or measurements. Would love the complete recipe.

Thanks in advance, Via e-mail, Jacque Gamberdella

A: Hi Jacque. What's with the French-Italian name? I'll be more than happy to share this wonderful recipe with you. Here we go! In this case use dried porcini mushrooms. This is for 4 healthy appetites.

Porcini Mushroom Sauce Recipe

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

3 oz dried porcini (soak in hot red wine, use enough to cover 1 cup)

1 medium chopped onion

6 cloves chopped garlic

1 bunch basil

1/2 bunch chopped parsley

Sauté onion, garlic, basil, and parsley in olive oil. Add mushrooms and wine; simmer until thick, maybe 1 hour. Cook 1 pound of long pasta. Add sauce and Pecorino cheese. Have some red wine and go for it.

Q: Greetings Pisto, I'm in a bind here. I told my wife that I would cook for her on her birthday. Just name it, I said. Well that was a mistake. Her special request was fillets with chardonnay sauce. Cooking the steaks, no problem. However, I can't find any recipes for a chardonnay sauce. I was even thinking about a chardonnay and mushroom sauce, but most of those sauces (for beef) call for the proverbial red wines. Any suggestions?

Via e-mail, Thanks, Keith in Simi Valley

A: Yo Keith, taste is in the mouth of the beholder. You want a white wine sauce for steak, I'll give you a white wine for steak. I am assuming you are going to grill or pan-fry the fillets. I remember doing a wine tasting called "breaking the rules - white wine with meat and red wines with fish". What was interesting was that dry Johannisberg Riesling went very well with red meat. So let's make a Johannisberg (also called white Riesling) sauce. Sauté 3 finely chopped shallots, 4

tablespoons of drained capers and 2 finely chopped garlic cloves in a bit of sweet butter. Now add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Now add 1/4 cup of dry white Riesling and cook until it evaporates. Now add 1-cup heavy cream. Let it cook for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and maybe a shot of Tabasco. Finish with a lump of butter to shine it up a bit. Serve the wine with the steak! Too bad you're in Simi Valley, otherwise I would have one of my joints cook it for you. Thank you for writing in Keith, and happy birthday to the Mrs.

Q: When making chicken soup. How can I get my broth darker?

Via Pisto hotline

A: Roast off the chicken first or if using only bones, roast them until nice and brown. Then make your soup. A small amount of browned tomato paste will color your soup and some well-browned onions will darken your soup.

Tomato sauce from extra ripe tomatoes. Old buddy Bobby Pegis dropped by the other day to say hi. Our conversations always revolve around food. With all the tomatoes right now his wife is sun-drying them and using them in a pasta sauce. I saw this done in Rome. The restaurants would semi dry special cherry tomatoes and full of branches of cherry tomatoes would be hanging from the rafters. So any of you home tomato growers out there that have a lot of tomatoes, semi dry your tomatoes in the oven over night. Cut them in large chunks, spread them on a sheet pan and put them in the oven at 180 degrees. Leave them over night

or longer. To make your sauce, fry garlic, hot pepper flakes, salt, pepper and basil. Add tomatoes and stop. There should be very little juice left. Boil pasta, drain and add to sauce. Toss, cheese it (Pecorino) and eat it. That's Barb and Bobby Boy.

Re-cutting the cheese. Last week I told you about the results of my research into the world's best grating cheese. Here's some more info. The word "Pecorino" means sheep in Italian. Pecorino cheese is made all over Italy. They are sometimes named after a location such as "Pecorino Romano", which simply means a sheep's milk

cheese from Rome. It can also be named after a producer such as Locatelli Romano, which is a sheep's milk cheese made by the Locatelli family, ok!

Local's day times two. We did it folks! Pasta Tuesday with two hours free parking in the wharf lot. We will serve you an incredible meal for only $9.95. Including a choice of chowder or salad, pasta meatballs, pasta Puttanesca, pasta Alfredo and pasta with tomatoes and fresh basil. Now you have two reasons every week to come down to the wharf. Pasta Tuesdays and Seafood Wednesday.

For more info about John Pisto's fine restaurants

in Monterey, California, click here.

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