January 7, 2004 Ask the Chef Article

January 7, 2004 ... Ask the Chef ... John Pisto

Dear John,

I read your column today, and wanted to tell you that there is a place that sells cucidati cookies! Marie Favaloro makes them at their Cafe Ariana in Pacific Grove on Lighthouse Ave, right next to their restaurant, Favaloro's. She also makes another Italian cookie that I can't remember the name of. They are frosted also and kinda shaped like a knot, with anise flavor. Happy New Year!

Genelle Russo Longueira
Via e-mail

Q). What would a bottle of 1983 Maudiere Millennium be worth?
VS Cole, Via e-mail

A). There were only 400 cases of this sparkler made. It was created by Mr. Maudiere, the winemaker of Dom Perignon. Mr. Maudiere used Monterey fruit as he wanted to show the wine snobs in Napa that great wine could be made with grapes from other parts of the state. We recently tasted this with '86 Dom Perignon and it was close! Dom Perignon sells for $90 to $100 for a 750ml bottle, so I would put this up there. We have some available at the Whaling Station for $75 a magnum, a tremendous value. Only 2 per person.

ATTENTION MUSHROOM LOVERS!

Spend the day with David Arora (author of Mushrooms Demystified and All that the Rain Promises and More) and myself for what surely will be a memorable day of mushroom collecting on Sunday, January 18, 2004. We will finish off with a Giant Wild Mushroom Field Risotto in the park. Space is very limited, please call for details (831) 373-3778 ($75. per person).

Q). My wife and I are now forced to drive to Harry's Hofbrau in San Jose to get a good medium-rare (pink) roast beef sandwich on a French roll with a good natural juice dip. I have ordered it in many places in Monterey and all I get is a BROWN dried up slices of beef on a roll! Is there anyplace that serves a good French dip sandwich?
William and Sheila Foy
PS Thank you with your help in finding a really good ham last year!
Via e-mail

A). William,
The best French dip? My house, but it's not open to the public. First, the beef must be cut to order and the bread must be fresh (not refrigerated). At the Whaling Station we do an open-faced med rare "Mile High" roast beef sandwich. Currently it is served at the bar only. This is more like the old-fashioned hot roast beef sandwich, but when I crave a French dip - This works for me.

Dear John,
After a friend giving me a wild cauliflower mushroom and then me finding two more, I had to figure out what to do with them. The only thing I read was to clean, slice thin, dip in beer batter and deep fry them. Well as you know very well these mushrooms are impossible to clean because they literally encase and impact the dirt right into themselves as they grow through the soil surface. Then the light bulb lit up! Make soup. I cut them up and threw them into the food processor with a little liquid and pureed them into a paste. Then I put the paste into a pot and added enough liquid to make soup. As the soup simmered, I skimmed off the little floating pieces of pine needles and bark. I now had a nice clean soup base ready to season. Cauliflower mushrooms have a delicate spicy flavor that doesn't resemble any other mushroom. I like mine a little on the piquant side so I added a little garlic and roasted Hungarian

peppers and whatever other seasonings struck my fancy. It was delicious. Hope you try this one. Say hi to Dr. Roy Thomas for me.
Jeff McBride
Monterey, CA.
Via e-mail

A). Great idea Jeff, but have you tried soaking the shroom in salted water? Which, by the way, gets out all of the sow bugs. Another method is to water-pick it, slice into small pieces and add raw to salads. Great crunch, especially when you hit a sow bug - Ha, just kidding! Another good one is to slice them 1/8" thick and then grill on my grill pan. For those of you that don't know what a cauliflower mushroom is, the official name is "sparassis crispa". Careful on eating them raw, some people get "the scoots".

Q). Hi John, I would like to know what ingredients are in "Swiss Sausage" and a recipe if possible. Thank you for your time.
Don
Via e-mail

A). Hi Don,
I suspect there are many recipes for Swiss sausage as there are Swiss cheeses. It all depends what area the sausage makers come from. There are some basic ingredients. This one was hard to find. If you are a Monterey area local, you may want to give this to Lisa at Mecca Deli in Marina (831-384-7821), so she can whip you some up.
Swiss Sausage Recipe
3/4 pounds veal -- trimmed, cubed
3/4 pounds jowl fat -- cubed
11 ounces ice
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (blanched -- chopped superfine)
2 tablespoons Non-fat dry milk powder
Hog casings for stuffing

Combine veal with salt and sugar. Grind meat and jowl fat through the fine plate of heavy duty grinder. Keep meat and jowl fat separate. Chill well. Place ground meat in food processor, add ice. Sprinkle spice mixture over ice. Process mixture till very cold, 30 degrees on thermometer. Stop machine, scrape down sides. Continue processing till temperature rises to 40 degrees (the longer it takes, the finer the sausage.) Mixture should resemble cake batter. Add jowl fat and process till mixture reaches 45 degrees. (emulsion occurs now) Add non-fat milk powder and process till mixture reaches 58 degrees.

To stuff casings:
Fill a commercial sausage stuffer evenly with mixture, making sure there are no air-pockets. Stuff hog casings, not too tight, tie off with fine kitchen string. Poach sausages in a shallow pan of simmering water (water should be 165 degrees), until internal temperature of meat is 155 degrees. (Don't boil, casings can split) Remove sausages to ice bath when cooked. When internal temp. reaches 60 degrees remove from water: Cook, fry or grill and serve.

My last word on Mad Cow Madness. In case you hadn't noticed, our news media has a tendency to get excited about any story that plays on our fears. Any person of at least average intelligence who looks at the facts would conclude that anyone fearful of contracting mad cow disease would be better off never leaving their house, as the odds of being hit by a meteor or abducted by aliens are so much greater. Though it will never be perfect, we are truly blessed with the safest and most abundant food supply the world has ever known. Live your life folks, and for heaven's sake, don't be afraid of your food!

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