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This is the weekend – Sammy
Hagar’s custom built chopper will be on
display at Fisherman’s Wharf and will be
auctioned off for charity. The best and
biggest pastrami and corned beef sandwich is coming. These are the
real thing, 3 to 4 inches high on great rye bread and guaranteed to make
a grown deli sandwich lover cry. Give me two weeks.
Water and spinach served on request.
Several months ago I started serving a mixture of spinach and rapini as
a side dish with steaks at the Whaling Station, after 30 years of
spinach alone. I love the combination of flavors and textures. During
the past couple of weeks, with no spinach available, I have been serving
a mixture of Swiss chard (a relative of spinach, also known as spinach
beet or perpetual spinach) and rapini instead. Now it’s back to spinach,
local spinach, and we’re even working on some new recipes utilizing this
great product while the healing
continues. To refresh our |
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memory, check out these nutritional value figures on
spinach. A 100-gram serving contains the recommended daily amounts of:
Vitamin C 47%; Vitamin E 13%; Vitamin K 460%; Calcium 10% and Iron 22%.
Let’s get going with my buddy Bobby V’s recipe for spinach soufflé: P.S.
If it doesn’t puff up, save it and make a sandwich out of it with a
little mustard.
Van der Woude’s Spinach Soufflé
Recipe
Serves 6-8 (I doubled the original recipe and had extra)
5 T butter
1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup milk
3 T heavy cream
5 eggs (separated)
1 1/4 lb. Spinach
2 Shallots, diced
1 clove Garlic, diced
4 t. Butter
4 oz. garlic chives, coarsely chopped
Salt, freshly ground white pepper, butter and bread crumbs for the
ramekin dishes (one dish per person). Cream of tartar for egg whites.
Make a Béchamel sauce: Melt the 5T butter
and stir in the flour. |
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Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Gradually stir in the milk and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
Add the cream and bring to a boil. Cool slightly and stir in the
beaten egg yolks, a little at a time. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg
and cool. To keep from developing a film on top, place Saran wrap
directly on top of the liquid mixture. Prepare the soufflé mixture:
Rinse and blanch the spinach. Wrap the blanched spinach in a dishcloth
or piece of heavy cheesecloth and wring out thoroughly with your hands.
Finely chop the spinach. Sauté the diced shallots and garlic with the
spinach in melted butter. Place in a large bowl and stir in the béchamel
sauce and garlic chives. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks (add salt
and cream of tartar). Fold egg whites into the soufflé base with a
wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Bake the soufflé: Preheat oven to 350
degrees. Grease ramekin dishes (approx. 4' in diameter) with butter and
coat with breadcrumbs. Fill the dishes to about 1/8 inch below the top
with the spinach mixture. Bake for 20 minutes in a water bath. |
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Q). John, just a quick question
regarding tomato puree. What is it and where do I get it? It seems as
though so many of my recipes call for puree and I haven't the vaguest
idea where to get it or frankly what it is other than the juice that
comes with canned tomatoes. Thanks for your wonderful column by the way.
It is always interesting.
Sue Passanisi
Pacific Grove, Via e-mail
A). Let’s talk about tomato puree,
tomato paste and tomato sauce. 1. Puree refers to tomatoes that have
been cooked briefly then strained resulting in a thick liquid. 2. Tomato
Paste is tomatoes that have been cooked for several hours then strained
and reduced (through cooking) to a very thick rich concentrate. 3.
Tomato Sauce is a somewhat thinner tomato puree. It may include other
flavorings and seasonings and can be used as a base for other sauces or
used in other dishes. |
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Q). Ha! Never have I seen it in
writing before your column on Wednesday! My uncle, who is 92 and lives
here, reminisces about his Sunday morning breakfasts that his Swedish
mother used to make for him. Finnan Haddie with heavy cream. He wants to
taste it again before he dies! Where can I get some of this dried
haddock? Do you still serve it in your restaurant? You mentioned that
you used to make a chowder with smoked haddock at the Whaling Station.
"Used to" sounds like you don't anymore. Thanks for any tips you might
offer in this regard.
Nina & Uncle Stan, Via e-mail
A). We don’t serve it in the restaurants
mainly because nobody knows what it is. Buster at Monterey Fish 375-3511
can order some for you and there is a minimum order of a 15lb. box. It
will be frozen and you pull out just enough for your dinner (or
breakfast). Sounds like you can cook for your uncle 4 or 5 times.
Try it poached in milk and baked with
potatoes and onions or just
plain grilled. Come to think
about it, |
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I just might order some for myself.
Sugar Plums – Grove Market has the
real thing, about the size of an almond (in the shell). When you bite
into them they are hard and crunchy. I remember my Uncle Tom bringing
these little babies back from the farms in the old days. My uncle would
sell fresh fish to all the Portuguese, Spanish and Italian farmers,
ranchers and dairymen in Hollister and other places inland. I couldn’t
wait for him to bring those sweet plums back. That’s the good news,
possibly better news (or not) – these potent little guys will start a
rumble in the jungle. I mean roars come from your guts. If you desire to
eat them – just stay close to home or a bathroom! |
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Letter sent: Dear John, I read
your column every Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised to read you
talking about my long-gone friend, Mr. Gianinni. When I first thought of
starting an Aquarium (on Fisherman’s Wharf in the 1950’s), I was
introduced to Mr. Gianinni and went fishing with him many times. Always
to about the same place, opposite Midway Point in the Del Monte Forest.
He usually had traps 'down' and we would pull them up, by winding the
line around a hub a time or two and
holding it firm. The turning hub pulled up the traps. They went into the
back of his boat, we opened them up and took out the octopus or shrimp
or even fish, from time to time. Then they were re-baited and the string
went down again. He was very successful, and I enjoyed the relationship.
PLUS, I got all of the octopus I needed for the Aquarium. We usually had
several on display at a time. A few times I went to his house and |
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watched him repair the traps. I don't know how many he had, as some seemed
to be in the water all the time. But I think it would be under say, 200
each. The were tied into strings of 8 or 10
traps to a set. As
far as I can recall, he was the only fisherman working at the shrimp or
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octopus. He gave me several traps and
the photographs included here are of one I still keep in my backyard. I
have had it since perhaps 1955 or a bit later. I did enjoy your article
and always check what you write about every Wednesday. Great Work.
Bill Hyler, Pebble Beach
Response: Bill had the first aquarium in
Monterey on Fisherman’s Wharf. Monterey Bay prawns have been caught
around here at least since 1955, maybe earlier.
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