Monthly Archives: July 2010

Braised Mangalitsa Neck Roll Open Faced Sandwich with Mt. Townsend Creamery Fromage Blanc and Grand Central Bakery Ciabatta Bread

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I saw a local magazine that had the 48 best sandwiches in Seattle on it.  This sandwich was not on their list…..their list is invalid.

This is the best sandwich in Seattle.

The Mangalitsa neck roll is braised for 12 hours with my special touches and additions. The bread is toasted in brown butter then the meat is lightly fried in the remaining brown butter then the braising liquid is added on top of the sandwich. The cheese is added then to the broiler it goes.  Garnished with fresh parsley and sel de mer.

Again, this is the best sandwich in Seattle.

Eric

Puerto Ricans…..we do pork better than anyone else out there.  Don’t think so? You’ve never tried mine.

Dinner…..my place.

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Mini-rainbow carrots with concasse of heirloom grape tomatoes with cilantro oil vinaigrette (also from the garden), cherry wood smoked tomato vinaigrette,  and topped with frisee flowers and sel de mer.

Ciabatta bread toasted in brown butter with cherry wood smoked Walla Walla onions with melted Beecher’s cheese and topped with a veal stock butter sauce…..heavy on the butter….oh yes.

Scallops seared in Mangalitsa Leaf Lard with a ghost chili/molasses reduction sauce with smoked tomato vinaigrette.

Braised Mangalitsa Neck Roll over Polenta….looks awful in this picture. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to make it again!

“Chocolate Air” presented by superstar pastry chef Ellen Benezra. Such a light texture but with a rich flavor behind it…..the perfect dessert.

Eric

MindyRiveraFarms: Red Onion, Cilantro, Rainbow Carrots

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Mindy’s garden/farm is thriving right now. She definitely has a golden/green touch for this whole food growing thing.  Can’t wait to have a lot more room to expand this operation one day.

My favorite……….cilantro!

Mini rainbow carrots….. Eric, be patient!!! No, I need these now!

Eric

Sauces, Spreads, and More Projects

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This is a cherry wood smoked tomato base sauce.

This is my pique sauce before straining.

This is a Rainier Cherry syrup.  I have a special dessert planned…..when I get around to it.

These are diced cherry wood smoked Walla Walla onions.  I’m going to make a relish from this that will go on a fish dish.

This is a molasses ghost chili sauce.  Sweet and f’ing hot…..just like me…. not really :)

Took some pickled mustard seeds (brown and yellow) then smoked them.  Built a grape seed oil french mayonnaise then worked in the seeds with a little honey.

Eric

Mangalitsa Lardo New Potato Rustic Frittata

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It’s not a frittata in the traditional sense but I couldn’t come up with a better name so I just called it “rustic”….I see that a lot on menus.  I think it means “we just want to throw a bunch of things in a pan and not worry about it looking fancy”.  Well, I took all the components of a frittata and just cooked it differently……I’m confused now…..oh well.

Take some lardo.

Render it then cook then quarter some new potatoes then cook them in the fat with a little more oil in the oven until soft at my new temperature of cooking in the oven…..500F. Eric’s bringing his work home with him…..practice and stuff…..

Potatoes are heavily seasoned then herbed a bit towards the end of cooking with some fresh sage, oregano, and rosemary.  Also, added one clove of garlic, some orange bell pepper, and some pickled red onion per metal container they were cooked in.  Once the potatoes are 97% done I cracked an egg over the top and removed it from the oven.

Garnish with herbs and some flowers from a frisee plant.

woolypigs.com (click)

Eric

Mangalitsa Speck Penne and Cheese

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Base sauce is a heavy cream bechamel with a ton of Beecher’s cheese and some rendered fat from the speck. Seasonings are in play here but nothing more than salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Penne is cooked al dente then stirred in the sauce to finish….more speck is added to the mix.  Contents are removed from pan then placed in ramekin then more speck and cheese is placed on top.  Placed under broiler then brought out and torched because my stove sucks.

Woolypigs.com (click)

Eric

IxaRiveraCooks: Barceloneta, Camuy, and Hatillo in Puerto Rico.

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Hello kids!

Yesterday we went with our good friends to the factory outlets in Barceloneta which is located in the north part of the island.  We had a great time eventhough it was pouring down rain.  A small storm is hanging over the island, but that didn’t stop the four of us for having a great time.

We stayed overnight in Hatillo which is a small and cute town on the north side of the island. Hatillo is the town were they have the mascaras festival.

The next morning after breakfast we headed to the next town over, Camuy.  Camuy is where they have the beautiful caverns.  Our friends took us to a place to eat empanadillas, fish skewers and fresh fish.

The name of the place is Villa Pesquera.  It is located by the beach and you can also buy fresh fish, and other types of seafood.  We had Marlin skewers with tostones and also sweet plantains, empanadillas de chapin, a good sampler of octupus salad and I had fried fish.

I picked the fish that I wanted and they fixed it for me.  I saw a lot of people in there coming and buying fresh fish and while waiting they had an empanadilla with beer or a refreshment.

The place is very clean and the owners are very friendly.  I will take you guys when you come next time. In the mean time, just look at the pictures……….they last longer.

Oh, I forgot the flamingo lives there by himself.  He has been there for years and people just enjoy visiting him, but not disturbing him at all.  Flamingoes are not from Puerto Rico. Wow!


LYA,

Mom

Ixa

Tapas Time!

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Tapas at school…..huh, I think  I know the right person to direct these small plates in the right direction (click)

Orange, Clam, and Ham

Tomato Toast and Garum Toast

Idiazabal Cheese Sauce with Rendered Serrano Ham

Squid with Caramelized Onion on Toast

Potato Omelet with Annatto Oil

Bacalao Hash with Annatto Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Marinated Olives

Marinated Cheese with Herbs

Sizzling Garlic Shrimp

Serrano Ham Fritters

Need some tapas….let me know.

Eric

Mangalitsa Pernil Style Pulled Sandwich with Spring Greens and Pique Mayo

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I took a quarter of a Mangalitsa neck roll and did this to it.

That’s why it’s awesome being Puerto Rican. Give me pork and it’s an instinctual thing I have to make it into something amazing.  I would love to tell you what I did to it but I’ll save that for my restaurant.

Then I took the meat and seared each side.  Braised it in chicken stock, coriander, and annatto seeds for 8 hours.  Removed the meat, shredded it, reduced the juices further, fried the meat in leaf lard, built a sandwich with some pique mayo and other great things.

This is the sandwich of your dreams. They say Cubans make good sandwiches….. Have the Puerto Rican classically French culinary trained Northwest native give it a shot…..I win.

Eric

Bite of Seattle 2010

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Mindy and I made our way through the Bite of Seattle this past weekend in search of food and for me, a cooking demonstration by Chef Ethan Stowell and Chef Thierry Rautureau.

First we stopped at the Alley which had a few different restaurants offering a bite or two of some of their best dishes in order to benefit Food Lifeline (click)

Lots of great stuff to get the stomach rolling in the right direction. We walked around some more and stumbled our way through more food but I was here to see a cooking demonstration by Chef Stowell and Chef Rautureau.

We made our way to the stage and the producer Russ Nelson noticed I was taking a bunch of pictures so he asked us if we wanted a little tour of the stage.

One day I’ll be on this side of the stage but until then it’s time to watch a few masters demonstrate their skills.

In 20 minutes Chef Ethan Stowell with the assistance of the host of the show, Chef Rautureau, rocked a Roasted Halibut with Taggiasca Olive Puree, Roasted Fennel and Green Olive Vinaigrette.  Sounds amazing right?

The only problem with this is that the health department in my state doesn’t allow them to actually serve the food to hungry onlookers.  The bright side was that they handed out the recipe and now I’ll be able to try it out for myself!

Well, that was it for me at the Bite of Seattle….had to go to work!

Eric