Part II: COOKING FOR TWO AT HOME 
( #cookingfor2athome )

How do we create a culture at home? My cooking has several influences and a few roots. At home my food is a peculiar mix of my Mediterranean background and the Japanese culture I have picked after more than two decades studying Japanese martial arts. An anecdote illustrates this. Last year my daughters went to Italy with my wife and my mother-in-law to visit the family there. After a week, my daughters were complaining that the food “was not their favorite”. They were walking in a northern Italian town when they saw a sign that read “Sushi”. They looked at each other and they both screamed at the same time “FINALLY, AMERICAN FOOD!”.

Creating our culinary culture at home is a combination of taste, habit, character. Here is then my second batch of recipes for this Blog. 

Note on tools: I use a variety of pans for this second set of recipes; however, skillets should NOT be non-stick type:

1)      “Ellie Chicken”: this is another favorite at home that is really chicken with a honey-mustard glace.

a.      Tools: large skillet or sauté pan, and a small (1.5 Qt.) sauce pan

b.      Ingredients: 3 chicken legs and shoulders (I like the dark meat better but you can use breasts) (keep the skin and separate the leg from the shoulder), ½ cup of your favorite mustard, ½ cup of honey (I suggest a mild one like clover honey), 1 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, 2 Tbsp. of chicken stock (or same amount of water with ¼ tsp. of chicken base), salt to taste.

c.       Procedure: Preheat the oven at 450 F. Wash the chicken with water, and dry well with paper towels. Sprinkle kosher salt (about ½ Tbsp.) over the chicken. Put the chicken in the dry skillet and take it to the oven as is, and bake for about 45 minutes. About 15-20 minutes before the end of the baking time melt the butter in the sauce pan and then add the stock, the mustard and the honey, at medium to high heat. Whip with a balloon or fork while it heats. It will start bubbling. Do not stop whisking or it will stick in the bottom. Let it boil for a while, it will start to reduce and become a golden brown glace. After about 10 minutes reduce to a simmer to prevent from solidifying. After 45-50 minutes in the oven, the chicken would be lightly golden and there will be a lot of liquid in the skillet. Take the skillet out and carefully pour out most of the liquid but leave a few Tbsp. in the skillet with the chicken. Pour the glaze over the chicken, brush it and rotate it until all the pieces are coated with the glaze. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes more. The time is approximate, do net let the chicken burn and take it out if it begins to darken too much in spots like the skin Get the chicken out and cover if you until you are ready to serve.

2)      “Papi Steak version 2”: There are several ways to prepare steak, and this is a variation form a northern Italian recipe. You can also do this with Tri Tip for a party and it is universally loved.

a.      Tools: at least 12 inches heavy skillet or heavy Sauté pan, alternative is a grill

b.      Ingredients: 2 steaks of your favorite cut. My preference is New York Strip, and if you can ask your butcher to cut you two fresh steaks about 1 ¾ or 2 inches thick, it would be best. 1 ½ Tbsp. of kosher salt, ½ cup of parsley, 4-5 anchovies, 1 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp. of your best extra virgin olive oil.

c.       Procedure: THE NIGHT BEFORE OR EARLY IN THE MORNING, in a mortar mix the parsley, salt, anchovies and mash it. Add the oil and Worcestershire sauce and mix it. and mix it. Rub the steaks and let them rest in the refrigerator for 1 day and take the steaks out of the refrigerator about ½ hour before cooking to come to room temperature. Note on the marinade; the anchovies infuse umami flavor in the steak without turning it into a “fishy” meal; if you think the idea of anchovies is too much for you, substitute them for two extra Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce to add the umami essence. Clean excess of marinade with a paper towel. Heat the skillet at high heat for about 10 minutes until very very hot spray with a tiny bit of olive oil and immediately put the steaks (careful with the smoke). Do not move them, let them cook for  about 3 or 4 minutes (this will brown and caramelize the sugars in the surface) by then they will not stick to the surface and you can turn them. Repeat with the sides if you have the thick steak. After this, lower the heat to medium low and let them cook a few more minutes until desired doneness (if you use a thermometer, 135-140 F inside is about medium). Get them out of the heat and put them on a cutting board to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Pour 1 Tbsp. of melted unsalted butter on top of each while they rest and few drops of lemon or lime over each. Serve and be amazed about the glorious taste. I like to serve mashed potatoes on the side for the steaks cooked this way.

Enjoy