Michael Symon's Live to Cook_ Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen - Michael Symon [64]
Lola was jammed the next night and the night after that. The people and the cash began to flow. We were still poor, and Lizzie was purchasing wine by the bottle and not the case—two bottles at a time, one if they were expensive—but we were lucky and I kept cooking and the people kept coming. And in a little more than four years, we’d paid everyone back. Even my dad.
BRAISED SWORDFISH COLLAR WITH CHORIZO AND CLAMS
The “collar” is a section of the fish, between the head and the body, close to the spine, that’s very rich and fatty, so you can thoroughly cook this cut and it remains very flavorful and juicy. The collar is the best part of this big fish and it’s hard to find, so you’ll have to make nice with your fishmonger to get it. You can substitute swordfish loin.
David Burke, probably the most imitated chef in America in the 1980s and ‘90s, popularized this cut. He used to grill it. I like to braise it, cook it all the way through. Once you have the collar it’s hard to go wrong. It’s served here with clams and chorizo and a little tomato broth.
Serves 6
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 6-ounce pieces swordfish from the collar or loin
Kosher salt
1 yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 fennel bulb, cut into medium dice
1 serrano chile, minced
1 carrot, cut into medium dice
½ pound smoked chorizo, cut into 14-inch pieces
½ cup sherry
1 small pinch of saffron
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 12-ounce can crushed whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
1½ pounds middleneck clams (about 24), well washed
2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons sliced fresh basil leaves
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a 7- or 8-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the swordfish with salt, add it to the pan, and brown it, about 2 minutes per side. Add the onion, garlic, fennel, chili, and carrot; lower the heat to medium; and cook to sweat the vegetables, about 2 minutes. Add the chorizo and continue to sweat. Pour in the sherry and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the saffron, stock, tomatoes, and clams and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the clams open. (Discard any clams that do not open.) Remove from the oven, add the olives, parsley, and basil, and serve.
MUSHROOM-STUFFED BRICK-ROASTED CHICKEN
VEAL CHOP MILANESE WITH ARUGULA SALAD
GRILLED LAMB T-BONES WITH FAVA BEAN SALAD
GRILLED HANGER STEAK WITH STEAK SAUCE AND PICKLED CHILIES
BRAISED VEAL SHANK WITH GREMOLATA
BRAISED RABBIT THIGHS WITH OLIVES AND ORANGE
BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH PICKLED GREEN TOMATOES
BRAISED PORK BELLY
BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH SOFT POLENTA AND SEARED MUSHROOMS
FRESH BACON WITH WATERMELON AND HALOUMI
FRISÉE WITH CRISPY PORK BELLY “CROUTONS”
CONFITED DUCK WITH PICKLED CHERRY SAUCE AND BRAISED ENDIVE
I am a carnivore for so many reasons. I love meat for its texture. I love … eating flesh. Fish and vegetables, they don’t have that chew. I love cutting into a big rib-eye steak or a grilled pork chop. I love a charred outside combined with a beautiful fleshy center. I love the fat. With so many other foods, all other foods, fish and vegetables, you have to add fat. Not meat; it’s got the fat built into it, it’s got that flavor and richness built into it.
Meat is very easy to cook well, if you remember a few points. Most cooks, most home cooks especially, start cooking it when it’s too cold. Meat is very dense and you should let it come to room temperature before cooking it. (Is that important to do with fish? Yes, to an extent. It should temper a little. But it’s twice as important to do with meat.) The bigger a cut is, the more important