Not long ago, I hopped on the TGV in Paris and zipped down to Agen, in the southwest of France, to visit American Kate Hill, who’s made a name for herself as the queen of Gascon cuisine, offering workshops for pros and ambitious home chefs who want to learn about one of France’s duckiest — and perhaps luckiest! — regions.

Located smack dab in the middle of Bordeaux and Toulouse, Gascony is unspoiled, rugged, and slightly wild — it is, after all, where the rascally non-royal king, Henri IV, came from — and it’s also the capital of all things canard (confit, cassoulet, fois gras, etc.).

In her fabulously restored 18th century farmhouse kitchen, Kate showed me how to cook, Gascon-style, and I wrote all about it for the April issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine — including her recipes for Pulled Pork, Caramel Apple Croustade, and White Bean and Sausage Chili — and we decided to do a little video on the last day, too.

We got so involved in our video-making and Armagnac-sipping that I missed my train (!), and had to stay another night, which I was actually quite happy about. I’m hoping to get back down to Camont, which is the little hamlet where she lives, this spring (OK, Kate? I’ll do dishes, tend the garden, anything!).

Here’s the little how-to that we did on how to barbecue, Gascon-style, and the recipes are below. For more about my visit with Kate, and her recipes, check out the current issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine, or pick up her cookbook, “A Culinary Journey Through Gascony: Recipes and Stories from My French Canal Boat” (Ten Speed Press).

Enjoy the show.

Gascon Wet Rub
“This is an easy way to infuse the flavors of the Southwest of France using Armagnac and fennel pollen, which is a lighter, more aromatic way to use fennel.” – Kate Hill

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup Armagnac (or Bourbon)
2 teaspoons fresh fennel pollen*
sea salt
pepper

WHAT YOU DO

1. Splash a bit of the Armagnac onto the pork chop and massage it in a bit. Do this on both sides.

2. Now rub in the fennel pollen, salt and pepper. 
Let marinate for 30 minutes or so, while the grill’s heating up.

*If you can’t find fennel pollen locally, go to www.earthy.com.

Miel de Poivre
“This is magic in a jar – a miracle sauce that will change your life. Drizzle it on top of meats, cheeses, and fruits.” – Kate Hill

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar
¾ cup water
2 handfuls black peppercorns
1 large lemon

WHAT YOU DO

1. With a vegetable peeler, zest the lemon and put the pieces of rind aside. Juice the lemon. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size saucepan, add the water and the peppercorns and bring to a boil. Then cook 5 more minutes.

3. Strain and reserve the peppercorns.

4. Add the sugar to the now dark-colored hot water, the lemon juice and rind pieces. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is thick, about 5 minutes.

5. Now, add the peppercorns back to the syrup, and cook on low heat for another 5 minutes.

6. Remove from heat, bottle and enjoy!

I had  the most incredible chicken fried steak a couple of months ago in Houston, at Lankford Grocery, which I read about in Jane and Michael Stern’s book, “500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late.” The H-town legend is known for its burgers, and I nearly ordered up one, but I simply couldn’t resist the urge to try the CFS since it was the special on the day that I visited.

Oh what a good idea! And it went so well with the Dr. Pepper that I’d ordered.

Eydie Lankford Prior told me that she made her CFS with an egg-buttermilk batter, some salt and pepper, and “Tony’s” (Tony Cachere’s Creole seasoning, it turns out), but I decided to leave out the egg and go for a slightly lighter crust. Not that I’m counting calories, as y’all know. (Do calculators even go that high?)

I made my CFS back in France, with a cut that’s similar to the American cube steak, which is what Eydie uses for hers, and it worked just fine. More than fine, in fact. That’s my CFS pictured above.

And PS. I know that I try to post stuff that’s both quick and easy, but this takes a bit of time – mainly the stirring of the gravy, and the complete hose-down of the kitchen when you’re finished. CFS isn’t for kitchen wimps. Just roll up your sleeves, get in there, and fry fry fry. And maybe we all need to post this, the Lankford Grocery’s Mission Statement, on our fridge when it’s CFS night: “We have nothing small, nothing healthy, and nothing fast.  We never give you a check, but that does not mean it’s free.  You pay at the register as you leave.  If you do not have 30 minutes to spend, you should try us another day.”

I love that. Enjoy the show.

Chicken Fried Steak with Peppery Cream Gravy
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2-8 oz. cube steaks, pounded a bit so they’re the same width
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Tony Cachere’s Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
4 cups whole milk
1-2 cups vegetable oil

WHAT YOU DO
1. Pour the buttermilk into a medium bowl and submerge the steaks. I usually let them rest in the buttermilk for a half-hour or so, while I get everything else ready.

2. Now, coat the buttermilk-soaked steaks in the flour mixture, put it back in the buttermilk, and in the flour once more. Set aside.

3. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, pour enough vegetable oil to measure about 1/2-inch deep. Turn the heat on medium-high, and using a candy thermometer, watch for the oil to reach 365 degrees. (Note: You’ll want the temperature to stay here, and not dip below, or you’ll get greasy, soggy chicken fried steak.)

4. Fry the steaks, flipping them to the other side when the bottom looks cooked and crispy. (You’ll have to eyeball this; it all depends on the thickness of the steaks, but a 1-inch steak shouldn’t take more than 10-13 minutes total.)

5. With tongs, remove the steaks from the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels.

6. Make the gravy. Pour almost all of of the oil out of the skillet, leaving the brown bits (this will give your gravy lots of great flavor). Now, with the skillet turned on medium, sprinkle the leftover flour mixture into the pan and stir until all of the brown bits have lifted off of the surface, and the flour begins to brown. Add the milk and keep stirring briskly, so you don’t get lumps. Lower heat and stir constantly. It’ll take 10-15 to thicken up. Be sure taste before serving. It may need a bit more salt or pepper.

We spent an entire day at cooking school in Mexico City on chiles rellenos, which literally means “stuffed chiles.” Chiles can be stuffed with anything you can imagine – bits of cheese, fish, raisins, chicken, shrimp, just veggies, whatever. The idea is to use the chile as a wrapper, much like you would a tortilla, but first, there’s a bit of prep involved.

Chiles have thick skins that need to be softened first, and there are a couple of ways of doing this:

1. By roasting the chiles over an open fire or under the broiler until the skin blackens. Then, you simply put the chiles in a plastic bag and let the steam loosen the outer skin.

2. Boil the chiles in milk for 15 minutes.

Now that the chile is soft, it needs to be cleaned. Make a “T” incision in the chile, with the top part of the “T” at the chiles’ shoulders, or broadest part. Now, with a small spoon, scrape out the seeds and the placenta, the fleshy white part attached to the top. Also, be sure to get all of the white membrane out of the insides. The membrane holds lots of heat.

Once the chile is cleaned, you’re ready to stuff and bake – or fry, as the case may be.

For a great, easy chile relleno recipe, see my recent post, Crunchy, Cheese Chiles Rellenos with Roasted Tomato Salsa.

Oh, I almost forgot — enjoy the show.

The first time I had chilaquiles was seven or eight years ago, and appropriately enough, it was the morning after the Day of the Dead celebration in Patzcuaro, Mexico, in a little cantina filled with locals, who, like me, looked like they’d sipped one too many Banderas (the Mexican flag, and the name given to the trio of tequila, spicy tomato juice, and limes) the night before.

One of the country’s classic hangover cures, chilaquiles are yummy even without a night of mucho blancos – and, as I found out on my most recent trip to Mexico City, they’re super-easy to make at home. Simply homemade salsa (roja or verde), freshly fried tortilla triangles, and shredded chicken, chilaquiles are traditionally eaten for lunch (aka, comida, the midday meal, which can last until until the sun goes down), but I make them whenever I’m in mood for a big bowl of warm, crunchy, spicy goodness.

The folks at La Casona, where I stayed for a few nights, were nice enough to share their chilaquiles recipe with me and show me how to put it all together, too. Muchas gracias, again, to Alejandro Cruz and Marta Guiroz, for starring in the little video, and for their patience with my pitiful Spanish language skills (besides my impressive ability to count to two).

Enjoy the show.

Chilaquiles with Salsa Roja

INGREDIENTS

6 corn tortillas, cut into triangles (”totopos”)

3 large Roma tomatoes*

2 serrano chiles

1 clove garlic

¼ small white onion

salt

4-5 cups corn oil (for frying)

WHAT YOU DO

1. Put Roma tomatoes, serrano chiles, garlic, and 1/4 onion in a medium saucepan and cover with water by two inches. Turn on medium high heat, and let come to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 350 degrees in a large, deep stockpot (helps minimize splatter). When the oil is ready, fry the tortilla triangles in small batches just until they begin to brown. Be careful: these will burn in an instant. Remove from oil and put on paper towels.

3. Blend softened tomatoes, serranos, garlic, and onion in a blender and return to the saucepan, turn the heat on high, and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Add salt.

*To make salsa verde instead of salsa roja, simply substitute 6 medium tomatillos for tomatoes.

]]> http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/01/13/chilaquiles/feed/ 2 http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/01/03/salsa-veracruzana/ http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/01/03/salsa-veracruzana/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:45:10 +0000 epierce http://cowgirlchef.com/?p=1489

Oh, I know this looks fancy, but it’s really one of those things that you can throw together (chopping time included) in less than half an hour. This little salsa is a Mexican classic, and it’s a great recipe to have in your back pocket for those times when you want to serve fish, but would like to give it a little pizazz – something we all could use a little more of, if you ask me.

Salsa Veracruzana, a Mexican salsa with Spanish roots, is your solution. Deceptively easy, this works with whatever kind of fish you’ve got on hand, and the fish can be added and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven. Either way, you’re looking at about 10 minutes to chop, 10 minutes to cook the sauce, and another 10 to cook the fish in the sauce. Facile!

When I saw this dish on the menu in the restaurant at La Casona in Mexico City, I asked the chef, Frederico Olss, if he’d share his recipe and show me how to make it,  so I could share it with all of y’all. He was happy to oblige, and I’m so glad that he did.

Sometimes you’ll see raisins or prunes added to this salsa, too, which adds a nice sweetness, and gives a subtle contrast to the rest of the flavors here, and if you’ve got some hanging around, you just might want to toss some in, just for fun. Because if it’s not gonna be fun, why cook?

Enjoy the show.

Salsa Veracruzana

INGREDIENTS

½ medium white onion, sliced thin

1 whole red bell pepper, sliced thin

2 Roma tomatoes

2 cloves garlic (appx 1 teaspoon)

1 Bay leaf

1 teaspoon thyme

1 cup white wine (dry)

4-5 whole green olives, pitted

6-8 capers

1 banana pepper (whole)

1 tablespoon tomato puree

salt

Mahi-Mahi, Red Snapper or any other white fish that’s in season

WHAT YOU DO

1. In a medium skillet drizzle a bit of olive oil and add the onion. Turn heat on medium-high.

2. When onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes, add the garlic. Cook for a minute or two and add the red bell pepper.

3. Cook until pepper becomes soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Now add: tomatoes and tomato puree, white wine, Bay leaf, and thyme.

5. Cook until tomatoes begin to turn orange, then turn heat to medium-low. 
Slide fish into the sauce and add the olives, capers, and banana peppers. Let cook until fish is done, about 5-7 minutes, depending on the fish and the thickness. (You may also cook the fish in a 350-degree oven for the same amount of time.)

Somewhere along the way, perhaps in my second year of living in Paris, the French favorite, salty caramel, started to gain ground on my great love, bittersweet chocolate.

I made caramel pots de crème; caramel whipped cream, and sought out candy shops in Paris and all around France that had the perfect creamy, melty-in-your-mouthy caramels.

Chocolate was taking a backseat to my new obsession, and he wasn’t happy about it.

So recently, I had a little tête-à-tête with M. Fleur de Sel Caramel and M. Chocolat, and let them know that I love them both, really I do, and asked if we all couldn’t coexist peacefully.

They both reluctantly agreed, and in this video, while I focus on salty caramel sauce – which tops the best-selling crepes at Creperie de Josselin, I don’t completely ignore the chocolate sauce, waiting oh-so-patiently for me, in the wings.

Enjoy the show.

Salty Caramel Sauce

(from Creperie de Josselin in Paris)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup water
3 cups sugar
2 sticks salty butter
1 ½ cups creme fraiche or sour cream

WHAT YOU DO

1. Put the water and sugar in a heavy pot over high heat. Stir a bit to mix, then let cook for 10-12 minutes until sugar caramelizes. Note: while this process is going on, don’t even think about stirring the pot.

2. When the sugar turns medium to dark amber, whisk in the butter until it melts, then add the creme fraiche.

Et voila! You’ve just made the best — and easiest!– caramel sauce in the world …for crepes, ice cream, toast, or anything else your heart desires.

For those of y’all that saw the recent video that I did at Creperie de Josselin in Paris, after a bit of a delay (while packing all of my boots for Texas, I forgot the hard drive, which shows you where my priorities are), I’m finally posting the how-to for making crepes at home.

Like a cross between a tortilla and pancake, it’s a gussied up way to stuff, fold over (or roll up) and eat on the fly. Or in the pick ‘em up truck. Whatever. You get the idea. Remember, crepes are street food in Paris, so don’t let the Frenchiness intimidate you.

Enjoy the show.

Sugary Crepes

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit (1988)

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 ¼ cups milk
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 tablespoons butter, melted
sunflower oil

WHAT YOU DO

1. In a large bowl, sift flour and salt together.

2. Add eggs and mix well.

3. Now add the milk. Mix it up.

4. Finally, add the melted butter. Stir it a bit, and you’re ready to make crepes.

5. Just pour a bit onto a preheated (hot) skillet lightly greased with sunflower oil, and if you have a T-shaped stick, use this to spread around the batter. The crepe should be thin, not thick like an American pancake. If it’s too thick, simply add a bit more milk to thin out the batter, or a bit of water.

Cowgirl Tip: Don’t worry if you don’t have one of those fancy schmancy Frenchy T-sticks. Just use your spatula to spread the batter around.

There’s no shortage of creperies in Paris, as y’all know, but there are only a few places around here that really know how to make the thin French pancake right — supple, yet crispy around the edges.

I’ve been eating at Creperie de Josselin in Montparnasse for years — and know to show up early to avoid the daily lines, since it’s one of the most well-known creperies in town — and I recently asked Marie-Therese, the owner, if she’d give me a crepe-making lesson.

She was happy to oblige, as you’ll see, but she moves — and talks — so fast, I could hardly keep up with her. But I did learn the secret to her super-delish crepes.

Enjoy the show.

Few things make me happier than sitting down to a basket of warm, salty tortilla chips and a bowl of freshly made salsa.

It’s funny, too, how much salsas vary from one Mexican restaurant to another, when they’re all made from the same basic ingredients – there’s a tomato or tomatillo base, and then, onion, garlic, cilantro, and some sort of chile.

This is a recipe for salsa based on my favorite hometown Tex-Mex joint, Mazatlan, which, by the way, is located in an old Dairy Queen, next to the Holiday Lanes bowling alley. You gotta love that.

This salsa is about as basic as it can get, but wait until you scoop your tortilla chip into a bowl of this — you’ll hear mariachis playing in your head.

Enjoy the show.

Mazatlan’s Salsa

INGREDIENTS

1 32 oz can diced tomatoes
1 small white onion
½ bunch cilantro (appx 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper (to taste)
3 jalapenos (fresh is best but in Paris, I use pickled)
vegetable oil

WHAT YOU DO

1. Drizzle a bit of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and add the onions, then the garlic. Turn on medium heat and cook until the onions become translucent, 5-10 minutes.

2. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, salt and freshly ground pepper. Let cook for about 5 minutes, and with a hand blender, puree.

Serve immediately.

When I was in Texas recently, Brian Hofeldt, the lead singer/guitarist of the retro honky-tonk band, The Derailers, invited me down to his place in Austin for lunch. He wanted me to taste his green chile stew – and, as a surprise, he invited the rest of the guys over, so they could play the song that he wrote for me, “Cowgirl.” Oh yeah.

Turns out, they were pretty good sous-chefs, too. And the song and the green chile stew?

Take a look and see for yourself. Enjoy the show.

Brian Hofeldt’s Green Chile Stew

INGREDIENTS

12-16 Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled and chopped
1 pound pork
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 medium red-skinned potatoes, chopped into large chunks
4 tomatillos, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 pinch cumin
1 pinch chile powder
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 lime, squeezed
1 bottle beer
sea salt
pepper
olive oil
cilantro (for garnish)

WHAT YOU DO

1. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a heavy stockpot, add onions and garlic, and cook on medium heat until onions are translucent, 5-10 minutes.

2. Add pork to mixture and cook until meat cooks through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add tomatillos, potatoes, carrots, chicken stock, beer, lime and spices, and let cook for an hour, at least, until all of the veggies are soft and the flavors have come together.

Garnish with more cilantro, pop open a beer, and turn up the music.