Thomas Keller Appreciation Night

Butter-Poached Lobster with Zucchini, Portobellos, and Rosemary-Infused Rice.

4 Lobster Tails, ~5oz a piece
1 Medium Zucchini
3 Portobello Caps, sliced to about 3/8" thick (2 slices per plate)
1.5C Rice, long grain.
4 Sprigs fresh Rosemary.
Butter (I used 6 sticks; it depends on how big your pot is)
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Serves 4.

For the beurre monte.
In order to get to the heart of Thomas Keller's famous butter-poached lobster, one must make a beurre monte.  Put your lobster tails in a pot, and cover with water so that you have about 1/4" between the water and the tops of the tails.  Drain and measure the water.  That's the amount of butter you will need.  I needed ~6 sticks (I needed roughly 4C, but I like to be sure and I wanted a bit more beurre monte).  Boil 1 tablespoon of water in a pot, and then incorporate chunks of butter, whisking constantly.  This will allow the butter to maintain its emulsified state; without that water, it'll break up and clarify.  DO NOT let it reach above 200 degrees (or to boil).  It will break, and then you're fucked.  Set this aside (you have about an hour, so relax, and keep it on very low).  (once you're done poaching, you can also keep it frozen).

Removing the lobster shells.
Boil about 2 quarts water with 1/8C white distilled vinegar.  Turn it to half, wait until the bubbles stop appearing, and pop the tails in there.  Steep for 3 minutes.  Remove them from the water, and then take the shells off (save them for stock!).  Set aside, covered.

For the rice.
Create a tea with 3 sprigs of rosemary and 4 cups of water.  Steep for 10 minutes (at least, more if more flavor is desired).  Let it boil down to about 3.5C, add the rice, and constantly check on it.  Rice is a tricky bitch, and you can always add a tad more water to make sure it cooks through.  But once it's overcooked, it's game over, so watch out and keep your eye on it.  Mine took ~20 minutes tops.

For the zucchini.
I put about a cup of water in the bottom of pot, and place the slices (roughly 3/8" thick) in there clockwise.  Season with salt/pepper, and steam for about 10 minutes; wait until the centers start to become translucent, and immediately remove them from heat, set aside.

For the portobellos.
Place the ports in about 2 tablespoons butter and 1tablespoon olive oil, season with salt/pepper, and saute until each side is getting a bit brown.  Roughly 4-5 a side, depending on your heat (I prefer to cook ports at lower temps, right around medium, to enrich their flavor--remember folks, browning seals in NOTHING).

For the butter-poached lobster.
Put the tails in the beurre monte.  You want to make sure it is no higher than 180 degrees (170-175 is preferable).  I used a little $20 kettle that has much more precise temp control than my stove.  Again, always check the temp.  Always, always, always.  Cook for about 7-9 minutes, depending upon size and how deep the beurre monte is.  The deeper it is, the more likely for temp fluctuation (unless you have a sweet circulator; if you do, well, fuck you, and please send me one!).  I sprinkled some rosemary on the top; whether or not it did anything is debatable, but I like to think it did. (and yes, there are bubbles, but I took this right after doing a stir and dropping them in; I assure you it did not boil!)

For presentation.
Start with a spoonful of rice; I kept the rosemary in the rice for taste and presentation purposes.  You can remove it if you like.  Put the zucchini next to it, 3 slices per plate, and then place the lobster on top.  Put 2 slices of port per plate, and drizzle with the lobster-steeped beurre monte.  Sprinkle parsley, and serve.   I did about 4 different ones, but pictures of the fourth suck.  My bad.

It's all about finesse- Thomas Keller

Enjoy.

Tilapia with Sauteed Avocado Spaghetti

As promised . . .

Tilapia is an overlooked white fish. It is overlooked because it is cheap, and is usually sold frozen. Do not overlook this fish! When done right, it can be a very flavorful meal. When done wrong, it can be very "meh," although not as much as whiting (which gets just plain gummy).

4 Tilapia filets
2 Roma Tomatoes
6 oz Spaghetti
5 Pearl Onions
2 Avocados
Olive Oil (don't slouch)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Ginger

Start with the vegetable prep. You want a very sharp knife (like a Tojiro DP 8.25" Chef's Knife) to slice the tomatoes so you can see the beautiful, natural arrangement of flesh, seeds, and gel, without interruption by tears or gashes. You want at least 3 good tomatoes per filet, sliced at around 1/4", so this allows some room to screw up and to consume the rest with some light vinaigrette or sea salt. You choose. Once you get ~12 slices, set them aside, and lightly cover them with olive oil, sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

Halve the pearl onions, set aside.

With the avocados, most people skin them. I understand that, and if you want to, by all means, do it. It's tempting. But that course, their black skin is also a very interesting texture and flavor combination. I say leave it in.* You want to "score" around the core with your knife...basically circle it with your knife, long-wise, until you have two halves. Peel apart the halves, use a spoon to get the core out (if it didn't fall out), and season with salt/pepper/olive oil. Set aside.

Throw a pot of water on the burner, add salt, and boil. People think there's a science behind spaghetti. There isn't. Taste taste taste! Watch it, and it won't ever go bad. Think it's as easy as rice in a cooker, and it'll go wrong. Again, your choice.

In a saute pan, add ~3 tblspoons olive oil, and throw the avocados right in there, face down, over medium heat. Go on, do it. Does it defy logic? Maybe. But there is a method to this madness. Cover the pan, and let them cook until the greens have significantly lightened, usually around 10 minutes. Remove them from the pan, set aside, but keep the oil. Throw the onions in, caramelize, and remove. Keep the oil. Now, if you have a hot pan, you can add a bit more oil to get some more liquidity. Be very, very, very careful not to dilute.

Now I know what you're thinking--where's the freakin fish? Well, herein lies the beauty of tilapia--it literally cooks in under 7 mins. Vacuum pack the fish if it is not already vacuum packed, and throw it in a pot of simmering water. Check on it. Once it turns opaque, take it out. Do not worry about if it's done (at least at this juncture). As long as it's opaque, you're good to go. Remove the filets from the packs, put them on a plate under foil, and set aside. If you don't have a vacuum pack, put it in a foil bag, add some oil, and throw it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 7 minutes.

Throw the spaghetti in that pot of boiling water, and watch it. Again, watch the freaking spaghetti. Don't slouch. Once it is al dente ("to the tooth"), drain it, and throw it back in the pot. Remember that oil? Throw enough in there to coat the spaghetti. Slice the avocados, and throw them in there as well. And you might as well add the onions while you're at it, too. Keep turning and turning the spaghetti, coating it with all of those nice flavors. Movement is key. No burning, yet the flavors infuse. Do this for about ~5 mins, or until you can see the spaghetti darken. Take it off the heat, cover it, and set aside. The steam will help keep it warm, while the flavors will keep working on the spaghetti.

In a new pan, add oil, and fry the tomato slices; you want to lay the slices down in a clockwise fashion until all space is covered. If there is some overlap, be careful; you want them to maintain their shapes, but you want them to have a nice olive flavor. Add a pinch of ginger, too. Ginger + tomatoes is an absolutely great combo if you know the proper proportions. A pinch is just that. This should take all of 3 minutes on high heat. Quick quick quick!

In the rest of the oil (presuming you had enough; if you don't, add some to the old pan), take the fish darker side down (usually the side where the skin was) and sear it. This will cook it through, and it will add some nice avocado flavors to the fish. If it wasn't cooked through before, check for opaqueness; don't be scared to check it with a knife. Remove from the heat, and immediately plate. Add 3 slices to each piece, overlapping if need be. Next to the fish, add a small portion of spaghetti, and lay out three-four pieces of sliced avocado. The onion is not necessary for presentation (per se), but should be "within" the greater spaghetti aggregate.

And that's that. Is it complicated? Meh, not really, just a lot of simultaneous pans and such. But it is delicious. If you have any questions, let me know. I may update it from time to time for precision and efficiency purposes.

Enjoy.

*Note: about avocado skins; not many people eat them. If you choose not to eat it, that's fine. I ate it (and have eaten it) once it is cooked through, largely due to the contrast in texture. Some may be put off by it, but hey, the choice is yours. You should never be scared to try something. The only potential (and so far unsubstantiated) negative that I've seen about the skin is an enzyme that is prevalent in the whole of the avocado may be more prevalent in the skin, which could lead to possible food allergies with latex like foods (think bananas). Cooking it well should eliminate that. But again, the choice is yours. Try it!