THE COOKBOOK TEST #0085: THE KITCHEN SESSIONS WITH CHARLIE TROTTER

INSTALLMENT #0085 (PAID) EXTRA, EXTRA / TEA TIME FOR MR. FISH / TUNA DRESSED UP FOR AN EVENING OUT / IT TURNS OUT THAT RED WINE JUS IS VERY EXPENSIVE

Dear Readers,

For some reason Charlie Trotter is lodged in my brain as "peak 1980s chef guy," even though Charlie Trotter's didn't open until 1987 and stayed in business until 2012. He's known for the often-fussy "dégustation" style of food paired with the whole equally fussy "cooking is like improvisational jazz" philosophy, both of which neatly fold into the classic "obnoxious coke-snorting BMW-driving Yuppie bad guy" who dominated popular culture at the time.

And yet: If there's one thing that THE KITCHEN SESSIONS WITH CHARLIE TROTTER is good for, it's reminding you that his style of cooking was exciting and meaningful, and why it had such a tremendous cultural impact. The book is illustrated with loving color photos of painstakingly plated food and small black and white illustrations to demonstrate serving techniques. Not a penny is spared in terms of expensive ingredients, and not a moment is spared in terms of labor-intensive methods. Almost everything in the book is unapologetically extra - extra sauces, extra seasoning, extra marinading, extra plating.

And yet: It all feels authentic to itself, and it all makes sense in context. Do all of these intense, demanding things, the book promises, and you will serve and eat extraordinary food. And while my experience cooking from the book was a bit mixed, it tended toward the positive and I really enjoyed the process - it felt like a legitimate journey, and I felt like Trotter sought, through this book, to earnestly share challenging techniques with which a cook can make special meals.

at your service,

James

THE KITCHEN SESSIONS WITH CHARLIE TROTTER
BY CHARLIE TROTTER
TEN SPEED PRESS | 1999

I think there's always room for a cookbook with a biographical edge, and even though The Kitchen Sessions isn't dredged in historical details about the author, you can read a lot about his life and his success just by how the recipes are curated and presented. I always like meeting someone through their food, and The Kitchen Sessions is a legitimately deep introduction to an interesting and talented creator.

TEA TIME FOR MR. FISH

Every once in a while, your own personal history as a cook comes back to help you contextualize something completely new. In this case, I've cured enough salmon in my day to confidently say the following: the amount of sugar and salt in Charlie Trotter's recipe as written (6 cups total, for a pound and a half of fish) was pure insanity.

As written, the recipe created enough cure to completely entomb at least 4 1/2 pounds of salmon filets - possibly more. So in my adapted recipe below I've scaled back the sugar and salt considerably, and the aromatics quite a bit, to make a somewhat punchier and much less wasteful cure for the salmon.

I will say two more things about the tea-cured salmon in this recipe. One, considering the star billing of the tea, it contributed less flavor than I expected. The cured salmon that I traditionally make is more dill-forward (what with the fresh dill that I use) and features either gin or aquavit instead of vodka, but this recipe tasted fairly close to my own save for the texture-improving step of open-air curing in the fridge, which I will nick for my own use from here on in.

Two, even though the mesclun / pear / radish / mushroom salad is at least half of the recipe below, I didn't really care for it - the dressing needed more bite and ultimately I wanted to concentrate my tastebuds on the fish, preferably atop some cream cheese and a bagel. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the recipe as written (thus I've reprinted it below), but I would suggest that you cure the salmon as directed and then use it however you want - in omelets, on bagels, with brown bread and mustard sauce, with a salad of your own making - rather than following this specific method.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Part of my problem with the salad is that my fridge fritzed out and froze my salad greens, meaning that it was hard to appreciate Trotter's original vision on this one. So, make this with the salad if you care to, there's nothing broken about it. But skip it if you'd like, too, the fish is plenty interesting as it stands.

SALAD OF DARJEELING TEA-CURED SALMON WITH CITRUS-GINGER-ALMOND VINAIGRETTE

1 bay leaf, crushed
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 cloves
1 small dried chile, chopped
2 allspice berries
1 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 cup dried Darjeeling tea
2 ounces vodka
1 cup sugar
1 cup kosher salt
1 1/2 pound salmon filet
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp minced ginger
3/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
4 cups mesclun greens
1 pear, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms

To prepare salmon: Cook bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, chile, and allspice in a medium saute pan for 2-3 minutes, until spices are aromatic. Add orange, lemon, and lime zest, and the tea and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vodka. Place mixture in a large bowl, add sugar and salt and stir well until combined.

Cut your salmon into two or more pieces that can fill a sealable container. Sprinkle cure on the bottom of the container, then put in a piece of salmon, skin side down. Add more cure and sandwich another piece of salmon in, skin side up. Add more cure, and fill up your container until all salmon is covered and container seals tightly. Place in refrigerator for 24-36 hours.

Rinse the cure from salmon, paper towel it dry, and let sit uncovered in fridge for 24 hours. Once the outer layer of the fish is dry, it's ready to slice.

To prepare vinaigrette: Puree 5 Tbsp of almonds with orange juice and ginger and strain through fine sieve. Whisk mixture with olive oil and rice wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare salad: place mesclun, pear slices, radish slices, mushrooms, and remaining 3 Tbsp of almonds in mixing bowl. Toss with half the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.

Assembly: Using very sharp knife, cut salmon into paper thin slices. Place a few slices of cured salmon in the center of each plate and top with a mound of sald. Spoon some of the remaining vinaigrette around the plate and top with freshly ground pepper.

Pair with an herbaceaous Sauvignon Blanc.

TUNA DRESSED UP FOR AN EVENING OUT

My local seafood store, normally reliable as they come, was inexplicably out of fresh tuna on the day I shopped this cumin-crusted tuna loin recipe. They steered me instead to a $10 frozen tuna steak, which I bought hesitantly and approached with dread when the time came to cook. And yet: It performed beautifully and tasted delicious. I might well buy the frozen cut again for future seared / sauce-dressed tuna needs.