Mouthing Off

For a party last weekend, I made peach cobbler using Grace Parisi’s buttery cornmeal biscuit topping. When it finally came time to serve—after the host grilled up some spectacular teriyaki-laced short-ribs and Moroccan-spiced goat patties—one of the guests turned to me and asked, “How do you think the cobbler would taste warmed on the grill?” Up for any sort of culinary experimentation, I was intrigued.

There’s been a recent trend of cooks using their grill for everything—from baking muffins  to melting fondue. Surely the Pyrex baking dish could stand the heat of the mellow coal fire. After removing the final piece of meat from the grates, I set the uncovered cobbler on the grill and closed the lid. Five minutes later, the cobbler was warm—as if it had been taken out of the oven only a half hour before. The verdict? In those few minutes, the biscuits absorbed tons of smoky flavor. Unfortunately, it was too much for me. It’s still a technique worth trying, however--three people loved the grilled flavor so much that they said it was the best cobbler they ever had.

It's true, curly parsley has an unfortunate stereotype of the retro garnish on restaurant plates. But that's no reason to dismiss it as I have all these years. Its curliness is unique and I'm enjoying using it again. The fine, pinnate leaves of curly parsley have a texture, that in my mind adds a unique quality to recipes. Most importantly, parsley of any variety is a valuable and nutritious plant.
 
I really don't find any difference in the taste of curly to flat – leaf parsley and I see no reason not to cook with it. I've been to many garden plant sales this season and often the flat leaf parsley shelf would be wiped out. Next to that would be a full shelf of curly parsley, untouched. This saddened me. It is a pert, pretty plant in its own right and it should hold a proud place in the garden.

I prefer curly to flat leaf in tabbouleh. It really adds a presence to the chewy cracked wheat and crisp cukes. My favorite use is for fried parsley. There is nothing quite like it.

The leaves turn deep, rich green and stay crispy for hours. I use a small amount of oil, maybe 1/2 inch in a small saucepan. Light dusted with flour, batches of curly parsley fry up in seconds. Talk about an impressive garnish, use it to adorn rice, pasta, steamed or pan fried fish, grilled eggplant and peppers or crostinis and bruscettas. Grow it in your garden next year or plant it in a large pot and start using it again.

The hottest table in Paris this year was arguably Hidden Kitchens, an “underground” restaurant inspired by Naomi Pommeroy’s Sunday Supper in Portland, Oregon. Braden and Laura (they keep their last names a secret), a superyoung Seattle couple, moved to Paris and started cooking Sunday dinners in their apartment for 10 to 12 privileged guests at a time, mostly expats and food-obsessed, restaurant-blog-reading visitors. An e-mail would be sent the day before the meal revealing their address. The 10-course feast centered around dishes showcasing American ingredients and flavors and French techniques. Chef Daniel Rose of Spring and star chef Guy Savoy were among their first customers.

After serving 1,287 people and more than 12,000 courses, Braden and Laura are spending the summer road-tripping through the U.S. before returning to Paris to move into a larger, more grand space on the Palais Royal, right near the Louvre. The new restaurant will open in December with the same menu concept, and Braden says they’ll keep the name Hidden Kitchens even though this new restaurant won’t be a secret. One tip: Start booking now.

Braden updated me from the road as he and Laura ate their way through Minneapolis, Chicago, Buffalo, New Haven, Boston, New Hampshire and New York City. So where do expats eat when they come home? Next week, he will give F&W an update on his cross-country eating itinerary. His one clue: “We are testing our cholesterol limits with big greasy breakfasts, hot dogs, buffalo wings, huge stacks of pancakes and giant deli sandwiches.”

I’ve never been one for the celebrity scandals and movie-star gossip in US Weekly or Page Six. My real guilty pleasure is reading about the rumors, controversy and speculation surrounding the NFL pre-season. In addition to covering the league’s latest drama, ESPN the Magazine is now going into the kitchen with top NFL stars as part of their new online series, Jock Chefs. For the first episode, Kris Jenkins, the enormous defensive tackle for the New York Jets, prepares a healthy egg-white omelet at teammate Eric Barton’s house. There’s something about watching a 330-pound lineman chopping garlic and onions that is completely enthralling…and adorable. Jenkins even has his mise en place in Jets dishes. More segments are in the works with wannabe–Top Chef players from other teams. An insider told me there's a chance these NFL cooking shows could start running on SportsCenter or NFL Countdown once the season officially starts.

On Tuesday, I blogged about F&W Best New Chef 2004 Dominique Filoni's upcoming Philly restaurant, Parc. I also got him to share his tips for perfect fries—just in time for July Fourth festivities:

How Filoni will make his fries at Parc: "There’s a guy I work with who was with me at Lacroix [at the Rittenhouse in Philly]. I call him Mr. Potato Head. We went through about 20 different ways to cook fries to find the best method to use at Parc."

His tips for crispy, golden brown fries:
1. Rinse really well "After peeling the potatoes (ideally Kennebec) and cutting them in quarter-inch slices, rinse them two or three times. Leave them in water overnight in the fridge, then rinse again. The water should be clear on the last rinse, so when you fry them, the exterior won't burn."

2. Use soybean oil "It holds its temperature better than other oils for a nice crisp, plus, it has a neutral flavor."

3. Fry twice "After blanching the potatoes in oil, we let them first cool on a rack, then in the fridge for a couple of hours so they're really cool. Then we refry again for extra crispiness."