Le Pichet! (Part 1)

I am so excited I am literally ready to jump out of my skin! But I digress.... It has recently come to my attention (Thank you Kim Glidden) that there is such a place in that ever so close emerald city, Seattle, that specializes in the French bistro fare I have been searching for.  A place were I will be free to pursue my gastronomic adventures in discovering and enjoying the foods and many cultures that makes up our strange and awesome world.  Enter Le Pichet.

Going Rustica!

It's often the simple things we overlook.  I know I have said that before, but it bears repeating.  Good food can be simple food.  You don't have to spend hours in the kitchen whipping, chopping, sauteing, braising, basting, or julienning vegetables for a meal to taste good.  You don't need to over spice or flambe your dishes. Simple food is what the best chefs in the world like.  Food that reminds you of home without pretense.

Last night I finally got around to cooking the last of the Butter fish I had in my freezer.  They are such small little things, yielding such little meat, but with a very delicate and rich taste if prepared correctly.  I wanted to try something other than grilling, or baking them, so I salt crusted and roasted them! 

Make no bones about it, these are delicious!

Please do not let me loose you right off the bat, but this posting is about a very taste, not often thought of consumable that may be a little out there for some people.  Today we discuss roasted beef bone marrow!  Now, when you make your own stock, be it chicken, veil, beef, etc., you do so by roasting bones (For that nice taste) basted with tomato paste and sliced vegetables.  You then cook these in water for an extended period of time, at which after many reductions, you are left with a delicious glace de viande, or super concentrated stock that is used in small quantities, along with butter to finish sauces and add an amazing richness to food.  During the concentration process, the natural pectin (The stuff that makes makes jello act like jello) is released from the bones, or specifically, the marrow. 

This time around we are not making stock.  No my fellow foodies, we are roasting the bones and going to utilize the roasted marrow as an appetizer, removed from the bone and spread on baguette with sea salt and parsley.  I know this seems a but strange to some people, namely my friends and family, but I assure you it is fantastic!  Humans from the dawn of time have actually been scavengers, thus consuming tasty morsels like this for centuries.  Today, such well know chefs as Anthony Bourdain (My culinary and foodie hero), Marco Pierre White, etc., enjoy this dish with full hearted enjoyment.

If you can find it in yourself to push the envelope of your ordinary boundaries, this dish will make you hear color, it will make you see sound! Dine with Chutzpah, my friends!

Let's do this:

Exciting dinning!

Remember the person who first tasted the oyster?  What would our world be like if all we consumed was what we were taught and what our mothers made?  Sure we would still have a great diversification of foods culturally and geographically, but we would not break our bounds, there would be no color to our pallet, culinary epiphanies, shock and amaze to our taste buds.

I write this today from the stand point of a person who grew up in a fantastic home were typical "American" food fare coincided with the culinary diversity of my Hispanic heritage.  Sure we had our household staples: Frito pies, tamales, cheeseburgers, BBQ chicken, orange roughy, etc.  On the other hand, I did have something unique my grandfather and I enjoyed together: sardines! 

One of life's simple pleasures.

It's funny how sometimes we loose site of our true joys.  Friends, family, going out and spending a little money to have some stories for back at the office.  The past few weeks have been so busy that I have neglected one of my simple joys in life, cooking.  I have been simply throwing things together that are nothing to write home about just to be fed.  It's time to stop thinking about cooking and get back to it.
Bruschetta! Yes that's right, bruschetta.  In my opinion, one of life's simply pleasures is a good bit of brushetta.  A slice of tasty and crusty bread mounded high with all those tasty toppings and heated to perfection.
Like I said before, I have been on a bit of an Italian kick lately.  This Sunday, I had some tomatoes sitting on my counter ready to turn when I thought to make bruschetta.  It is so easy and makes a great starter or snack.

The Goods
-2 medium vine ripened tomatoes
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-4 or 5 basil leafs, chiffonade
-salt and pepper to taste
-a dash of good extra virgin olive oil.
-Slices of Jarlsberg cheese

The Maneuver
-Remove seeds and dice the tomatoes into 1/8" cubes.
-Mince garlic and add to tomatoes
-Chiffonade the basil and add along to the tomatoes with garlic
-Sprinkle on the salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil
-Toss the ingredients together and spread it on a toasted slice of bread

What can I say, this is divine dinning.  You can always add a few things like shredded Parmesan cheese for kick, perhaps a smear of foi gras or even pate.  Enjoy these simple starters or like meals.  the key is always in the simplicity.

Once again, thanks for reading and wishing you best eating,

Bon Appétit