Lunch at Mi Ranchito II, 4.28.2012

Art and I bopped down to Mi Ranchito II, at the very end of Manchaca Rd, on FM 1626 for a book meeting (the one we are writing and the one we want to be writing) this past Saturday. Mi Ranchito II has been one of our top five Austin spots for authentic Mexican food for over a year now. The others are El Taco Rico, La Fruta Feliz, Taco More, and Rosita's al Pastor (for pastor tacos). But this isn't about them, it's about Ranchito Two. Ranchito One is on Wm Cannon at Pleasant Valley, taking up a cramped half of a gas station/ice house interior, behind depressing burglar bars. Ranchito Two is much larger (but still not huge) with a bigger menu and better parking...plus, it's a lot closer to far south Austin, and NOT on the dreaded and heavy traffic-prone Wm.Cannon Blvd. I'd rather poke my eyes out with a dull stick than go through the intersection of Wm. Cannon and IH 35 to get to Ranchito Uno, and then you'll prolly have to wait for a table. 

EVERYTHING I have tasted at Ranchito Two has been excellent, and though purist detractors like R.L. carp about the tortillas not being hand-patted before your eyes, R Two still manages to put out amazing food. Truth be told, if they aren't gonna make their own tortillas, I'd love to see them start getting them from Tortilleria Rio Grande #2 on Cannon, just east of South 1st....they have excellent tortillas and totopos. I digress......

One of the better things about Ranchito Two is the salsa bar. They have two versions of the classic jalapeño and avocado green salsa, with one of them being incendiary and the other a little more tame. They have a couple of reds, one the typical moderately spicy casera-style house red, and a smoky charred red with elevated heat levels. There is a new red that they have in a smaller container that's dark, complex, and delish, and then they have the requisite pico de gallo (with lots of spicy chile in it), and limes. You serve your self at the salsa bar.

Art opted for a brace of carnitas tacos and a gringa al pastor. Their carinitas and pastor are both really good. The gringa is a quesadilla-like unit loaded with pastor meat and cheese (although it can be any of the meats they offer: picadillo, carnitas, pastor, carne asado, chorizo, tongue, deshrebada, suadero/rib, barbacoa, fajita, etc. etc etc.).

I went for my ole stalwart: the pork with green salsa platter, which also comes with some manteca-ized refried beans, rich rice, and a salad topped with avocado slices. The green sauce is excellent, more green chiles and herbs than tomatillo, and the braised pork always melts in the mouth. I couldn't pass up a chorizo and nopalito taco as well. The seconds shot is after I have applied my salsa, to jazz it up even more. That plate explodes with flavor. So good.......

They have added combo plates now that have their plump chile relleno on them. The burgers are really meaty and juicy, and the tamales (available now in savory and sweet versions) are incredible: well-stuffed in a casing of masa as light as a cloud. They sell a lot of tamales. They sell a lot because they are so good. The enchiladas come in sets of three, smothered with savory sauce. The caldo de res is really chunky, meaty, and rich, and the sopes, huaraches, and gorditas excel. For breakfast egg and machacada, or chorizo and nopalito tacos, or a platter of migas for me. I've never eaten anything here that I didn't love. It's a friendly, family-run operation, and our go-to spot in the neighborhood.

Mi Ranchito II
1105 Fm 1626 (@ Manchaca)
Manchaca, TX
292-8107

Mick Vann ©

Stopped By Sap's, 4.25.2012

 The Siren-like lure of excellent Thai food beckoned me in on the way home from work yesterday. I had just finalized a date for my total knee replacement (LT-TKR to all you medheads out there), and was feeling not only peckish, but dumpish as well. Good food might be just the thing to elevate my mood a notch or two. I realized that I had never ordered the Guay Teaw Nuea Combo (S-NS4), a soup of rich beef stock, succulent stewed beef slices, beef meatballs, and slices of tender beef, accompanied by vermicelli rice noodles and sprouts, and adorned with scallion, cilantro, and ground white pepper. I added a healthy dose of ground bird pepper and a dab of fish sauce. It's a Chinese-influenced dish that was brought to Thailand by the traders and emigrants from the north, and similar to the Vietnamese version. As always, the Thai version manages to be unique. It's a great bowl of soup noodles.

 To accompany, I thought that Tom Spencer's favorite stir fry (and a fave of mine as well) might fit the bill, Pud Khing Gai (S-P36). It deliciously combines julienned ginger, onion, scallion, shredded cloud ear mushrooms, and straw mushrooms in a sauce of fermented bean sauce, a little fish sauce and soy, and a tiny dab of palm sugar. A perfect foil for the slices of tender chicken breast meat. It's not spicy at all, so I sprinkled on a bit of ground bird pepper. Delish.

Right after the first dish arrived my buddy Art dropped in for a bite, and we decided to have an impromptu meeting about the book we are writing for Globe Press, How to Open and Run a Restaurant. Not only do we have a ton of experience in opening restaurants, but we also do restaurant consulting, so it's a natural branding progression. We also met about the book we are getting ready to pitch through our agent: Fire Starters: 100 Original Appetizers from the Grill. Art started with an order of Satay Moo (S-A7), a particularly great version of the Malay-influenced Southern Thai dish of spice and coconut milk-marinated pork skewers served with a curried peanut sauce, ajat (pickled cucumber and shallot), and toast points.

He then countered with a steaming bowl of Kao Soi Gai (S-P15), that fantastic red curry and egg noodle soup of Northern Thailand, that has pickled mustard greens, tender chicken meat, fried shallots, red curry paste, roasted chile paste, mung bean sprouts, red onion, and lime, in a thick broth of stock and coconut milk, topped with a nest of crunchy fried egg noodles. It's a dish that's on the bucket list of anyone that travels to the mountainous north, and Sap's version rivals the best you can find in Chiang Mai.

Once again, a fantastic meal. It almost made me forget the pain in my knee. I hope that one day before mid May I'll wake up and find that aliens or the knee fairies have added enough new cartilage to my left knee while I slept to make surgery unnecessary, but I'm pretty sure that's not gonna a happen. In the meantime, there's always Thai food. Really good Thai food.

Mick Vann © 

Afternoon Stop at Sap's

Stopped by Sap's Fine Thai Cuisine on the way home from work yesterday and grabbed a couple of delicious  items off the menu. I needed shoring up via comfort food  since I had just found out that I need a knee replacement on my left flank. Poor old football and restaurant-damaged joint is bone-to-bone and ain't gonna get any better until it gets replaced with a techno-knee. As The Borg would say on Star Trek, "Resistance is futile", and so, at some point in the near future, my knee will become a cyborg knee, and I will be assimilated, and hopefully much more mobile. I'm wondering if I can keep the old knee....maybe make a wind chime out of it or something.........

Anyway, back to the food. Ordered S – P32: Pad ped nor mai with (ground) pork. This is one of my go-to dishes, made of bamboo shoots, Thai basil, jalapeños, fish sauce, garlic, herbs, stock…it’s the same sauce that’s on the "Amazing Green Beans". I prefer it with ground pork instead of sliced pork, and sometimes I add fried tofu cubes to it, but I love this dish and highly recommend it. It's marked 4 chiles on the menu, and is fairly spicy...especially since the Thai basil has an alchemic property whereby it accentuates the piquancy of the chiles.
 

I also got S – P30: Napa cabbage soup with codfish. This is basically another version of Gaeng Jeud (“bland curry”, or "bland soup") but the taste is certainly not bland.  It's made from chicken stock, codfish fillet, celery, green onions, fried garlic, cilantro, and white pepper. The taste is clean and light, and I add a bit more white pepper and some roasted chile paste to amp up the zippiness quotient. Once again, great meal.

 

Mick Vann ©
   

Senegalese Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Onions

Art and I got together this past Saturday to put together a Senegalese Grilled Chicken recipe that was one of dozens cut from the final version of our then too-lengthy appetizer book: The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites,  Art Meyer and Mick Vann, 2003, Wiley

Senegalese Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Onions            serves 8 as an appetizer

Yassa Poulet de la Casamance                                                                      

Senegal

Senegal is located on the “shoulder” of Western Africa, where it bulges way out into the Atlantic, twixt Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau. This dish is a specialty of the region around Casamance, situated north of the capital of Dakar.

Incredibly simple to prepare and loaded with bright, fresh flavor, the original recipe calls for the chicken to be grilled (done there over a small charcoal-fired hibachi-like grill called a fournière) and then baked. We decided to take what would be the resulting sauce from the bottom of the baking dish and simplify the process by sautéing the ingredients and coarsely puree it into an accompanying relish. It removes a step from the cooking process while it reduces the sauce volume to concentrate and intensify the flavor. The chicken can be skewered with chunks of onion and lemon, or grilled and then sliced. Grilled scallions or sweet onion eighths and thin slices of grilled lemon make a nice additional plate partner.

Marinade:

Juice of 2 large lemons

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

3 bay leaves, toasted lightly and bruised

1 teaspoon dried thyme

8 boneless chicken thighs (or breast meat, about 1½ pounds)

Onion Mixture:

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1½ cups thinly sliced white onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ to 1 tablespoon minced hot fresh chile, or a teaspoon of fruity dried hot chile (to taste)

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups rich chicken stock

Parsley sprigs for garnish

White rice or crusty peasant bread for service
Grilled scallions or white onion and grilled lemon slices for service (optional)

Advance Preparation

1. Combine the marinade ingredients, mixing well. Place the chicken pieces in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the chicken pieces; remove air, seal, and massage to mix well. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours maximum.
Cooking Method
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions, stirring constantly to prevent browning, until soft. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add the parsley, salt and pepper, bay leaves, thyme, chile, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, and reduce until much of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the bay leaves and puree using an immersible blender or a food processor. Reserve and keep warm until service.

3. Charcoal grill the chicken until golden brown and done (internal temperature of 155°F). Allow to rest a few minutes before slicing.

Service

6. Serve one thigh per person, sliced on the diagonal.
7. Spoon some of the chunky relish over the top, garnish with the parsley sprigs and serve immediately with rice or bread.

Chef Notes- This method works well with any type of poultry or with game birds such as squab or pigeon (these are quite commonly used throughout Africa.) It also works quite nicely with thick fish steaks or large shellfish, with appropriately reduced cooking time.

Mick Vann ©

Baumkuchen!...the Tree Cake!

Baumkuchen (Tree ring cake)

The concept of cooking cakes on stones or logs over a fire started with the Romans, who took it to what is now Germany. The cake was first cooked on a slowly rotating log next to a hot fire, the batter brushed on as the log rotated.  The first mention of the cake in a cookbook was in a Hungarian text in 1581. The name means “tree cake”, a reference to the many thin layers resembling growth rings on a tree. In Europe today they are done commercially on these weird looking rotisseries, with injectors (or minions with brushes) applying the batter as the spit rotates, and the cake comes off as a ring cake.

Oddly enough, baumkuchen are very popular in Japan, called baumukūhen there. Baumkuchen was introduced in Hiroshima, Japan in 1919 by Karl Joseph Wilhelm Jucheim. Bakeries started later by his wife still exist under the Jucheim name, and it is still very popular. Spekkoek, or spiku, or more popularly called lapis legit (“very rich layer cake”) is an Indonesian layered cake similar to baumkuchen that was introduced by the Dutch during colonial times. In Indonesia it is usually flavored with cinnamon, mace, clove, and anise, and has no chocolate glaze.

I first tasted this cake in the mid 70’s when I was managing a restaurant in San Antonio, and my buddy Chef Ray Tatum came down so we could cook some ducks for a Thanksgiving feast. I had seen the recipe for baumkuchen or baumtorte in an issue of the old superlative Cuisinart cooking magazine, and Ray and I decided to cook one for the party, in the kitchen of my little bungalow in Alamo Heights. We both declared it as the best cake we had ever eaten. Matter of fact, most people say the same thing after their first taste: “best cake I have ever eaten”. I have to tell you, it’s kind of a pain in the ass to bake; easier with a restaurant style cheesemelter or salamander than it is in a home broiler. And it’s a hands-on project; you HAVE to sit there and ride it out until it’s finished. Without question, once it’s completed, you will be downright gob smacked with how truly delicious this cake is. The almond flavor from the marzipan and the toasted almonds blends perfectly with the apricot and the chocolate. It’s rich, moist, and luscious. Bake one, and you and everyone that gets a taste will be glad you did!

Baumkuchen/Baumtorte

Serves 12
Cake should be well-chilled before applying exterior apricot glaze and chocolate glaze

For the cake batter
1½ cups almond paste (12 oz), softened in microwave
6 tablespoons half and half (¼ cup + 2 tbls)
1½ sticks unsalted butter (12 tbsp), softened in microwave
1 cup sugar
10 large eggs, separated
1½  teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
¾ cup cornstarch

10 oz apricot jam, pureed to remove chunks
1 cup slivered almonds, dry-toasted until fragrant, chopped.

For the chocolate glaze:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon dark rum or amaretto
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chips, morsels, or squares

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond paste with half and half until it resembles mashed potatoes. Beat in butter until fluffy, and beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides. Add the eggs and vanilla.  Sift together the flour and cornstarch and add to the mixing bowl in three batches. Beat until well incorporated, scraping the sides as needed. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and fold into the batter in batches. Get one pastry brush for the batter and one for the apricot jam.

Heat up broiler. Grease and line a 9″ round cake or springform pan with parchment paper. Pour on ¼ to 1/3 cup of the batter, use the brush to cover the surface, and broil until golden brown. Be sure to watch the process carefully; scorch or burn a layer, and it is almost impossible to remove it. After three layers, spread a light layer of apricot jam. Continue the process (batter + batter + batter + apricot, repeat) until the cake pan is filled with layers. Note: As the level of the surface rises in the pan, and the pan heats up, it will take slightly less time for each successive layer. Pay stricter attention towards the end of the broiling process, as broiling time decreases. Allow to cool to room temp, wrap in plastic film, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the pan and trim the sides so that they slope down slightly. Lightly glaze the top and sides with the remaining apricot jam and reserve, chilled. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet and chop coarsely. Combine butter, corn syrup, vanilla, and liquor in a small sauce pan and heat while stirring until the butter is completely melted. Turn off heat, add chocolate, cover, let it melt for about 5 minutes, and stir with a whip until glossy and completely smooth. Let the chocolate cool slightly, and then pour onto the top of the cake in a spiraling fashion, covering the top. It should not be necessary to use a spatula to get a clean-looking surface. Use a spatula to add chocolate to the sides; don’t worry that much about appearance on the sides, as the almonds will cover much of the side surface. Add the almonds to the side as you rotate the cake; you may also use the remaining almonds to decorate the outer edge of the surface. Enjoy.

Mick Vann © 

Sap's this Past Sunday

Stopped by Sap's on Westgate, just off of Ben White/290W on Sunday to tie on the Thai grub bag. Started with Pud Gra-tiem Prik Thai Moo (S-P2), a very simple stir fry of marinated pork finished "dry-style" (meaning not much sauce). The coating on the meat comes from garlic and thick soy with a touch of fish sauce, and the flavor is rich, deep, and surprisingly complex for the simplicity of the dish.

Next was S-P34, a stir fry of mung bean sprouts, scallion, and , in this case, chicken. This dish is simpler than the one above, but, again, it's amazing how the flavor develops with such a simple group of ingredients tossed with a light soy sauce. Obviously, these are both heavily-influenced by Chinese cuisine.

Last was Yen Ta-Fo Haeng, S-G2, based on S-NS12, but without the broth. Yen Ta-Fo is one of the premier Thai street food dishes, and available all over Bangkok and Thailand. It's a big bowl of pinkish noodle soup with either sen yai (wide) or sen lek (thin) rice noodles. The sauce is made of salted soybean paste, fish sauce, lime juice, roasted chile paste, pickled garlic, white sugar, and tomato. On top of the noodles are cubes of fried tofu, shrimp, fishballs, imitation crab, squid, and baby bok choy. It is rich, tart, spicy, and tangy...a dish that will really wake up the taste buds, and a nice pairing with the simpler stir fries. Love me some Sap's.

Mick Vann ©

Senegalese Grilled Chicken with Onion and Lemon

Art and I got together this past Saturday to put together a Senegalese Grilled Chicken recipe that was one of dozens cut from the final version of our then too-lengthy appetizer book: The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites, 2003, Wiley. Senegal is located on the “shoulder” of Western Africa, where it bulges way out into the Atlantic, twixt Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau. This dish is a specialty of the region around Casamance, situated north of the capital of Dakar. It is incredibly simple to prepare and loaded with bright, fresh flavor. The original recipe calls for the chicken to be grilled and then baked, but we decided to take what would normally be the resulting sauce from the bottom of the baking dish and simplify the process by sautéing the ingredients and coarsely puree it into an accompanying sauce. It removes a step from the cooking process while it reduces the sauce volume to concentrate and intensify the flavor; an experiment that succeeds splendidly. We decided that it would be fantastic on grilled fish or pork as well. As shown in the photos, the chicken can be skewered with chunks of onion and lemon, or grilled and then sliced.
Although it can be made with chicken breast, we much prefer using boneless chicken thighs. For the reasons behind this logical choice, read my anti chicken-breast rant from a previous blog here: http://gustidude.blogspot.com/2010/11/revolt-pox-on-chicken-breasts.html.

Marinated chicken, ready to skewer.

Instead of using a fresh chile, we opted for including about a teaspoon of the wonderful dried and crushed habanero pepper grown by our pal Bill Jorn, a television exec down in Harlingen; it was in the cupboard begging to be used. It adds a wonderful fruity and piquant edge to the dish that is very complimentary. Other fruity fresh chiles such as ají, ají dulce, manzana, Scotch bonnet, or datil work great; dried fruity chiles like chilcostle, ají amarillo, costeño amarillo, or pequín work just as well. Of course, if you have access to Senegalese chiles, those would be preferred.

In the mini monkey dish is the dried habanero chile from our pal Bill Jorn, of Harlingen, TX.

We would have cooked it outside on the grill but it was in the low 90’s on the last day of March, we didn’t have that much to cook, and decided on the stovetop grill for simplicity and air-conditioned comfort. It is better flame-kissed but, frankly, we were lazy and had a bunch of other work to do on the new book. The flavor is tart from the lemon, spicy from the chile, sweet and earthy from the onions and garlic, rich from the chicken stock, and the herbs, especially the bay, lend an herbal edge that adds that perfect layer of complimentary flavor. Not to mention, it is fast, simple, unique, and delicious.

A skewer and boneless thighs grilling on the stovetop grill, while the sauce is reduced and ready to puree. Below is the finished dish, excellent eats.

Senegalese Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Onions            serves 8 as an appetizer

Yassa Poulet de la Casamance                                                                      

Senegal

Casamance is a region of Senegal north of the capital of Dakar, and this dish is a specialty of that region. The chicken is first marinated and then grilled. The grilling in Senegal is done over a small charcoal-fired hibachi-like grill called a fournière. The original topping applied before the dish is baked is instead sautéed here to concentrate the flavors, and then pureed slightly to make a chunky relish to accompany the chicken. The chicken can be skewered with chunks of lemon and onion, or grilled and sliced. A mound of seasoned white rice traditionally accompanies this dish, but it also goes well with crusty peasant bread. Grilled scallions or sweet onion eighths and thin slices of grilled lemon make a nice additional partner on the plate.

Marinade:

Juice of 2 large lemons

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

3 bay leaves, toasted lightly and bruised

1 teaspoon dried thyme

8 boneless chicken thighs (or breast meat, about 1½ pounds)

Onion Mixture:

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1½ cups thinly sliced white onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ to 1 tablespoon minced hot fresh chile, or a teaspoon of fruity dried hot chile (to taste)

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups rich chicken stock

Parsley sprigs for garnish

White rice or crusty peasant bread for service
Grilled scallions or white onion and grilled lemon slices for service (optional)

Advance Preparation

1. Combine the marinade ingredients, mixing well. Place the chicken pieces in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the chicken pieces; remove air, seal, and massage to mix well. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours maximum.
Cooking Method
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions, stirring constantly to prevent browning, until soft. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add the parsley, salt and pepper, bay leaves, thyme, chile, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, and reduce until much of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the bay leaves and puree using an immersible blender or a food processor. Reserve and keep warm until service.

3. Charcoal grill the chicken until golden brown and done (internal temperature of 155°F). Allow to rest a few minutes before slicing.

Service

6. Serve one thigh per person, sliced on the diagonal.
7. Spoon some of the chunky relish over the top, garnish with the parsley sprigs and serve immediately with rice or bread.

Chef Notes- This method works well with any type of poultry or with game birds such as squab or pigeon (these are quite commonly used throughout Africa.) It also works quite nicely with thick fish steaks or large shellfish, with appropriately reduced cooking time.

Mick Vann ©