More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Page 5
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They do mussels in a chorizo cream sauce, banana leaf–wrapped mahimahi with a pineapple sauce, and their own take on a South American seafood classic, ceviche. For the house ceviche they blanch the shrimp and bay scallops for ten seconds, then quickly cool them down in ice water. They use a trinity of juices—from three oranges, three limes, and three lemons—then they add a little olive oil for richness, followed by a little chipotle sauce, chopped fresh tomatoes and cilantro, sliced red and green bell peppers and red onion, and a dab of that international elixir, ketchup. They serve it with freshly made tostones (double-fried flattened plantains), and a garnish of avocado. Fresh and handmade, it’s an orchestra of flavor, and nobody’s taking a solo right now—excellent.
You get a little music going in the background, some birds singing and waves crashing, and I’ve got my feet in the sand already.
“YEAH, WE BAD!”
Chicken Tamarillo Arepa
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF CHEF MICHAEL YOUNG OF VALENCIA LUNCHERIA
You cannot say that any state is like any other in the United States; there are food and cultural differences. Well, the same thing is true in Latin America; the cultures are so varied. People think a torta and an arepa are the same, but it’s just not true. Check these out. Michael says in Venezuela they always griddle the arepas, but at Valencia Luncheria, he’s all about the deep-fryer. And this filling is also rockin’ in the empanada (see Beef Picadillo Empanadas).
MAKES 5 TO 6 AREPAS
Filling
1 (4-pound) chicken
¼ cup olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28-ounce can) San Marzano whole tomatoes
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons pureed canned chipotle
2 tablespoons adobo seasoning
1½ tablespoons dried oregano
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
Arepa Dough
2½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups masarepa (see Note)
Canola oil (for the griddle, or deep-frying)
1. FOR THE FILLING: Put the chicken in a deep pot and add water to cover. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked, about 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the stock and cool. Strain and reserve the stock. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and shred the meat with your hands.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 10 minutes, then add the bell peppers and garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them to the skillet along with their juices and about ½ cup of the reserved chicken stock; simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the shredded chicken, the Worcestershire sauce, chipotle puree, adobo, oregano, and salt and pepper and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add more stock if the mixture seems too dry; the filling should be moist but not soupy. Fold in the cilantro just before serving.
4. FOR THE DOUGH: Pour the water into a large bowl and stir in the salt. Slowly pour in the masarepa, stirring constantly. Turn the dough onto a board and knead until smooth and firm. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes covered with plastic wrap. Form the dough into 5 or 6 disks ½ inch thick and 5 inches across.
5. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Brush it with a little oil. Toast the arepas until golden, about 5 minutes per side. After you turn them, put a light weight on top, such as a baking pan. You can also deep-fry the arepas: heat the oil in a deep pot to 350°F, and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
6. Cut the arepas open, leaving one side attached. Stuff the chicken mixture inside and serve.
NOTE: Masarepa is a type of cornmeal that can be purchased in Latin markets, or find the Goya brand on www.latinmerchant.com.
Beef Picadillo Empanadas
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF CHEF MICHAEL YOUNG OF VALENCIA LUNCHERIA
Dig into one of Michael’s bad-boy empanadas.
MAKES 8 TO 10 LARGE OR 14 TO 16 SMALL EMPANADAS
Empanada Dough
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 egg
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Beef Picadillo
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 to 4 tablespoons pureed canned chipotle
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying (optional)
All-purpose flour, for assembly
1 to 2 large egg whites, beaten, for assembly
THIRTY-SEVEN TRIES, STILL COULDN’T GET EVERYONE TO LOOK THE SAME WAY…
1. FOR THE EMPANADA DOUGH: Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until it resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces.
2. Mix the egg, water, and vinegar in small bowl. Use a fork to stir the wet ingredients into the dry, until just incorporated and shaggy. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface, gather it together, and then knead just until the dough comes together. Form into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
3. FOR THE PICADILLO: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until browned, about 7 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the beef, and cook thoroughly, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, chipotle puree, adobo, and salt and pepper to taste. Cool before assembling the empanadas.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F, or heat oil in a heavy pot to 350°F. Lightly flour a cutting board and roll the cold dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 7- to 8-inch disks. Paint half of 1 disk with some egg white. Place a scant ¼ cup picadillo in the center and fold the dough over to form a half-circle. Crimp the edges closed with a fork. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Paint the tops of the empanadas with egg white. (Or make mini empanadas with 4- to 4½-inch circles and 1/8 cup of the filling. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.) Bake the empanadas on rimmed baking sheets until golden brown, about 45 minutes, or deep-fry for 3 minutes. Serve hot.
NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC
WILSON’S BARBEQUE
EST. 2005 HOLY SMOKES, THIS IS GOOD
The thing about people and barbecue is, if they love it they really love it. It’s kind of like a club or a special organization, and it’s always great to run into other members and hear what they’re doing with their barbecue, like up here in Fairfield, Connecticut, at Wilson’s. I’d heard it’s on point.
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TRACK IT DOWN
1851 Post Road
Fairfield, Connecticut 06824
203-319-7427
www.wilsons-bbq.com
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Who would think, good barbecue in Connecticut? Ed Wilson, that’s who—a former backyard barbecuer who decided to get serious about doing it right. He’s been all over the country figuring out what kind of barbecue he likes best. He says Wilson’s is a celebration of regional barbecue styles, with Texas-style brisket, Memphis baby back ribs, St. Louis ribs, and all kinds of sauce, from holy chipotle to sweet tang tomato-based to Eastern North Carolina–style—atop pulled pork, of course. He does a Memphis dry rub with a cumin kicker—this is not his first rodeo—and pops the pork into a just-over-185°F smoker for sixteen to eighteen hours so that
it just falls apart. He took it out of his big-boy barbecue, and I said, “Stand back, because I’m a bark shark.” (Bark is the brown crust on the outside…. Sooo good.) It was talking to me—phenomenal. When pulled together in the sandwich, it’s huge: the sauce is not too vinegary or too hot, there’s a crunch of slaw and a little bark. I wouldn’t do a thing different.
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[GUY ASIDE]
So I was trucking right along, wandering around Wilson’s dining room, and I look over and there’s a picture of Ed and one of my best buddies, Mikey Z from the Motley Que BBQ team. I was like, get out of town! Turns out it was taken at the barbecue camp we were all at in Houston, Texas, seven years ago! Ed’s the nicest dude in the world, with his pork-chop sideburns and cowboy hat. Wilson’s is
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[CREW ASIDE]
Boy Band: “There are so many great moments I’ve experienced on this little road trip, but the one that will stick with me for the rest of my life was in October 2008, when we were in Connecticut at Wilson’s Barbeque. There is a little boy named Nicholas who had been diagnosed with a form of cancer and who was invited to our set by our executive producer, David. We were all in on it along with his parents. Nicholas, who is in love with Guy and the show, didn’t know why he was coming out to this one barbecue joint in particular. His mother told me that when they pulled in, he freaked out when he saw the ’67 Camaro and yelled, ‘There’s his car!!!’ He got a front-row seat while we worked, and then Guy walked into the room. Before we began working, Guy ran up to Nicholas’s table and greeted him in front of a packed restaurant. Guy took him out and sat Nicholas in the driver’s seat of the car, and I’ve never seen anyone’s eyes light up so much. When he got out of the car, he gave Guy the biggest bear hug ever. I looked at his mother and thought I can only imagine what could be going through her mind, and I lost it. I had to turn away to fend off my own tears. I remember Bryna asking me to get ready for the next setup, and I couldn’t respond to her without displaying emotion. That will be my favorite moment for a very long time.”
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The Eastern Carolina sauce uses cider vinegar, salt, black pepper, sugar, and a little red chile flake with ketchup (see Wilson’s Barbeque Award-Winning Eastern Carolina Vinegar Sauce for the recipe). It’s ridiculous—if they made that sauceboat human-size I’d get in it. They do a dozen homemade sides, like mashed sweet potatoes, black-eyed pea salad, and collard greens, to go along with what Ed calls “competition-quality barbecue.” And he has some interesting twists, like his chicken. He makes a brining liquid with 2 gallons of water, kosher salt, sugar, onion, garlic, black pepper, pickling spice, and Old Bay seasoning. He simmers that a bit, hits it with some ice to cool and dilute it, adds the chicken for an overnight bath, then dry rubs them for smoking. They go for six hours and they’re ready. There’s no joking, that bird’s smoking. The rub’s not overpowering, and the meat is monster tender. This guy has his Ph.D. in delicious.
As Ed says, “Remember, barbecuing is a year-round sport.”
THIS BBQ WILD MAN SURPRISED ME AT MY BIRTHDAY IN CALIFORNIA THIS YEAR.
Wilson’s Barbeque Award-Winning Eastern Carolina Vinegar Sauce
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ED WILSON OF WILSON’S BARBEQUE
Like I said, ridiculously good; I’d dive right into it if I could.
MAKES 3 CUPS
2 cups cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon red chile flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 cup ketchup
Whisk the vinegar, water, chile flakes, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and ketchup in a medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes.
ED JUST WOULDN’T LET THE CREW AND ME TAKE A PICTURE…“PEEK-A-BOO!”
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ED WILSON OF WILSON’S BARBEQUE
As with all their sides, this is homemade and tailor-made for barbecue.
MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS
Vinaigrette
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon brown mustard
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup canola oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Salad
1 (#10) or 6 (15.5-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, or half of each, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
1 small jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
¾ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. FOR THE VINAIGRETTE: Whisk the vinegar with the mustards. Gradually whisk in the oils until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
2. FOR THE SALAD: Toss the black-eyed peas with the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, garlic, and parsley in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the peas and toss to combine. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC
DI PASQUALE’S
EST. 1914 NOW THAT’S OLD-SCHOOL ITALIAN
With a name like Guy Fieri, it’s obvious that I’m going to love Italian food. If you find yourself in Baltimore and you’re looking for some good Italian, check out this place. They’re cranking their own pasta, making their own mozzarella, casing their own sausage, and doing it old-school in the back of a market.
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TRACK IT DOWN
3700 Gough Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21224
410-276-6787
www.dipasquales.com
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It all started by making a sandwich and adding a table in the store. Then they added another table, and another, and eventually they had a full menu of homemade Italian. It’s the food that owners Louis Di Pasquale Jr., his wife, Mary, and their sons and daughters (Louis III, Anna Marie, Angela, Donna, Joe, and Robert) grew up on, and they’re keeping the place faithful to tradition. It all started when Louis Jr.’s father, Luigi Di Pasquale Sr., and his wife, Giovanna, opened a grocery a block away in 1914. So this crew was born and raised in the Italian food business. They even use fresh pasta for their beef lasagna. And they make two hundred pounds of mozzarella every week, because they use it on just about everything from sandwiches to lasagna. It’s salty on the outside, firm on the inside, and it melts in your mouth.
OWNER’S NOTE: There have been many memorable moments over the years—memories centered around the privilege of working side by side with parents and siblings, sharing stories and banter the way only a close family can. Hard work, dedication, loyal employees, and, most important, the support of family have brought Di Pasquale’s to its fourth generation. As Di Pasquale’s approaches its hundredth anniversary, there is much to be thankful for, and more and more friends with whom to celebrate—Guy Fieri and DD&D included. Mark your calendars for 2014!—Donna Di Pasquale Tutrani
The Di Pasquales pull from Sicily for their arancini, using arborio rice stuffed with ground beef and pork, peas, and mozzarella and fried with a bread crumb crust, then served with marinara. If I’d been taught how to make those at home, I never would’ve left home. The rice has a nice firm center but is creamy on the outside. Winner, winner, rice ball dinner. And the locals are loyal. Any time you see old Italian guys sitting around telling stories over espressos, it makes it that much more exciting. If I weren’t going to go back to have the mozzarella and sausage and the whole thing, I’d go back just to hang out with those cats.
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[GUY ASIDE]
When we find a place that’s close to a hundred years old, I’m always intrigued, but especially when it’s Italian. So I was thrilled with this place; they’v
e even got a brick oven inside. I had so much fun in the market; any time we had a break to relight I would be caught eating cold cuts and buying Italian specialty goods. This was the last location with crew member Ask Kate (Kate Gibson), and for her parting gift to me she bought a really sweet meat grinder from Di Pasquale’s. (I use it all the time.) The whole Baltimore trip was nice; Blue Moon, Brick Oven Pizza, Chaps Pit Beef, and G & A. Baltimore is a go-to place for food.
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I ATE FROM ONE END OF THE STORE TO THE OTHER!
Arancini
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF SABRINA DI PASQUALE OF DI PASQUALE’S
MAKES 8 LARGE ARANCINI
Meat Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small celery rib, minced
1 small carrot, minced
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 pound ground beef
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
½ cup tomato paste
¼ cup water