127556 Sun Mar 28 09:32:34 -0800 2004 11 9 New Orleans 0 691559 Ate some home New Orleans-style Sicilian cooking yesterday at the future in-law's. Mama Gina relaxed the no-meat in Lent rule for the visit of her 89 year-old Aunt Caterina, who's visiting from Endicott, New York. MG stuffed a rabbit. I found this hilarious considering that Easter is almost upon us, (TIC, I told Mama Gina that I was PRAYING that the poor bunny wasn't Flopsy, Mopsy or Peter Cottontail's cousin! And that the Easter Bunny wouldn't get his tail out of joint and ignore me on Easter Sunday! I'd hate to get on his black list just as my conversion to Catholicism was about to become legal!) but the bunny (about a three-and-a-half-pounder) was really good. Here's the bunny game plan: buy it already dressed, rubbed inside and out with olive oil and then a light sprinkling of salt and black pepper in and out, line both sides of the inside with some prosciutto. Then stuff the bunny's belly with a battuto (sp) of celery, shallots, fresh rosemary, bell pepper and about a pound of dark mushrooms, all mixed with a cup-and-a-half of rough red wine, to which is added two separate additional rabbit tenderloins, first cubed and sauteed with some garlic and anchovy, and a pound of finely diced andouille, cubed and fried until brown. The cooking time was hard for me to follow: it seemed she preheated the oven to 400 and then baked the bunny for 30 minutes at 375, turning it over at that point and then cooking it for about an hour-and-a-half at 350. Baste it with about half-a-cup of the rabbit stock every 15 minutes, from start to finish. Rabbit stock. FIRST, before anything else, you bone the rabbit's four little legs and then roast the leg meat and the rabbit's kidneys, liver (mashed up I suppose) in the oven for an hour. Then you place in a stock pot, add 5 gallons of water, a packet of every day herbs (bouquet garni) a chopped onion, four finely chopped cloves of garlic, a small green bell pepper finely diced, a diced carrott and a small stalk of celery, finely diced. Boil for two hours. MG did this step Friday. After saving a few cups of the stock, Mama G used a lot of the rest to start her white beans, which was served on a side dish as part of the course with the stuffed rabbit. This was a very hearty meal. Basically the beans were washed in cold water, then drained and brought to a quick boil in the rabbit stock (which received the addition of an herb bouquet, another diced carrot, four more finely diced garlic cloves and a finely diced onion) and then left to soak for an hour in the stock. When the beans were ready to simmer, Mama G added a large handful of fresh Sage wrapped in cheesecloth (which is removed before serving). Simmer around 2 hours or a little more on a low flame. Mama G says you can't clock it exactly because the beans are all different, some are dryer than others and take longer to cook so you judge doneness by tasting for texture and consistency. She also doesn't add salt and pepper until the beans are almost done, she judges quanity by taste. Aunt Caterina (Aunt Cat for short) is Mama Gina's Mother's sister and Mama Gina's grandmother was the daughter of the cook on the big estate near Partinico. The owners were of the nobility (Barons, I believe) and they had Luigia (MG's great-grandmother) sent to Palermo and Naples for schooling in cooking and kitchen management. There's a strong tradition of cooking in the family and although Aunt Rita eats sparingly, she can be very critical so Mama G left nothing to chance. The good news is that Aunt Caterina is staying with various relatives through the weekend after Easter. So there's going to be an endless round of mainly meatless lunch and dinner feasts for the next few weeks! The plan is to take her to the Cathederal for Mass Easter Sunday morning, then to have a big outdoor mid-day dinner (everyone will be assigned a dish or two) at a cousin's home on Severn right at the lake levee. When the cooking was all over we started with some mushroom and anchovy crostini; a light dish of bucatini (thick spaghetti) with a lightly cooked tomato, sage and onion sauce; then came the rabbit with the beans on the side as the contorno. The tomato, sage and onion sauce, with a cup of Chianti added and reheated, reprised on the rabbit. This sauce is just basically a mix of strained tomato pulp and juice and a few tablespoons of very green olive oil with some finely chopped onion, which was sauteed in the same very green olive oil, with another cheesecloth bag of fresh sage added - remove the sage when done. This sauce only needs to simmer for about 10 minutes. MG says she sometimes adds some garlic and anchovy to liven up the flavor. A red Chianti Riserva from Antinori went with the rabbit. Not special, not bad but Aunt caterina would be familiar with it., No need to confuse her with the heavy Puglian reds that Frank, Jr. and I adore so much. We finished dinner with a plain lettuce salad (oil and vinegar) and then some blood orange ice from Angelo Brocato's before my Frank and I went to his apartment for espresso and grappa. Mama G says the beans will turn into a soup for Monday and Tuesday and told Frank Jr. to bring me over for dinner one evening. MG also said that she had asked Saint Joseph to interceed for forgivness for her for serving meat on a Saturday in Lent and that the rest of the way to Easter (Sunday's included!) it would be fish and seafood only. Today's menu is going to be Crab-and-Olive Salad followed by a whole baked Sheepshead in a raw tomato sauce (not the tomato, onion and sage sauce she put together Saturday). She lines the Sheepshead's stomach with two lemons sliced thinly, sprinkled with black pepper, parsley and green onion. The top gets a light dusting of cayenne and sweet paprika. The contorno is going to be the lightly fired karduni that I've been craving. Bless her for taking pity! Sun Mar 28 09:32:34 -0800 2004 0 Amanda 1 691562 Amanda, how does one get to be a part of this family? :-) or at least invited over for dinner! You are one lucky girl! Food reference - I had sheepshead on Friday at Brigtsen's which was good, but not great. Everytime I go to Brigtsen's I want to love it. But somehow, charming as the atmosphere is, and the waitstaff pleasant, I never seem to be wowed there. Am I the only one? Sun Mar 28 13:39:57 -0800 2004 691559 0 Isabella 2 691567 I got the last son! Isabella, you'll have to wait about 10 more years for one of the grandsons! Brigtsen's. Frankly, (PUN!) I love the place. I don't see the quality varying, ever. The quality always seems exactly the same. Some people don't like it much or at all, though. Not everything is to everyone's taste. Sun Mar 28 21:00:54 -0800 2004 691562 0 Amanda 3 691568 Someone hovering over my shoulder to read what I wrote about his Mama says that Mama Gina made all that stuffing because she stuffed THREE rabbits for dinner (some apparently got away from me and made it into the refrigerator or freezer! And I was watching the rabbit platter like an owl mesmerized by a mouse!) and that there were ten of us at the table and we drank four bottles of his Dad's Chianti. And I'm supposed to report that I had two glasses of Orvieto before dinner and still passed Aunt Cat's eyeball test - she said I was a pretty girl! Oh, that wise Zia Cat!) Sun Mar 28 21:07:10 -0800 2004 691567 0 Amanda 3 691572 Couldn't one be an honorary aunt? ;-) About Brigtsen's - like I said I really want to like it. I have a friend who has worked there for many years and want to support this locally owned restaurant. Maybe you could tell me what your group's favorites are. Mon Mar 29 02:43:53 -0800 2004 691567 0 Isabella 4 691574 I rarely dine there with a group, usually just the two of us. I REALLY liked the rabbit gumbo (bunny soup!) but about a year ago he changed the style, thicker now I think and there's less of the dark, smoky broth. The soft shell crab appetizer is excellent - a HUGE soft shell - sometimes with a sauce, sometimes without. The last two times I've had the Crawfish au Gratin appetizer, which also shows up on the seafood platter. The seafood platter is my favorite entree. I'm not a duck fan and usually don't order it anywhere, a lot of folks like Brigtsen's though. Frank does like it and has had it several times. The roast pork tenderloin with the pork debris on type and over Sweet Potato Dirty Rice is also excellent. I've had the Tournedos there and it was very good, not exceptional but excellent upper tier restaurant quality dish. I had a Foie Gras appetizer in a puff pastry purse and it was very good also. My favorite is the seafood platter. Have you tired this? While it may contain something pan fired, it avoides the cliche of battering and deep frying fish and the other seafoods. It's very inventive. there are two versions, the early bird is smaller and costs a little less. The plater does not contain large portions but there are several items to enjoy. Usually the platter is built around a filet or steak of an unusual fish but sometimes it's drum or Mahi Mahi. Usually there's a sauce or some type of topping for the fish - something like a lime, cilantro and chile sauce with three large shrimp. Sometimes barbecued shrimp sauce. Usually the platter includes two baked oysters but with different complementary ingredients - Baked Oysters in Parmesian with bread crumbs, and baked Oysters Florentine, made with spinach, a cream sauce and a cheese topping. Then there's usually a crab dish, often served in a ramekin: Crabmeat Imperial or Devilled Crab or Crab au Gratin, for example. Recently there's been a portion of Crawfish au Gratin in a ramekin in place of the crab. At one time the two token sides were some type of slaw and Caponata. Nowadays there's a Ratatouille and a Crabmeat Ravigote instead. What I like the best about Frank Brigtsen's restaurant is his flexibility in serving fish. He lets market availability take him. And I've been able to order fish there that I rarely see on the menu elsewhere: Croaker, Pompano and Sheepshead, for instance. I like all three. I really believe Pompano may be the best fish of all. I always negotiate to see if one of these is being offered and whether there's enough that they will let me substitute a portion for whatever fish is offered on the platter. This has worked, and of course sometimes the Sheepshead etc. is on the platter to begin with. Leaving extraneous things aside, let's talk about the food at Brigtsen's. Do you think the fish is not well done? Tell me what you have been ordering when you eat there? Mon Mar 29 09:10:37 -0800 2004 691572 0 Amanda 1 691583 "Rabbit stock. FIRST, before anything else, you bone the rabbit's four little legs and then roast the leg meat and the rabbit's kidneys, liver (mashed up I suppose) in the oven for an hour..." I'm following this very closely. Question: are you sure about adding the liver and kidneys to the stock? As a general rule, this will make stock bitter. Also: please continue to observe and report. Your MG is one hell of a cook, with a culinary lexicon that is rapidly passing! Mon Mar 29 16:05:28 -0800 2004 691559 0 Steve Drucker 2 691589 I thought the rabbit giblets went into the stock but i will check and post response tonight, as I'll be there for dinner. Tue Mar 30 12:22:13 -0800 2004 691583 0 Amanda 3 691594 Giblets in the stock make absolute sense. Liver, however, can make stock bitter. But the heck with me--I want to how your Mama G does it. Tue Mar 30 13:48:08 -0800 2004 691589 0 Steve Drucker 4 691605 Quick! Before someone comes in and sees me tapping away. Mama G says the giblets get chopped up and mashed into something of a paste and added to the battuto with the andouille and cubed rabbit and stuffed into the bunny when it's going to be roasted. Tue Mar 30 19:49:09 -0800 2004 691594 0 Amanda 5 691615 As a former restauranteur, I've never held with 'secret recipes'. Why? Because its always been my feeling that: 1. Most people wouldn't know how, or just plain lack the aptitude/skill, to utilize an ingredient list even if they are handed BOTH an instruction book AND a video. So call me a cynic. But here's an example: Restaurant Mandich's Turtle Soup recipe hangs on the wall of the bar in a news article, and they don't worry about anyone stealing it. I questioned them about the particulars, and they agreed--few would know what to do with the recipe as so much of its success has to do with making the stocks (I pointed that out after a quick read, and they sort of smirked in ascent); and knowing which of the seven distinct muscular sections of the turtle to use (they pointed that out during a discussion on sourcing turtle meat) since some are stringy and others are tender (much like a land animal). 2. The very, very few people who could make use of the ingredient knowledge of a recipe, why, god bless them--I'm more than delighted to share. After all, a chutney is a chutney or a quenelle is a quenelle, each having its very basic taste/technique principles at its core. Your MG is a treasure. Thanks to you for sharing, and please extend my thanks also to your MG. Wed Mar 31 13:06:58 -0800 2004 691605 0 Steve Drucker 6 691627 Mama Gina says some funny (odd and interesting) things sometimes. She told me once, not long after Frank and I became engaged (we originally announced our engagement in 2000, our original planned wedding date was June 8, 2002. We rescheduled because of 9/11. Frank then being in the National Guard and worried about being called to active duty. Thankfully it didn't come to pass.) that her Mother and her sisters had come to America because their Father had spoken to her about living at some convent for a few years to train as a professional cook. Mama G said her Mother told her she didn't want to spend the rest of her life in some Baron's kitchen, so she quickly engaged herself to a suitor a few years older than she was, quickly married and came to America, where she spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking for her family and taught her own daughter's everything she had learned about cooking from her Mother. Thu Apr 01 09:10:45 -0800 2004 691615 0 Amanda