Wood-fired!

Lark’s tongues (mostly aspic)

I just re-discovered this sensuous image when browsing my food photos and felt the need to share it.

Those who had ‘alternative’ taste during the early seventies might remember the King Crimson song (and album) Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. Always a Crimson fan, this song has particular memories because I (with some conspirators) used it as the introductory sound track for my first and only film.

Fascinated by feast dishes of the past and being a keen maker of pies and terrines, aspic has always held a romantic aura.

I have made traditional hand-raised pork pies at Christmas for many years (based on the sage advice of Jane Grigson). I love the degree of construction involved (like making a chair only edible!) and the revelation of the contents (a recurrent theme in almost all my other posts) when the cold pie is eventually cut open.

Of course the jelly is an essential part of a pork pie. It provides the required moisture and should also contribute significantly to the flavour. I make mine in the way described by Jane Grigson - 2 pig’s trotters boiled in a large amount of water with a clove-studded onion and some carrot, celery, bouquet garni and peppercorns. This gives a flavoursome stock which will set very firm. A little experience is required to reduce the stock to a volume that will set well but still be soft and glutinous rather than firm or even chewy.

Traditionally the jelly is clarified before use. I must admit that I rarely do this - partly fear of losing flavour and partly laziness. This pic shows a pie filled with a very opaque jelly that has loads of flavour.

However some occasions require more refinement. When clarified in the trad. way with egg whites, a trotter jelly can look pretty fine.

For my 50th birthday I cooked a degustation of 13 of my favourite dishes for myself and 12 friends. (For me any excuse to cook is a great present.) One of the dishes was my pork pie. In this case I wanted a refined jelly and chose to clarify it. (Some day I will post the full menu for this event - plus the even longer wine list!)

The process is pretty simple. Just whisk egg whites into the stock and simmer it until the egg white coagulates the particles in the stock and forms a raft on the surface. As the filthy-looking raft sets on the surface you get glimpses of golden, clear stock underneath. Order emerges from chaos! The clear stock is strained through a fine cloth.

I had plenty of jelly left over after filling the pies so I set it in a mould and chopped it into the dice you see in the picture. Be sure to click to look at the larger photo to appreciate its sublime amber beauty.

The pies were sliced and served on a silver platter surrounded by the amber aspic - god I wish I’d had time for a photo! - but when you’re serving 169 plates of food with one helper out of a small kitchen you don’t have too much time for reflection.

I hope to describe the making of pork pies in a later post.

4 comments April 19th, 2008

Base and Lid - Part 4 of the Wedding Present

This continues the tips and techniques for the document box known here as the Wedding Present. This post deals with the bottom panel and the lid.

The base

Before the carcass was glued-up a slot was cut on the lower inside of each side piece (taking care to stop at the tails).

Slots: The lower slot is the groove to take the ‘tongue’ of the base panel. (The other slot is for a narrow rail that will support the gondola.)

The base is a floating panel. This allows the base to expand and contract across its width with changes in humidity. The panel was prepared by edge-joining two pieces and thicknessing to 6mm. A rebate was cut on each edge to match the slot cut in the sides of the box. A very slight bevel was put on the edge that will be visible from the bottom.

Base panel: A rebate is cut to leave a tongue that is a firm fit in the thickness of the slot. The depth of tongue leaves 1mm each side for expansion across the grain. (The panel is shown upside down - the tongue is flush with the top surface.)

This diagram shows the arrangement. The orientation is chosen to give a continuous closed surface inside the box. The underneath will show the narrow gap between the base and the sides of the box that allows for expansion of the base. The small bevel relieves the sharp edge that would be visible.

The base panel was sanded and fully finished (with nitrocellulose lacquer) and fitted before the final glue-up of the carcass.

The lid

The lid is a floating panel in a narrow frame. The frame is mitred at the corners and strengthened by floating tenons. The same tongue and groove method was employed to hold the panel as for the bottom.

The mortice for the floating tenon is made with a slot cutter mounted in a router table. Marks on the fence tell me where to start and stop the cuts.

The frame was made before the bevels were put on the outside edges so that the maximum cramping area was available. The chevron-shaped floating tenons are visible in the following photo.

Clamping a frame

The setup used to glue the corners of the lid frame. Note two of the chevron-shaped floating tenons in the middle.

I use this method for nearly all frame and box construction where the corners are mitred. A scrap of wood (usually MDF) is glued to the outside faces of the members so that good cramping pressure can be securely applied.

The brief account of the process is:

1. cut 45° triangular blocks of the same thickness as the elements
2. glue the long side (hypotenuse) of the blocks to the frame element - mark or estimate the centre of the joint and place the blocks so that the clamping pressure can be applied directly across that centre
3. glue up and cramp the joint
4. saw away most of each cramping block when the joint is dry - taking care not to touch the frame
5. plane the outside of the joint to remove the remaining waste material

Plane the remains of the cramping block from the lid.

Now this seems like a lot of effort. However weighed against the risk of not getting a good joint in a frame or box I believe it is well justified. (Anyone who has tried to fudge the cramping only to have it fall apart in the middle of glue-up knows that this is a good bet.) I have used this technique on dozens of projects. It is the best way to guarantee a minimal glue-line and joint longevity.

I usually use yellow glue for this. Some people apply only a dab and don’t rub the components together in the hope that the block will snap off afterwards but this carries its own risks. I have also tried using double-sided tape, but the risk is still there and has certainly bitten me. My advice is to glue it on strongly so you’re not afraid to use plenty of cramping pressure and just plane it off afterwards!

I always use tape to mask the faces in the inside corner of the joint to aid in cleaning up the excess glue (as described here).

After two corners have been glued and cleaned, the finished panel is inserted and the last two corners are glued at the same time.

Gluing the last two corners of the lid with the finished panel in place

The completed box lid.

The lid after bevelling and finishing.

Part 1 The present
Part 2 The wood
Part 3 The dovetails

Add comment April 17th, 2008

My little black dress

Melissa from The Traveler’s Lunchbox posted her version of smoked-salmon pasta that she calls The Little Black Dress of Dinner due to its versatility. This prompted me to put forward my variation of this great dish.

My “little black dress” is simpler and uses salmon saithes rather than slices. Saithes are effectively offcuts that do not have the elegant texture of good quality smoked salmon but have a much more intense flavour and are preserved in a light oil that also takes on a vibrant salmon flavour. The oil coats the pasta in flavour, moistness and the stunning pastel orange/pink of salmon.

When I can get them both, I use a mix of the packet type shown and a variety that is sold in a jar. The style shown still has smoked salmon texture and plenty of oil. The jar variety (I’ll post a photo when I next get one) is cut much finer but has a stronger taste both in the flesh and the oil. I find mixing the two gives the best balance of flavour and texture.

I always use fresh-made pasta for this dish. The elegance and subtlety of flavour demands a soft pliant pasta. I cut the pasta into tagliatelle size. The pasta is drained while the saithe oils are warmed in the pasta pan. The pasta is returned so that it can be well coated with the oils before the more delicate saithes are added. A bonus is that the amount of cream can be widely adjusted to taste without undermining the effect of the dish. I suspect you could get away with no cream at all if you really wanted to avoid it - perhaps add a fraction of the pasta cooking liquor back into the dish to create some creaminess. Otherwise it works well with just a tablespoon or two of cream but can take a whole container if you really like your cream.

Be careful with seasoning. The saithes can be quite salty so I use a minimum of salt in the pasta and cooking water and adjust as required at the end.

In my home this dish is always known as Salmon Rushdie.

Here is my recipe as it was published in The Canberra Times about 3 years ago (in Jenna Price’s Domestic God series on blokes who cook).

Tagliatelle with smoked salmon and cream (Salmon Rushdie)
fresh tagliatelle
1 x 100g tin or packet of smoked salmon saithe slices in oil
1 x 125g jar of smoked salmon saithe cuttings in oil
100-200ml cream
freshly ground black pepper
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Jars and packets of salmon saithes are often available in delicatessens (try Belconnen Markets if you can’t find them). These are preferable to smoked salmon as they contain oils that help flavour and colour the pasta. I use one packet and one jar to get both textures but you could use just one variety.
Either make your own fresh pasta or buy quality recently dried tagliatelle. Boil this in plenty of water - very lightly salted.
While the pasta is cooking open the container of saithe slices being careful not to lose any oil. Remove the saithe slices to your chopping board allowing most of the oil to drain back into the packet. Slice the saithes crossways into small (2cm) pieces.
Drain pasta when al dente (about 4-8mins if fresh). Return the pan to a low heat and add all the saithe oil. Add the jar of saithe cuttings. Once the oil has warmed through, throw in the drained pasta and toss gently. As you toss the pasta it should take on a slight pinkness as it absorbs the oil. Throw in the saithe pieces and add coarsely ground black pepper. Toss until all the pasta is pinkish and well covered in oil. Add as much cream as you wish to moisten the dish. I usually add 100-200ml. Be careful with the salt balance. The saithes vary in saltiness so it is best to keep salt to a minimum and adjust at the end.
Serve immediately with a small garnish of basil tips or other green herb. Reheats well for the next two days.
Pasta: Add a small amount of salt to 200g plain flour and break in 2 large or 3 small eggs. Mix with a fork and then by hand adding more flour until you have quite a stiff dough. Roll out in a pasta machine and cut as tagliatelle.

This gorgeous dish will always be in my top five favourites. It certainly belongs to that group of special meals that is nowadays known as ‘comfort food’.

As Melissa says ‘Recipes like this are, unfortunately, all too rare’. Even with making the fresh pasta the whole dish can be prepared in 15mins. If you keep a few jars/packets of saithes in the fridge it can be made at any time. And it is always a hit. A true little black dress. (Like Melissa I don’t have the real thing.)

3 comments April 13th, 2008

Smokin! eggplant

Who doesn’t love warm bread with luscious Mediterranean dips! Smooth hummus, sharp yoghurt, earthy beetroot and smoky baba ghanoush. I love the latter but as my partner is luke-warm about eggplant (or aubergine if you prefer) I don’t make it as often as I would like.

At the market last week I couldn’t resist picking up a beautiful example and then had to work out what I could do with it that would be acceptable. My daughter-in-law was bringing over home-prepared pizza to cook in my oven for us to eat while watching the Super14 rugby. She chose to do Margherita and a Greek-style lamb with tzatziki (both delicious by the way). So I thought a baba ghanoush with toasted bread would be a good starter.

I referred to a few books but was immediately taken by Maggie Beer’s recipe that uses home-smoked eggplant (from her luxurious tome Maggie’s Harvest).

Maggie calls her recipe Smoky eggplant with tahini and describes how to smoke the eggplant in a small domestic smoker like mine shown on the right. I use sawdust from my own workshop - in this case blackwood and a little huon pine - and, on Maggie’s recommendation, added a few rosemary stalks. I normally can smoke a trout or a duck breast in the 20mins that a container of methylated spirits provides. Maggie suggests longer than this and in fact mine took two lots of metho, ie. 40mins. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place in the smoker skin-side down. (I had bought a reasonably large one so it was a tight squeeze in my small smoker. Maggie suggests 2 small-medium ones which would fit better.)

———–
Maggie’s recipe is:

2 small-medium eggplants, halved lengthwise
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon
150ml tahini
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Smoke the eggplants following the instructions given above. Leave the eggplants until cool enough to handle, then chop them roughly before pulsing them in a small food processor with the garlic, adding olive oil in a thin stream. Stir in the parsley, lemon juice and tahini, then check the seasoning.
————-

I smoked the eggplant pretty much as Maggie recommends turning them after 20mins. I added a little more garlic and lemon juice to the mix.

The result was extraordinary and well beyond any baba ghanoush I have ever tasted! A creamy, succulent dip with such a rich smoky flavour. I don’t think I was alone in detecting a hint of smoked duck in the aroma! Even my partner was a fan and is happy for me to make it this coming weekend as a starter for my persian lamb stew.

Highly recommended.

1 comment April 11th, 2008

Working with very fine stock

I’m rather fond of small boxes like this one that I made some years ago. I produced a number of these for an artist friend who was giving them as gifts on a trip to her homeland of Japan.
I like the constructed look of the top panel (for some reason I favour building from elements over starting with a whole and subtracting the negative space - perhaps it’s respect for the material - Huon in this case - and not wanting to waste any). I also enjoy the light openness and the fact that a perforated box is good for holding aromatics (there’s that food thing again!).

I’m just starting to experiment with something similar but with open-work on all sides of a cube.
One side will be based on a traditional shoji design. The whole cube will only be 65mm on a side so the stock involved is small - probably 3mm square. I’m using straight-grained Huon pine. Planing stock at this size can be problematic especially when you want to use your favourite No. 6. For those you don’t know the relative size the photo on the left gives you some idea.

Before I’d had to think about how to do this, I was browsing the excellent blog of a US woodworker The Village Carpenter and saw her entry about her favourite jig. I could see the great value of this jig - especially for working with small stock.
Small stock is flexible so it needs to be planed on a flat surface - holding it in a vice is difficult because there’s not much to clamp on to and any lack of perfect support along the length of the vice jaws will allow the stock to press into the jaws and you end up with a stick of varying thickness.

The standard way of planing a stick out of the vise is to lay it on the bench with one end butted against a stop of some sort. Again very small stock is flexible and will easily bend and possibly break if any significant force is applied.

This jig offers a way of holding small stock on a flat surface and of clamping it along its entire length so that it has nowhere to go.

Building the jig only took a few minutes. I made mine with low fences so they didn’t get in the way of handling the small stock. I wanted to plane stock down to 3mm so I needed to make my wedge thinner than this and I needed a thin packer to move the stock away from the straight fence.

After trying a few materials I settled on some 1.5mm matboard. It doesn’t lie completely flat but I haven’t had any trouble with this yet. If I really need a strong thin flat material that will grip the stock well and will stay very flat I will use some 2mm picture glass but the edge that clamps the stock will need to be ground flat.

I made an additional pair of wedge and packer out of 3mm MDF for planing stock that is greater than 3mm but less than the height of the fence.

This jig worked very well for me and I expect it will get a lot of use in my workshop.

Postscript: I’ve reduced my stock size to 2mm x 3mm and the jig still performs well planing down to 2mm!

Add comment April 6th, 2008