In the art form known as cooking, creativity is more talked of than practiced. Indeed some cooks and chefs argue that nothing is new, that although contemporary tools such as the food processor and the microwave oven provide opportunities to modify preparation, the essential culinary techniques and ingredient combinations were developed and fixed long ago.
But don’t let that dissuade you from trying. With a joyous innocence, many of us who cook as a hobby dream of creating a dish to call our own.
The place to begin, once you have mastered those essential techniques, is with ingredients. In her book “In Madeleine’s Kitchen,” the noted teacher Madeleine Kamman writes of beginning her students’ “creative education” by teaching “with the help of lists of ingredients.” In time, she simply put the ingredients on a table. “The students are asked to formulate a personal menu from the available ingredients,” she writes, “so that at the end of the hour there is . . . a list of approximately 35 recipes, brand-new and very personal to each of us.”
Even without Kamman as a guide, it is possible to do this in the supermarket or by reviewing the contents of the refrigerator. (A good many of the dishes I’m proudest of have been produced by combining leftovers. Few have been repeated or reached print, however, because the likelihood of these same ingredients being available at the same time ever again is quite slim.)
The recipes that follow share one quality: unusual combinations of ingredients. The first came about because I was hungry. Beets and chicken take quite a while to cook, but the beet greens and chicken livers-two items often discarded-provide a quick appetizer that didn’t disrupt the meal preparation.
The second, arrived at on a separate occasion, involves the beets themselves. Northern Europeans have long enjoyed the combination of sweet beets and smoked fish. In this case, using smoked mussels meant the dish-a sort of first-course salad-would be light, while the beets would contribute a pretty pink hue as well as taste. Cilantro isn’t used in Northern Europe, but often enhances smoked foods in other cultures.
The other two form an intriguing juxtaposition. Marty Tiersky’s approach to swordfish is that of a thinking cook: fennel and apple, flavors not normally associated with this fish, are carefully reinforced. Liquids are reduced to intensify flavor, but they do not become thick. The elements remain separate. New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse, on the other hand, is working from the heart as he combines the exotic taste and texture of wild mushrooms with the sensual richness of crab and cream. This dish is as decadent as the other is cerebral.
BEET GREENS AND CHICKEN LIVER APPETIZER
Two servings
Greens and red stems from 1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
Salt
2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Pinch red-pepper flakes
Few drops sherry-pepper sauce (Busha Brown’s preferred, or 2 or 3 drops each sherry and white-wine vinegar)
Chicken liver from 1 chicken (plus, if available, 1 or 2 extra)
Black pepper
1. Wash greens well. Drain but don’t dry, then cut them to fit into a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt, cover pan and cook greens, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, squeeze out juice, chop coarsely. (Recipe may be done ahead to this point.)
2. Heat olive oil with lemon rind, garlic and red-pepper flakes. Cook just to soften garlic, then add sherry-pepper sauce and chicken liver and cook, turning once, until firm but still pink in the center. Remove from pan with tongs and cut into pieces.
3. Add chopped greens to pan and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Divide between 2 plates. Top with a few additional drops of sherry-pepper sauce, if desired.
BEET AND SMOKED-MUSSEL SALAD
Two servings
3 small or 2 medium cooked beets
24 smoked mussels (substitute smoked shrimp)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Few drops hot-pepper sauce (optional)
4 leaves Boston lettuce
1. Peel beets and cut into small chunks. Reserve.
2. In a bowl, combine mayonnaise and lemon juice. Add onion, coriander, salt, pepper and optional hot-pepper sauce. Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
3. Add beets and mussels to the bowl and toss until evenly coated with the dressing. (Recipe may be prepared ahead to this point. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 15 minutes before serving.)
4. Spread lettuce leaves on 2 small plates. Arrange mussels and beets atop lettuce. If desired, garnish with a sprinkling of chopped coriander and a lemon wedge. Serve as a first course.
MARTY TIERSKY’S SWORDFISH WITH AN APPLE-FENNEL SAUCE
Four servings
1 fennel or anise bulb
2 apples, Granny Smith preferred
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons Calvados
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 quart apple cider or juice (do not use juice from concentrate)
3 or 4 small sprigs fresh mint, plus 4 for garnish
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter
4 pieces fresh swordfish (or halibut)
1/4 cup cracked fennel seeds (ground in a mortar or food processor or coffeed)
1. Cut stalks and tough outer leaves from fennel bulb and discard. Coarsely chop inner leaves and reserve. Peel 1 apple and chop it coarsely.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan. Add chopped shallots, fennel and chopped apple and saute until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Heat Calvados in a small pan and ignite it. Pour over fennel and shake pan gently until flame dies. Add white wine and reduce to a glaze. Add 2 cups of cider and the mint sprigs, bring to a boil and reduce over medium heat until a scant 1/4 cup is left. Add remaining 2 cups cider and reduce by half. Strain, season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside. (Sauce may be prepared ahead; reheat before completing recipe.)
3. Peel remaining apple and cut it into thin slices. Sprinkle slices on both sides with sugar and saute in butter over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Set pan aside.
4. When ready to serve, heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly season the fish with salt and pepper. Place cracked fennel seed on a plate and dip each piece of fish into the plate to encrust it with seeds.
5. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Saute fish over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Turn fish and place skillet in the oven for 5 minutes, or until fish is barely cooked. Place pieces fish in the center of 4 warm plates, surround with sauteed apples and pour 1/4 cup hot sauce around the apples. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve at once.
EMERIL’S CRAB AND WILD-MUSHROOM CHEESECAKE
12 to 16 brunch servings
For the cheesecake:
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
4 cups coarsely chopped assorted fresh wild mushrooms such as shiitakes, chanterelles, porcini, oysters or lobster
2 teaspoons salt
12 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese
1 pound (2 cups) lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
For the green-onion coulis:
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup parsley sprigs
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the parmesan, bread crumbs and butter until thoroughly blended and press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and the green and red bell pepper and saute, stirring and shaking the skillet, for 2 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and the salt and pepper, saute for 1 to 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the eggs in a large bowl until very thick and frothy, for about 5 minutes. Beat in the cream, Gouda, sauteed vegetables and crabmeat. Mix until thoroughly incorporated and creamy, for about 2 minutes.
4. Pour the filling over the crust in the springform pan and bake until firm, for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. If you refrigerate the cake, allow it to come to room temperature for about 1 hour before serving.
5. While the cheesecake is cooling, prepare the green-onion coulis: Place the green onions, parsley, shallots and garlic in a food processor or blender and puree. Add the eggs, salt and pepper and continue to process. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil slowly until it’s thoroughly incorporated.
6. Cut the cake into wedges with a warm knife and serve each wedge with about 3 tablespoons of the coulis.
-From “Emeril’s New New Orleans Cooking” (Morrow).
