[Sca-cooks] Article on Ron Siegel teaching classes [oop, not entirely ot]
Susan Fox-Davis
selene at earthlink.net
Tue May 21 09:35:35 PDT 2002
Another article on cooking classes by a big name pro. I'd go if I were even 300
miles closer.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/living/3266933.htm
Posted on Wed,
May. 15, 2002
Master class
Masa's down-to-earth chef says 'go fish'
"You wouldn't imagine how many problems you
have in a restaurant," says 35-year-old Ron Siegel, as he turns
on a burner and warily eyes the sprinklers
protecting Masa's dining room -- a room newly renovated with shirred
red Chinese silk lanterns, elegant mohair
banquettes and chairs covered in classic toile d'Jouy fabric.
Smoke is a persistent concern for Siegel as he
cooks in Masa's elegant dining room for this Saturday afternoon
class. But smoke is not the "problem" he's
referring to at the moment. As he melts three pounds of butter over a
portable burner ("clarified butter is the best
way to cook fish -- it's liquid gold"), Siegel tells the class how a case
of $7-a-pound French table butter recently
arrived at Masa's -- rancid on arrival.
Now he uses butter from Strauss Organic Dairy
out of Pt. Reyes. It's ideas and details that separate a good
restaurant from a great one.
Siegel's creativity flows from his unedited
thinking. There is no Executive Chef ego to trip him up. As he gazes
intently at his pot, skimming foam off the
slowly clarifying butter, his mind spills.
"We're all just overpaid cooks," he says.
A refreshing attitude from a man who has kept
Masa's long and stellar culinary reputation intact. Not that
Siegel's star requires such a pedigree -- he
became the first American to win Japan's "Iron Chef" competition
back in 1998 (lobster was the featured
ingredient), while still the chef at Charles Nob Hill.
His down-to-earth style relaxes the 20 or so
students in attendance. Perhaps replicating these fancy dishes
won't be so difficult after all.
"You can totally pull this off," he says.
"It's easily done at home. No problem."
As he swiftly fillets a giant halibut, Siegel
says that such skill is not beyond anyone's reach -- with practice and a
good sharp knife ("buy what you like -- what
feels good in your hand").
"You learn how to use a knife and you move
forward," he says. "We all start somewhere. The only way to get
good at something is to do it over and over,
and over again."
Ahi tartare
Minced ahi topped with crème fraîche and
caviar.
Ahi
Chives
Lemon oil
Crème fraîche
Lemon
Osetra caviar
* The cold, minced fish is tossed with minced
chives, salt, pepper and lemon oil (Siegel uses Agrumato brand
lemon oil. You can make your own, he says, by
steeping lemon peel -- try Meyer lemons -- in virgin olive oil at
room temperature for three to four days.)
* Lemon zest and kosher salt ("never use
iodized salt -- go home and throw it all away, right now," he says)
goes into a bowl with the crème fraîche ("the
colder the bowl, the easier it will whip"). Then Siegel whips up the
crème fraîche as if it were regular cream. The
thick cream breaks down, then it whips back up. He then seasons
it lightly with fresh lemon juice.
* To assemble, Siegel presses the fish into a
steel ring mold and tops it with a quenelle of crème fraîche and
caviar ("a football or a quenelle -- whatever
you want to say"). The egglike shape is created by scooping the
ingredient back and forth between two large
spoons.
Lobster poached bass
Lobster ravioli on a bed of sautéed mushrooms
topped with a fillet of poached bass.
Lobster
Sea bass
Mascarpone cheese
Tarragon, chives, chervil, parsley
Tomatoes
Rice paper
Mushrooms
Shallots
Chervil
* Siegel blanches a live lobster in a pot of
salt water for a minute or two -- just long enough to loosen the meat
from the shell. He minces the meat and sets it
aside, then rough chops the shells. The shells get seared with
chopped tomato in a pot for a few minutes. In
goes a quart of water and a bunch of tarragon. After simmering
the liquid down to a pint, he strains the
stock. "It's all about the lobster."
* The ravioli stuffing is a simple combination
of minced, parboiled lobster, fresh herbs and mascarpone cheese
("mascarpone is a great, rich binder -- it
takes the heat and doesn't run. Don't substitute cream cheese.").
* Siegel's pasta dough recipe is 30 yolks --
mixed with a touch of milk and olive oil -- to a kilo of flour (about 1
cup flour and 5 yolks for a small batch). "If
you don't have a pasta machine, it's really hard to roll out." So, for
the class, Siegel uses Vietnamese rice
wrappers instead of pasta dough. The wrappers are sold in brittle round
sheets that soften in water to an incredibly
thin, pliable dough. Filled and wrapped into pouches, they can be
made a day ahead. Steam, poach, sauté or bake
depending on the texture desired.
* Siegel simply sautés maitake mushrooms (also
called Hen of the Woods) in vegetable oil, but he says exotics
aren't necessary for this dish. "Button
mushrooms are great -- and are the perfect price."
* Siegel poaches Japanese bass in lobster
stock, but he says any fresh, meaty fish will work. After poaching, the
stock is reduced with minced shallots and used
as a sauce. Top the dish with microgreens or fresh chervil for
added flourish.
Hamachi carpaccio
Thin-pounded fresh fish topped with slivered
radishes, and shiso.
Hamachi
Lemon oil
Baby mixed greens
Radish
Shiso leaves
Bread
* Figure about 2 ounces per serving of fish
and "buy the best quality," Siegel says. Hamachi, also called
yellowtail, is just one possibility. Siegel
recommends king salmon -- the local season just started. Place three or
four very thin slices of fish ("cut it as thin
as possible without cutting your fingers") between sheets of plastic
wrap and gently pound with a flat-sided mallet
until it's practically translucent and is roughly the size of your
serving plate "The whole goal is to make it
look like one piece." No mallet? "Use a book. You have to make
things up." Once you've got a flat circle of
fish, transfer it, plastic wrap and all, to the refrigerator, repeating
until
you have a carpaccio for each person you're
serving. Chill an equal number of plates. When ready to serve,
remove one side of plastic wrap and transfer
to a plate. Season with salt, pepper and lemon oil and garnish
with finely minced shiso leaf, radish and baby
greens.
* To cut the radishes super fine "you
definitely need a mandolin." You can cut the shiso by hand into a
chiffonade by wrapping the leaves very tight
lengthwise before slicing. If you can't find shiso leaf (most sushi
restaurants have it), Siegel suggests using
cilantro or basil. Serve the carpaccio with delicate poppy seed
crackers or slices of grilled baguette.
Scallops
Caramelized scallops with spring onions.
Scallops
Spring onions
Clarified butter
Use a mandolin to cut onions super thin and
cook long and slow until creamy soft. Sear scallops in a hot pan ("it
doesn't have to be brand-a-cow hot"). Siegel
uses hand-harvested Maine scallops -- they arrive at the
restaurant still alive. "That's the best thing
in the world." Most fish and shellfish are handled much more roughly.
"If I grab you all in a net and drag you
around, someone's going to have some bruises."
Siegel gets almost as excited about expertly
raised produce. "When onions are so incredibly sweet, you just
serve them as the sauce. Spring onions are
unbelievable."
Clams
Littleneck clams
Garlic
Shallots
Fresh thyme and parsley
White wine
Baby fennel
Spicy fennel sausage
* Siegel throws away any clam that is cracked
or open, puts them in a bucket, and then runs water over them
for an hour to make sure all the sand is out.
* Garlic and shallots are sautéed with the
herbs, then the clams and white wine are added. When the clams
open they are transferred from the pot and the
clam juices are reduced down with the finely sliced fennel and
sliced sausage. Once the broth is saucy --
reduced by at least half -- the clams are re-added and reheated.
Serve with grilled bread and "sit outside,
where nobody bothers you."
* Siegel minces his lemon zest by hand.
Zesters are faster but they peel bits of the bitter white pith off with the
zest -- making triple-blanching necessary.
Besides, Siegel gets satisfaction out of a job well done -- the
old-fashioned way. "It's not like I come here
on horseback," he says. But there's tools for everything. "I don't
like zesters."
* To scale a whole fish, Siegel suggests
putting it in a large plastic garbage bag and running the back of a knife
against the skin at a 45-degree angle -- the
bag will catch the flying scales.
* Do a salt tasting. Start by tasting French
Fleur de Sel, followed by kosher salt. Then try iodized salt -- "you'll
almost throw up." Kosher salt is not that
expensive and can be found in most supermarkets. Just make sure you
buy Diamond Crystal brand. "I call it the red
box."
* Even if you don't have a yard, grow some
fresh herbs. Hammer together a box, fill it with potting soil and get
some thyme, parsley and sage going. "It took
me 15 minutes to make the box, and I'm definitely not handy.
* Siegel buys the fish at the market himself.
As the chef of Masa's, a restaurant that's open only for dinner five
nights a week, Siegel goes to the source for
great product -- up to a point. "I'm not going to go milk a cow -- it
could never end." His advice for buying fish?
"Find someone you can trust."
Ron Siegel is planning to offer more
cooking classes, including one on fish, at Masa's beginning in September.
The exact times and subjects have yet to be
decided, but if you think you might be
interested call the restaurant at 415-989-7154. They will put you on a list
and get back to you as soon as the schedule
is set.
On bad clams:
"How do you know if a clam is bad? --
you know."
On being a fish:
"It's nice to be a bass; you get to eat
crab and shrimp all day."
On beverages:
I think beer goes best with most things.
It's kind of cleansing."
On fast food:
"In and Out makes great burgers, but
their fries stink. McDonald's has it down."
On buying tools.
Siegel recommends Maruwa hardware store
in Japantown for inexpensive knives, fish tweezers, mallets and Japanese
mandolins. Maruwa. 1737 Post St.,
San Francisco. 415-563-1901.
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