HOME AND DECORATION/LIFESTYLE/FOOD & WINE
The Single Man’s Kitchen
By Jeremy Goodwin May 23, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
My comfort foods
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As I get older I find that my comfort has become increasingly important and a large part of that has to do with the quality of my food. |
I have recently returned from an extended vacation at a fairly isolated cottage that included both bay and deep-sea fishing. Packing for the trip revealed how much has changed over the 30-odd years since I left home.
I used to think nothing of throwing a random assortment of clothes into a rucksack and hiking across Europe for three or four months, making sure I had an army mess kit, a small knife and a toothbrush in my possession, anticipating the easy availability of everything else.
This latest trip I found my knees going red with embarrassment, for in my haste to depart I neglected to take any long trousers. However, I did remember to pack six bags of fresh herbs from my garden, my favorite fillet knife along with my Japanese chef’s knife, two different homemade spice mixes, saffron, two kinds of dried pepper, a four-liter can of olive oil, two pounds of high-cream butter, bouillon cubes, sea salt, a bottle of sweet white vermouth, a couple of jars of assorted dried herbs, a pound of Cuban coffee, a hunk of Belgian chocolate, a teapot with my favorite loose tea, one cast-iron skillet and an apron. I am inordinately glad that the length of the apron is adjustable: I barely recognized the source of the hoot that escaped from my mouth the first time spatterings of hot olive oil contacted purple, sunburned knees.
In retrospect, I went under-prepared. The cutting board in the cottage was painted pine, there was no kettle and the ubiquitous skinny aluminum, Teflon-coated cookware was in abundance. My few attempts to eat out were studies in contrasts. At one restaurant I had plump, fragrant oyster shooters followed by a prime rib so salty that I had to take most of it home and wash it. With a couple of eggs, it made a fine breakfast. At a Chinese (run by Vietnamese) restaurant I had probably the most delicately balanced, subtly flavored hot and sour soup I have tasted, followed by a Hunan chicken dish containing so much MSG that the ensuing headache lasted two days.
Given the limited facilities and the fact that it was meant to be a holiday, I had not intended to spend much time cooking, so every dish was based on the original premise of “The Single Man’s Kitchen.” The emphasis on speedy preparation was intended never to obscure the emphasis on nutrition or flavor, and having to throw together something tasty after a long day on the water encouraged either the “set and forget” or “ready in five minutes” mentality.
Combining pot usage helped a lot and when it came to cooking a couple of filleted fish with green beans and quick roast potatoes. I used the water for boiling the potatoes to blanch the beans first and then just gave the beans a quick sauté while the fish was cooking. The potatoes were simmering while I took a shower and then I drained, seasoned and stuck them in the oven for five minutes to brown. The result was a plain, simple dish designed not to overwhelm the very delicate taste of the spotted weakfish (speckled trout to Texans). It probably took me more time to fillet and scale the fish and peel the potatoes than it took me at the stove cooking. Done this way the fish will flake and melt in your mouth.
With a spring-mix salad containing some hard-boiled pullet eggs sliced on top, the entire meal occupied probably less than 10 minutes of my attention at the end of a long, tiring and windblown day.
This is a quick dish for two people; just increase the ingredients proportionally if you need to serve more. |
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Green Beans
¾ pound green beans, topped and tailed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 fluid ounces sweet white vermouth
Pinch of black pepper
Salt to taste
Potatoes
1 pound potatoes, peeled or just well washed
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon black pepper
Fish
4 trout fillets (speckled, sea, sand brown or rainbow)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Heat 4 quarts of water in a large saucepan until boiling. Throw in the beans and blanch for 3 minutes or less. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into eight pieces all about the same size and preheat the oven to 500°F. Remove the beans and replace them with the potatoes. Run the beans under cold water or place in an ice bath to stop the cooking. You now have about 10 minutes until the potatoes begin to soften. Check them with a fork or skewer and when they are easily penetrated drain them, add the olive oil and pepper and toss them until coated. Immediately spread them on a baking sheet or in a skillet and put them in the oven to brown.
Heat the olive oil for the beans until it is almost smoking. Add the beans and toss to coat them thoroughly. Cook at high heat for about two minutes then add the vermouth, turn the heat down to low and cover. Heat the oil for the fish in a cast-iron or stainless skillet until it is almost smoking. Meanwhile, barely cut the skin in diagonal stripes about an inch apart to prevent curling. Add the fish carefully to the oil and sprinkle with the thyme. Weak fish like trout will cook in three to five minutes, so this step should be left until the potatoes are nearly brown enough to serve.
Jeremy Goodwin is an author, freelance food writer and owner of The Best Kept Secret. He may be contacted at
Jeremy@dcnet2000.com.
House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton
Fluttering ribbons of steel, small spaces and awards
House & Garden Tour
Sun, May 25, noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starting at 9am
1. This small home above a garage and studio is phase one of a larger dream. With light flooding in on three sides the sun’s movement overlays interior spaces that respond to the owner’s lifestyle. A sculpted stairway climbs to the terrace above with fluttering ribbons of steel railings, intertwining shadows lacing the walls in constantly changing patterns. The stair to the roof is inspired by a similar one discovered in a tiny Greek chapel. Bi-folding glass doors open the living space to a flood of morning light. A three-sided fireplace floats above the polished concrete floor, fire dancing among layers of broken black glass, with a perforated hand hammered copper screen above. The bedroom is open yet private, deep bookcases serving both bedroom and living room, with open niches for art and a television which swings around to serve both rooms. A private terrace opens to distant mountain views and richly colored sunsets. In the bathroom, polished charcoal gray concrete forms the deep shower/bath and long counte
rs with integrally formed sink. A broken tile mural wraps the shower carved with niches and windows. Three skylights send shafts of sunlight to the walls. Bamboo trellises at the east and south windows project shadows across the multi-tonal floor.
2. Like so many award-winning homes, this one has managed to give the vision of space and light on a very small lot. Undulating shapes, soft colors, rolling silhouettes and a flood of design are all a part of this delightful three-storied home. Patterned pebbles are embedded into the stones at the entranceway. High glass windows and doors flood the room with light. The kitchen views the awe-inspiring water wall which was built entirely by hand, stone by stone, and is lit from several areas. The undulating staircase leads upstairs separated by a meandering hallway. The top floor contains a built-in cement seating area with unparalleled views toward the south and west and further out towards the Guanajuato Mountains. The perfect spot for that evening cocktail and watching San Miguel’s unsurpassed sunsets!
3. What these San Francisco architects built on a tiny 37x52 sq. ft lot is nothing short of miraculous. This amazing property from the outside doesn’t look that different from other well-kept colonial style houses in San Miguel. But once inside the walls, the differences are many. The spiral designs on the ground, as well as the glass beads and railings, were inspired by Mayan hieroglyphics. The hard edges of the polychrome geometric designs are softened by the use of textiles and folk art in every room. Triangular windows let in the light from the street, and additional light enters from small square skylights and the tall glass doors to the courtyard. Rightfully so, this stunning home appears in countless magazines and books, and has won first prize in the 16th annual Builders Choice Design & Planning awards sponsored by Builder Magazine and the American Institute of Architects Housing Committee. At the time (1996), it was the first time the award was granted to a house built outside the United States.