BRAISED LEEKS! and Vegcetera in Tomato Sauce

For the sauce: I minced shallot 1 smashed or minced clove of garlic bit of Olive Oil or butter 1-1/2 cups tomato puree (or sauce) 1-1/2 cups chicken, beef of vegetable stock or broth Dash of vermouth or white wine Bay leaf, thyme For the Leeks and Veg-cetera 1 large leek 1 potato 2 small turnips 1 or 2 carrot 1 or 2 stalks celery 3 tbsps. California Olive Ranch Olive Oil Cappelini or angel hair pasta for two Grated Peccorino romano cheese – sheep milk from Italy! Bit of oil or butter Cut the leek tops off leaving about an inch of green. Clean the leek tops carefully enough to remove all dirt and save them for another use tomorrow. Trim the root hairs without disturbing the bottom attachment. Split the leek and clean the top end, very carefully removing ALL traces of dirt. Keep the leek halves whole. Turn them cut side down on a paper towel to drain a bit. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a large stainless or enamel skillet that can be covered. Brown the cut sides of the split leeks over medium heat – don’t let them blacken – a good medium brown will be pretty enough. Remove the browned leeks from the skillet. While the leeks are browning, in a separate sauce pan brown a minced shallot and a clove of garlic, also minced; then pour in equal quantities of tomato sauce or puree and stock or broth (chicken, beef or vegetable) into the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add a bay leaf and some thyme, as well as a good dash of Vermouth or white wine. I used a Blue Fin Viognier – because it was handy, because I like it better than Chardonnay, and because it’s both cheap enough to cook and good enough to drink with dinner. Left over Viognier will not be a problem. Simmer the sauce gently while you brown the leek and the vegetables – to set the flavors. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf. While the leek halves are browning, peel a potato and two turnips. Cut the potato in thick rounds or, if it was small, in two halves. Cut the turnips in half. Brown one flat side of each piece in the olive oil, adding more if necessary. Peel the carrot; trim its stem and root end, and then (if it is fat) cut it in half longways. If it is not fat, use two thin carrots. Organic carrots generally taste better. Unpeeled carrots have slightly more minerals than than peeled carrots (from the dirt), but I don’t like the taste of the peel. Cut them into several short lengths. Take at least two good stout stalks of celery, trim the top end, remove any bad or snail-chewed parts, and cut them in lengths to match the carrot. Brown these morsels in the skillet, adding a bit more oil if necessary. N.B. You may add half a box of sliced mushrooms and sauté them if you have some on hand – and if you like mushrooms. Arrange the leak halves side by side head to toe cut side up in the center of the skillet. Surround them with the other vegetables. Pour the sauce over. It should come nearly high enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer over low heat on top of the stove, then cover the skillet and braise in the oven at 325 degrees for an hour or so, until everything is tender.. About 20 minutes before it is done, fill a large saucepan ¾ full with water and bring to a boil. Salt to your liking for cooking pasta. Add a bit of oil or not, just as you please. Add enough cappelini or angel hair, broken in half, to feed two people. A circle of thumb and foreginger works at my house for a measure. Cook a few minutes until just done. Two minutes may do. Do not overcook. Drain. Return to the saucepan. Add a spoon of oil or butter to your liking and a light sprinkling of the real Romano sheep milk cheese from Italy. Stir. Serve from the saucepan, which should be carried to the table with its cover on to keep it warm. For the dishup – Put a serving of angel hair in the center of a warm plate, top with vegetables and sauce. Sprinkle on a bit more cheese – not enogh to be more than a grace note. We used homemade ciabbatta to wipe the plates clean. Use the leftover leek tops in soup or stew. Discard any bits that have gone yellow.

THE BARBEQUE EXCHANGE

102 Martinsburg Ave
Gordonsville, VA 22942
Phone:(540) 832-0227
Open 8am-11PM

There are plenty of places to get ordinary quality food in Central Virginia, but we hope you will find few meals as disappointing as the meal we ate at The Barbeque Exchange in Gordonsville recently.  If your standards for Barbeque are very low, or if you are friendly with the owner, you might actually write a positive review.  

The Barbeque Exchange is easy to find on Rt. 15 on the right as you come into Gordonsville from Zion Crossroads or Interstate 64.  If you eat outside on the porch, you may catch some diesel exhaust from trucks in the parking lot.  On May 25, 2013, two of us found the food to be unpalatable, though (with one exception) not quite inedible.

All of the “hot” food we ate was served in a lukewarm condition -- and on the cool side of lukewarm at that.  The lukewarm Beef Brisket was slightly too chewy.  The Pulled Pork Barbeque was served rather too far toward the cold side of lukewarm, and worse, it was served on a semi-stale roll that had been neither steamed, nor warmed nor toasted. 

It should be unnecessary to point out that holding meat on a serving line at a lukewarm temperature is a dramatic violation of basic sanitary procedure that the proprietor should correct immediately.  Perhaps investing in a few instant read thermometers for the serving line would the servers keep serving temperatures of the pulled pork and brisket in the “safe” range. 

Re-chilling and then re-heating leftover meats that were held at a lukewarm temperature on the previous night, might actually be a health hazard.  I am sure it is something the Louisa County Health Inspector may check before long.

As for the coleslaw at The Barbeque Exchange, the cabbage had been chopped chunky instead of being shredded, and … the dressing had scarcely any flavor. 

The lukewarm collard greens, which we love when done right (and which are hard to ruin), had not been stewed long enough to create a suave mix of cooked greens and smoked pork flavors in the pot likker.  Worse, one of the two servings we ordered  had plenty of grit (it was dirt, not salt or pepper, just gritty dirt or sand) throughout one portion, indicating it had not been properly washed.  Very little pot likker was served in the cups.  The hushpuppies, though tasty, had cooled off before they were served.  We don’t balk at eating cold hushpuppies, but generally we save cold hushpuppies for a dog we love.  The Mac and Cheese, recommended by a friend as outstanding, was served on the cold side of lukewarm and had congealed to a stiff consistency when it should have been creamy.

One element of our  experience at Gordonsville’s Barbeque Exchange stood out as substantially less than lukewarm, however: the level of hospitality from the cashier and the servers was impolite, unhelpful, downright rude and could even fairly be called teenage-snotty.  We had to carry a bottle of that good cane sugar Dominion Ginger Ale back inside to get it opened. 

That Dominion Ginger Ale was the only thing we really liked. 

We ate on the porch on a Saturday night watching a gorgeous sunset over the Southwestern Mountains.  The Barbeque Exchange wasn’t that busy, though a fairly large party of what seemed to be Mennonite farmers and their bonneted wives just leaving as we came in. 

The lukewarm undercooked brisket at The Barbeque Exchange was actually slightly tough, and we felt the slices were a bit too thick.  There were no burnt ends, and there was no smoky exterior crust.  Worse, the brisket was so lacking in flavor that we thought it might have been stewed before it was smoked.  There was no fat on the brisket’s exterior, and none on the interior neither.  Only the cheapest leanest old cows have that kind of brisket.  Fat augments flavor.  The pulled pork barbeque at The Barbeque Exchange also lacked flavor, perhaps for the same reason. 

We wondered why the Barbeque Exchange enjoys such a good reputation, and concluded that, after all, it is pretty much the only restaurant within a ten mile radius.  The table sauces were fair. 

We’ve had much better barbeque recently, and truly outstanding sides at The Hogshead Café on Broad Street in Richmond’s West End, where the Hogshead, the service is also outstanding (and friendly) – and you can get a fabulous freshly-made limeade.

The good people at The Barbeque Exchange in Gordonsville have a lot to learn, especially in the basic areas of hospitality and serving hot food at a hot temperature.  A bun steamer on the kitchen line might help.  The ribs might have been better than the brisket or the pulled pork, but after an experience like ours, well … 

Would you hurry back any time soon?

Despite all this, we are glad there’s a restaurant in Gordonsville. 

It’s been awhile.

Real Hot Chocolate

Usually I use Droste Dutch chocolate powder to make this, but Trader Joe chocolate powder or even Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder will do in a pinch.  In a medium sized bowl with sloping sides, put in about ten or twelve tablespoons of chocolate powder.  It should not come more than a third of the way up the sides. Add a good big dollop of honey and two tablespoons of sugar.   Mix gently until the chocolate powder takes up all the honey.  Pour in about half a cup of heavy cream and stir (slowly, so as not to make the powder fluff up and escape the bowl) until the cream is all taken up.  You can use milk, if you like but the result won't be nearly as good, and it won't mix as easily.  Add a capful of vanilla and a small sprinkling of cinnamon, then the rest of the cup of cream.  Stir until smooth.  This is chocolate base.  It should taste like unsweetened frosting.  It will keep quite well in the fridge for up to a week. 

To make hot chocolate, pour water fresh off the boil into a mug.  Add a dollop of the chocolate base.  A tablespoon or less will do for most people.  Stir until blended.  Taste for strength.  Add more chocolate base if necessary.  Then use a small whisk, twirled in the cup, to produce some tasty froth. 

Slurp happily to your heart's content. 

La Cabana - Very Good Tacos

La Cabana

4086 Crockett St

Henrico, VA 23228

I had two excellent very Mexican tacos at La Cabana: al Pastor, and Carnitas.  Both were the best taco of its type I've had in Richmond, Virginia.  From Staples Mill Road, turn right (going toward Richmond) or left (going toward Montpelier) at the light for Crockett Road.  You'll find La Cabana on the right at the end of the shopping center.  I'll stop here often.  Two tacos are way, way better than McDonald's dollar menu.  Tacos are a dollar each on Fridays.  (I think.) They serve Jarritos Mexican sodas made with sugar -- my favorite soft drink.  I like the Mandarina, but Tamarindo is also good.  Crockett Road is just a bit before Anthony and George's Steak House going west on Staples Mill.  They'll cater parties and you might could call ahead for a large order, but hey -- sit down and soak up the atmosphere. 

The Belmont Butchery

15 N. Belmont Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221‎

(804) 422-8519 

belmontbutchery.com

 

 Really it is impossible to tell how clearly The Belmont Butchery sticks in the mind.  I keep remembering the lamb bacon.  I look forward to linguica so I can make a proper Caldo Verde.  And a Wagyu brisket for Texas Barbecue.  Time for the paleo diet?  Thank you, Tanya Cauthen!   From the bottom of my sausage-loving heart.

EASY CALDO VERDE

Requires about 80 minutes.

Really, Caldo Verde is  just kale or collards or even broccoli soup thickened with mashed potatoes.  Linguiça is a main flavoring, and you can get some very good linguiça at The Belmont Butchery in Richmond, Virginia.

However, ordinary country sausage might be too sage-y. Couple slices of smoked jowl?  Few drops of smoked flavoring or smoked torula yeast? Or, really, you can just use California olive oil and vegetables.

Caldo Verde is really easy:

Brown up some linguiça or other sausage in your soup pan while you slice several onions.  And mince two or three cloves of garlic.  

(Alternatively, for a vegetarian version, just start with onion and butter or olive oil, and skip sausage completely.  But why skip the sausage if you live within driving distance of The Belmont Butchery?)

Chorizo or andouille, I think might have too much black pepper for some people to use them in Caldo Verde.

While the onion and sausage become nicely browned, peel a large baking potato, cut in half lengthwise and crosswise.  Put in with onions and garlic.  Add a diced carrot and a diced stick of celery. if you have some.

Wash the kale very thoroughly, especially if it is curly kale.  Purple kale works well.  Cut off the ends of the stems, and then cut the stem ends into short bits. 

When the onion and sausage have browned, add good water to come up pretty full.   But not too full for adding all that shredded collards or kale.  Put all the stems  in the pot.  Season with bay leaf and thyme and maybe a bit of rosemary.  You can add an ancho chili if you like, after removing its stems and seeds.

Add broth, stock, or essence, if you have some.  Chicken or beef or vegetable.  Bring to boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender.  You may add a handful of quinoa (washed and then toasted) or a handful of organic short grain brown rice for more strength, if you like.  Add 1/4 of the shredded kale.

Pull the sausages out and slice them into eating chunks, then return them to the pot.  Or brown some tofu in olive oil and use that instead.  Continue to simmer.  Ten minutes before serving, raise heat to a good but not furious boil. 

Put in the rest of the kale shreds.  After the liquid boils (not long, the kale should stay slightly crunchy) mash the potatoes right in the pan with a smasher   The soup will thicken up.  Adjust the seasoning (the salt, especially, because the potatoes will absorb salt.)  Add a dash of vermouth or Port.

Turn off the heat and let stand, covered, for about five minutes while the guests assemble at the table. 

Put a spoon of the best California Olive Ranch Olive Oil in each bowl.  Ladle the soup in. A spoon of the real grated sheep milk romano cheese from Italy will be an ideal sprinkle-on.

Drink good red wine.  Or good white wine.  Or Port.  Not vinho verde.  And certainly not Mateus. -- Christian Gehman

El Parian - My True Favorite of All Great Tacos in Los Angeles

 El Parian

1528 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Neighborhood: Pico Union

(213) 386-7361

El Parian was my favorite taco place when I lived in Los Angeles -- it's down near the Omni.  El Parian's storefront window on Pico has intimidating heavy bars, and looks a bit like like a jail in a small town in Mexico.  The front entrance, alongside the grill up front, is small and narrow, but El Parian expands to barn size in back.  You'll probably drive right by it the first time -- signage is neither great nor noticeable, but just turn at the next corner and pull into the spacious parking lot in back, which goes all the way through the block.  The parking lot will often be full of cars that are better set up than the one you're driving.  Go in through the back door and sit down at an empty table.  Wait for a waitress.  Order a beer and some tacos.  Get a full plate if you want and make your own.  If you're really in a hurry, you can order up front and wait for takeout.  but then the waitresses won't smile at you.

You'll feel safe inside, unless you don't like tacos -- or unless Latinos frighten you as much as they do my sister Marthat Gehman.  The food's great at El Parian, and you get plenty of it.  Carne asada tacos ... Carnitas tacos ... Lengua ... Cabeza ... Birria ... whatever you like.  Get a plate or takeout.  I used to drive down from the corner of Western and Santa Monica, which seemed like a hike ... but I was always happy I made the trip.

And you will be too.

On my first visit I got a bag of tacos to go -- carnitas and carne asada -- and they smelled so good I pulled over halfway home and ate them all. Then I went back the next day. 
  

El Parian's motto is:

"Como hay solo uno Mexico,
hay solo uno El Parian."

("Just as there is only one Mexico,
there is only one El Parian.")

There may well be better tacos in Los Angeles -- but I never ate one. 
The waitresses who bring your beer and your food will smile very kindly if you stumble over a few words of Spanish.

There is dancing at night - sometimes - Fridays and Saturdays? - on the big dance floor, so lunch to late afternoon might be your best bet.

Most other customers will usually be Latino.  Not many will be women.

The storefront on Pico has intimidating, heavy bars, looks a bit like like a a jail -- in a small town in Mexico.  The entrance, alongside the grill, is very narrow, but El Parian expands to barn size in back; swing around and park in back like everyone else.

Quality and Service can be a bit uneven, but beer is cold and the restrooms are clean.  AND THE FOOD IS ALWAYS GOOD.

Trust me, you'll like El Parian -- unless you don't like tacos, or unless people who speak Spanish frighten you as much as they frighten my best-loved half sister Martha Gehman.