My Modern American Table

Recipes for Inspired Home Cooks

Abrams Books

Contents

MY MODERN AMERICAN KITCHEN

My take on modern American cuisine is experimental. It's edgy, it's international, it's made from scratch, and above all, it's fresh! That said, the first time you try the recipes, you'll be most successful when you follow them closely, but the second time through, experiment with new flavor combinations, use a technique from a meat dish for a dessert dish, or do something wild like adding lemon beurre blanc to a whipping siphon to make a foam. Cook with love, have fun in the kitchen, and you can't go wrong. You may burn a few things along the way, but that's part of the excitement!

My career as a DJ has put me on the cutting edge of technology and culture, which is why modernist cuisine, aka molecular gastronomy, absolutely fascinates me. Being able to compress a piece of melon or make ravioli with a see-through wrapper is mind-blowing. But don't be put off by the recipes with modernist components, like the venison dish I made for the MasterChef Finale that involves cherry smoking chips, a glass cloche, and an electric smoking gun! The recipes are just as delicious without them, but when made with them they become something extra special. I find that half of the fun in food is exploration of the unknown, and I am always seeking out spices unfamiliar to me or a type of produce I have never seen before. So if something in this book is brand new to you, I urge you to you give it a try. Taste adventures can open you up to whole new worlds of food, so throw on an apron, dig in to the unfamiliar, and be prepared to be blown away!

Creating beautiful plates to match my big, bold, in-your-face flavors is something I take great pride in. The most important thing about plating is never to focus on it first! Always, and I mean always, develop the flavors of each component of a dish, and then take the time to process how those components should look on the plate. Save a few moments to create art on your plate; doing so will instantly elevate your dining experience. The photos show you how I plate my dishes, but they are just suggestions, and the recipes will be just as tasty whether plated for a date or served up family style.

Must-Have Ingredients and Go-To Recipes

SALT

My preference for salt is Maldon sea salt. Maldon salt is a gift to all cooks, as it adds so much flavor to anything it touches and little crispy, salty bites when used as a garnish. If you aren't familiar with Maldon, I implore you to seek it out; it is easily available online, in specialty food stores, and even in the salt section of some supermarkets. When you see "salt" in my recipes, either Maldon salt or kosher salt should be used. I've specifically indicated Maldon sea salt in recipes where it's particularly important to use it.

FATS

When it comes to olive oil, I tend to stick to middle-of-the-road quality for cooking and keep the fancy stuff to drizzle over completed dishes or for finishing salads and risottos. For frying oil, it's peanut oil, always!

With butter, I always use the best-quality unsalted butter I can find at my local grocery store.

DRIED CHILES

Dried chiles are a very important part of my cooking. They impart smoky, spicy, and even sweet flavors into all kinds of dishes. And when you toast the chiles first, you release their oils, and that means more flavors and aromas will be released into whatever you are cooking. For something that has such a big impact on flavor, it's a simple technique that takes very little time. From the smokiness of the ancho chile, to the heat of the árbol chile, to the beautiful sweetness of the guajillo chile, they are all essential in my cooking. All of these chiles can be found in Latin American markets and online.

To toast dried chiles, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your dried chiles and toast, shaking the pan constantly and turning the chiles a few times, for 2 to 5 minutes to release the oils in the chiles, until they are darkened in color but not burnt. Remove the chiles from the skillet and use as instructed in your recipe.

GARNISHES

My favorite plating garnishes are microgreens, as not only do they look beautiful on a plate; they also bring a great freshness to any dish. Micro arugula is peppery and crisp, while radish microgreens concentrate the flavor of a radish into a tiny green. As microgreens can be difficult to find, baby arugula can be substituted in most places for micro arugula and paper-thin radish slices can be used in place of the micro radish greens. Or it can be as easy as swapping in the best pieces of parsley or cilantro of the bunch or the nicest pieces of your carrot tops.

Roasted Garlic

The smell of garlic constantly permeates my home. Some call it my trademark scent, and that would be pretty accurate. The sweetness that comes out of garlic when roasted is unbelievable, with only subtle garlic undertones remaining, which means you can use a lot of it in your recipes. I use roasted garlic in my flavored butters for steak and seafood, to give depth to my All-Day Red Sauce (page 62), as a base for my Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Risotto (page 74), in a marinade for steak and pork chops, and to make my Roasted Garlic Salt (see below). Sometimes I'll even munch on a roasted clove as a snack! Try substituting roasted garlic for fresh in some of your recipes and I promise you will be blown away by the results. I like to save the oil remaining on the aluminum foil to dip a slice of bread in.

MAKES 3 HEADS

3 heads garlic
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Large pinch each salt and freshly ground
black pepper
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

Cut the top off each head of garlic, slightly exposing the cloves and keeping the head intact. Place the heads on a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to completely wrap all of them. Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, top with the herbs, and seal the foil. Place the packet on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the cloves are completely softened and lightly colored. Remove from the oven, cool, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (store the garlic bulbs whole and squeeze the cloves out from the skins as you're ready to use them).

Roasted Garlic Salt

This addictive flavored salt has become a much-requested gift around the holidays. You can use it in place of regular salt in almost any savory recipe in this book or from your family's vault. After you get the garlic salt down, try other flavors: A favorite of mine is a sriracha-flavored salt that I use with my Asian-inspired dishes.

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP (150 G)

2 heads Roasted Garlic (see opposite)
1 cup (120 g) Maldon sea salt or kosher salt

Set the oven to the lowest possible setting (mine is 170°F/70°C, but up to 200°F/90°C would still be fine).

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into a small food processor. Add V cup (60 ml) water and process until smooth. Add the salt and pulse to incorporate.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the salt mixture over it in an even layer. Bake it for 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on how hot your oven is, stirring about halfway through, until the salt is completely dried out. Return the salt to the food processor and pulse to break it into granules about the size of kosher salt. Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 3 months.

Note: To get in some extra flavor, throw some fresh rosemary and thyme in with the salt while it bakes, or get creative and try some dried chiles or lemon peel.

COMPOUND BUTTERS

As a DJ, I am constantly on the lookout for new tricks to apply to my sets, with the sole purpose of exciting the dance floor. My feelings about flavored butters, known as "compound butters" in restaurant kitchens, are very similar. Basting seared meat in a beautiful compound butter gives your meal that extra high-end-restaurant edge. I could go on and on about the combinations I have come up with, like lavender-honey butter, perfect on fresh biscuits; or rosemary, orange, and chile butter, great for basting pork or chicken. For this book, though, I'm focusing on my three all-time favorites, the ones I use the most often — Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Butter, Chile-Lime Butter, and my all-time favorite, Foie Gras Steak Butter!

Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Butter

This is the compound butter I go to most often. I smear it over sourdough toasts and the bone marrow in my Roasted Bone Marrow recipe (page 36), and it is perfect for basting beef, pork, and chicken.

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (340 G)

2 heads Roasted Garlic (pages 16-17)
2 sticks (8 ounces/225 g) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Large pinch each salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into a food processor and combine with the other ingredients. Process until thoroughly combined, stopping to scrape the sides of the machine as needed.

Scrape the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and tightly wrap it into a cylinder. The butter will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Chile-Lime Butter

This butter is absolutely amazing with seafood. I feature it in my Chile and Lime Scallops recipe (page 27) and it is delicious with flaky fish such as halibut, sole, or grouper.

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (340 G)

2 dried ancho chiles, toasted (see page 16),
stems and seeds removed, and torn into pieces
2 dried árbol chiles, toasted (see page 16), stems
and seeds removed, and torn into pieces
½ jalapeño chile, finely diced
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce,
chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces/225 g) unsalted butter, at
room temperature
2 limes, zested and juiced
Large pinch each salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Place the ancho and árbol chiles in a small food processor or spice grinder and process until broken down. Add the remaining ingredients and process until thoroughly combined.

Scrape the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and tightly wrap it into a cylinder. The butter will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Foie Gras Steak Butter

This is my absolute favorite flavored butter. As you will see in the pages that follow, I love foie gras, and I can't make a steak in my house without foie butter for basting!

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS (450 G)

8 ounces (225 g) foie gras, cut into roughly
1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
2 sticks (8 ounces/225 g) unsalted butter, at
room temperature
Huge pinch each salt and coarsely ground black
pepper

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until thoroughly combined.

Scrape the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and tightly wrap it into a cylinder. The butter will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

ROASTED PEPPERS

Roasting brings out the flavor in bell peppers and tames the heat in poblanos and jalapenos. Roasted peppers play a big role in my cooking, from The Lees' Favorite Chili (page 126) to my Crispy Garlic Clams (page 30) and Sweet Corn with Roasted Chiles and Queso Fresco (page 150). Below are instructions for roasting peppers in the oven as well as a simpler open-flame method.

Oven-Roasted Red Bell Peppers or Chiles

Red bell peppers, poblano chiles, or jalapeno
chiles (as many as you like)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

Lightly coat your peppers in oil, season with salt and pepper, place on a roasting pan, and roast, turning them a couple times, until the skins are blistered and starting to turn black, about 50 minutes.

Place the peppers in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Use your hands to remove the skins and seeds, and use the pepper flesh as directed in your recipe. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Stovetop Roasted Red Bell Peppers or Chiles

Red bell peppers, poblano chiles, or jalapeno chiles (as many as your burners will fit) Place your peppers over an open flame on your stovetop burners and char the peppers until the skin is black, turning them with tongs to get at all sides and being careful not to burn the flesh.

Place the peppers in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Use your hands to remove the skins and seeds, and use the pepper flesh as directed in your recipe. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

STOCK

In my opinion, stock is the most important tool in both the professional and home kitchen. Stock is the starting point for so many incredible creations, most importantly sauces, but let's not forget soups and braises. I use stock to cook vegetables and potatoes, and I sub it for water in a lot of my recipes. Why not take the opportunity to impart some extra flavor whenever you can?

I strongly suggest you make your own stock at home. It's much simpler than you may think — just save all your scraps! By scraps I mean any leftover poultry carcasses or steak bones; throw them in a freezer bag and save them up in the freezer. Then when you're chopping vegetables, save your carrot peelings, celery ends, onion skins, and roots and pull them out anytime to make an amazing vegetable stock. Most recipes will instruct you to simmer your stock for hours and hours, but I have simplified mine by cooking it over high heat to reduce it and really concentrate the flavors. Making stock at home gives you the opportunity to control the flavor and salt level of your finished stock, which in turn adds just the right punch of flavor in the final dish. And it will save you money, too!

Vegetable Stock

MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS (2 L)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, including leaves, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno chile, cut in half and seeds removed
1 head garlic, cloves smashed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

In the biggest pot you own, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, jalapeno, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables take on some color, about 10 minutes. (If you can't fit everything in at once, add the oil and vegetables in two batches, removing each to a bowl as they are finished.) Add 1 gallon (3.8 L) water, the thyme, and bay leaf and season with salt. Increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, and boil until reduced by half, about 1 hour. Strain the stock into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid, and let cool.

Pour the stock into containers. It will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or in the freezer (making sure to leave room for expansion so your container doesn't explode) for up to 6 months.

Beef Stock

MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS (2 L)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound (455 g) marrow bones
1 pound (455 g) beef bones (ask your butcher
for them)
8 ounces (225 g) lean ground beef
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, smashed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

In the biggest pot you own, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bones and cook, turning a few times, until colored all over. Remove the bones to a bowl. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring often to break it up, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove the beef to a strainer to drain off excess fat and add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables take on some color, about 10 minutes. Return the bones and ground beef to the pan, add 1 gallon (3.8 L) water, the thyme, and bay leaf, and season with salt. Increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, and boil until reduced by half, about 1 hour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour more (you could go for another hour to further concentrate the flavors if you like). Strain the stock into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid, and let cool.

Skim the fat off the top of the stock and pour the stock into containers. It will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator or in the freezer (making sure to leave room for expansion so your container doesn't explode) for up to 6 months.

Chicken Stock

MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS (2 L)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds bone-in chicken legs and thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

In the biggest pot you own, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken legs and thighs, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes without turning them (this allows the fat to render so the chicken doesn't stick to the pan). Cook until lightly browned, then turn and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes to lightly brown the second side. Remove the chicken to a bowl. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables take on some color, about 10 minutes. Return the chicken legs and thighs to the pan, add 1 gallon (3.8 L) water, the thyme, and bay leaf, and season with salt. Increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, and boil until reduced by half, about 1 hour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour more. Strain the stock into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid, and let cool.

Skim the fat off the top of the stock and pour the stock into containers. It will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or in the freezer (making sure to leave room for expansion so your container doesn't explode) for up to 6 months.

Strain the stock into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid, and let cool.

Pour the stock into containers. It will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or in the freezer (making sure to leave room for expansion so your container doesn't explode) for up to 6 months.