INSIDE THE KITCHEN: STEAMED BLACK MUSSELS IN SAKE

Summer is in full force here in Southern California.   This is absolutely the best time of year in my opinion. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the weather outside is asking you to steam some mussels.  

Mussels that are bathed in butter, sake, and soy married with the garlic and bacon creates an absolutely amazing sensation in your mouth.  The sweetness, the saltiness, will make you want to toast some bread and soak up some of those juices.  You wont want this dish to end.

RECIPE:

1#  Black Mussels, scrubbed, debearded

4ea  Bacon Strips, rough chop

1/4ea  White Onion, brunoise

4ea  Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2C  Sake

3T  Soy

4T  Butter, unsalted

2T  Chinese Leeks, cut into 1/2" batons

First things first...wash the mussels under cold water.  Scrub them with a brush on both sides.  Next you are going to debeard the mussel.  This is a process that removes the byssus which is a long tough filament that may adhere to the the mussel.  It actually looks like a little beard...Once you locate the beard...

...grab a hold of it with your fingertips or a kitchen towel...

...Pull it straight out...

Yes...it can be a long sucker.

Almost out, just pull it towards the top of the mussel and you are left with...

THIS

In a large saute pan, heat the bacon, 1T of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and garlic over medium heat. Do not use to much oil because the fate of the bacon will coat the bottom of the pan and that is the flavor you want.

Cook until the bacon is cooked thru and the garlic is golden brown...4 minutes.

Add the washed/debearded mussels and saute for 30 seconds so you coat the shells with the flavor of the garlic-bacon.

Deglaze the pan with sake and using a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan releasing all the good bits from the bottom.

Reduce the sake by half and add the soy.

Cover the pan with a fitted lid and steam the mussels until all shells have opened.

Add the butter, the Chinese leeks, and serve.

Make sure each bite gets a piece of bacon, garlic, Chinese leeks and a mussel.  I just want to ensure maximum flavor.

 

INSIDE MY KITCHEN: BURGER.O

Like most of the World, I too am in search for the best burger.  For years I thought the simplicity behind In and Out's burger was the mecca to BURGER-LICIOUS.  The bun, the iceburg lettuce, tomato, the meat, the secret sauce seemed to work.  It followed my cooking philosophy of "Keeping It Simple and Sexy."  There is no need to overcomplicate dishes with 5 different sauces and 7 varying garnishes.  I feel like complexity takes away from the true nature of divine.  So continuing on my journey I decided to attempt a burger beyond the limits of tantalizing your tastebuds...

I used a blend of 90/10 (lean meat/fat) prime chuck from the market.  However, doing so you must make sure that you counterbalance the lean-ness in your burger with some sort of fat content.  Thats why I decided to add bacon to my burger.  Crispy, thick apple-wood smoked bacon was my front runner.  Unbelievable flavor and texture.

Next, I made the "secret sauce."  This is vital to any sandwich, not just burgers.  I decided to take out the fresh tomato and lettuce all together from the "in and out" burger and incorporate  sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and fresh basil instead into the aioli.  What an amazing texture and flavor.  Talk about secret sauce...this is definitely one you can use on a variety of dishes.

You cannot go wrong with a brioche bun.  Get rid of the sesame bun.  Throw away the plain white hamburger buns.  Find yourself a bun made of butter.  If your going to eat a hamburger dont try to eat it healthy.  Your not doing the American classic justice and your starving yourself from an amazing meal.  I drizzled a little of my own olive oil on the bun before I toasted it off in a hot pan.  I only toasted the inside of the bun because I like the temperature and textures different.  You need to make love to your mouth when you eat.  Find what makes it happy and do whatever you can to please it.

You must have fries with a burger but, if you want to go healthy heres the chance...Kind of essential, isnt it?  I cut up a sweet potato into 5/16" and baked them off for 20 minutes in an oven of 425*F.

Smother the "secret sauce" onto both sides of the bun, layer with double creme brie cheese (triple creme for me would have been food coma), and crispy bacon.  One bite will erase all memories that you may have from eating burger's in the past.

Recipe:

8oz  Ground Beef (90/10 preferably; turkey/chicken can be substituted)

1ea  Brioche Bun (whole foods/bakeries)

2oz  Brie Cheese (double creme; 1/4" slices)

2T  Mayonnaise

1ea  Sun Dried Tomato (julienne; reconstituted in luke warm water/5 minutes)

1ea  Garlic (minced)

2ea  Basil Leaves (chiffonade/rolled then thinly sliced)

2ea  Thick Cut Bacon

Salt/Pepper

Form ground beef into a ball.  Using the palms of your hands flatten into and 1" round.  Season with salt and  pepper.

In a small mixing bowl, combine mayo, hydrated sundried tomatoes, garlic and basil together.  Reserve in fridge until ready to use.

Crisp bacon slices in a non-stick pan on medium heat (try to be careful of the grease splattering all over the place) until desired wellness.  I prefer it crispy.  (more crunch to an otherwise similar texture profile)

In 8" pan heat 1T of olive oil to medium high heat.  Place the ground beef pattie in the pan and cook 3.5 minutes on each side.  Remove from the pan and reserve on a paper towel.

In the same pan toast the insides of the brioch buns with a little olive oil until golden brown. 15 seconds at the most.  Remove pan from heat and turn off stove.

Spread sundried tomato, garlic-basil aioli over each half of the bun evenly.  Top with burger, sliced brie cheese, crispy bacon and the other half of the bun.  Serve with sweet potato fries and you are set with no regrets.