Category: England

Coco Questionnaire… Five Questions with Eugenia Cheng

Eugenias Bach sheet music

Above is a quick water color I did of some Bach sheet music my dear friend and todays subject Dr. Eugenia Cheng posted on her social media after her long awaited piano arrived from the UK. To see her joy reunited with it via Facebook was palpable.

I can imagine to be separated from it must feel like being separated from a loved one or even a limb.  It’s a part of Eugenia. The piano was a part of her, that was across the ocean, as she settled into her new role here in Chicago at The Art Institute of Chicago.I met  Dr. Eugenia Cheng a long time ago. I lost cost count of the years, it’s been over a decade. Eugenia was and is this brilliant mathematician, who loved to bake, listen to opera and classical music. We met when she became involved on an Opera board I was active in at Lyric Opera Chicago. One would normally feel intimidated by a Cambridge educated classically trained pianist and mathematician. But that’s the beauty of Eugenia, you don’t and that’s why book How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics  is an  international best seller.

How to Bake Pi

I admire her dedication , passion and focus. You don’t see that passion exuded by anyone, as you will with Eugenia. She has weekly salon called Liederstube where other like minded souls can congregate and create more beauty through song.

Eugenia inspires you and makes terrifying subjects fun and interesting, whether it be baking or math. Did you catch her on Stephen Colbert breaking down Puff Pastry?

1) What food makes you happy?

Almost all food makes me happy! But especially chocolate, very dark chocolate that I make from unroasted ingredients.  I eat it first thing in the morning every single day – that’s my only food rule.

2) What food makes you cringe?

Tripe. I’m shuddering even just typing the word. Tripe is a specialty of the region my father is from, and when I went to visit as a child everyone kept giving me tripe to eat as a “special treat”. I discovered that if I held my breath while eating it then I wouldn’t taste anything, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the texture on my tongue…

3) What music do you like to listen to or hum when you cook or bake?

I don’t usually listen to music when I cook as I find it distracting, but if I need to do something for a certain number of minutes sometimes I’ll sing a particular song that I know takes that number of minutes. I went through a phase of singing Strauss’s “Befreit” while whisking egg whites, for example.  At Christmas when I’m roasting my goose I will put on Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. I’m liable to gesticulate to the music though, and this can scare my guests when I start gesticulating while wielding a cleaver.

4) Tell me about a culinary goal? A dish you want attempt, a book you want to write?

I still want to perfect the making of macarons! It is driving me slightly nutty that sometimes they come out perfectly and sometimes they don’t, know matter how carefully I control what I’m doing.

5) Where is your favorite place in the world to eat?

Paris. Paris is a magical place for me where I can eat whatever I want and not get fat. I think it’s because everything is so extremely delicious I don’t need to eat so much to be satisfied, and stuffing my face there would seem like a waste of that deliciousness.

 

Like I said , she’s an inspiration. I only wish I had a strong female influence like this in my life as I tackled the subject of math. Check out her You Tube Channel.

Thank you Eugenia,

Coco

 

 

 

 

Salt and Pepper Shrimp with the Heads and A Story

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The past week I have been taking a online writing workshop called Romancing The Palate. Some of you know I am working on a foodie based romance . The whole genre is new to me and I’m learning a lot from a great group of writers. The teacher of the workshop is “Becca” , who I really got to know this fall as we entered a Mills and Boon competition. She’s a  wealth of info with some great blogs.

I decided to post one of my assignments , a piece about eating one of my favorite dishes ,Salt and Pepper Shrimp and the process of eating it. Debate is rampant on the best way eat this dish. I’m old school and like it the traditional Chinese way with the head on. Because any good chef knows the flavor is  in the shells, bones, and other nasty bits. Look at this beautiful oil after I fried the shrimp. That’s all that inner roe and shell in the head infusing the oil with flavor. If you want to be a wimp , take off the head, but keep that shell ON! First the story and then the recipe.

Amuse Bouche

It’s Better With The Head On

“Come on” Alexandre pulled Sidra up from the bed. It was Sunday and they were lazing around after a particularly brutal Saturday evening service at Le Boite. Normally either Alexandre or Sidra would make some breakfast and French pressed coffee, to be in bed. Classic traditional continental breakfast with the best pastry and breads from the best restaurant in London.

“We need to do some research in Soho, Chinatown for a new concept I’m working on.” Alexandre said playfully with a hint a promise.

“New concept?” Sidra pulled the sheets up over head, reluctant to leave the confines of the billowy goose down bedding. She could still smell the sandalwood scent of him on the sheets as she squinted against the sun beaming onto the room. They had been serious about each other for some months now, and she loved their normal laid back ritualistic Sundays. As their romance was not yet public, Sidra had reservations about being seen with the hottest playboy chef in London, traipsing around So Ho. Anyone could spot them as Alexandre was a household name. She could just envision the Daily Mail.

Alexander and Sidra quickly got dressed. Their style was a pared down elegance that the French mastered for eons. Sidra, a quick study, followed suit. She needed no makeup as she glowed. She was in love and just where she wanted to be. Work, love, all conjoining into the perfect flow. It showed on Alexandre too. He felt alive, inspired, and for the first time, really in touch what and who he wanted. No room for games or ego here. Could it be Sidra tamed the fiery chef?

They entered a small nondescript restaurant called Madame Changs. The sounds of various dialects of Chinese filled the air, and the menus written on the wall were not in English. The clanks, whooshes of steam, and sizzling hisses from the kitchen, could be heard at their table. An elderly lady, who was perhaps Madame Chang herself, greeted Alexandre warmly. They seemed to be old friends.

“You let me choose what you will eat today Alexandre?”, said Madame Chang.

“My taste buds are in your hands”, said Alexandre with relish.

The first dish was presented with flourish. To start, large fried shrimps with heads on were seductively arranged on bed of chilies and peppers. Each shrimp is fried and coated in a crispy batter, with the shells and head left intact, with a sprinkle of some spicy Schezwan salt and cracked black pepper.

“I have had salt and pepper squid, but the shrimp always wins as my favorite.” Alexandre said excitedly as he waved his hand in a flourish to take in the garlicky aroma of the sizzling shrimp that just left the wok.

Sidra’s mouth started to water. She could just taste the tiny bits of fried garlic and hot chilies of the red and green varieties are tossed with shrimp and finished with a boost of briny soy sauce. With her bare fingers, she took a shrimp straight from the dish, ignoring the white rice just being served. Alexandre looked at her as she licked the entire shell and suck off the crispy fried batter and pieces of the peppers sticking to it.

“I see you are no stranger to Salt and Pepper Shrimp? “, he grinned at her sexy yet youthful appreciation of the food. “Finally a woman who is not afraid to eat and enjoy”, he said as he dug in.

Sidra took the head off gingerly with her fingers and sucked at it. The taste of salty garlic with a tinge of spice overwhelms her mouth.  She then ripped a solid lump of mild sweet white flesh of the shrimp from the shell. Each piece of fried morsel is a gem to her mouth. Before she could repeat the process, she licks her fingers clean, not wanting to waste a bit of it all. Oil, salt and spice cling to them. Forget the chopsticks.

All Alexandre could do was beam with pride. Someone not afraid to tackle salt and pepper shrimp with the heads on.

Madame Chang came over to check on her favored guests. She looked down at the discarded heads of shrimp with respect.

“I like her Alexandre. The flavor is in the head”, she purred.

“She eats it like a true Chinese person.” she said with a wink as she brought the rest of the Dim Sum .

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Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Serves 2 as main course or 4 as a starter

  • 1 lb fresh shrimp with the head on. ( If you choose to leave the head off, leave the shell intact but cut down back to de-vein)
  • 1 1/2 cups rice flour
  • Peanut or vegetable oil for frying
  • 2 jalapenos peppers or chili peppers sliced and chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped sweet red peppers sliced and chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • Kosher salt and Black Pepper or  Sichuan peppercorns
  1. Prep your space with all the ingredients ready to go and chopped.
  2. Toast peppercorns in a dry skillet to release flavor. Crush  with fingers or use a food grinder to blend with your Kosher salt.
  3. Cut the long ‘whiskers’ off the shrimp. Wash shrimp.
  4. In a Ziploc bag  add the rice flour and shrimp. Shake to coat.
  5. Heat your oil until high in your wok.
  6. At the frying point add the shrimp and few at a time. Fry until pink and remove with slotted spoon to a platter.
  7. The oil will start to turn pink as the inner shrimp and shell infuses the oil with flavor and color.
  8. Once all shrimp are fried, remove all but a few tablespoons of the oil.
  9. In the hot wok with the reserved bit of oil , toss in the chopped garlic, onions, peppers/chilies. Stir Fry for a bit.
  10. Add some peppercorn and salt mixture to taste.
  11. Add shrimp back  into skillet and adjust with more peppercorn and salt. Toss until the shrimps are coated with the garlic, onions, peppers/chilies, salt, etc
  12. Serve with rice or on a bed of shredded lettuce.

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Black Pudding, Pig Roasts, and Keeping My Hat On All Day.


I left off the last the post with my visit to Borough Market. If only I could have stayed longer but I had to meet my aunt and take the train to a old market village called Thame. The couple who were getting married generously put us up in the Spread Eagle Inn. No snickers at the name,it cracked me up too. But this Inn is very historic and has seen many a prominent visitor from Charles II to Evelyn Waugh. The groom to be’s handsome son and friend Toby picked us up from the train station. They offered to show us some neighboring sites. Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill), Oxford, and Waddesdon Manor (home of the Rothschild’s) were close by. Tempting as all that was , we wanted to freshen up after being up all day and exploring London. The boys warned us that unfortunately the yearly town fair was going on at that very moment on the High Street in front of the hotel. The roads were blocked off, and we entered from the back. The boys were called off to pick up some more people and take care of wedding stuff,so we were left to explore the village and maybe meet up later. I was thinking a quaint crafty fair like Chicago. What greeted us was a full blown carnival with warnings of the teenage hooligans who get rowdy. It was hard to see the shops and beauty of the town with all the carny nonsense. The Inn locked off the front doors to prevent entry from the crowds. It was too late to shop, so we went back to the Inn for dinner. No one was in the restaurant but we had a decent dinner from the new menu. I had a rustic pate with red onion marmalade, crispy prawns with crispy noodles . Auntie Mame had salmon and sorrel. You don’t come across sorrel often. We retired early to faint sounds of the fair and never made it for drinks.

The morning of the wedding we went down to the restaurant again. I ordered the full English breakfast of eggs, black pudding, grilled tomato, sausage, and beans! I liked blood sausage, so I felt I could do the black pudding. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste as tasty as blood sausage. It was a lot of food and I was praying the beans wouldn’t kick in at the wedding. We shared a taxi over to Nether Winchendon House, a medieval Tudor mansion the wedding was held at. The family it belongs to is related to the Spencer- Churchill family and still live there. However they rent it out for filming, corporate events, and weddings. The wedding was lovely and unstuffy. All the ladies wore hats, but we were asked to be creative with them and use existing hats and embellish. The couple took their vows under a mulberry tree with their ‘Vicar’ friend. This ceremony was symbolic as their real / legal wedding would be in Chicago. The couple had an enormous sense of humour and deep love for each other, their family, and friends. Endless champagne, wine, beer, etc as we walked the estate and took pictures. The wedding lunch was held in a hall on the grounds. Besides the catered lunch, they had a pig roast outside! In fact there had 2 pig roasts. One for the lunch, and one for the evening buffet. So much good food. At this point I didn’t care about being fancy and gobbled up the roast pig and cracklings. The best! We broke up the eating with outdoor activities . The couple hired acrobats who brought all sorts of equipment for the guests, I hula hooped, walked a tight rope with the guidance from the ground,walked on stilts, etc all in my big hat! My aunt has these hysterical photos so I haven’t got them yet. By 11:30 we were exhausted.I even got picked up by two 25 year olds. One actually proposed marriage and kept calling me Dorthy. They found it hard to believe I was almost 15 years older than them.Flattery! Back to the Inn, and we flew home the next day. I have to say that was the most joyous , humorous, real wedding I had ever been to. If my day ever comes I plan take a page from them.

I leave you with this recipe I adapted from BBC’s Olive Magazine. Over the next few weeks you see me use ideas or items I got from over there: The original recipe from Chef Valentine Warner was a baked Mushroom and Celeriac Tarte. I wanted to incorporate some slow cooked beef shank I had with leeks and mushrooms. The inspiration was using a thinly sliced celery root as my crust. It didn’t come out as caramelized and perfect as the magazine( to much liquids which I drained), but it was very good. Even Certain Someone who doesn’t like celery or the root liked this.

Glamah’s Celeriac Tarte with Beef , Leeks, and Mushrooms
2 beef shanks
1 large leek cleaned and sliced
1 small celery root
1 cup of mushrooms coarsley chopped
salt/ pepper to taste( I used a seasoned sea salt spiced with cumin and mint)
1/2 cup of Cooking Wine
3 cloves of Garlic
butter
Slow cook the beef shanks with with wine, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Clean mushrooms and leeks. Add to beef. At this point you can remove the meat from the bone and chop up to cook with the vegetables.Cover and let roast on oven another 20-30 minutes.

Wash and peel celery root. Cut into manageable quarters. Take a mandolin and slice thinly.
Take a cast iron pan and melt butter to coat it on the stove. Arrange the celery root slices to cover. Add the meat and vegetables.Be sure to drain excess liquids . Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Take out and invert pan onto a plate( like making a tarte tatin). Slice and serve.

I am submitting this to Go Ahead Honey Its Gluten Free.The wonderful and English Naomi is hosting and shes picked Slow Food as this months theme.

Britannia Rules! and An Anniversary Come and Gone.

I have so much to tell about our short trip to London, so I will divide it into two posts over the week. To reacquaint you with the purpose of the visit, my aunt treated me to accompany her to her friends wedding. They are English and Dutch executives who lease her condo in Chicago. To justify this generous gift, we decided to call it an early 4oth birthday. My birthday is not actually until November.And I’m just realizing my One year Blog anniversary has come and gone. I think I have come a long way blogging. Anyway we flew out Wed to arrive on Thursday. Certain Someone got great rate at the the fabulous and posh Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair. Talk about 5 star luxury. We couldn’t check into until later so we walked around the neighboring Bond Street and visited the shops. My aunt is a social type and tried on some gowns in shops the assistants say was frequented by the late Princess of Wales. They had photos of her up around the shop. Who knows. We then had a quick lunch at a pub. My first meal was a traditional Shepard’s Pie.My aunt and I waited a while for someone to take out order. We soon learned we had to to the bar and place the order. Classic good fare . Finally I had access to our room and took a shower to visit my old friend Ellen. I was to take the tube to Westminster and meet her at another pub called St. Stephens. The after work crowd crowded the place, but my old wine club/ Alliance Francaise pal was waiting in a cozy corner. We cooled down with cider before we drank a glass or two of wine. Another classic English thing I love. Crisp cold , slightly alcoholic cider. Ellen’s partner joined us, and we decided to go onto dinner. I really wanted Indian. A friend of mine recommend the area of Brick Lane. That was far off, and they suggested we stick to Mayfair. The restaurants were pricier but there were some good ones. We rang my aunt who had crashed on the 1,000 count sheets, and she got ready to meet us. The concierge Mohammad recommended a excellent hotel in walking distance by Marble Arch called La Porte des Indes. This was an unusual and elegant restaurant owned by the Blue Elephant Group with locations in London and Brussels. They feature Indian /French cuisine inspired by the creole cooking of Pondicery.
The menu made it hard to decide to get the best of everything we decided on the tasting menu option.
Great pickles, steamed fishes, lamb,poulet rouge,etc. Then an elegant dessert trio with Asian and french fused classics.Think star anise chocolate mousse. I got the cook book they sell and plan to make some of these dishes. It was outstanding!
The next day I woke bright and early to hit Jane Asher’s Cake shop. Shes an actress and ex girlfriend of Paul McCartney before Linda, and is known for her cakes, etc. I wanted some hard to find back home sugar craft supplies. She had lots of Wilton, but lots lot unique items I haven’t seen yet. If only the dollar weren’t so low against the pound!I settled on sugar diamonds, some lustre’s I haven’t seen at home, some cutters etc. Compared to a cake shop I saw later on the trip, she was bit more pricey but the ambiance and neighborhood of Chelsea were what you were paying for. Her staff was very polite. I then headed for the highlight of my trip Borough Markets. This is the oldest food market in London and Kittie recommended I didn’t miss it. Was I blown away! I’ll let the pictures describe my experience I purchased some Indian spices and curries, sea salts , and a fantastic fresh grilled sausage and bacon sandwich with the strongest English Mustard. Who ever perpetuates the myth that English food is bad and boring needs to get over there ASAP! I love whats going on there.

Next on Coco Cooks…. An English Breakfast, wedding, and some pig roasts thrown in!