October 8, 2003 Ask the Chef Article

October 8, 2003 ... Ask the Chef ... John Pisto

John,

Read your column about the fresh sardines and Andrew Weil. Please tell me where to find fresh sardines here in Monterey.

J.W.Winslow

A: For fresh-frozen sardines go to the other wharf (not Fisherman’s Wharf). At the end where the big building is, you’ll find Monterey Fish Company. It’s on the left hand side. Open the big sliding door and ask Buster Crab or Sal for sardines and anchovies.

Readers: The Farm on Hwy. 68 at the Spreckels exit still have plenty of great tomatoes and other great produce. Talk to Sarah, she’s a

little shy at first, but once she starts talking she’s loaded with information on vegetables.

Those of you lucky enough to live in the Monterey Bay area and have any fisherman friends, try to get a taste of their home made canned albacore. So far Ronny A. and John Mirani’s samples were fabulous!

Local’s day expanded! Great news: Pasta Tuesday all day at Fisherman’s Wharf with 2 hour free parking all day.

Choice of 4 pasta dishes:

Pasta Puttanesca

Alfredo

Fresh Tomato and Basil

Pasta and Meatballs,

Choice of chowder or salad, includes bread and butter, dessert, and coffee for $9.95.

Now the local’s have two days Tuesday and Wednesday! Bring Grandma!

Just talked to Vlasta, you know my contact in Croatia. She would be more than happy to help anyone who wants to visit Croatia. Croatia was fabulous and inexpensive, especially the white truffles. Contact her at cleopatrapiano@yahoo.com.

A special thanks to Mrs. Thompson of Monterey for sending me a great article about Reggiano Parmigiano. Here’s one of the tasty recipes from that article.

Parmesan Bites Recipe

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/8 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper

pinch of paprika

Makes 24 crackers.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Form into a log 6 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Place the rounds on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Remove the crackers from the pan to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hello Chef Pisto,

I really enjoyed your show on Monday, October 6, 2003 on your mouth watering dish. I would like your recipe on this dish. Thank you and have great day!

e-mail

I suspect you’re talking about the Turducken. For you folk that don’t know, turducken is a boned out turkey, duck, and chicken stuffed with corn bread stuffing and a layer of sausage stuffing all rolled up and tied then roasted. A few years ago I shared one of these babies with Sammy Hagar and his family for Thanksgiving in Cabo. What a blast and what a meal. It’s not that hard to make, however several local markets will do it for you. Here’s a list: Bruno’s Market 624-3821; Grove Market 375-9581; Monte Vista Market 373-3737; Neilson’s 624-6263 and Star Market 422-3650.

Great idea think I’ll try one again myself. Here’s Part One of your recipe: check here next week for part two.

Turducken Recipe

The Turducken will need to cook for 12 or 13 hours at 190 degrees F so begin preparation well in advance.

Needs:

· 20-25 lb whole turkey

· 4-5 lb whole duckling

· 3-4 lb whole chicken (or use a larger chicken and place the duckling inside it)

· corn bread dressing

· sausage stuffing

· large roasting pan and rack

· cotton string and cheese cloth

Place the cleaned turkey, breast side down, on a flat surface. Cut through the skin along the length of the spine. Using the tip of a knife and starting from neck end, gently separate meat from rib cage on one side. Toward neck end, cut through meat to expose shoulder blade; cut meat away from and around the

bone, severing bone at the joint to remove shoulder blade. Disjoint wing between second and third joints. Leave the wing bones and keep the wing attached to the meat.

Continue separating meat from frame, heading toward the thighbone and being careful to keep the "oyster" (pocket of meat on back) attached to skin, rather than leaving with bone. Cut through ball-and-socket joint to release thighbone from carcass (bird will be open on one side, exposing bones left to deal with). Keep the leg attached to the meat.

Repeat boning procedure on the other side of the bird. Carefully remove carcass and reserve for making stock. You should end up with a flat boneless (except for

wings and legs) turkey with the skin intact in one large piece. Cover the boned turkey and set aside (or chill).

Repeat the process on the duckling and chicken, but cut off the first two joints of wings, and debone both stumps of wings and leg drumsticks (cut through flesh at thinnest point and trim around these bones with a knife until they can be removed). Trim excess skin and fat from necks of birds. If it is your first time deboning a fowl, it is advisable to practice first on the chicken rather than the turkey. Both the chicken and duck will be stuffed inside the turkey and need not be kept "perfectly" intact. Make stock from the chicken carcass.

Next time: stuffing and roasting.

For more info about John Pisto's fine restaurants

in Monterey, California, click here.

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