Once In A Lifetime - An Evening At Le Bernardin

Eric Ripert is one of a just a handful of famous chefs who inspire me to a state of complete awe. I love everything about him, from the many global influences that inform his cooking (which is still firmly rooted in classic French technique), to his accent, and his down-to-earth, good guy persona. Aside from Ripert's well-deserved status as a monumental talent in the culinary world, he projects a genuineness that I find so endearing. And I am not alone. 

Helming one of New York City's few three Michelin Star restaurants could surely go to one's head, but Eric just seems so grounded. He's even a passionate philanthropist and is particularly active with my favorite food salvage charity, City Harvest. As if all this weren't enough, Ripert specializes in the food I love most in the world  and easily the cuisine most represented here on Neurotic Kitchen - seafood.

This was to die for.
Kingfish Sashimi with Osetra Caviar in a Meuniere Sauce, Photo: NK

Like all big chefs these days, Eric has a T.V. show. I could watch it for hours on end. He travels the world for inspiration and often has great guests. He always manages to make haute cuisine seem approachable. If you still aren't sold, I recommend you look into his well-publicized bromance with bad boy chef counterpart, Anthony Bourdain. The two are hilarious together, and their recent exploits while galavanting around the seaport town of Marseilles made for some of the best television I've seen all year.  Watching the two of them eat cheese was, for me, a near ecstatic experience.

For all these reasons, my first trip to Ripert's Le Bernardin was truly a life-altering event, one that I simply must share with you. Please enjoy some of the highlights of our meal, and if you have time, read up on Eric.  

An Evening At Le Bernardin 

In addition to countless a la carte options, Le Bernardin has two tasting menu options for dinner. We opted for the Chef's Tasting Menu with wine pairings. It was decadent, but we didn't want to have any regrets. I say it often and it remains true - you only live once. We'd also been given a very generous gift certificate which, mercifully, lessened the impact on our wallets. That said, you can save a significant amount of money if you do not do the wine pairings, although I must say, they greatly enhanced the experience and were perfect accompaniments to the gorgeous dishes we enjoyed. 

Aldo Sohm, Le Bernardin's wine director, is truly a master. He has his own wine bar as well, right next to Le Bernardin. 

Want the experience of amazing food without the huge pricetag? One of my favorite tips for experiencing fine dining on a budget is to go to fabulous restaurants for lunch. Sure enough, Le Bernardin does offer a three-course lunchtime tasting menu for $85. 

Now, without further delay, here are some of the dishes we enjoyed: 

Tuna Carpaccio, Sea Beans and Iberico Ham Chutney. Photo: NK

Monkfish in Mushroom Broth, just delicious.
Photo: NK 

Exceptional wine pairings really enhanced the meal. 
Photo: NK

Langoustine with Foie Gras in a Seafood Broth with Black Truffle, Photo: NK 

This Lobster Tail and Lobster Spring Roll in Lemongrass Broth was light and refreshing
Photo: NK 

And there you have it. A high point in my well-documented eating career. So inspired by Eric Ripert's genius, I decided I'd simply have to make one of his recipes right away that same weekend. 

Eric Ripert's Steak au Poivre as interpreted by moi! Photo: NK 

Since we'd had our fill of Seafood, Steak seemed to make sense. Pictured is our version of his decadent Steak au Poivre, a very approachable recipe that you can check out HERE. We prepared it with blanched French Green Beans sauteed in a little Butter and topped with shaved, raw Rainbow Carrots. Bon Appetit!!

Cooking With a Pizza Stone - Pizza Piccante

One of the great things about being known food and cooking enthusiast is that people never need wonder what to get you for a gift. This year, my mom got us an amazing Pizza Stone which utterly delighted me and especially my pizza-loving husband. 

Pizza Piccante - Hot Soppressata, Sweet/Hot Peppers, Fresh Oregano and Mozzarella, Photo: NK 

We've already used our pizza stone three times in two weeks. The first attempt, (not pictured) was a classic Margherita with Basil, Tomato Sauce, and fresh Mozzarella. The results were delicious, but the cooking was not without challenges. The dough was impossible to shape, so in the end our Pizza tasted waaaay better than it looked. In fact, our romantic tandem cooking intentions were nearly derailed completely once I began muttering angrily about the disobedient dough, followed by my husband declaring "you're ruining pizza night!" and stomping out of the kitchen. After I coaxed him back with a hug and, when that didn't work, promises of mozzarella, we thankfully recommitted ourselves to the business at hand. In our house, when dinner's at stake, failure is not an option.

Round two, which is pictured above, proved to be a fabulous creation that came out quite good - a recipe I like to call Pizza Piccante. I encourage you to try it!  Piccante, in Italian, roughly means spicy, hot or piquant. Our Pizza Piccante was spicy, sweet, and vinegary - alive with the flavors of Hot Soppressata, Spicy Vinegar Peppers, Fresh Oregano, and gooey Fresh Mozzarella - all my favorite tastes in one place. Before you start cooking, feel free to first scroll all the way down for my general dough-handling pointers as well as a handy you tube video (not starring me!) on how to roll dough like a pro. 

Pizza Piccante - Mozzarella, Spicy Red Peppers, Hot Soppressata and Fresh Oregano
Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:
1/8 Lb Hot Soppressata chopped into bite sized pieces

7 or 8 small North African Sweet/Hot Peppers cut in half, or 3-4 Hot Cherry Peppers, seeds removed, roughly chopped 

Ingredients, Photo: NK 

1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, finely chopped

1/2 LB Fresh Mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 small can plain Tomato Sauce (we used Del Monte brand) or Homemade 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

2 or 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Crushed Red (or to taste)

1 standard size round of Pizza Dough 

*Cornmeal for dusting (only if you are using a pizza peel to place pizza on the stone)

*Parchment Paper (only if you are using a pizza stone but have no pizza peel)

Method: 
Place pizza stone in the oven. If not using a stone, prepare pizza as normal in a pizza pan. 

Turn oven on to 525 with the rack placed in the middle. Preheat the stone for 30 minutes. 

Flour a clean counter top and your hands. Place extra flour nearby.
Form Pizza Dough into a ball. Press it down onto the counter and continue pressing until you have a flat round. 

Form dough into your desired pizza shape, making it as thin as possible - ideally an eighth of an inch thick. Pinch the edges of the dough all the way around to form a crust. 
Check out this great video I found on the web for dough-handling pointers HERE.

Once Pizza Crust is formed, carefully transfer it onto a cornmeal dusted peel or parchment paper that is cut to a size just slightly bigger than the dough shape (enough to grab it on each side). If you are using a pan and no pizza stone, you needn't do either of the preceding steps. 

Now you are ready for toppings:
Drizzle a Tablespoon or two of Oil onto the dough. 
Using a paper towel, spread the Oil around the entire surface of the dough.
Using a Tablespoon, slowly spoon on Tomato Sauce and spread it around. The dough need not be totally covered (your pizza will be too saucy) and should appear similar to the first photo below).

Next, add the Fresh Oregano, Hot Peppers, Soppressata, and Crushed Red Pepper. 
Nestle slices of Mozzarella all over the Pizza, leaving some space in between them. You want some sauce and toppings to show through!

Sprinkle the entire pizza with Salt and Pepper to taste. If using a peel, slide Pizza onto the Pizza Stone. If using parchment, lift the Pizza and the Parchment onto the pizza stone. You may leave the parchment in the oven while cooking.

Cook for 10 minutes or until crust is crispy, puffed, and golden. 

Enjoy! 

Saucing the Pie, Photo: NK

Toppings, Photo: NK

Ready to Cook, Photo: NK 

Buon Appetito, Photo: NK 

Pizza Pointers
Given how much I cook, I haven't made too many pizzas in my life. Anything with dough or flour generally scares me. I've just never had the touch. I don't pretend to have a foolproof method for perfecting Pizza, but below are some general dough-handling pointers that worked for me. These can help you whether you have prepared your dough from scratch or purchased it ready-made. I would never dream of making my own dough. What can I say? I personally like the convenience of buying it, but if you are a dough maker, you have my utmost respect.

Pizza Stones are a great investment and can make a big difference in the quality of your pizza result. By providing a screaming-hot surface on which to cook your pizza, stones allow you to get an evenly cooked and crispy crust each and every time. Our pizza stone is from Emile Henry. We just love it so far. 

Preheat the Stone - Always. Give it a good thirty minutes in the oven before placing your topped pizza on it. To preheat, you'll want to use the hottest oven temperature available to you on your oven. For us, that was 525.

It's a nice bonus to have a pizza peel. I had to learn this the hard way. A peel is the wooden implement with a handle that you see used at pizza places to get the pies in and out of the oven. If you have one, good for you. Your life will be a lot easier. For the peel owners, you'll roll out your pizza dough on the counter, transfer it to a peel dusted with cornmeal, and then top the pizza right on the peel before transferring onto the pizza stone on it. 

If you are like us and you don't have a peel, here's how to handle your dough successfully: We prepared our pizza dough by rolling it out directly on our counter. Always flour your rolling surface and sprinkle both your hands and the dough round lightly as well. Once the dough is rolled out into your desired shape, transfer it onto a sheet of parchment before topping the pizza. This way, you can simply lift the parchment onto the pizza stone when ready to cook. Note that you may need an extra pair of hands to hold the parchment level as you place it on the stone so that none of the toppings slip off -  or, as an other option, you can certainly slide the parchment onto a stiff, portable surface (cutting board, perhaps) and carefully use that to shimmy it onto the pizza stone that is waiting in the oven. 

Be one with the dough. Call me crazy, but handling pizza dough feels to me like a highly psychological endeavor. Stay calm and make no sudden moves. Move slowly yet deliberately. As with any dough or kneading, be sure not to overwork. Smoosh and squeeze too hard and you can end up with a hard as a rock crust. A light touch is your best bet.

Who cares if your pizza isn't round? I sure don't. Here at NK, we have yet to achieve a truly round crust. Somehow our pizza dough seems easier to prepare in a rectangular(ish) shape. This is fine! It all tastes the same on the way down :)
Have fun with it!
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