barry's bud learns a thing or two about salt.

eww.

and now we bring you the another installment of "barry's buds" – a guest column of barry’s many comrades who share a love of all things food-related. this week one of barry’s buds tries out a new recipe and ends up with a salt lick.

do you have a delicious recipe idea? if you do and you’re celebrity chef art smith, you’d preserve it for future generations by burying it in salt. delicious, mouth-watering salt…

i’ve heard of art smith before – his famous 'table 52' restaurant in chicago, and his numerous appearances on oprah (he was her personal chef apparently). i tried one of his dessert recipes a few weeks ago (a nifty thing called hummingbird cake) which turned out well, so i thought i’d attempt to make one of his provocative main courses: crushed pistachio chicken with spicy coconut curry ginger sauce.

this also was the most extravagant recipe (more than just one stop at a grocery store) that i've attempted, which was obtained from oprah’s website: http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipespoultry/food_20071002_chicken.

crushed pistachio chicken with spicy coconut curry ginger sauce – by art smith

chicken ingredients

4 brined (no! i'll explain later...) boneless chicken breasts
1 quart buttermilk
1 pound salted pistachios, shelled and toasted
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh thyme
1/3 cup chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (again, no!)
grape seed oil to taste

sauce ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
2 blades lemon grass, chopped
3 pieces (1/2-inch) fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 cup sweet white wine
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons thai red curry paste
2 tablespoons chinese black bean chili sauce
1 can (8 ounces) coconut milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
salt (no! damn-it!) and freshly ground black pepper to taste

brine ingredients (don’t do this!)

1 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
5 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

the poison (aka: brine)

place the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and 2 cups cold water into a saucepan over medium-high heat. stir constantly until the sugar and salt dissolve. remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

when brining chicken use a non-reactive pot or plastic container. completely submerge the poultry in cold water and weigh it down with a plate. add the brine and cover. let the chicken sit in the brine for at least two hours, preferably overnight (to prolong your lifespan by 10 years, skip this process entirely).

the chicken

remove the chicken from the brine and cut in half. with a meat mallet, pound until 1/4-inch thick and place in a non-reactive bowl. pour the buttermilk over the chicken, cover, and let sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

in a food processor, place half of the pistachios, half of the parmesan cheese, and half of the herbs. pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture is finely chopped. transfer to a bowl. repeat this step with the rest of the pistachios and combine with the other pistachio mixture.

preheat the oven to 250°F.

place the flour in another bowl and season it with salt (no!!) and pepper. remove the chicken from the refrigerator and prepare it for assembly. pre-heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat with a thin coating of grape seed oil. remove one breast, shake off any excess buttermilk and dust the breast with flour on each side. dip only one side of the chicken back in the buttermilk and press pistachios onto that side. repeat that step with all the chicken. place the chicken in the sauté pan, pistachio side down, and cook for 2–3 minutes. turn and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. place in the oven to finish cooking for 8 to 10 minutes. remove, let rest for 5 minutes and then slice to serve with the coconut chili ginger sauce.

the sauce

in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the tablespoon of butter, the shallots, lemon grass, ginger slices and wine. reduce to half. add the broth, red curry paste and chinese black bean chili sauce and reduce to half again. add the coconut milk and reduce to half a third time. remove from the heat and whisk the bits of butter into the sauce until all the butter has been incorporated. season with salt (wtf?!) and pepper.

if you re-heat, do not allow the sauce to boil or the butter will separate.

the review

the starter:

my guest brought a spinach, blackberry, and tear-drop tomato salad with a delicious maple vinaigrette bought from the strathcona farmers market. it was an excellent starter – light and slightly sweet with just the right amount of tartness from the berries.


the entrée:

this was the saltiest meal i have ever tasted (editor's note: that's what she said), and i once ate a big heaping bowl of salt! well, maybe just a tablespoon, and i was six years old... but trust your instincts when trying a new recipe – it would have been saltier, as art smith calls for salt to be added in the battering flour and curry sauce - which i didn’t do thankfully. still, the brined chicken was so salty, my vision started to fade, and i swear i could see through time and space to see art smith laughing menacingly at my hallucinogenic sodium trip.

i later found out that he’s a good ‘ol southern boy, so that might explain the salt fetish. luckily, i had two fresh chicken breasts left in the fridge, so i battered them, pressed them in the pistachio mix, seared, and baked – it was so much better (the salt from the pistachios should be enough to please anyone). the brine-less second try was tender and juicy (and as opposed to the hard fibrous salt slab on the first attempt – chicken flavored), allowing us to appreciate the pleasing texture and taste of the seasoned pistachios, and the deliciously creamy and sophisticated sauce.


you like-a da sauce? the sauce is good? i'll get-a you more sauce...

this is a good 1 - 1½ hour sauce, because after adding each group of ingredients, you need to reduce to half every time. worth the effort. imagine the best butter chicken curry sauce you ever had, then add ginger with some rich coconut goodness, and two small rocks of crack.


the dessert: avocado pie

a complicated main dish calls for a simple dessert. i found this anonymous recipe for avocado pie by accident on the internet. it is the best chilled pie i ever made/tasted.

2 avocados
1/3 cup lime juice
1 regular can of condensed milk
1 pie crust (graham cracker crumb)
1 1/2 lbs. salt (just kidding)

mix avocado pulp, lime juice, and condensed milk in a bowl until it resembles a green and slightly lumpy pancake batter, and pour into a graham cracker crumb pie crust (i bought a pre-made one). chill for half a day or overnight. outstanding!