Raised to Braise...

If there ever was a season and a reason to braise, it is now! The cold, windy days and dark, chilly and rainy nights, comes down upon Seattle like a hammer! Us locals know it all too well. Most of us hate it. Some love it. Some deal with it. Although I do not enjoy the rain, I do like the cold at times. It pushes me in many different directions and thoughts about my food and cooking. It forces me out of my more contemporary m.o. in plating, and is a trade off for a much favored soothing and hearty style of cooking...i.e; braising. I obtain much satisfaction out of just about any and every type and nuance of cooking, but braising is special to me. It is very personal and intellectual as well as involved and technical. It is not everyone's second nature. It is one that when I am pressed upon to execute, I am engulfed in and become very giddy over. Braising, whether done in small batches or large, with meats or fish, vegetables or fruits, can be very rewarding. Not many other food preparation techniques and projects are as much so. Baking a nice loaf of bread, making a very intricate and labor-intensive ornate terrine, a delicate and painstaking sauce and the art of mastering salumi are also inn this category, but braising right now at this junction of the year is the one. I challenge all of you to try it if you have not done so lately, and to do it again if so. Become one with the process. The marination of the items, the proper searing, and use of flour in such, the "caramelise" of the mirepoix and use of and technique of the "pincage", the addition of aromats and delicate hand of spices or flavor enhancers, the deglazing and addition of stocks, the long, drawn out simmering and final stages of the cooking to a doneness only summarized as velvety, rich, tender and silky, with a subtle tooth, the finishing of the sauce, or "braisage", the last glazing of the meats or main items by basting constantly with that cuisson until a beautiful and sexy sheen is apparent, like a superbly glazed cake with ganache. Life is great when this occurs. It is not something to be rushed for anything. No rude or impatient customers trying to get their meals in a hurry for sake of the "curtain call"...should have made your reservation earlier idiot! This takes time, and time that must be endured and reveled by the cook. Time that must be honored and obeyed. Time that must be respected between the team and with much discipline, for to rush this only results in mediocrity at best. So, once you can commit to the excellence of the braise and commit full well to it's process and all the beauty it stands for, then, and only then can it become great. Right now finds us braising many different items~ Niman Ranch Pork Shanks; "osso bucco", one of my favorites; Veal Cheeks; with nuances of Merlot and Sweet Onion Grain Mustard, Pork Belly, with savory aromats and spices, Beef and Bison Shortribs, served boneless so nothing but goodness is holding you back. We braise monkfish, lobster and scallops, leeks, salsify, artichokes, fennel and onions. Pineapples and other tree fruits are adorned with this preparation. As you read, and probably wonder in utter amazement why someone would do such a thing, when we are at a time when it seems that to stand in line at the McDonald's drive thu for more than 6 1/2 minutes is atrocious, remember that it is not just in order to eat. It is to learn. It is to nurture your soul and mind. It is to feel great about something great in our lives, as we will have created something. Something meaningful and worthy of recognition, if by nobody other than ourselves, which is to say, the most important. Enjoy.