As I child I eschewed Barbies and tea sets for Tinkertoys and Legos. I can recall the satisfying snap of two Legos locking into place, of watching in awe how a couple of Tinkertoys metamorphosed into a creature larger than the sum of its parts.
As an adult, I now find the same approach to cuisine equally satisfying. As a culture, we've moved from simple recipe compendiums (really, just the rusty old recipe box, updated, and bound, with photos) to how tos. So it's a natural segue to the next step - learn the techniques, make the components and you can assemble a meal. "Simple Cuisine" by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and "Think Like A Chef" by Tom Colicchio are two of the best such books. "The Elements of Taste," by Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky is one of the newest, and ranks right along with them.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part is about "The Fourteen Elements of Taste". This is broken down into sub-categories; "Tastes that Push" (Salty, Picante, Sweet); "Tastes That Pull"; "Tastes That Punctuate" and "Taste Platforms".
Part Two, "The Elements of Cuisine" is sub-titled "The Chef's Larder" which has the do-ahead components. These include breadings, spice mixes, brines and broths. We'll set these aside momentarily - because it's the first half of this book that truly sets it apart.
We're all used to sweet, sour, bitter and salty, right? So, who ever heard of "bulby" "funky" or " oceanic?" And what the hell is a taste platform, anyway?
Kunz and Kaminsky enlight us. "Bulby" is anything relating to onions and their kinfolk; "funky" includes ripe cheese and truffles, (they admit funky is a euphemism for "stinky").
Regarding taste platforms, they write: "Common sense, or at least common practice, makes the vegetable, meat, fish or poultry the centerpiece in naming a recipe."
As you will see by cooking your way through this book , this is not the way we come up with recipes... We think of vegetables and flesh not so much as main ingredients (although at times they certainly are); it is more acurate to call them platforms upon which other tastes can stand and interact."
One of the more valuable lessons in this book is breaking down a recipe that might appear daunting, into do-able steps and components. That skill is on a par with good knife techniques and knowing how to saute.
But this is not a book for beginners, or those who don't want this level and amount of culinary theory and deconstruction of taste mixed in with their recipes. "The Elements of Taste" is well-organized within its own context - but enter the chapter on "Tangy", for example and you'll find "Citrus and Passion Fruit Souffle" alongside "Cucumber, Honeydew, and Coconut Milk Soup with Blue Crab" - and this can be frustrating when you're used to a classic soup-to-nuts organizational approach. And sometimes it does appear Kunz and Kaminsky are reaching.
In the "Salty" chapter, for example, with the exception of salmon, the taste platforms here (pork tenderloin, scallops, brined venison) aren't innately salty - the way, say oysters are, or cured things - so do they really belong in the "Salty" chapter or not?
It's this level of discourse I carry on in my head while riffing on a recipe for "Oven-Crisped Chicken with Maple-Vinegar Sauce". I say riffing because I didn't test as is - I brined the chicken using "Bourbon Mustard Brine" that Kunz and Kaminsky recommend for rabbit or pheasant.
Then I roasted the chicken, which I had butterflied, and sauced it with a reduction of maple syrup and Late Riesling vinegar, to which both fresh and dried cranberries had been added. This is a riff on the recipe that happened because I didn't have all of the ingredients to hand. A cookbook that inspires confidence to do this is a valuable cookbook indeed.
First I brined the chicken in their "Bourbon Mustard Brine." This wasn't a part of the "Oven-Crisped Chicken with Maple-Vinegar Sauce" recipe, but turned out so sensationally that I can't omit it.
So first, for the brine:
The butterflied chicken was brined for eight hours in:
1 cup bourbon
1/4 cup coarse salt
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons paprika
1/2 cup honey
Oven-Crisped Chicken with Maple Vinegar Sauce:
Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup maple syrup
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until they are soft and translucent. Add the pepper and nutmeg. Add the vinegar, bring to a boil, then add the maple syrup. Return the sauce to a boil and cook until it returns to maple syrup thickness. Set aside.
Chicken
1 3-4- pound chicken (have butcher splay chicken open so it lies flat)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Make an incision in each of the chicken's thighs, then tuck in the legs. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy ovenproof skillet over high heat. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the hot pan then immediately transfer it to the oven. After 10 minutes, flip the chicken. Continue roasting, basting every so often, until the thigh juices run clear, about 25-30 minutes total roasting. Remove the chicken from the skillet and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Pour the fat from the roasting pan and deglaze over medium low with the Maple Vinegar Sauce. Cook just until the sauce thickens, less than a minute, then set aside in a warm place.
Topping
3/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup leeks, finely sliced then measured
1 tablespoon of dried homemade bread crumbs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Combine the almonds and butter in a small skillet. Heat over medium-high heat and cook, turning the almonds frequently, until they are golden brown. Add the cranberries and leeks. Continue pan-roasting for one minute. Add the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper.
Plating
Cut the chicken in serving size parts. Arrange chicken on warm plates. Spoon sauce first, then topping over chicken and serve. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients Note: I can say that this sauce works marvelously with Late Harvest Riesling Vinegar by Perel Cuisine. Perel's Black Fig Vinegar would work equally well. Perel Cuisine is available at Dean & DeLuca and Garden of Eden.
By Sukey Pett
