Cooking Advice, Ask Chef Gabriel

	Your booth was the first one I stopped at today while visiting Seattle Cooks! When we walked away I told my husband if I find nothing else of interest, learning about Culinary Communion will cover the cost of admission. I look forward to receiving your newsletter and visiting your school.
—Kelly Perry

Ask Chef Gabriel Events Resources Inspired

Ask Chef Gabriel

Everyone has them. No one knows what to do about them. They can be kind of small, or really huge. Sometimes they're embarassing; sometimes they're exciting. Sometimes they're personal; sometimes they're to be shared with everyone. But what do you do? Who do you ask? How can you get answers for all of your cooking questions?

Ask Chef Gabriel. No matter what you need to know, Chef Gabriel can help. No question is too "dumb"; no question is too esoteric. We promise not to laugh, and to do homework as necessary to feed your quest for culinary knowledge.

Need to know which spoon the T in recipes stands for? (No names, you know who you are.) Or how to keep your soufflé from falling? Or what wine to pair with your meal? Send us your question using the form below, and Chef Gabriel will have an answer for you, usually within 24 hours. If your question is time-sensitive, please be sure to specify.

Submit your question here, or read on for other people's culinary dilemmas.

Head Chef, Instructor, and Co-Owner of Culinary Communion, Gabriel Claycamp, having fun with a frenched rack of lamb.

A Fish to Fry
	How does one keep the batter on the fish filet when deep frying? My batter usually comes off and stays in the oil.
	Hello John, In order to keep the batter on it is important to flour the fish first. First season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, then batter and fry. It is also helpful to hold the fish in the oil for a five second count before releasing to help cook the outside so when it sinks it doesn't stick to the bottom of the fryer. Hope this helps, good luck! ~Gabriel
Taste Washington 2002 Recipes
	I saw you at Taste Washington 2002 last Sunday and loved the bleu cheese cheesecake and the mussels you were serving. Can you give me the recipes? Thank you so much.
	Sure, no problem. We're glad you enjoyed the food and the event. Here are the recipes: Carrot Juice Steamed Mussels 1 stick Butter, softened 2 T Cilantro, roughly chopped 1 qt Carrot Juice 2 # Penn Cove Mussels, cleaned and bearded 8 oz Washington White Wine 1/4 tsp Coriander, ground Kosher Salt, to taste Black Peppercorns, ground, to taste Put all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pot. Cover and bring up to a boil. Boil for about 4 minutes or until mussels open. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Savory Bleu Cheese Cheesecake with Washington Merlot Glaze 3 oz Butter, melted ¼ # Hazelnuts, shelled 1 Egg White 1 pt Heavy Cream 8 Eggs ¼ # Cabrales, crumbled, at room temperature ¼ # Wisconsin Gorgonzola, crumbled, at room temperature ¼ # Walnuts, shelled 1 bottle Washington Merlot or other red wine 1 packet unflavored gelatin 2 T cold water 1. Put bleu cheese in mixer; mix until smooth. Add cream; mix until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are well incorportated and scraping the bowl after each addition. 2. Put batter through a fine sieve to get out any lumps, and then refrigerate for 30 minutes while you make the crust. 3. Toast the walnuts and hazelnuts until lightly toasted. While still hot, rub with a clean kitchen towel to get the papers off. Allow to cool. Grind in food processor until finely ground but not pasty. With motor running add the egg white, then drizzle in the butter until just moist enough to make a crust. Press the nut mixture into the bottom of a pie pan to form the crust. 4. Prebake the pie crust at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until much drier and firmer looking. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 250 degrees. Pour the batter into the pie crust and tamp down on the counter top to get any residual bubbles out. Bake in a hot water bath in the oven for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Chill, then glaze. 5. For glaze: Reduce the bottle of red wine down to about ½ cup. Allow to cool to just warm, or slighly above room temperature. Meanwhile, in a little cold water, according to package directions, allow the gelatin to "bloom." When it looks sandy, add the gelatin to the wine. The mixture will be cloudly; heat gently just until clear. Chill the wine mixture until the gelatin just begins to set, then pour over the cheesecake and chill completely. Serve with rare beef or roasted lamb.
Baking Measurements
	Thank you for this opportunity to ask questions. My own chef on line... how fun. (I work at a law office and I must say asking you questions is more fun!!) I love to bake—it is my passion. And, I love to make coffee cakes, scones, cookies, etc. Over the years I have collected what I think are some great recipes. My question concerns measuring. Because I do not have a scale I sometimes use the "scoop and level" measuring technique or I carefully spoon flour into a cup and then level it. (I like to use King Arthur's Flour.) However, I noticed that amounts of flour can vary depending upon which method I use. I recently bought a cookie cookbook and the author said that all recipes called for the "scoop and level" method of measuring. However when I use the scoop and level measuring technique it does not seem as accurate and at times I can end up with ¼ c. more flour than if I carefully spoon it into the cup. Short of buying a scale, what method do you recommend?
	Good question. Baking is difficult for many people because in order to be truly accurate, you need a scale. In order to accommodate for the lack of quality scales in home kitchens, most cookbook authors try to write recipes in terms of cups and tablespoons. This causes difficulty in that flour packs down considerably. And of course each brand will pack slightly differently. This is not really fair to home cooks who just want to make some cookies, not get bogged down in baking science theory (lots of math, not much fun). Fortunately, most respectable authors use the same method of measuring that they advocate. If the author calls for the scoop and level method, the recipes have been tested using that method also. So when that author says 1 cup of flour, he or she is really saying 1⅓ cups of flour by any other method. But that's ok. Just stick with the called-for method; if there isn't one specified, default to scoop and level (it's the most common).Have fun! "Cook with love and eat with passion" ~Gabriel P.S. I recently got a great deal on a scale at Mr. J's Kitchen Gourmet in Bellevue.
Wine and Pizza Pairing
	I'm doing a pizza & wine combo (something I do once in a while - a friend got me started on it!) and I'm trying to create a pizza that will match with Merlot. So, my thought is to do a pizza with a rosemary pesto (instead of basil), substituting walnuts for the pine nuts, topped with mushrooms marinated in Merlot and sauteed briefly to draw out some of the liquid. Two questions...I'm unsure what cheese to use on the pizza - I'm thinking a mild goat cheese, but I'm not sure if there's something better....and should I use rosemary in the same basic proportions to basil, or back it down a bit due to the stronger flavor. Do you have suggestions on proportion of oil to rosemary to nuts to cheese? Thanks loads! Melissa
	Hi Melissa, The pizza sounds yummy. A bit of advice on wine pairings: Strive to match dominant characteristics. Merlot (especially California Merlot) is big, rich, and fruity; it rarely has much acid. There is often a nice earthy note, and sometimes some smokiness. You are on the right track with the pizza so far. The mushrooms will be great, especially if they are very meaty, like portobellos. The pesto would be very nice. Cut back the rosemary. If you need volume, do 50% basil and 50% rosemary. It will come out great. As for the cheese, a mild goat cheese would be nice, but if you use too much it will make the wine seem flat, so just use a thin layer. Overall, you need some weight to stand up to the wine. Sausage would be very nice. Good luck! ~Gabriel
Sushi Fish & Sauce
	Thank you for the great sushi class last week. Tomorrow some friends are coming over and we are preparing another grand sushi dinner. I am really looking forward to it, but had a few questions about the fish I bought from City Fish. I bought yellow fin ahi tuna and wild king salmon at their suggestion, but forgot to ask if I need to freeze before making and eating the sushi. I don't think I need to, but wanted to make sure with you. Also, regarding the unagi - I went to Uwajimaya in Seattle and could only find the frozen version. I hope this is right. And then I asked about what sauce to put on top and they pointed me to a small bottle of some dark sauce that said unagi something on it. Can you tell me again what sauce I am supposed to buy or make for the unagi? Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
	Wow, sounds like fun! You won't have to freeze either fish before serving, just cut and enjoy. Yes, the Unagi comes frozen—unfortunately, that is the only way it comes. My Unagi glaze is very simple. Just reduce bottled terriyaki sauce with a ½ C of brown sugar and ¼ C of rice wine vinegar. Add some chopped up ginger. Reduce this by about three quarters. Start tasting around halfway. It should be full-flavored and sweet and tangy. Strain and brush on the Unagi under the broiler, or on the grill. Enjoy! ~Gabriel

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