April 23, 2012 Lunch –Pho #1; Dinner – Poached Salmon in Mushroom Cream Sauce with Roasted Vegetables

April 23, 2012 Lunch –Pho #1; Dinner – Poached Salmon in Mushroom Cream Sauce with Roasted Vegetables

I called Mike Verhagen on the spur of the moment around 11:30 a.m. to see if he was free for lunch to get away from the crashing sounds from the back yard of bobcat moving concrete.  I said I wanted Vietnamese egg rolls, so while we were both on the phone, I went on the internet and looked up 2000 Vietnam to get its number and gave it to Mike and he called it on his cell phone to see if it was open and it was not.   So I then looked at all the ads on the internet page and saw the number for Pho #1, which I knew was located close to 2000 Vietnam and gave Mike that number and he called and it was open.  So I drove to Mike’s and jumped into his Audi sports car and he drove us to 414 San Pedro to Pho #1 for lunch.  This was my first time and so I finally settled on my and Willy’s usual, Bun noodles with an egg roll and grilled pork ($8.00).  I had noticed a review of Pho #1 on the internet that commented favorably on its Spring Rolls, so Mike ordered Spring Rolls and he also ordered Bun noodles, but with an egg roll, grilled shrimp and grilled pork.  The spring rolls were cut in halves, so I could try one-half and Mike was able to have the other three halves.  The spring rolls were tightly wrapped and full of breathtakingly fresh shredded lettuce and the peanut dipping sauce was thick and a little spicy with a blob of red chili in the center of the dark sauce. 

The Bun bowl was also interestingly arranged with segments of ingredients.  About one-half of the bowl was noodles and on the other side were sections of finely shopped strips of lettuce, peanuts, carrots.  Bean sprouts and cucumber strips were on the bottom of the bowl.  So perhaps they make the bowls ahead of time and lay the unique ingredients on the top when the order was prepared.  The other unique thing about the Pho #1 presentation is that on top of the noodle the unique ingredients are also arranged in sections as the top layer of the bowl.  There is a section of chopped fresh herbs.  Today’s  looked like mint and purple basil and perhaps one more herb.  Anyway, the top layer of the bowl was beautifully arranged.  Beside the herbs there was an egg roll diagonally cut.  The pieces of pork had been butchered to remove all fat and grizzle and then glazed and then grilled.  So visually there were small bite sized pieces of reddish glazed pork laying on the surface of the bowl along side the egg roll and the chopped herbs. Then underneath were the sections of noodles, lettuce, carrots and peanuts.  Then on the bottom of the bowl were the bean sprouts and cucumbers.  What organization for just a simple bowl of noodles.  I loved the care and attention to detail.  Pho #1 is my new favorite Vietnamese restaurant.

Dinner was also fabulous today. During our hour bike ride to Montano and back, Suzette said we need to eat the salmon filet left from Saturday and I suggested that we eat the PPI roasted vegetable and Suzette suggested we add the PPI potato salad to the roasted vegetables and I requested that the salmon be poached and the liquid be made into a cream sauce.  So after the bike ride, I jumped into the shower and Suzette, went into the kitchen.  When I arrived in the kitchen at around 6:30 p.m. Suzette had been to the garden to harvest a pile of spinach and kale and had taken the box of mushrooms out of the fridge.  So I sat down and sliced about 1 ½ cups of white mushrooms, and we stripped the center stalks out of the kale and spinach leaves and I roughly chopped the leaves into 1 ½ inch squares and then I minced two shallots.  Suzette said she needed some white wine for the poaching medium and asked what wine I suggested.  I said I thought either a Spanish Viura or a French Chablis would be fine. So she went to the basement and fetched a Marques de Montañana Viura 2010 (Trader Joe’s $4.49), which is one of my favorite white wines for the money.  When I finished chopping and went into the kitchen Suzette had the roasted vegetables sautéing in a skillet with a bit of Spanish olive oil we had bought in Spain last year and she had made a poaching medium with about 1 cup of prepared chicken stock and about the same amount of wine, shallots, galric and mushrooms.  She asked if I thought she should try to remove the scales and I said no, because I usually throw away the skin from poached fish.  So she cut the filet into two pieces so it would fit into the pan to poach and laid them into the boiling poaching medium and then we covered the pan with the wok lid to let capture the steam of the poaching medium. When the salmon was almost done, Suzette added the fresh greens from the garden on top of the salmon and covered it to steam.   After the fish was poached Suzette put it into a warm oven and made the sauce by adding half and half and Mexican Crema con sal to the poaching medium and reducing it. 

We then plated up, by putting some filet on a plate and ladling the light cream sauce onto it and then ladling a pile of the roasted vegetables beside the fish.  I poured glasses of Spanish viura and we had one of the best meals I have had in a long time.  The vegetables included turnips from our garden, beets, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, onions and garlic with rosemary sprigs from our garden and the German mustard, vinegar and sugar and chopped almonds from the Potato Salad.  A real flavor bomb. 

The fish was just as good and complex.  The combination of ingredients (mushrooms, kale, shallots) cooked together with the wine and chicken stock combined with the fish juices and the addition of crema (Mexican sour cream) and half and half made a hardy, fresh, rich and delicious light cream sauce that coated the fish filet nicely.  So we had two complex preparations combined into one super dish.  The only way this could be done in less than one hour is to have some of the components ready as PPI’s. 

The Spanish viura had body and character and stood up to the strong flavors of the crusty roasted oily vegetables and cream sauce. It is produced in the Calatayud denominacion de origen on a tributary of the Erbo River, southwest of Zaragoza, Spain.

A little bit of heaven on earth.

I need to note that fresh Spanish olive oil does not impart any flavor other than the true essence of the olive.  It is like fresh vegetables or fish or oysters. You can taste the freshness.  The flavor of freshness is the absence of any distinct flavor or smell that is not the essences of the ingredient.  All you have is the fresh olive oil that coats the ingredients and in the case of the roasted vegetables, brought their distinctive flavors and roasted flavor back to life.    

       

Bon Appétit