brian jones | YOUNG & FOODISH

SpagWednesday Vongole Pop-Up: The Movie

dansyoung — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:49:37 +0000

For my inaugural SpagWednesday pop-up on February 23rd I lured Francesco Mazzei out of his comfort zone in the state-of-the-art kitchen at L’Anima, his posh Italian restaurant in the City of London, to prepare spaghetti alle vongole (with clams) at Andrews, a 1950s greasy spoon.
The environment for Francesco’s version of the spaghetti classic was dramatically altered but not the emulsione with emozione that clings to it. With colleagues Lello Favuzzi and Claudio Milani he created a creamy, buttery emulsion not with cream or butter, as some disbelieving diners assumed, given the evidence before them, but rather by tossing the pasta with some of its starchy cooking water as well as garlicky clam juices and extra virgin olive oil from his native Calabria.

The Formica-clad informality didn’t change Francesco’s vongole but it did foster the unselfconsious manner in which the spaghetti was twirled, slurped and relished. The lack of starch in the air, as opposed to that in the emulsified sauce, freed all 64 diners to accept my invitation to

eat like a kid. dine like a prince.

Within the pop-up video is an homage to a classic American TV commercial from 1969 for Prince Spaghetti and its 12-year old Bostonian hero, Anthony Martignetti. For the 2011 Londonian version, Francesco, Lello and Claudio brought out the 12-year-old prince in all of us.

To receive email alerts about upcoming SpagWednesday and BurgerMonday pop-up dates as well as advance booking privileges, join the young&foodish community or like the y&f facebook page.

#steakfrites video 3: filet au poivre

dansyoung — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:15:45 +0000

In part 3 of Steak Frites – Mastering the Cuts, Henry Harris of Racine Restaurant stresses that the rich, almost syrupy sauce in which his pepper-crusted showcase steak sits should not be likened to brandied butter or a flavoured stock. Rather, a proper filet au poivre, its peppery kick notwithstanding, is about bringing everything together in the right balance.

Enter the why do you love #steakfrites? twitter contest to win the filet au poivre pictured above, along with Racine’s onglet aux échalottes and côte de boeuf and of course frites.

steak frites – mastering the cuts

dansyoung — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:59:44 +0000

To enhance and celebrate our shared appreciation for an unsurpassed pairing of meat and potatoes, youngandfoodish launches steak frites – mastering the cuts, a series of 6 web videos featuring Racine chef Henry Harris, with meat by Darragh O’Shea of O’Shea’s of Knightsbridge.

The daily release of the videos, shot by Brian Jones and co-produced by events partner Dino Joannides, will form the backdrop of our “why do you love steak frites?” competition on twitter, hopefully inspiring your most poetic, passionate or playful responses. [HOW TO ENTER THE COMPETITION].

The winner, along with his or her guest, will be invited to the premiere of the youngandfoodish steak frites tasting dinners at Racine on Monday, 22nd March. Henry Harris will prepare three cuts of O’Shea beef in the styles best suited to each: onglet aux échalottes, filet au poivre, côte de boeuf with béarnaise sauce. The meat will be matched to three bistro-style reds selected by Peter Lowe of Berkmann Wine Cellars.

Of course there is no steak frites without potatoes. Not just any potatoes, but floury potatoes cut in the ideal shape for holding and dipping. As Harris explains in the first video, you never need to use a fork with frites.

To receive all the steak frites videos, subscribe to the youngandfoodish youtube channel.