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Hello everyone!
In the spirit of taking requests for the Pink Plate Special, we've decided to repeat a Pink Plate that we served a mere two months ago. But given the number of people who have called specifically to find out when Paul will be making his fabulous cassoulet, we decided it was time to feature it again.
The name comes from cassole, the word for the glazed earthenware crock traditionally used for the dish. When Paul makes it, he takes sausage from Salumeria Bialese, duck, ground mutton, pork and white beans and bakes them slowly until the juices thicken into a rich, heavy stew. Then the top is covered with a gratin of breadcrumbs and toasted.
The Pink Plate is a weekly prix fixe special we offer on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Pink Plate is a $32 per person three-course special, including your choice of soup or salad, the featured entree, two selections from our cheese board or one of a couple of featured desserts and coffee, tea or espresso.
Sweetbread alert!
Also in the spirit of doing what the customer wants, Paul began purging a batch of sweetbreads today and expects to have them ready to serve by Saturday night. We use veal thymus gland, which has the mildest flavor and most velvety texture of all the sweetbreads. We soak it for at least 24 hours to make it even whiter and sweeter.
There are people who use things like the pancreas of a lamb for sweetbreads, but in our opinion the only true sweetbread is the thymus gland from a calf. In her classic 1918 cookbook, Fannie Farmer writes: "A SWEETBREAD is the thymus gland of lamb or calf, but in cookery, veal sweetbreads only are considered. It is prenatally developed, of unknown function, and as soon as calf is taken from liquid food it gradually disappears. Pancreas, stomach sweetbread, is sold in some sections of the country, but in our markets this custom is not practised. Sweetbreads are a reputed table delicacy, and a valuable addition to the menu of the convalescent."
We've been researching the origin of the term "sweetbread" and have come to the conclusion that it is a marketing euphemism invented because nobody would eat something called thymus. The word bræd in Old English means "flesh", so sweetbreads probably refer to "sweet flesh", versus the more savory muscle flesh that is usually consumed because it is more plentiful. The term dates from the mid-16th century.
The Greek word thymos, which has no English counterpart, denotes life force, soul, and feeling or sensibility. That probably has nothing to do with the organ itself, because until the 1950s, science had no idea what the gland did, as is evident in Fannie Farmer's 1918 disavowal.
Webster's Dictionary says the gland is named for the thyme flower because that is what it is shaped like, but we find it hard to detect the resemblance. Galen allegedly named it thymus because the two-lobed organ reminded him of the serpentine way in which thyme grows along the ground.
Thyme itself was named after the the altarlike elevation in the center of the orchestra of a Greek theater called a "thymele" because thyme was burned as incense to the gods. Thymos, then, was a rising of smoke, a burning of incense, a sacrificing up to the gods - all taking place in the chest, the inner altar of the body. It was aspiration, songs of praise, spirit, and the putting out of love. It was the breath-soul, on which depended a man's energy and courage.
We keep a "sweetbreads call list" of people who are so dedicated to Paul's glorious glands that they've asked us to call them whenever there might be a chance of scoring a plate of them. We will start calling those people today.
Saratoga Arts Fest
Someone from the Saratoga Downtown Business Association called Wednesday and asked us if we would like to participate in the annual Saratoga Arts Fest in June and it caused an immediate rash of punnyness.
Aside from featuring our two artists in residence, jazz composer Cole Broderick and sculptor and painter Joseph C. Parker, we decided to run specials through that weekend celebrating the artists who either taught Joseph when he was an art student in Paris after World War II or inspired him in other ways.
The first few were easy - A lunch special called a Gaston LaChaise burger (although we'll have to keep Paul from getting too creative with trying to make either the meat or the bun bottom-heavy.)
Picasso-ulet was another easy one. Then it got silly.
A Brandy Alexander Calder? (Paul suggests it be served in five or six glasses and suspended from the ceiling.)
But we're having problems coming up with appropriate specials to honor two artists that Joseph studied with on the G.I. bill in the late 1940s, Paul Colin and Fernand Leger, as well Ossip Zadkine and Rachmaninoff, so suggestions would be amusing.
While we were pondering these artists, Paul came up with fried Jackson Pollack.
"But your father hates Jackson Pollock," Cheryl said.
"Yeah, but pollack is a fish, and think about how much fun we could have decorating the plates," the chef replied. "And there is a level on which hating someone that much is as much an influence as liking them."
Mercury
The national press is awash in stories about mercury levels in fish. New Yorkers, apparently, have higher mercury levels than the average American, presumably because they eat so much sushi. Apparently tuna, particularly bluefin, bought in restaurants in New York City tested so high in mercury that even two or three pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Chef Paul keep bringing these articles to his wife's attention, calling them "Newsletter fodder," but Cheryl told him she's a bit at a loss at the point of parroting The New York Times' environmental bad news coup.
"One of things that I find intriguing about it is those fish with the highest levels of mercury in them are those at the top of the food chain, because they eat everything else that is eating the stuff that has mercury in it," Paul said. "The top predators are more dangerous because the mercury levels climb the higher you get in the food chain. Also, the fish you get with the highest levels of mercury are the most expensive. The safest fish are the ones I love, like sardines, and hake and anchovies."
We had a customer recently who wanted us to do a menu for 25 guests consisting of blackened swordfish, filet mignon and chicken. Cheryl emailed them back, explaining that Paul doesn't much like to serve swordfish because of its high mercury levels (something Cheryl became aware of when she was pregnant with Léo.) What she didn't mention is the fact that every time you get swordfish from a wholesaler, you have to spend a lot of time pulling parasites (wiggly worms) out of the flesh.
"Swordfish is always riddled with parasites, and the main reason I don't serve swordfish is I can't stand cleaning it," Paul said. "It makes me vaguely queasy. I know I shouldn't worry about it, because I know it doesn't affect the flavor of the fish and it won't hurt anybody. I don't think it bothered me that much until I read Anthony Bourdain's book about chefs not eating swordfish because they have to pick the worms out, and after that for some reason it seemed less appetizing."
(The customer, by the way, got very offended that we would counsel anything other than what they wanted and took their business elsewhere, which we regret in these lean winter months. But it's hard for Cheryl to apologize for recommending to customers that they ask for food that the chef actually feels good about cooking. It tastes better that way.)
Paul adds: "There's also the kona kampachi, Hawaiian tuna. Because of the diet they feed them and the fact that they harvest them very young, they have lower mercury levels. The difference is, they are frightfully expensive. The question is, will people pay for it? They will in New York, but will they here? I would love to serve it, but the question is, will it sell before it spoils?"
Valentine's Day
Paul has started finalizing his menu for Valentine's Day, which this year falls on Thursday, Feb. 14. We'll be offering an elegant, five-course, $75 per person prix fixe menu, featuring the most romantic foods our passionate semi-Gallic chef can invent this year. The first course will include your choice of beef carpaccio with braised celery hearts; or tempura quail eggs with aged balsamic; or oysters with ginger-cucumber gélée; or Thai-marinated shrimp with avocado, cilantro and melon.
The second course will be a chilled ruby soup with chicken broth, cream and pomegranate seeds.
The third course will be your choice of Alaskan salmon with ginger, thyme, blood orange and quinoa; or osso bucco with fingerling potatoes and bittersweet chocolate gremolata; or quail braised with bacon and a potato/celery root gratin; or red wine risotto mille feuille with truffled parmesan crisps.
The fourth course will be a salad of shiso and pickled plums and the fifth course will be your choice of a Madeleine sandwich; or chocolate torte or mixed berry lady finger parfait.
Sculptor and Chez Sophie founder Joseph C. Parker and his wife Nancy Griffis will be on hand on Valentine's Day night for the official opening of "Expressions of Love" an exhibition of small sculptures that Joseph made for his late wife Sophie as Valentine's Day gifts over the 52 years of their marriage. (Sophie passed away in February 2001.) The sculptures range from small drop-metal figures embracing or clutching hearts to a large plasma-cut steel silhouette of two entwined lovers that was used as a ridiculously sexy headboard to a bed.
Joseph has agreed to have most of the pieces cast in bronze to sell to other people who want to express their love and affection. The castings will cost between $300 and $3,000 depending on the piece. The castings will be done to order, so if you want to give one as a gift to your romantic love in the near future, we can create a pretty promise package for you with a photograph of the original to present as a gift for a birthday, anniversary, engagement or Valentine's Day. Molds for two of the pieces are being made at a foundry near New York City this week. The other pieces will take six to 12 weeks for delivery depending on the complexity of the sculpture.
To preview some of the pieces in "Expressions of Love" visit http://www.chezsophie.com/sculpt_val.html
Jazz Brunch
The brunch menu this Saturday and Sunday will feature pecan waffle with caramel bacon sauce ($14); grilled New York strip steak with wild mushroom risotto ($15); pan-roasted duck breast with mixed greens and cranberry-orange vinaigrette ($16) and littleneck clams, shrimp and chorizo over saffron fettucine ($16). Appetizer specials include a crabcake with lemon caper mayonnaise ($16); a salad of mixed baby greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette ($7); escargots de Bourgogne ($11) and soup of the day ($8).
The brunch specials run from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The complete menu, offered from 7 to 2 p.m., includes a Continental assortment of muffins, pastries, fruit, yogurt, frittata etcetera for $9; omelettes ($10 to $12); pancakes du jour ($10); the All in One, which includes 2 eggs any style, homefries, toast and sausage or bacon ($10); waffles with sweet cream butter and local maple syrup ($10); and Irish steel-cut oatmeal ($8).
Our artist-in-residence, jazz pianist Cole Broderick, plays the baby grand piano from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Cole also plays the baby grand Tuesday and Friday night (barring special events that preclude live music.) Cole, who won a Billboard Critic's Choice Award for his 4-CD set of jazz compositions: "Seasons in Saratoga," recently released his seventh CD "Chez Sophie Jazz." This is the first time he's recorded with a vocalist. (The singer is Cheryl Clark, co-owner of Chez Sophie, wife of Chef Paul, mother of the adorable Nico and Léo.) Some of the cuts of the CD can be heard at http://www.chezsophie.com/.
Copies are for sale for $16 at Chez Sophie and through Cole's secure PayPal-friendly website at http://www.colebroderick.com/sound-7.htm
We can also mail-order the CD's for an additional $4 shipping and handling.
Skidmore graduation weekend has also started to book heavily. We'll be offering an elegant, four-course, $70 per person prix fixe menu, and will be serving the Friday of Skidmore Graduation weekend from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. by reservation. On the Saturday, we will extend brunch to 3:30 pm. and start serving the prix fixe dinner at 5:30.
Tasting menus
Chef's Choice seven-course tasting menu available each night. The menus are designed based on the best and most creative dishes Chef Paul K. Parker is serving each evening. We will pair wines for you at an additional charge or you can order from our extensive wine list.
Cost: $80 to $200 per person for seven courses, plus tax and tip. Everyone at the table must partake in the tasting menu.
If you're feeling less impromptu, you can call ahead to arrange a special tasting menu with the number of courses and wine pairings designed to suit your capacity, dietary restrictions and budget.
Tasting menus arranged in advance will be printed on commemorative vellum scrolls personalized with the name of the host or the reason for the event.
Cost: Depends on the number of courses and the wines selected; available for two to 75 guests. Call Cheryl to make arrangements at 518.583.3538
offered Monday, January 28, Tuesday, January 29, Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31
$32 per person
includes your choice of soup or salad, a special entree, selected desserts or a cheese course and coffee, tea or espresso.
This week's special entree:
cassoulet
Four-year-old Nico, from the carseat: "Mommy, did brachiosaurs eat pretzels?"
"I sincerely doubt it, my son."
"That's because pretzels had not evolved at the time of the dinosaurs!" he announced triumphantly.
Two-year-old Léo is desperate to be just like her brother, so much so, that she deeply noted the fact that her brother got sick at 2 a.m. the other night. Léo woke up and watched as Paul and Cheryl took turns holding the bilious boy until he got whatever it was that was ailing him out of his system. Last night the babysitter reported to Cheryl that Léo told her several times during the evening: "My tummy hurt. I throw up in the toilet."
"But then I'd go to look at the toilet, and it looked like the worst that could have happened is that maybe she spit in it," the babysitter said.
"I meant to tell you, she was doing that the other day," Paul noted as Cheryl searched in vain for some sign of fever or illness."My body hurt," Léo reiterated calmly. "My tummy bad. Please hold me."
The Parker family
at Chez Sophie
518.583.3538
Chez
Sophie was founded in 1969 by sculptor Joseph Parker and his French-born
wife, the late Sophie. The business moved to a vintage stainless
steel diner in Malta Ridge, New York, in 1995. It is owned today
by Sophie and Joseph's son, Paul Parker, and his wife, Cheryl
Clark. In June of 2006, they moved the restaurant into their current
location in The Saratoga Hotel on Broadway..
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P.S.
Each month we draw a name at random from our database of customers
and send them a $50 gift certificate to Chez Sophie. If you would
like to be added to this promotions database, which is owned by
Chez Sophie, please send us an email with your name, address,
telephone number, birthday and anniversary. People on the list
will also receive a gift certificate by mail or email for a free
glass of champagne or dessert on their birthdays or anniversaries.
(You only need to enter once to be eligible every month.) If you think you are on the list but have not received gift certificates on your special holidays, please contact us with an updated email address. We find that many of the email addresses we have collected over the past few years are no longer valid.
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