Mayday! Mayday! The chefs and foodies are stranded on a desert island with nothing but an appetite, and they're sharing the one dish they simply can't live without.
Mayday! Mayday! The chefs and foodies are stranded on a desert island with nothing but an appetite, and they're sharing the one dish they simply can't live without.
Episode content:
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Find episode transcript here: https://the-best-thing-i-ever-ate.simplecast.com/episodes/desert-island-dish-ft-duff-goldman-alex-guarnaschelli-and-wolfgang-puck
SPEAKER 1: Who doesn't love great food?
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SPEAKER 2: It's more than just eating. It's an experience.
SPEAKER 3: Do we have any more?
SPEAKER 4: This is the best thing I ever ate.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could have nothing else, this is the dish that you would have. This is Desert Island Dishes.
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The dish I picked is paella Valenciana from Black Bull in Chicago. I could live off of just this dish-- for years, happily. So paella is meat or fish layered on top of beautifully cooked rice. This paella Valenciana is a dish that you would go to a desert island to eat, that you would risk being marooned forever to eat. This is a dish that should have its own desert island named after it. It's cooked in a specific pan, a paella pan.
SPEAKER 5: I like the thin ones because you can see the little crispy rice in the bottom, the most important part of the paella.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: And they add olive oil, some salt. They add the meat.
SPEAKER 5: The chicken-- [SIZZLING] OK, so we're going to add the rubbing.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Green beans, more seasoning.
SPEAKER 5: This is [INAUDIBLE]. This is a little smoky and sweet.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Grated tomato, which cooks down. They also make a rabbit stock and a chicken stock in-house.
SPEAKER 5: The stock will give you a beautiful aroma and flavor.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Bomba rice is always a component in paella.
SPEAKER 5: In Spain, bomba means, like, bomb, because it's round.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: It can absorb two to three times the amount of liquid than other types of rice. There's also a bit of rosemary.
SPEAKER 5: The broth is evaporated. We are going to get the flame super high because we want to make the socarrat.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: The socarrat-- that layer of crusty, crispy rice on the bottom of the paella pan imagine-- imagine the top of a lasagna in rice form. And when you scrape, and you hear the crackle of that rice on the bottom, tsss, that's the prized part of the paella.
SPEAKER 5: If you get close to the pan, you can hear the rice is frying. And it's getting crispy.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: When you're digging in, you're scraping and getting that delicious toasty rice on the bottom, the chicken and the rabbit, and the flavors of the saffron sweetness, which the rabbit just takes and makes its own. When I get to the end of this desert island dish, I'm actually no longer looking to be rescued. This dish has rescued me.
DUFF GOLDMAN: Alex, I know how much you love cake. Why would you pick paella instead of cake?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Really, honey?
DUFF GOLDMAN: You're going to be on your island super grumpy. I'm going to be on my island with a pile of blueberry cake donuts, laughing my butt off.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Duff, I love you babe, but you're not going to survive on a desert island with your dinky little blueberry cake donut.
DUFF GOLDMAN: Not just any blueberry cake donut-- a blueberry cake donut from Paradise Donuts in Baltimore, Maryland. (LOUDLY) I want a blueberry cake donut, or I'm going to die.
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Cake donuts are dense. If you take a regular glazed donut, and then you take a blueberry cake donut, blueberry cake donut's a lot heavier. A lot heavier is more donut-- for the same price. They start by combining cake flour and salt. The salt balances perfect.
SPEAKER 6: You're not going to notice it's in there, but you'll notice when it's not.
DUFF GOLDMAN: And baking soda-- that's going to make the donut rise.
SPEAKER 6: Next, I'm going to add blueberry-scented dextrose. I've already incorporated blueberry oil into this dextrose. And this is the more complex sugar that you're going to get naturally out of fruits and vegetables.
DUFF GOLDMAN: Sugar soaks up the blueberry oil and then distributes the blueberry flavor to every part of the donut. The thing that sets apart Paradise from every other blueberry donut I've ever had-- they're not using an extract. They're using freeze-dried blueberries. It really gives you an honest flavor of blueberries.
SPEAKER 6: So my final ingredient is a rough-chopped blueberry. It'll mix for about one minute,
DUFF GOLDMAN: Then you fry it, and then they dip it one time and get a thin, delicate, beautiful vanilla glaze.
SPEAKER 6: Perfect donut.
DUFF GOLDMAN: That's what you want with a correct blueberry cake donut. First thing you get is sweet crunch, that vanilla sugar glaze. But then you get into the donut. It's really tender. It's really soft. And it's pillowy. And you're getting warm donut, that very slightly acidic but sweet flavor of blueberries, and the tiniest bit of salt. I have to have it. And if I don't get it, life's not worth living. It's the best blueberry cake donut I've ever had.
MONTI CARLO: If I could only have one dish over and over and over and over again, nothing would please me more than to have this dish.
SPEAKER 7: What is this dish?
MONTI CARLO: Chuletas kan-kan at La Fábrica Central. It's the most tender, ridiculous luxury pork ever. Chuleta kan kan--- "kan-kan" references French dancers, like the can-can dancers-- you know, with the ruffle skirts? The pork chop-- it's sliced, so when you fry it, it puffs out like a beautiful ruffle skirt.
I grew up with this dish in Puerto Rico. I have been to many restaurants looking for a chuletas kan-kan. This is one of those things that, if you leave Puerto Rico, and you see it on the menu, you go, like, oh, my God, this is like my whole lifetime in one dish. Chuletas kan-kan is a very special cut. It includes the rib, the chop, and the rind. No other place will you be able to find this cut.
SPEAKER 8: Monti, you are missing out today.
MONTI CARLO: It's not fair that I have to talk about it, OK, because now I want it. It's 2 and 1/2 pounds of pork chop. Have you ever?
SPEAKER 8: It has the fat, and it has the skin, plus the pork belly, which is the important thing.
MONTI CARLO: They brine it for 12 hours with cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin.
SPEAKER 8: I used enough garlic to kill a vampire. I'm sure of it.
MONTI CARLO: Just like [CLAPS HANDS] bam! Get in there, flavor.
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SPEAKER 8: We cook them for four hours and a half at 140.5 degrees.
MONTI CARLO: What's great about sous vide-- it doesn't let any of the flavor escape. It's kind of like giving it karate chops of flavor.
[KARATE CHOP SOUNDS]
Once it's been sous vided, they deep fry it in canola oil for complete and total perfection. You want a little acidity? OK, let's bust out that ajilimójili. It's basically a garlic sauce with a little heat to it. They're going to serve it with some green twice-fried plantain.
SPEAKER 8: And we put some escabeche onion, cooked in a little bit of vinegar and oil. And this is la chuleta kan-kan at La Fábrica Central.
MONTI CARLO: When it comes to the table, you just need to stand up and cheer for it. Mm, it's so good. There is a thunderous crunch. This is so crunchy. And then that fat is like the most delicious French butter ever-- and then all the other things that come with it.
SPEAKER 9: It seems like it's too much for one person.
MONTI CARLO: It is not too much for one person. Just go to Boston and try this dish. It'll change your whole life.
SIMON MAJUMDAR: My desert island dish might surprise you, because it's just-- no commas-- a sandwich. But this isn't any sandwich. This sandwich makes me cross LA in LA traffic to go and eat it. This is the longganisa sandwich at Ma'am Sir. And it is the best.
Ma'am Sir is a modern take on traditional Filipino food. And they make food that makes you smile because it's so good. Longganisa is this phenomenal sausage, simple, done beautifully. And one bite will change your life.
SPEAKER 10: The first step to making the sausage is seasoning the pork with salt, sugar, black pepper, garlic, and a mixture of beet juice and annatto seeds.
SIMON MAJUMDAR: Then, the key is patience. And you leave it for 48 hours. Then all of those flavors are going to come together. And it's going to ferment slightly, so it's going to have a little tang to it.
SPEAKER 10: Now that it's fermented, we're ready to make our longganisa patties. [SIZZLING] You want to cook it at medium heat just so the sugar caramelizes slowly. And caramelized sugar on pork-- it's like a marriage made in heaven.
SIMON MAJUMDAR: The first time I had this sandwich, I knew I was in love. It was like the first time I met my wife.
SPEAKER 11: That's touching.
SIMON MAJUMDAR: It is touching-- slightly sad that, after my wife, the second thing is a sandwich.
SPEAKER 10: I like these King's Hawaiian buns, because its texture and sweetness really plays off the spices of the sausage. I like to toast it topside bun down.
SIMON MAJUMDAR: You then add garlic aioli. And the last thing that goes on top is one of the key elements for me. It's an achara, and that's a grated, unripe papaya relish that's going to give a real zing to the mouth. It's really going to make your mouth go, wow, what am I about to eat. [LAUGHS] I'm going to be very happy. Actually, I am very happy, because I'm eating it right now. I am as happy as a happy man can be.
There's not one element to this sandwich that makes it work. It's all about balance-- the spiciness of the longganisa, and that lovely red color from the beet juice, that wonderful garlic aioli, and the softness of the bread. You have hot, salt, sour, sweet all in one bite. So good. It is the perfect sandwich.
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KATIE PIX: That butteriness of a latke, that sweetness that comes through, that kind of saltiness, where they season it to perfection. Oh, there's so many textures and so much freshness in every ingredient. If I was on a desert island, the only thing I'd need is the fancy pants latke from Baz Bagel in New York City. They're so good. I mean, they're moreish as anything. Once you've started, you cannot stop. Ah.
So this is the thing. I'd never had a latke before. And so I went for the fancy pants latke. It can't be beaten. It's too good. And to be honest, I don't think I could have another one, because I've had the best of the best. The latke is not a complicated dish. It is a simple potato-onion mix. But when the ingredients are as good as they are at Baz Bagel, it becomes something very, very memorable.
SPEAKER 12: The first thing I need for the latkes is some good, big Idaho potatoes.
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KATIE PIX: And they also grate Spanish onions. They add matzo meal and egg and salt and pepper.
SPEAKER 12: Now I'm going to form the latkes. We use a slotted spoon because, with the recipe that my grandmother used, she uses a slotted spoon. I use a slotted spoon.
KATIE PIX: Then they fry them to perfection in two inches of oil at 375 degrees.
SPEAKER 12: That is the perfect sizzle though we are looking for. We start seeing the edges start to get nice and crispy.
KATIE PIX: Housemade dollop of sour cream, hand-sliced smoked salmon.
SPEAKER 12: We slice it very thin. You're supposed to be able to read The New York Times through the salmon-- beautiful salmon roe.
KATIE PIX: Just for that extra decadence. And a sprinkling of chive. It's harmony. It's harmony on a plate. I mean, we're talking crispy, like properly crispy. You've got the hot of the freshly fried potato. And then you've got the cold of the sour cream. And that richness of the potato cake balanced out with that really fresh salmon. And then all on top of it, well, if it wasn't fancy enough, that salty salmon roe that just pops in your mouth. [DEEP BREATH] Ah. Honestly, they are the best thing I've ever eaten.
DAN LANGAN: If I'm stranded on a desert island, I need meat, bread, cheese, a little bit of vegetables just to make sure I'm staying healthy. And that's what you get in this chicken cheesesteak. I'm Dan Langan. The chicken cheesesteak from Antonella's Italian Kitchen in Bryn Mawr-- I could eat it every single day. It's just, like, a level above the rest, always perfect, beautifully cooked, bursting with flavor. So good.
Antonella's-- it's like a small neighborhood Italian deli. Oh, yeah. You can walk in, and you can pretty much guarantee that you're going to run into an old friend. Hey, Ray, do you know what I'm here for?
SPEAKER 13: The usual.
DAN LANGAN: Chicken cheesesteak.
SPEAKER 13: You got it, buddy. [DAN LAUGHS]
DAN LANGAN: You've got nice, big, meaty pieces of chicken-- they season it perfectly-- with a little bit of olive oil.
SPEAKER 14: Italian Kitchen-- you have to add the garlic, right?
DAN LANGAN: Salt and pepper.
SPEAKER 14: Parsley.
DAN LANGAN: So then, in a separate pan, they saute red peppers and onions.
SPEAKER 14: We want to hear that sizzle. [SIZZLING] One of my favorite ingredients whenever I'm cooking with garlic or onions is paprika. It just brings out that sweetness in the onions, and it gives it a little bit of that smoky flavor. Look at that. Whoo. [SIZZLING]
DAN LANGAN: To that they add the partially cooked chicken.
SPEAKER 14: We're going to add some white wine. Why? Hey, why not? It's white wine. It makes everything delicious.
DAN LANGAN: Time to build the sandwich. They load it up with this chicken, pepper, and onion mixture. And then it's time to top it with the cheese, sharp provolone. And they pop it in the oven to toast it until the cheese gets crunchy on the edge of the bread. Perfect.
SPEAKER 13: All right, Dan, here's your favorite.
DAN LANGAN: Oh, yeah. First thing I get is the crunchiness of the bread. Crunch-- you hear the crunch? And then before you even hit that chicken, there's a nice cheese pull from the toasted sharp provolone that's on top. Mm. And then you get to the chicken in the center, real big chunks of tender chicken. With that white wine and garlic flavor in there-- mm, oh, my god. Chicken cheesesteak dance. Mm. [LAUGHS] If I'm stranded on a desert island, this chicken cheesesteak is perfect. I could eat this every single day.
WOLFGANG PUCK: If I get stuck somewhere on an island, I would have to have tiramisu from Osteria Angelini in Los Angeles. I know there are many all over the country, but this tiramisu stands out by far. It's really the most amazing dish. You can't stop eating it.
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Stranded on a desert island, a great dessert would be my number one choice, by far. But I don't eat it on an island. I eat it at Osteria Angelini. So the best thing would be that Gino comes with the whole restaurant and just cooks there. Maybe if he only can make tiramisu, I would be very happy. But I'm sure I will go fishing and catch something so we have a little fish before, and then the tiramisu. It's just doesn't get any better.
GINO ANGELINI: For make a nice tiramisu, you need to have a great espresso coffee, beans from Italy, and a nice machine.
WOLFGANG PUCK: You cannot use American coffee. You want an espresso, which is really concentrated and has really an amazing flavor of coffee. You add a little brandy, and then you let it cool off.
GINO ANGELINI: Next, I make the mascarpone.
WOLFGANG PUCK: You whisk the egg yolks with sugar. You add mascarpone, and you add heavy cream. And then you whip it until it gets perfectly delicious.
GINO ANGELINI: When you see it has become very creamy and fluffy, it's ready.
WOLFGANG PUCK: Then they use a pan and they spread the mascarpone mixture.
GINO ANGELINI: Next is the ladyfinger I put it in the coffee, the brandy.
WOLFGANG PUCK: So when they soak up the espresso mixture, they still have a little crunch on the outside. But the inside is really moist and full of the coffee flavors.
GINO ANGELINI: We make three layers of the ladyfinger and mascarpone, put in the refrigerator for two hours.
WOLFGANG PUCK: And then to finish it off, you dust it with cocoa powder.
GINO ANGELINI: Everybody loves cocoa, little more. And then it's ready for eat.
WOLFGANG PUCK: This is what I call a tiramisu. Mm. You can taste the espresso with a little brandy in it, the creaminess of the mascarpone. Mm. So good. Wow. I don't have to go to an island, but if I'm there, I want Gino's tiramisu. You know what? I'm just going to eat it. You guys can go home. I have my tiramisu. I'm perfectly happy.
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