Fried Catfish

Here is the fish we had over the weekend. I served this with the corn salad and the sweet pepper muffins that i posted earlier. This is very simple to make and takes only minutes to cook.

Fried Catfish

Ingredients

2 large Catfish fillets
Corn oil

2 eggs
3 table spoons Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of green Tobasco Sauce

1 cup unbleached flour
1 table spoon salt
1 table spoon fresh ground pepper, pink or black
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 to 2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

6 table spoons olive oil mayo
1 red pepper minced
2 table spoon red wine vinegar
2 shallots minced
1 lime, zest and juiced
1 jalapeno, minced

Directions
First take the red pepper, vinegar and lime juice and combined and set aside at room temp while you prepare the rest of the meal.
If you noticed a divided the ingredients into four sections, each section is for one part of the dish. The lower section is the sauce, which i already had you start as you prepare the rest of the dish.
Next mix all the dry ingredients in section 3 and place in a pan to dredge the fish in.
Next whisk together the wet ingredients in section two and place in another pan to dredge the fish in as well.
Now cut the fillets in half creating four long fillets. The catfish i got at Costco was very large so two fillets cut in half were fine. If the fillets you get are small then use four small full fillets.
Next drain the red peppers from their liquids, keeping 1 table spoon. the red peppers should of sat in the liquids for at least a half hour.
Next combine the red peppers with the balance of the ingredients in section four and chill while you prepare the fish.
Place a large skillet over medium high heat and fill to about an inch with oil.
Take the fish and dredge it in the dry ingredients first, then the we t and then the dry ingredients again. Repeat with the balance of the fish.
Once oil is hot enough, fry, one fillet at a time in the pan; for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side and repeat with the other fillets.

Plate and garnish with cilantro and the sauce you just made and serve with a nice salad, corn would be great and some sweet pepper muffins.

Enjoy cooking

Sweet Pepper Biscuits

I made these today to go along with brunch. They are very simple to do, a basic biscuits with stuff added.

Sweet Pepper Biscuits

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 table spoons cold butter, diced
1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup of sweet red and yellow peppers, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup of cilantro, minced
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup shallots, minced

Directions
Mix all dry ingredients together, cut in cold butter with a fork. Now add the balance of the ingredients; it will get to a point that you will need to use your hands. Do not over mix or the dough will get tough.

I break off pieces and place them in a mini muffin tin. Bake for about 12 minutes at 450 degrees or until golden brown on the edges.

Quick and easy.

I have also added to the basic biscuit recipe, minced fresh mint and served them with fresh berries and cream.

Or you can add garlic and cheese and serve them with a chill.

The Variations are endless.

Enjoy cooking

Crab a la Myra

Last night i started with one idea and ended up with something different then i planned. I was going to make a stuffed catfish but i ended up with the really great crab dish.

Crab a la Myra

Ingredients

1/2 Lb of bacon, chopped
4 andouleille sausage, diced
2 red peppers, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup of Italian parsley, chopped and stems removed
16 oz of crab
4 table spoons of butter
8 oz of goat cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon of celery seeds
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
4 table spoons of olive oil mayo
2 table spoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of green tobasco sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Render off bacon in a large skillet, remove cooked bacon, place on a paper towel and set aside. In the same skillet over medium high heat add the sausage to the hot bacon fat and cook until crisp. Remove sausage of skillet and place on a paper towel and set aside.
Pour off most of the bacon fat from skillet, return to heat and add butter. Once the butter has melted add the "holy trinity", onion, celery and peppers, to the skillet a long with the celery and mustard seeds and cook until soft. Remove from heat and toss the trinity into a large bowl, add to it the garlic, mayo, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, tobasco and mix well. Now add to the bowl the egg and the parsley, whisk well to combine. Next add the cayenne pepper and the crab and toss well to coat the crab.
Spoon mixture into ramekins and set in a deep pan, fill the pan with water so that the ramekins are sitting on about 1/2 inch of water. Place in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes remove and add a nice slice of goat cheese to the top and return to the oven for 5 minutes or so or until cheese begins to melt. Remove from oven, remove ramekins from bath and set on individual plates and add the crisp bacon to the top of each ramekin. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

So I now have this catfish left over, hmm what to make with that.

Enjoy cooking

Corn Salad

The next two recipes were from last night; both Louisiana inspired.

Corn Salad

Ingredients

1/2 Lb of bacon, chopped
4 ears of corn, shucked and the kernels removed from the cob
2 red peppers, diced
1 red onion , diced
3 limes. zest and juiced
1/2 cup green onion tops, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped and stems removed
3 table spoons of butter
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a large skillet render the bacon until crisp. Place cooked bacon on a paper towel and set aside.
Pour off most of the bacon fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to medium high heat and add the butter. Once melted add the corn to the skillet and saute for about 4 minutes or until corn starts to brown. Remove from heat and toss corn into a large bowl with the red onion and the red peppers, then set aside to cool for ten minutes. After the ten minutes add the balance of the ingredients, toss to combine and set aside while you make your main course. Toss the salad from time to time. Do not chill salad, leave at room temp. When ready to serve add bacon to the top of the salad.

Enjoy cooking

Crawfish Boil

The hardest part of the recipe was figuring out the spices for the boil, there are all these prepackaged spice mixes but they usually have MSG in them or other caking agents. So it was a bit of trial and error until I got the correct taste. I have not made this in a while, hmm maybe this weekend.

Crawfish Boil

Ingredients
3 to 5 pounds of live crawfish
1 pounds of fingerling potatoes
6 ears of corn cut into 1 inch pieces
12 andouille links cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 large onions quartered
6 celery stalks, chopped
4 lemons quartered
4 garlic bulbs cut across the top, remove loss skin
1 table spoon whole pepper corns
1 table spoon whole coriander seeds
2 table spoons of whole cloves
2 table spoon of whole all spice
2 table spoons of cumin seeds
2 table spoons of yellow mustard seeds
3 table spoons of cayenne pepper
2 table spoons of paprika
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 sprigs of fresh oregano
6 sprigs of fresh dill
6 bay leaves, fresh
Lots of salt

Directions
You are going to need a really big pot with a basket, about 5 gallon size.
Place in the spice grinder all the seeds and grind for 10 seconds or so, it can be chunky. Fill the pot with about 3 gallons of water and add all of the spices: note have the basket in. Also salt the water to your desired taste, i do not really cook with salt so i put in about 1/3 of a cup of salt. Bring pot to a boil, covered. While the water is coming to a boil it is time to clean the crawfish. You will need to rinse and rinse and rinse the crawfish. It took me the first time about 10 rinses until the water ran clean through the colander. Remove any dead crawfish during the process.
Once water has come to a boil add the remaining ingredients, minus the crawfish at this point. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes are until potatoes are soft. Once veggies are done add the crawfish and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn of heat and let sit covered for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove basket from pot and dump contents into a really big bowl and serve with baguettes and beer. I like spreading the cooked garlic on the baguette.

Enjoy Cooking

Jambalaya Sandwich

Ok lets keep going with this theme. Tonight I did a variation of the recipe below with Squid. When I got home i was just going to make a saute squid in a lime butter sauce over fresh greens. But Michael wanted something a bit more, well just more. I will post the variation I did tonight after my original recipe.

This recipe is in fact a variation on traditional Jambalaya, its a bit, well a bit - well its just easier and takes less time then a traditional Jambalaya. I will post sometime my traditional Jambalaya.

Jambalaya Sandwich

Ingredients

1/3 of a pound of Bacon, rough chopped
6 Andouille Sausages, sliced in 1/4 slices
1 pound of pork loin, cubed
1 pound of chicken thighs, boneless and cubed
3 table spoons of butter
1 onion, quartered and sliced
2 red peppers, sliced into ribbons
1 stalk of celery diced
4 cloves of garlic diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped an stems removed
1/2 cup of diced green onion tops
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of celery seeds
salt and Pepper to taste
2 limes, zest and juice
1/4 cup of Vermouth
4 small loafs of french bread, cut in half and toasted
1 pound of brie

Directions
In a large skillet of medium high heat cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon place on a paper towel, now add sausage to bacon fat in skillet and crisp up sausage. Once crisp remove and place on a paper towel. Next for the bacon fat is the cubed pork. Cook pork until brown on each side and remove it from the skillet and set aside. Pour off most of the bacon fat and return skillet to medium high heat and add the butter, onions, peppers and celery and cook until soft. Next add garlic, cumin and celery seeds, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to skillet and stir for one minute. Next to the skillet is the chicken cubes, at the 80 percent mark for the chicken, now add the lime juice and zest and the vermouth. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes. Now add back to the skillet the sausage, pork and simmers for about 15 more minutes. When chicken is full cooked and the pork is tender, it is done.
To serve place big chunks of brie on each open face bread, pile on the Jambalaya and garnish with green onions, crisp bacon and cilantro.

Now for the variation; remove pork and chicken and add 1 1/2 pounds of cut squid. Follow the directions above, skip the browning of the pork and when you get to the adding of the chicken: Skip ahead to the lime juice and vermouth and add the cooked sausage at the same time. Simmer for 15 minutes, next add the squid, stir and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. Squid cooks quickly, so once it is cooked through remove skillet from heat and serve as directed above.

Enjoy cooking

Red Beans and Rice

Keeping with the Louisiana theme here is my version of read beans and rice. It took awhile to get it down. It again uses the "holy trinity".

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

2 table spoons olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup of unbleached flour
1 yellow onion diced
2 red bell pepper diced - you can use green i just like red
4 stalks of celery diced
6 cloves of garlic minced
3 bay leaves, fresh
6 springs of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, you can use more if like more of a kick
1 quart of water
1 quart plus one cup of chicken stock, low salt
1 pound of red kidney beans, soaked over night and rinsed
6 links of Andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
Salt and pepper taste

For Rice
1 1/2 cups of long grain rice
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 table spoons of butter
3 cups of water

Directions

In a large skillet over medium high heat place olive oil, onions, celery and peppers, cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add garlic stir for a minute then remove from heat, place in a bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet brown the sausage, once done remove from heat and set aside.
In a 6 quart dutch oven over medium heat place butter, once butter is melted add flour and keep whisking until Roux is a brick colour, about 5 minutes or so. Again do not leave this or it could burn and you will need to start over. Once to the Roux is the desired colour, fold in the holy trinity. Once combined, whisk in the water and chicken stock until smooth. Now add the cayenne pepper, thyme and bay leaves (tie the thyme and bay leaves together with twine), and the red beans. Raise heat to high until boiling, keep whisking until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Give a stir every 20 minutes or so. After the covered time cooking, raise heat to medium low, add sausage, uncover and cook for an addition 45 minutes or until the sauce has thicken and beans are tender. The thickness of the sauce depends on your taste, we prefer not to thick, more of a cross between an stew and a soup but i have had it where it is like a pudding. This additional uncover stage of the cooking process to to thicken the sauce and get the beans to their desired tenderness, so this could be shorter then 45 minutes or longer.
During the last 30 minutes or so start the rice. Bring water to a boil, add butter and salt stir until butter is melted. Add rice, reduce heat to low, cover and cook rice for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender but not mushy. Most rices have directions on the package, follow them but remember to include the butter.
Once beans and sauce are at the desire thickness and tenderness, remove thyme bundle and remove from the heat.
Spoon rice into bowl and cover with the red beans and serve

You can also make this with pork shoulder. I make a pulled pork with the shoulder reserve some of the pork to add to other dishes, like red beans and rice.

As for my pulled pork recipe, that is reserved for the cook book, sorry.

Enjoy cooking

Shrimp Gumbo

These is one of many Louisiana Creole recipes i have. I happen to like this dish allot, it has a few steps but it is worth it.

Shrimp Gumbo

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of flour
olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of shrimps, heads and shells on
2 quarts of water
1 large onion diced
5 to 6 celery stalks diced you want just over a cup
4 stalks of celery cut into quarters - no i did repeat myself you will need these
1 to 2 large red pepper diced, again you want just over a cup
2 cups of diced tomatoes, seeds removed
3 table spoons minced garlic
1 table spoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
8 springs of fresh thyme tied together with twine
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper - you can use more if you want more kick
3 fresh bay leaves
1 table spoon cumin seeds
6 links of Andouille sausage
1 table spoon of file powder
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Clean, peal, de-head, de-vein and removed the tails from the shrimp. Place cleaned shrimp in a bowl and chill for later. Place shells, heads and tails of the shrimp in s medium soup pot with the water, cumin seeds, table spoon of salt and pepper and the four quarter stalks of celery. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low medium heat and simmer, you want to reduce the liquid by half. Once reduced, strain stock, discard solids and set the stock aside.

In a large skillet coated with olive oil and add the onions, garlic, celery and peppers; coat over medium high heat until soft. Remove from pan and set aside. Celery, onions and red peppers are called the Holy Trinity in Creole cooking.

Cut sausage into 1/4 inch slices, in the same skillet as the Holy trinity, brown sausage and then set aside.

In a large dutch oven, about 6+ quart size over medium heat melt the butter. Once melted, whisk in flour. You want to keep whisking until the Roux, that is what you are making, turns to a dark caramel or brick colour. This will take about 15 minutes or so. Do not leave this alone or it will clump and burn and you will need to start over.

Once roux has reached the desired colour gently fold in the holy trinity. After the holy trinity has been well combined add tomatoes and blend them in. Next add shrimp stock and whisk in until completely blended. Now add thyme bundle, salt and pepper to taste and add cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes. After this time the sauce should have thicken. If it is still soupy, take a cup of liquids from the pot and whisk into the liquid a table spoon of flour, once completely smooth return to pot and stir in. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Once sauce has thicken add sausage and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove thyme bundle and remove dutch oven from the heat. Add file powder, stir. Next add shrimp, combined, cover and let stand for 10 minutes or until shrimp have turned pink.

Serve in deep bowls with a white rice.

Enjoy cooking

Vegetable Soup

Here is another great soup, it is very easy, there is just allot of stuff in it.

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

Broth
2 large yellow onions quartered
6 celery stalks cut into 3 inch pieces
6 carrots cut into large slices
10 stalks of Italian Parsley
6 sprigs of Thyme
6 sprigs of marjoram
12 cups of water
1 table spoon of salt
1 table spoon of pepper corns, black or pink
1 table spoon of yellow mustard seeds
pinch of Saffron

Soup
Note: you want a large dice for the veggies below
2 table spoons of olive oil
1 yellow onion diced
3 cups of diced Yukon gold potatoes
3 leaks, dark green part removed, cut in half, clean and then sliced into 1/8 slices
3 cups of diced carrots
3 cups of diced parsnips
3 cups of diced turnips
1 celery root, cleaned and diced
1 funnel bulb, cored and diced
4 gloves garlic diced
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped and stems removed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

In a large deep soup pot place all the ingredients for the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to low medium and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes. when the carrots are soft the broth is ready.
Strain broth and set aside, you have made more broth then you need for this soup but you can freeze the balance for other uses.
In the same large pot add 6 cups of the broth you just made and the olive oil and bring to a boil. Now add all the ingredients from the soup list with the exception of the parsley. Simmer, partially covered over low medium heat for 35 to 45 minutes. At the midpoint taste the soup and salt and pepper to taste. Once all veggies are tender the soup is done. Now add parsley and stir.

Serve with a nice baguette and an herb goat cheese.

This soup also is a nice base for other ingredients, like left over cooked chicken, ham or even lamb. Just add them at the last ten minutes so that warm up in the soup.

Enjoy cooking

Tri Mushroom Soup

More soup: i actually really like making soups. When ever we have a dinner party, i always have a soup course. Coming into fall there are all these great fresh ingredients to use, celery roots, sun chokes and so on. Also when you make soup it always freezes perfectly and you have have a bit of the fall freshness later on in the year.

This recipes is what got a friend of ours, Ben, to like Mushrooms and there is allot of them in this recipe. I have listed several choices for the three mushrooms used in case they are hard to find. I usually use Chanterelles, Morels and Shiitakes.

Tri Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

1 pound of Cremini or Chanterelles mushrooms
1 pound of small button or Morels mushrooms
1 pound of Stiitskes or Enoki mushrooms
3 table spoons of butter
2 table spoons of olive oil
2 table spoons of minced garlic
2 medium lemons, zest and juiced
1/2 cup of diced shallots
4 to 6 sprigs of fresh Thyme
4 bay leaves, fresh if possible
1 quart of half and half
1 1/2 cups of veggie or chicken stock, low salt
2 table spoons of flour
1/2 cup of fresh Italian Parsley, chopped and stems removed
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Reserve 1 cup of the whole Shiitakes for later.
Place the remaining mushrooms in the food processor along with the lemon juice and zest and pulse to dice. You want them about the size of large bread crumbs. If you can not fit all the mushrooms in the processor at once divide the mushrooms, lemon juice and zest into a few batches.
Melt Butter in a large deep soup pot over medium high heat, add shallots and saute until soft. Next add diced mushrooms and reduce heat to medium and saute until most of the liquids ate gone from mushrooms, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Now add half and half and stock, tie thyme and bay leaves together with twine and add to the pot, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 30 minutes, you want a simmer not a rolling boil.
At just about the end of the 30 minutes, taste the soup and salt and pepper to taste, next remove a 1/3 of a cup of the hot soup mixture, just the liquids and mix with the flour together, whisk until completely smooth and add the mixture to the soup and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.
While the soup is on the last 15 to 20 minutes, place olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add the remaining Shiitakes and the garlic to the skillet and saute until soft, about 5 to 8 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
Remove Thyme/Bay leaves from soup, taste to see if additional salt and pepper are needed. If Great, remove from heat and get ready to plate.
Place a small pile of the saute Shiitakes at the bottom of each bowl, this recipe makes about 8 servings, Next ladle soup over Shittakes and sprinkle with the Parsley and serve with a nice Baguette and a bit of Brie.

I did not say this was light.

Enjoy Cooking

Beef Noodle Soup

This is a combination of a recipe i found for beef soup, that was a bit boring and a recipe we learned in China for beef stir fry: I just threw them together and added some other things as well for good measure.

Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

5 pounds of beef - i use London broil cut into strips, about 1 inch across
1/4 olive oil
Fresh Ginger pealed and cut into 12, 1/8 inch slices and smashed
5 gloves of garlic minced
2 medium onions diced, you need about 2 cups
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped and stems removed
1 small can water chestnuts sliced (drain can)
3 baby bok choy, bottoms removed
1 small jar of red bean chili paste
5 green onions chopped and the tops set aside
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 whole star Anise
4 table spoons raw sugar
2 table spoons black pepper corns
3 plum tomatoes quartered
White Ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 pound of egg-less wheat noodles - find in the Asian market

Directions

In a large skillet on medium high heat sear the beef on each side. Once cool enough to handle, cut beef strips in 1/2 inch pieces.
In a large deep soup pot over medium high heat add olive oil, ginger and garlic and saute for about a minute. Next add onions and saute until soft. Add chili bean paste and stir for about 20 seconds. Now add about 16 cups of water, the soy sauce, bottoms of the green onions and sugar.
Place star Anise and Pepper corns into a tea ball and drop into the pot.
Next add the beef to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about and hour uncovered; you want a simmer not a rolling boil.
After an hour remove tea ball and add tomatoes and water chestnuts; continue to simmer for another hour. Taste through out the simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.
About the last 15 minutes cook noodles as per package and cool prior to adding to the soup.
Once the beef is nice and tender, remove pot from heat. Stir in green onion tops, cilantro and bok choy.

Place cooked noodles into the bottom of each bowl and add soup to bowls and serve.

If you are going to freeze the soup, under cook the noodles and add them to the soup prior to freezing. Also I omit the cilantro from the soup if I am freezing it and I just add it in later once i reheat the soup.

The soup will also keep well in the fridge for several days, just store the noodles in a different contain and then add them to the reheated soup as directed above.

This soup also works well with Pork.

Enjoy cooking

Chimichuri

This took me a while to figure this recipe out; we had it on top of this great steak we had while in South America, it was much different then the bottle sauce you get in the supermarket.I asked the waiter at the steak house we were at what was in the sauce and he told me, but it took a while to figure out the ratio of the ingredients. I also though that there was tomatoes in it and there is no tomatoes.

Chimichurri

Ingredients

2 cups of diced red peppers
1 cup of diced green peppers
1 1/2 cup of diced red onion
6 cloves of garlic
2 lemons, zest and pealed and the flesh cut into quarters
2 1/2 table spoons fresh oregano
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped and stems removed
2 1/2 table spoons of dried smoked garlic flakes - online spice website
3 1/2 teaspoons of smoked chili powder - online spice website i gave earlier
1/4 cup water
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup of olive oil
3 teaspoons of salt.

Directions

In a food processor place peppers, onion, garlic and lemons and pulse a few times to mix. Next add zest and spices and fresh herbs and pulse. you want it like a spread but still chunky, do not puree the mixture. Remove chopping blade and replace it with the plastic dough blade. Turn processor on and stream in the liquids, once well combined turn off processor and pour sauce into a jar, seal and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

This sauce can keep in the fridge for several weeks.

Serve with a nice cut of beef. I served it with a London Broil that i cut into long roughly 1 inch square long strips. I seared the beef on each side for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side. The sliced the strips, fanned out on a plate and serve with the sauce placed in the middle of the fan.

Enjoy Cooking

Butternut Squash Soup

I got an email requesting this soup. This is usually in my fall recipe rotation, it is an easy soup to make with an optional kick to it.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

3 pounds of butternut squash, pealed and cubed. I usually get two packages from Costco of the pre-pealed and cubed butternut squash, it is much easier.
1 cup of baby carrots
2 medium onions rough chopped
3 table spoons on unsalted butter
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped and stems removed
1 jalapeno minced - optional
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
32 oz of organic chicken broth, low salt
2 cups of water
1 cup heavy cream or half and half

Directions

In a large deep soup pot over medium high heat place the butter and the onions and cook until onion are soft. Next add carrots and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes or until carrots begin to soften. Now add the squash to the pot and cooked cover for about 15 minutes stirring contains every few minutes. After 15 minutes add chicken broth, water and dried spices leaving out the salt. Wait to salt until the end, the broth even though it is low sodium does still have salt and it may be enough. I will tell you when to add salt if needed. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until squash and carrots are soft.
Remove from heat.
In batches, puree the soup until creamy in either the food processor or a blender. Transfer the pureed soup into another pot. Once all pureed, place back on a low heat and add the heavy cream and the jalapeno and taste to see if it needs salt, simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add cilantro, serve with nice baguette.

This soup freezes well just omit the cilantro before freezing and add in after the soup has been thawed and rewarmed.

Enjoy cooking

Pork Chops with onions and peppers

After a street fair some time ago i thought it would be great have the onion and pepper topping on other things, other than just sausages.

Pork Chops with Onions and Peppers

Ingredients

4 1 inch pork chops with or without the bone
1 large onion quartered and sliced
1 large red onion quartered and sliced
1 large red pepper cut into ribbons
4 cloves of garlic minced
3 table spoons of unsalted butter
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup of unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
In a shallow dish mix all dry ingredients. Clean and dry the pork chops then dredge through the flour fixture, completely coating each side of the chops.
In a large deep skillet over medium high heat add 2 table spoons of butter. Once butter is melted place the chops in skillet and sear about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Remove chops once seared and set aside.
Add the remaining butter to skillet along with the onions and peppers and reduce heat to medium and cook until tender.
While onions and peppers and cooking re-dredge pork chops in flour mixture.
Once onions and peppers are tender add garlic and stir.
Now push contains of skillet to the side to make room for the pork chops; cook chops for additional 1 minute on each side. Re-arrange onions, peppers and garlic in skillet to cover chops.
Add chicken stock to skillet, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. For well done cook to 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove chops from skillet, raise heat to medium high and reduce liquid until thicken. Plate up chops and spoon onion, pepper sauce over chops and serve.

I have also made this with chicken but the chicken must be on the bone, dark meat is best.

Enjoy cooking

Baked / Fried Chicken

It took a many tries to get this right. We had a version while in Vegas and i like the idea of having the fried chicken crunch without all the oil in fried chicken.

Baked / Fried Chicken

Ingredients

2 whole chickens cut up
2 quarts of butter milk
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup of corn meal
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons of ground mustard
3 teaspoons of paprika
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 table spoon of salt
1 table spoon of ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

Directions
Take two large ziplock bags and place one cut up chicken in each and fill each with one quart of butter milk and chill over night.
Day two
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Prep one large cookie sheet with foil then place a rack on top of foil covered cookie sheet.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Now take the chicken from buttermilk and coat in the dry ingredients, coat all the chicken very well in the mixture. I drop two pieces at a time in the dry mixture and and let them sit for about a minute on each side in the mixture. While coating the chicken place a large deep pot over heat heat and fill with oil to about 1 1/2 inches deep. You want to get the oil to 360 degrees, but when I was first trying to recreate the chicken recipe i did not have a thermometer so i just kept the heat up to high and let the oil heat for about 10 minutes and then i took a 3 minute break between dropping the chicken in the oil to let the temp come back up.
Once the oil is hot enough start frying the chicken, working with 2 pieces at a time fry the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and place on the rack you prepped earlier. Once all the chicken is fried place cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the crust is a nice golden brown. I rotate the baking sheet in the oven at the mid point.

I serve this with the one of the slaw's from yesterdays post and my spicy roasted potatoes.

Enjoy cooking

Spicy Slaw

I received a request for the Spicy Slaw recipe, which is perfect for the summer.

Spicy Slaw

Ingredients

2 pounds of fresh carrots
1/3 cup cilantro
3 lemons, zest and juiced
1/3 cup of raw honey
1/2 cup of olive oil mayo
3 table spoon of rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup dried cherries
3 cloves or garlic minced
2 teaspoon of curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of celery seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of hot sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a medium bowl place the juice from the lemons, seeds, and vinegar, stir and set aside.
Clean, peal and grate the carrots. Place grated carrots in a large bowl with the Pineapples, cherries, zest, cilantro, garlic, curry powder and oil and toss to coat.
Now to the lemon juice and seeds, add honey and whisk to combine. Add mayo and whisk to combine. Now add the cayenne to the sauce. Our sauce over carrots and toss well to coat, cover and chill for at least an hour.

For a Variation, replace the carrots with Jicama, lemons with Limes, the cherries with fresh currants and remove curry powder, replace with mustard and coriander

6 cups of grated Jicama
4 limes, zest and juice
1/2 cup of currants
1 teaspoon of ground mustard
1 teaspoon of ground coriander

Enjoy cooking

Tangy Berries

It is very hot and sticky in NYC right now, yesterday was such a nice day, cool, a perfect summer day. Today is hot, steamy, and raining - Ugh. On day like this I want ice cream, I know i am not the norm, I like vanilla but with toppings and with all the fresh berries still in the market; here is perfect topping to make, that will keep in the fridge for awhile.

Tangy Berries

Ingredients

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of raw honey
3 table spoons vanilla extract
the zest and juice of one large orange
1 lb fresh strawberries
1 pint of black berries
1 pint of blue berries
1 pint of raspberries
1 pint golden raspberries
1 pint of huckleberries

Directions
In a small sauce pan over high heat add vinegar, honey, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest and bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl add all of the berries and toss to mix.
Pour hot mixture of berries and toss to coat, cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

Serve with two big servings of vanilla ice cream and spoon sauce and berries over ice cream and enjoy.

Enjoy cooking

Fish Tacos

Micheal's sister make a very good fish taco but i think these come very close.


Fish Taco

Ingredients

4 fillets of white fish, i use cat fish
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 limes, zest and juiced
3 table spoons olive oil mayo
2 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded jack cheese
corn tortillas
Salsa - see recipes posted earlier
Safflower oil

Directions

Warm oven, cover a baking sheet with a wire rack.
Cut fish in one inch wide strips and salt and pepper to taste.
in a shallow dish mix together the panko, flour, dried spices and lime zest.
In another shallow dish whisk together the mayo and lime juice.
Soak each side of fish in the mayo mixture; next dreg fish in the breading mixture so that fish in completely coated. Let fish rest a few minutes prior to frying.
Place a large skillet over high heat. Fill the skillet with about 1/8 inch of oil. Once oil is nice and hot place a few pieces of fish in at a time. Fry for about a minute or two on each side. Transfer to the wire rack and place in the oven to keep warm while you fry the rest of the fish. Also place the tortillas in a damp towel in the warm oven at the start of the cooking process. I place about six tortillas per towel.
Once all cooked, place on a serving platter. Place the cabbage, cheese and salsa in serving bowls, do not forget the warm tortillas; this way each person can make their own tacos. Or you can make the up and place in a Taco serving rack on the table.

I also make a quick mayo to also serve with the tacos, you need;

4 table spoons of mayo
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 jalapeno minced
2 table spoons of minced red onion
2 table spoon lime zest

Whisked together all ingredients and chill for about an hour before serving with the Fish Tacos.

Pan Roasted Corn

We love this recipe served with a broil fish or even steaks

Pan Roasted Corn

Ingredients

3 to 4 ears of corn shucked
3 table spoons of butter
2 limes, zest and juiced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)

Directions

Remove the kernels of corn from the cob.
Place a large skillet over high heat. Once a drop of water will dance across the surface add the corn to the hot dry skillet. With a wooden spoon keep the corn moving so that it does not stick and burn. Once the corn starts to get roasted around the edges add the lime juice to the pan. The lime juice will steam as it hits the pan, keep stirring the corn. Once most of the lime juice is gone remove from heat and add the butter, garlic and jalapeno, and keep stirring. Once butter is melted, pour contents into a serving dish and top with some of the lime zest.

Enjoy cooking

Simple Corn

Corn is in season right now and it is oh so good too.

Simple Corn

Ingredients

4 to 5 ears of corn shucked
1 stick unsalted butter
2 limes - cut into about 4 slices each
1/3 cup white wine
4 to 6 cloves of garlic minced

Directions

Cut the corn into about one inch medallions.
In a deep pot over high heat place butter, wine, limes and garlic. Bring to a boil, now drop the corn in and cover; cook about 4 to 5 minutes giving the pot a shake very minute or so.
After 5 minutes, pour contains of pot into a serving dish removing the limes and serve.

Simple Salad

Well OK i said the next post was Sunday, but i was making this salad this mourning and thought i should post it. If you have not guess i do not really like making salads with lettuce; i find it boring and uninteresting. I do use lettuce sometimes, but if given a choice i will use something else. Also there is so much great fresh seasonal items around it is fun just to see what combination you can come up with.


Simple Salad

4 large tomatoes chopped
1 cucumber chopped, skin on
1 cup of chopped apricots
6 green onions chopped - end to end, no roots
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, stems removed
1/4 cup chopped mint, stems removed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon raw sugar
1 teaspoon sumac leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Dressing: in a small container with a lid place the vinegar, oil, sumac, sugar and salt and pepper and shake well and set aside. You want it to stand about 15 minutes prior to using. The containers i use are the twist top ziplocs and you can get a jumbo pack at Costco for a good price.

In an large bowl place all of the remaining ingredients and give a quick toss. Give the dressing one more really good shake to combine and pour over veggies and toss to coat.

That's it a quick simple salad that will stand up to the dressing and will not wilt if you bring it to work for lunch.

Really the next post, Sunday

Enjoy cooking

Asparagus Salad

This is another simple no cook salad to make for the summer, there is a bit of prep work but it is well worth it. I serve with seared tuna or chilled diced crab and a few toast points.

Asparagus Salad

Ingredients

! bunch of Asparagus, at least 12 stalks
1 Avocado, pealed and thin sliced
1 English cucumber
1 medium red onion quartered an sliced thin
1/4 cup pf fresh dill chopped and stems removed
4 yellow tomatoes diced
3 lemons juiced and zest
Olive oil
1 1/2 table spoons Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

With a peeler cut the Asparagus into ribbons, you will be able to ribbon about 3/4 of each of the stalks with the peeler - the balance of each of the stalks chop into 1/4 inch pieces. Stack the ribbons and cut them into half's.
Next take the English cucumber and cut it into thirds and the half the thirds, place the cut half side down on the cutting board and with the peeler cut the cucumber into ribbons. You will be able to ribbon about 3/4 of each of the sections and like the asparagus dice the remain part of each of the half's. Stack the ribbons of cucumber and slice sown the center to half.
Place the asparagus, cucumbers, onions, dill and tomatoes into a large bowl and toss to mix.
In another bowl add the Dijon mustard, zest, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and stir well. Now add the lemon juice and an equal part olive oil to the lemon juice and whisk to combine. You will want to whisk for at least 2 minutes or so. Now pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat all the veggies.
Cover and let stand in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Only cut and prep the Avocado prior to serving, add the slice to the salad right before the final toss and serve.


Next post Sunday night.

Enjoy cooking

Blueberry BBQ sauce

I received a request for this sauce. In keeping with my use of fruit in many of the things I create, this is one of my many BBQ sauces. Michael really likes BBQ so I am always trying to come up with new creations, this one is not tomato based like many BBQ sauces are.


Blueberry BBQ sauce

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter, unsalted, room temp
3 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup of natural molasses
8 cloves of garlic
3 to 6 table spoons of hots sauce - it depends how much of a bite do you want
1 table spoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
2 teaspoons of paprika
3 teaspoons chopped sumac leafs, fresh
1 teaspoons turmeric

Directions

This is one of my no cook sauces.

In the food processor add the butter and molasses and run on high until completely blended. While the processor is running add the spices. Next pour in the wine and the oil. While still running add the garlic and hot sauce. Next slow add the blueberries a half cup at a time until completely incorporated.
Pour the sauce into a jar or container that can be sealed and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours. This sauce will keep for a while in the fridge.


I use this sauce on chicken and pork.

Variations that i have done with this sauce is replaced the blueberries with raspberries or black berries and even cranberries, but with the cranberries add up to a 1/2 cup of raw sugar to cut the tartness.

Enjoy cooking

Spices

I received an email asking what spices do i always have on hand in my spice rack. In my pantries, either here in NYC or at the cabin I always keep the following on hand:

Ground Spices

Lemon Myrtle
File
Sage
Shiso
Allspice
annatto
cardamom
chili powder
chipotle
cinnamon- the real stuff
cassia - what everyone uses as cinnamon
clove
cumin
ginger
mustard
chinese hot mustard
paprika
smoked paprika
turmeric
wasabi
mace
cayenne


Dried

I try to always use fresh but you always need a back up and some are not that easy to find at the markets, including the Chelsea Market which has almost everything.

Basil
Bay leaf
Chervil
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Lavender
Oregano
Marjoram
Parsley
Rosemary
Sage
Sorrel
Tarragon
Thyme
Sumac
mace


Seeds and Pods

Dill
perilla
ajwain
allspice
anardana
anise
annatto
caraway
celery
chipotle
red pepper
cloves
coriander
cumin
fennel
mahlab
mustard seeds, black and yellow
nutmeg
peppercorns, white and black
poppy
saffron
sesame
star anise
vanilla
Cinnamon


Salt - I have too many types of salt, black, red and so on.

There is a great source also online to get some spices that are hard to find, it is www.mountainroseherbs.com

I will post what else i keep in the pantry soon.

Eggplant Salad

Well this sort of a salad - i based it on Baba Ghanoush -

Eggplant salad / Dip

Ingredients

1 large eggplant top removed and cut in half
2 table spoon tahini
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Zest from one lemon
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 table spoon of almond oil
1 small Italian frying pepper - top removed, seeds removed and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons of sumac leaf
3 green onions just the bottom white part diced - save the greens for another salad
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

OK this requires a bit of cooking. Place the eggplant face down on a baking dish and pop in the toaster oven on broil. You want to keep it in until the skin starts to blacken, then remove and leave it face down in the baking dish until cooled, and i mean leave it alone.
When completely cooled, remove the eggplant one at a time, holding the cut part of the top in your hand, where you removed the top, take a knife and cut the round part of the eggplant, liquid should be released from the eggplant. Once drained place in the food processor and repeat with the other half.
Next place the balance of the ingredients into the food processor, and pulse to chop, you want it like chunky salsa. Do not puree it, i think it taste better chunky but if you like it smooth go for it.

Place in a bowl and chill for an hour. Some water may rise to the top, just pour it off.

Simple - i usually make the Humus, a herb salad and this for dinner during the summer.

Enjoy cooking

Cucumber and yogurt salad

I had made this for lunch today, I based it on a salad we had in Syria. It is really simple to make and very refreshing on a hot sticky day, like it is today.


Cucumber and Yogurt Salad

Ingredients

17.6 oz Fage Yogurt - i prefer this one because it is nice and thick and will stand up to the water content of cucumbers
1 large cucumber - diced and leave the peel on
1/4 chopped fresh dill, remove the stems
1 bunch of green onions, diced include the green tops and the bottoms all the way to the roots - no roots of course
1 table spoon minced garlic
and salt to taste.


Directions

Mix all together and chill for about an hour. Some water from the cucumbers will rise to the top just stir it in.

Simple

Variation

Remove the dill and add 1/4 cup of fresh chopped mint, stems removed.

Enjoy cooking

Clams and Cucumbers

OK - i just got an email requesting this one, I guess we could not wait - I serve this as a started course - Here it is;

Clams with Cucumbers

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers, striped pealed, quartered and sliced
3 large onions, pealed. quartered and sliced or 10 shallots pealed and sliced
8 sprigs of Thyme - use the entire sprig do not remove leaves
1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped stems removed
1/4 cup of chocolate mint leaves, ribbon cut.
1 cup dry white wine
half stick of butter, un-salted
1/4 cup of half and half
1 cup grated asiago cheese
salt and pepper to taste
30 to 36 little necks clams or 40 to 50 cockles ( i like cockles with this sauce)


Directions

In a large deep pot over medium heat melt butter, once melted add onions or shallots and stir until butter started to caramelize the onions. Next add the wine and thyme, reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer of 20 minutes.
Now add the dill, half and half and the asiago cheese, salt and pepper, stir, after 2 minutes increase heat to high, once at a boil drop in the clams or cockles and cover.
2 minutes into the process stir bring the clams from the bottom to the top.
3 minutes or when all the clams are about open stir again and add cucumbers.
Remove from heat and keep covered for 30 to 45 seconds. You want the cucumbers still crisp just warmed from the sauce
Add Mint and toss - serve right away.

I serve with mint and sorrel pop overs.

Enjoy cooking

Pasta with Clams and Shallots

I threw this together a few Sundays ago: I was think what can i do wit with my traditional Mussels sauce and change it up a bit to taste great with pasta. I reduced the liquids and added more cheese, what is better than that.


Pasta with Clams and Shallots

Ingredients

2 table spoons of olive oil
1 stick of butter, un-salted
6 to 8 cloves of garlic minced
10 shallots thinly sliced
6 to 8 sprigs of Fresh lemon thyme, stems removed
6 to 8 sprigs of fresh marjoram, stems removed
1/2 cup of fresh Italian Parsley, chopped stems removed
2 cups of dry white wine
4 oz of creme fraiche
1 1/2 cups grated asiago cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb dried pasta of choice
30 to 36 little neck clams scrubbed well.

Note: if you have not used fresh clams, oysters or mussels before - keep them on ice before using but do not sit them in the ice unless they are in a bowl that drains; by sitting in fresh water it will shock and kill them (that was what i was told at the fish monger). I just place a metal bowl inside a bowl with ice and place the shell fish it that and keep them in the fridge until ready to use them,

Directions

Timing is everything with this dish

In a very large deep dish pot heat oil over medium heat, next add garlic and reduce to low. Infuse the oil with the garlic about a minute. Now add the butter once melted add the shallots, stir, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally during that time.

With a 10 minutes to go with the shallots start the pasta water and follow the directions on the box.

After 30 minutes, increase the heat to medium low and add the wine and the creme fraiche. Stir until the creme is completely incorporated into wine. Next add the thyme and the marjoram, salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce for 5 minutes. Pasta should be about 5 minutes from being done. Turn heat up on sauce to high, once it starts to boil drop the clams in and cover. 2 minutes into adding the clams stir the pot bringing the clams from the bottom to the top. 2 more minutes in sir again. when you get to 3 to 4 minute in total wit the clams, drain pasta and add the pasta to clams - Clams should all be about open now (if not wait until most are open or about to open before adding pasta but now too long the clams will get chewy). Remove pot from heat and toss in parsley and half the cheese, stir. Transfer the all the contents of the pot into a very large bowl and add the remaining cheese and serve.

Next time i will post all the variations i have with Clams, Oysters and Mussels. I have allot of them due to we love Clams, Oysters and Mussels of them and I serve them at least once a week.

The next sauce I use cucumbers.

Enjoy cooking

Garlic Chicken

There are two variations of this dish; one more country French inspired and the other Mexican Inspired both are great.


Garlic Chicken -

Ingredients

6 large stalks of celery, diced
1 large onion rough chopped
2 cups Jerusalem artichokes, rough chopped
6 sprigs of Italian parsley
3 sprigs of tarragon
1/2 olive oil
50 cloves of garlic - yes 50 with the paper left on
2/3 cups of a dry white wine or vermouth
3 lbs of cut up chicken on the bone with the skin left on
salt and pepper to taste
A loaf of french Bread

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
In a large covered casserole dish spread out the veggies on the bottom of the dish. Next layer the uncut parsley and tarragon on top of the veggies.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat with the olive oil. Stick some of the cloves of garlic under the skin of the chicken.
Arrange chicken over veggies in one layer. Now tuck the remaining garlic around the chicken making sure the garlic is through out the dish.
Pour Wine over the entire dish.
Cover dish with foil and place the lid on casserole, you want a tight seal so no steam escapes.
Cook for 90 minutes and do not peek during cooking process.

Remove chicken, veggies and the garlic and serve with large piece of bread so that you can spread the cooked garlic on , yum.

Garlic Chicken two

Ingredients

6 large stalks of celery, diced
1 large red onion, rough chopped
2 poblano peppers, rough chopped
2 cups of Jicama, rough chopped
6 sprigs of cilantro
3 springs of oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
50 cloves of garlic
2/3 cup of rum or tequila
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
salt and pepper to taste
a loaf of french bread

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
In a large covered casserole dish spread out the veggies on the bottom of the dish. Next layer the uncut cilantro and oregano on top of the veggies.
Season the chicken with some of the cumin, cardamon, salt and pepper and coat with the olive oil. Stick some of the cloves of garlic under the skin of the chicken.
Arrange chicken over veggies in one layer. Now tuck the remaining garlic around the chicken making sure the garlic is through out the dish. Sprinkle the remaining spices over chicken.
Pour rum or tequila over the entire dish.
Cover dish with foil and place the lid on casserole, you want a tight seal so no steam escapes.
Cook for 90 minutes and do not peek during cooking process.

Remove chicken, veggies and the garlic and serve with large piece of bread so that you can spread the cooked garlic on.

Next post Monday night

Enjoy cooking

Mixed Berries Gratin

Yes more berries - I really like berries and they are in season at the moment. I have been play with pots de cremes for a while now and this even though I call it a gratin, it really is a sort of pots de creme. This one is lighter then the other pots de creme i have made.

Mixed Berries Gratin

Ingredients

1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup creme fraiche - whipped in volume to 1 cup
1/2 cup of raw sugar - plus 2 teaspoons
1 table spoon cornstarch - i know but its quicker then doing i the traditional way
2 table spoons unsalted butter - diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
4 cups mixed berries - no strawberries
confectioner sugar

Directions

In a small sauce pan bring milk to a boil, remove from stove and set aside.
In another bowl whisk together egg yolks, 1/2 cup of raw sugar and cornstarch until a light yellow color and it starts to thicken. Next very slowly whisk in the hot milk and i mean very slowly you do not want to create scrambled sugared eggs. Once you have whisked in all the milk, pour back into the small sauce pan and return to the stove over medium to low heat and keep whisking until the mixtures is custard like. Remove from stove, whisk in the butter and salt, transfer to a new bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface, to prevent a skin from forming when you put it in the fridge to cool.
Pre-heat broiler.
Once the custard has cooled, remove plastic wrap and fold in whipped creme fraiche.
In a bowl toss berries and the 2 teaspoons of raw sugar until coated. Next pour half of the berries into a gratin dish and arrange evenly at the bottom. Spoon in custard and sprinkle the remaining berries on top. Sift confectioners sugar on top and place under the broiler for about 7 to 8 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown. Serve at once.

I have also made this with pears - just dice the pears into small cubes. Apricots are also good and a mixture of raisins and currents with a teaspoon of cinnamon with the 2 teaspoons of raw sugar.

Enjoy cooking

Spicy Berry Wings

I loved to cook with fruit, it can be sweet or savory or both. It also gives an un-expected twist to a dish. When we hold our dinner parties here in NYC or our "Candle Light Suppers" at the cabin (hmm who is Hyacinth), I always try to have a dish or two with some type of fruit in it.

The recipe below is one of many i have using fruit; this one is based on the classic buffalo wing recipe and then i take it in an new direction with the berries.

Classic Buffalo Wing Sauce

The base of the wing sauce is butter and hot sauce in a ratio to make mild, medium or hot.

Medium Sauce

2 cup of melted butter
2 cup of Louisiana hot sauce
3 table spoons minced Garlic
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoons of salt
3 table spoons dried onion flakes
1 table spoon ground black pepper

Directions
Combine all together in a blender - place in a sealed jar until ready to use, simple.

To make mild, increase butter by 1 a cup and reduce the hot sauce by 1 cup

To make hot, increase hot sauce by 1 cup and reduce butter by 1 cup.


My basic Buffalo sauce I also add;

2 teaspoon of fresh ground ginger
1 minced jalapeno
3 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes


Spicy Berry Wings

Ingredients
36 Chicken wings - cut at the joint and the tips discarded
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 minced jalapeno
1 cup of raw honey
4 cups of berries - mixed or a single berry - i usually use raspberries and black berries
2 cups melted butter
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Louisiana Hot Sauce- depends on how hot you want it - actually i use 1 cup most of the time

Directions

Now we do not have a fryer so I use the broiler to cook the wings.
Pre-heat broiler or fire up the grill

In a large bowl place wings, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper and all of the dried thyme, toss to coat and set aside

In a blender place the butter, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and pulse to mix.
Now add the vinegar, hot sauce, honey and dried spices, pulse to mix.
Next add the berries and set the blender on high to puree.
Place the wings on a broiler rack single layer or on the grill, cook for about 10 minutes on each side or until the wings are crispy.
Just about when the wings are done place 1/4 cup of the sauce in either a large bowl or a large tub or container with a lid.
Once wings are done, take a quarter of the wings place either in the bowl and toss to coat or in the container with a lid and shake. REMOVE wings with tongs and repeat the process - do not dump the wings out, the hot wings will draw in the sauce but if you like really saucy wings dump them out.

Another way of cooking the wings:

Glazed - but not as crispy

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
Place the wings on a drip rack in a single layer and then place rack on a cookie sheet
Bake of wings for about 20 minutes turning the wings over at the 10 minute mark. remove wings from oven and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium high heat place 1/4 cup of the sauce in the pan and a quarter of the wings.
Stir wings in skillet until sauce begins to thicken and creates a glaze on the wings. Remove wings from skillet and repeat until all wings are coated.

All ways are good it just depends on hot or crispy you like your wings.

The extra sauce will keep in the fridge for about a month.

Note: i have tried this with Blueberries and strawberries and it is not as good. I do have a Blueberry BBQ sauce that is great. I will post that soon.

Enjoy cooking

Mac and Cheese

I do not make Mac and cheese allot due to the fact that Michael does not like it, well actually its just not his thing. The recipe below is the variation, I have a base mac and cheese recipe but with all the rewrites for the book, my recipe files are every where - i need to spend time to get them in order. Anyway, the recipe below sounds odd at first but it really good - Ask Doug he was my tester for this recipe. There are allot of steps but its worth it.

Coconut Chicken Mac and Cheese

It is a two step process - first the chicken

Ingredients

3 table spoons of canola oil
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 whole chicken cut up

Directions - chicken

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add all the dried spices, minced garlic and ginger. Stir until spice are fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add coconut milk, stir and reduce heat to low medium. Simmer for about 3 minutes covered. Now add the chicken and cook chicken covered for about 30 to 40 minutes until completely cooked through. Mid way through the cooking process turn the chicken over in the skillet.

When chicken is done remove from skillet and set aside to cool. Once cool, shred chicken and place in a large bowl and set aside.

Mac and Cheese

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Ingredients

Cooked chicken - done
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, plus 3 tablespoons
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 medium shallots diced
1 jalapeno diced - no seeds
3 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 lb box dried pasta, i use mezze penne
8 oz mascarpone cheese
8 oz asiago cheese
1/2 lb of Australian cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 lb Capricho de Cabra goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, diced
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro, stems removed

Directions - Mac and Cheese

Prep the pasta as directed on the box, drain and add to the large bowl with the chicken.

In a large sauce pan over medium low heat add shallots and cook until tender - no oil the low heat will cook the shallots with out sticking. Add minced garlic, ginger and jalapeno stir for one minute to warm. Add the balance of the spices and the coconut milk, stir and reduce heat to low ad simmer for 10 minutes to infuse the milk. Now add the 1 1/2 cups of shredded coconut, heavy cream, stir and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone cheese, stir until completely melted.

While the sauce was simmering add cilantro and all but a table spoon of each of the cheese to the large bowl with the chicken and pasta and toss.

Pour hot sauce over the pasta, chicken and cheeses, toss to coat pasta and the cheese starts to melt.

Pour mixture into a large deep baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the top and the 3 tablespoons of shredded coconut.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until top begins to brown and sauce bubbles up.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Until tomorrow, enjoy cooking

Scallops

Scallops - most people including I was avoided trying to cook scallops due to watching all the cooking show like Top chef and usually the dishes that fails on the shows were scallops: over cooked , under cooked, lack flavor or over done flavors. It was not until i caught a really old cooking show that I guess hired om PBS: this very nice french lady who was the host of the show made cooking scallops very easy. The recipe she had was just scallops and butter with a pinch of salt and pepper, that was it. That night i tried it and it was a hit. Below is my version of the french ladies recipe along with a few of my own.

Scallops in garlic butter

Ingredients

16 scallops
3 table spoons of butter melted
2 cloves of garlic sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh diced tarragon
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

Rinse and completely dry the scallops and i mean completely dry the scallops and set them aside on a paper towel. Place the sliced garlic into the melted butter and set aside.
Place a medium not stick pan on high heat, when a drop of water dances on the surface of the pan it is ready. In a single layer place scallops in the pan, there will be a searing sound. Sear on one side for about 2 to 3 minutes depending on the size of the scallops. Once seared, flip them over and sear the other side, a minute and a half to two minutes into the second side pour melted butter over the scallops. Now quickly remove scallops from pan and plate. With pan off heat throw in tarragon , stir and then spoon butter, garlic & tarragon sauce over scallops and salt and pepper to taste.


Bacon Scallops

Ingredients

16 scallops
16 slices of bacon

Directions

Like before wash and completely dry scallops. Wrap each scallop in a slice of bacon. Place a medium pan over high heat, once a drop of water dances across the surface the pan is ready. Place bacon wrapped scallops in pan and sear about 2 to 3 minutes depending on the size, you want the bacon crispy before turning over. Turn over and sear on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes remove once bacon is crispy. The bacon will help prevent the scallops from drying out. Serve Hot


Scallops in Orange dressing and roasted tomatoes

Ingredients

16 scallops
4 table spoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of fresh orange juice
zest of one orange
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup of chopped chives

1/2 cup thin sliced red onions
1 table spoon diced garlic
1 1/2 lbs of yellow and red cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a bowl place scallops, orange juice and one table spoon of olive oil, stir and cover and marinate in fridge for at least 3 hours, over night is best.

Next day

Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees.
In a bowl place tomatoes, onions, garlic and the cup of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste and toss until tomatoes and onions are coated. On a cookie sheet scatter the tomatoes and onions and bake for 40 to 50 minutes,until soften, blisters and turn golden around the edges, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with the basil and set aside.
In a large pan, heat the remaining olive oil and sear scallops one one side until golden then flip and sear the other side. They will cook faster due to the orange juice has already done some of the cooking for you.
Spoon the cooled roasted tomatoes onto 4 plates and place 4 scallops on each plate. Sprinkle with chives and zest and serve.

I am working on two other scallops which i will post soon.

Enjoy cooking

Lemonades

This weekend while we were out at the cabin, we had lunch at this great little cafe. they made great combo sandwiches but the thing that blew me away was the Lemonade, but it was more then just Lemonade; it was Lemonade made with fresh Basil.

Well this got us talking, what other herb combo could we come up with to pair with the Lemonade or Limeade. I spent most of the mourning at the cabin experimenting with different herbs, fresh from our garden and I came up with five variations.

Well first we need the Lemonade or Limeade.

Lemonade / Limeade

Ingredients
3/4 to a cup of raw sugar
1 cup of water
1 cup of lemon or lime juice
Zest from either 2 to 3 lemons or limes
3 to 4 cups of cold water.

Directions

Simple syrup - In a small sauce pan heat the 1 cup of water and the raw sugar, heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside and let cool.

Now add zest, juice and some of the simple syrup to a pitcher, add water to pitcher, stir and taste - if its not quite sweet enough for you add more simple syrup. Once prefect to your taste, chill for at least an hour.

Note: you will be adding sugar to the herbs to aid in the crushing process, so you may want to have the lemonade or limeade a bit tart so that it will not be too sweet when you add the herbs.


Now for the herbs: you will use the same method in making a Mojito as you will for the lemonade.

Basil

Take 4 to 6 fresh Basil (or herb of choice) leaves, cut into ribbons and place them at the bottom of pint glass, add 1/2 a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of raw sugar. Now add some crushed ice about 1/4 cup. With the either pestle or a large spoon - crush the basil into the ice and sugar for about a minute.
Now fill glass with ice and add the lemonade and stir. Garnish with a slice of Lemon and a sprig of Basil or herb of choice.

I tried it with Sweet basil& lemon basil and it was great; Thai basil, purple basil and cinnamon basil were OK, but not as good as the sweet basil.

Now the above works well with Mint (8 to 12 leaves), Sorrel (4 to 6 Leaves) & Tarragon (about 2 dozen). With the limeade the Sorrel (4 to 6 leaves) and the cilantro (10 to 12 leaves) worked well.

I tried, Rosemary, parsley, marjoram, oregano & thyme it was odd tasting.

I also tried slicing some fresh ginger, about 5 thin slices (pealed); it was good with the lemonade but just OK with limeade.

Now the lavender (8 to 10 leaves) lemonade I liked but its an acquired taste.

I think tomorrow more salads or maybe meat balls.

Enjoy cooking