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Celery Pesto

 Celery Pesto 

I friend of mine was over and was looking at all the pesto i have in the Fridge and she asked about this one.  I like using this on fish or as an addition to other sauce.  I call it my little taste of summer, its really easy to make, and is last for about to 6 months in the Fridge.

Ingredients

10 to 12 cups of Celery leaves

1 cup of Italian Parsley leaves

6 to 8 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons Lemon zest

Olive Oil

Directions

Spin dry the leaves, i leave the stems on the leaves as well. 

Place the garlic and lemon zest in the food processor first and then pulse until a medium chopped.  You can drizzle in a bit of Olive oil to help the processor.

Place in a jar.

And cover with Olive Oil, about an inch above the Celery.

When you remove some to use always top off the Olive oil, if you do not the celery pesto will start to brown.

Enjoy Cooking 

Salmon en Croute

Salmon en Croute

Well at least my version of en Croute; i looked at all the recipes and thought i can put my spin on this.

Ingredients

2 8 to inch fillets of Salmon

Puff pastry dough, pre made, much easier

1 6 to 8oz package of cream cheese at room temp

1 pint of mushrooms of choice, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain Dijon mustard

1 egg, mixed with a bit of water 

Olive oil

Bunches of the following fresh herbs, diced

Chives

Italian Parsley

Dill

Thyme

Tarragon

2 teaspoons Lemon Zest

4 cloves of Garlic, diced

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground Chipotle Chili pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground Seeds of Paradise

Salt to taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Clean Salmon and set aside.

Place mushrooms and Olive oil in skillet and brown the mushrooms. Right before you are to remove from heat add whole grain mustard and toss. Set aside

Roll out pastry dough on parchment line cookie sheet

In a bowl place the following: Cream cheese, fresh herbs, garlic, lemon zest and spices.  Mix well.

Place one of the Salmon fillets on pastry, to one side.

Next spread half the cream cheese mixture on top of fillet.

Place the other Salmon Fillet on top, spread the balance of the cream cheese mixture, followed by the mushrooms.

Fold pastry over the top, roll up and crimp edges to close.  I have been told i need to work on by presentation with my pastries.  I am working on it, i am concerned with the taste first.

Place in oven and back for 25 minutes, remove brush with egg wash and return to the oven for another 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  

Remove, let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice and serve. 

Serve with Cucumber and Tomato Dill salad.

Enjoy Cooking.

Pho - Beef

Pho - Beef

Well my take on if

I do not have a lot of step by step pictures due to this is very simple to make and i did not see the need for pictures.

Ingredients

Broth

15 or 5 lbs of Beef short ribs

3 inches of fresh ginger, cut length wise then into 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium yellow onions quartered

1/3 cup Fish sauce

4 tablespoons raw sugar

12 whole Star Anise

8 whole Cloves

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

1/4 teaspoons ground Cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground Seeds of Paradise

Salt to taste

Garnishes

(the great stuff in the soup)

1 lb beef sirloin, thinly sliced

(freeze beef then slice on Mandolin)

1 lb of Rice sticks, prepared as per-directions on package

Bunch of Scallions cut into rings, white and green parts

1 lb Mung Bean Sprouts

4 baby Bok Choy, sliced

1 pint slice mushrooms of choice

2 Poblano Peppers, sliced into rings

and anything else you would like to add

Directions

When making stock from red meat bones it is best to pre-boil them first before placing them in the final stock pot.  By doing this it removes impurities and cleans the bones (less scum on the stock surface).  Place the short ribs in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.

While you are cleaning the bones, place 8 quarts of water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.

After you have cleaned the short ribs, remove with tongs and place in the large stock pot, discard the water. When the water returns to a boil in the stock pot, reduce hit and simmer for 20 minutes.  Skim any foam or fat that is on the surface of the water.  Now place the onions,ginger, fish sauce and sugar in stock pot and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until the falls off the bone.  Remove ribs a few at a time and place in a bath of warm water. Once cool enough to handle, remove most of the meat, return bones to stock pot and repeat with the balance of the ribs. Shred meat and set aside.

When the broth has simmered for about 2 hours add balance of the spices.  I place the Anise and Cloves in a cheese cloth bag so that they can be easily removed at the end.  Simmer for another hour to hour and a half. At almost the end of this time, prepare the Rice sticks and place the shredded meat back into broth.

Remove spice bag and onions from broth.

Now I place the garnish in small bowls and let the guests add what the want to their bowls.  It is best to add the raw sirloin first then place the other garnishes on top, followed by the cooked rice sticks then the hot broth.  Let stand for a few minutes, stir and eat.

You will have extra broth left over, what i do is place the balance of the garnishes left into mason jars, add broth and can.  I also just can the broth by it self as well.

Enjoy Cooking 

Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington

I was been asked several times to make this, so i finally gave in and made it. I did look at several old recipes and figured i could update it: here is my take on it.

Ingredients

Duxelles

1 pint Cremini Mushrooms

1 pint of Hen of the Wood Mushrooms

1 pint of Shiitake Mushrooms

3 Shallots, rough chopped

5 cloves of garlic

3 sprigs of Thyme, leaves only

1 teaspoon ground Cumin

1 teaspoon ground Paprika

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoon Truffle oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Beef

3 Lb center cut beef tenderloin or London Broil

Avocado Oil

Puff pastry

2 eggs, beaten 

Dijon mustard

Salt and Pepper to taste

Gravy

2 shallots, minced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 springs of Thyme

1 cup Brandy

2 cups stock

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon ground Cumin

1 teaspoon ground Grains of Paradise

1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

Salt to taste

Directions

Remove beef from fridge and let get to room temp

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Duxelles

Place all the ingredients with the exception of the butter and oil in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Next add butter and oil to a skillet, melt and whisk together. Now add the mushroom mixture and saute for about 10 minutes until most of the liquid is gone.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.  

In same pan on high heat, add a bit of avocado oil.

Season beef and place in hot pan and sear on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes each side.

Once seared, remove from heat, place on a sheet of plastic wrap. Before wrapping up, coat the beef on all sides with Dijon mustard, then wrap up tight and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface roll out puff pastry. Depending on the size of the sheet of pastry you might need two sheets.

Spread out Duxelles on pastry as shown above.  The unwrap beef and place on pastry. Roll up pastry around beef, using egg wash to seal the overlapping pastry. Make sure the beef is completely sealed. Place on a parchment prepared baking sheet, seam side down.  Brush egg wash over the entire pastry.

Cut a few slits on the top in top o vent the steam.

I used a London Broil, thus for not completely uniformed shape.

Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a meat registers 125 degrees.

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

While beef is baking make the gravy,

In the same pan you seared the beef place shallots, garlic and saute for 2 minutes on medium heat. Now add the brandy, remove from heat and flambe, once flame dies, return to heat and add stock, Simmer until it reduces by half.  At this point you can strain out the solids, but i like them in, yes the gravy is not smooth but its still taste good.  Add ricotta, mustard, spice and herbs to pan. simmer until it reduce by half again or is the desired thickness.  Pour into serving vessel.

Cut meat and serve with roasted Potatoes 

Enjoy Cooking. 

Pork Roast

 Pork Roast 

Ingredients

3 to 4 Lb Pork Roast, bone in

Sauce

1/3 cup of Apricot preserve

2 tablespoon whole grain mustard

2 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoon toasted Sesame seeds

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted Sesame Oil

2 teaspoon of ground Ginger

1 teaspoon of ground Cumin 

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all sauce ingredients together.

Place roast in pan, bone side down and cover with 1/3 of the sauce.

Place in oven, set a timer to 25 minutes - after 25 minutes remove from oven and re-coat with an 1/3 of the sauce. Place back in the oven, set the timer again for another 25 minutes. Once again once another 25 minutes, re-coat with the balance of the sauce and bake until the internal temp reaches 145 Degrees.

Once at the desired temp, remove from oven, cover with foil, and let sit for at least 20 minutes.  Then slice and i serve it with Kimchi Carrots.

Enjoy cooking

Gravy - 

1 cup stock of choice

3 tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce

1/2 inch of Fresh Ginger, sliced

Bring stock to boil, place the Ginger slices in stock and simmer until reduced by half.

Remove Ginger, whisk in Hoisin sauce, continue to simmer until desired thickness. 

LASAGNA

Lasagna

Here is my take on the Classic recipe. 

Ingredients

2 1LB packages of Sage Sausage

2 8oz packages of frozen Spinach, thawed and drained

2 pints of mushrooms of choice, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

2 Italian peppers, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 quarts of Marinara, Homemade of course

1 box of Lasagna pasta, cook as directed on package

1 pound Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs

24 oz of mozzarella, sliced

1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano cheese

1/4 cup of diced Italian Parsley

1/4 cup of diced Basil

8 sprigs of Fresh Thyme

8 sprigs of Fresh Oregano

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

In a large skillet saute spinach on medium heat to remove as much water as possible, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Next place mushrooms and saute them to remove as much water as possible, about 5 minutes. Once soft, add spinach back to skillet along with the garlic. Saute for about an additional 4 minutes, remove from pan and set aside. 

Now place the sausage in pan, saute until brown.

Remove from skillet and and add onions and peppers, saute until soft. 

Mix Sausage and sausage together.

Next add about 1/2 cup of the Marinara, toss to coat.

In a large bowl place the Ricotta cheese, herbs, and eggs: Mix well.

Now time to assemble

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Using a 9 x 13 inch pan place the following layers,

1. 1/3 cup of Marinara sauce

2. 4 lasagna noodles

3. 1/2 of the Spinach/Mushrooms & Ricotta mixture

4. 4 lasagna noodles

5. 1/3 cup Marinara sauce

6. 1/2 of the Sausage Mixture

7. 1/3 of the Mozzarella slices

8. 4 lasagna noodles

9. 1/3 cup of Marinara sauce

10. the balance of the Spinach/Mushroom & Ricotta mixture

11. 4 lasagna noodles

12. 1/3 cup of Marinara sauce

13. balance of the Sausage mixture

14. 1/3 of the Mozzarella slices

15. the last 4 lasagne noodles

16. 1/3 cup of Marinara sauce

17. top off with the balance of the Mozzarella slices

Now cover with foil, but first cut some bamboo skewers in to about an inch higher than the top of the pan, then place them in corners then cover with the foil.  This will prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil.

Bake for 25 minutes covered, then uncover and bake for additional 25 minutes until the cheese on top is golden.

Remove from oven and let set for about 15 minutes before serving.  After cutting and plating, sprinkle with grated cheese, parsley and basil.

Enjoy cooking.