Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Holiday Meal #2 - Stuffed Portabellos & Chocolate Mousse

When I got the call on a very rainy day in November that a family wanted a couple of meals over the holiday, I got very excited. I had the pleasure of cooking for this family once in the summer and had a blast in their incredible kitchen. I got even more excited when I was given free rein on the menu.

App: 
Gorgonzola & Pear Crostini

Main: 
Mustard-Dill Flank Steak
http://kellanskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/mustard-dill-skirt-steak.html
Pearl Cous Cous w/ Arugula
Stuffed Portabellos (recipe to follow)
Grilled Rosemary Bread


Dessert: 
Chocolate Mousse w/ Grand Marnier Whipped Cream


Stuffed Portabellos:
1 Red Onion, diced
1 Granny smith apple, diced into strips
1 bag of baby spinach
1/3 cup of bread crumbs
1 - egg
3 oz of Smoked Mozzerella
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Parmesan Cheese Shavings
6 Portabellos


In a pan, heat olive oil and add onions. Cook till soft. Add in a couple dashes of balsamic. Add apples and cook till soft.  Once soft, add spinach. Cook till wilted. Add beaten egg & bread crumbs then transfer to a mixing bowl.  Add mozerella, and mix till all combined.  Transfer to mushrooms and bake at 350 until mushrooms are cooked.  You can also pre-cook the mushrooms for 10 min to speed up process and not dry out stuffing.


This recipe turned out a lot cooler than I expcected.  The red onions and smoked mozerella gave the apperance and smell of bacon. A little trick on the eater, but equally as delicious!




And for dessert, all the credit goes to my amazing Soux Chef, Amanda Adams.  She took this menu and provided an incredible treat. A 60& Cocoa (Ghiridelli) Chocolate Mousse, with Grand Marneir Whipped cream.  All I did was assemble in martini glasses, but this dessert was absolutely devine!! Thanks Pants!!


Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Cioppino

For the first time, I was an orphan for Christmas. Not to fear, I had the Pollock family near by and armed with, as Darcy put it, "The Sea."

The idea came up over dinner a few weeks ago with some of the Pollock clan.  Cioppino for Christmas. Only Darcy and I had endulged in this incredible seafood treat, and Darcy wanted to be sure her family could experience the same goodness as she did a few weeks back.  I sent "The List" over to Darcy before she made her way to Tahoe from San Francisco.  She treated us (well, Buck paid) with "The Sea" from the seafood preveyor in the famed Ferry Building.  5 Crabs, 1 pound of shrimp, 1 pound of mussles, 1 pound of scallops and 3 filets of rockfish later, we had the makings of our cioppino feast. 

The recipe didn't change, nor did peoples excitement.  The meal was superb, and this post comes out of thanks to the Pollock family, and also a mini quote board for those choice one liners through the night...

"I wanna go stretch out and take deep breaths." - DP
"I'm a base of sourdough." - DP
"I think I can finally button my pants again." - DP
"I have birds on my skis." - RP

It was truly a fabulous Christmas night. 

Holdiay Meal #1 - Asian Theme

I've been fortunate during the push of the holiday season to be very busy and booked up with wonderful meals. The first of which came recently with the Bourgraf family visiting Lake Tahoe from Ohio.  Right from the get go, I knew this was going to be a fun meal. The menu was Asian themed, and the bar was full:

Leading off with Thai Lemongrass & Shrimp Soup:
http://kellanskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/thai-lemongrass-shrimp-soup.html

Followed by a wonderful Sesame seared Ahi with Mango, Avocado, & Arugula salad. Accompanied by a Mango Dipping sauce. 



The main course was Ginger Citrus Pork Tenderloin with Asian slaw, and Lavender-Ginger rice.

(I'm starting my new years resolution a bit early here. My dear Auntie Peggy, has badgered me over and over again to include measurements in my online recipes. So, here's for you Peg!)

Ginger Citrus Marinade:
Juice of the following:
2 Limes
5 Lemons
6 Oranges + 1 rind Julianned
1/2 bunch of Cilantro chopped
2/3 cup of Soy Sauce
1 TBSP of Sesame Oil
6 Oz of Honey
1/4 cup of diced Ginger (about 2 medium roots)
1/2 bunch of Green Onions
2 TBSP of White Miso Paste


And, for dessert, my lovely friend Amanda provided a homemade Strawberry Sorbet with light wafer cookies.


This meal was a pleasure to prepare for a great family. If any of the Bourgrafs want to chime in, I believe the Square bowls won the night!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

San Francisco Holiday Party

I was very fortunate to be considered to prepare some appetizers for a last minute holiday party for the Executive Producer of a feature film currently being shot in our beautiful city of SF.  With not a ton of time to prepare, I decided on a simple menu pulling from some old ideas and also modifying some entree recipes.  

Let me first speak of this gorgeous home. The picture on the right is the view from the kitchen window... not too shabby! The party called for lots of champagne and some light appetizers.  On the food menu:

Toasted bar nuts (http://kellanskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/mmm-bar-nuts.html)

Brie wonton cups (http://kellanskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/10/easy-appetizer-brie-won-ton-cups.html)

And, a take on my crab rolls, but minature:
(http://kellanskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/12/crab-rolls.html)

But first, the champagne needed a buddy.  My friend Muffy organized this event and asked me to make something that would go well in champagne.  I browsed the market for fruit, tried a few, and came across some gorgeous raspberries. I decided to make a compote that would go into a squeeze bottle so people could spice up their champagne with some nice sweet flavors.  In the reduction went fresh raspberries, orange zest, orange juice, sugar, a dash of white balsamic vinegar, and plenty of time. This mixture was cooked, reduced, then ran through a strainer to separate the seeds.  

The brie cups were assembled ahead of time, and a second batch was in the fridge for round two... but the main assembly came with the mini crab rolls, which were dubbed "SF Crab Crostinis."  Taking a few crabs, and marinating the meat in my sauce of lemon juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar, these guys were assembled very carefully on Acme Sourdough croutons. First layered with slices of avocado, the a big portion of crab, the to top, some jullianned radish. These guys flew off the plate! 

From what I hear, the party was a huge success! Many thanks to Muffy and Trish for having me over to cater this event! I look forward to more in the future.

Thai Lemongrass & Shrimp soup

It's winter, its rainy & snowy, its soup season. The initial insiration for this soup was to diversify. Try a new idea, make something different, yet with familiar tastes. The starting flavor base was lemongrass. To start, I added some chili paste, ginger, lemongrass, jalepenos, and green onions to a pot to brown and release their flavors.


Then stock was added. I had some fish stock made from shrimp in the freezer. About 5 cups were added to the pot.  This was then simmered for about an hour or so. A little bit of soy sauce and mirin was added to help the salt level of the soup. During the cooking, I added a little bit of brown sugar and a bit more ginger.  


Once at a point where I felt good about the flavors, I started prepping the ingredients to help finish off this soup. Shrimp, more ginger, and fresh cilantro.  The shrimp were light seared in chili paste and ginger. The shrimp was then added to a bowl, and the soup strained over the top.


The soup was deliciously spicy, and with great flavor base. My dear friend Nikki joined me on this test meal and added the input that it needed just a few more items in the bowl, like mushrooms or broccoli.  However, this also came out "I don't like soup. I never really eat it." But, then I found Nikki finishing her bowl before me, and licking it clean, then heading back for more... 
This is Nikki's bowl. 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Rack of Lamb - Rosemary-Lavender Salt Crust

I had an idea to cook rack of lamb for a while.  The idea came from first making a crust.  I took some coarse sea salt, fresh rosemary, and lavender and blended it together in a food processor.  Crusted the lamb with some pepper as well, and seared it in a cast iron.  Finished in a 375* oven for 20 min. 

 
Paired with some pearl cous cous and fresh spinach lightly sauteed in olive oil and garlic.   


A cooking thermometer would have been helpful, as I slightly overcooked the lamb.  Also, a tad too much salt on the crust, but otherwise a solid addition to the pantry.

3rd Annual Holiday Cocktail Party

A non-food related post.

Enjoy! 

Monday, November 29, 2010

French Onion Soup

This dish has been on my radar for a while.  Finally I had the tools, and recipe to construct; the bowls were key.  I read about a dozen different variations on this classic dish, and I came across one that involved a lot more technique than the others. This is the one I used to start my dish.  
Onions. Lots of onions. I used about 5 very large vidallia and yellow.  Added to the dutch oven with a generous amount of olive oil and salt, this load was simmered and covered for 15 min. Yes, 15. Then uncovered and stirred occasionally for an hour. Yes, an hour.  The recipe calls for letting the onions naturally caramelize, which takes considerable time. Low & slow. Low heat, slow cook time.  After a painful hour, the onions looked a delicious brown.  The pot was deglazed with sherry, and white wine. Also added was a mess load of thyme and 2 bay leaves.  Once the alcohol burned off, I added beef stock, nothing fancy, just store bought organic beef stock.  This was then simmered for about an hour, until the soup looked very hearty and together.  Salted to taste.
Finally, the crown.  Some La Brea french bread, cut into 3/4 inch slices, oiled, salted and buttered and toasted in a grill pan until crispy.  This was added on top the soup, with a load of Gruyere cheese.  Broiled until melted.  Winner. 
From the roommate Sean (who orders this dish anywhere he sees it on the menu) "This is the best I've had. Don't change a thing." 

Thanksgiving, 2010. Appetizers.

My family is pretty traditional in our Thanksgiving day offerings.  Pretty simple, some old family recipes, and some new traditions emerging.  For the 2nd year in a row my cousin Zach and his fiance Nina hosted the big meal at their place in Sonoma.  For the 2nd year in a row we deep fried a turkey, and I was to make appetizers.  For the 1st time, we got a little creative with the deep fryer (after dinner is where the fun really started).

As I was searching for fun and different appetizers, I kept my wits about me due to my constraints; no oven, no stove.  But, I had a deep fryer! As I lazily watched some food network shows, I saw an appetizer for crab salad stuffed potato skins.  Well, its crab season! So, tweaking the recipe just, I used dungenuss crab for my salad.  2 crabs mixed with a healthy spoonful of mayo, a small spoonful of dijon mustard, chopped chives & green onions, and a squeeze of a meyer lemon.  Upon tasting, some salt and a touch of brown sugar was added to the salad.  

The potatoes were simple.  Yukon gold, baked @ 350 for 45 min.  Cooled, cut, cored... and then Deep Fried.  Stuffed with the crab mixture, this was outstanding, and the plate was gone before I could fry some more.


My other appetizer (sans picture) was a play off of an offering I had picked up off of Iron Chef America.  I made roast beef crostinis. Using a very hearty Molasses Wheat Bread from Uncommon Kitchen as my base, I constructed a gorgonzola-horseradish spread to place on top.  Topped with rare roast beef, sliced green grapes, and jullianned mint.  This too was a hit, and will certainly be making its way to a wine & food pairing soon!


Lastly, the fun stuff.  Deep Fried Twinkies. Because pie wasn't enough... Pics to come.


And, a huge congratulations to Scottie & Kimmy on their engagement! Love you guys!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Food and Wine Paring: 2

I had the pleasure of being invited back to Corkscrew (now Uncorked)in Tahoe City to do another feature on pairing farmers market food with some select wine. My inspiration this week came from these incredible blackberries. The sweetest berries I have ever tasted.  The idea was to pair with these berries. So, I took the berries and macerated them with a bit of lemon juice and just a touch of agave nectar. This mixture was then folded into some goat cheese.  To complete the spectrum of textures and tastes, it was piped onto an endive leaf (bitter & crunchy) and then wrapped with prosciutto (salty & soft).  The bite sized treat was a hit.
The 2nd dish to be paired with a white was inspired by summer squash. Finely diced summer squash and zucchini was lightly sauteed in meyer lemon olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and fresh pepper. This mixture was folded into some fresh ricotta, also purchased from the farmers market. Served with crostini bread, this added a very nice, light compliment to the plate. I believe Uncorked sold a record number of pairings this night!  Can't wait to be invited back!!

http://uncorkedtahoecity.com/

Monday, October 18, 2010

Easy appetizer - Brie won ton cups

When two of your good friends get engaged, you have to have a dinner party. That's the rule, or at least my rule. So, with about 14+ headed over for dinner and limited time and resources, some old receipes were called upon and snazzed up a bit.  A long time ago, I had these stuffed won tons at a dinner party, I remembered there being brie, and other ingredients so, I tried to recreate. With the lovely help of miss Ali and her artful hands, the Brie cups were assembled.  Simply, a wonton, piece of brie, green onion, and some orange-fig spread.  Baked at 350* until golden... Also pictured, some delicoius sweet-hot peppers from the farmers market... stuffed as a trial to see if it could take the brie... it could. 

Chili Ginger pork & Faux Dashi

Every now and again I get a huge craving for some Japanese home style cooking. I had bought an extremely large pork tenderloin and had to clean it up a bit before it went to its rightful owner (see Orange Ginger pork loin). So, with the fat and a little aid, I started out on an adventure in making a delicious pork broth for a cold summer nights dinner.  Starting with fresh ginger, garlic, and chili paste, the fat was browned a bit before any liquid was added.  Also, cilantro stems and more ginger added throughout the process.  Instead of adding just water, or some stock, I decided to get a little crafty and brew some green tea.  2 bags of green tea steeped away in about 10 cups of water. This was added to my mixture of pork, ginger, chili paste and garlic, and simmered for a while while also adding a bit of soy sauce and mirin along the way.


In a separate pot, I boiled some rice noodles, strained and set a side (note: a good way to be resourceful, cook rice noodles ahead, mix with a bit of sesame oil, and store in tupperware... noodles ready at any moment for another meal). Also, I sliced some of the pork tenderloin very thin and set aside for the topping to my growing noodle dish.  


Broth almost ready, it was time to cook the pork.  Hot pan, peanut oil, chili paste, garlic, ginger, the pork went in for its quick fry.  The smell alone would get your stomach grumbling.  


Pork then added atop the noodles with fresh cilantro and green onions.  Faux dashi added, along with a poached egg.  This was certainly good eats!  

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Wine & Food Pairing - 1

In collaboration with Corkscrew wine bar in Tahoe City, I was given the opportunity to have a lot of fun with a few dishes.  The idea was to buy ingredients from the Thursday Farmers Market in Tahoe City, and then create 2 dishes to be paired with 2 glasses of wine.  Wonderful summer produce and refreshing wine made this an irresistible opportunity.


The first dish I pulled from a previous Iron Chef.  A shrimp ceviche, this time, fresh pacific Ono was used with shrimp to add some more texture.  White peaches from the market were julianned, and serranos diced very small.  Fresh squeezed lime juice, and a dash of agave nectar finished this refreshing dish.  It was paired with an Albarino. 


The second dish was a play on a couple different dishes. You can call it a deconstructed crostini, a play on chips and salsa, or something that was just plain different.  Heirloom tomatoes were diced and mixed with agave nectar and julianned basil, and hit with Meyer Lemon Olive oil from We Olive in San Francisco.  Then goat cheese was mixed with lemon zest and fresh parsley.  Finishing the plate was a generous portion of kettle potato chips.  Customers were having fun playing with the three items on the plate.  Among initial reviews, I think the potato chip crostini/salsa plate is here to stay.



Cant wait for next Thursday!

LA Rendezvous

I was very fortunate to have a booking in Los Angeles.  Andi was kind enough to fly me down to prepare a huge meal for her and her friends to celebrate her new job.  The menu was ambitious, but very fun.
Mustard dill flank steak was the headliner, however, the huge mexican scallop stole the show.  A true showcase of incredible ingredients.  I simply prepared the scallop. Nothing major, just a little bit of coconut butter and salt. Served on top of bacon risotto.  But, the scallops also yeilded another dish.  I decided to make a crudo. By thinly slicing the scallop, and then pounding it paper thin.  Dressed with fresh lime juice, jullianed radishes, and some scallions.  To top, I heated up olive oil to frying temperature, and then drizzled it on top.  The plate was clear before I had a chance to try! 

Also on the menu were my shrimp spring rolls, and a heriloom & cherry crostini derived from Iron Chef 1.  The spring rolls and crostini are quickly becoming my most requested dishes. 


The dinner was long and fabulous, accompanied by lovely wine, and some berries and angel food cake for dessert.  An absolute joy to cook, and a treat to get to see some of my friends! Thanks Andi!

Summer Ham and Corn Bisque

Easter in June??
Well, when someone presents you with a ham, you just have to take it. Researching a wide variety of recipes for the ham, I came across one that seemed interesting and built off of it. A number of chefs use a soda, like coke, in the warming process to help keep moisture.  I took it one step further.  Basically making a Jack and Coke, with an addition of some cayenne and vanilla extract. Ham added, along with a glaze which I boosted up with some cayanne, vanilla and some coffee grinds, my take on a red-eye gravy dish. 




The ham turned out spectacular. And I had repeat visitors for breakfast!


Ham - 275*
Coke, Jack Daniels, cayenne, vanilla extract

Glaze - Glaze packet, Jack, cayanne, vanilla, coffee grinds, pan drippings

Onto the Soup! Corn bisque. Had this wonderful stock from the previous post, and I wanted to treat it well.  Playing on my lobster bisque recipe, I added roasted corn, and jalepenos. Smoothed out by a stick blender and this bisque was fabulous. Definitely the dish of the night.  



Soup:
carrots, onons, celery, corn, jalepeno, olive oil, sherry, taragon, thyme, chicken stock (from the brined chicken), cream, salt, white pepper. cooked then blended. 
Topped with avocado & roasted corn

Scalloped potatoes - 375* 45 min
cream, butter, salt, garlic, thyme, parmesean

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pomegranate-Citrus Roast Chicken & Roast Corn and bread salad

So, a Sunday struggle after a large Saturday night led me to the grocery store. With no real plan, idea, or inspiration I just started aimlessly putting things in my shopping cart.  Luckily the friendly butcher was aiding my decisions on what was on sale.  45 min later, I walked out with a 6 pound chicken.  


I actually had wanted to roast a chicken for a while, so this bird was going to get the full treatment.  Starting off with a brine, I wanted to inject as much spring/summer flavor into it as possible. I started simple, then kept layering flavors in...

Water
salt
pomegranate balsamic vinegar
mustard seeds
chili flakes
honey
bay leaf
lemon peel

The chicken sat in the brine for about 18 hours (it took a bit longer for the brine to cool than expected).

Now, building this meal... Thankfully, corn is coming back into season. A roasted corn salad sounded splendid.  Adding a roast anaheim pepper, grilled green onions, cilantro, avocado, jalepeno, salt, white pepper, lemon olive oil, and some white balsamic made this salad a hit.  Also, a last minute addition, some ciabatta croutons which were soaked in the chicken jus.  

Now, on to the roast! After the brine, the chicken was stuffed with wedges of orange, lime and lemon which I tossed in a bit of salt, olive oil, and pomegranate balsamic.  I made an herb butter with parsley, salt and lemon olive oil.  This was not just rubbed onto the whole chicken, but also in the cavity between the skin and the breasts. The remaining wedges of citrus were placed around the chicken in the pan along with a leek.  

Using the Julia Child's method (425* for 15 min, then lowering to 350*), the bird was perfect and juicy at 2 hrs. 
Got distracted by the basketball game, so the pic was taken with the legs off... but, i think it still looks great. 
Adding a nice spinach salad, Italian red wine, and great company, everyone was happy. A new keeper. 
Now, what to make with the stock??

Monday, May 24, 2010

Sunday Health - Miso Ahi & Sugar Snap Peas

After a couple days of eating lots of greasy food, it was time to put away the butter and pork products.  Luckily, ahi was on sale. In a daze of confusion, I randomly grabbed ingredients from the store and hoped that I could make order out of chaos come dinner time.  So, I laid out and prepped all my ingredients hoping for a spark. Sugar snap peas, green onions, ginger, ahi, and a salad.  The peas, onions and ginger went into a hot pan with some peanut oil and soy sauce.  Quickly realizing that I didn't have any sesame seeds, I decided I would dredge the ahi in a miso paste sauce (white miso paste, soy sauce, and a touch of sirracha).  Some of this mixture was added to the greens.  After dredging, the fish got covered in panko bread crumbs and then seared.  Couple minutes a side and my ahi was perfectly rare.  

Add some sliced avocado, fresh cilantro and some rice, this meal was not only healthy, but very delicious.  The miso dredging on the ahi provided a great base in flavor, didn't even need the dipping sauce!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Hawaii Edition - 2

The nice meal.  Center cut pork chops. A huge can of macadamia nuts. Fresh Pineapple. Green beans. Rum. 


The idea was macadamia crusted pork chops.  Then it built from there.
First, laboriously crushing enough macadamias to cover 8 pork chops.  To coat the pork, I made a butter with paprika, chili oil, vanilla extract and salt.  The chops were dredged in the butter, then coated with a generous helping of macadamia nuts which were also tossed with some fresh ginger.  Roasted for 30 min at 350* (note, lower the temp and roast for 40 min). 
Now, for the salsa. Fresh pineapple, jalepeno, cilantro, limes, a little salt, cane sugar, and chili oil.  This was blended and left in the fridge to cool.


Once the chops were out, I got inspired and decided they needed a little warm glaze on top to contrast the coolness of the salsa underneath.  So, i deglazed the roasting pan with Mount Gay rum, vanilla extract, and some butter and sugar.  Tasty.


To complete the meal ginger scented rice, and some green beans tossed in the glazing pan. A perfect paring.  Add red wine, great friends, and the Hawaiian breeze and you get nothing happier.



Hawaii Edition - 1

Kellan's Kitchen recently got a chance to relocate to the Aloha state. With knives packed and ambitions high, I was set out to use many of the wonderful tropical flavors Hawaii has to offer.  We had an incredible house, right on the ocean, complete with a pool & a killer kitchen.  Dinners were lively and lengthy given that we were all sitting around a big round table.  Truly how I like to eat!

Upon arrival, I was so anxious I couldn't contain myself.  I was so stoked to visit the grocery store and see if I could land some fresh fish & seafood.  Sadly, I forgot that due to being an Island state, produce and meat were extremely expensive.  So, improvisation happened. 


The first night shrimp was the main ingredient. So to accompany, I picked up some local portugese sausage, a staple in Hawaiian cuisine, some sweet Ewa onions, coconut milk, cilantro, and limes.  I deided I was going to make shrimp 2 ways with some flavored rice.  The first one, almost a taste of the south, was shrimp cooked with the portugese sausage, and sweet onions. The 2nd was coconut shrimp with cilantro and lime.  



Meal turned out fabulous. The coconut shrimp was the winner of the night.  A little tweak and this recipe is a definite repeat in the summer.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Farmers Market, Kitchen Dinner

I am very lucky to have great friends who allow me the use of their beautiful kitchen, as well as taking a wonderful adventure to the farmers market.  The meal inspired by the first signs of summer, started to build around fresh greens, beautiful raspberries, and squash blossoms.  
While prepping & cooking, I made a suggestion that we just eat off the kitchen island, rather than move into the formal dining room.  This suggestion was met with lots of nodding and more refills on champagne. 
My new favorite dish, the Shrimp Spring rolls, started off the meal with a bang. Then moved to scallop & asparagus risotto topped with fresh basil, lemon zest and a drop of truffle oil. 
Then next course was a new one. In the squash blossoms, I stuffed a mixture of ricotta, goat cheese, lemon zest, and fresh italian parsley.  These were then dipped in a very light beer batter and deep fried. I tasted one of the blossoms once it had cooled and realized it definitely needed a sauce.

So, I took some fresh raspberries, white balsamic vinegar, and some agave nectar, and macerated the mixture until it became a sauce.  It paired nicely with the stuffed flower. Id say a new keeper. 

The last course, though we probably didn't need it, was a piece of skirt steak marinating in what I am calling a Florentine style chimichurri. The traditional steak sauce took on an Italian flavor by substituting fresh basil for the mint, and white balsamic for the red wine vinegar.  Also added was the juice of a lemon.  This turned out fabulous.  Succulent, juicy, and tangy. Perfect over a salad or on a toasted ciabatta.  Also good eaten with your fingers because you are too impatient to grab a fork. 
All in all this meal was fabulous. Everyone smiling, laughing, drinking, and dancing around the kitchen island.  However, there was one small food related injury.  As the steak was resting, glasses were getting refilled, and relaxation was happening, a full glass of champagne made its way in to Jake's hand.  Let's just say for the sake of this short story he had a few, and was feeling the effects of the good food and alcohol.  As I was slicing the meat for presentation I heard a sudden break in the conversation, and a "Holy shit!" I turned, and saw Jake running to the bathroom with his hands over his mouth.  I looked down and saw a shattered champagne flute.  It took a few seconds to register.  Jake had aggressively taken a sip of champagne and slammed it into his teeth, shattering the glass, cutting his nose, and lodging a few shards of glass in his teeth.  10 min, 1 yard of floss, and one embarrassing band-aid later, Jake emerged unscathed by the events.  We handed him a coffee mug for his beverage and then continued to laugh until we hurt.  Sorry Jake, had to tell it.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Easter Blackout

Easter dinner; nice collaborative meal, complete with an extension on the table and lots of wine. With assistance from Ali, Jerry, and Amanda on the main dishes, this was an easy meal to plan.  Except for losing power an hour before people showed up.  My dish was an old Tuscan recipe that required an oven. Amanda's potatoes required an oven.  Ali's asparagus required some light to prep. It felt like a Top Chef challenge, and I had fun with it.  

Luckily, my chicken was prepped before dark and all that was left was to cook it. The recipe is one from the cooking school in Siena which I was fortunate enough to have taken a few classes.  A traditional Tuscan dish, usually made with turkey, is stuffing the breasts with garlic, butter, sage and rosemary.  Then wrapping it up in butchers twine and roasting it with some white wine.  My version used chicken which was then wrapped in bacon, and tied.  Now, with out an oven this got a bit tricky.  So, i found some deep metal baking dishes, and cranked up the BBQ.  My two pans were directly on the grill, with Amanda's pyrex dish on the bun warmers. Ali was in the kitchen with lanterns and flashlights chopping and frying.  It was an awesome team effort. Below is a picture of the chicken, with the aid of a flashlight.

Candles lit, dishes completed, all without major disaster.  Luckily I had some battery powered speakers, the meal was saved (except for those east coast baseball fans pining over the opening day game). 


Happy Easter! What an awesome meal. 

Friday, April 2, 2010

Chicken Tortilla Soup - finally

This post comes about a year late, but it isn't every so often I make my version of Chicken Tortilla Soup.  The hardest part about this recipe is the base of the soup.  The stock is made from a previous meal involving Mexican style chicken.  The stars aligned, and time was on my side, thus making an incredible base for this soup.  I could never remember my recipe for this off the top of my head, so every time I made it I had to rummage through old emails to see who I emailed the recipe too and what exactly I put in the soup.  
With out further adieu...

Soup Base (Made at least a day ahead of time):
3 half chicken breasts (bone in), dredged
Yellow onion, quartered
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 Jalapeno quartered
1 Bottle of Budweiser
Celery
Carrots
Salt
Lawreys Seasoning
Chili Powder
Chili Flakes
Cumin
Old Bay
1 Bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic
Water


This simmered for about 3 hours (or 4 weeks of Tecmo Bowl)

Strained and saved.



Now, for the soup. 
Start with 2 breasts of chicken, dredged and browned in vegetable oil & garlic. Once browned, add in saved stock.
In separate pan, jullianed white corn tortilla strips are crisped in oil, with 2 small leeks, and 1/2 of a white onion.  Once wilted, add in 1 can of diced tomatoes.  This is added to the chicken & stock. Along with 1 jalapeno, seeded & diced, and a hand full of cilantro. Depending on how much stock, some additional chicken stock should be added for consistency. This then simmers for about an hour until the chicken is able to be shredded easily.  Once shredded, add chicken back into the pot.  


Toppings:
Tortilla strips
Diced tomato
Diced avocado
Cheddar cheese
Cilantro


Served with a simple quesadilla.


This recipe finally has a home!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Asian Thursday Night Dinner

I had a wonderful opportunity to not only revisit a San Francisco Thursday Night Dinner, but also to celebrate a good friends birthday.  Teaming up with Keith, we knocked out an incredible meal for Cara's birthday.  Her request was "Asian seafood" and we ran with it.  There was a few dishes I had been wanting to try for a while, one of which was Shrimp-Jalepeno Spring rolls.  
Taking spring roll wrappers, I placed 2 shrimp (21-25, cleaned & peeled), some sliced jalepenos, cilantro, and diced scallions.  Wrapped, sealed and then repeated until I had a pretty large tray of rolls. For a dressing/dipping sauce, I decided to go with mango.  I sliced up a beautifully sweet mango, added a handful of cilantro, the juice of a few limes and a touch of Ponzu sauce.
These were then deep fried. They turned out spectacular and were easily the dish of the night.
(Note: For some reason, the picture wont upload... I guess Ill have to make these again soon.)




Also on the large menu:

Cucumber & Watermelon radish salad

Keith's Chicken Salad
Wasabi Mashed Potato Spring Rolls
Miso Marinated New York Steak (Brown miso paste, sirracha, mirin, brown sugar)
Tequila Lime Shrimp Skewers
Lots of wine



Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Shrimp Caprese Bruschetta

So, the family was in town this past weekend, and naturally we all gathered around the table for a nice family meal with wine and lots of trash talking.  I was given the assignment of appetizers.  I love trying new apps, and this one was no exception.  With not a whole lot of time to prepare and shop, this one definitely came together in the kitchen.  My idea was to use shrimp, and fresh basil. Building on that, I added some cherry tomatoes, smoked mozzarella, and pizza dough.  Without calling it a pizza, i tried to make a sort of bruschetta to top for the dough; pre-baking the dough with olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. I lightly sauteed the shrimp in olive oil, butter and a bit of basil.  Once cooked, I put the shrimp in a mixing bowl with diced cherry tomatoes, more fresh basil, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  

I then added a layer of the smoked mozzarella to the pizza dough and put it back into the oven until the cheese melted.  Once finished, I added the shrimp mixture and topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese.  Sliced and served.  The app was pretty much gone before it made it to the living room.  My mom added a great suggestion of next time adding some arugula for a bit of bitterness & texture.  Great suggestion. This one is a new keeper.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Ginger-Citrus Pork Lettuce Wraps

New inspiration. New recipe. Great results.  In an attempt to move away from my fail safe asian style marinade, I grabbed a bunch of citrus and fresh ginger and ran from there. On sale at the market was some pork shoulder cut into country style ribs. Great for grilling, and great for marinades.  Since the marinade was an experiment, it took a while to get it to taste the way I wanted it too.  Starting with the juice of 4 fresh lemons, I then added the equivalent of fresh orange juice.  A little bit of honey, and then a lot of diced fresh ginger went into the mixture.  Building on the flavor, I added some fresh cilantro (stems too because it helps with flavoring), and then just a touch of soy sauce, which turned into a bit more than a touch.  I then added a couple spoon-fulls of white miso paste and finished with just a touch of sesame oil.  The marinade was tasting great.  The pork sat over night before it hit the grill.  
Building on this meal, I wanted to do my no-mayo coleslaw but with some added twists.  In the salad went shredded carrots, red cabbage, sliced radishes, cilantro leaves, thinly sliced jalepenos, and some  diced mango.  Dressed with a mango vinaigrette (mango, lemon juice, balsamic, olive oil, salt, pepper), and some red wine vinegar.  This salad was the perfect compliment to the pork.

To finish off the meal, the pork was grilled, and the marinade was set on the stove to reduce. I added a bit of brown sugar and some sirracha to help the process.  The marinade was outstanding.  
Playfully added to the table was some butter lettuce and lightly seasoned rice.  Wraps were made, and conversation was low.  This meal turned out fabulous.  Thanks to Ali, Jerry, Nick, & Keith for joining me!

Mustard -Dill Skirt Steak

In the middle of winter, sometimes you need to cook a summer meal. I have done variations on this before, however this time I decided to try the marinade from scratch and let the steak sit for at least 24 hours. Dijon mustard being the main ingredient and spice, I decided to add some fresh dill and build from there. Then some honey, lemon juice, worcestershire, a little bit of vegetable oil, and green onions. Then a few dashes of balsamic to finish it off. Letting it sit, the meat came out beautifully tender and delicious.



In accompanyment to the meat, I took some fresh ciabatta coated it in olive oil & rosemary and set it on the grill.  I love grilled bread, and add a small salad of arugula and this meal is a winner.