Pasta #2 & #3

Lots and lots of projects and gigs in the last few weeks.  Of note, is a project I will be blogging about very soon! (note: Can't post just yet... waiting on legal to approve...yes, legal.)

BUT, in the mean time, the pasta roller was in full effect last week.  With lots and lots of cooking going on, fresh pasta was a necessary side dish.  My lovely sous & baker Amanda accompanied me on the latest pasta adventure. I found the perfect dough recipe, but it took me 2 trys to get the dough together... 8 eggs, and 8 cups of flour later, I had my good lookin dough! 

After letting the dough hangout for a few hours, it was time to roll out some pasta! Amanda was over, and the fun began. Fettuccine was the cut, a tomato alfredo was the sauce. And a roast chicken the meat!  Thanks for hanging out, pants!

Valentines Lamb Chops & Local Press!!

Ski towns are awesome for a number of reasons. Like riding chairlifts with friends. A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to meet Ms. Julie Brown while sharing a lift up Headwall. Julie writes for Moonshine Ink (http://www.moonshineink.com/) a local and independent periodical. Wrapping about food, she was kind enough to slide a small piece into the the next issue about a simple, romantic dinner recipe.  After a bit of brainstorming, I used my Lavender-Rosemary Rack of Lamb recipe with some slight modifications.

Then we cooked! Julie and our mutual friend Hiedi came over with a camera, interview tools, and some wine.  The interview and dinner went great. Read the article here! 

http://www.moonshineink.com/articles.php/84/2233

Thanks again Julie!

Celebrity Chef

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of cooking for a client I've cooked for a number of times.  As I walked into the kitchen to unload my gear, I looked at the kitchen table and recognized the man sitting there. This night, I was cooking for Michael Chiarello.  For those who don't know, he owns a pretty famed restaurant in Napa, authored a handful of cookbooks, and was on Top Chef Masters.  Needless to say, I was suddenly nervous.  The menu was simple, something I've done a bunch. 


Dinner went well, I hope. The cool takeaways were not only did I get to cook for a big time celebrity chef, but that he got to taste a big piece of me and my family.  I made my grandma's Lemon Steak. A simple marinade that I enjoy so much I call it my "Last Meal."  I kept peeking in to see how everything was going, and as I cleared plates, I noticed his was clean... I'll take it!


Thanks again to my clients and Michael for letting me cook on Saturday! Hope to do it again real soon.

Pasta #1 - Fettuccine & Tomato Sausage sauce

Recently I've been getting some awesome cooking toys from close friends and family encouraging to try new stuff, and in turn invite them over for dinner.  My dear friend Nikki bought me a traditional hand-crank pasta maker for my birthday.  Being the Italian that she is, I know this gift comes with the caveat "I'll be over for some pasta!" Any time, Nik!

First things first was a dough recipe I can call my own. Lots of research and ideas were flowing. I first sought out some Semolina flour and the guidance of some fellow chefs. For my first go around, I used 1/2 semolina, 1/2 all purpose flour and 2 eggs for my dough. I wasn't aiming to make a ton, just enough to get an idea. Taking all the traditional steps, mixing, kneading, and letting the pasta rest, it was time to start cranking. I also had started a very simple pasta sauce using roma tomatoes and simple seasonings.  I wanted to go very traditional and simple.  


The dough was decent, a tad dry and I found very quickly I need to work on my kneading and rolling out techniques.  But, the pasta started to look pretty good. Sauce bubbling away, I cranked out some Fettuccine and my appetite increased. 


Heavily salting the pasta water, I dropped in my fresh pasta and hovered over it diligently.  In about 3 min, the pasta was ready.  Drained then sauced I was ready for my feast. 


The pasta was good, not great, but I still wolfed it down like someone who hasn't eaten in a week. Notes taken, I learned from my first batch and can only improve from here! Thanks again Nikki!

Roasted Acorn and Butternut Squash Soup

Even though it feels like spring right now in the middle of January, this soup is a fabulous fit for any meal.  

1 Acorn Squaush
1 Butternut Squaush
Butter
Brown Sugar
Nutmeg
Cayenne
1 shallot
6 pieces of thick bacon
6 sage leaves
8 oz Heavy Cream
16-24 oz of Vegetable stock
Salt



Starting with an Acorn Squash and a Butternut Squash, halved and oven preaheated at 400*, I like to coat my squash in some seasonings before hitting the oven.  Rubbing some butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, and a dash of cayanne over the halved squaush, these go face down on a sheet pan and then about 2 cups of water added to the pan to help the steaming process. These bad boys are then roasted for about an hour or so... until soft and tender. Once at this stage, they need to cool before hitting the pot.  While cooling, fry bacon in the pot. Remove once crisp and add the diced shallots to the drippings. Scoop out all of the squash and add to the shallots. Once this mixture is soft, start adding ladels of vegetable stock to thin out to desired texture.  Let simmer for 30-45 min.  Once mixture is well combined, blend using a stick blender until silky smooth.  Finish with heavy cream and let simmer until ready to serve.  Top with crisp bacon bits, and fried sage. Also, a cruton is always fun to have with this soup!

 

Holiday Meal #3 - Bacon wrapped chicken, Risotto stuffed tomatoes

Apologies for the small delay in posting over the holidays. It got crazy in Tahoe!

This meal was a lot of fun and also featured one dish that always seems to test my stress level. 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken, stuffed with rosemary, sage and garlic: Taking from a very traditional Tuscan dish, the main part of the meal was a chicken breast, stuffed with rosemary, sage, and garlic. This is usually made with turkey, tied then roasted.  I took it a step further. I wrapped it in bacon, then tied it.  Roasted it in a little white wine.  Now, where this dish usually gets me is internal temp and bacon crispiness.  So, when the chicken was almost cooked, I took them out and then pan fried to crisp up the bacon.  Worked like a charm!  With the time I had while this was roasting, I decided to make a sauce.  I took a healthy portion of the already amazing pan drippings and added it to a sauce pan.  Added a couple pads of butter, some sherry, sage, and dijon mustard.  This gravy turned out as a perfect compliment to the chicken breast. 

Also on the menu was some risotto stuffed tomatoes, and a light chopped asparagus salad (pictured to the right of the sauce).

Recipe: 
8 Chicken breasts, pounded flat
12 pieces of bacon (varies, just need to have enoug to wrap each chicken).
5-6 cloves of garlic
Fresh rosemary
Fresh sage
Butcher twine

Sauce:
Pan drippings, Dry Sherry, Dijon Mustard, Sage, Peppercorns, white wine, salt, brown sugar.


Finely chop garlic, rosemary, and sage and combine together in a bowl. Take chicken breast and lightly stuff a pinch of the herb mixture in the center, then roll. Wrap this roll up with bacon to cover, then tie off with butcher twine.  Roast in the oven at 350* for 30-35 min.  I also like to add about a cup of white wine to the pan to keep moisture and add a flavor base.

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!!

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!

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.