Smoked Gouda with Bacon and Chicken Mac and Cheese

I've not always been the biggest fan of baked macaroni and cheese. Many times, the cheese flavor is just utterly underwhelming. I think two things contribute to this. First, is using a cheese that doesn't bring much flavor to the party, like mild cheddar or American. Second, not using enough cheese in the sauce.

I prefer to use a strongly flavored cheese, like an extra sharp cheddar, or a smoked Gouda. In this case, I had a some Yancy's Fancy Smoked Gouda with Bacon.

It's a nice semi-hard cheese that grates easily, and melts smoothly.

The process is fairly straight forward. You cook pasta to al dente, make a bechemel sauce and add cheese, then mix together, top with bread crumbs, and bake. I added some cooked chicken breast to make it a bit more main dishy.

To go with, I rough chopped some kale,and braised it in a little porter, seasoned with sea salt and some Trader Joe's Flower Pepper.

Smoked Gouda with Bacon and Chicken Mac and Cheese

10 oz. egg noodles

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. powdered hot oriental mustard

3 cups cream

2 medium shallots, minced

1 tsp. hot smoked paprika

15 ounces smoked Gouda with bacon, grated

1 large chicken breast, cooked and diced

salt and pepper to taste

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup bread crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles to al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and mustard to make a roux. Cook, stirring constantly, until pale blond in color. Add shallots, cook briefly. Add cream and paprika. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Add half of the cheese. Whisk until cheese is melted and smoothly incorporated. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. 

In a ceramic lined cast iron dutch oven, combine noodles, sauce, and chicken.  Add remaining cheese on top. 

In a small pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add bread crumbs, Cook, moving continuously, until lightly toasted.

Spread toasted crumbs evenly over top of casserole.

Bake uncovered for ten minutes, then cover and bake for another 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and remove cover. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Happy Eating!

New Orleans Inspired Dinner

Back in August, the spouse and I got a chance to take a mini-vacation in New Orleans. We ate some amazing food at some fantastic restaurants. A frequent customer asked me to make a meal inspired by our trip.

The menu I ended up doing was an appetizer of a savory asparagus cheesecake with jalapeño aioli, a shrimp bisque with a whole wheat cheddar Parmesan cracker, an entree of chicken en papillote with crab mushroom béchamel, braised chard, and green onion hush puppies, and vanilla bean ice cream with bananas Foster.

The appetizer was inspired by one we had at Dick and Jenny's. Mine was a cheesecake with ricotta, feta, and Parmesan cheese, and blanched asparagus. The recipe I started from is this one from Food.com. 

The crust is a cracker crust using whole grain club crackers. I blind baked the crust before hand, so that it would not be soggy.

It is garnished with a  jalapeño aioli, made from mayonnaise, roasted jalapeño, key lime juice, and sea salt.

I served the cheesecake warm. This resulted in a silky texture that was quite pleasant.The contrast with the crispy crust was spot on.

The soup is a shrimp bisque. The stock was made from about three pounds of crayfish shells, mostly heads, that I simmered for three hours, then ground up with an immersion blender and ran through my chinois.

This provided a solid base for the soup. I added green and red bell peppers, onion, and celery. It was seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, cumin, cayenne, and fresh ground black ground black pepper.

I pouched one whole shrimp per bowl in the stock for garnish,. The rest are cut up in small pieces, and added right before service, so that they were not overcooked.

To go with the soup, I made whole wheat cheddar Parmesan crackers. They had a robust texture that held up well to the soup.

For the entree, I made chicken en papillote with a crab mushroom bechemel. It's a fun way of cooking. En papillote is French for in paper. The food is wrapped in parchment paper, and  baked in a hot oven. It steams in the envelope.

To go with, I braised white chard with apple cider vinegar. That gave it a mild sweetness to counterbalance its natural mild bitterness.  It was cooked with bacon and onion. 

I also made green onion hush puppies, because, really, what is more quintessentially New Orleans than hush puppies. Crispy outside, light and fluffy in the middle, with a hint of heat from a little cayenne.







For dessert, I made bananas Foster over vanilla bean  ice cream. No pictures, my phone died before I could get any. Great flavors of rum, banana, brown sugar, and spices over a good quality ice cream. Didn't have time to make my own, unfortunately.

Recipes

Savory Asparagus Cheesecake

Crust:

5 1/2 oz. whole grain club crackers
2 1/2 oz. butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
spray canola oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Use spay oil to generously grease six 4 1/2" ramekins.

In a food processor, grind crackers very fine. Add butter and eggs. Process until smooth. Press dough into ramekins. Bake for ten minutes. Remove from oven, let cool.

Custard:

1 bunch asparagus
1/2 medium white onion, fine diced
8 oz. ricotta
8 oz. feta
1 oz. grated Parmesan
3 1/2 oz.heavy cream
2 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Cut tips of asparagus 1" long. cut an additional 1" of stalks. Blanch asparagus pieces in lightly simmering salted water until al dente. Shock in ice water to stop cooking. Select twelve tips to leave whole. Set those aside, fine dice the rest of the asparagus pieces.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Saute onions until tender. Add diced asparagus, saute lightly. Add cream. and turn down to low.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Temper cream mixture, and whisk into cheese mixture. Season to taste.

Ladle custard into ramekins. Add two
asparagus tips to each ramekin. Sprinkle tops of custard with Parmesan.

Place full ramekins in a shallow baking dish. Add hot water to half way up the ramekins. Bake until custard is set, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven. Let rest about 10 minutes. Gently run a knife between crust  Slide cheesecake from ramekin, plate and garnish with jalapeño aioli.

 Jalapeño Aioli

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 medium  jalapeño

1 tsp. key lime juice

salt to taste

Roast  jalapeño in 350 F oven until blackened. Shock in ice bath. Peel, de-stem, and de-seed. 

Blend together  jalapeño, juice, mayo, and salt until smooth.

Shrimp Bisque

Stock:

3 lbs. crayfish shells

5 quarts water

Simmer shells in water for three hours. Using an immersion blender, grind up shells. Filter through a chinois to remove shell bits.

Soup:

1 qt. crayfish stock

1 lb. shrimp tails without shells

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium white onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

3 strips bacon, diced 

2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 tsp. cumin powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

salt and pepper to taste

In a pan over medium heat, render fat out of bacon. Add vegetables, saute until tender. Add stock and spices, bring to a simmer.

Take six whole shrimp. Poach in soup until cooked, about 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Dice remainder of shrimp. Add to soup. Simmer until done, 

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with whole shrimp and cheddar Parmesan cracker.

Whole Wheat Cheddar Parmesan Cracker

4 oz. grated sharp cheddar

2 oz. grated Parmesan

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. dry mustard powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne powder

2 oz. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. cold water, plus more if needed

Combine Cheese, flour, and seasonings in a food processor. Pulse a number of times to combine ingredients.

Add butter. Plus until dough resembles course crumbs. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, processing until dough just sticks together. If too dry, add additional water, 1/2 tsp. at a time.

Form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for two hours.

Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

On a floured surface, roll out dough very thin. With a fork, poke holes in dough at regular intervals. Using a pizza cutter, cut into diamonds. Transfer to a silicon baking pad lined sheet pan. 

Bake ten minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned.

Transfer to parchment paper to cool.

Crab Mushroom Bechemel

3 oz. butter

1 oz. flour

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced thin

3 oz. canned crab meat with juice

3 cups cream

salt and pepper to taste

In a saute pan over medium high heat, melt 2 oz. butter. Saute mushrooms until tender. Set Aside.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt remaining ounce of butter. Add flour, cook until light brown.

Add cream, whisking in until well incorporated. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. when thickened, Add mushrooms and crab. Set aside.

Chicken en Papillote

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

crab mushroom bechemel

Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

Cut breasts in half lengthwise. Pound each half breast to 3/4" thick.

Cut six 10" hearts out of parchment paper.

Place each half breast on a parchment heart. Cover with bechemel. Crimp paper closed around breast. 

Put packages on baking sheets. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Green Onion Hush Puppies

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

3 green onions, sliced thin

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

canola oil for frying

Whisk together all ingredients.

Heat oil to 365 F. 

Drop batter by spoonfuls into hot oil. Fry until golden brown.

Happy Eating!

A Trio of Medieval Stews

Yesterday I was responsible for a lunch for my local SCA  group. The person running the event wanted hearty stews. Turns out to have been a good choice, as it was a cold and rainy day. I apologize for no pictures, I'd intended to take pictures, but was so focused on getting service out that I forgot. I really need to remember to find someone to be responsible for photos.

I'd spent a little time looking for interesting winter stews. I like to try to do foods at least inspired by Medieval or Renaissance recipes. I'm most concerned with providing a delicious, filling, satisfying meal, but it is nice to support the atmosphere with food that is at least consistent with period.

I ended up going with three options. For the first, I went with a middle eastern lamb stew. I was inspired by this recipe.  It is based on a recipe from the Al-Bagdadi cookbook. My version had boneless leg of lamb cut into bite sized pieces, and simmered with cinnamon stick and fresh coriander. I made a spice mix of black pepper, long pepper, grains of paradise, and coriander seed. I used that mix to season the lamb. I added onion, leek, and carrot by way of vegetables. I added raisins and dried Turkish figs. The stew was also flavored with red wine vinegar and honey.

I wanted a poultry option for the second choice. I was inspired by this recipe. I thought it could easily be modified to a stew. I used a mix of boneless chicken thighs and breasts cut into bite sized pieces. I simmered the chicken in chicken stock and moscato. I added celery and onions, as well as dates and currants. I added a little sugar to balance the stew, and seasoned it with ground mace and fresh ground black pepper. About five minutes before service, I added orange supremes.

For the third choice, I wanted a vegan option. I found this recipe based on an ancient Greek recipe. I used red lentils, and added carrots, leeks, onions, and celery. It was flavored with a little red wine vinegar and honey. I provided a little olive oil and crushed coriander seed to garnish the stew, as desired.

I made sourdough rolls, multi-grain rolls, and gluten free scones by way of bread. Yeah, I know, modern scones are not in anyway period. They are, however, a way of providing a gluten free bread option that I feel confident will be tasty. Good gluten free bread is just difficult to do,

All three of these recipes came out the way I intended. The broth for the lamb was particularly tasty.

Recipes

Spice Mix for Lamb

4 long pepper pods

1 Tbsp. black peppercorns

2 tsp. grains of paradise

2 tsp. coriander seeds

Place all ingredients in a spice grinder. Grind to a fine powder.

Sikbaj (Lamb with Raisins and Figs)

2 lbs. lamb, cut into 3/4" cubes

1/2 onion, diced

1 leek, tough tops removed, diced

1/2 lb. carrots, diced

1 small bunch cilantro

1/2 cinnamon stick

3 oz. raisins

2 oz. Turkish figs, diced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. Spice Mix for Lamb

salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add lamb, cooked until browned on all sides. Season with Spice Mix and salt. Add water to cover, add cinnamon stick and bunch of cilantro. Bring to a simmer, cook for one hour. 

Remove cinnamon and cilantro. Add vegetables and more Spice Mix and salt to taste. Simmer one hour. 

Add figs, raisins, vinegar, and honey. simmer one hour.

Adjust seasoning, serve.

Chicken with Oranges and Currants

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts and thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1 pint chicken stock

1 pint moscato wine

1/2 stalk celery, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 3/4 oz. dates, diced

2 oz. currants

2 1/2 oranges peeled, cut into supremes

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. ground mace

sugar to taste

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add chicken, brown on all sides. Add stock and wine. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer one hour,

Add vegetables and dried fruit. Add mace. Simmer one hour.

Add sugar as necessary. Add orange segments. Simmer five minutes. Adjust seasoning as necessary, then serve.

Zeno's Lentil Stew

1 lb. red lentils, rinsed

1 quart vegetable stock

water as needed

1 leek, tough tops removed, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 lb. carrots, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp. honey

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil and crushed coriander for garnish

In a stock pot over medium heat, combine lentils and stock. Simmer until lentils are tender, about an hour. Add water as necessary to keep lentils covered. 

Add vegetables and simmer until tender. Add vinegar and honey. Season with salt and pepper.

Optionally, garnish a bowl of stew with a dollop of olive oil and a pinch of crushed coriander seeds.

Happy eating!

A Renaissance Italian Lunch

For a local SCA event, I was asked to provide a lunch. I wanted to do something based on late 16th century Venetian cookery. I did some searching online, and found out about Bartolomeo Scappi, who published an enormous cookbook in 1570. I found menus and recipes online at various places.

I will be the first to admit that the food I do is period inspired, not period accurate. My first concern is to provide a tasty, filling, and fulfilling meal that doesn't scream modern. I realize I am cooking modern ingredients for a modern palette, and first and foremost, must have happy customers. I do like to push the palette a little, making food that is familiar, but still different.

I decided on a menu of spiced chicken, salad of mixed greens and edible flowers with a simple vinaigrette, a cheese and herb pie, and Neapolitan pizza for dessert.

The recipe that I used for inspiration called for the chicken to be boiled, then have a mix of sugar and spices sprinkled on. This was an appropriate way to treat a 16th century chicken, but not a good approach to a modern bird. I decided to grill chicken breasts, and I made a mix of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and kosher salt to season them.

The salad was half a commercial spring mix, and half fresh lettuce, arugula, basil, and edible flowers from a friends garden. Salad dressings in the 16th century tend toward simple vinaigrette. The original recipe called for red wine vinegar. I didn't have any in my pantry, so used a mix of balsamic and white wine vinegars. That was combined with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

The pies were a standard 3-2-1 pie crust with a filling of ricotta and fresh basil, oregano, thyme, and parsley. They were brushed with an egg wash, to get a nice color. Both the salad and pies were based on items mentioned in a lunch menu by Scappi.

The Neapolitan pizza, really a fruit tart, had a base of pie crust that was blind baked. The filling was a paste of almonds, pine nuts, fresh figs (from the garden of the friend that provided the greens), dried dates, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and eggs. We spread that over the crust, and garnished it with slices of dates and pine nuts. We baked it until the filling set., then sprinkled them with rose water.

I think this lunch went well. It was simple, but balanced and filling. I was very happy with the pizza. It was rich and sweet, and had a great texture.

Recipes

Grilled Sugar and Spice Chicken

4 large chicken breasts
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Mix together sugar and spices.

Pat breasts dry. Liberally sprinkle both sides of breasts with sugar and spice mix. Place on a medium hot grill. Allow to cook 6 - 10 minutes, then turn over. Cook another 6 - 10 minutes, until a good color on both sides, and about 90% done. Move to top rack to finish, until breast is cooked through, but not dry.

Italian Vinaigrette

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a liquid tight container. Shake vigorously, until ingredients form an emulsion.

Ricotta and Herb Pies

For crust:
9 oz. by wt. flour
6 oz. by wt. butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chilled
3 oz. by vol. ice water
1 tsp. kosher salt

Sift together flour and salt. Cut butter into flour, until it resembles course crumbs. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough just clings together. Roll into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for at least one hour.

For filling:
3 cups ricotta
1/2 cup chiffonaded fresh basil
1/2 cup rough chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. kosher salt.

In a bowl, thoroughly mix together all ingredients.

For pies:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cold water

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut two three inch circles per pie. Place one teaspoon of filling in the center of each bottom crust. With a finger, wet edge of bottom crust with water. Place on top crust. Use a fork to crimp edges together. Transfer to an ungreased sheet pan. brush each pie with beaten egg.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until crust is cooked and golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Neapolitan Pizza

1 1/2  recipes of above pie crust
9 oz. by wt. Almonds
6 oz. by wt. Pine nuts
4 1/2 oz. by wt. Dried dates
4 1/2 oz. by wt. Fresh figs
4 1/2 oz. by wt. Raisins
6 eggs, beaten

9 oz. by wt. Sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. rose water

Pre-heat oven to 350 F

Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil. Spray lightly with oil. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to lined pan. Cover with wax paper, then press another half sheet pan onto dough. Bake for ten minutes. Remove from oven, and remove top pan and wax paper. Let cool slightly.

In a food processor, grind almonds to course crumbs. Transfer to a bowl. In the same processor, grind together figs, dates, and raisins. Stir into nuts. Add sugar, eggs, and cinnamon. Thoroughly mix together.

Spread filling in even layer over crust. Bake 20 minutes, or until filling is firm.

Remove from oven. With a pastry brush, lightly sprinkle pizza with rose water.

Happy Eating!

A Summer Picnic Dinner

 

In the summer the San Diego Zoo is open late into the evening. A good friend offered to trade entrance to the Zoo for a picnic dinner. We thought that was more than fair, and a great way to enjoy her company.

I knew she was trying to eat healthy, so I made a couple of wraps with a multi-grain flat bread, a quinoa salad with fresh herbs and vegetables, and a nice fruit salad with a light honey poppy seed vinaigrette.

For the wraps, I used Flatout Multi-Grain with Flax. It is a hearty and sturdy, but still soft, flat bread that is great for wraps. I made two kinds. I made a curried egg salad, and maple pomegranate glazed grilled chicken with a candied ginger aioli. The egg salad had a combination of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, with some curry powder and hot curry paste, and some diced celery for crunch. For the chicken, I grilled the breasts, glazing them with the maple pomegranate glaze I used back at the chicken tasting party. When cool, I sliced them into strips across the grain. To go with the chicken, I made an aioli with apple and lingonberry vinegar and candied ginger. I added some fresh bronze leaf lettuce to the wrap.

The quinoa salad was cooked quinoa, with diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, mint, cilantro, and a little cumin. I used a couple of small, ripe cluster tomatoes that had nice, firm flesh. The quinoa expands much more than rice or barley, so two cups of dry quinoa made two quarts of quinoa salad.

The fruit salad had nectarine, banana, strawberries, strawberry orange, and blueberries. I made a light honey poppy seed vinaigrette with orange muscat champagne vinegar. The fruity character of this vinegar really enhanced the flavors of the fruit in the salad. A touch of honey counterbalanced the acid in the fruit and vinegar nicely.

For dessert, I brought a selection of the chocolates I made the other day in class.

It was a lovely evening. The weather was perfect. We got to watch another friend perform on the didgeridoo, then wandered and chatted.

Recipes

Curried Egg Salad

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. hot curry paste
salt to taste

In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt, curry powder, curry paste, and salt.

In another bowl, combine celery and egg. Add enough dressing to moisten and coat.

Candied Ginger Aioli

3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. candied ginger, finely minced
2 Tbsp. apple and lingonberry vinegar
1 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Whisk together egg yolks, ginger, salt, and vinegar. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking vigorously, until emulsion thickens.

Quinoa Salad

2 cups dry quinoa
4 cups water
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 small ripe tomatoes, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1/4 cup chiffonade of mint
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt to taste

Place quinoa and water in a rice cooker. Cook until done. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature. Mix in rest of ingredients, chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Fruit Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

1 ripe banana, sliced
1 nectarine, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 strawberry orange, cut into supremes
5 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. orange muscat champagne vinegar
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix together fruit, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, and salt until an emulsion  forms. Poor over fruit, Chill until ready to serve.

Happy eating!

 

Outdoor Wedding Buffet

Last weekend, I was out camping with about 2500 of my closest friends at the Potrero War, a medieval and renaissance re-creation event. At the event, two people I care for got married, and they asked the spouse and I to help with the food. The spouse made pasta salads and desserts, which I may cover in another post, if I can get the recipes from her. She also provided sliced cheese, rolled cold cuts for deli platters, bought melons that were cut up, and cut up veggies for a veggie tray. She did the bulk of the work, because I had to be on site on Wednesday for other duties, and we wanted the food to be as fresh as possible.

I made two dishes. One was a Persian chicken, walnut, and pomegranate stew called fesenjan.  The recipe I used for inspiration can be found here. The stew is sautéed chicken flavored with onion, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and pomegranate molasses. It uses ground walnuts as a thickener. I prepared this at home, froze it, then it was thawed and reheated at the event.

To go with the fesenjan, I made rice, which I also froze and reheated at the event. For both the stew and the rice, I double bagged them in heavy duty freezer bags to be reheated by placing the bags in a large pot of boiling water.

I like this a lot. The walnuts add a great flavor, and the pomegranate molasses gives it a mildly tart, almost sweet and sour, taste that is quite different from most chicken dishes you'll run into.

I also made some stuffed dates. I worked from a recipe by a friend of the brides. There were stuffed
with a mixture of cream cheese, honey, ground pistachios, and cinnamon. I worked the mixture in my stand mixer until smooth and creamy, then placed it into a piping bag with a plain tip with an opening about the same size as the opening in the dates. One thing I will do next time is run the nuts through a colander to remove the largest pieces. I had my pastry tip clog a couple of times on a larger piece of pistachio. I piped the dates full of the mixture.

These turned out really nice. The creaminess of the filling contrasted well with the firm date.

Recipes

Fesenjan (Chicken, Pomegranate, and Walnut Stew)

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs and breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium white onion, diced
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup ground walnuts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
salt to taste

Add butter and oil to a skillet over medium to medium high heat. Sautéed chicken pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Chicken need not be fully cooked. Place in a stock pot..

Sweat onions in pan until translucent. Add to stock pot.

Use a little of the stock to deglaze the pan. Add to stock pot. Cover chicken with remaining stock.

Cook at a simmer for 20 minutes. Add pomegranate molasses and spices. Stir in walnuts. Simmer another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over long grain rice.

Stuffed Dates

5 lbs. pitted dates
16 oz. by wt. cream cheese
1/3 cup honey
1 cup ground pistachios
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, work cream cheese with a paddle until smooth. Add honey, work again until creamy.  Add sugar, nuts, cinnamon, and salt. Work for five minutes, or until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag with a plain tip that will just fit in the dates.

Pipe into each date until it is just full. Refrigerate dates until serving time.

Happy Eating!

Culinary Class: Hot Wings

For our last lab, we covered poaching. To do this we poached chicken wings until they were tender, then deep fried them until brown and crispy. We made a Buffalo-style sauce to coat them.

Poaching is the process of cooking food in liquid that is just below the boiling point, typically between 165 and 185 F. For the wings, they were poached in water flavored with white wine vinegar, bay, thyme, onion, and garlic. They poached about thirty minutes, then were drained and allowed to cool.

We then dredged them in flour mixed with cornstarch and seasoned with granulated garlic, salt, and pepper. They were then deep fried in hot oil until golden brown and crispy.

Just before serving, they were tossed with a Buffalo-style sauce made with butter, Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce, vinegar, onions, and garlic.

These were really good wings. The sauce was hot enough to get your attention,. without being so hot you couldn't taste anything.

As always, all recipes courtesy of Chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Poaching Liquid for Chicken Wings

1 Qt. water
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. whole thyme
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Chef Joe's Flour for Chicken Wings

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup corn starch
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Chef Joe's Spicy Wing Sauce

1/8 onion, minced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 oz. + 3 oz. by wt. butter
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt 1 oz. of butter. Sweat onion and garlic until tender in butter. Add vinegar and hot sauce to pan, bring just to a simmer. Remove from heat, while continuously whisking, add remaining 3 oz. of butter a little at a time. Continue until butter is completely incorporated.

Happy Eating!

 

Chicken Noodle Soup and Buttermilk Dry Jack Biscuits

Monday was a little wet and drizzly. So, it was a perfect day for soup. I had some cooked chicken left over from Gaslight Gathering, and some  three color rotelle, which would work just fine for the noodles. I added some diced carrot and white radish. I flavored it with a little thyme, oregano, and basil.

I always like a little bread with soup to help sop up the juices.  I decided to make biscuits. I thought the dry jack from Springhill Cheese would add a great flavor. I still had buttermilk that needed used up.

These biscuits came out light and fluffy, with a rich, deep flavor from the cheese and buttermilk.

Recipes

Chicken and Rotelle Soup

6 cups chicken stock
1 cup diced cooked chicken
3/4 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced white radishes
1 cup tri-color rotelle noodles
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried time
salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, heat stock over medium heat. When it comes to a simmer, add carrots, radishes, and dried herbs. Let simmer gently until vegetables are tender. Add noodles, increase heat until liquid comes to a boil. When noodles are al dente, stir in chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Buttermilk Dry Jack Biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour
3/8 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup grated dry jack cheese
1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cream of tarter, and baking soda.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in dry jack cheese.

Add buttermilk, stir until dough comes together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, adding flour as necessary, until dough is  not sticky.

Pat or roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into six biscuits.

Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 - 12 minutes, or until biscuits are firm and golden brown.

Happy Eating!

Gaslight Gathering: Saturday Tea and Port of Call

Saturday at Gaslight Gathering was a very hectic day. Like at most cons, it was the busiest day, so lots of people came through the Observation Lounge looking for a beverage or light snack. We also were responsible for an afternoon tea in another part of the building, plus two special events in the Lounge itself.

This is the third year we have run the steampunk Saturday tea. This year, in keeping with the nautical theme of the convention, each table was named for a famous shipwreck or ghost ship of the 19th or early 20th century. We got to do the center pieces. Each table had general nautical ephemera, plus photos or paintings of the ship. Each table also had place cards with the name of the ship, and a unique trivia question about the ship inside. Everyone also got a goodie bag, containing a handmade medal, some white chocolate sea shells, and a card with nautical knots and some cord to practice with.

For entertainment, we went intimate this year. We had a magician, Dino Staats, doing close up magic, and a couple of friends as sea hags, telling fortunes. From all accounts, both acts were marvelously entertaining.

After getting the room set up and everyone seated, I rushed back to the Observation Lounge to supervise the Port of Call. The port of call for Saturday was the Island of Santorini. To celebrate that, I made a lemon chicken rice soup, and a ricotta honey pie. I made the little cheesecakes as individual one bite desserts. They have a pine nut crust. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the food from this event. If  you are willing to let me use, let me know.

Finally, in the evening, we had a birthday party for the Artist Guest of Honor, Brian Kesinger. We had cake, including a lovely one with the head of Boba Fett, made by another fan.

Recipes

Lemon Chicken Rice Soup

12 cups chicken stock
1 cup lemon juice
1 bunch celery, finely diced
1 1/2 lbs. carrots, finely diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
4 lbs. precooked chicken, diced
3 cups cooked rice
salt to taste

Place stock and lemon juice in a crock pot. Simmer on high for one hour. Add garlic, celery, and carrots. Let simmer one more hour, or until vegetables are tender but not mushy. Ten minutes before serving, stir in chicken and rice. Add salt, and additional lemon juice as needed.

Ricotta Honey Cheesecake with Pinenut Crust

For the crust:

8 oz. by wt. pine nuts
1/3 cup sugar
16 oz. by wt. all purpose flour
8 oz. by wt. butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch salt

In a heavy skillet, toast pine nuts over medium heat. Transfer to a food processor. Pulse several times. Add flour, sugar, and salt, process until nuts are finely ground.

Transfer nut mixture to a mixing bowl. Add butter, egg, and vanilla. Work by hand until ingredients are well mixed. Divide into balls, wrap balls in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least ten minutes.

One ball is enough crust for one batch of cheesecake.

For the cheesecake:

4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
16 oz. by wt. ricotta cheese
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, mix together ricotta and thyme, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Slowly beat in flour, sugar, and salt until eggs are medium stiff peaks. Beat in honey, until fully incorporated. Fold ricotta into egg whites until well blended, with no lumps of egg white or ricotta remaining.

Line mini-muffin pan with paper cups. Place about 1 teaspoon of pinenut dough in the bottom of each cup, pressing it down to form a thin layer on the bottom of the cup. Spoon in batter to about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until cheesecakes are resilient to the touch, and lightly browned.

Remove from oven. Lightly dust with cinnamon powder. Place on cooling rack to cool. Refrigerate until serving time.

One batch makes about 35 miniature cheesecakes.

Happy Eating!

Culinary Class: Asian Style Chicken Stew and Rice Pilaf

Yesterday was our penultimate cooking lab. Only one more left, in two weeks. Next week is our knife skills test. I plan to spend next Tuesday destroying carrots.

Anyway, we are continuing our survey of wet cooking methods. This time we covered stewing. Stewing generally involves cooking smaller portions of meat completely immersed in liquid.

For this class we made an Asian style stewed chicken. It was flavored with garlic, onion, ginger, vinegar, cilantro, and hot peppers. Slow cooking helped the chicken become permiated with the flavors, and become fall-off-the bone tender. The sauce was thickened at the end with a slurry of corn starch.

I think this may be my favorite recipe of the class so far.

To accompany the stew, we made a basic rice pilaf. In a pilaf, the rice grains are coated in fat so that they remain separate, and the rice as a whole is fluffy. The rice is sautéed fat until well coated. Water is added, and the pot covered. It is important to leave the pot alone at this point. The rice needs to be left alone for about 25 minutes. It can be finished either on the stove top, or in the oven.

We kept it simple, as we wanted the rice to accompany the stew, and not clash. It is flavored with a little garlic and onion. We used butter as the fat to fry the rice and coat the kernels.

We used parboiled rice. This rice is partially cooked, making the cooking time shorter, and there is less starch on the outside to gelatinize and make it sticky.

The rice came out perfect. It was a little al dente, and had not a hint of stickiness. It did a great job of soaking up the sauce from the chicken.

All recipes courtesy of Chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Ginger Chicken Stew

1 chicken cut into 10 pieces, skin removed
1 onion, rough chopped
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup diced celery
1 Thai chili, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, diced
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced cilantro
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. corn starch
2 cups water

In a heavy stew pot over medium heat, sweat onions, celery, and garlic. Add chicken pieces, lightly brown. Add stock, soy sauce, vinegar, chili, pepper, and ginger. Bring to a simmer. Cover, let cook one hour and fifteen minutes.

Combine corn starch and water, making sure there are no lumps.

Add cilantro to stew. Slowly stir in corn starch slurry, until sauce is desired thickness. You may not need all of the slurry. Cook for an additional two minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand five minutes.

Chef Joe's Basic Rice Pilaf

2 cups rice
1/4 cup minced onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 oz. by wt. butter
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Sweat onions and garlic. Add rice, stir thoroughly until rice is well coated. Add water, and season to taste.

Cover, let cook undisturbed for 25 minutes.

Culinary Class: Roast Chicken with Roasted Root Vegetables, and Funnel Cake

We are continuing our survey of dry cooking methods. For this class, we were exploring roasting. We made a marinade, halved some chickens, and cut up some vegetables. Probably our easiest prep yet.

The marinade was made up for us, so it had time for the flavors to blend. It had oil and vinegar, and was flavored with a variety of herbs, spices, and prepared mustard.

We cut up an onion, some celery, a sweet potato, carrots, and a beet. We tossed them with the marinade, and roasted them
in the oven. They were quite good.

We cut some chickens in half, and tossed them with the same marinade. We roasted them until the skin was crispy, and the meat juicy and tender.

It was good, though it could really have used some sauce or gravy. Wish we'd made a pan sauce from the drippings. Seemed a waste.

To keep busy while everything was roasting, we made funnel cakes. That was fun, I've never done that before. We did not get to make the batter ourselves, it needed to sit for a bit. The batter was placed in squeeze bottles, for easy of piping.

We pan fried them in a skillet half full of oil. One touch I liked, we used heart shaped cookie cutters to contain and shape the funnel cakes. We piped the batter into the outline of the cutter, then removed the cutter as the funnel cake set. Once browned on the bottom, we flipped them over to finish.

We had the option of sprinkling the funnel cake with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or cinnamon sugar with cayenne. I chose the last. I liked the kick it gave the funnel cake.

It came out very light and tender, but crisp on the outside.

As always, all recipes courtesy chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Spiced Oil for Roasting

2 cups salad oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. prepared yellow mustard
1/2 Tbsp. curry powder
1/2 Tbsp. paprika
1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
1/2 Tbsp. black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. salt

Blend together all ingredients.

Chef Joe's Funnel Cake

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

oil for frying
powdered sugar for garnish

Mix together all ingredients, place in a squeeze bottle.

Place 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil in a heavy skillet.  Heat oil to between 350 F and 375 F. Place a metal ring in pan. Pipe batter into ring. When dough is set, remove ring. When brown , flip and allow to cook on the other side. When brown on both sides, remove from oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Happy eating!

Sauteed Chicken with Kohlrabi - Potato Puree and Wilted Kohlrabi and Radish Greens

We picked up a nice looking kohlrabi at the El Cajon Farmers' Market the other day. Mostly, I was curious, having never worked with one before. Kohlrabi is a cabbage that has been bred for its stem, rather than its leaves.

I've also never tried to do a puree before. I've seen enough of them on cooking shows, however, that I decided I wanted to give it a try. The kohlrabi alone would not be enough, so I combined it with some potatoes. I boiled them together until soft, then pureed them in a blender with a little butter, cream, and salt. The kohlrabi added a great flavor to the puree.

I cut up a large chicken breast into strips, then pounded them flat. I simply sautéed the strips in a little olive oil, and seasoned them just with a little salt and pepper. After removing the chicken from the pan, I de-glazed the pan with some champagne, and finished the sauce with a little butter and cayenne powder.

For the vegetable, I combined the kohlrabi greens with some radish greens. I cooked them in a little olive oil, them added a little lingonberry vinegar and let it steam for a little bit. I seasoned them with a little salt. The mild bitterness and acid from the greens made a nice contrast with the smooth, mild puree, and the chicken/

Recipes

Sautéed Chicken with Champagne Pan Sauce

1 large chicken breast, cut into 3 strips
2 chicken tenderloins
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup champagne
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken pieces between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound to 1/2 inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. Add chicken. Let cook until brown, then turn. When cooked through and brown on both sides, remove from pan.

Add champagne, and de-glaze pan. Add cayenne, and season with salt as needed. Let sauce reduce slightly.

Plate chicken, spoon sauce over meat.

Kohlrabi - Potato Puree

1 3 inch diameter kohlrabi, peeled and diced
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter
salt to taste

In a pot with plenty of water, boil kohlrabi and potatoes until tender. Drain vegetables, transfer to a blender. Add cream and butter, blend until smooth. Add salt as needed.

Happy Eating!

Culinary Class: Tempura Battered Chicken and Onion Rings

After two weeks off (Spring Break, and written mid-term) we were finally back in the kitchen. We continued our exploration of dry cooking methods with deep frying. We have been moving from least to most oil in the frying methods. We used a batter to coat the food for the first time. Also, we made an aioli from scratch, which was fun. I've never done my own mayonnaise before. Now that I know how ridiculously easy it is, I may do that a lot more.

We took boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and cut them into strips. We pounded the strips flat. They were dredged in a mixture of seasoned flour and cornstarch. We coated them in a tempura batter. We learned the swim method of deep frying. In the swim method, the food is held in tongs. It is half submerged in the hot fat, and gently moved back and forth for ten seconds. It is then carefully released. It should float, and not touch and stick to the bottom. Just as with pan frying, it is important to not try to cook too much at once. Adding food drags down the temperature of the oil. If the oil is too cool, the result will not be pleasant. The chicken is then drained on a paper towel lined tray.

It came out crispy and juicy. The batter was light, and not thick.

We did the same thing with onions. We cut the onions into half inch wide rings (about a fourth of an onion. As I have said before, I am a sucker for good onion rings.

Just like the chicken, the onions were first dredged in a mixture of flour and cornstarch. They were then battered and deep fried, using the same swim method.

We used a commercial tempura mix. Tempura batter is generally based on a low gluten wheat flour, and commercial mixes may include rice flour, corn starch, or leaveners like baking powder. We used it plain, with just some salt and pepper, for the onion rings. The batter for the chicken was more interesting. It was flavored with curry powder and cayenne pepper.

It is important for the batter that the water used is ice cold. It should be mixed as little as possible, it's OK to have some lumps left. You do not want to develop the gluten. If you develop the gluten, you will get a tough and chewy coating. Not what you generally want in fried foods.

We made a spicy aioli as a dipping sauce to go with the chicken and onion rings. An aioli is essentially a mayonnaise. It is an emulsion of oil and water (in this case lemon juice and vinegar) stabilized by the lecithin in egg yolk. Soy lecithin can be used to produce a vegan mayonnaise. The secret is to slowly drizzle the oil into the vinegar and egg, while whisking vigorously. We included onion, garlic, and sambal for flavor.

If you are concerned about potential salmonella contamination, you can use pasteurized or irradiated eggs. Alternatively, you can heat the egg yolks in a double boiler to 160 F, while whisking to prevent coagulation.

The aioli went really well with the chicken and the onion rings. The acid from the lemon brightened the flavors, and the heat from the sambal enhanced them.

As always, all recipes courtesy of chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Spiced Tempura Batter

2 cups Tempura Mix
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Ice water as needed

Mix together tempura mix and spices. Add ice water while whisking, until batter resembles thin pancake batter.

Chef Joe's Spiced Aioli Sauce

5 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. minced onion
juice of 1/2 a lemon
10 oz. by vol. olive oil
1 tsp. sambal chili paste
salt and pepper to taste

In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and onion. Slowly drizzle in oil, while whisking vigorously. Whisk in sambal, salt, and pepper.

Happy Eating!

Pan Fried Chicken and Onion Rings

I love onion rings. Check that. I love good onion rings. I loathe bad onion rings. Unfortunately, good onion rings are hard to come by. They are not that difficult to make, but do require careful attention to the temperature of the oil.

In my last culinary class, we covered pan frying. The chicken came out OK, but the onion rings were not good. Most of the coating fell off, and they were limp and greasy. I was not happy. I thought I would try at home, and get everything right.

I used boneless, skinless chicken leg quarters. I cut each leg quarter in half. You could just use boneless skinless thighs, which are more common. Boneless reduces cooking time, and makes it easier to get everything cooked evenly. I placed the pieces between two sheets of plastic wrap, and pounded them to about one half inch thick.

In class, we used slightly different coatings for the chicken and onions. That was more complicated than I wanted to deal with for just the two of us. I used the same three stage method for both. Seasoned flour, beaten egg, seasoned bread crumbs. I used the same seasoning for both the flour and the bread crumbs. They were seasoned with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh ground black pepper, and salt. If you are going to use the same coatings for vegetables and chicken, make sure to coat the vegetables first. That way you avoid potentially contaminating your coating with the raw chicken. Once coated, place the vegetables and and chicken in the freezer for ten minutes. This helps set the coating, and stiffens the food up a bit, making it easier to handle.

My original plan was two separate pans for the chicken and onion rings, but I only had enough oil for one pan. To compensate for that, I put a couple of plates lined with paper towels in a 250 F oven, so that I could keep everything warm will I cooked.

My pan would only comfortably hold three of the four pieces of chicken all at once. It's important to not over crowd the pan. Too much food will drag down the temperature of the oil, and everything will end up limp and greasy.

I'm happy with the results. The chicken turned out moist, with a nice crispy coating. The onion rings were tender on the inside, and crunchy on the outside. I made a spicy honey mustard dipping sauce to go with both. The honey mustard dip is spicy brown mustard, honey, cayenne, and garlic Tabasco sauce.

Recipes

Pan Fried Chicken and Onion rings

2 boneless skinless chicken leg quarters, cut in to two pieces each
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1/2 inch wide rings

flour coat:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

egg wash:
3 eggs, beaten

crumb coat:
1 1/2 cups dried fine bread crumbs
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Dredge onion rings in flour mixture. Thoroughly coat with egg wash, shaking off excess. Cover and press with crumb mixture, to ensure complete and even coverage.

Repeat procedure with chicken. Place chicken and onion rings in freezer for ten minutes.

Place two oven safe plates lined with paper towels in a 250 F oven.  In a large fry pan over medium to medium high heat, place about one half inch of vegetable oil. When oil is hot, carefully lower chicken into oil. Be careful not to crowd food into pan. When chicken is golden brown on the bottom, flip over.When fully cooked, transfer to a plate in the oven.

Repeat same procedure with the onion rings.

Honey mustard dipping sauce

1/3 cup spicy brown prepared mustard
3 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. Cayenne powder
3 splashes garlic Tabasco sauce

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth.

Happy Eating!

Culinary Class: Pan Fried Chicken

In this class we covered another dry cooking method, pan frying. The difference between pan frying and sauteing is the depth of the oil. In sauteing, there was just enough oil to prevent the food from sticking to the pan. In pan frying, the oil should be deep enough to come half way up the food in the pan. It uses the heat of the oil to cook the food.

We made pan fried boneless chicken, using the leg and thigh. We pounded the pieces thin, and then breaded in a similar three stage process to that we used the week before. The chicken pieces were dipped in seasoned flour, then buttermilk, then seasoned bread crumbs.

Pan fried foods, just like sauteed ones, should only be turned once. It is important to carefully regulate the heat. Too hot, and the outside burns before the inside is cooked. Too cool, and you end up with pale, greasy food.

We had an Asian style dipping sauce to go with it. It was really good. It had a lot going on. Somewhat sweet, somewhat tangy, with a fair amount of heat.

We also fried up some squash sticks and onion rings. Those were battered in the same three step process. We used seasoned flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs. Panko crumbs differ in that they are courser, and lighter, than regular bread crumbs. This results in a lighter, crispier texture. The squash came out really good. I think we didn't have the heat high enough for our onion rings. They were a little greasy, and we had a hard time keeping the breading on them.

All in all, not bad. Hard to go wrong with fried chicken, though.

Dipping sauce recipe courtesy of Chef Joe Orate.

Chef Joe's Asian BBQ Dipping Sauce

3 fl. oz. ketchup
3 fl. oz. BBQ sauce
3 fl. oz. sweet chili sauce
2 fl. oz. white vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced onion
sambal to taste
Tobasco or other hot sauce to taste

Culinary Class: Sauteed Chicken Breast and Vegetables

In my culinary class, we are starting to work our way through the dry cooking methods. Last week was grilling, this week was sauteing. Saute comes from the French for 'jump', referring to the tossing of the food often done with this technique. Sauteing involves frying items over direct heat in just a little fat. With small items, the cook will often jerk the pan in rhythmic pattern to cause the pieces to jump out of, and back into the pan.

We started the class by doing the prep work for some other class, dicing a lot of carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, tomatoes, onions, and parsley. This was to practice our knife skills. As a computer geek, I immediately thought of it as distributed processing.

We then cut up the vegetables for our side dish. Onion, carrot, celery, two kinds of squash

After that, we broke down the chickens that we are using this week, and next. We saved the leg quarters for next week, and used the boneless, skinless breasts, and tenderloins this week. We sliced the breasts into pieces the same size as the tenderloins, and pounded them all flat between two pieces of plastic wrap.

We then breaded the chicken in the classic method. That involves dredging the chicken pieces in seasoned flour, then in egg, then again in seasoned flour.

We cooked the chicken in a little oil in a very hot pan. They cooked rapidly, about one minute per side. We then made a wine sauce to go with. After the chicken was removed, we drained the excess oil, then added garlic and onion to the pan. We cooked that for just a minute, then de-glaze the pan with a little white wine. We added some chicken stock, then let it come to a boil. We let it reduce a little, We then added some minced parsley, and returned the chicken to the pan. We let that cook a minute to re-warm the chicken.

I liked this. The chicken  was very tender. The wine sauce complimented the chicken very well.

We also sauteed the vegetables. The mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onions) was cooked first, then the squash. They were finished with a little parsley. They came out very nice, tender but not mushy.

Still working on real basic stuff, but at least the pace is picking up. We were kept moving until almost ten.

Wine sauce recipe courtesy of Chef Joe Orate.

Chef Joe's White Wine Sauce

1/4 onion, minced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 oz by vol. white wine
1 pint chicken stock
4 oz by wt. butter, softened
1/2 cup minced parsley.

When finished sauteing meat, drain excess oil. Add onion and garlic to pan. Cook about one minute. Add wine to de-glaze the pan. Add stock. Bring back to a boil. Let reduce for a couple of minutes. Add butter, allow to melt. Add parsley. Cook briefly, then remove from heat and serve.

Happy eating!

Culinary Class: Grilled Chicken with Spicy Compound Butter, and Marinated Grilled Vegetables

Last week we covered the wet cooking methods of boiling and simmering. This week we turned to a dry cooking method, grilling. Grilling is cooking by radiant heat from below the food. To illustrate the difference, we cooked over both a gas grill, and a charcoal grill.

We marinated and grilled some zucchini and carrots. We did not get to make the marinade ourselves, as it needed time for the flavors to blend. I liked the marinade. It was flavored primarily by vinegar and yellow mustard, with some garlic, Worcestershire sauce, jalapeno, and parsley. It also has a fair amount of oil.

He had us grill the vegetables five minutes on each side. This was perfect for the zucchini, a little too little for the carrots. I think the carrots could have used another minute or two on each side.

We  made a compound butter to go on both the vegetables and the chicken. We mashed together butter with onion, garlic, sambal chili paste, a Thai chili, lime juice, and parsley. It was very tasty, although I would have liked more heat, the chili was hardly noticeable to me.

Before grilling the chicken, we brined it for a while in a simple brine of water, salt, and pepper. I love brines, they definitely help make poultry moist and flavorful. I have posted a much more complex brine before.

We also dusted the chicken with a simple dry rub of salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and paprika. This was a good, solid, basic rub. We grilled the chicken for about ten minutes on a side. It took just a little bit more than that on the charcoal, they had the grill set a little high above the coals.

Once the chicken was removed from the grill, we smeared it with the compound butter.

The chicken cooked over charcoal had more smokey flavor. Charcoal does have that advantage. Gas, however, is easier, in that it does not take long to come up to temperature. Cleanup is also easier on a gas grill, since there are no hot coals to dispose of.

This was not a particularly challenging exercise for me, as I am no stranger to the grill. I have demonstrated that on numerous occasions.

All recipes courtesy Chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Marinade for Grilling

1 cup salad oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. salt and pepper (combined)
1 Tbsp. minced parsley
1 Tbsp. minced jalapeno

Whisk together all ingredients.

Chef Joe's Spice Rub

2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Combine all ingredients.

Chef Joe's Chili - Lime Compound Butter

1/2 lb. butter, softened
1 oz. by wt. minced onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. sambal chili paste
1 Tbsp. minced parsley
1 Thai chili, minced
juice of one lime
salt and pepper to taste

Mash together all ingredients, until smooth.

Stuffed Pumpkin, Too

Last night for Halloween, the spouse requested stuffed pumpkin. Since I made one recently, I decided I wanted to go in a completely different direction this time. The spouse had purchased a couple of nice little one pound pumpkins, the kind that make great one person meals. She bought two different varieties; one all white, one white with orange stripes. Since I had some chicken breast that needed cooking, I decided to use that. As well I had a lot of apples, and I always have dried bread cubes. I decided a chicken, apple, and cheddar stuffing sounded good.

I sauteed the chicken with some red onion, then mixed it with dried bread cubes, diced apples, and cheddar cheese. I moistened the stuffing with cream, then stuffed the pumpkins. I ended up with enough stuffing for about five or six small pumpkins, so mixed a couple of eggs into the extra and made it into a bread pudding.

I thought this turned out quite good. Chicken, cheddar, and apple is a classic combination. Between the cream and the liquid exuded by the pumpkin, the stuffing was quite moist. The pumpkins picked up the flavor of the onion and cheese as well. The pumpkin is quite good with just a dab of butter or margarine.

Chicken, Apple, and Cheddar Stuffed Pumpkin

6 one pound pumpkins, cleaned
1 1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups dried bread cubes
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 gala apple, peeled, cored, and diced
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup heavy cream, approximately
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute chicken in olive oil until about halfway done. Add onion and garlic, and cook until chicken is cooked, and onion is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, mix chicken, bread cubes, apple, and cheese. Moisten with cream, until moist but not soggy.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Stuff mixture into pumpkins,then cover with lid of the pumpkin. Place pumpkins in a shallow baking dish in the oven, then add about 3/4 inch of hot tap water to dish. Bake until stuffing is set, and pumpkin is tender, about one and a half hours. Remove lids about 20 minutes before done, to brown top of stuffing.

Remove from oven, and let rest five minutes. Slice pumpkins in half to serve.

Happy Eating!

Islamic Medieval Dinner 2

As I've mentioned before, I am co-ordinating a medieval Islamic banquet next month, and I am testing out recipes. Previous experiments can be seen here and here. This time, I was working on recipes for chicken with pistachios, carrots and leeks with tahini, and lentils with taro and chard.

The chicken was diced, sauteed, then covered with chicken stock and simmered a bit with the coarsely chopped pistachios. I like it, but I think it is crying out for just a hint of cardamom. I think that would really pop the pistachios.

The carrots and leeks are simmered in vegetable stock, and spiced with tahini, nutmeg, clove, pepper, and ginger. I think next time I will get the carrots almost done before adding the leeks.

Taro is an interesting beast. The skin is quite tough, but the buggers are slippery as heck when peeled. According to sources on the web, some people react to the raw taro, which can cause an itching sensation on the hands, or in the mouth, if eaten under-cooked. I did not learn this until after I peeled and diced them, so apparently I am not one of those people. They can have a slimy texture, but I found that if boiled to tender, then drained and rinsed, they can have the same texture as boiled potato. Chard really has two components, the leaf and the stem. Both are delicious, but need to be handled differently. I diced up the thick stems, and sauteed them in  oil for a few minutes, until tender. The leaf I just rough chopped, then added to the lentils just at the end of cooking. The cooked taro was added just before serving, as well.These were quite good. The spouse said they were the star of the plate.

Recipes

Chicken with Pistachios

2 chicken breasts, diced
1 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

In a skillet, saute chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat until half way done. Add stock, pistachios, and salt, cook until chicken is cooked but tender.

Carrots and Leeks with Tahini

5 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch wide, 4 inch long pieces
white part of 1 large leek, quartered and cut into 4 inch long pieces
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp. tahini
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
a pinch of clove
salt to taste

In a saucepan, simmer carrots in stock until mostly tender. Add leeks and spices. Cook until both carrots and leeks are tender. Drain, toss with tahini and salt.

Lentils with Taro and Chard

1 cup lentils
4 small taro roots
5 leaves of chard
2 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
salt to taste
1 tbsp. oil

Peel and dice taro. (Care should be used with raw taro, it can cause itching. Safest to wear gloves). In a saucepan simmer taro in 4 cups water, until tender,  15 to 20 minutes. Drain, then rinse thoroughly. Set aside.

Separate chard stems from leaves. Dice stems, chop leaves into roughly 1 inch square pieces. Saute stems in oil over medium heat until tender. Set aside.

Simmer lentils in stock until tender, between 15 and 20 minutes. add water as necessary to keep lentils covered. When tender, stir in taro, chard stems, and chard leaves. Cook until chard leaves are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

Happy Eating!