Intermediate Culinary Class: Fish appetizers

Continuing the investigation into flavors, this week we worked with fish. This was a long and busy night, with a number of recipes.

We started off making ceviche. Ceviche is raw fish that is marinaded in acid and flavorings. The acid denatures the proteins making it appear lightly cooked.

This ceviche has fresh red snapper cut in thin angled cuts across the grain. This slice is called a tranche. The slices of fish are arranged on the plate, and then soaked in lime juice. They were lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. On top are layered red onion, green onion, capers, cilantro, jalapeno, and a dash of Tabasco. We made that right away, then let it sit while we cooked the components of the more complex appetizer. We ate the slices of fish on  slices of baguette that had been lightly toasted.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. It was a nice mix of citrus, sharpness, and heat.

The more complex dish had a number of components. For the first time, we were required to make an attempt at presentation. The dish is pan seared red snapper with mushroom risotto, beet beurre blanc, olive and tomato tapenade, and white wine infused beets.

The first step is the beets. It is a bruniose (very fine dice) of beet sautéed in butter, then simmered in white wine until tender. When complete, the beets are strained, and the juice is reserved for the beurre blanc.

The tapenade is thin sliced pimento stuffed olives, diced tomato, garlic, red onion, and lemon zest, very lightly sautéed in olive oil.

The risotto is Arborio rice that is slowly cooked in liquid while being continuously stirred. The starchy short grained rice will release produces a creamy texture. For this risotto, we sautéed a little mirepoix (finely diced onion, carrot, and celery), garlic, mushroom, and jalapeno in butter. The rice is added, and cooked a few minutes in the hot fat, stirring to coat each grain. Water was added, a little at a time, cooking and stirring. It took about twenty minutes for the rice to reach an al dente texture, and have a creamy texture. Right at the end, some heavy cream and Parmesan cheese was added.

This is the first time I've tried making risotto. It turns out to be easier than I expected. It takes a little patience, and you need to be focused, but it isn't that tricky.

Beurre blanc means 'white butter' in French. It is an emulsion of butter in a white wine reduction. For this one, we used the beet infused wine, some more white wine, and a little white wine vinegar. We added some red onion and garlic, and reduced the volume by about half. We then added some fish stock. Once it was back up to temperature, we whisked in butter to form the emulsion. Finally, whisked in some heavy cream. It was a nice, slightly acidic sauce that went well with the fish and the risotto.

Finally, we pan seared some pieces of red snapper. With so much else going on, we just kept the fish simple.

All recipes courtesy chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Peruvian Style Ceviche

4 oz. fresh red snapper fillets
juice of 2 limes
1/4 red onion, minced
1 bunch green onions, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 bunch cilantro, minced
1/4 cup capers
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco to taste

Slice fish very thin. Place in the bottom of a plate or shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with 1/3 of the lime juice. Layer on rest of ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper, and sprinkling with juice. When all ingredients are layered on, sprinkle as desired with Tabasco. Let marinade for 2 hours.

Chef Joe's Wine Infused Beets

1 beet, peeled and finely diced
3 oz. by wt. butter
1 cup white wine
salt to taste

In a small saucepan, sauté beet in butter. Add wine, simmer until tender. Drain, reserving juice for beurre blanc.

Chef Joe's Green Olive Tapenade

4 oz. by wt. pimento stuffed green olives
1 small tomato, peeled and diced
zest of 1 lemon
1 oz. fine diced red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Briefly sauté all ingredients in olive oil.

Chef Joe's Mushroom Risotto

1 cup Arborio rice
3 oz. butter
1/4 cup finely diced mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onion)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup diced mushrooms
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1 - 2 cups water
1 tsp. shredded Parmesan
2 oz. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan over medium high heat, sauté mirepoix, garlic, mushrooms, and jalapeno in butter. Add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice grains are coated with butter and lightly toasted. Add water a little at a time. Cook, stirring constantly, adding water as needed to keep rice a thick slurry. Cook until rice is creamy, and grains are al dente. Season with salt and pepper, stir in cream and cheese.

Chef Joe's Beet Beurre Blanc

Beat infused wine from previous recipe
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup fish stock
4 oz. butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Place beet infused wine, wine, vinegar, onion, and garlic is a saucepan over medium high to high heat. Reduce volume by one half. Add stock, bring back to a simmer.  Whisk in butter, about one tsp. at a time. Whisk vigorously to form an emulsion. Whisk in heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Happy Eating!

Mushroom Medley Stir Fry with Sesame Rice

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday. My friends, knowing me, all gave me food related gifts. One of those gifts was a selection of Asian fresh mushrooms. I decided to use many of them in a stir fry. I used fresh shiitake, king oyster, seafood, and enoki mushrooms. The shiitake and oyster mushrooms when cooked have a very meaty texture. The enoki mushrooms have almost the texture of noodles.

I added fresh asparagus tips, and some thinly cut white onions. I wanted the sauce to really emphasize the umami of the mushrooms. It contains soy sauce, fish sauce, liquid smoke, rice wine vinegar, cinnamon, chili powder, black pepper, and corn starch.

I served it on a bed of brown rice with sesame seeds. I put 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 1/4 cup of sesame seeds, and a pinch of salt in my rice cooker with 3 cups of water.

Mushroom Medley Stir Fry

1 cup sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
3 king oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 package seafood mushrooms, trimmed
1 package enoki mushrooms, trimmed
1 cup fresh asparagus tips
1/2 medium white onion, sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch, sifted
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Whisk together soy, fish sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke, cinnamon, chili powder, pepper and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil, stir fry onions until soft.

Add asparagus tips. Stir fry for one minute.

Add shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Stir fry until mushrooms start to release moisture.

Add seafood and enoki mushrooms. Stir fry briefly, until hot.

Add sauce, toss until thickened and everything is well coated.

Serve immediately over rice.

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.

Grilled Salmon with Sweet Soy Glaze, Coconut Glutineous Rice, and Curried Cauliflower

Salmon  is one of my favorite fish. It has a unique flavor, and a meatier texture than a lot of fish. It is quite versatile; it can be poached, broiled, grilled, sauteed, heck, it's even good raw as sushi, sashimi, or ceviche. I love to grill it. A three ounce fillet cooks in no time on the grill, and takes to a variety of flavors.

This time, I decided to use more Asian flavors. The spouse had purchased a head of cauliflower, with the intent that I make it curried. I wanted to grill the salmon, and made a glaze with sweet soy sauce, regular soy sauce, fish sauce, and lemon grass. The salmon should go on the grill top side down, and at a 45 degree angle to the grill bars. After about three minutes, rotate the fillet 90 degrees. This will give you nice criss crossed grill marks. As soon as you flip it, brush it with the glaze. I brush it with a second coat, just as I pull it off the grill. It will set nicely while the salmon is resting.

The only rice I had was some glutinous rice, so I made that with coconut milk, shredded unsweetened coconut, and ginger. The rice actually went really well with the salmon. It was slightly sweet, but not excessively so, and matched well with the richness of the salmon.

For my curried cauliflower, I saute the cauliflower in a little butter, then add curry powder, a little hot curry paste, and salt. It's important to not overcook the cauliflower. It should be al dente, but not mushy.

Recipes

Sweet Soy Glaze

1/3 cup sweet soy sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. dried lemon grass

Whisk together all ingredients. Let stand for 30 minutes before using.

Coconut Glutinous Rice

1 cup glutinous rice
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Place all ingredients into a rice cooker. Cook according to machine's instructions.

Curried Cauliflower

1/2 head of cauliflower, separated into small florets
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. hot curry paste
1 tsp. kosher salt

In a heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add cauliflower, saute until mostly done. Add curries and salt, toss to coat cauliflower evenly.

Happy Eating!

Pan Asian Dinner

I have a couple of dear friends that have been very enthusiastically supporting my decision to go pro as a cook. Back in September I had the opportunity to cook for them, and they wanted to have me cook for them again this spring.

Since I did Middle Eastern last time, I wanted to go in a different direction. I decided to go Asian. There is so much variety to Asian cuisines. I ended up going Pan-Asian, with a Vietnamese style appetizer, Chinese inspired main dish, and a combination Thai/Chinese dessert.

For the appetizer, I made Vietnamese style spring rolls. These are great, as they are not fried, and are all about fresh greens. There were two dipping sauces to go with the rolls. One was hoisin with peanuts, and the other was a complex combination of fish sauce, lime, garlic, and sweet chili sauce. I think these were a great appetizer. The wrappers were rice paper, and in them I put shrimp, rice vermicelli, butter lettuce, mint, and basil. I worked from this recipe at allrecipes.com.

For the main dish, I made a beef stir fry with carrots, crimini mushrooms, and red, yellow, and orange peppers. My stir fry sauce is not traditional, as far as I know. I make a sauce of date vinegar and sweet soy sauce, with a little ginger and black pepper. I use a little corn starch to help the sauce thicken.

Somehow rice got left off my packing list, and my friends didn't have rice, either. I ended up using some Israeli couscous. It worked just fine. Not surprising, as it was created as a rice substitute.

For dessert, I really wanted to make something special. I wanted to have lots of contrasts; taste, texture, and temperature. I made a cold Thai jelly, with layers of coconut and coffee flavors. The jelly is based on this recipe. The jellies use agar agar as the jelling agent. Agar agar is a derivative of red seaweed.

To contrast, I made a Chinese eight treasures rice pudding, served warm. It consists of glutinous rice, coated with a mix of chestnuts, almonds walnuts, dried pineapple, dried papaya, and dried mango There is a thin layer of sweet red bean paste in the middle. I adapted this recipe for my pudding. The original called for lard. I substituted vegetable shortening, which worked just fine.

To tie everything together, I made a mango - lime sauce.As it turned out, the dessert is vegan.

I don't think the photo does it justice. I think it came out really pretty. I was really proud of the whole thing.

Recipes

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Rolls
6 6.25 inch rice wrappers
6 large cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise
2 oz. rice vermicelli
2 Tbsp. chiffonade of basil
2 Tbsp. chiffonade of mint
1/2 cup chopped butter lettuce

Dipping Sauces
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp. finely chopped peanuts

1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. minced garlic

Whisk together hoisin sauce and peanuts. Set aside. Whisk together fish sauce, lime juice, chili sauce, sugar, water, and garlic. Set aside.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add rice noodles, turn down to a simmer. Cook until al dente, then drain and rinse.

To construct a roll, dip a wrapper in a bowl of warm water for about 1 second. Place a small bundle of vermicelli in the center of the wrapper. Place two halves of shrimp on top of noodles. Sprinkle liberally with mint and basil. Add shredded lettuce. Fold ends of wrapper in. Fold one side of wrapper over top of shrimp, then roll tightly over other side.

Serve with dipping sauces.

Beef, Mushroom, and Peppers Stir Fry

1 lb. London broil, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups diagonally sliced carrots
1 1/2 cups mixed pepper strips
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced crimini mushrooms
1/4 cup date vinegar
1/4 cup sweet soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2Tbsp. sesame oil

In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy, ginger, pepper, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Add beef strips, stirring constantly. Cook until about 3/4 the way to medium rare. Remove beef. Add carrots. Cook, stirring rapidly, for about two minutes. Add peppers. Cook, stirring constantly, for another two minutes. Add mushrooms and return beef to pan. Cook until mushrooms are done. Add sauce, stirring to coat all other ingredients. Once sauce starts to thicken, remove from heat. Serve over rice or noodles.

Layered Coconut and Coffee Jellies

Coffee Jelly
1 Tbsp. instant espresso
2 Tbsp. warm water
2 Tbsp. agar agar powder
3 cups water
7 oz by wt.  sugar

Coconut Jelly
1 Tbsp. agar agar powder
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups coconut cream
2 oz by wt. sugar
1 tsp. salt

To make coffee jelly
In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in warm water. Set aside.

Place water and agar agar powder in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Heat until agar agar completely dissolves. Add sugar, cook until dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in coffee. Transfer to a metal bowl in a hot water bath to keep liquid while working.

To make coconut jelly
In a small saucepan over medium low heat, dissolve agar agar powder in water. Add coconut cream, sugar, and salt, cook until sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a metal bowl in a hot water bath to keep liquid while working.



To make jellies
Into silicon cupcake molds, place 2 tablespoons of coconut liquid in eight molds, and 2 tablespoons of coffee liquid into eight molds. Let cool and harden, about 5 minutes.

Alternate coffee and coconut layers, allowing to firm up after each new layer. Molds should hold about 6 tablespoons (3 layers).

Refrigerate until needed, unmold to serve.

Eight Treasures Pudding

8 oz by wt. glutinous rice
1 oz by wt. vegetable shortening
1 oz by wt. sugar
2 Tbsp. finely diced chestnuts
2 Tbsp. finely diced blanched almonds
2 Tbsp. finely diced walnuts
2 Tbsp. finely diced dried papaya
2 Tbsp. finely diced dried mango
2 Tbsp. finely diced dried pineapple
1/3 cup sweet red bean paste

In a small bowl, mix together fruits and nuts. Set aside.

Under running water, rinse rice. Place in a small saucepan, and add twice the volume of water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook for twelve minutes. Rice will absorb the water, and become thick and sticky. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 oz. shortening and sugar.

Take six ramekins. Using remaining shortening, apply a thick layer of shortening to the insides of the ramekins. Press fruit and nut mixture into the shortening, making sure inner surface is covered. Shake out any excess fruit and nut mixture.

Fill each ramekin half full with rice. Spread a thin layer of bean paste on top. If bean paste is too thick to spread easily, heat in microwave ten to twenty seconds.

Finish filling each ramekin. Cover ramekins with aluminum foil. Refrigerate until ready to steam.

To steam, place a couple of inches of water in the bottom of a steamer. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. place rack containing ramekins into steamer, cover. Let steam for thirty minutes.

Remove from steamer. Remove foil. Loosen puddings by running a butter knife or small spatula around inside of ramekin. Turn upside down onto plate to unmold.

Mango - Lime Sauce

1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded, and diced
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. sugar
pinch kosher salt

In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer diced mango and water until mango is tender. Using an immersion blender, puree mango. Stir in spices, sugar, and salt.  Cook until sugar is dissolved.

Happy Eating!

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry

As you may have guessed, I like versatile foods. Some foods just lend themselves to infinite variety and flexibility. Omelets, and quiche are two things that can be done with just about any combinations of flavors you like. Stir fry is something else that can be done any number of ways. Most vegetables are best lightly cooked, and lend themselves easily to stir frying. They remain crisp and brightly colored, and retain most of their nutrition. Meat can be added, or not, and there are all sorts of sauces you can do.

I've been meaning to stir fry this baby bok choy since I got it from my CSA. I had a bag of pre-cooked shrimp in the freezer, and thought that would work well with it. It was massively dirty, so I cleaned it the way I clean spinach. I cut off the root, the washed the leaves in a big bowl of cold water, agitating well. I then let it sit a couple of minutes, to let the sand settle. I then pull out the leaves, and drain them in a colander. Dump and rinse out the bowl, and repeat, until there is no sand in the bottom. It wasn't horrible, I only had to wash it twice.

I let the shrimp sit in a bowl of cold water a few minutes, until about 90% defrosted, then drained them.

I play around a lot with sauces. One of my favorite ingredients for stir fry sauce is date vinegar. Not remotely Asian, but it works wondrously well with soy sauce and honey, or sweet soy. I also used some of Auntie Arwen's Shy Panda Kosher Stir Fry Blend. It adds a nice zest.

I served it over jasmine rice. This rice is fragrant, with an almost floral scent. It matched well with the stir fry.

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry

12 oz. pre-cooked shrimp
3 small heads baby bok choy, cleaned, leaves split lengthwise
2 tbsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. date vinegar
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. stir fry seasoning blend

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy, and cornstarch until cornstarch is fully dissolved.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil, swirl around to coat. Add bok chow, stirring constantly until mostly tender. Add shrimp, mix in. Move bok choy and shrimp up the sides of the wok, out of the liquid. Cover, let cook for a minute, until shrimp are hot. Add soy mixture and seasoning blend. Stir until sauce thickens, and food is well coated.

Happy Eating!

Pork and Apple Meatballs with Goat Cheese Chili Rellenos

 

For tonight's dinner, I wanted to use some of the beautiful sweet chilies from my CSA. I've never made chili rellenos, but they are one of my favorite foods, so I thought I'd give them a try. I used these instructions  from about.com as my basis.  I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm not sure what varieties I used, as Suzie's didn't let me know what we had. I used two medium size chilies, and two slightly smaller chilies, which are the ones pictured. I roasted the chilies on the grill, until the chilies were soft, and the skins blackened. Once cool, I removed the skins, then made a small slit in each chili, and removed the seeds and membranes with a small spoon. The filling is a mix of cream cheese with a little goat cheese, and a little cumin.  I whipped the cheese smooth, then piped it into the slits in the chilies. The batter is egg whites beaten to stiff peaks, with the yolks whisked lightly with a little salt, and folded into the whites. I deep fried the chilies in 375 degree canola oil, until golden brown.

For the protein, I had some lean ground pork, so made meatballs with granny smith apple, and an apple cider reduction sauce using some Ace Joker hard cider. This is a medium dry cider with a distinctly champagne-like taste and texture. I added a little rosemary and cinnamon to the meatballs, and the cider reduction had some honey, cinnamon, ginger, and a pinch of cloves. I browned the meatballs in a pan, then finished them in a 300 degree oven. I reduced the cider by about two thirds. It worked great as a dipping sauce.

For the starch I made rice with black cumin seeds. I placed two cups of white long grain rice, 4 cups water, a tablespoon of black cumin seeds, and a teaspoon of kosher salt in my rice cooker, and cooked it. It went very well with both the meatballs and the reduction sauce.

Recipes

Pork and Apple Meatballs

1.2 lbs lean ground pork
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1/2 granny smith apple, diced
2 medium eggs
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch nutmeg
2 Tbsp. canola oil

In a large bowl, mix everything except oil together. Form meat mixture into golf ball sized balls. Add oil to a medium hot pan, and fry meatballs until golder brown. Transfer pan to a 300 degree oven, and bake until cooked through.

Apple Cider Reduction  Sauce

24 oz. (two bottles) Ace Joker Hard Cider
4 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
 a pinch ground clove

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until volume is reduced by about 2/3.

Goat Cheese Chili Rellenos

4 medium sweet chilies
8 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. goat cheese
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. plus 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
four eggs, separated

Roast chilies on a gas grill or over a gas burner, until chilies are soft, and skins blackened all around. Cool, then peel off skins. Make a small slit in each chili, and use a small spoon to remove seeds and inner membranes.

In the bowl of a mixer, add cheeses, cumin, and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt. beat until smooth, then transfer to a piping bag. pipe cheese mixture into the slit in each chili. Do not over fill.

In a chilled bowl, beat egg whites to medium peaks. Whisk egg yolks with 1/4 tsp. salt. Fold yolks gently into egg whites.

Lightly coat chilies with flour. Dip chilies into egg batter, coating liberally. Fry in 375 degree oil until golden brown on both sides.

Happy eating!




Grilled Lime Chicken Soft Tacos and Mexican Rice

Our CSA has provided us with an abundance of peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos over the last few weeks, so I thought a good Mexican meal would help use up some of that. As well, a friend gave us a pile of limes from her tree as well. Some were what you expect limes to look like, small and green. A few, however, looked like lemons; large and yellow. Scratch them, and they smelled of lime.

The lime marinated chicken came out moist and tangy. I got a good sear, and great grill marks. Slicing it across the grain ensures that it will be tender. After turning of the gas to the grill, I used the residual heat to warm up the fresh corn tortillas from my local tortilleria.

I made salsa verde, which I love, with the tomatillos.  I had a pile of wonderful cherry tomatoes from the CSA, so diced those up. I had some mixed sweet peppers, no idea what varieties other than pale yellow, orange, and bright red. I grilled those, to get a nice char on the outside, and then sliced them in thin strips. I also included some chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, and a couple of lime wedges, just in case.

Instead of sour cream, I used fat free Greek yogurt. It works really well, having a great mouth feel and tang, and being healthier, to boot.

I am generally not a fan of Mexican rice, as served at most restaurants. I haven't worked out what they do, but there is always an off taste to me. So, I thought I'd try my own, see how it came out. I'd recently tried it in a rice cooker, and it was better flavor wise, but the texture was off.  I was determined to get it right.

My recipe is based on this one from the food.com website, which has an average rating of a smidge under 5 stars, with nearly 500 reviews. It deserves it! The method is flawless, most of my changes are out of frugality, the ingredients I had to hand, and preferred flavor profile. It produced the best Mexican rice I've ever had. Part of that may be ingredients.

For the tomato puree, I used a couple of largish yellow heirloom tomatoes, and 3 or 4 small red ones, all at the upper edge of usable ripeness. I used serranos instead of jalapenos, because that's what I had, but the flavor was great. I cut way back on the cilantro, as I didn't want it to be the dominant taste. Finally, I pureed the tomatoes and onion a little at a time to creep up to 2 cups, rather than make more than two cups and throw away the extra, as recommended in the original recipe. Just seemed wasteful to me. Rinsing the rice did seem to produce a wonderfully fluffy rice. I found that the aroma of the toasting rice was heavenly.

Recipes

Grilled Lime Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
zest of one large lime
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. dehydrated onion
1/2 tsp. dehydrated garlic
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. cumin

Place all ingredients in a sealable storage bag. Remove as much air as possible. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove breasts from marinade, pat dry. Grill until done. Rest meat for 5 minutes, then slice thinly across the grain.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

1/2 lb. tomatillos, hulled and washed
1 serrano chili
1 shallot, diced
1 Tblsp. diced cilantro
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
juice of 1/2 a small lime

Cut tomatillos in half; place cut side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place under a low broiler until soft, and slightly browned, about 3 - 5 minutes.  Let cool. Roast serrano chili over a burner until charred. Cool, remove skin, seeds, and inner membranes. 

Place tomatillos, chili, cilantro, salt, and lime juice in a blender.  Blend on low until smooth.

Mexican Rice

8 -12 oz. ripe tomatoes, cored
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 serrano chilies
2 cups long grain white rice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tblsp. minced garlic
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tblsp. chopped cilantro

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, process onion on, adding tomatoes a few at a time, until you have 2 cups puree.  Remove stems, seeds, and inner membranes from serrano chilies, then mince. Place rice in a strainer, and rinse until water runs clear, 1 - 2 minutes. In a large ceramic lined cast iron pot, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat for two minutes. And rice, fry about 8 minutes, until translucent and lightly toasted. Add garlic and serrano chilies, fry and addition couple of minutes. Turn heat down to medium low, and puree and stock. Just bring to a boil, then put on the lid, and place in oven. Bake about 25 minutes, until fully cooked.  Stir at the 15 minute mark to incorporate everything evenly.

Happy Eating!

Zatar marinated chicken kabobs with safron - cranberry rice

Summer in inland Southern California:  Grill season (not that it's ever really not grill season here, but July and August, I definitely do not want to heat up the kitchen).  Dinner tonight was a Middle Eastern inspired affair.  I made white wine and zatar marinated chicken kabobs with a cucumber yogurt sauce, safron - cranberry rice, and steamed spiced sweet corn.  I was really happy with this meal.  I got the skewers grilled just right, with the chicken completely cooked, but still moist.  I didn't have much in the way of fresh veggies to work with at the moment, so I used frozen corn.  I know, this results in a less than exciting color palette for the food, but my roommate won't eat green beans, which was the only other veggie that came easily to hand. I put the frozen corn in a Tupperware microwave steamer (an outdated model they don't sell anymore) with about a half teaspoon of kosher salt, and two teaspoons of Auntie Arwen's Shy Panda Kosher Oriental Stir Fry Blend, and microwaved for five minutes. 

Zatar is a Middle Eastern spice mix of thyme, sumac, salt, and white sesame seeds.