Category Archives: Recipes

Recipes

Instant Mirepoix

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A mirepoix is traditionally a roughly chopped vegetable mixture of onions, carrots, and celery, in a ratio of two parts onions, one part carrots, and one part celery. Raw, roasted or sautéed with butter or olive oil, mirepoix is the flavor base for a wide range of stocks, soups, stews and sauces.

I recently learned a new technique for making and using it in a soup, and it occurred to me that we can do up a big batch of it and freeze it for “instant” use later.

Roughly chop enough carrots and celery for 1 cup of each, and chop 2 cups of onion.

Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan on medium high heat. Add the carrots and give them a good, hard sear. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and celery. When the onions start to caramelize add 1 1/2 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth. Simmer until the carrots are tender.

Dump the whole thing into your food processor and puree until smooth.

Spoon the puree into an ice cube tray and freeze until needed.

Instant mirepoix

Voila!

Recipes

Bread and Cheese Pudding

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Bread pudding is most commonly seen as a dessert, with sugary sweet or liquor-based sauces, served at the end of a meal.

My first encounter with a savory bread pudding, designed to be an entree, was in The Mediterranean Slow Cooker, a cookbook by Michele Scicolone. The recipe for Mozzarella, Sausage and Sun-dried Tomato Bread Pudding is a knockout (check it out here on Google Books: Mediterranean Slow Cooker p 58).

We have had it for dinner a couple of times, we like to jazz it up by changing the seasonings and making different sauces. A Tomato Basil Cream Sauce goes very well with it, as does a rich Marinara-style sauce.

In the previous post we discussed John Thorne’s Outlaw Cook and his essay on the Plowman’s Lunch, so we’d like to share the results of an experiment we did with one of the recipes in Thorne’s book: Bread and Cheese Pudding.

The recipe is ridiculously simple, as are the techniques involved. Even if you have never made a bread pudding you can’t mess this up.

Since this was an experiment I cut down the recipe a bit, you can scale it up as needed. This makes enough for two.

  • 4 slices of Gluten-free bread, lightly toasted (I use the Glutino Multigrain)
  • 4 ounces of Aged Cheddar, grated
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 small Onion, (1 cup) chopped fine
  • 6 ounces of beer (I used Anchor Stout)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Butter

Your Mise

Components for bread & cheese pudding

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the egg, beer and cheese in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, cayenne and onions. Stir well to distribute the yolk and the seasonings.

Cut the bread into 3/4 inch squares and stir them in to the liquid. Let it set for a few minutes to soak up the beer.

Use the butter to grease a baking pan, I made this batch into a mini-muffin tin. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size and shape of your pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These took 35 minutes.

Bake bread and cheese pudding at 375 for 35 mins. Until toothpick comes out clean.

Mini bread and cheese puddings

Eat them while still hot!

Toppings

While this savory bread pudding was delicious on its own, crispy on the outside and creamy inside, we tried a few topping and condiments.

Here they are cut in half, topped with a small slice of the aged cheddar and a teaspoon of Sweet Onion Compote:

Bread & cheese pudding topped with cheddar & sweet onion compote

Delicious. We also tried them with Stone Ground Mustard, Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard, and French’s Yellow Mustard. This particular combo was best with the Stone Ground.

Final Thoughts

We will definitely be making this again, with some small changes, depending on the rest of the meal we are putting together. I’d like to try it in a bread-pan, about 2 inches deep, so I can cut it into slices and make an open-faced sandwich with Ham and Cheddar. Or change the bread to Rye and top with Pastrami and Swiss.

So many possibilities!

Recipes

The Cubano Sandwich

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I love the movie, Chef, with Jon Favreau. Sometimes on my day off I’ll make myself a late breakfast, pour a glass of wine, and watch it in my pajamas.

It often gives me inspiration to cook something for my Lovely Bride, but recently I have been fixated on the Cubano sandwich.

pressed cuban sandwichI have been roasting a Pork Butt every other week for the past two months, in search of the perfect marinade and construction.

I’ve tried different mustards, pickles, hams, etc. The following recipe is the one that I like the best.

For the sandwich itself you will need:

  • Ciabatta Bread
  • Quality Swiss Cheese, sliced fairly thin, two slices per sandwich
  • Black Forest Ham, from the Deli counter, again, sliced fairly thin, three slices per sandwich
  • Dill Pickles, preferably Vlasic Ovals
  • A panini press

I get all of this at the Deli counter, because I can get just enough for the number of sandwiches that I am going to make. We are going to prepare the Pork Shoulder Butt ourselves!

The Marinade

Start with a Pork Butt of at least three pounds and do your prep the day before you plan on cooking it. You will also need:

  • 2 quarts, less 8 ounces, of Orange Juice (we’re going to use the 8 oz for the Rub)
  • 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 Lime, quartered and squeezed into the marinade
  • 1 Navel Orange, quartered and squeezed into the marinade
  • 6 cloves of Garlic, put thru a Garlic Press
  • 1/2 large yellow Onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Red Pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon of Kosher Salt

Mix all of this in a bowl large enough to contain all of the liquid and the Pork Butt. Put the pork in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for 12 hours.

The Rub

In a sauce pan, add the 8 oz of Orange Juice over medium-high heat.

Add:

  • 1/2 teaspoon dry Cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
  • 1/4 Cup finely chopped yellow Onion

Reduce to 1/2 volume. Add 1 Cup of Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard and 1/4 Cup of Bread & Butter Pickle Juice. Bring back to a simmer, reduce heat and let it reduce until it is thick and creamy. Add Salt to taste. Remove from heat and cool down. Store in the fridge until you are ready to roast the Pork Butt.

The Roast

Take the Pork Butt out of the marinade and put it in a roasting pan on the counter one hour before cooking. Pre-heat your oven to 275 degrees. Pour the Rub over the pork and smear it all over, top, bottom, sides, all over. Finish with the Pork Butt in the pan with the fatty side up.

Roast the pork for 3 hours, or until the temperature in the center is 130 degrees. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Cut some slices of the Butt, about 1/4 inch thick, two per sandwich. The rest will hold in the fridge for a week, you can cut more for sandwiches later, too!

The Sandwich

Spread French’s Yellow Mustard on one side of the Ciabatta. Use a little more than you think you should, you want it thick, there is a lot of meat on this bad boy! This is the bottom of the sandwich. Next, lay down the Black Forest Ham, then the roast pork slices, followed by the Swiss cheese and finally the pickles on top. Cover with the other half of the Ciabatta and press until the cheese starts oozing out the sides.

Delish!

Recipes

Experimental Recipe – Scallops Poached in Champagne

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Pretty much the entire month of October was taken up by preparations for a little gaming convention this past weekend, so I have been busy painting little soldiers instead of cooking and blogging…

Tuesday was my first full day off since then and I decided to have some fun with some scallops. Because I am a bit of a planner I wrote out a menu for the night’s festivities, something to give me a foundation to build upon.

menu plan on whiteboard

At least one Twitter follower thought it was “meticulous”. It’s just the way I do things.

Gathering the Mise

  • Scallops, preferably large dry sea scallops
  • Champagne, I used Freixenet
  • Radicchio
  • Arugula
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • Green Onion Aioli
  • Red Onion
  • Green Onion
  • Artichoke Hearts
  • Red or Yellow Sweet Bell Pepper
  • Shallot
  • Paprika
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preparation

First I started to marinate the Red Bell Pepper, some Green Onion and Red Onion in the Lemon Juice with some fresh-ground Black Pepper and a Teaspoon of EVOO.

aromatics marinating in lemon juice(Do this part first so the vegetables have time to absorb that Lemony goodness)

Next I put about 1/4 cup of the Balsamic Vinegar with the sliced Shallot in a pan over medium heat to reduce a little.

Poaching the Scallops themselves only takes a short time, so we save that step for last. The next thing I did was start to assemble the salad ingredients on the plate. Since the Scallops and the Balsamic reduction were going to be sweet I wanted there to be some bitterness to contrast that flavor, with the acid of the Lemon juice bringing all of the pieces together.

bitter greans for poached scallop dishCut out a thin slice of the Radicchio, this will be the base of the salad. I also roughly chopped some more for a garnish, alongside Green Onions cut on a bias and the Artichoke Hearts (the kind that come in a jar, packed in oil – drain them but do not rinse). I also gave the plate a dusting of Paprika and a few drops of the EVOO.

When the Balsamic was where I like it I took it off the heat and put it in the fridge to chill. I put another sautee pan on the heat and poured in a cup or so of the Champagne, turning up the heat too.

Time to finish building the salad. Pile some of the Arugula atop the Radicchio slice, add the marinated vegetables:

set up the salad

Finally, add your Scallops to the boiling Champagne and cook them to your desired level of doneness. I like mine firm, perhaps a little underdone. Place the Scallops on top of your salad, then drizzle with the Balsamic Reduction and Green Onion Aioli.

And Voila!

Scallops Poached in Champagne with Bitter Greens

Recipes

I Feel Like an Omelette Today

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On Saturday, wonder of wonders, I had the day off! So the Lovely Bride and I went to the movies (we don’t do that very often).

This movie was so wonderful, and not just the parts about the cooking!

We laughed, we got teary-eyed. Simply a beautiful story of hard work, of love, of family and determination.

I have been thinking about it for days now, and this morning it made me feel like making an Omelette. I had some stuff that I wanted to use and thought it would work nicely together:

  • Andouille Sausage – cooked whole, then chopped
  • Chopped Red Bell Pepper
  • Coarsely chopped fresh White Mushrooms
  • Grated Smoked Cheddar
  • 1 Garlic clove, minced
  • 1 slice of Onion, chopped
  • and a Green Onion for garnish

(this makes enough filling for two omelettes)

sausage onions peppers garlic cheddar

Melt some butter in a saute pan and cook the Onion and Pepper until they start to get tender. Add Mushrooms and Sausage, continue to cook for about two more minutes, then add the Garlic.

When the Garlic starts to caramelize remove the mixture from the heat and reserve in a bowl. Return the pan to the heat.

saute-veggies-and-sausage
Don’t burn the garlic!

For each omelette get a mixing bowl –  combine 3 eggs with a 1/4 cup of Milk, a dash of Salt & Pepper and a pinch of Paprika.  Whisk assertively for 30 seconds and pour into the pan.

Let the egg mixture on the edges of the pan set, then use a spatula to slide under the edge, allowing uncooked egg mixture to flow beneath and cook. Take your time and be gentle.

When most of the egg is cooked, add the cheese, scattering it all over the surface of the omelette. Next, add the filling mix to the pan, in a line across the omelette:

add-veggie-cheese-and-meat-filling

Voila!

omelette with cheese and sausage
Yum! You can garnish with Green Onion, Sour Cream, Salsa… you name it!
Recipes

Playing with Pattypan Squash

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I found some lovely Patty Pan Squash at the Farmer’s Market and have been using them as side dishes. Just a simple saute in butter and garlic, maybe with a little shaved Parmesan Cheese.

patty-pan-squashBut, last night I decided to play around with them some, add more ingredients and see how they play together. I shaved the kernels off of a fresh ear of corn and threw them in a saute pan with the halved Patty Pans and some butter, on medium heat.

While the squash and corn were cooking I minced some Garlic, Red Onion, Green Onion and Radicchio, threw them in the pan, and turned down the heat a bit.

patty-pan-saute with garlic, onionsThe aroma was heavenly, earthy and sweet at the same time. The taste, well, it needed something. So it got a pinch of Salt & Pepper, some dry Cilantro and a 1/4 cup of Heavy Cream.

Better, but it needed some punch. Hey, Texas Pete is right there…Boom! Toss in some Feta Cheese crumbles and top with a shake of Paprika and now you’ve really got something:

patty-pan-with-feta-and-cream

Delicious.

This might make a pretty good “cream of” soup, too. Or a sauce for a Chicken and Pasta dish…

 

Recipes

Snails, Beets and Cream in Puff Pastry

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Last week, at the Leb Farmer’s Market, I was able to get my hands on some delightful fresh beets. It also happened to be my day off, so I decided to get funky and try something really different.

Earlier in August we had been shopping at a specialty food shop and picked up some Escargot dishes, so snails were on my mind and in my pantry. I wanted to do something a little more imaginative and “fun” than just cooking some snails in garlic butter.

The result was much more fun and satisfying:

beets-cream-snails-puff-pastry
I was on my second bite when my Lovely Bride asked if I’d taken a pic!

Wow, was this ever delicious!

The preparation is quite simple and straightforward, the shopping list inexpensive. You can probably make this in about 40 minutes, start-to-finish.

Shopping List

  • Carrot (1 large)
  • Beets (2 small)
  • Fennel (1 head)
  • Shallot (2 medium sized)
  • Green Onion (1)
  • Butter (3 Tbsp)
  • Olive Oil (3 Tbsp, Medium, for frying)
  • Dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc) (1/2 Cup)
  • Heavy Cream (1/2 Cup)
  • Snails (1 can)
  • Puff Pastry sheets

Preparing the Puff Pastry

First I pre-heated the oven to 375 degrees, then I buttered the phyllo dough sheets and layered them in a muffin-tin:

Phyllo dough "purses" for the Snails and Cream
Phyllo dough “purses” for the Snails and Cream

Count out 6 or 7 snails into each “purse”

snails in puff pastryTop the snails with a pinch of salt and finely-chopped Fennel fronds.

Beet Cream Filling

  • Brunoise 1/4 Cup of each:
    • Carrot
    • Beet
    • Fennel Stalk (the white part)
    • Shallot

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick saute pan on medium heat, add the Carrot, Beet and Fennel. Cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the Shallot and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the wine and cream, lower the heat, and reduce to a very thick sauce. Stir frequently to avoid scorching. When the sauce is thick enough, remove from heat and reserve until you are ready to bake the Puff Pastry purses.

Reduced Beet Cream Sauce
Reduced Beet Cream Sauce

When you are ready, add two tablespoons of the sauce on top of the snails in each purse. Crimp and gently  twist the purses closed and bake in the oven until golden (about 8-10 minutes).

Prepare the Garnish

Fried Beets and Shallots

  • Julienne the second Shallot and set aside
  • Cut the second Beet into slices, about 1/8 inch thick, set aside
  • Chop the Green Onion finely, on a bias
  • Heat the Olive Oil in the saute pan and fry the Beet slices until they are crisp
  • Fry the Shallot until caramelized to a nice golden brown
  • Drain the fried garnish in a paper towel

To serve, line your plate with fried Beet chips, place the purse on top, then sprinkle with fried Shallots and Chopped Green Onions.

Beet Cream with Snails in Puff Pastry

Enjoy with a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc.

Recipes

Experimental Recipe – Green Onion Aioli

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Last night I had a friend over after work. We drank a couple of beers and talked about food and cooking. He is going to come over next week to spend some time with me in the kitchen, I am going to teach him how I make some of my favorite dishes (yes, there will be pics and posts!).

I had him try some baby potatoes with garlic aioli – a recipe that I made out of a Tapas cookbook I picked up this weekend – and he just about fell over. It’s a dead-simple thing, making aioli, but getting the proportions right is the key.

This morning I woke up thinking about that aioli, and how would it taste if I subbed out the garlic for green onions? I let the thought simmer on the back burner of my mind while I took care of some housekeeping and decided to try an Experimental Recipe.

Extracting the Green Onion Flavor

The most important part of this experiment, for me, was getting the most flavor out of those fresh green onions. They are one of my favorite garnishes, with such a lovely green flavor and lightly pungent aroma.

I took five of them, cut them down to 2″ lengths, and put them in the NutriBullet with a 1/4-cup of water and about a 1/4 teaspoon of fresh-ground peppercorns (I am using a blend of Black, Pink and White peppercorns right now). I pureed this for about 40 seconds, making sure all of the stems were broken down.

The result was an intensely green onion-flavored froth with an amazing aroma.

Green Onion Puree
Green Onion Puree

The second step was to get some of that extra water back out of the puree. I put it into a small pan and reduced it on low heat for about five minutes, stirring gently to release the air. When it began to look more ‘liquid’ I took it off the heat to cool down to room temperature. I also stirred in one tablespoon of Champagne Vinegar so it could start working on permeating the onion puree.

Mixing Your Aioli

      Puree:

    • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 5 Green Onions
    • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • pinch of salt
  • 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 tablespoons Canola Oil

Separate the yolk from a large egg and put it in a small dish to warm up to room temperature. When the yolk and puree are right, add them together in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice and whisk.

Note: When I initially made this I did not include the lemon juice. When I tasted the finished product I found it needed a little more ooomph, so I whisked in the lemon juice… Boom! Perfect.

Once the sauce has achieved a creamy, uniform consistency, start drizzling in your olive and canola oil while whisking briskly.

Serving Ideas

I had some blanched veggies left over from the other night’s dinner so I used them for dipping:

Blanched Chilled Veggies with Green Onion Aioli
Blanched Chilled Veggies with Green Onion Aioli: Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Carrot, Mushroom and Snap Peas

I have to say that it is simply amazing with the asparagus and the snap peas.

Give it a try, I’d love to hear what you think.

Recipes

Souped-Up Short Stack Pancakes

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The Lovely Bride has a favorite breakfast – pancakes!

Before I learned about my gluten-sensitivity I used to make them for our breakfast almost every Sunday. When I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet (as much as possible, anyway) this little tradition fell by the wayside.

Recently we discovered a gluten-free pancake mix, Glutino, which is very tasty and easy to use.

Glutino gluten-free pancake mix

The directions say to stir together equal parts of pancake mix and milk, plus oil and an egg. Starting with 1 and 1/2 cups of mix, I put in the oil (I used Olive Oil, of course!) and the egg first, then started stirring in a cup of milk. The batter was very wet and runny, so I opted not to add that additional 1/2 cup.

I let the batter sit while the electric griddle warmed up and I fried a few slices of Black Pepper Encrusted Turkey Pastrami (in lieu of Bacon). I brushed the griddle with butter and poured out eight medium-sized pancakes.

gluten free pancakes on the electric griddleThe pancakes fluffed up nicely and turned a beautiful golden-brown. I took them off the griddle and put them in the warmed-up oven while I fried a couple of eggs over-easy.

My Favorite Breakfast “Sandwich”

To make the Souped Up Short Stack you’ll need some American Cheese slices and Bacon (I sub in the Turkey Pastrami). When the eggs are fried the way you like them, start building your sandwich (starting with the foundation). You can use as many layers of pancakes as you want:

  1. Pancake
  2. Fried Turkey Pastrami
  3. Pancake
  4. Slice of American Cheese
  5. Pancake, smear with a little butter
  6. Over-easy Egg
  7. Pancake
  8. Over-easy Egg
  9. Drizzle with Maple Syrup and Sriracha Hot Sauce

Enjoy!

Souped Up Short Stack Pancake Sandwich