Chow4Now

My favorite dish, my favorite cuisine, my favorite topic

2010-11-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

A recent Facebook chat with an old friend:

Irma Tsosie Brown What is your favorite dish to make? :-)
Adam Lee Cutsinger
I think souffles, off the top of my head, although variety is the proverbial spice of life - when people ask me what my favorite cuisine is, I say (ironically) sandwiches (cuz it's not a cuisine, per se), cuz the universal world relationship on a plate is carb-protein-veg, and the best carb (to me) is artisan bread, but look at wraps, fry bread, sushi rolls, pizzas, sandwiches, these hand-held foods (okay, sushi isn't hand-held) let all the ingredients be tasted in every bite simultaneously. Anywaze - souffles are fun to make and can be either sweet or savory.

Cooking Tutorials: the Direct Effect

2010-11-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

From the mouths of chefs, or at least their typing fingers. Here are 582 transcripts of chats between real professional chefs and real home cooks. These occurred at ChefsLine, the Culinary Hotline, where anyone anywhere can chat online or make a phone call and instantly reach a professional chef, pick their brain, write a recipe, solve a problem, write a menu, calculate an ingredient substitution, and have a pro hold their hand through the most complicated cooking techniques.

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is coming in two weeks, with Christmas and Hanukkah following up shortly after. Don't ask me how, it just is. And, I know, you can research your own cooking tips. Google will even spell it for you. But ChefsLine is a unique service, and cheap as hell, and free most of the time - for instance, they just posted the transcripts of nearly six hundred chats between their chefs and their clients on their blog.

READ AND LEARN

Lunch Plans Switcharoo: a traditional Italian-style sit-down for a quirky Asian & Greek happy hour with style

2010-05-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

A funny thing stood between me and attendance at the 125th anniversary promotional lunch at Fior d'Italia, purportedly the oldest Italian restaurant in SF's North Beach, during which they honored their original menu (20 cents for eggplant parmigiana!): a long, slow-moving line, consistently consisting of somewhere around 300 people, wrapped around the block and down the street, roughly 100 feet long and with clusters often 10 feet wide - just about as far from being single-file as you can get and still have something resembling a queue of humans.

And the semi-linear crowd only partially represented the number people with designs on getting inside, since most of the would-be diners came in groups, leaving one or two persons designated as place holders while the rest escaped to enjoy espresso, wine, sandwiches and window shopping, only to join the line again near the door. Anatre fortunate!

Gauging the distance I had meandered during the first hour in line, I became quite skeptical about my prospects of actually getting inside before they closed the door at 4PM to wrap up service and begin their private in-house celebration. Anatre fortunate anche!

I felt no small amount of pity for the multitudes gradually joining the confused conflux behind me, who certainly had no clue at all that they stood no chance whatsoever of even smelling the eggplant.

Eventually the chef made the announcement, "We will be closing the door at four! If you don't get in by then you are shit out of luck!"

A few people left, but most of us wanted to see what would happen at the bitter end; we'd waited too long not to.

Many of the wannabe-ravioli-eaters were tricked into coming down by the ABC news, who featured a story about the restaurant's anniversary special, but which broadcast turned out to be a terribly misleading disservice, because anyone who had decided to attend due to that featured bit was fated to wait in line only to be turned away.

Myself included.

"I'm gonna do something..." said the house ospite, "...that much I..." but his voice trailed off in thoughtful uncertainty, since he and we all knew that he ought not make promises he would not be able to keep. A few of the hungry nonpatrons clapped anyway.

A quarter past four the rabble became antsy in the pantsy, for, though they had long ago given up hope of getting a plate, they saw that the host was handing out vouchers. But the excitement burped and faded away when we learned they were for 15% off, which would just cover the tip, maybe. He may as well have been passing out twenty dollar bills, with Mickey Mouse' face printed on them.

I don't really think the staff at Fior d'Italia won over many new customers that day, except for claiming the title of oldest ristorante in Little Italy. The people who did eat may very well opt out of returning soon, only to pay full price next time, especially with so many dining options in the City. And the people who had waited so long and then were turned away didn't leave with the impression that their feelings mattered much to the proprietors, who simply lacked the warmth and when-you're-here vibe that would have drawn them back.

When you are confined or deserted with strangers for any length of time, before long those strangers often become your friends, and such was the case here.

Meet: the Gan family: Matt, who wanted to take the family out to the special lunch in the first place, and who, when he learned the vacant value of the vouchers, said, "I gotta hurry up and throw this away," as though he needed to think about anything other than Italian special offers, just to come back from the staggering disappointment. Matt Gan's parents, Grant and Liz, couldn't have been sweeter, as with their friend Lily, and Susie, Liz' mom, with her aquamarine sweater, pink cap and hint of senility, could not have been any cuter.

And then there was Christabella Savalas, who informed us that, yes, Kojak, er, Telly Savalas was indeed her first cousin. Christabella is a bubbly and vibrant person who wears her heart on her sleeve and shares everything. She plays (and teaches) piano, speaks (and teaches) several languages, and has worked in many aspects of film and television production and performance.

Making a unanimous snap decision, we all loaded up in two cars and drove to our Plan B destination: McCormick & Kuleto's in the Ghirardelli Square, where they have spectacular happy hour specials. We ate 1/2 pound cheeseburgers and chicken sliders, each for under $3, and we didn't miss the red sauce one bit.

And I proposed a toast: to the 125th anniversary of Fior d'Italia (the inside of which I am certain none of us are likely to ever see), and the great new friends that came in lieu of pretentious pasta.

Buon appeti..., er, no no.

Who love's ya, baby?!

Writing Collaboration: Raw Foods

2009-07-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Query:

I'm a freelance writer who has been asked to write a short piece on the
benefits of eating raw foods, and adopting a raw foods diet. I am lookingfor any experts, specialists, or sites with information on the
health/wellness/environmental benefits of eating raw foods. Also, any

practical advice (like rinsing your mouth after smoothies because of the
acids in the fruit) would be helpful.

I'm on a tight deadline, so
direct, specific information and quotes is greatly appreciated. Preference
will be given to sources in the San Francisco/San Jose Bay Ara, but all
information is helpful.

Hi Caroline,

I received your request from HARO via ChefsLine's CEO about your raw foods diet article. I'm one of two of the chefs at ChefsLine who really enjoys teaching others about raw food benefits. In general, a raw foods diet (raw is the law) is a lifestyle choice and a healthy solution for people facing a number if health / digestive issues.

I do, however, try to include as much raw food as I can, to capitalize on the nutritional value of foods. I am sure you know that taking on a raw foods diet is about protecting digestive enzymes, so that one glass of carrot juice can provide as much calcium as several glasses of milk, if only because the calcium in pasteurized milk doesn't get a chance to be fully harnessed. HIV patients seem like they would be the best beneficiaries of the enhanced nutrition of a raw foods diet, but I am no doctor.

Incorporating something raw into every meal is one thing, but going totally raw has the added effect of cleansing the body, an effect that can be a bit dangerous is undertaken too rapidly, or at least so says Humbart "Smokey" Santillo, author of Intuitive Eating: Lifelong Health and Vitality Through Food, who reportedly got ill from trying to switch from a high protein diet to a raw foods diet all at once. That's why his book offers a three-stage strategy to ween off other foods and adapt gradually. Also, according to him, a high-protein diet for athletes is overrated.

One way to get the most out of raw foods without dehydrating everything is juicing, and the health benefits of juicing and eating raw go hand in hand. Also, one might try fasting for a couple of days, drinking only water and juiced fruits and vegetables, if only to practice making the sort of tough diet decicions that will be required when adopting a raw foods diet. Eventually, however, the desire to eat unhealthy foods is supposed to naturally wane, as the body begins to tell you what it wants. Personally, I don't want to make the kinds of sacrifices a real raw foods diet requires, but I do try to minimize my unhealthy food intake, of course.

Other than feeling great and living well, another great aspect to raw foods is the fun design of the food itself. Many restaurants have developed amazing recipes for fun raw dishes, and perusing the menu of a raw foods cafe is one of the more entertaining things you can do with your lunch break. Also, the food is really filling. It simply takes fewer bites to feel full, and I don't quite know how to explain that.

Well I hope helps a little, and good luck with the article. I hope it gets to you in time. Feel free to check in with myself or any of the other chefs I work with here at ChefsLine, the Culinary Hotline, regarding future food-oriented topics. It's our job to spread the wealth of culinary knowledge to the masses, one home cook at a time. http://www.chefsline.com/

Grill a Whole Fish in Ten Tiny Steps

2009-06-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Originally posted at ChefsLine 15 Jun 2009

Grilling season doesn’t have to be about burgers, ribs and steaks. Almost anything can be cooked outdoors, so jump on the opportunity to cook outside again, especially since the weather ought to be getting better and better as summer progresses. Cooking outdoors is fun, and is extremely easy when you are prepared.

And one of the very easiest foods to grill is, believe it or not, whole fish. Whether the fish comes from the fishmonger or the end of your fishing pole, follow a couple of simple preparatory suggestions and you’ll be grilling whole fish anytime the sun comes out. So get ready to put a fresh fish twist on the old 4th of July cookout.

If you’re not too comfortable with a boning knife, have no fear. Grilling whole fish requires minimal carving.

My favorite fish to grill include trout, snapper, bass, sea bream, just about any medium-sized whitefish will do, as well as some smaller fish like mullet, bluefish, mackerel, and butterfish.

Salmon is also a great choice.Avoid flounder, sole, fluke, cod and similar fishes because they can be too delicate.

When selecting your dinner, select a fish with clear eyes, shiny scales and a non-fishy smell. Once you’ve got your hands on a fresh whole fish, here are the 10 easy steps to grill it:

1. Clean the fish: de-scale it by scraping the dull side of a knife against the grain of the scales until it’s smooth. Cut off the fins with a pair of kitchen shears and discard. Then cut along the entire bottom of the fish, remove the guts and discard. Rinse the fish clean.
2. Score the fish with 1/2 inch-deep cuts on both sides, about 1-2 inches apart. This helps the flavors of the marinade (and smoke if applicable) to better penetrate the meat of the fish.
3. Marinate the fish for 1-3 hours in your choice of marinade. If you are using a marinade that is acidic (i.e. with lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) only marinade for 1 hour to avoid “cooking” the fish (as in ceviche).
4. Preheat the grill, or let charcoal ember to flame-less white briquettes.
5. Brush the clean grill and fish with a thin layer of canola oil, peanut oil or any other neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point, to prevent the fish from sticking.
6. Remove the fish from the marinade and wipe it clean to prevent the fish from sticking (save the marinade). Salt and pepper both sides. Optionally, you can stuff the inner cavity of the fish with herbs and pieces of lemon).
7. Grill the fish for 7-12 minutes (depending on the size) in the hottest part of the grill (unless serving salmon rare – 4-5 minutes). Optionally, you can also dip some rosemary or dill sprigs in oil and use them as a bed to grill the fish on if sticking is a concern.
8. Turn the fish over gently with one or two large spatulas. Optionally, you can turn it over onto a large piece of aluminum foil and then slide it onto the grill.
9. Baste the fish with the leftover marinade, and let it grill about as long as the first side.
10. Carefully remove the fish from the grill and place it onto a serving platter. Serve with grilled lemon and enjoy!

Once the fish is cooked it will flake easily away from the spine (again, rare salmon is a special case), and it should be simple enough to avoid any of the smaller bones. You can run a knife along either side of the spine, and then you should be able to slide the knife under the cooked fillets with no problem.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact one of us on the cooking hotline!

Have fun grilling!

Savory Chocolate? Sweet!

2009-05-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 16 Jan 2009

by Adam Cutsinger

Do you like chocolate? Yes? Do you like chocolate with cream? Or ice cream? Do you like chocolate with caramel? Or chocolate with nuts? How about chocolate with cherries? Or raspberries? Mint? Cream cheese? How about chocolate with rosemary? Thyme? Lavender? Or cayenne? Do you like chocolate with mustard?

If the last few options made you feel a little apprehensive, read on.

Chocolate is no less suited for cooking with savory than butter or fruit. But allow me to rewind here a moment, to explain that, in professional kitchens in the U.S., two major categories exist – pastry, i.e. pastries, desserts and sweets; and savory. i.e. everything else. And, for some chefs, never the twain shall meet, while some other chefs enjoy crossing over, dabbling and experimenting, seeing what works (and what doesn’t) by trial and error. As it turns out, there are many ingredients that help make successful dishes on both sides of the paradigm. And chocolate is irrefutably one of them.

Cooking with chocolate ought not be a cause for pause. After all, chocolate’s friends in the bakeshop – butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla honey, etc. all cross over into the savory kitchen quite nicely, don’t they? What chocolate brings to savory dishes is complexity and depth. The cocoa butter brings texture and mouthfeel, and the cocoa solids bring color and richness. A cook can choose a chocolate for his dish much in the same way he chooses a wine to cook/pair with his food. And there are just about as many options.

It may be noted that a little bit of chocolate goes a long way, although there are some daring chefs who deliberately push the envelope when marrying chocolate with savory dishes. It should also be pointed out that cooking with chocolate doesn’t necessarily mean sweetness on your plate. Although cooking with sweet components, chocolate included, is often desirable, good bittersweet chocolate is actually not very sweet at all and won’t generally make your dish taste any sweeter.

Question: So what does chocolate actually bring to a savory dish? Short answer: depth and complexity. Long answer: Chocolate consists of two very potent components, the cocoa solids (i.e. cocoa powder) and the cocoa butter (i.e. white chocolate). The solids are bitter and dark brown, and act like a starch, absorbing moisture and thickening liquids. The cocoa butter adds silkiness, lushness and mouthfeel. In fact, because chocolate has such a low melting point, it can give the sensation of cooling your mouth because it uses the heat energy of the tongue. Very cool indeed. (On a related note, chocolate also has a very low smoke point, meaning it burns easy, and once you burn chocolate, or most anything else for that matter, you can’t really get rid of the burnt flavor. Word to the wise.) Despite chocolate’s richness and complexity, however, you may be surprised at how mellow it makes food taste. It goes well with nearly anything, and yet possesses none of the qualities of the food it goes so well with – sourness, saltiness, pungency, sweetness. Almost like good bread.

Most people already know that chocolate is a psychoactive material, because of the caffeine (stimulant), theobromine (cousin to caffeine), tryptophan (antecedent to serotonin), and phenethylamine (natural amphetamine). Cooking with chocolate is comparable to cooking with wine, beer or spirits – not only are there noteworthy effects on the flavor and texture of the food, but the food itself has more of an effect upon the person eating it. Chefs, avid restaurant goers and foodies all around understand that great food has only so much to do with nourishing the body. It’s about enjoying life as much as possible. And cooking with chocolate can leave one feeling very high on life.

Mole poblano is probably the best-known chocolate dish (most sauces called moles actually don’t feature chocolate at all), and is traditionally served over chicken, but can be served over pork, beef, venison, even fish. And here chocolate is reunited with one of its oldest friends: the chile. Native South American tribes, including the Olmecs, the Incas, the Aztecs and the Mayans, used chocolate, usually as a beverage, with chiles, vegetables, meats and other savory elements long before Europeans began utilizing chocolate. Fact is, chocolate was not originally defined as a dessert ingredient until much later. Only as the distinction between desserts and the world of savory, nonsweet foods became more and more defined over time did chocolate eventually join the ranks of such foods as sugar, honey, and many fruits as fundamentally dessert-oriented. (Interesting side note? Cacao beans were also used as currency by Mayans as late as 400 AD in Guatemala – 3 cacao beans could buy you an avocado, and for 100 beans you could buy a turkey.)

Tips for introducing chocolate to your dinner:

If a recipe you are using calls for flour, substitute up to 25% of that flour with cocoa powder.
Put a small piece of bittersweet chocolate at the bottom of a bowl of hot soup or chili. As it slowly melts, you can experiment with how much chocolate you like with each slice of your spoon.
Add a tablespoon or two of melted chocolate (or cacao nibs in lieu of nuts, if your recipe calls for them) to a buttery sauté, or cacao nibs on a salad.
Try using rosemary, thyme, lavender, cayenne, olive oil, or some other ingredient normally associated with savory cooking, to your favorite chocolate dessert.
Be aware, water can make chocolate seize (stiffen and lump suddenly), but you can usually unseize it if you stir it vigorously enough.
Use good chocolate. It’s worth the extra cost.

The Moveable Feast

2009-05-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 25 May 2006

by Chef Adam

Although meals eaten outdoors always have a certain splendor, there are certainly key elements to planning and preparing your moveable feast that help ensure delicious tastes, food safety, and a pretty presentation. Use this checklist and have fun!

Spruce up sandwich presentation by layering colorful wrapping paper with parchment or wax paper. Wrap like you would a present, tucking in the ends.
Don’t forget the corkscrew, a sharp knife, a bread knife, small cutting board, and water.
Bacteria and germs need the combination of food, moisture, and heat to grow. Temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees are not suitable for food storage and foods left in these temperatures for over four hours are firmly inside the “danger zone.” In hot weather (above 90 degrees) food should never sit for more than 1 hour. Any left over left out for more than 2 hours should be thrown away and always keep foods covered and in shady spots. The Partnership for Food Safety Education publishes very helpful information about safe food handling practices. ChefsLine is well versed in many food handling issues - do not hesitate to call us when in doubt.
Lay a plastic tarp first so you can use that pretty blanket for seating.
Bring a trash bag, wet naps, and of course, plates and forks.
Prepare dishes that taste good at room-temperature including sandwiches, salads, and cheeses.
Include a crunchy, lively salad as one dish to balance textures.
And, unlike a cooler whose plastic and damp insides often give me pause before opening, there is nothing that says “look inside!” like a pretty picnic basket!
Sources: Red butcher paper to wrap sandwiches or line tables Source http://www.pospaper.com
Sources for red checkered take-out containers: http://www.plumparty.com/. http://www.mrtakeoutbags.com/
Other ideas- Have the kids design own bags with stickers and markers. Wrap their own sandwiches with pretty plastic wrapping and stickers. Styrofoam soup containers can be decorated with markers and stickers too.
Keep raw meats wrapped tightly and separately from cooked foods and those meant to be consumed raw.
Pack ahead: Pack perishable foods at the last minute with ice or ice packs, and be sure not to open it too frequently.

Turkey for Sixty

2009-05-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 12 Nov 2006

by Chef Adam

If you are planning to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 60 people, just how many turkeys does she need to roast?

Not counting for leftovers, you’ll want to purchase 10 pounds of turkey for every 10 people. Four 15 pound turkeys (or 60 pounds total) should work well for this large group. If, however, you’ll be serving children as well, you can reduce the quantity. Children will need about ½ a pound per person. If making stuffing with bags of bread cubes, 1 bag will feed 8 so you’ll want to purchase 8 bags.

Preparing the Best Turkey

Set up a work area, with roasting pan, cutting boards, paper towels, utensils, etc.

Preheat the oven.

Remove the wrapper from the turkey.

Remove the neck and giblets from the body cavity. Check to make sure there are no other surprises inside.

Drain and dry the turkey.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients of the stuffing.

Stuff the turkey.

Re-tuck the legs.

Place turkey breast-up on a rack in a roasting pan.

Brush with oil to keep the skin moist.

Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh. Make sure it is not touching part of the bone.

Follow the recipe of your choice. Be aware of the important temperatures: 180 F in the thigh, 165 F in the stuffing.

Defrosting Your Turkeys
There are two predominantly accepted methods of thawing a turkey: the Refrigerator Method and the Cold Water Method. The Refrigerator Method takes longer, up to several days, but requires no effort other than to make room in the fridge. Make sure you pick a spot on the bottom shelf to avoid contaminating food below the turkey (it will drip as it thaws), and simply place the turkey breast-side-up, still in its original wrapper, on a pan, tray or platter. Allow a full day for every 4 pounds. The Cold Water Method is quicker, but requires more action on the part of the cook. Place the turkey in its original wrapper breast-side-down in a sink or tub, and cover completely with cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes to minimize bacteria growth, and allow approximately 30 minutes for every pound of the turkey.

Baking the turkeys
Generally, I would bake the turkeys 20-25 minutes per pound at 325 F, covered, and then uncover and raise the temperature to 400 for the last 25-30 minutes. Check them frequently, though, because ovens vary. Have fun cooking, Margie!

Can the Soup… Plan a Sauce!

2009-05-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 5 Jan 2007

by Chef Adam

Cream of mushroom soup is usually incorporated into a recipe because it is an easy way of getting the flavor of stock or broth as well as cream, and it also acts as a thickener. You can return to basics and provide these elements yourself with other common grocery items, namely cream, chicken and/or vegetable stock or broth, and a thickener, which could be flour, egg yolks, corn starch, butter, etc.

Here is an easy recipe for a simple cream soup base:
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
4 T. flour
2 T. butter
1 T. cream
1 egg yolk
In a small saucepan, heat broth 10 minutes. Melt butter and stir in flour to make a roux. Whisk roux into broth. In a small bowl, blend together cream & egg yolk. Gradually add 1/4 c. of broth mixture. Pour contents of bowl into saucepan. Cook and stir for 10 minutes. Do not boil.

Or try this “Cream of Anything Soup” recipe we have reviewed:
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
dash salt
dash pepper
Put all 6 ingredients into blender “briefly” until smooth and pour into saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until it begins to thicken (watch it! can scorch easily!). Take off heat at first bubble of a boil. To this basic mixture you add any of the following optional items:

For something a little more advanced and fun, try your hand at a roux-based sauce. A roux (pronounced “roo”) is a 1:1 ratio mixture of flour and fat (usually butter, but often meat-fat or other fat) that is heated slowly over low heat and then added to sauces and soups to give them the desired texture. The longer you cook the roux, the darker it gets, from white to blonde to brown.

Here is a recipe for a Bechamel Sauce, which is roux-based:
Roux-
8 oz bread flour
8 oz clarified (melted) butter

Bechamel Sauce-
1 gallon milk
1 whole onion
1 whole clove
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
nutmeg to taste (very little will do)
white pepper to taste

1. Just stir the flour and butter together in a saucepan over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Heat the milk in another saucepan. Gradually add it to the roux, beating constantly.
3. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly. Reducve heat to a simmer.Use the clove as a tack and stick the bay leaf to the onion with it, and add them to the sauce. Simmer for a half hour or more.
4. Adjust the seasoning with the remaining ingredients (not too much), and add more milk if you want to thin the sauce.
5. Serve and/or save. (You can prevent a skin from developing on the surface of the sauce by covering or spreading a layer of melted butter over the top).

You can also turn your Bechamel Sauce into a Mornay Sauce by adding Gruyere and parmesan cheeses and more butter!

Please call the ChefsLine hotline for more tips, or to schedule a cooking lesson. Have fun cooking!

Pot Roast with Porcini Mushrooms

2009-05-04T18:01:00.001-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 12 Jan 2007

by Chef Adam

If you're making pot roast for 35 people and would like a great recipe idea, read on.

You will likely want to use 2 ovens, or work in stages in order to accommodate the quantity of meat. For 35 people, you will want something in the neighborhood of 23 lbs of meat, or more depending on serving size.

Here is a great recipe for you:

Pot Roast with Porcini and Beer
~adapted from Roy Finamore’s Tasty: Get Great Food on the Table Every Day

23 1/3 lbs; 2 whole 10 pound briskets
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cups vegetable or canola oil

8 lb onions, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
5 bay leaf
5 1/2 (12-ounce) bottles of beer (a pale ale is good here)
3 cups water
6 bouillon cubes
6 cups dried porcini mushrooms
3/4 cups Dijon mustard.

METHOD
If you can plan ahead, season the beef with salt and pepper the night before you make this, covering it loosely and refrigerating it. Otherwise, try to season it at least an hour ahead and just leave it on the counter.

Heat the roaster oven to 225Â°F.
Heat the oil in a deep, heavy ovenproof skillet or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef well, until it's crusty on all sides. Transfer the beef to a plate.
Add the onions, thyme, and bay leaf to the pan, along with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onions have softened and reduced in volume by about half. The onions will release some of their juices, so scrape the bottom of the pan and use these juices to release any of the browned bits from the beef.
Pour in the beer and water, and crumble in the bouillon cube. You might want to grind in some more pepper at this point; I usually do. Rinse the mushrooms under hot water, chop them, and add them to the pot. (Don't worry that you haven't reconstituted them; you'll be doing that directly in the sauce for the pot roast and getting all their flavor.) Bring the sauce to a boil.
Nestle the beef, fat side up, in the sauce, cover the pan, and slide it into the oven. Roast for 1 hour. Turn the meat over, cover the pan again, and roast for another hour, until a fork goes into the beef like butter.
Put the beef on a cutting board, tent it with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes or so. Fold a couple of kitchen towels and rest one side of the pan on them so that it is tilted and any fat will gather at the bottom of the slope. Leave the sauce to sit for a few minutes, then spoon off the fat.
Most of the onions should have almost melted into the sauce. If you'd like the sauce a bit thicker, put the pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes, and stir a few times. When you've got the consistency you want, turn off the heat.
Stir the mustard into the sauce. Taste for salt and pepper.
Slice the beef and arrange the slices on a platter. Nap with some of the sauce. Serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.

Here are some helpful some tips:

-Trim off excess surface fat and any thin, shiny, white connective tissue. Brisket with too little fat can become stringy and dry or mealy when cooked.
-Marinate or dry-rub with spices and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
-Cook slowly in a moist environment: braise (or pot-roast) for 4 to 5 hours at 300Â°F, cook in a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours on low.
-Roast for 1 hour. Turn the meat over, cover the pan again, and roast for another hour, until a fork goes into the beef like butter.

Click on the link below to read our most recent blog post about pot roast, and have fun cooking!
http://www.chefsline.com/blog/articles/pot-roast-tips-and-recipe-review

2 Responses for "Pot Roast in Your Electric Roaster"

J'Aime` December 3rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm Edit Comment
So, my electric roaster oven is not an 18qt crockpot like I was hoping. I’m not serving guests for another 8 hours and the food is done! HELP! WHAT DO I DO? :}
Adam Cutsinger December 4th, 2008 at 2:39 pm Edit Comment
Hi J’Aime,

The best course of action at this point is to bring everything down in temperature to 40F and get the food in the refrigerator, which is usually set at around that temp.

Wrap everything securely once it reaches room temperature or so.

You don’t want to keep everything warm all day because it will greatly increase the growth of food-borne pathogens, or bad germs, to be at a mid-range temperature for an extended period.

You would also probably overcook everything.

Get everything cold and then begin reheating again when your staging time gets near.

This is a catering technique often called ‘par-cooking’, or partially cooking (also items are ‘par-baked’ if possible, depending on what it is).

Think of quick-cooking at high heat. Often meats are par-cooked by searing, then cooled, wrapped and trucked to, say, a wedding, where they are ‘fired again.’

So, you can see the importance of keeping partially cooked meat cold until you can finish cooking it.

Most foods ought to be a snap to reheat on the stove top or in the oven.

If you are trying to cool and then reheat a large piece of meat, however, it might be too late for the ideal texture.

You may consider employing a microwave oven, in order to slightly reheat the center of the meat, in conjunction with roasting/searing it, which will reheat the outer surface portion of the meat, so you you don’t end up cooking one part too much more than the other.

If it’s a good cut of meat it may be too late for medium-rare, but if it’s a less expensive cut of meat it might be perfectly fine slow-cooking.

You may let me know more about your menu, and please feel free to call 1-800-977-1224 and ask to speak with Chef Adam.

And have fun cooking!

Apple Onion Relish for Corned Beef

2009-05-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 15 Mar 2007

by Chef Adam

Corned beef is spectacular. Try it with coleslaw and this apple onion relish, which is a great combo of sweet and savory.

Apple Onion Relish

Ingredients:
2 large yellow onions, 1/4 thick slices
2 firm green apples, cored and sliced 1/4 inch
1/2 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Dash of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Melt butter in large pan over low heat (do not brown). Add apples and lemon juice and cook until slightly tender
Add sliced onions and cook over medium-low heat until onions are transparent. Sprinkle mixture with a dash of nutmeg. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

-It’s also great with pork and chicken dishes!

Shamrock Shakes for St. Patricks’s Day

2009-05-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 15 Mar 2007

by Chef Adam

Who wants ice cream?! What better non-alcoholic way is there to celebrate St. Patty’s day than with a minty green milkshake?! Just follow the recipe below and serve to all your little laddies and lassies.

Shamrock Shake

Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1 cup whole milk (more for thinner shakes)
1/4 tsp. mint extract or flavoring
8-10 drops green food color
Whipped cream (for garnish)
Mint leaves (for garnish)

Method:
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on medium-high speed for 30 seconds or until smooth and not streaked. Top with whipped cream and a mint leaf and serve.

Pina Colada Tres Leches Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream

2009-05-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

originally posted at Vivanista
April 30, 2009

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup oil
7 eggs
2 vanilla beans or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups coconut milk
1 ½ cups sweetened condensed milk
2 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, sugar, and half the vanilla.

Add the eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time, allowing each egg to become fully incorporated before adding the next egg.

Stir in ¾ cup of the coconut milk, then gently fold a little of the flour mixture into the egg mixture at a time.

Lightly grease cup cake pans. Pour in the batter until each pan is about half full and bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center clean and each cupcake feels somewhat firm.

Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature and turn them over onto a platter.

Pierce the cupcakes with a fork about 30 times, then let cool in the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.

Whisk together the remaining coconut milk, the condensed milk, 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, the pineapple juice and the rum.

Slowly pour the milk mixture over the cupcakes and refrigerate for another half hour.

You can spoon any milk run-off back onto the cupcakes.

For the whipped cream frosting: Combine the remaining heavy cream with the remaining vanilla and 2 tablespoons of sugar, and beat to stiff peaks. Spread a layer over each of the cupcakes. Garnish with toasted shredded coconut. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Whole Roasted Chicken Mole Poblano

2009-05-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

originally posted at Vivanista April 30, 2009

Ingredients:

1 5-pound whole chicken
4 dried pasilla chilies
5 dried ancho chilies
3 cups boiling chicken stock
1 cup almonds
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped, or 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
3/4 cup lightly packed seedless raisins
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 corn tortillas, broken in small pieces
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 tablespoons shortening
3 cups cold chicken stock
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method:

In a large bowl, pour 3 cups of the boiling-hot chicken stock over the prepared chilies. Cover and soak them for about 30 minutes.

Heat half the shortening in a large sauté pan or skillet. Cover the chicken in a light coating of salt and pepper. Optionally, you may stuff the middle cavity with halved onions, garlic cloves, lemon rinds, chile cores, or any other vegetable portions you have available. Sear each side of the chicken for 2-4 minutes, until thoroughly browned on all sides.

Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan and put it in the oven for about 45 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 150F in the thickest part of the thigh (be careful not to touch the bone with the thermometer to ensure an accurate reading).

While the chicken is roasting, roughly chop the soaked chiles, being careful to wear rubber gloves or to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching anything, especially your face. Combine the chiles, stock and all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, then pour the mixture into a large sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. Allow the mixture to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Serve family-style on a platter with mole sauce drizzled over the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

You may increase or decrease the chiles to adjust the heat of the sauce. I suggest increasing the heat here, and using a bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc and the Tossed Greens Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette recipe above to cool your mouth and balance your palate. Also great with Spanish rice.

Pan Seared Refried Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro-Key Lime Salsa and Chevre

2009-05-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

originally posted at Vivanista April 30, 2009

Cilantro-Key Lime Salsa with Chevre

Ingredients:

4 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
juice of 3 Key limes
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 oz goat cheese, cut into small pieces
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 medium red onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Stir together all of the ingredients except the chevre, then fold in the chevre until evenly mixed.

Refried Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 30-oz can of black beans
1 large Anaheim pepper
½ red onion, diced small
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil, onions and Anaheim pepper. When the onions are soft and translucent, add the beans. Smash the beans through a slotted spoon or similar utensil until they are fairly smooth.

Pan-Seared Tacos

Ingredients:

15 corn tortillas
2 oz chevre
small amount of oil for the pan

Method:

Drop 2 or 3 tablespoons of cooking oil into a large sauté pan over med-high heat. Layer 5 corn tortillas evenly around the pan, letting them overlap. Add a dollop of refried black beans to the center of each taco. Add a dollop of cilantro-Key lime salsa to the center of each taco. Fold each taco over in half, and allow to cook until the bottom side browns thoroughly, then flip each one over and finish on the other side. Transfer to a platter and repeat with the next 5 tacos.

Tossed Mexican Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette

2009-05-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

originally posted at Vivanista April 30, 2009

Tossed Mexican Salad

Ingredients:

6 cups green leaf lettuce
4 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup celery, sliced
½ cup red onion, diced large
1 cup English cucumber, sliced
1 cup yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup carrot, grated
½ cup radishes, sliced
zest from a lemon
½ cup corn
½ cup black olives, chopped
2 corn tortillas, cut into strips, fried, for garnish
chives and/or dill, chopped or whole, for garnish

Method: Stack the cut vegetables according to size and color, as looks pretty, in a large bowl, with the greens on the bottom and the smaller pieces arranged on top.

Bloody Mary Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cider vinegar
3 cups tomato juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
3 tablespoons horseradish, grated or from a jar

Method:

Blend the vinegar and tomato juice in a blender, then add all of the remaining ingredients except the oil. Pour the oil in a slow stream while the blender is spinning until the dressing becomes creamy.

Salted Corn Tortilla Chips with Spicy Avocado-Cilantro Salsa

2009-05-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

originally posted at Vivanista April 30, 2009

Salted Corn Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

12 raw corn tortillas
2 cups corn oil (or canola or olive oil)
salt, to taste (plenty, any type, finely ground)

Method:

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Cut the tortillas into 6 pieces each, like a pie. With a wide slotted or perforated spoon, lower a handful of the chips into the oil. Turn regularly to make sure they cook equally throughout. When they are golden brown, use the same tool to remove them from the oil and lay them onto a plate covered with a rack or paper towel. Salt them evenly and immediately while they are still wet with oil. Repeat with more chips until they are all evenly cooked.

Tip: there is a perfect golden brown color that will give you a great crunch and great flavor, but a couple minutes too few: the chips will be very chewy; one minute too long and the color turns very dark and tastes bitter; so pay close attention when the chips start to take on a light brown color, and keep in mind they will cook just a bit more after you pull them out of the oil. Experiment a little with the first few chips and you’ll quickly find your color comfort [food] zone.

Spicy Avocado-Cilantro Salsa

Ingredients:

6 avocados, roughly chopped
2-3 tomatillos, diced
½ red onion, diced small
1-2 serrano peppers, thinly sliced
½ cup cilantro, chopped
the juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (more to taste)
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Method: Gently but thoroughly stir all of the ingredients together in a large bow

5-Course Menu for Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

originally posted at Vivanista April 30, 2009

Please check out these five authentico y rico Mexican recipes with contemporary American twists. Enjoy them individually or all together for an unforgettable Mexican Independence Day feast.

El Menu:

Salted Corn Tortilla Chips & Spicy Avocado-Cilantro Salsa

Showcase the robust flavors of avocados, serrano peppers, red onions and tomatillos on crisp, warm and salty corn tortilla chips.

Tossed Mexican Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette

A winning combination of vegetables gets even better with a vinaigrette based on the popular cocktail.

Pan Seared Refried Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro-Key Lime Salsa and Chevre

These tacos are healthier, faster, easier and tastier than regular oil-fried tacos, and you'll certainly want to make them again and again.

Whole Roasted Chicken with Mole Poblano Sauce

This recipe combines the intoxicating flavors of mole poblano sauce with the tender goodness of whole roasted chicken.

Pina Colada Tres Leches Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream

As if Pastel de Tres Leches ("Three Milks Cake") wasn't already loaded with delicious flavor and delightful texture, this recipe adds the successful combination of pineapple and coconut that has made the cocktail such a favorite.

and don't forget...

La Viva Cinco de Mayo Margarita Menu!!

Five fantastic takes on the official cocktail of Cinco de Mayo.

How to Keep Lemon Meringue Pie Crust from Getting Soggy

2009-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 7 Apr 2007

by Chef Adam

Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen to Adam address this common problem.

The egg proteins that make up a meringue become very susceptible to moisture once they are denatured (whipped up) enough. Even by spreading it onto a lemon filling that is completely cooled you can cause what’s known as ‘weeping’ because the little bit of extra moisture in a slightly underbaked filling is absorbed by the meringue. So spread it on while the filling is still warm.

Also, by the same token, storing the meringue with any other food items that may contain a little bit of moisture will cause the meringue to soften.

Undissolved sugar will cause weeping as well, so a good way to prevent that is to be patient and let the meringue rest, and the sugar to absorb, then return to it and whip it some more.

Overbaking can cause moisture ‘beading,’ as the proteins tighten up in the oven and squeeze out moisture, which in turn then gets absorbed and makes the meringue soggy as well.

Make sure to spread the meringue thoroughly over the top of the filling to seal it up at the edges, to prevent shrinking, which can lead to weeping as well since the moisture in the filling is unlocked.

There’s definitely a trick, or several tricks, to making meringue work out right, and nobody gets it perfect the first time, but if you follow these basic principles you will undoubtedly be well on your way to magnificent meringues.

Have fun baking!

Enjoy Winter Squash Before They Go Out of Season

2009-05-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 22 Mar 2007

by Chef Adam

Winter Squash Tips Audio Cooking Class: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Interested in trying butternut and/or acorn squash, but worried that they are too much like sweet potatoes. Listen to yours truly talk about both kinds of squash, including basic prep procedures. Soon we’ll necessarily need to focus on summer squash, so now is an ideal time to enjoy winter squash while they are still at their peak produce season.

Here are three great chef recipes for butternut squash:

Chef Melanie Underwood’s Butternut Squash Risotto
Chef Kevin Week's Squash Soup with Maple Syrup and Horseradish
Chef Barb Freda’s White Lasagna with Gorgonzola and Butternut Squash

Slowcooker Baked Ham with Pineapple

2009-05-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 6 Apr 2007

by Chef Adam

If you will be baking a ham in a crockpot this year here is some affirmation for your plans for a pineapple studded baked ham.

Try scoring the top of the ham with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern, and attaching the pineapple rings with whole cloves, a traditional technique and always a hit.

Baking fully cooked, semi-boneless, (unsliced) 6.6 pound ham in the crockpot
Your semi-boneless ham will take about 7 1/2 hours of bake time and a total of 8 1/2 hours from crockpot to table. Unfortunately, this is difficult for us to gauge since crockpot temperatures vary so much. You’ll know it’s ready when the internal temperature reads 125-130 degrees when measured with a meat thermometer. Then, you have some options.

To achieve a very shiny, carmelized ham, transfer the ham onto a roasting pan, on a rack and finish baking in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Or, if you oven is not available, apply an additional glaze and turn your crockpot on high for the final 35-45 minutes to achieve a similar effect.

Crockpot Ham with Pineapple and a Mustard Glaze
1 cup of water and optional: sage or bay leaves
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp dry mustard or 2 Tbsp of dijon mustard
2 Tbsp cider or white vinegar or lemon juice
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 can pineapple rings
whole cloves
toothpicks

Score the top of the ham with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. Attach the pineapple rings with whole cloves or place cloves in cente of diamond and attached pineapple rings with toothpicks (not too far in!). If your slow cooker has a roasting rack, use it. If not, line crock pot with aluminum foil. Place ham on rack. Combine brown sugar, mustard and lemon juice; spoon over ham. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Turn slow cooker to low and bake for 6 1/2 more hours. Test with meat thermometer after 5 1/2 hours. Once ham reaches 125-130 degrees, remove.

Remove ham (use gloves or potholders) to a platter. Combine orange juice and cornstarch to form smooth paste. Taste your ham drippings - if very very salty, discard. If pan drippings taste delicious to you - pour into roasting pan (conventional oven) or keep in the crockpot. If using, stir orange mixture into drippings, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Place ham onto roasting rack (or in crockpot or on roasting pan….) Spoon glaze over ham.

Place ham into preheated 350 degree oven. Or, turn crockpot onto high. Bake for an additional 35-45 minutes or until shiny and brown. Present and slice at table while studded (fun!) but be sure it rests for 15 minutes before slicing.

Consider making a batch of Dauphinoise Potatoes, Chipotle Mashed Potatoes, Butternut Squash Risotto.

And don’t forget dessert, perhaps Pear Walnut Cake With Broiled Maple Glaze or Dents de Loup (Wolf’s Teeth Cookies)

Happy Holidays! Have fun cooking!

~ Chef Adam

Easy Banana Bread

2009-05-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 10 Apr 2007
by Chef Adam

Want an easy banana bread recipe. Well, here you go.

Get together:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
6 crushed bananas
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 loaf pans with butter. Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer. Add the eggs and beat them thoroughly. Add the bananas, flour, baking soda, salt and walnuts. Pour the batter into greased loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool before removing gently from the pans. Have fun baking!

2-lb Round Roast: How Hot? How Long?

2009-05-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 14 Apr 2007

If you want to roast a 2 lb round roast, what temperature is ideal? How long should you roast it?

Short answer: go low and long to maximize the limited tenderness of this cut of meat. Say, 300F for an hour, maybe an hour and 10 minutes.

And if you are open to variations, try braising the roast at the same temp with some aromatics, i.e. garlic, herbs, etc. A wet cooking method will give you even more tenderness, and will also give you a velvety sauce to go with it.

Either way, I would recommend searing the roast on each side just to brown it up for flavor. This technique has historically been referred to as “sealing in the juices”, although somewhat recently there has been a strong argument that no such sealing actually occurs. Regardless, it makes it takes better due to the Maillard browning effect.

Have fun cooking!

Toffee Oil Separation

2009-05-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 14 Apr 2007

What do you do about the oil that seeps to the top of your English toffee?

Chances are there is nothing wrong with the butter you are using.

Here are a few tips:
1. Keep it moving. Constantly keep stirring the toffee in the pot, not necessarily vigorously, but don’t let it sit.
2. Lower your temperature. Keep it around 300 F. You’ll have to stir it longer, but that’s what it takes.
3. Add a little hot water. A couple of tablespoons of hot water can moderate the cooking process a bit. Be careful, it may spatter.
4. Use salted butter, or add a teaspoon of salt per pound of butter.
5. Pour it into a thin layer. It will cool faster, thus sealing the toffee before the oil can separate.
6. Don’t fret, separation is normal. If you haven’t prevented the separation 100%, it’s okay to sop up a bit of oil off the top.
7. Have fun cooking!

Healthy Turkey Fettucini with Creamed Spinach

2009-05-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 28 Apr 2007

If you want to make a classic hearty dinner recipe healthier, you'll be off to a great start by substituting healthier ingredients for standard dairy products.

Make a creamed spinach recipe, for instance, incorporating a “goat cheese” from yogurt, almond milk, extra virgin olive oil, fresh crushed garlic, and a dash of fresh ground nutmeg.

You might try fat-free cream cheese, unless you are trying to eliminate dairy items all-together, in which case, several of the egg-substitute products out today are very good.

As for a substitute for sour cream, try food processing some cottage cheese and adding a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, or skim milk with a dash of vinegar.

For the pasta, use a whole grain pasta, with no less than 4 g of fiber per serving. Barilla Plus or Ronzoni Healthy Harvest are good brands.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

2009-05-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine31 May 2007

Create a real dining experience topped with delicious Mexican Wedding Cakes. Pastel de Tres Leches, a very popular cake translates literally as cake of three milks. The cake is a butter cake prepared with fresh, condensed, and evaporated milk. Many Latin American countries have different versions, with a key creative point being the topping.

Often, Pastel de Tres Leches is topped with a caramel sauce and fresh fruit, other times with meringue, or even whipped cream. The addition of fruit in all cases is a great one for this cake and lends an air of ’special occasion.’ I’ve reviewed a number of recipes found online and am particularly fond of this recipe - looks like a winner and I now plan to test it at the restaurant next week. Thanks for the inspiration! Taste of Cuba, Tres Leches.

Actually, the desserts properly known as Mexican Wedding Cakes, go by a variety of names including Russian Tea Cookies. They are essentially a shortbread cookie ball rolled in powdered sugar, and are common at holiday parties, cocktail parties and wedding receptions.

If you mise en place before you begin cooking, making a Pastel de Tres Leches can be very easy and clean. That is, get everything you need set up and in order ahead of time so that when the time comes to begin cooking, your cooking process flows smoothly and quickly.

Two more tips:
Sign of a pro - clean as you go.
Have fun cooking!

~ Adam

Lamb, Salmon and Rice Pilaf for Forty

2009-05-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 31 May 2007

Catering a formal dinner for forty? With roasted leg of lamb and wild salmon as entree options? Rice pilaf? Sounds great!

You should be concerned about how to work the timing of the two very different entrees (since lamb takes much longer to cook than salmon and needs time to rest) in order to serve them simultaneously. And make sure your rice doesn't stick on the bottom of your pot.

Tips of Preparing Leg of Lamb
We’ll assume you are serving lamb as an option for half your guests (and the other will have the salmon). You’ll need to prepare about 8 ounces of lamb per person or 10 pounds of lamb. If you’re using boneless roasts that works out to around three roasts at 3 plus pounds per roast. You can cook all three roasts at once. (If you’re using bone-in legs then you’ll still need three, but you probably can’t fit them all in the oven at the same time and things get much more complicated and difficult. So we’ll assume you’re using boneless legs.) For medium rare, figure they will take about 12 minutes per pound.

Step by-Step

Heat the oven to 450 degrees and season the roasts generously with salt. When the oven is hot place the roasts on a rack in a shallow roasting pan in the center of the oven and cook for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook about 25 minutes. Exact timing is impossible to predict; the fact that there are three roasts will slow the cooking down and variations in the cooking characteristics of individual ovens and individual roasts also have an effect. To be sure the lamb is properly cooking use an instant-read thermometer to check each roast and remove it from the oven when it reaches 125 degrees (it will warm another 5 degrees while resting).

Tent the roasts with foil after removing from the oven and allow to rest 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. If you’re cooking the salmon in the oven, then you may need to let the roasts rest a while longer as the salmon cooks, this wonâ€™t hurt the flavor but the meat will begin cooling. However, don’t slice the lamb until you start plating because it will cool quickly once sliced.

Salmon Fillets
Brush salmon with oilive oil and season in advance. While the lamb is resting, return the oven to 400 degrees and put in your salmon. The salmon should bake in a bake pan or similar surface for 10-12 minutes, until the juices run opaque. You can include vegetables like asparagus or zucchini to the salmon if you desire, or try a roasted red bell pepper coulis. Serve with lemon slices (for added fun, try griling the lemon wedges a bit).

Tips on Not Overcooking Rice

As far as the rice, here are some tips:

Use a thick-bottomed pot
Use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice.
Cover securely with a lid.
Get the rice to a rolling boil, then lower the heat just enough to keep the rice bubbling vigorously and let it cook 5 more minutes.
Turn OFF the heat and let the rice sit 10 more minutes, covered.
Err on the side of moderation, i.e. under-cooking the rice, when in doubt, because you can always return it to the heat and add hot water, whereas you cannot uncook it.
You can bake the rice too, although in this case the oven may be too full of lamb and salmon.
Fluff the rice with a fork when it gets to the right consistency to keep it from continuing to cook.
Substitute the rice with orzo pasta for something different.
large quantities of rice often absorb a little less than 2 cups water per 1 cup rice
saute the rice in butter and onions for a minute before adding to the boiling water

We hope we’ve been able to help you Alice. Do not hesitate to call us while you’re cooking for last minute tips and assistance.

~ Chefs Adam and Kevin (check out Kevin's site: Seriously Good)

Reduce Floury Flavor in Cakes

2009-05-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 5 Jul 2007

Some bakers feel their baked goods have too much of a floury flavor, and would like to know what, if anything, they are doing wrong.

Chances are you’re not doing anything wrong at all. Or, you consistently measure too much flour for your recipes. There are a lot of baking methods out there, so we’ll focus on cakes and cake-like products, like muffins and pancakes, and cover a few tips.

Properly measuring your flour
Use a whisk to fluff up the flour then spoon gently into measuring cup. Level cup with the flat edge of a knife. Don’t shake or tap the measuring cup to even it out because that can settle the flour and make it more densely packed.

Use a different flour
Try using a different flour, like cake or pastry flour, or a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour or bread flour. Also, make sure to purchase good quality organic flour whenever possible. You may also experiment with other kinds of flour to see if any offer a more agreeable flavor.

Try your hand at some flourless baking
Also, keep in mind that many recipes require little or no flour. Here is a recipe for low-flour pancakes, and here is a recipe for a flourless chocolate torte, only two examples of the pastry items that can be done without the use of any flour at all.

Sweeten and contrast
If you are going to use a flour-based recipe, however, one trick would be to make a simple syrup by boiling 3 cups and sugar and 2 cups of water in a pot for a couple minutes until the syrup is clear, and paint the finished, cooled cake with it using a pastry brush before frosting the cake. This will help the cake to be sweeter and moister.

~ Chef Adam

Baking with Almond Paste

2009-05-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 5 Aug 2007

Purchasing and Storing Almond Paste

When choosing almond paste in the market, often the kind found in the can is of higher quality than the kind in the tube. Love N Bake is a preferred brand as it contains the most almond for the money (is 2 parts almond to 1 part sugar) and gives your baked goods the richest flavor. However, Odsense is also good, and provides a slightly creamier texture for preparing almond creme. Almond pastes are priced competitively - a single recipe will put you back around $7 for the paste.

Almond Paste is generally kosher and gluten free but contains about 45% sugar. It should be firm but pliable before use in a recipe. If it becomes hard, it can be softened by heating for a few seconds in the microwave. To store, wrap tightly and refrigerate up to 4 months.

Recipes and Uses

Almond paste is often mistaken for marzipan, but it actually has less sugar and more almond flavor than marzipan. In many recipes, however, the two are interchangeable. You can actually make your own almond paste at home. Click here for a basic recipe.

Generally, almond paste is used in baking. I have reviewed my online recipe files, and here are my favorites among reliable sources (some of which I have prepared) and featuring almond paste:

Best Almond Cookies

Pignoli and Almond Cookies - Decadent and delicious.

Macaroons are a classic almond cookie. We are reaching out to other ChefsLine pastry chefs to find a great recipe for you.

Basic Almond Creme or Frangipane

Many pastry items can be filled with almond cream, sometimes referred to as frangipane. (Frangipane proper is the pastry prepared from almond paste which itself can be used as a tart base.) Below is a recipe that demonstrates how almond paste can be used to make almond cream and a recipe for the pastry cream. Use the almond pastry creme as a layer for a tart or to fill an Italian cream cake.

Puff Pastry Tart Filled with Almond Cream

Frangipane for Tarts

Best Almond Cakes

Almond Cake, Chez Panisse

Almond Cake for Petits Fours, Tami Smith

Almond Cake with Berries, Jacques Peppin

Best Other Almond Pastry

Almond Croissants, Adam Cutsinger
I often prepare Croissants at my restaurant using almond paste. They are very good and the ‘Parisian’ style can be prepared at home using bakery-bought croissants.

1) Make or purchase regular croissants.
2) Cut them in half and drizzle a simple syrup on both inside halves. To make a simple syrup, combing 3 parts sugar and 2 parts water and bring to a boil.
3) Spread a thick layer of almond cream on one inside half or croissant.
4) Reassemble the croissants and spread a thin layer of almond cream on top.
5) Sprinkle a layer of sliced almonds on top
6) Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or just enough to toast the sliced almonds.

Cinco De Mayo Menu

2009-05-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 3 May 2009

I love Southwestern cuisine - highlighted in a Cinco De Mayo menu that hopefully will be one of your favorite party menus of the year. Enjoy with classic tequila cocktails or sangria. You can reach me on ChefsLine’s hotline and chat on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings if you’d like some personal guidance with my recipes.

Cinco De Mayo Menu Espectaculo
Salted Tortilla Chips with Spicy Avocado Cilantro Salsa
Tossed Mexican Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
Pan Seared Black Refried Bean Tacos with Cilantro Key Lime Salsa and Chevre
Whole Roasted Chicken Mole Poblano
Pina Colada Tres Leches Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream

Vital Valentine’s Day Nightcaps

2009-05-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 16 Jan 2009

Heads up, guys: 30 days until Valentine’s Day. Don’t let it sneak up on you, because you can bet your girlfriend remembers, or that girl you have a crush on who comes into the coffee shop every morning. Good planning can be as essential for a pleasurable Valentine’s Day experience as it is for Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries.

Whatever sort of plan you come up with, whether it’s dinner out, a romantic meal at home, dancing, what have you, it might be good to keep in mind that, ideally, the night ends with your lover in your arms. So I would like to share a couple of dessert cocktail ideas with you that make you feel as good as they taste.

These drinks include phytonutrients proven to boost overall health and well-being, and which also offer the promises of increased libido and improved sexual performance.

The trick is to plan ahead, so when you catch a cab home from the couples slow dance marathon you already have the ingredients ready for your Valentine’s Day ’09 nightcaps. You’ll also be planning ahead for the next morning, when you won’t be hung over.

Fresh Ginger Blueberry Champagne Cocktail:
Ginger contains blood-thinning and belly-calming elements, and prevents nausea. Plus it’s got a wonderful zesty spiciness that leaves just a touch of a burn after each sip.

Blueberries are a ‘superfruit,’ containing tons of antioxidants, dietary fiber and micronutrients, most notably manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and vitamin K. Together the ginger and blueberries create a remarkable cocktail with beautiful color.

To prepare this cocktail, make a simple blueberry syrup by combining 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen) in a small saucepan and bringing it to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes. Then press the syrup through a screen strainer with the back of a spoon and allow it to cool. Extract the juice from the fresh ginger root by putting it into a garlic press or grating it and then pressing the grated pulp in a screen strainer with the back of a spoon as you did the blueberries. For each cocktail, combine 4 tsp of the blueberry syrup, 1 tsp of the ginger juice, 1 Tbsp orange juice, and 2/3 cup of champagne. Serve in a champagne flute.

Chocolate Chile Rumtini:
It should be no secret that chocolate stimulates. It increases circulatory and brain activity, and triggers heightened sensitivity and feelings of euphoria. If you attribute the spicy burn from chiles to powerful nutritive effects, then your instincts are spot on. Chiles (chili peppers) contain capsaicin, a cancer-fighting anesthetic that also acts as an anti-inflammatory and kills the bacteria that cause such health problems as stomach ulcers.

To make a Chocolate Chile Rumtini:
Gently simmer 3-4 small dried red chiles in 3/4 cup of cream and 1/4 cup of sugar. The longer you keep it heated the hotter it will get. Gently melt 8 oz of dark (bittersweet) chocolate in a double boiler with 1/4 cup of sugar. Remove from heat. Swirl together the chocolate and chile cream so that you get a defined swirl shape and pour the mixture into ice cube trays. Freeze for at least an hour. Pour 1/2 cup of vodka and 2 Tbsp chocolate liqueur over ice and shake or stir thoroughly. Pour the alcohol over the chocolate chile crème “ice cubes.” You may substitute rum for the vodka, and may garnish the rim of the glass or drink with cocoa, mint, cherries or cinnamon.

So this Valentine’s Day, or any time you want to make the most of a cocktail celebration, try either or both of the above cocktails. You’ll thank me in the morning.

For more on healthy cocktail combos, check out this Women’s Health article. And have fun cooking something up for V-Day.

Last Minute Cookies

2009-05-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 21 Dec 2007

Need some easy, quick last-minute cookies for the Holidays? In our Holiday Cookie podcast, Chef Adam presents his tips for the speediest and most delicious recipes from ChefsLine’s Holiday Cookie Recipe Collection. The podcasts also includes excerpts of the ChefsLine Radio program featuring Chef Erika and Chef Gwin’s best tips for baking cookies. Listen while you stir!

Last Minute Cookies
Butter Cookies (or Chocolate Marble Butter Cookies)
Eggnog Cookies
Pine nut (Pinon) Cookies

Diet Pepsi, Spaghetti Sauce, Mustard; Business, Science, Psychology; Malcolm Gladwell, Everybody...

2009-05-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

All About Beans: A ChefsLine Cooking Guide . . . best of articles, recipes, and downloads.

2009-05-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine.

Beans pictured are (from left to right, top to bottom): red lentils, black beans, pinto beans, French green lentils, split peas, navy beans, garbanzo beans, mung beans, and green lentils.

One of the most readily available, affordable, and tasty “superfoods” are beans. Beans are the proof that many a beautiful meal can be made with just a few quality ingredients. I personally adore beans - and nothing is easier to pull together than a sublime soft pinto bean and veggie burrito. Even though I almost always have a pot either soaking or cooking - the prospect of dealing with dried beans can be daunting for some home cooks which is why I offer you some of my best time-saving tips in this guide. Packed with nutritional value and easy on the wallet … beans are also the centerpiece of a big range of cuisines and can satisfy almost any food mood.

In the All About Beans Cooking Guide, you’ll find inspiration, tons of recipes, and large doses of tips on how to avoid some of legume’s infamous side effects.

Dish Ideas and Recipe Collection

Beans are so flexible and pair well with almost all vegetables and are great vehicles for a myriad of different sauces. You can truly consider and should think “can I add some beans to this dish” when preparing a meal. They are your opportunity to forgo meat and add protein.

Add cooled beans to a salad. Just about every restaurant salad bar includes cold beans, especially garbanzo and kidney beans (see kidney beans below).
- Simply Recipes’ Classic Three Bean Salad
- HowCast Video – Fava Beans 101

Make soup or chili. Beans are the perfect one-pot ingredients.

Replace a meat product with beans. A vegetarian meal centered around beans will be just as satisfying as one centered around meat, but even healthier.

Add beans to a meat-based menu. For the same reason that beans can replace meat, beans are the perfect accompaniment to meat, whether beef, chicken, pork, you name it.

Have beans with breakfast. They’re great day-starters, and go great with other breakfast foods, which is something that English cafes and American cowboys are very familiar with.
- Chef Jim’s Huevos Rancheros Video

Incorporate beans into a vegetable stir-fry or other vegetable dish to create an even more satisfying meal.

Use white cannellini or navy beans to create wonderfully rich, tasty appetizers and dishes.

The pairing of meat and beans is found in so many world cuisines as well as being a big old chink of the US’s “new” food pyramid.

Consider beans as a last-minute meal. Lentils require no soaking time and are truly versatile while split peas take very little time to cook.
- Chef Kevin’s Turkey Lentil Soup
- Chef Robyn’s Split Pea Soup

Bean dips and spreads are very easy to prepare and are perfect do-ahead appetizers for a party or buffet. Many beans dips and spreads also feature garlic and are presented with crostini or evoke the infamous Seven Layer Dip. For a change of pace, incorporate more citrus and offer steamed vegetables with your bean dips. For a great dip with corn chips, simply puree pinto beans with sour cream and scallions.
- Simply Recipes’ Refried Beans served with breadsticks.
- Chef Paulette’s Greek Inspired Hummus

Selecting, Storing, and Cooking Beans

Most beans are extremely affordable, especially if they are available in bulk (with the possible exception of fava beans, which are less often available and so can cost a bit more).

Canned and dried beans can sit around in a cold dry place for a very long time. Cooked beans can be frozen for up to a month if wrapped tightly in plastic, and for up to five days in the refrigerator.

Cooking raw dried beans is also a mostly carefree operation. The time spent preparing beans is largely unattended time so requires just some advance planning. Personally, I almost always have a small pot of beans soaking in my refrigerator because they are a key to my daily diet. If you do cook your beans from scratch, I highly recommend preparing the whole bag because once cooked, they freeze very well. Of course, canned beans are a perfectly legitimate way to add more beans to your meals.

When cooking kidney beans, boil them for at least ten minutes, then strain and rinse them to remove a dangerous toxin. Then cook them however you like.

Soaking and Cooking Times for Different Types of Beans

Adzuki Beans	soak for 4 hours	cook 1 hour
Black Beans	soak for 4 hours	cook1 to 1 1/2 hours
Black-Eyed Peas	No need to soak	cook 1 to 1 1/4 hours
Brown Lentils		cook 30 to 45 minutes (No need to soak Lentils)
Dals	No need	cook for 30 minutes
Fava (Broad Beans)	soak for 12 hours	cook for 3 hours
Ful Nabed (Broad Beans)	soak for 12 hours	cook 3 hours
Garbanzo Beans (Chick-Peas)	Soak for 4 hours	cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours
Great Northern Beans soak for 4 hours	Soak for 4 hours	cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours
Green Lentils	cook 40 to 50 minutes Red Lentils	Cook 30 to 45 minutes
Lima Beans	Soaks for 4 hours	cook 1 to 1 ½ hours
Mung Beans	soak for 4 hours	Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour
Pigeon Peas	No need to soak	cook for 30 minutes
Pink, Calico, or Red Mexican Beans	soak 4 hours	cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours
Pinto Beans	soak for 4 hours	cook1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours
Red Kidney Beans	soak for 4 hours	cook1 to 1 1/2 hours
Small White (Navy) Beans	soak for 4 hours	cook1 1/2 to 2 hours
Soybeans	soak for 12 hours	cook 3 to 4 hours
Split Peas	No need to soak	cook 45 minutes to 1 hour
White Kidney Beans (Cannellini)	soak for 4 hours	cook1 hour
Whole Peas	soak for 4 hours	cook40 minute

Cooking times may vary, depending on cooking temperature, time spent soaking, size, age, and altitude. You can expect to get just over two cups of cooked beans for every cup of uncooked beans.

Avoiding Gas

So now, on to the gas part. Beans cause it. Nobody wants it. Today, though, we have access to the ancient remedies for this side effect as well as brand new science.How to Reduce Gas with Beans

The reason beans cause gas is that there are some soluble fibers, which include carbohydrates, which break down into sugars, that are finally broken down in the large intestine rather than sooner, like most other foods. What we want to do it break down these components before they reach that point, either higher in the digestive system or before we even eat the beans.

Here’s a quick list of ideas to help you develop a good relationship with beans without its uninvited cousin:

Soak beans longer. A lot longer. It’s okay to let them ferment somewhat, so I’m talking like 2-3 days here. They will foam and smell, but do not fear. You will be rinsing and cooking the beans thoroughly before eating. The beans are now releasing gas your body will have to release if you skip this step.
To err on the side of safety and to ease your mind’s concerns, add 1/3 cup vinegar to the soaking beans, which kill bacteria, and throw in some slices of ginger, which has digestion-aiding properties.
Add a teaspoon or two of lactobacillus casei and/or lactobacillus plantarum, available in health food stores. Recent studies have shown these digestive enzymes accelerate the breaking down of the aforementioned material.
On the same token, any digestive enzymes will help, so eat some yogurt, which should contain acidophilus, or Beano™, or even the two digestive enzymes listed above, as per the package’s instructions.
Also on the same token, just as some foods create gas, other foods remove it: any raw vegetables (all foods contain digestive enzymes, but their effectiveness is often nullified by cooking, so I always encourage the inclusion of something raw in every meal, to aid in digestion and to help maximize the nutrients actually absorbed by the body), ginger, fennel, anise, turmeric, lemongrass, dill, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, bay leaf, ginger, cinnamon, and cumin.
Include beans in your diet more often. Studies have demonstrated that the body acclimates to the digestion of beans, and you can eventually overcome the gassy effect to a large degree simply by eating them more often.
Refry, or cook twice by just about any method, which can help break down the gaseous components
The Gas Makers: Soybeans, Peas, Black beans and pinto beans, White beans, Great Northern beans, Lima beans, Garbanzo beans, Black eyed peas

More Bean Resources

*Superfoods - although there is no legal or medical definition, the term Superfoods applies to those whole foods that offer significant health benefits and healing capabilities because of their high nutrient content. Superfoods everyone needs

All About Beans

2009-05-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

In the All About Beans Cooking Guide, you’ll find inspiration, tons of recipes, and large doses of tips on how to avoid some of legume’s infamous side effects.

Dish Ideas and Recipe Collection

Bean Salads
Soups and Chili
Vegetarian Bean Recipes
Bean Side Dishes
Breakfast Beans
Beans with ….
Lovin those White Beans
Meat and Beans
Last-minute Beans Dishes
Bean dips and spreads

Selecting, Storing, and Cooking Beans

Soaking and Cooking Times for Different Types of Beans

and of course,

Avoiding Gas

Check out the Guide and I know you’ll find one of our chefs’ Mediterranean, Asian, and Latin dishes will inspire you. Pick up some beans at the store and give me a call on the hotline so we can create a bean dish that satisfies your craving!

Cook and Click for Proposition 3*17

2009-05-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

ChefsLine’s own Irish-American super star chef, Robyn Fennessey, has designed a special, quintessentially Irish menu. Not only does it holler Erin Go Braugh, but it’s a really flexible concept menu that is united by two of the most important Irish contributions to the culinary world—whiskey and Guinness beer.

Speaking of Guinness … “Sign the Petition!” Guinness & Company has launched a campaign to petition the US Congress to make St. Patrick’s Day an official American Holiday. Corporate activism at its best!

St. Patrick’s Day Lamb Menu
by Chef Robyn Fennessey

Guinness and Clover Honey Marinated Shrimp and Scallops

Irish Soda Bread

Rack of Lamb with Rosemary – Brandy Sauce

Warm Root Salad in Horseradish Vinaigrette ~ Alanna Kellogg

Bread Pudding with Irish Whiskey Sauce

Four Favorite Holiday Drinks

2009-05-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 21 Dec 2007

by Chef Adam

ChefsLine’s guide to Holiday Cooking & Entertaining includes articles, recipes, and step-by-step instructions for the most popular Holiday dishes. You’ll also find some of our chefs’ favorite appetizers and drink ideas.

Here are top picks for delicious last minute cocktails that will help ease you into the spirit of the season from the guide.

Holiday Drink Recipes
Tom and Jerry
Champagne Cocktails
Hot Buttered Rum
Swedish Glogg

See all of the recipes > >

Concoct a Cocktail @ Cortez Restaurant’s Cocktail College in SF

2009-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

-as seen @ Vivanista April 04, 2009

Mixology is cooking too.

Take a trip to the TenderNob and attend a celebration session with Cortez Restaurant and Bar’s lead mixologist, Brandon Skaggs, located in the Hotel Adagio. Drink and mingle a little or a lot with fellow party pupils for a pre-class social, then attempt the tricks and techniques of cutting edge creative cocktails. Tips include edible garnishes, classic formulas and innovative new twists. These monthly events occur every third Thursday, and each monthly class is devoted to a particular spirit. This month it’s Grey Goose Vodka, next month Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark.

And, believe it: the roughly 1½ hour class is free (although drinks before and after are full bar prices), so it’s recommended to RSVP, but the word on the grapevine is that you could almost certainly just show up at the last minute too. You’ll try your hand and sample signature drinks, then let your own creativity flow while you invent new libations out of the master mixer’s collection of bottles, fresh ingredients and utensils.

Cortez was recently awarded kudos from SFWeekly and San Francisco Magazine for having simply the most fun cocktail menu around, with such enigmatic epithets as the Industry, the RV, and the Sommelier.

But Cortez also features Cellar Select Mondays, with half priced bottles from the wine cellar that will have you saying TGIM! Their top-notch Spring Menu is dubbed Dine About Town, and don’t miss the Chef Jenn Puccio’s Five Course Tasting Menu offered Sunday through Wednesday.

Let's Make Pesto with Gusto!

2009-05-03T14:25:00.001-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 10 Aug 2006

The pesto we all know and love reportedly originated in the city of Genoa, in Liguria, a small region in northern Italy. But, the word pesto itself is derived from the same root as the word ‘pestle’, which is used to grind things up, and meaning anything that was smashed or ground up, usually in a mortar with a pestle. Sicilian pesto, for example, resembles what most of us know as marinara sauce more than the green basil-based sauce mixture we associate with the word pesto.

Therefore, we can actually take a bit of creative license when it comes to making pesto. But, that being said, when you say pesto, your guests will undoubtedly get a particular idea in mind, and you wouldn’t want to disappoint them. In Italy, the traditional pesto we think of is actually labeled ‘pesto alla genovese’, and any prospective pesto producers will be required to use only basil, garlic, salt, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, and Parmigiano Reggiano (yet another protected designation of origin label), with the option of using pecorino sardo (a goat cheese). Sometimes the rules get bent in Italy, however, when someone opts to save money and use walnuts or cashews, or a less expensive cheese. Here in the U.S. of course, pesto-making guidelines often get completely swept aside as cooks experiment and add this or that twist in order to personalize their pesto. And why shouldn’t we? The pesto process is so fun and many of the suggested ingredient combinations that follow are wonderful summer alternatives to almost any other kind of sauce or condiment!

Here’s the basic international recipe:

PESTO (makes 3 cups):

8 cups fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

2 oz. pine nuts

6 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp salt

5 oz. Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 oz. Romano cheese

Wash and drain the basil leaves. Put the basil, oil, nuts, garlic, and salt in a blender, food processor or mortar. Blend (or grind) to a paste, but not so much that it becomes smooth. It should have a slightly coarse texture. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the cheese. You can keep the pesto in the refrigerator for more than a week but two at the most, or you can freeze it for much longer, but you should not add the cheese before you freeze it - wait until you thaw the pesto to add the cheese. Some uses for pesto may due well without any cheese at all. Borrow a technique from the preparation of foi grois: drizzle the oil over the surface of the pesto before it goes into the freezer - this will help preserve its flavor and color. And remember, you can make sauces out of whatever pesto portions you have left over by adding stock (probably chicken stock, but ham would work great also), pasta-cooking water, tomato sauce more olive oil, or any combination thereof (note - the acid in tomato sauce will prevent the gelatinization, or thickening power, of starches).

Of course, if you tally up all the pestos or pesto-like sauces in the world, the variations would soon begin to outnumber the commonalities. Nations, provinces, families, companies, restaurants, and chefs have been putting their own spins on traditional Italian pesto alla genovese ever since pesto became an Italian tradition.

Among the more popular variations of pesto are:

-Genoese pesto (traditional Italian pesto, as noted above)

-Sicilian pesto (a.k.a salsa cruda, rustic chunky tomato sauce)

-Arugula pesto

-Spinach pesto

-Sun-dried tomato pesto

-Italian parsley pesto

Some less likely but perfectly yummy variations are:

-Red bell pepper pesto (peppers added to traditional pesto)

-Asparagus pesto (chopped al dente asparagus added to traditional pesto)

-Mushroom thyme pesto (mushrooms and thyme in place of the basil)

-Olive pesto tapenade (minced mixed varieties of olives give the pesto tang)

-Pistachio pesto (pistachios in place of the pine nuts)

-Sage chestnut pesto (easy on the sage)

-Sun-dried tomato caper pesto (great with chicken)

-Watercress dill pesto (great with fish)

Some exciting creative pestos for you to try:

-Peruvian pesto (well, okay, I have found several versions of these at various Peruvian restaurants, but the point here is that any cuisine in the world may make it’s own variation of pesto)

-New World pesto (mint, cilantro, basil, thyme, parsley)

-Garbanzo pesto (add the beans cooked al dente)

-Lemon thyme pesto (my fav, best with chicken)

-Cilantro pecan pesto (skip the basil and pine nuts)

-Butter pecan pesto (just substitute butter for the oil and pecans for the pine nuts)

-Pestotouille (like ratatouille, featuring roasted veggies mashed in with the traditional pesto ingredients)

-Cilantro pesto, w/ cashews, chiles, citrus zest and tamari (try it with salmon)

-Cream cheese pesto (also works with ricotta, chevre and mascarpone, makes the pesto milder and creamier)

-Russian pesto (as above, but with sour cream)

-Mint macadamia pesto (good with pork)

-Ancho chile tomato pesto (like Sicilian pesto, but hot as you like it)

-Rosemary olive walnut pesto (chicken or fish)

-Broccoli butternut pesto (great and different, and with a flavor that can hold up to red meat dishes)

-Watercress dill hickory pesto (on grilled fish or chicken)

And for the brave, crazy and/or kooky cooks out there:

-Swirly Italian flag pesto, with a pure sun-dried tomato pesto (no greens) combined with traditional Italian pesto and ricotta cheese, half-stirred so that they remain visibly separated streaks

-Plum pesto, w/ honey, mustard, garlic and balsamic

-Persimmon pesto with vanilla bean

-Lavender lemon preserve pesto

-Pomegranate pecan pesto

-Beet pepper walnut pesto

-Garfunkle pesto (yes, parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme)

-Chocolate pesto (not as dominating a flavor component as many people think, good with tomatoes

Bakers vs. Cooks

2009-05-03T14:24:00.001-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 24 May 2006

Baking is freaking hard. It is not sexy. It is not fun. You will not get your own cooking show, not even a chef's coat. Baking exists somewhere between art, science, and alchemy, and unless you are willing to dedicate a significant portion of your life to it (let's say your days and your nights for starters), don't bother. -Matt Batt, The Path of Righteousness, Tin House Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 1.

I first fell into culinary work through baking. All of my early experience was with European-style pastries and breads, and my first teacher was a self-proclaimed 20^th Century Wilderness Woman, whose approach baking was more of an ode to the work of women than that of a food-service worker, like a Druidic priestess performing a well-rehearsed ritual (in fact, she had waist-length red hair and could occasionally be found riding naked on horseback through the woods, but enough about her).

Even later in my career, my considerable baking experience led to opportunities in similar capacities; I would be put in charge of the breads and pastries of whatever restaurant I was working at, thereby creating a niche for myself which was often somewhat separated from the other kitchen staff and the atmosphere in which they worked.

You might say I was pigeon-holed, but I wouldn't. My specialization immersed me into a time-honored trade and was never lacking in new skills and techniques to learn and apply. From there, I was indoctrinated into the rest of the kitchen, until over time I became as well-rounded as any chef, but with fondness for my creative roots, which were more like an apprenticeship than boot camp.

My father's last words to me were to remind me that I could do whatever I wanted in life, and reminded me when I was young that most chefs were men. He, however, rarely even set foot in the kitchen, except to pour his morning cuppa-joe. It was my mother who first educated me on the joy of cooking, and my father's mother who first introduced me to baking.

The modern professional kitchen is usually modeled on the old European brigade system, where each cook is a soldier and has a specified job to do. That is where the double-breasted chef's coat comes from, and the high chef's hat. The bigger the hat, the higher-ranking the chef, so that the soldier-cook can locate his captains among the platoon of workers. Each cook has a specific job to do, and are regularly reminded of the limits to their autonomy. They vie for esteem in a sometimes hostile environment, each double-breasted white-jacketed, puffy-hatted (or worse, paper-hatted), checkered-pants-wearing soldier doing his own chore, mindful of the sphere of control of the next chef, and especially respectful of the range of power of those chefs who rank above him, the executive chef and the sous chef, i.e. the chief and the second chief.

Testosterone, in my experience, abounds in the kitchen. The stereotypical cook is male, and the women who go into the trade are often seen as strong and independent, but not necessarily feminine. The professional kitchen has a distinctive patriarchal, martial feel. Add to this atmosphere hot and sharp objects, and it is easy to see why cooks often raise their voices and bark commands and warnings at one another. It can be stressful to cook in a restaurant.

One might argue that the brigade system is genderless, that men and women are equals and are no different in the kitchen, and to this I would agree; women are not discriminated against in this environment, so long as they, like everyone else, conform to their assigned role and perform their duties well. But the brigade system is inherently masculine in design, a battalion, a regiment. Historically women were not allowed to join their ranks, and the fact that they do now and perform well should be seen more as a testament to their ability to hack it in an infantryman's environment than be viewed as a sign that the brigade system has become somehow feminized.

Cooks can often be found hollering kitchen jargon at one another as they attempt, with varying degrees of success, to work as a team. Each plate they make is unique to a particular patron, and so thusly each task they perform as individuals-sharing-space. Cooks must make each plate as the customer orders it, when and how they want it.

Of course, once a cook has attained a certain skill level, he becomes the artist-chef, almost a clichÃ© at this point in our culture. The artist-chef is beyond reproach, a living legend in his own eyes.

When the workload has been large enough to call for the joined efforts of more than one baker, I have seen them perform more as a hive of insects than as a brigade of soldiers, all of the bakers working together on the same task, often in meditative silence, performing repetitive physical movements. Large quantities of dough or batter will be mixed, then formed, then baked, then prepared for sale and display. It is not uncommon for bakers to have music playing on a small, flour-dusted radio while all of them form loaves or bread or cut scones with their hands, chatting leisurely with one another while their bodies perform Herculean tasks, or wordless.

One of the difficulties isolated to baking is that each recipe is a formula, with exact measurements and exacting procedures required for success. This is true. But like all repeated actions, the body will remember, and eventually, with practice, baking becomes second nature. You Zen it.

There is something primal about baking. Although an advanced pastry chef can create culinary works of art, she begins with very basic ingredients: flour, water, butter, salt, sugar. And yeast. A bakerâ€™s medium is often alive, growing and changing, at least part of the time she works with it.

Bakers use their bare hands. Dough collects under their nails, and spices in the creases of their knuckles.

Also, bakers keep odd hours, and work only in the back, where their interaction with the clientele equals zero. In fact, a baker's product will be bought and consumed anonymously, as far as the baker is concerned, and the customer never meets her, or observes her at work.

Bakers, often, for some reason, a hodgepodge of characters straight out of literature, come together to create a harmonious working environment, to create one confederated bakery out of their combined personalities. Ironically, many bakers, who work so uniformly, are social oddballs.

The distinction I am making between the baker and the cook is not so big a rift as that between the front of the house and the back of the house, i.e. wait staff and kitchen personnel. Rather, it is a more subtle distinction: the back of the house vs. the very back of the house. But the implications run deep like still water. It involves two diametrically opposed worlds in which food and its preparation take on two totally independent functions. It may be where man and woman parted ways at the beginning of time. The chef borrows elements of comfort food every day, and has developed its production into a well-oiled machine, and it makes him pretty good money, but it was his mom who first put joy and nourishment on the table.

Three Spring Cocktails

2009-05-03T14:15:00.001-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 21 Mar 2008

Chef Adam Cutsinger has hand-picked three of his favorite cocktails to pair with yummy snacks AND to compliment the [hopefully] warm and sunny long weekend.

First stop - perfect for an Easter Brunch - is the Russian Punch. This beautiful punch is perfect with blinis . Although blinis are traditionally topped with caviar, you can substitute sour cream, ham, lox, some other kind of fish, or place a dollop of orange marmalade on top each blin, er, silver dollar sized pancake.

To keep warm through the early evening hours - well, when is the last time you’ve sipped a negroni? The Negroni is a classic, also known as The Martinez. An old school cocktail which came into existence around 1906 and which has taught Mr. Martini a thing or two about proportion. Chef Adam suggests bruschetta with just about any kind of Italian inspired topping as a great compliment to this classic.

And Chef Adam’s favorite Spring cocktail (this year at least) is the Blue Marlin, which looks like the ocean on a sunny day (which his foggy San Francisco has just revealed!). Garnish with orange wedge, orange twist or cherry. Serve this festive drink with boneless chicken wings roasted in citrus-ginger sauce and dipped in creamy wasabi dressing. Yum!

Autumn is Prime Pie-Baking Time

2009-05-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 11 Sep 2008

Summer fruits with a long season, like apples and peaches, and other fruits that ripen in autumn, like many plums and pears, are among the most excellent fruits for making fillings for pies and tarts. Autumn is the harvest season, and these and other fruit, especially stone fruit, are the first to fill the proverbial cornucopia, and are in fact falling off the trees this time of year.

Enjoy this recipe for Blueberry Plum Tartlets. It calls for a traditional pie crust, but you may also substitute this Almond Shortbread Crust recipe for an even more elegant treat. And consider making this Bourbon Whipped Cream as an accompaniment.

Homemade Ginger Ale: Refreshing, Healthy, and Easy

2009-05-03T14:12:00.002-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 5 Sep 2008

Summer has finally made it’s sultry self known here in the City by the Bay, after the standard ocean-induced foggitude. By now most of the rest of the country has already drowned it’s thirsty palate in iced tea, lemonade, Gatorade, soda pop, and ice water, but many of us San Franciscans are just getting into the summer swing of things.

There are teas, energy drinks and vitamin drinks aplenty, but sometimes the best things are made with good old raw ingredients right at home. Lemonade is easily made by the glass, and it’s as good for you as it is refreshing.

But another beverage that has real health benefits and is also yummy, but which gets less recognition, is homemade ginger ale. It’s easy to make:

Ginger Water (prepared ahead)
5 cups water
2 cups fresh ginger (finely chopped)
Boil the water, add the ginger, and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for about 15-25 minutes. Pour the ginger water through a fine mesh strainer and discard the boiled ginger.

Simple Syrup (prepared ahead)
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Simmer until clear and transparent.

Ginger Ale, by the glass
Ginger Water
Simple Syrup
Club Soda
Lemon Wedges
Fill each glass 2/3 full with ice, and add 1/2 cup of ginger water, 1/2 cup of club soda, and 1/4 of simple syrup (or more to taste). Garnish with lemon wedges.

And if it’s a cool summer cocktail that beckons you, you can always add a bit of quality whiskey, vodka or rum to the ginger ale, or you can add the ginger ale’s components (namely the ginger water, or even a ginger simple syrup) to champagne, a martini, or a mojito.

Enjoy Beans, Without the Gas

2009-05-03T14:12:00.001-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 27 Dec 2006

Beans induce gas in the body by way of benevolent bacteria in the large intestine. The best way to minimize gas, therefore, is to help digestion begin before the beans get to that late stage, mainly by fermentation and digestive enzymes.

Asian cooks have been fermenting beans for a long, long time, namely black beans for black bean sauce. At home, I opt to soak my raw beans for a few days before cooking them. I put a little vinegar in the water to minimize the risk of food-borne pathogens, and then just let them soak until they begin to smell a little rank. It might not be the most pleasant aroma to have in the kitchen, but it is certainly preferable to the alternative [wink and nod]. Add some ginger to the mix for its beneficial digestive properties, and be sure to rinse off all of the water the beans have soaked in when you turn to boiling them.
Another and easier option to reducing bean gas is to consume some helpful digestive enzymes before eating them. Yogurt is a good source of lactobaccillus acidopholus, which aids digestion.

Digestive supplements such as Probiotic Eleven [registered trademark] can aid in reducing gas and easing digestive symptoms of all sorts; when opting for an approach to reducing gas as proactive as purchasing special supplements like this, look for the ones that contain lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus casei, the two biologically-active compounds most associated with gas reduction.

Here is a list of foods to serve with your beans to combat their gassiness:
Ginger is a time-honored cure for indigestion.
Fennel and Anise are natural gas-reducers, and can be cooked right in with the beans for great flavor.
Garlic aids in digestion and destroys unwanted bacteria in the bowel.
B Vitamins are essential for proper digestion.
Papaya and Pineapple contain digestive enzymes.

There are many more eating and cooking practices that can minimize the gas-effect of beans and other foods on oneâ€™s health and life. Please schedule a conference with myself or one of the other ChefsLine chefs if you wish to learn more.

Have fun cooking! -Chef Adam.

Savory or Sweet? This Weekend’s Brunch

2009-05-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 12 Feb 2009

We’re lucky to have all weekend to plan a special surprise homemade meal for our lovers. As with every brunch decision - to be sweet or savory is the question. One solution is to go for both! And this weekend bonus chops go for serving the meal in bed. What follows are two of my favorite brunch dishes - each easy enough to prepare and enjoy in one sitting. You can even (secretly) plan ahead and make the Blueberry Compote and Maple Whipped Cream the night before.

· Crusty French Toast with Blueberry Compote and Maple Whipped Cream
· Savory “Polenta” Oatmeal with Peppered Bacon and an Egg

Crusty French Toast
This recipe is similar to standard French toast, but instead of dipping the bread into the egg mixture, you lightly spoon it onto each side, so that some of the edges are crunchy and the center doesn’t absord too much liquid.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 slices artisan bread, brioche, or croissants - about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
2 tbsp. unsalted butter - cut in half

Heat oven to 200 degrees. In a pie plate, whip together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and salt. Place two slices of bread egg mixture and soak for 30 seconds. Spoon the egg mixture onto one side, spreading it around with the back of the spoon. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl to coat and avoid burning. Place bread, soaked side down in skillet and cook about 2 - 3 minutes. Spoon the egg mixture onto the other side of the bread before turning (after bread turns golden) Place cooked toast on a plate and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining toast.

Blueberry Compote
This a quick and easy feature for brunch featuring a blueberry compote you can make the night before served over French toast. Note, a slightly sweet and open crumb bread such as brioche or Challah work best. Serves 2.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, unthawed
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed

Combine 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar, water, and coriander in heavy small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup berries. Cook until compote coats spoon, stirring often, about 3 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.) Serve warm.

Maple Whipped Cream
Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
4 tsp maple syrup (use the real thing)

Method
Chill a bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least an hour (this encourages the whipping process). Add cream to bowl and whip to soft peaks. While still beating, gradually add maple syrup and beat to stiff peaks. Store in bowl with plastic wrap on top to store overnight and whip briefly before serving.

Savory Polenta-Style Oatmeal
Ingredients
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmagiana Reggiano
1 Tablespoon chopped sweet basil or other fresh herb.

Method
Boil 4 cups of the broth in a medium saucepan. Add the oatmeal. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a bout 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are tender, soft and creamy. Add more broth if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and basil, and ladle into bowls. Serve with peppered bacon and a fried egg (sunny side up) on top.

Perfect Pie & Pastry Crust, Even in the Heat of Summer

2009-05-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

originally posted at ChefsLine 2 Sep 2008

by Chef Adam

By following a few simple guidelines, you can produce exquisite pies and pastries right at home with a minimum of work. Plan ahead now and create some delightful treats for any upcoming events, or just to have wonderful treats around the house.

Three things to keep in mind:

1. When preparing fresh pie and pastry dough, wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator immediately. Return the dough to the fridge every time you notice that the dough is approaching room temperature. These cooling/resting periods are crucial for two reasons: a. It prevents the fat (i.e. butter, shortening, margarine) from melting, which will create a more flaky crust, and b. it gives the moisture in the dough time to be absorbed into the flour on a microscopic level, which makes the crust more tender. See these tips for more on flaky and tender crust.

2. Prepare the doughs for pies, pastries and cookies ahead of time, and just stick them in the freezer. These products are among the most freezer-friendly foods in the world. That way your work is compartmentalized and you won’t be discouraged to take on a pastry project. Just cover them tightly with plastic. I like to roll and cut out pie shells and then freeze them. After just a few minutes out of the freezer and placed onto a non-frozen surface they will be softened and malleable. Many cookies can even be baked off while still frozen, but pre-form them, of course, as frozen cookie dough is a bit hard to work with.

3. Plan to do the actual baking during the cooler hours of the day, when an open window in your kitchen will be sufficient to keep your house cool. Professional bakers go to work in the wee hours before daylight, but you can also bake after dinner or before bedtime.

ME

2009-05-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

I usually don't smoke

Hamblin Home before

At Dan's in PHX

Hamblin Home after

The SF Marina

The N. AZ desert

On 27th Ave & California, SF, CA

In front of Mama Luisa in Flag

Adam Lee Cutsinger
415.702.5601

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
-Thomas A. Edison

Everyone's a Chef

2009-04-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

originally posted Monday, January 7, 2008

It wasn't long after I moved to San Francisco, where one chef put it, "chefs are treated like royalty," that I began to realize that my culinary experience in no way made me special. In a world rapidly becoming populated by self-proclaimed "foodies," (as well as those whose interest in food has yet to lead to such sort of self-characterization), much like an invasion by body snatchers, you can't throw a pork chop without hitting someone who knows 6 ways to cook it and a couple dozen options for sauces, sides and seasonings. The City is a foodie capital, and that's saying a lot, since, as far as I can tell, foodyism is an international phenomenon.

What is a chef anyway? Prescriptivists demand that only the cook who is in charge of all of the aspects of a restaurant's performance is a chef, or the "chief." The French word means just that, after all, and the French translation of the song "The Leader of the Pack" goes, "le chef de la bande."

Of course, contradictorily, those same prescriptivists might also argue that anyone who has graduated from culinary school has earned the title. And what about personal chefs?

I take the word pretty loosely. Like the word punk, as in punk rock. I grew up with some pretty hard line punks who insisted that bands like Green Day were definitely NOT punk, thereby graduating the word from a noun to a qualifying adjective (i.e. "he's more punk than me"). To me, chef is like that. If you demonstrate cooking prowess, I may not say that was very chef of you, but I will refer to your chef-like qualities by nicknaming you "chef." Ironically, because of my personal rebellion against the brigade system in professional kitchens, I prefer to refer to actual professional chefs by their first names.

As consulting chefs for ChefsLine, the Culinary Hotline, my colleagues and I take a certain amount of cheesy pride in our slogan-promise, "We bring out the chef in you."

And look at that TV show "Take Home Chef." If that guy owns a restaurant or keeps an executive chef position somewhere, I don't know about it. On that note, however, I guess it's fair to say that most of the celebrity chefs on TV can indeed be linked to at least one successful restaurant. Or magazine? Or whatever food and cooking organism qualifies to have an executive chef slot to fill (Cat Cora is executive chef for Bon Appetit Magazine, for instance).

On a side note, the same chef I mentioned above, who said San Francisco treats chefs like royalty, told me that Bon Appetit magazine and the Bay Area-based Bon Appetit catering company used to be managed under the same roof, but shortly after their mutual inception their link was reduced to the name only. [shrug]

I define chef as fancy cook, plain and simple, even if said chef only graduated from, to quote another chef I know, "the culinary school of hard knocks," and has never even actually been in charge of an outfit. As for me, I have been in charge of a few restaurants and bakeshops, but I never went to culinary school. I learned everything I know about cooking on the clock, and at home, and have opted instead for a classical education in letters and literature.

Good thing I still got my day job. { ; ~ o >

Italian Flag Pesto Dip

2009-04-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

originally posted Friday, March 21, 2008

Dip. It's what's for dinner. Er, whatever, but I can fill up on it, if it's good. I eat all day anyway, if I have my way, so a dip with dimensions and some good crunchy-type things to dip into it will always appeal to me as a snack food.
First of all, it's hella easier to make a dip than to top crostini, bruschetta, or other fuori d'opera, individually (I want to take a language class at City College, but then again I wanna get my masters and maybe I could take language classes then, but like, when the hell does anybody have time to go to school and work in the 7X7?).
Plus, if you make a dip along the basic principle of, say, a seven-layer dip, keeping some of the ingredients separate and distinct from one another, you get a delightful plurality in your bite, bite after bite after bite after bite...
And when I'm working (such a cursed blessing, work: gotta work, glad to have it, hate it, don't wanna do it, miss it when it goes away), I can eat while I work with relative convenience.
Regarding this recipe, I love the sweet cranberries alongside the savory whatever else, but they're optional, and I like a little heat, but the peppers are also optional. And you can also take out the salt and the garlic, and the herbs, and cheese, and go to McDonald's, they got double cheeseburgers for a buck. Get me one.
Oh the inanity! I do tend to go on.

Italian Flag Pesto Dip
1 oz fresh basil
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro
1/4 oz fresh mint leaves
1/4 bunch fresh parsley
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp sea salt
2 cups ricotta
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pesto alla genovese
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
Candied dried cranberries and pine nuts.
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a food processor or in a bowl with your hands. Drop a dollop of each of the pestos and the ricotta mixture and with simple movements swirl them with a rubber spat[ula]. Don't over mix it! You want it to look like Aquafresh toothpaste, 3 distinct wavy colors. Top it with the candied craisins and pinions. Eat it with crostini "chips" made from a baguette, ciabatta, focaccia, whathaveya.
Beware, you need some fiber in your diet, so don't eat dip dinners more than four or five times a week.

Apartments and Anchovies

2009-04-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

originally posted Sunday, April 13, 2008

It's time to move. There are 2 1/2 weeks left before we and all our shit gotta be outta here, with pug in tow, and we haven't found a place to move into yet, much less saved up a secure number of dineros for anything even modestly considered to be decent. Ah hell, nothing like the impending deadline to light a fire under your ass, no?

What we DON'T want:

to live in the Outer Sunset, Outer Mission or the Tenderloin, or any of the other subdistricts within the relative vicinities, unsafe and/or too far out.
to live in a shared rental, because my girlfriend has certain needs that go beyond my own.

Add to those criteria our need to find something affordable and which will accept Romeo, our beloved troll-of-a-pug-dog, and you may see what I see, an increasingly stressful scenario, problems identified, needs isolated, but solutions... to be discovered. It is one of those times when I have to tell myself, don't worry, there is a door opening somewhere, we just can't see it yet. There is also a skeptical voice in my head, however, that keeps reminding me that I do not have much faith, other than that in the sincerity of my own motivations. Just thinking and saying that there is a solution, a door, a plan, whatev, does not mean that there is actually one of the above available to us in anything resembling a timely resolution.

When we first moved to the City a few years ago, I was immediately made aware of the potential consequences of failure: the homeless peeps all around us. We were trying to live among a new peer group, single professionals sharing a warehouse-turned-apartment complex in SoMa (none of whom we still know today), who were all surfing on the relatively easy money of the newly-deceased dot-com era and other highly technology-business-ended endeavors, while we were trying to actualize our earned-degree-implied careers for essentially the first time, on money we had only just recently accumulated by selling our shit and, sadly, our Jeep CJ5 - all hard steel, all primer-gray, soft-top-roof, removable doors, one-size-too-big brand new tires; the Jeep that could tell Jeep Wrangler owners who may have incidentally pulled up beside us at the red light, "You are just never going to get it." Wrangler owners are not in the know, but it's not there fault. The Jeep Company it to blame. They ceased production of the CJ series after the CJ7, I believe.

It was noted by many, including my KC, that I seemed to be driven to find success and make money more than was precedented, but I can't help but feel like, especially these days, that that drive is merely the reality of life burning a hole in my eye and then lighting up my ass, so to speak. My urgency is more appropriately described as a fear than a drive. There is a fine line between great success and the most dramatic of failures, especially in places like SF, Manhattan, etc.

This blog is food oriented, so, in order to comply with the original theme, let me reference food here. Anchovie, mushroom and garlic pizza with red wine. You could make it yourself, like I sometimes do, or order it, like I also do, living like next door to Giorgio's. The pungent flavors and alcohol will be enough to pull your concentration into the moment, and separate you for that moment from the many things you need to be doing in order to leapfrog your life to the next positive stage, and to remove, for a moment, the fear of failure, and jumping straight into a pile of shit.

Practical Optimism, a Lemonade Stand, and an Omlette

2009-04-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

originally posted Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I just read an article which speaks to my parsimonious side. I relate it to food, as I do so great many things within my scope. I re-invoke the omelette.

Two buttered saute pans: one for the unsalted egg and milk mixture, and the other for the onions and (then) spinach.

When the eggs are perfectly medium rare the grated, crumbled or chopped cheese goes over the center, the hot veggies and/or meat over that, and a flip-flop-slide onto the plate.

Accompany with a piece of good toasted bread and butter. When cheap is delicious and nutritious, the consumer is thrice rewarded.

I am often referring to the old, overiterated adage about when life hands you lemons. And if there are enough lemons coming your way, you may want to think about setting up a lemonade stand.
Take it from me. I'm not complaining, or insinuating that I got more lemons than the next guy (I am sure it just seems like it).

But I'm like, hell, we got a whole bunch of 'em... just working with what I got.

The worst case scenario ought to involve a fermenting heap of the rotted lemons rinds, pulp and juice I couldn't sell. Let the lemon compost heap act as a double metaphor for both the grotesqueness of the realities we face in life as well as the growth potential derived from the fertilizing properties of that heap.

Which reminds me of something else I read, about life spawning from death, as Aristotle wrote about flies and crocodiles. I would like to think, regardless of what it means, that it will all lead to something.

Chocolates for V-Day

2009-04-19T01:02:00.000-07:00

originally posted Thursday, January 3, 2008

Is it just me, or is Valentine’s Day a totally different experience for boys than it is for girls? Does V-day put women and girls into a state of natural and easy reverie, while men and boys find themselves embarked on an onerous quest to prove their love worthy?

Last year, after seeking as much candid council as I could from my significant other, I decided that I would impress upon her the level and intensity of my devotion by cooking her a five-course meal, each course containing some form of chocolate.

My rationale was, admittedly, a little bit type-A: at the time, she worked in a chocolate confectionery; therefore, not only could she provide the chocolates I would require for my love feast at a discounted price (and thusly fulfilling her end of the Valentine’s Day-gift-exchange), but I could attempt to feed her the chocolate in such forms as she would never have access to at work. It was the perfect plan, making the absolute most of the chocolate theme already inherent in the Valentine's Day experience. And hell, we would probably even save money on going out.

By my third trip to the store I realized that wasn’t going to be the case. The booze alone accounted for nearly half of my expenditure, and some extra groceries were simply going to be required in order to make this dinner different and special. I still had the idea in my head that she would walk in the door to our humble apartment after a long day at work (selling last minute chocolates to procrastinating Romeos) to a beautifully set candlelight dinner, and I would make for her her first cocktail, with the second soon to follow. Then I would delight her with one after another course of sweet and savory chocolate-inspired dishes, titillating her to a giggling culinary culmination by the time we got to dessert. I even imagined silver covered platters for each dish, and we don’t even own anything like that.

Needless to say, I bit off a little more than I could chew. By the time she got home I had just managed to hurriedly set a table for two, I hadn’t yet lit candle one, and I hadn’t even started on the first two courses. In fact, I even had yet another trip to the store on the itinerary, but I soon decided to make due without it. In the end, my five-course extravaganza turned into a four-course marathon, and ultimately dessert was omitted entirely due to over-filled bellies from over-sized portions.

Sometimes, however, we find success in failure. The sheer enormity of my undertaking was enough to satisfy my beloved that I was really into her, and watching me work frantically let her see that dedication for herself. If the romantic dinner for two could be a metaphor for my love, then it was clear that my love for her was a little more than I could handle.

So what was the menu? Aside from chocolate there were two things I knew my girlfriend appreciated: alcohol and hot spicy foods.

My original idea was to purchase a couple of bottles of vino for the occasion, but after I ran across a recipe for chocolate martinis, wine was out the window. Instead, I bought a half gallon bottle of good quality vodka.

The very first thing I “cooked” were chocolate ice cubes – chocolate, milk, water, espresso and blood orange zest. I put the ingredients into an ice cube tray, speared sour cherries onto toothpicks, and stuck one toothpick into each cube. When it came time to serve the drinks, the ice cubes were perfectly frozen, and melted slowly in the drinks for a nice effect, but if I had it to do over again, I would use less zest or none at all. In order to prevent another trip to the store, I went with coffee liqueur instead of crème de cacao, as the recipe had called for. So when I finally added a splash of cherry juice, the drinks became more accurately described as mocha cherry martinis. Whatever works.

The first course, an appetizer featuring one Bartlett pear, one Asian pear, bananas and raspberries seared in sugar syrup and dressed with melted buttermilk chocolate sauce, was pushed back to be joined with the ice cream and chocolate mousse dessert for sheer lack of time. Skipping that, it was on to course two: salad. I melted some chocolate and squeezed the juice out of my blood oranges, added salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil, and presto: chocolate blood orange vinaigrette. A couple pinches of chopped basil, red lettuce, tomato, zucchini (I usually prefer them over cucumbers), broccoli, red onion, raspberries and a little feta cheese crumble made up the rest. I usually butter and bake a couple slices of bread for last-minute croûtons, and this time was no exception. As it was, the first course went over quite well.

Done with that and on to the next dish, I couldn’t help but be somewhat exhilarated with anticipation. It was only supposed to be a precursor to the main course, but would end up being the favorite for us both: chocolate chili. At first the idea frightened me, but, intrigued, I read up on the recipe and couldn’t resist.

My girl loves spicy foods. When I was at the market and asking questions in Spanish about the different fresh peppers and dried chipotle chiles to a grocery stocker who spoke zero English, he asked me if my girlfriend was latina. Upon learning that no, she was indeed una guera, his eyebrows lifted in astonishment that was very entertaining. Was it even possible? he seemed to be thinking. Yes, it is. My girlfriend prefers her spicy food to be registered with the federal government as a chemical weapon. My suffering in order to eat with her would have to be another test of my adoration.

Good chili, with or without chocolate, requires time for the flavors to synergize, but luckily, by the time I served it up, it was tastier than I could have predicted. The basic chili: browned meat (I used top sirloin), garlic, onions, small red beans, chiles and peppers (I used fresh jalapeños and serranos, and dried chipotle chiles of hot and hotter varieties, reconstituted in water), parsley, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, cumin, oregano, tarragon, salt, pepper and water, all combine with semisweet cooking chocolate to create a palette of flavors guaranteed to, as my girlfriend put it, “win any chili cook-off.”

Not to be out-spiced or out-chocolated by course two, course three really had to come with it, and it did: top sirloin topped with spicy chocolate mole sauce. Although somewhat similar to the chocolate chili, with the whole chocolate-meets-spicy-steak kind of thing going for it, this dish would differ in that the steak would be seared to medium rare and the sauce poured over it would be much stronger in flavor, including heat intensity. It really worked out well. The juicy meat was kept pristine from the chocolate and peppers of the previous course, so that it could then be reintroduced to those components one bite at a time, depending on how much sauce you wanted.

I just combined all of the ingredients for the mole sauce: extra virgin olive oil, garlic, onion, red bell pepper, chiles and peppers as per the last dish (although I used more of this and less of that chile in order to give the mole its own distinctive flavor), tomatoes, chicken or beef stock (I happened to have some homemade chicken stock in the freezer), cumin, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, sugar, honey mandarin orange zest, chocolate, salt and pepper, into a food processor (it all just barely fit), then transferred it to a medium-sized pot and let it cook slowly. I waited until it was time to serve this course to cook the meat, then poured the slow-cooked sauce over it and added a dollop of sour cream.

In all humility I must confess, by the time we ate this course, which went over quite well also, we had drank a few mocha cherry martinis, and optioned out of having dessert at all. The workload had been a bit much, so I wasn't too disappointed, and she was never much for sweets anyway. I would have done well to plan ahead a little more, and to have divided my workload into smaller, more manageable portions. As it was, our appetites were more than satiated, and dessert was redefined as brunch the morning after, but was delightful nonetheless.

All in all I’d have to say, sometimes you really can never have too much chocolate, and nothing says I Love You like a messy kitchen with chocolate all over everything.

Open Source Government and Flights of Apéritifs and Hors d'œuvre

2009-04-19T00:45:00.000-07:00

originally posted Thursday, October 23, 2008

I suggest an open source government. A true democracy that will automatically adhere to the design developed by anyone willing to actually participate. Real time amendments. Laws popularly accepted. Illegitimate choices immediately corrected by multitudinous declaration and reason.
Transparency, accountability, cooperation, collaboration.
Conflicts between points of view create violent reactions and harmful chasms between people when all that are required, or desired, are really just healthy analyzes of cause, effect and the perspectives of the sum of individuals, in order for society's government and the social contract that government is set up to uphold to continue to function productively.
It's a truly pluralist tack, for a decidedly pluralist populace. And it is potentially very stressful, because of the contradictions, hypocrisies, and inconsistencies that, like foam, rise to the top of every creed and system of beliefs.
So, like a family holiday gathering, where people who didn't necessarily choose to be in one anothers' lives are obliged to spend time together and make the very best of it, let us do it potluck-style. Bring a wine and/or a snack, and let us set them all up together, symbolic of our diversity, but also of how the distinctions, when viewed (and consumed) en todo, create a party. The real kind, not the political kind. Dig in. It's your party.

The Angst of the Omelet: the Unofficial Diary of Jean Paul Sartre Writing a Cookbook

2009-04-14T15:20:00.001-07:00

October 3.
Spoke with Camus today about my cookbook. Though he has never actually eaten, he gave me much encouragement. I rushed home immediately to begin work. How excited I am! I begin with the omelet.

October 5.
Still working on the omelet. There have been stumbling blocks. I create them, one after another, like soldiers marching into the sea, but each is empty, hollow. I want to create an omelet that expresses the meaninglessness of existence, and instead they taste like cheese. I look at them on the plate, but they do not look back. Tried eating them with the lights off. It did not help. Malraux suggested paprika.

October 6.
I have realized that the traditional omelet form (eggs and cheese) is bourgeois. Today I tried making one out of a cigarette, some coffee, and four tiny stones. I fed it to Malraux, who puked. I am encouraged, but my journey is long.

October 8.
Frustrated, I taped two fried eggs over my eyes and walked the streets of Paris. I ran into Camus at the Select. He called me a "pathetic dork" and told me to "go home and wash my face." Angered, I poured a bowl of bouillabaisse into his lap. He became enraged, and, seizing a straw wrapped in paper, tore off one end of the wrapper and blew through the straw, propelling the wrapper into my eye! "Ow! You dick!" I cried. I leaped up, cursing and holding my eye, and fled.

-Original author unknown (but definitely probably not Jean Paul Sartre).

No Blonde in this Rich Ode to Johnette Napolitano.

2009-04-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Concrete Blonde is one of the all-time best altrock bands, and how they ever stayed under the radar for so long baffles me. It may be a little outdated for me to praise them, but it's my prerogative I suppose. Their songs are rich and indulgent. I can't get enough.

Johnette plays the Napolitano!

You can go straight to my recipe below for Chocolate Espresso Napolitano Cake, or take a few minutes to watch an old SNL performance first.

I sure hope she likes chocolate and espresso. I never thought to ask. Cooks and bakers are strongly encouraged to listen to Concrete Blonde while following the recipe and eating the cake. Pair with Beaujolais, Champagne (or other sparkling wine), dry Sauternes, dry Gewurztraminer, dry Rosé, dry Reisling, or Sauvignon Blanc (not a robust red, but not an overly sweet wine; I personally might go for a crisp white for contrast).

Chocolate Espresso "Napolitano" Cake:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1teaspoon salt
1 pound (4 cups/8sticks) butter, unsalted, softened
2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
7 large eggs, at room temperature
4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups buttermilk
6-8 shots of espresso, or more depending on cake consistency, see below

Milk Chocolate Frosting:

1 1/2 cups whole milk
6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 2/3 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 pounds (6 sticks/3 cups) butter, unsalted, cut into thumb-sized pieces, softened
1 pound milk chocolate, gently melted
4 oz dark chocolate, gently melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 4 9x2-inch cake pans, 3 10x2-inch cake pans, or 2 12x2-inch cake pans. Optionally, line with parchment rounds to minimize risk of sticking.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Whip butter and sugar in large bowl. Most people use an electric mixer for this, but I use a whisk and whip thoroughly, 3-5 minutes, until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing each one into the batter before adding the next egg. Add chocolate and vanilla and mix until just combined. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately: flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour.

Pour batter into cake pans, about 3/4 full, and bake 25-35 minutes, depending how thick, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove cakes from oven and cool 15 minutes. Slide a narrow knife around edges of each one, then flip them out onto racks to finish cooling.

Heat milk in medium saucepan over medium heat. Beat together yolks, flour, 2/3 cup of the confectioners sugar and pinch of salt in medium bowl. Add milk in a stream while whisking. Transfer mixture to saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat while whisking. Reduce heat and simmer while whisking for approximately 2 minutes while the custard thickens, then use a rubber spatula to pour it into large bowl. Cover the surface of custard with plastic to prevent it from developing a skin, and allow to cool completely. You can stir it occasionally and put it into the fridge to cool it faster.

Add vanilla and remaining confectioners sugar to custard mixture and whisk together until well-combined. Continue mixing while adding the butter in small portions, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 cup at a time. Add melted chocolate and continue mixing until well-combined.

Cut the rounded tops off the cakes with a long knife. Pour the espresso evenly across the cakes, until there is a little espresso in ever bite. Be careful not to over-soak any of the cake or it will turn to mush. Frost the cake. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream.

Savor or Sweet for Brunch? Both.

2009-04-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

As seen at ChefsLine
12 Feb 2009

We’re lucky to have all weekend to plan a special surprise homemade meal for our lovers. As with every brunch decision - to be sweet or savory is the question. One solution is to go for both! And this weekend bonus chops go for serving the meal in bed. What follows are two of my favorite brunch dishes - each easy enough to prepare and enjoy in one sitting. You can even (secretly) plan ahead and make the Blueberry Compote and Maple Whipped Cream the night before.

· Crusty French Toast with Blueberry Compote and Maple Whipped Cream
· Savory “Polenta” Oatmeal with Peppered Bacon and an Egg

Crusty French Toast
This recipe is similar to standard French toast, but instead of dipping the bread into the egg mixture, you lightly spoon it onto each side, so that some of the edges are crunchy and the center doesn’t absorb too much liquid.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 slices artisan bread, brioche, or croissants - about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
2 tbsp. unsalted butter - cut in half
Method:
Heat oven to 200 degrees. In a pie plate, whip together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and salt. Place two slices of bread egg mixture and soak for 30 seconds. Spoon the egg mixture onto one side, spreading it around with the back of the spoon. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl to coat and avoid burning. Place bread, soaked side down in skillet and cook about 2 - 3 minutes. Spoon the egg mixture onto the other side of the bread before turning (after bread turns golden) Place cooked toast on a plate and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining toast.

Blueberry Compote
This a quick and easy feature for brunch featuring a blueberry compote you can make the night before served over French toast. Note, a slightly sweet and open crumb bread such as brioche or Challah work best. Serves 2.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, unthawed
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
Method:
Combine 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar, water, and coriander in heavy small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup berries. Cook until compote coats spoon, stirring often, about 3 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.) Serve warm.

Maple Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup whipping cream
4 tsp maple syrup (use the real thing)
Method:
Chill a bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least an hour (this encourages the whipping process). Add cream to bowl and whip to soft peaks. While still beating, gradually add maple syrup and beat to stiff peaks. Store in bowl with plastic wrap on top to store overnight and whip briefly before serving.

Savory Polenta-Style Oatmeal
Ingredients:
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmigiana Reggiano
1 Tablespoon chopped sweet basil or other fresh herb.
Method:
Boil 4 cups of the broth in a medium saucepan. Add the oatmeal. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a bout 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are tender, soft and creamy. Add more broth if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and basil, and ladle into bowls. Serve with peppered bacon and a fried egg (sunny side up) on top.

Ever-popular Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2009-04-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you have ever found yourself eating hors d'oeuvres at a high-end function, you may have noticed some version of these little guys being passed around. There’s a perfectly good reason for their popularity: they are absolutely delectable.

Whether you follow this recipe to the letter or borrow tidbits here and there, you will make a lot of friends with this low-carb, low-fat, easy-to-make classic. They are always a crowd favorite, whether as appetizers or as an entree, and appeal to just about every palate.

You can buy traditional pesto sauce in a jar, or make it from scratch:

Pesto alla Genovese

Ingredients:
3 medium cloves garlic
3 cups fresh basil leaves
¾ cup fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ¼ cup Parmigiana Reggiano
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F, and roast the pine nuts for 5 minutes, until golden brown (alternate method – toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan, but be very careful not to burn them).
Puree the garlic in a food processor, then add the pine nuts and herbs and spin them until just chopped. With the blades running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. May be made up to a week ahead of time. When ready to use, add the cheese and process until well mixed.

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter (roughly)

1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (see above)

2 bunches of spinach, cleaned and stems removed

4-5 shallots, finely chopped

¾ cup ricotta cheese

2 egg yolks

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

5-6 thin slices of prosciutto, cut in half

5-6 whole boneless chicken breasts, cut in half and flattened out¼ cup lemon juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line the bottom of a baking pan with butter and set aside.

Steam the spinach for 1-3 minutes. You can easily do this by tossing the freshly rinsed spinach into a large pan, covering and heating over medium heat. Then remove the pan from the heat and add ice water to shock the spinach and stop it from continuing to cook. Wring the spinach dry with a clean towel and chop medium-fine.

Put a little butter and the shallots into a sauté pan and cook over medium heat until translucent.

Combine the spinach, shallots, pine nuts, ricotta cheese, pesto sauce egg yolks, pepper and ¼ cup of butter in a large bowl, and taste for seasoning. Place a piece of prosciutto on each breast, then spread the pesto mixture evenly over each breast. Fold each breast over in half and place in the baking dish.

Mix together the lemon juice with an equal portion of melted butter, and baste over each breast. Put the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, basting occasionally with the juices that drip into the pan.

When it’s done, allow to set for 5-10 minutes. Then cut each breast on a bias into ½-inch pieces and serve, either as an entrée or on a platter as an hors d'oeuvre. You can stick a toothpick into each piece to hold it together.

The Perfect 3-Act Omelet

2009-04-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

as seen at ChefsLine, the Culinary Hotline

With the end of winter come the first of the new year’s sun-fortified flavors, and what better way to showcase them than with that deconstructed designer dish, the omelet? They’re easy, quick, and low-carb/low-fat. No need for a recipe here (although I included one below anyway), just a few tips to help get the best effect out of your eggs and spring ingredients with notes.

Act 1: Mis en place. Meaning, prep everything you will need for the omelet. Once the eggs go into the pan things move pretty fast so advance prep is key. Your tasks include: beat together eggs and milk or cream. Notes: Beat thoroughly for fluffier omelets. And, don’t add salt yet – it makes the eggs chewy. Chop vegetables into a small dice. Grate the cheese. Slice fish if you are using any. Assemble tools: two sauté pans (or one and a steamer), a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a heat-resistant rubber spatula.

Act 2: Steam or sauté your veggies. While steaming, also include your choice of fresh herbs, salt and fresh ground pepper. If you are incorporating fresh fish, let the other ingredients cook half way before introducing it to heat, since it will cook very fast. If you are using mushrooms (which I happen to love), go ahead and sauté them thoroughly to really bring out their distinct flavors. If you are using spinach, wait until the last second to add it in with your other vegetables. Leave avocados raw.

Act 3: Build an omelet. First, drop some extra virgin olive oil into a small sauté pan over medium heat, making sure it gets spread evenly across the whole pan. Ladle in some of the egg batter, depending on how large you want the omelet to be (less is more). Carefully tilt the pan into circles over the flame so that the eggs spread and cook evenly and slowly. Using a rubber spatula, you can poke the egg so that runny parts cook faster or to pull the egg from the sides of the pan. Gently lift slower cooking bits of egg to ensure it all cooks evenly. Your omelet is ready for the additional ingredients when the egg still appears liquid on the top of the omelet.

Sprinkle grated cheese over one half of the eggs, following with the still-warm spring vegetables, just enough to cover one half side of the omelet. Note: if you are using fish you may not want to use cheese. Using your spatula, carefully fold the empty half of the omelet over the over vegetable side. Heat through and plate it up! Garnish your dish with fresh herbs, tomatoes, pepper flakes, grated or crumbled cheese, cucumbers, melon, scallions or chives, sour cream, and/or hot sauce.

Other choice spring omelet ingredients include: most fresh herbs, mushrooms, artichokes, arugula, asparagus, avocados, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chives, corn, eggplant, green onions, leeks, peas, zucchini, summer squash, spinach, mussels, oysters, cod, flounder, halibut, salmon, sole, and trout.

Chef Adam’s Salmon Omelet Recipe:

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/8 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces fresh salmon
1/4 cup chopped morel mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Thoroughly whisk the eggs, sour cream, tarragon and a little pepper (no salt yet).
Sprinkle the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Heat a saute pan over high heat and add a little olive oil. When the oil starts to smoke a little, add the salmon and let sear for about two minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium and add a little more oil and the morels, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushroom aroma becomes pronounced (other mushrooms ought to be more well-done to bring out their flavor, but morels are delicate and can burn fairly easily). The mushrooms and salmon can be done ahead, so that the omelet is much easier, quicker and more convenient to make for brunch.

Preheat a new saute pan over medium heat (a clean pan will prevent the eggs from sticking), add the butter, and spread it around with a spatula (I like to use a heat-resistant rubber spatula) for an even coating. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and, holding the pan over the flame, tilt the pan in circles to cook the eggs evenly. You can move the uncooked portions of egg around with the spatula to help them cook evenly. Add the salmon and mushrooms, positioning them over one half of the eggs. Carefully fold the other side over and turn the omelet out onto a plate. Garnish with sour cream and chives.

Eat It!

2009-04-10T19:32:00.001-07:00