Food Afar

Elephant Hill's Shortbread and Lemon Tian, Lemon Sherbet and Lemon Confit

2012-01-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Elephant Hill Winery and Restaurant

Elephant Hill may be the newest winery in the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand's North Island, but it is quickly gathering a reputation for fine wines and the sustainable and eco-friendly way they are grown.

Like many Hawkes Bay wineries, Elephant Hill has a restaurant where visitors can enjoy the wines as they are meant to be - with food. Very good food. Executive Chef Ashley Jones put together a superb luncheon, but we all raved about dessert with its grand combination of lemon and textures.

Note: To read more about Elephant Hill and other Hawke's Bay wineries as well as the area itself, go to my blogs at Travel on the Levelv

Naturally, I asked for the recipe and with typical Kiwi good will and hospitality it was shared. It's a bit of a challenge but anyone you feed it to will be wowed. Enjoy.

Elephant Hill's Lemon Tian

Lemon confit:

Ingredients:

Ø 5 lemons

Ø 2/3 lbs. Castor Sugar (approx. 3 cups)

Ø 2/3 cup (scant) water

Ø 1/2 cup (scant) Glucose (available at health food stores)

Ø 1/2 Vanilla pod, cut lengthwise.

Method:

1. Add water, sugar and glucose together and bring to boil for 5 minutes. Set aside.

2. Slice lemons to less than 1/8 inch thick. Blanch and refresh the slices three times to reduce the acidity and bitterness.

3. Soak blanched lemon slices in cooled sugar syrup in a large tray with the vanilla pod for 2 hours.

4. Cook in an electric oven at 280 degrees F. for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally until sugar syrup is reduced to a thick consistency similar to marmalade.

Lemon Curd:

Ingredients:

Ø 3 cups (generous) Castor Sugar

Ø 3/4 lb. (very generous) Cold Butter, cubed.

Ø 8 Whole Eggs

Ø 8 Egg Yolks

Ø 2/3 cup Lemon Juice

Ø 3 Lemons, Zest of

Ø 3 Gelatine Leaves (gelatin powder can be substituted)

Method:

1. Gently whisk all egg products with the castor sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl.

2. Place this mixture over a double boiler and start to cook out, whisking continuously.

3. As the mix gets hot, add in half the quantity of cubed butter, cube by cube to prevent curdling. When the mixture resembles the consistency of thick mayonnaise, take off heat and add the remaining quantity of butter and lemon zest.

4. Soak Gelatine leaves in cold water until softened, squeeze out the water and add to your egg mixture, incorporate with a whisk.

5. Finally Strain the mix through a fine conical strainer to remove any inconsistencies and refrigerate.

Lemon Sable:

Ingredients:

Ø 1 cup Confectioner's sugar

Ø 1 cup (generous) Butter, at room temperature

Ø 3/4 (generous) Ground Almond

Ø 5 cups (scant) Plain Flour, sieved with ground almond

Ø 2 Lemons, zest of

Method:

1. Cream butter, lemon zest and icing sugar until pale in a mixer.

2. Incorporate your sieved flour and ground almond into the butter and sugar; be careful not to overwork as the dough will become tough when cooking.

3. Form into a rectangular shape so it will become easy to roll out, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes to allow the pastry to rest.

4. Take out chilled dough; let it come to room temperature before rolling. Roll out to desired thickness and cut into desired shape and bake on a silicone mat at 330-340 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Don’t forget to dock your pastry with a fork as this helps the cooking process.

Lemoncello Sherbet

Ingredients:

Ø 2 1/2 cup Castor Sugar

Ø 1 cup (generous) Water

Ø 21 cup (generous) Lemon juice

Ø 1/3 cup (scant) Crème Fraiche

Ø 5 lemons, Zest of

Method:

1. Boil water and sugar for 5 minutes, take of heat and allow to cool but keep warm.

2. Whisk in lemon juice, zest and crème fraiche until fully incorporated.

3. Put into containers and freeze.

Lemon Fizzy

Note: This is a bit like gilding the lily. It did add a different texture in the mouth but the dessert would be pretty spectacular without it.

Ingredients:

Ø 100g Fizzy (el bulli textures range; can be bought online)

Ø 5 cups Castor sugar

Ø 3/4 cup (generous) Water

Ø 5 lemons, zest of

Method:

1. Boil sugar and water until a temperature of a 140®C is reached, take off heat.

2. Add Fizzy and lemon zest immediately and incorporate. Pour onto a greased tray quickly as sugar will begin to swell in volume.

3. Allow to set and then grind into a powder.

4. Use as desired. This has the effect of that fizziness you would find in traditional sherbet.

Assembly:

Pipe small amounts of curd onto a round bowl plate to hold the tian in place. Lay one sable pastry disc in the center, pipe lemon curd in a circular fashion on it, add a second disc and repeat the piping. Add a third disc without the curd.

Cut three cubes of lemon confit and place in a triangular fashion around the plate. Sprinkle the ground fizzy on top of the finished tian to hold the sorbet in place. finish with a scoop of the lemon sorbet.

NOTE: Taste as you go along - this recipe has been converted from metric measurements and we all know that's an inexact science.
To simplify, you could buy the lemon curd and substitute regular shortbread,but it won't be the same.

Prize-winning Datil Pepper Feisty Fiesta Cheesecake

2012-01-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

Stella Brown

When Hot Shot Bakery in St. Augustine, FL, announced a Spicy Holiday Heat recipe contest, Stella Brown had the perfect entry. Everyone else thought so too and she won.

Stella Brown’s Datil Pepper Feisty Fiesta Cheesecake

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream (divided)
1 package taco seasoning mix
3 eggs, room temperature
1 TBS. Datil Pepper 2nd Degree Burn Sauce
2/3 cups salsa
1 package blue corn chips with flax seeds

Heat oven to 350.

Combine cream cheese and shredded cheese in large bowl. Beat until fluffy.
Stir in 1 cup sour cream and taco seasoning mix.

Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Fold in datil pepper sauce and pour into a 9” spring form pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until center is firm. Remove from oven and cool for ten minutes.

Spoon remaining sour cream over cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate several hours.

Before serving, remove sides of spring form pan and top with salsa.
Serve with taco chips or blue corn chips.

Note from Stella: This is a recipe that can be served easily. The recipe has been developed over many years; I have substituted the datil pepper sauce for a feisty taste. It looks attractive and can also be served sliced with chips. It freezes well so it can be made in advance!

Note from me: You could substitute another hot sauce, but make it a datil pepper one.

How to Publish Your Own Cookbook

2012-01-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

If you've always dreamed of publishing a cookbook let the pros at a two-day workshop stir your creative juices and give you the how-to's to write that cookbook and get it published, whether commercially or as a family keepsake.

From Pantry to Published: The 2-Day Legacy Workshop March 13 and 14 brings together successful cookbook authors, a professional food photographer and an expert in publishing and marketing who will set you on the way.

The setting is the historic oceanfront Casa Marina Hotel in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, where Chef Aaron Webb will introduce you to his award-winning New Beach Cuisine.

Sessions include

• Writing for Success with Patricia Mack, cookbook author and award-winning journalist - Honing your writing skills, developing a "voice" and unique style, organizing materials, recipe testing protocols and recipe writing techniques.

• Collecting Memories with Belinda Hulin, author of six cookbooks including the much-praised Roux Memories, A Cajun-Creole Love Story with Recipes - How to gather the elements, interview and collect stories to spice up your recipes and recreate recipes you thought were lost.

• Food Photography - Planning and Producing with Cheryl Balara - Developing the "look" of your cookbook, strategies for a photo shoot, post-production skills, reviewing and delivering final images professionally.

• Publishing - Putting it all Together with Sherrie Wilkolaski - How to publish from start to finish, marketing your cookbook, how to get your book on Amazon, in bookstores and specialty sales channels.

Pricing
Accommodations, the full 2-day workshop, 2 breakfasts, lunch, wine tasting and Chef's Dinner are priced accordingly:

Accommodations in a Deluxe Room - $425.

Accommodations in a Parlor Suite - $465.

Workshop, 2 breakfasts, lunch, wine tasting and Chef's Dinner only - $290.

For information and workshop reservations, contact Leigh Cort, leighcort@bellsouth.net or 904-806-3613.

Red Snapper Mojito - Low Cal, High Taste

2011-12-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

Pacific Princess Executive Chef Antonio Cortese won top honors in the "Heart Healthy" category of the Sixth Annual Bacardi Bartender & Chef Cruise Competition for his Red Snapper Mojito. The Princess Cruises chef graciously shared his recipe and here it is, just in time for our New Year's resolutions.

Red Snapper Mojito

Serves 4
Marinade
1 tsp. brown sugar
2 TBS. lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. mint leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

8 oz. red snapper filet, skinless and boneless, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

In a medium bowl whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, olive oil, mint leaves and salt. Add red snapper pieces and toss lightly to coat evenly with the marinade. Set aside in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Garnish
1 mango, not overly ripe, peeled and cut in small, thin strips.
1 avocado, quartered, peeled with stone removed.
Whole mint leaves
Place mango strips in the bottom of 4 serving glasses. Thinly slice avocados lengthwise. Place three slices along the inside of each glass, overlapping slightly to form a fan shape.

Mojito
1 TBSP. whole mint leaves
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 lime, thinly sliced crosswise in half moon shapes.
3 TBS. Bacardi Superior Puerto Rican rum
1 cup crushed ice
In a small bowl, place whole mint leaves, brown sugar and lime slices. Muddle the mixture with the back of a spoon. Add rum and ice. Mix quickly to combine. Pour, straining out ice, over marinated red snapper. Divide mixture evenly between prepared serving glasses. Garn ish with whole mint leaves and serve immediately.

Prize-winning Shrimp Recipe

2011-12-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

Pam Gordon

Pam Gordon of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, whipped up the winning dish in the 2011 Wild Caught Georgia Shrimp Contest.

Eagle Island Lodge

Sponsored by Private Islands of Georgia owner/developer Capt. Andy Hill, the dish is full of flavor and easy to prepare. Just what you want whether vacationing on a private island or looking for dinnertime inspiration at home.

Tangy Honeyed Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp
2 TBS. peanut oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. peeled, minced ginger root
1 10 oz. can chicken broth
1 TBS. cornstarch
2 TBS. honey
2 TBS. catsup
1 TBS. white vinegar
1 TBS. rice wine or dry sherry
1 TBS. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
1 TBS. sesame oil
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 tsp. cilantro, chopped

Remove shell and de-vein shrimp; drain on paper towels. Pour peanut oil into preheated wok, coating sides, and heat on high form 1 minute. Add shrimp, garlic and ginger root. Cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp turn pink, about 8 minutes.

Combine broth and next 7 ingredients, stirring until smooth. Add to shrimp mixture and stir constantly. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Stir in sesame oil, green onions and cilantro, cooking until thoroughly heated. Serve over rice.

Christmas Cookies German Style

2011-12-12T06:17:00.000-08:00

Cookies are as much a part of Christmas fare as candy canes, fruit cake and eggnog and no one seems to do it quite like the Germans. Thanks to the German Tourist Office and fellow traveler Kristi Casey Sanders, here are some traditional German cookie recipes.

Nürnberger Lebkuchen
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups unpeeled almonds, coarsely grated
1/3 cup candied orange peel, finely chopped
1 lemon, grated for peel, juice reserved
1/4 whole nutmeg, grated
Confectioner's sugar
rose water if you can find it
edible baking paper

Beat eggs and sugar until they have the consistency of thick cream. To this gradually add almonds, candied orange peel, lemon peel and nutmeg. Place wafers on baking sheet and spoon dough onto paper. Dough should be about 1/2" high. Smooth dough with a knife dipped into rose water. Bake in a pre-heated 325-350° oven for 10-15 minutes or until bread-like. Remove cookies and let cool. Meanwhile, mix Confectioner's sugar with lemon juice to form a paste. Frost cookies.

Cinnamon Stars or Zimtsterne
2 1/4 cups whole almonds (a little over 1 lb.)
5 egg whites
2 cups Confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Kirschwasser (cherry Schnapps)
star pattern cookie cutter

Scald almonds with boiling water, remove their skins and let cool. Grind finely. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in Confectioner's sugar and set aside 1 cup of the egg and sugar mixture. Fold in ground almonds, cinnamon and the Kirschwasser, then quickly form a dough. Let the dough rest covered for one hour in the refrigerator.

Cover a work surface with sugar and roll out the chilled dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out stars. Cover each star evenly with the reserved egg and sugar mixture, place on an ungreased cookie sheet and let the uncooked cookies dry overnight at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 425° F and bake for 5 minutes. Check the cookies often while baking so the top stays white and the insides remain soft.

Vanilla Crescents or Vanillekipferl
3 1/2 TBS. unpeeled almonds
3-1/2 TBS. hazelnuts
1-1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup, plus 6 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces
2 egg yolks
5 packets vanilla sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar.

Pour boiling water over the almonds, remove the skins and finely chop. Finely chop the hazelnuts. Sift the flour onto a large wooden board. Make a well in the flour and add the almonds, hazelnuts, sugar, salt, butter and egg yolks. Knead dough until it is smooth and pliable, but do not over knead.

Wrap the dough in aluminum foil and let rest for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Divide the dough and form into several pencil-thick rolls. Cut the rolls into 2-inch lengths and bend into crescent shapes. Place on cookie sheets and bake on middle rack until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Stir the vanilla sugar and powdered sugar together in a shallow bowl. Carefully dip the still warm crescent cookies in the sugar.

Tip: to store the cookies so they won't break, stack them lengthwise between wax paper in a cookie tin.

You asked, Ashford Answered with Recipe

2011-12-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Ashford Castle, County Mayo, Ireland

Reader Pat from visited Ashford Castle, fell in love with the chef's Connemara Smoked Salmon with Lime Jam and Cream Cheese and seeing another Ashford recipe on Food Afar asked if I could possibly get this one. I contacted Suzanne Meyers at Geoffrey Weill, Ashford's PR firm, and voila! here it is.

The first trick is to find a good substitute for organic salmon smoked in the Connemara Smoke House. Second is to prepare the jam and cream cheese. After that it's a snap.

Ashford Castle Connemara Smoked Salmon, Lime Jam and Cream Cheese

Note: Taste to fine tune flavors; measurements have been translated from metrics.

Lime Jam
20 portions

3 1/3 cups skinless lime
1 1/4 cup sugar
60 lime segments (6 limes)

Cook skinless limes with sugar - sugar may caramelize a bit at the beginning - gently for about 10 minutes.

Strain and chill. Store chilled, labelled and dated. Shelf life: 5 days for chilled jam, 3 days for segments.

Lime Jam Cream Cheese

2 cups (generous) medium fat cream cheese
4 1/2 TBS lime jam

Combine the two ingredients. Store chilled, labeled and dated. Shelf life: chilled 7 days.

To plate:
3 slices brown soda bread
2 scant TBS lime jam cream cheese
3-4 oz. organic smoked salmon
3 lime segments
lime jam

Spread lime jam cream cheese on bread. Layer each bread slice generously with thinly sliced smoked salmon, topping with one lime segment per slice.

Serve a little lime jam in a side dish.

Try not to ooh and aah with your mouth open.

Thanks, Pat, for bringing this delicious-sounding combination to my attention. If anyone else yearns to recreate flavors from their travels, email the name of the dish and where you had it and I'll see what I can do.

Fried Sweet Dough Sweet Potato Pie, Oh My

2011-11-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Fried Sweet Dough Sweet Potato Pies from Anna's Pies, Lake Charles, LA.

During a visit to Lake Charles, LA, a group of food and travel writers were served fried dough sweet potato pies. While savoring these chubby little half circles of comfort in the Ranier Gardens, I discovered they came from Anna's Pies where they are the house specialty.

Alas, Anna's recipe is secret and will remain so, but Megan Hartman was able to find a recipe that is close. According to Eric Cormier, food writer for American Press, these fried pies were every kid's favorite after-school snack.

Fried Sweet Dough Sweet Potato Pies

Crust
2 eggs
1/4 pound butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour

Combine eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla in a food processor and pulse together until the ingredients are well-mixed. Sift the baking powder and flour together and add this to the processor, combining until they form a ball. Wrap dough in plastic and allow to rest, refrigerated, for an hour. Roll into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter with a thickness of 1/8th inch.

Filling
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 TBS. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Oil for deep-fat frying
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the seven filling ingredients; stir until smooth.

Divide the dough into 25 portions. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a 5-inch circle. Spoon 2 TBS. of filling on half of each circle. Moisten edges with water, fold dough over filling and press edges with a fork to seal. Prick tops with a fork 4-5 times.

In a skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 375 degrees. Fry pies, a few at a time, for 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. Change oil during process as necessary. Store in the refrigerator.

Don't worry about storing; they won't last long.

Ember Maque Choux

2011-11-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

When you visit Lake Charles, LA, you expect to find Cajun cuisine and L'Auberge Casino Resort is no exception. Even at Ember Grille and Wine Bar, the facility's top-shelf steak room, you will find that touch of Cajun. In this case it was an excellent, mild Maque Choux.

Here's the recipe.
L'Auberge Casino Resort

Ember Grille Maque Choux

2 cups fresh corn
1/2 TBS. shallot, minced
1 TBS. butter
1/4 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 TBS. chives
10 each heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat saute pan, add butter and saute shallots until translucent. Add cream and reduce by half.

When reduced, add tomatoes, chives, salt and pepper. Heat through and serve.

Yumm.

Mike Dean's Yellowstone Stuffed Tomatoes

2011-11-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

When noshing with the Yellowstone National Park execs at Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge, I asked for two other recipes. The secret of the delicious vegetarian stuffed mushrooms went with the chef who prepared them then left for another cooking opportunity elsewhere.

However, the stuffed tomatoes came from the creative mind of Mike Dean, executive sous chef for Yellowstone National Park Lodges. Once again, it was from a made-on-the-spot, no recipe inspiration, but here's how he did it.

Mike Dean's Yellowstone Stuffed Tomatoes

Hollow out cherry tomatoes with a small melon baller.

Mince some garlic and shallots then sautee them in a little olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper. Allow to cool.

For the filling, start with a creamy chevre-style goat cheese, preferably from a local producer. Whip the goat cheese until smooth then fold in the sauteed garlic and shallots as well as some chopped fresh thyme, parsley and basil. Pipe the cheese mixture into the hollowed tomatoes.

Before serving, roast the pan of tomatoes at 400 degrees for a few minutes to warm the tomatoes and soften the cheese filling.

Yellowstone Apple Rings with Pumpkin Puree

2011-10-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge

A cocktail party thrown by our hosts, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, featured sustainable and regional fare from organic crimson lentils to organic wines and regional beers in light weight eco-friendly aluminum cans.

Chef Nobile
Everything was delicious but the Baked Apple Rings with Cinnamon Pumpkin Puree really wowed me. I asked Chef Joe Nobile for the recipe and he turned to its creator, Mike Dean, executive sous chef for the Yellowstone National Park Lodges.

Mike admitted this was the first time he'd ever written actual recipes, apologizing for the informality of the recipes and adding "sometimes for special events we don't write recipes because they often won't be used again. Sometimes we actually get to 'just cook' and not be constrained to recipes."

This informal gathering of travel writers and park personnel fit into both categories so I'm going to relay the recipe just as Mike emailed it to me.

Mike Dean's Yellowstone Park Baked Apple Rings with Cinnamon Pumpkin Puree

Cinnamon Toast Circles
Cut small rounds of white bread, lightly fry in melted butter over medium-high heat. When fried crispy and golden, sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture.

Pumpkin Puree
This is simple; take a can of commercially produced pumpkin pie filling and whip it with asmall amount of whipping cream, a pinch of cinnamon and some powdered sugar to the sweetness tyou desire.

Apple rounds
Simple but can be tedious (which means you probably won't find this dessert on lodge menus).
Cut Granny Smith apples into rounds across the core. Use two different sized cutters. The first should be the same size as the bread rounds and remove the peel and outer section of the apple. The second should remove the seeds and core, leaving a hollow apple disc.
Lightly dredge this disc with cinnamon sugar then place on a parchment paper-lined baking pan and bake in a 375-degree oven about 12 minutes or until the apple is tender and beginning to brown.

To assemble
Spread a little pumpkin puree on each bread round to allow the apple and bread to stick together, then pipe a dollop of the pumpkin mixture into the apple to fill it. At this point, garnish as you like, with a small dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkle of nutmeg or anything else to to make them "pretty".

Don't expect any leftovers.

Travel Bargain Hunters Alert

2011-10-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

The annual Society of American Travel Writers is open and everyone is welcome to bid on fabulous packages to great resorts, including foodies' specials such as ....

Culinary Connectors tour

A Culinary Connectors' behind-the scenes-tour for two to neighborhood gems and top restaurants in Denver, Boulder or Aspen.

Italiaoutdoors Cooking Class

Italiaoutdoors USA private cooking class for eight at your home in northeast U.S.A.

Taormina, Sicily

A one-week Italian Language and Cooking class from Cactus Language in Taormina, Sicily, Italy.

Give it a try. Go to www.satw.org and click on SATW 2011 Auction Live. Bidding ends Nov. 20.

Reynolds Plantation Quail Breasts

2011-10-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Reynolds Plantation is a little bit of heaven sprawled along the shores of Lake Oconee between Atlanta and Athens, GA. With six courses and the elite TaylorMade Kingdom it's known as a golf destination but also offers fishing, tennis, a Ritz-Carlton spa and some remarkable cuisine.

I was fortunate enough to be a guest there when Chef de Cuisine Eric Fulkerson was showcasing his staff's abilities. During a reception at the resort's Heritage and Nature Center, they passed country fried breasts of quail with golden tomato and bacon jam that disappeared as quickly as they emerged from the kitchen. Try it yourself and you'll soon see why.

Reynolds Plantation Country Fried Quail Breasts with Golden Tomato and Bacon Jam

Quail Breasts
6 single-lobe quail breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt and pepper
1 tsp. dry ranch dressing
4 large eggs, whisked together
1/2 cup seasoned flour
1/4 cup corn meal
3/4 cup corn oil

Make sure quail breasts are split and cartilage removed; trim any fat but do not remove the skin.

In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and pepper with the ranch seasoning. Mix 1/2 cup of this with the corn meal in another bowl.

Add oil to a frying pan and place on medium heat; allow to heat for about 2 minutes without smoking.

Coat the quail with flour, shaking off the excess. Dip in the egg then into the corn meal mix, again shaking off the excess. Gently place coated breasts into the hot oil. Cook for one minute, turn and cook for another minute. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Arrange cooked breasts on a plate topping each with a teaspoon of Tomato and Bacon Jam.

Golden Tomato and Bacon Jam

Makes 1 pint ( 16 2-tablespoon servings)

1 lb. smoked bacon
2 lbs. very ripe yellow tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 TBS. cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat cook the bacon until almost rendered, not too crispy, about 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels and drain excess fat.

In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, onion, sugar, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat to medium, Crumble the bacon into the tomato mixure.

Simmer until very thick, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Let the jam cool then ladle into jars. Can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If freezing, divide the jam among several small jars. When ready to use, let a jar thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Bernibrooks Breakfast: Oven Baked Pancake

2011-10-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

Karen Berni, proprietor of historic Bernibrooks Inn in Abbeville, S. C., is a collector. In addition to antique furniture, china, pottery and mid-century modern decorative ceramics, recipes are among her favorites.

Morning two of my stay at Bernibrooks I was still full from the Campground Cookoff judging (more about that in later posts), but when Karen brought out the puffy oven-baked pancake, there was no way I was going to miss it.

You won't want to either.

Bernibrooks Inn Oven Baked Pancake
Serves 2

3 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
2 TBS. margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
2 TBS. sugar
2 TBS. sliced almonds
2 TBS. lemon juice
2 TBS. margarine

Beat eggs at medium speed with electric blender until blended. Gradually add flour, beating until smooth. Add milk, 2 TBS. melted margarine and salt. Beat until smooth. Pour mixture into a greased 10" baking dish or cast iron skillet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until pancake is puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with the sugar and almonds.

Combine the remaining 2 TBS. margarine and lemon juice, heating until margarine melts. Serve over the hot pancake. Best served straight from the oven while it holds that "souffle" look.

Bernibrooks Inn B&B Breakfast Recipes: Toasty Baked Oatmeal

2011-10-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

Karen Berni in front of her antebellum National Register-listed home and inn.

Southerners believe in a good breakfast and Karen Berni, proprietor of Bernibrooks Inn in Abbeville, S.C., is no exception.

Eating was the last thing I had in mind when I came down that first morning. In a matter of hours I would be judging the entrees and desserts prepared by 28 teams entered in the South Carolina Campground Cookoff.

"I don't know how to cook just a little," said Karen.

Nor was I able to eat just a little of her delectable dishes.

Here's the first, a great way to sneak in a healthy start on the day for your kids.

Toasty Baked Oatmeal

Combine in a large bowl:

2 cups regular rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans)
1/3 cup dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, dates or pineapple)

In another bowl whisk together:

1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 TBS. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine liquids with oat mixture. Pour into a sprayed 8" square pan or 10" quiche pan. Bake at 325 degrees until liquid is absorbed and top is light golden, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with cream fruit sauce, maple or caramel syrup.

Chesapeake's Favorite Quaff

2011-09-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Orange Crush is hot stuff along the western shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. Not the Nehi of old, but the adult beverage of today. Versions ranged from Wow! to Huh? depending on whether the bar tender used fresh or canned orange juice.

Here's the recipe as prepared at the Chesapeake Beach Resort.

Chesapeake Bay Orange Crush

1 1/2 oz. orange vodka
2 oranges, juiced
1 1/2 oz. Triple Sec
Sprite

Start with the vodka, add the Triple Sec, then the orange juice and finally, top with Sprite.

Call it your anti-cold tonic.

Presidential Beans

2011-09-15T04:51:00.000-07:00

President Teddy Roosevelt loved everything about the great outdoors - riding, fishing, hunting and eating - so naturally he fell in love with Yellowstone National Park. In 1919-20, 20 years after the president first visited the park, Roosevelt Lodge was built on the site of the old tented Camp Roosevelt near the North gate, known for its Roosevelt Arch.

Roosevelt Lodge is still popular with today's visitors and so are the famous Roosevelt Beans served there.

Here's the recipe for your favorite outdoorsmen.

Roosevelt Beans

Serves 8-12

1 pound hamburger or sausage
1/2 pound bacon in 1/2-inch dice
1 onion, 1/2-inch dice
1 16 oz. can pork and beans
1 12-oz. can kidney beans
1 12-oz. can Lima beans
1 12-oz. can butter beans
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBS. cider vinegar
1 TBS. prepared mustard
1/2 cup Ketchup
salt and pepper to taste

Fry meats; drain fat. Saute onion with meat. Stir in next 10 ingredients. (For a thicker dish, drain liquid from beans.)
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with cornbread.

Ron's Cowboy Beans

2011-09-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

When Ron Reed of Clark, Wyoming isn't serving as the chuckwagon cook for round-ups or wrangling, you will see him cooking up Dutch oven biscuits, cowboy beans and cowboy coffee and giving samples to the dudes who wander by his chuckwagon outside the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming.

All of this is typical on-the-range fare for cowboys, now and in the past. The biscuits - they'd been sitting off the fire for a few hours - were on the dry side but perfect for sopping up the last bit of the delicious cowboy beans.

Here's the recipe for your favorite range riders.

Ron's Cowboy Beans

6 cups pinto beans

1 cup crisp bacon, crumbled

softball sized onion, chopped

2 TBS chili powder

Soak the beans overnight. Rinse. Put beans in a heavy pot - cast iron if you have it - and cover with water. Toss in all other ingredients and cook over medium to low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring and adding water as needed.

Season to taste and serve with your own corn bread or biscuits.

Reader request: Connemara Smoked Salmon with Lime Jam and Cream Cheese on Brown Soda Bread

2011-09-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ask and you receive, thanks to the generous chefs at Ashford Castle in Ireland. When a reader emailed asking for a recipe I turned to the castle's U.S. PR rep Susan Meyers at Geoffrey Weill Associates in New York.

Faster than you could dance a reel or three she had it and a photo which, sadly, did not download.

So here you are, Pat. I've translated metrics into ounces and tablespoons so taste-test to what you remember.

Ashford Castle's Connemara Smoked Salmon with Lime Jam and Cream Cheese on Brown Soda Bread

3 slices brown soda bread

2 3/4 TBS lime jam cream cheese (see recipe below)

3 ounces organic smoked salmon

3 lime segments

1 ounce (scant) lime jam (see recipe below)

Spread lime jam cream cheese on bread. Layer with luxurious amount of smoked salmon and top with 1 lime segment per slice of bread.

Serve lime jam in side dish for dipping.

Lime Jam

20 portions

2 cups (generous) skinless lime

1 1/2 cup sugar

60 lime segments (10 per lime)

Cook skinless lime with sugar - sugar may caramelize slightly in the beginning - gently for about 10 minutes.

Strain and chill. Store chilled, labeled and dated.

Reheat when ready to use and add lime segments before serving. Jam keeps in refrigerator for 5 days, lime segments for 3.

Lime Cream

4 cups (generous) medium fat cream cheese

1/2 cup lime jam

Combine and store chilled, labelled and dated. Keeps for 7 days.

Malva Pudding from Sabi Sabi

2011-08-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

The cuisine of South Africa is as rich in exotic flavors as Malva Pudding. The recipe for this South African version of bread pudding is rich and flavorful. The photograph is of the malva pudding made at Steenberg Resort & Winery in Constantia but the recipe comes from Chef Ryan Weakly at Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge.

Malva Pudding

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 TBS apricot jam
2 cups flour
2 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 TBS. butter
2 tsp. white vinegar
2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat well eggs and sugar in a mixer. Add the jam.
Sift flour, soda, baking powder and salt.
Melt the butter and milk. Alternately add liquids and flour to the egg mixture. Add the vinegar and beat well until combined.

Pour into a greased, oven proof baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven.

Sauce

1 cup cream
scant 3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup brandy (optional)

Melt all together and pour over the pudding as it comes out of the oven.

What is limoncello and how to make it yourself

2011-08-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Limoncello, icy cold and served in a delicate glass, is Italy personified: sunny as the Amalfi Coast, sweet as tiramisu with the tartness of lemon and the perfect exclamation point to an alfresco meal.

The liqueur can be bought in a store but do as the Italians do and make your own. The "classic" recipe has as many variations as spaghetti sauce. This one from multiple sources including Food and Wine and Dream Wedding came to my attention via Italy Undiscovered: Food, Culture & Land of Le Marche.

Limoncello

10 medium to large lemons
1 liter grain alcohol 90°
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water

Wash the lemons well and remove yellow zest with a peeler. Do not include any of the bitter white part.

Mince peels and place in an air-tight jar. Add the alcohol, seal and date.

After 15 days, dissolve the sugar in a pot with the water, heating slowly. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

When sugar syrup is cool, mix it with the infused alcohol which should change in color from clear yellow to a cloudy yellow.

Twice filter the combined liquids through a cotton cloth into an air-tight jar. Transfer to a bottle, seal tightly and store in the freezer.

Alla salute.

Pork and Mango, a Sandwich for Success

2011-08-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Peter Island Resort on Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands is on many people's list - along with Conde Nast Traveler - as one of the best places in the world to stay.

It's also a very good place to eat, thanks in part to Executive Chef Lisa Sellers.

Here's her recipe for pulled pork which she pairs with grilled mango for a memorable sandwich.

Peter Island Pulled Pork for Pork and Grilled Mango Sandwich

1 Pork butt
2 1/2 TBS paprika
2 TBS salt
2 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS black pepper
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS cayenne powder
1 TBS dried oregano
1 TBS Thyme
1 TBS basil

Combine all ingredients and rub onto the pork butt. Place it fat side up on a roasting rack in a pan and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake in a 325-degree oven for 3-4 hours. Remove the foil and bake for another hour until pork is tender and pulls away easily with a fork.

Serve with grilled mango slices alone or as a sandwich.

By all means pair with bubbly the way they do on Peter Island.

Savor the flavors of South Carolina with Watermelon Margaritas

2011-08-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

South Carolina has a recently revised culinary site, www.savorsouthcarolina.com, that includes recipes like this one which we chose to take advantage of summer's produce and to sip to ward off the heat. The recipe comes from "Lee Bros, Simple Fresh Southern," by Matt and Ted Lee with photo by Bob Fink.

Watermelon Margaritas

Serves 8

4 lbs seedless watermelon
8 1-inch-long strips lime peel
Kosher salt
16 oz. (2 cups) fresh lime juice (from about 16 small limes)
16 oz. (2 cups) tequila blanco (silver tequila)
8 oz. (1 cup) Triple Sec, Cointreau or other orange liqueur

Cut away the rind, chop the seedless flesh into chunks and liquefy - in small batches if necessary - in a food processor or blender. You should have about one quart of watermelon juice.

Note: If you let it sit, the watermelon juice separates into a thick red pulp and a clearer liquid. To insure the pulp gives the drink a tongue-satisfying body, whisk the juice thoroughly before pouring it into the shaker.

For each cocktail, salt the rim of an 8-ounce glass by first smearing it with a piece of lime peel then dipping into a saucer of kosher salt. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add 4 ounces of tequila and 1 oz. of orange liqueur. Shake vigorously and strain into the glass. Garnish with lime peel.

Variation: Watermelon Lime Cooler. For the non-drinkers, omit the alcohol, pour the watermelon juice over ice and add a splash of seltzer.

The Shores' Dark Chocolate Ganache and Friends

2011-07-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Azure at The Shores

Our wine dinner at Azure in The Shores Resort & Spa, Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, presented superbly simple grilled courses perfect to a hot summer evening. Dessert, however, was an incredibly complicated, multi-part creation that sounded doomed to failure but tasted divine.

Alas, I have no photo and it's still a mystery how these disparate parts came together, but Chef Michael Archer's talented team turned out a tour de force of flavors that somehow worked and ended the meal with an indelibly sweet memory.

The title's a marathon, the calorie and carb levels are off the charts and the preparation of so many parts might be tedious but believe me, the result is worth it. If the parts are too daunting, the ganache and the frozen custard will sufficiently wow your guests.

Dark Chocolate Ganache, Mint & White Chocolate Frozen Custard, Hazelnut Toffee, Butter Cookie, Citrus Foam

Dark Chocolate Ganache
2 lbs. dark chocolate coins
8 oz. heavy cream

Bring cream to a boil, pour over chocolate coins and mix until smooth.
Line a small terrine dish with plastic film, pour mixture in and chill until solid. Cut as desired.

Mint & White Chocolate Frozen Custard
2 qts. heavy cream
1 cup Creme de Menthe
3 oz. fresh mint, chopped
2 egg yolks
2 oz. granulated sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate, melted
2 oz. peppermint candies, crushed

In a large saucepan heat creme de menthe until it reduces to a syrup. Add cream and mint and scald.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Temper in the cream until finally incorporated.

Return egg and cream mixture to saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and cool overnight.

Pour custard into a running ice cream maker and run for 30 minutes. In the last five minutes drizzle in white chocolate and crushed peppermint candies. Allow to set up overnight in freezer before serving.

Hazelnut Toffee
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts
2 TBS light corn syrup

In a small saucepan pver medium heat combine sugar, butter, hazelnuts and syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring to blend as the butter melts. Heat mixture to 250-260 degrees.

Pour mixture into a greased baking sheet and cool. Crumble for service.

Citrus Foam
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1 egg white

Combine all ingredients and beat with a hand blender until a foam forms on top. Scoop foam onto dish.

Butter Cookies
1 lb. 8 oz. butter, soft
6 oz. confectioners sugar
12 oz. granulated sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 lbs 4 oz. cake flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Using stand mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until flufy. Add confectioners sugar and continue mixing.

Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add vanilla extract and continue mixing.

Add flour until completely combined.

Place cookie dough into a piping bag with a plain tube tip. Pipe quarter-size onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes.

To serve, place small slice of ganache on a plate and add a scoop of the frozen custard. Sprinkle around toffee, topping the ganache with a dab of foam and adding a cookie.

Paired nicely with Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grilled Swordfish with Blood Orange and Thai Basil Salad and Roasted Summer Vegetable Couscous

2011-07-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

The main course of June's Wine Dinner in Azure at The Shores Resort & Spa, Daytona Beach Shores, FL, was a grilled swordfish steak that proved the finest ingredients cooked simply are always best. Especially for a hot weather meal.

We gave kudos to Executive Chef Michael Archer and your guests will give kudos to you when you serve this simply smashing entree.

Grilled Swordfish with Blood Orange and Thai Basil Salad
Four servings

4 7-oz swordfish steaks
2 TBS olive oil
3 blood oranges, peeled and sectioned
3 oz. Merlot
1/2 small red onion, julienned
1 oz. Thai basil (do not substitute Italian basil, the taste is very different), chiffonade
Salt and pepper to taste

Season swordfish steaks with salt and pepper and rub with 1 TBS of the olive oil. Grill to desired doneness (Remember, the fish is aleady dead!).

Pile Thai basil leaves together and slice into strips (that's chiffonade).

Combine blood orange sections, red onion and Thai basil. Toss with Merlot and remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Summer Vegetable Couscous
6 qts. water
2 cups Israeli couscous (again, don't substitute another kind of couscous)
2 ears of corn, grilled, kernels removed
1 zucchini, small dice
2 carrots, peeled, small dice
1 yellow squash, small dice
2 red bell peppers, small dice
2 TBS. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Add water to large pot and bring to a boil. Add couscous and cook until al dente. Strain couscous and hold for later.

Combine zucchini, carrots, yellow squash and red bell pepper in a bowl and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread vegetables onto a baking sheet and roast in a 350-degree oven for seven minutes.

In a large saute pan, heat remaining olive oil and add corn and roasted vegetables. Saute for one minute and add couscous. Saute together until couscous is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Nestle swordfish steaks with couscous, top with blood orange salad and serve.

Pair with Benziger Merlot.

To read my report on The Shores Resort & Spa, go to www.travelonthelevel.blogspot.com, the July 11 post.

Peach and Fennel Brochette a la The Shores

2011-07-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wine dinners can be a whole lot of nothing or memorable.

A recent wine dinner at Azure, the restaurant at The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, hit the memorable class from the arrival of a huge puff of Rosemary Bread and the Grilled Fennel & Peach Brochette with Benziger Sauvignon Blanc to the finale of Dark Chocolate Ganache, Mint & White Chocolate Frozen Custard, Hazelnut Toffee, Butter Cookie and Citrus Foam with Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon.

Executive Chef Michael Archer was generous and shared recipes with us so you can have a memorable grilled summer feast. I'll be posting them weekly. Let's start with Grilled Fennel & Peach Brochette, a surprisingly good combination of flavors.

The Shores' Grilled Fennel & Peach Brochette

2 fennel bulbs, well trimmed
4 peaches, peeled
2 cups sauvignon blanc
2 oz. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 TBS. salt
1 tsp. cracked black pepper

Combine sauvignon blanc, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl and hold as marinade.
Cut the fennel into quarters and remove the rot core. Cut the remaining fennel into roughly 1 1/2-inch pieces and add to marinade.
Remove pits from peaches and cut into quarters.
Place fennel and peaches, alternating, onto skewers (if wooden, soak overnight)
Grill brochettes until fennel is soft. Drizzle with the marinade and serve.

This paired nicely with a Benziger Sauvignon Blanc.

To read more about The Shores Resort & Spa and their wine dinners, go to my other blog, Travel on the Level.

NOTE: Next week, Char-Grilled Atlantic Swordfish with Blood Orange and Thai Basil Salas and Roasted Summer Vegetable Couscous.

Texas Hill Country Strawberry Dessert Pizza

2011-07-04T06:28:00.000-07:00

You don't have to be patriotic to appreciate this colorful dessert featured on the Texas Hill Country Facebook page.

Texas Hill Country Strawberry Dessert Pizza

1 - 16 oz package refrigerated cookie dough
2 - 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 - 16 oz container fresh strawberries, halved
1 - 13 oz container strawberry glaze (I use Marzetti's)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut cookie dough into 1/4 inch slices and arrange on a lightly greased 14 - 15 inch pizza pan. You can also layer foil over the pizza pan for easy cookie removal. Press the cookie dough pieces together to form a pizza crust. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until the cookie dough is cooked and golden brown. Let cookie crust cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust to within 1/2-inch from the cookie edge. Spread the strawberry glaze over the cream cheese mixture and top with strawberry halves. Serve immediately. Or, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Leftovers? You've gotta be kidding.

Morton's Red Velvet

2011-06-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Judging from your response to the Cunard Gin cocktails, everyone out there is thirsty so here's another drink recipe.

It's from Morton's, the steakhouse people, and is available at special times during the year, notably Valentines and Mother's Days. Here's the recipe so you can sip it any time.

The Red Velvet

2 oz. Lindeman's Raspberry Lambic
4 oz. Prosecco
.5 oz. chambord
1 raspberry
1 lemon peel

In a mixing glass stir in liquid ingredients with 2 ounces of ice for 5 seconds. Strain into a champagne flute. Squeeze lemon peel over glass and garnish with a fresh raspberry on a pick. And yes, the drink should have a foam cap.

The Cunard Queens' new Bombay Gin cocktails

2011-06-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

No one celebrates anniversaries, weddings or birthdays quite like the Brits, especially the royals. Right behind them in pomp and partying are the very British Cunard liners. And when the anniversaries include the 250th anniversary of Bombay Sapphire Gin, the blue bottle with Queen Victoria on the label, well, get out the jiggers, muddlers and glasses and whip up three royally inspired cocktails.

Sapphire English Tea (left in the photo) is a nod to that venerable English institution. The Middleton Fizz (center) is in honor of the newest royal bride and the Queen's Bouquet (right) is an homage to the myrtle traditionally included in royal wedding bouquets since the marriage of Queen Victoria in 1840.

Sapphire English Tea

1.5 oz. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Gin
½ oz. Earl Grey-infused honey syrup
Dash of angostura bitters
Orange zest
Muddle orange zest and stir all with ice in a Boston glass. If surrounded by those who think it's too early for adult beverages, serve over one large ice cube in a tea cup. Garnish with a wedge of lemon on the saucer.

The Queen's Bouquet

1.5 oz. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin
4 mint leaves
3 basil leaves
4 blackberries
½ oz. honey syrup
Muddle all and build/stir through with cracked ice in a stemmed rocks glass. Garnish with a blackberry and sprig of basil.

The Middleton Fizz

1.5 oz. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin
¼ oz BENEDICTINE® liqueur
1 tsp. sugar substitute
½ oz. fresh lime juice
4 blueberries
3 raspberries
Shake all with ice and serve in a Collins glass over ice and top with Prosecco. Garnish with assorted berries and mint sprig.

To the queens, ruling or sailing, past and present.

Easy Summer Salsa

2011-05-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Jorge Sierra, chef at Velas Vallarta's Andrea, whips up a Pico de Gallo Salsa perfect for your summer's nachos, tortillas and quesadillas. Just in case you can't make it to the Puerto Vallarta, Mexico resort in person, here's the recipe.

Velas Vallarta Pico de Gallo Salsa

7 tomatoes
1/2 large white onion
4 tsp. cilantro
2 serrano chiles
1 oz olive oil
1 oz. lime juice
salt
ground black pepper

Dice the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and chiles. Mix with the olive oil and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Si, no-sweat easy.

Risotto with asparagus and pink sparkling wine peppery mussels

2011-05-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

Imago, the Hotel Hassler Roma's Michelin-starred restaurant, has a new menu for spring. Chef Francesco Apreda is celebrating by sharing this fresh as spring recipe.

Imago's Risotto with Asparagus and Pink Sparkling Wine Peppery Mussels

4 1/3 cups Vialone Nano rice
6 1/2 TBS shallots, chopped
1 clove garlic
2 pounds mussels
1 bunch of asparagus
1 3/4 cups pink sparkling wine
6 1/2 TBS butter
1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
Wild fennel
Salt, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil

Clean the mussels and steam in a lidded pot with garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, 1/4 cup of sparkling pink wine and a generous amount of pepper. As soon as they open, drain and filter the cooking liquid, keeping it to be used later.

Blanch the asparagus in salted water and then cool down immediately in water with ice. Cut and keep the tips of the asparagus aside for garnish. Cut half of the asparagus stalks into small pieces. Puree the other half in a blender.

Brown the shallots in a pan with half of the butter and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Once wilted, add the rice and toast it with the remaining sparkling wine. Continue to cook, slowly adding the reserved mussel cooking liquid along with an equal amount of water. When the rice is half-way done (when half of the liquid has been absorbed), add the chopped asparagus. When the rice is almost done, add the asparagus puree and soon after the shelled mussels. Remove the rice from heat and let stand for two minutes.

Add the remaining butter, grated pecorino cheese and minced wild fennel.

Sauté asparagus tips with oil, salt and a light sprinkle of pepper. Place over the risotto.

Serve and garner some stars of your own.

Bhindi Masala - Airplane food you'll love

2011-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

The chefs for South African Airways produced an okra dish so good not only did a cookbook author want seconds, she wanted the recipe.

Marsha Dean Phelts, author of American Beach Cookbook, was flying to Dakkar when she was served this okra dish. She told me about it, I asked Elizabeth Ninomiya, director of marketing communications for South African Air, and she began running down the recipe.

Here's the recipe for this spicy dish.

Bhindi Masala

8-9 oz. small okra pods, sliced in 1/inch sections
1 TBS Red chili powder
1 TBS Turmeric powder
1 TBS green chilies, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 TBS Cumin seed
2 tsp. Black mustard seeds
1/3 cup or less Vegetable oil for frying okra
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 cup (scant) Vegetable oil, for seasoning
1/2 cup (generous) chopped onions

Heat oil in a wok. When hot, toss in the cumin and mustard seeds. Allow to splutter.
Once it stops spluttering, add green chili and onions. Stir fry on medium heat until browned. Remove from heat and save.
Pour frying oil into the same wok, add the chopped okra and stir-fry for a few minutes until cooked and aromatic. This way the okra will not split while cooking and the dish turns out very tasty.
Once fried and lightly browned remove okra from the wok.
Add sauteed onion mixture back into the wok and toss in the fried okra. Mix well to combine and allow to cook for a minute on medium heat.
Now toss in the Masala (dry spice) powders , mix well and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
Adding oil if necessary, mix in the chopped tomatoes and cover the wok. Allow the flavors to blend well and the tomato to cook until softened, about 7 minutes.
Uncover, add salt and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.
Serve over rice.

Traditional Indian Curry Fiji Style

2011-05-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

Chef Faiyaz at Fiji Hideaway Resort and Spa on Viti Levu's Coral Coast demonstrated the art of making curry to a group of travel writers and photographers from the Freelance Council of the Society of American Travel Writers.

I missed the demonstration but not the curry which was wonderful. Too wonderful not to share the recipe, so Bula! Go out and try it.

Traditional Indian Curry Fiji Style

1 1/8 pound meat - chicken, beef, pork, lamb fish - in one-inch cubes
1 onion, julienned
* curry leaves
1/3 cup chopped garlic
1 generous TBS chopped ginger
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
2 TBS cumin seeds
1 TBS fenugreek
4 TBS masala
2 TBS turmeric
1 3/4 TBS fresh chili, chopped
1 1/3 TBS cooking oil
1 TBS water
Dash of lemon juice, salt to taste
fresh coriander, chopped

* Look for fresh curry leaves at an Indian market or on line. Do not substitute basil leaves; better to omit altogether.

Heat oil in cooking pot, add onion, curry leaves, cumin seed, fenugreek, sauteing until lightly browned. Add garlic, ginger, tomatoes, chili, masala and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.

Add meat and cook for 3 minutes, add water and cook for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt.

Add lemon juice, turn off the heat and add coriander leaves to taste.

Serve with rice or roti.

Brioche and bananas - a Mother's Day treat

2011-05-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Our dine-about-the-world correspondent Kristi Casey Sanders passed along a recipe for Brioche French Toast with Bananas Foster that will start Mom's special day with a Wow! This can't miss dish combines the best of breakfast and dessert and comes from the cookbook, Don Strange of Texas: His Life and Recipes by Frances Strange, the late foodster's widow.

Brioche French Toast with Bananas Foster

1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
4 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
butter
8 slices day-old brioche, each 5/8-inch thick
Bananas Foster (recipe follows)
Sweetened whipped cream
Cinnamon or nutmeg for garnish
Mint sprigs for garnish

To make the French toast, combine the milk, eggs, cream, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl; whisk until eggs are well beaten and the batter is smooth.

Melt some butter on a flat griddle over medium heat. Dip the brioche slices in the egg batter, coating both sides, allowing excess batter to drip off. Place battered bread on griddle. Don't let the slices touch one another so cook in batches if necessary.

Cook until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes per side. Keep hot in a warm oven until ready to assemble and serve.

Bananas Foster

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 TBS. unsalted butter
1/2 cup banana flavored liqueur
1/2 cup dark rum
4 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

In a small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork and set aside. µelt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add cinnamon and sugar mixture and stir until sugar dissolves. Add banana liqueur and 1/4 cup of the rum. Cook, stirring, until syrupy and thickened, about 5 minutes.

Add banana slices and lightly coat with the syrup. Add the rum and, swirl the pan and tip it toward the flame to unite or, if using an electric range, light the rum with a long match. Swirl the pan, basting bananas with the sauce, until flame subsides. Remove pan from heat, set aside and keep warm.

To serve, stack slices of French toast on each serving plate. Place banana slices on each serving and drizzle some of the pan sauce over the top. Add a generous dollop of the whipped cream, sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg and add a mint sprig.

Kokoda: the perfect fish opener from Fiji

2011-04-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Fiji Hideaway Resort & Spa on Viti Levu's famed Coral Coast is an ideal getaway in the South Pacific.

Head chef Faiyaz, comes from a family of Indian chefs and worked his way from dishwasher to chef in a year. One taste of his Indian-Fijian cuisine explains it all.

Here's the recipe for Kokoda, the Indian-Fijian version of ceviche.

Fiji Hideaway Resort & Spa Kokoda

1 generous pound of Walu fillet (Spanish mackerel or any soft white fish can be substituted)
2/3 cup (scant) lemon juice
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 tsp. chilli, diced
3/4 cup (generous) coconut milk
1 medium tomato, diced
1 TBS. capsicum, chopped
1 tsp. coriander, chopped
3 tsp. spring onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste.

Cut fish into half-inch cubes. Pour lemon juice over, mix and leave to marinate 2 hours at room temperature or until cooked through. Drain lemon juice, rinse fish and combine with coconut milk and vegetables. Season to taste and serve cold.

El Tovar cheesy biscuits

2011-04-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

Staff at our national parks are preparing for summer's onslaught of visitors and their appetites for adventure, stunning scenery, new experiences and delicious food.

The chefs at El Tovar, the signature lodge at the Grand Canyon, know just how hungry a day of exploring can make a traveler. These cheesy biscuits sound like just the thing to fill in all of the corners and to give taste buds a new treat.

El Tovar Cheesy Biscuits

Yield 25

10 oz. all-purpose flour
1 TBS. baking powder
1/8 TBS. baking soda
2 1/2 TBS. sugar
1/4 TBS. granulated garlic
1/4 TBS. fresh garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 TBS. dried chives
5 oz. salted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter to pea size. Add buttermilk and mix until just blended. Roll out to 1.4-inch to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch cutter.

Bake at 325 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. Brush with garlic butter.

Serve and watch disappear.

Stuffed French Toast Ahoy!

2011-03-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Another good recipe from the Holland America Line's Culinary Arts Center aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam is this version of a favorite breakfast and brunch dish.

Holland America Stuffed French Toast

Serves 2

4 slices white bread
3 bananas, thinly sliced
1/8 cup Spanish orange blossom honey
1/2-2/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
4 eggs
1 cup milk
butter
4-5 ounces Greek yogurt*
powdered sugar

* Greek yogurt is made from goat's milk.

Mix sliced bananas with sugar, honey and pecans. Divide the mixture and make two banana sandwiches with the bread.

Beat eggs in with milk. Dip the sandwiches in the egg and milk mixture, turning, and leave to soak.

Heat frying pan to medium, melt butter and fry sandwiches gently on each side until nicely colored and warmed through, about 3-4 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar, cut in half and serve.

Chilled fruit soups

2011-03-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

Each evening aboard Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam, we looked forward to see which chilled soup would be offered on the dinner menu.

Even better when the talented chefs showed how to make an easy version of one during a session at the Culinary Arts Center. Now I shall share them with you.

Chilled Raspberry Soup

6 servings

2 pints fresh raspberies, gently washed
2 cups sour cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup ginger ale
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBS triple sec
2 TBS fresh lemon juice

Reserve 6 raspberries for garnish.

In a blender or food processor, puree the remaining berries until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve over a nonreactive bowl, pushing through as much of the pulp as you can but leaving the seeds behind.

Whisk the remaining ingredients except for the garmish into the puree. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

To serve, divide the soup among chilled bowls and garnish with the reserved raspberries.

Variation: For chilled blueberry soup, substitute blueberries and the same quantity of Champagne for the triple sec.

Flavorful memories: Margaritas and Peanut Brittle

2011-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

When a man is as sweet as his famous peanut brittle and as full of zest as his margaritas, saying final goodbyes are not easy. The services for the late Dan V. Unger III, were neither easy not ordinary yet every one who attended them and the reception that followed at Deerwood Country Club went home with happy memories, tears of laughter and a bit of Dan forever - recipes for his brittle and margaritas.

His wife of 57 years, Darleen, his brothers, sister, son, daughter, grandchildren, golf buddies and friends guaranteed it through photos and Dan stories not to mention slices of his favorite carrot cake, peanut brittle and bottomless margaritas.

Here are Dan's recipes. You will have to add your own joie de vivre.

Dan's Margarita Recipe

(by the pitcher)

6 oz. (one can) frozen limeade
6 oz. (1 can) tequila
3 oz. (1/2 can) triple sec

Fill blender with ice, add all ingredients and blend. Salt glass rims and enjoy.

Dan's Peanut Brittle

(for personal use only, family retains all rights for commercial utilization)

1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 TBS. butter
3/4 tsp. salt
dash of vanilla
16 oz bag redskin raw peanuts
1 tsp. baking soda

Combine all but peanuts and baking soda and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Add peanuts, and stir hard to crack.
Remove from heat and add 1 tsp. baking soda.
Spread on greased foil to cool.

A sweet tart for your sweetheart

2011-02-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

I came to know Liz Van Hooser when she was the food writer for The Florida Times-Union and I was the society editor, arts and travel writer. She now lives in Missouri and blogs for Community Kitchen. This is a recipe she promised her Florida friends after she first made it.

Here's her blog and the recipe.

Berry Tart
Rum-infused whipped cream puts this dessert over the top. Those dark shavings on the cream are vanilla bean seeds, which smell and taste divine.

Ever since I met my fiancé, Joe, I’ve been hearing about his coveted, secret blackberry patches. This past summer, enduring the yin to winter’s yang in the form of oppressive heat and humidity, Joe went berry picking on four occasions, with each trip yielding a large bucket of berries.

Last summer, we had them in a cobbler, on cheesecake and over vanilla ice cream. Joe’s mom made a batch of blackberry jelly, the spoils of which we’re still enjoying. But there are only so many of them you can eat, and a half-dozen quart bags were pushed into the nether regions of our freezer.

With visions of blue skies and warmer days, last week I decided to make a berry tart. In my quest to acquire more kitchen accessories than I can fit in my kitchen, I have a rarely used tart pan. If you don’t have one, though, the recipe below will work just fine in a deep-dish pie pan.

In this recipe, you cook the crust completely before adding the filling. The berry mixture is a simple blend of berries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cornstarch. Although the tart would be fine at this point, the dish becomes a truly memorable dessert when topped with rum-infused whipped cream.

If you’re dreaming of spring picnics and summer barbeques like me, I recommend this simple dessert. You can use any mix of berries, and I’m willing to bet your sweetheart would like it, too. Enjoy!

BLACKBERRY TART

For the tart pastry:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons sugar

Zest from ½ lemon

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

In a large bowl, using a large wooden spoon, stir together the butter, cream cheese sugar, lemon zest and orange zest until smooth and blended, about two minutes. Add the flour and continue stirring until a soft dough forms.

Transfer dough to a work surface, and shape into a thick disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator (or outside) for 45 minutes or until dough is cool and firm.

Lightly dust a work surface, and roll out dough until you have a slightly bigger circle than your baking pan. Turn dough often, and apply flour to prevent sticking. Carefully roll dough around rolling pin and unfurl over pan. Lift edges and ease dough in so it touches the bottom of the center first, then smoosh into the rest of your pan. Fold overhanging dough back over itself, and press into sides of pan.

Place crust in freezer (or outside) for about 30 minutes, or until frozen. At this time, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line frozen dough with foil, and fill with dry beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans, and finish baking the crust until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely before adding berries.

For the filling:

6 cups berries

1 cup sugar

Juice from ¼ lemon

Zest from ½ lemon

Shake or two of nutmeg (optional)

4 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons cold water

In a large stockpot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Mixture will thicken. If too thin, add more cornstarch. Remove pot from burner, and allow filling to rest until warm. Spoon mixture into crust.

For the topping:

½ pint heavy whipping cream (the smallest one)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon dark rum

With an electric mixer (or a very strong hand), mix cream and sugar and cream vigorously, until soft peaks form. On low, add in rum and mix until incorporated.

— Adapted from “Williams-Sonoma’s Essentials of Baking” and “The Complete Book of Pies” by Julie Hasson.

Thanks, Liz. I owe you one.

Marinated Olives Dali Style

2011-02-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Salvador Dali was a Spanish original so you wouldn't expect any ordinary embellishment to dishes served in the Gala Cafe at the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL.

Restaurateur Steve Westphal and Chef Tyson Grant did not disappoint. These are some of the best marinated olives I've tasted.

Marinated Spanish Queen Olives

1 gallon Queen olives
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS. crushed red pepper
2 TBS. fresh thyme, chopped
2 TBS. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 TBS. lemon zest
1 TBS. minced garlic

Drain and dry the olives from the brine they come in.
Mix all other ingredients, add the olives and marinate overnight.

Add these to your Super Bowl menu and watch them disappear.

Hello, Dali Tortilla Espanola

2011-01-31T09:20:00.000-08:00

The new $36 million Salvador Dali Museum opened in St. Petersburg, FL., Jan. 11 and its Spanish oriented Gala Cafe was an immediate hit.

Museum Director Dr. Hank Hine had turned to restaurateur Steve Westphal to manage the details. Steve turned to Chef Tyson Grant, who had made his Parkshore Grill, 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House and the newly opened the Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge into hot dining destinations. No surprise that Chef Grant had been awarded "Best Chef in Tampa Bay" in 2001 for his contemporary American cuisine at The Grill at Feather Sound in Clearwater.

He has put together a nifty Spanish menu for the small space and agreed to share this recipe. If you travel to Spain, you will encounter some form of this tortilla on every menu and in every tapas sampling you are likely to encounter.

Tortilla Espanola

1 large Spanish onion, sliced
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin "coins"
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and white pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. Tabasco

Saute onions in olive oil until translucent in a 10-inch non-stick, oven-proof frying pan.
Add potatoes, salt and pepper and cook until almost fork tender.
Drain most of olive oil from pan.
Whisk eggs and cream until a smooth consistency and season with salt and pepper, nutmeg and Tabasco.
Add egg mixture to the frying pan and place back on low heat to set a crust.
Then place pan into a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until eggs are set in the middle.
Let cool for 10 minutes then invert onto a serving platter and cut into wedges.

Add some minced ham, artichoke heart, spinach or whatever else takes your fancy for a personalized variation.

Ole!

Datiled Crawfish and Crab Savory

2011-01-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

Datil peppers have been a key flavoring and source of fiery spice in St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city, for generations. Historians think they originated in Peru and were brought to St. Augustine by the Spanish who founded the city in 1565.

Wherever and whoever, the peppers add a tang to any dish. At the Hot Shot Bakery & Cafe, Sherry Stoppelbein has finally combined her restaurants, bakery and prize-winning hot sauce company. In October, she took the grand prize in the St. Johns County Fair's Datil Pepper Festival for her combination of the peppers with local seafood.

Here's the recipe.

Datiled Crawfish and Crab Savory

CRUST:
1 cup Cornmeal
½ cup Flour
1 TBSP. Baking Powder
1 TBSP. Dried Datil Peppers, Crushed
1 Egg (beaten)
½ cup Milk
Mix all of the above and pour into prepared 9” spring form pan

FRESH SALSA:
4 very ripe plum tomatoes, cubed
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 vine ripe tomatoes, washed and pureed
Pour one cup of salsa over the crust and reserve the rest.

FILLING:

½ lb. Drained Crawfish meat
½ lb. Fresh Crab Claw meat
1 cup Softened Cream Cheese (beaten until smooth)
½ cup Sour Cream
6 Eggs
1 cup Shredded Provolone Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Hand mix all of the above until well blended and pour over crust. Top with reserved salsa.
Bake 350 for 30 minutes or until firm when pan is shaken. Enjoy!

Idiot-proof pork tenderloin

2011-01-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

If you've never cooked before you can impress anyone with this no-fail recipe for pork tenderloin. Instead of traveling the world, I found it traveling along the Internet. My Philadelphia-based fellow travel and food writer friend Beth D'Addono (www.bethdaddono.com) posted a link to it on Facebook. That took me to All Recipes.com, www.allrecipes.com, a wonderful site which had listed its Top 10 recipes of 2010.

I was intrigued and couldn't resist trying it, especially never having cooked with root beer (!) and with Florida experiencing an atypical cold snap.

All you need are two or three ingredients and a crock pot or slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

8 servings of pulled pork sandwiches

1 2-pound pork tenderloin
12 fluid oz. root beer
18-oz. bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
Place pork loin in a slow cooker, fat side down. Pour root beer over the meat, cover and cook on low until the pork shreds easily, probably 6-7 hours depending on your cooker. Drain well.

That's it. The original recipe called for shredding the pork - you pull it off with a regular dinner fork - then mixing it with the barbecue sauce. I tried that with some of the roast but much preferred the unadorned subtle sweetness. I used left over shredded pork in stir fries and in sandwiches with just a smidgen of mayonnaise. Both were wonderful.

Meal fit for a king

2011-01-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

Modest manor turned royal hunting lodge and party palace, Schloss Moritzburg and its park attracts Germans as well as tourists to the rolling hills near Dresden in the Free State of Saxony.

Many spend a day touring its rooms and wandering its gardens, but I found the kitchen displays most fascinating. Especially the menus.

A summer party in 1718 required "8 adipose deer, 8 fawn, 8 roe deer, 24 hares, 30 pheasants and 50 partridges" daily in addition to fish, veal, beef and poultry.

On April 10, 1705, the following meal was brought to the table of Augustus the Strong.

1st Course
Pastry of 4 pounds of pike
Herb soup with eggs
Soup of 3 pounds of carps
Ragout of 1 1/4 pounds of crabs
3 pounds of cod
2 pounds of salmon
3 partridges
4 fried pigeons

2nd course
Entree of salads
2 pounds of salmon tail
7 1/2 pounds of venison joint
1 capon and 1 pheasant fried
42 pounds of oysters fried
1 1/4 pounds of crabs, hard boiled pancakes
14 pounds of calf's milk (thymus or breast gland of the calf) with truffle

Remember that next time cooking for a crowd or just your family has you frazzled!

To read more about Moritzburg and Saxony, go to
my blog at Travel on the Level.

Shrimp Stuffed Mahi Mahi, Oh, My

2011-01-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

Grand Velas Riveira Nayarit's Italian-Mediterranean-inspired Lucca Restaurant was one of the standouts at last November's Puerto Vallarta's International Gourmet Festival. Chefs at the AAA Four Diamond Award-winning resort on Banderas Bay share the magic they created from this combination of popular ingredients.

Dorado Relleno de Camarones

Shrimp Stuffed Mahi Mahi over fried risotto with smoked tomato sauce

Serves 4

Fried Risotto
1 cup cooked risotto
4 TBS carrots, finely diced
4 TBS zucchini, finely diced
4 TBS cream
4 TBS grated Parmesan
2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
Combine all ingredients in pan except panko and cook until blended. Allow to cool and shape into patties. Cover in panko and fry in olive oil right before serving.

Smoked Tomato Sauce
4 TBS olive oil
1 cup pomodoro sauce
2 sprigs rosemary
Warm oil to smoking point, add sauce and rosemary and cook over low heat.

Mahi Mahi
4 mahi mahi filets
12 small shrimp
4 slices Serrano ham
salt and pepper
Season fish with salt and pepper and stuff with shrimp. Wrap with ham and sear in pan. Finish in a hot oven.

Plating
phylo pastry decorations
2 TBS pesto
1/4 cup sauteed spinach
1/2 cup vegetables, julienned
1/4 sauteed mushrooms
2 TBS balsamic reduction

Italian Spiced Wine to sip under your tree

2010-12-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ashley and Jason Bartner, proprietors of La Tavola Marche Agriturismo and Cooking School, sends this to warm the cockles of our Christmas season hearts.

Italian Spiced Wine ~ Vin Brule'

1 liter of red wine
100 grams of sugar (just under 1/2 cup)
a few cloves
a stick of cinnamon
a bit of nutmeg
lemon peel grated (or half lemon, half orange peel)

Bring all ingredients to a low boil & add the sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved - lower flame. Filter or strain. Serve warm & enjoy!

And may this time of joy bring you hopes and memories as bright as the taste of this beverage.

Swiss Muesli

2010-12-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Muesli, for many a breakfast treat, was originally created around the turn of the century by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for his patients. The good doctor must have known what he was doing because muesli is healthy, nutritious and, when served by Zurich's famed Bar au Lac Hotel, delicious as well.

In the season's spirit of giving, the hotel has released its recipe.

Birchermuesli Baur au Lac

Serves 3-4

1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup farmer's cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup golden apples, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup pears, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup bananas
1/3 cup strawberries
1/5 cup blackberries
1/5 cup blueberies
1/4 cup raspberries

Mix all ingredients to combine and serve.

Even non-cooks can present this to their families.

Salute to Seafood at Ashford Castle

2010-11-30T09:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone can stay at a castle but only a lucky few will be able to participate in Seafood Appreciation Week Feb.28-March 6, 2011 at Ireland's impressive Ashford Castle. Located near the seafood-filled western coastline, Ashford was voted "Top Resort in Europe" by readers of Conde Nast Traveler this year.

Special two-day packages are available March 1 and 2 and March 4 and 5 during which Executive Chef Stefan Matz will guide participants through an oyster farm, a smokehouse, lobster fishing and a gala seafood dinner.

Here's the schedule.

DAY 1
Arrival: Welcome glass of Champagne
7.00pm: Dinner at leisure in the George V Dining Room

DAY 2:
Full day tour of Connemara, escorted by a chef from Ashford Castle
10:00am: Depart for Cleggan
11:30am: Visit an oyster farm
12:30pm: Depart for Ballyconneely
1:00pm: Guided tour of the Connemara Smokehouse at the Bunowen Pier
1:30pm: Lunch sampling of Graham Roberts' specialty products
3:00pm: Lobster fishing aboard a small local fishing trawler at the pier
5:30pm: Return to Ashford Castle
7:00pm: Gala 5-course seafood dinner in the George V dining room

DAY 3
8:00am: Breakfast followed by a fond farewell

Rates start at €385 per person (approximately $535) and include breakfast each morning. For more information, visit: www.ashford.ie

Not all of us have access to fresh Irish seafood so Chef Matz shared his recipe for another special, Beef and Guinness Stew.

Beef & Guinness Stew

Serves 2

Guinness Sauce
4 1/4 cups Guinness Extra Stout
1 1/3 cup chicken stock
1 medium shallot, diced
2 tsp. flour
2 tsp. butter, room temperature
Combine 4 cups Guinness and 2/3 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce mixture down by 1/3. Meanwhile, sauté the shallot until transparent and golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). Add Guinness reduction and 2/3 cup chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Combine 2 teaspoons flour and 2 teaspoons room-temperature butter and add to mixture. Boil until sauce has a creamy consistency.

Sautéed Beef Fillet
10 1/2 oz. beef filet, trimmed and cut into small cubes
2 TBS oil
salt and pepper
broccoli and carrots, blanched
potatoes, steamed
Sauté beef in oil in a very hot frying pan. Season with salt and pepper. When the beef has a nice color and is cooked to liking, allow to rest for two minutes.
Add beef and 1/4 cup Guinness Extra Stout to the Guinness sauce. Reheat, but do not bring to a boil. Season to taste. Present in a bowl and garnish with blanched broccoli, carrots and steamed potatoes.

Last but not least, says Chef, "serve with a glass of Guinness and a fresh oyster. Enjoy!"

Thanksgiving Survival Plan with recipes from Xanterra chefs

2010-11-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

Even kitchenphobics find themselves drawn - or forced - to pots, pans and heating elements this time of year.

If this describes you, it isn't too late to announce to all that it is time to break out of the family rut and try something new like tofu turkey with liverwurst dressing. You may find guests will volunteer to bring the traditional dishes.

That leaves you free to set the table and contribute something else that's easier.

If you love the meal-making marathons, consider these recipes.

While the turkey cooks, whip this up for the family's breakfast.

Monkey Bread, Chef Michelle "Mike" Hanson
Furnace Creek Resort

2 tubes canned biscuits
1 tube canned cinnamon rolls
2 cups honey
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts or pecans
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Take biscuits and cinnamon rolls and cut into small pieces. The easiest way is using some scissors. Place in bowl add honey, nuts and cinnamon sugar. Mix well.

Pour dough mixture In a well-greased bundt or angel food cake pan. Place cake pan in a larger pan with two inches of water (this will stop the honey from burning).

Cook for 45 minutes-1 hour at 350.

Run knife around edges of pan and invert on a platter.

No one bringing the sweet potatoes?
Leave the masher in the drawer and try this version.

Raspberry Apple Sweet Potatoes, Chef Kenneth Diederich,
Salt Fork State Park Lodge, Cambridge, Ohio

3 large sweet potatoes
1 cup frozen raspberries
2 red apples
lemon or orange juice
1/2 stick butter
cinnamon sugar
brown sugar

Wash, peel and cut the sweet potatoes in larger cubes, inch by inch. [Start cutting them small, you'll wind up with bigger ones without thinking] Cook the potatoes in lightly salted water for 15 minutes. Drain well and place hot potatoes in a small to medium sized casserole dish. Place frozen raspberries evenly on top.

Cut the apples into 1/2 inch cubes and toss with lemon or orange juice so they won't turn brown. Place evenly on top. Melt butter and drizzle over entire dish. Sprinkle as you like with cinnamon sugar and brown sugar. Bake for 20 minutes covered.

Family okay with a non-traditional main dish? Try this for something different.

Beer Braised Pork Loin, Chef Ben Theis
Deer Creek State Park Lodge

6-8 lb. boneless pork loin
2 lb. sauerkraut
8 oz. onion, large dice
4 oz. celery, large dice
4 oz. carrot, large dice
3 oz. turnip, large dice
1 oz. grated fresh horseradish
3 12-oz. bottles of beer, dark preferably
Bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Oil for searing

Rub the pork loin with salt and pepper, then sear over high heat in the pan in which it will be roasted in.

Once the roast is seared on all sides deglaze the pan with two of the bottles of beer. (“The third is for sipping on,” said Chef Theis.)

Add all the chopped vegetables then roast in oven for at least two hours, adding liquid as needed during the braise. Once the pork loin is fork-tender remove from the oven.

Bring sauerkraut up to heat over a medium fire on the stove top. Place sauerkraut on a large platter, slice pork and lay over top. Spoon vegetables and braising liquid over top of pork then serve.

Thanksgiving and beyond recipes from Xanterra chefs

2010-11-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Everyone has favorite Thanksgiving dishes but if you don't slip a new recipe into the lineup you'll never know if it could be the next favorite. The chefs at Xanterra resorts have offered a few for your consideration.

Today: Soups

Butternut Squash Soup from Chef Nathan Snyder, Mohican State Park Lodge

6-8 servings

3 large butternut squash
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped and rinsed well (Chef's note: I love to use leeks because it is a simple,way to add depth to my dishes.)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 16-oz can of crabmeat
1 orange, zested
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1/8 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. curry powder
3 TBS butter
1 cup of cream
vegetable stock, as needed

Wash all of the produce and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash into halves and take seeds out (Chef's note: I prefer to use an ice cream scoop to get my seeds out, it's very sturdy and keeps all the seeds together). Oil the halves, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place on a sprayed sheet pan skin side up. Roast until the skin blisters and browns, about 30 to 40 minutes.

In a large pot on the stove begin sauteing the onion,leeks, garlic, spices and thyme. Once the squash is done, it should be soft enough to scoop out with that ice cream scoop into the pot with the other ingredients. Add enough stock to cover and simmer for 30 minutes, Take a stick mixer and blend the soup until smooth, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Return back to the heat and add crab. Simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in cream and butter until well blended. Optional - zest the orange into the soup before serving. (Chef's note: Adding zest to a dish can give you that extra special touch.)

El Tovar Smoked Corn Chowder with Asiago Cheese and Tortilla Confetti

Chef Mat McTigue, Grand Canyon National Park Lodges

6-8 servings

1/4 lb. red potatoes, medium dice
3 celery ribs, medium dice
1 onion, medium dice
2 carrots, peeled and medium dice
2 cips corn (frozen or canned)
1/4 lb. cooked bacon, diced
1 1/2 gallon chicken stock
1/2 gallon heavy cream
1 tsp. Liquid Smoke

Cornstarch mixture
4 oz. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Mix together dry ingredients, add 5 oz. cold water and stir until smooth. Use to thicken soup when boiling.Season with Tabasco to taste.

Saute all vegetables in a large saucepan over medium heat until tender. Add chicken stock and cream; bring to a slow boil. Add the cornstarch mixture.

Garnish with julienne fried tortillas and shredded asiago cheese.

Tuscan Pancetta Soup

Chef Michelle "Mike" Hanson, Furnace Creek Resort

6-8 servings

4 oz. pancetta diced small (rind removed) or thick-cut smoked bacon
2 TBS. olive oil
1 TBS. butter
5 1/2 cups white or yellow onion, julienned

1 TBS. sugar
2 qts. vegetable, chicken or beef stock
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped large
3 TBS. brandy or bourbon (optional)
3 large fresh basil leaves, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish
2 cups croutons
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Place chopped pancetta or bacon in a very hot medium saucepan and cook until almost crispy. Add oil and butter and the onions. Stir occasionally so the onion caramelizes slightly. Scrape the pan occasionally, too. Add sugar and stir for about 3 minutes or more. Add half the stock and bring to a boil, reducing to almost no liquid. Add the rest of the stock, tomatoes and basil. Stir and season to taste. Cook for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately or set aside and serve later. When ready, place a good portion of crouton in bowls. Add soup and sprinkle with cheese.

Tips for Thanksgiving

2010-11-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

The chefs of Xanterra, the outfit that manages the resorts and lodges at many of our nation's favorite parks, have offered their tips and even better, recipes for cooking and enjoying this holiday for grateful gluttons.

I'll start with the tips today and follow later with some not so traditional recipes.

Chef tips

"Soup always tastes better on the second day so go ahead and make it the day before Thanksgiving," says Mat McTigue, executive chef at the Grand Canyon.

"Pull out and wash your china and silver several days before Thanksgiving." Kenneth Diederich, regional executive chef, Salt Fork State Park Lodge, Ohio.

If using a frozen turkey, take it out of the freezer at least a week in advance [note: keep it in the fridge]. If you are into all things natural and organic, choose a fresh Heritage turkey, advises Chef Peter Pahk, senior executive chef at Kingsmill Resort. This is not for procrastinators: you must have your Thanksgiving orders in by June.

Chef Michelle "Mike" Hanson at Furnace Creek Resort, Death Valley National Park, makes her family a breakfast casserole "so the family has something to eat for breakfast and isn't picking at all the stuff I'm making for dinner."

Have plenty of food storage containers on hand before the feast and clean out your refrigerator before shopping.

Consider asking guests to bring a dish. "I am a big fan of potluck," said Chef Pahk. "It makes it easier on the host and guests get to show off their own Thanksgiving specialties."

Chef Mike sets out the food buffet style.

If you are still daunted by feeding friends and family, consider the advice from Chef Diederich. "Go to someone else's house so you don't have a mess to clean up. And be sure to take along plenty of good storage containers."

Whether you'd rather do it yourself or are lucky enough to have a generous hostess [Thank you, cousin Gloria], the next post will have some recipes for the gobbling day.

Turn to "Roux Memories" for authentic Cajun and Creole recipes

2010-11-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

Food writer Belinda Hulin grew up in Cajun country where her relatives whipped up memorable meals. When Hurricane Katrina hit, destroying or seriously damaging those families' homes, she realized a lot more than property was at risk. The blueprints for an entire way of life - recipes - were about to be lost.

Finding a box of her mother's recipes atop a newel post in the inundated house was a blessing and an impetus to collect those and many more for future generations and for many families who weren't as fortunate.

The result, Roux Memories, A Cajun-Creole Love Story with Recipes, is the kind of cookbook you read cover to cover. Part memoir, part reference book for Louisianans, it is filled with love and mouth-watering recipes.

Most of us have cookbooks we never use, but try to make room on the shelf for this one. Bet you can't resist trying a recipe or three.

Belinda graciously said "Yes," when I asked to share a recipe or two with you. Having scarfed down more than my share of her red beans and rice on numerous occasions, I've chosen it and included Belinda's introduction from the book to give you a sample of her infectious style of story-telling.

Before that, though, here's the info you will need to get your own copy of Roux Memories, A Cajun-Creole Love Story with Recipes: Lyons Press, $19.95 USA/$21.95 Canadian; available online at Amazon.com and local bookstores.

The Fraziers lived next door to my parents in an apartment building at the corner of Eagle and Palm Streets, back when my father was getting his master's degree at Tulane. At that time the area was populated by young families and working-class folks, who could catch a bus downtown with only a short stroll. Mrs. Frazier was the first real New Orleanian I knew, and unlike the gentile Uptown types I met at Dad's graduate assistant job, she was loud, brash, and funny, and she had a heart the size of Lake Pontchartrain. Whenever I told her about my plans for the future (to have a horse farm, become famous, marry a prince), she'd laugh and say, "You have a lot of red beans and rice to eat yet." Since Mrs. Frazier followed the old New Orleans custom of cooking red beans on washday Mondays, I had plenty of opportunities to start my march toward life's realities while sitting at her table.

Red Beans and Rice

8 servings

2 lbs. dried red kidney beans
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced
2 onions, diced
1 bell pepper, cored and diced
1 rib celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
8 cups pf ham or chicken broth, or water
1 tsp. lemon juice or wine vinegar
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
salt and black pepper
steamed rice

Rinse beans very well and discard any discolored or damaged beans. Put beans in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover by several inches. Let soak 8 hours or overnight, adding more water if needed.

Drain the beans in a colander. Place the oil in a heay Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook 3 minutes.

Add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Saute mixture 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, thyme, Tabasco and cayenne. Stir the beans into the pot, along with broth or water. Bring mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer beans for 2 1/2 hours, stirring often and adding more water or broth as needed. Stir in lemon juice or wine vinegar, green onions and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over steamed rice and pass the Tabasco.

2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff Dessert Winner

2010-11-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Winning first place in the 2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff dessert competition is - ta-da-dah and another drum roll, please - The Hicks Family  Carolina Peach Cobbler .

We didn't think any dish could top the bread pudding, but after all that meat, the fresh, true fruit flavor of this really bit the spot. The fact that we were in the heart of South Carolina's peach-producing counties didn't hurt. For all I knew, they used fresh picked peaches from Titan Farms, probably the premier producer.

The Hicks Family  Carolina Peach Cobbler

Filling
6 cups of peaches sliced, peeled and pitted (If peaches are out of season you may substitute frozen fruit) 
1-2 cups of blackberries (optional)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup cornstarch 
½ teaspoon cinnamon 
Crust 
2 cups of all purpose flour 
1/3 cup sugar 
2 tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp salt
¾ stick cold butter (6 ounces) cut in small pieces 
1 large egg, beaten
¾ cup whipping cream 
1/4 -1/2 cup pecans, optional 

Preheat Dutch oven lid to about 375 degrees (about 16 coals). Grease Dutch Oven with butter. In a large bowl, combine peaches, blackberries, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Toss together lightly and set aside. (Pecans may be included in peaches or in crust.)

In another large bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives cut in cold butter and continue until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix the egg and whipping cream together and add to the flour mixture. Mix only until dough is moistened and comes together in a ball. Do not overwork the dough. Reserve leftover egg mixture.

Pour fruit mixture into the prepared Dutch oven. Turn out dough on a floured surface and pat it with your hands in to a round circle big enough to cover the Dutch oven. Carefully lift the dough onto the fruit and gently pat into place. Cut a few decorative vent holes on top. Brush a little of the egg mixture on top and sprinkle with sugar and/or cinnamon if desired.

Dessert category winning teams, from left, first, second and third place.

Bake at 375-400 degrees (about 16 coals) for 45-60 minutes or until cobbler topping is light golden brown and juices start to bubble up through the holes. Remove cobbler from coals and cool until ready to eat. DO NOT eat directly from the Dutch oven! It is VERY hot and can burn the roof of your mouth. Serving suggestion: Serve with ice cream, whipped topping or fresh whipped cream and garnish with fruit and/or mint leaf.

2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff Dessert Runner-up

2010-10-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

The answer to an insatiable sweet tooth arrived in the form of second place winner, Team Hannahhill's  Coconut Cream Bread Pudding. With its melt in your mouth texture and dreamy coconut flavor, this five-star comfort food was a hit. We judges wished we had room for a full helping. This is one I will make at home. Hope you will, too.

Team Hannahhill's  Coconut Cream Bread Pudding

12 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 ½ cups sugar (divided) 
4 large eggs 
2 ½ cups milk (divided) 
1 15-ounce can of coconut cream (divided) 
8 TBS butter (melted and divided) 
1 8-ounce loaf of French bread (cut into 1-inch cubes)
½ cup sweetened coconut 
¾ cup chopped pecans 
Vegetable spray 

Preheat Dutch oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese at low speed with mixer until creamy. Add 1 cup sugar and eggs and beat until sugar is dissolved. Stir in 2 cups milk, 1 cup cream of coconut and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Pour over bread cubes and let stand for a few minutes.

Prepare a Dutch oven for baking. Pour mixture into dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.

Stir together flaked coconut, pecans and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle coconut mixture over baked pudding and bake 5 more minutes or until browned.

Cook remaining ½ cup sugar in a heavy pan over low heat. Stir constantly until sugar melts and turns into a brown liquid. Stir the remaining ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream of coconut together and pour into the melted sugar. Stir until sugar and liquid mixes well. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Serve the caramelized sugar sauce over the pudding.

Garnish (if desired) with praline pecans and a flower. (NOTE: Cut the calories, cholesterol and fat by using 1/3 less fat cream cheese, skim milk and Egg Beaters. The result is still delicious.)

2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff Dessert Category

2010-10-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

Delicious beginnings deserve a suitably sweet ending and although the entries were few, each one in the dessert category at the South Carolina Campground Cookoff was a winner.

Taking third place was the Team Latimers “Pit” Crew  Fruit Cake Stick, a fun, light, simple but satisfying finish to an al fresco meal. It's one younger campers can put together, too.

Team Latimers “Pit” Crew  Fruit Cake Stick

4 skewers 
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar 

Pineapple cut into chunks 
Strawberries sliced in half 
Whole seedless grapes 
Angel food cake cut into cubes 
4 maraschino cherries 
1 cup milk chocolate morsels

Stir water and sugar together over medium heat on grill for a light syrup. Alternate fruit with cake on skewer. Add a cherry to top of each skewer. Lay on hot, clean grill. Sprinkle syrup mixture over the fruit as you turn skewer. Take skewer off of grill and drizzle with melted chocolate. Enjoy!

South Carolina 2010 Campground Cook-Off First Prize Winner

2010-10-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Ta-dah - drum roll, please. Imagine the aroma of freshly grilled rack of lamb, the wake-up call of stone ground jalapeno grits. Cut into perfectly pink meat, taste and sigh. Hands down, Team PFC - Smarr 's Grilled Rack of Lamb with Jalapeno Bacon Stone Ground Grits  won over our taste buds and our hearts.

However, as you'll see, the Smarrs left out measurements but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Even the errors in the trial and error process should be delicious.

Team PFC-Smarr 's Grilled Rack of Lamb with Jalapeno Bacon Stone Ground Grits 

Grilled Rack of Lamb:
Rack of lamb 
Rosemary (dried or fresh) 
Thyme (dried or fresh) 
Garlic powder 
Salt 
Pepper 
White wine
Stone ground grits [Believe me, it won't be the same with any non-stone ground grits]

Bacon 
Butter
Jalapeno peppers 
Onion, chopped 
Garlic, chopped
Water 
Salt 
Pepper 
Green onion, chopped 
Fresh Parmesan cheese 

Rub rack of lamb with herbs and spices (measurements to taste preference).

Brown both sides of lamb over hot coals. Place on baking rack inside aluminum pan with about an inch of white wine. Cook indirectly over coals and close grill. Cook at medium temperature until preferred doneness. Let rest for about 10 minutes and then cut into chops and serve. 

Jalapeno Bacon Stone Ground Grits

Cook bacon in cast iron Dutch oven over hot coals. Remove bacon and set aside. Add several pats of butter to bacon grease and sauté chopped jalapenos, onions and garlic. Add water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add grits to water and cover. Add a few coals on top of lid and let cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened to desired consistency. Stir in crumbled bacon. Garnish with green onions and finely grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

(NOTE: I did not give measurements. All is done to taste and desired meal size. I prefer the grits to be a little runny and not stiff.)

Winning teams in the main dish competition

Left to right: Third, Second and First Place teams

NEXT: Dessert winners.

NOTE: So sorry for the gap in posts - I've been in Germany and the Internet gods decided none of the equipment I hauled along should work properly.

South Carolina 2010 Campground Cook-Off second prize winner

2010-09-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Risotto is not something you normally think of preparing when camping, but Team Hell's Kitchen pulled it off in Lowcountry Chicken with Risotto to capture second prize. Stuffing the chicken breasts with crab meat and smoked Gouda provided us judges with another surprise.

Team Hell's Kitchen Lowcountry Chicken with Risotto

Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
25 Ritz crackers, crumbled
¼ cup butter 
2 TBS parsley
¼ cup flour Garlic  Salt 
¾ cup milk 
Pepper 
¾ cup chicken broth
8 ounces smoked Gouda 
1/3 cup beer
Paprika 
1 small onion, chopped
½ lemon 
2 mushrooms, chopped
½ lime 
4 ounces crab meat 
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup chopped onions
½ tsp ground turmeric [I would recommend a little less]
1 cup sliced mushrooms 
8 cups chicken broth 
1 ½ cups Arborio rice 
½ cup white wine 
1 cup Parmesan cheese 
2 TBS butter
Salt 
Pepper
Fresh parsley
Rinse crab meat, then squeeze ½ lime and ½ lemon over it and set aside. Pound breasts with meat mallet to 1/8-inch thick.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour, milk, chicken broth and beer. Simmer and keep stirring until it becomes thick.

Sauté onions and mushrooms in separate skillet. Add crab, 15 crumbled Ritz crackers, parsley, garlic salt and pepper to taste, a handful of grated smoked Gouda and a couple spoonfuls of sauce.

Spread stuffing on chicken, then roll and seal with a toothpick. Place in a greased 12-inch Dutch oven. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. Cook for 1 hour around 350 degrees. After 1 hour, add the rest of the smoked Gouda over the top. Add paprika to taste and remaining Ritz crackers. Remove coals from bottom and add them to top. Cook 5 minutes to melt cheese and brown topping. 

Risotto 
Heat olive oil in skillet and sauté the onion and turmeric until soft. Add mushrooms and sauté until liquid is absorbed.

In separate saucepan, heat broth and keep warm.

Add rice to sautéed vegetables and stir until all the grains are coated with olive oil mixture. Add white wine. Let cook until evaporated. Stir frequently. Add broth ½ cup at a time. Rice should absorb broth after each addition. Repeat until all broth is absorbed. Remove from heat. Add cheese, butter and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

South Carolina 2010 Campground Cook-Off Prize-Winning Ribs

2010-09-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

I would have given Team Pooreboy Charcookers'  Mark’s Quick Grilled BBQ Ribs with Vegetable Medley second place but when all the points were tallied, they took third place. Not too shabby considering the competition. The ribs were moist, tender and delicious and the vegetables were wonderful.

Team Pooreboy Charcookers'  Mark’s Quick Grilled BBQ Ribs with Vegetable Medley

1 rack ribs
½ cup brown sugar-based dry rub
1 cup BBQ sauce (Johnny’s Pride) 
1 cup apple juice
Hickory or maple chunks 
Vegetables for grilling - Squash, okra, eggplant, onion, bell pepper, corn, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes work well. Pick your favorite combo.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Ribs
Take membrane off back of ribs and rinse. Pat dry with towel. Rub ribs with dry rub. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6-12 hours. Remove ribs from refrigerator and get grill ready for indirect heat. Add wood chunks for smoke flavor. Place ribs on grill at medium high heat (400-450 degrees) 1 hour and 20 minutes. Spray with apple juice occasionally to keep ribs moist.

Change grill to direct heat for 30 minutes of grilling. At this time apply your BBQ sauce. This is the last cycle of grilling. Remove ribs from grill. Let stand a few minutes before cutting between bones and serving. Use leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, parsley and spinach as a garnish. 

Vegetable medley
Cut up vegetables to uniform size so they will cook evenly. Put vegetables in a heat-proof bowl and add salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix and put on grill for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove from grill and splash with more olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste. Put on plate with main course.

SC Campground Cook-Off Recipes

2010-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

Today's campers have come a long way from the open-can, eat-contents school of outdoor meal-making.

Consider this Honorable Mention-winning recipe from The Happy Vagabonds. The sweet-tart cabbage and apples is the perfect counterpoint to the dense meat and puckery pickle.

Honorable Mention: The Happy Vagabonds  Braised Stuffed Beef Rolls with Red Cabbage and Apples 

Beef

3 lbs top round steak
2 TBS flour  2/3 cup red wine vinegar
6 tsp hot prepared mustard
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
6 slices bacon 
3 dill pickles cut lengthwise into halves 
3 TBS bacon grease
2 cups water 
1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced (white part only) 
1 TBS scraped parsnip, finely chopped 
3 parsley sprigs
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS butter 

Slice steak 1/2-inch thick. Trim all fat and pound to 1/4-inch thick. Cut steak into 6 rectangular pieces about 4 inches by 6 inches. Spread each rectangle with a teaspoon of mustard and 2 teaspoons of onion. Place a slice of bacon down the center. Lay a half of a pickle across the narrow end of each piece and roll the meat around it into a cylinder. Secure the rolls with toothpicks.

In a Dutch oven, melt the bacon grease and add the beef rolls. Brown the beef rolls on all sides and transfer to a plate. Pour the water into the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Add the celery, green onions, parsnip, parsley and salt. Stir and return beef rolls to Dutch oven. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer about 1 hour. Turn rolls once during cooking period.

Transfer rolls to plate covered with aluminum foil. Strain the cooking liquid left in skillet through a sieve. Press down on vegetables and then discard vegetables.

Measure 2 cups of liquid and set aside. Discard any remaining liquid. Melt the butter in the Dutch Oven and then sprinkle in the flour. Stir constantly until the flour turns a golden brown. Gradually add the 2 cups of cooking liquid using a whisk until the sauce is smooth and thick. Add the beef rolls and simmer over low heat until rolls are heated through. 

Red Cabbage and Apples
1/2-pound head red cabbage
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 TBS sugar 
2 tsp salt 
2 TBS bacon grease 
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch thick wedges
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped 
1 whole onion, peeled and pierced with 2 whole cloves
1 small bay leaf 
1 cup hot water 
3 TBS dry red wine 
3 TBS red currant jelly 

Remove the outer leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Cut out the core and slice the quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch wide strips. Put cabbage in large bowl, sprinkle with vinegar, sugar and salt. Toss with spoon.

Melt the bacon grease in a Dutch oven and add apples and onions. Cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, whole onion with cloves and bay leaf. Stir and pour in hot water. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to very low. Cover and simmer about 1 ½ hours. Just before serving, remove the whole onion with cloves and bay leaf. Stir in the wine and jelly.

2010 South Carolina Campground Cook-Off

2010-09-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

I missed the first two South Carolina Campground Cook-Offs but I won't willingly skip future ones having learned what amazing dishes dedicated campers can make over fire.

The cooking rules are simple: Everything must be cooked over a wood or coal fire, no gas. No more than two store-bought, packaged ingredients can be included. Fire prep and cooking begin at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday and one portion of each entry must be brought to the main stage area between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Plates are provided and no decorations other than ingredients in the recipe may be added. Recipes are scored on creativity, taste and presentation.

This, the third year, 23 teams pulled into Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area to compete for the $500 for first, $300 for second and $200 for third place prizes in entrees and desserts. Special non-cash Judges Awards were given this year and having been one of the three judges, I can tell you it wasn't easy.

I'll start with those and work my way up to the winners. If I can get through tasting 23 different entrees, none of them bad, you can stand the anticipation.

Oh, and all of this is sponsored by the Old 96 District Tourism Commission, the same group that brought us the annual Peach-Offs (on indefinite hiatus) to celebrate the area's stellar peach producers.

Ol' Carolina Chili and Korn Bread, the entry of Team
Daddy Don's Gang impressed us all with its flavor, appearance and family-friendliness. It's something we'd like to make at home, really good comfort food.

Team Daddy Don's Gang Ol' Carolina Chili and Korn Bread
Chili
2 lbs hamburger meat
2 cans Manwich Bold
1 TBS Texas Pete
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
Mix all together except cheese and cook. When ready to serve, top with cheese.

Korn Bread
3 cups self-rising corn meal
1 cup flour
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
4 Jalapeno peppers, chopped
8 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 large onion, chopped
3 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix all together and cook.

Serve with home made sweet pickles.

Florida Foodie Opportunities

2010-09-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

So many areas hold restaurant weeks, food festivals and wine tastings that fall has become a great time to be a foodie.

Take note of these two for Florida-bound travelers.

As the nation's oldest city St. Augustine has had ample time and many cultural influxes to develop special cuisines. The month of October is when residents focus on the "Flavors of Florida's Historic Coast."

Oct. 1-31 enjoy month-long fixed price dining specials at 24 of the top restaurants.

Oct. 1 Aviles Street, the oldest street in the oldest city reopens with more authentic 17th century ambiance, including sidewalk dining.

Oct. 2-3 will be a hot time in the old town because of the Datil Pepper Festival.

Oct. 8-10 it's Opa! time at the 13th annual Greek Festival.

Oct. 16 celebrates Cracker Day with bluegrass music, horsemanship demonstrations and of course, barbecue.

Oct. 23 get your oompah on for the Oktoberfest Celebration.

Last and perhaps most hotly contested, Nov. 7 brings the 25th annual Great Chowder Debate.

Consider: an auction of 100 different bottles of 100-point wine. Down in Naples, plans for the 2011 Naples Winter Wine Fest have oenophiles salivating. Included are a bottle of 1955 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, a 1989 Chateau Petrus and a 1985 DRC Romanee-Conti, considered by many the best Burgundy ever made and valued at more than $11,000. You can see the entire list of 100 at www.napleswinefestival.com in October.

A celebrity chef wine dinner brings in 17 masters of cuisine including Chef de Cuisine Lee Hefter of Spago.

The cause is a good one - needy and at-risk children - and festival isn't until January 28-30 so you have plenty of time to get your financing in order, but contact them soon because tickets quickly sell out.

Tomato, to-mahto

2010-09-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

Charleston, S. C., one of this country's great restaurant cities, begins restaurant week tomorrow, Sept. 8, through Sept. 19. One group of restaurants offer three courses for $20, another, including Charleston Grill and Slightly North of Broad, offer three for $30. Go to www.charlestonrestaurantweek.com for details and menus from the 50 participating restaurants.

One restaurant not participating, FIG, as in the Food Is Good, and Executive Chef Mike Lata were recently featured by The Food Channel.

Naturally I wanted a recipe from chef. Given the season, why was I not surprised to get one for heirloom tomatoes?

Chef Lata's Heirloom Tomato Salad

Serves 4

2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
1 rib celery, peeled
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Maklon sea salt, to taste
Cracked black pepper
1 cup day-old baguette, crusts removed, 1/2-inch dice

Coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and warm over medium high heat. Add the croutons and begin to toast until golden brown. Season lightly with salt and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Using a mandolin, thinly slice heart of celery stalk and tear off celery leaves. Arrange sliced tomatoes around center of platter. Scatter celery slices, celery leaves and red onion slices over tomatoes. Top with croutons. Drizzle entire dish with extra olive oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of sea salt and cracked pepper.

Don't you just love food that tastes so good by itself all you need is a sprinkle of this and that?

Salad days

2010-08-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

Not all visitors to Deer Valley complex in Park City, Utah, want stick-to-your-ribs carbohydrates. For them, Clark Norris, executive chef at Silver Lake, created this satisfying salad for diners at Mariposa.

Buratta inspired Chef Clark to develop this Caprese style salad.

"The individual portion of Buratta preserves its 'stuffed' nature, allowing the guest to cut through the firm outer mozzarella 'shell' and release the creamy fresh mozzarella center to mingle with the rest of the salad," says chef.

The result? In Chef Clark's words, "Caprese Nirvana!"

The Mariposa's Burrata, Fresh Basil and Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
16 oz. cherry heirloom tomatoes, halved
4 4 oz. balls of Burrata Mozzarella cheese (available from Gioia Cheese Inc.)
4 oz. petit basil
4 oz. wild baby arugula
4 oz. extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. aged balsamic vinegar
1 lemon, sliced into 8 vertical wedges
sea salt (granulates of small flakes)
fresh ground pepper blend (5-peppercorn blend is best)

Place halved tomatoes into a mixing bowl and dress with 2 oz. olive oil, 1/4 tsp. salt and a pinch of ground pepper.
Divide dressed tomatoes onto four 10-inch plates, placing tomatoes in a ring that leaves a 1-inch circular margin between the rim of the plate.
In a mixing bowl, dress the basil and arugula. tossing with 1 oz. olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.
Place dressed basil and arugula inside the ring of tomatoes, hollowing center slightly if necessary so you can place a seasoned ball of Buratta on top without its rolling off.
Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil (1-2 oz.) and aged balsamic vinegar (1 TBS.) to taste, around the edge of the plate inside the 1-inch margin.
Finish each salad with a squeeze of fresh lemon, one wedge's worth, over the cheese, greens and tomatoes.
Serve immediately.

Chef Ouita's Pickled Shrimp

2010-08-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Pickled shrimp used to be a prime, special event offering from Southern cooks with as many versions as there were cooks, but you don't often encounter this once popular appetizer any more, which is a shame. This recipe from Chef Quita Michel of Holly Hill Inn in Midway, KY, via The Woodford Reserve Culinary Cocktail Tour cook book, just might reverse that trend.

Chef Ouita's Pickled Shrimp

12-16 appetizer servings

3 lbs. fresh large shrimp, or 2 lbs cooked frozen shrimp
salt to taste
4 cups white onions, thinly sliced
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBS sugar
5 bay leaves
1 tsp. crushed black peppercorns
1 tsp. dill seeds
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. tarragon

Peel and de-vein the fresh shrimp. Combine the shrimp, salt and enough water to generously cover in a large saucepan. Steam or gently simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink and are cooked through. If using frozen shrimp, just thaw.

Layer shrimp and onions alternately in a nonreactive pan.

Whisk the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, peppercorns, dill seeds, celery salt, dry mustard, cayenne pepper and tarragon in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Pour the warm marinade over the shrimp and onions and let stand until cool. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 4 to 48 hours (the longer the better), stirring occasionally.

Discard the bay leaves and marinade before serving.

NOTE: To find out more about Chef Ouita, Lexington and the Bluegrass area of Kentucky check the August posts at my other site, Travel on the Level.

GA & KY chefs show off

2010-08-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Must tell you about two irresistible gourmet opportunities.

First up, Chef Laurie Erickson is holding two cook-in sessions for select groups of guests at Little St. Simons Island, GA, Aug. 27-29 and again Sept. 22-24.

The first night (guests depart St. Simons Island for LSSI at 4:30 p.m.) she cooks for you; the second she cooks with you, harvesting vegetables and herbs from the Island's USDA Certified Organic Garden and preparing dinner of fish and perhaps crabs that were caught that morning by you and the naturalists.

It sounds like a fun and memorable experience at one of the world's most relaxing getaways. Cost, $389 per couple per night, includes transportation to and from the island, accommodations, a gift, all meals and beverages and all cooking and island activities. Go to www.littlestsimonsisland.com or call 866-855-0718 for details.

At Cookin' in the Bluegrass: a Celebrity Chef Dinner series all the preparation - and how! - will be done for you by 48 chefs during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, Sept. 25 through Oct. 10.

Working with the James Beard Foundation, organizers have put together once-in-a-lifetime dining experiences. On each of the 16 nights, 75-80 guests will gather at the Kentucky Horse Park's historic Farmhouse restaurant for meals and wine pairings worthy of James Beard House.

The best regional chefs will pair with notable chefs from around the country to prepare the best and freshest of regional ingredients. And what pairings; for example, Jonathan Lundy (I recently featured his shrimp and grits recipe) cooks with Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami and Traci Des Jardins of Jardiniere in San Francisco. Eric Fowler from Dudley's cooks with Marc Vetri of Vetri in Philadelphia and Tim Byrnes of Smoke in Dallas.

Tickets are $300 per person and you can find out all the details, from chef and wine pairings to menus by clicking around www.alltechfeigames.com.

KY bourbon super sipper

2010-08-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Southern cooks are known for finding more than one way to use an ingredient, especially one as revered as Kentucky bourbon. Every distillery along the Bourbon Trail has its own series of recipes, but it's hard to beat those of Woodford Reserve in Versailles, KY.

Long a proponent of matching beverage with food, Woodford has encouraged and supported the area's best chefs in creating recipes using its bourbon as an ingredient.

Invitations to a dinner at the distillery are highly coveted and I was fortunate enough to experience why. Chef Ouita Michel, who with her husband Chris established the elegant Holly Hill Inn and wildly popular Wallace Station Deli & Bakery in Midway, has become Woodford's go-to gal for spectacularly good food.

Following model Southern hospitality, I'll start with Chef Ouita's recipe for an adult refresher, a grand prize winner perfect for sitting and rocking and sipping on a big porch or a tiny backyard patio.

The Midway Front Porch Social Sip
2 servings

1 cup water
1 tea bag, any flavor
3 TBS sugar
4 large sprigs of mint
3 ounces Woodford Reserve Bourbon
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 TBS fresh lemon juice, about 1 lemon
1 TBS blond Lillet, optional

Combine the water, tea bag, sugar and two sprigs of mint in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Discard the tea bag and mint and stir in the bourbon, orange juice, lemon juice and Lillet. Pour over ice in two large ice tea glasses and garnish with the remaining two sprigs of mint.

Rocking chairs and lightning bugs are optional.

NOTE: To find out more about the chefs and other attractions in Lexington and the Bluegrass area of Kentucky check the August posts at my other site, Travel on the Level.

Shrimp and Grits from the Bluegrass

2010-08-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Has shrimp and grits become the South's new, everyone has a different version stew? A trip to Chef Jonathan Lundy's eponymous restaurant, Jonathan's at Gratz Park in Lexington, KY, produced yet another version and a souvenir recipe.

The little bite to the sauce pairs perfectly with his Crispy White Cheddar Grits. It looks complicated but much can be prepared in advance.

Jonathan's Shrimp and Grits

Serves 6-8

The Shrimp
1TBS vegetable oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS fresh basil, chopped
1 TBS fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup canned tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup shrimp, chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 TBS freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 TBS cold butter

In a 4-quart pot, preheat vegetable oil and saute onions, celery, and green peppers on high heat until tender. Add garlic, jalapeno pepper and herbs and saute for another 2 minutes.

Add the remainder of the ingredients except the shrimp and butter. Lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes.

Allow sauce to cool then process in a blender; puree to a smooth consistency. This can be done a few days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Place the shrimp and refrigerated sauce into a large pot on low heat, stirring frequently to ensure even cooking. The shrimp should be done in 10 minutes; don't overcook! When the shrimp are almost ready, stir in the butter.

Quickly remove the shrimp and set aside.

The Grits
2 cups grits, not instant
5 cups shrimp, chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups white cheddar cheese
1 TBS salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
3 cups cornmeal
2 cups vegetable oil

Place stock and cream in a 2-quart pot. Place over high heat and bring to a boil.

Stir in the grits and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Stir in cheese, salt and white pepper. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Taste the grits and notice the texture. When the grits have a smooth, creamy feel in your mouth, they are done. If they still have too much texture, add a cup of water and continue to cook.

Pour the grits into a sheet pan about 1 1/2 inches thick and allow them to cool in the refrigerator. When thoroughly cool, cut into 3- to 4-inch circles or squares. At this point, grits can be reserved for a few days and kept in the refrigerator.

Dust the grits with cornmeal. Set them aside until ready to fry.

Preheat oil to about 350 degrees in a large saute pan or tabletop deep fat fryer. In small batches, fry the grits to a golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.

The Assembly
On each plate, ladle about 3-4 ounces of warm sauce. Place grits over the sauce and then stand the shrimp up in the grits.

Serve immediately.

NOTE: To find out more about the chefs and other attractions in Lexington and the Bluegrass area of Kentucky check the August posts at my other site, Travel on the Level.

Lexington is hot spot for foodies

2010-08-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

Leave your diet at home and indulge when dining in Lexington, KY.

Get ready for irony, too, as this center of the Blue Grass Thoroughbred industry, where anyone who rides knows, every ounce counts, specializes in the most calorie-packed and delicious of foods.

One of its signature dishes is the Hot Brown, a cholesterol raising concoction locals love. Have a cardiologist on call when you order and eat any version, but especially this classic version from Ramsey's Diner. The image, thanks to www.baconunwrapped.com . I'll let you determine the amounts depending on the number you're feeding and your daring, but don't stint.

Ramsey's Diner Hot Brown

White toast           Cheddar cheese, shredded
Ham                      Fried bacon strips
Turkey                   Parmesan cheese
Chicken gravy
Sliced tomatoes

Layer ham and turkey on the toast. Cover with the cream gravy. Top with sliced tomatoes. Smother everything with shredded cheddar cheese. Add fried bacon slices on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake in the over until bubbly hot.

NOTE: NOTE: To find out more about the chefs and other attractions in Lexington and the Bluegrass area of Kentucky check the August posts at my other site, Travel on the Level.

Always keen on peaches

2010-08-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Peaches began this blog almost a year ago which means it's time for more peach recipes. This one comes from South Carolina, the state that produces more than any other except California, and uses two other Southern staples, sweet potatoes and pecans.

Peachy Sweet Potatoes

Serves 8

2 cups peaches, peeled and halved, (4-8 depending on size)
3 TBS. margarine or butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
2 TBS. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1/4 tsp. salt
2 TBS. orange juice
3 TBS. peach juice
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3 TBS. brown sugar

Arrange peach halves cut side up in a lightly buttered baking dish.

Cream butter until very soft. Add mashed sweet potatoes. Add 2 TBS. brown sugar, the orange peel, salt, orange and peach juice and whip together.

Spoon mixture into peach halves; sprinkle with cinnamon, chopped pecans and the 3 TBS. brown sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

May be assembled ahead of time before.

Shrimp, green papaya and mango meet lemongrass

2010-08-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

When representatives from Peter Island Resort and Spa in the British Virgin Islands told me about the guest chef program focused on sustainable ingredients, I applauded. Then I asked for the recipe for one of their signature dishes. Here it is.

Peter Island Lemongrass Infused Shrimp, Green Papaya & Mango Salad

Serves 4

12 shrimp, 16/20 size, peeled and deveined
1 stick fresh lemongrass
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 ripe mango
1 green papaya
1/2 sweet red pepper
1/2 sweet green pepper
dried mango slices
dried green papaya slices
small pinch fresh chilies
Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Crush the lemongrass and chop. Mix with shrimp, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover and marinate for several hours.

Finely chop mango. papaya, peppers and mix. Add chili, season to taste and bind with a small amount of mango puree.
Heat a saute pan with olive oil, sear the shrimp on both sides and cook, about 3-4 minutes.
Arrange the the mango and papaya salad in a mold. Place the shrimp on the plate with dried mango and papaya slices in between.
Garnish with micro greens or arugula.

Better yet, let's hop a plane to Peter Island and let chef do it!

King and Prince Muffins

2010-06-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

I'll be out of the blogosphere for several weeks getting a new hip, but I have a backlog of wonderful recipes to share as soon as I can sit at a computer long enough to enter them.

in the meantime, here's the recipe for the melt in your mouth Oatmeal Raisin Muffins locals head for at the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort on St. Simons Island, GA. Fruit and fiber rarely tastes so good.

King and Prince Oatmeal Raisin Muffins
Yield: 1 dozen

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup raisins

Combine the rolled oats and buttermilk in a mixing bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Add the eggs, brown sugar and melted butter. Mix for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl. Add combined dry ingredients and raisins and mix at low speed for about 15 seconds, or until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill lightly greased muffin tins 1/2 full. Bake in a preheated oven t 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Try to let them cool long enough that you don't burn your fingers too badly.

King and Prince Shrimp and Grits

2010-05-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

Recipes for shrimp and grits In the coastal South are like crazy relatives - everyone has at least one. However, not many of us have hundreds of diners hungrily lining up every Sunday to enjoy them for brunch the way the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort does.

Executive Chef Robyn Gomez guards the recipe but in celebration of the resort's 75th anniversary, he showed a small group of food and travel writers how he does it. My ever-growing stomach is grateful to have been on hand.

King and Prince Shrimp and Grits
Serves 6-8

Burgundy Gravy
2 oz. water
1 lb. shrimp, 26-30 count
3/4 cup mushroomed, sliced
1/2 cup julienned red pepper
1/2 cup julienned green pepper
1/2 cup julienned onion
butter
8 beef bouillon cubes
1 qt. water
dash of salt
dash of cayenne
4 oz. Burgundy wine
cornstarch

Saute onions, mushrooms and peppers in butter.Add wine and bring to a boil. Add salt and cayenne pepper; reduce heat. Add shrimp and simmer for 5 minutes. Add beef bouillon cubes and mix well, add water and bring to a boil. Thicken with 2 oz. water and equal amount of cornstarch.

Cheese Grits
2 cups stone ground grits
1 qt. chicken stock
1 qt. milk
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
butter
1/4 cup water
Bring chicken stock and milk to boil. Add grits, cook for 5 minutes. Add cheese, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add butter - Chef didn't say how much but from watching I'd guess 1/2 cup or more. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes.

Serve shrimp and gravy atop grits, take a big whiff of the dark sauce and dig in.

Masterful Mussaman Curry recipe from Thailand

2010-05-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Yum, whatever you do don't miss Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi on an island in Phang Nga Bay off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, or the wonderful Mussaman Curry prepared there. It was one of the highlights of a superb meal enjoyed in the special suite aptly named "the closest thing to heaven".

You will notice there's no photograph of the dish. That's because by the time the almost empty bowl reached my end of the table it wasn't very photogenic and frankly, the curry was so good it didn't stay on my plate long enough to photograph!

Mussaman Curry of Beef

Ingredients
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs beef cheek, flank or shank
4 1/4 TBS Massaman spice paste
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
8 small pickling onions or red shallots, peeled
4-5 cups coconut milk
5 Thai cardamom pads, roasted
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp palm sugar
2-5 TBS Tamarind water
2-3 TBS fish sauce
4 tsp white onions, cut in cubes
8 cherry tomatoes
6 seedless grapes
4 tsp peanuts, roasted

Cut the beef into cubes about the size of a small chicken egg, then wash and dry. Bring coconut milk to the boil, add beef and simmer, stirring occasionally for hours or until tender (you may need to add a little water during the braising). Drain off the braising liquid and set aside.
Add the past to beef in braising pot along with cardamom, cumin powder and coriander seeds. Fry over low heat, stirring regularly until fragrant. Add reserved braising liquid to cover. Season with palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind water and bring to the boil together with the sweet potatoes, white onions and pickled onions or shallots. Simmer the curry until the meat is soft.
Add grapes, cherry tomatoes and peanuts just before serving. The curry should taste equally sweet, sour and salty. Serve with rice.

Note: Few chefs ever say how many a Thai recipe will serve because it depends on how many other dishes are offered along with it. Prepare for this serving dish to be emptied.

NOTE: To find out more about Six Senses Hideaway and Phuket, go to this post at my other blog, Travel on the Level.

Thai food asea

2010-04-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Three "starters" are common for the first course.

Thai food is unique and Thai recipes are not all as complicated as you might think as I discovered traveling from Chiang Mai in the north to Phuket in the south with a nice but not long enough stay in Bangkok in the central part of the country.

Thai meals are normally served family style with five courses or more. Thais will eat what they want of one before moving on to another while we Americans tend to put a little of each on our plate, taste it all and then go back for more of what we liked best.

My excursion aboard The Siam Junk provided recipes for favorite flavors that start and end a meal - Chilled Tom Ka Soup Shots with Poached Prawns and Mango and Sticky Rice.

Note: Spring rolls were another favorite but you can find them all over Asia so I'm sticking to dishes I've found only in Thailand.

Chilled Tom Ka Soup Shots with Poached Prawns

This is a popular soup which was served in shot glasses by the wonderful cooks on The Siam Junk.

The number of red chilies can be varied to your tolerance for spicy, from one half per diner to as many as 8-10. They said a good average was 8-10 chilies total for this recipe. You definitely want the dish to retain a balance of flavors and not be overwhelmed by chilies.

4 oz finely chopped shrimp
16 fluid oz chicken stock
5-10 small red chilies lightly crushed
2 kaffir lime leaves (roll them until they crack to release the flavor but keep them whole)
2-inch piece lemon grass, bruised to release the flavor
1-inch cube galangal (kha), thinly sliced
4 TBS quality fish sauce
2 TBS freshly squeezed lime juice
5 fluid oz coconut milk
enough lightly poached fresh whole shrimps for one per shot glass
Fresh cilantro leaves to garnish

Heat the stock, stir in the lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, fish sauce and lime juice and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and coconut milk, return to the boil then lower heat to a simmer for about 2 minutes.

Allow to cool. When you cool it down the coconut milk and stock tends to separate so give it a good stir before serving.

Pour into individual shot glasses, add a whole shrimp to the edge of the glass and serve.

Although not intended as a main dish, this can be served as part of a meal with the shrimp in the soup and accompanied by steamed jasmine rice. Chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces or even mixed seafood could be substituted.

Mango and Sticky Rice

This is surprisingly light despite the calories I know it packs. It quickly became a favorite and I'm not the only fan. The stand serving sticky rice and mango at the Bangkok airport was one of the busiest.

1 1/4 cups raw Thai sticky rice
1 1/2 cups coconut cream
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 TBS salt
1/3 tsp. salt for the topping
1/4 tsp fine rice flour
6 mangoes, peeled and sliced

Thoroughly wash and rinse the sticky rice and put in an automatic rice cooker or saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and cook according to directions. Leave for 20-25 minutes. Do not open until then - you need the steam to stay in the pot. Place cooked rice in a large bowl.

Take a small saucepan and gently heat half of the coconut cream. Add the sugar and half of the salt, stirring until completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and pour into the cooked rice. Mix thoroughly and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining coconut cream and add salt, stirring to make a simple yet delicious topping sauce.

Put sticky rice on a serving platter and arrange sliced mangoes around it. Add some mint leaves for garnish, top the rice with a few spoonfuls of the sauce, serving the remainder on the side.

Calories at sea don't count so dig in!

Thai food at sea

2010-04-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

The piece de resistance for lunch aboard The Siam Junk during our travels in the waters of Phuket, Thailand, was Fried Fish with Chili Sauce.

Will says to save the delicately flavored fish for something else and instead use a whole red or white snapper, grouper or similar fresh fish. Ours had been swimming in the waters we were sailing through that morning.

It's a Siam Junk specialty served to a group of diners who help themselves to spoon sized portions until all the flesh is gone. The shared food experience is an important part of the Thai sabai sabai lifestyle. Loose translation: relaxed enjoyment.

Relaxed enjoyment personified!

Fried Fish with Chili Sauce

1 3-4-pound fresh fish, gutted and cleaned but with head on
1 cup saki (rice wine)
plain flour
oil for frying

Sauce
3 TBS finely sliced fresh garlic
1/4 cup thinly sliced green Thai chili
1/4 cup thinly sliced red Thai chili
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves (I'd reduce this but then I'm not a fan of cilantro)
1/4 cup good quality fish sauce
1 TBS palm sugar

Preparation
Cut three or four slashes in the sides of the cleaned fish and liberally sprinkle with the rice wine. Dust the dampened fish with some flour and fry in hot oil until crispy.

While doing this, heat a wok with a little oil and stir fry the chilies and onions until fragrant. Add the fish sauce and bring the liquid to a light boil. Add the palm sugar and stir the mixture until it is completely dissolved. Add corander leaves and stir intermittently until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and transfer sauce to a serving jug.

Place the fish on a serving platter garnished with carved vegetables and accompany with sticky rice (khao niao) and the sauce.

Eating
Normally diners break off small pieces of the fish with chopsticks (or a spoon) and transfer the morsel to their plate. Traditionally, they would roll this into a ball with a little sticky rice and dip it into the sauce before popping it into their mouths.

No one told us the part about rolling with sticky sauce and dunking in sauce, but we combined fish with sauce, using utensils the Thai way - fork to hold and cut, soup- or table-sized spoon to eat.

However you do it, the presentation is grand and the flavor is grander. There won't be any fish left.

Thai food afloat

2010-04-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hope you're not tired of Thai recipes because I have some great ones from Phuket and Bangkok still to share.

One memorable day was spent aboard The Siam Junk (that's pronounced SEE-am), www.thesiamjunk.com, a custom designed vessel as comfortable as any afloat. This luxury charter yacht can accommodate up to 50 people for a 7-hour day trip or 12-18 overnight in comfortable, king-size cabins with bathrooms en suite.

I was fortunate to be aboard with six other congenial travelers as we went from the eastern side of Phuket peninsula to Patong on the western one. The tranquility of the sea and the tantalizing aromas from the galley as lunch was prepared will never be forgotten.

Nor will the flavors as William Patching has generously shared recipes for our repast. I'll share with you, too, beginning with this traditional Thai curry livened up with the Western influence of pumpkin.

Yellow Curry with Chicken and Pumpkin

10 oz skinned chicken breast, diced
10 oz sliced yellow pumpkin flesh, skins, seeds and pith removed
10 fluid oz coconut cream
2 TBS yellow Thai curry paste
1 + TBS white sugar
1 + TBS good quality fish sauce

In a heavy-bottomed frying pan heat coconut cream until simmering.
Add the curry paste to the coconut cream and stir well. Once curry paste has been thoroughly mixed in, add the chicken and cook until chicken is done, 5 minutes or so.
Add the sliced pumpkin and simmer until it is cooked through. Add white sugar and fish sauce to taste.

The sweet side of Thai food

2010-04-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

cold coconut milk soup with cantaloupe
During what became a two-week-long survey of Thai food at hotels, resorts, spas, spa resorts, hotel resorts and sidewalk cook stalls, dessert was always fruit-based. Beautifully presented platters of sliced fresh fruit and cold coconut milk and fruit soups were standard. At The Vijitt Resort in Phuket, we had a variation - warm coconut soup with bananas.

Vijitt is a beautiful spa and resort spread along the hill that rises from Friendship Beach in Rawai on the more sedate, Eastern side of Phuket. It offers its guests Thai cooking classes, too, and while we didn't have time to try it ourselves, the gracious general manager shared the cookbook with us.

The Vijitt Gluay Buad Chee, Banana in Coconut Milk

Serves one

Ingredients
3/4 cup (250 grams) coconut milk
2 TBS palm sugar
1/4 tsp salt
small banana cut into one-inch slices

Preparation
Heat the coconut milk slowly in a saucepan. Add sugar and salt while stirring constantly.
Add banana slices (to keep from browning, dab banana slices with lemon or mild salt) and slowly boil in coconut milk for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

This dessert can be made well in advance. Store unrefrigerated to enhance flavor.

The cold versions are prepared in the same way with cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple and grapes among the refreshing fruits swimming in coconut milk.

NOTE: To find out more about Six Senses Hideaway and Phuket, go to this post at my other blog, Travel on the Level.

Thai food - salad

2010-04-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

To complete our meal at Four Seasons Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Chef Pitak presented us with the recipe for Som Tam, Green Papaya Salad, which quickly became one of my favorite Thai foods. I tried it from one end of Thailand to the other, but I think this is the best.

We all got into mashing ingredients in the huge wooden mortar with the equally large pestle, perhaps a sign that travel and food writers/photographers suffer from unresolved aggression.

Som Tam, Green Papaya Salad

Serves one

Ingredients
2 pcs Bird's Eye Chili (prig kee noo; Chef said other Thai chilies can be substituted)
2 pcs. garlic
2 pcs Thai long green beans, cut in one-inch-long segments (tua fak yao, if you don't have access to an Asian market, look for acote at a Mexican market)
1 TBS dried shrimp (goong heng)
1 TBS cashew nuts
2 TBS fish sauce (narm pla)
1 TBs palm sugar (narm tan peep, white sugar's okay to use)
1 TBS lime juice
1 TBS tamarind juice (narm makorm, if you can't find it, double the lime juice)
1 1/2 cup green papaya, julienned (mara kor, it must be firm; Chef says Japanese cucumber or carrots can be substituted)
3 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

Garnish
green beans
white cabbage
sweet basil leaves (bai horapa)
lettuce

Preparation
Now comes the fun part.
1. Slightly crush the bird's eye chili in a mortar and pestle. Add the green beans, dried shrimps and cashew nuts and mash this too.
2. Season with fish sauce, palm sugar, lime and tamarind juice.
3. Add green papaya and cherry tomatoes. Mashing and mixing well.
4. Finished salad should have a sour, salty and sweet taste.
5. Garnish and serve.

There's no place for Chef's large mortar and pestle in your average-sized condo so I'm looking forward to seeing just how much smushing and mashing my wooden salad bowl can tolerate. It won't be as physically satisfying but I bet the results of this favorite Thai food recipe will taste great anyway.

NOTE: For more about Chiang Mai and the Four Seasons, g to this post on my other blog, Travel on the Level.

Thai food

2010-04-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

The second dish we prepared at the Four Seasons Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai was Thom Yum Goong, Spicy Prawn Soup with Lemongrass. With this, Chef Pitak introduced us to bird's eye chili, Thailand's hottest and a mainstay of Thai cuisine. His recipe called for three of the sweat-producers, but then he ate one raw.

Watching the perspiration pop out on his forehead and tasting the results of three per serving, I started with one-half, went to one and settled on one and one-half as my upper limit. A native would start with three and add liberally.

How hot was that bird's eye chili, chef?

That's a stalk of lemongrass added for stirring.

Thom Yum Goong, Spicy Prawn Soup with Lemongrass
Serves One

Ingredients
1 TBS good quality fish sauce (narm pla)
1-3 pcs. fresh Bird's Eye Chili (prig kee nu)
1 TBS fresh lime juice
1 1/2 cup prawn stock (make your own by cooking prawn shells and water for 30 minutes).
1 tsp Galangal, skinned and julienned (kha, is from the ginger family but do not use regular ginger)
1 TBS lemongrass, thinly sliced (takrai)
20 grams straw mushrooms, fresh or canned (hed fang, although you can substitute any type of mushroom)
1 pc. Kaffir lime leaf, julienned (bai makrut)
5 prawns, peeled, deveined and butterflied (goong)

Garnish
coriander leaves (I'm not a fan so I only used one tiny leaf and it wasn't missed)

Preparation
1. Place the fish sauce, lime juice and lightly crushed bird's eye chili in the soup cup.
2. Heat prawn stock in a wok for 2-3 minutes (if you want a cloudy rather than clear soup, add chili paste and a bit of condensed milk without sugar).
3. Add the lemongrass, mushrooms, galangal and Kaffir lime leaf and bring to a boil.
4. Add the prawns and cook until they turn pink.
5. Garnish with coriander.

See? It isn't all complicated.

NOTE: For more about Chiang Mai and the Four Seasons, g to this post on my other blog, Travel on the Level.

Thai food

2010-04-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

We often relegate Thai food to meals in restaurants, rarely adding Thai cuisine to the cooking we do at home. Thai cooking classes abound, but the best Thai food often requires ingredients not readily available in our neighborhood grocery stores.

Enter the Four Seasons Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and its exemplary chef and chief instructor, Pitak Srichan.

Chef Pitak has lived and worked in the U. S. and knows about substituting our ingredients when his native ones can't be found.

Having made our offerings of incense and left our wishes at the spirit house, we five foodies sat in a semi-circle around chef's range in the handsome, Lanna-styled pavilion. On our laps were clipboards and three recipes and in our hands were pencils for making notes and cameras for capturing images.

After watching him prepare the three dishes - Gaeng Kiew Warn Kai (Green Curry with Chicken in Coconut Milk), Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) and Thom Yum Goong (Spicy Prawn Soup with Lemongrass) - and asking questions then tasting the results, we each went to our prep stations to cook them to our own tastes.

Then our dishes were swiftly taken to the adjacent dining pavilion where rice and icy cold Chang beer were provided and we settled down to what we later decided was just about the best Thai food we ate during more than two weeks in that beautiful country.

Here is the first recipe from this memorable experience. The other two will follow in future posts as will recipes from other special meals we enjoyed from Chaing Mai to Bangkok to Phuket.

Gaeng Kiew Warn Kai (Green Curry with Chicken in Coconut Milk)
Serves 1
Note: I have included Thai translation of ingredients where it might help you find them in an Asian market.

1 TBS. vegetable oil (peanut, soy or canola)
1 TBS. green curry paste (Prig Gaeng Kiew - Maesri brand is best or Khun Chai - if chicken changes color during cooking, curry paste is not good. Amount can be cut in half to make less spicy)
1 1/2 cup coconut mile (Kati - fresh is best but canned may be substituted)
1 pc Kaffir lime leaf julienned (Bai Ma Grood)
100 grams chicken tenderloin, sliced (beef and pork can also be used)
4 TBS. chicken stock, optional
1 TBS fish sauce (Narm Pla - provides 90 percent of salty taste in Thai food)
1 tsp sugar
3 TBS pea eggplant (Ma Kua Puang)
1 pc bamboo shoot, thinly sliced (Nor Mai - packaged or canned OK)
2 TBS Chaopaya egplant, sliced (Ma Kua Chaopaya - use the long skinny eggplant if you can't find this)

Garnish
2 TBS Sweet Basil leaves (Bai Hora Pha - most important, never use Italian basil!)
1 pc each red and green chili (Prig Daeng & Kiew - jalapenos will do, it's for color rather than flavor)

Preparation
1. Heat wok then add vegetable oil for 10 seconds.
2. Combine green curry paste and kaffir lime leaf in the wok and immediately lower heat. Stir to release fragrance.
3. Add the coconut milk (if from a can, shake well).
4. Raise the heat, bring to a boil and add sliced chicken, stirring.
5. Add pea eggplant, chaopaya eggplant and bamboo shoots. Bring to a boil over medium heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Season with fish sauce and sugar, simmering and adding chicken stock if necessary.
7. Add sweet basil leaves and chilies quick stirring for 10 seconds.

Serve with steamed rice.

I know this, like all Thai food, looks impossibly complicated but if you prep ingredients first, cutting and measuring into separate containers, it isn't all that hard. Yes, you'll have a frazzled moment or two, but the dish will be good and no one but you will know.

NOTE: For more about Chiang Mai and the Four Seasons, g to this post on my other blog, Travel on the Level.

Mussels Ole

2010-03-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a preparation for mussels from south of the border.

The Five Diamond Mexican resort La Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos is on most of the world's best-of lists. Since its opening in 1997 it has hosted the rich, famous and infamous, satisfying their every whim and valiantly guarding their privacy against paparazzi.

Executive Chef Fabrice Guisset, a native of France, fell in love with Mexico or, to be more precise, the senorita he married. For 13 years Chef Fabrice has turned his classical skills to Mexico's native bounty, thus this recipe that simmers mussels in tequila rather than wine. Fortunately, we don't need Ventanas' wood-burning oven to recreate one of his most popular dishes.

Clay Pot Oven Cooked Black Mussels with Aged Tequila and Herbs

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4.4 lbs. fresh black mussels
1 bunch flat parsley, well chopped
1 bunch cilantro, well chopped
1 bunch chives, well chopped
14 oz. cherry tomatoes
8 serrano chili peppers
1 cup Reposado Tequila (aged up to 12 months)

Preheat oven to 525 degrees.
Thoroughly clean the mussels and place inside a large clay pot with lid (any oven-proof pot with a lid will do). Pour the tequila over the mussels and add the cherry tomatoes and the chilies. cover the pot and cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove, top with chopped herbs and mix in well. Discard any mussels that have not opened and serve immediately in clay bowls.

As Chef says, Buen provecho.

Mussels on the mind

2010-03-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

Mussels are the chameleons of seafood, lending themselves to a variety of preparations while maintaining the integrity of their flavor. No surprise then that I've run across two wonderful recipes this month.

Here's one from Chef de Cuisine Erik Forrest of The Grill at the Fairmont Scottsdale. Wherever you want to go, chances are a Fairmont Hotel arrived first to offer fine food, accommodations and activities.

It calls for two ingredients your grocery store might not have. Chistorras, the sweet and spicy sausages from Spain can be ordered at www.sales@hornerofinefoods.com.
Salt Spring Island Mussels are the meaty Mediterranean variety and can be ordered from a number of Canadian suppliers including www.lobsterman.com.

The Fairmont Scottsdale Salt Spring Island Mussels - The Grill @ Fairmont Scottsdale

Yield: Makes 10

Ingredients

Mussels
·         10 Each Salt Spring Island Mussels
·         1/4 Oz Garlic
·         1/4 Oz Shallot
·         1/4 Oz Tomato, diced
·         1/4 Oz Parsley, chopped
·         2 Oz Chistorra Sausage
·         3 Oz White Wine
·         4 Oz Butter

Garlic Toast
·         2 Slices Brioche
·         1 Ounce Garlic Butter (8 oz butter, 2 oz garlic, 1/2 oz chives)

Preparation

For Mussels
·         Sweat garlic, shallot and chistorra sausage 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat, taking care not to add color.
·         Add mussels and deglaze with white wine.
·         Cook until mussels just open.
·         Add tomato and butter.
·         Toss with parsley and adjust seasoning with lemon juice and salt to finish.

For Garlic Toast
Rub brioche with garlic butter and brown on both sides.

Gnocci start to finish

2010-03-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

Our favorite Atlanta-based traveling foodie Kristi Casey Sanders shared this demonstration encountered during a green-oriented trip to Portland, Oregon. Paley's Place, one of the city's favorite restaurants, features innovative cuisine from local, organic and sustainable ingredients.

Much lauded Chef Vitaly Paley - his recipes have been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine - whipped up this five-minute gnocci as the travel and food writers watched.

So, for a different kind of post, watch on.

Paley's Place Herbed Ricotta Gnocci

Dinner on the flat at Frank & Albert's

2010-02-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

"Desert Flats" are the specialties at Frank & Albert's, the latest dining addition to the famed Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. Executive Chef Todd Sicolo and Chef de Cuisine Conor Favre spent a year "architecting" (their term) irresistible gourmet comfort food from the finest local ingredients.

Having stayed at the Frank Lloyd Wright-Albert Chase McArthur-designed resort, I wouldn't expect anything less.

Chef Conor generously shared this one with us.

Frank & Albert's Chicken and Goat Cheese Desert Flat

Ingredients
Yield: one serving

1 flatbread
4 oz. Onion Marmalade (see recipe below)
4 oz. goat cheese
4 oz. chicken, cooked and shredded
3 mission figs, fresh or dry
2 oz. watercress
6 Mandarin oranges
1 oz. olive oil
salt and pepper

Onion Marmalade
Yield: enough for four flatbreads
3 white onions, diced
7 oz. port wine
4 oz. grenadine
4 oz. granulated sugar
3 oz. red wine vinegar

Procedure:
Sweat the onions on low heat for 5 minutes then add all the liquid ingredients and reduce on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes or until there is very little to no liquid left. At that point, add sugar to melt and pull off the stove and cool.

Smear flatbread with onion marmalade and place chicken meat and goat cheese on top.
In a bowl, toss watercress, oranges and figs with the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook flatbread and its toppings in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Cut into small squares and top each off with watercress, fig and orange mixture.

On second thought, better make two.

Baby Alice Mustard

2010-02-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

Sweet and spicy, that was the late, great Alice Jensen of Sulphur Springs and Dallas, Texas; Boulder, Colorado; Panama Canal Zone; Pt. Barrow, Alaska; Pebble Beach, California; Diyarbakir, Karamursel and Izmir, Turkey; and Bremerton, Bellevue and Silverdale, Washington (Her beloved husband Ralph was a naval officer who kept flunking retirement).

Dubbed "Miss Baby Alice" by her Texas nanny, like many people who hate to cook, she served wonderful meals. After all, if you don't like doing it, you aren't going to bother unless the results are worth the trouble.

This sweet, spicy mustard, which we all referred to as Baby Alice Mustard, was one of her specialties. I first tasted it in Bremerton, have made it for 40 years and have no idea where it originated although I know it wasn't with Alice.

Having tried it with almost everything except ice cream, I am eternally grateful to whomever it was. A dab takes smoked salmon, sausages and cheeses to a whole new dimension.

The recipe is easy to make and can be doubled. The results must be refrigerated but keep indefinitely.

Baby Alice Mustard

2 eggs
1 TBS flour
5 TBS Coleman's dry mustard
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
dash of cayenne
butter

In a heat-proof bowl, beat the eggs well then stir in everything except the butter until smooth.
Cook in a double boiler over hot water, stirring constantly. This will take awhile, so have something to read or watch.
When the mixture reaches the consistency of mayonnaise, stir in a lump of butter the size of an egg. Stir until thoroughly dissolved and mixed. If not using immediately, turn into a container, seal and refrigerate.

Enjoy.

A treat that's just ducky

2010-02-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

When you have 10 restaurants, 600 employees and three lodges worth of hungry skiers in addition to the day trippers, food can be a challenge but the team at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, is more than up to it. The resort is consistently ranked number one in food and beverage by readers of SKI magazine and Zagat Restaurant Guide. This recipe shows why.

Three women get credit for sharing. Julie Wilson, Deer Park's director of food and beverage and a grad of La Varenne Cooking School of Paris, won the Utah's Golden Spoon as 2009 Restaurateur of the Year. Jodie Rogers, Snow Park and Empire Canyon Lodges executive chef, has been a professional chef for 15 years and was on the gold medal-winning teams at the Australian Salon Culinare Restaurant of Champions. Heather Prine is Seafood Buffet chef.

Duck eggs are not normally found in our neighborhood grocery stores but when they are, this is how to prepare them and wow your guests.

Seafood Buffet's Duck Egg Custard

Yield: 12 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Egg Custard
4 cups heavy cream
10 duck egg yolks
1 cup brandy
5 Shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/2 TBS. shallots, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Crack top from duck eggs and empty, reserving yolks and shells.
Whisk together cream, yolks, 1/4 cup of the brandy, salt and pepper.
Saute the chopped shrimp and shallots, deglazing the pan with the remaining brandy. Season to taste.
Scoop into the shells, stopping about halfway up.

Brown Roux
2 TBS. each oil (preferably duck fat) and flour
Heat the oil, stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until dark brown in color.

Gumbo
1/4 cup green pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup onlion, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup shrimp, finely chopped
2 cups shrimp or lobster stock
Brown roux, just enough to thicken
File, salt and pepper to taste
Saute the peppers, onion and celery in a small amount of butter. Add the shrimp and deglaze the pan with the stock. Add roux to thicken then add file, salt and pepper.

Top egg custard with gumbo mix and bake in a water bath for about 30-40 minutes until firm.

Classy Chicken Pot Pie

2010-02-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

Elevating a comfort food to gourmet levels is a hot trend that I guess we can attribute to the economy.

This high-falutin' version of chicken pot pie we can definitely attribute to Chef Eric Gabrynowicz at the Tavern at Highlands Country Club in Garrison, N. Y.

"Uncommon pleasure" is how a New York Times reviewer described dining at Tavern, named by Esquire magazine as one of the 20 best new restaurants in the USA.

Try it and let me know how you rate it.

Tavern Chicken Pot Pie

Meat and Stock:
3-4 lb. Chicken
1 stick of butter
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
Thyme

Vegetables:
2 parsnips
2 carrots
1 medium sized rutabaga
1 cup oyster mushrooms (or whichever type of mushroom you prefer)
1 cup cipollini onion (Vidalia or Walla Wallas would work too)
2 cups chicken stock
4 TBS butter
(This recipe calls for seasonal vegetables. Use the suggested vegetables or 1 cup each of 5 of your favorite vegetables from the farmers market.)

Bechamel Sauce:
2 quarts roasted chicken stock
1 quart whole milk
1/2 lb butter
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 lb flour

Garnish:
four sprigs rosemary
Frozen puff-pastry
1 egg
2 tsp. butter

Preparation:
Season the bird with salt, pepper and pat with softened butter. Roast the chicken at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Pull the bird our and let it rest. After resting pull the meat off the bone. In a rondeau (Dutch oven), re-roast the chicken carcass for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Add thyme, one sliced onion, one sliced carrot, and Chicken Broth to cover. Simmer this for 30 minutes. This will give you a nice roasted stock to make the bechamel.
Add the carrots, parsnips and rutabaga to a wide bottom skillet and glaze in butter on medium to high heat with 2 cups chicken stock, adding salt and pepper to taste. Roast the cipollini onions in olive oil in a hot saute pan until caramelized. Finish them in the hot oven for about 5 minutes. Do the same with mushrooms.

To make the bechamel sauce:
Melt 1/2 lb butter and 1/2 cup olive oil in a large saute pan or rondeau and gently add the flour stirring slowly and consistently with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes and pour in the 2 quarts roasted stock and 1 quart milk. Whisk aggressively until smooth. Turn the heat to low and continue to stir and cook for about 5 - 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and fold in the pulled chicken and vegetables. Aggressively season with salt and pepper. (The flour and milk will have masked whatever seasonings you added earlier.-) Chop four sprigs of rosemary and saute in 2 Tablespoons butter and add to the mixture.

To finish the dish:
Take mixture of chicken, vegetables and bechamel and pour into a crock. Bake frozen puff pastry brushed with a mixture of one whipped egg with a bit of water on a sheet pan until golden brown. Scoop and serve into desired portions and top with a square cut piece of the baked puff pastry.