Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Zuchinni Tomato Verrines

verrine

verrine2

Ingredients


2 tablespoons pine nuts
4 medium tomatoes-peeled, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup finely diced zucchini
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of ground cumin
1 tablespoon each of finely chopped basil, dill and chives, plus small basil leaves for garnish
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1 ounce)
3 very thin slices of prosciutto, cut in half
finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
very thin slices of prosciutto

Directions

1. In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderately low heat until golden, about 4 minutes. In a bowl, toss the tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the salad into 6 small glasses or jars.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the mascarpone with the 2 egg yolks and grated parmigiano cheese. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the beaten whites into the mascarpone until no streaks remain. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mascarpone cream into each glass over the zucchini salad. Cover each glass with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

3. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook the slices of prosciutto over moderately low heat, turning once, until browned and just crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer the prosciutto to a paper towel-lined plate.

4. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the mascarpone cream, top each verrine with a prosciutto crisp and a few basil leaves and serve.

Total Time: 4.5 hours
Servings: 5
Recipe by: Food + Wine

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

1/2 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound baby spinach
1 cup strawberries, thinly sliced
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together shallot and vinegar. While whisking constantly, drizzle in oil to make a vinaigrette. Add spinach, strawberries, almonds and goat cheese and gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Strawberries

Strawberries

Serves 5
Total Time: 15 minutes

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie crust
1 stick of butter
2 squares bakers chocolate (semi-sweet)
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt

Directions

1. Melt butter and chocolate, mix with other ingredients, which have been blended together.

2. Pour into a pie shell and bake 35 minutes (no longer) at 350 degrees.


Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 1 pie
Recipe by: The Angus Barn

Notes: You can top the pie with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. For this particular pie, I made a graham cracker crust. Next time, I'll try a traditional pie crust.

Roasted Chicken

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp minced thyme
Unsalted butter
Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.

3. Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. I never have twine, so I use my silicone ties to keep the wings and legs close to the body.

4. Salt the chicken with a nice uniform coating which will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 Tbsp). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

5. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. Leave it alone—don't baste it and don't add butter, it creates steam. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

6. Untie the bird and carve.

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 5
Recipe by Thomas Keller of Bouchon

Note: I stopped at that point and the chicken was great. The recipe has one last step and that is to slather the meat with fresh butter and serve with mustard on the side.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Dip

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients


3/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
2 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
2 small mildly hot red chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded
1/4 cup crumbled stone-ground wheat crackers
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
kosher salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Directions

1. Roast red peppers and chile peppers. Instructions

Red Chiles

Roasted Red Chiles

2. Blot the peppers dry with paper towels.

3. Add the peppers, chiles, crackers, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, cumin, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt to the food processor. Process until mostly smooth. With the machine on, slowly pour the oil down the feed tube.

4. Taste and then add more lemon juice, pomegranate molasses or salt as needed.

Note: Dip can be served right away, but it is best if you allow to mellow in the refrigerator overnight. Return to room temperature before serving, garnished with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous pinch of cumin and the pine nuts. Will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 1/4 cups
Recipe by Fine Cooking

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Basil Hummus

Basil Hummus

Ingredients

1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cups sweet basil leaves, packed
3 cloves garlic, smashed then minced
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
Up to 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Several dashes Tabasco
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Directions

1 Heat the pine nuts in a small skillet on medium high heat. Stir them when they start to brown. When most of them have lightly browned, remove them from the pan into a bowl to cool. (Reserve a few pine nuts for garnish.)

2 In the bowl of a food processor, place the basil leaves and the garlic. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, most of the pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, tomato paste, and a few dashes of Tabasco. Pulse several times, for several seconds each time, until the hummus is smooth. Add more Tabasco and salt or lemon juice to taste. Add water to the point of desired consistency.

To serve, place in a bowl and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Sprinkle with a few toasted pine nuts. Serve with pita wedges, crackers, or rustic bread.

Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3 cups
Recipe by Elise of Simply Recipes

Quinoa and Avocado Salad with Dried Fruit and Almonds

Avocado Quinoa

Ingredients

3 Tbsp raisins (preferably a mix of dark and golden)
2 Tbsp dried apricots, thinly sliced
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
Kosher salt
1 large lemon
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
2 medium firm-ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
2 to 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped toasted almonds
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. (The outer germ rings of the grain will remain chewy and white. Some germ rings may separate from the grain and will look like white squiggles.) Immediately fluff the quinoa with a fork and turn it out onto a baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

Finely grate the zest from the lemon and then squeeze 1 Tbs. juice. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp. salt. In a large bowl, toss the vinaigrette with the quinoa, raisins, apricots, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Total Time: 25 min
Servings: 5
Recipe by Fine Cooking

Inspiring evening at the Angus Barn

Angus Barn Apron
Apron signed by Chef Walter Royal and his crew

This past weekend, I had an awesome evening at the Angus Barn in Raleigh, NC where I spent 3 hours in the wine cellar kitchen with chef Walter Royal and his crew. They put on a most fabulous dinner of ribs, filet, tuna + seaweed salad, fried chicken, mac and cheese, coleslaw, salad greens with raspberry and hot / sweet pepper jelly and so much more. Together paired with wine, this was an absolute feast.

The best part about this evening was the hands on activity in the kitchen. I was privileged to stand and grill side by side with wine cellar chef Jimmy Alfano and taught first hand how to cut and disjoint a whole chicken by Chef Royal. Not only did I leave inspired, but I left stuffed full of southern goodness.