Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella

 

I hope everyone had a spectacular Turkey day. I was too busy eating so I unfortunately don't have any photos of the spread. *sadface* And I'm still recovering from my food coma. As for the actual turkey, I've never been too crazy about it the day of but I do love the leftovers. Aside from the always glorious post-Thanksgiving sandwich, the possibilities for the turkey are endless: soups, chilies, stir fries, casseroles, etc.

A paella is a little like a casserole in the sense that it is often served in the same vessel it's cooked in. I've adapted this paella recipe for leftover turkey but leftover roast chicken would work just as well. This recipe is made in a 6 quart Dutch oven because I don't have a paella pan nor do I have a open fire of orange branches and pine cones so I did the cooking in the oven.

Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 pound seafood of choice or a mixture of shrimp, peeled and deveined, scallops, or squid
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
Olive oil
8 or 9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (2 generous tablespoons)
3 to 4 cups leftover turkey, coarsely shredded or chopped
8 ounces Spanish chorizo (can sub fresh chorizo or Portugese linguiça), sliced in half lengthwise then cut into 1/2 inch thick crescents on the bias
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups Valencia or Arborio rice or another short grain rice
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 dried bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper
1 dozen or so mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the turkey broth in a small saucepan or in the microwave until hot and steaming but not boiling. Add the crumbled saffron to bloom and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. Add the pepper strips, stirring occasionally, and cook about 3 to 4 minutes or until the skin starts to blister and turn spotty black. Transfer the pepper to a small plate and set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 teaspoons of oil in the now empty Dutch oven and cook the chorizo until it starts to brown and fat begins to render, about 4 - 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until the onions are soft, 3 - 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add the rice and stir until the Dutch oven contents are evenly mixed. Add the drained and chopped tomatoes, white wine, turkey stock and saffron mixture, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper and bring to boil stirring occasionally.

Cover the pot and transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid, about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pot from the oven, mix in the cooked leftover shredded turkey and shrimp. Arrange the mussels hinged-side down into the rice, arrange the bell peppers in a pinwheel pattern. Cover and return the pot to the oven and cook until shrimp are opaque and mussels are opened, about 10 minutes.

Scatter the peas on top, cover, and let the paella stand for 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that haven't opened. Sprinkle with parsley and arrange lemon slices on top or serve them separately.

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New York Greaser

The name of this sandwich says it all! 
     While I was working in restaurants on the east coast, there always seemed to be a few cooks in the kitchen from New York City.  The NYC cooks always bragged up the food from back home.  Hey!  New York City food is worth bragging up! 
     Big Apple sub shops and Italian delicatessens always have local nicknamed food items on the menu.  Local customers would know what a "Greaser" is in some neighborhoods.  When a customer who was new to the area would ask "What is a Greaser?"  The deli cooks answer always started with these words; "You don't know what a Greaser is?"  Then the deli cook would shake his head in disbelief and disgust over the thought that anyone would not know what a Greaser is! 
     Traditionally, a greaser is made by dipping large pieces of bell pepper and onions with an Italian sausage in hot fryer oil repeatedly.  When the onions and peppers caramelize and the sausage is cooked brown, the cook would empty the fryer basket onto an Italian sub roll without shaking off the excess grease.  The "Greaser" nickname came from having enough grease dripping from the sandwich to slick down the customers hair.  Those greasy, slick, mens hair styles from the 1960's is what this sandwich was named after.  You didn't need hair styling grease if you were eating one of these sandwiches! 
     Cheese was the only option on a "Greaser" sandwich.  The only sliced cheeses in old New York Italian delis were provolone or mozzarella.  When a customer asked for American cheese, the deli cook would say "You actually eat that stuff?"  LOL 
     Recipe:  Bake a large sweet Italian sausage in a 400 degree oven till it is full cooked, plump and juicy. 
     Lay a few thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on an Italian sub roll that is split open.  Bake the roll till the bread is crusty and the cheese becomes soft. 
     Heat a generous amount of blended olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.  Place large cut pieces of red and green bell pepper in the hot oil.  Add large cut onion pieces.  When the peppers are cooked half way, add the baked sausage.  Pan fry the sausage, peppers and onions till all the ingredients get brown highlights. 
     Use tongs or a fryer skimmer to remove the ingredients from the hot grease and place them directly on the melted mozzarella cheese on the toasted sub roll. 
     Place the sandwich on a plate and serve with some Italian Pickled Giardiniera.  (Store bought Italian giardiniera is fine for this recipe.)  Sprinkle a little bit of dried oregano over the sandwich. 
     Serving a New York Greaser Sandwich with French Fries just might be considered to be "grease overkill!"  Just forget about asking for French Fries in a NY Italian Deli.  The response that you will get from the deli clerk would be;  "French Fries?  This is an Italian deli!" 
     Obviously, this New York Greaser sandwich is not a sandwich that is meant to be eaten everyday.  A good "Greaser" sandwich does bring back memories of the good old days when food was fun!  Delicious!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna      

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Medallions of Lotte Lautrec

This is a simple elegant recipe! 
     Lotte is also known as monkfish in English.  The sauce was named after the French Painter Toulouse Lautrec.  Monkfish is a deep water fish that has a lobster flavor and texture.  The Lautrec mint creme is perfect with monkfish! 
     Recipe:  Cut a monkfish filet into thick medallions and season them with sea salt and pepper.  Pan sear both sides of each medallion in butter and oil over medium heat till fully cooked.  Arrange the monkfish medallions on a plate. 
     Reduce a splash of white wine in a sauce pot over medium high heat till it is almost a syrup consistency.  Add a splash cream, sea salt, white pepper and fresh chopped mint leaves.  Reduce the sauce till it becomes a light sauce consistancy. 
     Spoon sauce around the monkfish medallions onto the plate. 
     Serve with brown rice, julienne buttermilk battered eggplant frites, pimiento and peas. 
     The eggplant sticks are simply dredged in flour, then dredged in buttermilk and finally dredged in curry powder seasoned flower and then fried in 360 degree oil. 
     The mint is far from overpowering and it is a very delicate flavor in the creme sauce.  The sauce caresses the monkfish flavors very nicely.  This is such a refreshingly simple entree.  Delicious!  Shawna

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Antipasti! Insalata di Bonito Carciofi with Caponata and Mozzarella Crostini

Spring and summer food the Italian way! 
      
     Insalata di Bonito Carciofi Recipe:  Mix a little bit of virgin olive oil, a few ripe olives that are cut in half, a few quartered artichoke hearts, a little bit of finely chopped garlic, sea salt, a pinch of black pepper and some flaked cooked bonito filet.  (Bonito is in the tuna family and it does have a slightly stronger flavor.  Simply boil or bake a piece of bonito filet.  Let the bonito cool.  Flake the bonito meat with a fork.)  Toss the ingredients together and chill in a refrigerator. 
     Caponata Recipe:  Saute these ingredients in virgin olive oil gently over medium low heat:  a few cloves of sliced garlic, a little bit of chopped onion and some chopped celery. 
     When the celery is cooked al dente, add some thin sliced eggplant.  (Leave the eggplant skin on.)
     Add sea salt and black pepper. 
     Add some peeled seeded plum tomato filets.  Add a little bit of tomato paste and a generous splash of balsamic vinegar.  Stir and gently reduce the caponata.  The caponata should be rich and dark colored with the thick sauce clinging to the vegetables.   Remove the caponata from the heat.  Place the caponata into a container and chill it in a refrigerator.  Chill the caponata for two hours before serving so that all the flavors meld.  (Don't let this caponata get too mushy by over cooking.  Only add a minimum amount of the liquids so the time spent simmering will not be long.) 
     Mozzarella Crostini Recipe:  Cut thin slices of Italian bread.  Brush both sides with olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven till they are almost crispy.  Top each crostini slice with a fresh mozzarella slice and return them to the oven to soften the cheese.  (Do not brown the cheese!) 
     Assembly:  Place some mixed lettuce, sliced carrot and sliced onion on a serving platter.  Set the bonito carciofi mixture on top of the salad and sprinkle a little bit of coarse ground black pepper over the salad.  Set the crostini and caponata on the platter and sprinkle a little bit of oregano on the cheese. 
     This is such a satisfying, healthy and great tasting antipasti platter!  Putting the caponata or the  bonito carciofi on a slice of the cheese crostini while eating is such a nice combination.  I made the bread a couple days ago and it is perfect for making crostini.  I bought the mozzarella but I occasionally make fresh mozzarella cheese with fresh curds.  The coponata recipe is one of many regional Italian coponata styles.  Italian cooking is simplicity at its best.  Quality and technique are always important in perfection Italian cooking.  Exact proportions and distinct ingredients yield great flavors from a combination of just a few ingredients.  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna

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Spaghetti Aromatici

This is a nice light pasta that has a very nice mixture of herbs.  Pastas like Spaghetti Aromatici are usually served as the third or fifth course of an Italian seven course formal dinner.
     Recipe:  Boil spaghetti pasta till al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, make the aromatici sauce.
     Saute sliced garlic in virgin olive oil over medium heat till it turns to a golden color.  (Use enough olive oil to coat the noodles.  Olive oil is the sauce.)  Add sea salt and cracked black pepper.  Add a chopped fresh herb mix of oregano, sage, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram and a larger proportion of chopped mint.  Toss herb oil sauce with the cooked pasta.  Garnish with a mint sprig.
     The aroma and taste of this pasta is so fragrant!  Mint is really the major portion of the herb mix.  This is an authentic regional Italian pasta that does not get the attention it deserves.  Simply wonderful!  Ciao Baby!  ... Shawna

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Filetti Di Pollo alla Sophia

I learned this recipe while working in a northern Italian restaurant several years ago.  I never found out which Sophia this recipe was named after.  This recipe was Veal Sophia on our menu.  The alla Sophia preparation is nice with chicken too. 
     Very few Italian fine dining restauants have chicken on the menu.  In the old days of fine cooking in Italy, there was no refrigeration.  So chicken was not exactly fresh by the time that the afternoon dinner was served.  In fact, the unrefrigerated chicken would spoil rather quickly.  Some of the great Italian chefs that I worked with with would say "yuck" when chicken was mentioned.  Those Italian chefs loved to cook eggs and not chicken.  Even though in America, chicken is very fresh at a market.     
     Recipe:  Cut 2 petite butterflied split chicken breast filets.  Dredge the filets in flour.  Dip the filets in egg wash.  Dredge the filets in flour again.  Saute the coated filets in butter and olive oil over medium heat. 
     Flour and egg dip 2 very thick slices of peeled eggplant.  Saute the egg dipped eggplant with the chicken in the same saute pan.  (Don't flour the eggplant a second time like the chicken.) 
     Flip the chicken and eggplant a few times so they cook evenly.  Season with sea salt and white pepper.  Add a little chopped garlic to the pan but do not let it brown.  Add white wine and a little bit of tomato paste. 
     Reduce the sauce a little bit. 
     Add a splash of milk and cream. 
     Simmer and reduce the sauce slowly over medium low heat till it becomes a light medium consistency. 
     Assembly:  Set the chicken filets on a plate.  Set the eggplant on top of the chicken filets and pour the sauce over. 
     This is a fine flavored entree.  It is a light, lady's Italian entree.  The rosa sauce is so fine of a flavor with chicken and eggplant!  This is an Italian Veal preparation that I adapted to chicken.  Use veal cutlets to make this recipe if you prefer veal.  Serve with oven roasted potato and carrots.  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...     Shawna

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Roasted Fresh Beet, Chevre Goat Cheese and Crostini Salad with Sweet Red Pepper Vinaegrette

     I had a salad that was similar to this salad at a restaurant called "Wilde" in Chicago as an appetizer a few days ago.  The restaurant's roasted beet and chevre cheese salad was rather disappointing!  It sounded interesting on the menu but the presentation was of very poor quality.  The dressing on the salad was a strong balsamic vinaegrette and it over powered all the other flavors on the plate.  The chevre cheese was heated and blobbed onto the beets.  The beets were not roasted, like the menu stated they were. The presentation of the restaurant's salad looked like it was made by a unskilled kitchen helper.  
     I thought I would try to improve the restaurants salad to my liking in this recipe.  My presentation and choice of dressing was a very nice improvement over the restaurant's dissapointing recipe. 
     Recipe:  Oven roast an unpeeled beet in a 375 degree oven till it is cooked al dente.  Cool the roasted beet under cold running water.  Wipe the skin off of the roasted beet by rubbing with a dry towel.  Slice the beet into medallion shapes. 
     Toss mixed lettuce, onion slices, match stick cut carrots, sliced celery together.  Center the salad across the plate. 
     Garnish each side of the salad with plum tomato slices and artichoke halves. 
     Toast some thin sliced Italian bread that is brushed with olive oil in a 350 degree oven.
     Cut a few chevre fresh goat cheese slices.  Set then on a non stick pan.  Heat the chevre in a 350 degree oven till it just becomes warm and aromatic. 
     Alternate the crostini, the roasted beet slices and the warmed Chevre goat cheese across the top of the greens. 
     Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Vinaegrette Recipe:  Mix a little bit of very fine chopped roasted sweet red bell pepper, a clove of chopped garlic, a splash of pomegranate vinegar, a splash of virgin olive oil, sea salt and coarse black pepper together to make the vinaegrette. 
     Spoon the vinaegrette over and around the salad. 
     The fresh roasted beets are so nice with the sharp flavored fresh chevre cheese!  The crostini adds some crunch.  The roasted red bell pepper vinaegrette dressing is perfect for this dish and the flavor is not overbearing.  A balsamic vinegrette would over power and ruin the delicate flavors of this salad.  A lighter flavored dressing was what this salad needed!  This is some fine healthy cooking! 
     Never be afraid to seriously criticize a meal that you buy at a restaurant.  Bad "word of mouth" does cause poorly managed restaurants to improve or perish.  Making a recipe better than the meal that a restaurant's cook made is fun and challenging too.   ... Shawna

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Antipasti di Insalata Caprese

Depending on which family or Italian owned the restaurant that I worked in, the styles of presenting a fine Caprese varied from kitchen to kitchen.  Some are plain simple perfection.  Others go too far from the traditional.  I added a few items to the plate, so I labeled this as an antipasti.  Caprese is sliced ripe plum tomato and sliced fresh mozzarella with virgin olive oil and oregano.  Nothing else!  The flavor is so nice and healthy. 
     We used to make our own fresh mozzarella from curd in a few Italian kitchens that I worked in.  Stretching fresh curds to form fresh mozzarella cheese was relaxing work in the afternoon.  Quality store bought fresh mozzarella is fine for this recipe.  Fresh oregano is good but most chefs prefer dried oregano for this dish.  No salt on fresh cheese ever!  No pepper either. 
     The salad has mixed lettuce, sliced onion, black olive, celery, carrot, virgin olive oil and a balsamic vinegar drizzle with a light sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper.  I placed a little bit of caponata on the plate too.  (The caponata recipe is posted in my blog too.)  Crostini that are brushed with olive oil and toasted are nice on this plate.  Only the small portion of salad and the caponata are the extra ingredients on this plate.  This is fine Italian antipasti!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna

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Turkey Cannelloni with Sun Dried Tomato Creme

I'll make a few traditional cannelloni recipes soon.  This turkey cannelloni is a nice alternative to beef or veal cannelloni.  The cream sun dried tomato sauce accents the flavor of turkey in a nice way.  These cannelloni were made with a basic crepelli instead of a sheet of pasta.
     Crepelli Recipe:  Make a crepelli batter in a mixing bowl with 2 eggs, an equal amount of milk, flour, sea salt and a splash of olive oil while whisking.  (No sugar and no butter!  Add just enough flour so that the batter coats the back of a spoon.)  Heat a non stick pan over medium heat.  Brush the pan with olive oil.  pour enough crepelli batter into the pan so that a thin crepe is formed.  Tilt the pan to even the edges of the crepe.  Flip the crepe.  (Do not brown the crepes for cannelloni.  The crepe should look like a pasta color.  Set the crepes aside.
     Turkey Cannelloni Stuffing Recipe:  Saute fine chopped onion, celery, garlic and carrots till al dente over medium heat.  Add ground turkey, sage, oregano, basil, sea salt and black pepper.  Saute and stir till turkey is fully cooked.  Remove from heat and stir in a little grated cheese mixture of parmesan, asiago, mozzarella, provolone and romano.  Let the stuffing cool.
     Form 1/2 inch round lines of turkey mixture across the center of the crepelli.  Trim off the excess canelloni shell and roll like a tube shape.  Trim the ends of the cannelloni.  Place the cannelloni in a covered pan brushed with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees till hot but not let it brown.
     Sun Dried Tomato Creme Recipe:  Cook sun dried tomatoes in a little water to reconstitute them over high heat.  Turn the heat to medium and add a little bit of  tomato paste, cream, sea salt and black pepper.  Stir till sauce is reduced a little.  Place the cannelloni on a plate and pour the sauce over them.  Sprinkle with a little bit of fresh grated parmesan cheese.
     This dish is so very tasty and healthy.  Turkey instead of ground beef or veal is nice!  You just have to remember not to season this turkey like beef.  Go light on the seasoning.  The sun dried tomato is the bold flavor of this dish and the sauce needs minimal seasoning.  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...   Shawna

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Malted White Hot Chocolate

Dear readers, let me introduce you to something very, very special. The creamiest, dreamiest way to enjoy the holiday season. The thing that just might make me forget about my favorite sparkly sugar cookies, adorable gingerbread men, and those ubiquitous chocolate-covered cherries with the oddly delicious oozy, boozy centers.

Meet Malted White Hot Chocolate. Or in other words, my Winter Kryptonite.


I first started thinking about this heavenly combination of flavors during a totally amazing experience at Mindy's Hot Chocolate in Chicago, during my "How did I get here?" adventure with the Sears Chef Challenge last month. Mindy's offers the most mind-blowing pastry and sweet drink menu, I just...I just don't have the adjectives, people. But I will say that I had two enormous servings of Mindy's "light" hot chocolate in as many days, and haven't been able to get it off my mind ever since. Hooooo, boy. It was malted magic, let me tell you.

The only drawback to Mindy's light hot chocolate, if you can even call it that, was that it was so thick, so rich, so reminiscent of an entire pint of hot, melted, Haagen-Dazs, that there was no need for breakfast on either of the mornings after having the drink the night before. I decided I needed to translate the recipe for real life, which is to say to make it possible to savor the insanely delicious marriage of malt and white chocolate all winter long without having to buy new pants. So I set out to lighten the formula up a bit while still maintaining its ability to have one's eyes roll back in one's head upon tasting.


The answer here is a blend of milk and half-and-half, instead of what I suspect was nearly all heavy cream in the original. Of course you can make this formula richer by swapping in some cream and adding a couple more ounces of white chocolate. But for me, this recipe is a real winner just the way it is. And if you're feeling extra fancy, some freshly grated nutmeg and some homemade marshmallows can take it to an even more glorious level. If you need me at all for the rest of the winter, you can find me right here with a cup of this malted nectar of life, watching Oprah or Ina, silently hoping that Little C's naptime goes juuuust a little longer.


Malted White Hot Chocolate

Make this drink even richer by swapping in some cream, adding a bit more malt powder, or a couple more ounces of white chocolate. But I' d avoid going lower fat than this combination of whole milk and half-and-half, because the result will be rather watery, and really, what's the point?

You can use white chocolate in bar form or chips, but I prefer bar chocolate for this, because it really turns out noticably silkier. Top with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg and serve with marshmallows and you're set.

Serves 4

2 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half
6 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped (see note)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
Generous pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup malted milk powder (such as Carnation)

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the milk, half-and-half, white chocolate, vanilla bean paste (or extract) and salt. Whisk gently until the mixture is just below the bubbling point and the white chocolate is completely melted. Do not boil. When the mixture is hot, whisk in the malted milk powder until completely dissolved. Serve hot.

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Insalata di Mare

This is such a simple, tasty, perfection Italian salad!
     I learned to make this salad when I was a garde manger chef in a fine Northern Italian restaurant.  The seafood part of the recipe was made the same way in every Italian restaurant that I cooked for in later years.
     This recipe never changes.  Only the presentation changes from restaurant to restaurant.  This blog entry presentation does have a nice eye appeal!
     It is very important to not overcook the seafood for this salad.  The seafood must be very fresh.  The seafood must be cooked al dente or just a little bit more than three quarters fully cooked.  Most Italians prefer al dente seafood for a salad, just like al dente pasta!
     Recipe:  Center a mound of mixed lettuce on a plate.
     Surround the mound of lettuce with plum tomato slices.
     Set ripe olive halves on the tomato slices.
     Place thin sliced long carrot triangles between the tomato slices.
     Set the salad set up plate aside.
     Bring about 6 cups of water to a boil over high heat in a sauce pot.
     Add 1bay leaf.
     Add a little bit of sea salt.
     Add a handful of medium size scallops.
     Add 6 to 8 large peeled and deveined shrimp.
     Boil the shrimp and scallops for about 1 minute, before adding the squid.
     Add a handful sliced squid and tentacles. Boil the seafood for about 45 seconds more, till the seafood is cooked al dente.  (Add the sliced squid last.  Squid only takes a few seconds to cook.  When seafood is al dente, it is slightly raw and warm in the center.)
     Remove the pot from heat and immediately cool the seafood under cold running water.
     Drain off the water and remove the bay leaf.
     Place a splash of virgin olive oil in a mixing bowl.
     Add a pinch of coarse ground black pepper.
     Add a pinch of sea salt.
     Add a pinch of minced basil.
     Add a pinch of oregano.
     Add a pinch of chopped Italian parsley.
     Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
     Add the al dente poached seafood.
     Toss the seafood with the dressing.
     Set the seafood on top of the lettuce mound on the plate.
     Spoon the extra lemon oil dressing over the salad and tomatoes.
     This is such a nice healthy salad!  Fresh lemon juice makes a big difference.  Do not over cook the seafood or it with taste bland and the squid will be textured like rubber.  Lo carb, lo calorie and high protein is what this classic salad is all about.  Insalata di mare is a great summertime salad.  This is one of my favorite Italian salads!  Ciao baby!  ...  Shawna

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Haitian Stewed Oxtail with Corn Meal Mush and Pigeon Peas

This dish is so savory and tasty!  A few Haitian cooks that I have worked with liked to make this recipe for their own dinner occasionally.  I later had a Haitian room mate who cooked the same oxtail recipe for dinner one night.  For a very simple plate of food, the flavor was exceptionally great!
     Recipe:  Saute these ingredients with butter in a sauce pot over medium heat:  chopped onion, green onion pieces and green Scotch Bonnet pepper.  (A green habanero is a good pepper to use too.)  Add oxtail pieces and brown them a little on all sides.  Cover the oxtails with a light beef broth.  Add black pepper, sea salt, bay leaf and bring the broth to a boil.  Turn the heat to low.  Let the oxtails simmer till they are tender and sauce is reduced to a rich glace.
     Boil water, corn meal, sea salt and black pepper for corn meal mush.  Constantly stir the corn meal mush till it is smooth and thick.  Add a spoonful of the oxtail broth.  Load the corn mush into a star tipped pastry bag when it is done cooking.
     Boil pigeon peas in water with sea salt and black pepper till they become tender.
     Set the oxtails on a plate and pour the pan glace over them.  Pipe the corn meal mush onto the plate.  Spoon some pigeon peas onto the plate.
     This dish is spicy hot from one Scotch Bonnet pepper.  The flavor is so unreal!  Oxtails that are slowly stewed give an incredible flavor to the pan juices.  The oxtail meat should easily pull away from the bone.  The corn meal mush is traditionally served with this oxtail recipe.  This entree is so very deep with simple flavor!  This is not glamorous caribbean cooking, but this oxtail entree is a very nice tasting plate of food!  Ya Mon!  ...  Shawna

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Zuppa di Mare

Italy was known for fantastic food long before tomatoes and chili peppers were introduced from the new world.  My zuppa di mare recipe dates back before Colombus and it has no tomato in it.  I have seen some zuppa di mare recipes that look more like a Burrida, San Franciscan Ciapino or a Bouillabaisse.  The recipe I cooked is so simply real.  I learned this zuppa in a Northern Italian Restaurant that I was apprenticing in. 

     Recipe:  Saute sliced garlic in olive oil over medium heat till it turns a light golden color.  Add a little bit each of diced celery, diced carrots and diced onions.  Saute the vegetables till they are cooked al dente. 

     Add a bay leaf.  Add a pinch each of chopped marjoram, oregano, sage, basil, sea salt, and black pepper. 

     Add some light seafood broth or fum'e.  Bring the zuppa to a boil.  Simmer the zuppa over medium heat till the flavors meld. 

     Add some chopped anchovy filets or sun dried anchovy. 

     Add some large bite size red snapper filet pieces. 

     Add a few scallops and shrimp. 

     Remove the bay leaf. 

     Add chopped green onion, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some sliced squid last.  (The squid cook in just a few seconds.) 

     Center a little pile of al dente cooked fettucini in a shallow soup bowl and ladle the zuppa around the pasta. 

     You can taste the mellow seafood flavors in every spoonful.  The olive oil and lemon accent the seafood's flavors nicely.  Some zuppas center a piece of toasted bread in the soup bowl.  A small twist of pasta is how this version is served.  A zuppa di mare does not have be complicated with extra added ingredients to be great.  This is a very soothing, delicate flavored seafood zuppa!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna

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Brunoise au Jardin a la Chevre Crostini

Brush thin slices of Italian bread with olive oil.  Toast them in a 350 degree oven. 
     Brunoise cut some celery, carrot and green bell pepper.  (Brunoise = Very tiny uniformly diced vegetables.  Thin slice the vegetables, then cut them into thin matchstick shapes and then slice across the vegetable matchsticks to make a fine brunoise.) 
     Place the brunoise vegetables in a baking pan.  Drizzle the brunoise vegetables with olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes till they are half cooked. 
     Cut slices of Chevre Goat Cheese and place them on top of the toast.  Place the chevre crostini in a 350 degree oven just long enough to soften the cheese. 
     Spread the lightly roasted brunoise mix of vegetables over the cheese. 
     Set the crostini on a plate. Place mixed baby lettuce, black olives and some caponata on the plate.  (I posted a caponata recipe in this blog in an Antipasti recipe.)  Put some chopped tomato on the lettuce. 
     Dijon Scallion Vinaegrette recipe:  Mix a splash of virgin olive oil, a splash of rice vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, dijon mustard and fine chopped scallion together to make the salad dressing. 
     Spoon a little bit of the vinaegrette over the lettuce. 
     This is a nice appetizer, light lunch or healthy snack.  The half roasted brunoise of garden vegetables on the fresh goat cheese crostini are very pleasant!  The caponata's balsamic sweetness is very mediterranean in flavor.  The caponata is a natural accompaniment for a cheese crostini. 
     Just use my pizza dough recipe to make a nice textured Italian bread loaf like I did.  Home made Italian bread is so much better than store bought bread.  At home, you can work the dough properly so there are no large air bubble pockets in the bread.  Large air bubbles are like holes in a slice of crostini.  You can't melt cheese onto a hole on a piece of toast.  LOL  Most store bought Italian bread is not as carefully kneaded as home made Italian bread.  Store bought or large bakery bread does have air holes in the bread occasionally.   ...  Shawna

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Pigeon Pea and Ham Soup

Back to some Caribbean cooking!  I cooked a lot of island food while in Florida.  Many cooks I that worked with were from the Caribbean islands.  So, I learned as much as I could from them while I was there.  Mastering the caribbean spices and chili peppers is difficult.  If you want to learn Caribbean cooking then start with the island native dishes.  Arawak and Carib tribes cooked some great food!  Jerk and barbacoa are two examples.  Both dishes use local chili peppers and are very spicy hot!  Pigeon peas have a deep flavor like lentils.  Pigeon peas are a main staple in the Caribbean too. 
     Soup Recipe:  Boil vegetable broth in a sauce pot. 
     Add a little bit each of chopped celery, carrot and onion. 
     Add a little bit of these ingredients:  chopped scallion, chopped tomato, diced green bell pepper, diced red bell pepper and a half of a Scotch Bonnet Chile Pepper ("Bonnie" Peppers are very hot!). 
     Add a generous amount of washed canned pigeon peas or cooked dried pigeon peas. 
     Add a few hand torn ham chunks. 
     Add a bay leaf, a little ground allspice, sea salt and black pepper. 
     Simmer till the flavors meld and the vegetables are cooked tender. 
     Mash 1/2 of the pigeon peas in the pot. 
     Stir and simmer the soup for a few more minutes. 
     Serve with a slice of toasted bread. 
     This soup is very spicy and satisfying.  You will immediately know if you used too much hot chili pepper in this soup!  Go sparingly on the chili.  The broth is so nice and savory!  Yum!  ...  Shawna

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Porterhouse Steak in Chipotle Marinade with Roasted Cumin Cilantro Butter

This decadent porterhouse steak recipe has a very nice southwestern flavor.  The marinade is very light and has a delicate smoked jalapeno flavor.  For a classic steak like a porterhouse, it is not wise to marinate for too much time or to use too strong of a marinade.  The porterhouse steak's flavor is so great, there is no need for an over seasoned dry rub spice mix or an overly rich marinade.  The porterhouse steak's flavor is the main attraction! 
     A porterhouse steak is similar to a T-Bone steak.  Both steaks come from the same section of beef.  Both steaks have a sirloin section on one side of the bone.  The difference is the amount of tenderloin (filet mignon) that is attached to the other side of the bone.  Most chefs say the filet mignon section on a porterhouse should be 1 1/2 inches wide from the bone.  Some chefs say the minimum for the filet section on a porterhouse is 2 1/2 inches wide from the bone.  Most T-Bone steaks only have a minimal amount of the filet mignon attached.  The porterhouse steak in this blog's pictures has a three inch wide piece of filet mignon attached to the bone!  So this was a nice choice for a porterhouse steak. 
     As far as the thickness of a porterhouse steak is concerned, 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches thick is considered to be an individual portion.  2 inch to 2 1/2 inch thick porterhouse steaks are usually shared by two people and served as a Chateau Briand platter with extensive accompaniments and garnishes.  Porterhouse steak is considered by many people to be the undisputed king of steaks! 
     Roasted Cumin Cilantro Butter Recipe:  Heat a dry saute pan over medium heat.  Add some ground cumin.  Shake the pan constantly till a strong aroma of cumin is released.  Place the roasted cumin powder on a plate to stop the roasting process.  Fine chop some fresh cilantro leaves.  Scrape the chopped cilantro into a small pile on the cutting board.  Place a large piece of chilled plugra butter on the cilantro.  Quickly chop the butter and cilantro together till well blended.  Scrape the cilantro butter off of the cutting board and place it in a bowl.  Add the roasted cumin, a pinch of sea salt, a pinch of white pepper and a few drops of rice vinegar.  Whisk the ingredients together till the butter turns creamy white. 
     Load the roasted cumin cilantro butter into a star tipped pastry bag.  Use the pastry bag to make a few butter pat swirls on a plate.  Chill the butter swirls in a refrigerator for 20 minutes till firm. 
     Chipotle Marinade Recipe:  Mix these ingredients together in a bowl:  1 tablespoon of chipotle pepper puree, 1/2 cup of lager beer, one tablespoon of blended olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.  Pour the marinade over the steak about 15 minutes before cooking.  (15 minutes is just enough time for the marinade to give a delicate essence of chipotle flavor and still not be overbearing.  Marinating for too much time will cause undesirable flavor and texture changes in the steak.) 
     Recipe:  Grill the porterhouse over charcoal or set the porterhouse on a roasting rack on a pan and broil under high heat.  Cook to whatever temperature or doneness you prefer.  (Medium Rare is the most popular temperature for a porterhouse steak.) 
     Set the porterhouse steak on a plate and top the steak with a chilled swirl of Roasted Cumin Cilantro Butter.  Serve with mashed chive potatoes and buttered brussel sprouts.  Serve with buttered match stick julienne sliced rutabaga and carrots.  Garnish with cilantro sprigs. 
     The very mild chipotle flavor adds to the steaks great flavor.  The roasted cumin cilantro butter is a classic butter for steak and it goes very well with the mild chipotle marinade's flavor.  This is an awesome way to serve a porterhouse steak!  Delicious!  ...  Shawna

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Cranberry White Chocolate Souffle

Deliciously decadent! 
     I once worked for a great French chef at a small cafe in Florida.  The chef was running the kitchen at a very nice old restaurant that changed ownership and went out of business before taking over as the chef at the cafe where I was at.  For the last two weeks that the older restaurant was open, the chef ran a very interesting special du jour.  "Any kind of souffle that you can think of" was the special offering! 
     At a cost of a $5.00 promotional price, that restaurant did the most amount of business that it ever had done before closing its doors forever.  The chef's idea was to offer souffle at a great price, so he could sell all the remaining food stock in the restaurant.  The plan worked!  On the final night of business, all the old restaurant had left in the kitchen was items to make a few different souffles with.  Customers are drawn to a nice souffle just like a magnet! 
     Recipe:  Heat sugar and water over high heat in a sauce pot. 
     When the sugar cooks to the hard crack stage, add chopped fresh cranberries.  Stir the mixture.  Add a splash of brandy.  Simmer and reduce the cranberry sauce over low heat till it easily glazes the back of a spoon.  Press the sauce through a strainer and puree the pulp.  Return the cranberry sauce and puree to the heat to keep warm. 
     Heat a little bit of cream and chopped white chocolate over medium low heat.  Add a pinch of nutmeg.  Reduce the cream gently while stirring over medium heat till it becomes a thin sauce consistency.  Keep the white chocolate cream warm.  The cream should be a medium thick sauce consistency. 
     Separate the yokes and whites of 2 eggs.  Whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. 
     Stir the egg yokes into the warm chocolate cream off of the heat. 
     Stir the cranberry sauce into the white chocolate cream souffle mix. 
     Gently fold the cranberry white chocolate cream mix into the egg white meringue one third at a time.  Immediately pour the mixture into a large souffle cup. 
     Bake in a 375 degree oven till the souffle puffs up and gets a thin brown crust over the top.  (About 20 minutes) 
     Set the souffle on a serving dish and sprinkle a little bit of powdered sugar on the souffle.  Serve immediately! 
     Try not to disturb a souffle while it is baking.  A souffle takes almost twenty minutes to bake.  No accompanying dessert sauce is needed with this great tasting souffle.  The flavor of fresh cranberry and white chocolate is so very decadent!  The rich tart cranberry flavor is fantastic with white chocolate.  This is a great holiday dessert souffle.  Delicious!  ...  Shawna

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Coq Au Vin

This is a nice Sunday dinner! 
     Coq refers to a "not so tender rooster" in French.  I used a Cornish Game Hen for this recipe instead of a scrawny rooster.  The title translates to rooster cooked in wine. 
     Recipe:  Saute in a braising pan:  a few small lardons, 3 whole garlic cloves and 3 pieces of celery stalk. 
     Add some chicken bouillon. 
     Add a bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaf and tarragon.  Add sea salt and black pepper. 
     Add pearl onions, morel mushrooms and carrot sticks. 
     Add the game hen and pour a half of a bottle of good dry red wine in the pot. 
     Place the braising pan, covered in an oven at 325 degrees.  Turn the hen a few times so the wine broth cooks into the entire hen.
     When the hen is almost done cooking, remove the lid and cook uncovered to brown the top half of the hen. 
     
     Assembly:  Set a trimmed toasted French bread crouton that is the same size of the base of the hen on a roasting pan.  Bake it in the oven to toast till it becomes crisp.  Place the crouton onto a serving platter. 
     Remove the coq au vin from the oven when the hen is done cooking. 
     Place the hen on the serving tray on top of the crouton. 
     Place the carrots, morels and pearl onions around the hen. 
     Strain the wine broth into a sauce pot and discard the herbs, garlic, celery and lardons. 
     Reduce the sauce and whisk in a little bit of beurre manie to tighten the sauce a little bit.  (Beurre Manie is kneaded chilled butter and flour.  It works like a simple roux to lightly thicken a sauce.)  The Vin Rouge sauce should be thin and not thick. 
     Pour the sauce over the hen and onto the serving tray. 
     This is a nice way to elegantly serve this entree.  Classic elegance is hard to beat!  The hen is so tender and full of flavor.  The morels add depth to the sauces flavor.  The pearl onions are traditional in this dish and really are great with the hen.  I used a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon but a French Domaine Bordeaux or Pinot Noir would be good with too too.  Delicious!  ...   Shawna

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Jamaican Oxtail Pepperpot

This is the very best tropical stew!  Arawak native influence is in this stew but African descendants do the same kind of cooking.  The ingredients for this dish vary from place to place in the caribbean islands.  There is no food markets in my area that provides some of the preferred ingredients for this stew, so, I made a couple of good substitutes.  Calaloo  is found fresh in the Caribbean islands and in the South United States but there is none in Chicago.  I substituted some cooked collard greens.  Cocoyam (yellow yam) was not available in the Chicago area either so I used regular orange yam.  These substitutes did not change the desired flavor at all.
     Pepperpot Recipe:  Roast oxtail pieces in a  325 degree oven till they become slightly brown.  Deglaze the pan and pour the pan juice and the oxtails into a pot.
     Add a mix of beef broth and vegetable broth to the pot and bring it to a boil over medium high heat.
     Add a little bit of crushed garlic, some chopped onion, a little bit of diced carrot, a little bit of diced celery, some chopped green onion, a generous amount of diced green bell pepper and diced red bell pepper.  Add a chopped Scotch Bonnet Pepper, a diced cocoyam (or regular yam), sea salt, black pepper, a bay leaf and some ground allspice.
     Bring the soup back up to a boil and then turn the heat to simmer.  Add chopped calaloo greens (or collard greens).  Add coconut milk.  Let simmer on low heat for about an hour or more.  Do not stir too often or the yams will crush and oxtail meat will fall off of the bone.  Stir gently!
     When the pepperpot is done cooking and all the flavors have melded, squeeze a little bit of lime juice in the pot.  Ladle into a soup bowl and serve.
     The flavor of pepperpot is so very great!  You can make this dish way too spicy if you use too much Scotch Bonnet Pepper.  So, go easy on the amount of chili pepper.  The coconut milk broth is so soothing.  The tender oxtail meat does fall off the bone.  The allspice is so nice in this island stew.  This pepperpot is one great healthy meal!  Ya Mon!  ...  Shawna

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Enoki and Sun Dried Anchovy Soup with Rice Noodles

     Recipe:  Cook some flat rice noodles in boiling water.
     Boil some shrimp broth over medium high heat.  Add a little bit of minced garlic and minced ginger.  Add a few sun dried tiny anchovies.  Add a pinch each of turmeric and five spice powder.  Add a small splash of rice vinegar.  Add sea salt, white pepper and a few drops of sesame oil.
     After the dried anchovies reconstitute, add a julienne sliced green onion, a squeeze of lime juice, a few slices of chili oil packed lotus root, a few snow peas and a little bit of sliced red bell pepper.  Don't over cook the vegetables.  The vegetables should still have a crispy bite to them.
     Center the cooked noodles in a shallow soup bowl.  Spoon the vegetables around the noodles.  Lay the fresh enoki mushrooms around the noodles on top of the vegetables.  Pour the soup broth and the anchovies over the enoki mushrooms.  The hot broth is warm enough to cook the enoki mushrooms.  Place some seaweed salad on top of the noodles in the center of the plate.  
     This soup is so very healthy!  It has a nice eye appeal too.  The chili oil packed lotus slices are crisp and spread spicy heat through the soup.  The rice vinegar, lime and ginger flavor is so nice in the broth!  The anchovies add a pleasantly mild seafood flavor and they are not salty like european anchovies.  The seaweed salad, lotus root packed in chili oil and the sun dried anchovies can be found in a Chinese market.  Yum!  ...   Shawna

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Vegetable, Tofu Lo Mein with Spicy Fermented Black Bean Sauce

Hot and spicy!
Boil some lo mein noodles or ramen noodles in water over high heat.
     Saute these ingredients in a saute pan or wok with a little bit of soy oil and sesame oil over medium high heat:  A little bit each of minced garlic, minced ginger, diced green bell pepper, diced red bell pepper, sliced cabbage and diced onion.
     Add a splash of vegetable broth, a very small amount of fermented black bean paste, a dab of Korean red chili pepper sauce, a few peas and a pinch of white pepper.  (No salt is needed.  The fermented black bean paste is very salty, so don't add too much!)
     Simmer for a minute and add some firm tofu that is cut into cube shapes.
     Drain the water off of the noodles when they are fully cooked.  Toss the noodles and sauce together in the saute pan.  Place the vegetable lo mein onto a plate.
     The nice bold flavor of fermented black beans is noticeable in this entree.  No salt is needed because the fermented black beans are very salty.  This is a nice, healthy, vegetarian dish with plenty of protein from the bean curd.  Delicious!  ...   Shawna

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