My 60th Birthday Party

Dan changed the chandelier into a balloon sculpture.

He also made some beautiful flower arrangements

We started with Crab Cobb Salad with Roasted Sweet Pepper Mayfair dressing

Pretty standard cobb salad, except I changed the usual chicken to crab, and added some diced mango to the mix.  The dressing is based on the one served at the historic Mayfair Hotel in downtown St Louis, where I worked for a couple of years about a decade ago.  I took the original recipe and added a couple of roasted red peppers to it.

2 roasted red peppers
1 small onion
1 stalk of celery
2 to 3 anchovie fillets
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Puree the vegetables with the anchovies, sugar, and mustard.

Fold the puree and the oil into the mayonaise.

Chill a couple of hours to let the flavors get to know one another.  Taste for salt and pepper.

This beautiful braided bread wreath came from Marconi Bakery on "The Hill"-St Louis' Italian neighborhood.

Next we had a GermanPotato salad-I used a recipe from "Cooks Illustrated"-and I didn't care for it.  It wasn't horrible, just not as good as my own recipe.

Everyone loved the golden beets.  I just roasted them and dressed them with rice wine vinegar, a bit of oil, candied violets, fresh mint and chile flakes.

I also grilled tenderloin fillets and topped them with a matre de hotel butter.

Judy brought her fabulous chocolate cake with 7 minute frosting and red sprinkles-which is always everyone's favorite, and I bought salted caramel ice cream from Serendipity.  I can't even begin to explain how crazy delicious Serendipity's ice creams are.


My new birthday grill

I am now looking forward to my next sixty years.

Golden Beet Salad with Orange, Sage and Buttermilk Dressing

Wash and roast your beets at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours-depending on the size of the beets.  Smaller or baby beets will take much less time.  You can roast the beets in  a coverd dish or just wrap them tightly with foil.  When the beets have cooled, peel and slice them.

Orange, Sage and Buttermilk Dressing

Zest and juice of one orange
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
1 cup of mayonaise
1 cup of buttermilk
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend, let sit, refrigerated, a couple of hours before using.

To serve, arrange some greens on your plate, I used some fresh spinach, place the sliced beets on the greens, add a couple of orange segments and dress with the buttermilk dressing.  Fresh chives are a nice garnish

Candied Violets

Violets are blooming out in the garden, so I candied a few to use later for salad or dessert garnishes.  It is a very easy process and works for rose petals too. 

 

 

 

 

Pick, wash and thoroughly dry your blossoms.

 

 

Whisk some egg whites until they're frothy, grab the blossom by the stem and dip into the egg white, then the sugar, covering the blossom totally.  Dry in a low oven (150 degrees) for a couple of hours.  Snip off the stems.

 

 

Store in a tin or container with a tight fitting lid.

 

Thai Steaks and Chile Sesame Potatoes

4 fourteen ounce stripe steaks

Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Shaoxing or sherry
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Sliced green onions and cilantro for garnishing

Combine the marinade ingredients, and marinate the steaks for at least 1 hour, but not more thatn 2.

Drain the steaks and pat dry, grill or pan sear the steaks over medium high heat for aabout 3 minutes per side for medium rare.

Let the steaks rest for 5 to 8 minutes, and carve into 1" slices.

Serve with Chile Sesame Potates and Thai Chile Sesame Vinaigrette.

Roasted Potatoes with Thai Chile Sesame Vinaigrette

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered. (I used Russet, because I had them on hand, but prefer the red)
Canola oil

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh Thai chilies
2 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
Salt and papper to taste
Black sesame seeds, green onions and fresh cilantro for garnighing.

Lightly coat the potatoes with canola oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 265 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and tender.

While the potatoes are roasting, prepare the vinaigrette.

Toss the potatoes, while still hot, with the vinaigrette.

Garnish with the sesame seeds and cilantro before serving.

Reconsider the Trout

Reconsider the Trout


Living in a land locked state, we rely on seafood that is flown in.  In these times of eating local, and worry over the "carbon footprint" created by shipping all that fish, it is time to reconsider the trout.  Once a star on many menus, trout has been pushed aside and bullied by lunks of tuna, steaks of swodfish, and sexy branzino.  Here I'm presenting an updated version of the classic "Trout Amondine" and a simple grilled trout with Lemon Rosemary Butter, but trout is so versatile you can easily adapt it to your favorite tuna, swordfish, or branzino recipe.

Trout Amondine

2 boneless trout, leave whole or cut into fillets
1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
4 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons of Amoretto or other almond liquer
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
minced fresh parsley

Pat the fish dry and dredge in the seasoned flour.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saute pan,  saute the fish for 2 to 3 minutes per side (depending on the size and thickness of the fish) starting with the flesh side down.

Wipe the pan clean and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, as the butter melts and begins to sizzle and brown add the almonds and brown slightly.

Add the Amoretto and turn off the heat.  Add the lemonjuice, zest and parsley.  Pour the almonds and sauce over the fish and serve with lemon wedges or wheels.


Grilled Trout with Lemon and Rosemary Butter

 

 

 

Four trout

 

Sauce

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh Rosemary

6 tablespoon butter, cutinto small cubes and chilled

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice and pinch of lemon zest

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Thoroughly clean the grill grate and brush liberally with oil.

 

Grill the fish 2 to 3 minutes per side over medium-hot coals, beginning with the flesh side down.  After the first 1 1/2 minutes,carefully, with a fish spatula (they are longer and wider to better support the whole fish), rotate the fish 1/4 of a turn clockwise to create the crosshatch grill marks, grill an additional minute to minute and a half.  Flip the fish to the skin side down and finish the cooking.

 

For the Sauce:

In a Saute pan add the wine and shallot, reduce to a glaze.

 

Swirl the butter into the wine reduction off heat to creat a "butter mounted" sauce.  Add the juice and zest, salt and pepper to taste.

 

Pour the sauce over the fish and serve with additional lemon.

 

 

 

 

Fifty Shades of Grey Dinner

My Valentine Class at Kitchen Conservatory this year was inspired by the steamy novel-eventhough I did not read it-way too steamy for this old man.  I read enough about it on Wiki to write a menu.

Asparagus and Mussel Salad with Remoulade
Spanish Sweet Pepper Soup Spanked with Almond Cream and Toasted Almonds
Splayed and Stuffed Tenderloin of Beef in Bondage
Spring Vegetables with Leek Restraints
Timbale of Rice, Peas, and Lardon
Red Velvet and Honey-whipped Goat Cheese Tiramisu with Berries and Silver Balls

 

 

 

Here is the beef recipe

 

4 eight ounce beef tenderloin fillet mignon steaks (center cut)

8 ounce ball of fresh moaazrella, cut into 4 slices

4 thin slices of proscuitto

4 lenths of string to tie the steaks after stuffing

Canola or vegetable oil as needed

 

 

for the Sauce:

4 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 tablespoons of flour

2 cups of veal stock

1/4 cup sweet marsala wine

1/4 cup tomato sauce

 

Wrap each slice of mozzarella with a slice of proscuitto.  Make a cut in the side of each steak large enough to accomodate the wrapped cheese, and insert the cheese into the steak.  Tie with the string which will help the steak hold its shape.

 

Heat a heavy bottomed skillet with a light film of oil.  Sear both sides of the steaks for 3 minutes on each side over high heat.  Sear the sides slightly as well.  Remove the steaks to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes (for medium rare).  The internal temperature should be around 122-125 degrees-let the steaks rest at leat 5 to 8 minutes befor cutting into it.

 

While the steaks finish cooking and are resting, make the sauce.  Add butter to the skillet the steaks were sauteed in.  Add the shallot and garlic and stir cook 1 to 2 minutes-do not brown.  Add the flour and continue to stir cook until you make a caramelly colored light brown roux. 

 

Add the wine and reduce by half, add the stock and tomato sauce and continue to cook and reduce until you reach sauce consistency.  Taste for any kind of seasoning adjustment.

 

Snip the strings off the beef and serve with the sauce.

 

Tenderloin with Bacon-Onion Jam and Blue Cheese Butter

This was last night's steak special.  It didn't sell so well, and the restaurant was pretty busy.  We only sold 3 out of about 200 covers.  Usually the special will sell between 15 and 20 orders.  In spite of this, I am publishing and keeping this recipe-it really is delicious, smokey bacon, sweet caramelised onions and salty pungent blue cheese a perfect compliment to boring tenderloin.


Bacon-Onion Jam

4 rashers of bacon
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons sherrry
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste-very light salt because the bacon is already salty

Crisp the bacon in a saute pan.
Remove the bacon, and crumble.
Put the onion slices in the bacon drippings and stir to coat.
Cook over low heat to soften the onions-about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with the sugar and raise the heat a little to caramelise the onions.
After the onions turn a rich golden color, add the sherry and vinegar.
Reduce until the onnions are syrupy, add the bacon, and combine.
Taste for seasoning.

Blue Cheese Butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup blue cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a stand mixer, paddle the butter and worcestershire until well combined.
Fold in the blue cheese and pepper.
Chill until ready to use.

Assembly

Grill or saute your steaks to desired doneness-for tenderloin I recommend medium rare.  Spoon some bacon jam on your plate and place the tenderloin on the jam, slice a couple tablespoons of butter to melt on top of the steaks.

This should be enough for about 4 steaks.

Patti Page - Old Cape Cod-RIP Patti

"..if you like the taste of a lobster stew..."      I just love the dreamy images this song evokes, it makes me think of one of my favorite old-fashioned lobster dishes-Lobster Thermidor.  Why not whip up your own favorite lobster dish, put on some Patti Page tunes and wish Patti farewell.

3 or 4 lobster tails
2 cups lobster stock, fish stock, or clam juice
1 cup white wine
2 Tablspoons minced shallot
1 cup heavy cream
Salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
cooked pasta
sauteed mushrooms
1/4 cup sherry or a couple tablespoons brandy

Combine the stock, wine and shallot and bring to the boil, lower the heat to barely a simmer.

Remove the tail meat from the shell, reserve shell for presentation, and poach both the meat and the shell in the stock mixture.

Remove the lobster and shell-cover them to keep warm.

Bring the stock back to the boil and reduce by 1/2.  Add the cream and continue to reduce by 1/2 again or until it reaches sauce consistency.  Taste for seasoning, add the sherry or brandy and cook off the alchahol.

Heat the pasta and toss with some of the sauce, place sauced pasta in a pasta serving bowl, top with the shell, filled with the lobster meat coming out of the top.  Garnish with sauteed mushrooms and a bit more sauce spooned over the lobster.

Christmas Tree with Tons of Presents HD

Here is the tree and decorations my partner Dan set up for his office's Christmas party-the food buffets surrounded the tree at the event.

Mole Amarillo with Game Hens

Oaxaca, Mexico is known for its moles.  Most people are familiar with the dark brown one served with chicken in lots of mom and pop Mexican restaurants-the one flavored with bitter Mexican chocolate.  In actuality there are 7 traditional moles from Oaxaca.  Mole Amarillo or Yellow Mole is one of them-the sauce turned out a shade of dark red, so I'm not sure why they called it amarillo. 


It might not be yellow, but it is tasty just the same.  Moles are mysterious and complicated recipes-they are ancient concoctions which require patience and time to prepare.  One exception is one of our favorite dips-Guacamole-that's right, Guacamole is a mole-so I recommend you approach any mole recipe just like you're going to mix up a bowl of Guacamole and the task will just fall into place.  I modified this recipe from Saveur magazine.

I roasted game hens, rubbed with lemon and oregano, but the real star is the mole.

10 dried guajillo chiles, seeded and washed
1/2 tsp of ground achiote
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp saffron
2 tbs oil
1 head of garlic, all cloved peeled
1 medium onion, peeld and roughly chopped
8 tomatillo, husked, washed, and roughly chopped up
1 ripe tomato, roughly chopped up
1 tbs yerba santa, ground
salt to taste and a pinch of sugar
Chicken stock as needed

Toast the peppers in a dry cast iron skillet, add the annatto and cover with 2 cups of hot water.  Let the mixture seep for 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat 1 tbs of the oil and saute the onion and garlic over medium low heat until the vegetables are soft and begin to turn golden.  Add the cloves, cumin, oregano, saffron, and yerba santa.

Add the toasted peppers, reserve the water, tomatillos and tomato, continue to saute until soft and browned. Add the reserved chilie water.

Puree in small batches and press through a strainer.  This should be a fairly thick paste.

Saute the paste in the remaining tbs of oil for about 20 minutes, thin to sauce consistency with the chicken stock and simmer for up to 2 hours before serving.  Add the salt and sugar to taste.



I ladled some of the mole into a deep soup plate and placed a split game hen on top.  I served an herb green rice with peas from a Rick Bayless cookbook on the side.

Sigma Aldrich Iron Chef

Last Sunday the Sigma Aldrich corporation hosted an Iron Chef competition at the Kitchen Conservatory.  It was part of a team building activity for a group of their managers.  There were people in from all over the world, Great Btitian, France, Brazil, Switzerland were represented on my team.  There were 5 teams of 5 managers, assigned to a Kitchen Conservatory Chef.  Each chef had been assigned a cuisine beforehand.

Here is a list of the chefs and some of their stand out dishes.

Chef Anne Cori and her team won with their Italian menu.  The shrimp ravioli in lobster sauce were amazing.

Chef Clara Moore and her team got Mexican and they made an unusal and delicious grilled pineapple tamale.

Chef Christie Maggi got Moroccan, her team's great dishes included mini Bastillas, a lamb tajine and almond cookies.

Chef Naam Pruitt ( author of Lemongrass and limes:Thai Flavors) and her team presented a marvelous curry, Jasmin rice, and shrimp skewers.

These are only some of their dishes I remember. 

I got French and was lucky enough to get a team that included two men who knew how to cook-and one was French, and the other and experienced pie baker.

Some of our best dishes included Coquilles a la Nage (bay scallops in a wine cream sauce), Entrecote au Vin Sauce (Steaks with red wine sauce), and tarte Tatin (upside down appe tart with caramel).

Our afternoos started with our team van-yes, each team got their own van-taking us to the Dierberg's in Brentwood to purchase the things for our menu.  Here is my team at the check out.

Once we were back in the kitchen it was a mad fight for the burners, ovens, ice cream makers-did I mention that three of us did ice cream-my team made my favorite ginger ice cream to top the tatre tatin.


What a terrific company and what a terrific bunch of people to work with.