Memorial Day Ribs

Potluck at my friend Mary's for Memorial day. Everyone contributed, Mary made pasta salad, Diane brought a green salad-she grew the lettuce, she's a big gardener, Pat brought garlic bread-he burnt it. Judy brought white cake with chocolate frosting-she bakes from scratch-no mixes. My contribution was the ribs. I made three kinds, Tandoori, terriyaki, and sweet barbeque. I didn't get a picture of the bbq, but here are the other two. I just sliced them all and loaded them into my larger copper oval pan. Caitlyn, (pat's daughter and Dan's niece) played her sax for us. She is an accomplished musician and will be studying music at SIUE next year after she graduates high school. We all laughed and played cards until late into the night. A great big slice of Americana.

This tandoori paste is also really good on rotisserie chicken.

Tandoori

2 cups of plain yogurt

1/4 cup grated fresh ginger root

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 hot chili (I used a bird's eye), minced

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1 Tablespoon cumin seed

1 Tablespoon mustard seed

1/4 cup commercial tandoori spice

Combine all of the ingredients except the yogurt in a mortar and pestle and mash into a paste.

Spread the paste over two racks of baby back ribs and marinate over night.

Grill over indirect heat until the ribs are tender, brushing with additional yogurt mixture, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours-keep the heat very low.

Crawfish Boil at the couple's wedding shower

The ubiqitous shower (both wedding and baby) is changing. In the past few years I've cooked for more and more couples showers. These showers usually move to the evening rather than afternoon, and the boyfriends, husbands, fathers, brothers and other males are invited to these formerly all female occaisions. The typical shower menu of chicken salad, tea sandwiches, and petit four are also becoming more male-friendly. One recent hostess chose a crawfish boil although she wasn't a big fan of crawfish. We added lots more shrimp, although crawfish were definitely present.

I purloined (can purloined be a verb?) anyway, I took some leftovers to use for breakfast the next day, which I made while watching the Sunday political shows. I cut the corn from the cobs, and sauteed everything in some butter, deglazed the pan with some Marsala wine and poured it all over grits. Just incredible.

Birthday Lunch

I celebrated my 56 th birthday last Sunday (a couple days late). My parents were visiting, so I decided to make something special. I chose lobster, corn on the cob and fingerling potatoes. My parents are such light eaters I didn't make any hors douevre or salad. I did mix up a pitcher of Whiskey Sours, which is a cocktail that their generation really seems to appreciate. Birthday cake was purchased at Wei Hong, a chinese bakery on Grand Avenue a couple of blocks from my house. We served chocolate gelato with it.

I count myself blessed to be able to celebrate with my parents this year. It was a lovely day.

Whiskey Sour
1 orange sliced

1 lemon sliced

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups of bourbon

Muddle the fruit with the sugar and let it sit for 1/2 hour to draw out the juices and oils.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a larger pitcher and chill until ready to serve.

To serve pour over ice and garnish with lemon, orange and maraschino cherry.

Braised Lamb Shank

It has been such a cold and rainy Spring that a braised dish seemed perfect for a late lunch last Sunday. I gave this one some Moroccan flavors with dried plums and apricots, olives, orange, cinnamon, and cumin.

1 or 2 meaty lamb shanks

1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2 T oil

6 dried apricots

6 dried plums

2 small turnips, quartered

4 red "B" potatoes, quartered

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 cups of beef stock

1 cup red wine

Zest and juice of one orange

1 cinnamon stick

1 T cumin seeds

1/4 cup mixed green and black olives

Dust the shanks with the seasoned flour

Brown the shanks in the hot oil in a Dutch oven

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil

Cover the Dutch Oven and place in a preheated 300 degree oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours

1/2 hour before finishing cooking, add the olives

Red Lentil and Roasted Beet Salad

Beets are such a maligned vegetable that it almost breaks my heart. They are at the same time regal, by virtue of their color-they dominate anything they come into contct with, and humble, as they are just roots. I find their earthy sweetness irresistable, and I blame all their woes on too many canned beets. I do admit their staining qualities might prevent more widespread use. Roasting beets is very simple and avoids alot of the mess. Simply remove the green tops, douse with a bit of olive oil, wrap tightly in foil, and roast in a 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hour (depending on how large your beets are). Once they are roasted, their skins slip off effortlessly, leaving you a gorgeous vetetable to work with. I love them like this mashed with a little salt and pepper.

But for this recipe, I diced them and used them as a component for a beautiful and nutritious lentil salad. Lisa at Champaign Taste posted a recipe (sans beets) for this salad last week, and it inspired me to make this salad to which I added beets to enhance the color of the red lentils. Caution:red lentils cook much faster than the green and brown ones-so be careful not to over cook them. Then I came across another lentil salad-this one made with beets and regular brown lentils posted by Emily at Cook the Wolf. Emily's recipe comes with a tutorial on recipe writing, borrowing, and outright stealing. Very enlightening for anyone writing recipes. It seems that recipe ingredients cannot be copywrighted, but directions on how to use the ingredients can be. Fascinating, really. Do visit her blog for a more articulate explanation.

3 cups of cooked red lentils (cook them al dente with your best pasta cooking technique)

3 small beets, roasted and diced

1/4 cup sliced celery-I found this a distractin and will not add it next time

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup minced fresh tarragon

1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley

Juice of three lemons

1 Tablespoon of honey or sugar (beets marry well with sweet)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all of the ingreients and chill at least 1 hour before serving.

I served it on a little curly endive, garnished with some more fresh tarragon.

If you don't like tarragon, Emily suggests Basil in her salad.

Greek Shrimp, Olive, and Feta Salad

This is a tasty simple salad, great for hor d ouevre. Because of the salty feta and olives it is especially good with cocktails.

2 pounds of cooked shrimp-I leave the tail on

1 cup mixed olives, green and black Greek or Nicoise are best

1/4 pound good feta-imported Greek or French is usually the best

2 lemons, thinly sliced and squeezed, reserve two or three slices to garnish the top of the salad

2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh Oregano

1/4 cup fruity olive oil

Combine all of the ingreients and chill for a couple of hours or overnight.

Bring to room temperature before serving.

Crisped pita triangles are a good accompaniment.

Rebel Burger

Here is another of our specialty burgers for "Gourmet Burger" month at Gallagher's. It is an 8 ounce burger, grilled then topped with Southern-fried green tomato, dill pickle, and a tower of onion rings. I created a sweet and spicy spread for it as well.

Pesto Burger

Starting April 1st we will begin "Gourmet Burger " month. The pesto burger will be one of the choices. We will be using a ground chuck with 80% lean to 20% fat-I do not approve of lean burgers. They are dry and nasty, these are juicy and delicious, with a luxurious topping of fresh mozzarella cheese, and my own pesto which includes fresh Basil, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and olive oil. Served on a corn meal dusted Kaiser Roll-butter toasted.

Rack of Lamb Roasted with Red Potatoes

I got this rack of lamb at Trader Joe's for the amazing price of just over $15, At my regular butcher, this rack would cost about $35. It is frozen, and pre-seasoned, two drawbacks as far as I'm concerned, but the roast was tender and juicy. I'm definitely picking up more of them.

1 lamb rack, bones Frenched

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoon of minced fresh Rosemary, divided in half

1 Tablespoon of minced fresh Parsley

2 Tablespoon of butter, melted

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 pound of red potatoes, size "B", or quartered large ones

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

In a roasting pan just large enough to hold the rack, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 Tablespoon of the minced Rosemary, roast for 1/2 hour.

While the potatoes are roasting, season the rack on all sides with salt and pepper, next spread the fat side of the rack with the dijon mustard.

Toss the bread crumbs with the melted butter, 1 Tablespoon of the Rosemary, and the Parsley.

Pat the seasoned bread crumbs onto the Dijon coated lamb rack.

After the potatoes have roasted for 1/2 hour, place the lamb rack-bread crumbed side up, on top of the potatoes.

Return to the oven and continue roasting for 20 to 25 minutes for medium rare.

A Jackie Kennedy Inspired Lunch.

Lori Lynn, who writes Taste With The Eyes, wrote about a preparing a Kennedy themed dinner party. It inspired me to create one of the dishes on her blog. It is an over the top salad with green and yellow beans interspersed with slices of foie gras, served over butter lettuce with dijon vinaigrette. It was an amazing combination of flavors, textures, and colors. Visit Lori's blog Here.

I also pulled out one of my books on the Kennedy's "In the Kennedy Style" written by Letitia Baldrige (Jackie's Social Sec) and Rene Verdon (White House chef for the Kennedy administration). From that book I chose to make Homard en Bellevue, which was a fish course served at a state dinner on May 11, 1962 honoring Andre Malroux, an important French diplomat and author. In the book, it is a lobster salad served under aspic. While personally I like aspics, I find alot of Americans do not, so I served the salad with Tarragon vinaigrette instead of being covered with aspic.

Homard en Bellevue has an interesting history. It was created for King Louis XV by Madame Pompadour, his mistress, or rather his mistress's staff-I heard she wasn't much of a cook herslf. Bellevue was the name of the chateau Louis built for her.

First I made a potato salad with small diced potatoes, baby turnips, carrots, and peas, dressed with mayonaise flavored with tarragon vinegar. Lobster tails are poached and pulled from their shells. When the lobster cools, slice the tails into 1/2" slices. Mound the potato salad into the lobster shells and lay the lobster slices across the salad. I served the stuffred lobster tails on a salad of pea shoots with tarragon vinaigrette on the side.

Banana Flan

Tim, a culinary student as well as one of our line cooks, made this lovely flan last week. He is especially interested in baking desserts, and his favorite flavor is banana. So when he wanted to bake this I said do it.

For the caramel:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

In a saute pan, dissolve the sugar in the water and bring it to the boil. Boil until the syrup becomes a rich amber color.

Pour the caramel into custard cups and swirl the caramel around the sides of the cup.

2 1/2 cups half and half
1/4 cup banana liqueur
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks

Whisk all of the ingredients together and strain. Pour the strained custard into the prepared custard cups and bake in a bain marie in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the custard is set and an inserted knife comes out clean.

Chill for several hours. To unmold, run a thin knife around the edge of the cup and unmold the custard, be sure to let all the caramel run out over the top of the flan. Serve with fresh fruit, if desired. We made a compote of bananas, oranges, and strawberries.

Crawfish Etouffee

I made this yesterday (Mardi Gras) for a special. The flavors are deep, rich and spicy. The really dark Cajun roux is a little unnerving, and the ingredient list is long, but the results are satisfying and delicious. Based on a Paul Prudhomme recipe. I love Paul's use of three peppers (black, white, and cayenne), and I also admire his technique of plunging the aromatic vegetables (green bell pepper, onion, and celery-known as the Holy Trinity of Cajun cooking) into the hot roux to instantly cook them.

2 teaspoons of salt

2teaspoons of cayenne

1 teaspoon of white pepper

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of dried basil

1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

mix well and reserve

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3 cups fish stock or clam juice

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 pounds of crawfish tails, plus extra fish for garnish

1 cup minced green onions

cooked rice

Put the oil in a heavy bottomed pot and heat until smoking hot, add the flour and whisk continually until the flour reaches a dark reddish brown color. This will take up to 5 minutes and the mixture is extremely hot-be careful-and must be stirred continuously less the flour scortch and burn. Remove from the heat and add the vegetables and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix, stir until slightly cooled.

Add the stock to the roux and bring to the boil, simmer over low heat for several minutes.

In a separate saute pan, saute the crawfish in the butter, add additional seasoning mix to taste.

Combine the crawfish and the sauce and blend. Serve with steamed rice garnished with the green onions and whole fish.

Lebanese Spinach and Oil

I got this recipe from a book called "Lebanese Mountain Cookery" by Mary Laird Hamady. It is such a refreshing and simple treatment for fresh spinach. I added some garlic to the recipe and some fresh red currants. I was at Trader Joe's in the morning and could not resist the fresh currants, and I just added them to the spinach at the last minute.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup roughly chopped red onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 pound fresh spinach

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Juice of one lemon

Red currants (optional, but tasty and pretty-toasted pinenuts and golden raisins would also be good

Heat the oil in a saute pan and add the onion and garlic, saute over low heat until they are softened.

Wash the spinach and leave it a bit damp to help steam the leaves.

Add the spinach to the saute pan and wilt the spinach, remove from the heat.

Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red currants.

Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Valentine's Dinner

We had a really successful Valentine's dinner. Sold out without any reservation cancelations or no shows-you almost always get that last minute cancellation so late you can't re-book it. Dinner started with three appetizers-cayenne candied bacon, tenderloin stuffed mushroom s with blue cheese crust, and seared tuna with ginger, wasabi, and sweet soy.

A chopped salad of mixed lettuces (romaine, chicories, baby greens), artichoke, hearts of palm, fennel, and toasted pine nuts dressd with lemon-mango vinaigrette was served next.

The entree was Tournados of Tenderloin with Morel mushrooms, roasted asparagus with Balsamic and almonds, and Potatoes Scalloped with Fontina and Roasted Peppers.

Dessert was a lovely chocolate cake, filled with white chocolate raspberry mousse, raspberry sauce.

Chicken Hash with Fried Eggs

I've been eating hash all my life, although my mom usually made it from left overs from a Sunday Roast Beef dinner. Probably the most famous is corned beef hash, but left over chicken is also tasty. I had some left over grilled chicken that I turned into Sunday breakfast.

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cups left over chicken diced

2 cups left over cooked potatoes, I used halved fingerlings

1/4 cup diced onion, red onion adds color

1/4 cup diced celery

1 red pepper, roasted and diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

Salt, pepper, and smoked paprika to taste

4 eggs

Melt the butter, and add the vegetables. Sautee everything for 10 to 15 minutes until they are soft and begin to caramelize and brown.

Add the chicken to heat through and season with the salt, pepper, and paprika.

Push the hash to the perimeter of the sautee pan, leaving the bottom of the pan completely exposed. Add a bit more butter or oil to prevent the eggs from sticking.

Gently break the eggs into the center of the hash, cover the saute pan and steam-fry the eggs until set, but leaving the yolks soft, dust the tops with additional smoked paprika.

Roasted Tomato Soup

We've made this soup a couple of ways lately. First using the hard hot house Roma tomatoes we have on hand for the ubitiquous salad and also canned San Marzano tomatoes. Roasting the tomatoes, onion, and garlic really helps intensify their flavors, and makes bland winter tomatoes as well as the canned ones more palatable. We garnished the top of the soup with a couple swishes of reduced Balsamic and Creme Fraiche. If using fresh tomatoes, I reccomend pureeing the soup with a food mill to extract the skins. If you use already peeled canned tomatoes you can use the blender, we used an immersion blender and left the soup a bit chunky.

Ten tomatoes, cut in half

1 large yellow onion, quartered

1 large red pepper

4 or 5 cloves of garlic

Freshly ground pepper

Fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1/4 cup olive oil

Vegetable or chicken stock

Toss all of the ingredients, except the stock with the olive oil and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes-until the vegetables soften and begin to caramelize and char at the edges.

Place the roasted vegetables in a soup pot and cover with the stock.

Simmer for at least 15 minutes and puree-add salt if necessary, and serve with some reduced Balsamic and creme fraiche.

Orange Roughy Baked in Parchment

This was one of the weekend specials last weekend. We sold fifty orders of it, it was so easy and tasty, I don't know why I don't feature it more often. And it produces such delicious results.

Start with a large dice mirepoix of shallot, carrot, and celery.

Several Roma tomato slices

Several lemon slices

Capers

Sprinklings of salt, pepper, and thyme

Buerre Blanc

Lay out a sheet of parchemnt paper and in the center , place some of the mirepoix, about 1/3 cup, season it, and top with a fillet of fish (salmon, sole, or sea bass etc.all work well).

Season the fish and layer alternating slices of tomato and lemon across the fish. Sprinkle some capers on top and spoon some buerre blanc over it.

Fold the parchment over the fish and begin rolling and crimping the edges together to form a seal so that the fish and vegetables steam together.

Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. The waiters ripped open the bags at the table when they served them.

Inaugural Seafood Stew

Tradition has our new president's first meal served at the Statuary Hall in the Capitol. The menu was puiblished in the Times last week. It is based on the foods favored by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln favored scalloped oysters, so the inauguration committee chose a shellfish stew. The second course is duck and pheasant with wild rice and sweet potatoes whipped with molasses, and apple cake for dessert. All paired with California wines-a Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc with the stew, Goldeneye Pinot Noir with the duck and pheasant, and Korbel California "Champagne" with dessert. I think it's a faux pas to serve California "Champagne"-since I believe Chanpagne only comes from Champagne in France. Read the article here.

I didn't feel ambitious enough to complete the entire menu, but the stew was marvelous. Also the Apple cake sounds to me more like Apple Charlotte.

I started with lobster stock from the freezer. I poached all the ingredients separately, so nothing would be overcooked and rubbery.

2 lobster tails

12 shrimp

1/2 pound bay scallops

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup minced leek

1/4 cup diced carrot

1/4 cup diced potato

Salt and white pepper to taste

Poach all ingredients seperately. When all the items are poached, add 1 cup dry white wine to the poaching liquid and reduce by half, add 2 cups heavy cream and continue to reduce until it's sauce consistency and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add the shellfish and vegetables to the cream sauce, add some salt and white pepper if you like, and ladle into oven proof crocks.

Top each crock of soup with puff pastry and seal. Eggwash and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is puffed and browned.

Pan Fried Gnocci with Shrimp and Lemon Gremoulata

I have to admit I used a packaged gnocci for this-but it was so good I thought I would post it anyway. Next week I'll make my own gnocci, I promise. Pan frying the dumplings result with crispy edges with a fluffy potatoey interior, just perfect to pair with some sauteed vegetables and shrimp flavored with garlic and lemon.

For the Gremoulata:

Zest of one lemon

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tablespoons of minced fresh parsley

Finely mince these ingredients together and sprinkle sparingly over pastas and braised meats (used in the Italian dish Osso Bucco to top the veal shanks).

For the Gnocci:

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1 pound of gnocci (enough for two)

1 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes (or to taste-depending on how spicy you like it)

1/4 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup carrot, sliced into coins

2 Tablespoons of minced green onion

1 Tablespoon of minced garlic

2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup white wine

Salt to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil together add the red pepper flakes.

Add the gnocci, carrots, and celery to the hot oil, and saute over medium heat for several minutes until the edges are browned and crispy and the vegetables are tender.

Add the shrimp and toss to coat the shrimp with the flavors and oil. Add the lemon juice and wine and simmer one minute just until shrimp are done, add a little salt if you like.

Serve in pasta bowls topped with a sprinkling of gremoulata.

Christmas Party

After providing celebratory feasts and parties for their clients, many chefs, like the shoe maker's children who have no shoes, neglect their own family and friends, not so at my house. So it was the Sunday after New Year's Eve I hosted a final holiday party in my home. It was one of the first Sundays I had off since Thanksgiving. I served some hors de ouevres, marinated vegetbles, Prime Rib with mashed potatoes, a whole pumpkin roasted with yams, parsnips, and turnips, and a glorious Pineapple-Raspberry Charlotte Russe for dessert.

I set up a small bar on my computer desk and served champagne sangria and non-alchaholic grape juice sangrias with chilled shrimp and candied bacon. I usually set the food up on my kitchen table and work table buffet style and then everyone can find a seat ot the dining table.