Almond tofu with Lychee and Pomegranate

fresh and local

there was a huge new sign at fairway that instructed everyone to buy fresh and local, so i just did that and came home with some wild hake , cremini mushrooms, thyme, meyer lemons, white mushrooms and rock shrimp

we put together an inspired

olive oil slow poached hake fillets
with cremini mushrooms and diced shrimp in a shrimp and ginger infused lemon broth.

Parmesan crusted potatoes Au gratin

Mac n Cheese

comfort food: refers to a variety of familiar, simple foods that are usually home-cooked or eaten at informal restaurants.

for angie her grandmother used to put together a campbell's cream of mushroom mac and cheese, we did a modern play on that after hitting up the market.

after walking by the cheesemonger we picked up a nice cave aged gruyere, a swiss emmenthaler and a local NY cheddar to go along with some fresh shiitake mushrooms, baby portabellas, fresh thyme, green beans, meyer lemons, and fresh strawberries. Later that evening we treated ourselves to a nice dinner that included:

3 cheese elbow macaroni
stacked over thyme and truffle oil infused mushrooms

blanched green beans
with a first press olive oil (from fairway) and sea salt

sparkling strawberry lemonade
with a pure cane sugar syrup

garlic cheesy bread

just a little snack of melted goodness, filled with garlic, butter, mayonnaise, gruyere, cheddar and herbes de provence on oat bread.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Fried spring roll wrapper with sauteed vegetable and tofu filling


To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Neil made his own versions of the "Lumpia", a Filipino spring roll with Chinese origins.

Samosa

Curry Potato Samosa with fresh green beans, cilantro, raisins with a cardamon yogurt sauce.

Another delight we created for a party, they were absolutely a big hit.

Continue Reading "Samosa" >>

Here are some tidbits and pieces from my old blog from culinary school:

Culinary History:
Chefs are part of world history. From the earliest civilizations through the present, chefs have been held in high esteem.
- Apicius wrote one the first cookbooks in the fourth century B.C.E., "De re Conquinara.
-Timeline of food: Grande Cuisine, Cusine Classique(Haute Cusine), Nouvelle cusine, and today's new fusions.
- Brigade System: Chef De Cuisine, Sous chef, station chefs(saute chef, fish chef, roast chef, grill chef, fry chef, vegetable chef, roundsman, expediter, communard, commis), garde-manager, and pastry chef.

"Bouquet Garni" - Bouquet of Flowers -
Bay leaf, Parsley stems, thyme, tied or wrapped in a leek leaf.
"Fines herbs"
Parsley, Chervil, Chives, Tarragon or Thyme.

"Concasse" - is a peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato. This is done to remove the seeds which adds not extra flavor. The process starts by putting a X cut on top of the tomato, next you immerse your tomato in boiling water for 10-15 seconds, as the skin tears. Remove and place in a ice bath to stop cooking, next peel off skin, cut horizontally, remove the seeds and pit and dice tomato.

"Beurre Manie" - in french means butter kneaded, which is exactly what it is in culinary terms. It is a paste made from equal parts of butter and flour and used to thicken sauces, soups and stews. By kneading the flour and butter together you form a dough. This process allows the flour to be coated in butter. When the Beurre Manie is whisked into a hot or warm liquid, the butter melts, releasing the flour particles without creating lumps. Be sure that you cook it for 20 mins to prevent it from tasting of raw flour.

UMAMI! The fifth taste! Yes its true! Believe in it! To me Umami is the ultimate taste, it is the feeling you get when you are satisfied after tasting something really really mouth wateringly good and don't have any words to explain it!

5 Mother Sauces :
Bechamel - a white sauce - White Roux + Milk + Seasoning
Veloute - a light stock based sauce - Blonde Roux + Stock
Espagnole - a brown sauce -
Hollindaise and Mayonaise - an emulsified sauce
Tomato - tomato based sauce - Brown Roux + Tomato

Orange Souffles with Grand Marnier -
2 teaspoon unsalted butter, room temp
4 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temp, separated
1 to 2 additional egg whites, room temp
1 1/2 fresh orange juice (4 tablespoon reduced to 2 tablespoon)
2 tablespoon Grand Marnier liqueur
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Powdered sugar
Souffle dishes, stainless steel bowl or copper bowl

Pre-Heat oven 450F fill baking pan with 3/4 full of boiling water.
Butter souffle dishes and coat with granulated sugar, shaking out excess. Refrigerate
Ribbon the egg yolks and 2 T sugar with a whisk. When ribboned add orange juice, liqueur, zest, lemon juice, and whisk till blended.
Place egg whites, at room temp in a bowl(copper is best), with salt and beat till stiff peaks. Add 1-2 T sugar and beat until stiff peaks return.
Temper some of the whites into the egg yolk sauce, and then fold in the rest gently. Fill into souffle dishes.
Bake in baking pan with 3/4 full of water for 10 mins or until browned.
Remove and sprinkle with powdered sugar and poke a hole and fill with 1 t more Grand Marneir.
Eat fast! before it breaks!

Goodbye October

With many happenings October has come and gone, as the autumn colors fade and tree's begin to bare, the same can be said of the many photo's I wished to blog about but was to lazy to actually blog on the same day they were taken.

Today on this Election day(history in the making), I hold before you a collage of October's past, which include:

Adirondacks, Bison, Steamed tilapia, bittermelon, wonton and white radish soup, park slope farmers market, honey crisp apples, mr. pickle, my mandolin, sweet potato fries, produce from a farm in PA, and butternut.

Chicken Ice Cubes

Over the last weekend I decided that buying low sodium chicken stock, of which is too salty, inconvenient and plain processed (another word for bad for you).

As I am usually only cooking for myself or 1 other person, I need an alternative method of storing and using homemade chicken stock! Yes chicken broth is indeed soup for the soul!

So I devoted a whole day to putting together my own basic chicken stock. In the end I wound up reducing the stock concentrating the liquid then freezing them down into cubes for individual daily use. They make the perfect addition to sauteed vegetables, pasta sauce, and just about anything!

Recipe:

Miropoix
4 Carrots - cut in half
4 Celery stalks - cut in half
1/2 Onion
1 Parsnip
1 Radish
1/2 bunch Parsley
1/2 bunch Thyme

2 Roasting Chickens

6 Quarts of Water

In large pot begin boiling water, once at temperature add miropoix, and chicken add salt if you like (we don't add any!) return pot to a boil, then reduce to med-low and simmer for 6 hours. Strain the miropoix and chicken(can shred the meat for chicken salad), strain the remaining liquid through cheese cloth. Return strained liquid to clean pot and reduce by half or more. Cool in ice bath, and refrigerate overnight. Next day skim fat from top, and then pour clear liquid into ice cube trays. Freeze and in a few hours you have your own homemade Chicken Ice Cube bouillons!

Harvest Calander

Sweet Soy Braised Bronzini with Carmelized Shallots

Sweet Soy Braised Bronzini with Carmelized Shallots

Cooking dinner for one on a budget has been a bit tricky for me, however today I managed to find a very friendly and convenient fish monger here in Bayridge (Chef with a Sole, 3rd ave btwn 86th and 85th street), once I walked in I saw very fresh produce of which he told me that he hand picks every morning at the fulton fish market. As an added bonus they will even peel, clean, fillet, and cook ($2/lb) any fish you purchase. I decided to pick up a 1 lb whole Bronzini, of which they professionally cleaned and gutted it for me.

After spending some time in Canada with Angkong (grandpa), of who is also an excellent chef and someone that knows how to really eat good chinese food! He has inspired me to create this dish, so here is to a great man with a great taste for food.

Prep your ingredients in advance, stuff belly of fish with garlic, julienne ginger, and cilantro.

Season fish with kosher salt and crushed black pepper. Prepare sweet soy braising liquid.

Deep fry shallots to golden brown in oil, drain and cool. Deep fry entire fish 4 mins each side.

Remove all oil, and add braising liquid. Braise for 3 more mins.

Korean Microwave Rice(2 mins), surprisingly delicious and taste very fresh! Perfect for myself when cooking for one!

The cheeks of each fish are said to be the most succulent and sweetest part of the entire fish. They are considered a delicacy in the east, and was a prized piece of every meal with fish in my home. For this night it is all mine. Good eats indeed.

I'll follow up with a full recipe in a few days.