I’m trying to commit a basic pesto recipe to memory, but I keep failing. So instead I’ll make a wimpy post where I simply link to the recipe. I guess I’ll add a photo.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pesto-recipe2/index.html
Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category
Pesto to Memory
January 9, 2011Chicken Pot Pie
January 9, 2011Thomas Keller inspired me to make my first pie crust. It was a failure. I’ll blame myself for two reasons. First, in an attempt to be healthy, I tried making it with whole wheat flour. I quickly learned that the two attributes of a delicious pie crust, thin and flaky, are nearly impossible to achieve with whole wheat flour. Second, I failed because I have shitty technique. Go figure! Seriously though, it’s hard man!
Now let me talk about Keller’s filling. It was average. That’s why I won’t even put it in here. Not worth the effort. Riveting post Charlie! Thanks, bye.
Gyoza Mothuf$%#a!
November 8, 2010Man, that is fun to say. GYOZA MOTHUF$%#A! All Rex Ryaning aside, this recipe is the bomb. It comes from the hefty chefy, Tom Douglas. There’s not a lot to say about the recipe other than that it is fun to make and tastes like liquid pleasure.
I make a couple of modifications to the recipe. The sake and crab are both optional, although they make it better. Instead of chopping everything by hand, which I did the first time I made the recipe, I make use of my Cuisinart. It saves fifteen minutes of time, easily. Just make sure to put in the water chestnuts last so that you get their nice crunch, and grate the ginger as it releases more of its flavor.
Steamin’ Salmon
November 1, 2010The worst Tom Douglas recipe to date. It involved steaming a piece of salmon in water that contained an orange peel, 15 dollars of sake, star anise, and lemongrass. I’m not sure why I thought it would be good. While we nibbled at the fish, I thought to myself I could taste more of the flavors by simply looking at them. And seriously, 2 bottles of sake to steam the salmon with? That’s outrageous. I should have drunk them, gotten a buzz, and then enjoyed my flavorless salmon.
Gnocchi, Gnocchi, Gnocchi, I Made You Out of Clay
September 22, 2010This recipe is a good one from the big man TD. A bit of a deadly one, but who didn’t see that coming. Tom Douglas hasn’t met an artery clogger he didn’t love. The recipe has three main players: gnocchi (which I bought fresh from a local pasta store), gorgonzola cream, and roasted tomatoes.
The gorgonzola cream is easy: simmer it down until it reduces by a third and then toss in some gorgonzola and black pepper. It’s really about winging it – taste it. I recommend mucho black pepper.
The roasted tomatoes really bring the dish together. The Pièce de résistance really (spoken in a true chach voice). Take a pint of cherry tomatoes, halve them, toss them in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place cut side up on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven. Bake them until they are slightly browned.
Toss the gnocchi with the gorgonzola cream and roasted tomatoes. Bon Appétit.
Blackfish Lodge Salmon
September 14, 2010Earlier this summer I went on a salmon fishing trip to British Columbia. Needless to say, our guides eat a shit load of salmon; ergo, they have a shit load of salmon recipes. This is the easiest salmon recipe I’ve ever cooked. It also might be the best. Here’s the recipe, right from one the guides himself:
Ingredients:
1. Whiskey
2. Lemon juice
3. Soy sauce
4. Brown sugar
5. Mayo
6. Dill
7. Capers
8. Parsley
9. Cracked pepper
Lay salmon filet on a double layer of tinfoil (face dull surface down) sufficiently large that you can eventually wrap around the salmon filet. Apply ingredients in following order. First rub into the fillet a moderate amount of whiskey. Then combine mayo and lemon juice and apply. Next drip a thin sprinkling of soy sauce. Then rub in a thin layer of brown sugar (you judge the amount). Add dill, capers, parsley and finally cracked pepper.
Wrap the entire fish in foil and then place on a hot BBQ or oven (375). Cook for 15- 20 minutes. Peel back foil to test doneness.
The Ultimate Meal for a High School Football Player
September 9, 2010Gosh, this is a meal I’ve been dreaming about making for awhile. I loved bolognese growing up, but I had an inkling the dish could be more than my standard mixture of ground meat, tomato sauce, onions, and few herbs. When I found this meal in a cookbook I’ve owned for over five years, I practically slapped myself. Actually, that happened after I tasted it I think. But seriously, if you like bolognese, this meal is incredible. Do yourself a favor by putting in a little care sacrificing a few arteries; it will be worth it.
Give yourself about 2 hours of cook time (less prep time). The ingredients are simple:
1 pound of spaghetti (fresh is best), 1/2 a cup of parmesan cheese, olive oil, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 2 slices of bacon (optional), 1 carrot (optional), 1 celery stick (optional), 1 pound of ground beef, 1/2 a cup of red wine (do not skimp here), 1/2 a cup of whole milk, a touch of grated nutmeg, 13oz can of chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of sugar (optional), and 1 teaspoon of oregano.
First, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and then saute the diced onion, carrot, celery, and bacon at medium heat until they are soft. (Note: I only go with one slice of bacon and no carrot and celery.) Drain off some moisture if need be. Then add the beef and brown. (It might require you up the heat from medium to high.) Add the red wine, bring to a boil, and cook off. Then do the same with milk (although focus more on getting the meat to absorb the milk). Add some salt, pepper, and a touch of nutmeg. Finally, add the tomatoes, sugar, and oregano. (I prefer to blend the tomatoes in a Cuisinart so that the mixture is a bit finer.) Cook this thing uncovered for an hour. Trust me, the longer the better.
When you’re ready, cook the pasta, get it onto a plate, ladle the bolognese on top, grate some parmesan cheese, and inhale. Serve with a 1984 Opus One if you absolutely have to.
Third Time is a Charm
August 25, 2010For those who know me, I’m a super die hard, socks in Tevas, PNW guy. Not really actually. But sometimes I wish I were. I do love PNW food, though, which is why I bought Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen. The cookbook is great. Lots of Asian dishes, quirky Seattle stories, and plenty of opportunities to cook with local fruits, vegetables, and fish. My favorite recipe from the book thus far is also one of Tom’s trademark meals: Etta’s Salmon with cornbread pudding and shittake relish cooked at Etta’s Seafood in Pike Place Market.
I’ve had ample opportunity to cook this recipe since our salmon fishing trip to British Columbia. With 50 pounds of King Salmon in your freezer, you better be prepared to experiment with salmon dishes. The first time cooking it, the cornbread pudding wasn’t especially creamy since I used whole milk instead of cream. The mushrooms sucked, and I also overcooked the salmon. The second time around, the cornbread pudding still wasn’t right and the mushrooms sucked again. I did cook the salmon correctly, though. The third time, the pudding was perfect since I used cream, I left the mushrooms off so there was nothing to suck there, and the salmon was cooked perfectly. Fantastic meal. I’d serve it at restaurant too Tom. Good job old chap.
Here’s the Clif notes of the recipe:
For the cornbread pudding, preheat your oven to 350. Then, cut cornbread up into 1 inch cubes and line the bottom of a buttered 8 inch square baking dish. Beat 4 eggs and mix with 2.25 cups of cream (no wonder T. Douglas clocks in at 300+), .75 cups of jack cheese, some fresh herb s (just a tsp or so of parsley, rosemary, and thyme will do), 1 tsp of salt, and .5 tsp of fresh cracked black. Pour the heart attack potion onto the cornbread in the baking dish and cook for 40 minutes or until golden brown in the oven.
For the salmon, fire up your grill. Then sprinkle a rub consisting of 3 tbs brown sugar, 2 tbs smoke paprika, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp fresh thyme on the salmon. Oil the grates of the grill and cook the salmon, flesh side down, for a few minutes. Then flip it back onto its skin and finish off until it’s medium rare.
Place the cornbread pudding onto a warmed plate and lay the salmon on top. Bob’s your uncle.
[Edit from 6/5/11] Going with 1 cup of half and half and 1 cup of whole milk made no difference in the creaminess of the cornbread pudding.
Expanding My Horizons
May 25, 2010I’ve been meaning to attempt a novel non-French/American/Mexican dish for a long time, but always defaulted for whatever reason. Finally, Jamie Oliver helped me break through this invisible barrier. Who wouldn’t want to cook an asian noodle dish when the Brit in his entertaining TV show says things like, “and smell all of this fresh ginger!”
On Sunday, I was set to entertain my family. Here’s what I knew: First, I wanted to grill. Second, I didn’t want to cook my standard grill fare (sausage, chicken, burgers, etc). Third, I wanted something clever to accompany my grill eats. After mulling over the second and third issues for a few minutes, for whatever reason, salmon burgers popped into my mind. And then Jamie Oliver and his fresh ginger popped into mind. “Salmon burgers and asian noodles it would be,” I declared!
For the salmon burgers, I went with Whole Foods’ pre-mades. I would have considered making them from scratch, but with 400 veggies to julienne for the noodle dish, I decided I’d save some time by getting the pre-mades. And call me lazy, but man I really enjoy dem puppies.
I usually make some sort of aioli for salmon burgers, and in this case, I wanted an asian style aioli. I’m a wasabi fan, so why not a wasabi aioli? Get a little wasabi powder, some mayo (homemade if you’re a Julie Child wannabe), and a touch of water. Bam. Bob’s your uncle.
Now for noodles, I really didn’t know who’d be the best source of information since I can’t remember Alton Brown cooking a noodle dish and Julie Child operated on the other side of the world; thus, I went to foodnetwork.com. Guy Fieri’s dish struck a chord, so I decided to give it a shot. As guy would say, “it was money.” Damn those noodles were good. Thank goodness I made extra, because I can’t wait to eat the leftovers.
F*%$ Trophy Cupcakes – Make Alton Brown’s
May 2, 2010Trophy Cupcakes are bomb. Don’t get me wrong. But there’s something wrong about paying 3 dollars for a cupcake. The funny thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever actually paid for a Trophy cupcake. And I don’t think I will. Especially now that I found Alton Brown’s Carrot Cake recipe.
The recipe isn’t a cupcake recipe, but the end result is so similar in flavor to Trophy’s carrot cake cupcakes, who cares? I followed the recipe pretty closely, but here were my deviations, which didn’t seem to matter:
- Replace all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. The only difference is that whole wheat flour doesn’t hold together like all purpose. I don’t really care though.
- Cut the sugar in half and then taste. Go with what ends up tasting right, both in the cake and in the frosting. I probably ended up using about 2/3rds of what was called for. I would have hated the recipe had a used all of the sugar.
