Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

If you love shrimp you will love this dish. These are the dumplings with the translucent white wrappers filled with large chunks of shrimp. They also have a nice crunch from the water chestnuts and are topped with a bright green pea.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

Yield: 48 dumplings

Inactive Time: 1 hr
Active Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients for filling
1 lb raw shrimp (less if not in shells)
2 scallions, white part only
1- 8 oz can water chestnuts, finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 T peanut oil
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas

Directions for filling
Clean and peel shrimp if not cleaned already. Chop in medium chunks. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except peas. Mix thoroughly, cover and place in fridge for about an hour to marinate.

Ingredients for wheat starch dough
1.5 cups wheat starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1.5 cups boiling water
1 T peanut oil

Directions for wheat starch dough
Sift the wheat starch and tapioca flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the boiling water. Mix with a fork until a soft dough is formed. Add the peanut oil and mix with your fingers. Knead in the bowl for 3-4 minutes or until smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20 mins.
Lightly rub a marble, metal or smooth wooden surface with oil and place half the dough on it. With the palm of your hand, roll the dough into a snake about 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Roll the second half of the dough the same way.
Using a cleaver or metal bench scraper, cut both cylinders into 1/2 inch slices. Place a slice on the oiled surface and oil the cleaver or metal scraper. Press the slice of dough with the cleaver or metal scraper to form a 2.5 inch round. Repeat with rest of circles.

To Finish
Place 1 T of filling in each circle and top with a pea. Close the circle into a half moon and crimp. Place on an oiled steamer tray and steam for 10 minutes. Serve with a soy dipping sauce

Asian Red Roasted Pork

This pork has a nice Asian flavor and the characteristic red color that you commonly see. This pork is best cooked hanging in your oven. This is done by using "s-hooks" (which can be found a hardware stores) or using heavy-duty paper clips that have been turned into s-shapes. If you use this method, hang the meat off of the uppermost rack and place a sheet pan with some water in it below the hanging meat. If you do not want to use this method, you can lay them on a rack over a sheet pan with a little bit of water in it.
This pork goes really well in steamed pork buns, in a cold noodle dish or on top of congee (a chicken stock and rice soup).

Asian Red Roasted Pork

Yield: 1 lb

Active Time: 20 mins
Inactive Time: 2-8 hrs
Total Time (minimum): 2 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients
1 lb pork butt or shoulder
2 T chicken stock
1 T dark soy sauce
1 T red rice wine or mirin
1 T sugar
1 T black bean paste
1 tsp salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 drops of red food coloring

Directions
Slice pork into 1 inch thick strips, going with the grain of the meat. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the pork. Marinate for 1-2 hours at room temperature or 5-6 hours in the fridge.
Remove all racks except the very top one and very bottom one. Preheat oven to 425F. If using the s-hooks/paperclips, poke a hole in one end of the pork strips with a sharp knife. Place an s-hook through the hole. Hook the s-hooks onto the top rack of the oven and place a sheet pan with water on the bottom rack, below the pieces of pork. Cook for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to 350 for 45 more minutes.  Remove and either slice into strips to be served hot or at room temperature or use in pork buns. Enjoy!

Boiled Pork Dumplings with Spicy Peanut Sauce

These were like Asian tortellinis. They had a great crunchy, spicy peanut sauce, tender wrapper and meaty filling. When making these, make sure you have all the ingredients for the peanut sauce together before you start cooking the dumplings since you need to start cooking the peanut sauce just before the dumplings are done.
The peanut sauce with this would go well with many other Asian dishes. Try adding ginger and lime to go with a Thai chicken satay.

Boiled Pork Dumplings with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Yield: 4 dozen dumplings; 2 cups of sauce

Time: about 1 hr

Ingredients for Dumpling
48 round dumpling wrapper, thin
1/2 lb bok choy
1 lb ground pork
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 T rice wine or marin
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 T sesame oil

Directions for dumplings
Trim and clean the bok choy. Finely chopped the bok choy and place in a towel and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix until throughly blended.
Place 1 T of filling in a dumpling wrapper. Moisten the edges of the wrapper and fold into a half moon. Take the half moon and fold it in half so the corners come together and a tortellini is formed. Arrange on a lightly floured sheet pan and cover with a dry towel.
Bring 3 quarts for water to a boil in a 4-5 quart pot. Drop all fo the dumplings into the water. Cover and cook over high heat until the water come to a boil. Once it boils add enough cold water to stop the boiling. Recover and bring to a boil again. Pour more cold water in the pot to stop boiling; bring to a boil again. Repeat this one more time. Drain when cooked through.

After the second time it come to a boil start the Spicy Peanut Sauce.
Ingredients for Sauce
1 T sesame oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 cup chunky peanut butter (make sure it is all-natural)
1 T chili paste
1 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Heat a saucepot on medium high and add the sesame oil. Heat for 30 seconds then add the garlic. Cook for 10 seconds and add the peanut butter. Stir quickly and constantly until melted, be careful it can burn. Add the chili paste and chicken stock. Taste sauce for seasoning. Pour over dumplings and immediately serve.

Scallion Cakes

This week we had another great guest chef and did some great Asian food. I first had scallion cakes at a great little Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's China Town. They are great served with a sweet chili peanut sauce, but are also great alone.

Scallion Cakes

Yield: 16 pancakes

Active Time: 40 mins
Inactive Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
2 T vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water
~1/3 cup sesame oil
~2 cups minced scallion, greens only
oil for frying

Directions
Mix cake flour, salt and vegetable oil in a medium bowl and stir to blend evenly. Add the boiling water and mix with a spoon into a rough dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is sticky, knead in 1/4 cup more cake flour. Cover the dough with a cloth and rest for 20 mins.
On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into a long, snakelike roll and cut into 16 pieces. Roll out each piece into a 4 inch circle. Brush the circle generously with sesame oil and sprinkle with minced scallion greens. Roll into a cigar shape and pinch the ends so the scallions don't fall out. With the rolling pin, start at one end of the cigar and roll out until lightly flattened. Then starting from one end roll up like a cinnamon roll. Turn it on its side and roll out into a 4 inch circle. Allow to rest for 20 minutes, covered.
Heat a large pan or wok and add 1-2 inches of peanut or other oil. Heat to 350. Add the pancakes 3-5 at a time depending on the size of the pan. Fry until golden. Remove, sprinkle with salt and drain on a rack over a pan. Serven immediately.

Black Vinegar Brine

This is a great brine/marinade for chicken from Chef Jesse. We did not marinate the chicken, but instead vacuum-packed the chicken with the brine and cooked it in the sous vide method (in hot water bath). Black vinegar is a very interesting product that can only be found at Asian food stores and I dare you to taste it on its own and report back on how you liked it.

Black Vinegar Brine

Yield: just over 1 cup

Time: 20 mins

Ingredients
1/2 c sugar
1 dried de arbol chili
2 T fresh ginger, minced
4 T black vinegar
4 T sherry vinegar
4 T water
4 T soy sauce

Directions
Place sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat and let it caramelize, do not stir too often. Combine all liquid ingredients and add to the sugar when caramelized. Be very careful because the sugar will splatter and seize up. Place the sugar over medium heat and it will begin to become liquid again. Add the ginger and chili. Cook until the sugar mixture is all liquid again.
For chicken: Marinate chicken for about 3 hours in the liquid and grill.

Green Sriracha

This is a very easy and intense sriracha sauce. We combined it with mayonaise to make a spread/dip for our bahn mi sandwiches (pictured below).

Green Sriracha

Yield: about 1 cup

Active Time: 20 mins
Inactive Time: 1 day

Ingredients
8 jalapenos, roughly chopped (with seeds and everything)
6 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of basil
3/4 c pickle brine

Directions
Combine all ingredients, cover and let sit over night at room temperature. Transfer to a blender and blend until almost smooth, but leaving some chunks for texture.

Pickled Vegetables

This week in class Chef Jesse taught us how to pickle everything under the sun. We did beets, tomatoes, jalapenos, squash and carrots. We used the carrots for the Mango and Mung Bean Sprout Slaw, the tomatoes and beets for the bahn mi (picture below) and the jalapenos for a green sriracha sauce.

Pickled Vegetables

Yield: 2 quarts pickling liquid

Active Time: 10 mins
Inactive Time: 45 mins + 1-2 days

Ingredients
8 c rice wine vinegar
3 c sugar
1 c salt
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
1 T coriander
1 T black peppercorns

Directions
Toast all spices until fragrant. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from saucepan and let cool. Pour over any vegetables and let sit in the fridge for 1-2 days. For the vegetables: half cherry tomatoes, slice beets and squash 1/8 in thick, julienne or grate carrots and slice or leave jalapenos in large chunks.

Mango and Mung Bean Sprout Slaw

This was a light but flavorful slaw that Chef Jesse served with some sous vide chicken, green curry rice and wok charred vegetables. Don't worry about getting a ripe mango for this slaw, since you actually want a greenish mango which are usually plentiful that to market during the summer. This would go great with any BBQ or asian flavored meats. I will post the recipe for the brine for the pickled carrots as well.

Mango and Mung Bean Sprout Slaw

Servings: 15

Time: 30 mins

Ingredients
1 c mung bean sprouts
1 c pickled carrots, julienne
1/2 head nappa cabbage, julienne
1 large greenish mango, julienne
1/4 c tamarind paste
1/4 c fish sauce
1/4 c lime juice
2 inch lemongrass, inner part only
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
1 dried de arbol chili

Directions
In a food processor, blend lemongrass until it is as broken down as possible. Add the tamarind, fish sauce, lime juice, shrimp paste and chili. Blend for 2 minutes or until a uniform dressing with no large chucks is formed. Mix with the mung beans, pickled carrots, cabbage and mango.

Cured Pork

This is a great way to cure pork belly or pork butt/shoulder. The meat gets a great crust on it and it was one of the best pieces of pork I have had, though I was starving, so that may have been a factor. We used this to make pork buns as well as bahn mi sandwiches (will post those too). This can be used for non-Asian applications as well.

Cured Pork

Active Time: 15 mins
Inactive Time: 1day, 3 hours

Ingredients
5 lbs pork belly or shoulder
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c salt

Directions
If using shoulder, cut into large slabs about 1.5 inches thick. Rub with salt and sugar. Place on a wire rack over a sheet pan and cover. This will allow some of the liquid to drain. Let sit for about 24 hours. To cook, preheat an oven to 250F and cook on the wire rack (uncovered) for 3 hours.

Corn Fritters with Chili Carmel Sauce

These fritters were bright green in the center with nice kernels of fresh corn. They were light and fluffy and paired amazingly with this chili carmel sauce for a sweet/spicy/savory appetizer. You can also serve this sauce with grilled shrimp as Chef Jesse does at Happy.

Corn Fritters with Chili Carmel Sauce

Yield: 25-30 fritters

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr

Ingredients for the Fritters
8 cups fresh corn kernels
2 shallots, minced
1 bunch cilantro, mostly stems
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 jalapeno (with or without seeds)
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Ingredients for the Chili Carmel
1.5 c sugar, preferably raw
10 dried de arbol chilies, stems removed and pulsed in a food processor
1/2 c veggie stock

Directions
In a food processor, puree 4 cups corn, shallots, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper and jalapeno until smooth. Sift flour and baking powder together. Fold eggs into the vegetable mixture. Then fold in the sifted mixture and then fold in the remaining corn. The batter can then be held for a few hours in the fridge, if desired. Fry in a wok with 1.5 inches of oil at ~350 degrees. Drop by the spoonful into the wok. They take about 8 minutes each to cook depending on the oil temp.
For the carmel sauce, place sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Let the sugar caramelize and do not over stir, just let it be. Once it is light brown in color add hot veggie stock and chilies. Be careful when doing this because the sugar may splatter. Keep on the heat for at least 15 more minutes to infuse the flavors. If the sugar seizes up, put back on the heat and try to melt it, this generally works.
Toss the fritters with the carmel sauce and garnish with green onions.

Tapioca Brulee

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted a recipe. This week in class we had Chef Jesse Yolt from Happy in Boulder come to class and teach us a lot about Asian food. I will be posting a bunch of his recipes, which were all amazing!
We made this tapioca brulee and it was awesome. I have never had tapioca pudding, but those in my class that had said this was way better than any pudding they had ever had, so don't shy away from this dish just because it is tapioca. We used shallow ramekins and everyone agreed that we should have used deep ones so that we could have more of the tapioca and less of the sugar on top, which added a nice crunchy contrast, but we would have liked a bit less. I think in the future I am going to make this with mango instead of pineapple purely because I love Thai mango sticky rice and this reminded me of that. We served it with carbonated pineapple! There is not a particularly easy way of doing this for home cooks, but it is do-able so let me know if you want to know how.

Tapioca Brulee

Servings: 12-16 individual desserts

Active Time: 1hr
Inactive Time: 2hrs
Total Time: 3hrs

Ingredients
1 bag tapioca pearls
1/2 pineapple, skin removed and pureed
1.5 cans coconut milk
sugar, to taste
salt, to taste

Directions
In a large pot, bring 2 gallons of water to a boil. Salt the water. Add tapioca and cook until al dente, or until there is a small sphere of white surrounded by a clear layer of about the same thickness as the white dot in the center. Drain tapioca. While the tapioca is boiling, blend pineapple and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer. Add al dente tapioca and sugar to taste. Cook unti the tapioca is cooked through and the mixture has the consistency of custard. Portion into deep ramekins and place in the fridge to cool for about 2 hours. To finish sprinkle with sugar and brulee as with a creme brulee.

Chocolate Tart

This is my family's favorite tart by far. It is a class out of Joy of Cooking and I take no credit for it, it is just a great, classic recipe. I serve it cold and top it with whipped cream. Sometimes I even get out a star tip and decorate it with the whipped cream. If you have two tart pans, I recommend making two because this is a favorite of any chocolate lovers. You can also use my recipe for pate sucre, but the shortbread crust is much easier and I think it adds something to this recipe.

Chocolate Tart

Servings: 1-9.5"-10" tart (serves 8-12 people)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients for shortbread dough
1.25 cups AP flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk

Directions for shortbread
Combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 large egg yolk. Mix until the dough just comes together into a ball. If the dough is too soft, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 mins or up to 2 days. Press the dough into one 9.5"-10" 2-piece tart pan or eight 3.5" tartlet pans. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Optionally, cover and refrigerate for 30 mins (I never do this, but the recipe says to). Cook at 400F until it is a deep golden brown, about 18-22 minutes. Let cool before filling

Ingredients for filling

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions for the filling
Preheat oven to 375F. In a small sauce pan, bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted, then whisk in the egg (already lightly beaten). Pour into shortbread crust and bake until the center only slightly quivers when the pan is tapped, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and then I refrigerate it before serving. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Mediterranean Chicken

The key to this recipe is the brine. This was some of the most juicy and flavorful chicken I have had in a long time. I have to give some well-deserved credit to my dad who did an awesome job grilling it. I put the same rub on some lamb (which I did not brine) and it was great as well. It went really well with the grilled veggies, sauces and pita that I made for this mediterranean feast. Any type of chicken will work with this, bone-in or boneless, skin or no skin, light meat or dark meat. You can use this recipe and change the herbs/spices in the rub to make chicken to complement any type of cuisine you want.

Mediterranean Chicken

Servings: 4-6

Active Time: 30 mins
Inactive Time: 1.5-2 hrs
Total Time: 2-2.3 hrs

Ingredients
4 chicken breast or 4 chicken leg quarters or 8 chicken thighs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup kosher salt
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T lemon zest
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
1 T thyme
1 T rosemary
1 T basil
1 T oregano
1 T pepper

Instructions
In a large, gallon-sized ziplock bag, combine sugar and salt with cool water (this is called a brine). Fill the bag with about a quart of water to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add the chicken and press out as much air as possible before sealing. Refrigerate for about 1.5 hours, turning the bag halfway through.
Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. To make the rub, mix together the remaining ingredients (garlic through pepper). This can also be done in a food processor or blender if you want all of the spices really broken down (I did not do this step). If your chicken has skin then spread it under the skin otherwise just rub it on the chicken. If you let the chicken sit for another 30 minutes or so it will have a absorbed a lot of flavor from the marinade/rub, but either way it will taste great.
When ready to cook, heat grill on medium high heat. Place the chicken on the grill and once it is seared on both sides turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until done (this will depend on the cut of chicken used).

Pita Bread

This is my first attempt at pita bread and it came out pretty well. It tasted great with the mediterranean feast I made for my family and some of the pitas even had pockets. I did them on the grill since it was so hot inside and I didn't want to turn on the oven. I got this recipe from Food Network.

Pita Bread

Servings: 16 pitas

Active Prep Time: 1 hr
Inactive Prep Time: 2.5-3.5 hrs
Total Time: 3.5-4.5 hrs

Ingredients
1 tsp dry yeast
2.5 cups of warm water (~105F)
6 cups AP or bread flour, divided
1 T salt
1-2 T olive oil

Directions
Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add 3 cups of flour one at a time, lightly stirring in between. Stir for about 1 minute in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let the sponge rest for 1-2 hours.
Sprinkle salt over the sponge and add the olive oil. Mix well. Add the remaining flour one cup at a time until the dough is too stiff to stir and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly oiled, large bowl and cover with plastic. Place in a warm place and let rise for about 1.5 hours. Gently punch down. At this point the dough can be stored (covered in a large bowl) in the fridge for up to 5 days. Cut off pieces as needed. Dough should be at room temperature before cooking.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven or grill to 450F. If using an oven a baking stone or baking sheet should be placed in the oven when you turn it on. Divide dough into portion sizes, one recipe should make 16 pitas. Roll out each piece into a circle of 8-9 inches in a little bit of flour. If rolling all the dough out before baking place the pitas on a floured surface and cover (do not stack).
Bake or grill the pita for 3-4 minutes or until the bread has a nice pocket or is golden brown, whichever happens first. When cooked, remove and let cool for about 5 minutes on a rack. Then wrap in a large kitchen towel to keep the bread soft.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Have you ever heard of or seen a garlic scape?? I hadn't either, but for a few weeks in the spring the farmer's market has them. From what I understand, they are the part of the garlic plant that grows above the ground and they remove them so that energy is not taken away from the growing bulb of garlic under the ground. I hear that you can cook them like green beans, but I decided to make a pesto out of them. It was a pretty spicy pesto, but great when paired with cheese and bread. I had harvarti and goat cheese which I melted on some baguette and topped with the pesto. It was amazing how the different cheese made the bruschettas so different.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Yield: 3 cups

Time: 20 mins

Ingredients
1lb of garlic scapes (about 1.5 cups pureed)
2/3 cup walnuts
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
8 basil leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

Directions
Remove the little bulb on the top of the garlic scapes. Place them in a food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the walnuts, cheese and basil. Blend as much as possible then start streaming in the olive oil. Add just as much oil as necessary to achieve the consistency you want. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on pasta, as a spread on sandwiches or on a crostini.

Blackberry-Rhubarb Tart

This is an extremely easy tart (once you have the crust) that is perfect for spring. It is fairly tart but a hidden layer of chocolate in it gives it a wonderful sweetness.

Blackberry-Rhubarb Tart

Servings: 8-12

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 15 mins

Ingredients
1 blind baked tart shell
2 packages of blackberries
8 stalks of rhubarb
1/4 cup sugar
2-4 oz of dark chocolate

Directions
Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and half one package of blackberries. In a sauce pan, place the rhubarb and cut blackberries over medium heat. Do not add water or anything yet, just stir frequently and they fruit will break down and make it's own sauce. Once the fruit is broken down add the sugar. Cook until it is a jam-like consistency and there are no hard pieces of rhubarb left. Cool.
Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. When the tart shell is cool, brush it with the melted chocolate. Place in the fridge or freezer until the chocolate is hard and pour the cooled fill in the shell. Top with the other package of blackberries and serve!

Chicken Mole

Who says Mexican food has to be unhealthy? I served this chicken mole over corn and peppers and some greens (kale, chard, spinach). I got the spice for the mole from a local spice shop called Savory Spice Shop. Lucky for all the people outside of Colorado, you can order their stuff online (here). I had some left over sauce that I froze. I think this would make a great BBQ sauce too.

Chicken Mole

Servings: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless breast or 4 leg/thigh quarters (skinless but with bone) or a combo
3 medium tomatillos
1/2 poblano pepper
1 cup chicken stock, divided
2 T golden rasins
1/2 medium onion, diced
~1/4 cup agave
4 oz Savory's Mexican Mole
oil

Directions
Heat up your broiler. Place tomatillos and poblano pepper under the broiler. Make sure to turn them while they are browning. While those brown, heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Saute until browned then set aside for now. When the tomatillos and pepper are blistered remove from broiler and place tomatillos in a food processor. Place the pepper in a plastic bag for 5 minutes then remove the skin and seeds and place half of the pepper in the food processor too. Add 1/2 cup of stock, rasins, half of the onions and the spice mix in the food processor too. Pulse until smooth. Add the agave as needed because the spice mix is pretty spicy and somewhat bitter. Keep in mind that when paired with the chicken the sauce will not be as intense as when you taste it right out of the food processor.
In the same pan where the onions were cooked, brown the chicken on both sides, but do not cook through. Set the chicken aside and add the mole sauce from the food processor into the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan with the remaining chicken stock and the other half of the onions. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Shred the chicken and top with as much sauce as desired.

Corn and Peppers

This is a great summer side dish when fresh, sweet corn is in season. I prefer not to cook sweet corn and bell peppers too much so I only quickly saute them. This is a great side to any BBQ or Mexican.

Corn and Peppers

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

Ingredients
1 clove garlic, minced
2 ears of sweet corn or 1.5 cups of frozen corn
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 poblano pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
oil

Directions
Place the poblano under the broiler until the skin begins to blister. Turn the pepper so that all sides are blistered. Place in a plastic bag and let sit for about 5 minutes. Remove from bag and peel off the skin. Dice the pepper.
Remove the kernels from the cob or defrost the frozen corn, whichever you are using. Dice the red bell pepper.
Heat a medium skillet and coat with oil. When it is hot add the garlic and cook until just starting to brown, no more than 5 minutes. Add the cumin, corn, poblano, red pepper and some salt and pepper. Sautee for about 3 minutes.

Red Snapper En Papillote (In Paper)

I have always wanted to try making fish in parchment paper, so while I was home my mom and I decided to try this. This is a great dish to serve to company because you can make the individual portions easily and everyone will have a present to open at dinner. The fish produced more liquid than I expected, so be ready for that when serving it on a plate with other things.

Red Snapper En Papillote

Servings: 2-4

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

Ingredients
2 red snapper filets
1/4 cup white wine, divided
4 slices of lemon
1/2 cup leeks, divided
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Tear off 2 large piece of parchment paper, approximately square. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish fillets. Place each fillet on one of the parchment pieces, on one half of the paper (i.e. so you can fold the paper over the fish with plenty of extra paper around it). Make sure the parchment paper is on a baking sheet. Place 2 lemon slices on each fillet and top with leeks. Seal the packets 80% of the way, so that steam or liquid could not escape. Pour the wine in the opening and finish sealing. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes. You may need to cook them longer if the fillets are thicker than 1 inch.

Apareil a Quiche (Quiche Custard)

Maybe I was delusional, but I thought that quiche was mostly egg... turns out there is a lot of milk or cream in there too. We made some great quiches this week. The one I made with my partner had onions, garlic, red bell pepper, broccoli, chard, arugula, goat cheese and smoked gouda and it was awesome. I am planning on making these for my family when I go home for a few days in July. Here is the crust.

Apareil a Quiche

Yield: 1-9" quiche (though we had a bit leftover because of all the other goodies we put in there)

Ingredients
1 cup milk, half & half or cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of nutmeg (optional)
1.5 cups prepared filling - cooked vegetables/meat, grated cheese, etc.
1 pie shell, blind baked until done, but edges not overly browned

Directions
Combine milk, seasonings and eggs in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Place cooked fillings in the pie shell and pour milk mixture over the filling. Make sure to leave at least 1/4" of shell showing. Bake at 375F until custard is set, but not overcooked. You can tell this by tapping the pan, it should look just solid, around 45 mins depending on the thickness. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving.

La Pate Brisee (Pie Dough)

We made some great pie crusts this week. We made quiches out of them and they were flaky and delicious. For a fruit pie, you can add some sugar to this, but I need to check on the amount. Pie crust is difficult because it is very easy to add too much water which will result in a less flaky crust. You also do not want to develop gluten, so you cannot touch it too much. Letting it rest at least overnight will help with both of these.
A few notes about pastry recipes: AP = all-purpose; We use scales to measure everything in ounces, so I am doing my best to make approximations for you in cups. If you want to have very accurate recipes use a scale which can be found pretty cheaply at any cooking store.

If you look closely at the front edge you can see the awesome flakiness of this dough.

La Pate Brisee

Yield: 2-10" tart shells

Ingredients
12 oz AP flour (approx 2.5-2.75 cups)
8 oz butter
4 oz water, very cold/iced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar or cider vinegar or lemon juice (optional, but recommended)

Directions
Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2" pieces. Add to the flour mixture. Using your fingers, squeeze into sub-dime sized pieces (flat and disk shaped - this will help with the flakiness). Make sure you are working quickly to keep the butter cold.
Start by adding 3/4 of your water (3 oz) and the vinegar to the flour mixture. You want to add enough that the dough sticks together when squeezed tightly, but no more. Gently mix in to misten flour evenly but do not overwork. Dough is ready when most of it sticks together when squeezed, add water as needed.
Dump the dough onto your work surface and bring it together by using a pressing or smearing motion across the dough (about 6 smears with the heel of your hand will do) and fold the dough back onto itself no more than twice. Portion and wrap. Refrigerate at least 60 minutes, but overnight is better. The longer you refrigerate it the more time the dough has to absorb and distribute that water, which means you don't have to add as much water. Less water will result in a more flaky dough.
Roll out to about 1/16th inch thick and place in pie or tart pan. Chill before baking so the gluten can rest. Blind bake (without filling) or fill pie shell as needed.
When ready to bake preheat oven to 425F. Place foil over the crust and fill with dried beans so that it does not bubble. Bake until desired doneness (about 30 mins) then remove foil and reduce heat to 325F to finish browning crust (about 20 mins).
Dough can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a few months if well wrapped.

La Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream)

Here is the pastry cream to go with La Pate Sucree. Once you make your tart shells you fill them with this pastry cream and top with fruit... yum! This cream can also be used to fill cream puffs, eclairs, etc.

In a good tart you aren't supposed to see much of the cream... it is in there, I promise!

La Creme Patissiere

Yield: 2.5 cups

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups half & half or heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
scant 1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 T butter, optional

Directions
Combine milk, half the sugar, salt and the vanilla bean in a pot. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch and remaining sugar together. Then whisk the sugar mixture into the eggs. This will help the eggs not curdle when you add the hot milk mixture. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Strain back into the pot.
Return the pot to medium high heat and whisk constantly until it begins to boil and thicken. This will happen very quickly so be paying attention and stir vigorously when it thickens. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. The finished cream should be thick and smooth. Taste it to make sure you cannot taste any raw cornstarch.
Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and butter, if using. Pour onto sheet tray lined with plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over the cream and let cool outside of the fridge for about 45 minutes. Transfer to a container by lifting up the plastic with the cream in it and making a cut on the bottom so you can squeeze it out into the container. Refrigerate.
Pastry cream stores up to 4 days in the fridge, but cannot be frozen due to the cornstarch in it.

Here is Jenny filling some cream puffs.

More cool sugar work.

La Pate Sucree (Sweet Dough)

This dough is pretty easy to make and great for tart shells. It tears a bit when trying to roll it out, but the tart shells we made still came out wonderfully. The filling for the tart is here. A few notes about pastry recipes: AP = all-purpose; We use scales to measure everything in ounces, so I am doing my best to make approximations for you in cups. If you want to have very accurate recipes use a scale.

La Pate Sucree

Servings: 3-10" tarts

Ingredients
14 oz butter, room temp
6 oz sugar (scant 3/4 cup)
1 egg, room temp
16 oz AP flour (between 3.25 and 3.5 cups)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Cream butter and sugar together on low speed until smooth, but not aerated. In another bowl, mix the vanilla, salt and egg together. Gradually add the egg mixture to the creamed mixture until just well blended. Add the flour all at once and mix until uniformly combined, don't over mix. Portion, wrap and chill thoroughly (overnight is best). Once chilled, roll out dough to about 1/8in thick. Place in tart pan and gently press. Freeze for at least 15 minutes before baking, but preferably longer.
When ready to (blind) bake, preheat oven to 325F. It is best if you use foil and place beans in the tart shell so it doesn't bubble up while baking. Remove these after about 20 minutes to let the shell brown evenly. Fill what whatever you like.
This dough can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a few months if well wrapped.

Chef Amy critiquing our tarts... I got 100% :)

Creme Brulee

We did pastry all week, so I will be posting some of the recipes we used. This is one of the best basic creme brulees I have ever had. It was creamy with a nice crust and a lot of vanilla. We also played around with some sugar and made some nice decorations that you will get to see them on a lot of my desserts.

Creme Brulee

Servings: about 12

Cook Time: 1 hour
Rest Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients
1 quart heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
10 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
sugar for the brulee

Directions
Combine cream, half the sugar and vanilla in a pot. Cook over medium heat until edges begin to bubble. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar. Temper the milk mixture into the yolks by pouring in very slowly to begin and whisking quickly. Strain through a fine mesh. Remove any foam from the top of the mixture. Pour into ramekins.
Heat oven to 325F. Place ramekins in a hot water bath and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes. It can take less time depending on the size, so check every 15 minutes. When done they should be just barely set in the center and shimmy when gently tapped. Cool to room temperature then wrap and refrigerate until chilled and set. At this point they can be stored in the fridge for a few days. To serve, sprinkle sugar evenly over tops of custard. Raw sugar works really well, but regular granulated sugar also works. Caramelize with a blowtorch. Garnish with fresh berries or sugar decorations. Serve immediately.

Couscous Carbonara

Last week in class we learned all about grains and cooking methods. Many of the cooking methods can be applied to the same product with very different results. The prime example is rice pilaf versus risotto. You can use the some rice for both of these and have very different results. When making dinner last weekend, I decided to apply the risotto method to some Israeli couscous, which I have never worked with before. The basic principle behind the risotto method is to cook the grain in small amounts of liquid and stir so that the starches are released and the grain becomes creamy. It is an interesting misconception that risotto is extremely unhealthy because it is so creamy, but it is mostly due the the starches in the grain and sometimes a little cheese.
This dish is great and may not be extremely healthy, but it also isn't as bad as a traditionally carbonara because the creaminess mostly comes from the cooking method. You could try any flavor combinations you want using this method of cooking, so get creative!

Couscous Carbonara

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 35 mins

Ingredients
1 cup Israeli couscous
up to 4 cups chicken stock
2-3 strips of bacon
1 small onion, diced
1/3 cup peas (frozen)
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Place chicken stock in a pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cut bacon strips to a small dice. In a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until it it crispy. Remove from heat, but do not discard the fat in the pan. Add the onion to the pan. Sautee until soft and lightly browned. Add the couscous and cook until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Start by adding about 1 cup of the chicken stock to the pan and stirring almost constantly. When most of the liquid is absorbed add more. Keep doing this until the couscous is tender and creamy. It should be about 4 cups of liquid but if you find you need more then using water is just fine. Add the peas when the couscous is done or nearly done just to defrost them. Just before serving add the bacon back in and add the yolk and cheese. Fully incorporate so that the heat from the couscous cooks the egg. Serve immediately.

Quinoa Salad with Summer Vegetables

I really liked the red quinoa in this recipe from class. There was a lot of crunch and some sweetness too from the apricots and honey mustard dressing. A really great summer recipe and you can refrigerate it for a few days and it is still great. Apple would also be great in this salad.

Quinoa Salad with Summer Vegetables

Servings: 10

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients
1 cup red quinoa
2 cups water or stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup red bell pepper, small dice
1/2 cup green bell pepper, small dice
1/4 cup scallions, small dice
3/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1/3 cup dried apricots, small dice
1 cup Italian or honey mustard dressing
salt, to taste
lettuce or radicchio, optional

Directions
Bring water/stock to boil. Add salt and quinoa. Cover and simmer over low heat until cooked, about 15 minutes. Cool the quinoa. Combine the quinoa with the vegetables and apricots. Toss with dressing (don't add all of it at once, add half and taste) and serve over lettuce or radicchio.

Bolognese

I remember learning how to make bolognese from a cute Italian lady in her farm kitchen. She ground up whole pieces of what I think was pork fat and added that to the sauce. She probably also used a combination of veal and beef. We made this version in class and it was very flavorful with the milk and wine in it. We served it with homemade fettuccine.

Bolognese

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: ~3 hrs
Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins

Ingredients
1 oz oil
2.5 oz butter
3 oz onion, finely chopped
3 oz carrot, finely chopped
3 oz celery, finely chopped
1.5 lb ground beef
1.5 cups milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups dry white wine
~ 48 oz canned tomatoes, diced with liquid
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Heat oil and butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots. Sweat the vegetables until soft but not brown. Add the ground beef and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until there is no longer any red color in the meat, but do not brown. Add the milk and nutmeg. Simmer until the milk has almost completely reduced. Add the wine. Continue to simmer until the wine has almost completely reduced. Add the tomatoes and simmer over very low heat until the sauce is very thick. Season with salt and pepper after the sauce has reduced to the desired consistency.

Wine-Braised Goat

Yes, I made goat again! It was good, but I still prefer the milk-braised goat I made a while back. And that is a butter knife in the picture because that is really all you need to cut this tender meat.

Wine-Braised Goat

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 mins

Active Cook Time: 15 mins

Inactive Cook Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

2.5-3 lbs goat shanks, bone in

5 T olive oil

5 sprigs of thyme, left whole

1 lb cipollini onions, peeled but left whole

2 cups red wine

2 cups chicken stock

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp ground cloves

salt and pepper, to taste

flour and butter (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 300F. Heat enameled cast iron pot on medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Generously sprinkle goat shanks with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the goat shanks and brown on each side, should take about 10 mins total. Once the goat is browned, add the wine, stock, onions and spices. Bring to a boil then cover with lid (if the lid does not seal the pot very well, cover with aluminum foil too). Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours. Every 20 mins, turn the pieces of goat so that all the sides get to cook in the liquid. Optionally you can add the onions in the last 45 minutes of cooking so that they do not break down as much.

For a sauce, you can make a simple roux with equal parts of flour and butter. Melt butter in a sauce pan and sprinkle with flour. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add some of the cooking liquid, about a cup or so, and cook until thickened.

Lemon Rhubarb Bars

This is a huge improvement over the lemon bars I made about a month ago. Rhubarb is now in season and I keep seeing it everywhere, but have never worked with it. I know that strawberries and rhubarb go well together, but I figured the tartness of the lemon and rhubarb might work too. I also added almond meal to the crust at the suggestion of my friend who was visiting. The crust was also too thick in the past so I cut it down by half so that it was more about the filling and less about the crust. I topped it with a thyme whipped cream which was awesome. If you really want to taste the thyme in it, I would suggest adding the thyme to the cream a few hours before you want to whip it.

Lemon Rhubarb Bars

Servings: 30

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hour

For the crust:

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1/8 tsp salt

For the filling:

6 extra large or 7 large eggs

1 cup lemon juice (5-6 lemons)

3 T lemon zest

2 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 rhubarb stalks, diced

For thyme whipped cream:

1 cup heaving whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp thyme, finely chopped

1 T powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Using a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for the crust. Add the flours and salt and mix until the flour is just combined. Dump the dough on to a floured board and gather into a ball. The dough will form a solid ball, but should stick together when pressed. Press into a 9 by 13 pan and poke with a fork. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

In a sauce pan, add 1/3 cup sugar and the rhubarb. Cook until the rhubarb begins to break down. Set aside.

Switch the attachment on the mixer to a whisk. Add all of the filling ingredients (except the rhubarb and 1/3c sugar which are on the stove) and mix until combined. Pour over the crust and cook for 30-35 minutes or until filling is set. Top with the rhubarb mixture and let cool for several hours.

For the thyme whipped cream, combine all of the ingredients in the mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chicken Saltimbocca

In class we made veal saltimbocca and it was really good. I don't think there is anything spectacular about veal (except veal stock) and at home it is much easier and cheaper to use chicken breasts, so I have adapted the recipe.

Veal Saltimbocca (in class):

Chicken Saltimbocca (at home):

Chicken Saltimbocca

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
vegetable oil
salt and pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 thin slices of prosciutto
1 T butter, divided
1/2 cup white wine
4 leaves of fresh sage, sliced

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Heat an oven-proof skillet on high. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Add oil the skillet and when it just starts to smoke place the chicken in the pan and reduce heat to medium. Do not try and move the chicken at this point. When it becomes unstuck check the browning on the underside. When desired browning is reached, flip the breast over and place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove from the oven and place breasts on a plate. Lay the slices of prosciutto on top of the breasts. Place the pan you cooked the chicken in back on the stove and add half of the butter and all of the white wine. You want the alcohol to cook off and the sauce to reduce, this may take 10 minutes or more. When the sauce is reduced by about half, add the sage and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving at the rest of the butter to the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Chipotle Lime Couscous

We worked on grains this week in class and I had the opportunity to get really creative with some couscous. I was tired of Italian and French flavors so I decided to go southwestern.

Chipotle Lime Couscous

Servings: 10

Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients
1.5 cups onion, finely chopped
2 T butter
2 tsp cumin
1 red bell pepper, roasted and diced
3 cups couscous
3 cups chicken stock, hot
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1 T agave
3 T lime juice
1/2 cup grape seed or vegetable oil
3 T cilantro, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Sautee onion and butter in a sauce pan until the onions are soft. Add the cumin and bell pepper and lightly season with salt and pepper. Add couscous and stir. Remove from heat and add boiling chicken stock. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes.
While that cooks, in a large bowl add chipotle peppers, agave and lime juice. Slowly whisk in oil until a vinaigrette is formed. Season with salt and pepper. When the couscous is done fluff with a fork and mix in vinaigrette (start with half and add more if you like) and add the cilantro. Garnish with lime wedges and more cilantro.

Creamy Garlic and Herb Polenta

I really like polenta, but good polenta is hard to come by and it also takes a lot of work because you need to almost continually stir it while it is on the stove. There plenty of great things you can do with polenta besides just eating it as a side dish (see suggestions below). It goes great with the veal veal/chicken saltimbocca pictured here.

Creamy Garlic and Herb Polenta

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 40 mins

Ingredients
6 cups stock or water
2 tsp salt, less if using stock
1 3/4 cups polenta/yellow cornmeal
2 T unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T of herbs, minced (I used thyme)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Directions
Bring water or stock to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add salt. Whisk constantly while slowing pouring in the cornmeal. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring almost continually.
While that cooks, heat up butter in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and cook until soft, but not brown. When the polenta is almost done, about 25 minutes add the garlic and butter mixture. When the polenta is done, should be thick and not gritty, add the herbs and cheese. Add cream if desired and you are serving right away. Season to taste.
There are several things you can do with it now. You can place it on a sheet pan so that it is about 1/2 inch thick and let it cool, then slice it up and fry in a bit of butter. This is a great base for a saucy meat or vegetable because it absorbs all the flavors of the sauce. You could also use to cooled sheet of polenta and cut it up and layer it with sauce and cheese to build a lasagna instead of using pasta. But my favorite thing to do is just eat it right away. If for some reason the timing is off with the rest of your meal or something you can set it aside and when you are ready for it you can heat some heavy cream up and add that to the polenta to make it creamy again.

This is a picture of polenta lasagna from my textbook.

Herb Spaetzle

We made this "pasta" in class last night and I really liked it. They were like gnocchi, but smaller. It is a little difficult to get them into the boiling water with the colander, but you can always make a double batch of the dough and do a practice round first (it won't hurt the dough if some of it sits for 2 hours instead of 1). You can also add herbs or other seasoning directly to the dough, get creative! You could also use stock instead of milk in the batter.

Herb Spaetzle

Servings: 6-8

Prep Time: 10 mins
Inactive Time: 1 hr
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1.5 hrs

Ingredients
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp white pepper
1.5 cups plus 4 T flour
3 T butter
3 T herbs (like sage, rosemary, thyme, basil), ripped or chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Add the flour and beat until smooth. The batter should be thick and airy (you should see some air bubbles on the surface). If it is too thin you can always add more flour. Let the batter stand for 1 hour (refrigerated or not) so that the gluten can relax.
Boil water with a bit of salt in a wide mouthed pot on the stove. When the water is at a rolling boil, use a colander with large holes or perforated spoon and place the batter in the colander (or spoon) and press it through the holes with a spoon (see picture above). The spaetzle will float to the top, let it cook for 3-5 minutes or until there is no flour taste and it is light and airy. Remove them with a skimmer and place in an ice bath. It is nice to use a fine mesh strainer in the ice bath so you can quickly remove the spaetzle without removing a bunch of ice too. Do not leave them in the ice bath for too long otherwise they will continue to absorb water. Place in a bowl for holding. Repeat this process until all of the spaetzle is cooked. You can store these in the fridge for a few hours before serving, if desired. If they start sticking together, you can toss them with a bit of oil, just as you would do with pasta.
In a large sauce pan, heat butter over medium heat until it browns. Pour the butter into a dish and add the herbs (I used sage and rosemary, but any one herb or combination would be great). Add the spaetzle to the pan and move it around by moving the pan, not using a spoon otherwise they may clump up. Depending on the size of your pan and your food tossing skills, you may want to do this in two batches. When the spaetzle is warm, about 3 minutes (if you did not store it in the fridge) add the herb and butter mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Barley and Beet Salad

Second week of culinary school down, sixteen to go. I found a recipe in Cooking Light for a salad similar to this, but of course I adapted it to what I had or what looked good at the store. Barley is a grain that can be found in any market, you just may need to look on the bottom shelves below the rice or in the bulk section if there is one. I think it is better if you use golden beets, but it is really hard to find those sometimes. I served it with salmon and it was delicious.
This week the kitchen next to us were doing breakfast week, so they make barley water which is known to be high in antioxidants and minerals. Once I get the recipe for it I will post that, but you basically cook the barley in a lot of unsalted water and mix it with honey or agave and either lemon or cinnamon and nutmeg. Here is a recipe for reference from Alton Brown: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/barley-water-recipe/index.html.

Barley and Beet Salad

Servings: 4-6

Cook Time: 1.5 hrs
Active Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 1.75 hrs

Ingredients
4 small beets, preferable golden
3 cups stock or water
1 cup uncooked barley
3 T vegetable or grapeseed oil
1 T good olive oil
1/2 pumpkin seed kernels, toasted and salted (divided)
2 T agave or honey
2 T Dijon mustard
2 T sherry vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup diced shallots
4 cups argula

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Trim greens off of beets and tightly wrap the beets together in foil. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until they are fork-tender. Once done, let beets cool then peel and slice into bite sized pieces.
While the beets cook, combine barley and water or stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce and simmer for up to an hour or until tender, stirring occasionally. Drain any excess water and let barley cool to room temperature.
While the beets and barely cook, place 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds in a bowl and smash with a spoon or mallet. Add the agave, Dijon, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Stream in the vegetable and olive oils, whisking constantly. Add the shallots and remaining pumpkin seeds.
Toss beets, barley, argula and dressing. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

So far in culinary school this the best way we have prepared chicken yet! It came out extremely juicy. You could add herbs underneath the skin if you desire, but do not put them on the skin because they will just burn. Also along those lines, do not use olive oil because it will burn over high heat, use canola or rice bran oil. There is a part of the wing bone on this chicken for presentation purposes and since we butchered our own chickens to learn how to, but make sure yours do not have bones.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Servings: 1

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 boneless chicken breast, with skin
oil, such as canola or rice bran
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Heat heavy bottomed, oven proof sautee pan on high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breast. Add oil to the pan and when small wisps of smoke are coming off the oil lay the chicken breast in the pan skin side down. Lower the heat the medium. Do not force the chicken breast to move, it will come unstuck at which point you can move it to ensure even browning. Flip the chicken over and stick in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is done. This can be determined by touching, should feel moderately firm to the touch, or by using a thermometer, should read 160-165F. Let breast rest for at least 5 minutes.

Sauteed Beet Greens

I cooked the beet greens on my first day of culinary school. The chef instructor said that soaking the greens in heavily salted water helps take away some of the bitterness and seasons them as well. We severed these with roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and au jus.

Sauteed Beet Greens

Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 40 mins

Ingredients
1 lb of beet greens
1/2 cup salt
8 cups of water
1 T garlic, minced
1 tsp sherry vinegar
oil to coat pan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Wash and rip beet greens, discarding the stems. Combine water and salt in a large bowl or pot. Add beet greens and soak for 15 minutes. Remove from water and dry in a salad spinner. Heat oil in large satuee pan on medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the beet greens and cook until desired level of doneness. Finish with salt, pepper and vinegar.

Banana Bread

This is my favorite banana bread recipe by far. I has shortening in it which some may turn their nose up at, but any recipe for a quick bread will have plenty of fat (and sugar) in it, so eat them in moderation. Though you do want to make sure you get a shortening that has no trans-fats. I have read that shortening leads to baked goods that are lighter and puffier than those with butter or oil because of the higher melting point of shortening. I don't know how true that is at least when compared to butter, but this bread is light and fluffy with nice and crispy corners. Some say that you can sub butter or oil in for shortening, so do so at your own discretion. I like to cut them into portions and freeze them. You can microwave them for 20-30 seconds and enjoy!

Banana Bread

Servings: 32

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
2.5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
2 cups ripe mashed bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 2 8x4x3-inch loaf pans.
In a small-medium bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, mix shortening, sugar, mashed bananas, eggs, nuts and chocolate chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until combined.
Pour into pans and bake for 35-60 minutes or until a knife or skewer inserted into the loaves comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.