A Dinner Fit for...

I'm in Culinary school. I graduate in December. Last night my Senior Practicum Class and I put together an 8 course tasting menu for invitees that included friends, family, and faculty. There were three of us that were in put in charge of putting together the menu, coordinating preparation of the food and front of the house details.

When deciding on what to serve, we wanted the food to pop, flavor and presentation wise and I think we succeeded on both levels.

Next thing for me to say is, see for yourself!

The Menu

Scallops Agua Chile

Puree of Purple Cauliflower Soup with Curry Oil and Cilantro

Deconstructed Greek Salad with Feta Mousse and Israeli CousCous

Chorizo Stuffed Squid with Basil Oil, Kalamata Olives, and Tomato Coulis

Spiced Duck Terrine with Orange Infused Mustard and Blackberry Preserves

Basil Crusted Lamb Loin with Braised Fennel and Carrot Ribbon Salad

Fig Cake with Greek Yogurt Ice Cream, Rosemary Infused Honey and Honeycomb Candy

While there were some little bumps along the way, we were all extremely pleased with how everything turned out. Aside from the fact that I was running around like a mad woman and felt like I was orchestrating a full-scale opera...or something...I had a LOT of fun and I am so proud of my partners Fidel and Michael, as well as the rest of the class for putting together something I feel we will all remember for the rest of our careers.

P.S. You probably noticed, that was only 7 courses. In the flurry of activity that was service, we did not get a chance to photograph anything. I ended up re-plating all of the dishes after service and totally forgot about the Blueberry Mint Shooter! Ah well, the color was vivid and beautiful, but it wasn't very exciting to look at anyway. Hope you enjoyed getting a peek at our dishes, I'm very excited to share them with everyone!

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Moroccan-Style Chickpeas with Heirloom Tomatoes, Squash and Kale served over Red Quinoa

This was a quick dinner that I made last night using some Moroccan inspired spices and some vegetables my bff brought over from her garden. I used heirloom tomatoes because their siren call while I'm shopping for groceries never fails to lull me. Plus, they're in season and pretty cheap right now and they taste delicious! Sooo, if you have the means and the way, please use the best tomatoes you can find, I do think it will make a difference. 

You've probably noticed that I haven't featured any meat dishes so far. While neither my boyfriend nor I are vegetarians, he only eats fish, so you won't see any poultry, beef or pork gracing the pages on a regular basis. 


This recipe comes together very quickly, about 10 to 15 minutes to prep all of the vegetables (unless you are a knife skills ninja, oh yea!) and about 20 to 25 minutes total cooking time. So if you love spicy and pungent flavors like me, or if you want to give something new a try, give this recipe a shot. I'll admit right now, the next time I'm craving some sort of ethnic takeout, I'll probably make this instead...it's damn good!

Moroccan-Style Chickpeas with Heirloom Tomatoes, Squash and Kale served over Red Quinoa

Serves 4 

1 tbs Olive oil

½ cup diced Onion (1 small-medium size onion)

2 tsp Whole cumin, toasted and ground (or 1 tsp Ground)

½ tsp Ground ginger

½ tsp Ground coriander

¼ tsp Ground cinnamon

1 tsp Yellow curry powder

½ tsp Cayenne pepper

1 cup Yellow Squash, ¼” slices

1 cup Zucchini Squash, 1/4” slices

2 cups Tomatoes, sliced into wedges (see notes)

1 bunch Dino Kale, sliced into ¼” ribbons (see notes)

1 can (15oz) Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ Lemon

½ tsp Kosher salt, or to taste

1 Tbs Corn starch

1 cup Red Quinoa

2 cups Water

1. Bring the quinoa, a pinch of salt and 2 cups of water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Once boiling, turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Once done, fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. While the quinoa is coming to a boil, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and the next six ingredients. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. If the spices are sticking to the pan, add about ¼ cup of water or stock if you have it, to deglaze the pan.
3. Add the salt, squash, tomatoes, kale and chickpeas and cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes. After about 8 minutes, squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan (or into small bowl to retrieve the seeds first), then place the lemon in the pan cut side down until it is finished cooking. Stir the mixture occasionally to coat all of the veggies in the accumulating liquid.
4. Remove the lemon and push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Slowly sprinkle the cornstarch into the accumulated liquid while whisking to thicken the liquid into a sauce.
5. Check seasoning and add more salt if needed. Let cool for a few minutes and soak up the juices.
6. To serve: Spoon about ½ cup of cooked quinoa onto four plates and spread with the back of your spoon into a thin layer. Mound about 1 generous cup of the chickpea mixture on top of the quinoa.

Notes:

• I used heirloom tomatoes, but you can use any tomatoes you have. Cut each tomato into 6 to 8 wedges, depending on how large they are.
• For the kale, cut out the hard stalk in the center of each leaf and stack each leaf on top of each other. Then, starting at one end, slowly start thinly slicing the kale so you get thin ribbons. You may have to slightly roll the kale into a cigarette shape to be able to slice through all of the leaves easily.
• Any of the vegetables can be left out, substituted for something else, etc. For example, chard would work nicely instead of the kale or could use peas, cauliflower and carrots in place of the squash. The possibilities are endless really; the only consideration you have to make is how soft or dense the vegetable is. The more dense the vegetable, like a carrot, the longer it will take to cook. So add the denser vegetable first, and the softer ones, like squash or peas, later in the cooking process.
• The quinoa can also be swapped out for cous cous, basmati rice or flatbread. The main thing is, you should use what you like!
• I used basil as a garnish, but you could use cilantro or mint too, or nothing at all. If you use an herb for a garnish, chop up a few additional leaves to stir in right before you serve it to pull the flavors together.

Triumphant Return!

Apparently, when I say brief I mean two years, give or take.

Ah well, I am back and ready to ...bake? blog? Whatever.

Here are some fantabulous cookies:

I-Don’t-Care-What-My-Ass-Looks-Like Triple Chocolate Cookies

8 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature (that’s two sticks, watch out Paula Deen!)

1 c light brown sugar, packed

1 c granulated sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

12 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped

8 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together with a paddle attachment on med-high speed until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
3. Reduce speed to medium and add the vanilla extract; then beat in eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.
4. Reduce speed to low and add the cocoa powder (trust me, LOW, or it gets everywhere…).
5. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and then add to the batter. Mix until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and then add the chopped chocolate, mixing on low, low speed until they are evenly mixed in. If your mixer doesn’t go very low, just gently stir them in.
6. Roll about 1/3 cup of batter into a ball and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet- give them about 2 inches on all sides to spread. You can make them smaller, but come on, then you’ll just eat like 5 of them anyway. This way, they are huge and you can say that you only ate one!
7. If you make the giant cookies, you’ll have about 20 cookies total.
8. Bake for exactly 15 minutes. No more, no less. Trust me. Unless you made them baby cookies, then you probably only want to bake them about 10-12 minutes.
9. Eat one straight out of the oven, well, let it sit for about 2 minutes so you don’t burn the crap out of your mouth…but you get the idea.

Notes:

• If your butter is rock hard because, like me, you had a last minute craving for cookies, just slice your butter into small chunks and place it in a bowl and microwave it for about 10-15 seconds. Don’t melt it at all! You just want it to be squishy enough for it to give under the pressure of your finger poking at it.
• You can use chocolate chips as well, or substitute any kind of chips or chocolate for that matter. Or dried fruit…or nuts…but those are healthy, so forget I just said that.
• I tried to get my boyfriend to take the rest of these to work, but he just laughed. Little did he know, I’ll have the last laugh because they will be all gone by the time he gets home. Muahahaha!

A Brief Hiatus

Sorry for dropping off the face of the blogging world, but I've been dealing with a pretty killer flu virus since last Saturday. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and learned that it had developed into bacterial pneumonia, so I won't be making any new posts for at least a few days while I finish up recovering.

Welcome to my new followers, I really appreciate your comments and look forward to getting back in the kitchen and posting for you all again soon!

Pan-fried Petit Artichokes, Yukon Mash with Creamed Leeks and Chanterelles

A mouthful you say?

You better believe it! I have successfully completed my 3rd quarter of culinary school and wanted to treat myself to a rich and satisfying dinner.

My inspiration was derived from a trip I made to what may become my favorite grocer yesterday. I came home with an assortment of goodies to include these beauts:

Now, I grew up eating artichokes and have an abiding love for them. However, my mother's preparation usually entailed boiling the daylights out of them and serving them with some mayo. I feel that you showcase the flavor of the artichokes with that simple preparation, but it also falls a little flat. So I've been experimenting by using other techniques, but, until now, have never pan-fried them. If you haven't done this yet, you are surely missing out. I blanched them for a short time then sauteed them in a small amount of butter. This resulted in a nutty flavor I had never before associated with artichokes, but thoroughly enjoyed :) The sauce was velvety and ideal for sopping up with the artichoke leaves. It also had a subtle brightness from the lemon zest that cut the heaviness of the potatoes. And the leeks....I absolutely love them...they were sweet, crunchy and heavenly accompanied by the chanterelles and potatoes. I hope you try this dish some time, I really don't think you'll be disappointed.


Pan-fried Petit Artichokes, Yukon Mash with Creamed Leeks and Chanterelles
Serves 1

1 Yukon potato, about 1/4 lb, chopped into large chunks or "large dice"

2 Tbs butter, unsalted

2 Tbs Heavy cream

3 Petit artichokes, halved

1 Leek, tender light green portion, cut into 1/8" rings, rinsed well (top dark green portion can be used to flavor stocks or your sauce)

Sauce:
1 cup Vegetable stock

1 clove Garlic, roughly chopped

1 oz Chanterelles, dried

2 oz Vermouth, extra dry

1 sprig Rosemary

1 tsp Lemon zest

1 Tbs Butter, unsalted

1 Tbs All purpose Flour

1. In a small saucepot, bring the stock, vermouth, lemon zest, rosemary, garlic and chanterelles to a simmer over low heat and let reduce by half. This will take about 20 minutes or so.
2. Meanwhile, briefly blanch the artichokes in boiling water, 3 to 5 minutes in a medium saucepot. Immediately drain and rinse the artichokes under cold water to stop the cooking and set aside.
   
3. Bring enough water to cover the potatoes to a boil and cook until they are easily pierced with a fork, about 7-10 minutes. Drain and immediately mash with 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs heavy cream. Cover and set aside.
   
4. While the potatoes are boiling, you can get most everything else done:
   
5. Make a blonde roux with the 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of AP flour in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the stock has reduced, strain with a fine-mesh strainer and return to the saucepot, saving the chanterelles, but discarding the rest of the flavoring ingredients.
6. Add about half of the roux to the sauce and stir over low heat. If the sauce seems runny, add a bit more roux until it is slightly runnier than gravy. If it is too thick, you can add a small amount of stock.
7. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 Tbs butter over low heat and add the leek rings and sweat them for about 2-3 minutes, maintaining some crunchiness. Add 1 Tbs heavy cream and let that warm up for a minute, then turn off the heat and set aside.
   
8. Congrats! Your supporting elements have been completed :) Now warm a little bit of butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and lightly fry the artichoke halves until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes.
9. Check everything for seasoning and add salt (and white pepper, if you'd like) if necessary. Serve immediately :D

I realize that most of you might consider this to be too butter (i.e. fat) heavy to serve as a weeknight meal, but it can easily be scaled up and served on a more special occassion.

Bon appetit!

Spicy Coconut Eggplant Soup

Every time I go to a Thai place, the Tom Kha catches my eye because I am an insatiable coconut fiend. However, I always end up ordering a curry or slew of other things due to my stomach rumbling up at me and my brain deciding that a bowl of soup surely isn't enough food to quell its continuous roar.

Tonight, after being grilled for nearly 4 hours for my Garde Manger final, I wasn't feeling especially motivated to spend more than about 30 minutes in the kitchen. I figured this sort of dish would come together in that or less, so I decided to take a stab at making something Tom Kha inspired.

There wasn't a lot of planning involved in this one; I mostly wanted to use up some bits and pieces of items that have been patiently waiting in my crisper drawer to be consumed. Also, I didn't have the proper ingredients (such as galangal and kaffir lime leaves) to make an authentic Tom Kha Gai, so don't go telling your friends that's what it is if you decide to take a crack at it ;)

Spicy Coconut Eggplant Soup

3 c Vegetarian pho broth (or vegetable stock)
4 oz Rice stick noodles
5.5 fl oz Coconut milk
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 c thinly sliced onion
4 oz firm tofu, bite size pieces
1/4 small eggplant, cut into 1" long pieces
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Garnish:
Red chili slices
Green onion
Fresh mint
Fresh Basil

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a small saucepan and add noodles. Cook according to directions or until soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Add coconut milk to stock and noodles and let simmer.
3. Meanwhile, heat a small saute pan with the sesame oil over medium heat and caramelize the onions. Add the eggplant and tofu and cook an additional 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
4. Add the egglant mix to the coconut broth and let simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to your taste. I added about 1/4 tsp of cayenne and a liberal sprinkling of salt. It was moderately spicy, but didn't make me break a sweat, so go ahead and add more if you like that sort of thing...
5. Serve in bowls and top with sliced chili peppers, fresh herbs and green onion.
   

My take on it was very tasty in my book, but I felt myself yearning for some acidity. When I make it again, I'll venture out for some lime leaves, or at the very least a fresh lime for a drop or two (or three) of juice, to liven it up a bit.


And maybe next time I go out for Thai I will (finally) try out some authentic Tom Kha Gai for a bit of perspective. ;)