Posts Tagged ‘food’

CHICKEN ABC BURGERS

Posted: March 24, 2023 in Food, Recipes, chicken, frying, bacon
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I never use ground turkey, because I think it’s nasty and flavorless. But ground chicken has a richer flavor, and doesn’t seem to dry out as quickly. adding avocado to the mix gives each bite of this burger a creamy, fatty richness the ground chicken needs.  Chicken and ABC (Avocado, Bacon and Cheese) is a winning combination. My sauce puts it over the top.

I cut the avocado in small cubes. I don’t make guacamole out of it. When the burger cooks, it melts into the meat, giving it that luscious fattiness I’m looking for. The egg and the breadcrumbs bind it all together.

 

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1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 ripe avocado, sliced into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch granulated garlic
1 raw egg
slices of bacon, cooked 
Sauce (recipe below)

 

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Combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, chopped avocado, salt and pepper, garlic, and egg in a bowl and mix them thoroughly but carefully so that you don’t squash the cubes of avocado.

Get a sheet pan covered in non-stick foil. Using a 1/2 cup measuring scoop, spoon out the burger meat onto the sheet pan, then gently press down on it with your hand to form patties. Place the sheet pan in the freezer for the burgers to firm up a bit. (The chicken is a little gooey, and likes to stick to your fingers, but a little oil on your fingertips prevents that.)

 

Firming up the burgers in the freezer. The little meatball in the middle is a leftover…and a nice extra bite for the chef to enjoy!

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a little avocado oil (or bacon fat!) in an oven-proof pan, and place the burger patties in it when it’s hot. Let the burgers sear on one side, then flip them. (Make sure they sear well, or they’ll fall apart when you try to flip them.) Add the cheese and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking and melt the cheese. Remember: it’s chicken…so you don’t want to undercook your burgers!

When they’re ready to serve, place the patties on a bun, add a couple of slices of bacon and slather with this sauce.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate covered for a few hours to blend the flavors.

 

 

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DEVILED EGGS WITH TUNA

Posted: March 21, 2023 in Food, Recipes, restaurants, tuna
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As the warmer weather slowly makes its way to New England, I start dreaming about the opening day of one of my favorite seasonal seafood restaurants: The Back Eddy in Westport, Massachusetts.

One of their best-selling appetizers is deviled eggs, topped with raw tuna or without. My version has none of the finesse of their original dish, but it has a lot more tuna and all the flavor…which works for me!

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6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup + extra mayonnaise
8 oz. high quality raw tuna
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili oil
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
handful fresh spinach, or cucumbers (see below)

My favorite method of hard-boiling eggs is to put them in a pot of cold water. Turn the heat on high and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water boils, take the pot off the heat, and cover it with a lid. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Then run them under cold water to cool. 

In general, killing parasites in raw fish requires freezing and storing fish at a surrounding temperature of -4 degrees Fahrenheit or colder for seven days; or freezing at a surrounding temperature of -31 degrees or colder until the fish is solid and storing at the same temperature for 15 hours; or freezing at a surrounding temperature of -31 degrees until the fish is solid and storing at -4 degrees or below for 24 hours.

Since I don’t have the refrigeration equipment to do that, I buy high quality tuna already frozen into convenient bricks at Whole Foods or on-line at websites like Vital Choice, one of my favorites for high quality, responsibly sourced seafood.

I always try to buy responsibly sourced, fair trade seafood, like this beautiful ahi tuna.

If the tuna is frozen, I let it thaw a little. If it has thawed, I return it into the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up. That makes it easier to cube up. I slice the tuna carefully into the smallest cubes I can make. Once done, I place the tuna in a bowl and put it back in the fridge until I’m ready to use it.

In a separate small bowl, I combine the soy sauce and the chili oil, and set it aside.

I finely chop the scallions, and set them aside.

Once the eggs have cooled, I peel them and cut them in half. I scoop out the yolks and place them in a bowl, starting with 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise, adding more if needed. I use a fork or whisk to get as many of the lumps out as possible. If I wanted to get serious, I could put them in a blender or food processor to make a creamy puree. An option is to place the puree in a piping bag and carefully squeeze it out into each egg half. I simply use a spoon.

Once all the egg halves are filled, I place them on a spinach leaf-covered dish and put them back in the fridge until ready to serve. Or, instead of the bed of spinach, I peel a cucumber and cut the ends off, then slice the cuke into 1/2″ thick slices. Using a melon baller, I carefully scoop out the seeds from the center to make a “cuke donut.” I use these as little stands to hold the eggs on the plate.

When it’s time to serve, I take the tuna out of the fridge, pouring the soy sauce/chili oil mix into the bowl with the tuna and I mix well. I let the tuna marinate for just 2 minutes, pouring off the excess marinade. I don’t want it to marinate too long, or it’ll get very salty.

I remove the plate of eggs from the fridge and carefully put a small spoonful of tuna on top of each one. I garnish with the sesame seeds and the chopped scallions and serve immediately.

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It’s nice to have some crackers or toasted bread on the side.

IT’S NOT KFC, BUT IT’S CLOSE ENOUGH!

Posted: March 10, 2023 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, frying, Recipes
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It’s been over a year since I posted this. Inspired by a recent conversation I had with a friend, I decided to share it again…

It’s never a healthy option to eat fast food. Michael Pollan said it best: “It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.”

A few years ago, a guy who claimed to be the nephew of Colonel Sanders revealed the 11 secret herbs and spices that made KFC‘s original recipe chicken a worldwide success. He said he worked for his uncle for many years and had to make huge batches of the seasoning mix.

For me, KFC is like crack. Although I’m a big proponent of grass-fed this and pastured that, my kryptonite is KFC‘s original recipe chicken. There’s a KFC right next door to a local Home Depot in my area and my car literally drives itself to the pick-up window…I can’t help it. I justify the consumption of this heavenly grease by asking for no sides–no biscuit, no nothing. I get one breast and one thigh, and I drive off, steering my car with my knees as I indulge in my dirty secret, the hot grease dripping down my chin, a roll of paper towels at my side.

Making the KFC chicken recipe at home means I do have some control over product quality. I can use pastured or organic chicken. I can use clean oil. I don’t have the fancy pressure fryer they use at KFC, but I can use the healthier option of oven-frying. That means I fry my chicken in oil until golden brown, then finish the cooking process in the oven.

I have to say, the recipe really works! Maybe if I placed the real KFC side-by-side with my home-made chicken, I’d notice a big difference. But my brain said it was pretty damn close and absolutely delicious! If I could change one thing, I would use smaller chicken pieces next time. I used large pieces and the meat-to-breading ratio was off. Though it was mighty tasty, I was craving more breading per bite.

The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but if you follow a gluten-free lifestyle, using Cup4Cup GF flour works just as well.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
5 lbs. chicken pieces…your choice
oil, for frying

Combine the flour and the “11 herbs and spices” in a bowl. Mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg. Add the chicken pieces to this bowl and let the chicken soak in it for 10 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour a couple of inches of the oil into a pan with high sides and heat it to 340 degrees, using a thermometer. Don’t fill it with too much oil, because oil expands when hot and it could spill over.

Take the chicken pieces out of the milk and egg mixture and coat them with the seasoning mix one at a time, making sure you coat them well. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan…work in small batches. Too much chicken could cause the oil to spill over the top.

Fry the chicken pieces just until golden…no need to cook them all the way through. Place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil. When all the chicken has been fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the chicken pieces reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.

Make a lot! Leftovers are great, and they re-heat really well in the oven! (Don’t use a microwave…the oven is best.)

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

Posted: March 4, 2023 in chicken, Food, frying, Italian, Recipes, Uncategorized
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Chicken parmigiana, much like pizza, is a bit more difficult to make than you might think. Sure, there’s plenty of crappy chicken parm out there, made with processed frozen chicken cutlets, bad sauce and cheap cheese. But to make a really fantastic, mind-blowing chicken parm, that takes some practice!

The key to this recipe is simple: don’t skimp on the quality ingredients. And my recipe makes a lot. Trust me: you will want leftovers.

The recipes for my Italian bread crumbs and my “Don’t Call It Gravy” tomato sauce are at the bottom.

 

Gooey, cheesy, orgasmic.

Gooey, cheesy, orgasmic.

 

 

6 Chicken breasts, the best quality you can get your hands on
Italian bread crumb seasoning (see recipe below)
3 eggs
olive oil for frying
“Don’t Call It Gravy” tomato sauce (see recipe below)
Fresh mozzarella cheese
oregano

Thaw the chicken breasts. Lay them flat on a cutting board, and you’ll see where the chicken tender is on the side of the breast. Cut the tender off and set aside, leaving the breast which is thinner at one end and thicker at the other. Slice the breast in half lengthwise at the thicker end, keeping the knife level, so that you wind up with 2 pieces of breast meat that are the same thickness, but one will be a longer piece (the bottom) and one about half its size (the top part you sliced off.) Do this with all the breasts.

By slicing the breasts lengthwise into evenly thick pieces, it will take the same amount of time for them to cook. (I prefer not to pound the hell out of the chicken breasts until they’re flat as a pancake.)

Pour the olive oil into a large frying pan. Next to the pan, set up two bowls: one with my Italian bread crumb seasoning and in the other: crack the eggs and whisk them.

Now it’s your standard breading procedure: chicken meat in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, coating well. Shake off the excess and place carefully in the pan of olive oil when the oil comes to temperature for frying.

Fry the chicken in the oil until it’s golden brown. You want it cooked all the way through, but not overcooked. Place the fried chicken pieces on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Do this with all the chicken. The fried chicken at this point is delicious all by itself: chop it and use it in a salad, or make a chicken sandwich. (By the way, if there’s breading left over, use it on the chicken tenders you cut off. My daughter gets these instead of store-bought chicken tenders, and she loves them.)

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Ladle out enough sauce to create a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the sheet. Place the fried chicken breasts on top of the sauce. Cover the breasts with more sauce, then place pieces of sliced fresh mozzarella on top. Sprinkle the top with a little oregano.

Place the baking sheet in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake until the cheese has melted and just starts to brown. Serve it with pasta.

 

MY “DON’T CALL IT GRAVY” TOMATO SAUCE

It’s not hard to make a good tomato sauce. But it takes a little work to make an amazing tomato sauce. Honed from a recipe handed down by a friend-of-a-friend’s Italian grandma, it is one very important part in two of my favorite Italian comfort food recipes: my meatballs…and my chicken parmigiana recipe.

 

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 cups ground and peeled tomatoes…or 3 cans (28 oz) tomatoes (real San Marzanos preferred)
2 teaspoons each: dried oregano, basil and parsley
3/4 teaspoon each anise seed and fennel seed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onions. Cook until onions are translucent, then add the garlic. Stir for about 10 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the orange foam disappears, stirring frequently.

Add the oregano, basil, parsley, anise seed, fennel seed, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Add the tomato paste, stirring well. Let the sauce just come to a boil (which helps the paste thicken the sauce), then reduce it to a simmer, and cook uncovered for at least an hour, stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches the consistency you like.

 

MY ITALIAN BREAD CRUMB SEASONING

This is the one part of the recipe (other than the optional pasta) that keeps this dish from being gluten-free. So I use gluten-free breadcrumbs, even if I don’t need to. I buy a loaf of Udi’s frozen gluten-free bread, toast the slices, and them put them in a food processor. I dare you to tell the difference between these and breadcrumbs with gluten!

 

1 Udi’s loaf, toasted and ground into breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Combine all the ingredients well.

CORNED BEEF IN TIME FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Posted: February 25, 2023 in barbecue, beef, brining, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, Recipes, salt, smoking, Uncategorized
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Thanks to my friends at Firefly Farms in CT, who just posted a reminder that now is the time to start prepping your brisket for corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day!

Before every St. Patty’s Day, supermarkets are full of packages of processed corned beef in preparation for the big celebration. But, interestingly, corned beef isn’t really an authentic Irish dish.

The phrase “corned beef” was coined by the British, and although the Irish were known for their corned beef throughout Europe in the 17th century, beef was far too expensive for the Irish themselves to eat and all of it was exported to other countries. Owning a cow in Ireland was a sign of wealth, and the Irish used theirs for dairy products, not beef.

The Irish ate pork, and a lot of it, because it was cheap to raise pigs, and they traditionally prepared something like Canadian bacon to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland.

In the 1900’s, when the Irish came to America, both beef and salt were more affordable, and the Irish, who lived in poor, tight-knit communities, often next to Jewish communities, bought much of their beef from Kosher butchers. And so many of the Irish learned how to corn their beef using Jewish techniques, but adding cabbage and potatoes to the mix. That’s what we have today.

It takes about 3 weeks to make corned beef. Doing it yourself is not difficult. It just takes time.

Corned beef has nothing to do with corn. ‘Corning’ is a technique for preserving raw meats for long periods by soaking it in a salt brine. This method was used in England before the days of commercial refrigeration. Back then, the large salt kernels used in the brine were called “corns.”

Brining is a time-honored way of preserving meat and it prevents bacteria from growing. Both pastrami and corned beef are made by this method. Both start with a brisket of beef. Corned beef is then cooked–usually boiled–and served. Pastrami is made when the brined meat is rubbed with more spices and then smoked to add extra flavor. So corned beef and pastrami are the same meat, just treated differently.

Saltpeter is an ingredient that has been used in brining beef for years. It adds the traditional pink coloring to the corned beef and pastrami meat, a bit more appetizing than the gray color it tends to have if you don’t use it.

Saltpeter can also contain carcinogens, so there’s always talk of avoiding it. It’s found in pink curing salt, which is used in small amounts during the curing process. (Not to be confused with Himalayan pink salt, which is just plain salt.) Since I only make my corned beef once a year, I’m OK with it either way. The general rule of thumb is only 1 teaspoon pink curing salt per 5 pounds of meat.

I get grass-fed brisket in 10-pound slabs, but use whatever size you find comfortable. Just don’t go too small, or the brine will make that tiny piece of meat extremely salty.

Brining the beef brisket

Brining the beef brisket

Step one: corned beef…

beef brisket (about 8-10 pounds)
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 cup warm water
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices
3/4 cup salt
1 teaspoon pink curing salt (optional)
2 quarts water

Place the brisket in a large container made of non-reactive material, like glass or plastic.

In the 1/4 cup of warm water, dissolve the sugar, minced cloves, paprika and pickling spices.

Dissolve the 3/4 cup of salt (and optional teaspoon of pink curing salt) in the 2 quarts of water. Pour in the sugar/garlic/paprika/pickling spices mix and stir everything together. Pour the mixture over the meat in the container. Make sure the meat is totally beneath the surface of the liquid. (You may need to weigh it down to do this. I place a couple of plates on top, which pushes the meat down into the brine.) If there’s just not enough liquid, double the recipe, leaving out the pink salt the second time. Cover the container.

Refrigerate the container and its contents for 3 weeks, turning the meat once or twice per week. At the end of the third week, remove the container from the refrigerator and take out the meat. Soak the meat in several changes of fresh cold water over a period of 12 hours to remove the excess salt. I add ice to the water to keep the meat cold.

At this point, if you want corned beef, most people boil it.

I prefer to lay some aluminum foil down on a sheet pan. Then I coarsely chop carrots, onions, and celery, placing them in a single layer on the foil. Then I lay my brisket on top of the veggies, and wrap the meat tightly in the foil. I place the baking pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and cook for about 3 1/2 hours. (That’s for an 8-pound slab of meat. The cooking time will be less for a smaller cut.)

If you want to make pastrami, there are more steps to take…

Step two: making Pastrami…

pastrami

Brined and rinsed corned beef brisket from above recipe, patted dry with paper towels
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup paprika
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon white peppercorns
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Combine the coriander seeds, black and white peppercorns and mustard seeds in a spice grinder and grind them coarsely. Place them in a bowl. Add the salt, paprika, brown sugar and granulated garlic. Mix well.

Rub the mix into the corned beef well, covering all sides.

Heat your smoker to 225 degrees and smoke the meat for several hours. (My wood of choice is always hickory.) When the internal temperature of the meat has reached 165 degrees, it’s done. It isn’t necessary to smoke pastrami as long as you would a regular brisket because the long brining time makes the meat more tender, and you’ll be steaming it next.

It is very important that absolutely everything that comes in contact with the meat is very clean. (This includes your hands.) Also, make very sure that every inch of the meat reaches the 165 degrees before it is removed from the smoker. The corned beef is now pastrami.

Delis that serve pastrami go one step further: they steam the meat so that it becomes incredibly tender and easy to slice. I place a baking pan with boiling water in the center of a 350° oven. I put a grate on top of it, placing the pastrami on top of the grate. Then I invert a bowl over the pastrami to keep the steam in. I will cook it this way for at least an hour to steam the meat before slicing and serving.

MY GRANDMOTHER’S COOKING

Posted: February 23, 2023 in bacon, Food, frying, potatoes, Recipes
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As a kid, I always knew my grandmother loved me. After all, she told me that every time I visited her on Saturday afternoons. She lived in Queens, NY, and we’d visit after sitting through 5 long hours of Lithuanian school in Brooklyn every Saturday morning.

By the time we got to my grandmother’s house, it was mid-afternoon, and I was starving. She’d greet me with a smile and a kiss on the forehead, and she’d proudly put a steaming plate full of koldūnai (Lithuanian pierogis, usually stuffed with meat) in front of me, with spirgučiai (fried bacon and onion bits) generously sprinkled on top, and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

There were times when I could eat 20 of them. However many I had, it seemed that she still had more, and I never thought for a moment about where they came from. I guess I knew that she made them, but I never really thought about how much work that was.

Now I cook for my daughter, and the other day, she asked for one of her favorite dishes: ham and cheese croquettes. It’s a long and messy process to make them: boiling and mashing potatoes, chopping up slabs of ham, grating piles of cheddar cheese, mincing onions. Then rolling the croquette filling in flour, egg and breadcrumbs before frying them.

Whether I make six or sixty, the kitchen is trashed afterwards, so I go with the larger number…62 this time, to be exact. (They freeze well.)

 

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It’s not hard work, but it’s tedious. After making 30 croquettes, my back was aching from standing hunched over the kitchen counter. And I was only half done. I tried pulling up a stool, but that didn’t help, so I popped a few ibuprofen and kept going, finally frying that last croquette, turning the heat off the oil, and standing back to see a kitchen counter covered in egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and mashed potatoes. The cooking was done but the cleanup was just beginning.

My daughter stepped off the school bus at the end of the driveway, and I greeted her with a kiss on the forehead, telling her I loved her. We walked back to the house, and I asked her about her day, all the time knowing that I had a special treat waiting for her that I couldn’t wait to show her.

We walked into the house and she saw the trays of croquettes. I placed a couple of them on a plate and she sat down, eyes wide open, and took her first crunchy bite. The heartfelt “Mmmmm” that came from deep inside her gave me a real sense of satisfaction. My hours of work had paid off with one simple bite. Few things could’ve made me happier at that moment than the smile on her face.

 

And then I thought of my grandmother.

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What I did that day for my daughter, my grandmother did for me every Saturday without fail. And she was a lot older than I am now.

She loved me, alright. Funny how it took almost 40 more years for me to realize just how much.

CANTONESE ROASTED CHICKEN

Posted: February 20, 2023 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, Recipes
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I’m back home after a long trip away, and there are foods that I absolutely crave. This is one of my go-to comfort recipes.

I really love the deep flavor of soy sauce and the sweetness of hoisin on poultry. Peking duck is the best example of this, but since I live in Rhode Island, I don’t get a chance to jump in the car and drive to Chinatown in Boston or New York at the drop of a hat. I had to come up with a plan B…and a good plan B!

I found it while looking through an old Chinese cookbook I had bought many years ago. Written by legendary NY Times food critic Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee, “The Chinese Cookbook” has become my bible for all of my Asian dishes.

I use chicken instead of duck. It’s cheaper, easier to find, and I can easily buy a whole pasture-raised chicken from local farms here in Rhode Island. But it is just as delicious.

As long as you use gluten-free soy sauce and hoisin sauce (La Choy and Kikkoman make them and they’re found in just about any supermarket), this recipe is gluten-free.

 

 

1 whole chicken, about 6 lbs., or 2 smaller chickens (pictured)
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

 

Remove all the giblets from the chicken and discard. Rub the soy sauce first all over the chicken. (The chicken will absorb the flavors better if you do it before you rub the bird with the oil.) Then rub the peanut oil all over the chicken.

Combine the Chinese five spice, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Season the entire chicken, including inside the cavity, with this mixture.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the chicken in a pan lined with aluminum foil (cleanup will be easier) and bake.

Meanwhile, combine the hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. When the chicken is about 15 minutes away from being done, brush it with the hoisin/sesame oil mixture. Cook it another 15 minutes until the chicken has a nice dark glaze. Don’t let it burn!

Let it rest about 15 minutes before carving.

 

OYSTERS ROCK-A-FELLOW

Posted: February 1, 2023 in Food, Recipes, restaurants, seafood
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My last recipe post for a while, as I head off on a journey to try some New Zealand oysters…as well as a lot of other seafood!

My dog, Fellow, turned 13 on November 5th. He stood by me in the kitchen while I created this dish, so I decided to name it after him.

 

 

The original Oysters Rockefeller recipe is a closely guarded secret, created in 1899 at the famous New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s. Jules Alciatore, the son of founder Antoine Alciatore, developed the dish when they had a shortage of escargot, substituting locally available oysters. Antoine’s is still the only place in the world where you can be served the original Oysters Rockefeller recipe.

 

Antoine’s is the oldest restaurant in New Orleans.

 

 

If you Google “Oysters Rockefeller,” you’ll find hundreds of recipes that claim to be the real thing, or close to it. But here’s the catch: most of them use spinach in the dish, and the folks at Antoine’s insist there was never any spinach used in the original recipe. So, before attempting my own version, I decided I would leave spinach out of my recipe…and I like it better that way.

 

The original Oysters Rockefeller served at Antoine’s. I have to say I wasn’t all that impressed with it.

 

My version, my Oysters Rock-a-Fellow, is cheesier and gooier than the original. I use large, meatie oysters like Wellfleets from Cape Cod or local Rhode Island oysters. And, as you’ll see below, I can make the cheese portion of this dish the day before, saving myself a lot of time on the day I want to serve it.

So, if you’re doing this the day of…start here. If you’re doing it the day before, start with the cheese mix below, then come back to the oysters the next day.

24 oysters, washed to remove grit

Scrub the oysters under cold water to get them clean.

Here’s how I make opening the oysters easier. (Plus the hot water cleans the oyster shells nicely.)

In a large pot, pour in enough cold water to fill the pot about halfway. Turn the heat on high and bring the pot to a boil.

The moment you reach a boil, turn the heat to medium and drop in 6 oysters, letting them bathe in the liquid for only 30 seconds. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl to cool. If the oysters open, they’ve been in there too long! You want them to stay closed. Do the same with the rest of the oysters, 6 at a time. Once all the oysters have had their 30 seconds, move the oyster bowl to a cutting board. Discard the liquid in the pot.

Pour Kosher salt onto a large sheet pan lined with foil.

Once the oysters have cooled enough for you to handle, carefully remove the top shell off each one (there are plenty of videos on You Tube to show you how this is done if you need help), discarding it, and lay the oysters on the bed of salt in the sheet pan, trying not to spill any of the precious oyster liquor inside. The salt holds the oysters in place.

Salt holds the oysters perfectly in place.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup low-fat milk
salt and pepper
3 cups (tightly packed) fresh arugula, finely chopped, about a 5 oz. container
6 oz. mild cheddar cheese (the white one), grated
6 oz. mozzarella, grated
Fine bread crumbs (Using GF breadcrumbs will keep this dish gluten-free)

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and then add the onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent.

Add the milk, season with salt and pepper, and then add the arugula a little at a time, letting it wilt before adding more. Use all the arugula.

Once all the arugula is in the saucepan, sprinkle the cheese in a bit at a time, letting it melt, until you’ve used all the cheese: the cheddar and then the mozzarella.

Pour the gooey cheese mix into a lasagna pan, smooth it out with a spatula, and place it in the fridge to cool.

 

 

You can do this all the day before, because the cheese mix hardens and becomes easy to cut into cubes with a sharp knife.

 

 

Then simply place a cube of the cheese mix on each oyster…

 

 

…sprinkle a little bread crumb on top…

 

 

…and bake in the 425-degree oven for about 8–10 minutes until they’re golden and bubbly.

 

 

Whoever said that cheese and seafood don’t go together, never tried this!

This dish can be gluten-free if you use gluten-free breadcrumbs. I buy Udi’s gluten-free frozen bread for my breadcrumbs. I take the loaf, toast the slices, then put them through the food processor. The taste is far better than buying pre-made GF breadcrumbs. I use regular breadcrumbs if I don’t need to worry about gluten.

THE BEST OF TWO CLASSIC PASTA DISHES

Posted: January 29, 2023 in carbonara, fleur de sel, Food, guanciale, Italian, pork, pork jowl, pork jowls, Recipes
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Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Fettuccine Alfredo are my daughter’s two favorite pasta dishes. When she couldn’t decide which one she wanted for dinner one night, I decided that she’d get both! (Yes, I spoil her rotten!)

 

 

The addition of chicken and peas made for a more balanced plate. This is now one of my go-to dishes when guests arrive, since many parts can be prepared ahead of time.

 

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Start with the chicken…

The breading for the chicken is bread that I’ve toasted, crumbled and put into a food processor to make breadcrumbs. I get a lot more flavor this way than using store-bought breadcrumbs from a can. I add flour to it to lighten it up.

For a  gluten-free version, I buy Udi’s gluten-free bread, toast it, and put it in the food processor to make delicious GF breadcrumbs. Then I add it in the same proportions as listed in this recipe with GF flour.

1/2 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces
1 egg, scrambled
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
olive oil, for frying

Scramble the egg in a bowl. Cut the chicken into pieces, and add them to the egg, making sure they get evenly coated. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, flour, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fill a pan with about an inch of olive oil. Heat to medium-high, for frying.

In batches not to overcrowd the pan, take the chicken pieces out of the egg and toss them in the bread crumb mixture, shaking off the excess. Place them carefully in the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden. Since they’re small pieces, they should cook all the way through easily. Drain on a plate covered with paper towels. Do this with all the chicken and set it aside. Try not to eat it all before you make the rest of the dish! (This chicken can also be eaten as is–these are my daughter’s favorite nuggets–or used with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to make a delicious chicken parmigiana.)

 

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The carbonara factor…

Many recipes for Spaghetti alla Carbonara use pancetta or bacon. But the original recipe calls for guanciale: cured (but not smoked) pig jowls, or cheeks. It’s easy enough to find in a good Italian food store, but I cure my own. I buy raw heritage Berkshire pork jowls from a farm that raises the pigs humanely, and cure the jowls for about 3 weeks in a combination of salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Then I rinse them, pat them dry, and cut them into portion-sized pieces, wrapping them individually and freezing until I need them. It’s a lot of work, but to me, totally worth it.

3 oz. guanciale

If the guanciale is frozen, let it thaw just a little, then cut it into the smallest cubes you can manage. Place it in a pan and cook them until they’ve browned and crisped beautifully. Keep an eye on the pan, as guanciale can burn easily. Use the fried meat bits for this recipe and save the fat for flavoring a future dish! Set it aside.

 

The Alfredo sauce…

Despite what you get in crappy restaurants like Olive Garden, Alfredo sauce should not be runny or soupy. It should cling to the pasta and be rich in flavor. My Alfredo sauce is based on a recipe from the legendary Italian cookbook author, Marcella Hazan.

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
Fleur de Sel or sea salt
1 lb. pasta, fresh or dried
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
freshly ground black pepper

 

Put 2/3 of the cream and all the butter in a large saucepan that will later accommodate all the pasta. Simmer over medium heat for less than a minute, until the butter and cream have thickened a bit. Turn off the heat.

Drop the pasta in a bowl of boiling salted water. (Use gluten-free pasta, if you like.)  If the pasta is fresh, it will take just seconds. If it’s dry, it will take a few minutes. (Gluten-free pasta takes a little longer.) Either way, you want to cook the pasta even firmer than al dente, because it will finish cooking in the pan with the butter and cream. Drain the pasta immediately when it reaches that firm stage, and transfer it to the pan with the butter and cream, tossing the pasta gently for a few seconds to coat.

 

 

Turn the heat under the saucepan with the pasta on low, and add the rest of the cream, all the Parmigiano Reggiano, and a bit of pepper (no salt because there’s plenty in the guanciale and cheese.) Toss briefly until the sauce has thickened and the pasta is well-coated.

 

At this point, you don’t want the pasta to get too dry, so you add…

1 cup of frozen peas

…tossing gently to warm them through. Also add the cooked guanciale at this time.

 

With or without chicken, it’s delicious!

 

 

Plate the pasta in a bowl or dish and serve the chicken alongside.

 

 

 

 

 

CLASSIC CAESAR SALAD, AND A NEW ALTERNATIVE

Posted: January 26, 2023 in Food, Recipes
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For my family, a Caesar salad is the only salad to serve on special occasions. But it all starts with a little history…

If someone told me that the classic Caesar salad was invented in Tijuana, Mexico, I’d say they were crazy. But that’s one bizarre truth in the creation of one of the world’s most iconic salads.

Famous restaurateur, Caesar Cardini, ran a restaurant in San Diego back in the early 1900’s. But when Prohibition hit the states, he opened another location in Mexico…Tijuana, to be exact, luring many of the day’s Hollywood stars across the border. They could gamble in Mexico, and they could feast on food and alcohol at Cardini’s.

The story goes that one July 4th, they were running out of food, and thinking quickly, Cardini created a salad at the spur of the moment, using only the ingredients he could find in the kitchen. Having the chef assemble the salad tableside meant it came with a grand performance, and word quickly spread of the incredible “Caesar salad.” (Cardini named it after himself.) Cardini’s is still at its original Tijuana location, and they serve thousands of Caesar salads, with a flamboyant tableside show, to tourists.

Though Cardini didn’t believe anchovies should be in his salad (they say Worcestershire was used instead), anchovies were eventually added when his brother, Alex, tweaked the recipe years later. (The Worcestershire was removed.)

It needs to be said that raw egg yolks are used in Caesar salad, and if you’re not comfortable using them because of salmonella concerns, you shouldn’t. Sometimes coddled eggs (slightly boiled) are used. Some stores, though not many, sell pasteurized eggs in the shell. I haven’t had a chance to use them–or even find them. And now you can get liquid eggs, whole eggs that have been pasteurized and come in a carton. The problem is that you only need the yolks, and you can’t separate them from the whites. (Nonetheless, I gave it a shot and it wasn’t half bad. But far from the perfection of using real yolks. See the bottom of this blog.)

For many, including myself, it ain’t a Caesar without raw egg, so I’m willing to take my chances.

This Caesar recipe remains the best I’ve ever had.

 

The ingredients.

 

The first really important ingredient to get is a wooden bowl. No other bowl will do. We have an old wooden bowl at home with almost mystical properties that is used for nothing but our Caesar salad, and I have to say that it makes all the difference in the world.

 

The mystical wooden bowl. Years of Caesar salads have given it a special seasoning.

 

Once you have the bowl, what matters most is the freshest, best quality ingredients you can find: farm-fresh eggs, not supermarket ones…Parmigiano Reggiano, not generic Parmesan. The best quality extra virgin olive oil. Fresh lemon juice. Freshly cracked black pepper. High-quality anchovies. And organic Romaine lettuce. (Organic bibb or leaf lettuces make great substitutes.)

After that, it’s all about the love.

 

The process begins…

4 raw egg yolks
8 oz. good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
fresh garlic (optional…see below)
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
4 anchovies
the juice of 1 lemon
4 oz. grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 large heads organic Romaine lettuce, washed, stems removed, torn by hand

Place the egg yolks in the wooden bowl and whisk them until well mixed.

While whisking the yolks, pour the olive oil in the bowl VERY SLOWLY, whisking all the time, never stopping. Keep pouring the olive oil slowly until you’ve whisked all of it into the eggs and you get a beautiful emulsion.

Keep whisking and add the Dijon mustard, then the black pepper. You might need someone to hold the bowl for you as you whisk. Or…place a wet kitchen towel under the bowl to stabilize it.

In a separate small bowl, mash the anchovies with a fork–even better, use a mortar and pestle, if you have one. Don’t leave any chunks. Slowly add the mashed anchovies to the wooden bowl, mixing them in with the whisk to combine the ingredients. You want them to dissolve completely in the dressing.

Once the dressing has reached its desired consistency, add the lemon juice and whisk some more.

When it’s all mixed together, dip a finger in the dressing and give it a taste. Does it need more lemon juice to cut the oil? Slice a second lemon and add a little. Taste again. Enough black pepper? There should be enough salt from the anchovies and the cheese is still to come.

If you think you’ve “got it,” sprinkle in the Parmigiano Reggiano, whisking slowly. Then add the Romaine leaves to the salad bowl and toss gently to coat the lettuce.

When serving, top each salad serving with a little more cheese. Extra anchovies are optional.

 

 

If you’re saying “where’s the garlic?” …you’re right. Every good Caesar needs some. This recipe would use about 1 teaspoon of fresh, finely chopped garlic, added after the mustard. If I’m cooking alone, I always add the garlic. But we have people in our household that are allergic to garlic, so when family is here, we leave it out. The flavors of the dressing are so deliciously intense, you’ll be surprised how good it is without it!

 

 

 

 

Recently, I came across a recipe that is not a traditional Caesar, but is close enough for rock ‘n’ roll. It has several ingredients that a true Caesar wouldn’t include, like bacon and hard-boiled eggs, but there’s no denying it’s absolutely delicious, especially when you toast the croutons in the bacon fat!

 

1 large head of Romaine lettuce
1/2 lb. bacon, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 anchovies
2 hard-boiled egg yolks
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup (or more) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Olive oil
Bread for croutons

Since the bread is the only non-gluten-free ingredient in the salad, if you want it to be gluten-free, just use GF bread, or skip it altogether. Chop the bread for croutons into small cubes. Set it aside.

Fry up half a pound of bacon, leaving the fat in the pan. Make sure the bacon is crispy. Chop it up and place it in a bowl on paper towels. Set it aside.

 

 

Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan in a convection oven and bake it at a low temperature, 150° or so, until it’s brown and toasted, tossing the cubes around every 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set it aside.

 

 

Take the pan with the bacon fat and heat it. Add the garlic. Fry the garlic for a few seconds, then add the croutons and toss them around until they’re cooked and the bacon fat has been absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and place the croutons in a separate bowl.

Chop up the lettuce and place it in a large bowl. Set it aside.

Chop up the two hard-boiled egg yolks and placed them in a large wooden bowl, big enough for the salad. Add the juice of half a lemon, the Dijon mustard, and the capers.

Using a fork, squish the anchovy fillets on a cutting board into a paste and add them to the bowl.

Whisk everything together for a minute, then slowly add the olive oil in a tiny stream as you continue whisking, until you get the consistency of the dressing that you like. Season with salt and pepper. Add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Whisk again.

 

 

Add lettuce to the dressing and toss with tongs. Then add the croutons and bacon bits to the salad and toss one last time.

 

 

Not a true Caesar, but delicious…and because hard-boiled egg yolks are used, there are no salmonella concerns.

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