Garlic, Black Pepper, and Fennel-rubbed Flank Steak with Grilled Oranges - aka Party Steak!

You have to love the flank steak; so easy to cook, almost no trimming, relatively lean, and perfect for a party since it’s slight change in thickness from one end to the other allows for slices of medium rare and medium well off the same piece of meat. This very interesting recipe has something I always appreciate in a dish; it makes its own sauce. As you’ll see in the video recipe, we used the juice from some grilled oranges with the natural juices from the steak to create a fabulous looking, and tasting platter of beef.



While this dish may appear to be inspired by Italian or Spanish influences (which it is), it’s also a take on one of my favorite Chinese dishes; spicy orange beef. I love to grill flank steak with a highly flavored rub of garlic, fennel, salt and black pepper. I wondered what would happen if I added a little orange to the marinade, and then I got the idea to caramelize some orange halves on the grill, and squeeze the juice over the meat after it was cooked and sliced. It was an amazing combination, and one you must try. I did a recent video recipe with some orange and fennel grilled chicken thighs, that was very good, but this went to a whole new place. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 flank steak (about 2 pounds)
1 tbl fennel seeds
2 tbl black pepper
2 tsp salt
3 oranges
2 tbl olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
cayenne pepper to taste

Watermelon and Feta with Toasted Cashews – Old footage, new narration, watercolor filters, and one really amazing summer salad!

I vaguely remember eating a slice on watermelon as a young child and watching in shock and horror as my grandfather started sprinkling salt on his slice. I said whatever the 5 year old version of “what the hell are you doing?” was. He said something like “it makes it sweeter.” What? Needless to say that didn’t make any sense at the time. Fast forward 30 years later to a café in San Francisco where I was served a green salad garnished with sweet, juicy watermelon, crumbled feta che ese, and toasted cashews. Wow, it was amazing! What a combination of sweet, salty, juicy, creamy, crunchy, and just…mmmmm. Ah ha! I finally understood what grandfather was doing. Better late than never.
This video recipe was pieced together with footage I shot last year when I was just playing around with my new webcam. I found it and decided to add some new voice-over and show you this great salad. Yes, it’s a bit unusual, but one bite and you will be hooked. You’ll get to see and hear both sleeveless and blurry 2006 Chef John, as well as the new and improved 2007 Chef John. So, here’s the clip, a whole year in the making, as they say. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 small ripe watermelon
4 oz feta cheese
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
*optional garnish: some fresh mint or basil

Chicken D’Arduini – Italian Home Cooking at its Best!

As promised, here is the chicken dish that my Uncle Bill served with the homemade fettuccine you saw him make a few days ago. This unbelievably flavorful recipe is a great example of the difference between home cooking and the way things are done in the professional kitchen.

If I were to watch this video recipe clip, the first thing I would have wondered was why weren’t the chicken pieces browned first before being braised in the wine. This would have been my former professional chef brain talking. In the restaurant we always brown off the chicken to give it a bit more color. But, at home, with a recipe this jam-packed with flavor, why bother? It would have taken an extra half hour to brown all those legs and thighs and we had wine to drink and stories to tell. So, in true home cooking style we just added the raw chicken to that amazing oil, garlic and anchovy base (as you’ll soon see) and went from there. If you want a darker brown sauce and chicken, then by all means brown off the pieces first. We had better things to do.

A few tips to keep in mind as you watch the recipe. Be sure NOT to brown the garlic. It was just simmered on low with the anchovies and olive oil for a few minutes before the chicken was added. As soon as the chicken and wine are added, and the pan is covered, there is no danger of the garlic burning. But, until those other ingredients go in, be careful! You should watch this clip a few times, to really see what happened. The heat was adjusted several times, and the wine went in at the beginning and the end. Basically the entire cooking time is about 45 minutes, half covered, half uncovered. At the end, once the chicken is starting to come off the bone, you are just reducing the sauce into a wonderfully sticky glaze.

Uncle Bill threw in some olives and mushrooms near the end, but you could just as easily put in peppers, artichoke hearts, etc. This is a very easy recipe to tailor to you own tastes. The basic foundation is the chicken, wine, vinegar, garlic and anchovies. After that anything goes. And, because someone will ask, no, you can’t use chicken breasts instead…this is strictly dark meat territory. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs (bone-in, but skinned)
8 chicken legs
6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 tbl dried rosemary
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
2 oz anchovy fillets
1/2 plus 1/3 cup red wine
1/4 cup vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
 

Herb Braised Artichokes - All rise, the "Court Bouillon" is now in session

I've had a few requests for an artichoke demo, so I thought I would show you one of my favorite ways to cook them. This is a variation of an old recipe my Uncle Bill showed me years ago. He uses dried herbs in his, but I had an oregano plant that needed a serious pruning and so I went with the fresh stuff. This method is sort of a cross between the two most popular ways to do artichokes; steaming or boiling, which is why I called it braised. As you'll see, I basically simmer the artichoke in a small amount of liquid so they are actually more like steamed artichokes than boiled ones (which can dilute the flavor somewhat).

As far as official culinary terminology goes, the liquid I'm using is referred to as a "Court Bouillon." This is simply a flavorful cooking liquid made of water, salt, and some type of acid (usually vinegar or wine). It is traditionally used to poach shellfish and other seafood, but works great for artichokes.

The video recipe is very straight forward, so no need for any long-winded post today. Not to mention it's Friday! I enjoyed my artichokes with a simple squeeze of lemon, but below you will see links to several video recipes I've already posted that would work great as a dip for this. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 large globe artichokes
2 cloves fresh garlic
3 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 bunch fresh oregano, or 2 tbl dried (or any other herb combo you like)
1 tbl salt
black pepper to taste

*Serve with fresh lemon or one of the video recipes linked below:

Braised Chicken and Artichoke Hearts with Lemon, Cherry Peppers and Thyme

This delicious and easy chicken recipe is great example of how a few simple ingredients can come together to create an incredibly complex and flavorful dish. Even though there are not a lot of different ingredients, the ones we are using give us a wide range of textures and tastes. The succulent braised chicken thighs, falling off the bone, scented with fresh lemon and thyme; the creamy artichoke hearts and butter beans (our surprise secret ingredient); the sweet and sour cherry peppers, with their slight heat; all swimming in a rich and nutritious broth. Are you getting hungry yet? And, no, you can’t use breasts, so don’t ask. If you're one of these people that doesn’t like “dark meat,” please give this recipe a try and you will surely be converted. Come over to the dark side, it sure is delicious over here!

A couple of things I mention in the video recipe that I wanted to expand on here. I like to buy the whole canned artichoke hearts verses the quartered pieces. I find them to have a better texture and sometimes the quartered hearts are over-marinated in the brine they are packed in. Also, spend the extra dollar and get the better imported brand, it will be worth it. I’ve used the Peppadew cherry peppers in a similar dish, my Spicy Mediterranean Chicken with Sausage Stuffed Cherry Peppers, so if you want more info you can check out that post and clip. If you can’t find that exact pepper don’t worry, any jarred or fresh cherry pepper will work. You can even use sweet red bell peppers if you prefer.

Even though I didn’t serve it that way in this clip, this recipe is amazing on top of some pasta or rice. But, my favorite accompaniment would be a slice of crusty Italian bread to dip into the fragrant broth. No matter how you decide to serve it you are in for a treat. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
4 Chicken Leg Sections (thigh and drumstick, bone in)
10 canned whole artichoke hearts, cut in half
2 cups cherry peppers
1 or 2 lemons, juiced (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup juice)
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
8 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tbl olive oil
1 quart chicken stock or broth
* Braise for 1 hour at 375 F
* Adjust for salt and pepper before serving

Shepherd’s Pie “Moussaka” – A Culinary “Mash-up” of two Old World Classics

For those of you that aren’t hip (like me…I don’t have an iPod which automatically makes me not hip), a “mash-up” usually refers to a DJ taking two different songs and mixing and “mashing” them together to produce a new musical creation. My personal favorite, the Jay Z/Linkin Park mash-up MTV did a few years ago. If you haven’t heard any of that, and you’re under 60 years old (Hi, Mom), then check it out, it’s great stuff. Big Pimpin for real. Anyway, in that same spirit of combining two great things to make a new even greater thing, I present today’s video recipe clip.

I love classic Greek “Moussaka.” Layers of lamb and eggplant, exotically spiced and topped with a rich, almost custard-like sauce. I also love a good Shepherd’s Pie, what’s not to like about a pie made out of ground meat and mashed potatoes? So, I thought I would try a Shepherd’s Pie using the flavor components of the Greek “Moussaka.” Did it work? Damn right! It was really good, and next to a green salad, made for a very satisfying supper on a foggy San Francisco night.

A few suggestions before you watch the clip. The potato topping I do is relatively bland since I was topping a very highly seasoned meat base. You should use my spice amounts below as a rough guide, and add the cumin, cinnamon and hot pepper in increments until you have something that tastes right to you. The lamb and eggplant mixture is NOT subtlety spiced in this dish, and the ingredient amounts reflect that fact. This dish should explode with exotic and aromatic flavor. To me that’s what makes the “crispy and browned on the top, but moist and tender underneath” potato topping such a great contrast. And don’t forget the fresh mint. As you hear me say in the clip, I used chocolate mint, which you can find at the better garden centers (or order the seeds online – it’s an amazing herb), but plain supper market mint will work beautifully. Enjoy!





Ingredients:
2 lbs ground lamb
2 eggplant
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 onion
4 cloves garlic
3 russet potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter
salt to taste
1 egg
fresh mint
2 tbl olive oil
Spice Mix:
2 bay leaves
3 tbl ground cumin
1 tbl cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbl black pepper
1 tbl salt (at least, taste and adjust)
2 tbl herb de provance (or Italian or Greek dried herb mix)
1 tbl paprika
1 tsp red pepper flakes
*Baked at 400F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

Stuffed Summer Squash with Goat Cheese and Romesco – Our least terrible test yet!

Well, the new microphone is hooked up and I think the sound is better. The intros and endings of these test clips still need a lot of work, and I just realized that I need to go out and pick up a digital camera for the still shots. Other than that, I think I’m starting to figure this new stuff out.

This has always been one of my favorite summer side-veggie dishes. Any summer squash you can cut in half will work. Anyone that has, or knows someone that has, a vegetable garden really needs to try this dish! I mean, what the hell are you going to do with all those squash? The completely irregular green starburst squash you see in this video were not the best choice to do a demo with since they are hard to slice in half evenly, but hey, if it works with these, it will work with any squash as I said.

The deep, rich flavor of the romesco mingling with the sweet blandness of the squash combined with the creamy tang of the warm goat cheese makes this dish a summer classic. Don’t serve too hot! This dish shines best served warm or at room temp. If you’ve never tried romesco, this is the dish to taste it in. It’s a medium-spicy, “pesto-like” sauce made from roasted red peppers, garlic, almonds, anchovy and other spices. We use it a lot in summer, as it is the perfect instant sauce for any grilled meat, fish or vegetables. One of these days I’ll show you how to make your own romesco, but for now you should be able find it at most high-end grocery stores. If you can’t find or make it, any flavorful sauce will work; salsa, roasted red pepper relish, olive tapenade, etc. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
3 small summer squash
6 tbl goat cheese
3 tbl romesco sauce
3 tbl olive oil
2 tbl plain bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste