French Cuisine - Black Currant and Balsamic Gastrique – Simple Complexity

This kind of video recipe produced for approximately. com is my accept a classic French sauce, the Gastrique. In its most basic form it's simply a caramelized sugar and vinegar lowering. The present day Gastrique is usually a vinegar reduction merged with some type of fruit, either fresh, or in jams and keeps. The reason for the "Simple Complexity" in it is the fact that this sauce is absurdly easy to make, yet the number of potential combinations is practically endless.

The complex layers of flavors that can be achieved by mixing and matching different fruits and vinegars is what makes this such a fun sauce to make and serve. You could use the same technique you'll see in it and make a new version each and every time you serve this for the rest of your life. By the way, if you have any smoked duck breast lounging around, the combo of Black Currant preserves and aged Balsamic vinegar My spouse and i used was perfect. Appreciate!

Italian Cuisine - Merluzzo Pasta Puttanesca - Pimp My Cod!

Baccal? is Codfish in Italian language, and I just thought it will look cooler in it. In case you have never been aware of a "Puttanesca" sauce before, it's German for "in the style of the whore. inch I know, it seems appetizing doesn't it? Although, it really is a wonderful and fast pasta spices that may be prepared and threw on plain pasta, or used as a foundation for a far more complex menu as I did here. I've taken the fundamental Puttanesca sauce and added fresh codfish and Arugula to create a very nice, and quite healthy sea food pasta. Moreover, it flavor much better than it appears to be! The black olive tapenade I added makes for sort of grey and colorless looking sauce, but when you dress up with a little parmesan on top and even more red tear gas flakes, it suddenly becomes much more attractive (insert your own prostitute laugh here).
Now, as considerably as the storyline behind the Puttanesca sauce's origins, there are many stories, some more "colorful" than others. It is pretty much agreed after that Southwest florida was the birthplace, but that's about all that folks don't argue about. What follows are the most frequent answers of this delightful marinade; the females of the night do this nudeln sauce because the alluring aroma would help entice customers. It was created as a quick and cheap meal the females could eat in between customers. It is hot, spicy, and fast, similar to the woman for whom it's named.

Irrespective of the true source, it's a great marinade, and the one that should be part of your regular pasta rotation, whatever your own personal level of virtue is actually. I've made this version reduced caloric by reducing the standard amount of olive oil and replaced it with stock and wine. Enjoy!




Ingredients:
1 pound fresh cod
2 cups chicken or fish stock (or water)
1 pound pasta
1 cup white wine
2 tbl anchovy paste
2 tbl red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic
2 tbl olive tapenade or chopped olives
1/4 cup capers
1 bunch Arugula (about 2-3 cups)
2 tbl olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan

Broiled Salmon Glazed with Dijon and Rice Vinegar, circa 1988 - Do two ingredients count as a "recipe?"

I was just starting my first day at the Carnelian Room; a huge, busy kitchen at the top of the Bank of America Building in San Francisco. I was very young, and very nervous, and wanted my debut to go as smoothly as possible. Luckily I was assigned to the Fish Station, which was run by a very nice fellow named Phil. He told me that all he needed me to do was make the salmon for a banquet that night.

He said it was a French/Asian style salmon dish made with Dijon and rice vinegar. I was told to "grill off" (mark on the grill, but not cook all the way) the salmon filets and get them set up on sheet pans. No problem. It took about an hour or so, but I did a nice job and they looked great with their perfect diamond shaped grill marks (10 and 2’oclock, for you Culinary students out there).
Then he told me to make the glaze for the salmon. I asked him where the recipe was. He laughed and said there wasn't one. He was going to tell me, and I was going to remember it, or it would be my last night there. I was starting to sweat and pulled out my little note pad I always kept in my pocket (another tip for you cul students, always have a pen and paper) so I could write the recipe down. He said something to the effect of “put that f**king thing away!” He said if I couldn't remember this recipe then I had no place being in a kitchen. Then he said, take a quart of Dijon and mix it with a quart of rice vinegar, and brush it on the salmon. That was it; half Dijon, half vinegar. We both had a laugh and I realized this was a very mild rookie hazing I had just endured.

Anyway, this simple two-ingredient combo is a really great salmon glaze. The sugar in the seasoned rice vinegar caramelizes under the broiler, and the sweet, salty vinegar works perfectly with the tangy mustard. While the original, circa 1988, only had two ingredients I've added a couple of optional things, some Sriracha hot sauce and a pinch of salt. Nowadays they call this fusion cuisine. Back then they called it a great way to make a young cook sweat! Enjoy.



Ingredients:
2 salmon filet
1 1/2 tbl Dijon
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
salt, if needed (rice vinegars can vary in sugar and salt content)

 

Rabbit "Two Ways" - Stewed Legs and Seared Loins

This ancient video footage (shot with the good old web cam) was original posted on my first blog LRN2cook.com. If you actually remember that website and/or this clip, you should win some sort of viewer loyalty award! I said should, so don’t get too excited. Anyway, while this clip doesn’t look that good, and my new voice-over is sketchy at best, it’s still a very nice recipe. If you’ve always wanted to try rabbit, this is the way to go.
Unless you are use to cutting up small animals, please have the butcher trim this rabbit into the individual pieces. Most rabbits are sold whole or by the half, like chicken. But, any meat shop that sells rabbit will have a butcher that will separate the legs and loin for you. As you’ll sorta see and somewhat hear in the video recipe, the key to this dish is the long stewed legs and the quick seared loins. Enjoy!



1 rabbit, dressed (2 1/4 pound)
1 onion
1 celery rib
1/2 cup chopped San Marzano (or any canned plum) tomato
4 cloves garlic, sliced
salt and pepper
olive oil
4 tbl balsamic vinegar reduce by half
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tsp fennel seed
fresh parsley, chopped

Spaghetti with Red Clam Sauce - One of my "Go To" Favorites

There are certain recipes all cooks have that form the base of their culinary repertoire. These are recipes that are fast and easy, that they can create from memory, with no notes, in any kitchen, for any group, any time of the year. Some Chefs refer to these as their "go to" dishes. This red clam sauce is one of my "go to" recipes.
It's incredible simple to make (much easier than saying "canned clams" as you'll hear in this clips running gag). It takes about 15 minutes start to finish. It's bursting with flavor, yet only uses a few ingredients and except for crushing a couple cloves of garlic, requires no prep. This sauce is great on any pasta, but I enjoy it best on angle hair or spaghetti. And, yes, I DO put some Parmesan on my clam pasta, thank you very much. Never say never when it comes to food. Some Chefs (fascists) say you can never put cheese on seafood pasta, never, ever, never. Well, while I agree that Parmesan would not be a great choice on some seafood pastas using very light, delicate varieties of fish and sauce. On this red clam sauce and its strong, bold flavors and meaty clams, the Parmesan tastes wonderful, and no one can prove me otherwise.

Please note while watching the video recipe the secret to what I think makes a great pasta dish. Under-cook the pasta by a minute, drain it, add it back to the pot (off the heat of course) and pour over the hot sauce, cover and let everything meld together for a few minutes. The hot sauce and steaming pasta will finish cooking and the pasta will absorb all those amazing flavors. I can't believe it when I see a plate of plain pasta with the sauce just ladled over! Anyway, give this a try and maybe it will become one of your "go to" recipes. Enjoy!



1 pound pasta
2 cans (6.5 oz) chopped clams in juice
3 cups tomato sauce (plus 1/4 cup water to rinse jar)
1 cup good white wine
1 tbl anchovy paste or 2 fillets
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbl capers
2 tbl olive oil
Parmesan to taste
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herb to taste, basil or Italian parsley

Black Pepper Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry Reduction

This succulent dish has all the things I love in a recipe; an easy piece of meat to work with, a super simple sauce that tastes like something that took hours, and the classic flavor combination of hot/tangy with sweet/fruity.
Our meat choice, the pork tenderloin, is one of the most user-friendly cuts ever. It requires about 3 minutes of trimming and you’re ready to rock. The sauce is made in the pan after the meat is cooked and the sweet and tangy fruit sauce pairs perfectly with the spicy black pepper crust on the pork. Since most of these tenderloins are pretty standard size at about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each, 20 minutes at 375F after a good sear in the pan is going to give you a perfect medium almost every time.

By the way, you can use any vinegar and fruit preserve in this recipe and it will be great, although there is something about cherry and black pepper that’s magical. Enjoy!




1 pork tenderloin (not loin)
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup black cherry preserves
salt to taste
lots of cracked black pepper
2 tbl butter

Wild Halibut Steaks with Warm Bacon Dressing – Mmmmm….Bacon

Yes, it’s true what they say, bacon makes everything tastes better. Even bacon tastes better with bacon. Recently I saw an online lecture by a woman who makes specialty chocolates and she had actually done chocolate with bacon. So, now it’s really official, bacon goes with everything! By the way, I plan on posting her lecture, which I found equally inspiring and perplexing, but that’s for another day.

Today we’re making a very simple warm bacon dressing to go over some pan cooked halibut. With just a few ingredients, and a very simple procedure, we’re going to produce some amazingly delicious results. The smokiness of the bacon is such a great match with the meaty halibut, and the slightly sweet/sour profile of the fresh lemon and rice vinegar brings this all together. Usually at this point I tell you a few ways you can alter the recipe to match your personal tastes…forget that. Make this exactly like I show you. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 halibut steaks (about 3/4 to 1 inch thick)
1/2 lemon
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
4 strips of bacon
fresh parsley to taste (about 1/2 bunch for me)
salt and pepper to taste
* I served this on baby romaine, but any greens would be nice