I really had that craving for steak but in my ongoing effort to eat everything I am making sure I do not eat too much of anything. The solution was to make filet mignon sliders. I bought two filet mignons (to make eight sliders for four people) and a bag of mini buns. I cut the steaks in half horizontally and then in half vertically so I ended up with eight small “steaks”. 
I seasoned the meat really well with salt, black pepper and white pepper. I seared them over really high heat so the steak got a nice golden crust but was still MR inside. I griddled the buns in the same pan. I layered the buns with the steak, a thin slice of comte cheese, caramelized onions, mustard and a slice of perfectly ripe farmers’ market heirloom tomato.
One bite and I got that full rich, tender steak experience I was craving. The toasted bun added the perfect amount of crunch to the tender steak. Caramelized onions are one of those silver bullet ingredients that make everything better. They tasted like a sweet onion mayo on the burger. There is no better way to get decadence for a buck than to caramelize onions! I slowly cooked a combination of red onions, shallots and yellow onions the day before. It took about an hour on really low heat to make the onions believe they were candy. Now I have them in my cold pantry for the week! The nutty, salty cheese was the perfect foil to the sweetness of the onions. My craving is satisfied. Enjoy!
Key flavor factors:
- Really hot pan, hot oil (almost smoking, you should see a haze coming off the oil before you add the meat).
- Well seasoned meat. Don’t be shy on the salt. Try using a combo of white and black pepper. It adds a touch of heat and a depth of flavor.
- Toast the buns in the same pan – efficient and tasty. The slight crispiness on the inside of the otherwise soft bun took the burger to a new level.
- If you don’t have ripe, sweet tomatoes use ketchup instead.
- Don’t cook the meat past MR or M. You will loose all the flavor and the filet will get mealy.
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
I hope you are off to a great week. As you know I blog about eggs often but Tuesday is my dedicated day to blog as a spokesperson for the American Egg Farmers. Part of the beauty of working on my own schedule is that
I am often home in the morning and have breakfast duty while my wife prepares the kid’s lunches. Eggs are an easy sell to the kids because they like them and it is always a pleasurable task for me because it is quick and easy.
We had some pita bread and a few slices of bacon from the weekend brunch. I broke up the bacon and mixed it with a few diced green onions, some mayo and a touch of mustard. This is the beginnings of a very normal egg salad as you have probably made many times. The difference in this one is I used eggs cooked over-easy. I stirred them into the bacon/green onion mixture and the creamy yolks mixed with the mayo and mustard to create a luscious sauce. I like the speed of cooking eggs over-easy as well. One of the yolks broke which was n0 big deal because they were getting chopped up anyway. I toasted the pita just long enough to warm it up and have it open easily and then stuffed it with the egg salad mixture. The kids LOVED it.
One of the advantages of cooking over-easy or fried eggs is the tender texture of the egg white. The key to having the white tender is to keep the heat on medium to medium low. This “slower”, lower heat cooking (4 minutes) yields a tender egg white and a perfectly cooked yolk. Enjoy!
Key flavor factors:
1. Save a couple slices of bacon from brunch so you don’t have to use an extra pan.
2. Warm pan, medium heat, and melted butter BEFORE adding egg.
3. Use your spatula to move the eggs slightly as they set so that they do not stick and are easy to flip.
4. A touch of salt to bring out the full flavor.
5. Not too much mustard (at least for my kids) a tsp of mustard to 1 Tb of mayo is a good balance.
6. Cook the egg just until the white goes from clear to “white”. If you like the creamy goodness of a soft yolk make sure to cook the egg for no more than one minute once you flip it over. About three minutes total.
If you have not made your pledge yet (no cost) to help feed the hungry please go to the Good Egg Project and make a pledge of good faith. Thank you.
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
I love Wednesdays. I go to the farmers market in Santa Monica every Wednesday. The moment I round the corner and enter into the market my senses come to life. I stand there for a moment and just take it in. The visual of everyone strolling, squeezing produce, talking is awesome. I can identify the restauranteurs stocking up. They look intense because they need to get ready for the dinner rush. The smells are brilliant. Depending on the wind I get a cloud of the flowers or sometimes sweet citrus.
Today I couldn’t resist the Romano beans and the yellow wax beans. The tomatoes are always the number one treat. I bought the “pineapple” heirlooms as well as a few brandywine. Luscious! I grabbed a large filet of wild caught salmon on the way home and I am ready for dinner!
I blanched the beans (drop them in boiling water for 3 minutes and then into an ice bath to cool them quickly and preserve their color). A quick sauté in fresh savory and olive oil and the beans are ready. The fingerling potatoes get a quick sauté and then into the 350 oven to finish while the salmon goes on the grill. I love these simple dinners. Each ingredient represents itself proudly on the plate. You can taste the essence of each of them yet they are so complete together. The beans are naturally sweet and have a just a touch of crunch left. The potatoes are creamy almost as if they are individual bites of mash potatoes yet they still hold their shape with a crispy seared surface. The salmon is so full flavored with just the marks of the grill and some salt and pepper. Sometimes less is more. One big platter, four happy family members, another lovely evening. Food makes life good! Enjoy
Key flavor factors:
1. Have the ice water ready for your beans so they get a good shock which will preserve the color and texture.
2. Make sure the grill is really hot and well oiled before putting the salmon on. (Lots of s&p of course). DON’T touch it once you lay it down. Let it get nice grill marks.
3. Cut the potatoes in half and give them a quick sauté before going into the oven. You get nice color and the cut edge gets crispy and sweet.
4. Slide a large spatula under the middle of the salmon. Lift it up. If it starts to split it is done. It will be nice and MR in the center. You should be able to see inside. There is so much flavor when it is MR. The texture is soft instead of chalky if overcooked.
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
You may have seen the photo I uploaded to flickr with the most heavenly Scotch egg I ate in San Francisco. A Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg that is then peeled, coated in a sausage mixture, breaded and fried. 
I realized that the reason I have probably never made them is because it is somewhat of an involved process. You have to pre cook the egg, then make a meat coating, deep fry the egg, etc. I wanted to bring you a simple way to achieve the same wonderful flavors and textures but in under ten minutes. It is the best breakfast of “eggs and bacon”. Here it is!
1. In a food processor combine a ¼ C of sliced salami, ¼ C. bread crumbs and ½ tsp whole anise seeds. Pulse chop to a crumble. (This is enough for two to three eggs).
2. Pan fry an egg over easy and set it on a plate.
3. Add a touch of olive oil (or butter) to the same pan you cooked the egg in and then add the ground salami mixture. Stir it around and watch it toast to golden brown and release a cloud of mouth-watering flavors.
4. Spoon the mixture over the fried egg and garnish with a little parsley or basil if you like. You can leave out the herbs and anise seed if you don’t have them.
Your mouth waters with the smell of the salami and toasted bread crumbs before you even take the first bite. The anise seed adds a depth of flavor, brightness, cleansing finish and almost a perceived sweetness. The toasted bread crumbs give you the fried sensation. When I closed my eyes I tasted a Scotch egg!! Enjoy!
Key flavor factors for this dish:
1. Keep the pan on medium heat so the egg is tender. Make sure to put a tsp of butter in the pan and let it melt before you crack the egg in. This will keep it from sticking and make it easy to flip.
2. Add a touch of olive oil to the same pan you cooked the egg in then add the salami mixture.
3. Stir the salami mixture as it browns. This only takes one minute.
4. If you have the whole anise seed it makes the dish really special.
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
I was “mind tasting” some holiday flavors and wanted to create a new dish that captured the essence of the holiday in one bite. I love the mildly sweet flavor and texture of butternut squash. I thought about what might be a nice slightly bitter contrast to the sweetness and what spices could pull it all together and tie it to the holidays. The result is this roasted butternut squash and brussel sprout risotto.
The squash is sweet, the brussel sprouts are slightly bitter, the sage butter is a natural partner to the squash and the allspice adds a depth of flavor and an undeniable holiday spice to the dish. One bite and your mouth is filled with the warm flavors of the holiday. Each bite builds on the layers of flavors but never overwhelms.
Roasted butternut squash risotto
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup butternut squash, 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cup brussel sprouts, finely sliced
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup Arborio rice
1 each shallot
1 clove garlic clove
1/3 cup white wine
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
You will have three pans. One for the roasted veggies, one for the risotto and one with the simmering stock/water.
Chop sage and set aside.
In a medium size pot add your water and chicken broth and bring to just under a simmer.
In a medium sauté pan over medium heat add 1 TB of the olive oil. Once hot add the butternut squash and brussel sprouts. Stir occasional until evenly golden. Add the salt and sugar. Stir and cook one more minute. Add the butter, sage and allspice and stir. Cook one more minute and turn off heat. Set aside while you make the rice.
In a medium sauté pan over med-high heat add the other Tb of olive oil. Once hot add the rice, shallot and garlic. Stir continuously until the rice starts to look a touch clear on the edges, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and stir continuously until absorbed. Start adding a ladle full of the hot stock at a time. Stirring continuously until each ladle full is absorbed. After 5 ladles of stock has been absorbed start tasting the rice. You want it to be “al dente”. Continue adding stock and stirring. Make sure to keep the rice at a mild boil and stir continuously.
Once the rice is al dente add a touch more stock so that the rice moves side to side like a slow moving wave. Not solid but not saucy. Stir in the roasted veggies. Spoon onto plates and top with Parmesan cheese
Key flavor factors:
1. Good stock. Stock is most prominent flavor of a good risotto. Use homemade stock if you are motivated to do so or buy a quality one. LOW sodium for sure b/c risotto is a series of reductions. If you start with a salty stock you will have a way salty dish at the end.
2. Add the stock one ladle at a time to get even absorption and creamy textured rice.
3. Make sure the oil is hot before you drop the veggies in. Get a nice golden color on the veggies (color equals flavor).
4. Slice the brussel sprouts thin and cut the butternut squash in small cubes ½” so that they will cook quickly and you will still get good color before the squash gets too soft. By cooking them separately and stirring them in at the end you get great flavor and texture.
5. Taste the rice often towards the end so that you can see how the texture is changing. When it is just about “al dente” add one more ladle of stock and turn the heat off while it is still a touch saucy. The residual heat will allow the rice to finish absorbing the liquid so that by the time you plate and serve it will still be moist and not too thick.
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
Today is my incredible egg posting. I get to share my passion for cooking and eating eggs as the spokesperson for the American Egg Farmers. I look forward to creating something new each week or re-discovering an old favorite to share. Nothing gets the day going quicker and tastier than this scrambled egg burger. The kids love the look of it and I always end up wanting one myself. All you need is one pan.
1. Take a non-stick pan and heat it over medium heat. Melt 2 tsp. of butter in the pan and toast the hamburger bun at the same time that you heat a slice of ham.
2. Set the bun and ham on a plate. Mix two eggs with a couple TB of water and a pinch of salt. Whisk to blend and pour into the same pan. Drag the egg gently across the pan with a spatula to create folds of light, fluffy egg. Do not stir or the eggs will break into curds. When there is just a slight shine left on the eggs scoop them onto the bottom bun and top with a slice of cheese. Close the top bun with the ham on it and you are done.
The residual heat of the egg and ham melts the cheese perfectly. I cut this in half and my daughter Isabella gets one half and my son Sebastian the other. It is just the right amount for a perfect breakfast. They get their nutrients, I get them fed quickly and life is good. Off to another great day!
Want to take it to the next level? Sprinkle on a little smoked paprika.
Key flavor factors:
1. Make sure the pan is on medium and the butter is melted. Rub the buns in the melted butter to get an even coating.
2. The slice of ham gets warm in 30 seconds and leaves behind its great flavor in the pan for the eggs to absorb. No need for a second pan.
3. Don’t let the pan get too hot before you add the eggs. If the pan is too hot you will not get light, fluffy eggs. Turn the heat off towards the end of cooking the eggs and allow the residual heat to finish cooking them.
I am working hard with the egg farmers to donate food to the hungry and to spread the word about the good egg project. If you have not had a chance to make a pledge yet (no cost) please go to the good egg project and make your pledge.
I was just in San Francisco for a recipe project and restaurant consulting gig. I always make a point of getting to the Ferry Building which is a seven day a week gourmet pleasure palace and an outdoor farmers market on the water on weekends.I was strolling through as always staring at mushrooms, having a bite of chocolate, a shot of Blue Bottle espresso is a must, etc. A lovely woman at the restaurant Tsar Nicoulai Caviar recognized me from the NFNS show and invited me in to try some caviar. Leiann is her name. She is the director of outside operations for the 
company. She cracked a bottle of Carneros bubbly and her team put together the most beautiful tasting of caviar. She is quite passionate about her work. I learned a lot! From the same fish came three different grades of eggs. They ranged from more clumped and a touch salty to very fine individual pearls. I also tried the eggs of the albino sturgeon which I had never heard of. Not only does it take 7 years of nurturing their farm raised sturgeon to get a harvest of eggs but there is no guarantee that the albino will produce these luscious light green/gray eggs. They were so delicate in the mouth and when they burst they had a perfectly balanced flavor of salt and sea. The initial taste was more like seaweed (in the best way) than the others. The finish was a bit earthy. The salt was just right. In addition to tasting these amazing eggs I also got a lesson from Leiann on the traditional way to taste caviar. #1 place a small spoonful of the caviar on the thumb side of your fist as if you were licking salt for a shot of Tequila. #2 toast with your bubbles and take a sip to prepare the palate. #3 lick the eggs off of your hand and let them rest on the roof of your mouth. Gently press your tongue against the roof of your mouth and feel the individual eggs collapse and turn into butter of the sea! Repeat step 1! As if this wasn’t a great enough impromptu experience Leiann then asked the waiter to show me what he is best at. I was a little hesitant but curious. He broke out into the opera that you see attached here. His beautiful voice filled the arches and caverns of the 100+ year old Ferry Building. What an afternoon!
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
I did not know that wasabi was a specific root similar to horseradish. I thought “wasabi” was a colored horseradish/mustard paste (which it can be). I was in one of the spice stores I like to frequent, Penzeys (great on-line ordering source for spices if you need one), and came upon pure wasabi powder. At $14 for a tiny .7oz container it is not cheap. I could not control myself. I had to try it. The moment you take the lid off you smell an earthy, seaweed perfume. The light, dusty green powder is airy and light green like powdered green tea leaves. I mixed equal parts of the powder and cold water. As the powder absorbed the water it took on a brighter color and the fragrance turned to a tickle your nose horseradish essence. The seaweed smell was now the backdrop.
The flavor is pure. I found myself napping it back and forth across my tongue to extract all the flavor. There is no way I want to add soy sauce to this. It has a “finish” like a great wine that just goes on and on.
Since I was feeling like a purist I kept it simple. I took a piece of Sushi grade Ahi tuna. Bright purple, firm, free of any blemishes and cartilage. I sliced it thin. Salted it and dotted the wasabi on top. The tender sweet tuna against the sharp, spicy REAL wasabi was magical. It was the essence of “surf and turf”.
I then took the rest of the ahi and made my version of Poke (the Hawaiian version of sashimi). I cubed the tuna and mixed it with a touch of mirin (sweet, low alcohol rice wine), soy, rice wine vinegar and salt. I took a rice cake and broke it up and toasted it in a dry pan with a touch of sugar. It became like tiny particles of caramelized rice. I then toasted some brown mustard seeds in a pan and sprinkled them over the top. The mustard seeds become so nutty when toasted. Just by changing the shape you cut something you change the entire mouth feel. The cubes of tuna had body but were tender. The outer layer absorbed the sweetness of the mirin, the saltiness of the soy and had a cleansing finish from the vinegar. The rice cake gave me the crunch and the mustard seeds created a depth of flavor from their nuttiness. I am sure you know soy well but try playing with mirin, rice wine vinegar, soy and some form of heat in different combinations. They play catch in your mouth so well. Enjoy!
Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.
