Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy

Lunchtime! Even though it is my birthday cooking is what I love to do so I was ready to dive into the kitchen. I rubbed a beautiful chicken that I got at McCall’s in Los Feliz, Los Angeles (Incredible butcher/fish monger that has the most pure, fresh product). I forgot how truly flavorful a good chicken can be. I rubbed the chicken inside and out with 2 TB my Indian spice blend and 1/3 C. of yogurt. The acidity of the yogurt accelerates the marinating of the chicken. The skin and meat turn golden-yellow. After a couple of hours I wiped off the excess yogurt and sautéed the bird briefly (make sure the oil is hot so the moisture of the yogurt doesn’t allow the skin to stick to the pan). I then added a handful of cubed potatoes to the pan with olive oil and brown mustard seeds. I roasted the bird at 350 until tender and juicy with a golden brown/yellow crust that became “Tandori” like. We were too hungry to get a picture of the cooked chicken. Sorry! The skin was crispy with a touch of chew that extracted the earthy, mild mustard-like flavor of the turmeric, the pungent medicinal quality of the cumin and the bright, cleansing note of the coriander seed. I mixed some red chile sauce, pureed mango and yogurt for the sauce. It was the sweet foil to all the richness and added a touch of heat as well. I steeped some black tea with the core of some mangoes for our beverage.

Dessert was a quick sauté of mango, red bananas, cardamom, brown sugar and butter. My son poured the orange liqueur and we all cheered as the flames erupted.

My wife took me to Mozza for a divine dinner. I felt like I was on the first date as I starred into her bright green eyes and drank the most luscious glass of dry rose. Dry rose is the perfect food wine. It has enough acidity to balance out the acid of salad dressings yet it has enough tannin, deep fruit and body to work with lighter meat dishes and pizza. (Mozza’s pizza dough is by far the best I have ever had. It is chewy like bread but thin and crispy. A brilliant accomplishment). I am going to stop now as I am getting too worked up and may go on forever! Thanks for reading. Have a great rest of the weekend and may your next birthday be everything you want it to be!! Enjoy.

Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy

Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy

I was recently chatting with a passionate home cook. We agreed that the must have books in your kitchen are The Flavor Bible (to develop your mental database of what flavors taste great together), Ratio (to understand how to bake without recipes), and How to Cook Everything (as a general reference guide). What she told me she felt was missing was a book focused solely on cooking techniques. I totally agree. I have always felt that the reason recipes don’t always turn out for the home cook is for that very reason. If a recipe says “sauté” or “reduce” etc. is that one word really enough to convey what the desired result should be? I don’t think so. In an effort to fill the potential gap the home cook and I were discussing I am going to do ten blogs to try to capture what I feel are the most important cooking techniques that can be applied to almost any cuisine. These techniques are the difference between a good dish and a great dish. Having the right ingredients and a good recipe are not enough if you don’t have a good handle on the proper cooking techniques. Here we go.

The first one is “color equals flavor”. This is probably the biggest opportunity I see for the home cook. When you have color you have flavor. In addition to color cook your ingredients separately or in stages and then combine them. This is how you achieve great texture and depth of flavor.

Example one – Peppers, onions and mushrooms. Three common ingredients that change drastically with the right color.

How? –

Cut the ingredients small/thin. This way you increase the surface area to inside ratio thus creating more flavor. I.e. a thin slice of bell pepper sautéed golden will have more flavor if there is only a small amount of “uncooked” interior than if it is thicker.

Use a wide skillet so that the ingredients can be in one even layer and not piled up.

Use medium high heat and regular olive oil (x virgin for sautéing is a waste, you lose the flavor) or your preferred cooking oil.  Get the pan and the oil hot before adding anything. This way the outside of the food gets seared, a crust, instead of the oil soaking into the food and boiling.

Once there is a nice crust/good color you can add liquid (wine or stock) to create a great sauce and still preserve the great texture of the ingredient. I.e. a good mushroom sauce -the golden seared mushrooms are coated with sauce but still show their flavor and texture) vs. spongy mushrooms that have no distinction from the sauce and have little color).

Be aware of the heat level. If the ingredient is getting black turn the heat down. If you are not hearing a nice sizzle and seeing good color develop turn the heat up.

Cook until you see the peppers, onions or mushrooms softening and coloring. You should see a nice golden brown color developing on the bottom of the pan as well (more flavor!).

Once golden brown you can 1. Take the ingredients out and reserve for another use or 2. Add an alcohol or liquid to the ingredient and simmer until the liquid is half gone. Now you have a great sauce you can add your pasta to or drape over a piece of meat.

Now you can add the ingredient to a quesadilla, a pressed sandwich, a salad or pasta and the dish will have more complex flavor and texture.

Be aware of moisture levels of your ingredients. Onions and mushrooms will first give off their liquid, which then evaporates before they start to color. Peppers and shallots have much less moisture thus they will start browning more quickly.

Steaks, chops, roasts, fish filets:

By using the same “hot pan, hot oil” technique you can sear your roast, steak, chicken breast, fish, etc first and then finish it in the oven. This initial stove top sear will create a great crust (color), which will then continue to develop in the oven. If you do not sear your meat first it will often times be overcooked in the center before it develops a crust (color) in the oven.

If you have a steak, boneless chicken breast, pork chop or fish filet that is not too thick you will be able to cook it completely on the stove top and get a great crust (color) by cooking the first side 60% of the way and then flipping it over to finish cooking. I love doing this with scallops in particular.

2 of 10 will be coming shortly…

Happy cooking and I hope that if you have not already you discover the magic of “color equals flavor”.

Eat Well, Enjoy life, Be happy

I had the pleasure of meeting a girl named Alexis at the festival. She told me she loved harissa (N. African condiment that comes in a tube) and the fact that I had been cooking with it. She told me about a classic Israeli dish of egg poached in harissa. I was dreaming about that combination the whole weekend. I made my version of what I thought it might be for my wife and I for lunch yesterday. I squeezed a couple tablespoons of harissa into about a cup of chicken stock. I brought that to just under a boil and added a chopped tomato. I then cracked my eggs into the bright red broth and allowed them to poach. I wanted to serve them on cous cous so I decided to make some Israeli cous cous. It is brilliant because it is a larger grain so you get these beautiful, creamy pearls of tender pasta in your mouth instead of the more grainy quality of regular cous cous. It is really easy to cook. Two parts boiling chicken stock, add one part Israeli cous cous, simmer for about 8 minutes until tender and liquid is absorbed. Cous cous goes on the plate, poached egg on top with a spoonful of the harissa/tomato broth. I topped the egg with some crumbled feta cheese and some chopped mint.

I never get tired of harissa and the egg is always the perfect liaison to taste the world. We eat with our eyes first-the color is a stunning bright red. We eat with our nose second-your face is surrounded by the earthy perfume of roasted caraway seed (the rye bread spice), bright toasted citrus scented coriander seed, and the slightly bitter, pungent, earthy aroma of cumin seed. Those spices are tamed by the sun-dried tomato and chiles, which give harissa a brightness and a nice level of heat. You get all that before the first bite!  The mint acts as a breath mint between each bite. The feta cheese adds just the right level of salt and combines with the egg yolk to make the perfect sauce to coat each pearl of cous cous. Thank you for the idea Alexis! A great food festival and a warm, tasty lunch with my wife on a quiet weekday. Life is good. Enjoy!

Eat Well, Enjoy life, Be happy

I am always ready to go towards the taco when I am hungry. To me a taco means a tortilla filled with whatever mouth-watering combination you are in the mood for. Yesterday it was salmon. Grilled salmon topped with red wine vinegar pickled red onions, tiny cubes of fingerling potatoes roasted with brown mustard seeds and a dill yogurt. What kind of tortilla, flour or corn, is always about my mood and the ingredients I am using. A flour tortilla is soft and warm and really cuddles whatever is inside. There is a distinctive chew to it. A corn tortilla screams Mexico; rustic, full of rich corn flavor. Although it is robust in flavor it is delicate in texture and will come apart more easily. I like a corn tortilla when I want to fill it with a small amount of something rich like some tiny cubed pork, carnitas, or skirt steak.

For the salmon tacos:

You want to pickle the red onions for at least two hours. ½ a red onion sliced thin. ½ C. red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and a few sprigs of fresh dill. Toss well and continue to stir at room temperate every 20 minutes. Watch the onions become bright purple. They soften and their strong sharp flavor becomes balanced and sweet.

Season the salmon and grill to MR. Set aside.
Mix your favorite plain yogurt with a little milk to thin it out to a thick sauce consistency. Stir in a pinch of salt and some fresh plucked dill. Pull off the leaves in small pieces and toss them in. No need to chop.

Cube some potatoes very small (I used fingerling) and boil until tender. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and let drain to remove excess water. In a small pan add a touch of olive oil. Once hot add the potato and a thin layer of brown mustard seeds. The brown seeds are spicier and have a deep nutty flavor as they pop in the hot oil. A touch of salt is always a flavor enhancer.

Grill your tortilla and lay it on a plate. Pick up the salmon and let it fall apart onto the tortilla in random chunks. Top with some potato, then the red onions and finish with a drizzle of the dill yogurt. Take a bite and enjoy the taco at a whole new level. The full flavor of the salmon is tamed by the sweet acidity of the red onions. The potatoes collapse in your mouth providing the perfect textural balance to the crisp onions. The yogurt sauce is the foil to the slightly spicy mustard seeds and the dill comes through with its weedy, enticing perfume. Buen provecho (bon appetite) as they say in Mexico. But that is the only thing Mexican about this taco. Enjoy.
Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy

5 minute Breakfast Crumble

Serves: 2

Two eggs
2 pieces of bread
1 small, pre-cooked chicken/apple sausage

Place two eggs in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn to just below a simmer. Add the pre-cooked sausage to the water with the eggs and cook both for five minutes.

While the eggs are cooking toast two pieces of bread. Cut into cubes(croutons).
Remove sausage and chop into pieces.
Rinse eggs under cold water. Peel and place in a bowl.
Break up eggs with a fork. Stir in chopped sausage and croutons.
Spoon into two bowls (or ramekins) and serve!

You could also prepare the egg sausage mixture the night before and microwave it just until warm. The egg yolk coats the croutons making them rich and tasty. The chicken apple sausage provides just the right amount of meat flavor and the apple is the perfect touch of sweetness.

New News – America’s egg farmers are searching for the next Incredible Person! You can share videos of you and/or your child’s extraordinary mind/body talents and skills on www.incredibleegg.org. The winner will have a chance to appear in an incredible edible egg ad along with other great prizes, including a year’s supply of eggs and a donation of 10,000 eggs to the winner’s local food bank of choice! On top of that, America’s egg farmers will match every video uploaded by donating one egg to Feeding America!

Thank you for watching me on abc January 18th with Lori Corbin. Below are the recipes that were featured. She had asked me to make healthy food really tasty with the use of spices. We had a blast. Here are my creations. I hope you enjoy them. These are great examples of how I believe spices can allow you to cook locally and eat globally. It is easy to reach for fat (which I love to do) for flavor but it is also great to reach for the spices to make healthy food just as tasty. Check out your spice rack. Open up each jar and smell it. Does it smell like something you would want to eat? Does it smell like a fine culinary perfume? If so keep it and try it out. If not, toss it. Spices usually stay fresh for about six months if stored in a cool, dark place. If you have whole seeds they will last longer. Let me know if you have questions. Eat well, enjoy life, be happy!

Cumin crusted turkey meatballs
2 each leeks
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup panko
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup parsley, chopped small
4 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce
Instructions
Cut dark green ends off of leeks. Slice in half the long way and pull out the core and discard. Wash the leeks in a bowl of water opening the layers to get the water inside. Dry. Slice thin.

In a medium size skillet over low heat add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the leeks and cook for ten minutes stirring occasionally. The leeks should be soft and lightly golden. Place in a medium size bowl.

To the same bowl add the ground turkey (very cold), the paprika, panko, garlic and salt. Stir gently with a fork just to combine. Do not overwork the mixture or the meatballs will be tough. Refrigerate for ten minutes.

Gently form the meat into meatballs (8 total). You can make them larger or smaller if you like. Pour the ground cumin on a plate and roll the meatballs in the cumin to coat them.

In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil. Once hot add the meatballs. Carefull turn the meatballs with tongs until evenly golden on all sides. If browning too quickly turn the heat down. Once brown on all sides add the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and immediately turn down to the lowest heat and cover the pan. You want the meatballs to gently finish cooking so that they are very tender. After ten minutes turn the heat off.
Place meatballs on a plate and garnish with the sauce and fresh chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Recipe Notes
 Serves: 3.  Preparation Time is 30 minutes.  Inactive Preparation Time is 10 minutes.  Cooking Time is 15 minutes.
Scrambled eggs with turmeric onions
3 each eggs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 each yellow onion, sliced thin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 each green onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ginger, chopped
Instructions
 

Recipe Notes
In a small bowl mix the water, eggs, and salt. Whisk to combine.
In a medium non-stick skillet add the olive oil. Once hot add the onions and the turmeric. Mix. Cook the onions until soft and slightly golden. Turn heat to low and add egg mixture. Drag a rubber spatula across the bottom of the pan to create folds of light, fluffy egg. Do not stir.

When there is a touch of shine still left plate the eggs. Turn the heat to medium and add the green onion and ginger to the same pan. Cook for one minute. Pour over eggs. Enjoy.

Serves: 2.  Preparation Time is 03 minutes.  Inactive Preparation Time is 00 minutes.  Cooking Time is 05 minutes.
Stir fry chicken meatballs
1 1/2 cups Chinese style short grain white rice (Calrose)
1 ounce rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 head bok-choy
5 each green onion, chopped
1 each carrot, shredded
6 ounces chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
1/4 cup soy sauce, low-salt
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon chile flakes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
The Rice
In a medium pot mix together the rice, vinegar, sugar, five spice, and salt.
Stir. Bring to a boil. Turn down to low and cover pot. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is tender about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cut the bok choy into small slices and drop into the boiling water. Boil for two minutes. While that is boiling prepare a medium size bowl of ice water. Strain the bok choy and dunk the strainer of bok choy into the cold water. Stir until bok choy is cold. Drain well and pat dry. Place in a medium size bowl. Turn the water down to below a simmer and add the chicken breast. Cover and turn off the heat. Let sit until the inside of the chicken breast is cooked (155 degrees). Remove from water and allow to cool. (residual heat while cooling will continue to cook the chicken breast).  Shred the chicken with a fork or cut into small cubes.

The Meatballs
In the same bowl add the carrots, cooked bok choy, green onions, cooked chicken, and the cooked rice. Mix to combine evenly. Rice should be very sticky. Form into “meatballs” and place on a serving platter.

The Sauce
In a medium size skillet over medium heat add the peanut oil. Once hot add the whole fennel seeds, garlic and chile flakes. When the garlic starts to color add the soy sauce, water and hoisin. Bring to a boil and turn heat off. Taste. Adjust thickness and sweet/salt balance by adding a touch of water or a touch of hoisin until it meets your taste. Spoon sauce over meatballs. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Recipe Notes
You can use a small ice cream scooper to form the balls as the rice will still be hot. The balls are great served hot or room temperature. Then can be reheated in a steamer as well. You can make them ahead of time and refrigerate them.

Hoisin can very in thickness and sweetness. The type of soy sauce you have can also vary in salt level. Adjust the sauce accordingly to you taste. You can double the chile flakes if you like it more spicy.

Serves: 4.  Preparation Time is 20 minutes.  Inactive Preparation Time is 00 minutes.  Cooking Time is 30 minutes.

That is the key to great pasta. Pull the al dente pasta out of the well salted water and directly into your sauce (don’t drain b/c the water has great pasta flavor!) Pasta onto the plate, meatballs on top, parsley on my plate (and for the picture) no parsley on Seby’s plate. Fork tender and juicy.  One bite and I taste the simple flavors of a meatball. The classic “American-Italian” flavor of garlic and oregano. The comforting, familiar, warm deep herb flavor. The garlic is present but only after a few bites as the flavor builds. The Parm blends brilliantly with the tomato sauce to create a richness as if I added cream. The pasta has body to it as you bite and the finish is a bright tomato flavor un-interrupted by anything else. Simple and tasty. The only thing better was the smile on my son’s face. Happy son, proud dad, kids back to school, life is good.

I hope your year has begun with something tasty and some quality family time. Make this be the year your dreams come true!

Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy

This is a classic case of the egg being the hero to not only add flavor and texture but act as the binding agent to turn your simple leftovers into something incredible. The potatoes are creamy, the onions sweet with a slight crunch, and the brussel sprouts are a healthy vegetable companion to the nutrient packed, protein rich eggs.

You can use any vegetables or leftovers that you like. Potato is usually the base. I am using leftover roasted baby potatoes, onions, and brussel sprouts. You can add any herbs or spices that you like as well. If you want to cook one from scratch you can use the same pan that you use to sauté the potatoes and vegetables to cook the torte.

Key Flavor Factors:
1. Use a non-stick pan with a little melted butter or olive oil.
2. Press the mixture firmly into the warm pan.
3. Medium heat so that everything cooks evenly and the torte gets golden brown.
4. Cook about four minutes on the first side. You will smell the mixture starting to brown.
5. Place a plate over the pan and carefully flip it over onto the plate. Slide the torte back into the pan. Press down and cook one minute more.
6. Slide onto a clean plate and serve hot, room temperature or even cold.
7. You can also cut it into thin triangles or squares to serve as “tapas” style appetizers.

The holidays are coming to an end but good eating never ends!

Feed the hungry by making a pledge (no cost) to eat good and do good everyday.  The American Egg Farmers are donating up to one million eggs to feed the hungry.

Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy