Spicy Sea Bass with Olive Dressing

This is a Sicilian inspired preparation for fish. The flavors balance out with sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness. A rich or fatty fish works better; traditionally sardines, which are very oily are used. The components to this dish can be prepared ahead of time, and are actually better if they can rest a few hours, making this a great preparation for dinner parties.

You will need:

About 1 lb of boneless fish fillet or about 4 large sardines
4 red hot peppers
¼ cup chopped black olives
¼ cup green olives
¼ cup Kalmative olives
1 teaspoon capers
2 White wine, slightly sweet works well
¼ White wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dry vermouth
Olive oil
Black pepper
Sea Salt
3 cloves of garlic
Several leaves of basil

Fish Marinade

• Slice 1 red hot pepper finely
• Place fish in a bowl and sprinkle with black pepper and red pepper. Add sea salt liberally. Pour 1 cup of white wine over the fish and let stand in refrigerator.

Olive Dressing

• Chop green, black, and Kalmative olives.
• Dice remaining red hot peppers
• Combine olives and peppers in a bowl with capers, vinegar, dry vermouth, and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Crush garlic and muddle basil leaves and add to mixture. Season with black pepper to taste.
• Let rest to allow the flavors to integrate.

Putting it Together

• Fry fish in a pan with a little oil and white wine
• Using a slotted spoon, place olive mix over fish
• Serve with a pasta and side dish
• Enjoy!

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken and Basil

Cured meats, like cheeses, have a complexity of flavors that few other foods can rival. They offer savory notes paired with notes of saltiness, smoke, earthiness, sweetness, and rich fats. Often intended to stand on their own, the featuring of hams and sausages in traditional tapas for example, cured meats can also be incorporated successfully into more complex dishes. It is important to keep a few points when using cured meats though to maximize their potential. Finesse is key; it is easy to lose the subtler flavors in a muddled or crowded dish, and it is just as easy to have the saltiness or smokiness overpower flavors in other dishes. Also these meats are dense and rich; there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

I found this recipe to make good use of prosciutto, one of my favorite Italian cured meats. The prosciutto’s richness and flavors meld well with the chicken and cheese, creating a complex, but well balanced entrée.

You will need:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 or so large pieces of thin sliced prosciutto
2-3 fresh sprigs of basil, about 10 leaves or so
½ cup grated or crumbled parmesan cheese; I prefer a good, sharp cheese
2 cloves crushed garlic
Black pepper
Olive oil

• Rub the chicken in black pepper and little olive oil. Par-cook until nearly done in an oven on low, being careful not to dry out the chicken.
• Allow the chicken to rest until cool.
• Cut the chicken breasts like a butterfly fillet.
• Tear the basil into pieces and mix with cheese, black pepper, and a little oil.
• Stuff fillets with mix of basil and cheese.
• Wrap in proschetta and secure with a tooth pick if needed. The proschetta should kind of adhere to itself, helping to hold the fillet closed; this will work better if the proschetta is warmer so allow it to come to room temperature.
• Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry chicken until the proschetta browns and starts to crisp.

Pasta with Hearty Squash Sauce

Everyone enjoys pasta, it is satisfying, a good source of carbs, and easy to prepare. However many typical pasta sauces are just that, typical. In an effort to break away from the tomato pastes and heavy creams I experimented with making a sauce based on squash with the goal of introducing a little variety in my pasta dishes. I was well pleased with the results, the sauce was flavorful with bold tastes, healthy, and simple enough to prepare.

You will need:

1 squash, I used an acorn squash
1 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon of butter
2/3 cup milk
1 cup water
1 teaspoon+ red pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt

• Clean the squash and pepper, cutting both in half lengthwise and removing the seeds. Place the squash in an oven safe pan with about ½ water and bake at 350 for about 1 hour. 30 minutes in add the red pepper. Cook until the flesh is tender
• Remove the vegetables from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Remove the rind from the squash. Cut the vegetables into pieces.
• Using a food processor blend the vegetables with the other ingredients, adding water until the mixture makes a loose purée.
• Place the purée in a sauce pan and simmer until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.
• Serve over pasta. Pasta with ridges to hold the sauce works well. Parmesan tortellini also works well as the sharpness of the cheese offsets the sweetness of the sauce well.

Provincial Dinning

Rustic Shepherd’s Pie with Quail

It has been cold so I have been in the mood for something hardy, but I also am also always looking for an opportunity to work with new ingredients and concepts. You may find it hard to believe, but I had never made a shepherd’s pie or worked with quail, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. This recipe requires several steps, but in the end it was well worth it.

You will need:

6 quail
4-6 fair sized potato peeled and diced
¾ cup sliced carrots
3 stalks of leek, chopped well
¾ cup morel mushrooms
1 stalk sliced celery
¼ diced onion
½ cup finely chopped green onions
Several sprigs of parsley finely chopped
Black pepper
Salt
Thyme
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup brandy
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons of butter
Milk
1 pie crust

Filling:

• To start place the quail in a large stock pot with 4 cups of water, onions, celery, brandy, thyme, 1 clove or garlic crushed, black pepper, salt and butter. Simmer and stew until quail are done.
• Remove quail from the stock and strain the liquid, removing the solids and saving the stock.
• Add carrots, leek, and mushrooms to the stock and simmer until the carrots are nearly done.
• Break down the quail and return meat to the stock.
• Thicken the stock until the consistency of gravy by adding flour dissolved in cold water and simmering.
• Remove from heat.

Potato Topping:

• In a stock pot boil potatoes along with the green onions and parsley and finely minced garlic and a pinch of salt.
• Drain off water and mash potatoes along with sour cream and about ¼ cup milk.

Finishing the Pie:

• Use a deep pie pan with a basic pie crust.
• Add the filling to the crust; it should be a thick stew.
• Top with mashed potatoes. Spread the potatoes evenly over the entire pie.
• Bake for 1 hour at 350˚
• Enjoy with a nip of brandy!

Christmas Dinner in Proper Fashion

Sorry about the delay in adding this, but it has been a long time since I had the time to return to these pages. Personally my favorite thing about the holidays is the food. Most of us use the occasion to prepare and enjoy classic foods that are special to us. I used the holiday as an opportunity to prepare a classic 5 course meal. I have provided the recipes to the dishes that turned out especially well.

Creamy Mussel and Leek Soup

I had not worked much with mussels, but had always enjoyed the flavor, so I decided to use them in a soup for the third course of my Christmas dinner. This soup is quick and simple, but boasts a creamy texture and rich flavors. The acid of the lemon and dry wine balances the richness of the cream while the mushrooms and sea salt add an earthiness to the soup.

You will need:

1 dozen medium sized mussels
2 stalks of leek, cleaned and coarsely cut
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
¾ shitake or oyster mushrooms
1 lemon
3 cups dry white wine ( I used a dry white Bordeaux )
2 cups cream
Bay leaves
Black pepper
Sea Salt

• In a large stock pot (about 6 quarts or larger) combine 1 ½ cups white wine and 1 ½ cups water along with the juice of half a lemon, 2 bay leaves, and about 1 teaspoon sea salt.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the mussels. Simmer until the mussels begin to open, and then remove from the solution.
• Add leek, potatoes, mushrooms, the remaining wine, and cream to the mixture along with black pepper and the juice of the other half of the lemon.
• Simmer mixture until potatoes become tender, adding additional water if the soup is becoming too thick.
• Return mussels to soup and simmer for 5 more minutes or until mussels are fully open.
• Serve in shallow bowls.

Holiday Dressing with Cranberries and Morel Mushrooms

What would Christmas dinner be with out dressing? I mixed up a festive holiday dressing with cranberries, morel mushrooms, and pecans that was superb compliment to the main course, duck a l’orange.

You will need:

4 cups bread crumbs
1 can chicken broth
1lb ground turkey
1 cup morel mushrooms, dried work well
¼ finely chopped onion
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 table spoons of butter, melted
Thyme and sage, fresh is nice but dried will work
Salt and pepper

• In a large frying pan brown the ground turkey along with the chopped onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• In a large mixing bowl combine bread crumbs, chicken broth, turkey, mushrooms, cranberries, chopped pecans, and butter. Add thyme and sage to taste. Mix well so that all the liquids are evenly worked into the mixture.
• Put the mixture into an oven safe baking pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350˚ for 1 hour.

Duck a L’orange

The main course of my Christmas dinner was roast duck with orange sauce. Personally I enjoy duck for its game qualities and richness. The sweetness and spiciness of the orange sauce complimented the richness of the duck well. The sauce can be prepared ahead of time to make it easier to manage the staging of courses.

Orange Sauce:

On the most basic level the orange sauce is a basic simple syrup that has been infused with herbs and spices. Note the secret ingredient, Cointreau, a dry triple sec made in France from pressed orange peels. Other triple sec is made sweet, adding unwanted sugars and syrups to the sauce. The dryness of the triple sec helps to keep everything in balance.

You will need:

The juice of 2-3 oranges, about 1 ½ cups
½ cup water
1/2 cup Cointreau
2 cups sugar
Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs
Red pepper
Paprika
Salt

• In a sauce pan combine orange juice, water, and sugar. Along with the rosemary and thyme and spices. Heat on low, stirring continuously until the ingredients form a solution. Continue to reduce until the mixture begins to thicken.
• Once the mixtures starts to thicken strain to remove the rosemary and thyme.
• Add the Cointreau and heat again until it returns to the desired thickness.
• Serve hot with the duck.
• WARNING, sugar can burn, do not boil and stir continuously to prevent scorching.

Roast Duck:

The duck is easy to prepare and is similar to other basic whole poultry preparations.

You will need:
1 whole duckling, thawed and rinsed
1 orange
Thyme and rosemary sprigs
Olive oil
Black pepper
Paprika

• Rinse and dry duckling. Rub with oil, pepper and paprika.
• Cut the orange in half around the equator. Save half, slice the other.
• Place several sprigs of thyme and rosemary inside the duck along with the half of orange.
• Place the duck in a roasting pan and cover with sliced oranges and addition sprigs of thyme and rosemary.
• Roast at 350 for about 2 hours, or according to the instructions provided.
• Let the duck rest for 5 min before carving.