bacon and garlic croutons

(first you'll need theses items)
stale bread cut into 1'' cubes (enough to cover a 10'' by 10'' pan)
6 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed just a little)
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves (loose)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp salt
some black pepper
1 T extra virgin

(next)
3 slices of bacon (cut into 2'' pieces)

(last)
some butter

Preheat you oven to 325°. With the bread cubes and garlic in a large bowl, toss in the olive oil, oregano, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Place the contents of bowl on a sheet pan and put it in the oven. Let the croutons cook for about five minutes, take them out, lay the bacon on top, rotate the pan and return it to the oven for ten more minutes. Now add the butter, in three or four small dollops around the pan, once it's melted toss the bacon and croutons in it. Place them back in the oven, checking and flipping them every two minutes, until the bacon is brown and crisp.

These were served with bibb lettuce, blue cheese, boiled egg and buttermilk dressing. You should toss them with the lettuce and fix'ns while still warm.

spinach risotto with meyer lemon

I saw Meyer lemons at the store... they made me make this dish. Check this link for more info on the Meyer lemon.

Making risotto seems like it would be pretty simple. Some rice, some stock, cook it till its soft... but to make a truly amazing, super creamy, risotto takes a bit of technique. I have made a some in my time. These are a few things I've learned...

1. Always cook risotto in a thick bottomed steel or enameled pot. Reactive metal will turn your rice gray.
2. Stir it with a wooden spoon. It's easier on your pot and it just feels right.
3. Make sure the stock you will be cooking with is hot. This will make for a creamier risotto.
4. Most recipes will tell you to stir the rice constantly. That is true, in the first steps of preparation, when you are toasting the rice in butter or oil. Once you've started adding stock you should stir it initially, then let it start to stick a bit before adding more stock and stirring again to loosen any grains from the pot. This will make your risotto even creamier.
5. Make sure you find the right balance of salt and acid.
6. Don't over cook the rice. It should be al dente. Mushy risotto = no good.
7. Be patient. Good risotto will take you around thirty minutes on the stove top.
8. Always add any cheese right before you serve it and make sure you finish it with a bit of cold butter.
9. Serve it immediately after stirring in the butter and cheese.

Apply these techniques to any risotto recipe and it is sure to come out very nice... the recipe is as follows;

(first)
2 T butter
4 cloves garlic (diced)
2 shallots (diced)
1 2/3 cups Arborio rice

(next)
2 oz white wine
6 cups veggie stock (you may not need all of it)
2 springs of thyme
1 piece Meyer lemon peel about 2 inches long and .5 wide

(last)
4 oz spinach (blanched, chilled, squeezed of excess water and pureed)
2 T crème fraîche or cold butter
4 T grated Parmesan
juice from Meyer lemon to taste
salt and pepper

(for the garnish)
Meyer lemon zest
Parmesan
extra virgin
Meyer lemon wedges

To start bring your veggie stock to a simmer. On low heat, sweat the garlic and shallot with the butter until they soften up just a bit. Add the Arborio rice and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the rice becomes translucent on the edges but is still white in the center. Now pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Start adding the stock, four or five ounces at a time stirring in the method I describe above. once you are halfway through the stock add the lemon peel and thyme leaves, continue adding the stock a bit at a time until the rice is al dente and the risotto has the consistency of a stew or creamy polenta. Stir in the spinach, Parmesan and crème fraîche. Now its time to season... do this carefully. Add some Meyer lemon juice (the juice of one lemon to start) then add some salt. Continue alternating until you can taste the lemon and the risotto is salty enough.

Zest some lemon on top, through a lemon wedge on the plate, a little olive oil, some pieces of peeled Parmesan and a twist or two from the pepper mill... I also put some oven dried tomatoes on mine. Now you can eat it.

simple ceasar dressing

I made this last night in a hurry and it came out really nice. Obviously you can dress a salad with it but... I would suggest drizzling it over a piece of roasted meat such as veal or over some seared fish. You could also use it as a simple sauce for some fresh noodles with... I dunno... shrimp, red chili and mint or toss it with cooked veggies like haricot vert, rapini, chard, brussels sprouts, the list goes on. Here is the recipe...

2 oz lemon juice
1 clove of garlic (smashed into paste)
2 red anchovy (sliced)
1 tsp minced shallot
.5 tsp dijon
a little salt and fresh ground black pepper
5 oz olive oil

Simply place all the ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid and shake the s**t out of it. Don't worry about the anchovy pieces being to big, they will break up when you shake the dressing.

torta de chorizo

 

This is really just a recipe for the rolls you use to make tortas. These rolls are called teleras. I was really craving a good torta and since I don't know of any good taquerías around here I had to take matters into my own hands. On my torta I put chorizo, refried black beans, avocado, cilatro, red onion, tomato and mayonnaise. So good.... I really wanted a torta al pastor but all I had was chorizo. So that is now on my list of things to cook. I can't wait. The rolls are easy to make just follow the recipe from my notepad... then divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and let rise until they double in size. Score each roll twice and bake in a 350° oven for 25 minutes or so.

roasted red pepper soup

The ingredients
(first these ingredients)
1 oz extra virgin
1 T butter
2 celery branch (rough chop)
4 cloves garlic
1 small spanish onion (rough chop)
2 carrots  (rough chop)
1 tsp salt

(next these)
2 large red bell peppers (roasted, peeled and diced)
1 T tomato paste

(then these)
1.5 qt of chicken or veggie stock
1 russet potato (peeled and chopped)
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
a pinch of cumin seed
a pinch of fennel seed

(and last)
4 oz cream
1 oz lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

First, how to roast the peppers. The easiest way to do this is simple. Turn on two of your burners and place a pepper on each one directly in the flame. Rotate the peppers every minute or so until they are charred all over then through them in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Remove them from the bowl after about fifteen minutes, the charred skin should slide right off. Rinse them to get off any remaining burnt bits and simply pull the stem and seeds out.

Start the soup by heating the butter and olive oil in a large pot. Once the butter starts to brown add the celery, garlic, onion, carrot and salt and cook on low until soft. Now add the tomato paste and roasted peppers, cook until the tomato paste gets stuck to the pot a bit. Deglaze the pot with your stock, make sure to scrape it with a wooden spoon, and add the potato, thyme, fennel, cumin and bay leaf. Let the soup simmer for an hour, puree in the blender or with a stick blender, and stir in the lemon juice, cream and season with salt and pepper.

I garnished this soup with bacon, blue cheese and crème fraîche....

working in london

I was in London this January and had the pleasure to work at Le Cafe Anglais. I ate a lot of good food there the best of which was the parmesan custard with anchovy toast. They have two large rotisseries there that you can use to roast large pieces of meat or hang smaller things like a single steak or small bird. It was a great experience for me.... really opening my eyes to a different type of food. Not that the recipes or techniques varied much from what I'm used to but the ingredients available were very different.

Most notably at the farmers markets where you can only buy items which have been "grown, raised, baked, caught, shot or made by hand by the people selling it". The markets have rules guaranteeing that everything is sold by the farmer who grew it. Here are some examples of whats available...

game birds of all types (grouse, woodcock, mallard, etc.)
all sorts of lovely local cheeses
a variety of cured meats and sausage
artisanal breads and pasties
nice local veggies

and of course a wide variety of different seafood (langoustine, scallops with their coral, red mullet, fresh sardines and the list goes on...)
Like I said awesome food to be had.

Here are a few pics from Cafe Anglais.....

 

and here are some from the Borough market...

ragù bolognese

What you will need:
(first to prepare the meat)
8 oz pork shoulder
8 oz beef round or chuck
the peel of 1 orange
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp pepper corns
1 tsp coriander seed
4 bay leaves
1 dried red chili seeded

(you will use these next)
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion sliced
3 T tomato paste
2 cups beef or chicken stock
1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

This is simple... just run the first eleven ingredients through your meat grinder with the large die plate. If you don't have a grinder grind the spices in a food processor and mix with pre-ground meat. Next heat up a large sauce pan and add the olive oil and the meat mixture. Cook this on medium heat until the meat is nicely browned. Now remove the meat and add the onion. Sweat the onion until soft then add the tomato paste, keeping the pan on medium heat and stirring, cook until it just starts to brown. Stir in your stock and water until all the tomato paste is incorporated. Now let it reduce on low heat until the liquid part of the ragù will coat the back of a spoon, season with salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy.

Toss the ragù with fresh pasta and flat parsley, basil or whatever herbs you like. Top the dish with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and some freshly grated parmesan.