Weeknight Surf and Turf

I cooked a special dinner for my girlfriend this early this week and when I was stumped on what to make I decided to do a popular surf and turf menu, its the best of both worlds. For the sea I chose large dry pack scallops, which were flawless, meaty and sweet without that horrible brine that a lot of scallops are packed in. For the land its got to be lamb loin chop which is very elegant and flavorful. Next question was the accompaniments? for the scallops a sauce of pink grapefruit beurre blanc which is a fine diced shallot and grapefruit reduction with butter whisked in served on a bed of slow braised leeks.  For the lamb, a marinade of red wine and herbs then served on simple potato puree. The lamb is grilled outside while the scallops go into a smoking hot sauté pan to sear and cook till just medium rare. Everything then makes its way to a warmed plates with a chilled flutes of vintage Billecart-Salmon Brut, Ah life is certainly good.

Perfect Scallops ready for the Sauté Pan

Marinated Lamb Grilling

Scallops with Pink Grapefruit Beurre Blanc and
Leeks, Grilled Lamb with Potato Puree

Its Hot Sauce Time

The warm end of Summer produces the best produce including a bounty of chili peppers. I was given a variety of red ripe peppers from Barking Crow Farms in Marin County and the idea of making hot sauce instantly came to mind. To make the sauces I used Red Fresno, Cayenne and Thai Birds Beak slowly simmered in white vinegar, garlic and a touch of salt, then allowed to cool before being blended. I kept half to use as a slightly chunky sauce and the other half strained to fiery liquid. Both with intense hot pepper flavor and a tartness from the vinegar. I think they will be perfect with a Southern Gumbo or maybe stir fried Asian rice noodles.

Ripe and Ready

Freshly Bottled and Ready to Use

Just picked

More Stove Top Grilling

Another day. another meal and today it's grilled beef flank steak and potatoes. I served the steak with with one of my favorite sauces, Salsa Verde. It's a blended sauce of Italian parsley, garlic, capers, lemon juice and plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Tangy and flavorful, and great with meats or fish.

Grilled and ready to Slice

Pan Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

Steak and Potatoes with Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde
Ingredients:
1 bunch Fresh Italian parsley
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup capers, drained
Juice from 1 lemon
Fresh Cracked Pepper
1 cup extra vireo olive oil

Method:
1. Blend all ingredients till smooth.

Note: Salt is not necessary because of the salty brined capers.

The Sriacha Hot Sauce Panic

Bottles of Pepper Goodness

OK its not really a panic but the very popular hot sauce is facing a dilemma which might affect its many fans. But first a little background on the sauce, Sriacha is a hot sauce made from red Fresno chili peppers, white vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Its named after the coastal city of Si Racha in Eastern Thailand, its a common condiment found on most tables in Southeast Asia. In the U.S. there are a few brands but the most famous is made by Huy Fong Foods in Los Angeles with its trademark Rooster and its green cap, to say its popular is a understatement, it just be the biggest thing since ketchup. Recently there has been complaints and a lawsuit from people neighboring its factory, they claim to have breathing problems with pepper odors during production in the fall. A California Judge has ruled for shipments of sauce to halt for 30 days and allow the health department to test for microorganisms. The Company is now being courted by other cities and some states to make the sauce. I scrambled to buy a few cases for my restaurant to get us through the shortage but too late, its not available right now.

Almost too Hot Pepper Sauce

Habanero Peppers

Cooked and Ready to Blend

Prawn Ceviche with Habanero Salsa

The saying goes "When life gives you Lemons, make Lemonade" well when I get Chilli's I make Salsa. A friend of mine recently gave me a big handful of his home grown Habanero peppers. They were small and bright orange like little fiery pumpkins. After many years of eating salsas I have developed a appreciation for the flavor of the peppers that goes beyond the heat they produce, that's good because Habanero peppers are high on the scoville scale, a number scale of how hot peppers are. 100,000-350,000 for Habanero while the common jalapeno is 3,500+. When I make cooked Salsas I use my normal recipe of simmering them with yellow onions and garlic in white vinegar with a touch of sugar and salt, then carefully blending and straining. This salsa turned out great with really a good fresh chili flavor up front and with a mouth numbing burn starting slowly to becoming intensely hot after a few minutes, did you know drinking milk is a great way to stop the pain?

Habanero Salsa
Ingredients: 
2 cups Fresh Habanero chili
1/2 Yellow onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, rough chopped
1 cup White vinegar
1/4 cup Sugar
Pinch Kosher salt
1 Tomato, chopped (optional for a more saucy texture)

Method:
1. Simmer all ingredients for about 30 minutes till soft.
2. Carefully Blend till smooth, add water to thin if necessary.
3. Use a medium wire strainer to remove any large bits or seeds for a smooth sauce.
4. Refrigerate for up to a month.

Note: Always wear plastic gloves when handling raw chilies and don't touch your Face!

Basil Pesto, The Summer Condiment

A recent trip to my local farmers market gave me huge amounts of fresh basil which is now starting to appear in abundance at a decent price of $2 a bunch. My idea is to make a big batch of basil pesto to use in various preparations like pasta or grilled vegetables. I like to add a equal amount of Italian parsley to the pesto recipe to boost the color and flavor of the sauce. This sauce begs to be tossed in fresh hot pasta with lots of grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Fresh Market Basil

Basil Pesto
Ingredients:
1 large bunch fresh basil
1 bunch Italian parsley
3 cloves peeled garlic cloves
1 cup olive oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh cracked pepper
dash of salt
1/2 cup pine nuts (optional)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:
1. Its simple, blend all ingredients till smooth and creamy.
2. Cover and refrigerate.
Y= 3 cups

Rich and Fragrant Basil Pesto

Home Made Mustard

Whole Grain Ale Mustard

Most of us have seen and used mustard our whole lives but are not really sure what it is or how it's made. In the most basic form it's just ground mustard seed paste with spices and it's really very easy to make. My recipe uses beer as one of the primary ingredients and it will give great flavor. With Summer comes many grilled foods like sausages, and the addition of your very own mustard will bring many compliments.

Whole Grain Mustard
Ingredients:
1 bottle ale or stout beer
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups whole mustard seeds
1 T kosher salt
1/2  t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground allspice

Method:
1. Place ingredients in a non reactive container, cover.
2. Store mustard mixture for two days. (Does not have to be refrigerated.)
3. Blend mixture till it becomes a semi-smooth paste; water can be added if too thick.
4. Place mustard in jars or other container, The flavor will mellow after a week or two.
Note: will keep refrigerated for 3 months.

Salsa Verde

Chicken Salsa Verde

One of my all time favorite sauces is Salsa Verde which simply translates to "Green Sauce". This classic Italian sauce in it's basic form is a raw blend of olive oil, parsley and capers. It's common to serve this highly flavored sauce with more bland cooked foods such as Bolito Misto (Mixed Boil) I really like it with grilled fish or chicken. Tonight's quick one-pan meal of chicken breasts sauteed with dino kale included a generous serving of Salsa Verde spooned over the top.  Love it.

Salsa Verde
Ingredients:
1-2 bunches Flat leaf Italian parsley
1/4 cup Capers, rinsed
1 cup Olive oil
2 Garlic cloves
Juice of one lemon

Method:
1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillos are the primary ingredient in Mexico's other common salsa, they are in the same family as tomatoes just green with a paper like husk covering them. To make the salsa, remove the husk and wash the sticky green vegetable, it will need to cook in a pot with a touch of water, jalapeno, diced onion and garlic. This simmers for about 20 minutes, then into a blender it goes with salt and lots of cilantro, blend till smooth and its ready to eat. Mild and tangy with a good fresh flavor. Fresh avocado blended in is a really delicious addition.

Playing with Fire

My restaurant like a lot of others has a big variety of hot sauces available as a condiment, they are good but sometimes that's just not enough and I have to make a batch as well. There is a trend now in making very spicy sauces, so that's what I did. The searing heat from peppers comes from capsaicin which is a compound found in chili peppers, there is a scale for measuring the hotness of chili peppers which is known as the Scoville scale. The hottest chili available now is a little known pepper called Naga Jolokia or better known as Ghost chili with a Scoville measurement of over 1000,000, that is just way too hot and asking for a lot of trouble. Number two on the hot list and the pepper I used is the Habanero chili or scotch bonnet on a scale of between 100,000-350,000. By comparison the jalapeno is much "cooler" at 2,500-8,000. I made the fiery sauce by simply grilling habaneros, tomatoes and onions, next simmering them with garlic, white vinegar and salt till soft. Then blended till smooth and strained. People in the restaurant are a little scared to try it at first but when they do, find that it has as much flavor as heat.

Harissa, The North African Hot Sauce

If you like making your hot sauces, then this should be one to try, Its Harissa from the North African Countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Its a very common condiment that's used in a wide range of dishes from these Countries, its spicy but with a lot of smoky flavor from the dried chilies and toasted spices. Try it as you would any other hot sauce.

Ingredients:

10-12 dried Chile de Arbol or Ancho Chilies

3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup olive oil

Method:

1. Soak the dry chilies in warm water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate and soften them.

2. toast the seeds in a hot dry saute pan for a few minutes till they just start to smoke.

3. Blend all ingredients in a blender till smooth.

Store refrigerated in small jars with a layer of olive oil on top of the paste.

Sweet & Tangy Red Onion Jam

This is a nice condiment I learned to make from Chef Bradley Ogden when I cooked in his San Francisco restaurant many years ago. It is very simple with only a few ingredients, sliced red onions, brown sugar, water and good red vinegar. Start by putting all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a gentle simmer, cook for at least an hour or more till the onions get very soft, almost like melting. During the cooking stage, add water to keep the onions covered in liquid. When onions become soft, let simmer till the liquid evaporates and thickens, its now ready! A option is doing a light colored jam using yellow onions, white sugar and white vinegar.

Note: The jam will get better with age and is great with

poultry, pork and oily fish like salmon or tuna.

Caponata relish

Caponata is a Sicilian relish or side dish, it is eggplant with maybe olives, capers, garlic. Strong flavors that I like, I roasted thick eggplant slices with extra virgin olive oil, then chopped it with green olives, parsley, fennel, lemon zest, onion, garlic and more olive oil. I used it as a pasta sauce, but it can be used in sandwiches, pizza, etc..

Fresh grilled corn salsa

I like this fresh corn salsa when I feel like a sauce other then the traditional tomato salsa. All the ingredients are lightly grilled for a smokey flavor yet still crunchy. When corn is in season you have to try it.

Ingredients:
3 ears white or yellow corn
2 jalapeno peppers
1 roma tomato
1 small yellow onion
1/2 bunched chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime
dash of kosher salt and pepper

Method:
1. Preheat gas or charcoal grill.
2. Lightly grill the corn, peppers, onion and tomato.
3. Slice corn off cob, dice the tomato, seeded jalapeno and onion.
4. Mix all of ingredents in bowl, taste for seasoning.

Roasted cherry tomato sauce

This is a nice rustic sauce that I used at a Spanish tapas restaurant in San Francisco many years ago. I still like to make it in summer when tomatoes are at there best. It is very easy to make and with only a few quality ingredients.


Ingredients:
1 basket organic cherry tomato
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 dash kosher salt
1 pinch crushed chili peppers


Method:
1. Preheat oven broiler.
2.Toss all ingredients together.
3. place in saute pan and put under broiler.
4. Cook for about 5 minutes till slightly charred.

Serve at room temperture with grilled meats and fish or as a sauce for pastas

fresh charred tomato salsa

Its almost Cinco de Mayo which might as well be a state holiday here in California. Mexican food is very common here but Mexico's holiday is a good excuse to go all out with the food and drinks. My daughter is having a party in her schools Spanish class and she wants to make chips and salsa, no problem lets do it! The most common salsa is using a mixture of fresh chopped tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice, only we will grill the vegetables till they are charred and smoky then quickly blend the mixture so its still somewhat chunky.





Ingredients:
15 Roma tomatoes
1/2 Red onion, skewered
1 Jalapeno peppers
1/2 cilantro bunch
juice of 2 limes
kosher salt/pepper
water to thin if necessary
optional: 1 dried Ancho chili pepper

1. Cut tomatoes and peeled onions in half, lightly oil and place on hot grill.
2. Cut stem off peppers and cut out seeds for a less spicy salsa, place on grill.
3. Turn vegetables on grill so all sides are charred black, remove and cool.
4. Lightly remove most of black charred skins and put in blender with lime juice, cilantro and seasonings.
5. Pulse the blender till smooth, thin with the water if its too thick, check seasonings and serve with the best chips you can buy or make them yourself!

Note: the salsa was later voted "best salsa" in the class Cinco de Mayo salsa contest

Southeast Asian Vinaigrette

I made this today at the restaurant for a Asian rice noodle salad. Its been awhile since I have done it and I forgot how good it is, all the Asian flavors of sour, sweet, spicy and cool. You are going to love it!

Ingredient's:
1/2 c lime juice
1/2 c rice wine vinegar
3 T Thai fish sauce
1 T soy sauce
1 c vegetable oil
3 T sugar
1/2 jalapeno
1 bunch mint
1 bunch cilantro
1 small knob ginger
3 clove garlic

Blend all ingredient's well, check seasonings, you won't need salt, the fish sauce is salty enough.

HOT SAUCE!

I could have a whole blog on hot sauce! I love it. Went to a favorite local taco shop yesterday and got into a discussion on which hot sauce I should have with my red snapper burrito, bottles on the shelf just won't do and there were a lot of them. The best salsas always come from the kitchen made by the cooks. I had two options the very hot which comes with a 911 call or the scotch bonnet-carrot blend, I went with the second and it was also very hot but the carrot blended with it gave it a creamy texture and a sweetness that helped, reminded me of the good old days eating fish tacos with a few linecooks from Peru after a hard Saturday night. Going to have to experiment and post a recipe soon...