Posole Soup

This Mexican soup is common around Christmas time, but I like it all the time. I make it with chicken stock, sliced onions, dried chili peppers and garlic added to browned chunks of pork, after this simmers a few hours and becomes tender I add hominy. This ladled into big bowls and simply garnished to taste with diced avocado, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lemon or lime. It has the rich flavor of slow simmered pork and corn tortillas, which are made from the same treated corn that is hominy. Other additional options can include fried tortilla strips, crisp lettuce, diced red onions and diced jalapenos.

Profiteroles

My kids have been begging for these for a while now, so with a burst of Saturday morning energy I made a small batch. Just three basic steps of making vanilla pastry cream for the filling, pate a choux as the crispy hollow pastry and the chocolate ganache sauce to dip them. When the shape of these pastries are round they are called profiteroles but if they are made into longer shapes then they are called eclairs. These are really good when dipped into caramel sauce also.

Pate a choux

1 cup water

3.5 oz butter

3/4 cup flour

4 whole eggs

1. Bring water and butter to a simmer, add flour and stir well.
2. after 2 minutes of stirring and cooking on low heat, start adding eggs on at a time off the heat.

3. When all eggs have been added, place mixture into a piping bag with a #8 tip (large)

4. Pipe out 30 round balls onto sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

5. Bake at 400F for 30 min then let dry out in the turned off oven.

They will be golden brown with hollow centers.

Ganache

4 oz chopped dark chocolate

4 oz heavy cream

1. Bring cream to a bowl, add to chocolate.

2. After 2 minutes, stir till smooth.

Pastry Cream

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean

1/3 cup cornstarch

4 egg yolk

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon butter

1. Bring the milk, sugar and vanilla to a boil.

2. Mix the corn starch with the egg, break up any lumps.
3. Add a splash of hot milk to egg mixture (tempering) then add the egg mixture back into the milk, while stirring.
4. When the mixture thickens take off the heat and stir in the butter, let cool and put in a piping bag with a small tip.

To assemble: stick the pastry cream tip into the pastry and careful fill with the pastry cream, then dip the tops in the chocolate ganache. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Duck legs for Winter

Winter is coming fast and with it are all the cold weather comfort meals, one of my favorites is slow braised duck legs, these are slowly cooked in wine, aromatic vegetables and fresh herbs. The legs take on all the rich flavors of the simmering liquid and become falling apart tender. The next step is to take the duck legs and put skin side down in a non stick pan to crisp up the skin, while this is going on the vegetables are removed from the broth and reserved, the stock is strained and simmered till reduced to a sauce consistency. Arrange the duck with the vegetables on a platter and spoon the sauce over the crispy skinned duck legs.

Back to School in New York

Culinary Institue of America, Hyde Park, New York

Pork Tenderloin Roulade Canape

Tea Smoked Prawn & Orange Salad

Country Style Terrine with Fennel, Watercress & Apple Salad, Red Onion Confiture in Apple

After many months of studying for my Professional chef certification test, I made the trip to upstate New York to attend the famous Culinary Institute of America. I have always heard about its reputation as a leading culinary school, but I never have seen it. Its campus is beautiful and right on the Hudson river with all the trees turning the fall colors of red and gold. The test was a series of written and practical tests over the course of four long days, it was hard enough cooking in a new kitchen and learning where all the equipment was, but having master chefs standing behind you watching every move and taking notes, sometimes a little stressful. They were very fair in there evaluations and could find any flaw, any egos the testing chefs had were quickly deflated.We all did well and are glad at the same time that for now testing is over, the word is we will be back in a year for the pro chef III certification.

All the Nutrition without the Calories

One of the proficiency's of my upcoming chef exam is mastering healthy cuisine. We are given nutritional guideline's and have to come up with a three course menu that falls with in the guideline's, it makes you rethink every ingredient and cooking method. Low in fat but high in flavor and chock full of nutrients. For me it was easy because I eat pretty well and have experience cooking for cardiac patients. I choose a region and style of cooking that is normally low in fat to start with, the Mediterranean. For my main course a took a 4 ounce skinless chicken breast and pounded it flat then spread a pure of green olives, garlic and parsley, rolled it up and saute in a non stick pan to cut down on cooking fats. Steamed spinach and Bulgar wheat with a stewed tomato and saffron sauce. The dish is flavorful, colorful and only 323 calories.

Country Style Pate

I have been very deep in my studies and also practicing cooking different required foods for my upcoming professional chef certification test in New York. One of the items required, is to do a classic terrine, the catch is that we won't be told what type of meat that we will use till the last minute, so its hard to practice for this. Anyway just to get used to cooking it, I chose a country style terrine with pistachios and wild mushrooms. For most cooks this is considered "old school" and we don't see or do much of this kind of cooking anymore. For me its been about 20 years since I did it last. Then you make it you realize why its not too popular anymore, it is around 75% pure fat! Anyway I was happy with my first attempt and feel more confident about doing it in New York. I made a red onion "jam" to go with it, the sweet and sour flavors work well with the fatty meat.

Duck Sausage & Chantrelle Mushroom Pizza

I had the idea of making pizza tonight after a long week of work, my game plan was to use some chantrelles I have at home. Pizza on a Friday night meant that I was going to have to stop at the local store for a bottle of wine to go with it. I didn't need anything from the meat department but I stopped and talked shop with the butchers, one of the guys has been experimenting with making different sausages to sell. He wanted my opinion and gave me a few to take home and try, one was made with duck meat and the other was a classic pork bratwurst. I poached the sausages and sliced them to go on top of the pizza along with shredded mozzarella cheese, chantrelles and caramelized onions. The pizza turned out great and the duck sausage was my favorite. It turned out to be the first rainy night of the upcoming winter and the sausage and mushrooms fit right in with the cool weather.

Houston Texas food prowl

I was sent to Houston Texas for a few days of studying and practicing for a upcoming chef certification in New York. What I like to do when I travel to a new region is experience the many foods and styles of the area. The problem with this trip was the major hurricane Ike which was due to hit in a day or two, the whole town was shutting down and boarding up. So there goes my chance to explore the foods of Texas. One cool thing that I witnessed was a plated lunch event for 1400 people, all the components of each plate were prepped and cooked by a kitchen staff numbering around 40. The cooked food was put in"hot boxes" (temperature controlled rolling boxes with racks inside) next they had conveyor tables where plates were fed on one end and rolled across the belt as the cooks would place the ingredients on the plates, next covers were placed on plates and then they are loaded into more hot boxes to be wheeled outside of the meeting room where waitstaff deliver them to the table. The two conveyor tables were able to do the 1400 people in about 2 hours. This was not considered a big event, over 5000 starts getting big. It was cool to watch and learn how to do the big numbers and I was lucky to get a flight out of town the morning before the hurricane hit.

Slow Food Event

The first ever U.S. Slow Food event came to San Francisco this weekend with perfect weather. The main event was held in a large hall at Fort Mason, thousands of foodies ready to sample everything. Some of the highlights were over tastes of 600 wines and 100 beers available, wood burning ovens cooking pizza and Indian flatbreads, local cheese & seafood samples. It was a good opportunity to talk to the growers and producers about there products. These simple quality made and grown foods are what California cuisine is all about.

Slow Food San Francisco

I have been driving past San Francisco's city hall for years as I come and go to work, recently I saw a unusual project going on, trucks were dumping tons of soil and building a low wooden fence around it. Next week came planting in what turned out to be a large urban vegetable garden for San Francisco's slow food event. Slow food nation as its called was started in Italy in protest to a McDonald's that opened at the famous Spanish steps, its cause is to get back to real cooking and eating and doing away with fast food and a hurried eating lifestyle. It sounds good to me, for more information check out slowfood.com

Summer salad

I found everything for this colorful and delicious salad from the local farmers market. Yellow wax and green beans, ripe tomatoes, Sonoma goat cheese and fresh made basil pesto. I used a simple sherry vinaigrette along with the basil pesto to dress the salad. I tossed in some of my home grown arugula for added for flavor too.

Roast Chicken at the farmers market

If you have ever been to any of the local farmers mark
ets here in the San Francisco bay area then you would have experienced the fragrant smell of rosemary and garlic marinated roast chickens, then you would see the line of people waiting to get these amazing birds. Get in line with the other people, you will want one. They turn slowly on a huge truck mounted rotisserie, golden brown and crispy, ready to be carved to order,.full,half or quarter birds are available. The side dish of roast potatoes can't be missed and these are cooked under the chickens in all the herb scented fat dripping off the birds. Try the chicken and potatoes and maybe get some fresh berries from a nearby vendor for dessert.

farmers market

We are at the end of our summer and also the hottest time of the season, this perfect for ripening all the Summer fruits and vegetables. The display of all the amazing Summer produce is huge at local farmers markets. Some of the highlights now are all the different tomato varieties. Fresh basil is always displayed next to the tomatoes. Stone fruits such as peaches and plums are also here and at the peak of there season. Now is the time you should buy and eat these foods because winter is coming fast.

Vietnamese Style Grilled Squid

I did a quick road trip to my mom's house nearby where my Brother and his Wife were visiting. It seems everything centers on the evening meal and there is somewhat of a tradition to cook some kind of exotic food in addition to our regular meal. On the way to the house I stopped at a local Asian market and purchased three pounds of fresh squid and some other key ingredients I would need to make this Asian inspired dish. Give it a try, its really good on a hot summer night.

Ingredients:

3 pounds squid, cleaned**

1 big splash fish sauce*

1 small knob peeled ginger

2 cloves garlic

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro

1/4 bunch fresh mint

1 dash soy sauce

juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon spicy chili paste*

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar*

1.Blend all ingredients till smooth in a food processor, it should be a balance of sweet and sour, spicy yet cool. Use a little of the sauce to quickly marinate the cleaned squid before cooking.

2. Prepare a hot fire and preheat the grill before adding the squid.

3. The tentacle's are easy to cook when skewered, place skewers on grill, after about a minute flip and do the other side, repeat with the body tubes, do not over cook or they will become tough and rubbery.

4. Toss squid in sauce and serve, garnish with sliced lime, chopped cilantro and peanuts.

Yield= 4-6 small plates

* Available at Asian markets

** To clean squid: Cut the tentacles off just in front of the eyes, next starting at the tip, use the back of a knife to push all the insides and head out of the tube, the tube can be left whole or cut into rings, wash all parts well and they are ready to cook.

BBQ Oysters

One of the great things about living on the coast, is the selection of fresh seafood available. Here there is a small sheltered bay just North of San Francisco called Tomales bay, home of many oyster companies. I often do the quick scenic drive out to the bay to get fresh oysters. There are many companies to choose from including the somewhat expensive and touristy Hog Island oyster company, I go to the tomales bay oyster company, no frills, just good oysters. I get 50 small oysters of the four different sizes available, I end up eating about a dozen with lemon then head home at sun set. I like eating them raw the best but I chose to BBQ some on my boat. Just grill them till they crack open, shuck and top with your favorite BBQ sauce. They are better when only slightly cooked and still soft.