Plantain Chips

Plantains are the 'other' bananas; same family of fruit, but with a different texture and sweetness. Common bananas can be eaten raw and are considered sweet where a plantain needs to be cooked and is more starchy, which makes it good to fry for chips. One form of Plantain chip that can be found in Latin restaurants is the popular Tostones from Cuba, which are fried, pounded and fried again 'till crisp. This is good chip that you can make at home by slicing long thin strips and frying in hot vegetable oil. You will need firm, green plantains which after peeling have to be sliced thinly with a mandolin or other slicer. Next they go into hot 350F oil to fry 'till crisp, simply drained, salted and you are ready to eat a good alternative to potato chips.

Boat Cooking: Part two

Today was one of those days that I debated going out on the San Francisco Bay, due to the forecast of higher then normal winds.  It's not really a problem but lots more work and lower air temperatures, so I cooked lunch on the boat while I thought more about it. With the wind blowing outside I chose to cook sausages on the indoor galley stove, slowly simmered in quality beer with sliced yellow onions. After the onions became softened, a split bun was placed on top of the pan to steam and get soft. The warm bun filled with a smoked pork sausage and the onions needed just a thick drizzle of Jack Daniels Horseradish Mustard to complete the masterpiece. With one sausage quickly eaten, maybe I need another one as a wind gust shakes the mast.

Sopes

The flavors of corn tortillas but with a different shape, a thick shallow bowl for your favorite fillings. Tonight it's slow simmered black beans, shredded chicken, chopped cilantro, queso fresco, avocado and with lots of hot sauce. Maybe Pork for tomorrow?

Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

Getting into the summer mood inspired me to make a gratin using Zucchini Squash and Tomatoes layered with Fontina cheese, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. It turned out good but in a few months when these vegetables are full into season it will be amazing.

Yukon River King Salmon

I found myself surrounded by fellow chefs, fish vendor's and the vast Pacific ocean at a recent Monterey food event. The talk was all fish and it was not long before I was approached by a fish vendor from Emmonak, Alaska, he is involved with a company that catches and processes King Salmon into various forms of cured and smoked products. The company is formed by a group of Yupik Eskimos from six local villages who catch Yukon River Salmon. After seeing and tasting some samples of the products its clear that its quality stuff. I thought about doing a blini with the Salmon drizzled with sour cream but it was morning and I could not wait to eat it, so I made hash with a fried egg, Delicious.

Kwik' Pak Fisheries 1 800 509 3332

Cooking For Solutions 2011

My dish of Black Cod and Halibut Bacala with Tomato Relish

Our crew of chefs after six days of cooking thousands of tastes

(Me second from left)

Cooking For Solutions 2011 is all over for this year and it was a good experience. It benefits a really good cause, helping save the world's fish from over fishing by promoting good choices when buying fish and seafood. Besides cooking and presenting my fish to over 400 people, I assisted many other Chefs from around the country in presenting their dishes which gave me a opportunity to see and talk to them about different cooking styles. Me and my fellow Chefs had a blast and I hope to be back next year.

Lazy Sunday Noodle Soup with Chicken

This quick soup made is with chicken leftovers from a night ago, first the carcass goes into a pot to make a nice flavorful stock with the addition of bonito flakes, soy sauce, mirin and shredded ginger. While the stock simmers Somen noodles are cooked in another pot, the drained and placed in a bowl with cooked sliced chicken on top, the broth is strained and poured over the noodles. For a flavor punch I added some diced fatty bacon and fresh chopped cilantro. Please pass me the chili sauce and a pair of chop sticks so I can dig in.

Fennel Seed Rub Chicken

The start of my weekend included a good simple dinner of roast chicken with a fennel seed rub, roasted fingerling potatoes and sauteed kale.
Simple flavors and not too heavy.

Fava Beans, They're Back!

If fresh asparagus doesn't prove it's Spring, then the Favas will. So much work yet with so much reward, they are definitely labor intensive but worth it. You will need at least a handful of bean pods per person because of the low yield. First, remove the beans from the big pods and quickly blanch them in boiling water, next plunge them in ice water to quickly cool them and preserve the bright green color. The next step is to pinch the beans so that the skins come off. The cooked and cleaned beans are now ready to eat in your favorite recipes. I like them best with a very good olive oil, fresh cracked pepper and sea salt on warm grilled crostini, a little shaved Parmesan to finish. This is a top ten favorite.

Fish Curry on my Boat

Ingredients for Fish Curry and a Beer for the wait

Cooking on the boat stove


Thai Style Coconut Fish Curry with Rice

It's not what most people would eat on Easter Sunday, but it's a good quick lunch while cleaning and getting the boat ready for sailing this Summer. I changed the compressed natural gas tank on the boat thats fuel for its two burner stove and oven, so after a quick trip to the store to get some ingredients, I was ready to cook. A cold beer was also very important to drink while I prepped and cooked. 20 minutes later lunch was ready.

Thai Fish Curry with Rice

Ingredients:

6 oz red snapper fillet, large dice

1 small can coconut milk

1 T Thai curry paste

3 Keffir lime leaves

1/2 bunch asparagus

2 cloves garlic

1 t ginger

1/4 onion

1/2 cup rice

Method:

1. Simmer the rice in water slowly 'till done.

2. Saute onion, garlic, ginger and curry paste.

3. Add fish, lime leafs, asparagus and coconut milk.

4. Simmer 'till fish is cooked, spoon curry over rice.

Serve with cold beer on boat hopefully anchored in a amazing location.

Farro, Old Grain with New Interest

The food world is rediscovering older foods and making them trendy, one of those is Farro. Its a wheat grain that has different names depending on where its from, in Italy its called Farro, in Germany it might be known as Spelt, in the US its often called Wheatberries or maybe Barley. I like it because it has a dense nutty and meaty texture. I have noticed that it has a flavor like Bulger so I made a Tabbouleh with it. The famous Syrian salad made with Bulger, parsley, tomato, lemon juice and olive oil. I had a nice peice of Feta cheese so I crumbled it and added to the salad.

Farro Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

1 cup Farro, cooked

1 bunch Flat leaf Parsley, chopped

1 Tomato, diced

2 T Lemon juice

3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Fresh Pepper

Feta cheese (Optional)

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together, serve at room temperture.

I served my salad along with a lemon and oregano infused roast chicken.

Brussel Sprouts and Pasta

Orecchiette pasta cooked and added to shaved brussel sprouts and pancetta all tossed with extra virgin olive oil. Good stuff!

Best of Spring Asparagus Risotto

The Best of Spring Asparagus Risotto

Asparagus is at its peak right now and the markets are flooded with huge quantities of this amazing vegetable. I am even getting some nice spears from my garden after only being planted last year. Tonight I chose to make a risotto with asparagus, yellow onion and pancetta. A trick I have for intense flavor and color is to blanch the asparagus first and rapid cool with ice water. Cut the tender tips off for adding to the risotto later in the final cooking stage, for the rest of the stalks combine with a dash of water or stock in a blender and puree till smooth, use this bright green liquid at the very end for a boost of flavor and color.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Arborio rice
1 T Yellow onion, diced
1 Garlic clove
1-2 oz Pancetta
1 bunch asparagus
2 cups water or stock
Pat of Butter
Dash olive oil

Method:
1. Blanch asparagus till tender, shock in ice water*.
2. Cut tips off, reserve.
3. Blend the rest of the stalks with water or stock.
4. Gently cook the pancetta, onion, garlic and rice in olive oil till translucent.
5. Add simmering seasoned water or stock little by little till rice is almost tender.
6. Add reserved asparagus tips and puree to rice, continue cooking till done and creamy.
7. Off the heat add a pat of butter and stir in, Parmesan cheese can be added if desired.

* If you jumped in ice water, you would be in shock too, it stops the cooking rapidly and retains the bright green color

Saturday Morning Breakfast

Besides a cup of coffee, nothing is better than a form of eggs for breakfast. For me it's going to be spicy too. I had some roasted pork on hand so I shredded it to go with some torn corn tortillas into a nonstick pan to crisp up with a dash of vegetable oil. Separately I charred Anaheim green chilies over my stoves gas burners, and then the roasted and cleaned chilies were blended with garlic and cilantro to make a quick sauce. The sauce was then added to the pork and tortilla mixture. In a separate pan I fried a organic egg to place on top of the pork mixture. All is set to go with my cup of coffee.

Poached Sable Fish with Haddock Baccala

I am doing a food and wine event in about a month and this is the idea I have for my dish. I have been given two different types of fish to use, sable fish and haddock. For me simple will be the key for plating hundreds of these little bites and for tasting the pure flavors of the fish. Haddock is a type of fish similar to cod so my first thought was to treat it like salt cod. I am going to cure the fillets in kosher salt for about 24 hours then leech out the salt by soaking in multiple changes of fresh water. The next step is to poach the fish in milk which will give good flavor and richness, the cooked fish will be flaked and added to unsalted mashed russet potatoes. The result will be my version of the classic French Brandade or Italian Baccala. Creamy potatoes with good fish flavor. The next component is the sable fish (aka black cod, butter fish) I will cut the fillets in small 1 ounce pieces and gently poach them in garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil, served warm on top of a quenelle of the Baccala. A spoonful of a sliced cherry tomato, Meyer lemon segments and caper relish placed on top. The acid in the lemon segments will help cut the richness of the oily sable fish, and the potatoes give a boost of flavor to the mild fishes. One plate down, 399 more to plate.