Category Archives: Food
Tons of Restaurant Quality Dishes
It’s All In The Game… Are Roo Ready?
Grilling Abalone at Sik Gaek Restaurant
If you have been following this blog, you know that I love preparing different types cultural cuisine and experimenting with game meats. I have prepared more than a few dishes consisting of game that were made available to me from my good friends at Fossil Farms. Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
Venison Osso Buco
Venison Osso Buco
This tasty Osso Buco dish can be served with risotto, polenta, or pasta. I chose to pair it with Orecchiette pasta with black truffle oil, garlic and rosemary, which perfectly complimented this dish. If you cannot get your hands on venison, feel free to use veal or wild boar osso buco. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
Citrus & Rosemary Cornish Hen
Ingredients
two cornish hens 1 1/2 lbs each
2 medium carrots sliced
8-10 small new potatoes Whole (or buttercream potatoes which are used here)
1 lemon quartered Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
A Taste Of Sweden…. Baked Salma Salmon w/ Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Cuttin’ Chris & Eatin’ Ehrlund on the set of Neighborhood Chefs
I hope everyone had a great time bringing in the New Year. I will kick off 2013 with a great tasting and easy to prepare salmon dish. It actually ended up being a Swedish/Italian fusion of flavors. But before I give you the recipe, let me tell you about some of the fun things I did last month and what inspired me to cook this dish. Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
Slow Cooked Goose With Cranberry Beans
With the Fall season upon us and school about to start, It is about time to shift gears in the kitchen. This is the time of year when we begin baking and preparing stews more often. The comforting aromas of roasting poultry, pot roast, stews, pies & cakes fill most households. My kitchen will be no different, that is why I am kicking off this Fall with an easy to make stew prepared in a slow cooker. I was out shopping this past weekend and decided to pick up a slow-cooker to make chili dishes during the upcoming football season. When I returned home with it, I decided “why not use it tomorrow?”. I had Half of a young goose in the freezer that I have been dying to cook for a couple of weeks, so that would be my protein.
Fresh beginnings
I also had some fresh cranberry beans still in the pods handy. Now cranberry beans have no relation to cranberry the fruit. Upon doing a little research, I learned that cranberry beans originated in Columbia as cargamanto beans. The variety I am using with the crimson stripes are a relatively new cranberry bean. I found these beans similar to pinto beans but milder in taste. Another thing I noticed was that it did not take long during the cooking process for that beautiful crimson stripe to disappear, oh well.
Slow Cooked Goose & Cranberry Beans
My only experience with cooking goose was a couple of years ago when I roasted one for Christmas dinner. The meat is red and similar to duck, and it also has that thick layer of fat like its cousin. So you really want to trim it good before sticking it in your slow-cooker. I decided to cut the meat from the bone(with a very sharp knife), and cube it like beef stew. I also decided to use some French spices and garden fresh herbs for this stew. The good thing about this recipe is that you can just throw everything into your slow cooker walk away for 6-8 hours, and come back to a delicious comforting meal. The end result= Goose that melted in my mouth and beans cooked to perfection. Bon Appetit!
Slow Cooked Goose & Cranberry Beans
Ingredients:
1 1/2 – 2 pounds of goose breast cubed
1 cup of fresh cranberry beans
2 medium potatoes quartered
1 medium onion thinly sliced
2 medium carrots chopped
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tsp of Herbes de Provence spice
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup red wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh savory herb
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
First, season the goose meat with the Herbes de Provence spices and a little salt and pepper. In a large saucepan melt the butter under medium-high heat and saute the garlic and onions until translucent. Add the goose meat and brown on all sides then remove from heat. Add the potatoes, carrots, and the contents of the goose pan into the slow cooker. Pour the red wine and chicken stock into the slow cooker(be sure to submerge the meat and vegetables) and set the timer for 7 hours and the crock pot to high setting. After 3 hours add your cranberry beans.When there are 2 hours left add your fresh herbs. When finished, add to bowl and serve with rice or crusty bread. **When using a slow cooker, I recommend that you not add fresh herbs until there is only 1 1/2 – 2 hours cooking time remaining. This is because fresh herbs can lose flavor if they cook to long. Enjoy!
Share this:
Later Gator! My valiant effort at cooking Creole-style food…
I took this picture in Louisiana during a visit to the bayou in 2007
Cajun & Creole cuisine are a couple of my favorite types of food to eat. These cuisines are similar to each other but also quite different, which is something I learned a few months back from my friend, ex-Army veteran, Derrill Guidry. He is a great cook from Louisiana and should know such things, so I trust him. Also on his food page, The “G” Spot, he displays his skills in the Cajun and Creole arena. Both of these cuisines have roots stemming from French cuisine, along with influneces from Africa, Spain and to a lesser degree a few other countries. One of the major differences between Creole and Cajun food is in the type of roux (pronounced “roo”) used as the base of sauces, soups, stews, and other savory dishes. Creole roux is made from butter and flour (as in France), while Cajun roux is made from lard or oil and flour. Most people have the misconception that all Cajun food is spicy, which is not the case. There are a few more differences, and I hope to cover this subject in more detail in a later post, but right now let’s get on with tonight’s dish: Alligator & Shrimp Creole!
Creole Roux
Now most of the people I know (excluding chefs) hear the word “alligator” and run for the hills! They wont go anywhere near it, even when it is cooked — and no longer baring teeth. The fact is, alligators have been hunted and consumed by humans for centuries. The tenderloin I purchased looked no different from boneless chicken cutlets (certainly not green and slimy like some of you think). There are two different species of alligators, one in North America and the other in China. The Chinese alligator is listed as a critically endangered species, while the American alligator is plentiful, and can be found throughout the Southeastern United States. Louisiana and Florida have the most alligators: over one million wild alligators in each state with more than a quarter million more on alligator farms. Obviously, I will use farm raised alligator, and obviously an alligator from Louisiana since it’s Creole. The meat yielded a mild taste somewhat like chicken, and unlike its wild counterpart, which I am told tastes a tad bit more like frog legs or fish. The soft texture is sometimes compared to veal. While this wasn’t my first time cooking gator, it was my first try at a Creole-style dish and it was just absolutely delicious! The Creole flavors where exciting to the taste buds and the alligator and shrimp cooked to perfection. Bon Appetit!
Ingredients:
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup butter
1 cup peeled chopped tomato
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 whole chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/4 cups chicken or fish stock
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 bay leaves
1 lb alligator tenderloin cut into 1 or 1 1/2 inch sized cubes
1 lb large/jumbo shrimp, shelled (tail on is optional)
3/4 lb smoked chicken sausage, sliced (Traditionally, you’d use Andouille sausage, which a more heavily spiced sausage, but I used chicken since I don’t eat pork)
Directions:
Mix together oregano, salt, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and basil in a small bowl; set aside. Brown the sausage slices is a small frying pan and set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan oven over medium heat; stir in tomato, onion, celery, green bell pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion is almost translucent, about 4 minutes.
Stir in chicken or fish stock, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, hot pepper sauce, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low and bring sauce to a simmer. Stir in seasoning mix and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 20 minutes.
Gently stir in shrimp and alligator; bring sauce back to a simmer add sausage and cook until the shrimp and gator are done, about 20-30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and garnish with yellow celery leaves or parsley. Serve with a crusty bread or rice.
Shrimp & Alligator Creole
Share this:
French-Style Antelope Chop /w Herbed Merlot Sauce
Now to put the spotlight one of my favorite meats, antelope! Many of you have never tried it, but trust me, I think it’s time you should. Antelope is indigenous to Africa, and parts of Europe & Asia. North American antelope are referred to as “Pronghorn”. I do not hunt so I purchase most of my game meat from www.Fossilfarms.com. The animals are farm raised and fed naturally with no hormones. The meat is very lean and high in protein, and most of all it’s tasty. This was my first try at antelope chops and I loved it! They may resemble deer but they are actually members of the same animal family as goat. The meat is mild tasting with a similar taste to venison, finely grained, and get this, one-third the calories of beef!
Antelope that are hunted in the wild are said to have “gamey” or “sagey” taste. As I explained in previous posts, the “gamey” flavor comes from the fact that the animals in the wild eat a very varied diet of weeds, acorns, wood bark, etc. This flavors the meat distinctively. Sagebrush makes up a large part of the antelopes diet, which may explain the “sagey” flavor. Since we are used to eating meat that is grain fed, which has a much milder flavor, game meat tastes strange to us now. We don’t need to worry about that here since this meat is farm raised. I cooked this the same way I would prepare a lamb chop, pan seared it and popped it in a 450 degree oven for a few minutes. I then pair it with roasted asparagus & potatoes (cooked in a bit of duck fat), and added my herbed merlot sauce to seal the deal. All I can say is wow! It was very tasty and a big hit in my household. So I highly recommend you try antelope — you wont regret it. Bon Appetit!
French-Style Antelope Chop /w Herbed Merlot Sauce
Share this:
Rabbit Cacciatore
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 cup of sliced white mushrooms
1 large celery stalk, julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
3 Lb rabbit cut into 8 pieces ( you can use chicken if you like)
1 large garlic clove crushed
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth
1 Tbsp freshly chopped oregano
2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
additional parsley for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat; then add mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside and keep warm. In a large 5- to 7- quart wide heavy pot , heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat . Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pot and place on the side with the mushrooms.
Season the rabbit generously with salt and pepper. Add rabbit pieces and cook, turning pieces several times until lightly golden, about 5 minutes per side. Add the reserved vegetables and mushrooms to the pot, then add the wine. Increase heat to high and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, mix well and bring to a simmer then add half of the stock and bring to a gentle boil. Add chopped parsley and oregano, stir well, reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding remaining broth gradually as sauce thickens, until rabbit is very tender, about 1 hour. Garnish with parsley and serve with pasta of your choice. Here I served it up with cheese stuffed ravioli. Bon Appetit! :)
Share this:
Trying My Hand….At Lapin Au Vin!
This is a delicious rabbit casserole, cooked in red wine with pearl onions and mushrooms. Just like most casseroles, this benefits from being prepared the night before, cooled and then reheated when needed.
2 lb rabbit cut into 8 pieces
4 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
4 oz fatty beef bacon (or pork, which I dont eat) cut into strips
1 lb pearl onions peeled
2 1/2 cups red wine
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 bouquet garni
1 lb white mushrooms halved
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put flour in plastic bag and season the rabbit with salt and pepper, then add to bag with the flour and coat evenly. Heat the oil and butter in a casserole dish and cook the rabbit over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until browned. You may need to do this in 2 batches, if so, remove 1st batch of rabbit from heat and keep warm. Add the bacon to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes or until slightly crisp, remove and keep warm.
Add onions to the pan and cook over high heat for 4-5 minutes until they begin to brown. Pour in the wine and stir well to remove any sediment from the bottom of the pan.
Return the bacon and rabbit to the pan and add the garlic and bouquet garni, then bring to a boil, cover and place in the center of a preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours.
Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni, remove the rabbit pieces, bacon, onions and mushrooms with a slotted spoon, and put them into a serving dish.
Put the pan back on a burner and bring to a rapid boil to thicken the sauce, then pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Serve with some crusty baguette and Bon Appetit.
Share this:
Meatless Monday Is Sproutabulous!!!
For this Meatless Monday I decided to prepare a healthy raw sprout salad using different types of sprouts. This is rather easy to do and a great alternative to meat. You can choose the type of sprouts you wish, I chose to use lentil sprouts, black-eyed pea sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, green & snow pea sprouts, some scallion, and I also prepared some sprouted wild rice by soaking 1/2 cup of the grass (yes, wild rice is a grass/aquatic seed) in water for 2-3 days, changing the water 3 times per day. This causes the rice to sprout and become softer but not as soft as when cooked. I added tomatoes to give the salad a different texture and tossed it all up in a light white wine vinegarette I prepared. This turned out delicious and satisfying, so be sure to make enough so you can bring a bit of it to work with you for a hearty and healthy lunch. Bon Appetit!
Gourmet De-Constructed 