For the Foodies

This past weekend Les Freres Gourmand (my catering company) got the chance to cater a wonderful recital put on by the incredibly talented Mariah Wilson.  She performed perfectly on piano, vibrantly vied on violin, harmoniously hammed it up on the harp, and absolutely amazed with her alto voice.  It was a stunning event, and so we decided to provide some stunning food.  Here are some pics and descriptions of what the evening provided.

Thank You Lunch

This past month Mark and I decided to make a little late lunch/early dinner for the girls that helped serve at the two weddings that we catered.  It was nice to have a fair few of them up at the villa so I could cook them a little something.  I was excited to show them a bit more about the kind of food I like to cook, and not just the bulk wedding food that they saw.

Photo Shoot

So, for my first time ever, I got to be involved in a photo shoot...well sort of.  My food was the focus of the shoot, but I was super excited.  I've put some of the photo's here for your enjoyment.  Let me know what you think!  I'd love input and so forth.  Obviously not everything is perfect (my fault, not the photographers) but, I'm still pretty proud of what I did.

Week of Weddings

This last week Les Freres Gourmands catered 2 weddings:  the McKown/Fletcher wedding and the Nicoles/Holmberg wedding.  Naturally we developed two wonderful menus that surely tickled the palate of each invited guest.  Here is a description of all the food that we made and my take on things.

Tuscany

"Leave everyday life behind and escape into the exquisite beauty of Salt Lake City, Utah's fine dining treasure, Tuscany Restaurant. Located at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in Holladay Cottonwood, Tuscany Restaurant hosts an enchanting atmosphere that allows you and your guests to immerse yourselves into a true Tuscan landscape. Experience one of the charming Tuscan inspired dining rooms or slip out into the aria fresca on one of three breathtaking patios. 

Take pleasure in an exceptional Italian-American menu paired with a Wine Spectator's Award for Excellence rated wine list for an unforgettable dining experience. Consistently rated one of America's top restaurants and awarded "extraordinary" by the Zagat survey, Tuscany is sure to impress any guest. Private events are easily accommodated and welcome, including business luncheons, seminars, family occasions, or large wedding events. The perfect venue for any occasion, Tuscany looks forward to fulfilling your every request for your next special event."


This year for my birthday Monica decided to take me out to experience some of Utah's fine dining.  After much searching we decided on Tuscany.  It had amazing reviews, not only from costumers, but also from various food critics.  We were excited the entire drive up there.  Monica and I were excited to make a foodie of her little sister, Hannah.  This was to be a night to remember.

Then the horror started.

East Coast Extravaganza: Dinner 3 - The Peninsula Grill

Our last stop in the amazing, expensive, top quality dinner tour is the Peninsula Grill in Charleston, South Carolina. Now, this place was made famous because of an episode of Throw Down with Bobby Flay. The challenge was based on the legendary coconut cake that the Peninsula Grill and chef serves. I just had to try it.

East Coast Extravaganza: Dinner 2 - Butter

Butter is one of the best culinary experiences of my life. The food was beyond amazing. It was perfectly seasoned, brilliantly cooked, divinely presented and was just all around incredible. For those of you who don't know, Butter is one of the city's chic places to eat. Its got a nice ambiance, and you need a reservation a month in advance to get a seat. Its not uncommon to see various NYC celebs there. Chef Alex Guarnaschelli is one of the Food Network chefs. She is one of the intense judges on the show Chopped and has her own show Alex's Day Off. She's great.

East Coast Extravaganza: Dinner 1 - Citi Zen

As many of you know, one of the primary goals on this trip is to have some good eating from the east coast. I'm going to posting some of the more exciting eats of the trip, pictures of the dishes, and my intense critiques of them.

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

1 pkg of bacon

1 onion

2-3 clove garlic

2 carrot

8 russet potatoes

1 can vegetable broth

2 can whole kernel corn

2 can creamed corn

1 quart heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh sage

Tabasco to taste

cayenne pepper

Cut bacon in to diced cubes. Put in large pot and cook until done. Cut onion into 1/8 inch dice. Add to bacon and cook until caramelized, using the bacon fat. Smash 2-3 cloves of garlic with knife and add to pot. Salt. Cube potatoes and carrots and add to pot. Pour in can of vegetable stock. Bring to simmer and cook covered until potatoes are tender. Taste for seasonings, add salt when needed.

Season with Tabasco liberally and with cayenne pepper. Add cans of corn and slowly incorporate the cream. Bring to a simmer. Taste for season. Add more salt, pepper, tabasco or cayanne as needed. Rough chop the sage and add before serving.

Notes: Remember the onion chopping technique. It is also vital that you taste every step of the way. If it doesn't taste good, that means something is missing, and it needs to be seasoned better. Also remember to always use different cutting boards for meat and veggies. We don't want transference of bacteria. This would be wonderful served in a bread bowl or with toasted garlic bread to dip in the soup. Enjoy!

Rolled Pork Florentine

10 pork chops

1 pkg. frozen spinach

1 small bag pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup bread crumbs

salt and peper to taste

olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. With a mallet, tenderize and flatten 10 pork chops. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside. In a small frying pan, toast pine nuts. Make sure not to burn or over cook them, just allow them to get nice and toasty. You should be able to smell that beautiful nutty smell. Once they are toasted, remove from frying pan and place them in a bowl to cool. Also microwave the spinach as directed on package. Allow to cool. Once cool squeeze out all excess liquid. You can use a cheese cloth for this. I just use my hands.

In a mixing bowl combine spinach (thawed), cheese and cooled pine nuts. Combine well. Drizzle in olive oil (about 1/4 cup) until you reach your desired consistency (this should be just on the wet side, with out becoming soupy). Place a tablespoon of the spinach mixture onto one end of flattened pork chop and roll. Secure with twine or tooth pick. Place in casserole. Continue with all 10 pork chops. This should take about half of the spinach mixture.

Once all chops are rolled and in casserole, salt and pepper the tops. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Spread remaining spinach mixture over the top of the pork chops. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 min. Allow pork to rest before serving.

Tips: Using a white roux, you can make a bechamel sauce. From there, you can add parm and make a cheese sauce that would accompany this dish wonderfully. If you make your bechamel just after putting the pork in the oven, it should take about 15 min. Once done, poor bechamel over pork in the casserole and let pork continue cooking the remaining 15 min. Serve warm, but remember to let the meat rest before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute, making the meet wonderfully moist and succulent. Enjoy!

Italian Recipes - cooking class II

Roasted Eggplant

1 eggplant

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 bunch basil

1 fresh mozzarella ball

salt

olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Put balsamic into a small sauce pan. Bring up to a soft simmer (low to med-low heat) and let reduce by half. Cut eggplant into 1/4" slices length wise. Place on cooking sheet and brush olive oil onto the tops. Sprinkle with salt. Cut mozzarella into slices and place on each eggplant slice. Stack basil leaves, and roll into a long cylinder. Julienne the basil. Sprinkle onto of the eggplant and cheese. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle a little more salt. Place in oven. When the cheese is nicely melted and brown the eggplant is done. This should be about 10 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and serve warm.

Tips: Another alternative to roasting the eggplant in the oven is to grill it on a grill pan. Once the eggplant is seared, then you can put the mozzarella and basil on the top, and once melted, serve.

It also works well to allow your balsamic to cool before drizzling it on the eggplant. When it cools, it will get a much thicker and syrupy consistency.

Sun-dried Tomato Crostini

1 baguette

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 small jar sun-dried tomatoes

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut baguette into slices, cutting on the bias. Place slices on a cookie sheet. Drain sun-dried tomatoes and cut into 1" cubes. In med mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, parmasan, and tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture onto bread. Place in oven. Cook until the cheese is nicely melted and browned. This should take about 10 minutes.

Tips: You can replace the sun-dried tomatoes with artichoke hearts if you prefer. You could also add some minced garlic to the recipe.

Remember that each oven is different, and thus they will take different amounts of time. Its really just a checking game.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 tbsp quality mustard

1 tsp minced garlic

1 generous tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp herbs de Provence

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil. Mix well. Add olive oil. If you lightly mix, this makes a good vinaigrette. If you mix well until it emulsifies, you can add a tsp of water to keep it from separating and serve on the side. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tips: Remember if you're adding grape or cherry tomatoes to your salad to put them between to lids and cut through them. This will save you lots of time and energy.

Bolognaise

1 large onion, cut into 1" dice

2 large carrots, cut into 1/2" dice

3 ribs celery, cut into 1" dice

4 cloves garlic

olive oil, for the pan

Salt

3 lbs ground chuck (18% or less) You can also use ground brisket or round or combination

2 cubs tomato paste

3 cups Merlot (or beef stock with 2 tbsp balsamic)

water

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs of thyme

3 sprigs of oregano

1 lb pasta

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

high quality olive oil for finishing

In a food processor, puree onion, carrots, celery and garlic into a coarse paste (You can add some salt to help with this). In a large sautee pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt (go ahead, it'll be ok). Bring pan to a medium high heat and cook until all water had evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently. 15-20 min. Be patient. Its a waiting game. This is where we get the big flavors.

Add the ground beef and season again generously with salt. Brown the beef. Remember that brown food tastes good. Don't rush this step. Cook 15-20 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook until brown: 4-5 min. Add the wine or beef stock with balsamic. Cook until liquid has reduced by half: 4-5 min.

Add water to pan until the water is about 1" above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves, thyme and oregano and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2-3 cups at a time. Don't be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out. This is a game of reduce and add more water. This is where big rich flavors develop. If you try to add all the water in the biginning you will have boiled meat sauce rather than a rich, think meaty sauce. Stir and TASTE frequently. Season with salt, if needed (you probably will). Simmer for 3-4 hours.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking bring a large stock pot of water to boil over high heat. Salt the water generously once boiling (a good handful). Salty as the ocean! If your pasta water is under seasoned it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. Remember, the pasta is the star of the dish. Add pasta to water when at a rolling boil. Cook for 1-2 min less than called for on the package (for the perfect al dente). Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking, remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.

Drain the pasta and add to the pot with remaining ragu. Remember never to rince pasta if you're going to serve it warm. Add soem of the reserved sauce if needed to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add reserved cooking water and cook together to marry the pasta with the sauce. Turn off heat and add cheese and drizzle with high quality olive oil. Toss and stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls, or one big serving bowl. Top with a little more cheese and the remaining sauce. Serve immediately.

Tips: You can simmer for less than the 3 hours, but remember that the longer you cook it, the more developed the flavors will be.

Remember when cutting veggies to use the good claw technique for safety. Also, use proper blade holding technique.

If you get lots of crusties on the bottom of your pan remember that its a good thing! Just deglaze the pan by adding some liquid (like the stock) and then scrape it all up. It adds delicious flavor to the dish.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1-1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1-2 cups powdered sugar

1 tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp dairy (I use cream, but you can use any kind of milk)

1/2 tub of cool whip

Put peanut butter in a med mixing bowl and beat until its creamy and less stiff. Add brown sugar, vanilla and corn syrup. Combine well. Add powdered sugar slowly, incorporating well. Alternate between adding powdered sugar and drizzling the milk product. Remember to taste it, to make sure its how you like it. You can add a little pinch of salt if you'd like. Place on cake, reserving about 1/4 cup in the bowl. Mix 1/4 cup of left over frosting with the 1/2 tub of cool whip. Stir until well combined. Use this to top your cake.