Food Is Powerful

Food is powerful, no two ways around it.  But why?  What is it about food that makes it so important?  Defining events in our lives seem to involve or revolve around food.  For birthdays we go out to dinner; at holidays, we gather with family and friends around the kitchen table. Super Bowl Sunday is around the corner and is definitely associated with food. I may not be able to tell you who attended my wedding reception, but I can rattle off a good portion of the menu. I even remember what I ate the night my wife proposed to me in one of our favorite restaurants! (Yes, you read that correctly!) Valentine’s Day will be here in a couple weeks, and its time for us to look at what Chefs will serve in their restaurants. Valentine’s Day is a time where people try new restaurants. One great meal can turn a new customer into a lifelong regular customer. That’s a powerful concept and very stressful for restaurateurs; which makes it a great time to help our customers out with some new ideas. As a chef, I’m often asked of my favorite meal. Parts of my answer may change, but one thing remains constant – they were very simple but well executed dishes. There are fewer things more enjoyable than a braised meat done well.  A tough (and usually cheap) cut of meat cooked in liquid until tender.  With the seasons soon changing, this will be one of the last times you can pull off a braised meat and have customers clamoring for it. More favorites include a simple risotto with fresh mushrooms, mashed parsnips, creamed potatoes, well poached shrimp or a simple salad topped with a poached egg.  A great sauce can lift a mediocre dish to such greatness, it is really amazing! Set your customers up for success – keep it easy!  Pulling out new ideas and applications on a busy night like Valentine’s Day is not only foolish, but could ultimately lead them to fail. Feel free to call or email if you need help with ideas, recipes or availability questions. Remember, great talent doesn’t always make you the best. It’s simply those who maximize their potential than can get the most out of themselves & be the most effective. By doing this with your customers, they begin to see you a valued part of their organization - not just an outsider who happens to have the food they need to operate.

If We Listen

“There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It's up to you to decide what to do with them.”-Jim Valvano

A few years ago my wife and I visited Chicago.  What a great city! I’m not really into architecture, which is what the city is really known for, but I am into food. Chicago is easily second only to New York when it comes to great restaurants.  I’m sure you could live in Chicago for years and never eat at the same place twice or have a bad meal.  One of the best chefs in the nation, Charlie Trotter, owns one of the best restaurants in Chicago along with several Trotter To Go markets. 

Coincidently, when we visited Trotter To Go, it was a very special day.  Norm Van Aken, a chef that Trotter trained under, was doing a book signing. I was so excited!  Van Aken does fun food, fusing American cuisine with some Latin, Caribbean, and Asian flair.  I have to admit, I was a little star struck at first.  I had followed Van Aken’s “World Cuisine” for a few years. His knowledge of products and how to use them seemed overwhelming. I didn’t think he would be too thrilled to meet a chef from Arkansas, so I was a little nervous to approach him. 

Eventually Van Aken ended up walking up to me!  He asked how long I had been a chef. Now, keep in mind, I was on vacation in Chicago.  I wasn’t wearing the signature chef coat with my name & title printed loud and clear.  I was pretty blown away by how Van Aken figured out I was a chef.  After asking, he gave me the Yodi like wisdom of “sometimes you just know.”  

We began discussing what I did, which at the time was the executive chef at a catering company.  As we talked, Van Aken truly listened to what I had to say.  Sure I was a chef, but not with as much knowledge or experience this man certainly has! He discussed with me the differenced in catering companies and restaurants.  Sure, they both have food, but that’s where the similarities end.  Van Aken explained to me that he was interested in starting a catering division.  At that moment I realized he was really interested in my option, taking mental notes and gaining knowledge from our discussion.  Later that year, Van Aken did indeed open up a catering company.

Looking back I am left with a valuable lesson. No matter how much you think you might know about a subject, taking the time to listen to others can be a priceless tool.  Way too often we think we know more than we really do about a subject.  Norm Van Aken taking the time to listen to a younger, less experienced chef really impressed upon me how much we can learn from others if we choose to listen.

Catch Up 1-13-11

Weekly Recipes

Steak Cobb Salad

Traditionally a cobb salad is made with grilled chicken, but this is a really great way to use some scraps of beef tenderloin, or other trimming you may have lying around.  If you keep your trimmings from beef tenderloin, which hopefully you have already priced worked into your food cost you can charge again for your trimmings into this salad and it is pure profit.  This salad is great in the winter months since none of these ingredients are better summer ingredients.  Classically this salad is served lined up in impressive rows, but certainly it can be tossed so that every ingredient can get into every bite.

Makes 4 servings

2 tablespoons fresh chives or green onions

1/2 cup olive oil

1 T lemon juice

Salt and pepper

6 each diced hot house grown grape tomatoes

6 hard boiled eggs, diced

12 ounces Beef Tenderloin

2 Avocado, diced

1 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 minced red onion

8 strips bacon, cooked crispy

12 cups lettuce, classically this salad is served with iceberg, but I would use whatever you have available.

1 cup Blue Cheese Dressing, a couple of weeks ago I sent out a recipe for a homemade version

After preparing all of the ingredients lightly salt the avocados and toss with ½ of the lemon juice.  Toss the diced tomatoes with the other ½ lemon juice, ¼ cup of the oil, chives, and a small pinch of salt.  Toss the tenderloin with the remaining olive oil with salt and pepper, and then either grill or sauté the beef tenderloin to medium rare, it will continue to cook while you are plating the dish and end up being more of a medium. 

Assembly:

Toss the dressing and the lettuce together.  Equally arrange the greens in the center of four plates.  Arrange the blue cheese in a vertical line to the right hand side of the plates.  Working right to left continue making the vertical lines with the bacon, eggs, beef tenderloin, avocado, red onion, and lastly the tomatoes, grind a small amount of fresh black pepper on top, 

Nicoise Salad

Well done Nicoise salad is truly a thing of beauty, in this recipe I have taken the canned tuna and replaced it with fresh tuna, but feel free to use a canned version if that’s what is available.  I like to present this as either a salad or an entrée, slightly deconstructed it has a great eye appeal and with great ingredients something so simple can be elevated to a memorable meal, customers will come back for time and again.

Serves 4

2 heads Bibb lettuce

6 ounces green beans-fresh or frozen, blanched in salty water, stems trimmed

1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and sliced into ½ inch thick strips

6 ounces red potatoes, boiled until just done, drained, then browned in a hot skillet

12 each cherry tomatoes, cut in halves, and salted

½ cup kalamata olives

4 each hard-boiled egg

1 Ripe Avocado, cut into ¼ inch strips

Croutons-optional, the potatoes give a nice crunch, but a few of these can put it over the top

Salt and Pepper

12 ounces tuna steak-Recipe Follows

1 ½ cup Nicoise Salad Dressing-Recipe Follows

Tuna:

This is enough seasoning to do several tuna steaks.

1 T Corainder Seed, toasted then ground

1 T Sesame Seed, toasted then ground

1 T Kosher Salt

2 t Smoked Paprika

11/2 t fresh black pepper

½ t ground white pepper

½ t ground red pepper

Tuna-preferable cut into a rectangle

Mix together all the seasonings and roll the tuna loin in the mix, sear in hot pan no longer than 20 seconds on any side. 

Nicoise Salad Dressing

2 ounces Lemon Juice

3 ounces  Red Wine Vinegar

1 T Dijon Mustard

3 each canned anchovy with oil

2 T Chopped fresh herb-like parsley or chervil

8 ounces Canola Oil

Tt Salt and pepper

Place all ingredients except oil in the body of a blender, turn on low speed and slowly add in the oil to make an emulsification.  Season with salt and pepper and reserve to the side, or make it ahead and store in the refrigerator up to a week. 

Assembly:

Slice tuna into equal squares.  Put the lettuce in a large bowl and drizzle with a little of the dressing and toss.  Cut the beans in quarters and place in a bowl with the tomatoes, add the olives, and the pepper, and toss with a small amount of the dressing.  Cut the eggs into quarters and season with a little salt and pepper.  Arrange a layer of lettuce on plate, top with an equal amount of the tomato, green bean, olive, pepper mixture.  Arrange the tuna, eggs, potatoes, and avocado around the salad, top with a few croutons.  Serve extra dressing on the side if necessary.  Garnish with some fresh herbs, top with a little fresh cracked pepper, and serve.

Catch Up 1-12-11

There are lots of great myths as to where food came from, and they are all great.  One of my favorite ones ever reminds us to always look around for inspiration.  The story goes that there was this horrible chef from Italy that had been banished to a small tavern in the middle of this great forest on a road connecting many small towns to Paris from France.  One evening a French acting troupe came through his small tavern and inn he was employed in need of a blacksmith to fix a busted wagon wheel.  As luck would have it for this chef, and his masterful creation the blacksmith was quit a drunk and was already far from being able to do any work on the wagon wheel, so the troupe was forced to stay at the Inn for the night.  As the troupe came into the inn, the chef noticed they had a woman with them, the lead in the troupe; she was the most strikingly attractive woman he had ever seen.  After the group of travelers had checked in, the chef crept up stairs to the woman’s room and peered through the key hole into her room.  All the chef could see was the most stunning navel he had ever seen.  This chef, so horrible he was banished to afar away isolated community to toil away, so bad at his craft he spent far more time with the blacksmith in the tavern than in the kitchen perfecting his craft, but yet so inspired he ran downstairs and started making pasta.  Upon completion he called for the actress, who he had fallen full into lust with by now, he served her the first dish ever of tortellini, she of course fell in love, and based on the success of this dish he became re-inspired and eventually became one of the best chefs in Italy. 

Catch Up 1-4-11

At the end of a football season teams generally look back at the year and evaluate success and failure.  We see this happening from players all the way up to owners.  Often college players are making the tough decision whether or not to try to make it in the pro ranks.  Veteran players are looking back at the year and things can improve on.  Coaches are looking back at ways to get inside their players and motivate them.  Owners/Athletic Directors are looking back at the job the coach has done and deciding if he has the right person for the job, or if they are going to have to increase pay to keep the person they have in place.  The great coach Bear Bryant said, “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: 1. Admit it.   2. Learn from it, and  3. Don't repeat it.”  When you look back on failures it is not so much to beat yourself up on a mistake, it is about learning so you can see mistakes coming in the future and change your direction before running head long into it.  As we start a new year and look back on our mistakes, plan our goals for the next year, and try to become more proactive than we were the last year.

Catch Up 12-29-10

I started in this industry exactly the same as a lot of you, washing dishes in a Mom and Pop restaurant waiting for the cook to no show, or mouth off to the owner so I could get my shot at the big time cooking on the line.  When my shot happened I was ready to move in and be the new guy cooking the hamburgers and dropping frys during a slow Monday night dinner service.  I knew enough to get the job done and was too dumb to realize how much I didn’t know about the wonderful world of culinary arts.  As time went by and I continued cooking I kept learning and adding to my skills as a cook.  Eventually I moved to Rhode Island to attend culinary school, here I began to understand something very important about our industry and learning.  Once I started going to classes I realized that there was far more information about cooking than my instructors were going to possibly be able to cover.  I started reading everything I could find to make myself a better chef, and that has been a habit I have carried with me.  I started telling myself that any day without learning something that makes me a better chef was not worth waking up for.  I still make sure that I learn something new in the industry every day. 

If you are going to invest at least 40 hours a week into something why not try to be the best you can at it.  Reading is a great place to start.  When I talk to young culinarians that is one of the first things I talk about is constantly reading and gaining knowledge.  I always tried to be the most knowledgeable person in the kitchen, when you go in as a sales person why not have that drive and desire to be the most knowledgeable person in that kitchen every time.  From  knowing the difference in a Norkotah and Burbanks, or where a hanger steak comes from be knowledgeable about your products and your sales will increase, I would rather deal with a rep that knows and understands his product than one than constantly has to, “check on it”.  The great thing about it is no one can force you to do it, you control it, your drive, your pace, and no one else can do it for you.  If you have the desire to be the best you have to work at it.

Catch Up 12-22-10

The number 1 New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight, whether it is true or not consumers equate salads with healthier eating.  Often we get drug into the sameness of salads and forget about all the little things we can do to make a salad a great experience.  In the winter we forget to quickly how many great ingredients we can still use to make stunning salads.  Let’s take a quick look at a few different salads and dressings that you might be able to use to make some stunning salads for the New Year.  Play around with these salads to find what works in best for you.  Try not to bring in an extra item for one salad, if you don’t currently use blood oranges, then substitute regular oranges.  A big part of controlling cost is cross utilizing what you have, and getting the most out of every dollar spent.

Citrus Salad

This salad is refreshing year round, but with navel oranges and clementines hitting the peak in December this salad is especially good.  The meringue pecans are good enough to make a meal out of alone, so be sure you make extras.  This is a really basic salad that you can easily add to with what you have in stock, long on red onions throw them in, long on cucumber, that works too.     

·         3 cups fresh lolla rossa lettuce

·         1/2 cup fresh orange sections

·         1/2 cup fresh grapefruit sections

·         Seeds from one pomegranate

·         Parmessan shards

·         1/3 cup Meringue pecans

Meringue Pecans

• 2 egg whites at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 11/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 pound pecan
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add salt and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, pour vanilla extract over brown sugar and cinnamon. Then add sugar mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, to egg white mixture, beating on high speed to form a strong, shiny meringue (about 10 minutes). Remove bowl from mixer and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in pecan halves until well coated.
Meanwhile, melt butter on a baking sheet in the oven (3 to 5 minutes). Be careful not to let butter brown. Gently tip baking sheet so that butter coats bottom of pan.
Using a rubber spatula, spread nuts over butter, without stirring, to form an even layer without deflating meringue.
Bake nuts for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and stir nuts with a spatula so that nuts at center of pan move to outer rim and those at edges move closer to center. Bake nuts for 15 minutes longer and stir again. Continue baking another 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until nuts are separated, have absorbed butter, and are beautifully browned but not dark brown.
Immediately turn nuts out on a counter lined with a long sheet of aluminum foil. Spread them on foil and allow cooling completely. Store in a tightly covered container, the nuts will keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup champagne or champagne vinegar

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
2/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Place all ingredients, except the oil, in the bowl of a food processor.  While the processor is running slowly add the oil. 

Spinach salad

In the summer you see a version of this salad all over the place.  Here we take the dried strawberries to substitute for fresh, you could also use other dried fruits, craisins, cherries, blueberries, etc… I included a white balsamic vinaigrette recipe; you can use dark balsamic if that is what you have on hand.  If you would like to add some bacon it would be a great addition to the salad. 

3 cups Fresh Baby Spinach

½ cup Dried Strawberries

Balsamic Vinaigrette-recipe follows

1/3 cup Sliced Smoked Almonds

½ cup Red onion Rings-Personally I like to thinly slice them and fry them very quickly tossed in equal parts corn starch and flour.

Fried goat cheese-Recipe Follows

Fried Goat Cheese

• 6 oz package goat cheese
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1cup panko bread crumbs-seasoned with salt and pepper
• vegetable oil-for frying
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice the goat cheese into ½ inch coins and place in the freezer, while you prepare remaining ingredients.  Keeping the cheese as cold as possible will be what determines if you fry cheese or make a cheesy mess in the bottom of your fryer.
2. Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a pan, to about 325°.
3. Roll frozen goat cheese coins in the flour, then egg, and finally breadcrumbs.
4. Fry in oil until golden brown, remove to a paper towel lined plate and re-season.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

·         1/2  cup  olive oil

·         1/4  cup  white balsamic vinegar

·         1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

·         tablespoon  honey

·         teaspoons lemon juice

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or in a food processor.

Asparagus salad with Orange Fennel Vinaigrette

I have been making some version of this salad for more than five years; I change around some ingredients just about every time I make it.  If you don’t want to take the time to grill the asparagus it works just fine with blanched, just be sure not to overcook the asparagus.

·         ½ bunch Asparagus blanched, lightly grilled

·         1 Fried egg

·         ½ cup Homemade Croutons

·         1/3 cup cerignola olives

·         1 ounce Serrano or prosciutto ham-thinly sliced

·         ½ each blood orange section

·         Small bunch watercress

·         Orange and Fennel Vinaigrette-Recipe Follows

To plate the salad, lay the asparagus in the middle of serving platter, top with the fried egg, (you could top this part with a béarnaise sauce then complete the remainder of the salad.  Drizzle the asparagus with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper.  Place slices of Serrano, olives, and croutons around the plate.  Drizzle vinaigrette over the whole thing garnish with some blood orange sections.  Toss the watercress in a bowl with a small amount of the vinaigrette and place on top, serve.

Orange and Fennel Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons (packed) grated orange peel
• 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh fennel frond
• 2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
  
  Whisk orange juice, shallots, parsley, orange peel, dijon, and honey in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil, then fennel fronds

Iceberg Salad

This salad allows you to take a summer flavor and concentrate the flavor down so you get the intensity generally you can only find in the summer months.  A nice riff from the classic wedge salad this salad has more intense flavors, while still being well balanced. 

·         Oven roasted tomatoes-Recipe Follows

·         Bacon Lardons

·         Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing-Recipe Follows

·         Iceberg lettuce

·         Croutons

·         Extra Virgin Olive oil

·         Reduced Balsamic vinegar

·         Salt and pepper 

Wash and cut the lettuce in thirds, removing the core as you go.  Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.  To plate, place the lettuce on a serving platter and sprinkle the tomatoes and croutons around, then place the lardons on top of the lettuce.  Ladle a small amount of the dressing over the lettuce.  Re-season with salt and pepper.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
Whole gloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil
Thyme

Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.

Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about three hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.

Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge, for up to two months if they are completely covered in oil.

Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing

·         1 cup mayo

·         1 cup crumbled blue cheese

·         ½ cup yogurt

·         ½ cup sour cream

·         ¼ cup buttermilk

·         1 tspn sherry vinegar

·         ½ tspn onion powder

·         1 tspn garlic powder

·         1 tspn fresh chopped dill frond

·         2 tspn fresh chopped chives

·         1 cup crumbled blue cheese

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.

Catch Up 12-20-10

Last week we looked at trends that may affect the restaurant themselves, menus, food purchases, etc… This week I looked at hot foods for the next couple of years.  When I was the executive chef for a local catering company we generally wrote menus a year before we were cooking them, so we had to stay on track of what was going to be popular the next year.  It’s always a big guessing game, trying to predict consumers desires can be really rough.  These are just some foods I expect to be hot this next year.

French fries

There seems to be a growing interest in quality French fries, and not everyone is looking to cut their own.  Often customers may just be looking for a seasoning blend to set themselves apart from others, or bringing back disco fries, topped with gravy and high quality cheeses.  Others may make homemade sauces to go along with their fries.  Upscaling fries with truffles or even lobster meat just might be hitting your local restaurant or pub.

Disco Fry Recipe

• 4-80 count Norkotah potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• One 8-ounce package cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup aged provolone cheese, grated (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 cup smoked cheddar cheese

1.      Preheat the oven to 450°. Slice the potatoes lengthwise 1/3 inch thick, then stack and thinly slice to shape into french fries. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange the potatoes in an even layer on a parchment-paper-lined rimmed baking sheet, reserving the bowl; season with salt and pepper. Bake until deep golden, about 35 minutes.

2.      Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes; transfer to the reserved bowl. Add the butter and onion to the pan and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 3 minutes; lower the heat to medium-low and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken stock and cooked mushrooms and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

3.      Sprinkle two-thirds of the cheese on top of the fries and return to the oven to melt, about 1 minute; reheat the mushroom gravy, if needed. Using a metal spatula, transfer half of the fries to a platter and spoon half of the gravy on top, then repeat with the remaining fries and gravy; sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Place back in the oven until all the cheese and gravy is bubbly.

  

Hot chocolate

Homemade hot chocolate is quickly becoming all the rage in restaurants.  The great thing about hot chocolate is no matter what type of restaurant you are making hot chocolate is very easy and has a very nice profit margin.

Hot Chocolate Recipe

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 oz chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash salt

• Garnish: whipped cream, cinnamon sticks

Whisk milk, brown sugar, and whipping cream in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until mixture begins to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; add cocoa powder, chocolate, and cinnamon; whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour hot chocolate into 6 demitasse cups. Garnish each with whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.

Popcorn

Popcorn has slowly been showing up on menus for the past couple of years, but this might just be the year that chefs start to play with popcorn.  Popcorn can be used in sweet or savory applications.  From sweet popcorn balls or truffled popcorn garnish on a salad it has some great potential to bring the needed crunch to any meal.

Truffle Popcorn

• 1/2 cup popcorn
• 2 tablespoons unflavored oil-like canola or grapeseed
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2-3 teaspoons white truffle oil
• Truffle salt
• Celery salt
• 1 stem rosemary chopped
• 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1.    Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few kernels and cover. When they pop, add the rest of the kernels and cover. Shake the pot over the heat and cook until the popping stops, about 3 or 4 minutes. Pour the popcorn into a large bowl.

2. In a small skillet, combine the butter, truffle oil, and rosemary and slowly heat until butter is melted. Drizzle over the popcorn and season with truffle salt, and celery salt, and toss with cheese.

Hummus

It’s no secret that hummus has been growing in popularity.  The new rage will be flavored hummus, items like sweet potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, black beans, will all begin making its way into hummus. 

Sweet Potato Hummus

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can (19.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon parmesan or feta cheese
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 garlic clove, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.
2. Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil, cumin, cheese, and garlic in the food processor. Puree, about 1 minute; thin with water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and let cool; refrigerate, in an airtight container, up to 1 week. 

Tacos

Tacos have never been unpopular, but they have really started to make a move into more fine dining sectors.  As the growth of mobile taco trucks has proved people love tacos, and chefs from Mom and Pop diners to 5-star haute cuisine restaurant will be taking advantage of this.  The best thing about the simple taco is just that it is so simple and yet people are happy to pay top dollar for well crafted food.

BBQ Shrimp Tacos

·         1/2	tbsp. vegetable oil
·         16	Each peeled and deveined 21-25 shrimp
	Salt to taste
	Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
·         1	cup onions, diced
·         1	cup spicy barbeque sauce-like Sweet Baby Ray’s
·         1/2	cup jalapeno jack cheese, grated
·         4	6" flour tortillas, cooked and warmed
·         1/3	cup grated cotija cheese
·         1/3	cup toasted sesame seeds
·         2	fresh Serrano chilies (optional)
·         4	sprigs fresh cilantro Pickled red onions 1 small red onion, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick  1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns  1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds ¼ teaspoon coriander seed  1/2 teaspoon dried oregano  2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved  1/4 teaspoon salt  1/3 cup red wine vinegar Blanch the onion slices in boiling salted water for 45 seconds, then drain and place in a medium-size bowl. Coarsely grind the peppercorns, coriander, and cumin in a spice grinder, and add to the onions. Add the remaining ingredients, plus enough water to barely cover.  Stir well and let stand for several hours until the onions turn bright pink.

Place oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shrimp to hot pan and season with salt and pepper and sauté for one minute until shrimp turns red. Add onions and sauté for two minutes or until translucent. Stir in barbeque sauce, bring to a boil and quickly remove pan from heat. Add pepper-jack cheese and stir to combine until cheese has melted into mixture.
Place a warm tortilla in the middle of a warm serving plate. Spoon equal portions of shrimp mixture into the middle of each tortilla; roll each tortilla into a cylinder with the seam side down. Then sprinkle with cotija cheese and toasted sesame seeds and garnish with fresh Serrano chilies, pickled red onions, and sprigs of cilantro.

Grits

Chefs are beginning to realize what many in the South have known for years: Grits are good!!!  Grits have a great ability to not only taste pretty good on their own, but they easily take on the flavor of whatever they are cooked with, and they are cheap.  All of this adds up to an item that is real treat for cooks to work with.  I have seen grit bars at events like the mashed potato bars, or risotto bars of years past, and people just go nuts over them.  Be sure and get to know whether your customer will accept quick grits, or wants the longer cooking, but textural superior stone ground.

Andouille Grits

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces andouille sausage or hot links, cut into small cubes
• ½ large yellow onion, small dice
• 31/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 ½ cup whole milk
• 1 cup stone ground grits
• 1 cup cheddar cheese

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onions, sauté until andouille is brown and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add stock and milk and bring to boil. Gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is thick, stirring constantly, about 8 minutes. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and cheese. Season grits to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Other Hot Foods:

Anything Sustainabile look for this to become the new green, local in the next few years.  Still unaware of it , check out books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Food Inc.

Asian appetizers-spring rolls, tempura, egg rolls

House pickled items

Specialty/Gourmet sandwiches

Inexpensive/Underused cuts of meat-beef cheek, brisket, skirt, flank, hanging steak

Artisan cheeses