Catch Up 12-17-10

Christmas or New Year's Eve Menu

Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad with Poached Eggs

Roasted Fall Vegetable Soup

Salmon with Black Eye Pea Succatosh

Sweet Potato Crème Brulee

Grilled Romaine with Bacon Lardons and Poached Egg

 If you have never had grilled lettuce you are missing a truly unique salad experience.  It’s certainly not a style of salad you see every day.  It is shocking how much of a smokey flavor romaine lettuce will pick up in a very quick time on a grill.  The addition of a lightly poached egg with this easy mustard vinaigrette is almost a deconstructed Caesar Salad.  This salad is very elegant, but at the same time very elegant.  Don’t let all the steps put you off they are all very simple and most can be done well before service. So when an order comes in all you need to do is grill the lettuce and plate.

Mustard Vinaigrette

·         ½ cup champagne Vinegar

·         3 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

·         ½ teaspoon dry Coleman Mustard

·         1 teaspoon anchovy paste

·         11/2 cup Blended Olive Oil

·         2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Parsley

Combine all ingredients, except the oil in the bowl of a food processor.  Turn on processor and slowly add in the oil.  When finished place in a squeeze bottle and hold until service at room temperature.

Poached Eggs

• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 4 large eggs
• Water

Fill a saucepan with about 2 inches of water and bring it to the barest simmer over medium heat; add the vinegar. Crack the eggs, slipping them gently into the water, and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 3 to 4 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, gently scoop the eggs from the water, blot dry with a paper towel.

Balsamic reduction

• 1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

In a small pot, combine vinegar, sugar, and rosemary. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Grilled Romaine

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 head romaine lettuce, halved
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the endive, radicchio and romaine, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the lettuces until they are crisp-tender and browned in spots, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes.  Season the salad, to taste, with more salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Plating Final Dish:

Garnish

Fresh Croutons

Parmesan Shards

Bacon lardons

Put warm romaine hearts on plate, reheat poached eggs, by placing them back into warm poaching liquid, dry on a towel and place on plate.  Artistically place the lardons, parmesan shards, and croutons on the plate, and drizzle the salad with mustard vinaigrette.  Add a couple of drops of balsamic reduction, and serve. 

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup

This soup plays on the natural sugars from the vegetables available in the fall.  By roasting the vegetables you are concentrating the flavors and bringing out the natural sugars, meaning you are not having to add a lot of extra seasonings.  Add salt and Pepper, maybe some heat or sweetness if you desire, but a very easy and straight forward soup.  This soup can be modified for any time of year, just use what vegetables are in season. 

Roasted Winter Vegetables

• 2 pounds (about 1 medium) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 pounds red new potatoes (12 to 14), well scrubbed and quartered
• 1 pound medium red onions (about 2 to 3), peeled and quartered
• 1 pound carrots, halved lengthwise, if thick, and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
• 1 pound parsnip,  halved lengthwise, if thick, and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
• 4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

1.     Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide vegetables and garlic between two rimmed baking sheets (or line with parchment paper, if desired, for easy cleanup); dividing evenly, toss with oil, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

2.     Roast until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, 40 to 50 minutes, tossing them and rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through. Serve hot or at room temperature.

 

To finish the soup:

½ gallon Vegetable Stock

Roasted Vegetables from above recipe (or use leftover vegetables and adjust recipe accordingly)

2 cups Heavy Cream

1. Working in batches, puree vegetables in blender with a total of 8 cups water. Pour each batch through a fine-mesh sieve into a large saucepan, pressing puree through with a spoon or rubber spatula.
2. Thin puree with additional stock, if necessary; heat soup over medium. Add heavy cream, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve with bread or crackers, if desired.

Salmon with Black Eye Pea Succotash

This is an adaptation of a recipe I used to do with fried chicken or quail, but salmon should make it a little nicer for holidays.  If you feel you need a starch to go with it, try a side of cheesy grits for a more southern fill, or some saffron risotto to make it a little more upscale.

For the Succotash:

·         ½ red onion cut into 1 inch thick rings

·         1 cup cooked Black Eyed Peas

·         ½ cup Crispy Bacon Lardons

·         2 large Tomatoes, cut into 2

·         1 cup corn, sautéed in a skillet until just starting to char

·         1 each avocado diced into ¼ inch pieces

·         6 leaves basil, chiffonaded

·         2 cloves minced garlic

·         2 Green Onion, greens only

·         1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

·         Dijon Mustard

·         Salt and Pepper to taste

·         3 Tablespoons Blended Olive Oil

Rub a little oil on the red onion rings and the whole tomatoes, and place on a hot grill.  Grill until the tomato skin starts to char and separate, and the onions take on a nice dark color.  Take care not to burn.  Let cool then cut into a small dice.  Combine all the remaining vegetables and herbs with bacon in a large bowl.  In a separate small bowl add the vinegar, mustard, and stir to mix.  Slowly add the oil to mixture while whisking to create a vinaigrette.  Toss all the vegetables with the vinaigrette and hold until service.  If you would like you can hold the succotash and the vinaigrette separate and heat the succotash for service then toss the vinaigrette with it right at service.

For the Salmon

·         11/2 pounds Salmon Side cut into 6-8 Ounce

·         1 cup Buttermilk

·         2 Eggs

·         1 cup Rice Flour

·         3 Tablespoons corn starch

·         2 Tablespoons Blackened Seasoning

·         2 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Seed

Whisk the buttermilk and eggs together in a small bowl, and place to the side.  Mix remaining ingredients, except the salmon, in a separate bowl and mix well.  Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the flesh side only of the salmon with the milk and egg mixture, then place flesh side down in the flour mixture, knock of excess flour and set to the side until all filets have been prepared.  To cook the fish Add some blended oil to a hot cast iron pan large enough to cook the fish without overcrowding.  Carefully place the fish flour side down in hot oil.  Reduce the heat to medium and allow to brown through.  At this point I like to flip the filets over, top each filet with a little bit of butter and place the entire pan in a 350 degree oven.  The fish should be done in about 5 minutes check doneness and plate over the warmed succotash. 

Sweet Potato Crème Brulee

There are few desserts that are easier and more cost effective than crème brulee.  Baking eggs and cream together and getting $5/ portion sounds great for the bottom line to me.  A well done brulee is a thing of beauty and something every cook should know how to cook at the drop of a hat.  I know that there are plenty of great pre-made desserts out today, but having at least one signature homemade dessert is a simple way to stand out from the crowd.  It doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to be good.  If you are afraid of crème brulee, try a pie, people will travel from far for well made pies.

• 2 ea sweet potatoes 
• 8 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½  teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons turbinado sugar such as Sugar in the Raw

• Special equipment: small oven-proof ramekins 3-4oz; hot water, a small blowtorch

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.

Pierce potatoes all over with a fork. Bake in a foil-lined shallow baking pan until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them. Cut warm potatoes into 2-inch pieces and purée in a food processor until smooth.

Whisk together yolks, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup, and salt in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in sweet-potato purée until combined, and then gently stir in milk and heavy cream until combined. Pour mixture into ramekins and place into a larger pan with a tall side.  Fill the larger pan with hot water, about half way up the side of the ramekins.  Cover pan with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, with several holes cut to allow steam to release, make sure these holes are not over the ramekin or sweat will fall back into the brulee and ruin it.  Bake until custard almost set, about 45 minutes, then remove top and finish for 15-25 minutes until set. Remove custard from pan and immediately begin to cool, custard should continue to thicken.

Just before serving, gently sprinkle enough turbinado sugar over custard to cover evenly (top of custard may be very soft), then move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth just above sugar until sugar is caramelized, about 3 minutes, serve immediately.