Potato Leek Soup

I found some huge leeks in the Mission the other day and as soon as I saw them I knew what I wanted: Potato Leek Soup. I looked online for potentially awesome recipes. Ina...too much cream, Martha...too many ingredients...Emeril..sorry I refuse to buy your "essence" spice. I took a glance over all the ingredients and decided I was going to go culinary comando (underwear on, recipes off). Here's what I think I did:

1. Dice up 5 slices of bacon and throw them in the bottom of your biggest pot.

2. Dice one onion, 3 garlic cloves and 4 leeks (white and light green parts only). Saute 3-4 min.

3. Throw in 3 tbsp salted butter and saute 2 min.

4. Throw in 3 heaping tablespoons of flour in. Mix until you can see the flour turning a little brown.

5. Add in 1/2 quart of beef broth, 1 quart of chicken broth, 1 boullion cube, a glass of rose' wine (I happened to have it open. White would work fine).

6. Gather about 5 shakes of dried thyme, 2 bay leaves and drop them in the mix.

7. Add a half cup of milk.

8. While all the mix is coming to a boil, roughly peel about 4 yukon gold potatoes and chop em up.

9. Add the potatoes and simmer until your potatoes are super soft.

10. Fish out the bay leaves and add salt and pepper. Don't skimp on the salt! It's a lot of soup so be generous.

10. Take a hand blender to half the pot so you still have some chunks but it thickens up the sauce.

The leftover wine, some crusty bread and you'll be in carb heaven my friends. Cheers.

Best Thing I Ever Ate..

Chicken Tikka Masala!!! Man that dish is the crowning culinary achievement of the Indian people in my opinion. Actually I take that back. It's the crowning achievement of the British, who actually developed this dish. It's their national dish! It's gotta be good right? Creamy, spicy (but not too much), chickeny heaven... Doesn't even matter where you get it from, you can't go wrong. Stay tuned cause I"m checking out a variety of recipes in search of an authentic one I can try out.

The Secret

As a novice cook, I would follow recipes and wonder why the dish wasn't as amazing as it looked on TV or in the magazine. Why didn't it live up to the reviews? As I continued cooking, there are a few tricks to help get that restaurant quality taste out of the recipes you find.

1.) A good quality stainless steel pan is indispensable. This one by All-Clad is what I use and it sears tuna, steaks, and chicken like no other non-stick pan can. Actually, non-stick pans should only be used for things like pancakes and maybe eggs. Otherwise they simply don't develop the flavors well. Not to mention, they tend to scratch easily, leading to health problems. If you don't want to dish out 100 bucks for an All-Clad, at least make sure it is 18/10 stainless steel.

2.) Often recipes call for garlic to enter a hot pan first, as to flavor the other ingredients. Garlic burns very easily and I find that it loses flavor as its cooked. Always add garlic after the onions have caramelized and other tough vegetables like broccoli or potatoes have just about cooked all the way. You'll find it will double the flavor you're used to getting out of a clove.

3.) Sea Salt. It's gaining popularity, even amongst pastry chefs and ice cream companies. Sea salt acts as a burst of flavor in your dishes. Your taste buds need to cotransport flavor molecules with NaCL (table salt) before the taste signal is sent to your brain. No salt, no signal to your brain and your food is tasteless. Test your food for proper seasoning before serving.

Here's a menu that'll knock your socks off. Don't forget to use an All-Clad, add the garlic last and stay away from the cylindrical blue can with yellow umbrella.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Herbed Quinoa

Quinoa is a wonderfully healthy grain. It acts as a carb in this menu but is actually very high in protein and fiber. If you are watching your figure but like me have a hard time with self control, quinoa is your new best friend. Serve this with steamed asparagus on the side.

For the Chicken: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Cut a pocket into the side of 2 chicken breasts. Season the outside with salt and pepper.

2. In a pan, saute with olive oil 1/4 of a large onion, minced. Add 1 cup of frozen spinach and two sliced green onions. Season.

3. When the onion and spinach are soft, add 2 cloves of minced garlic cook for 1 more minute.

4. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add a slice of goat cheese about 2-3 cm thick. Mix and add 1/2 tsp of thyme.

5. Stuff the chicken breast, close the pocket and secure with a toothpick or two.

6. Sear on both sides and put into the oven for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.

While the chicken is cooking, start the Quinoa:

1. Saute in a saucepan, a quarter onion and 2 garlic cloves for 1 minute on medium heat.

2. Put in 1 cup of Quinoa and 2 cups of chicken broth. Add 1 tsp of salt and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil.

3. Cook on low 15 minutes just till the chicken is ready.

4. Add 2 tbsp of fresh parsley and toss.

To Serve:

1. Plate the quinoa and add some steamed asparagus on the side.

2. Place the chicken on top of the quinoa.

3. Deglaze the pan over high heat with more chicken stock and flour to make a runny but slightly thickened gravy using the browned bits on the pan. Add more dry thyme and black pepper to this mixture.

4. Pour the gravy over the chicken.

I promise you will not be dissapointed!

Roasted Salsa with My Secret Ingredient

Christmas is just around the corner. I know, it's a little early, but hey it always catches me by surprise. There's always that person who gives you something that you didn't expect. I decided this year that my salsa making skills are honed and ready for the gift giving season. Salsa's already got Christmas colors. They just need a pretty jar, great ribbon and a gift tag and they're good to go. Not to mention they can be an easy hostess gift. The one ingredient that will give a hint of sweetness, creaminess and that unknown depth of flavor is butternut squash. Here's a recipe for one spaghetti sauce sized jar.

Gather up these ingredients:

5 medium tomatoes

1 onion, pealed and cut in half (yellow or white)

2 jalepeno peppers

2 large cloves of garlic

1 small handfull of cilantro

1/2 lime

1/2 cup of roasted butternut squash or pumpkin (I used frozen leftovers from ravioli night but you can also use canned)

2 tbsp canned chipotle peppers in adobo

1 tbsp salt

Steps:

1. Place the tomatoes, onion halves face down and whole jalepenos on a baking sheet.

2. Drizzle with olive oil and coat

3. Place under the broiler for 10 minutes. Turn and keep them under until the top of the onion has turned dark brown/black. Don't discard the blackened bits!

4. Place everything from the oven and the rest of the ingredients into a food processor and give it a whirl until everything is pureed.

5. Place in jars and refrigerate.

Recipe For Cheaters

This recipe comes to us from my favorite vegetarian, Kalindi from Pennsylvania. It's a butternut squash ravioli with a brown butter sauce. The kicker is that she uses wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta. It's not as thick as hand rolled pasta, but hey, it tastes great and does the job. Here's how to do it:

1. Peal the squash and cut it lengthwise down the middle. Scoop out the seeds and cut it into large square chunks.

2. Roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the squash are soft through and golden.

3. Allow the squash to cool and freeze half of it in a ziplock bag for later use. (squash soup is deelish).

4. In the food processor whirl through the following until well blended: squash pieces, 1/4 cup of parmesan, 4 large sage leaves, 1/2 tsp of nutmeg, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 egg, salt and pepper, and 1 shallot if you've got it.

5. In a separate bowl mix an egg white with 2 tbsp of water. This will be used to seal the ravioli packets.

6. Place a dollop of the squash mix into the center of the wonton wrapper, moisten the edges of the wrapper with the egg wash, fold and seal.

7. When you're done making all the ravioli, let em sit 10 min so they're fully sealed before boiling. Boil them in salted water.

8. While the pasta is boiling, take a 1/2 stick of butter and heat it in a saucepan until it's golden in color. Add 3 chopped sage leaves and a squeeze of lemon and let it sizzle till the sauce is browned. Add salt and pepper to taste.

9. Drain your ravioli and spoon the sauce over. Don't forget to top with grated parmesan and a sage leaf to make it fancy.

Buen Provecho!

Healthy Dinner Kick

My hiatus from teaching high school science is over and as the new school year approaches, I am looking to develop new eating habits. One of my goals is to eat healthy dinners, since fish and chips, cheese enchiladas and cheeseburgers are on heavy lunch rotation in the school cafeteria.

Last night I found some great halibut at my local Safeway and decided to get creative. Here's what I came up with: Crunchy Halibut with Basil Corn Saute.

For the halibut:

1. Brush the fish with a mix of equal parts Dijon and olive oil.
2. In another bowl mix a small handful of Panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 a lemon's zest, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, and a crushed garlic clove. Dredge the fish in this mix.
3. Let the fish brown in a skillet using equal parts oil and butter (hey, I said healthy, not starving).

For the basil corn saute:

1. Caramelize one onion cut into fine rounds.
2. Add 2 ears of cut corn.
3. When the corn is cooked and the onions are soft, add one minced garlic clove, 2 tbsp of chopped basil, and 2 large diced tomatoes. Saute until tomatoes are cooked but not falling apart.
4. Season to taste.

Optional Aoli Sauce to top the fish:
1. In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp of mayo, 1 squeeze of a lemon, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 1/2 a lemon's zest, 1 minced garlic clove, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Sprinkle in paprika for color and smokiness.

Part of a Balanced Breakfast

Today is my last day before going back to teaching high school so me and my long-term summer fling went on a hike through Stinson Beach. For a seven mile, strenuous hike, you gotta have a filling breakfast. Not anything too greasy though or it'll slow you down. I woke up and remembered a breakfast that I had years ago at the Fenn lodge outside of Vancouver in Canada. Perfectly scrambled eggs (see the eggs post) served as a side dish to grainy, but moist apple pancakes. We stayed three nights and I went to bed each night with dreams of this combo dancing through my head.

There's no secret, just follow the directions on the package of Arrowhead Mills Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix and just before cooking, mix in some grated Granny Smith apples (skins on). In Canada we marinated the cakes with real maple syrup of course, but I love Trader Joe's Organic Agave Maple Syrup. Protein, carbs, a little fat but not too much, sweet, salty.... the perfect fuel for an end of summer hurrah.

Blue Cheese Dip

This is just something I mix together when I have to bring something for a party. I usually have the ingredients lying around. Just grab a box of crackers to go with it and people just go nuts. Spinach dip is wonderful but nobody is surprised by it anymore. The same goes for jalepeno artichoke dip. If you're coming to my house I would love either of those additions but sometimes it's nice to have something different. This tangy, flavorfull dip could also go great with buffalo wings or tenders.

1/2 cup of mayo
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese (I recommend Maytag or Pt. Reyes Blue)
1 tsp black pepper
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 sliced green onions
a handfull of chopped parseley
1 crushed clove of garlic

Throw all of it into a food processor and you've got it. Add salt to taste.

Get Cooking

I read a New York Times article by Michael Pollan, an author and professor at the University of California at Berkeley. With the release of the new Julia Child film (which I'm so excited about), a spotlight is being pointed on the rise of "foodie culture" in America. More people want to know about food, but few of them actually want to cook it. I found this article to be fascinating.

The guy is onto something. The solution to obesity in the US: "You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself.”

I'll be in the kitchen..

Oh...you're here already??

foodnetwork.com

Ever gotten side tracked and forgot to start cooking for your arriving guests? That happened to me today. I started cleaning instead of cooking and my heart just dropped when I heard the doorbell. Luckily I was making a super simple recipe from the Foodnetwork's Ina Garten. Yea the strange lady that's always saying "how easy is that?". Well it was indeed easy. I threw the pasta in water, got the door, poured some wine and within 15 minutes we were eating.

Click here for the recipe. I made a few changes that play to my own tastes. I added a splash of white wine, reducing the lemon juice a bit and I threw in a handfull of parmesan. It would be wrong to have pasta without cheese right?

Scrambled Eggs Done Right

This was the first dish my mother ever taught me to make. After 20 years of tweaking I think I'm finally happy with my technique. Here's my list of tips:

1. Don't turn the stove up any higher than medium. It takes longer but they don't get as tough.

2. Add herbs or cheese at the end of cooking. The herbs will retain their flavor and the cheese won't blend too much into the background of the eggs.

3. Take the eggs off the burner just before they are fully set. This would be a good time to add things like chives, parsley, cheese etc.

4. Onions, mushrooms, peppers or anything else that needs cooking to soften can be done before the eggs are added to the pan.

5. I don't add milk, cream, half and half or any of the like. More liquid makes them runny. For richness, throw a dollop of sour cream in the scrambled egg mixture before whisking.

6. Whisk in plenty of salt and pepper. Nothing worse that bland scrambled eggs.

7. Don't stir them around too much. Let chunks form.

8. A garnish of chives and extra cracked pepper is heavenly.

9. Butter at the bottom of the pan will add nice flavor and prevent sticking. Teflon pans are not required.

10. Put a lid on the pan for a few minutes to let the top as well as the bottom cook. See #7.

Who Says Gin Tastes Like Christmas Trees?

Ladies, I think it's time for us to put away our aversion to Gin. If for nothing else but for the sake of trying the Batsman cocktail at Dosa Restaurant in San Francisco. This recipe, taken from http://www.sfist.com/ is easy to follow but time consuming and ingredient intensive. Substitute the ginger beer for gingerale, use bottled lemon juice and you're in business. I made a big batch for a BBQ a few weeks ago and it was a hit. Gin will be your new best friend.

The Batsman

1 1/2 oz Martin Miller’s Gin

1 oz Darjeeling Cordial (see recipe below)

3/4 oz lemon juice

Ginger beer to fill

Garnish: mint sprig/lemon zest

Directions:
Combine first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake heavily for approx. 5 seconds. Strain into an ice filled Collins glass, top with ginger beer, and garnish.

Darjeeling Cordial

2 cups white rum (well)

4 bags (tbs.) Darjeeling tea

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup honey

Directions:
Steep the tea in the rum for 3 1/2 hours, stirring once in between. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the honey. Stir to dissolve, remove from heat and let cool. Add this “runny honey” to the infused rum, stir well and bottle.

Dos Coyotes Davis Love

The first place my freshman year RA recommended at UC Davis was to go to Dos Coyotes Southwest Mexican restaurant. It was there that I tried a salsa that would never leave my mind. I was a little obsessed. I contemplated dropping by and stealing some off the salsa bar. Well I've grown up and I think I have the recipe to make it myself. Very simple:

Toss together the following, broil until brown and run through a food processor:

6 tomatillos (husks removed and washed)
1.5 jalepenos

3 garlic cloves

Olive Oil

Add to the above:

Handfull of chopped cilantro

1/2 of an onion finely chopped

2 tbs of honey

juice of 1/2 a lime

salt & pepper to taste

Grab a bag of chips, a quesadilla of your choice and you're set.