Appetizers for New Year’s Eve

 North America and Meso America Recipe  Comments Off
Apr 082012
 
two slices of toasted white bread

two slices of toasted white bread (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We found a few days of New Year’s Eve and now it is time to start with the preparations for the dinner . If you are the host is likely to be chosen sabrosa option for the main dish. However, our task does not end there. Before the turkey, the chicken, the piglet or any other dish chosen as the central option comes to the table, it is necessary to offer them to the audience something that they open the appetite. The catalog entries for dinner New Year’s Eve is more than ample, and we find alternatives of all kinds. Then they tell you that it is the best.

Hams, are excellent choices, especially if it is an accompaniment with good varieties of cheese. It is an ideal dish for our relatives or friends open the appetite, but without a fill before it presents the main dish.

Couches: These little sandwiches are a great alternative as input for the dinner of the next Christmas. The best thing is that it comes from a lot of flavors, so it is ideal for when, in our family there are people who have different gastronomical tastes. The couches of fish is the most delicious. Continue reading »

A Rainy Sunday Rerun – Sticky Ginger Garlic Chicken Wings

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Dec 262011
 

It’s a cool, rainy day in San Francisco, and I still have a very full day of cooking and photography ahead, but I wanted to take a minute to post this picture, and rerun the video, for sticky ginger garlic chicken wings.

I had to make a batch yesterday to photograph for the cookbook, and I’d forgotten how great this recipe is. It’s definitely my favorite chicken wing recipe, and the one I find most addictive.

You can make these really mild or super hot, but that’s really between you and your endorphins. If by some rare chance you haven’t seen or tried these yet, do it. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht7mK5dX0es]

Get the ingredient amounts here from the original post…

Pickled Grilled Vegetables – Now, Why Didn’t I Think of That?

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Dec 252011
 

This pickled grilled vegetables technique was my favorite new discovery on the Kingsford University trip. It’s quite a simple, and seemingly obvious trick, yet it never occurred to me. It’s times like these when I’m faced with the tragic realization that I’m not as smart and creative as I think I am.


Basically, small pickling cucumbers (which I’ve always called, “pickles,” even if they aren’t pickled yet, just to be confusing), as well as other firm vegetables, are seared briefly over very hot charcoal, before being packed in the sweet and sour pickling liquid.

The grilling imparts a subtle smokiness, as well as a little extra sweetness from the caramelization of the vegetables. I can see these being a regular fixture on the picnic table during the upcoming grilling season. What a perfect compliment to a platter of barbecued pork, or grilled chicken.


These tasted great after just one day, and even better after three. Please don’t ask me how long they will last in the fridge, as I believe they should be eaten before that would become any kind of issue. I hope you give it a try, and be sure to tell me all the fabulous ways you flavored your pickling liquid. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
(Adapted from a recipe by Chris Lilly)
6 pickling cucumbers
1 red bell pepper
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, or to taste
big pinch of red chili flakes
12 black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried dill

Chicken Cordon Bleu a la MinhSa 3000

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Dec 242011
 

If you’re regular reader of comments here, I’m sure you know Minh “Sa” Chau. He’s my 13-year old protege/wanna-be-chef who’s clearly plotting to put me out of business one day. Minh just posted his first ever video recipe, and compared to my first attempts it’s pretty damn good.

Of course, with the joy and satisfaction of posting your very own video recipe comes the inevitable comments and critiques. So, do the kid a favor and give him some honest feedback. I’m sure he can handle it, and if not, well, he picked the wrong career.

My suggestion to MinhSa 3000; do yourself a huge favor and Google the cooking term “wet hand, dry hand method,” and use it the next time you set up a breading station! By the way, you’re only 13… how did you already win a medal? I’m 46 and still waiting for one.

He has the ingredients listed on his YouTube page in case you want them. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLz2gjttZM0]

The Gracious Pantry- Clean Eating Thumbprint Cookies

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Dec 242011
 

I am thrilled to announce my first blog review for Tiffany over at The Gracious Pantry. I took quite some time browsing through her site, being that this site is a new one to me.First thing that caught my eye and grabbed my attention was her “clean eating recipes”.I had a hard time choosing from all the great recipes,and it took me quite some time to decide what i was going to try. I finally decided on the Clean Eating Thumbprint Cookies.What grabbed my attention about this recipe is,the whole wheat flour, and honey that is used for the recipe.I have never had cookies with whole wheat flour before, so I was curious as to how they would turn out. The recipe also contains hazelnuts which I love and that was another reason I picked this one.Tiffany mentions on her post that this recipe was one she made with a family she stayed with in Germany.How neat that was to find out!My step mom is German and I plan to share these cookies with her. Well, on to the recipe:

Here are some of the ingredients I used for the recipe.Butter, vanilla, honey, wheat flour.. The wheat flour is 100% organic. I liked that, because I try to use organic ingredients whenever I can in my recipes.Also I used some vanilla a friend of mine gave me that came from Mexico. At the last minute I decided to use plum jam instead of strawberry. I thought plum would be better, and it’s also my favorite.

Add butter,vanilla,egg yolks, and honey. Beat until creamy.I slightly melted the butter, because it was not quite soft enough and I was pressed for time.

Next I added the flour

Fold it in just like this

I let my batter chill as directed for 2 to 3 hours. It was hard to do because I was ready for my cookies, lol.After this step is done, it’s time to roll into balls, and dip in egg whites, and roll in nuts. Press cookies down with your thumb. Now on to adding the jam and we are ready to bake! At 325 degrees for 20 minutes.As you can tell I added quite a bit of jam, but that’s ok because I love plum jam.Here is what they look like right out of the oven. Can hardly wait to try them.

And what do i think about these cookies? Fabulous!!!So be sure to visit Tiffany’s site, The Gracious Pantry for more delicious “clean eating” recipes, I know I will!

Pan-Roasted Halibut Cheeks with Warm Pancetta Vinaigrette

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Dec 242011
 

I was originally going to use scallops for this dish, but when I looked at the fish case at the market and saw fresh halibut cheeks, my menu changed quickly! If you can find halibut cheeks you HAVE to try them. If your market carries regular halibut fillet or steaks, ask the fish person to get you some cheeks. Frozen are fine and they can probably do a special order for you. These are actually sweet, succulent pockets of meat found in the cheeks of the fish. It looks, and also cooks, like a scallop. It is the kind of thing that the fish mongers take home to eat themselves while they laughing at us poor suckers stuck with the fillet!

Warm pancetta vinaigrette is a wonderful sauce for this dish (as it is with almost any dish), and a little goes a long way. I served my cheeks on top of some bright yellow spaghetti squash with is a great, and healthy base for this recipe. Just the pancetta dressing on the squash would have been a winner. Check the site for a demo on how to prep the squash, as it is a very simple and delicious side dish.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWQLwOpfmyU]

Ingredients:
1 Pound Wild Halibut Cheeks (Or Scallops, Tuna, Etc)
3 Oz Pancetta or Bacon
1 Large Handful Pea Shoots Or Sprouts
1 Clove Garlic
1/3 Cup Rice Vinegar
1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
Black Pepper
Salt
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 Lemon

What did people watch before FoodTV?

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Dec 222011
 

I found this clip on YouTube this week and thought it would give some of you a nice, nostalgic chuckle. By the way, I was one of those guys that took Home Economics in high school instead of Shop class. It wasn’t really because I wanted to be a cook at that point; it was more a choice between making hot chocolate chip cookies, or bird feeders and ash trays. Also, I was 15 at the time, and the Home-Ec class had 15 girls and 3 guys, while the Shop class had 15 guys and 3 girls. You do the math.

Anyway, we watched many of these “instructional films” made in the fifties (actually this one was made in 1949). I always found them strangely mesmerizing in a slightly disturbing, hypnotic sort of way. It was probably all the subliminal anti-communist messages they spliced in between the frames. Enjoy!

Dirt Pudding

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Dec 202011
 

Two 4oz boxes chocolate instant pudding
One 8oz cream cheese, softened
16oz chocolate cool whip
3 cups of milk
1 pack oreo cookies, smashed to resemble black dirt

Mix first four ingredients together. Make layers of pudding and smashed oreos. Save enough oreos to cover the top of your pudding.

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