Sweet Italian Sausage with Penne, Peppers and Garlic Broth

Pork Cutlets with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

Home Made Focaccia Bread

Focaccia is my favorite bread to make for many reasons. It has wonderful flavor, it’s east to make and people love it. In my days of fine dining I would make it to order for customers shortly after they sat in my dining room and serve it with nothing more than some wonderful Greek olive oil.

In essence it nothing more than pizza dough coated with infused oil and served as a flat bread.  There are many applications for it such as making sandwiches, panini, dipping it in tsatziki, hummus, oil etc. making bruscetta and one of my favorites… Panzanella salad.

It will take about 20 minutes to start the dough, 2 hours to proof and 15 minutes to cook.

Start by measuring 4 cups unbleached high protein flour ( King Arthur is perfect for this)

Put 1 packet of dry active yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (it should feel like bathwater 110 to be specific and you want to tempo it) with a tablespoon of sugar

Start a bowl of Ice-water, you will need one cup with out the cubes

Add 1tbs. Kosher salt to the flour

1 tbs. olive oil

When the yeast has become foamy mix all the ingredients in the bowl

Transfer to the counter top and knead by hand for about 8 minutes or until smooth supple and elastic ( you can use one of those fancy dough mixers if you have one just be sure not to over knead the dough)

Transfer back to the bowl and rise for two hours at room temperature.

Punch down the dough and rise it until  it doubles in size (about another hour)

Stretch out the dough in a baking sheet covering the top with herb infused oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt

bake at 425 for about 15 minutes

Grilled Veal Chop with Quinoa and Cipollini Onions

 

In many of the restaurants I have had the honor of being the chef I have served some type of veal chop and I do have to say my favorite is the rib chop. It has great marbleization and only requires a little salt and pepper to create a perfect result.

Here I served it with what I call a Pepperonata Salsa. It has very rich flavors; the savory, sweet, salty and heat tones of this salsa is nothing less than pure umami. I recommend trying it on your favorite grilled meats, fish, chicken, pizza, calzone, bruschetta, toast, chips or even straight out of the bowl. It’s that good.

 To make Pepperonata Salsa you will need to…

Fire roast two poblano peppers and two red peppers

Remove the black flake from them, deseed, cut out the ribs and dice to 1/4 inch

Roast about 12 ripe roma tomatoes cut in half, deseeded, lightly coated with oil laid out skin side down and cooked at 275 for about 3 hours.  

Puree with 2 cloves roasted garlic

1 tsp. sugar

fresh ground pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

and enough water to loosen it up slightly

Roast some cipollini onions (6 to 8) after removing the skins, again a light coating of oil and until nicely caramelized or about as long as the  tomatoes.

Roast some garlic; start by cutting the tops off the top of a bulb of garlic coat lightly with oil wrap in foil and cook along with the tomatoes. Allow it to cool and squeeze out the garlic from the skins.

When you’re ready to assemble it

mix all of the peppers in a bowl with the tomato puree and cipollini

Add enough Fresh Basil, fresh Italian Parsley and chopped scallion to provide depth and color

Chill for a few hours and serve

Quinoa has been all the rage as of the past few years, the first time I tried it was in the form of a sample from a Mail order Grains company in Minnesota and that was some time ago. Since then I have cooked it many ways and served it as a lunch entree, a salad, made a tabouli with it and as a side I have cooked it with from wild mushrooms and goat cheese or simply put lots of fresh seasonal herbs in it. Any way you cook quinoa I guarantee a great experience. As an added benefit it is one of the healthiest grains you can eat. It’s an ancient grain which means it is not tampered by genetic modification. It’s very high in proteins and does not spike up your blood sugar when eating it, making for easy digestion.

To make this dish Grill your veal chop with fresh ground pepper, kosher salt and a pinch of sugar on each side no more than medium so it doesn’t dry out the meat.

Prepare quinoa your favorite way

Arrange the plate how you desire. Here I served it with fresh baby arugula seasoned with an Orange Juice Vinaigrette and garnished with micro greens.

 

Pan Seared Duck Breast

Pan Seared Duck breast is a great meal and very much in season. It can be prepared very easily and the cook time is very short. I like to cook it for guests when I don’t have time or want to spend my day preparing an elaborate meal. Many people perceive it as a specialty meal so I have impressed many people with this one. It can be prepared many ways but in this case I paired it with a gastric made with reduced veal stock, port wine, raspberries, blackberries,and a few dashes of champagne vinegar. Potato scallion cakes are quit simply fresh shredded potatoes drained of the juice, an egg scrambled in mixed with fresh chopped scallions and parsley, mixed in a bowl with salt and pepper, formed into patties and fried in olive oil.

For the Duck Breast score the skin in a honeycomb pattern( this means cut lines that cross in a diamond pattern a half inch apart) rub it well with cracked black pepper and kosher salt allowing it a minute or so to rest so the crust stays on the skin) this will allow the fat to melt properly rendering it crisp and nicely browned. Start it in a warm pan (not hot) with a pat of butter skin side down started with a high flame and turning it down to medium when it begins to brown. turn the breast over and continue to cook in the rendered fat. Turn one more time to crisp up the skin for a minute. This entire process should take no more than 10 minutes depending on the size of the breast, the most important thing is not to cook them past medium so it doesn’t dry up and become tough.. I like 10 ounce because they are thick enough to crisp up nicely and still remain pink on the inside.

Chicken and Dumplings

With the kids back to school and Autumn fast approaching slow cooked stews and roasts are officially in season. On Sundays is when I have the time to make a dinner that requires time to reach perfection.Chicken and Dumplings is one of those Sunday Meals that excites the entire family as soon as the chickens hit the oven. It’s classic slow cooked family comfort food that permeates the house with fine aromas through the day heightening the olfactory senses and creating the type of anticipation that only adds to the finally of dinner time.

This is a meal I will start very early in the morning so I can execute every step perfectly while multitasking through the day resulting with a perfect conclusion.

Start with two 5 lb chickens seasoned on all sides with plenty of salt, pepper and garlic and roast them at 350 for 1 1/2 hours

While they roast cut 2 lbs carrots, 4 stalks celery and two large onions into 1 inch chunks and saute them to a medium brown and set aside.

When the Chickens are cooked place them in separate pots and put just enough water in the pots to cover them with an inch of water.

Bring them to a boil and turn down the flame so they can simmer for an hour.

Remove the chickens from the pots and allow to cool slightly so you can pull the meat off the bones placing the meat from the chickens in their respective pots, discard the bones and divide the vegetables between the two pots, season with salt, pepper, oregano, sage rosemary and basil. Bring it back to a simmer and thicken with roux to a smooth velvety consistency. ( If you don’t know how to make roux it’s actually quit simple and I am going to walk you through it. Start with two sticks of butter and half cup of flour. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and add the flour stirring constantly, adjust the roux to a thick paste and cook over a medium flame stirring even still until blond in color. This only takes a few minutes. turn of the flame and divide between the two simmering pots stirring it in to assure there will be no lumps)

When the gravy has incorporated make your own dumplings with

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup water
2 small eggs
3 cups flour

In a large bowl, mix together the salt, oil, water, and eggs. Slowly add the flour to the mixture, blending it constantly with a fork. Stir only long enough to mix the dough.

Or to make it easy grab a box of Bisquick and follow the recipe for dumplings on the side of the box. These will set up in about 10 minutes and you will have a wonderful meal with your loved ones.

Game Day Chili

 

It is with a great deal of hesitation I share this recipe with you. This is the best chili I have ever had and invite you to share yours if you think it is better. I have developed this recipe of 20 years in search of a chili that provides a great balance of heat and big depth of flavors. This chili is made more like a stew rather than the traditional method of cooking some ground beef, adding beans tomatoes and some spices. Instead I start by rendering the fat from a pound of bacon, cooking my aromatic vegetables with some chopped garlic until the onions caramelize, I like to use 4 lbs. chuck diced to 1/3 inch, and add 2lbs ground pork and cook it thoroughly and simmer that in 1 quart beef broth for 20 minutes to tenderize the beef. Add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, 2 cans white kidney beans, 2 cans black beans and 2 cans red kidney beans it is very important to rinse them of the brine before adding them, this will assure proper consistency and flavor. Bring that up to a boil, reduce the heat and season with lots of cumin, coriander, black pepper and oregano and for the heat I love the flavor of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce because they contribute to the flavor and do not make a long burning heat that just stays with you. I also find chili powder to have a chalky grainy after taste which takes away from a great overall experience. They are best pureed in a blender with a little of the sauce. I typically use 3 or 4 from the can for medium heat but you can obviously use more or less to adjust the heat.

You will need 4 lbs chuck, I recommend buying a chuck roast with nice marbleization and cutting it up yourself into 1/3 pieces

Cook in a preheated pot until browned in approximately 1 cup bacon fat

add 2 lbs Ground pork stirring periodically to produce medium size chunks simmer in 1 quart beef broth and 2 cans crushed tomatoes.

In a separate skillet cook

1 diced onion

3 diced green peppers

2 diced celery stalks in a few tbs. bacon fat until onions are golden brown

Chop (not mince) 1 bulb of garlic and add to the mix of vegetables. Cook for a few minutes until onions completely caramelize.

Add some of the sauce from the pot to deglaze the pan and pour mix into the pot.

Season with 3 tbs cumin

2 tbs coriander

2 tbs kosher salt

Lots of fresh ground pepper

3 tbs sugar

and 2 tbs oregano

Add 2 cans black beans, 2 cans white kidney beans, 2 cans of red kidney beans and simmer over a low flame for at least an hour.

Serve this lots of tortilla chips and shredded sharp cheddar.

Lobster and Corn Chowder

Raspberry and Rosemary Grilled Chicken Pepperonatto

Grilled Chicken Peperonata with Creamy Risotto

Herb Grilled Porterhouse Pork Chop

Porterhouse Pork Chop with Couscous Rissoti