Spinach Risotto

There are few on pot meals more perfect than risotto. It’s brilliant in its simplicity start with a good heavy pot. Build your base with some sweet onion or shallot cooked in butter. Add 1 cup of aborio rice and cook it slightly. Add 1 cup chicken stock. The secret to a great risotto is to keep it moving. Stir it consistently and add another cup of stock and stir until chicken broth cooked in. Add 1 more cup of broth stirring continually until creamy. Making risotto is that simple. The only thing to bear in mind is not to over cook the rice and turn it into mush. It should be creamy and the rice should be slightly al dente. Finish that with 1/2 stick of butter cut into pats. Fold in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
You can be as creative as you like with you risotto. Enjoy.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is a nice alternative to the old stand byes when planning dinner at home. Its really allot easier to make than you might realize. I switched things up a little bit with this one using Italian breaded chicken and  topping it with ham and mozzarella. To speed things up you can cut your chicken into chunks and  saute with the mushrooms. The most important thing though is the sauce. I like to use lots of Marsala wine and demi glace, basil, shallots and skinless diced tomatoes and swirl in some butter.

 

 

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

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.

Creamy Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper and Sweet Italian Sausage

Making Risotto perfectly requires a great deal of finesse and technique, risotto is a very simple dish in the way that it requires very few ingredients to make something fantastic. At the heart of a great risotto is onions nicely cooked in butter or olive oil, aborio rice, broth and Parmesan cheese. Cooked in stages adding the broth a cup at a time stirring constantly to massage out the starches. being careful not to over cook the rice resulting in a pasty mush on the plate. One last pointer; risotto is meant to be cooked aldente or just to the tooth, you should be able to chew the rice and it should have sufficient liquid to lay flat on the plate or in the bowl.  In this recipe I added some sweet Italian sausage, and roasted red pepper puree.

To serve four you will need one onion cooked until just golden brown in olive oil.

cut 2 lbs sausage and saute lightly

puree 3 roasted red peppers in 3 cups chicken broth you should have 4 cups liquid total

add 2 cups rice

add liquid on cup at a time as constantly stirring it and adding more as the rice cooks

Just when its almost done stir in 2 tbs. olive oil or butter and one cup grated Parmesan cheese

add fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and share with loved ones

Chicken Quesadillas with Roasted Red Peppers and Roasted Grape Tomatoes

When Invited to family cookouts I am often asked to bring along something creative and fun along with me which I am always to accommodate. Yesterday I was asked to bring some sort of appetizer. After mulling over Spanakopita, Antipasto skewers, Bruschetta, Tabouli and Hummus I decided to make something a bit more familiar while adding my Mediterranean technique to it.

Start by making some Roasted Red Peppers, you will need 3 for this recipe.

Slice one onion into thick rings, season and spray with oil and form some grill marks on to them

Then slice two Pints of grape tomatoes lengthwise tossing them lightly in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet pan and roast them in the oven for 2 hours at 300 degrees.

Marinate and grill 3 lbs Chicken breast, I made a marinade with lots of lemon and olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic and a little salt, pepper and sugar

Shred 2 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese

When all ingredients are prepared layer them between two large Flour Tortillas, Spray both sides with oil and cook on the grill at the lowest setting. turning frequently to assure even heat. I like to cut mine in eight pieces. This should yield four  quesadillas using the described method or you can cook them open faced and fold them over when the cheese has melted and yield eight.

Spaghetti Bolognese

 

 

 

The aromas that permeate my house when cooking classic family comfort food is half the pleasure of cooking at home. It builds anticipation of a great meal while evoking memories of great conversation and family bonds. All while adding to the experience of todays meal.

Spaghetti Bolognese is definitely one of those dishes and one of my all time favorites. This recipe uses both ground pork and beef, Lots of Port Wine aromatic vegetables and beef broth. be sure to have a lot of fresh grated parmesan cheese for the table along with a good bottle of wine. This dish is sure to please your friends and family the way it has mine.

Heat a heavy pot to high and brown the ground beef and pork setting it aside after cooking

Dice the following to 1/4 inch

one sweet onion

one green pepper

three celery stalks

three carrots

and saute in 1/4 cup olive oil until the onions turn golden brown

Crush 4 cloves Garlic and toast to a light hue

add 3 cups of beef broth and reduce by half ( to reduce something is to boil access water out of it)

Add half a bottle of Port Wine and boil until the alcohol has cooked out.

Add three cans crushed tomatoes and cooked meat

Season with salt and pepper, basil and oregano and simmer on low for two hours

Cook Your favorite Pasta in salted water and enjoy

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

I first had this dish in a Greek Village just north of Ioannina which was way up in the mountains. What amazed me about it was first how incredibly flavorful and simplistic the dish was. This was at a time very early in my career as a Professional Chef  and I have to admit my three week stay in Greece had a big impact on the rest of my career. I later had my children s Yia yia teach me how to make this as well as many other Greek dishes so you can be assured I will also be sharing them with you as well.

 I have seen this dish made in the oven and produced great results. The important thing to remember is to cook everything to “just done” and finish at a high temperature to add flavor and texture. Today it was nearly 90 and at the end of an intense heatwave so cooking on the grill was a far better option to further heating up the house with the oven.

In this recipe I used 8 good sized chicken thighs however you can use a cut up chicken or what ever you desire.

I cut 6 Russet Potatoes on the bias

Chopped 1 bulb of garlic

Squeezed 4 Lemons and added the rinds to the marinade

Added 1/4 Olive Oil

1 TBS. Kosher Salt

Lots of fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. ea.Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and marinade for 6 hours; this is usually something I do in the morning after breakfast.

When cooking this dish on the grill place all ingredients in an air tight foil wrapper or tightly sealed foil pan.

Cook for 30 minutes and finish by turning the grill to high and getting some beautiful grill marks on the chicken and potatoes

Be sure to reserve the juices in the pan or foil to pore over the platter, top each meal with some of the juice and enjoy this Greek comfort food.

 

 

Fire Roasted Peppers

Roasted Peppers are one of my favorite things to cook with, they can be used to liven up any pasta dish, they can be used in salsa. spreads, dips and dressings to name a few. Making them is so simple you may ask yourself if you have bought the jarred or canned ones why bother. When fresh made are so easy to make and taste way better. There are two prefered methods first is on the stovetop assuming you have a gas stove. And you can get started by turning your burners all the way up and char them on all sides. The other would be on a gas grill or under the broiler turning them frequently. Just be sure to coat them with oil before charring them. Place them in a paper bag for 15 minutes allowing them to steam. peel the skins of and slice, dice or puree for your favorite recipes.

Grilled Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken Wings

Grilled Lemon Chicken Wings

These Sweet and Savory wings are a nice alternative to the usual BBQ or Buffalo wings and a great appetizer at a backyard cookout.

4 Cloves Garlic

1 tbs. Oregano

1 tbs. Rosemary

1 Cup Honey

1/2 cup sugar

2 Cups Water

2 tbs Salt

1 tsp. Pepper

2 Lemons Squeezed and Sliced

2 Oranges Squeezed and Sliced

Marinade for 2 days

Grill over high heat and place in foil after you get good grill marks and cook them sealed for 10 to 15 minutes. place back on the grill to finish off.