Roasted vegetable holiday (or any other day) platter

This was for a family holiday, but it's just as good for company or just for yourself, if you really like a lot of vegetables.  One hour's prep time, and you will shine.  With or without lemon thyme vinaigrette, just adjust the quantity based on your crowd.  This was based on an appetizer for 20 with several other offerings.

THE RECIPE

5 large carrots
2 bell peppers
1/2 head cauliflower
1# grape tomatoes
1/2 # mushrooms
1 bunch scallions

3-4 T EV olive oil, more as needed

2T dried oregano
Sea salt, to taste
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit

Slice all vegetables and trim scallions.  Toss vegetables with olive oil individually; season and roast in batches until slight char is evident.  Arrange on a platter and accept plaudits.  Serve with lemon thyme vinaigrette.

THE RECIPE
LEMON THYME VINAIGRETTE

1/2 C EV olive oil
2T cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1T dijon mustard
3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt, to taste

Blend all together; adjust seasonings and chill.

Um, it's ratatouille, y'all, with HEAT

If you haven't picked up on some of the themes here, one is that I love to incorporate chilies into my food.  It's got to be hot! most of the time.  And I love the local IndoPak grocery for inspiration. Also I have to mess with traditional preparations and make them my own.  And of course, a little heat.

Here's one example...

THE RECIPE

2T EV olive oil
2 large onions, rough chop
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
Thai chilies, to taste, (I used 12)

1/2 C white wine
2 C vegetable stock
24 oz. diced tomatoes
32 oz can tomato sauce
2 large red bell peppers, rough chop
2T dried thyme
1T dried basil
1T dried oregano
4 dried bay leaves (you can tell this was not a market day, so feel free to use fresh herbs)
Sea salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste

1# eggplant, rough chop
1/2 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley, minced

Steamed white rice, for service

Saute the first 5 ingredients in the oil 3-4 minutes; add remaining ingredients except eggplant;  bring to a boil then simmer 15 minutes.  

Add eggplant and parsley. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings, serve over steamed white rice.

Pretzels 101: the class

This was so much fun sharing one of my passions and favorite recipes with some of my friends, and in a commercial kitchen (even though I had to push Gina into it)!  This post has been sitting on the back burner for a while, so I have to share.  We made my sourdough pretzels in a catering kitchen, and a couple bottles of wine helped!

Attention, class...

Too cute to resist this photo.

No grapes were crushed and fermented in the production of this shot.

My pupils for the day.  Ham in the middle.

Ioana gets with the program.

Blah, blah, blah, in one ear and out the other.  Can I just go back to my desk and write out a proposal now?

Somewhere about this time, the real Chef looked over in trepidation.  Hey, we weren't in your space!

No, you can't spell out your name with the dough; stick with the program.

Boiling time.

And, ready for the oven.  Good class!

And the girls were good sports.  A good time was had by all.That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Asian avocado soup on fire

Shame on me, last year was very slow.  I cooked plenty, but posted very little.  Time to start off 2015 with a bang.

Here is a chilled avocado soup with an Asian twist -- and some heat!  Let's just go ahead and add a habanero chile as well.  Why not?  And a quick / simple dish -- you're welcome!

THE RECIPE

1 T EV olive oil

(Large dice / chop, remember you will be pureeing these later)
1 medium onion
4-5 cloves garlic
Thai chili peppers, to taste (I used 10)
1 habanero chili pepper

2 C vegetable or chicken stock
5 sprigs Thai basil leaves
5 sprigs Asian mint leaves
2 medium Hass avocados

Coconut milk

Sea salt / black Hawaiian sea salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
Dash soy sauce
Dash fish sauce

Juice from 1 lime

Sweat the first 4 ingredients over a medium flame; add stock and simmer until tender.  Add the basil, mint and avocado and a touch of the coconut milk.  Season, puree (I used an immersion blender) and taste. Adjust seasoning and add coconut milk as needed.  Chill and serve with avocado / basil / lime garnish.

Yield 4 bowls as a starter.

Mesquite grilled lobster

Oh, man, it doesn't get any better than this.  Simple elegance.  If you get a female lobster, save the roe and serve as caviar.

THE RECIPE

Mesquite charcoal

1 lobster, approximately 2#

Olive oil, as needed
Smoked paprika
Garlic powder, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste

1 stick butter, melted and clarified, warmed over low flame
Hot sauce, to taste

Build a fire in a BBQ grill.  Split carapace and clean the lobster.  Baste with oil on both sides of the lobster.  Season, and grill,

baste with oil as needed.  Re season as needed and serve with spiced drawn butter.  Serve with steamed white rice and the vegetable of your choice.

Stewed Red Lentils with Habanero Peppers

SO, it's back to weight loss mode, thus the mostly vegetarian diet -- recently re-inspired.  As it is my belief that the best vegetarian recipes are Asian, here we go.  As always, no sense of portion control; feel free to divide this in half.  I would say this would make an appropriate side for a family of four for two days!

THE RECIPE

2T EV olive oil
2 large yellow onions, minced
3 large carrots, minced
3-4 stalks celery, minced (preferrably heart pieces - include leaves)
4-5 broccoli florets
4-5 cauliflower florets
1 large tomato, diced
6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 3 jalapeno peppers, minced, 1/3 reserved
2-3 yellow chilies, minced, 1/3 reserved
3-4 habanero chilies, minced, 1/3 reserved
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Smoked paprika powder, to taste
Sea salt and white pepper, to taste
1T freshly grated ginger
1/4 bunch Italian parsley, minced, 1/3 reserved
4-6 sprigs thyme, minced
Sambal oelek, to taste (I used 3T)
1# lentils, rinsed
1 Qt +/- vegetable stock, for deglazing
4 scallions, chopped
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
2T white balsamic vinegar
1T cider vinegar


Heat a wide, shallow pan over medium flame.  Add olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, garlic in stages until caramelized.  Deglaze pan with white wine, stir briefly.  Add remaining ingredients up to vegetable stock.  Add just enough to cover solid ingredients.  Bring to a quick boil then reduce heat to low flame; let simmer until lentils are just tender.  Add reserved ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Serve over steamed rice or a bed of steamed vegetables.

Deluxe Potatoes au Gratin

Every Christmas dinner in our family is hosted at my Aunt's home.  No matter what the menu, my Uncle makes his "Company Potatoes"; the recipe is a secret and I've not tried to reverse engineer them as they are awesome and his thing.  He is THE Potato Guy in our family.  He loves potatoes.  However, this Easter I was tasked with a potato side dish.  I knew the bar was set high, and I went for it.

Like many of my sauces, I needed to keep extra of each ingredient on hand to keep things flexible; just add more or less to the bechamel sauce based on your tastes and how the batch of sauce is behaving.  Of course, I am of the belief that you can never have too much garlic or too much pepper.  I wanted this to stand out and bring out different elements, so I used a bit of wine and added a touch of horseradish.

THE RECIPE--
1# thickly sliced pepper bacon
1 stick unsalted butter, divided, + more for lining baking dish
One large onion, halved then sliced thinly
6 cloves garlic
6 T flour
2 C whole milk
3/4 C half & half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 - 4 dashes Tabasco sauce
3 - 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 bunch fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 bunch fresh Italian flat-leaved parsley, minced
1/2 bunch fresh oregano leaves, minced
1/2 bottle dry white wine
2 t prepared horseradish, +/-, to taste - start off with a smaller amount then add more until you can just detect a hint of this flavor.
4-5 large russet potatoes peeled, 1/4" slices -- put in cold water until ready for cooking
1 C Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated
3 C shredded cheese blend, esp. sharp cheddar + more for garnish

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Broil pepper bacon until crisp.  Cool, chop finely and reserve.

In a large, deep skillet heat 2 T butter over medium flame.  Saute onions until pliable; add garlic and saute for another minute.  Season and set aside.

Return pan to medium flame; melt butter and whisk in flour, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.  Slowly add milk and half & half, stirring constantly.  Season and add herbs and wine.  Keep in mind these flavors will concentrate as the sauce reduces.  Add horseradish and taste.  Simmer lightly until reduced, stirring frequently.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Gradually stir in the cheese and remove from the flame once it is melted.

Butter a large baking dish.  Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom; season with salt and pepper, onion and garlic mixture, bacon and bechamel sauce.  Repeat this layering until the pan is full.  Top with more shredded cheese and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake at 400°F for approximately 1 1/2 hours.  Garnish with shredded cheese and fresh herbs.