I shot this grill marks tutorial before rushing off to New York in anticipation of the Memorial Day weekend, and all the grilling that traditionally goes along with it.
Now, I'm not saying that unattractive grill mark anxiety (UGMA) has ever prevented anyone from grabbing a pair of tongs and heading out to the grill, but it is a nice technique to know.
Invariably, if you're grilling in front of a group of people, and turn over a chicken breast sporting a nice set of diamond-shaped grill marks, someone will say, "Man, I wish I knew how to get those." Well, here's how.
Whether you’re doing the cooking, or are in charge of "quality control," I wish you all a delicious and wonderful long weekend. Enjoy!
This lovely bowl of spring is a perfect example of when recipes are, and are not, important. The ricotta gnocchi part of the plate requires a fairly precise formula. If any of the three main ingredient amounts are altered, you could be looking at quite a mess. That's certainly not the case for this sauce.
If I made this same combination of ingredients 100 times, each version would be different, which I how I believe these things should work. When I buy peas at the farmers market, I'm not thinking I need 2 cups, I'm thinking I need to buy some peas. The same goes for the mushrooms. Grab a handful and keep moving.
Here's the recipe. Take some mushrooms, preferable wild morel, and saute in olive oil until they smell meaty and delicious. Add some garlic and cook for a minute. Add some vegetable broth, about a 1/2 cup per person, and bring to a boil. Add some peas and cook until tender. Season, add a little cheese and fresh herb, and use as a sauce for the gnocchi.
Besides a general guess at how much broth you need, there's no reason to measure anything else. You could halve or double what I used and argue either way that your sauce is better than mine. Of course, we'd both be right.
There's a common belief that chefs never use recipes, which in the case of the sauce is totally true. But, when a specific texture, density, or viscosity is required in a dish, like for these delicate dumplings, chefs have no problem whatsoever following a formula.
What's my reason for pointing all this out? I don't really have one. You should make this. It tastes good. Enjoy!
For the ricotta gnocchi: 1 pound really good ricotta cheese 3 large eggs 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon black pepper pinch of fresh nutmeg Makes enough for about 6 servings
For the sauce: Splash of olive oil handful of mushrooms some fresh peas few cloves of garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste about 3 cups of vegetable broth grated Parmigiano-Reggiano chopped parsley, mint, and/or basil
If you read my Vegas Uncork'd recap, you heard me raving about the fish baked in an aromatic salt crust as demonstrated by Chef Paul Bartolotta at the All-Star Interactive Luncheon, held at the Wynn/Encore.
It was truly amazing, and I will be showing that ancient seafood technique sometime in the future on Food Wishes. While I didn't go for the full fish-baked-in-salt thing here, Chef Bartolotta's recipe reminded me of a salmon dish Michele used to make for me years ago.
Thick center-cut salmon filets, skin-on, are simply placed over coarse salt, which has been liberally studded with aromatic spices, such as cinnamon, clove and star anise. As the salmon bakes on the heat absorbing and distributing salt, the aromas from the spices subtly permeate the fish.
As you'll see in the video, this is so easy and makes for a pretty impressive presentation for a dinner party. You can bring the salmon, still sitting on the aromatic salt, out to the table to serve. You can even dress up the salt more creatively than I've done here, as almost any dried herb or spice is a candidate.
This is a fun technique to play around with and see if you can come up with your own signature blend. I really hope you give it a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients: (makes enough salt mix for 4 pieces) 7-8 oz center-cut salmon filets, skin-on 2 cups coarse kosher salt 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 2 teaspoon whole cloves 8 whole star anise 4 cinnamon sticks, broken up
This super simple prosciutto wrapped asparagus recipe sets a new record on Food Wishes for fewest number of ingredients. Some asparagus, prosciutto, and that is it. The fat from the roasting prosciutto provides numerous benefits.
It adds the perfect amount of saltiness. It imparts that rich meaty flavor that only pork can deliver. You'll even get a little pepperiness . I'm more than happy to enjoy asparagus in its natural, swine-free state, but once in a while I need to animal it up a little.
This is such a versatile dish. You can make it for a quick snack as I did, but image a little raft of these glistening spears as a base for a piece of grilled chicken, or tossed on top of a pasta, or salad. You can also break from the two ingredient plan and add lemon, parmesan, aioli, romesco…actually, it would be quicker to list what it doesn't go with.
Asparagus is plentiful right now, so next time you're at the grocery store, or better yet, the farmers market, pick up a few bunches and give it a go. You can really use any thinly sliced cured meat, and I've done this with Serrano ham, as well as smoked Black Forest ham with equally delicious results. Enjoy!
I'm in San Antonio for one more day, so in lieu of a new video (btw, you'll see a fantastic asparagus recipe Monday), I decided to link to this fava bean how-to. Fava beans are one of my favorite spring vegetables, but many people just don't know how to prepare them.
Onion rings have an odd place in American cuisine. Everyone seems to love them, and they're on the menu at just about every burger joint in the country, yet their popularity as a side dish to meat on buns doesn't even come close to the venerable French fry.
The reason is as obvious as it is annoying – they cost extra. Fries always come with the burger, but if you want those crispy, golden brown rings of pleasure, it's going to be $2.00 more.
Sure you crave the crunchy goodness, but the thought of paying extra to upgrade a side dish at Big Bad Billy's Burgers and Beers seems downright un-American. So, as much as you may want them, and as much as you may fantasize about what a nice treat they'd be while standing in line, when you come belly to cash register, you just can't pull the trigger.
Well, I have good news – this onion rings recipe is so easy, and so amazingly crispy, you can now make up for all those years of deep-fried denial by making these at home.
If fact, these are so good, you may want to consider charging your friends and family a little bit extra for the upgrade. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons instant mashed potatoes big pinch of cayenne 1 cup cold club soda 2-3 cups Panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs), or as needed fine salt to taste vegetable oil for frying 2-3 yellow onions, cut into 1/4-inch rings *Note: the amounts in the video were for a smaller batch. The amounts above will make a nice large batch, enough for about 8 servings.
Just a quick prediction… when pot is legalized in California this fall, this may be named the "Official State Sandwich." In my humble opinion, this crispy, crunchy, cheesy masterpiece is the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
You know how once in a while you run across a slice of pizza where some of the cheese has dripped over the edge and caramelized onto the bottom of the crust? You know how when you bite into that delicious deformity you think to yourself, "why can't the whole thing be like this?" It can.
Make sure you follow some basic rules for this to work properly. Only use airy, nutritionally insignificant white bread. Use a nice sharp cheddar, and be sure to use a quality non-stick pan over medium to medium-low heat.
Well, it's almost 4:20, and I have to run to an appointment, but I really hope you give…. shoot, I just lost my train of thought. Dude, where are my keys? Anyway, enjoy!
Below the photo I've posted a little tease video I uploaded to YouTube yesterday. Many people loved the crispy torment, others were highly annoyed. Do you like to be teased?
Here's a video recipe of the new and improved stuffed bell peppers. I posted the written recipe a little while back, but wanted to provide a video tutorial also. There have been some significant and shocking changes, so I hope you're sitting down.
The peppers are now cut in half lengthwise, so that the meat/rice-to-pepper ratio is much more in our favor. The bad news is you must find evenly sized, and boxy shaped peppers so the halves cook evenly, but the good news is I just doubled your number of servings.
Also in this version we chose to use the classic green bell pepper. This recipe's roots can be traced back to the Great Depression, when farmers first began selling the unripe peppers out of necessity. Of course, we did what Americans always do when faced with a new variety of food, we stuffed meat in it.
I'll have to admit, I bowed to conventional wisdom, and called for the sweeter red bell in the cookbook, but as any true stuffed bell pepper aficionado will tell you, green is the money pepper. The bitterness of the green pepper serves as a perfect foil to the tangy, but subtly sweet stuffing.
Finally, after several attempts, you have here the final official Food Wishes stuffed bell pepper recipe. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients: For the sauce: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 cup beef broth 2 cups prepared marinara sauce, or other tomato sauce 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional For the peppers: 1 pound lean ground beef 1/4 pound hot Italian pork sausage, casings removed 2 cups cooked rice 1 cup finely grated "real" Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley 4 cloves garlic, minced very fine 1 can 10-oz diced tomatoes 2 tsp salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper pinch of cayenne 4 large green bell peppers
As promised, I used some of the leftover basting sauce from our Cornell chicken video recipe for a test batch with a longer marination. The first time I only let it soak about 1 1/2 hours, this time it went 4. The results were very delicious! I believe I like this even better, as the flavors were more pronounced. The last test will be an all-nighter. Stay tuned!
I shot this grill marks tutorial before rushing off to New York in anticipation of the Memorial Day weekend, and all the grilling that traditionally goes along with it.
