Dumpling Squash Souffle

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A nice winter squash recipe!
     There are a few different color varieties of dumpling squash.  The yellow orange color variety looks pretty on a plate.  Dumpling squash have a delicate flavor that tastes kind of like acorn squash.  In fact, most varieties of winter squash have flavors that taste like acorn squash, butternut squash or pumpkin.       Two dumpling squash are required for this recipe.  A par baked dumpling squash is used as a souffle baking dish for the presentation of this recipe and a second dumpling squash is used to make the souffle.  Because the souffle is baked in a squash shell, the souffle is guaranteed to have a moist texture.
     Dumpling Squash Preparation:     Cut the tops off of 2 dumpling squash.       Remove the seeds and pulp.     Place the dumpling squash on a roasting pan.     Place 1 pat of unsalted butter in each dumpling squash.     Bake in a 290 degree oven, till the squash just starts to become tender.     Allow the squash to cool to room temperature.     Set one of the dumpling squash aside.  This dumpling squash will be used as the souffle baking dish.     Cut the second dumpling squash in half.     Scrape the dumpling squash meat out of the shell and set it aside.
     Bechamel Sauce:     This recipe makes a little bit of extra bechamel sauce that can be used for a second souffle or another recipe.     Heat a sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.     Add 5 pats of unsalted butter.     Add an equal amount of flour, while constantly stirring, to make a roux.     Constantly stir till the roux become a white color, with very little hazelnut aroma.     Add 1 cup of milk while whisking.     Add 1/2 cup of cream.     Stir as the sauce heats and thickens to a very thin sauce consistency.     Reduce the temperature to low heat.     Add thick slice of onion.     Add 1/2 of a clove.     Add sea salt and white pepper.     Add 1 tiny pinch of nutmeg.      Gently simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin sauce consistency.     Pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a second sauce pot.     Keep the sauce warm on a stove top.
     Brandied Dumpling Squash Bechamel Puree:     Place the reserved dumpling squash meat into a small sauce pot.     Add 1/4 cup of the bechamel sauce.     Place the sauce pot over medium low heat.     When the sauce start to simmer, add 1 ounce of brandy.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.     Add 1 tiny pinch of allspice.     Simmer the ingredients for 1 minute.     Finely puree the ingredients with an electric puree wand or a food processor.     Place the thick puree into a mixing bowl.     Add a little bit more of the bechamel sauce, while whisking, till the puree becomes a medium thin sauce consistency.           Dumpling Squash Souffle:     Place 2 egg whites in a second mixing bowl.       Whisk the egg whites, till medium stiff meringue peaks appear.     Gently fold the meringue into the brandied dumpling squash bechamel puree.     Place the reserved baked dumpling squash on a baking pan.     Pour the dumpling squash souffle batter into the whole baked dumpling squash, till it becomes full.     Select a steel ring mold that is the same width as the open top of the dumpling squash.     Brush the inside of the ring mold with melted unsalted butter.     Press the ring mold onto the mouth of the dumpling squash, so it is firmly seated.  (The ring mold will act as a souffle collar.)     Bake the souffle for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.     Run a paring knife against the inside of the steel ring mold, to loosen the souffle from the steel ring mold collar.     Remove the ring mold.     Place the dumpling squash souffle on a plate.     Garnish with an Italian parsley sprig.     Serve immediately, before the souffle deflates!
     Viola!  A nice tasting savory dumpling squash souffle with a natural presentation!  ...  Shawna    

Scrapple, Bubble n Squeak and Fried Egg with Habanero Sauce

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     Americans have a long history of breaking English tradition.  American chefs historically have broken all cooking traditions at one time or another.  What are the last two cuisines that most people think of, when they are asked what is the number one best cuisine in the world?  Amish food and English food.  Face it!  The only people that really talk about those two cuisines are the English and the Amish.  Both of those cuisines are full of plain simple old fashioned good tasting traditional recipes, yet the food is not considered to be glamorous enough to be in the limelight, according to gourmet food experts.  Who cares about what gourmet food experts have to say anyway?  Especially on a cold clammy day, when a full plate of hearty rich food sounds like the best thing on earth!     Bubble and squeak is traditionally made with potatoes and vegetables leftover from an English Sunday roast dinner.  Cabbage is usually the first leftover vegetable choice for making bubble and squeak.  Leftover roasted, boiled or mashed potatoes can be used to make bubble and squeak.  The leftover cabbage and potatoes are mashed together and then shaped into patties.  Bubble and squeak gets its name from the sound that it makes when it is pan fried.     Amish scrapple also makes plenty of bubble and squeak noise when it is sizzling on a griddle.  Loud popping noises can be heard and grease spatters can fly 5 feet out of the pan, when scrapple is grilled till it becomes crisp.  It is okay to ask what English bubble and squeak is made out of, but most people really do not want to know what Amish scrapple is made out of.  The best description of scrapple is "Everything on a pig goes in scrapple, except for the squeal!"
     Habanero Hot Sauce:     Ripe orange color habanero peppers can be found at nearly any asian market, Mexican market or regular grocery store.  Wear rubber gloves when handling habaneros, if you have sensitive skin.  This recipe is written in a way that requires minimum direct contact with the habanero peppers.  A food processor, blender or blending wand is required for pureeing this sauce.  The sauce is pureed twice, so it becomes a very smooth consistency.     Remove the stems from 1/2 pound of orange habanero peppers.      Use a knife to slice halfway through each pepper, but do not cut the peppers in half.     Place the peppers in a stainless steel sauce pot.     Add enough water to cover the peppers, with 2" of extra water.     Add 4 cloves of garlic.     Add 1/4 cup of chopped onion.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.     Add 1 teaspoon of coriander.     Add 1 1/2 ounces of cider vinegar.     Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.     Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt.     Add 3 pinches of white pepper.     Place the pot over low heat.     Allow the ingredients to gently simmer, till the peppers become soft.  (About 1 1/2 to 2 hours.)     Allow the liquid to reduce.  Only add enough water to keep the peppers covered with 1" of liquid.     Remove the pot from the heat and allow the ingredients to cool to room temperature.     Puree the ingredients with an electric blending wand, a food processor or a blender.     Return the thin puree to the stainless steel pot.     Place the pot over low heat.     Gently simmer and reduce the puree, till is becomes a thin puree sauce consistency.     Remove the pot from the heat and allow the ingredients to cool to room temperature.     Puree the sauce a second time, so it becomes very smooth.     The orange habanero hot sauce should look like the finished product in the photographs above!     Orange habanero hot sauce has a long shelf life, if the sauce is kept refrigerated. 
     This recipe makes 1 hearty breakfast serving!             Bubble and Squeak:     Place 1 cup to 1 1/3 cups of a leftover cooked russet potato in a mixing bowl.       Note:  The russet potato can be leftover roasted, mashed or boiled potato.  Fried potato is not a great choice for making bubble and squeak.     Add about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of chopped leftover boiled or braised cabbage.     Add 2 tablespoons of minced onion.     Add 1 chopped green top of green onion.      Add 3 pinches of coarsely chopped Italian parsley.     Add sea salt and black pepper.     Mash the ingredients, till the ingredients can stick together like a coarse vegetable potato pancake.     Shape the bubble and squeak mixture into a large patty shape.     Heat a non-stick griddle over medium/medium low heat.     Brush the griddle with melted unsalted butter.     Grill the bubble and squeak on both sides, till it becomes fully cooked and golden brown highlights appear.     The scrapple can be grilled while the bubble and squeak cooks.
     Grilled Scrapple:     Cut 3 slices of scrapple that are about 3/8" thick.  Each scrapple slice should weigh about 2 1/2 to 3 ounces apiece.  (Scrapple will weigh much less, after it is grilled crisp!)     Brush the griddle, that is set to medium/medium low heat, with melted unsalted butter.     Place the 3 slices of scrapple on the griddle.     Allow the scrapple to cook till it becomes very crisp and brown on one side, before flipping the scrapple.  (This way, the scrapple will not crumble apart!)     Grill the scrapple till it becomes brown and crisp on both sides.
     Scrapple, Bubble n Squeak and Fried Egg with Habanero Sauce:      Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium low heat.       Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.     Add 1 egg.     Slowly pan fry the egg sunny side up, so no browning occurs.     Use a spatula to place the bubble and squeak on the middle of a plate.     Overlap the 3 crispy brown grilled slices of scrapple on top of the bubble and squeak.     Place the fried egg on top of the scrapple.     Use a plastic squeeze bottle to paint the plate with a small amount of habanero hot sauce.     Garnish with a sprig of Italian parsley.
     This hearty breakfast entree surely appeals to anybody that faces a long day out in cold clammy weather, except for possibly those who are snobbish gourmet food critics.  That is, unless the snobbish food critics can be convinced that this hearty breakfast is actually a gourmet Amish English Fusion Cuisine entree!  Yum!  ...  Shawna

Kedgeree of Salmon, Asparagus and Cannellini with Mango Chutney

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A modern kedgeree!
     Originally, Indian kedgeree was a simple rice, lentil and fish entree that had a spicy black pepper flavor and there was no curry masala spice mix in the recipe.  During the English occupation of India, the original Indian kedgeree recipe was modified for English taste.  Kedgeree then became a popular breakfast entree in England during the Victorian age.  Victorian English kedgeree was made with curry powder, lentils, rice, fish, eggs and broth with cream being an optional ingredient.  Fresh curry leaves, coconut milk and yogurt were available in India, but they were not commonly available in England, so those items were not part of the Victorian age recipe.  I posted a recipe for Victorian kedgeree in this blog.     Several versions of kedgeree were created shortly after the English Victorian elite had popularized kedgeree as a breakfast entree.  The Scottish made a very plain version of kedgeree that had no spices.  Kedgeree versions were created in the caribbean and Australia.  I posted a nice Jamaican style kedgeree recipe in this blog.  Back home in England, kedgeree became a working class entree.  Leftover fish, vegetables and rice from a previous meal transformed kedgeree from a classy entree that was popular with the English Victorian elite, to just another recipe that was good for using up leftovers.  After a few decades, kedgeree pretty much became a thing of the past.       Occasionally a chef would reintroduce kedgeree and home cooks that liked kedgeree kept the recipe alive through recent modern times.  I worked as a chef at an English pub for 2 years and I found that very few English customers knew what kedgeree was.  A few of the English customers and employees did say that they had heard of kedgeree, but they had no clue as to what the entree was.       As an opportunist, I thought the timing was right to offer kedgeree as a special du jour at that English pub.  I made the Victorian age kedgeree version with salmon and cream.  The few English employees and customers that tried the kedgeree, really liked the entree!  I only offered that version of kedgeree a couple times as a special du jour, because I always kept rotating and adding a wide variety daily specials.  We had so many regular customers that returned on a daily basis at that pub, and regular customers like to see new entree specials offered everyday.  The point of the matter is, the kedgeree did sell!  Customers did become interested in kedgeree once again, after kedgeree disappeared from restaurant menus for nearly 75 years!     Today's recipe will be the third kedgeree version that I have posted in this blog.  This version is a modern style kedgeree creation that has a few classy ingredients that make it very appealing.  I cooked this kedgeree as a personal employee meal at the Le Cordon Bleu campus Technique Restaurant and this entree is pictured in the photographs above.       My personal modern kedgeree employee meal looked a little bit too good, I suppose, because when I showed this entree to the instructor that had a doctorate degree in culinary arts, he said "Thats looks really good!  Put that on my desk for my dinner!"  Ce est la vie!  I was robbed again!  Chefs like to eat my food and it is like a curse.  When I cook a nice meal for myself in a restaurant, inevitably a chef confiscates my meal and makes it his own.  That is how chefs like myself remain thin and fit.  "Never trust a skinny chef?"  Bah!  Skinny chefs cook the best food!       After the culinary arts instructor finished eating the kedgeree that was supposed to be my own employee meal, I asked if he knew what kedgeree was.  I was not surprised to find that the chef had no clue as to what kedgeree was, so I told him the brief history of kedgeree.  The chef said that he really liked the modern kedgeree version that I created.  If I ever accept an offer to be the chef at an English pub again, I certainly will market this modern kedgeree version as a special du jour!       As far as me eating this modern kedgeree version goes, I will make this at home sometime, because cooking a personal meal like this in a restaurant is useless.  Chefs and restaurant owners have stolen my personal meals in the past so often, that I would have to secretly cook my meal and hide in some dark corner of a restaurant, just to make sure that my own personal dinner ends up in my own tummy!  I never figured that kedgeree was a meal that was worthy of being stolen by another hungry chef, but it was!
     Mango Chutney Recipe:      This recipe makes about 3 cups of chutney!     Boil 2 cups of water in a sauce pot over high heat.     Add 3/4 cup of cider vinegar.     Add about 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar.      Taste the liquid.  The mixture should taste like a balanced sweet and sour flavor.  Adjust the amount of sugar or vinegar as necessary.      Reduce the liquid over medium high heat, till it just starts to become a very thin syrup consistency.     Reduce the temperature to low heat.      Add 1 chopped peeled apple.       Add 2/3 cup of chopped onion.  (The apple and onion will help to create pectin to gel chutney.)     Simmer till the apple and onion become very tender.  Add water as necessary to keep the syrup base a very thin consistency at this point.      Add 1/3 cup of minced dried fruit.  (Dried cherries, cranberries, prunes, white raisons or dark raisons are best for making chutney.  The dried fruit adds extra depth and flavor.  This is not a dark fruit chutney, so so don't add too much dried fruit.  I used a few dried cranberry and raisons to make this batch of chutney.)          Add 3 tablespoons of minced fresh ginger.      Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.      Add 1 tablespoon of thin chiffonade strips of fresh lemon zest.     Add 2 finely chopped green onions.  (Only use the white sections of the green onions.)     Add 4 minced cloves of garlic.     Add 1/4 cup of chopped green bell pepper.     Add 1/4 cup of chopped red bell pepper.     Add 2 finely minced seeded jalapeno chile peppers.       Add 2 cups of small diced peeled mango.     Add 1/3 cup of mango puree or mango juice.     Add sea salt and white pepper.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of allspice.      Add 1 pinch of turmeric.     Add 1 pinch of Indian yellow curry powder.     Bring the ingredients to a gentle boil over medium heat.     Reduce the temperature to very low heat.     Simmer the chutney, till it reduces and thickens to a rich jellied fruit preserve consistency.      Place the hot chutney into an uncovered storage container.      Cool the chutney in a refrigerator.      When the chutney becomes cold, cover the container.      Allow the chutney to sit undisturbed in the refrigerator for 3 days to 2 weeks.  It takes time for the flavors of a chutney to mellow and meld!     The chutney can be kept in a refrigerator for nearly 6 months! 
     Kedgeree of Salmon, Asparagus and Cannellini with Mango Chutney:     This is a modern version of kedgeree!     Cook 1 large portion of long grain rice ahead of time.  (About 1 1/2 cups.)     Blanch 3 or 4 peeled asparagus spears, till they become al dente.     Cool the asparagus under cold running water.     Bias slice the asparagus spears into large bite size pieces and set them aside.     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat.     Add 4 pats of unsalted butter.     Add 1/2 of a minced garlic clove.     Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger.     Add 1 tablespoon of minced shallot.     Add 1 tablespoon of minced onions.     Saute till the onions start to turn clear in color.     Add 4 to 6 ounces of salmon scrap or salmon filet that is cut into bite size pieces.     Add 1/3 cup of bite size red bell pepper pieces.     Stir and saute, till the salmon becomes halfway cooked.  Do not allow the salmon to brown!     Add 1 cup of chicken stock.     Add sea salt and black pepper.     Add 1 pinch of cayenne pepper.     Add 1 pinch of turmeric.     Add 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon of Indian yellow curry powder.  (How strong of a curry flavor is up to you!)     Add 1 pinch of coriander.     Add 3/4 cup of cannellini.  (white kidney beans)     Simmer and reduce the liquid by half.     Add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved cooked rice.     Toss the ingredients together and break up any clumps of rice.     Add 3/4 cup of cream.     Rapidly simmer and reduce the liquid, while occasionally stirring, till the rice becomes coated with the sauce and there is no excess liquid.     Add the reserved asparagus pieces.     Add 1/4 teaspoon of lime juice.      Toss the ingredients together.     Keep the kedgeree warm over very low heat, till the eggs are poached.          Presentation:     Poach 2 eggs in salted water over medium/medium high heat.     Mound the kedgeree on a plate and try to expose a few of the featured ingredients on the surface, so it looks nice.     Place the 2 poached eggs on top of the kedgeree.     Place an angel wing lime half garnish on the plate.     Sprinkle a few pinches of a mixture of minced fresh Italian parsley, cilantro and chives over the kedgeree, garnish and plate.     Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of mango chutney on top of the kedgeree between the eggs.
     Viola!  This nice modern version of kedgeree is very appealing and tasty.  I never let old classic recipes die and fade away.       It was about time that a modern version of English kedgeree was introduced to the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.  I guess that I can take credit for getting Le Cordon Bleu French culinary arts instructor chefs interested in classy antique English comfort cuisine.  Yum!  ...  Shawna

Papusas de Loroco con Curtido

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Papusas!         I have featured papusas in Las Vegas Salvadoran restaurant reviews in this blog and those articles receive a lot of views.  I finally got around to posting a papusa recipe today.     Papusas can be served plain, but most papusas are stuffed with a small amount of filling.  Ensalada de repollo (fermented cabbage salad) usually accompanies papusas along with a mild tomato sauce or hot sauce.  Papusas are like gorditas, but they are smaller and flatter.       Loroco has become one of the most popular papusa stuffings in recent years.  Loroco is the flower buds of a Central American vine.  Loroco tastes like barley, malt and hops put together.  Loroco basically tastes like the ingredients that are used to make beer, with a green bean flavor in the mix.  Vegetarians really like the flavor of loroco papusas.     I prefer unbleached light yellow masa harina for my cooking, but bleached white masa harina is what most cooks use when making papusas.  Either way, masa harina has been nixtamalized with ash, so the corn flour is easily digested and more nutrients are made available.        Nearly all pan frying and most cooking in Mexico and Central America is done with lard and not oil.  Home made rendered pork fat lard is easy and cheap to make.  Store bought lard does not have as good of a flavor, unless it is handcrafted lard from a Mexican market.  I pan fried the papusas in the photographs with pork lard.  Pork lard does add flavor!       Cooking with animal fats became taboo according to health experts about 35 years ago.  Nobody contested those old dietary studies for honesty.  As it turns out, recent studies show that animal fats are beneficial to a healthy diet and cooking with animal fats is less harmful than cooking with hydrogenated vegetable oils.  Keep in mind that moderation is the key to health, when cooking with lard.  Too much of a good thing, is not always a good thing.
     Curtido de Repollo Recipe:     Place 1 cup of very thin sliced cabbage into a mixing bowl.     Add a few thin carrot strips for color.     Add a few thin strips of seeded green jalapeno.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of chopped roasted red bell pepper or pimiento.      Add 1/2 tablespoon of minced onion.     Add 1 pinch of coriander.     Add Kosher salt and black pepper.     Add 1 small squeeze of lime juice.     Add 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar.     Toss the ingredients together.     Set the curtido aside for 20 minutes, so the flavors meld.  Refrigerate for 24 hours, if you want the curtido to lightly ferment.
     Loroco Preparation:     Fresh loroco is illegal to import to most countries, because of a small beetle pest that is hard to control.  Frozen loroco is a good choice.  Some people also like canned loroco that is lightly pickled in brine.  I used frozen loroco for this recipe.       Blanch about 3/4 cup of frozen loroco buds in boiling salted water for 1 minute, till they start to become tender.     Cool the loroco under cold running water.     Drain the water off of the loroco.     Squeeze any excess water out of the loroco.     Set the blanched loroco aside.
     Papusa Dough:     This recipe makes enough dough for 4 to 5 papusas!     Place 1 1/2 cups of masa harina in a mixing bowl.       Add 2 tablespoons of flour.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.     Add sea salt and 1 pinch of black pepper.     Add 1/2 cup of water, while stirring.     Stir till the ingredients start to turn into small dry clump.     Add 1 ounce of water at a time, while kneading, till a soft dough is formed.  The dough should be soft and it should be able to hold its shape when squeezed.     Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.          Papusas de Loroco:     Roll portions of the papusa dough into smooth ball shapes that are about 2 1/2" in diameter.  (Larger than a golf ball and smaller than a tennis ball!)     Press a thumb size hole a little bit deeper than half way into a papusa dough ball.     Stuff the hole in the dough ball with some of the loroco.     Press the dough over the hole with the stuffing, to sea it shut.     Press the stuffed dough ball between two palms, to create a flat round pancake shape.  Do not worry if a little bit of the stuffing pokes through the dough.  Each flat round papusa should be about 3/8" thick.     Repeat these steps till 4 or 5 papusas are made.     Heat a griddle or large cast iron skillet over medium/medium low heat.     Place 1 tablespoon of lard on the hot pan.     Place as many papusas on the cooking surface as you can.     Grill the papusas, till golden brown highlights appear on both sides and till the dough becomes cooked to a griddle cake texture.     Keep the papusas de loroco warm, till all of the papusas are cooked.
     Papusas de Loroco con Curtido:     Overlap the warm papusas de loroco across a plate.     Place a small mound of the curtido de repollo on the plate.     Place a ramekin of Mexican style hot sauce on the plate.      No garnish is necessary!
     Salvadoran papusas are easy tortilla snack cakes to make and they are quite filling.  Yum!  ...  Shawna  

Sourdough Barge of Sunny Eggs and Roasted Pepper with Kinh Gioi Creme and Beech Mushrooms

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Like a barge of eggs floating through a mushroom dream!  Ha Ha Ha!
     Barge presentations are nice for ground sirloin steaks, fish filet, chicken breast filet, open face sandwiches and of course, eggs.  I worked at a few trendy restaurants back in the 1980's that had barge presentations of fancy versions of salisbury steak on the menu.  I have served barge presentations of poached eggs at restaurants for brunch in the past too.  Basically a barge presentation is a toasted slice of bread with the featured entree protein placed on top.  The Barge is usually placed on top of a generous amount of sauce on a plate, so the barge looks like it is floating.       Kinh gioi is Vietnamese lemon mint herb.  Kinh gioi has a rich lemony flavor with hints of Thai holy basil and mint undertones.  Kinh gioi is a nice herb for lighter meats, seafood and eggs.       Beech mushrooms come in two varieties.  White beech mushrooms and brown beech mushrooms.  There is very little difference in flavor between the two different colored beech mushrooms.  Beech mushrooms should not be eaten raw, because they have a bitter flavor.  The bitter flavor of beech mushrooms disappears when they are cooked.  Beech mushrooms have a delicate savory hazelnut mushroom flavor after they are cooked.  Whole beech mushrooms look pretty on a plate, especially when garnishing the sauce on a barge presentation.       I thought about poaching the eggs for the barge in this recipe, but I thought that sunny side up fried eggs would have a bit more of a hearty flavor that is appealing on a chilly day.  So far, the weather has been dry but chilly in Las Vegas during late autumn.  In the high desert, 50 degrees feels like about 30 degrees, because there is only about 4% humidity in the air.  The body loses heat quickly in chilly arid desert air.  Few people think of the American southwest desert as a place to find hearty winter food, but heavy food is in demand during the chilly winter months.  Sharp chefs in Las Vegas offer richer, heavier menu items during the winter, while other chefs miss the boat by continuing to offer petite portions of lighter fusion food and hot weather cuisine.       I am not a big fan of glorifying fusion cuisine, but I do create fusion recipes that are deeper in the French side of the asian/French fusion scale.  If you take a closer look at this recipe, both the featured herb and the mushrooms are asian in origin.  The bread is California sourdough, but sourdough bread was perfected in France many centuries ago.  The beurre manie thickened cream sauce is purely French in origin.  Roasted red bell peppers are popular in French mediterranean coastal areas.  Fried eggs are popular in asia and france.  Fried eggs on toast were once a classic French garnish for high cuisine entrees during the age of Napoleon.       Even though this recipe could technically be classified as a fusion cuisine entree, it does not mean that this entree is not heavy enough to stick to the ribs.  This is not a petite little portion of one sea scallop on fried wonton noodle with some kind of an asian sauce and cheap upland cress sprinkled over it with a $35 fusion cuisine price tag, that causes a customer to complain about being hungry again twenty minutes later!  This recipe is a big heavy sourdough bread barge of eggs floating on a river of rich, filling, lemon mint cream sauce.  This is a rich tasting filling French fusion breakfast recipe that is actually appealing on a chilly winter morning!    
     Kinh Gioi Creme:     Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat.     Add 1/2 cup of light fish stock.  (fume)     Simmer and reduce the fish stock by half.     Slowly add 1/2 cup of cream, while stirring.     Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.     Make a 2 to 3 tablespoons of beurre manie, by kneading 50% butter with 50% flour.     Add enough of the beurre manie, while whisking, to thicken the sauce to a medium thin sauce consistency.     Add sea salt and white pepper.     Remove the sauce from the heat.     Add 1 small handful of Vietnamese Lemon Mint.  (Kinh Gioi)     Allow the lemon mint leaves to wilt in the sauce.     Puree the sauce with an electric blending wand, blender or food processor.     Place the pureed sauce in a sauce pot.     Keep the kinh gioi creme warm over very low heat.
     Sauteed Beech Mushrooms:     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.     Add 1 small handful of whole brown beech mushrooms.     Add sea salt and black pepper.     Saute till the mushrooms become tender.     Keep the mushrooms warm on a stove top.
     Roasted Red Bell Pepper:     Roast a red bell pepper over an open flame, till the skin turns black.     Rinse the black skin off of the pepper.     Remove the stem and seeds.     Coarsely chop 2 to 3 tablespoons of the roasted pepper.     Heat a small saute pan over medium heat.     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.     Add the chopped red bell pepper.     Add sea salt and white pepper.     Saute for about 1 minute, till the roasted pepper becomes warm.     Keep the roasted red bell pepper warm on a stove top.
     Sourdough Barge of Sunny Eggs and Roasted Pepper with Kinh Gioi Creme and Beech Mushrooms:     Brush 1 slice of California sourdough bread with melted unsalted butter.     Grill the bread on a griddle or saute pan over medium/medium low heat, till it becomes toasted on both sides.     Keep the toast warm.     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.     Add 2 eggs.     Cook the eggs sunny side up!  The whites should be fully cooked and the yolks should still be runny.     Season the eggs with sea salt and black pepper.     Pour a generous amount of the kinh gioi creme sauce on a plate.     Place the sourdough toast barge on the center of the sauce.     Sprinkle the sauteed brown beech mushrooms on the exposed sauce.     Place the sunny side up fried eggs on the toast barge.     Place a small mound of the roasted red bell pepper on the eggs.     Garnish the roasted red pepper with an Italian parsley sprig.
     Viola!  A French fusion cuisine breakfast that is actually hearty enough for a chilly morning.  This barge style breakfast tastes very nice!  Yum!  ...  Shawna

Steelhead Trout Saute with Kinh Gioi Creme

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     Steelhead trout is a rainbow trout that lives at sea and spawns in fresh water.  Steelhead trout tend to be bigger and stronger than the average rainbow trout, so they are a bit more meaty.  Steelhead are often sold as salmon trout and the flesh has a pink salmon color.  Steelhead taste a little bit more like  salmon than rainbow trout, because they pretty much live and eat like a salmon.
     Steelhead trout are an endangered species in most ocean waters.  For the most part, they are not considered to be a sustainable fish.  Dams and other obstacles that block rivers have cause steelhead trout to become low in numbers.  Steelhead swim upstream to spawn, just like salmon do, so if the river is blocked, then no spawning occurs.
     The only fishery where steelhead trout are in sustainable numbers is the Alaskan fishery and a few other smaller west coast fisheries where rivers flow freely.  Ocean fish sustainability has turned into an Alaskan motto in recent years.  Alaska has very strict commercial fishing regulations in place that keep ocean seafood stock from being depleted.  When buying Alaskan fish, a customer can be confident that they will have a guilt free conscience after eating that fish.  This steelhead trout came from a Las Vegas market that only sells sustainable Alaskan seafood.
     Kinh gioi is also called Vietnamese Balm, Vietnamese Lemon Mint and Lemon Mint.  The mint variety of plants includes perilla, basil and many other herbs.  Not all mint tastes minty.  Lemon mint has a deep rich lemon flavor with Thai holy basil and mint undertones.  When featuring lemon mint in a sauce, it is unnecessary to add white wine, lemon or any other herbs to the sauce.  Lemon mint is a strong herb and it needs no accompanying flavors.  The flavor of the kinh gioi creme sauce in this recipe tastes very complex and lemony, yet only sea salt and white pepper were the only secondary flavors added.
     I am not a big fan of simply reducing cream to make a cream sauce.  Sometimes a rich reduced cream sauce is not a good choice.  Beurre manie is made by kneading butter and flour together.  I worked with a French chef from Provence who used beurre manie to thicken all of his seafood sauces.  He liked the way that beurre manie mellowed the flavor of a sauce and how it delicately makes a sauce cling to seafood.  A small amount of fish broth (fume) was added to the cream to add more depth of flavor, but this sauce was not made like a veloute, supreme or allemande sauce.  The word creme covers a lot of territory when naming sauces.
     Several classic French cuisson rules for this recipe were used.  Saute food is never simmered with liquid, if it is a classic French saute.  The sauce always goes underneath sauteed food.  When the skin is retained on a fish filet, then the skin must be sauteed till it becomes crisp.  Classically, sauteed fish that has the skin attached must be served with the skin facing up.  The starch is always served underneath or beside the featured item on a plate.  All garnishes must be functional, complimentary and edible.  If you follow the rules of the saute cuisson, then you will end up with a very nice looking plate of perfection French cooking like the one in the photographs above.
     Crosscheck scoring the fish skin keeps the skin from shrinking and disfiguring the fish filet.  It also makes the fish look nice when it is presented.  Inevitably, a piece of the fish skin may fall off or stick to a pan.  That is okay, as long as most of the skin is intact.  When sauteing fish skin till it becomes crisp, a lower saute temperature must be used.  Do not be tempted to peek!  Allow the fish skin to pan fry, till the maillard reaction occurs and the skin becomes crisp enough to break free from where it makes contact in the pan.  When the maillard reaction occurs, the skin is cooked crisp!

     Paprika Rice:
     Heat a sauce pot over medium high heat.
     Add 1 cup of light chicken broth.
     Bring the water to a boil.
     Add 2 pinches of Spanish paprika.
     Add 1 small pinch of cayenne pepper.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 1/2 cup of basmati or long grain rice.
     Bring the liquid back to a boil.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Cover the pot with a lid.
     Simmer till the rice becomes fully cooked.
     Stir in 1 pat of unsalted butter.
     Keep the rice warm on a stove top.

     Kinh Gioi Creme:
     Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat.
     Add 1/2 cup of light fish stock.  (fume)
     Simmer and reduce the fish stock by half.
     Slowly add 1/2 cup of cream, while stirring.
     Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.
     Make a 2 to 3 tablespoons of beurre manie, by kneading 50% butter with 50% flour.
     Add enough of the beurre manie, while whisking, to thicken the sauce to a medium thin sauce consistency.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Remove the sauce from the heat.
     Add 1 small handful of Vietnamese Lemon Mint.  (Kinh Gioi)
     Allow the lemon mint leaves to wilt in the sauce.
     Puree the sauce with an electric blending wand, blender or food processor.
     Place the pureed sauce in a sauce pot.
     Keep the kinh gioi creme warm over very low heat.

     Steelhead Trout Saute:
     Select a 6 to 9 ounce steelhead trout filet that has the skin attached.
     Cut shallow crosscheck scoring slices through the skin.
     Season the fish with sea salt and black pepper.
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.  (Slightly less than medium heat is best!)
     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.
     Place the fish in the pan, with the skin side facing down.
     Saute till the maillard reaction occurs and till the fish skin becomes crisp.
     Use a spatula to flip the fish.
     Saute till the fish is fully cooked.
     Do not add white wine or lemon juice!  This is an old French strict pure saute!

     Steelhead Trout Saute with Kinh Gioi Creme:
     Use a ring mold that is almost as wide as the steelhead trout filet to place the paprika rice on the plate.
     Place the sauteed steelhead trout on top of the rice, with the skin facing up.
     Spoon a generous amount of the kinh gioi creme sauce on the plate around the fish.
     Spoon a small amount of the sauce over one corner of the fish filet.
     Place 1 spoonful of small diced roasted red bell pepper on the sauce on the corner of the filet.
     Garnish the roasted red pepper with a small kinh gioi sprig top.

     Honestly, the sauce needs nothing more than lemon mint!  Kinh gioi is the perfect herb for fish.  It actually adds the flavore of lemon and dry white wine to the sauce.  Steelhead trout has an old fashioned good rich trout flavor.  Yum!  ...  Shawna 

Sourdough Panini of Grecian Chicken and Potatoes with Cypriot Halloumi

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Gourmet panini!
     This was a spur of the moment panini recipe idea.  I purchased a small block of Cypress Haloumi cheese at a mediterranean market earlier in the day and this panini idea came to mind.  Every Greek diner and Greek restaurant offers Grecian style potatoes that are flavored with garlic, lemon and oregano.  Garlic lemon and oregano is also used to flavor Grecian style chicken.  Potato and chicken Mexican torta sandwiches are somewhat popular, so I figured that combination would work for a Greek style panini.      A Greek spice mayonnaise spread was made for this sandwich, to give it an extra kick of flavor.  Hints of cinnamon and cumin can be tasted in the sandwich spread.       Cypriot halloumi cheese originated in Cypress over 1,000 years ago.  Halloumi from Cypress is made with combinations of goats milk, sheep milk and sometimes cows milk.  The fresh cheese is layered while it is warm, then it it packed in brine.  Cypriot halloumi is a semi hard cheese that has a mild milky rich flavor.  Cypriot halloumi has high melting point, because this cheese has a low fat content.
     Grecian Spice Mayonnaise:     Place 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise in a small bowl.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of tomato puree.     Add sea salt and black pepper.     Add 1 pinch of oregano.     Add 1 pinch of garlic powder.     Add 1 pinch of cumin.     Add 1 pinch of paprika.     Add 1 small pinch of cinnamon.     Add 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice.     Mix the ingredients together and set the sandwich spread aside.          Grecian Chicken and Potatoes:     No tricky cooking techniques are needed for this recipe!  The chicken breast is not roasted or sauteed.  It is rustically poached with the boiling potato slices.  Boiling or poaching is probably the oldest cooking technique of them all and it is a good technique for when stronger roasted flavors are not desirable.      Place a 6 to 8 ounce chicken breast in a sauce pot.     Add 5 to 6 thin potato slices.  (about 1/8" to 3/16" thick)     Cover the ingredients with water.     Add sea salt and black pepper.     Add 1 chopped garlic clove.     Add 1 pinch of paprika.     Add 2 pinches of oregano.     Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.     Place the pot over medium heat.     Gently boil, till the chicken becomes fully cooked at the potato slices become tender.     Drain the excess liquid off of the chicken and potatoes.     Cut the chicken breast into thin slices.     Keep the Grecian chicken and potatoes warm on a stove top.
     Sourdough Panini of Grecian Chicken and Potatoes with Cypriot Halloumi:     Brush one side of 2 slices of California sourdough bread with virgin olive oil.     Spread the Grecian spice mayonnaise on the other side of the bread slices.     Place layers of the Grecian chicken and potatoes on one half of the sandwich.     Place a few thin slices of Cypriot halloumi cheese one the sandwich half.     Place the two sandwich halves together.     Place the sandwich on a panini grill.     Press the sandwich flat with the panini grill.     Grill the sandwich, till it becomes toasted to a golden brown color.     Cut the sandwich into 3 triangle shapes.     Place the sandwich on a plate and garnish with Italian parsley sprigs.
     A nice mild tasting Grecian style panini with one of most respected cheeses of Cypress!  Yum!  ...  Shawna