Bananas Fosters

 I thought that since tomorrow is Mardi Gras that I would do a classic from the Big Easy. This recipe was originated at Brennans Restaurant in the French Quarter.

Bananas sliced                                                          3 ea.
Brown sugar                                                             1/4 cup
Butter                                                                        8 oz.
Captain Morgan Rum                                              6 oz.
Banana Liquor                                                         2 oz.

In a skillet melt the butter. Desolve the sugar in the butter. add the liquor. Add the bananas and cook for two min. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum and return to the heat and flambe*. Scoop vanilla ice cream into 8 small bowls. Cover with the banana mixture.  Makes four servings
* When you flame the rum be careful not to burn your self. If possible use a fireplace
match.

Pasta Carbonara

There is nothing in the world that is more satisfying than good comfort food. No matter where you are pasta is a wonderfully satisfying meal. When we wanted something to eat late at night that was easy I would make this recipe. It’s rich and comforting like a warm blanket. Warning, this is not for the weight conscious.

1 Lb.                                                          Angel hair pasta

4 Tbl.                                                          Butter

1 cup                                                           Mushrooms sliced

2 cups                                                          Heavy Cream    

8 oz                                                             Pancetta or Slab Bacon Diced

2 ea.                                                            Whole egg beaten

2 oz.                                                            Parsley chopped

1 cup                                                           Parmigiano riggiano grated

To Taste                                                      Salt and Pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the pancetta and sauté until heated. Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, cheese, and cream. Add the cream mixture to the pancetta and cook until the sauce is thickened. Adjust the seasonings and serve over the angel hair and garnish with the parsley.  Serves 4-6  

Spring Pea Rissoto

 With the temperature reaching 80 in the middle of February I thought that a good Spring Recipe was in order. We did this recipe for a teachers appreciation dinner when I was a sophomore in college.


1 cup                                                          Aborrio Rice
1/2 cup                                                      English peas
2 oz.                                                           Panchetta (Dried ham) minced
2 oz.                                                           White onion diced
2 oz.                                                           Carrots diced
To Taste                                                     Salt and Pepper TT
3 cups                                                         Chicken Stock
4 oz.                                                            Piccorino Cheese grated
As Needed                                                  Olive oil
1 tsp.                                                           Thyme chopped
1 tsp.                                                           Oregano chopped
2 oz.                                                            Cream
1 lemon                                                       Lemon juice
1 lemon                                                       Lemon zest
4 oz.                                                            Shiitake mushrooms sliced


In a Medium sauce pan heat the olive oil. Add the carrots , panchetta, garlic
and onions and Zest allow to sweat. Add the Rice and brown slightly letting the individual rice to coat with the oil. In three batches, add the stock allowing the stock to be absorbed completely before adding the next batch. When all of the stock has been absorbed add the cream and cook until tender. Add the peas and season with the salt, pepper thyme and oregano and finish with the lemon juice. Serves 4

Quiche three ways

Not only can real men spell quiche we can even cook it. Some quiche are just too eggey and are just bad. These three quiches use the same base and have a good consistency to them.

Tex-Mex Quiche

4 ea.                                                            Eggs

3/4 Cup                                                        Heavy Cream (whipping cream)

1 Lb.                                                           Chorizo drained

4 oz.                                                            Onion diced

4 oz. can                                                      Green chilis diced  

1/2 Cup                                                        Cheddar Cheese shredded

1/2 tsp.                                                         Cumin                               

1/2 tsp.                                                         Chili Powder

1/2 tsp.                                                         Black Pepper

1/2 tsp.                                                         Salt

2 oz.                                                            Cilantro chopped 

1 Prepared                                                   Deep Dish Pie Crust

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Combine the cream, eggs and salt and mix till we well blended. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pierce the bottom and the sides of the crust with a fork. Pour the egg mixture into the shell and bake for 45 min. Serve with a little sour cream and your favorite Salsa.

 Bacon-Spinach Quiche

1 ea.                                                          9 inch unbaked deep dish pie shells

2 Tbl.                                                        butter, softened 

1ea.                                                          (10oz) package frozen spinach                                  

8oz.                                                          Bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup                                                        whipping cream 

4 ea.                                                         Eggs, beaten

1/3 cup                                                     shredded Swiss cheese 

1/2 tsp.                                                     Salt

1 pinch                                                     nutmeg

Combine the cream, eggs and salt and mix well in a mixing bowl. Strain the spinach by squeezing the excess liquid out of the package. Add the spinach and the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl mixing well. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 425 for the first 10 min. and then an additional 35-40 min. at 350 or until the quiche is set.

Bacon Cheddar Quiche

4 ea.                                                                 Eggs

¾  cups                                                             Heavy cream (Whipping cream)

½ tsp.                                                               Salt

8 slices                                                             Bacon (cooked and crumbled)

½ cup                                                               Cheddar cheese

1 ea.                                                                 Prepared pie shell                                               

Combine the cream, eggs, and salt mixing well. Add the rest of the ingredients mixing well. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 350 for 45 min.    

Pinehurst Muffins

These muffins originated at the Pinehurst Resort. The muffins are served in their clubhouse to their members. I got my copy of this recipe while I was working the Grill at the LA Cima Club in Las Colinas Texas. These are probably my favorite muffin ever.

1 cup                                                                  sugar 
1 1/2 cups                                                           flour
1 1/2 tsp                                                             baking soda
1 1/2 tsp                                                             cinnamon
1/2 tsp                                                                salt
2 ea.                                                                  eggs
6 Tbl.                                                                 oil
6 Tbl.                                                                 melted butter
1/2 cup                                                              chopped pecans
1/2 cup                                                              coconut
1/2 cup                                                              raisins
1 ea.                                                                 apple  (peeled, grated)
2 cups                                                               carrots (grated)

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease your muffin tin. Sift together all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. In separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, and butte. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until it is well blended.Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon batter into the muffin tins and bake for 20 min. or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Makes 2 dozen.

Caprese Pasta Salad

     The first time that I had a Caprese Salad was in a Trattoria in Beverly Hills down from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. (The Hotel Julia Roberts made famous in the movie Pretty Woman)  The salad is a simple one consisting of Mozzarella Cheese, Tomatoes, and Basil dressed with good Olive Oil. The Caprese is one of my all time favorite salads. So satisfying!  This is a variation on the original.

1 Lbs.                                                  Bow Tie Pasta Cooked

12 ea                                                    Bocconcini  Halved (Small Mozzarella Balls)

1 package                                            Cherry Tomatoes Halved 

10-12 ea.                                              Basil Leaves

1 bunch                                                Green Onions Chopped

1/2 cup                                                 Red Wine Vinegar     

2/3 cup                                                 Olive Oil
1 tsp                                                     Mustard 

Sea Salt                                                To Taste

Cracked Pepper                                    To Taste

 Combine the pasta, mozzarella, tomatoes and herbs. Combine the vinegar mustard and olive oil whisking to emulsify. Dress with the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Allow the flavors to marry for 2 hours to over night. Serve Cold   Makes 8 Servings        

                     

Where to start?

     Being the only southern boy on staff at a major ski resort, it was natural that any time that there was a “southern” menu for a party I was the one to work it. If there was a Tex-Mex, Bar-B-Que, or a Cajun menu to prepare it was sent my way. This was not just a stereotype it actually makes sense, who should know better a regional dish than one who grew up there and had been influenced by those cultures. 

     Who would you put in charge of a Lobster Boil, someone from Maine or someone from Possum lick Arkansas? That is not to say that there are not people all over the US who can’t put on the Q or do justice to good Tex-Mex, after all Rick Bayless has the widely successful Frontera Grill in Chicago and Bobby Flay (groan) is doing great Mexican food at the Mesa Grill in New York City. (Get a rope!)      

     So what’s the point?  You do not have to learn Classical French to learn to cook.  You don’t have to know French or Italian words to learn how to cook.  My granny could have cared less what a chiffinade is or what a paillard is because that woman could cook, and what she did was good old fashioned farmhouse fare.

     What you do need to do is start where you are. Get a good grasp on your local food and kick it up a notch. Learn the food that your family has been cooking all your life and figure out how you can dress it up.  You are going to cook with the tastes that you like anyway. My rib rub has southwest flavors and I put chipotle peppers in my marinades and dips. Start with the cuisine outside of your window and build from there.

     I’m going to give you the same advice that my first Chef gave me. Read cookbooks. Pay attention to the ingredients that they put together, the techniques that they utilize. Do they poach, do they sauté’, do they use a corn starch slurry or do they use a roux, is it home grown or is it upscale. Don’t just get cookbooks from the United States. Pick cookbooks from all around the world with different cuisines and figure out what kind of food you really like to cook. More importantly figure out what kinds of food you like to eat.

     There are about five cuisines that I love to eat and cook. That is not to say that I don’t like other cuisines but I gravitate to these five or six Cuisines. These cuisines range from Tex-Mex to Cajun, to Thai to Japanese, to Midwestern to Indian, and Italian. You have to see what kind of cooking interests you and after you figure that out study what those cultures and foods are about.

     This last part I can’t express enough. You need to buy yourself a few books that are just on the basics. You need cookbooks that are going to serve as your go to books when you need to know basic recipes. Not only will you not have to reinvent the wheel when you need a basic pasta dough recipe, but you can go to these sources when you need an idea of something to cook.  

     You can tell my go to books because they are the dirtiest and dog eared books on my shelf. My other cookbooks are clean and in amazing shape because they never see the inside of my kitchen but my go to books are coffee stained and flour dusty not to mention usually held together with Duct Tape where the bindings are coming loose. I would not give for any of these books.

     Start where you are, at whatever skill level you are currently. Read a few cook books; find out the kind of food you really like. Eat as many different foods that you can get a hold of, and pick a couple of cuisines to study.  Just start cooking...