Tag Archives: Appetizer

Weeble Cheese Reduction Sauce for Macrina and Hightower Cellars Bread

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The folks over at Macrina and Hightower Cellars sent me over some of their new bread so of course I decided to make it even more awesome than it is by adding a little cheese with that wine. :) The bread is fantastic and doesn’t need this cheese reduction sauce but if you ever want to add a little something extra to this bread then here it is.

Thanks again Macrina Bakery and Hightower Cellars.

Macrina Bakery (click)   Highland Cellars (click)

Ingredients:

  • Pane Francese Loaf
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup Weebles Cheese.
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground white pepper
  • Parsley, minced

Procedure:

  1. Slice bread!
  2. In a small sauce pot place the cheese on low heat and melt….do not let the cheese go over 185F or it will separate
  3. Once the cheese is melted add the heavy cream and reduce to about half then add the nutmeg and pepper
  4. Pour cheese sauce over bread and throw on some parsley

Enjoy,

Eric

Do something different with your turkey- TAKE IT APART!

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Buy a turkey….take it apart….highlight each piece of the turkey with it’s own meal…..celebrate! I did those over a couple of weeks but you could easily do this same type of meal for Thanksgiving and it would be a nice change to the typical wait around for the entire turkey to be cooked. Essentially, you could create a multi-course meal from one turkey! This was my plan for Thanksgiving but it looks like I’ll have some more important things to work on around that time.

Enjoy the gobble gobble. This was all from one 15 pound turkey.

Seared Turkey Tenderloin with a Beau Monde Ala Minute Sauce (pictured above)

Ingredients:

  • Turkey tenderloin,   Brined in a sugar and salt mixture for 2 days
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds
  • Challenge Butter
  • Spice Islands Chipotle, Beau Monde, and Fennel Seed seasoning
  • Baby arugula
  • Zucchini
  • Shallot, minced
  • White Wine

Procedure:

  1. Butterfly the tenderloin and stuff it with roasted pumpkin seeds
  2. Rub it with the spices
  3. Place in pan with hot clarified butter then sear each side
  4. Place entire pan in the oven at 325F….cook until internal temperature reaches 155F…remove and let rest
  5. Pour off excess liquid in pan then pour in a little more butter
  6. Toast shallot in sauce
  7. Deglaze with white wine and remove from heat and add a little Beau Monde seasoning and Challenge Butter
  8. Whisk
  9. Serve over Turkey Tenderloin

Acorn and Butternut Squash Soup with a Turkey Broth

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Ingredients:

  • Turkey broth…..made it myself!
  • 2 Acorn Squash
  • 1 Butternut Squash
  • Parsley
  • 2 bay leaves
  • White Wine
  • Mirepoix (celery, carrots, onion)
  • Salt pork
  • Salt and pepper, tt
  • Smoked Paprika, tt
  • Alouette Crumbled Goat Cheese Provencal

Procedure:

  1. Take salt pork and render fat
  2. Remove pork bits and throw in mirepoix. THROW IT IN THERE!!!!
  3. Deglaze with white wine and reduce then deglaze again. You don’t have to deglaze twice….I do because I’m awesome.
  4. Add turkey broth, squash, parsley, bay leaves, smoked paprika, salt and pepper
  5. Remove bay leaves then puree!
  6. Adjust seasonings then serve with cheese crumbled on top

Buffalo Turkey Leg with a Hand Mixed Alouette Blue Cheese Dressing

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Ingredients:

  • Turkey legs, brined in brown sugar and alderwood smoked salt
  • Smoked Paprika
  • Parsley infused salt
  • Pink and Black Pepper, ground
  • Mayo……1 cup canola oil….1 egg….whisked together!
  • Alouette Blue Cheese
  • 2 tbsp. yogurt
  • Frank’s Hot Sauce
  • Clarified Butter

Procedure:

  1. Rub turkey legs with smoked paprika, parsley infused salt, and peppers
  2. Roast until done
  3. In a small sauce pan heat up Frank’s Hot Sauce then add the clarified butter and simmer for 10 minutes
  4. Mix together mayo, yogurt, and blue cheese
  5. Pour Frank’s Sauce over turkey leg then serve with blue cheese dressing.
  6. Stop looking at it funny and just grab the whole damn thing and eat it!

Turkey Thigh Ragout over Pappardelle Pasta

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Stuffed Turkey Breast on Pumpkin/Sweet Potato Puree with Zucchini and Roasted Apple and Grapes

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Ingredients:

Well, that’s it! A whole turkey….taken apart and made awesome.

Enjoy,

Eric

Brandy Soaked Lady Apples and Weebles Cheese on Baguette with Cinnamon Vinaigrette

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This is one of my little works in progress but the flavor is all there. I just need to figure out what to serve it on instead of baguette bread. I think it might go well on meat instead. We’ll see..

Ingredients:

  • Lady apples, sliced thin on mandoline
  • Weebles Cheese, sliced thin on mandoline
  • Cinnamon Vinaigrette, I’ve told you once before
  • Baguette bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • Brandy V.S.O.P.

Procedure:

  1. Soak the apples in the brandy for 5-7 minutes
  2. Pre-heat oven to 375F
  3. Place cheese on bread then place apples on as shown and throw on baking sheet
  4. Bake for 3-5 minutes then remove from oven
  5. Squeeze a tiny amount of cinnamon vinaigrette on top.

Enjoy,

Eric

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Seared Turkey Tenderloin with a Beau Monde Ala Minute Sauce

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Challenge Dairy sent me a little gift pack and a challenge to create a holiday appetizer. I didn’t grow up eating a lot of the traditional holiday fare…..I’m Puerto Rican so we do things a little different. I thought a little bit about what a good appetizer would be and I had some turkey tenderloin that I had sitting around after the 24, 24, 24 adventure so I decided to make a rub with the spices they sent me that consisted of chipotle, fennel seed, and beau monde.

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Then I butterflied the tenderloin and stuffed it with roasted pumpkin seeds.

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Then I trussed it.

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Then I seared it in Challenge Butter that I clarified.

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After I had a nice sear on the outside I placed the pan in the oven until I reached 155F. I removed it, let it rest then took the same pan and made a Beau Monde Ala Minute Sauce and whisked it all together with the Oxo whisk they sent me. Served it over some sauteed zucchini with a little baby arugula…..ta-da!

Ingredients:

  • Turkey tenderloin,   Brined in a sugar and salt mixture for 2 days
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds
  • Challenge Butter
  • Spice Islands Chipotle, Beau Monde, and Fennel Seed seasoning
  • Baby arugula
  • Zucchini
  • Shallot, minced
  • White Wine

Procedure:

  1. Butterfly the tenderloin and stuff it with roasted pumpkin seeds
  2. Rub it with the spices
  3. Place in pan with hot clarified butter then sear each side
  4. Place entire pan in the oven at 325F….cook until internal temperature reaches 155F…remove and let rest
  5. Pour off excess liquid in pan then pour in a little more butter
  6. Toast shallot in sauce
  7. Deglaze with white wine and remove from heat and add a little Beau Monde seasoning and Challenge Butter
  8. Whisk
  9. Serve over Turkey Tenderloin

Enjoy,

Eric

Buffalo Chicken Wings (the original recipe)

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Equipment:

  • Deep fryer
  • Mixing bowl
  • Tongs

Ingredients:

  • 12-14 chicken wings
  • 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp. hot sauce, Use Frank’s
  • 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
  • Salt, to taste
  • 2 cups celery sticks

Blue cheese dressing-

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise  (click)
  • 1/4 cup yogurt
  • 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Procedure:

  1. Cut off chicken wing tips, reserving for another use, and halve chicken wings at joint.
  2. Heat oil to 375F, pat wings dry, and fry until cooked through, golden and crisp, 5-8 minutes.
  3. Drain on paper towels
  4. Combine butter, hot sauce, vinegar, and salt over medium heat, and warm until butter is melted.
  5. Add chicken wings and toss to coat.
  6. Combine the mayonnaise and yogurt, and stir in the blue cheese, dressing will not be smooth
  7. Serve chicken wings warm or at room temperature, with celery sticks and dressing.

Fried Plantain Cups with Sofrito Stuffing and a Fancy Mayo-Ketchup Sauce

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Go to Puerto Rico, eat plantains, and eat mayo-ketchup.  It’s pretty hard to stay away from mayo-ketchup sauce in Puerto Rico because it’s pretty much served with everything. Well, I’m going to make an admission that will make me sound like a complete snob……I won’t eat ketchup anymore that has high fructose corn syrup. Also, I won’t eat mayonnaise that is from a big jug. Why eat them anyway when you can make better quality stuff yourself? This is Eric we’re talking about! :)

The cool thing about this sauce is it is completely snobby by name and not the mayo-ketchup sauce that is all over Puerto Rico.  Want to be a snob too?  Then try my:

Twice Fried Plantain Cups Stuffed with Sofrito and topped with a Roasted Tomato Coulis Mayonnaise

Equipment:

  • Deep fryer
  • Platano Loco Tostonera…………..good luck finding one of those……..GO TO PUERTO RICO!!
  • Sauce pan

Ingredients:

  • Red and yellow bell pepper
  • Cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Onion, medium dice
  • Tomato
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Oregano
  • Cumin
  • Coriander
  • Plantains, cut about 2 inches thick
  • Tomato Coulis Mayonnaise  (click)

Procedure:

  1. Double fry plantains and form into cups
  2. Saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper
  3. Add tomato, cilantro, cumin, coriander, oregano,  salt, and pepper
  4. Serve sofrito mixture over plantains and top with sauce

Enjoy,

Eric

Candied Ginger Egg Salad Sliders

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Who would have thought that candied ginger and eggs would go so good together? Me, that’s who (No confidence problems here, nope!).

Equipment:

  • Stock pot with boiling salty water
  • Mixing bowl
  • Wooden spoon
  • Microplane

Ingredients:

  • Slider buns, toasted in butter
  • Eggs, boiled
  • Mayonnaise,  I would have made it myself but I didn’t feel like it. ta-da!
  • Salt and white pepper, to taste
  • Candied ginger, to taste
  • Italian parsley

Procedure:

  1. Mix the mayo, eggs, salt, pepper, and candied ginger together
  2. Place on top of slider bun and garnish with Italian parsley

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo easy.
Eric

Tomatoes Provencal- Best version yet

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I love the macro mode on my camera!!!

This recipe is one of my favorites from class this quarter and I am determined to perfect it.  (I went into a long rant here but I deleted it, you don’t need to hear it…….haha).

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Equipment:

  • Baking Sheet covered with foil
  • Small sauce pan
  • Stock pot filled with salty water
  • Bowl with ice
  • Paper towel
  • Saute pan

Ingredients:

  • Roma tomatoes, concasse (click) Save the guts and seeds from the tomatoes
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Mushrooms, minced
  • Fresh rosemary,        nomad herb garden
  • Fresh thyme,  nomad herb garden
  • Fresh oregano,  nomad herb garden
  • Garlic, crushed
  • Shallot, minced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Whole soft butter

Procedure:

  1. Heat up olive oil in saute pan
  2. Toast shallots and garlic then add mushrooms and sweat
  3. Stir in herbs, salt, and pepper
  4. Once the mushrooms have cooked down a little bit remove from heat and place on paper towel
  5. Stuff tomatoes with mushroom mixture, top with parmesan, then place on baking sheet and cook at 225F for about an hour or so
  6. In a small sauce pan take the tomato guts and seeds and reduce by half
  7. Remove sauce pan from heat and strain
  8. Stir butter into tomato sauce then plate tomatoes from oven and pour sauce on top

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Enjoy,
Eric

Pesto Stuffed Pimento

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Here are the little pimentos that grew in my nomad herb garden (click). Pimentos aren’t very spicy, I would say they are on the low to medium scale so don’t be afraid to eat them whole or stuff them with something. I chose pesto!

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Equipment:

  • Baking Sheet
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Wooden Spoon

Ingredients:

  • Pimentos, nomad herb garden
  • Basil, minced and also from the nomad herb garden
  • Pine nuts, toasted and lightly crushed
  • Italian Parsley,  definitely planting this next year…..I planted parsley but not this variety
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

  1. Slice the tops of the pimentos off and remove the seeds
  2. Mix the basil, pine nuts, parsley, cheese, olive oil, and salt and pepper together then stuff that inside the pimentos
  3. Place the stuff pimentos on a baking sheet and cook at 225F for an hour to an hour and a half.

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Enjoy,

Eric

Cayenne Queso Dip

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My little herb garden has been on a roll since I planted it back in May (click). Finally, the peppers are ready so I had some friends over and proceeded to nuke them with my peppers! For the first course I made a cheese dip with a few minced cayenne peppers then I poured it over some nachos……It was great!

Equipment:

  • Small sauce pan
  • Wooden spoon

Ingredients:

  • Cayenne peppers, minced
  • 1 lb. cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp. cumin

Procedure:

  1. Slowly melt the cheese in the sauce pan while stirring
  2. Slowly pour in the milk into the cheese then add the cayenne peppers and cumin
  3. Stir and reduce the milk a little then pour over nachos or use as a dip.

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Enjoy,

Eric

Tomato Confit

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Tomato Confit

I made this for a catering gig last weekend and it was a hit so I decided to do it again for a few friends to see if it would hold up with a few variations. The original recipe was from Thomas Keller’s French Laundry book. He uses larger tomatoes and blanches them and cooks them over 2 hours in order to achieve a fantastic tomato confit, I do things a little different. I used small heirloom tomatoes instead of Roma tomatoes for a much sweeter taste once the tomatoes are roasted. Also, I created a super intense tomato sauce with cilantro courtesy of a technique from Heston Blumenthal. I had large  heirloom tomato pieces leftover from Saturday’s catering gig so instead of throwing those pieces away I saved them for this sauce.  Good stuff.

Equipment:

  • Blender
  • Baking Sheet
  • Small sauce pan

Ingredients:

  • Mini-Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Kosher Salt
  • Micro greens for garnish
  • Cilantro

Procedure

  1. Cut the tops off of the tomatoes then squeeze the guts into a bowl
  2. Pour some olive oil and salt on a baking sheet and heat the oven to 225F
  3. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet and cook until desired doneness. I cooked them for 2 hours.
  4. Take the guts and additional heirloom scraps and blend then reduce in a small sauce pan
  5. Cool the sauce mixture down then add some cilantro and a little salt
  6. Plate the sauce then place the tomatoes on top and garnish with micro greens

Enjoy,

Eric

Aioli- Revisited

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IMG_1319Late night snacking! The pictures don’t do this any justice. It was too late for me to care.

It’s late, you want something easy, and you don’t want to make a huge mess…………WHAT DO YOU DO?!?!?! I do aioli over some bread with garden fresh tomatoes and herbs.

Equipment:

  • Mortar and Pestle
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Whisk
  • Baking Sheet

Ingredients:

  • 7 cloves organic garlic
  • 1 garden fresh tomato, sliced as shown
  • Fresh rosemary
  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Cheddar Cheese, grated

Procedure:

  1. Whisk egg yolk then slowly add extra virgin olive oil while whisking
  2. Crush garlic cloves, rosemary, salt, and pepper in mortar and pestle
  3. Mix egg yolk and olive oil mixture into mortar and pestle
  4. Place cheese and tomato over bread then add aioli
  5. Place bread on baking sheet and cook at 400F for 5-7 minutes
  6. Serve!

Enjoy,
Eric

Them:  “What’s in this?”
Me:  “Is it good?”
Them:  “Yes”
Me:  “Then don’t worry about it”

Crab Boil!

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A few weeks ago I said that I was going to have a crab boil at my house. It never is as simple as just boiling a few crabs. My friends and family mean a lot to me so when I get a greenlight for an idea everyone is eager to help out and eat! We already decided what is going to be the next theme: Korean BBQ! I’ll have to do a little research to get things right so if you get an invite then it’s probably a good idea for you to come over.

Here was the menu for the crab boil (click each link for recipe):

Rosemary Chicken with Beschamel and Tomato

Smoked Salmon Caprese

Rosemary Chipotle Cornbread

Shrimp Gumbo

Crab!

Thanks again to everyone who visited. The only thing we have leftover is the crab……..perfect!

Until next time……..

Eric

Rosemary Chicken with Beschamel and Tomato

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It’s nice having an easily accessible garden to grab herbs and spices. That nomad garden of ours has paid off a million times already and paid off big time last night.

Ingredients:

Rosemary Chicken

2 chicken breasts
Butter
Rosemary
Salt and pepper

Take 1/2 stick of butter and place it in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour a little salt and pepper on the chicken then place in the pan and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. Once the chicken is about to be done sprinkle some rosemary over it.

Basil Beschamel

(Click here) then add a little basil to it

The cheese on top of the appetizer is fromage blanc and I used thinly sliced cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy,

Eric