With a mix of unlikely flavors, my favorite chef--Josh Dalton--has created a fun appetizer for one of the best (and most imaginative!) restaurants in central Ohio...Veritas Tavern. He's up in Delaware OH doing stuff that would warrant recognition in, say, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, or Tribeca.
When you unpack it, this appetizer is easy. Soften two cheeses, whip them together. Pour some port or red wine in a small saucepan, add a touch of brown sugar and cook it down to a syrup.
The chocolate biscuits? A UK staple, found in the international aisle at Meijer's and at World Market. So no whining about being hard to find!
Degree of difficulty: very easy (sorry Josh) Time: 15 minutes, mostly to reduce the port Serves: 12
Ingredients:
2 boxes McVitie's Digestive milk chocolate biscuits
8 ounce container mascarpone
4 ounce container blue cheese crumbles
half a bottle red wine or 2 cups port
1 tablespoon brown sugar if using red wine
Let the mascarpone and blue cheese come to room temp for a few minutes. Put in mixing bowl and whip until blended, a minute or so.
Pour the port in a small saucepan and, over medium heat, reduce by two-thirds. If using red wine, add the brown sugar, swirl and reduce. (This reduction will keep in the fridge for a few days if you want to plan ahead, as will the cheese mixture.)
Suggested soundtrack: "Blow the Whistle" by Too Short. Not for the lyrics. For the beat.
If chicken stock is like Eddy Murphy (versatile, well-liked by everyone, and the most popular of stocks), then beef stock is like Charlie Murphy. It's not made as frequently, it's underrated, and if used in the right way, it can be better than chicken stock.
It takes a bit of time to make the beef stock, but overall it requires very little active cooking time. I suggest that people try to make stock one time to see if they're willing to go through the effort to make it from scratch. And while you are at it, you may as well make a really big batch and freeze the extra for other uses!
Head over to your local butcher and ask which bones are the best for beef stock. They'll tell you that you want thick, marrow-y beef bones with some meat left on them. The bones will be dirt cheap (unless too many people read this post ;))
One of the ultimate uses for beef stock is a classic French Onion Soup. Using homemade stock will put your soup miles ahead of one using canned broth. Because you're using such a nice beef stock, you can simplify the recipe and it will still knock socks off.
Process for Beef Stock (French Onion Soup Recipe after the Ingredients Section):
Slice 2 onions in 1/2 (you can leave the skins on as long as they aren't dirty), slice a carrot, and grab a few cloves of garlic. Toss them on a tray with your beef bones and put them into a 400F / 200C oven for 20-30 minutes until they are caramelized. This will deepen the flavor of the stock.
Add the roasted bones, the bay leaf, and veggies to a stock pot. I like to pour some water onto my cooking tray and scrape up all of the good bits of beef flavor stuck to the tray. Pour this into your stock pot.
Fill the pot with water until it covers the bones, bring the whole thing to a fast boil, and skim off any foam or impurities that float to the top with a spoon.
Put the stock pot into an oven at 225F / 110C. Walk away for about 8 hours. Alternatively, you can make it in your pressure cooker to drastically reduce the cooking time to about 2 hours. (use the same method as the pressure-cooker chicken stock, but extend the time)
After your bones have given up all of their flavor, grab them out of your pot with tongs and throw them away. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer (I never use cheesecloth, but you certainly can if you want).
You can continue to reduce the newly-strained stock if you want to have the flavor more concentrated. You can store it in multiple ways: reduced heavily and frozen in ice cube trays for sauces, in jars in your freezer (easier for soups), or in large gallon freezer bags so they lay flat in the freezer. As long as you don't burn the liquid by reducing it too much, you can always add water to dilute it for a soup.
If you reduce it a lot, it will be super gelatinous like the below chicken stock. This stuff will add a ton of body and flavor to your sauces.
Ingredients:
3.5 lbs or 1.5 kg beef bones (with some meat on them) - this cost me $8.
2 onions
1 carrot
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
a few black pepper corns
Anyways, on to the French Onion Soup Recipe -
Process for a simple French Onion Soup:
I read through a lot of recipes online - most list over 15 ingredients for a classic French Onion Soup. If you make your beef stock from scratch, the only thing I think you need is a small kick of cognac and port to give a twang to the sweet and meaty flavor of the soup.
Properly caramelizing onions takes about 45 minutes. Yes, I know this seems like a long time, but it's worth every minute. Put your butter and olive oil into a stock pot over medium-low heat.
Slice your 6 large yellow onions into moons and add them to the stock pot. Cook them lightly and slowly until they are dark and brown (but not burnt). If they start browning before they have softened, you can add a few T of water and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom. Keep adding splashes of water until you achieve your desired color.
Next, add in your beef stock and warm it through. Add a splash of cognac and port to your soup and taste. The alcohol will chill out after about 5 minutes, but take it easy in the beginning.
While the pot is warming up, slice your crusty bread and toast it until it's light brown.
Pour the hot soup into a bowl or ramekin and top with the crusty bread.
And then cover it with a nice melty cheese.
Toss it under the broiler until the cheese is melted!
Ingredients (makes a lot of soup!):
2T of butter
1T olive oil
5 cups beef stock
6 large yellow onions (other kinds are okay too)
2-3 T cognac (to taste)
2-3 T port (to taste)
crusty slices of bread
Emmental or other melty cheese
Switzerland is an awesome country for many reasons. It has beautiful scenery, amazing skiing/hiking, and nice people. But my favorite thing to do in Switzerland is to eat a Swiss Rosti in a ski lodge after a long day outdoors. A Swiss Rosti is a piping hot fajita skillet filled with fried potatoes, Swiss Cheese, bacon, onion, and an over-easy egg.
I was starving this morning (due to spending almost 6 hours on my bicycle yesterday) and I knew I had some potatoes in our cupboard. I also had some awesome pancetta from Italy, plus the usual Emmental cheese, eggs, and onions in the pantry. I've had the Swiss Rosti on the brain for the last month, and my appetite gave me a guilt-free chance to make it happen.
This Rosti will satisfy the deepest hunger and comfort the noisest bellies.
Process:
Slice the 2 onions and put them in a saute pan with a little bit of olive oil. Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and add them to the pan with the onions. Sprinkle crushed red pepper and garlic over the potatoes.
Add 2T of water to the pan and allow the potatoes to steam. Use the same process as cooking a risotto: cook the potatoes until the water has evaporated, and then continue add an additional small amount of water water until they are fork-tender. Make sure you cook off all of the excess water once they are cooked through so your Rosti is not runny.
Once the potatoes are finished, salt them lightly to taste (remember the bacon is salty as well, so don't overdo it).
Slice your pancetta (or bacon) into matchsticks. In a separate sauce pot, slowly brown the pancetta over low heat.
You'll want it nice and crispy so it adds a nice crunch to the end product. Remove the crispy pancetta from the pan and discard the fat.
Add the cooked potatoes and the pancetta to a baking dish.
Top it with the shredded Emmental cheese and make two divots to hold the eggs. Crack the eggs individually into a bowl so you can easily guide them into their allotted slots. You can crack some black pepper on top if you want.
Roast in your oven for 12 minutes at 375F / 190C until the egg is set and the cheese is browned slightly. Enjoy and imagine the Sound of Music playing in the background (I hate that movie).
Ingredients:
2 medium onions
5 potatoes
1tsp crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic
5 slices pancetta, cut into matchsticks
3/4 cup Emmental cheese
Hearty breakfast song: Sonnentanz by Klangkarussel
The weather has been gorgeous in Belgium for the last week or so, and which gave us a hankerin for some pulled pork! I guess the Spring/Summertime weather made us nostalgic for outdoor cooking. Since my smoker is stored away back in the US and I don't have a grill, I have to make my pulled pork in the oven. Not to worry though, your guests will go bonkers over this and you won't miss your grill (except for a tiny bit).
The process is simple: brown your meats, add in the veggies and sauce, and then cook in a low oven until it's fork-tender. Then you'll use the braising sauce as your BBQ sauce, which will be packed with flavor. As per Katy's suggestion, we made a light and tangy red cabbage and green apple slaw to go on top of the sandwiches.
I added bacon to the recipe to add a smokey flavor to mimic some of the great flavor you would get from the grill/smoker.
Process:
First, slice the bacon into matchsticks and brown it slowly over low heat. This should take about 15 mins. While this is going, you can prepare your veggies. The shape of the cuts for the bacon and veggies doesn't really matter - you'll be blending them all into a sauce later.
Remove the bacon from the pan, increase the heat to medium, add the pork shoulder and brown on all sides. Add the onions, peppers, cumin powder, and garlic. Wait 3 mins, then add the liquids.
Don't add salt until the end - the bacon will add most of the salt by itself.
Place everything into the oven in a covered pot (or in a baking dish covered in tin foil). The oven should be at around 275F. Cook until the shoulder until the meat easily shreds with a fork. This should take around 5 hours depending on the size of your pork shoulder.
Cole Slaw:
Refer to the recipe here if you need more details. Here is a quick run-down: shred your cabbage with a cheese grater on the large holes, slice your green apples and red onions, and combine it all into a bowl. Make up the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, and soy sauce together. Mix in the dressing and let the flavors combine until you are ready to serve your pork.
Back to the pork:
Remove the shoulder and puree the veggies and sauce that are left over. This will be your BBQ sauce for the pulled pork. If the sauce looks a bit too runny, reduce it over low heat. Pull the pork with your fingers or a couple of forks and combine it back with the BBQ sauce.
Put the pulled pork on a toasted bun, top it with the slaw, and enjoy! We made a simple pasta salad to go with it and we felt like we were transported into a field, sitting on a picnic blanket :)
Ingredients:
a few slices of bacon, diced
1 pork shoulder (doesn't matter if the bone is in)
3 bell peppers (any color), sliced
6 cloves garlic
2 onions, sliced
1 T cumin powder
1 cup tomato puree
1/3 cup hot sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup water
Red cabbage and green apple slaw:
1 head cabbage, washed and shredded
2 red onions, sliced
4 granny smith apples, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4T dijon mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2T honey
4T soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
Song to pull that pork: Miguel - Adorn (nice suggestion Mike!)
If your pulled pork or BBQ'd meat needs a friend, cole slaw is a nice sidekick. It's crunchy, tangy, creamy, and a little bit sweet.
This was suggested by Katy to go on top of our pulled pork sandwiches. It paired perfectly with the oven roasted pulled pork sandwiches!
Process:
Shred your cabbage with a cheese grater on the large holes. Be careful not to get any of the red juice anywhere - it stains! Slice your green apples into matchsticks. Next, slice the red onions, and then combine everything into a bowl.
Make up the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, and soy sauce together. Taste the dressing and adjust if you want it to be creamier (more mayo), tangier (more vinegar/dijon), or sweeter (more honey).
Toss the veggies in the dressing and let the flavors combine until you are ready to serve.
Ingredients:
1 head cabbage, washed and shredded
2 red onions, sliced
4 granny smith apples, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4T dijon mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2T honey
4T soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
Cinco de mayo is appoaching quickly. Here are 3 recipes to make your party fun. Marinade
4 Cloves Garlic – minced
1 Jalapeno (or Serrano) chili pepper – seeded and minced
1 tsp Ground Cumin (fresh or dried)
1 large handful Fresh Cilantro, leaves & stems, finely
chopped
Kosher salt & pepper
2 Limes, juiced
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
½ tsp Sugar
½ cup Olive oil
Other Ingredients
2 Lbs Flank or Skirt Steak
8 Flour Tortillas
See Pico de gallo recipe below
Put steak in baking dish or large baggie. Combine marinade
ingredients and pour over steak. Refrigerate 1-4 hours.(It is even better if it marinates a day or
two!!)
Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill steak until desired
doneness. Remove to cutting board & let rest for 5 minutes.Cut steak into small bite-size pieces.
Serve on warm flour (or corn if you prefer) tortillas. Easiest
to warm is to microwave – can do several at a time - cover with a damp paper
towel & microwave for 30 seconds.Fill
tortilla with carne asada.Add your
choice of toppings – pico de gallo, cilantro, salsa, cheese, jalapenos,
avocado.
Pico de gallo –
equal parts of chopped onion, cilantro, tomato.Add Serrano or Jalapeno if desired.
Shredded cooked Chicken (we
use 4 half breasts – grilled)
Ingredients: 2 cans Enchilada
Sauce
1/8 cup finely Chopped Onion
3 tablespoons finely Chopped Cilantro
8 Corn Tortillas
Shredded Cheese (we
buy a 4-cheese Mexican mix cheese – might not be available everywhere)
Pour ½ can of the
enchilada sauce in a 8 x 8 (or approximate) pan.Mix remaining ½ can enchilada sauce, onion,
chicken, cilantro and ½ of cheese.You
can make individual enchiladas or make a layered casserole.
Take a tortilla and fill with filling,
roll up and place in dish.
2. Or,
place a layer of tortillas over sauce, spread a layer of filling on top and
repeat until all is used up.
Top with enchilada
sauce, spread cheese on top and bake approximately 30 minutes or until heated.
Cinco de mayo is approaching soon. This is one of three recipes for your Mexican party. We decided not to deep fry like most recipes do. This is fairly simple using some ready made ingredients.
Chili Relleno for 8
Shopping List:
~ 8 Cubano Peppers
~ 1/2 cup Flour ~ 18 ounces canned Enchilada Sauce
~ 1/2 cup Milk
~ 3 Egg Whites
~ 1/8 teaspoon of each Salt and Pepper
~ 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
~ 1 Brown Paper Bag ~ 8 oz. shreded or sliced Montery Jack Cheese
Prepare the Peppers:
Wash the peppers, towel dry. Lightly brush the peppers with oil. Set half the oil on the side.
Grill on a medium flame careful not to burn. Turn until a bit charred on all sides and softened.
Remove from the grill and place the peppers in a brown paper bag. Close the bag for 15 minutes. Remove the peppers and start to remove the charred outer skin if cooled enough to the touch. Make a slit lengthwise on one side and remove the seeds. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, brush a sheet pan with oil. The photo below shows the flank steak being grilled for our next recipe as well as the cubanos.
The Coating:
In a large bowl beat the egg whites, add the milk and beat in for a wash. Pour the flour in a flat dish combining the salt and pepper and mix. Place each pepper in the wash, then in the flour to coat. Lay the peppers on the sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes or until coating becomes firm.
Baking:
Lightly coat the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with 6 oz. of the enchilada sauce. Lay the peppers in the baking dish. Spoon the remainder of the enchilad sauce over the peppers. Place the cheese on top. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
