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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Top Chef Somerville Roundup Part I


The challenge: Make a three course tasting menu for 6 guests for an event of your choice. The "secret" ingredient is berries.
The chefs: Meredith, Tucker
The sous chefs: Sam, Rachel
The head judges: Alison, Genevieve
The guest judges: Lydia, Maura
The outcome: A tie, 3-3

Tucker's Menu
Raspberry gazpacho with creamy Spanish goat cheese
Pan-seared wild salmon with wheat berries and arugula pesto
Peach and blueberry individual gallettes with vanilla whipped cream

Meredith's Menu
Cranberry crab rangoon over a bed of frisee, watercress, and orange
Mushroom risotto with rack of lamb with berry glaze
White chocolate cheesecake with apricot glaze and strawberries

I'll try and post all the recipes, but I need to do it in batches because it is too much to do at once!

Arugula Pesto
adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients
2 bunches arugula
1 bunch basil
3/4 cup pine nuts and almonds, toasted
1/4 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves to taste (we like it very garlicky)

Preparation
Blend arugula, basil, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in processor until almost smooth. With machine running, gradually add olive oil; process until well blended. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made ahead. Cover and let stand up to 2 hours at room temperature or refrigerate up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using.)

The pesto was tossed in with the wheat berries (they are like slightly chewier barley), shallots, and orange cherry tomatoes. It was also served with a piece of seared salmon (salt and pepper seasoning)

UPDATE: I got some more details from Tucker on how he did the wheat berries in pesto and seared salmon

Wheat Berries
Start the Wheat Berries- Cover the berries in just over an inch of
salted water and bring to a boil. Cook for 35-45 minutes.

Pesto
Toast 3/4 c almonds and pine nuts with 5 cloves of smashed garlic.
Grate cheese in food processor, then trade blades.
Wash arugula and bruise basil.
Grind nuts, garlic, cheese, arugula, basil, with a splash of lemon
juice, 1/2 t salt and black pepper.
Pour in 1/2 c olive oil in a slow stream with the motor running.
Toss 1/3-1/2 of pesto with wheat berries if done.

Salmon
Heat cast iron pan with 1 T canola oil to almost smoking
Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper
Cook salmon skin side down for 4 minutes
Flip and cook for 3 minutes without moving then remove
Cover with pesto and plate immediately next to wheat berry salad.

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Monday, September 21, 2009

Grill-zah!

Grill-zah (grilled pizza) is a very delicious treat! We make the grill bread from Grill It!, an amazing cookbook written by Chris Schlesinger, owner of my favorite restaurant in Cambridge, East Coast Grill, and then we top it with whatever looks yummy! Pictured here is pesto. goat cheese, chicken sausage pizza (left) and BBQ chicken and broccoli pizza. Another favorite is caramelized onions, pears, and blue cheese. Whatever you put on top, make sure you precook it if it will take some time to cook, because the pizzas are only on long enough to melt the cheese and warm


Grill Bread

makes 4 flat loaves

Ingredients
1 Tbs active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup of beer at room temp
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions
  1. Stir together yeast and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl with electric mixer (we use the dough hook attachment to our kitchenaid standmixer). Add the warm water and mix until blended. Cover with damp towel and let stand in a warm, draft-free place for 30 min.
  2. Add 2 tbs oil and beer to yeast mixture and mix well. Add cornmeal and 1 tsp salt and begin adding remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is satiny and slightly sticky (about 8 min)
  3. Place dough in oiled bowl, turn to coat. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (1-1/5 hours). Divide dough into quarters and form into balls. Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal and palce balls on sheet. Cover and let rise again for 30 min
  4. Build a fire on your charcoal grill. When the flames have died down and the temp ios MEDIUM, you are ready to grill some grill-zah!
  5. Stretch each ball of dough into a circle, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place directly on grill and cook until black spots form on the bottom and bubbles form on top (about 4 min)
  6. Flip bread over to grill other side. Now is your chance to put your toppings on! Put on all your toppings (most should be precooked, unless they cook really fast), and put the lid on the grill. Give it another 3-4 minutes, remove from grill, enjoy!

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Queso Fundido Turkey Burgers

Rick Bayless made a beef version of these on top chef masters for the burger challenge. They looked so yummy we wanted to try it ourselves!

Queso Fundido Turkey Burger
(adapted from Rick's Queso Fundido Burger)
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS

2 fresh medium poblano chiles
1 medium onion, sliced into ¼-inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1 ½ pounds ground turkey
4 thick slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 homemade hamburger buns, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Roast the poblanos over an open flame or 4 inches below a broiler, turning regularly until blistered and blackened all over, about 5 minutes for an open flame, 10 minutes for the broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool. Rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stems and seed pods. Cut into ¼-inch strips.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, stirring frequently until it begins to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt, usually about ½ teaspoon.

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey and 1 ½ teaspoon salt. Mix until well combined. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions and form the patties.

Heat cast iron pan, place the hamburger patties on the grill and cook until almost cooked. Lay one piece of cheese on top of each burger, top with the warm peppers and onions. Close the lid and continue cooking until the cheese has melted about 1 minute. Remove from the grill and place on a toasted bun. Serve immediately.

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Saturday, September 12, 2009

Perfecting The Fried Green Tomato



With the tomato blight hitting hard here in the northeast, that has meant there have been a lot of green tomatoes. Not that I'm complaining because that means I get to eat fried green tomatoes! After making them a few times (we use the Epicurius recipe), Tucker figured out three tricks that greatly improve the fried green tomatoes:
  1. Use really fine ground cornmeal. We got ours from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. This will make the coating stay on better and give the tomato a better texture at the end.
  2. Salt the tomatoes and let them sit a few minutes before you batter and fry them. They will have less liquid in them that makes them soggy.
  3. Lastly, use a lot of oil. Like A LOT.
Enjoy!

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