Homemade brioche

Valentine's dinner 2011: Chateaubriand roast, blanced tournee carrots & potatoes, blanched asparagus, sauce Bearnaise

Linguine alle Vongole alla Romana.

Ossobuco di Vitello, polenta, gremolata.

Homemade pork bratwurst, pan roasted, served with my house fermented sauerkraut and Maille brand dijon mustard

Ravioli for Easter, along with usable "scraps" from the operation.  

An early catalyst to my curiosity with cooking: attempting to recreate the Tagliatelle al Ragu Bolognese I first tasted in Bologna, Italy in 2002.  I would like to think if I went back there now, I'd be slightly disappointed in their version.

Shaved asparagus salad with roast golden beets, candied pistachio, Humboldt Fog goat cheese, preserved lemon, and lemon vinaigrette

Northern Thai style sausage (usually pork, in this case chicken) flavored with ginger, shallot, green chiles, cilantro, kaffir lime leaf, red curry paste, and "fish sauce" (based on a recipe from Sepia), served with a relish of cucumber, pineapple, watermelon, cilantro, and lime juice

Thomas Keller inspired herb-brined roast chicken on a bed of root vegetables

My first use of the smoker outside of work or school: applewood smoked kielbasa (Polish pork sausage) served with homemade braised sauerkraut

Malaysian influenced Thai "Panang" curry with shrimp, peppers, kaffir lime leaf, and ground, toasted Thai bird chiles. The Panang curry gets its characteristic flavor from a paste made from shallot, galangal, red chile, shrimp paste, peanut, and spices like white pepper, cumin, and nutmeg, and is always finished with coconut milk, fish sauce, and palm sugar.

Country Style Pork Terrine (Pate de Campagne).  Pork shoulder, belly, fatback of varying dices and grinds, married with brandy, white wine, my own "pate spice" blend, garnished with whole peppercorns and pistachios, baked in a Le Creuset terrine mold in a water bath, low and slow for the best meat loaf you've ever tasted.  So good that it's served cold, with bread and dijon mustard.

House pickled "giardineira."   A staple of my childhood, piled on countless Italian beef & sausage sandwiches.

Country style pork pate with arugula and dijon vinaigrette to be served on toasted crostini

Chipotle brined roast pork tenderloin, served with rice and my rich, Oaxacan style "mole negro."  The mole contained somewhere between 30-40 steps & ingredients...too long to list here.

Linguine with house made crumbled Italian sausage, cremini mushrooms, white wine, thyme

Homemade mortadella, dijon aoili, arugula, crostini.  

Homemade potato gnocchi with braised beef short rib sugo and shaved grana padano cheese

Blanched assorted vegetables

Herb brined roast chicken, butter braised root vegetables, chicken jus

Steamed mussels, cippollini onion, red chile, garlic, pancetta, white wine

Pickled sardines.  Extremely fresh sardines are pan fried and then allowed to marinate in vinegar, olive oil, lemon, and herbs for a few days to "ripen."  This is the first time I ever ate sardines, and was instantly hooked.  My Grandpa would be proud.

Buttermilk brined fried chicken.  

Raw Kumamoto oysters

Mussels, the way I ate it in Brussels, Belgium for the first time.  Steamed with white wine, garlic, shallot, bay, thyme.

Fresh spaghetti cut from "la chitarra," with ragu

Chili: hand diced beef sirloin, brisket, and round, simmered with assorted rehydrated chiles, stock, and spices.

Hungarian style pork goulash.  pork shoulder stewed with sliced onion, handfuls of top-quality Hungarian paprika, seasoned with caraway and lemon zest, finished with sour cream and chives.

Braised red cabbage cooked with rendered bacon fat from homemade bacon.  The recipe is loosely based on Sepia's in that it includes red wine, cider vinegar, green apple, red onion, mustardseed, and caraway.  I threw a cinnamon stick in as well, in case there was someone at the party who was allergic to dishes without cinnamon.

The beginnings of a salt-roasted pear salad.  A smear of goat cheese.  Some candied hazelnuts.

Salt roasted pear salad with arugula.  Topped with julienne preserved lemon.

Roast chicken....brining the bird in advance make the skin much more susceptible to dramatic, even browning and crisping in the oven, among its other benefits

Final plating of the chicken over butter braised root vegetables and a drizzle of roast chicken jus....one of those dishes I cannot seem to make enough times

I should Photoshop out that one "non-cubic" brunoise of carrot

Ragu Bolognese simmering away.  Though "saucy" looking in its early stages, it will reduce down to a rich, meaty "condiment" as opposed to a loose sauce.  But personal preference reigns supreme--there is no wrong way to cook a sauce made from meat, tomato, white wine, mirepoix, and milk.

Thai inspired Pumpkin & Coconut soup.  The usual ingredients are here--homemade red curry paste, fish sauce, ginger, cilantro stem, red chile,...

Puree of wild mushroom soup, garnished with a quenelle of roast wild mushroom duxelle, torn crouton, parsley, and a drizzle of truffle oil infused creme fraiche.  

Return of the salt roasted pear salad, with goat cheese, candied/roasted hazelnuts, arugula, & honey-cider vinaigrette.

Pappardelle al Ragu (pappardelle are wider than tagliatelle, at about 3/4"-1")

Hickory smoked beef sausage.  The sausage was some sort of hybrid between German thuringer, knackwurst, and frankfurter.  The great thing is, once you understand the successful ratio of meat to fat to salt to liquid, you can experiment with the myriad of spices on your shelf....and it nearly always tastes amazing in the end.

Bangers & Mash.  English style bangers (pork sausages) courtesy of Spencer Foods.  Flavorwise these delicate sausages are similar to some authentic Bratwurst recipes in the use of ginger, nutmeg, and white pepper, but the addition of a small portion of bread crumbs lends a softer texture.  Mash, in this case refers to my puree of potato, fresh herbs, mustard, and sour cream.  I was too hungry to make the "onion gravy" that would typically adorn the plate.

Chicken breasts prepared in the style of pastrami.  Brined with "corning spices," then rubbed with cracked allspice, peppercorn, coriander, and juniper, dried for a day, and then hot smoked to completion.  Excellent on sandwiches with a tangy jalapeno cilantro slaw and lime aioli.

Braised "cavolo nero," or black kale...or lacinato kale...or Tuscan kale.  All the same.  One of the most nutrient dense foods on the entire planet, and unless you're a child, you will love the taste of this earthy, savory green.

Risotto al Mare.

Mexican style "chile verde," made here with poached chicken in place of the more common pork.  Modelo with lime in this case will pair with the green, tangy flavors better than a wine.

Leftover puree of porcini and chestnut soup was turned into a creamy risotto topped with roasted chanterelle and black trumpet mushrooms.  

This dish can be made with the following ingredients: a chicken, salt/pepper, butter, spinach, lemon.  That's it.  Go make it.  Let the chicken come to room temp, truss it with twine, season it liberally with salt and pepper inside and out, roast it at 450, rest it when its done, caramelize the drippings in the pan, deglaze with a couple tablespoons of water, mount in a handful of butter on low heat to thicken into a creamy sauce, serve with wilted spinach and a squeeze of lemon.  

Burger.  Roasted jalapeno.  Fried egg.  Pepper jack.  Challah bun.

Valentine's dinner 2012: Chicken gallantine, poached and then pan roasted, served with butter braised radish and carrot, parsnip puree, and chicken jus.

Fermented sausages before being dry-cured into Italian style "soppressata" and Spanish style "chorizo."

Linguine tossed with a saute of bay scallops, cippollini onions, and shiitake mushrooms in white wine, butter, and parsley

Rigatoni al Ragu being eyed by God

A Reuben: homemade corned beef brisket, homemade red cabbage sauerkraut, homemade "russian dressing," storebought rye bread.

Handmade pappardelle with wild mushroom ragout.  "Ragout" is simply the French spelling of the word, and refers to a "stew."

Braised chicken, crisped under the broiler, nestled in annato-infused rice with poblano, tomato, and chicken stock.

Leftover corned beef brisket, diced and incorporated into a hash with onion and potato, served with eggs and toasted muffin.

Applewood smoked duck sausage flavored with mustardseed, caraway, garlic, and herbs de provence, served alongside braised red cabbage sauerkraut.

Crispy pan roasted duck breast, served medium rare with mustard-herb spaetzle and a drizzle of duck jus

Buttermilk panna cotta, recipe courtesy of Thomas Keller (from Ad Hoc).  A little sweet, with a hint of vanilla, but a subtle, refreshing tang from the buttermilk and creme fraiche.  I topped this with a dark chocolate & coffee bean crumble, and some cherry-vanilla jam I had on hand.

Stout braised beef stew.  Duck fat roasted potatoes.  Mustard & fines herb creme fraiche.

Spaghetti & Meatballs with sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes, topped with grated pecorino romano.  

Vegetable lasagne with roast mushrooms, spinach, eggplant, bechamel, and tomato sauce

Banana buttermilk pancakes with rhubarb jam and real maple syrup

Spinach salad with julienne red onion, homemade blue cheese dressing, and fried chicken tenders tossed with homemade cayenne & butter "buffalo sauce."

Eggplant alla Parmigiana with spaghetti and salsa "all Arrabiata."

My version of my Mom's macaroni salad, using hard boiled egg, homemade aoili, dijon mustard, Castelvetrano olives, a few capers, minced onion, roasted red peppers, "pimenton" (smoked Spanish paprika), and parsley.  Half mediterranean, half american, and really good.

Arugula & spinach salad wiht hard boiled egg, sliced onion, sliced mortadella, picked parsley, and dijon vinaigrette

Whole, pan-fried softshell crab.  These are "in season" during the Spring, when they're molting, or shedding their hard outer shell to develop a new one.  You buy them live during this transition, and you just have to cut off their face and remove their gills.....but other than that the whole crab is entirely edible, and delicious.

Linguine alle Cozze: mussels simmered with a piquant tomato sauce and some white wine, tossed with pasta

The mise en place for my take on cajun-style Andouille sausage: chilled pork shoulder and fatback cut into strips, salt, pink curing salt (#1), black pepper, crushed hot chile, paprika, cayenne, fresh thyme, herbs de provence, garlic.

Coarse grind for Andouille.

The sausage stuffed into hog casings, twisted into links, allowed to dry for a day so the smoke adheres well to the skin.

Traditionally these would be smoked over pecan wood, but I had to settle for hickory.  

Homemade beer-poached bratwurst, grilled for a sandwich on toasted bread with caramelized onion and dijon mustard, served with some grilled corn and grilled spring onions.

Cajun rubbed sauteed salmon, wild rice, asparagus, Bearnaise sauce

Julienne of carrot, followed by brunoise of carrot

Roast "BRT" (boned, rolled, tied) leg of lamb, served with a lamb Bordelaise of sorts, perfumed with rosemary, garlic, and orange zest.

Home cured pancetta (Italian dry cured pork belly), slowly rendering in a cast iron skillet

Vietnamese "Pho."  Thin sliced brisket and meatballs, broth made with aromatic '5-spice' blend, served with piles of fresh, aromatic vegetables and herbs--bean sprouts, thai basil, mint, cilantro, jalapeno, green onion

Caramelized brussels sprouts, glazed with a little butter and vinegar

Roast squash and mascarpone filled ravioli, tossed in a sage brown butter sauce with grated Amaretti cookie

Hobo skillet of leftovers from "Friendsgiving:" homemade butternut squash ravioli, house smoked turkey pastrami, homemade turkey-maple-sage breakfast sausage, sunny side up eggs

Draping the reduced braising liquid over the Italian pot roast

Italian style pot roast with porcini mushroom risotto

Frisee and watercress salad with torn herbs, crispy bacon lardons, house pickled shallots, poached egg, and roasted garlic vinaigrette

Broccoli soup garnished with blanched broccoli florets and truffled sour cream

Roast chicken consomme, garnished with diced "Royale" custard infused with fines herbs (fresh parsley, tarragon, chives, and chervil)

Homage to Grandpa Markovich's Holy Night Dinner: homemade pierogi filled with caramelized sauerkraut, served with a soup (or sauce?) of lobster mushooms, barley, sauerkraut broth, butter, and herbs

Flemish-style sour ale braised beef brisket, with pan roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes, and pearl onions, covered with beer-mustard jus made from the reduced braising liquid

Vanilla-cardamon-lemon creme brulee

Beef stroganoff with handmade pappardelle

Hand made squid ink tinted spaghetti "alla chitarra" (from the guitar)--spaghetti with a square cross section from being pressed through metal strings

Hand made agnolotti filled with beef, pork, veal, parmigiano, nutmeg, parsley, egg

The previous night's braised lamb shanks, removed from the cooking liquid so that the finishing sauce can be made

Roasted shrimp shells simmering with aromatics to make a stock.  The stock is then reduced until very concentrated, then finished with tomato, wine, and heavy cream for a rich "shellfish sauce"

A typical table setting by my girlfriend for dinners with friends 

Penn cove oyster, raw, with meyer lemon and a glass of Ardbeg "Corryvreckan" single malt Islay scotch whisky

A Negroni: North Shore gin, Carpano Antica vermouth, Campari bitter liqueur, and a 'mist' of caramelized orange zest

Caesar salad: romaine, homemade buttermilk Caesar dressing, homemade croutons, shaved grana padano cheese, cracked black pepper

Agnolotti in Brodo: meat filled pasta bathed in a rich, roast capon broth, garnished with a black truffle soffritto and grated parmigiano

Sauteed prawns for spaghetti al mare

Spaghetti al Mare: black spaghetti alla chitarra, prawns, calamari, cockles, and mussels in a creamy shellfish sauce

Reheated braised lamb shank, ready to fall off the bone, draped with the velvety braise reduction, served with rosemary scented French green lentils and an orange zest & mint gremolata

Butter lettuce, blue cheese, candied pistachio, salt roasted beets, gold beet & citrus vinaigrette

Sauteed sea scallops, roast Nameko mushrooms, broccoli rabe puree