Culinary Comments by Cinnamon Girl

Pretty Pastries

These were made by the Pastry Arts class at The French Culinary Institute. They were kind enough to share with my Classic Culinary Arts class. There are marzipan "fruits" in nut brittle baskets (yum!) and two beautiful cakes. We'll have to send some of our extra veal their way tomorrow!

Crustaceans, Mollusks, and Cephalopods, Oh My!

Today at school we made mussels in court bouillon, and scallops with parsley coulis. For lunch, our Chef instructor cooked up a big pot (marmite) of lobsters. I was lucky and chose a hefty one! Add some parsley butter and lemon and that's lunch...had a salad and baked potato too. Tomorrow- duck and chicken day. Also we made Sauce Americaine this afternoon with the lobster shells, and tomorrow it will be used to make lobster bisque.

Apologies for the Leave of Absence

I have started culinary school at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, and between class and commuting, its a 12 hour day.  I am going to try to make short posts from my phone, and I apologize in advance if the quality is not as good as the posts I make from this computer.  Please send me comments and questions as I love to hear from you all, and I will try to answer them in a timely manner :)

Ciao, or should I say Bon Jour?

Cinnamon Girl

Recipes from Chef Aaron

After yesterday's post, I got a couple of requests for the recipes that Chef Aaron demonstrated. Ask and you shall receive:

GUACAMOLE

1 serrano chile, seeds removed, minced
1/4 c diced red onion
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 Hass avocados, halved, pitted and sprinkled with liberal amount of salt
1 Roma tomato, diced
juice of one lime

Place the chile, onion, lime juice and cilantro into the molcajete (Mexican mortar and pestle) or food processor. Crush and mix the ingredients together. This brings out the heat of the chile, the flavors of the fresh cilantro, and the natural juices of the onion. Score the avocado halves with the tip of the spoon and scoop all the flesh into the molcajete. Mash the avocado and combine it with the muddled onion, cilantro, and chile. Top the mixture with the diced tomato and serve with warm flour tortillas or corn tortilla chips. ~Chef Aaron Sanchez 

GRILLED SKIRT STEAK WITH CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

1/4 c distilled white vinegar
2 jalapenos, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
1/2 c freshly chopped Italian parsley
1/2 c freshly chopped cilantro
1/2 c freshly chopped oregano
1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 (1 1/2 - 2lb) flank steak

Preheat a grill or broiler to high.

In a blender, combine vinegar, jalapeno, garlic and bay leaves. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add the herbs. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Season the flank steak with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill/broil the steak for 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium rare. Slice the steak thinly, across the grain on the bias. Serve with chimichurri sauce. ~Chef Aaron Sanchez

SCALLOP CEVICHE

1 lb sea scallops
salt
1 c chopped ginger
1/4 c whole peeled garlic cloves
1 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
10 oz coconut milk
10 oz coconut water
1/2 c fresh lime juice
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/4 c finely chopped chives
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 c tomato, diced
freshly ground black pepper
ginger juice, for seasoning
2 tbsp coconut, toasted

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt the water, then cook scallops in the water for 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and submerge immediately into an ice bath. When cool, thinly slice scallops into 3 or 4 slices each.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 c chopped ginger, garlic, and lemongrass and saute in olive oil for 5 minutes.  Add coconut milk and coconut water and cook for another 10 minutes, until it becomes aromatic. Strain the liquid and allow it to cool, discard the solids.

In a mixing bowl combine scallops, lime juice, strained coconut liquid, jalapeno, chives, red onion, and tomato; seaon to taste with salt, pepper, and ginger juice. Serve garnished with toasted coconut sprinkled on top. ~Chef Aaron Sanchez

   

Meeting Chef Sanchez

On October 10, Chef Aaron Sanchez did a wine and food pairing demo at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers, NY.  He had a pretty good crowd watching him make three recipes:

 He made guacamole, a spicy and refreshing scallop ceviche in coconut milk, and a beef with chimichurri dish. 

He also gave good suggestions for wines to accompany each.(the demo was sponsored by a wine importer)  The lucky crowd got to eat, drink, and ask questions while his sous chefs (from the French Culinary Institute) prepared and plated the finished recipes.  After the demo, Chef Aaron took the time to sign autographs, chat and take pictures with the crowd.

I really enjoyed his Latin dishes and I wish him continued success!
 

Aaron is coming!

Chef Aaron Sanchez, of Centrico and Paladar restaurants, will be doing a food demo at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers, NY. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, Chef Aaron will treat the crowd to his Latin cuisine and a wine pairing. He is the author of La Comida Del Barrio, and has made numerous appearances on Food Network as both a chef-testant and a judge, as well as his new show with Chris Cosentino, Chefs vs. City. See him Saturday, October 10 from 1-4 pm.

A Comforting Fall Dinner

I don't know about you, but I love turkey.  I especially love turkey that's not a ton of work but still has that homey holiday dinner taste.  This recipe fits the bill:

Turkey Thigh with Pan Gravy

One turkey thigh- fresh if possible 
olive oil                                                               
a diced onion
a diced carrot
a diced stalk of celery
a box of chicken stock
a sprig of fresh thyme
about 6 sage leaves, bruised
salt and pepper
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 c cold water in a small bowl

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a heavy bottomed pan that is oven safe, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Salt and pepper the thigh and brown well in hot pan.

Remove turkey, add more olive oil if necessary, and put onion, carrot and celery in to sweat for a few minutes. (turn down heat)  Pour in about 2 cups of chicken stock, the herbs, and bring to slight boil.

Put turkey back in pan and put in the oven, basting every 20 minutes.  Add more stock if pan gets dry.  Cook for about an hour, or until meat thermometer inserted in thick part of thigh reads 170 degrees.  Carefully place meat on a plate to rest while you make the gravy.
Place the pan on top of the stove on medium heat.  Add some more chicken stock, up to one cup.  Remove the thyme and sage leaves.  Stir the corn starch into the cold water and mix well.  Add to bubbling gravy and let thicken.  Taste for salt and pepper, reseason if necessary.  Slice thigh, top with gravy and serve.  

I served mine with minted peas and polenta:

Enjoy!

Back to The Heights

Last Thursday I revisited The Heights Bistro and Bar in Yorktown. This time my husband and I went to check out the new $17. three-course menu. There was a nice range of offerings, from a ravioli appetizer, which I had that was pretty good, to semolina floured fried calamari, to Ceasar salad, which my husband had. For entree, I had sliced turkey with cranberry chutney type gravy and a sweet potato cornbread round.(see pic bottom left) The turkey was a little dry, but the cranberry gravy helped. Unfortunately, the cornbread that was supposed to be a take on stuffing I guess, was overly sweet and made for a very unbalanced plate. I could not eat more than two tastes of it. Perhaps if it had a savory gravy with it (a turkey sage one would be lovely), it would be a more composed dish. My husband had salmon over Spanish rice with a green pesto on top. He remarked that there was something very spicy in the dish, and the pesto was extremely garlicky. His verdict-ok at best. Note to kitchen and servers: wipe your plates before serving. Ours had "splatters". Not appealing. Dessert was flourless chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse (a slim slice), and Oreo cheesecake, again it was ok. To sum up, sorry to say we won't be returning for a third try to find something good on the menu. I guess you get what you pay for in this case.

What do you eat for breakfast?

OK so we all know the saying "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." But WHAT you eat is key. On mornings that I don't have eggs, (over easy with whole wheat toast, or as a sammy with Canadian bacon and asiago cheese) I have oatmeal. Not that stuff in the little brown envelopes-don't waste your time! Please eat steel-cut oats. You can buy quick-cook ones that take about 3 minutes in the micro. They are much higher in fiber and protein, and have ONE ingredient- 100% steel cut oats! Oh, and they have ONE gram of sugar, that's it! If you eat whole grains, not only are you giving your body the stuff it needs to work at top efficiency, you will feel fuller longer. It really is true! I like to add some frozen blueberries (superfood!) and raw honey (more health benefits- immune system) to my cooked oatmeal. They flavor it and cool it down so I can eat it sooner :) My five year old eats it too, so you know it tastes better than it looks!

Wine Event at Crabtree's Kittle House

Crabtree'sKittleHouse proudly welcomes Frank Mitolo & the wines of Mitolo McLaren Vale & Barossa Valley, Australia purity . elegance . power Wednesday September 30, 2009 7 pm hors d'oeuvres 7:30 dinner Join us for an evening of amazing wine and great conversation with one of Australia's foremost winery owners, Frank Mitolo, who, along with winemaker and business partner Ben Glaetzer, is responsible for creating some of Australia's most compelling and delicious wines. We will be tasting the Mitolo Jester Sangiovese Rose, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, the Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon and the Reiver, Savitar and G.A.M. Shiraz paired with seasonal dishes created by Executive Chef Bradford McDonald. $100 per person, not including tax & gratuity reservations are required, seating is limited (914) 666-8044 Follow Kittle House on Twitter for updates on all of their exciting events.