The Cooking Show: Recent Episodes

View Details

Imgur album

Special equipment: None

Special ingredients: None

Bigos Recipe

1 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

2 thick slices hickory-smoked bacon

1 pound cubed pork stew meat

¼ cup all-purpose flour

4 cups shredded green cabbage

2 carrots, diced

1 onion, diced

1 ½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, chopped

16oz sauerkraut rinsed and well drained

¼ cup dry red wine

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon caraway seed, crushed

1 pinch cayenne pepper

5 cups beef stock

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

½ ounce dried mushrooms

2 tablespoons canned tomato paste

1 dash bottled hot pepper sauce

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

In a heavy-bottomed pot, such as a dutch oven, add the kielbasa, bacon, and cubed pork and brown over moderate heat. Once the meat has rendered its fat, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to coat.

Add the red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Then, add the beef stock and bring it all up to a simmer.

Add the dry herbs and spices and stir to incorporate. Add the shredded carrot, sauerkraut, and mushrooms, followed by the tomatoes, tomato paste, and the mixture of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring it back to a simmer and add the fresh cabbage, onion, and garlic. Simmer this, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Put the lid on and put it into a 350ºF oven for 3 hours. Prior to serving, remove from the oven and remove the lid to let the stew thicken as it cools for 15 minutes.

Pierogis

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup water

1 egg

Filling

1lbs potatoes

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup shredded cheese (white cheddar or gruyere)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Sauce

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

To make the dough, warm the water in a pan and add the butter. Allow the butter to melt in the warm water and then add all the liquid to the flour and salt and mix with the dough hook attachment until it forms a crumbly dough. Then, add the egg. This will add enough liquid to form a dough while allowing the warm water/butter mixture to cool before adding the egg. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it forms a smooth ball.

Wrap the dough in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This will allow the gluten chains to relax so the dough will be more workable.

Peel and dice the potatoes. Boil them for 20 minutes in salted water. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add butter, salt, and pepper, and mash. To the mashed potatoes, add the shredded cheese and fold the mixture to incorporate.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of less than a quarter inch. Using either a cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut the dough into circles and lay them out on a piece of parchment paper. Spoon approximately a tablespoon of the potato mixture into the center of each one. Fold the dough over to form a half-moon shape and seal the edges using a fork. Cover the finished pierogis with a moist towel to keep the dough soft until you are ready to boil.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and gently slide the pierogis into the pot. Boil for 5-6 minutes. While boiling, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan and add the diced onion. Once the onions have started to brown, remove the pierogis from the water, drain off the excess water, and add them to the onion-butter pan. Sauté the pierogis in the butter for 3-4 minutes on each side to brown. Serve hot with the excess onion butter spooned over them.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - none

Special Equipment - none

Noodles -

1 cup rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

1 teaspoon salt

1.25 cups water

1 teaspoon oil

Sift together the rice flour, salt, and tapioca starch. Whisk in the water 1/4 cup at a time. Continue whisking the slurry as the flour and starch will continue to absorb water. Lightly oil a flat-bottomed pan and then ladle in the noodle batter until it forms a layer less than 1mm thick. Set the pan over a pot of water, cover with foil, and steam the “dough” for 4-5 minutes. The batter will set into a sticky, but solid sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into thin strips and gently peel them off the surface of the pan. Transfer to another lightly greased pan and sprits with oil to prevent sticking. Boil the noodles for 5-6 minutes, rinse with cold water, and add them to your dish immediately.

Pad Thai Sauce -

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sriracha

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Pad Thai -

3 tablespoons neutral oil (avocado, vegetable)

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1lbs chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes

2 eggs

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 fronds of bok choy, cut into thin strips

3 scallions, sliced thinly

1/2 cup of roasted peanuts, chopped

1 lime

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Begin by whisking together the ingredients in the sauce and set that aside until it’s time to add it to the stir fry.

In a wok, saute pan, or large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil and begin by adding the chicken and garlic. Cook until the chicken is almost done. At that time, add the bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add the bok choy and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Make a well in the middle of the pan and dump in two beaten eggs. Let those sit for 30 seconds before tossing it throughout the rest of the dish to distribute the now-scrambled eggs. At this point, you probably want to boil a pot of water for the noodles, which only take about 5-6 minutes to be ready. Don’t forget to rinse the noodles under cold water before adding them to the Pad Thai.

Add the sauce to the wok and bring it up to a simmer. add 80% of the sliced scallion and cilantro and toss to incorporate. Then, add the cooked noodles and lightly toss those. Reduce the heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

When plating, garnish with chopped peanuts, cilantro, and scallion.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - Black, Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder

Special Equipment - Ice Cream Maker

Cookies -

1.25 cups all-purpose flour

.5 cups cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

.5 cups unsalted butter

.75 cups granulated sugar

.25 cups brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar and beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the one egg and the vanilla extract and beat until evenly incorporated.

Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix with a paddle attachment on a stand mixer for 5 minutes.

Roll dough into acorn-sized balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet with ample room between them. Using a heavy, flat bottomed implement, press the balls out into disks. Using an Oreo-sized cookie cutter, cut excess dough from the outer edge, leaving an Oreo-sized wafer on the baking sheet.

Bake at 350ºF for 13 minutes. Allow to cool on the counter for 10 minutes and then remove the cookies from the warm pan to continue cooling either on a rack or a wooden cutting board.

Cream filling -

.5 cups unsalted butter

1.75 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat these together with a hand mixer until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag and keep at room temperature until needed. Squeeze approximately a teaspoon of cream onto a wafer and press a second wafer into it to form a sandwich and evenly distribute the cream.

Ice Cream -

1.5 cups heavy cream

1.5 cups whole milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk all ingredients together and then pour into your ice cream maker. While that is spinning, cut up your cookies into small morsels and pour into the ice cream base. Allow to process for 20 minutes and then transfer to a container and put in the freezer to firm up.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients: none

Special Equipment: none

Molé -

1 tablespoon chipotle pepper powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cayenne powder

1 teaspoon jalapeño powder

1 can tomato paste

4 cups chicken stock

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2.5 ounces cocoa powder

2.5 ounces dark chocolate

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

3 cloves

1 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

1.5 teaspoons corn meal

2 tablespoons of either lard, butter, or duck fat

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your fat in a sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until translucent and just starting to brown. Once the onions are translucent, add the chili powders, bay leaf, and other dry spices, but hold off on the chocolate and cocoa powder.

Add the tomato paste, chicken stock, and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 10 minutes.

With a large serving spoon, scoop out all of the tomato chunks and move them into the carafe of your blender. Blend until smooth and return to the sauté pan with the rest of the sauce. Add your chocolate and stir to incorporate. Keep the temperature at a low simmer and continually stir the sauce with a wooden spoon to prevent solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Brown your chicken in a skillet or in the oven at 450ºF. It does not need to be cooked through. The chicken can be submerged in the sauce, covered, and cooked for 4 hours… or, you can place one chicken thigh/drumstick in a quart jar, add onion, celery, carrot, potato, and 1.5-2 cups of the molé sauce and process under 15lbs of pressure for 90 minutes to achieve a fall-apart texture and maximum flavor penetration.

Serve atop crispy corn tortillas and white rice.

View Details

Imgur album

Special equipment - Silicone molds

Special ingredients - Peanut butter powder

Peanut Butter Recipe

1lbs of peanuts. Dry-roasted, unsalted or lightly salted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons honey

2-4 tablespoons avocado oil (optional)

Spread the peanuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet at heat in the oven at 350ºF for 5-10 minutes.

Transfer the warm peanuts into the blender. Add the salt, honey, and 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, if you’re using it.

Pulse the peanuts to pulverize them and then blend at full speed. You will need to take a timeout every so often to scrape down the carafe.

Once the peanut butter is smooth enough for your tastes, remove it from the heat and let it rest.

Chocolate cups recipe

1/2 cup dark chocolate morsels

3 cacao butter disks

Heat 1/2” of water in a double boiler. When you can hear it’s at least simmering, add the chocolate and cacao butter. Stir gently with a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula until it’s a homogenous pool of chocolate. Gently and carefully spoon 2 teaspoons of chocolate into each cup. Tilt the silicone molds to get the chocolate to “climb” the walls of the cups.

Vigorously stir a quarter cup of powdered peanut butter into a half cup of your homemade peanut butter. Add more powdered peanut butter a teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.

Take about a half teaspoon of the peanut butter, roll it into a ball in your hand, press it flat and set it in the chocolate in the molds. Then, spoon chocolate over the top until it comes even with the top of the mold. Refrigerate for 2 hours to harden the chocolate and make the candies easy to withdraw from their little cups.

View Details

Imgur album

Special equipment - None

Special ingredients - None

4 pounds yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced

3 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 cups of beef stock

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Baguette

Grated Swiss-style cheese (gruyere, Jarlsberg, etc.)

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot and add the onions. On medium-high heat, stir the onions constantly with a wooden spoon until the onions begin to develop an even brown color. You may need to adjust the heat up and down at times, as the onions periodically release a flush of liquid. Go slow and don’t apply too much heat at any given time.

Once your onions are caramelized, add your minced garlic and let them simmer with the onions for 10 minutes.

Add your beef stock, white wine, Worcestershire sauce, and herbs. Simmer this all together until the level of the soup has reduced by a quarter.

Toast medallions of baguettes to use for plating.

Ladle the soup into bowls, gently lay a toasted baguette crouton on the top, cover in shredded cheese, and place into a 450ºF oven to melt the cheese. If you have a small torch, you can use that to brown and blister the surface of the cheese. If not, you can brown the cheese in the oven.

Garnish with chopped chives for a contrasting color.

View Details

Imgur album

Special equipment - Pizza Stone

Pizza Peel

Special ingredients - Rennet

Citric acid

Mozzarella -

1 gallon of milk (whole, 2%, or skim) - make sure it is not Ultra-Pasteurized

1.5 teaspoons citric acid

1 cup of water (to dilute the citric acid)

1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet

4 tablespoons of water (to dilute the rennet)

1 tablespoon of kosher salt

Dissolve your citric acid in water and dilute your rennet in water.

Add the milk to a large pot, stir in the diluted acid mixture, and gently heat the milk to 90ºF. Once you reach that temperature, kill the heat and add the rennet mixture and gently stir until you are sure it has completely incorporated into the milk. Cover the pot and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the curd at that time. If it has not yet achieved a yogurt-like consistency, cover and allow to rest another 5 minutes.

Using a curd knife or a long, straight kitchen knife, cut a grid pattern into the curds with 1” squares. Make sure your knife goes all the way to the bottom of the pot.

Gently warm the curds over medium heat while stirring gently. You want to bring them up to 106ºF. Kill the heat immediately once you hit that temperature. Continue stirring for another 5 minutes.

With a slotted spoon or a curd ladle, scoop the curds out of the whey and into a cheesecloth-lined colander set over a large bowl. Drain the curds for 5 minutes.

You can do the next step with either water or whey.

Heat the liquid to 170ºF. When at that temperature, deposit the drained curds into the hot liquid to sit until the internal temperature of the curds reaches 135ºF.

Then, remove the curds from the hot liquid, add salt, then stretch/fold the cheese to make it elastic and shiny. Don’t overwork the cheese at this point. Repeat the stretching/folding 5-10 times. Then, form a ball of your finished cheese. You can put this into a bowl with some salted whey to cool in the refrigerator.

Dough -

4 cups all purpose or bread flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon dry-active yeast

2 teaspoons salt

1.5 cups of water at 110ºF, plus another quarter cup in case it needs added

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Combine the dry ingredients in your stand mixer and mix with the dough hook. Add the warm water and olive oil. Because we are using warm water and adding sugar to the dough, we can skip activating the yeast separately. Mix on low until the dough comes together in a sticky ball. If the dough is too dry, add the extra water a tablespoon at a time. Once it forms a ball, knead for 8 minutes. Turn the dough out and form into a ball. Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl, cover with Saran Wrap, and allow to rise at room temperature for an hour or until it doubles in size. At that point, you can either punch the dough down, divide into two halves, and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before making your pizza, or you can punch it down, form it into a ball, and store in an oiled bowl in the fridge overnight. This makes two 14-16 inch pizzas, depending on thickness.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients - none

Special equipment - Double boiler

Chocolate Lava Cake

1 stick unsalted butter

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons flour

Start by greasing 4 ramekins or 4 wells of a large muffin pan. Lightly dust with flour after.

Combine butter and chocolate in a double boiler and bring the water to a simmer. With a silicone spatula, gently stir the butter and chocolate together until smooth and consistent. Remove from heat while you prepare the rest of the batter.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Mix with a hand mixer until foamy, pale yellow, and consistent with no streaks.

Pour the chocolate/butter mixture into the egg mixture and add the flour. Quickly mix until uniformly distributed.

Preheat oven to 450ºF.

Spoon the batter equally into 4 baking vessels, be they ramekins or a muffin tin. Place the vessel on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to rest for one minute. As the cakes cool and deflate slightly, they will pull away from the walls of the baking vessel. You can run a knife between the cake and the muffin tin/ramekin.

Place a cutting board over the cakes and invert everything in a smooth, deliberate motion. With a wooden spoon or mallet, gently thump the bottom of each vessel to free the cake. Lift the vessel away from the cutting board to (hopefully) reveal 4 cleanly separated cakes. Serve immediately while the center is still hot and viscous. If you’d like, dust the tops of each cake with cocoa powder or confectioner’s sugar or top with whipped cream.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients - none

Special equipment - Stand mixer pasta attachment

Hand-cranked pasta roller

Standalone pasta machine

Ricotta -

4 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vinegar

Combine the milk and cream in a large pot, turn heat up to medium/medium-high, add salt, and whisk continuously until the liquid comes to a boil. At that point, remove from heat and whisk in the vinegar. Stir to combine and then allow to sit for 1-3 minutes while the milk separates into solids and liquid.

Set a colander over a large pot or bowl (big enough to hold all of the liquid from the pot you just heated). Layer two sheets of cheese cloth in the colander and gently pour the contents from the hot pot into the colander. Allow this to drain for 30 minutes at room temperature. Once drained, lift the cheese cloth out of the colander and turn the accumulated ricotta out into a mixing bowl. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to use.

Add to the ricotta black pepper to taste, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, and a handful of finely chopped parsley and oregano.

Pasta -

4 cups of flour. I used 2 cups all-purpose, 1 cup semolina, and 1 cup 00 pizza dough flour.

6 whole eggs

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

Whisk together the salt and flour. In a large mixing bowl (or your countertop), mound up the flour and create a wide well in the center. Into the well, pour your eggs and olive oil. With a fork, whisk the eggs and, as the mixture thickens as it accumulates flour, add flour from the walls of your well until it has all come together in a yellow dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and hand-knead for 8-10 minutes. Roll into a ball, wrap with Saran Wrap, and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into manageable portions. Roll flat into a long oval with a rolling pin. Pass the dough through the roller on setting 1 several times, folding and doubling the thickness after each pass. Then, progress through the settings 2-6 with two passes, each. This will get your dough to the thickness we want for both the ravioli and the fettuccini. If making fettuccini, pass the sheets of dough through the wide noodle cutter, dust with flour, and spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

For the ravioli, create an even number of long sheets of dough. Place a heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture approximately 2” apart. Lay another sheet of dough over the top and with your fingers, press out any air around the cheese mixture. Use a cookie cutter to press the sheets of dough together and cut the individual ravioli out of the greater dough structure.

Fresh pasta should be boiled for 2-3 minutes. Then, transfer from the water to the sauce. For the ravioli, I melted butter with garlic and herbs. The ravioli went into the butter for a moment, tossed around, and then got plated.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Pie Crust -

3 Tablespoons cold water

1.5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

.5 cup ice

.5 cup cold unsalted butter

1.25 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 teaspoons sugar

.5 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine the water, apple cider vinegar, and ice and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt and start your mixer on medium-low with the paddle attachment. Cut your butter into small cubes and then dump all of it into the flour mixture at once while the paddle is running. Allow that to mix for 5 minutes. It will become akin to wet sand.

At that point, add 4 tablespoons of the water/vinegar mixture and allow to mix for an additional 3 minutes. If the dough doesn’t come together into a solid mass, add more liquid a tablespoon at a time until it does.

Turn the dough out and form into a ball. Wrap tightly with Saran Wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Unwrap the dough and place on a floured surface. Roll it out until it’s an inch or so larger than the pie pan you’ll be using. Flour your rolling pin and roll the dough onto the pin and then unroll it onto the pie pan. Use your fingers to press the dough into the form of the pan. Return to the refrigerator for an hour. During that time, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF.

Once your crust is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and into the oven for 35 minutes. This will pre-bake the crust and it will appear the color of a sugar cookie. After 35 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.

Chocolate filling -

.75 cups unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pats

3 ounces 60% dark chocolate

1.5 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

.5 teaspoon salt

In a double boiler, combine the butter and dark chocolate. With a silicone spatula, slowly mix until everything has melted and combined. Remove the insert and set aside to cool to above room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Whisk these together until smooth and evenly incorporated.

Slowly drizzle the chocolate/butter mixture into the egg mixture and whisk together. The result will be a reddish-brown brownie batter mixture.

Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared pie crust. It will fill it to a shallow level. When you bake it, it will rise like a soufflé and then fall once removed from heat.

Bake the pie in a 350ºF oven for 50 minutes. At that point, give it a light shake. If the center seems too soft, let it bake for another 5-10 minutes. The pie will be soft, but solid when finished.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours. This will ensure it stays together when sliced and served.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special equipment - Stand mixer

Special ingredients - None

I normally don’t just copy and paste recipes, but I’ll do so here since the New York Times’ paywall is unpredictable. This recipe is by Claire Saffitz and it appears here: New York Times Croissants Recipe

By Claire Saffitz

YIELD 8 croissants

TIME 24 hours, largely unattended

This recipe is a detailed roadmap to making bakery-quality light, flaky croissants in your own kitchen. With a pastry as technical as croissants, some aspects of the process — gauging the butter temperature, learning how much pressure to apply to the dough while rolling — become easier with experience. If you stick to this script, buttery homemade croissants are squarely within your reach. (Make sure your first attempt at croissants is a successful one, with these tips, and Claire Saffitz’s step-by-step video on YouTube.) Featured in: How To Make Stunning Croissants At Home.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DÉTREMPE (DOUGH):

4 ⅔ cups/605 grams all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting

⅓ cup/66 grams granulated sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon/12 grams kosher salt

2 ¼ teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons/214 grams water, at room temperature

½ cup/120 grams whole milk, at room temperature

¼ cup/57 grams unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled

FOR THE BUTTER BLOCK AND ASSEMBLY:

1 ½ cups/340 grams unsalted European or European-style butter (3 sticks), chilled

All-purpose flour, for rolling

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Add to Your Grocery List

Ingredient Substitution Guide

PREPARATION

Twenty-four hours before serving, start the détrempe: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, and stir to combine. Create a well in the center, and pour in the water and milk. Mix on low speed until a tight, smooth dough comes together around the hook, about 5 minutes. Remove the hook and cover the bowl with a damp towel. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Reattach the dough hook and turn the mixer on medium-low speed. Add the butter pieces all at once and continue to mix, scraping down the bowl and hook once or twice, until the dough has formed a very smooth, stretchy ball that is not the least bit sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place seam-side down on a lightly floured work surface. Using a sharp knife, cut two deep perpendicular slashes in the dough, forming a “+.” (This will help the dough expand into a square shape as it rises, making it easier to roll out later.) Place the dough slashed-side up inside the same mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until about 1 1/2 times its original size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 12.

As the dough chills, make the butter block: Place the sticks of butter side-by-side in the center of a large sheet of parchment paper, then loosely fold all four sides of the parchment over the butter to form a packet. Turn the packet over and use a rolling pin to lightly beat the cold butter into a flat scant 1/2-inch-thick layer, fusing the sticks and making it pliable. (Don’t worry about the shape at this point.) The parchment may tear. Turn over the packet and unwrap, replacing the parchment with a new sheet if needed. Fold the parchment paper over the butter again, this time making neat, clean folds at right angles (like you’re wrapping a present), forming an 8-inch square. Turn the packet over again and roll the pin across the packet, further flattening the butter into a thin layer that fills the entire packet while forcing out any air pockets. The goal is a level and straight-edged square of butter. Transfer the butter block to the refrigerator.

Eighteen hours before serving, remove the dough from the refrigerator, uncover and transfer to a clean work surface. (It will have doubled in size.) Deflate the dough with the heel of your hand. Using the four points that formed where you slashed the dough, stretch the dough outward and flatten into a rough square measuring no more than 8 inches on one side.

Place 2 pieces of plastic wrap on the work surface perpendicular to each other, and place the dough on top. Wrap the dough rectangle, maintaining the squared-off edges, then roll your pin over top as you did for the butter, forcing the dough to fill in the plastic and form an 8-inch square with straight sides and right angles. Freeze for 20 minutes.

Remove the butter from the refrigerator and the dough from the freezer. Set aside the butter. Unwrap the dough (save the plastic, as you’ll use it again) and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough, dusting with flour if necessary, until 16 inches long, maintaining a width of 8 inches (barely wider than the butter block). With a pastry brush, brush off any flour from the surface of the dough and make sure none sticks to the surface.

You’re going to enclose the butter block in the dough and roll them out together. To ensure they do so evenly, they should have the same firmness, with the dough being slightly colder than the butter. The butter should be chilled but able to bend without breaking. If it feels stiff or brittle, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Unwrap the butter just so the top is exposed, then use the parchment paper to carefully invert the block in the center of the dough rectangle, ensuring all sides are parallel. Press the butter gently into the dough and peel off the parchment paper. You should have a block of butter with overhanging dough on two opposite sides and a thin border of dough along the other two.

Grasp the overhanging dough on one side and bring it over the butter toward the center, then repeat with the other side of the dough, enclosing the butter. You don’t need the dough to overlap, but you want the two sides to meet, so stretch it if necessary, and pinch the dough together along all seams so no butter peeks out anywhere. Lift the whole block and dust a bit of flour underneath, then rotate the dough 90 degrees, so the center seam is oriented vertically.

Orient the rolling pin perpendicular to the seam and lightly beat the dough all along the surface to lengthen and flatten. Roll out the dough lengthwise along the seam into a 24-inch-long, 1/4-inch-thick narrow slab, lightly dusting underneath and over top with more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Rather than applying pressure downward, try to push the dough toward and away from you with the pin, which will help maintain even layers of dough and butter. Remember to periodically lift the dough and make sure it’s not sticking to the surface, and try your best to maintain straight, parallel sides. (It’s OK if the shorter sides round a bit — you’re going to trim them.)

Use a wheel cutter or long, sharp knife to trim the shorter ends, removing excess dough where the butter doesn’t fully extend and squaring off the corners for a very straight-edged, even rectangle of dough. Maintaining the rectangular shape, especially at this stage, will lead to the most consistent and even lamination. If at any point in the process you see air bubbles in the dough while rolling, pierce them with a cake tester or the tip of a paring knife to deflate and proceed.

Dust any flour off the dough’s surface. Grasp the short side of the rectangle farther from you and fold it toward the midline of the dough slab, aligning the sides. Press gently so the dough adheres to itself. Repeat with the other side of the dough, leaving an 1/8-inch gap where the ends meet in the middle. Now, fold the entire slab in half crosswise along the gap in the center. You should now have a rectangular packet of dough, called a “book,” that’s four layers thick. This is a “double turn,” and it has now quadrupled the number of layers of butter inside the dough.

Wrap the book tightly in the reserved plastic. If it is thicker than about 1 1/2 inches, or if it’s lost some of its rectangularity, roll over the plastic-wrapped dough to flatten it and reshape it. Freeze the book for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as before (Step 10) into another long, narrow 3/8-inch-thick slab. It should be nice and relaxed, and extend easily. Dust off any excess flour.

Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, bringing the top third of the slab down and over the center third, then the bottom third up and over. This is a “simple turn,” tripling the layers. Press gently so the layers adhere. Wrap tightly in plastic again and freeze for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as before, but into a 14-by-17-inch slab (15-by-16-inch for pain au chocolat or ham and cheese croissants). The dough will start to spring back, but try to get it as close to those dimensions as possible. Brush off any excess flour, wrap tightly in plastic, and slide onto a baking sheet or cutting board. Freeze for 20 minutes, then chill overnight (8 to 12 hours). If making pain au chocolat or ham and cheese croissants, see recipes.

Four and a half hours before serving, arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the floor of the oven and close the door. (The steam released inside the oven will create an ideal proofing environment.) .

As the steam releases in the oven, line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap (save the plastic for proofing), place on a very lightly floured surface, and, if necessary, roll out to 17-by-14 inches. Very thoroughly dust off any excess flour with a pastry brush. Use a wheel cutter or long knife and ruler to cut the shorter sides, trimming any irregular edges where not all the layers of dough fully extend and creating a rectangle that’s exactly 16 inches long, then cut into four 4-by-14-inch rectangles.

Separate the rectangles, then use the ruler and wheel cutter to slice a straight line from opposite corners of one rectangle to form two long, equal triangles. Repeat with the remaining rectangles to make 8 triangles. Trim the short side of each triangle at a slight angle, making them into triangles with longer sides of equal length.

Working one triangle at a time, grasp the two corners of the shorter end, the base of the crescent, and tug gently outward to extend the points and widen the base to about 3 inches. Then, gently tug outward from about halfway down the triangle all the way to the point, to both lengthen the triangle and thin the dough as it narrows. Starting at the base (the short end), snugly roll up the dough, keeping the point centered and applying light pressure. Try not to roll tightly or stretch the dough around itself. Place the crescent on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets, resting it on the point of the triangle. If the dough gets too soft while you’re working, cover the triangles and freeze for a few minutes before resuming rolling. Space them evenly on the baking sheets, four per sheet. Very loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap, so the croissants have some room to expand.

Three and a half hours before serving, open the oven and stick your hand inside: It should be humid but not hot, as the water in the skillet will have cooled. You want the croissants to proof at 70 to 75 degrees. (Any hotter and the butter will start to melt, leading to a denser croissant.) Place the baking sheets inside the oven and let the croissants proof until they’re about doubled in size, extremely puffy, and jiggle delicately when the baking sheet is gently shaken, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Resist the urge to touch or poke the croissants as they proof: They’re very delicate. Try not to rush this process, either, as an underproofed croissant will not be as light and ethereal.

Remove the baking sheets from the oven and carefully uncover them, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes while you heat the oven. Remove the skillet from the oven and heat to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir the yolk and heavy cream until streak-free. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the smooth surfaces of each crescent with the yolk and cream mixture, doing your best to avoid the cut sides with exposed layers of dough.

Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets and switch racks, and continue to bake until the croissants are deeply browned, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Tip

Croissants are best within an hour or two of baking. After that, revive the croissants by warming in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Keep wrapped airtight at room temperature.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: Fly By Jing crispy chili sauce

Special Equipment: None

German Potato Salad

3 cups of yellow potatoes cut into 1” cubes, skin-on

3-4 slices of bacon, diced

1-2 small yellow onions, diced

1/8th cup white vinegar

1/8th cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

Salt and peper to taste

Parsley to garnish

Boil the potatoes for approximately 15 minutes until tender, but still firm. Strain and reserve in a mixing bowl. Keep warm or at room temperature.

Cook the bacon on medium-high until browned and fat rendered. Spoon that into the bowl with the potatoes, reserving the fat in the pan.

Cook the diced onion in the bacon grease on medium-high heat until sweated and translucent. They may pick up a bit of brown color from the bacon grease, but you don’t want to caramelize the onions. Those can be added to the mixing bowl with the potatoes and bacon.

In a sauce pan, heat the vinegar to a simmer and whisk in the honey. This mixture can be poured over the potatoes and other ingredients. Fold those ingredients together and turn out into a serving bowl. Garnish with parsley. Serve warm or room temperature.

Traditional Mayo Potato salad

3 cups white potatoes, peeled, diced into 3/4” cubes

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup mayo

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon paprika

Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until tender and delicate. Strain and chill.

Dash the vinegar over the undressed potatoes and gently toss to incorporate.

Combine mustard, mayo, and chopped vegetables and eggs. Fold together with the potatoes and season with salt, pepper, and celery seed. Turn out into a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate to serve chilled.

Asian Potato Salad

3 cups white potatoes, peeled, diced into 3/4” cubes

1/2 cup homemade mayo (see below)

1/4 cup kimchi

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/8th cup chopped celery leaves or celery

3-4 radishes, sliced

1 cucumber, cut into sticks

1 carrot, peeled and cut into sticks

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon crispy chili oil (Fly By Jing)

Sesame seeds to garnish

Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, drain, and chill.

Combine the mayo with soy sauce and add to the chilled potatoes.

Add the chopped vegetables, kimchi, and a tablespoon of sesame seeds and fold together.

Turn out into a serving bowl and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Drizzle the chili oil over the top, cover, and refrigerate to serve chilled.

Mayo Recipe

1 egg yolk (I used a duck yolk)

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Just shy of 1 cup of neutral oil, such as vegetable or avocado.

1 tablespoon or so of sesame oil

1 tablespoon brown mustard

1/8th teaspoon salt

Combine the salt, egg yolk, vinegar, and mustard. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Trickle in the neutral oil a few drops at a time while beating on medium-high/high. Once you have a fluffy, silky mayonnaise, finish with the sesame oil.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - Partridge

Special Equipment - None

Poached pears -

2 cups red wine

4-6 firm pears, peeled

1 cinnamon stick

6 allspice berries

1 nutmeg nut

6 cardamom pods

4-6 cloves

The zest and juice of 1 orange (or two if you don’t have any dried orange slices)

3 dried orange slices

2 tablespoons honey

Add all the ingredients, sans the pears, in a pot and bring to a boil and dissolve the honey. Reduce to a simmer and add the pears to the liquid. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, occasionally turning the pears so they get evenly stained by the wine.

After 30 minutes, remove the pears from the liquid to cool. Strain out the solid bits from the wine sauce and return to the heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the sauce by half and add 2 tablespoons of butter. This can be spooned over the pears when served.

Butternut squash puree -

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds and pulp. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in the cavity, wrap the squash with foil, and roast in a 325ºF oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and open the foil to allow it to cool. Puree with a hand mixer and put the puree into a sauce pan on medium heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup and whisk to incorporate.

Walnuts and cranberries -

In a small skillet, bring 2 tablespoons of butter to foaming. Add a handful each of walnuts and dried cranberries and toss to coat in the butter. Add a half teaspoon of chili powder and a tablespoon of maple syrup, sorghum syrup, or brown sugar. Cook until brown, soft, and sticky. Keep on low heat to prevent them from sticking too aggressively to the pan before serving.

Broccoli trees - slice a head of broccoli length-wise from the canopy to the trunk to make segments about a half inch in thickness. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes in a 400ºF oven, or until singed and brown along the edges.

Poultry- season a whole chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper and dot the skin with butter. Roast uncovered for 3 hours at 325ºF. In the last half hour, increase the temperature to 400ºF to crisp the skin and to get the oven up to temperature for the broccoli, which will go in after the chicken is done. When the chicken is lightly browned and the internal temperature has reached at least 165ºF, remove it from the oven and put the lid on. This will stay piping hot for at least 45 minutes, which is enough time to prepare the other components of the dish.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Equipment - Tagine

Special Ingredients - Red Stag Stew Meat

2 pounds venison, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¾ teaspoon garlic powder

¾ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 pinch saffron or 2 tablespoons of rose buds

2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes

5 carrots, peeled, cut into fourths, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 lemon, zested

3 tablespoons of chicken stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or corn starch

Toss the meat with olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Combine the dry spices (paprika, cinnamon, salt, garlic, coriander, cumin, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, cloves, saffron, arrowroot powder, lemon zest, tomato paste) and then toss the meat in the spice mixture until it’s completely covered.

Either refrigerate this for 8 hours (or overnight) to marinate or vacuum seal the meat and refrigerate for 2 hours.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, brown the meat on high heat for 5 minutes.

In the base of the tagine, add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the carrots into thirds and lay them in the bottom. Add 1 tablespoon of honey and then spoon the browned meat and all of the juices on top of the carrots. You can add the cubed onions at this point as well.

Add the grated fresh ginger to the top of the meat. Put the tagine lid on and then put into a 350ºF oven for an hour. After an hour, reduce the heat to 300ºF and allow to cook for an additional 2 hours. Alternatively, you can do 300ºF for 4-6 hours for more of a pot-roast consistency.

Once the cooking time has elapsed, remove the tagine from the oven and allow to rest on a trivet for 30 minutes before serving.

Serve atop a bed of couscous, rice, or quinoa.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - Mirin

Special Equipment - Stand Mixer

Steamer basket

Beef/Marinade

1 large pear or 2 small pears, peeled, cored, and cut into cubes

.5 yellow onion, diced

1 knob of ginger, peeled

4 cloves of garlic

1.5 cups soy sauce

1 cup of brown sugar

.5 cups mirin

1 tablespoon chili flakes

2.5 lbs of thinly sliced short rib or thinly sliced striploin

In a blender, blend all of the ingredients except for the beef. In a dish big enough to hold everything, pour some of the marinade into the bottom and then put down one layer of beef. Pour in more marinade, and add another layer of beef. Do this until all of the beef is in the marinade. Cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

After marinating, remove each strip of beef, and wipe the excess marinade off with your fingers. Sear in a very hot cast iron pan for 2 minutes on each side. Work in shifts to avoid overcrowding the pan. Garnish with sliced scallions.

Buns

4.25 cups of all-purpose flour

1.5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dry-active yeast

.25 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon of avocado oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon baking powder

.75 cups cold water

In a bowl, add the yeast to 2 tablespoons warm water and a pinch of sugar to activate.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine all of the other ingredients EXCEPT for the baking powder. Once the yeast has begun to foam, add it to the other ingredients and mix with the dough hook attachment for 12 minutes.

Transfer the dough ball to an oiled mixing bowl, cover with Saran Wrap, and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Turn the dough ball out onto the counter and flatten it out. Sprinkle the baking powder over the surface of the dough, roll it up into a ball, and return to the stand mixer to knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes.

Roll the finished dough ball out into a long sausage-shape and cut into 1.5 inch segments. Roll each segment in your hand to form a ball. On a sheet of parchment paper, flatten each ball into an oval with your hand and roll it out to approximately .25 inch thickness. Brush with oil and then fold in half on a chopstick or bamboo skewer. Accumulate these on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a moist towel, and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Prepare your steaming station. I used a wok with a steamer basket and a lid from a similarly-sized pot. Get the water to a rolling boil and then steam as many buns as you can in a single layer for 8 minutes. Because you oiled the top before folding them over, they’ll open up easily without sticking.

Ginger-Garlic Aioli

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

.5 teaspoon ground ginger

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

.5 teaspoon sesame oil

.5 teaspoon mirin

.5 teaspoon salt

Whisk these together in a small bowl and refrigerate until you use it.

Cucumbers

Thinly slice 2-3 cucumbers and toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let those rest, refrigerated, for 3 hours. Drain the accumulated liquid in the bowl and then rinse with cold water.

Carrots

2 carrots cut into matchsticks

2 cups apple cider vinegar

.5 cup sugar

2 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 star anise pod

Mix the vinegar and dry ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Whisk until all of the sugar and salt dissolves and then remove from heat. Pour the pickling liquid through a sieve into a bowl containing the carrots. Allow to cool to room temperature before using. These can also be kept in a canning jar with the brine.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Equipment - Ninja Nutri-Blender

Special Ingredients - Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Protein Isolate

Ingredients - This is a bit different this week because once you get beyond the protein powder and the liquid, you can pretty much add whatever you want to this. This is just the list of what’s in this particular bowl, as well as the calorie count and protein content.

2 cups of milk

298 calories, 16 grams protein

2 scoops of whey protein powder

232 calories, 48 grams protein

1/2 cup peanut butter

760 calories, 32 grams protein

3 tablespoons hemp seeds

180 calories, 10 grams protein

2/3 cup protein granola

270 calories, 13 grams protein

3 blackberries

20 calories

1/4 cup blueberries

20 calories

5 raspberries

20 calories

1/2 banana

53 calories

1/2 green apple

43 calories

1 teaspoon honey

21 calories

1.5 cups frozen blueberries

120 calories

1 homemade Reese’s cup

50 calories

1 teaspoon strawberry jelly

30 calories

1/2 kiwi

21 calories

Total: 2138 calories, 119 grams protein

And to reiterate, put your bowl in the freezer a half hour before you make this and it will be at least 13.8% better than if you don’t.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients - curing salt #1

Special equipment - silicone molds, terrine pan

Recipe -

1 pig head, split

1 tablespoon peppercorns

1 tablespoon fennel seed

1 allspice berry

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 lbs kosher salt

12 oz sugar

2 gallons water

2 teaspoons curing salt #1

Garnish -

1 tablespoon fennel seed

2 teaspoons chili flakes

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or mace

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Mix the ingredients from the top section of the recipe to make the brine. Submerge the head in the brine and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

After brining, remove the head from the brine. Discard the brine.

Place the head in a large pot and fill with fresh water until covered. Bring this pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high. Simmer on medium high for 3-4 hours.

Allow the head to cool in the broth until it can be handled.

Remove the head from the broth and remove as much meat from the head as you can. Trim away the bulk of the fat.

Skim the foam and impurities from the surface of the broth. Strain the broth through cheesecloth to remove the majority of the solids. Bring the broth to a boil and reduce the volume by half.

Zest and juice one lemon, chop the parsley, and measure out the garnish herbs and spices. Combine all of the garnish ingredients with the cooled head meat and toss by hand to evenly distribute.

Ladle enough of the broth into the mold to cover the bottom. Pack the rest of the meat into the mold and ladle in enough broth to fill in any gaps. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set the gelatin. Serve with crackers, thinly sliced onion, and brown mustard.

View Details

Imgur album

Special equipment - Mortar and pestle

Immersion Blender

Special ingredients - Garam Masala

Cashew butter

Cashew butter chicken -

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

6 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons grated ginger

1.5 tablespoons garam masala

1 teaspoon (or less) cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter or ghee

3 shallots, finely diced

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can of coconut milk

1/3 cup of cashew butter

1 handful of toasted cashews

1 handful of chopped cilantro

Pair with steamed rice and/or naan

Notice “naan” in the line above is a link to my naan and pita recipe from last year.

Start by mixing together the cubed chicken thighs with the greek yogurt, half the grated ginger, half the sliced garlic, 2 teaspoons of garam masala, half of the cayenne, and the salt. Let that rest in the fridge for at least 5 minutes, but really, until you are ready to start cooking.

Heat a large pan on medium-high heat, add your olive oil and allow it to get hot enough to shimmer, and then add your marinated chicken to the pan. Turn the chicken often, cooking for 6-7 minutes. It won’t cook completely, but it should brown enough so that the chicken doesn’t appear raw from the outside. Once that time has passed, add half the butter to the pan, and toss the chicken to coat each piece in butter. Remove the chicken from the pan. We’ll add that back in later to finish cooking.

In your hot, dirty pan, add the diced shallot and cook on medium-high for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the butter, garlic, ginger, and all of the dry spices. Stir these ingredients so they are evenly distributed and let them cook together for 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir to incorporate. Add 1/4 cup of water to dilute the ingredients in the pan and reduce the heat to low. Add the coconut milk and cashew butter and stir until you have a smooth, even consistency and color. With a spatula, make sure to scrape the fond off the bottom of the pan and incorporate it into the sauce.

Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a light simmer. Return the chicken to the pan and stir so it is all coated in the sauce. Simmer on medium for 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken as the ingredients marry and the chicken will finish cooking.

While that’s finishing up, toast the cashews in a small pan to bring out the flavor and give it a nice color. Roughly chop your cilantro.

To serve, make a ball of white rice in the center of a bowl and spoon the chicken and sauce over the rice. Garnish with the toasted cashews and chopped cilantro. Serve with warm naan bread.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients - none

Special equipment - none

Beans -

1lbs dry beans or 2 cans of cannellini beans

4 strips bacon

1 diced yellow onion

2 diced carrots

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 head of garlic, diced

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup red wine

1.5 cups tomato paste

1.5 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoons chopped tarragon

1 tablespoon dry sage

1 small bag of pork rinds, powdered in a blender

2 tablespoons bacon grease/lard/butter

Cut the bacon into lardons. Cook the bacon in an enameled cast iron dutch oven until they’ve rendered their fat and started to brown.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, cayenne, tarragon, and sage. Stir to incorporate and cook on medium-high for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and translucent.

Add the tomato paste, red wine, and chicken stock. Stir to incorporate and bring to a simmer.

Add the beans and “top up” the sauce with the bean liquid so that everything is submerged.

Move the dutch oven, uncovered, to a 300ºF oven for an hour.

Heat the bacon grease in a pan and stir in the pork rinds to make the crumble. Sprinkle this over the beans and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes on the counter before serving.

Sweet ‘n sour chicken -

4 tablespoons olive oil

8 chicken drum sticks

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cubed butternut squash

2 red onions, cut into wedges

3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup orange juice (or the juice of two oranges)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 handful of fresh parsley

Heat half of the olive oil on medium-high heat in a deep pan. Working in shifts, brown the outsides of the chicken legs and season liberally with salt and pepper. Once browned (4-6 minutes of cook time), move the legs to a platter and leave the pan dirty.

Add the remaining olive oil and add the squash and onion. Toss those around and cook until you see some steam coming out of the pan (2-4 minutes). Stir in the chopped garlic and allow to cook for another 4 minutes.

Add the vinegar, orange juice, and chicken stock. Bring the pot to a simmer and then lay the chicken legs on top of the vegetables. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for an hour.

After an hour, remove the chicken legs and lay them on the serving platter. Chop the parsley and toast the pine nuts. Fold both into the sauce/vegetables. Spoon the sauce and vegetables over the chicken legs and serve.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients: None

Special equipment: None

Duck

1 whole duck, chilled in the refrigerator uncovered, at least 24 hours

2 tablespoons Chinese Five Spice

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 bunch scallions

1 orange

1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Set the chilled duck on a rack over a pot of water. Mix 1 tablespoon of five spice with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Brush this marinade all over the duck.

Boil the water in the pot for 1-1.5 hours. Leave the duck uncovered. It will be in the column of hot steam rising out of the pot. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

After steaming, price the skin all over (I use one of those corn skewers). Put the duck on a rack in a roasting pan and put into the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the duck from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 500ºF.

Mix together the remaining soy sauce and the honey, and brush the duck all over with that mixture. Return to the 500ºF oven until dark mahogany and crispy (between 5-15 minutes). Check it at 5 minutes and then every 2 minutes after that.

When done, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with sliced orange, chopped parsley, and chopped scallions.

Salad

1 seedless cucumber, sliced

3-4 carrots, shredded/grated

Juice of 1-2 limes

1 red bell pepper, sliced

2-3 scallions, chopped

.5 teaspoon chili flakes

1 teaspoon grated ginger

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 handful of chopped cashews

Mix together the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, lime juice, chili flakes, scallions, ginger, and garlic for the dressing. Toss together the vegetable and chopped cashews, pour the dressing over everything, and hand toss it to evenly distribute everything.

“Thin” sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

juice from half an orange

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1-2 chopped scallions

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients- None

Special Equipment - Cast Iron Pan

Blackened Rub

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dry mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 oz butter, melted and slightly warm

Whisk together the dry seasonings. Dunk the fish into the warm butter and then coat with the dry rub. Once all of the proteins have been prepared in this way, heat a cast iron pan on high and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter has frothed and started to brown, gently lay in the proteins, careful not to crowd the pan. Sear on high heat for 2 minutes, gently flip and sear for 2 minutes on the reverse. Remove to a separate pan and finish in the oven at 350ºF for 15 minutes or until internal temperature is 145º.

Dirty Rice

1lbs Sweet Italian sausage

4 cups of cooked rice, preferably cooked in chicken stock

2 cups chicken stock

1 diced bell pepper

1 diced yellow onion

1 diced stalk of celery

1/4 cup flour or 1/8 cup arrowroot powder

3 bay leaves

1 handful chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1.5 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large saute pan, begin cooking the sausage. Once it begins to brown, add the celery, bell pepper, and onion. Stir these together and allow to cook and release liquid. Once the vegetables have begun to sweat, add the bay leaves. A couple of minutes later, add the dry spices and stir to incorporate. Once the sausage is evenly browned, add the arrowroot powder and stir to incorporate. When the sausage is nearly done, add the 2 cups of chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Once the sauce thickens a bit, fold in the cooked rice, stir to incorporate, reduce heat and cover. After 5-10 minutes, the rice will have absorbed a lot of the excess liquid. Garnish with a handful of parsley and scallions.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - Cacao powder

Raw cashews

Special Equipment - Ice Cream Maker

Vitamix Blender

Brownie Recipe

1.5 cups sweet potato puree

2/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup almond butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.5 tablespoon avocado oil

1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup oat flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup dairy-free dark chocolate, chopped

Combine the sweet potato puree, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla, and avocado oil in a bowl and mix until smooth and consistent. Add the cacao powder, salt, and baking powder and stir to combine.

Add the oat flour, half of the pecans, and half of the dark chocolate, and mix until you have a thick batter.

Transfer the batter to a parchment lined, greased 8x8 baking pan. With a spatula, spread the batter to an even thickness on the bottom of the pan.

Bake in a 350ºF oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven when done and allow to cool completely. Run the blade of a knife or a spatula around the edge of the brownie to free it from the pan.

Ice Cream Recipe

3 cups raw cashews

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.5 cups of water (to be used when making the cream, not soaking the cashews)

Soak the cashews in 3 cups of water for 4 hours (or overnight). Drain the cashews, discarding the cloudy water.

Add the cashews to the blender along with the 1.5 cups of water, maple syrup, salt, and vanilla. Blend until you have the consistency of half and half, approximately 3 minutes.

Pour the ice cream base into your prepared ice cream maker. Ours uses bowls that you keep in the freezer, but other models either have refrigeration onboard or require you to add ice and rock salt. 20 minutes later, the ice cream should be a bit firmer than soft serve.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients -

Special Equipment - Meat grinder attachment

Food processor

Muffuletta recipe -

3/4 cup olives (Kalamata or something similar)

1/2 cup giardiniera

1/4 cup roasted red peppers

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley (fresh, not dried)

1 tablespoon capers

1 clove of garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 muffuletta roll, ciabatta roll, or other large, soft bread

~5oz thin-sliced soppressata

~5oz capicola/coppa

~5oz mortadella

~5oz sliced provolone

In a food processor, combine the olives, giardiniera, red peppers, parsley, capers, olive oil, vinegar, and garlic. You'll probably want to chop the clove of garlic so it distributes evenly. Pulse until the consistency is that of chunky salsa. Don't over-pulse because you don't want it to turn into a paste.

Cut your roll in half like a burger bun. Spoon the tapenade mixture on both halves, pressing it down so it adheres to the bread.

Lay the cured meats onto the bun in single layers - 1 layer of soppressata, one layer of coppa, one layer of mortadella, and then a layer of provolone. Repeat a second time to build up the internal structure of the sandwich. Carefully apply the top of the sandwich so that the tapenade doesn't fall off or out of the sandwich.

Ideally, you'll want to wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap, foil, or parchment and allow it to rest for an hour in the refrigerator. This will allow the tapenade to penetrate the bread and some of those flavors to permeate the layers of meat and cheese.

To serve, cut into at least 4 wedges, exposing the layers and making reasonable portions.

Bread Recipe -

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon dry-active yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar and allow the yeast to wake up and get foamy. Combine the flour, salt, and olive oil in a stand-mixer bowl with the bread hook attachment. Add the water/yeast mixture and knead on low for 10 minutes. The dough will be very dense, but relatively soft. Allow the dough to rise for 2 hours, punch it down, form it into a flat, circular loaf, and put it on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with a moist towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Brush the surface with water and sprinkle the sesame seeds on the surface. Lightly press the seeds into the dough so they stick. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and allow to bake for an additional 25-35 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing in half.

Mortadella Recipe -

Refer back to episode 8 (Hot dogs) for additional information on the technique for making emulsified sausages.

1lbs pork shoulder

2 tablespoons red wine

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1.5 tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon curing salt #1 (sodium nitrite)

12 ounces pork fat (fat back or belly fat)

10 ounces ice water

1.5 teaspoons white pepper

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground coriander

4-5 ground bay leaves

1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder

You want to make sure everything remains cold throughout the process so that you have a higher probability of success with the emulsion. Cut the pork shoulder and the pork fat into small cubes and grind through the medium die. Quickly change out the medium die for the fine die and pass the meat and fat mixture through the grinder a second time.

Add the wine, salt, curing salt, pepper, nutmeg, coriander, bay leaf powder and nonfat dry milk powder to the ground pork and fat. Using the paddle attachment, mix until evenly incorporated and the farce is sticky and dense.

You'll likely have to work in batches, so spoon half of this mixture into the bowl of the food processor. Add half of the ice water and run the food processor until you have a smooth, consistent "pudding." Remove that to a cold mixing bowl and repeat with the remaining farce. Combine the two batches and quickly whip them together with a spoon.

If you were making a cased sausage, you'd stuff this mixture into a large-format natural or synthetic casing, poach in 170ºF water until the internal temperature reads 150º, and then transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking and cool the mortadella rapidly. However, for this preparation, I spooned the farce into a loaf pan and gently laid that into a roasting pan half filled with hot water. Cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and bake in a 250ºF oven until the farce reaches 150ºF. For the final 5º of cooking, you can remove the foil to allow moisture to escape. Transfer the loaf pan to a bowl of ice water to rapidly chill the farce. Gently free the loaf from the pan with a spatula and slice as thinly as possible with a knife.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - Springform Pan

Chicken and apple fricassee

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut horizontally in half

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 firm, tart apples (gala, fuji, etc.) sliced into wedges, core removed, skin on

1 diced yellow onion

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup apple cider

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped chives

Prep your ingredients beforehand so you don’t have to rush to get the next step ready. Salt and pepper the chicken breast and dredge it in flour. Slice the apples and remove the core.

In a sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat until the butter gets foamy. Cook the apples for 8-10 minutes, flipping occasionally, until brown and slightly soft. Remove these from the pan until later.

To the dirty pan, add the other tablespoon of butter and oil. Add the chicken breasts and cook on medium-high for about 3 minutes per side. This will brown the outside nicely, but the chicken will be less than half cooked. Remove the chicken and keep on a plate to be added back later.

Your pan will be nice and dirty at this point. Add the diced onions and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the thyme and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until the onions are translucent and soft.

Add the chicken stock and cider to the pan of onions, increase the temperature to high, and boil until it has reduced by half. This will likely only take about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the cream. Let this come up to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Return the chicken to the sauce, giving each piece some space. The chicken should not be submerged in sauce. It should come up about halfway on the meat. Keeping the stove on medium heat, simmer the chicken in the sauce for 10 minutes. During this time, add the tablespoon of vinegar to your cooked apples. Once the chicken has cooked in the sauce, add the apples. You can let this all cook at just under a simmer for 15 minutes or so while you prepare sides or the apple cake recipe. When ready to serve, finely chop your chives and add to the pan.

French Apple Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter, left to soften at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons dark rum

2-3 apples, cored, peeled, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes

A bit of confectioner’s sugar to dust the top

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder)

In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with a hand mixer and slowly add the granulated sugar. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth.

Add the eggs, rum, and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and beat until smooth and pudding-like in consistency.

Add the dry ingredients and beat until you have a smooth, but thick batter.

Using a spoon or spatula, fold in the apple cubes so they are evenly-distributed in the batter.

Grease the bottom and sides of a springform pan (9 inch). Scrape the batter into the pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the top of the batter with about a tablespoon of granulated sugar so it creates a nice crust when baked.

Bake for 40 minutes. When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes on the counter. When you’re ready to serve, dust the top with confectioner’s sugar, run a knife around the edge of the cake, and release the sides of the pan to remove.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Equipment - Grain Mill

Distillation kit

Cheese press - I can’t find the metal dutch-style press I have, so here’s a wooden version.

Special Ingredients - Cacao beans

Recipe -

Cake

1.75 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups cocoa powder

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

1.5 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup hot water

Sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Mix the wet into the dry and whisk until a thin, consistent batter is formed. Slowly drizzle in the hot water while whisking. Pour batter into a greased cake pan and bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

4 oz softened butter

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brewed espresso

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar and beat until incorporated and smooth. Add cocoa powder and beat to incorporate. Add the milk, COLD espresso, and vanilla extract and beat until an even consistency is made. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Bingo bango.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients -

Sorghum flour

Sorghum syrup

Special Equipment -

KitchenAid Grain Mill Attachment

Recipe -

1.5 cups sorghum flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients. Mix quickly with a fork until a loose batter forms. If using commercial sorghum flour, your batter may be a bit lumpy. This is fine. Just like regular pancakes, lumps are A-OK.

In a large skillet or griddle, melt at least a tablespoon of butter until it foams and starts to brown. Ladle in about a half a cup of batter for each pancake. Reduce heat to medium and let that sit until the pancake firms up and starts to dry around the edge. Because sorghum doesn’t contain gluten, you don’t get the elasticity you get from wheat flour in the final product. Therefore, each pancake has to cook a bit longer so it holds together while flipping. Flip gently and allow for the same cook time on the other side.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None, but a hand mixer and a stand mixer would certainly help. If you are using whole oats, a grain mill will be needed.

Cookie dough -

1 cup softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups of oatmeal

Cream filling -

3/4 cup softened unsalted butter

2.5 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon half and half

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Cream the butter and white sugar, beating for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat to incorporate.

Whisk together the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add this mixture slowly to the butter mixture, beating on low to incorporate.

Add the brown sugar and oatmeal and mix on low until it is uniform.

Roll ball of dough about 3 tablespoons-worth and press them into cookie shapes. Put those on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. Then, remove from the parchment to cool completely on wire racks. During this time, make the cream filling.

Using a hand-mixer, beat the softened butter for the filling for a full 5 minutes to fluff it up and add volume.

Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar a bit at a time until it has all mixed into the butter. Beat this mixture on medium-high for another 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and milk and beat until smooth (about a minute or two).

Using a spatula, spoon, or piping bag, apply the filling to a cookie, leaving about a half inch of room for smushing. Apply the “lids” and press gently together until the cream fills the space around the rim.

That’s it. Easy breezy.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

1 whole chicken, broken down into breasts, wings, legs, and thighs

1.25 cups pickle juice

3 tablespoons sugar

1.5 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup hot sauce

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup corn starch

2 quarts frying oil (vegetable, peanut, avocado)

3 tablespoons of flour seasoning (mix together 1 tablespoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper and then use 3 tablespoons of this mixture)

For the hot oil:

3/4 cup of frying oil

1/4 cup cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

Whisk the sugar into the pickle juice until it’s dissolved. In a shallow container, arrange the chicken pieces in one layer and pour the pickle brine over the meat. Pepper the surface of the chicken, cover with Saran Wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the pickle juice from the chicken.

Mix hot sauce and buttermilk together in one container and the flour/cornstarch/dry seasonings in other container. Submerge the chicken in the buttermilk and then dredge in flour. Go back into the buttermilk and a second coating of dry ingredients. Let the chicken rest on a wire rack, refrigerated, for 1-3 hours after breading.

Fry in oil at 325ºf for 10-12 minutes, working in small batches. Hold cooked chicken in a 250ºf oven while subsequent batches are frying.

Once all of the chicken is cooked, allow the oil to cool for 15 minutes. Use 3/4 cup of the oil and stir the spices into it before brushing it onto the finished chicken. Serve on a soft white bread with cold pickles.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment - None

Special Ingredients - None

Cookbook Link

Carrots-

12 carrots

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/8 cup chopped dill

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

4oz goat cheese (chèvre)

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds or raspberry segments

Preheat oven to 450ºF

Coat carrots with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine chopped herbs, garlic, chili flakes, olive oil and honey. When the carrots are finished in the oven, crumble chèvre over them while hot and spoon the herb oil over the carrots. Garnish with the fruit pieces.

Stuffed Squash-

2 butternut squash

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup basil pesto

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon thyme

8oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

4 garlic cloves

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup coarsely shredded fontinella cheese

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Cut squash in half and clean the pulp and seeds.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream, pesto, herbs, spinach, ricotta, garlic, and pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste. Incorporate half of the shredded cheese.

Fill the voids in the squash with the cheese and spinach mixture. Add the remaining shredded cheese and cover the whole dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until cheese is brown.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - Chinese Take-Out Boxes

Recipe

Marinade:

1 egg white, beaten

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine

2 tablespoons vodka

3 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Dry Breading:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup arrowroot powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce:

4 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons chicken stock

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

2 teaspoons avocado oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 teaspoons minced scallions

1 teaspoon sesame oil

5-8 chili peppers, ideally dried arbol

Chicken:

1-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces.

Start by cutting your chicken and setting it aside.

To make the marinade, beat together your foamy egg whites, soy sauce, wine, and vodka. Reserve half of this marinade for later. To the other half, add arrowroot powder and baking soda and whisk to combine. Add the chicken to this bowl, cover with Saran Wrap, and set aside.

Heat avocado or peanut oil (approximately 1 quart) to 350ºF in a wok, dutch oven, or other frying vessel. As that is heating up, mix together flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the reserved marinade and mix into the dry ingredients with a fork.

Bread the chicken pieces one at a time and gently set them into the oil. Fry-time should be 4-5 minutes before golden brown. Bread and fry the chicken in batches that doesn’t overwhelm the oil. As the chicken finishes cooking, remove with a slotted spoon and put them onto a wire rack over a baking sheet. The chicken can be kept in a 250ºF oven while you finish the recipe.

To make the sauce, combine sugar, chicken stock, soy sauce, wine, vinegar, arrowroot powder, and sesame oil in a bowl.

In a wok or frying pan, add avocado oil and heat on medium-high. To the oil, add the minced garlic, ginger, scallions, and chili peppers. Stir-fry those until the onion and garlic start to turn lightly golden brown.

Reduce heat to medium and gently add the sauce to the pan. Whisk vigorously to incorporate everything and bring to a simmer. The sauce will thicken quickly; about 2 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce. With a wooden spoon, fold the chicken into the sauce so that it is completely coated. Don’t over-mix to avoid damaging the chicken.

Serve with white rice, roasted broccoli, and garnished with fresh diced scallions, slices of garlic, and one of the chili peppers.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

1.5 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

Kernels from 5-6 ears of sweet corn

4 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2” lardons

1 large onion, diced

1 carrot, chopped coarsely

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1lbs potatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon (or less) cayenne

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Start by cutting the kernels off the cobs and saving in a bowl in the fridge.

Place the cobs in a pot of chicken stock and simmer, covered, for 1 hour

In a sauté pan, cook the bacon lardons until crisp. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon and keep until later.

To the pan of bacon grease, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until the onion is translucent and just starting to take on a golden color. Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Add the chopped potatoes to the chicken/corn stock. Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Bring to a simmer.

Add the milk and cream and gently bring that up to a simmer. Let the soup reduce by 1/2”-1” down the side of the pot.

Add 75% of the fresh corn kernels to the soup. Stir to incorporate.

Serve the soup garnished with crispy bacon lardons, fresh corn kernels, and chopped chive.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - KitchenAid Grain Mill Attachment

Oatmeal Muffins -

Preheat oven to 425ºF

1 cup all-purpose flour

1.5 cups oatmeal

1.25 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup avocado oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 eggs

Combine the milk and oats and let stand for 10 minutes. Then, combine the rest of the ingredients and distribute evenly among 12 muffin paper liners.

Bake at 425ºF for 7 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes.

Zucchini Fritters-

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

The zest and juice of one lime

Combine these ingredients, mix until smooth, refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the fritters, coarsely grate 1 large zucchini or 3 small ones.

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Zest of two limes

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

2.5 teaspoons ground coriander

1/5 teaspoons ground cardamom

4oz feta cheese, crumbled

2 cups avocado oil, for frying

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix together all ingredients, saving the cheese separate from the batter. Pat a small wad of batter in the palm of one hand. Place a few studs of crumbled feta in the center and form a quenelle out of the batter in your palm. With the oil heated to 300ºF, gently fry each fritter for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Croque Madame-

6 ounces butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

12 ounces coarsely grated Swiss cheese

8 slices of sourdough bread

8-12 slices of ham

4 eggs

Melt half the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and bay leaf and cook until a foamy roux has formed. Before the flour browns, stir the milk into the roux and stir continuously until the sauce comes back up to a simmer and homogenizes.

Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir the parmesan cheese and half the Swiss cheese into the sauce.

Lay out 4 slices of bread. Top with 2-3 slices of ham and a slathering of the cheese sauce. Cap with another piece of bread and then fry the individual sandwiches in butter to brown. Remove to a baking sheet. Top with the remaining cheese sauce and the remaining Swiss cheese. Place under the broiler in the oven until the cheese is bubbled and browned.

Fry an egg for each sandwich. Lay the sunny side up egg on the hot cheese and serve.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - Semolina Flour

Special Equipment - None

Chermoula Recipe -

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

1 head of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup coarsely grated yellow onion

1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons paprika

Zest of one lemon

Small handful of parsley and cilantro, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

Lightly salt the pork chops or other protein prior to applying the marinade.

Grind spices into a powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Combine all ingredients and apply liberally to the protein, allowing it to marinate for 6-12 hours.

Creamy Semolina -

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 heads of garlic, chopped

A large bunch of spinach, chard, or mustard greens

Salt, to season the spinach

8 cups chicken broth or bone broth

1/2 cup semolina flour

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups finely grated pecorino cheese

Lightly sauté the garlic and spinach until the former is golden and the latter is just wilted. Set those aside on a cutting board for later.

Bring the stock to a light boil in a large sauce pan.

Lightly sprinkle the semolina into the boiling stock, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Once all of the semolina has been stirred into the stock, allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often.

Once 30 minutes has elapsed, gently whisk in 75% of the grated cheese so that it is incorporated into the soup. Stir in the butter, then add the garlic and spinach and stir gently to incorporate. Serve a small amount in a bowl and garnish with some of the reserved cheese.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - none

Special Equipment - None

Non-dairy Buffalo Chicken stuffing-

1 can of chicken breast packed in water

2 leafy stalks of celery

1 tablespoon ghee

1/4 cup Franks RedHot

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dillweed

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

For the whole chicken, debone it according to my instructions, or better yet, follow along with Jacques Pepin in this video.

Once assembled, salt and pepper the skin of the chicken and roast it for 1.5 hours at 375ºF or until the internal temperature has reached 160ºF. After 30-40 minutes, baste it with hot chili oil and then again 10 minutes prior to it being done.

Remove from the oven and let it rest uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Snip away the twine and slice into medallions.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Farmer’s Cheese -

1/2 gallon whole milk

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

Gently heat the milk in a large pot until it gets to 185ºF over the course of 40+ minutes. Medium-low to Medium heat will be the range you’ll want to work in for the majority of this time.

Once your milk has come to temperature, drizzle the vinegar in, slowly, over the surface of the milk. Gently stir the vinegar to incorporate into the milk. As the vinegar disperses in the liquid, the curds will separate from the whey.

Kill the heat, cover the pot, and allow to rest until it reaches room temperature.

Lay a flour sack cloth or cheesecloth inside of a colander and strain the contents of the pot through that. Bring the corners together and squeeze the liquid from the solid curd. Twist the cloth and squeeze the curd for a few minutes until you’ve gotten the vast majority of the liquid out. Refrigerate until later when we’ll make the cheese filling.

Dough -

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dry-active yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

3.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix the sugar into the water with a pinch of flour and add the yeast to wake it up and allow it to bloom.

Combine all of the ingredients and knead for 12 minutes until a smooth dough has been achieved. Roll into a tight ball and cover with Saran Wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 3 hours.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and form into a tight ball. Divide into 4 equal parts and set aside.

Filling -

1.5 cups farmer’s cheese

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella

1.5 cups shredded feta

4 eggs, plus one to egg wash the dough

2 tablespoons butter

Mix together the 3 cheeses and “knead” them with your hands to make a homogenous cheese spread.

Pre-heat the oven to 450ºF.

Roll out a disk of dough 6-8 inches in diameter. Gripping the dough at opposite points of the disk, twist in opposite directions to produce an eye-shaped “boat” of dough. With your fingers, press the cheese mixture into the dough until it covers the inside of the “eye” with a consistent layer. Scramble one egg and brush it onto the exposed dough around the edge of the khachapuri. Bake at 450ºF for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, open the oven and make a depression in the melted cheese with the back of a spoon. Gently deposit one whole egg into the depression and return to the oven for 6-8 minutes. The egg will become opaque and partially cooked, but still runny.

Remove from the oven and dot the top of the melted cheese with bits of butter, which will melt from the heat of the khachapuri and pool around the top of the cheese. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve warm.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment -

Stand mixer meat grinder attachment

Stand mixer sausage stuffer attachment

Stand-alone sausage stuffer

Stand-alone meat grinder

Vitamix Blender

Ninja Blender

Cuisinart Food Processor

Anova Immersion Circulator

Cheaper Immersion Circulator

Recipe -

Quatre Epices -

3 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

Sausage -

1lbs fatty pork

1lbs chicken breast

1.5 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1.5 teaspoons quatre epices

8 eggs

2.5 cups whole milk

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Natural hog casings

You will want to keep everything as cold as possible throughout this process. When in doubt, put everything in the fridge or freezer for a bit and take a break.

Cut the pork and chicken into 1/2-1” cubes and then pass through your grinder on medium or coarse plate.

Mix together the eggs, milk, flour, and spices. Add this to the ground meat and then blend/process to make a smooth, thick emulsion. Refrigerate this farce while you clean your area and prepare your stuffing rig.

Thread the hog casings onto the horn of your stuffer. Pipe the farce into the casings, being careful not to overstuff. We’ll tighten these up when we twist them off into links, but they will swell when they are poached and we don’t want them to burst.

Once stuffed and twisted off into links, refrigerate the sausages while we prepare the poaching bath.

We are going to poach the sausages at 175ºF until the interior temperature of the sausages are 160ºF. We’ll add the sausages to the water bath at 130ºF and continue to bring the temperature up to 175ºF.

Once the internal temperature hits 160ºF, remove the sausages to an ice bath and then snip the casings so you have individual links.

Refrigerate overnight, uncovered.

In a large skillet, bring 1 cup of chicken stock and 4 tablespoons of butter to a simmer. Gently cook the sausages until the chicken broth boils off and then sautée the sausages in the remaining butter until they are lightly golden brown and heated through. Remove the sausages to a platter and add your cleaned chanterelles to the skillet, cooking until soft in the seasoned butter. Serve together.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - This is the closest thing I could find to the stoneware bean pots

Baked Beans Recipe

1lbs dried navy beans

1 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup maple syrup (or molasses)

1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard (see additional recipe below)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 bay leaves

Start the day before and soak the dried beans in 6-8 cups of cold water overnight.

Drain the water from the soaked beans. Add the beans to a high-sided pot and add water to cover to a depth of 2 inches.

Bring the beans to a boil and then reduce the heat to maintain a lively simmer. Once a raft of bean foam forms on the surface of the water, skim with a ladle and boil the beans for 1 hour. During that hour, we can prepare the sauce, as well as the mustard.

For the sauce, cut the bacon into 1/2 inch lardons. Cook on medium-high heat in a dutch oven. Once the bacon has started to brown, but before it gets “crispy,” add the diced onion and continue to cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the zest of one lemon and reduce the heat to low.

To the bacon/onion/lemon, add the minced garlic cloves, tomato paste, sugar, syrup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt & pepper, and bay leaf. If you are using store-bought mustard, add that as well. Otherwise, we can make the mustard, now.

Mustard Recipe

1 cup of water

3/4 cup ground mustard powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

Add all ingredients except for the vinegar to a sauce pan. Whisk until smooth and then simmer for 20 minutes or so to reduce to a thick paste. Add the vinegar to thin the mustard and continue simmering until it reduces to the desired thickness.

Back to Beans

Once your beans have boiled for an hour, drain them, but reserve 2 cups of the bean broth. Add the beans and the reserved bean broth to the sauce and still well to evenly incorporate everything. Cover the dutch oven and bake at 325ºF for 3-4 hours. Check the beans at the 1 hour and 2 hour marks, adding water or chicken stock as needed to fully hydrate the beans. When done, remove the dutch oven from the oven and allow it to sit for 15-20 minutes, covered, before stirring the beans and serving.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Equipment: OneGrill Rotisserie Kit

Special Ingredients: None

Dry Rub: 1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup paprika

Baste: 1 jar of dill pickle juice

2-3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon of the aforementioned dry rub

Board sauce: Use a smattering of fresh herbs, but make sure they are herbs where you can eat whatever you include. If using thyme, pluck the leaves from the stems. Rest the hot meat on the bed of herbs to wilt and incorporate some juices. Drizzle with olive oil, juice of one lemon, and then chop as finely as possible. Dress the meat with the herbs.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Garlic Scape Pesto -

If you can’t get garlic scapes, use an equivalent amount of garlic chives. Stuff the garlic greens into your blender and fill 1/4 of the bottom with olive oil. I used about 20oz of olive oil for a gallon bag of garlic scapes. Squeeze the juice of one lemon, and salt generously.

Blend until smooth. You may need to tamp down the garlic to maintain contact with the blades. You may also need to add olive oil to keep everything liquid.

Transfer to pint jars (widemouth are most convenient because you can spoon the pesto into the jar easily), apply lids and rings, and keep refrigerated for 3-6 months. If you water bath can your jars, you may get a dulling of the green color. Check your canning guides for that to make sure you can safely can an oil based pesto or if you need to use a pressure canner.

Board Sauce -

On your cutting board, arrange fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and a light drizzle of oil. When your protein is done, transfer to the board on top of the herb bed. Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the meat to a serving platter and coarsely chop the wilted herbs left on the board. Easy breezy.

Spatchcock Chicken -

Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone of the chicken. This will allow you to open the carcass of the bird like a book and all of the parts of the chicken will be facing “up.” This allows the whole chicken to be grilled in much less time than a whole, intact bird. Salt both sides heavily and flip often to avoid burning the skin. Cook to an internal temperature of at least 165ºF, but I like to go well-beyond that so the connective tissue starts to break down. My chickens were at just about 200ºF when I took them off the grill.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Pastry Recipe -

3 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch of ground nutmeg

4 tablespoons butter

Preheat your oven to 425ºF and warm your pan in there while you make the batter.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, flour, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until smooth and evenly incorporated. This will be a thin batter, similar to a crepe.

Add your butter to the pan and return to the oven. Check it between 5 to 10 minutes. When the butter is melted and foamy, pour the batter into the pan. Don’t let the butter brown or burn. Return the pan to the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Check the progress at 15 minutes. If the pastry is starting to brown, cut the heat to 300ºF for the last 5 minutes.

While your pastry is in the oven, prepare your toppings.

Slice the apples and remove the core. Dice them into 1/2” cubes, dust with cinnamon and nutmeg, and add them to a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Cook on medium/medium-high for about 15 minutes. Stir them often and make sure the sugar doesn’t caramelize. You just want a bubbly, sticky sauce.

Peel the banana and slice on a bias. Add those to a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook on medium/medium-high for 10-15 minutes. Very gently flip the banana slices periodically to coat them in the sauce, but be careful not to mash them up too much. When the sauce is bubbly and liquid, add 2-3 tablespoons of brandy, cognac, or dark rum. Do this away from the flame if using a gas stove. Simmer gently for 10 minutes to burn off the alcohol and then turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes ahead of serving.

When your Dutch Baby is ready to come out of the oven, dust it with confectioner’s sugar. The pastry should lift easily out of the pan to be cut into portions. If you use a smaller pan, they can be individual portions without being cut.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Creamy Radish Soup -

12-15 radishes, washed, and trimmed of leaves and tap roots

4 cups chicken stock

4 medium yellow potatoes, washed and diced into 1/2” cubes

Salt, Pepper, Garlic to taste

1.5 cups heavy cream

Leeks, washed, peeled, and sliced thin

Roast the radishes at 450ºF for 30 minutes. This will soften them and blister the skins.

Simmer the potatoes in chicken stock for 45 minutes.

Allow both the radishes and potatoes to cool a bit before processing.

Gently sauté the leek threads in olive oil until crispy and dark brown. Remove from heat, salt, and allow to cool enough to handle.

In a blender, puree the potatoes, chicken stock, and radishes until smooth. If too thick, add chicken stock to thin.

Return the soup to a pan and warm it gently on medium heat. Add 1.5 cups of cream, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.

Slice an extra radish thinly and salt generously to use as a garnish.

To serve, ladle soup into a small bowl, float the crispy leeks in the center along with the radish slices.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: None

Biscuit Recipe -

4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups butter

1.5 cups heavy whipping cream

5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix butter, baking powder, salt, sugar, and vanilla extract into the flour to make a wet sand texture. Add heavy cream and mix until a soft dough forms. Hand knead for a minute or two to make a smooth ball.

Roll out flat to 1 inch thickness.

Using a cookie cutter or a wide mouth pint jar, cut biscuit rounds from the dough and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes and then allow to cool on the counter.

Berries Recipe -

2 pints strawberries

Cut in half, macerate 1/4 of the berries with a teaspoon of sugar, mix all berries together and dust with another teaspoon of sugar

Whipped cream recipe -

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk together until whipped cream forms, then stop.

To assemble, split biscuits in half and alternate layers of whipped cream and biscuit and then top with berries.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients - none

Special equipment - none

1 pork loin roast, approximately 8 inches long

8oz Turkish figs

8oz fresh cherries, stems and pits removed

1/2 bottle of pinot noir

4oz salted pistachios

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

2 cups chicken stock

1 bulb anise

3 leeks

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup maple syrup or sugar

1/2 gallon water

Slice the pork loin lengthwise and unroll it while you continue making shallow cuts until the meat is flat.

Whisk together the salt, sugar, and water to make a brine. Add the meat to the brine and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Cut the figs into 1/2 inch cubes, remove the stems.

Add the figs and cherries to a bowl and add wine until the fruit is covered. Cover with Saran Wrap and allow to sit for 4 hours.

Strain the excess wine from the fruit and blend in a food processor until smooth.

Pat the pork dry with a towel and lay flat on a cutting board.

Slather the cut side of the pork with the fruit filling, leaving an inch or two around the perimeter.

Roll the meat away from you, firmly, but not too tightly. Wipe away any extruded fruit filling.

Tie the roast with butcher’s twine at 1-2 inch increments, cinching the meat somewhat tightly.

Put the roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Salt and pepper the top.

Cut the anise bulb into wedges and the leeks into matchsticks.

Nest the vegetables around the pork roast and add 2 cups of chicken stock to the bottom of the pan.

Roast at 450ºF for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

In a clean food processor, pulse the pistachios, honey, and mustard until a chunky paste is formed.

When the roast is golden brown and crispy, remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 300ºF. Spoon a thick cap of the pistachio paste on the top of the roast and return it to the oven until the center registers 135ºF.

Put the roast on a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the rack from the roasting pan and toss the vegetables with the juices in the bottom of the pan.

Slice the roast and serve.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: None

Walleye cakes -

1lbs walleye fillets, as clean of bones as possible

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 egg

1 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon old bay

25 saltine crackers

Season your fillets with salt and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake those at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes until they are “just” done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool so they can be worked with bare hands.

While the fillets are in the oven, whisk together the wet ingredients, plus the old bay.

In a food processor, blender, or even a bowl with a pestle, reduce the crackers to fine crumbs.

When the fish has cooled enough to be handled, “push” apart the flake of the flesh with your bare hands, being careful not to pulverize it too much. You want large, intact chunks of flesh.

In a mixing bowl, combine the fish and cracker crumbs and toss to distribute.

Pour the wet mixture over the fish and gently fold together with a wooden spoon.

Refrigerate the fish mixture for 30 minutes so it tightens up and the cracker crumbs absorb sufficient moisture.

Use a neutral, clear oil and get a nice pool in the bottom of a heavy pan. Heat that to 300-325ºF.

Form a tight ball of the fish mixture in your hands and gently lay your “meatballs” into the hot oil. Let them fry for a minute or two before gently pressing down the top to flatten the ball out into a rough puck shape. Don’t do this too hard, or your cake will fall apart. After about 4-5 minutes, very gently flip the cakes and fry on the opposite side for 4-5 minutes. If you haven’t achieved a golden brown crust, flip a few more times for 1-2 minutes each side until the color is satisfactory. Once you’ve developed a crust on the top and bottom, it will be much easier to flip them without having them fall apart.

Tartar Sauce -

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Whisk together and refrigerate until needed

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients: None

Special equipment: KitchenAid stand-mixer meat grinder attachment

Referenced episodes: Shrimp Tacos

Pita

Kefta Kebab:

2lbs lamb, boneless or cut off the bone

1 onion, finely diced

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1.5 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 cup curly leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, chopped

Grind the lamb first through a coarse grinding plate on its own. Then, add all of the auxiliary ingredients and pass it through the finest grinding plate for a second grind. Refrigerate until just before you are ready to form and grill the kebabs.

To make the kebabs, form a sausage-shaped mass of meat in your hand. The more you work the meat, the stickier and more bound together it will become, to a point. Impale the meat with the bamboo skewers, leaving ample bamboo to use as a “handle” opposite the meat end. Grill over a moderately-hot grill for 10 minutes, flipping once.

Coconut cream sauce:

1 cup coconut cream

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

Pepper

Granulated garlic

Finely chopped mint and parsley

Tabouleh:

Lots of finely chopped parsley

Diced tomato, cucumber, bell pepper

1/4 finely diced onion

Juice of one lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of hydrated bulgur wheat or cooked and cooled couscous

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients: None

Special equipment: Tart Pans

Crust Recipe:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee

2 tablespoons granulated sugar/maple syrup

1 egg yolk

Mix all ingredients together. This will produce a crumbly pie crust, but you can make a more elastic crust by adding 1/2 cup of water. Do not over-knead. Once the dough forms a ball, place it in a bowl and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Sweet custard filling:

1.5 cups whole milk/cashew milk

6 egg yolks

1/4 cup granulated sugar/maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Whisk the egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar/syrup until smooth.

Heat the milk to just under a simmer. Remove from heat, and slowly drizzle the milk into the egg yolks while whisking vigorously to temper the egg. Once the milk and egg are incorporated, roll out your dough into rounds to lay into your tart pan. Carefully pour the egg filling into the crusts. If making a plain custard tart, dust the top with a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Bake at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 325ºF and continue baking for a total baking time of 30 minutes. Remove from the oven to allow to cool to room temperature. You can adorn the top of the tart with fruit.

For the savory liver and onion tart, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Heat your milk to just under a simmer with 4 tablespoons of butter or ghee. Temper the egg yolks the same way and pour into a prepared crust. Dredge 4oz of liver in flour and fry in 2 tablespoons of ghee/butter until a crust has formed. Chop the liver into bitesized pieces and gently place them into the uncooked egg filling. Bake this tart the same way as the sweet the tarts. Once removed from the oven and cooled for 15 minutes, top the egg filling with caramelized onions, which will take approximately 1.5 hours to prepare ahead of time.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients -none

Special Equipment - none

Salsa -

2 cups diced coconut

2 cups diced mango

1/4 finely diced onion

1 teaspoon finely diced ginger

1 teaspoon finely diced garlic

1 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 orange, juiced

2 roasted and chopped jalapeños

Pinch of salt

Sauce -

1/2 cup coconut cream

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon finely diced ginger

1 teaspoon finely diced garlic

Juice of one lime

Salt & Pepper

Shrimp -

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 finely diced onion

2 tablespoons dry, shredded coconut

2 tablespoons olive oil

Roast in a 425ºF oven for 12-15 minutes

Slaw -

1/2 finely sliced cabbage

2 tablespoons of the coconut cream sauce

Corn Tortillas -

Scorch these in a pan with neutral oil

Assemble by laying slaw, salsa, cubed avocado with lime and salt, roasted shrimp, and fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

View Details

Imgur Album

Twitter Handle - @bobvonscio

Special Ingredients - Arrowroot Powder

Special Equipment - Rice Cooker

Halfbaked Harvest by Teighan Gerard

Coconut Rice -

1 cup jasmine or basmati rice

1 can of full fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

If using a rice cooker, add 1 cup of rice, one can of coconut milk, and 1/2 cup of water.

When done cooking, allow to rest on the "warm" setting while you continue preparing the rest of the dish. Prior to serving, whisk together the rice wine vinegar and honey, pour over the rice, and then fluff with a fork to mix.

Mongolian Beef -

3 NY Strip steaks, sliced thin against the grain

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon chili flakes

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

3 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

A bunch of broccoli

3-4 green onions/scallions

3-4 tablespoons avocado oil

2 tablespoons honey

Slice your beef and lightly coat with baking soda. This will "velvet" the beef and change the texture to what you'd expect from Chinese restaurant-style meat. While the beef is "marinating" in the baking soda, cut the broccoli florets. Drizzle the broccoli with olive oil, season with salt, and put into a 400ºF oven for 20 minutes. When it has just started to get crispy on the edges, turn the oven off, but leave it in there until the end of the recipe when you combine it with the beef.

Slice the scallion heads as part of the garnish. Then, cut a roughly 3 inch segment from the greens of 3-4 scallions and cut them lengthwise as another garnish.

After 30 minutes of velvet in, toss the meat with the arrowroot powder to coat.

In a large pan (I used a big sauté pan), get 3 tablespoons of avocado oil shimmering hot. Gently lay in the arrowroot-covered beef and cook until browned and slightly crusty. Try to move the beef around often, similar to stir fry. Once the beef is sufficiently browned and crusty, kill the heat and remove the beef to a platter while you build the sauce in the pan. Salt the beef while it's resting.

With the heat off, add the soy sauce, garlic, honey, ginger, and chili flakes to the pan. Turn the heat on medium/medium-high and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to release the fond and combine all the ingredients. Keep it all moving around in the pan and simmer for 4-5 minutes. When it begins to thicken and homogenize, turn the temperature down to medium/medium-low.

Add the beef back into the sauce, increase the temperature until you get a bit of a bubbly simmer going, and stir/toss the beef until it's coated and the sauce gets thick and glossy. Cut the heat and add the broccoli. Add a bit of the sliced scallion heads and some sesame seeds and gently toss to combine everything.

Serve the beef/broccoli on top of the coconut rice. Garnish with sliced scallion heads, sliced scallion greens, sesame seeds and a small pinch of chili flakes.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: Powered Honey

Special Equipment: None

Coffee Steak Rub:

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Cumin

1/2 Teaspoon Paprika

1 Tablespoon Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon Honey Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Powder

1 Teaspoon Granulated Garlic

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Coriander

2 Tablespoons Espresso

You can multiply these ingredients by a common factor to scale this up to whatever quantity you want to make.

Roasted Garlic Aioli:

2 Egg Yolks

1 Tablespoon acid (white balsamic, lemon juice, etc.)

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

3/4 cup Avocado Oil

3 Heads of Garlic

Slice the top quarter of the garlic heads off, drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, and then either wrap the heads of garlic in foil or enclose them in a small pan with foil. Roast in the oven at 300ºF for an hour. Squeeze the softened garlic cloves out onto a cutting board and allow them to cool.

In a room temperature mixing bowl, combine the salt, egg yolks, and vinegar, and beat on medium high until smooth. Add the oil, while beating the egg yolks, a few drops at a time until you've incorporated 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the mustard and continue beating and dripping oil into the mixture until you've created a fluffy emulsion that incorporates the full 3/4 cup of oil. Add the roasted garlic cloves and beat to incorporate. Store in the fridge.

Seafood drench:

2 Tablespoons garlic/olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped garlic chive

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

1 Teaspoon salt

Mix this up and brush onto shrimp skewers and lobster tails near the end of the cooking process.

Charcoal:

Using a medium to large size metal garbage can, pack tightly with either cordwood or branches, broken up so that it condenses into a mass with as little space as possible. Build a sizable brush pile around and over the tightly-lidded garbage can and burn this down. Consolidate unburnt material around the can and allow this to burn down overnight so that the can is cool the following day. Inside the can, you should be left with the unburnt carbon of the organic material. This will burn hot and clean, without the additives of commercial charcoal.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - Coarse Grind Cornmeal

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Recipe-

4-6 short rib portions

3 yellow onions

Small, red potatoes

2-3 cups of beef stock

Fresh, flat leaf parsley

3-4 heads of garlic

4 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 tablespoons grated horseradish

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by browning your short ribs in the olive oil in a heavy-bottom pot, pan, or dutch oven. Spend about 20 minutes developing a nice crust over all surface areas.

Remove the browned beef from the pot and set aside.

Thinly slice your onions and add them to the pot. Bring the heat up to medium high and cook the onions until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Return the beef to the pot atop the onions. Add the beef stock so that the liquid comes halfway up the sides of the beef. Bring this to a simmer, cover, and simmer on the stovetop for 3 hours.

At this point, start the polenta (recipe below)

Quarter your potatoes, and remove the cloves of garlic from their papers. Add these to the pot and simmer for an additional 1-1.5 hours.

When the polenta is finished, plate portions of it and allow to cool at room temperature.

Remove the short ribs and potatoes from the sauce and set aside.

Gently stir in the dijon mustard and horseradish until it is fully incorporated into the sauce.

Rest a portion of short rib atop the polenta. Gently set in potatoes on either side of the meat, and spoon approximately a half cup of the mustard sauce over the meat.

Coarsely chop the parsley and garnish the plate generously.

Polenta recipe-

1 cup of coarse-ground cornmeal

4 cups of water

.75 cups beef stock

1.5 tablespoons butter/ghee

1 teaspoon salt

Combine the water, salt, and cornmeal in a pan. Bring this to a simmer and stir vigorously to combine to a normalized consistency. Barely simmer for an hour, until the cornmeal is fully hydrated with a supple, soft texture. Add the beef stock and stir to incorporate. Once a smooth, soft consistency is achieved, stir the butter/ghee into the warm gruel.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: KitchenAid Meat Grinder Attachment

Citrus Zester

Sausage Recipe:

1.5lbs pork with an overall composition of about 30% fat to 70% lean

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 teaspoon dry thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

~5 fresh mushrooms, quartered

1/3 oz salt

Zest of a lemon

2 tablespoons diced shallot

1 tablespoon peeled and diced ginger

1/4 cup whole walnuts

Pass the pork through the grinder with the medium plate. You can then send the mushrooms and walnuts through the grinder into the bowl of ground pork. Add the herbs, salt, zest, shallot, and ginger and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Pass this farce through the grinder again, using the same grinding plate. This will thoroughly mix the seasonings without making the sausage grind too fine.

Gently cook the sausage on medium heat until opaque and no pink remains. Remove from heat and allow to approach room temperature while you prepare the hens and vegetables.

In an enameled dutch oven, add 2 cups of chicken stock and create a “raft” of whole carrots to serve as a platform upon which the hens will rest. Add a handful (or two) of small potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the hens on top of the raft of carrots so they are somewhat tightly packed together. Cover and bake at 350ºF for 1.5-2 hours or until a probe thermometer thrust through the thickest part of the breast and into the center of the sausage stuffing reads 145ºF.

Remove the hens and carrots temporarily. Judge the liquid in the pot to be at least 1.5 cups and add 1 cup of your wild rice mix to the liquid and gently stir to evenly distribute. Return the carrots to the pot and the hens on top of the carrots. Cover and bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and broil for 5 minutes to brown the hens.

Remove the hens from the pot, along with the carrots, and allow them to rest. If there is too much liquid in the rice, simmer to reduce. Gently stir the rice with a wooden spoon while you simmer until it’s sufficiently dry.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients:

Lapsang Souchong Tea

Kimchi

Special Equipment:

None

Recipe:

For the marinade-

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

4 scallions

2 tablespoons fresh ginger

5 cloves garlic

1 pear, skinned and chopped

2 duck breasts

Sesame seeds and an extra scallion for garnish

Chop the scallions, peel and chop the ginger, peel the garlic, and peel and chop the pear. Combine all of those ingredients, plus the vinegar and soy sauce in a blender and pulse until combined.

Place the duck breasts in a non-reactive dish and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for 1-24 hours.

Once out of the marinade, rinse the duck breasts and pat them dry. Score a crosshatch patter in the skin. Lay the breasts skin side down in a cold, dry pan, and turn the heat on to medium-high. The slow heating of the pan will render duck fat from the skin.

Cook the duck breasts to medium-medium rare doneness. Let them rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing on a bias. Heat a sauce pan off of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey, and toss the duck medallions in that sauce.

Serve with kimchi and rice, garnishing with sliced scallion and sesame seeds.

For the rolls-

2 tablespoons dry-active yeast

1 cup of room temperature lapsang souchong tea

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

3.5 cups all purpose flour

Combine all ingredients and knead for 5 minutes. This will produce a soft, sticky dough. Divide into 6-8 portions, roll into a smooth ball, and lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to rise at room temperature for 15 minutes. Put these into a 425ºF oven for 12-15 minutes. After 7 minutes, brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients: Masa Harina

Special Equipment: Tortilla press

Salsa-

2-3 Roma tomatoes

1/4 white onion

2 jalapeños

4 cloves garlic

Cilantro

Salt

1 Lime

The earlier you can make this, the better because the lime juice and the salt will become more integrated with the ingredients over time. I made it the day before, but even if you knock it out in the morning and let it rest in the fridge, that would be fine.

Dice the tomatoes, onion, and seeded jalapeños and toss together in a bowl. Smash and finely dice the garlic and coarsely chop the cilantro, adding both to the tomato salsa. Juice one lime as thoroughly as possible into the salsa and season with salt. Toss all ingredients together and allow to rest, covered, in the fridge.

Chicken-

4-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cups chicken stock/bone broth

1 jalapeño

Salt

Pepper

Granulated garlic

Chili powder

Ground cumin

Olive oil

Add oil to the bottom of the Dutch oven and heat on medium-high until hot. Lay the chicken thighs in the Dutch oven in a single layer. Season liberally with salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Remove the seeds and pith from the jalapeño, chop, and add to the chicken. Pour in the 2 cups of chicken stock. Cover and put into a 300ºF oven for 4 hours. This will leave the chicken fork tender and the broth saturated with flavor. Prior to assembling the dish, move the chicken to another bowl to pull apart with two forks, returning it to the broth afterward.

Tostadas-

If you can't find Masa Harina, you can use white corn flour, but the flavor and texture will be somewhat different. Alternatively, you can use corn tortillas and toast them in the oven or on the stovetop.

Gently mix approximately 1/2 cup of water into 1.5 cups flour with a fork. As soon as all of the flour is saturated, turn the dough out onto a floured cutting board and work it with your hands to form a uniform ball. Excessive kneading is not necessary as there is no gluten to develop, seeing as how it's corn flour. If making the dough ahead of time, you can rest it in the fridge in an oiled bowl.

Divide the ball of dough into 4 equal portions. Work each portion into a ball and then either use a tortilla press to smash it into shape/thickness, or press it beneath a pan and roll it out with a rolling pin. You want to make this as thin as possible; as close to the thickness of a tortilla as you can. You will have to scrape each rolled portion off the board with a bench scraper or a spatula. If baking your tostadas, transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spritz with oil, and then into a 400ºF oven. Bake for 5 minutes on one side, flip, and then allow for 10-12 minutes on the opposite side.

If frying your tostadas, add enough oil to a pan to thickly coat the bottom. Heat on medium-high for a few minutes and then gently lay in your pressed tortilla. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes before flipping, and then flip every 1-2 minutes until golden brown and crispy. You can accumulate those in the oven to keep them warm.

Assembly-

Smash up the flesh of 2 avocados and the juice of half a lime. In a sauce pan, bring a can of pinto beans and a cup of chicken stock to a simmer. Slather each tostada shell with avocado, add pinto beans with a slotted spoon, add chicken, and top with salsa.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - 12 inch cast iron pan

Ingredients -

Naan -

2.5 cups flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons dry-active yeast

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pita -

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons dry-active yeast

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

For both, get the yeast started in some water with the sugar and a teaspoon of flour. Combine the rest of the ingredients after 10 minutes, mix to incorporate into a shaggy ball, and then knead until smooth (approximately 10 minutes). Cover in a bowl and allow to rise for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, knead briefly into a tight ball and cut into 8 portions.

Start your cast iron pan on high and allow it to get smoking hot while you prepare your first bread portion. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 6-8” disk. Lightly oil your pan and lay in the first disk of dough. You’ll have a minute or so before you’ll want to flip that, so use that time to roll out the next disk of dough.

Flip each unit of either naan or pita every minute. It should take about 4 minutes total cook time for each unit to be finished.

To make the pita in the oven, preheat your oven to 475ºF and put either a cast iron pan or a heavy baking sheet in on the middle rack to heat up along with the oven. Follow the same procedure for rolling out your pitas. Put them into the hot oven for 2 minutes and then flip them with tongs or a spatula and let them bake for another 2 minutes on the opposing side.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients:

Cuttlefish Ink

Semolina Flour

Special Equipment:

Stand Mixer Pasta Roller Set

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker

Bonus Link: The reason we can’t have fun any more

Pasta:

2 ups all-purpose flour

2 cups semolina flour

5 eggs

1 dash of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon cuttlefish ink (optional)

Sift your flour and salt together and form into a “mountain” either in a bowl or on the countertop. Create a deep depression in the middle to hold the eggs, oil, and ink. Pour in the wet ingredients. With a fork, gently mix the wet ingredients, picking up more and more of the flour as you go. Pull more flour in from the rim of your flour volcano until it’s no longer practical to use the fork. At that point, switch to hand-kneading. Fold and knead the dough for 10-12 minutes until it’s smooth and similar in texture to Play-Doh. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Follow the directions on your pasta roller for rolling, cutting, and storing the pasta until you are ready to cook.

Carbonara:

5 egg yolks

1 tablespoon cuttlefish ink (optional)

2 oz grated parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Guanciale, pancetta, or bacon

Cut the cured pork into thin lardons and cook those in a heavy-bottom pot like an enameled cast iron dutch oven. When done, reduce heat to low to keep warm.

Heavily salt your pasta water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, ink, and cheese to make a smooth “sauce.” When the pasta is finished, slowly add 1/4 cup of the hot pasta water to the egg/cheese while whisking to temper the eggs and melt the cheese. Transfer the drained pasta to the dutch oven and toss with the cooked pork. Slowly drizzle the egg/cheese mixture into the hot pasta, tossing the noodles with tongs so they are evenly coated with the egg sauce. Serve with parmesan and black pepper.

Meringue cookies:

To 3 egg whites, add 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. With a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they are foamy and translucent. Slowly add 3/4 cup granulated sugar while beating the egg whites. The egg whites will become shiny and white. When the peaks of meringue stand up on their own when you withdraw the mixer, either pipe the meringue onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet or carefully dollop them in place with a spoon. Bake at 200ºF for 45 minutes, turn the heat off and let them rest in the cooling oven for an additional 30 minutes.

Ice Cream:

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon cuttlefish ink (optional)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons activated charcoal powder (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the chilled ice cream bowl (depending on your ice cream maker). Allow that to turn and fold for 20 minutes before transferring to the freezer.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: Non

Special Equipment: None

Dough Recipe:

2 teaspoons dry-active yeast

3/4 cup room temperature milk

4 tablespoons of maple syrup (ours was infused with cinnamon, cardamom, clove, allspice, and nutmeg)

2 eggs

1/4 melted butter

3 cups of bread flour, all-purpose will work, too

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:

4oz cream cheese

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter

Zest from half an orange

Cinnamon Filling:

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons softened butter

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Mix all of the dough ingredients together and either knead by hand/wooden spoon, or knead with the bread hook on your stand mixer. Once the dough comes together and forms a shiny ball, fold it into a tight ball and allow to rise for 2.5 hours.

While the dough is rising, you can make the frosting and the filling. For the filling, mix all the ingredients together with a fork and let it rest at room temperature so it’s easily spreadable.

For the frosting, a hand mixer is best, but you can use a whisk to combine all the ingredients into a smooth, shiny frosting.

Once the dough has risen, roll it out flat to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Spread the cinnamon/sugar filling across the face of the rolled-out dough, and then roll the dough up into a tight log.

With a sharp knife (a boning or filet knife works great), gently cut the log into 9 one-inch pinwheels. You can discard the ends or bake them separately.

Arrange the pinwheels in a greased 9 inch cake pan, cover with plastic wrap, and allow them to rise for 20-25 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Bake for 25 minutes.

When you remove them from the oven, spread the frosting on the top while they are hot and allow them to rest for 15-20 minutes.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients- None

Special Equipment- Spiles and tubing

There isn’t much to the recipe this week. You need to collect your sap and then boil off the excess water to produce a concentrate of maple sugar and flavor. The boiling process takes quite a while. For my first 7 half-pints, I boiled for 2 days, but I reserved part of the initial batch to finish earlier than I would otherwise, so I’d have a finished product for this episode. You will want to check on the boiling sap relatively frequently to prevent it from over-cooking and to top it up with extra sap as you will likely have more than what you can boil all at once.

Once you have a golden brown syrup that will coat a spoon and tastes profoundly like maple and sugar, sterilize some canning jars by boiling them for 10 minutes. During that time, make sure you hold the syrup at 185ºF so that it’s sufficiently hot when you pour it into the jars. Apply the lids and rings, invert them for 5 minutes, and then turn them right-side-up to cool. If your lids pop down, your syrup is shelf stable for up to 2 years. If you have lids that don’t pop, store those in the fridge and use them first.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Equipment: Stand Mixer Meat Grinder Attachment

Special Ingredients: Venison from Fossil Farms

Recipe:

2lbs venison or beef, ground fine

1lbs fatty pork, ground fine

1 cup chopped parsley

6 ounces mushrooms

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 carrot

2 heads of garlic

1 medium yellow onion

Fresh thyme

1 cup of whole milk

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup coconut aminos or soy sauce

For the sauce:

1/4 cup tomato powder or half a can of tomato paste

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon onion powder

Grind both meats and then mix with a spatula.

In a food processor, pulse the onion, carrot, and mushrooms until they form a wet slurry.

Add the processed vegetables, the thyme, parsley, crushed and diced garlic, bread crumbs, coconut aminos, milk, cheese, and eggs. Mix until thoroughly combined. Pack the farce into a bread pan and tap it down to eliminate any voids in the farce.

Bake at 325ºF for 45 minutes. While it’s baking, combine your sauce ingredients and simmer on medium heat while whisking to combine.

After 45 minutes, brush the sauce on the top of the meat loaf, increase the heat to 375ºF, and continue baking for 15 minutes. Apply the rest of the sauce, increase the oven temperature to 400ºF and bake until the internal temperature is 155ºF. Remove and rest for 10 minutes.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment - None

Special Ingredients - Saffron

Recipe -

4 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons butter (2 for risotto, 1 for onion)

1 yellow onion

1 small butternut squash, cubed

8oz unsalted walnuts

1.5 cups dry arborio rice

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1 cup finely grated parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

With a vegetable peeler, remove the rind from the squash, split it in half, remove the pulp, and cut it into 1” cubes. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, and bake at 400ºF for 30-40 minutes until soft and slightly browned.

Finely dice the onion and start it in a pan on medium heat with butter and olive oil. You want to sweat the onions so they are soft and transparent.

Chop the walnuts and set them aside. You’ll add them to the onion halfway through the cooking process.

In a sauce pan, bring the chicken stock up to a simmer. You want it to be hot while you’re adding it to the rice.

In a large sauté pan, melt butter and olive oil together on medium high heat. Add the dry rice and toss to coat with oil. Add the white wine and reduce the heat to Medium.

Add the chicken stock one ladle at a time. Keep the rice moving by tossing it against the walls of the sauté pan and/or stirring with a wooden spoon. When the liquid is mostly absorbed, add more. Keep everything hydrated and moving. When you add the last of the chicken stock, add the saffron.

Once the last of the chicken stock is absorbed, sample the rice. If it’s still too “crunchy,” continue adding warm-to-hot water until you get the soft, creamy texture we’re looking for. At that point, kill the heat, add the parmesan, and stir gently to incorporate the cheese.

Remove the squash from the oven and add it to the onion and walnut mixture. GENTLY fold these together so you don’t mash the squash. Transfer this mixture to the risotto and gently fold it together.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Ingredients -

3 Tbsp cold water

1 gelatin packet (unflavored)

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Start by “blooming” your gelatin in the water. This is a lot of gelatin for a small amount of water, so expect this to set while you’re preparing the rest of the dish. We’ll liquefy the gelatin with heat before adding it to the dairy.

In a sauce pan, combine the cream, milk, salt, and sugar and then GENTLY bring this up to a simmer while you whisk everything together. You want to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. Once this comes up to a simmer, cut the heat and prepare the ice bath.

While the dairy mixture is still warm, either microwave your gelatin for 15 seconds to liquefy it, or gently warm it on the stove. Then, add that to the warm dairy and whisk for a full minute to ensure the gelatin is fully incorporated into the milk and cream.

Move the sauce pan to the ice bath and whisk gently for about 15 minutes, or when the dairy has gotten close to room temperature. While you are whisking the mixture to cool it down, add the vanilla extract.

Once cooled, pour the dairy mixture into cups, bowls, ramekins, or molds. You can turn out the finished panna cotta so it stands alone on a plate, or you can serve it in the vessel it sets up in. Regardless, put those in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours to allow them to set.

For the raspberry syrup, put 8oz red raspberries in a sauce pan with 2/3 cups of sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/3 cup water. Heat this on medium-high and stir with a fork, making sure to crush and break up each berry. Once that is fairly consistent and starting to foam up from the boil, pour the mixture through a sieve and press out all of the juice. Discard the pulp and seeds and return the clear, red syrup to the heat to reduce by 25%. Keep stirring it and pay attention so it doesn’t caramelize, boil over, or scorch. You don’t need super high heat for this. Just keep it bubbling. Once it coats a spoon, kill the heat and let that cool to room temperature. It will likely be pretty thick at room temperature, so when you spoon it over the finished panna cotta, you may want to warm it up gently to loosen the syrup.

Alternatively, you can garnish the panna cotta with cocoa powder, espresso, lemon zest, pumpkin spice, or whatever strikes your fancy.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment - None

Special Ingredients - None

Ingredients:

1-2lbs cubed beef (I used eye of round)

2 cups beef broth

1lbs sliced mushrooms

2tsp dry mustard powder

2tsp dried dill weed

2 heads of garlic, crushed, peeled, and chopped

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Salt and pepper

Egg noodles

Dredge the beef in flour and then sear in a hot pan with a generous pour of olive oil. When all sides of the beef have been seared and have a crust, add the beef broth to the pan to deglaze and return to a simmer.

Add the mustard and dill, salt & pepper to taste, and then the chopped garlic. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Add the sliced mushrooms, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the cream and sour cream, stir gently to incorporate. If the sauce is too thin, simmer uncovered while you prepare the noodles, but cut the heat and bring to rest a few minutes before plating.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: None

Ingredients:

8 Drumsticks

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 red bell pepper

8oz fresh mushrooms

2 small onions

2 small heads of garlic

1 can of crushed tomatoes, ideally San Marzano

1 quart of chicken stock

1/2 bottle of red wine

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

Pasta

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and brown in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes per side, removing to a platter to afford room for a second batch if necessary.

Deglaze the pan with the wine, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the fond, and reduce the wine slightly. Add the chicken stock and bring to a lively simmer.

Coarsely chop the onion, pepper, and crush the cloves of garlic. Add the vegetables to the stock/wine mixture, season with salt and pepper, and add the canned tomatoes. Stir to incorporate before adding the browned chicken and a few leaves of basil, saving the rest to garnish at the end.

Cover the pot and simmer for 2-3 hours. When it’s time to make the pasta, uncover the pot and allow it to simmer aggressively to reduce the water content.

Add a knob of butter at the end to impart a velvety texture and background richness to the sauce.

Abscond with a cup or two of sauce into a separate sauce pan to toss the cooked pasta.

Combine the pasta, sauce, and poultry on your plates or bowls and garnish with grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese as well as the rest of the basil.

Serve with crusty bread and a bold red wine.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: None

Per 1 dozen wings, use 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Toss the wings in the mixture and then arrange on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 30 minutes at 250ºf, followed by 45 minutes at 425ºf. Toss the finished wings in the sauce or spice mixture of your choice.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Ingredients:

Insta Cure #1

Special Equipment:

Cheap Injector

Expensive Injector

Recipe-

For each gallon of water in the brine:

1.5 cups kosher salt

2 cups brown sugar

8 teaspoons insta cure #1

Inject your ham as I describe in the podcast. First, parallel to the bone, and then in a grid pattern across both horizontal faces of the ham, ensuring that the meat is fully saturated.

Put your ham into a food grade vessel big enough to allow it to be covered with brine. Fill the vessel with brine until the ham is submerged. If you need to weigh the ham down, you can invert a dinner plate on top and place canned goods on the plate to push the ham down.

Store at refrigerator temperatures for 3-4 weeks to allow the brine to fully penetrate the meat and equalize the salinity inside and out.

Smoke at 225ºf until the internal temperature is 150ºf.

For the glaze:

Either make a viscous glaze of brown sugar, water, and dijon mustard, or you can follow my process for making shag bark hickory syrup here.

With a BBQ brush, brush the glaze onto the ham at regular increments once the score marks in the fat start to open up.

If you are not consuming the ham straight out of the smoker, you can wrap it up with Saran Wrap and/or foil and refrigerate it until needed. Just reheat in the oven at 325ºf until the internal temperature is 140ºf. You may want to tent the ham with foil so the sugar on the surface doesn’t char too much.

View Details

Imgur

Special Ingredients:

Insta Cure #1

Special Equipment:

Cheap injector

Nice injector

Ingredients

Beef brisket

Brine (1 gallon)

1.5 cups kosher salt

1 cup sugar

8 teaspoon Insta Cure # 1

1 tablespoon pickling spice (see below)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Pickling Spice

2 tablespoons peppercorns

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons allspice berries

2 cinnamon sticks

24 bay leaves

2 tablespoons cloves

1 tablespoon ground ginger

Pastrami Rub

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Start by mixing up your brine. Add everything except the curing salt from the brine recipe to the water and stir until dissolved. If you can't get everything to dissolve, bring the brine to a simmer and continue stirring. If you have to heat the brine, let it cool back to room temperature before stirring in the curing salt.

In a non-reactive container (plastic, glass, stainless), pour the brine over the brisket. If you don't have enough brine to cover the brisket, make an additional quantity once you see how much extra you'll need.

If you have an injector, inject the brine liberally in the thickest part of the brisket.

Allow this to brine for 3-7 days at refrigerated temperature.

Remove from brine, pat dry, and remove any particles of spices adhered to the surface.

If making corned beef, you can either vacuum seal the whole brisket or cut it into manageable pieces. If you want, you can add a half cup of brine to the package and then freeze until later.

When making corned beef, lay the beef in a cooking vessel and add water and dark beer until the liquid rises to the halfway point of the meat. Add a tablespoon of pickling spice, sliced onion, garlic cloves, and sprigs of thyme. You can heat this in a 300º oven for approximately 3 hours or simmer on the stove top, covered, for the same period of time.

If advancing the brisket to the pastrami stage, generously coat the exterior of the brisket with the coriander and black pepper and then smoke at 250º until the internal temperature is 150º.

Slice thinly and serve on rye bread with a brown, spicy mustard.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Ingredients-

2 pork shanks

2lbs kosher salt

Bay Leaves

2 cups dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, etc.)

Water

Olive Oil

If your shanks are skin-on, remove the skin. Then, carve all of the meat away from the bones. You can trim away a good deal of the fat on the meat and then cut the meat into 1” cubes.

Put a quarter inch of kosher salt in the bottom of a glass or plastic container. Add a single layer of pork and cover with salt. Repeat until all of the pork is completely encased in salt.

Refrigerate this container of salt and pork for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, rinse the pork under cold water to remove the excess salt. Place the pork in a high-sided pan and add two cups of wine, 4-5 bay leaves, and enough water to cover the pork. Bring this up to a simmer and then cover and allow to cook for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, turn off the heat and allow the pork to cool to room temperature in the cooking liquid overnight.

Gently remove all of the pork from the liquid and do your best to clean off any congealed fat or gelatin.

With your fingers, gently separate the muscle fibers of the pork, but keep the chunks loosely connected. You can remove any remaining fat and discard.

Spoon the meat into 1/2 pint or pint jars. Do not pack it in there, tightly. We want there to be space around the bits of pork.

Insert a bay leaf between the pork and the jar. Fill each jar with olive oil and allow them to sit on the counter for a few minutes so the oil fills any gaps in the meat. If the oil level settles down below the surface of the pork, add more oil so the pork is covered.

Put your lids and rings on the jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

To make the tonno salad, drain the oil from one jar of pork and discard the bay leaf. Dice some red onion and celery leaves and add those, plus 1-2 tablespoons of mayo to the drained pork. Mix thoroughly and serve with toasted bread or crackers.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: None

Referenced YouTube video (Townsends - Roasted Onion)

If you can find flank or skirt steak, use that! Trim up the surface of the meat and roll it out flat. If you can’t find those flat steaks, you can use a uniform roast, just butterfly and unroll it to approximate the shape and form of a skirt steak.

For the filling, a half cup of chopped flat leaf parsley, a half cup of chopped fresh spinach, the zest of a lemon, a tablespoon of chopped chive, a teaspoon of thyme leaves, coarse-grated provolone (1/2 cup), and finely grated parmesan (half cup). Mix these all together and use as much as is necessary to line the interior of your meat. Before laying the filling onto the meat, season with salt and pepper.

Roll tightly and truss at approximately 1-1.5” increments.

With a sharp knife, cut between the strands of twine to produce your pinwheels.

In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, add a bit of oil and get it smoking hot. Sear both sides of the pinwheels and then turn them up on their sides to sear the edge. Once a nice crust has developed, reduce the heat to medium to slowly bring the internal temperature up to 130ºF.

Let the pinwheels rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment:

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Meat Grinder Attachment

Chorizo Recipe

5lbs pork shoulder, cubed

3 tablespoons salt (1.7%)

2 tablespoons ancho chili powder (1.1%)

1 tablespoon hot paprika (.5%)

1 tablespoon chipotle powder (.5%)

1 tablespoon granulated garlic (.5%)

1 teaspoon black pepper (.2%)

1 tablespoon dry oregano (.5%)

1/2 teaspoon cumin (.1%)

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Grind the meat fine and then mix in the seasonings. Mix with the paddle attachment on medium for 5 minutes.

Fundido recipe

Portion out a quarter pound of cooked chorizo into an oven-safe dish. Add 6 ounces of Oaxaca cheese and melt in the oven at 300º for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with diced scallion and jalapeño.

Flan Recipe

1.5 cups sugar

2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Add 1 cup of the sugar to a sauce pan and heat over medium-high heat until the sugar has liquefied. Quickly spoon the liquid into the forms you’ll be using for the flan.

Rest the form you are using for the flan in a larger vessel and fill 1-2 inches with hot water.

Beat together the eggs, remaining sugar, milk, and vanilla and ladle into the sugared forms.

Cover with foil and bake for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size. Check the flan after 40 minutes to check to see if the flan has fully set and then gauge the time from there.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment - None

Special Ingredients - None

Ingredients -

1 Cup corn meal

1 Cup all purpose flour

1 Cup whole milk

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/4lbs butter, melted (one stick)

Preheat oven to 400ºF, and pre-heat a cast iron pan in the oven.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Add the eggs, milk, and melted butter and whisk to combine. Don’t over-mix the batter.

Heavily oil the bottom of your cast iron pan with a neutral oil (avocado, for example), or butter. Pour the batter into the hot pan. There may be a bit of bubbling and curling around the edges as the batter contacts the hot pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. When done, make sure a knife pulls clean from the center of the cornbread. Allow to cool on the counter for 20-30 minutes.

View Details

Special Equipment - Ice Cream Maker

Special Ingredients - None

Chocolate Syrup -

1 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine all of the ingredients except of the vanilla in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce the volume of the syrup by 1/4.

Vanilla Ice Cream -

1 Cup Whole Milk

2 Cups Heavy Cream

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Follow the instructions on your ice cream maker.

In a bread pan, layer the ice cream and chocolate syrup until you’ve come up to even with the side of the bread pan. Pipe the ice cream onto the top and drizzle the chocolate syrup down the middle. Return to the freezer for an hour to freeze the chocolate layers.

View Details

Imgur album

Special Equipment -

Bamboo Skewers

Special Ingredients -

Mirin

Recipe:

1lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

4-5 bunches of scallions

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup mirin

1/4 cup sake

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Soak your bamboo skewers in water for an hour prior to assembly.

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients in a pan and then reserve a quarter cup of the liquid to marinate the chicken. Add one bunch of chopped scallion greens to the liquid. Bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer until reduced by 2/3.

Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes. Thread the chicken onto the bamboo skewers, alternating with a scallion bulb. Leave enough of the skewer free on the dull end to be able to turn the skewer on the grill without having your hand directly over the heat.

In your grill, build a hot bed of coals with the grill grates close to the surface. Lay the skewers on the grill perpendicular to the grill grates. Brush on the sauce and turn the skewers frequently to avoid burning. Baste and turn frequently for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of a thick chicken chunk is 165ºF. When done, remove to a platter and serve with steamed white rice and a vegetable of choice.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - none, except for quinces. You’re on your own for finding those

Special Equipment - none

Quince Poached in Spiced Syrup

2 quinces, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup St Germaine liquor

2-3 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

2 slices of dried lemon or the zest of one lemon

1 bay leaf

1 vanilla bean

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and then add the quartered quince and sugar. Toss to coat the fruit with the sugar. Add the rest of the spices and the liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1.5 hours. Strain the syrup and carefully remove the seeds from the fruit. The fruit will be very soft at this point, so don’t crush them trying to get the seeds out. Return the fruit to the syrup and refrigerate overnight. Bring to a simmer in a saucepan to reheat and serve.

Quite Jelly with Star Anise

4lbs of quince, washed and cut into pieces

7 cups of water

Up to 4 cups of sugar. The actual amount of sugar will be equal to the amount of liquid you end up with at the end.

Juice of 1 lemon

2 pods of star anise

Simmer your cut quince in the water for 3-3.5 hours. The fruit will be soft and salmon-pink. Strain the liquid and then push the fruit through a sieve to get more liquid out of the mixture. Measure the amount of liquid you have and add an equal amount of sugar. Add the juice of one lemon and the star anise. Boil this (carefully, don’t let it foam over onto the stove) until the mixture hits 220ºF. Funnel the liquid into sterilized jars and water bath can. Once cooled and the lids are popped down, you can store those at room temperature for up to 1 year.

Porchetta-style pork shoulder

1 semi boneless pork shoulder, approximately 3 lbs

1 tablespoon each of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, granulated garlic, oregano, and fennel seed

2 slices of dried orange or the zest of one orange

Cut the shoulder blade bone from the pork roast and then butterfly the roast open. Season the inside of the meat with the spice kit. Roll the meat back up and tie tightly with twine.

Roast at 375º for 2.5 hours or until the internal temperature is 145º. Remove from the oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Snip away the twine and slice across the direction you rolled the roast to produce pinwheels.

Serve alongside the poached quince, spooning the hot syrup over the meat and garnishing the slices with the quince jelly.

View Details

Imgur Album - The photos of the pages of the cookbook are at the end of the album linked here

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment -

Instant Pot

Appetites: A Cookbook

Recipe

3 cups chicken stock

3lbs chicken thighs

Salt and Pepper to taste

1lbs russet potatoes

6tbsp butter

8 pearl onions

2 medium carrots (or 3 small carrots)

2 ribs of celery

5-7 sprigs of thyme

8 sage leaves

1/2tsp celery salt

1/4 all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 batch of savory pastry dough (next recipe)

1 egg

Simmer the chicken parts in the the stock for 10 minutes and then remove from heat, and cover for 25-30 minutes.

Peel and cube the carrots and onion, chop the celery, and quarter the pearl onions.

Remove the chicken from the stock and allow to cool. Simmer your cubed potatoes for 8-10 minutes in the stock and then remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Sauté the carrot, celery, potato, onion, thyme, and sage in 2tbsp butter until they begin to soften and become translucent.

Preheat the oven to 400ºf

Make your roux by heating the remaining butter in a sauce pan, add the flour, and stir with a wooden spoon until it’s golden brown. Add the milk and whisk to incorporate. Add 1.5 cups of the warm chicken stock, whisk until smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon, and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the skin from the chicken, cut the thigh meat from the bones, and cube all of the chicken. Mix the chicken with the vegetables, and stir in the sauce. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas and stir to incorporate.

All of the filling can be added to your pie plate/tin/baking dish.

Crust -

2 1/3 cups flour

1tsp salt

2 sticks of cold butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup ice water

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and butter, and pulse until it’s combined and has the texture of wet sand. Slowly drizzle in the ice water while running the blade. Eventually, it will form a dough ball, at which point, it’s done.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Work quickly so you don’t warm up the butter too much. Roll it out to 1/4” thickness and a circle with a diameter big enough to cover your pie pan. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough around the pin and unroll it on top of the pie pan. Tear away the excess dough from the sides and flute the edge with a fork.

Bake the pot pie for 20 minutes in the 400ºf oven. At the 20 minute mark, brush a beaten egg over the surface of the pie and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Let the pie rest for 25 minutes when baking is done.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients -

Grains from the Plains

Special Equipment -

Le Creuset Bread Oven

KitchenAid Grain Mill

Immersion Blender

Bread Recipe

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1.5 tablespoons dry-active yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup warm water

Activate the yeast in the warm water with sugar. Allow it to foam and then add it to the dry ingredients. Add the rest of the water and knead with the bread hook for 12 minutes. Cover the mixing bowl with Saran Wrap and allow the dough to rise overnight.

The next day, punch down the dough, knead it into a tight ball, and divide in half. Form both halves into tight balls and allow to rise again.

Preheat the oven to 425ºf. Bake each loaf for 30 minutes, covered, and 15 minutes uncovered. Allow to cool before hollowing out to form a bread bowl.

Prepping the pumpkin

Cut a "lid" from the top of the pumpkin and scoop out all of the seeds and pith. Replace the lid and bake at 425ºf for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is shiny and has darkened in color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

French Onion Soup

8 yellow onions, sliced thinly

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 head of garlic, minced

8 cups beef bone broth

1/2 dry vermouth

3 bay leaves

A couple sprigs of fresh thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons brandy

Grated Gruyere Cheese

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Rustic bread for croutons

Squash Soup

3 tablespoons butter, plus one more tablespoon for simmering the squash

2 yellow onions, sliced thinly

One bunch of rosemary, tied with twine

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup apple cider

4 cups chicken stock

The oven-softened flesh of one butternut squash OR 2 15oz cans of pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon (5-6) cloves, ground into powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients

None

Special Equipment

Food Processor

Brioche Buns:

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup milk

2.5 tsp yeast

2tsp honey

5 eggs plus one more yolk

2tsp vanilla

5 tbsp sugar

1.5 tsp salt

Activate the yeast by mixing it with the milk and honey in a bowl. When the yeast is bubbling, whisk in the eggs and vanilla. To the wet ingredients, add all of the dry ingredients, keeping the butter out for later. Knead this dough with the dough hook attachment for 5-7 minutes until it’s smooth. It won’t form a ball, yet. Once smooth, divide the butter into 4 segments and add them one at a time, allowing them to be incorporated over the course of 2-3 minutes before adding the next one. When all of the butter is incorporated into the dough, turn the mixer up to 6 and knead it aggressively on this level for 10-15 minutes. The dough will start to form a ball and will pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface. Dust with flour and fold in the edges and flip the dough ball, exposing a smooth, floured surface. Return the dough ball to a clean and dry bowl, cover with Saran Wrap, and allow to proof and rise for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, divide into 8 equal parts, and fold into smooth balls. Place these on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Brush on an egg wash and sprinkle coarse kosher salt on the top. Bake at 325ºF for 38 minutes and then allow to rest on the counter for 20 minutes.

Old Bay Seasoning:

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground ginger

4 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

4-5 cloves

Just make sure these are ground together as finely as possible.

Butter:

1 quart of heavy cream

1 flour sack cloth

1 hand mixer

Beat the heavy cream for approximately 10-15 minutes until the volume collapses and the buttermilk breaks from the butter fat. Strain the butter through a flour sack cloth, twisted tightly, and set in a colander inside a bowl. Transfer the butter ball to the fridge to harden and cool.

Burger:

Slice your roast against the grain in 1/2 inch slices. Working in small batches, pulse for 10-15 seconds in the food processor and transfer to a bowl. Pick through, by hand, to remove any tough or stringy bits of sinew, gristle, or connective tissue.

Add one tablespoon of old bay per pound of meat. Add one egg for binding. Form into 1/2lbs patties and cook in an oiled, hot cast iron pan. Take care to flip them gently and infrequently.

Steam the crab legs and remove the meat from the shell. On low to medium-low heat, poach the crab in 2 tablespoons of butter to keep it warm and moist while the rest is being prepared.

Hollandaise:

Construct a double boiler by placing a metal mixing bowl inside a slightly smaller pan with an inch of water in the bottom. On medium to medium-high heat, whisk 4 egg yolks in the bowl. Add the juice of one strained lemon and continue whisking until the color has changed opaque and the volume has doubled. Melt 4oz butter in a bowl in the microwave and add it a trickle at a time while whisking to incorporate. Add a dash of salt and a pinch of old bay.

Roast the asparagus in the oven on 450ºF with olive oil and salt.

Assemble the burger and serve.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment:

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

KikoArt Grinder/Stuffer attachment for KitchenAid stand mixer

LEM Sausage Stuffer

Special Ingredients:

Hog Casings

Calabrian Pepper

Pimenton Dulce De La Vera

Breakfast Sausage:

5lbs Pork Shoulder, cut into 1" cubes

1.5 ounces Kosher Salt (1.8%)

1.75 ounces ground ginger (2.2%)

1/2 ounce dry sage (.6%)

.75 ounce granulated garlic (.9%)

1.5 cups ice water

Grind the pork on the fine grinder plate. I normally keep the mixer speed at 2 for grinding. Add all of the dry ingredients, plus the water, and mix quickly by hand. Using the paddle attachment, mix the farce starting on speed 1 and then increase the speed to 2, then 3, and finally 4 and allow it to mix for 20-30 seconds. This will incorporate all of the ingredients, while also making the farce sticky for the texture we desire in the cooked product.

Handfuls of this loose sausage can be formed into patties and cooked on the stovetop.

Hot Italian Sausage:

5lbs Pork Shoulder, cut into 1" cubes

1.5 ounces Kosher Salt (1.8%)

.5 ounce fennel seeds (.6%)

1/4 ounce ground coriander (.3%)

.85 ounce paprika (.6%)

.03 ounce cayenne (.03%)

1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

.5 ounces red pepper flakes (.6%)

1/4 ounce ground black pepper (.3%)

1/4 cup red wine

Grind the pork on the medium plate. Add all of the ingredients and quickly mix by hand. Pass the semi-mixed farce back through the fine grinder plate to fully incorporate the ingredients. Refrigerate while you prepare the casings.

Soak the hog casings in cold water for 20-30 minutes to hydrate them and dilute the salt. Assemble the stuffing tube and thread the casing onto the tube. Set the mixer to speed 2 and pass the ground farce through the stuffer and guide the casings into a loose coil. It helps to have a cookie sheet down to catch the cased sausage. It also helps to have a second person assisting in this process. Once the sausage is cased, pinch and twist it into links, alternating the twisting direction with each subsequent link. Twist them sufficiently to draw the casing tight. If you need to release trapped air, a sausage pricker is best, but the needled ends of those ubiquitous corn holders works great, as well. Once they are cased, you can snip the casing between links with a pair of scissors.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients:

Liokareas Late Harvest Lemon Olive Oil

Special Equipment:

Le Creuset enameled cast iron dutch oven

Ingredients:

For the Osso Buco

2-4 shanks of lamb, beef, goat, veal, venison, or elk

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil (the lemon-infused for this part of the recipe)

2 yellow onions

3 carrots

4 stalks of celery

8oz fresh mushrooms or 1/2-1oz dried mushrooms

1 cup of dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 can of crushed tomatoes (28oz)

1 can of tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried oregano

For the gremolata

Zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3-4 cloves of garlic

For the risotto

1.5 cups arborio rice

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup white wine

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil (use a "plain" olive oil for this)

Dredge the meat shanks in flour and brown them in the lemon oil for approximately 3 minutes per surface. Move them to a plate to wait until they are needed later. In the oil and fond, cook the chopped onion, carrot, and celery until the onion is translucent.

Add the wine and chicken stock to the vegetables and bring to a lively simmer. Add the dry herbs, and then the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the chopped mushrooms and stir until everything is evenly-incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat to avoid splattering.

Nestle the meat shanks in the sauce. Cover and put into a 300º oven for 3 hours.

Prep the gremolata by zesting 2 lemons, chopping 1/2 cup of parsley, and chopping the garlic cloves. You can keep this in a bowl in the fridge until it's time to serve.

Once the 3 hours has passed, remove the dutch oven from the oven and leave it covered to rest. We'll let that hang out for the time it takes to make the risotto.

For the risotto, melt the butter in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the arborio rice and toss so that each grain is coated in butter. Let it bubble and simmer for a while until the rice starts to become translucent. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss the rice. Add the cup of white wine and start working the pan back and forth, keeping the rice moving as a unified mass. At the same time, have the chicken stock simmering on medium heat in a separate pan. When the white is absorbed, ladle in 1 cup of stock and continue tossing the rice until the stock has been absorbed, then add another ladle. Continue doing this until all the stock has been added and absorbed. The constant motion and slow addition of hot stock will cause the risotto to have a creamy texture. If the grains are still too crunchy at this point, you can add a half cup of hot water and continue tossing until it's pleasantly al dente. Once you've achieved a texture that is satisfying, turn off the heat. Add a cup of grated parmesan cheese and stir to incorporate evenly into the risotto.

To serve, create a bed of risotto, on top of which you rest a shank, standing as upright as possible. Spoon additional sauce around the base of the shank and garnish with the gremolata. This would pair well with a rustic, crusty bread, a light salad of arugula and an acidic dressing, and a mild red wine like pinot noir. The meat should be fork tender and pull easily from the bone. The sauce should be out of this world good with all the flavors bound up in the rendered marrow.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment/Ingredients: None

Recipe:

Duxelles-

1lbs mushrooms

1 medium yellow onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

Salt and Pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 whole beef tenderloin

Dijon mustard

Prosciutto

1 box of puff pastry

1 large egg

You can pulse the mushrooms in a food processor or dice them as small as possible. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.

Heat a pan to medium-high, add the butter, and sweat the onions until translucent.

Add the mushrooms and allow to cook for 10 minutes until they begin to express liquid. At that point, you can add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, and chicken stock.

Simmer on medium to medium-high heat until the mixture has burned off most of the liquid and has thickened to almost a coarse paste texture. Allow the mixture to cool before constructing the Beef Wellingtons.

Prepping the Beef Tenderloin

Starting with a whole tenderloin, trim away any surface fat, connective tissue, or membrane. You can either prepare one large roast or individual servings.

In a hot pan with some olive oil, brown the surface of your tenderloin. You should not need to cook it more than 3 minutes per side to get a nice crust started without cooking the meat through. Once browned, put the tenderloin in the fridge until you are ready for it.

Prepping the wrapped tenderloin for baking

Lay a sheet of Saran Wrap on the counter and create a blanket of prosciutto that will be able to envelope the tenderloin. On top of the prosciutto, spread an even layer of cooled duxelles. Remove your tenderloin from the refrigerator and slather with an even coating of dijon mustard. Lay the tenderloin in the center of the duxelles/prosciutto.

Using the Saran Wrap for leverage, lift the prosciutto and wrap the tenderloin, folding the edge pieces over onto what is currently the "top." Pull the Saran Wrap taught so it really creates a tight package. Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes so everything binds together. Use that time to prep the puff pastry.

On a floured surface, roll out a sheet of puff pastry until it's approximately 1/4" thick. Carefully unwrap the Saran Wrap from the prosciutto-wrapped tenderloin and set the package in the center of the pastry dough. Fold the edges of the dough over the tenderloin. Where the dough overlaps, brush a bit of egg wash on the surface to glue the two edges of pastry together. You can use a fork to merge the dough edges.

Carefully flip the bundles onto a baking sheet. Using a pairing knife or a bread lame, cut a few slashes into the surface to vent steam. Brush the surface with egg wash so your finished product is shiny and golden brown. Sprinkle with a coarse kosher salt or malden salt.

Put these into a 425º oven for 30-45 minutes. When a probe thermometer reads 118º in the center of the tenderloin, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20-25 minutes, uncovered, before serving.

Red wine reduction sauce-

1.5 tablespoons of butter

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp whole peppercorns

1/2 tsp rosemary leaves

1/4 cup chicken stock

1.5 cups red wine

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the pepper, garlic, and rosemary leaves and simmer until the garlic just starts to brown. Add the wine and increase the temperature to medium-high. Add the chicken stock and simmer until it reduces by 50%.

Pour the sauce through a sieve to strain out the pepper, garlic, and rosemary. Return the sauce to a gentle simmer, add balsamic vinegar, and reduce until the sauce thickens to a syrup consistency. Allow to cool until it's merely warm.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment: Hand Mixer

Special Ingredient: Cream of Tartar

Recipe for the Chocolate Mousse

3tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

6oz chocolate

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

2tbsp espresso

2tsp brandy

This is comprised of 3 components that are combined at the end.

To make the whipped cream, combine the heavy cream, vanilla, and 3/4 of the sugar in a cold mixing bowl. Beat the cream on medium to high speed until it has formed a solid whipped cream. Do not continue to beat beyond this point because you risk turning it into butter. Cover this bowl and refrigerate until later.

To make the meringue, separate your eggs into yolks and whites. Keep the yolks in a bowl until later. Pour your egg whites into a mixing bowl and beat them on medium to high speed for a minute until they become foamy. Then, add the remaining sugar and the cream of tartar and beat until it has become opaque and the peaks of the meringue stand up on their own when you remove the mixer beaters. Refer to the Imgur album to see an example of the texture you are looking for.

Using a double boiler, combine the chocolate, butter, espresso, and brandy and warm gently on medium to medium-low heat. You want the chocolate to melt as slowly and gently as possible so it doesn't separate. Stir it consistently with a spatula while it melts. When fully melted, remove the mixing vessel from the heated water so it starts to cool back down to room temperature. When the mixture is no longer warm to the touch, ie., approximately 100º, whisk your egg yolks and add them to the chocolate, stirring consistently to combine them. When the mixture is smooth and fully incorporated, set it aside and gather the meringue and the whipped cream.

Fold the meringue into the whipped cream and continue folding until mixed. Don't stir, whisk, or continue stirring once the mixture has been fully blended together. Add approximately 1/3 of the chocolate and fold until incorporated. Add another 1/3 of chocolate and do the same. Finally, add the remaining chocolate and fold until the entire mixture is consistent in color and texture. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

This can be served as-is, garnished with raspberries, cocoa powder, or shaved chocolate.

In this case, we made an additional peanut butter mousse to accompany the chocolate.

1 cup peanut butter

2tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2tbsp bourbon

Follow the same procedure to create whipped cream, meringue and a smooth peanut butter concoction. Fold the three components together and refrigerate for 2 hours for it to firm up. The two mousses can be served together for a complimentary flavor profile.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Ingredients -

One whole chicken, broken down into legs, thighs, wings, and breast, bone-in

2 cups red wine (pinot noir)

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup brandy

3 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (or an equivalent amount of prosciutto)

1 onion, diced

4 carrots, cut into thirds

1/2lbs mushrooms, quartered

1/2lbs pearl onions

2tbsp tomato paste

2tbsp olive oil

2tbsp duck fat (or butter)

Fresh thyme

Bay leaf

2-3 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper

Place all of the chicken parts in a bowl and pour in the wine, brandy, and chicken stock.

Cook your bacon or prosciutto on medium high heat to render the fat. Once the meat begins to brown, remove it with a slotted spoon and keep aside for later.

Add the duck fat to the rendered bacon fat.

Pat the chicken parts dry and keep the liquid.

Brown the chicken parts in the duck fat, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a platter and set aside.

Add the olive oil to the hot pan and then add the onion and carrot.

Once the onion starts to brown, add the mushrooms and garlic. Preheat the oven to 350ºF at this point, while the vegetables are cooking.

Once the mushrooms are soft (about 10 minutes), add the chicken back to the pan in a single layer on top of the vegetables. Add the pearl onions and the bacon/prosciutto. Add the thyme and bay leaf. Pour all but a half cup of the liquid into the pan.

Add the tomato paste to the remaining liquid and whisk until evenly distributed. Add this to the pan.

Cover the pan and bake for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, uncover the pan and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients

Mesophilic Cheese Culture

Special Equipment

Flour Sack Towels

Spring Form Pan

As I mentioned in the podcast, each one of the components will have their own recipe, and I’ll list them in the same order as they appear in the podcast and the Imgur album.

Apple Cider Syrup

Reduce apple cider by 50% and then strain through a flour sack cloth laid inside a colander suspended over a pot. Continue to reduce on moderate heat until the final volume is approximately 25% of the starting volume. The liquid will coat a spoon when hot and will be thick and sticky when cool.

Cream Cheese

To 1/2 gallon of heavy cream, add 4oz of mesophilic cheese culture. Cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The cream will develop into a semi-solid curd in that time. After the curd is set, dump the contents of the bowl into a flour sack cloth laid inside a bowl and tie up the corners. Hang this bundle to allow the moisture to drip out of the curd for 12-24 additional hours.

Butter

To 2 cups of heavy cream, add 1 teaspoon of salt. Beat on medium to medium high through the whip cream stage and continue until the milk fat and the buttermilk separate and you are left with a wad of salted butter and buttermilk. Dump the contents into a flour sack cloth laid inside a bowl and twist the ball of butter to express the buttermilk through the cloth. Do not twist so tightly that butter is pressed through the weave of the cloth. Transfer the ball of butter to the refrigerator until cold and firm.

Caramel

Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to 2 cups of granulated sugar and mix until fairly evenly-incorporated. In a moderately high-sided pan, heat the sugar on medium high until the sugar begins to melt. You can back off the temperature a bit to avoid having spots of sugar scorching faster than the rest. You do not need to stir the sugar. Just slowly and consistently heat the sugar until it forms a liquid pool of amber-brown syrup. Remove from the heat and carefully add 6 tablespoons of butter in 1 tablespoon increments to the hot syrup. Whisk the butter into the syrup until it’s incorporated. Add one half cup of heavy cream and continue to whisk. If the cold cream causes the syrup to solidify, return to medium heat and continue whisking until you have a brown, smooth caramel. Add a half teaspoon of salt, whisk to incorporate, and then transfer to a glass jar or bowl to cool. If you need to soften it prior to use, microwave the caramel in 15-30 second increments until it’s workable.

Graham Crackers

4oz Butter

1/3 cup Sugar

1/2 cup White Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

2 tablespoons Honey

1 tablespoon Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

In a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients to mix thoroughly. Cut the butter into small pieces, add to the dry ingredients, and pulse to incorporate until the mixture resembles that of wet sand. Add the wet ingredients and blend until the dough forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a cutting board, divide into two equal parts, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill and firm the dough.

Place each portion of dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out to 1/8” thickness. If you are just making Graham Crackers for the sake of having Graham Crackers, you can square these up into large rectangles and press dividing lines and docked holes into the surface, similar to store-bought Graham Crackers. If it’s just for Graham Cracker crust, this is unnecessary. Transfer to floured baking sheets.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and bake for 16-20 minutes. After 8-10 minutes, rotate the baking sheets. The final crackers will be darker than they were when they went into the oven and will be exceptionally soft immediately upon withdrawal from the oven. They will stiffen as they cool.

Graham Cracker Crust

Pulse broken Graham Cracker pieces in the food processor. I started with about 2 cups of the large shards of cracker, which reduced down to 1.5 cups of cracker crumbs.

If using store-bought Graham Crackers, melt 5 tablespoons of butter and add to the crumbs. If using homemade Graham Crackers, use 3-4 tablespoons of butter, since there is a lot of butter already in the crackers. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and a dash of salt. Mix until you have a consistent wet mix. Press this wet mix into the bottom of a spring form pan.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF and bake the crust for 10 minutes. Once it’s out of the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 325ºF in advance of baking the cheesecake. Wrap the bottom and sides of the spring form pan with heavy aluminum foil (see the linked photo album) to slow the ingress of heat into the cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake Filling (finally!)

32oz Cream Cheese

2 cups Sugar

6 Large Eggs

3 tablespoons White Flour

4 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice and the Zest of one Lemon

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Sour Cream

In a stand mixer bowl, or with a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese, flour, and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice/zest, vanilla, and salt and continue to mix until incorporated. On low mixing speed, add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Finally, fold in the sour cream, being careful not to over-mix.

Pour the cheesecake filling into the spring form pan.

Transfer the spring form pan to a large roasting pan. Using an electric kettle or a pot on the stove top, boil enough water to fill the roasting pan the side of the spring form pan to a depth of 1”.

Carefully move the roasting pan full of water and cheesecake into the 325ºF oven and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. After that time has elapsed, turn off the oven heat, check that the cheesecake filling has set, and leave everything in the cooling oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to rest and cool on the counter for 45 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a sharp knife around the edge of the cheesecake to make sure it isn’t sticking to the side of the spring form pan. The filling will shrink down as it cools, and if it’s stuck to the sides of the pan, it may warp or crack.

After 45 minutes, transfer the cheesecake to the refrigerator to cool completely.

Finally, after what seems like a hero’s journey, pop the latch on the side of the spring form pan and remove the ring. If you are using the apple cider syrup and caramel as a toping, drizzle both over the top. Depending on how thick the syrup is, you may need to microwave it a bit to loosen it up. You’ll almost certainly need to microwave the caramel to make it, as I said several times in the podcast, drizzleable.

And that’s all she wrote.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment -

KitchenAid Grain Mill Attachment

Alternative Grain Mill

Special Ingredients-

Grains from the Plains

Recipe -

For each of the three test loaves of bread, I used the following ingredients:

2 Cups Flour

1/3 Cup Yeast Starter

1/5 Tsp Salt

1 Cup Water

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Using your hands and a wooden spoon, combine all ingredients into a loose, wet dough.

Put dough into a mixing bowl and cover with Saran Wrap to rest and proof for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, gently punch down the risen dough, and fold over on itself 4 times. Recover with Saran Wrap and allow to rest for 45 minutes.

Gently punch down the risen dough and turn out onto a floured cutting board. Knead and fold the dough for 2 minutes.

Roll and shape the dough into a long, narrow loaf. Lay in a floured couche and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 450º.

Using a lame, score the loaf 3-5 times, diagonally. Place the loaf in the oven, either on a baking stone or a baking sheet. On another rack, place a pan of water.

Bake for 15 minutes. At that point, remove the pan of water. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to rest and cool for at least 1 hour.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment: Creme Brûlée Torch (optional)

Ingredients:

4 Cornish Hens

1 Lemon

1 Yellow onion

4 Tbsp chopped garlic chive

1 Tbsp chopped oregano

1 tsp chopped sage

10-12 lbs of coarse kosher salt

4-6 cups of water

Parchment paper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Into the cavity of each Cornish hen, place a quarter of a lemon, a handful of diced onion, and a generous pinch of the chopped herbs. Then, coat the exterior of each hen with the remaining herbs.

You’ll need approximately 3lbs of salt for each hen. To 3lbs of salt, add 1 cup of water and mix by hand to achieve a texture similar to that of wet sand. Create a bed of salt for each hen on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, or directly on the cookie sheet. Set each hen on its own bed of salt and then add pack handfuls of salt around each bird until they are completely encased.

Bake for 60 minutes. A probe thermometer can pierce the salt shell and plunge into the flesh in different directions. Ensure an internal temperature of at least 155º before removing from the oven. Allow them to rest for 15-20 minutes. In that time, the hens will continue to increase in temperature.

After resting, crack the salt shells open with a wooden mallet or a heavy handled implement. Carefully peel back the large shards of salt crust. There may be considerable amounts of steam coming from the interior, so be careful not to burn your fingers.

The birds can either be served as-is or you can toast the skin with the torch to add color, texture, and flavor.

View Details

Special Equipment: None

Special Ingredients: None

Imgur Album

2lbs fresh tomatoes or a 28oz can of peeled tomatoes

A handful of fresh parsley

2 Red Bell Peppers

1 Yellow Onion

4tbsp olive oil

4-5 cloves of garlic

6 eggs

2tsp paprika

1tsp cumin

1tsp chili powder

Some crusty bread that will toast up nice

Salt & Pepper to taste

If you are using fresh tomatoes, you'll want to get the skins off and then core the fruits. To remove the skins, I scored the bottom with an X, rolled the tomato around in boiling water for 30 seconds, and then moved it to an ice bath while I repeated the process with the rest.

In a 12+ inch cast iron pan or equivalent, heat your olive oil and add the hand-crushed tomatoes to begin to reduce them.

Preheat your oven to the highest setting. Mine is 550ºF.

Dice the peppers and onion and start them in a medium-high pan to sweat and cook until translucent. It will be about 10 minutes.

Crush and chop the garlic and add it to the tomatoes at about the 15 minute mark when the liquid in the simmering tomatoes starts to become opaque and cloudy.

After 20-25 minutes, the structure of the tomatoes should have broken down to a fairly consistent sauce. At this point, we want to add the dry spices and stir them to incorporate. Stir the onion and peppers into the sauce. Also at this time, slice the bread, drizzle with olive oil, and put into the oven on a cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes or until it's brown and toasty. Remove the bread, and kill the heat on the oven. We'll use the residual heat in a bit.

Let the sauce simmer another 10 minutes.

Using a ramekin or a small bowl, crack each egg individually into this vessel. Using a serving spoon, make a divot in the sauce and slide each egg into the void. You can reduce the heat to medium so you don't splatter or cook the eggs too fast. Once all 6 eggs are in the sauce, move the pan to the still-hot oven to cook the tops of the eggs.

While the pan is in the oven, chop the parsley, which will be used to garnish the pan once it's removed from the oven.

Let the whole thing rest for 10 minutes and then serve with the toasted bread.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Equipment: None

Special Ingredients:

Pimenton Dulce de la Vera

Curing Salt #1

Brine:

1 quart of water

2oz kosher salt

1/2oz sugar

1tsp curing salt #1 (optional)

Adobo

1tbsp kosher salt

1tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1tbsp dried oregano

2 head of garlic, crushed and chopped

4tbsp smoked sweet paprika (Spanish paprika, Pimenton dulce)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup sherry vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

Pork

Boneless pork loin (3-5lbs)

Accessories

1 loaf of crusty bread with a soft center

Manchego cheese, grated

Extra olive oil

Make the brine ahead of time and brine the pork for 3 days in the refrigerator.

Combine all of the adobo ingredients in a large bowl. Remove the pork loin from the brine, pat dry with paper towels, and rest it in the adobo. Spoon the adobo over the pork so you have total coverage. Marinate the pork in the adobo for anywhere from 3 hours to 3 days.

Slice the marinated pork into 1/2” slices and fry in a bit of olive oil in a cast iron pan. Serve on toasted bread with grated manchego cheese.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients: None

Special Equipment:

Ikea Bowl

Mandoline

Ingredients:

5lbs Cucumbers

2-3 Yellow Onions

1/2 cup of pickling salt or kosher salt, but NOT iodized table salt. Also avoid other salts with aesthetic impurities like Himalayan, sea, or black salt.

2.5 cups white vinegar

2 cups apple cider vinegar

4.5 cups white sugar

2tbsp mustard seeds

1tsp turmeric

1tbsp allspice berries

1tbsp whole clove

1tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

1tsp celery seed

2-3 whole cinnamon sticks plus 1 cinnamon stick per jar of finished pickles (this part isn't super important, but if you get a container of cinnamon sticks, it ought to have enough for you to have a decorative one in each jar)

6-8 wide mouth pint jars with lids and rings

Slice the cucumbers to a medium thickness and the onions very thin. Toss these together by hand with all of the salt, cover with Saran Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but up to 12 hours. Then, pour off the accumulated water and rinse twice with the full volume of the bowl of cold tap water.

Add all of the other ingredients to a large pot, bring to a boil, and stir with a whisk until all of the sugar has dissolved.

Add the cucumbers and onions and bring the syrup to a boil again.

Pack the cucumbers and onions into prepared jars, inserting a whole cinnamon stick in each jar. Either process the jars in a hot water bath or refrigerate the jars if left unprocessed.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special ingredients -

Absolut Citron

Special Equipment -

Citrus Zester

Ingredients -

Brown Sugar Crumble -

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp melted butter

Cake -

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup whole milk

2 cups flour

2oz lemon vodka

Blueberries -

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup white sugar

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

To make the brown sugar crumble, mix the cinnamon and brown sugar and then pour in the melted butter and mix until you achieve a consistent texture. Set this aside until the end of the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350º.

To make the cake batter, start by mixing the softened butter and sugar. I used an electric hand mixer, but you can use a stand mixer or mix by hand. Once the butter and sugar is mixed, add the vanilla, eggs, and milk and continue to mix until you have a consistent texture. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder by hand so they are evenly distributed. Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Add the 2oz of vodka and mix until incorporated. Put the cake batter in the refrigerator while you prep the blueberries.

Add the blueberries to a medium pan, along with the 1/4 cup of white sugar, and the juice and zest of one lemon. On medium-high heat, stir the blueberries constantly as they heat up and come to a boil. The berries will give up a lot of liquid and will dissolve the sugar, creating a syrup the envelopes the fruit. Once you've developed a good amount of liquid, remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Add your cake batter to a greased cake pan and then carefully pour the blueberry mixture on top. Put this into the 350º oven for 40 minutes. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the cake to catch any blueberry drippings once the cake rises in the oven.

After 40 minutes, turn off the oven heat. Slide the rack with the cake out and sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon/butter mixture on top. Return this to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients -

Light Corn Syrup

Coleman's Dry Mustard Powder

Curing Salt #1

Hog Casings

Special Equipment -

Kitchen Aid Grinder

Standalone Grinder

Standalone Stuffer

Food Processor

Recipe

1lbs chicken (mix of white and dark meat)

2lbs beef cut into 1 inch cubes

1lbs pork shoulder cut into 1 inch cubes

1.5 tablespoons kosher salt

1.5 teaspoons curing salt #1

2 cups ice water

1.5 tablespoons dry mustard powder

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup milk powder

3 tablespoons soy sauce

You'll need approximately 8-10 feet of hog casing, so get that into a bowl of cool water and allow it to soak for at least 30 minutes. It can soak while you grind and mix the meat.

Grind all your meats through the coarse plate. To the combined ground meats, add all of your ingredients except for the ice water. With your hands, mix this thoroughly, but work quickly to ensure the meat stays cold.

Once mixed, pass all of the spiced meat mixture through the fine grinder plate.

To create the emulsion, you're going to whip the ground meats in the food processor while adding the ice water. If your food processor cannot handle all of the ground meat at once, work in smaller batches and evenly distribute the ice water amongst those batches. Run the food processor for 1.5-2 minutes per batch. The texture of the farce will be smooth and sticky and all of the water will be bound up within the fat and protein of the ground meat. When all of the meat is processed this way, make sure it's all folded together and consistent if you split it out into smaller batches.

Thread your casings onto the stuffer tube and begin to stuff the sausages. Don't worry too much about how evenly-packed they are at this point. You can make them more consistent and tight when you twist off the individual links.

Once all of the farce has been stuffed into the casings, prick the casings to allow air to escape. If you don't have a sausage pricker, you can use those corn stabby boys to prick the casings. Try not to tear the casings when you prick them. To twist your sausages into individual links, you can twirl each one, changing directions for each subsequent link... or you can use a sausage linking method such as this one.

Once all of your links have been made, fill a large stock pot between 1/2 and 3/4 of the way full of water. Heat that on the stovetop until the water temperature is 180º. Into that water, you'll put your sausages to set the farce. In other words, you're going to cook them gently in hot (but not boiling) water so the loose filling solidifies into a solid form. You'll poach your sausages for 20-30 minutes.

Get a big bowl filled with cold water. You can make an ice bath if you want, but I find that cold water is sufficient for small batches. If you are making 30lbs of hotdogs, the thermal mass of the sausages will heat the bath water up and that would necessitate ice. For less than 10lbs, though, cold tap water will work. Move the poached sausages into the cold water. This will prevent the casings from getting wrinkly, which tends to happen when they cool slowly. 5-10 minutes in the cold water should be fine.

At this point, you can either go straight into the smoking step, or you can refrigerate your links overnight. If you refrigerate them, they'll develop a pellicle, which is a sticky surface that will allow more smoke flavor to adhere to the links. I snipped the casings between each link so that I'd have individual hotdogs from this point forward.

Smoke the hotdogs at 250º for 2 hours or as long as it takes to hit 165º internal temperature. This will ensure a fully-cooked product and will transform the color from the pale gray of the poached hotdogs to the rich mahogany of the finished franks.

At this point, they are functionally finished. Of course, you'll probably want to grill them to get a little more color and texture on the casing and to release some of the fat in the farce, but the process of creating a hotdog is complete. Good luck and enjoy!

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients: None

Special Equipment: None

Variables: The 3 tablespoons of paprika can be any mix of paprikas to achieve a desired flavor profile. You can use sweet, hot, or smoked in any combination you see fit. Also, if you want to skip making a roux to thicken the sauce, you can, instead, add a tablespoon of corn starch to the sour cream at the end.

Recipe

4 chicken legs & 4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 yellow onions, diced

8oz mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons paprika

2 cups chicken stock/broth

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

Salt & pepper to taste

Start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large pan, preferably one with a lid that can move from the stove to the oven, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat until it shimmers and starts to smoke. If you can't fit all of the chicken in your pan, work in shifts to brown the chicken all over, and then remove to a platter to hold until later.

Preheat the oven to 300º.

Into the dirty pan, add the onions. Keep the onions moving so they don't burn, and cook them until they're translucent and soft. You do not have to caramelize them.

Add the mushrooms and then season the onion/mushroom mixture with salt and pepper. The salt, added at this point, will help draw moisture out of the mushrooms as they cook.

When the mushrooms are soft and shiny, add the garlic and mix thoroughly.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

Add the paprika and stir to fully integrate the paprika into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium.

In a separate pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbling, add the flour. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour and butter to mix together. Do not overcook this roux. Just get the flour completely mixed together with the butter and then remove from heat.

Since both the roux and the sauce is hot, you can add the roux to the sauce and stir to thoroughly incorporate the roux into the sauce.

If you want to skip this step, you can instead add a tablespoon of corn starch to the sour cream for the last step of the recipe.

Return the chicken to the pan of sauce, cover, and put this in the 300º oven for 2 hours.

Remove the chicken and set aside on a platter. Stir the sour cream into the sauce. You may need to use a whisk to fully incorporate the sour cream.

Once you've achieved an even consistency, either return the chicken to the sauce or ladle the sauce over the chicken.

For this preparation, the Chicken Paprikash was served with egg noodles and sautéed seasonal vegetables.

View Details

Imgur Album

Special Ingredients:

Capers

White wine

Special Equipment:

Meat mallet

Saran Wrap

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp kosher salt and black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

3-4 cloves of garlic

6-8oz quartered artichoke hearts, packed in water

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp capers, drained

1 whole lemon or lemon juice equivalent (2 tbsp)

1-2 tbsp chopped parsley and chives

Begin by slicing your chicken breasts in half as if you are opening them like a book. Fold over a piece of Saran Wrap and pound your half breasts out to approximately 1/8" thickness.

Sprinkle your flour over a dry surface and season the surface with salt and pepper. Dredge your flattened chicken breasts in the flour and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a sauté pan and brown all of the chicken pieces on both sides. It will take 3-4 minutes per side. You do not have to cook the breasts through at this point. Remove the breasts to a plate and set aside until later.

In the dirty sauté pan, add the butter and remaining olive oil. While those are heating up, crush the garlic and roughly chop the cloves. Add these to the hot oil and butter and stir frequently for a minute to soften the garlic.

Add the one cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir the contents of the pan and reduce the liquid by half.

Add the chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers. Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken and reduce the sauce.

Add the chicken to the pan in a single layer. Flip the chicken once to coat both sides in the sauce. Chop the fresh herbs and add them to the pan. Cover and set the heat to medium. Let that simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the drained artichokes, cover, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Uncover, increase heat slightly, and simmer off some of the excess moisture for 5 minutes.

Serve atop orzo or white rice, or alongside steamed vegetables or grilled squash.

View Details

Imgur album

Special ingredients - None

Special Equipment - None

Prep/Cook time - 1 hour

Ingredients -

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

40 cloves of garlic, whole/peeled

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

Thyme sprigs

2-3 bay leaves

6-8 bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken broken down into wings, thighs, legs, and bone-in breasts

Let's say up front that the butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper will be used half in the beginning and half in the middle of the preparation. I always get caught when you prep all the ingredients but you use part of the measurement at one point and another part at a later step.

Pre-heat your oven to 350º.

Heat up a cooking vessel that can be covered and moved into the oven. I'm using a deep pan with a lid. You want something with a big enough foot print to get all of your chicken in contact with the bottom of the pan. If you don't have something big enough, you'll just have to brown your chicken in shifts at the beginning.

Use about half the salt and pepper to season your chicken parts.

On the stovetop (we'll get to the oven later), melt half your butter and add half the olive oil. I stuck with medium-high heat for this so as not to burn any ingredients. Place your seasoned chicken parts skin side down in the pan. After about 6 minutes, flip the chicken parts and give the other side 6 minutes. You basically want to brown your chicken on both sides, so if you need a few more minutes, go ahead and take the time you need. You are not cooking the chicken all the way through, here... you're just getting some color on the surface.

When browned, move your chicken parts to a holding plate.

Add the rest of the olive oil and butter to the pan. When the butter is melted and sizzling, add all of the whole, peeled cloves of garlic. Move these around consistently until they are lightly browned and translucent. Remove these to a holding plate/bowl.

Add the white wine and let that come to a lively simmer. Then, add the chicken stock and continue to simmer. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the fond (brown bits) from the bottom of the pan. Reduce this liquid by half and then turn off the heat.

Arrange your chicken parts skin side UP in the pan of sauce. Spoon the garlic back into the pan on top of the chicken. Add your sprigs of thyme and bay leaves. Sprinkle the remaining salt and pepper evenly around the pan of chicken and garlic. Cover the pan and put into the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes.

The result will be a wonderfully aromatic dish that is not overpowered by garlic, despite the name and ingredients. The garlic will be sweet and savory and will have infused the chicken and the sauce with a similar flavor. The thyme, bay leaves, and white wine will add a bright, fresh flavor reminiscent of citrus.

In warmer weather, I like to serve this atop white rice, as I did in this instance. In the fall or winter, you can add quartered red-skin potatoes to the pan, under the chicken, and the 40 minute bake time will be sufficient to cook those to tenderness. The difference between rice and potatoes is minor, but when it's 90 degrees vs 30 degrees, that difference is magnified, gastronomically. As for sides, asparagus or whole, roasted carrots would be perfect. The flavors and color of either will be a nice contrast to a decidedly beige entree. Also, the shape of both, that is, long and thin, will contrast nicely with the round shapes of piled rice, potatoes, and chicken thighs. Remember, the first bite is with the eyes. That said, I have no shame in saying that I love the classic frozen mixed vegetables with the cubes of carrot, short segments of green beans, corn and peas. It's a nostalgic flavor that's comforting and simple. While this recipe focuses on the chicken, I have included a photo of the actual finished dish accentuated by this pedestrian side dish.

View Details

Imgur Album

Equipment -

Blender

Food Processor

Special ingredients-

None. However, do try to use the boldest olive oil you can find. You want it pungent and spicy.

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic

3/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped oregano

1 chili pepper, seeds removed

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup olive oil

If you are making this in the blender or the food processor, this quantity of ingredients should be sufficient. In the blender, if you can't get everything to blend, add a quarter cup of water to get everything to combine. If you are making this as a board sauce, a drizzle of olive oil will be sufficient, as 3/4 cup will certainly run over the edges of your cutting board.

This sauce is pretty forward in its flavor profile. The parsley is fresh and clean while the acid of the lime juice brightens up the herbs and garlic, while acting as a contrast to the savory beef. Because of this, I'd recommend forgoing the ribeye, strip, or filet and utilizing a cheaper cut of beef and bringing it up to the level of the sauce. Flank, flat iron, or skirt would be great. Cook the meat however you want, but if possible, please consider charcoal or wood because it adds another dimension to the flavor.

This one is pretty simple, but the result is way greater than the sum of its parts. Feel free to try this with other proteins like goat or venison. For a real treat, skewer chicken hearts, grill them the same way, and then rest them in a pool of the food processor version of chimichurri. It's fantastic.

View Details

Imgur link

Vac sealer

Sodium nitrite

Duck legs

Duck Fat

For this recipe, you want to weigh your duck legs, first, and use that weight to calculate the amount of kosher salt and curing salt. That way, you don't have to make the same amount of duck as I did.

Kosher salt - 1.8% of the weight of the duck

Curing salt #1 - .25% of the weight of the duck. This is one quarter of one percent. It's a small amount.

4 Bay Leaves

5 Cloves

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

2-3 Cloves of Garlic

Enough duck fat to cover the legs in whatever cooking vessel you choose to use

Start by grinding up your bay leaves and cloves and then mix together the dry ingredients. Mince the garlic and mix that into the salt and spice mixture.

Lay your duck legs out on a baking sheet, meat side up, and rub your dry spice mixture on all of them. Use the entirety of the salt and spice mixture.

If you are using a vacuum sealer, package all the legs together. If you are not using a vacuum sealer, pack the duck legs into large ziplock bags, press out as much air as you can, and seal.

Refrigerate the salted duck legs for 3-5 days.

After the curing period, remove the duck legs from the bag and arrange them fat side up in the bottom of a dutch oven, corning ware dish, or casserole. Add enough duck fat to cover the legs.

Put your baking vessel into a 250ºf oven, covered, for 3 hours. After 3 hours, remove the cover (lid, aluminum foil, etc.) and continue baking for another 3 hours. Total baking time at this step is 6 hours.

Remove from the oven and let sit, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Cover and place into the refrigerator for between 12 hours and 6 months (LoL).

When you are ready to do the final preparation, preheat your oven to 350ºf. Put the baking vessel containing the duck legs and fat into the oven for 20 minutes to melt the fat so you can easily remove however many duck legs you want to prepare.

Lay the duck legs, skin side up, on a rack set on a baking sheet. Bake at 350ºf for 25-30 minutes. This will heat the legs through and crisp the skin.

The duck fat can be used as a cooking medium for root vegetables or as a butter analog in recipes. This dish is ideal for late autumn when the days are cold and short. This is in my personal hall of fame for comfort foods.

View Details

Imgur Album

Ostrich egg

Pimenton Dulce de la Vera

Ingredients-

Crust-

2.5 Cups Flour

8oz butter

1tsp salt

1/2 cup of ice water (you probably won't use it all)

Filling-

1 Ostrich Egg (or 24 chicken eggs)

2 Bell Peppers

1 Head of Garlic

1 Yellow Onion

1 Tomato

6 Slices of Bacon

1/4 cup Grated Manchego Cheese

2tbsp Pimenton Dulce de la Vera

2tbsp Herbes de Provence

1tbsp Tarragon

1tsp Salt

1tsp Black Pepper

The crust should be made first and it requires a 1.5hr chill time before being worked. Combine the butter, salt, and flour either by working it with a fork or pulsing it in a food processor. Once you have pea-sized clumps, evenly distributed, start adding the ice water, but not the ice cube, a trickle at a time. I ended up using 4 tablespoons of cold water. You add the water until the mixture forms a dough rather than a clumpy aggregate.

You'll be able to form your dough into a smooth ball. Work quickly and don't get all that butter melted with your body heat. Remember, your dough is basically just butter and flour.

Split the ball in half and quickly form those both into balls. Wrap the dough balls up with Saran Wrap and put them in the fridge for 1.5 hours. Depending on the size of the vessel you are going to be cooking your quiche in, you may very well need to use more than just one ball of dough. I used one plus half of the second one.

When you are getting close to the end of the chill time pre-heat the oven and start prepping the vegetables and dry ingredients. Chop the peppers, dice the onion, and mince the garlic. Thinly slice enough tomato to eventually cover the top of the quiche. I used 8 slices from a medium tomato.

Prep the dough from the fridge. Quickly press out your dough and roll it into a circle. You do not have to perfectly roll it out super flat and elegantly lay it in the cooking vessel. As you can see in the next picture, you can just mush the dough around until you cover the cooking surface. I used one and a half of those balls of dough.

I very lightly oiled a cast iron pan before spreading the dough inside. You can use a pie pan, or some other baking dish, but just account for the fact that you're going to be using the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs. This cast iron pan, as you'll see later, was filled to the brim.

Bake this for 15 minutes in that 350 degree oven. This is just to set the texture of the crust and dry it out a bit.

Cook 6 slices of bacon to your preferred doneness. Remove these to a cutting board to cool.

Sweat the vegetables, sans tomato, in the bacon grease on medium heat. We're just sweating these, not browning them. It should only take 10-15 minutes with attentive stirring.

Chop the cooled bacon and add to the sweated vegetables. Reduce heat to low to keep the mixture warm.

Now, we need to get into the ostrich egg. I used a screwdriver and a hammer to chisel away a hole in the shell and then cut the inner membrane with scissors. Another good choice would be a Dremel-style tool with a masonry attachment to cut the top of the egg off and remove it like a hat. Regardless of the method you choose, get the egg out of its shell and into a mixing bowl.

Beat the egg until you achieve a uniform consistency and then gently pour the egg into the prepared crust.

Add the dry seasonings to the cooked vegetables and bacon and stir to incorporate. This mixture can then be spooned into the egg-filled pie crust.

Bake this for 55 minutes. Check on it after 25 minutes to ensure the egg is cooking evenly and then again 15 minutes later to ensure it isn't over-cooking.

When the egg filling is firm and the top is just starting to brown, turn off the oven. Lay the layer of sliced tomato on the top of the quiche and sprinkle the 1/4 cup of grated cheese on top. Return this to the idle oven and let the residual heat warm the tomato and melt the cheese, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

View Details

Here is a link to the Imgur album with visual aids.

Special Equipment needed:

Smoker

Kitchen Scale

Special Equipment recommended:

Vacuum Sealer

Recipe:

For this recipe, I'm assuming a 5lbs pork belly. 5lbs is 80oz (5lbs x 16oz), so the amount of each ingredient is calculated as a percentage of 80oz. To get the right quantities of ingredients, multiply the weight of your pork belly by 16oz and then use that number multiplied by the percentage of each ingredient.

5lbs Pork Belly

Kosher salt - 2.5% or 2 ounces

Curing salt - .25% or .2 ounces

Black Pepper - 1% or .8 ounces

Granulated Garlic - 1% or .8 ounces

Thyme - .5% or .4 ounces

Brown Sugar - 1% or .8 ounces

Mix these ingredients thoroughly.

If you are curing your pork belly in a vacuum bag or ziplock bag, put the pork belly in the bag FIRST. You can coat the pork with the cure mix while it's in the bag and you won't have to worry about spreading dry ingredients all over your kitchen.

Apply the cure mix to the MEAT SIDE of the belly. Spread it all over the meat side and then work it over onto the fat side. If your cure mix is going to be light against one side of the belly, it should be light on the fat side.

Vac-seal your belly, zip the ziplock bag (while pushing the air out), or wrap tightly in Saran Wrap. If you are using the Saran Wrap method, you'll want to put the wrapped belly in a roasting pan or some other receptacle so it doesn't leak moisture.

Allow the pork belly to cure, in the fridge, for at least 14 days.

If you are unable to smoke your bacon after 14 days, additional time won't hurt. The quantity of salt ensures you won't over-salt your bacon.

After 14 days, remove the belly from the bag or wrap, and pat dry with paper towels.

You can leave the belly uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours to dry out the surface prior to smoking, but you can also just smoke the belly the day it comes out of cure.

If you can control the temperature of your smoker, smoke the bacon at 275º until the center reads 155º. The wood selection is up to you, but I prefer hickory.

When the bacon reads 155º, remove from the smoker and put it uncovered in the fridge to cool, completely. This will take 6-10 hours, so you might as well just do it overnight.

If you can't reliably hit a specific temperature in your smoker, smoke your bacon for a few hours and then put it in a 300º oven to bring it up to temperature.

Once your bacon is completely cooled, you can package it however you'd like. You can slice it and wrap the slices in freezer paper or vac seal them. You can cut your slab into 1lbs slabs and individually wrap those. Refrigerated, your bacon will be good for 2 weeks. In the freezer, you have at least 6 months.

Because this is dry-cured bacon (as opposed to wet brined), it has a lower moisture content than what you'd expect from grocery store bacon. As a result, it cooks faster at lower temperatures. Since you don't have to boil off all the retained water, cook on medium to medium-high and turn frequently to avoid burning.

Ingredient Links:

Curing Salt #1

Kosher Salt - Don't use iodized table salt

Pepper, garlic, thyme, and brown sugar are readily available at most grocery stores

Equipment Links:

Vacuum Sealer

Bacon Hooks

Meat Slicer

Boning Knife