Couscous is a tiny, granular type of wheat pasta, which is as delicious, as it is simple to prepare. It’s origins go back thousands of years and while usually considered a Moroccan dish, this is also a staple in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The amazing thing about couscous is how fast it “cooks,” and how versatile it is. This is one of those recipe clips that should give you lots of ideas regarding ways to vary it to create your own combinations. By the way, this is the “home” version, the real traditional method used to cook this dish uses a steamer called a “kiska,” sometimes called a “couscoussier” in French cuisine.
A few very important keys as you watch the clip: Make sure the “grains” of the couscous are coated with the olive oil, as this will keep it fluffy and separate. Also, as soon as you pour the hot stock over the couscous, wrap with foil IMMEDIATELY and TIGHTLY, and don’t touch it for 5 minutes! Most supermarket couscous will call for the basic 1 to 1 ratio of stock to dry couscous, but be sure to read the instructions.
Ingredients: 2 Cups Couscous 2 1/3 Cups Cold Water 1 Pound Raw Shrimp (With Shells) 1/2 Cup Diced Tomato 2 Green Zuchinni 1 Eggplant 1/2 Bunch Tarragon 1/2 Bunch Dill Pepper Salt Cayenne 1/3 Cup Olive Oil Lemon To Garnish
Here you’ll see the classic, and very simple, technique for homemade vegetable soups. I’m using broccoli, but almost any vegetable will work. I am a disciple of the Gordon Ramsey School of vegetable soups. It’s basically the vegetable, some stock or water, just cooked until tender, pureed and seasoned simply. His “crazy” theory is that the star of the bowl should be the featured vegetable itself.
The cheddar croutons you’ll also see in the demo really make it special, as well as providing an excuse to use my culinary blow-torch!! The chewy, cheesy garnish is a perfect contrast to our minimalist soup approach.
I also hope that after watching this clip you seriously consider getting a good immersion blender, which are also sometimes called stick blenders. They are fairly cheap and an incredibly handy tool for making soup at home the simple pleasure it should be. It’s also fantastic for making salad dressings and sauces, as you’ll see in other clips. By the way, if you don’t have one of these stick blenders, don’t worry. Just carefully use your blender by blending a few small batches at a time to avoid the dreaded “flying scalding soup” situation. Enjoy.
Ingredients: 2 heads broccoli 1 tbl butter 1 clove garlic 1 quart chicken stock 1/3 cup heavy cream sliced bread cheddar cheese cayenne pepper salt to taste
Thanks to AltaVista’s amazing Bable Fish translation service, our blog pages can be translated to almost any other major language (sorry minor languages, talk to AltaVista). Simply click on the flag of the country you wish and “Voila!” (that’s French) every word on the page is in your language of choice. Now, you do have to know what the flag of your native country looks like. Also, since I don’t speak another language (except for cursing), I have no idea how accurate this translation is. I would hate for my subtle humor and brilliant observations to somehow be lost in translation. As you know, I spend a lot of time editing so that the grammar, punctuation and capitalization are really well wrote. I would hate for the translating software to not do this as good as I have did. Oh well, I’ll just have to that chance.
In the sidebar, on every page on the site, you will see the widget pictured below. Just click on a flag, and it will open the translated page in a new window!
I just received an email, with the photo you see here, in response to my Chicken and Biscuits video recipe clip. Apparently the vegetarian that sent it (I’m assuming they’re a vegetarian) found it in the PETA online newsletter. OK, very amusing. While I’m a devote Omnivore, and feel good about eating any and all living things, I do understand (and respect) the vegetarian point of view. That’s why I’m posting today’s clip, from The Simpsons, called “Bovine University.” It is a very scientific (I'm kidding), and well researched (I'm kidding), instructional video that clearly explains why it’s ok to eat meat (I'm kidding). I think that if the average vegetarian understood more about the food chain, they may change their views (I'm kidding). Enjoy!
This short and simple clip may seem a bit strange. The thought of topping a warm, olive oil soaked Crustini with chocolate and sea salt does take an open mind to contemplate. The first time I came across this combo, I too was understandable skeptical, but one bite and I was convinced. It worked. Not only did it work, it rocked!
The blending of the fruity/peppery olive oil, bittersweet dark chocolate, the warm crispy-edged bread, and the tiny crunch of briny sea salt crystals is quite the epicurean experience.
Most good cooks know that a pinch of salt in a dessert recipe is a must to bring out the sweetness of whatever you’re making. So topping the chocolate with flakes of the Maldon sea salt is really not that crazy. I guess it’s the fact that it’s served on top of warm Crustini that makes it seem so unusual.
To me this is a savory recipe, not a dessert. I think these are perfect with a nice glass of red wine or port. It would make for a very unique passed Hors D’ouvre. This is not a sweet bite if you use the bittersweet chocolate I suggest. You could use semi-sweet, but then I think you just crossed the savory-sweet border and now definitely have a dessert item. Anyway, it’s the season of faith, so have some, and give this a try!
By the way, this was NOT inspired by a certain animated TV Chef from South Park, Colorado! If it was, I would have called it, “Chef’s Salty Chocolate Crustini.” I almost provided a link to the song, but discretion prevailed (and hey, you can always google it). Apologies to all of you that are not South Park fans and have no idea what I’m talking about.
Ingredients: Sliced baguette bittersweet chocolate olive oil Maldon sea salt crystals, or other flaky type sea salt
The Maldon salt you see in the clip is a really interesting ingredient and I’ve included a link here, in case you want more info.
This simple spring pasta salad is a lesson in culinary restraint. There are so many things we could add to this, but we’re not going to do it. I want to celebrate my tender and sweet spring peas, and delicate star-shaped pasta (Stellette) in a simple salad, and I’m not going to clutter it up trying to clean out the vegetable bins. Everything about this salad is subtle. The tender peas barely get cooked by sitting in the hot pasta for a few minutes. The dressing is nothing more than some lemon and oil. I finish with some fresh mint and parsley, salt and pepper and I’m done. Just stop and back away from the salad. There are many magical food pairings, but one of my personal favorites is mint and fresh peas. There is just something about those two ingredients getting together that makes both shine above and beyond what they are capable of alone.
Sure, usually pasta salads are a great excuse to chop up and use all those forgotten veggies in the bottom of the fridge yearning to be free, but not this one. Save that one for the company picnic. Today’s recipe is you and your lover, sitting on a blanket somewhere fresh and green, enjoying this and several others of life’s simple pleasures.
Ingredients: 8oz Stellette pasta 1/2 cup spring peas 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1.2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/4 cup chopper fresh mint 1/4 cup chopper fresh Italian parsley *don’t forget to salt the water you boil the pasta in!
I worked with a Chef, way back when, who made this amazingly delicious roasted tomato vinaigrette. He would slice a whole pan of Roma tomatoes lengthwise and slowly roast them in a very low oven until the sugars and acids in the fruit would condense and caramelize and concentrate into a delicious mass. This took about 5-6 hours. Then, these roasted tomatoes were cooled, pureed, and with the addition of some oil and vinegar, turned into a wonderfully complex vinaigrette. It was so good next to any grilled fish, meat, veggies, etc. The only thing I didn’t like was the extended cooking time.
Now, the whole reason for the long, slow roasting was to concentrate the flavors. So, I thought I could duplicate it by using a really good, double-concentrate tomato paste and nicely aged balsamic vinegar. It worked. Is it as good? Who knows? Yet another “subjective mater of taste” argument. Do I always use the shortcut method? No, I do (when I have time) love a nice pan of slow roasted, caramelized Roma tomatoes. They are great served whole on burgers, and as a side dish with many main dishes. In fact, now I have to demo the original method! Anyway, here is a 5 minute version that will pair wonderfully with so many things, and you’re only a few minutes away. I used this on my Pan Seared Perch with Fried Capers recipe, so if you haven’t seen that one, check it out. By the way, this is also very nice with I touch of fresh garlic, which I didn’t use this time…hey, I can’t use garlic in every recipe! Enjoy.
Ingredients: 1 tbl tomato paste (double-concentrate) 1 tbl aged Balsamic vinegar 1 tbl rice vinegar 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 6 tbl olive oil salt and pepper to taste
Couscous is a tiny, granular type of wheat pasta, which is as delicious, as it is simple to prepare. It’s origins go back thousands of years and while usually considered a Moroccan dish, this is also a staple in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The amazing thing about couscous is how fast it “cooks,” and how versatile it is. This is one of those recipe clips that should give you lots of ideas regarding ways to vary it to create your own combinations. By the way, this is the “home” version, the real traditional method used to cook this dish uses a steamer called a “kiska,” sometimes called a “couscoussier” in French cuisine.
