Carrot & Curry Bisque with Crispy Chives

Carrots and curry are an awesome combination! A client asked me to produce a hearty soup for her, as she is trying to cut the calories but still wants something absolutely flavorful. You probably already have all of the ingredients necessary to create this bisque and even if you don't, it's a very cost effective dish to create! And if you're trying to keep your sodium intake low, this bisque contains no salt! The Carrot & Curry Bisque is good as a side dish but can certainly be used as a main course, it is very filling, flavorful and healthy. Cheers!

Ingredients
8 large carrots
4 stalks celery
1 sweet potato
1 small onion
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter
¼ cup light half & half
Tbsp curry powder
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup of chicken stock
2 tsp of chives
Cracked black pepper

1. Dice the carrots, celery, sweet potato and onion in uniform chunks.
2. Heat oil and butter in a pot until butter begins to sizzle.
3. Add the vegetables and curry powder, and pepper to taste.
4. Sautee for 15 minutes until tender.
5. Add wine and chicken stock.
6. Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes until 1/3 of the liquid has reduced.
7. Off of the heat, add half & half.
8. In a blender, blend the bisque until very smooth.
9. Cut chives and place in the same pot you sauteed the veggies in, sautee for 2 minutes.
10. Place in bowls and garnish with chives!

Oysters: The Pearls of Sea Part 1, Sauced!

This photo I took at 28 Degrees Restaurant in Boston.

I don't know about you but I am a superfan of oysters! I prefer them raw, but also enjoy them fried, grilled or lightly steamed. The reason why I love raw oysters is for the ocean taste that comes with them in their simplicity. The accompanying sauces are not even necessary because oysters are delicious by themselves, but there a couple of sauces that I prefer with my little pearls.

Mignonette
This is a beautifully simple sauce for oysters. Packs a punch and compliments the awesomely pungent taste of the oysters themselves.

1/2 cup shallots
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/8 tsp of kosher salt
1/8 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of white peppercorns
This can be created raw or can be heated up in a sauce pot on a simmer for just under 10 minutes.

Horserash Cocktail Sauce
I'm not the biggest fan of ketchup, so when I can, I create my own cocktail sauce and amp it up with beautiful horseradish and roasted garlic.
2 cups of San Marzano tomatoes sauteed with 1 tsp of sugar, onion and half a head of roasted garlic)
1 medium onion
1 lemon
1 tbsp Worcestshire Sauce
5 tbsp prepared horseradish
3 tbsp italian flat parsley
After the tomatoes are sauteed, add the lemon juice, minced parsley and horseradish, spring with kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

I could write on and on about oysters, and I am promising to post my friend Mason's recipe for Pecorino, Garlic, Herb and Butter Grilled Oysters. They are ridiculous. But for now, I shall enjoy my glass of Pinot Noir and dream of my little pearls of the sea.

Cheers!

Pan Seared Duck Breasts Part 2: Burnt Honey and Lavender Duck with Figs

This succulent duck recipe was part of a dinner party in NYC that I catered this past holiday season. I've referenced this dinner party in previous posts and will post the full menu after individually posting all of the separate recipes. The dinner was for 18 people and included 7 course, quite an adventure, but this duck went over so well, that I wanted to share it with the world. In the previous post, Seared Duck Breasts: Part 1, I showed you how to perfectly attain that medium rare doneness for the duck breasts, anything more and it depletes the juiciness of that quacker!

The sauce for this recipe sounds daunting but it is rather easy if you can get your hands on the ingredients. The best advice I can give anyone when cooking for an event, a family or meal planning is to put your heart and soul into the dish, source the best quality ingredients and that combination will lend to a beautifully executed dish.
I've altered the recipe to serve 4, rather than the 18 for this party, Cheers!

Ingredients
4 Duck Breasts (reference the previous post on preparation and execution)
8 figs
1/4 cup of honey
2 tsp dried lavender
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Micro greens or pea tendrils for garnish

The Sauce!
In a deep sauce pot over high heat, caramelize the honey until golden brown (about 8 minutes). When you get that perfect dark brown caramel color, add lavender and olive oil and cook for about 10 minutes, reducing the heat to medium.

Meanwhile, in a sautee pan, heat olive oil until rippling and add in the figs (sliced in half). Pan sautee the figs until they lend some of their juices and because less firm.

This whole process take less than 20 minutes, when both are ready, add the figs to the sauce.

Presentation
Slice the duck breasts on a diagonal for a gorgeous look.
Place 4 fig halves on top of the duck.
Drizzle the sauce with a spoon over the figs & duck and around the plate.
Add micro greens or pea tendrils for some green color and presentation.

Cheers!

Pan Seared Duck Breasts: Part 1

Duck is so silky, savory and delicious, it triggers a flavor explosion in your mouth! I'm posting specifically about searing duck breasts because many people have asked me how you get it crispy, reduce the amount of fat and ask how not to overcook it. So here it is, it's all in the preparation of the duck breasts themselves. These beautiful ducks were ordered in New York City from a local farm that specialized in the cleanest environments for these critters. These were white pekin ducks which are some of the best quality and lend their mild taste to a variety of flavor profiles across different kinds of cuisines. In this instance, a dinner party in NYC, we went French.

When you buy or receive the duck breasts, they are often vacuum sealed. When you are ready to prepare the duck, unpackage the breasts and place on a sheet pan lined with several layers of paper towels. Pat dry both sides of the duck until it is as dry as you can possibly get it. The fat side of the duck will provide it's own lubricant for cooking. Season both sides of the dry duck with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Time to SEAR!

The best way to sear duck breasts is in a cast iron skillet. Place a cast iron skillet on your stove top and set the temperature to medium high. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your hand over the pan surface and if you can only hold it there for one second, it should be hot enough.

Score the duck breasts with a very sharp knife in a diamond pattern to allow the fat to release easier. With the fat side down, place a couple of breasts at a time into the pan. You should hear that delightful searing sound, don't worry, the breast is not burning. There is so much fat on that side of the duck it can tolerate the heat. Try your hardest not to move the duck at all for at least 7 minutes. After that time remove the duck from the pan and discard the fat into a container to save, duck fat is an amazing conduit to cook with! Repeat will all the duck breasts and you should end up with a crispy reduced skin on the duck. When these are all prepped and ready to go, place on baking sheets that have enough of a lip on the edge so fat doesn't spill out into your oven. Place in the 350 degree oven for 10 minutes maxiumum if you have very large breasts, well that just sounds silly doesn't it?!
Moving on... the duck will cook in their own fat in the oven which almost confits the whole breasts, absolutely incredicble. Remove the ducks from the oven and let rest on your countertop for approximately 10 minutes. Unlike chicken or other poultry, duck can be served medium rare, which in my opinion is the best way to go!

When you are ready to serve, slice the breasts at an angle for pretty portions.

Cheers!

Lobster & Fennel Salad: Who doesn't like some LOBSTAH!?

Living in North Carolina, lobster isn't as abundant or inexpensive as it was when I lived in Boston. So it is always a treat when we get a chance to have some. The local Harris Teeter was having a sale on lobster tails so I picked up a few and decided to create something different with them, a salad. I know that salads may not seem very exciting to you, but the true essence and beauty of a salad is what ingredients you put into them. It's fun to experiment with flavor profiles of different ingredient combinations, like the crisp fennel and gentle tarragon in this recipe. These two ingredients are actually very similar in flavor (licorice), one being a vegetable and the other an herb, but when you include one ingredient as one of the factors in the salad and the other as part of the dressing of the salad it really enhances the punch of flavor that hits the palate. The sweetness from the lobster and shrimp juxtaposed to the salitiness of the pecorino creates this beautiful salty-sweet combo that most of us enjoy. The sweetness from the mandarin oranges atop the peppery and spicy arugala hit the other flavor notes on your tongue, that when combined with all the flavors and textures make this salad truly a comprehensive taste bud experience. The quality of ingredients is a huge factor in making a salad more than just some greens. Go organic if you can with veggies and proteins and even if you can't, find the most beautiful and ripe and fresh ingredients possible. Taking your time in preparing a salad like this can make a large difference as well. After cooking the lobster, I reserved the tails and the shrimp shells and made a lobster stock just by reducing the cooking liquid. Adding lobster stock to side dishes, dressings and sauces can greatly enhance your guests culinary experience. I love when food experiments come out well, (as I pat myself on the back), but really what I like more is the smile and enjoyment that other people get when they taste something that is unique, rare and truly made from my heart and soul. CHEERS!

Lobster and Fennel Salad
4 small or 2 large lobster tails
8 16/20ct shrimp
1 bulb of fennel
2 mandarin oranges
4 cups of baby arugala
2 sprigs of thyme
4 cups of water
1/2 cup mayo
3 tbsp. of tarragon
1 ripe avocado
1 lemon
12 shavings of pecorino romano cheese
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper

The Seafood
Shrimp and lobster are very easy to cook. Simply grab 4 cups of water, put into a pot and bring to a boil with the 2 sprigs of thyme, the zest of the lemon, kosher salt and pepper. Add the shrimp in first, with shells on and cook for 3 minutes. Make sure you have an ice bath waiting and throw the shrimp in the bath after the 3 minutes to stop the cooking time. Next the lobster! In the same cooking liquid boil the lobster tails for 4-5 minutes, if small and 6-7 minutes if large. When the time has elapsed also place these into the ice bath. Once the seafood has cooled completely, removed from the shells and set the meat aside in the fridge and add the shells to the cooking liquid again. Bring back to a boil and reduce down to 1/2 cup and you've created a luxurious lobster stock!

The Accoutrements
1. Half the avacado, remove the pit, scoop out 4 equal portions and coat with lemon juice to prevent browning.
2. Supreme the mandarin organges, just another fancy term for sectioning between the membranes.
3. Slice the fennel bulb very thin and place slices into ice cold water with a couple squeezes of lemon juice to enhance the crispiness of the veggie.

The Dressing
1. In a bowl combine the mayo and 1 tsp of lemon juice.
2. Mince the tarragon finally and add to the mayo and lemon juice.
3. Add 1 tsp. of salt and 1/2 tsp. of pepper and mix thoroughly.
4. Next the lobster stock! This is what really makes this dressing insane, add 3 tbsp. of the lobster stock to your dressing and combine well until it is a creamy but loose consistency and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

The Assembly
The assembly of this salad is quite easy. Place 1 cup of arugala per bowl on the bottom. Drain the fennel from the lemon water mixture and pat dry and add to the arugala. Place avacado and organge sections in next. Arrange 2 shrimp per bowl for presentation along the side. Chop the lobster tails and arrange equally amongst the bowls. In the top and center of this salad add the pecorino romano cheese shavings. Last but certainly not least, drizzle about 1 tbsp of dressing over each salad, this is more than enough because the dressing is extremely potent and flavorful. Next, grab your fork and indulge yourself!

This salad truly is decadent, but in all honesty, for 4 servings the total cost of just the salad for this dinner party was roughly $16. If you were to buy this at a restaurant, you'd probably spend about $100 on 4 salads like this, so why not just bring the restaurant home?!

Cheers!

Creamy Wild Mushroom and Sherry Soup

Fungi Fungi Fungi!

I don't know about you but I love mushrooms. Any kind of mushrooms, raw, cooked, button, shitake, oyster, cremini, morel or portabella, I will find a way to enjoy them. I lucked out on this recipe, totally found these ingredients super cheap and just kind of threw them together and it happened to turn out tasty! So if you love the fungi try this one out, it's delicious! I ended up making this large pot of soup for under $10, which is insane because the mushroom involved are usually very expensive. If you haven't tried shitake or oyster mushrooms, invest in them, you'll be surprised at the creaminess and text of these bad boys. Cheers!

Ingredients
1 lb. cremini mushrooms
12 oz. shitake mushrooms
12 oz. oyster mushrooms
12 oz. beef broth
12 oz. chicken broth
15 sprigs of thyme
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. half & half
1 cup of dry sherry
1 head of garlic
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
basil leaves for garnish

The Process
1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot until sizzling on medium to medium-high heat.
2. Slice all mushrooms into equal sizes for similar cooking time. Place in the olive oil and butter mixture with thyme springs and sautee for 15 minutes until browned and fabulous.
3. Mince the garlic and add in and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add salt & pepper and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Deglaze the pot with the sherry wine and continue to add the broths, simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid reduces about 1/3 of the way.
6. Once reduces, add the half & half and cook for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.
7. Serve with basil leaves for garnish.

This recipe serves 6 medium portions or 4 large fungi lover servings ;-)
CHEERS!