Monthly Archives: October 2011

October 31, 2011 · 4:31 pm

Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Soup

Not only is it October, but it’s Halloween and high-time for pumpkins to come out and play. Before they’re all sacrified to the jack-o-lantern gods, get your hands on a few because boy do they make for some mouth-watering fall soups. Simple, easy and surprisingly good even when warmed up the week after, I’ve got just the pumpkin soup to get you started.
Pumpkin Soup
Yields about 6 cups

Ingredients
For Pumpkin Soup:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet pumpkin
2 tablespoons butter
1 white onion, chopped
1 quart vegetable stock or water
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

For Garnish:
½ cup shaved pumpkin
½ cup small pumpkin dice
½ cup grated gruyere cheese

Directions
For Pumpkin Soup:
Place pumpkin on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat and scoop out pumpkin chunks with a spoon. Set aside.

In a large stockpot, melt butter and cook onions in low heat for about 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add vegetable stock, salt, nutmeg and pumpkin.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about half an hour and blend in batches. Season to taste with salt.

For Garnish:
Reserve about 1/2 cup of raw pumpkin with skin removed. Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, shave the pumpkin into strips. 

Heat deep fryer at 375 degrees and immerse pumpkin strips for about 2 minutes. Season with salt immediately.

Use the other ½ cup of pumpkin for the pumpkin dice. Add into salted boiling water, cook until tender for about 2 minutes, remove- immerse into an ice bath to cool and then let air dry.

Pour soup into bowls, add pumpkin dice and top with gruyere cheese and fried pumpkin!

 

Rina Oh is an artist, writer and chef and a Meatless Monday advocate. For the last year these Meatless Mondays recipes have appeared on Food2.com, a website that is owned and operated by Scripps Networks. These posts are copyrighted material and any photographs, illustrations or written material are forbidden to be used or reposted anywhere without permission. For more information on Meatless Monday, please visit meatlessmonday.com

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October 24, 2011 · 4:17 pm

Meatless Monday: Trick-or-Treat Rice Balls

In Korean culture, you’ll often find glutinous rice cakes cooked into stews and soups, but what you really want to keep your eye out for is when they’re served up for dessert. In the next few weeks I’ll be experimenting, and concocting every type of rice cake you can think of. Here’s my starter: an easy version made with orange veggies and lentils. Seasonally appropriate, these Halloween-inspired rice balls may look a bit like bon bons, but don’t be fooled! They’re actually pretty good for you.
Trick-or-Treat Rice Balls
Yields 20 rice balls 

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ acorn squash, seeds removed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup split black and white lentils
2 cups water
salt to taste
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup shredded toasted seaweed laver, shredded
3 cups glutinous white rice, cooked

Directions
In a preheated oven at 350 degrees, place a tray lined with vegetable oil and acorn squash. Cook until very tender, about an hour. Remove from heat, and scoop out the squash with a spoon.

In a medium sauce pan, place olive oil and shallots, allowing them to cook until they are translucent without coloring them for about 3 minutes on low heat. Stir in lentils and deglaze with water. Continue cooking on medium heat for about 40 minutes until the lentils are tender but not mushy.

In a medium saute pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil and carrots. Saute for about 4-5 minutes in low heat until carrots are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, add ¾ cup of rice, and ½ an acorn squash. Mix well with a spatula. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Form into small 1 ½ inch balls.

With the remaining rice, form into 1 ½ inch balls pressing firmly to compact the rice. Gently roll in mixing bowls filled with carrots, then squeeze in your palm to set the vegetables. Repeat steps for lentils and seaweed.

And then….. Boo! Enjoy.

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October 19, 2011 · 7:05 pm

Blender Bender: Sights and Sounds from the 6th Annual Starchefs.com International Chefs Conference

At the International Chefs Congress last week I got to attend live cooking demos with way-noteworthy chefs exhibiting the new technologies used in food science stuff. I even learned how to distill beer into heavily concentrated liquor. The Inventor, Polyscience President Phillip Preston, brought with him a portable laboratory for super food enthusiasts, including gadgets as out there as a smoking gun.

Maybe I’m just a bit of a kitchen-tech nerd, but I recognized the gun. A few years ago there was this show where chefs competed for a top prize, and one year this guy showed up with all sorts of astral-looking equipment, and then whopped out liquid nitrogen and made instant ice cream.

For my daily breakfast I consumed Nespresso’s macchiato and stopped by the Emmi Roth USAcheese folks to grab me some aged gruyere every morning.

It all ended, three days later with the 2011 Vitamix Challenge being judged in a pseudo iron chef style competition. And let me tell you, the dishes were phenomenal! Last year one of the contestant’s managed to steam a fish, in the blender machine, using only boiling water and speed. Pretty neat, eh?!

The entire competition took no more than an hour from start to finish. Each contestant had some additional time to prepare mise en place ahead of time.

I saw glimpses of sausage casing and pigs blood at one end; neither my favorite ingredient, but amazing to see what looked like a vampire’s meals on display. Others brought in vacuum-sealed steaks, fine cuts of dry aged prime sirloin.

The winning dish this year came at the hands of chef Asbel Reyes of SideBern Restaurant in Tampa Florida, who made Pumpkin Banana Pie using N20 (liquid nitrogen) in the mixing process. His set up reminded me of my line cooking days: everything labeled, packed, organized and separated into steps. I remember browsing through the ingredients before the start of the competition and a nerd alert light bulb firing up.

Finally, after all that cooking, freezing, blending and plating…the dishes looked absolutely stunning:

Earth and Turf by Adam Hegsted – Coeur d’ Alene Casino and Resort, Spokane, WA

Unagi and Foie Gras Terrine with Pickled Eel, Hibiscus, and Frozen Uni Powder by Seth Siegel-Gardner – Kata Robata, Houston, TX 

Pumpkin Banana Pie by Asbel Reyes of SideBern’s Restaurant Tampa, FL 

Idiazabel Soup with blood sausage, acorn squash, apple butter, and Urfa pepper by Jamie Bissonnette – Coppa & Toro, Boston, MA

Roasted Loin of Cervena Venison, Liver Mushroom Croquette, Brussels sprouts, Woodland Mushrooms, Berries, and Vadouvan Curry Reduction by Dirk Flanigan – The Gage / Henri, Chicago, IL

Final say was up to judges, who deliberated over their many tasty bites…

And announced their winner, none other than Asbel.

The 2011 Vitamix Challenge Winner
Pastry Chef Asbel Reyes of SideBern’s Restaurant
Tampa, FL
Dish: Pumpkin Banana Pie

The winner was announced in the main stadium mid afternoon- something like half an hour after they finished the competition (Pretty short deliberation). Wyle Dusfrene, chef at WD-50 in New York, NY participated as a judge. Here’s the key reason why Asbel won: He poured N20 directly into the blender, used it multiple times during the hour-long competition, he was over prepared (chefs like this a lot), and he worked fast. I think pouring the N20 directly into the blender did the trick however. And his dish looked very pretty and tasty too. Here’s how the judges broke down the score:

Judges based the challengers on plating technique, uniqueness utilization of equipment and of course how the whole thing tasted.
Equipment use: 50%
Taste: 30%
Plating: 20%

Before I said my farewell to the amazing Disneyland of gadgets, food science and newly attained knowledge, I managed to squeeze in a visit to the main stadium and watched a video of El Huevo Roto as Andoni Luis Adruiz himself explained. The video demo of his egg shell project, made with vegetarian based powders and potions. It looked like a real egg shell. The plating technique requires “cracking the egg” in front of the customer, served tableside (are we attracting Michelin Stars?-hmmm). I was blown away and in awe. Rethinking food is the least we can say about what I witnessed. This my friends was how I spent a fun-filled three day adventure at the Starchefs.com International Chefs Conference, amazed by all the gadgets and space food that will indeed tickle the sixth sense (this year’s theme) out of you. I can’t wait to go back next year and see what the chefs are up to again. Since it wouldn’t come soon enough- I’ll spend some time experimenting on my own until then.

More info on El Huevo Roto HERE

Cheers to the geek squad for inventing all the toys a chef and foodies can dream about!

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October 17, 2011 · 4:05 pm

Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Pasta with Spaghetti Squash and Sage

I made a pumpkin soup a day before rolling up my sleeves to make pasta. Deliciously orange-colored dough with layers upon layers of flavor — it was almost too beautiful to eat. It’s a fun twist on making pasta, plus a great way to make use of leftover soup. Wait, what, you made pasta using the pumpkin soup? Allow me explain…
Hand Rolled Pumpkin Pasta with Spaghetti Squash and Sage

Ingredients
For the pumpkin soup
Yields about 6 cups
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet pumpkin
2 tablespoons butter
1 white onion, chopped
1 quart vegetable stock
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
salt

For the pumpkin pasta 
Yields 4 servings
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pumpkin soup
pinch of salt

For the pumpkin sage sauce 
1 spaghetti squash, split in half
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
5-6 sage leaves, sliced thinly
pinch salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh grated gruyere cheese

Directions:

For Soup:
Place pumpkin on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat and scoop out pumpkin chunks with a spoon. Set aside.

In a large stockpot, melt butter and cook onions in low heat for about 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add vegetable stock, nutmeg and pumpkin. 

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about half an hour and blend in batches. Season to taste with salt. 

Place spaghetti squash on an oiled baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove and scoop out with a fork. Set aside.

For pasta:
Place flour on a cold countertop surface. Make a well in center, add beaten egg, oil, and pumpkin soup. Fold in flour and knead dough until smooth for about five minutes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

Roll out dough, cut into 8 sections. Make long snakes, cut into small 1 inch pieces. Roll out small snakes and twist at each end. 

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Cook pasta for 4 minutes. Remove and set aside. 

For sauce:
Melt butter in a sauce pan, add pumpkin soup, heavy cream and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in spaghetti squash and pasta. Top with shredded gruyere cheese.

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October 10, 2011 · 1:19 pm

Meatless Monday: Tri-Mushroom Four Cheese Pizza

Inspired by the recent bout of cold weather, I thought about all the preserved ingredients (namely, dried mushrooms) coming our way. With three kinds of mushrooms and four kinds cheese, I managed to bake off a little pizza I’m rather proud of.
Pair it with iced or green tea, or go with a nice cocktail instead. Here’s a great pizza recipe for those of you who love rustic, creamy and mushroomy pizza.

Tri-Mushroom and 4 Cheese Pizza
Yields one large pie

Ingredients
1 Pound Pizza dough (frozen or fresh)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms (torn into small pieces and soaked in water for 30 minutes then strained)
½ cup dried shitake mushrooms (same as above)

1 cup white button mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup of chippolini onions, sliced
¼ cup fresh ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated gruyere cheese (aged 10 months)
¼ cup grated gruyere cheese (aged over 12 months)
¼ cup fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced and torn

Directions
In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place onions, add salt and allow them to carmelize in high heat for about 3 minutes. Sitr frequently to distribute heat and ensure even cooking. Remove from heat and set aside. Use the same pan, add two more tablespoons of olive oil and place white button mushrooms. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes on high heat until mushrooms are browned. Stir in porcini and shitake mushrooms. The liquid from these two beauties should give you enough moisture to deglaze the pan. Continue cooking for about 2 more minutes, add a dash of salt, remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare pizza dough on a greased baking sheet and stretch your dough to your hearts desire. Or you can follow my simple pizza stretching dough instructions here (from Mediterrenean pizza recipe).

Assemble your toppings! Cheese first, starting with the smoothest (ricotta), add mozzarella and top with two varieties of gruyere. Add mushrooms and onions.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Remove, slice, serve.

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October 3, 2011 · 11:47 pm

Meatless Monday: Fennel Puff Pastry Bites

For this easy gourmet starter, I used the sort of store bought puff pastry dough you can easily find in the frozen food section at your local supermarket. I love cooking with puff pastry: it’s magical watching the yeast/baking powder-free creature rise and poof up in the oven.
I made some new friends this weekend at the Starchefs International Chefs Conference, including Emmi Rothkase who provided the Le Gruyere Switzerland AOC Reserve cheese for this recipe. It’s a ten-month aged, grass fed, perfect companion to this savory recipe. You can omit the cheese if you like, but know that the combo of savory and sweet pineapple paired with the buttery, flaky puff pastry is what makes this guy so irresistible.

Ingredients
Makes about 14 bite size servings in various shapes
Puff pastry (thaw out to package directions)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups fennel, shaved with a mandolin
½ cup vegetable stock
1 stem lemongrass
½ pineapple, diced
2 cups gruyere cheese
½ teaspoon kosher salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Directions
In a saute pan on the stove top, add vegetable oil and saute fennel at medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Deglaze with vegetable stock and add lemongrass and pineapples. Reduce heat to a low-simmer and continue cooking for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently until fennel is very tender. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature.

Roll out puff pastry dough and use a cookie cutter (round-shaped) to section off your puff pastry.

In a greased (cooking spray) muffin pan, place puff pastry and dock (puncture little holes with a fork). Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until puff pastry rises. Remove from oven, cool for a few minutes (5 minutes), unmold and place on a baking sheet. Place fennel with pineapples, sprinkle cheese, add more fennel and pineapples. The gruyere cheese will act as an instant adhesive and pull all your ingredients together once it hits the heat in the oven.

Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove, plate, and eat up!

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