Monthly Archives: August 2009

August 20, 2009

Chicharrones Cookies!

By swfoodworks

For all of you who can’t jam enough pig in your pie-hole, here’s another little treat from the Howells, NE Centennial Cookbook.  I thought this would be a nice treat for my former chef, Ryan Farr, now at the helm of 4505 Meats here in San Francisco.  (N.B. non-Latin, non-bay area residents, follow this link – chicharrones)   My sidekick and I dropped by chef Ryan’s workshop last night with a bag of these little gems and added a little fuel to the pork-crazed fire.  If only I had made them with Ryan’s pork candy…  Next time for sure.  Enjoy!

A few little notes – The recipe as written was too dry for me.  I added a little more dairy.  I also took the following liberties; I added lemon zest instead of lemon extract because I like zest (and we didn’t have any extract) but I replaced the lemon extract with vanilla, these cookies seemed to want a little cinnamon (so i gave it to them) and I also nudged in a little ground chipotle peppers (seemed like a good idea).  The recipe asks for nuts, raisins, or coconut.  I caved, and put all three in.  When you bake these at home, be sure to press them pretty flat (like 1/4″ or so) before baking as they will rise quite a bit, but not spread.  Right from the oven they are really crisp and chewy.  As the even out, they become soft, and retain a nice toothsome quality with an occasional little piggy crunch.  Oinkers Away!

As I remember it, there are a lot of family farms that raise pork in the Howells area.  This seems like a creative and resourceful way to help make sure that no part of the animal gets wasted.  Or, it could be some home cook’s answer to ‘what the hell am I going to do with all of THAT?’.  Either way, we benefit from Mrs. Mayme Hilz’s contribution to the cause.

Eat Well and Be Well -

-Scotty

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Food Anthropology

August 20, 2009

(Re)cooking with Love

By swfoodworks

Welcome Back!  After last night’s inspired meal, I had a lot of food left over.  In preparation for my upcoming food coaching life, I wanted to document an example of transforming last night’s dinner, into tonight’s meal.  The additional inspirations come from two places; when I have a whole chicken, I make a stock from the bones, and the Mother/Son duo of Michael and Karen Park.

I worked with Micheal and Karen at Restaurant Vintage Park in Kearney, Nebraska.  I learned so much from them about the love and care that goes into making great food, and great hospitality.  In fact, my time at RVP led me to culinary school, and the path that I’ve been traveling for the last eight years.  Like all of the great teachers and mentors in my life, I think of them often and I’m so grateful for the time that we shared.  Every once in a while we would make a soup like the one I’m got pictured below.  The flavors always remind me of that time and place.  Click on the pictures for a little more information and some tips/suggestions for making this delicious dish at home.

Maybe I’ve been a little sentimental lately, but cooking brings up some many memories that I cherish.  I hope that you are cooking from love, and remembering all of the delicious friends and family you have.

Wishing you only the best-

-Scotty

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen

August 19, 2009

Thank You N.E.C.I. and Chef Louise Duhamel

By swfoodworks

Tonight’s dinner was a lot of fun.  Every once in a while, I think; ‘God, do you really remember how to cook.  I mean, you’re not cooking as much as you used to.  Can you still make it work?’  In moments like this I fall back on techniques or dishes that I really love pulling off.  Most of this repertoire comes from the time I spent with Chef Louise Duhamel in the P.M. Fine Dinning a la Carte class at the New England Culinary Institute (aka NECI) both as a student and as a teaching assistant.  At NECI I met and learned from dozens of talented and passionate chefs.  But this is where I really learned to cook.

Today we had a lot of inspiration.  Our CSA box from Capay Farms arrived, and as always it was  full of good product, inspiration, and sometimes frustration!  I’ve got the story of tonight’s dinner for you below in pictures.  Click on the photos for more info and techniques.  The highlights are braised onion, pan roasted gypsy peppers, liver with Marsala mustard sauce, roast chicken, and good times.

This meal ate really well.  It was light and fresh, rustic and refined.  We also finished off with some fresh fruit and cheeses, like this wasn’t enough gastronomy for the night :)   It seems a little hard not to make a big meal from a whole chicken, and this meal was certainly more than we needed.  But it was really good.  And it will still be good for many days, thankfully.  It was, however, just the right size for me to remember a lot of good times and great food served to students, teachers, and patrons during my NECI tenure.  Totally worth it for the walk down food memory lane.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you are cooking from the heart!

-Scotty

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen

August 18, 2009

Midwest…Fusion?

By swfoodworks

This should be a treat.  Last Saturday night my housemate (raised in Kansas, but groomed around the country) asked for “something Midwestern” for dinner.  Being from Nebraska myself, we didn’t need to iron out what that statement meant before shopping.  [If you like to make the Midwest the butt of jokes, please kindly skip the next paragraph.]

And if you’re in the mood for a little venting, please allow me…  Let me take just a moment to stand up for an entire group of people who are continually lampooned and categorically brushed off by coastal America.  Please, Just Shut Up.  It’s fascinating to me that my friends here in California (along with other transplanted Midwesterners, don’t think I’ve forgotten you) will make disparaging comments about people who grow up in the middle of our country.  While they are talking to me.  Hello.  I’m right here.  We’re friends, you like me, we hold a lot of the same beliefs, AND I’m from the same people you are critiquing.  Think about that please, before you make some under-supported statement about how “all people from the Midwest are obese, ignorant, religious zealots”.  Please.  And the soapbox is now empty if anyone else would care to take a stand.

And now for the show…  I opted for two dishes that I consider ‘staples’ of the Midwest repertoire; Iceberg Lettuce Salad followed by Pork Chops with Green Beans, Carrots, and Mashed Potatoes

This was a fun meal for us to eat.  At the table we salivated remembering great meals we enjoyed growing up, and less than great foods leaving lasting impressions.  Food traditions run deeply, and they are powerfully evocative.  I remember eating meals very much like this while growing up in Nebraska.  I have to thank my parents here for making meals a family event (until school activities took everyone their own way).  Try to remember some of your strongest food memories, and the emotions attached to them.  Share them with me and each other.  It will be a sensory stroll down memory lane for sure.

Be well, and eat good food -

-Scott

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen, Food Anthropology

August 4, 2009

Mexicalian

By swfoodworks

Motivation – After my first intake sessions with “Bebe”, I helped put together a corn salad for her girls’ night.  That salad was good!  I was thinking about it again when I was shopping for groceries, so I took that as a sign.  It was such a gorgeous day here today, that I really wanted to have a light dish.  I find myself cooking not only with the seasons, but also with the weather.  Rainy days inspire certain food choices, as do windy afternoons, still and sunny days, foggy afternoons, and in other parts of the country, blizzards.  The idea of a rich duck sugo with wide hand-cut noodles on a sparklingly brilliant day makes my stomach clench.  But, then again, I’m a little bit coo coo, so there you have it.

Corn, cherry tomatoes, and red onion for the ‘salad’, check.  Some white fleshed fish sounded right, and there was also a lot of great looking basil, nice tight garlic bulbs, and then I grabbed some of the arugula I like.  Loving this.  So far I’m thinking ‘Italian’, right.  I mean, you are too, I bet.  Tomato, basil, onion, corn, fish, arugula, garlic, and ciao, ciao!  But my Tower Market threw me a couple of curve balls; really appealing avocados, and these great looking hand made little tortillas.  I don’t worry about blurring lines like this.  If it tastes good, it stands on it’s own feet.  So I fill out my shopping with lemons and limes, like I almost always do and we’re off.

P8030006

Menu-  With fish, I really like to have sauce.  If it isn’t a nage, it’s a saucy ragout or a big smear of rouille.  As I was walking home, I started putting the dish together in my head.  I liked the corn salad from ‘Bebe’, but for me, I like a little chili flake, and maybe some crumbled oregano.  Yes.  In the ‘Bebe’ salad we tore up basil and tossed it with the salad.  For me we’re making a pesto, but I decide to use almonds (I like delicate fish with almonds) not pine nuts, no cheese, and this rosemary infused oil that my housemate made.  I also like the idea of an avocado aioli.  So far so good -

Results  –  I made a spice dredge for the fish from fennel, cumin, and coriander seeds, with chili powder, and salt.  I also threw some of the arugula into the basil pesto because I wanted to give it a little more bite.

Here’s the final dish.  Let’s call it:

Chili Seared White Fish with Avocado Aioli, Almond-Basil Pesto, Summer Corn Salad, and Dope-Ass Tortillas

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in At Home in the Kitchen

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.