Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Kitchen Boss Fish Soup Sicilian Style Recipes

Fish Soup Sicilian Style Recipes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Spanish onion, diced
1/2 cup fennel bulb, diced
salt & pepper
2 plump cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup Italian white wine
1 14.5 ounce can plum tomatoes with juices, hand-crushed
2 boxes of seafood stock
2 pounds filet of white-fleshed fish, cut into 1"cubes
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
ciabatta bread, to dip
saffron aioli

PREPARATION:

1. Heat an 8 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the onion and fennel and a pinch of salt. Lower heat and sauté, 5-7 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Pour in the wine, increase heat to medium until wine comes to a boil. Add the tomatoes. Let soup base simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper
2. Place the fish in the pot, making sure fish is all covered with liquid. Cover the pan and cook at a low simmer, five minutes. Remove lid – fish should be cooked through. Gently stir contents.
3. Serve in shallow bowls with grilled ciabatta bread and saffron aioli.

Kitchen Boss Mama's Chicken and Potatoes recipes

With some tasty and affordable ingredients Buddy creates dishes like Mama's Chicken and Potatoes,Pasta Fagiole and Fried Zucchini Patties.

Mama's Chicken and Potatoes recipes

INGREDIENTS

1‑1/2 pounds medium to small Idaho potatoes, peeled, cut lengthwise, then into crosswise chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra
1‑1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra
Fresh ground black pepper
1 medium Spanish onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 plump cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoons Italian seasoning, plus extra
1 cup rich chicken stock (or water)
6 chicken thigh/leg quarters
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, mashed
1 cup peas, frozen or canned

PREPARATION:

1. In a roasting pan, spread out the potato pieces, drizzle a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Remove potatoes from the oven and add the onions and garlic. Sprinkle some salt, seasoning and pepper. Pour stock over all. Lay in the chicken thighs over mixture, pushing potatoes around the chicken pieces, on top of the onions is okay.
3. Drizzle a little olive oil over each piece of chicken, followed by a sprinkle of salt and Italian seasoning. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, spoon some of the pan juices over chicken pieces and push/turn the vegetables. Top with the tomatoes and peas and bake another 30 minutes.
4. Remove chicken to platter, stir vegetables to coat well in juices, spoon over and around chicken pieces to serve.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Fluffy Pancakes with Bacon

A breakfast menu, featuring a Hoboken-style frittata; pancakes with bacon; waffles with a hazelnut spread; and homemade chocolate milk.

Fluffy Pancakes with Bacon

INGREDIENTS

Fluffy Pancakes:
1‑1/4 cups all purpose flour
Big pinch sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
Butter for greasing griddle
Real maple syrup
Bacon:
1 12-ounce package applewood-smoked uncured bacon, such as Niman Ranch

PREPARATION:

Fluffy Pancakes:

1. Whisk dry ingredients together. In large bowl, whisk the eggs, whisk in butter and milk. Add dry ingredients to wet, stirring with wooden spoon until almost smooth.
2. Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle. Lightly grease griddle with butter. Scoop batter by 1/4 cup to form pancakes. Turn when bubbles appear on top. Cook until browned and set on other side. Serve with butter and real maple syrup.

Bacon:

1. Lay strips of bacon in cold large, cast iron skillet. Turn heat to medium. Slowly cook bacon, turning as needed, to desired degree of doneness. Remove bacon when cooked, drain on paper towels.

Polenta Cakes With Goat Cheese and Shiitake

Italian finger foods, including grilled oregano-chicken skewers; polenta cakes with goat cheese and shiitake mushrooms; sausage pigs-in-a-blanket; and classic biscotti.

Polenta Cakes With Goat Cheese and Shiitake

INGREDIENTS

3 cups chicken stock
1 cup fine polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soft herbed goat cheese
2 tablespoons butter
heaping tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
1 tablespoon oil
4 ounces medium to small shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 small garlic clove, minced
pinch salt
picked thyme

PREPARATION:

1. Grease a 8" straight-sided baking pan with a flavorful olive oil. Bring the stock and salt to a simmer in a deep heavy pot. Stream in the polenta, whisking. Switch to a wooden spoon and cook, slowly until polenta is cooked and pulling away from the insides of the pot -- 20-40 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and 1/4 cup goat cheese. Combine well. Fold in the parsley. Pour polenta into the prepared pan, level, wrap in plastic and chill well until firm.
2. Turn polenta out onto a cutting board, trim sides and cut into 1" x 1" cubes. Allow cubes to come to room temperature.
3. In a small non-stick sauté pan, heat the tablespoon oil. Add the shiitakes, a pinch of salt and sauté a few minutes until tender. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Pour onto a plate and allow to cool down before handling.
4. Either pipe or spoon a tiny bit of goat cheese on each polenta cube. Top with a slice of shiitake, and tuck in a little pluck of thyme.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Vanilla Cake Recipes

This is a home-cook-friendly version of the recipe I adapted from my father’s old formula for an American-style vanilla cake. At home, as at Carlo’s Bake Shop, it will produce the same moist cake and perfect grain every time.

The custard cream is optional. If you want the cake to be supermoist and dense, you need it, but it will be delicious without it. (It doesn’t affect the yield very much because the custard itself doesn’t rise.) You might be surprised to learn that I use vegetable oil to take the place of the liquid shortening we use at the bakery, but it replicates the effects better than I ever could have imagined before testing recipes for this book.

Use this cake as the basis for everything from birthday cakes to strawberry shortcake.

Be sure the batter is at the indicated temperature before baking or the cake will crown and crack.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for flouring the cake pans
2 cups sugar, plus more for unmolding cake
2 cups Italian Custard Cream, optional
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
Unsalted butter, for greasing two cake pans (about 2 tablespoons); nonstick cooking spray or vegetable oil may be substituted

PREPARATION:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Put the flour, sugar, custard cream, if using, vegetable oil, baking powder,vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can put the ingredients in a bowl, and use a hand mixer with the blending attachments, but take extra care to not overmix.) Mix on slow just until the ingredients are blended together, a few seconds, then raise the speed to low-medium and continue to mix until smooth, approximately 1 additional minute.
3. With the motor running, add 1 egg at a time, adding the next one after the previous one has been absorbed into the mixture. Stop the motor periodically and scrape the bowl from the bottom with a rubber spatula to integrate the ingredients, and return the mixer to low-medium speed. After all the eggs are added, continue to mix for an additional minute to ensure the eggs have been thoroughly mixed in. This will help guarantee that the sugar is dissolved and that the flour has been thoroughly mixed in, which will help produce a luxurious mouthfeel in the final cake.
4. With the motor running, add the milk, 1/2 cup at a time, stopping the motor to scrape the sides and bottom between the two additions. Continue to mix for another minute or until the mixture appears smooth. Before baking, be sure the batter is at 70°F to 73°F, or the cake will crown. (Test by plunging a kitchen thermometer into the center of the batter; if it is too warm, put the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes; if too cool, let it rest at room temperature.)
5. Grease two 9-inch cake pans (2 inches high) with the butter, and flour them.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and get as much batter as possible out. Bake until the cake begins to pull from the sides of the pan and is springy to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. The cakes should be at room temperature before you remove them from the pan. Put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, top with sugar, and one at a time, turn the pans over and turn the cakes out onto parchment; the sugar will keep it from sticking. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to decorate.

Fennel, Herb and Garlic Roasted Pork

Who says Italian food is all about the pasta? Today, Buddy is making some mouth-watering Italian meat dishes like Lemony Lamb Chops, Roasted Pork Loin and Steak Buddy Style.

Fennel, Herb and Garlic Roasted Pork

INGREDIENTS

1 2-1/2 to 3 pound boneless center-cut pork roast with layer of fat on top
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 garlic cloves, 2 sliced (8-10 slices), 2 minced, divided
8‑10 small or torn sage leaves (similar in size to garlic slices), plus 8 whole leaves for finishing
8‑10 plucks of fresh rosemary
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup rich chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter

PREPARATION:

1. Cut 8 to 10 slits in the top of the pork roast. Poke 1 each garlic slice, sage leaf and rosemary pluck in each slit. Grind the fennel and coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Combine ground spices with the salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the roast. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight. Bring meat to cool room temperature before proceeding.
2. Preheat oven to 400°, middle rack. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil. Quickly sear the pork on all sides. Place in oven and roast, 20-30 minutes or until an internal temperature of 130°.
3. Remove pork from pan to a plate and let rest while making the pan sauce. Place the pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sage leaves, cooking about 30 seconds. Pour in the white wine and let bubble and reduce. Add the stock and allow to reduce by half. Remove from heat and swirl in the butter. Pour any accumulated juices from the pork into the sauce. Slice pork and pour over sauce.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Baby Lamb Chops With Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary

INGREDIENTS

12 baby lamb rib chops, approximately 2 pounds
kosher salt
strips of zest and juice from one lemon
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, cut in half across the equator

PREPARATION:

1. Season the rib chops on both sides with kosher salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, juice, garlic, red and black pepper. Whisk in olive oil. Add the chops and turn coating well with the marinade. Only allow chops to sit in this acidic marinade for as long as it takes to preheat a grill.
2. Heat your grill. Grill chops, approximately 3-4 minutes on each side. As chops grill, grill the lemon halves, cut side down. Serve with the chops.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Kitchen Boss Spaghetti Carbonara Recipes

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces extra-thick bacon cut into lardons
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
1/2 cup grated Locatelli pecorino
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
few gratings nutmeg

PREPARATION:

1. Start a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Whisk together the eggs, cheese and cream in a small bowl. Start the bacon in a cold large skillet, turn up heat to medium and cook until browned and crisp. Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta. Have a large bowl ready for the pasta and sauce.
3. When the pasta is al dente, quickly drain and place in the waiting bowl. Toss in the egg mixture. Scoop the bacon and a few tablespoons of the rendered fat into the pasta and toss to coat. Add the peas, toss. Finish with several gratings of nutmeg.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Kitchen Boss "Italian" French Toast Recipes

INGREDIENTS

1 2 pound loaf panettone
4 large eggs plus 2 yolks
1‑1/2 cup half n' half
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
zest grated from one orange
5‑6 tablespoons butter, as needed

PREPARATION:

1. Remove paper from panettone. Divide loaf into quarters, wrap and put away one quarter. Slice each quarter into two 1" thick slices – you will be slicing off a rounded side on each quarter – eat, save or discard. You will have six, tall, 1" thick slices.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients except for the butter. Heat a large sauté pan – one large enough to comfortable hold three slices without crowding. Add butter and heat until fragrant and foaming.
3. Dip each piece of panettone into the egg mixture, about a "five count" for each side. Let excess drip from the bread back into the bowl. Fry three pieces at a time, maintaining a low, steady heat, cooking until each side is browned – approx 3 - 4 minutes per side. This yields a tender, custardy interior with a crispier exterior. Add butter as needed and repeat with remaining three slices of panettone.
4. The bread is quite sweet as is. Suggested serving: topped with butter-toasted sliced almonds and a dusting of 10x sugar.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Italian Cuisine (Fish Recipes)

INGREDIENTS

Juice of 2 lemons
3 large artichokes
8 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole red snapper or sea bass (about 2 pounds), gutted and scaled with head and tail intact
Salt and black pepper
3 small sprigs fresh rosemary, divided
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

PREPARATION:

1. Pour half the lemon juice and squeezed lemon halves in large bowl. Fill bowl half full with cold water; set aside. Reserve remaining lemon juice.
2. To prepare artichokes, bend back dark outer leaves and snap off at base. Continue snapping off leaves until bottom halves are yellow. Cut 1-1/2 inches off tops of artichokes; trim stems to 1 inch. Peel tough green layer from stem and base. Cut artichokes lengthwise (from tops) into quarters; place quarters in lemon water to help prevent discoloration.
3. Working with 1 artichoke quarter at a time, remove small-shaped heart leaves from center by grasping with fingers, then pulling and twisting. Scoop out fuzzy choke with spoon. Cut artichoke quarters lengthwise into thin slices. Quickly return slices to lemon water. Repeat step with remaining artichoke quarters.
4. Drain artichoke slices. Heat 6 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add artichokes and garlic. Cover; cook 5 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally.
5. Preheat oven to 425°F. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Season fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Place in baking pan.
6. Stuff fish cavity with as many artichoke slices as will fit and 1 sprig rosemary. Arrange remaining artichoke slices and 2 sprigs rosemary around fish.
7. Combine reserved lemon juice, remaining 2 tablespoons oil and parsley; drizzle over fish. Bake 30 minutes or until fish begins to flake when tested with fork, basting occasionally with pan juices.