Smores Souffle

Truthfully I got this idea from a restaurant in Florida. The meal was unmemorable, but when we first sat down the waiter told us that the place specialized in souffles and he went through a list of the types they offered -- one was a Smores Souffle. We didn't have any souffle, but I was intrigued by the idea and told my wife I would create one when we got home -- the opportunity presented itself soon thereafter when she had some ladies over for a small holiday party. So here is what I did:

Joe's Smores Souffle

I made five individual souffles. To make a large souffle use a few more egg whites (7- 8). You shouldn't have to change the amount of chocolate and will likely only use a bit more marshmallow fluff.

5 Lg eggs separated
About 4-5 graham crackers -- pulverized in processor
1/2 cup of sugar or to taste
butter for white sauce (tablespoon or so)
flour for white sauce (tablespoon or so)
1 cup heated milk (I used 1%)
One container marshmallow fluff (7 ozs or so)
One large (4 oz) Hershey's brand chocolate bar (I decided to go with the original)
Optional: dash or two of Cream of Tartar
butter for buttering molds

5 small ramekins

If you haven't read my previous blog on souffles, you might want to start there. But trust me, souffles are EASY.

Prepare ramekins ahead of time by buttering and then sprinkling with the graham cracker crumbs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When you have all ingredients ready to go, start with the white sauce. Heat butter over medium flame until melted; stir in flour until blended. Raise heat to med-high and then stir in hot milk. It should thicken right away. Then add sugar and blend well until absorbed. Reduce heat to medium. Mix in two or three of the egg yolks to thicken a bit further and to enrich the sauce. Then break the chocolate bar into pieces and add them to the sauce and stir until they have all been added and are nicely melted.

At this point I truly had to begin the creative part. I decided to add about half the container of the marshmallow fluff to the sauce. I did this by tablespoons and stirred only enough for it to begin to break into clumps. I didn't want the clumps to completely melt at this stage and become incorporated into the chocolate.

Now turn off the heat, remove from burner, and whip the egg whites until soft peaks form (can add cream of tartar while whipping -- helps hold the rise). Blend 1/3rd of egg whites into sauce well, then fold gently remaining egg whites into mixture. Gently spoon mixture into ramekins until full (may puff up a bit above rim which is okay). At this point I added a large dollop of marshmallow gently to the center top of each filled ramekin.

Place these in 350 oven and watch them burst! 10-15 minutes. Mine came up out of the ramekins and formed an amazing mushroom-like shape with the melted ball of marshmallow in the center. These were GREAT!

Optional: sprinkle some more graham cracker crumbs on top when they are done.

Variation: I might try marshmallows themselves the next time. See how that differs from using fluff.

Enjoy!

Joe Koob

Next: Moroccan Fusion Dinner

Seafood Chowder

Seafood chowder

This is a great time of year for soup and chowder. Enjoy the warmth it brings to the table. I'm going to serve this with Popovers -- I'll give you that recipe on the next blog.

Since I haven't actually made this yet -- later today -- I'll tell you what I intend to do. Just be aware that I might actually tweak this as I go. One never knows what the creative juices might add to the pot during the actual process.

Ingredients:

Clams -- one cup small clams or lg. clams chopped -- I like large pieces. [If you steam the clams open yourself, do so in a small amount of liquid and save the liquid for the chowder (make sure you strain it through a fine sieve and preferably a linen towel or at least cheesecloth).

Fish -- about 1/2 a pd or so; almost any white fish with firm flesh will do -- I'm going to use Stripper bass I caught off N.J.

Shrimp -- 1/2 a pound, chopped in a large dice

One Idaho or other firm potato (about 1/2 a pound, peeled and chopped in small dice)

Peas or Corn or both (Veggies added can be to your own taste and the season, almost anything goes that doesn't take away from the rich broth and flavor of the fish)

Celery, fine to medium chop -- to taste (1/2 a cup)
Onions, fine to medium chop -- to taste (1/2 a cup)
Garlic (optional, couple of cloves minced)

One small bay leaf
pinch or two of thyme
large pinch or two of parsley, or fresh chopped -- couple of tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste [NOTE! Seafood can be salty on its own; this is one of those times I actually taste the broth before adding to the pot.]

Fish broth and/or clam broth, a quart or so (quantity dependent on how much chowder you want and how thick with ingredients you want it).

Milk or Cream (Cream obviously adds calories and cholesterol)
A bit of butter (your choice to add for flavor, or not)

Thickener [Note: I like a THICK chowder, so I typically thicken it near end of cooking time. You can argue about what to use -- I use flour, typically, but try to keep it to a tablespoon or so. Corn starch or even egg yolks (more cholesterol) can also be used.]

This is simple to make once you have all the ingredients ready. Saute onions, celery, and garlic (if used) in butter or olive oil until translucent. [Note: browning these veggies more will change the flavor and add a richness to the broth -- your choice]. Put everything in the pot, including the celery/onion mixture, but NOT the rest of the veggies and reserve some of the milk or cream. Simmer for an hour or more on very low heat in a nice heavy pan(should just barely roil in center of pot). I like to give it a couple of hours for everything to blend.

This next part is optional: turn off heat and let the chowder sit for a couple of hours to blend flavors. You can take out the bay leaf at this point.

Turn heat back on about a hour before serving -- add rest of veggies and return to a simmer. Cook forty minutes or so until potatoes are soft.

Mix flour in with reserved milk and add to gently boiling broth. Stir to thicken. Serve warm with freshly made bread, corn bread, or popovers.

Enjoy!

Fried Chicken with little Fat

Sorry I've been away awhile -- working on a book.

The following recipe is a slight variation of one from Cook's Illustrated which is in my opinion the best Cooking Magazine available. I have found there are always things to learn about cooking and this magazine approaches everything systematically if not down right scientifically. I learned something from this recipe:

Healthy (judge for yourself) Fried Chicken

Vary amounts by how much chicken you plan to cook

Boned and skinned chicken breasts

For marinade:
Buttermilk (I use lowfat and about a cup)
1 tsp salt (scant)
1 tsp sugar (scant)
1 tsp pepper
Garlic powder and other herbs/spices as you wish

Canola oil or other healthier oil to fry in (1/2 a cup or so)

For topping:
Bread Crumbs (dried or fresh)
Flour
Corn meal (optional, just gives it abit of added crunch)
additional herbs/spices

I have tried this recipe a number of ways. If you have read this blog you know I tend to create as I go, so the absolute KEY to this recipe is the buttermilk marinade. Everything else can be varied according to your tastes and what you want the final outcome to be. I even used this marinade with baked, low-fat sourcream recipe.

Marinade: Cook's will tell you the why's and wherefore's but marinading chicken breasts (which if you've cooked at all, you know can come out dry and tough) in buttermilk, salt, and sugar makes them tender and juicy -- every time! The first time I tried this recipe I thought, "Wow, these are really good chicken breasts." Subsequently I know there was nothing special about the breasts, its how you treat them.

Mix the buttermilk, salt, and sugar (note I have varied proportions of these and like to go with a bit less salt and sugar, even as low as 1/2 tsp each) in a marinading bowl. All other spices and herbs are to taste. You can add them to marinade (we will use some of it again), or add later to bread crumb mixture. Note: one time I made this recipe I didn't have any buttermilk on hand -- I substituted some store-bought ranch dressing that the friends I was visiting had on hand which had buttermilk in it -- worked just as well.

If you are going LOW-FAT, make sure you meticulously trim ALL fat from the breasts.Then place breasts in bowl with buttermilk marinade, toss and place in refrigerator for a hour or up to 24 hours. (At least two hours is probably best). [Note: what seems to happen is that the salt, sugar, and buttermilk are infused somewhat --even alot -- into the breasts helping them tenderize and retain moisture. Later if you were able to manage to drain most of the liquid from the bowl and breasts, you'll find you don't have much left. This marinade should be enough for about six large half breasts.

Bread crumbs: This is a 'to taste' thing. Mix a half cup of flour (or more depending on number of breasts you will be doing)with bread crumbs and any herbs or spices you may want to add. [The first time I made this recipe I used fresh bread as I had nothing else to hand.] Mix well and then add a bit (few tablespoons) of reserved marinade from chicken. (If you dont have much left, use some more buttermilk). The idea is to get your hands in the bowl and mush the mixture about with just enough marinade to make some 'crumblings,' or small (half-pea sized or smaller) crumbles of flour and bread, etc. Don't add too much milk, you still want the overall mixture dry and breadcrumb-like. If you add too much, add some more flour.

Place oil (enough to cover bottom of frying pan about an eighth of an inch thick (That's all you need!)in pan and heat to medium/mediumhigh. PRESS each chicken breast (top and bottom) into breadcrumb mixture to coat place in pan and fry to a golden brown on each side (a couple of minutes each side depending on your heat).

Lay the breasts on a cooling/draining rack placed on top of a cookie sheet and put in a 325 degree oven to finish. Cook only until just done. (Cook's gives you instant read thermometer settings -- I just push on the breast -- it should be firm and springy. If you need, you can cut into one.)

Enjoy! These should come out near the top of your scale on how good chicken can taste and how moist and tender it can be. I might even try this marinade for Thanksgiving Turkey -- though I might need quite a bit more buttermilk!

Enjoy!

Joe Koob

Mediterranean Fusion Dinner: Dessert, Cheesecake Baklava

Cheesecake Baklava

This recipe I made up by combining a cheesecake recipe with a Baklava recipe. It was incredibly yummy.

There were several key aspects to making this successfully. For a pan I used a mini-loaf pan (six rectangular holes about 1 1/2" by 3" by 2" deep). One could also use individual ramikins.However, consider the general fact that Phylo (filo) dough is rectangular in shape and not easily cut, thus round ramikins might prove a challenge.If using a loaf pan it is also important to butter the bottom and sides thoroughly as my plan was to serve on separate plates after removing, Otherwise make Baklava in a similar manner to a standard recipe.

Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tabls fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick broken into a few pieces
zest of lemon and orange (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat and simmer until desired thickness is achieved (a syrup). Strain to remove zest and cinnamon sticks. Set aside to cool. [Can be made a half hour to a day ahead.]

Baklava ingredients:

1/2 pd of ground walnuts (or almonds or use both)
3 tabls sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted meled butter (clarify if desired)
about a half pd of filo sheets

Combine ground nuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Make Baklava according to traditional recipe [Just be sure your result fits snuggly into whatever pan(s) you are using.] Or -- here's what I did:Layer and butter each filo sheet until you have six stacked on top of each other, spread on a layer of 1/2 the ground nuts, repeat with another layer of buttered sheets; top with rest of nuts and then another layer of buttered sheets. [Note this is one 'layer' short of a traditional recipe, as we need room for the cheesecake.] Refrigerate until ready to use -- 1/2 hour or more.

Make cheesecake batter.

You can use your favorite, or:

Two 8 ox. packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tabls sour cream
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
2 ex. lg eggs

Mix all ingredients well with a mixer or in a food processor.

Putting it all together:

Take Baklava from refrig and cut with a very sharp knife to fit pan -- in my case rectangles. Place each rectangular piece in bottom of well-buttered slots. Pour cheesecake mixture atop to fill. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until cheesecake is browned on top and set (best check is to push down lightly on browned top. It should spring back. Remove from oven and cool in refrigerator until well-cooled. When chilled slide wet blade (knife, flat spatula) around each edge and gently remove the baklava cheesecake to individual serving plates. Finish with a generous pouring of syrup on top. Serve cold.

Variation: add some lemon zest to cheesecake recipe for more tang and flavor.

Very, very yummy!

Enjoy,

Joe Koob

Mediterannean Dinner: Main Course

Lamb and Beef Kabobs with Aligot-Souffle

Lamb and Beef Kabobs

There are hundreds of recipes and marinades for Kabobs across the Mediterannean -- notably we find them in Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, etc. Here are basic ingredients, mix and match, add and subtract, to taste:

Grated Onion
Micnced Garlic
ground cinnamon
ground cumin
thyme
black pepper
cayenne pepper
fresh mint
flat leaf parsley (Italian style)
yogurt
allspice
cinnamon

More Tunisian:

olive oil
fresh lemon juice
caraway -- toasted and ground
ground coriander
black papper

For kabobs a little goes a long way, so unless you like strong flavors be judicious in adding spices, etc., to marinades. Marinade for 2 to 24 hours. Skewer meat (lamb or beef), or a combination. Cook on grill to desired wellness.

Cooking Kabobs with vegetables: [I didn't include these for this meal, but it is a popular thing to do.] Many vegetables will cook at a different speed than meat, especially if you are cooking some skewers rare and others well-done. I typically put vegetables that hold up well over coals with the meat -- onions and peppers. Other vegetables, squash, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, etc., should be cooked on their own skewers separately.

Aligot Souffle -- aligot is a combination of cheese and potatoes.

1 medium potato (Idaho or ?)
a cup or more of cheese (I used Manchego)
5 eggs separated (I made individual souffles, for a large souffle dish you might want 7 or 8)
Salt to taste
white pepper
Butter
Flour
Cream or Milk (Sour cream is nice as well)

Cook potato (boil) until soft; let cool slightly, then mash. Make white sauce with several tbls butter, a tbls or so of butter, and heated cream or milk or combination of milk and cream (add sour cream, too, if you like the flavor and effect). Whisk in 3 or 4 of the egg yolks to further thicken the sauce, whisk in cheese until just melted, remove from heat and mix in mashed potato. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

Beat egg whites until just stiff (if you hold bowl upside down they should stay in it!). Fold about a third of the beaten egg whites into potato-cheese mixture, then fold mixture into remaining egg whites gently.** The idea is to keep as much of the lightness of the egg whites as possible.

**As far as I am concerned there is no sacredness to this traditional ritual. You can fold the rest of the egg whites into the potato-cheese mixture, i.e. you don't have to add mixture to egg whites the second time. Your choice. Doesn't seem to affect the outcome either way.

Spoon mixture into (six) individual buttered souffle molds. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until nicely browned on top. Serve immeditaely with Kabobs.

Enjoy.

Net: The culmination of this meal: Cheesecake Baklava!

Joe Koob

Mediterranean Dinner: Hut B'nuoa -- Fish with Almond Paste

Hut B'nuoa -- Fish with Almond Paste

The basic Moroccan recipe for this came from "Mediterranean -- The Beautiful Cookbook." I used a whole red snapper and tasting sized portions were served.

For marinade/paste

1 onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
pinch of saffron steeped in two tabls water
chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley*
chopped cilantro*
3-4 tabls olive oil (enough to make paste)with juice from fresh lemon

* Use to taste -- in my book a little goes a long way.

You can fillet the fish to start or grill whole.

Blend all ingredients and spread over fish to marinate -- 5-6 hours or over-night. Leave spice paste on fish and place on grill with coals on the side, spoon more mixture over once while it cooks, when just done (flakes with fork), bone, and serve garnished with parsley or cilantro.

** an alternate version of the marinade calls for cayenne which will add a kick to this recipe.

Enjoy.

Mediterranean Dinner: Greek Salad and Lemon-Lime Granita

Greek Salad

If you've ever been to Greece this is something you can order at almost every little restaurant you come across and it's Good! Here's the basic ingredients from Mediterrasian.com. Then I'll tell you what I did.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic—minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish
3 tomatoes—cut into wedges
¼ red onion—sliced into rings
½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons
½ green pepper (capsicum)—julienned
4 oz (120g) feta cheese—cut into small cubes
16 kalamata olives

First: when I had this salad any number of times in Greece it was literally swimming in fine quality olive oil. It is up to you how much you want to put in the 'dressing.' I tend to the lighter side.

I changed this up only slightly:

I used a seedless 'English; cucumber
Fresh peppers from my garden -- mild banana and colored bells
Vidalia Onions because they were in season
Few tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Fresh oregano and Fresh basil from my herb garden

Otherwise, cut/chop ingredients, mix well, let set in refrigerator for a half hour (or more) and serve chilled.

Lemon-Lime Granita (Glace, Ices)

Palate cleansers are a great invention. Not so much because we absolutely have to have our palates cleansed, but because they are quite tasty and relatively easy to make. Here's what I used:

Fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice (3-4 of each)
Lemoncello
Vanilla Vodka

Mix to taste -- I leaned heavily on the fresh juices this time and the result was a bit tart. Add sugar or a bit more of the liquors to sweeten.
[Hint: Adding alcohol of any kind is optional. If you don't want any, you will need to add some water and sugar to this recipe, otherwise you will really pucker everyone's lips! PLUS! The booze helps keep the granitas from freezing really hard.]

Method: Blend all ingredients and -- well I do this one of two ways -- In this case, since I added the liquors, I poured the mixture into several different candy molds for medium sized 'candies' (plastic molds). Place in freezer and let it freeze until ready to serve. Take out, dip bottom of mold for literally only a second in hot water and drop the little 'candy-shaped' ices into serving dishes (I like to use medium-sized cordial glasses of different shapes and colors). Serve.

Traditional method (which I also use occasionally): pour mixture into a pan or container so that it spreads out to about an inch or less thickness. Place in freezer. Every half hour or so open freezer and stir up the granita. It will slowly freeze (from edges in). Be sure to stir the frozen parts into the non-frozen middle. Keep this up until the mixture is basically a frozen melange of ice crystals. Spoon into serving dishes and enjoy.

Both these methods work, but the first only works well with a granita that has alcohol in it. Otherwise the only advantage is that the shapes are cute and look nice in the cordial glasses.

Enjoy.

Best,

Joe Koob

Lisa's Birthday Dinner: Duck daktulos Messinia

Duck daktulos Messinia

I love duck -- one of my most favorite things to eat. Unfortunately domestic duck is quite fatty, so I don't eat it as often as I would like. This recipe I made up, using Mediterranean spices and homemade Greek Messinia noodles. I'll try to remember what I put into this --

1 whole duckling
1 cup pitless dates
Herbs and Spices to taste: coriander,cardamon,garlic,dash of cinnamon,dash of powdered ginger, salt and black pepper
Tablespoon or two of wine (a bold white or medium red)
Stock -- 1/4 to 1/2 a cup (chicken or duck - I made stock from wings of duck, neck, and liver/gizzards/heart)
Scallions finely chopped -- several tablespoons.

For noodles:

cup of flour
one egg
water if needed
1/4 tsp salt

I rubbed the duck with salt and pepper and a bit of cardamon and coriander, then roasted it slowly for four hours or so on a charcoal grill (coals on the side, duck in the center, add more coals as necessary until done). Cook until the duck is almost falling off the bone, but don't let it dry out. I also added a couple of small pieces of apple wood chips at beginning of the roasting for a hint of smokey flavor.

Take duck and cool slightly, then strip meat from legs, thighs, and any other parts of the duck except the breasts and chop into medium-small pieces(if you are cooking for more people, use the breasts as well, but we only had six and these were portions for a tasting menu). [Hint: you can include a bit of the roasted skin in the duck mixture or not. It tends to be quite fatty, and thus adds some nice moisture, but its not good for the old ticker.]

Place dates in boiling water and let steep for fifteen minutes or a half hour. Skins should begin to peel back from meat of date. Drain and then when cool peel off the skins of the dates with your fingers, chop into small pieces (date meats, not your fingers!). Place scallions, a bit of minced garlic (half a clove), spices listed above to taste (don't overpower the duck -- a pinch here and there will do)and saute for a few minutes in butter, add duck, wine, stock, and dates. Cook over medium-low heat until everything blends together -- half hour to an hour. [Can be made ahead and reheated.]

Noodles: Messinia noodles are broad and flat. I made my own:

Put flour, egg, salt in a food processor and blend until you have a nice (not wet) ball of dough. If you need to add a touch of water, do so until the flour begins to ball up. Remove and roll out as thinly as possible on a board (or use a pasta machine). Cut into inch-wide or so strips. I cut mine approxinately an inch wide and 3-4 inches long with a pasta wheel.

Put it all together:

Cook noodles in boiling water until just done (soft al dente, or to taste). Place noodles on plate (four or five strips piled on top of each other in no particular arrangement) -- spoon duck mixture on top,serve warm -- very, very yummy.

Enjoy!

Joe Koob

Birthday Dinner Part II: Garlic-Sage-Cheese Bisque

Mediterranean Fusion

I do consult recipes on occasion and for this dinner I got a number of ideas from: "Mediterranean, The Beautiful Cookbook." This recipe hails from Provence, and of course I couldn't leave it well-enough alone, I had to tweak it a bit.

Garlic-Sage-Cheese Bisque

6-8 large cloves garlic
3 large fresh sage leaves
large pinch of fresh thyme leaves
chicken stock (about 4 cups for 6 people) [Keep in mind this was a Tasting Menu so portions were small to medium).
1/4 cup or so of cooked long grain rice
3 egg yolks
salt and freshly ground pepper
Butter and/or Olive oil
Freshly grated cheese to taste -- I used Aged Romano -- maybe a 1/4 cup
Freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon

Place the garlic, sage, thyme, lemon juice in with the chicken stock and simmer until flavors are well-blended, a good half hour or more. I did this a day ahead. Remove sage leaves,add rice and cook until rice is mushy (serves as the thickener with the egg yolks added later). Cool down a bit and blend all of this and then put through a medium-fine sieve. Put this thick stock back in rinsed out pan and on medium-low heat whisk in the three egg yolks and finally the cheese. Add a dollop of butter (or olive oil). Simmer until everything is well incorporated. Serve warm.

Recipe in cookbook calls for vermicelli left as whole pieces in soup. I wanted more of a bisque effect, hence the change to rice. Also, one can put a crust of French Bread in bowl and ladle soup over. But since we had many courses yet to come, I chose discretion at this stage.

Excellent light bisque!

Enjoy.

Joe Koob

Mediterranean Fusion Dinner: Part I -- Bisteeya

Bisteeya -- Pidgeon Pie

Traditionally this dish used pidgeon's, but today we are a bit more mundane and select chicken. This is a recipe that was the first dish (if I remember correctly) of our first gourmet dinner of the now ancient history Northern State University (then College) Gourmet Club started by Susan Stahl. That first group of eight players remained together cooking meals together 8-10 times a year for a decade or more and then with slight changes for another 3 or 4 years and continued for a few years after I and my first wife left. Not bad, for a bunch of college profs and an idea!

The recipe was a great start because it was incredibly yummy and I pledged to recreate it in individual portions -- it only took me 20 some years to do that, but now that I have, it won't last anywhere near that length of time until the next version. Who wou'dve thought some chicken and cinnamon could be so good -- or, well, as you'll see its a bit of a monster of a recipe, but well worth the effrort.

I'm going to give you my recent version, which became individual 'Bisteeyas' served as appetizers. The original version I was, and what seems to be traditional from the recipes I viewed, a large baked 'pie' that one eats with one's fingers in a community 'dig in.' If you want the 'large' version, the ingredients remain the same -- you can look on the web or in a Moroccan cookbook for the amounts.

Ingredients: Four stages -- this recipe was for six adults

One whole chicken dismembered (I cooked the whole thing, but only used the meat from the thighs and legs and whatever I could clean elsewhere about the cooked carcass. Saved the breasts for something else).

1/2 cup fresh parsley
sprig of fresh coriander
large pinch of tumeric
small grated (Cuisnarted) onion
scant half teaspoon of ground black pepper
scant 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
2 small cinnamon sticks (or one broken in pieces)
butter (I used a couple of tablespoons, original recipe called for a lot!)

Simmer all of the above in just enough water to cover in a pot just the right size for all to fit snugly until very tender -- hour and a half or so. [Hint: I did this part a day ahead in a crock pot -- really let the spices, etc., blend.] Remove from heat, cool, remove meat from bones -- medium chop chicken and place in container aside, remove cinnamon sticks from broth and save (reduce a bit if you have a lot, you don't need much, but the rest will make a great gravy).

Stage 2:

3/4 to 1 cup blanched almonds [I did my own -- to blanch heat water to boiling, toss in almonds and let them sit for awhile -- ten minutes or so -- cool off and then pinch off the skins. They should just come popping off in your fingers when you pinch the end of the almond. If not, you can reheat some water and try again.]

1 tablespoons mild olive oil or other vegetable oil (Canola?)
tablespoon or so confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp or so ground cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons of butter (less for less fat)

Brown almonds lightly in oil. Pat dry and then grind to a medium meal -- err on the coarse side, does not have to be minced. Blend in sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Set aside.

Stage 3: eggs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 extra-large eggs

Beat eggs and then curdle over medium-low heat in lemon juice. This makes a very light type of scrambled eggs in a sense. Cook until just done and lemon juice incorporated, don't overcook.

Stage Four: Assemble

About half a pound of Phyllo dough
melted butter (about a 1/4 cup)

I haven't used phyllo dough much in my cooking. Not sure why, but I thought very briefly about whether it would be feasible to make my own from scratch -- didn't. I I know I can't get things anywhere near that thin. Even though I make my own puff pastry, I purchased the phyllo dough -- usually in the freezer section and, according to the store manager I spoke to, almost always found near the Cool Whip -- go figure?

Here's how I worked the phyllo dough: Take one sheet (handle carefully, even the best of us break it a bit, it is very delicate). Place it on a cookie sheet, buttered the whole thing, take another sheet and laid it on top. Butter half the top sheet and then fold the two sheets in half together. Butter the top (now remaining half, fold over to make a quarter of the original size -- same direction, you should now have a long rectangle; butter top of this and then with a very sharp knife cut it in two across the length. This left me with two approximately 5X6 inch rectangles eight sheets thick. Did this twice more for a total of six.

Putting it all together:

I used some one-inch deep small (slanted and fluted) tart pans with removable bottoms. Butter them thoroughly. Center the phyllo dough in each and press down to form a cavity for all those nice ingredients you just slaved over. Press in a layer of chopped checken mixed with a bit of the broth to moisten on the bottom of each mold, then but in a layer of the almonds, and finally the eggs. Fold over each side of the dough brushing melted butter liberally to help seal and make the whole thing that more moist and womderful.

When the are all ready, pop in a medium overn (325-350) on center rack and bake for 8-ten minutes or until exposed dough is beginning to brown. Remove, carefully, (don't burn yourself) the pastries from the tart pans and flip up upside down onto baking sheet to finish off (the chicken should be on top now)and the pastries should hold together without the tins. Cook about 6-8 minutes more, brush with more butter and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Serve. Could do this in a large muffin tin, I suppose.

Sounds like a bit of work, but boy is it worth it. Very, very yummy -- the Moroccans must have listened at some point to the French -- all that butter!

Best,

Joe Koob

Lisa's Birthday Dinner

The next Blogs will focus on this dinner I created for my wife's brithday:


Lisa’s 50th Dinner
Mediterranean Fusion


Bisteeya
Morocco

Garlic-Sage-Cheese Bisque
Provence

Duck dáktulos Messinia
Catalonia-Greece

Salad
Greece

Hut B’noua
Fish with Almond Paste
Morocco

Lemon-Lime Granita
Italy

Lamb and Beef Kabobs
Tunisia and Turkey

with

Aligot-Souffle
France

with

Fresh Garden Vegetables
Italy

Cheesecake Baklava
Provence and Greece

Sockeye Salmon is in Season!

A friend recently reminded me that wild-caught fresh sockeye salmon was available (Thanks, Bill!), so I picked some up. [BTW I do not buy farm-raised salmon anymore-- too many health concerns there -- check out recent articles on web.]

The recipe below is, as per my usual approach, guestimates as I didn't measure anything except by eye. Do whatecer you wish to your own taste and vary if you want to be creative. I can tell you that my wife and I polished off the whole fillet! It was that Yummy!

The plan was to create a nice sauce/paste to spread on the salmon before roasting on the grill.

One fillet fresh wild sockeye salmon with skin on -- approximately 1 1/4 pds

For paste:

Half a lemon

Cup of fresh bread crumbs [I used a piece of bread that was beginning to stale.]

1/2 a Cup of Sour Cream -- I use a good quality lowfat brand

1/4 of a Cup of 'interesting mustard'* -- I used Roasted Red Bell Pepper-Garlic-Mustard. *I love varieties of mustards and my daughter keeps me well supplied on holidays.

Three tablespoons sauteed in olive oil red bell pepper and onion strips (until lightly browned)

Fresh ground black pepper

Tablespoon or two of butter (optional)

Pinch or two of salt

Now this recipe may sound a bit complicated but I had a bit of an advantage as the Bell Pepper/Onion Strips were leftover from a previous meal so I didn't have to saute a new batch just for this.

Prepare the Salmon (wash if you desire) and if you really like freshly ground black pepper (or white, for that matter) you can grind some on the fillet before adding the paste. Get your grill ready -- I am a purist and use charcoal exclusively for grilling. The methode de jour is almost always putting the coals on opposite sides of the grill cavity and cooking the fish (roast, ribs, etc.) in the middle via indirect heat. I used about 1/2 a grill tower's worth of charcoal for this recipe. If using a gas grill, cook on very low heat. Let the flavors blend and come out.

Make the paste -- In food processor combine juice from 1/4 lemon (other quarter cut in half for plate garnish), mustard,sour cream, bread crumbs, bell pepper and onion mixture, pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper, and olive oil or butter (optional), blend until almost smooth. Spread this mixture over the entire fillet.

Place fillet in center of grill, close most of the vent holes and let it cook slowly (I did add two -- only two! -- small wood chips for s bit of smokey flavor). Should be ready for consumption in 15-20 minutes. Check carefully every few minutes after ten minutes on the grill. Fish should be cooked until just done (flakes with a fork at thickest part), otherwise it can dry out and get tough.

I served this delectable treat with bow-tie pasta, fresh herbs from garden (bit of oregano, sweet basil, parsley), peas, and moistened all at end with a sexy California olive oil. [This is one of those occasions to use an olive oil that does make a difference because you will taste it.]

This is obviously a creation and there are many variations and other ideas you can fool around with for a good fillet. Mustard is great with salmon, but mix it with something else to tone it down or go lightly! Enjoy this healthy food while you can.

Enjoy.

Joe Koob

Creating from a Recipe -- Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

Taking off from my last blog, this will give you an idea of how I work.

I love Strawberry-Rhubarb anything: pies, jam, etc. so As it is Rhubarb season, I bought some and some strawberries and decided I wanted to make a crumble -- which in my mind is a sort pie filling with a coffee-crumb-like mixture on top. If you want to get technical, look up: buckle, crumble, crisp, cobbler, etc. Different cooks describe these differently and have a variety of recipes, its all good!

So, just to be sure I got things more or less in the ballpark, I looked up Rhubarb in James Beard. Now James doesn't get real specific with some recipes, so he tends to group 'berry' pies, cobblers, etc., under a general recipe and gives some extra notes relative to a specific berry or fruit. What I wanted to see in his recipe was the general ingredients and amounts for a berry pie or cobbler. For example: the amount of sugar one adds to the pie filling depends on the berry. Rhubarb requires more than most.

After glancing at the recipe, I simply went from there and did my usual 'dumping.' I had about a cup and a half to two cups of rhubarb and two cups or so of strawberries.I chopped these into manageable pieces (1/2 inch or so) tossed them in a bowl with 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar (I did not include the recommended cinnamon or any other spices as I did not want anything to interfere with that great strawberry-rhubarb flavor.), and tossed with 1/2 a stick of melted butter and four tablesppons flour (thickener, can also use Tapioca). [You can use more, but this is plenty and you know -- fat, calories, etc.] I put all in a lightly greased heavy casserole.

I didn't have a 'crumble' recipe, but I knew the general ingredients and I knew what I wanted, so I created. I tossed in a large bowl: about 3/4 cup of flour, 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of white sugar (you can use all brown, but I ran out), and about 2/3 of a stick of melted butter. Mix thoroughly with a Foley Fork. [HEY! anyone out there remember the Foley Fork -- what happened to those guys? I've been looking for one for fifteen years at garage sales -- those who still have them must covet them, as I would. My son finally found a substitute which is labeled a "Granny Fork": http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product.asp?pn=BE1123&bhcd2=1274797805. It's for mixing pie dough, etc.] Then sprinkle mixture evenly over pie ingredients.

Bake in 325-350 oven for 35-40 minutes or so until bubbly. YUM!

Serve with vanilla ice cream, even yummier!

Best,

Joe Koob

On Recipes, Cookbooks, and Magazines

I am often asked where I get my recipes, what cookbooks I use, magazines I read, and so on. So here is a brief answer to those questions.

First I have lots of cookbooks. I use them mostly for ideas, and yes, irreverent as I am, I rarely follow any recipe exactly as written. I even am so bold as to change a Julia Child or James Beard recipe -- sacrilegious, I know. I'm not sure, but I would guess that James Beard was flexible in his creations and hopefully, so was Julia.

So which books do I use the most? I find James Beard's "American Cookery," has great basic recipes to jump off from. I have an very old Betty Crocker looseleaf cookbook that's good for some old-fashioned basic things like biscuits and pancakes. For bread, I cut my teeth on "Bake Your Own Bread," by Floss and Stan Dworkin and I still refer to it today. I have others -- Child's famous book; "The New Basics;" and an old Greek cookbook; and lots of modern things that have great pictures and interesting recipes, e.g. "The Beautiful Cookbook" series. Truthfully there are many things I just dream up, and I can do so because I have so much in my head already, for example, I know how to make a souffle, so I simply think about what I want the souffle to be and I create it with no recipe at hand. I also love to look up things in "Larousse Gastronomique" -- that's getting down to the basics!

The best cooking magazine I have found is "Cooks Illustrated," which scientifically trys, experiments, and creates 'the best' way to make 'X'. Truthfully, there is rarely a 'Best' way to make anything, because your tastebuds are always a factor; but what is great about "Cooks" is you learn all about ingredients, processes, and techniques by reading about what they create. I have yet to read one of their magazines (which I do almost cover to cover), and not learned at least several interesting things I can apply to my own cooking. I also get "Bon Appetit," which is good for a recipe or two and there are a few great ideas in most issues, though I do tire of the theme issues, like -- how many ways can you recreate Thanksgiving Turkey.

One thing that drives me is eating. When I have something that is truly outstanding at a restaurant I imagine recreating it, or even, making it better. This is particularly challenging and fun when it is an ethnic cuisine [Maybe I'll talk one day about restaurants and my pet peeves with them!]

One great advantage these days is the web. Want to make sushi -- google it. I did, and I studied five or six basic recipes and then started in on my own. By looking at several descriptive websites I was able to get a good feel for what the fundamentals and ingredients were, and then I could take it from there. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm off and running in a new direction!

The bottom line on recipes -- know what you want, know the ingredients and how they will change things, create from there. The better handle you have on the basics, the better and more freely you can create. You also have to have a bit of the rebel in you.

Have fun cooking!

Joe Koob

Creating Menus

People often ask me how I come up with ideas for our 'Dinners.' So in this blog I will share with you, at least in part, my thought processes on creating the following menu:

Egg-rolls Almondine

Wild Mushroom Ravioli
With Carmen Sauce

Haricot soup with Chevre Crème

Smoked Rock Cornish Hen
over Mixed green Salade
with Balsamic Chevre Dressing

Mango-Blackraspberry-Lemon Glace’

Veal Scallops with Shirred eggs
with Traviata Sauce
Spinach and Sweet Red Pepper Souffle

Chocolate Surprise Popovers
With Crème Fraiche

The truth is that most of the time I focus around a specific theme or even just an entree and build from there. In this case I had some nice veal scallops and started from there. No real theme, but a 'sort-of' theme eventually crept in -- Sauces.

Once I had chosen the veal scallops as the centerpiece I just let my imagination go -- I had shirred eggs on the brain, so that seemed like a nice 'topping' for the veal and I decided I would create my own "Traviata" sauce, since my wife and I are going to the opera "La Traviata" in a week. The sauce idea started with a Lemon base (ala Veal Piccata) but I wanted to vary that a bit. For grins I looked up "Traviata Sauce" on the web and came up with a restaurant -- 'La Traviata' in Long Beach -- and they had a sauce with green peppercorns, mustard and brandy. This twisted my head in a slightly different direction so I ended up with -- Lemon, Chardonnay, Green onions, Mustard, and, of course, butter. The spinach souffle came about because I had some nice fresh spinach and some roasted red peppers I had frozen and wanted to use. I also diecided that I would skip the carbs for the main course and though I was, in a sense, doubling up on the eggs, the individual souffle dishes finished off the plate nicely (and handsomely, I might add -- the 'red' of the peppers made a nice change to the traditional spinach souffle look).

The rest of the dinner flowed from there. Usually I get ideas, check local stores for what looks good, and dream up courses. In this case what came next on the menu was the Wild Mushroom Ravioli, which I had wanted to create for awhile, and the sauce for those became a browned butter (ala Roux) saffron menage. The name 'Carmen Sauce' alludes to Spanish Saffron.

The Smoked Rock Cornish Game Hen salad was chosen mostly because one my guests didn't eat seafood, so while I would have traditionally had a fish or seafood course, I decided to smoke several hens and thus three of the courses grew in my head from that thought: the salad, the navy bean soup (stock used boned carcasses of smoked hens), and the egg rolls. The sauces/dressing for these I thought up as I went: Salad dressing for Hen breasts became a balsamic vinagrette with Chevre; bean soup -- a chevre creme (yummy! and a great match BTW); and egg rolls -- pepper jelly-lemon sauce with toasted almonds sprinkled on-top(pepper jelly is something I originally came across in New Orleans served with boudin blanc -- sausages). Note: the egg rolls contained the non-breast meat of the Smoked Hens, veggies (spinach, cucumber, green onions).

The palate-cleanser, also a tradition in many of my dinners, started with some ripe mango I had frozen, and for a change of pace I added homemade blackraspberry puree, lemon, and berry vodka.

I wanted a light dessert and popovers are always a favorite, so I made James Beard's recipe, added cinnamon and sugar, and tossed a square of Giardelli's caramel chocolate in the center of each just before popping into the oven. The creme fraiche I made from scratch and whipped it, sweetened it, and added a touch of pure vanilla.

And to be perfectly honest, all of this grew in my head over the period of about a week. The final touches taking place as I was actually preparing the food.

The rest, as they say, is now history and part of our waistlines.

Best,

Joe Koob

Florida Dinner IV -- Love Those Dessert Souffles

To finish this Florida Dinner Blog I need to run through the side dishes and then wax eloquently (hopefully) about dessert souffles.

I had a fair amount of leftover (cooked, but not sauced) angel hair pasta, so I decided to rejuvenate this and serve with a light olive oil-basel-garlic sauce. One of the best ways to rejuvenate cooked pasta, in my opinion,is to boil some water, toss the pasta in, shut the burner off, let it sit about one minute, drain pasta and toss with sauce -- voila.

Basel Olive Oil Sauce

I used a light Italian Olive oil -- a few tbls to taste
several knife-smushed Garlic cloves
Chopped Fresh Basel -- medium chop

Heat olive oil on medium heat with garlic cloves for a couple of minutes, toss in chopped basel, stir, turn off heat within a minute, and toss the pasta with the sauce. BTW remove the garlic gloves! Simple and delicious. This is one of those circumstances where the quality of the Olive Oil does make a difference!

Sugar peas with scallions and Baby Portabellas

Half pound or so of handpicked sugar peas (see note)
One bunch of chopped scallions cut into one inch pieces
Baby portabellas (eight ounces) sliced
Garlic

Note: I am one of those dastardly people who pick sugar peas one at a time out of the bin because I am very picky about what I get. I like firm, fresh, GREEN (not faded) pea pods. It does take some time to get all I want, but to me it is worth it and I don't have to toss out a bunch of them when I get to preparing them.

Peas: I trim both ends, wash, and saute over medium heat with several smushed garlic cloves for several minutes. Add scallions and portabellas more or less at the same time and continue to saute. After five minutes or so total time pick out the garlic cloves and add some herbs if you wish. Serve with salmon and pasta.

Strawberry Souffles: preheat oven to 350

Okay, one person has asked me how to make good souffles, so I'll go into more detail this time. I find it actually quite easy with only a few caveats to success. First: I have never made a "Classic" souffle by putting buttered parchment paper or whatever around the souffle dish so that when you remove from oven and remove the paper you have a sort of mushroom effect. I just use a buttered souffle dish or in this case a casserole as I did not have a souffle dish at hand and use enough egg whites to make a nice pouffy effect when it is taken from the oven. This particular souffle turned out magnificently -- a beautiful browned crown. Which of course, collapsed shortly after placing on the table-- sorry folks that's what souffles do --no way to prevent it

Ingredients:

about six or seven Eggs, separated (depends on size of your dish)
1/2 to 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
few tablespoons of Powdered Sugar
cup to cup and a half of Milk
1/2 cup or so of Strawberry Jam
couple of tablespoons of Butter (salted)
tablespoon or so of Flour
Cream of Tartar (optional), about 3/4 teaspoon

Note the irreverence for the amounts -- very little is sacred in cooking or baking. Sugar to taste, etc. Create!

Butter souffle dish throughly. You can also dust it with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar to help it release more and to add to sweetness.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Heat milk either on the stove or in microwave to just below simmering. Stir flour into butter (use about one tbls flour to 1 cup of milk) when it is incorporated pour hot milk into mixture and raise heat to medium-high so the sauce thickens -- whisk as needed. Add sugar a quarter cup at a time until dissolved and then add strawberry jam and whisk until incorporated. Turn to low or warm and whip up the egg whites.

Egg whites: This is one of those crucial steps. I think maybe some people's souffles fail because they either overwhip or underwhip the egg whites. Basically most recipes call for the egg whites to be whipped to 'soft peaks'. So what does this mean? Essentially what you are looking for is a puffy, cloudlike appearance to the top of the egg whites in the bowl. I use a handmixer (though I have done this by hand with a whisk, but you need really good wrists!) and I not only have the mixer on high but I move it around in the bowl, in both directions and up and down, to make sure ALL the egg whites are getting whipped. You can add cream of tartar at this point or when folding into the eggs. It can help the souffle stay puffy a bit longer (stabilizes the egg whites).

ALSO, if you are not familiar with whipping egg whites, you can't let any yolk into the mix or they won't whip properly. Now, another way to tell if you have whipped your egg whites enough is to take the bowl by the handle and turn it upside down. If they stay in the bowl, you're there. If they fall out, OOPS! Well, that's how we learn. Be brave!

You can 'overwhip' egg whites, too. That is indicated by a dry, grainy appearance. If you have nice puffy, unrunny, cloud-like egg whites, you should be good.

These can sit for a few minutes while you finish the sauce, but not forever -- after ten minutes or so they will start to go backward, in a sense.

Turn heat back up on sauce to medium-low. Add a few (3 or 4) of the egg yolks while stirring constantly with wooden spoon to help thicken the sauce more. You can add all of them, but that's getting pretty rich for my blood -- literally. Remove from heat after fully incorporated.

Now, it doesn't matter which way you do this, but it is very important to do this next process properly as well. Add about 1/4 of the egg whites to the sauce (or you can add the sauce to 1/4 of the egg whites), FOLD with spatula or wooden spoon, over and over until well incorporated(lots of incorporation in this recipe!)This lightens up the sauce and makes it far easier to fold in the rest of the egg whites GENTLY for the souffle -- IMPORTANT! Then fold in the remaining egg whites as gently as possible until fairly well mixed. It doesn't have to be perfectly mixed together. If you over mix or over-fold at this point your souffle won't rise so well. Gently spoon souffle mixture into souffle bowl and pop into oven. Cook for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown on top and well-puffed.

NOTE: Believe it or not it is not usually disastrous to open the oven door and peek at your masterpiece, just don't open it really wide and let a bunch of heat escape. I have done it dozens of times without ill effect, but it is better if you have an oven light and can peak (Peek!) through the glass window.

Remove from oven to great acclaim and quickly sprinkle top with powdered sugar -- I do it through a fine sieve.

Godiva Martinis

Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
Vanilla Vodka
Heavy Cream

All this is according to taste and how strong you want your drinks. 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3will work well. Blend, shake with ice, pour into martini glasses.

Hint: I once made this 'hot' or warm and added a chocolate triffle to the center of the glass -- served as a dessert in and of itself. Yum.

Hope you've enjoyed the Florida Dinner Blog.

Good eating!

Joe Koob

Florida Dinner Part III

Raspberry-Lemon Glace'

I like to make these little palate-cleansers even though in this case there wasn't a drastic need for it. These are typically totally creative and I use whatever strikes my fancy and is at hand.

Red Raspberry Jam (1/4 cup?)
Fresh Lemon juice from one lemon
Vanilla Vodka (about 1/3 of total or to taste)

Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and either place bowl in freezer OR (and I do this often) pour into small shaped molds (I typically use candy molds) and freeze.

Classically one places the mixture in the freezer and every twenty minutes or so (sooner as it starts to freeze) go in and mix it up with a fork. This is what I did on this occasion as my resources are yet limited in Florida. I almost always use some kind of liquor, snapps, etc.,to slow the freezing and for additional flavor and kick. When I use molds I let the mixture set and then plunge the molds into warm water just to loosen; then remove the glace and place in serving glasses. The unmolding usually makes the ice just the right consistency for a glace'.

Main Course

Basel Rainbow Trout with Angel Hair Pasta
and Sugar Peas with Scallions and Baby Portabellas

One of the local markets had some nice fresh rainbow trout fillets and while this is not a local Florida fish it fit the seafood theme and we had already enjoyed local fresh grouper in two of the other courses. I got a nice one and a half pound fillet and prepared it simply by washing it, cutting for nice fillets off of the skin and drying.

Puff Pastry

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter (cold)
Ice water (1/2 cup or so
Salt to taste (1/2 tsp)
1 stick (or more) cold butter (salted/unsalted according to your taste/diet)

I hadn't made puff pastry in a long time when I read the book, "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry" by Kathleen Flinn (recommended!) and it got me back on track. So I tried it once again after a long layoff, and bingo, worked like a charm.

So-o-o the absolute, most important thing in making puff pastry is to keep everything C-O-L-D. The basic dough recipe varies a bit from cookbook to cookbook but these above are good balances for ingredients. You can increase or decrease based on need. It may seem overkill but cool everything: rolling pin, rolling board, bowl, keep cooling the dough between each round of folding, even wash your hands in cold water if manipulating the dough (but avoid doing much handling).

Make the dough by blending in the flour and salt with the 1/4 cup of butter until well mixed.(I typically use a fork or the old Foley Fork -- has anyone seen these for sale anywhere???)[I'm told you can use a food processor for this, but I guess I'm old school on this point.] Add ice water gradually until you have a medium stiff dough. Refrigerate.

After twenty minutes you aready to begin shaping the puff pastry. Take dough from fridge and roll out on your cold board with your cold rolling pin. [Up north I have a marble rolling pin which stays nicely cold for some time. Down here I actually put my wooden rolling pin in the freezer.]Roll into a rectangle. [BTW I'm not going to tell you how big. It really doesn't matter and depends on the amount of dough you made.] To about one-eighth of an inch thick or so. [I also don't get too excited about how exact my rectangle is -- try for the general shape.]Place dough in fridge for twenty minutes to cool down.

Now here's the tricky part (time to wash those hands in cold water!)-- probably best to do the slicing of the butter ahead if you are new at this and put the butter slices in the fridge until ready -- slice the butter lengthwise into one-inch thick slices and place quickly on top of two-thirds of the rectangle starting at one long end and moving toward the other. Fill up two-thirds of the pastry with these long slices. Then you take the uncovered one-third and fold it over the middle third (now covered with butter slices) and then fold it again to the far third. You will end up with a smaller rectangle. Turn 90 degrees and roll this out with your cold rolling pin until about the shape and size of your first rectangle. Fold over in thirds as you just did, only you are not adding any more butter, turn 90 degrees and roll out again. Turn 90 degrees and repeat folding and then pop in fridge to stay cold (wrap in wax paper or clear wrap). [Some recipes call for doing three rolling-outs each time, but you face the possibility of the dough getting too warm and the butter melting into the flour which is what will destroy your puff pastry. Put your rolling pin and board in freezer between each rolling out, as well.

Twenty minutes or so later repeat the rolling, turning, folding, rolling, turning, folding again. Then put in fridge again and wait and do again in another twenty minutes or so. [You can do this several more times, but this is probably enough, though once more won't hurt anything and it will give you thinner 'puffs'or sheets.]

It probably sounds like too much effort to do this when you can buy frozen puff pastry in your local supermarket, but it is one-helluva feeling when it puffs up so nice and friendly when you bake it.

When my dough was done and back in the fridge I got the fish ready, took the pastry out one last time and rolled it out to about an eighth of an inch or so into a shape that would provide enough pastry to wrap each piece of fish (I rolled into a squarish-rectangular shape. I dusted the fish with a tad of white pepper and wrapped each fillet in just enough dough to cover pinching the ends to seal. [I also made a cute little fish from extra dough and placed on top of each. Presentation, you know. Then voila --ready for the oven. Depending on your oven bake at 425 or 450 until puffed and browned lightly. Serve with Basel sauce (see below).

Basel Sauce for fish

Fresh Basel
Butter
Freshly squeezed lemon
White wine vinegar
Lowfat sour cream (about a cup)
Lowfat butter milk
Flour for thickening if desired
White pepper

I wanted a bit of a light tangy sauce for the rainbow trout in puff pastry so I used the basel as a centerpiece and did the following:

Melt a few tbls butter in small saucepan, squeeze in juice from a large lemon, put in several heavy dashes of white wine vinegar to taste. Cook on medium heat until warm. If you want to thicken this sauce mix a scant tbls of flour into about a half cup or so of the sour cream.) Mix in sour cream mixture to thicken. Add medium to finely chopped basel just to barely wilt and then thin slightly with buttermilk (adds a bit of a slightly sweet tangyness -- must be added at end or it will curdle over medium heat). Take off heat, sprinkle in a bit of white pepper and serve with fish.

Enjoy!

Next time: rejuvenated angelhair pasta, veggie, and dessert.

Florida Dinner Part II

Seafood Stew

Soups, stews, goulashes and the like all begin with a good stock. Usually I have at least one stock in my refrigerator, most often a chicken or chicken and duck based stock. Since I rarely have a seafood or fish stock I make one up for the occasion.

For the stock: can be prepared days ahead up until you need it. I started mine when I started working on the dinner.

Fish cuttings (I used edges and smaller pieces from the grouper I was using)
Shrimp shells (from the Shrimp used in this and other courses)
Water to cover
Bay leaf
Thyme (dried from a friend's herb garden)
celery leaves (cut from fresh stalk)
Fresh Parsley
Juice from steaming the clams
Pinch or two of white pepper

Simmer on low for half hour to and hour or so, use what you need in the stew

Stew

1/3 pound of shrimp -- cut into medium pieces
1/3 pound of grouper -- cut into medium pieces
5 large chowder clams (can be several varieties -- large clams found in many markets)-- chopped into small pieces -- reserve liquid steamed in
1 stalk chopped celery
1 small potato chopped
ground pepper to taste (white or black or both)
heavy cream -- approx. half a cup.

Optional:

other veggies: few tbls carrot chopped, peas, corn, etc.

I was only serving four people and since we had a number of previous courses I aimed for small 'cup-sized' portions. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.

Wash/scrub clams throughly in cold-warm water. Then steam the clams in a small amount of water until just open. Strain clam liquid through a very fine strainer and/or coffee filter and use liquid for stock. Chop clams and reserve any liquid for stew.

Start with fish stock, chowder clams, and celery in a medium pot on medium-low heat. Simmer until celery is beginning to soften. Add other veggies depending on cooking time, i.e. carrots before potato, then potato, etc. When all veggies are almost done, add shrimp and fish, cook until just done, then add cream to taste to smooth out. Taste to see if you need any salt. (Clams and other shellfish can have a salty flavor, so I don't use salt in fish dishes until the end.)

Serve hot with Popovers -- see below

Stilton Popovers

Popovers are one of those simple to make and wonderfully received dishes. My friends often request them. I use a James Beard recipe as a foundation, but they are quite versatile and you can be very creative with them:

2 extra-lg eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
1 tlbs melted butter (optional)
1 ounce or so stilton cheese crumbled

Toss ingredients except cheese in a bowl and mix until blended. Pour in well-buttered popover molds* until about 2/3 full, sprinkle cheese in center, and place in cold oven.** Set to 425-450 and wait. Remove when puffed and gold brown (5-7 minutes). Serve with butter. [Note: Popovers fall quickly (as souffles do) when removed from the oven; so ideally time them to come out just as the fish stew is served.]

*Muffin tins work well also and I have even made 'mini-popovers' in small muffin tins and small candy/cake molds -- great fun for all.

**Tradition has it that popovers and the related Yorkshire Pudding should be popped (pun intended) into a very hot oven. As Mr. Beard points out, this is not necessary and they pop admirably when placed in a cold oven set to a high temperature.

Popovers can be 'flavored' in many ways. I have had cinnamon-sugar popovers and used many types of cheese and even other ingredients 'inside'-- what ever you set in the center of the mixture will sink depending on its weight and density and melting cheeses work very nicely as they spred throughout the popover as it cooks.

Enjoy,

Joe Koob

Florida Dinner

Florida Dinner (for four)

Shrimp Diavolo

Shrimp, Grouper and Avocado Salad

Seafood Stew with Stilton Popovers

Raspberry-Lemon Glace

Basel Rainbow Trout in Puff Pastry with Angel Hair Pasta and Sugar peas with scallions and Baby Portabellas

Strawberry Souffle
with Godiva Chocolate Martinis

Had some friends in from 'the north' for the weekend and a trip to the opera. Thought I'd give them a taste of Florida (fish/shellfish) so I dreamt up the above menu. In the next few blogs I'll detail most of what I did. If I leave something out -- remember, I just tend to throw things together -- and you want clarification, let me know.

The Menu

The local supermarker still had some nice fresh steelhead trout available (btw NOT from Florida), so that became the centerpiece for dreaming up the rest of the meal. I also had a bit (2/3 of a pound) of fresh grouper and some angel hair pasta left over from another meal so I decided to incorporate them as well.

Shrimp Diavolo

1 whole dried ancho pepper (available at Latin/international markets)
tamarind (you can use paste -- I used a small chunk -- two tbls from a pressed block)
Oriental fish sauce (at oriental markets)
Lots of garlic finely chopped(half to whole bulb)
drizzle of vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
ground white and black pepper (dash, pinch, smidgen, or heavy-handed sprinkle of each)
Juice from a fresh lemon
Pound of large to extra-large shelled, cleaned, and butterflied shrimp

Okay, yeah, I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to HOT and spicy, so this was more spicy, than hot. Add some heat if you wish.

Soak Ancho pepper and tamarind in very hot water until soft -- drain (save the liquid -- I used it later for two other dishes on the menu). Cut open pepper and remove seeds and hard parts, chop finely with tamarind and then mix with all the other ingredients in a bowl for marinating. Toss shimp well in marinade and place in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Butterflying: I just run a sharp knife down the spine of the shrimp until almost cut through (watch your hand holding the shrimp!). I often prepare shrimp this way as I like the presentation and the ease in cooking.

You can do all of the above a half or even whole day in advance or several hours will do for marinating.

I skewered the shrimp on long bamboo skewers and broiled on high heat for about one minute per side (turn once). Charcoal on the 'barbie' would have been better, but I didn't want to start a fire for just this appetizer. [Note: you will likely have bits of pepper, tamarind, and garlic clinging to the shimp -- fine, adds falvor!]

Remove from skewers with a fork (slide them off the pointy end!) and enjoy. I served these in a communal dish and we all just dug in with our little forks.


Shrimp, Grouper and Avocado Salad

1/3 pound of large to extra-large shelled, cleaned, and butterflied shrimp
1/3 pound of fresh grouper
1 ripe avocado
mayonaise
a tangy salad dressing
white wine vinegar
ground white pepper

This is fairly basic and I kept it simple. The purist in me (which is not always there) would have insisted on making my own mayonaise. But I only needed a dollop, so I used the store-bought stuff. (Horrors of horrors -- I even tend to buy the 'lite' or 'low-fat' varieties -- I have to make some concessions to the cholesterol Gods!).

I steamed the shrimp and grouper in the fish stock I was making for the soup course until just done. [Note: overcooking shimp and fish is a bad-d-d-d thing! When in doubt, check, check, check, so you get it right. Otherwise you will be dealing with tough and dry versus soft, moist, and yummy.] Cool slightly before making the salad.

Chop shrimp and grouper into medium pieces, add a dollop of mayo, a sprinkle or two of white wine vinegar for extra tang, and the salad dressing. (Again, horrors! I do sometimes make my own, but here I used about a tbls and a half of Ken's Sun-dried- tomato dressing. {Note: I don't typically 'hawk' products, truly, but I do like many of Ken's dressings.] And white pepper to taste. Mix well and place in refrigerator to cool down (needs to be made a half hour or so before serving so it will get chilled). Slice avocado onto plates, dollop portions of salad over. Serve.

More from this menu next time. Enjoy.

Joe Koob

On the Quality of Things

I was brought up, at least in my youth, in a lower-middle class environment. Perhaps my parents weren't as poor as they made out to be, that's hard for a kid to know, but they certainly fought over money a good bit and it always seemed like my mother was scrimping and cutting corners. For better or for worse, and it is probably a bit of both, I learned very quickly the value of things, the 'could haves' and 'couldn't haves,' how to make do, and so on. I carry that with me to this day and it does affect my cooking.

Over the years I have indeed gotten a bit more persnickity about certain things and of course I would much prefer to use high quality products and ingredients, but there is always that side of me that is looking for a bargain. So I 'shop around' alot, and sometimes 'I make do,' just because I can. I probably keep spices and other ingredients too long in the cupboard (although very few could beat my mother at that)and I definitely keep herbs longer than I should, though I do plant a herb garden every year and often dry my own for the winter.

I do, however, have one perspective on cooking that would probably knock the socks off some gourmets and chefs, but I feel pretty strongly about it: I firmly believe that one of the marks of a good cook is the ability to transform even poor to mediocre ingredients into something that is not only palatable, but often quite tasty. AND, the opposite is also true -- that is, a not so good cook can easily destroy, even dessicate, a fine quality ingredient. Unfortunately I have experienced this too many times, even at quality restaurants.

One of the things that I have been asked many times, and I always find these types of questions pleasurable challenges, is 'what can I do with this, this, and this?' This is the type of situation that sparks my creativity and I enjoy the challenge of melding a diverse, and sometimes seemingly strange combination of things into a quality meal.

This also shows in my own creations when I do have everything I desire at hand. I like to try new things, new ways of combining things, and thinking through with everyone's tastebuds in mind, how something will turn out if I do X, Y, or Z. Hence, as illustrated previously, I dream up menus like "Thai-American Fusion."

Quality, truly, is about the outcome; what we taste when the plate is served. None of us are perfect and we can't always hit everyone's tastebuds exactly right, nor can all of us afford the best meats, olive oils, etc., etc., all the time. Create with what you have and enjoy. That is joie-de-vivre!

Enjoy.

Joe Koob

Memorable Meals Part I

I think it might be worthwhile to occasionally wax on for a brief period about some of the great culinary experiences I have had over the years. One would think that many or most of these would have come from 4 or 5 star restaurants, but the truth is, almost all of them have been in 'just some place' I managed to wander into on my travels. Here is one that took place in Athens, Greece when I crew-rested there while in the Air Force flying in C-141s circa the early 1970s.

Sorry, but I don't know the name of the restaurant, but it was one of hundreds in Athens and it seemed a very popluar spot and you'll soon see why.

There are two things I remember distinctly about this experience, though it is now almost forty years ago. The first, of course, was the food. It is one of the few meals that I have not been able to reproduce successfully since.

What I remember about it was that I had lamb, braised in a very rich stock served with potatoes. But what was unique about this is that as part of the stock there was a rich layer of some type of wilted lettuce. Well, at least I think it was lettuce. It didn't look like any type of cabbage I ever had, but I have never been able to find out through experimentation what it actually was. [If there are any Greek cooks out there who know what it might have been, please let me know!] At any rate it was stupendous and it has influenced my cooking in a number of ways: knowing how to make really good stocks (a later blog perhaps) and understanding that lettuce is not something that has to be served cold -- it can be cooked, and quite successfully.

The other part of this particular experience was the atmosphere. It is rare to achieve the levity and joie-de-vivre that this restaurant imparted to its clientele, but, and I don't think I had anything to drink, this was probably one of the most fun dinners I ever had.

One of the waiters was an outstanding tenor and he would literally erupt in song throughout the evening. It was wonderful and his enthusiasm and joy permeated the restaurant and all of us eating there. We had a great time and great food. What more can you ask for?

This is one of those feelings, occasionally achieved at our long, many-course gourmet dinners, that truly make cooking and eating a great pleasure. Of course, a bit of good wine and song never hurt to start things off. Those of you who have been at such meals with me, you know what I'm talking about.

Best,

Joe Koob

Baking Bread I

I'm not sure when I learned to bake bread, but I am sure when I really learned to bake bread -- not the exact date, but the experience. Now you are going to learn how irreverent I can truly be.

There are many good bread books available and I own several, but in my opinion the BEST is the book that helped me the most in understanding bread-baking. You can still get it on-line, which is where I recently purchased a back-up copy and some copies for my friends: "Bake Your Own Bread" by Floss and Stan Dworkin. Somehow I first came across this book back in the early seventies and in using it I learned the most important lesson of bread-baking -- understanding how each ingredient affects the whole. I also learned that bread-baking is NOT a science (though it can be treated that way), but an ART.

It was probably less than a year after I acquired this book that I was 'hired' (paid for my tuition) to bake bread at a music camp for the summer. This book was my bible for that summer as my basic job was to bake a different kind of bread every day for 80-90 people. It was a BLAST! I had the most fun creating, mixing, kneading, fooling-around with everything from whole wheat breads, to ryes, to sour-doughs, to challah, brioche, etc. And through the whole eight weeks I only had one potential disaster, which of course was a great learning experience for me -- sour-dough rises slowly, and my loaves went more sideways than up. Not a real problem as they baked fine and tasted fine. I survived any chagrin by cutting the bread into smaller pieces!

So here's a recipe and irreverent/anecdotal look at how I bake bread:

Unless I am creating something that needs to be tightly controlled (and that is very rare in bread-baking) my methode-du-jour is to toss things in based on what I want the outcome to be -- taste, texture, etc. I once proved this to a dubious group of college students when we had a Romantic Era Music party at my house. The few who knew how to bake were astounded when they saw me tossing (literally) unmeasured quantities of ingredients into the bowl. The were even more astounded when the result was, well, delicious.

Two night's ago we had a friend over for dinner (main course Julia Child's bouef bourguignon) and I decided I wanted some dinner rolls to go with. Here's what I tossed in -- I'll give you approximate quantities in a minute as I go, since that's exactly what I did.

Regular unbleached white flour
Spelt whole wheat flour
Flax meal
Salt
Regular dry yeast
Honey (I used some locally 'grown' PA honey)
Canola oil
Water

My goal was to create some very light, tasty dinner rolls with a hint of sweet.

Now I know this isn't entirely purist either, but I often, these days, use a bread maker to knead the dough (I never bake in one or even use one specifically for a rise unless I happen to forget about it and it sits in there and that's fine, too.)

So, I started by tossing about 2 1/2 cups of white flour into the breadmaker (I'll have to give you approximate quanitities here as I literally dumped the larger quantity ingredients in from their containers, but I'll also give you a big hint on how to know if you got it right -- texture). Next a 1/2 cup or so of spelt flour (spelt is a whole wheat flour that has a nutty flavor, very nice!). Then about 1/4 cup of flax meal (also gives a nutty flavor and is good for you.)Note: I find leftover dinner rolls to be far less desirable than the original hot ones right out of the oven, so I purposefully cut this 'recipe' in about half.

Then I actually measured a scant teaspoon of salt and a scant tablespoon of yeast using the palm of my hand into the mix. Dumped in about a 1/4 cup of honey and a half cup or so of oil. [On oils: I try to use healthier oils when I bake. Canola is a common one, but melted butter is certainly a choice if you want that flavor added.]
This was all followed by about 3/4 to a cup of water. Turn on the machine on dough setting and watch.

Here's the tricky part: what I wanted was a fairly light, wet dough that would hang together, but still create a very light fluffy dinner roll. As the machine did its thing I checked in and added several dustings of white flour until I had the consistency I wanted. This is one of those things you have to get the hang of. Especially if you are working with heavier ingredients like wheat and flax. I definitely didn't want to force flour into this dough

Once the machine had done its mixing thing, I dusted the wet ball of dough with flour, gave it a bit more hand-kneading, and tossed it in an oiled bowl to rise. Luckily I have a rising feature on my oven, so I covered the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it go for one hour. After an hour the dough had almost tripled. I punched it down and kneaded vigorishly for five minutes. It was still sticky to touch -- ready for second rise in baking pan.

Important: wet doughs will tend to rise sideways more than up. So I decided to cook these rolls in a heavy ceramic-buttered casserole so that the 1 1/2 inch pinched off balls of dough would grow sideways, hit each other eventually and then go up.

Second rise was also about and hour (remember I wanted very light dinner rolls). Bingo, perfect -- set oven to 350 (I might typically have used 325, but I was timing this with the main course). Baked for about 15 minutes. Buttered tops. Baked a few more minutes and viola! Very light, very tasty with butter. I served a small plateful of rolls at dinner and left the rest in warm oven so we could enjoy more still warm as the dinner lingered on.

So -- bake bread with a flair; be creative; have fun; and most importantly learn what the ingredients do -- Dworkin's book is a good place to start. As you'll see if you follow this blog. I use many, many different types of flours and ingredients in my breads.

Joe Koob

Pungency Rules: Thoughts about Garlic

One could probably write a whole book about garlic -- perhaps someone has. However, today I would just like to toss out a few thoughts about preparing and using garlic. I'll also share with you an easy recipe for mussels that is a favorite of my friends.

I'm not going to wax eloquent about the types of garlic -- there are many and their pungency varies considerably. These are a matter of taste, and more than anything, availability. I try to find a store that sells the freshest bulbs and I tend to like a strong garlic (Elephant garlic and the like seem to me to be rather weak in flavor). Unfortunately garlic does tend to dry out quickly and lose some of its potency, so adjustments have to be made to recipes if you have some bulbs that have been around for awhile.

One can grow garlic fairly easily in the right soil and environs, and I have a friend who has (does) and he typically has a number of varities that are fun to compare and experiment with. So if you have the where-with-all to find varieties of garlic or grow them, you can enjoy playing arpound with a wide variety of recipes and see how different types impart subtle (or not so subtle) changes in taste.

As the title of my blog suggests I am not a purist about very many things when it comes to cooking, but I do tend to have a few considerations in regards to the preparation of garlic that seem to, at least in my humble opinion, affect the flavor in any given dish.

To really enjoy the full flavor and pungency of garlic without additional bitterness added to the mix (pressing seems to do this in my opinion), I find that finely chopping garlic with a sharp knife is by far the preferred method of preparation. And in an even more purist perspective, I don't feel a food processor accomplishes this task particularly well. So for dishes where you really want the garlic to shine through (see 'Mussels ala Koob, below') grin and bear up to taking the time to chop it finely yourself (or if you are lucky and have friends over willing to help in food preparation, set them to the task -- though if you are like me, you will have to finish it off to your own satisfaction).

However there are certainly many instances where garlic can and should be prepared and used as whole cloves, knife-smushed cloves, lightly chopped, and even pressed through a garlic press. As this blog develops I will likely discuss all of these forms of preparation in relationship to a wide variety of recipes. [I tend to use a lot of garlic and, well, it's good for you, too.]

Another important consideration for the use of garlic (onions, chives, etc.) is that size of cloves/bulbs, freshness, method of preparation, at what point you use it in the recipe, how you cook it, etc., all affect the final outcome. So! Use your best judgement and experiment with amounts, etc. Recipes, like the one below, should almost always be treated as guidelines, not absolutes -- three cloves of garlic may be great for one person's taste or a given size/type of garlic, but completely wrong for you.

Mussels ala Koob

What you'll need:

Bag of fresh mussels (2-3 lbs)
1 Bulb (or more) fresh garlic
butter and/or olive oil (other oils may be used based on your diet, preferences, etc. For this recipe my favorite approach is just to use olive oil, but some people really like the flavor of butter with mussels.)
Fresh tomatoes (one or two medium -- for this recipe Romas work nicely)

Optional

Red Bell pepper or a more spicy variety if you prefer
Green Onions

Preparation:

Wash mussels; discard any broken ones. Set large pot on stove with enough water to cover mussels when they are tossed in and bring to a boil (or you could use a steamer and steam the mussels open). When water is boiling toss in the mussels only long enough for them to fully open. Remove immediately and drain and let cool (can be done half hour or so ahead). When they are cool enough remove the mussel meats from the shells and place in bowl. Press garlic cloves and remove outer skin and hard bottom. Chop the entire bulb very finely. Chop tomatoes into about pea size pieces.

Heat butter/olive oil (hint: unsalted butter is probably best for this, extra virgin olive oil -- keep in mind that mussels could have a bit of a salty flavor). You could use all butter or all olive oil -- what do your tastebuds tell you? Toss in garlic and saute for about two minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes and saute another couple of minutes. [If you decide to add any pepper, add to mix after garlice has been in for one minute. Green onions can be added at same time as tomato.] You can vary this recipe in many ways. The key is the chopped garlic.

When tomato has cooked slightly, add the mussel meats to the pan and toss until covered with the sauce and garlic. Serve immediately (with toast crisps is great!).

This is one of those instances where a great deal of garlic, patiently chopped and lightly cooked, makes all the difference in the world in flavor.

Enjoy.

Joe Koob

Having Fun with Sauces

People often ask me what I cook, i.e. what is my favorite type or nationality of food that I cook. The truth is I cook just about anything and I eat almost all foods -- I draw the line at insects and beets (never have been able to stomach beets in any form, though they have always looked good to me). However there are types of cooking that I am better at than others. For example: I seem to have a knack for curries made from scratch (e.g. Indian or Thai) but I have never felt particularly great at Chinese cooking, in spite of lots of good examples set for me by Chinese friends. But if I give a truly honest answer, I love and am fascinated by the whole concept and realm of making sauces.

Now as an example of my irreverence -- I am not a purist about most things. I don't follow strict guidelines to make a Sauce Robert or Sauce Nantua or even a Beurre Blanc. Simply put, I would never make it through the Cordon Bleu school because I would tend to 'do it my way.' I would find it difficult; well, probably impossible, to learn to chop onions or carrots in a precise manner, or perhaps better said, 'do it their way.'

ButI do know how to make sauces and I love to experiment with sauces. So in today's blog I'll share with you a recent simple meal with an experimental sauce.

A couple of day's ago I had some close friends stop over briefly and I offered to cook dinner. One of the local markets had some very nice fresh Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) filets for sale so I picked up two pounds of these for dinner. As soon as I had seen the filets I started to think sauces.

My goal for this dinner was to grill the steelhead over charcoal (yes, I am a bit of a purist about using the real thing, but one can certainly use a gas grill), and then to create a light sauce that added some nice flavor without overpowering the filets. If you are not familiar with rainbow trout -- it is somewhat like fresh-caught salmon, and depending upon the type of salmon, trout tends to be a somewhat/slightly denser fish. The only prep for the fish was to rinse the filets and sprinkle lightly with some white pepper.

First: keys to cooking fish on the grill

Obviously it does depend on the type of fish, but generally speaking 90% of the time I grill with indirect heat -- meaning, I put the coals on opposite sides of the grill and the fish/meat/etc. in the middle. I tend to use low to medium heat to cook things slowly. Always watch fish carefully, it is key to good fish that it doesn't overcook. 'Just done' is ideal, especially with the slightly denser, drier nature of rainbow trout. Plus, if you like a slight smokey flavor, add a touch (I used three small slivers) of mesquite (hickory, etc.) chips at the beginning of the cooking. I find smoking a very delicate business, especially with fish, and people's palates differ on this, so in some ways you have to go with what you like and hope everyone agrees with the end result. I tend toward the lighter side and try to aim for that. BTW there is no need to brine if you smoke this way, though you certainly can and using different brines is a good way to experiment with how the fish turns out.

To the sauce:

Lately I have been pondering the wonderful flavor of the 'roux.' A staple in New Orleans or Cajun cooking, making a roux is all about browing butter and flour to alter/add to the flavor in the dish in which it is used. Essentially what you do in making a roux is to brown the butter and flour (often with the addition of other spices) to whatever degree you wish. This brings a 'nutty' or 'browned' flavor to the butter mixture. How dark your roux is affects the flavor of your dish or sauce differently. Some people like light brown to medium rouxs, others a rich dark roux that may even border on blackening.

So I have experimented with using 'browned butter' in other sauces. I like the flavor and it expands the possibilities of your sauces. For the trout sauce, I started with about 3 tablespoons of butter in a frying/saute pan.

[BTW I almost never use measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. I have developed (ask my kids -- they have seen me numerous times prove an exact measure in my hand by dumping it into a teaspoon measure or tablespoon measure) the ability to estimate almost precisely amounts of things -- I use the palm of my hand for small quantities and 'dump' from containers for larger quantities (I know, I know, completely irreverent!).] But for reproduction purposes in this blog I will try to give at least a fair estimate of quantities I use. However, variation is the spice of life and food, and virtually nothing is set in cement. Don't take my quantities as verbatim -- create!

I began to brown the butter over medium-high heat and once it started to develop some color I added two dashes (maybe an eighth of a teaspoon) of flour to add to the browning effect. I did NOT want to add enough flour that the sauce would thicken. I wanted a sauce that would flow over and around the filets. Once I had a medium brown tinge, I added the juice from one freshly squeezed lemon, turned the butter to low and shuffled the pan half off the burner to wait the fish. )It's not done yet, but I thought I would briefly describe the rest of the meal.

I decided to make a spinach souffle to accompany and to use a large bowl of left-over angel-hair pasta as well to finish off the dinner. I'm not going to describe making a souffle in detail here, but you can use any basic souffle recipe as a starting point. Here are the essentials: medium chop 6-8 ounces of fresh spinach; make a one cup or so white sauce; grate a cup of Manchego (or other flavorful) cheese and a teaspoon or so of lemon peel; I used five egg whites and three of the yolks; the yolks helped to thicken the white sauce further; then grated cheese and lemon zest was added; finally the spinach; fold in part of beaten egg whites; then add rest; cook in buttered souffle dish at 350 until set and browned nicely on top.

Noodles: to refresh the noodles I brought some water to a boil, dropped the noodles in for a minute, and drained. I made a sauce with olive oil (we'll talk about oils and such in another blog); lots of freshly finely chopped garlic -- about three tablespoons (by hand -- another purist thing of mine that we'll discuss further on other blogs); chopped parsley and the green part of green onions (about 3-4 tablespoons each), saute briefly and toss with pasta. Voila! I did all of this in a wok -- a convenient size and shape for this type of work.

As this all came together and the souffle neared completion, I finished the sauce for the fish. I reheated the butter to a medium-high temperature and then added another tablespoon or so of fresh lemon, tossed in one-third of a medium cucumber finely chopped (a nice fresh taste for the fish). Immediately removed from the heat and added the two yolks (extra from the souffle) fried and chopped to finish off. Spread sauce over fish and serve. Lovely!

What I learned and had fun with: always creating from ideas and trying them out to see how they work. 'Cooking' cucumbers is unusual at best, but I tried it here, and it worked. Plus the browning of butter added a nice touch to the sauce. Another idea -- add a touch of white-wine vinegar at the end for a tangy flavor.

Enjoy!

Joe Koob

The Beginning

The Irreverent Gourmet

This is a blog for anyone who likes to eat. Most particularly it is for my friends and acquaintances who have seen me cook and wondered how I actually manage to pull things off in spite of my unorthodox approach (but more on this in a minute). It will be about food and the preparation of food for eating (which after all is the ultimate purpose), with probably a good many anecdotes thrown in.

First a little background. I cook -- according to most of my friends I am a really good cook, but my perspective is that if what I bring to the table tastes good, I've succeeded -- it's not a contest. I learned to cook at a very young age. My brothers (2) and sister and I were all taught to cook when we were young -- essentially the basics: eggs, hamburgers, oatmeal (though my Dad's sampling of my first attempt was less than stellar when I didn't know the difference between a Tsp and a Tbl.), mashed potatoes, and eventually more 'complex' endeavors like cookies.

My mother was a decent cook -- for many years when I was young I considered her a great cook -- she certainly could put together a better-than-average dinner party for my dad's cronies (lifer in the army), and she made such exotic things as Coquilles St. Jacques and marinated flank steak (long before it was de rigueur).

My dad also cooked -- well, sort of. His 'left-over omelets on Sunday were something to try not to remember (a baked bean and french fry omelet!)And I have to confess I was probably influenced by his strange experiments, though for him they were purely practical creations. But he did make a few reasonable things as well -- we used to love his Sukiyaki (Okinawan origin) and his lamb and turnips were okay (for kids -- I think turnips are an acquired taste, which I'm still acquiring).

So I had the right basic influences at home and there were other culinary experiences close to hand, e.g. my grandmother was full-Italian and she made the best home-made ravioli and meat sauce (which if I'm being really generous I might eventually share with you in this column). I always loved visiting my grandmother's house. You could count on heavenly aromas and delectable tastes.

Beyond this (and I will share more on this aspect of my experience as I blog), from the time I entered the Air Force right out of college (Vietnam era) to the present I have travelled quite a bit and with the true spirit of gustatory experience, I tried things. I found that I had a knack of being able to recreate, sometimes with a bit of help, much that I enjoyed throughout the world. And the result is, I unashamedly admit to, becoming quite an Irreverent Gourmet.

Essentially my approach to cooking is always focused on how something will taste when it is placed on the table. I don't get too wrapped up in presentation, although that can be a fun side to food preparation, and I'm very rarely concerned about conventions, the 'right' ingredients, following recipes, etc. You will get the idea as this blog develops.

I do feel there are several aspects to really good cooking that make a major difference, and the most important of these is probably passion. I love to cook. I love to cook for others, and I enjoy immensely preparing seven and eight course dinners for friends and colleagues (something that happens irregularly and perhaps 6-8 times a year). Following very closely on passion as a key to fine cooking is something that can be taught, but perhaps is difficult to learn unless you are passionate about cooking. And that is -- having a very good sense of how any given ingredient will affect a recipe. If you have this knack or knowledge, you can create, and creating is all about how I cook. Recipes to me are merely guides that may or may not form the basis for something I have in my mind to make. Here's a quick example:

Some months ago I had one of my elaborate dinners and the theme I chose was Thai-American Fusion. The pasta course evolved into a barbecue of Pronghorn Antelope (freshly taken in South Dakota) on top of Thai rice noodles. What I had in mind was to transform the antelope (a very strong sage-dominated meat) into a rich goulash-type of barbecue. To accomplish this I mixed both Thai and American flavors and the result was -- perfection -- I'm still drooling. [Now you might ask me for this recipe -- sorry, I don't have a clue what I specifically put in it much less the amounts; but perhaps if I continue this blog I will remember to write these types of things down.]

So you see -- I dream, I do, I create, I have fun and the results are often -- well, yummy. If you like food, if you like to experiment, and if you especially like to read about and fool around with making food that tastes good, you might get a kick out of what I write here.

Comments, ideas, techniques, thoughts, questions, and requests are welcome. Just be prepared for the unorthodox, with that one caveat -- it needs to taste good when you put it on the table.

Best, Joe Koob