Author Archives: Andy

SALMON: BAKED VAL CHEYNE STYLE

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This makes a great salmon to use in a Salad Nicoise or over a bed of sautéed spinach.

  •  Juice of one lemon
  • Grated rind of one lemon
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 clove of garlic chopped
  • 2 t. Dijon mustard

Mix the above with a wire whisk.  Pour over fresh salmon filets (this mixture is good for up to 1 pound of salmon).  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Bake salmon, covered with marinade, for 12 minutes.   Serve hot, room temp, or cold.  It is perfectly done and great at any temperature.  Can be cooked ahead of time, brought on a picnic, or just kept in the refrigerator and hauled out when you want it.

GREEN BEAN AND ROASTED PEPPER SALAD

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This recipe is directional more than specific ingredients and quantities.

 For four persons:

Drop ½ pound of haricot verts into boiling water.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes.  Drain and cool beans.  When just warm, mix with 2-3 T. vinaigrette dressing.   When beans have marinated several hours, divide into four “piles” on four salad plates.  Lay over the top of each pile, two pieces of roasted red pepper (I just buy them in the jar, but you can, of course, use ones you roast yourself).  Place a dollop (about 3 T.) of garlic boursin cheese on top of the roasted red pepper.  Sprinkle the cheese with a mixture of fresh chopped herbs (I use basil, parsley, and thyme).  Scatter 6-7 Kalamata olives around the bean pile.  Very tasty mix of flavors and very colorful.

LEMON PUDDIDNG CAKES – MEYER LEMON RECIPE

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  • 1 Tablespoon butter for buttering the baking dish

  • 6 large eggs separated

  • 2 cups mile (I use whole)

  • 2.5 Tablespoons grated lemon zest

  • ½ cup lemon juice

  • 1 ½ cups sugar

  • ½ cups all purpose flour

  • ½ tsp salt

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter baking dish or ramekins. I use either a 9×13 baking dish or 10-11 ramekins.    You need a roasting pan large enough to put the baking dish or all of the ramekins inside and then be able to add hot water to the pan.  Separate the eggs and put the whites in a bowl large enough to whip them.  In a medium sized bowl combine the yolks with the milk, lemon zest and lemon juice.  In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour and salt.  Add the wet mixture (yolks, zest and juice) to the dry mixture and stir until blended.  Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Fold the whipped egg whites, about 2 cups at a time, into the bowl with the lemon batter until it is all combined.  Be careful not to over mix so that it goes flat.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans.  For the 6 oz ramekins, I fill them up until about ½ inch from the top.  Set the baking dish or ramekins inside the larger roasting pan and add hot water until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the baking dishes.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until set.  The top will puff up and become golden, but the bottom will still be very soft.  Remove from the oven and from the roasting pan and set the baking dish(s) on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.  Best served warm or at room temperature.

*This recipe works well cut in half if you don’t want to make so much.

LEMON PUDDING CAKE

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  • 2 large lemons

  • ¼ cup all purpose flour

  • Rounded ¼ tsp. salt

  • ¾ cup plus 2 T. sugar

  • 3 large eggs, separated

  • 1 1/3 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Finely grate 1 T. zest from lemons, and then squeeze ¼ cup plus 2 T. of juice.  Whisk together flour, salt, and ½ cup plus 2 T. sugar into large bowl.  Whisk together yolks, milk, zest and juice in a small bowl and add to flour mixture, whisking until just combined.  Beat whites in another bowl until they hold soft peaks.  Beat in remaining ¼ cup sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks.  Whisk about ¼ of whites into batter to lighten, and then fold in remaining whites gently, but thoroughly.  Batter will be thin.  Pour into a buttered 1 ½ quart ceramic gratin or other shallow baking dish and bake in a hot water bath (water ½ way up sides of baking dish) until puffed and golden, 45-50 minutes.

Transfer to rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

ZUCCOTTO FROM TOM PARACHINI

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  • 2 oz. shelled unskinned almonds

  • 2 oz. shelled whole filberts (hazelnuts)

  • 1  10-12 oz pound cake

  • 3 t. cognac

  • 2 T. maraschino liqueur

  • 2 T. cointrau

  • 5 oz. semi sweet chocolate bits

  • 2 cups whipping cream

  • ¾ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drop almonds in boiling water and skin.  Place on baking sheet and put in oven 2 minutes to dry.  Remove and chop.  Put filberts in oven for 5 minutes.  Chop roughly. Reset oven to 250 degrees.  Get a 1 ½ qt. bowl and line it with damp cheesecloth. Cut pound cake into 3/8 inch slices.
Cut each slice on the diagonal.
Moisten each section with sprinkles of cordials and place inside bowl
with narrowest end at the bottom.  Have crust side meet non crust.  Whip cream
with sugar.  Mix in almonds, filberts, and 3 oz of chocolate chopped.  Divide in
half.  Spoon half into bowl.  Melt 2 oz. chocolate.  Fold into remaining cream.  Spoon into bowl.  Seal top of bowl with remaining cake.  Cover with plastic crap and chill for one or two days.

WINTER VEGETABLES

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  • 6 # red potatoes

  • 3 # brussel sprouts

  • 1 ½ # parsnips cut in 2” sticks

  • 1 ½ # carrots diagonally cut in slices

  • 1 ½ # small turnips cut into sixths

  • 3 sticks unsalted butter

  • 1/3 cup horseradish

  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar

  • 1/3 cup minced fresh dill

Steam vegetables.  Mix melted butter, horseradish, dill and vinegar.  Pour over
vegetables.  Keep warm in 200 degree oven.

WILD RICE AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

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  • 1  8 oz package of wild rice cooked

  • 2 large onions chopped

  • 1 stalk of celery chopped

  • 1 medium can mushrooms drained and chopped/sliced

  • 1  ½ # soft cheese (Monterey jack)

  • Coffee cream

Sauté onions and celery in butter until transparent, but not browned.  Add mushrooms, cheese and rice.  Mix well. Pour into Pyrex baking dish.  Add
cream to almost cover.  Bake covered at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes

ANOTHER VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

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  • 3 T. white wine or champagne vinegar

  • 1 t. Dijon mustard

  • 1 extra large egg yolk at room temperature

  • 1 t. kosher salt

  • ½ t. ground pepper

  • ½ cup olive oil

For endive, walnut salad:  5 heads endive, 1 cup walnuts, 6-8 oz. stilton crumbled, and ¼ cup whole fresh flat-leafed parsley.