Chef On Call

Tomato Powder

I am starting a new feature on my Chef On Call blog called tips. As a personal chef and an all around lover of food and cooking, I am frequently asked by clients and friends about how to cook certain items, various ingredients and food related products. Case in point, a couple of weeks ago during oral surgery, my dentist started asking me what pots he and his wife should buy since they were in the market for a new set. Needless to say, it is hard to express an opinion while two people have their hands in your mouth. (For the record, I recommended All-Clad if he wanted to make a serious investment, which is what I use at home or Cuisinart, which is what I use for my personal chef business. I bought them because they were reasonably priced but they have held up to some heavy duty use and mistreatment.)

Today's tip is a relatively unknown product called tomato powder. I found it online at The Spice House and now use it regularly.  It is great in recipes that call for a small amount of tomato sauce where you don't want to open a can or you don't have any on hand, but it is also great in marinades and rubs to boost the rich tomato flavor. The bright red color looks great, too.

I'm Back but I Digress

I know I have been gone for a long time. It is not for a lack of cooking. Actually, I have been cooking more and I think been a more creative cook for the past few months. I just haven't felt like writing. I have been keeping up with lots of food blogs and getting inspiring ideas from them. I just didn't know what to write.

This all started last December as my father's health deteriorated. He had been sick with emphysema and heart problems for two years. He wasn't supposed to live past December but he did. My relationship with my father has ranged from tolerating each other (barely) to outright anger and hostility. I am his only child and for some reason, I never quite measured up. To be fair, many other people in his life felt the same way but as his daughter, I found it very difficult growing up because I didn't feel there was a good reason for his anger towards me.

As his health deteriorated before Christmas, he refused to go into the hospital. This put a horrible burden on my 79 year old mother and resulted in multiple stressful phone calls daily to me. But I didn't know what to do. I got very angry at my father for continuing to make my life difficult and I started to cry. I was sure I was going to have regrets after he passed away; that this was all my fault and that I should have tried harder. No matter that any attempt to fix the situation were met with yelling and screaming.

I was a wreck. January was worse as my father's health got worse. His doctor again tried to hospitalize him but he wouldn't go saying he wasn't going because the only way he would come out was in a box. It just wasn't fair to my mother and myself. We had tried hospice last year, but he was so horrible to the nurses that they left and refused to come back. From the middle of January on, my father could not leave the house. By the beginning of February, he could hardly get out of bed.

I decide on February 13 to go visit my father and help my mother out with some things around the house. I hadn't seen my father since Christmas; it was very awkward to look at him like that. I was so
angry with him for all the pain he has caused me over the years. He refused to attend my wedding finally changing his mind when he realized that we were going ahead with or without him. He didn't speak to me for two years because I purchased a new car and he wanted to pay for it and have me make monthly payments to him so he could take a sales tax deduction on his taxes and I said no because I wanted to establish my own credit (I was just out of college at the time). I really just wanted to yell at him but I didn't say much of anything. I had been crying off and on for over a month and was tired. Tired of him and tired of allowing him to interfere with my life.

After a couple of hours, I said goodbye. I didn't kiss him or anything. I just said goodbye. He looked sad but it was time for me to go. He died that night.

I haven't cried since. I actually feel peace now. I have a wonderful life; a fantastic husband and two wonderful children, a great career.

I feel no regrets. Back to cooking and writing.

I'm Just Here For The Food: Version 2.0

I just ran off to Barnes & Noble to pick up Nigel Slater's latest book, The Kitchen Diaries. Bon Appetit writes about it in the December issue (more on this book after I get a chance to read it). As I was perusing the latest arrivals, I stumbled across Alton Brown's "new" book. I put new in quotes because this book is basically a rehash of his great book "I'm Just Here For The Food".  I am such a big fan of all things Alton Brown that I was ready to buy the book with hardly a glance when I read on the cover that there were only 15 new recipes and some refrigerator magnets.  This book will be great for anyone who doesn't have the first version but stay clear if you already have it. I am a bit disappointed, Alton hasn't had a new cookbook out in a long time so he is definitely due, but this is a poor excuse for a "new" cookbook.

Chicken Pot Pie

I was craving chicken pot pie the other day.  Recently, I started getting into the habit of making an extra roast chicken any time I make one for dinner.  I can then use the leftover chicken for all sorts of applications from pizza to tacos to soup.  This week I searched for a recipe for a very traditional pot pie and found one that sounded very appealing in a new cookbook from the Culinary Instutute of America,  One Dish Meals They give you the option of using store bought pie crusts or puff pastry;  I went with the latter to excellent results.  I made the filling in the morning and stored it in the fridge in the casserole dish I was going to use to bake it.  I let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before placing the puff pastry on top.  Cut a couple of slits to vent and popped it into a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes until the pastry was golden, brown and delicious.  Dinner was delicious, the puff pastry was flaky while the filling was flavorful and comforting.  I found the prep to be about 40 minutes and the rest of the time my little pie could just bake in the oven unattended.  The recipe calls for 2 pie crusts or pastry sheets so you could make individual crocks but I used one large dish and I only needed one sheet of pastry.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp flour
3 cups chicken broth (I used a bit more to keep it moist)
salt & pepper
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced red or yukon gold potatoes
4 cups diced cooked chicken meat
1 cup green peas thawed if frozen
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
2 9-inch prepared pie crusts or puff pastry sheets

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.  Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until pasty and thick, about 2 minutes.  Add the broth, whisking well.  Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick, about 15 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the carrot, celery, and potato and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the chicken and peas and remove from the heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in the chopped parsley.
• Spoon the filling into individual crocks or a baking dish.  Cut pie crust or puff pastry dough to the appropriate size (I rolled mine out to fit my dish and crimped the edges) and cover the filling.  Cut vents in the crust and press the edges to seal.
• Bake the pot pie until the crust is golden and flaky, about 45 minutes for a large pot pie and 25 minutes for individual crocks.  Serve immediately.

Sunday Dinner

I love Sunday dinner.

It is my favorite meal of the week.  I thoroughly enjoy having a leisurely (although with two children it isn't that leisurely) afternoon to make a meal that requires more preparation than time allows during the week.  Growing up, my mother who is British, used to make our Sunday dinner at 2:00pm and then we were on our own for a light supper.  So, I am used to roast beef with Yorkshire pudding as a typical Sunday meal.
Around Thursday or Friday, my thoughts turn to what to make for Sunday dinner.  I have to take into account what activities are planned for the day but nothing makes me happier than to realize we don't have anything planned and the weather is suited to a nice heavy dinner.  Yesterday was this day.  My kids were going to the movies with their Grandmother and I really didn't have anything to do except make dinner.  How perfect.  I started dreaming about roast chicken and settled on a recipe from the new The Bon Appetit Cookbook (purchase includes subscription to Bon Appetit magazine) .  I made this recipe once before and really liked it.  It seems like an easier version of the infamous The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant Roast Chicken so I could cook and watch football (Go Cowboys!).  I was all set to go and then....our cesspool backed up!  With our cesspool company unavailable yesterday, the instructions were to use as little water as possible until today.  No cooking because we couldn't clean up.  We were reduced to pizza and salad take out.  I was so disappointed. 

But today is another day and the cesspool has been pumped and we are back in business.  Roast Chicken with Arugula and Bread Salad are on the menu tonight.  I will try and remember to take some photos for you.

Roast Chicken with Arugula and Bread Salad

8 cups 1 inch cubes country style white bread

1 7lb whole roasting chicken (I'm using 2 4lb birds)

1/2 cup low salt chicken broth

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

3/4 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup dried currants

3 bunches fresh arugula leaves (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place bread on large rimmed baking sheet.  Bake until bread is lightly toasted, about 6 minutes.  Set aside; maintain oven temperature.

Season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.  Place breast side up on rack in heavy roasting pan.  Roast chicken 1 hour.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.  Roast chicken until juices run clear about 45 minutes longer (with smaller birds, mine usually takes about one hour in total).  Tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Pour pan juices into 4-cup measuring cup (do not clean pan).  Spoon off fat from top of pan juices, returning 2 tablespoons fat to pan.  Add pan juices, broth, and vinegar to pan.  Set pan over 2 burners and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits.  Add green onions and currants.  Simmer 3 minutes to reduce liquid slightly.  Remove from heat.  Add bread to pan and tosswith juices.  Mix in arugula.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with chicken.

Roasts

I don't hear of many people preparing roasts anymore.  Sure they come out around the holidays or special occasions, but not on a regular basis and certainly not during the week.  But I find them to be immensely satisfying and delicious and also easy to prepare.  Once you prep the roast which usually only takes 10-15 minutes, you are free to tend to other things (like blogging).  Right now, I am enjoying the smells of a 4 pound pork roast (did I mention that I dream about pork but I digress) that is happily cooking away in my oven.  I placed it in a small roasting pan along with a bag of sauerkraut (that would be the contents of the bag, not the bag).  I seasoned the roast by cutting slits into it and filling them with slivers of garlic along with salt, pepper, ground caraway seeds, and ground coriander.  I popped it into the oven (400 degrees) and in 1 - 1 1/2 hours, we will be feasting.  To round the dinner out, we are having buttermilk mashed potatoes and sauteed chard.
I especially like making roasts on Sundays and I like to have different types of meat.  Roast beef, pork and lamb cooked to medium rare are my favorites.  So next time you are looking for something delicious to eat, think about a roast; you won't be disappointed.

Here's The Story

I haven't been posting very much lately but I have been cooking.  My schedule has lightened up a bit so I have had more time to cook and more time to come up with ideas for cooking.  My only problem has been that I am craving fall foods (soups, stews and hearty comfort fare) but the weather keeps switching back and forth.  As a result, I have subjected my recipe testers, i.e. my family, to hot dishes on equally hot days.  A few weeks back after serving my chicken and dumplings, I started thinking about stuffed pork chops.  A family favorite, I usually make them with a bread stuffing seasoned with herbs and cheese.  So this time, I came up with an idea to make them lighter but very intensely flavored.  I figured sauteed wild mushrooms, pancetta, garlic, arugula and romano cheese would create a great filling for these beautiful pork chops.  I was going to make roasted acorn squash and potatoes on the side with a light mustard cream sauce.  But then I got a cold and I couldn't be bothered to cook.   A couple of days went by before I finally made the pork chops.  The filling smelled fantastic and everything was going well until I cut up one of the chops for my daughter and took a taste.  YUCK!  The pork chops had gone bad!  Very gross.  I was so disappointed because everything looked so good.  The smell was still in the air from the stuffing (I guess my cold covered up the bad smell of the pork!).  Now what do I feed everyone for dinner?  It was 4:45pm and my son had football practice.  I resorted to chicken nuggets for the kids but what should the hubby and I eat?

I sent him on his way to football practice while I came up with plan B.  I quickly defrosted some frozen shrimp and tossed them with some Cajun seasoning.  A quick saute over high heat and they looked good.  I tossed in the roasted acorn squash and potatoes with some of the mustard sauce and dinner was served.  I served the extra mustard sauce on the side.  My husband pronounced it to be delicious and even my son enjoyed the shrimp.  Success out of disaster!

I remade the chops a week later and they were great.  Juicy, moist and very flavorful.

Pork Chops Stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Pancetta and Arugula

• 8 oz. pancetta, diced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs butter
• 4 oz. wild mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 tbs white wine or vermouth
• 1/4 cup grated romano cheese
• 4 bone in pork chops large enough to stuff
• salt and pepper to taste
• Mustard Cream Sauce (recipes follows)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat.  Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Add olive oil and butter to pan until butter melts.  Add mushrooms and cook until reduced and slightly brown.  add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add white wine and cook until almost evaporated.  Toss in the arugula.  Add back the pancetta.  Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine and wilt.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Add romano.
Cut a slit into each pork chop and loosely stuff.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in a small roasting pan on a rack.  Add a small amount of water to the bottom of the roasting pan and cook for about 30-40 minutes.  Check the temperature of the chops, it should be 145- 150 degrees.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  Serve with Mustard Cream sauce underneath the chop.

Mustard Cream Sauce

• 1 cup light cream
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth or stock
• 1/4 cup coarse grain mustard
• 2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a gentle simmer.  Cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.  Serve.

The Bon Appetit Cookbook

I was very excited when I heard that Bon Appetit was going to publish a cookbook.  I have enjoyed the Gourmet cookbook immensely but was a bit disappointed at the yellow type for the recipe titles.  I found it hard to read especially if I just wanted to curl up and read the book.  I also enjoy the Bon Appetit magazine more than Gourmet.  I find the recipes more approachable in Bon Appetit.  I was hoping that Bon Appetit would put out a cookbook equal to or better than Gourmet.

I have to admit that I have not been disappointed by this book but it is not exactly what I expected.  Bon Appetit calls its recipes “a sophisticated twist on a beloved classic” and that is definitely true.  I have made a few of the recipes so far and have enjoyed all of them.  Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil turned out juicy and moist with a lot of flavor.  Salmon with Arugula, Tomato and Caper sauce was complex in flavor but easy to prepare.  The Potato Gratin with Mustard and Cheddar Cheese was sophisticated comfort food with the mustard adding a unique flavor.

I found myself drawn to the desserts in this book which is very unusual for me.  I am not a dessert person but I found some of these recipes drew me into preparing them.  I first made the Black and White Cupcakes with my two sous chefs, ages 8 and 5.  They were very good but son didn’t take to the homemade vanilla frosting.  Next up was the White Chocolate Mousse Torte with Oreo Cookie Crust.  I served this for a dinner party to rave reviews.  My favorite recipe by far has been the Lemon Crumb Cake.  Crumbly in texture with fresh lemon juice and peel, the lemon flavor just shines through.  My husband and I couldn’t’ stop eating it!

I said earlier that this book was not exactly what I expected.  I thought this would be the kind of book that one would turn to when looking for a classic recipe but it really does “twist” the recipes into something else.  The Gourmet cookbook and the Bon Appetit cookbook work great together.  Turn to Gourmet for the classic and then check out Bon Appetit for something unique.

Chicken & Dumplings

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  It is not for the lack of cooking, but the lack of time to post.  My kids went back to school (yeah) with my daughter starting kindergarten.  It has been a bit of adjustment for all involved but it usually includes an afternoon crises when she gets home.  This leaves me with less time to create my dinners.  I have been trying to make dinner earlier in the day so we don't have to resort to the dreaded takeout. 
I have been finding myself craving fall produce and hearty comfort foods despite the still mild temps here on Long Island.  I feel a little silly making chicken soup when it is 80 degrees out.  This happened again the other night when I got the idea for Chicken and Dumplings.  I started the planning process before the clouds cleared and we topped out at 82 degrees.  This dish of course was a bit heavy but none the less delicious.   My toughest critics even liked it with my son saying it was the best dinner ever.

Chicken and Dumplings

Serves 4

1 tbs olive oil

1 3-4 lbs chicken cut up
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp salt
3 carrots coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks coarsely chopped
1 medium onion cut into eighths
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 tsp herb de provence

1 cup frozen peas

Dumplings

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Sprinkle the chicken with the poultry seasoning, paprika and salt.  Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat and cook the chicken until browned.  Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.  Add the carrots, celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and simmer until fragrant.  Add the wine and reduce by half scraping up the bits from the bottom.  Return the chicken to the pot and add the stock and herb de provence.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 45 minutes until the chicken is tender.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter and keep warm.   

To prepare the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.

Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes.  Arrange the chicken and vegetables and dumplings in shallow bowls.  Ladle some broth into each bowl.

The Bon Appetit Cookbook

Have you pre-ordered your copy of what seems to be the hottest release of the year?  I am hearing a tremendous amount of buzz about the new cookbook from Bon Appetit.  Over 800 hundred pages long with 1,200 recipes, this book should prove to be an excellent addition to any cookbook collection.  I am anticipating this book to be similar to the outstanding Gourmet Cookbook (although I hope they didn't use yellow ink for the type; who came up with that idea?  Did anyone at Gourmet actually try to read the book before it came out?) but I usually find Bon Appetit recipes to be more approachable so I am hoping that will be the case with this book.

I will have a review for you next week after I receive it.