Country Captain Chicken: My Last Final, Ever (With Recipe for Blanch, Shock and Awe Asparagus)
With some degree of anticlimactic huzzah, I recently made this, my last dish at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School.
The humor was not lost on me that it was Country Captain Chicken, a sort of earthy, southern meal, to end two and a half years of mostly fine-dining training. I imagine this was because chicken is easily purchased and quickly used, things critical to a college kitchen trying to close up shop for the summer.
My last class just happened to be American Regional Cuisine, which I have really enjoyed this semester. The class was supposed to be taught by my PITA Food 4 instructor (who, incidentally, I now adore). But, due to a scheduling issue, the class was taught by a new instructor, Matthew Cooper of Lulav. No, not that guy, a new one. I imagine this one knows how to make sushi.
We did our written and practical final on the same day, which doesn’t always happen. The test had 70 questions. I was the first to turn it in, which always makes me a little nervous… overconfident much? Not really. I only missed three.
We didn’t know what we’d be making for our practical final until just before entering the kitchen. The class was divided and assigned one of two dishes, the Country Captain and a clam chowder. I was glad I got the chicken.
I really relished my last time in the kitchen as a student. For this final, we worked individually, which I enjoy, although I’m also known for often forceful leadership of a group activity. (That’s a phlegmatic/choleric personality mix, for those who are into that sort of thing.)
I finished. It was awesome. Then I realized I forgot to add the raisins, so I scraped off the sauce, fixed the error, and re-finished. Even more awesome.
Not ever being one to leave well enough alone, I asked Chef Cooper if he would mind a bit of liberty taken with the sides. He said that would be fine, with the sides only. So, rather than sautéing the recommended side of asparagus, I broke protocol and used my favorite technique: blanch, shock and awe. (I’m seriously going to make that into a T-shirt.) See recipe below.
The chef dug the food. I got an A.
I had a moment as I walked out the back door, toward the loading dock and trash area that was near my car. Never again will I have the opportunity to learn, play, experiment and grow that I’ve had here. Never again will I be surrounded by such culinary genius, all the time. Never again will I be with this particular group of students, of all ages and talents, who have become some of my best friends.
Here’s to whatever comes next.
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Blanch, Shock and Awe Asparagus
4 servings
- 20 stalks asparagus, woody ends trimmed/snapped off
- Olive oil
- 1 Lemon, zested, halved
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper, fresh ground
Prepare a bowl of ice water while you bring a pot of salted water to boil. Heat a grill or grill pan to high heat.
Blanch the asparagus in salted water for 10-15 seconds, or just until the color becomes a bright green. Immediately plunge asparagus in the ice water for a few seconds to stop the cooking process. Don’t leave it there too long, but remove and dry thoroughly on paper towels.
Drizzle olive oil lightly over the asparagus and rub with your hands to thoroughly coat. Season with salt and pepper, then grill for 5-10 minutes or until the asparagus acquires grill marks and the desired level of charring, if you like.
Remove asparagus from the grill and place in a shallow container. Squeeze one half of the lemon over the asparagus, then sprinkle with the zest. Serve to astounded and awed guests.
Chef Ball 2012 Menu and Photos
Tonight’s Chef Ball was a whirlwind, both for the attendees and behind the scenes. This will be my third time participating, and I’ve yet to hear much of anything from the event room itself.
My place, my passion, at least for now, is in the back, making plates. I had the privilege of helping several extraordinary chefs put together amazing dishes tonight. For those who couldn’t join us tonight, or even for those who were there, I want to share some photos from behind the scenes.
Since tonight was also the night of the Oscars, each course had a movie theme.
Next year, I won’t be a student anymore, and I’m not sure what my role will be for this event. Maybe I’ll have a seat in the dining room. But tonight, I gained knowledge and insight from chefs behind the scenes, and I’ll be a better cook for it.
Hors D’Oeuvres
Presented by Chef Cynthia Malik
Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School
"Mudbug" salad in endive
Associated Southern-Style Fish and Seafood Display (The Help)
- Included peeled shrimp, oysters with greens and cornbread, and (above) “Mudbug” salad on endive leaves.
Plantain chips with black beans, roasted pork and mango salsa.
Plantain Chips, Cuban-Style Roasted Pork with Black Bean and Mango Salsa (Chico and Rita)
Pissaladiere — Onion Confit, Anchovies, Olives and Thyme on Puff Pastry (Hugo)
Millas (Polenta) Topped with Roquefort and Figs (Hugo)
Herbed Goat Cheese and Roasted Beets on Irish Soda Bread with Hazelnut Vinaigrette (Albert Nobbs)
Assorted Guo Tie (Potstickers) with Dipping Sauces (Kung Fu Panda 2)
Appetizer
Presented by Chefs Terri Johnson, CC and Brandon Douglas, CEC
Big Rock Bistro
“Best Foreign Flavor”
Mediterranean-Style Kibbeh Kabob, Deconstructed Blood Orange Tzatziki
Soup & Salad
Presented by Chef Brian Kearns
Country Club of Little Rock
“The Ensemble Cast”
Roasted Apple and Turnip Soup; Duck Confit and Rye; Smoked Trout with Baby Greens, Dried Cherries, Bacon and Truffle
Fish
Presented by Chef Dan Capello, CEC
Chenal Country Club
“Red Carpet Redux”
Citrus Poached Arkansas Catfish with Aromatic Topping, Truffle Polenta, Haricot Verts and Pistachio
Entree
Presented by Chefs Jamie McAfee, CEC and Jay McAfee, CEC
Pine Bluff Country Club
“Beef Oscar”
Whole Beef Tenderloin Medallions, with Asparagus Spears and Lump Crab, topped with Hollandaise Sauce and served with Purple Potatoes
Dessert
Presented by Chef Jan Lewandowski, CEPC
Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School
“Concession Stand Connoisseur”
Chocolate and Caramel Bouchon with Candied Popcorn
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Making Indian Food at the Rockefeller Institute (And a gluten-free naan recipe)
Lisa Fischer being adorable.
For the record: Lisa Gibson Fischer is adorable.
Though she is mostly known in central Arkansas as the effervescent co-host of B98.5′s morning radio show, Fischer is also an excellent cook, hosting the “Made from Scratch” series entry focusing on Indian cuisine at the Rockefeller Institute in Morrilton earlier this month.
I felt a little strange cheating on my homies over at Pulaski Tech, but this was subject matter I hadn’t learned yet. I had wanted to take International Cuisine this semester, but it didn’t fit into my mommy-schedule. I also wanted to check out the new Rockefeller Institute, a stunning educational and meeting facility seated atop Petit Jean Mountain. With culinary education all the rage these days, they built a lovely teaching kitchen, with a stadium-seating lecture hall alongside a small hands-on lab area.
In the class, we started off with naan bread (a puffy, yeasted flatbread), a chicken coconut curry soup, and a mango lassi (mango puree with yogurt).
Shall I interject: I have been SO good lately with the gluten-free thing. But this day…there was just something about making bread. I hadn’t made yeast bread of any sort since going GF. I. Couldn’t. Resist.
Another participant's lovely naan and coconut soup.
I ate at least one whole naan, maybe more. It was in pieces, to feed my self-deception that I would only eat a bite. So, by the time we’re working on the next dishes, my eyes are puffy, I’m exhausted, and my muscles, which have avoided significant pain for several months now, started to cramp and seize.
Sheesh.
Anywho, it was probably worth it. The naan is DELISH. (See below for my gluten-free version.)
While I sank into glutenized stupor, we made Saag Paneer and Coconut Shrimp Curry, both surprisingly mild and delicious.
Surprise bonus: My seating neighbor and lab partner just so happened to be Dr. Meenakshi Budhraja, a gastroenterologist who is on the cutting edge of all things relating to food and/as medicine. She and I have tried for months to get together to finish a journal article we’re co-writing on the topic, and our schedules haven’t jelled. More on that another day.
I could go on about all the details of the event, but I’ll just say you should sign up for (1) Lisa’s “repeat” coming up at KitchenCo with the same recipes, and (2) anything at the Rockefeller Institute. It’s a stellar facility with a fantastic staff, culinary and otherwise.
Back to the naan. After driving 45 minutes or so home in a glutened haze, I knew I had to come up with a gluten-free version. As of yet, I had only stockpiled GF flours, hoping to one day have the time to play. I made the time when I got home.
Enjoy!
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Gluten Free Naan Bread
(Inspired by Bread in Five)
- 160g brown rice flour
- 110g sorghum flour
- 255g potato starch
- 1 T. yeast
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 T. xanthan gum
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/3 c. lukewarm water
- 2 T. + 2 tsp veg or olive oil
- 1 T. honey
Mix the flours, starch, yeast, salt, and xanthan gum REALLY (no, really) well in the bowl of your stand mixer. I am generally against sifting, so I used a whisk to mix things up thoroughly. You could also use the whisk attachment of your mixer. Now place the dough hook on your mixer and proceed.
In a separate, small bowl, break up the eggs a bit with a whisk or fork.
In yet another bowl or largish measuring cup, combine the warm water, oil, and honey.
Pour the eggs into the flour mixture and mix a few seconds. With the mixer on low, slowly add the water/oil mixture until completely emptied.
What’s left in your mixer will slosh around for a few minutes and generally look like a big, sloppy mess. Keep it up.
Depending on your local humidity and altitude, and the questionable accuracy of this, my first gluten-free baking recipe, your dough (like mine) might be a bit soft. This is to be expected, really, as GF doughs tend to come out more like batters. Don’t freak.
The sticky dough of my gluten-free naan.
Cover your dough and let it rise in a warm place for an hour or two. I have a warming drawer now, but I used to just run my dryer for a few minutes and then place the bowl inside. Instant proof box!
Now, to form our naan: If you have a Silpat, now is the time to bust it out. This stuff is sticky. Sprinkle on a fair amount of rice flour, a little more if your dough is intolerably wet and sticky. Pinch off a golf-ball sized piece of dough and place it on top of your heavy dusting of flour. Sprinkle another heavy dusting of rice flour on the top, all over, so it won’t stick to your method of flattening.
Rolling out the GF naan.
This flattening method is variable, depending on what you’ve got to work with. My awesome hubs got me a Silpat rolling pin for Christmas, which was perfect for this. If your hubs isn’t as awesome as mine, you can pat down your naan using a sheet of plastic wrap or a cut storage bag. Either way, get it down to about a 1/8″ thickness.
Use a large spatula to loosen the dough and get it off the mat, then use the mat itself (or the spatula, if it’s holding together well) to transfer your naan to a waiting, hot skillet with some oil or butter inside. Oh, yeah. Get that ready first, will ya?
GF naan all cooked up on one side, and about to flip.
I browned the naan on one side, flipped, and browned on the other, and that was enough to cook it through. If yours is thick in spots or otherwise doesn’t seem to be cooking all the way, you can cover it and let it steam a bit.
The dough is quite forgiving if you tear it on the way to the skillet. I’m certainly not advocating that you actually reach your hands down in a hot skillet to press the dough back together, but I’m just saying, I may have done so, and it may have worked.
I scarfed this stuff down with some homemade rice-noodle soup that night, and it was glorious. Hope it works out for at least one or two of you, too.
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Veggie Sushi at Home
If your new years’ resolutions include saving money on meals and cutting down on meat products, some veggie sushi might be just what you need. If you also want to teach your kids how to cook and appreciate healthy meals, then, booyah.
My 9-year-old has gained an appreciation for sushi, so I added it to this week’s semi-vegetarian menu. I decided it was time for her to try making something entirely on her own, so once I had made two rolls, she got to do some all by herself. She did great.
Big Kid sushi, coming to a plate near you! Or, at least, near me.
This recipe is particularly useful as a last-minute choice, given you’ve stockpiled some sticky rice and nori, because you can use just about anything in your veggie drawer. I planned ahead and bought cream cheese, but you could use tofu (as a vegan option, thx Jeff Hicks) or leave it out altogether.
Veggie Sushi
- Sushi Rice (see recipe below)
- 3-4 sheets nori (sushi-making seaweed paper)
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin sticks, about 1/8″ square and 4″ long
- 1 roasted red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (Buy jarred or do it yourself)
- 1/4 cucumber, cut into thin strips
- 2 oz. cream cheese or extra firm tofu, cut similarly to above
- Sesame seeds, toasted or not, optional
You could spend all day freaking out about technique on this one. Or, you can do like we did and just wing it based on what you think you may or may not have seen before. Either way, it will taste pretty good, even if it’s not as pretty as what you bought at the sushi joint in town.
I’ve found that breaking the full-size nori sheets in half makes a prettier roll, at least for beginners like me. Wrap your bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap and place the half-sheet on top, near the edge closest to you.
Oh, yeah, the water. Keep a small bowl of water near your work area, or you will be, as they say in Japan, sorry.
Wet your hands and get some of your finished sushi rice, then carefully spread it in a thin layer across your nori. I say carefully because it will generally STAY where you put it. If you want your rolls to be nori-side out, leave about a half-inch uncovered across the top for a seal. (If you prefer rice-side out, this isn’t necessary. Now’s the time to flip the whole thing over on your mat. Not you, nori-side-out people.)
This was our first roll of the night, with a sprinkle of bonito (dried fish) flakes. Meh. Also found it easier to place the cream cheese first.
About halfway down, lay down a solid line of your cream cheese or tofu. On top of this, start laying down your slices of veggies. Less is more, as too much will make the roll impossible to, well, roll. I use about four pieces of each item, slightly overlapped.
And now, the rolling. Don’t freak.
Okay, so Big Kid rolled hers from the top. No big deal.
Wet your fingertips and dampen the upper edge of the nori to act as a seal. Using the bamboo mat underneath, roll up your, er, roll, snugly but not with too much force. When the mat reaches all the way around, be sure to move it outward and not roll it up with your sushi! Oh, heck, just watch a video somewhere and see.
Once you’ve rolled it all the way, use the mat to give the roll a firm hug. It’s about to be your best friend! Unroll and move it to a cutting board.
With a VERY sharp, dampened knife, cut the roll exactly in half. Put the two halves against each other and do it again, so you have four equal pieces. Dampen and cut again with sets of two until you have eight equal pieces.
Serve proudly with soy sauce (use tamari if you’re gluten free) and chopsticks.
Sushi Rice
- 2 cups sticky rice (also called sushi rice)
- 2 cups cold water
- 2-3 T. rice wine vinegar (I like mine more tart)
- 1 T. rice wine (mirin), optional
- 1 T. sugar
- 1 T. kosher salt
You can find sushi rice in larger grocery stores in the Asian foods area, or at Asian specialty stores. In the Little Rock area, you can’t go wrong with Sam’s Oriental on University. Just don’t use regular rice, or you will be sorely disappointed!
Check the bag of rice to see if your variety requires rinsing, as many newer ones don’t. Unless it says not to, you’ll need to rinse it in a wire colander under cold water until the water runs clear. Place the rice and the 2 cups water in a rice cooker, or in a medium saucepan brought to a boil, then a low simmer and covered until done (check your bag for cooking times, but should be about 15 minutes).
While the rice cooks, place the vinegar, rice wine (if using), sugar and kosher salt in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. If you’re using the rice wine, cook until it simmers just a bit to cook off most of the alcohol. Otherwise, all you need is enough heat to melt the salt and sugar into the vinegar.
When the rice is fully cooked, spread it out on a sheet pan. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice, occasionally “cutting” the rice with a butter knife or spatula to mix it in without damaging the grains. Allow the rice to cool completely on the pan. (If you want go all traditional or if you’re in a hurry, you can use a folding fan to help the cooling process along, a fun task for the kids.)
Bonus Recipe for Ghetto-Fab Fried Rice: Scramble and fry an egg, remove from pan and chop it into tiny bits. (Or finely dice some tofu, season with tamari and sauté.) Cut your leftover veggie strips into tiny cubes and sauté in a tiny bit of sesame oil or broth. Add your leftover sushi rice, the egg, and some soy sauce or tamari. Stir. If you can be bothered, add some sliced green onion. Delish.
Vegetarian Adzuki Bean Stew and Potatoes
I love adzuki beans. L-O-V-E.
Never heard of them? I hadn’t either, until I did a special elimination diet a few years ago that focused on lots of legumes and vegetables. (I may be going back to that soon, at least temporarily; more on that later.) They’re extremely flavorful and packed with all kinds of nutrition.
During our recent kitchen construction, I bought a bag of adzuki at Whole Foods, hoping to use them in my slow cooker. I never did. Until today!
Here’s the recipe I created, adapted from a few things I found online. The potato twist came from a quick Twitter convo with famous slowcooker maven Stephanie O’Dea. I ended up using my divided crock, because my cooker is huge and the recipe isn’t. I had already learned from Stephanie that a crock must be at least half-full to cook properly. So…was it OK to only use one side?
She said yes (I love Twitter), but said, why waste the space? Throw some potatoes or corn in there. I had just picked up some nice, waxy reds at the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market, so why not?
Vegetarian Adzuki Bean Stew and Potatoes
- 1 1/2 c. dry adzuki beans, sorted
- 2 fresh tomatoes, concasse (see instructions)
or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained - 1 large or 2 small-med leeks
- 1 small onion, small dice OR 2 T. dehydrated onion flakes
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and julienne cut
- 2 T. soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
- 3 T. miso paste OR 1 cube vegetable/mushroom boullion
- 1 tsp. sriracha sauce
- 1 T. paprika
- 2 T. AP flour
- 3-4 c. water or vegetable broth
- 4 medium waxy red potatoes
If you have a large, divided slow cooker, you can prepare both the stew and potatoes at the same time. If not, you can cook the potatoes in the microwave or in the oven just before eating.
Soak the beans overnight before cooking. There is some dissent about whether or not adzuki require this, because they are very small; I wasn’t sure, so I soaked them. Rinse the soaked beans and put them in the slow cooker.
If using fresh tomatoes (and if it’s summer, I hope you are; if it isn’t, I hope you’re not), you’ll do a fancy trick called concasse. Mark an “x” in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife. Bring a small pot of water to the boil, and prepare a small bowl of ice water. Carefully place the tomatoes in the boiling water for one minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and put them in the ice water. You should now be able to easily peel the tomatoes. Peel them, cut them in half or quarters, and squish out all the seeds and gushy stuff with your thumbs. Fun! Cut the remaining tomato pulp into dice. Add this (or your slacker canned/diced toms) to the slow cooker.
Split the leeks lengthwise and cut into 1/4″ pieces. Place these pieces in a wire mesh strainer or colander and work the layers as apart as you can, then rinse and drain. Sand and dirt hide in these layers, so be sure to get it all out!
Add the onions, garlic, carrots, soy sauce, miso or bouillon, sriracha, paprika and flour. Stir to coat, then add enough water or stock to cover the mixture by about a half inch.
If you’re slow-cooking the potatoes in the other side of a divided crock, cover each one with foil, and put them in the other side with no liquid. If you’ve only got starchy, baking-style potatoes, that would be fine, too; just serve as a baked potato with the stew over the top.
Turn your cooker to low and cook for 8 hours or so. It’s the “or so” that I love about slow cookers…a little more or less is fine. Just check that the beans are done, and you’re golden.
When you’re ready to serve, remove the potatoes and allow to cool just a bit. Then slice them (for waxies) or split open the tops (for starchies), sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, and ladle the stew over the top.
Lest you think I was stingy with my stew in the above photo, it was just to keep it pretty. Hubby’s was so slathered you couldn’t see the plate, much less the potato. I ate mine (above) with an extra side-cup of stew.
Enjoy!
Pesto, Marinara and Meatballs (Or, breaking in the new kitchen)
My kitchen remodel is nearing the end. Most of my new pretties are usable, minus the ovens. Those are installed and plugged in, taunting me with their little digital clock; alas, I have to wait until new electrical service is pulled to actually use them.
Meanwhile, I’m making up for about 6 months of not cooking, other than at school. It wasn’t enough.
Hubs had a long, yuck day at work, and the daughter was craving something familiar to eat. Spaghetti! My sauce is easy and delish.
But I had to add a few points for style and difficulty: Italian meatballs. Cooked in the sauce. Yessss…..
I didn’t even look up a recipe. Here’s what I did, roughly:
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 fresh hot dog bun, pulled into small bits (not kidding)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c. or so of dry Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (I guess…it was a 6-inch branch, stripped)
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
True Italians might disagree, but I like using dried herbs in something like this that will cook a little while. The rosemary gets a pass because it is so sturdy; be sure to mince it to almost dust and it works just fine.
Oh, and about that meat…I only ended up with about a 1/4 lb. of the beef. My new microwave is apparently superpowered, even on defrost, and cooked my frozen brick to a rock-hard brown oblivion. I was able to rescue the middle. Moving on.
The fresh bread may sound gross if you’ve never used it that way before, but it’s essential to Italian grandma tender meatball goodness. I just happened to have some leftover hot dog buns after July 4, but any ol’ soft bread will work.
Mix all that stuff gently with your hands. (Yeah, get over it.) Add more dry breadcrumbs until the mixture is just solid enough to hold a ball. Then, make a bunch of ‘em, a little smaller than a golf ball. Hold all these on a sheet pan near your cooktop.
Then, in a heavy Dutch oven (I love my enameled Lodge), put 1 part olive oil and 2 parts vegetable oil over medium high heat, enough to cover the bottom of the pan by about a half-inch. Exact proportions are not essential. Using tongs, put five or six meatballs in at a time, turning them after each surface browns. I like to flip to the opposite side, then turn sideways, with a few turns to get brown all around.
Note to the OCD out there: They will be wonky. The first fry will flatten one side, then the other. If you want perfect spheres, get a deep fryer.
The purpose here is not to cook the meatballs all the way through, but to brown them with crispy yumminess. After the last batch, pour off the oil, deglaze with about 1/2 c. red wine or broth, then follow my marinara recipe. When you’re about 30 minutes from done, drop the fried meatballs in. (Photo below is of fried-but-not-yet-dropped.) When the sauce is done, you can cut a meatball open to check for doneness, or use a temperature probe and look for 160 degrees.
While I waited for the sauce to finish, I should have been getting my pasta water on to boil. Instead, I got super-ambitious and made pesto. A friend just gave me a boatload of basil, and that puts it somewhere along the lines of a moral obligation. Like banana bread.
In case you were wondering, you can use a stick blender. In fact, I’m thinking it’s pretty much an awesome way to go.
I turned my still-half-packed kitchen upside down the past two days (basil languishing in the fridge) looking for my food processor. Turns out I loaned it to someone and forgot, but that’s another matter…
After a quick innernets search, I found a lovely vegan blog with a post expounding the virtues of making pesto with a stick blender (also called an immersion blender…you know, that thing you use to make shakes!).
Anyway, now you know, and I do too. And another pasta dinner is ready for tomorrow.
Anyone wanna come help me with all these dishes?
Kontomire Stew from Ghana
Kontomire Stew with Shrimp
I know, I owe you, dear reader. I’m working up a piece on the kosher dinner from a while back, a photo follow-up on the Chef Ball, and some other stuff. But I’m so excited about what I made last night and had to share.
I’ve mentioned before a dish I had almost two years ago in Ghana that I’ve craved ever since: Kontomire stew. It took me over a year to locate some of the ingredients I thought were essential (palm oil and agushi seeds), found in central Arkansas at Sam’s Oriental, of all places. Then I made it on a whim last night, without said weird ingredients at hand, in Meat & Seafood class at Pulaski Tech, and it was a.ma.zing!
In class we worked with lobster (yes, we had to stab the poor thing in the head — I somehow skated around it), crab and shrimp, and were assigned to create whatever dish we wanted with the shrimp. I thought of the kontomire, which is made with pretty much any protein you want (cubed beef, fish filets, etc.) but works well with seafood.
The chef loved it and gave me a rare 5/5 product rating, and said he would order that dish in a restaurant! Maybe I’ll have it for you to buy someday, but for now, here’s a rough recipe.
Kontomire Stew
- Olive or palm oil
- Small white onion, small dice
- Four cloves garlic, minced
- One or two hot peppers, small dice (I used two jalapeños)
- Two tomatoes, seeded and diced (shock and peel if you want)
- 15 oz. tomato sauce (I’m guessing here…doesn’t have to be exact)
- 2T dried bonito flakes, soaked in 1/4 c. hot water and held (optional if you can’t find it)
- 1 tsp. cayenne powder (or to taste)
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 8 cups fresh spinach, stems removed, or 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 10-12 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Heat about 4T of oil in large pan and add onions. Cook about 5 minutes or until softening and beginning to brown. (Don’t burn!) Add peppers and cook another 5 minutes. Add oil if product gets dry or onions start to burn. Add tomatoes and garlic, and cook for 10-15 minutes, again being careful not to burn the onion and garlic. During this time, when product gets dry, gradually add the bonito flakes and water and stir.
Add the tomato sauce, cayenne and crushed red pepper, and cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture will be very thick.
Add the spinach and raw shrimp, cover. Cook until spinach is wilted and shrimp is just cooked through, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to turn shrimp.
Serve with plain white rice, or more traditionally, boiled plantains. Traditionally eaten with the bare right hand, but we’ll let you use a fork. 
Winner Mini-Chicken Dinner! (Well, Cornish Hen…)
So, here we are, in another semester at Arkansas Culinary School at Pulaski Tech. I’m glad to be back!
This semester, I’m taking a much lighter load, for several reasons. I couldn’t get my school schedule to fit my momma schedule, and besides, the kids and hubs and I needed a breather. So just 12 hours this time.
I’m having to sit out on Food Production 3, which is bad for two reasons: first, I’ll be a little behind, but mostly, I’ll miss cooking. That’s the class where you really turn it out!
So, I was glad to find out that the Meat & Seafood class, which I’m taking this semester, now cooks every week as well as the normal butchery and such. We’ve already taken apart several chickens (WOGs, or without giblets), and this week we added ducks and cornish hens.
We even completely deboned two cornish hens each this week…yup, a completely boneless little bird. Kinda neat presentation for stuffing, but it takes forever!
We got a third cornish hen to cook however we wanted, and my mind went…mini. The hen is shaped just like a teeny little chicken, so why not quick-roast it with teeny little veggies and a sauce with enough flavor to be huge?
I broke down the hen (meat-speak for cutting into pieces), then marinated the breasts and thigh/leg pieces in olive oil, red wine and balsamic vinegar. While that got happy, as my buddy Emeril used to say, I went in search of veggies.
In the walk-in fridge, I found pearl onions and small mushrooms. Score. In the kitchen, I found baby potatoes. Double score. Baby carrots were nary to be found, but one of the school chefs (not my instructor, but in the kitchen) suggested I tournée some regular-sized carrots.
I think it was some sort of sick joke, because tournée is one of the most despised tasks of any culinary student, and the least used in the real world. You basically cut a firm vegetable into little seven-sided footballs. Evenly. With a knife.
But for some reason, I decided to do it.
In case you care, here’s the rest of the rundown:
- Blanched the potatoes and carrots in boiling water for a few minutes.
- Sautéed all the veg together in some of the marinating liquid, mostly oil, and some butter. Really got some good color on them, and even did the cool flippy thing in the pan like a pro. I’m learning!
- Seared the meat in the pan, then put in the oven to finish.
- Made a sauce with fond, more red wine, thyme. Cooked out the booze and reduced, added butter.
- Plate meat and veg. Pour sauce through strainer, then over stuff. Add fresh thyme. Yum.
If you have any questions about exactly how to do these things, leave me a comment! Glad to be sharing with you again.
P.S. My new kitchen at home is scheduled to be installed Feb. 7. Maybe then I’ll add more home-cooking how-tos!
Love for Lodge / Photo Diary of White Bean and Kale Soup
Final soupy goodness! Yommmm.......
I’m in cooking withdrawal.
Over the past couple months, we’ve been in various stages of moving, and my pots and pans still haven’t surfaced. But during the process, I made one purchase that made it all OK…my enameled cast-iron pot by Lodge.
It’s awfully similar (actually, identical) to the Le Creuset version that’s about $200. I paid $35 for this at Walmart. And I’ve used it for everything from making soup (see below) to boiling pasta and making grilled cheese.
I win.
Last night, I made a killer white bean and kale soup in said vessel. I took some fun photos of the process, so here you go, dear reader. And remember…salt pork makes everything better.
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- First, I cut the rind off some salt pork and cubed it, then placed it in the pre-heated pot.
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- The salt pork begins to render, or melt the fat. No need for other oils.
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- The salt pork is finally rendered, with all the fat liquified and the meat crisp. I then pulled out the meat with a slotted spoon and left the fat.
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- Next, I added half a diced onion to the fat and cooked it until nearly clear.
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- My haphazard mise en place (my prep bowls are still packed!).
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- Added the diced orange bell pepper and celery to the cooked onion. Garlic went in a bit later as not to burn it.
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- After cooking down the other veg, I added some washed and chopped kale. Yummy, seasonal and nutritious! Looks like it fills the entire bowl but it cooks way down.
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- After cooking down the kale, I rinsed 3 cans of cannellini (Italian white kidney) beans and stirred them in to soak up some porky goodness.
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- Closeup of the veggie/kale/bean goodness.
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- I had the stock (homemade from previous night’s roasted rosemary chicken) simmering in an adjacent pot (the only other one I can find). I ladled it into the mixture until the proportions looked right.
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- Final soupy goodness! (Well, minus the pork bits I forgot to photo, stirred back in later.) Yommmm…….
Choy: Learn It All, But Chase Your Passion
Chef Sam Choy serving his Hawaiian Tuna Poke.
Learn basic knife skills and don’t quit, even if you’re the dishwasher, said chef and television personality Sam Choy during this morning’s appearance on the Pulaski Technical College’s LR-South campus.
Choy demonstrated two dishes and various knife skills during the demonstration, while sharing insights for students of the college’s Arkansas Culinary School.
Choy noted that many accomplished chefs have minimal knife skills or may not know how to break down a chicken or pig, and as students we now have the opportunity to learn these things.
In a later interview, Choy added that culinary students should take advantage of their time in school to experience as much as possible, and at the same time find an area of focus.
“You’re trying to balance school with the rest of your life, and some things may fall through the cracks,” he said. “But try to do as much as you can, and at the same time focus on what grabs your interest. Then you’ve found your focus, what you like to do.”
He also encouraged small famers and growers in Arkansas to cooperate with chefs in bringing local foods to the restaurant table.
“Farmers are no different than any other profession, in that they want to make sure change will be profitable for them,” Choy said. “But slowly they will start turning [toward growing for restaurant use]. The most important thing is growing food to be enjoyed on the table.”
Choy has appeared on Ready…Set…Cook! and Iron Chef America on Food Network, and will soon debut a show called What’s for Dinner? on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The new show will feature surprise visits to homes in which he creates a meal based on what he finds in the kitchen.
The dishes Choy demonstrated were poke, or Hawaiian dishes of various diced ingredients.
Sam Choy’s Hawaiian Salmon Poke
- 2 lb. Alaskan wild salmon, large diced
- 1/2 c. Soy sauce
- 2 T Sesame oil
- Medium white onion, diced
- Medium cucumber, diced
- 2 Scallions, sliced
- 2 Avocado, diced
Mix ingredients well and serve cold.
