Fennel Top Pesto

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FennelTopPestoIt’s Green.  It’s Easy.  It has an immense FLAVOR.  It is also very versatile!

Try it tossed into pasta with Feta or Gorgonzola for a simple but amazing meal!

Try is as a condiment with roast chicken, fish or pork entree’s

Slather a thin layer on grilled bread and top with roasted Roma tomatoes and Pecorino Romano for a magnificent winter Bruschetta.

Envision a sandwich featuring thinly sliced roast chicken, Gouda, fresh apple and a thin slather of this magnificent pesto!

Fennel Top Pesto

Save the long, thin stems and frilly leaves from  your next fennel bulb.  Chop it roughly and place in a food processor with fresh garlic and roasted pine nuts.  Pulse a few times to mingle the ingredients and start breaking it down.  Add a little extra virgin olive oil and blend.  Add more oil, a little at a time until it is the desired consistency.  I did mention that this recipe is ridiculously easy?

Enjoy!!  Chef Celinda

Lunch Option

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pork loinLean, flavorful, pork loin is a wonderfully versatile protein to find lurking in your fridge.

Slice it super thin and layer with cheese, pickled peppers or onion jam on your favorite artisan bread,

Cube up a thicker slice and toss with roasted pears and pecans in a wilted baby kale salad dressed with warm bourbon and maple vinaigrette.

Maybe a quick taco appeals?  Julienne the pork and heat with caramelized onion and chipotle pepper.  Spoon into warm corn tortillas with layers of finely shredded napa cabbage and a quick shave of cotija.

How to Prepare Your Pork Loin

Being lean, you need to take extra measures to protect this lovely piece of meat.  Brining is ideal.  Use 1/4 cup of salt to 3 cups of water.  I like to add some honey, a bay leaf, peppercorn and acid in the form of a splash of organic cider vinegar or half of a lemon.  Cook to dissolve salt and honey.  Cool fully, then immerse the roast into the liquid and refrigerate.  Even a couple hours will make a huge difference.  For a larger roast, over night is ideal.  Remove from the brine at that time, or it will affect the overall texture of the meat.

To roast, merely make a rub of your favorite herbs and spices then smear them all over the roast.  If you did have time to brine, you will not need as much salt when roasting. Pop the meat into a 350 degree oven and roast until the thermometer reads 145 degrees.  It cooks fairly fast, so keep an eye on it.  Once out of the oven, please set it aside to rest.  The rest period allows the temperature to permeate consistently through out the meat.  The juices settle, so when you cut it, they don’t run out, resulting in a dry piece of pork.

Have fun creating your own recipes with this low cost ingredient!

Enjoy!!  Chef Celinda

Cracking Up

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walnuts-and-shellsLosing your marbles?  Laughing hysterically, at something not quite funny?  Maybe… Does it matter?  I decided, a long time ago, it didn’t matter in the least!

Embrace your ‘Nutty’ side and bring more NUTS into your culinary repertoire.  Walnuts, in particular, can be a wonderful addition, to both sweet and savory dishes.  They also bring Omega-3 fatty acid and a decent amount of protein to “the table”.

I find it relaxing to hand-shell nuts, like these.  Grab a handy nut cracker and start cracking those big shells!  You may find a certain sense of timeless contentment or…maybe you might want to use this task for a little stress relief, for those annoyances you may have internalized.  Yes, cooking can be quite therapeutic!

Whether smashing things brings you joy or you’d rather just slide into a bag and pull out some treasure, walnuts are easy to work with.  They add a wake up of bitterness, lovely texture and the element of surprise in many dishes.

You have probably seen them used in salads.  All of the elements discussed in the prior paragraph make them a great choice for this.

Walnuts are wonderful, as the primary, or as a secondary component in sauces.  Consider them when working with apples, beets, blue veined cheeses, carrots, eggplant, figs, grains, greens, mushrooms, pastas, pesto and winter squashes, to name just a handful of ideas to consider.

So, maybe you are nuts, but you’re a fabulous Cook!  Enjoy!! Chef Celinda

Coffee: Bitter Blessing

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Coffee BeansYou wake up in the morning.  You’re foggy and a bit disoriented.  You reach for a jolt of BITTER, ie:  Drip Coffee, Espresso, French Press…  I could list more, but they all typically include sugar, an entirely different life changing ingredient we add to our daily chemistry.  Many Seattleites, would claim the consumption of coffee to be a near religious experience.

Today, I am going to discuss using the highly beloved coffee bean as a culinary ingredient.  Yeah, I know!  Life just moved to an even better place!

Whether using Dark roast, with it’s LOUD flavors or Lighter roast, that can be a bit more moderate, even quiet, in it’s expression, you have so many opportunities to create!

Maybe you have already risked it all, combining coffee with chocolate in your baking.  Those two tango sublimely outside your coffee cup!  How about using coffee in savory dishes?

Beef and Pork are great dishes to consider using fresh ground coffee, or espresso beans, as the primary component of a rub.  The big flavors of coffee is incredible paired up with warm spices, spicy peppers, smokey flavored ingredients.

I also like to use coffee in sauces and gravies; even soups and chili.  Have a project that is just not right; no pizzazz, no WOW?  Add some prepared coffee to the liquid you are reducing.  Be careful, it may feel like your kitchen had a little earthquake… Taste it now.  And???  All of sudden, that dish is yelling HELLO!!!  EAT ME!!

Don’t be Bitter!  Have FUN with your FOOD!  Chef Celinda

Zesty!

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citrusDuring, seemingly endless, gray winter days, bringing a little sunshine into our meals is a true bonus.  Beautiful colors, bright flavors, reminiscent of sunny days past or future, give us hope.  That bitter tang from tiny morsels of zest, as it assaults each of our senses and bellows WAKE UP!!

Using the zest, the thin outer edge of the peel not the inner white pith, in recipes adds flavor, but no fat or sodium!  How many ingredients, with that level of WOW, can say the same thing?

The easiest way to make quick flavor adjustments to many dishes, is by keeping a microplane handy in the kitchen.  You can zest directly into the pan or do ahead and have it handy.  It smells sooooo good, coming off the plane in tiny ribbons, as the oils are released into the atmosphere.

If you are in need of a large quantity, you might want to use a grater with a larger surface.  I like to do this over a good size piece of waxed paper.  Less mess and more zest for use.

I particularly like the bitter aspects of citrus zests.  I use it frequently, in any dish that the primary fruit flavor would work with.  Watch Fearless Feast recipes for lots of great ideas!

Enjoy!  Chef Celinda

Chocolate

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chocolateAlmost everyone loves Chocolate.  It is a favorite ‘bitter’ flavor option for many individuals.  Do you think they realize that the bitter aspect is what they love about it?  Possibly not!

Dark Chocolate is a wonderful ingredient to integrate into numerous savory dishes.  You may be familiar with it in Puebla Mole recipes.  It is an incredible ‘secret ingredient’ in chili and it makes a subtle component, when included in rubs for beef and pork dishes.

Chocolate is only grown in a narrow band of latitude around the globe.  Like good wine, it is available from single plantations.  If you get the opportunity, don’t pass up the chance to taste test a variety of chocolates.  You will find them to be amazingly different from one another.  Savor it on your palate.  Close your eyes and delve deeper into the flavor profile.  What do you taste?  The essence of the earth it was grown in?  Spice? Berries?  Coffee notes?  Approach chocolate tasting the same way you would seek to choose a wine.  I will warn you, once you have experienced this level of culinary ecstasy, it’s rather like flying first class…coach will never be adequate again.

You want to buy a product that is high in cocoa; 60% is sweet enough for most people’s eating pleasure, while 80% is best for cooking with.  The difference is the sugar content.  Once again, taste!  Be bold!  Think about those flavors, not the sugar.  What excites your taste buds?

Divine Organics Cacao Nibs

Another great treat to work with are cocoa nibs.  This is chocolate in its non-processed form.  No, it has no sugar, but it’s a more balanced bitter flavor then unsweetened, processed chocolate.  Try adding nibs to risotto that will accompany beef or pork!  You will want to add them at the end of preparation time.  They are wonderful sneaky ingredient to integrate into a dish.  Experiment!

Remember, dark chocolate is high in anti-oxidants, too!  Enjoy!

Too Pretty to Eat?

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LambCCOrangeGremToo pretty?  Never!!  Grab me a fork!

Rack of Lamb with Orange Gremolata

Lamb Rack, frenched, typically eight bones
Rosemary, minced
Garlic, minced
Cara Cara Orange, zested and supremed into separate dishes
Salt and pepper
Italian flay leaf parsley, chopped
Shallot, minced
Pine nuts, toasted

Chef’s Secret:  The key to cooking lamb is patience.  To achieve the beautiful color in the picture, you need to allow it to rest.  If you don’t, when you cut it, all those lovely juices run free.

Cut the rack into portions, allowing three to four ribs per person when using small imported lamb.  If you are using American lamb, it is usually from larger animals, so you won’t need as many ribs per person.

Salt and pepper all surfaces.  Set it aside and allow to come to room temperature.  This creates more even cooking through out.

Mix the orange zest, rosemary and garlic.  Set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet with a small amount of olive oil.  Place the lamb in it, meat side down.  Brown this.  When that is achieved, turn it over.  While the back side is cooking, rub the orange zest mixture all over the meat side of the rack.  Now, put the pan, with the lamb into a 400 degree oven. Cooking time will be determined by the size of the portions.  When the meat is no longer smushy, but beginning to be firm to the touch, pull the pan from the oven.  Transfer the racks, uncut, to a plate and set aside.

While they are resting for 10-15 minutes you can complete any side dishes and make the orange salad garnish.  To make this, combine the orange supremes with the parsley, shallot and pine nuts.

Once the lamb is fully rested, carefully cut between the rib bones to make chops.  They should be beautifully pink, warm all the way through and not losing their juices.  Plate them and top with the supreme salad.

Enjoy!!   Chef Celinda

Lemon Butter Braise

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LemButCod

I bought some beautiful, super fresh, white True Cod at Central Market Saturday.  Looking for a bright, bold flavored dish, I created:

Lemon Butter Braised True Cod

The pieces you bring home from the Market, will be dense at the tail end, tapering to thin wider pieces over the area previously containing the fish’s rib bones.  You will need to cook the thicker pieces longer.  Be aware that the thin ones will be a bit tricky to handle, when cooked, being fairly delicate.  A ‘fish spatula’ is a most useful tool!

True Cod, cut into portion sized pieces
Gluten free flour.  I like to use Red Mill’s 1 to 1 baking blend.
Shallot
Garlic
Unsalted butter
Olive oil
Button mushrooms.  note: other mushrooms, if desired
Fresh lemon
Fresh rosemary, minced
Vegetable stock
Saffron
Coriander
Turmeric, ground
Salt and pepper

Prep shallot and garlic, set aside.  Season the fish portions with coriander, salt and pepper.  note:  I used Rosemary Sea Salt instead of regular salt, but either will work. Dredge in a small amount of the flour.

Melt butter in a good quality, thick bottom saute pan.  Add olive oil, as well.  This will make the butter much easier to work with.  Brown the fish, remove and set in a baking dish.  Place in a 250 degree oven to keep warm, and allow to finish cooking all the way through.  If you make the sauce quickly, the timing will be perfect.  If you work slowly, keep on eye on the fish, so it doesn’t over cook.

Scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge any morsels of remaining fish.  Remove them.  Place the mushrooms in the pan and cook until they start softening.  You will probably need to add additional olive oil.  Now, add shallot. When shallots are about half done, add the garlic and rosemary.  When shallot is lightly browned, add vegetable stock, juice of fresh lemon, saffron and turmeric.  Reduce, season as needed, then mount with additional butter.  Pour over the fish and serve immediately.

Dreary weather take heed!  We culinary soldiers will win this battle!  Enjoy!  Chef Celinda

Sunday’s Comin’!

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porkcandyhashSunday, especially gloomy Winter Sundays are synonymous with BRUNCH.  And a memorable brunch needs to include PORK BELLY!

Pork Candy Hash

This delightful dish was a Parco creation.  You need to plan this ahead, but it’s easy to put together when it’s time to feed all the little Piggies at your table!

For braise:

Pork Belly, uncured

Maple Syrup, REAL, preferably grade B (dark)

Salt

For hash:

Partially cooked red potatoes, diced (peel, if desired)

Apple, cored, sliced with peel still on.  I like to use Pink Lady apples.  Great flavor and color!

Onion, chopped or julienne, as desired

Baby Kale, I always enjoy using Earth Bound Farms Organic Baby Kale blend

Rosemary, minced

Apple cider vinegar, Try Bragg’s!!

Salt and pepper

Eggs, preferably Organic, Cage-free hen eggs or your choice of other varieties

You need to braise the pork belly first.  It’s super easy.  You will need a pan that will hold the belly, laid out and deep enough for the liquid.  Salt the belly on both sides and lay in the pan.  Add cold water to reach half way up the side.  You want it sloshy but not fully submerged.  Now drizzle on the syrup.  If you are in a pinch to make, but don’t have the syrup, try molasses or brown sugar.

To braise, first cover the meat with parchment paper, then seal the top tightly with heavy foil.  Carefully place into the oven.  325 degrees for standard or 300 for convection.  Personally, I prefer to do my braises in a convection oven.  The texture is more consistent.  You will cook this for three hours.  When it’s done, remove the foil and paper then fully chill.

When cooled, carefully remove the fat layer from the top of the liquid and discard.  Notice the beautiful gelatinous brown ‘jelly’ around the pork belly?  You want to save this, it’s BELLY JELLY and makes a wonderful ingredient to enhance other dishes.

Place the cooked belly on a cutting board and cut into portions.  For the hash recipe, you will want to cut each portion into bite size pieces.  Place these in a good cast iron skillet with just enough olive oil to keep them from sticking.  Bring the morsels to temperature.  Be careful, they have a lot of moisture and will pop and snap.  Ow!!!  Once warm, pull from the heat and drizzle with more maple syrup.  No subs at this point!!  Place in a 350 degree oven until they caramelize.

While the belly is lolling about in the oven, place the potatoes, apple slices, onion and rosemary in a size-able cast iron pan.  Note:  if you don’t have any, when you look into purchasing, look at Lodge brand pans.  Excellent quality and will last forever!  Cook potatoes until nicely browned.  The belly should be finished.  Carefully remove the morsels and mix into the potatoes.  You do not want the remaining fat in the caramelizing pan.  Watch that you don’t get burned on the HOT maple caramel!

To finish the dish, add the baby kale and a dash of cider vinegar.  Adjust the seasoning and cook until the kale is just wilted.  Plate and top with a pair of eggs, sunny side up or basted.

This meal epitomized FOOD FUN!!  Enjoy!  Chef Celinda

Football Sustenance

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footballchicken

Football, a word that means you are going to have a handful, or maybe a house-full, of “12th Wo/Men” hanging out to watch the game Saturday!  Can you face another dinner of pizza and wings?  If not, here’s a great dish, that the hordes will love!

Chef Celinda’s Game Day Chicken

Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless,                                                  seasoned with s&p on both sides

Olive oil

Onion, minced

Celery, minced

Carrot, minced

Garlic, minced

Balsamic vinegar

Castelvetrano olives, chopped

Yellow skinned potatoes, peeled and diced

Tomato sauce, preferably made from Italian, San Marzano’s

Oregano and Marjoram

Stock

Frisee

Salt and pepper

Make mire poix with the onion, celery and carrot.  Place this, with the chicken thighs, in braising pan with heated olive oil. When the chicken is nearly done browning, add the garlic.  When soft, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar, then add stock.  I was lucky and had a ham bone simmering nearby.  I kyped a couple scoops of that for my stock!  What a lovely addition.  Chicken or vegetable stock will work fine.  Mine’s just gonna be better… teehee

Add the chopped olives, tomato sauce, oregano and marjoram.  Check the salt levels.  Adjust as needed.  Remember, to keep in mind you will be reducing the liquid, which increases salt percentages, but also adding potatoes, which will absorb it.

Add the diced potatoes.  Stir them around, so they are submerged in the liquid.  Add more stock, if needed.

Cover and allow to simmer until the chicken and potatoes are done.  Add your chopped frisee and cook until it wilts nicely.  Serve with a strong flavors cheese garnish, either shaved are shredded.  Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano will do nicely.  I happened to have a pretty piece of Grand Ewe Vintage Best Uniekaas that was an amazing addition.

Enjoy!!