For Caroline...Brulee recipe

• 1 large egg
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup for the berries.
  
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
  
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (Grand Marnier or Bouchant
• Juice of one lemon
  

Add the berries, sugar and lemon juice to a bowl and toss to combine. Let sit for at least 2 hours.

Slowly combine the egg, yolks, and sugar in your mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed. You can do this by hand with a whisk just to be too aggressive. After the yolks lighten in color a bit slowly add the cream in a slow steady stream. Add the vanilla and almond. Add berries to ramekins or stoneware dish and pour the custard over them.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 325, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch or benz0matic (my favorite) until the sugar caramelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Dinner for the Devine.

As I mentioned yesterday I had the privileged of making dinner for a special friend of ours and her family. The circumstances leading to this were not the best but all things considered I wanted to try and give them a few moments to focus on something different. This was never an attempt to one up anybody in the rotation, this is just what I like to do. Feed me with your friendship and wisdom and I will feed you from my soul. The menu was as follows:

Coconut milk and curry roasted beef shoulder with onion, fennel,
and peppers done in a clay pot.

Shitake mushroom and fig quinoa with sage and thyme

Not pictured were some roasted pears and a dandelion and radish greens salad
with lardons and a warm bacon shallot vinaigrette

A macerated berry creme brulee with vanilla
and Bouchant

The little Devine's enjoyed a baked ziti with herbed chicken
and spinach and some cookie brownie bars.

I am hoping it gets rave reviews. There is nothing I enjoy more than spending a day in the kitchen cooking for others. Some of these were new recipes. This was also my first attempt at making a dessert without assistance from Mr. Heins or Ms. Crocker.

Mangia!

Austin Trip

Sorry about the absence. We had some sick cranky babies and the went dow n to Austin to see the Grandparents. We had a great time and got to hit some of our favorite spots. We started with lunch at Trudy's. It is almost obligatory to have a margarita or Mexican martini while there. We went out that night to see if it would really be that bad considering it was the closing weekend for SXSW. It was worse. We were going to see Dexter Freebish at the Saxon Pub but parking was a bitch. We loved the stares we got pulling up in a mini van. C'mon people. Parents gotta rock out too. We bailed on downtown since Vespaio and Gueros we packed. We decided to head for the lake and had drinks at the Hula Hut. After that we hit Slick Willie's to play some pool. Who knew my wife had some mad skills. Mad enough to win 2 of the 7 games. Good times.

We really enjoyed our time there. Since the weather was nice we took the parents to Iguana Grill to enjoy the view and some more margaritas. We got some great pics of the family. Next time we are going to head back ot Cafe Blue. This is the location but not the original incarnation of a place built and opened by a buddy named Jeff Currington and his buddy Van. It is built on the lake below the flood plane. The used cocnrete, stainless steel, and teak for the construction and sealed the electrical system so then when it flodded they could take all the equipment out. and then come back and hose it down and reopen.

Tomorrow I get the privilidge of cooking for a good friend who's dad is in the hospital. I am planning a nice clay pot roast with curry and coconut, mushroom and fig quinoa, a dandelion and radish salad with a warm bacon shallot vinagrette, and a macerated berry brulee. I am also doing a nice baked ziti for the kiddos. I will let you know how it turns out.

Holy Spit!

I solemnly swear that at some point this year I will spit roast a whole pig and we shall have a kick ass Luau! Not sure where. Not sure when. But I will keep you posted. Thanks for the inspiration Grocery Guy.

My Choice

My mom picked up a pack of Tuldy's chili seasoning and enjoyed it. She was kind enough to bring some up to me and I was an instant convert. The combine the perfect level of spice, smoke, and richness. The recipe is simple and you can customize it how you like. Their tortilla soup mix is kick ass as well. I have not found a retailer in the DFW area yet so I stock up on our trips to Austin. They also sell online.

Achiote and Chile Pasilla Marinated Chicken Roulade

Per your requests. This was inspired by a dish I had 12 years ago from a restaurant named Xena in Austin. Unfortunately it was well ahead of its time and closed. The chicken was breaded and baked but the avocado sauce was what set it apart.

Marinade-

Rehydrated 4 or 5 dried chiles in water just off the boil. I used Pasilla and New Mexico for this one but you could use Arbol, Cascabel, or even Chipolte if you like. Once they have softened remove the stems and split them and discard the seeds. I bought and ground whole Annatto seeds for the achiote. I recommend buying your achiote already ground because this was a heck of an ordeal. They do not give it up easily.

Combine the chiles and achiote powder in a food processor with some vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, minced garlic, lemon zest and honey. Blend it until completely incorporated. Set aside.

Chicken-

Butterfly boneless skinless breasts and pound out with a mallet until they are about 1/8th of an inch thick. I usually do this in a large ziploc storage bag with a little oil in it to contain the mess. The oil helps prevent the chicken from tearing apart when pounding.

Put the breasts in a bowl or ziploc bag with the marinade and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

After allowing the chicken to rest don some latex gloves and lay it out on a work surface covered with plastic wrap. Achiote is commonly used as a food dye and for makeup. It will stain your skin and surfaces if exposed for a period of time. Lay down slices of Manchego, thinly sliced panchetta or seranno ham that has been browned in a saute pan (put this pan aside and don't discard the rendered fat from the ham), and sage leaves on one side of the breast. roll the breasts up and remember to tuck the ends into contain the cheese. Secure with toothpicks. Set aside.

Roasted Corn Salsa-

Soak 4-5 whole ears of corn for 10-15 minutes. Toss on the grill for 12-15 minutes turning occasionally. The outsides will char but don't worry. Remove the husks and silk. Cut off the end where the husk is and stand on end. Run your knife down the sides and remove the kernels.

Peel and grate one bulb of Jicima. Dice a red and green bell pepper, 1/2 onion, shallot, and garlic. Add this to a large bowl with the corn and toss with the juice of one lime, one blood or regular orange, some chopped cilantro and a couple table spoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside

Mashed potatoes.

Peel some white or creamer potatoes and boil in salted water until soft. Strain and set aside. Saute one diced onion, shallot and garlic in the pan previously used for browning the ham. Add a little oil if needed and salt and pepper. Cook this down for 5-7 minutes until the onions are soft. Increase the heat and add 1/2 cup of Bouchant, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier. Hold a lit match over the pan to ignite and burn off the vapors. If you cook on gas just tilt the pan and it should flare up. If you get nervous about the flames keep a lid close and simply cover the pan to put it out. Make sure all your friends are around for the show of course. After the liquid has reduced add this to the potatoes with 1/2 stick of butter, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of heavy cream 1 tsp of ground mustard and 3 table spoons of horseradish. Mash this all together and a salt to taste.

Avocado Sauce-

Split and scoop out 5-6 avocados. Roughly chop or smash them up. Add to a saute pan with 3 gloves of minced garlic, 1 cup of cream, 1/2 stick of butter. Heat until just warmed through and transfer to a blender. Add a few sprigs of cilantro and some salt. Turn on and puree slowly adding 1/2 cup of olive oil and salt. If the sauce is still a little tight slowly add warm water to get the desired consistency.

Final prep-

Grill the chicken and remove when cooked through. Remove the tootpicks and slice into medalions. Put a spoonful of potatoes in the center of the plate and ladle the sauce around the rest of the plate. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes and drop some corn salsa on top. Enjoy!

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

My Choice

Every cook has his workhorses. You 10 inch sautee pan, your bag o' magic spices, and of course your knife. I received my first Global for Christmas 9 years ago. I dropped it on my bare foot the first time I used it and almost severed the tendon to my big toe. Since then it has served me well and cut me very rarely. It is lighter and less fatiguing than my heavier Henckels and Wusthoffs and the balance is great. The handle provides great grip even though it is all metal. And the 5 degree blade angle makes a real difference.