Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

New Potato Salad with Dill Dressing

2 Lbs Red potatoes
2 Stalks celery diced
5 Green onions chopped
3 Sprigs fresh parsley minced
1/4 C Mayo
2 T Sweet relish
2 T Sour relish
2 T Sour cream
2 T Fresh dill chopped
2 T of Favorite bottled BBQ sauce
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot of cold salted water, add potatoes (add addl water if needed to insure the potatoes are covered. Bring to boil and cook until a toothpick is easily inserted in a potato-about 20 minutes. Drain and allow potatoes to cool enough to handle but not cold. Cut into quarters. In large bowl, toss potatoes with remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at lest 2 hours. Adjust seasonings. Serve chilled.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Dutch Oven Baked Beans

1/2 lb dry white beans cleaned
3 C vegetable stock
2 Jalapenos seeded and diced
1 Small white onion diced
2 Cloves garlic minced
2 C packed dark brown sugar
1/4 C Tomato paste
4 Pieces bacon diced
2 T Mustard powder
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Soak beans over night in 3 cups of water.
In dutch oven, brown bacon and remove pieces with a slotted spoon. Set aside. Add onions, garlic, peppers, and tomato paste. Stir so that all the vegetables are covered with tomato paste. Drain beans and add to pot with the stock. Add mustard powder and brown suger. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Add bacon. Cover and simmer for 5 hours or until beans are tender. Adjust seasonings.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Pierogi With Carmelized Onions

For Dough
3 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling
3 Russet Potatoes
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 large egg beaten
Peel and boil potatoes and mash potatoes. While the potatoes are still hot, add flour, salt, and egg. Turn out on floured surface and kneed until dough comes together. Form a ball cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For Filling
2 Large yellow onions thinly sliced
3 T Butter
1/2 T dill weed
1 t fresh thyme chopped
salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy skillet over low heat, sweat onion with herbs until the onions become light brown, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings and allow mixture to cool.

Prep
Roll out dough and cut rounds with a biscuit cutter. Fill each round with 1/2 T of onion mixture. Fold dough in half to shape, pinch edges to seal (egg wash can be used to help seal the edges)
Drop dumplings into boiling salted water. When they float, remove with a slotted spoon or spider. Set aside.

To Serve
Melt 1/4 C butter in non stick skillet. Add dumplings in small batches to lightly brown dumplings on both sides. Remove batches to warm platter and keep warm in oven on low heat.

Can be served with the traditional sour cream or apple sauce mixed with sour cream

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Yellow Watermelon Salsa

1 Small seed less yellow melon
2 Jalapeno
1 Small red onion
1 ancho chili pepper
1 Clove garlic
Juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper to taste

Remove seeds from peppers and rough chop. Dice onion. Mince onion. Remove rind from melon and rough chop. Add all to a glass or plastic bowl, add lime juice and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Adjust seasonings and serve chilled.

Note: I prefer a chunkier sauce.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Quinoa With Roasted Peppers

1 C quinoa washed and drained at least 3 times.
1 Red bell pepper
1 Yellow bell pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 Shallot minced
1 Bay leaf
1 Clove garlic minced
1 Sprig fresh thyme
1 1/2 C vegetable stock
1/4 C olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all peppers in olive oil (keep the unused oil to sweat shallot and garlic). Roast in 350 degree oven until the skin blisters. Put peppers in plastic bag for 10 minutes for easier peeling. Remove skin and seeds from peppers. Rough chop peppers. In heavy pot, sweat garlic and shallots. Add peppers and quinoa, stocks and herbs. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cover pot and cook for 15 minutes. Remove herbs and adjust seasoning.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Sweedish Meat Balls

1/2 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb Ground Pork
2 Slices Stale Bread
2 C Beef Stock
1 C 1/2 and 1/2
1 Egg
1 Small Onion Minced
1 T Ground Nutmeg
1 T Allspice
2 t Garlic Powder
Flour
S/P to taste

Soak bread in 1/2 C of 1/2 and 1/2. Add onion, seasonings, egg, and meat. mix well. Refrigerate for one hour. Form meat in to 1 inch balls.
Bake meatballs in cast iron skillet at 350 for 40 minutes. Remove meat from skillet and set aside. Add enough flour to skillet for a basic roux. Whisk over low heat for 2 minutes. Add stock and remaining 1/2 and 1/2. Adjust seasonings, return the meat to skillet and cook over low heat to desired consistency.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Fish Tacos with Smoked Corn Salsa

Corn Salsa:
4 Ears smoked corn on the cob
2 Jalapenos minced
2 Cloves minced garlic
1 large green bell pepper seeded and diced
1 Chipotle pepper minced
1 Red onion, diced
1 Roma tomato seeded and diced.
1/4 C Fresh lime juice
1 T Cumino
Mix all ingredients and store in plastic container over night.

6 Talapia, Catfish (or 3 oz. portions of cod filets)
1 C whole milk
1/2 C canola oil
1 T Cayenne
Corn meal for dredge
12 Corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak fish in milk for 2o minutes, drain. Season fillets with cayenne. Dredge in corn meal. Saute fish in small batches keeping cooked fish warm (I use a paper towel covered plate and put them in the microwave). Warm tortillas in remaining canola, and drain. It should take less than a second to warm each tortilla.

Serve two tortillas stacked with each fillet, top with salsa.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Butter Beans with Ham

1 lb Lima beans
3 C Water (plus addl as needed during cooking*)
1 Bottle Shiner Bock
1/4 lb diced ham
1/2 Yellow onion diced
2 Jalpenos seeded and diced
3 T Chili powder
1 T Cumino
1 T EVOO
S/P to taste

Soak beans in water over night. In large heavy bottom pot, cook beans over low heat until almost tender. In a large heavy skillet, brown ham in olive oil, add onions and jalpeno and cook until onions are translucent. Deglaze skillet with Shiner, and add all to the beans. Add seasonings and continue to simmer until beans are tender. Adjust seasoning.

Freezes very well.

* additional water my be needed during the cooking process unless the beans are cooked in a lidded crock pot then only 1 additional cup of water is needed.

What Would Chef Do?

Hints for Families of 4 or less (fine, 4 or more can use these as well)

First things first. Make friends with the produce an meat managers. They have the ability to hook you up. Ask them if there are any bargains coming up.
Buy a whole pork loin when they are under 2.00 a pound, Cut it and portion is and into zippy bags (out of one loin, I usually get 3 3lb roasts, slice some of it thinner and pound them out for snitze, or picattas, I also can get USUALLY a 1 lb pc to make into canadian bacon.
Get whole chickens when ever possible (there are plenty of on line tutorials on how to break it down)
When getting fresh produce, blanch and shock it then portion it out and freeze it.
Same for brisket. Get one un-trimmed and do it yourself. Brisket is not only great smoked but I cut it into 1 in cubes and use some for chili. Let your imagination run wild.
Make a 1 week menu. Match up like items and cook them all at once, Chill what you are not using for the first meal.
Example: Roast a whole chicken. Have 1/2 a one for dinner-should feed 2 (on line tutorials for how to PROPERLY carve it) and you should have enough to make chicken and sausage gumbo later. Just chill it and then skin and bone it, Add the meat during the last 5 minutes of cooking to warm the meat thru.
You are going to have rice two times so go ahead and make enough for both meals at once.
Left overs. There are LOTS of things to do with them. Think soups, stews, casseroles, as potential fillings for a quiche (go ahead and buy the crusts or I go crustless myself). Use stuff in a salad for lunch or dinner. These are perfect ideas for say, you really only have a little bit of this and that.
Prep: If you know you are going to use diced onions for two-three recipes, cut em all at once. Store chopped veg in cold water in the fridge so they stay crisp.
Never waste smoke. Smoke meat and veg as you can. Chill down food, portion out and freeze. Comes in handy for rainy days.
Chefs think (they have to) well in advance and plan accordingly-including if something gets messed up( and it will).
Ever notice on cooking shows like Diners, Drive Ins they start cooking something on the stove and finish it in the oven? The reason is it frees up space on the stove and things finishing in the oven generally do take much tending. Most MOST things finish cooking at 350 for 15 minutes or less.
If you don’t own a convection oven with rotiss, you can get a counter top model for 75.00. They cook food faster and the rotiss is great. Don’t you love self basting food?

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Braised Round Steak

2 lbs Round Steak
3 Carrots Rough Chop
3 Stalks Celery Rough Chop
1 Small Red Onion Rough Chop
1 8oz Can Stewed Tomato
1/4 C Bacon Drippings or Canola Oil
2 Cloves Garlic Rough Chop
2 T Smoked Paprika
1 T Dried Oregano
1 T Golden Raisins
1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary
1 Jalapeno Rough Chop
S/P to taste
Flour for dusting.

Cut edges of steak to prevent curling. Dust with flour. In dutch oven, brown steak in bacon fat over medium heat. Add veg and seasonings, cover and simmer for at least 2 hours. Remove meat to a warm sheet tray. Strain veg and return liquid to dutch oven on medium heat. Reduce sauce by 1/2. Serve sauce over meat and mashed potatoes.