orecchiette bolognese

ingredients:

ground beef
ground pork
bacon
garlic
shallots
onions
carrots
sweet basil
red wine
heavy cream
canned san marzano tomatoes
tomato paste
red pepper flakes
dried oregano
nutmeg
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
orecchiette

directions:

1.  prepare the mise en place.  finely mince the shallots, garlic, onion, carrot, and bacon.

2.  mix the ground beef and pork together.

3.  slowly render bacon bits in pot.  after bacon fat has rendered, turn heat on high and saute the ground meat.

4.  when meat is nicely browned, add in the carrots, garlic, shallot, onion, a pinch of chili flakes, some dried oregano, and season with salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

5.   after a few minutes, add in some red wine and the tomatoes.

6.  simmer the sauce on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.  then add a pinch of nutmeg, a splash of red wine, a dash of heavy cream, and the basil.

7.  while the sauce is reducing, cook the orechiette in salted water.

8.  drain the orecchiette and spoon into a big serving bowl.  top with the meat sauce, garnish with more basil and serve immediately.  (freshly grated parmesan optional)

chicken rice soup, crispy skin

ingredients:

one whole chicken
onion
shallots
celery
carrots
thyme
sage
parsley
chicken broth
white wine
cooked rice
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper


directions:


1.  remove the skin from a whole chicken. set aside.  season chicken.  

2.  chop up the mirepoix. 

3.  boil chicken in half parts broth and water with some white wine.  add in a sage leaf and a bouquet garnet of thyme.  when brought to a boil, throw in the carrots, celery and onion.  

4.  when the chicken is cooked through, remove the chicken.   set aside some of the cooking liquid in a small sauce pot.  shred the meat and put into sauce pot adding some more white wine and let simmer.  season to taste.

5.  add some cooked rice into the broth and using a immersion blender, blend to desired consistency. 

6.  in a nonstick pan over medium high heat, place chicken skins fat side down and slowly render out the fat. when the chicken fat has rendered and browned, flip them over to brown the other side, and season with salt.  you can press the skins down with a spatula to get even browning. when the skins are crispy and nicely golden, remove and let drain on paper towels.  

7.  brunoise more celery, carrot, and shallot.  set aside.  reserve some of the celery leaves.

8.  using the fat rendered from the chicken skin, begin to saute carrots.  season as you go.  when carrots saute for a min or two, add in the shallot, and then lastly add the celery.  remove from heat.  you still want a bit of a crunch from the celery.

to plate:  mound some of the chicken meat in the center or a bowl.  top with the sauteed vegetables.  spoon the hot chicken rice soup around it.  top with celery leaves and garnish with the crispy chicken skin and a sprinkle of parsley.  

below is a shot of the vegetables and chicken meat before the soup was spooned around it.

gnocchi with braised lamb shank

ingredients:

red wine braised lamb shanks (see recipe July 4th posting)

1 lb russet potatoes 

3 egg yolks

flour

parmesan

kosher salt

sea salt

freshly cracked black pepper

directions:

1.  prepare the braised lamb shanks.

2.  bake the russet potatoes on a baking tray lined with kosher salt.  when potatoes baked, scoop out the insides.  grate potatoes either using a potato ricer and any grater will do.

3.  add the egg yolks, parmesan, sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste to the grated potatoes. mix well.  slowly incorporate some flour into the potato mixture using a folding method until the potato "dough" hold well together without sticking to your hands. 

4.  roll out the potato dough and make gnocchi.  (you can look it up on youtube if you need a visual.) 

5.  heat up a large pot of salted boiling water.  while the water is heating, remove lamb shanks from the sauce and reduce the red wine sauce further to a thick gravy consistency.  shred off the lamb meat with tongs and return to the sauce. 

6.  cook the gnocchi for about 1-2 minutes until they float to the top.  drain gnocchi and lightly toss in the lamb sauce.  garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.  

chicken katsu udon

ingredients:

chicken katsu (see recipe in previous post)
dried wakame
thick seaweed
bonito flakes
shiitake mushroom
carrots
spinach
corn
scallions
soy sauce (or udon soup base)
hon dashi
mirin
canola oil

directions:

1.  prepare the udon broth by boiling thick seaweed chunks and bontio flakes with water.  add some soy sauce, mirin, and hon dashi.  throw in some carrots and shiitake mushrooms and keep warm.

2.  prepare your mise en place. blanch the spinach and set aside.  cut the corn from the cob and lightly saute in some canola oil. set aside.  (you can throw the corn cobs into the udon broth to give it more flavor if you like)  slice the scallions and reconstitute the dried wakame in water.

3.  in a separate pot, cook udon noodles and place into bowls.  do not wash the cooked udon in cold water.  top the hot udon with some spinach, corn, and wakame.  ladle piping hot udon broth into bowl.  be sure to get some carrots on shiitakes in the bowl as well.  top with chicken katsu, garnish with scallions, and serve immediately.