Live a Little Rich

The holiday season always brings out the best in luxurious eating in Laura's Kitchen! This season, lux dish of the year was a lunch entree of Pan Seared Duck, served with Foie Gras and Celery Root Puree, and garnished with Apricot Demi Glace and Apple Mint Jelly. Just to hit the nail right on the head, the entire dish was scented with truffle oil for that intoxicating aroma.



It was such a treat for all of us, and I personally made a comment about how disgusted I was by how rich the entire dish was. It's a good thing we only eat like this once a year. Gone are the days when Foie Gras was a weekly menu item! (Yes, it's true! For a stretch, sometimes even nightly...) But this made lunch so much more special knowing that it was a rare occasion for such exquisite ingredients.

I'm also past the point of doing individual platings - for such a small party, family style dining is far more intimate with everyone having to help themselves from the same plate. It's sort of a fine dining food meets casual eating concept, and I'm kind of enjoying it so far!

My recipes are typically easy to work with, and can be whipped up in no time at all, but I thought that for this holiday season, posting a fine food recipe would be fitting. One of my favorite side dishes to serve is the celery root puree. It's sort of like an upgrade to your regular potato puree (I remember when Potato Puree was all the rage, it was basically butter with some potato), but with that unique hint of celery flavor, and neutral flavored enough to pair with almost any entree. Mmmmm...

Celery root (celeriac) is kind of an ugly vegetable, and looks like a turnip that has overdosed on some radioactive soil, with dirt trapped between the crevices of knobs sticking out of the surface. Tiny roots are usually still attached to the whole bulb, making it seem like it has a life of it's own. Ew. However, unlike most root vegetables, celery root only contain 5-6% of starch, so it's also a healthier alternative to something like potato.


I wasn't kiding about it looking like a mutated turnip

It's sort of amazing how an ugly vegetable can bring out such delicious flavors after just a little processing - so here's the recipe. Let me know what you think!

Celery Root Puree
1 ea Medium Sized Celery Root (about the size of a large potato)
1 ea Medium Yukon Gold Potato
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

Salt and White Pepper to taste

1. Using a knife, cut around the celery root to remove the thick skin
2. Dice the celery root and set aside
3. Peel the Potato, and dice into cubes the same size as the celery root cuts
4. Bring a pot of water to boil, and salt well
5. Add the celery root and the potato and cook until potato is just done, about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the cut
6. Strain vegetables and place in food processor. Add cream
7. Puree until very smooth, then season with salt and pepper to taste, pulsing to incorporate flavor
8. Serve immediately, or leave to cool
9. To reheat, place puree in a metal bowl over a water bath, and gently warm

Know Good Gnocchi

I had a couple of friends over for dinner on Saturday, and in keeping with the pasta craze, I served up an awesome potato gnocchi gratin.

Cooking with gnocchi frustrates me - for most of my life, I could only ever use gnocchi if and only if I made it myself (kind of like the same gripe I have with make carbonara from dried pasta). And, of course, Gnocchi is such a pain to make, I don't ever want to bother with it.

Trader Joe's saved me quite recently though - now that they have one open at Town & Country, I've spent hours perusing through the aisles and shelves, and have found the perfect packaged gnocchi. It's imported from Italy, fresh, vacuum sealed, not doughy or chewy, and overall, just made quite well! On a funnier note, that one day I stopped at TJ's to buy a bottle of rum, I forgot my ID, got carded, and was refused the purchase. Well, if I were them, I would card me too.

Anyway, I decided that since I seldom make my own pasta anyway, why should gnocchi have a different standard anyway? So, I caved into buying one (two actually) of those TJ gnocchi packs.

I had some Cambazola (a triple cream blue cheese) in the fridge, and wanted to use it in the sauce, but thought that a blue cheese gnocchi would just be too boring. After all, they sell the same stuff in the frozen section at TJ's already! The perfect winter sauce for me is always a brown butter, and I didn't get to make any brown butter pastas this fall, so I thought it would be a perfect incorporation into this dish! And, you can't have brown butter without having sage - it's a classic pairing!

In the end, the sauce was a simple bechamel, laced with sage brown butter, and then spiced with cambazola for a the final kick! I stuck the whole gratin in the oven till the sauce started bubbling and the top got all crusty, and there we had the perfect winter side dish!



Here's the recipe:

Gnocchi Au Gratin with Sage Brown Butter & Blue Cheese
Serves 4

20 ea Sage leaves
8 Tbs Butter
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Lb Spinach
2 Tbs Flour
2 cups Milk
1 tsp Nutmeg, ground
0.5 cup Creamy blue cheese, like cambazola or gorgonzola
0.5 cup Bread crumbs
2 Tbs Oil
Salt to Taste
4 Servings Gnocchi, cooked

1 Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, until bubbling and just turning brown
2 Add the sage leaves and fry until crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and blot on paper towels. Salt
3 Remove 2 tablespoons of browned butter into a saucepan, and throw in the garlic and spinach
4 Saute until spinach cooks down and then remove from heat to reserve
5 Add the flour to the remaining browned butter and cook over low heat, whisking constantly
6 Once flour is cooked through (about 5 minutes), add the milk and whisk until sauce is smooth
7 Add the nutmeg, and season the salt, under-salting to compensate for the cheese
8 Cook the sauce for another 5-10 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the cheese until everything is smooth
9 Crumble the fried sage leaves, and mix together with the breadcrumbs and oil
10 In an oven proof dish, toss the Gnocchi, blue cheese sauce and spinach together.
11 Top with generous sprinkles of sage breadcrumbs
12 Bake in the oven at 350F until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes

Vongole on Steroids!

Following my attempt towards the 101 ways with Pasta, I stopped for clams and pappardelle at the market before heading home one evening. Unfortunately, it turned out that the pappa was not the right noodle for the dish, but it was a very good dish nonetheless. A thicker, rounder pasta like spaghetti or linguine would probably have worked out better, because thin pastas like pappa tend to absorb all the sauce. With a thin sauce like this one, you don't want to dry the dish out.

I usually go all out with my staple white wine & clam juice base plus a bunch of other stuff (recipe here), but I wanted this pasta to be ready in 20 minutes, and just plainly delicious. I could have gone with the classic vongole, but with the pancetta in my fridge, I thought I would just kick it up a notch, (as well as saving it from going bad)! Plus, I also made a quick green pea soup, and thought that a sprinkling of pancetta would go very well!

The result? And overwhelming medley of flavor - this is one dish that does not go by the nickname "Bland"! Because it's such a bold pasta with plenty of layers, this is not the clam pasta that goes with a crisp white wine! Serve with a nice pale ale, and all will be well!



Vongole on Steroids

5 cloves Garlic, thinly slices
2 oz Pancetta, diced
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 cup Crisp white wine, like a Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, (no chardonnay)
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/5 Lbs Clams, fresh
4 oz Baby Spinach Leaves
2 Tbs Butter, Cold
2 Tbs Parsley, Minced
2 ea Anchovy fillets, mashed

1/3 cup Grated hard cheese

Cooked Noodle Pasta for two - Linguine, Fettucine or Spaghetti works well

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saute pan
2. Add the diced pancetta, and cook till nicely browned. Remove from pan and reserve
3. Add the garlic slivers to the pancetta drippings and saute until just cooked, but not browned
4. Add the White wine and Chicken stock, and bring to a boil
5. Reduce white wine mixture until about 1/3 cup
4. Add the clams and spinach to the liquid, and cover
5. Steam clams for about 5-7 minutes, or until the open up
6. Take the saute pan off the heat, and swirl in the cold butter, parsley and anchovies
7. Toss with pasta and cheese
8. Garnish with browned pancetta and serve immediately

Something Old, Something New

I'm on a pasta roll for sure.

Once of the best things about pasta is that you can toss it up with almost anything, and sometimes the best combinations are those that were "chapalang" thrown together from anything and everything in the fridge.

It's a great way to use leftovers too. I had to fix dinner quite quickly with just a stark supply of food, and came up with the following: Spinach, Cheese (Always have this in your fridge please), Garlic (this too), Anchovies, Fresh Fettucine, and Frozen Chicken

So my thoughts as follows: "hmm... all the necessary ingredients for Aglio Olio, except without the pepper flakes & pasta - but definitely some good flavor going on there with the garlic & anchovies." *Ding Ding! Eureka!

It was an easy decision - saute the spinach in the garlic and toss everything together like an Aglio Olio - then serve it with roast chicken, and it's a complete meal with the protein, carbs & veg! Turned out fantastic (why am I not surprised) so here's the recipe.

I've been having thoughts of publishing a book about 101 ways with pasta - what do you think? Am I up for the challenge?





Updated Aglio Olio

1 Bag Baby Spinach leaves
6 cloves Garlic, sliced thin
3 Tbs Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 ea Anchovy Fillets, chopped fine
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Noodle Pasta for 2

1. Cook the pasta and well salted boiling water, and drain well
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs of olive in a saute pan
3. Gently cook the garlic slivers until they are slight translucent, but not brown
4. Add the spinach and cook to wilt
5. Toss the sauteed spinach and garlic with the anchovies, pasta, cheese and remaining olive oil
6. Serve immediately

Pretty Perfect Pancetta-Pea Pasta!

I had a craving for pancetta and peas (per my tweet about a week ago), and by chance had fallen upon some lovely pancetta from AG Ferrari!

It took me only 20 minutes to throw this together, and I think it qualifies as one of my signature pasta dishes now, along with Seafood & Carbonara, which has never failed to win praises :D

The traditional recipe isn't creamy like this, but I was in the mood for some comfort food, which in my mind equates to added lux (as in, more fat) - hence the addition of cream, & egg yolk.

The very last steps of the recipe are almost like a carbonara. Although there are not as many egg yolks, you will need to make sure that the pasta is hot enough to cook the yolks, but the sauce is not hot enough to curdle the yolks. To do this right, don't skip the tempering step (step 7), which heats the yolks slightly, so it doesn't shock when tossed with the pasta or sauce.

Also, I would recommend tossing the pasta with the sauce first, then pouring the yolk mixture over and re-tossing with parm.

You could use any kind of pasta, but I chose conchiglie (shells), because the bits of peas and pancetta fit nicely into their pockets. You can also substitute bacon for pancetta, but COME ON!

Enjoy!

Pancetta & Peas Pasta Recipe

1 cup Frozen Peas
4 oz Pancetta, diced
1/4 ea Yellow onion, brunoise
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 cup Heavy Cream
3 ea Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Pasta shells for two

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta to al dente
2. Heat a heavy saucepan and fry the pancetta until crisp on the outside
3. Remove pancetta from pan and reserve
4. In rendered pancetta fat, add the yellow onion and saute till lightly browned and translucent
5. Add the heavy cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil
6. Reduce sauce until about 1/3 cup
7. Whisk the egg yolks until thick in a separate bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the reduced sauce, quickly whisking to prevent curdling
8. Add frozen peas to the cream sauce and cover until liquid comes to a boil again
9. Add the reserved pancetta and toss pasta into the saucepan coating with cream sauce
10. Add egg yolk mixture and cheese and toss until sauce thickens
11. Serve immediately

Chef Laura's Easy Entertaining Cooking Class!

One of my biggest passions in addition to cooking is teaching, and what better way to combine the two than to host a cooking class!

Because this was organized by SGConnect, I had little insight to the skill and interest levels of the participants. So, to keep things interesting, I opted for more unusual ingredients, but stuck with the simple technique.

We had the privilege of using Ben's & Unhui's kitchen in Oakland, and it is the perfect setting for a group class, with an island in the middle, and tons of space to walk around.

The class started with a little getting to know you session, with each group of 2 or 3 bidding for their project.



I had a ton of fun teaching the class, and I think everyone learned at least one thing!



Knife Skills - Small Dice, Batons, Mince



Boning & Butterflying a Whole Chicken



Sauce Making 101
Roasting Vegetables without a Grill
Folding & Whipping Techniques in Dessert Making

After about 1.5 hrs of hard core cooking and preparation, we had a short Plating & Presentation 101 session on how to make food look good, before partaking in the feast!




Crab Salad with Melon



Caramelized Garlic Roasted Chicken, with Heirloom Tomato Sauce



Creamy Parmigiana Polenta

Salsa Verde Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella



Peanut Butter & Banana Pie

This was a great idea to get to build connections with strangers or stronger bonds with your friends. There's something about preparing a meal together that draws people closer together, and afterwards, when you feast, you can really taste the fruit of your labor!



For a session like this, contact me at cheflaurafu@gmail.com

*Photos Courtesy of Mark Sin - More here

Life Lessons from the Perfect Meal

1. It's not about what you're eating, but who you're eating it with.

2. It doesn't have to be expensive - with some creativity, the simplest ingredients can form the most unique combination of flavors

3. A meal always requires some careful thought and planning - but not too much. Easy does it best.

4. It can't taste that bad if it was prepared with lots of love.

5. Don't be afraid of trying something new - you never know what you'll create

6. It's OK to make mistakes, or if the dish doesn't come out perfectly - it's knowing what to change for next time

7. Much like experiences, each course in the meal could be perfect in it's own right, but if consumed at the wrong time, or with a different pairing of flavors, would not achieve it's full potential.

8. Using what's in season and available makes the best meals - searching for resources you don't have is a waste of your time and energy that could be put into creating a better meal instead

9. It starts with good ingredients - no amount of seasoning or sauce can hide what's truly on the inside

10. Only the Chef knows how to pair the perfect wine for the perfect meal.

The search for the perfect wine is a complicated affair. It must complement all the courses in the meal, it must appeal to all the diners' palates, and it must be drinkable at the current moment in time. It is often a rare find, and sometimes can cost more than the perfect meal itself. To the lay person, the search for the perfect wine involves so much sacrifice (time, money, effort) that settling for a good wine is satisfactory. However, for the true connoisseur, it is worth giving up everything just to bring the perfect bottle to the table. After all, without the perfect meal, the perfect wine is merely a shadow of what it could become.