I've been at a food/cooking conference for the past several days, so I've been absent in updating the site ... my apologies. I'll shortly upload some wonderful pictures of the classes I attended (all about cooking lobsters and Vietnamese food). Tonight I have cooking school, so I'll update tomorrow evening.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Foodie Web Site - Well Fed
There are so many foodie Web sites to read, but one that you should bookmark is Well Fed ... http://wellfed.net.
Within this one site, there are 15 other sites that discuss topics ranging from kids cuisine to spirits and beverages to restaurant reviews to a whole host of food topics. The writers are from all parts of the world, so the posts are very diverse.
If you have time, check out Well Fed.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Within this one site, there are 15 other sites that discuss topics ranging from kids cuisine to spirits and beverages to restaurant reviews to a whole host of food topics. The writers are from all parts of the world, so the posts are very diverse.
If you have time, check out Well Fed.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Hinsdale Cellars - Wine Shop
Valentine's Day is upon us, have you bought your sweetheart his or her present yet? It's not too late! Visit the Hinsdale Wine Shop and they'll provide you with the finest wines, chocolates, and accessories.
From wine, to chocolate, to gourmet coffee, they have a wide selection of gifts for you to choose from. WThey can even put together a custom gift basket for you, or stop in and choose a pre-made one!
Or, how about giving a gift that will give all year long - a year membership to their Wine Club! Every month, your loved one will receive two fantastic bottles of wine, access to member's only events, and a 10% discount on all purchases made in our shop!
Don't let the weather prevent you from giving a gift that will make your loved one smile! They are open 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday - Saturday and Noon - 6 p.m. on Sundays.
You can find Hinsdale Cellars at 12 E. Hinsdale Ave. in Hinsdale; or e-mail sean@hinsdalecellars.com; or visit www.hindsdalecellars.com; or call 630/654-9862.
Happy Eating (and Drinking)! Mr. Foodie
From wine, to chocolate, to gourmet coffee, they have a wide selection of gifts for you to choose from. WThey can even put together a custom gift basket for you, or stop in and choose a pre-made one!
Or, how about giving a gift that will give all year long - a year membership to their Wine Club! Every month, your loved one will receive two fantastic bottles of wine, access to member's only events, and a 10% discount on all purchases made in our shop!
Don't let the weather prevent you from giving a gift that will make your loved one smile! They are open 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday - Saturday and Noon - 6 p.m. on Sundays.
You can find Hinsdale Cellars at 12 E. Hinsdale Ave. in Hinsdale; or e-mail sean@hinsdalecellars.com; or visit www.hindsdalecellars.com; or call 630/654-9862.
Happy Eating (and Drinking)! Mr. Foodie
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Salmon Patties 1-2-3 Easy!
We all know how healthy it is to eat salmom - the fish is loaded with omega 3s. And, if you're looking for new ways to cook salmon, don't forget about the tried-and-true method of salmon patties. There are only a few steps to this recipe, which I've made several times by seeing what ingredients are in my fridge and going from there. Don't be afraid to work without a recipe...it's only food!
Here's what I used: 1 egg white (beaten), 2 tablespoons milk, either use 1 teaspoon of dried onion or 1 shallots (I prefer to use fresh shallots, because, one, it's fresh, and, two, they're sweet tasting), 2 teaspoons of dried dill or 1 tablespoons of fresh dill (again, use fresh dill because the flavor will be more intense), 1 7-ounce can of salmon (drained), 1/2 cup of wheat crackers (these type of crackers will also lend a taste of sweetness) or you can use bread crumbs and a touch of cooking oil or olive oil to saute the patties.
Here's a step-by-step view of the easy method.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg white, milk, shallot, dill and a pinch of black pepper (use freshly cracked if you can).
Drain the salmon, add it to a second bowl, and flake with a fork. Next, pour in the egg white mixture as well as adding the bread crumbs (I used Italian fine bread crumbs, because I didn't want the patties to be too mealy with chunks of crackers.) Mix thoroughly with a fork or spoon. I also added just a pinch of Kosher salt (use regular table salt if that's waht you have).
Use your hands (make sure you first wash them) and form about 3- to 4-ounce pattyies (I doubled this version recipe, so I was able to get five patties). I also rolled the patties in extra bread crumbs just enough to lightly coat them - not a thick coating. I find the light coating helps bind the patty, and this will brown the patty nicely.
Add enough olive oil to a non-stick skillet to lightly cover it (you do not want a lot of oil because you do not want to "fry" them), let the oil get hot and then add the patties (I got five in one skillet). Cook for about 5 minutes or until they begin to brown. Flip and cook again for 5 minutes or until the brown. You don't want to overcook them, or they will dry out. Dried out salmon patties is like eating sawdust and cardboard. Since the salmon is already cooked, all you're doing is warming the patties (and cooking the egg white to atemperature about 120F.)
And that's it. You can serve with a cheese sauce (use sharp cheddar) or a relish of your choice.
Let me know what you think, and pass along your salmon patty recipe.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Here's what I used: 1 egg white (beaten), 2 tablespoons milk, either use 1 teaspoon of dried onion or 1 shallots (I prefer to use fresh shallots, because, one, it's fresh, and, two, they're sweet tasting), 2 teaspoons of dried dill or 1 tablespoons of fresh dill (again, use fresh dill because the flavor will be more intense), 1 7-ounce can of salmon (drained), 1/2 cup of wheat crackers (these type of crackers will also lend a taste of sweetness) or you can use bread crumbs and a touch of cooking oil or olive oil to saute the patties.
Here's a step-by-step view of the easy method.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg white, milk, shallot, dill and a pinch of black pepper (use freshly cracked if you can). 
Drain the salmon, add it to a second bowl, and flake with a fork. Next, pour in the egg white mixture as well as adding the bread crumbs (I used Italian fine bread crumbs, because I didn't want the patties to be too mealy with chunks of crackers.) Mix thoroughly with a fork or spoon. I also added just a pinch of Kosher salt (use regular table salt if that's waht you have).
Use your hands (make sure you first wash them) and form about 3- to 4-ounce pattyies (I doubled this version recipe, so I was able to get five patties). I also rolled the patties in extra bread crumbs just enough to lightly coat them - not a thick coating. I find the light coating helps bind the patty, and this will brown the patty nicely.
Add enough olive oil to a non-stick skillet to lightly cover it (you do not want a lot of oil because you do not want to "fry" them), let the oil get hot and then add the patties (I got five in one skillet). Cook for about 5 minutes or until they begin to brown. Flip and cook again for 5 minutes or until the brown. You don't want to overcook them, or they will dry out. Dried out salmon patties is like eating sawdust and cardboard. Since the salmon is already cooked, all you're doing is warming the patties (and cooking the egg white to atemperature about 120F.)
And that's it. You can serve with a cheese sauce (use sharp cheddar) or a relish of your choice. Let me know what you think, and pass along your salmon patty recipe.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Chocolate Heaven is Here!
If you're a chocolate lover, you'll want to head downtown Chicago for a fabulous event: For the Love of Chocolate. It happens this Saturday, February 10.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, The French Pastry School at City Colleges of Chicago is proud to present the second annual For the Love of Chocolate benefit. Top chefs from around the country will join together to transform the celebrated South Shore Cultural Center into a decadent chocolate wonderland that could rival even Willy Wonka's factory—all to help inner city high school students achieve their dreams of becoming the "superchefs" of tomorrow. Intricate chocolate clothing, dazzling chocolate body art, amazing chocolate sculptures and a sensual and luxurious "Cocoa Sutra" room will be on display during the extravaganza. For the Love of Chocolate will benefit Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), a national nonprofit which prepares at-risk public high school students for college and careers in the hospitality industry. Managing the largest independent culinary scholarship program in the United States, C-CAP has awarded 1,850 scholarships, valued at over $17.8 million, changing the way many underserved high school students see their future and making a difference between a job and a career for more than 100,000 students. All the proceeds raised from the event will enable C-CAP to continue offering scholarships and programs.
The list of top chefs, pastry chefs, confectioneries is mind boggling! You won't be disappointed...I guarantee it!
For more information, visit www.fortheloveofchocolate.org.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Lamb II - Mediterranean Style
Here are a few pictures of the Mediterranean-style stuffed lamb loin's I cooked yesterday ... it's super easy to make, with a total prep and cook time of about only two hours. I used two loins for this recipe, but you could use a crown, Saratoga, or sirloin. My two loins served four adults nicely.
For those people that tend not to like lamb, two things. One, I used American farm-raised lamb instead of imported lamb. I believe American lamb has a much better taste then imported lamb, say from New Zealand, which tends to have that gamey taste people often say as to why they don't like lamb. Second, the combination of stuffing ingredients in this recipe melds so well with the lamb that there's an explosion of flavors in your mouth and no gamey taste at all.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (or shallot)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup shredded spinach leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil, shredded
2 tablespoons finely chopped sundried tomatoes in olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts or sunflower seeds, chopped, toasted
2 teaspoons lemon pepper, divided (or lemon rind)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1-3/4 to 2 pounds boneless American Lamb sirloin roast ... I used loins
Remember, a recipe is only a roadmap, so you can make a change here and a change there to make it special for you. Here's a couple of tweaks you can make ... if up can't find fresh basil, just use dried which will work fine (just crush the dried leaves in the palm of your hand before using to release its oils); I toasted the pine nuts in a saute pan until the turned brown (be careful, to much heat will burn them and then they taste, well, burnt); instead of onions, I used shallots, which I believe have a sweeter taste; and, for the lemon pepper, I used fresh lemon rind and freshly cracked pepper instead of lemon pepper out of a bottle...the bottle version, I think, has too much salt and other ingredients...the fresh lemon rind and cracked pepper just gives that extra zing! But, use the lemon pepper if you have it.
Method
In medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, cook onion and garlic over medium heat for 3 minutes. Mix in spinach, basil, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and 1 teaspoon lemon pepper (or lemon rind, salt and pepper). Cook additional 2 to 3 minutes until spinach is wilted.
Mix in feta cheese; set aside.
Remove all visible fat from meat; slice halfway through meat down center lengthwise. Cover with plastic wrap, and with meat mallet pound to 1-inch thick. Place filling down center of meat.
Roll and tie with string at 2-inch intervals. Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lemon pepper (or lemon rind, salt and pepper). Place on rack in roasting pan and roast in 325 degrees F oven to desired degree of doneness: 145 degrees F for medium-rare, 160 degrees F for medium or 170 degrees F for well (I have to say that well is too done for lamb...it'll be dry and leathery, with an almost kinda liver taste). Cover and let roast stand 10 minutes before carving. Internal temperature will rise approximately 10 degrees.
Here's a picture of the lamb cut into 1-inch slices. Look at the chunk of feta. The vibrant colors of the red sun dried tomatoes, the toasted pine nuts, brilliant green spinach and white feta is so appetizing. I cooked the lamb to 140 degrees F and then removed, let it sit for 10 minutes, which brought up the temp about 10 degrees F. The meat was medium...perfect. Lamb too well done is tough, and then it turns gamey.
Don't forget dessert!
This was delicious; oh, I served a nice full-bodied Cab, and the side was organic long grain rice with golden raisins that were soaked in Port. Go to your local butcher (Wheaton Meat Market is awesome) and ask them for some lamb.
Let me know if you make this dish, or what other lamb dishes your prepare.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
For those people that tend not to like lamb, two things. One, I used American farm-raised lamb instead of imported lamb. I believe American lamb has a much better taste then imported lamb, say from New Zealand, which tends to have that gamey taste people often say as to why they don't like lamb. Second, the combination of stuffing ingredients in this recipe melds so well with the lamb that there's an explosion of flavors in your mouth and no gamey taste at all.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (or shallot)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup shredded spinach leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil, shredded
2 tablespoons finely chopped sundried tomatoes in olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts or sunflower seeds, chopped, toasted
2 teaspoons lemon pepper, divided (or lemon rind)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1-3/4 to 2 pounds boneless American Lamb sirloin roast ... I used loins
Remember, a recipe is only a roadmap, so you can make a change here and a change there to make it special for you. Here's a couple of tweaks you can make ... if up can't find fresh basil, just use dried which will work fine (just crush the dried leaves in the palm of your hand before using to release its oils); I toasted the pine nuts in a saute pan until the turned brown (be careful, to much heat will burn them and then they taste, well, burnt); instead of onions, I used shallots, which I believe have a sweeter taste; and, for the lemon pepper, I used fresh lemon rind and freshly cracked pepper instead of lemon pepper out of a bottle...the bottle version, I think, has too much salt and other ingredients...the fresh lemon rind and cracked pepper just gives that extra zing! But, use the lemon pepper if you have it.
Method
In medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, cook onion and garlic over medium heat for 3 minutes. Mix in spinach, basil, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and 1 teaspoon lemon pepper (or lemon rind, salt and pepper). Cook additional 2 to 3 minutes until spinach is wilted.
Mix in feta cheese; set aside.
Remove all visible fat from meat; slice halfway through meat down center lengthwise. Cover with plastic wrap, and with meat mallet pound to 1-inch thick. Place filling down center of meat.
Roll and tie with string at 2-inch intervals. Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lemon pepper (or lemon rind, salt and pepper). Place on rack in roasting pan and roast in 325 degrees F oven to desired degree of doneness: 145 degrees F for medium-rare, 160 degrees F for medium or 170 degrees F for well (I have to say that well is too done for lamb...it'll be dry and leathery, with an almost kinda liver taste). Cover and let roast stand 10 minutes before carving. Internal temperature will rise approximately 10 degrees.
Here's a picture of the lamb cut into 1-inch slices. Look at the chunk of feta. The vibrant colors of the red sun dried tomatoes, the toasted pine nuts, brilliant green spinach and white feta is so appetizing. I cooked the lamb to 140 degrees F and then removed, let it sit for 10 minutes, which brought up the temp about 10 degrees F. The meat was medium...perfect. Lamb too well done is tough, and then it turns gamey.
Don't forget dessert!
This was delicious; oh, I served a nice full-bodied Cab, and the side was organic long grain rice with golden raisins that were soaked in Port. Go to your local butcher (Wheaton Meat Market is awesome) and ask them for some lamb.
Let me know if you make this dish, or what other lamb dishes your prepare.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Lamb I ... Mediterranean style
I'll be preparing a Mediterranean-style stuffed lamb loin's this weekend, which includes spinach, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and feta cheese. It sounds so yummy, and it's a meal unto itself. I'll also serve a side of wild, long grain rice with macerated golden raisins. I'll take pictures of me making the dish and will post them on Sunday.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie.
Happy Eating! Mr. Foodie.
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