Cornbread Muffins for 2

Ingredients

IMG_1967
1/4 c. cornmeal
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-½ oz vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Tablespoons. honey
1 egg, beaten or ¼ cup liquid whole eggs
5 oz whole milk

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 4 large Muffin Cups.
In a large mixing bowl, stir the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Pour in the vegetable oil, melted butter, honey, beaten eggs, and milk, and stir just until moistened.
Pour the batter into the greased baking muffin cups and bake in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Watch the cornbread towards the end, you want it to be turning golden and starting to show some cracks.
Remove from oven, serve warm with butter or honey or simply plain. It’s amazing!

 

Mille Feuille

IMG_1955 Leaves of Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Biscuit, Praline Feuilletine, Peanut Caramel, Milk Chocolate and Praline Cream

 

Courtesy of Executive Pasty Chef Michael Laiskonis
Le Bernardin – NYC

Yield: 12 servings

Dark chocolate plaquettes, 2 1/2″ by 3 ½” –  36 each
Milk chocolate biscuit 12 each
Praline feuilletine 12 each
Milk chocolate cream 12 Oz
Peanut caramel, 2 X 3 inch rectangles 12 each
Praline cream 1 C
Maldon sea salt, as needed
Editable gold as needed

Instructions:
1. Place 1 chocolate plaquette onto each plate and top with 1 milk chocolate biscuit.
2. Top biscuit with a second plaquette, add a smear of praline cream and 1 rectangle praline feuilletine and another smear of praline cream.
3. Pipe 2 lines milk chocolate cream onto feuilletine, and top with 1 final chocolate plaquette.
4. Sauce plate with chocolate sauce and praline cream. Sprinkle with scant grains of sea salt, and editable gold and serve.

To make the Dark Chocolate Plaquettes

Melt 3/4lb – 1 lb of dark chocolate in a double boiler and then spread into a mould.  I made a mould by purchasing 4 silicon sheet, 1.2 mm thick, and the cutting the rectangles 2 ½-inches by 3 ½-inches though 3 of the layers and stacking them.  I let the chocolate set up for about 30-minutes and the removed the silicon mould and plated in refrigerator for about 30-minutes to harden and transfer to a air-proof container.

3 layers of silicon sheet for the Dark Chocolate Plaquettes mould

3 layers of silicon sheet for the Dark Chocolate Plaquettes mould Silicone Baking Mat

MILK CHOCOLATE BISCUIT

Yield: 12 servings or 1/2 sheet pan

Cake flour 2 Oz
Granulated sugar 6 1/2 TBS, divided
Unsalted butter, softened 1/2 C
Milk chocolate couverture, melted 5 1/2 Oz
Eggs, large, separated 4 each
Invert sugar 1 TBS ( Substitue corn syrup)

Instructions:
Sift together flour and 4 tablespoons sugar. Reserve.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, thoroughly incorporate butter into melted chocolate. Stir in egg yolks and invert sugar. Reserve. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks, adding remaining sugar. Fold in sifted cake flour, then milk chocolate base. Transfer batter to a parchment-lined half sheet pan, spreading into a thin, even layer. Bake in a convection oven preheated to 325 degrees F 10 to 12 minutes. Cool in refrigerator, then cut into 1-inch by 3-inch rectangles. Reserve, refrigerated.

PRALINE FEUILLETINE

Yield: 12 servings

Milk chocolate, melted 2 Oz
Praline paste ½ C (Recipe listed below)
Feuilletine 1 ½ C (Recipe listed below)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine melted chocolate and praline paste. Stir in feuilletine until completely combined. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness between 2 pieces of parchment and reserve, chilled. Cut into 1-inch by 3-inch rectangles. Reserve.

MILK CHOCOLATE CREAM
Yield: 2 C,

whippedHeavy cream, 35% fat 1 1/4 C
Milk chocolate, chopped 5 Oz (Original Recipe called for 3oz)

Instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil over high heat. Place chocolate in a bowl and slowly incorporate hot cream in to chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cover and reserve, refrigerated, several hours. Transfer to bowl of an electric stand mixer and whip until stiff. Transfer to pastry bag fitted with large, straight tip. Reserve.

PEANUT CARAMEL

Yield: 1 12 X 8-inch sheet
Granulated sugar 3/4 C
Glucose syrup 3 TBS
Heavy cream, 35% fat, warm 3/4 C, divided
Milk chocolate, chopped 3 1/2 Oz
Peanuts, roasted, salted, chopped 12 Oz

Instructions:
1. Combine sugar and glucose in a heavy, non-reactive saucepan and cook to medium dark caramel. Remove sugar from heat and deglaze pan with a portion of warm cream. Add remaining cream and cook until caramelized sugar has dissolved and mixture is homogenous. In a separate large bowl, combine chocolate and peanuts. Pour hot caramel into chocolate mixture, stirring to combine until chocolate melts and is thoroughly incorporated. Pour onto silicone baking mat-lined frame or other form; reserve to set at room temperature. Reserve.

PRALINE CREAM

Yield: 1 C

Heavy cream, 35% fat 1/3 C
Praline paste 3/4 C
Instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, heat cream just until warm. Place praline paste in the bowl of an electric standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, then slowly incorporate cream, mixing until completely emulsified. Reserve.

Pailleté Feuilletine

1/4 lb Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 All Purpose Flour
1 Egg White
Pinch Of Salt

Mix the ingredients, spread very thinly on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet, and bake at 400 F until golden brown, about 5 minutes. If you are going to roll or mold them, do so when they are still very hot.
You could then crush it for . If you are going to do crush them, there probably is little point in rolling or molding them.

Praline Paste

People tasting praline paste for the first time tend to fall to their knees and weep for all the wasted years. For while it is an ingredient, it’s also a spread in its own right, a sweet nut butter with strong caramel overtones. You’ll need to resist the urge to keep spooning it into your mouth until it’s gone. The formula is elementary: 1-1 sugar to nuts by weight, but most people like to divide the proportion of nuts between blanched almonds and hazelnuts. So let’s say, for purposes of argument, you wanted to make a pound of praline paste for a mid-day snack.

You’d use:
8 ounces (1 cup plus two tablespoons) granulated sugar
2 ounces (1/4 cup) water
4 ounces (1 cup) blanched almonds (113 grams)
4 ounces (1 cup) hazelnuts (peeled makes the best presentation)

Place the nuts on a sheet of lightly greased parchment paper or a silpat. Then simply add the water to the sugar in a small saucepan and heat it over high heat, swirling until the mixture turns to caramel. Dark amber is usually the degree most pastry makers cook to, though you can go darker for a stronger flavor. Pour the caramel over the nuts and allow the mixture to cool completely. Then break the praline into pieces and grind them as finely as you can in a food processor until a paste forms. It won’t be as smooth as commercially-made praline paste, but the flavor will be, well…you’ve got to try this stuff to believe it.

COCONUT TRES LECHES

Courtesy of Pastry Chef Christina Lee
Recette – New York City, N.Y., USA

Yield: 16 servings17501D1

Butter, soft 28 g
Coconut oil 85 g
Sugar 225 g
Eggs 5 each
Vanilla extract 1 TBS
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pastry flour 195 g
Baking powder 1 tsp
Coconut flakes 1/2 C
Condensed milk 14 Oz
Evaporated milk 12 Oz
Coconut milk 16 Oz
Basil seeds, bloomed in 1 C cold water 2 TBS
Jalapeño, brunoise 1 each
Pineapple sorbet as needed

Instructions:
1. Combine butter and coconut oil in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together and then add sugar and cream until light and fluffy.
2. Turn mixer to a lower speed and add eggs, 1 at a time, until fully combined, then add vanilla and salt.
3. Sift together pastry flour and baking powder and set aside.
4. Add coconut flakes to egg mixture and fold in flour mixture just until combined.
5. Pipe batter into individual 2.5-ounce silicon molds coated in cooking spray and bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven until centers spring back and cakes are light golden brown on top, about 16-minutes. Cool before unmolding cakes.
6. Whisk together condensed milk, evaporated milk and coconut milk and then divide milk sauce in half.
7. Combine half of milk sauce with bloomed basil seeds and jalapeños and set aside.
8. Soak cakes in remaining milk sauce for at least 20 minutes. Remove cakes from sauce and serve at room temperature or slightly warm with pineapple sorbet and basil seed-jalapeño sauce.

For the Sorbet:

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1 pineapple, cored, trimmed, reserving 6 large wedges for garnish, puréed in a blender, and forced through a fine sieve (3 cups strained purée)
1 1/2 cups well-chilled milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
fresh mint sprigs for garnish if desired

Preparation

In a small saucepan combine the sugar and 1/2 cup water, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer it for 5 minutes, or until it is reduced to 1/2 cup. Let the sugar syrup cool completely. In a bowl whisk together the pineapple purée, the sugar syrup, the milk, the lemon juice, and pinch of salt. Chill the mixture until it is cold and freeze it in an ice-cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve the sherbet in scoops on dessert plates with Coconut Tres Leches above

NEAPOLITAN PIZZA – HOT SOPRESSATA MARMALADE, ROASTED JALAPEÑOS AND MUSHROOMS, MOZZARELLA

Executive Chef/Master Pizzaiolo Dino Santonicola
Il Cane Rosso – Dallas, Tx., USA

Yield: 1 each

Neapolitan pizza dough balls 1 each
Mozzarella, fresh, sliced with egg slicer – 2 Oz
Basil leaves, torn as needed
Roasted mushrooms – .7 Oz
Roasted jalapeños (see note) – .5 Oz
Hot sopressata marmalade .7 Oz
Extra-virgin olive oil as needed
Instructions:
1. Stretch pizza dough ball to a 13-in diameter circle and then build with mozzarella, basil, mushrooms, jalapeños and finish with sopressata marmalade.
2. Bake pizza for up to 90 seconds in a preheated 900-degree F wood-fired oven. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.
3. Note: Slice mushrooms and jalapeños and sauté separately until tender with butter, garlic and shallots.


NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH BALLS

Yield: 4 each

00 flour – 4 C
Fine sea salt – 4 tsp
Instant yeast – 2 tsp
Water – 13 Oz
Instructions:
1. Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and whisk until homogenous. Add water and incorporate into flour using hands until no dry flour remains on bottom of bowl. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Shape dough into four 10.5-ounce balls and place each ball in a covered, quart-sized deli container. Allow to rise at least 6 more hours and then refrigerate for 12 hours. Remove from refrigerator and allow dough to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before stretching and cooking.


HOT SOPRESSATA MARMALADE

Yield: 1.8 Lb

Sopressata, hot, 1-in pieces – 1 1/2 Lb
Shallots, finely chopped – 2 C
Garlic cloves, small, chopped-  4 each
Chili powder = 1 tsp
Ground mustard – 1/2 tsp
Maple syrup – 1/4 C
Sherry vinegar – 1/3 C
Light-brown sugar, packed – 1/3 C
Instructions:
1. Spread 3/4 pound of sopressata in a single layer in a large skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned, about 20 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Remove fat and clean pan and repeat with remaining sopressata, reserving browned bits and 1 tablespoon fat in pan. Add shallots and garlic to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder and mustard and stir for around 1 minute. Increase heat to high, add maple syrup and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Add vinegar and brown sugar and return to a boil. Add reserved sopressata, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces to a thick glaze, around 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse until it has consistency of a chunky jam. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 weeks.

Asian inspired marinated Hanger Steak

Ingredients:

2 pieces of Hanger steak, about 1 ½ pounds

For the marinade:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Marinate for about 2 hours.

Grill over a gas grill or charcoal until internal temperature is 120-degrees F. Let stand 5-minutes, before slicing against the grain.  Can also be prepared in a grill pan and finished in the oven.

Serve with grilled Asparagus and either baked russet or sweet potato.

Sous vide Duck Breast

Ingredients

6 Duck breasts, separated and trimmed
2 oranges
2 Blood oranges
¼ cup triple sec or other orange liquor
Salt and pepper

  • peel the skin off of the oranges with as little pith as possible.
  • juice the oranges and reduce to about half and add the triple sec, cool.
  • score fat on duck breast, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place three breast halves in a vacuum bag, add ¼ of the orange skin reduced juice.
  • Vacuum seal
  • Sousvide at 130F for 2-hours
  • Remove breasts from the vacuum bag, reserving the cooking juice, and pat dry. Over medium heat place the breasts in a hot pan breast side down to render the fat and crisp the skin, flip the breast to color the other side. Let rest.
  • The juices can be used as a sauce, add some chicken stock and reduce, I like to add a little orange juice concentrate.  Slice and serve.

Udon with 36-hour Pork Belly

Courtesy of Stephane Lemagnen (zencancook.com)

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

For the sous vide pork belly

  • 2 pounds (0.9 kg) pork belly, skin on
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) coriander seeds, coarsely ground
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) star anise, coarsely ground
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cardamom, coarsely ground
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) black pepper, coarsely ground
  • 1/2 stick cinnamon, coarsely ground
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) sake
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) mirin
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce

For the dashi (udon broth) Continue reading

Half Cooked Eggs with Ramen

 

Chef/Owner Ivan Orkin
Ivan Ramen – New York, N.Y., USA
Yield: 6 servings
Menu Price: $2.00; Food Cost/Serving: 50%
Sake 500 ml
Mirin 50 ml
Soy sauce 200 ml
Sugar 30 g
Garlic, coarsely chopped 40 g
Ginger, coarsely chopped 75 g
Eggs, large, room temperature 6 each
Water 1 ltr
Ramen soup (see note) 1680 ml
Scallions, finely sliced as needed
Instructions:
1. Simmer sake and mirin in a saucepan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger and simmer and stir for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate (see note).
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Poke a small hole in bottom (larger end) of each egg with a pushpin. Gently slide eggs into boiling water and then start a timer, stirring for first 2 minutes. Remove eggs after a total of 6 minutes and 10 seconds and shock in an ice bath, stirring until there are no pockets of hot water.
3. In a large bowl, combine shoyu tare mixture with water. When eggs are cooled completely, about 15 minutes later, peel and soak them in shoyu tare liquid refrigerated for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
4. To serve, bring eggs to room temperature and then slice in half with a taut nylon fishing line, lay on hot ramen soup and serve immediately garnished with a pile of sliced scallions.
Notes:
To make ramen soup, combine 1 kilo whole chicken (giblets removed) with 2 liters cold water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a steady simmer. Skim off foam or fat that rises to surface and every 20 minutes replace any water that has evaporated, keeping water level same. Simmer for 6 hours, then strain and discard chicken solids. Cool and reserve any chicken fat. For each bowl, combine 130 ml hot chicken soup, 130 ml hotdashi and 20 ml of reserved melted chicken fat. Adjust seasoning with Japanese sea salt or soy sauce and then add cooked ramen noodles when serving immediately. Soup can be refrigerated up to 1 week without ramen noodles.

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