Sauerkraut for St. Patty's Day

As an alternative to cabbage with the Corned Beef, I suggest Sauerkraut.  This dish does have a little kick, the source of which I think is the red wine tannins.  The kick lasts only a few second (similar to a black pepper kick), but makes the stuff worth another bite.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of bacon (diced)
• 1/2 medium red onion (optional)
• 2 cloves of minced garlic 
• 1 TB caraway seeds
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
•  2 cups red wine
• 1 TB beef demi-glace
• 2 TB paprika
• 1 TB black pepper
• 1 shot of Kirschwasser or Tequila
•  2-quarts of home style sauerkraut in jars not cans.

 Procedure

• Dice and fry bacon halfway through, then add the red onion (optional) and the garlic and cook until brown and crispy. Keep bacon drippings for future use if there is enough.  I did not have much so I skipped keep the drippings.
• During the last 5 minutes of cooking above, add caraway seeds, brown sugar, and red wine and demi-glace. Cook until demi-glace is dissolved and mixture starts to reduce. 
• Add Paprika and black pepper and Kirschwasser or Tequila.
• Add sauerkraut (drained to reduce liquid) and mix thoroughly.
• If you do not serve immediately, warm mixture in a crock-pot until sauerkraut is ready to serve.

Soft Vanilla Bean Caramels

This recipe come from Chef Chris Hanmer of CH Pâtisserie, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Here is Mary Ann's take on his recipe, which calls for super-rich Plugrá butter and Bourbon vanilla beans.  If you can find these, be sure to use them.  Otherwise, here we go with Mary Ann's version.

Ingredients

• 2-½ cups Sugar
• 2 cups Heavy Cream
• ¾ cup light Corn Syrup
• 1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise, and seeds scraped (or Bourbon vanilla beans)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened (or Plugrá butter)
• ½ teas. Kosher Salt

Procedure

• Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch of overhhang on each of the long sides.
• In a large saucepan, combine the sugar with the cream, corn syrup and vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a boil.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 233 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 13 minutes. 
• Carefully whisk in the butter and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the Caramel is golden or reaches 244 degrees, about 7 minutes. 
• Carefully pick out and discard the Vanilla bean.  Immediately, pour the hot Caramel into the prepared pan and let cool at room temperature until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Holding the parchment paper overhang, transfer the cooled Caramel to a work surface.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the firmed-up Caramel into squares.  Wrap each Caramel in a square of parchment paper or a candy wrapper and twist the ends to seal.
• Serve, store or gift the Caramels.  

Tom Kerridge - Proper Pub Food - Chicken In A Basket

Tom at Home

I found a great chef.  His name is Tom Kerridge and has the only Pub in the United Kingdom with Two Michelin Stars.  He has a series on the cooking Channel called "Proper Pub Food".  This is his take on fried chicken.   I will try it the next time I do fried chicken.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 9 chicken pieces, such as thighs, drumsticks and breasts
• 2 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 3 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 4 teaspoons table salt
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons chile powder
• 1 3/4 ounces cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoons onion salt
• 2 teaspoons ground dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground dried sage
• 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• Oil, for shallow frying
• Coleslaw, for serving (see my recipe Archive - March 2013 - Michael Symon's Coleslaw)

Procedure

• Place the chicken in a large bowl or container, cover with the buttermilk and refrigerate for 12 hours. 
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  
• Mix together the flour, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, salt, basil, chile powder, cornstarch, garlic powder, marjoram, onion salt, oregano, sage and white pepper in a large bowl or baking dish. 
• Heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium to low heat.  Working with one piece of chicken at a time, remove the chicken from the buttermilk, shake off any excess and roll in the flour mixture.  Fry the chicken, 2 or 3 pieces at a time, until golden and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes a side.  
• Drain on paper towels, then transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. 
• Serve the chicken in a basket with some coleslaw.

Guy Fieri's Cajun BBQ Shrimp

This recipe comes from Guy Fieri.  I have been on a mission to find new and exciting BBQ sauces.  This one is peared with shrimp and sounded great.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

Cajun Dry Rub:

• 2 TB kosher salt
• 1-1/2 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce:

• 1 Anaheim chile
• Canola oil, for grilling the chili
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 small sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 TB chopped garlic
• 1 cup peach preserves
• 1/2 store bought-barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup spiced rum
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 TB Dijon mustard

Other Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces baby arugula
• 2 piounds U-10 prawns, shells on, deveined
• ¼ cup canola oil

Procedure

• Preheat the grill to medium-high.
• For the Cajun dry rub: Combine the salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, granulated onion, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
• For the spicy peach bbq sauce: Drizzle the Anaheim chile with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until charred on all side, about 5 minutes total. Cool briefly, and then remove the stem and chop.
• Put the bacon, onion and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the bacon is slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the peach preserves and Anaheim chile, then stir in the partically prepared barbecue sauce mixture, add the molasses, rum, cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Cool, then put the sauce into a blender and puree until smooth. Divide the sauce among 2 bowls, reserve one for serving.
• For the prawns: line a serving platter with the arugula. 
• Drizzle the prawns with the oil and dust with the Cajun dry rub on all sides. Grill until charred on the first side, about 3 minutes. Flip the prawns, baste with some of the spicy peach bbq sauce, and cook until the prawns are charred on the second side, about 2 more minutes. Baste, flip, baste again, and pull off the grill.
• Put the shrimp on top of the arugula and serve immediately with the reserved bowl of spicy peach bbq sauce on the side.

How I Make A Rich Gravy

Here is a great recipe for Turkey or Beef Roast Gravy.  Enjoy.

Source: Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• Roasting pan with pan drippings from roasted turkey or roast beef.
• ½ cup all purpose flour.
• 2 to 2-1/2 cups of poultry or beef stock (depending upon the type of food you have roasted).
• 1 to 1-½ cups of White Wine (or 1 to 1-½ cup of light Port or Cream Sherry).  Use Red wine for Beef. (If the gravy gets too thick while cooking add more wine and stock in equal parts to thin the gravy).
• 2 TB of a good demi-glace.  I purchase this from William Sonoma.  Use Chicken or Veal demi-glace for Turkey and Beef demi-glace for Beef. 
• 1-2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (optional)
• 1 TB soy sauce (optional)
• Some chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme or parsley, optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter

Procedure

• Remove any large pieces of fat or skin, which might have dropped into the bottom of the roasting pan. 
• Tip roasting pan and skim off the semi-clear fat liquid trying to retain any brown colored particles that are floating in the fatty liquid until you have removed the majority of the fatty liquid.  Some of the fatty liquid can remain.   
• Set roasting pan over 2 burners set to medium heat.
• Whisk in flour and scrape the brown bits (the French call "sucs") on the bottom and edges of the roasting pan, simmer until liquid forms a golden smooth roux and the bits (Sucs) are dissolved about 2 minutes.
• Whisk in the White Wine, Port or Sherry.
• Whisk in the demi-glace and simmer until totally dissolved. 
• Add apple cider vinegar (optional).
• Strain into a medium saucepan if you prefer a smooth texture. (optional - I keep the gravy unstrained for good texture). 
• Stir in soy sauce and/or herbs (optional).
• Add salt and pepper to taste. (Be very careful with the salt as the demi-glace has salt in it).
• If the gravy gets too thick while cooking add more wine and stock in equal parts to thin the gravy.
• Whick in 1 stick of unsalted butter to enrich and make the gravy glisten.
• Keep warm until ready to serve.  Stir just before serving.  Pour into a gravy boat for serving.