Braised beef short ribs.

add fresh herbs, cover with double foil and place in a 300 degree  oven 2-3 hours, or until meat falls off the bone

add the chicken stock

add the ribs

deglaze with red wine

remove short ribs and a mirepoix to the same pan and sweat

brown on all sides

dredge in flour

season with salt and pepper

mise en place

Low and slow is the best way to cook these fabulous little little guys.

Dinner last night.

Last night I made a special dinner for Sarah to celebrate the start of her new job.  Knowing that she would be tired after a long first day nothing said Mmmm Mmmm more than a french bristro -esque dinner.  Grilled beef tenderloin, topped with a grilled onion compound butter, gratin dauphinois and a petite salad of baby arugula, red onion, cherry tomatoes, aged Parmesan and truffle oil.


Eric's Gratin Dauphinois (French Scalloped Potatoes)


8 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups heavy cream
5 garlic cloves, crushed 
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of parsley
salt and pepper to taste
freshly ground nutmeg
1 tbsp butter
5 ounces grated Gruyere cheese


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place the potatoes in a large pot and add the cream, garlic and herbs.  Season with salt pepper and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  After 10 minutes of simmering, remove from heat and discard the garlic and herbs.


Butter the inside of a gratin dish.  Transfer the Potatoes and cream to the gratin dish and sprinkle the top of the potatoes with the Gruyere cheese.  Cook in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the mixture is brown and bubbly.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minute before serving.

I Heart Beef.

Nothing says comfort more than a great cut of beef, potato pancakes and bourbon.  Grass fed NY strip, farm cheddar, balsamic grilled onions and potato pancakes.

Food Porn.

Eric's Buttermilk Fried Chicken.

2 cups buttermilk

Coarse salt

3 teaspoons cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons old bay seasoning

¼ cup onion powder

4 sprigs of thyme

2 whole chickens (2 1/2 to 3 pounds each), each cut into 10 serving pieces (wings, thighs, drumsticks, and 4 breast pieces)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 gallon vegetable oil

            In each of two 1-gallon resealable plastic bags, combine 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 2 sprigs of thyme and half the chicken pieces. Shake to coat; refrigerate up to 2 days.

            In a large, shallow bowl, whisk flour with 2 tablespoons salt, old bay, onion powder and remaining 2 teaspoons cayenne. Dredge chicken pieces, one at a time, in mixture, shaking off excess.

            In a deep fryer, heat oil to 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer (or until a pinch of flour sizzles when dropped in the oil).

            Carefully add 1/3 of the chicken. Cook 10 minutes; turn chicken with tongs. Cook until golden brown, juices run clear, and internal temperature is 165 degrees, about 10 minutes more. Transfer to a rack to drain. Season with salt, if desired.

HOLY SALMON!

Grilled Red Snapper w/ Grilled Potatoes and Peppers.

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup flat parsley
1 2lb red snapper , scales removed,gills removed, fins clipped and guts removed
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 thin slices of lemon

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes

salt and pepper, to taste

-Place potatoes in a stock pot and fill with water. Add salt and cook until tender (about 10 minutes).  Once cooked strain and let cool.

-Heat a saute pan, add 2 tbs olive oil and saute peppers, onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper

-Preheat BBQ on medium high heat

-Season the inner cavity of the snapper with salt and pepper.  Stuff the cavity with the garlic, parsley and lemon slices.  Season the outside of the fish with salt and pepper and 2 tbs olive oil.

-Cut the cooled potatoes in half, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill skin side up until heated through and there are nice grill marks.

-Cook fish just until opaque and fish is flaky, turning once.  It should take about 9 minutes per inch of thickness.

-Toss the grilled potatoes with the peppers, onions and garlic.

-Serve the fish atop the potatoes. Finish with a drizzle of high quality evoo, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of fluer de sel.

Urban chef recipe - delicious chicken and pumpkin - BBC

Ghetto Sous Vide

To define the technique of Sous Vide would be a cooking process in which food is encased in an airtight plastic pouch (typically vacuum sealed) and cooked for a very long period of time at a very low temperature, usually under 200˚F and for many hours.  The technique was first developed by French chef Georges Pralus, who discovered that cooking foie gras in this way kept it from shrinking and losing fat content.

These days most restaurant chefs use Thermal Immersion Circulators which are very costly, around $1000 a unit.  So after doing some research and talking to some area chefs I decided to try to Sous Vide the Ghetto way. 

I decided to Sous Vide some chicken breast.  I started by seasoning them with some salt, pepper, cumin, fresh chopped garlic and some onion powder.  Next I wrapped each breast in plastic wrap so the would keep there form while cooking.  Once each breast was firmly wrapped I vacuum sealed them and dropped them into a stock pot with the water temperature kept at 142 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour.  To regulate the temperature I would drop an ice cube in the pot whenever it would jump up to 143 degrees.  When the chicken was done I dropped them into an ice bath to bring the temperature down and prevent any bacteria from developing and placed them in the refrigerator until dinner.

Since the chicken is already cooked all you need to do is heat a saute pan with some oil and crisp up the skin and just heat them through about ten minutes.