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.  

Les Halles.

Next time your in New York City stop bye Les halles for some steak frites!

Next time your in New York City stop bye Les halles for some steak frites!

SAME GREAT TASTE FOR OVER 70 YEARS!

Eric's Fish and Chips.

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes, cut into French fry strips

Beer Batter:

• 1 (12-ounce) bottle Beer
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon each of Old Bay, Salt and Onion Powder
• 1 1/2 pounds Cod fillets, skinned with bones removed, and fish cut diagonally into 1-inch-wide strips

Directions

In a Deep Fryer or Dutch Oven, heat oil to 270 degrees F.
blanch potatoes until translucent, roughly 7 minutes removing with a slotted spoon or spider. Set aside.
Crank up the fryer to 375 degrees F.
Batter-
In a large bowl, pour in 1 bottle of beer. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour into the bowl, whisking in gently until just combined, stir in Old Bay, salt and onion powder. Pat fish dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper and coat the fish in the beer batter. Dredge the pieces of fish in 1/2 cup of remaining flour and slide into oil as coated. fry fish, turning over frequently, until deep golden and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Fry remaining fish in batches, returning oil to 375 degrees F between batches.  Once fish is cooked keep warm in a 225 degree oven.  Fry the blanced fries in batches until brown and crispy about 3 minutes.

Wednesday Night Dinner.

Last night we had our friend Alycia over for dinner.  Alycia being the foodie she is brought over the recipe for Maíz Asado con Alioli y Queso Cotija La Especialidad de la Casa. which is grilled corn with alioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cheese from Toro restaurant in the south end. It was amazing! The perfect appetizer.  I took care of the main coarse.
Seeing it's been awhile since I've made my amazing Flat Bread pizza's I decided it was time to bring them back and try something different.  The first pizza was fried eggplant with a roasted tomato sauce, mozzarella and whipped ricotta cheese and the second was a pizza with potato cream(instead of red sauce) white onion, mozzarella, topped with dressed baby Arugula, fried calamari and a Old Bay roasted garlic alioli. It was a great night filled with great food, drinks and conversation.

                                          Fresh squid for the fried calamari.

                                          Lovely ladies.