Food for Thought

2008-07-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Oy.

My head just fell off. You may feel a rant approaching. Hide the skewers and cleavers.

I was sent a recipe from someone who shall remain anonymous (but you know who you are!) for a very nice looking recipe with scallops and nectarines. It’s online and in a current food magazine. It looked okay at first. But there are a few things in this world that make me insane. And one of them is pretentious, annoying looking recipes. They don’t always appear this way. Often, at first glance, they’ll seem normal. Just like some people. But spend 30 seconds with the recipe (or even worse, the person), and you’ll know enough to run screaming in the other direction, warning the villagers to break out their torches and pitchforks because danger is coming!

This was one of those recipes. I should have known when two of the ingredients were fleur de sel and piment d'Espelette. No, you don’t have to run to your Funk and Wagnalls. Are you ready? They’re salt and chili powder. Well, okay. They’re sea salt, which you can find for $5.00 per ounce, and a zippy pepper found in the Basque region of southwest France. This little beauty can be yours for $10 per ounce, plus shipping.

Now, I’m all for supporting our European friends and small businesses. But I’m not overly in favor of spending a small fortune on obscure ingredients, like the piment d’Espelette. Hmmm. I wonder how long that sat in someone’s spice drawer after they made this recipe. Maybe, let me guess, FOREVER?

A subset of this expensive, obscure ingredient thing is about finding the stuff. When I wrote a food column, my #1 rule was that all ingredients had to be available in most, if not all, well-stocked supermarkets. Gee, I’d like to make this recipe tonight. Oops. Can’t. Have to go online to order the key ingredient.

When I was in cooking school, just before the internet was a gleam is Bill Gates’ eye, there was a Thanksgiving recipe in Parade magazine for a stuffing with Michigan bing cherries. They were the key ingredient in the stuffing, and were only available either by calling an 800 number, or embarking on a road trip to Michigan’s upper peninsula. This recipe was placed in almost every Sunday paper in North America. It was then that I vowed, on all that was good and edible, that I would NEVER do that in any published or taught recipe.

Then, the second insane thing came up on the recipe. The technique. The recipe calls for grilling 24 scallops. Hmmm, Maybe a suggestion for a grill basket or seafood grill-thingee? I can just imagine the poor folks who put the scallops on the grill, and try to turn them quickly. Oh, the humanity. Oh, the lost scallops.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and reassemble my head.

2008-07-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

FISH!!!!!!!

I cooked for a new client yesterday. Actually, they’re a family with a brand new (still under warranty) 12 day old baby boy. Truly, there’s nothing more spectacular or eye-catching than an infant. Very cute. Hugely adorable. And I NEVER use the words cute and adorable. Well, certainly never in the same thought.

Anyway, one of the items I made today was a salmon cake. No, not the usual croquettes everyone’s mother made (would you eat something who’s name is a variation on “croak?”). Okay, so I liked them when I was growing up. But I did two things that makes these not your mom’s croquette. First, I didn’t use canned salmon. And in the interest of full disclosure, I really do like canned salmon. No, I boghut one pound of fresh salmon, and poached it. Yup, I simmered some water, white wine, onions, and peppercorns, and poached the fish for 9 minutes. Then I cooled it.

Then, instead of the mom-inspired croquette recipe, I used my crab cake recipe. Some Worcestershire. Some Tabasco. Scallions. And mustard. No grated potatoes. And no matzoh meal. Okay, maybe some bread crumbs. And they worked out well. The new parents loved them. So here’s the recipe. And if it looks familiar, that’s because I adapted it from Chris Schlesinger’s first cookbook, The Thrill of the Grill. Here it is:

Crab or Salmon Cakes

1# crabmeat or 1# Poached Salmon
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mustard
7 dashes Tabasco
8 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients, except the cornmeal, Panko, and olive oil.

Shape the mixture into round patties, approximately 1 1/2” thick. Combine cornmeal and Panko, and roll crab cakes in cornmeal mixture.

In a large skillet, over a medium heat, add the olive oil. Sauté the crab cakes until golden colored, approximately 4-3 minutes per side.

Makes approximately 8-10 crab cakes, or 24-30 mini-crab cakes

Notes:

• You can use cooking spray instead of olive oil. You just need a light coating of oil in the pan
• If you don’t have Panko, just use the corn meal

2008-06-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

So I did the cooking class a short while ago, at A Different Drummer in Northampton. It used to be the kitchen store for Lamson-Goodnow. They sold it, and A Different Drummer relocated their store from downtown Northampton (aka NoHo to the tragically hip).

So how did the class go? Very well. Even with my forgetting the chocolate for the pots de crème. Before you rush to wonder how THE main ingredient can be forgotten and still end up as pots de crème, take a deep breath. Of course, without chocolate, you’d end up with VERY rich scrambled eggs. I’d forgotten to bring the chocolate chips that I was going to melt with the cream (yes, the recipe follows). And in case you might have forgotten what pots de crème is, it’s like a chocolate mousse, only it’s baked in individual custard cups, in a water bath. And it’s much better than chocolate mousse…

So what’d I do? Well, option #1 was to send Karen out for a quick bag of Nestlé’s chocolate chips. But that seemed very unMacGyver-like. I did bring a small block of Ghirardelli chocolate (the real San Francisco treat!) that I was going to use for shaving on top of the whipped cream, which I was going to put on top of the pots de crème. It makes a great presentation, by the way. And don’t even think about Cool Whip. So, I made noises like I actually planned to do this, and showed everyone how easy it is to shave chocolate. And how hard it is to try and chop through a block of it.

And the rest of the lesson? Well, it was less dramatic, but we did fun things with scallops with orange and grapefruit, and Maryland crab soup, from a recipe that I interpreted from Mo’s Seafood Restaurant, in Baltimore. But if you want to knock someone’s socks off, make the pots de crème. It looks like a lot of work, but you’ll find that it’s not that hard to do.

The recipe:

Pots du Crème

2 cups light cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (2/3 cup)
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 custard cups
1 9x13 baking pan
1 sheet pan or foil

Place rack at center of oven and preheat to 325°. Place 1 1/2 cups of cream in a small, heavy saucepan over a low heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup cream and chocolate in the top of a double boiler (see note below), over a medium heat. In a mixing bowl, stir the yolks lightly just to mix. Don’t make them foamy.

When the cream is scalded, stir in the sugar and salt, and remove from heat.

Whisk the chocolate mixture until it’s perfectly smooth. Remove from heat. Then GRADUALLY add the cream to the chocolate mixture, stirring constantly. GRADUALLY stir the chocolate mixture into the yolks, and stir in the vanilla.

Return the mixture to the double boiler, over a low heat, and stir constantly, with a rubber spatula, for 3 minutes. Pour the mixture through a sieve, into a pitcher

Pour into individual cups, and place into the baking pan. Pour hot water into pan, to about halfway up the depth of the cups. Place a cookie sheet or foil over the cups, or use individual lids.

Bake for 22 minutes. The knife will not come out clean when it’s done. If the knife does come out clean, then it’s over-done.

Cool at room temperature, then chill for a few hours.

NOTE: if you don’t have a double boiler, use a stainless bow over a pot of boiling water.

2008-05-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Lights out!

I couldn’t make this up. I think I put a curse on my head last night. I turned to Karen and said (this is what we call foreshadowing), “I’m looking forward to the week. I have two dinner parties, a personal chef day, and a cooking lesson that’s sold out, with a waiting list.” Apparently, this is the equivalent of flipping off the gods.

The dinner party was last night. Yesterday morning, I was planning to call a good friend (who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) to confirm that she would be helping me with the dinner for 12 guests. I was going to wait until after we got home from walking the dogs. I got home to a voicemail, saying that the nameless good friend had strep throat. She sounded awful. I felt bad, especially a she’s a single mom. Of course I wanted her to stay home. Then, for the first time in ages, I went into a semi-panic. So I called another friend, who was available. That was the easy part, although I was spooked. This had never happened to me.

So, there we were, getting the dinner ready (we were down to seven guests at this point). Then, ten minutes before the appetizers were to be served, the power went out. Gone. Zip. Darkness. I had the burners going on the gas stove. The two ovens were out. Hmmm. I still had a flatbread pizza with caramelized onions to finish, a potato gratin, and broiled organic salmon. I was, in culinary terms, toast. The other appetizer was done. It was mini crabcakes (with a great remoulade sauce, by the way). And the dessert, a strawberry/rhubarb cobbler, was also done. And the potato gratin was 1/4 done. What to do? PANIC!

Well, actually, I got lucky. I finished the potato gratin on the stove. I kept adding chicken stock to the pan. I also put a lid on the ‘taters, and it worked. The salmon? I borrowed some white wine from the host, added some onions and water, and made a kinda/sorta court bouillon. Yup, the semi-classic fish poaching liquid. And I poached the fishies. Surrounded by candlelight, of course.

And as the salads were being served, the lights came back on. Which made it easier to serve the rest of the meal, which included Hadley asparagus with a freshly made hollandaise sauce.

So, all in all, it went well. It was actually fun to improvise like that. Had the stove been out of commission too? Then I really would have been toast. Or worse. Chopped liver.

2008-05-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

Hounds Abound

So how did last Saturday’s Greyhound event go? For starters, read the following post if you haven’t yet, to find out what I’m talking (writing?) about.

The event went well. Karen and Thomas ran the successful raffle and silent auction stuff. Which I missed completely, as I was in the burger hut. In 3 1/2 hours, I cooked 60 hamburgers, 20+ veggie Boca burgers, and 48 hot dogs. Plus lots of drinks and chips. At $3.00 for burgers, and $2.00 for hot dogs (priced to move!), we made somewhere around $375-$400. And all of the proceeds, even the tips, went to the dogs.

So, what was so fun about it? I mean really, I have a blast doing it. Burgers and dogs. Me and two flat top griddles. And people happy to see me, and me happy to see them and their dogs. The four legged kind, not to be confused with the kind with rolls, mustard, relish, and onions. Plus, I was able to spend the day yakking with two helpers, Liz and Chris. It was a sunny, breezy day (not like the monsoon we had two years ago), And Karen and I finished the day spending the night with our friends of 20 years, Thomas and Larry. And a killer martini.

A perfect day.

2008-05-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Dogs and Hot Dogs

It’s been a busy food week, and I’ll be cooking A LOT between now and Memorial Day. But tomorrow, I’ll be utilizing all of my culinary skills as I run the hot dog and hamburger stand at the Greyhound Adoption Service’s 14th annual reunion. It’s at the 4H campground in Westford, MA. And truly, I love to do it. Sure, there’s the glamour of being in a hut with two flat-top griddles and propane tanks the size of a small rocket. And I get to make sure we ask that important question: do you want a drink and chips with that? But there’s more than that. I get to see people and their greyhounds, and we get to raise money for the care and feeding of the hounds. It’s at least my fifth year flipping burgers. My wife Karen and a friend of ours, Thomas Cowern, are running the raffle and silent auction. And did I mention that ALL proceeds from the food goes to the hounds. Not a penny goes to the chef.

Why do we do it? Well, we’re on greyhounds #6 & 7. Sure, we’ve had them for a while. I think a big part of their charm is that we have to wake them up in the morning. We have friends with goldens, labs, etc. And they’re all up at 5:30, when the dogs are ready to go. A greyhound? They’re like teenagers. Given the chance, they’d sleep ‘til noon, hit the bathroom, have breakfast, and go back to bed. It’s a charmed life.

So yes, this is about food. Come grab some burgers and dogs, and check out the hounds.

The details are:

http://greycanine.com/
http://greycanine.com/Web%20poster%20revised.pdf
http://greycanine.com/greycanine/RaffleSilentAuction.htm

2008-04-29T20:23:00.001-07:00

A Sauce Explosion

Last week, I was doing a dinner for some regular clients. I’ve been cooking for them for more than a few years, and enjoy being there. And for many of their dinners, I bring an assistant with me. Let’s call her Karen T, who is actually no relation to my wife, Karen Dz.

So, this dinner was a special one. It was the hostess’ birthday, and they had 15 guests. I decided to experiment a bit, and with the beef tenderloin entrée, I decided to make a beef stock-based sauce, with caramelized onions.

So, Karen T. and I are zipping along on the evening. The appetizers were served in the living room, and the salads were almost ready. And I had the brainstorm to get flashy with the sauce. Not that I always hear voices, but a voice somewhere in my head suggested that I puree the sauce. I thought that would be a niftier way of presenting the dinner. So I went to their regular household blender (this is what we call foreshadowing), and poured in most of the sauce. I think it’s important to mention here that I’m used to using a Vita Mix, which is a nuclear powered, industrial strength blender. A Vita Mix can puree a Buick. On its slowest speed.

So, I put in the sauce, put on the lid, and hit the on switch. A nanosecond later (if it even took that long), there was sauce everywhere, except, perhaps, in the blender. And no, as luck would have it, it couldn’t just end up on the counter. No, it splattered. Everywhere. I’d also cleverly positioned the blender next to two windows. And a window sill filled with tea canisters.

How bad was it? I think, when they make the movie of this dinner (to be directed by Brian DePalma, apparently), they’ll be calling it the Beef Sauce Chain Saw and Blender Massacre. I travel with many kitchen tools. One of them isn’t a squeegee. So I started cleaning up the window. One swipe with the paper towel made it worse, which I didn’t think was possible. And I had to serve the salads in a few minutes. Which is when the host walked into the kitchen. I was mortified. And I don’t mortify easily. He was gracious, which I think he does do easily.

That’s when Karen T. swooped in with paper towel and cider vinegar. Yes, I travel with cider vinegar. But not Windex (memo to Chef: travel with Windex).

The dinner went just fine. Everything went out on time. And I had enough sauce to make everyone happy.

The moral of the story? Duh, that’s easy. Don’t puree a lot of sauce with caramelized onions in a household blender next to two windows. Or, if you really feel compelled to do it, then do it in a stainless steel room with a hose and a drain in the middle of the floor…

2008-04-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Macaroons, videos, etc.

Three weeks ago, Pat Cahill, a reporter for the Springfield Republican (that’s a newspaper, not a politician) came to our house to interview me for an article for Passover and macaroons. She was also working with Bob Stern, a Republican news photographer. And since the world of newspapers is changing a wee bit, Bob didn’t just take a few photos for the article. He also shot a metric ton of video for their website, too. It was fun making macaroons, talking non-stop, and generally having a good time.

And how did the 3 minute and 47 second video turn out? Personally, I think Bob did a great job. But what happened to the article? Well, Pat did a terrific job, too. However, the article hasn’t appeared on their website yet, so I can’t link to it. But when it does, I’ll post it.

Meanwhile, here’s the link to the video:

http://videos.masslive.com/republican/2008/04/passover_cooking.html

Now, one question I’ve heard is, “What’s with separating the eggs in your hands? Isn’t that (pick one) gross, unsanitary, and/or generally repulsive? Shouldn’t you just pour and/or toss the yolk between the eggshell halves?” The answers are:
No, no, no, and no.

This is actually the best way to do it. If you use the shells, you risk tearing and breaking the yolks, making it impossible to separate them from the whites. And, if there’s anything gross on the egg shells (do we want to know where the eggs come from? Oy.), it’s got a good chance of communing with your yolks and whites.

So, try it once. Yes, it’ll feel funny at first. But it’s fast and clean.

And now, a heads up. This Weds, April 23, at 8:00 pm, I’ll be on WGBY (channel 57) in Springfield. It’s our local PBS station. I’ll be on the air, promoting ChefBill (that’s the biz, not me talking about myself in the third person) with a gift certificate for a dinner for eight, including a full cooking lesson for the meal. It’s all a part of their annual wine auction fundraiser. Now, if you don’t get channel 57, call your local cable company and DEMAND that they carry it. Sure, you may live in Colorado, Georgia, or maybe even Boston. That’s okay. Just call up Comcast. They’re a nice, friendly company. I’m sure they’ll connect it for you…

So, please let me know what you think of the video. Maybe this’ll be the start of a long and wild YouTube career.

2008-03-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

A Culinary Iditarod

I’m a wee bit stunned that three weeks have gone by since my last blog post. When I read other peoples’ blogs, I always cringe when they say something like, “Gee, have three weeks gone by since I last blogged?”, or words to that effect. All I can say is, “oops.”

Anyway, these last few weeks, especially the last eight days, have been nothing short of a culinary Iditarod. Without the dogs, of course. It’s been a crazed busy time for cooking. Starting last weekend, Karen and I did a dinner for eight in the nifty Springfield neighborhood of Forest Park. It’s a very cool old neighborhood, and the host and hostess were very nice. I did a combined surf and turf. That is, scallops in an orange/grapefruit sauce, and beef tenderloin. And I finished it up with bananas Foster. I didn’t flame the rum-soaked bananas, as I thought setting the curtains on fire would pretty much ruin the evening. And for some reason, bananas Foster has been the dessert of choice for the last few months. At the very least, it is a fun way to finish a relaxing meal.

In the middle of the week, I had an enjoyable day that was a variation on a personal chef day. I was given as a gift(!!) to a woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer, by a group of her friends. And instead of “just” a day of making meals for her fridge and freezer, four of her friends came by, and the day turned into a cooking lesson too. They all had fun, and so did I. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

And the Iditarod finished with a family party in Manchester, NH last night. I had a full day, and my body is still recovering. I hit the supermarket and Costco yesterday morning, and was at the stove by noon. The guests showed up at 6:30, just as I was finishing the prep. And then the food started to fly out of the kitchen. It was a surprise 80th birthday party. I always get nervous with surprises for anyone over 75, but no one keeled over, which is always a bonus. They all loved the food, and were super-friendly. So it worked out well all around.

And so we begin a new week. Nothing that a good night’s sleep and an on-call chiropractor won’t help.

2008-03-01T21:48:00.001-08:00

Snow and Public Television

So there we were. For the 2nd Friday in a row, we had snow. Lots of it. Last Friday, I had a Romantic Dinner for Two. Ordinarily, I’d have cancelled. In addition to trying to get there, or back, in a snowy monsoon, I’m also particularly inept at driving up my steep driveway after we get a wee bit of frozen precipitation. So, last week, for the first time ever, I walked to a Romantic Dinner for Two. Yup. Right up the street. I dropped the food, pots and pans, and other goodies off before it snowed. I trudged over there in the snow for the dinner, and and then trudged home. It was not only a fun trudge (a fun trudge?), but a fun dinner, too.

But last night, the snow actually held off until the drive home. Karen and I were at the Springfield Marriott for the WGBY wine tasting. No, sadly, I tasted no wine. But we did give out lots of our own samples. I was sautéing barramundi, a really cool fish from Turners Falls. Okay, it’s really from Australia. It’s an Australian sea bass. But it’s farm raised in Turners Falls, and has no mercury, PCBs, hormones, etc. And, even better than that, it tastes really good, too. So for three hours, we did sampling with my own new recipe, which I called Barramundi Piccata. Carol Devine, the VP of marketing at Australis, the barramundi company (www.australis.com), joined us for the festivities as we gave out samples and chatted with most of the 400+ people who were there.

And what was the fee to WGBY to participate? They asked for a bottle of wine. So I gave them one of the bottles that I made with friends last year. It was a cabernet sauvignon. And it really came out well, too. I called it “Chateau LaFeet Greyhound.” I wonder how much they got for it at the auction? Coming up next is the WGBY wine auction in April. It’s their big fund raiser. And I’ll be donating a dinner party for 8 (10?) with a cooking lesson thrown in.

Stay tuned…

2008-02-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

Fishies

Maybe because it’s February and I'm a bit tired of beef stew. Or maybe because I had some cooking back on Boston’s scenic North Shore this week (Valentine’s Day, of course). But I’ve cooked quite a bit of seafood this week. And while there are all kinds of great places to buy seafood along the coast, my favorite, for almost 20 years (gasp!!) is Rowand Fisheries, in Beverly, MA. They’re right on the waterfront , at the base of the Beverly-Salem bridge. Sure, you can get good seafood at Whole Foods and other places. But Rowands goes way beyond good.

For the Valentine’s Romantic Dinner for Two, I made a variation of scallops piccata, as well as a fresh crab appetizer. The scallops were so flavorful that all I used with them were olive oil, dry vermouth, and capers. It was easy: I heated the pan over a medium-high heat, added the olive oil, and added the scallops. After a couple of minutes, when the scallops were browned on the bottom, I flipped them over, added the vermouth and capers, and finished cooking them for a few more minutes, I served them with rice pilaf and roasted vegetables. It was a simple, and elegant meal.

The next night was even simpler. The entrée was organically-fed salmon, from Rowands. All I did was put a light schmear (coating?) of olive oil on the fish. Added a bit of salt and pepper. And broiled it. Oh my. It was spectacular.

So, wherever you are, jump in your car and get to Rowands. It’s open seven days per week. And tell them I sent you. You’ll love their fish.

2008-02-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

The Chili Contest

Yesterday was a fun day. It actually started the day before, at Delta Organic Farm in Amherst. I used their commercial kitchen to get ready for the Chili contest at the Amherst Winterfest (http://www.winterfestamherst.com). It was fun having the horsepower of a commercial stove again. Yup, when it comes to stoves and btu’s, size does matter…

So, after I finished cooking, I went to the megatropolis of Sunderland, MA, to have a rendezvous with a marketing manager of Australis, the folks who grow and sell baramundi, a fish that tastes great, and, quite oddly today, is farm raised in a very healthy and safe way. No mercury or PCBs for these fishies. And why the baramundi? Because I may be using it for appetizers for the wine tasting at our local (Springfield, MA) PBS station. But more on that in a posting in the next week or so.

So, lets fast-forward to the Winterfest. The chili tasting involved five restaurants and me. When I arrived, a few of the other places were setting up. But I was worried about the turnout. It was a nice day, but there were only a few dozen people hanging out at some of the events at the Cherry Hill golf course where all of this was happening.

So, there we were in the clubhouse, setting up. And when noon arrived (the tasting was supposed to go from noon-2:00), people were already lining up for the chili. I was fourth in line (what are the odds that “ChefBill” would be fourth in alphabetical order? Oh well) for the tasting. And I got all kinds of great comments from people. Some thought my chili was sweetened, but it was the hint of cinnamon, along with the corn in it, that made it seem sweet. And when 2:00 rolled around, the line of people was still out the door. Finally, around 2:30, they ended the tasting. The timing was perfect, as I’d gone through three gallons of chili. I was the only one with a chicken and black bean chili. The others were beef based, except for a vegetarian chili.

Alas, in this electoral season, I did not prevail in winning the coveted Winterfest ChiliBowl trophy. It was won my Atkins Farms Market. Which wasn’t a bad thing, because their chili really was good.

So I’ll spend the next 364 days refining my chili recipe, in the hopes of bringing home the ChiliBowl trophy.

Meanwhile, here’s the recipe. It’s not hard to make. And it’s really good.

Chicken Chili

34medium onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil (or cooking spray)
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thighs) cut into cubes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 16 oz cans black beans
8-12 oz package frozen corn (try to thaw in advance, but not crucial)
1 lime, use zest, and juice from one half
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, over a medium heat, add the onions. Sauté these for approximately 30 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the garlic, and raise the heat to medium-high. Add the chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, and oregano, and mix well to combine. Add the cubed chicken, and stir frequently, for approximately 5 minutes, or until the chicken is browned, but not cooked through.

Add the tomatoes, beans, corn, and lime zest and juice. Simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust the seasonings (especially the chili powder, cumin and salt) to your liking, and serve.

Makes around two quarts, or 6-8 servings.

2008-02-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Food

Much to my surprise, I’m hosting a small Super Bowl gathering tomorrow. So what’s a guy to do to keep it simple and edible? Well, how’s this:

• Swedish meatballs
• Fresh vegetables with a homemade bleu cheese dip
• Reuben sandwiches
• BBQ coleslaw (with a vinegar dressing, not mayo)

The total prep time for this is just over an hour. Yes, I’ll be cheating on the meatballs. My good friends at Trader Joe’s make that easy. I’ll fire up the crock pot (oops. That’s now called a “slow cooker”) at 3:00, and pop in the meatballs and sauce. Tonight, I’ll make the coleslaw (the recipe is below) and the bleu cheese dressing. That means, tomorrow, all I’ll have to do is assemble the Reubens and cut the vegetables for the dip. Total prep time? Less than an hour. Which will leave me more time to watch the pregame show, which started last Tuesday.

And in keeping with tradition, I just might throw in a bag of Ruffles with California Onion Dip. Would it be a Super Bowl without them?

Here’s the coleslaw recipe. It comes from a long-time family friend, in Ballston Spa, New York.

Dorothy King's Cole Slaw

1 large head, green cabbage, shredded
2-3 large carrots, shredded or shredded
1 large onion, grated
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine the cabbage, carrots, and onion in a large bowl. Whisk together the sugar and vinegar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Keep stirring. It may not all dissolve. That’s okay. Pour over vegetables. Add the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Chill for at least 30 minutes (or overnight, which is better), and season to taste with salt and pepper.

OPTION #1: Add 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds to the coleslaw.

2008-01-10T22:23:00.000-08:00

Cooking Class...Poached Pears

Last night, I did a cooking lesson at the Lamson-Goodnow shop in Northampton, MA. It was a great crowd, terrific helpers from the shop (and Karen, too), and a fun menu. One of the things I did was poached pears. But I’ve decided on another angle with them. Instead of poaching the whole pear, I decided to peel the pears, and cut them, length-wise, in quarters, and then poach them. There are a couple of benefits: they cook MUCH faster(10 minutes vs. 30+ minutes), and you don’t have to do the awkward whole-pear-coring thing. That is just brutal. And the pear usually gets mangled when you try to core it whole. And, after a large meal, who wants to eat a WHOLE pear? So, I served two quarters, with some freshly-made ginger snaps. And with the poaching liquid, too. And I used red wine, not white. The red wine, in a shocking development, turned the pears red. This added some nice color to the whole thing.

But the class itself was fun. After a while, people started asking questions, wondering about all kinds of things. Types of fish to cook, types of pots and pans to use (my favorite, for which, sadly, I get NO compensation, All-Clad), and how to cook portabellas. So, when the next class comes up (April 16), come for the fun. And the food, too.

Oh yeah. The poached pear recipe. It’s really good…

Poached Pears

1 (750-ml) bottle red or white wine…red wine will turn the pears red…
1 cup water
3/4 cup vanilla (or regular granulated) sugar
1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped
4 firm Bartlett, Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled leaving the stem intact

Place the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.

Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.

Remove the pears from the refrigerator, spoon the sauce over the pears and serve.

NOTE: Save yourself some time and effort and cut the pears in half, or quarters, length-wise, before poaching. Then, gently cut out the core and seeds. Proceed with the poaching, but check the pears after 10 minutes to see if they’re done. Serve two pear halves (or quarters) together.

2007-12-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

This isn’t a food related thing. Well, it is if you’re Jed Clampett. Or his nephew, Jethro. And this is true. Really.

Karen and I were walking the dogs the other day. We were walking up the street when we heard this very loud, “CRACK!!!” It was one of those tree branch cracks, the kind that let you know something big and heavy is about to fall somewhere on or around your head. Before we or the dogs could react, we saw this squirrel fall from the trees, right in front of our eyes, and land with a loud, “SPLAT!!” This fat squirrel landed, round-stomach down, maybe five feet in front of us. Even the dogs were stunned.

And before the dogs (being the hunters-from-antiquity that they are) could react, the squirrel, who I was sure was quite deceased, looked at us and ran at record speed through the trees and into the woods. The dogs looked longingly at the one that got away.

So yes, it really happened. A squirrel with bad balance. And a culinary delight for Jed or Jethro. But not me.

2007-12-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Slow (!) Cooker

As of today, the most popular movie in the land is, “I am Legend.” I’m living something similar. It’s called, “I am Stumped!” In the movie, Will Smith is a guy who’s the last man on earth. Except for some zombie-type folks. Me? I think I’m the last person ever to get a crock pot. And everyone knows how to use one except me.

Last summer, Karen, and my sister and mother, got me a crock pot thingee. Okay. It’s an All-Clad “electric slow cooker.” Yup. They’re right. Either it’s slow, or I am. So I finally got a round to using it. It’s not that I’m ungrateful. But a crock pot in summer seems a bit anti-social. So tonight, I did a crock pot recipe from a magazine. It looked easy enough. Chicken thighs, chicken stock, potatoes, butternut squash, fresh thyme, some honey, and a sliced-up orange. And the recipe called for two and a half hours in the crock pot, on high. Well, someone was high when they wrote that recipe…

After two hours, the chicken was still raw. The pot was warm, but nothing else was happening. So I made a fresh pizza, realizing that our dinner plans were going to drastically change.

And yes, everything did finally cook in the (very) slow cooker. It took five hours. FIVE HOURS? I can see a bit of time beyond the recipe’s two and a half hours. FIVE? Hmmm. I think I need to practice this a bit more.

I don’t’ know how Will Smith’s movie ends. But I do know it took a lot less time than my cooker. But the good news is that the food did come out just fine. I guess, given enough time…

2007-12-14T18:43:00.001-08:00

I did a cooking lesson party the other night. Of all of the Chef Bill things that I do, these parties are among the most fun. And in this case, there were 22 women, all of whom work together, gathered in a colleague’s home to celebrate the season. And it was a blast. The menu was a simple one: three appetizers, followed by two paellas (one was a vegetarian version), and a finish with bananas Foster.

But the fun part is the questions that I get. That is, everything from my suggestions for cookware for the home (All Clad!!!) to my favorite knives, to fresh vs frozen crabmeat (go with fresh!). And it’s all in the comfort of their home.

But my favorite questions this week were for the paella. I had two requirements for dishes: no shellfish, and one had to be vegetarian. These are both contradictions to a traditional paella. So we did it anyway. And the reviews were great. The first paella had chicken, sausage, and salmon. The other had roasted vegetables, and chick peas. And since they both had saffron, the tastes were really good. And the questions ranged from farm-raised to wild-caught salmon (the farm raised holds up better while cooking, and remains moister) to rice types (Arborio, the same that’s used in risotto) to types of pans (if you don’t have a paella pan, go with something that’ll go from stovetop to the oven).

It was a great evening. And I’m looking forward to the other ones I have booked, too.

2007-12-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

I did a Romantic Dinner for Two the other night for a couple in Ludlow, MA. The evening was a blast for me and the couple, Chip and Noel. It was their 14th wedding anniversary, and part of the fun was that Noel didn’t know about it until two minutes before she walked into her own kitchen.

And Chip and Noel did something that many people do when I do a dinner for them: they spend part of the evening in the kitchen, watching me cook, and asking questions. And it’s fun for me too, because I get to meet new people, and enjoy their company.

But I got to thinking about one of the menu items from the dinner. It’s one of the all-time comfort foods, it’s easy to make, and people often don’t think about making it. And it is (they are?) roasted potatoes. How easy are they to make? It goes like this:

Take some potatoes, preferably small, red bliss potatoes, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. How many potatoes? If you get the small ones, 2-3 pieces per person. Of course, this is after you set your oven to 400˚ (or 375˚ for a convection oven). Pour some olive oil (2-4 tablespoons) over the potatoes, and sprinkle on some salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper). And roast away!

And for how long? The short answer is “until they’re done.” The longer answer is probably 35-50 minutes. The key is to set your oven timer for 10 minutes. And turn over the potatoes every 10 minutes to keep them from sticking and burning, as well as to help them brown evenly. Once they’re cooked to your liking, they’re done.

And no, you don’t have to wait for a Romantic Dinner for Two to serve them. Any time. Any place. And they’ll all be eaten.

2007-11-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

You’re probably a bit tired of turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and stuffing. I have a suggestion to overcome some of that turkey fatigue. First of all, freeze the carcass. Uh, that would be the turkey’s, not yours. If it’s filling up your fridge, you’re probably promising yourself that you’ll be making stock with it. Well, if you haven’t yet, then break it up by hand, put it in freezer bags, and make the stock when you get a chance. And yes, Ithere’s a quick stock recipe just below. This.

If you still have some turkey left, you can freeze that too, and use it for soup later. Or you can make a stew with it that tastes just like a pot pie. Either way, this will make sure that you end up using the whole turkey. And, of course, you’ll keep eating well, too.

Turkey Stew (Pot Pie without the crust)

Approximately 3-4 cups cubed, cooked turkey
2 bay leaves
1-2 tablespoons canola oil
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3/4 of a 12 oz can, evaporated skim milk (approx)
1 cup (approx) chicken stock
2 tablespoons (approx) all purpose flour
Bell’s seasoning or dried sage, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup frozen peas

In a large skillet over a medium heat, add the oil, and sauté all of the vegetables until the celery and carrots are cooked, yet still a bit crunchy.

Add the turkey to the pan, and combine with the vegetables. Add the chicken stock, and the evaporated milk.. Add more milk, and/or chicken stock, as needed.

Add the salt and pepper, with the Bell’s seasoning.

Add the flour to 1 cup of the warm water and whisk until smooth. Add to the chicken mixture. It will thicken almost immediately.

Add the peas, and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serves 4.

Turkey Stock

1 cooked turkey carcass
4-6 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 onions, cut into quarters
A stock pot large enough to hold the carcass

Place the carcass (and any other turkey bones) into the pot, with the vegetables, and enough water to cover everything. Ideally, the pot will be filled almost to the top with water.

Bring it to a boil, and simmer for 1-2 hours, depending on how much time you have. When it’s done, strain the bones and vegetables, and cool the liquid. Either use it within a few days, or freeze it. It will last in your freezer for at least three months.

2007-11-13T20:42:00.001-08:00

The holidays, especially Thanksgiving, are a time to make yourself nuts. No, I don’t mean a cashew side dish. I mean people just make themselves crazy this time of year.

So here we are again. What to do? Well, and turkey or the cooking part can be much easier. The first step is to simplify. If you’re going to be making a turkey, then take a long look at making the side dishes as simple as possible. This is where tradition and wackiness usually coincide. Most people have the basics at the table: turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and 17 side dishes. It’s these side dishes that make you crazy. There’s one cousin’s favorite yams and marshmallow dish, which is awfully similar to another cousins sweet potato and crushed pineapple. Or how about the four variations of potatoes? Then there are the other vegetables like squash, beans, and Brussels sprouts. So what do you do?

This is the easy part. If you are preparing the meal, just make one of these side dishes, just as you would if you were making a normal sized meal, and not one that could fill a school bus. If you’re lucky enough to be visiting someone else, and thus absolved from all housecleaning and turkey roasting, then bring your favorite dish. That’s the one that you can’t live without because it’s the holidays. While everyone says they’re shocked and appalled at that 1960’s classic side dish of (previously) frozen string beans, mushroom soup, and canned onion rings, everyone dives into this like there’s nothing else on the table. So be a sport, and bring your favorite dish.

In keeping it simple, just make one potato dish, and one vegetable. The two recipes below come from my sister Bea, and her spectacular cranberry sauce that came from who-knows-where, my cousin Paula. The potato recipe is one she’s been making for years. Not only does it taste great, but it’s easy, and can be as rich and filling as you’d like. You can even substitute yogurt for the sour cream, and it doesn’t sacrifice the taste at all. Plus, both dishes can be made a few days ahead.

Bea’s cranberry sauce is as simple as chopping a few ingredients, and throwing them into a pot to simmer for a while.

And finally, a word about the bird. People sometimes get confused when faced with a 16-25 pound turkey in their oven. It’s just like roasting a chicken in your oven, only it takes just a teensy bit more time. As a rule of thumb, if you’re cooking a very large bird, there’s no reason it will need more than 4 1/2-5 hours to roast. Also, make sure that the temperature of the bird, at the inner thigh, is 180°. And if the bird is stuffed, then the stuffing should be 160°.

So remember, try to simplify. Everyone will eat well, and you’ll be able to spend less time at the stove, and more quality time on your housecleaning ]. And isn’t that what counts for the holidays?

Cousin Paula's Mashed Potatoes Deluxe (adapted from the Washington Post)

2 1/2 quarts (10 cups) chicken broth (or water)
3 lbs. (6-8) russet potatoes, scrubbed (or any type of potato)
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" lengths
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 teaspoon. dried dill weed (or more to taste)
4 Tbs. butter, cut into small pats
1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
3 Tbs. chopped parsley
1 teaspoons salt and fresh ground pepper

Boil the potatoes, covered, in stock or water for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and
onion and cook 20 minutes longer, or until the potatoes and carrots are
tender. Drain, cool and peel the potatoes. Combine and mash the potatoes,
carrots, onion, dill and butter. Add sour cream or yogurt, parsley, salt
and pepper and mash again. Serve hot.

To make ahead: Place in buttered, covered casserole dish and chill or freeze. Bring to room temperature and dot the top with butter. (Sprinkle with paprika, if desired). Bake covered at 325° for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until it’s hot in the middle.

Makes 8-10 servings

Bea’s Cranberry Sauce
2 pounds fresh cranberries
3 apples, peeled, cored, diced
2 pears, peeled, cored, diced
2 Cups golden raisins
2 Cups sugar
1 Cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons grated orange peel
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 Cup orange liqueur (Triple Sec, Cointreau, etc.)

Heat all ingredients, except the liqueur, in a large pot, and bring it to boil. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until it thickens, about 45 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in liqueur
Serve chilled.

This makes approximately 1 1/2 quarts

Bill Collins is a professional chef who lives in Beverly. To contact him for holiday lessons on turkey carving, or questions in general, he can be reached via email at bill@chefbill.com

2007-11-05T13:01:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the ChefBill blog. In case you were wondering, it’s about food. As a personal chef, I’m in all kinds of kitchens, making all kinds of foods. Some of my recipes are fancy and elaborate. But the VAST majority of them are not. Most of my cooking is highlighted by fresh ingredients, local produce when it’s in season, and simple sauces that enhance the food, and not hide it. In short, foods that not only taste great, but are also, usually, healthy too.

The blog will be include a wide range of things: holiday foods and recipes, new (and old!) recipes that I’m cooking that week. Or maybe a great dish that I had a restaurant, or someone else’s home, that I want to try. And yes, your thoughts and comments are welcomed at all times.