Bon Appetite

Wednesday

Private Parties

Want to impress someone with a romantic date? I will come to your house in full uniform and prepare a gourmet meal for two by candlelight, with soft music of your choice and rose petals strewn about the table. I will prepare a salad and the first course tableside before your very eyes then retreat to the kitchen to prepare the main course. After dessert is served, I will leave.
I am an honored graduate of the Culinary Academy of New York and have worked in Manhattan's top restaurants since 1991. Before culinary school much of my experience was working as a banquet manager which entailed decorating the room to match the tone of the event. I am knowledgable of wines and many different types of food. I will prepare anything your heart desires with quality and passion.
For those interested, leave me an email address with your questions and I will respond in a timely manner.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Just as many keep the Friday after Thanksgiving open for hard-core Christmas shopping, I reserve this day with a tradition of my own; making turkey soup. It is very simple and leaves room for variation. Most likely you will not need to leave the house to find everything you need for this delicious soup.

Leftover Turkey carcass
Carrots
Celery
Onions
White Beans (Cannelini, Navy, or Great Northern)
Small Pasta or Rice (cook seperately)
Olive Oil
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Herbs
To start you should fill up a large stock pot with water and add chicken boullion accordingly. Next add the turkey carcass to broth. While boiling, add beans, celery, carrots, onions and garlic. Boil for about an hour until meat falls off the bone and vegetables are tender. Remove bones, add fresh herbs, pasta or rice and drizzle with olive oil.

Bon Appetite!!

Tuesday

Thanksgiving Day and the day after...

My first job out of culinary school was running the kitchen at a little restaurant that sold fresh sandwich's, soups and salad's. Paradou Marche was located at the Essex Street Market on the lower east side of Manhattan. It was mainly a food market with 1 or 2 cafe's, a butcher, a fish monger, a chocolatier and a couple of fruit and vegetable stands. Everything on our menu was created fresh on the premises except for the bread wich was baked locally and delivered every morning. Since I was the only cook, the job forced me to put many of my learned procedures to the test. Because our most popular sandwich was made of fresh turkey, my weekly workload demanded I prepare 2-3 turkey breasts every week. I've experimented with different temperatures as well as seasonings and I have settled on the following to achieve the best results:

You will need 1 tube of anchovy paste or 1 can of anchovies, minced (don't be frightened)
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Fresh sprigs of Rosemary,Thyme, and Oregano
1/2 cup white wine
Celery, Carrots, Onions, garlic cloves (2)
1 stick of butter
1/3 cup of flour
4 chicken boullion cubes

Preheat oven to 375
Remove giblets and neck, place them in 5 cups of water with boullion cubes. Boil.
Stuff Turkey with carrots, celery, onions, garlic and herbs.
Combine egg yolk, olive oil, anchovy paste, and garlic. Mix well and rub over turkey.
Place bird on V-shaped rack on non-teflon pan, breast side up. Cover with foil and place in pre-heated oven for a half an hour before removing foil. Rub 1/3 of butter over turkey, back in oven.
Periodically baste with remaining butter until finished.

FOR GRAVY:

Combine equal parts flour and butter to make roux
stir broth into roux over med heat until smooth. (This is a "Veloute") Set aside.
When bird is finished remove from pan and pour off fat as much as possible and discard. Pour drippings into veloute. Add wine and scrape to remove brown bits stuck to pan. Keep wine over heat until alcohol aroma disapates then add to gravy. Cook for a minute on low heat and add fresh herbs.

Bon Appetite!!

Saturday

My Spin On An Italian Classic

PASTA FAZOOL:

When I first became interested in cooking I was a waiter in Greenwich Village. I often watched the chefs at work and marveled over their expertise. Sometimes while loading up a tray of food I would become fascinated at how the chef swiftly prepared the last plate of the order. Paying close attention to the step by step process and asking a few questions here and there, I was soon copying them at home. If something I made didn't come out right, I returned to the man in the big white hat and sought culinary guidance. One of my first of these daring endeavors was an Italian peasant soup called Pasta Fagioli or "Pasta Fazool" (slang). A simple basic mixture of beans and pasta, the soup is widely recognized because of its mention in the Italian folk song, "That's Amore!"
Because Pasta Fazool is one of those dishes that has many variations, I have prepared it many different ways. The recipe I give you here is the one that I like the most. (Pardon the unconventional measurements).

16 cups of chicken broth
1/2 lb. bacon
2 or 3 handfuls of small pasta (ditalini, small shells,etc.)
3 cans of white beans (cannelini, navy, great northern, drained)
2 cans of red kidney beans or pinto beans (drained)
1/2 golden onion (diced)
4-5 medium size garlic cloves (minced)
A bunch of fresh basil (chopped)
About a qtr cup of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
A dash or two of Italian seasonings
Opera (on the stereo)

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta in salted water 2 minutes less than pkg directions indicate. Strain. Set aside.
Mix 2 cans of white beans with 2 cans of red beans.
Mash remaining can of white beans into a puree. Add this to chicken broth.
Fry bacon, set aside. Drain grease. In the same pan add olive oil, onions and garlic and saute bean medley adding Italian Seasonings
Add sauteed beans, pasta and crumbled bacon to broth. Bring just to a boil and simmer about five minutes then add basil.
Serve hot with bread or crackers.

Of course you can use dry beans if you want and any medley of bean will work.

Bon Appetite!