Saturday, July 24, 2010
Herb Gardens.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Copper River Salmon.
I have been having great fun creating some wonderful dishes with the salmon and will create an old classic later this week. Poached Copper River Salmon with a classic sorrel sauce. The richness of the salmon is balanced beautifully with the soft buttery bitterness of the baby sorrel.
(I will include some pics & recipes later)
What is all this fuss I hear you say.
Well, for one thing. The Copper River Salmon season is a short one, three or four weeks in May & June for the fresh salmon. The Copper River flows through the state of Alaska. Almost 300 miles in length, this rushing river empties into Prince William Sound at Cordova. Salmon that originate in these pristine waters are challenged by its length and its strong, chill rapids. Copper River salmon are strong & robust with a healthy store of natural oils and body fat. These qualities make the salmon among the richest, tastiest fish in the world. And it is loaded with Omega-3 oils. Those good one's we are told to look out for which are good for the heart.
And speaking of the heart. That is not the only part of your body that benefits from salmon consumption: studies have found that fish oil can help combat such ailments as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer and migraines.
And speaking of Sorrel, I recently started a raised herb garden. And included sorrel in the garden, can't wait to use it.
Later my fellow cooks.
Mark.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Healthy and Delicious
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Healthy Potato Salad for Memorial Day or 4TH of July
Having a Memorial Day or 4th of July BBQ? How about a sweet potato salad? And it is not only healthy, but easy to make. Serve with grilled chicken, meat, or fish.
Yogurt and red-wine vinegar make a smooth and tasty dressing for this dish. Tarragon or Fresh Rosemary can be added instead of basil for a twist. Sweet potatoes are available year-round, and this dish works well served warm in winter months.
Drain the potatoes and don’t rinse them after cooking them but before adding the dressing.
1.5 LB’s
Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes.
1/3 cup nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt.
1 small red bell pepper, diced.
2 scallions, thinly sliced.
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or other herb of choice.
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Place sweet potato chunks in a medium saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes, drain.
In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, yogurt, bell pepper, scallions, basil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Only 120 calories per cup size portion, 27 g carbohydrate
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Entrance to the Mound of Hostages, "Hill of Tara".
Tara
Hill of Tara
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Healthy options don't need to be boring.
Who said eating healthy needed to be boring. Here are some healthy, organic, sugar free items my cooks made for a recent function.
Friday, May 21, 2010
BBQ & Picnic Season:
And yet another key factor is, (Help). You can never have enough help. Family and friends. Even if they just help with the clean-up afterwards.
"Keep it simple, prep ahead, have lots of help, and never ever stress. Guests will feel the stress and most times you are stressing for nothing worth stressing about anyway.
And as always try to have fun. Food and entertaining is all about fun.
Lastly, as we are getting into the summer season, which means BBQ's & Picnic's.
Please don't over cook the hamburgers & Chicken. They will continue to cook even when you remove them from the grill & if you close the cover on the grill they will turn into hockey pucks real fast.
I will be posting some great summer BBQ menu's very soon.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Lechon
Suckling Pig or “Lechon”
Within Chinese cuisine, the pig is usually consumed in small quantities via siu meat within the siu mei (A category of Cantonese cuisine).
Lechón is a pork dish in several regions of the world, most specifically Spain and its former colonies throughout the world. The word lechón originated from the Spanish term leche (milk); thus lechón refers to a suckling pig that is roasted. Lechón is a popular cuisine in Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, other Spanish-speaking nations in Latin America, as well as in the Philippines. The dish features a whole roasted pig cooked over charcoal.
In most regions, lechón is prepared throughout the year for any special occasion or during festivals and holidays. After seasoning, the pig is cooked by skewering the entire animal, entrails removed, on a large stick and cooking it in a pit filled with charcoal. The pig is placed over the charcoal, and the stick or rod it is attached to is turned in a rotisserie action.
In the Philippines, lechón is often served with vinegar & lechon sauce (made out of chicken livers or liver pate combined with vinegar, garlic, and pepper)
Monday, May 17, 2010
Farmers Market in Ireland, seafood & Olive stand.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Customer for Life. Not likely.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Restaurant Disaster's - How to Avoid.
A Restaurant disaster isn’t just when a waiter spills a glass of Pinot down the back of your white shirt. (This actually happened to me many years ago) When it comes to your health, a catastrophe is what can happen in the first and last 10 minutes of a meal.
Here are a few tips on how to eat out and be healthy at the same time.
Don’t arrive starving. A little healthy fat – A handful of walnut halves or unsalted Almonds (6 or 8 pieces) before a meal. The healthy fat in the nuts triggers a chain reaction that slows the rate at which your stomach empties, you’ll feel fuller faster. The chain reaction takes about 20/30 minutes, so plan ahead.
Drink a full glass of water. This can fill you up, so you don’t overeat.
Cut-up veggies instead of bread. (Celery & Carrot Sticks, Zucchini or Cucumber) Most restaurants will provide this option. But forget the Bleu cheese or Ranch dip.
Ask for Whole Grain or Whole Wheat bread.
Olive oil. If the restaurant brings you whole-grain bread, dip it in olive oil.
Ask for olive oil and vinegar on the side. The kitchen will more than likely over dress your salad -- even with oil and vinegar -- can deliver as many as 400 extra calories!
Get one dessert for every four people, and have just a few bites. If there are just two of you, take half of the dessert home, and freeze it for another day.
Ending a meal with a glass of Red wine lets you avoid the cloying aftertaste of sweets, and helps you avoid calorie-bombs.
Do what the Europeans do: Make salad the last thing you eat. Helps with digestion and stops that craving for something sweet.
Markets in Beijing, China & Provence, France
Farmers Market in Ireland
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
My students work.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Heirloom Tomato stuffed with a puree of warm Walnuts & smoked Burrata
Friday, April 30, 2010
Chinese Yams with sweet sauce.
Eating Turtles
A small hole in the wall Beijing restaurant, the kind where they spend less on the décor than they do on the paper napkins. As is common in most Beijing restaurants, the menu features photos of the different dishes. I was looking at laminated page after page of classic Hunan style dishes, when, I came across a photo of a turtle, whole, cooked of course and it sat on an oval plate in a broth with a garnish of chilis and green onions.
I have learned that the Chinese have no qualms about eating certain animals, such as red-eared sliders (and other turtles, such as softshells and snapping turtles), that most Americans don’t consider standard fare.
For instance, also in Beijing is the famous Night Market (otherwise known as “Snack Street”), which has achieved notoriety as being a place where one could taste a large variety of food items that would shock or even disgust many people, (I will include pictures of the Night Market soon). I did try the “Grilled Land Snake”, the “Grilled Lamb Kidneys” & the “Braised Sea Cucumber” among many other scrumptious and unusual snack foods. And they were all delicious.
However, my guest that evening, a well known Beijing Chef decided that he would order the “Hunan Style Braised Turtle” and insisted that I at least try one small bite. Not to disappoint my Chef friend and also curious, I agreed to at least try it.
And what a delight it was, slightly spicy in the “Hunan” style of cooking, but very tender delicious.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Favorite links
Currently reading
- The girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larsson
Blog Archive
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2010
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May
(17)
- <!--StartFragment--> Healthy Potato Salad for Mem...
- Entrance to the Mound of Hostages, "Hill of Tara".
- Tara
- Hill of Tara
- Healthy options don't need to be boring.
- BBQ & Picnic Season:
- Lechon
- Whole Roast Pig we served at a function yesterday.
- Farmers Market in Ireland, seafood & Olive stand.
- Customer for Life. Not likely.
- Restaurant Disaster's - How to Avoid.
- This pub and restaurant in situated in the small v...
- Cheese & Breads at an Irish Farmers Market.
- Markets in Beijing, China & Provence, France
- Farmers Market in Ireland
- My students work.
- Heirloom Tomato stuffed with a puree of warm Walnu...
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May
(17)
About Me
- Chef Mark
- Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Executive Chef and Culinary Arts instructor. Trained in Europe. Worked in London, Dublin, Boston, NY & L.A. Among the dozens of Rock Stars, Actors, Politicians, Heads of State & Business I have cooked for, Julia Child was the most memorable.