Turduckin-Complete

The day was finally here!!!  All they hype about cooking and preparing of a turduckin was coming to fruition.
I had spent about four hours total getting the birds de-boned, stuffed and sewn up.
The turduckin took nearly five hours to cook.  In that time I was constantly basting it to get it golden brown and keeping it moist.
Once the turduckin was done we still had some waiting to do, about twenty minutes was needed to let it rest before cutting it.  This allows the juices to be pulled back into the meat.  You slice to early and your left with a piece to dry turkey giving you cotton mouth.  I removed all the strings that i could find and alerted folks that they may encounter a piece our two of string.  I began to slice and it just fell apart, it was just heaven with pieces of stuffing on the side.  The gravy on the stove was just about done and we were all ready to eat.

It was a great day of feasting over some great food, friends and family.  The only thing that would have made it better was having my own family here to enjoy such a great meal.

Canning Bounty 2012

Now that the holidays are over, I can show you a picture of all of jars and cases of goods that I had pickled over this year.  I did pickles a bunch of different ways, pickled tomatoes, eggplant and I even made some of my own salts.
I am looking forward to a great 2013 with some new ideas on some things to can, thanks to Renee and the books she got me for Christmas.  To those of you family on the East Coast, I will be bringing some with me the next time I am out!!!

Recipe-Homemade Truffle Salt

This salt is amazing on so many levels.  the versatility alone will send you on a adventure of what next can i sprinkle this amazing, dank smelling salt on???  Well....everything from popcorn to a simple salad.

Please be aware however this recipe will set you back 60 -70 dollars.  Good truffle peelings are key to this recipe.  You will be able to find them at Whole Foods and other specialty markets.

Homemade Truffle Salt

Yields: 5#

5# kosher salt

1 can of truffle peelings

Method:

1.  Drain the peelings, saving the liquid for other applications; lasts for about two weeks in the fridge in a air tight container.

2.  Chop up the truffle peelings and place on a sheet tray and place in the oven to dry by just using the pilot light.  This process is fairly quick, just overnight does the trick.  

3.  Place half of the dried, chopped peelings into a Molcajete   Add four spoon fulls of kosher salt and grind. Grind until the salt starts to brown a little from the truffle powder.

4.  Repeat process until all of the dried truffles are ground up.

5.  Mix with the remaining salt and store in a air tight container.

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My Christmas book gifts

Thank you Renee for the books for Christmas, I got Get Jiro for myself today with Christmas money.

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Turducken-Phase 3

Not only is making the turduckin a labor of love, the making of stock from the bones is also.  I have a big pot that i use for pickling that i had to use for making the stock. I turned on the burner, added some oil.  In the meantime I broke down the carcasses down to fit better in the pot, added 12 chopped carrots, a bunch of celery and four chopped onions.  The key here is to chop your vegetables around the same size of the bones, this insures even cooking and a more pure stock by not having the vegetables break down into much in the stock.  Anyway i added some peppercorns, bay leafs, fresh thyme and rosemary to the pot and browned them.  I then added about four and a half gallons of water to the pot, brought it to a boil and reduced it to a simmer.
When all said and done I have been left with about a gallon of good demi glace that will in-turn make up to four gallons of good stock.

Turduckin-Phase 2

 I have all three of the birds!!!  I have also de-boned the turkey except the turkey legs which will stay.  I have removed the legs from the chicken and will skewer them next to the turkey legs.  The duck legs were to small so i just de-boned them, seasoned each with my homemade seasoning.  Here are a some photos....

pictured above:  Turkey, herb salt.

pictured above:  Chicken, starting the process.

pictured above:  Chicken done with the legs to attach to outside of the turduckin, smoked herb salt.

pictured above:  Duck deboned, truffle salted.

pictured above:  pressing to help achieve even cooking.

Turducken-Phase 1

Thanks to Julie i have a whole duck and chicken in my fridge, ready to be de-boned and made into a mouth watering experience.  I am getting the turkey Wednesday after work.  Thursday I will be starting the process, so stay tuned!!!!  What are your thoughts?  Should i put the leg bones of each one on the out side?  How cool will that be....

Recipe-Pickled Red Tomatoes

This is one of my new favorites.  These pickled tomatoes are out of this world.  A must make at least once even if you are not a fan of tomatoes and or pickled tomatoes.  This recipes balance of tartness with sweetness is absolutely ravenous.

Pickled Red Tomatoes
Yields:  6 pints

Ingredients:

5# roma or plum tomatoes
3 cups white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons pickling salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 each large shallots, large diced
12 each garlic cloves, sliced (2 per jar)
3 each bay leafs ( 1/2 per jar)
60 each peppercorn melange (10 per jar)

Method:

1.  Sanitize all jars and lids.

2.  Start a water bath with enough water to submerge the jars in when we are done filling them.

3.  Bring a pot of water to a boil for the tomatoes.

4.  Core all the tomatoes and make a criss-cross slice on the bottoms of them so we can concasse them.

5.  Place a few tomatoes into the boiling water at a time and leave them in the water until you start to see the skin peel away from the tomatoes.  Remove from the water and place into a ice water bath to cool.  Repeat this step until all tomatoes are done and cooled.

6.   Once cooler, removed skin from each tomatoes and cut them into quarters, set aside.

7.  In a pot, put the vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.

8.  Place above ingredients that you have prepped in to your dry and sanitized jars.  Layer by adding some onions, peppercorns every two tomatoes.

9.  Once jars are full but not packed tight, began to carefully pour your liquid over each jar.  Fill to just the lower lip of each jar.  Take a butter knife and gently place it into the jar on the sides to remove air bubbles.  Add more liquid if needed and remove air bubble again.

10.  Wipe the lids dry and place on the tops and screw each top on hand tight.  Place each jar carefully into the water bath for thirty minutes at a constant 180 degrees.

11.  Remove from water baths and let them cool, the tops will pop.  That is a good sign, they are sealing.  Make sure all of the seal, if they do not, no worries, refrigerate once cool and use withing 2-3 weeks.

Homegrown Garlic

Check it out, I am growing garlic indoors!!!  Its in a flower pot.  I had some garlic that was sprouting, I said to myself, "what the hell, lets see if it grows".
Sure enough one has really come along, check out this picture below....

Tap House-Westmont-Networking Reception

After a long afternoon of participating in planning for 2013 at the hotel i work for we all went to the Tap House to enjoy some good appetizers  drinks and network within the group, which was fourteen people..  I have never been to Tap House before and was surprised how the inside looked compared to the outside.  Once entering to your left they have a private room with a pull down screen were you can have parties and or business meetings.
The bar was positioned to the right of the building, leaving the left side open to booths around the side and a gas fireplace with a couch and chairs.  That  is were we all migrated until the food came, then we just got up and went to the tall boys and stools to eat.
The Executive Chef had ordered the tables apps and we had the following:  chicken fingers, fried pickles, chicken wings spicy and sweet, deep fried bacon, loaded tots, beef sliders, pulled pork sliders just to name a few.
It was a feast to say the least.  the loaded tots were awesome, so awesome we ordered another one for the table.  The fried pickles were good, could of had more of a dill flavor.  The ranch dipping sauce was a nice touch.  i was excited about the deep fried bacon, however after trying it, i was not impressed.  The bacon tasted raw and had way to much batter.  To pull this off you need thick bacon that has been almost fully cooked, then dipped in batter, then fry it up!!!
If you are into craft beers, this is the place to go as well.  The list changes often with a great variety for all types of beer lovers.
Overall the food was ok, the beer was good, and the networking and being in a environment with my peers out of work was refreshing.  A great way for others to connect and or reconnect.

TurDucken

This Christmas Eve I am in charge of the main course if you will.  I will be taking on the task, well i would not really think of it as a task but more a labor of love.  I mean its not everyday that you decide to stuff a chicken inside a duck in-which you then stuff that into a turkey.  Yeah i know sounds amazing, i am salivating just writing this.  I will be posting later in the month on creating this masterpiece that will soon have everyone unbuckling there belts and snoring after dinner.....

Late Night Snack-Vermont Peanut Butter Sandwich

I am a peanut butter fanatic!!!  My brother and his wife got this for me for my birthday, its delish guys, thanks!!!

Recipe-Homemade Herb Salt

Below is my recipe for a homemade herb salt. It is a labor of love and takes a few days to get the final product but it is so worth it!!!

Herb Salt
Yields: About 4#

Ingredients:

1# Fresh Rosemary
1# Fresh Thyme
1# Fresh Sage
3# Kosher Salt


Method:

1. Remove the rosemary and sage from there stems and spread the herbs on the sheet tray. Place the thyme on a separate sheet tray still on the stems.

2. Place the sheet trays of herbs into your oven and let them dry by just your pilot lite. This process depending on your oven with take 2-3 days for them to dry. Do not leave them in the oven for to long. If the herbs start turning black, remove from the oven and let them air dry.

3. Once the herbs are completely dry place small amounts in a Molcajete and grind the herbs to the consistency that you want for your salt.

4. Once they are all ground up, let them air dry for another day.

5. The next day, place small amount again into the Molcajete and add some salt and well, about 3 tablespoons and grind to help infuse the flavors into the salt.

6. Do this process for 4-5 times and mix with the remaining salt.

7. Place in a air tight container. I use mason jars.

-Use herb salts for many applications like mixing in mashed potatoes, sprinkle over veggies, salads and much more, enjoy!!!

Whole Fish Roasted with Potatoes & Thyme-Recipe #3

I have been wanting to make this dish for a while now. Of course the day i choose to make it i had troubles finding some whole fish. I drove to a few markets with no success unless i wanted to put a order in and they could have it for me the following day. After hearing this it really made sense. There is not a high enough demand in smaller markets to carry whole fish for sale.
I came back home to make a few calls and ended up driving to Standard Market. On the phone the gentleman said they had some nice whole golden trout. I made this dish for two, so i purchased two fish gutted and deboned.
This dish is in my eyes a quick recipe, prep to cook to plate in about a hour. So please enjoy this recipe below, then put your own twist on it. Enjoy!!!

Whole Fish Roasted with Potatoes and Thyme
Serves: 2 people


Ingredients:

6 each medium sized yukon potatoes, quartered
1 each large white onion, large julienne
2 each shallots, quartered
3 each garlic, sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 each thyme sprigs
2 each Whole Golden Trout, gutted, deboned
1 lemon, half thinly sliced, the other half for squeezing
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

2. In a bowl, toss the potatoes, onion, shallot, garlic and a tablespoon of the olive oil. Add 2 each rough chopped thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper

3. Place in a baking dish and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. You want the potatoes to be half done when removing pan from the oven to put fish in.

4. While the pan is in the oven prepare the fish by rubbing with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stuff the cavities with the lemon slices and and remaining thyme.

5. Still the potatoes when you remove them from the oven and push some of the potatoes to the side. Set the fish in the middle of the roasting pan.

6. Roast the fish in the oven for another 30 minutes until potatoes and fish are fully cooked.

7. Transfer the potatoes, onions and garlic to a large platter. Using a fork remove the skin from the fish very gently. Place the fish on top of the potatoes and onions.

8. Squeeze lemon juice over the dish, drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and garnish with the chopped parsley.

Chicago Beer and Vermont Cheddar Soup-Recipe #2

I seasons are changing, that has been evident over the past few days by temperatures being in the 40's. I had the day off and wanted to make a soup, so happens that i had a recipe for such things and it was of one that i had chosen to do out of my recipe book. The recipe was a basic guideline. I went to Trader Joe's up the street and picked up the few things i needed. I grabbed a french baguette to make some crustini out of. I headed to there cheese section and was surprised to see some Vermont cheese there. It was not a name brand I have had before but it was Vermont cheese. For the other half of the recipe i needed some beer. I got a six-pack of Chicago Pier Pale Ale. I grabbed some celery as well and headed to check out.
Once i got home, i went straight to getting this prepped out. The prep time on this is about half a hour, time in all is about a hour to get yourself and a loved one to the table with a warm bowl of soup.
I myself was making this soup for myself this evening with hopes of sharing it with others later in the week.
Below are some picture of my dinner in the process and the final results. But first here is the recipe, enjoy!!!

Beer and Cheddar Soup
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

1/2# apple-wood smoked bacon, diced(easier to slice when frozen)
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
one 12-ounce lager or pilsner beer
3 cups low sodium vegetable stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound sharp white cheddar, shredded
4 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a soup pot, cook the bacon over moderate heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Once crisp, remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate with paper towels, reserve for later use.

2. Add the celery, onion, jalapeno, garlic, thyme to saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring until tender, about 9 minutes. Add half the beer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add all of the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

3. In a small skillet, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat, stirring until lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk the roux into the soup until until it is incorporated. Cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the heavy cream, cheddar cheese and remaining beer and simmer, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in the bacon and season with salt and pepper. Add more vegetable stock to the soup if it is too thick to your liking. Turn off heat and serve, its great with some torn french baguette and or garlic crustinis, your choice, enjoy!!!

Casey's Market

I went on a trip to Casey's Market in Western Springs. Caseys has a lot of frozen goods, by this i mean items cooked in house, packaged and sold. They have fresh and frozen sausages, brats. They have frozen lasagnas, frozen and fresh soups with reasonable prices.
They have a great display of there fresh meats, sausages and seafood. They have house-made slab bacon that you get cut the way you want it!!!
They have a lot of prosciutto, salamis, dry sausages. I got myself some sliced prosciutto. They have a great selection of chicken, stuffed chickens gigantic chicken kabobs and Cornish game hens.
I will for sure be returning here with the selection they have and local, fresh food, this is were it all starts.

OBH Marriott Ryder Cup 2012

It was a crazy week non the less leading up to the Ryder Cup. We were one of the host hotels located about 30 minutes away from Medinah Country Club were the event was being held. The preparation was intense, we were doing stations out in the lobby, with a DJ, and great food. We had taco stations, pizza stations, BBQ stations, pasta stations, and Italian beef and sausage stations. This would take place over two nights, four stations each night.
We had some great food both nights. Below are some pictures of the bar and some of the action station set-ups.

Coq Au Vin-Recipe #1

I had the day off yesterday and thought it would be a great time to get started on my recipes that are in my recipe book that i have been collecting over the years. Renee was coming over today and I wanted to cook for her. Coq Au Vin was was the perfect thing to cook for us that evening. I had most of the items i needed to prep for dinner, however i did need to go out to the store. My store of choice is Natures Best, its a great produce place in Westmont right off of Ogden Avenue. I got what i needed and headed home to do some prep. Once Renee came by after work, I had everything ready to go. This recipe takes a little over a hour and that includes prepping time and cooking time. Coq Au Vin is a classic french dish composed of pieces of chicken(I had drumsticks in the freezer so i used them), mushrooms, onions, bacon and various herbs cooked in red wine. A simple, fresh, elegant dish that warms the soul on a cold winters day.

The recipe is as follows........

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
3 thick cut slices of apple-wood smoke bacon rough chopped
4# of chicken(any cut is fine)
1 cup of flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika
8 ounces of cremini mushrooms
3 large carrots cut in 1/2 and sliced on a bias
3 garlic cloves sliced
1 large sweet onion medium dice
1 bottle of red wine(what ever you cook with serve the same wine for dinner)
1 cup chicken stock
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs of thyme

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot, or cast iron pot of pan. Add the bacon and render bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to a plate with paper towels. Keep bacon fat in pan.
2. Place your chicken in a zip-lock bag with the flour and seasoning and coat well, remove from the bag.
3. Brown the chicken in the oil and bacon fat, once browned, remove from pab and place on the same plate as the bacon.
4. Saute mushrooms, carrots, garlic, and onions in the pot until they begin to brown.
5. Pour in half of the bottle of red wine and cook over high heat for six minutes.
6. Add chicken stock and the remaining half bottle of red wine, add the chicken, bacon and herbs.
7. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
8. Serve over a bed of rice or mashed potatoes.
9. Enjoy!!!

Taking on My Recipe Book

As a Chef, i am always looking at cooking magazines. I look for new trends, new ideas, new recipes that i can put my own spin on. For the past few years i have been collecting recipes that i like and or think that i would be able to cook in my kitchen with some ease. With that being said, my binder is full of recipes, i even have it broken down into categories.
I have decided to do a Julie and Julia type of thing, only not doing every recipe in my book, I just don't have the time and or the funds to do them all. I have picked 15 different meals to recreate. By doing this I will be doing things i have never done before like Bibimbap and Cassoulet. Its a way for me to learn new things as well as to take my own notes on these recipes and create a twist on them to call them my own.
For each recipe I am doing I will be writing about it in my blog as well as possibly posting some recipes for others to try themselves.
By doing this i hope to capture a bigger audience for my blog and also get others into food more then they are when they see that some recipes are easy to do at home as well as in the kitchen for mass production.
Sit back and relax and look for upcoming posts in the next few weeks on my endeavors and or challenges it should be fun and educational all at the same time, till then take care.

Lynfred Winery-Roselle Illinois

Here are some photos of them making wine at Lynfred Winery. My friend and I were here, she has been to the winery more that I and have never seen them doing this before. The round horizontal tube is a press, its pressing the grape juice out and catching it at the bottom while a tube transfers it to one of there silos to age. The big boxes are of spent grapes. I have a video of them removing the grapes, however cant upload it to my blog. You can see the video on my Facebook page, send a friends request if your not.

My New Molcajete and Making Seasoned Salts

I have been on the hunt for a good Molcajete for sometime, the ones i did find were to expensive for my budget. Before getting the small jars for the seasoned salts I looked over near the cutting boards and such to see if they had any Molcajetes. There on the shelf was not one, but two nice lava stone Molcajetes. I hesitated to look at the price, wincing I flipped the card over to see it was only 20 dollars. I was sold, this was the first thing in my cart at World Market.
I walked over a few aisles to the containers and found some really cool small tins. There was also some cool small glass jars with cork tops, some with a mason jar style clamp. They had a few colors of the small tin one, so i got myself a few of each.
A year ago i had made some herb salts. I used fresh herbs, dried them and at mixed them with salt. I have been keeping them in Mason jars. Getting the Molcajete i was able to really grind the herbs with the salts. These salts can be used for a variety of applications, flavor potatoes, veggies, even steaks, chicken, pork, etc. this process was done with ease with the Molcajete.
A few weeks ago out exploring food, i happened to be in a shop that sold canned sliced truffles. The prices was right, so i grabbed it, I was going to keep it to make some truffle salt.
I chopped up the whole can, put on a sheet tray and put into the oven to let them air dry over night. I put some of the dried truffles into my Molcajete and begin to grind into a dust. For more friction and most importantly to infuse the salt with this flavor i added salt and pulverized some more. I removed the mixture from the Molcajete and repeated the process until all of it was done. When all said and done with the grinding and mixing of my salts and herbs i had a full quart Mason jar full of homemade truffle salt, a pint of sage salt, a pint of thyme salt and a pint of sage/thyme salt.

Late Night Meat and Cheese for Two!!!

I had the day off Monday. Renee had to work, she would be gone from 2pm till around 10pm. I thought it would be a great idea to show her some appreciation by having a meat and cheese tray ready for us when she got home from work.
I had run a variety of errands earlier in the day, going to different markets around town. I was able to get some sliced prosciutto, some marinated artichokes, a Mediterranean blend of olives, a raw milk bleu cheese, a great brie and another hard goat milks cheese. With all of this i needed a nice freshly baked french baguette. My last and most important choice was what type of wine did i want us to have with this wonderful snack? White? No, i was in the mood for some red wine. i found a great bottle of Malbec that would compliment the array of food on out meat and cheese tray.
Once all purchased i just had to wait. i had text her ealrier in the day to have her text me when she was on her way so i could take out the cheese and let it get to room temp. The cheese wold become creamy and delectable.
Below are some photos of our nice spread. We used the leftover brie cheese in the omelets the next morning, and i made myself and Renee salads for lunch with the leftover raw milk bleu cheese.