I’ve Moved to SeattleFoodGeek.com

Dear Devoted Reader,

Scott’s Food Blog is moving to SeattleFoodGeek.com.  I hope you will join me in my new location.  To celebrate, I’ve posted my experience flavor tripping on miracle fruit tablets!

The new blog will continue to feature the great original recipes and photography you’ve come to expect from Scott’s Food Blog. But, it will also let me write about the excellent local food we produce in the Puget Sound.

Please update your bookmarks, RSS feeds, favorites, homepages, first-born children’s names and lower back tattoos to:

www.SeattleFoodGeek.com

Flavor Tripping on Miracle Fruit Tablets

The adventure begins soon…

Steak Frites – Now Even Frenchier!

 
More words soon, I know you’re just here for the pictures.

Pancetta, Onion and Tomato Soup with Portobello Mushroom Ravioli

 
Growing up, matzoh ball soup was my go-to metaphorical ethnic penicillin.  For some, chicken soup will always be the prescribed treatment for aches, pains and a sore throat.  However, there’s no reason that we can’t soothe ourselves with something a little more filling.  Next time you call in sick, email this 30-minute remedy to your significant other as a subtle dinner suggestion.  You’ll be back on your feet in no time.

Makes: 4 bowls
Total kitchen time: 30 minutes

Shopping list:

• 1 cup pancetta, finely diced (you can use bacon if you want, but make it good bacon)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 small leek, diced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/8” strips
• 1 package portobello mushroom ravioli (or any other ravioli that sounds good to you – lobster, pesto or spinach all work)
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan, to garnish
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the pancetta has started leaving brown bits on the bottom of the pot. 
2. Add the onion, garlic and leek and continue to cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the white wine to deglaze the pot – the acid in the wine will let the brown bits on the bottom become unstuck.  Scrape them up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to 4 hours for maximum flavor.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
4. When you are about ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil and add the mushrooms.  Cook for 1 minute, then add the ravioli and cook according to the package directions, usually about 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes.
5. To serve, ladle a generous serving of broth and a few ravioli into a bowl and top with a little parsley and parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Brown Butter and Roasted Corn Gnocchi

  A few weeks ago I ate at Crow, a fantastic little restaurant in my neighborhood.  They served a gnocchi with brown butter, roasted corn and morel mushrooms that blew my mind.  Honestly, it was so good that I would have kept eating until I developed a food hernia, had there not been a finite portion before me.  Here’s my version, topped with a Boursin- and wild mushroom-stuffed chicken breast. 

Makes: 2 finite portions
Total kitchen time: 45 minutes

Shopping list:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 oz. wild mushrooms (morels are best, but shitake or porcini work as well)
• 3 tbsp. Boursin cheese (it comes in a small box, available at most grocery stores)
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 cups gnocchi
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (roasted, if you can make/buy them this way)
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F and set the top rack in the middle position.  In a large stockpot, boil 1 gallon of water (or as much as you can fit).
2. If you’re using using dried mushrooms, let them soak for 20-30 minutes in a bowl of hot water to re-hydrate.  Drain and chop the mushrooms into 1/4” pieces.
3. Prepare the chicken breast by cutting a slit through the side of the breast, being careful not to cut all the way through the other side.  Expand the incision to make a pocket in the breast. 
4. Reserve half of the mushrooms.  Divide the remaining half and the Boursin cheese between the chicken breasts, stuffing it into the pocket you created.  Wipe away any excess Boursin that may be hanging outside the pocket – it will burn when the breast is cooked.  Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and lightly coat with olive oil.
5. Bake on an oiled, rimmed baking dish for 20 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. 
6. Meanwhile, boil the gnocchi until just undercooked.  This will usually take 2-3 minutes.  The gnocchi will float when they are ready.  Drain the gnocchi and set aside.
7. In a large, not-nonstick skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat.  Swirl the butter in the pan and cook until small brown spots begin to form.  This is one of the butter solids beginning to burn, and this is how we’ll make our brown butter.  Raise the heat to high and add the gnocchi.  Toss the gnocchi to coat in the butter and sear them, flipping occasionally, until they develop a very slight golden-brown crust.
8. Add the corn, remaining mushrooms cinnamon and cloves and sauteé 1 minute more, then remove from the heat. Salt and pepper the gnocchi to taste, then plate and serve.

Of course, you can always serve the gnocchi on its own as a main course.  Try pairing it with a brothy asparagus, mushroom and pancetta soup as a starter.  Or, kneel below a wheelbarrow of brown butter gnocchi with your mouth agape.  You know, whatever works for you.

Pork Chops with Apricot Peach Tea Glaze

 
In my ongoing quest of creating great dishes that use loose tea as a key ingredient, I’ve come up with some killer pork chops.  This recipe uses Apricot Peach Fruit Tea from the Portsmouth Tea Company to create an in-pan glaze that was born to love tender, juicy pork.  Too bad this tea is decaf – I’d sprinkle it over my bacon as a pick-me-up breakfast any day. 

Makes: 2 sweet chops
Total kitchen time: 15 minutes

Shopping List:

• 2 boneless pork chops, trimmed
• 2 tbsp. Apricot Peach Fruit Tea
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Pat the pork chops dry on both sides.  Salt and pepper the chops on all sides.
2. Coat the pork chops on both sides with the loose tea.  Press the tea into the skin of the chops until it sticks. 
3. Place the pork chops on a room-temperature skillet (not nonstick) with at least 1” of space between them.  Cover the skillet with a  lid and place it over medium heat. 
4. After 6-7 minutes or so, the fist side should be nicely browned.  Flip the chops and cook, covered, another 5 minutes or so or until cooked through. 
5. By this time, a thick, sweet glaze has developed in your skillet.  Plate the pork chops and top with a heaping spoonful of the pan glaze.

Mmmmango Tea-and-Honey Sorbet

I’m not much of a coffee drinker (strange for a Seattleite), but I do enjoy a good cup of tea.  Actually, I enjoy a frozen bowl of tea even more – get it, iced tea!  I’ve recently discovered the Portsmouth Tea Company, an excellent supplier of high-end tea blends.  Their "Mmmmango” tea is perfectly sweet and just slightly herbal – a great fit for tea-based sorbet. 

Makes: 2 quarts
Total kitchen time: 30 minutes, plus churning time

Shopping list:

• 1.5 quarts purified water
• 4 tbsp. Mmmmango tea
• 3 tbsp. honey

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Remove from heat.
2. Distribute the loose tea among 4 tea bags or 2 tea infusers and place in the pot of water.  Let the tea steep for 25-30 minutes for maximum flavor.
3. Once the tea has steeped, remove the tea bags and stir in the honey.  Adjust to taste with more honey, if needed, until the mixture is just slightly sweet.
4. Refrigerate the tea mixture until cold, then churn using your ice cream maker’s instructions.
5. Top with a drizzle of honey before serving.

I’m a big fan of sneaking loose tea into recipes, especially deserts.  Do you have any favorite tea recipes?  Are there any tea creations you’d like to see?  If so, leave a comment below!

Making Great Better – The Salmon Halo

Perhaps you saw the Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with Orange-Muscat Beurre Blanc recipe I posted last week.  Man, that was good eating.  “Wow, Scott!” I said to myself.  “How can you possibly make this dish any better?”  I think I’ve found a solution: a delicate halo of piped blue cheese mashed potatoes, gently caressing the salmon fillet as it develops just the slightest smoky crust. 

The potato recipe is quite simple.  Bake (or microwave) whole russet potatoes, about 1 potato for every 2 servings.  When they are fork tender, run them through your potato ricer.  This step is optional, but it’s the only way to guarantee lightness and fluffiness.  Mix in some butter, heavy cream, salt, white pepper and blue cheese.  Then, load the whole mixture into a pastry bag with an extra-large tip and pipe the potatoes around the salmon, directly on individual cedar planks.  Grill until the salmon is done, then serve directly on the planks.  Your guests will love it!

Grilled White Corn with Spicy Cilantro Butter

Don’t let Orville Reddenbacher fool you – corn was meant to be grilled.   This spicy yet cool corn is the perfect accompaniment for grilled meat or fish.  However, just because corn is a side dish doesn’t mean it needs to take the back-seat in flavor. 

Makes: 5 ears
Total kitchen time: 20 mins

Shopping List:

• 5 ears white corn, shucked
• 8 tbsp. salted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. red cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. Jamaican jerk seasoning (or your favorite spicy seasoning blend)

1. Preheat your grill over medium heat.  Place the corn directly on the grill and close the lid.  Grill, turning occasionally, 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mash together using the back of a fork.  If you’re making this recipe in a larger quantity, you may want to prepare the butter using a food processor.
3. When the corn is almost done (check for tenderness with a fork) brush it on all sides with the cilantro butter and grill for another 1-2 minutes. 
   

This cilantro butter also makes great grilled toast, and can be added to shellfish, chicken, or white fish for a wonderful, simple seasoning. 

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with Orange-Muscat Beurre Blanc

After grilling fresh Coho salmon fillets over cedar planks, its hard to enjoy salmon prepared any other way.  My building’s facilities manager, Bruce, generously shared his catch from a recent trip to Alaska.  This recipe combines the rustic, smoky flavor of the cedar planks with the subtle, sweet butteryness of the beurre blanc.  Its a great combo, as I hope you will soon discover.

Total kitchen time: 1 hr
Makes: 4 1lb fillets

Shopping list:

• 4 1lb. salmon fillets (with skin is fine, without is fine also)
• 2 large (or 4 small) cedar planks for grilling
• 2 tsp. fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 tbsp. orange-muscat vinegar (honestly, any white wine vinegar will work, this one just adds a little flavor and a lot of adjectives.  Available at Trader Joe’s.)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into teaspoons
• fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

1. Soak the cedar planks, completely submerged, in cold water for at least 1 hour.  Preheat your grill over medium-high heat before grilling.
2. For the beurre blanc, heat a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the diced shallot and about 1 tsp. of olive oil and cook until the shallot smells great, about 3 minutes.  If it looks like the shallot is starting to brown, reduce the heat.
3. Add the white wine vinegar (in this case, orange muscat vinegar) and stir to deglaze the pan.  Continue to cook until the vinegar has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and 2 teaspoons of butter.  Continually whisk the butter until it is completely melted.  If the butter starts to foam, place the bottom of the pan on a cold surface (like a stone countertop) to cool it.  Add the remaining butter, 2 teaspoons at a time, whisking continually.  If the butter refuses to melt, hold the pan over very low heat for a few seconds and then remove. 
5. Once all the butter is incorporated, taste the sauce and adjust with a fine-grain salt and freshly ground white pepper.  You can use black pepper if you want, but white pepper will make the sauce look prettier.
6. Prepare the salmon fillets by patting them dry and coating with salt, pepper and fennel seeds on the flesh side.  Rub the fillets on all sides with olive oil. 
   
7. Make sure your grill has been preheated over medium-high heat.  Arrange the cedar planks on your grill and place the fillets, skin side down (if they have skin) on the cedar planks.  Close the lid and grill for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is fully cooked.  The planks will give off a lot of smoke which adds to the excellent flavor.  However, if your planks should catch fire, simply spray them with a small amount of water (I recommend San Pellegrino ) until the flames dissipate. 
8. When the salmon is cooked to your preferred doneness (let’s face it, either it’s undercooked, done, or overcooked), use a long spatula or a chef’s knife to remove them from the planks.  Top with a spoonfull of the beurre blanc and serve!

Look for more cedar plank recipes this summer.  I’m now a big fan of this cooking method and it deserves some further exploration.  Do you have any favorite wood cooking recipes?  Leave ‘em in the comments below.