Cook with Kerry

 

 

Spider Cake

 

I made this for a Halloween party at work — I was pretty proud of it even if it’s a bit amateurish. I had fun piping the icing with a star tip. It was red velvet cake so when you cut the cake it looked like bloooooooood (yeah, stole that from Steel Magnolias.)

 

Posted by kerry at November 10, 2008 | 2 Comments

Category: Dessert, Misc.

Date and Manchego Wontons

 

Sean and I had the chance to join some friends for a Spanish Tapas dinner party a couple of months ago. I decided to reprise an old recipe I’d made a couple of times before. Originally, the recipe I put together had a combination of apricot jam and brie stuffed into a wonton and fried.

For this party, I wanted to make the recipe a little more appropriate to ingredients you’d find in Spain, hence the dates and manchego cheese. These were successful because they really combine the sweet and savory well — plus they’re fried and you could fry a old shoe and it would be tasty.

Next time I might try adding some toasted almonds to add some extra crunch.

Date and Manchego Wontons
Serves: a bunch

1 package dried dates, roughly chopped
1 cup water
zest of one lemon
Juice of one-half lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 lb. Manchego cheese, medium dice
1 package wonton wrappers
Oil, for frying

Combine dates, water, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small pot. Mix and bring to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer until it’s a thick, jam-like paste. Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble, put a teaspoon of the fig jam and a couple of piece of Manchego cheese in the center of a wonton wrapper. Fold in any creative way you’d like. Seal the edges together by brushing a little bit of water on each edge with a pastry brush or your finger. You can assemble these a day before you want to cook these. Store in the refrigerator on a cookie sheet in a single layer.

Heat oil to frying temperature — 350 -375 degrees. Once ready, drop the wontons into the hot oil a few at a time. Use a spider strainer to flip over to fry on all sides. Once golden brown all over, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt to taste. It’s best to wait a few minutes before eating even though it’s really hard to wait — they’re like molten lava right out of the oil.

 

Posted by kerry at | No Comments

Category: Recipe, Appetizer, Cuisine, Vegetarian, Fruit, Fancy Pants, Dates, Spanish

Things I’m really good at now because of culinary school, #1: Removing the skin from fish

 

Sometimes I have to remind myself that all of those early mornings (in the winter, especially!) were worth it. I’ve definitely learned a lot in the two-and-a-half years I’ve been back at school — while everyone else I know is sleeping in, meeting up for breakfast, and generally enjoying their weekends. I thought I might start journaling these things so I remember just why I spent all that time and money.

Tonight, I decided we’d have fish for dinner — it seemed like a good, healthy dinner after a weekend of general debauchery. I stopped at Whole Foods (sigh, I do have an unhealthy love of that store) and got some haddock that was on sale. When I got home, I realized I’d have to take the skin off. I flashed back to my first ever class at Johnson and Wales.

In this first class, I was generally like a deer in headlights. I was thrown into the fire, so to speak, and all of my other classmates had been in at least one other class before this. Everything was new to me! I didn’t realize that we didn’t dry the dishes, we let them air dry for sanitation purposes. I didn’t realize that we put wet paper towels under our cutting boards to keep them from wiggling on the stainless steel work tables. I didn’t know how to put my knives away in the knife kit I was issued. I didn’t even know I was supposed to be wearing white socks rather than the black socks I wore that day (lucky for my, my first chef didn’t give inspections!) So, when the chef put my “team” on the fish station and later said we needed to take the skin off of the fish before cooking it and then walked away, I was very perplexed.

Truth is, I’d never been good at that — I usually just cooked fish with the skin on and ate around it when I cooked at home. It peels off so much better when it’s cooked! I spent the next 15 minutes basically sawing the skin off in little pieces taking a lot of the fish with it. I finally asked the chef for help and, of course, he showed me how it was done…and I still didn’t get it. It was a good thing that fish was battered and fried because I had really made a mess of it.

Over the course of many more classes, I’ve finally figured out the trick. By cutting into the fish and holding a sharp chef’s knife at about a 45 degree angle with the blade up against the skin, you can easily get the skin off by wiggling it at the same time you are moving the knife along the skin.

Tonight I showed that haddock fillet who was boss and that skin came off in just a few seconds. It was a real reminder that I have learned a skill — one skill of many that has helped me become a much better cook. I suppose that was worth waking up at least one cold, snowy, winter morning at 5:30 a.m.

 

Posted by kerry at September 15, 2008 | 1 Comment

Category: Culinary School, Misc.

Meyer Lemon Salmon Tartar

 

Once in awhile I like to make really fancy stuff for my friends. I won’t lie — sometimes I just cook for the ooohs and aaahs. The shocker about this dish is that it’s incredibly easy. The hardest part is finding sushi grade salmon (and, well, paying for it!) I was able to get mine at Whole Foods, but any good fish monger should have it. One thing is for sure, now that I know how simple it is to make a tasty tartar, I won’t be ordering it in any restaurants!

Meyer Lemon Salmon Tartar
Serves 4

8 oz. sushi grade salmon
Juice of one Meyer lemon*
Zest of one Meyer lemon
1 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp. shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes for garnish

Dice the salmon into about 1/4 inch cubes.

To make the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, shallot, honey, mustard, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put the diced salmon in a bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and mix together. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of the dressing and stir to combine. Let this mixture sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 12 hours.)

To plate, use a round mold or cookie cutter (a tomato paste can would work well for this, too.) Put the mold on the plate you will serve on and fill the mold with 1/4 (about 2 oz.) of the tartar mixture. Pack in tightly and then lift the mold.

Garnish the plate with avocado, tomatoes, and mixed greens. Use the remaining dressing to spoon over the greens when serving.

* If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use a regular lemon but you might need to add more honey as Meyer lemons are more sweet (and less tart) than normal lemons. Just add extra honey until the dressing tastes balanced.

 

Posted by kerry at | 2 Comments

Category: Recipe, Appetizer, Cuisine, Meat, Fish, Healthy, Fancy Pants

Parmesan Pasta with Peas

 

Sean and I were driving home from Albany the other night and we were hungry. Of course, I had to make a pit stop at the one rest area on the Mass Pike that only had McDonalds. So, instead, we got some Chex Mix to tide us over. By the time we got home, there was only time to throw together something quick and this did it. It was super easy to make with basic pantry items — and it was super delicious. Just what we needed after a long drive.

Sidebar: I love frozen peas. As a kid I always hated peas — I grew up with canned peas and I hated the mushy mouthfeel. Imagine my surprise when I tried fresh peas for the first time as an adult. They were so delicious. I find that frozen peas taste closer to fresh peas than canned peas. They are easy to always keep on hand, cheap, and good to toss into everything from rice to soup to pasta. An easy, peasy way of getting some veggies, too.

Parmesan Pasta with Peas
Serves 2

6 oz. pasta of your choice*
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. shallots, finely chopped
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of salt and the dried pasta. When the pasta is about 1-minute from al dente, toss in the peas. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the shallots and cook 2 minutes or until soft. Toss in the cooked pasta and peas. Add parmesan cheese, parsley, and pine nuts. Stir to combine. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

* I used a combination of angel hair and pasta shaped like little snails because that’s what I had. Anything tubular or shell shaped works particularly well with this because it gives the peas a place to settle so you get peas with every bite. However, in a pinch, any pasta will work.

 

Posted by kerry at September 2, 2008 | No Comments

Category: Recipe, Main Dish, Side Dish, Cuisine, Vegetarian, Healthy, Vegetables, Comfort Food, Starch, Pasta, Peas

Asian-y Noodles with Grilled Chicken

 

I thought of this recipe on the way home today. Sean and I didn’t have very much in the fridge, but I knew we had some cabbage and some chicken that we needed to use up. I always have tons of flavorful pantry items (spices, vinegars, sauces, etc.) so it was easy to throw together. It turned out great. The noodles themselves were great served at room temperature — perfect for a warm evening like tonight.

You can serve this as a main dish with chicken (as written here) or shrimp; you might also serve as a delicious vegetarian dish by forgoing the meat all together.

Asian-y Noodles with Grilled Chicken

For Dressing:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
Juice of a lime
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. siracha sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

For Salad:
1/2 lb. fettucini
1/2 small head green cabbage, thinly shredded
1/2 small head red cabbage, thinly shredded
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 green onions, sliced
2 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 large chicken breast
Toasted almonds

Put ingredients for the dressing into a small bowl; whisk to combine.

Boil the fettucini noodles for about 10 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are cool to the touch. Drain well. Toss together with the cabbage, onions, chives, and carrots until all ingredients are mixed together well. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper (or, you could also marinate in teriyaki, hoisin, or any other asian-type sauce.) Grill until temperature reaches 165 degrees and slice.

To serve, place some salad in a large bowl. Top with sliced grilled chicken. Garnish with sliced almonds and sesame seeds.

 

Posted by kerry at August 25, 2008 | 4 Comments

Category: Recipe, Main Dish, Appetizer, Side Dish, Cuisine, Meat, Chicken, Asian, Fish, Vegetarian, Healthy, Vegetables, Comfort Food, Carrots, Cabbage

I’m back.

 

Um, hey there. It’s been, oh, almost a year since I’ve posted something new. But, I’m back! This past year has been BUSY. Crazy. Exhausting. Busy.

I’ve taken quite a few classes plus the dreaded internship where I worked 7 days a week for 15 weeks give or take a few days off scattered here or there. The Johnson & Wales internship was intense — 24 hours a weekend. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. many Saturdays to get there on time. And I worked hard! I learned a lot, but it took so much out of me that I’m just starting to feel like me again!

But, I’m ready to start updating this blog again. I’ve got a recipe ready to go, but until I get it written up, I had to share this recipe for BACON ice cream. Yeah, seriously. Bacon. Ice cream. And it’s DELICIOUS. I mean, seriously. Delicious. I made it for a dinner party on Saturday and served it with nectarine upside-down cake. Both recipes from David Lebovitz who’s blog is pretty awesome.

 

Posted by kerry at | No Comments

Category: Recipe

A Taste of the Rockies

 

Here’s where Cook with Kerry becomes Travel and Eat with Kerry. I had October off of school for various traveling reasons. And I took advantage by being at home only 1 out of the 4 weekends in October.

I spent Columbus Day weekend in Boulder, CO. I headed from Boston with my friend Ana and we met our friend Gracie who flew in from Seattle. It was a girls’ weekend and that always means good eats!

Our first stop was the Boulder farmers’ market where we browsed fresh fruits and veggies plus other organic treats. I bought some super fresh dried coconut which I plan on using soon to created a coconut macadamia nut crusted fish. It’s amazing how much better this is than that sweetened store bought stuff I’m used to — the coconut actually tastes like a NUT! The flakes are dried and crispy. And, the best part, I can mail order more when I run out!

While we were walking around the market, I saw someone eating a tamale. I knew I HAD to have one. I love tamales and you don’t see them often enough on the East coast. We found the tamales in an open air “food court” where they had all sorts of delicious dishes. We did get tamales (mine was spicy pork) and they were great. Although, I’m bummed we never got the bowl of asian dumplings from another stall. I said, “If I lived in Boulder, I’d come here every Saturday for lunch!”

For dinner that evening, we headed to the Kitchen. I’d read about this restaurant — it uses fresh, local ingredients wherever possible and I liked that idea. The restaurant was modern, but still warm with an exposed brick wall. The menu was small, but I liked that since I always have issues trying to decide what to get. I thought I wanted a steak (after a whole month learning about beef), but as often happens, the side dishes sold me on my meal. I opted for the pork chop which came with a porcini and potato gratin and freshly made apple sauce.

Before that came, we shared two appetizers: mozzarella, tomoato, and basil plus a cheese plate. The mozzeralla was super fresh — rather than being worked into a ball, it was more an amorphous “blob” drizzled with olive oil. The cheese was delicate and lacked the usual mozzarella stringyness; spread on a piece of grilled bread with some tomato and basil, it was perfect!

The cheese plate had an excellent assortment of cheeses with a sprinkle of nuts and honey. Only the very flavorful bleu cheese was a miss in my mind — I like bleu cheese and this was even strong for me!

Ana chose to get gnocchi with kale and cured pork cheeks (described as sort of like bacon, Ana didn’t hesitate!) I got a few bites of this one and was happy I did. The gnocchi were as light as a cloud and the pork cheeks gave a perfect saltyness to the light cream sauce.

But really, the star was one perfectly grilled pork chop which was a suprise to me since it was the sides that sold me. The porcini and potato gratin was fine. How can you go wrong with porcinis? And the apple sauce was a bit too tart for my taste. It didn’t matter though. I could have scraped those sides into the garbage and still been perfectly happy with the pork chop. It was a thick, bone-in chop with just the right amount of fat, seasoned well, and cooked to a perfect pink. So simple, yet it’s what I remember most!

Oh wait, I can’t forget the dessert. I ordered sticky toffee pudding because the server said it was their “hands down” best dessert. I also remember eating this dessert in a London pub and never tasting any dessert as good since, so I had to give it a whirl. While their sticky toffee pudding didn’t match the London version I had years ago, it was still delicious, sweet, and sticky with a good drizzle of caramel and a dollop of ice cream. Gracie’s butterscotch pot du creme was also a stand-out — thick and rich with butterscotch flavor, if I went back, I’d have a hard time deciding on a dessert!

After ambling out of there we thought we wouldn’t need to eat again for the whole trip, but of course, the next morning, we woke up with hungry tummies. Before we took a short hike around the Flatirons just outside our cottage door, we went for breakfast at the Chautauqua dining hall which I read was an excellent outdoor eating experience since it over looked the mountains. Unfortunately, it was too chilly to eat outside, but the building itself (a historic building from the late 1800s) was quite charming. We had the breakfast buffet which had quite a few options, though most were forgettable. It wasn’t a bad experience, but I don’t know that I’d go back unless I could sit outside, enjoy the view (which would certainly make the food seem more special), and order ala carte.

We spent the rest of the day hiking and then driving through Rocky Mountain National Park (which was AMAZING!) At the end of our day, we just got some cheese, bread, and snacks from whole foods and brought them back to our cottage to drink with the wine that Gracie brought with her from Chateau Ste. Michelle. A perfect ending to a great day.

Our final day in Colorado brought us to the Boulder Tea House. The teahouse was sent piece by piece from Boulder’s sister city in Russia. Its ornate and beautiful tilework and detail is something to see if you’re ever in the area.

The teahouse offers a wide variety of teas, as well as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an afternoon tea (for which you need reservations.) We went for breakfast where I got hash, eggs, and a biscuit (the biscuit is what sold me.) While the service was on the meh side (slow, and we had to ask for milk for our tea), the food was good. The hash was more like a pulled corned beef brisket which I found different-in-a-good-way with perfectly-soft sauteed onions, peppers, and potatoes. The biscuit was delicate, as a good biscuit should be.

Of course, where else would we go after the teahouse, but the Celestial Seasonings factory tour. Before the tour, we got to spend some time in the tasting room sampling some teas (we LOVED the Candy Cane Lane green tea). Then, it was off to the factory, where we were lucky to be there on a work day (factory tours are always better when there’s stuff going on!) We learned about the process of milling, mixing, and packaging the tea — the highlight was a walk through the mint room which contained all of the mints at the factory and was quite an olafactory experience (cleared our sinuses right up and made our eyes water just a touch.)

Our final stop before the airport (to kill some time) was the Boulder Brewing Company. There was no tour, but a ton of beer brewed on site. We got to settle out on the back patio, eat some decent pub food, and drink fresh beer (Ana and I got the $10 sampler which included 10, 3 oz. beers which I’d suggest.)

I definitely enjoyed Boulder. The nature was absolutely stunning, the weather was fabulous, and the food was memorable. What more can you want from a vacation?

 

Posted by kerry at November 7, 2007 | No Comments

Category: Travels

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

 

I love sweet potatoes. They seem to be one of those “wonder” foods. They’re full of vitamins, fiber, and they’re really tasty! Last night I made these with dry rubbed pork chops — a really good fall meal.

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato, diced
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. chipotle in adobo, chopped fine
1 tbsp. butter
1 oz. apple cider, warmed
salt and pepper, to taste

Steam the sweet potato until it’s fork tender (mashable). Toss into a bowl and add the other ingredients. Mash away. You might want to add more chipotle or adobo sauce if you can handle the heat.

Next time I make these I might also add a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Yum!

 

Posted by kerry at October 4, 2007 | 1 Comment

Category: Recipe, Side Dish, Cuisine, Vegetarian, Healthy, Vegetables, Comfort Food, Starch, Potatoes, Sweet Potato

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

 

It’s fall! Fall means pumpkin flavored things! I thought that a pumpkin milkshake might be good and I was right (this time…believe me, some of my ideas are complete duds.) It really tastes like frozen pumpkin pie!

When you consider your regular run of the mill vanilla milkshake packs well over 400 calories and 16 - 20 grams of fat, this is a practically guilt-free indulgence. One shake is 325 calories and 8 grams of fat. Plus, it is an easy way to get some milk and has 2 grams of fiber from the pumpkin. So, drink up!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 graham cracker, broken into smallish pieces
a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger

Add all of the ingredients to a blender. Whiz up until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass and enjoy! This is a reason to keep straws on hand!

 

Posted by kerry at October 1, 2007 | 1 Comment

Category: Recipe, Dessert, Drink, Healthy, Breakfast, Fruit, Pumpkin