I love Southwestern cuisine – highlighted in a Cinco De Mayo menu that hopefully will be one of your favorite party menus of the year. Enjoy with classic tequila cocktails or sangria. You can reach me on ChefsLine’s hotline and chat on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings if you’d like some personal guidance with my recipes.
Cinco De Mayo Menu Espectaculo
Salted Tortilla Chips with Spicy Avocado Cilantro Salsa
Tossed Mexican Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
Pan Seared Black Refried Bean Tacos with Cilantro Key Lime Salsa and Chevre
Whole Roasted Chicken Mole Poblano
Pina Colada Tres Leches Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream
With the end of winter come the first of the new year’s sun-fortified flavors, and what better way to showcase them than with that deconstructed designer dish, the omelet? They’re easy, quick, and low-carb/low-fat. No need for a recipe here (although I included one below anyway), just a few tips to help get the best effect out of your eggs and spring ingredients with notes.
Act 1: Mis en place. Meaning, prep everything you will need for the omelet. Once the eggs go into the pan things move pretty fast so advance prep is key. Your tasks include: beat together eggs and milk or cream. Notes: Beat thoroughly for fluffier omelets. And, don’t add salt yet – it makes the eggs chewy. Chop vegetables into a small dice. Grate the cheese. Slice fish if you are using any. Assemble tools: two sauté pans (or one and a steamer), a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a heat-resistant rubber spatula.
Act 2: Steam or sauté your veggies. While steaming, also include your choice of fresh herbs, salt and fresh ground pepper. If you are incorporating fresh fish, let the other ingredients cook half way before introducing it to heat, since it will cook very fast. If you are using mushrooms (which I happen to love), go ahead and sauté them thoroughly to really bring out their distinct flavors. If you are using spinach, wait until the last second to add it in with your other vegetables. Leave avocados raw.
Act 3: Build an omelet. First, drop some extra virgin olive oil into a small sauté pan over medium heat, making sure it gets spread evenly across the whole pan. Ladle in some of the egg batter, depending on how large you want the omelet to be (less is more). Carefully tilt the pan into circles over the flame so that the eggs spread and cook evenly and slowly. Using a rubber spatula, you can poke the egg so that runny parts cook faster or to pull the egg from the sides of the pan. Gently lift slower cooking bits of egg to ensure it all cooks evenly. Your omelet is ready for the additional ingredients when the egg still appears liquid on the top of the omelet.
Sprinkle grated cheese over one half of the eggs, following with the still-warm spring vegetables, just enough to cover one half side of the omelet. Note: if you are using fish you may not want to use cheese. Using your spatula, carefully fold the empty half of the omelet over the over vegetable side. Heat through and plate it up! Garnish your dish with fresh herbs, tomatoes, pepper flakes, grated or crumbled cheese, cucumbers, melon, scallions or chives, sour cream, and/or hot sauce.
Other choice spring omelet ingredients include: most fresh herbs, mushrooms, artichokes, arugula, asparagus, avocados, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chives, corn, eggplant, green onions, leeks, peas, zucchini, summer squash, spinach, mussels, oysters, cod, flounder, halibut, salmon, sole, and trout.
Chef Adam’s Salmon Omelet Recipe:
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/8 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces fresh salmon
1/4 cup chopped morel mushrooms
salt and pepper to tasteMethod
Thoroughly whisk the eggs, sour cream, tarragon and a little pepper (no salt yet).
Sprinkle the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Heat a saute pan over high heat and add a little olive oil. When the oil starts to smoke a little, add the salmon and let sear for about two minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.Lower the heat to medium and add a little more oil and the morels, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushroom aroma becomes pronounced (other mushrooms ought to be more well-done to bring out their flavor, but morels are delicate and can burn fairly easily). The mushrooms and salmon can be done ahead, so that the omelet is much easier, quicker and more convenient to make for brunch.
Preheat a new saute pan over medium heat (a clean pan will prevent the eggs from sticking), add the butter, and spread it around with a spatula (I like to use a heat-resistant rubber spatula) for an even coating. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and, holding the pan over the flame, tilt the pan in circles to cook the eggs evenly. You can move the uncooked portions of egg around with the spatula to help them cook evenly. Add the salmon and mushrooms, positioning them over one half of the eggs. Carefully fold the other side over and turn the omelet out onto a plate. Garnish with sour cream and chives.
We’re lucky to have all weekend to plan a special surprise homemade meal for our lovers. As with every brunch decision – to be sweet or savory is the question. One solution is to go for both! And this weekend bonus chops go for serving the meal in bed. What follows are two of my favorite brunch dishes – each easy enough to prepare and enjoy in one sitting. You can even (secretly) plan ahead and make the Blueberry Compote and Maple Whipped Cream the night before.
· Crusty French Toast with Blueberry Compote and Maple Whipped Cream
· Savory “Polenta” Oatmeal with Peppered Bacon and an Egg
Crusty French Toast
This recipe is similar to standard French toast, but instead of dipping the bread into the egg mixture, you lightly spoon it onto each side, so that some of the edges are crunchy and the center doesn’t absord too much liquid.Ingredients
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 slices artisan bread, brioche, or croissants – about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
2 tbsp. unsalted butter – cut in halfHeat oven to 200 degrees. In a pie plate, whip together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and salt. Place two slices of bread egg mixture and soak for 30 seconds. Spoon the egg mixture onto one side, spreading it around with the back of the spoon. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl to coat and avoid burning. Place bread, soaked side down in skillet and cook about 2 – 3 minutes. Spoon the egg mixture onto the other side of the bread before turning (after bread turns golden) Place cooked toast on a plate and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining toast.
Blueberry Compote
This a quick and easy feature for brunch featuring a blueberry compote you can make the night before served over French toast. Note, a slightly sweet and open crumb bread such as brioche or Challah work best. Serves 2.Ingredients
2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, unthawed
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp ground coriander seedCombine 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar, water, and coriander in heavy small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup berries. Cook until compote coats spoon, stirring often, about 3 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.) Serve warm.
Maple Whipped Cream
Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
4 tsp maple syrup (use the real thing)Method
Chill a bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least an hour (this encourages the whipping process). Add cream to bowl and whip to soft peaks. While still beating, gradually add maple syrup and beat to stiff peaks. Store in bowl with plastic wrap on top to store overnight and whip briefly before serving.
Savory Polenta-Style Oatmeal
Ingredients
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmagiana Reggiano
1 Tablespoon chopped sweet basil or other fresh herb.Method
Boil 4 cups of the broth in a medium saucepan. Add the oatmeal. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a bout 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are tender, soft and creamy. Add more broth if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and basil, and ladle into bowls. Serve with peppered bacon and a fried egg (sunny side up) on top.
One of the most readily available, affordable, and tasty “superfoods” are beans. Beans are the proof that many a beautiful meal can be made with just a few quality ingredients. I personally adore beans – and nothing is easier to pull together than a sublime soft pinto bean and veggie burrito. Even though I almost always have a pot either soaking or cooking – the prospect of dealing with dried beans can be daunting for some home cooks which is why I offer you some of my best time-saving tips in this guide. Packed with nutritional value and easy on the wallet … beans are also the centerpiece of a big range of cuisines and can satisfy almost any food mood.
In the All About Beans Cooking Guide, you’ll find inspiration, tons of recipes, and large doses of tips on how to avoid some of legume’s infamous side effects.
and of course,
Check out the Guide and I know you’ll find one of our chefs’ Mediterranean, Asian, and Latin dishes will inspire you. Pick up some beans at the store and give me a call on the hotline so we can create a bean dish that satisfies your craving!
Summer fruits with a long season, like apples and peaches, and other fruits that ripen in autumn, like many plums and pears, are among the most excellent fruits for making fillings for pies and tarts. Autumn is the harvest season, and these and other fruit, especially stone fruit, are the first to fill the proverbial cornucopia, and are in fact falling off the trees this time of year.
Enjoy this recipe for Blueberry Plum Tartlets. It calls for a traditional pie crust, but you may also substitute this Almond Shortbread Crust recipe for an even more elegant treat. And consider making this Bourbon Whipped Cream as an accompaniment.
