Kitchen Guy’s Steak Chimichurri

Ingredients
1 cup Italian parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cilantro
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 10 oz. Rib-Eye steaks

Method
Puree all chimichurri ingredients in processor. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let stand at room temperature. Salt and pepper the steaks on both sides. Heat a large pan over high heat until it is smoking hot. Add about a half tablespoon of canola oil. Sear steaks on each side, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Top with chimichurri sauce.

Fall and winter’s saving grace in the vegetable department are the brassicas. This family of vegetables includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli raab, turnips, kale, mustard, and collards.

It’s great claim to fame is that almost all are cold tolerant. And although it’s true you won’t find someone harvesting them with a foot of snow on the ground, their tolerance for cold means that in many areas of the country they can be grown in cold frames even in the dead of winter. This is great because otherwise we’d be limited to winter squash or tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes for fresh winter produce.

In addition to the expected complements of vitamins and minerals, these vegetables contain glucosinolate, which is an anti-oxidant and may reduce the risk of cancer, improve the lung function of people with COPD, and even undo diabetes damage. In other words they’re as healthy as all get-out.

But this family has a drawback, it tends to be bitter (and some folks are sensitive to this bitterness) and if not cooked properly (for the particular vegetable) they produce sulfur compounds. These compounds are particularly apt to show up by over-cooking broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, which explains why so many people dislike these veggies. Nevertheless, done well they’re all delicious, they complement well the heartier flavors of cold-weather dishes such as beef stew and braised lamb shanks, and their fresh flavor is a welcome addition to winter meals.

Roasted Cauliflower has a wonderfully nutty, almost pecan-like, flavor. If you’ve never had roasted cauliflower prepare yourself for a treat, it becomes a totally different vegetable and one that even cauliflowers haters have come to love.

When I was a kid I loved Brussels sprouts - baby cabbages. Like cabbage itself, over-cooking results in particularly distinctive sulphur compounds - not happy-making. But cooked well as in this recipe for Braised Brussel Sprouts they’re incredibly good.

Broccoli is one of my go-to weeknight veggies. It’s steams in 15 minutes and is wonderful topped with butter and lemon juice, mayonnaise, or even store-bought blue cheese or Italian dressing. Just cook it and pour something on top - it’s great!

And let’s not forget brassica roots - specifically ruatabaga. Slightlu bitter but also sweet sweet, it’s wonderful paired with almost any winter dish, but I think especially good with roast birds: chicken, turkey, or duck. This recipe for Rutabaga with Maple Syrup and Bourbon is particularly good.

Kitchen Guy’s Chicken, Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Tart Recipe
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 puff pastry, frozen sheet
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup chicken breast, cooked, shredded
1 cup chicken leg quarter, shredded
1/2 cup Kalamata olive, chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon, fresh, or 2 tsp. dried
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
1 cup roasted red pepper, sliced

Method
Preheat oven to 400. Thaw puff pastry completely and unfold. Slice in half lengthwise to make two long rectangles. Place on a large parchment covered baking sheet, leaving at least an inch of space between rectangles. Use two baking sheets if you have to in order to avoid overcrowding. With a paring knife, score a 1/2–inch border around each rectangle to allow the edge of the pastry to rise. Brush both sheets of pastry with beaten egg. Arrange chicken, peppers, olives and tarragon on the pastry, keeping toppings inside the border. Sprinkle with cheese and black pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until edges of pastry are golden brown and cheese is melted. Cut each rectangle into 3 pieces and serve hot.

Kitchen Guy’s Smokin’ Chili Recipe

Ingredients
2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 pound ground pork sausage
1 medium red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. Mexican oregano*
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 large chipotle chiles, rinsed
2 cups Cheddar cheese
*Italian oregano is okay, too.

Method
Heat a large stockpot with oil. Saute the onions and garlic. Add the ground chuck and pork sausage and cook until meat is browned and onions and garlic are soft.

Add the diced tomatoes and stir. Add seasonings. Then add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add the chipotle chiles, taking care not to break them open. Let the mixture simmer over medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Remove the chipotle.

Serve with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

The simple and delicious way to make a complicated dessert in no time.

 

 Shrimp Bisque: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Shrimp are very tasty and relatively cheap, and generally as easy to cook as seafood gets. The most challenging aspect of cooking shellfish is usually peeling and deveining them, so many home chefs skip those steps and purchase shrimp already peeled and deveined. But in doing so, they lose a major flavor component: the shell. If you buy whole shrimp still in the shell and take a little time to peel them, you have a wonderful opportunity to make a simple ‘shell stock’, which will multiply the flavor of any shrimp or seafood dish exponentially. As for deveining, some chefs actually view the step as unnecessary.

Watch a video of one of Chef Jim Gray’s favorite recipes: Shrimp Bisque, and see for yourself how easily you can enjoy the full ocean-infused flavor of shrimp.

Kitchen Guy’s Shrimp Bisque Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved

1/4 cup butter, unsalted

1/2 cup white wine

2 quarts water

1 bay leaf, preferably Turkish

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons rice, long grain and wild

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

lemon juice

Method

Cook shrimp shells in 1 tablespoon butter in a 4-quart pot over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until golden. Add white wine and boil, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add water and bay leaf and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Pour shrimp stock through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on shells and then discarding them. While stock is simmering, cook shrimp in 1 tablespoon butter in a 6 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add remaining butter to pot, and then cook carrots, celery and onion over moderate heat until softened. Stir in rice, tomato paste, cayenne, salt and shrimp stock and simmer, covered until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside 12 shrimp and stir remainder into bisque. Puree bisque in batches in a blender, using caution when blending hot liquids, then pour through a strainer into another pot. Stir in cream and cook over low heat until heated through, taking care not to let the soup boil. Stir in lemon juice and salt to taste. Cut reserved shrimp into 1/4-inch dice and use as part of garnish for bisque along with fresh chopped chives.

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Summer has finally made it’s sultry self known here in the City by the Bay, after the standard ocean-induced foggitude. By now most of the rest of the country has already drowned it’s thirsty palate in iced tea, lemonade, Gatorade, soda pop, and ice water, but many of us San Franciscans are just getting into the summer swing of things.

There are teas, energy drinks and vitamin drinks aplenty, but sometimes the best things are made with good old raw ingredients right at home. Lemonade is easily made by the glass, and it’s as good for you as it is refreshing.

But another beverage that has real health benefits and is also yummy, but which gets less recognition, is homemade ginger ale. It’s easy to make:

Ginger Water (prepared ahead)
5 cups water
2 cups fresh ginger (finely chopped)
Boil the water, add the ginger, and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for about 15-25 minutes. Pour the ginger water through a fine mesh strainer and discard the boiled ginger.

Simple Syrup (prepared ahead)
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Simmer until clear and transparent.

Ginger Ale, by the glass
Ginger Water
Simple Syrup
Club Soda
Lemon Wedges
Fill each glass 2/3 full with ice, and add 1/2 cup of ginger water, 1/2 cup of club soda, and 1/4 of simple syrup (or more to taste). Garnish with lemon wedges.

And if it’s a cool summer cocktail that beckons you, you can always add a bit of quality whiskey, vodka or rum to the ginger ale, or you can add the ginger ale’s components (namely the ginger water, or even a ginger simple syrup) to champagne, a martini, or a mojito.

 

 Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Kitchen Guy’s Sweet & Spicy Baked Beans Recipe

Ingredients
1 lb. great northern beans, soaked overnight
4 oz. red onion, finely diced
1/2 Anaheim (or jalapeño) small dice
3 oz. molasses
3 oz. brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. mustard
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce to taste
2 or 3 thick slices of bacon (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Simmer the beans in water until almost tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well.

Combine remaining ingredients (except bacon) and blend well. Add the mixture to the beans and toss to coat thoroughly. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Pour the beans into a baking dish, place bacon slices on top if using, cover with foil and bake in a 350º oven for about 30 to 40 minutes.