This succulent dish has all the things I love in a recipe; an easy piece of meat to work with, a super simple sauce that tastes like something that took hours, and the classic flavor combination of hot/tangy with sweet/fruity.
1 pork tenderloin (not loin)
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup black cherry preserves
salt to taste
lots of cracked black pepper
2 tbl butter
I vaguely remember eating a slice on watermelon as a young child and watching in shock and horror as my grandfather started sprinkling salt on his slice. I said whatever the 5 year old version of “what the hell are you doing?” was. He said something like “it makes it sweeter.” What? Needless to say that didn’t make any sense at the time. Fast forward 30 years later to a café in San Francisco where I was served a green salad garnished with sweet, juicy watermelon, crumbled feta che ese, and toasted cashews. Wow, it was amazing! What a combination of sweet, salty, juicy, creamy, crunchy, and just…mmmmm. Ah ha! I finally understood what grandfather was doing. Better late than never.
Ingredients:
1 small ripe watermelon
4 oz feta cheese
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
*optional garnish: some fresh mint or basil
In yesterday’s Halibut and Bacon post I mentioned a woman who had combined bacon with chocolate. I discovered her on a fellow foodie’s blog, Catherine’s “Chocolate and Sage.” Her name is Katrina Markoff, and she is the Owner and Founder of Vosges Haut-Chocolat. This video is a lecture she gave at the TASTE3 conference which was presented at the Robert Mondavi Winery in
Yes, it’s true what they say, bacon makes everything tastes better. Even bacon tastes better with bacon. Recently I saw an online lecture by a woman who makes specialty chocolates and she had actually done chocolate with bacon. So, now it’s really official, bacon goes with everything! By the way, I plan on posting her lecture, which I found equally inspiring and perplexing, but that’s for another day.
I knew this day would eventually come. I realized I couldn’t hide behind George Clooney’s photoshop’d photo forever. When I first start filming and posting cooking videos on the internet about a year ago, I made the decision to never appear on camera. I wanted to be the anti-Food Network Chef, which seemed to be more and more about the Chef, and less and less about the food and the cooking. I also found that most of the amateur cooking videos people were posting looked like audition reels for Hell’s Kitchen. So, since I wasn’t going to appear in the videos, I decided I would just remain completely anonymous. I liked that people would email asking for pictures of me. I liked being mysterious (I had never been mysterious before).
So, why show myself now? I have too. I have recently been contracted to do some “professional” cooking videos for several online outlets (to be named later), and as part of the production I must be seen introducing the recipes. Since I knew it would only be a matter of time before one of my blog visitors saw me on one of these other sites and recognized my sultry voice and nimble fingers, I decided to out myself today.
One thing I am VERY careful about when it comes to authoring this blog is preventing it from becoming a “blog.” When I go to read another blog about wine pairing or Thai food, that’s what I want to read about, I don’t want to read about the blog author’s ear infection, or that their cousin just got back from Nova Scotia and wants to share some photos. So, I’ve kept this blog 99.5% about food, with the one exception of wishing my Mom and now my sister Val, a happy birthday. She is a police officer in western New York State, and I should add, a great cook in her own right! I love her famous Chicken Kiev, which is why it’s pictured at the beginning of the post. So, you thought you were going to see a Chicken Kiev video…psyche! Although, the next time I’m in NY, I will be sure to film her making this delicious, garlic butter-soaked recipe.
First it was Christopher Walken trying to horn in on my act, now I’ve got Paul McCartney doing cooking videos online! It would be very easy to make fun of this mashed potato video Paul made…so I will. As I watched, I started writing down all the mistakes, wrong information, and bad techniques I was witnessing so I could rip him in this post. But, there were just too many, so I stopped, and just enjoyed it for what it was; A shameless plug for his wife’s cookbook. Wow, she should really have reconsidered her marketing strategy. Paul, while one of the most talented musicians ever, should never be allowed in a kitchen again.
Well, it happened again! I get an email asking for a red wine sauce. I reply please check the site, I’ve already posted one. They reply, oh no you didn’t. I check site and realize…oops, I never posted this clip. Excusez-moi. As usual, the standard “this is an old clip” disclaimer applies.
As many of you know, I’ve been threatening lately that I might have to “get a real job” to help support this site while it continues its steady climb up the blog food chain. Of course a real job would mean less time to spend filming and, long story short, more pirated Simpson’s clips instead of delicious new video recipes. Well, that hasn’t happened yet (alright, everyone take a couple seconds and look at the donation button on the sidebar…OK, back to the post), but I have been given a great opportunity to spread my ‘food wishes’ to a larger audience.
Yes, maybe it is. You saw a quick “raw” version of this pictured in the Dolores Park picnic post a few days ago. This is the “gourmet” version served on toasted walnut bread and made even more delicious with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. In this video recipe you’ll see why I am nominating this for “best summer hors d’oeuvre ever.”
When people hear I’m a Chef (or at least that I play one on the internet), they always ask the same two questions. What kind of food do you cook? And, who’s your favorite TV Chef? The first question’s one I can never answer, since I cook everything I can get my hands on. I never understand that first question, and usually give some smart-ass response like, “edible foods” or “the kind you buy at the market.” The second question is easy; Alton Brown. His sense of humor, his entertaining delivery, and his scientific (yet simple) approach to food is what really makes me such a big fan. Besides, his jokes and puns are almost as bad as mine!
The first culinary fade I can personally remember, was the “blackened” craze of the early eighties. Led by Paul Prudhomme, one of the country’s first “celebrity” Chefs, it seemed like everyone was coating every thing in Cajun spices and cooking it in white-hot cast iron pans until black. Now, this was a really delicious method IF done correctly, at very high heat, in a professional kitchen (which has powerful exhaust fans to remove the cloud of smoke that’s invariably produced).
"Cuisine Spontané" is just a fancy French term for wandering around a market, without any preconceived plans, grabbing whatever looks enticing, and then heading back to the kitchen to create a meal in a sort of culinary stream of consciousness. It’s a really fun way to cook. By the way, I’m sure there are a few soccer moms out there reading this right now thinking, “wow, I do that like 5 times a week…so that’s what it’s called!” And you thought you were just rushing through the grocery store throwing things in the basket.
For my wife Michele and I, this "Cuisine Spontané" approach was applied quite deliciously to a recent picnic lunch we enjoyed in beautiful Dolores Park. It ended up being a two-course meal. The elements were picked up on 24th Street in Noe Valley, on the same walk I wrote about in the Farmers Market post.
The first course was spicy chicken served in heart of romaine lettuce cups with fresh cilantro. We bought a pint container of some wonderful stewed chicken at a small Taqueria. It was falling-apart-tender and cooked with onions and peppers in a light, but fiery, tomato and chili sauce. This location also served as the source for our plastic silverware, napkins, and a small plastic cup of chopped fresh cilantro.
We finished this two-course meal with some ‘fresh out of the oven’ walnut bread, topped with creamy Mozzarella Di Bufala Campana (Italian Buffalo Mozzarella cheese) and slices of perfectly ripe peaches from Farmer's Market. The sweet, juicy, golden peach with the snow-white, slightly tangy cheese, on the dense, nutty bread was truly amazing.
Before I get into this recipe, and how it came to be, we have to talk about a somewhat shocking ingredient choice I made. Yes, in the middle of summer, I filmed an amazingly delicious sweet corn recipe…and used frozen corn! I already had the shiitake mushrooms and arugula for this dish, and was just about to go out and get some delicious fresh, just picked, sweet corn at the local produce market when I made the mistake of opening the freezer.
Sorry New York, Paris, New Orleans and all other metropolises that would lay claim to that title, but when it comes to food, San Francisco has to be the most blessed place on earth. By the way, when I say “San Francisco” I mean the entire Bay Area; that includes our culinary muse (and home of the original 
Gourmet Ghetto) Berkeley, as well as Sonoma and Napa Valleys. Can there be any other place on earth that’s home to so many great Chefs, amazing restaurants, diverse cultural influences, and magnificent array of local ingredients.
On a sunny Saturday, in the middle of the day, in the middle of summer, in the middle of the City, I stumbled upon a Farmers Market I didn’t even know existed. My wife and I were taking a walk to a neighborhood called “Noe Valley,” for some picnic supplies. This ‘hood is known for it’s great shopping; a long stretch of small, funky shops selling all things edible and otherwise.
Now, I’ve been to the large downtown Farmers Markets in San Francisco hundreds of times and, always to my disappointment, have never remembered to bring my camera. So, that I happen to be carrying my camera on this particular walk, and would accidentally find this unknown-to-me market, seemed very ironic. Am I using “ironic” correctly here? I hate when people use ironic in the wrong context. Did I just do that? Someone will let me know I’m sure.
Anyway, the light was perfect, the tables were piled high, and I snapped away (in between sampling copious amounts of perfectly ripe stone fruit), getting what I think were some pretty good pictures you see throughout this post.
The peaches were perfect. The speckled red and black plums from Santa Rosa were amazing in both color and taste. The flowering basil screamed at me to make pesto. The seedless Thompson grapes, warmed by the sun called me over for a few samples as the vendor looked on wondering if I was going buy any. 
Next time, I promise. A serpent’s nest of heirloom cucumbers sat next to a basket of Roma tomatoes so bright they were practically glowing. I made a mental note to buy some Feta. And, no Farmer’s Market would be complete without the obligatory toy box of mixed sweet peppers.
The only photo here that wasn’t part of the market is the “just a scrumptious as it looks” fig bread. This was from the Noe Valley Bakery a few blocks away. I’ve been buying this fig bread for over a decade, always serving it 
with a ripe Cambazola cheese and fresh strawberries. And with that last shot, I put away the camera, and we headed toward our picnic in Dolores Park. Thank you San Francisco. After all these years you still manage to surprise and seduce me in the most unexpected and wonderful ways.
Today’s video recipe will expose one of the great faux-gourmet tricks of all time. In the back of everyone’s refrigerator there is usually a collection of dressings, sauces and condiments. Many are almost gone, containing just a few tablespoons, yet you just couldn’t bring yourself to throw it away the last time you cleaned out the fridge. Thank goodness you didn’t! These last few spoons of “whatever” spread on some fresh wild salmon filets and then glazed under a hot broiler can produce some amazing “gourmet” results.
Ahh, the perfectly ripe peach. My momentary guilt for not just eating it raw was quickly forgotten as soon as I tasted this amazing sweet and savory summer combo. By the way, this was filmed last summer before I even thought about wearing a Chef coat while shooting (thanks mom). So, that’s me in the lime green Polo shirt cooking this truly delicious recipe. This was one of the first recipes I ever filmed for the web (insert standard lower video quality disclaimer here), and it’s still one of my favorites. This was actually posted here back in May, when I converted a bunch of older clips over to this blog, but since peaches weren't in season yet, I doubt too many people payed much attention.
Everything on this plate works so well together, and it’s also a very easy recipe with just a few ingredients. While I used a fresh, ripe peach, jarred or canned halves will work in a pinch. This juicy fruit is first caramelized with aged balsamic vinegar and then used in a salad sitting next to sliced, roasted pork tenderloin. As you’ll hear in the recipe I refer to another meat trimming demo (how to trim a butcher steak), as I remove the “silver-skin” from the tenderloins. Don’t bother looking around the site for that, as it no longer exists, although I plan re-shooting that one soon. I also prepare a very simple pan sauce to finish this amazing dish. This recipe demo is broken into 2 parts because of its length. In Part 1, we make our glazed balsamic peaches, and prep our pork tenderloin. We also “bruise” some rosemary …hey, that fragrant rosemary had it coming! In Part 2, we finish the pork, make our pan sauce, and “plate up” with our glazed peaches and salad. If you’ve only used peaches for summertime desserts, give this a try. You will think about our fuzzy friends in a whole new way. Enjoy!
The recently posted Garbage Plate video generated the most comments and emails of any clip I’ve done so far. That wasn’t surprising due to the shocking nature of that dish. What I did find amusing though was the several requests I got that asked for my Chili recipe so that viewers could make the Garbage Plate at home. So, I decided to show this very easy, and quite delicious, Turkey Chili.
This video’s horrible production value (I almost called this post “The Blair Witch Potato”) is more than made up for in that this really is a great recipe and technique. I really love potato gratins, but the thing I don’t enjoy, especially when I’m in a hurry is the slicing and layering. This video recipe shows you a shortcut method to achieve a very similar final product with much less work. You’ll have to watch to see how this is achieved since I don’t want to spoil the suspense and tension of the clip (unlike “Blair Witch” which we all knew was staged, and there weren’t really any ghosts).
You can use any cheese in this dish, of course, but I think a nice sharp cheddar is the way to go. I used a beautiful hunk of English Farmhouse Cheddar and it was great. Especially with the apple and shallot reduction that went over the pork loin I served with these potatoes. Also, I used low fat 1% milk for this dish. I would resist the temptation to use cream in this, as I think it makes it this recipe too rich. Enjoy!
You’re about to see a delicious culinary compromise. I was craving some grilled Italian sausage, but had a package of chicken thighs in the fridge waiting for me to grill them. What to do? My Uncle Bill (he of the now famous homemade pasta and chicken D’Arduini video recipes) makes a great Italian sausage scented with fennel, garlic and a touch of orange zest. He makes these before Christmas, cures them in his cellar, and cooks them on Christmas Eve after Midnight Mass. They are sublime. So, that’s really what I wanted, but as I said I had chicken to work with. I decided to use the same basic flavors to marinade the chicken to see if I could impart some of the magic of those sausages I was dreaming about.
Did it work? Yes and no. The chicken turned out to be very delicious. Anything grilled on a fire, after being marinated in garlic, fennel and orange is going to taste great, so on that level it was a great success. The only problem was it made me crave my Uncle’s sausage even more! By the way, if you’re wondering how I prepped my grill so the skinless chicken wouldn’t stick, go check out the Tandoori Chicken video recipe clip. Also, I like to garnish grilled meat dishes like this with the same fresh herb that I use in its dry form in the marinade. Since there was some dried oregano in the Italian herb mix, I finished my platter with some beautiful flowering oregano. This is just another great reason to plant some herbs, whether it’s in your backyard, rooftop, or windowsill. Enjoy!
It was one of those San Francisco evenings when the fog comes in disguised as a light mist. Easier to feel than see, I could hear its tiny sizzle as it slowly floated down onto my quickly dying coals.
Today’s clip is a very basic kitchen technique on roasting and dicing a bell pepper. While you may have seen it done on TV before, I want to make sure you understand that you should be doing much more than simple burning off the skin. Every time I see this demonstrated, the chef simple blackens the pepper and removes the skin, either by rinsing or scraping. The problem, as I’ll explain in the video recipe, is that the skin blackens fairly quickly, while the pepper is still uncooked. I believe that you not only want to remove the skin, but you also want to roast the pepper over the fire to soften the texture and sweeten the flesh. Also, the little trick I show you at the end on how to get “diamonds” instead of the boring old squares is a nice technique to add to your rapidly expanding repertoire.
Now a special message for all my fans that have electric stoves…I’m Sorry. You can’t do this on an electric burner. You can sort of do it under the electric broiler, but it’s not as easy. You’ll just have to go outside and fire up the old grill. If you’re just doing one or two, you could use your Crème Brulee torch. Or, the next time your visiting your friend with the gas range you can bring along a bag of peppers. I’m sure they won’t mind at all. Finally, if you get my Bobby Flay joke in the middle of this video, then you watch way too much FoodTV. Enjoy!
That’s right, and the screen shot I took of the Technorati blog ranking stats proves it! Part of my usual weekend site admin duties is going over to Technorati to check my blog’s rank. You can imagine my excitement when I realized I was now the author of the top ranked blog in the world. Well, that didn’t take long. I guess I better call my broker and begin discussing my IPO.
It’s a shame when people don’t get to experience some great culinary pleasure simply because they don’t know how to work with the product. Fava beans, also called Broad Beans, or Horse Beans, are a good example of that. These beans are a favorite of Chefs worldwide because of their beautiful color and unique flavor. Unfortunately, for the average grocery store, or vegetable stand shopper, they are just those big, ugly, green pods that get passed over for the more familiar green string beans. I hope after watching this demo (and the next video recipe to follow) that you will run out and buy a big pile of these wonderful beans and begin to enjoy them, as they deserve to be. If you don’t find them at the grocery store, check the local farmer’s market.
My sources in LA tell me that when actor Christopher Walken heard that a certain George Clooney look-a-like was doing cooking videos online, he became enraged and demanded his personal assistant film him making his “famous” roast chicken and pears. And to think, all this time I thought Mr. Walken was a great actor. After seeing this surreal and somewhat disturbing cooking clip, I realized that he hasn’t been acting at all. He really is the creepy, monotone-voiced character we’ve seen him play all these years.
