And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
This “burnt” Basque cheesecake is one of the rare trendy
recipes that I’m actually posting while it’s still trendy. I usually wait like
three or four years, and by that time people have lost interest, and it seems
like I’m doing it to be ironic. Well, this time the hype got to me, and now I
understand why all the fuss.
By cooking the cheesecake in a very hot oven, we get a
beautiful, dark exterior, which not only looks great, but the bittersweet notes
it provides makes the light, creamy cheesecake inside seem even more rich, and
flavorful. Besides the taste and texture, this method is just plain easier, as
long as you can find some parchment paper.
Depending on the size of the roll or sheet you buy, you may
have to overlap it, but as long as the pan is covered, and it comes up a few
inches past the top, you’re fine. I assumed this technique was adapted from
some ancient Basque recipes, but as it turns out, it was actually developed at
a café in San
Sebastian, called La Vina in the 70’s. That probably explains the Philly cream
cheese.
Anyway,
if you haven’t had the best luck with traditional cheesecake methods, you
should stop trying, and just make this exclusively. Just make sure you tell
you’re guests it’s supposed to be “burnt,” although if they’re on social media,
they probably already know. Either way, I really hope you give this a try soon.
Enjoy!
Ingredients for one 9-inch cake pan (8-10 Portions):
24 ounces soft cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine salt (or 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 extra large eggs (you can use 5 large eggs)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- Bake at 400 F. for 50 to 55 minutes, or until puffed and
well browned. For a little more color, you can crank the oven up to 425 or 450
F. for the last 10 minutes or so.
It’s not unusual for me to get requests for recipes I’ve
already done before, but over the last few years, I seemed to be getting an
abnormal number of requests for romesco sauce. Knowing I had already filmed it,
I’d reply with something polite, like what don’t you understand about using
Google?
Well, I’d like to apologize to all those people I blew off,
since while it’s true I posted a video for romesco, it was actually many years
ago, on About.com, which has ceased to exist. In fairness, I’ve done over 1,800
videos, as well as lived over 54 years, so hopefully a little recipe related
forgetfulness would be forgiven.
Anyway, it was high time to update this Spanish classic,
since it’s one of the all-time great summer sauces. It’s pretty much perfect
with anything off the grill, especially vegetables and seafood, and that’s how
we usually enjoy this, but there’re so many other places where this can shine.
It makes for an unbelievable sandwich spread, as well as perfect “secret
ingredient” for your favorite potato or pasta salad dressings.
Like most sauces and condiments, this begs for personalization;
whether we’re talking the level of heat, or ratio between the ingredients, or
how smooth or course you grind it, you shouldn’t hesitate to adapt this to your
tastes. But, no matter how you tweak this, or what you serve with it, I really
do hope you make some soon, and then keep making it all summer. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 3 cups:
3 large red bell peppers, fire-roasted, seeded, and peeled
If you ever find yourself in a Spanish restaurant, and they
don’t have some version of this garlic shrimp recipe on the menu, immediately get
up from your table, and leave. This would be the equivalent of a French bistro
that doesn’t serve steak frites. What about vegetarian Spanish restaurants and
French bistros? That’s a trick question, since those aren’t a thing.
Anyway, the point here is that every Spanish restaurant serves
this, and for very good reasons. It’s fast to make, gorgeous to look at, and,
if you’re into garlic, one of the most delicious things you’ll ever eat. Just
be sure to use nice fresh, frozen shrimp. Allow me to explain.
Unless you live in a few choice locations, it’s rare to find
true fresh shrimp at the market. All they do is thaw some frozen, and put it
in the case, where it sits until you buy it, which is why it really makes a lot
more sense to purchase frozen. Of course, not all frozen shrimp is created
equal, so I encourage you to research the best sources, but the point is you
don’t want something already thawed.
Speaking of which, I thaw mine by running cold water into
the bowl of frozen shrimp, let it sit for about 10 minutes, before
draining, and repeating once more. After that it should be fully thawed, at
which point the shrimp can be drained, and prepped.
The last tip I’ll give, is to make sure you have all your
ingredients together before you head to the stove, since start to finish, this
only takes minutes to complete. This is another reason it’s so great for a
party, since you can prep everything ahead of time, and finish it whenever
you’re ready to serve. But, whether you feature this at a party, or not, I
really do hope you give this amazing Spanish garlic shrimp recipe a try soon.
Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 Spanish Garlic Shrimp Portions:
1 pound peeled and *deveined shrimp (look for the 21-25 per
pound size or larger)
kosher salt to taste
1 teaspoon hot, smoked paprika, optional
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves peeled garlic, slice thin
2 tablespoons dry sherry wine (or white wine and a pinch of
sugar)
If too much sausage in a cheese dip was the biggest problem
you have during a workweek, you have to consider that to be a pretty great
week. They say, less is more, but I was hoping that twice the amount of chorizo
in this fundido would make it twice as good, but that wasn’t really the case.
The taste was great, and as I said in the video, I highly
doubt anyone at your party would complain, but what I really wanted was an
ooey, gooey, much drippier dip, and so in this case, less would have been more.
Below, I’ve listed the amounts as I think they should be,
with what I actually used in parentheses, and I’ll leave it up to you, to
adjust as you see fit. Besides the sausage amount, I think adding some sour
cream may also help the cause. Are you ready for some football? I am, but even
if you’re not going to serve this chorizo fundido to a bunch of screaming
lunatics on game day, I still hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 8 portions Chorizo Fundido:
8 ounces fresh pork chorizo (I used 1 pound)
1/2 cup sliced green onions, the light parts
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 poblano chilies, diced
2 jalapenos, diced
4 ounces cream cheese (I used 8 oz)
4 ounces sharp cheddar
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup sour cream (I think it may help give a creamier
texture)
You do not have to go to a place, to be inspired by their
food. In fact, it’s a lot cheaper, and easier if you don’t. So, as I stated in
the into, this Chilean sea bass San Sebastian is the result of a little
culinary mind game I play, where I try to invent a recipe that I think
could/would be served there, and this is one of those dishes.
I love the technique of spreading a flavored mayo, or aioli
over a piece of fish, before roasting it in a very hot oven. Not only does it keep
the seafood moist, we don’t have to worry about making a sauce when it’s done.
Another advantage is that by simply changing the seasoning of the sauce, we can
create countless variations.
This will work with any piece of fish you can cut into a
thick chunk, but Chilean sea bass is my favorite choice. By the way, that’s
just the name it’s commonly sold by. Its real name is the much less marketable
“Patagonian toothfish.” Mmm….toothfish. Due to past overfishing, much of it
illegal, Chilean sea bass has landed on lots of “do not eat this” lists, but there
are sustainable sources available.
I got mine from Markfoods.com, which is certified by the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC), and the quality was top notch. This is not a
sponsored post, but in the spirit of full disclose, the fish seen herein was a
complimentary sample sent to me by my friend Kevin, who runs the operation.
Regardless, this was one of the best fish dishes I’ve had in a while, and I
really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 servings:
1 pound Chilean sea bass filet, cut into two portions
kosher salt to generously season fish
For the sauce/crust:
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed fine
cayenne to taste
whole roasted Marcona almonds for grating, or any other
whole almond 2 teaspoons olive oil
I’ve never been to Spain, so to what extent this is actually
Spanish octopus, I can’t really say, but after having enjoyed this underrated
seafood in more Spanish restaurants than I can remember, it has to be pretty close.
Above and beyond the ingredients, the cooking method, or
should I say methods, couldn’t be easier. As long as you braise it gently on
low heat, until just tender, and then give it a nice sear before serving, you
should be in great shape. Which is why I’ve never understood all the crazy tips
and tricks, for achieving the perfect texture.
Some say to beat it on rocks before braising, while others
insist a few wine corks are the way to go. If you have one of these magical
techniques, I’d love to hear about it, especially if it sounds extra nutty, but
I have to admit, I am a skeptic.
You should be able to find frozen Spanish octopus at your
finer markets, which is the only kind I’ve ever used, so I can’t say how much
better it is fresh, but one day I would love to find out, preferably in
Spain. Fresh or frozen, I really do hope
you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for two portions:
1 pound piece Spanish octopus
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup white wine
- Serve with crusty roasted potatoes
For the sauce:
About 1/3 cup reserve braising liquid (boiled, strained)
Spanish rice was one of the first recipes I made for my
parents after returning home from my first semester at culinary school. Ironically,
I didn’t learn the recipe in class, but rather at a Mexican restaurant I worked
at part-time.
I don’t remember much from that job, or decade, but I’ll
never forget how that rice was put together, and that’s exactly how we’re doing
it here – except for one minor detail. We’re not using rice.
I really love farro, and have used it in various rice preparations,
always with great results. This was no exception, and maybe my favorite so far.
This larger, meatier, “ancient” grain pairs perfect with the spices, and I find
it even easier to cook perfectly than rice.
If you don’t have a pan like the one used in the video,
simply prepare everything in a skillet. Once your broth starts to boil, transfer
it into a 2-quart casserole dish, wrap with foil, and proceed as directed.
Either way, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 portions:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder, or other dried, ground chili
1 teaspoon chipotle
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup “pearled” farro, rinsed, drained well
2 cups chicken broth
- Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes, or until farro is just
tender
The best way to eat eggplant is fried, which I’ll hopefully prove to you one day with a video recipe. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for the second best way, which is this eggplant escabeche. It’s cold, refreshing, vibrantly-flavored, and I’m guessing, very healthy.
This was inspired by a visit to a restaurant in San Francisco called Lolinda, where Chef Alejandro Morgan serves a simple, but incredibly delicious Argentinian-style eggplant escabeche. I won’t go so far as to say it came out as good, but the noises of pleasure Michele made while eating this were very similar.
If you didn’t get the #dotsnotslots reference, I explained how to tell a “male” from “female” eggplant in a old video, which involves looking for a dot shaped mark at the end, and not a slot shaped one. This indicates a “male,” which generally has less seeds.
By the way, “male” is in quotations because eggplants don’t actually have different genders, but apparently some are less pregnant than others. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to eggplant sex, but I’ll go with that until I hear otherwise. I really do hope you give this fabulous eggplant recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 2 pints: 3/4 cup sliced roasted sweet and/or hot peppers 1 large eggplant, halved, cut in 1/4 slices 1 large zucchini, halved, cut in 1/4 slices tossed with 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 cup white wine vinegar 2/3 cup water 1/2 cup olive oil 2 cloves finely crushed garlic 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley 1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano 1/4 cup reserved vinegar cooking liquid kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons vegetable oil .
It’s not unusual for me to borrow ideas from the various
restaurants I visit, but they’re normally tweaked, altered, or otherwise
adapted. This time, however, I just blatantly stole this spring vegetable
tartine with white anchovies, as it. Why mess with perfection?
Yes, this spring vegetable tartine, featuring the awesomeness
that is the white anchovy, was lifted almost verbatim from SHED, which is
my current, “favorite place to eat.” If you’re ever anywhere near Healdsburg,
CA (like within 500 miles), you simply must visit this amazing store/café/charcuterie/restaurant hybrid.
Now that I’ve offset some of my guilt for stealing this
recipe with such a glowing recommendation, I can move on to this intensely
tasty tartine. This would be incredibly delicious with just the aioli and vegetables, but when you add the “boquerones,” this goes from great
sandwich, to memorable experience.
Even if you think you hate anchovies, which you really
don’t, you may still love these, since they are so completely different. They are
very mild in flavor, but still extremely savory. I was going to say they're a
little bit like pickled herring, but that probably won’t help. Regardless, I
hope you give this spring vegetable
tartine a try very soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 generous servings:
For the aioli:
1 or 2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of cayenne
The rest:
4 large thick slices day-old French bread, toasted
16 white anchovy fillets (aka boquerones)
* 2 cups thinly peeled, sliced, or shredded fresh vegetables,
moistened with a splash of lemon juice, and drizzle of olive oil.
edible flowers, optional
* Carrots, fennel root, radishes, celery root, asparagus,
artichoke hearts, peppers, endive, micro greens, and any/all kinds of sprouts
would work beautifully here.
I have always just called these chorizo steamed clams, "Spanish Clams," since it seems like there’s some variation of this on every Spanish restaurant
menu I’ve ever seen.
What better evidence for a dishes’ deliciousness than that? Not
to generalize about an entire culture, but the Spanish simply don’t put
non-amazing things on every menu.
Sometimes they use beer, or white wine, or sherry; and many
varieties of clams can be used; but the common denominator is the spicy,
Spanish-style chorizo. Using such a flavorful sausage is sort of like cheating,
and one of the main reasons the ingredient list is so short.
Speaking of which, you can really adapt this kind
of thing to your tastes. Cilantro instead of parsley, leeks instead of onions, and
mussels instead of clams, just to name a few. Just make sure you have plenty of
grilled, or toasted bread around to soak up the glorious broth. I really hope you give
this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 appetizers, or 2 larger entrée size
portions:
Making delicious meatballs with fatty, flavorful beef is no
great feat, but creating something as delectable using ground turkey is another
story. As the old joke goes, it may be bland, but at least it’s dry. So, you’re
going to need a very specialized strategy, and by “specialized strategy,” I
mean some cold, leftover rice.
As these simmer in your sauce or soup, the grains of rice absorb
moisture, swell up, and create a relatively tender, moist meatball. Above and
beyond that, you’ll also want to look for ground turkey thigh meat (available
at most of your higher-priced grocery chains).
By the way, like all meatball/meatloaf recipes, you can test
your seasoning by cooking a small piece of the mixture before rolling your
ball. Even though the meat hasn’t simmered in the sauce yet, at least you can see
if it needs more salt. I’ll just fry up a little patty, and adjust if need be,
and suggest you do the same.
I didn’t intend this recipe to be a Thanksgiving dinner
alternative, but now that I think about it, these could actually work. Maybe
you have a small group, or don’t like looking at a giant carcass on the table (hey,
some people are weird like that), or your in-laws are Spanish, and you want to show
them you can pronounce “albondigas.”Whatever
the occasion, I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 20-24 small meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey thigh meat
1 packed cup cooked white long grain rice 3 cloves crushed garlic 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley 1 large egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce (I didn’t measure these ingredients, so these
are just guesses)
2 1/2 cups prepared tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup crème fraiche or heavy cream
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley salt and pepper to taste
There are two kinds of chicken croquettes. They all have a
crispy, deep-fried exterior, but some are firm, meaty, and nugget-like, while
others are much softer and creamier. It was that second kind I was attempting
here, and I got so close.
To make a long story short, I used too much butter, and
milk, and while they did stay together enough to form the signature,
golden-brown crust, the inside was positively sauce-like.
I had no intention of turning this classic into some kind of
gimmicky attempt at a viral video, but as I ate them, I couldn’t help but think
of how much they tasted like deep-fried chicken gravy. Yes, I sometimes put a
little ham in my chicken gravy.
I’ve listed exactly what I used in the ingredient list below,
and also a second version, which theoretically would come out closer to actual chicken croquettes. I hope you get this, or that, a try soon. Enjoy!
I usually go out of my way to simplify the recipes we post
here, but for some things, like this Spanish-inspired, sausage-stuffed calamari
recipe, there just are no acceptable shortcuts to take. However, your efforts
will be rewarded with something that tastes every bit the effort
it took to make…as long as they don’t explode in your face.
If you overstuff these, like I do every single time, they can
burst open, sometimes violently. As you’ll see, the final results will still
look great, and you do get to sneak a few tastes of the stuffing as you grill.
So, be careful not to fill these too much, and/or wear your sunglasses while
grilling these beauties.
As far as grilling time goes, you really should use a
thermometer, and cook until you have an internal temp of 155 F. Especially
since you’ll have squid of various sizes on the grill at the same time. If
that’s not an option, look for when the juices and fat from the sausage starts
bubbling out.
I was so hungry when I finally finished this batch I forgot
to serve these with lemon wedges, which adds a nice, bright note to the smoky,
spicy meat. A few platters of these, some ice cold beer (provided by friends
you just taught what quid pro quo means), and you’re basically summering in
Spain. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 16 to 18 stuffed squid:
1 1/2 pounds cleaned calamari (tell the fish guy to give you
mostly tubes)
For the stuffing:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz Italian or other spicy, garlicky sausage
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
4 ounces chopped tentacles (grilled the rest separately and
eat!)
- serve with lemon wedges
*Note: grill these over a medium-hot coals, or close your
cover to keep the heat down
At some point this summer, you’ll get tired of grilled
chicken. Any grilled chicken. No matter the marinade, or the delivery system,
you will have simply reached your limit, and that’s when you need to reach for the chorizo.
Impale a few slices of this famously delicious, Spanish
sausage in between your chunks of chicken, and as it grills, it will splatter
its spicy, smoky fat all over its much blander skewermate, and once again, you
and grilled chicken will be good buddies...just like Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte.
That reference will make a lot more sense once you watch the
beginning of the video. Anyway, this is nothing more than a suggestion to help
cure grilled chicken fatigue, and as usual, I expect you to tailor this concept
to your own strange and exotic tastes. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
