recipephile

What is a Tweetipe?

What in the world is a Tweetipe? A Tweetipe is a Tweetable recipe. Inspired by the New York times I have taken to Twitter and will be Tweeting Tweetipes on a regular basis. 

The first in my series of Tweetipes is a gorgonzola and endive dish.  A favorite in my family this is so very easy to make.  Here is the exact Tweetipe as it appears on my Twitter account:

Tweetipe - Whole endive leaves on platter with crumbled gorgonzola, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper - SERVE

Look for more and start following my Tweets and Tweetipes at http://twitter.com/mikey71171

Brined Shrimp With Roasted Peppers

Last weekend my very good friend John and I decided to surprise my parents and pay them a visit on Hutchinson Island in Stuart Florida. The two of us schemed and planned with my parent's friends Bob and Elsa to host a dinner party at their new home.  We enlisted others to help pull off the surprise including Stan and Beryl, Jim and Lindale and Laird and Pat.

We flew in on Thursday and spent Friday morning and afternoon cooking up a storm.  Prior to our arrival John and I planned out the menu and with the help of John and his goal of taking food to the next level we pulled off an incredible meal.  Over the next few weeks I will be featuring recipes that were prepared that evening.

The theme of the party that evening was the Duquesne Club, an establishment located in Pittsburgh that is known for its incredible food and culinary expertise.  Our selections were adaptations of of various recipes from the famed Duquesne Club Cookbook, which offers a collection of the Club's most famous recipes.

One of my favorite dishes is the traditional shrimp cocktail served with Remoulade sauce. We took this one to the next level by brining and roasting the shrimp and also serving it with roasted red peppers and a remoulade sauce that we purchased from the New England Fish Market in Jensen Beach.

You can make your own Remoulade sauce and will find multiple recipes here. This site offers so many variations I suggest you review the many styles and choose what suits your flavor profile best.

Here is what you need to do to prepare this dish.

For the peppers:

- 8 yellow, red or orange peppers or a mixture of all three
- Large Ziploc bag

Turn your broiler on high and let the coils preheat.  Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds and the white inards.  Press down each half and flatten as much as possible.  Place onto a cookie sheet and into the oven.  Keep the oven cracked open and monitor the roasting of the peppers.  It is okay if the skin gets very black, this is what you want.  Depending on the amount of heat that your broiler gives off it can take anywhere from 8-15 minutes to get the skins to where you want them to be.  I often shuffle them on the cookie sheet every 5 minutes to ensure even roasting.

Once ready and completely black remove from the oven and place into a Ziploc bag.  Seal the bag and let sit to steam the peppers for about 30-40 minutes.  Remove from the bag and while running under cold water remove the skins.  They should literally slide off, but may require some coaxing.

Set aside.

For the Shrimp:

- 2 lbs of jumbo (16-20 count) shrimp
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of salt
- Water

Shell and devein the shrimp and place into a large bowl.  Add the salt and sugar and cover with water. Stir well and let rest in the refirgerator for about 30 minutes. Remove from the brine and dry the shrimp well.

When the shrimp are done brining, turn on the broiler and place a cookie sheet underneath.  Heat the sheet for about 2 minutes.  Remove and immediately place the shrimp under the broiler for 2 minutes.  After 2 minutes flip the shrimp and broil for another minute. Remove from the broiler and let rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Arrange the peppers on a platter along with the shrimp.  Place a bowl of the Remoulade next to the platter and serve.

Banana Bread with Vanilla Ice Cream and Graton Ridge Apple Wine Creme Anglaise

One of my favorite wineries in Sonoma is Graton Ridge .  A few months ago I was visiting the winery and tasted their Apple Wine.  The winery used to be an apple orchard and the owners decided to celebrate the past with a delicious wine made from the apples that still grow on the property.

They were have a contest to see who could come up with the best recipe using the wine.  My friend John and I entered and we won.

Here is the winning recipe.  Definitely try this out.  It is delicious.

For the banana bread:

- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 1/3 cups mashed overipe bananas
- 1/2 cup of apple wine (you can use apple juice as a substitute)
- 2 tbsp sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. in a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir in apple wine and sour cream. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes our clean. You may have to cook it a little longer. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.

For the creme anglaise:

- 2 cups of Graton Ridge apple wine
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp powdered ginger
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp brown sugar

Simmer 2 cups of apple wine until it reduces to about 1/4 cup. It will become a little syrupy,
this is okay. Combine a cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup of apple wine syrup,
1 tbsp ginger and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Bring almost to a boil, remove from heat and let stand 20
minutes. Strain with a mesh strainer.

Beat together the two egg yolks with 2 tbsp brown sugar and pur in cream mixture. Re-heat
over low heat, but do not bring to boil or sauce will curdle. Take off heat, let stand another
20 minutes and serve.

To Serve

Place a piece of the banana bread onto a plate, top with vanilla ice cream and drizzle creme
anglaise on top.

Mahhhhge's Mac and Cheese

We spent our first evening in Fire Island last weekend and now the summer season has officially kicked off. Paul, Ryan, Bob, Joe, Ken, Marge (pronounced Mahge in a Boston accent) and I spent the weekend opening the new house, cooking and trading recipes.  We stopped off at Costco to stock up on summer sundries and then raced our way to the ferry, just catching it with only minutes to spare.

The moment we got to the house Mahge and I started organizing the kitchen and getting things ready for the summer ahead.  We also began preparing the meal for the evening, which was definitely a group effort to say the least.  While at Costco we picked up some delicious New York Strip steaks and planned on serving them with scalloped potatoes (made by our friend Patrick), Mahge's Mac and Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers.  For dessert we had a Lemon Pudding cake (made by Bob and Joe) that was amazingly delicious.

Mahge was so very kind to share her Mac and Cheese recipe with me.  This is light on the preparation and heavy on the flavor (and of course the calories). Here is what you will need:

- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 1/2 cups of milk
- 2 cups of cooked noodles - (Joe likes Creamettes and Bob like shells, but Mahge prefers the Elbow Macs)
- 10 oz of sharp cheddar cheese extra sharp Cabot Cheese
- 2 tsp dried mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 cup of diced ham (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter over medium heat in a sauce pan.  Add the corn starch and stir with the butter to form a roux. Rouxs are usually made with flour, but this version will do just fine.  Add the milk and stir until warm and the mixture begins to thicken.  Add the cheese and allow it to melt and thicken even more.

Toss with the noodles, add the mustard, Worcestershire and ham.  Taste and then add salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve and enjoy!

Pepper Crusted Salmon With Honey Chardonnay Glaze

My friend Courtney joined me and a few friends for dinner last night. All of us meat eaters ended up feasting on a turkey casserole that I made using the leftovers from a Thanksgiving style meal that we prepared a few days ago.  Courtney does not eat meat, only fish, and so we had to come up with a main dish for her to eat with her snap peas and creamy Italian dressing salad.

Earlier in the day Tim and I were visiting with our friend Erika whose father always comes to visit with fresh caught (and then frozen) fish.  She would not let me have a piece of the abalone so I opted for some salmon.

Courtney LOVES pepper and honey so I decided to prepare her a Pepper Crusted Salmon With Honey Chardonnay Glaze.

- 1.5 - 2lbs of salmon fillet with skin removed
- 5 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup of chardonnay
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt

Liberally coat all sides of the fish with pepper.  Grind more if you need it.  On medium heat melt the 2 tbsp. of butter in a frying pan. Add the salmon and cook on both sides for about 3 minutes each.  Add the garlic and a 1/2 cup of the wine.  Add the flour to the other 1/2 cup of wine and mix well ensuring that there are no lumps.  Add this to the frying pan along with the garlic and honey and cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened.  Ad the 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt and serve.

Product Review - The Magic Bullet - With Smoothie and Pesto Recipe

What I Tested: The Magic Bullet ($99.99 – Available Here )
You have probably seen the Magic Bullet before.  It is one of those “As Seen on TV” products that claims to do just about everything in your kitchen (except clean it up). The infomercial is kinda funny.  At the beginning “Mick and Mimi” introduce a group of skeptics to the Magic Bullet and while some seem wholly impressed with the wonders of this do-it-all appliance, one of the women is a true skeptic.  By the end of the half hour segment, where they make everything from guacamole and gazpacho to smoothies and nachos, she is a true convert.

What I Made:
I tried making quite a few things with the Magic Bullet, but my absolute favorite were the smoothies.  Just about every morning I wake up and make myself a protein smoothie.  Usually I make it with my hand blender, but this time I decided to use the bullet. In the large cup I combined 4 frozen strawberries (I always use frozen strawberries instead of ice), 1 banana, 2 tbsps of protein powder and 2 cups of vanilla soy milk. Blend with the Bullet until smooth and serve immediately.

Check out the pesto recipe that I made with the Bullet here.

Oh yeah… I also grated parmesan cheese with the bullet and it worked very well.

How it Rated:
Okay, so I was definitely like the crusty old skeptic when I first received the bullet in the mail, but after making a few things in the kitchen it became clear to me why this is a big seller.  For someone who isn’t a hard core foodie and wants something simple to blend, chop and make smoothies with, this product will do the the trick. 

One thing to keep in mind. During the infomercial they never seem to pick it up and shake it, which you need to do to move things from the top of the blending cup to the bottom. They have three different methods for ensuring that your ingredients are completely blended, the makers recommend that you tap the sides of the cup, actually pick up the Bullet and shake or tap aggressively without picking up the Bullet. The reason why this needs to be done is because the Bullet is not as powerful and the blades are not as sharp as the Cuisinart or Vita Mix 5200 blenders that I tested, but not everyone wants a super duper powerful blender, nor do they want to spend the money.

So if you want a versatile blender that does a little more then make milkshakes log on and order the the Magic Bullet.

Product Review - Vita-Mix 5200 - Smoothies and Banana Bread Recipes

What I Tested: Vita-Mx Super 5200 ($549 - Available Here) I received an email from someone at the PR firm that represents the Vita-Mix 5200. The email explained the power and versatility of this blender and suggested that I give it a whirl (no pun intended). Having tested a number of blenders and being mildly excited I was eager to see what this had to offer.

 The company introduced their first blender in 1937 and they sell their product in over 75 countries. This new version is the first revision of the product in 15 years. This seems like one of those hand me down products.  Kind of like my Atlas pasta maker that my mom gave me and that her mom gave to her.

 What I Made:
The product claims that it can perform 35 different functions including making smoothies and ice cream, grinding grains to make flour, kneading dough and making whole food juice. Although I did not make my own flour or knead dough I did put the Vita-Mix to the test and made more smoothies than I could drink on my own.

Since I love the flavor of whole food juices I also made some veggie drinks. My favorite smoothies that I made included:

- 1 banana
- 5 frozen strawberries
- 1 tbsp of soy protein powder
- 2 cups of vanilla soy milk

Toss everything into the wet blade container and follow the instructions for blending.

I also prepared Banana Bread with the Vita-Mix.

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In your Vita-Mix 5200 wet container, cream together butter and brown sugar (refer to the instructions on how to best cream ingredients). Mix in eggs and mashed bananas and blend well. Place flour mixture into banana mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer to loaf pan and bake in preheated oven about 50 minutes minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

For a whole slew of recipes you can log on and see the myriad of things you can make with the Vita-Mix 5200.

How It Rated:
If I had an entire year to play with this product I could certainly keep myself busy preparing foods in the kitchen. Unfortunately, time is of the essence so I had to stop short of testing some smoothies and bread recipes.

This is by far one of the best blenders I have ever used. What makes it so amazing? In addition to being sturdy and easy to use, it is also very powerful and totally versatile. You would be amazed at the consistency of the smoothies I made – everything in the container becomes pulverized and smooth as silk.

My friends and I did follow the directions to make tomato juice for our bloody Mary’s but the consistency was a little off. The juice that comes from the tomatoes is much thinner than the tomato juice from a can.

The bread that I made came out perfectly moist and delicious and the preparation using the Vita-Mix was quite simple.

Yes… the Vita-Mix Super 5200 is pricey, but there is a less expensive version – minus the dry container – for $449. If you search a little online you can find them for less money so do your homework and you can save some cash. In reality I think that the average person probably does not need the dry container, it seems a little gratuitous (unless you plan on making your own flour and blending other grains). At then end of the day hoever, this product is worth every penny and that it will last for years to come.

Product Review - The Food Saver

What I Tried: The FoodSaver ($173.97 – Available Here)
With the economy in the tank and food prices skyrocketing, I jumped at the chance to test the FoodSaver and its vacuum sealing capabilities. The product claims to keep food fresh up to five times longer than traditional storage methods (e.g., Tupperware, plastic wrap, etc.). I also received a sample of the FoodSaver bags and canisters, which are similar to Tupperware containers, but they have a piece attached to the lid that allows you to suck out all of the air to preserve food.

What I Made:
I didn’t really make anything with the FoodSaver, but what I did do was preserve a bunch of foods before leaving on a ten-day business trip. A few days before I took off for my jaunt I had a breakfast party and made a whole bunch of food that I wanted to preserve with the FoodSaver. My list included biscuits, leftover uncooked sausage, a tomato, a boatload of peeled garlic and some shredded cheese.

The biscuits, sausage and garlic were preserved using the bags that came with the system and placed in the freezer. Mr. tomato and the leftover cheese were portioned in half.  One half was preserved with the system and the other half was placed into a regular storage bag.

What it Rated:
Upon my arrival back into the city I opened my freezer and fridge to examine the foods. I removed the biscuits and sausage and made myself a sausage biscuit sandwich.  It tasted great.  The sausage was fresh and the biscuits did not have that “I’ve been festering in the freezer for a while” taste. The garlic was fragrant and I ended up roasting it for later use.

The “preserved” tomato was a little moldy, but not nearly as moldy as the one that was sitting in the plastic baggie. But to be honest, no tomato is going to last for ten days, preserved or not. The thing that I liked about my little science project is that the preserved tomato seemed to weather the ten days better than its unfortunate half.

The preserved cheese tasted pretty good too, but it was a little harder to recognize any real difference in the flavor profile.

My one little issue with this product is that its operation is not immediately intuitive. When I first plugged it in I could not get it to work and had to call the product rep to try and figure out what I was doing wrong. The directions are not that well written and as with any kitchen gadget my mantra is that companies should make the operation of any product so easy a toddler could make it work.

So if you tend to have a lot of leftovers or want to start preserving your leftovers or keeping your other foods on the fresher side, pick up a FoodSaver.

Product Review - The Food Loop and Roasted Chicken Recipe

What I Tried: The Food Loop ($9.95 at Amazon.com)
While shopping at a gourmet store in Pittsburgh, PA I came across this amazing little tool and at first glance I had no idea what it was. With some closer examination I became immediately intrigued.

The Food Loop is the first heat resistant trussing tool designed to take place of kitchen twine and toothpicks in the cooking process.

Here are some facts: The silicone based, magenta colored kitchen item can withstand up to 675 F/375 C.  Truss a chicken, bind a pork loin, wrap a stuffed fish, secure your herbs for an amazing stock... This tool can be pretty useful and is also dishwasher safe. It also comes with a handy little bag for keeping all in place when you store or toss them into the dishwasher.

How it Rated:
This product is amazing, not only for its versatility, but also for the ease of use. The only thing that is missing with this product is the lack of lines that are seared into the meat when you truss with twine and the excitement of searching for that piece of string when your bird or loin is all done. And compared to the cost of a ball of twine -- a few bucks -- the $9.95 price point, although not that much money -- seems a little high, especially since a ball of twine can last the regular cook a few years.

What I Made: Easy Roasted Chicken
As I sit here writing this piece I can smell the chicken that I am serving at a dinner party this evening roasting away. The scent is incredible, but what is even better is how I trussed the bird with The Food Loop.  I always like to stuff my bird with 1 lemon (cut in half) and a handful of herbs (usually sage and rosemary).  Then I used the Loop to secure the legs and keep the stuffing neatly tucked inside while roasting in the oven. 

This recipe comes from my mother and is truly the best way to cook a chicken.  It always comes out moist as can be. All you need to do is preheat your oven to 475, place the bird on a roasting pan, breast side up, stuff, truss, liberally coat with salt and freshly ground black pepper and roast for 1 hour.  Take your bird out of the oven, sprinkle the top with more fresh herbs, squeeze the juice of 1 lemon on top and cover with foil for 15 minutes.

Remove, carve and serve.  This is an easy and amazing way to cook a chicken and the Food Loop makes it that much easier.  Bock Bock.

Product Review - Metrokane V-1 Decanter

What I Tested: Metrokane V-1 Decanter ($56.03 availble at Amazon)
My friends and I never seem to need a decanter, because the wines we drink are usually not pricey enough to merit decanting. And we almost never need to vacuum seal leftover wine, because there never is any leftover wine. So when I received the Metrokane V-1 Decanter I took it directly to my friend Jerry Cooper, the owner of Swirl on Castro, to test out the contraption.  The V-1 claims to be the only vacuum decanter of its kind, with the ability to lengthen the life of an opened bottle of wine. It works by pumping the air out of the decanter thereby saving the wine from damaging oxidization.

What I Made or I Guess, Drank:
Jerry had a superb idea.  We would open up an Australian Shiraz (2004), which was chosen, because according to Jerry, this wine has a tendency to show its liquor more quickly after being opened. Half of the bottle was decanted into the V-1 and the other half was corked.  The two bottles sat side-by-side, untouched for five days.  After the fifth day we brought them down and had our friend Timmy conduct a blind taste test. The goal, both of us had to identify which came from the V-1 decanter and which one came from the bottle.

How The Product Rated:
Both Jerry and I called it immediately. It was obvious to us which sat in the vacuum sealed decanter and which sat in the bottle. The vacuumed wine held its structure, body and aromas while the other showed its alcohol, had oxidization and almost no fruit flavor whatsoever. Some other key things to note about the decanter; it is very sturdy, unlike many of the more expensive decanters from Reidel and Spiegleau, the V-1 does not feel fragile and the design is beautiful.

However, both Jerry and I agreed that the indentation (or punt) on the bottom of the decanter could be a little deeper. We were also confused about its operation. When we opened the box we placed the pump onto the decanter and began pumping, but nothing happened. Jerry then played with the pin that lets the air out of the decanter and realized that it was pressed in all of the way.  You have to literally pull the pin out so that it is in its highest position in order for the pump to work. Metrokane may want to consider making that more apparent.  Other than that this is really a great product for those of you out there that cannot seem to finish (or maybe just want to savor) a bottle of wine.