December 2007 Archives
David Burke, author of David Burke’s New American Classics and Executive Chef of David Burke Las Vegas, returns to Secret Sauce to share a decadent holiday brunch recipe, Heath Bar Crunch Pancakes with Heath Bar Crunch Whipped Cream.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200°.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the buttermilk and melted butter. When they are well combined, whisk in the egg yolks. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix them together to just blend. Do not overbeat. Add in the crushed Heath bar. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites to just incorporate.
- Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Spoon the batter, about ¼ cup at a time, onto the hot griddle to make neat circles. Cook it for about 3 minutes, or until the top is filled with bursting bubbles and the bottom is golden. Turn and cook the remaining side. Place the cooked pancakes on the prepared baking sheet and into the preheated oven to keep them warm while you continue making pancakes.
- Serve hot, at least three per person.
- For the Cream: Combine the three ingredients and whip to stiff peaks.
 | Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday (AKA Mardi Gras), is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. In the UK, pancake races are held in celebration. |
About the Chef:
Blazing across distinctions between chef, artist, entrepreneur, and inventor, David Burke is one of the leading pioneers in American cooking today.His fascination with ingredients and the art of the meal has fueled a career marked by creativity, critical acclaim, and the introduction of revolutionary products and cooking techniques.
To learn more about Chef David Burke, read his full bio here.
Visit Chef David Burke on the web @ davidburke.com
David Burke Secret Sauce Rewind
December 21, 2007
The Scottos of Manhattan's Fresco by Scotto and Fresco on the Go are sharing their favorite simple recipes for a delicious Christmas Eve dinner: Cheese Lasagna, Zuppa di Pesce, and Nutella Mousse Parfait.
Their three-course holiday meal includes a creamy cheese lasagna, combining layers of Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano with a homemade tomato sauce, a zuppa di pesce with shrimp, clams, mussels, codfish and calamari in a lightly spiced tomato white wine broth with Cannellini beans, and finishes with a scrumptious Nutella mousse parfait—a chocolate hazelnut mousse layered with whipped mascarpone cream.
Have a happy holiday with these dishes from the Scotto family! Here's how:
Procedure: Cheese Lasagna
- To make the lasagna: Mix ¾ of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the Parmigiano Reggiano, and the ricotta in a large bowl. Add the eggs and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook the pasta until al dente, about 1 minute. Drain and shock in cold water.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour 1 cup of the hot tomato sauce in the bottom of an 8x12-inch baking pan. Place a pasta sheet over the layer of sauce, cutting the sheet to fit if necessary.
- Spread ⅓ of the cheese mixture over the pasta. Add some of the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat the layers of sauce, pasta, and cheese, two more times.
- Spread the remaining cup of tomato sauce over the top layer of the pasta and sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over the sauce.
- Bake the lasagna for 1 hour or until the top is golden.
- To make the sauce: In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and onions, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until the garlic just begins to turn golden brown.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes are softened and a sauce is formed. Stir in the fresh basil.
Makes 6 servings.
Procedure: Zuppa di Pesce
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the carrot, onion, celery, leek, fennel, and tomatoes in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the red pepper and oregano.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce to half over medium heat. Add the clam juice and cook over medium to low heat for 15 to 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a large sauté pan over low heat, sauté the garlic in the remaining olive oil for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Pan-sear the fish and seafood at the same time and sauté for 2 minutes until golden brown on each side. Add the sauce and beans, and cook for about 15 minutes over low heat. Add extra clam juice if necessary if it seems too dense.
- Garnish with diced red and yellow tomatoes, cannellini beans and basil.
Makes 6 servings.
Procedure: Nutella Mousse Parfait
- For the Mousse: Whip Nutella and mascarpone until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whip cream and Frangelico till stiff peaks form.
- Fold cream into Nutella mixture and pour into dessert cups.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
- For the Mascarpone: Whip until stiff.
- Starting with the chocolate pudding, alternate layers of pudding and mascarpone cream, finishing on top with mascarpone.
- Garnish with chocolate shavings.
Bonus Recipe:
Procedure: Struffoli with Honey
- Beat eggs, salt and rye with a wooden spoon.
- Make a well of flour on a pastry board. Add egg mixture and knead dough until all of the egg mixture is absorbed.
- Cover dough and let stand for 20 minutes.
- Take a piece of dough and roll out to a cylinder about the thickness of a pencil. Cut off small pieces and deep fry.
- After all the frying is done: In a large pot, heat 4 cups of honey with the juice of 1 lemon and 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
- Pour melted honey over Struffoli and stir to coat.
Makes 12 to 15 servings.
| Struffoli are an Italian specialty typically served at Christmas and Easter. |
More on The Scottos:
Visit The Scottos on the web @ frescobyscotto.com.
Scotto Secret Sauce Rewind:
- Bread and Ricotta Dumplings with Genovese Sauce
- Video: Watch the Scottos prepare this dish on TODAY
- Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Fresh Spring Berries
- Spring Salad & Warm Goat's Cheese Crostini
- Pistachio Crusted Sea Bass with Salsa Verde & Roasted Artichokes
- Video: Watch the Scotto's trip to Italy on TODAY
December 19, 2007
Secret Sauce welcomes Chef Christophe Émé, Executive Chef and Owner of Ortolan in Los Angeles. Recently awarded an impressive 1-star rating in the Michelin Guide in LA, this celebrity chef is ready to share one of his favorite simple dishes and the top-secret recipe!
Says Chef Émé, "I love this recipe for Tomato Parfait because I want to show how you can eat tomato differently than just drizzling it with olive oil and serving it with basil. This is an easy way to eat tomato while showing off the complex flavors, and also creating a nice presentation."
Create this beautiful tomato dish in a cinch tonight! Here's how:
Procedure:
- Peel, boil and slice the tomatoes into large cubes.
- Cut the red bell peppers into large cubes as well, after removing the seeds and the white areas.
- Peel the celery stock and cut into quarter inch pieces.
- In a medium saucepan combine the tomatoes, red bell pepper and celery, the tomato paste, saffron, thyme, 3 basil leaves, garlic and sugar. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Mince the tarragon and the 2 basil leaves.
- Once the tomato purée is ready, pass it through a strainer and measure the liquid extracted. You should have about 3.5 oz. of liquid remaining. If there is excess liquid, reduce it by cooking longer until 3.5 oz. remain.
- Make sure the tomato purée is still hot and mix in the gelatin well until it dissolves. Add a splash of Tabasco, the ketchup, tarragon and basil and let it cool down before adding the cream.
- Add first a fifth of the cream by mixing vigorously, and then the remaining more delicately, slowly incorporating with the rest of the mixture.
- Refrigerate for about 6 hours.
Serves 6.
About the Chef:
From the time he was just a boy, Christophe Émé found satisfaction in the kitchen, helping to cook for his family while growing up in France’s picturesque Loire Valley. Since then, Émé’s passion for food has taken him around the world, in a career path illuminated by Michelin stars. After two decades of cooking at some of the world’s finest restaurants, Émé had struck out on his own, showcasing his impeccable and artful cooking at Ortolan in West Hollywood, a restaurant that sets the tone for the next generation of French restaurants. Shortly after Ortolan opened in 2005, Émé was honored by Food & Wine magazine as one of the 10 Best New Chefs. John Mariani of Esquire has also designated Ortolan as one of the Best New Restaurants of 2005.
Émé arrived in the United States in 2001, briefly working in New York, before moving on to Los Angeles to cook at the venerable L’Orangerie. There he introduced his signature brand of modern French cuisine, which eschews heavy, cream-based sauces in favor of intensely flavored emulsions and natural jus. For Émé, L’Orangerie’s traditional formality was no longer relevant to the culture of contemporary Los Angeles; he yearned for a more informal, welcoming forum in which to showcase his haute cuisine.
With the encouragement of wife and business partner Jeri Ryan, the concept for Ortolan was conceived: A restaurant where Émé’s impeccable standards need not be compromised, but where Angelenos would feel more at home and better able to fully appreciate his refined cuisine. As the chef explains, “Ortolan is designed to be sophisticated and unpretentious... I prepare the same haute cuisine as before, but in a setting that is more modern and casual.... it’s a place where you can wear a suit or come in jeans.”
And despite the sophistication of the cuisine—and the frequent appearances of caviar, foie gras and truffles on the menu—Émé concentrates on simplicity of flavors derived from the world’s greatest ingredients all presented with a classic, unfussy execution. In regard to his aesthetically stylish presentation, utilizing unconventional serving plates and surfaces, he explains, “I wanted to do something different, to develop my own style in my own restaurant.” The 37-year-old Émé adds, “but I’m no artist...I’m just a chef.” To anybody who has dined at Ortolan, that self-assessment ranks as one of the world’s great understatements.
Secret Sauce welcomes Chef Steve Chiappetti of Chicago's Viand restaurant and not one, but two fun finger food dishes for you to create at home.
His recipes for Stuffed Potato Chips & Gouda Lollipops are perfect for your upcoming holiday get-togethers and parties, yet simple enough to make without missing out on all the fun!
Says Chef Chiappetti, "...Everyone loves potato chips! They’re a universal item and can be stuffed with a number of other ingredients for different tastes. Have fun, be creative with this recipe. The Gouda lollipops make for a fun, unique presentation that can be combined with a number of dipping options. They’re a fun, bite-sized surprise! You can also substitute the filling with a number of items including shrimp, beef or chicken."
Here's how to make this celebrity chef's bite-sized fun foods:
Procedure: Stuffed Potato Chips
- In a sauté pan put shallow amount of oil and add garlic, shrimp, and basil.
- Cook till firm and deglaze with white wine and reduce until dry. Stir in the bread crumbs and parmesan. Set aside.
- Slice potato paper thin and lay out on parchment paper. Put a spoonful of shrimp relish on the potato and put another piece of potato on top.
- Place in a sauté pan with shallow amount of oil and sauté till crisp. Serve.
- Heat the water and pour into a bowl. Add the brown sugar, seasonings and mix till dissolved.
- Add the Gouda cheese and slowly incorporate flour until it forms dough. Leave to rest for five minutes.
- Take a portion of the dough and wrap around a small cube of Gouda cheese or braised beef filling forming a tight ball with dough on all sides.
- Fry the ball till golden brown and set aside. Poke it with a lollipop stick and serve with chimichurri sauce.
| Chimichurri is an Argentine herb sauce. Get a great recipe from Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi here. |
About the Chef:
A native of Chicago’s south side, Chef Steve Chiappetti of Viand definitely has cooking in his blood. His family name is behind Chicago’s oldest slaughter and packinghouse, Chiappetti Lamb and Veal, which after 51 years of business is the last remaining slaughterhouse in the Chicago Stockyards.Firmly grounded from childhood in the fundamentals of southern European fare, especially that of Provence, Chiappetti forged his own unique style of cooking with a mixture of formal training and hands-on experience. After attending the Culinary School at Kendall College, he worked under a series of impressive mentors, among them Fernand Gutierrez at the Ritz Carlton Dining Room and Chef Paul Bartolotta at Spiaggia. Chiappetti’s talent got him tapped to represent the U.S. in the Bocuse d’Or, one of Europe’s most prestigious food competitions. In 1997, he was nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef Award.
As a chef and entrepreneur, Chiappetti went on to blaze his own trail, opening a string of successful, highly acclaimed restaurants. Mango, an American Bistro characterized by a warm, hip dining room and an eclectic menu, garnered three stars from, respectively, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, and the Sun Times, rocketing Chiappetti to the center of Chicago’s culinary scene. Grapes, a three-star Mediterranean café, was a funky, neighborhood place with a colorful dining room.
Chiappetti later joined forces with the Chicago Symphony to open Rhapsody, a three-star contemporary American bistro for the care and feeding of symphony- goers and Loop diners. Continuing to strike a musical theme, Chiappetti consulted on the Freehling Room, the private donors club at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park.
In 2003, after a three-year sabbatical from his frenetic pace, Chiappetti opened Café le Coq, a classic French Bistro in Oak Park. Chiappetti and his wife, Leslie, currently own Banana Bakery in Westchester, Illinois, and the Monkey Fudge Factory.
Visit Steve Chiappetto on the web @ viandchicago.com.
Secret Sauce welcomes another guest judge from Bravo TV's hit show Top Chef, world-renowned chef, Todd English. His recipe for Chestnut Risotto with Nantucket Bay Scallops is a seasonal favorite that's both tasty and a cinch to make.
Says Chef English, "Chestnuts are so intensely flavorful, and make any dish feel like real comfort food. The combination of the rich, creamy chestnut risotto with the sweet scallops and acidic oranges give this dish perfect balance."
Try this award-winning chef's recipe tonight. Here's how:
Procedure: Chestnut Risotto
- Place the chestnuts, the onion, the cream, ½ cup of chicken broth, maple syrup, and the thyme in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chestnuts are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree. Set aside.
- Chestnut Garnish: Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium to high heat. Add the sliced chestnuts and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
- Place a straight-sided saucepan over medium to high heat and when it is hot, add the rice. When the rice is hot, add the wine and cook, stirring until it has been absorbed by the rice - about 2 minutes.
- Add one cup of broth and cook, stirring constantly, until it has been absorbed by the rice. Continue adding broth one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition, until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice - about 18-20 minutes. Add the chestnut puree, the butter, if desired and the salt and pepper.
- Garnish the risotto with the browned chestnuts, parmesan, scallions, orange segments and parsley. Serve immediately.
- In a small bowl, mix together the chestnut flour, salt and pepper. Place the scallops on a large plate and sprinkle with flour mixture. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the scallops and cook until deeply browned on all sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the scallops to a plate.
- Wipe the skillet clean. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chestnuts and parsley and cook until the chestnuts are browned, about 2 minutes. Add the orange juice and broth and cook until the sauce reduces and begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Return the scallops to the sauce, add the orange segments and cook for one minute. Serve immediately.
| Chestnut Flour is available at specialty food stores like Dean & DeLuca, or try substituting with Semolina. |
About the Chef:
One of the most decorated, respected, and charismatic chefs in the world, Todd English has enjoyed a staggering number of accolades during his remarkable career.
He has been recognized by several of the food industry’s most prestigious publications, established one of the best-known restaurant brands in the nation, published three critically acclaimed cookbooks, and was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” English’s family of restaurants, Todd English Enterprises, includes 20 high-end, innovative, multi-concept restaurants.
A multiple James Beard Award Winner and Bon Appetit’s “Restaurateur of the Year,” English has also been featured on numerous television shows and recently successfully launched The Todd English Collection™, his exclusive line of cookware and kitchen accessories on HSN and HSN.com.
A forty-something father of three, English resides in Boston and New York City.
Visit Todd English on the web @ toddenglish.com.
Lidia Bastianich, the “First Lady of Italian cuisine and restaurants in the United States," shares her favorite recipe on Secret Sauce: Pork Scaloppine with Mushrooms and Marsala.
"We have all seen countless dishes called al Marsala on the menus of Italian-American restaurants. Too often, I have found, they disappoint me. The pork scaloppine I enjoyed at the Ferdinando brothers’ trattoria reminded me that this simple preparation depends so much on the quality of the wine that is splashed into the skillet. And I was not surprised to learn that the superb sauce coating the meat was made with a carefully chosen Marsala, dry and aromatic. After all, the town of Marsala lies just a few hours west of Palermo, and from that western tip of the island comes all authentic Marsala, in a wide range of vintages, colors, and degrees of sweetness.”
Try out this tasty simple dish and wow your dinner table tonight. Here's how:
Procedure:
- Trim the pork loin, leaving only a thin layer of fat, and cut it crosswise into twelve equal slices. Using a meat mallet (or other heavy implement), flatten and spread the slices into scaloppine about ¼ inch thick. Season lightly on both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the scaloppine in the flour, coating both sides, and shake off the excess.
- Meanwhile, put 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in the skillet, set over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to bubble, lay four or more scaloppine in the skillet—as many as can lie flat without crowding—and let them sizzle in place until the underside is opaque and tinged with brown, about 3 minutes. Flip them over and color the second side for a couple of minutes; then lift out the slices, let the fat drain off, and put them on a platter. Add a bit more olive oil and/or butter to the skillet if it seems dry, and fry the rest of the scaloppine in the same way.
- When all of the pork is browned, pour off the frying oil but leave any crusty caramelization in the skillet. Put in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of butter, and return to medium-high heat. When the butter is foaming, drop in the shallots and sage leaves, and cook, stirring, for a minute. Scatter the sliced mushrooms in the pan, season with ± teaspoon salt, and stir continuously as the mushrooms sizzle and start to release their juices. Cook, tossing and stirring, until the moisture has evaporated and the mushroom slices are shrunken, soft, and caramelized, 6 minutes or more.
- Pour in the Marsala, raise the heat, and stir until it boils. Let the wine bubble and reduce for a minute or two, then stir in the stock. Bring to a boil, and cook at a gentle bubbling pace until the sauce is slightly viscous but loose, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- One by one, slide the scaloppine into the simmering sauce, and pour in any juices accumulated on the platter. Shake the pan, spoon sauce over scaloppine, and flip them over once or twice, until they're heated through and glistening with sauce on both sides. If the sauce is too dense to coat all the meat, loosen it with a bit of stock. Turn off the heat, sprinkle the parsley all over, and serve.
The finest Marsalas, aged a minimum of 10 years, are ranked with the great fortified wines of the world—sipping one of these is a pleasure you shouldn’t miss. But for good cooking, I recommend a moderately priced Superiore (aged 2 years) or Superiore Riserva (aged 4 years).
I always prefer dry (secco) Marsala, even for desserts like Espresso Zabaglione; for these scaloppine, secco is a must.
About the Chef:
Lidia Bastianich is star of the 52-part television series, Lidia's Italian American Kitchen and the 39-part Public Television show, Lidia's Italian Table.” Her television show, Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen, began airing in January, 2001 and is accompanied by her third cookbook by the same name, released in October 2001 (Knopf). Lidia’s Italian Table was released in September 1998 together with a companion book of the same name (William Morrow, 1998). In addition, Lidia is the author of the monthly column, Lidia’s Italian Table, distributed by Universal Press Syndicate. Her most recent book, Lidia’s Italy, was published by Knopf this past Spring.
Lidia is also considered an acclaimed chef and restaurateur. She is the owner of the award-winning FELIDIA restaurant and, with her son Joseph, runs the very popular theater district eatery BECCO. Lidia is also a partner in ESCA restaurant with her son Joseph and Mario Batali. Lidia and Joseph’s first venture outside of New York City was at LIDIA’S KANSAS CITY with managing partner David Wagner, a native of Kansas City. The restaurant, which has now also expanded to LIDIA’S PITTSBURGH, combines the cuisines of both Felidia and Becco restaurants. The concept of LIDIA’S will continue to expand in other mid-size cities across the U.S. during the upcoming years.
Lidia developed her own line of pasta sauces, LIDIA’S FLAVORS OF ITALY, with one of her television sponsors in 1998. Colavita USA, the distributor, began working in the tri-state market and has found much success. Currently the sauce line is found nationwide, and she is working on an exclusive product for Williams Sonoma stores.
Visit Lidia Bastianich on the web @ lidiasitaly.com.
