Lasagna class on December 30, 2010

We had some fun Thursday evening making three different lasagnas using three different techniques.  We made some fun stuff, Cajun lasagna using dry noodles, spinach lasagna using noodles we made from scratch, and a fantastic mushroom lasagna with feta cheese using cooked dry garlic and black pepper noodles.  Recipes on the website, go to www.AustinHealthyCooking.com then to "Class Recipes" link in left column and go to the bottom of the page to the December recipes.

Light Christmas Dinner For Chef and his Son

For Christmas my son came from Arizona to visit.  We have been having fun together and have seen many friends so we took it easy on Christmas day and I made this wonderful dinner for the most beautiful woman in Austin, my son, and myself.  I took a small boneless pork roast and sliced it into one and a half inch thick slices.  Then in a bowl I mixed some fresh herbs from my porch garden, marjoram, sage, oregano and rosemary and chopped them finely.  I mixed in a 1/4 cup balsamic, 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 cup olive oil and coated the pork with that and refridgerated for 4 hours.  Then I took them and put them into my stove top smoker with some cherry chips and smoked them on mdium heat for 25 minutes.  Before that though, I took a rutabaga, a small butternut squash, and 4 big organic carrots, peeled them all, then diced them, tossed with just a touch of olive oil, and tossed with fresh herbs and roasted in the oven for an hour and a half.  I made some brown rice with cajun spices and lots of onions, peppers and garlic and served that with the pork that I sliced into thin slices.  The juices from the pork were smoky, and herby and wonderful when spooned over the sliced pork.  A very nice light and luscious meal.  And, well, not traditional, but certainly wonderful.  And meals like that are in reality best when enjoyed, and prepared, with great people.  My son gave me an HD camera and we have a video, but this computer uses MS Vista, which is just about the biggest error in the history of the company and we can't get it to interface with MS Movie Maker.  Sigh, always problems with MS stuff, my son keeps asking if I am ready to get an Apple, and now I think I am.  Sheesh.

Tamale Class, "Not Your Usual Tamales!"

Well three of the five that reserved time for my tamale class showed up on Saturday, oh well, great fun for those of us that were there.  We made those very unique cherry, pineapple and a little chipotle sweet dessert tamales.  Then we cut up some frozen brie and mixed it with some diced avocados and some candied citrus peel that we made ourselves.  Then we smoked a salmon filet on the stove top and diced some red onions and usded that to make tamales with masa flavored with lemon and dill.  Then lastly we made the traditional pork roast that was dry rubbed with coffee, chili, cumin and then cooked in dark beer.  They are all fantastic, and these three made the evening fun. 

Not your usual Thanksgiving Dinner for Chef Roy

What does Chef Roy have on Thanksgiving?  Well, it is true that in years past with a big big family (he regularly would cook for up to 35) he would smoke one turkey, then bone and stuff another with an exquisite apple sausage stuffing.  But now, far from his place of birth, he cooked a very special Thanksgiving for someone special.  It began with a somewhat interesting appetizer of roasted jalapenos that were stuffed with smoked salmon and pepper jack cheese.  Then he took a 2 lb bag of new red potatoes and cut them in half and on the cut side he cut a cross two thirds of the way into the flesh of the potatoe.  These were then put into a 14 inch skillet with 3 tablespoons butter and a one of olive oil.  tossed around a bit to coat, then all the halves were set down onto the cut side.  A generous sprinkling of fresh cracked pepper and fresh rosemary were added, then it was covered and set aside on low for an hour and a half.  The potatoes became crispy on the bottom with the tops creamy, succulent and heady with that deep rosemary flavor.  Then he took two turkey breast cutlets and cut pockets into them.  He sauteed some shrimp with a diced shallot and a half of a chipotle pepper.  A rough chop of the cooked shrimp and they were stuffed into the pocket of the turkey breast.  These were then dusted in flour and lightly sauteed in a bit of olive oil and butter after being seasoned with thyme and pepper.  When well browned, they were removed to a warm plate and another diced shallot was added to the pan and cooked until translucent.  A 1/2 cup white wine was added and brought to a boil, and reduced for two minutes.  Then two tablespoons of Chef's homemade beer mustard were added and allowed to cook for another minute.  Then a 1/4 cup half and half was added and this sauce was spooned over the turkey cutlets.  It was all served with some baby green beans that were steamed for 5 minutes, then tossed in butter that was browned with 10 sage leaves.  Yumm.  Dessert is later, probably some French Silk Ice Cream.  Sorry, Chef spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning in the hospital and did not feel like making dessert.  It took a lot out of him to make this simple dinner.  However special meals with special people make life worth living.  The only bad part of the evening was that Chef forgot the camera at the store and so has no photographic record of this very spectacular meal, or the special person he spent an evening with.

Tamale Class

November is "Not Your Usual Tamale Class" and these four young ladies came and learned all about making tamales.  We made some rather unique ones, the smoked salmon was the most popular.  However we all loved the cherry, chipotle and pineapple ones as well, pictured here served with a white chocolate vanilla sauce and shaved chocolate on it. 

Nice Words from Shannon

Shannon came to my Condiments class a while back and now I find out that she writes for this really cool blog.  check out her stuff at http://www.livemom.com/2010/11/18/thursdays-dish-healthier-ketchup/

Pasta Bosciala Woodsmen's Pasta

Fettuccine alla Bosciala 

Woodsman’s Pasta using,

Tomato, Basil and Garlic Fettuccine

In your blender, whiz together ten garlic cloves with ¼ cup dry basil leaves and 1 cup water.  In the bowl of your mixer place eight cups durum wheat flour and 1- 6 oz can tomato paste.  Mix in the stuff in the blender and mix to form coarse crumbles.  Roll the dough into sheets then cut into 3/8 inch strips.  Cook in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain. 

Bosciala

 Brown 6 slices bacon in large skillet.  Remove and coarsely chop.  In the bacon fat, cook 6 oz. sliced mushrooms until browned.  Add a cup of diced onion and continue to cook another 2 minutes.  Add 6 garlic cloves sliced thinly.  Cook another 2 minutes.  Add 1 and ½ cups half and half and stir well.  Add the bacon back in.  Season with lots of cracked pepper and a bit of salt.  Optional addition here is a 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes.  Add a teaspoon of good Italian Seasoning, then cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain and add to the pan and toss well and serve.  Garnish with sliced scallions and Parmesan cheese. 

Having Fun Learning to Cook at Austin Healthy Cooking

This was made a class last Wednesday for two very special young ladies that came to the store to learn some techniques to eat a bit healthier and to enjoy that health food more.  Well, I had some stuff in the fridge and showed them how easy this dish was to make.  I used one package of Roasted Garlic and Jalapeno Linguine and cooked it in boiling water.  Meanwhile I heated a large skillet over medium high heat and sauted about 8 medium button mushrooms in 1/4 cup olive oil until browned.  Then added a half an onion and half a red pepper, both diced in half inch dice.  Continued to cook them for about another 2 minutes then threw in 2 leftover spicy sausages the I had and sliced into half inch slices.  Then I opened a 14 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes and pour that in, stirred a bit then dumped in the drained linguine and added about a half cup of the water the pasta was cooked in.  Stirred it all well and turned onto platter.  Sprinkled all over with shaved parmesan and it was spectacular and just unbelievably quick and easy!

Pizza Pizza Pizza my Favorite is Smoked Salmon

Pizza is such a staple in America today, but let's be realistic -  the stuff out there is made with brominated flour, the cheeses used are preshredded and have silica added to prevent caking, the sauces used are monstrosities of chemical additives.  YOU can do better, and it is so easy.  And it is possible to make pizza crusts by the dozen, freeze them and then make your own quick and easy, yet ever so satisfying pizza at home that you will never buy delivery again.  Pizza dough needs to be a bit stiffer than regular whole wheat dough.  If you have been to any of my bread classes at the store, then you will know that in order to have bread that is light and fluffy, you need to keep it sticky and add as little flour into the dough as possible.  Although that works great for loaves, it is hard to make pizza crusts with dough that sticky.  Make your dough using the basic bread recipe, except when it is just beginning to mix and pull away from the sides of the bowl, add another ½ to ¾ cup flour.  Let knead for the 9 minutes and feel the dough.  It should be just slightly sticky, but still hold together and allow you to form it into a ball on an oiled counter top.  Pinch off a big ball and roll it out with a rolling pin into a circle just large enough for your pan.  Lift the dough on one edge and slide the pan under it.  Freeze it this way and wrap in plastic wrap for fast pizza construction, or allow to rise and make a pizza right away.  I also like deep dish pizza and so do the same as above, just with more dough and then throw it into a deep dish pan and allow to rise for a while before building the pizza.  MY FAVORITE Pizza is Smoked Salmon. 

Take a nice salmon fillet and wash well.  Place in a dish large enough that the fillet will lay down completely.  Dust the surface with dill, black pepper and pour on a small amount of sherry.  Cover the fish with kosher salt and put in the fridge for 3 hours.  Take the fish out and rinse off the salt.  Pat the fish dry and sprinkle on some dill and black pepper.  Place the fillet in the stovetop smoker and add light flavored wood chips.  Smoke on medium high heat for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and take out the salmon.  Flake into large flakes.  Take a pizza crust and brush with olive oil.  Add a layer of grated smoked Gouda cheese.  Lightly sprinkle some dill over the cheese, the distribute some of the smoked salmon around.  Add some capers and bake.  When you take the pizza out, garnish with some very thinly sliced scallions that you cut on the bias and serve with pickled red onions on the side.  Try it with the onions, it makes the pizza.

Super Easy Super Healthy Super Fabulous Meatloaf

Take 2 pounds ground organic or free range chicken and mix into it 2 eggs, 1 cup home made whole wheat bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 1 cup each diced onion and bell pepper, I like to add about 6 or so jalapenos, and 1 cup of my homemade ketchup that I make with organic evaporated cane juice or sometimes with honey so you don't have to eat any of those horrific chemicals in store bought ketchup.  Mix all ingredients by hand and form into a 9 inch round cake pans.  Cover with foil tightly and place one onto trivet in bottom of pressure cooker.  Add a cup of water into the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil.  Place the pressure lid on the pan and bring to pressure, then reduce heat.  Keep an eye on the pressure, make sure it remains at 15 pounds pressure and cook for 25 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool naturally until pressure releases.  Remove pans from pressure cooker and set out to cool slightly.  Slather with homemade ketchup, and if desired place under broiler and brown that top layer of ketchup.  Perfect with healthy mashed potatoes, and great sliced and made into sandwiches on real whole wheat bread.