You cook in a kitchen, not a vacuum. I reveal where the magic comes from and deals with more of Dad's giant produce.

I know what you're thinking. "WAHHH NICK all your recipes scare me, I can never cook like you."

I call BS

I know most Chef's would have you believe everything they do comes from on high like some stone tablet from Mount Sinai. I ain't true. Inspiration can come from any direction. For me it's part my Mom and Dad, part friends, part just stuff that I see or hear about or experience. It'll just hit me. "Hey you know what  would be even COOLER?" Add this, subtract that, change this, yippity-yehaa, something new.



 I've had several postings that came from an idea through an e-mail or conversation, someone wanted to share a family recipe or a favorite meal. Reneene's Chulupa-Beef, Mariam's Assyrian chicken, Mom's Rum-Balls...etc.
 It's not that there was anything wrong with the original, it's just more fun for me to play around with an idea than to reproduce it exactly, write about it and take the credit. That would be stealing.

 Also, my Dad is at it again with the super-huge produce. Remember Arthur and Philip (the giant zucchini) from a year ago? He grows everything in horse manure and sand. Would ya look at the size of that patapan squash? Nobody told him he's supposed to harvest it small. So anyways.....

About a year ago my WHS friend Lisa K. sent me this nifty little recipe using one of my favorite spices, Cumin. Here it is right from her email.

 Its a no brainer...I like to do Cornish game hens...the juice of 4 or 5 lemons...lots of butter to make the sauce brown and thicken...salt ...pepper ...and tons of cumin...I sprinkle enough to make the chx almost green...I do the cumin last so it doesn't get "washed" off the meat...I bast it here and there and the butter makes it golden brown...so if some cumin comes off during basting it's all in the sauce...the sauce just needs to reduce in the oven and its magic! Baste often...oh yeah ...I bake it at about 375 to get the liquids reduced in the oven...I also do put the pan low in the oven so sauce will reduce faster...I do this with chx breasts too...they just don't stay in the oven as long...so I really work the sauce lower in the oven...love it...totally good and totally good for you healthwise...I hope you enjoy!...let me know how you like it ..
I got more recipes if you are ever blocked...loll

Just like Lisa's 

Is there something wrong here? Did I think it was flawed? NO WAY. It's great just the way it is. Lord knows I love Cumin but when you send me a recipe it's like giving me a new toy, I gotta monkey with it.

CHEF NICK'S (and Lisa's) CUMIN LEMON CHICKEN.
Mise-en-place

One whole chicken, divided.
4 cloves garlic, shmushed
Fresh Mint
1/3 cup of ground Cumin*
1 TB Chili Powder
2 Lemons. I'll show you what to do later.
6 oz Greek Yogurt, unflavored please, duh
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and crushed Black Pepper

*Some words about using ground spices: When using stuff like Cumin or Chili Powder in a dish like this it's a good idea to toast them up a little. Just heat up a small pan and toss around for a bit. This activates the oils in the spices and really brings out the flavor. In this case we all know what Cumin smells like ok? Should I say it? It's a musky spice and so is my armpit, 'nuff said.

toasting up both the cumin and chili powder

As soon as it starts to toast up, toss it around in the pan and remove from heat, dump into a bowl.

Add the juice from both lemons and all of the peel from one. Here's how you do that. Get a peeler and gently peel JUST the yellow part away from the nasty bitter white stuff underneath. Try for a good long strip.

Lay a couple pieces at a time on top of each other and carefully turn them into very small shreds.

Turn them across and carefully render them into small tiny squares. 

That's my hand, it's how ya know I'm keepin' it real

You'll end up with a pile of this stuff. 

BUT NICK I BOUGHT THIS EXPENSIVE MICRO-PLANE THINGY, CAN'T I USE THAT?? Sure, Micro-planes have their place, that place is in the bakery where you don't want the texture to interfere with the final product. In this dish we don't want soft little strings of peel, we want all that lemony stuff. 

Slice the lemons in half and squeeze out the juice through your fingers to remove the seeds into the same bowl. I'd put up a picture but I can't squeeze lemons, remove seeds and take a picture at the same time. 

Don't throw those exhausted lemons halves away, if you pack them with salt as they dry out they make little but mighty room de-oderizers. 

takes the funk out of your life

Ok so in the bowl you should have the spices, lemon peel and lemon juice. Add the Greek Yogurt, smushed Garlic Cloves, chopped fresh Mint, big pinch of Black Pepper, smaller pinch of Kosher Salt and a solid amount of olive oil. Whisk all that together, it looks like this. 

Dump that over your divided Chicken pieces, nice even coat on all sides please and let sit in the 'fridge for 'bout 3 episodes of True Blood. Bilith is the funniest word I heard this whole week. 

Let's turn our attention to the Patapan Squash. I just sliced right across

 tossed them in, Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Olive Oil. In that order. 

 laid the slices across the grill. 

turned 'em once, removed from heat, added some chopped fresh Basil -done. 

Here's the science. Yogurt (Greek style, that crap from anyone else is dead) is just full of wittle tiny enzymes that help extract all the yuck from our bird. Many cultures across the world use different substances to accomplish the same thing.In the U.S. we brine (unless you're a douche) In the U.S. South they use butter-milk. In Latin-America they use citrus juice and vinegar. In Europe, wine. In Asia they turn to fermented Soy. Whatever you use, the process is the same. Remove the blood and stuff, save the nummy. No idea what I'm talking about?

Heat up the grill, grab the tongs. 400-425 F please. Bill S.  Kevin P.  Are you paying attention? Of course you are.

Lay your Chicken pieces skin side down.

if you grab them and they feel stuck, let them go on heat until they release

When they give, flip them over.

fire good

Just plate up. Garnish with some fresh lemon peel and mint.

Yeah I did some rice pilaf action, I gotta keep some magic for myself

We are cooking poor, eating rich.

 Get your grub on. 

Ciao

p.s. Hey Troy, she's a keeper.

Don't tell ME there's no food in the house.

see anything you like?

Leftovers. Don't scream and run-away, just hear me out.

 I offered my sister-in-law a challenge. "Pull a bunch of stuff you want to get rid of out of either the fridge or freezer and I'll cook dinner tonight." 

Just put whatever on the cutting board. I have something to prove. Keeping basic, good ingredients at ALL times means you ALWAYS have dinner. So with an evil laugh as she was leaving for the day and out of sight, she did just that. I heard thunking and that plastic bag rustle. I came out of hiding and took a quick look. Just like that certain TV show I have to use all the ingredients but can add anything else from the pantry. 

Neat, right? Let's get to work. 

We have as you can see. 

Ground turkey 

Roma tomatoes

Some peppers

Bacon bits

Celery

Pre-cooked brown rice. 

Black apricots

Whole-grain mustard

garlic, onion scraps

Green chilies in a jar

And of course my sister-in-law keeps a mean kitchen with a great selection of spices, fresh herbs and the like. I love her to tiny little bits. 

In addition I used some fresh mint and basil from the backyard. An egg, some bread crumbs. Pinch 'o' this and that. You'll see. 

CHEF NICK DOES CRAZY CURRY MEATBALLS WITH RICE SALAD. 

ok first thing is to get organized and prepped. I knew I would have to get the skin off those apricots so I started some hot water and got a bowl of ice. This is called concasse. Just drop them into boiling water, count to 40 and plunk them into the ice water. 

Peels come right off. Chop it up. I found some of those kiddy cups of Mandarin orange slices and added one of those to the mix. Chopped up 2 stalks of celery, chopped seeded Roma's, the chilies, a dab of the mustard and the left-over brown rice. Found a bit of unflavored greek yogurt (perfect) added that as my binder with fresh Basil, Mint and Parsley. Checked my seasoning and added a touch of paprika and cumin. 

Put that in the 'fridge to chill. 

Ground turkey time. Meatballs are pretty easy but without any fat in them are really really blah. Lucky for me I had some bacon bits to play with but I didn't want the smokey flavor so I did what anyone would do, I put those bits in a strainer and poached them in hot water. Leaves behind the bacon, takes away the fake smoke flavor.

 On my way. Added chopped onion, garlic, mint and parsley again, salt-pepper, a little chili powder, one egg, some bread-crumbs I found and a splash of milk. 

use your hands to mix !!

Got it all mixed together and using slightly damp hands got the ball rolling. I just baked them off at 375. 

Time to finish up. 

A word about curry. Unless you are buying it from a nice man named Ghandi, do not buy the pre-made stuff in a tin box. Easy enough to make your own. Just follow the list of spices and add or subtract at will. Here's the ratio I use. Turmeric (yellow), Cumin(brown), a touch-a-touch of Cardamom(grey) and some chili powder(red). 

Mine looks like this. 

When working with ground spices you should always throw them on heat first rather than add them to a finished sauce. In this case I added them after I started the peppers, celery, garlic and onions. 

I heated up my pan added 2 TB of butter, yes butter. Then the veg and tossed them around with the spices adding a pinch of salt and black pepper. 

Add about a TB of white flour at this point and toss that around to absorb any remaining butter, we're basically making a roux.

 Finish by adding some whole milk which is what I had. Even better if you have any coconut milk around but I didn't. Bring it up to simmer and continue to stir until thickened.

  


















The meatballs should be done by now so I just lifted them from the baking pan and added them to the sauce, turning to coat and let them on simmer for a few. Pretty much done at this point.

I plated with some trimmed Romaine lettuce. A nice spicy bite with the meatballs with a cool-down from the rice salad.

We are cooking poor, eating rich. 

Go get your grub on. 

Ciao. 

Terrible Year? Use more Greece.

My friends. I did something stupid. I forgot who I was.
 Late last year I asked for advice from someone I trusted and respected, a mentor. Someone I hoped could improve this blog and maybe help expand it into something greater. I'll never do that again.
 I was told I was being silly. "Everybody has a food-blog these days, and anyway you aren't really a Chef anymore."
 The dumb thing I did was listen and it took me half a year to say "FUCK YOU."
 Let's get to work.


 I've mentioned before that I collect old cookbooks. I especially love the "Neighborhood, church ladies, military wives, community auxiliary women, published on a copy-machine" ones. WHY? Because these people you've never heard of will never be on "Top Chef" will never own a restaurant and will certainly never-ever EVER be a celebrity Chef. They do The Lord's work instead. They cook for their families.
  Case in point.
 One of my dearest friends, someone I've known since High School uncovered a treasure while cleaning. A self-published book of Yia-Yia's recipes from our local Greek Orthodox Church who every year puts on a fantastic food orgy known locally as "GREEKFEST."As many times as I've attended I am certain I have eaten her Grandmother's cooking. I hope she approves of my efforts.

It's pure gold

Right. Here we go. 

CHEF NICK DOES GREEK NACHOS. 

MISE-EN-PLACE

HUMMUS

2 cans Garbonzo Beans. "Nick I can't find those, can I use Chick-Peas instead?" 

1-2 good sized clove of fresh garlic

Tahini, 'bout a 1/4 cup. No joke it's getting really much easier to find

Good pinch of ground Cumin

Small pinch of chili powder (or not)

1 TB fresh grated lemon peel

juice from one lemon

a good amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

fresh chopped Mint and Parsley, enough that you have some left over for garnish

Chopped Peppadews. These are a sweet-spicy pickled pepper, most good European Deli's carry some form. Chopped. I used these to add some heat, 'cus it's Nachos. 

salt and pepper

One 8 year old Niece to help with all the cleaning (optional)

Pita-chips. OK sure I could have cut up and fried some Pita bread but shut up

Some Tomatoes, seeded, diced.

Cucumber, seeded diced

Feta cheese. 

Drain and rinse the beans. Dump into a bowl with steep sides. Add the Tahini, garlic, cumin, chili powder, lemon peel and juice, salt and pepper. A solid slorp of the oil and a portion of the mint and parsley. Using a hand held blender (thunder-stick) start blending. OR dump the aforementioned into a regular blender. Adding a little water to help along the way isn't a bad idea. Check your seasonings. 

Most commercial Hummus is very very smooth and that's fine but when I make this at home I always stop long before and leave it alone 'cus I like a rougher texture. Does that mean you have to? No, of course not. 

I know, wasn't that just stupid easy? Yeah it was. Make sure to taste your finished product and add whatever you think it's missing, little more salt, maybe more lemon juice, maybe you're a spice person and need more heat? Whatever.

 Plate with the tomato and cucumber, top with the Feta cheese and the Peppadews and don't forget the extra mint and parsley. Knock yourself out. 

I'm still here

Cooking poor, eating rich

get your grub on

CIAO

Butter, compound and otherwise

 Here I am, interviewing another wanna-be Sous Chef. I've scanned HUNDREDS of applicants and have pulled the most promising into my cell of an office. I've prepared a battery of tough questions.
 She's short, really-really short. A pretty smile and a head-full of dark hair. She seems determined and passionate.
 "What can you tell me about yourself?" It's a reasonable question.
"What the hey? You're so funny Uncle Nicky."
 That wasn't the reply I was looking for. She's obviously playing me. I'll have to be more aggressive.
 "Why should I hire you? Where have you worked before? What can you bring into the kitchen? "
"I love you." She grabs my legs and hugs me tight. (I said she was short)

Yeah ok, she's hired. I'm such a push-over. I love you too my little BOO. Plus I don't have to worry about child labor laws. I'm not paying her. Her name is Brynn.

Brynn is my wonderful little niece, my brother Pat's little girl.  She is all of 7 years old and can already make eggs to order. I wasn't much older than her when I started cooking. She watches me de-bone poultry. LOVES to watch me dice vegetables and always-always helps when she can. Cook with the kids. How else will they learn?
 Luckily she got a head start, her Mom; my sister-in-law Yvette was taught by her mother and has some serious game in the kitchen.

This was all Brynn's idea. She learned how to make butter from scratch in school and was so very-very eager to tell me all about it. I thought it would make a great story so here we are.

This is really fun to make with kids. Feed them a sugary cereal for breakfast for energy and let them go NUTS.

The yield from cream to butter is roughly half as much cream as you start with. I started with 32 ounces so we got about a pound of butter. It's just super the way it is but I included some compound butter ideas. There is some technical information along the way but it's almost foolproof.

No I didn't MAKE her shake all the cream, only half. I used my kitchen-aid mixer, duhh.

Fresh whole cream. Pour it into a glass jar with a tight lid and have a kid shake it. SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE..SHAKE YOUR BOOTIE, SHAKE YOUR BOOTIE.

Brynn is all focused..

Agitating whole cream gets those fat molecules to start sticking together. It takes some time. Be patient.

OR

Pour cream into the bowl of a counter top mixer. Use the whisk attachment. The cream goes through 3 stages before it turns into butter. 

it starts to thicken 

On a lower speed start whipping the cream until it begins to thicken. Then turn up the speed. It's almost whipped cream but much softer. In fact it's called "soft-peak"

whipped cream

Just keep going. You will start to recognize our dear friend whipped cream. This is the "stiff-peak" stage. 

After a little time you'll notice a slight color shift. It starts to turn a pale yellow. This is the indicator that the butter fat is starting to clump together and moving toward our finished product. 

Keep your eye on it. When you start seeing a watery-milky liquid forming and clumpy yellow stuff sticking to the whisk  SLOW your roll down to a slower speed to keep from splattering. It's the buttermilk separating out and it means we're almost done. 

Hopefully you have a very helpful assistant like I have and they can get you a large bowl of ice and water.
 Remove the mixer bowl and over a large container pour out the contents and separate the butter from the buttermilk through a strainer.

it really is that easy

DO NOT DO NOT throw away the buttermilk (the stuff left over) jar it and use it to make pancakes, soda bread, biscuits. A word of advice. The buttermilk you made is NOT THE SAME as the store bought stuff. Yours has a higher fat ratio and isn't as acidic. If you like, add a drop or two of white vinegar before you put it away and that'll make it even better. 

Hey remember when I mentioned a large bowl of ice and water? It's coming in handy right about now. 

WITHOUT squishing any butter through the strainer. Soak and wet your hands in the ice water and gather up all those butter chunks. Put them in the water and start to squish them together. The water will get milky and that's ok. Continue kneading the butter, if your water gets really milky just change it out and keep going. If you don't do this step it's fine. Your butter will still taste good it just won't last as long. Again, the ratio is we started with 32oz cream from that we got one pound butter and 16oz of buttermilk. Pretty good return. 

Put your butter in a small plastic container and keep it in the 'fridge. You can also freeze it if you aren't using it soon. Fat freezes really well. The buttermilk you can keep in a tight sealing jar in the fridge. Since we removed the fat it'll keep for a long while. 

A few words about salt. Most butter you see in the store has added salt. That's just dandy. I got no problem with salted butter. It adds a dimension of savoriness that you'd miss if you wanted it on your toast. HOWEVER, unsalted butter is terrific for any baking needs. The ratio for salted butter is 1/4 tsp for every 4 oz of butter. 

COMPOUND BUTTER:

It's butter you added stuff to. It can be sweet or savory. Terrific on top a Fillet-Mignon, melted on Artichoke, a dollop on a fine fillet of Sea-Bass makes everyone believe you spent your summer vacation working in a French bistro. A list of bitchin' stuff you can add. Use wisely. Just mix it into soft butter. 

Some regular. Orange-honey butter* and Shallot, herbs. *

Maytag or Shropshire bleu cheese. Use on top a seared beef-steak. 

Minced shallot, salt, lemon peel and herbs like rosemary, parsley, thyme. Use on beef or pork. *

Lemon peel and minced chives. Terrific on fish. 

Minced orange peel and honey. On fish or just smeared on bread. *

Grated lime-peel and grated fresh ginger. Use on fish for an Asian accent

Cinnamon-sugar and Tabasco. Melted onto popcorn. 

Minced garlic and grated Parmesan. Also really fantastic on popcorn but even better melted into warm ravioli or tortellini. 

Grated lemon peel, Tabasco and minced garlic. Shrimp, wrap in foil. Figure it out. 

Minced tarragon and shallot, super on fish

There are millions of combinations. Use your imagination. 

Here's what I hope you take away from today. Let the kids help you in the kitchen. Someday they will be the adults and will treasure the memories you gave them. Someday maybe, they will share beloved memories of time spent in the kitchen with you. I hope so. 

I love you little BOO

We are cooking poor but eating rich.
 Go get your grub on.
 Ciao.