Florida Agenda

By Jean Doherty

Believe it or not, I made this dish for the first time after I had been living 15 years in France, of all places. We had just opened our Irish Pub and “Paddy’s Day” was coming up. The dish was a great success, the reason being it is very similar to the French Boeuf Bourguignon. The difference is that for this recipe the meat should marinate overnight in the Guinness®. The “marinade” in the stout beer not only helps tenderize the beef, it also gives a rich malty flavor to this chunky and delicious stew, which is likewise flavored with onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme. The stew may be made on the stove-top or in the oven.

2 pounds lean stewing beef or
sirloin tip
3 Tablespoons of good olive oil
2 Tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed (optional)
4 cups of of Guinness®
4 carrots, cut into chunks
1 lb mushrooms
4 cups of beef stock
Bouquet garni

Trim the beef of any fat or gristle, and cut into cubes of about 2 inches and cover with the Guinness in a container that you will leave overnight in the fridge. Next day, drain off the meat, and reserve the Guinness. Heat the oil in a thick assed saucepan over a high heat. Add the onions, and crushed garlic; and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Scoop out all this with a slotted spoon and set aside. Toss the meat in the hot pan. Brown the meat on all sides. Then add the flour. Stir. Add the stock, the Guinness and the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and with a wooden spoon stir and scrape to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the bottom of pan. Add the carrots and the mushrooms.

Simmer very gently until the meat is tender — 2 to 3-and-a-half hours. Stir often. Top up with a little broth if you feel it’s needed. Taste and correct the seasoning. Stir and stir, taste, and add a little more salt if necessary. Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Garnish with lots of chopped parsley.

You are an Irish chef! We will be serving Beef Guinness Stew for St. Patrick’s week @ Le Patio.

Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jen Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital
of the world. Together with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

Jean Doherty

Risotto is an Italian dish made of rice and cooked in
a broth to a creamy or maybe “sloppy” consistency.
The broth can be meat, fish, or vegetable-based.
This is why I love this dish…you are the chef!! Play
around and experiment. Many types of risotto contain
Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion. It is one of the
most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. Risotto is
normally a primo, or first course, served on its own
before the main course, but if you use, for example,
a fish bouillon and then add shrimp…well there you
go, you have a main course! This recipe is for a
vegetarian risotto.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 small onions, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup rice
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat.
Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the
onion is tender and garlic is lightly browned. Remove
the garlic, (you can discard it) and stir in the parsley, the
salt and pepper and add the mushrooms. Reduce heat
to low, and continue cooking until the mushrooms are
soft. Pour the milk and cream into the pan, and stir
in the rice. Heat to a simmer. Stir the vegetable stock
into the rice one cup at a time, until it is absorbed.
Stir and stir. When the rice has finished cooking, stir
in the butter and Parmesan cheese, and remove from
heat. Serve hot. Please feel free to alter and add to
this recipe…. HAVE FUN for as I always say you are
the chef!!

Chef Jean Doherty

Chef Jean Doherty

This little recipe is both easy and delicious. If you use a little “cocotte” (a shallow, two-handled baking dish) to bake and serve it, it looks so fantastic when you bring it to the table. Your guests will be exclaiming “oh and ahh” before they even taste this delicious little gratin. Remember: presentation counts, guys!
 • 4 sweet potatoes
 • ½ lb of ricotta cheese
 • 2 eggs
 • ½ pint of milk
 • 1 bunch of parsley
 • 1 bunch of chives
 • Salt & pepper
Preheat the oven to 300 ° F
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into very thin slices. Use a mandolin if you have one. Wash and dry the chives and destalk the parsley. Set a few strands of chives aside for the garnish. Finely chop it all. Mix that with the ricotta, salt, and pepper. Pour this ricotta cheese preparation into the bottom of a previously-oiled gratin dish, or use individual little ramekins or “cocottes” (the serving looks so much nicer this way); then cover with the thin slices of sweet potato. Whisk the whole eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper and pour this mixture over the spuds. Bake for about an hour and a half. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the reserved minced chives. Serve immediately with the meat of your choice, or serve it as a starter. As I always say: you are the chef!

Chef Jean Doherty

By Jean Doherty

A lot of you want my recipes for soup, and this one is great because it’s easy. The whole restaurant industry is based on soup. That’s actually how the business started.“Restoratifs,” where the word “restaurant” comes from, and  bouillion, consommé, and broth (“Pot-au-feu”), were the first menu items served in the first public restaurants in 18th century Paris. Classic French cuisine generated many of the soups we know today. This is simple, easy, and so much more healthy–and delicious–than opening a can. What you’ll need:

1 big chopped onion
1 lb sliced carrots
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup chicken broth
A good dash of good olive oil
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

In a thick assed pan, saute the onion in olive oil until tender and golden. Add carrots, potato, broth and rosemary, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and then cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Cool for 15 minutes. Fish out what’s left of the rosemary stalk.
Transfer to a blender or food processor, and work in small batches; and process until smooth. Taste, add salt and pepper.
Voila! You are a chef!

This is a French cake that celebrates the Epiphany: The day when the Three Kings visited the baby Jesus. As part of French tradition, a bean or small china “feve,” or favor, is hidden in the cake. The person who finds the “feve” in his or her slice becomes king or queen for the day. We had this tradition in Ireland for Halloween and the “favor” was a ring.

• 1/4 cup almond paste
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter,
softened
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 packs of frozen puff pastry,
thawed
• 1 egg, beaten

Place the almond paste in a food processor with about half of the sugar, and process until well-blended. Then add the butter and the remaining sugar and process until smooth, then blend in 1 egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, flour and salt. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

Roll out one sheet of the puff pastry. Keep the pastry cool, don’t knead or stretch it. Repeat with the second sheet of pastry.

Refrigerate both sheets.

Mound the almond filling onto the center of the pastry that is on the baking sheet. Leave about 1 1/2 inch margin at the edges.

Wet the margin with a little water so as it’ll stick together. Don’t forget the little favor in the filling! Place the second sheet of pastry on top, and press down the edges to seal. Beat the remaining egg with a fork, and lightly brush onto the top of the galette. Use a knife to make a criss cross pattern in the egg wash, and then prick several small slits in the top to vent steam while baking.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until the top is a deep golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat it warm… You are the chef!

Artichauts à la Barigoule or Artichoke Hearts Stewed in Olive Oil is a typical Provençal dish and this recipe comes from Vero’s Aunt Lilian, who would buy her veggies from the local market in “Bormes-les-Mimosas,” the most beautiful small Provençal village in the south of France. Drink an ice cold dry Rosé wine with this dish…yum.

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced, plus 4 thin slices
4 medium sized artichokes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 button mushrooms
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 small carrots, cut into 3″ pieces
1/2  a cup  of white wine
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup smokey lardons
1/4 tsp. cracked coriander seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 olives, pitted and halved
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/8 tsp. paprika or piment d’Espelette

Combine lemon juice and 6 cups water in a large bowl. Working with one artichoke at a time, use a serrated knife, and cut off leaves by making a crosswise cut about 1 1/2″ from where the stem meets the base; discard leaves. Cut away the tough outer leaves remaining on the base until you reach the inner yellow leaves. Using a peeler, remove green outer layer from the stem and base. Trim off bottom 1?2″ of stem. Use a spoon to scoop out fuzzy choke from center of artichoke. Halve the trimmed artichoke and  transfer to the lemon water.

Your trimmed artichoke should look like a lollypop. Split the “lollypop” in half length ways .
Drain artichokes. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add artichokes cut side down, along with mushrooms, garlic, lardons and carrots. Cook, stirring, until brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add lemon slices, wine, butter, and coriander and bring to the boil. Reduce wine by half, 3–4 minutes. Add enough water to just cover vegetables, again bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until vegetables are tender, 12 to15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and taste. Using tongs, transfer artichokes, carrots, and mushrooms to a bowl. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce 8 to 10 minutes, and then return everything to the pan and heat through. Garnish with lemon zest, parsley, and paprika. You are a chef!

If you are in France, no matter which region, no matter where you eat, you will most likely be offered the divine French dessert Mousse au Chocolat. No matter how it looks on paper, “Mousse” is the French word for “foam.” You can find hundreds of different versions of the original recipe for this chocolate delight in cookbooks everywhere. Some boast fancy ingredients like alcohol, peppermint, oranges or even marshmallows. Some are made with complicated directions that use three or four different bowls. I always play around with recipes, so here’s what I’ve come up with:

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sifted cocoa
2 tbsp Baileys® Irish Cream or similar liqueur
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼  tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until blended thoroughly. Then beat in the cocoa and Irish Cream. (If you‘re concerned about illness caused by consuming raw eggs, I suggest putting the mixture in a “bain Marie” and heating for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.)

In a different bowl, whip cream and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks.

Stir in approximately 1/2 cup of the whipped cream to lighten the cocoa mixture.

Fold in remaining mixture gently. Divide into individual servings and chill for about an hour. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings or a confectioner coffee bean….you are a chef!

Scallops, “Coquille St. Jacques” in French, are also known as “King scallops,” “Saint James’ shell” in the British Isles, and here in the states as “Sea scallops” and “Bay scallops” for the smaller ones.

In France, the species is protected and is considered quite a luxury food. The “whole” shell fish is served there, the round fleshy white piece, or the muscle, as well as the delectable “coral” or roe. It looks like a red /orange half moon and I think is the best, tastiest part. Vero’s mum would get them at Christmas and we’d eat them raw, thinly sliced, like “Carpaccio” with lemon juice and a hint of fresh ginger. In this recipe, we’ll cook ‘em.
• 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Flour, for coating
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, divided
• 2 large chopped shallots
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ glass dry white wine
• 1 lemon cut in half

If you’ve got bay scallops, keep them whole. If you’ve got sea scallops (the bigger ones), cut each one in half horizontally. Season with salt and pepper, toss in the flour, and then shake off the excess.

In a large thick assed sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops, all in one go. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, about 1½ minutes, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. Again 90 seconds, total. This is important cause you don’t want rubbery overcooked scallops.

Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, and add the shallots, garlic, and parsley, which you have chopped nice and fine. Sauté for two more minutes, tossing all the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, and cook for one minute more, (this is called “deglace”) and taste. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice. Ratatouille or rice Pilaf goes well with this dish. You are a chef!

Vero, my partner was born in Ardèche where the cliffs go as high as 1,000 feet. The river Ardèche is the largest natural canyon in Europe, and there are dolmens and menhirs, that were erected thousands of years ago. We have canoed down the Ardèche many times, and pâté was almost always in our back pack with a fresh baguette and bottle of Côtes du Rhône. Never in my wildest dreams
did I think I’d be giving the recipe to Americans in South Florida!

Pâté (pronounced pah-TAY) can be a smooth “mousse’’ or a chunky “terrine”. Be it one or the other pâté is simply a mixture of seasoned, base ingredients. Beef, pork, liver, seafood, wild game, poultry, and vegetables are all candidates for pâté. It may be served hot or cold, molded or unmolded, and is usually served as a first course or appetizer. Pâté can be cooked in a crust too, in which case it’s referred to as pâté en croûte.

• ½ lb ground pork
• ½ lb ground veal
• ¼ cup of chicken livers
coarsely chopped
• 2 eggs
• Chopped parsley
• 1 onion, chopped small
• 1 clove of garlic chopped small
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 small glass of dry white wine
• 1/2 cup butcher block black pepper• 1 packet of gelatin

Preheat your oven to 395 °.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients (except the butcher block black pepper which is for the garnish) and finish with the white wine. Transfer to a greased cake mould and bake for 75 minutes. Make the gele. Add the black pepper to the gele and pour over the top of the pâté. Allow to cool and refrigerate overnight.

Loosen the pâté from the mould using a knife and wrap in cling film. You can freeze a portion too, for later munchies. Serve with baguette, or your favorite bread, or crackers.

You are the chef!

Jean Doherty is the Chef and Owner of Le Patio Restaurant in Wilton Manors 954-530-4641

Jean Doherty

Some chefs have taken to naming any dish of thinly sliced protein ‘Carpaccio,’ but this dish was originally made with raw beef. It was first served in “Harry’s Bar” in Venice, Italy. Harry’s Bar? Yes, a strange name for a Venetian bar. As the story goes, Harry Pickering, a heavy drinker and son of some rich guy from Boston, borrowed money from a bartender.

He paid the bartender off some years later tenfold. Enough for the bartender to open his own establishment in 1931 which he called Harry’s Bar.

Harry’s Bar has been frequented by loads of famous people – Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Orson Welles, and Woody Allen among them.

In 1950, the countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo ordered raw meat (apparently by doctor’s orders) and the dish was named Carpaccio by Cipriani the owner–in reference to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, because the colors of the raw meat and mustard sauce reminded him of paintings by Carpaccio.

• 8 to 10 ounces beef tenderloin from
the tip end of the roast
• Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
• Shaved Parmesan
• Fresh raw button mushrooms
(optional)
• Capers
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Extra virgin olive oil

Roll your meat in plastic cling film, make it round or rectangular; you are the chef. Pop it in the freezer and freeze the beef until almost frozen, about 1 1/2 hours (this makes it easier to cut into very thin slices). Using a large sharp carving knife, or a slicer, slice the beef as thinly as possible. Arrange the beef slices on a serving platter, or directly onto individual plates. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, the capers and the parmesan shavings. Most chefs serve a small rocket (Arugula) salad or fries with this.

Jean Doherty is the Chef and Owner of Le Patio Restaurant in Wilton Manors (954) 530-4641