Florida Agenda » Recipe

Old Fashioned Louisiana Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 01:17:39 +0000

• Serves 4 to 6

• Bread Pudding:

• 1/4 cup bourbon

• 1/2 cup raisins

• 4 cups (about 1/2 baguette)

• 1-inch cubes of day-old baguette

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 2 large eggs

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Whiskey Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup bourbon

Heat bourbon in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until warm. Pour over raisins in a small bowl; let stand at least 1 hour or overnight.

To make whiskey sauce, bring cream to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan. Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water; slowly whisk into cream. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer, whisking constantly, one minute. Remove from heat; stir in sugar and bourbon. Set aside and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together bread, milk, and cream in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and allspice in a medium bowl; add to bread mixture. Stir in raisins and bourbon.

Melt butter in an 8-inch square baking dish in oven. Remove from oven, and swirl to coat bottom of dish. Pour in bread mixture, distributing raisins evenly. Bake until bread cubes are browned around edges and custard is cooked, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve with whiskey sauce, vanilla ice cream and perhaps, fresh berries.

Photo courtesy of Steven Hough.

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Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 02:20:41 +0000

Since being in Florida, l have found it so handy to just buy an already roasted chicken, rather than buy a chicken and roast it at home. So grab a roasted chicken at your local supermarket, next time you feel like a snack, and use the left overs for your soup.

4 pints of water

1 pint chicken stock

2 celery stalks with leaves, diced

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, diced

1 whole chicken (what’s left of one)

A pinch of dried thyme

Salt & pepper

1 clove garlic smashed

1/2 bag wide egg noodles (or whatever pasta you have in your pantry)

Combine water and chicken stock in a large pot. Bring to the Boil. While the stock is boiling, dice vegetables and pull apart the chicken, and add all the ingredients to the pot, and simmer for an hour. Remove chicken and debone and shred chicken meat.

Remove all the bones.

Add the noodles and cook until both the noodles and vegetables are soft. Around 10 additional minutes.

Salt to taste.

You are the chef.

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Fri, 19 Sep 2014 18:38:29 +0000

Delicious, healthy and bursting with flavor. This is easy and you can make a double batch and freeze some, that you can whip out when you have surprise guests. Or just for yourself. You deserve it. A nice dry pinot grigio goes down absolutely fabulous with this.

4 big carrots

4 roasted red peppers

1 big onion

Fresh rosemary or thyme

Good olive oil

Salt and pepper

Hot sauce

Roast the peppers on the barbie…(or under the broiler) the skin will go black, that’s normal.let them cool in a zip bag…they will be easier to peel. When they are cool enough to handle peel ‘em. Chop all the vegetables. Saute the onion in hot olive oil for 10 min or until golden brown, stirring often so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Add the peppers, carrots, fresh rosemary and the water and cook for about 20 or 30 min. Fish out the rosemary stalk. Blend and season to taste. I threw in a good splash of hot sauce. You are a chef!

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Sauce au Poivre

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 17:13:11 +0000

Traditional steak au poivre has been served with a pan sauce since at least the mid-19th century. Regardless of the concoction, the same pan should be used to create the sauce as was used to cook the steak. But we are in South Florida, and a grill is as likely to be used as a pan, so I’m giving you a simple way to make a delicious sauce, without the smoky pan smells left over in your kitchen.
• 1 tin or jar of green peppercorns, in brine

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• 2 oz. of cognac, brandy, whiskey, or bourbon

• 2 small shallots

• 1 small onion

• 1 tablespoon of flour

• 1 cup of beef or veal stock, or demi-glace (demi-glaze)

• 1 cup of heavy cream

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and, after chopping the onion into small pieces, sauté it until it is nice and browned, then add the shallots (cooking quickly over high heat) until transparent, approximately two to three minutes. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour, and using a whisk, incorporate the liquor and the stock. Add the whole green peppercorns (to taste; the amount you use is up to you). Add the heavy cream. Bring the liquid back to the boil, and cook for three to five minutes (to thicken the sauce), stirring constantly. Taste and adjust seasoning. (Some chefs believe heavy cream doesn’t belong in the traditional steak au poivre recipe, although many restaurants and at-home chefs include the cream. It does make the sauce so delectable.Voila! Use this sauce for steaks, chicken, duck— anything you can grill will be perfect with this sauce. You are the chef!

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Tapenade

Thu, 04 Sep 2014 12:20:46 +0000

This is an easy peasy recipe you can whip up in 2 minutes. It can be used a number of ways rather than just as a spread or a dip. Spread a thin layer of it on a chicken between the skin and the breast, maybe with some fresh herbs before roasting; put dabs on hard-boiled eggs and top with pine nuts; or spread it on a sandwich instead of mustard or mayo.

You can fold some into an omelet, or toss it in pasta as an instant sauce with chunks of fresh cooked tuna. Be inventive you are the chef!

Green and black olives are natural aphrodisiacs. Use them to spice up your palate and your plate for a taste of succulent seduction with your mate. Besides increasing your libido, olives are jam packed with health benefits, and being healthy is crucial to having a good sex life… Olives help prevent heart disease, prevent colon cancer, and one of the best reasons for me to eat olives is that they prevent frequency of hot flashes going through menopause. LOL.

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 1 Jar or tin of whole, pitted Black olives

• 1 (2 ounce) can anchovy fillets rinsed

• 1 tablespoon capers

• 1 pinch chopped fresh thyme

• 1 pinch chopped fresh rosemary

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the garlic, olives, anchovies, capers, thyme, rosemary, and lemon juice in your electric blender. Slowly drip the olive oil into the blender while you are blending the ingredients together. Blend until a paste is formed. Don’t add salt!!! Spread on pita bread, crackers, toasts…or use as a dip. Enjoy.

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Artichauts à la Barigoule

Thu, 28 Aug 2014 03:33:59 +0000

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!

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Lobster Bisque

Wed, 20 Aug 2014 21:47:08 +0000

Vero and I were at the beach this morning, and we met a snorkeler in the car park after our swim. He was taking the tails off lobsters and throwing the heads on the ground. I asked him what he was going to do with the heads, and he offered them to me. Needless to say, I ran to the car and whipped out the cooler bag, and we bagged ‘em….so, FRESH lobster bisque was in the making! A bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin. It’s rich and decadent. It’s classically based on a strained broth or “coulis” of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp or crayfish.

• 1 3 ¼ lbs. lobster heads

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 carrot, chopped

• 2 shallots, chopped

• 1 sprig thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 large tomato

• 1 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper, plus extra to serve

• 1 tbsp brandy

• A pint of dry white wine

• 2 pints of fish stock

• A pint of heavy cream

• 8 tsp Armagnac brandy (I used paddy whiskey)

• Sea salt

Heat the olive oil in a thick-assed saucepan and cook the onion, carrot and celery over a low heat. When the vegetables are lightly browned, add the thyme and bay leaf and the lobster heads, stirring so that they don’t stick or burn. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, cayenne pepper and the brandy. Stir well, then add the wine.

Bring to a boil and cook for at least 3 minutes. Add the fish stock and bring back to a boil. Season lightly with sea salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming off any scum that appears on the surface. Drain through a colander set over a clean saucepan pressing the lobster bones well to extract all the juices and flavor. It’s a lot of work to pick all the meat outta them heads… but it’s well worth it… the results will astound you.

Bring the soup back to a boil and allow it to reduce. Pass it through your electric blender, adding up to a pint of heavy cream, and season again, according to your taste. Garnish with cayenne pepper and parsley or chives to taste. You are the chef!

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Scotch Eggs

Wed, 30 Jul 2014 18:34:31 +0000

A scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. The Scotch egg’s origins are obscure. The exclusive London “Fortnum & Mason” claims it invented the portable snack in 1738 for rich coach travelers. “The eggs would have been smaller in those days,’’ says the company’s archivist Dr Andrea Turner. “They would have been pullet’s eggs rather than hen’s eggs, and the meat would have been gamier.’’(And here I am wondering what a pullet’s egg is….) The finest Scotch eggs I can recall, freshly cooked and of first-rate ingredients, are those I have noshed on in the pubs of Dublin, but then of course I’m biased, and just a wee bit patriotic.
Oil for frying
4 eggs
2 pounds pork sausage
4 cups dried bread crumbs, seasoned
A little all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
Place the eggs in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let them sit in the hot water for about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool and peel.
Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.
Flatten the sausage and make a patty to surround each egg. Roll it around in the palm of your hands so it’ll stick. Make a ball. Very lightly flour the sausage ball and then coat with the beaten egg. Roll that in the bread crumbs to cover evenly. Rock n roll.
Deep fry until golden brown. Place on a paper towel to soak up excess cooking oil. Cut in half and serve over a bed of lettuce and sliced tomatoes for garnish. These eggs can be enjoyed with any sauce you love…mayo, ketchup…ranch? You are the chef ! ]]>

San Francisco-Style Cioppino

Thu, 24 Jul 2014 03:12:30 +0000

Vero and I took off for San Francisco last week, and we wandered through the Castro area in search of a decent restaurant. We came upon a little jewel that’s been there “35 Shucking years” (that’s what their tee-shirts said ) and we settled in with a bottle of “Sancerre” and a couple of dozen Oysters while we waited on our main dish, all the while watching the chef prepare our “Cioppino,” Our very helpful server told us the story: Cioppino was developed in the late 1800s by Italian fishermen who settled in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Originally it was made on the boats while out at sea and later it became a staple as Italian restaurants proliferated in San Francisco.
This little Seafood restaurant, only slightly bigger than ours, reminded us of home. So we ordered another bottle of Sancerre. We were so impressed by this dish and it’s simple execution in a confined space that we will soon be adding it to our specials list, maybe even the menu.
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 28-ounce can Roma tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1½ cups of your favorite dry white wine (You are the chef!)
• 1 cup or an 8-ounce bottle of clam juice
• 1 pound firm white fish (like cod, haddock, flounder or red snapper)
• 1 pound Pacific mussels, scrubbed, debearded, discard wide open ones or ones that are chipped or cracked
• 1 pound large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 pound cleaned squid (calamari), thawed if frozen, tubes cut into ½” rings
• Crab meat for garnish
• Toasted bread for dipping

Heat olive oil in a large heavy assed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel, garlic, bay leaves,
oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally,
until onion and fennel are soft, about 12 minutes.
Stir in, tomatoes with juices, wine, clam juice, and 1 cup water or more wine. Cover, bring to a boil,
reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until flavors marry, about 20 minutes. Add fish,
mussels, and shrimp and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add squid, cover, and cook
until mussels open and seafood is cooked through, about 5 minutes (discard mussels that do not open).
Serve with crusty bread, and garnish with crabmeat.

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Tiramisu

Sat, 19 Jul 2014 14:32:04 +0000

My partner Vero is French, but her grandmother was Italian, and like all Italian “mamas” she ruled over the roost…Tiramisu is the dessert she would always bring to the table after the eternal leg of lamb à la Provençale we had every Sunday. She taught me this one, and it’s real easy ‘cause you don’t actually “bake” this. It’s simply layers of coffee-soaked biscuits and sweet mixture of mascarpone cheese and eggs and sugar. Cocoa powder is sifted on top (and sometimes between the layers) for the garnish and it’s also a bitter counterpoint to the sweetened cheese mixture.

To prepare the biscuit layer, ”Boudoirs” (light, finger-sized sponge cakes, you call ladyfingers here in the States) are soaked in espresso or strong coffee, often with an addition of flavorful liquor such as sweet Marsala wine or dark rum.

Loads of variations for tiramisu exist. Some chefs use sponge cake or yeasted breads, like panettone, in place of ladyfingers. Other liquors are often used instead of the traditional Marsala wine in both the coffee and the cheese mixture, including dark rum, Madeira, port, brandy and cognac, I have even experimented with “Bailys Irish cream.” So you can choose, and as I always say, “you are the chef.”

• Eggs, 3 large, with yolks and whites separated

• Sugar, 1/2 cup

• Mascarpone, 8 ounces

• Ladyfingers, 20

• Espresso or Strong Coffee, 1 cup

• Dark Rum, 1 Tablespoon

• Cognac or Brandy, 2 Tablespoons

• Cocoa, 1/8 cup

• Shaved chocolate

Combine 3 egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon of coffee, sugar, and Cognac in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Mascarpone and beat 3 to 5 minutes until the consistency is smooth. In another bowl, combine the 3 remaining egg whites and a pinch of sugar. Beat like mad until mixture forms stiff peaks, and then gently fold into the Mascarpone mixture. Pour rest of the coffee into a “dipping” dish with the rum, and dip each Lady Finger, and layer them on the bottom of a serving dish. Spread 1/3 of Mascarpone mixture over that and sprinkle with cocoa. Continue layering and finish with a Mascarpone layer. Sprinkle with the shaved chocolate and refrigerate one hour before serving.

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