Gaston Alive Magazine

Wow it’s hot! When the mercury is this high in the glass and the humidity makes you feel like you just stepped out of the shower you need something to cool off.

So how about some Sorbets, Sherbet, Granitas and Ices. As a general class these all are frozen fruit puree mixed with something and frozen. If you have an ice cream maker great if not it can still be made just in your freezer. An ice cream maker is easier and will develop a smoother consistency than the freezer method.

What is the difference between a Sorbet and Sherbet? A Sorbet is lightened with egg white, and a Sherbet is mixed with either milk, cream or yogurt. A Granitas has a more granular texture because they are not churned and an Ice is like a Sorbet, but without the egg white which makes it dense and more intensely flavored.

Basic frozen Ice recipe

2 pounds of fresh fruit (Peaches, Nectarine, Plums, Orange, etc) 1/2 cup of sugar (this can be Splenda for low cal or a Turbinado sugar for a richer flavor) 1/2 cup of water

Peel and pit the fruit as necessary. Heat the water and sugar mixture till all crystals are disolved. Let simple sugar mixture cool. Blend the fruit and sugar mixture till a fine puree. If using a small seed fruit like blackberry run the mixture through a sieve to removed seeds. Place mixture in the ice cream maker till frozen consistency reached.

For Sorbet add 1 egg white to fruit and sugar mixture For Sherbet add 1 cup of yogurt to fruit and sugar mixture

For a Granita pour the mixture into a large shallow container cover and freeze for 2 hours. Break up the forming ice crystals with a fork and continue to freeze for 2 more hours stirring the crystals every 30 minutes. After the final stir freeze at least an hour before serving. (try this will strong coffee vs fruit for an after dinner treat).

There is room for lots of creativity here, lemon and spicy pepper diced very fine, watermelon, the zest of limes or lemons, spices like clove or cardamom. Once made the ice can be kept in the freezer in an airtight container for weeks. Stay cool fall is on the way!

Ciao

Glenn and Glenn

The next step was to see what was in the refrigerator that we could use with the fish. In no time at all we were creating a fantastic meal- there was risotto, lentils, asparagus, leftover crab, red, yellow and orange bell peppers and assorted other ingredients. Everything we needed to create a masterpiece! Cooking can be fun and spontaneous too.
With that in mind I will share with you our main dish:

Mahi Mahi topped with Crab and a Burre Blanc Sauce

Prepare the Mahi Mahi by cleaning off any dark spots and removing any bones.

Heat grill to high. Brush each fillet on both sides with oil. Rub 1 side of each fillet with 1 tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning or Tony’s Creole Spice and place on the grill rub side down and cook until slightly charred and a crust has formed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and grill for 3 to 4 minutes longer or until cooked to medium doneness.

Meanwhile cut the peppers (we used one of each color) into a small dice and sauté in a pan with some olive oil. Cook until softened. We then tossed this with the crab meat and about 2 tablespoons of flat leaf parsley. Reserve and place on top of fish. Then top with Burre Blanc Sauce (See below)

• 1.5 ounces shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ pound butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Prep Time 15 mins, Cook Time 30 mins. Yeild 1 Cup

• In a heavy sauce pan combine shallots, white wine, and white wine vinegar.
• Simmer mixture gently until nearly all liquid has evaporated.
• Check saucepan to ensure that it has not browned. Browning will discolor the sauce. Wipe off browning with a wet towel.
• Add heavy cream.
• Add prepared butter.
• Over high heat, whisk sauce until butter has melted.
• Season to taste.
• Add a few drops of wine vinegar if sauce seems flat. Add butter if sauce is harsh or acidic.

In this months article we are going to explore menu planning. It’s no secret that Glenn and I love to cook Italian. The traditional Italian menu can be quite lengthy. It starts with an Apertivo (Aperitif), Antipasti (appetizer), Zuppa (soup), Insalata (salad), Primo (first course), Secondo (second course or main course), Cortorno (side dish), Formaggio e frutta, (cheese and fruit), Dolce (dessert). Caffe (coffee) and finishes with a Digestivo or Amazzacaffe (liquor or literally coffee killer).

The typical meal can last hours with family or friends enjoying each others company. You can begin to understand why we like this type of meal. The trick is to make each course small so it’s not overwhelming.

Cooking with the Glenn’s donated a dinner for six to a Gaston Hospice Silent Auction a few months ago and on March 20th we prepared for the big night. We had met with Brenda and Elizabeth a few weeks earlier to discuss the menu and make plans for the evening. Arriving around 2 p.m. we started our preparations at their house.

The table was set beautifully and we went to work preparing our Mise en Place for our evening’s menu. We had brought all of our gear to prepare the meal, and all of our fresh ingredients.

We started with lemon drop martini’s as our Apertivo and an Amuse-Bouche (entertainment for the mouth) of polenta with a layer of Spec topped with a ragout of wild mushroom in cream. From there we moved into a trio of Antipasto of arancini, fried zucchini and stuffed mushrooms with a Prosecco toast to the evening. We served Zuppa di Vongole, a rich tomato and clam stew and then a fresh Caprese Insalata, tomato, basil and mozzarella with parmesan popovers hot out of the oven.

Our Primo was Ravioli di Ricotta e Funghi, a half moon ravioli made from fresh pasta stuffed with cheese and mushroom in a butter sage sauce. Glenn had prepared beautiful rosemary bread that filled the whole house with its fragrance. Our Secondo was Hammin alla Toscana, this is a meatloaf made with beef, lamb and ricotta cheese its cooked in a white bean tomato stew. It is a dish Glenn and I first tried when we visited Tuscany and were so impressed we brought it back to Belmont with us. Our Cotorno was sautéed broccollini.

The group was really starting to wind up as the wine and laughter flowed. In this menu we skipped the fruit and cheese course and moved into Dolce and Caffe. Glenn’s Tiramisu Black Bottom Tart was the perfect complement to a round of freshly made Cappuccinos’ and the final Amazzacaffe wrapped up the evening four hours later while Glenn and I cleaned the kitchen and packed up.

We would like to thank Brenda and Elizabeth and all their guests for a wonderful evening and the opportunity to serve such a worthy cause.

Until next time Ciao

Glenn & Glenn

Chicken Chasseur

This is traditional French dish that was most likely used for cooking game. Chausseur translates to “Hunter” and is used for dishes including mushrooms, shallots, tomatoes, wine and brandy. This savory sauce really makes this dish- it is fantastic over rice or potatoes, or at my house we break a baguette and dip the bread into the sauce. Bon appétit!

1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces (you will have to joint the chicken and cut out the backbone)
1 TBS Olive Oil
2 ¼ oz Butter
2 Shallots Finely Chopped
4 ½ oz Sliced Mushrooms
1 TBS All Purpose Flour
½ cup White Wine
2 TBS Brandy
2 tsp Tomato Paste
1 cup Chicken Stock
2 tsp Chopped Tarragon
1 tsp Chopped Parsley

Heat oil in a frying pan and half the butter; add the chicken and sauté in batches on both sides until browned. Place on plate and keep warm, pour off excess fat.

Melt the remaining butter in the pan, add shallots and cook until softened but not browned. Add mushrooms and cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes.

Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the wine, brandy, tomato paste and stock. Bring to boil, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat and add the tarragon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Return the chicken to the pan, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Ciao,

Glenn and Glenn

Pasta Sauce

This year Glenn and I are going to focus on sauces. The right sauce can make a dramatic difference in almost any meal. Honestly how many of you out there go to the grocery store and buy a jar of sauce that can enhance your pasta.

The recipe that follows can be adjusted as you would like, which we will get to at the end. I grew up in an Italian family in New York and tomato pasta sauce was a staple. The recipe that follows is a basic recipe that you can cook within one hour or as long as eight. If you are cooking for 8 hours make sure you have meat in the sauce! The meat adds a richness and depth of flavor.

Tomato Sauce

3-28oz cans of Tomatoes (any brand you choose)                   Red Wine

3-6 oz cans of Tomato Paste                                               Beef Broth

1 large Onion chopped                                                         Olive Oil

3 cloves of garlic minced

3 Tbs Oregano

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Black Pepper

Meat of your choice

(Italian Sausage, Meatballs, Beef Short Ribs- my preference)

Brown meat in a large pot with olive oil. Once the meat is browned removed from the pan, add a touch more oil and add onions. Sauté onions until translucent approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, black pepper and salt, sauté for about two minutes to deepen their flavors. Deglaze the pan with about ¼ cup of red wine and let reduce (if you do not want to use red wine substitute with beef broth). Lower the heat and add the tomatoes and tomato paste. At this point use a hand blended and blend all ingredients in the pot. The sauce will be thick so you will want to thin the sauce with some beef broth, this will be your choice and by eye. Once blended return ribs or sausage back to the pot (if cooking for extended period) if not add meatballs at this time, any longer than an hour and the meatballs will become too soft. Let simmer on low heat up to eight hours.

An hour before finishing you can add items like sliced olives, mushrooms, red pepper flakes or any items you choose. Serve over thick pastas like rigatoni or ziti; sprinkle with grates parmesan cheese and enjoy. You can put the rest in small containers to enjoy anytime you’re feelings like a little Italian!

Ciao, Glenn and Glenn

White Sauce
Changing a dish from good to great can be as simple as a sauce to enhance the flavors. The French are masters of creating perfect sauces and by learning their technique we understand how the sauces break down into families. Once you master the base recipe for a family then you can adapt it and utilize it to create many different sauces of the same style.
The basic families of sauces are White (Blanches), Brown (Brunes), Tomato (Tomate), Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, Oil and Vinegar (Vinaigrettes), and Butter (au Beurre). There are other specialized sauces that do not fit into these families, but primarily most sauces are classified in this list.
This month we will look at the Sauce Blanches or White sauces. Every good Southern cook is familiar with this style of sauce because it serves as the base for white sausage gravy to pour over fresh hot biscuits.
At a basic level all white sauces are made with a roux (butter or oil and flour cooked together) then milk, for a béchamel or a white stock, (chicken, veal or fish) for a velouté is added to create the right consistency.
To create the roux flour and butter are slowly cooked together for several minutes. This transforms the flour from paste and allows it to absorb the liquid to be added. A heavy bottomed sauce pan should be used to keep from scorching. (Never use aluminum, it’s bad for you, and it can discolor the sauce)
Some simple rules for the roux; for a thick sauce use 2 Tb flour per cup of liquid, for a general purpose sauce use 1 ½ Tb per cup, and for a thin sauce use 1 Tb.
Sauce Béchamel / Sauce Velouté
• 2 Tb Unsalted Butter
• 3 Tb flour
• 2 Cups milk or 2 cups of white stock
• Salt and white pepper

In a small sauce pan warm the milk or stock to a boil. At the same time in a medium saucepan melt butter over low heat, add the flour and stir allowing the butter and flour to foam for about two minutes.
Remove the roux from the heat and add the liquid, utilizing a wire whip beat the mixture and return to a medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately one minute.
Remove the sauce from the heat and season to taste with Salt and white pepper. It is ready to be used as is, or it can be enhanced with additional butter, cream or egg yolks.

Some tips:
If the sauce is lumpy it is because the liquid added to the roux was not hot. To correct this force the sauce through a fine sieve or use a blender to smooth it, then simmer the sauce again to bring back to temperature.
If the sauce is too thick, bring the sauce to a simmer and add additional liquid (milk or stock) by tablespoon until the right consistency is obtained.
If the sauce is too thin, either boil the sauce down to the right consistency over medium heat or remove sauce from heat, blend ½ Tb of butter with ½ Tb of flour in a separate bowl and add to the sauce whisking to smooth then return to the heat and boil for 1 minute.
Enhancements:
Butter, use 1 Tb of butter stirred into the sauce in small pieces just before serving
Cream, use ½ a cup added to a thick white sauce and a few drops of lemon juice, add butter as above
Egg Yolk, blend 2 yolks with ½ cup of whipping cream, very slowly whisk ½ cup of the white sauce into the egg mixture, then slowly add this mixture back to the rest of the sauce, this may need to be strained through a sieve to remove any bits of egg white that may have clung to the yolk. If the sauce is too thick add more cream by tablespoon till the right consistency is reached. Optionally add the butter as above.

Happy Holidays! With this time of the year we have lots of memories of past holidays and traditions. I will share one with you today. Growing up in New York City there of course was a large diversity of people who immigrated into our country. It was here during my teen years that I became friends with an individual of Norwegian decent. Now Norwegians are not really known for their great culinary vision (I know because I married one), however they do make some great foods. Below is one of my favorite recipes from my friend’s mom, whom I will always remember for feeding us before running off to school on frosty winter mornings. The spice in this recipe is Cardamom!
Now this recipe for waffles has become a family treat. They are a little labor intense, but the reward far outweighs the labor-just right for a special holiday treat!
The name “cardamom” is used for spices within two genera of the ginger family. Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic fragrance. Black cardamom has a distinctly more astringent aroma, though not bitter, with a coolness similar to mint, though with a different aroma. It is a common ingredient in Indian cooking, and is often used in baking in Nordic countries, such as in the Finnish sweet bread pulla or in the Scandinavian bread Julekake (Christmas Cake). Green cardamom is one of the most expensive spices by weight but little is needed to impart the flavor. Cardamom is best stored in pod form because once the seeds are exposed or ground they quickly lose their flavor.
Norwegian Waffles
• 4 Eggs Separated
• ¾ Cups Sugar
• ¾ Cups Milk
• 1-1/4 Cups Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• ¼ pound Unsalted Butter – Melted
• ¼ tsp Ground Cardamom
In a mixer blend egg yolks and sugar together. Add flour, alternating with the milk, and then add the melted butter and cardamom. Whip the egg whites until very stiffly beaten, and fold into the batter. Spoon the batter into a waffle iron and cook until golden.
The Norwegians use waffle makers that create five hearts that form the waffle. You can use a waffle iron of your choice. The waffles are light and thin. We use either Strawberry preserves or a cinnamon sugar mix on them and eat. They are great warm but you can eat leftovers cold.

Wishing the very best to you and your family during the holidays,
Glenn and Glenn

Thanksgiving 2009

Nutmeg

Holiday season is fast approaching, so I thought I would share with you a Thanksgiving favorite from my family. This recipe is so simple. If you are going to a party or to visit relatives and need to bring a dish, this is one you can make with very little work and large payoff. But first our featured spice of the month; nutmeg.
Nutmeg or Myristica fragrans is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia, or Spice Islands. Until the mid 19th century this was the world’s only source. The nutmeg tree is important for two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the actual seed of the tree, which is roughly egg-shaped.
Nutmeg and mace have similar taste qualities, nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavor. Mace is often preferred in light dishes for the bright orange, saffron-like hue it imparts. Nutmeg is a tasty addition to cheese sauces and is best grated fresh. Nutmeg is a traditional ingredient in mulled cider, mulled wine, and eggnog.

Enjoy this recipe-hopefully it will become a favorite for you family too! Have a safe and happy holiday season,

Glenn Stryker
Sweet Potato Puff

2 Large can Yams (29 oz. Bruce’s)

1 Cup sugar
2 Eggs 2/3 Cup butter
8 TBS. milk 2/3 TBS. vanilla 2/3 tsp. nutmeg 2/3 tsp. cinnamon 2/3 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper

Topping

1 cup plain cornflakes

½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup butter melted

Put first 10 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend together with an electric mixer. (it will have some lumps)
Pour into a greased casserole dish.
Mix topping ingredients by hand in another bowl and spread evenly over the casserole.
Bake in a 350 degree oven uncovered for 45 min. to 1 hour.