Charlie Trotter’s Ginger-Infused Egg Drop Soup with Poached Chicken
Ginger-Infused Egg Drop Soup with Poached Chicken
4 chicken thighs
1 T olive oil
- Sauté 2 min/side
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 celery chopped
- 8-10 min
1/4 C ginger chopped
- 2 minutes
2 Qts chicken stock
- Cover, med-low 30-40 min
- Remove chicken and cut into small pcs
- Strain and defat
—————— can remove and finish later
- Simmer stock
1/2 C lemon thyme
- Simmer 3 min
- Strain
- Season
- Simmer med-low
1 egg lightly beaten
- Add to soup and stir
——————
- Center chicken in bowl
- Ladle soup
Scallions - top
Braised Leek Soup with Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms
From: Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home
Also, it was suggested that skipping the mushrooms would still make an incredible soup.
Braised Leek Soup with Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms
3 leeks, white and 2” green, sliced in half
5 C chicken stock
2 sprigs rosemary
- Cover and simmer 25 minutes
- Chop leeks into bite sized pcs
3 T butter
- Purée 2/3 of leeks, stock and butter until smooth
- Strain, return to pan
- Season
- Reserve chopped leeks for garnish
——————
1 shallot, minced
1 T butter
- Heat 2 min
1.5 C Oyster mushrooms
- Sauté 7-10 min
- Season
——————
- Plate mush in wide bowl
- Top w leeks
- Surround w soup
Olive oil drizzle
Chives - top
Charlie Trotter’s Ginger-Melon Soup w Citrus Granite
This is a great recipe to test out your new Vitamix 5200. With only two ingredients in the soup, it seems like a no brainer. However, it’s important that you make the citrus granite (which is just a fancy word for ice). The soup, while flavorful, doesn’t stand up on its own. It’s too subtle.
There is a great documentary on Netflix about the groundbreaking work done by Charlie Trotter - titled “Love, Charlie”; it’s an important survey of how we went from fine dining meaning French to now meaning Fine Dining in America.
Ginger-Melon Soup
2 small or 1 large honeydew melon, flesh cut into 1-2’ chunks
1/4 C candied ginger, coarsely chopped (see note)
- Purée in blender until smooth
- Strain through a chinois / strainer / cheesecloth
Citrus Granite
1 grapefruit
2 oranges
2 lemons
1 lime
1/4 C simple syrup
- Juice all the fruit into a metal 8x8 pan (or similar)
- Freeze, scraping the surface with a fork every 10-15 minutes until completely frozen
Assembly
- Place a scoop of granite in center of a shallow bowl
- Carefully pour soup around the granite
- Garnish with mint or citrus zest if desired
Notes:
- Add a 1/4 C water to the melon if it doesn’t blend right away
- Use 2 T of preserved ginger if you can’t find candied ginger. Mix 1/4 C of julienned ginger into 1/2 C water and 1/2 C sugar. Simmer 10 minutes. Drain and repeat 2 more times with refreshed water and sugar.
Adapted from: Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home
Herb Crusted Cod, Chilled Pea Soup, Pickled Cauliflower and Cucumbers
Veal stock used for soup.
Pickling was lime juice, vanilla paste and a T of sugar.
Fennel-Coriander Halibut with Mixed Peppers
From the pictures below it should be obvious that the spice coating on the halibut is the key to this very simple dish.
All you need to do is put 1 teaspoon each of fennel seed and whole coriander into a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle) and grind finely. Add lemon zest and salt and fresh ground pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for about 10 minutes at 425 degrees.
For the peppers, just sauté sliced peppers and onion, salt, pepper and some cayenne.
Carnitas with Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce
This is one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever find - just pork, salt and water. Yet the cooking technique makes it sizzle. The only thing you need to watch carefully is the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Once the water has all evaporated and the carnita pieces are nicely browned you must stop cooking or they’ll shrink up and be dried out. You want them to be big and still juicy, with a nicely browned outer crust.
The Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce is equally easy. One bit of advice - don’t add any water until the main ingredients are fully blended, as you don’t want the sauce to be too thin. If it’s already thin prior to adding water, you can thicken it by adding more avocado.
Both recipes are adapted from the world-class Mexican cooking authority Rick Bayless.
Carnitas
Preheat oven to 375.
4 pounds bone in pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch cubes
Salt - sprinkle liberally
- Place in pan with 1/3 C water
- Cover pan with foil or lid
- Cook at 375 covered for 1 hour
- Raise to 450 and cook uncovered for 30 min
- Cook for another 20 min, turning every 7-8 min
Serve with tortillas and Tomatillo Sauce
Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce
4 tomatillos - about 8 oz. peeled, rinsed
1 small avocado
1 large garlic clove, coarse chop
1 jalapeno or 2 serranos, coarse chop
1/2 to 2/3 C cilantro
2 teaspoons salt
- Puree in a blender
- Add water for consistency
Summer Shellfish Salad
Tower of Calamari Fettuccine and Summer Vegetables
Lobster tail with Magic Vinaigrette
Poached Scallops dressed with home-infused Basil Oil
Broccoli Salad
As many of you know, I’ve been dealing with cancer for the past few years. Blogging fell low on my list. Many people have kindly asked that I share my advice, menus and recipes again. If you’re one of them - thank you. It’s meant a lot to me that you found this useful.
Sending my love, Tom
This is a nice version of broccoli salad, using Asian flavors instead of overplayed suburban mayo, ranch, bacon, etc.
Broccoli Salad
Dressing
½ cup raisins
½ red onion, finely sliced
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
- Combine and let rest for 10 min
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs sesame oil
- Add to mixture and stir
Salad
1½ pounds broccoli, chopped into ½” pieces
1 apple, cut into ½” cubes
2 scallions, sliced
½ cup toasted almonds
1 cup red or green grapes, cut in half
- Toss with dressing
Notes:
- Include the broccoli stalks: cut into small, thin, bites sized pieces, excluding the toughest woody parts
- If desired, blanch broccoli for less than 1 minute and cool in an ice bath
- To toast almonds: roast at 300 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes
Adapted from New York Times Cooking subscribe here.
My Favorite Simple Grilled Tuna Steaks
I have a few favorite methods of seasoning tuna for grilling. Several come from my beloved chef Pierre Franey's classic book Cuisine Rapide. One version uses grated ginger, paprika, cumin and lemon juice. Another with thyme, garlic, lemon juice and rind is drizzled with melted butter and the marinade.
All go well with a simple tomato and herb salad.
However, my favorite is the simplest of all, presented here.
Grilled Tuna Steaks
4 tuna steaks, 1 inch thick. Approx. 2.5 pounds
8 Fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Olive oil
1. Sprinkle both sides of tuna with salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Drizzle olive oil over steaks.
2. Press thyme sprigs onto steaks. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for 15-20 minutes.
3. Grill over high heat for 2 minutes per side, leaving thyme sprigs on the steaks.
4. Slice thinly and serve wth tomato salad or a vinaigrette for dipping.
Classic Cabbage Slaw - Cole Slaw
My grandparents owned a deli on Long Island in the late 1940's or early 50's I think. Grandma's potato salad was a classic and loved by customers and our family alike. The two keys to that recipe were sliced potatoes, I rarely see that anymore, and a healthy dose of celery salt. So I grew up loving that taste.
This classic slaw draws on the celery theme, using both celery and celery seed.
I find it important to slice the cabbages by hand, using a large chef's knife. This results in slightly larger slices of cabbage than in most slaws, creating a little more firmness and crunch.
Also, the use of mayo and sour cream is a great combination, here and in chicken and potato salads.
Serves a medium sized crowd
2 celery stalks, chopped in 3 pieces
1 apple, preferably Granny Smith
1 yellow bell pepper
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (not seasoned)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (I rarely use these powdered ingredients, but they work here and are essential for my Red Beans and Rice)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 head green cabbage
1/2 head purple cabbage
2 carrots,shredded
1. Chop the celery, pepper and apple in a food processor to create a finely chopped mix.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients and vegetables in a small bowl. Allow them to sit for 10 to 15
minutes.
minutes.
3. Add the mayo and sour cream to the small bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Cut the green cabbage into 1/8's then slice thinly by hand. However, the cabbage shreds should be larger than you normally see. Cut half the purple cabbage in the same manner.
5. Dress the cabbages and carrot with two-thirds of the dressing. And more to your taste. As with nearly all slaws, it's better after a few hours or the next day.
The vegetable purée - a key step that makes this slaw unique.
Short Rib Ragu - Perfect Cold Weather Comfort
This is one of the best dishes I've made in the past year or two, possibly the very best in terms of flavor. I've served it over small pasta shapes, but it is likely best over polenta, either loose or grilled in cakes. It is very rich, so stretches to more servings than one would expect.
What makes this recipe so good? Anything with short ribs is pretty darn good. This recipe creates several distinct rich flavors - meat, vegetable, wine, herb - which all present themselves in the final dish.
Cooking tip: Scrape down the sides of your Dutch oven or roasting pan during and at the end of cooking. The browned coating on the edges is super concentrated flavor that can be returned to the cooking liquid.
Ingredients
1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms
3 pounds beef short ribs
1 cup onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, sliced
2 anchovies
2 T tomato paste
1 large sprig rosemary (or 1 T dried)
4 sprigs thyme (or 1 t dry)
2 cups full bodied red wine (Cabernet or a blend)
2 T soy sauce
1 fresh bay leaf (or two dried)
2 cups imported San Marzano tomatoes with sauce
3 cups beef stock
- or 1 cup veal stock plus water
Equipment
Dutch oven, or large oven proof pot
Procedure
- Soak mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water
- Salt and pepper ribs, brown in batches, remove
- Sweat onion, celery, carrot, garlic, anchovies, tomato paste, fresh thyme
- Add wine and soy reduce to half
- Return ribs to pot, add bay leaf, mushrooms and soaking liquid (avoid gritty bits at bottom)
- Add tomatoes, stock and water to barely cover ribs
- 350 oven, covered, 3 hours
- Scrape down sides of pot several times while cooking
- Remove ribs, blend veg and sauce with a stick blender. Season with salt and pepper.
- Separate rib meat from bones and shred. Return to sauce.
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