Corn and Pepper Chowder
This recipe is primarily a summer-oriented soup, though the produce used in it is usually available throughout the year.
I have had a love affair with fresh corn, this coming from an experience that I had during my first trip to Hawaii in the sixties. I was visiting a friend on the island of Oahu who was a caretaker of a pineapple ranch. He had a family garden and took me on a tour. There we picked and ate corn right off of the stalks. I had never tasted anything so sweet and delicious. I realized that relentless cooking of this vegetable was totally unnecessary.
Ingredients
4 ears sweet corn, hulled from the ears
4 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 onions, skinned and finely chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
4 ounces sweet butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon leaf thyme
4 cups water or chicken stock
2 cups whipping cream
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
Technique
In a 2 quart soup pot, melt the butter and saute the peppers, onions and celery. Cook over low heat until tender. Add the flour and mix well until the butter is absorbed. Add the water or vegetable stock a little at a time while stirring with a large spoon. Keep stirring until the soup begins to thicken, and the soup is simmering. Add the cream and bring to a soft boil. Season with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the corn. Simmer for an additional 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Garnish with sour cream or lime slices.
yield 1/2 gallon, 6 to 8 portionsTomato Basil Soup
The Tomato basil soup recipe is one of the most popular Mudd’s recipes. Most of the ingredients and techniques are the same as the Tomato-herb sauce. In fact if you are so inclined you could use the sauce as a base for the soup by simply pureeing and adding cream and more fresh chopped basil. It is important, however to add the basil last and not to over cook it so it retains it’s lovely color and taste.
Ingredients
1 cup chopped celery
1 fine chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
8 cups diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup red wine
1 pinch white pepper
2 bunches fresh chopped basil leaves
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 cups whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste
Technique
Sauté vegetables and garlic slowly in olive oil for 10 minutes. Vegetables may be chopped in a food processor as long as they are not too fine. Add diced tomatoes (fresh skinned and seeded vine ripe tomatoes should be used when in season) . Add red wine. Simmer 2 hours over low heat. If the mixture is still hot be careful not to burn yourself, purée in small batches Return the puree to the soup pot and add cream, seasonings and basil. Bring to a light boil to finish.
Garnish with croutons, sour cream or creme fraîche
yield 1 gallon or 16 servings
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Of all of the recipes that I use in my home, this is my favorite. It has many uses, it is vegetarian, and it is very low in fats and cholesterol. In the summertime it is very easy to find vegetable ingredients for grilling. A five minute walk in the garden with a basket and dinner is practically ready. Sometimes I use this creation as a pizza topping, other times I use it as an accompaniment for fish or chicken, however, I like it best as an entree. It may be served warm or chilled.
Ingredients
2 red onions peeled and sliced 1/4 inch
1 eggplant sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 roma tomatoes halved
4 small zucchini sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch
2 red bell peppers
2 ears of white corn, husked
1 bunch of basil leaves chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Technique
Grill the onions, eggplant, and zucchini until they are tender. Cut the peppers in half and grill with the corn. Place all the vegetables in a large metal or ceramic bowl and cover with plastic wrap or foil. Let them steam in the bowl for about 15 minutes. After they are cool enough to handle cut the kernels of corn off, dice the remaining vegetable and toss with the basil and balsamic vinegar.
Corn and Vegetable Pancakes with Roasted Red Pepper Puree and Créme Fraiché
This recipe is very similar to the vegetable pancakes served at our restaurant. However this version was modified to take advantage of a bumper crop of sweet white corn from the garden. With out the corn however, I would use a fresh made apple sauce instead of the pepper purée.
One restaurant reviewer commented that the pancakes with the apple sauce tasted “a little too much like breakfast”, ( Hummm, not a bad idea ! ) a healthy addition to the morning fare.
Ingredients
2 russet potatoes peeled and grated
1 large carrot peeled and grated
1/2 large onion grated
1 zucchini grated
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper
2 roasted, skinned and seeded red peppers
Technique
Mix ingredients together and adjust seasoning. Saute heaping tablespoons of the mixture on a non-stick griddle. Cook slowly but let the mixture brown on both sides. The pancakes may be cooked an hour or two ahead of time and reheated in the oven before serving.
Barbecue or roast the peppers in a 375°F oven until the skin browns and bubbles slightly. Do not over brown or over roast. Place the peppers in a plastic bag and let them steam and cool for an hour. Peel the skin off carefully and remove the seeds. Do not wash, since much of the flavor is in the remaining juices. Purée in a blender or food processor until they are a sauce like consistency. You may add lemon juice or balsamic vinegar to create an acid balance.
Sauce with red pepper puree and Sour Cream or Créme Fraiché
yields approximately 12 - 3 inch pancakes
Créme Fraiché
Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream (good quality)
Technique
Heat the whipping cream to the boiling point to kill any residual organisms. Place in a non reactive container such as plastic, glass or stainless steel. Cool to about 90°F and fold in the room temperature sour cream and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm ( but not hot ) place for 24 hours (a closed oven should do). The mixture should thicken to a batter like consistency. Place the covered container in the refrigerator to keep.
yield 1 1/2 cups
Calamari with Grilled Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound calamari, cleaned, butterflied and sliced
vinaigrette:
8 tomatoes-sliced thick and grilled
1 red onion-sliced thick and grilled
2 tablespoons horseradish
2 tablespoons sugar
2 ounces sherry vinegar
1/2 cup salad oil
1 plate of salad greens
cherry tomatoes for garnish
technique
For the vinaigrette, puree in a blender the tomatoes, onion, horseradish, sugar and vinegar. Add the oil slowly.
Season calamari with salt and pepper and saute quickly over high heat in olive oil. Drain off extra oil and add some of the warm tomato sauce to coat well. Serve in a bowl with grilled foccacia bread or over spring mix. Garnish with cherry tomatoes
Apple and Dried Currant Chutney
Ingredients
2 c. apple juice
2 c. sugar
1 c. apple cider vinegar
2 chopped small red onions
2 tblsp.. finely chopped ginger
1/4 c. dried currants
2 cinnamon sticks
a pinch of red pepper flakes
2 c. diced seed peeled apples
Technique
In a non-reactive sauce pan, add the onion, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and apple juice. Bring to a simmer add the dried currants. Reduce until syrupy. Add the apples and cook for 3 minutes until apples are tender.
This is a great topping for broiled pork and chicken.
Yield 3 to 4 cups
Smoked Pork Chops with Pear and Black Currant Chutney
My smoked pork chop recipe originated while I was Chef at Trader Vic’s. I learned the basic techniques of meat and fish smoking from my Chinese chefs. We used the giant Chinese ovens for high temperature cooking and cool smoking. A mound of oak wood chips on a sheet pan was heated with an electric barbecue starter to create the smoke. Meats were hung inside and fish was placed on a grill at the top.
Years later I discovered a better way to smoke by using an old converted refrigerator. A basic plan was found in a book on cooking techniques by Jacques Pepin. Since I had an old refrigerator the rest seemed simple, almost! Unlike todays plastic refrigerators, old refrigerators were made out of steel. Although this is essential to the conversion, it is very difficult and time consuming.
However, today Le Marquis is blessed with a new smoker that my son Giorgio built. It originally was an oak cabernet sauvignon barrel.
The cure for the pork chops is a combination of a smoked salmon dry cure ( brown sugar and kosher salt ) and cracked black pepper.
Smoke Cure for Pork Chops
Ingredients
4 10 to 12 ounce center cut pork loin chops
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt ( other salts have undesirable chemicals )
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
Technique
Mix the dry ingredients together and rub on the pork chops sparingly. Throw moistened hickory chips on the hot coals. Barbecue the chops over moderate heat. Seal the left over cure in an air tight container for future use (it’s also great on chicken and turkey).
Pear and Black Currant Chutney
Ingredients
2 cups apple juice
2 cups sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 chopped small red onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1/4 cup dried currants and/or raisins
2 cinnamon sticks
a pinch red pepper flakes
4 cups diced, cored and peeled pears
about 4
Technique
Simmer the apple juice, sugar, vinegar, onions, ginger, currants, cinnamon
sticks and pepper flakes until a thick syrup begins to form. Add the pears.
Cook only slightly then cool. This chutney may be kept in the
refrigerator for weeks.
yield 6 cups chutney
Summer Fruit Crisp
Fruit mixture
7 cups mixed fruit (good combinations are apples and dried fruit; raspberries,peaches, raspberries and plums; or apples and blueberries)
1 cup toasted almonds, ground in processor
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon
and sugar to taste
Technique
Sprinkle fruit with sugar, add juice of lemon and cornstarch. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. Let the mixture set until the fruit melds into a compote. Place fruit in a greased 8 by 12 inch baking pan. Add enough juice to cover just the bottom of the pan.
Spread ground almonds on top of the fruit. This seals the bottom layer so that the topping isn’t moistened by the fruit.
Topping
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
Technique
Add butter to the flour, oats and sugar. Mix until the dough holds together. Sprinkle topping onto the fruit.
Bake at 350° F until the juice bubbles and is thickened and the crust browns, about 40 minutes.
Yield 8 large portions |
