Recipes Master 12

Sorry for the late upload, but I had some mysterious modem issues, and this German potato dumpling video took over 5 hours to upload! I was having flashbacks to those good, old dial-up AOL days, and they weren’t good flashbacks. I do miss that cool modem sound, but that's about it. Anyway, it’s late, but I wanted to post the ingredient amounts, and maybe I'll add some more info tomorrow, although these are so basic that’s probably not necessary. The only tip I’ll give is that I think baking the potatoes works better than boiling them whole. Peeling, quartering, and boiling until tender will also work, but don’t overcook them, otherwise they'll absorb too much water. By the way, if you’re German, or know the same things they do, I’d love to learn why we're sticking croutons in the middle of these things. I totally get the crumbs on top, but inside? If you have an explanation, I’d like love to hear it, and in the meantime, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjo...

As I may have mentioned on Twitter several times, Michele and I have both been sick all week, so please pardon the lateness, and brevity of this post. The good news is this Greek-style baked beans recipe is very simple, and there’s not a lot of extra info I need to pass along. One thing I will mention is that while these are baking, be sure to peek once in a while to see if you need to add more liquid. You can bake covered, but then you don’t get the crustification on top, so I prefer to bake uncovered, and stir in a splash of water, or two, if it looks like it’s getting too dry. If you can find gigante beans, they really are the best, but Conona beans also work great, as will any other large dried bean. Just be sure to soak them properly, and simmer them until tender before proceeding to the baking step. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m climbing into my big, fat bed. Enjoy! Ingredients for 12 portions: 1 pound dried Gigante, Conona, Lima, or other large dried bean (soaked overnight) 3 q...

These deceptively simple, yet devastatingly delicious garlic noodles were invented in San Francisco, at a restaurant called, Thanh Long, back in the 70’s. Usually served with roasted Dungeness crab, the actual recipe is a very closely guarded family secret, but after lots of investigation, and even more experimentation, I think this is very close, at least for a non-MSG laced version. Apparently, one of their “secret” ingredients is something called, Maggi Seasoning Sauce , which I decided not to use, since I’m not sure how easy it is for the average person to find. Besides, I think my assortment of savory, umami-rich substitutes did the job quite nicely, and everything in the ingredient list can be found at any large grocery store. The most exotic thing here would be the oyster sauce, which is sort of a very savory, slightly sweet, thick, soy sauce-like condiment. And yes, it does have oyster extracts in it, in case that matters. If you can’t find it, just add a touch more fish sauce,...

Brazilian cheese bread is very easy to make, and features a chewy, cheesy, bready center, encased in a beautiful, thin, pastry crust. It also happens to be gluten-free, thanks to it being root-rich. These are made using tapioca flour, which not only makes them grain-free, but is also responsible for their very unique texture. Tapioca flour is pretty easy to find these days, and I get mine from a guy named Bob, who runs a mill, but if your local market doesn’t carry it, I recommend finding some online. There are lots of fun recipes you can make in addition to these, like homemade tapioca pearls for bubble tea, just to give one enticing example. As I mentioned in the video, you can easily adjust the thickness of your dough by adding another splash of milk, or more tapioca flour depending on what you're into. Some folks swear by a thinner batter, which they bake in muffin tins, but to me those come out too much like popovers, and don’t have the same chewy, cheesy center. Happily, Braz...

These crispy yuca fries are often presented as a healthier alternative to fried potatoes, but the taste and texture is so good, I think it would be more appropriate to describe French fries as a less-healthy alternative to these. They really are that good, and do a great job of bridging the gap between regular fried potatoes, and sweet potato fries. Once fried, the texture is remarkably similar to a russet or Kennebec potato (the variety most commonly used for fries and chips), and while these do have a slightly sweeter taste, it’s not nearly as pronounced as a sweet potato. Like I mentioned in the video, I always regret ordering sweet potato fries, since, to my palate at least, they’re just not savory enough, which is not the case with these. Just be sure to boil them first, since they can be toxic eaten raw in larger amounts. Why you’d ever want to eat a big pile of raw yuca is beyond me, but the legal department wanted to mention that regardless. Anyway, once safely cooked, they ca...

They say your greatest strength is also your biggest weakness, which certainly is true when it comes to sweet potatoes.   The starchy sweetness that makes this tuber such a popular holiday side dish, is also its fatal flaw, since, for me at least, it quickly leads to palate fatigue. After a few bites of mashed sweet potatoes, or sweet potato casserole, I’m pretty much over the experience, and I’m reaching for the cranberry sauce to reset my tongue, but here we’ve mixed in a few ingredients specifically selected to cut that sweetness, and push this much closer to the savory side of town. Lime, jalapeño, and sharp cheddar may seem like odd choices here, but paired with the green onions, and bacon, they work wonders, and I had no problem finishing a whole sweet potato. And by whole, I mean two. By the way, these orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are often sold as “yams,” but they’re not, in case that ever comes up in conversation. Besides all the obvious reasons, this is a great choice fo...

Soufflés have always had the reputation for being a difficult, and temperamental thing to make, which I’ve never really understood. As long as you can manage to whip some egg whites, and fold them into your batter without knocking all the air out, there’s really not much that can go wrong.  And that’s with the traditional method, which requires making a saucy base first. These soufflés are even easier than that, since mashed sweet potato is the base. I like to microwave my sweet potatoes, mostly because it’s faster, but you can certainly roast them in a 375 F. oven instead. Just prick them as shown, and bake for as long as it takes to get them very soft. I’d love to give you a time, but that depends on the size. I kept these very plain, so as not to distract you, but you can add all sorts of things. Cheese, bacon, and herbs, just to name a few. And that’s for savory applications, since these will also shine as a dessert. Just add some maple syrup or brown sugar to the mashed potato...

If you’re going to steal one Rick Bayless recipe, you might as well steal two, which is exactly what I did here with this green chile pesto, and roasted chayote squash side dish. Like I said in the video, most great chefs encourage this type of thievery, as long as you give them credit, which I’m happy to do. What I’m calling “Green Chile Pesto,” is really his Green Chile Adobo, but I thought my audience would better relate to a “pesto,” since that’s what this reminds me of the most. Although, I’m not sure how it would be in a pasta, and don’t have any immediate plans to find out. What it was great in, was this very simple chayote squash dish, which is really more of a warm salad. If you can find chayote near you, I recommend you give it a try, but if not, grilled zucchini or other summer squash would also work, as would something like roasted acorn or delicata squash. I’d try to choose a fairly mild olive oil for this, since we have enough heat and bitterness from the peppers. Which ...

The hardest line cook job I ever had was working the broiler station at the Carnelian Room, where on a busy night I’d prepare over 250 steaks and chops, which wasn’t even the most difficult part. No, the biggest challenge was actually frying these potato puffs to order, to go on all those plates. It was a lot of work, but a labor of love, since pomme dauphine , as my French friends would call this, is one of the greatest foods ever invented, especially for potato fanatics like me. However, as with most fried foods, they can be messy to make, and unless you have an industrial-strength hood fan, your kitchen will smell like a deep fryer for days, which is why I wanted to try and do a baked version. I was very happy with the results, and while the outside wasn’t dark and crispy like the fried version, the inside was virtually identical, and thoroughly enjoyable in their own right. Whether you’re making them as a warm snack with a dip, or to go alongside some eggs, or a grilled steak, the ...

If you’ve made and loved our Greek Lemon Chicken , and Fondant Potatoes , then you will absolutely adore these lemon pepper potatoes, since it’s basically the best of those two recipes put together, minus the chicken. The only problem is, whatever main course you decide to go with is in serious danger of being upstaged. Speaking of chicken, if you happen to be roasting one, besides keeping the bones for stock, be sure to save the rendered fat as well, since that will elevate this dish to even greater heights. Also, feel free to add some garlic here, but if you do, I’d go with whole cloves, since minced garlic may burn onto the bottom of the dish towards the end of the roasting time. These are incredible eaten hot and fresh, but if for some reason you don’t finish them all, they make the best homefries you’ll ever eat. Just cut them up, and fry in some olive oil until crispy. They’re so good, you’ll be tempted to make them just for that purpose, although that will take way more willpow...