cooking in my world

"Chicken Francaise"

2010-04-19T23:32:00.001-07:00

1 bottle of white wine (better the wine better the sauce) Chard or Chablis
2 lg eggs, beat no milk!
2 chicken breast, boneless skinless split in half if necessary...don't get me started on scary gigantic chicken
1 shallot diced fine ...minced
1 c chicken stock, you'll find it in a normal grocery store (better than bouillon)
1 c flour, all purpose
1 T butter unsalted
1 lemon juiced no seeds and 1 t set aside
oil, salt(sea or kosher no iodine!!!!!!!!)pepper grind it yourself , to taste

hot oil, you have to use common sense, start with some to coat the pan and if it soaks it up add a little more as long as your pans hot your good
dredge chicken in seasoned flour ..s an p
drop dredged chicken in egg one at a time
pull chicken directly from egg to pan browning both sides
add shallots and work into oil they only take a second
pull away from heat an deglaze with a splash of white wine then add chicken stock
simmer untill all opaque fleshy color is gone and juices run clear
remove chicken, set aside , reduce sauce to nape
add lemon and Monte Au beurre (cold butter) pull away from heat an swirl till sauce thickens. Do lemon to taste if you like lemon add a little more if not just add a little chances are youll have a whole lemon to work with cause if you bought bottled your off my blog seriously!

Cubano? This is weak I know.... Ive been busy an i'll add more

2010-03-27T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Cuban...The problem here! South Florida should be a food mecca, according to my friend and mentor Mr. Cheffrey, http://www.cheffrey.com/index.html. http://cheffreys.blogspot.com/ however there is in fact a slight problem an that simply is its a tourist destination. Unfortunate as it is, growing up in a "tourist destination" myself, good food is hard to find. The fact is the off season is so bad people need to bank during the prime so food is never consistent. How old is it? Is it covered in Cajun season ? Is the god damn Mahi that's swimming right outside from Florida or half way around the world? Every restaurant has to serve Italian to please the new yorkers so then you end up with the worst combination of food and man South Florida food is a train wreck! How does the Cuban Sandwich fit in to this ranting, well it stays true to its area and its damn good. There is a thousand different ways to make it but the main ingredients are.....Sweet Ham, Roasted Pork, Pickles, Mustard and Swiss Cheese.Some say salami is on it but this is going back to my original rant too much New Yorker influence! Now ill tell you a little about the history if your still reading.....In Cuba shes known as the mixto. It is served in cafes, coffee shops an stands and being only 90 short miles from key west to Cuba it made its way here quick. It became a tradition when Cuban cigar makers came to Florida and brought it with them. Tradition stays the same here an they're still makin them all sorts of ways hot or cold but the one thing everyone agrees on (i'm finding) is the cuban bread and thats why im typing this, everyone needs to try this bread! So here we go lets make a Cuban. Keep in mind im from northern Michigan so results may very.

Mojo Marinade
1 C fresh orange juice (not pasteurized)
2 cloves garlic
1 C olive oil
1 pinch oregano
1 whole black peppercorn
1/2 lb of Sweet ham
1/2 lb Baby Swiss
kosher sandwich pickles
yellow mustard

Marinade and roast pork. Pull the pork apart with your fingers till its bite size. Bring ingredients to room temp (so they are all hot before the bread burns). Butter Bread, assemble and smash on griddle. The idea is that your infusing all these flavors into each other by smashing it ! Don't hold back. As far as a griddle im going to use my cast iron pans as a make shift griddle plus they have the smashing weight im looking for. if you have a electric griddle great. If you have a George Foreman then your off my blog... seriously your done.

Weekly Recipie Zuppa!

2010-03-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

Mussels White

12 - 18 Debeared mussels http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cleaning-Mussels/Detail.aspx
1 C white wine Chablis will do and I wouldent want to sound ghetto but if your only gonna cook with it, the box will last the longest ....less oxygen hitting the wine but better the wine better the sauce financially up to you!
1 clove of garlic sliced as thin as you can, cut 1 side and turn it so it lays flat make it easy and safe!
6 to 8 basil leaves chiffonade roll em like a well you know and finely shred
1 roma diced 1/4 - 1/4 - 1/4
3 C clam stock now this is tricky some say clam juice from a can, I think it leaves a metallic flavor... try Better than Bouillon, if canned clams is what you must use than so be it but NO dry bouillon
4 oz Extra Virgin greener the better cold pressed don't skimp out here !
tiny pinch of dry oregano
to taste crushed red pepper how you like it
kosher salt or sea salt and fresh grated pepper, black

yo here we go

Brown garlic in olive oil no black no white brown the word for the day is brown, cooked
How do we stop the brown deglaze with white wine. Remove from burner no flames or you'll be eating campfire tasting sauce. Moisture!
Add Stock, mussels, oregano, crushed pepper and basil
bring to a simmer and cover
give it a taste youll say man this needs something then season it with s&p an try it again
by now your mussels should be open and that means were ready