Birds of Prey Menu Y2W1D2

Good mornin', y'all! Just a quick menu post, then it's time to make the donuts. To check out all my recent menus follow the BirdsofPrey tag.

Pan Seared Barrelfish with a sauce of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fresh Grape Tomatoes & Basil
Herb-Crusted Grilled Ribeye of Beef with Blood Orange & Caramelized Onion Marmalade
Spinach Alfredo Potato Gratin
Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Fresh Thyme, Lemon Zest, and Roasted Red Peppers
Tri-Color Carrots with Gingered Wildflower Honey
Saute' of Zucchini & Summer Squash with Fresh Herbs

Birds of Prey Menu Y2W1D1

I've been back at it for a couple of days now, but today my previous year's duties resumed in earnest. Specifically, I get to cook for a select and captive audience of individuals (generally between 30-40 people) 3-5 nights a week utilizing what ever ingredients at hand strike my fancy. Occasionally, the menu may get planned out a week ahead (or, heaven forbid, 3-4 weeks), but most often I show up ready to create and execute menus on a daily basis. We're currently riding the early waves of an extended crunch, so for the next several weeks I may be at it 7 days a week, but I'm going to try and make a post with daily menus to wrap up my night. So, ...

Red Snapper & Black Tiger Shrimp Pad Thai with Cashews, Fresh Cilantro, Sriracha, and Lime
Smoked Paprika Peri Peri Grilled Chicken Breast
Jumbled Basmati & Forbidden Black Rices
Zesty Sesame Carrots & Snap Beans
Coconut Curry Cauliflower Mash
Fresh Kale Saute' with Caramelized Mushrooms, Fresh Ginger & Garlic



...how 'bouta bump if I just moistened up yer mouth! ;-P

Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'

Fire roasted might be a bit of an over statement. You don't absolutely have to have fire for this one, but it helps. Like a number of other recipes you'll find floating around PwF I may meander off into rambling diatribes detailing different routes that can be taken during a recipe to illustrate the simplicity of making vastly different items from very similar processes. This is also a prelude to the post "The Unified Salsa Theory" (Coming Soontm). At it's most basic (gee, I say that a lot don't I), we're tossing cored tomatoes with a bit of oil and a bit of kosher salt and broiling (yes, there's an "r" there) them until they're somewhat blackened and syrupy. Of course, sensibly, this won't take long at all if you using cherry or grape tomatoes 15-30 minutes, but Romas or plumb tomatoes take a bit longer at roughly 40-60 minutes, and good sized slicers or beefsteaks could take as much as 90-120 minutes. Regardless, leave them all alone for the first 20 minutes then check 'em every 10-15 minutes turning the pan as needed, but leaving the tomatoes themselves undisturbed. What you're looking for is about the top 20% of the tomato to be charred. Feel free to drain off any excess juice. I'll often reduce it in a pot and add it back in. Mashed, chopped, or ground these guys are a great base for anything from a Tex-Mex salsa, to tandoori tikka masala, to an Italian pomodoro rustico (throw some browned ground beef or sausage in that and y'all can call it marinara).

Now, more refined schools of thought will recommend concasse'(kawn-ka-SAY), which is French meaning to crush or grind, but tomato concasse' is more of a process than simply crushing or grinding fresh raw tomato. Concasse' is a way to really get to the meat of the fruit, so to speak. The seeds and skins of the tomato can render unwanted flavors and textures. Tomato concasse' leaves us with a product like seedless, skinless, chopped, canned tomatoes, but with less juice and a more concentrated pulp. The preparation for this recipe utilizes the concasse' process.

Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'

Stuff you'll need:
Your most voluminous soup kettle. Hopefully, 12qt or so, otherwise, blanch in batches. In a perfect world this pot has a perforated insert like a colander. If you don't have an insert you'll need a large long cooking spoon or tongs to quickly and safely retrieve the tomatoes from the boiling water.
A bag of ice. Yes, like 7# or so.
A CLEAN kitchen sink filled with the bag of ice and tap water.
A colander inside a mixing bowl
(Stay with me here, it's not as complicated as it sounds.)
A SHARP paring knife and cutting board
5-7# of good ripe hand sized slicer or beefsteak style tomatoes, cored
1/4c Anointing Oil
2 tbls kosher salt (and 1/4c more for your boiling water)
A large non-metallic casserole dish
Food Processor or patience and knife skills



How to do it:
Fill your pot half way with water and set on a stove-top eye running high. Add kosher salt. Allow time for it to come to a rolling boil. Placing a lid atop will hasten this process. In the meantime, using the paring knife, score (this does NOT mean deep cuts, simply enough to break the skin) an "X" across the bottom center (on the opposite side from where the core was removed) of all your tomatoes. 5-6 at a time place them in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds or until the peels begin to pull back from along the lines of the "X". Remove them immediately to you ice water sink, and repeat the process until all tomatoes have been transferred to the ice bath. Remove them to the colander inside the mixing bowl to drain and begin by peeling all the skins which should now be fairly easy remove. Once they've all been skinned, cut them in half, NOT from tip to core, but equatorially, separating tip and core. Once you've cut them, holding a half in a gentle yet firm grip, delicately squeeze out the seeds and discard.

Now, were you to stop here and roughly chop them, Chef would be happy with your tomato concasse', but we are going to press on. Preheat your broiler. Rinse out that bowl that had the colander in it and toss all of your skinned and seeded halves, the anointing oil, and the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt together and layer them all snugly into the large casserole dish (unless you need more than one dish), and slide that baby into your broiler. Check it in about 20 minutes and every 10 minutes thereafter until a layer or char has almost covered the entire dish. Remove from the broiler and allow to cool. At this point you could literally hand crush all of this and it'd be just fine, but if you're still looking for a pulpier puree' place the colander in the sink and dump the casserole into the colander. Let gravity do its thing for a bit and then throw those tomatoes into the food processor and give it a good spin. Viola'! Fire roasted tomato puree.

The Vinaigrette Addendum

The Vinaigrette Addendum

The vinaigrette is a creature of dual nature, at its best forcing together two disparate elements of culinary interplay into a momentary and sublime balance and at its worst an over-processed, chemo-stabilized, pool of sadness and mediocrity. The inclusion of fruits or vegetables (for their pectin as well as flavor), the use of honey, molasses, or agave nectar as sweeteners/balancers, and the addition of varieties of mustard can aid in the longevity of a vinaigrette's emulsion (it's well blended/combined state), but it's always best to keep a homemade vinaigrette in a vessel that can safely be shaken before use. I kinda like old booze bottles myself, but old wine or champagne splits work well to. Buy a couple of bar spout tip inserts at the local liquor store and Bob's your uncle. Just remember to save lids/caps/corks because the bottles will be much easier to shake with these in place

All of that being said, a counter-top blender (NOT a food processor) is probably the "best" way to make a vinaigrette at home. You know, that thing you've only ever used for margaritas and milkshakes. Or perhaps piña colada? Well, it's super awesome for giving things the velvety texture you're looking for in an emulsion, like a vinaigrette. Your second best option is an immersion or "stick" blender coupled with a 4qt straight sided pitcher like one might find sweet tea or kool-aid in at Gramma's house. Lacking those options, a food processor will suffice but pulse all of the ingredients, other than the oil, as smooth as possible before adding the oil slowly into the blending puree' until the total amount has been used. As a last resort you can attempt to caveman it together in a bowl with a whisk, but remember acidity can cause an unfavorable change in flavor due to re-activity with some metals. Use plastic or glass whenever possible. At it's absolute most basic: Oil & Vinegar, roughly 3:1, maybe some fresh herbs and citrus juice, shaken together in a bottle, seasoned and balanced with salt & sweetener. 

It's something to consider that not only does a vinaigrette make a great salad dressing but it can be used as amazing finishing sauce or marinade..

Playing with Food Vinaigrette Recipes:

Caramelized Crimini & Sweet Onion Vinaigrette
Fire Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette
Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

If you've read the Vinaigrette Addendum, go right on ahead with this recipe, but if you haven't then follow the link. I'll wait...

Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Stuff you'll need:
The item(s) with/in which you will make your vinaigrette.
The item(s) within which you will store your vinaigrette.
If you no sabe', go back and read The Vinaigrette Addendum.
1/4c honey (Always make sure your honey is the real deal. The best way to do this is find local honey. Google it, I'll wait...)
1/4c braised garlic puree'
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1c apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 3/4c preferred salad oil (A great place to use your Anointing Oil.)

How to do it:
Throw it all in the blender and pulse it real quick about seven times then let it spin on high for a nine count or so. Remove the lid and taste, adjust the flavor as needed for sweet/acid balance and saltiness. This is another great recipe to dress-up in dainty little bottles and give as gifts!

Fire Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

If you've read the Vinaigrette Addendum, go right on ahead with this recipe, but if you haven't then follow the link. I'll wait...

Fire Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

Stuff you'll need:
The item(s) with/in which you will make your vinaigrette.
The item(s) within which you will store your vinaigrette.
If you no sabe', go back and read The Vinaigrette Addendum.
1/2c Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'
2tbls kosher salt
2tbls honey  (Always make sure your honey is the real deal. The best way to do this is find local honey. Google it, I'll wait...)
1/3c balsamic vinegar
1/2c red wine vinegar
3c Anointing Oil

How to do it:
Throw it all in the blender and pulse it real quick about seven times then let it spin on high for a nine count or so. Remove the lid and taste, adjust the flavor as needed for sweet/acid balance and saltiness. This is another great recipe to dress-up in dainty little bottles and give as gifts!

Crimini & Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

If you've read the Vinaigrette Addendum, go right on ahead with this recipe, but if you haven't then follow the link. I'll wait...

Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Stuff you'll need:
The item(s) with/in which you will make your vinaigrette.
The item(s) within which you will store your vinaigrette.
If you no sabe', go back and read The Vinaigrette Addendum.
2/3c Caramelized Criminis & Sweets
3tbls dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbls of kosher salt
1 tbls honey  (Always make sure your honey is the real deal. The best way to do this is find local honey. Google it, I'll wait...)
1c white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1 1/2c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2c Anointing Oil



How to do it:
Throw it all in the blender and pulse it real quick about seven times then let it spin on high for a nine count or so. Remove the lid and taste, adjust the flavor as needed for sweet/acid balance and saltiness. This is another great recipe to dress-up in dainty little bottles and give as gifts!