recipes
from our September 26th 'Chef's Along the Mohawk" cooking event with
Chef Randall Brown
presented by Mohawk
Valley Center for the Arts
featured dishes:
| age
dashi (fried tofu cubes) with 3-2-1 soy dipping sauce...
serves 4-6
for the sauce: add 2T minced shallots, 1T minced garlic to a hot sauce pan with 1T oil... either sesame oil or olive oil simmer 1 minute add: 3/4c sugar 1/2c rice wine vinegar 1/4c good quality soy sauce simmer 5 minutes (this is where the 3-21-1 comes in ... the ratio of sugar to rice vinegar to soy... change it as you like.. my personal prference is for a bit less sugar) add
to thicken sauce, mix
2T soy sauce with 2tsp cornstarch
remove from heat and whisk
in 1T butter
|
for
tofu:
drain 1 container of extra firm tofu, slice into cubes less than 1inch square per side... about the size of casino dice place tofu in strainer to allow it to drain further and dry without crumbling. For extra flavor, do this step several hours in advance, drain tofu and then marinate with soy, garlic etc, drain extra marinade a second time before frying |
| to
fry::be very careful with this... frying in the home can be dangerous.
Oil fires can start very easily. Make sure you have a thick dry towel
on hand to handle the lid and pot. Make sure you have a deep sided
(4 inch or more) wide (10 inch or more) pot with a tight fitting lid to
smother any possible fire that might start. If you follow steps carefully
you shouldn't have a problem.
Place pot on stove and fill with 1 inch of vegetable oil or peanut oil. Over moderate heat, bring oil to about 350 degrees. |
to
coat tofu: season tofu with spice blend of choice, then
toss cubes in sesame seeds. last, toss cubes in cornstarch to coat
evenly. Transfer coated cubes to a metal sieve or basket with large
holes to shake off excess cornstarch (this can be messy... do this over
a sink or over the trash).
Once the oil is at 350 degrees, remove pan from heat source or turn off gas flame to reduce chance of fire. carefully add tofu cubes to oil, cover to reduce splatter... (you can remove the cover after 30 seconds or so when the splattering has reduced). If needed, return to heat for a moment and continue frying for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, remove from oil with strainer or slotted spoon and allow excess oil to drain. Serve immediately with soy dipping sauce. |
| Blackened
Green Beans with lime garlic 'aioli'
for quick aioli an aioli is typically made fresh using raw eggs. This aioli is made with homestyle mayonaise and holds as lon, or longer, than traditional mayonnaise. in mixing bowl combine: 1 cup mayonnaise 2T finely minced garlic zest 1 lime over the top of the mixture (use fine grater), then slice lime in half and add juice of lime to mixture whisk mixture in bowl or puree in blender while adding 1/4c olive oil in thin stream serve aioli in small dipping bowls or put into squeeze bottle and drizzle over beans |
Clean & wash 2lbs
of fresh green beans. pick off stem end. place beans in large pan
and sprinkle liberally with lemon juice, olive oil, and spice blend of
choice. Beans can marinate for as little as a few minutes up to 2
hours.
cook beans on a fine-mesh grill screen (small enough so they don't fall through) over an open flame outdoor grill. Inside you can cook on a grate over a gas stove (very messy) or heat a cast iron pan to searing temperatures. YOu might want to to turn off the smoke detectors... this is a dish for outdoor grilling if you donut have an exhaust hood for ventilating smoke. Beans are done after a few minutes when the skin begins to blister and blacken. Beans will still be crisp and crunchy. Drizzle with aioli or dip. |
| Choice
Strip Steak 2 ways
always use steaks that are choice grade or better. Most steak labelled 'angus' is at least choice grade. Strip steak has a 'fat cap' on top that should be carefully removed. Under this fat cap is a thin layer of sinewy 'silverskin' that should be removed. The other fats on the steak can be left on for flavor or removed but the silver-skin is tough and chewy. Steak should be cut at least 3/4 inch thick. GRILLED STEAK We grill over hardwood... maple, cherry and apple. If you are cooking on a propane grill, get some wood chips, sticks, grape vines or someother type of 'real wood' to flavor your smoke a little. Once the wood burnes down to ash you can blow out the excess ashes with a shop vac in an out of the way area... nothing can substitute for the flavor from real hardwood or hardwood charcoal. Avoid using manufactured charcoal 'briquets' and do not use artificial petroleum based fire starters. Season steak with a mix of spices, include salt and fresh ground pepper... nice additional spices (often incldued in 'montreal steak seasoning') incldue ground coriander, white and geen peppercorns, dill seed, garlic or onion powder, paparika, kosher salt, rosemary, and thyme. Lightly oil steaks and then sprinkle with spices. This can be done hours ahead of time to season the steaks further ...'rub' style. Place steaks at a 45 degree angle to the grill bars. With each turn of the steak, flip steak as if it was a mirror image over an imaginary vertical and then horizontal axis. THis will give you a nice criss-cross pattern after the third flip. (I'll be adding a diagram to explain this better tomorrow). The steak is generally done after three flips and cooking about 3-4 minutes each side. Use a meat thermometer... rare will be about 105 degrees, medium rare 110-115, medium 120-130, medium well 135-150, well done at 160 or above. We strongly reccomend not exceeding medium. |
bacon
brandy peppercorn cream sauce: Using the pan from you peepper steak..
or (if you're grilling) use a hot saute pan to start.
add to the pan:
remove pan from heat and add 2oz brandy... if you're using an open flame this will ignite for brief moment sending up a 3- foot flame... stand back! Even without an open flame it may ignite from the heat source. If you just want a big show, add the brandy (away from the heat source) and then hold a lit match or lighter at the edge of the pan, you'll get the same effect. BE CAREFUL !! This is best done outdoors when grilling. NEVER pour directly from the bottle. Pour the brandy into a small cup and add to the pan from the cup. Pouring from the bottle may cause the flame to follow the liquor up into the bottle and the bottle may explode!! Other liquors will work well too... Jack Daniels or bourbon comes to mind. Add 1 oz good quality
beef stock (not needed if you;re working with a pan that you cooked the
steaks in)
|
| BLACKENED
PEPPER STEAK "steak au poivre"
The main difference here is the seasoning and the searing. THe seasoning should be about half seasoning blend (as above) and half coarse ground black peppercorns. We often use a small coffee grinder at the Castle to grind peppercorns. Sift the coarse pepper into a pan through the holes in a colander. The larger pices that don;t fall through can be added to your peppermill. Heat a cast iron pan for 10 minutes until it's very hot. Lightly oil the steaks and press into the seasoning mix. Place steaks carefully into the hot pan and do not move them for 4 minutes! Flip steaks oncea nad again... do no move them. This will sear the sides and cook the seasoning into the steaks so it forms a nice crust. The steaks at this point will be pretty rare. If you want tocook them further place the entire pan into a hot oven for another 5 minutes or so to get to medium. Follow the temperature guidelines we have listed above. When you take the steaksout of the pan, set them aside to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Don't clean the pan!... use the pan for the sauce >>> |
Shrimp
& Lobster Cheesecake
put
this out on the buffet table at your next party and make friends !
crust:
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmigiano,
shredded
3 tablespoons melted
butter
combine and press into
bottom of springform pan, bake 10 minutes until browned
cool, wrap pan with heavy
duty foil so that it will be water proof on the bottom
vegetable
mix
olive oil
1 cup onions, fine diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper
fine diced
2 tablespoons shallots,
minced
1 tablespoon chopped
garlic
1/2 teaspoon your own
spice blend... to taste
(anything from salt and
pepper to pure cajun fire!)
heat oil, add ingredients
one at a time in order,
leave mix a bit underdone..
the point is to combine flavors and seasoning
batter
2 pounds cream cheese
6 eggs
in food processor, process
cream cheese until smooth, adding eggs one at a time,
add:
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated smoked
gouda cheese
1/4 cup parmigiano, finely
shredded
add
vegetable mixture from above to batter
add
following ingredients to batter and pulse several times
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon tobasco
1 tablespoon worcestershire
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoon fine chopped
parsley
5 oz cooked lobster
tail meat and 8 oz cooked shrimp, rough chopped
pour into springform pan
and bake at 350 in shallow water bath for 1 hour 20 minutes,
after first 1/2 hour
place foil 'tent' over the top
caviar
sauce
1 c sour cream
1/8 cup+ lemon
juice
2 tbl minced shallots
2 tbl chopped chives
1 tbl chopped parsley
salt/pepper to taste
(a pinch)
2 tbl caviar
Hot Banana Madness
sliced
banana simmered in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and brandy
over
puff pastry with mounds of whipped cream and oatmeal crisp
-----------------------------
...this fast and easy
dessert has become a favorite at the Castle.
Prepare the sweetened
butter, puff pastry and oatmeal crisp in advance
and you can whip this
off for friends at a moments notice.
The dish is flambeed
or flamed with brandy so it makes for a great show!
PUFF
PASTRY
1 puff pastry sheet,
cut into four equal size pieces
1/2 cup sugar
2 tblspoons cinnamon
mix
sugar and cinnamon and put in a shaker or dredge
spray
cookie sheet with pan-release spray
arrange
pastry on sheet, sprinkle with sugar cinnamon mix
bake
at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes until pastry puffs and turns golden brown
keep
pastries in a dry location, will keep for up to one week
SWEETENED
BUTTER
1/2 lb softened butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
combine all ingredients, will keep for 2-3 weeks refrigerated in closed container
OATMEAL
CRISP
1/2 lb oatmeal
1/2 lb butter
1/2 lb sugar
1/2 lb brown sugar
melt
butter slowly, add all other ingredients and spread out thin and evenly
in a cake pan
bake
at 350 degrees 8-10 minutes, be careful not to let the mixtures burn
remove
from the oven and cool, break apart by hand, will keep well in a sealed
container,
keeps
best if well hidden from snacking fingers!
ASSEMBLY
slice 2 large ripe bananas
or 3 small bananas
preheat saute pan
add 2 large tablespoons
butter mixture to pan, butter should sizzle if pan is hot enough
immediately add bananas
to the pan
toss or mix lightly to
coat bananas
add 2 oz. brandy, whiskey
or bourbon carefully
ignite brandy with a match ...watch out for fire hazzards! clothes, hair,
curtains etc.
your will get a brief 3 foot flame out of the pan that will reduce to a
small flame,
If you have a gas stove pull the pan off the stove before adding brandy
so it doesn't flare up
unexpectedly from the burner flame. DO NOT pour liquor directly from
the bottle,
pour into a small glass and then add to the pan. Watch out for smoke
alarms!
remove pan from heat, place pastries on plates, top with bananas, ice cream, whipped cream and oatmeal crisp.
DIG IN and ENJOY!
Other fun toppings to
add... dried banana chips, crushed nuts, caramel sauce
dinner
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