The Classic Hamburger – by Michelin Star Chef Henrik Yde, Restaurant Kiin Kiin.

Henrik Yde is the owner of the world’s only Thai Michelin Star restaurant in the World. It’s location in the center of Copenhagen, Denmark may seem a little strange but after spending 4 years on a culinary journey through Thailand he decided to open Kiin Kiin.

Trying to teach the American man how to cook is the purpose of this blog. We have brought you many different recipes on finer food and everyday food but few real American classics have been presented here. Now the time has come for the ultimate American Classic – the hamburger; Michelin Star Style.

Making a classic burger is not as simple, as one should think and there are ingredients that are important to balance and combine the flavors to perfection. For this not to be too overwhelming the different chores can work as buy-in for your next poker night.

1st buy-in:
Onion, Lettuce, cheese and burger buns.

The onions has to be white onions – and not the regular yellow kind. They have to be finely chopped. If it’s onion rings you will pull them out with your teeth.

The lettuce has to be crunchy and that’s why a regular iceberg is the perfect choice.

At Restaurant Kiin Kiin they have eksperimented with a dusin different types of cheddar cheeses.  It has to be a sharp chedder approximately 180 days old. The old english cheddars are way too sharp in the taste so a good American cheddar will definately do great – but of course in the right quality.

If the buns have to be home made, they have to be soft and sweet. Don’t even think about the italian bred types. The good old burger bun is what completes the classic burger.

2nd buy-in
Pickled cuecumber is a must. Put 2 cups of vinegar in a casserole. Add suger (taste your way but youl will need plenty ½-1 cup) whole black pepper corn and plenty of chopped dill and pearl onions. Heat it up and let it boil for a few minutes. Slice the cuecumbers thinly. Take the casserole of the burner and let it cool with the sliced cucumber in the fridge for two days.

3rd buy-in: Meats The Bacon cannot be too lean. If you can get it, buy dry salted, air dried bacon. 
Ground beef with 18% fat so it won’t get too dry. Remember the ground beef shrinks then cooked and you don’t want to end up with a small and tall paddy. From and old American cook book, Cooks Illustrated the trick is described. Shape the ground beef round and make a dent in the center. When the paddy cooks the dent will ‘undent’ from the meat shrinking. This should make the paddy round and flat. Try and get the beef freshly grounded from the butcher so you are 100% sure it’s fresh.

4th buy-in:
The Mayo cannot be made without using fat. And this is how to make a best mayo for your prime classic burger.
Use 4 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons mustard, 4 oz terragon vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. Blend it in a blender. Add 7 oz of rapeseed oil or good olive oil and 20 oz of a neutral flavored oil e.g grapeseed oil. Pour the oil in VERY SLOOOWLY while the blender is running. Remember that all ingredients has to be the same temperature (room temperature when blending the mayo. 

5th buy-in:
Ketchup is inspired from the asian cuisine. 
Boil 32 ounces of tomatoes with 1 peeled apple, 2 peeled, chopped onion , 3 peeled cloves of garlic, 1 tea spoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon allspice, 1 cup of brown sugar and 7 oz vinegar for 10-15 minutes. If you want a chunky kind, you can serve as is or choose to blend it.

Virgin Lobster baked with cinnamon and pine straws - by Michelin Star Chef Thomas Herman of Nimb

This dish is created by one of the top Michelin Star Chefs of Copenhagen; Thomas Herman. He is the owner of Restaurant Herman in Hotel Nimb in Tivoli.

When I saw this dish I thought of my mother in law, Susan, who is a brilliant cook herself. The combination of lobster and cinnamon would probably appeal to her. It almost seems like the fresh lobster of Florida where she resides, the taste of cinnamon from her Lebanese roots and the pine and lemon thyme combination that it very 'new nordic cuisine' brings us together again accross the Atlantic. Susan, this is for you. I love you and miss you.

Small appetizer, serves 4 

Virgin Lobster 

• 8 large virgin lobster in the shell and head
• 2 fresh, new sprouts of small biodynamic pine needles (use only the very soft part)
• 8 thin sticks of cinnamon
• 1 handfull of fresh lemon thyme
• 8 tea spoons peanut oil
• Salt and pepper 

Virgin lobster oil

• Shells from the lobster
• Grape seed oil 

Take out the meat from the lobster and save the shells and head in a bowl. Rinse and clean the lobster tails. Keep the tails refrigerated untill they are to be used.

Mince the shelles thoroughly and roast them slightly in a bit of oil in a caserole. our over the grape seed oil until it overs the shells. Turn down the burner to low and let the oil sit at about 80 C / 180 F for about 20 minutes so the oil will take flavor from the shells. Remove the caserole from the burner and let it sit and cool off for at least an hour. When cool, strain the oil through a fine strainer or coffee filter. Make sure only the oil is strained so no other fluids or impurities mix in. Disgard the shells.

Let the oil cool to room temperature and now it's ready for use for lobster mayonnaise.

• 4 egg yolks 
• 1 tea spoon sherry vinegar 
• 1 table spoon water
• 2.5 cups of lobster oil
• Salt and white pepper 
• (If you can get it in a specialty store: pine needle oil)

All ingredients have to have exactly the same temperature and may not be too cold Whisk the egg yolks with a bit of salt for a few minutes. Add the sherry vinegar and water. Whisk the oil in a little by little. You have to whisk constantly. If they mayo gets too thick you can add a little more water atleast at room temperature.  Pisk æggeblommerne med salt et par minutter og tilsæt herefter sherryeddiken og vandet.
Adjust flavor with pine needle oil, salt, pepper and sherry vinegar. 

Enter the lobster tails: 

Take out the lobsters about an hour before serving. Take 8 pieces of tin foil approx. 5 x 5 inches and ley them out on your counter top. Put a lobster tail on each piece of tin foil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pick the soft part from the pine needles and put about 10-12  pine needles on each lobster tail.

Then put a cinnamon stick on each lobster tail and twigs of lemon thyme. Finally pour over a tea spoon of of peanut oil over each lobster tail and wrap the tin foil around it all. Pre-heat the oven to 210C/410F. Put the tin foil packages on room temperature a baking plate. A pre heated plate can over cook the lobster. Bake them for 5-6 minutes depending on size. Be careful they don't over cook.

• Serve
  Take the baked lobster tails out of the tin foil wraps and distribute on 4 plates. Use the cinnamon and lemon thyme as decoration. Serve the lobster mayonnaise in little side dish bowls. Dip the lobster tails in the mayo and enjoy. A good thing would be serving the dish with wet naps as you are supposed to use your fingers eating this dish.
  
  A nice, warm piece of french bread would compliment this dish.

Appetizer by Michelin Star Chef Thomas Herman is served!

Imperial Mushroom Soup, provided by HRH Prince Henri of Denmark

HRH Prince Henri, Count de Monpezat has disclosed this recipe from several visits at Japanese Emperor and the Royal family of Thailand.

The mushroom season is here and there are no (sane) limitations as to which kind of mushrooms you can use. However the recipe requires preparation because the chicken stock used has to be home made. You can prepare your chicken stock weeks in advance and freeze it or just the day before and keep it in the fridge.

Chicken Stock:

One whole chicken
2 lbs of chicken wings
2 yellow onions
2 leaks
2 carrots
¼ lump celery
2 laurels
2 parsley roots
A good handful of Italian parsley
20-30 whole black pepper corn
Enough water to cover it all in a large pot

Rinse the chicken and wings in cold water. Put the chicken in a pot and cover with water. Boil the chicken at medium low heat and add the veggie chunks and pepper. Remove foam on a regular basis. When the chicken is tender (20-30 minutes) remove from the pot. Let the broth cook down with the veggies for 2 hours. Strain through a clean cloth. Let the broth cool to room temperature.

Now on with the soup; serves 4 bowls:

3 cups of broth
2 cups of broth (no it’s not a mistake)
4 eggs
10-12 oz mushrooms of your choice (shitake, portabello or what you prefer)
1 tablespoon of oliveoil
salt, fresh ground pepper and a couple of fresh basil leaves and chervil for presentation.

Mix the eggs and 3 cups of broth. Add salt and pepper for taste. Strain the soup and divide in 4 oven proof bowls. Cover each bowl with Ceram wrap and steam the soup in a water bath (use a big pot with a bit of boiling water in the bottom. Place the soup bowls in the pot and put on the lid). Let the soup steam for about 10 minutes and let it rest for 3 minutes after. While the soup is steaming, cut the mushrooms on quarter pieces. Cook the mushrooms on a skillet in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper for taste. Heat up the remaining broth to boil. Put an even amount of mushroom in each bowl. Pour the rest of the broth equally in the bowls. Sprinkle with chervil and a basil leaves and serve immediately.

TIP: Cut the chicken from the bone and save for a delicious club sandwich.

DINNER - for Royalty is served!

Chicken skewers w/ mint and rhum - by Chef Gina Worthy

Since the beginning Chicago Chef Extraordinaire, Gina Worthy, have been dedicated to the art of gracious entertaining. She searches timelessly for dynamic new cuisine, flavors, and color combinations to enhance any event. She thinks of the tabletop as a stage, and every occasion an opportunity to present an unforgettable experience with food, style and décor.  Chef Gina Worthy services (public and private) include, plated or buffet style catering for corporate or social events, special milestones, in-home gatherings, and/or off site private Chef Services for guests numbering 2 to 3,000.
For how to get a in-home expirience with Chef Gina see http://www.ginaworthy.com

Ingredients:
¼ cup chopped Fresh Mint
1 whole Lime cut into quarters. DO NOT REMOVED PEEL!!
¼ cup Minced Garlic
2 cups Light Rum (Bacardi Preferred)
8 Boneless, skinless Chicken Breast Halves or Cut into strips for Skewers
2 tbls coarse salt
2 tbls ground black pepper
30 Wooden skewers (soaked in Rum for at least six hours in refrigerator)

This is how you go about it in 6 simple steps:

1. Blend first three ingredients in blender UNTIL SMOOTH.
2. In a shallow dish, place chicken and season with Coarse Salt and Pepper.
3. Transfer chicken to Gallon Size Zip-Lock bag, and pour Rum marinade to submerge.
4. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, turning bag every 2 hours to evenly distribute marinade.
5. Grilled over Hot Coals for 4-6 minutes each side depending on thickness until no longer pink and internal temperature of 165 degrees.
6. Before serving, top with fresh chopped mint and lime juice squeeze.

DINNER - by Chef Gina Worthy is served

Sweet paprika chicken w/ pureed corn and Brussel sprouts by Iron Chef Chris Davis

Some of you might know that I judged a Iron Chef event here in Atlanta last week. The winner by a nose hair was Chef Christopher Davis. Chef Chris has worked in prominent places such as Ritz-Carlton and Abbatoir as a chef.

During an Iron Chef competition the pressure is really on. One of the things that struck me was the calm atmosphere around Chef Chris’ table – there were no rush and no pressure; no sign of stress at all; only smiles and gentle instructions to the team.

Chef Chris has honored DINNER – by Dad with his WINNING recipe.

The flavor combination is fantastic and compliments each other in such a nice, harmonic yet interesting way.

This serves 4 plates:

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts
3 strips of pepper bacon
4 ears of corn (2 white and two yellow)
¾ cup diced yellow
1 cup heavy cream
20 Brussels sprouts
½ cup of chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
5 drops of lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium sized vine tomatoes
¼ cup small diced red onion
1 jalapeno
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 lime
Salt and pepper for taste

Pureed corn
Render 3 strips pepper bacon. Reserve bacon fat and bacon. Cut the kernels off 4 ears of corn. 2 white 2 yellow. Add 3/4 cup diced yellow onion to sauté painting with 2 tablespoons bacon Fat and 2 tablespoons butter. Sweat onions and corn. For 5 minutes, then add 1 cup heavy cream and rendered bacon. Continue on high simmer for 10 minutes, puree until fine in high powered blender. Add salt and cayenne to taste.

Brussels sprouts
Get 15 Brussels sprouts and cut off the hard ends and peel the outer later cut in half. Use the other 2 tablespoons of bacon Fat and heat a sauté pan on medium high and place Brussels sprouts cut side down in pan. Sauté until light brown deglaze pan with 1/2 cup chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes. Mount 1 tablespoon of butter into pan. Add salt to taste and 5 drops lemon juice.

Chicken breast
Season with salt and sweet paprika and small diced garlic about 1 medium sized clove for every chicken breast. Heat a pan on medium high with 1 tablespoon olive oil add chicken to pan cook on 1 side for 2 minutes and add 1 tablespoon butter let brown and floor chicken and baste in brown butter for 2 minutes until done.

Pico decide gayo
2 medium vine tomatoes seeded and inside remove. Medium discuss. 1/4 cup red onion small diced. 1 Jalapeño small diced and 2 tablespoons cilantro diced. Mix and add juice of 1 medium sized lime. Salt to taste. Let chill in refrigerator.

DINNER – by Chef Chris Davis is served!

Crisp chicken skin w/ smoked milk, shitake and grilled asparagus

My fascination with the Nordic Cuisine doesn’t seem to dimmer. Living in Atlanta makes it very difficult to just go out in the woods without it’s a daylong event. I’m settling for my local Kroger supermarket. This does not necessary mean that making Nordic Cuisine inspired dishes is not an option.

I presented this to my wife and step daughter today. Let me put it mildly and say they a both very curious about food and loves to taste whatever I cook up. This however was pushing their boundaries as neither of them likes chicken skin, milk skin or likes the smoked flavor. This was a test… and they loved it!


The smoked flavored notes of the fresh shitake and milk skin in the after taste, the baconish undertones of the grilled green asparagus combined with the crisp chicken skin gives a long lasting and changing bite in both texture and taste changes even after.

For one appetizer size presentation ingredients:

3 pieces of chicken skin from breast of thigh.
3 fresh grilled asparagus
3 chives
3 shitake mushrooms
1½ cups of whole milk
Plenty of rosemary (at least 20 twigs)

This is how you do it.

Salt the chicken skin and fry them on a pan for a few minutes in a bit of oil. Then move them to a grill and grill them, turning them often until crisp. Grill the asparagus with them.

Heat up the milk in the microwave. Let it cool off until skin forms on top. Cup the stems from the mushrooms and dip the top of the mushrooms in the milk so they get covered in the milk skin. Place on a bed of rosemary. Tie some butchers string around rosemary and mushrooms to keep it together. Grill until the rosemary is black.

Chop up chives and the grilled asparagus. If you like a good tip would be blending the chives and asparagus with a bit of water to create a green sauce to go with it. It makes a nice presentation too.

APPETIZER – by Dad is served

Baked ’Cognac Béarnaise’ with Veal and Tomatoes

For a long time I have been complaining that I can’t get a good béarnaise in any restaurant in the US; well I haven't been able to fint it. I have a recipe from a Michelin Star chef – and what do I do. I change a perfect recipe for béarnaise and bake it!

When you bake a real béarnaise it becomes almost like a soufflé but the taste and texture is different.

This recipe is perhaps over doing some things, but the result was pretty good.

Ingredients:  2 appetizers

6 oz of veal
1 stick of butter (4 oz)
3 egg yolks
1 chopped charlot
2 table spoons of cognac + ¼ cup of cognac
1 table spoon of cooking sherry
1 table spoon of water
1 tea spoon of fresh chopped oregano
1 table spoon of fresh finely chopped chives

Melt the butter slowly, add the yolks and keep whisking. Add cognac, sherry, water, charlot and herbs and keep whisking while slowly heating up. Do NOT let it boil. Remove form stove.

Cut the veal thinly. Melt a piece of goats butter (or regular butter) on a skillet and brown the veal. Add the cognac and keep frying until the cognac is virtually gone.

Take two ramaquins (Little bowls that can go in the oven). Put the veal into the bowls and pour over the sauce. Put three fresh grape tomatoes on top.

Preheat the oven to 435F and bake for 20 minutes.

TIPS: Try and double the portion and put cold, cooked elbow pasta in the bottom of the deep dish pan, the veal on to and pour over the sauce. Then it becomes a dinner.

APPETIZER – by Dad is served

Restaurant Noma: Asparagus and spruce

Crab filled mozarella w/ mint

When having company over it's nice to be prepared so you don't spend the time in the kitchen. Here is a great appetizer that is easy to make. The preparation time is about 10 minutes and can be done a little in advance.

Unfortunately i forgot  to measure things out when making this, so I'm going by memory. I hope you can forgive me for. This is based on one plate serving.

Ingredients:

2½-3 oz of fresh king crab meat

1½ inch piece of fresh mozzarella

1 teaspoon finely chopped mint

2 teaspoons finely chopped chives

Juice of one lemon

½ cup of olive oil

1 handful of cut lettuce of your choice

Salt and pepper if desired

Here is how you go about it:

Mince the crab meat in a bowl. In another bowl squeeze in the lemon juice and add the oil. Whisk it until is becomes 'creamy' and the oil and lemon mixes. Take two table spoons of the dressing and mix with the crab meat and add the mint.

Cut out the center out of the mozzarella. Take out a plate and put the luttuce on. Place the mozarella on the lettuce. Fill the crab mixture in the mozzarella and well over the top. Chop up the chives finely and add to the remaining mixture of oil and lemon juice. Whisk it up a bit and drissle the dressing over the crab and mozzarella.

APPETIZER - by Dad is ready!

Vanilla Ice Cream w/ plum and tangerine sauce & spun caramel

This is a simple dessert that doesn’t require much. The Ice cream can be bought, the sauce requires 10-15 minutes and so does the spun caramel. The best part is that all can be made the night before. So if you’re planning to have guests over and maybe you’re just in charge of dessert, this is what you need.

Ingredients:  4 four plates

Vanilla bean ice cream (ex. Haagen Dasz)
8 seedless tangerines
4 plumbs
2 cup of sugar + 3 table spoons of sugar
1 lemon
3 table spoons of cognac (if you have it)
½ table spoon vanilla extract
2 cups of water

Here is how you go about it:

Cut the plumbs in small ‘boats’ and remove the skin. Cut the peel off the tangerines and make little tangerine ‘filets’. Make sure no skin or white is on them. Pour the water and 3 table spoons of sugar in a pot and start heating up while you dissolve the sugar. Then the sugar is dissolved add the plumbs and tangerine. Squeeze the lemon and add the lemon juice. Add cognac and vanilla extract and let it cook down. Take it off the burner and let it cool.

Melt a cup of sugar on a skillet under low heat. Cover two broom sticks in tin foil and put them up between two chairs. Cover the floor with old news papers because you’re going to make a mess.  When the sugar is melted let it cool down for a bit so it starts to thicken. Take a spoon full of caramel and make a ‘whipping’ motion over the broom sticks. Long threats of caramel should form from the broom sticks. If not, let the caramel cool a little more. But you have only so much time to do this so you got to hurry up. Roll up the caramel strings in little nests.

Remember to sprinkle the sauce over the fruits and ice cream when serving.

See picture for suggestion to present the dessert.

DESSERT – by Dad is ready!

Saltado de Pollo by Chef Angela Harbauer, Peru.

Looking out around the world of food in the search of a great meal DINNER – by Dad is proud to present Chef Angela Harbauer of Peru, South America.

Chef Angela Harbauer combines her passion for archeology, gastronomy and the origins of the social and cultural evolution and development of our gastronomic roots. Integrating various cultures around the world and sharing with users through “El Universal” in Venezuela Archaeology Blog dining.

China Fusion Peruvian Cuisine is called “Chifa”

Chifa is the word referred to in Peru for the Chinese cuisine adapted to Peruvian cuisine since the late nineteenth century. Most of the Chinese immigrants were Cantonese. “Chifa” is known as a unique restaurant concept.

This is an easy and economic recipe. We hope you enjoy it and share it in good company!

Ingredients: (serves 2 persons)

2 shallow cups cooked white rice with salt

 ½ kg (1.1 lb) of boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips

1 medium purple onion, peeled, cut in 8 equal pieces

1 yellow Peruvian peppers, washed, seeded, cut into very thin strips. Optional

2 red tomatoes cut into 8 (I cut each tomato into 8 equal parts)

1 medium red pepper diced medium assume taste.

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons soy quality

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

¼ cup vegetable oil of your choice

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste freshly ground.

Preparation:

Marinate the chicken in a bowl, add the cumin, soy, red vinegar, minced garlic and mix to incorporate the flavors, covering and reserve in refrigerator for an hour. (Chef Harbauer suggests marinating the chicken 24 hours in advance to get better flavor).

Cook the white rice to your taste, this will be the base or bed of the chicken sauté.

In a hot pan or wok add vegetable oil to lightly cover the bottom, heat and carefully add the marinated chicken, proceed to fry chicken strips until cooked through. If you know how to flambé with care this will add a delicious smoky flavor to the chicken.

Add the coarsely chopped onions over the chicken and sauté golden, lightly cooked to get the same, add the red pepper sauté, tomatoes, then finely chopped Italian parsley and Peruvian yellow pepper and stir fry. Integrate all the ingredients and flavors evenly and remove from heat.

Adjust flavors with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over white rice.

DINNER – by Chef Angela Harbauer is ready!

From Restaurant NOMA: 'The Hen and The Egg'

Molecular Cooking: Mango 'sunny side up'

This molecular gastronomy recipe is another creation of Ferran Adria and El Bulli team. This is one of the first dishes spherification That Was Introduced at El Bulli in 2003. This is one of the first spherification dishes that was introduced at El Bulli in 2003. The spherical mango ravioli is made ​​with the basic spherification technique and is based on a simple mango puree.

The spherical mango ravioli is made with the basic spherification technique and is based on a simple mango puree. This is an easy recipe to follow even if you have not yet experimented with spherification. This is an easy to follow recipe even if you haven't experimented with spherification yet.

 
Ravioli Ingredients:

- 250 g (8.8 oz) of water - 250 g ( 8.8 oz) of water
- 1.3 g sodium citrate - 1.3 g sodium citrate
- 1.8 g sodium alginate (0.36%) - 1.8 g sodium alginate (0.36%)
- 250 g mango puree - 250 g mango puree

Calcium BathCalcium Bath

- 1000 g (35 oz) of water - 1000 g (35 oz) of water
- 5 g calcium chloride - 5 g calcium chloride

Preparation:

Start by preparing the calcium bath.Start by preparing the calcium bath. Dissolve the calcium chloride in the water and keep it in the fridge while you prepare the mango puree for the ravioli. Dissolve the calcium chloride in the water and keep it in the fridge while you prepare the mango puree for the ravioli.

To prepare the mango filling, start by Creating the mango puree using fresh or frozen mangos.To prepare the mango filling, start by creating the mango puree using fresh or frozen mangos. Add the desired sugar. Add sugar as desired.

Mix the sodium citrate with the 250 g of water.Mix the sodium citrate with the 250 g of water. Then mix the sodium alginate in the water using an immersion blender sodium alginate is Until The Completely dissolved. Then mix the sodium alginate in the water using an immersion blender until the sodium alginate is completely dissolved. If this is your first time doing this, be aware That this May take longer than expected. If this is your first time doing this, be aware that this may take longer than expected.

Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, bring to a boil over high heat, stirring Constantly.Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature. Remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature. Once it is cold, mix with the mango puree. Once it is cold, mix with the mango puree. Let it rest for an hour to Eliminate some of the air bubbles created by the immersion blender. Let it rest for an hour to eliminate some of the air bubbles created by the immersion blender.

You are now ready to start Creating the spheres!You are now ready to start creating the spheres! Remove the bath calcium from the fridge. Remove the calcium bath from the fridge. Scoop the mango mixture with a tablespoon measure and half sphere. Carefully pour it into the calcium bath.

Scoop the mango mixture with a half sphere tablespoon measure and carefully pour it into the calcium bath. Leave the ravioli "cooking" for about 2 minutes in the bath and then calcium Carefully remove using a slotted spoon it.

Leave the ravioli "cooking" for about 2 minutes in the calcium bath and then carefully remove it using a slotted spoon. Then rinse it very gently with water to remove the calcium.

Immediately serve the jellification as the process continues even after removing the sphere from the calcium bath and will eventually convert into a solid gel in the magical sphere with liquid inside.

Serving suggestions:

- Sprinkle chopped pecans, coconut flakes if you like spicy or with some chopped chili peppers on top - Sprinkle chopped pecans, coconut flakes or if you like spicy with some chopped chili peppers on top
- Serve with coconut foam - Serve with coconut foam
- Serve on appetizer spoons or Chinese soup spoons - Serve on appetizer spoons or Chinese soup spoons
- Play with the egg yolk shape and serves it on the coconut coulis to resemble the sunny side up egg - Play with the egg yolk shape and serve it on a coconut coulis to resemble a sunny side up egg
- Serve with sticky rice - Serve with sticky rice

Molecular cooking: Caviar Cointreau – A seriously advanced party trick

Featuring Brazilian Chef, Kaka Silva, on Molecular Cooking, a fairly new and very different from of cooking originated about 10 years ago. Chef Silva studied at Le Cordon Bleu in London and is currently living and working in Brazil.

The very famous Spanish restaurant El Bulli was the front runner in this field. Many of the world’s best chefs have worked at this three Michelin Star Catalan restaurant; among others Rene Redzepi, owner of Noma – Worlds Best Restaurant second year running.

What is molecular cooking? Essentially it can be described as making produce act differently and look like something else while still preserving the flavors making it a mind boggling dining experience.

The Cointreau caviar is a great way to bring molecular mixology to your drinks.  The Cointreau caviar can be added to champagne, cosmopolitans, margaritas and many other traditional cocktails to make them more interesting.  This caviar is made using Basic Spherification.

Cointreau caviar was first launched in Paris in 2008 where it was presented to the greatest bartenders.  After almost a year of research, the Cointreau team came up with the best formula to create the caviar and developed a caviar kit for bar tenders to be able to produce enough caviar really fast.  The kit includes a magnetic agitator to mix the alginate without air bubbles in eight minutes instead of using an immersion blender and having to wait several hours for the air bubbles to disappear.  The kit also includes a laboratory-quality precision scale, a pot of edible gold flakes and a caviar dispenser.

Chef Silva told me he doesn’t know what's special about their formula but after a few tests he came up with this recipe that worked very well for him.  He didn't use gold flakes but you can add them to the alginate solution to make the caviar prettier.

Caviar Ingredients:

140 g (5oz) Cointreau
60 g (2oz) water (filtered water or with low calcium content)
1.6 g sodium alginate (0.8%)
Calcium Bath
500 g (18 oz) water
2.5 g calcium chloride

Preparation:

Start by preparing the calcium bath.  Dissolve the calcium chloride in the water and keep it in the fridge while you prepare the Cointreau mix for the caviar.

Mix the sodium alginate in the water using an immersion blender until the sodium alginate is completely dissolved.  If this is your first time doing this, be aware that this may take longer than expected.

Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, mix with the Cointreau.  Pass it through a sieve to eliminate some of the air bubbles created by the immersion blender.  If you have gold flakes, this is when you should add them to the mix.

You are now ready to start creating the caviar!  Remove the calcium bath from the fridge.  Fill a syringe with the Cointreau mixture and expel it drop by drop into the calcium bath.  The syringe needs to be high enough for the drops to sink when they get in contact with the bath but not too high or the drops may break into smaller drops creating “baby” spheres. 

Leave the caviar "cooking" for about 1 minute in the calcium bath and then carefully remove it using a sieve.  Then rinse it very gently with water to remove the calcium.

Consume immediately since the jellification process continues even after removing the caviar from the calcium bath and will eventually convert into a solid gel sphere with no magical liquid inside.

Serving suggestions

 - Add it to champagne, cosmopolitans, margaritas, sidecar
 - Serve the cocktail with a side of Cointreau caviar by itself
 - Use in desserts with chocolate, vanilla, orange or cranberries

Molecular Caviar Cointreau by Chef Silva is served

Return to Mom’s marinara sauce w/beef Parmesan.

As promised we will revisit Mom’s amazing pasta sauce.  This time we will use it with beef Parmesan, baked in the oven.

Ingredients:

4 lbs London Broil
2 cups of bread crumbs
½ cup of Parmesan
1 stick of butter
½ container of sour cream
Salt and Pepper

How to go about it.

Trim the broil from fat and slice it one inch thick. Cut the slice in half. Pound the meat with a tenderizer so it’s about ¼ inch thick. Marinade the meat in the sour cream in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Best if over night as the acids in the meat makes the meat more tender.

Put a thin layer of Mom’s marinara sauce in a pan made for oven.

Mix bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat up a skillet and divide the stick of butter in 4. Keep the butter nearby. Turn the meat in the butter and brown them on the skillet.

Place the browned, breaded meat side by side (don’t let them cover each other) in the pan. Cover with Mom’s marinara sauce. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top and bake it for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with pasta, a nice loaf of Italian bread or as is.

DINNER – by Mom is served.

20 minute dinner Kids would love! Chicken in sherry w/ grilled apple

This is another chicken dish that in many ways has the same approach as a chicken marsala. The flavors cannot compare as this is a naturally sweet dish utilizing only the natural sugars from the bell peppers, onion and apples. The balsamic vinegar is countering the sweetness in a balanced manor.

Here is a dish that is easy to make for an everyday meal (20 minutes cooking time and 10 minutes prep time) that kids will love as much as adults.

Ingredients:

2 green apples
2 chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion
1 cup of chicken broth
¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
¼ cup of sherry (cooking cherry)
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper

Quarter the apples and peel them. Remove the core.  Melt 2 tbsp butter and baste the apples before broiling them in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes at 500F. The finished apples will have a texture of bakes mash.

Cut bell peppers and onions in 1 inch sticks. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a sauté pan under high heat. But the chicken in dices ½ inch by ½ inch. Put the onion, bell peppers and chicken into the pan and let it brown and sear for 5-6 minutes so all the chicken has a nice light brown color.

Add the balsamic and sherry. Add the chicken broth a little at the time making sure that it keeps boiling. Let it reduce until you have a rich sauce to only approximately half cup remaining.  Adjust flavor with salt and pepper.

Serve on a plate and stack 4 pieces of apple on top of each other. Save a spoonful of sauce to pour over the apples.

DINNER - by Dad is served!

DINNER - by Mom: Home made pasta sauce w/ spicy italian sausage; and more...

My wife is a brilliant cook and understands how to economize food, think ahead and create tasty tasty meal after meal.

This particular pasta sauce (marinara) is great. There are so many more options how to use this sauce. The recipe here is made for stretching 3 entire meals as a base.

A regular Spaghetti Marinara w/ spicy Italian sausage

A Chicken/Veal Parmesan

A 'Gangster Grub' Italian style meatloaf

The two other recipes will follow soon. We suggest that you eat what you can and freeze 2 x 4 cups of the sauce for later.

Preparation is fast and easy but the cook time takes a while - and the longer the better. If you have a crock pot it will do the work for you during the day.

Ingredients

5 spicy Italian sausages (6 inches each)

1 tbsp course sea salt,

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large sweet onions finely chopped

6 16 oz crushed tomatoes

3 tbs fennel seed

1/4 cup dried basil

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup store bought minced garlic

1 tbs celery seed

This is how you go about it:

Brown the onion in a large sauce pan with the olive oil and salt.   Once it's light golden, add the sausage to brown.   Then add the garlic and spices.  Stir on low heat for a few minutes until the garlic changes color a little.

Now add the 6 large cans of tomatoes and two cans of water.  Turn up the heat to medium until it comes to a boil.   Stir and turn the heat down to low stirring frequently.

The sauce is best if it cooks for at least 5 hours.

DINNER - by Mom is served!

Saturday Night Feast: Roasted duck w/ sugar browned potatoes and red cabbage

I know, I know. It’s out of season for a traditional Danish Christmas dinner. No matter how it’s still a beautiful meal and I can be served year round. It is one of my favorite dishes. Granted; it’s some work and takes a little preparation.

Here in the US this probably falls under an ‘exotic’ category. Never the less the flavors come very close to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re into that, this may be a very good alternative as it is not as hard to do, takes less time in cooking and preparation.

Ingredients:

The Duck:
6 lbs duck
½ lb seedless prunes
½ lb green apples
4-6 cups of water
Salt and pepper

Red cabbage:
One red cabbage
5-6 table spoons current jelly
2-3 table spoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

The Potatoes:
4 lbs small round potatoes
Sugar
3 table spoons of butter

Sauce:
1 bottle of red wine
1 onion
1 fennel
3-4 carrots
3 table spoons of butter
Neck and heart from the duck
15-20 black pepper corn (not ground)

How to go about it:

The Duck:

Remove neck and any insides from the duk. Rinse it under cold water. Cut the apples in bite size pieces and stuff the duck with the apples and prunes.  Rub the duck with salt and ground pepper. Close the gap with meat needles.

Preheat the oven to 480F and put the duck on a rack on the roasting pan. The duck brown for 20 minutes breast down.  Turn the duck around and reduce temperature to 320F and add 2 cups of water. Add more water if the pan is drying out during roasting. Let the duck roast for about 2 hours. If the thigh loosens easy and the juice from the duck is clear, its done. Baste the duck every 20 minutes alternating with melted butter and drippings from the roasting pan.

The Sauce:

Brown the neck and heart in butter with the rough cut vegetables. Pour in a 2 cups of red wine and 2 cups of water. Let it boil down for a couple of hours. If it reduces too much add more wine and water. Your final result should be about 2½-3 cups. Strain the reduction into a casserole. Thicken with a bit of corn starch and adjust flavor with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon or two of currant jelly. Let it simmer while the potatoes are roasting.

The Red Cabbage:

Quarter the red cabbage. Slice the quarters thinly. Put 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a pot large enough to hold all the cabbage. When the butter is melted put in the cabbage. Add the current jelly and balsamic vinegar. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper and maybe balsamic vinegar and currant jelly. Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until it has the texture you prefer.

The Potatoes:

Boil the potatoes with the skin on and let them cool. Peel the potatoes. Take a large skillet and pour sugar in a thin layer so it covers the bottom of the skillet. Melt the sugar on the skillet. Let it get a little color but don’t let it turn black. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter on the melted sugar and stir it up gently before pouring the potatoes on the skillet. Stir the potatoes gently for about 15 minutes until they have a nice brown color.

TIP: If you prefer you can avoid browning the potatoes. Or maybe just brown half of them.

DINNER – by Dad is ready

'The Meadow' - A recipe inspired from 'The Nordic Cuisine'

So I entered a recipe competition on Food Network in the category of “Exotic Food”. Being Danish the latest thing in the food world is known as the 'Nordic Cuisine’ fashion.

This recipe is inspired by ‘The Nordic Cuisine’. Many people don’t understand it yet. Perhaps it’s just the fact that I see my Scandinavian roots so much more clearly after settling in the United States.

The recipe is seeking back to the ‘forgotten’ and commonly used ingredients that we now know Vikings would eat as a part of their meal – herbs, flowers, spices, meats and marrow that were all a vital part for them.

It is vital to the philosophy behind this recipe to use ingredients of what’s around us; in the meadow. The garnish (everything is eatable) acts as spices and sweeteners to compliment the marrow and meat. Even the mead is made from honey from a variety of flowers from the meadows and was a favored drink of the Vikings.

The use of uncooked, fresh garnish preserves the natural flavors and nutrients in the dish allowing for each piece of food to play their own part, rather than ‘spicing it up’ where every bite tastes the same or cooked to bits. As you eat you can combine the flavors to your liking so every bite is different making dining an experience.

Ingredients:

Marrow
Veal marrow ½ lb.
2 oz Goat butter
Smoked salt

Sauce
3 cups of Mead; a Honey based wine (750ml bottle)
3 cups of water
2 lbs veal osso buco
3 pieces of marrow
Salt and pepper
1 large white onion
½ table spoon Dijon mustard
1 table spoon sweet mustard
½ table spoon honey
2 oz goats butter
2 red beets

Eatable greens:
8 Dandelion leaves
Daisy pedals of 2 daisies
4 Tulip stalks (preferably not in bloom) 

This is how you go about it:

Brown the osso buco in goat’s butter. Peel and cut onion and beet in large dices and brown a bit with the meat. Add mead and water. Let it boil for 1½ hour under a lid. Remember to remove foam from the mix during the first hour of boiling. Strain into a smaller pot. Set aside 10 pieces of beet for the plates. Keep the meat warm until the sauce is ready by wrapping in tin foil and place under a heating lamp.

Add ½ tablespoon of Dijon, 1 tablespoon of sweet mustard and ½ table spoon of honey. Reduce sauce to a 'jellyish' texture.

Push out the marrow of the bone gently. Cut the marrow in quarter inch slices. Freeze for 45-60 minutes. Cook marrow on very hot skillet in goats butter for 1-2 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with smoked salt.

Cut the tulip stalks to remove the outer tough ‘skin’ on the tulip. Rinse the dandelion leaves and pick the pedals from the daisies.

Leave garnish raw and crisp.

DINNER - by Dad is served