ZOMG TV Chefs to the Rescue for a dinner party

I was totally not going to use my dinner guests as guinea pigs for test recipes so I opted to go with what looked good on TV this week or in my recipe archive of things I had been meaning to try.  For the former it was Cauliflower Gratin from Laura Calder whom I adore on Cooking TVs French Food at Home.  For the latter it was Alton Brown's Molasses and Coffee Pork Chops that served as the protein for the event.

A couple of things on the pork chops.  I didn't have ground ginger so I opted for fresh ginger that I always have on hand. I used a microplane to prep the ginger for the marinade. A caveat too, since you do have molasses and apple cider vinegar in the marinade that you reduce down to a glaze for the chops after they are grilled use a non-reactive sauce pan to reduce the marinade.  That would be a stainless steel  or stainless steel lined sauce pot to prevent picking up a metallic aftertaste in the glaze.

In the end my dinner guests were so impressed with the meal I sent them home with the recipes so they can duplicate the results at home for themselves.  Do click the links and try it sometime, they are very easy to do and the results are pretty amazing.

Things we're working on in fraz's kitchen

Sometimes things just flow right out of the kitchen, other times it takes a few tries.  I have a few things going on these days in the kitchen that will eventually make it here.

First off I am trying to top a brownie with a 7 layer bar....sometimes called a magic cookie bar depending where you are in the country.  I thought how cool would it be to switch out the graham cracker crust for a brownie.  First attempt I wound up burning the brownie base before the topping turned to caramel.  I'm stubborn and will get it to work, have no fear.

Next thing I am working on is finding yet another use for all those Meyer lemons I have laying about.  Don't get me wrong, lemon bars are a hit around here, but am thinking lemon cheese cake bars with a cheese cake layer on top of the lemon curd would be fun.  First attempt I got a funky cheesy lemony topping that didn't quite work.  Tasted fine but the texture was wrong.  Will get it right eventually and blog it here too.

Lastly I lost my carrot cake recipe given to me by my friend Dee Dallaire from Phoenix from when I lived there back in the mid-80's.  Oh noes.  I need it for this Friday for a dinner party I am hosting.  Either gotta find it or try to recreate it from memory.  All I remember was that it included pineapple to tart it up...or was that another recipe?  Yikes.

French Yogurt Cake...not mine but quite tasty

You have to run off to page 30 of the May issue of Bon Appetite for the recipe for this cake.  Its really quite simple to make and tasty.  Perfect density and crumb with the most heavenly lemony taste to it...of course I may be biased as I used Meyer lemons off my fresh off my tree that makes all the world of difference.  Recipe HERE.  (Sorry about the linkage but I just don't reprint copyrighted material...its how I roll).

A couple of prep notes.  2 medium lemons will yield the tablespoon of zest needed for the recipe.

Another shortcut in the prep is use one of those mini food processors for the step where you mix the zest and sugar until the sugar is "wet".  It will take a while by hand, with the mini food processor you will be done in seconds and added bonus is you will be ensured that your zest is fine enough.

Greek yogurt is called for in this recipe.  It is used to substitute out a lot of the butter typically found in a pound cake.  It is appearing in grocery stores in the LA area more frequently now so its worth the effort to hunt it down.  You can't substitute regular yogurt as the stuff is very thick compared to what we typically get.  An 8 oz container will yield just about exactly 3/4 cup needed for this recipe.

I also didn't use regular vanilla in this recipe.  I used my homemade stuff which is brandy based rather than store bought bourbon vanilla.  I like the subtle sweet smoky flavor the brandy imparts to the vanilla bean.

The recipe calls for kosher salt.  By all means use it instead of the usual iodized table salt...that stuff is too salty tasting with a metallic aftertaste that I fear would alter the final outcome of this recipe.  Invest in a box if you don't already have it in your pantry.

This cake is really good.  I like it straight up.  My wife likes it with a little fruit and whipped cream on the side, regardless of how you like it it is quite tasty and worth the effort to make it from scratch.

Shrimp Scampi

This is a family favorite...at least among the shrimp eaters among us.  Just the right amount of sweet, heat and tart from the lemon.  Lemon you say?  Yup...I'm blessed or cursed with a nice sized Meyer Lemon tree that leaves me with quite the bounty that must be used in the spring.  Cooking with lemons adds a brightness to dishes that I really like.  Meyer lemons have an interesting almost floral note to their juice that really adds an extra dimension of flavor to the dish that a regular lemon can't.  If you can't find a Meyer lemon by all means substitute with a regular lemon.

One caveat with this dish.  It cooks up fast and you don't want to overcook the shrimp so timing is everything. I start the sauce when I toss in the Angel Hair Pasta which takes all of 5 minutes to cook.  IF you are using bigger pasta such as a linguine set your timer to start the sauce the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.

It is really important to salt your pasta water to the same degree as sea water.  That means about a tablespoon of salt (I use kosher salt as it has less of a metallic taste) for the couple of quarts of water used to make the pasta.  It is the only way you'll get the pasta seasoned properly.

I buy the shrimp with their shell still on as they tend to stay fresher that way longer.  I save the shells and tails to make Shrimp Stock for other dishes like my Shrimp Chowder.

Before draining your pasta scoop out some of the starchy pasta water.  That little bit of starch will go a long way towards making the silky smooth sauce that will coat the pasta.

Shrimp Scampi

• 2 Lbs peeled and de-veined shrimp
• 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 - 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 2 T parsley minced
• zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup pasta water.
• 12 ounces Angel Hair Pasta

Put water on to boil.  Add salt.  Add pasta and set time to cook to al dente.


Over medium high heat melt butter.  Sautee garlic and red pepper flake 1 minute being careful to stir constantly so as to not burn garlic. Add juice and zest of lemon.  Add white wine.  Bring to simmer and then add shrimp.  Stir the shrimp to ensure all cook evenly, about 3-4 minutes.  When pasta is done scoop out 1/2 c pasta water and add to the shrimp.


Drain the pasta.  Add Pasta and parsley to the shrimp and stir to evenly coat the pasta with the sauce. 

Leeks float and dirt doesn't

It dawned on me the other day that I didn't explain one simple fact about leeks.  They need special cleaning as the way they grow they trap dirt in-between the layers of leaves.  The best way to clean them I picked up on foodTV, don't ask me from which chef as I don't remember, is to put them in a large bowl of water.  Agitate them lightly with your hand to losen the rings and let the dirt fall down.  After agitating them let them rest for just a few seconds for the dirt to fall to the bottom of the bowl and voila you have clean leeks to saute and use for your dish.

Call this a lesson in cooking 101.

Potato Leek soup

This righteous and tasty soup is easy to make, but the cutting and dicing is laborious.  I don't mind the dicing as it puts me in a relaxing zen space as I cut through all the spuds.  I use a 1/2 inch dice as those that don't get whizzed I like to fit on a spoon.

Hat tip to my friend Ruth who found the OCD cutting board.  This board is for those who haven't figured out  how to do the various dice and make them fit a prescribed size that is often referred to by name rather than some metric.  I don't have one, but looked the board and learned that the proper name for the 1/2" dice is a "batonnet".  Who knew that one?  I'll probably continue to refer to it as a "1/2 inch dice" to make it easier on whomever stumbles upon this little blog.

Potato Leek Soup

• 6 cups (approx 1 1/2 lbs) Rose potatoes, 1/2" dice
• 2 leeks thinly sliced
• 1/4 c butter
• 1 T dill weed
• 2 T parsley
• 2 14 oz cans chicken broth
• salt 
• pepper
• asiago cheese
• sliced spring onion

In large sauce pot add butter, potato and leek.  Over medium heat sweat until the leeks are translucent, about 5-10 minutes.  Add chicken broth and herbs.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.  Place 2/3 of soup mixture in blender and whiz until smooth.  Return to sauce pan, stir in well and bring to simmer again.  Serve hot with a garnish of asiago cheese and spring onion.

Pasta Salad

I have a small party that I am putting side dishes together for.  Since its an afternoon party with sandwiches catered I was left with the task of making sides.  Funny how that happens, eh?

One suggestion was a pasta salad.  I thought to my self, "self what can you do different other than just boiling pasta"?  I came up with a few ideas.  Pasta salads usually missing some crunch.  Italians use nuts to add crunch and another level of flavor to pesto, why not take that trick and add to the pasta salad?  I did and it worked out pretty good if I say so myself.

For the Salad dressing I opted to grab the Ken's Steak House Italian with Romano cheese.  Adds that nice cheesy salty flavor you get with pesto as well.  Gotta keep the flavor profile string moving along.

Pasta Salad

• 12 oz rainbow rotini pasta cooked according to package directions
• 4 oz pepperoni sliced and chopped
• 1 bunch spring onions thinly sliced
• 8 oz cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 c chopped walnuts
• 3/4 c frozen peas
• Italian Salad Dressing with Cheese to taste
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Take your cooked and cooled pasta.  Add the pepperoni, onions, tomato, walnut and peas.  Toss lightly and then add about 1/2 c salad dressing and toss again to coat.  Add more salad dressing if it appears to light for your tastes.  Add salt and pepper to taste as needed.