Easy Home Chef

If it lets me post, then I'm back!!!!!

2011-09-07T00:54:00.000-07:00

I have some great new recipes for seafood!

grilled Ahi tuna with passion fruit reduction; Ono with gauva, prawns with coconut/macadamia nut sauce. Yeah, it's that good!

Stay tuned!

has someone bought the site?

2011-09-07T00:52:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to access the site for two years to update and suddenly....

2009-11-02T13:59:00.001-08:00

will be updating the site shortly. thanks.

Announcement!

2009-07-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

The Easy Home Chef is thinking of starting a home chef service for those of you (who still have jobs) too busy to cook a home-made meal. I am located in Southern California, so if there is any interest, please leave a comment.

I made some very easy meals that should get posted by thursday night. Perfect for the family that's busy!

--EHC

A Tribute to Jacques Pepin:

2009-02-20T23:33:00.000-08:00

I made his dish the other night and was too good: thanks Jacques! Merci!!!!

Pork tenderloin is succulent, flavorful, and lean, delicious roasted whole or cut crosswise into medallions and sautéed. I accompany it with a sweet-sour sauce similar to what I would serve with venison, with pomegranate juice and chicken stock thickened with a little ketchup. Seedless grapes finish the dish nicely and shredded arugula gives it a special accent at the end, although you can use chopped chives or parsley instead, if you like.
4 servings

1 large pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup chicken stock, homemade, or low-salt canned chicken broth
2 tablespoons ketchup [ I used Boar's Head spicy Remoulade sauce, good]
1 cup small green seedless grapes
3 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries
1/4 cup shredded arugula

Trim the pork tenderloin of most of the fat and silverskin and cut it crosswise into 1-inch-thick medallions.

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy skillet. Sprinkle the medallions with the salt and pepper. Arrange the medallions in a single layer in the skillet and cook them over high heat for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, or until lightly pink inside.

Transfer the medallions to a plate and keep warm in the oven.

Add the pomegranate juice and chicken stock to the skillet, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the ketchup, grapes, and cherries or cranberries and mix well. Boil for about 1 minute, or until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened.
Arrange the medallions on four warm plates, coat with the sauce and grapes, and sprinkle with the shredded arugula. Serve.

enjoy, and enjoy the sauce the day after-It seemed even better!

Super Bowl Guacamole

2009-02-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

Just had an idea for a side dish to take to a party:

two Serrano chilies
three jalapenos
three tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
one handful fresh cilantro chopped fine
10 ripe avocados
one lime
two garlic cloves, minced
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut peppers and tomatillos in half lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast until skin browns, [tomatillos will cook down and mushy-that's ok].
Wrap peppers in foil to steam until the skins can be peeled off--skin them and chop fine. Add the juice to the bowl.
IN the bowl, add the avocados sans the seed and scored with a knife into bite size pieces such that you can mesh, smash with a spoon until smooth. Add the onion, garlic, tomato cilantro, salt and pepper to taste. Add half a lime's worth of juice and mix to prevent browning. Let it rest in the cold while we deal with the roasted peppers.

FOR the peppers: remove the skin, chop fine and add to the avocado mix. Blend well, and chill for at least an hour (the first half of the game).

After chilling, I added a garnish of a dollop of sour cream to the middle and a few shakes of red pepper flakes around the edges for color. It's up to you but red on green looks cool to me.

Not too hot, but has some background heat. This amount was perfect for about 15 people.

Enjoy!

In the mood for a REALLY nice steak?

2009-01-18T22:39:00.000-08:00

How about a flat iron steak with chimichurri sauce.....

With just an old fashion baked potato along with green beans/mushrooms/edamame

The sauce here is the key. I seasoned the steaks with sea salt, fresh pepper and garlic powder. Grilled them on the inside grill pan to medium ( INSIDE? why I don't know it was 82 degrees F here today). The sauce takes time to rest so plan ahead:

For the sauce:

one hand full of fresh parsley ( flat leaf)
one roasted garlic clove [ in foil add the clove, a touch of olive oil roast 30 min @ 375]
one sprig of fresh rosemary
about 2 tablespoons of olive oil
about one tablespoon of finely chopped sweet onion [to your taste]
about 3 shots of Worcestershire sauce from the bottle
salt and pepper

Put the first three ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chopped, you will have to mix it in since there is no liquid yet.... once the herbs are chopped, with the machine on, add the olive oil and the W sauce; just make sure everything is mixed. Add salt and pepper, mix and keep in the refrigerator for an hour.

After an hour, warm in the microwave in 10 second intervals until warm and let it stand until the steaks are rested.

I sliced the meat wafer thin, served on a white plate. On one side, the meat with some rested jus over the top. I plated the chimichurri sauce around the meat in teaspoon fulls in between a touch of horseradish dollops. Baked potato on the side and vegs in between.

So easy, so good. ENJOY.

Flat iron cuts really have not caught on as a great steak cut ( at least here in La Jolla) so they are VERY cheap to cook.

This one surprised me...so good. Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

2009-01-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with sun dried tomato, fontina and basil.

I found some ingredients in the fridge along with the pork that I thought would work well. Guess what. They did! You have to try this:

One pork tenderloin, butterflied and pounded evenly
one handful of fresh picked parsley, chopped fine
one sprig of fresh basil, about 6 leaves (still growing on my patio in January!) chopped
about 1/4 cup finely chopped fontina cheese
about 6 pieces sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and chopped fine
1/2 cup panco or other bread crumb or to taste
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tsp creole mustard
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
about 1/4 tsp butter, room temp
salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare the tenderloin by laying it white side down. Make a longitudinal cut not all the way through, opening up the meat as you go [about 1/2 the way through.] As you cut it, keep cutting the sides that you are opening in the same way until you have sort of a rectanglular cut. Cut cross striations aka, diamond like, until its roughly even thickness. Place a piece of saran wrap over the meat and pound with a mallet until even thickness throughout.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub the mustard evenly on the meat. Let rest 10 minutes. [This would be an excellent time to have a glass of wine!]

Stuffing Mix:
Combine tomato, parsley, basil, bread crumb and cheese in bowl. Add olive oil and mix by hand until incorporated. Add a touch of ground pepper. Let this stand for five minutes.

Cover the meat with the stuffing mix. Pat down the mixture onto the meat. Roll the meat lengthwise, like a jelly roll, making sure to wrap it tightly on each roll and tucking in the ends as you go.

Once you have the meat/mixture wrapped and into a vessel sprayed with no stick spray, rub the meat with the butter (this helps get a nice brown crust) and top with rosemary sprigs.

Cook for 12 minutes, 425 degrees. After, tune oven to 325 degrees and finish for another 15-25 minutes depending the size of the meat. I like mine just barely pink or 5 minutes longer if you like yours well done. You can always shoot for an internal temperature of 160 degrees, [AND I RECOMMEND THIS, A MEAT THERMOMETER IS VERY CHEAP] but I find that is too high and makes the meat dry for my taste.

The combination of cheese and olive oil infused sun dried tomatoes results in just an amazing juicy, tender and eye appeasing look on a white plate. The mustard comes in later in the taste which adds a nice bite.

I served this with roasted new potatoes and green beans with a rosemary butter sauce. (there's a version in the frozen section of vegs that's good too)

EAT, ENJOY!

White Bean Chicken Chili

2009-01-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

I have to give props to Sam the Cooking guy for the base of the recipe. I just fine tuned it a bit for more flavor.
If you don't know who Sam is: Sam The Cooking guy

Base Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
4 cans Great Northern White Beans
1-4 ounce can diced green chilies
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 Cup (enough to cover) white wine
1 or 1/2 cup whipping cream to your taste
white pepper/salt to taste

FYI: Sam used a rotisserie chicken, I used skinless, boneless chicken thigh that I slow simmered in white wine, water and chicken broth with added sprigs of rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. I cooked it until it was soft and cubed it with a knife.

Steps
1. Drain beans
2. Saute onions in butter first until they start to get clear, add garlic, saute 2 minutes over medium high heat.
3. Add everything up to the white wine. Saute, mixing for 2-3 minutes over med high heat or enough to get the pan quite hot.
4. Add the white wine, the mixture should be a bit loose, turn heat lower to medium and reduce by half ~10-15 minutes.
5. Remove pan from heat, add cream, stir in and add back to low heat. The mixture will thicken and remove as it just comes to a boil.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you like it less spicy you can serve with a spoon of sour cream, garnish with fresh parsley.
Enjoy!

Lamb-mmy burgers

2008-10-24T15:32:00.001-07:00

I had these appetizers the other day at my favorite watering hole.
I remade them at home and I think they were actually better than at the bar. Think sloppy joes meets upscale ground lamb and more subtle spices.

Check back when I have time to post the recipe. Good eats!

Great, easy left over special!

2008-10-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

Last week's meat special at Ralph's was top round steak. So I thought maybe a quick steak one night, but what's with the leftovers, [we bought the family pack of meat, 6 steaks in one] so I froze all but two. I made steak with garlic salt, cumin and cracked black pepper just seared on a pan for about 2 mins.

I'll have to post the rest tomorrow, nature calls for my hound, the Gus. Bear with me....dogs.....

speaking of dogs, just one more thing,,,,,,,go dawgs. sic em wuf wuf wuf.

Uga.

Delayed but here: Pan Seared California Halibut with Red Pepper Aioli

2008-08-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay, been very busy with my day job.

I'm in Southern California so now halibut and tuna are in season (among others that are just as good---eg seabass). I found a great 1/2 pound of fresh cali halibut and just made this in less than 30 minutes. Quick, easy and just so good. Great for a weeknight "gourmet meal". I really like the taste of the fish so not much seasoning going on here, just partnering it with the aioli. You can buy prepared red pepper aioli but I like making it fresh. Just substitute. I will post this recipe with store bought, but if you want fresh leave me a message and i'll post how I made mine.

1-2 pounds halibut or as big as your skillet can occupy ( I say err on the side of excess :))
1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced (to your liking)
1 package store prepared red pepper aioli
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp good paprika

In a heated skillet to medium high with ~2tbsp olive oil sear the halibut skin side up ( I skinned the fish-but to your liking) until there is a nice crust on the fish. Timing depends on your fish thickness. Mine was a bit more than an inch thick about 5 minutes- don't over cook you can visually see the fish cooking- if your pan is hot enough you'll see it cook through. Then take it off!

Remove the seared fish add the wine, garlic, paprika, 1 tsp butter and a touch of lemon juice saute for 2 minutes on low, the milk solids will move to the side of the pan essentially leaving infused paprika, lemon and garlic clarified butter. The paprika turns it pink/red and looks nice over the browned white fish. Save keeping warm.

On your plate, spoon about 1 tablespoon of aioli on the plate and spread out so it's uniform but slightly bigger than the fish piece you serve (so you can see it once the fish is placed on top). Place the fish on top of the aioli, such that when cut there is enough for a dip of "sauce" for each bite of fish. Spoon over the fish about a Tbs of infused butter, not a lot just to taste. This is really simple but delicious! I garnished with a sprig of parsley.

I served this with roasted almonds/steamed green beans and fresh basil polenta.

Enjoy!

This is NOT your Mom's Chicken Piccata!

2008-08-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

I was in the grocery store tonight and was thinking..."Let's put a twist on piccata but keep all the flavors there"...Sooooo I found that cremini mushrooms and boneless chicken thighs were on sale and I had to include them.

So here's my version of piccata:

bunch of fresh parsley
1 bunch of green onions
about 15 cremini mushrooms
4 boneless chicken thighs, washed and trimmed
fresh garlic, chopped
one branch of fresh sage leaves, ~8 leaves
butter, about 3 tbsp
flour, seasoned with salt and pepper and a touch of chili powder
2 tbsp olive oil (I use grape seed oil--you can get it hotter without smoking but OO will work just fine)
1 medium lemon
1 tsp of lemon zest from the bottom half of lemon
2 very thin slices of parma (left over from another recipe I'll post tonight as well LOL)
1 tsp of capers with juice
about 3/4 cup of whipping cream
about 2 cups of chardonnay

This recipe is really easy so here's how I played it:

In a nonstick skillet, heat oil to medium high heat but not smoking. IN a gallon size ziplock (no clean up!) add the seasoned flour and coat each chicken piece (you don't have to use thighs think ON SALE!) and cover well shaking off any extra flour. Add the chicken, in batches if you have to and just a touch of butter, maybe a tsp. Saute the chicken until golden on both sides. Remove from pan and turn heat to medium. The chicken should be done, but don't worry it's going back in with the sauce to simmer and will finish there.

To the hot pan add the white wine, scraping the bits of browned meat juices and oil to mix. Add the mushrooms, garlic, capers, zest and the juice from 1/2 the lemon. Turn heat to low and simmer until reduced by half---10-15 minutes. TASTE IT!!! If you like more lemon, add it! I added another slice of juice, the lemon was there but not overpowering. YUM

When it's reduced, add the sage, parsley, cream, and parma. Mix. Remove from heat, add the cream and stir. Slowly bring back to a simmer, add the chicken but don't cover it leave the outside browned uncovered. Simmer 5 minutes

I served it over wheat pasta al dente with the sauce mushroom mixture over the pasta and the chicken just leaning up against the pasta. Garnish with chopped green onions and just a touch of freshly grated parmesan reggiano. I've found that the longer this sauce sits on low heat or reheated, the better it gets.

I hope you like it! Remember, don't follow a recipe verbatim, eat what you like. If you don't care for the mushrooms or cream, use asparagus (for example or whatever!) or vegetable broth instead of cream. Eat what you like.

Pan Seared California Halibut with Red Pepper Aioli

2008-08-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

topped with a clarified paprika lemon butter sauce.
Coming today....

And I did not forget...my test kitchen loved the chicken dish with parma, so that recipe will be up today as well. YUM!

Chicken Thighs with Sage, Parma and Brie

2008-07-31T00:12:00.000-07:00

The recipe coming after lunch today. My test kitchen will let me know if it's worthy.

Stay tuned.

Easy BBQ meat rub

2008-07-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

It's grilling season and let's mix it up with some great dry meat rub that works great for pork ribs, brisket and steaks.

Also, some rub tips ( I learned these while tailgating as a student at the University of Georgia....BBQ and football on saturdays make me a happy person) and I believe that a great dry rub negates all reason for drowning your meat in sauce. Why, if your rub is great do you need sauce?

Many die-hard barbecuers (is this a word?) consider the rub more important than the cut of meat. And a far better option that a bbq marinade. Why? Because rubs penetrate the meat better, and create a nice crust of flavor on the outside. Want the best barbecue rub? Here are some things you should look for in a BBQ rub recipe:

A rub recipe should have a sufficient amount of salt-- this affects texture and tenderness.

A bbq dry rub should have a moderate amount of sugar. Too much and it may over-carmaelize and burn. Too little, and the texture won't be right.

A dry rub is especially good for larger pieces of meat, such as briskets or roasts. As fat within the meat helps to keep it moist while cooking, a dry rub that draws some moisture away from the surface of the meat tends to improve its texture.

I like things a touch spicy so you can adjust to your taste any of the ingredients below:

1 tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chile powder
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry oregano

I add just a touch of olive oil over the meat and massage in the rub about 3-6 hours before cooking (slow smoked of course with hickory, for ribs) For shoulders and brisket I smoke until the meat shows signs of falling off the bone or apart, usually 5-8 hours. You have to get up early on Saturdays in Athens for a 1 pm kickoff!

enjoy.

Pork Tenderloin with baked apples and onion:

2008-07-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

I made some new friends at UCSD and (hopefully--hint, hint) they can get some leftovers tomorrow.

This is really easy to make as the majority of the work is prepping the onion and apples, but sure is tasty.

Here's what you'll need:

1 large pork tenderloin (about 14 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard ( I use creole mustard for a nice grainy texture)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 cup dry white wine or apple cider

Important! Remove the pork from the cold and let it come to room temperature. I treat pork just like raw chicken, be careful of cross contamination, e.g, cutting boards, knives etc. I always was my hands after touching any uncooked meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil ( I prefer grape seed oil to olive because you can get it hotter without it smoking) over medium high heat.
Brown the meat on all sides until golden, ~8 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool 5 minutes.

Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan, return pan to heat. Add the onions and apples, brown until soft about 6 minutes.

In the meantime, rub the creole mustard over the meat and press in the fennel seeds. Arrange the meat in the middle of the apples and onions, I call it putting it to bed. Brush up the blankets next to the meat--the apples, onion.
Pop into a 400 degree oven until the apples brown or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. (about 20 minutes).

After the pork is finished cooking, remove it from the pan leaving the apples and onions. Make a foil tent over the pork on a plate to keep warm [HINT--by making a tent and not simply covering the meat, you actually keep the meat warm by it's heat liberating and heating the air around it. If you just cover the pork with foil touching the meat, the heat from the meat simply radiates through the foil and cools off fast]

After you remove the pork, add the wine to the onions and apples and just a touch of butter, less than a tablespoon, which makes the sauce creamy.

Slice the pork at an angle across the grain adding the slices on top of the onions and apples.

I would recommend a slice of onion and apple slice with a bite of meat. The contrasting sweet/onion flavor with the mustard and fennel meld very well.

I served this with roasted baby new potatoes with olive oil, rosemary and paprika. We had a salad for a green dish....

I hope you ENJOY!!!!!

Easy Saltimbocca

2008-07-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

I just love this!

What you'll need:

4 turkey fillets or 4 veal escalopes
3 oz parma or prosciutto
bunch of sage leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
3/4 C white wine
3/4 C chicken stock

Assembly, let's do this in parts:

A. Pound the meat (escalope) to thin even slices and cut in half

B. Trim the parma ( I call it parma, easier to spell...) to fit the size of the meat and place over the meat. Lay a sage leaf on top. Roll up the escalopes and secure with a toothpick.

C. Heat oil in a skillet and saute the onion 3-4 minutes. Add the meat and cook for 5 minutes until brown all over. Pour in the wine and stock, simmer for 15 minutes (turkey), 20 minutes (veal) or until tender. Serve immediately.

Note: if you use turkey, keep a sharp eye out for the meat drying out.

I like to serve this with steamed green beans with almonds and baby corn. Simple and delicious.

UPDATE...

2008-07-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

I can't just post a recipe and not taste it. So I did the exact recipe for the ribeye.

I hope you all try it. It just was amazing. I garnished the steak with a very ripe avocado and whipped up a nice creamy mushroom risotto accompanied with three broiled asparagus twigs.

Easy Ribeye BBQ

2008-07-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

I thought of this today while I was at work. Why not take a nice ribeye steak, give it a rub with salt, pepper and a mixture of roasted (thus caramelized garlic) and a hint of chitople sauce and a touch of good extra virgin olive oil. Grill on high heat, turning 90 degrees to get those nice diamond grill marks, until [I like mine medium] but cook it until your liking.

Forget Construction: LET'S COOK!

2008-07-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

First of all, I like to eat what I like and you all will see that in my recipes. I live in california so you might see a lot of avacado, pepper sauce and spices you might not be used to. Give it a try!
So if something sounds off, weird or just insane bear with me, try it on your friends, what ever. I wouldn't post it unless it's good. [I have a friend that can attest to being my taste tester].

Let's cook. For the inaugural easy home chef recipe I've been thinking about this a lot and I have picked....drum roll........pork pot stickers.

Ingredients.
1 package of pork carnita meat ( I usually get from trader joe's, but most bigger grocery retailers are carrying this now)
one package won ton wrappers, small
bunch of cilantro
one medium sweet onion, finely chopped
touch of butter to saute the above, to your taste
1 cup vegetable broth
salt, pepper to taste
tablespoon of hoisin sauce (or to taste, I like the color it gives plus the spicy kick)

Chop the carnita meat into small bits and saute with butter on medium heat along with the onion and cilantro. When the onion is translucent, add the hoisin sauce, salt, pepper.

Meanwhile, wet a paper towel and keep the won ton wrappers wrapped up to resist drying. I give them a quick spray of pam then heat on a non-stick pan for about 10 seconds per side to make them easier to roll. After heating the won ton...

place the meat filling into the wrapper, don't overfill, I like to fill them about 1/2 full so I have room to crimp them shut, use your imagination and make a design crimp,...roll it up, pinch it or I tried to make a decorative flower once!

Heat a pan to fairly high heat, using no oil, pan just. Add the pot stickers and cook them until they stick, being careful not to let them burn. When they are good and stuck, add the vegetable broth, enough to just cover the pan not covering the stickers, maybe a 1/4 of the way up the sticker. Cover quickly, you want the steam from the broth to both let go of the sticker and to fully cook the exposed won ton.

Turn off the heat, let stand for 4 minutes and ENJOY.

I like to garnish the plate with some colorful cole slaw or serve them ontop of lettuce leaves with a little hoisin sauce drizzled on top.

I hope you like them!

still setting up the site..UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2008-07-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

so stay tuned for some great recipes! Enjoy

Welcome!!!!

2008-07-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have experience as a line chef (in addition to my professional scientific affiliations) in a fine dining kitchen and try to invent easy, yet tasty dishes at home. I've started this blog to share and get feedback on some of the recipes that I create. As I get this site up and running full time, i'll post and put an area for feedback. More yet to come!