Crab Egg White Omelet

I'm a bit behind in my blog updates, but I wanted to share with y'all another wonderful lunch that I made for my mom and I a couple of weeks ago. Clearly, we were trying to use up the wonderful lump crab meat leftover from the deviled eggs on Father's Day... So, I decided to make us some egg white omelets with crab meat.

I started by heating a nonstick skillet with a bit of coconut oil spray on medium high. Once it is nice and hot, I added in 1/2 c. egg whites (or about 3 egg whites). When that starts to set around the sides, tossed in some crab meat, halved cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, snipped chives, and salt & pepper. I folded over the first half once it looked almost completely set and then slid it on to the plate. I garnished the omelet with some sliced avocado, extra chopped chives, and a few drops of siracha and organic dijon. Best omelet I have ever had!

For my dad, I made a crab salad sandwich by mixing the rest of the crab meat with some mayonaisse, dijon, old bay crab seasoning, salt, pepper, and a no-salt seasoning mix. Piled that on a roll with a bit of cheese.. he loved it!

Crab & Avocado Salad; Vegetable Bake

Today was a scorcher!! I tried to run on the boardwalk this morning and it was almost unbearable! By 11:30, temperatures were reaching 96 degrees! My mom and I were supposed to take a walk to Ocean Grove (about a mile away) for lunch, but I decided to surprise her by making lunch instead.. I figured it would be a little unpleasant walking to lunch in this heat!

My mom arrived home from her tennis match around 12:30 and this special lunch was awaiting her on the balcony:
I searched the fridge for anything that would taste good in this salad, and I must say that this salad was AMAZING. It consisted of a bed of mixed greens, chopped red bell pepper, chopped jicama, avocado, heirloom cherry tomatoes, lump crab meat, and a laughing cow cheese wedge crumbled on top.

We didn't have many dressings to choose from, so I took out some Bragg's Amino Acids spray, Frank's Sweet Chili Sauce, and Siraracha Sauce. The combinations of these 3 condiments were perfect on this salad!
Yum! What a refreshing summer lunch! I also had some sparkling water with lemon for both of us. We were both very satisfied :)

It's just my mom and I at the beach house today, so we wanted to take advantage of the moment without any boys to make a healthy vegetarian meal. I would normally go to my computer and search my library of recipes, but my computer broked down!!!! Yea, just won't turn on. All of my cookbooks are at the other house, so my only other choice was to make up something myself. I LOVE making up recipes. Especially when I know my mom loves the same foods I do. I had a basic idea in my head of what I wanted to make (a vegetable/cheese bake), but was very flexible with the ingredients depending on what looked fresh at the grocery store.

This was the end product:
Vegetable "Lasagna":

Ingredients:
-1 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise (I used a funky yellow zucchini that looked really fresh at Wegmans!)
-1 white eggplant, thinly sliced (or you can use any small eggplant)
-1 8 oz package of sliced shitake mushrooms
-1 12 oz package of baby spinach
-2 ripe tomatoes on the vine, sliced
-3/4 cup fat free or low fat cottage cheese
-1/3 cup packed basil leaves, chopped + whole leaves for garnish
-olive oil spray
-2 T. balsamic vinegar
-Coconut oil or spray
-salt and pepper
-1/4 c. crumbled goat cheese
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1/4 tsp. garlic flakes
-about 1 cup of your favorite marinara

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Arrange eggplant slices on a sheet tray and spray both sides with olive oil and brush with balsamic vinegar. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Bake approximately 15-20 minutes or until cooked through and browned (flipping halfway through).
3. Heat a 9 inch skillet over medium heat and spray with coconut spray (or add 1 tsp coconut oil).
4. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. garlic flakes. Reserve.
5. In the same skillet, spray again with coconut spray or add another tsp. of coconut oil. Heat on high.
6. Add shitake mushrooms and cook until the moisture is evaporated and mushrooms are browned. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.
7. Mix the cottage cheese with salt, pepper, chopped basil and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.
8. In an 8x8" casserole dish spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce and layer the zucchini, overlapping.
9. Add a thin layer of cottage cheese mixture (about half of it) and top with spinach and mushrooms. Top with more sauce and the eggplant. Add the rest of the cottage cheese and sliced tomatoes. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.
10. Uncover the casserole and increase the oven heat to 400 degrees. Top with goat cheese. Bake for another 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and a bit browned.
11. Important: Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing! My mom and I were too impatient and hungry and dug right in. BIG mistake.. It was too watery and didn't set yet. We realized later that the casserole cut better once it cooled off a bit!
Served on the balcony with some Zinfindel, ice water in a JAR (such a cool way to serve drinks), and Copolla crushed red pepper.

We were licking our bowls because it was SO good! I can't wait to make it again!

Perfect Summer Meal

This past week I have been craving a summer meal consisting of fresh seafood and a bright summer salsa. I have made Ellie Krieger's crabs cakes many times in the past and it has always been a hit. With a minimum amount of fillers, but a lot of flavor, this is the perfect healthy version of a crab cake. You can find the recipe here... I followed the recipe exactly, except I used whole wheat bread crumbs and did not use the tarter sauce.

To go along with the crab cakes, I made a salsa that I have been thinking about all week! I didn't know how it would turn out, but it was AWESOME and the perfect addition to the crab cakes. It was a bit spicy from a jalepeno pepper and sweet from the mango. Here's the recipe:

1 ripe mango, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped roma tomatoes
1 jalepeno pepper, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 T. lime juice
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

I served the crab cakes over a small bed of peppery arugula, topped with the salsa and a few drops of siracha. Of course I added more siracha after this picture was taken :) I like everything super spicy!!
I also made a mustard sauce for dipping, since I knew my dad wouldn't like the salsa or siracha and my family loves a selection of condiments! I mixed dijon mustard with non-fat strained yogurt (siggi's..but you can also use any greek yogurt) and apricot preserves. This was an amazing sauce that was tangy from the yogurt, sweet from the preserves and a bit spicy from the dijon. I will definitely be making this sauce again to top fish, chicken, or even steak!

We also had some fresh corn on the cob with our crab cakes. I love having corn on the cob in the summer!

Lesson 106: Mousselines, Pan-Smoking, Ceviche

I was feeling like a million bucks today after a good night's sleep and finally recovering from the crazy night on Tuesday :)

Instead of each group preparing different recipes, every group prepared the same 5 recipes. Before we all got working on our mis en place, Chef demonstrated how to fillet a salmon and red snapper. We've seen how to filet these fish many times throughout our culinary education, but a refresher is always helpful. I tried to take a video of the demo, but my memory card couldn't hold a long video. Here's part of Chef Chris's demo on how to fillet a salmon:



This is a picture of Chef Chris demo'ing the red snapper:

I worked on the Pan-Smoked Trout with Honey-Poppy Seed Citrus Dressing. I began by preparing the brine, which included a lot of salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, pickling spices, and honey. I dissolved these spices in boiling water and then cooled the mixture down by adding more ice water. I added the pan-dressed trout to the brine and let it marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. In the meantime, I made the dressing and helped my team members out with the other recipes. At 3:30 I put my trout in the smoker and left it in there for about 35-40 minutes.

I also worked on breaking down the fois gras. After separating the lobes, I removed all of the veins and seasoned it with the brine we made yesterday, along with some brandy and port. Doesn't it look yummy?

We are making the fois gras terrine tomorrow after it marinates overnight.

The other recipes today included:

Japanese Pickled Vegetables (or as our book said: "Javanese")


Thai Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche:


Tea and Spice Smoked Salmon:


Seafood Mousseline:


Remember the brioche dough I made yesterday? We wrapped our terrines with the dough and baked it today. It was delicious!

I can't believe tomorrow is our last lesson! Very bittersweet....

Hors D'oeuvre II

What better place to spend a rainy Monday afternoon than in the kitchen?

Today was our second (and last) day of hors d'oeuvres. Hors d'oeuvres are tough because they're a bit time consuming since you have to assemble individual bites and make them look presentable. I actually really enjoyed preparing these recipes..not to mention, it's fun to taste everyone else's bite-sized hors d'euvres.

Kim and I worked together to prepare Goat Cheese Mousse with Beet Quennelles and Buckwheat Blini with American Caviar.

The goat cheese mousse was simply a puree of goat cheese, milk, creme fraiche, roasted garlic, cumin, extra virgin olive oil, and walnut oil. There's a bit of gelatin in the mousse to help the mixture firm up and create a smooth, silky consistency. We also folded in some ground walnuts and minced chives. We topped each little mousse with a beet mixture that I made by mincing cooked beets with olive oil, canola, sherry vinegar, salt, and pepper. You definitely have to like goat cheese to enjoy this hors d'oeuvre (I LOVE goat cheese!).. The consistency was perfectly silky and the beets added a nice hint of sweetness to the tart goat cheese.
The blini were also very interesting to make. The batter was made with warm milk, yeast, sugar, buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt. After the mixture fermented and doubled in size, we added in an egg yolk and some beer. (This was all mixed up in the industrial-sized food processor to create a light, airy batter). Right before cooking the cakes, we folded in a whipped egg white. Then, we put the batter in a squeeze bottle to make it easier to create tiny "pancakes". The cakes tasted very interesting--they were light, but you could taste the beer in them (Kim and I were tempted to finish the beer.. we were good though!). They went perfectly with the accompaniements of caviar, creme fraiche, and chopped chives:

My group also made Shrimp Shao Mai Dumplings: (And unpictured Duxesses & Fois Gras Palmiers and Chicken Sate Yakitori)
At 4:00 all three groups presented their dishes. There was a lot to try today! A new class started today down the hall, so they came in our kitchen to sample our food. I'm jealous that it was their first day.. I don't want to be done with school!! I was also jealous of their crisp white uniforms... ours definitely aren't crisp or white anymore! Anyways, back to the food...

Chicken Sate with Southeast Asian Dipping Sauce:

Vegetable Confetti Pancakes with Tomatillo Salsa:

Thai Spring Rolls:

Spicy Crab Remoulade:

Smoked Salmon Parfait Shot Glasses:

Beef Sate with Peanut Dipping Sauce:

Smoked Salmon Crepes with Cream Cheese and Caviar:

Scallop and Pork Spring Rolls:

Coconut Shrimp in Puff Pastry Shells:

Tomato Mousse with Sun-Dried Tomato & Zucchini Quenelles:
We are making a sausages tomorrow which should be interesting! Then I'm having a girl's night out in the city with my sister :)

One more thing.. Kim brought in cookes from Levain Bakery for us to try. Let me just say, it was the most amazing cookie I have ever tasted. They were HUGE and cake-like with chocolate chips that are all gooey (which I don't understand because the cookie wasn't warmed up). So basically, I'm going to have to plan a trip to this bakery very soon because I need more cookies!!!!!

Lesson 102: Hors D'oeuvre I

I believe everyone has a case of "senior-itis"... Chef told us it's common for classes to start slacking at the point of the program. We're done with our practical exam and only have 5 lessons less until graduation.. so I think we are all ready to be done and have our externships on our mind.

However, when I think about only having 5 classes left, it makes me really sad! I can honestly say that these past 6 months have been the most exciting, challenging, exhausting, and FUN months of my life. I think back to orientation day when I was first introduced to my 15 classmates and stepped into kitchen 1401 for the very first time. I was a bundle of nerves and was super shy. Now I can walk into the kitchen with confidence and enjoy four hours of cooking every day with my classmates that have become my friends. Yea, there are occasional fights and lash-outs and also some tears shed from time to time.. but 9 times out of 10 we're laughing together and working as a team to cook our hearts out.

Today we may have been a bit slower than usual and lost our sense of timing, but I think today was just a fluke day (and it's Friday..) and we'll be back to our hard-working selves on Monday! Even though we presented our food a bit late and did not put as much time in our presentation, the food was still delicious. Each group made 5 different hors d'oevres that were packed with flavor and could be enjoyed in just one or two bites.

Nora and I worked together to make these Curried Lamb Phyllo Triangles:

These were made with ground lamb, onion, garlic, tomato, curry powder, cayenne, veal stock, yogurt, scallion, lemon juice, and fresh mint. After this mixture cooled, we assembled the phyllo triangles.

Nora and I also prepared the Braised Manila Clams with Sausage and White Beans:
We braised the clams in wine, shallots, and thyme. Then, we cooked up some Italian sausage, shallot, garlic, sage, and white beans. We pureed this mixture to top the baby clams.

My group also prepared these other 3 hors d'oevres:
Beef Empanadas:
Vegetable Pakora Fritters with Tamarind Chuntney:
Spicy Shrimp Fritters:
The following plates were made by the other groups in the class.

Mussles with Orange-Saffron Sauce:

Mushroom Phyllo Triangles:
Shrimp Toasts:
Chorizo and Tomato Phyllo Triangles:
Fried Oysters:
Risotto Croquettes with Fontina Cheese:
Coconut Shrimp with Tamarind Dipping Sauce:
Not Pictured: Indian Potato Samosas, Cod Fritters, and Crispy Duck Wontons with Coconut-Soy Dipping Sauce

This was a really tough week for all of us. Hopefully we'll all rest up this weekend so we're ready for our very last week of lessons!

Market Basket Challenge Day 2

Today was much the same as yesterday. We had a bit more of a general idea of what ingredients we would have because everything that was left over from yesterday was fair game to use today. We also got some other different ingredients, including some seafood.

In my mind, I was planning on making a cut of beef with a really nice cherry tomato sauce (I remembered seeing a ton of cherry tomatoes yesterday). However, when I saw the mackerel, I decided to change my menu a bit.

I thought that if I seasoned my fish with lots of spices then it would pair well with a fresh salsa. I made a salsa out of roasted yellow bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, olive oil, and balsamic.

I also had a beet side-dish stuck in my head. I wasn't sure if it would go with my fish and salsa theme, but I decided to give it a try. I made a goat cheese polenta with beets and swiss chard. I loved this polenta!! When I went to plate my dish, I realized that the color of the polenta (which turned pink from the beets!) totally clashed with my fish and salsa. Oh well, whaddaya gonna do? I presented my plate with confidence to Chef Chris. He also commented on my..um weird.. color scheme, but he loved all of the components of the dish. My fish was cooked perfectly with a crispy skin, my salsa was super fresh and nicely seasoned, and my polenta was obviously awesome. Overall, I was happy with the end result:

(Spicy mackerel with a roasted pepper & tomato salsa; Goat cheese polenta with beets, swiss chard, and fresh thyme)

Tomorrow is my FINAL practical! I seriously cannot believe that this is my very last practical in culinary school. I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm confident that if I stay calm I will do absolutely fine. Here is my practical that Chef Chris made up himself to only give to his students:
-Knife skills-- small-dice mirepoix, fine mince garlic, fine mince shallot, prepare 1 sachet and present complete mise en place for braising
-Fabricate 1 whole chicken into 2 breasts (both frenched), 2 legs (thighs separated from drums), and 2 wings
-Braise the chicken legs, thighs and wings. Present in a hot bowl with 2-3 oz sauce.
-Make a paillard out of 1 breast and Grill
-Pan sear the other breast and present it with a pan sauce
-Cook green vegetables properly: asparagus, brocolli, and haricot vert
-Prepare a root vegetable puree and present in an 8 ox souffle cup

All stuff I have done before, but this is a lot to get done in the time we are given. I'm looking forward to the challenge!

My mom will also be coming to school with me tomorrow! She'll be attending the Chef Guarnaschelli demo while I'm taking my practical (I wish I could go with her!!)..Afterwards, we're having dinner at Blossom, a vegan restaurant in Chelsea. Tomorrow will definitely be an exciting day!!

Modern Culinary Masters-- Daniel Boulud

Today was the best day of my life.

Just kidding, although I did have a wonderful day. Whenever we ask Chef how he's doing, he always responds "today's the best day of my life" in a serious voice. I love it.

Before class I stopped at Starbucks to eat my lunch and have some tea. I had the lovely pleasure of meeting Edward, the man who sat next to me and decided to strike up conversation. Actually, that's an understatement.. he actually decided to tell me his whole life story. I learned about his long trips to Mississippi and what he likes to do in his free time on the weekends. Things got weird when he asked me if I wanted to listen to his ipod with him, so I chugged my tea and bolted. He gave me a Lifesaver mint as a parting gift..... weird.

I got to class nice and early to help set up the kitchen. There is a lot of prep to get the kitchen exactly how Chef likes it. Once we went over the recipes, Kim and I started working on the Soupe au Pistou. The soup used vegetable stock as a base, so we decided to "fortify" the stock that was given us by adding more vegetables, herbs, and spices to it. This increased the depth of flavor, which really affected the outcome of our soup.

The soup required a lot of prep work and chopping. It is basically a French version of minestrone, so we prepped a lot of different vegetables and aromatics. Once our soup got going, we made an awesome pesto sauce to top the soup with. We made this sauce to taste by blending fresh basil, parmesan cheese, lightly toasted pinenuts, and garlic. While these ingredients were pureeing, we streamed in extra virgin olive oil. After adding more cheese, pine nuts, salt, and pepper, this pesto was perfect! It was the perfect topping to our soup.

We also changed the recipe of our soup a bit by adding tomato puree. This added a nice sweetness and made the broth my hearty. We also added some torn basil for a bit of freshness. The end result was perfect. Chef complimented us on our soup and even said it was one of the best minestrone soups he's tasted... I'll take it!

Matty and Allison made a Crisp Paupiette of Sea Bass with Red Wine Sauce. It was a beautiful presentation and a very delectable dish. The sea bass was coated with paper-thin slices of potatoes and sauteed until the outer layer of potatoes were crispy:

Rob and Nora made the Baby Chicken and Squash Casserole with Rosemary. They also dried some tomatoes and used it as a garnish. This was another wonderful dish!

The other groups made some other impressive dishes. My favorite was the Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Sage Croutons:

Obviously, I also loved the Lobster Ravioli on Spinach Leaves in a Ginger Cream Sauce:

Lamb Chops with Lemon -Pignoli Crust and Oven Roasted Vegetables:

Billi-Bi Cressonniere (Vegetable cream soup with mussels):

Maine Sea Scallops in Black Tie (Layers of scallops and black truffles in puff pastry):
Creamy Rabbit Casserole with Nine Spring Herbs:
After making these recipes, I am dying to go to Daniel Boulud's restaurant (appropriately named "Daniel") in NYC.

I was kind of bummed because Chef asked the class if we would want to skip Thomas Keller's recipes tomorrow and have a class of knife skills. Most of the class said they wanted the knife skills lesson. The recipes for tomorrow looked sooo good. Oh well, at least I'll get some much needed practice. Chef said that we can make some of the recipes, although we will spend most of the class on knife skills. At least tomorrow's FRIDAY!!!!