Tag: culinary school

Garlic & Blue Cheese Green Bean Almondine – I Just Couldn’t Do It

When I went to culinary school in the early Eighties, the
chef instructors used “Green Beans Almondine” as a prime example for the kind
of stodgy, clichéd, faux-fancy, vegetable side dishes that we were supposed to
eradicate shortly after graduation. 

This was the dawn of a new age of American
cookery, and something so old-fashioned as green beans almondine had no place
along side our newfangled raspberry vinaigrettes and cajun fish.


There was only one problem with this prohibition…green
beans and almonds tasted really good together, and made for a lovely side dish once in
a while. Of course, fearing you’d be laughed out of the young, hot cooks club
(hot from heat, not from hotness) you just didn’t dare make or serve such a
dinosaur.


Anyway, to make a long story short, I’ve finally done a
green beans almondine video, but added roasted garlic and blue cheese to it,
just in case any of my old classmates are watching.  I actually did this at Thanksgiving, sans nuts, and it got
rave reviews, so I had a feeling the addition of the slivered almonds would
work just fine, and they did! I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4-6 portions:
1 pound green beans, blanched in boiling, salted water until
almost tender
3 heads garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
1/3 cup sliced almonds browned in 1 tsp butter
2 oz Pt. Reyes blue cheese, or other blue cheese
400 degrees F. for 15 minutes

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Lemon Berry Tartlets – Puff and Stuff

About 30 years ago, I made puff pastry from scratch in
culinary school. It came out really, really well, and I haven’t made it since.
Why? Because frozen puff pastry is so readily available, so consistently
perfect, and so easy to work with, that the thought of going through all the
time and trouble to make my own seems kind of crazy.


Of course, that’s a poor attitude for a cook, and one I’ve
been fighting against all these years as I convince people that making your own
bread, dressings, cheese, crème fraiche, etc. is a worthwhile pursuit. So,
eventually I will show you how to make puff pastry, and hopefully somehow
reconcile this obvious hypocrisy, but for now, we defrost.

By the way, I realize that berry season is probably over
where you live, but fresh California blackberries were still around a few weeks
ago when I filmed this video, and so I’m posting it anyway, seasonality be
damned. This is really about the technique for making little puff pastry tart
shells anyway, and I’m very confident you’ll figure out how to fill them.


Speaking of which, don’t limit your brainstorming to sweet
treats. These lovely little cups make for a stellar base for all kinds of
savory bites. I’ve filled these with sautéed mushrooms, chicken salads, and
smoked salmon, just to name a few. Regardless of what you fill them with, they
will be very well received. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 12 tartlets:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, partially thawed (you should get
12 tartlets if you use a 2-inch cutter like I did)
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup lemon curd, vanilla custard, chocolate mousse,
whipped cream, or other appropriate filling
12 fresh blackberries
powdered sugar, as needed
*Bake puff pastry at 400 degrees F. for 13-15 minutes, allow
to fully cool before filling.

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Orange Duck – Orange You Glad I Didn’t Call It Duck a l’Orange?

I don’t think I’ve made Duck “a l’Orange” since culinary school, nor tried to pronounce it, but thanks to a rather enticing photo in a friend’s cookbook, I decided to go full culinary time machine, and I’m so glad I did.


That friend would be award-winning food blogger and author, Hank Shaw. He’s recently published a cookbook called Duck, Duck, Goose: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Waterfowl, Both Farmed and Wild, which was the inspiration for this gorgeous, and very easy dish. Still looking for a sexy Valentine’s entrée? You could do a lot worse.

This is one of those classic dishes that somehow became a cliché, and people stopped making it for fear of looking un-cool, which is too bad, since it’s really good. This is traditionally done with a whole roasted duck, but by using breasts we get pretty much the same results, in a lot less time.


My version is very close to Hank’s, except I don’t use orange juice. I prefer the flavor of the sauce with just marmalade, zest, and Grand Marnier. Speaking of the Grand Marnier, other than other orange liquors, I’ll be offering no alternatives. That’s what literally gives the sauce its soul.

By the way, if you want to raise your “game” game, I encourage you to check out Hank’s cookbook. I think it’s very well done, and gets basically all 5-star reviews on Amazon. So, check that out, check this out, and as always enjoy!


Ingredients for 2 portions:
2 duck breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp duck fat or vegetable oil
1 tsp flour
2 tsp grated orange zest
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (orange liquor)
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
pinch of cayenne
1 rounded tbsp orange marmalade (preferably Seville orange marmalade)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
extra zest for garnish

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