AGE DASHI TOFU

Ingredients

4-6 oz. pieces soft tofu

Potato starch

Oil for deep frying

For the Sauce:
½ C. dashi (instant powder available where Asian foods are sold)

2 T. soy sauce

1½ T. mirin
Condiments

Bonito flakes (available where Asian foods are sold)

Green onions, thinly sliced

Grated ginger

Grated daikon (white radish)

Directions

Cut the soft tofu into rectangular pieces about 1″ thick.  Arrange the layers on paper towels and leave for 10-15 minutes to drain. Change the paper and turn over the slices.

Mix the sauce ingredients then heat in a pan until boiling.

Sprinkle potato starch on a plate. Arrange the tofu slices on it. Sprinkle more potato starch over the tofu. A powdered sugar shaker does a good job here.

Heat the oil to 355°F (180°C) for deep frying.

Pat any excess potato starch off the tofu slices and slide them into the hot oil, one by one. Don’t add too many slices at once, because the tofu lowers the oil temperature. Fry until golden, turning once.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

Arrange in a soup bowl, pour the sauce around the tofu. Top with a mound of grated daikon, a bit of grated ginger, and sliced green onions. You can also add a few bonito flakes

NORTH CAROLINA SWEET POTATO PARFAIT

North Carolina Sweet Potato Parfait was created by our own Ryan Becze, Executive Chef in Hearst’s EDR.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Cake:

7 oz. NC Sweet Potato, peeled and grated (Yield 6 oz.) 

6 oz. All Purpose Flour

½ tsp. Baking Power

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¼ tsp. Allspice, ground

¼ tsp. Cinnamon, ground

¼ tsp. Nutmeg, ground

¼ tsp. Ginger, ground

¼ tsp. Salt

6 oz. NC Sweet Potato, roasted and mashed (Yield 2 oz.)

5 oz. Sugar, granulated       

1 oz. Sugar, light brown

2 Eggs

3 oz. Yogurt, plain

3 oz. Canola Oil

Steamed Sweet Potato:

8 oz. NC Sweet Potato, peeled (Yield 6 oz.)

Sweet Potato Frizzle:

5 oz. NC Sweet Potato, Peeled (Yield 4 oz.)

Ginger Poached Cranberries:

1 oz. Fresh Ginger, peeled and sliced

8 oz. Sugar, granulated

16 oz. Water

8 oz. Cranberries. IOF

Roasted Pistachios:

1 oz. Pistachios

¼ tsp. Salt

Whipped Cream:

8 oz. Cream

½ oz. Sugar, granulated

Directions:

Sweet Potato Cake: Preheat convection oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, combine 6oz grated sweet potato, flour, baking powder, and soda. Add spices and salt, toss to combine, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2oz mashed sweet potato, sugars, egg, and yogurt. Slowly whisk oil into egg mixture. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and combine with a rubber spatula.  Do not over mix. Pour batter into a buttered and floured 8×4x3 loaf pan.  Bake at 325°F for about 1 hour, or until and internal temperature of 210°F. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Once cool, slice into 1/3 inch slices, then into cubes.

Steamed Sweet Potato: Dice sweet potato, approximately 1/3 inches on each side. Steam for 8 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Cool.

Sweet Potato Frizzle: Finely julienne the sweet potato using the fine teeth of a Japanese mandolin. Place potatoes in a wire mesh and deep fry at 320°F until bubbles dissipate and potatoes crisp. Shake off excess oil and place on paper towels to cool.

Ginger Poached Cranberries: In a 2 qt sauce pan, combine ginger, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil. Add cranberries, reduce to a slow simmer. Cook just until cranberries are tender, but not burst open. Cool in syrup.

Roasted Pistachios: Preheat convection oven to 325°F. Roast pistachios until slightly toasted. Season with salt. Cool.

Whipped Cream: Combine cream and sugar in a bowl. Whisk to medium peak.

Assembly Instructions: In the bottom of a martini glass, add 1 Tbsp cranberries and ginger syrup. Place steamed sweet potato cubes on top of cranberries. Sprinkle a few roasted pistachios on top of the potato. Add cubed sweet potato cake to just below the rim. Top with whipped cream, and level the top with a spatula. Garnish with cake and potato cubes, cranberries, pistachios, and potato frizzle. Serve chilled with a spoon.

CURRIED KABOCHA SQUASH & MUSHROOMS

Ingredients

½ C. Thai Green Curry Paste

2 C. Coconut Milk

½ C. Water

2 t. Sugar

½ C. Onion, sliced

1 C. Crimini Mushroom, quartered

1 C. Kabocha Squash, peeled, cut in 1 in. cubes

1 T. Canola Oil

Directions

In a straight sided sauté pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. After about 30 seconds add the onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the curry paste and cook this until it is very fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes.

Add half the coconut milk and smooth out the curry paste. Add the remaining coconut milk and water then bring to a boil.

Add the mushrooms and squash and simmer until the squash is tender. Add the sugar and adjust the salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with cooked jasmine rice.

Food safety is as important for the home cook as it is for the professional cook. Think about how you thaw your frozen Thanksgiving Turkey. I think the most common method is to leave it out at room temperature until it has thawed. This is unsafe because it will take around eight hours to thaw. This results in the outer portion of the bird thawing first and sitting at room temperature for most of that time.

 Acceptable methods are to thaw it under refrigeration, which will take about three days OR set it under cold running water for a few hours until it is thawed. These two methods are the only methods that are considered safe when defrosting meat.

In our kitchen, we have a color-coded system for our cutting boards. Red plastic cutting boards are used for raw protein, Green cutting boards are used for raw produce and White cutting boards are used for ready-to-eat foods. We use plastic because it doesn’t harbor bacteria like wooden cutting boards do. At Café 57, we take extra precautions by using the different colors. This is another safety measure to prevent cross contamination.

When the plastic cutting boards become excessively scored we replace them. The grooves that are made by cutting against a board can trap food particles, if you don’t wash it well bacteria will grow. All of our cutting boards go into the pot washing machine to be cleaned and sanitized.

It’s a good idea to follow the same rules when you are at home. Make sure you have a cutting board that you only used for raw protein. It will help you reduce the risk of cross contamination, as well as food poisoning at home.

GOAN FISH CURRY

Ingredients

1 lemon size tamarind

2 T. ginger paste

1 T. malt vinegar

4 lb. firm white fish filet, preferably with the skin.

1/2 C. unsweetened shredded coconut

6 red chilies, whole, dried

2 T. Olive Oil

2 Jalapeno

2 T. coriander seeds

1 small onion

1 small tomato

2 t. garlic paste

2 t. cumin seeds

1 ½ C. water

Kosher salt to taste

Instructions:

Portion the fish filets into 4 oz pieces. Cut the onions and tomatoes into ½ inch pieces. Thinly slice the jalapeno.

Roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and whole red chilies in a sauté pan over medium heat until they are fragrant. Let them cool and grind in a spice grinder. In a food processor make a fine paste of all the roasted spices along with the coconut, ginger, garlic paste and malt vinegar and set aside. Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan. Add the onions and cook until golden brown.

Add the jalapeno and cut tomato then cook over medium heat for about three minutes stirring constantly. Mix in the paste and water. Bring it to a boil and then add the fish pieces and salt. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes or until the fish is just done.

WILD RICE, QUINOA & BULGUR WHEAT SALAD

Ingredients

 1 C. wild rice, cooked

 1 ½ C. Quinoa, cooked

 1 ½ C. Bulgur Wheat, soaked, drained

½ C. Sundried Tomato, sliced

½ C. Scallion, sliced thin

½ C. Olives of your choice, pitted, cut in half

½ C. Parsley leaves, rough chopped

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Vinaigrette

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

3 T. chopped shallot

2 t. Dijon mustard

1 C. extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Directions

For the vinaigrette add the mustard, shallots and lemon juice to a bowl. Whisk the oil in slowly until the dressing is emulsified. Set aside for the salad.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Dress with vinaigrette to taste. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Save the extra vinaigrette for another salad.

Chill before serving.

ARTICHOKE BARIGOULE

2 Lemons

¼ C. Olive Oil

1 Large Onion, medium dice

3 Carrots, medium dice

2 Stalks Celery, medium diced

5 cloves Garlic, smashed

2 Bay leaves

2 Thyme sprigs

½ t. Coriander seed

1 ½ C. Dry White Wine

1 ½ C. Water

¼ C. Basil leaves

¼ C. Parsley leaves

Kosher Salt

Ground Black Pepper
Instructions:
1. Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze the juice of one lemon into it. To clean the artichokes, with a sharp knife cut the top1/2 inch off and discard then start peeling the dark green leaves until you reach yellow leaves. With a pairing knife trim and peel the base and stem. Then cut in half and add to the lemon water.
2. In a large deep skillet heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, carrot and celery and cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes without browning. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves, thyme and coriander seed and cook for an additional minute. Add the wine, water, juice of 1 lemon and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook about 3 minutes.
3. Drain the artichokes and add them to the pot. Let the vegetables come back to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook about 10 minutes or until the artichokes are tender.
4. Gently remove the artichokes and vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon and reserve in a wide dish so you don’t crowd the artichokes. Return the pot with the broth to high heat and reduce by half. Transfer the broth to a blender and add the basil and parsley and puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning then add the broth back to the artichokes.
5. This can be served immediately or cooled and served at room temperature.

 One of my Chef’s Tables this past week was a demo on making fresh mozzarella cheese. Once you have the cheese curd it’s very simple. To purchase curd, try your local Italian Deli or any place that sells fresh mozzarella. Bring 1.5 gallons of water to a boil and add enough kosher or sea salt to make the water as salty as sea water. Remove the water from the heat and set aside. Using a bowl large enough to hold the cheese curd and cover it with water, break the curd into pieces about the size of a quarter. When the water drops to about 180 degrees pour enough over the curd to cover it completely. With a wooden spoon, start folding the curd in the bowl until it starts to melt together. Then, start stretching the cheese with the spoon until its smooth. If the water in the bowl is not hot enough, add more from the pot. When the cheese is smooth, break off pieces and form into balls like pizza dough then submerge it in cold water to set.

 Mozzarella di Bufala is made from the milk of water buffalo raised in designated areas of Lazio and Campania in Italy and holds a PDO (protected designation of origin) under the European Union. Mozzarella fior di latte is made from cow’s milk that can be from anywhere in the world. Both can be stored for up to a week in salted water under refrigeration.

“Mozzare” means “to cut” in a Neapolitan dialect of Italian spoken in Campania. Mozzarella got its name from the method of working the cheese, then cutting a piece off to form the individual ball.

Why make fresh mozzarella when you can buy it? Taste it while it’s still warm and you’ll have your answer. I hope you enjoyed our demo, there’s more to come.

Ginger– Peach Lemonade by Alexcia Smith

 Ingredients:

 Lemonade:

 1 c. Lemon Juice

 4 c. Water

 ½ c. Ginger Simple Syrup

1 Peach, thinly sliced

3 sprigs Fresh Mint

Ginger Simple Syrup:

1 c. Water

1c. Sugar

1 – 3” piece of Ginger, peeled & thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine sugar, water & ginger.

2. Cook until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally.

3. When sugar has dissolved, remove from heat & let cool. Leave ginger pieces in the syrup.

4. In a large pitcher, combine water, lemon juice & cooled ginger syrup. Stir to incorporate flavors.

5. Add sliced peaches & mint sprigs for garnish. Chill & serve.

Download Ginger-Peach Lemonade Recipe Card (53)