Summer couldn’t be a more perfect time to try Chef Jameel‘s Red Wine and Chocolate Milk Braised Short Ribs recipe. Packed with savory ingredients and a delectable burst of flavor, these specialty short ribs will be the dish you’ll crave all summer! Find the recipe below.
Ingredients
8 beef short ribs
2 carrots (rough chop)
½ celery stalk
4 garlic cloves
2 onions (rough chop)
2 thyme (fresh sprigs)
2 oregano (fresh sprigs)
4 cups beef stock
1 TBS tomato paste
1 bottle of dry red wine
4 cups chocolate milk
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat, season the ribs aggressively with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.
Fry the ribs in small batches, add oil as needed. 2-5 mins per batch, place the rest of the ribs in a separate pan.
Cut down your heat in the same pan, add your onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
Cook on low for 1-3 mins.
Deglaze the pan with red wine.
Scrape the bottom of the pan, add beef stock and let it come to a boil.
Add chocolate milk and add the short ribs to the pan.
Wrap tightly and cook in the oven at 275 degrees for 2.5 hours.
A traditional Southern dish, Shrimp and Grits is hands-down one of the tastiest comfort foods we’ve had. Our July Chef of the Month, Jameel Chambers has shared with us his go-to Shrimp and Grits Recipe. It’s simple to make and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Find it below!
Ingredients
1 cup grits
1 cup milk
1 cup water
4 TBS butter
1 tsp chopped garlic
16 oz shrimp
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
½ cup sweet chili
Directions
Bring milk and water to a boil, reduce heat and add grits. Stir frequently to prevent clumping.
Add butter, stir in well and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Heat up a medium saute pan with oil.
Season the shrimp with salt,pepper and paprika.
Add shrimp to the hot pan until bright red then glaze the pan with sweet chili.
We welcome the sizzling month of July with our impressive July Chef of the Month, Jameel Chambers! Born & residing in Cleveland, Ohio, the talented Chef Jameel comes from a family of cooks. It was only expected that he too, would continue in the talented profession. He owns the Atrium Cafe – a Cleveland-based restaurants. Chef Jameel also does catering & private events. Get ready to hype up your July, there’s a lot of awesome recipes that will be coming your way. Plus, check out his look!
We’re delighted to introduce our November 2018 Chef of the Month, Gina Sansonia! Chef Gina is the Executive Chef/Owner of Cucina Bambina, a mobile, gourmet Italian eatery that is located in Hollywood, FL. Gina is a driven and passionate chef, with a zest for life…and basil! We can’t wait to share her story and delicious recipes! Read below to learn about Chef Gina Sansonia and her passion for food.
1. Where were you born?
I was born and raised in New York.
2. Where do you work and where are you based?
I’m the Executive Chef/Owner of Cucina Bambina Inc. We’re a mobile, Gourmet Italian Eatery based out of Hollywood, FL. We travel all over the state participating in various festivals in addition to catering private events.
3. What is your favorite kitchen tool in creating your masterpieces/dishes?
I have an obsession with spoons…. they’re just so handy!
4.What is your sharpest sense out of all the 5 senses?
I have a keen sense of smell.
5. What advice would you offer for aspiring chefs?
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. If you have passion, drive, a strong work ethic and a vision….you can make it happen-you just have to put in the work
6. What is one culinary tip every chef should know and perfect?
Work smarter, not harder.
7. What does good food mean to you?
I firmly believe that good food comes from the heart, along with quality ingredients.
8. What features are important to you when selecting your chef outfit?
COMFORT and style.
9. Favorite ingredient to work with?
I’m OBSESSED with basil.😍
10. Favorite City to dine out in?
NYC, baby! Although I would like to check out the Chicago food scene. I hear amazing things.
11. Best Dish you have ever made?
I make a mean rice ball if I do say so myself and many call me “The Meatball Queen”. Both of those are always crowd pleasers.
12. What do you like to eat most on your days off?
I typically don’t sit down and eat structured “meals”. I’m content with a good old bag of Doritos surprisingly enough!
13. Person you most like to cook for?
Hands down my nieces and nephews. I love how excited and engaged they become. It really is special.
14. What made you decide to become a chef?
After losing my father to cancer, and being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, it made me look at food differently and (not to sound cliché) made me realize that life is too short. I just went for it!
Pair Pork Belly with a subtle blend of peas and carrots using Chef Penelope’s elegant recipe. This recipe highlights the use of various spices to activate rich, complex flavors in the pork and vegetable blend. Serves up to 4 plates – see Chef Penelope Wong’s recipe below!
Ingredients
Pork Belly
10 oz. pork belly, skin diamond scored
4 oz. store bought or house made hoisin sauce
4 oz. light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. ground toasted fennel seeds
2 oz. toasted sesame oil
2 oz. olive oil
2 C. chicken stock
Carrot Puree
1 shallot, minced
2 C. peeled, rough chopped carrots
s&p
pinch star anise
¼ tsp. ground toasted fennel seed
pinch ground clove
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground Szechuan peppercorn
2 C. chicken stock
Anise Glazed Heirloom Carrot
1 bunch assorted heirloom carrots, peel, tops trimmed and halved
4 oz. unsalted butter
1 star anise pod
4 oz. granulated sugar
4 oz. chicken stock
1 C. cleaned English peas
8 oz. brown butter
2 oz. pea tendrils
Directions
Pork Belly
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Rub pork belly with hoisin, brown sugar, white pepper and fennel seeds.
Heat a roasting pan on high heat with sesame oil and olive oil.
When the pan is hot, place the pork belly, skin side down and sear. Cook for 8 minutes, or until skin starts to caramelize.
Flip over and sear the other side for an additional 5 minutes.
Add in chicken stock and cover with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven.
Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tender and cooked through. remove aluminum foil and continue to roast for 15-20 more minutes, or until skin is browned and crisp.
Slice into 4 thick 2.5 oz. slices, reserve for plating.
Carrot Puree
In a small stock pot, saute minced shallot with 1 tsp. olive oil.
Add in chopped carrots, salt & pepper, star anise, fennel seed, clove, cinnamon and Szechuan peppercorn.
Continue to saute for 3-5 minutes, until carrots begin cooking and spices become fragrant.
Add in chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and allow to cook at a slow boil for 20 minutes.
Transfer carrots and ½ amount of stock into a high speed vitamix blender.
Add in 2 oz. chilled unsalted butter.
Puree on low speed gradually increasing to high speed and continue to puree until mixture becomes smooth.
Add in more of the cooking liquid if necessary.
Anise Glazed Heirloom Carrots
In a saute pan, heat butter.
When butter melts, add in halved carrots and saute for 3 minutes.
Add in star anise pod and sugar, continue to saute for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Add in stock and reduce heat to medium low, making sure carrots are mostly submerged.
Continue to cook for 20-25 minutes, or until liquid has reduced to a syrupy glaze and carrots are cooked through. Reserve.
Peas
Heat a saute pan with 2 oz. olive oil, saute peas with salt & pepper until cooked through.
Brown Butter Foam
Heat butter in a small sauce pan on low heat, until butter starts to brown.
Once you notice the butter starting to brown, start whisking the butter lightly to evenly distribute and brown proteins.
Once desired darkness of butter is reached, remove butter from the pan to prevent further browning and possible burning).
Transfer browned butter into a deep vessel. Using a handheld immersion blender,
Blend browned butter at a 45 degree angle to create a layer of foam on the top.
Plating
Swirl carrot puree onto plate, spoon English peas on puree, place slice of browned pork belly nestled into peas and spoon brown butter foam on top of pork belly. Garnish with snipped pea tendrils.
Shellfish may seem intimidating to some cooks without experience, but our September Chef of the Month, Chef Penelope Wong, crafts a seafood recipe fit for anyone to attempt. Serve these Black Mussels with Korean Street Corn Espuma for your next casual dinner to impress your guests with the complex and delicate flavors of seafood!
In a small stock pot, add in 1 tbsp. olive oil, sauté shallots and cut corn for 2 minutes, until corn becomes slightly charred.
Add in reserved corn cobs, Korean chili flake, salt and pepper and continue to sauté.
Add in mirin rice wine and allow to reduce by half.
Add in chicken stock and lower heat to a slow boil.
Continue to cook for 15 minutes.
Remove cobs and discard. Transfer items to a high-speed vita mix blender and add in cold butter. Starting on low speed and low power, puree and gradually increase speed to high and turn power on high, slowly pour in heavy whipping cream.
Allow mixture to cool slightly to approximately 80 degrees F.
Transfer to an ISI charger and reserve.
Mussels:
Submerge mussels in a bowl of cold water to clean.
Rub fresh corn with garlic oil and salt & pepper. Char on a grill until lightly browned.
Cut kernels off of the cob and discard cob.
Strain mussels.
Heat a sauté pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil, add in mussels and sauté for 2 minutes or until they just start to open.
Add in cut corn and sambal and sauté for 1 minute.
Add in mirin rice wine and cover to continue cooking mussels for 1 minute.
Add in butter and swirl in pan to slightly emulsify.
For plating: apply corn espuma into the center of a shallow bowl. Spoon mussels on top of espuma and sprinkle with additional Korean chili flake and garnish with micro cilantro.
Our September Chef of the Month, Chef Penelope Wong, has shared with us a gourmet recipe for your next dinner party or event – her Pan-Roasted Red Snapper with Star Anise roasted Bok Choy, Radishes, and Dashi. This Asian-influenced dish offers mild, earthy flavors and sweetness blended with the nuttiness of red snapper. Follow the steps below to recreate Chef Penelope’s masterpiece for yourself!
Ingredients:
4-6 oz. skin-on red snapper fillet, scaled
8 oz. unsalted butter
2 bulbs bok choy, quartered
½ tsp. ground star anise
4 oz. roasted garlic oil
1 tsp soy
8 assorted radishes, cleaned and tops trimmed
4 oz. dashi broth
½ gallon cold water
16 oz. dried kombu seaweed
3 cups bonito flakes
1 shallot
4 oz pickled ginger
1 oz soy
6 oz Japanese mirin
Steps:
Dashi Broth
Soak kombu in water over a very low flame for 1 hour.
Add bonito flakes and increase heat slightly.
Continue to simmer to 45 minutes and strain.
In a separate stock pot, heat 1 tbsp sesame oil and saute minced shallot and pickled ginger.
Add in soy and mirin, reduce by half.
Add in strained bonito broth.
Simmer 30 minutes – strain and plate.
Veggies
Heat dashi broth in a small stock pot.
Add in cleaned radishes and allow to simmer on low heat to poach the radishes for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Marinate quartered bok choy in star anise, roasted garlic, and soy.
Place in shallow baking pan and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through and browned.
Pan-roasted Red snapper
Put 2 tbsp. olive oil in a high-heat well-seasoned saute pan.
When oil starts to smoke, add fish fillets skin side down to sear,
Sear 1 minute and flip with a fish spatula,
Add in butter and start to baste the skin of the fish with the hot butter to crisp the skin,
Continue to baste for 1-2 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and skin is browned and crisp,
Plate pan-roasted red snapper on top of roasted bok choy (and wasabi whipped potatoes if desired). Ladle dashi broth around, garnishing with a few poached radishes.
I’ll title this, “All Chefs Detest Recipe Writing.”
I’m assuming anyone reading this recipe is a more advanced cook/Chef, based on Chef Uniforms demographics and following. Rather than focus on the recipe let’s focus on the techniques. Let’s assume we are cooking for 2 to 4 people.
The most important part of any dish is the sauce, and all sauces are derived from 5, “Mother Sauces.” RE: Escoffier 1910. In this case, it is a Bechamel Sauce.
2 – Bunches Garlic – cleaned
1 – pt. Heavy Cream
In a medium saucepan simmer garlic until soft.
2 oz – EVOO coat large saute pan
4 oz – grape tomato halved, mushroom sliced, scallop, clam, mussel, shrimp, lobster – anything you like – asparagus …, think color . Saute in a large pan until cooked through.
Ladle Garlic Cream Sauce into Large saute seafood mixture and continue saute until desired consistency, usually to coat the back of a spoon.
1/2 lb. Add any cooked pasta to mixture; cavatelli, linguine or fettuccine.
Top with chopped parsley, grated cheese and crushed black pepper .
Restaurant cooks love this recipe because it is a quick pick up. If a kitchen is in the weeds, this dish if mise en place correctly can be ready in 2 to 3 minutes, as opposed to a medium-well filet mignon which can take 20 minutes cooked correctly.
Stay tuned for more recipes and techniques to follow.
This Asian Pear Slaw recipe from Chef Lauren pairs perfectly with her previous recipe, Spicy Sticky Ribs. Whether you are craving a delicious light meal or you need a side salad to serve with your main course this recipe will do the trick!
Ingredients for Slaw:
2 cups shredded napa or savoy cabbage
2 cups shredded radicchio or red cabbage
1 Asian pear, sliced into bite-size pieces
1/2 Persian cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks (about 1 cup)
1 Serrano, jalapeño or red chili, cut into thin slices
Chopped salted peanuts
Fresh torn cilantro and basil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds black or white (optional), toasted
Ingredients for Peanut Dressing:
1/3 cup peanut butter natural creamy or smooth
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha
1/2 teaspoon ginger minced
1 clove garlic roughly chopped
1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Salad:
In a large bowl, add all salad ingredients except peanuts and sesame seeds; cabbage, radicchio, cucumber, carrot, pear, cilantro, mint, and Serrano. Set aside while you make the dressing.
Peanut Dressing:
In a blender add all peanut dressing ingredients; peanut butter, lime juice, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, ginger, garlic, and water. Puree until smooth and combined, about 1 minute. You can also whisk the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Add more water if needed to thin out the dressing if desired. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
To Serve:
Gradually add enough dressing to coat the salad, toss to combine. Drizzle with more dressing if there is any remaining, top with toasted sesame seeds and roasted peanuts. Enjoy!
Chef Lauren’s featured recipe is perfect for the end of Summer and anytime! Our August Chef of the Month, Lauren brought her A-game with this tasty treat. Trust us, her Lump Crab Cake recipe will not disappoint customers or friends!
Ingredients for Crab Cakes:
2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 finely chopped red onion
1 stick celery chopped
2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
Directions:
Combine panko and next 10 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl, stirring well. Add crab; stir gently just until combined. Using wet hands, shape crab mixture into 4 equal balls. Gently flatten balls to form 4 (4-inch) patties.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add patties; cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden.
Remoulade Ingredients:
1/2 jar roasted red bell peppers
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tbs capers, drained
1/2 tbs lemon juice
Pulse thoroughly in a food processor and set aside.
For the roasted garlic aioli:
1 whole heads garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Take the whole head of garlic and cut the tops off to expose the garlic cloves. Place on a large piece of aluminum foil and drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap up the foil into a tight pouch, and then place in the oven and roast for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Squeeze the pulp from the skins (you’ll need 1/3 cup).
In a food processor, combine the roasted garlic, mayonnaise, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper. Pulse until well combined. Refrigerate to allow the flavors to meld together. Garnish with parsley.
Salad Ingredients:
Frisée
Radishes
Granny Smith apple
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Lemon
Slice radishes and cut apples into matchsticks. Toss ingredients in bowl and drizzle with lemon, vinegar, and oil. Top the crab cakes with salad and serve. Enjoy!
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