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Showing posts from July, 2009

Snow Crab and Jicama Slaw

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This was thrown together last minute today but came together nicely. The slaw is a mix of chopped snow crab and shrimp along with finely diced jicama , poblano pepper, and red bell pepper. I seasoned it with garlic and a splash of Cholula before soaking the mix in our honey-cayenne vinaigrette. This slaw sits on a small fried plantain chip and some diced avocado. Hawaiian pink sea salt adds a nice look and great finish to this amuse- bouche . This combination is very refreshing due to the heat of summer that we have been seeing.

"Manitou" Shrimp Spring Rolls

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These " Manitou " Shrimp Rolls are similar to Mikado spring rolls. They can be a pain in the neck to make for restaurant service, but boy are they good. I have had several employees ranging from dishwashers to bakeshop employees and even bussers ask for a recipe to try them at home. It sounds like they all went over pretty well with all three that I followed up with. We start out with some cooked, chopped shrimp. Adding just a few ingredients including soy, ginger, sambal , sweet Thai chili sauce, garlic, cilantro and scallions makes the filling phenomenal (top picture). An important thing to remember when rolling these spring rolls is to use a mixture of cornstarch and water to "glue" the roll together(picture 2). This keeps the spring roll tight when frying. When sealed properly the roll should be a tight, cylindrical spring roll with the contents held firmly inside (picture 3). Simply fry the rolls in clean oil heated to approx. 350 degrees for no more than a c

Herb Roasted Pheasant

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This is just the right combination of flavors. A nice savory herb and garlic roasted pheasant breast, with the light acidity of an heirloom tomato slice, the sweet flavor of a port-onion compote come together nicely. The sourdough crostini not only adds the crunchy texture, but also becomes the vehicle that brings this palate teaser to your taste buds . The heirloom tomatoes we get are a variety of colors, so each person at the table gets the same flavor in this bite sized appetizer and they look the same, but each has a different color that catches their eyes.

The FNG in the Henion family!

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This little one was born July 9 th and his mom and I are so proud to have him in our lives. Its been a few days since my last post, but as you can see, a lot has happened since then. After a few nights in the hospital we are all home and everyone is doing very well. With all the time we had spent in the hospital, and now around the house, I haven't been able to shake the thought of what kind of guy my son is going to be. I hope that even if he doesn't ever dabble in the restaurant industry, that he takes away a knowledge of cooking basics from his old man. Truly I hope that I can not only teach him to fish and hunt, but how to cook whatever he may bring home. There is a lot that can be said for individuals that cook, whether professionally or in the quiet of their own home. I think that my career path, in general, seems to be a source of distancing family. I really think that if used properly, my skills and love of food could one day bring us closer together. Some father/son

Kitchen Humor

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Kitchens have always been a place to make people look and feel stupid. That's why it takes a certain breed of people to work in restaurants . We have done everything to haze the FNG's ( F'n New Guys) that we could come up with. Telling the bus boy to empty the hot water from the coffee machine, or fill up the water fountain before clocking out are a couple good ones. There is always telling the new salad guy to hurry up and get a bucket of steam from the steam machine downstairs or having them run to a neighboring kitchen to borrow the meat stretcher. Well, today I had a cook bring in this terrific can of dehydrated water. The can list its uses which include dry mopping, dry cleaning and my favorite is making dry ice. Its just a great idea. Being able to put an actual can of dehydrated water on the shelf. The instructions are easy too, empty contents into one gallon of water. Stir until dissolved . Chill and serve. Good luck FNG , good luck. I can honestly say, having