brunosdream

My brother and sister-in-law went mushroom hunting in the forest near their home and found some treasure! Here are a few photos of their outing:

Happy Hunting…

Bruno

When I’m running errands around town, I’ll occasionally drive by a Jamaican BBQ place called Mi Hungry, but I’ve yet to try their food. One thing for sure is it has made me crave some jerk chicken. To satisfy that craving, my most recent cooking project was, you guessed it, delicious, aromatic, roasted jerk chicken! After removing the backbone and flattening out the chicken, I rubbed jerk seasoning under the skin, then let it air dry, uncovered, in the fridge for 5 hours for a crispier skin. 45 minutes in a 425-degree Fahrenheit oven, and my bird was ready! Served w/ jasmine rice enhanced w/ some lime juice/zest, and a cooling red cabbage slaw … it was heaven on earth!!

One of these days, I’ll travel to Jamaica for the real deal. Until then, this will have to suffice.

Bon Appetit!

Bruno

P.S. – A Cotes du Rhone blanc was a nice pairing for this meal.

Every week during this pandemic, I have been doing a cooking project to feed my belly w/ good eats. Lately, because of the frigid weather I’ve been craving richer, heavier meals (think creamy pasta). The last few days have been spring-like, so my cravings have turned to lighter fare. One of my favorite ways to find new recipes is to look at images on the internet of what I’m craving, and if the image is mouth-watering, hopefully I’ll find a link to the recipe. Here’s a link to the original recipe by Gemma: Basque Roast Chicken (Chicken Basque Style Recipe) | Caribbean Green Living.

My add-ons, substitutions and omissions: I did not use the Noubess seasoning; substituted the whole chicken w/ 3 1/2 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs; used 6 Roma tomatoes (quartered), instead of the canned tomatoes; only used 6 cloves of garlic (pressed); and added 2 large carrots (sliced), and 3 jalapenos (quartered lengthwise and sliced). Total cooking time was 57 minutes. I loosely tented the chicken w/ foil after 30 minutes (removing the foil for the last 15 minutes) and turned on the broiler for the final 2 minutes. It was delicious served over fragrant jasmine rice.

Happy cooking!

Bruno

I decided to host Thanksgiving for a few friends this year. An unusual lasagna recipe caught my eyes, so I decided to give it a try for our holiday meal. I made a few slight variations from the original recipe, such as using shitake mushrooms, and parmesan instead of mozzarella. Also, I have two layers of the filling, instead of just one. The finished product was apparently a hit because my friends asked for the recipe. Sylvia Fountaine is the recipe creator. Click here for her original recipe: Polenta Lasagna with Smoky Red Pepper Sauce! – Feasting At Home.

For dessert, we enjoyed one of my favorite childhood treats, Apple Brown Betty, which was a perfect match for the Haut-Armagnac being poured. 

Here are a few pics of the food…

Happy Holidays!

Bruno

Fall has definitely arrived in St. Louis. It was a good day to break out the table top wood-fired oven and practice my cooking skills on a beautiful, chilly afternoon. I made calzones in a cast iron skillet for the first time, as well as a few pizzas. The calzones were filled w/ goat cheese, shitake mushrooms, roasted broccoli, orange bell pepper and garlic. The pizzas were topped w/ a San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, pesto and chunks of crispy pork jowl bacon. It was a fun and delicious way to spend Halloween afternoon w/ a couple of friends. 

Cheers!

Bruno 

We’ve had some major thunderstorms lately in St. Louis which have dumped tons of rain. The excessive water caused damage to the foliage on my tomato plants. If you enlarge the photograph you’ll see I had to trim off quite a lot of leaves. I’ve harvested the chard twice, made a big jar of pesto w/ the Genovese basil and have used some of the ripe jalapenos already too! This morning I picked the ripe tomatoes and more jalapenos to add to a shrimp and scallop pasta w/ pesto that is planned for tonight’s dinner. The oregano has been very productive this year, so I’ve dried some for future recipes. I’ve also snipped some fresh tarragon sprigs and added them to my red wine vinegar for a delicious herbal touch in vinaigrettes (something I learned from my mom).

Photos taken on July 24th:

Until next time…

Bruno

I’ve been cooking my way through some recipes from a cookbook on Mexican, South American and Caribbean food. The Cuban chicken casserole recipe sounded delicious. With the pureed corn topping and the combination of other ingredients that I really enjoy, I had to find out how the finished product would taste. Well, it tasted fantastic! The corn crust and raisins added a touch of sweetness to balance w/ all the savory ingredients. I will definitely be making this again! It will be a great dish to serve when I have a few friends over for dinner. 

The green bean recipe is something I put together to have a vegetable side that would pair up well w/ the casserole. 

Goes well w/ both a Vouvray from the Loire region of France or a Cotes du Rhone white that’s Viognier dominant. 

Cuban Chicken Casserole (adapted from The Complete Mexican, South American & Caribbean Cookbook by Milton, Fleetwood and Filippelli)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

1 pound chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

1 celery stalk (cut in large pieces)

2 carrots (cut in large pieces)

2 bay leaves

5 cloves 

10 black peppercorns

1 large yellow onion (medium dice)

2 tomatoes (medium dice)

2 hard-boiled eggs (chopped)

1/2 cup pitted green olives (chopped)

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon bottled capers (drained)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt 

For the topping:

3 cups corn kernels (I used canned)

1 teaspoon sugar 

3 eggs (beaten)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter 

salt and black pepper

Procedure:

1) Cut chicken breasts in half and trim fat off thighs; Place bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns in cheesecloth pouch and tie closed.

2) Put chicken, spice pouch, celery and carrots in a large pot, cover w/ water and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove chicken from liquid and let cool before shredding. (You can save the poaching liquid, celery and carrots for soup).

3) Make the topping: Puree corn kernels in food processor. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat; stir in pureed corn and sugar, add salt to taste, then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and comes away from sides of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes then slowly stir in the eggs a little at a time. 

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

5) Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook over medium heat until soft and translucent. Remove from heat. Fold in the hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, olives, capers, raisins, shredded chicken and red pepper flakes. Salt to taste. Make sure ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. 

6) Spoon the mixture into a deep 8 x 10 baking dish and press it down to level out. Spread the corn topping over the top of the mixture w/ a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown, rotating front to back halfway through the baking (it took about an hour in my oven for the topping to get nicely browned). Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes before serving. 

Yield: 6 servings

Garlicy Green Beans w/ Chives and Red Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

3/4 pounds green beans (ends trimmed if necessary)

1 red bell pepper (seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise)

3 large garlic cloves (pressed)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh chives (cut into 1 inch pieces)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Procedure:

1) Bring a pot of water to a boil and add green beans and cook for 5 minutes until beans are tender. Strain beans in a colander.

2) Over medium heat, melt butter in a large pan then add olive oil. 

3) Add the garlic and saute’ for 1 minute, then add the bell pepper, chives and oregano and saute’ until bell pepper softens (approx. 5 minutes). Add the green beans, continue to saute’ for another minute to warm the beans. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Yield: 3 servings

Please get vaccinated so we can get past this pandemic. To your health…

Bruno

Believe it or not, I’ve never made turkey until a couple of weeks ago! Since I missed my turkey fixes this past holiday season due to the pandemic I’ve been craving it lately. I decided to start small and just make a turkey breast instead of  the whole bird. It’s been super cold here in St. Louis so it’s the perfect time to fire up the oven. A good pair of kitchen shears is essential for this recipe. You’ll see what I mean when you spatchcock the breast.

Spatchcocked Turkey Breast Roasted w/ Veggies

Ingredients:

7 pound turkey breast (fresh, skin on and bone in)

1 pound carrots (cut into large pieces)

2 yellow onions (cut into large pieces)

1 red bell pepper (cut into large pieces)

2 jalapenos (halved and thinly sliced)

1 head garlic (cloves peeled and crushed)

2 pound butternut squash (cut into large pieces)

1 pound crimini mushrooms (halved)

1 1/2 tablespoons oregano (for veggies)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (for veggies)

1 1/2 tablespoons salt (for veggies)

**plus more salt for rubbing on turkey 

Mixture for brushing on turkey:

4 cloves garlic (pressed)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons chives (chopped)

1 1/2 tablespoons butter (melted)

Procedure:

1) Spatchcock turkey breast, pat dry and rub salt on and under skin; place in baking dish then put in fridge uncovered for 4 hours to air dry.

2) 1 hour prior to roasting, remove turkey from fridge to take chill off.

3) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

4) Prep veggies, place in roasting pan then toss w/ olive oil, oregano and salt.

5) Place turkey on veggies and brush oil mixture under skin, then skewer skin (to prevent from retracting) and brush remaining oil mixture on skin.

6) Put turkey and veggies into oven (on middle rack); after 1/2 hour reduce temperature to 350 degrees F, loosely tent turkey w/ foil and continue roasting until internal temperature of turkey is 155 degrees F and juices run clear (check temperature occasionally during roasting; remove foil from turkey 20 minutes before it’s done; turn oven to broil for last 1 to 1 1/2 minutes to crisp turkey skin).

7) Remove turkey and veggies from oven; place turkey on cutting board and let rest uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes (internal temperature will rise to 165 degree F).

8) With oven still on broil, stir veggies and return to oven for 5 minutes or until veggies are browned in spots, then remove from oven.

** Total roasting time for turkey: 1 hour and 55 minutes (approx. 16 1/2 minutes per pound).

Serve w/ brown rice or your starch of choice. 

Stay warm and eat well!!

Bruno

Isolation has been getting me down lately. One of the few things that has helped ease the feelings of loneliness is cooking therapeutic meals to elevate my mood. The most recent meal I cooked was exceptionally good. It momentarily made me forget about all the crap that’s going on in the world lately.

Spicy Beef w/ Noodles and Veggies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds London Broil – thinly sliced

1 pound tomatoes – large dice

10 ounces Crimini mushrooms – sliced

1/2 bunch Lacinato kale (approx. 7- 8 leaves) – cut into 1 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper – cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pound pappardelle noodles

1 medium white onion (about 8 ounces) – cut into 1 inch pieces

1/3 cup Thai basil leaves

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese – grated

2 cloves garlic – sliced

Salt

Spice mix:

5 Japones  peppers

2 Pasilla Negro peppers

1 tbsp. dried chervil

1 tbsp. Hungarian paprika

Procedure:

1) Grind peppers, then mix in chervil and paprika.

2) In batches, sauté beef and sprinkle w/ spice mix to desired spice level; set aside.

3) Sauté mushrooms w/ garlic until they release moisture, then add onions and bell pepper and sauté until softened.

4) Add kale to veggies and sauté until tender.

5) Add tomatoes and beef to veggie mix, season w/ salt and cook until warm.

6) Cook pasta until al dente, strain pasta and return to pot.

7) Fold veggie/beef mix into pasta, then fold in basil leaves and parmesan.

8) Eat!

Yield: 4 to 6 servings, depending on hunger level.

Here’s to the joys of cooking (and eating)!!

Cheers…

Bruno

I made this gelato about a month ago when peaches were at their peak. The local peaches didn’t look very good (possibly due to the excessive rains this summer), so I chose some perfectly ripe peaches from California. I pitted and froze the peaches until I had time to execute the recipe a few days later. My taste testers at work gave the gelato a thumbs up. Give it a try… you won’t be disappointed!

Peach Gelato

Ingredients:

4 peaches

6 egg yolks

1 quart half & half

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1) Puree peaches in a food processor.

2) In a metal bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until mixture becomes smooth and pale yellow.

3) Place half & half in a heavy pot and heat until scalded.  

4) Very slowly whisk warm half & half into egg/sugar mixture so as not to curdle the mixture.

5) Place bowl w/ mixture over a pot of simmering water, stirring continuously w/ a heat resistant spatula until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon (do not let mixture exceed 170 degrees F to prevent curdling), then quickly place bowl in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

6) Once cool, stir in peach puree and refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight.

7) Churn mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

8) Pour gelato into a 2 quart plastic container then place a piece of parchment paper cut to size on the surface of gelato (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of the gelato), seal container and freeze until firm .

Yield: Approx. 1 1/2 quarts 

Savor summer’s sweetness…

Bruno