Braised Red Cabbage

Finished product: Barbequed short ribs, parsnip

sour cream mash and the red cabaiste. I first precooked the ribs and then finished them in the oven on a bed of carrots, onions and garlic along with the bbq sauce. I added these vegetables to the dish. Ony gorgeous.

When the cabbage is cooked transfer it to a pot and put on the stove until most of the liquid has gone. The cabbage is then ready to eat. Correct the seasoning and serve. It should be slightly sweet. Great with roast pork, barbeque and almost everything else in between.

If you have a slow cooker tranfser the cabbage and cook for about one hour or until the cabbage is tender. If you don't have a slow cooker or prefer conventional cooking then cover and place in a medium oven for the same amount of time.

Add the sugar, apples and finally the vinegar. You will need very little vinegar as the cabbage yields enough liquid. The cabbage will turn bright red when you add the vinegar. Heat the entire mix through, add the garlic, salt and pepper and a couple of bay leaves.

Sauté the onions in the bacon with a little oil.

Chop the onions and slice the cabbage. Cut the bacon slices into strips and chop the garlic.

These are the ingredient to make red cabbage.
1 head red cabbage, about 2 pounds
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, sliced
2 Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled and sliced
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup cider or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Garlic to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

You will find many recipes on the internet but these are the basics.

Note:

You will have to adjust this recipe to find the level of sweetness you want as you go along but remember you can always add sugar but you can't take it out.

Do not add too much liquid or you will spend a lot of time reducing it out at the end.

A Tale Of Three Peppers

Out of this world. I added some extra hot curry powder to the pork mix and it fit the bill. I think the recipe for this is somewhere on the blog. I think I will need a secretary soon.

Three was a little too much so I kept the third and I will have it with a salad and some kind of special vinaigrette tomorrow.
Here is the recipe:

1 ½ lb. ground pork I large onion
I peeled carrot in largish dice
1/2 rice medium onion)Plenty of chopped parsley
Plenty of garlic chopped or crushed
½cup of fresh white breadcrumbs
Olive oilSalt and Pepper

Chop the onions up finely and cook them in the olive oil add the diced carrot at the end so it stays firm. Don’t be afraid of having too much onion because it will reduce by half. When cooked add some fresh thyme and the garlic. Put to the side and allow to cool.
Cook the rice until tender in some hot water. Strain and leave aside to cool
When onions are cool add the ground pork and mix well by hand.
Then add the rice, the breadcrumbs the parsley.
Knead this mix until it is nice and tight. You can add an egg if you want to but I never do, it make it messy.
If the mix is a little wet add more breadcrumbs.
At this point finish the seasoning and make sure you season it well because you won’t be able to correct it.
One way to check the seasoning is to take a little piece of the mix and make it into a little patty. Fry this off in a pan and you will see how the seasoning is. This is sometimes done for pates and terrines before they are cooked.
If necessary add more garlic or thyme etc etc.
Cut to bottoms off the pepper remove the innards and the stalk. Stuff them with the mix. Overstuff them because the mix will shrink when it is cooked. Put the cover on them and cook in an oven ready dish with a little water, white wine and olive in the bottom of the pan. You can throw in some thyme, carrots, celery and carrots and make your sauce from this when they are cooked.
A tomato sauce goes well with this dish.

Maurice Brazier Hotel Meridien Paris

Front row 3rd from right:

This was the most professional hotel I ever worked in. The chef, Maurice Brazier, was very intrumental in forwarding my career. I first worked with him in Africa in the late 70's. When our time in Africa was done I went back to Ireland on holiday with a potential job in an opening of a hotel in Paris with the Sofitel Hotel Company. Mr. Brazier went to Nice to open the Meridien Hotel on the Promenade Des Anglais, the main thoroughfare in Nice. Unfortunately the opening of the Sofitel Hotel in Paris did not work out so I was without a job. There was nothing interesting in Ireland at that time.

I wrote to Mr Brazier in Nice and and he offered me a job there: thus started a great period. He later sent me to Cairo, Paris, Yugoslavia, Corsica, East Berlin, Tours and almost to India. When the authorities in India realized I was Irish and not French they wouldn't give me the visa. Someone else went. Too bad but it would have been hard for me to complain. As the only single sous chef in the Meridien in Paris I got all the opportunities.

This was a great time for learning management techniques and to see how a very large hotel can operate without the chaos that is very often present in badly run operations. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief with all these cooking and reality shows around, the real professional kitchens are run very quietly and with little confusion. This was the case in this hotel. No one raised their voice and the standards of behavior were very high.
Maurice Brazier taught me a lot about kitchen management and employee motivation. We had already worked together for a long time and he showed me how to solve problems in a quiet way. Most important he taught me how to prevent problems from arising in the first place. It was a great pleasure working for him. He knew how to motivate people and he was a highly respected professional throughout the industry.

Nice Drop Of Bean, Chorizo And Greens Soup

I think I should have mashed the beans up a little more here but it was good. The bagel was an onion bagel with chicken and mayonnaise filling.

I Have An Idea!

Why don't we do a competition of dishes done by individual members of the family and submitted to a special section of the Food Blog. We could run it for a month and or so and then have a secret ballot by email and announce a winner. Seeing as we can't taste we would judge on presentation, originality, use of fresh products etc etc. All that can be worked out. The winner would receive a diploma posted on the blog. Let me know who would be in favor of this. No pressure just your every day efforts. I think it would be fun. Let me know what you all think. Whoever wins would be the Ard Cocaire which I think is top chef in Gaelic. If my memory serves me well.

Pretty Nice Work By Rita

I was very impressed with this. The choux paste is perfectly cooked and the mousse looks just right. The whole thing is perfectly presented. Looks like this type of talent runs in the family. Good work Rita.

Fancy A Nice Easy Meal?

Make yourself a pot of bolognaise, cook some spaghetti al dente and get a little parmesan. A little Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin on the record player and a nice fire. Oh, and don't forget a nice bottle of merlot or chianti and some garlic bread. That is what I had tonight and it was delish.

Will post all these recipes as soon as I get a minute. This is an inexpensive meal: around $3.00 and really there was enough for two but Dudley doesn't like spaghetti. He is not too crazy about Sinatra either.

Barbequed Chicken Risotto

More photos anon

Fried Scallops And Shrimp With Peas And Oven Fries.

This was fantastic. The scallops and shrimp were out of this world. The whole thing was great. However the biggest surprise were the peas or " petits pois ". I haven't eaten peas in years but they really are one of my favorite vegetables. It is hard to get these peas out of season so these are Birds Eye frozen peas. I used to make them in the Savoy and all of those big hotels in the 60's but today no one eats peas. I will from now on.

Here is a little recipe for peas:

Take a rasher of smoked bacon and cut it into fine stips

Cut into very small dice: Carrots, Onion and Celery

In a suitable pot add a little olive oil and the bacon strips and cook for a minute or two.

Add the diced vegetables and allow to cook until half cooked.

Add the frozen peas and let thaw in the pot a little.

Then add some water or stock. ( I use water. )

Allow to cook until peas are tender and nice and green and add a bay leaf.

Add a little sugar and a knob of butter and let sit for a good half hour.

Don't forget the regular seasoning.

Mint can be added to peas to give a nice fresh taste.

Renaissance Esmeralda Resort Crew

Same resort with a slightly different crew and the addition of the 3 star Michelin Chef Roger Verge with whom I had worked in France and who came to California at my invitation to do a Mediterranean Festival Of Food for three days in Palm Springs. This was a great success and was done with the collaboration of the General Manager Anthony Stewart Moore who is one of the better GM's I worked with. He is now the GM of the Grosvenor House London.

Signed by all my staff when I left.

Red Cabbage

I made some braised red cabbage the other day. I only took one photo but I thought it was nice so I am posting it. Will make it again soon and post the whole recipe with more photos.

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves.

Arrange the cooked cabbage on a plate and cover with the cooking liquid after testing the seasoning. Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes. This is a very German dish.

The recipe for the meat mix is:
Ground pork
1/3 the amount of onions as pork.
Chopped garlic
Chopped carrots
Chopped sweet red peppers
Chopped celery
A little preboiled rice and white breadcrumbs.
Salt and Pepper
Thyme sprigs.
Slowly cook the onions in olive oil until translucent and then add the rest of the vegetables and let simmer for a little while. Add the garlic and the herbs and allow to cool. Place the ground pork in a large bowl and add the vegetables when cooled. Add the rice and breadcrumbs and knead this mixture until it holds together. Add the seasoning and more garlic if you wish.

Arrange them on a bed of aromates and herbs in an ovenproof dish and add white wine, water and olive oil. Here I added some crushed tomatoes and some mushroom and garlic. Season with a pepper mill at this point. Add some thyme sprigs and some bay leaves. Bake in a medium to hot oven for about 45 mins. Cover with foil halfway through the baking.

Fold the edges in and turn over to form a nice shape. Repeat this until all the leaves are done.

Place the stuffing in the center of the leaves making sure that there is a nice leaf on the outside where it will show.

Strain them and lay them out on a flat surface with the outside of the leaf down.
Refresh them in a bath of iced water and cool them so you will be able to handle them.

Blanche them in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are pliable.

Buy a nice firm cabbage.Break off the leaves and keep them as whole as you can.

It's Cheaper To Cook For Two Than For One

Corned Beef, Cabaiste And Pratais.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Say no more; ony gorgeous.

Soup

I made a variation on the soup recipe from the New York Times which is posted below. It was really good. I added a few things such as red beans as you will want to do. Don't leave out the greens or the beetroot though, they give the soup great flavor and lift it out of the ordinary. I highly recommend this dish for any soup lovers like myself.

Delicious Meatballs In Fresh Chunky Tomato Sauce With Four Potato Mash.

Difficulty level: Relatively easy. You just have to make sure that the meatballs are well formed so they don't break up. You can do a little test before you make the big ones. If they break then add more breadcrumbs.

Meatballs are made with one third each of pork, italian sausage and beef. Add chopped onions, chopped garlic, fresh white breadcrumbs, a little paprika and salt and pepper then knead the mix until you feel it get dense like a dough. If you knead it too much it will be a little tough. I add chopped jalapenos. You can add anything that takes your fancy as long as it doesn't upset the density of the meat.

Form the mix into 3 ounce balls, saute them in a pan until they are brown all over and add them to the tomato sauce of your choice and cook them until they are done all the way.

I made this tomato sauce fresh and added peppers, onions and the like to give it a little more texture. To make your own tomato sauce may be a little more trouble than most people would want to go to but you can add texture and even more flavor to pre-prepared sauces by: slicing onions, green and red peppers and mushrooms into chunks and cooking them slowly in olive oil. Add a dash of white wine vinegar when they are half cooked and a dash of white wine. Then add a lot of chopped garlic and herb of your choice and cook for a few minutes. Then add your tomato sauce and let it simmer for a while before adding the meat balls. You can also add some whole tomatoes. I usually use a good quality canned tomato in juice for this type of sauce instead of fresh. They are moister and more consistent having been harvested at just the right time.
The mash is red, yukon gold, white, and russet potato with sour cream and garlic drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Soups

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25soup.html

Here is a link to todays New York Times dining section. There are some very interesting soups to be made from these recipes. Note what they say about stocks as opposed to water. It is something I do when I make soups.

African Crew 1970's

Some great times were had here in this hotel with these people. It was an amazing opportunity to get to know other cultures, languages and people. I wanted to go to Paris which had always been my dream but this was before the common market and the paperwork was not easy. Then I was told that I could start in Africa the next day so I said OK. There were two of us, a french fellow and myself, we had our choice between Gabon and Ivory Coast. He went to Gabon. I got the better deal with The Ivory Coast I think. I stayed two years and had a wonderful time. This was Intercontinental Hotels. They were very big in those days.

This fellow on the right with his hand to his face was Christian Pion. When they told me he was coming to the hotel to work i kept saying " I know that name". When he arrived it turned out we had worked together in the Carlton Tower in London a few years before. He eventually replaced me in Paris when I came to the US. Small world.

Traditional Lasagne A To Z

Details anon.

Shrimp Pilaf

Read From The Bottom Up.

I then added the shrimp to the hot rice and let them cook in the heat. This prevents them from overcooking during the cooking process. Served with a tomato sauce and a squeeze of lime or lemon, this is a delicous meal or a great appetizer for a dinner party as it can be prepared in advance.

Then I added a cup of plain rice and cooked it well in the vegetables and olive oil and then added the seasoning, a couple of bay leaves and thyme and a quarter of a lemon. I added water at double the amount of rice so that the pilaf would be nice and moist. I let that cook slowly for about 15 mins. or so. I brought it to a boil and then let it finish slowly.

For this I used a bit of a clean out the fridge process. I chopped up onion, sweet red peppers, zucchini, carrot, mushroom, asparagus and a little tomato and I sauteed them with olive oil and added lots of garlic.

Brazilian Restaurant Crew Meridien Hotel Salvador Bahia

These look some of the meanest sons-a -guns you would ever meet but they were all perfect gentlemen and would do anything I asked them to do. They were a great bunch of fellas who took their jobs very seriously and were eager to learn. Look at how skinny I am. WHAT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lamb Tagine

Will fill in all the blanks here pretty soon.

Tagine ( substitute chicken or fish )


INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes or Lamb ribs or lamb cutlets
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or a stick of cinnamon broken in two lengthwise
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or a couple of whole cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 medium onions cut into 1-inch cubes
5 carrots, peeled, cut into fourths, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Zest from 1 lemon
1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth ( Use water instead )
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey


DIRECTIONS
Place diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss around to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.

Served with a couscous. This is one of my favorite and one of the most flavorful Middle Eastern dishes even though Morocco is in North Africa ( in case I am corrected ).

Cottage Pie

Curried Prawns And Mushrooms With Spinach Rice And Almonds

I make the sauce seperate from the shrimp here. saute some finely chopped onions until translucent add a little finely chopped celery and carrot and some chopped apple. Add curry powder to your taste and a little flour and cook like a white roux. You can also add some canned tomatoes to this sauce. Add water , lots of chopped garlic, bay leaf and water and cook the sauce for a good hour. Correct the seasoning when finished, strain and keep warm.

Toast some almonds or whatever nut takes your fancy and also keep warm.

Prepare mushrooms of your choice by quartering or halving them depending on the size

Make a rice pilaf using a little more water than recommended so that it stays moist.

Add the raw shrimp and mushrooms to the curry sauce and cook the shrimp till tender.

Fold raw spinach leaves into the rice pilaf and let them cook in the hot rice.

Correct all seasonings, spoon rice onto plate and make a well. Pour the shrimp and mushroom curry into the well with plenty of sauce and sprinkle the toasted nuts on top. A little fresh, seeded and chopped tomato will add a little color.