Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

It is not easy to find presents for the BrookeOK kitchen, but somehow, Santa manages Christmas magic once again.




Are you familiar with panini sandwiches?


You don't think Santa keeps his figure on just milk and cookies - do you?


Where to begin...well, we started with the basics...Italian bread, a BBLT and a Roast Beef sandwich. The B in the BBLT, btw, is blue cheese. Preferably a Stilton.




BBLT





Roast Beef





The BBLT encore on a ciabatta bread.






and a breakfast panini. Ham, horseradish cheddar cheese and a mashed hard-boiled egg.






Pizza Panini!









Ham, mustard and olive tapinade. Oh My.




Shaved steak, provalone, lettuce and tomato.

It looks like a big sandwich, but you might be surprized how fast it disappears.




Santa brought all kinds of wonderful presents this year. We must have been really good.



Always read labels.













































































































Sunday, November 22, 2009

Doh je


Thank you Anon.


This is not an allergy or celiac friendly restaurant.


This is an Asian Market and they have all sorts of asian ingredients.

Fresh Quail Eggs. Cooked and Seasoned Duck Eggs. An entire aisle dedicated to every sort of noodle. Teas and traditional Chinese Medicines. Tofu in every flavor and style. Octopus and even whole head-on duck...


What sort of ingredients might make a unique addition to a dessert? Hmmmmm.



These almost didn't make it home.




How do you make your soup "pop?" Sizzling rice of course.





Just about everything is better with fried shallots.


Citrous and Honey. Add hot water and sooth your sore throat.

Fresh miso soup requires bonito for your Dashi.




Green tea flavored pumpkin seeds. Really. And five or six other flavors and colors of pumpkin and melon seeds.

On the westbound side of Route 9 in Westboro right after Rt 135 and next to the Regal Theaters.

The Asian Market website is at www.bostonaml.com

Occasionally food labels on food products from China are translated by the manufacturer incorrectly and ingredients are mislabeled. OK, more than occasionally.

Sign up for email updates about food recalls from the FDA here:
www.recalls.gov

Always read labels and if in doubt, do without.


Saturday, November 21, 2009

Shanghai Style Wontons



The mega-marts around here are Hannafords, Stop & Shop, Shaws, Sudbury Farms, Whole Foods and Price Chopper. (As I write this, it occurs to me that an entry about the differences between the local vendors might be interesting. The customers definitely vary from store to store. What do you think?)

All of these grocers carry wonton wrappers. All of these grocers carry the same wrappers and they contain eggs.

I used to get our egg-free Twinmarquis wrappers in Acton from Barbara Chen at the Oriental Pantry. Barbara has, good for her-bad for me, retired. Twinmarquis remains in business and available at many asian markets including a new one that just opened on Rt 27 near Main street and the train station in Acton. This is an asian market with authentic ingredients including live tilapia and fresh chicken feet. (more to come on this market, stay tuned)

If you clicked on the link for Twinmarquis you already know the navigation is shall we say unusual. In any event, the product is good, consistent and, unfortunately, not available at your local mega-mart. If you are a food lover with food allergies, you know your local specialty markets already though, don't you...yes, yes you do.

This recipe differs from many that you may have found looking for dumpling or wonton recipes. Odd, I think, that so many recipes fill the dumplings with raw filling and cook everything at the same time. Cook the filling before you assemble the dumpling and then when it is time to serve, all you have to cook is the wrapping. The wontons pictured above were perfectly crispy, golden brown and delicious. They were in the hot oil (350 or so) for less than 2 minutes. Raw filling would still be raw.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/4 cup shredded carrot

2 scallions, sliced

1 T scallions, fried

1 T garlic, fried

1 T ponzu sauce

2 T chicken stock

1 tsp cornstarch, slurried

Sriracha to taste. If you a new to Sriracha, proceed with caution.

Shallot salt to taste



How to make the wonton filling:

1. Cook a pound or so of ground pork.

2. Mix in the rest of ingredients about halfway through cooking.



Should we do a video on how to fold the wrapper?



Please email to let us know: Chef@Brookeok.com

M, E, P, N, Se, Sh

Contains Wheat and Soy

Ponzu sauce contains bonito-fish extract

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Monday, November 9, 2009

How much?



Puffed Banana.

This product is organic, certified no less. The company is rainforest friendly, etc, etc. No genetically engineered ingredients, etc, etc.

This product is banana. "Puffed" That means the manufacturers use processes that get the moisture out of the banana.

How much is a pound of bananas? Really. How much? Look it up. Check at your market. How much is a pound of bananas? Is it close to 49 cents per pound?

How much are "puffed" bananas? 2 x.75 oz for $4.78 (which appears to be standard pricing whether cinnamon is added or not.) That is $5.98 per two one ounce- one shotglass of banana.

One banana two banana three banana four...where is Hanna Barbera when you need a rhyme or more?

M,E,W,P,S,N,Se,F,Sh

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Potsticker Soup



Ingredients:

8oz or so Beef Broth
3 Potstickers (When not making our own, we like these potstickers. Available at Asian markets)
an inch or so of Parsnip, pealed, sliced thin and fried
1 1/4inch slice of Maple Glazed Ham, cooked and cubed
1 scallion, sliced
2-3 tsp Soy Sauce
1 dash of Sriracha Chili Sauce (2 if you like more heat)

Directions:

Put everything except half of the scallion in a 2qt saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for several minutes until potstickers are tender. Add uncooked scallions and serve. (Pictured garnished with dill, because someone really likes dill.

M, E, P, N, Se, F, Sh

Contains Wheat and Soy Follow this link to read potsticker ingredients.

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu



Cooking for people with food allergies cannot be just a matter of substitutions and second choices. People with a limited list of ingredients should be able to eat creative cuisine, indulging in an experimental menu at least occasionally without risk of allergen exposure. We do alot of culinary experimenting around here. Some work out better than others. This one was delicious.

Ingredients:

Fried Chicken

1 lb chicken tenderloins
flour to coat
kosher salt

Ham, sliced thin(2 slices per serving)

Mashed Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

1 lb Baby Yukon Potatoes
2 T butter
4 oz half&half
kosher salt

Parsnip Crisps

1 Parsnip, sliced thin
kosher salt

Mornay Sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups warmed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 ounce grated Gruyère cheese
1 ounce grated Sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Parsnip Crisps can be made ahead. Slice some pealed parsnips with a mandolin and fry them until they brown in 350 degree Canola oil. Cool on a rack and season with a little salt.

Chicken tenders aren't so tender unless you seperate the meat from the tendon. Coat the chicken with flour and drop it, carefully, into 350 degree or so Canola oil. Remember, a splash can ruin your evening. Four or five minutes usually gets the internal temperature of the tenders to 170 degrees and onto a rack to cool.

Boars Head Maple Glazed Ham is widely available and sold fully cooked. A most versatile protein, this ham can be heated up alone for a main course or, as with this dish, as a flavorful protein component and it is gluten-free.

Boil until a knife point penetrates easily, drain water, add rest of ingredients and mash. You know how to make mashed potatoes, right? Often, people prefer their potatoes straight up. They are missing out on all sorts of flavor and texture with bacon, sour cream, shallots, chives, Meyer lemons, wasabi, yuzu, oh yes and butter. Mmmmm. Butter.

Mornay Sauce is a Bechamel avec fromage...with cheese.

Combine butter and flour with a little salt (and if you are using pepper, white pepper) to make a roux. Stir in warmed milk and/or cream slowly. A little freshly grated nutmeg (optional) adds wonderful flavor. Nutmeg adds Umami. Add grated cheese. Parmisan, Gruyere, Cheddar...up to you. Soft cheeses are not easily grated, but that should not exclude them from the sauce.

Stack fried chicken tenders on top of maple honey ham and sauce with Mornay. Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Parsnip Crisps on the side and garnish with dill because someone really likes dill.







E, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Contains Milk, Wheat

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Some experiments go better than others...



On the left side of the page we have a simple fried chicken. Often coated with an egg wash or milk and coated with flour before being fried in oil or shortening, this recipe is most often not dairy free, egg free or wheat free.

The darker chicken on the right was an experiment. As any chef will tell you, sometimes the experiments work and sometimes they do not. This one worked...oh yes , did it work.


This particular experiment exceeded all expectations. This simple egg-free battered fried chicken recipe was absolutely delicious. Spectacular! And it was easy.

Lessons learned: Next time I will break the chicken up into smaller pieces. Smaller pieces fry faster and you don't get different temperature readings at different parts of the food.

It doesn't get any easier than this: make pancake mix according to directions on package. Coat chicken in batter. Fry at 325 degrees in Canola or similar for 3-5 minutes or until upwards of 170 degrees internal chicken temperature.


Nature's Path Organic Buttermilk Pancake Mix: Organic whole wheat flour, organic buttermilk powder, organic vital wheat gluten, granulated cane juice sugar, non-GMO baking soda, non-GMO baking powder, sea salt, tocopherols (natural vitamin E) added to enhance freshness. Made in a facility that uses wheat, soy and milk.

Tomorrow I am going to mix a batch of pancake mix, coat some chicken and perfect this recipe.


Cayenne might do the trick.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Torani Syrup

Torani Syrup caught our attention on an episode of Unwrapped on the Food Network. The segment showed people in lab coats and what looked like all sorts of elaborate research going into the development of perfect flavor combinations. The roasted marshmellow syrup is painstakingly designed and expertly engineered to taste exactly like roasted marshmellows.




We make our own ice cream, which is exactly why this segment of Unwrapped was of interest. Might we incorporate these flavors into our allergen-free ice creams? The list of Torani flavors is impressive indeed:






Almond Roca
Amaretto
Anisette
Apple
Apricot
Banana
Black Currant
Blackberry
Blueberry
Boysenberry
Brown Sugar Cinnamon
Butter Pecan
Butter Rum
Butterscotch
Creme de Cacao
Cane Sugar Sweetener
Caramel CLASSIC(The Original)
Caramel (New improved version!)
Chai Tea Spice
Cheesecake
Cherry
Cherry Lime
Chocolate Bianco(White Chocolate)
Chocolate Macadamia Nut
Chocolate Milano
Chocolate Mint
Cinnamon
Coconut
Coffee
Egg Nog
English Toffee
French Vanilla
Gingerbread
Ginger Spice
Grape
Guava
Hazelnut CLASSIC(The Original)
Hazelnut(New improved version!)
Hibiscus
Huckleberry
Irish Cream
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Mango
Maple
Melon
Mint (Creme de Menthe)
Blood Orange
Orange (Mandarin)
Orange (Dairy Friendly)
Orgeat (Almond)
Passion Fruit
Peach
White Peach Honeysuckle
Peanut Butter
Peppermint
Pineapple
Pink Grapefruit
Pomegranate
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Spice
Blue Raspberry
Raspberry
Red Raspberry (Dairy Friendly)
Root Beer
Ruby Red Grapefruit
Shortbread
Strawberry
Tiramisu
Toasted Marshmallow
Honey Vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla Bean
Watermelon



A little experimentation in the ice cream lab might be in order...but first, let's make sure this product is allergen safe. There is a peanut flavor. We will have to look at the risks of cross-contamination.



What does it say on the Torani website?



From the website:



Peanut Butter syrup recreates the classic flavor of peanut butter in a drinkable form.

Serving Size 1 oz (30ml or 2 Tbsp.)
Amount per serving:
Calories 80
Calories from Fat 0
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0 g
0%
Sodium 0 mg
0%
Total Carbohydrate 20 g
7%
Sugar 19 g
Protein 0 g
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

No ingredients listed. We don't know if the peanut butter syrup contains peanuts from the information on the Torani website. The FAQ on the Torani website answers the usual allergens? question with the following:


To the best of our knowledge, no allergenic substances* are used in the manufacturer of our syrup base (regular or sugar-free). However, the individual natural flavorings which are added to this base may have been derived from or contain derivatives of allergenic substances. Whenever possible, we have asked our suppliers to remove unnecessary allergens but we are still left with nut flavors which have been extracted from tree nuts and contain an oil derived from peanuts, and a few flavors which have a creamy note that has been derived from a dairy source. It is a difficult balance to flavor with natural products but limit the natural compounds that may be included in the finished product. * We ask our suppliers to inform us if their products contain any of the ‘Big 8’ allergens: Peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, fish, shellfish, soy, eggs or wheat. These allergens were chosen because they are responsible for over 90% of all food allergies.


We still do not know if the Torani Peanut Butter Syrup contains peanuts, but we will contact Torani and let you know what we find out.


---


Torani products are available on Amazon and ingredients are listed for each product although not all products are listed.


The ingredients for each product are more or less the same:




Ingredients: Pure Cane Sugar, Water. Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (to Preserve Freshness), Caramel Color.


The colors change. Flavors...not so much. This product appears to be sugar and water and color with some preservatives and enough flavor extract to make some green sugar and water taste a little bit different from the red sugar and water .



We will be checking food allergy safety issues with Torani. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Egg Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free Chicken Tenders

(pictured as served with mashed potatoes and mushroom demi-glace.)

Baked Chicken Tenders (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients
· 1 lb chicken tenders, tendons removed.
· ¼ cup white wine
· 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
· "breadcrumbs" (Gillian’s Foods Gluten Free)
· Italian herb mix (Penzey’s) to taste
· Shallot Salt(Penzey’s) to taste


Directions:


Mix white wine and mustard in a bowl. Add chicken and coat thoroughly.

In another bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Italian herbs and shallot salt.

Coat cookie sheet or baking dish with oil. Dredge chicken in seasoned breadcrumbs and add to baking dish. Cook in a 475 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 170 degrees.

Serve with honey mustard dipping sauce.



M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels


This dish was crispy and delicious. No eggs, no gluten, no dairy...no common allergens at all. Make sure to cook the chicken to safe temperature but not higher.



Monday, September 28, 2009

Makes you wonder...

It is not a surprise when when of these warnings is about undeclared nuts in a particular lot of ice cream. It isn't unusual to have nuts in some flavors of ice cream, is it? Same goes for a lot of baked goods and not just with peanuts or tree nuts. Milk and egg, common ingredients in baked goods, sometimes are not listed on the label whether or not they are supposed to be in the recipe for the product. We expect to find milk and eggs in a bakery, right?

Does anybody make pork sausage with fish?



**THE FOOD ALLERGY & ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK SPECIAL FOOD ALLERGY ALERT
NOTICE**

FISH ALLERGY ALERT
September 28, 2009

Pampanga Food Corporation is recalling “Pampanga Skinless Sausage Cooked
Cured Pork Longanisa” due to undeclared fish.

The product was distributed to retail stores nationwide.

The 10-oz. frozen packages bear codes “03043” to “03790” and number “EST.
405” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Consumers with questions may call (714) 773-0537.




__________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe from receiving the Special Allergy Alert Notices, send an e-
mail to listserv@foodallergylist.org with "Signoff Alerts" typed in the
body of the message. If you are unable to unsubscribe, send an e-mail to
webmaster@foodallergymail.org.



Click here to get on the emailing list for these alerts from FoodAllergy.org

If you uncheck the "Please contact me..." box, they will not contact you with information other than the allergen alerts.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Simple Guacamole



Ingredients
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 2 T sour cream
  • 1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup) (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice (lime is better)
  • 1/2 teaspoon shallot salt (Penzey's)


Directions

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.

2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, lime or lemon, shallot salt and mash some more.

3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

4
Top your tacos or dip your chips.



E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Contains Milk

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.


2 more boxes than other leading juice box 8-packs.

A ten pack of Minute Maid juice contains 2 more boxes than an 8 pack. True. Deceptive packaging, but true.

Allergen free as far as we know.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Batting .500 is good only in baseball and lotteries.

According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology "a nationwide survey found that more than half (54.6%) of all U.S. citizens test positive to one or more allergens." (AAAAI) Another way to express the results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey would be to say that of all of the participants tested (not all U.S. citizens were tested, were they? I wasn't tested. Were you?) for more than half, the test results came back positive for at least one of the ten allergens in the test. We can draw one or more conclusions from these test results. One conclusion might be that if we tested 300 million or so U.S. citizens, 150 million or so would test positive for one or more allergens. Another conclusion might be that current testing methods are inconclusive. In fact, the latter is true. False positives occur 50 percent of the time with a higher false positive rate for some allergens. For example, a subject who is allergic to peanuts will test positive for allergy to soybeans 40 percent of the time whether allergic to soy or not. People with allergies to certain pollens will test positive for allergies to bananas and other foods that share similarities with pollen proteins.

RAST tests, with more quantifiable results than skin tests are an indicator of the probability of a reaction to an allergen. That is all RAST tests results indicate. They do not indicate severity or type of reaction, only probability. A high probability of a reaction could be a high probability of any reaction. Reactions include a wide range of severities including minor rashes, hives, nausea, shortness of breath and death. There are currently no tests where results indicate severity of a reaction. We do know, however, that the fatalities from allergy related anaphylaxis are most commonly associated with peanuts and tree nuts.

Our medical advice is that you get your medical advice from reputable medical professionals and that you ask them about the accuracy of allergy testing and how it might apply to your situation.

Thursday night was pizza night and pizza does not have to contain tomato sauce.



This cheeseburger pizza didn't last long enough to get a picture of the pizza intact.



Friday's gluten-free crab cakes rested comfortably in the freezer for a week and then baked at 375 for 45 minutes or so until GB&D. Served on a shrimp bisque with jasmine rice, steamed broccoli, toast points and cole slaw.

So far, the crab cakes are batting 1000.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Gluten-Free Crab & Shrimp Cakes with Red Potatoes and Green Beans



For gluten-free crab cakes, first replace crackers with gluten-free "bread crumbs." We used "bread crumbs" made from White rice flour, water, yeast, salt and raw cane sugar.



We made half of our crab cakes gluten-free and the other half with crackers so we could compare the results.



The patties formed easily with both batches. We wondered if the rice-based bread crumbs would hold the cakes together as well as the cracker crumbs. When cooking, the crack crumb cakes held together slightly better, but the difference was not significant.



The crab cakes had the same flavor, but the cake textures were very different. We were surprised by a unanimous preference for the gluten-free crab cakes. We were not surprised by the wonderful flavor and fluffy texture of the D'Amico Farms roasted red potatoes or by the fresh, crisp steamed green beans.




It is nearly impossible to find seafood sauces in the grocery store that do not contain high fructose corn syrup, but even if you do find one, the ingredients include items we do not want or list items like "spices" and if labels are not specific about ingredients, we do not buy them.

Our seafood sauce is made with vinegar, crushed tomatoes, freshly grated horseradish, sugar, salt, onion and cayenne pepper.

Crab & Shrimp Cakes with Red Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients
· 1 pound crab claw meat
· ½ pound shrimp, cooked and chopped
· ½ cup crackers, crushed or ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs*
· 2-3 scallions, chopped fine
· ½ cup diced bell pepper (red or yellow)
· ¼ cup mayonnaise or Veganaise®
· ½ tsp kosher salt
· 1 tsp shallot salt
· 2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional)
· 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
· Tapioca flour, for dredging (gluten-free)
· Canola oil, for frying

Directions
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except oil and tapioca flour and form into patties (about 12). Dust with tapioca flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet and fry in batches about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and delicious. Serve with roasted red potatoes and steamed green beans.

E, P, N, Se, F

Contains Shellfish
Crackers contain Wheat and Soy
Veganaise® contains Soy

*Use gluten-free bread crumbs for a wheat-free version

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Monday, September 7, 2009

Gluten-free Fried Chicken




Fried Chicken Recipe

Ingredients
· 1 broiler chicken, cut into 8 pieces
· 2 cups low fat buttermilk
· 2 tablespoons kosher salt
· 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
· 2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional)
· 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
· Tapioca Flour, for dredging (gluten-free)
· Vegetable shortening, for frying

Directions
Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Melt just enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.
Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 175 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)
Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. (adapted from Alton Brown's recipe)


E, W*, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Contains Milk

The tapioca flour tends to coat the chicken more densely than wheat flour and needs to be shaken more vigorously to remove excess. This gluten-free recipe is the same as the non-gluten-free recipe except for the tapioca flour. No other changes to ingredients or process.

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

* 2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes
* 1 cup half-and-half
* 1 tablespoons kosher salt or 2 teaspoons shallot salt (Penzey's)
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Place rinsed potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Return to hot pot and mash while adding the salt or garlic salt, half& half and butter. Cover until ready to serve.

E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Contains Milk

Cole Slaw

If you are cooking for three to six people or so, I cannot think of a single reason to buy a whole cabbage for this. Every supermarket has prepared cole slaw in the produce section. Our preferred market offers a bag of shredded carrots and green and red cabbage for around two dollars. We add our favorite egg-free dressing and mix until everything is lightly coated.

Tonight's dressing was most-to-least; EVOO, Champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, and shallot salt(yes, we love this salt)whisked until emulsified. Taste often and balance ingredients to get the right taste and consistency.

M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh


Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Friday, September 4, 2009

Fresh Friday Night Fish



All of a sudden - grilling outside requires lighting. Better than an umbrella I suppose, but I didn't get enough summer this year, did you?

Grilled swordfish with grilled asparagus, hollandaise sauce, and roasted D'Amico Farms red potatoes.

Marinate swordfish in olive or canola oil, cider vinegar and onion powder.

Coat the asparagus in olive oil and shallot salt.

Coat the potatoes in olive oil and shallot salt. Get these into a 450° F oven before you start the grill. The potatoes need a good long roast. An hour or even a little more makes for a crispy skin and a tasty, fluffy potato. Everyone agreed that these potatoes were particularly flavorful. We credit D'Amico Farms with growing the best local potatoes.




The fish and the asparagus only need ten or fifteen minutes on a hot grill.

Hollandaise. Nothing quite like a hollandaise to top your asparagus...or is there?

This is how Alton Brown makes Hollandaise:

Ingredients

* 3 egg yolks
* 1 teapsoon water
* 1/4 teaspoon sugar
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Pour 1-inch of water into a large saucepan; over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low.

Place egg yolks and 1 teaspoon water in a medium mixing bowl and whisk until mixture lightens in color, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar and whisk for another 30 seconds.

Place the mixture over the simmering water and whisk constantly for 3 to 5 minutes, or until there is a clear line that is drawn in the mixture when you pull your whisk through, or the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the bowl from over the pan and gradually add the butter, 1 piece at a time, and whisk until all of the butter is incorporated. Place the bowl back over the simmering water occasionally so that it will be warm enough the melt the butter. Add the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately or hold in a thermos to keep warm.

OR



Knorr...no eggs so it is not really Hollandaise, but if you want no eggs...it is Hollandaise with no eggs.


E,P,N,Se,Sh

Contains dairy.

Contains wheat.

Contains soy.

Contains fish.


Key: M,E,W,P,S,N,Se,F,Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Two Pizzas are Better than One.

Whether you are using a gluten-free dough, or a dairy-free "cheese" pizza is a versatile dish. The oven is hot. You can cook two pizzas in about the same time as one pizza and people like different toppings on their pizzas. If you have been reading along, you know that sometimes I will cook a pizza with different toppings on different parts of the pizza based on individual preferences. That won't work if one of the toppings is an allergen.

Preheat oven to 450 or higher.

Pizza #1

Start with a thin dough on parchment paper lining a half sheet pan. Sprinkle dough with Penzey's Italian Herb Mix (Turkish oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, and cracked rosemary) and cover with a thin layer of tomato or marinara sauce. Mozzarella next and then some grated Irish Dubliner cheese.



Toppings for this pizza are browned ground pork with garlic, shallots and mushrooms sautéed in EVOO and seasoned with shallot salt.



Pizza #2

Start with a thin dough on parchment paper lining a half sheet pan. Sprinkle dough with Penzey's Italian Herb Mix (Turkish oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, and cracked rosemary) and cover with a thin layer of tomato or marinara sauce. Mozzarella next and then some grated Irish Dubliner cheese.



Toppings for this pizza are more mozzarella and more grated Irish Dubliner cheese.

Ten minutes or so in the hot oven and they are both done. Let them rest for a minute or so before cutting and it is dinner time.

E,P,S*,N,Se,F,Sh

Cheese contains dairy.

Dough contains wheat.


Key: M,E,W,P,S,N,Se,F,Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

* the linked dairy-free cheese contains soy. The pizzas cooked did not contain soy.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Always Read Labels. Really. Always.


A quick seafood lunch; this is a Legal Seafoods® Lobster Bisque from the grocery store served with Trader Joe's® Steamer Clams and Pita Bread. The Lobster Bisque had a metallic taste. STP is sodium tripolyphosphate and STP is often blamed for the metallic taste in seafoods. I do not see STP listed with the ingredients, but I do recognize the metallic taste sometimes present with seafood dishes that include cream. The metallic taste did not stop me from sopping up the bisque on the bottom of the bowl with my bread, but still...I would rather be raving about the flavor of the lobster. Come to think of it the metallic taste might BE the lobster. Lobster is best eaten very recently dispatched. Reheated lobster is just not the same. Reheated lobster does not taste quite right. Is the lobster gaining a metallic flavor as it ages?

This subject warrants further investigation. Are lobsters eating discarded thermometers? Discarded sardine cans at the bottom of the ocean?

Do you know what I mean about the metallic taste?

What do you think? email: chef@brookeok.com

The Steamer Clams in Garlic and Butter Sauce were a hit.

Trader Joe's has new foods all the time and they are all worth a try. Some don't make the cut, but some are remarkable. The Steamer Clams I will buy again. They are not a fresh seafood product. Frozen is frozen, right? But in about ten minutes, you have steamer clams in a butter and garlic sauce. Like the French Onion Soup, I might make a better French Onion Soup than the frozen version at Trader Joe's, but mine takes all day. Trader Joe's takes less than an hour, is delicious, and we don't have all day, do we?



Always read labels. Brooke noticed an area on this box where the manufacturer recommends trying the peanut butter version of these cookie-cakes. Sure enough, re-reading the label revealed that this product was made on equipment that also made products containing peanuts, tree nuts, etc. Good catch Brooke! If a product has a peanut or peanut butter version, be cautious and look for shared equipment warnings on the label. "In a facility" is not the same as "shared equipment." For most peanut allergic people, it does not matter if a grocer sells jarred peanuts next to everything else, but if your ice cream machine just made a batch with nuts, and the next batch is vanilla that is shared equipment with nuts.

Trader Joe's Steamer Clams with Legal Seafoods Lobster Bisque.

This seafood lunch exemplifies the allergen expectations for a heat and eat meal.

Legal Seafoods heat and eat Lobster Bisque contains all kinds of seafood and milk and wheat.

Trader Joe's Steamer Clams contain shellfish and milk.



E, P, N

Contains: Milk , Wheat, Soy, Sesame, Fish, Shellfish.

Also contains SPICES and/or FLAVORINGS.

People with specific allergies to specific allergens require specific labeling.

Key: M,E,W,P,S,N,Se,F,Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels