Last week I visited the States for the first time in a year and a half. It was good to see my family and friends. Speaking of family, my new niece, Chloe, was born last Tuesday. I'm glad that I was in town to catch that. Here is a photo of me and the new baby, as well as me with a slightly less-than-enthusiastic-to-be-around-me niece, Allison. See if you can guess who is who...
I also took this opportunity being home to destroy a plate of 50 wings at Hooters. You see, the UK doesn't really deal in the more-than-you-should-eat restaurants, or even chicken wings for that matter, so I seized this opportunity with Jeff (my wingman) to revisit an American classic.
Later in the trip, I had the chance to cook dinner for a group of good friends and family. I have included the recipes here. I should note that I will try to keep this blog as a record of things we've cooked as well as places travelled. I think that dinner worked out well enough to warrant showing the details here. Enjoy!
Starter:
Sweet Potato and Roasted Plantain Soup with Smoked Chile Crema and Fried Plantain
2 sweet potato
5 plantains, divided use
½ cup maple syrup
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup light coconut milk
2 teaspoons honey
¾ teaspoon salt, divided use
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup creme fraiche
1 teaspoon chipotle chile puree
For the Smoked Crema
Whisk together creme fraiche (or sour cream) and the chiptole puree in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one day in advance.
For the Soup
Preheat the oven to 400F. Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and roast until soft, 50 to 60 minutes, Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, slice the potato lengthwise and scoop our their flesh into a bowl and mash until smooth.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, place 4 of the plantains on a baking sheet and roast until their skins turn black and the plantains are slightly softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, then peel and cut into chunks.
Heat the maple syrup in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the plantain chunks and saute until caramelized, 4-5 minutes. Remove the plantains using a slotted spoon and transfer to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. (KEVIN'S NOTE: When I did this, the mixture went really solid and actually caused the food processor blade to stop moving. Scoop it out and I assure you, when you finish the soup later, the liquid ingredients and the heat will soften this up enough to blend with an immerision blender.) Set aside.
Combine the potaotes, plantains and stock in a medium saucepan and cook for 30 minutes. Add the coconut milk and honey and cook for 5 minutes; saeson with salt and pepper.
Blend the ingredients in the pot with an immersion blender (if you have one) or in batches in a blender. Add additional water and stock until you achieve the correct consistency. Pass through a strainer into a clean pot and return to medium heat to heat through, if needed. If the mixture seems to thick add additional stock or water and stir to cmbine well. Keep warm.
For the Fried Plantain
Heat some canola oil (about 1/2") in the bottom of a skillet over medium-high heat. Take the last plantain and cut into small matchsticks. Fry the plantain sticks in batches in the hot oil 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt.
Final Assembly
Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with some of the smoked chile crema. Place a small mound of the fried plantain in the center of the soup and garnish with a few fresh cilantro leaves. Serve hot.
Main:
Black Pepper Crusted Filets Mignons with Ancho-Red Pepper Sauce and Toasted Goat Cheese
5 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup red onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic, coarsely chopped
2 cans plum tomato
3 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 ancho chiles, blistered, soaked, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
600 g beef, filet mignon
¼ teaspoon salt
3-¼ teaspoon pepper
8 ounces goat cheese
¼ cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups spinach
1 green onion, thinly sliced (for garnish)
First prepare the peppers and the chilies. Preheat the broiler to high and get a small saucepan of water boiling. Do the chilies first, tearing them into flat pieces, discarding the seeds and the membranes inside. In a medium sized skillet over high heat, put the chilies in the skillet (in batches if necessary) and allow the skins to blister and change color. When they are all finished, cover them with the boiling water and put something over the top of them to weight them down. Let them soak for 20-30 minutes.
For the peppers, lay some foil out on a baking tray and drizzle some olive oil on it. I like to slice the peppers into flat pieces first before roasting, so that I can lay them all flat and not have to deal with turning them in the oven. Lay the pepper pieces out on the tray and move them around to coat them in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place under the broiler (4-6 inches away from the heat source) and roast until the peppers have a fair amount of blackness on the skins, about 12-16 minutes.
Leaving the broiler on, pull the peppers out and, using a paring knife, work to separate the blackened skins from the peppers. Discard the charred skins and roughly chop the peppers. Strain the ancho chilies (when ready) and roughly chop. Now these are ready for inclusion in the sauce.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, red peppers, and anchos, and cook until the tomatoes break down and liquid thickens, 20 to 30 minutes.
Carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor (or blender) and process until smooth. Add the vinegar, honey and chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and pulse a few times just to combine it all.
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of canola oil in a seasoned cast-iron pan or large, non-stick pan over high heat. Season the steaks on both sides with salt. Season one side of the filet with the pepper, pressing it in to adhere to the meat. Place the filet, pepper side down, in the pan and cook until golden brown and a good crust has formed, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the steaks over and cook to medium-rare, about 3 minutes more. Quickly turn them over on their sides and just brown (not to a crust) around the sides - no more than 45 seconds total to just color the sides. Move the filets to a baking sheet. Get another large skillet or saute pan going over medium-high heat and add the drizzle of olive oil.
Top each filet with a disc of goat cheese, and place under the broiler. Broil until the cheese starts to become bubbly and turn golden brown, about two minutes. Meanwhile, quickly saute the spinach in the hot olive oil, just until it starts to wilt, about 30 seconds. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the pine nuts. Give it a toss and remove from the heat.
Ladle some of the sauce in the middle of large dinner plates. Top with a few tablespoons of the spinach and then place the steak on top of the spinach. Serve hot.
Dessert:
Milk-Chocolate and Peanut Butter Creme Brulee
3 cups heavy cream
½ cups whole milk
½ cup peanuts, toasted
½ cup granulated sugar, divided use
3-½ ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup peanut butter, a smooth type, such as Jif
7 egg yolks
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup raw sugar, such as turbinado
Bring the heavy cream and the milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, remove from the stove, and stir in the peanuts. Let sit, covered, for at least one hour in the fridge and up to 24 hours. Strain the mixture, wipe out the pan, and return the mixture to the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the mxiture back on the stove, add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and bring to a simmer, stirring until the suagr has dissolved. Remove from the heat and wisk in the chocolate and peanut butter. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks, salt and the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar until the mixture become a pale yellow. Slowly whisk the hot chocolate mixture and continue whisking until combined. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.
Place four 8-ounce ramekins inside a large baking dish and using a ladle, divide the mixture evenly into the ramekins. Pour hot water into the dish until is reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custard is set around the edges but still jiggles in the center, 40 to 45 minutes. (KEVIN'S NOTE: I checked it at 35 minutes and they were done.) The custard will continue to cook as it cools. Let col to room temperature, then cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
Preheat the broiler until very hot. Sprinkle an even coat of turbinado (or brown) sugar over each custard, place the ramekins on a baking sheet, and broil until the sugar is melted and a dark golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
All of these recipes appear in the Bobby Flay Mesa Grill Cookbook. See you soon!
