Dans Gourmet Restoration

This is one of my favorite dishes to make for company.  Use your fingers to separate the skin from the breasts of the hens - be careful inserting the prosciutto under the skin.  I serve this with long grain wild rice, and usually oven roasted green beans or asparagus, and a nice gorgonzola pear salad.  To oven roast either veggie, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and powdered garlic, and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes ( in this case - put in with the hens at 425 for about 12 minutes).  Warm the cream cheese up slightly before mixing herbs in - makes it a bit easier.   I  like to serve this meal with a nice Fume Blanc by Dry Creak Vineyards - an oaked version of Sauvignon Blanc - very mild, and crisp enough to bring out the fatty taste of the birds!  About $13 a bottle. The nice thing about this meal, is the birds can be prepared the night before, and refridgerated.  Total cook time for everything is 40 minutes....

OK, it's been a bit since the last post - I plead totally busy finishing my Christmas painting orders!  I am off the next several days, so there will be several posts in a row.  This is my own take on shrimp scampi ( I have a few - more to come..)  This is totally easy, totally fast, totally cheap, and REALLY good!!  The biggest thing is to not over burn the butter - LIGHT brown is the key.  Add the shrimp just after it starts to turn a nice golden brown.  No worries though - this is a totally easy dish, and great to impress a date!  Serve with a nice crisp California Chardonnay - I prefer an oaked Chard - like Kendal Jackson, or Toasted Head - no more than a $10 - $12 bottle. Enjoy!  Bon Appetit!! Shrimp Scampi in Burnt Butter Crème Sauce 18 jumbo shrimp (21-25 per lb – frozen are fine) 4 cloves garlic    1 Large shallot               ½ stick butter 1 box frozen peas ...

Merry Christmas (almost)! In preparation for the plethora of family time, I've been busy in the kitchen experimenting with savory and unusual treats to give as gifts. I found two fabulous recipes; one for eggnog cupcakes and one for gingerbread truffles. The cupcake recipe is unmodified from Annie's Eats blog, and the truffle recipe is loosely based on an Epicurious recipe. Rather than making them gingerbread, it's more of a ginger spice. Either way, both are easy to make and easy to enjoy. For the cupcakes, check out the recipe at Annie's Eats ( www.annies-eats.com/2010/12/17/eggnog-cupcakes/ ). I didn't modify anything, and they're incredible. Definitely opt to use dark rum. The truffles are basically my own recipe. Ginger spice truffles: 3/4 cup whipping cream 10 whole cloves 1 tablespoon molasses 1 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 14 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 24 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup crystalized gi...

This is a great dish - simple to make, and classic taste!  A great company dish.  Enjoy!! Buon  appetito! Pollo Monte Bianco This is a great, simple recipe for a traditional Italian dish – but on steroids! An EXCELLENT company dish! Ingredients: 4 Chicken breasts, cut in ½, and hammered to ¼ inch thickness ½ 8.5 oz can artichoke hearts, drained ¾ cup chopped porta bella mushrooms 2 large cloves garlic, diced fine 1 small shallot diced fine 1 cup frozen or fresh spinach 2/3 cup white whine ¼ cup half and half 1 roasted pepper from 7.5 oz jar Salt and pepper to taste 3 tbs butter 2 tbs light olive oil (not first press virgin) ¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese Instructions: In large skillet, melt butter with olive oil, add garlic and shallots and ½ the wine, and sauté till translucent – about 4 minutes.. Season pounded chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and sauté in butter/oil mixture till browned – about 5 minutes per side. Add ½ the wine, and simmer, stirring browned b...

Ok, it’s Sunday, my favorite day of the week.   It’s the one day my wife and I get to spend together, so we always try and make it special – at least food wise!   Today we went Christmas shopping for the kids, and now its time to cook.   We live in New England , so it was a little gray and cold today – felt like snow, but it never did.   Have a fire going, and Lynne is making her infamous Guinness Beef Stew….. this is definitely an all time favorite, and super easy!!   I made this for the office once, and everyone loved it! Instead of stew meat, we usually use a Top Round ( sometimes known as London Broil) steak, and cut it into cubes.   It costs about the same, and is a much higher quality meat.   For the Garlic Smashed potatoes, we use baby red’s, with the skins on.   Cut them up into about ½ inch cubes, and use about a heaping handful per serving. Rinse, then cover with water.   I add about a ¼ tsp salt, and ½ tsp garlic powder to the wate...

Shrimp Grits – possibly the best meal EVER!!   Felt like comfort food tonight, so whipped up some shrimp grits – probably my favorite meal.   This recipe is for 4-6 servings, so I cut it by about 1/3 for Lynne and I.   I used cream cheese instead of marscapone with the grits tonight – yes, grits again!   I am probably the only northerner around who considers grits a staple! I have made this dish for my cooking classes many times, and I have NEVER had anyone NOT love it!   This recipe has been up on my website for a bit as well – because it is a real keeper!   I guarantee you will love this dish – or I will cook you dinner for a year….. lol, well you know what I mean…. It’s down home, southern good! It is a simple meal to make, and is definitely company quality!   I mix the shrimp mixture in with the grits for every day use, but for company, I would top the grits with the shrimp mixture, and garnished with prosciutto and chives– it’s a much mo...

Sorry its been a bit since my last post – been incredibly busy with work, and getting my Christmas painting orders done….   But I thought I would throw in some advice on equipment.   The right kitchen equipment is absolutely key.   Spend as much as you can afford on the right pots and pans, and most importantly – a couple of good knives.   I would say 80% of the kitchens I have been in have cheap, dull knives – usually thrown in a drawer with a bunch of other utensils…. Ouch!   Buy a good knife or two, and take care of them, and you will be amazed how much easier life in the kitchen is! Knives – the MOST important implement in the kitchen!!!   If nothing else, get two very high quality knives – a 6 or 8 inch chef, (or a 7 inch santuko), and a 4 inch utility to start – Wustoff, Heinkel, Kershaw are all good names.   Plan on spending about $100 on chef, and $50 on utility – it will be money WELL SPENT! I understand this is a huge amount of money - but p...

Hi all, Tory again, coming to you with a sweet, savory, and ridiculously easy winter meal.  During the week (and most weekends), I work...a lot.  Which usually means, as much as I love to cook, I usually don't feel like it.  As you may have figured out, I'm a total carnivore.  Arteries be damned, I eat steak several nights a week.  I like experimenting with different dry rubs and marinades, and I like giving steak a sweet flavor-- it's unexpected, and good red meat has a soft, sweet flavor on its own.  Last night, I used a store-bought pomegranate marinade made by a company called Stonewall Kitchen (their sauces are phenomenal).  However, a home-made marinade is pretty easy to do.  Simply brown a clove of garlic in some olive oil, add about a cup and a quarter of pomegranate juice and a teaspoon of rosemary and boil until it's reduced to about a half a cup.  Sprinkle cracked salt and copious amounts of fresh ground pepper over ...

  Boy, do I love this time of year in New England – cold outside, nice toasty fire going inside – and all day to cook!  The only thing missing is a little snow!  Roaring Fire - an Osso Buco Essential!  Definitely time to make the first Osso Buco of the season!  My wife and I love this dish  -  not only because it tastes awesome, but boy does it make the house smell great as it simmers. It is a great winter dish to make. (Ok, I have to admit I cheated and we made it back in August – what can I say – I like it!)  Many people don’t know what it is, or have only seen it on restaurant menus – usually pretty expensive on those menus as well!  Osso Buco is essentially a veal stew, and is an Italian staple:– chunks of tender meat and an amazing tomato based broth, with heavy accents of lemon and parsley – totally savory!  It is served on its own, or over a variety of pasta, rice – or in my case, creamy risotto. This is a very time consumi...

Ok, salmon...... definately NOT my favorite fish.  I have broiled it, poached it, grilled it, sauteed it - even eaten it raw ( Ok, I actually LIKE it as sushi... go figure.), but for the most part..... pass.  Unfortunately, Lynne LOVES salmon..... so we eat it about once a week or so.  Alas, I have found a way to cook it that really tastes great, and is super easy and fast.  This is a super simple recipe - most of it in cooked in one dish - and totally company quality ( meaning I would serve this for dinner guests) ! Start with about 1/2 lb of salmon (for 2 servings), 1/2 a bag of fozen asparagus ( Stop and Shop Nature's Promise is awsome) - or better yet, a 3" bundle of fresh asparagus, a 9x12 baking dish ( or bigger if possible), and some olive oil. ( First, pre heat the oven to 400 degrees.)  Brush the bottom of the dish with the olive oil, and place the salmon in the middle.  Add asparagus around the fish, and brush both the asparagu...

Once again, didn't feel like cooking last night.... hmmm seems to happen a lot to someone who is writing a cooking blog..... Started rummaging through the fridge, and decided to make a frittata.  I love these, because you can put everything but the kitchen sink into them, and they taste great!  A frittata is basically a big fluffy omelet, made open faced in an oven capable ( No plastic handles – wrap handle in foil if plastic) 12” sauté pan.   We had some Italian sausage, tri color peppers (yup – those again!) an onion, garlic, and some cheese   to work with.   I would have loved some mushrooms to throw in as well, but no luck. Diced up 3 cloves of garlic fine, and the onion rough, and sautéed in a mixture of butter and olive oil until the onions were translucent.   Added the sausage, and broke it up into small pieces while it was cooking ( about 8 minutes or so), then added the peppers last.   When the peppers were tender, I added 9 eggs beaten with a...

It has been requested that I post my TOP SECRET Bloody Mary recipe here.  This recipe has served me well since my early bartending days at the Dock and Dine in Old Saybrook, CT, back in the 80's...(ok, I probably shouldn't date myself like that!).   My wife and I enjoy these on lazy Sunday's when reading the paper in front of the fire, and friends have enjoyed them on Block Island many a time as well ( Thanks Bob and Mary R!!!) This has been a recipe I have used for a couple of decades, and only now am I releasing it to the lucky followers of this blog!  A couple of caveats though.  Use good vodka, not the cheap stuff.  You can get a decent bottle of vodka for about 12 bucks - Svedka, or a new Polish vodka called Sobieski, which is totally amazing for about ten bucks.  Sobieski will stand up to all but the best Russian or Polish vodkas out there for about half the price, and its a great martini vodka as well .  Why the good stu...