Strawberries are in Season!

Strawberries! Strawberries are now in season! Yum Yum Yum Yum. The best part of having them in season are their prices. Cheap cheap cheap! This means I'm going to start making lots and lots of desserts for my girlfriend with strawberries. I plan on making some fruit tarts, a strawberry panna cotta, compotes for my waffles pancakes, and french toast, and can't forget fresh strawberry smoothies and milkshakesss.

I bet most of you didn't know that there are different kinds of strawberries huh! On the picture to the right, you will see a picture of a alpine strawberry or otherwise known as a musk strawberry. I have yet to try one but I've heard that their flavor is ridiculously good. That it doesn't even compare to your average strawberry. Apparently the smell is really strong and the fruits themselves are extremely sweet. According to wikipedia, the flavor is a combination of strawberry, raspberry and pineapple. I want. Although the fruits are delicious, they perish quickly and are very sensitive and easily bruised.

There is another kind of strawberry call the Mara des Bois strawberry. It was made in a French laboratory that combined the taste and aroma of the alpine strawberry but with the stronger body of the regular strawberry that most people are accustomed to.


Flavors that go well with strawberries!

Almonds
Bananas
Basil
Caramel
Champagne
Cinnamon
Coconut
Cognac
Cointreau
Cream cheese
Black Currants
Figs
Guavas
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Mascarpone
Oranges
Passion fruit
Peaches
Pineapple
Port
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Sherry
Sour Cream
Vanilla
Balsamic Vinegar
Red Wine
Yogurt
Zabaione (Zabaione is a custard made with egg yolks, sugar, and a sweet wine or champagne)

Information from Wikipedia, 1001 Foods You Must Try Before You Die, and Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

Asparagus is in Season!

Asparagus! It is officially Spring! That means asparagus is currently in season!

The best part about Asparagus right now is that it'll be found in every super market and they're extremely cheap! Asparagus is very versatile and can be eaten roasted, grilled, sauteed, in a salad, as a soup, and it's healthy for you! The pictures to the right are of Asparagus rolled in bacon and asparagus soup with a drizzle of olive oil, Truffle oil would make a delicious garnish as well.
If you're feeling creative try combing asparagus with the list of ingredients below! They are ingredients that go well with asparagus!
Bacon
Chives
Crab
Cream
Eggs

Garlic
Ginger
Horseradish
Lemon
Mayonnaise
Mushrooms
Mustard
Orange
Pancetta
Parmesan
Pepper
Rosemary
Shallot
Soy Sauce
Truffles

Chicken roulade with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Asparagus!

Chicken Roulade! Chicken Roulade is just a fancy name for flattened chicken breast, stuffed with whatever you fancy. In this version, we shall be using wilted spinach, mushroom duxelle, and asparagus.
Directions: First, flatten out your chicken breast, but not so thin that it tears. Then wilt your spinach by either blanching it or sauteing the spinach lightly with garlic and salt and set aside. Chop your mushrooms very finely and cook down until all the moisture is gone and deglaze with red wine. Cook off all the wine till the mushrooms are nearly dry.  Season the mushrooms and set aside. Blanch or roast the asparagus in hot salted water and also set aside.
Now lay the chicken breast flat and put in the spinach, mushrooms, and asparagus and roll tightly! Wrap them in saran wrap and chill! You can also wrap them in prosciutto or bacon to flavor them even further. Chill until firm and then cook them in a saute pan to get nice color and then finish them in the oven. Cut on a bias to make them look pretty and plate! Serve the roulade with a nice sauce like demi-glace, a reduced port wine sauce, or a nice red pepper coulis.

Dungeness Crab Carbonara

I currently work at The Terrace which is the restaurant that is inside the Langham Hotel in Pasadena. One of our new dishes for spring is our Dungeness Crab Carbonara! For those that do not know, Carbonara is a traditional Italian pasta made with noodles, guanciale or pancetta, pecorino or parmesan cheese, and egg yolks. Guanciale is cured pork cheek, whereas pancetta is pork belly meat that is cured with spices and then dried! Our Restaurant uses guanciale and parmesan in ours.
To make this recipe you will need:

Bucatini, which is a pasta that is like a thick spaghetti with a hollow center, like a skinnier twizzler noodle!

Egg yolks mixed with a small amount of cream for the sauce.

Guanciale: Cured Pork Cheek. You can also use pancetta or even bacon.

Onion, diced small.

Peas.

Dungeness Crab Meat. Or any crab meat that you would like.

Parsley, chop and sprinkle over as a garnish.

Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions : First Boil water and cook the pasta in salted water. Then while the pasta is cooking, render out the fat from the guanciale, pancetta, or bacon. When the fat has rendered out and your meat of choise is crispy, saute your onions in the fat that has rendered out. This gives the sauce amazing flavor. Then add peas and crab meat just enough to warm through. Drain the pasta and add it to your saute pan with your sauteed ingredients. Take away from the heat and add the egg yolks and cream mixture and mix quickly so the egg won't curdle! continue to toss and mix the egg yolk mixture with the noodles until the sauce congeals. Mix in your cheese of choice until it is melted into the sauce. Then season with salt and pepper and plate! Garnish with your chopped parsley and eat!

FOOD MUTHA EFFER DO YOU EAT IT?

Hello!

This blog will basically be me talking about food, food, and some more food. I enjoy learning about and using new ingredients. This blog will tell you what ingredients are in season and what goes well with what. I'll also spend  a lot of time talking about my random cravings.

If it's something you put into your mouth, we will probably talk about it.. Keep your dirty thoughts to yourselves.
So... FOOD MUTHA EFFER! DO YOU EAT IT?