In the Kitchen
Our wonderful Chef's Circle is taking a break from the market this month. Make sure you come back and check out more chef's and great seasonal recipes in September.
posted July 29, 2003 | permanent link to this article
Philip Speer
Pastry chef Philip Speer at Jean Luc's Bistro is a native born Texan with local, outstanding credentials in his field of work. He began his career nearly a decade ago at Quacks 43rd Street Bakery, Texas French Bread, Tap Root Breads, and Cooks Night Out. At age 23, Speer was appointed executive pastry chef for the San Gabriel Group (Mezzaluna, Granite Café and Bitter End) where he led a team of chefs to execute his creations.
In August of 2001, Speer joined talented owner/chef Shawn Cirkiel as pastry chef at the newly opened Jean Luc's Bistro. The bistro was recently awarded its fifth star by the Austin American-Statesman, making it one of only five restaurants in Austin with such a distinction. The pastry chef recently partnered with Cirkiel to host a dinner in New York City at the prestigious James Beard House.
Speer was awarded the 2001 Best Sweet Bite from the Austin Chronicle for his Pear and Green Tea Sorbet, as well as the People's Choice Award at the Austin Winter Wonderland of Desserts for his Triple Chocolate Fantasy. Speer has also received accolades in Bon Appetit and Cooks Illustrated magazines, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.
posted July 22, 2003 | permanent link to this article
Greg Ritter trained at the California Culinary Academy in San Fransisco. While there he worked at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio and under food writer/restaurantuer Patricia Untermann at the venerable Hayes Street Grill. He also spent two years working at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market with some of the best produce in the world. He is currently a chef instructor at the Texas Culinary Academy, a personal chef and a contributing food writer for the Austin Monthly magazine.
Longhorn "Sashimi" Salad with Tomatoes
4oz Longhorn Ribeye Steak from Arrow K Ranch
1/2C Brown Arborio Rice, cooked
1/2C Tomatoes, chopped heiloom varieties
3T Cilantro, chopped
1T Basil, chopped
4ea Scallions, sliced
2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2t Garlic, minced
1t Ginger, minced
TT Lime Juice, fresh
TT Salt and Pepper
Saute the garlic and ginger in the olive oil until aromatic and set aside and cool. Pound ribeye between two sheets of thick plastic until very thin. Cut pounded ribeye into 1"srips about 3/8" wide. Combine beef with all remaining ingredients and serve.
posted July 17, 2003 | permanent link to this article
Abigail Bird Donovan
Abigail began building her personal chef business in Austin with a round-about, but related training in architecture. She started with the study of fine arts and planning space (architecture) at Tulane University in Louisiana. She then designed restaurants and other food spaces for six years. She naturally was curious and competent in the realm of preparing food and studying why it was good for the body, and actively pursued self-study in food, recipes, diet and nutrition.
It helped that she was introduced to and shared time with such great New Orleans chefs as Emeril Lagasse, Susan Spicer, and Jamie Shannon. Abigail also learned on the heels of Dicky Brennan while working at Palace Café.
She is currently a guest chef/instructor at Central Market Cooking Schools, a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and a former member of the United States Personal Chef Association and the Austin chapter founding president. She also works in conjunction with Crawford Malone Fine Wine Consulting as their Austin liaison. Abigail, multi-talented as she is, also hosted a monthly local cooking show, "Austin Get's Cooking".
Abigail provides service as a personal chef to local clients, and also adds the dash of being a culinary consultant and nutrition educator to help people realize the most healthful means of eating food well.
Be prepared to be delighted with her blender gazpacho that makes it easy to enjoy fresh, nutritious vegetables from the Market!
Summer Blender Gazpacho with Margarita Cream
1 cucumber- peeled, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper- seeded, membranes removed and chopped
2 tomatoes- peeled and chopped
2 green onions- chopped
1/2 yellow onion- chopped
32 oz. tomato juice
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
1/4 t. dried dill & cumin
1/2 t. ancho chili powder, salt & black pepper
1 t. honey, lime juice & red wine vinegar
2 t. olive oil
4 basil leaves
dash of Tabasco
1/2 cup sour cream or crema mexicana
2 T. tequila ½ t. salt
1 T. fresh squeezed lime juice 1 T. Countreau or Triple Sec
DIRECTIONS
Blend together in a small bowl the sour cream, salt, lime juice, tequila & orange liqueur. Set aside.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, dip the tomatoes into the boiling water for 1 minute and into ice water immediately following. This will loosen the skin and make peeling much easier. Peel tomato skins from tomatoes and discard.
In a cuisinart, blend tomato juice through Tabasco until smooth. Set aside in a large bowl. Pulse tomatoes, green & yellow onions until minced and add to large bowl. Pulse cucumber & green bell pepper until minced and add to large bowl. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Taste and adjust for salt and heat.
Serve in small cups, shallow soup bowls, shot glasses or margarita glasses and top with a generous spoonful of margarita cream.
TECHNIQUE
Quick is the key with this recipe. Traditional gazpachos are hand minced and blended. The invention of the cuisinart revolutionized cooking and cut the preparation time in half. A blender can be used as well but watch it with a careful eye... you may need to add some of the tomato juice puree to the vegetables as they are being minced to maintain uniformity and to keep the vegetables from getting stuck at the bottom of the blender.
This recipe attempts to engage all of the senses... sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Honey is an unusual addition to gazpacho but it brightens and enhances the other flavors.
Try sautéing lump crabmeat in a touch of butter or shrimp in a little tequila for a different touch or garnish with fresh avocado slices.
Serve with crisp crostini topped with a crumble of Mexican cheese or grated Asiago.
posted July 10, 2003 | permanent link to this article
Karen Farnsworth, Amuse Bouché
There will be no Chefs' Circle demonstration this week, but in case you missed Karen Farnsworth, last week, here's her bio. Demos resume July 12th with Abigail Bird Donovan.
Karen Farnsworth, with Quincy Adams Erickson, is the chef/owner of Amuse Bouché, a catering company focused exclusively on finely crafted, eclectic food. Farnsworth met Erickson at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and decided to open Amuse Bouché after working together catering a couple of charity events, including a women's cancer benefit at the Cannes Film Festival. Karen has worked for the prestigious JH & Co. catering in Paris for two years and trained under Michael Rostang at one of his baby bistros. She was also a teaching assistant for four years at La Toque d'Or, a cooking school in Paris. Karen is a member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. She has also been on the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Hospitality Committee since 2000. In addition to Quincy, Karen shares a kitchen and professional association with chefs Abigail Bird Donovan and Beth Pav. Together the group is known as 'Les Femmes Culinaires.'
STUFFED ZUCCHINI
Karen Farnsworth
Yield: 4 side dish servings
Stuffed Zucchini
INGREDIENTS:
2 medium zucchini (or other squash)
10 large mushrooms, washed and finely chopped
3 T. butter
2 T. onion, finely chopped
2 t. flour (or more)
Vegetable stock or cream to moisten
1 t. parsley, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper
Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat butter over medium high flame. Sauteé onions for a few minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add the flour and stir to coat. Add cream or vegetable stock and seasonings, mixing well. Allow to cool enough to handle.
While the mushroom filling cooks, trim the ends off zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out center pulp with a melon baller or spoon leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fill zucchini with mushroom mixture, mounding slightly. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
In an ovenproof dish, put an inch of water. Place zucchini in dish and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through.
posted July 2, 2003 | permanent link to this article
Karen Farnsworth, Amuse Bouché
Karen Farnsworth, with Quincy Adams Erickson, is the chef/owner of Amuse Bouché a catering company focused exclusively on finely crafted, eclectic food. Farnsworth met Erickson at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and decided to open Amuse Bouché after working together catering a couple of charity events, including a women's cancer benefit at the Cannes Film Festival. Karen has worked for the prestigious JH & Co. catering in Paris for two years and trained under Michael Rostang at one of his baby bistros. She was also a teaching assistant for four years at La Toque d'Or, a cooking school in Paris. Karen is a member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. She has also been on the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Hospitality Committee since 2000. In addition to Quincy, Karen shares a kitchen and professional association with chefs Abigail Bird Donovan and Beth Pav. Together the group is known as 'Les Femmes Culinaires.'
STUFFED ZUCCHINI
Karen Farnsworth
Yield: 4 side dish servings
Stuffed Zucchini
INGREDIENTS:
2 medium zucchini (or other squash)
10 large mushrooms, washed and finely chopped
3 T. butter
2 T. onion, finely chopped
2 t. flour (or more)
Vegetable stock or cream to moisten
1 t. parsley, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper
Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat butter over medium high flame. Saute� onions for a few minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add the flour and stir to coat. Add cream or vegetable stock and seasonings, mixing well. Allow to cool enough to handle.
While the mushroom filling cooks, trim the ends off zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out center pulp with a melon baller or spoon leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fill zucchini with mushroom mixture, mounding slightly. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
In an ovenproof dish, put an inch of water. Place zucchini in dish and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through.
posted | permanent link to this article
You all missed Karen at the June 28th presentation of the Chefs' Circle. We're keeping her bio in so you know who came up with the zucchini recipe below. No Chefs' Circle presentation for July 5.
Karen Farnsworth, with Quincy Adams Erickson, is the chef/owner of Amuse Bouch�, a catering company focused exclusively on finely crafted, eclectic food. Farnsworth met Erickson at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and decided to open Amuse Bouch� after working together catering a couple of charity events, including a women's cancer benefit at the Cannes Film Festival. Karen has worked for the prestigious JH & Co. catering in Paris for two years and trained under Michael Rostang at one of his baby bistros. She was also a teaching assistant for four years at La Toque d'Or, a cooking school in Paris. Karen is a member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. She has also been on the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Hospitality Committee since 2000. In addition to Quincy, Karen shares a kitchen and professional association with chefs Abigail Bird Donovan and Beth Pav. Together the group is known as 'Les Femmes Culinaires.'
STUFFED ZUCCHINI
Karen Farnsworth
Yield: 4 side dish servings
Stuffed Zucchini
INGREDIENTS:
2 medium zucchini (or other squash)
10 large mushrooms, washed and finely chopped
3 T. butter
2 T. onion, finely chopped
2 t. flour (or more)
Vegetable stock or cream to moisten
1 t. parsley, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper
Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat butter over medium high flame. Saute� onions for a few minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add the flour and stir to coat. Add cream or vegetable stock and seasonings, mixing well. Allow to cool enough to handle.
While the mushroom filling cooks, trim the ends off zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out center pulp with a melon baller or spoon leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fill zucchini with mushroom mixture, mounding slightly. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
In an ovenproof dish, put an inch of water. Place zucchini in dish and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through.
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