Chef Cristian's Cinco de Mayo Recipes
www.tampabaychef.com
Each year on May 5th, Mexicans everywhere celebrate the Battle of Puebla, where an unlikely defeat of the French army took place on May 5th in 1862. For Mexicans, it's a testament of their history, strength and perseverance. For the rest of us, it's a day to acknowledge our friends south-of-the-border by drinking Modelo beer, tequila, and partaking in delicious Mexican food - or more accurately, Tex-Mex food.
I decided to make two Mexican-themed recipes for my "Cinco de Mayo" cooking segment on the Good Day Tampa Bay show (Fox 13). Below are the recipes.
Taco Puffs Recipe
Although it sounds like a cool high school nickname, Taco Puffs are an easy appetizer that I put together for my cinco de mayo party. They are simply, ground taco meat, or chili rolled up with cheddar cheese inside a puff pastry sheet, cut into pucks and baked until puffy and golden brown. They are then topped with fresh salsa or pico de gallo, guacamole, and fresh chopped cilantro.
Ingredients:
- Cooked, seasoned taco beef OR leftover chili
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Fresh cilantro
- Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheets (each box has 2 sheets. Each sheet yields about 9-12 puffs)
Instructions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry, but keep it cold. Roll it out flat and spread chili or taco meat along the middle (a 3-4 inch wide area). Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and roll up tight. Pinch seams.
2. Cut the roll into inch-thick pucks. Place pucks onto non-stick baking surface.
3. Pre-heat oven to 400. Bake taco puffs for 20-30 minutes just until the puffs puff up and get golden brown.
4. Put them on a serving platter or tray, and top with a spoonful of salsa, guacamole and sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Enjoy with an ice-cold Corona, or accompany with my next recipe below.
Tequila Snow Cones "Raspados de Tequila"
The word "raspado" in Spanish means something scraped. It's very common in latin america to go out on the street and find a vendor with a cart selling "raspados". The vendor will have a block of ice from which he will scrape ice shavings which he will serve in a paper cup and top with flavored syrups, and usually, sweetened condensed milk.
I decided to use my snow cone maker that I got at Wal-Mart for $10 to make an icy, refreshing dessert for Cinco de Mayo.
Ingredients:
- Ice
- Sugar
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Fresh lime juice
- Fresh mint for garnish
Equipment:
- An ice scraper, an electric snow cone maker, or a hand-crank snow cone maker.
- Martini glasses or paper cones (fancy or casual!)
Instructions:
1. For each portion, shave 1 cup of ice.
2. Mix shaved ice with 1 spoonful of sugar, 1 spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, 1 to 2 spoonfuls of lime juice. Put in a martini glass.
3. Pour 1oz of tequila over the ice and garnish with a sprig of mint. Enjoy!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
body cleansing foods and recipes
Summer Food Reset
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
Disclaimer: I ain't no doctor, nutritionist, or dietician. The following statements are my unqualified opinions only and do not supersede those of your doctor. Just so you know.
With summer just around the corner we all want to fit into those bathing suits - well I don't, I just buy bigger size trunks. But I'm sure you do! So, I've compiled this article to help you on your way.
I get to meet all sorts of people. And very often, I come across health, nutrition, and fitness experts with whom I interchange information and strategies with. Below are some ideas to give your body a break, and point it back to a healthy direction.
Drink your vitamins and enzymes. Your body is a big chemical plant - it does all sorts of things with chemicals. Hormones send messages, acids break things down, and vitamins and enzymes are essential to processing foods into useable energy. When you take vitamins in pill-form, you're doing the work for your body. And eventually the body will lose its own ability to get vitamins and enzymes out of the foods that you eat. Not a good scenario. To avoid this, you want to provide your body with the raw materials, so that it can leach out and manufacture its own vitamins out of the foods that you feed it. The best way to do this, is to make fresh, healthy juices with a juicer.
Without getting into too much detail, here are the vegeteables that can supply your body with vitamins and enzymes: Any dark leafy greens, citrus fruit, ginger, beets, carrots, apples, pineapple or papaya (enzymes). Run these through a blender and have yourself a power-breakfast! Mix a little spirulina in there to complete all the food groups.
Avoid sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives. Why? Because you don't need them. They make you fat, burn your body out, and decrease your body's ability to make its own energy from actual food. You may find that it can take weeks to recover from a high-sugar diet, but don't worry. Your body's ability to make energy will start working again and you'll start to have energy once more.
Allergies can make you fat and tired. The most common food allergies are: gluten (wheat), corn, soy, dairy, and peanuts. Take them out of your diet for just 2 to 3 weeks and you may notice how good you feel (and look). To find out if you're allergic to any one of them, simply add them back into your diet one at a time and notice how you feel after eating them. If you're good, keep eating them. If they make you feel tired, head-achy, bloated, etc.. Eliminate them from your diet.
Exercise. Yes. What are you eating for if you're not exercising? Food is fuel. Use it or store it, the choice is yours. Many experts encourage people to "rebound" on a trampoline, jump rope or take part in any activity which makes your body bounce. This is so that your lymphatic system (the system that cleans your cells and organs) flows quickly. Since your lymphatic system does not have a pump (like your vascular system), it requires gravity to help move the impurities out of your body. Exercise speeds up your lymphatic system tremendously. This helps keep you healthy and helps you to lose weight.
You don't need to be a vegan. Seriously. Your body is happy to eat animal meat, and thrives on it. I've never met a vegan I couldn't beat in an arm wrestling competition!
Meat protein, along with vegetables, a little exercise, and non-allergenic carbohydrates make a strong, healthy body.
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
 |
| Click HERE to watch the video |
With summer just around the corner we all want to fit into those bathing suits - well I don't, I just buy bigger size trunks. But I'm sure you do! So, I've compiled this article to help you on your way.
I get to meet all sorts of people. And very often, I come across health, nutrition, and fitness experts with whom I interchange information and strategies with. Below are some ideas to give your body a break, and point it back to a healthy direction.
Drink your vitamins and enzymes. Your body is a big chemical plant - it does all sorts of things with chemicals. Hormones send messages, acids break things down, and vitamins and enzymes are essential to processing foods into useable energy. When you take vitamins in pill-form, you're doing the work for your body. And eventually the body will lose its own ability to get vitamins and enzymes out of the foods that you eat. Not a good scenario. To avoid this, you want to provide your body with the raw materials, so that it can leach out and manufacture its own vitamins out of the foods that you feed it. The best way to do this, is to make fresh, healthy juices with a juicer.
Without getting into too much detail, here are the vegeteables that can supply your body with vitamins and enzymes: Any dark leafy greens, citrus fruit, ginger, beets, carrots, apples, pineapple or papaya (enzymes). Run these through a blender and have yourself a power-breakfast! Mix a little spirulina in there to complete all the food groups.
Avoid sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives. Why? Because you don't need them. They make you fat, burn your body out, and decrease your body's ability to make its own energy from actual food. You may find that it can take weeks to recover from a high-sugar diet, but don't worry. Your body's ability to make energy will start working again and you'll start to have energy once more.
Allergies can make you fat and tired. The most common food allergies are: gluten (wheat), corn, soy, dairy, and peanuts. Take them out of your diet for just 2 to 3 weeks and you may notice how good you feel (and look). To find out if you're allergic to any one of them, simply add them back into your diet one at a time and notice how you feel after eating them. If you're good, keep eating them. If they make you feel tired, head-achy, bloated, etc.. Eliminate them from your diet.
Exercise. Yes. What are you eating for if you're not exercising? Food is fuel. Use it or store it, the choice is yours. Many experts encourage people to "rebound" on a trampoline, jump rope or take part in any activity which makes your body bounce. This is so that your lymphatic system (the system that cleans your cells and organs) flows quickly. Since your lymphatic system does not have a pump (like your vascular system), it requires gravity to help move the impurities out of your body. Exercise speeds up your lymphatic system tremendously. This helps keep you healthy and helps you to lose weight.
You don't need to be a vegan. Seriously. Your body is happy to eat animal meat, and thrives on it. I've never met a vegan I couldn't beat in an arm wrestling competition!
Meat protein, along with vegetables, a little exercise, and non-allergenic carbohydrates make a strong, healthy body.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Food Contest Alert!
Win a delicious prize and support our troops!
Hey guys! This seems like a pretty good contest. I'm going to enter my favorite breakfast recipe which is... I better keep it a secret. But you can find when you browse through the recipes at cookmore.com
What's your favorite breakfast recipe?
Hey guys! This seems like a pretty good contest. I'm going to enter my favorite breakfast recipe which is... I better keep it a secret. But you can find when you browse through the recipes at cookmore.com
What's your favorite breakfast recipe?
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
dreamfields vegetarian pasta recipe
Dreamfields Beet-Infused-Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
I made this recipe with the Spring season in mind. Spring is a time of colors, warmth, and renewal - which most of us call "spring cleaning". And although you can enjoy all foods throughout the year, meat-lovers can agree that a few days of vegetarian meals to start off the season can be like a spring cleaning for the body. Especially when you make it using a low-digestible carbohydrate pasta like Dreamfields.
This visually appealing dish is not only good for you, but is easy to make. I used natural beet juice, from canned beets, to give the Dreamfields rotini paseta a funky purple color, and made a beautiful yellow-orange sauce using organic butternut squash, garlic, fresh herbs and carrots. The contrast of the purple pasta and golden sauce is a real eye-catcher!
It took about 8 cans of sliced beets to give me enough juice to cook the pasta in, but at $0.69 per can, it was very affordable. By "juice" I mean: a. The purple water that is inside of the can, or b. the purple water that results in boiling beets yourself. I used the sliced beets to make a really refreshing salad with cherry tomatoes, and a garlicky vinaigrette.
I used organic chicken stock in this recipe, but it can be easily substituted with vegetable stock for a truly vegetarian meal. You can use canned or jarred beets if you're short on time (like I did) and don't want to take the time to cook fresh beets, which can take quite some time.
Ingredients:
- 4 to 6 cups of juice (from cooked beets)
- 1 box Dreamfields Rotini Pasta
- 4 cups Butternut squash, diced (or you can use frozen squash)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp thyme, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- shredded parmesan cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
1. Coat the bottom of a sauce pot with a little olive oil and begin to cook the onion, garlic, carrots, and herbs for 7-10 minutes until the onion becomes soft and jelly-like.
2. Add the squash and the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook at medium low until the squash is very soft.
3. Use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to puree the sauce. Transfer back into the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm.
4. Fill a pot with the beet juice and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta in the beet juice (follow the cooking times listed on the box instructions). Drain and serve with the squash sauce, top with some fresh shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
This visually appealing dish is not only good for you, but is easy to make. I used natural beet juice, from canned beets, to give the Dreamfields rotini paseta a funky purple color, and made a beautiful yellow-orange sauce using organic butternut squash, garlic, fresh herbs and carrots. The contrast of the purple pasta and golden sauce is a real eye-catcher!
It took about 8 cans of sliced beets to give me enough juice to cook the pasta in, but at $0.69 per can, it was very affordable. By "juice" I mean: a. The purple water that is inside of the can, or b. the purple water that results in boiling beets yourself. I used the sliced beets to make a really refreshing salad with cherry tomatoes, and a garlicky vinaigrette.
I used organic chicken stock in this recipe, but it can be easily substituted with vegetable stock for a truly vegetarian meal. You can use canned or jarred beets if you're short on time (like I did) and don't want to take the time to cook fresh beets, which can take quite some time.
Ingredients:
- 4 to 6 cups of juice (from cooked beets)
- 1 box Dreamfields Rotini Pasta
- 4 cups Butternut squash, diced (or you can use frozen squash)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp thyme, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- shredded parmesan cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
1. Coat the bottom of a sauce pot with a little olive oil and begin to cook the onion, garlic, carrots, and herbs for 7-10 minutes until the onion becomes soft and jelly-like.
2. Add the squash and the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook at medium low until the squash is very soft.
3. Use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to puree the sauce. Transfer back into the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm.
4. Fill a pot with the beet juice and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta in the beet juice (follow the cooking times listed on the box instructions). Drain and serve with the squash sauce, top with some fresh shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Lose weight like a diebetic
Lose Weight Like a Diabetic!
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. These statements are my unqualified opinions only and should not be construed as medical advice. If you have questions about diabetes please consult your doctor.
Now, I'm not suggesting that diabetes be the next trend in weight loss, but the condition of diabetes does prompt a person to make pretty effective life and diet changes. I recently worked with Paula Deen and learned first-hand about her incredible weight loss.
Before I tell you what I learned from Paula, a crash course in diabetes is in order. Too much, or too little sugar in your blood stream is not a good thing. In the case of too much sugar, your body has an organ called the Pancreas which regulates the amount of sugar in your blood by using a hormone called insulin. When your pancreas sense too much sugar in your blood stream, it sends out insulin. This chemical signal tells your body to get rid of that sugar - either by converting it to fat or by getting rid of it in your urine. But diabetics have Pancreas that don't work at all, or only some of the time. So when they eat too much sugar, without insulin to help, they can get sick, go into shock, or even die!
So you're probably wondering what the point of all this is, right? I'll get to it. Most diabetics, like Paula Deen, have to adopt a diet where they step in and take the place of their pancreas by a. Controling their sugar intake, or b. Taking insulin when their blood sugar is too high.
We all know Paula from years of television, magazines, recipe books, newspaper articles and cookware products - especially when it came to cooking fatty, sugary, Southern food - she was the undisputed queen of decadent Southern cuisine. I actually started to notice that no matter where i go, I can usually find her face printed in some fashion or another on some sort of product or media!
Now that Paula has been diagnosed with diabetes, she has had to adopt a complete lifestyle change: Her Southern cooking had to become "healthy" and she had to change the way she ate. Her weight loss over the last year has been phenomenal, and I learned that it wasn't all that hard. She stuck to a few key activities which made it happen.
1. Exercise. But not the kind you dread! You don't have to be a runner, swimmer, or cyclist. You don't have to do mud runs or zombie-thons. All you have to do is walk. Paula walks 1 to 3 hours per day. Even with her busy lifestyle she finds time to walk on hotel treadmills for an hour at the least.
2. She stopped eating sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
3. Moderation. She can still have some of her favorite butter-fried foods, but it has to be in moderation. A little bit here and there. And white refined starches such as white bread, flour, pasta and rice, are now low-glycemic options like whole wheat bread (not often), sweet potato and vegetables.
The key to her weight loss has been regular exercise and keeping her blood sugar under control, which is what a healthy person has to do to lose weight. If you can keep your blood sugar low (by not eating sugar and refined carbs) your body doesn't have the chemistry to store fat.
Eat like a diabetic, and you not only can lose weight, but you can also avoid diabetes in the first place!
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
 |
| Chef Cristian Feher with Paula Deen |
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. These statements are my unqualified opinions only and should not be construed as medical advice. If you have questions about diabetes please consult your doctor.
Now, I'm not suggesting that diabetes be the next trend in weight loss, but the condition of diabetes does prompt a person to make pretty effective life and diet changes. I recently worked with Paula Deen and learned first-hand about her incredible weight loss.
Before I tell you what I learned from Paula, a crash course in diabetes is in order. Too much, or too little sugar in your blood stream is not a good thing. In the case of too much sugar, your body has an organ called the Pancreas which regulates the amount of sugar in your blood by using a hormone called insulin. When your pancreas sense too much sugar in your blood stream, it sends out insulin. This chemical signal tells your body to get rid of that sugar - either by converting it to fat or by getting rid of it in your urine. But diabetics have Pancreas that don't work at all, or only some of the time. So when they eat too much sugar, without insulin to help, they can get sick, go into shock, or even die!
So you're probably wondering what the point of all this is, right? I'll get to it. Most diabetics, like Paula Deen, have to adopt a diet where they step in and take the place of their pancreas by a. Controling their sugar intake, or b. Taking insulin when their blood sugar is too high.
We all know Paula from years of television, magazines, recipe books, newspaper articles and cookware products - especially when it came to cooking fatty, sugary, Southern food - she was the undisputed queen of decadent Southern cuisine. I actually started to notice that no matter where i go, I can usually find her face printed in some fashion or another on some sort of product or media!
Now that Paula has been diagnosed with diabetes, she has had to adopt a complete lifestyle change: Her Southern cooking had to become "healthy" and she had to change the way she ate. Her weight loss over the last year has been phenomenal, and I learned that it wasn't all that hard. She stuck to a few key activities which made it happen.
1. Exercise. But not the kind you dread! You don't have to be a runner, swimmer, or cyclist. You don't have to do mud runs or zombie-thons. All you have to do is walk. Paula walks 1 to 3 hours per day. Even with her busy lifestyle she finds time to walk on hotel treadmills for an hour at the least.
2. She stopped eating sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
3. Moderation. She can still have some of her favorite butter-fried foods, but it has to be in moderation. A little bit here and there. And white refined starches such as white bread, flour, pasta and rice, are now low-glycemic options like whole wheat bread (not often), sweet potato and vegetables.
The key to her weight loss has been regular exercise and keeping her blood sugar under control, which is what a healthy person has to do to lose weight. If you can keep your blood sugar low (by not eating sugar and refined carbs) your body doesn't have the chemistry to store fat.
Eat like a diabetic, and you not only can lose weight, but you can also avoid diabetes in the first place!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Creative Leftover Ham Recipes
What to do with leftover ham?
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
You can BBQ it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it, deep-fry it, stir-fry it, stew it, braise it, sauce it, sear it... But unlike Bubba Gump, I'm talking about ham! American's consume more ham than any other nation on Earth (I just made that up - but it's probably true).
When it comes to your Easter dinner, ham will most likely take the center stage. If you're like me, you tend to buy way more ham than you need, and that spells "leftovers". Below are three recipes that I love to make with leftover ham. (You may have seen me make these dishes on Fox 13's Good Day Tampa Bay show)
Hawaiian Corn Muffins
These little muffins are a great breakfast snack made with brown sugar, crushed pineapples, and leftover diced ham. You can make this even easier by using self-rising corn bread mix.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups self-rising corn bread mix
- 1 cup diced ham
- 1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- Cooking spray
Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk inside a large bowl.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425.
3. Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray so that the muffins won't stick.
4. Scoop muffin mixture into each hole in the muffin pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
Deviled Ham
Deviled ham spread has been one of my favorite treats since I was a child. My grandmother used to mix spaghetti with a tin of Underwood deviled ham, butter and parmesan cheese - delicious! It's a dish I still enjoy today. This mixture of spiced ham has many uses, you can make sandwiches, canapes, mix it with hot pasta, and like you may have seen on the Good Day show this morning, you can devil eggs with it! A dash of Chalula hot sauce makes this recipe outstanding!
For this recipe you will need a food processor.
Ingredients:
- 2 cup diced ham
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- Chalula hot sauce (optional - to taste)
Instructions:
1. Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until you get a fine paste. Enjoy!
Gluten-Free Ham and Peas in Cream Sauce
This is one of my go-to gluten-free dishes when I have leftover ham and cream sauce laying around (which for a chef happens quite often!). I sometimes make large batches of gluten-free cream sauce and freeze it in small containers so it's always available when a recipe calls for it.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of diced ham
- Enough brown rice pasta for 2 people
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- White rice flour
- Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- Olive oil
Instructions:
1. Cook brown rice pasta as per package instructions and keep it on stand-by.
2. In a sauce pot, start to cook the ham, onions and garlic in a little olive oil. Keep this mixture moving so that the garlic doesn't burn. Cook for about 7 minutes.
3. Add the cream and water. Season with salt and pepper. Remember that the difference between bland cream sauce and good cream sauce is usually a little more salt.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer. In a small bowl, about 1/2 cup of white rice flour with a little cold water (this is called a slurry). Whisk this slurry a bit at a time into the simmering sauce (don't stop whisking) until desired thickness is reached. Season again with salt and pepper if needed and cook at a low simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. Add the peas to the sauce.
6. Serve over brown rice pasta with shredded Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
When it comes to your Easter dinner, ham will most likely take the center stage. If you're like me, you tend to buy way more ham than you need, and that spells "leftovers". Below are three recipes that I love to make with leftover ham. (You may have seen me make these dishes on Fox 13's Good Day Tampa Bay show)
Hawaiian Corn Muffins
Ingredients:
- 2 cups self-rising corn bread mix
- 1 cup diced ham
- 1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- Cooking spray
Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk inside a large bowl.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425.
3. Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray so that the muffins won't stick.
4. Scoop muffin mixture into each hole in the muffin pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
Deviled Ham
Deviled ham spread has been one of my favorite treats since I was a child. My grandmother used to mix spaghetti with a tin of Underwood deviled ham, butter and parmesan cheese - delicious! It's a dish I still enjoy today. This mixture of spiced ham has many uses, you can make sandwiches, canapes, mix it with hot pasta, and like you may have seen on the Good Day show this morning, you can devil eggs with it! A dash of Chalula hot sauce makes this recipe outstanding!For this recipe you will need a food processor.
Ingredients:
- 2 cup diced ham
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- Chalula hot sauce (optional - to taste)
Instructions:
1. Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until you get a fine paste. Enjoy!
Gluten-Free Ham and Peas in Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of diced ham
- Enough brown rice pasta for 2 people
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- White rice flour
- Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- Olive oil
Instructions:
1. Cook brown rice pasta as per package instructions and keep it on stand-by.
2. In a sauce pot, start to cook the ham, onions and garlic in a little olive oil. Keep this mixture moving so that the garlic doesn't burn. Cook for about 7 minutes.
3. Add the cream and water. Season with salt and pepper. Remember that the difference between bland cream sauce and good cream sauce is usually a little more salt.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer. In a small bowl, about 1/2 cup of white rice flour with a little cold water (this is called a slurry). Whisk this slurry a bit at a time into the simmering sauce (don't stop whisking) until desired thickness is reached. Season again with salt and pepper if needed and cook at a low simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. Add the peas to the sauce.
6. Serve over brown rice pasta with shredded Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Cooking with Beer
Beer, it's not just for drinking
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
Beer, it's not just for drinking. Well, it's mostly for drinking, but that's only half of what beer does well. Much like beer's snobbier cousin - wine - there are hundreds of ways to pair and combine beer with food. And for most of us, it can be a new, and much more accessible hobby.
Before I continue, I would like to clarify that I do not consider myself a "wine connoisseur" or "sommelier". I do not own a wine cellar. But as a personal chef, I have the good fortune of cooking for clients that, not only have their own wine cellars, but have a very good taste in wine - and they like to share! This is how I have been able to experience the difference between run-of-the-mill wine, and the good stuff!
There is a mile of a difference between cheap wine and good wine. In fact, I almost gave up on drinking it before I figured out that the good stuff starts at around $50 a bottle. I really didn't see what the big deal was until I tasted some of these more refined vintages. Which leads me to believe that cheap wine should classify as something else entirely - they should call it grapety-booze, and the good stuff should retain the name, Wine. There is nothing wrong with grapety-booze, just as there is nothing wrong with grape Kool-Aid and vodka - if that's what tickles your fancy.
What does this have to do with beer? It's simply more affordable to get to know good beer, than it is to know good wines. And fortunately, there is little compromise - good beer is just as good as good wine.
If you thought pairing food and wine was fun, wait till you start playing with beer! Below are some of my favorite beer pairings.
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Beer and Fruit are a match made in heaven. There are many craft breweries that infuse the taste of citrus fruit and berries into their brew. You can also make your own combinations. One of my best creations to date has been a frosty mug of Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale (Canadian beer) with mandarin orange segments. I also love wheat beer with frozen blackberries or frozen blueberries in the glass. And have you ever drank ice-cold Jamaican Red Stripe out of a hollowed out pineapple with your toes in the sand? You really should. From Tsing Tao with rambutan fruit, to Negra Modelo (dark Mexican beer) with chocolate covered coffee beans, I encourage you to try your own fruit and beer mixtures.
Beer makes good dishes even better. When I make Spanish seafood paellas over coals (the traditional way) I like to cut the seafood stock in half and use a light beer, like Carib or Corona, to add an extra depth of flavor. Likewise, you can add a richer flavor to a tomato meat sauce or Cuban picadillo with the addition of beer. I almost always start my cheese fondues with garlic and beer to give them a really rich malt flavor that goes great with ementhal and other melting cheeses. And if you're a fan of steamed mussels, garlic, onion and beer make the best steaming base for this dish!
Beer and Fine Dining? Absolutely! There is nothing shabby about beer escorting you on an evening out for fine dining. I took up this habit during my travels to Argentina years ago. It is not scoffed at in Buenos Aires to order a nice Quilmes or Stella Artois to accompany a fine meal. And if it's good enough for the Argentinians (which, in my opinion, have the best food on the planet) it's certainly good enough for Americans. The next time you're enjoying a perfectly cooked sea bass fillet with a saffron veloute sauce, you may be pleasantly surprised how well it will pair with a pale lager.
Future episodes of my cooking show, Food Chain TV, will undoubtedly feature some food and beer pairings. Do you have beer pairings of your own? If so, you can always email me at tampabaychef@gmail.com I am always happy to try out new ideas from foodies like you!
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com
Beer, it's not just for drinking. Well, it's mostly for drinking, but that's only half of what beer does well. Much like beer's snobbier cousin - wine - there are hundreds of ways to pair and combine beer with food. And for most of us, it can be a new, and much more accessible hobby.
Before I continue, I would like to clarify that I do not consider myself a "wine connoisseur" or "sommelier". I do not own a wine cellar. But as a personal chef, I have the good fortune of cooking for clients that, not only have their own wine cellars, but have a very good taste in wine - and they like to share! This is how I have been able to experience the difference between run-of-the-mill wine, and the good stuff!
There is a mile of a difference between cheap wine and good wine. In fact, I almost gave up on drinking it before I figured out that the good stuff starts at around $50 a bottle. I really didn't see what the big deal was until I tasted some of these more refined vintages. Which leads me to believe that cheap wine should classify as something else entirely - they should call it grapety-booze, and the good stuff should retain the name, Wine. There is nothing wrong with grapety-booze, just as there is nothing wrong with grape Kool-Aid and vodka - if that's what tickles your fancy.
What does this have to do with beer? It's simply more affordable to get to know good beer, than it is to know good wines. And fortunately, there is little compromise - good beer is just as good as good wine.
If you thought pairing food and wine was fun, wait till you start playing with beer! Below are some of my favorite beer pairings.
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Future episodes of my cooking show, Food Chain TV, will undoubtedly feature some food and beer pairings. Do you have beer pairings of your own? If so, you can always email me at tampabaychef@gmail.com I am always happy to try out new ideas from foodies like you!
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