Feb 26 2008
Posted by chefRob under European, French, Recipes
Who doesn’t love crepes? Last year when I was living in my other condo, I told some friends that every Sunday morning I ate crepes for breakfast. It was kinda funny because at first, no one believed me. Then all of a sudden, one Sunday there was a knock on the door. Allison, Kat, Ryan and a couple of other friends came over to keep me company…and to eat my crepes!
Continue Reading »
Feb 22 2008
Posted by chefRob under Italian, Recipes
Pasta has to be one of my great comfort dishes, as it’s versatility as a food stuff is almost unrivaled. Pasta comes in many different shapes and sizes and allows you to make a variety of different sauces to accompany these varying shapes.
Marinara is one of my favorite pasta sauces to both make and eat, as it is simple in ingredients, simple in flavor and simple to make. With a few garden fresh ingredients (in season) or a can or two of Italian pear tomatoes, some garlic, extra virgin olive oil and herbs your well on your way to enjoying this sauce for yourself!
Continue Reading »
Feb 18 2008
Posted by chefRob under American, European, French
The art of braising is one that requires plenty of patience, a good heavy pot and an oven or stove top. Once you have assembled these 3 components, you can begin the creative processes necessary to make this dish and to become an expert braiser.
Short ribs come in 2 different cuts, flanken (long and skinny) and English style (long and thick). The flanken style are a 3 boned style of rib that finds it uses in the cuisines of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Kalbi ribs or Maui ribs are two variations using this type of cut and hold up well to grilling while English style work best for braising and are the ones we will be using for this recipe.
This dish takes a bit of time (mostly just waiting for the cooking process to be completed) to make, but it is one that is simple in ingredients, simple on flavors and simply delicious. Hints of red wine, if you so choose to use it, garlic, parsley and caramelized onions are what to expect. The garlic and parsley components of this dish make up the persillade, what I’m going to discuss next.
Feb 16 2008
Posted by chefRob under Cheese
As most chefs are, I am a big lover of cheese. This obsession, I would guess started with those little plastic wrapped Kraft cheese slices that I used to eat as a child, blindly thinking that it was actually cheese.
Then came the culinary education and the lightbulb went off, that all we see in here is not what it truly is. Companies like Cowgirl Creamery (in NorCal) were able to get great, heirloom cheeses to chefs like myself in the bay area, opening up doors to tastes and cheeses we could only imagine.
Farmhouse cheddar is one of my favorite cheeses. Partly because it resembles nothing of the cheddar cheese I ate as a child. Gone is the funky yellow/orangeish color, the pasteurized milk and lame flavor profile. Farmhouse cheddars are a traditional English cheddar that, much like the wines of France, have their own PDO or protected destination of origin. Like sparkling wines from regions other that the Champagne region cannot use the term Champagne, the PDO limits the use of the term West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, the true name of this cheese. WCFC are only produced in the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall in Southwestern England.
Feb 13 2008
Posted by chefRob under European, French, Recipes
Beef Bourguignon is a great dish, exemplifying the refined nature of French cooking, while at the same time reaching out to the hearts of those of us that simply love a good stew. This time of year, when the weather takes a turn for the worst I am always looking for a dish that will warm me up inside, a dish that will represent the “C” in comfort and that dish is Beef Bourguignon.
One of the things that I find fascinating is that so many people seem to think French food is hard to cook. *Aucune façon que je dis! In all of my cooking classes over the years I have found a strong resistance to learning French food, and most if it is people have already made up their minds that it is too difficult for them to do. I have, and will say again that if you go into any recipe with an open mind, then anything is possible.
Beef Bourguignon is a simple yet complex dish of beef, red wine, pearl onions, mushrooms, carrots, hearty beef stock, garlic & some fresh herbs all slow roasted until the beef is fork tender and the flavors have matured. Served with either egg noodles (like the image above) or with plain boiled potatoes this dish is sure to take the chill off those cold winter nights.
So now your sold on it and want to make this dish for yourself, there are a couple of things that you should remember.
Want to give it a try? Good, here is what you’ll need to get started.
Feb 08 2008
Posted by chefRob under Personal
So I am back from Kauai and was in serious need of one of my favorite Vietnamese soups, Mi Gan Bo. Mi, or thin wheat noodles are one of my favorite noodles. Tender yet firm, these wheat noodles beat their rice cousins (in my mind) hands down. To find my favorite version of this soup here in San Diego, I found myself off of Convoy street, north of Balboa at Luong Hai Ky, a discreet noodle house tucked into the back corner of a small mall.
Luong Hai Ky is a soup house, so if you like Chinese/Vietnamese soups you should stop here. MI (egg noodles)and Hu (rice noodles) can either be ordered in a soup or fried such as the dish Mi Xao Thap Cam, or combination fried egg noodles. It is a combination of veggies and meat, served in a think sauce over the fried noodles. When I worked in Vietnam I ate this dish a lot for lunch, and it was quite tasty. Back to my soup…
Feb 07 2008
Posted by chefRob under Asian, Austrailia/Pacific Islands
I have been on the island of Kauai for the better part of 4 days now, some well deserved rest in between my usually hectic schedule. I spend the day yesterday with my sister wandering around some old heiau’s, photographing some waterfalls and eating in downtown Kapaa.
Kapaa is a great little town on the (only) road from Lihue to the North Shore towns of Princeville and Hanalei. After days of eating at the house, I was in serious need of some noodles. We stopped by the House of Noodles and I had some of the best noodles I have had on Kauai.
For over 20 years I have been traveling and learning the world's cuisines while working in some pretty exotic (and some not so pretty) locations. Come and explore the world, it's people and their food with me.
