Pasta Carbonara

When I was a kid around 10 or 11 years old I got my first job working in one of my mother’s restaurants mainly busing tables, washing dishes and simple prep work. It was then I first had pasta alla Carbonara, the chef made it for us for lunch one day it was nothing fancy but the memory lingers to this day! Later when I was about 17 my Mother’s boyfriend at the time moved in with us, he was from Italy and never threw any food away what so ever even scraping what wasn’t eaten off your plate and storing it in the refrigerator to use in something else later on. He use to take what ever pasta was left over toss it in garlic oil and store in the frig, if we had eaten bacon he’d crumble, brake up or chop that too and store it away for later. If you wanted pasta he would simply warm some up in a pan along with the bacon, remove it from the heat toss in an egg some cheese and it was the bomb!! When I was 19 I remember working as a cook in Stockholm and the way we use to prepare Carbonara was first we'd prepare a finished sauce one that was rich and creamy, what was great about that version was we could prep batches of the cream reduction then finish it with what ever the customer wanted and it was always great! I still prepare that version from time to time to this day. In fact I make a pasta dish with bacon, caramelized onions and peppers finished with a little balsamic vinegar to which I add diced butternut squash, the reduced cream sauce, heat through, then off the heat add cheese toss with pasta and it’s the bomb!

At any rate traditionally pasta Carbonara is prepared with fettuccine pasta, pancetta or guanciale which is just another type of Italian bacon, raw egg, though some places will serve this dish with a cooked egg of some sort, and Parmesan or Romano cheese

Shopping List

Pasta, fettuccine or linguini are fine

Bacon

Onion

Shallots

Garlic

Cream

Parmesan Cheese

Eggs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and black pepper

My Mad Method

Ready to eat!

Dice or chop about 225g thick cut bacon and sauté the bacon in 1 TBSP olive oil until cooked through but not crispy

 Add a ½ onion diced, 1 small shallot and one garlic minced continue to sauté until the onion is translucent and the aroma is very fragrant

Add 5 dl heavy cream, bring to boil and reduce by half or until desired consistency

 

Beat 2 eggs together

Measure 1-2 dl Parmesan or Romano cheese, I am using a blend of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheese

While the sauce is reducing working in batches heat a second pan add cooked pasta tossed in garlic oil heat through

Remove from heat add the cheese and eggs

Mix to incorporate and to melt cheese

Toss with pasta and serve

Savory Braised Beef Roulades

Today I am cooking for Brit Burton, known around these parts as “Volvo Brit” she is old school Swedish and when I cook for her I make everything by the book, meaning I make it the way they made it way back when in old town (Gamla Stan) was the capital not Stockholm, but today I have free hands, well not exactly but cooking for her this is as close as it comes! For you see she is having a small dinner for 12 and I am making “Oxrullader” very popular all over Europe, normally when I make these for her I do so very traditionally with mustard, anchovies, pickled cucumbers, onion and so on then finish it in a cream sauce “gräddsås” but today I am straying off the beating path, and doing it free style (at least my way today who’s to say how I will make them next time round)

The truth is Beef roulades can be filled with anything; three popular ingredients that come to mind are marbled cheese, mushrooms and bacon.

As for level of difficulty roulades are somewhat labor intensive and time consuming, but very rewarding and always a big hit so I see it as time well spent.

A couple of good cuts of meat for this recipe include sirloin, loin, or tenderloin adjust cooking times accordingly  

PS, I did not stick around and serve, or else I would have plated or garnished the tray, but you can garnish however you like!

Shopping List

Beef, see above

Bacon

Onions

Bell peppers

Garlic cheese

Mushrooms, baby bellos are fine

Red wine

Demi glace

Carrots

Shallots

Fresh parsley

Fresh thyme

Unbleached AP flour

My Mad Method

Ready to serve!

Start by browning off 250g bacon and rendering the fat, when ready remove from pan drain and reserve all drippings

 

Caramelize 200g sliced sweet Maui onion, and 100g mixed bell peppers, when ready remove from the pan and set aside , reserve any juice that forms for sauce

Add 1/3 more bacon drippings and sauté 200g mushrooms sliced, when ready remove from the pan and set aside

 Deglaze the pan with 8dl veal or beef demi glace, when ready remove from pan, reserve, pat dry the pan

 

                Clean 1.5 KL beef loin or sir loin reserve all trim. Start sauce by browning the trim together with 3 to 4 shallots sliced, and 1 or 2 carrots pealed

 When well browned dust with 1 TBS flour continue cooking 1 minute longer, deglaze pan again this time with 3 dl red wine, add the demi glace any juice left from onions, peppers and mushrooms together with few sprigs of parsley and thyme, bring to a boil, reduce temp and simmer for 30 minutes

 Meanwhile I am chopping my onions, peppers and mushrooms together, optional. To this I am adding a few drops Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper to taste

Portion the meat into 125g pieces, pound them flat tenderizing them, but making sure to keep an even surface throughout

 Season with salt and pepper

Spread creamy fresh garlic cheese over the surface of the meat

Top with the chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms

Roll together and either secure with butchers twine or tooth picks

When the sauce is ready pore it through a fine mesh strainer, reserving the liquid

Sear the meat off in batches, transfer to a deep dish oven pan, pore over sauce and braise in oven for 30-45 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese Chicken Salad

Allow me to begin on a personal note, when I was a child my mother ran several restaurants and every once in a while she would bring home a “Chinese Chicken Salad” I have always loved them! In the spring of 1990 I came out to the States and went straight to a restaurant and there it was “Chinese Chicken Salad” on the menu and I started salivating and had to have it, I can still close my eyes and taste that salad to this day!!

While the name can be somewhat misleading this is as Californian as it gets and can be prepared any number of ways, so you can add, subtract or substitute what you want which makes it great!! Here at FoodPerfected we offer a ton of variations depending on the occasion. For example we offer a wonderful version with snow crab, another with Peking duck, one with grilled lobster and another a distant relative of sorts we call “Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna Salad with Mango-Cilantro Vinaigrette”, one of our own creations I might add and only made to order unlike the one I am preparing today which will be served later buffet style for an office lunch. You’ll notice I prepare it in layers and I pack the chicken, Mandarin oranges, fried wontons (which I fried then flavored with garlic and ginger powder, s&p while still hot) fried rice noodles, and "Sesame-Ginger Dressing" on the side

A couple notes:

while I am using honey and orange juice you can substitute the orange juice and honey for a little of the juice the Mandarin oranges comes with but make sure it has no high fructose corn syrup

They have ready to buy shredded broccoli (broccoli slaw) which makes a great addition or alternative to the lettuce-cabbage

 I also like to add toasted pumpkin seeds (outer shell removed)

Shopping List

Chicken breasts,

Ice berg lettuce

Cabbage

Red cabbage

Carrots

Pickled ginger

Slivered almonds

Cilantro

Scallions

Ginger

Garlic

Rice wine vinegar

Soy sauce

Mushroom soy, optional

Oranges, optional

Honey, optional

Canola oil

Sesame oil, sesame seeds

Wontons

Rice noodles

My Mad Method

Plated version ready to eat!   

Dressing 2 TBSP ginger puree, or 1 TBSP fresh, 1 small garlic clove minced, and 2 dl rice wine vinegar, whisk to combine

 Add 2 TBSP soy sauce, 1/2 TBSP mushroom soy sauce (or to taste, optional), 2 TBSP fresh squeezed orange juice, and 1 tsp honey or sugar (or to taste)

Slowly start adding about 4-6 dl canola or until desired thickness, and tartness

Add 1 TBS toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil to taste

"Sesame-Ginger Dressing with orange and honey" ready to use!

Start by blending together shredded ice berg lettuce and cabbage (Napa is great but not necessary), red cabbage and carrots cut into julienne strips  

 I am using Japanese cucumbers which I have marinated first

Add Chinese style pickled ginger to taste, optional

Add sliced scallion and chopped cilantro to taste

Add a couple TBS slivered and toasted almonds, and we are ready to go!!

(Will feed 4 to 6)