The greatest change I have seen since I started my career as a pastry chef is the increasing demand for more gluten free options. Gluten free requests tend to present a challenge, as most pastry and dessert recipes call for flour. Now I know what you are thinking - well there is always sorbet and ice cream right? But really let's face it, the customers with gluten intolerances are tired of being told the sorbets and ice creams are their only gluten free options, and honestly I think thats fair. So about a year ago my boss and I sat down to assess our seasonal menus, with the goal of adding at least one gluten free option to each. To my surprise, the more I worked on these dishes, the more I found the potential depth in their simplicity; and how easy it was to make some of our customers favorite desserts gluten free!
Jump forward one year and we are now in phase 1 of planning gluten free options for each of our seasonal savory menus. Below is one of the savory options that is a potential for the new winter menu. I hope you all will enjoy it and I will let you know if it makes the cut for the new menu.
List of Ingredients:
2 Eggplant
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
15 oz. Ricotta Cheese (You can use fat free, 1%, 2%, or Whole Milk)
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan
1 lb. Grated Mozzarella
1 26 oz. Jar of your favorite prepared pasta sauce
3 Cups roasted diced veggies (optional)
Alright let's get cooking!
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Trim the top and bottom portions of your eggplants so they stand up straight on your cutting board. Now with a serrated knife cut 15 1/4 inch to1/2 inch slices from your eggplants. (The slices should be the length of the eggplant to be clear.)
- Next, lay each of the slices on on a foiled or parchment lined sheet pan. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the slices then salt and pepper (this will help season the eggplant as well as assist in drawing out some of the moisture).
-Place the eggplant in the oven for 10-15 minutes, they will appear slightly darker in color and should be limp when you pick them up.
- While the eggplant is in the oven, combine your ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of your mozzarella.
- Pull out a 9 x13 in glass casserole dish. When the eggplant is done. Layer 5 of the 15 slices of eggplant on the bottom of the casserole dish. Next spread out 1/3 of you ricotta mixture over the eggplant, then layer 1/3 of you pasta sauce, and finally spread 1/3 of your remaining mozzarella cheese over top your sauce. (*See below if you choose to add veggies).
- Repeat this process 2 more times and then place your lasagna in the 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.
**As you may have noticed in the list of ingredients there was an optional portion for veggies, for this just dice up 3 cups of you favorite veggies (mine are yellow squash, mushrooms and spinach) and roast them in the oven the same way you did the eggplant (except the spinach; you would simply cook that off in a frying pan with about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper).
- Place 1 Cup of your veggies in between your sauce and mozzarella cheese layer, and then repeat the same process as above.
This is Doug Wetzel. Bon Appetit' ;)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
The One With The Mushroom Stroganoff
I am a sucker for all things comfort food or as my amazing mother-in-law would say "stick to your ribs kinda meals". One of my favorite dishes to eat in the winter time was Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles. This dish has been served to people since the late 1800's and is still appearing on restaurant menus today. The challenge for me was how can I make this dish hearty and filling without the use of beef and beef stock?
List of ingredients:
1 Stick of Butter
3 Shallots or 1 Large Yellow Onion Diced
4 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 12 oz. Can of Vegetable Broth
1 Teaspoon of Mustard
6 oz. Sliced White Button Mushrooms
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Sour Cream
1/3 Cup White Wine( The Cheap Stuff, usually found in large bottles or a box for under $8)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1lb box of Farfalle Pasta or Egg Noodles
8 Cups Water
1 Tablespoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Alright lets get cooking!
- Heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium size frying pan. Once the oil is heated (you can check this by flicking tiny drops of water into the pan, if it crackles you are ready) add your sliced mushrooms. Cook them thoroughly for 3-5 minutes on a medium heat setting. The mushrooms will get darker in color and become more limp. If you are having a hard time judging when they are done just turn off the heat and try one. You will not get sick from an undercooked white mushroom. Once the mushrooms are done empty them into a strainer and let them sit out so all the excess oil drains off. Set them aside as you start to prepare your stroganoff.
- In the same frying pan you used for the mushrooms (why would you want to dirty up more dishes for the same meal) melt your butter over medium heat and add your diced shallots or onions. You will cook them for 1-2 minutes until they are tender.
- Now whisk in your flour (whisk until all flour has been absorbed by the butter). Then count to 10 mississippi in your head while whisking your flour/butter/onion mixture around. This is important for the overall thickness and consistency of your stroganoff.
- Next slowly whisk in your vegetable stock (so no lumps occur). This is probably the step where most people go wrong, no one like lumps of flour in their meal. Whisk until everything is incorporated and bring that sucker up to a slow boil.
- Once the mixture has begun to boil whisk in your sour cream. While it is still boiling add the white wine, mustard, and mushrooms.
- Now you are in the home stretch, while your stroganoff continues to cook, add some salt and pepper (season to taste); start with a teaspoon of each and continue on from there.
- Continue to cook your stroganoff until the consistency will coat a spoon evenly, it will appear to be the consistency of gravy.
- Remove the stroganoff from the heat and place a soup pot on the stove. Make sure it is deep enough for the water and the noodles. Add 8 cups of water, oil, and salt and bring to a boil.
- When the water reaches a boil add your pasta (egg noodles will cook much faster than farfalle). Have a strainer ready to go when your noodles have reached their desired tenderness (this varies for everyone, my wife tends to like things on the al dente' side) pour them out into the strainer.
- Now it is time to eat! Don't forget to top with some parm. Enjoy!
List of ingredients:
1 Stick of Butter
3 Shallots or 1 Large Yellow Onion Diced
4 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 12 oz. Can of Vegetable Broth
1 Teaspoon of Mustard
6 oz. Sliced White Button Mushrooms
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Sour Cream
1/3 Cup White Wine( The Cheap Stuff, usually found in large bottles or a box for under $8)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1lb box of Farfalle Pasta or Egg Noodles
8 Cups Water
1 Tablespoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Alright lets get cooking!
- Heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium size frying pan. Once the oil is heated (you can check this by flicking tiny drops of water into the pan, if it crackles you are ready) add your sliced mushrooms. Cook them thoroughly for 3-5 minutes on a medium heat setting. The mushrooms will get darker in color and become more limp. If you are having a hard time judging when they are done just turn off the heat and try one. You will not get sick from an undercooked white mushroom. Once the mushrooms are done empty them into a strainer and let them sit out so all the excess oil drains off. Set them aside as you start to prepare your stroganoff.
- In the same frying pan you used for the mushrooms (why would you want to dirty up more dishes for the same meal) melt your butter over medium heat and add your diced shallots or onions. You will cook them for 1-2 minutes until they are tender.
- Now whisk in your flour (whisk until all flour has been absorbed by the butter). Then count to 10 mississippi in your head while whisking your flour/butter/onion mixture around. This is important for the overall thickness and consistency of your stroganoff.
- Next slowly whisk in your vegetable stock (so no lumps occur). This is probably the step where most people go wrong, no one like lumps of flour in their meal. Whisk until everything is incorporated and bring that sucker up to a slow boil.
- Once the mixture has begun to boil whisk in your sour cream. While it is still boiling add the white wine, mustard, and mushrooms.
- Now you are in the home stretch, while your stroganoff continues to cook, add some salt and pepper (season to taste); start with a teaspoon of each and continue on from there.
- Continue to cook your stroganoff until the consistency will coat a spoon evenly, it will appear to be the consistency of gravy.
- Remove the stroganoff from the heat and place a soup pot on the stove. Make sure it is deep enough for the water and the noodles. Add 8 cups of water, oil, and salt and bring to a boil.
- When the water reaches a boil add your pasta (egg noodles will cook much faster than farfalle). Have a strainer ready to go when your noodles have reached their desired tenderness (this varies for everyone, my wife tends to like things on the al dente' side) pour them out into the strainer.
- Now it is time to eat! Don't forget to top with some parm. Enjoy!
The One With The Intentions
Okay, it is 2011 now and one of the main resolutions people have is to loose weight and eat healthier. One of the easiest ways to accomplish these goals is what people call "Meatless Mondays". There are so many long term benefits to meatless mondays. You can reduce the potential for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even curb obesity simply by cutting out meat once a week (and these are just your personal health benefits). There are also great environmental benefits to eating less meat; the obvious benefits being: reduction of fossil fuel dependence and water use. I could go into detail here with stats and facts but one, I actually want people to read this, and two, I am lazy and do not feel like typing that much. So here is a handy hyper link that explains the topic: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/.
So my wife and I have been vegetarians for the better part of 18 months (gasp!). While I do admit we both dabble in seafood from time to time, and I have on occasion, had to test a meat product (I am chef and do have to taste test say a brisket every now and then to see if it is cooked properly) we are overall vegetarian. Since we have both went down this path we have discovered many changes in our day to day activities that we believe to be a direct result of our cutback in meat consumption; better night sleeps occurred almost instantly, resulting in feeling rested (less hits on the snooze button), having more energy, and consuming less caffeine. One of the best results: it forced me to take a step back and be creative, so we could still enjoy our favorite comfort foods, but now with a vegetarian twist to them. In many cases (much to our surprise) we found that we couldn't tell the difference between meat and meatless and often times the vegetarian versions tasted better!
This brings me to my intentions. I genuinely believe that going meatless for just one day a week can improve and elongate your life. Do I think vegetarianism is for everyone...No, and by no means will I force my opinions about this topic or any topic on you (I am not FOX News). Instead I simply wish to encourage you to try this approach and if you like it, maybe expand to a second day. What I intend to do is this: provide you with easy recipes of some of my favorite comfort foods, provide you a good laugh every now and then, and hopefully you will enjoy reading this blog and incorporating these recipes into your weekly meals. Mario Batali embraces meatless mondays and that man owns a high end Italian butcher shop in Seattle; lets face it vegetables are the new steak in 2011. Good luck cooking and enjoy.
PS - In honor of my wife/best friend/sous chef/ most gracious test subject ever, each post will be titled like a Friends episode.
So my wife and I have been vegetarians for the better part of 18 months (gasp!). While I do admit we both dabble in seafood from time to time, and I have on occasion, had to test a meat product (I am chef and do have to taste test say a brisket every now and then to see if it is cooked properly) we are overall vegetarian. Since we have both went down this path we have discovered many changes in our day to day activities that we believe to be a direct result of our cutback in meat consumption; better night sleeps occurred almost instantly, resulting in feeling rested (less hits on the snooze button), having more energy, and consuming less caffeine. One of the best results: it forced me to take a step back and be creative, so we could still enjoy our favorite comfort foods, but now with a vegetarian twist to them. In many cases (much to our surprise) we found that we couldn't tell the difference between meat and meatless and often times the vegetarian versions tasted better!
This brings me to my intentions. I genuinely believe that going meatless for just one day a week can improve and elongate your life. Do I think vegetarianism is for everyone...No, and by no means will I force my opinions about this topic or any topic on you (I am not FOX News). Instead I simply wish to encourage you to try this approach and if you like it, maybe expand to a second day. What I intend to do is this: provide you with easy recipes of some of my favorite comfort foods, provide you a good laugh every now and then, and hopefully you will enjoy reading this blog and incorporating these recipes into your weekly meals. Mario Batali embraces meatless mondays and that man owns a high end Italian butcher shop in Seattle; lets face it vegetables are the new steak in 2011. Good luck cooking and enjoy.
PS - In honor of my wife/best friend/sous chef/ most gracious test subject ever, each post will be titled like a Friends episode.
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