Roasted Pork Sandwich
I love sandwiches and this is one of my my favorites. Juicy roasted pork, garlic aioli, tomato confit...check it out and let me know what you think.
How to Cook a Whole Trout
Just in time for a long holiday weekend...Go outside, drop a line in your favorite pond or river, and then head back to your kitchen and make this!
Cast Iron Chicken with Pan Sauce
One of my all time favorites for Sunday supper. So simple, but rustic, rich, incredibly juicy, and full of flavor. Gather your friends and family around the table for this one!
Cast Iron Roasted Half Chicken
(Serves me; or 2 normal people)
1 ea farm fresh chicken, back boned removed and cut in half
1 ea offal from one chicken
2 cups buttermilk
4 sprigs fresh thyme, whole sprigs
2 Tbl *garlic confit oil
6 Tbl butter, split into 3- 2 Tbl segments
1 ea shallot, julienne
½ cup mushroom stems, whole
3 ea whole garlic clove, skin on, smashed
2 cups *chicken stock
2 Tbl chives, finely chopped
2 Tbl flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ ea lemon, juiced and zested
to taste kosher or sea salt
Preheat oven to 450˚F (convection oven, fan-on) or 450˚F (if using a conventional oven, chicken might take another 15 minutes or so to cook).
Remove backbone and neck from chicken, save for later use. Pour buttermilk over chicken, add half of fresh thyme sprigs and marinate in buttermilk for 24 hours in refrigerator.
Remove chicken from buttermilk, pat dry with paper towels and allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour, allowing the skin to dry out.
Add garlic oil to cast iron skillet over medium heat. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Sear chicken, skin side down until golden brown.
Remove chicken from pan and add chicken offal, shallot, garlic clove, mushroom stems, another 1/3rd of butter and remaining thyme sprigs. Season with salt. Continue to sauté until shallot and mushroom stems are caramelized.
Deglaze pan with chicken stock and gently scrape bottom of pan. Bring to boil and add second, 1/3rd of butter.
Place chicken back in pan, skin side up, and roast in oven for 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from pan and allow to rest while finishing sauce.
Bring sauce mixture back to boil and reduce until the mixture can coat the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
Add last 1/3rd of butter, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Stir to incorporate. Place chicken back in cast iron and baste to glaze. Season with lemon zest and finishing salt.
Serve to your Mom.
Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
Pickled cherry tomatoes is one of my favorite kitchen staples. The tomatoes themselves add such great dimension to so many dishes. And the brine...it is so versatile and can really elevate your cooking. Check out how I use it in my frittata recipe. Here's the video- I'll have the recipe up soon!
Wagyu/Pork Belly Cheeseburger!!!!!
Had a great time filming this one. Lots of love put into this burger. Local wagyu and work belly patties with some spicy pickles, pepper jack and some fresh greens tossed in my garlic aioli. Recipe coming real soon. Check out the video and let me know what you think! Subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any episodes.
Wagyu Beef and Pork Belly Burger Recipe
(Serves 4 hungry people)
1 lb, 9 ½ oz wagyu or other beef, ground
6 ½ oz pork belly, ground
12 slices *slab bacon, about 4” long and cut into 1/8” thick slices
4 ea *brioche bun
4 ea farm fresh eggs
2 Tbl *butter
1 ea white onion, julienne
4 ea *garlic confit, whole cloves
½ cup *pickles, sliced into 1/8” slices
2 Tbl *garlic aioli
4 slices pepper jack cheese
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ cup *whole grain mustard
¼ cup *ketchup
2 Tbl flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
¼ ea lemon, zested
to taste kosher or sea salt
* To make from scratch, check out my video on YouTube or recipe on my blog. Some of these recipes will be coming in the near future!
Pre-heat oven to 350˚F (convection oven, fan-on) or 400˚F (conventional oven).
Place bacon on sheet tray and bake until golden brown (roughly 10 - 12 minutes), remove from hot pan and reserve. Pour rendered bacon fat into 12” cast iron skillet and place over medium heat.
Push a finger-sized dimple into one side of each burger patty about ¼” deep. Season both sides of burger patty with salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Sear patty, dimple side down until golden brown. Flip burger, add fresh thyme, garlic confit, and butter. Baste burgers for 3 - 5 minutes or until medium-rare/medium. Remove from pan and allow burgers to rest on the sheet tray that you baked bacon on.
Cook julienne onion in cast iron in rendered beef and bacon fat until caramelized.
Cut burger buns in half and dip in beef and bacon fat. Place on sheet tray with burgers.
Top burgers with cooked bacon and pepperjack cheese. Place back in oven until melted.
Crack four eggs into cast iron pan with bacon and beef fat. Season to taste with salt and turn off heat. Allow the residual heat from the cast iron to finish the sunny side up eggs. Season eggs with chopped parsley and lemon zest.
To build:
Put ketchup on the bottom bun and a spoonful of caramelized onions on top.
Place burger patty on top of onions and fried egg on top of burger.
Put mustard on top bun. Toss spinach with garlic aioli and place on top of mustard. Place pickles on top of spinach.
Combine top and bottom deliciousness and take a huge bite. Serve and enjoy!
Egg Frittata + Brown Butter Hollandaise Recipe
8 each farm fresh eggs
¼ cup crème fraîche
2 tbsp butter
1 each white onion, julienne
6 cloves garlic confit
1 cup oyster mushrooms (or type of preference), sliced
½ cup pickled cherry tomatoes (see my video to make yourself!)
2 tbsp pickling liquid from tomatoes
½ cup fresh chevre
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
6 each green onion, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
¼ each lemon, zested
to taste kosher or sea salt
Pre-heat oven to 350˚F (convection oven, fan-on) or 400˚F (conventional oven).
if making brown butter hollandaise: Melt 1 cup butter in 8-inch cast iron skillet and cook until brown. Transfer butter to a container and reserve warm for hollandaise.
In a large bowl, mix eggs with crème fraiche and tomato pickling liquid. Whisk until frothy and set aside.
Melt butter in an 8-inch cast iron skillet. Add thyme & cook julienne onion in butter until caramelized. Add mushrooms and sear until golden.
Add garlic & cherry tomatoes to skillet and cook to soften. Add spinach & green onions. Turn off heat and stir, allowing greens to wilt.
Add vegetable mixture & parsley to eggs; stir to incorporate.
Transfer all ingredients back to the cast iron skillet, randomly place chunks of chevre on top of egg mixture.
Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until center is set.
Brown Butter Hollandaise
1 cup butter
3 each farm fresh eggs
½ each lemon, zest + juice
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
to taste kosher or sea salt
To brown butter: Melt 1 cup butter in 8-inch cast iron skillet and cook until brown. Transfer butter to a container and reserve warm.
Separate egg yolks from whites (see my video for tips!). Save egg whites for different use (whiskey sours anyone?).
In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks, lemon zest, & acid (lemon juice or a splash of pickling liquid from my pickled cherry tomatoes) until frothy.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Place bowl with egg mixture over the pot of hot water. Whisk egg mixture continuously while moving the bowl on and off the hot water pot in 20 second increments until the eggs are thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Take bowl off of water pot. Stream in warm brown butter while continuously whisking until emulsified.
*Do not pour warm butter too fast, or your eggs will scramble.
Add lemon juice, chives, parsley, and salt.
Crème Fraîche
Fermentation is an ancient tradition and its methods can be found in almost every culture. Crème fraiche, fermented cream, is the European style of sour cream. It has a robust, tanginess to it that can be interchangeable with heavy whipping cream in savory applications. The buttermilk adds a deep richness to it and the simple preparation makes it a “go to” in your kitchen. Use it in creamed soups and pan sauces, over poultry, seafood and eggs and it makes for a great foundation for dips.
4 cups heavy cream
2 ounces (6 tbsp) buttermilk
Mix all ingredients together and allow to culture at room temperature for 48 hours.
Stir mixture, cover, and place in cooler until ready to use.
Garlic Confit
Confit comes from the French word confire which literally means “to preserve”. A confit is any type of food that is cooked at a low temperature in fat, oil or syrup over a long period of time as method of preservation. You are probably more familiar with meats for confit but actually what is more applicable for daily use in recipes are pantry staples such as garlic confit, onion confit, or tomato confit. These are fantastic substitutes when recipes call for these raw ingredients; a confit is ready to use and will enhance whatever your cooking.
3 each whole garlic head
2 cups neutral cooking oil (I love to use grapeseed oil)
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
12 each whole black peppercorns
Pre-heat oven to 250˚F and peel garlic.
Combine all ingredients and place in cast iron skillet.
Heat over medium-low heat until just below simmering. Place in oven for 45 minutes or until garlic slightly caramelizes.
Transfer all ingredients to a mason jar and store in refrigerator until use.
Homemade Grass Fed Butter Recipe
I love butter. It’s by far my favorite cooking fat. It comes from such humble beginnings and yet through a simple and ancient process it can be transformed into liquid gold. Butter is unmatched as a foundational ingredient in the kitchen because of its versatility. It has this delicious ability to add body and depth whether your sautéing vegetables, basting meat, or emulsifing it for a sauce.
4 cups heavy whipping cream
2 oz (6 tbsp) buttermilk
Mix cream & buttermilk together.
Allow mixture to culture at room temperature for 24 hours.
Place mixture in refrigerator until cold.
Put in mixture with a paddle and churn until broken.
Squeeze out buttermilk.
Eat & enjoy!