Since the start of our blogsite Hill’s Kitchen, we’ve been inundated with emails asking for recipes, tips, and basic techniques for some of the amazing food that the students have been producing over the last year. This site is just a natural progression for what we’ve been working on. We’re delighted to be able to bring to you some of the cutting edge techniques that we use in our curriculum to help educate and push the idea of actually returning to the kitchen to cook!
We’ll be adding some of the most requested techniques as well as recipes, wine suggestions, and featured chefs from our advisory board. We’re looking forward to sharing with you and hope you’ll find something you enjoy working with.
We’ll start out with some basic cooking concepts that will help you save time and energy searching for just the right recipe. Professional cooking uses technique and once you understand some of the basics, you’ll be able to throw most of those recipes right in your kitchen file and start working “outside the box!”
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Cooking Savvy education, filet mignon, Shrimp, techniques, The Classics, Wellington
What are you eating? Want to share your food images with us? We’ll be glad to link to your blog or image site! Just respond to this post!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Random Images food porn, Random Images
One of our best selling side dishes on our menu at The Studio is Risotto Milanese. Easy to prepare, rich and satisfying, risotto make a great side dish or, you can add ingredients to create a hearty main course!
Risotto Milanese
Yields: 4 Servings
2 T. olive oil
4 T. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. saffron threads
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine, Pinot Grigio is what we like!
4 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 to 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
Follow these steps:
You can immediately dish up the rice for serving or do like we have and spread out the risotto in a pan to cool off for arancinis, cheese stuffed balls of risotto which are then deep fried and served as an appetizer or first course. Check back for this recipe soon!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Pasta & Rice arborio rice, Italy, risotto, saffron
A ballotine is basically any meat, fish, or fowl that has been boned, stuffed, tied and roasted. Not to be confused with a galantine which is poached in stock and then served cold, normally decorated with chaud froid and aspic.
We’re using a leg quarter for this procedure and just going through the boning technique. Check back with us later for the actual stuffing, roasting, and serving procedures!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Poultry Fabrication ballotine, chicken, roasted, stuffed
So, now that you can make fresh pasta, what are you going to do with it? How about an incredible dish from the Piedmont region of Italy, agnolotti or “priest hats” filled with a rich mixture of roasted and mashed sweet potatoes with garlic and bacon, served in a rich cream sauce and topped with brown butter and sage?
Now, this may seem like a lot of steps but in actuality this is an amazingly easy process. You take one recipe of the pasta dough that we provided in a previous post, divide the dough and freeze half. Now, roast a couple of sweet potatoes in their jackets, peel, smash with roasted garlic and crisp bacon and proceed to fill the pasta.
Take a small amount of cream and fresh garlic, reduce and add cheese, cook your pasta, combine and plate. Brown a couple teaspoons of butter with fresh sage and spoon over the agnolotti. This is really an amazing combination of flavors and you’ll be happy you tried this simple preparation.
Cooking is contagious!!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Pasta & Rice agnolotti, fresh, Pasta & Rice, Piedmont
This is the recipe we use for all of our pasta dough and here are some images to help you through the process! Simple and delicious!
Makes 2 # fresh pasta
1 3/4 cup AP flour
6 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 T cream
2 tsp. olive oil
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Pasta & Rice dough, Northern Italy, Pasta & Rice
Just what you’ll need the next time you try your hand at risotto! These short, fat grains are perfect for risotto because of the high-starch content. The creamy texture of risotto will have you hooked in no time! Easy to prepare and a great way to introduce your family and friends to a taste of Italy!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC The Pantry arancini, rice, risotto, starch
We use this simple marinade for grilled shrimp brochettes and think it works great with any seafood or even as a light dressing for mixed greens! Just a few simple ingredients: shallots, garlic, lemon juice, parlsey, fresh thyme and rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it! Remember the basic rule to oil and vinegar dressings: 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. You can then add whatever seasonings you want!
Now that we have the marinade, go ahead and find a pound or so of 21/25 peeled and deviened shrimp and marinate for up to two hours. Skewer and grill! Our final product is a favorite appetizer at our luncheons!
Thanks to Liz for the demo!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC Dressings and Marinades dressing, marinade, oil and vinegar
Despite the fact that this is the world’s most expensive spice, you won’t have to take out a loan to buy these yellow-orange stigmas from the crocus flower. You won’t need more than a pinch in your recipes and the spice is sold in very small quantities.
Each crocus flower provides only 3 stigmas which are hand-picked so you can imagine just how many flowers one would go through just for a few ounces. All in all it takes roughly 14,000 stigmas to make an ounce!
This is a great flavoring for Spanish Paella, French Bouillabaise, Italian Risotto Milanese and is even used in some baked goods. The flavor is pungent and the spice leaves a beautiful yellow color to the dish you use it in.
Saffron should be stored in an airtight container and can last for up to six months. Buy the threads and not the powder please!
Chef Gordon D. Rader, CEC The Pantry Paella, saffron, Spain
Recent Comments