It's a Chef's Life

 There are few things my niece and nephew love more than chocolate! I thought they would love some festive peppermint bark. I was happy to find green and red candy canes to crush. I tempered my chocolate, which is a bit of an ordeal but it makes for a nicer finished product. I added 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the white chocolate and used a ratio of 3 parts dark to 4 parts white chocolate.

I often take care of dessert on Thanksgiving in addition to chipping in for regular food, I'm happy to do it! I remember one large gathering where I brought a cranberry tart, butternut squash cheesecake, and Pierre Herme's chocolate Concorde cake. Fast forward to a year where I made mini pecan tarts with gyoza wrappers, and this year a blueberry blackberry crumble with nougat semifreddo. Sprinkle your berries with sugar in a pie plate and top with crumble; 100g oats, 125g plain flour, 115g butter grated on a box grater, 90g sugar and a pinch of salt. For the semifreddo crush 200g turron nougat (buy this on amazon) in a food processor. Beat 2 egg whites and a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Beat 250ml cream to soft peaks. Beat your yolks and 27g sugar to ribbons. Fold whites into the yolk mix, fold in cream then nougat and freeze. I serve mine on edible rose petals which make for a lovely floral note.

  After reading an article in the New Yorker about "adulterated olive oil" I try to buy new world oil, and in this case I used a South African avocado oil. Blend sun dried tomatoes with oil, toasted pine nuts, sea salt (I prefer Maldon), garlic, and grated parmesan. This recipe is great in pasta or on crostini. I am using it in chicken with parchment, baked with shredded cheese on top.

Since we get three chicken breasts per pack, I sliced each one in half and made two parcels each with three half chicken breasts. I used udon noodles that I had on hand with a julienne green pepper, finely julienne ginger, teriyaki sauce, agave syrup, sesame oil, chili flakes,  and a little adobo. To top the chickens I mixed hoisin sauce, dijon mustard, and minced ginger and spread it on top. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes.  

 I love sweet potatoes. They are great in soups, roasted, in curries, the possibilities are endless. I like to add them to buddha bowls and I once had a sweet potato and blue cheese bisque in business class and recreated it at home. Inspiration is everywhere! As an accompaniment to some grilled flank steak I have roasted these, skin on, with berbere spice. This comes from Ethiopia and can be ordered online it is great to have around.

  First prep the onions; saute two red onions, sliced, in olive oil. Add some brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook low and slow until they just hold their shape. For the bread measure out 500g all  purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. In one side mix in a 7g dried fast action yeast and one teaspoon salt in another so the salt doesn't kill the yeast. Create a hole in the middle of the flour and add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 350-400ml lukewarm water, I never use it all. Knead your dough for 10 minutes and leave in an oiled bowl covered with a tea towel to rise for an hour. Stretch the dough out in an oiled baking tray and rise another 45 minutes. Use your fingers to make the holes all over the dough and top with onions and grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 220C for twenty minutes. Cool and serve, it won't last long!

This has become my new favorite way of cooking chicken. The meat stays moist and there is no pan washing required. Slice one small potato and top with seasoning, I use Goya Adobo in place of salt and pepper. Top with a chicken breast. Mix mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, seeded mustard, adobo, a pinch of chili flakes and place on chicken before topping with grated cheddar. I serve this with peppadew peppers. Seal and bake at 200C for half an hour or leave in the fridge and cook at any time, such a great recipe to have up your sleeve.

We served this as a vegetarian option at the French catering firm I worked for in NYC. It is a lovely sweet and savory vegetarian treat. Emonder plum tomatoes (I used mini plum as that was all my store had); cut a cross in the bottom and drop in boiling water for 10 seconds. Cool, peel and remove the seeds.  Cut into quarters. Make a caramel from 50g sugar, 50g butter and two tablespoons balsamic vinegar in a non stick pan. Use this pan to cut a circle from some store bought puff pastry (I have made it from scratch before but store made is a good shortcut here). place tomatoes cut side up in your caramel and top with puff pastry circle. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes and turn out on a plate while still hot.

 I first had these when I was working in Toronto, and they are best miniature sized. I am using bought pastry shells here, which tasted ok, but I don't have mini tart rings so I took a shortcut. Home made would have been even more delicious.   Bring 2 eggs, 175g light brown sugar, 50g butter, and 4 tablespoons heavy cream to a simmer over medium low heat. Fill the bottom of your blind baked tart shells with dried currants and top with filling. Bake at 200C for 15 minutes.

This is a kitchen sink recipe using what I had on hand. Saute 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs and cook half a pack of spaghetti, broken in half according to package directions. To the cooked chicken add peanut butter, sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, and seasoned rice vinegar to create a sauce. Chop one red pepper, one seedless cucumber, scallions, and savoy cabbage and add to cooked spaghetti, chicken, and sauce. Toss to coat and garnish with sesame seeds.

A worthy autumn side dish for some burgers! Savoy cabbage, carrots, Braeburn apples, toasted flaked almonds, and dried cranberries. The dressing is simple; Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon mustard, honey, white wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Crunchy and delicious.

Thanks to Jamie Oliver for inspiring this recipe. Score a lamb shoulder and scatter with garlic cloves. Cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and put into a oven on maximum heat. Turn the oven to 170C and roast for four hours. When finished, add flour to the pan and whisk to form a roux. Add hot chicken stock and fresh mint. For the butternut squash puree cook your squash in salted boiling water and mash with butter and milk and a pinch of nutmeg.