Mom's Birthday Beef Wellingtons and Father's Day Chocolate Eclairs

Every Mom has two days that are especially HERS.  These two days are reserved for honoring her, showering her with love and gifts and attention, and trying somehow to repay her for the countless hours, days, and lifetimes which she has spent making sure that YOUR life is as wonderful as possible.  Her Birthday and Mother's Day.    Oh, my poor mom.  Get this:  My birthday is May 10th.  Yep, it usually falls on or right around Mother's Day, therefore her special day is somewhat overshadowed by her daughter's birthday.  And to make matters worse, HER birthday is June 18th....usually on or right around Father's day.  Therefore, her birthday is usually in conjunction with my dad's special day.  Well, we can't change peoples' birthdays or move the Holidays, so we just have to do the best we can to make their special days super special.

This year, to celebrate Mom's birthday AND Father's day (which fell on the same weekend), I decided that the best I could do was break out the big guns and prepare a meal and dessert that are only reserved for VERY special occasions:  Individual Beef Wellingtons and Homemade Chocolate Eclairs.  Both of these items are truly labors-of-love.  Somewhere between dicing dozens of mushrooms for the Duxelle and vigorously whisking the pastry cream, I felt one of the most rewarding feelings ever.  While I was struggling to perfectly enclose the beef in the puff pastry and clutching my cramped wrist after piping dozens of Pate Choux eclairs, I realized this.   My love of cooking developed because of my Mom.  I was blessed to be able to attend Culinary school because of my Dad.  And now, I was using my special talent, that they both nurtured and encouraged, to honor THEM.  What a treat for me as a Chef.  There is no event more satisfying.

The Wellingtons were delicious.  Mom was thrilled and ate every bite.  The Eclairs...well I don't know if I've ever seen my Dad grinning from ear-to-ear like a little boy, and shoving 4 of them in his mouth as fast as possible.  I don't think any award or accolade could make me as happy as seeing my wonderful parents truly loving something that I made especially for them.  Love you guys!

Before baking:

After baking:

 Served with Root Beer Gravy! Yummy....

Homemade Chocolate Eclairs:

Happy Daddy!

 Comment if you'd like recipes for Individual Beef Wellingtons or Homemade Chocolate Eclairs.  They really aren't that difficult on their own. :)  Maybe just don't prepare them together on the same day.....


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Copy Cat AGAIN!

Oh dear...I've done it again.  Completely neglected the blog.  Between the exciting new business ventures and the brilliant Summer in Alabama weather, I have been beyond distracted! My apologies, followers.  But make no mistake about it, I am never distracted from my first love-----cooking.  :)  If you'll refer back to one of my very first posts- a restaurant review of Luciano here in Huntsville- I describe a particularly spectacular dish that Taylor ordered for our Valentine's dinner: 

Grilled Red Grouper with a Cabbage, Pancetta, Corn, and Potato Hash topped with Eggplant Tapenade $30

It was incredible.  It was delicious.  It was beautiful.  It was expensive.  And seeing as it was the "special" of the evening, there's little to no chance we would ever be able to order it again.  Well, here is The Chef Next Door rendition- with a few changes here and there.  Guess I'll have to toot my horn for a second because I think my version was even better.  Or maybe it was just the Pawley's Island breeze filling our nostrils and the luminous sunset flooding the plates as we devoured our dinner.....who knows?  Either way, here is a delicious and for-the-most-part healthy seafood dish for you to please your friends and family with this summer. 

The Chef Next Door's Lemon Roasted Grouper with a Cabbage, Prosciutto, Corn, Potato, and Asparagus Hash

Ingredients:

1 beautiful Grouper Fillet per person

Several slices of lemon

Generous sprinkle of salt and pepper

Drizzle of Olive Oil

1 package of shredded Cabbage

1 ear of White or Yellow sweet Corn

1 bag of multi-colored petite Potatoes

1 bundle of Asparagus

1 package (or 5-6 pieces of Prosciutto)

3 Tablespoons of butter

Pinch of Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper

Garlic Salt

Balsamic Reduction for garnish

Directions:

1.  Prep all the vegetables- strip the corn from the cob, remove the woody ends off the asparagus and cut the stalks into 1" pieces, cut the petite potatoes into bite-size pieces.

2.  Place the Prosciutto in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp up.  

3.  Rub the grouper with Olive Oil, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Arrange the lemon slices on a baking sheet and top with the Grouper.  Arrange more slices on top of the grouper, then place it in the 350 degree oven to roast, about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of the fillets.

(Note: this is a picture from a different recipe, but I used it just for you to see how to arrange the fish on top of the lemon slices.)

4.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Separately blanch the corn, then the potatoes, then the asparagus until each item is perfectly tender.  (Corn- about 4 minutes, Potatoes- about 6 minutes, Asparagus- about 2 minutes.  Make SURE to do the Asparagus last because it will turn the water green.)

5.  Melt the butter in a skillet, add the cabbage, corn, potatoes, and asparagus and begin to briefly saute the vegetables together.  Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and a bit of Garlic Salt.  When the vegetables are hot, add in the crumbled crispy Prosciutto and toss everything to combine.  

(Sorry for the blurry photo....was in a rush!)

6. To serve, decoratively drizzle some Balsamic reduction in the bottom of a flat bowl or plate.  Place a generous mound of the Hash in the center, then perch the roasted Grouper on top, and place a slice of the roasted lemon on top of the fish. 

 

 

 Just about anything would taste good with a view like that, right?  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.  Happy summer, everyone!

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Embarassingly Easy Caprese Salad

GORGEOUS, right??  This yummy delicious Caprese Salad never fails to impress in both flavor and presentation.  It is light but also filling, it has incredible flavor but goes well with just about anything, it is a great side dish but also could act as a main, it pleases meat-lovers and Vegetarians alike, and....it only requires 3 ingredients and if you can hold a knife, you could make this delish dish.

You need:

Several gorgeous ripe red tomatoes
Fresh mozzarella cheese (ball or pre-sliced)
Fresh basil leaves


Pay attention now....this is super difficult:

Slice the tomatoes in 1/4-1/2 inch slices.

Slice the mozzarella in equally thick slices as the tomatoes.

Pick the basil leaves from the stem.

Arrange them as such:  Tomato, then basil leaf, then mozzarella.  Repeat until ingredients are used up.

A healthy pinch of salt and pepper is all that is required for finishing this beautiful salad, but a drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar would elevate it to another level of deliciousness. 

Whip up this incredible salad for a crowd or just as a simple lunch for yourself.  Either way, it is uber-satisfying and total eye candy.

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Answers to "GUESS!"

Well, nobody seemed to like playing "GUESS!" as much as I thought....but if ANYBODY is interested, the answers are listed on the post called "GUESS!" below.  :)


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door