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

The Chef Next Door: EXPRESS!

So unbeknownst to me, when you start a business, lots of people are out to get you.  More specifically, they are out to get your MONEY.  After almost being suckered into 2 different "support your local fire department/baseball team and get tons of advertising in return" scams, I am VERY skeptical to answer my phone anymore.  If a number comes across that does not have a (205) or (256) area code, it is automatically rejected.  (I may answer a Tennessee area code once in a while.)   Well, last week, I received a call from Canada.  Yep, you guessed it: IGNORED.  No way was I going to listen to some clown from Canada try to sell me some advertising space on a Baseball poster.  Not interested.   Surprise surprise, they left a voicemail.   It started off like all the rest.

"Hi, Margaret.  My name is ____ _____ and I'm with the company ________."

I started to pull the phone away from my ear to delete the message before having to hear any more nonsense, but then I heard one tiny bit.....

"I'm calling about your pre-made meals for a friend of mine..."

Wow, could it be? A real person with a real interest in my services?  Yes it was!  A man from Canada had googled "pre-made dinners in Huntsville" and came across my website.  Turns out, a friend of his who lives down here in Alabama just had a baby, and as good friends often do, he wanted to send a bunch of meals to his friend and his new family.   So, The Chef Next Door's EXPRESS catering is officially off the ground.  I created an email gift certificate which he sent to his friend, his friend called me to redeem the gift certificate and custom-create his meals...and the rest is history.  If you or anyone you know in the Tennessee Valley is in need of some gourmet pre-made meals, give me a shout!  If you've got a weird area code........well, just be sure to leave a message. :)  Here are the meals I made for the friend and his new lovely family.

Chilled Sesame Shrimp and Noodle Salad

with Green Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, and Salted Cashews

Cornmeal Crusted Fried Shrimp and Spicy Andouille Jambalaya

served with Creole Remoulade and Green Onions on the side

Classic Homemade Lasagna

served with Parmesan Garlic Bread

Deep Dish Mexican Pizza with a Cheesy Cornbread "Crust"

served with Cilantro Sour Cream, Salsa, and Black Olives on the side

Grilled NY Strip Steak with Crumbled Blue Cheese on the side

served with Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Mom's Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad

with slivered Almonds and Purple Grapes

Artichoke and Grilled Chicken Casserole

with a Sherry cream sauce over Mushroom Consumme Rice

Barbecue Grilled Chicken Breasts with Honey BBQ and BBQ Ranch Sauce on the side

served with Ranch Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

The End of the Beginning

Oh boy oh boy oh boy....the YOUNGER brothers have graduated high school!!  If you are on a personal level with any members of my immediate family, you are well aware at what an incredible accomplishment this is...and what an enormous relief it is! To my mother, especially. :)  Well, younger brothers graduating high school requires a better-than-average gift from big sister, so I decided to create little booklets with advice and tips that I learned from my collegiate career.  I called them "The Ten Commandments", and split the booklet up into different categories- each with 10 "rules" or guidelines to follow.  The book ended with space for hand-written notes from their family members and several pages of family photos.

While I spent a lot of time (and money!) writing them, formatting them, printing them out, laminating them, cutting them, and binding them...I regrettably decided that my brothers probably wouldn't appreciate them very much.  Maybe later on in life, but not now, as they are being showered with hundreds of "cool" gifts! So....the universe smiled on me and sent my long-lost friend (who moved to Florida for her job) back to Huntsville for the week.  This particular friend happens to make spectacular sculpted cakes.  Voila! I knew for a fact they would appreciate an "Ace of Cakes" style cake that they could devour.  So, we rolled up our sleeves, channeled our inner "Duff"s, and cranked out this Graduation Cake masterpiece!  It took a lot of time and even more patience...but it turned out pretty magnificent and the family absolutely loved it.  Maybe I'll be a pro by the time they graduate college. Ha.

 

A very special thanks to Stacey Munoz, for all the time and patience you put into helping make this cake and another special thanks to Heather Petersen, owner of Slice at a Time, for lending me some of your cake-making equipment!!

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Guess!

Hi, everyone! Sorry for the lag in blogging....I've been pretty busy lately and also wanted to give Liz and Nicole Jackson a long run at the top spot. :)  To make up for my absence, I decided to come up with a fun "game" for my readers to play.   People often want to see pictures of my food, and I'm always surprised at how often they ask "What is that???" in regards to a picture that, to me, looks very obvious what it is.  So, I decided to post a handful of some of my wackiest food photos and see how clever my readers are!  Post your answers in the "share your thoughts" section, and the person who gets the most right will get a special shout out!  Include your name, email address, and your list of answers, 1-10.  Ready......set........guess!

1. Sea Urchins?? Nope, try again....

ANSWER:  Oriental Pork and Rice Balls

2. What is in the spoons??

ANSWER:  Petite Crabcakes with Remoulade and Chives

3.  Name 2 of the 4 items on this tray.

ANSWER:  Pancetta and Beef Skewers, Cucumber Cups with Ceviche, Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche, and Toast Rounds topped with Deviled Quail Eggs

4.   Pretty, huh?  "Soup" is not a good enough answer....

ANSWER:  Chilled Saffron Soup with Melons and Sliced Scallops

5.  What is this Penguin made of?  (4 part answer- Body, nose, eyes and "buttons, and feet)

ANSWER:  Body- Eggplant; Nose- Carrot; Eyes and Buttons- Peppercorns; Feet- Parsnips

6.  What is this?

ANSWER:  Beef Carpaccio with Mixed Greens, Croutons, and Lemon Aioli

7.  Give it a go....

ANSWER:  Mango Sorbet in Tuile Spoons resting on Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Puree

8.  When this is sliced up, what will it be??

ANSWER:  Biscotti!  (Orange/Almond Flavor)

9.  What is this lovely pinkish orange stuff?

ANSWER:  Sushi-grade Salmon

10.  Last one....what is it?  It's delicious, I'll tell you that!

ANSWER:  Roasted Eggplant with Panko Breadcrumbs and Mint

Ok, foodies...give it your best shot!  Be as descriptive as you can.  Happy guessing!!


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door