Quote worth repeating

"You have to eat to cook. You can't be a good cook and be a non-eater. I think eating is the secret to good cooking." -Julia Child

Spot tails on the half shell

Amazing fish recipe that is a MUST!  This fish was swimming this morning!

2 fillets of spot tail, skin on, scales on
light dusting of Cajun or blackening season- not too much, you don't want to overpower the fish
a pinch of salt
pat of clarified butter
lemon zest
lemon juice- squeeze on the fish right before you bring it off the grill

Cook fish over charcoal, skin and scale side down.  About 8 minutes.  Depends on the size of the fillets.  Fish should be white when done.  Do not overcook!!!!  And do not flip to grill on the flesh side.  No need!
ENJOY!

Fresh Herbs

So, the end of the gardening season is coming to an end.  Have any fresh herbs left in the garden or in pots or containers that are going like wild weeds?

Snip a bunch of rosemary, thyme, or oregano, or all three, and throw them on top of any meat you have in the fridge as an easy way to "marinate" the meat and then cover and keep refrigerated.  Or add the herbs to a Ziploc bag along with steak, chicken, pork, etc.  The fresh herbs will add flavor to the meat and what a piece of cake!

Just remember to remove the herbs prior to cooking, as fresh herbs will burn before your protein is cooked through!

Great picnic presentation for a crowd

I cook whole hogs for pig pickin's many times throughout the year.  And summertime is perfect for cooking whole hogs and entertaining.  But I always have leftover BBQ.  So I turn leftover BBQ into BBQ sundaes.  And then invite friends and family over for a BBQ picnic the next day!  It's all the picnic fixin's in one jar!

To assemble the sundaes:
You will need pint size mason jars, BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans, BBQ sauce, diced red onions.  And something cold to drink, like an ice cold frosty beer!

Layer the mason jars like so; baked beans on the bottom, next comes the BBQ, top with coleslaw and red onions.  Finish the sundaes with a drizzle of BBQ sauce. And enjoy!!



  

Watermelon Granita

Easiest dessert ever! Watermelon is at its peak right now. Very ripe and sweet. Turn it into a yummy frozen treat! Super healthy too!!!

6 cups seedless watermelon, diced
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
Handful of fresh mint leaves

Purée watermelon in blender. You may have to work in batches. Add the lime juice and mint. Blend until mixed.

Pour mixture into a 9x9 inch metal pan, cover and freeze. Stir mixture every hour with a fork. The granita is ready to serve when the mixture is frozen and resembles ice crystals, about 5 hours. Use a fork to scrape granita into large ice crystals. Serve in a chilled martini glass and garnish with a mint sprig.

New toy!!

New toy added to the kitchen. Meat grinder. Just made fresh ground hamburgers from chuck roast and a few strips of bacon. Grinding your own meat DOES make a difference! HUGE difference!!!!!! Simply amazing burgers! Give it a try and then YOU can influence what ingredients go in to your ground meat!

Turn "overgrown" veggies in to something yummy

Been away on vacation to come home to an overgrown garden? Take those large zucchini and squash and slice them to 1/4 inch, toss in to some buttermilk and then in to some seasoned cornmeal and fry until golden brown. Yes, I said fry. Remember to salt when they come out of the oil!

Citrus & the grill

Everyone knows a squeeze of lemon, lime or orange goes a long way to making a dish "pop" after the cooking process. But to add another layer of flavor, cut your citrus "du jour" in half and add it to the grill, along with your protein, flesh side down. Grill until charred and THEN give it a squeeze. You'll be surprised at the difference!!! Give it a try!

"Hot" Cherry Cocktail Spritzer

1 habanera pepper, seeded
5 fresh cherries, pitted
3 fresh mint leaves
1 lemon
1 lime
1 tablespoon simple syrup, recipe below
4 oz Vodka
ice
club soda

Muddle the habanera, cherries, and mint in bottom of shaker.  Add simple syrup, vodka, and ice and shake vigorously.  Strain into a chilled martini glass and top with a splash of club soda.  Garnish with mint sprig and cherry.

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Add water and sugar in sauce pan and heat over medium heat to dissolve the sugar.  Remove from heat then zest and juice the lemon and lime into the sugar mixture.  Stir to combine.  Allow to cool before adding to the cocktail.

This week's beet harvest and a simple salad to toss them in to!!!

Roasted Beet Salad               Serves 4

15 beets

6 tablespoons walnut oil- 3 tablespoons for the beets, reserve the remaining 3 tablespoons for the dressing

salt & fresh cracked pepper

2 oranges, peeled and segmented into pieces, slice between the white pith- squeeze what's left of the oranges into a bowl and reserve that juice

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped into pieces

4 tablespoons of champagne vinaigrette

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon

salt & fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Toss beets with walnut oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place on a baking sheet and roast until tender.  About 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Once they have cooled, the skins will peel off easily.  Cut into quarters.  Add the beets and orange segments to a bowl.

For the dressing, add the champagne vinaigrette, the reserved orange juice, the tarragon, and salt and pepper to a small bowl.  Slowly drizzle in the walnut oil, whisking the entire time.

Toss the beets and orange segments with the dressing.  Top with toasted walnuts.  Serve!



Cool foodie iPhone apps!!!!!!!

Here are a few food and wine apps that I love on my iPhone!

open table- search eateries for available reservations

urbanspoon- restaurant recommendations

Food Network-recipes and videos from all Food Network Stars

zagat- fresh restaurant ratings and reviews

Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner- search for recipes by keywords, type of meal, or even how much time you have to prepare it

Epicurious- over 27,000 recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit that creates grocery lists from recipes you like

locavore- find locally grown foods that are in season

iFarmMarket- database of over 4,600 farmer's markets across the US

hellovino- wine to pair with food

Fromage-over 650 cheeses with descriptions, regions they are from, and wines they pair well with

Fresh Wahoo Salad

June is a great time for offshore fishing in North Carolina.  So as a tribute to one of my favorite fish to catch and eat, I urge you to try this delicious, yet simple, recipe.

1 lb fresh wahoo
2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 fresh bay leaves
2 lemons- 1 sliced and 1 juiced
2 tablespoon mayonaise
2 bunches of scallions
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's creole seasoning blend

Serves 4

Poach the wahoo by placing it in a sauce pan and covering with water.  Place on stovetop burner over medium to medium low heat.  Add the sliced lemon, peppercorns and fresh bay leaves to the poaching liquid.  Be sure the poaching liquid does not come to a boil, as this will toughen the fish.  Poach fish until cooked through, about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.  It will turn completely white.

If the wahoo still has its skin, remove it after cooking.  The skin should peel off easily.

Remove fish from poaching liquid and cool.  While the fish cools, prepare the salad.  Combine the mayonaise, juice of one lemon, scallions, red bell pepper, and Tony Chachere's seasoning blend in a bowl.  Stir to combine.  Once fish has cooled, tear fish into large flakey peices and add to the bowl.  Toss lightly to blend.  Taste for seasoning.  Add more Tony Chacere's if needed.  

Video - The Culinary Connection

Here’s a clip of what I can do for you in your kitchen through The Culinary Connection. Sound interesting and exciting? Get in touch with me.

melindap@sumlingroup.com

828.638.6766

Welcome!

Welcome to Chef Melinda's blog! I'm setting up a blog as a way to share recipes with my friends and family. I'm also hoping to reach others online that are interested in discovering new and exciting recipes.


My company, The Culinary Connection, specializes in sharing the expertise in food and wine to make your home a magical place. Clients have told me that they're comfortable with the cooking process, just have trouble coming up with new and different recipes. After hearing this from several different clients, I thought a blog would be a great way to share recipes with people who need help getting out of a cooking "rut!" 


Starting this week, I'll post a weekly recipe. Most of the recipes I've personally made for my family. There may be slight changes in the ingredients or directions that I made to make the recipe even more perfect! Please email me or comment here if you want to know about substitutions or other changes to any of the recipes. 


I'm also working on a separate Chef Melinda webpage so check back in to see the progress on that. As soon as it's up and running, I'll share the link!


I hope you enjoy the upcoming weeks and all the new recipes!


Cheers!


Chef Melinda