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Halloween kid treats for a cooking class was a hoot. I was able to bring my older son and his friend to a very involved cooking class. 15 little groms is a lot of action, especially with this many items to cook.

Oooooooo, I’m gettin’ pumped.  This is a Halloween house.  Not only do we love the night of, but we also have a fun time with it all month.  My neighbor and I spend the entire day decorating. Which is tiring, but totally worth it and mostly fun.  Not only do the kids eyes light up once we’re done, but so do the adults.  Recently I did a cooking class for Halloween kid treats. Turned out adorable and a good time was had by all.  FYI…kids classes are exponentially harder than adult classes.  About 45 minutes into class when the sugar kicks in…oh man, look out Sally. Luckily my two kids were a great example to all and stayed on task. Teaching a cooking class as just a demo is much easier than a hands-on situation. 

We Made:
Green slime
Green slime coated popcorn
Banana ghosts
Cutie pumpkins
Halloween Oreo Stuffed chocolate cupcakes
Caramel apples
Witches’ fingers                                                                                                                                                    Zombie Twice baked potato mummies

Now, you might be thinking, “Josh, you’re so creative, I love your wonderful Halloween kid treat ideas. I wish I was that creative.” To that I say, worry not mon frere. For I harnessed the incredible powers of the all mighty google to help me in my search for fun and tasty Halloween treats.

Recently, I’ve had several people talk to me about bone broth. To be honest, I find it slightly irksome…maybe barely irritating. I get ruffled by trends because I don’t appreciate their twits for marketing purposes. For generations, bone broth has been known simply as broth, or stock. I guess the addition of the word “bone,” gives it a primal sound that demands a second look.  Nobody ever turned their heads at stock, or chicken broth.  Show your grandma a bone broth recipe and she’ll say:  “What?  You mean soup?”

Whether it be soup, broth or stock; I’m glad people are interested in making it themselves. It’s a small extra step to making food healthier and more delicious.

Shorthand stock recipes

Chicken Broth…the short, short version.
Begin by roasting a chicken for dinner or buy a roasted chicken. Eat the meat, then place the bones in crock pot and cover with water buy 2 inches. Turn crock pot on low. Go to bed. Wake up. Strain off bones. Cool, and refrigerate or freeze.

White Chicken Broth– Place a clean, raw yard bird in a large pot. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a full rolling boil. Spoon away any foam that rises to the top. Next, cover and turn off the heat and wait an hour. Remove the bird and let it cool a bit, then pull off the meat and return the bones to water. Simmer for 3 more hours, then strain, cool and refrigerate or freeze.

Beef, Veal, Pork or Lamb Broth-
Place 2lbs of bones in a roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes in a 425° oven or, until very browned. Make sure to turn a couple times to obtain even browning. Everything else is the same as the roast chicken broth. However, you want to go for another couple hours on the simmer.

Extra info

Fish Broth-
1lb white fleshed fish, head and bones. Cover with water or white wine buy 3 inches. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 17 minutes. Strain and cool.

To Any Broth:
You can add a multitude of flavors to add depth. Here are the Western European classics:
1/2 – 1 onion
1 carrot
1 rib celery
salt
pinch pepper
1 large sprig thyme
1 small bay leaf
small bunch parsley stems

Asian broth tends to roll with different aromatics like, ginger, green onion, garlic, star anise, soy sauce, bonito, kombu. Different but the same idea.

Cooling and storing a large batch of broth efficiently, is usually the hardest part of broth making. Ice baths are best but are still a bit clunky.

Here is a picture of some trotters I breakfasted up the other day.  Feet are always a great broth additive.  They give flavor of course, but are really appreciated for adding collagen and gelatin, which adds richness and viscosity.  

This crazy summer was jam packed with work and fun.  No surprise there, since I haven’t posted anything since June :-|  But man…if I wasn’t working, I, was, runnin’!  Mostly for fun though.

My kids are coming of age to free up family adventurism; and boy did we get after it this crazy summer.  With all the go, go, go; I was feeling a bit flat creatively, so I gave myself a switch up.  Rolled over to Iowa Meats and rummaged through the freezer section that’s stocked with rare and interesting meats.  Came away with some lamb loin (not that rare, I know), along with some Elk and frog legs.  This summer had a lot of firsts, so, I thought it fitting to get after the frog legs.  Only cooked ’em once about 15 years ago.  Next time will be much sooner as they are quite yummy. If you’ve never had the pleasure, it’s mostly a tender, skinless chicken wing. With just a hint of pond or lake, but not enough to be off putting.

Some of these pictures are from a different party, but I’m sure you don’t mind. Pics is pics, amiright? Look at Instagram, or rather I should say, can you stop looking at Instagram? No is the answer.

I use the term foraging very loosely here. But foraging mt. Helix was a great way to start the day and a great party. 

A few weeks ago I cooked a lovely dinner party in Mission Bay for a ladies getaway weekend.  We had adventured up to Mount Helix that morning to play around. As we were exploring, we came across a lush patch of mustard flowers.  As discovered on one of our nature hikes on Dictionary Hill, mustard flowers have a taste more like cabbage/broccoli then mustard.  That instantly became the impetus for a dish.

What dish?

 I didn’t know…but I knew I’d use them to accentuate a random brassica driven dish.  So… while at the market later in the day, I came across illegally cute, Smurf size brussels sprouts.  I decided to go with a variation of a salad I did a year or two ago. One that was based on heavily marinated brussels sprouts and grilled mushrooms. The salad was soaked with a truffle vinaigrette along with fresh herbs and other points of interest.

Whether you are picking chrysanthemums, mustard flowers or lavender. Or whether you are foraging Mt. Helix or Jamul. Make sure the product is away for the world or chest high. Dogs and whatever urinate on everything they can reach.

I’m gonna get a little weird, but if done properly, a little weird in a culinary experience is just what the doctor ordered. Relax, because yes, this works.

Avocado mashed potatoes are coming to a fish dish near you…if I’m cooking.

A healthy and perfectly balanced little side dish that I’ve been enjoying at my diner parties of late.  The recipe forces itself into simplicity. If you get cute or fussy with it, the balance gets thrown into the bad side of weird.

Recipe

Peel, cut and boil potatoes. Mash with kosher salt, a little butter and a scant 1/3 the amount of avocado…preferably Fuerte.  That’s it. There is no lemon juice, so make it à la minute. 

Anything more, other than a few chives, takes away the purpose of the mixture; which is an avocado tasting mashed potato.  Also note the room temperature potatoes.  Hot avocado isn’t something I love, and it causes a loss of vibrancy when overheated.   Avocado can easily become something very expected and normal once you start adding ingredients.  Using it as the mashed potato fat with no other flavors allows the avocado to come through the perfectly textured potato.  Any more avocado and you get too close to guacamole as is the addition of lemon, garlic or chile.

This is achiote grilled halibut/avocado mash/baby lotus chimichurri 

This dish is mind-blowingly delicious. Perfectly balanced with acid, char, sweetness, earth and texture. Shocking that I’ve only repeated it once or twice over the years. Achiote marinated halibut came from a teacher during cooking school.

Ain’t nuthin’ but a G thang ba-by. Two loc’ed out chefs goin’ cra-zy. Haha, we have fun here, and we had fun there. Chef Gina is the Snoop to my Dre. Or, the Dre to my Suge. Or the other way around. Either way, this party was certainly a “G” thang.

As you probably know, I do mostly small parties.  Occasionally a big party rolls by, and I need some help.  For that, I go to my long time friend and cohort, Gina Bishop.  

She brought me in on a party recently that was an 80 person luau themed buffet, with hors d’oeuvres.  We had a blast and worked our tuchus’ off, which is always a great combination for good food.  Our styles and skill sets are almost opposite, but we are on the same page with flavor. Here is the menu we did for that party.  Everything was perfect, but that is to be expected :-)

Menu

Passed Appetizers:
Sweet potato maki with Mango/cucumber/ sweet soy  Spicy Toro with wasabi oil on taro chip
Teriyaki chicken satay/ coconut peanut dipping sauce
Glazed Spam/ pickled cucumber/ pineapple
Shrimp scampi with garlic chives
Huli huli chicken wonton tacos/dynamite sauce/broccoli  Chile/lime macaroons

Hawaiian dinner buffet:                                                                                                                                          Delicious Kalua pork
Plank grilled pineapple teriyaki salmon
Coconut rice
Thai sugarcane vinaigrette slaw with sesame and water chestnut
Green Salad with green and ripe papaya and chile guava dressing
Traditional island macaroni salad

Desserts: Traditional haupia with banana
Pina Colada Bread Pudding/ Rum Salted Caramel
Assorted Cookie Bar

Holy guacamole Batman. What a menu that is for one party! A lot of choices to satisfy a lot of people. I realized a sad truth during the party.  In all these years, I had never referred to her as G. That’s not like me and I’m disappointed in myself.  That is all.

Ahhhhh, foie gras. Nothing says “I love you Mom”, like re-legalized fattened goose liver.

Seared foie gras/toasted brioche/pear and peach compote/tiny bantam egg.  Yes that egg is not a quail egg but a tiny chicken egg, from a fully grown tiny chicken.  Friends with chickens are good friends indeed and it’s always fun to bring new ingredients into peoples homes. This dish was an add on to a Mothers Day brunch I did for a lovely, awesome and entertaining San Diego family.  The menu below was highlighted by a fresh seafood pasta dish that had blue fin sashimi thrown in at the end, ohm nom nom.

French toast with Canadian syrup, butter, powdered sugar and bacon
Omelet (shaved ham/Gruyere/mushrooms/shallots/herbs)
Crepes with raspberry sauce and chantilly cream
Seared foie gras/toasted brioche/pear and peach compote/tiny chicken egg
Lobster bisque   
Potato leek soup with fresh bread              
Seafood pasta with fresh pasta
Ice cream profiteroles
Carrot cake bites
Macaroon blondies
Sundae bar

If you are in the San Diego area and looking to procure some foie; Iowa Meats and Siesel’s have it on hand for the same price as the interwebz. If you’re squeamish at the thought of it because of the “force” feeding aspect? Let me help a bit. The geese don’t care. They line up willfully like a chow line, then one by one, a farmer gently puts a funnel in the goose’s mouth/throat. They pour in a cup of grain, and send the bird on its way.

Recently I cooked a dinner in Rancho Santa Fe at a fancy shmancy resort. Twas a lovely group of ladies celebrating a 40th birthday party at Rancho Valencia.  

This Halibut with herbs was roasted over charred spring onion tops and is perched over English pea shell veloute, sauteed arugula and fresh English peas with lemon and honey aside roasted baby beets and fried purple spring onion.  This little dish was accompanied by several other dishes.  I leave a little mystery to each party depending on what direction the market takes us.  Here are some recent items I’ve done of late.  The first list is plated multi-course while the other is a casual family style menu.

Blue fin Sashimi with turnip tangerine noodles, salted bacon avocado, garlic croutons and fresh aioli
Perfect pork meatball with almond oil poached carrots, laurel roasted crushed potatoes
Grilled baby eggplant and tomato salad (baby eggplants and tomatoes, grilled and marinated)
Duck fat poached baby potatoes with duck broth and chives
Fresh Hawaiian Opah with ricotta gnocchi, porcini broth, gai lan and truffled gremolata
Red and gold beet stack with roasted spring onion, pistachio oil, orange supreme
Pear flan with poached and broiled pear

Apps:
Pickled cucumber, salmon tartare, wasabi peas, togarashi aioli
Buttered radish with sea salt
Avocado toast bites
Mini twice baked potatoes

Dinner:
Local halibut roasted over charred leeks with leek and squash blossom tossed celery root
Duck lumpia with sherrry/soy/truffle/chive dipping sauce
Roasted beets with beef marrow toasted sourdough, espresso walnut cream, and zaatar dusted carrot chips
Mushroom lentils and roasted pearl onions with balsamic/honey arugula
Beurre rouge stuffed pirogi with pepper grilled NY steak and smoked garlic spinach
Chocolate torte, raspberry sauce, freeze dried strawberries and vanilla/cardamom chantilly cream

Aluminum foil is one of the most important cooking tools in the history of man.

Aluminium foil. Yes I added an extra i…Saying it like the Brits is delightful. Say it… alu-min-ium; gives it a certain dignity that only the English can extol. Aluminum foil is one of the most important cooking tools in the history of man.

Foil acts as my Mcgyverist safety blanket. Whether I’m working or camping or wrapping a lovely holiday gift, I can’t imagine a world without it.  A little dramatic I know, but it really is an item I never forget for cooking and camping.  Check out these little bundles of joy we made over Easter weekend.  Meatloaf balls that were easy, fun and all kinds of delicious.  Just wrap ’em tight and throw ’em in the coals.  Give the kiddos some tongs, get yourself a beverage and call dinner…done.       

                                                                                                                      Just in case you grew up in a black hole and have no idea how to make meatloaf.  You can find a recipe like this, or, wait for my next update which I guess will be a meatloaf recipe :-|  Looking forward to the dessert versions which are chocolate cake cooked in a hollowed out orange and wrapped in  aluminium foil.

I know you know what water chestnuts are; they come in  small cans, sliced, quartered or whole. After passing them up for years, I recently picked up some fresh ones at 99 Ranch Market.

After fumbling my way through peeling them I just boiled them simply. Wow, much more flavor then what I grew up eating as the crunchy mystery vegetable in my cashew chicken.  When I found this video, I realized I wasn’t missing anything in regards to peeling them, such as blanching or something; you just get after it.  I did find that nipping the tops off and boiling with most of the skin on produced a flavor closer to artichoke.  That flavor was extremely exciting for me since before that, water chestnut flavor was empty.  Added them to salads that were heavy with fresh peas and strawberries.  

Arrowheads be cray. Very surprised these aren’t common and popular. Steamed or boiled they are a starchier sweet potato/parsnip.  Fried, they are light and wonderfully crisp.  Not only are they tasty, but they grow easily, peel easily and cook easily. (Bullet point of this presentation…they’re easy.) Shaved straight into a fryer, they easily crisp and brown to potato chip perfection. Perfection if you love Pringles…cause they taste just like friggin’ Pringles.  Also known as a Duck Potato, Wapato or Katniss.  Yes Katniss, like the heroine from the moving pictures.