Thursday, January 13, 2011

Hello again everyone. Today I have a cooking demonstration for school. It will be video taped and everything. Get ready Food Network your next star is born! I will see if i can post the tape tomorrow.

The recipe I am doing for this demonstration is a not following my normal seasonal trends but is so tasty I felt i had to share it.

Pan Seared Ginger Crusted Tuna Accompanied by a Mango Citrus Salsa

This dish takes about 30 minutes all together to prepare and all of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.

The best time of year to cook this dish would be spring and summer because of the light flavors. I personally would eat it year round simply because its tuna.

Serving: 2

Ingredients: U.S Standard

Orange, segmented* 1 each
Lime, segmented* 2 each
Mango, small dice 1 each
Tomato, roma, small dice 2 each
Red onion, small dice 1 each
Green Pepper, small dice ½ each
Yellow Pepper, small dice ½ each
Mint, chiffonaude 2 tbsp
Cilantro, chiffonaude 2 tbsp
Jalapeno pepper, small dice 2 each
White vinegar 2 tbsp
Lime juice 2 tbsp
Rice wine ¼ cup
Lime zest 1 tbsp
Tuna 8 ounce
Sesame Oil 2 tsp
Salt TT
Pepper TT
Powdered Ginger TT

Method of preparation

1. Gather all ingredients and equipment

2. Combine first 14 ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon until well mixed. Adjust season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a pan over high heat

4. While the pan is heating, rub sesame oil on the tuna and season with salt, pepper, and ginger and set aside.

5. Test the pan to see if it is the correct heat by placing a small corner of the tuna on the pan. If a loud sizzle sound happens the pan is ready.

6. Sear the tuna on each side until it is golden brown and a doneness of medium rare is achieved, about 2 minutes per side.

7. To plate. Place salsa on the center of the plate a thinly slice the tuna and fan around the salsa. The dish can be accompanied by white or brown rice.

Chefs notes:

* To segment a citrus fruit. Cut the rind of with a French knife so no white from the rind is left on the fruit. Following the natural segments of the fruit cut into each natural segment cut at an inward angle on each side of the segment to release the piece of fruit. The piece of fruit removed is called a segment. Repeat the process until there are no segments left of the fruit.


Enjoy!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Hey Im Sarah aka Pip I have my blog Pips corner. I have a strong passion for food and would like to share some recipes that i have created with the rest of the world. I take a lot of pride in my recipes and put more love into them then daisy had for Bret Michaels on rock of love. French food is my passion but i like to focus on ways to make it healthier but still taste like it has all the butter in the world.

I hope you will try each recipe and share it with friends and family

Enjoy!

Todays recipe....

Baby Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

I designed this recipe last year when I wanted pumpkin soup but I could not find any. It is moderatelyhealthy and tastes great! To make a lower fat version take out the butter and use the same amount of light cream.

Makes about 8 servings


Ingredients

2 Tbsp Oil ¾ cup Onion, rough chopped
½ cup
Leek, white part only chopped
1
Small sweet potato , ½ inch dice( about 1½ cups )
½
cup Potato, ½ inch dice
1
16 oz pkg baby carrots, cut in halves
½ cup
Carrot, ½ inch dice
3 tsp
Cinnamon + ¼ tsp reserved for garnish
2 tsp
Ginger
1 tsp
White pepper (if using black pepper use 2 tsp)
3 tsp Salt
¼ cup
Brown sugar + ½ cup reserved for garnish
16 oz
Vegetable stock
16 oz
Water
¼ cup
Butter
¼ cup
Heavy cream
1
10 oz container crème fraiche (optional)


1. Heat oil in a 4 quart saucepan. When oil begins to ripple add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until they start to brown. – If after 5 minutes the onions are not beginning to brown raise heat slightly and cook until browning occurs. It is important for the onions to start caramelizing to add a richer flavor to the final product.

2. Add leeks, sweet potatoes, potatoes, baby carrots, and carrots to the pot. Stir to cover with oil then add ½ tsp cinnamon, ginger, white pepper, salt, and brown sugar. Saute until the sugar melts and fully coats the vegetables. – By melting the brown sugar with the vegetables it will begin to caramelize and again create a richer flavor to the final product.

3.
When sugar is melted add stock and water to the pot, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 1 hour to make sure all starch is released from the vegetables to give the soup the correct consistency.

4. Place soup in the blender, or whichever blending tool you have available and blend until smooth. Return to pot on the stove. At this point the consistency of the soup can be adjusted depending on how much liquid was lost in the cooking process. Use water or vegetable stock to thin the soup ¼ cup of liquid at a time and fully incorporating the liquid after each addition. Once desired consistency is achieved bring the soup up to a boil again then reduce to a simmer.

5. Add butter a couple pieces at a time stirring constantly until all butter is incorporated. Add cream and stir in. be sure to not bring the soup to a rolling boil again after this addition because the butter can separate at a high temp and create a broken looking finish to the soup.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.

6. Divide into serving bowls and add 1 Tbsp of crème fraiche into each bowl. Sprinkle each soup bowl with 1 Tbsp of reserved brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon to finish and serve.

~To add extra spice to this soup fresh ginger can be grated on top of each soup bowl right before serving. Use lightly since fresh ginger is very strong.