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Roast Provencal Chicken Recipe

Serves 4-6 1 roasting chicken 2kg/4 pounds 1 tablespoon/15ml olive oil 1/2 head of garlic, mashed into a paste 1 tablespoon/15ml/15g Herbes de Provence 1/2 tablespoon/7ml sea salt 1 teaspoon/5ml fresh ground pepper 1 lemon cut into wedges 3 baking potatoes cut into large peices Preheat oven to 475F/ 246C/Gas 9. Pat chicken dry. Rub with olive oil. Mix garlic, Herbes de Provence, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over inside and outside of chicken. Place the chicken on a wire rack set inside a roasting pan with potatoes scattered around the chicken. Roast chicken until skin begins to brown, 25–30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F/175C/Gas 4 and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thigh registers 165F/87C, 25–30 minutes longer. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with lemon wedges.  personal chefs and event catering Miami + Miami Beach + Fort Lauderdale + Palm Beach www.yadachef.com info@yadachef.com | 954-367-YADA (9232)

Hand Pies with Fruit Recipe

3 cups/750ml chopped summer fruit, such as peeled and pitted peaches or nectarines, strawberries or pitted cherries 5 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 2 tablespoons/30ml heavy cream 2 rolled out 9-inch pie dough Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5 On a floured surface, roll out dough until about 1/8-in thick. Cut into twelve (5-inch) circles, rerolling dough as needed.  In a medium bowl, toss together fruit, sugar and flour. (Do this just before filling the pies; if done too far in advance, the mixture can get too juicy. Use less or more sugar, as desired, depending on fruit’s natural sweetness.)  Working one at a time, spoon some filling into the center of a circle of dough; brush edges with water.  Fold over into a half moon and crimp edges to seal, then cut a small slit in the middle as an air vent. Brush top with heavy cream. Bake on a large, parchment-paper-lined baking sheet until golden brown, about 35 minutes. pers

Salt and Sugar Cured Fish Tips

You can pretty much cure anything at all. The common cold is somewhat elusive, but pretty much all fleshy fish can be cured. Gravadlax, or gravlax, is what I’d call a soft and loose cure. The salmon remains moist and almost raw in the middle and the curing process can take anything from 24-72 hours. The salt and sugar mixture is usually just flavoured with dill, although beetroot is becoming a popular addition. Adding toasted caraway seeds gives it a hint of Nordicness (which is also becoming more popular) but crushed toasted coriander seeds give a more pleasant citrusy result. You can add grated ginger, chopped lemongrass, chilli or lime leaves, and various spices from star anise to vanilla to good effect. The chemical reaction that happens when you cure a protein in salt or sugar (or more commonly, both) is that the moisture is literally sucked out of the protein by the salt and sugar crystals. They love nothing more than moisture (that’s why a meringue will go soggy if

Yakitori Chicken with Ginger, Garlic and Soy Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS 1 pound/450g chicken livers, gizzards or boneless thigh meat ½ cup/120ml dark soy sauce or tamari ¼ cup/60ml mirin 2 tablespoons/30ml sake or dry sherry 1 tablespoon/12.5g brown sugar 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed ½ teaspoon/2ml grated fresh ginger Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish PREPARATION Cut chicken into one-inch pieces and place in a shallow dish. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce or tamari, mirin, sake or sherry, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes, until thickened. Reserve 2 tablespoons sauce for serving. Pour remaining sauce over chicken, cover, and chill for at least one hour (and up to 4 hours). If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak them in water for one hour. Preheat grill or broiler. Thread chicken pieces onto skewers, and grill or broil, turning halfway, for about 3 minutes for livers, 10 minutes for gizzards and 6 minutes for thighs. Serve drizzled wit

Rosé Wines of the World

The crowd that buys the sickly sweet blush wines are turned off by the dryness of most Rosé wines and the wine snobs are too busy ignoring good Rosé wines because they do not take them seriously. In my mind there is no question that Europeans are the best Rosé wine producers, especially the French. The Bandol region is located around the fishing village of Bandol in Southeastern France just outside of Marseille. The region is mostly known for the production of rosé.  Domaine Tempier's rosé in particular is considered by many to be the finest in France, is fuller and creamier on the palate and shows dimensions not often found in rosé such as vanilla, red berries even leather and herbs. Prices can range from the mid 20 dollar range to the mid 40’s. Some of the best rosé wines come from the southern Rhone region in France just across the river from the famous Chateauneuf du Pape, which is the only AOC (Appelation d'Origine Contrôlée) that produces rosé exclusively.  Tavel i

Sauteed Chicken with Squash and Carrot Ribbons Recipe

Serves 4   Ingredients 1 pound yellow squash 1 pound carrots 1/4 cup ghee, divided 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin 1 tsp. Celtic sea salt 1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil leaves Juice of 1 lemon 1/4 cup chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley  Directions Using a vegetable peeler, cut the squash and carrots into ribbons. Place them in a large bowl.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of the ghee, let it melt and swirl to coat the pan. Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and place the chicken in the pan. Cook for 4 minutes, until the bottom is just turning golden brown. Using tongs, flip the chicken and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until cooked through. Set the chicken aside on a plate.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee in the pan and swirl to coat. Add the squash and carrots and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, or until just soft, tossing occasionally. Remove from the heat, add the basil, lemon j

Chicken Roasting Tips

Preparing the Chicken There is no consensus on the best way to prep a chicken for roasting; it’s all a matter of personal preference and tried-and-true experience. But here are some suggestions for where to start. Try each and then pick your go-to method. And note that there’s nothing wrong with leaving the bird as is, salting it and just putting it in the oven. SPATCHCOCKING   To spatchcock a chicken, take a pair of kitchen shears or a very sharp knife and cut along one side of the chicken's backbone. Open up the bird so it lies flat. Cut along the other side of the backbone to remove it entirely. Then cook the chicken breast-side up. The only disadvantage to this method is that you’ll lose the classic Norman Rockwell presentation of the whole bird. But the speediness and great flavor make up for it. A tip: Don’t toss that backbone! A roasted backbone will add more flavor to stock than using a raw backbone. Roast it alongside the chicken, and either serve with the

Cooking Therapy a la Cupcake Wars

An upcoming cooking therapy job will require us to replicate the show, Cupcake Wars. Now the research begins. We've never heard of the show so now to see how we will incorporate the key elements of it for the kids we will be working with the middle of the month. Thank goodness for YouTube!

Imam Eggplants Recipe

Translated literally this means the Imam (a holy man) Fainted. I guess lying on their sides the stuffed eggplants look like a passed out Imam. Many included fresh tomato and cinnamon. This one does not. It was on the Isle of Crete that I learned the Turkish recipe. One year I decided to go to Greece early. A friend owned a resort. I ended up hooking up with a native of Crete that happened to be in the army and two tourist girls. He had extra bedrooms so we became “locals” for a while. Serves 4 4 eggplants 1/2 cup/125ml olive oil 2 onions, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons/30ml tomato paste handful parsley chopped Preheat oven to 400F/204C/Gas Mark 6 Cut the eggplant in half. Scoop out the center leaving about 1/2 inch/1.27cm around the skin. Chop up the insides. Heat half of the oil in a large stove top/oven proof pan. Fry the eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towels to drain. Add r

Benefits of Fish

Researchers worldwide have discovered that eating fish regularly - one or two servings weekly - may reduce the risk of diseases ranging from childhood asthma to prostate cancer.  Fish is low in fat, high in protein and an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids.  Regular consumption of fish can reduce the risk of various diseases and disorders. Selected research findings indicate the following: Asthma  - children who eat fish may be less likely to develop asthma. Brain and eyes  - fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids can contribute to the health of brain tissue and the retina (the light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye). Cancer  - the omega 3 fatty acids in fish may reduce the risk of many types of cancers by 30 to 50 per cent, especially of the oral cavity, oesophagus, colon, breast, ovary and prostate. Cardiovascular disease  - eating fish every week reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by reducing blood clots and inflammation, imp

Cider or Juice? It’s all APPLES to US!

In North America (the USA and Canada) we have a drink that is much loved called apple cider. Go anywhere else in the world and it will be known as unfiltered/natural apple juice.  Cider is what you get at a pub and goes great with a “ploughman’s lunch”. It is the beginning of Autumn or Fall. The time when brisk winds begin to blow the leaves once brightly coloured leaves from the trees.  It is also apple picking time in the Northeast. Cider or cyder, according to Wikipedia, is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from fruit juice, most commonly and traditionally apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 1.2% to 8.5% or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and United States, cider may be called "apple wine". Within the US, the distinction between apple cider and juice isn't always clear. When most of us think of apple cider, we probably picture an opaque, highly perishable apple drink available at farm stands and markets i