New Orleans Sabbatical

As an Executive Chef/Owner I have noticed that if I am not rested and refreshed, my food suffers.  I hate that.  No, I HATE that.  As I’m sure you do too…. I decided, for many reasons to make Blue House Bistro a seasonal endeavor.  Some of the reasons include the seasonality of the Holland area, the high costs of running the bistro during the slowest season, and my own needs of a break from 14-hour days.  


I closed up & went to New Orleans.
  
My trip to New Orleans was so wonderful this year.  I treated the whole time I was there as one part sabbatical and one part rejuvenation.  I ate out a bunch, I met up with some chef & bartender friends a bunch, and I listened to and played some music.  It was wonderful.  


Some highlights---


• My discovery of The Three Muses restaurant on Frenchmen Street.  They have a delightful and delicious menu that is set to the tune of live music nightly.  If I could have afforded it, I would have eaten there every day! 

Angie K & Noelle Link

• I got to play some music with my good friend Noelle Link. 


• My tattoo was worked on by Rain of World Famous Forbidden Art during a special late night session.  

Rain of Forbidden Art Tattoo

• I also took a side trip to visit some family in Savannah.  I love Savannah.   


• I spent a bunch of quality time with my dog.  We went to dog parks, on walks, and to bars.  Yes, bars.  I love New Orleans.  There is even a website that lists what hotels, bars, and restaurants are dog friendly.

Chef Angie K & Sylvia at Igor's Lounge

• The promotion of my dear friend MaryJane to the Executive Chef position at The Country Club.  Being as this is the only restaurant in New Orleans that features a pool & hot tub (or would it be a pool and hot tub that feature a restaurant?!?!) I spent most of my time here.  


• While I was there it was also Mardi Gras.  Need I say more?  

Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras

Overall I had a great time & am ready to get back to work.  There is a lot to do at Blue House Bistro.  A LOT! Sometimes it is overwhelming, but (to be cliché’) Rome wasn’t built in a day!  I have a bunch of fresh and exciting things planned from some inspirations, so I hope that you will join me!  

New Orleans Spicy Shrimp

While lurking about in food/recipe blogs, I found a recipe adapted from Chef/Owner Scott Boswell of Stella. While I personally have never been to Stella and do not know Scott Boswell personally, I have known some of the people that have worked there in the past. My friend, Steve, was one of them, and I have had the privilege of swapping some great recipes with him over the years.

The ingredients in this recipe include a combination of global influences and “swamp-trotting” flavors. It is right up my alley. I changed it a bit from the original format that I saw it, I think that the shrimp was being cooked to long, and I adjusted some of the ingredient levels to suit my preferences. As complicated as it may sound it is actually a simple recipe. The trick is to go fast, so that you don't over cook the shrimp.

This appetizer sells on the menu at Stella for about $15.00. Let me know if you try it, how it turns out & what (if anything) you change!


Ingredients
3 Large Whole Shrimp
1 ½ Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1 Tbsp Chili Flakes or Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Chopped Green Onions
1 Tsp Granulated Sugar
1 Tsp Chili Paste (bought in or made from dried chilli powders & oil)
1/3 Cup Cold Unsalted Butter Cubed
To taste Salt and White Pepper
Thick Sliced French Bread

Preparation

1. Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Leave the tail portion and head intact. Season them on both sides with salt and white pepper.

2.In a very hot sauté pan add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and allow it to just reach the smoking point, and then add the garlic and shrimp. Sauté shrimp on both sides turning after a few seconds

3.Add about 1/4 cup of the white wine to the pan and then add the chili flakes/cayenne pepper, continuing to sauté. Turn the shrimp often to coat evenly with the chili flakes.

4.Coat the French bread with the remaining olive oil and then set it under a broiler or toaster oven to toast the top side

5.Add the remaining white wine, green onions, sugar, chili paste, and then stir well to combine all the ingredients in the pan.

6. Remove the pan from the heat and gently whisk in the chunks of butter to smooth into the sauce.

7.Serve with toasted French bread and garnish with more chopped green onions.

Blue House Bistro

Ratatouille Bruschetta

I can't believe how long my hair was....

This is a recipe I demonstrated at the Holland Farmer's Market in 2008.  Most people have such a fear of eggplant.  The secret to making any recipe with eggplant successful is to soak slices of it in a mixture of salt, lemon juice, and water for a few minutes, then press the eggplant to squeeze all the excess (and absorbed) juices out. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 small eggplant, cubed
2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
3 to 4 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon dried leaf basil
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

In a 4-quart Dutch oven or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add eggplant; stir until coated with oil. Add peppers; stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep vegetables from sticking.

Add tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs; mix well. Cover and cook over low heat about 15 minutes, or until eggplant is tender but not too soft.  Serve mixture on toast. 

Serves 4.

www.bluehousebistro.net

My quest for green tomatoes

I have been trying to make a Layered Crab Cakes with Fried Green Tomatoes topped with Hollandaise Sauce for a little while now to no avail. Green tomatoes are not the kind of item that you can purchase in normal supermarkets, and my food vendors (if they even have them) would sell them to me by the case (which I definitely do not need). My trip to the Holland Farmer's Market on Saturday was disappointing at best. Out of a dozen or so stands that were set up, only a couple were selling vegetables at all. Neither of them had green tomatoes, although one of the vendors tentatively promised me some on Wednesday. There were a few stands selling tomato plants, but they were only blooming. If they had fruit growing, I might have felt brave enough to buy either just the green fruit or the whole plant.

Green Tomatoes

My search continues. In the meantime, here is a recipe that will go on the features menu at Blue House Bistro as soon as I find green tomatoes. If you have some in the Holland, Michigan area send me an email or come by Blue House Bistro; there are hungry people waiting!

Crab Cakes

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/8 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup diced bell peppers (I like red the best because of the color mixture)

2 tbsp butter

3 eggs

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 Parmesan cheese

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard

Tabasco to taste

Two 10 oz cans of crab meat (unless you have access to fresh!)

1/4 cup cooking oil (use more or less depending on the size of your pan)

Sautee the onion, celery and peppers in butter until it onions turns clear. Whisk the eggs and combine with breadcrumbs, cheese, and seasonings. Stir in onion mixture and crab meat. Shape into patties. Heat oil in a skillet. Place crab cakes in hot skillet. Sear on each side until golden brown; about 2-3 min.

Fried Green Tomatoes

3 medium size green tomatoes

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1 cup breadcrumbs

pepper to taste

1/4 cup cooking oil (use more or less depending on the size of your pan)

Slice tomatoes in 1/4 inch slices. Dip in milk. Dredge in combined flour, pepper, breadcrumb mixture. Heat oil in a skillet. Place tomatoes in hot skillet. Sear on each side until golden brown; about 2-3 min.

Layer the crab cakes and tomatoes into towers.

Hollandaise Sauce

1/2 cup softened butter (in pieces)

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Tabasco to taste

dash of salt

In the top section of a double boiler (because this sauce goes wrong FAST!) combine egg yolks, vinegar, and Tabasco. Whisk constantly over boiling water while slowly adding butter until it reaches desired thickness. Spoon over crab and tomato towers. Serve immediately.

10 Thoughts from Chef Angie K

1. One thing that I love and am good at besides cooking is music. I taught myself to play the guitar, ukulele (with some help from my niece & nephews in Hawaii), piano, and harmonica. Although I can't read sheet music, I write my own songs. Sometimes, people can hear me singing at the Bistro from the kitchen!

2. If I could trade places with any one chef it would be Gordon Ramsey. I admire how broad his cooking repertoire is, and that his career is so broad to include all aspects of the food/restaurant industry. That he also gets away with swearing worse than a sailor would be a nice perk too!

3. My most memorable meal was my 29th birthday. I went with a group of friends to Susan Spicer's Restaurant, Bayona, with a group of good friends. We ordered a ridiculous amount of food & wine, and passed all the plates around to share. It was the first time I ever had sweetbreads, which is one of her specialties. It was a life changing experience.

4. My favorite food changes depending on the week. Right now, Bavarian French Toast.

5. Every morning I have a Vanilla Iced Coffee or a Sweet tea. Mmmm, speaking of....

6. If I was on death row, my last meal would have to include fava beans and Chianti, of course.

7. I burn cookies constantly.

8. I eat Cheetos at every opportunity.

9.If I was going to change one thing about myself it would be to not be allergic to shellfish, so I could eat more of my own cooking. I would also love to travel the world to learn more about different foods and different cooking methods without having to worry about what I was eating.

10. If I weren't a restaurant owner, I would be pursuing a career in music. Honestly though, I wouldn't change a thing.