Local, Sustainable, & Jerky

The restaurant slows down significantly in the winter, so it is a good time to update content, repair the building, and fine-tune the whole business.  In doing all this, I realized that I haven't had a blog update since JULY!  It is unfortunate that somehow blogging always gets pushed to the side.  It is my new years resolution, therefore, to keep up with it on a much more frequent basis.

I've been switching between cooking and doing website updates all day.  The main thing that I have been focusing on has been tracking down all the sources for the food that is prepared here.  All the farms, all the farmers, all the distributors, etc.  No easy task, lemme tell ya!  There are a few new resources available that make it easier for customers to know where their food comes from.  Specifically, www.realtimefarms.com seems like an awesome resource, but (the joys of owning a business!) I am wary of the price tag.  I need to think about it more before I make a decision.

While doing research on the local and sustainable movement, I came across www.sustainabletable.org and found a wealth of information and ways to lead a healthier life.  This recipe caught my eye.  Maybe because it's almost (my) lunchtime, maybe because I have a weakness for venison jerky (hint...hint... to all my hunter friends out there!), or maybe because it is a tasty way to use super-deal-meats rather than freezing.  Whatever the reason, I hope you enjoy it!

Beef, Bison or Venison Jerky with Italian Herbs

You can view the original recipe here
Recipe by:
The Garden of Eating, by Rachel Albert-Matesz and Don Matesz, Planetary Press, 2004
Courtesy of Sustainable Table ®

Description:
Eliminate unwholesome ingredients such as refined salt and sugar, sodium nitrite, artificial flavors and colorings, and other preservatives and additives by making jerky yourself! Make it with organic and sustainable ingredients for an even healthier snack. Cook time: 24 hours

Ingredients:
2 pounds extra lean ground sustainable meat
1 teaspoon each of dried, crumbled basil and oregano
1 teaspoon lemon pepper or ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
tablespoons dried onion flakes, optional
1 teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt or 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

Directions:
Break meat apart in a shallow 1-quart bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well with clean, bare hands to evenly distribute spices.

Form tablespoon-sized balls and flatten to ¼’ to ⅜’ thick, or use a jerky press or jerky gun to yield uniform strips, tubes or discs.

Oven drying: Preheat oven to 140° F. Line 2-4 cookie sheets or roasting pans with aluminum foil folded up at the corners to catch drips from roasting rack. Arrange meat without overlapping. Hold oven door ajar with a wooden spoon. Dry for 10 to 14 hours.

For crispier jerky, dry until a test piece splinters when bent.

Food dehydrator: Arrange meat without overlapping on as many racks as needed. Dry at 145 degrees for 10-14 hours.
Pat off beads of oil with unbleached paper towel. Cool and store in sealed jars, cellulose, wax paper bags or heavy zip-locking freezer bags.

This will keep 1-2 months at room temperature, 3 or more months in the refrigerator and indefinitely in the freezer.

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

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.

welcome to the New Blog!

Greetings, all!

This is the brand new blog for my (Chef Angie K.) brand new restaurant- the Blue House Bistro in Holland Michigan . I'll be regularly posting news items, recipes, the latest news about Blue House Bistro and a variety of other related information.

Thanks for visiting here....