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ON HIATUS UNTIL THE DESIGN LEARNS TO BE A TEAM PLAYER
Indulgent dishes
to make for someone special
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So satisfying for a main dish or midnighter and so easy, especially if you let the store “help”
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I had this dish . . . a number of years ago at a simple carry-out place in Chicago and thought at the time what a delectably obvious combo it was. And yet I’ve never seen it on a menu anywhere since.
That version, good as it was, was not particularly embellished. We fix that here . . .
Meanwhile if you want to make your own chili, might want to check into this classic book with award-winning recipes. “A Bowl of Red” – Amazon page
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TAMALE SUNDAES
4 servings
8 tamales, store bought is fine
4 cups chili, homemade or from the store
2 cups shredded cheddar
Corn chips
Cooking spray
Sour cream
Jumbo black olives
4 green onions, chopped including green tops
Cook tamales according to the package directions. Heat chili till quite hot, but don’t let it boil.
For each serving, place two tamales in a bowl and top with a cup of chili. Scatter a 1/2 cup cheese all around the perimeter.
Treat a large corn chip on both sides with cooking spray and place in the middle of the bowl. Top this with a good dollop of sour cream and then a black olive.
Sprinkle overall with green onion. Serve with additional corn chips and olives.
Notes . . .
- Depending on the size of the tamales, you may want to use more or fewer per serving
- If you use pre-shredded cheese, select the fine kind so it melts nice
- A margarita alongside can’t hurt
Next week . . .
The perfect follow-up to this week’s dish: a celeb chef’s Chocolate Quesadillas
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Indulgent dishes
to make for someone special
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Smoked salmon and avocado – a marriage made in heaven – especially when the officiant is one of the world’s best chefs
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Fleur de Lys . . . in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas has been transformed into the kicky “Fleur” by its ever-inventive chef/proprietor Hubert Keller. Here we reprise one of his dishes from that previous incarnation, a playful take on ravioli, but – guess what – without any pasta.
Watch for much more on the new place in a few weeks. We can tell you the roster promises a world of fine dining delivered on small plates, all infused of course with the Keller culinary magic and delectable sense of fun. www.hubertkeller.com
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SMOKED SALMON “RAVIOLIS” [No pasta!]
Makes 12
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
2 tablespoons tomato, peeled, seeded, diced
2 tablespoons onion, finely diced
1 pinch of curry powder
1 pinch of paprika
1 lime, juiced
16 ounces smoked salmon, thinly sliced
1 ounce American sturgeon caviar
Salt & pepper
In a small mixing bowl, coarsely mash avocado with a fork. Add tomato, onion, curry powder, paprika, lime juice, salt & pepper. Mix gently, check seasoning. Refrigerate.
Lay slices of smoked salmon on a work surface. Using a 2 1/2″ cookie cutter, cut out 24 discs. Divide avocado mixture evenly among 12 salmon discs, placing guacamole in the center of each. Cover with remaining 12 discs, gently pressing the edges together to seal in filling and form “raviolis.”
Transfer to a sheet pan lined with lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. To serve, top each ravioli with caviar. Accompany with freshly toasted bread.
Notes . . .
- Hmmm, guessing the gourmet police won’t come knocking on your door if you decide to leave off the caviar – but oh how good with it!
- But do use very good smoked salmon
Next week . . .
- Tamale sundaes
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Indulgent dishes
to make for someone special
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Following are the pre-intro recipes that appeared on “Celebrity Chef Connection.”
Those original posts, including extra text, are still on the www.celebritychefconnection.com site, either in order on the main page or in the archives . . .
September 14, 2011
PLAYWRIGHT’S MELT
Makes 4
1/4 cup brine-cured black olives, roughly chopped
4 scallions, finely sliced
2/3 cup packed coarsely grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon curry powder
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Vegenaise
4 English muffins, split and toasted
Mix all ingredients except the English muffins and spread the mixture evenly on the muffins. Run them under the broiler until browned and bubbling, about a minute.
Notes . . .
- Gwyneth adds, “If you don’t like the taste of brine-cured black olives, you can make this a bit milder by using what Lenny Gershe used – a small can of semi-flavorless black olives”
- And I’ll add, to keep those bold flavors going on, use sharp cheddar
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September 7, 2011
HUGO’S BBQ SHRIMP
From Rosemary’s Restaurant in Las Vegas
Makes . . . a lot!
20 ounces Worcestershire
20 ounces Kikkoman soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 box brown sugar
20 ounces ketchup
Combine all ingredients and simmer slowly, stirring to dissolve. Bring slowly to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Skim often and cool. Taste. Enjoy!
Notes . . .
- Probably good either way - pour it over cooked shrimp or cook the shrimp in it
- At Rosemary’s this was served with cole slaw kicked up [yes, Michael was a top chef for Emeril] with crumbles of bleu cheese, Maytag to be exact
- Also the shrimp they used were quite large
- Wendy adds, “Tastes great . . . with everything known to Mankind!”
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August 31, 2011
MIDNIGHT BROWNIES
From the NancyLand Digest recipe newsletter, sign up at www.nancyskitchen.com
1 pkg chocolate pudding, 3 5/8-4 oz
3/4 cup milk [for the pudding]
1 pkg chocolate cake mix, layer size
1 package semisweet chocolate pieces, 6 oz
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Prepare pudding mix as shown on the package, except using just the 3/4 cup of milk. Then take the pan off the heat and stir in the cake mix, chocolate pieces, and nuts. Spatula the mixture into a greased and floured 12″ x 7″ x 2″ baking pan and shove it in a 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till done [you don't want to overbake this one]. Cool and cut.
Says it makes 32 bars. Well . . . that’s a matter of opinion.
Notes . . .
- I used Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate cake mix
- Also instead of 6 oz of “pieces,” used the 11.5 oz bag of Toll House semi sweet chocolate chunks
- A little cream in place of some of the milk can’t hurt
- Also, I’m a big fan of the baking spray when a recipe calls for greasing and flouring
- Feel free to use different nuts or even a nutty blend - the ones with macadamias were a-w-e-s-o-m-e
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Coming Soon!
Indulgent dishes to make for someone special
* debuting September 22, 2011 *
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Meanwhile, please see the initial entries on
Scroll down to the bottom of the “Celebrity Chef Connection” posts for these recipes , , ,
Aug 31 - Midnight Brownies
Sept 7 – Hugh’s BBQ Shrimp
Sept 14 – Playwright’s Melt from Gyneth Paltrow’s cookbook, “My Father’s Daughter”
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