Recipes from Behind Kitchen Doors

Brad Patterson – Gasperetti’s

Fedelini alla Carbonara

The Sauce:

1/2 cup of thickly sliced smoked bacon lardons

1 cup of crème fraiche

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

fine sea salt

2 tablespoons finely sliced chives (may substitute scallions)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 ounces dried fedelini or other pasta of your choice

Bring a large pot of water to a full boil over high heat with salt.

To make the sauce, sauté the bacon until crisp. Add the crème fraiche and bring just to a simmer.

Whisk the egg yolk into the sauce, add the black pepper and taste for salt. Reserve and keep warm.

When ready to serve, cook the pasta al dente. Drain the pasta.

Add the pasta to the sauce and lightly fold in the sliced chives and parmesan cheese.

Using a meat fork, twirl a quarter of the pasta and put in the center of each of four bowls. You may garnish with additional chives, bacon and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

*Serves four first course portions.

Cooking notes:

Fedelini is a thinner version of spaghetti. We use exclusively the brand De Cecco from Italy. It is easily purchased at De Laurenti’s in Seattle’s Pike Place Market and occasionally the brand can be found in local grocery stores.

Lardon is a French term for thicker diced fried bacon, etc.

Crème Fraiche is a French-style sour cream that does not curdle when heated.

I find that dried pasta is preferable to fresh pasta as it produces a less “sticky” result.

“Al dente” is an Italian term for “to the tooth” meaning slightly underdone.

Carbonara is an Italian name referring to coal miners or the fact that it was originally cooked over charcoal. The dish gained popularity in the United States with returning soldiers from World War II.

Jaime Rincon – Antojitos Mexicanos

Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo

Jaime Rincon's Camarones Al De Ajo

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter

10 garlic cloves, thinly chopped

40 raw shrimp (21-25 count), deveined (peeled if like)

4 spoons of mayonnaise

Instructions:

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat; toss in shrimp.

Add a dash of seasoning salt when the shrimp are almost pink.

Add the fresh garlic and four spoons of mayonnaise once the shrimp turn fully pink in color.

Mix well and simmer until garlic turns light brown.

Divide the shrimp into four meals. Garnish with salad and Spanish rice.

Derrin Davis of Tony’s Steakhouse

Kurobuta Pork Chops

Serves 6

Brine:

1 quart water

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup good quality honey

1 bay laurel leaf

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 quart ice to double the volume of the brine

Pork:

Six each double-bone Kurobuta pork rack with chine bone off and brined overnight or up to 24 hours. Have a qualified, reputable butcher cut and French your pork chops. When brining is complete, remove pork and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a plastic container until ready for grilling and place in the cooler.

Method of Preparation:

Combine water, salt, sugar and honey in a 2-quart sauce pan and bring to a boil. Allow the sugar and salt to dissolve. When the sugar and salt have dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and add the other ingredients, except for the ice, in order and allow steeping (much like tea) for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid mixture and add the ice to double the volume. When the mixture is at 40 degrees, add the pork rack in a suitable container and allow to brine overnight or up to 24 hours.

Hash:

2.5 pounds sweet potatoes (not yams)

1 sweet onion

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons bacon renderings

Method of Preparation:

Wash sweet potatoes and place on a medium-size sheet pan. Cook sweet potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees until skin begins to brown and outside begins to soften slightly. We still want the inside to be slightly firm to allow for extra cooking later. While potatoes are cooking, peel and cut onion into 1-inch pieces and set aside. Uniformity is not important in either the onion or the potato. Pick the thyme leaves, finely mince and set aside. Heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon renderings and onion. Sautee until the onion becomes translucent and begins to brown slightly. Add the thyme to the onions and set aside to allow cool. When the potatoes are done, place directly into a cooler or refrigerator. This allows the skin to loosen from the potato and eases the peeling process. After the potatoes have had a chance to cool, peel the skin off and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Combine the onion mixture and the potatoes in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture on to a medium-size sheet pan lined with parchment paper to form a single, evenly spaced layer and cook at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Store hot until ready for use.

Pre-heat a grill to medium-high heat (preferably a wood grill using apple or cherry wood). When grill is hot and coals have formed from the wood, place the pork chops on and cook, turning occasionally, until an internal temperature registers 135 to 140 degrees.

Place hash on the middle of the plate and place pork chop on top. Serve immediately.

Suggested accompaniments:  Tart Cherry Compote and Grilled Asparagus

Suggested wine pairing: 2006 Cultura 100% Cab Franc

Cooking notes:

For another version, one could replace the bacon with Italian prosciutto or even the wonderful smoked salmon bellies from the Pike Place Fish Market.

Not many of us have had the pleasure of experiencing the Kurobuta Pork. Raised here in the Pacific Northwest, in the same fashion that has delivered the increasingly popular American Kobe Beef, we have at our fingertips arguably the world’s best pork. Kurobuta pork is still technically Berkshire pork, however, being raised in the Japanese-style of Kobe, it delivers an amazing texture, color and flavor. Paired here with sweet potato and onion hash, roasted asparagus, Yakima Valley dried tart cherry compote and apple cider pan-sauce, this has become a staple on our menu and a favorite among our guests. Please, I implore you; understand that confirmed cases of trichinosis from pork in the U.S. have been less than 12 per year since 2001 and have lowered every year since. You actually have a greater chance of suffering from trichinosis by consuming wild game. It is safe to eat pork at medium to medium well. We no longer have to consume pork that tastes and feels like cardboard.

What is brine?

Historically, chefs around the world have used brine as a form of a preserve or cure in order to transport proteins without the risk of spoilage. Today, chefs use brine to flavor and tenderize meats. In this recipe, we will use a brine to tenderize and add flavor to our pork chops. Brine is a mixture of salt and water. There are many different theories as to what exactly brine does to meat. I believe that the brine passes through the cells of the meat and pulls the impurities out, slightly adjusting the structure of the cell itself, lending a superior piece of meat.

Birchfield Manor

OREGON PRAWN AND SHRIMP CAKES

1 red pepper, fine dice
1 green pepper, fine dice
8 green onions, fine dice
1 T garlic
1 T cajun seasoning
Saute together and add 1 C white wine

COOL MIXTURE

2 lbs shrimp meat (dry)
2 C bread crumbs
3/4 lb black tiger prawns pureed with 3 eggs
2 lbs sliced black tiger prawns

COMBINE INGREDIENTS

Form into cakes and roll in panko rice crumbs

Saute until crispy and golden brown

Finish in 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

ENJOY!