Author: Robert Andrews

Coconut Salmon Curry

David Fernandez
Buckwald’s Chef

  1. Fresh salmon 6-8 oz
    Also good with chicken thighs or turkey
  2. Heat pan with 1 TBL each canola oil and butter over medium high heat
  3. Slide salmon in when butter completely melts
  4. Cook 3 minutes each side
  5. Sauce: Mis en Place
    • Sautee 2 tsp minced garlic
    • 1-2 tsp fresh ginger
    • ¼ C Soy sauce
    • ¼ C coconut milk
    • 1 TBL honey
    • Sprinkle of Mrs Dash
  6. Sauce – reduce to condense
  7. Bubbles about the size of a marble
  8. Add 1 tsp cornstarch in 1 tsp water as a thickener to the pan
  9. Prepare separately bok choy , asparagus, or rice,
  10. Salmon put down into sauce and coat both sides
  11. Plate over prepared rice
  12. Pour sauce over top
  13. Top with cilantro
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Rockfish Sandwich

Bruce Guzman
Plaza Bistro Cook
Episode 33

  • Rockfish or any fresh fish
  • Egg wash
  • Flour
  • Panko breadcrumbs
  • Mrs Dash
  • 1000 island spread
  • tomato, onion, spring mix, roll
  • Dijon
  • Honey
  • Lemon vinaigrette
  1. Put ¼ C EVOO into pan to start heating
  2. Bread your rockfish – Three bowls
    Egg wash, then flour, egg wash, then Panko
  3. Put into oil
  4. Prepare vinaigrette
    1. Halve a lemon and squeeze into a bowl
    2. Make sure seeds are out
    3. Add Dijon mustard
    4. Add Honey
    5. Whisk to combine
  5. Put mixed greens into bowl, then toss with vinaigrette
  6. Slice tomatoes and onions
  7. Spread 1000 island on bun
  8. Put greens and Mrs Dash on bun
 
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Dates

  • 1898 – Walter Swingle – brought back date palms from Algeria, North Africa
  • Crop was widespread in US by the 1920s
  • Types of Date Varieties
    • Adrawi
    • Saidi
    • Bahri
    • Khaisab
    • Black Abbada
    • Thory
    • Medjool – Typically pit IN
    • Deglet Noor – Typically pit OUT
  • Tamar State of Ripeness
    • Basically turned into raisins on the tree
    • Internet turns out to be better, but a bit more pricy
  • Life span
    • About 3 months at room temperature
    • 6 months in the refrigerator
    • About a year in the freezer
  • White powder on the surface is sugar crystals, not mold
  • The below recipes are for Party Trays.  For personal eating for two, the amounts are in {brackets}

Devil’s on Horseback

  1. Divide 60 {18} dates into three different batches of 20 {6} each
  2. Soak first in 1/2 C soy and 1/2 C water – {1/4 C each} 
  3. Soak second in 1 C dry sherry – {1/2 C} 
  4. Soak third in 1 C lager beer – {1/2 C}
  5. Soak all three batches for two hours
  6. Drain but DO NOT RINSE

Recipe One

  • 20 {6} Deglet Noor Dates that have soaked in sherry
  • Slices of thin cut bacon
  • 2 oz {1 oz} bleu cheese in a zip lock bag
  • Use scissors to trim the date opened
  • Pipe in a little bit of cheese
  • Wrap in bacon with seam down, and cut portion of date up
  • Put on your baking tray
  • Bake 15 minutes

Recipe Two

  • 20 {6} Deglet Noor Dates that have soaked in soy and water
  • Slices of thin cut bacon
  • 1/4 C {2 TBL} water chestnuts – chopped
  • Cut open and stuff with chestnuts
  • Wrap with bacon and put onto baking tray
  • Bake 15 minutes

Recipe Three

  • 20 {6} Deglet Noor Dates that have soaked in beer
  • Large pepperoni slices
  • 2 oz {1 oz} cream cheese mixed with 4 sweet gerkin pickles – chopped
  • and mixed with 1 tsp {1/2 tsp} Sriracha sauce hot sauce
  • Use scissors to trim the date opened
  • Pipe in a little bit of cheese
  • Wrap in pepperoni with seam down, and cut portion of date up
  • Put on your baking tray
  • Bake 10 minutes

Put larger amount on a party tray, or serve two people 3 of each set of dates (9 total) :: or three people 2 of each set (6 total)

Challah

    • Dry Ingredients
  • 4 C AP Flour
  • 1 C Sugar
  • Salt
    • Wet ingredients
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 TBL melted butter
  • Yeast and warm water
  1. Mix until it stops sticking to the bowl
  2. Let rise 1-2 hours in a lightly oiled bowl (covered)
  3. Pour out and divide into three ropes
  4. Braid
    • Start from middle – tuck ends under
  5. Let rise 30-60minutes
  6. Brush with egg and honey mixture
  7. Bake @ 375 35-45 minutes or until 190º internal temp

Weekend Cake

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1  1/2 C chocolate
    • Heat and stir to combine
    • Cool slightly
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp instant coffee
  • 4 eggs – incorporated one at a time
  • 1 C flour
  • 1/2 C cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp citric acid  – OR-  1 tsp lemon juice
  • Grease baking dishes with Crisco
  • Bake in 2 or 3 layers
    • Bake 25-30 minutes, then cool
  • While cake is cooking
  • 1 1/2 C strawberries
    • Puree and strain – discarding seeds
  • 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
  • 1 C powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
    • Beat until stiff peaks form
    • Add powdered sugar when cream starts to stiffen
    • Fold in strawberry puree and vanilla
    • Cut (level) top of cake if it is puffing up
    • Add cream mixture, then a layer of sliced strawberries
    • Add second layer, cream and strawberries
  • Refrigerate before serving

 

Cheese Tortelini

with spinach and tomato
Kevin Younger
PV Lead Cook

  1. Boil tortelini for 12 minutes
  2. Slice garlic very thin and put into skillet over low heat
  3. Cut Roma tomato, then slice thin – set one piece aside
  4. Dice remaining tomato
  5. Add diced tomato and spinach to skillet
  6. Add a touch of water
  7. Add cooked tortelini
  8. Add grated Parmesan to pan
  9. Toss together
  10. Add Mrs Dash or red pepper to taste
  11. Plate and top with a slice of tomato
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Bistro Macaroni Salad

Keelan Gilliam
Opener, Plaza Bistro

  • 1 C Fully cooked macaroni
  • Mrs Dash – to taste
  • 1/2 C Mayo
  • 1/4 green pepper – Destemmed and diced
  • 1/4 Onion – Diced
  • 1-2 slices Cheddar Cheese – small dices or grated
  • 1/4 C Baby peas
  • 1/4 C Roasted red bell pepper
  • Parsley for garnish
  1. Mix dressing
    • Mayonnaise and Mrs Dash
  2. Add green onion, onion and macaroni
  3. Add peas, roasted bell
  4. Optional:  Diced celery
  5. Mix well and plate
  6. Top with minced parsley
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Cookies from Box Mix

Cake and Pancake mixes are simply flour, baking soda, salt and sometimes dried milk.  Making cookies from a box mix is easy, if you can measure ingredients, you can bake cookies from box mix. You can use any kind of pancake mix or cake mix you have on hand and one of your favorite cookie recipes.

  • 3/4 C box mix – Bistro sells Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix
  • 3 TBL butter, slightly softened
  • 1/4 C brown sugar – packed (or ¼ C granulated white sugar and 2 tsp molasses)
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • scant salt
  • OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
    • ¼ C chunky peanut butter
    • ¼ C raisins or Craisins
    • ¼ C semi-sweet chocolate chips, chilled
    • ¼ C walnuts, chopped
  1. Mix together sugar, salt, butter, vanilla and egg
  2. Add optional ingredients (chocolate, nuts, etc)
  3. Stir in dry pancake mix with a spoon just until combined
    NOTE: Batter should be thick
  4. Cover and put into the refrigerator for 20 minutes
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  6. Cut dough into 4, 6 or 8 pieces, depending on how big you want your cookies.
  7. Form into balls with your hands
  8. Put 3 TBL CinnaSugar in a bowl
    (1/2 C each granulated sugar and cinnamon – scant nutmeg)
  9. Roll dough balls in CinnaSugar to cover.
  10. Place cinnamon covered balls 4 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet
  11. Optional:  Sprinkle with Maldon salt
  12. Press down only slightly
  13. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.
  14. Remove hot cookies immediately from cookie sheet to cooling rack with spatula.
  15. Cool for at least 2 minutes before removing from baking tray, then enjoy.

Here is a combination as suggested by Arizona Your Life A-Z

  • 1 box 16 oz cake mix
    (or 15 oz mix plus 1/4 C flour or Bisquick for each ounce under 16)
  • 1/2 C Vegetable Oil
  • 2 Eggs
  • Plus sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts, etc
  • 350º for 8-10 minutes

Tips: Sauces

  • Use the recipe as a guideline.  Taste and adjust as you proceed
  • Rely on your instincts
  • Add fresh herbs at the last minute.  Dried herbs can be added earlier
  • Keep the heat low.  Do not let the sauce burn
  • If it does burn, DO NOT scrape the burnt part off the bottom, pour the soup carefully into another pot, then proceed.  Taste to make sure it does not taste burnt.
  • Don’t cook fish stocks for more than 15 minutes, or ammonia taste may result
  • Continue to skim fat off, or they will dissolve and make your stock taste “dirty”

 

TIps: Knives

Full Tang gives your handle more strength over the years. The bolster should not extend all the way to the bottom of the heel, because as you sharpen it, over the years, and the cutting edge and the belly get smaller, the bolster will actually interfere with knife operation.

Comfort is important.  Get a knife that fits your grip

Metal Alloys used for Knife Blades

Steel plus a bit of iron
Carbon alloy helps make it hard
Chromium helps to harden and prevents corosion
Molybdenum allows a finer grain
Nickle adds to toughness + elasticity
Tungsten offers wear resistance
Vanadium
Silicon
Manganese

Choices for Cutting Boards

Wood Composite – good
Polyethelene – good
Rock Maple – good for Vegetables
Bamboo – good, but a bit slow surface – fibrous

Bad Choices

Glass
Metal
Granite
Marble

1. Use a Santuko Knife for delicate slicing, such as butterflying a breast. It is thinner than butcher knives. It’s not good for mincing though. Use a butcher knife for this.

2. When choosing a meat cleaver, get one with about 65% of the weight toward the front. A cheap option is a hatchet.

Knife Sharpening

Two things that you can do to a knife:
1. Sharpen
2. Hone

Sharpening:
Use only a professional knife sharpener
Sharpen for (1) long lasting or (2) sharpest edge
The BITE is the ability to hold an edgeHoning:
Use a sharpening steel to realign.
Does not actually sharpen
5 both directions, then 3, then 2, then 1

Really dull knives

1. Belt sander
2. Grinding wheel

Cutting board

 

Don’t use glass
Don’t wash in dishwasher
Do keep clean
Do use steel every time you use the knife
Do use wood or poly cutting board
Do store in a safe place

20º utility blade – not as sharp, but will not dull as quickly

15º sharp blade – very sharp, but will dull more quickly

Top knife sharpeners

 

Get one with a high guide hip – minimizes wiggle

  • #1 Chef’s Choice Trizor XV edge $150
  • #2 Chef’s Choice – Electric – Diamond 316 Asian Knife Sharpener – $80
  • #3 Chef’s Choice – Manual – Pronto diamond hone Asian Knife Sharpener – routine sharpener – $50

Three types of sharpeners

  • Carbide
  • Ceramic
  • Diamond

The Knife House

Having it done for you
This is actually advisable.  The job will be much better than you doing it yourself.
Here in Phoenix, us The Knife House near Indian School Road and 40th Street.

Shoofly Pie

Alton Brown’s Shoofly Pie – with a tweak by Grandpa
Lancaster, Pennsylvania has the best shoofly pie bakeoff

  • 9 inch pie crust
    1. Dock crust
    2. Lay parchment down
    3. Cover with beans of a baking chain
    4. Blind bake 425 for 10 minutes
    5. Remove chain or beans
    6. bake 7 more minutes
  • Food process the following
    • 5.5 oz ap flour
    • 2 TBL butter
    • 4 oz brown sugar
    • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Save 1/4 C for later
  • Combine the following in a large mixing bowl
    • 4 oz Brown sugar
    • or make your own brown sugar:
      • 1 pound regular sugar and 3 oz  molasses
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 3/4 C boiling water
    • 8 oz molasses
    • one egg
    • one tsp vanilla
  • Whisk together
  • Add crumbs to the liquid and whisk to combine
    • will be like a thich pourable batter
  • sprinkle reserved 1/4 C topping on the pie
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes
  • Cool 90-120 minutes

 

 

Rustic Rye Bread Dinner Loaf

  • 1/4 C warm milk
  • 2 TBL hot water
  • 2 TBL yeast
  • 3 TBL brown sugar
  • 2 TBL melted butter
  • 1 C rye flour
  • 1/2 C bread flour
    • Mix to combine
  • Add 1 tsp salt
  • Add bread flour (slowly) until it starts to combine
    • Mix to start combine
  • Pour onto counter and knead 5 minutes finally forming into a ball
  • Cover with about 1 TBL EVOO
  • Let rise for one hour or until doubled
  • Turn out and divide into 2 balls
  • Knead and form
  • Put onto greased baking sheet
  • Let rise another hour
  • Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until 190 internal
    • DO NOT let temperature exceed 200
  • Honey butter
    • 1/2 stick softened butter
    • 2 TBL honey
    • salt

Vegetarian Greek Salad

John Ramos Bell
Plaza Bistro Cook

  • Romaine Lettuce
    • NOTE:  This was demoed as a wedge salad, but I have modified it to be a ready to eat salad, as this is easier at the table.
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Cucumber (peeled or not)
  • Red onion
  • Celery
  • Feta Cheese
  • Kalamata Olives
  • Dressing
    • Italian Seasoning (Mrs Dash)
    • 1 TBL Dijon Mustard
    • about 2 TBL Fresh Lemon
    • Whisk in 2 TBL EVOO
  • Optional:  Thinly sliced garlic clove

Assemble

  1. Grandpa’s Option:  Cut wedge into four pieces length wise, then cross cut into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Drizzle dressing on the wedge (or the salad)
  3. Add tomato, onion cucumber, parsley and celery over top and on the side
  4. Add feta and Kalamata on top of salad
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Bagel Breakfast

  • 1 everything bagel
  • 1 onion bagel
  • 4 TBL butter
  1. Cut bagels into 1/2 inch pieces and bake on a tray in the oven for 12 minutes at 350º
  2. Turn out into huge mixing bowl
  3. Toss in 1/2 C shredded cheese
  4. 4 slices of bacon broken apart
  5. 1/4 C chives
  6. In separate bowl mix 6 eggs and 1 C milk
  7. Add a few shakes of garlic, salt and pepper to the eggs
  8. Toss all together in large bowl, and let rest two hours.
  9. Put into greased baking dish and bake for 45 minutes at 350º
  10. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting

Chili Lime Shrimp Quesadilla

Keelan Gilliam
Plaza Bistro Cook

  • Limes
  • Flour tortilla
  • Pico de Gallo
    • Yellow onion
    • Tomato
    • Jalapenos
    • Cilantro
    • Lime juice
  • Medium shrimp tossed in lime and red chili or Sriracha
  • Mrs Dash
  • Monterey Jack and Cheddar Mix – shredded
  1.  Make your pico and toss in lime juice – set aside
  2. Cook your shrimp – NOT TOO LONG – set aside
  3. Heat tortilla and add cheese
  4. Add shrimp and pico
  5. Fold over a cook to let cheese continue to melt
  6. Cut into three or four pieces
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Sweet Sour Pork

Mason Walker
Buckwald’s AZ Grille Cook

  • Cooked Pork Loin – cut into pieces
  • Flour mixture
    • 1/4 C AP flour
    • 1/4 C corn starch
  • Red Bell pepper – vein removed
  • Green Bell pepper – vein removed
  • Sweet Sour Sauce
    • 1/4 C Rice vinegar (or white)
    • 1/2 C Honey or brown sugar
    • 1 TBL soy sauce
    • Tomato paste (or ketchup)
    • 1 TBL corn starch slurry
    • Fresh garlic
    • Mrs Dash
  • Pineapple for topping after most of the cooking has completed
  1. Cut bell peppers into 1/2 inch pieces
  2. Dip pork loin pieces in flour mixture, then egg, then back to the flour mixture
  3. Deep fry pork, then set aside
  4. Sear veggies in the pan 3-5 minutes
  5. Add pineapple and cook 1-2 more minutes
  6. Add all sweet sour sauce ingredients
  7. Bring up to a boil, then simmer until thickened
  8. Add pork and stir to combine
  9. Serve over Basmati rice
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Grilled Cheesesteak Sandwich

Cosmin Barbu
Executive Chef

  • 4-6 oz Beef Tenderloin – Julienned or sliced extremely thin
  • Green Bell pepper
  • Red Bell pepper (SEE VIDEO for a tip on how to cut your pepper)
  • Vidalia onion – thinly sliced
  • Provolone cheese
  • Butter & Black pepper
  • Some type of bread roll
  1. Cut peppers and onion
  2. Turn on skillet heat and add a bit of EVOO
  3. Caramelize your onions and pepper
  4. Set aside
  5. Put tenderloin in the skillet – brown on all sides – 2-3 minutes
  6. Put your provolone slices right on top of the meat in the skillet
  7. Set meat aside and put 2-3 TBL butter into the pan
  8. Toast bread in the skillet to get the butter and little bits of flavor remaining
  9. Put your meat onto the bread and serve
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