Pistachio Stuffed Dates

Looking for a light, Mediterranean, candy-like dessert that is sure to wow the crowds? Well, try this one on for size. It is super simple to create, a healthy alternative to most desserts and combines salty and sweet in such a way as to amaze you with how good it is. Try it… trust me. (I served mine with a touch of Metaxa 5, but Ouzo would have worked just as well.

OPA! – Chez

1. 1 c blanched almonds



2. 1 cup pistachios (1/2 c coarsely chopped and 1/2 c whole… shelled of course)



3. 1 tbs fig jam or orange marmalade



4. 1 tbs whole milk



5. 24 Medjool dates, pitted and split on one side and opened



6. ½ tsp Kosher salt
   

Pulse almonds in a food processor to create a paste.

Add milk, jam or marmalade to paste and pulse to mix.

Add ¼ cup of the chopped pistachios to paste and combine

Mix salt and remaining chopped nuts

Stuff about ½ tsp of nut paste into each date, top with salted nut mixture

Serve on a bed of whole pistachios.

Spiced Orange and Honey Sorbet

With the warmer weather upon us, its time to revisit the classics and perhaps create a few new ones that won't heat up the kitchen. This recipe won Star Status for 5/22 with its unique taste combination and its cool and bright flavor profile. Whether you use it as a palate cleanser or as a dessert it will ‘hit the spot’.

- Chez

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup clover honey
• 2 tablespoons finely grated orange peel
• 1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 2 whole star anise
• 5 cardamom pods
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 cups chilled fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cardamom

• Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

• Boil until syrup is thick and mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 12 minutes. Discard bay leaf; cool syrup.

• Strain syrup into medium bowl. Add orange juice and lemon juice. Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. 5 minutes before complete sprinkle in the ground cardamom and allow to incorporate.

• Transfer sorbet to container, cover, and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 3 days.

One Pan Whiskey Pork Chops (serves 4)

Creamy pork chops with lots of mushrooms, goes great with mashed potatoes and garlic green beans! Think of it as Pork Stroganoff... and before you wrinkle up your nose, take this one for a test drive. Trust me, you are not being steered wrong!

It was, after all, the Star Winner for 5/1/2011!

- Chez

What you'll need:

• 4-6oz. bone-in center cut pork chops-trimmed and seasoned with salt & pepper



• 1 c fat free sour cream



• 1/2 c water



• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour



• 1/2 tsp thyme, dried



• 1/4 tsp black pepper



• 1/2b tsp kosher salt



• 2 Tbsp olive oil, extra virgin



• 1/2 c chopped onion



• 1-8oz. pkg sliced baby bella mushrooms



• 1/2 c whiskey

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 300.

2 Combine the sour cream, water, flour, salt,pepper and
thyme in a small bowl.

3 Heat oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium high heat.

4 Add the seasoned pork chops and saute 5 mins on each side or until golden. You really need to get a good sear on them!

5 Remove pork from pan. Add onions and mushrooms and saute for 3 mins.

6 Add whiskey, cook 1 min, or until most of liquid evaporates.

7 Stir sour cream mixture into pan.

8 Return pork to pan and spoon sauce over the pork.

9 Cover the pan with tin foil and bake in oven for 1 hour.

10 Serve as you see fit but mashed potatoes and garlic green beans work REAL well with this dish.

Personal Pineapple Up-Side-Down Cakes (makes 4)

Just the right amount of sweet for the end to a perfect evening... this jewel won the star for April 17th. If you ask me it was the salty-sweet 'extra' sauce that took it over the top, but that's just me. Enjoy! - Chez

TOPPING:

• 8 Tbsp butter, melted (salted butter please)


• 12 Tbsp dark brown sugar

CAKE:

• 1/4 c butter, softened


• 1/4 c granulated sugar


• 1 egg, separated, slightly beat yolk


• 1 c cake flour, sifted


• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

BOTTOM OF CUPCAKE:

• 1 can pineapple rings, save the juice

GARNISH:

• 4 maraschino cherries

Melt butter in a saucepan and add the brown sugar. Cook over low hear until well blended. Remove from heat and set aside. Drain the juice from the pineapple rings and save the juice, then set aside. Cream the butter and sugar, beat till fluffy. Add slightly beaten egg yolk and beat mixture. Sift cake flour and baking powder together, add in 2 increments with the pineapple juice to the mixture, then add vanilla. Beat egg white until stiff peaks form, and fold into the cake batter. Prep ramekin (you’ll need 4) with paper liners, and put one pineapple ring in each cup. Put 1/4 of the melted sugar mixture evenly in each ramekin. Pour cake batter evenly in each cup 2/3 full. Then pour ¼ pour the remaining sugar mixture on top. Reserve remainder for service. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Turn cakes over on a cake plate and top with a maraschino cherry.

Stovetop Red Beans and Rice (serves 10)

Tough economic times call for appropriate actions, but that doesn't mean Chez doesn't get to eat well... and this dish encompasses all that is right with dining on a budget. Served with a little crusty garlic bread... well, it was the hit of the evening, mon ami!

- Chez

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried red kidney beans


• 1/2 lb andouille smoked sausage, thinly sliced


• 3 celery ribs,chopped


• 1 green bell pepper, chopped


• 1 medium onion, chopped


• 3 clove garlic,minced


• 1 Tbsp creole seasoning


• 3 c uncooked long-grain rice


• 3 each sliced scallions

Directions Place beans in a dutch oven;add water 2 inches above beans. Bring to a boil. boil 1 minute;cover,remove from heat, and soak 1 hour.Drain Saute sausage and next three ingredients in dutch oven over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until sausage is browned. Add garlic;saute 1 minute. Add beans,Creole seasoning and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Serve with red bean mixture. Garnish with scallions.

Old Fashion Peanut Putter Cookies (3 dozen)

I know what your saying... "There goes Chez with another cookie recipe. Geez, doesn't this guy eat anything else?" Well the truth is... I LIKE COOKIES, so deal with it! And I am willing to bet that you'll like these cookies too. Super each, chewy and delicious, warm from the oven or straight out of the cookie jar. These beat the pants off any store-bought cookie and contain only the best of ingredients. Don't believe me... well, you'll just have to make these for your self. Now, where is that glass of milk?

• 1 cup sugar,


• 1/4 cup additional sugar to top cookies


• 1 stick butter, at room temperature


• 1 egg


• 1 cup smooth peanut butter


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in egg to mixture. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in salt, baking soda and flour until well combined. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in sugar. Place on baking sheet and flatten with fork. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Sparkling Apple Cocktail (serves 2)

Spring is at long last upon us and that means that those light and refreshing cocktails that we all love are soon to be back on the menu.

For Chez, he decided to 'bump up the schedule' and bring this lovely in... albeit a bit early... but it is still good, and the winner of the Star for March 20th, 2011.

If apple-goodness is what you long for, then this one should hit the spot right nicely, with good old American Apple Jack, apple juice (or cider), bits of Apple floating amongst the ice cubes and just the slightest fizz supplied by the champagne. This one is a keeper!

- Chez

Ingredients

• 2 ounce apple juice (you can use filtered apple cider as well)
• 2 ounce Apple Jack
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 4 to 5 red or green apple chunks
• 2 ounces champagne

Preperation

Combine the apple juice, Apple Jack, simple syrup, and apple chunks in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a cocktail glass. Add additional ice, if needed. Top off with champagne. Stir and serve.

Antoine’s, French Quarter, New Orleans

It opened in 1840 and has remained in the same family since that first day. It has served as the creation point for such classic creations as Oysters Rockefeller, Eggs Sardou and Pommes de Terre Soufflés. It has been visited by dignitaries and stars the likes of General Patton, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Bob Hope, Rex Harrison, Al Jolson, Pope John Paul II, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland and Carol Burnett. 14 charming dining rooms grace the establishment and each room excludes French Creole sophistication that cannot be described and can only be experienced and while it did not win the ‘top spot’ on Chez tour of New Orleans, it did come in a very close second place… and in this league, that is really very good.

We began with drinks and appetizers and both of us went with the essential Antoine creations of Pommes de Terre Soufflés and Huitres en coquille a la Rockefeller (Oysters Rockefeller). Both were exceptional, with the pommes being light, billowy potato clouds and the oysters being a cut above the standard one might get elsewhere. (I did manage to figure out two of the seven ‘special ingredients’ that make these jewels so unique to Antoine’s … but I’m not telling. I promised Clinton, our waiter.)

Our salad course, Salade de laitue au Roquefort, a simple house salad with a most excellent Roquefort dressing. Yes… it really is all about the dressing, provided you make it right, and Antoine’s did!

Our main course was quintessential Creole fare - Poulet Rochambeau, a grilled chicken breast served with Antoine's original Rochambeau sauce and a rich Béarnaise over a slice of baked ham. Sweet, savory, texture beyond compare. Is it really so wrong to salivate all over again?

We ended our meal with Cerises jubilee; sweet, dark cherries flamed in brandy at the table and served over vanilla ice cream. (Not pictured.) Sure… there is a lot of theater in that dish, but after all it was our last day.

Yes, we are going to miss New Orleans.

We are going to miss her a great deal.

Bayona, French Quarter, New Orleans

We had already been to five restaurants… only two remained, and of these only one could be crowned all around champion. That distinction goes to Bayona. This restaurant, with is courteous staff and al fresco dining, coupled with its excellent food is worthy of a visit whenever you are in New Orleans. Man, its worthy of being the reason you are going to New Orleans… it really is that good!

So, how did we begin? Well that’s easy… the French 75, that stellar concoction of gin and champagne and just enough lemon juice to make it interesting. But it isn’t just the drink you know… it’s living in the moment as you sit on their open are patio, listening to the breeze ruffle the leaves overhead as you sip your drink and nibble on their fresh pickled cauliflower and peppers. Oh, to be back there again!

For a soup course, we went with a Smoked Chicken and Andouille Gumbo… perfection in a bowl I tell you! Go there, order this and you’ll confirm that this one is pure liquid love.

For our salad we selected a simple Mixed Green Salad with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette. Subtle and fresh, with just the right combination of crunch and creamy… here is a dish that you can feel good about eating as you devour it.

Main course was the Niman Ranch Pork Chop with Creamy Polenta, Broccoli, Roasted Tomatoes and a Rosemary Aioli. Be still my heart (in a good way)! Tender, succulent, flavorful… how many more adjectives can I use to describe the sublime perfection that is this dish? Bravo!

Will we return?

Heck, we wish we had never left!

Galvez, French Quarter, New Orleans

Billed as a tapas restaurant, I was intrigued as to how true to the ‘tapas-theme’ Galvez would be. Being a newish restaurant (open less than a year), I was also interested in seeing how well the Spanish venue played in a predominantly French City. Sadly, Galvez was one of those New Orleans restaurants that did not live up to the hype that surrounds it.

For our cocktail we ordered a Pisco Sour. Now one would assume that if the name of a drink is a Pisco Sour one would want to include Pisco, yet this was not the case… and the resulting concoction was a far cry from that frothy Peruvian nectar that Chez has come to love.

For our appetizer course Sheb ordered the Bombas de Patata con Queso Manchego - Potato croquettes with Manchego cheese and scallions served with fresh roasted tomato sauce and reported that they were mushy and generally without flavor.

Chez took the safer route and ordered Plato de Quesos Iberico – Purported to be a selection of imported Spanish cheeses, candied pistachios and seasonal fruit. For the most part it lived up to its advertisement with the following exceptions. Rather than candied pistachios they were candied walnuts, the seasonal fruits were just a few slices of apple, there was an addition of Serrano Ham (a nice touch) but I am still befuddled by the inclusion of Danish Blue Cheese. Is this there to remind us of those heady days when Spain owned Holland? Well, it left me at a loss.

Our main course was our greatest disappointment. Paella Carne – the Classic Spanish rice dish with pork, chicken, chorizo and ham, seasoned with saffron. All the meat was present... okay; they used smoked sausage for the chorizo... but zero saffron. Who makes paella and doesn't use saffron? Heck, it's not even the right color. Where is Rick Bayless when you need him? This one score zero points with me.

There was a dessert course. Chez ordered the flan… but it was grainy and not worth mentioning.

Dejected by the meal, Chez and his wife walked back to their hotel with visions of the great Chicago tapas restaurants dancing in their heads.