Seared Snapper with citrus dressings and sugar snap peas

Now this dish is this weeks challenge. once again from Ramsay, Passion for Seafood.

A simple dish consisting of citrus flavors  vegetable stock, fish and added sugar snap peas for some color and crunch.

This dish to me unfortunately was a litter to bitter and sour, possibly cause i didn't even out the citrus flavors with the vegetable stock or the sweetness of the basil did not balance out well. none the less it looks great.

first i made a quick vegetable nage stock. second i zested the grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime and then blanched them. i then took some segments out of the fruits and reduced that in the veg nage. i then returned it back to the heat, reduced and added the basil and butter to thicken it.

the Snapper was lightly pan fried and the peas where blanched in hot water.

this dish was simple to cook and just as east to arrange and eat.

Enjoy the Photos.

I wonder what to cook for next week

Scallops with cauliflower puree and caper and raisin dressing

So for a catch up... i missed last weeks challenge
so i compensated it with this weeks dish.



this is one of my favorites i like of Gordons dishes and as you can guess, i have used Ramsays, passion with seafood cookbook.



I have recently found a seafood supplier wich has a good range of local seafood at a good cost. also, i want to start cooking seafood more often ( and eating)



This dish starts of with the cauliflower puree. diced the cauliflower, onion and add thyme with butter and garlic and sweat that over the heat until soft. i then added my favorite ingredient that i believe goes well with cauliflower... almonds.



simple, add cream and then mix in a food processor until a nice consistency.




The raisin and caper puree was simply just blitz in the processor.




The scallops where dried and seasoned with curry powder. This i believe is Ramsays secret. it adds a new flavor to the scallops and they taste amazing.
sauteed in a hot pan, minute each side.

I then arranged the dish to look pretty and devoured the lot!!

Douche..ya failed!

Ok ok, so should i even get to the real nitty gritty of the reason why i haven't posted my 2ND!!! dish for this challenge to my readers... ha, NO
cause they either no why i haent posted or.. i dont have many readers. lol, rofl lmao or hahaha
.................................................................................................................................................
there is a cricket making a sound right now.. no serious. There is one in this dam room of mine and there was silence for any thought of what my damn next sentence could be,, ahah!

How bout this, come back next week and ill cook 2 dishes and.. explain the lot, how about that?
yeah, nah, yeah. ok fuck you. your not gordan ramsay and i am not in a professional kitchen where you can call my twat wap, shit cunt piss fart silly fat fuck..no no no

hmm..Im having a go at a dam computer if not a blog about myself so  technically im having a go at myself?

What the fiz, here is a sneak peak at the ingredents for next week and
Seafood is all the hints im going to give you.

Now f off and et your own blog.
but dont stop reading mine please

Chicken, bacon, artichoke, spinach and sherry vinaigrette

To the legend of cooking, may he be all mighty and powerful....and remain on my left inner arm.
Gordan Ramsays makes it easy was this week's first challenge.
Chicken, bacon, artichoke, spinach and sherry vinaigrette dressing.
With the success of getting a whole chicken and boning it you can see challenge 1 has been a success, completed!


Although I did realize I mistakenly did not look into the ingredients as well as I could. Ah, dam Jerusalem artichokes and there winter availability.


Lucky there is another vegetable along the same lengths and that is none other then, the artichoke.
Ah so the recipe was saved ever so slightly. And even as a winter dish. It tasted damn good.

The chicken breast was poached for 5 minutes in a stock with rosemary and thyme. Then it was cooked with oil on the stove until the skin was crispy and the chicken was firm. Basted with butter and let to rest.

The artichoke was then cooked golden in oil and the bacon crisped to a delight.

White wine vinegar, chardonnay wine, Tabasco and sherry vinegar then emulsified with oil to make a vinaigrette.


I then turned the heat of the pan and quickly sauteed the spinach .
This was all then nicely and delicately placed on the plate then drizzled with the vinaigrette.

Mmmmmm tasty delicious nom noms.


What is next weeks challenge I wonder?
And which book will I use?
Stay tuned.
Jesse the handy hands cook

The love for food!

I've always been concerned about my senses if i really love food. After 8 years in hospitality as a chef (and most likey many more) ive always felt, do i love food?
 Lets make it clear!
I love food!!!!

Here the catch see. I've worked in some terrible places, to the extent that ive more learnt from others in the industry a standard of what not to do then, what to do. A desire and passion ready to burst out and explode in front of such egotistical individuals was always the breathe inside me i couldn't hold in. and if it did it stagnated inside until it was diminished into nothing.
Alas! the passion inside always came back to awaken my senses and skills of this such young blonde man lost in the void of inconsistent commercial kitchens and mounding home recipe cook books. Why am i doing this? well the cook books of course.
Do you know im pretty sure... Im certain actually, that i have never cooked not a single recipe let alone read the dam massive paper weights i called cookbooks sitting on my kitchen shelf and stored away in cheap plastic clothes containers in my fucking cooking carer.
 They have undoubtedly been either a pick me up for my sorrows or failure in kitchens or a good old ego boost to make me look like some fat Ansiley or Nigela wannabe seeking tv stardom or a sad conversation starter that leads to me looking like some poncy super star chef.... as im sure Gordon would quote.
Sigh...
 But no, those were the hay days of a young teenager searching for acceptance in a world of luck and chance, bananas and pears.
My luck, is i do know how to cook. i took as my own responsibility to learn about food, techniques which that are best, flavors that work and enhances with others, methods and correct cooking procedures as well as food and ingredient appreciation.
 Fuck its taken its dam time!

 
 Ah ahoy, and so we've landed here, the year 2013! The dam mission you ask???? 52 weeks in a year, 1 recipe each week, hopefully 2 if i do dessert

Rules!!!
 - All dishes must be recipes from my cookbooks, or recipes i find but only in books!
- They must be seasonal and match the season ( salad = summer.......der)
- to stay in a budget of $10-$20 a dish. - Must follow the recipe stated!
- Must take photos of the stated book with the recipe in it, write the recipe, photos of partial steps and the finished product.
- My girlfriend gets to be my taste bunny.
- And know nuts my girlfriend is allergic to eg, hazelnut, cashew, peanut, pecan and there's another i cant as well but we wont tell her i forgot.( there may be change with this rule... just means she cant have any.
- And these must be posted by every Sunday each week.

 The goal of this exersize is not to beat Julie whats her face in that movie, even though i watched it and it was pretty good. But to kick start my love for food at home with those dam books i have sitting around. I don't consolidate my cookbooks, ever. i have learnt to make and create food using the methods and techniques i have learnt with flavors surrounding me ( and the flavor bible, the only book i do consolidate)
To follow rules and consistency to what the recipe and chef/cook has stated.
So this will be quite the challenge for me, but, with a shed kitchen full of awesome equipment, a arrange of pretty good cookbooks, endless room for learning new things and the passion and love it will be fun
And so this week the adventure will begin and in a matter of days i will have completed my first challenge as this day, this hour, this blog is the friggin dam beginning of something slightly crazy.

Enjoy followers!

Jesse The handyhands cook