Chef Michael Salmon - Join me in my Kitchen
I love macaroons, whether they are made from coconut or almonds. These cookies are lightly crisp on the outside with a soft gooey coconut center and are very easy to make. Drizzle the finished cookies with chocolate if you want to take them one step further.
My recipe for Eggplant Parmesan is a little different from many recipes out there. I lightly coat the sliced eggplant with flour and egg before I fry them and avoid the heavy layer that breadcrumbs add. I find that my recipe yields a dish that is less heavy and that the texture is much better without the addition of breadcrumbs.
I love the sweet and sour zing of lemon curd and this Lemon and Hazelnut Tart is simply an oven-baked lemon curd in a hazelnut crust. Hazelnuts are my nut of choice for this pre-baked sweet crust, but any nut can be substituted. The filling is so easy to make, just combine the ingredients and pour it into the prepared shell.
Caramelized onions, sage and oil cured black olives make for an explosion of flavor in these unique-shaped barquette tartlets. When onions are caramelized, they become very sweet and are the perfect accompaniment to the salty olives, fresh sage and Parmesan cheese. I love the shape of these small barquette molds which are basically boat-shaped tartlet pans.
My Grandma Jean had an amazing raspberry patch when I was growing up. To this day, every raspberry I taste is measured by that standard, and occasionally, one will meet the grade. Needless to say, raspberries are at the top of my favorite foods list, and close behind is white chocolate. This combination of light and fluffy white chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries is both stunningly beautiful and delicious.
This is one of my favorite techniques for breading a light-fleshed fish like flounder, sole, haddock or cod. The fish is seasoned, floured and dipped in an egg wash and fried until golden on each side. The “egg breading” seals in the moisture and keeps the fish tender and juicy, plus it can be done in advance without the hassle of soggy breading.
Smoking is a great way to expand your cooking repertoire and add a new level of interest and depth to your menus. In this post, I will cover the basic equipment used in smoking, the types and intensities of popular wood varieties and share on a few of my smoking recipes. Once the basic principals of smoking are understood and you get a little practice under your belt, experiment with everything from meats and vegetables to nuts and cheese, and create your own rubs and sauces.
These dessert rice fritters are made from Arborio rice with a hint of lemon and yeast. The texture from the al dente rice in the fritter makes for a unique sensation, unlike standard batter fritters. To finish, they are rolled in a lemon sugar and served with vanilla gelato or ice cream.
Seafood Chowders are real popular up here in New England and you will find them made with everything from clams and lobster to haddock and scallops. I use a combination of shrimp, scallops and crabmeat in this chowder recipe, but any type of seafood can be used, depending upon availability and personal likes and dislikes. Seasonal vegetable supplements can bring out the best in your Chowders: asparagus in the spring, corn in the summer and squash in the fall.
Limoncello is a lemon liqueur produced in the south of Italy. Various regions in Italy use different types of lemons to create liqueurs with subtle differences. Making limoncello at home is a lengthy process, but it is well worth the effort. It takes two months from beginning to end, but the process is quite simple. A few variations worth noting are the use of lime, mandarin or tangerine skin in place of the lemon. If you can get pure grain alcohol, it can also be used in place of the vodka for a more pure lemon flavor.
Join me in my kitchen as I prepare recipes from my two cookbooks, European foodie trips and explore new inspirations.
