Author: Dino

Dino agreed to join the supper club based on the assumption that he wouldn't be preparing dishes, only tasting them. Even though he was completely misled, Dino has begrudgingly learned to enjoy dabbling in the culinary arts.
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Caribbean Chicken

Taken from Food52, adapted from Chef Ginette Richards who along with her husband charters boats in the British Virgin Islands.

Ingredients

  • 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 2 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 4 pounds chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup organic ketchup

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, cilantro, salt, pepper, and thyme.
  2. Add chicken, making sure to completely coat it in marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add sugar, stirring well so sugar melts. Turn heat up to high and stir until sugar starts to brown. Be careful not to burn it. No seriously, molten sugar will smoke your entire kitchen out and it’s awful.
  4. Transfer chicken from marinade into dutch oven and brown on all sides. Use a very long set of tongs. Hot oil is one thing, but getting splashed with molten bits of sugar is not fun. You may need to do this in batches. Once browned, transfer to a plate.
  5. Add remaining marinade from bowl into dutch oven. Add water and ketchup and stir well. Transfer chicken back into pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove lid and stir, turning chicken if needed, and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes until sauce has thickened and chicken is falling apart.
  6. Apparently save some cilantro for garnishing. I didn’t see the food image until the day after I made this. 🙂

 

Posted on » by Dino » Theme:

Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • Canadian style bacon

Directions

Poached Eggs

Using an Immersion Circulator

  1. Drop the eggs in a water bath at 145°F (62.8°C) for 45 minutes
  2. Transfer to an ice bath
  3. Bring a pot of water up to a simmer, and then lower the temperature
  4. Carefully crack and peel the eggs using a slotted spoon to separate out the loose whites
  5. Drop the eggs into the low-simmering water for 1 minute

Traditional Method

  1. Heat the water: Add enough water to come 1 inch up the side of a narrow, deep 2-quart saucier.
  2. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons white vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
  3. Meanwhile, crack 1 very fresh cold large egg into a custard cup or small ramekin.
  4. Use the handle of a spatula or spoon to quickly stir the water in one direction until it’s all smoothly spinning around.
  5. Add the egg: Carefully drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool. The swirling water will help prevent the white from “feathering,” or spreading out in the pan.
  6. Let it poach: Turn off the heat, cover the pan and set your timer for 5 minutes. Don’t peek, poke, stir or accost the egg in any way.
  7. Lift it out: Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and serve immediately. Alternatively, move the egg to an ice bath and refrigerate up to 8 hours. Reheat in warm water just before serving.

Canadian Bacon

  1. Heat 1 tsp butter a non-stick frying pan on medium
  2. Once pan is hot, cook the bacon until it browns on each side

Hollandaise Sauce

  1. In the container of a blender, combine egg yolks, lemon juice, and dijon. Blend until combined
  2. Place butter in a glass measuring cup and microwave at half power, stirring every 15-20 seconds, until completely melted, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t splatter, about 1 1/2 minutes total
  3. With the blender running on medium-high speed, very slowly pour the hot, melted butter into the egg yolk mixture in a steady, thin stream until all of the butter is incorporated and the sauce is thick
  4. You can keep the sauce warm by placing the blender pitcher into a container of hot water until ready to serve
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Soy Grilled Quail Eggs With Sesame Salt

Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Soy Grilled Quail Eggs with Sesame Salt

Notes

Ottolenghi’s method did not properly cook the eggs, and even after they were cooked they were quite difficult to peel. I took Ashley’s suggestion and did the following (which worked out lovely):

  • Put eggs in a pot and fill with enough water to submerge them, adding a drizzle of distilled white vinegar to the water
  • Bring the water to a rolling boil
  • Set a timer for 2 minutes
  • Cover the pot, turn the heat off, then remove the pot from the hot burner
  • After the 2 minutes drain the hot water, then re-fill the pot with cold water (to the top)
  • To ensure the centers were properly cooked, I then put the eggs in a water bath and set an immersion circulator to 146.5°F for 60 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds (white and black)
  • 1 tsp Maldon sea salt (I used Celtic sea salt)
  • 24 quail eggs (I used 30)
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

  1. Scatter the sesame seeds inside a nonstick pan and place it on medium heat. Jiggle them around for four minutes or so, until toasted evenly, then remove from the heat. Once cool, tip into a food processor (I used a spice grinder), add the salt and blitz in a few pulses, to break up the seeds just a little.
  2. Fill a medium pan with water and bring to a boil. Place the eggs inside and simmer for two minutes for soft-boiled (leave for another minute if you like them harder). Remove, refresh in cold water and peel. Mix the soy and oil in a bowl, add the eggs, coating them in the mixture, and marinade for 30 minutes.
  3. Place a griddle pan on a medium to high flame and leave until hot. Lift the eggs out of their marinade and place on the griddle. After 20 seconds, turn them and leave for another 20 seconds, to get char marks on all sides. Remove, stick each egg on a wooden skewer and serve warm, or at room temperature, with the sesame salt alongside for dipping into.