Emeril Lagasse

Emeril’s Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta and Caramelize Onions

/ TaMara / 3 Comments
Photo courtesy of Good Morning America/ABCNews

Photo courtesy of Good Morning America/ABCNews

With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to highlight some different sides besides the traditional. This one really fit the bill.

From Emeril Lagasse 

Emeril Lagasse’s phrase, “kick it up a notch” became famous for a reason—the New Orleans-raised chef raises flavors to the next level. This year, take your Thanksgiving to Emeril’s star status with his recipe for Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions and Crispy Pancetta.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 ounces pancetta, diced
  • 3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

    Robin Roberts and Emeril Lagasse

    Robin Roberts and Emeril Lagasse

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. When hot, add the pancetta and cook until crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and set aside. Add the onions, ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper to the pan and cook, stirring until the onions are caramelized, about 30 minutes.

In a large 14-inch sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat and when hot, add the Brussels sprouts and the remaining salt and pepper. Cook until the sprouts are golden brown on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the onions and pancetta to the Brussels sprouts, toss well, and return to the oven for 5 minutes longer.

Serve immediately.

Servings:4-6
Difficulty: Easy
Cook Time: 1-30 min
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Mardi Gras: King Cake

/ TaMara
King Cake from FoodNetwork.com

King Cake from FoodNetwork.com

I’ve actually made a King Cake for an awesome Mardi Gras party, quite fun and festive. When I went looking for a recipe to post today, I started at the FoodNetwork and found one that was highly rated. It looks much like the one I baked.  Don’t forget the baby!

King Cake

Courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

For the Cake:

  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 large egg yolks, plus 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the bowl

For the Filling and Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 dry bean or plastic King Cake baby (available at party-supply stores or mardigrasday.com)
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • Purple, green and gold sanding sugar, for decorating

Directions
Make the cake: Heat the milk in a saucepan until scalding; transfer to a food processor, add the yeast and pulse to combine. Add 1/2 cup flour and the egg yolks; process to combine. Pour the remaining 2 cups flour evenly over the yeast mixture; do not process. Put the lid on; set aside for 90 minutes.

Add the 2 whole eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg to the food processor; process to make a slightly textured dough, about 1 minute. With the machine running, slowly add the butter to make a smooth, sticky dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place for 3 hours. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead briefly; form into a ball and return to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Make the filling:
Plump the raisins in the bourbon in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the brown sugar, pecans, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, salt and the bean or plastic baby; mix until combined and set aside.

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 20-by-7-inch rectangle, with the long edge facing you. Spoon the filling in an even layer over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the top and bottom. Fold the bottom and then the top edge over the filling to make a tight roll; pinch to seal. Transfer the roll seam-side down to a parchment-lined baking sheet; tuck one end into the other to form a ring. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the roll doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cake until firm and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Make the glaze:
Mix 3 tablespoons water with the confectioners’ sugar; brush 3 tablespoons glaze over the cake. Sprinkle with bands of colored sugar; drizzle with more glaze.

Photograph by Lara Robby/Studio D

Dinner Creole Style

/ TaMara / 6 Comments

From Emeril:

Trout Amandine with Creole Meuniere Sauce

  • 6 (6 to 8-ounce) Gulf speckled trout fillets, skinned
  • Creole seasoning*
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 whole lemons, skin and pith removed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3/4 pound cold butter, cubed
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Season the fillets with creole seasoning.  Place the fillets in a glass bowl and cover with the milk.  Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and drain.  Season the flour with creole seasoning.  Dredge the fillets in the seasoned flour, coating the fillets completely. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the olive oil together.  When the oil is hot, pan-fry the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until the fillets are golden.  Remove the fillets from the pan and drain on a paper-lined plate.  Season the fillets with more creole seasoning.  Set the fish aside. Pour the oil from the skillet, leaving the browned bits in the pan. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, lemons and bay leaves.  Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer until it reduces by 2/3, about 4 minutes. Remove the lemon pith.  Whisk the cold butter cubes into the sauce, a cube at a time, until all the butter is incorporated. The sauce should be thick and coat the back of a spoon.  Stir in the almond slices. To serve, one fillet in the center of each plate.  Spoon the sauce over the fish and garnish with parsley and green onions.
Yield:  6 servings

*of course the recommended creole seasoning here is Emeril’s Essence.

I’m not sure where we’re going to be eating dinner most nights, but for sure I’m going to have trout one night.  This dish is offered at several fine restaurants in the French Quarter.  It’s sounds yummy.

Iron Chef America: White House Event

/ TaMara

Iron Chef America at the White House, photo from FoodNetwork

Three of my favorite things will be present on tonight’s Iron Chef America: Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and the White House Vegetable Garden.  I love the idea of a cooking competition where you have to create a menu around unknown ingredients.  I’ll be watching tonight as the ‘secret ingredient’ for the chefs to cook with is anything from the White House Garden.  And First Lady Michelle Obama will make an appearance  – so I guess that makes four of my favorite things.

I don’t watch Iron Chef very often, I’m more of a person who likes to participate, not watch, so I’ve thrown a couple of mystery meal parties.  These are great fun if you have friends who like to cook.  We break into two teams and make a complete meal with the ingredients on hand.   Ingredients can be brought by each guest or you can provide the ingredients.  A roll of the dice can decide which team gets which ingredient and bartering is always fun (hey, I’ll give you 2 tomatoes for a can of beans, etc).  We then vote on each course based on flavor, presentation and creativity.  It’s always a great time.

You can see Iron Chef on FoodNetwork tonight.