Kitchen Guy: Smoke Signals

Kitchen Guy: Smoke Signals: I'm used to smoking meats over long periods of time on my grill, using time-honored barbecue and smoking techniques. But I never smoked ...

Smoke Signals

I'm used to smoking meats over long periods of time on my grill, using time-honored barbecue and smoking techniques. But I never smoked a vegetable (well, technically a fruit).

Then I came across a recipe for Smoked Tomato Soup that intrigued me. Actually, I was intrigued for two reasons. First - the recipe really sounded good. It was a great new wrinkle on the standard tomato soup. Second, I owned a stove top smoker that I had yet to use. It had been sitting on my equipment shelf for well over a year, primarily the result of a failed attempt at online retailing.

This recipe also gave me the opportunity to use my new Vita-Mix blender to its full potential. So gadget-happy me was -- well -- happy,

In studying the recipe, I was somewhat leery of the direction that only two of the 10 Roma tomatoes made it into the smoker. But that's why I prepare every recipe in advance before we begin our taping sessions. I've gone into some taping sessions cold and held up the production process because of unforeseen problems that crept up because I was not as familiar with a recipe as I should have been.

So my sous chef Josh and I made the recipe exactly as written and we were each blown away by the overall flavor and texture of the soup and we were equally amazed at the amount of smoky flavor that had been imparted by just two Romas, seeded and cut in half.

There was another aspect of this recipe that I enjoyed, as well, and that was that in its final form (served chilled) it resembled a smooth gazpacho. I know that it would be equally refreshing on a hot summer's night. It tasted pretty darned good heated, too, and I loved the versatility that presented.

Let me take a moment here to tell you about my experience with stovetop smoking. I got this smoker more than a year ago, as I mentioned above. It came with an assortment of wood chips (really, they're more like shavings) -- the usual flavors: hickory, oak, apple, and cherry.

So I soaked about a half cup of the hickory, put it in the bottom of the smoker, put the rack on top, then the four tomato halves. The top just slides on and makes a fairly tight seal. As a precaution, we turned on the exhaust system because I wanted to avoid setting off the smoke alarm. Surprising, no smoke leaked from the smoker until I slid open the top.

What I found was another way to peel tomatoes! The skin had begun to shrivel and just slid right off, leaving the smoke-infused pulp. Then you just add them to the other eight tomatoes that had been cooked with a few other flavorful ingredients (see the recipe below).

Now just one more thing about this smoker - and this could be worth your while to read this paragraph. Despite my failed attempt at becoming a culinary products e-tailer, I maintained a relationship with the sales manager at the company that makes these stovetop smokers. They've got quite an extensive line of other culinary products, but this is the one I want to call to your attention. My friends at Cameron's Products were appreciative of my featuring their product on my television show. So as a gesture to my subscribers and blog followers, you can buy a stovetop smoker and get 10% off the price, plus free shipping if you use the discount code: KITCHENGUY. Go to the Cameron's Products website and check it out. This offer expires Oct. 15, 2013.

Here's the video, followed by the recipe:

1/4 cup Hickory wood chips
10 large Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 large leek, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp finely grated horseradish
1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 pinch sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil for garnish

Scatter wood chips in a cast iron skillet and cover tightly. Heat chips over moderately high heat until smoking. (Alternatively, use a stovetop smoker, as shown in the video. If you would like to purchase the stovetop smoker as seen in this video, you will receive a 10% discount and free shipping if you order before Oct. 15, 2013. Go to the Cameron's Products website to order.

Halve and seed 2 tomatoes and roughly chop the remaining tomatoes. Place 4 tomato halves on a rack and set the rack in the cast iron skillet or stove top smoker. Cover and smoke the tomatoes for at least 3 minutes or until just softened. Transfer the smoked tomatoes to a plate, reserve to cool, then peel off the skin.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan until shimmering, Add onion and leek to pan and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add coriander seeds, garlic, bay leaves and horseradish and cook until fragrant, about 2 more minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes, including smoked tomatoes, along with chicken (or vegetable) stock and sugar to pan. Cover and cook over moderate heat until tomatoes are softened, about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.

Remove to a blender to puree. Transfer to a clean pot to heat. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with basil.

This soup is also excellent when served chilled like a gazpacho.

Inside the Box - Part Deux

Sometimes people send me nasty emails. I got one this week after I sent the weekly newsletter with the recipe and video for "Seafood Au Gratin." This particular recipe, which I copied word-for-word and step-by-step from the inside of the Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry box (mentioned in the video), called for garlic powder and chopped parsley to be added to the bechamel.

So the email was very curt: "You're a chef. You should know you never use garlic powder and you never cook parsley."

Really?

Well, truth be told, I wasn't really cooking either one. I added each as a flavoring agent. And then I used more parsley as garnish to add a little color to the dish.

Anyway, each is entitled to his or her opinion. I liken this to my recipe for Tiramisu, the delicious Italian dessert that uses ladyfingers dipped in espresso with mascarpone and cream. I've often said that this is but one version. And there are probably tens of thousands more that have slight variations. In fact what I said was that there was probably a tiramisu recipe for every grandma in Italy.

Nevertheless, my recipe this week is not an original. It is, as noted above, from the inside of the puff pastry box. And the reason I called this week's blog "Part Deux" is because a few weeks ago I used another recipe from inside the same box -- for White Chocolate Mousse.

So I don't have very much else to say about this recipe because it speaks for itself. The technique for making the sauce is fairly classic: A roux, consisting of equal parts of unsalted butter and all-purpose flour, then some milk that is stirred until it's hot enough that the roux thickens it. Then further thickening with the addition of shredded cheese.

Actually, there is one other note on this. A colleague who is a personal chef asked if this dish could be frozen. The answer is a resounding "No." Roux-based cheese sauces do not freeze well. They become grainy as the ice crystals work their way into the sauce. And puff pastry couldn't stand up to the humidity that is part of every freezer.

So here's the video, followed by the recipe. And don't worry about the garlic powder and parsley. I give you my permission to cook with both.

10 puff pastry shells
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 lb scallops, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Bake pastry shells according to package directions.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt half of the butter. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook until done -- about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Add mushrooms and garlic powder to the pan and cook over medium heat until tender. Set mushroom mixture aside.

In another pan, add the remaining butter and stir in flour until smooth. Add milk and cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until the mixture thickens. Add the cheese and the parsley and cook over low heat until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated into the sauce.

Return seafood and mushrooms to the pan you cooked them in and heat through.

Divide among the puff pastry shells and pour the sauce over. Garnish with additional parsley.

The Ins and Outs of Trout

My editor at Distinctly Montana thought it would be a good idea if I wrote something about preparing one of the native fish species abundant in the state. I agreed. But I'm not a fisherman and the folks I know who do fish are catch-and-release fly fishing enthusiasts.

So I had no one that I could dispatch to catch me some legal trout.

One of the difficulties one runs into in a sparsely populated state like Montana -- especially if you don't fish -- is that it's difficult to find a place that sells fresh fish. You can get almost anything you want frozen. But I really wanted to find some fresh trout because I had (read that have) a killer recipe that I know you're going to love.

What you may not love is the filleting part. I will tell you now that it takes time and great care. And you also need a boning knife with a flexible blade that's razor sharp. More on that in a bit.

To my great surprise, I found fresh trout at my neighborhood Costco -- gutted, thank you very much -- and packed four to a tray. And they were cheap, too. I paid less than $11 for the four and they weighed just about a pound each.

I confess that I have never filleted small fish, but I have experience removing the bones of larger species of fish -- salmon to name one. Trout are delicate and their bone structure is quite fragile and very closely attached to the meat of the fish.

I consulted two of the texts I have from culinary school and saw a wonderful illustration on removing the skeleton of a fish in several steps. And since I had four trout and only needed to cook two, I had "practice fish" to massacre -- I mean perfect my technique.

In the top photo, I've begun my filleting at the tail and carefully guided my knife along the rib bones, separating the flesh. You have to do this is small cuts because the bones are so delicate and firmly implanted into the flesh. In the bottom photo, you can see that I've progressed toward the neck (did I mention that you need to cut off the head right behind the gills? No? You have to do that before you start the filleting process).

As you can see in the above photo, after the filleting process is completed and the fish has essentially been "butterflied," lay them skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Then brush melted butter over the flesh of each filet, followed by salt and pepper.

I then preheated my broiler and moved the top rack of the oven to about three inches from the heating elements. After salting and peppering each filet, I spread the herb and spice mixture liberally over each and placed the pan under the broiler.

Pay attention! These cook fast. It only took about two and a half minutes. For good measure, I turned the pan around for an additional 30 seconds under the broiler and then removed the pan from the oven.

And here they are on my very special artsy fish platter, ready to serve. The herb and spice mixture is a great contrast to the delicate flesh of this breed of trout. My dinner guests and I enjoyed the fish with a chilled Pinot Grigiot from King Estate, an Oregon producer that I've been a fan of for many many years.

Once again, here's the recipe for Herbed Butterflied Trout:

This recipe serves two. I doubled the quantities to make four filets.

Mix together a quarter-teaspoon each of celery seed, dried oregano, paprika, sugar and dried thyme, along with a half teaspoon of garlic powder. Be sure to add some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to the mixture.

Place the butterflied fish filets on a rimmed baking sheet fully opened. Spread a small amount of softened butter over the flesh of the fish or brush with olive oil. Salt and pepper the filets and then pat in the herb and spice mixture.

Broil until golden and cooked through – it should take only two or three minutes.

Relishing Zucchini

This is a story about the overflow of zucchini from our gardens this time of year. It's a two- maybe three-pronged story.

So first, at my wife's office, one of her employees brought her a cucumber from her garden that was so big, my wife thought it was a zucchini. The next day this same person brought in a zucchini from her garden that dwarfed the cucumber. Here's the picture of it with a measuring tape below.

As you can see - or maybe you can't -- but the tape measure is at 19 inches. the circumference of the vegetable was almost 20 inches.

I did make use of some of it. We entertained some VIPs from back East and I sliced the zucchini, then oiled both sides, salted and peppered the slices (minus the seeds, of course) and grilled them. I finished them in a low oven, just to soften the zuke. I then filled the center with a moose meat chili.

But I digress. This week's blog is supposed to be about normal size zucchini that you get from your garden. It's also about a friend from childhood that I reconnected with on Facebook seeing me bemoaning the fact that I had so much zucchini (last year) that she sent me a recipe for a darned good relish that I now process and can so that we enjoy it throughout the year.

This recipe also helps me with the surplus of bell peppers I have. With the addition of onions, some spices and apple cider vinegar, this turns out to be a very nice chunky relish that works with almost anything.

So thanks first to Jean Sautter for the monster zuke. And a very big thanks to my old friend from Pennsylvania, who now leads the vegan life in rural Oregon, Fay Stein, for this great relish recipe.

Here's the video, followed by the recipe:

Home-Canned Zucchini and Peppers

3 medium zucchini, cut into small cubes

1 large onion, chopped
3 small to medium red bell peppers, chopped
2 Tbsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp celery seed
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 tsp mustard seed
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine all vegetables and sprinkle with the salt, then cover with cold water. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain and rinse well. Then drain again.

Combine the sugar, celery seed, turmeric, mustard seed and vinegar in a large saucepan. Bring the liquids and spices to a boil.

Add the vegetables and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Pack the hot vegetable relish into sterile pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Make sure the jars are free of any food or canning residue on the tops of the jars. Tap the jars lightly on your counter to remove air bubbles.

Adjust sterilized two-piece lids on the jars and tighten.

Place the jars in a water bath in a canner or deep stock pot. Be sure the water covers the lids. Process for 20 minutes. Higher altitudes (above 3500 feet) should process for 30 minutes.

Remove the jars from the water and place on a towel to dry and cool. When you hear the lids "pop" your relish jars are vacuum sealed. Let cool for 12 to 24 hours and then label. Any jars that do not seal should be refrigerated and used within a week.

One Tomato, Two Tomato

If you're old enough to remember -- there used to be a saying that "real men don't eat quiche." There also is an old saying, "50 million Frenchmen can't be wrong."

I like quiche. I've always liked quiche. What could be wrong with ham and cheese and onions baked in a tart shell? So that's why I chose to show you a variation on the classic quiche -- one that might help you use some of the bounty from your garden, as the growing season for most of us in the north winds up.

We've got lots of tomatoes in our garden, mostly Romas. The recipe calls for one can of diced tomatoes, but I add parenthetically that you can use fresh tomatoes. The quantity you need depends primarily on the variety of tomato you use. Since I use the Roma variety, I need about 4, sometimes 5 to make this recipe. If you're using the Beefsteak variety you may need only one or perhaps one and a half.

You can always weigh your tomato addition after you've seeded and diced them. The recipe calls for a 14-1/2 ounce can.

And truth be told, when all is baked, this quiche tastes almost like a deep dish pizza. If I had added oregano, it probably would have tasted almost exactly like pizza.

So I know there are a lot of you reading this who've eaten cold pizza for breakfast. Well, here's a way to have your pizza and have it warmed, too.

I also like the versatility of this dish, since it can be a breakfast, brunch or lunch dish all by itself. At lunch, I might serve a salad with it. For breakfast or brunch I might serve some thick sliced Canadian bacon.

In any case, I highly recommend this recipe. I'll add my recipe for savory pie crust at the end of this week's blog, but I promise not to tell if you buy the pre-made Pillsbury pie dough in the refrigerated section near the dairy products.

Here's the video, followed by the recipe(s):

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes (or use 3 to 4 fresh medium tomatoes, seeded and diced)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 pinches sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 rosemary sprig
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Make a savory pie crust and insert into a tart pan and trim.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide large saucepan and add the onions. Cook until onion softens. Add some salt and pepper and continue to cook.

Pulse the tomatoes 4 or 5 times in a food processor. Do not process to long or they will turn pink.

Add garlic to the onions and cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and raise the heat. Add the tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper, rosemary sprig and thyme and simmer, stirring often until the tomatoes cook down and smell fragrant. Remove any rosemary needles that may have detached from the sprig. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat the eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl. Brush the bottom of the pie crust with a small amount of the beaten eggs. Park bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Beat the milk into the eggs. Add salt and pepper and beat well. Stir in the cheeses and the tomato sauce and mix until well combined.

Pour into the cooled crust and place back in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

PIE CRUST

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (use frozen, cut into chunks)
4 to 8 Tbsp ICE WATER

Combine flour, salt and sugar and butter in a food processor,

Pulse until mixture resembles small peas. Be careful not to over-process, as this will result in a tough pastry.

Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, adding only enough until the dough comes together.

Gather the dough into a ball, then flatten it to form a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least a half hour before rolling out.