1 Almond crust

 See crust recipe below

Filling:

 1-15 Oz can of solid packed pumpkin

½ cup light brown sugar

      ¼ cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

      1 TBSP all purpose flour

      ¼ tsp fennel pollen

      ¼ tsp cinnamon

      ½ tsp salt

      ½ tsp ground mace

      ½ tsp ground ginger

      ¼ tsp ground allspice

      ¼ tsp ground clove

     3 extra large/ jumbo eggs

     3/4 cup heavy cream

     ¼ cup crème fraîche

    ¼ cup whole milk

    ¼ cup dark rum (optional)

   1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Wisk first 10 ingredients in a large bowl until brown sugar lumps are well blended.

Wisk in remaining ingredients and pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake pie at 350˚ (325˚ convection) until center is set, about 45 minutes.

Remove from oven & cool on rack.

Almond crust

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almond flour  
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons  ice water

Preheat oven to 350˚ (325˚ convection)

In a food processor, pulse flour, almond flour, sugar & salt. About 4-5 times.

Add butter and pulse until flour mixture resembles corn meal

Add extract & water and pulse until dough resembles large couscous pearls. Do not process to the stage where dough forms into a ball.

Pour dough unto parchment paper or plastic wrap. Form into a disk, wrap & refrigerate for1 hour (25 minutes in freezer).

Turn your oven on! Preheat is ½ an hour to 350˚ – regardless of thermostat light or manufacturer.

Roll out dough and fit into pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (15 minutes freezer).

Prick bottom of pie dough with a fork, weight dough  with baking beans, rice (using wax paper between dough & rice) to prevent dough from puffing up

Place in oven & bake for 20 minutes, remove weights and return to oven for another 10 minutes or until dough is cooked ( it should have a light golden color)

Remove from oven, cool on rack

Add filling & return to oven.

2 large shallots, diced

1 TBSP oil

½ tsp kosher salt

1TBSP smoked paprika

2 cups dried cherries

1 cup red wine (Rhone or syrah type)

1 cup port wine

3TBSP turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

¼ cup cherry vinaigre or fruit based vinaigre

2 TBSP molasses

2  cardamom pods, seeds ground

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced and 1 TBSP adobo sauce from can*

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

2tsp onion powder

3 cups ketchup

Season with salt & pepper to taste.

In a heavy bottomed pan, on medium low heat, sauté shallots with salt & smoked paprika until soft & fragrant.

Add cherries, wine, port, sugar & vinaigre. Bring to a boil & reduce to simmer.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Season with salt & pepper to taste.

* use ½ a chipotle chili for sweeter sauce or 2 chipotle chili for hotter sauce.

easy to make & bake, delicious to eat!

WILD MUSHROOM STRUDEL

1 15 x 10 puff pastry sheet

1 Lbs shiitake mushroom,stem removed and sliced ½ inch thick

1 Lbs chanterelle mushrooms sliced in half, length wise

2 Medium carrots, small dice

1 Small Spanish onion, small dice

1 leek, trimmed. White part only, cut in half, length wise, rinsed & cut into ½” slices

1 Garlic clove, small dice.

3 to 4 oz smoked bacon, cut into ¼” slices

1 cup peas (frozen are best this time of year)

¼ cup sherry

3 oz (6 TBSP) unsalted butter

2 TBSP canola oil

Egg wash

Salt & pepper to taste

Divide butter into 3 pieces

Sauté carrots, onions, leeks & bacon with 2 TBSP unsalted butter. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook, on medium low flame, until onions are fragrant & translucent. Add garlic & remove cooked vegetables from pan and reserve.

Mix 2 TBSP butter & 1 TBSP oil in pan over medium heat add shiitake. Do not toss until they start to brown. Flip once & continue cooking until lightly brown. Add salt & pepper & deglaze with 1/8 cup sherry.

Remove from pan & reserve.

Repeat process with chanterelles.

Mix sautéed vegetables, bacon & mushrooms together & add peas. Mix well and let cool.

Lay puff pastry, dry side down & width wise, on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Place mushroom mixture, forming a cylindrical mass on lower third of puff pastry, 3” from edge, and leave 2” on each end.

Egg wash right & left end of puff pastry. Fold lower end of puff pastry over mushroom mixture. Brush with egg wash.

Fold upper end of puff pastry over mushroom mixture & lower puff pastry, pressing lightly to make sure egg wash bonds both surfaces together.

Press on each end & fold under strudel.

Eggs wash the whole strudel, sprinkle with salt & pepper.

& bake in 350 oven until golden brown, about half an hour.

Slice & serve.

All the beautiful colors & smells of Autumn beckon for hearty meals. We will start this season off with a Fall harvest soup.

This soup has evolved, in my répertoire, from the soupe de Crécy recipe of 1346, named after the famous, or, infamous battle ,depending on your loyalties.

FALL HARVEST SOUP

yields about 6 quarts of soup

ingredients:

6 medium carrots, peeled & cut into 2” pieces

1 medium Spanish onion, diced

4 oz. unsalted butter

½ cup sugar or 1/3 cup plus 1TBSP maple syrup (you can sweeten to particular taste)

1 ½ TBSP sea or kosher salt

½ tsp pepper

2 medium to large butternut squash

4qut vegetable stock

Fresh grated ginger to taste.

 Preparation:

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and pour

1TBSP of molasses & maple syrup in each cavity.

Cover & bake for 1 hour in 400ºF oven or until soft.

 Sweat onions & carrots with butter, salt & pepper,

 over low heat, in a covered pot for 20 minutes,

stirring frequently.

Add vegetable stock.

Add liquids remaining in squash to soup

Peel & cut squash into cubes & add to soup.

Add sugar or maple syrup.

Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Cook 20 more minutes.

 Option: add fresh ginger.

Purée with wand, or in food processor.

Notes:

If using food processor take care not to put too much liquid in the processor while puréeing. 

Add the fresh ginger at the end of the cooking process to extract the most flavor from the ginger.

Chef Jehan S de Noüe

With over 35 years in the restaurant industry, managing three star restaurants & owner of Chez Noüe  in Ridgefield  CT, Chef Jehan manages the manufacturer’s continuing education program, the cooking class cooking class  & fund raising dinner events in Albano Appliance’s live kitchens.

 Chef Heather Priest

Owner of Your Own private Chef, LLC, Chef Heather has built a vibrant culinary business focused on tailoring daily menus for the dietary needs of the many families she works for in Fairfield, CT. She has also worked with Exec.Chef Sefton Stallard at Blue Ribbon Restaurants, Creole Restaurant in NYC, Plum Pure Foods in Greenwich CT and the James Beard Foundation.

Chef Amanda Baird &  Chef Rebecca Tanendaum

Owners of  Jonas White Catering.

Chef Amanda worked with the pastry chef at Canard Catering in NYC. She completed a six month Culinary Arts Program at the French Culinary Institute and worked as a private chef in NYC & the Hamptons.

Chef Rebecca completed the Masters Class in Cooking at the Culinary Center of New York

Kalamazoo, outdoor griddles from Evo, smokers from Kamadojoe & grills from Alfresco, Kalamazoo, Lynx, Viking & Wolf

Grill Night

Friday September 17, 2010. 6:30 PM

Just can’t stop doing this gig!

This is the time to start planning  your outdoor kitchen for next spring  with outdoor refrigeration, storage units, bar centers, side burners & side sear units. Talk to us about outdoor pizza ovens from

Thermador & Gaggenau

Wednesday September 29, 2010. 6 PM

This event is tailored for architect, designers & contractors.

Thermador is generously donating a door prize 

Hors d’œuvres will be served during the presentation, followed by dinner.

Ventilation Seminar

Wednesday October 6, 2010. 6 PM

This event is designed for architects, designers & contractors. All attendees will earn NKBA credits.

Hor’s d’œuvres will be served during the presentation to be followed by dinner.

RingsEnd Appreciation Night

Friday October 8, 2010. 6 PM

Private event

“A Taste of  Westchester ” Restaurant  Courses

WestchesterCommunity College Continuing Education at Albano’s

Wednesday October 13, 2010. 6:30 PM. $15 registration + $25 to instructor

registration through WCC or by phone 914.606.6830

Gorgonzola Gougères ( blue cheese puffs)

Roasted Tenderloin of beef with Hunter sauce, served with fresh horseradish & chive mashed potatoes

Spirited Pumpkin Pie

Game, Steak & Cigars

Friday October 15, 2010. 7 PM. $85.

Registration closes Wednesday October 13 at 12 noon.

Duck Confit Risotto

with wild mushroom stock, carrots, peas, fresh herbs & duck cracklings

Wild Boar Stew with apricots, figs, currants & red wine marinade

Roasted Elk Strip Loin au jus

Wild Mushroom Ragout in Puff Pastry

accompanied by Cigar selections by Chief Catoonah

Indulgent Autumn Meal, Sans Guilt

With Chef Instructor Heather Priest

Tuesday October19,2010. 6:30 PM $45

Endive & Beet Salad

Crispy endives and roasted beets combined with fennel, arugula, toasted pistachios, Parmesan and red wine vinaigrette

Porcini Mushroom Crusted Bone-In Pork Chop with Butternut Squash & Herb Pistou & Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini

Ground dried porcinis create a crust on the chop that is seared with minimal oil and served with a sauce made with butternut squash, herbs & chicken stock.  

Apple & Fig Compote over Whole Grain Short Cakes

Granny Smith Apples & dried figs cooked in cinnamon, cloves & bourbon poured over whole grain short cakes and topped with vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt.

AGGA  Product Knowledge Class

Wednesday October 20, 2010. 6 PM.

This will be the Premier of our new AGGA line featuring the AGGA Cooker

Miele Product Knowledge Class

Wednesday October 27, 2010. 6 PM

Miele 24″ steam & speed ovens, 30″ Novotronic Master Chef & 30″ Chef Series ovens, 36″ induction cook top. Miele dishwashers, laundry & vacuum cleaners all deliver great results with a distinctly European engineering & design flair.

Thermador & Gaggenau Product Knowledge Class

Wednesday November 3, 2010. 12 PM

Come &  have lunch with us!

Sample food prepared in a combi-steam oven, marvel at the extra low star burner on the Thermador range top  & see the speed of induction cooking.

Jonas White’s Better Butter

Tuesday November 9, 2010. 6:30 PM. $25

Rebecca Tanenbaum & Amanda Baird, owners of Jonas White Catering have locally crafted flavored ( compound) butters that they will be cooking with to demonstrate the high quality & versatility of their creations.

Spaghetti Carbonara with  Parmesan peppercorn butter

 Roasted Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Onion Butter, served with with haricots verts & lemon thyme butter.

Baked Apples with Cinnamon-Sugar Butter.

Thanksgiving Class

Wednesday November 17, 2010. 6:30PM $45

A primer on how to prepare a tasty, healthy & stress free Thanksgiving dinner.

You may even have time to get in a round of golf before your Thanksgiving feast.

The annual ritualistic madness is about to start!  So how do we make sure that the school supplies we are buying for our children are safe?

The same way you read the labels on food packages, do your homework before purchasing anything for your children that they will come in contact with on a daily basis.

Since we are all about food, here is some food for thought:

Lunch Boxes.

Because they hold food it is important that lunch pails be made from non-toxic materials. NO lead paint, antimicrobial chemicals, PVC and PBA. Buy all cotton/natural fiber lunch bags, paint free stainless steel or PBA-free plastic lunch boxes. Avoid disposable plastic utensils and pack foods in reusable containers such as light weight stainless steel or # 1,2,4 or 5 plastics.

Water Bottles.

Forget  commecialy  bottled water! it’s expensive, wasteful, not carbon footprint friendly by any stretch of the imagination and it isn’t any better, in most cases, than filtered water from your tap.

Send your child to school with beverages or filtered water stored  in reusable bottles made of PBA free plastics, PBA free aluminum or stainless steel.

Hand washing.

frequent use of good old fashion plain soap and hot water will usually do the trick and the washing motion needs to be performed for at least 20 seconds, making sure to get in between the fingers and around the wrists.

Make a game out of it with young children to teach them good hygiene!

If you want to use a hand sanitizer, choose one with ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and no fragrance or liquid hand soap without triclosan, triclocarban, and also no fragrance; and be sure to follow the directions regarding contact time.

Remember! be informed! An “all natural” label on any product doesn’t mean it’s good or safe for you. As I like to remind our guests during our cooking classes & product knowledge seminars: “hemlock is an all natural product.. but it sure is not good for you!”

While most of us are doing some grillin’ & chillin’ over the long weekend, I want to share with you a healthy dish that is full flavored, a little sweet & spicy , very colorful &  just plain fun.

Watermelon gazpacho is a great refreshing soup that can be served at anytime during the course of your party. It’s great served in chilled 2 oz shot glasses or just set up in a soup bowl inserted into an ice bath.

If you have the time it is best prepared the day before to allow all the flavors to really intermix with each other.

How spicy or sweet you want the soup is up to you.  If you prefer it on the sweeter side, omit the Tabasco & cilantro, but add the mint & blueberries, or make your own decision! Keep the youngs ones in mind by making a batch that is not spicy so that they can enjoy it too.

This soup has a shelf  life of about 4 days in the refrigerator. Remember that if you leave it out all day in these beautiful summer temperatures, even on ice, it will will shorten it’s shelf  life. It’s so delicious you probably won’t have any left over to worry about.

Watermelon Gazpacho                                                            

1 watermelon, ¾ puréed, ¼ diced

2 cups OJ  

2 TBSP olive oil

Splash sherry vinaigre

4 TBSP lime juice

1 cantaloupe, scooped with a small lemon baller (size of a blueberry)

1 seedless cucumber, small dice (1/8 inch dice)

1 yellow pepper, small dice (1/8 inch dice)

1 red pepper, small dice (1/8 inch dice)

 1 small red onion, small dice (1/8 inch dice)

2 medium garlic cloves, small dice (1/8 inch dice)

1 small jalapeño, seeded and ribs removed, minced

1 shake Tabasco

2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Blueberries (optional)

fresh mint, in chiffonade ( optional)

Salt & pepper to taste

 Process ¾ of watermelon along with orange juice and oil in blender until puréed.

Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve. Preferably 6 hours prior.

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend. Keep it safe & healthy. Remember! Keep cold food cold (40° or colder) and hot foods hot (140° or hotter).

So this is for you Caroline & Ron!

I have been buying a lot of  haddock lately ( I’m not speaking of the famous  Captain in the Tintin series). It’s not overfished, has a great firm texture & is very mild in flavor.  It is also very well priced… doesn’t get much better than that! This has all the makings of a great recipe. Easy to prep, easy to cook, easy to clean up, easy on the waist line and it’s a meal all in one

Baked haddock in parchment or aluminum foil

recipe #1 for 4

4 haddock filet, skin removed

1 small zucchini, julienned

1 small yellow squash, julienned

 4 tsps shallots, small dice

1 large garlic clove, small dice

1 small tomato, seeded & cut into concassé  

1TBSP herbes de Provence

4 TBSP dry white wine or rosé

Squeeze of lemon

coarse sea salt, like sel de Guérande, to taste

finely ground pepper, to taste

4 small pieces of unsalted butter, optional

4 sheets of parchment paper or aluminum foil cut into 12″ squares (+/-)

place fish,with tail tucked under, on a diagonal so that the head & tail are pointing to opposite corners of the parchment or aluminum square.

Devide zucchini, squash, shallots, garlic, tomato, herbes de Provence, wine, lemon, salt, pepper & butter equally between the fish. Fold the edges of the parchment/aluminum to create a sealed steam chamber.

Place in preheated 375° oven, or, on the warming rack of preheated grill with lid closed and bake for 15 minutes. place fish in parchment/aluminum on a plate. Serve & let guest enjoy the aroma of the cooked fish as they unfold the wrapping.

Vegetable Tartar

Vegetable tartar,also known under the lowly moniker cole slaw, makes for a great meal!

Using the large hole shredder disk on your Viking food processor, shred 6 medium carrots, 1/2 a head of red cabbage with stem removed, 1 large celeriac (celery root with skin removed) and 1/2 small red onion thinly diced by hand.

mix all ingredients in a large non reactive bowl and incorporate 1/2 to 2/3 cup of blueberry vinaigrette.  Macerate for half an hour, form in a mold,  invert on a large plate and garnish with vegetables. In this presentation I used roasted beets, just-picked peas, baby carrots & French breakfast radishes from my garden. Because the peas were picked just before dinner they were very sweet and did not require any blanching. Now that days are hotter so are the radishes and the combination of sweet peas, beets & spicy radishes compliments the vegetable tartar.

Blueberry vinaigrette

2 cup orange juice

12 blueberries

1 small garlic clove, peeled & pith removed

1/2 shallot, diced

juice of 2 limes

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

2 TBSP honey

1 tsp sherry vinaigre

1 tsp Kosher salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 cup safflower/sunflower oil

place OJ & blueberries in non-reactive pan and reduce liquid by half over medium heat. Meanwhile, put garlic, shallots, lime juice, mustard, honey, vinaigre, salt & pepper in blender or food processor. Let reduced OJ-blueberry cool down. add to blender/processor & blend for 1 minute -until all solids are liquefied.  add oil a little at a time, making sure it is well incorporated before adding more. Refrigerate.