Recipes From “Jrm Says..”
Episode “Bruch You!”
Snapper and Kona Kampachi Ceviche w/Tostones
For 4-6 servings:
– 8oz each Kona/Snapper
– 1.5-2 Cups assorted finely diced (don’t hack away at it like a goon, take your time, make teeny-tiny squares) onions/shallots, garlic, chiles, radishes, and tomatoes.
– 1/4 Cup fresh citrus juice, can be grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, go nuts…
– 1/4 Cup fresh (FRESH!) chopped herbs, can be cilantro, basil, parsley, etc.
– kosher salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste/texture
(See video for complicated shaking process to mix)
Tostones
– 2 green (or greenish, but not entirely yellow or they won’t work right. not enough starch) plantains
– frying oil heated to 350-400 deg
– slotted spoon, draining rack, salt
Removing the tops and bottoms of the plantains, make an incision 1/8″ deep that runs tip to tail of the nanner, almost tracing the natural contour lines, just enough to pierce the skin. Do this 3/4 times for each one, then submerge in hot water for five minutes or so. Remove, dry, peel, and slice to acceptable breakfast cereal size. Fry for 60 seconds, remove and smash with a heavy FLAT BOTTOMED object. Your dear old granny will do in a pinch. Fry again, hit with salt, and tadaa.. Best chips ever.
So there. There’s my fish and chips I guess..
Jasmine Honey Ice Cream
– 10/20 Jasmine flowers/blossoms (I have a plant/bush a friend planted for me years ago that I thank her for every summer)
– 2 eggs plus 1 yolk
– 3 Cups of whole milk (I really don’t recommend going too much lower in fat content. You’ll really compromise in texture)
– 1/4 Cup sugar (hey, why not Splenda? Knock yourself out)
– 1/2 Cup honey (if you can use something *nice* and not too overpowering, it won’t compete with the jasmine, it’ll play with it. You’ll hear giggling..)
Simmer your milk with the honey and sugar, gently please, and pour over the flowers, setting aside to cool. Whisk your eggs with a dash of vanilla if you like.. You can also wait and add the sugar/honey here if you’re a rookie (or “F’n New Guy” as we say in the kitchen) and tend to burn/scald things. The lactose combined with the sugar/honey is something you can’t really ignore if this is your first rodeo. And if you DO scald it, for the love of Christ, DON’T whisk it back into the mixture. Pour out the good stuff into a fresh pan and get granny crackin’ on the dishes. Strain your cooled jasmine milk (the longer it sits, the better, but an hour or possibly less will suffice and still leave you with a lightly-scented finished product. Still dynamite.) and bring back to a simmer, slowly (SLOWLY!) adding the milk to your eggs in tiny installments. This is “tempering” your eggs. Adding the cold eggs to the hot milk would serve only to cook them rapidly, leaving you with a consistency better suited to quiche filling. (GAG)
Once you’ve gotten half of the mixture whisked together, add the rest of the milk (you’ve tempered it to a neutral enough temp by this point) and get your mixture over a pan of simmering water (SIMMERING, not boiling) and whisk for about five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, place in an ice bath (rest the bowl inside a bigger bowl of ice water), or place in the fridge if you’re really impatient, but know that you risk spoiling any perishables you set it near, like milk or eggs, not to mention making your fridge work overtime. You know what? Just set it in an ice bath. Certainly don’t place it in the freezer or you’re going to develop crystals, and this isn’t Breaking Bad. Once it’s significantly chilled (50deg works), you can toss it in the ice cream machine. Don’t have one? No problem. Got a hand mixer? Metal bowl? Ice? Salt? Go old school. Still works. Or you can do like I did and pick up not one but TWO perfectly good Cuisinart ice cream machines for about $7 each. Seriously. Mad thrifty.
Bone Ape Tits.
Episode “SHARK!”
Golden “Puttanesca” Sauce:
One three-tomato batch will make two servings.
– Golden tomatoes (canned, whole and peeled, whatever you choose)
– Habanero chiles (1 per 3 tomatoes) seeded and veined with caution
– 4 cloves garlic per 3 tomatoes, minced
– 1 gold pepper (bell or sweet long pepper) roasted (optional) and/or skinned (optional) and roughly chopped
– 1 large shallot, minced
– 1 hunk of cured pork (salt pork, smoked jowls, bacon, pancetta, prosciutto, etc) cut to small chunks
– 1 cup white wine per 3 tomatoes
– 1 bunch purple basil (or whatever you can find, but purple works best by FAR)
– 1 handful GOOD olives, pitted and finely chopped.
In a medium sauce pan, deep enough to hold them covered with water, simmer your tomatoes, habanero(s), and pepper(s) in just enough water to cover them, with a pinch of salt, occasionally stirring and smashing for about 20-30 minutes.
MEANWHILE:
In a stainless steel skillet on medium heat, brown your cubed pork until the fat has rendered, then add shallots and sweat over med-lo heat till lightly browned. Add garlic and wine and reduce by 1/2. puree tomato/pepper/habanero mixture to a fine consistency and add to the skillet, cooking over low heat till thickened. Add a pinch of any dry herbs (herbs du provence work best) and a bay leaf if you like. Add olives, stir two minutes, add basil, remove from heat and season to taste.
Green Chile Basil Sauce:
– 2 anaheim long green chiles, roasted, peeled, and seeded
– 2 cloves garlic, peeled
– 1 bunch green basil
– pinch of salt
– 1 cup water or white wine
Puree mixture (finely) with food processor, stick blender, or blender.
Sweet Corn Polenta:
FIRM VERSION (cake):
– 2 cups polenta style yellow cornmeal
– 4 cups boiling water, salted
– 2 ears sweet corn (NOT CANNED) shaved off the cob
– 2 buttered salad plates or paper plates
HARD VERSION: 4/1 polenta to seasoned water ratio, stir polenta into boiling water and drop to a simmer, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes. Once thickened, drop heat and stir in sweet corn. pour into buttered salad plates and chill in fridge, 15 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and fry 2min per side in a skillet on med-high with a little butter and oil. It’s already “cooked” you just want golden crispy deliciousness on both sides.
SOFT VERSION: Same as above recipe, but with 5 cups of water to 1 cup of polenta, stirring in 2tbsp of marscapone cheese and fresh herbs (I used spring garlic chives, but parsley or regular chives will work fine) at the very end with the corn. Serve immediately.
For The Shark:
It really depends on the type of shark you use, but as I said, you can use any white fish. For the episode I could only get Black Tip shark which is pretty damn tough and you have to cook it very gently. Thresher is ideal, but unless you’ve got a bone to pick with sharks, like me, I recommend any steak-y firm buttery white fish. Halibut, Sable, Sea Bass, Escolar, Turbot, etc. Just cook as directed in the skillet or foil in the oven.
NOTE: Fish does NOT take long to cook in general, so always err on the side of undercooking it. If it’s sushi-grade, hey, don’t go ruining it by overcooking. Surefire way to tell if your fish is done? Stick a paring knife into the thickest part for five seconds. Pull it out and put it against the inside of your bottom lip. If you instantly pull away, it’s ready. That part of your lip is so very sensitive, it’s the safest and surest indicator of the temp fish needs to be done at.
MORE RECIPES COMING SOON!