Tag: Dijon

Open Face

It is said that the Sandwich as we know it, was the result of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. He was a card player and wanted food he could eat with one hand, so he wouldn’t have to put his cards down. It’s my understanding that even though there have been instances of food being prepared this way before that, this is what created the trend we know and love today. Knowing that, an open face sandwich almost seems counter productive… but here’s the thing, in my opinion, when food is good enough, you CAN’T eat it while doing something else! When food is done properly, it demands your attention. Which brings me to what to the recipe I’ve created. This open faced sandwich, you eat with a knife and fork. That mens no distractions like cards, phones, and if it’s an awkward breakfast with someone you don’t like, conversation.

It has a few layers: Buttermilk toast with Mayo, Roasted Mushrooms, lettuce, and a ‘cloudy egg’.  For the Buttermilk Bread, I really recommend my roommate, Cheryl’s recipe. She doesn’t have it posted anywhere, but you can always text her, I’m sure she’ll give it to you. If you don’t have her number, I suggest asking her for it the next time you see her. Failing that, store bought buttermilk bread, a thick piece of Challah bread, or sour dough will work very well here.

I made up a simple Mayo recipe; it’s creamy, and zesty, and awesome. I used an immersion blender, and had it made in the time it took to make the toast.

The lettuce mixture was Parsley and Boston Lettuce. If you’ve never had the latter before, it’s similar to arugula in taste. It is; however, much sweeter. It’s shaped more like a smooth loose cabbage.

A layer of crispy Mushrooms & finally, the cloudy egg. This is a food that has been trending for a while, but I have never seen in it as part of a sandwich. Which is insane because it makes so much sense. The beaten egg whites give it a nice soft texture, and a rich taste because of the folded in cheese. Since the yolks are cooked for less time then the whites, the are runny, and create a perfect sauce!! This is a great recipe for breakfast, but it is a little involved, prepping the lettuce and the mushrooms the night before is a good idea.

Roasted Mushrooms:

  • 3 Button Mushrooms
  • 34g Oyster Mushrooms
  • 1T Olive Oil
  • 3 Pinch Salt
  • 2 Oregano
  1. Place a baking sheet into a 450 degree Convection oven (475 degree non convection). Don’t put any parchment on down.
  2. While the oven and the baking sheet are preheating, slice the mushrooms, you want them about 1/8″ thick and place them into a bowl.
  3. Mix oil, salt and oregano and mushrooms until they evenly coated.
  4. Place the Mushroom mixture onto the hot baking sheet. return the sheet into the oven for 18 minutes, make sure to mix the mushroom once half way through
  5. Put mushroom aside until needed.

Lettuce Mixture:

  • 1T Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/4t Sugar
  • 18g Parsley
  • 46g Boston Lettuce
  1. Mix the Sugar into the Red Wine Vinegar until it’s
    completely dissolved.
  2. Cut the leafs of the Parsley off using a sharp knife. If you hold a bundle of parsley stem side closer to you, and use the knife to sheer off the leafs.
  3. Cut the Boston Lettuce using the chiffonade cut. You can see the process HERE. It’s how the Basil is cut.
  4. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, and place aside until needed.

Cloudy Eggs:

  • 20g Mozzarella
  • 9g Parmesan (you want the bricked stuff, not the pre shredded canned stuff.)
  • 3 Eggs Whites.
  1. Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees (350 non convections).
  2. Separate the eggs, and keep the same the whites and yolks.
  3. Beat the whites until the form a stiff peak foam. I used a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. You can use a hand mixer, or a regular whisk. If you do it the old fashioned way, make sure you use a whisk with a lot of tines, or else it will take a while.
  4. Fold in both cheeses to the meringue gently.
  5. Divide the meringue into two piles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Use a spoon to put a dip in the middle of each one.
  6. Place into the oven for 3 minutes
  7. Remove the meringue and place an egg yolk into the dip of each pile, place back into the oven for 2 minutes. Place one egg yolk aside for mayo
  8. Remove from the oven, and turn on the broiler, place the baking sheet under the broiler for about a minute. Don’t leave this unattended. Keep your eye on it, and remove it once you see the gold brown form on the white. You don’t want to burn the whites, or over cook the yolks.
  9. The Egg on the left is perfect, The egg on the right had the yolk burst because I wasn't gentle enough when I placed it on the meringue Place eggs on the side, put 2 pieces of bread in the toaster and make toast.

MAYO:

  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 1.5 White Wine Vinegar
  • 3/8C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 3/8C Canola Oil
  • 1/2t Salt
  • 1T Dijon
  1. Place all the ingredients in a high thinner cup. I used a measuring cup.
  2. Wait about 1 minute for the oil to float to the top.
  3. Insert the immersion blender into the mixture slowly, make sure not mix anything around too much.
  4. Pulse the blender until you start seeing mayo form.
  5. Once you see the majority of the mixture has emulsified, keep the blender on, and slowly lift the blender up and down until it’s a unified mixture.

The Final Construction

  1. Put mayo on one side of both pieces of toast.
  2. Place Lettuce mixture on the mayo side of the toast (incase you couldn’t figure that out)
  3. Then place the Roasted Mushroom mixture on top of the lettuce.
  4. Then finally place the cloudy egg to top it off.
  5. Take a fancy photo, and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #foryourfoulmouth.

I Haddock a Big Hankering

I was in the mood for some fish tacos, which was perfect because Cinco de Mayo was just around the corner! This dish, I originally assumed, started it’s life as tex-mex. In actuality it’s originally from Baja-California, Mexico and was originally called Tacos de Pescad, or Codnoscenti. It was basically a traditional taco, with battered fish in place of the pork/beef. From what I can tell, since then it has been given an English name and adopted by pub and resto bar menus across America and Canada. It’s my assumption that it’s northern migration was what lead it to evolve into what we know today here north of the mexican border. There is something about the mix of crispy, savoury, and sweet, with a Mexican twist, that’s just unparalleled.

Apple Slaw, Rum Battered Haddock, and Homemade Corn Taco shells were the main things I wanted to experiment with. As stated above, I feel this is known more as pub fair than authentic Mexican cuisine, so I wasn’t too worried about ingredients usaly found in Mexico. However, since there is something wrong with my brain, I also felt that home-making the corn tortilla and the mayo for the slaw was non-negotiable. This is a long recipe, but nothing is overly complicated about it. I urge any new cooks to try making it. Most of it can be made in advance, which means you can make this over a day or two, and not have to try so many new things at once.

I don’t know how other food blogs manage to have long stories before they get to their recipes, so let’s get right into the guts of this.

Corn Taco Shells:

  • 1 cup Massa
  • Juice and zest from 1/2 lime
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups of hot tap water
  • Salt to taste

Apple Slaw and Dressing:

  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 3/4 canola oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
  • Salt/pepper to taste
  • 1 Honey Crisp Apple
  • 2 Jalapeño Peppers
  • 1 Small Stock of Celery
  • 3 Heirloom Carrots
  • 1 Yellow Onion

Pico de Gallo:

  • 1 Hot House Tomato
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 a Lime
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Crispy Haddock and Seasoning:

  • 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 2 Pieces of Haddock
  • 1 Cup Bread Flour
  • 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • Rum to colour
  • Water To Consistency
  • Salt and pepper

First, let’s make the Tortilla that we will make into a Taco shell

  1. In a big mixing bowl add the Massa, 2 pinches salt, and the lime’s zest and juice.
  2. While lightly, but continuously, mixing with a spatula, slowly add about 1/3 of the hot water. The mixture should should start to clump together. At this point, you can start working the dough with your hand while you slowly add little bits of water. Once the dough can form a ball that doesn’t crumble you can discard the remaining water. The final dough ball should be soft, and feel a bit moist to the touch. if it feels a dry put it back in the bowl and work in more hot water. a little too moist is better then too dry. Really it should feel like Play-Doh. If you never used play-doh, let your mom know she failed you. This is officially part of the recipe, so you have to do it, or it won’t work.
  3. Place ball under a damp towel, or in plastic wrap for twenty minutes. this will give the Masa time to evenly distribute the liquid. this can also be left in the fridge for a day or two covered in plastic.
  4. Massa Dough right After FormedDivide the ball into 4, and roll each section into its own ball. Cover all of them with plastic wrap.
  5. If you have a Tortilla press, follow the directions that came with it to make your dough into tortillas, then skip to step 13.
  6. Masa disk on sheet of 2I personally don’t believe in buying things I will use twice a year, unless its a matter of safety or necessity. So I don’t own a tortilla press, however I have come up with a way to make perfect tortillas. Lay out a 1.5′ sheet of Parchment, and put your 1 dough ball in the centre.
  7. Push the dough ball with your palm so it’s a disk shape then cover with a 1.5′ sheet of plastic wrap
  8. Massa rolled out slightly bigger than my bowlUse a rolling pin to roll the dough ball just until it’s wider than a soup bowl. Make sure to roll back and forth and side to side. FYI: At first your plastic wrap may cling to the dough causing it to curl upward. Simply lift the plastic wrap off the dough, gently place the dough down and put the plastic back. If the parchment becomes wrinkled, simply pull its corners.
  9. Using a bowl to get my tortilla the perfect shapeGently remove your plastic wrap and place a bowl upside down on your dough, using a butter knife cut around the rim of your bowl, this will give you perfectly shaped tortillas. Use the scrap pieces to fill any cuts, are place the rest to the side. There is no gluten in Masa, so you don’t have to worry about over working it.
  10. The Masa after second rolling. It finally looks like a TortillaPlace the plastic wrap back on top of the dough and use rolling pin thing out the tortilla to about 1/6″
  11. Repeat step 9.
  12. My pile of Tortilla dough waiting to be cookedSlowly peel the tortilla off the parchment, and place on the side till you’re ready to cook them. I place all the tortillas on top of each other with a piece of parchment paper to separate them. Cover with plastic wrap, or damp cloth.
  13. Repeat steps 6 – 12 until all the dough balls are gone.
  14. Finally It's a tortilla! you want those beautiful spots on them. Sadly only the first side will have them that perfect.Cook each tortilla one at a time on a non greased cast iron pan set to high heat. If you don’t have cast iron, you can use a stainless steel pan, but you will have to wait longer in between cooking each tortilla for the stainless to regain its heat. It should take about 30-40 seconds on the first side, and about 20 seconds on the other side. They may puff up, thats a good thing, it means they are well rolled.
  15. Let cool for about 5 minutes, and then place in zip -loc bag until you’re ready to fry them.
  16. Heat up a pot with filled with 1/4″ of canola oil. You’re looking to reach around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 200 degrees Celsius.
  17. I use the corner of the pot to hold the tortilla in shape.Using tongs, pick up a cooked tortilla, and lower it into the oil so that only half of it is frying. Using the a wooden spoon push down any big bubbles that form.
  18. Using the tongs, tun the tortilla 180 degrees, and fold so it’s shaped like a taco shell.
  19. Corn Tortillas are just amazing. The Subtle addition of Lime just makes them out of this world.Once the shell holds its shape, move to the side and sprinkle with salt.

Next, the Pico de Gallo

  1. Dice up the Hot House Tomato and Red Onion into a 1/8″ cubes
  2. Cut the garlic into a Fine dice
  3. Juice Lime and set aside
  4. Mix the Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic in a large bowl
  5. Add Lime Juice, Salt and Pepper a little at a time until you’re happy with the taste. You want this to be slightly on the stronger side, because the other ingredients will slowly release liquid and water down the intensity.
  6. Put in fridge to chill, minimum an hour, ideally overnight.

Let’s not forget the Apple Slaw

  1. Place a damp tea towel in a circle shape on the counter, and place large mixing bowl on top. This will hold the bowl still while you’re working.
  2. Add Egg yolk, Dijon mustard and White Wine Vinegar into the large bowl, and whisk until you have a mixture that’s a solid colour.
  3. Slowly add Canola Oil into mixture while whisking. The oil should emulsify into the mixture so you have a solid consistent dressing. You don’t want the mixture to break, so you’re better off adding it too slowly, than too fast.
  4. Hot House Tomato Sliced into rounds, then sticks then diced
    When about 3/4 of the oil is added, stop and add salt and pepper to taste. You will season again at the end, but this will better distribute the seasoning, and give you a bench mark of what it should taste like when you do your final seasoning.
  5. Add the rest of the oil while whisking just as before
  6. Once all the oil is added, taste and adjust for final seasoning.
  7. Put dressing into fridge until needed
  8. Apple Sliced the same way as the Tomato for the Pico de GalloApple Sliced the same way as the Tomato for the Pico de Gallo, into 1/8″ rounds, then cut into sticks. The apple should have a little bit of peel on both ends.
  9. Cut Carrots into 1/8″ by 3″ sticks by cutting them into half, then each half cut into strips, then each strip into sticks
  10. Mince Celery as thin as possible. They should be almost transparent.
  11. Jalapeño's get their heat from their seeds, So make sure to remove them if you don't want it too hot. Dice the Yellow Onion and Jalapeño into 1/4″. Make sure to discard the seeds from the Jalapeño.
  12. Mix all the ingredients except the dressing into a mixing bowl, then add the dressing desired amount of dressing to the bowl. Place slaw covered in the fridge overnight. This will allow the dressing to break down the toughness, and give the flavours a chance to meld.

Finally. The last Mise En Place you will need, the Crispy Fish. Everything else could be done the day before, but this is the best when it done right before eating.

  1. Mix together Chili powder, paprika,  Cumin, Cayenne, Onion Powde and Garlic Powder into a small bowl.
  2. Cut the Haddock into strips, 1/2″ by 3″ and lay out on a cutting board or baking sheet.
  3. The Measurements are all approximate. As you can see the one on the far left was a thinner piece, so I cut it wider to make up for it.Cover Haddock strips with spice mixture on all sides evenly and liberally. Set aside until needed.
  1. In a small bowl mix together Bread Flour, Corn Starch and Baking Powder.
  2. Fill up a pot or frying pan about 1/4″ with canola or peanut oil. If your using a frying pan, make sure you choose one that has sides that are a least double the height of the oil. Put it on a burner at medium heat and let it heat up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  3. Whisk flour mixture and slowly add rum until batter reaches a amber colour. It should be noted that I had just a little less than enough rum on hand when I took the photos. Ideally my batter would have been darker; however I did get to do my impression of Jack Sparrow saying ‘But why is all the Rum Gone?’
  4. Whisk in water until batter is the right consistency. You’re looking for a viscosity similar to whipping cream.
  5. Lay each piece of seasoned Haddock into the batter, making sure the Haddock is completely covered. Remove the Haddock from the batter and let the extra batter drip off, and place on a wire rack.
  6. Place two or three pieces of the batter covered Haddock into the hot oil and let it cook, make sure to turn over when the bottom is golden brown. Once the second side is cooked, remove the fish and place on paper towel covered plate and sprinkle lightly with Salt.
  7. Repeat step 6 until all the Haddock is cooked

And the final assembly!

  1. Generously place Apple Slaw in your taco shell
  2. Place two pieces of the Crispy Haddock on top of the Apple Slaw
  3. And a thin layer of Pico de Gallo on top of the Crispy Haddock
  4. Finally Top the whole thing with an Avocado wedge
  5. Take a fancy photo, and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #foryourfoulmouth
*sources http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/flavors-of-the-west/in-search-real-fish-taco, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taco (I generally don’t like wiki as a source, but it had citations)