Recipe Swap/General Cooking Thread?

[supergold#2]

realizing i've been missing cooking for other people recently (due to my "retirement"/going on disability) so i thought i'd do the next best thing by just posting a couple of my fav recipes i've developed through my 14 years in the restaurant industry (10ish years in high end total, 4 years as executive sous of a real fancy place lol)
feel free to add your own, discuss, whatevs, but i'll be occasionally adding to this from my recipe books for anyone interested!


poached pears w/ stonefruit gastrique and whipped mascarpone:

• 1qt chiraz red wine (i literally just use franzia lol)
• 1 cup white sugar (either cane or beet, doesn't matter)
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped+pod (or 4tbsp vanilla extract)

• 6 pod star anise
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 3 sticks cinnamon (2"-3" pieces)
• 6 cloves

• 8-10 luxardo cherries (or other sweet, dark cherry)
• 5 jojoba (or figs, if unable to source)
• 1 black plum, quartered
• 4 blood orange, juiced and zested (NO PITH)
• TT champegne vinegar (white balsalmic or white wine also work well, ~4ish tbsp, probs?)
• 4ish tbsp white sugar

• 1 cup mascarpone cheese, whipped
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

• 5-6 asian OR d'anjou pears, peeled (not FULLY ripened, but still edible raw)

directions:

1. toast pod star anise, clove, both cardamoms, and cinnamon stick, DRY, in pot, ~45ish seconds on low heat. remove cardamom shells from cores via crushing (morter and pestle, blender, hammer, all are fine lol)
2. wrap/tie all pre-toasted spices in cheesecloth, set aside.
3. place white sugar into the same pot spread evenly, apply low heat until sugar begins to lightly carmelize (just until light golden, its okay if like <50% of total is still unmelted at this point btw)
4. add chianti and vanilla extract, heat on medium heat until sugar and liquids combine fully.
5. add cherries, blood orange, plum, jojoba (or figs), and spice sachet (the cheesecloth wrapped spices from earlier) and simmer on medium/med-low for 50-60 mins with lid partially on (leave like a 1" gap for gasses to escape a little) LIQUID SHOULD NOT BOIL YET, just light simmer
6. increase heat to med-high, add peeled pears. simmer for 30-45 minutes, then cut the heat. let the pears/poaching liquid combo chill overnight in the fridge, up to 72 hours, depending on desired level of broth penetration (for lack of better word)
7. after everything has rested, remove jojoba (or fig), cherries, and plum remnants using a sieve or chinoise, and add to blender with champagne (or substitute) vinegar, and ~4tbsp white sugar. pulse until very smooth.
8. add fruit purée to pan, and reduce over low heat to napé (the thickness of like, maple syrup for example? should coat back of spoon and leave a solid line if you drag a finger down it). set aside.
9. whip (or blender works pretty well too) mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, and confectioners sugar, until 1.5-2x in size

plate by placing a dollop of whipped mascarpone just offset center of plate, place poached pear dead center (1/2 way on and off mascarpone whip), and drizzle the top with fruit gastrique (the fruit puree reduction) in spirally, flowery reminiscent patterns.


FINAL (AND MOST IMPORTANT) STEP:
lie to your friends and loved ones by telling them you came up with the recipe (i fully condone it, btw, i'm living vicariously through you lol)

 

[supergold#2]

braised oxtail in lemongrass-plum "bourdelaise"
endive-pear salad
grilled oyster mushroom
parsnip purée


"BOURDELAISE"

• 10ea malay bay leaves, dried
• 3ea black cardamom pods, whole
• 5ea green cardamom pods, whole
• 3 tbsp white peppercorn, whole
• 1 tbsp black peppercorn, whole

toast cardamom until fragrent, then add peppercorns and bay leaves.
continue toasting until bay leaves are golden-brown
remove outter husks from cardamon
add to satchet
add satchet and 1/2ish(?) cup canola (or veg/corn/etc.) oil to pot
add:

• 150g lemongrass, expressed, rough chop (~3 stalks)

sweat for 10-12 mins, until oil is lightly perfumed
remove satchet
add:

• 150g parsnip, rough chop
• 400g yellow onion (~2 medium)
• 50g shishito, seeds removed, rough chop (10-15 small peppers)
• 50g galangal, rough chop

sweat 5-10 mins, until fragrent, then add:

• 30g garlic, expressed (1 bulb)
• 100g ginger, rough chop

sweat a final 2-3 mins, until fragrant
[NOTE: you should have a good bit of malleard at the bottom of your pan by this point]
deglase:

• 800ml *port (i used christian brothers ruby port, though anything SWEET featuring plum notes is what we're looking for)

reduce to 1/3 volume on LOW
add:

• 80oz (unsalted) veal (or beef) stock
(i used box stock, if you make your own, gelatine contents may necessitate adaptations to volume)
• 15ea dried shitake (mitake/bella/button/etc.) mushrooms
• satchet (from earlier)

[note: poach parsnips (for purée) in stock at this stage ONLY]

add:

• 8ea jujuba, dried
• 12ea preserved plum

reduce on VERY LOW until ~1/5 volume (should take 8+ hours)

combine with a blonde "roux" (1 part flour to 4 parts marrow/fat/drippings/reduced broth remains from oxtails + a VERY small pinch of soy lecithin)


endive-pear salad:

• 1 large asian pear, obliqued
• 4 small endives, marinated* and grilled, chiffonade
• 1 tsp ginger, bruinoise
• 2 poached jojoba (from bourdelaise)
• 3 poached plum
• wasabi microgreens (i used a different micro, but wouldve used this if i could find it)
• 2tbsp infused, reduced port (from bourdelaise)
.
parsnip purée was literally the same ratios as roubuchón potatoes, but with 4 parts parsnip to 1 part potato

oyster mushrooms i just poached in the early bourdelaise, gently dried, then finished on the grill

**marinade** (this was measured):
• 100g yellow onion
• 50g ginger
• 25g garlic
• 50g soy
• 50g palm sugar
puréed all ingredients (raw) in blender, marinated overnight, and strained GENTLY before grilling