Coming Soon: Gorgeous Gougères!

Big News! We've Been Nominated for Best Video Blog by the 2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards

I'm proud to announce that Food Wishes Video Recipes has been nominated for the "Best Video Blog" by the 2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards!

Please show your support by following this link to vote for your favorite video chef! The voting is open now through October 29th. The winners will be announced on November 7th, 2009 at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco.

Foodbuzz says they will be passing out a nominee banner to place on the blog, so I'm sure you'll be seeing that soon! Thanks for all of you that nominated me, and please get out the vote! (btw, only one vote per visitor will count, so just vote once. Of course, you are encouraged to spam you friends and have them vote also... As Tim Gunn would say, "Make it work!"

Behind the Scenes with the Real Chef John

Here is an outtake from my recent video shoot down in LA with BNE.

From watching my videos, most of you probably think I'm a nice guy who would be a fun and gracious co-worker, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Call me a total diva, but if I have to perform to such an incredibly high level of excellence -- basically being awesome all the time -- then everyone around me needs to raise their game up to the same level -- from the Executive Producer all the way down to the lowly sweat patter.

CONGRATULATIONS to BNE Executive Producer, Jude, and her husband Greg, who had a beautiful new baby girl this morning! Harper arrived at 3:55 AM, and weighed in at a healthy 7 lb 13oz.

Almond Arugula Pesto – About as Subtle as a Shovel to the Face

This short, but very green video recipe for an almond arugula pesto, shows you one of my favorite uses for the ubiquitous bitter green. I like an arugula salad as much as the next guy, but it's also nice to use the peppery green as something more than a lettuce.

Arugula is also quite a beautiful herb. Fragrant, spicy, crisp; it makes one hell of a good pesto. I paired it with raw almonds for a combo that was just amazing on the grilled hanger steak you can see here. Subtle it's not, but that's okay sometimes.

I know the conventional wisdom with most sauces is that they should compliment the main ingredient, not overpower it. Here, that simply does not apply. Not only does this sauce overpower whatever you serve it with, it obliterates it completely. But, it works!

I've posted the ingredients below, but I beg you not to measure as you make this sauce. This is one recipe that should come out slightly different every time you make it. If that seems like a strange statement, you may be missing one of the most important aspects of cooking – the rewards of randomness.

As you make this pesto, your subconscious will take over, and any variations in the final product will magically benefit whatever your eating this with. Of course, like most of my best theories, I can't prove this.

As I mention in the video, when shopping for the arugula, try and get some fully-grown leaves. That mild, ultra-baby stuff make a nice safe salad, but for a sauce like this you want the dangerous, fully developed flavor of the more mature leave. I hope you give this easy recipe a try. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
Large handful of arugula leaves, blanched
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup raw almonds
4 cloves garlic
salt to taste

A Cool Weather Rerun: Mascarpone Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

I saw a great looking butternut squash today at the market, but for whatever reason I didn't buy it. Later in the afternoon I was checking some files on YouTube when I came across the pasta recipe below – my video for butternut squash ravioli!

There it was, mocking me and my lack of butternut squash with which to make it. So, I decided to do the next best thing and repost it. It's a great recipe and perfect for this time of year. By the way, you freakishly small wooden spoon fans will be happy to know le petit bois makes an appearance. Enjoy!



Here is the link to the original post complete with ingredients!

A Santa Maria Tri Tip Lesson with Paul Righetti (because Barbecuing Season is Never Over)

This is another one of the videos I shot while down in Santa Maria, when we were guests of Paul and Susie Righetti. You've already seen Susie make the famous Santa Maria salsa in a previously posted video, so here's her husband Paul showing us the real method used to barbecued the beef with which the salsa is always paired.

I got a comment the other day asking when I was posting this video since outdoor cooking season was coming to an end. I beg to differ. What better weather to cook over an open fire than cold and damp? Unless you're talking about a blizzard or life-threatening thunderstorm, there is no such thing as a bad time to barbecue.

By the way, save your "that's not really barbecue because…" comments and emails. They call it barbecue, so I call it barbecue. You can argue all day about what is or is not "really" barbecue, but for me, if it's cooked over or near a wood fire, it's barbecue. So, put that in your pit and smoke it.

In the video you'll see Paul use a pre-made mix of salt, black pepper, garlic and parsley to season the tri tip. This is one of the many Santa Maria barbecue products that Susie sells on her website.

The site is called Susie Q's Brand, and she offers a large variety of local Santa Maria products, including the magical red oak wood chips. Here's the link in case you want to check out the selection. I'm working on getting a special discount code for you foodwishers to enter on the site, so check back for that! Enjoy.

DISCOUNT UPDATE! Susie Righetti just let me know that any orders placed using the promo code FOODWISHES2009 will recieve a 20% discount until 11/01/09!

Cream of Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Fritters – The Best Soup I've Ever Made?

I arrived back to San Francisco late last night, weary from traveling, and my very busy week in NYC, and despite planning to sleep in, I woke up very early, excited to finish this amazing cream of cauliflower with blue cheese fritters video recipe.

Either that, or I'm still on east coast time. Soup is not usually a subject associated with thrilling culinary experiences. Soup is comforting, soothing, soul-warming – not something that chefs normally day-dream about. This soup was a different story. It may be the single greatest soup I have every made.

Sometimes an idea for a recipe pops into my head and even before I make it, I have a pretty good idea on what the results will be like. But, when I went over this combination in my head, I really had no idea how successful it would be. To say I was happy with the results would be a serious understatement.

I was pretty sure blue cheese would be a nice addition to cauliflower soup, but the challenge was what would be the best delivery system for the sharp, funky cheese. I looked at many fritter recipes, but nothing was inspiring me. Then, for whatever reason, I thought about Pâte à choux.

Pâte à choux is an old-school, eggy pastry dough used to make things like éclairs and cream puffs. I though this would make a much lighter fritter than the traditional flour and baking powder versions, and that certainly turned out to be the case.

The dough fried up perfectly – beautifully golden brown outside, yet tender and moist inside – the perfect enclosure for the molten blue cheese. The combination of these light puffs and the earthy soup was magnificent. I can't remember ever being so happy eating a soup.

I really hope you give this a try, and even if you can't summon the courage to make the fritters (what's wrong with you?), I still think the soup alone is well worth making. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
For the fritters (a small batch - about 12 fritters):
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 oz crumbled, very firm blue cheese

For the soup:
1 onion
2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic
salt to taste
1 head cauliflower
1 quart water or stock
nutmeg to taste
cayenne to taste
1/2 cup cream