Thanks + ciao Bernard Kinsella

Throughout the summer I believe we don’t realize how it’s a wonderful time to prepare soup. Produce is in abundance, the variety of cold and hot soups we can create for today or to make and freeze is the perfect opportunity. Particularly if you have a back up freezer! Properly made, cooled and stored you can break them out in September or October at the height of the busy sport season.

Think about the abundance of fresh corn available today and make Corn Chowder then add some fresh seafood when your ready to serve; how about a Tomato Bisque with fresh tomatoes from your garden or that recent trip to the farmers market! Remember the key ingredients for a great soup is a good fresh stock. Add fresh herbs, minimal seasoning and reduce your cooking time just a bit, so when you reheat you can bring it to a gentle boil and then simmer and season properly without over cooking. Here’s a recipe for you to try today for friends or family during these hot summer days…

Gazpacho

  Ingredients:

• 1 1/2  cups diced medium seeded peeled cucumber
• 1  cup diced medium  Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 1  cup diced medium chopped yellow bell pepper
• 6  tablespoons  white wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  pounds diced medium seeded peeled yellow tomatoes (about 6 large) or heirloom tomatoes( red vine      tomatoes are perfect as well)
• 2  garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  Garnish:
• 2  (1-ounce) slices French bread, torn into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1  teaspoon  extra virgin olive oil
• 1  cup  quartered grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2  cup  diced peeled seeded cucumber

Preparation

1. To prepare gazpacho, combine first 9 ingredients.
2. Place half of vegetable mixture in a food processor; process until smooth.
3. Pour puréed vegetable mixture into a large bowl. Add the remaining vegetable mixture. Cover and chill.  

 To prepare garnish, place bread in a small bowl; drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil, tossing gently to coat. Spread bread mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool to room temperature. Place 3/4 cup gazpacho in each of 8 soup bowls. Top each serving with a few croutons, 2 tablespoons quartered tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon cucumber and a tablespoon of plain yogurt…refreshing!

Thanks…chef Bernard Kinsella…check out www.chefbernards.com for more recipes and videos! Ciao….

Ciao… Bernard Kinsella

Anyway, the point today is the topic of grilling and having 101 Fast Recipes as a guide is worth the review. If anything, it can help you to be creative and more importantly provide examples on how to keep it simple while you’re at the grill. One of the things I like best about the article is that each grouping is uncomplicated enough to comprehend & make you a star of your grill. Especially if you have a repertoire of your own grilling practices that you know are family favorites. So follow the link below

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/dining/30mini.html?pagewanted=1&hpw

 then tell us what you’re cooking on the grill and how are you inspired?

Thanks – enjoy…

Bernard Kinsella

As the weekends begin to heat up were likely to cool down our bodies with a refreshing swim, cool drink or a scope or two of ice cream! Fortunately our New England market provides a variety of seasonal outlets to quench our pleasures. I recall the first time I ventured into this arena of ecstasy and how much work I thought it would be, but found out it wasn’t. Today there are several options available for us and multiple machines, recipes and useful tips that once you make it, you realize how easy it is! The provided link supports 3 recipes to create your own satisfying treat. The formulas are a great step by step guide and I feel offer ideas whether or not you own an ice cream maker. We always appreciate the thoughts on “how to“ but if you have a favorite spot that has your best flavor, let us know!     

Follow the link to our 3 quick videos on how to make vanilla ice cream, black berry sorbet and lemon granité…enjoy!  

http://www.youtube.com/user/CookingwithBernard#p/u/19/PEHUcn54zQI

Thanks…Chef Bernard

Planning: Establish a goal and get the facts on how to reach that goal? Read, consult a professional, ask advice from others you have noticed a change in there size or shape.

Action: Take some recipes you really like and try to build off them. Make adjustments to ingredients or portion size to reduce calorie consumption and create additional recipes with ingredients you have on hand.” Prep time” is the biggest challenge I hear when conducting sessions. So when you’re chopping away think about tomorrow’s delight!

 Get Cooking: Taking the idea ”this is the menu for tonight” makes it easier to reach your goal. I found if you create too many choices you fill up your refrigerator with unnecessary ingredients and potential waste.

 Savor Every Bite: Ask yourself?  How does it taste, what would I do different next time, consider adding to making it more appealing or taking out of the recipe, did I make too much or was it just enough, no leftovers is a bonus I found helps out.

Simple steps to making you feel better and look better…just with one meal. So if you’re cooking for yourself this can become a good habit to follow, if you have other people who depend on your culinary talents, teach them how to cook so they have no excuses later on!

Thanks + ciao

Chef Bernard

Old Fashion Strawberry Shortcake’s

Ingredients:

2 qts, fresh strawberries rinsed and sliced – Reserve 6 whole strawberry for garnish  

1 cup sugar-divided

2 ¾ cups all purpose flour

4 t. baking powder

¾ cup butter chilled

2 large eggs

1 (8oz) container sour cream

1 T vanilla extract-divided

2 cups heavy cream

Procedure:

1. Toss pre sliced strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar, place in a sauce pan to warm over low heat 3-4 minutes, set aside
2. Combine in a sifter; flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder and sift into a bowl. Slice the butter into tablespoon size pieces and with a pastry cutter blend with the flour mix until crumbly
3. In another bowl stir together the eggs, sour cream, 1 t vanilla and combine with flour mixture until moisten
4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands about 10 times (mixture should be moist but tender to touch)
5. Form the dough into a 9” square and cut into 3” squares, place on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 450* oven for 12 minutes or until golden, remove and set aside to cool
6.  Combine heavy cream and vanilla in a chilled bowl and whip the mixture to soft peaks gradually adding the remaining sugar, then on to stiff peaks
7.  Split the short cakes in half horizontally, top each evenly with the strawberry mixture and a spoonful of whipped cream, cover with remaining top’s, garnish with fresh a strawberry and more whipped cream

Thanks + ciao Bernard

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/5-tricks-to-grill-your-way-to-better-health-1464885/

To give you some additional thoughts on grilling check out our 9 “how to” grilling videos.  Offered are ideas on everything from grilling vegetable’s, beef, poultry, seafood and desserts! They are complete with recipes.   

http://www.youtube.com/user/CookingwithBernard

So enjoy the long weekend, get creative and play it safe + smart. We love to hear what’s on your grilling menu.

Thanks Bernard

That was the theme of our “team building” cooking classes this week. We made a variety of recipes that balanced creativity, healthy eating and simple cuisine. I think the one that stood out most is the Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken Sausage.

So, for three consecutive days and one hour per day during their lunch time employees learned and tasted how to prepare some great recipes. The goal of this Boston based company was to provide there employees more ideas on eating better. Its one thing to work out but it’s another thing to nourish your body with the right fuel to get the job done! What we do, is provide the opportunity to demonstrate or work with individuals on “how to” make life in your kitchen easier. Fortunately some people understand and acknowledge the link between eating healthy and staying fit. One does help the other…the order of preference is personal…I think we need food first though! What’s your thought? How do you balance making a satisfying meal after a good workout? Share your thoughts, but first: try this recipe and grill some Fresh Chicken Sausage to go with it…Thanks Bernard

 Whole Wheat Pasta with Fresh Vegetables, Basil and Extra virgin Olive Oil                    Serves 4

Ingredients

  8 oz. Whole Wheat linguini

1 ea. medium Yellow squash, sliced julienne

1 ea. medium Zucchini, sliced julienne

1/2 cup sliced button Mushroom

1/2 cup Red onion, sliced julienne

1/2 ea. Red Pepper & Yellow Pepper, sliced julienne

2 cup fresh baby Spinach

1 T. fresh Basil, thin sliced

2 T. extra virgin Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to season

Procedure

1. Wash all the vegetables and prepare as suggested
2. In a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil
3. Add the pasta and return to a boil, cook for 6 mins.
4.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the pasta in the boiling water, then add the next 5 ingredients and stir
5. After 1 ½ minutes, reserve ½ cup of liquid, then drain the pasta and vegetable mixture, return to pot
6. Toss with the spinach, basil, ½ cup reserved liquid and 2 tablespoon of olive oil
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot

Serve with Roasted Chicken Breast, Sautéed Salmon or Grilled Chicken / Turkey Sausage

When I think of preparing Salmon multiple recipes run through my mind. The two best things other than the fact that Salmon is high in protein as well as a rich source of vitamin A, the B-group vitamins and Omega-3 oils, is that you can purchase it in most fresh markets. We can comment on who has the best, compare notes on fresh, frozen, wild or farm raise but what I like to do is grill Salmon. We can save those topics for another day or always feel free to input your comments and stir the pot! What I found best when grilling Salmon or most fresh fish is that you do not have to marinade them and if you do, keep it quick. A few points on grilling:

• Pre-heat your grill to a medium high temperature
• Lightly coat your fillet with some Olive oil, your favorite oil or a flavored oil
• Season with Salt and Pepper, then place the fillet SKIN SIDE UP on the grill or if it’s skinless just recall what side the skin was on (typically the flat side)
• Let it grill for 2 minutes before rotating the fillet to achieve “grill marks” on that same side, cook for 2 additional minutes  
• The fillet (if the grill is hot enough) should loosen easily with your spatula so you can turn it over
• This is the time you can brush on your favorite flavoring, EX: fresh cilantro pesto (is a favorite of mine) teriyaki glaze, maple, BBQ style and just plain is always safe.  
• Continue cooking for about 3 minutes or until desired internal temperature is reached

     The other best thing about Salmon is that it goes with anything!

INGREDIENTS:   Cilantro Pesto (a few added mint leaves are great too)

• 2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 t. vegetable oil
• ½ t. sugar
• 2 garlic cloves

PROCEDURE:

• In a food processor add the cilantro, soy sauce, black pepper, oil, ½ t. sugar, and garlic cloves blend well

Ciao!  Bernard