Food Wishes

The sauce for our pizza is also very simple. A fast and tasty base for whatever wonderfully creative toppings we decide to go with later. This is an important point. If you’re going to top the pizza with lots of spicy and/or salty ingredients, your sauce better be fairly basic. Regardless, this quick, homemade sauce will destroy any canned grocery store sauce, as well as most pizzerias. By the way, I’m giving away an ancient family secret in this clip, so pay attention, my Grandmother is watching from pizza sauce heaven! 1 can whole peeled tomatoes (28 oz) “San Marzano” if possible! 3 cloves garlic 2 tbl olive oil 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes salt to taste 1/2 tsp dried Italian herb mix (basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, etc.) 1/2 tsp dried oregano pinch sugar small pinch baking soda (shhh)

The soul of this dish is an incredibly rich, and deeply flavored, beef broth or “brodo.” This is accomplished by slowly simmering a beef shank for a long time, a really long time - like 4 hours, so if you’re in a hurry, this dish is not for you. But, if you want to enjoy a bowl of something that will warm you to the bone (or shank) then give this extremely simple soup a try. Ingredients: 1 beef shank (about 2 inch thick) 1 onion 3 cloves garlic olive oil 3 tbl tomato paste 1 quart beef broth plus 1 quart water 1 bunch kale 8 oz dried cheese tortellini salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste parmesan cheese to garnish

One of my favorite summer time food moments is that first perfectly sweet, ripe and juicy melon, wrapped with a thin slice of Prosciutto. This recipe is inspired by that same combination, only this time the cold sweet melon is being replaced by hot sweet prawns. I’ve seen this dish on many menus, but the prawns are usually wrapped with Pancetta (Italian bacon). I find that Prosciutto works so much better since it cooks, and crisps up faster, and allows for us to not over cook the prawn. The Pancetta is usually thicker and fattier and by the time it’s cooked through the prawns are overcooked, and have suffered severe “shrinkage.” Ingredients: 1 pound prawns, peeled and de-veined 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tbl orange or tangerine zest 2 tbl olive oil 8 thin slices of Prosciutto

It’s amazing how intimidated people are when it comes to making any kind of dough or bread at home. Hopefully this demo will cure that. By the way, I will add ingredients to all these clips so you can have the exact measurements. This is only really crucial for the dough. The sauce recipe and final pizza can be varied as you see fit. So, let’s get this Pizza party started right! The key to a great pizza dough is a moist, sticky dough. We only want enough flour to be able to work with the dough…too much flour will result in a dry, tough pizza. The “Sponge”: 2 teaspoons dry yeast 3/4 cup lukewarm water 2/3 cup bread flour The Rest of the Dry Ingredients: 4 cups unbleached white flour 1/4 cup rye flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup olive oil

This is one of the five “Mother Sauces.” In traditional culinary training, students first master these mother sauces and then use them to create literally hundreds of variations. Béchamel is the basic “white sauce” and is used in many popular dishes. I’ll admit, this is not the most thrilling lesson ever, but it is an important one as far as building a solid foundation of classic culinary skills. Ingredients: 1 quart milk 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 1/2 cup flour salt and cayenne pepper to taste 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 4 springs fresh thyme

Some things just go great together; chips and beer, warm bread and butter, Britney and K-Fed, and of course, Broccoli and Cheddar cheese sauce. As you’ll hear in the video this clip was inspired by watching people in grocery store lines buying tiny, expensive, and poor quality, frozen packages of broccoli and cheese sauce. Ingredients: 2 cups Béchamel sauce 24 oz. Broccoli florettes (about 4 heads trimmed) 8 oz Cheddar Cheese 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

This is one of those vegetable that you didn’t even know they had at your super market… but they do! It’s over by the turnips and rutabagas. They do very in size, but try to make the proportions in this dish about 50% potato to 50% celery root. The small splash of cream I added is optional of course, but the butter is a must! You know that I’m always telling you to use high-quality whole spices when possible, and the fresh nutmeg I grate on top of this earthy blend really makes the dish. Get some whole nutmeg, and a spice grinder, and see what the big deal is all about. Ingredients: 1 large celery root 2 russet potatoes 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup cream or milk fresh nutmeg salt and pepper to taste

Growing up, this open-faced sandwich was probably my favorite restaurant lunch item. I used to tag along with my father out on the golf course, and after the round he would take me to the clubhouse for lunch. I always ordered the same thing; the open-face New York steak sandwich. My favorite part was the way the toast would soak up all the wonderful juices, and hey, for a kid to eat a sandwich with a fork and a knife…that was quite a grown-up experience. Ingredients: 8 oz New York strip steak salt, black pepper, and paprika to taste 2 cloves garlic 2 tbl balsamic vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp ketchup 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/3 cup water 1 tsp butter 2 slice Italian bread

If you are afraid to cook fish, this is this demo for you! This has to be the easiest “gourmet” method for fish I’ve ever seen. This will work for any thin, flaky white fish fillets, but Sole is the traditional choice. We topped the fish with is a simple lemon, caper butter sauce. I will also demo this on the site and you would be well-served to learn this classic and versatile sauce.

The Aztecs invented guacamole, which they called “ahuaca-mulli” which just means “avocado mixture”. The Aztecs truly believed the avocado was an aphrodisiac, which didn’t hurt its popularity with the Spanish explorers. Ingredients: 2 finely chopped green onions (white parts) 1 finely chopped green jalapeno 1/2 bunch cilantro 1 teaspoon sea salt 3 large ripe avocados 1 lime 1 tbl olive oil pinch of cayenne

A savory, cold, silky smooth cauliflower flan-like custard topped with a glistening freshly shucked oyster, garnished with a large spoon of Ossetra caviar. It was amazing, as were the rest of the courses. This clip you are about to see it a sort of warm version of those same ingredients (except the caviar, but feel free to add). It’s also partly inspired by a very old fashioned soup, “oyster stew” which is simply oysters poached in milk or cream. Ingredients: 2 heads of cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds) 1 sliced shallot or 1/4 onion 2 clove garlic 2 tbl butter salt and pepper to taste fresh chervil 1 quart chicken stock 1/2 cup cream fresh shucked oysters seasoned flour (flour with salt, pepper, cayenne to taste) 3 whole eggs plain breadcrumbs vegetable oil for frying