Vadim Chiline's Creative Outings » Vadim Chiline – Awesome recipe from around the world; travel photography; and art

Parsley Veal Osso Bucco

Vadim — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:56:33 +0000

With the weather getting colder and colder, braised dishes are in season. Rustic flavors consisting of simple vegetables and classic herbs mixed with meats are great for that cold fall or winter evening. This version of Osso Bucco is from the new TV series on TV5, “Recettes de chefs” and comes from chef Geneviève Filion via Restaurant Le Bouchon in Sherbrooke, Quebec. It’s not tomato based as several other versions found online.

The beauty with most osso bucco recipes is that they don’t require much work or skill. They’re relatively easy, and sit in liquid for a while until done. Braising is a technique usually combines a dry and a wet part. Meat is seared at high heat, and then cooked for a long period of time in a certain quantity of liquid. Normally, fatty or low quality meats are used in braised dishes because the long cooking process breaks down the collagen/connective tissues found in tougher meats. For example, you wouldn’t use a tenderloin in a braised dish because it would become overly dry as it has little fat, and because it’s just muscle, there’s nothing to break down. Meats coming from shoulders, legs, or feet render which are normally cheap cuts do great. If they are cooked quickly, they are tough and sometimes fatty. Braised, they melt in the mouth, and the fat melts and helps flavor your dish even more.

I made the dish for my father-in-law’s birthday, Happy Birthday Gunther!

Ingredients

4 veal shanks of 250 g each
1 full garlic head, sliced in half
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 celery branches, roughly chopped
1 c red wine to deglaze
1 L veal stock
1 bouquet garni, see notes
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp, minced parsley

In a pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sear shanks 1 minute per side until golden.

Set aside shanks in oven pan, and toss carrots, celery and onion back into pan and stir for a few minutes until slightly browned.

Deglaze with red wine, bring to a boil and reduce a little.

Transfer vegetables with wine into roasting pan, add tomatoes, bouquet garni and veal stock.

Cover with aluminum paper and put into a 325 F oven for 2 hrs.

Transfer veal shanks to another dish and set aside. Pass the liquid into a sieve to get a clear “gravy” and discard vegetables. On stove-top, reduce liquid to a 1/4 or until thickened (30-60 minutes, depending on liquid left after above step). Serve atop shanks!

Note: If you can’t find veal shanks, any other shank can do (pork or beef).

Bouquet Garni: This is a classic French herb combination. In the recipe above, take one leak leave, wrap it around 3 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, a small bunch of parsley and a few peppercorns. Using kitchen twine, wind around the leak leave and knot it tight.

Recipe’s original chef:
Le Bouchon
107, rue Frontenac
Sherbrooke
819 566-0876
www.lebouchon.ca

Spicy Szechuan Eggplant

Vadim — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:19:04 +0000

When visiting my local Chinatown, I can’t resist ordering a pot of spicy eggplants. Served with rice, this dish is the essence of Szechuan cuisine. It is very flavorful combining a sauce called “hot bean paste” which is made up of soy beans and hot peppers it works amazingly well with the sauce ingredients – As a leftover, it’s great as well! I wouldn’t call this a classic dish, as most of my non-Asian friends aren’t very familiar with it, but it is a must-try dish. I do not recommend this dish for those who have issues with hot peppers, it can be on the hot side, though in the note at the bottom, I explain how you can calm its “hot temper”.

Ingredients

4 medium sized eggplants (500 g)
2 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 green onion stalks, minced
Minced pork, 250 g
2 tbsp Hot Bean Sauce
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dar soy sauce
1/2 C chicken stock
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine/Sherry
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp starch solution

Wash and slice eggplants into 1/2 inch slices.

Combine all sauce ingredients except cornstarch slurry in a bowl.

Fry eggplants in 1 tbsp oil on high heat until soft, set aside.

Heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium heat and add ginger, garlic, scallions and hot bean paste. Quickly stir for a few seconds and add ground pork. Cook until no just barely pink.

Put back the eggplants and add the sauce. Increase heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let it cook until liquid is reduced by half.

Prepare cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp cold water) and add slurry to skillet and stir until sauce has thickened. Transfer to a service bowl and serve with rice.

Note: This dish can be quite spicy and hot, you can increase the sauce ingredients, especially the chicken stock to reduce the heat found in the Hot Bean Sauce.

Korma or Karma? Chicken or Lamb? A Tasty Dish!

Vadim — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:25:03 +0000

I thought making some form of Korma dish would have brought me some good karma, but alas, it didn’t, though it was a fun dish to make. Korma is a dish found in Northern India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Brought to the region during the Muslim conquests, it’s a dish traditionally made up of meats braised in a liquid such as yogurt, creme, stock, etc. It is normally known as a mild curry outside of Southern Asian – hence this one isn’t going to burn your tonsils off (if ya still got ‘em). The spices normally found in the dish are coriander, cumin, and cardamom. The version I’m used to at my local restaurant is pretty thick, creamy, and has a coconut flavor incorporated – I’m thinking this is a little far removed from the original recipe – but hey, it’s quite good. The recipe I’m featuring here is a little of old and new – though it’s not the flavor I was trying to get form the local restaurant (because honestly, every chef has his or her secret ingredients and proportions).

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes
2 smallish onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1″ piece of ginger, peeled & chopped
250 ml yogurt (2% fat)
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3 green cardamom pods, crushed
2 curry leaves (subst. bay leaves)
2 tsp garam masala
4 tbp ground almonds
2 tsp salt, to taste
2 tbs of sugar, to taste
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup yellow raisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tbs vegetable oil (or ghee)

In a bowl, mix chicken, yogurt, half the ginger and garlic and let it marinate for at least 6 hrs (overnight is ideal)

In a food processor, combine onion, salt, the remaining garlic and ginger and blend until it’s smooth

In a saucepan, heat the oil on medium and add the onion mixture. Let it sizzle for a few seconds, stir. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes. Next, uncover and continue cooking for another 5 minutes stirring frequently

Incorporate tumeric, coriander, cumin, curry leaves and cook through, approx 3 minutes

Add chicken with marinade and cook for 10 minutes on medium, stirring from time to time

Add the coconut milk, bring back to a low boil followed by the addition of the ground almonds and garam masala

Let it simmer on low for 10 minutes before adding the raisins and sliced almonds. Continue simmering for
another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed (salt, sugar).

Note: This dish is often made with lamb or chicken. If your sauce is too thin, you can add additional ground almonds. Otherwise, a more westernized approach is to add thick cream. Service this with Basmati rice, or lovely fluffy naan bread.

Joshua Tree National Park – A Short Visit

Vadim — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:16:16 +0000

In late summer of 2010, I spent a few days at Joshua Tree National park, located in California, USA. Unfortunately for me, this is low season – I quickly learned why. With temps reaching 110+ F (43C+), and having spent the days before in the frigid pacific waters around Anacapa Island diving, my body wasn’t ready for the dramatic climate changes that occurred. Considering myself out-of-shape and slightly overweight, this limited my endurance under the intense heat while trekking. The cloudless days were merciless on me as I sipped water from my bottles forgetting the word “ration” in the meantime.

I did as best I could: The first night I attempted some star trails, but with a full moon in sight, it was almost like having a giant flashlight over the desert. This brings me to a lovely anecdote: I parked my car by the road and entered the desert with my backpack, tripod and camera. I hiked by moonlight, took a few images…. headed back to my car only to realize I left my backpack somewhere in the middle of nowhere. With a few thousand dollars of gear in it, I made my way back into the prickly desert searching for my lost treasure. Luckily for me, because the moon was a torch in the sky it was easy to spot my gear!

The subsequent days were filled with pure blue skies, with little to no cloud. Waking up later than desired, I must admit, I missed out on the golden light. I must stress this wasn’t a photo trip, but my last solo travel before becoming a dad – so I didn’t feel pressured to “get that shot”, though guilt took over quickly as I felt lazy lounging by the pool in my sad physical state…

I stayed at the 29 Palms Inn right next to the park entrance – Nice quiet place. The nights (and some parts of the dya) were spent in a little (stress on the word little) bungalow, called the Hyacinth, which was built in the late 20′s; it was no frills, but offered good rest and bare bones accommodations. The breakfasts were plain, but offered freshly made bread, jams, fruits, juices and coffee. Generally quite healthy choices. The pool was very quiet, low key in every way allowing for restful lounging while reading a book. The restaurant’s food we very nice, although the barmaid was ahem, different, was usually in no mood to serve much else than beer or simple mixed drinks, even hollering at me for ordering a complex drink one evening.

On my final day, the clouds finally appeared and though I was baked, I tried to head out for some more photos, I struggled with my energy but managed a couple of nice shots I think. Having to leave at 4:30AM the next morning the final sunset was sublime, yet I was already packing my bags and getting ready for early shut eye (drive to LA was to be ~4 hrs).

Here are some images during my short 3 day stay near the park.

Underwater @ Anacapa Island, California

Vadim — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:06:42 +0000

Anacapa Island, located just off the coast of California is a lovely dive spot for those seeking a VERY different experience than soft water or typical tropical diving. I had booked a three day charter to do 3-4 dives a day in frigid Pacific Ocean waters. That summer, the waters never really warmed-up and remained in the 53-54F “early spring” temperatures. Most of us were suited up in 7mm neoprene suits, though a lucky few were in dry suits (oh boy was I jealous). The cold took plenty of my energy, but even though the visibility was very poor because of rough waters in the week that preceded my arrival, I got in some wonderful dives with plenty of interesting underwater experiences.

For the charter, I booked with the CalBoat Diving crew. They were an awesome bunch of people – friendly, making great breakfasts and BBQs. I spent 3 nights on the boat sleeping in the depths of the Specter (so-named) boat – though cramped, was a great relief to sleep off those (what felt like) glacial dives. We ended the last dive with a dip in the onboard jacuzzi – getting back circulation in my extremities.

Anacapa is marine reserve that encompasses several islands and many different marine landscapes allowing for a very diverse diving experience. Some areas featured the renown 60+ ft kelp forests that appear to meander into the depths below, and some were near desert like with simply urchin by the bucket load scattered randomly across the seascape. On one dive we visited an area with thousands upon thousands of brittle stars – yellow starfish with very long bristled arms – truly an amazing sight.

On another dive I came across a handful of giant Sea Bass (at a depth of around 55 ft, 16.5 m) – these creatures can measure over 8′ (2.5 m) and a weight up to 560 lbs (255 kg) – quite memorable as they just appeared out of nowhere (again visibility was perhaps a generous 20 ft (6 m).

Finally, perhaps the most amazing thing of it all was my first encounter with an extremely small sea dweller, the nudibranch. This is a gastropod that is shell-less. There are over 3,000 species out there. What is remarkable is not only their tiny size (generally smaller than a human pinky finger) but their incredible coloration. They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Polka dots? Sure! Stripes” Yep! Squiggles? Uh huh, those too!

All-in-all, you should try to make some time to dive California, it will be an unforgettable experience.

Cantonese Chow Mein – The making of a classic dish

Vadim — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:48:38 +0000

Cantonese Chow Mein is probably one of the most synonymous Chinese “take-out” dishes outside of Fried Rice and General Tao chicken here in North America. It differs slightly across the Americas, but generally consists of pork, chicken, some seafood (shrimps) alongside various veggies such as celery, Chinese cabbage, water chestnuts – all this served on top of a crispy bed of fried egg noddles.

A key to this recipe is when you will fry your noodles is to let the oil in your wok (ideally) to smoke. This is what they call “Wok hay”, which is something generally hard to reproduce at home (woks in most asian restaurants are made on high powered gas stoves) – it imparts a distinct flavor, a little “smokey” if I can call it that. You will want your noodles to be a little golden and almost burnt (but not charcoal black obviously).

Without further chat, here’s the recipe to this “instant classic” as my first blog post. I hope you like it – I sure do!

Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts
10-12 medium Shrimps, shelled
1 lb BBQ Pork, optional, sliced
1/2 lb fresh chow mein egg
noodles
2 ribs of celery
1 pound bean sprouts
1/2 pack sweet peas
1 carrot, thinly sliced into 1/4”
1 Red bell pepper, diced into 1”

pieces

1/2 onion, sliced in 1/4
Cooking oil
Sesame seeds (optional)

Marinade

1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Soy Sauce
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp cornstarch into 4 tbsp water

Cut chicken in strips. Add marinade ingredients, adding cornstarch last. Marinade the chicken for 20-30 minutes.

The next 3 steps can be done while marinating the chicken: Prepare the sauce by wisking the chicken broth with oyster and soy sauce. Add salt & pepper, add cornstarch last. Clean all vegetables, cut into desired bite-sized pieces.Soften the noodles in boiling water (1 min), and drain under cold water to stop cooking. Drain properly.

Heat wok over medium-to-high heat, add 2-3 tbsp of oil. When hot, add the noodles in batches to get them crispy. If needed, fry in batches until golden. Remove and set aside in serving plate and get warm.

Heat 2 more tbsp oil. Add onions and meat. Let the meat brown, then stir-fry until all redness is gone and meat is nearly cooked through. Add shrimps. When shrimps are red and cooked, remove cooked all items and set aside.

Cook the rest of the vegetables. Give the sauce a quick stir in the bowl, add all the set-aside ingredients (except noodles) into the wok, make a little “well” in the middle of the wok and pour in sauce. Stir quickly for mixture to thicken. Mix
everything together until desired thickness is achieved.

Serve on top of noodles, add sesame seeds to garnish…

Note: BBQ Pork is available in Chinatown and often on display in the storefront. Ask them to cut it into pieces for you. With some practice, you should be able to cook everything without setting aside the meat.

Food – Photography – Music & More….

Vadim — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:16:31 +0000

Well, I’ve finally decided to create my own blog – a different path from the one I run at my company dealing with studio photography, specifically, jewellery photography. I’ve been wanting to share online with friends and others some of my other “enjoyments” in life. This blog’s going to be featuring plenty of food, photography, some music, and other forms of creative artistic articles that I would like to share with you all.

I’ve wanted to create this site about a year ago, unfortunately, my domain name expired and I wasn’t aware (the site was dormant) – some overseas company bought and squatted my domain name hoping to generate some revenue (ha… was a dead site guys!). In any case, I’ve patiently waited for the domain to expire once more and got my Visa card out and bought it again!

So anyways, hope you will enjoy the contents while giving me feedback – sharing some of my passions with the world at large! If you want to know more about me, just click above to read a little….

Vadim