Parfait of Strawberries and Blackberries with Homemade Whipped Cream and Zabayon Sauce

Tonight was the first official night that Bistro 331 hosted a dinner party, I think I'm going to make this a ritual (attendees must be a follower of the blog). I personally would like to thank all my guests, especially the one that did the dishes, for coming over and hanging out. I prepared a 4 course meal that included spicy cucumber salad, tom yum soup with shrimp and scallops, pad kapow gai (basil chicken), and a parfait of strawberries and blackberries. Unfortunately I was so busy cooking and hosting that I was unable to photograph and therefore write any recipes down. However, if you're interested in any of these recipes feel free to write a comment or send me an email and I'll be more than happy to send you the recipes. Actually, I was fortunate enough to capture a photograph of our dessert and the recipe is pretty simple.

Parfait of strawberries and blackberries

Ingredients:

1 pint strawberries (cut into small 1/4 inch pieces)
1 pint blackberries
4 sprigs basil (finely chopped)
1 pint heavy cream (for whipped cream)
1/2 cup heavy cream (for zabayon)
4 egg yokes
3 tablespoon powdered sugar (for the whipped cream)
2 tablespoon powdered sugar (for the zabayon)

Directions:

Whipped cream -

Add heavy whipping cream to a large bowl, preferably stainless steel. Add 3 tablespoons (or more) confectionist/powdered sugar and whisk until stiff peaks are formed.

Zabayon -

Over a double boiler add egg yokes and 2 tablespoons (or more) confectionist/powdered sugar and whisk until mixture becomes frothy. Slowly add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and continue whisking over double boiler (never stop whisking otherwise you might end up with scramble eggs). Continue whisking entire mixture until it thickens (the mixture is ready when you can create ribbon drippings).

Creating the parfait -

You can layer the parfait anyway you like to. I like to add a layer of whipped cream or zabayon between the fruits. For the one picture above I started with strawberries, then I added the whipped cream (for easier application, use a piping bag or zip lock bag with the tip of one corner cut) then basil, and then a layer of blackberries. I continued this process until I got to the middle of the parfait, instead of adding whipped cream I added the zabayon instead (I tried not to use too much of this because it's really rich and a little heavy).

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Cilantro Garlic Aioli Dip/Spread

This was my 1st attempt in trying to recreate the aioli from my Miami trip. I've been too lazy to try to find some cassava (yucca) root to fry so I decided to make a flaky pastry bowl instead. To those of you who went on the trip with me, I know...it's a lot greener than it was at the restaurant. I might have been a little heavy handed on the cilantro. I should also tell you that the flaky pastry attempt wasn't so successful either, well, halfway successful at least. It was definitely flaky but it was also very dense. Just goes to show on test kitchen days at Bistro 331 not all goes well all the time. I'll spare you the details on making the pastry and concentrate on the aioli instead.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon crushed mustard seeds
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup loosely packed cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except oil into food processor. Process all of the ingredients for about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle oil with processor on slow speed. Continue until all of the oil has been added to the mixture. Continue processing for another 15 seconds after. You can serve this right away with some flat bread, chips, fried yucca or even french fries. If you want it to thicken a little bit, let mixture chill in the refrigerator for about an hour or so.

I'll try to recreate this again one day and maybe i'll get the color, texture, and flavor on point.

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Greek Salad

I think my last post was lost in the blogger blackhole. It's always fun to repost stuff... Anyway, I'm still looking to lose some of the vacation weight I gained. With tons of fresh produce on hand I decided to make a variation of a Greek salad.

Ingredients:

6-8 Romain lettuce hearts (roughly chopped)
1/2 Roma tomato (quartered)
5 sprigs cilantro (roughly chopped)
Handful of bean sprouts
Several pieces of crumbled goat cheese
8 thinly sliced cucumbers
Sprinkle of kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper
6 shrimp (boiled and peeled)
2 pepperoncini peppers
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 juice of lemon

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well. Drizzle olive oil and add lemon juice. Add salt and pepper and serve.

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Egg Rolls

Finally, back from my vacation. I'll be testing out some new Cuban dishes soon, hopefully. After being stuck in traffic forever yesterday, I didn't have the energy to do any grocery shopping until today. I finally have a fully stocked refrigerator again with fresh produce. So instead of just making egg rolls, I'll be wrapping mine in fresh veggies too. I know everyone and their mom has a recipe for egg rolls, and everyone puts different ingredients in their egg rolls. But this isn't just any egg roll recipe, this is the same recipe I used for my grandmother's wake/funeral earlier this year (thanks to some of my family members that helped me roll those egg rolls, since we made 500 of them) and from the feedback I received back then, I think this will be a hit amongst your friends and family as well.

Ingredients:

1-2 packages frozen spring roll wrappers (25 per pack)

2 servings bean thread (glass) noodles

1 cup finely chopped woodear mushrooms (reconstituted if dry)

1 medium yellow onion (finely diced)

2 cups finely chopped cabbage

1 lbs ground pork

1/2 tablespoon salt (kosher)

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup hoison sauce

2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1 egg (beaten)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well. Apply 1 large spoonful of filling on 1 sheet of spring roll wrapper. Apply a dab of egg on top corner off wrapper. Begin to roll contents and fold from the sides 1/4 of the way there and then fold sides in and continue rolling until you get to the very end and seal with egg wash. Continue until filling is completely gone, this will yield approximately 25-35 egg rolls.

In a deep saucepan or deep fryer bring oil temperature to 350°. Add egg rolls and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until egg rolls begin to float.

The dipping sauce below is a variation of the Vietnamese "nuoc cham" and the Laotian "jeow som vahn". This is a very versatile sauce that can be used for other applications as well, so when you make it make a lot of it! I love this with fish, pork and chicken. It also goes great on top of rice.

Dipping sauce ingredients:

1 cup sugar

4 garlic cloves

3 chili peppers

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoon fish sauce

4 cup water

2 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Directions:

In a mortar and pestle, add garlic, chili peppers and salt. Pound into paste. In a sauce pan add sugar on medium high heat. Wait for sugar to caramelize (do not burn) to light-medium brown color, then add water. Bring to a boil until sugar completely dissolves (this will reduce down to about 3 cups. Let caramelize simple syrup cool at least 10-15 minutes, then add paste mixture and stir.

Note:

You can also add rooster brand chili garlic sauce and pickled carrots for extra depth in flavor and texture.

The above left plate contains:  Romain lettuce, pickled daikon, pickled carrots, Roma tomatoes, bean sprouts, cilantro, scallions, and cucumbers. Normally I would have vermicelli noodles as well, but I'm trying to to add any more carbs to this dish.

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