Daily Loaf

Sushi Rice

Sushi, like most Japanese things, is made using exact skill and precision. But don’t let this scare you from making your own at home. In this recipe I outline the exact steps to achieve proper sushi rice using a rice cooker. I suggest that you purchase one of these handy kitchen appliances if you don’t already have one. They can be had for a minimal price — mine cost about $12 and can cook 6 cups of rice at a time.

It is important before you begin that you start out with the correct type of rice, whether short grain sushi rice or Calrose rice. Other types will not work as well, and some won’t work at all.

You can also make your life easier by purchasing “seasoned” rice wine vinegar, which includes the salt and the sugar already mixed in.

Yield: With this recipe you should be able to get about 3-4 sushi maki rolls out of one cup of rice.

Ingredients: Read the rest of this entry »

Chef's Special Congee

As a chef, you’re only as good as your last meal. And for most of us, the memory of a bad meal tends to stick around a lot longer than the typical experience. I can describe to you every single detail of a terrible dinner that I had two years ago, but I probably couldn’t tell you what I had for lunch last Monday.

I sometimes wonder why the memory of a bad meal has such an effect on me, and two thoughts come to mind. One: Every meal is an event. It’s a small celebration of the carnal pleasures of life and it’s something I look forward to. So when I am served a bad meal, it feels like someone robbed me. And when someone is robbing you, you want to remember every single detail so you have a good description to give the police. Two: I’m generally more irritable when I’m hungry!
As a chef, I know that it’s impossible to serve impeccable, perfect food. But I also know what the standards should be, and I’m not afraid to call a chef out on a bad outing. Is this article bad karma? Maybe. But I figure if some day someone writes a bad review about my food, I probably deserved it.

Chef’s Special Congee:
It’s ironic that my first article in the “worst meals” series is written about one of my favorite restaurants Read the rest of this entry »

Yield: 10-16 portions

Ingredients:
French baguette or any long bread
1 jar of store-bought basil pesto (or use this recipe)
Fresh basil leaves
2-3 Roma tomatoes
4 – 8 bocconcini mozzarella cheese balls
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Prepare the following and set aside:
- Slice the tomatoes
- Slice the mozzarella
- Slice the bread on an angle
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Spread a small amount of basil pesto onto each slice of bread and place on baking sheet.

3. Put a slice of tomato, basil leaf and cheese onto each slice of bread.

4. Roast the bruschettas in the oven for 7-10 minutes until cheese melts. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe by: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

Yield: 4 Portions

Ingredients:
Fresh basil leaves
4 tomatoes
4 large balls of buffalo mozzarella cheese, or several smaller balls of bocconcini cheese
2 cups of extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup of your favorite vinegar
1 tablespoon of grain or dijon mustard
Salt and pepper Read the rest of this entry »

Fondue is a great method of cooking, especially if your goal is to entertain your guests! There are several ways to make fondue, and there are many different ingredients that one could use. I will be giving you a basic recipe utilizing colby jack cheese and dark beer. However, you can experiment with many different cheeses, and many different bases (wine, beer, stock, etc). It’s important to note that different cheeses will give you different tastes and textures. Some may even split, ball-up, or become really stringy.

To fix a fondue that is too stringy, you can add a few squirts of lemon or lime. Although this may not eliminate the stringiness altogether, it may cut it down. If your cheese splits or balls up (there is liquid and cheese separately) you can sprinkle in some corn starch a little at a time while mixing, until your mixture comes together again. I actually make a habit of coating the cheese in a bit of corn starch before starting the cooking process.

Recipe after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

I walked into the seafood store the other day to pick up some salmon and tuna for sushi. I can spend hours just looking at fish, whether it be at the pet store, at the aquarium, fishing magazines or when I’m fishing or snorkeling in the ocean. This interest has come in very handy in my career as a chef in getting to know the who’s-who list of fish. The fish monger, however, is not as enthusiastic as I am, and usually becomes quite impatient with my loitering.

I spotted some familiar looking white fish fillets next to the salmon being sold as “swai filets”.  I smiled to myself and wondered, “How many more names can this fish possibly have?” I recognized the fish as basa right away, and asked the fish monger (for my own amusement) to tell me about this fish. Instantly he went on a sales pitch about this new, rare and delicate fish from Australia called swai ,and suggested that (at $5.95 per pound – dirt cheap by Floridian seafood prices – but expensive for what it is) I must try it. I then remarked how “I can get these basa filets in Toronto for $1.99 per pound!” He sunk down for a few moments and then confessed, like every contraband dealer eventually does!

No matter what it is called, this is a white, almost odorless, firm-fleshed fish. It is a beautiful fish to cook with, as its firm flesh holds together well but is yet delicate enough to incorporate into fine recipes. You can fry it, broil it, batter it, poach it, and incorporate it into rice dishes (such as paella), sauces and soups.

Most of it comes from fish farms and rivers in Vietnam, although recently it’s coming from Australia too. But this is the type of fish that I would rather expect to find at a knock-off market in Hong Kong next to the fake Gucci wallets and Armani suits. It is a fish that, due to its wide versatility in texture and taste, can and has been passed off as many other fish and goes by several different names.

I have personally bought this fish as basa, smooth dory, swai, catfish, vietnamese catfish, and pangasius. And I have been the knowing victim of chefs trying to pass it off as snapper, bass, and black cod. I’m sure it goes out in restaurants all over the world, dressed in many different costumes by many different names. It’s the quality of this knock-off that is its saving grace.

When first introduced into the American market, basa threatened to put the catfish industry out of business by being sold as “catfish” to unsuspecting buyers. If the American fish industry hadn’t fought back so swiftly and sternly to boycott the sale of basa as “catfish”, I’m sure they would have been finished. To tell you the truth, I would rather eat a mild tasting, fried basa filet any day than a stringy, mud flavored catfish filet! But I guess you have to defend your local crop – don’t get me started on the blunders we have committed to keep the American corn farmers in business (high fructose corn syrup and ethanol but to name a couple).

In short, I am actually very much a fan of Basa. Not only because of the exciting, undercover, knock-off life it lives, but also because when push comes to shove, its quality is superior to many other fish worth two or three times as much.

So the next time you’re in your local fish store, give basa a try. You won’t be disappointed!

By Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

What do I do with this avocado?

You were walking down the produce aisle and spotted a mob of people busily squeezing a case of avocados. So naturally, you got in there and started squeezing some yourself. You noticed that some were rock-hard, and you put them back. Others were way too soft and smelled a little rank. Those went back too.

But this one, oh yes, this one! Glorious leathery skin, nice heavy weight, and its semi-soft flesh gave in reluctantly to your gentle squeeze. So you whisked it away and gave it a good home on your kitchen table. Now what? Read the rest of this entry »

The sushi chef has prepared a beautiful plate of salmon sashimi (raw sliced salmon). Trusting its quality and freshness, you dab a little wasabi on it, dip it in the soy sauce and toss it back. The buttery flavor melts in your mouth and, after $50 worth of sushi, you realize once again that you’ve had way too much! Did you ever stop to think where that salmon came from?

Now picture yourself walking through the fresh wilderness of British Columbia. You come to stand on a pile of mossy rocks. Behind you stands a forest of tall pines hiding in the mist, and before you is the cold Pacific Ocean. You take a deep breath of fresh air and think, “Man, this is nature at it’s best!” You walk along the rocky shore and spot one of British Columbia’s salmon farms off in the distance. You go in for a close look expecting to find salmon swimming busily about in their natural habitat. Instead, you find out something not-so-natural. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing is more entertaining at a social gathering than paying close attention while someone divulges previously unknown facts about a certain subject. We’ve all gathered around in a circle to hear what our suit jacket has in common with the space station, and how the shoes you’re wearing can help provide energy for a small town in Africa. And although I don’t plan on sharing those particular tidbits with you, here are five things about food that you can enlighten your friends with at your next gathering.

Why is beef tenderloin so tender?
Any butcher will tell you that the most used muscles turn into the toughest cuts of beef. By that same token, the least used in an animal will yield the softest cut. Both cows and bulls have tenderloin muscles, used by bulls to mount the cow during mating. Since cows are female they obviously don’t mount anything, so that muscle remains virtually unused, making it the softest muscle and providing you with delicious, tender steaks.

What does ‘No MSG’ really mean? Read the rest of this entry »

When I find fresh seafood, the first word that comes to my mind is paella. This dish brings back childhood memories, and after all these years it’s still one of those foods that I find exciting to cook and delicious to eat.

Paella is a baked (or charcoal-simmered) rice dish typical of Spain. The basic paella would be a white rice simmered in saffron-infused stock, sauteed onions and peppers. From this versatile base people concocted  all sorts of variations. You can add everything from chicken wings to the classic mixture of fish and shellfish to this dish.

In this recipe, I used fresh seafood as the main ingredient. I was out of white rice one day and decided to use jasmine rice instead. To my surprise, it turned out to be a fantastic combination of scents and flavor. Read the rest of this entry »

Risotto is like a white canvas. It’s a creamy and satisfying base which allows itself to be painted by a chef’s imagination. It’s not something I like to have too often, but it’s certainly a dish I look forward to making. And each time, I like to re-create it, as I would a painting, with a new combination of ingredients. Dried mushrooms develop an unmistakable earthy flavor which I think is perfect for flavoring a creamy risotto. In this one I added a creamy, garlicky boursin cheese just before serving it!

Risotto cookery is not hard – but you do have to follow a few rules. 1) You must use a very starchy rice (arborio) that will develop that typical creaminess that risotto is renowned for. 2) Don’t walk away from your risotto. You must be able to stay with it through the cooking process. Those of you with commitment issues might want to try an easier dish! 3) Risotto should be served immediately for best texture. I wouldn’t serve a risotto to guests that is older than 15-20 minutes. (although I have found that microwaving the next day with a little water, does bring it back a lot of its creaminess… but don’t tell anyone!)

Recipe after the break: Read the rest of this entry »