The Official Chef Robert Irvine Blog

There is a curiosity deep inside every cook that is fascinated by the relationship between food and fire. Scratch any one of us with a roasting fork and you’ll find a culinary pyromaniac waiting to break free. It’s hard to be around a blazing open fire without wanting to spear what’s for dinner with a sharpened stick and set to charring and caramelizing the outside to smoky sweetness, roasting the inside to tender and moist perfection, the whole while listening to the music of its juices popping and dancing in the flickering flames.

Ask any backyard barbecue rôtisseur; food tastes better with fire. The first great encounter I had with fire on Dinner: Impossible was in Colonial Williamsburg, when we cooked in brick fireplaces over great, crackling wood cooking fires.

The second really amazing flammable experience was cooking for the “king” of the Maryland Renaissance Faire. Up to that point, we’d flirted with fire a few times, whilst grilling at our tailgate party, cooking for cowboys out on the open range and with my little bonfire on a “deserted” island in the Bahamas.

But when we dialed up the “way back machine” for the Middle Ages, we got right to the heart of the matter. Mastery of fire was a prerequisite for the medieval cook and if you wanted to get the feast on the table (and avoid spending time in the dungeons) you had to possess a very profound understanding of fire, your only practical source of heat, and have an innate skill at controlling it.

You can’t just take a haunch of venison and stick it into a blaze. You have to know what parts of the fire are hotter than others, how and when to avail oneself of the power of “orange” versus “blue” flames; when to slowly heat over smoldering embers versus braising over glowing embers. You have to know your product, know that venison is leaner than beef or pork and that fowl and poultry are the leanest of all. You have to be a prudent judge of when to take advantage of the juices inherent in the foods you are roasting and when to baste and how; when to baste in butter, when to use a goodly flagon of wine. You have to know when to use direct heat, when to use indirect. Early ovens, which reflected the heat from wood firs off of their interior walls, allowed for the baking of incredible breads. The boules we made that day were right up there with the best bread I’ve had out of a bakery. The crust thumped beautifully, the insides were lacy and steamy and flaky. Being out in the fresh air sharpens your senses of smell and taste, both so critical to good cooking. Real fire can unleash your creativity and your own inner cooking fires in a way that modern stoves and microwave ovens never will.

Plus, you look almost always look cooler cooking with fire, even wearing a kilt. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe you look even cooler with a kilt. Yes, definitely go and get a kilt; just be wary of sudden crosswinds. These recipes have been adapted from our experience in the distant past, so you can do them in your home kitchen. But don’t let me stop you grabbing an ax, chopping some wood and having some fun with combustion.

Accompaniment: Bread

FRESH BAKED BOULES
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 2 boules

Ingredients:
1½ cups warm water, between 100 and 115 degrees F, as measured with a candy
thermometer (yeast is an organic leavener and any hotter than this will kill the yeast;
conversely, if the water is too cool, the yeast won’t be activated)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ¼-ounce packet fresh fast-acting yeast (1 tablespoon)
4 cups all purpose flour, plus some extra to knead the dough
¼ cup melted butter

Method:
Dissolve the salt, sugar, and yeast in the warm water and allow the yeast to proof. (“Proofing” the yeast is testing it for viability. It will develop a foam which looks like the head of a beer. If it doesn’t proof, the yeast is dead and should be discarded.) Proofing takes about 15 to 30 minutes. Place the flour in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, and through the feed tube with the food processor running, slowly pour the proofed yeast mixture, until the dough comes together and is a cohesive mass. Transfer the dough to a floured board, and knead for about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and allow the dough to rise, so that it roughly doubles in volume. (This will take about 30 minutes to an hour). The dough has risen enough if it does not spring back when you make an indentation with your finger.) Punch the dough down and allow it to rise again. (Allowing the dough to rise a second time gives it a finer texture.) Note: It will not rise as much the second time.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Divide the dough in half, and transfer half to a floured board, keeping the balance covered with the towel. Shape the dough into a circle by pulling from the side and pushing the dough under and up from the bottom to form a dome, rotating it to make it circular. Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat for each section of dough. Grease a round cake pan for each loaf and transfer dough to the pans. (This shape will keep the dough from flattening out while it bakes.) Brush with melted butter and bake until the crust is golden brown and crispy and until the bread sounds hollow when tapped, approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and serve warm or room temperature with butter.

Appetizer: Soup

LEONARDO’S MONA LEEK SOUP
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
6 ounces bacon, chopped (about 6 to 12 strips depending on their thickness)
12 leeks, white and tender green parts only, soaked and agitated several times in salt water to remove grit, and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced (from about 1 or 2 large sprigs thyme)
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock (in the episode we used pheasant and turkey stock because we had trimmings from other dishes which we didn’t want to waste)
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) butter, cut into chunks
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives

Method:
In a deep stockpot, brown the bacon until crispy. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour any excess fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Sauté the leeks, celery, thyme, and bay leaf in the remaining bacon fat until the vegetables start to soften. Gradually add the chicken stock, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer for about 30 minutes, then remove the bay leaf and blend the vegetables right in the pot with an immersion blender. (Remember for safety reasons to immerse the “business end” of the immersion blender in the liquid and keep it there while it is running, or you will have a hot spattered mess on your hands.)

Create a beurre manié (reverse roux) by blending the butter and flour together until they look like coarse crumbs. (Flour molecules would normally clump together in a hot liquid. This combination of butter and flour works to thicken already cooked sauces without making them lumpy.) Add this to the soup and blend again until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and serve in crocks or bowls, garnished with chopped chives.

Entrée: Beef

MUCH ADO ABOUT MUSHROOM BEEF STEAKS POACHED IN ALE
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon for the confit and 4 tablespoons, cut into chunks to finish the
sauce)
3 tablespoons olive oil (1 tablespoon for the mushroom confit, 2 tablespoons to sear the steaks)
2 large red onions, diced
2 cups (about 6 to 8 ounces) small button mushrooms, cleaned trimmed and sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 pounds top round steak, cut into 6 portions, seasoned with salt and pepper and
tenderized with a meat mallet
4 twelve-ounce bottles ale such as Samuel Adams Boston Lager (enough to immerse the steaks)
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Method:
To make the mushroom confit, melt the butter in one tablespoon of the oil over medium high heat in a large sauté pan, reserving the other tablespoon of oil. Sauté the onions in the pan until they begin to turn translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook them until they give up their juices, about 5 to 8 minutes. Lower the heat and cook until the mixture caramelizes, then season with salt and pepper to taste and remove to a bowl, reserving the pan. Cover the mushroom mixture and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the other tablespoon of oil over medium high heat and sear the steaks about 2 minutes each side. Reduce the heat to low and add the ale. Maintain the ale at a simmer - just below boiling - and cook uncovered until fork tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the steak to a carving board to rest while you complete the sauce. Increase the heat under the skillet to high to allow the ale to reduce by two-thirds, about 5 minutes. (Be careful to monitor it so it doesn’t burn.) Season the reduction to taste with salt and pepper, cover, and remove from the heat.

Slice the steak into thin slices and arrange on a platter. Re-heat the ale reduction just before service, remove from heat and gradually whisk in the cubed butter allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.

Presentation:
Spoon the mushroom-onion confit over the sliced steak and spoon the sauce over and around. Sprinkle with parsley.

Entrée: Venison

THE MERCHANT OF VENISON CHOPS
WITH RED WINE MUSHROOM SAUCE & BULGUR PORRIDGE

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients for venison chops:
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
3 star anise
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
6 six-to-seven ounce venison chops
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/8 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Ingredients for sauce:
2 shallots, minced
2 cups white mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1 bottle dry red wine (750 mL)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for bulgur porridge:
1 cup bulgur (because it is pre-steamed, it can be soaked in boiling water to make it meal-ready)
½ teaspoon salt

Method:
Spread the juniper berries, coriander seeds, star anise, and peppercorns over a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes.

Rinse the venison chops and pat dry with paper towels. In a coffee grinder dedicated to spices or with a mortar and pestle, grind the roasted spices and salt together into a powder. Rub all sides of the chops with the spice mixture. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large sauté pan (one that is deep enough to accommodate the chops and sauce) and sear the chops, leaving each side undisturbed for 2 minutes to allow the spices to integrate into the surface of the meat. Remove the chops to a utility platter.

In the same pan, sauté the shallots over medium high heat until they turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they give up their juices, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and let cook for about 5 minutes. Then reduce heat to medium low, return the chops to the pan, cover, and let cook until the chops are tender, about 35 minutes.

While the chops are cooking and the sauce is reducing, prepare the bulgur porridge which was traditionally served with venison as a digestive aid. Because it is pre-steamed, it can be soaked in boiling water to make it meal-ready. Put bulgur and salt in a mixing bowl. Add 2 ½ cups boiling water, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

Transfer the chops to a platter and increase the heat under the pan of mushrooms and sauce to high and allow to reduce by two-thirds. Season this sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, place ½ cup of bulgur porridge in the middle of each serving plate. Top with a venison chop and spoon mushrooms and sauce over and around. Sprinkle with parsley.

Entrée: Game/Fowl

PHEASANT WITH CRANBERRY HONEY
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup raw bacon, chopped (about ½ pound or 6 to 8 slices, depending on thickness)
3 two-to-three pound pheasant, separated into legs, breasts, and thighs
1 cup dry red wine
1 pound pearl onions, blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water and skins slipped off
1 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Salt, to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
¼ cup honey
¼ cup sour cream
6 small sprigs fresh mint, for garnish

Method:
Render the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pheasant parts and sear them on all sides. (Pheasant tends to be dry, so it will be left to cook with the bacon fat and the excess fat will be removed later.) Add the red wine and onions to the pot. Sprinkle cracked pepper, bay leaves, tarragon, salt and mint over pheasant parts. Reduce the heat to low and cover pot. Cook until tender and juices run clear (no longer pink), about 25 minutes. Remove the pheasant carefully to a utility platter, cover and set aside to keep warm. Transfer the liquids from the pot to a glass container (such as a 2 or 3 cup Pyrex measuring vessel) and allow the layer of fat to rise to the top. Spoon or pour off most of the fat and return the rest of the juices, herbs, bacon and onions to the pot over medium heat. Add the cranberries to the sauce and cook until the berries pop to make a rustic sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat, discard bay leaves, and whisk in the honey and sour cream.

Arrange the pheasant on serving dish, spoon sauce over, and garnish with mint.

Entrée: Game/Fowl

QUEEN’S CHOICE QUAIL WITH FIG AND DATE SAUCE
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 servings of 2 quail each

Ingredients for quail and marinade:
2 fresh limes
8 whole quail (these are normally between 4 and 8 ounces each)
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for fig and date sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 cup dry red wine
8 fresh figs, chopped
8 dates, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/8 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Ingredients for the rub for the quail:
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons salt

Method for marinating the quail:
Early in the day, place the limes in s small bowl and microwave them for about 3 minutes to release the essential oils. Set aside briefly until they are just cool enough to handle. Rinse the quail and dry with paper towels. Set the quail in a non-reactive bowl and squeeze the lime juice over, and then season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Let sit refrigerated for about 3 or 4 hours.

Method for the sauce:
While the quail are marinating, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a medium sauté pan and sauté the shallots until translucent. De-glaze the pan with the red wine, and stir in figs and dates and let sauce reduce by half. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper as needed. Cover and set aside until needed.

Method to cook the marinated quail:
On the episode, the quail were roasted over a spit. If you have a rotisserie arrangement you can roast them that way. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil with the rosemary, thyme, and salt, and rub it over surface of the quail. Roast the quail until tender but still juicy, about 20 minutes. Remove the quail to a serving platter and let rest.

Presentation:
Re-heat the fig and date sauce and spoon it over the quail. Sprinkle with parsley.

Entrée: Rabbit

SPICE ROASTED RENAISSANCE RABBIT
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 pinch saffron
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
3 pounds rabbit, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

Method:
In a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices or with a mortar and pestle, grind together the mace, peppercorns, saffron, cloves, and salt. Rub into the rabbit meat and let sit refrigerated for 2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roast the rabbit covered until fork tender, about 35 to 45 minutes, removing the cover in the last 10 minutes of roasting time. Remove from the oven and let rest. Serve garnished with minced chives.

Entrée: Fish

SWORDFISH WITH CITRUS SALADE “VERONIQUE”
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients for citrus salad:
1 pomegranate, end sliced off, scored and fruits released into a bowl
2 fresh oranges, peeled and segmented
1 ½ cups fresh seedless grapes
1 fresh lime, zest grated off and juiced
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, finely minced

Ingredients for swordfish and lemon butter sauce:
3 fresh lemons, zest grated off and juiced
2 tablespoons lemon pepper
6 six-to-eight ounce swordfish steaks
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) butter (¼ cup for sautéing and 1/8 cup cubed for a lemon butter sauce)

Method for the salad:
For the salad, combine pomegranate, oranges, grapes, lime zest, lime juice, and mint leaves. Set aside briefly.

Method for the swordfish:
In a small bowl, make a paste with the ½ cup of the lemon juice (reserving the rest – about ¼ cup - for a lemon-butter sauce), lemon zest, and lemon pepper. Season the swordfish steaks with salt and press some of the lemon paste into the top surface of the fish to make a crust on each. Over medium heat in a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and melt the ¼ cup of the butter in it, reserving the rest of the butter. Starting with the crust side down first, sear the swordfish steaks. (It is important to leave the fish undisturbed for about 3 minutes for the seasonings to integrate into the surface of the fish and for the caramelization process to begin. This will prevent the layer of seasonings from “crusting off.”) Then, flip the fish and sear the other side. Swordfish must be cooked briefly because it easily dries out. Remove fish to a utility platter and let rest. (The fish will continue to cook even when it is removed from the heat because of a process known as “carryover” cooking. It is especially important to be mindful of this with swordfish. Do not overcook the fish. If you cook this fish in the pan until it “looks” done – it will end up being overdone after carryover cooking.)

Method for the lemon butter sauce:
To the pan, add the reserved lemon juice and swirl to get all the bits in the pan. Remove from heat and whisk in cubed butter. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.

Presentation:
Place the swordfish steaks on serving plates and drizzle each with a small amount of the lemon butter sauce. Spoon citrus salad around fish.

Entrée: Vegetarian

TAMING OF THE SQUASH STEW
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
1 stalk celery, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 zucchini quash, cut unto ½ inch thick slices
2 summer squash, cut into ½ inch thick slices
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and diced
¼ chopped fresh basil leaves

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme leaves, and bay leaf and sauté until the onion turns translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the zucchini squash and summer squash, and salt and black pepper to taste. Stir to coat with the onion mixture. Sprinkle the red bell pepper over the squash. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook until tender about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh basil.

Accompaniment: Rice

WILD RICE WITH ALMONDS
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup wild rice blend (such as a blend of long grain brown, sweet brown, whole grain black, etc)
¼ cup slivered almonds
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Method:
Bring 2 ½ cups water to a boil. Add wild rice, almonds, butter, and salt and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 50 minutes without removing the lid. Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes, leaving covered.

Stir to fluff rice, transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with minced parsley.

Accompaniment: Salad

COUNTRY CASTLE SALAD
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients for vinaigrette dressing:
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram leaves
1 garlic clove, quartered
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Ingredients for salad:
1 pound spinach, soaked in salt water to remove grit, dried in a salad spinner, stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch discs
8 radishes, cut into wedges
4 stalks celery, cut into ½ inch pieces

Method:
Make the dressing by adding one at a time through the feed opening of a running blender, vinegar, parsley, marjoram, garlic, salt, and pepper. Leaving the blender running, pour in the olive oil in a slow stream. Set aside briefly.

Toss the spinach, carrots, radishes, and celery together in a large bowl and add enough dressing to coat. Serve family style with additional dressing on the side.

Dessert: Fruit/Cheese

SUGARED WENSLEYDALE CHEESE WITH BISCUITS
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 dessert servings

Ingredients:
½ pound Wensleydale cheese made with cranberries
¼ cup sugar
12 pizzelles or sweet crackers such as Nabisco Honey Maid Crackers®
1 cup seedless grapes

Method:
Slice Wensleydale with a cheese plane. Sprinkle with sugar and arrange on a platter with seedless grapes. Serve with sweet biscuits and with dry white wine, beer or cider.

Dessert: Tart

APPLE FRITTER TART
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
¼ cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons or ½ stick)
2 apples suitable for baking (Granny Smith, Stayman, or your choice), peeled, cored and thinly
sliced
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup grapeseed oil plus 1 tablespoon if need to further coat pan
Powdered sugar, as need to sprinkle over
6 small mint leaves

Method:
Melt the butter in a 10-inch sauté pan (preferably non-stick) over medium heat and add the apples and sugar, cooking gently until caramelized and softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, salt, and oil. Pour the batter over the apples and cover for about 5 minutes until the batter sets up. Remove the cover and cook further until the edges begin to brown, about 5 more minutes. Use a large plate to invert the tart and slip it gently back into the pan. (If the tart sticks when you invert it, use a spatula to scrape off any remnants from the pan and swirl the additional tablespoon of grapeseed oil over the surface, pouring off all but a coating. Return the tart to the pan and cook for about 2 more minutes before transferring onto serving plate. Garnish with powdered sugar and mint.

Dessert: Candy

ALMOND BRITTLE
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup whole almonds
4 cups brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water

Method:
Roast the almonds on a baking sheet in a 350 oven for 5 minutes. Remove almonds from baking sheet to a utility plate.

Spread the oil over the baking sheet. Spread the roasted almonds evenly over the surface of the sheet. In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir the sugar and the cream of tartar into the water over low heat until dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to medium and stop stirring. Bring to a boil and allow the temperature, as measured with a candy thermometer, to reach 300 degrees F (hard crack stage). Immediately pour the syrup over the almonds and allow to cool and harden completely. Break into pieces to serve.

We all come into and go out of this world in the same condition, and I think what distinguishes each of us in our stay is our answer to the question, “What have I learned?”

Life in the kitchen is the end product of the accumulated wisdom of every meal, every dish and every recipe tasted or tried over the span of years. It is also, unquestionably, the result of what we’ve learned at the hands of many, many teachers.

For a lot of us, our first lessons came in the home, in the kitchens of our mothers and fathers. My mother was the type of cook that was common in the days of my youth in Salisbury: she made lots of plain English food, good and hot (if a little overcooked from time to time) and great desserts that cultivated a sweet tooth that I struggle with and celebrate to this day. But she was also a world-class roaster, in my eyes, and it was our incomparable family Sunday dinners that first set me on the path I walk to this day.

My next great teacher was a guy named Robert Roper, a real honest-to-goodness chef, who I met on a class trip of sorts. He gave me my first chef’s kit and knives and taught me that cooking was a profession, not just a way to get fed.

After that, there are too many to count, some incredible military guys, some truly world-class chefs, the world’s greatest baker (thank you, Michel!), some for whom I worked and some who worked for me. Seems like nearly everybody had something to offer along the way, from dishwasher to chef de cuisine.

Once you’ve reached a level of proficiency and perhaps have even developed a certain philosophy of your own, the responsibility changes. You have the responsibility to take on the role of teacher if you are going to continue to grow. You can go and cook alone for yourself in a cabin on a mountaintop if that’s your preference, but if you want to run a professional kitchen, you have to be able to communicate your ideas and techniques if you expect to create exceptional dining experiences, night after night, especially if you are aiming for a level of excellence.

I love the give and take that takes place working with great cooks who are both willing to learn and to bring their own ideas to the table. That’s why I like to travel, to visit chefs in their native environs, to watch them and try their food, to figure out their methods, ask questions, share what I have to offer and take away what might work for me. I also cherish every chance I get to work with young culinarians, with students who are experiencing firsthand the trials and tribulations involved not only in making great food, but in making it your own.

I had the chance not that long ago to visit Philadelphia and work with the young chefs in training at Job Corps. I was invited by Diane Burstein, who works for Cat Cora’s charity, Chefs for Humanity (I sit on their Council of Chefs).

These kids come from mostly humble backgrounds, but their love of food and passion for learning is evident. I spent a great couple of days teaching, criticizing and praising, tasting and judging, telling stories and hearing some from them as well. One incident really blew me away. One of the teams had decided, before they even knew I would be participating as a judge, to prepare as their main offering a version of a dish David Britton and I had created on the “Magician” episode of Dinner: Impossible. It was an illusionary dish, a “trompe l’oeil,” designed to “fool the eye” into thinking it was about to get chocolate layer cake, ice cream and cherry sauce, when it fact the dish consisted of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and poached grape tomatoes in a pomegranate balsamic reduction sauce. It involves not only cooking the potatoes and bringing the reduction to a very specific look and texture, but making a quite complicated forcemeat preparation for the main course, then cooling it and cutting it to look exactly like a piece of cake. Tough stuff, indeed, especially for students.

When I saw it on its way to the judges table, I recognized the plating right away and I located the team who made it and made sure I told them in no uncertain terms that I thought they had something really special going on.

In the end, we learn from both students and masters, from those we cook with and those we cook for. The day you think you know it all, when you’ve stopped learning, that’s the day you pack your knives away and head up to the cabin on the mountaintop. I hope that day never comes, for you or for me.

Here’s a recipe for the demo I did whilst I was with these inspirational students and their teachers. It’s one of my all-time favorite dishes and I hope you’ll give it a try.

Entrée: Fish/Seafood

CAJUN RED SNAPPER & SHRIMP OVER CHEDDAR GRITS WITH RED PEPPER COULIS
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients for the coulis:
3 red bell peppers, stems and seeds removed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1½ cups chicken stock
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Ingredients for the grits:
2 cups uncooked grits
6 ounces raw 16-20 size shrimp, chopped (see below requirement for shrimp also)
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tomato
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons cooked bacon, chopped

Ingredients for the fish/shrimp:
2 ounces raw 16-20 size shrimp (6 shrimp, de-veined and peeled)
½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
6 six-ounce red snapper fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons Irvine Spices Cajun Blackening Seasoning (available at IrvineThyme.com)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Method for the red pepper coulis:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F. Place bell peppers, cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Coat them with olive oil and roast until charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and – using tongs – carefully place in a plastic food storage bag until cool. (This will allow them to “sweat” and yet preserve all the flavors.) Peel blackened skin from red bell peppers and discard leaving the beautifully roasted red interior.

(Begin boiling water for the grits.)

Simmer the peeled roasted red bell peppers in chicken stock and add onion, garlic and white wine in a deep saucepan. Reduce by half. Gradually whisk in corn starch. Simmer for 20 minutes. Blend sauce using an immersion blender, or in batches in a standard blender, until smooth. Set aside until needed.

Method for the cheddar grits:
Bring 5 cups water to a boil.

(Return to the peppers.)

Whilst the bell peppers are simmering, add 2 cups of grits, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes, undisturbed.

(Prepare the shrimp and fish.)

Stir in chopped shrimp, cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese, cover the pot again to allow shrimp to cook and cheese to melt, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in butter, then stir in scallions, chopped fresh tomato, cilantro and bacon, and set aside in a warm place.

Method for the shrimp and fish:
For the fish, pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the shrimp, place the shrimp on a rack placed over a shallow pan of water.

Coat both sides of red snapper with salt and pepper and Cajun seasoning, and set aside briefly.

(Return to stir the shrimp and cheese into the grits.)

Sear each side of the fish, beginning with the flesh side first. (When you place the fillet into the pan, leave it undisturbed for a couple of minutes to allow the seasoning to cook into the surface of the fish and to caramelize. If you jostle it prematurely, the fish will tear!) Cook until golden brown, then finish in the oven for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook the fish. Remove it to rest for 5 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the shrimp with Old Bay seasoning and steam until just pink and opaque, about 1 minute per side.

Presentation:
Spoon some cheese grits onto the center of serving plate. Top with the snapper fillet and a whole shrimp. Spoon red pepper coulis around, and garnish with sprigs of cilantro.

The old saying goes, “Luck is the place where preparation meets opportunity.” In my humble opinion, no preparation is ever wasted.

In the culinary world, preparation is the cornerstone of the craft. As in chess, every move you make in the kitchen sets up not only the next move, but any number of moves down the line. Fail to order properly ahead of time and you can lose whole dishes off of your menu. You can’t cook with food you don’t have.

Take too long with your chopping and mixing, you may miss your window for firing, then all of the elements fail to arrive on time, together. You drop one ball and balls start dropping all over the kitchen. It’s a cascading effect from which it’s tough to recover. Prepare and you won’t have to worry about it.

Then there is preparation that goes beyond and precedes the day’s work. That’s the prep that goes into building your repertoire and your character. By that, I mean stockpiling your inventory of skills and knowledge and life experience.

My style of cooking, if I have a style, is characterized by a foundation in a classical European approach with an overlay of the eclectic. I have at least a passing familiarity with the cuisines of many different nations. When I cooked for the Royals, who liked their food very English and relatively quite plain, we had a lot of guests, from pretty much everyplace in the world, and they liked cooking that reminded them of home.

When I left that job, I shipped aboard cruise liners that made ports of call all over the globe and hosted every nationality imaginable. Then I headed food operations in hotels and casinos, which not only means room service, breakfasts and buffets, but the French bistro, the upscale Italian, the big time steak house, the Sichuan palace and the sushi bar, to name just a few.

All of these influences came together on one of the best days I had on Dinner: Impossible, which also happens to be the one day I truly “failed” one of my missions. At the CIA.

The Culinary Institute of America, the home of one of the world’s great cooking schools, has a faculty brimming with master chefs. The challenge that day was to walk into a room, analyze, by taste alone, dishes created by seven renowned chefs in seven different national cuisines, recreate them without recipes, then create seven additional dishes in each of those nationalities assisted only by a team of students. Oh, and you’ve got to make enough of everything to feed the other 80 students who are coming for dinner.

Every chef I polled later on the faculty thought we were nuts. Maybe, maybe if I’d had George and George and David we might have made it. I didn’t think we had much of a chance. Guess what? We didn’t make it. And I had one of the best days ever.

In that hallowed hall of cooking, with those inexperienced but incredibly game teammates, under unbeatable time pressure, we threw everything we had at that challenge.
I know that sauerbraten typically takes three days to make, but I thought that if I could quick-braise the beef, I could make it happen. For the Indian dish, I am a sucker for nothing if not a great lamb curry. We never had close to enough goat for everybody, but had lots of great veal, so I went “Saltimbocca” for the Italian and “Blanquette” for the French. The kids gave it their all, stealing every trick they could muster from their instructors; one showing dogged persistence no matter how many meatballs she was asked to roll, another throwing together enough chocolate cake to feed a small army, a third doing the work of three while softly singing to himself the whole time, “Chef is in the weeds, chef is in the weeds…” just loud enough to be picked up on our microphones.

Did we “fail” the mission? Sure, but that was never really the point. Afterwards I felt a weird sense of elation, not even close to any sense of failure. We got a great show out of it, I was humbled by the graciousness and support of our hosts, took the kids out for refreshments and a chat after and went home feeling deeply satisfied.

Being there felt right, like I had chosen the right profession for myself, that I was on the right path for me and that I was doing okay. Last Christmas, I was invited to return to the site of a great day and a great memory and to speak at the CIA commencement ceremony. On that day I was bestowed the honor of being named an “Ambassador of the CIA.”

Whatever you do on any given day with the right spirit in mind prepares you for these moments.

Whatever you do that develops your way of thinking and kindles the fire inside you, that feeds your curiosity, that sets you in the direction of mastery, is preparation for the as yet unguessed-at events of your life.

You never know what is going to come in handy, what scrap of information, what purloined technique, what chapter of what book you’ve read or TV show you’ve watched or conversation you’ve had, with someone who knows more than you do about a subject and is willing to share with you, will become a valuable part of your development.

No single headache or problem can defeat you. Conversely, triumphs come and go. I think that what will see you through, in the end, is the trust in the voice inside that tells you which is the right way to go. If you follow it, you’ll do just fine.

Entrée: Beef

SAUERBRATEN WITH JULIENNE VEGETABLES
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
4 pounds beef bottom round roast
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup red wine vinegar
1½ quarts water
2 onions sliced
8 whole black peppercorns
10 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves
⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅔ cup diced carrots (approximately 2 or 3 carrots)
⅔ cup diced onions (approximately 1 large onion)
⅔ cup diced celery (approximately 2 stalks)
½ cup tomato paste
1 cup flour
1 quart (approximately) vegetable or chicken stock to have on hand to adjust sauce
¾ cup sour cream
6 carrots, peeled, cut julienne and steamed - for garnish
3 stalks celery, cut in half lengthwise and julienned, and steamed - for garnish
Cooked egg noodles as an accompaniment
2 tablespoons fresh minced flat-leaf parsley leaves

Method:
Trim the beef of excess fat, salt it and set it aside briefly. Make a marinade for the beef by combining the red wine, vinegar, water, onions, peppercorns, juniper berries, bay leaves and cloves in a large pot and bringing the mixture to a boil over high heat. Let this marinade cool to room temperature, about 15 to 20 minutes. Place the beef in the cooled marinade, cover, and refrigerate overnight if possible, but for at least 2 hours.

Remove the beef from the marinade and place it on a utility platter. Strain the marinade into a pot and bring the marinade to a boil over medium high heat . Skim any impurities from the surface of the marinade, then reduce the heat to medium low and allow it to cook for 10 minutes at a simmer.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add the beef and sear it on all sides, then remove the meat to a utility platter. Combine the carrots, onion, and celery in the same pan to make a mirépoix. Sauté them for 2 to 3 minutes, then deglaze the pan with about ¼ cup of the warmed marinade. Stir in the tomato paste and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a bit more of the warmed marinade to the sauté pan to de-glaze again, and reduce heat to medium. Sift the flour gradually into the tomato pate mixture, stirring constantly until a paste is formed. Then, slowly add the rest of the warmed marinade to the mixture, as though you are making a roux. If the sauce is too thick, which can sometimes happen due to density of flour, gradually add chicken or vegetable stock stirring constantly until you reach the consistency where it just coats the back of a spoon. Return the meat to the pan, reduce the heat to low, cover it and simmer until fork-tender, about 1½ to 2 hours.

Remove the meat to a cutting board and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing the beef.

Strain the sauce and place slices of the meat in the center of the plate. Place some cooked egg noodles onto each serving plate, leaving space in the center for the meat. Spoon sauce over the meat and noodles and garnish with steamed vegetables and dollops of sour cream and fresh parsley.

Entrée: Lamb

INDIAN STYLE LAMB CURRY
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup grapeseed oil
3 medium onions, diced small
4 teaspoons turmeric
6 teaspoons masala powder
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 chiles, diced small (your choice)
5 pounds lean lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1½ quarts vegetable stock
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced small
2 cups rice
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Note: You can replace the turmeric and masala powder with curry powder

Method:
In a large cooking pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the chopped onions. Fry until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add the turmeric and masala powder (or curry powder), garlic and chiles, mix well and cook for a couple of minutes to integrate flavors, stirring frequently. Add the lamb, increase the heat to medium high, and sear on all sides. Sift the flour over the meat and spoon in tomato paste. Then, stirring constantly, gradually add the stock. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until meat is tender, about another hour. Check the pot often and stir the mixture so the curry doesn’t burn. If the sauce is thickening too fast during this cooking time, add water to retain the consistency and to prevent burning. (If you prefer, once you have added the stock and the sauce is a good smooth consistency, you may transfer to a covered roasting pan and finish in the oven at 350 degrees until the meat is tender.) In the last 30 minutes of cooking time, stir in the potatoes.

While the lamb curry is in its last ½ hour, bring 5 cups of water to a boil over high heat, add the rice and salt, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes undisturbed. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes with the lid on the pot.

Spoon ½ cup rice onto each serving plate, top with lamb curry and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Chicken Fricassee with Morels

Not that long ago in the grand scheme of things, I was afforded the opportunity to travel back in time in a very real sense, to an earlier age in this country’s history, where the methods of cooking were quite markedly different. I was faced with the challenge of cooking over fireplaces with no electricity at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. And the result, successful or tragic, was to be broadcast on national TV. .

I was lucky enough to face this challenge armed with secret weapons, my great friends, George and George, two of the best sous chefs in the business (now both Executive Chefs in their own rights). The television experience was pretty new to us then, so we went with what we knew: how to work together as a team, to look at a pantry full of strange ingredients and figure how to best cook them.

Once we saw the rabbit, the fresh chicken, beef roasts, primeval cuts of steak and, of all things, mutton, hog’s ears and trotters, with no stovetops or ovens in sight, one word sprang to mind and we hardly had to say it to each other out loud: braising.

At the time, we were collectively running the food operations at a huge hotel casino, so braising had largely fallen out of our vocabularies. But braising is a method that strikes close to the heart of anybody, in a home or professional kitchen, who loves to cook and eat. Because every minute you braise infuses the meal you are preparing with intense flavor and tenderness and passion and… “mmmm… so good.” And the longer and slower you let it cook, the better it gets. Look at the bliss in Emeril’s eyes when he talks about, “the food of love.”

Entrée: Chicken
CHICKEN FRICASSEE WITH MORELS
Copyright, 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Ingredients:
6 ounces (about 2 cups) sliced fresh button mushrooms
2 ounces dried morels
6 chicken breasts with wing, skin on
2 cups all-purpose flour, approximately, as needed for dredging
¼ cup clarified butter
1 cup Madeira wine
1 cup beef stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:
Soak the dried morels in 3 cups very hot water for 30 minutes to re-hydrate. Lift them carefully from the hot water in order to leave any grit behind in the liquid , place them in a strainer and lightly rinse them. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a paper towel into a small bowl and reserve.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour, allowing any excess flour to fall away. Heat half the clarified butter (⅛ cup) in a large sauté pan, and cook the chicken skin side down first over medium heat about 8 to 10 minutes, leaving the chickens undisturbed for the first two minutes or so to allow the seasonings and flour to integrate into the surface of the chicken and to prevent “crusting off.” Brown the chicken on both sides. Remove to an ovenproof casserole. Add the rest of the clarified butter (the other ⅛ cup) to the same sauté pan along with the button mushrooms and sauté over medium heat until they give up their juices, about 8 minutes. Add the strained mushroom soaking liquid and the morels, and cook gently over low heat for 2 minutes. Then add the Madeira and reduce the liquid by half. When the liquid is reduced, add the beef stock and heavy cream and bring to a gentle boil. Let the mushroom sauce cook until mixture starts to thicken, about 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake covered in the oven until done, about 25-35 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and serve.

Braised Rump Steaks with Porter Sauce

Technically, it is the perfected way to cook tougher cuts of meat. Think short ribs, not filet mignon. You start by searing a tough piece of meat, to caramelize the sugars on its surface and create the first level of flavor. Then you partially submerge it, covered, in a flavorful liquid, in stock or beer or wine over low heat. It is one of the few instances in life where patience is always rewarded. You use your creative imagination and the ingredients at hand to crank up the flavor of the liquid itself as high as you can take it. In Williamsburg, we used fresh berries, peppercorns, root vegetables, raisins, fresh herbs, mushrooms, citrus and vinegars, whatever we could lay our hands on from their period gardens, larders, and pantries. We put down hot embers on the flagstones and cooked away. As it all simmered long and slow, the connective tissues, the collagens, broke down and gave themselves to the liquids to enrich every dish with amazing, irresistible broths, some of which we finished with freshly churned butter or creamed into sauces. In the end, a good braise simply becomes a matter of judging how far you want the proteins to surrender, to slide off of their bones in total capitulation.

It was an incredible day. We achieved some of the best flavors we ever accomplished on the show. It was one of the most educational days I’ve ever had as a professional cook and I think it’s something everyone in the profession should try at least once. Trust me, there’s something about cooking in the presence of open flames that resonates deep in a chef’s soul.

Entrée: Beef
RUMP STEAKS BRAISED WITH MUSHROOMS & ONIONS IN PORTER SAUCE
Copyright, 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
6 eight-ounce rump steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup flour
¼ cup grapeseed oil
2 large onions, sliced
3 cups mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (your choice of type of mushrooms)
1 quart chicken broth or beef broth
8 ounces porter (dark beer)
2 teaspoons dark molasses
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
3 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, cut into cubes
5 ounces crème fraiche or sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh chives

Method:
Season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat ⅛ cup of the canola oil in a large sauté pan. Dredge the steaks in flour, and allow the excess to fall away. Sear the steaks on both sides over medium high heat, leaving each side undisturbed for 2 minutes, to allowing the seasonings to integrate into the surface of the mat. Remove the steaks from the pan, and set aside on a utility platter. Reduce the heat under the same pan to medium and add the other ⅛ cup of canola oil, Sauté the onions and mushrooms until the onions become translucent and the mushrooms give up their juices, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken or beef broth, porter beer, molasses, thyme, Tabasco sauce and bay leaves to the onion/mushroom mixture. Reduce heat to low and return the steaks to the pan. Simmer covered for at least 2 hours. Rump steaks are a tough meat and will require slow cooking (braising). You may wish to transfer the ingredients to a crock-pot for this process. When the steaks are fork tender, remove them to a platter in a warm place. The liquid in the pan should have evaporated to a large degree, intensifying the flavor. If necessary, increase the heat to reduce and thicken into a sauce. Whisk in the butter and crème fraiche or sour cream to finish the sauce, and spoon sauce over the steaks. Garnish with the fresh chopped chives.