Just for the Halibut...

You may have heard wind, 'round the streets and through your kitchens that Amuse Bouche has started giving weekly cooking classes.


I know. Big deal.  I is one.


I am more excited than you on this one, trust me.  You couldn't possibly know how happy it makes me to be able to do stand up comedy and cook at the same time for 2 hours a week.  My heart is full.  So is my belly. For some reason, when I crack jokes to the lifeless halibut steak laying on my cutting board, it doesn't laugh back. 


So having people around to laugh when I say "Just for the Halibut..." - that's a bonus.


In fact, this is just one of a few seriously exciting developments in the land of la bouche.  And unfortunately, you would have a brain 'splosion if I gave them to you all at once, so we will celebrate these victories, one piece of good news at a time. Nobody wants your brain a 'sploadin'.

So here's to people learning the fine art of cooking, may it bring you just an ounce of the peace that it has brought me.  May it NOT, bring you that extra 20 el bee's I seem to have found since I started blogging.  

Whoops? 

BAKED HALIBUT WITH CUMIN AND AVOCADO

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallot

1/2 cup bottled clam juice

2 firm, ripe avocados (9 ounces each)—halved, pitted and sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup cilantro leaves plus sprigs, for garnish

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Four 6-ounce halibut fillets, about 1 inch thick

2 medium tomatoes—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 2 minutes. 

Add the clam juice and simmer for 3 minutes; transfer to a blender. Add an avocado half, the lemon juice and cilantro leaves and blend until smooth. 

Scrape the sauce into a small saucepan and season with salt and pepper.  

Season the halibut with salt and pepper and sprinkle the cumin on both sides.  

Spoon some of the tomatoes on top of each fillet. 

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish easily flakes away from a fork.

Gently reheat the avocado sauce, but do not boil. 

Transfer the fish to plates and pour the sauce alongside. Garnish with the remaining avocado slices and cilantro sprigs and serve at once. 

Love,

Whit

Sherbert...err Sherbet.

When you have approximately 54 cuties left over from your box of clementines, and they start to shrivel, I am sure you, just like me, start to panic and wonder "Well, what in the flip am I gonna do about this?"

Yea, I figured as much.

Naturally, there was only one thing to do.  Make myself some Sherbert.  Yes. I sure did say sherbert.  Where I come from we throw and extra ARR in there for good measure.

Sort of like it sounds when you need to "warsh" your jeans.  Or when you need to put some "eyece" in your water.

Sherbert. I assure you, there is no difference in Sherbet and Sherbert, except for that fact that one is used above and one is used below, the Mason Dixon Line.

And we Kentuckians praise the Lord we are JUST south, of that Mason Dixon Line.

So let there be Clementine Sherbert, people.

CLEMENTINE SHERBET

2 1/4 pounds clementines
(or 1 1/2 cups of juice)
Zest from 2 clementines
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled.
1 packet of gelatin
2 tablespoons of water

Freeze the canister of an ice-cream maker overnight.

Drop the gelatin and about 2 tablespoons of water into a small saucepan and turn your back on it.  Don't heat it up until you have the clementines juiced!

Strip the zest from two clementines and toss the zest into a bowl and squeeze the clementines, removing any seeds, to make 1 1/2 cups of juice.

Remembering the saucepan, put a little heat under it until the gelatin starts to look smooth, not grainy. Then stir in the sugar, salt, juice and zest and turn up the heat, letting it come to something like the temperature of your finger. Stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved, then chill it in the refrigerator. When it is cold, strain out the zest and toss the juice into the tank of your ice-cream maker along with the cream, which should be cold, too.

Run in the ice cream maker until thick, remove and place in the freezer for an hour.
 

  

Well, hells bells, how did they get in there?

They're pissed they didn't get any sherbert, I'd be too.

Love,

Whit

High Five, Gypsy.

 It's Wednesday. You're tired. I know it.

You're feeling lazy and you want to order take out, but you know that chicken and waffles is only going to end up laughing at you tomorrow when you go to put on your dress pants.

You know it. I know it. We all know it. Damn you, Chicken and Waffles, Damn. You.

There's that stupid salmon fillet in your fridge saying "One more day, and I'll be stinkin' up your fridge like it's an Asian street market."

And all of this together, really, makes you hate hump day. Stupid day, in the middle of the week. Stupid Salmon, makin' you feel guilty.

So you give that salmon a piece of your mind, shove it like a hostage in a parchment pocket and give your thighs a high five.

Bravo on your life choices, kids, bravo! I know we had to talk that one out, but we did what was best, right?

I still want waffles.

Salmon en Papillote

2 salmon fillets
1 bunch leeks, sliced 
2 ounces dry white wine
Olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Take a sheet of parchment paper that is three times the size of the fillet. Place fillet near the center, and place a handful of leeks next to it. Drizzle fish with wine and olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chives.

 
Brush edges of parchment paper with melted butter, fold paper to enclose fish, and make small overlapping folds to seal the edges, starting at one of the ends. Be sure each fold overlaps the one before it so that there are no gaps. Brush the outside of the package with melted butter.

 

Put packages on a baking sheet, and bake until paper is puffed and brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

And you go right on and order fried chicken at midnight 'cause I know you're still hungry.


Love,

Whit

You must be banana nuts.

There are times. Everyone has 'em.  There are times when you want something sweet so bad you'd lick nutella from the jar. (Hey, I am not judging you, I'm just saying, we've all been there...)

And all you have in your house is a white chocolate bar and a banana.  That white chocolate bar is only left because the dark chocolate bar was eaten the last time you got the sweet tooth.  (You don't have to pretend, white chocolate is everyone's second fiddle.)

And what the heck is a girl to do, with bananas half way to palm beach and white chocolate?

You're going to think I am pregnant. You're going to think I've lost my mind. But I am in fact neither.  I am a flipping genius.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut White Chocolate Chunk Bread

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

3 mashed bananas
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup white chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together. 

Add eggs, and mix well. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. 

Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter. Blend in chopped nuts and the white chocolate. Spread batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. 

Bake for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing. 

I know, thank me later.

Love,

Whit 

Eat More Chikin

I have to thank you.  For searching "Amuse Ass" and finding Amuse Bouche.

Yes, in fact, I am one.

And. "Christ hugs me" ...

bless your little heart! sure he does! I DIE.  Seriously.  Who gets on google and types "Christ hugs me" and exactly how, did you find Amuse Bouche from that?

I know you won't come forward, I am still waiting on the person who keeps searching baby cows to step forward.  No one ever does.

Just know, at the end of a long day, when I check stats on this blog, and little gems like that pop up, it makes my life.

And you can continue to make my life by going to the kitchn and voting for Amuse Bouche as Best Home Cooking Blog by copy and pasting the following into the comment prompt. KISSES!

Name: Amuse Bouche
URL: http://whitneysamusebouche.blogspot.com/

So, in honor of baby cows, and Kelley Edelmann who looks for Chick-fil-a every time she steps out her front door,  I say "EAT MORE CHIKIN" .  More BBQ Chicken.

On carbs. duh.

 BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza Dough

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pure olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoons olive oil

Flour for dusting

 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound chicken breast
1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Bar B Que Sauce
3/4 cup shredded gouda
1 cup shredded mozzerella
3/4 cup shredded parmesan
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Toss the diced chicken in 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.

Marinate for 1 hour. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place the sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 1 cup of flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into the mixer's work bowl. 

Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Lube the hook attachment with cooking spray. Attach the hook to the mixer and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed. 

Tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light and look to see if the baker's windowpane, or taut membrane, has formed. If the dough tears before it forms, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. 

Roll the pizza dough into a smooth ball on the countertop. Place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours. 

On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan, about a 15 by 10-inch rectangle.

Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough.

Sprinkle Gouda, mozzarella, Parmesan, sauteed onions, and chicken over top. Bake for 20 minutes.

 This is so Paula Deen - "From my Kitchen to Yours"

Love and Best Pizzas, Ya'll,

Whit

What's Black and Blue and Eaten All Over?

What happens when one pizza punches another?

Alright. I know. It was beyond lame.  It's just, how do I segue into the fact that I made a black and blue pizza? 

It's not uncommon at all for me to eat pizza, after all, it is the tag line in my blog.

So,without the jokes, and straight to the point.  I made a black and blue pizza and it was off the hook.

Steak, Shallot and Bleu Cheese Pizza with Basil Pesto

2 cups sliced shallots
3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
1 boneless sirloin steak, diced (or part of that tenderloin you got tricked into on New Years)
1/4  teaspoon  coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 cup shredded mozzerella
1/3  cup crumbled blue cheese

Basil Pesto

1 cup basil 

2 cloves garlic 

2 ounces parmesan 

1/2 cup olive oil

Pizza Crust 

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pure olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoons olive oil

Flour for dusting

Place the sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 1 cup of flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into the mixer's work bowl. 

Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Lube the hook attachment with cooking spray. Attach the hook to the mixer and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed. 

Tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light and look to see if the baker's windowpane, or taut membrane, has formed. If the dough tears before it forms, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. 

Roll the pizza dough into a smooth ball on the countertop. Place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours. 

Preheat oven to 450°. Heat a large nonstick skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and saute til soft. Set aside.

Sprinkle steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add diced steak to pan. Cook over medium-high heat 3 minutes. Keep it pretty rare, remember it's going in the oven at 450 to finish cooking.

Process the basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil for 1 minute in a food processor.

Spoon pesto on the stretched out pizza dough. 

Arrange shallots, steak, mozzerella and blue cheese on the pie.

Bake at 450° for 12 minutes. 

Now, don't make yourself sick over that.  Black and Blue does not look good coming back up.

Love,

Whit

Cookin' the ess out of everything

 Guys.

Mommas got a favor to ask - The Kitchn, a daily inspiration in the life of Whit, is having a little competition for the top home cooking blogs.  And guess what we do here at Amuse Bouche?

We flippin' home cook.

We cook the ess of everything.

So do me a solid and mosey on over to this link, and copy and paste the below into the comments to get Amuse Bouche in the running.

The Kitchn Best Home Cooking Blog

Name: Amuse Bouche
URL: http://whitneysamusebouche.blogspot.com/

ASHANKYOUBERRYMUCHA.

Now that that shameless self promotion is over, let's talk about split peas.  I gotta tell you, I am a secret fan.  Some say split peas are baby food but I say

"Googoo Gaagaa Mother effers."  I flove split peas. (I also truly hope that one day I have a 2 year old that looks up at me and says that exact phrase.)

But in the meantime, I'll just keep mentally deteriorating as Brian is gone and I talk to myself cats/in a crass baby voice.

Awesome.


Curried Split Pea Soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onion
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
12 ounces dried green split peas, picked over and rinsed
6 cups chicken or veggie
1 tablespoon curry powder


Place the butter into a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sweat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the peas, broth and curry powder.

Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at a simmer until the peas are tender and not holding their shape any longer, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Your blender or a stick blender if you have one, puree the soup until smooth.

Love,

Whit

Confessions of a CCL

You see, Dad's gone all week on business.  That means I am making dinner for one. Yes, it's lonely.  Yes, I did purchase the book "The Pleasure of Cooking for One" in hopes of being inspired at my new found lonely dinner hour.  No, it did not work, and yes, I have taken to the sauce to console me.

Will someone buy me one of those "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" buttons?  Just in case?  Cats don't have thumbs. They can't dial.

If Mr. Sauce and I take a turn for the worse, there's no one. to call. for help.

And just in case you were wondering. Yes, I have been putting my sweatpants on immediately after I get home from work.  Yes, I have been watching Jersey Shore. AND YES. I have been talking out loud to the cats.

So you bet your tail, when Dad got home last week, it was a feast of the kings!  I thought, how special, I'll make cornish hens and he'll see how much I've missed him and how I have thought all week on what to make.

Instead, he said "Why are you making such tiny birds?"

....

WELL I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE, OKAY?  I HAVE BEEN HERE ALL WEEK BY MYSELF THINKING ABOUT THIS AND IT IS BIGGER THAN QUAIL.  NO I AM NOT STARTING MY PERIOD.

Ok, yes I am.

Cornish Hens in Rosemary and Wine

2 Cornish game hens
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, quartered
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 shallot and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves and lemon around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes. 

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

Transfer hens to a platter and for the love of Martha do not ask your fiance why she is making such tiny birds when she is 1 drink away from certifiable.

Cornhole.  I am sorr.

On a side note, our wedding website is up if you'd like to creep out.

www.theknot.com/ourwedding/whitneymoss&brianabraham

Love,

Whit 

What's your cueva?

Cueva Del Pescador.  There never were sweeter words.  I know everyone has their 'cueva'.  That place you go back to time and time again because the food was wonderful and the memories were even better.

Well in our case, we have never had a better beer than at Hook 'em and Cook 'em.  Or better ceviche, or fish tacos for that matter.

For the last 4 years that I have gone on vacation to Mexico with Dad's family, we have ALWAYS gone out of our way, (usually at least an hour out of our way) to get to Hook 'em and Cook 'em.  And trust me when I say, a trip south of the border without this joint is lost on me.

 Outdoor seating, with your feet in the sand, half shaded by palm, and a cool beer in your hand: one could hardly find reason to complain.

Their house made Pico de Gallo, made with the freshest tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, lime and cilantro.

Get in my mouth.

Round 1 of many.

Dished up with their fried to order tortilla chips.

He's just getting started.

You have not LIVED, until you have had their conch ceviche.

And the best fish tacos you have ever put in your mouth.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about what the hell are in those tacos.  The truth is, its just fish, lettuce, guacamole and little mayo.  That's it.  They do something in the batter with that fish fry, I still can't figure it out, but Sweet Mexican Martha, Holy Dos Equis. You've gotta get down to Akumal to taste it.

Now the ceviche.  

I think I have a handle on that.

Conch Ceviche,

inspired by La Cueva Del Pescador

1 pound Fresh Princess Baby Conch, diced
Juice of 3 limes 
Juice of 2 lemons
1 medium habenero pepper, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Cilantro, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

Put the conch in a shallow, glass pan and cover with the lime and lemon juice. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Mix in the finely diced pepper and fridge it for another 2 hours. Drain the conch and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the onion, cilantro, tomato, olive oil, salt, and black pepper and mix. Top with fresh lime and serve with guacamole.

And try not to get tears in your ceviche. So maybe you're not going to mexico anytime soon, but you can still have it at home.

Soooo... who wants to go back to Mexico and work on the those fish tacos with me?

Love,

Whit