A New Year's Feast, on a "Shoestring"
With the new year comes a new budget: in 2010 we're giving our chefs $40 to prepare our "Chef on a Shoestring" meals, and the first chef to take on the challenge is Michael Schlow, chef and owner of "Radius," "Alta Strada," "606 Congress" and "Via Matta," all in Boston.
On "The Early Show Saturday Edition," Chef Schlow is preparing a special meal to help fight that lingering New Year's Eve hangover.
Chef Schlow's menu starts with a cocktail - "Ghost of Maria" - followed by Chicken and Matzo Ball Soup and Spicy Pork Quesadillas. To finish the meal, he is preparing a "Gatorade Granita."
RECIPES:
Ghost of Maria
Ingredients:
4 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1/2 red jalapeno
1/2 red pepper
1/2 white onion
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
12 ounces clear vegetable stock or water
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper
¾ cup vodka
Preparation:
Coarsely chop the tomatoes, cucumber, jalapeno, red pepper, and onion. Place all ingredients in a blender, pulse for about 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Strain liquid through either five coffee filters or multiple layers of cheesecloth. Mix with your favorite vodka over ice or stirred into a martini. Refrigerate until serving.
"International" Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 large pinch of chopped sage
1 large pinch of chopped rosemary
4 cups of homemade chicken stock (see recipe), or store bought
1 cup of button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of brown basmati rice
20 tiny matzo balls (see recipe)
1/2 cup of cooked fregala (Sardinian couscous)
2 boneless breast of chicken, shredded
3 tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley
Salt
Pepper
Crushed red pepper
Preparation:
In soup pot, heat olive oil over high heat Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté for 2 minutes. Add herbs, sauté for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring back to a boil, adjust seasoning and serve.
To make Chicken stock: (optional)
1 large chicken, cut into 1/4's, add all to pot, bones too (no innards)
2 carrots, peeled, cut into large pieces
1 large onion, peeled, cut into large pieces
3 stalks of celery, cut into large pieces
48 oz of water, or just enough to cover above in a large soup pot
Preparation:
Add all ingredients to a large soup pot, cover with water and place on high heat Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. After 2 hours, remove the breasts from the pot, allow to cool, take meat off the bone, then add bones back to pot to continue making stock. Continue cooking for 4 more hours on low heat, occasionally skimming Skim and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve. Can be made in advance and freezes well.
For Matzo Balls:
1/2 cup of Matzo Meal
2 tables of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of club soda
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together, and allow to rest in fridge for 15 minutes. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Make small, marble size balls out of matzo mixture. Drop into the boiling water, one at a time, and cook for 15 minutes. These can be made days in advance and kept in the fridge.
For more recipes, go to page 2.
Spicy Pork Quesadillas with Cucumber Salsa
Ingredients:
For the Pork
4 tablespoons oil
2 pounds of cubed pork stew meat
1 clove of garlic
1 onion, small dice
1 28 ounce can of crushed Tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon of adobo sauce (taken from a small can of chipotle in adobo sauce)
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
Water
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Place oil in an oven proof dish and place over high heat on the stove. Season pork with salt and pepper and place in the dish and brown lightly. Add garlic and onions and cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, adobo sauce, and then add enough water to barely cover pork. Cover with tin foil and place pan in the oven. Cook for 3 to 4 hours or until liquid is completely reduced and pork is falling apart. Remove from oven and stir in cilantro. Reserve for quesadillas
For Cucumber Salsa
1 cucumber, small dice
1/4 onion, small dice
2 tomatillo, small dice
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt, pepper, hot pepper to taste
Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Reserve.
To Make Quesadillas
16 small corn tortillas
Pork from above recipe, shredded
1 cup of grated jack cheese
Cucumber Salsa
Preparation:
Mix pork and cheese together. Spread onto 8 of the tortillas. Top with the other tortillas to make a "sandwich." Cook either on the grill, in the oven, or sautéed on a large griddle until cheese melts and tortillas are lightly cooked on both sides. Top with a spoonful of cucumber salsa on each quesadilla and serve.
Gatorade Granita
Ingredients:
1 16 ounce fruit punch flavored Gatorade
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
Preparation:
Place water and sugar in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil. Add Gatorade. Place in a sided baking pan and place in the freezer. As mixture freezes, keep moving and stirring and chipping, which will make it easier to portion. Once frozen and "chipped," place granita into 4 glasses, keep in the freezer until ready to eat.
So, how did Chef Schlow do?
Ghost of Maria
tomatoes $1.99
cucumber $.15
jalapeno $.16
red pepper $.99
vodka $1.99
total $5.28
Chicken Soup
carrots $.79
onion $.64
celery $1.29
sage $.99
rosemary $.99
chicken stock $2.49
button mushrooms $1.99
rice $1.39
fregala $2.19
chicken $3.74
parsley $.69
matzo meal $2.89
club soda $.40
total $20.48
Pork Quesadillas
pork $2.78
garlic $.39
onion $.64
crushed tomatoes $1.19
adobo sauce $1.69
cilantro $.69
cucumber $.15
onion $.64
tomatillo $.47
lime $.33
tortillas $1.49
jack cheese $1.79
total $12.25
Gatorade Granita
Gatorade $1.25
total $1.25
Total: $39.26!