Black Garlic and Truffle Oil Mashed Potatoes

Okay, let's get this part out in the open.

These are ugly mashed potatoes.  There, I said it.

They also happen to be some of the best tasting mashed potatoes I've ever had.  Don't just take my word for it, though.  My wife and I own a small gourmet foods company, and we have sampled these potatoes with literally hundreds of people.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that the overwhelming majority of people who try them absolutely love them.

Black Garlic

We have been asked for this recipe repeatedly and this is the first time I've had the chance to write it up.  We hope that you'll enjoy it!

If you have any questions about black garlic, this blog post does a good job of explaining it.  And if you need any black garlic, you can always get it here.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds potatoes (preferably russets - though you can use any that you like)
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream (you can use milk instead if you prefer)
• 2 oz (4 tbsp) truffle oil (either white or black truffle oil will work)
• 6-8 peeled cloves black garlic (number depends on size of cloves and taste preferences)
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Peel and cut potatoes.  You can cut them into any size you'd like, as long as they are uniform in size.  I prefer about one inch square simply because they cook a little quicker.  
2. Place potatoes and garlic in cold water and bring to a boil.
   
   
   

   

   Black garlic with potatoes in water.  The water is cloudy from the starch in the potatoes.

   
   
3. Cook until fork tender (15-20 minutes).
4. Drain well*.
5. Place potatoes and black garlic back in pot and put on very low heat, tossing until potatoes cook off most of the remaining water.
   
   
   
6. Turn off heat and roughly mash the potatoes and black garlic together.
   
   
   
7. Heat cream (or milk) on the stove top or in the microwave just until warm.
8. Add butter to the potatoes to let melt (alternatively, you can melt this in the microwave as well but I don't find any real advantage to this). 
9. Add the truffle oil to the potatoes.
10. Pour in cream or milk a little at a time while using a potato masher to reach desired consistency.
    
    
    
11. Season with salt and pepper. 
12. Serve hot and enjoy!
    
    *If you save the water from the potatoes it will be FULL of flavor.  If you'll be making soup any time soon, use this instead of plain water.  You can thank me later.
    
    
    
    

Black Garlic and Mushroom Risotto

My wife and I own a small gourmet food company. One of our products is black garlic.  Probably the most frequent question we get is, "What is black garlic?", closely followed by, "How do you use it?".

I'll answer the first question, and this recipe will give you at least one answer to the second one. There are MANY ways to use it and a few of them will be coming to this blog soon.

So, to answer the question about what black garlic is, I'll start by saying what it is NOT.  It is not a type of garlic that you can grow in the garden or pick up fresh at the farmer's market.  You may find it there, but it's not freshly picked in the same way as "normal" garlic is.

Black garlic has to be MADE.  It is not, as some websites may tell you, fermented.  I can say this with some authority since I have made literally hundreds of bulbs of it this year alone.  It is created by a very long, very slow roasting process.  It involves a special machine and a lot of time.  The traditional roasting process takes 44 days to complete.  There is NOTHING added to it - no spices, no liquids, it is nothing but garlic.

Now, here's something a bit harder to describe.  How does it taste?  Let me start by asking a question.  Have you ever had caramelized onions?  If so, you know that the end product is much sweeter and much more mild than a raw onion.  The same thing is true of black garlic.  Because it has been roasted for such a long time, it turns pitch black, has a very soft jelly-like consistency, and is very sweet and mild.  We spend a lot of time with the public, having them taste our products, black garlic being one of the most popular.  We have heard many different descriptions of the taste, but some of the most common are that it tastes like balsamic, fig, or Worcestershire sauce.  It is full of umami (a Japanese term to describe our fifth sense of taste, along with sweetness, sourness, bitterness and saltiness) and adds an amazing flavor to just about everything.

So much for the introduction to black garlic.

On to the recipe.

Because we love the taste of black garlic, I wanted different ways to use it.  On the back of the bags of black garlic we sell, we tell you how to make a black garlic dipping oil. It's amazing, but very simple. It had to be in order to fit the recipe on the bag.

As much as I love simple, I also love to cook.  I love complex flavors and the feeling of being in the kitchen for awhile and creating something incredible and unique from simple ingredients.  It takes me back to the days of being in my mother's or grandfather's kitchen when I was very young.  It seemed like a form of magic to me when they would take the most simple and basic of ingredients and an hour later there would be an amazing meal on the table with smells and flavors that stick with me to this day.  This recipe duplicates that feeling for me.  Yes, it has some ingredients that are not quite so common; however that feeling of magic that hits me when you are able to create something out of simple things still makes me feel like a little kid again.

That's really just a complicated way of saying we wanted more ways to use black garlic.  This has become one of our favorite ways of using it.  I have another risotto recipe here on my blog and I love it, but I love this one more.  I also have a recipe here for risotto cakes.  You can use the risotto from this recipe to make the cakes and, as my wife says, they are orgasmic.  If the look on her face as she eats them is any indication, she's right.  ;o)

So, without any further preamble, here's the recipe.  Please feel free to leave us any comments letting us know how you liked it!

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sweet yellow onion, minced
• 6-8 finely chopped cloves black garlic (The number of cloves varies because of the size of the cloves and according to personal taste.  Also, because black garlic is very soft and sticky, it is sometimes easier to smash the cloves with a fork than it is to chop.)
• 2 cups dry arborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
• 8 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms, sliced*
• 1 teaspoon porcini mushroom powder* (though this is optional, it really enhances the flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered rosemary* (though this is optional, it really enhances the flavor)
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

*optional (Yes, I called this recipe black garlic and mushroom risotto.  If you don't  like mushrooms, just leave the mushrooms out and call it black garlic risotto!)

Directions

1. Pour the stock into a pot, bring to a boil, and turn down to a simmer.
   
   
                
   
   
2. In a small skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter.  
3. Add the powdered rosemary and porcini powder.
    
   
   
   
4. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
5. Cook on medium low until the mushrooms are tender (about four minutes).  Set pan aside.
   
   
   
   
   
6. In an additional pan (a large, heavy skillet, NOT the one with the mushroom mixture) melt 3 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. 
7. Add the onion and cook until translucent.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Stir in the black garlic.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Stir in the rice.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Add the wine. Stirring constantly, reduce until all the liquid is evaporated and rice grains have a glassy translucency.
    
    

    

    Notice that the ends of the rice are starting to become translucent.  This is
    when the wine should be evaporated and it's time to start adding the stock.

    
    
    
    
    
    
11. Pour a cup of simmering stock into the rice. Cook and stir constantly until the stock is evaporated, then add another cup of stock.
    
    
    
    
    
12. Continue cooking and stirring and adding stock until the rice is soft but firm.
13. Add the mushroom mixture to the rice. Stir in the parmesan, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and the mascarpone.
    
    
    
    
    
14. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
15. Enjoy!
    
    
    

EZ Apps: Deep Fried Mac & Cheese

When I'm looking for appetizers, whenever possible I go for simple.  It has to taste good, but simple is one of the first criteria.  This is particularly true if it's a day that I'm making multiple types of appetizers.  I don't want to spend my entire day on them and then have to make my main meal, dessert, or whatever else is going along with it.

That's where this particular appetizer shines.  It's incredibly simple.  It starts with something that you make the day before (or three or four days before): mac & cheese.  The best part about that is that it can be any type of mac and cheese you like.  Are you like me and you prefer to make it from scratch? Good.  That works.  How about the good old blue box of Kraft?  Yup, it works just fine as well.  As long as it's a mac and cheese that you like, it will work just fine.

Why the day before?  That's easy.  You want it to be well chilled so it holds its shape.  You can certainly make it in the morning and then refrigerate it before making the appetizer later in the day.

These are SO much better than any I've ever had in a restaurant.  You have to give them a try!

Ingredients

• Refrigerated, leftover mac & cheese (How much you use is completely up to you. The amount of egg and panko mixture in the recipe is enough to make approximately two dozen mac & cheese balls.  You can opt to make your balls a bit smaller or a bit larger. Again, this is up to personal preference.)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp rosemary leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp thyme leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp milk
• oil for frying

Directions

1. Heat the oil to 325 degrees.  For most frying, I heat it to 350-375.  I found that with this, you want it a bit lower.  If you use the higher temperature the outside will brown and even burn before the inside heats up.
2. While the oil is heating up, put the dry ingredients (panko, parmesan cheese, salt, and any herbs/spices you choose to use) in a food processor and pulse a few times until fine.  Feel free to add any herbs/spices you might like to this mixture.  If you like an Italian herb flavor, throw in a bit of oregano, basil and thyme.  You can personalize this to your tastes.  Set aside.
3. Mix the egg and milk together and set aside.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Form the cold mac and cheese into balls.  You want the balls to be about 1 1/2 tbsp in size. I use a medium cookie scoop for this (available here), which helps ensure consistency.  Set aside.
5. Roll the mac & cheese balls in the egg/milk mixture.

   
   

   
   

6. Next roll the balls in the panko mixture and set aside.
   
   

   

   
   

7. Carefully place the balls a few at a time into the oil.  You don't want to crowd them.  They should take approximately three minutes to cook at 325.  They will be a golden brown color.
   
   

   

   
   

8. Remove from oil.  IMPORTANT: Let cool before biting into them.  They WILL be very hot!
9. Eat as is or use your favorite dip (we love it with our Smoky Southern Gold sauce).
   
   
   
   
   

Healthy Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps, ready to eat!

We love Asian foods and many of the "fusion" styles that have come out lately melding different styles of cooking.

We also happen to love a chain called P.F. Chang's.  One of their "signature" appetizers is something called a lettuce wrap.  If you've been to P.F. Chang's, you likely know exactly what I'm talking about.  The taste is fantastic. They are somehow both light (because of the lettuce) and filling at the same time.

We wanted to try these at home and this is what I have come up with.  It's not an exact duplicate, but it is very close.  It also satisfies those cravings we sometimes have without having to spend a lot of money.

I have made it with both ground chicken and turkey and can't really tell the difference between the two, so either will work.

If you love these like we do, or if you just want to give it a try you will be surprised at how simple this is.  It's one of the simpler recipes I've ever written up and just takes a few minutes to make.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp sriracha (Optional.  We don't care for hot foods in our house so we don't use this.  If you love hot foods you may want to use more than one tsp.)
• 8 oz mushrooms, diced (Optional. I use shiitake when I can find them.)
• 8 oz carrots, diced fine (optional)
• 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 head butter lettuce (Boston or Bibb lettuce are basically the same thing so are interchangeable

Instructions 

1. Add one tsp of olive oil and ground chicken or turkey to a large non-stick skillet.  Cook the meat until it's just done while making sure to break it up, then drain any fat that you may have left and set aside.
   
   

   

   Ground chicken/turkey after being browned and drained of fat

2. Add second tsp of olive oil and sesame oil to the pan, then add the onions (along with the mushrooms and carrots if using them).  Let sauté until the onions are translucent, about two minutes.
   
   

   

   Before cooking, after vegetables added to pan

   
                        

   

   After cooking vegetables for a few minutes

3. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 30 seconds).  Be careful not to burn the garlic or it can get bitter.
   
   

   

   Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds

4. Add the meat back to the pan (along with the vegetables).
   
   

   

   Meat and vegetables before adding hoisin, soy sauce, etc.

5. Stir in the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and sriracha (if using).
6. Stir in the remainder of the ingredients (water chestnuts and scallions) along with salt and pepper to taste and cook for an additional two minutes.
   
   

   

   Ready to be put onto lettuce

7. Spoon several tbsp of the mixture (how much is entirely dependent on the size of the lettuce leaves you have and your own taste) onto the center of a lettuce leaf and enjoy!



Ready to eat!

Risotto Cakes

Risotto cakes

My wife said it best last night: mouth orgasm.

These really are that good - well, nearly so anyway since I'm not certain that's a real thing. Whether it is or not, I DO know that the three of us that were here all loved them.

I had them for the first time at a small restaurant up in Northampton, MA a couple of months ago and they were incredible.  They have a different type every day and I was actually disappointed the second time I had them. Ditto when I ordered them at Olive Garden (that one didn't surprise me as much, though I actually think their food is quite good for a chain).

That's when I decided I had to make them myself. After all, when something is this good and you can control what goes into it yourself so that you KNOW you're going to like it, it's a win-win situation!

If you've never had a risotto cake, it's basically leftover risotto formed into balls with some kind of coating and then either pan or deep fried. You can use any type of risotto - the one I used is here, but you really could use whatever type you like. I actually made my risotto the day before and made it with the specific purpose of making risotto cakes.

Since you can make them with different coatings, I chose to use a flour/egg wash/panko coating.  I also chose to deep fry them. You can use regular bread crumbs and pan fry them as well - and I'm certain they would also turn out great.

There is something about the creaminess of the risotto combined with the crunchiness of the panko on the outside that turned it from great to outstanding (the swiss cheese I put inside didn't hurt either).

We topped ours with some homemade roasted garlic aioli that I had whipped up earlier in the day and it was the perfect topping.

If you'd like to try it yourself, here's how:

Ingredients

• 3 cups leftover risotto, chilled
• 1 cup flour, for dredging
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 pound cheese cut into 1/4 inch pieces (type is your choice - I used Swiss but whatever you like will work)
• Vegetable, corn or peanut oil, for frying
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Directions

Remember when you were a kid and your mom told you not to play with your food? Well, this time it's okay - that's pretty much what you have to do for the first part of this.

1. Set up a dredging station with the flour in one dish, beaten eggs in another and panko breadcrumbs in a third
2. Take a spoonful of the risotto and place it in the palm of your hand (it obviously helps if your hands are clean first or you wear gloves - or both)

   

   Place a spoonful of risotto in your hand

3. Flatten the risotto. It should be about three inches across
4. Take a slice of the cheese and place in the middle of the flattened risotto

   

   Place a slice of cheese on the risotto

5. Take another spoonful of the risotto and place it on top of the cheese
6. Using both hands, make a patty out of the risotto, being certain to seal the cheese inside the risotto

   

   Make a patty out of the risotto - make sure the cheese is sealed inside

7. Dip the patty in the flour, then into the eggs, and finally coat them in panko and set aside

   
   

   

   Coat in flour, then egg, then panko

8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 until you're out of risotto
9. In a heavy pan (or a deep fryer) heat the oil until it's between 325 and 350 degrees.  It's important that it not get hotter than this.  If it does, the outside of the cake will get done before the inside gets hot enough to melt the cheese
10. Very carefully place the patties two to three at a time in the hot oil (how many you can cook at once is determined by the size of your pan - remember, the temperature will drop when you put them in the oil)
11. Fry for two to three minutes and flip them over while still in the oil, until nicely browned, then remove from the oil

    

    They should look like this when they're done

12. Place on a wire rack which will help them stay crispy
13. Place the wire rack with the patties in a 250 degree oven to stay warm
14. Repeat steps 10 to 13 until all the patties have been cooked while maintaining the 325 to 350 degree oil temperature

    

    On a wire rack with a paper towel to absorb extra oil

15. Arrange on a serving platter and serve hot
16. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

COOK'S NOTE:

We served this with garlic aioli. They are great by themselves but are really complemented by the aioli.

With homemade garlic aioli as a topping

Risotto with Mushrooms, Asparagus and Fresh Peas

I love risotto. I had never tried it until a couple of years ago (yes, I led a sheltered life) but since then I make it regularly. There are many different types, and I've liked all of them I've tried, but my favorite has mushrooms, asparagus and freshly shelled peas.

I also make chicken stock frequently and this recipe is one of the reasons. Risotto is great with canned chicken (or vegetable) stock but it is VASTLY improved with homemade stock. It's also much easier to control how much sodium is in it since you KNOW how much you put (or don't put) in your own stock.

There are a lot of recipes for risotto out there - and the first time I made it I looked at LOTS of them and pared them down to come up with my own conglomeration that suits my tastes.

Making risotto is really kind of an act of love - it's time consuming and demands constant attention as you stand over the stove. Certainly there are package mixes that don't take as much time but they don't come close to the flavor of the real thing - and though it is a bit time-consuming, it's certainly not difficult.

Feel free to change this in any way that suits you - add whatever kind of mushrooms you like (or none!), whatever vegetables you prefer, make it vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock, etc.

I'll also let you in on a little secret - I had an ulterior motive for making it this time around. I wanted risotto cakes. If you've never tried them (they're patties made out of cooked risotto, dipped in flour, egg and panko and deep fried), I'll be posting that as well, but just to give you an idea how good they are, when my wife bit into one she told me she had just had a mouth orgasm.

Now, I won't claim that's going to happen to you, but they are pretty awesome - good enough that it's worth making the risotto for that alone.

If you try it, let me know what you think!

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth (homemade or canned)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (or any kind of mushrooms you like)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• sea salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 oz very lightly steamed asparagus
• 4 oz freshly shelled peas

Directions

1. Pour the broth in a saucepan and warm over low heat
2. Pour 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and onions, and cook until soft, about 3 - 5 minutes

   

   Sauté the mushrooms and onions just until soft

3. Add garlic and mix well. Cook another one to two minutes until garlic is fragrant

   

   Add garlic and cook until fragrant

4. Remove mushrooms, onions and garlic and their liquid, and set aside
5. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to skillet and add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes

   

   Add the rice to the oil, stirring to coat well

6. The rice will start to darken a bit; you want it to get to a pale golden color. When it reaches this stage, pour in the wine and stir constantly until the wine is fully absorbed

   

   Cook the rice until it starts to turn a golden brown, then add the wine

7. Add 1 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed 

   

   Add one cup broth

8. Continue adding broth 1 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 25 to 30 minutes

   

   Stir until the rice is absorbed...

9. When all of the broth has been absorbed, the rice should be ready to remove from the heat. 

   

   ...then repeat until there is no more broth.  The rice
   should look like this before adding the butter

10. Add the butter and stir until melted
11. Add the mushroom/onion/garlic mixture and stir well

    

    Add the mushroom mixture and stir well

12. Add the parmesan cheese and mix well
13. Stir in the asparagus and peas

    

    Add the asparagus and peas and mix well

14. Season with salt and pepper to taste

    

    Enjoy!

15. Serve hot - and enjoy!