ArcaMax

Kitchen Control...

I want to begin today’s column with a special thank you to those of you who sent me condolences on the loss of our kitty Titi. So many of you really understand that losing a loved one, whether pet or person can take a toll. This one, because I had no warning or even reason to suspect something could happen, really hit me hard. I do miss her terribly. It would have taken me months to get back to the hundreds and hundreds of you who took the time to send me a note so I figured I better say thank you here. You are all dear to my heart. Thank you.

Now, onto something more festive.

For this first time in my life I gave up control of my kitchen. I hired someone else to do the cooking.

You can imagine how insane even typing that seems to me. When people come to my house they fully expect me to do the cooking. I’m a food writer. Of course I do my own cooking. The word catering doesn’t even fit in my vocabulary. But this time I made an exception and fit the term personal chef into my life and into my kitchen.

The occasion was a gathering of my siblings and their spouses. We all decided it was time to get together and even though not all could make the date, a significant number did, and it was time to spend some quality time together.

My family members are all good cooks. We could have joined up and made dinner together. That would have not been a problem. What happened is I volunteered to coordinate this gathering and I wanted it to be something different. We have gathered lots of times to cook. Many of those times were when my family came to help me prepare for large parties. Instead, I wanted the day to be filled with other activities we could do together and not have to set aside time for cooking.

I gave everyone a list of several things that were going on in Chicago on that bright, crisp fall day. They could choose what they wanted to do. When you have a big family such as ours I don’t expect everyone to like the same things or want to do the same things. Turns out pretty much everybody decided to take the water taxi down the Chicago river and go visit Chinatown. The water taxi is a great way to get a new perspective of the city and a unique view of the architecture. I love the water taxi. Our Chinatown is quite sizable and there’s tons of shopping and great food. Now, this was something different.

Turns out I was the only one who could not go to Chinatown. I had to be back in time to let the chef in the house so I decided to drop them all off and go home. I also was not in all the great a mood because Titi had just died a couple of days before so having some alone time was good for me.

Chef Josh is the guy I contracted with to put on our dinner. I met Chef Josh because he had been hired by a couple of our Plan Z dieters. They wanted someone to cook for them while they were on the diet. Chef Josh had to get up to speed on how the diet works and what the restrictions/structure are so he could properly cook for them. Since we both live in the same city it seemed only logical that we meet. So we did.

I liked Chef Josh. He’s building a unique business of his own and I decided I wanted to help him. He’s young and enthusiastic. What’s not to love? But I also wanted to test out his skills so I could be in a better position to recommend him if the opportunity arose, so I decided the way to do that would be to hire him.

Chef Josh and I discussed what style of dinner I wanted. I wanted to have the dinner conform to the ZReboot stage of Plan Z by Zola. I wanted a creative menu but not too far out on the edge. I knew we could have a fabulous meal and still be eating ‘diet food’. This was not because I feel my family needs a diet. It was really for me to be able to see if Chef Josh could be creative and execute a meal that followed the protocol. And I still wanted him to have fun and use his creativity.

Chef Josh stepped up to the challenge and I have to say he passed the “test” with flying colors! Each couple chipped in to pay for their dinner and this is the three course meal Chef Josh orchestrated.

1st Course

A taste of three
Harvest Chicken Wing Bites
Boneless Chicken Wing served with “Hot Sauce”, Sliced Ripe Peaches, Celery Leaf, And Crumbled Humboldt Fog Cheese
Cashew Crusted Seared Tuna
Seared Tuna Coated with Cashews, with Mango, Cilantro, Sesame Wonton and Avocado
Truffled Beef Tenderloin Taco
Seared Beef Tenderloin with Truffled Aioli, Scallions and Crispy Taco Shell

2nd Course

Tahitian Vanilla Marinated Pork Loin with Butternut Squash Puree
Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Candied Pecans, and Green Apple Chutney

3rd Course

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Raspberry Cream
Raspberry Pate de Fruit
Dark Chocolate Shavings

Chef Josh really got into this project. So much so, he brought along a sous chef; his buddy Collin, and his fiancé Britta joined us to take pictures. They all seemed to be enjoying their time in my kitchen and my family was enjoying the dinner. It was really nice, and certainly a change, just to be able to sit and chat. No cooking. No serving, and no cleaning up! We could talk and EAT!

It was great to see someone else spread plates all across our counter and set about plating three teeny appetizers. Each tidbit was better than the last! I heard moaning coming from my family members. Lots of cheering and laughter. The entrée was delightful and the desserts devine. Everyone graduated in the Clean Plate Club. A few might have been tempted to lick their plates had they not been successful in getting every last morsel on their forks.

The dinner was a big success. And I’ll proudly recommend Chef Josh to others in the Chicago area who want someone else to do their cooking while they are on Plan Z. So many tell me Plan Z doesn’t taste like a diet. And Josh surely proved that with his delivery on a magnificent dinner.

Chef Josh did such a great job, in fact, that I asked him to contribute a couple of his recipes. I’m sharing those with you today. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did. I also want to invite you to check out Josh’s Web sites and Facebook page. If you go to the tumblr.com link below you can see Chef Josh working in my kitchen. Not all of his recipes in his various sites are Plan Z “friendly” because he does all kinds of cooking but each of them are beautiful to see. I wish Chef Josh much success.

You can find Chef Josh at facebook.com/chefjoshkatt, twitter.com/chefjoshkatt, chefjoshkatt.tumblr.com and about.me/chefjoshkatt.

Raspberry Pate de Fruit from Chef Josh

These are delightful little jellies. They taste so French and so fresh! Not like those little gumballs you can buy at the candy store. These are the real deal. BIG YUM! I’d recommend making a batch of these and sharing them with friends and family. Even just one makes a great treat. Chef Josh served them on the side of a little teeny chocolate cake that is also a Plan Z menu choice.

For those of you who like to give gifts of food for the holidays, consider making these. You’d be giving your friends and family a gift of a healthy treat. I’m sure they’d love you for it. - Zola

Ingredients:

2-10oz jars of Raspberry Preserves (no sugar added) (POLANER is the brand to buy. Other sugarless jams are sweetened with sucralose and you don’t want artificial sweeteners. This one is sweetened with only fruit juice).
1 cup of water
3 packets of gelatin
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of Truvia (for coating) Truvia is stevia. A natural sweetener.

Directions:

1. Place the raspberry preserves into a thick bottomed metal pan with 1 cup of water. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil.

2. In a separate bowl place 1/4 cup of water, and sprinkle the three packets of gelatin on top of the water. Stir in with a spoon, and place into the microwave for 20 seconds to melt.

3. Remove the gelatin and pour into the boiling raspberry preserves, incorporating it with a whisk.

4. Continue to lightly boil the fruit mixture until you reach 225F. You can use a candy thermometer, or another great trick is to take the whisk you are using to stir and hold it horizontally. If any fruit puree falls back into the pan you need to keep cooking it. When the puree sticks to the whisk, you can turn the heat off. Be careful because at this hot of a temperature the puree can really burn you. It also can begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, so continue to stir while you are waiting for the right consistency.

5. There are a few options for molding these beautiful jewels. I use a rubber dome silpat, which creates demispheres. But alternatively you can use a small non-stick loaf pan greased with a little butter, or anything that will create a 1” inch deep pate de fruit.

6. After pouring into the mold of your choice place in the fridge or freezer for an hour.

7. The puree should have firmed up at this point. You can now un-mold the jellies and roll them in theTruvia. Alternately, you can cut your pan-jellies into little squares or use a teeny hors d’oeuvre cutter to make shaped candies. You can now leave them out of a refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to a week!

I love how the Truvia coats the outside perfectly and adds a little crunch to the chewy texture. Serve these with anything dark chocolate, but they are perfectly delicious on their own.

- Recipe from Chef Josh

Butternut Squash Puree by Chef Josh

This is an amazing side dish. I’d consider taking this one to a holiday event and serving it instead of mashed potatoes. Or when you need to bring a dish to the potluck bring this! It’s so rich and creamy. Your guests will love it. - Zola

Ingredients:

1 Large Organic Butternut Squash
4 TBLs Unsalted butter
1 Cup of Cream
2 TBLs Organic Maple Syrup, Grade B
Salt & White Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425F. Split your butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scrape out any seeds and discard them. Place face down on a parchment paper lined sheet tray and place in the oven.

2. Roast for an hour or until the skin is browned and gives when pushed with a wooden spoon.

3. Remove from the oven, flip over, and cool.

4. Carefully scoop out the flesh. You’ll throw away the skin.

5. Prior to serving, place the butternut squash flesh in a blender with the cream and puree. Let this run for a few minutes to get the smoothest possible puree. Scrap the sides of the blender and puree again for another 30 seconds. Pour into a tall sided sauce pan.

6. Turn the heat on medium high and stir in the butter, maple syrup, salt and white pepper.

7. Check for seasoning and consistency. I love my purees to be smoother than mashed potatoes but not sauce-like. They should have a little bit of hold to them on a spoon or plate.

Serve butternut squash puree with ANY roasted meat, particularly pork or chicken but would also go well with braised short ribs. Other additions could be a sage leaf or two for a garnish. I use white pepper because of its ability to blend into the puree without causing any black flecks to be seen throughout the golden orange color.

-Recipe from Chef Josh

Cheers!
Zola