Recipe Of The Day | Pittsburgh Hot Plate

Quinoa Salad

January 13, 2012 By Chef Chuck 1 Comment

quinoa salad

Quinoa Salad

This is my recipe for a nutritious and easy to make cold quinoa salad- a delicious meal for my vegan and vegetarian friends!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked and chilled quinoa

½ each chopped yellow, red and orange peppers

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 cups black beans

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

½ cup sweet onion

½ cup chopped celery

¼ cup finely chopped carrots

½ cup finely chopped of zucchini and yellow squash

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

¼ cup chopped pecans

¼ olive oil

3 tablespoons organic honey

Juice of 2 lemons

Zest of 2 lemons

1 bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley

½ bunch cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Place all of the above ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Let sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour, and serve.

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

photo: feastandphotos.com

Filed Under: Recipe of the Day Tagged With: making quinoa, quinoa, quinoa salad, vegan cooking, vegan recipes, vegetarian, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipes, veggie, veggies

Homemade Caramel

December 10, 2011 By Chef Chuck 1 Comment

Homemade Caramel

This is a relatively easy recipe for homemade caramels. You can do all sorts of things with these delicious, creamy caramels… dip them in chocolate, eat them plain, or roll them in nuts. If you have some crisp apples, dip them in the caramel and serve to your guests!

Homemade Caramels

For 60 pieces

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Prepare: A 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover the bottom with parchment paper, then coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a medium sized pan over low heat. Once all of the ingredients have melted, turn the heat up to medium.

Continue stirring the caramel until it reaches 245 degrees- use a candy thermometer- this will take at least 20 minutes.

Pour the hot caramel in a 9 x 13 baking dish lined with parchment paper.

Let the caramel set at room temperature for 24 hours.

Cut into squares and serve.

Happy Holidays!

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

Filed Under: Recipe of the Day Tagged With: candy, candy recipes, candy thermometer, caramel recipes, caramels, Christmas candy, holiday candy, holiday cooking, homemade caramels, making candy

Veal Campobasso

December 9, 2011 By Chef Chuck Leave a Comment

Veal Campobasso

Mountain States Rosen Lamb & Veal

I recently got some veal cutlets from Mountain States Rosen Company. They were sealed in easy to use pouches with the air removed. When I make scaloppini, (defn. small, thinly sliced pieces of meat, especially veal, dredged in flour, sautéed, and served in a sauce) I use a mallet to flatten the meat before searing. These cutlets were already perfectly thin and tender- no mallet required!

Veal Cutlets

I came up with this recipe for veal cutlets- I hope you have a chance to try it.

Veal Campobasso

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

12 Mountain States veal cutlets

1 cup of unbleached flour for dredging

½ cup of unsalted butter

½ cup shallots

½ cup white wine

¼ cup organic honey

1 bunch of chopped asparagus

1 cup each of red, yellow and orange peppers

2 cups of artichoke hearts

1 cup hydrated sun-dried tomatoes

½ cup capers

¼ cup flat-leaf Italian parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place a sauté pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Melt 2 teaspoons of butter in the pan.

Put the flour in a large metal bowl.

Season the veal cutlets. Dredge the cutlets in the flour, and place in the sauté pan. Cook until the cutlets become golden brown, approximately 1 minute aside. Sauté the remaining the veal, and place on a lined baking sheet.

Seasoned Veal Cutlets

Sauteed Veal Cutlets

Place ½ of the butter in the sauté pan that the veal was just cooked in, and melt. When it becomes hot, add the shallots and cook until they become caramelized. Add the asparagus, peppers, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Sauté vegetables until they become slightly brown.

Place the veal in the oven and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and add the organic honey. Place the remaining butter in the pan and mix until it binds with the wine, approximately 2 minutes. Add the parsley.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Remove the veal from the oven, and place on a platter. Place the veggies and sauce over the cooked veal, then garnish with parsley and lemons.

Serve with pasta, gnocchi or rice.

Veal Campobasso

Enjoy!

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

Filed Under: Recipe of the Day Tagged With: chef chuck kerber, cooking with veal, dining pittsburgh, dinner, dinner recipes, Pittsburgh, pittsburgh dining, pittsburghhotplate.com, veal, veal cutlets, veal recipes, veal scaloppine

Tomato-Shrimp Soup with Fresh Basil

December 9, 2011 By Chef Chuck Leave a Comment

Tomato-Shrimp Soup with Fresh Basil

This is an incredibly rich, flavorful soup… perfect for those cold winter dinners!

Serves 8

Tomato-Shrimp Soup with Fresh Basil

Ingredients:

1 pound of fresh, raw peeled and deveined shrimp

1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped and peeled carrots

1 cup chopped sweet onions

½ cup chopped shallots

½ cup unbleached flour

¼ cup each of diced red, yellow and orange peppers

½ cup white wine

1 quart heavy cream

1 quart water

1 can, 28 ounces stewed tomatoes

1 large bunch of fresh basil

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

Directions:

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the salt and pepper, celery, onions, carrots and shallots. Stir this mixture for 5 minutes, just until it starts to caramelize. Add the flour, and continue to stir for an additional five minutes- this is called a roux. Place the diced peppers in the mixture, and mix for 1 minute. Add the white wine, heavy cream and water. Stir vigorously with a large wire whisk to prevent any lumps from forming. This mixture will begin to thicken after a few minutes- at this point add the canned tomatoes and stir. Place on low heat and set aside.
Place a stainless steel pan on medium-high heat. Add the remaining butter. When the butter is melted, add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes; just until they begin to turn color. Add the sautéed shrimp to the soup and stir.

Add the chopped basil, and mix.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve and enjoy!

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

Filed Under: Recipe of the Day Tagged With: basil, fresh basil, how to make a roux, making soup, recipe suggestions, recipes, roux, seafood, seafood soup, shrimp soup, soup, soup recipes, tomato soup, winter cooking, winter recipes

Pan-Seared Veal Chops with Honey-Balsamic Sauce

December 8, 2011 By Chef Chuck Leave a Comment

Veal Chop

Pan-Seared Veal Chops with Honey-Balsamic Reduction

I recently had an opportunity to make some delicious veal chops courtesy of Mountain States Rosen Lamb and Veal. The product they provide is impeccably fresh, and easy to work with.

Here is my original recipe for Pan-Seared Veal Chops with Honey-Balsamic Sauce:

Serves 2

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

2 Mountain States Veal Chops

2 tablespoons olive oil for pan-searing

1 teaspoon each of fresh rosemary, thyme, and oregano

1 chopped clove of garlic

½ cup each of red, orange and yellow peppers

¼ cup white wine

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper for seasoning

For the Sauce

½ cup good quality balsamic

¼ cup organic honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Salt and pepper both sides of the veal chop. Next, rub the chop with the fresh herbs and chopped garlic.

Place a stainless steel sauté pan on high heat and add the olive oil. When the pan is hot, place the veal chop presentation side down. Sear the chop for one minute on each side, then place in the oven. Bake for 6-8 minutes for medium-rare.

Remove chop from pan, and let rest for 5 minutes.

For the Sauce:

Place the balsamic vinegar and organic honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat and season with salt and pepper. Stir continuously until the mixture becomes thick; 3-4 minutes. Remove from the stove and set aside.

Return the pan that the chop was in to the stove over medium-high heat. Place the peppers in the pan and sauté for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the butter and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Place the sautéed peppers on a plate. Place the veal chop on top of the peppers, then drizzle the balsamic sauce over the veal.

Enjoy!

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

Filed Under: Recipe of the Day Tagged With: chef chuck kerber, Chuck Kerber, cooking, cooking methods, Dining, lamb, Mountain States, recipes, searing, veal, veal chops, veal recipes