Today, we are very happy to have Bridget join us in the kitchen to make one of my all time favorite desserts, bananas flambe. This is one of the first desserts that I ever learned how to make and it has been a household favorite for many years. It is a very simple dessert to prepare but will wow your guests, if it doesn’t, I’ll come to your next dinner party and prepare it myself.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Banana, Sliced
1/8 Cup Rum

DIRECTIONS:

Combine butter and brown sugar over medium high heat until butter and sugar melt into a syrup like consistency.

Add bananas and coat with syrup mixture. Pour in rum and touch to flame. Allow flame to burn and sauce to reduce slightly.

Serve over ice cream.

In addition to filming our regular show in the kitchen, I thought it would be fun to capture moments with food outside of our home. The kitchen will continue to be our primary location but every now and then we will spice things up with an episode of The Simple Table On Location.

Today, a couple friends and I are having fun making a parody of the highly successful Wine Library TV.

Today we were joined in the kitchen by world-class photographer Kevin Winzeler.  If you noticed that the production value went up for today’s episode, you’d be correct. Kevin, fresh off a photo shoot with Real Salt Lake, stopped by to film and produce episode #6.

 
INGREDIENTS:

1 (15 ounce) can butter beans, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, mash butter beans. Mix in onion, jalapeno pepper, bread crumbs, egg, cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Divide into 4 equal parts, and shape into patties.

2. Fry on a hot skillet 3-4 minutes per side.

3. Assemble burger and dress with your favorite toppings.

Salmon is our favorite fish to cook and eat and our favorite way to cook salmon is on a cedar plank.  This is super simple and is a big hit anytime we have guests over.

Recipe

Salmon
1 Cedar Plank (these are one time use, throw away after cooking)
Season to Taste

Soak your cedar plank, fully submerged, in water for at least an hour before cooking. This will help keep the plank from catching fire while cooking.

Season your salmon however you like it. In this episode we used a simple mesquite seasoning and I enjoyed the play between the sweet smoke of the cedar and the spicy bite of the mesquite.

Pre-heat your grill on high. Place your plank directly on the grill. Wait 2-3 minutes until the plank is dried out and place your salmon onto the plank. Cook for 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish and the desired doneness (I try to cook my salmon to medium/medium rare to keep it from drying out; remember the fish will continue to cook once you take it off the grill).

Remove the fish from the grill and serve. If you have guests over its fun to serve the salmon right on the cedar plank. Wrap a drying rack or cookie sheet with tinfoil and place the plank on the tinfoil and serve table side.

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. An Italian phrase which literally means “cooked cream”, it generally refers to a creamy, set dessert from the Northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is eaten all over Italy where it is served with wild berries, caramel or chocolate sauce.

Recipe

1/3 cup milk
1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.

3. Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.

4. Top with your favorite sauce or fresh berries.

My dream for this site is that it will become a community of people who are passionate about food.  Not just a place to swap recipes but a destination where people from around the world can come together as one.

Not every recipe will be perfect for everyone and that is the way it should be.  I never view a recipe as a step-by-step set of instructions I have to follow.  I am always modifying to match my palate, the freshness of the ingredients I have available to me, and my mood.  My friend Hila, from California, took this advice to heart. As her and her family do not eat pork, she quickly made a simple modification to the original recipe by making the cup from turkey rather than ham.

It makes me very happy to see people motivated by this site to try new things and to share their experiences. For me, that is what food is all about. A common ground that brings people together. We share our life experiences over food and we mark every major event in our lives with food.

Let’s slow down and appreciate the beauty that is all around us.

Recipe

1/2 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cups White Sugar
1 T Light Corn Syrup
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1 t Baking Soda
2 t vanilla

Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and buttermilk over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

Stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Serve with pancakes, waffles, or just eat by the spoonful.
 

In this episode, Chef Jason, Sous Chef Brevin, & Sous Chef Halie invent a one of a kind dry rub to season New York Strip Steaks.

In the inaugural episode, Chef Jason, Sous Chef Brevin, & Sous Chef Halie make a simple ham & egg breakfast.

Recipe

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, for the tins
4 1/16-inch-thick round ham slices (the largest you can find at the deli)
4 teaspoons pesto, homemade or store-bought
4 large eggs
8 3/4-inch cubes fresh mozzarella
4 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter 4 compartments of a metal muffin tin. Fold each ham slice into quarters, insert the point end in a buttered muffin cup, and let it open — it will have a ruffled look.

Crack an egg into each ham cup. Tuck 2 mozzarella cubes and two cherry tomato halves into each cup on top of the eggs, top with pesto and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the egg white looks set but the yolk is still a bit runny. Remove the ham cups from the muffin tin and serve them in small bowls or lined up on a platter.

Serves 4

A special thanks to our friend Julie for sending in photos of her ham cups.