Melon with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Cream Cheese

I enjoyed a similar salad out at  a restaurant and I thought I could recreate it slightly better and I Forking did! This is a refreshing light delicious salad that’s easy to prepare and looks like something from a very upscale restaurant.

Ingredients for 4 servings

One medium melon. (I used a honey dew but I think just about any ripe flavorful similar kind of melon would do) Remove rind and seeds and cut in halves into thinner slices

1/2 rind of preserved lemon chopped fine

1 Tablespoon of the preserved lemon brine (if you used my recipe…because it’s fresh lemon juice and kosher salt) (as a substitute use 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice and salt to taste)

3 Tablespoons sunflower oil

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons pure honey

1 Tablespoon fresh mint – chopped fine

2 oz. whipped cream cheese (you might want slightly more to get you pastry bag working but you only use about 2 oz. at the most)

4 pinches of lavender

optional edible flowers broken down a little

Directions

Arrange melon slices on plates and set to the side.

In a small bowl add preserved lemon, preserved lemon brine, sunflower oil, vinegar, honey and mix well and pour over each serving.

Sprinkle the mint and optional flowers over each serving.

Get a disposable pastry bag and a small rose tip. Insert the tip to bag and fill with cream cheese and twist the end so the cheese doesn’t fall out.

Hold the bag and add pressure and make like sort of a hook motion.

Now do a reverse hook motion into what you already did.

Now you have some cheese that looks like a flower bud.

Make several all over the salad.

If you feel like it make a rose in the middle. Apologies for not being able to take good pictures while doing a rose. I found I can’t handle a cell phone a pastry bag and my other hand holding a flower nail very well. But I’ll try to do better another time.

For right handed people hold your nail in your left hand and make a little mountain of cream cheese on the nail.

Now go around the top to make the center of the bud leaving a small hole in the top.

After this it’s easy!!!! Just keep going around making petals starting at the top doing small ones  that get larger till it looks right to you and remove with a butter knife.

Melon Salad with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Whipped Cream Cheese

This is so delicious! The delicate whipped cream cheese doesn’t over power anything so you can taste all the delicious flavors. This really is BETTER than what I tried from some high end restaurants.

This is Forking Awesome and that’s The Forking Truth

Roasted Preserved Lemons

Perserved Lemons have an intense lemon flavor that will elevate most savory or sweet foods to the next level. Preserving lemons is very easy to do but you need to wait a month for them to be ready to use.

Who has a forking month to wait for preserved lemons?

I just read in Food and Wine Magazine that you can preserve lemons in your oven in about three hours. Mine took four hours but I used regular lemons instead of the sweeter and thinner skinned Meyer Lemons recommended. The recipe comes from ChefBenFord.com. He did his recipe with only three Meyer Lemons.  All lemons do come in a variety of sizes from the very small to the very large so you have to wing the time. I used about 18 small lemons total.

Chef Ben Ford’s  recipe is called Roasted Preserved Lemons. He does use Meyer Lemons. I can’t find Meyer Lemons right now from any stores in the area so I’m using regular lemons because I want some preserved lemons.

Start by washing them really well. then You basically trim the stem end.

Make like quarter cuts but not all the way threw.

Good Sprinkle of kosher or sea salt

Add about one lemon fresh juice per every lemon in your dish. In short half the lemons are preserved and half are juiced.

Put the dish in a 200 degree oven for three-four hours. You might need to turn the lemons half way threw.

To use you need to scrape out all you can from the rind.

Now you have something lemony delicious that you can use in a variety of ways. The first thing I made with my preserved lemons was a delicious Melon Salad. Can’t wait to do more with the preserved lemons.

Melon with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Cream Cheese

Who has a forking month to wait for preserved lemons?

This is better!

When Life Gives You Lemons Forking Preserve Them!

The Forking Truth

Chicken out of the SousVide and Browned in the Pan

I usually pound chicken breast, then salt and pepper them on both sides, dust them lightly with an unusual healthy flour and then pan fry them in a regular fry pan with non-stick oil. They come out with a nice crust and are very tasty, flavorful and moist.

I had my SousVide all fired up so I thought I’d cook off four already slightly pounded out chicken breast four different ways. This is another way to make perfect chicken breast and you can easily infuse them with flavors.

For boneless chicken breast you need to set the SousVide at 146 degrees F or 63.5 degrees C and leave the chicken in the water bath between two and four hours. I would make three hours  as your target if your doing one or two pouches and if your doing more I’d go to the four hours.

You need to add frozen fat of some kind. That can be butter, olive oil or animal fat. Some sealing machines do have a setting for liquids but all sealers can seal with frozen fat. You also need to add things like garlic, onion, celery, carrot, salt, pepper and herbs to make the chicken taste good.

I made up four bags of chicken breast four different ways.

Basic with a few extras- About 1/4 sweet onion, a couple slices of orange, 2 small pieces of apple, 1/2 celery rib cut up, 2 smashed garlic cloves,  a small carrot cut in sticks, 1 sprig thyme, small handful of basil, about two Tablespoons of frozen fat (olive oil, chicken fat or garlic confit) , About a teaspoon sea salt and about 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

The variations below are similar to the basic recipe just a few ingredients that are different.

Lemon Garlic Dill – onion, celery, carrot, apple, orange, lemon, dill, frozen garlic confit, salt and         pepper – This one came out Forking Amazing and was my favorite!

Mexican Inspired – cilantro, onion, orange, poblano pepper, garlic, carrot, celery, frozen chicken fat, ground achiote, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper

Asian Inspired- 2 lime leaves, cilantro, Thai basil, lemon grass, fresh ginger in slices, garlic, orange, apple, carrot, celery, onion, Szechuan peppercorns, frozen chicken fat, salt and pepper

Your finished chicken can be served right away and you can easily brown it in a sauce pan on medium high heat with some either canola oil or a mixture of butter and canola or vegetable oil. Many people like grape seed oil but I never use it because anything grape is harmful to dogs and if you know me then you know that I share some chicken with my dogs. It only takes a minute or a little more time to brown the chicken in a pan.

All the chicken came out great it was all soft, moist and flavorful. However the chicken made with garlic confit was super amazing not sure why. All the flavors were far more intense with a little pop. I will have to experiment using the SousVide with frozen garlic confit more.

To make garlic confit put a bunch of garlic cloves in a baking dish or baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with extra virgin olive oil. Cover. Put in a 350 degree F oven for about an hour or until cloves are soft and tender and whip. I keep some in the refrigerator and freeze the rest in very small salad dressing containers. The garlic confit is also excellent for using in dressings and any sauce you prepare that you don’t cook because you will never have a too strong garlic taste.

That’s a little bit of Using the SousVide with Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast.

Yum yum delish and that’s The Forking Truth

Tomatillo Jicama Fruit Salad with Tapioca and Lemon Creme

I made this lemon anglaise-like cream that I was going to use for cake with and then I decided I could do something far more interesting with the cream and I combined it with fresh cut fruit and large tapioca pearls.

The Tomatillo is looks like a green tomato but is really a berry that’s related to the gooseberry. It taste almost watermelon like when it’s raw like from the part near the rind. Jicama is neutral and adds a nice light crunch. The fruit adds flavor and sweetness and the tapioca makes the salad special. Thai Basil adds just the right seasoning that ties everything together. This salad seems light and is refreshing.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 12 0z. can evaporated milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

4 lemons – the fresh juice and zest (you need about a cup plus 1/4 of juice)

4 XL yolks -beaten

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup water

pinch salt

1/2 large jicama – peeled and cut in cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)

2 oranges peeled and supreme and cut in smaller pieces

1 lb tomatillos 3 large or bunch of small cored, peeled, cleaned – cubed

1 apple cored cubed

l lemon just the fresh squeezed juice

2 Tablespoon fresh Thai Basil – chopped

1/2 cup large pearl tapioca

2 cups water

Directions

In a small mixing bowl combine cornstarch sugar, salt, yolks and mix well. In a saucepan on medium heat add your butter, lemon juice/zest, water, Whisk in your small bowl contents into your sauce pan. The mixture must bubble and thicken. Let it bubble for about 5 minutes and turn down heat so it doesn’t burn.

When done refrigerate.

Prep up the produce if you haven’t done already.

There are different kinds of tapioca out there that need different cooking methods so follow the directions on the kind you purchased. Mine was to bring to boil, then reduce to slow boil for about 10 minutes and then reduced to simmer about 10 minutes. Staring often because this stuff sticks. I recommend using a nonstick pot if you have one. Rinse the tapioca well and then add the tapioca to the chilled lemon sauce. Then pour the sauce over the produce and add the Thai Basil.

People will be impressed with this one. Delicious with interesting flavors and textures. This recipe might be prize winning. I should forking charge for this one.

Your Welcome!

Tomatio Jicama Fruit Salad with Tapioca and Lemon Creme

This is Fabulous and that’s The Forking Truth

Rosemary Lemon Cucumber & Carrot Salad

I had a bunch of pickling cucumbers, some lemons and some fresh rosemary and I was undecided if I wanted to make pickles or salad so I made salad but pickled style. The salad came out very light and refreshing. Cumbers are really a blank canvas you can infuse any flavor to them. Rosemary can be a harsh flavor and isn’t typically used with cucumber but if you are very careful and don’t over use it then it is fine and goes very well with lemon. After you make it the the flavors need at least a day to combine but for the best flavor you need to let it sit about one week.

Ingredients to make around 14 servings

3 1/2 lb pickling cucumbers – remove ends, slice in chip shapes

1 carrot peeled, and sliced very thin

1 sweet onion sliced thin

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and a small amount of the zest.

8 garlic cloves smashed

1 oz fresh rosemary – finely chopped

Directions

In a large bowl add your cucumber, carrot, onion and rosemary. Get a medium sized sauce pan on the stove and add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and then reduce to slow boil for about twenty minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the garlic and discard. Pour the hot liquid over the big bowl with cucumbers. Chill and serve.

Rosemary Lemon Cucumber & Carrot Salad

Very light and tasty.

These are refreshing and light and that’s The Forking Truth