Posted by Whenever I hear someone talk of gourmet food, I immediately get this mental image of a prissy French waiter named Jean-Jacques, working in some fancy restaurant in Vancouver, lifting the dome of some grandiose platter and exclaiming “VOILA!” to a paltry piece of meat, three baby carrots cut in a fancy way and an itty bitty portion of something colourful and mashed. Though I don’t doubt the effort put into this fine cuisine, all I know is that after I’ve eaten my entire meal in two to three bites, I have to head down to the nearest McDonalds and chow down on a quarter-pounder trio, with a cheeseburger on the side to actually fill my hunger. Is this just the reality of gourmet cooking? Is there simply no room for someone like me in the realms of haute cuisine? Well sorry to disappoint you Jean-Jacques, but I am not giving up that easy and what’s more, I’m going to take gourmet cooking out of the posh restaurant and bring it into my own kitchen.
Gourmet food is “food prepared skilfully, which is as pleasing to the palate as it is to the eye”, but I would like to add the stomach into this mix.
Why Beef When You Can Bison?
Since I seem to have burgers on my mind, here is an amazing and delicious recipe to step-up the classic burger and fries meal and give it a gourmet twist.
Bison Burger & Garlic Butter Fries
Bison Burger
Ingredients
• 2 lbs ground bison
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp granulated garlic
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Red pepper sauce, to taste
Instructions
• In a large bowl, combine the ground bison with the Worcestershire sauce, red pepper sauce, granulated garlic, sea salt and black pepper.
• Shape the mixture into ¾ inch patties
• Lightly brush the patties with olive oil to prevent sticking
• Season with sea salt, cracked black pepper and granulated garlic
• Cook on a preheated grill pan over medium high heat- 5 minutes on one side and 4 minutes on the other (or until an internal temperature of 140 degrees F has been reached
Add any of your favorite burger toppings, melt a strong old cheddar or even gorgonzola cheese and place your magnificent bison burger between a warm, lightly toasted onion bun. Yum…
Recipe courtesy: iFood.tv
Thin and Crispy Garlic Butter Fries (2 servings)
Ingredients
• 2 Medium-sized Russet potatoes
• Cold water
• Crisco Shortening to fry
• Butter
• Minced garlic
Instructions
• Peel potatoes and cut into ¼” strips using a knife or French-fry cutter
• Soak in cold water for several minutes, then drain and pat dry
• Fill a 3-quart saucepan, about ½ way with Crisco Shortening and heat to 325 degrees F.
• Cook 2-3 cups of potato strips at a time, for 3 minutes, slowly and carefully, so as not to make the oil splash and burn your house down
• Drain potatoes on paper towel and cool at least 15 minutes at room temperature
• Once cool, re-heat Crisco to 365 degrees F and fry potatoes a second time for 6-8 minutes until golden brown
• Drain on paper towel
• Toss cooked fries with melted butter and minced garlic in a frying pan over medium heat until all fries are coated
Garlic and Beer Leg Of Lamb With A Side Of Lemon and Almond Rice Pilaf
Here is a perfect gourmet recipe for a dinner party, which will be sure to have your guests rolling over with joy.
Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
• 1 (5 pound) leg of lamb
• 30 cloves garlic, peeled (whoa! Smelly, you will be)
• Salt & Pepper
• ¼ cup coarse-grain brown mustard
• 1 cup beer
Instructions
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
• Rinse the leg of lamb and pat dry
• Place lamb in a roasting pan and generously season and rub the salt and pepper into the meat
• Using a knife, make incisions all over the leg and stuff the garlic cloves inside
• Spoon the mustard over the lamb and rub in
• Roast, uncovered in the preheated over for approximately 30 minutes
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F
• Baste the lamb with beer, reserving the rest for basting at 20 minute intervals
• Continue to roast the lamb until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F to get that perfect medium rare. The lamb should be in the oven for about 1 ½ hours.
• Remove from oven and allow to rest at least 5 minutes before carving
Recipe courtesy: allrecipes.com
