Baked Goods & Summer Time Fruits So Good Together

Yesterday we were not only lucky enough to enjoy these summer time desserts were also able to share them with our dads on Father's Day. 

Summer not only brings us these delicious fruits and berries, it can also bring the heat, even in temperate San Francisco.  Keeping butter cool can be a challenge in the heat when making flaky tart and pie crusts.

But somehow we managed through our recent heat wave and were able to create this yummy summer time treats.  If you would like to learn how to make treats like these check out our Summer Time Fruits Baking Class.

Our Chef Mick D in a national commercial for Match.com look for him 22 seconds in to it.

Don't Passover Gefilte Fish

Gefilte Fish is a traditional course served during a Passover Seder.  Many people are unaware of what it is and those that are familiar with it only know of the gefilte fish sold in jars.  The jarred variety does not look very appetizing, as it tends to look like clumpy fish balls in a murky liquid.  But take heart, gefilte fish is an easy and delicious course to make from scratch, foregoing the murky fish balls.

Start by cooking tender some carrots and parsnips.  I cooked mine sous vide for 30 minutes at 180F. 

Traditionally gefilte fish is made of fresh white fish, like carp.  But living in California I opted for some local fresh caught cod fillets.  Here are two pounds of it.  You want to cut the fish into 1/2 cubes and then  place in freezer for half an hour.

While the fish chills, mince two cooked carrots and one parsnip, with one preserved lemon (skin only) and two tablespoons of minced tarragon. 

After the fish has chilled place in a food processor and pulse into a smooth paste about 1-2 minutes.

After the fish has been processed into a paste, place into a large mixing bowl and add the minced carrots, parsnips, preserved lemons, and tarragon.  To that add one egg and a quarter cup of matzoh meal.
Mix well to combine, then form into 3 equal sized logs about 2 inches in diameter.

I then bagged each log in its own vacuum pouch with 1/4 cup of frozen fish stock and cooked sous vide at 140 for 1 hour, then removed the cooked fish and placed in an ice bath to cool for half an hour before refrigerating over night.  

To serve the gefilte fish remove from the bags and slice into disks and serve immediately with minced tarragon.  Traditionally gefilte fish is served cold so there is no need to reheat.


Chef Mick is co-owner and Culinary MC of Add Thyme Cooking Classes

Chef Mick Making Porky Goodness

So not a vegan aka +0p$#!+: Don't be Pig Headed When it Comes to Headcheese: So looking for something a little more adventurous my cooking buddy David and I thought it would be cool to sous vide a pig's head.  They s...

Mick's Corned Beef - Final Chapter

So you have brined and cured your beef and are ready to cook it up for St. Patrick's day - Chef Mick will show you how in this video.

What? You haven't brined your beef yet?  That's ok, watch Part One of this video (see previous post) and get started now - nothing wrong with having a bit of the Irish a wee bit late!


Add Thyme offers classes in the Bay Area.  Check us out online at www.addthyme.com

Mick Makes an Irish Classic - Part 1

A little video our own Chef Mick Dimas did last year, showing you how to cure your own corn beef at home. Besides a pint of Guinness is there any better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with this Irish Classic?

You need to allow about 1 week to make the brine and cure the meat, so be sure to get started by March 10th if you want to enjoy the corned beef on St. Patrick's Day, which is March 17th.

Pink Salt is curing salt (not the pink Himalayan salt or pink Hawaiian salt!) and is available online at www.butcher-packer.com or in San Francisco at The Village Market in the Ferry Building http://www.villagemarketsf.com/

In this video Chef Mick shows you how to start the brine and cure a piece of beef brisket and turn it into corned beef.  It is really a simple process that just takes a little time and a few ingredients but it is really really simple to do at home.   And of course the taste is going to better than any mass produced corned beef you buy at your local mega-mart.  This video recipe takes you through the steps you need to take to make this dish in your own kitchen.

Cooking on your own not only makes food taste better, it makes food better for you as you put in the ingredients you want to put in your food, which in turn you put in yourself.  No need to worry about complex multiple syllable words on your ingredients label.  If you have a hard time pronouncing an ingredient do you ever think how will your body digest it if your brain can't even pronounce it?

Take a look at the video now if you want to have your corned beef ready for St. Patrick's Day, this isn't fast food, its great food.

Add Thyme offers cooking classes in The San Francisco Bay Area, check us out at www.addthyme.com

Sous Vide Pork Chops with Currywurst Dry Rub

I started off with a few pork chops I sliced out of a whole pork loin.  I left the fat on as I know even in the sous vide the pork can dry out, as the first time I tried out sous vide pork chops they were a bit on the dry side.  So there the fat and the temp will help control the moisture.  I think I just took my temp a little too high the first time I tried it.  This time I am using a 138 F temp for 2 hours.

 In my mind I wanted to do something similar to a maple brined chop, but since I had to have the chops ready for dinner time I improvised.  First thing was a dry rub, but sweet so I started with a base of kosher salt, brown sugar, dried garlic, dried onions, and a little cayenne.  But while pulling out the spices, I realized I had a little spice mix left over from some currywurst I recently made.  What a lucky discovery.

 After rubbing the dry rub on to the chops, they were placed in the bag and cooked for 2 hours at 138 F.   While not looking so great out of the bag, the aroma was fantastic.  After a quick dry off I placed the cooked chops in a smoking hot oiled grill pan and seared each side a minute, then rotated 90 degrees for another minute, before flipping over and searing on a cross hatch pattern on the opposite side.

 Ah, a nice and juicy chop is done.









Mick Dimas, Culinary M.C. Co-owner of Add Thyme, a great place to take cooking classes in San Francisco.