The entire country is feeling the summer heat. Keep it cool today with salads fresh from the garden!
Mussels Provencale
Coastal living makes me say “hello seafood.” My rule with cooking seafood is the simpler, the better; as well as believing in keeping it as local as possible. The classical way I learned to cook mussels years ago a la Moules Marinières, or mussels in the style of the sea, synonymous with summers in France. I have prepared many versions versions of this style all with success, key to the recipe is freshness.
These mussels were sourced and cooked within 2 hours of harvest. Walk don’t run!
Chef George Hirsch Mussels Provencale
Mussels Provencale
Makes four servings
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
2 pounds mussels, cleaned and remove beard
2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves fresh garlic, pealed and chopped
1/4 sweet white onion, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, washes & chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 ripe tomato, cut into small pieces
Preheat a large sauce pot, large enough to hold the mussels. Add olive oil, garlic, onion, and hot pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add mussels and white wine. Cover pot and cook until mussels open, about 4-5 minutes. Shake pot to mix up mussels.
Remove mussels with a slotted skimmer, leaving all the juice in pot. Add parsley, basil, and tomatoes. Bring mussel juice to a boil and reduce juice by half.
Caution to not over cook the mussels because they will become dry and rubbery. Remember to discard any that do not open as this indicates that the mussel was dead and will most likely be spoiled.
George Hirsch Mussels Provencale with Dipping Sauce
Good tip: The jewel in eating mussels is to get the right balance of the mussel meat with the fantastic broth juices that come from cooking the mussels with wine, garlic and herbs. No utensils needed, use the mussel's shell as your spoon. Pick up the freshly steamed mussel in the opened hinged ‘valve’ (the shell). Break the valve in-half, discard one half of the shell. With the second half valve (shell) that now has the mussel meat, dip the half-shell and mussel meat into the warm broth scooping up just the right amount of juice to meat. Now, politely slurp the mussel along with the broth in the same mouthful. Mouth watering. Heaven! Sometimes I see others do a dip using a fork, but they are missing the gold, the broth!
Try this next time you prepare mussels, instead of using a fork and dipping into the broth that will just slide off your mussel meat. What to do with empty shells? I have observed other connoisseurs of mussel eating that includes arranging the eaten empty half valves into unique patterns on plates.
Simple and ready in minutes. But do yourself a favor, have plenty of good bread on hand to dip and soak up any leftover broth. Summer - here we come!
George Hirsch’s Cedar Plank Whole Fish
Tune-in GHL Create TV Marathon Sat 7/2 8AM & 2PM EST
I have planked for years it's fool proof and quite impressive for entertaining in your home. Over the past twenty years I've introduced the age old art of hot smoking on wood planks in my TV shows and cookbooks. However, this technique of cooking on planks is far from new. The Indians in the Pacific Northwest cooked on cedar and alder, a tradition done for many centuries, as all cooking on an open fire. Once you try it yourself you'll see why. On a recent visit to my home studio kitchen I shared tips and tricks with Restaurant Hunter TV Series for another great day outdoors around the grill. Enjoy!
George Hirsch’s Cedar Plank Whole Fish
Makes four servings
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
1 cedar plank
One 1 1/2 - 2 pound whole sea bass, or branzino, etc. cleaned
Juice of one fresh lemon
6 sprigs fresh thyme
sea salt + fresh ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
Soak plank in water to cover for at least 2 hours; drain.
Pre heat Grill to high.
Rub plank with one-tablespoon olive oil.
Place whole fish on plank; season with sea salt, thyme, black pepper, lemon juice. Top with remaining olive oil.
Grill 10-14 minutes on a covered grill for optimum smoke or until fish is cooked. The thickness of the fillets will determine final cooking time.
Grill lemon slices on high heat for two minutes or just until slightly charred. Place grilled lemon slices on top of fish while cooking for added flavor.
Serve with extra fresh grilled lemon slices and top with fresh time leaves.
Tips:
Soak planks for at least 2 hours or morein cold water before you fire-up the grill.
Make sure the grill is good and hot, this is key! Grilled cedar planked fish takes on a wonderful smoky flavor. The plank will be charred, but the fish will be perfectly cooked. When opening grill if planks should flare up, spray plank with water to dose flame and immediatly close grill cover to reduce oxygen.
Note: Cedar plank should be untreated non-resin wood, no thicker than 1 inch.
Double Chocolate Brownies as seen on George Hirsch Lifestyle
An often requested recipe from George Hirsch Lifestyle, it is ideal for every occasion. Enjoy as is or upgrade by topping with your favorite ice cream. The brownie derives its character from a deep rich cocoa base for the chocolate flavor.
Double Chocolate Brownies
Makes 12-18 Brownies
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 cups semisweet chopped chocolate pieces; or chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour an 8 x 12 x 2-inch baking pan.
In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt well. Set aside.
Cream butter in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add granulated sugar, cream on high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
On a low speed add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, stopping the machine to scrape down the bowl well after each addition. On a low speed add flour and cocoa powder to the butter mixture and mix just until flour is absorbed. Do not over mix.
By hand, fold the pecans and chocolate in with a rubber spatula.
Optional: if using coconut; mix 3/4 of coconut with pecans and chocolate.
Using a spatula, spread the batter into baking pan making sure the batter is spread evenly and smooth.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Caution to not over bake. Brownies are baked when pressed cakes springs back when pressed lightly with your finger or a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 2 hours and cut the brownies into a rectangle or square pieces.
Best Blueberry Nut Muffins
Baking Spring and Summer seasonal muffins are ideal this time of year, especially since blueberries are so plentiful right now and muffins bake fairly quickly with not much prep.
Oh, you say that you don’t have fresh blueberries on hand, but your bananas are ripening faster than you can say "Good Night, Mrs. Calabash - wherever you are!"? Well then, here's my banana muffin recipe, blueberries are optional.
Tip:
Did you know? Tossing blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin during baking.
Blueberry Nut Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
For the topping:
1/3 cup lite brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons nuts, walnuts or pecans, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 Tablespoon sweet butter
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nuts. Blend butter in with a fork until mixture is crumb like.
For the muffin mix:
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon flour for coating blueberries, plus greasing muffin cups
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup pure cane granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup milk
Grease a regular size 12-cup muffin pan with butter and dust with flour, banging out excess flour; or use muffin cups liners.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl use a mixer to cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and orange zest to beaten eggs, then add eggs one at a time, mixing until eggs are absorbed.
With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and milk in three stages, mixing until all are incorporated. Do not over mix.
Toss blueberries in a fine strainer with about one Tablespoon of flour to lightly coat. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, place batter into muffin cups filling each cup to three quarters full. Add remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top of the muffins and divide crumb topping over muffins.
Bake about 25-30 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Check muffins half way through and rotate if oven temperature is uneven. Test with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin and it should come out clean; or when touched lightly the muffin should have a slight resistance to finger pressure.
Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan.