Making of a Great Salad

George Hirsch June 11, 2024

Les Salades Composées

George's Garden Mesclun Greens

The best salad is not complicated but made with the freshest possible greens and garnishes. Les Salades composées or mixed green salad can be made from an infinite list; the only consideration is freshness. But you say you bought it fresh. Just because you purchased from the fresh bin at the market does not guarantee the pick date. Consider the source and how far that head of lettuce traveled.

George's Garden Sweet Nectar Yellow Grape Tomatoes

Substitute ingredients at will when shopping or picking fresh.

George_Hirsch_Sugar_Snap_peas_Garden .jpg

George's Garden Snap "Sugar Daddy" Peas

My dad was a Master Gardener, and fresh veggies were always steps away. Here’s the inspiration for a salad I prepared today and served from my garden to plate in under 5 minutes.

Chef George's Salad Simples

Salade Simple

Sugar Snap Peas, steam for 30 seconds, shock in cold water

Mixed Mesclun Greens

Arugula

Red Kale

Sweet and Neat Cherry Tomatoes

Juice 1/2 lemon

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

pinch sea salt + a few sprigs of fresh mint leaves

Add lemon juice, olive oil, mint, and salt in a bowl. Mix well. Add all ingredients, toss, and serve immediately.

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No Mayo Slaw

George Hirsch June 6, 2024

Cole Slaw's roots go deep, as far as the ancient Romans. It was prepared back then with cabbage, vinegar, eggs, and spices. In more recent times, the Dutch who founded New York grew cabbage around the Hudson River. Their cabbage salad was shredded cabbage called koosla—kool, which means cabbage and sla—salad.

I am not a huge fan of mayonnaise. And I prefer my coleslaw without it. My no-mayo slaw is the quintessential side salad for a beach picnic. And this slaw is ideal as a sandwich condiment. It is crunchy, tangy, and refreshing. Add a cup of pre-grilled or cooked corn for a sweet CORN FETTI SLAW. Good idea to make a day ahead, allowing all the flavors to marinate together. This slaw goes well-served with a summer Lobster Roll and crispy rolls with a good BBQ Pork Slider.

Beach Slaw

Makes six servings

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4 cups new green cabbage, shredded fine

1 cup red cabbage, shredded fine

2 green onions, chopped

1 carrot shredded

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Fresh ground black pepper

pinch of sea salt

Mix vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard, black pepper, and sea salt in a glass or non-reactive bowl. Add shredded green and red cabbage, green onions, and carrots. Toss, refrigerate, and place in a container prior to heading to the beach. Optional: Add fresh roasted corn and ripened peppers for additional flavor and crunch.

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Hushpuppies or Cornballs?

George Hirsch February 17, 2022

COMING FEBRUARY 25th

Where does the name Hushpuppies come from?

The name "hushpuppies" is often attributed to southern cooks who were frying some basic cornmeal mixture. They possibly had been bread-coating or battering their own food with and feeding it to their dogs to "hush the puppies" during cook-outs or fish fries.

Depending on where you are in the world, some hushpuppies or cornballs are cooked in every culture. Either savory or sweet - such as the falafel, sorullitos, and festivals. Typically you may think of hush puppies as a BBQ or seafood side dish. Originating in the southern region of the USA - tasty comfort food. Yes, I included my own version of it in my cookbooks and TV series. Enjoy cooking some up for yourself.

Hush Puppies

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1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 Tablespoon fine chopped parsley

Peanut or Vegetable oil for frying

* optional suggestions: onions, hot pepper, crisp-cooked bacon, finely chopped ham or crab meat

Combine cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the milk, add egg and beat with a whisk or fork until the batter is smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in the butter, parsley and set the batter aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Fill a deep saucepan or deep-fat fryer with 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil and heat to 360 degrees F.

Scoop up a scant tablespoon of batter off the spoon into the hot fat. When the hush puppies rise to the top in about 1 minute, turn them over and cook until evenly brown, about 2 minutes total. Remove and drain on paper towels. Hush Puppies should always be served piping hot.

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Hush Puppies

George Hirsch August 28, 2020

Manhattan Seafood Style Chowder watch.jpg

Depending on where you are in the world, I believe there is some variation of hush puppies or cornballs cooked in every culture, either savory or sweet - such as the falafel, sorullitos, and festivals. Typically you may think of hush puppies as a BBQ or seafood side dish; originating in the southern region of the USA - tasty comfort food. Yes, I included my own version of it in my Know Your Fire Cookbook. Perfect to serve along with fish and shellfish, such as my ultimate Seafood Chowder from George Hirsch Lifestyle TV series.

Where the name HushPuppies came from:

The name "hushpuppies" is often attributed to southern cooks who would fry some basic cornmeal mixture (possibly that they had been bread-coating or battering their own food with) and feed it to their dogs to "hush the puppies" during cook-outs or fish-fries.

Hush Puppies

chefgeorgehirsch.com | Know Your Fire cookbook George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 Tablespoon fine chopped parsley

Vegetable oil for frying

* optional suggestions: onions, hot pepper, crisp cooked bacon, finely chopped ham or crab meat

***Hush Puppies are great to serve with Beer battered Cod***

Combine cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the milk, add egg and beat with a whisk or fork until the batter is smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in the butter, parsley and set the batter aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Fill a deep saucepan or deep-fat fryer with 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil and heat to 360 degree F. Scoop up a scant tablespoon of batter off the spoon or with a small ice cream scoop into the hot fat and when the hush puppies rise to the top in about 1 minute, turn them over and cook until evenly brown, about 2 minutes total. Remove and drain on a wire screen cooling rack. Do not drain on paper towels as they will become soggy. Hush Puppies should always be served piping hot. Serve with a garlic aioli and or sweet chili sauce.

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Steak Frites

George Hirsch February 7, 2020

For my NY/LI friends, GHL is on a one week hiatus to support PBS and public TV stations, Tune-in/dvr WLIW21 Saturdays beginning Feb 15 2:30PM

Thank you in advance for supporting your local station.

Check local listings for the new season of GHL Celebrating Chef George's 25th anniversary on PBS and Public TV Stations. Click to watch TV Series Preview

Hanger steak is a tasty cut of meat mainly because of the marbling, the flavorable fat. The French might beg to differ and say it's because of the traditional and only way to serve steak—with a good size pat of butter on top. The other French suggestion, serve with homemade fries aka pommes frites, the perfect companion for any kind of steak.

If hanger steak is not available, by all means you can adapt recipe to any London broil cut. Enjoy!

George Hirsch's Grilled Hanger Steak Recipe

(aka skirt steak or Romanian steak) | Makes two-four servings

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1 pound skirt steaks (flank or T.R. London broil), trimmed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup bourbon (optional) substitute red wine or O.J.

1/2 cup homemade or prepared barbeque sauce

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 Tablespoons each: parsley and basil

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons hot sauce

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Day one, time to think ahead: marinate for 24 hours

To keep steaks from curing up, make diagonal cuts 1/8 inch deep about every one inch through the skirt steak on both sides.

Mix together the olive oil, bourbon, garlic, parsley, basil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, hot sauce, and black pepper in a large bowl or large plastic zip bag. Remove 1/2 cup of marinade and reserve in refrigerator to baste steaks while grilling on Day two.

Add the skirt steaks and mix to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 23 and a 1/2 hours. You’ll need the extra half hour to get the grill ready.

Day two, and not before.

Remove the steaks from the marinade, drain and discard marinade.

Preheat grill to high temperature.

Grill the steak for 4-5 minutes each side or to desired doneness. Brush steaks on both sides lightly with the reserved 1/2 cup marinade mix. Flip the steaks over only once.

Remove steaks from the grill. To serve sliced steak, wait five minutes allowing juices in steak to rest before slicing thin pieces, cutting against the grain.

Pommes Frites

Recipe by George Hirsch | Makes four servings

8 large Russet potatoes, well scrubbed

approximately 3-4 cups canola or vegetable oil, enough to fill a deep sided sauce pan 1/2 way.

USE CAUTION: Fill pan with oil No More Than 3/4 full, or oil could boil over.

Sea salt to taste

Cut potatoes evenly with skin on, into 1/4 inch thick strips. For this step it's helpful if you have a mandolin. For uniform cooking while frying the potatoes, cut in uniform size pieces. After cutting, submerge potatoes in cold water for at least twenty minutes, changing the water at least two times, until the water is clear. Dry the potatoes well with paper towels. A good tip; use salad spinner to dry.

Cooking will require frying potatoes in two stages, blanching in first stage then crisp and brown in stage two.

First stage of cooking: For first frying, heat oil to 320 degrees F.

Without overloading fryer, cook the potatoes 1 cup at a time, for about 5 minutes or until cooked through, (but not browned during this first stage of cooking). Remove and drain potatoes with a skimmer or basket, then place on a plate lined with paper towels.

Second stage of cooking: Second Frying, heat oil to 375 degrees F.

Fry potatoes again in stages without overloading fryer until golden brown and crispy, for about 1-2 minutes. Remove with a skimmer or basket, pour on to a shallow pan and sprinkle with sea salt.

Serve immediately with favorite condiments.

Pesto Mayo

Blue Cheese

BBQ Sauce

Caramelized Garlic Mayo

Peanut Sauce

& any type of flavored Ketchup

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