Louie or Louis?

georgehirsch July 10, 2025

Pronounced LOO-ey, spelled Louis and Louie. Either way, an easy to prepare and flavorful dressing.

***Shrimp Louis can be prepared as a Roll or Salad***

A West Coast dressing credited to fine dining restaurants in San Francisco and Seattle around the start of the 20th century to showcase the Pacific Northwest's meaty Dungeness crab.

Is Louie the same as Thousand Island dressing? Both dressings are pink and share similar ingredients, but the Louie is smoother and tangier with more kick than a sweeter Thousand Island dressing.

The Louis dressing is excellent with cooked seafood such as shrimp, crab, and lobster. It is also a good dressing served tossed into chilled salad greens.

Shrimp Louie Salad + Dressing

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

For the salad. Assemble with cooked and chilled shrimp, sweet butter, or Boston lettuce greens, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts. Or, be creative with any seasonal salad ingredients.

Makes about 1 cup of dressing

2 T Creole or Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, chopped

juice of half a lemon

sweet onion, chopped

a couple drops hot sauce1 tablespoon chili sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon horseradish

1 teaspoon ketchup

1/4 cup chopped tomatoes, seeds removed

1 teaspoon chives, chopped

1 hard-boiled egg, diced small

Mix all ingredients. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Sold out

13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

$50.00

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

George Hirsch’s Cedar Plank Salmon

George Hirsch July 6, 2025

I've introduced the age-old art of hot smoking on wood planks for over twenty-five years in my TV shows and cookbooks. It's foolproof and quite impressive for entertaining, and as I say at the end of my show.."If I can do it, you can do it!"

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 was done on an open fire. Once you try it yourself, you'll see why.

Chef George’s Cedar Plank Salmon

Makes four servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

*1 cedar plank

One 1 1/2-pound salmon fillet

Juice of one fresh lemon

1 teaspoon each: thyme, rosemary, paprika, black pepper

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 lemon, sliced

Soak plank in water to cover for 2 hours; drain.

Preheat the Grill to high.

Rub the plank with one tablespoon of olive oil.

Place fillets on the plank; season with thyme, rosemary, paprika, black pepper, dill, and lemon juice. Top with remaining olive oil.

Grill for 10-14 minutes on a covered grill for optimum smoke or until the fish is cooked. The thickness of the fillets will determine the final cooking time.

Before serving, top with fresh dill butter and serve with extra fresh lemon slices, or grill lemon slices along with salmon.

Tips:

Planked Salmon as seen on George Hirsch Lifestyle TV Series — Planked Salmon as seen on *George Hirsch Lifestyle* TV Series

*Soak planks for at least 2 hours or more in 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 the grill, if the planks do not fit up, spray the plank with water to douse the flame and immediately close the grill cover to reduce oxygen.

Note: Cedar plank should be untreated non-resin wood, no thicker than 1 inch.

Sold out

13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

$50.00

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

Strawberry Cornbread Shortcake

George Hirsch July 2, 2025

This Southern strawberry shortcake is baked in a black iron skillet, giving it a crunchy crust—the perfect foil for berries and sweetened whipped cream. Using cake flour will give the shortcake a lighter, more tender texture. If you have any strawberries left over, you may want to try my Rosé Sangria from George Hirsch Lifestyle.

Strawberry Cornbread Shortcake

Makes 6 - 8 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

For the Cornbread:

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 eggs. lightly beaten

1/4 cup sweet butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

2 pints mixed fresh strawberries and optional blueberries

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

Granulated sugar, if necessary

Strawberry Shortcake

Preheat oven or grill to medium temperature or 375 degrees F.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix the milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until no particles of the dry ingredients remain. Do not over-mix.

Spoon the mixture into a well-greased, 8-inch, black iron skillet or cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the cornbread for 5 minutes in the pan; remove and cool completely on a rack.

Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Wash the strawberries and pat them dry gently with a paper towel. Cut half of the strawberries into slices and leave the rest whole. If the berries are not sweet, toss with a small amount of granulated sugar.

Slice the cornbread in half horizontally. Spread the lower half with half the whipped cream and sliced strawberries and blueberries. Replace the top half and cover with the remaining whipped cream and berries.

Sold out

13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

$50.00

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

Summer Flavor Winter Wonder

georgehirsch June 30, 2025

You can make magic with a simple eggplant, squash, and tomato. Layers of flavor come together to create this meatless wonder. And the gratin only tastes better the next day.

Eggplant Squash Gratin

Makes 4 - 6 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

Slice the peeled eggplant and squash lengthwise. Coat lightly in flour. Sear in olive oil with a few whole garlic cloves. Turn the eggplant and squash when they are light brown, and remove. Cool. Slice tomatoes thickly. Layer vegetables in an ovenproof casserole, lightly oil, and layer eggplant, squash, and tomato; repeat using up the remaining vegetables—optional parmesan can be added between layers. Place whole sautéed garlic on top of the layered vegetables, sprinkle with fresh, ground breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, basil sprigs, and chopped parsley, and drizzle with olive oil on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Note: For another perfect do-ahead meal or picnic addition, you can watch the OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN VIDEO recipe below.

Sold out

13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

$50.00

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

George Hirsch June 29, 2025

A pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The addition of ricotta makes this cake moist, while the lemon gives a hint of freshness.

***Wrapped loaves of pound cakes as a special gift.***

If you're looking for the best pound cake, this is it—full Stop. If you are planning a special cake to gift or happen to be entertaining family or friends, the lemon ricotta pound cake is an outstanding dessert with broad appeal. It's perfect for finishing a special dinner or for an afternoon tea. I created this recipe knowing it would be one of those cakes that improves with age, meaning it tastes even better the day after it’s baked.

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

It makes one large loaf or three demi-loaves

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup sweet butter, softened

1 1/2 cups (15 oz container) fresh whole-milk ricotta, drained

1 1/2 cups Turbino or granulated sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Grease and flour 9-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth and light. Fold in ricotta in three parts. Scrape the bowl well with a spatula. Mix dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter and sugar and mix just until flour is absorbed with eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add lemon juice and vanilla.

Scrape the downsides of the bowl, and mix on low speed for 30 seconds just until the batter is completely mixed. Do not over-mix. Over-mixing will toughen the cake and produce air pockets. Pour the batter into greased pan and smooth on top. Once the pan is filled with batter, tap the pan against a table or counter to remove air pockets.

Bake for 45-55 minutes. After 40 minutes, lower to 325 degrees until done. Allow cake to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan; finish cooling on wire rack. Top with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

Sold out

13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95