Cooking Club: Valentines Chocolates

Valentines Chocolates

2009 February

Café Gecko’s Orange Peel Chocolates
オレンジピールチョコレート
Time: 5-6 Minutes５～６人分所要時間:（冷ます時間を除き）Preparation Time　　　　　約１時間１５分

Ingredients ＜材料＞
オレンジ 2. Med. California Orange
２個
砂糖 Granulated Sugar
２００ｇ(3/4cup)
Dark Chocolate 72-74% チョコレートビター72％
９０ｇ
無塩バター Unsalted butter
４５g
Method ＜作り方＞

Orange Peel Chocolatesオレンジピールチョコレート
Scrub wax from Orange Outer skins to freshen pores.
①
オレンジは、上下を切って果肉が出るくらいの厚さに包丁で皮をむく。
Peel the orange in thick strips. Remove excess pulp.
②
鍋に湯を沸かし、オレンジの皮を入れ、１０分下ゆでする
Fill a pot with water, bring to a boil. Parch peels for 10 minutes。
③
湯を捨て、再び鍋にオレンジの皮とひたひたの水、砂糖を入れ、弱火で３０分甘味を煮含める。煮汁のまま、自然に冷ます。（1-1/2時間）
Strain peels. In the same pot place the peel and cover with water and add sugar. Simmer for 30 minutes. Soak for 1-1/2 hours.
④
煮汁からオレンジの皮を取り出し水分を拭きとって、幅７～８mmの細切りにする。
Remove orange peels and slice in 7-8 mm strips
⑤
刻んだチョコレートと無塩バターを合わせて湯せんで溶かし、④のオレンジの皮をからませて、クッキングシートの上に一本一本並べ、冷蔵庫で冷やし固める。
Melt Chocolate and unsalted butter in a double boiler. Coat or dip orange peel in chocolate and place on cooking paper and refrigerate until set.

Cooking Club: Carrot Zucchini Cupcakes

American Cupcakes

Cooking Club: French Boulliabase

Seafood Bouillabaisse a la Marseilles France ブイヤベース はまぐりや、海老をいれて豪華なお鍋「ブイヤベース」はいかがでしょう。

French BoulliabaseBouillabaisse According to tradition, the origins of the dish date back to the time of the Phoceans, an Ancient Greek people who founded Marseilles in 600 BC. Then, the population ate a simple fish stew known in Greek as 'kakavia.' Something similar to Bouillabaisse also appears in Roman mythology: it is the soup that Venus fed to Vulcan[citation needed].
The dish known today as bouillabaisse was created by Marseilles fishermen who wanted to make a meal when they returned to port. They could not use the more expensive fish that they intended for the market, so they boiled the common rock fish and shellfish that they pulled up with their nets and lines, usually fish that were too bony to serve in restaurants, cooking them in a cauldron of sea water on a wood fire and seasoning them with garlic and fennel. Tomatoes were added to the recipe in the 17th century, after their introduction from America.

Seafood Bouillabaisse ブイヤベース
【材料（6人分）】6Servings

マダラ　半身　5-6lbs of Fresh white-meat Fish(Rock fish, Wrasse, Sea Robins, Monk fish, John Dory)
はまぐり　８～１２個 1-2lbs Shellfish(Quahog Clams, Mussels, Scallops, Shrimp/Langostines, Lobster)
(In this case we used Blue crabs and Shanghai crabs They were fighting over who wanted to go into the pot first!)海老８～１２尾 1-2lbs Sea Mollusks(Octopus, Squid, Cuttlefish)
トマト4-5個 4-5 Tomatoes, large, seeded, diced
玉ねぎ　2個 2-large Yellow Onion, chopped
トマトピューレ1カップ 1-cup Tomato puree
長ネギ2本 2-large Leek, long onions
にんにく2片 2-cloves garlic
白ワイン2カップ 2cups Dry White Wine
水2-1/2カップ 2-1/2 cups Fish Stock
サフラン 小さじ1 1 tsp saffron (6 pistils)
月桂樹の葉 ２枚
タイ少々 1 tsp Fresh Thyme
Orange peel.
1/2 cup Celery, chopped
塩・こしょう少々 Salt and pepper to taste
サラダ油 大さじ６ 6-Tbs Olive oil
パセリ少 2-tsp Fresh Parsley
々固形スープの素 2個 2 cups Fish Stock

【作　り　方】
1. サフランは水1/2カップにつけて20～30分おいておく。
2. はまぐりは、塩水につけて砂だしする。
3. タラは三枚におろし、大きめのひと口大に切って、軽く塩・こしょうしておく。
4. 海老は殻をむかずに背わただけを抜き取る。
5. 長ネギは小口切りに、玉ねぎ・にんにく・パセリはみじん切りにする。
6. 厚手の平鍋にサラダ油を熱し、長ネギ・玉ねぎ・にんにくをあめ色になるまで炒める。
7. ６．にトマトピューレとトマトを加え、さらに炒め、白ワインを加える。
8. サフランを汁ごと加え、月桂樹の葉・タイムも加える。
9. 煮立ったら、水と固形スープの素を入れ、タラと海老を加え、ふたをして煮る。
10. ９．の海老の色が変わったら、はまぐりを加え、ふたをしてさらに煮る。貝の口が開いたら塩・こしょうで調味する。
11. 火を止めてからパセリを散らす。
時間がない時は、６．では玉ねぎが透明になればOK。
焦げやすいので、火加減に注意しながら煮ましょう。

The Rouille
1 egg yolk
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of olive oil
10 pistils of saffron
salt and Cayenne pepper
Prepare the rouille: Remove the stem of the garlic, crush the cloves into a fine paste in a mortar. Add the egg yolk and the saffron, then blend in the olive oil little by little to make a mayonnaise, stirring it with the pounder of the mortar. The rouille went well toasted on thick slices of crust French bread.

Cooking Club: Christmas Cookies

Christmas Sugar Gingerbread Cookies

Thailand

Thailand
Bangkok, Ko Samui island

The Thai people are so gentle and calm.(even Ronald McDonald got into the act by calmly clasping his hands together to greet patrons with a ever so calm "Sawadii ka!".....and the atmosphere is so calm in Thailand....and the beaches are so calm....why then is Thai food so WILDLY SPICY!???

Just a few pictures from the trip タイからいくつかの絵をあなたに見せさせてください。

In one of the Food Courts I found a drink stand. 飲み物は緑色であり過ぎました。They were literally mowing the grass and then blending it into a green drink that many people washed down with some apple juice. It was like wheatgrass juice back in California, but I had never seen it served in this manner. Of course I tried it. I asked the nice clerk for a green lantern special and she squeezed out a glass for me. It reminded me of the Football fields back in school just after being cut. I pinched my nose and downed the glass in a gulp....then it came back up my throat....too green! too green! red flags were flashing in my eyes as I tried to force it back down my throat....too green too GREEN!! Nasty! I know what it's like to deep kiss a cow now......I found my salvation with the desserts on the humid summer days and a Starbucks brought me back to reality.
We ate at a very good seafood restaurant in Bangkok that had a live fish tank. They had the biggest Mantis Shrimpシャコ類I had ever seen! They were as big as my hand. The waiter said they could be served grilled or in a red chili sauce. I couldn't order them though because the mere size of them scared me!

Lake Toya, 2008 G8 Summit

Rutsutsu, Hokkaido

Cafe Gecko, Kamakura

Cafe Gecko,

Kita Kamakura circa 2002

I used to have a small restaurant in Kamakura, Japan. I was the owner and chef.