It’s been awhile since I did a Chef Kev post (do you like his new banner?) but after last night’s dinner, I just have to share.

For those of you who don’t know, my husband is a 6′ 5″ soccer goalie who is in the finance industry by day – and a master chef (in my humble opinion) by night!

Don’t believe me? Check out what was on my dinner table yesterday…

First up, Saute some black beans and corn in a pan with some olive oil, a bit of jalepeno and ancho chili powder. Set aside.

Make your crispy shallots (as seen on the top) by thinly slicing some shallots (Chef Kev used a mandolin slicer to get thin and uniform pieces).

Next, dust your shallot pieces with flour, tossing lighty and seperating (think teeny tiny onion rings).

Then, fry your shallots by first warming some canola oil on medium heat – don’t toss the shallots in until the oil is hot enough (test it by flicking in a drop or two of water. It should sizzle and pop).

Stir the shallots in the oil until they are golden brown.

Scoop out and place into a sieve so that the oil drains out and your shallots stay nice and crispy (placing your sieve onto a paper towel is a great trick to draw out some of the extra oil). Set aside.

Then, toss together arugula, red pepper, fresh basil (or cilantro) and your black bean and corn mixture. On top of that add some shaved parmesan cheese and layer on your crispy shallots.

Finish by drizzling on a dressing. Chef Kev suggests an ancho chile one or a chipotle ranch option (my fave). To make the latter, simply stir in a bit of chipotle powder to a fine quality ranch dressing. We like the Litehouse Homestyle Ranch (found in the produce section versus the salad dressing aisle).

And there you have it – another fantastic Chef Kev dinner! Enjoy!

Enjoying what comes out of the Chef Kev kitchen? Check out all his tasty creations here!

Chef Kev outdid himself with this one. I loved this wrap. The spice was perfect and the secret seemed to be in marrying the flavours. Nothing over powered yet you could still taste each individual ingredient. Wonferfully balanced. Perfection!

Here is how he did it…

Chipotle Chicken Wrap

Ingredients:
crushed or canned tomatoes (half of a large can)
1 1/2 chipotle peppers

low sodium chicken stock (about 1/4 cup)

fresh cilantro
1-2 shallots (minced)

to season:
salt
meat seasoning (Chef Kev uses Rufus Teague Meat Rub)

to assemble:
tortilla wrap
grated cheese blend – cheddar, monterey jack and colby
lettuce (Chef Kev used a Spring Mix)
sour cream
avocado

To begin, combine your tomatoes, chipotle peppers, a scoop of adobo sauce (the sauce your chipotle peppers come in) and olive oil in a food processer. Puree.

Add your pureed mixture to a sauce pan on low heat. Add your chicken breast, a little chicken stock and your cream. Let simmer for 25 minutes or so. Stir often. Season to taste along the way and add corn starch to thicken if needed. Remove from heat once cooked.

Add the black beans, corn and orange pepper along with some some chopped cilantro and the minced shallot. Stir. Let sit.

To assemble add a scoop of your mixture to a tortilla round and sprinkle with cheese as desired. Microwave for 20 seconds. Add some lettuce, some avocado and some sour cream.

Roll and Serve.

ENJOY!

As I type this post, Masterchef is playing on the TV in the background. Perhaps that, combined with Chef Kev’s close proximity and the fact that I am typing up these instructions will make me a better cook. Maybe… Perhaps. And perhaps my flank steak will grow wings and fly.

Looky what Chef Kev made for dinner!

Flank Steak and Basil Butter Corn Sandwich

The tip to making this sandwich sexy (yup, I said it – who doesn’t like a sexy beast beef) is to marinate the steak overnight if possible (or at least for few hours).

Marinate the flank steak in a grilling sauce that has a nice combination of ‘heat’ (chilies, chipotle etc.) and ‘sweet’ (brown sugar, molasses, honey etc.). Ours was from winery I visited this past weekend – More on that trip later!

Next you’ll want to start preparing your corn on the cob. Time this dish so that your steak and corn are ready at the same time. To get your corn on the cob ready, peel back the husk of the corn but leave it attached. Remove the corn silk inside and close ‘er back up! Go make curtains out of your new silk (ha ha, who went looking for their loom? Bigger question, who HAS a loom?… anyhoo… ) Cook on medium heat on the barbeque (the corn, not your new curtains) for about 10-15 minutes turning as you go. The ears will burn but that is okay as you will be removing the husks. In essence you are steaming corn – keeping the sugars and moisture inside.

Cook your (now) marinated flank steaks on medium high heat on the barbeque for about 2-3 minutes per side. Your steak should be medium rare to medium. (Chef Kev note: Flank steak should not be cooked more than medium as it will become chewy).

Remove your corn and steak from the barbeque. Let your steak rest for about 5 minutes on a plate covered with foil. Yes, give your sexy steak a rest. In a saute pan, chiffonade fresh basil and let it melt with some butter on low heat. (Elaine: “What is chiffonade?” Chef Kev: “Google it.” Elaine: type, type, type. Elaine {to you}: chiffonade is basically where you roll up your fresh herb and slice it thinly. Once unrolled you are left with long thin strips). Add salt and pepper and a bit of garlic powder. (Chef Kev note: do not use fresh garlic as it will over power). Melt together. The basil will infuse into your butter.

Cut the corn from its cob. Add to saute pan. Simmer on low heat for few minutes. Stir.

Lightly toast some open face Portuguese Buns on the barbeque.

Cut the (well) rested steak (slacker) against the grain in to thin strips. Doing so ensures it is not chewy as flank steak is very tough. Add some more of your marinade (obviously some that has not touched raw meat) so that your sexy steak is nice and sassy saucy.

Slice some jalapeno monterey jack cheese.

To assemble lay your steak on the bun and top with cheese and your basil butter corn. And you’re (in the words of Chef Kev) “good to go”!

Lovin’ the Chef? Check out all his tasty creations here.

Chef Kev returns with yet another palette pleasa! 2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate!? Picture me in a cheerlea… actually no. Strike that. No pictures please.

Except this one:

S-U-C-C-E-S-S, that’s the way we spell success! Okay. Done with random cheerleading dialogue now.

Butter Chicken

Chef Kev note and disclaimer:

Note: The key to a good butter chicken is have it thick and creamy.

Avoid the “sauce soup snaffo”. Bad. Like fall-off-the-top-of-a-cheerleading-pyramid BAD. Okay, seriously, done now. Promise.

The disclaimer is as follows. Chef Kev wanted me to mention that this dish is “nothing too fancy” (speak for himself!) since he’s not making his own spice blend, but that the great thing about this meal is that it’s a wonderful “come home from work option” that tastes like a million bucks and is quick and easy to make.

There are many different butter chicken seasonings available in the stores. The one that Chef Kev used here comes with a chicken marinade as well as the sauce seasoning. This one had some good heat. Some seriously good heat. Like the kind that melts my laptop screen as I type my blog. If you like ’em milder then look for that option. Here are two of Chef Kev’s faves. I bet you can’t guess which one he used for this dish.

Because he’s a rebel, Chef Kev doesn’t really follow the package instructions. What he does instead is outlined below. He has come up with (through trial and error) the closest match to what he enjoys in a fine Indian restaurant. Lucky me!

First off you make a pot of rice. I think you all know how to do that but if not here is how…
step one: type “www.google.com”
step two: enter “rice”
step three: hit return
Umm, I shouldn’t joke because that’s kinda how I make rice. But this is about Chef Kev so back to that. He recommends adding chicken stock or water (the chicken stock adds more flavour). Also add a bit of butter to the water. It prevents sticking and adds some flavour too.

If your Butter Chicken mix comes with a marinade do that step now. Cube your chicken before marinating.

Dice a white onion and let it sweat (soften) in a sauce pan with butter. Did anyone else just chuckle at the thought of sweatin’ onions? I digress… Once your schweaty onions are ready add your marinated chicken. Cook until the chicken is half done and then add one can of tomatoe sauce (not paste or ketchup) and your seasoning. Then add some coconut milk or water and heavy cream. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes and add salt to taste.

Just before serving add chopped fresh cilantro, basil and chive. Serve to wife and reap accolades.

Lovin’ the Chef? Check out all his tasty creations here.

Chef Kev is! Okay, so maybe he isn’t technically gnocching at the door since he lives here but it makes a funny headline no?

As I’ve been working at sprucing up the deck, Chef Kev has been busy in the kitchen (as per usual) and came up with another stellar masterpiece (which, I might add, we enjoyed on said deck). Yummy times.

Here’s how he did it:

Chicken Mushroom Gnocchi

The key to this dish is to introduce earthy tastes (thyme, sage, mushroom) to compliment the gnocchi.

For this yummy creation you’ll want to time your two main ingredients (gnocchi and chicken) so that they finish cooking at around the same time – so do a bit of math first. Did I mention Chef Kev is also a Certified General Accountant? I’m just glad that I’m a designer and only in charge of making things look pretty. I’m not a fan of pop quizzes. Anyway….

Gnocchi: Purchase some gnocchi at the store (ours was the ‘Italissima’ brand) and prepare according to package instructions. Chef Kev note: he wants to attempt to make his own some day (and you SO know I’m gonna blog about that) but for now, this brand makes a great quick yummy gnocchi. 

Chicken: In a sauce pan melt some butter and little olive oil on medium heat. Once melted add: two diced  shallots, a clove (or two) of minced garlic and cubed chicken breast. Next, add the following herbs WHOLE (for flavour purposes while cooking): a couple of fresh sprigs of rosemary, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme and a few sage leaves. Add some sliced mushrooms. Once chicken is almost fully cooked remove the whole herbs and add some chicken stock (enough to deglaze while still keeping the chicken moist). Once that has cooked down a bit add some heavy cream. Add salt and pepper and some dried thyme Chef Kev note: taste along the way to test your seasoning level and adjust accordingly. Let this reduce down until desired thickness (feel free to add corn starch or flour to help this process). Turn pan off when done and let sit.

Once your gnocchi is done, have another sauce pan ready with melted butter and olive oil (on medium high heat). Add gnocchi to pan and fry for a few minutes until it has a bit of texture on the outside. Add gnocchi to chicken mixture pan and combine.

Serve in a bowl and finish with freshly chopped chive. Salt and pepper to taste (if desired).

Tomatoe Bocconcini Salad (with a maple twist)

This is a great casual summer salad. The large chunky pieces add to this feeling of laid back dining.

In a bowl add mixed baby greens, grape and/or cherry tomatoes (cut in half), one minced shallot, some peeled and chopped english cucumber and of course, Bocconcini! It does not matter what size Bocconcini but Chef Kev used ‘cherry size’ for this dish.

To make the vinaigrette combine: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Add in quantities to your liking of acidity and taste.

You’re almost done – add to salad and toss.! Don’t over dress, no one likes a salad that comes too dressed for a casual dinner party.

Enjoy!

And if you take a sip of wine for every time I said gnocchi then you’ll really be having a good time.

My chef husband has been at it again. Another great dinner. Another satisfied customer wife.

Tonight on the menu we had an amazing Grilled Salmon with Goat Cheese paired with an awesome Southwest Quinoa Salad.

Here’s how he did it…

Grilled Salmon with Goat Cheese

Prepare your salmon fillets by dusting each side with seafood seasoning (Chef Kev prefers Old Bay seasoning) and salt and pepper. Next you take some roasted garlic goat cheese and mix it with chopped fresh dill. Spread a layer of your goat cheese mix on top of your salmon and sprinkle it with brown sugar.

To cook, place on a BBQ heated to medium high. Place salmon on the grill with the goat cheese side up. Cook on direct heat for a few minutes until the underside has a grilling seal on bottom. Turn off direct heat and finish cooking with indirect heat inside the BBQ.  Cook until desired doneness and the brown sugar has caramalized. Plate and finish with fresh squeezed lemon and salt and pepper.

So was it good? D.E.L.I.S.H!

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Cook the quinoa according the the package instructions. For ours it was 1/2 cup quinoa to 1 cup stock or water. Chef Kev recomends chicken stock as it adds great flavour. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and then simmer on low for 15 minutes. Once cooked the quinoa is light and fluffy. Cool in a bowl placed inside another bowl filled with ice water. Let stand.

Add to the quinoa: one can of rinsed black beans, one can of rinsed sweet corn (or one cob grilled corn kernels). Chopped fresh cilantro, minced shallot, minced jalepeno and diced yellow peppers.

For the vinaigrette Chef Kev mixed olive oil, sesame oil, white wine vinegar, fresh squeezed lime. red pepper flakes and honey. Toss salad with vinaigrette and add salt and pepper to season.

Another winner. Chef Kev I thank you.

And another win – both salmon and quinoa are ridiculously healthy for you.

Great. Now I’m hungry.