Here are the cooking and baking recipes I have enjoyed exploring. If you try one, let me know what you think, including how well I explained it and how much you enjoyed eating it. My goal is to present recipes in a way a that makes them so simple and easy to follow that even an engineer could impress people they might harbor chef-like talent.
Note to Guys: if you’re not motivated yet consider this, research has found that women find men who cook the most sexy. Unfortunately, to really impress you have to let the ladies watch you at work which can at times be a bit of a disaster. In a recent survey, single women mention cooking as the best way for a man to differentiate himself from the other losers she’s been dating. Now that I have your attention, let’s button up that cooking jacket, don your favorite headwear, and hone the edge of your chef’s knife.
- Conversion Tables – Unit conversion and baking tips
- Nutrition Tables – Helpful when counting calories or doing Keto
Cuisine
- Beef
- Beef Bourguignon – In a Wine/Port reduction: expensive, time consuming, but worth it
- Flank Steak with Charred Scallion Sauce – amazing taste
- Pineapple Jerky – a sweet and tangy version
- Smoked Brisket – a long but fulfilling adventure
- Traditional Jerky – savory
- Cheese
- Mascarpone Cheese – Made using heavy cream
- Mozzarella Cheese – Easy homemade version
- Paneer – East Indian cheese made from whole milk
- Ricotta – Crumbly cheese from whole milk
- Soft White Cheese – Aged or unaged
- Chicken
- Apricot Almond Roasted Chicken Breast – sweet and savory
- Chicken Caccitori – Old school
- Chicken Curry – with basmati rice
- Chicken Sous Vide – Thighs with au jus for sauce
- Chicken Pot Pie – From scratch
- Roasted Chicken – Soaked in a honey brine
- Pork
- Cured Ham – Four versions
- Hawaiian Pork Chops – Sweet and sour
- Fish
- Gravlox – Sugar and salt cured salmon
- Grilled Salmon – with a spice rub
- Steamed Fish – Cantonese style – by Chef Joko Winarto
- Salmon Patties with Lemon Sauce – moist with mayonnaise
- Salmon spread – quick easy use for left over salmon
- Tuna Casserole – Roux based with mirepoix
- French
- Spinach Quiche – traditional quiche with flaky crust
- East Indian
- Chicken Curry – with basmati rice
- Saag Paneer – East Indian cheese and spinach dish
- Naan – East Indian flat bread
- Garam Masala – East Indian spice for cuisine
- Italian
- Cacio e Pepe – Simple gourmet version of Mac & Cheese
- Lasagna with Alfredo sauce – White sauce lasagna with spinach
- Lasagna with red sauce – Traditional recipe with fresh ingredients
- Alfredo Sauce – simple sauce for pasta dishes made from scratch
- Italian red sauce – from scratch with fresh ingredients
- Saffron Risotto – using Porcini mushrooms
- Chinese
- Stir Fry Beef – With techniques for tenderizing and marinating
- Miscellaneous
- Empanadas – Meat filled. See pastry version below
- Poutine – Beef gravy, curds, and fired potatoes – Canadian
- Southern Shrimp & Grits – Simple to make, easy to plate
Sauces, Soups, and Sides
- Sauces
- Alfredo Sauce – simple sauce for pasta dishes made from scratch
- Avocado Sauce – avocado, Greek yogurt, and spices
- Five French Mother Sauces:
- Italian red sauce – from scratch with fresh ingredients
- Soups
- Avocado soup – a quick cold soup for a hot summer day
- Bisque made with Walleye – Slightly spicy soup for a fantastic fish
- Cucumber soup – an easy to make cold soup
- Fish Fumet – Fish stock, not for the squeamish
- Gazpacho – Cold Spanish tomato soup with vegetables and herbs
- Sides
- Balsamic Vinegar & Oil Dressing – with fresh basil
- Corn Relish – nice summer side from fresh ingredients
- Crispy Couscous – with onion, peppers, and squash
- Toasted Pistachio Couscous – nice alternative to a classic side
- Garlic Butter
- Garam Masala – East Indian spice for cuisine
- Puree la Ratte – World’s best mashed potatoes (according to Michelin)
- Tabouli – fresh Mediterranean salad
Breakfast
- Crème Brulee French Toast – with Challah bread
- Polish Borscht – Bialy Barszcz or Easter Polish Sausage Soup
Baking
BREADS
- Challah – Jewish bread ring
- Croissants – French style
- French Baguettes – slow proofing (2 days to make)
- French Bread – traditional with Polosh (3 days to make)
- Focaccia Bread – Flat herb bread
- Irish Soda Bread – quick non-yeast bread
- Naan – East Indian flat bread
- Pizza Crust – quick easy recipe
- Peanut Butter Bread – COVID viral challenge
- Polish Egg Bread – Mom’s Kukietka Recipe
- Rosemary Skillet Bread – made in cast iron skillet
- WWI Bread – Recipe from during Spanish Flu Pandemic
- Tempering Dough – for fine bread recipes
DESSERTS
- Beignets – a New Orleans style fried bread dessert
- Cream Cheese Frosting – with butter
- Disney Churro Bites – If you been to the park, you know
- Empanadas – fruit filled
- Flaky pie crust – with butter and shortening
- Grandma’s Crumb Cake – coffee cake that’s served warm
- Granola with Almonds – a healthy snack
- Mint Sorbet – start to finish is long, but time required is short
- Platski – Polish pancake with filling
- Polish Lamb Cake – called Agnuszek or Branek Welkanocny
- Tiramisu – From scratch with biscuit cuillere in lieu of ladyfingers
- Lemmon Tart
- Cheese Cake with Raspberry glaze
Background: Chef Dolin has been involved in the culinary arts for over forty years. He’s worked in multiple restaurants and bars, and traveled extensively in Europe and Asia in search of local cuisines. He founded New Mexico’s first legal distillery specializing in locally sourced bourbon, whiskey, gin, and brandy. Along with manufacturing fine spirits, he produced Ports and Sherries in his winery. While hosting special events such as wine appreciation or mixology classes, he routinely prepared gourmet cuisines. Chef Dolin recently trained at the Gastronomicom Institute in Provence, France.
Professional Ambition: Work in Santa Fe’s top kitchens.
Personal Goals: 1) Prepare a classic New Mexico Green Chili Cheeseburger for President Trump to showcase our great state, and 2) Present elegant recipes on this blog that are so easy an engineer can make them.
Caveat: I cook at 7,500 feet elevation in a dry desert environment. This is not the same as sea level. When I remember, I’ll point out high altitude exceptions to my recipes. In general, it matters more in baking than cuisine; as they say, while cuisine is an art, baking is a science. For example, I have found that while many baking recipes instruct you to raise the oven temperature and increase baking times at elevation, this usually results in dry overbaked products.