Culinary

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 the process and how much you enjoyed eating the dish. 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 harbor chef-like talent. The style I use is one geared toward guys, who are process driven. There are not a lot pictures or extra fluff, just clear step by step instructions.

Also, while I present many gourmet recipes, I also include ones guys would gravitate toward, like how to cook a pheasant, smoke a turkey, make walleye stew, cure jerky, and process deer or elk meat for sausage. I also strive to appeal to urban men who exercise and are health conscience with recipes including gravlox (cured salmon) and granola.

The important thing about my recipes, is that I use fresh ingredients and avoid using processed foods or ingredients that contain harmful chemicals (i.e., all package/processed food). I am not advocating organic, although that is always an option I encourage, rather, to get you way from the harmful hormones and chemicals replete in the shelf foods people eat – that by the way have more to do with your expanding waistline than snacking on quality chocolate.

Note to Guys: if you’re not motivated to cook solely for artistry and flare, consider this, research has shown 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 that chef’s knife your grandfather gave you years ago when he smiled slyly recalling all his happy endings.

Note for Printing: If you decide to print a recipe, you will notice the logo image pops up eating up valuable real estate on your page. The printing app I use allows you to just click on the image and it goes away. I strive to format my recipes to print on one page but that is not always possible. Here are some general tables and tips you may find useful, let me know how to add items.

• Conversion Tables – Unit conversion and baking tips
• Nutrition Tables – Helpful when counting calories or doing Keto
• Preparation Tips – Advice on preparing and using common ingredients

Cuisine

• Appetizers
  • Anchovy Crostini – with fresh herbal ricotta cheese
  • Baked Artichoke Spread – serve warm
  • Bruschetta – Tomato, basil, and garlic served on bread/crackers
  • Greek Salad – with freshly made dressing
  • Mango Cheese Spread – serve chilled
  • Spanakopita – Greek spinach pie in phyllo crust
• Beef
  • Beef Bourguignon – In a Wine/Port reduction: expensive, time consuming, but worth it
  • Beef Wellington – Individual serving with mushroom sauce
  • Flank Steak with Charred Scallion Sauce – amazing taste
  • Meatloaf with Brown Sugar Glaze – uses ketchup
  • Pineapple Jerky – a sweet and tangy version
  • Smoked Brisket – a long but fulfilling adventure
  • Seared Steak Pieces in Garlic Butter Sauce – keto friendly
• 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
• Poultry
  • Apricot Almond Roasted Chicken Breast – sweet and savory
  • Chicken Caccitori – My Dad’s old school recipe
  • Chicken Cordon Bleu – with creamy Dijon sauce
  • Chicken Curry – with basmati rice
  • Chicken Sous Vide – Thighs with au jus for sauce
  • Chicken Stuffed with Feta and Spinach – rolled breast
  • Chicken Pot Pie – From scratch
  • Chicken Salad – Quick and simple use of left overs
  • Roasted Chicken – Soaked in a honey brine
  • Smoked Turkey/Chicken – using spatchcock approach
  • Shredded Chicken Mole – Chocolate chili sauce
• Pork
  • Cured Ham – Four versions
  • One Day Ham – from pork shoulder
  • Hawaiian Pork Chops – Sweet and sour
  • Souvlaki – A Greek kabob marinated 5 days
• Fish
  • Gravlox – Sugar and salt cured salmon with citrus zest
  • Grilled Salmon – with a spice rub
  • Salmon Patties with Lemon Sauce – moist with mayonnaise
  • Salmon spread – quick easy use for left over salmon
  • Spicy sautéed shrimp – with cilantro-lime sauce
  • Steamed Fish – Cantonese style – by Chef Joko Winarto
  • Tuna Casserole – Roux based with mirepoix
• French
  • Spinach Quiche – traditional quiche with flaky crust
• Eastern European
  • Galushki – Ukrainian dumplings fried with onion & mushrooms
• East Indian
  • Chicken Curry – with basmati rice
  • Garam Masala – East Indian spice for cuisine
  • Naan – East Indian flat bread
  • Saffron rice – sauteed using basmati rice
  • Saag Paneer – East Indian cheese and spinach dish
• Italian
  • Pasta – general recipe for fresh homemade pasta
  • Antipasto Salad – refreshing salad with tangy taste
  • Alfredo Sauce – simple sauce for pasta dishes made from scratch
  • Cacio e Pepe – Roman version of Mac & Cheese
  • Chicken Piccata – Sautéed chicken with a lemon-caper sauce
  • Garlic Bread – a cheesy version with fresh herbs and mayo
  • Italian red sauce – from scratch with fresh ingredients
  • Lasagna with Alfredo sauce – White sauce lasagna with spinach
  • Lasagna with red sauce – Traditional recipe with fresh ingredients
  • Orzo pasta in cream sauce – Mushrooms and Spinach
  • Saffron Risotto – using Porcini mushrooms
  • Spinach Pasta – using fresh or frozen spinach
• Chinese
  • Stir Fry Beef – With techniques for tenderizing and marinating
  • Stir Fry Broccoli and Cauliflower – with cashews
• Latin
  • Empanadas – Meat filled. See pastry version below
  • Mole Sauce – spicy chocolate sauce to serve with meat
  • Picadillo – A Cuban style version
  • Sazon – an easy to make seasoning used in Latin cuisine
  • Shredded Chicken Mole – Chocolate chili sauce
  • Sopaipillas – New Mexican style fried bread that can be stuffed
  • Shrimp Tacos – with a lime-cilantro sauce
  • Street Tacos – Simple taco unlike what you’re used to
  • Taco Meatloaf – A Southwest spin on a Midwest classic
• Miscellaneous
  • Breakfast Sausage – Using elk, deer, and/or pork
  • Kielbasa – Polish sausage using elk, deer, and/or pork
  • Omelet – the trick is using heavy cream at low heat
  • Lamb Meatballs with Mint Sauce – Keto friendly
  • Pheasant in cream sauce – can substitute chicken
  • Poutine – Beef gravy, curds, and fired potatoes – Canadian
  • Southern Shrimp & Grits – Don’t embarrass yourself w/ instant grits
  • Cheesy Shrimp & Grits – with bacon
  • Traditional Jerky – savory

Sauces, Soups, and Sides

• Sauces
  • Alfredo Sauce – simple sauce for pasta dishes made from scratch
  • Avocado Sauce – avocado, Greek yogurt, and spices
  • Brown Gravy – simple roux based gravy
  • Five French Mother Sauces:
    1. Béchamel
    2. Mornay
    3. Veloute
    4. Espagonle, 4.5 Vegetarian Espagonle
    5. Demi-Glace
    6. Tomato
  • Mole – Traditional Mexican sauce from chocolate and chili
  • Italian red sauce – from scratch with fresh ingredients
  • Turkey gravy – a roux based gravy
  • Tzatziki Sauce – Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce

• Soups
  • Avocado soup – a quick cold soup for a hot summer day
  • Bialy Barszcz – Polish Easter Sausage Borscht (i.e., soup)
  • Bisque made with Walleye – Slightly spicy soup for a fantastic fish
  • Broccoli Cheese – roux based, thick and rich like soup should be
  • Clam Chowder – a roux based New England style chowder
  • Creamy Pheasant soup – roux based – can use chicken or turkey
  • 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
  • Shrimp Bisque – Bisque with sauteed shrimp
  • Split pea soup – slow cooker and stovetop variants
• Sides
  • Balsamic Vinegar & Oil Dressing – with fresh basil
  • Corn Relish – nice summer side from fresh ingredients
  • Crispy Couscous – with onion, peppers, and squash
  • Deviled Eggs – the classic recipe
  • Toasted Pistachio Couscous – nice alternative to a classic side
  • Garlic Butter 
  • Garam Masala – East Indian spice for cuisine
  • Pommes Persillade – Fried potatoes with parsley and garlic
  • Potatoes Chantilly – Baked mashed potatoes with whipped cream
  • Puree la Ratte – World’s best mashed potatoes (so says Michelin)
  • Roasted Brussel Sprouts – with bacon optional
  • Grilled Asparagus – can also be roasted or broiled
  • Tabouli – fresh Mediterranean salad

Breakfast

• Crème Brulee French Toast – with Challah bread
• Platski – Polish pancake with filling
• Polish Borscht – Bialy Barszcz or Easter Polish Sausage Soup

Baking

BREADS

• General Bread Making Tips – for fine bread recipes
• Brioche – traditional French butter bread
• Challah – Jewish bread ring
• Ciabatta – Italian bread taking 3 days to make
• 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
• Garlic Bread – Baguette with fresh herbs, mayo, and cheese
• Irish Soda Bread – quick non-yeast bread
• Naan – East Indian flat bread
• Pain Burger et Bun – Hamburger or Beget buns
• Pain Feuilleté Oriental – Can be made as a bread or cracker/biscuit
• Pita – Baked for softness or grilled for crunchy taste
• Pizza Crust – quick easy recipe
• Peanut Butter Bread – COVID viral challenge
• Polish Egg Bread – Mom’s Kukietka Recipe
• Skillet Bread – Savory bread made in cast iron skillet
• Sopaipillas – a Mexican style dessert/entree bread
• Sour Dough Bread – using wild yeast starter
• WWI Bread – Recipe from during Spanish Flu Pandemic

DESSERTS

• Tempering Chocolate
• Baklava – Classic Greek honey/phyllo dessert with vegan option
• Blueberry Torte – Grandma’s holiday dessert
• Beignets – a New Orleans style fried bread dessert
• Crème Anglaise or English Cream – tricking but worth it
• 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
• Mint Sorbet – start to finish is long, but time required is short
• Napoleon Cake – a 12 layered pastry with Vodka and Brandy
• Pistachio Cream Cake – with sesame custard sauce
• Polish Lamb Cake – called Agnuszek or Branek Welkanocny
• Tiramisu – From scratch with biscuit cuillere in lieu of ladyfingers
• Tres Leche Cake – A cake soaked in three different milks.
• Lemmon Tart
• Cheese Cake w/ Lime Shortbread & Raspberry glaze – romantic plating

Cookies

• General Cookie Making Tips
• Almond Vanilla Biscotti – with Amaretto and toasted almonds
• Pistachio Chocolate Biscotti – with dark chocolate coccoa powder
• Granola with Almonds – as bars, cookies, or chucks
• Oatmeal cookies – just like Mom used to make

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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 at his distillery/winery, 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 the President 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; because 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. Also, recipes using baking poweder at elevation do not rise as much as they do at sea level and don’t develop the same cake structure (i.e., at elevation, cakes come out shorter and denser), adding flour helps, but not always. Also, I bake in a commercial convection oven which means my temperatures may be lower and baking times shorter than yours would be in a conventional oven. No two ovens are the same and you have to adjust any recipe for the oven you use. The up side is you get to make the same amazing recipe multiple times (like any Chef does), until you get it nailed.