What Recipes would Chefs Recommend and Actually Approve Of?
As 2017 comes to a close we wanted to find out what are the top recipes that chefs have prepared and have been voted as the best cuisines of the year. These recipes are critically acclaimed and mostly came from tv show cooking competitions where top chefs compete to outdo themselves and their competitors. The result is the best of the best delicacies that guarantees a flavorful explosion in your mouth and taste buds as well as an awesome gastronomic experience!
Let’s look at some of the incredible recipes that most chefs approve of:
Linzer Cookies with Spiced Jam
Chef Kevin Sbraga, winner of NBCU’s Top Chef Season 7 created these delicious linzer cookies which won him the title of “top chef”; however, he says that it was his father, Harvey Beachem, who is the original creator of the recipe. They even sold this cookie in their bakery which is in Willingboro, New Jersey and the name of their bakery is also his father’s name – Harvey’s Bakery. Chef Sbraga overcharged his father’s original recipe by spicing up the hazelnut cookies with cinnamon and cloves. He also added anise and coriander to the raspberry jam that sits between the cookie crusts.
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds, ground in a spice grinder
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cups hazelnuts with skin
- 3/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
You may also want to read Basic Tips for Aspiring Chefs
Preparation
Step 1
Beat the butter with the granulated sugar at medium speed until creamy using the standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle or the whisk attachment. Add the egg yolks and lemon zest into the sugar butter cream, then continue beating it with the mixer until it becomes smooth. Put the bread flour and hazelnuts together in a food processor, then ground them until they become fine. Add the cinnamon and cloves and pulse to combine. Next is to add the dry ingredients and use low speed to beat until the mix becomes smooth. By now your dough should be ready, flatten them into 2 disks, wrap using food plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
Step 2
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper on the tin foil trays where you’ll bake the cookies, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on how much dough you have, you can bake the cookies in batches. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface approximately 1/4 inch thick each. Stamp the cookies out with a 2-inch round cutter, but try to cut them as close to each other as possible to not waste the dough. Take a second cookie cutter (with decorative patters this time) and stamp out the centers of about half of the cookies that you’ve stamped out previously with the round cutter. Lay out the cookies on the tin foil tray and make sure to separate the whole cookies in one tray from the cut-out cookies on the other tray.
Step 3
Put the aluminum foil trays in the middle and upper sections of the oven and bake them for 15 minutes, until you see the edges become brown. Afterwards take them out and let them cool. From the cuts you’ve made earlier there should still be leftover dough on the table. Refrigerate them until chilled, then roll them up again and stamp more cookies to bake.
Step 4
Sprinkle the cut-out cookies with confectioners’ sugar, and then leave it for a while. Whisk the raspberry preserves with the ground anise and coriander in a small bowl. After mixing scoop the preserves with a teaspoon and put it on the whole cookies, then put the sugar-coated, cut-out cookies on top of them and serve.
When Recipes are Approved by a Panel of Judges who are also Chefs, then you Know they’re Really Good
Roquefort Soufflés
Top Chef Season 5 finalist, Carla Hall, did not get the top chef award due to her soufflé malfunctioned in the oven and it did not turned out as planned. However, show host, Gail Simmons, came to her rescue (as she badly wanted to see what the soufflé would look and taste like) and folds lots of fluffy whipped egg whites into a Roquefort- and-Parmigiano-Reggiano base. There were other amazing recipes from other contestants; however, Hall’s caught the eye of Simmons and she wouldn’t let it go until it was done right.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons snipped chives
- 2 ounces Roquefort cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus softened butter for the ramekins
Preparation
Step 1
Before you start doing anything, pre-heat the oven first and set it to 375° Fahrenheit. Take 4 1-cup ramekins and rub them with butter, then coat each one with 1 tablespoon of the Parmigiano grated cheese.
Step 2
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Pour in the 3 tablespoons of flour in the saucepan together with the butter and cook for about 60 seconds over moderate heat as you constantly whisk it. This time add the milk, cayenne and salt and continue cooking for another 2 minutes whisking the mixture until it becomes very thick, viscous and bubbling. Get a large bowl and scrape the mixture into it, then whisk it again but this time put in the Roquefort and the remaining 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano cheese together. Add the chives and egg yolks and continue whisking it.
Step 3
In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Pour the beaten egg whites into the cheese mixture until you no longer see any streaks on it. Now pour the mixture into the ramekin cups and fill them about 75% close to the brim, then put the ramekins on the baking paper sheet. This time bake the soufflés for roughly 20 minutes or so until you see it puffed on the ramekins and has a golden yellow color. Once cooked take it out of the oven let cool for about 2-3 minutes, then serve.
Breakfast Burrito
Top Chef Season 4 contestant Spike Mendelsohn wowed the judges, audience and the viewers when he presented his unique blend of burritos. It consists of turkey bacon, spinach, feta, egg whites and scrambled eggs all stuffed in burritos. He won the top chef because of his amazing burrito recipe and you’ll never eat burritos the same way again.
Ingredients
- 2 packed cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 4 red leaf lettuce leaves
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 4 slices of turkey bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
- 1 tablespoon snipped chives Four 8-inch, whole-wheat tortillas, warmed
- Kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 4 large egg whites
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Then add the onion, cook in moderate heat for about 5 minutes and wait until it has softened. Now add the turkey bacon and cook it in moderately high heat for about 3 minutes until it becomes brown. Afterwards add the tomatoes and spinach and cook for about 2 minutes until you see the spinach is wilted. Scrape the skillet and transfer the food onto a bowl, then season it with salt.
Step 2
Whisk the eggs and egg whites in a small bowl, then season it with salt. Heat the remaining 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of oil in the skillet. Fry the eggs and cook for 3 minutes over moderate heat, stirring gently, until it’s ready. Turn off the stove and continue stirring the eggs in the mixture of bacon, chives and feta.
Step 3
Lay the tortillas on a wide plate or tray. Scoop the egg mixture with a tablespoon and put it on the center of the tortillas, then put some lettuce on the top. Fold the sides and bottom of the tortillas inward and enclose the filling, until you have made a complete burrito. Cut them in half and serve.
Well, I certainly hope that you find the recipes here mouth watering and tantalizing. I also hope that you’ll try to cook these yourself at home and entertain your family and friends with an amazing gastronomic experience. Just be prepared to handle an inundation of compliments though. Good luck!
