Recipes from lunch with Chef Linda Martin

Chef Linda Martin pampered the attendees with some fabulous treats at  the Lunch and Learn  Dacor seminar hosted by the Westar Kitchen and Bath Showroom recently. 

Chef Linda is a well known chef in the Valley   She is the owner of Dinner Designs, a small event consulting and catering service and teaches culinary classes at the Sweet Basic Gourmetware and Cooking School in Scottsdale. I have taken several classes from her and aside from the great food and the sharing of secrets she always gives out copies of her

recipes.  Below is a recipe for her skewered shrimp with sun-dried tomato pesto and  her Almond-Lemon flourless cake recipe.  Everything was so delicious. 

 

Recipes courtesy of Chef Linda Martin

Linda's Dinner Designs

from

Westar and Dacor

Lunch and Learn Event 2/20/2013

 

 

Skewered Shrimp with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto         Serves 6

 

 

For the pesto:

 

1 c sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

2 garlic cloves peeled and quartered

1 c packed fresh basil leaves

Olive oil

1/2 c grated Parmesan

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

For the shrimp:

 

 

2 lbs (about 24) uncooked shrimp peeled, deveined tail intact

2 tbl olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbl chopped fresh parsley

3 tbl lemon juice

4 spring fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour

 

To make pesto: Blend sun-dried tomatoes, garlic cloves and basil leaves in a food processor, adding olive oil as need to puree.  stir in Parmesan and add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside

 

To make shrimp:

Heat BBQ grill to high 

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and coat

Whisk oil, garlic, parsley in a medium bowl to blend.  Add shrimp and toss to  coat.  Let stand at   room temperature 15 min

Thread 4 shrimp on each skewer.  Grill just until opaque, about 2 minutes on each side.

to serve: arrange grilled shrimp skewers on a platter. Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Spoon pesto over shrimp  and serve.

 

 

 

Almond-Lemon Cake with Fresh Berries-

 

1 1/3 c blanched slivered almonds

8 tbl sugar

4 large eggs, separated

5 tsp lemon grated peel

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 c fresh seasonal berries for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease  a 9" diameter cake pan with 1 1/2" sides.  Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

 

Finely grind almonds with 2 tbl sugar in food processor.  Combine egg yokes, 2 tbl of sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until thick and smooth, about 2 min.  Stir in almond mixture.

 

Beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 4 tbl of sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold a large spoonful of whites into almond mixture.  Gently fold in remaining whites.  Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack.

 

To Serve: Turn cooled cake out onto the server platter.  Remove parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar and serve  with fresh berries.





 



Eye on Dacor -The Life of the Kitchen

JC Abbey Introduces Dacor - The Life of the Kitchen
 

A big part of my job as a kitchen designer is to help homeowners select the best appliance for their kitchen. And for that reason I attend tradeshows and manufacturers seminars whenever possible.  Last week I attended a seminar on the Dacor line of products.  What a treat!
 

Dacor is an American, family owned-business that has been operating since 1965 and is well known for its cooking and ventilation products. It offers a full line of appliances that appeal to a broad range of  homeowners because of their style, performance and craftsmanship. When selecting Dacor appliances you have three series to choose between: Distinctive - price point package, Renaissance which gives highlights performance appliances  and Discovery which is more innovative. 

 

 The Discovery 30" Millennia Wall Oven is a jewel in the kitchen and is designed and manufactured in California. I can't say enough about double ovens.  Double ovens are great to have in the kitchen. If you have the space but have to tweak the budget alittle to include one then do it. You won't regret it, I promise.  It's a time saver and if it is a convection oven then it is even more of a time saver.  This one pictured on the right isn't just a gem because it looks pretty but  it's also a "pure convection oven".

Let's talk about this idea of pure convection.  Dacor''s exclusive Pure Convection System  is achieved through a inter workings of 4 parts: fan, heating element, air baffle and the convection filter.  For the homeowner this translate into reduce cooking time, superior heat distribution and it  means  that  you can cook different dishes at the same time without the worry of  the flavors transferring from one dish to another.  It's a baker's delight because as a  pure convection the air circulates around the food so you get even heat distribution meaning  all your cookies will come out looking great; there's no need to turn the pan so that the cookies in the back don't burn.  In the picture on the right you can see the racks and the round filter that I pulled from the back where it is normally kept.  It is dishwasher safe so you can remove it and include it in your next dishwashing cycle.  Another unique feature that I really liked is the space at the front of the rack that allows for a hand to pull the rack out.  So simple a feature, yet so practical.  

Other important features in this oven  are the Controller Panel, the rain gutter and the recessed heating element under the glass.  The rain gutter prevents vapor from descending down the front of the glass on the inside.  There are ovens that no matter how hard you clean that glass the problem is inside the glass so it wll never come clean - the rain gutter prevents that issue.  The recessed heating element under the glass allows for faster preheating and secures that even heating temperature within the oven. 

The Control Panel on this oven is fabulous.  It features a full-color LED display with a glass touch.  It's full color means you can match the paint in your kitchen if you would like.  That sounds funny to some people but the fact is that other people will change the color to use the control panel as an accessory in the kitchen. 

This Control Panel does everything it needs to do: calculate time, temperature and cooking mode.  It also comes with about 100 recipes.  As good as this one is it is undergoing a technological makeover that includes Wi-Fi.  The new  Discovery panel should be out in June of this year.  Just think you can set your temperature and check facebook at the same time.  In my posting on Kitchen Trends I mention that technology in the kitchen will be a hot issue over the few years and then I heard about this panel.  It's exciting. 

As I said Dacor offers a full line of products. If you are thinking of remodeling your kitchen or  maybe just upgrading your appliances do yourself a favor and click on this website:  http://www.dacor.com/.  There's so much more that can be said about this company, its commitment to customer  service and  its well designed products and they offer information, advise and recipes on their website..