Bourbon Sauce

2 C sugar

2 sticks butter, melted

4 egg yolks

2/3 C bourbon

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar and melted butter. Using the whisk attachment, whisk melted butter and sugar until well combined. With machine running on slow speed, drop in egg yolks one at a time. Whisk well after each addition. With machine on low speed, slowly pour in bourbon. Once it is well incorporated, increase speed and whisk on medium high for several minutes until the mixture is very smooth and has increased in volume. It should be thicker and very smooth. Store sauce in refrigerator. Let sauce come to room temperature before serving. Spoon bourbon sauce over bread pudding and heat in the microwave on full power for 45 seconds. Add whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Recipe can be cut in half.

Wild Chicken Salad!

2 – 6 ounce boxes of Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice, original recipe

1 – 14.65 ounce can of quartered artichokes, rinsed and drained

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

three in picture, only two needed for recipe…Jerry and Maggie got the other one…

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

2 T plus 2t curry powder

1 ½ C mayonnaise

2 t black pepper

2 t salt

1 gala apple, diced

½ large container of spring greens

½ C dried cranberries

½ C toasted almond slices

Cook rice according to package directions. I used only half of one “flavor packet” for both boxes of rice. Note the cooking instructions under High’s Chicken Salad for cooking the breasts. In a large bowl, combine rice, artichokes, diced chicken, scallions, parsley, mayo, salt, pepper and curry. Mix well and store in the refrigerator for several hours. For serving, lightly dress greens, apples and cranberries with raspberry chipotle vinaigrette. Place on plates and top with wild chicken. Garnish with more chopped parsley and toasted almonds. At High’s, we serve this plate with toasted pita chips. Wild Chicken! holds well overnight. Beyond that, the rice texture can get a little gritty.

The recipe can be cut in half.

Credit to my friend Milan Hughston for this idea. Before he moved to NYC, I had brunch at his house in Fort Worth where he served something like this. I didn’t ask him for the recipe. Just made it up based on what I was tasting. Added the salad greens, almonds, apples and cranberries when it was reinvented for High’s. Hey Milan, is it noon yet? 😉

White Bean and Rosemary Soup

¼ C olive oil

3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 large garlic cloves, minced

¼ C tomato paste

½ c dry white wine

1 C sun-dried tomatoes, julienned

4 bay leaves

2 t dried thyme

2 t dried oregano

½ t fennel seeds

1 t red pepper flakes

1 pound northern beans, rinsed and soaked for several hours or overnight

8 C chicken stock

1 – 5 ounce container of baby kale

In a preheated soup pot, add oil and rosemary sprigs. Allow rosemary to gently simmer while it flavors the oil. Once leaves start to look a little dry, add onion and garlic. Add a spritz of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Continue to sauté until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste and continue to sauté. You want the paste to deepen in color. Some brown bits on the bottom of the pan are desirable. BROWN = FLAVOR, I once heard someone say. Good. Careful not to burn the paste, but allow enough time for deeper color to develop. Natural sugars are being extracted. This step renders a great deal of flavor. Don’t be in a hurry! Once you have sufficient brown bits, add your wine for deglazing. Allow the wine to evaporate creating a nice thick sauce. See the picture! The addition of the wine adds a nice acidic element too. At this point, the remainder of the ingredients, except the kale, can be added. Bring soup to a boil and reduce heat and cover pot and allow soup to simmer for several hours. Obviously, tender beans are the goal. The cooking time can vary depending on how long you soak the beans and also how old the beans are. (We once cooked some garbanzo beans for days, it seemed, and they still were not tender.) Prior to serving, add kale and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If soup is too thick, add more stock. Serve with freshly grated parmesan, chopped parsley, and a drizzle of EVOO. A nice crusty crostini is great for dipping.

I added some grilled chicken and apple sausage to the soup.

Most soups benefit from an overnight stay in your fridge. Flavors fully develop and blossom. Plan ahead. Better flavor results, in most cases, when you give soup a chance to rest.

Also, hopefully no one is using an aluminum soup pot. Acidic elements can yield undesirable tastes when you are cooking with aluminum. Stainless is the ticket.

White Chocolate Apricot Bread Pudding

(makes 16 portions)

12 large croissants, torn into small pieces

1 and 1/3 C sugar

2/3 C flour

2 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1 C diced apricots

1 C white chocolate chips

8 eggs

4 t vanilla

2 T brandy

Zest of 1 orange

4 C half and half

2 sticks butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Add diced apricots and white chocolate chips. Whisk to combine making sure that apricots are not clumping together. Add croissant pieces to the flour mix and stir to combine. Hands work well here too. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, vanilla, brandy and orange zest. Whisk well. Add half and half to the egg mixture and whisk again to fully blend. Pour egg mixture over the croissant mix. Pour melted butter into the bowl and get your hands dirty – squeezing and mixing the batter really well. Sometimes your impeccably clean hands are the best tools for getting the job done. Press plastic wrap directly on top of the batter and store in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 hours. Preparing the batter a day ahead is best. Portion the batter into soufflé cups that have been sprayed with non-stick baking spray. I used an 8 ounce soufflé cup. Place soufflé cups on a cookie sheet and place into a 350 degree preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate and bake for an additional 20 -25 minutes more. The tops should be golden brown in color. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow bread pudding to fully cool before removing from the cups. For serving, rewarm in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes. Spoon warm bourbon sauce over bread pudding and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. For many customers, this is their favorite bread pudding of all!

This recipe can be cut in half.

Farro and Beet Salad

5 medium sized beets, roasted, peeled and diced

1 ½ C farro

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

½ C golden raisins

1 C walnut pieces, toasted

½ bunch parsley, finely chopped

Zest of 1 orange

1 C goat cheese, crumbled

2 C baby kale

Salt and pepper to taste

For beets: Trim tops and bottoms of beets so they sit in a baking dish without rolling around. Try to use similar-sized beets for even cooking. A mix of gold and red beets looks great. Place trimmed beets into a baking dish prepared with non-stick spray. Cover dish with foil and place into a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake beets for 1 hour or more until a knife inserts easily. Allow beets to cool. Peel and dice.

For farro: In a sauce pan, add 1 ½ C of farro and 2 ¼ C of water. Season with 1 t salt, 4 bay leaves, and 1 t dried thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for an additional 10 or 15 minutes more until grain has a nice bite. Drain off excess water and place cooked farro on a plate for cooling.

Farro is a grain high in protein and fiber. It is a great substitute for pasta or rice. Farro resides in the spelt family.

Combine cooled beets, farro and remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss with orange herb vinaigrette. Great combination. Healthy and Tasty.

Pumpernickel Croutons

5 slices pumpernickel bread

Olive oil for brushing

Garlic salt

Generously brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with garlic salt. Remove crusts and cut into large-sized croutons. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Croutons should be crispy. Makes about 30 croutons.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal

4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into large pieces

½ t red pepper flakes

4 bay leaves

2 t curry powder

2 t dried thyme

4 whole cloves

¼ C fresh lemon juice

8 C chicken stock

In a preheated stock pot, add olive oil and butter. Once butter is melted, add onions and celery. Sauté until softened and slightly caramelized.

Toss carrots with a small amount of olive oil (just enough to moisten) and spread on a cookie sheet prepared with non-stick spray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven. Do the same preparation for the squash, but on a separate sheet. Place in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are nicely browned.

Add carrots and squash to onion mix. Add red pepper, bay leaves, curry, thyme, cloves lemon juice and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer allowing flavors to meld. Remove from heat and allow soup to cool. Overnight is fine. Once cooled, place soup into a blender in small batches and puree until smooth. (Never do this with hot soup.) Reheat pureed soup. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add more stock or water … or cream if you’re feeling naughty. Serve with scallions and pumpernickel croutons.

Orange Herb Vinaigrette

(makes 1 ¼ C of dressing)

¼ C red wine vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T orange juice concentrate

½ t salt

½ t black pepper

1 T orange zest

2 t Greek Mediterranean seasoning *

¾ C olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a pitcher. Use a stick blender and blend well. With blender running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until a smooth emulsification forms.

*Greek Mediterranean seasoning can be purchased at World Market/Cost Plus Stores. It is a blend of chili flakes, garlic, lemon peel, dill, oregano, cinnamon, mace, spearmint, and chervil.

Apricot and White Chocolate Scones

(makes 8 large or 10 smaller-sized scones)

2 ½ sticks butter, diced and chilled

4 C flour

¼ C sugar

2 T baking powder

2 t salt

4 eggs, in a pourable container

Zest of 1 orange, added to eggs

1 C white chocolate chips

1 C dried apricots, diced

Heavy cream

Egg wash

Raw sugar for sprinkling

Place diced butter in the freezer while you prepare other ingredients. In a stand mixer bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix together well using the paddle attachment. Add chilled butter and pulse mixer to coat the butter with flour mix. You may need to break up any big chunks of butter with your fingers. Remember to work fairly quickly. You want the butter to remain cold. Add apricots and white chocolate. Pulse again to evenly mix. Pour eggs into flour mix one at a time, pulsing to mix. Remove the paddle attachment and use it to scoop to the bottom of the bowl to get the flour that is not mixing. Attach paddle and drizzle in heavy cream slowly while pulsing mixer with short bursts. Mix should just hold together. I often work with my hands at this point. Just add a smidge more cream if dough is to dry. If dough is too wet, add a smidge more flour. Hope you guys are comfortable with the term smidge! Gather dough into a ball and place into a 10 inch cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray. Press evenly into pan. Invert pan onto a floured board. Cut into 8 or 10 wedges. Place scones on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray. Brush with egg wash. (1 egg and ¼ C of heavy cream, beaten) Sprinkle each scone with raw sugar. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 25 minutes. Rotate halfway through cooking. Scones should just be set to the touch. Touch the thickest part of the biggest scone. It should feel set and not loose.

After scones have cooled a bit (5 minutes), remove to a wire rack for further cooling. These are so perfect served warm. If you serve the next day, reheat in a toaster oven. Scones are optimal shortly out of the oven.