Mad Delicious: Cooking Healthy with Keith Schroeder
Culinary expert and Cooking Light columnist Keith Schroeder stops by to talk about his new book, Mad Delicious: The Science of Making Healthy Food Taste Amazing. Learn how Keith combines flavors and budgets fat so that healthy food never tastes dull.
Welcome to the Clever Cookstr, your ultimate window into the kitchens of the world’s best cooks.
Today, culinary expert and Cooking Light columnist Keith Schroeder joins us to talk about his new book, Mad Delicious: The Science of Making Healthy Food Taste Amazing!
Too often, home cooks with good intentions sacrifice flavor and texture in an attempt to make their favorite recipes healthier. In Mad Delicious, Keith explains the why’s and how’s behind making every dish taste great, without overloading on fat, salt, and calories. He takes the kitchen science genre to the next level.
Click the arrow in the player above to listen to the entire episode. Or download the episode from iTunes and learn:
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How toasting your pasta improves flavor.
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What is the science behind the Maillard reaction and why it matters to you.
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Why the most tender steak you’ll ever make needs a visual trick at the end.
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How each ingredient in a recipe works together to enhance flavor and texture.
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How Keith found his way from the ice cream business to healthy cooking, without sacrificing any flavor along the way.
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How to bring the art and science of healthy cooking into your own kitchen.
Listen to the episode, then let me know your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
As a special gift to Clever Cookstr fans, here is Keith’s recipe for Port-Stained Beef Medallions…….
Port-Stained Beef Medallions
This is a counterintuitive little recipe. Indeed, you’ll get some squished faces if you tell your guests you’re serving them steamed beef. But this is delicious. Promise. So why are we steaming prized beef tenderloin? Because gentle steaming honors the delicate nature of the cut and the mildness of the flavor, and it allows the tender texture of tenderloin to be the lead feature in the dish. While a steakhouse char is welcome on beefier cuts, such as strip and rib-eye, the port stain gives the same visual appeal in a super-tender cut.
People will ask where you hid your personal chef.
Ingredients
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4 garlic cloves, peeled (The perfume and flavor of garlic adds a savory note against the sweetness of port wine.)
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¼ teaspoon kosher salt (To firm and flavor.)
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4 (4-ounce) medallions beef tenderloin, trimmed (The star of the show.)
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½ cup Mad Delicious Aioli (The sauce.)
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1 tablespoon finely minced fresh red chiles such as Fresno chiles (The Fresno is the ultimate utility chile. The balance of heat, sweet, and vegetal is ideal. This is a chile that lets you know it’s there, but won’t steal the show.)
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2 cups port wine (Primarily used as a stain, the residual sugar adds contrast to the garlic-forward flavors in the aioli.)
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1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated (The citrusy perfume helps make the port less candy-like.)
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1 teaspoon smoked paprika (A hint of fire helps complete the illusion.)
Directions
Place garlic on a cutting board; sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Chop until coarse, but consistent. Then, scrape with the flat side of knife to mash.
Place the beef tenderloin medallions on paper towels on a plate. Pat dry on all sides.
Rub the garlic mixture evenly on all 4 beef medallions. Replace the paper towels on the plate, and allow the beef medallions to quick-cure, uncovered, in the refrigerator, for about 30 minutes.
How to Make the Sauce
Blend the aioli and the chiles. Chill.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the port wine to a boil.
Now, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and reduce wine to a ½ cup of liquid. It should be syrupy. Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon zest and smoked paprika. Pour the port reduction into a baking dish or shallow pan with a diameter small enough to allow the sauce to pool, yet hold all of the beef medallions.
Set aside.
How to Steam the Medallions
Ready a 10-inch stovetop steamer, filling the pot to a depth of 1 inch. I like using a bamboo steamer for this recipe. You’ll only need one layer and the lid. Bring the water to a boil and get the steam going at a full (but not violent) rate.
Place the medallions equidistant on a small square of parchment. Cover and steam for about 6 to 8 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
Remove the steaks from the steamer. Pat the tenderloin medallions dry with paper towels, and press them down into the port reduction. Allow them to “stain” for 5 minutes on each side.
How to Plate Your Masterpiece
Transfer the medallions to a cutting board and slice at a broad angle. You should be able to get 4 reasonably thick (about ½-inch) slices per medallion.
Spoon 2 tablespoons of the aioli mixture on each of 4 plates and smear, running across the plate with the back of your spoon. Snazzy.
Fan the medallions over the aioli performance art. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the port reduction on the steaks to finish.
Serves: 4 (serving size: 3 ounces beef, 2 tablespoons aioli mixture, and 2 tablespoons port reduction)
Calories 323; Fat 17.6G (Sat 4.3G, Mono 9.5G, Poly 1.6G); Protein 26G; Carb 8G; Fiber 1G; Chol 75MG; Iron 2MG; Sodium 298MG; Calc 48MG
For more kitchen science secrets, check out Mad Delicious: The Science of Making Healthy Food Taste Amazing! by Keith Schroeder. Join us next time on the Clever Cookstr for more insights into the kitchens of the world’s best cooks.
Images courtesy of Time Home Entertainment Inc.