Gordon Ramsay says that the true test of any cook is how he or she can scramble eggs. Check out this blog with tips and a video demonstration.

Chef Ann has an incredible and impressive list of achievements and credentials in the course of her culinary career. Among these accomplishments include that of Chef of the Year awards and winning national American Culinary Federation awards.

Chef Ann Cooper works as an industry services consultant for the Culinary Institute of America, a corporate chef and as a consultant to various restaurant and hotels located around New England. Ann was among the first 50 women to be certified as an executive chef by the educational arm of the American Culinary Federation.

Chef Anne has also published a book titled “A Woman’s Place in the Kitchen” that narrates the vision of women and their role around the kitchen. It contains both traditional and innovative approaches that women have had in the field of cooking. She also authored another book, “The Sustainable Kitchen” that will surely make the grade and be a hot commodity among aspiring chefs of today.

Here’s one more yummy recipe worth trying out, fresh from one of last week’s episodes of Ready Steady Cook, by one of the show’s regular chefs, James Martin.

Perfect for a quick weekday supper and easy enough to whip up when unexpected guests arrive, this is one dish that will please the entire family (just omit the salsa for the little ones and serve it as in the photo above, with greens and pasta).

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
30g/1oz Emmental cheese, grated
sprig fresh thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil

For the basil oil
1 tbsp olive oil
small bunch fresh basil leaves

For the salsa
avocado, peeled and stone removed
red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 lime, juice only

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket lengthways into the thickest part of the breast. Stuff the pocket with the cheese and fresh thyme and season the breast with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and add the crushed garlic. Fry for one minute then add the chicken breast and fry until golden-brown. Turn the breast over and transfer to the oven to roast for 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through.
3. For the basil oil, place the olive oil and fresh basil leaves into a food processor and blend until smooth.
4. For the salsa, finely chop the avocado into small cubes and place into a bowl. Sprinkle over the chopped chilli and squeeze over the lime juice.
5. To serve, place the chicken onto a warmed plate. Add a spoonful of the salsa and drizzle the fresh basil oil around the edge of the plate.

Try your hand at one of Michel Nischan’s healthy recipes which are known for its freshness and intense flavours. It is important to use the freshest ingredients possible here, and of course, make sure that everything (or as much as possible) is organic.

Find organic produce at your local farmer’s market, at specialty shops, or even in your supermarket’s organic section. It really does make a big difference in taste as well as your health!

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 cup large dice carrots
1/2 cup large dice celery
1/2 cup large diced onions
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1-1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp plus hot chicken stock
1 tbsp plus 1tsp grapeseed oil or chicken fat
3 cups pulled cooked chicken meat such as left over fried, roasted or rotisserie chicken.

Heat the oil in a 2 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 2 minutes or until soft and clear. Add the carrots and celery. Cook one minute more or until the vegetables smell fragrant. Add the stock and increase to high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just done. Set the pot of stock and vegetables aside but keep warm.

For the dumplings, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, blend the egg, chicken stock and oil and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir with a fork until just mixed together. It is important not to over mix the dough or it will become tough. Transfer the dough to a well floured cutting board and spread the dough out as thin as you can by hand. Keep your hand and fingers well dusted with flour so the dough does not stick. Lightly flour the surface of the dough and finish rolling to a thickness of about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch.

Return the stick and vegetables to the stove and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cut the dough into noodle shapes the size you like and drop them into the simmering stock. Be careful to drop a few at a time and to stir the stock to prevent the dumplings from sticking together. Cook 6 to 8 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through and tender. Add the pulled chicken meat and cook one minute longer. Turn off the heat and let stand 3 minutes before serving.

Among the many chefs and celebrity chefs that abound, Matsuhisa Nobuyuki is a celebrity among his peers. He is a true treasure – a fantastic chef and true artist.

Chef Matsuhisa began as a Shinjuku Sushi Chef in Japan. A customer invited him to open a restaurant in Peru and the chef took the risk. He later decided to give up Peru and move to Alaska were misfortune caused his restaurant to burn after a mere 50 days. Not one to give up easily, Chef Matsuhisa opened another restaurant. California was his chosen venue this time and the first Matsuhisa was born.

Currently, Chef Matsuhisa has 17 restaurants spread out across the world. They can be found in California, Colorado, London, Milan, New York, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Greece and Hong Kong. Each Nobu and Matsuhisa restaurant has wonderful food made from the heart and excellent service – factors that are a requirement for this chef.

Chef Matsuhisa is a very unassuming person. He doesn’t grandstand but he is considered by many the master of Nouveau Nipponese food. If you love Japanese food, you will definitely want to go to the nearest Nobu or Matsuhisa. Be sure to make your reservations as early as possible.

A celebrity chef is called a celebrity chef often because they cook and have great personality on camera. They are able to draw people to the kitchens. They give people confidence to try cooking for themselves. This is why though they are not true chefs, people like Rachael Ray have their spot in front of the camera.

TV has a hundred and one tricks to make cooking look really fast and easy. This includes making some of the dishes before the show starts or having the make up of the celebrity chefs constantly retouched so that they don’t look like they sweat while they cook – like the cooks truly do.

This is why the shows of Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray are so popular. Almost all the dishes that they feature on their shows really are prepared within the time allotted by the network. Add that the food really comes out delicious, as well as beautiful to look at, is it any wonder that their fan base keep growing?

Here’s an easy recipe from Chef Bobby Flay (Throwdown With Bobby Flay) that is really great. Try this Philly Cheese Steak for yourself:

Ingredients:

• 2 to 2 1/2 pound strip loin, trimmed
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Soft hoagie rolls, split 3/4 open
• Provolone Sauce, recipe follows
• Sauteed Mushrooms, recipe follows
• Caramelized Onions, recipe follows
• Sauteed Peppers, recipe follows

Directions:

Place steak in freezer for 30 to 45 minutes; this makes it easier to slice the meat. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice very thinly.

Heat griddle or grill pan over high heat. Brush steak slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 45 to 60 seconds per side.

Place several slices of the meat on the bottom half of the roll, spoon some of the cheese sauce over the meat, and top with the mushrooms, onions, and peppers.

Provolone Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, heated
1 cup grated aged provolone cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the provolone and Parmesan until combined; season with the salt and pepper.

Sauteed Mushrooms:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (cremini and shiitake), coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Caramelized Onions:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons canola oil
3 large Spanish onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly until golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Sauteed Peppers:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced
2 Cubano peppers, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in medium saute pan over high heat. Add the peppers and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Her name could be one of those tounge twisters (try saying it fast 10 times!), but if you’ve seen Gale Gand’s show “Sweet Dreams” on the Food Network, you’ll find that there’s nothing twisted about Gale – in fact, she comes across as a down-to-earth big sister you wish you had, who’ll bake you the most deliciously moist chocolate chip cookies when you’ve been dumped.

Although today she has won numerous accolades for being a fabulous pastry chef, Gale’s first claim to fame was a photograph taken for Life magazine when she was 6 years old, as she was making mud pies.

She’s the executive pastry chef at Tru, a fancy Chigago restaurant popular with connoisseurs, and holds the same position at Cenitare restaurants, LLC, and is polularly known as the lady who makes the best desserts in the city.

Aside from her tv show, Gale has been writing cookbooks since 1997, her sixth and latest one, entitled “Chocolate and Vanilla” is due out in bookstores later this year. Her awards are many and too long to mention, but needless to say, the unassuming Gale has won the praise and respect in the culinary world for her simple talent – creating the most dreamy desserts.
Next time you’re in Chicago, drop into her casual and scrumptuous pastry/coffee bar, simply called “Gale’s Coffee Bar”, and you may bump into Gale herself in another role she loves, this time as Mom with her son Gio and 2-year-old fraternal twin girls, Ella Nora and Ruby Grace. Those lucky kids are bound to be the hit at their future school bake sales.

Michel Nischan decided that he would create a new way of cooking- based on health and well-being, when his son Chris was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 5.

“Chris’s illness made me realize that floating on foie gras and bathing in butter might not be in the best interest of my customers.”

This was back in 1994, and since then, Nischan has revolutionized cooking, creating a cuisine where the dishes are not just good for you and taste fantastic, but more imporatntly, the ingredients used are purely organic products.

A farmer’s son, Nischan was raised on the land, which laid the foundations for his organic understanding about food:

“I was raised to understand that the soul of a vegetable comes from the soil, and the rain is its life-blood…The food we grow and eat in the place we call home defines who we are and what we care about.” He says.

His career flourished through several successful restaurants in the Mid-west, until he shot to stardom when he introduced his new concepts of organic eating at the Heartbeat restuarant at the W Hotel in New York City in 1997.

Since then, Nischan has authored two groundbreakingcookbooks on the subject of organic eating – Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table (2005) and Taste Pure and Simple: Irresistible Recipes for Good Food and Good Health (2003), which went on the New York Times Bestseller lists as well as win James Beard Foundation awards.

His clear vision, talent and know-how on organic eating has caught the attention of people everywhere, and Nischan has been a busy man indeed, making numerous television appearances, writing for newspapers and magazines, serving as board member for Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and The Global Environment, is one of the key organizers of the New American Farmers Initiative (NAFI), and he takes part in helping major food companies work on their issues on sustainable food systems. He also served as host chef for a dinner for the Dalai Lama.

More recently, Nischan has opened a retaurant with another organic food advocate, Paul Newman, “The Dressing Room – A Homegrown Restaurant” in Westport, Connecticut.

If there ever was a celebrity chef to remember for the 21st century, it would be Michel Nischan.

Steak Tartare ala Tony Bourdain


* 2 egg yolks
* 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (28 g)
* 4 anchovy filets, finely chopped
* 2 tsp ketchup (10 g)
* 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (5 g)
* Tabasco sauce, to taste
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup salad (i.e., corn or soy) oil (56 ml)
* 1 oz Cognac (28 ml)
* 1 small onion, freshly and finely chopped
* 2 oz capers, rinsed (56 g)
* 2 oz cornichons, finely chopped (56 g)
* 4 sprigs of flat parsley, finely chopped
* 1 1/4 lb. fresh sirloin, finely chopped (560 g)
* French fries, optional
* 4 slices fine quality white bread, toasted, quartered, for toast points

Directions:

1. Place the egg yolks in a large stainless-steel bowl and add the mustard and anchovies. Mix well, then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and pepper and mix well again. Slowly whisk in the oil, then add the Cognac and mix again. Fold in the onion, capers, cornichons, and parsley.

2. Add the chopped meat to the bowl and mix well using a spoon or your hands. Divide the meat evenly among the six chilled dinner plates and, using a ring mold or spatula, form it into disks on the plates. Serve immediately with French fries and toasted bread points.

Some words of steak tartare wisdom from Tony:

“Les Halles, the restaurant, was pretty much created to serve this dish. The key to a successful steak tartare is fresh beef, freshly hand-chopped at the very last minute and mixed tableside. A home meat grinder with a fairly wide mesh blade is nice to have, but you can and should use a very sharp knife and simply chop and chop and chop until fine. The texture will be superior. And do not dare use a food processor on this dish – you?ll utterly destroy it.”

I haven’t met a person who hasn’t said this recipe produced fabulous results. Its mindlessly easy too, so I urge you to try it for yourself.

*note: my sister and I like to temper the acidity by adding a little cream or milk during the last whisk at the end. Also, it is well worth the effort to pound the breasts as much as possible before cooking.

Giada’s Chicken Piccata

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and give it a shake to remove excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil.

When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate.

Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner.

Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.