Two Step's Seafood Scotch Egg

Chef Steve Warner of Two Step Restaurant and Cantina, 9840 W. Loop 1604 W., has given Scotch eggs a makeover. Instead of rolling the eggs in sausage, he has created a seafood coating that mixes salmon and shrimp together.

Two Step’s Seafood Scotch Egg

¼ pound fresh salmon fillet
1 ounce smoked salmon
¼ pound black peeled tiger prawns
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon salt
4 medium eggs, soft-boiled for 6 minutes
¾ cup flour seasoned
2 medium eggs beaten
¾ cup bread crumbs
1 quart vegetable oil

Dice salmon fillet, smoked salmon and tiger prawns, then chop finely. Mix together with chives and salt. When mixed, place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Peel soft-boiled eggs, being careful not to break. Take seafood mix out of the fridge and divide into four equal parts.

With wet hands, mold seafood mix around soft-boiled egg, making sure that the mix is equal thickness around the egg. When all eggs are covered with the seafood mix, place in the fridge on grease-proof paper for 30 minutes.

In three separate containers, you should have;

• Seasoned flour
• Beaten eggs
• Bread crumbs

Pass the seafood scotch eggs from flour to eggs then to bread crumbs.

Heat the oil in a fryer to 160 degrees. Put scotch eggs into the flyer and cook until golden brown. Take out and put into an oven tray and finish in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 3 minutes.

Take out of the oven, cut in half and serve with green salad and caper relish.

Makes 4 eggs.

From Steve Warner/Two Step Restaurant and Cantina

El Rey Chocolate Silk Custard

Two Step Restaurant and Cantina, 9840 W. Loop 1604 N. (at Braun Road), is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a dessert that’s guaranteed to melt any chocolate lover’s heart. Chef Steve Warner’s El Rey Chocolate Silk Custard is a type of flan with the mysterious density of chocolate added.

Warner uses El Rey Chocolate, the Fredericksburg chocolate company that produces world class chocolates. They help make this a treat that would be welcome any time of year.

For more information on Two Step, call 210-688-2686 or visit twosteprestaurant.com.

El Rey Chocolate Silk Custard

1/4 chocolate liqueur, divided use
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided use
3 cups heavy cream
2 cups El Rey 58.5 percent dark chocolate
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Set out 6 soufflé cups. Pour 1 tablespoon chocolate liqueur into each cup.

Over a low flame, melt 1/2 cup sugar to the hard crack stage. Pour 2 tablespoons of the melted sugar into each of the cups.

Over a low flame, bring the heavy cream to a steam. Add the chocolate and the vanilla. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, remaining sugar and remaining chocolate liqueur. Then temper the eggs with the chocolate and egg mixture.

Put the chocolate custard into the soufflé cups. Place the cups into a water bath and bake until the internal temperature of the custards reaches 185. Remove from the water bath, let cool, and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, heat a thin knife in boiling water. Run around the edge of each custard. Upend each custard on a plate and serve.

Makes 6 custards.

From Steve Warner, Two Step Restaurant

Two Step Restaurant has a whole menu of margaritas.

At Two Step Restaurant and Cantina, 9840 W. Loop 1604 N., chef Steve Warner offers up some hearty Texas fare, including fork-tender chicken-fried steak, as it’s called on the menu, fried catfish, bacon-wrapped pork loin and barbecue, all in a building that was fashioned around two 19th century landmarks.

To wash down that food, he has a full menu of margaritas to suit every taste. And he has shared a couple of recipes.

“The key to all our margaritas is the fresh squeezed juice,” says Adrienne Muñoz, who is Warner’s wife and manager of the restaurant. “We tried several options of store bought, non-pastuerized juice and the flavor just isn’t the same.”

If the limes are too bitter for you, add a touch of agave nectar to provide balance, she says.

For more information on Two Step Restaurant, click here.

El Jefe

This is the cantina’s best-selling margarita, Muñoz says.

1 1/4 ounces Gran Centenario Reposado Tequila
3/4 ounce Cointreau
3/4 ounce Grand Marnier
1 1/4 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

Add tequila, Cointrea, Grand Marnier and lime juice to an ice-filled shaker. Shake until cold. Pour into a chilled margarita glass rimmed with lime and salt. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Makes 1 cocktail.

From Steve Warner/Two Step Restaurant and Cantina

Two Step Restaurant is on West Loop 1604 North.

The Silver Spur

This is the staff favorite.

1 1/4 ounces Espolon Silver Tequila
1 1/4 ounces Cointreau
1 1/4 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

Add tequila, Cointrea and lime juice to an ice-filled shaker. Shake until cold. Pour into a chilled margarita glass rimmed with lime and salt. Garnish with a slice of lime.

“The key to all our margaritas is the fresh squeezed juice. We tried several options of store bought, non-pastuerized juice and the flavor just isn’t the same.”

Makes 1 cocktail.

From Steve Warner/Two Step Restaurant and Cantina

Pan de Muerto, from Mariana Oliver at Marioli.

When it comes to Dia de Los Muertos, Mexican Le Cordon Bleu chef and Marioli owner Mariana Oliver doesn’t do boring.

In the glass display cabinets bursting with pastries and cakes at Marioli, an upscale delicatessen in Stone Oak, white chocolate sugar skulls adorned with bright pink and marigold flowers peer out at customers.

But unlike most traditional sugar skulls seen in Mexico, Oliver’s skulls are filled with chocolate frosted flakes that are only revealed when the skull is cracked.

“I thought it would be more tasty than (a hollow skull),” Oliver said.  “The skulls are very traditional in Mexico.  Every store has them.  But Americans are intrigued; they come in and tell me how cute and pretty they are.  It’s like they’ve never seen them—because they never have!”

The celebration of this Mexican holiday takes place on Nov. 1 and 2, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. As the day approaches, bakers and confectioners throughout the city will prepare the traditional treats and bread.

Along with loaves and mini loaves of traditional pan de muertos, sweet bread with bones embossed on top, the sugar skulls come in white and regular milk chocolate at Marioli.   The skulls are decorated with brightly colored sugar flowers ranging from pink to marigold.  A set of 10 skulls takes Oliver four hours to complete, from pouring the chocolate mold to filling the skulls and decorating them.   She often comes in as early as 8 a.m. and leaving at midnight to complete around 20 skulls a day, along with the other treats sold at her store.

Candied skulls, merrily decorated for Dia de los Muertos celebration.

The colors make the skulls much prettier than the plain skulls often seen in Mexican stores, though Oliver had a more significant purpose.

“Dia de Los Muertos is a big celebration in Mexico,” Oliver said.  “We celebrate our dead loved ones by creating a shrine with their favorite things and everything they loved to eat.  You’re supposed to lie a path of marigolds so (the spirits) can find their way home.  I think that’s my way of bringing people home.”

While some people purchase the skulls for party centerpieces, Oliver hopes they’ll use them for what they were made for—eating!

“Eat them!” she laughs.  “It’s a lot of work not to enjoy it.  First enjoy it with your eyes, then enjoy it with your tongue.”

In addition to holiday pastries such as pan de muertos and sugar skulls; Marioli offers traditional Mexican dishes such as tacos al pastor and enchiladas.  The sope, a thick corn tortilla topped with refried beans, shredded chicken and Monterrey Jack cheese with lettuce and freshly drizzled Mexican cream is very popular, as is their lasagna.

“It’s an eclectic mix—we have sandwiches, traditional Mexican dishes and French pastries,” Oliver said. “It’s very different, but it works.  It’s like a Mexican deli!”

For more information about Marioli or the sugar skulls, visit its location at 18730 Tuscany Stone Suite 2103 or call (210) 496-1111.

A Pumpkin Pot de Crème at Luke.

Steven McHugh of Lüke on the River Walk, 125 E. Houston St., has created a seasonal dessert that is rich and rewarding on several levels.

First, it includes the great flavor of freshly roasted pumpkin, which is far superior to the canned product. (Though you can use the canned version if you run out of time.) A second appeal is the fact that he uses no sugar in the recipe; instead, it is sweetened with maple syrup.

It’s also easy to make. Best of all, the dish tastes great with a magical blend of warm spices, cream and pumpkin infusing each airy bite.

Pots de crème (French for “pots of custard”) are a traditional French dessert and are lighter than custards such as flan. You can serve these beauties in ramekins, coffee mugs or anything that will hold the custard. At Lüke, each is served in a jar with a clamp lid.

Pumpkin Pots de Crème

1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup milk
¾ cup maple syrup
½ cup pumpkin, roasted and puréed
7 each egg yolks
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ vanilla bean
½ teaspoon spiced rum

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a sauce pot, bring cream, milk, maple and pumpkin to a simmer over moderate heat to combine. In a mixing bowl mix egg yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla bean and rum together. Slowly incorporate the cream mixture into the egg mixture while continuing to whisk. When completely incorporated, strain mixture.

Pour the mixture into 3-ounce ramekins and bake in a water bath for 45 minutes or until a pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (For directions on how to cook with a water bath, click here.)

Makes 6-8 sevings.

From Steven McHugh/Lüke

Max's Wine Dive Truffled Ranch Dressing

This dressing has been served on special occasions at Max’s Wine Dive, 340 E. Basse Road, and it’s a great way to dress up your ranch dressing. Pour it on salads  or use it as a dip for crudités. Or indulge yourself: Grab a spoon and dig in.

It’s a perfect fit for Max’s, where fried chicken and Champagne go so well together.

For more information on Max’s Wine dive, call 210-444-9547 or click here.

Max’s Wine Dive Truffle Ranch Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped black truffle shavings (see note)
2 teaspoons white truffle oil
2-3 dashes of Tabasco

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, garlic powder, dill, parsley, basil, chives, oregano, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, truffle shavings, truffle oil and Tabasco in a bowl and mix well.

Note: If you can’t find truffle shavings, try a little extra truffle oil to taste.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups dressing.

Source: Max’s Wine Dive

Louis Venditti, pastry chef at Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa

From Louis Venditti, pastry chef at Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa come these utterly delectable Almond Cookies. We had them on our dessert plates during a visit to Antlers during Culinaria’s Restaurant Week. I was determined to get the recipe.

Venditti was kind enough to share it. And, to my surprise, it called for a half-pound of lard. “That’s what makes them so delicious,” says Venditti.

Apparently the use of lard, whether in pastry, pizzas or pasta, has become trendy.

Regina Schrambling in “Slate” predicted this in a posting in 2009, “I’m convinced that the redemption of lard is finally at hand because we live in a world where trendiness is next to godliness. And lard hits all the right notes, especially if you euphemize it as rendered pork fat—bacon butter. ”

The “bacon butter” terminology works for me. Though, I’m thinking that butter and/or shortening could be substituted for the lard in this recipe.

Also, note that Venditti’s recipe indicates weight, not cup measurements for the flour and sugar. The first time I tested this recipe I used a conversion chart to turn ounces into cups and the results were not good. The second time I weighed the flour and sugar out on my kitchen scale (once used for Weight Watchers, and the irony did not escape me) and discovered the I’d put in almost 1 extra cup of flour into the first batch.

The results were much better the second time, and the measurements in parentheses below will work.

Almond Cookies from Louis Venditti's recipe.

Almond Cookies

15-1/2 ounces flour (3-1/4 cups)
7- 3/4 ounces sugar (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound lard
1-1/4 ounces butter
1  egg
1  egg yolk
1-1/3 tablespoons almond extract
2 tablespoons half-and-half, for brushing
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in the lard and butter.  Whisk the egg, egg yolk and almond extract together, then and mix into the dry ingredients until combined. Roll dough into 1- inch balls, flatten between your palms and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten them a bit more, then brush with the half-and-half.  Top each cookie with slivered almonds.  Bake in 350 degree oven until just golden brown around the bottom edges and just starting to brown lightly up the outer sides of the cookies.  (In my oven this was 13- 14 minutes.) Let them cool on a rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

From Louis Venditti, pastry chef at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa

These were from the first batch of cookies. Not like Venditti's, but good enough to eat.

Tapa Tapa's Shrimp Ceviche and Chicharrones

Rudolfo Martinez, who owns the Tapa Tapa truck that can be found at Boardwalk on Bulverde, is a Culinary Institute of America graduate serving up extremely flavorful dishes that combine comfort foods in unique, playful ways. On a recent evening, he mixed watermelon and mint with old-fashioned Pop Rocks candy for a salad that gave your mouth a little extra burst of flavor.

For his shrimp ceviche, he takes fresh tomatoes flavored by serranos and mixes them with pickled onions and shrimp. He serves the mixture over pork rinds for a lively variation on this seafood specialty.

More of Martinez’s food will soon be featured at Counter Culture, which is opening in a few weeks next to the Spectrum Club at 20144 U.S. 281 N. at Evans Road.

Shrimp Ceviche and Chicharrones

1 medium white onion, sliced thin
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (reserve lime peels for broth)
1 cup medium diced tomatoes
2 serranos, cut into thin coins
1 bunch cilantro leaves, torn
1 pound 16/20-count shrimp, shell on
Salt, to taste
1 bag pork rinds or chicharrones (see note)

Rudolfo Martinez

Mix the onions in lime juice and marinate at least 6 hours (overnight is best).

Mix the tomatoes with the serranos and cilantro and perfume at least 6 hours (overnight is best).

Boil shrimp in a broth of juiced limes and water for 90 seconds.

Remove and shock in a ice water bath to stop cooking. Remove from water bath, shell and reserve meat.

When ready to serve, mix all the ingredients together, salt to taste, and serve over chicharrones. Serve immediately.

Note: You can serve this ceviche with tostadas or corn chips. Serve it on avocado halves or on nothing but a plate.

Makes 4-5 appetizer servings or 2-3 main course servings.

From Rudolfo Martinez

Grilled salmon topped with Chama Gaucha's Chimichurri Sauce.

Q. Could you possibly get me the recipe for the chimichurri sauce at Chama Gaucha?

— Cindy

A. Long Phu, the general manager at Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse, 18318 Sonterra Place, was happy to share the basic recipe for this chunky sauce, which he was quick to point out is not like the traditional chimichurri sauce from Argentina.

The Argentine version is made with fresh parsley, garlic and olive oil, while Chama Gaucha’s is made with sautéed bell peppers and onions with a touch of dried herbs while getting a lively kick from vinegar and tomato sauce.

The difference took a few friends by surprise, but most warmed to its tangy charms.

Beef at Chama Gaucha topped with its chimichurri sauce.

Phu didn’t offer any proportions of the ingredients, because part of the fun is playing with it until you get the flavors adjusted to a level that’s right for you. We offer a version to get you started.

This version is great with steaks, such as the many skewered versions that are served at Chama Gaucha, a Brazilian steakhouse. You could also use it with chicken, firm seafood or even grilled portobello mushrooms.

By the way, Chama Gaucha is quietly becoming a chain. The first is the Sonterra Place location, while a second opened in Chicago in 2008. A third opens in Houston on Aug. 24, Phu says.

To reach the restaurant, call (210) 564-9400 or click here for more information.

And if you have a recipe you’d like, email Bonnie Walker or John Griffin.

Chama Gaucha Chimichurri Sauce

Chama Gaucha’s Chimichurri Sauce

1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, chopped, to taste
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more to taste, divided use
1/2 cup white wine vinegar, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried basil, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried mint, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley, or to taste
4 ounces tomato sauce, or to taste

Lightly sauté the peppers, onion and garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil. You want the vegetables crisp, so don’t overcook them. Remove from heat and add vinegar and more olive oil, to taste. The amount of each is to taste, but it also stems from with how much sauce you want around the vegetables. “It’s almost like a vinaigrette the way it’s prepared,” Phu says, adding that the ratio of oil and vinegar is close to even.

Stir in basil, mint, cilantro, oregano and parsley, and adding more of each to taste. Stir in tomato paste. Adjust seasonings to taste.

The end result should be chunky. It should also be very thick. “This is not a light sauce,” he says.

For those who want it spicier, think of adding jalapeño or spicy paprika to the mix, Phu says.

Adapted from Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse

Ceviche Verde

In the newly redesigned Bon Appétit magazine, the August Challenge for four chefs was to come up with a dish using avocado. One of those chefs was San Antonio’s Johnny Hernandez of La Gloria.

His recipe was for a sensational Ceviche Verde, which calls for tomatillo, green olives, cilantro and jalapeño in addition to avocado.

The other recipes are from Carly Groden of Proof in Des Moines, who offered an avocado smoothie, Greg Baker of the Refinery in Tampa with Avocado Salad with Peaches and Shaun McCrain of Book Bindery in Seattle with Avocado and Crab Soup.

By the way, Hernandez was also honored recently by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as Business Owner of the Year.

Congratulations to him for both honors.

Ceviche Verde

1 pound fresh Pacific halibut or other firm-fleshed fish, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
3/4 cup sliced green olives
1/2 cup diced tomatillo
1/4 cup very finely chopped onion
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Tostadas or tortilla chips, for serving

Place the fish in a medium bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Toss to coat. Add lime juice and toss to coat. Marinate until the edges of the cubs begin to turn opaque, about 30 minutes. Add avocado, olives, tomatillo, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño, if using. Add olive oil and season with salt, to taste. Serve over tostadas or with tortilla chips for dipping.

Makes 4 servings.

From Johnny Hernandez, La Gloria/Bon Appétit