Thaindian News

Sep 22 (THAINDIAN NEWS) As today’s ‘Rachael Ray Show’ got underway, Rachael was visited by guest star Donnie Wahlberg, one of the founding members of ‘New Kids on the Block’ to chat about his skills in the kitchen, a new restaurant which he is opening, and how it feels to be a parent.

Ironically, after it was mentioned yesterday on Dr Oz as a way to avoid some of the toxin we add to our bodies, Donnie shares how he cooks with low heat. “This is the key to cooking. It’s the low flame, it’s the gentle twist. A lot of guys, we get in the kitchen and we turn the flame up real high, we burn the food you know we’re very rough.” But then Donnie goes on to share his skills in the kitchen, “I’m known for cooking toast, cereal, and microwave popcorn. That’s it. I have no cooking skills.”

Oddly enough for a man who says he has no cooking talent, Donnie is opening a new restaurant. He says that the chef is the driving force behind the idea, which is a good thing, since Donnie can’t cook. He shares, “And the beauty is, the name, it came out in the press a few weeks ago and it because a huge story, but it’s, the beauty of it all is that it’s Paul is, he’s a legitimate chef. You know, it’s like he’s, we even didn’t want to name it that partially because his cooking, it’s just amazing. And he’s done everything, he’s earned everything on his own. He was in cooking school when we were all little kids. And we all, Mark and I especially, looked up to Paul but the Wahlburger’s is really coming from Paul’s love of food and wanting to just make a great hamburger joint in his town of Hingham.”

The restaurant is called “Wahlburgers,” a twist in the spelling of his last name. He is jointly opening the restaurant with his two brothers, Chef Paul, and Mark.

For her “What’s for Dinner” segment, Rachael shared her ‘Perfect Ribeye Steak Supper’:

Ingredients
3 bulbs garlic, ends cut to expose cloves plus 2 large cloves, finely chopped
EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and pepper
1/3 cup dry sherry
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon thyme, finely chopped
A handful of dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup beef stock
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
1 cup good quality ketchup
1 large rib eye steak, 1 1/2- to 2-inches thick
Preparation

1.Preheat oven to 425°F. Drizzle garlic bulbs with oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in foil and roast to tender, 45 minutes. Reserve 1 head for the Swiss Chard Au Gratin. Add cast-iron pan to oven to preheat.

2.Squeeze cloves from remaining 2 bulbs garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Add sherry, butter, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Pulse process into a paste and reserve.

3.For the steak sauce, simmer porcini in stock to reconstitute and soften. Let reduce, 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a food processor and purée. In a small pot over medium heat, sauté shallots and 2 cloves finely chopped garlic in a drizzle of EVOO to soften. Add puréed porcini stock, balsamic, Worcestershire, brown sugar, pepper and ketchup, and simmer to thicken 20 minutes over low heat.

4.Bring meat to room temperature, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Pat meat dry and rub with a drizzle of oil. Season aggressively with salt and pepper. Remove hot cast-iron skillet from oven and place over medium-high heat. Add steak to hot pan and brown 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to oven and cook 6 minutes more for medium-rare, turning once. Remove meat and let rest before carving.

5.Slather steak with garlic sherry butter, slice and top with steak sauce. Serve Swiss Chard Au Gratin alongside.

Swiss Chard Au Gratin
Ingredients
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds Swiss chard or rainbow chard, 3 or 4 large bundles
Salt
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
Pepper
Nutmeg
1 bulb roasted garlic, cloves squeezed from skins and pasted
2 cups freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Preparation
1.Heat oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle of oven.
2.Bring a large pot of water to boil.
3.Stem chard, leaving the leaves whole. Salt boiling water, add chard and wilt – pot will be packed at first. Boil chard 10 minutes, drain in a colander and run under cool water. Let drain and squeeze out excess liquid in a clean kitchen towel. Chop.
4.Meanwhile, heat butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, cook 1 minute, then whisk in milk. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Stir in roasted garlic paste. Thicken sauce to coat the back of a spoon and adjust seasonings to taste.
5.Layer half the greens in a medium casserole (8-10” long). Top with half of the béchamel sauce and half the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Bake 15 minutes