Seventy-second Post ~ Curry Lamb Shish Kebabs with Wild Rice

Tonight I had my friend Jess over for dinner. We had decided (based on a random facebook post) that tonight would be all about lamb. She'd bring a red wine, and I'd create an entrée. So one afternoon when I needed a break from studying, I brainstormed some ideas and sketched this meal out. Here's what you'll need:

For the marinade:

~ one clove crushed garlic

~ curry powder

~ soy sauce

~ white wine

~ apricot jam

~ thyme

~ honey

~ bay leaf

For the shishes (read this post for my rant on the linguistic wrongness of "shish kebab"):

~ lamb tenderloins (or, as it turned out, butterflied leg of lamb)

~ onion

~ yellow pepper

~ garlic

~ baby bella mushrooms

~ dried apricots

For the rice:

~ Uncle Ben's fast-cook recipe long grain and wild rice. Follow the directions and just as it's getting ready to sit and steam for 5 minutes, toss in a good couple handfuls of dried cranberries. This can be made right as you begin cooking - it can steam for a while until you're ready to eat.

I was surprised to learn that lamb tenderloins are not a regularly stocked item; turns out I've just gotten lucky each time I've gone to Wegmans and gotten them previously. This time I found butterflied leg of lamb, and was told by the helpful staff that it is tougher than the tenderloins, but if I plan to marinade it, it will be good. So I made the marinade ahead and let it sit in it for over 24 hours. The end result was super flavorful, tender lamb.

Here's how I made the marinade.

In a sauce pan, start some white wine and olive oil heating up. Add a good swirl of soy sauce and several whole sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf. Add some curry powder. As it starts to seriously simmer, add a few tablespoons of apricot jam and then some honey to taste. Crush in a clove of garlic last of all.

Let it sit and cube the lamb. Put it in a bowl and when the marinade is room temperature, pour it over the lamb. Saran wrap it and let it rest in the fridge over night. In the morning, stir it around and cover it and put it back in the fridge for the day.

Once it's time to get cookin', slice up the pepper and onion while you simmer the mushrooms in some white wine, salt and EVOO. In a separate pan, caramelize the onion with some oil and sugar. When the fire alarm goes off, splash in some white wine (which solves a lot of kitchen problems) and add the peppers. Let them sautee until just tender. Let everything sit and cool in prep bowls. Preheat your toaster oven. When you're ready, skewer your shishes with apricots, lamb, mushrooms, peppers and onions. Place in a pan and pour the remaining marinade over the top. Broil until the lamb is cooked to your liking. We liked ours medium-rare, so it didn't take too long! Serve over wild rice.

Jess and I enjoyed this meal with a Peruvian merlot by Santa Rita. It was spicy and fruity and had a luxurious, velvety finish that paired beautifully with the meal. Naturally, girl-talk paired perfectly with this meal as well, so it was, all in all, a perfect evening!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,

AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Seventieth Post ~ Goat Cheese Canapés

I was in the mood for a munchie this afternoon before grading, and so I made these, which were so simple I really wondered if it was worth blogging about them. But then I thought - simple is good! So here we are.

I was first introduced to the word (and concept) of canapés on board my first Celebrity cruise. My mom and I jokingly mispronounce them as "cuh-NAP-ees" because they always arrive in the cabin around nap time.

Well, today's "nap time" is going to be in the form of a cup of Starbuck's French roast, so I thought canapés would be fitting.

Here's what you'll need for these bite-sized snacks:

~ Baguette slices

~ Goat cheese

~ Fruit preserve (I chose apricot)

~ Fresh herb (thyme is my favorite!)

Preheat the toaster oven. Slice the baguette and dab a little goat cheese on each slice. Drop about a table knife-tip's worth of preserves on top, and scatter a little thyme over the whole deal. Bake for about as long as it takes for your 4-cup coffee maker to brew 2 cups.

Enjoy! Then back to work!

Yours in the love of good food and its re-energizing properties,

AL

Forty-eighth Post ~ Almond-encrusted Pork Tenderloin Medallions topped with Apricot and Rosemary Glaze

Happy February 14! Whether you're celebrating Valentine's Day or Single's Awareness Day, it's a perfectly wonderful excuse for cooking something completely over-the-top! Which is exactly how this meal turned out - topped with minced sweet onion, apricot preserves, sea salt, rosemary, and grated vintage gouda, this was one of those meals where my only recipe guide was a spirit of "Why the Heck Not?"

Here's what you'll need for tonight's dinner - whether you're cooking for one or for two!

~ Pork tenderloin

~ Sweet onion

~ Apricot preserves

~ Fresh rosemary

~ Grated vintage gouda (optional, but does add a nice salty, caramelly kick!)

~ Balsamic vinegar

If you're roasting fingerling potatoes to go with this meal, start them in the oven while you get the rest of the meal put together. I pierced them, brushed them on all sides with olive oil and generously ground sea salt over them.

Slice the pork tenderloin into medallions (this isn't altogether necessary; I was just hungry and wanted it to cook faster; plus, the flattened shape allowed me to pile all the more goodness on top)...

Crush some almonds (I had some Marcona Spanish almonds in this week's cheese flight from Wegmans, so I crushed them up with a wooden spoon) and roll the edges of each medallion in it. Lay each round out on a piece of tin foil.

Finely mince some sweet onion. Add a scant amount to the top of each piece of pork. Next, top each with a hefty spoonful of apricot preserves. Add a bit of fresh rosemary to each and grind some salt over the top of the whole pan. Add just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and then grate some vintage gouda over the whole thing. Pop it in the oven next to your potatoes and let it bake on 350 for about 20-30 minutes (provided it's cut into medallions). Enjoy the aromas of onion, rosemary and balsamic vinegar melding and baking into this tender meat!

Pour yourself a glass of chardonnay and enjoy some of the gouda with it. I am in love with vintage aged gouda from Wegmans - it's not cheap, but one slice lasts for a REALLY long time wrapped and sealed in a ziplock bag in your fridge. It's salty, caramelly, and oh-so rich! Nibble on a bit with a nice, oaky chard while you finish up your night's work.

When the timer goes off, let the meat sit for a few minutes so the juices have a chance to settle. I enjoyed tonight's meal with a bottle of chard that Megan and I found in this adorable winery that had taken up residence in an old church: South River Vineyard from Ohio's fabulous Grand River Valley wine region. It's just fruity enough, with hints of apple and citrus, with an oaky finish that's not at all contrived. All in all, a nice pairing!

Yours in the love of good food and wine and celebrating life,

AL

Forty-second Post ~ A Quick Rejuvenation for Leftover Pork

The other night my mom and I got a pork tenderloin from Wegmans. It was a honey mustard marinade, and quite honestly, we were a little underwhelmed with the mustard quality and a little overwhelmed with the black pepper. We agreed that we liked other Wegmans pork marinades (teriyaki RULES) but this one was a bit lackluster.

I got the rest of it as leftovers, and decided that this "leftover treatment," tried and true on other such meats, just might tone down the pepper and enhance some of the other more subtle flavors. It certainly worked for me.

So now, fine readers, I pass this trick on to you. I believe it would work well on pretty much any white meat, marinated or un-marinated, flavorless or flavorful.

Here's what you'll need for a pork-or-poultry-pick-me-up:

~ Brie

~ Jam of your choice (I think apricot jam and brie are a match made in heaven)

~ Fresh herb of your choice (tonight I used rosemary, but thyme works just as wonderfully)

Set your oven or toaster oven to pre-heat on 350. Prepare your side (I made Uncle Ben's Wild Rice fast-cook recipe and added a healthy dose of ginger and cinnamon) then the meat. Here's all you do:

Lay the meat slices out on a sheet of parchment paper (or tin foil). Lay one sprig of your fresh herb of choice over the meat. Next, set an ample slice of brie on top (I used Wegman's medium brie, which has a perfect texture for baking) and top it off with several spoonfuls of jam. Pop it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, until the brie is melted.

Serve with your side, and enjoy a whole new take on leftovers!

I had an Italian Pinot Grigio with tonight's dinner, and to be honest, I felt it went better with Friday's dinner of mussels in tomato and wine sauce than with tonight's dinner. I'm starting to find that Pinot Grigio is kind of a "red wannabe" - it pairs well with those meals that you might normally think to grab a red for - tomato based sauces, parmesan-heavy, any seriously savory dinners go well with a Pinot Grigio. The subtle fruitiness kind of got lost against the apricot jam, and the brie disappeared next to the wine's solid structure. I think a chardonnay would have suited this meal better - but, hey - you live, you learn, you blog!

Yours in the love of good food and wine (and the rejuvenation of leftovers!)

AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Thirty-ninth Post ~ Duck with Tempranillo Reduction

I realize that this is my second post in a row featuring duck. I don't really see that as a bad thing. I bought a package of duck breasts the last time I was at Wegmans, so I guess you should prepare yourselves for at least two more duck entries before the winter is up!

Tonight's dinner was inspired by the fact that I had a Tempranillo on hand and it was just too darn nasty out for me to spare an extra trip to the store. I decided that I could do something creative with the duck to make it red-wine worthy.

So here's what you'll need for tonight's dinner:

~ Duck breast, skin off

~ Red wine

~ Balsamic vinegar

~ Olive oil

~ Garlic

~ Onion

~ Fresh (or dried) thyme

~ Fruit preserves (I favor apricot)

~ Potatoes

~ Salt/Butter

~ Grated parm

In a pan, start the olive oil, and tiny amount of garlic and onion sauteeing with a little less than a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. After it starts hopping around a bit, add some red wine, about two tablespoons of apricot jam, thyme, salt and pepper. Get it really simmering nicely.

In the mean time, boil some sliced red potatoes with some salt, the stalk from the thyme you used for the reduction, and a little olive oil.

After your reduction is starting to meld, add the duck cut into strips. I do this for two reasons: 1) It's faster to cook and 2) There's more surface area to cover in the yummy reduction sauce as it cooks.

As the duck is starting to seem done, move it out to the edges of the pan or take it out completely. You want to cook the sauce down so that it is a true reduction - that is to say, mostly sugar. View the close-up to the left so you can see the texture with all of its sugary goodness.

After the potatoes become "forkable," drain them, butter them, and top with grated parm and a bit of parsley, if you wish. Transfer the duck to the plate and top with a generous amount of sauce.

I served tonight's meal with the same red I used to make the reduction: Sangre del Toro's Tempranillo, direct from Spain. As it is an old-world wine, it is more earthy than fruity, which made a nice complement to the "wild" taste of the duck. This reduction turned out sugary, yet still a bit on the tart side, so if you're cooking with an old-world wine such as this one, you may wish to add a touch of sugar to the reduction. New world wine, with their fruit-forward nature, might not need the extra sugar.

In the end, I thought meal came together nicely, and served to warm me from the inside out against the howling winter storm rattling at my windowpanes!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Twenty-ninth post ~ Apricot and Balsamic Glazed Tuna Steak

I could cry.

I could, but I won't, because in the grand scheme of possible disappointments in one's life, this really isn't THAT significant.

But it still renders me wanting to scream and cry a little and swing my fists in manner of a spoiled three-year-old.

I cooked a meal tonight that I would consider one of my best dinners. I don't say that in an arrogant "Oh, my cooking is so good" kind of way. I say it because it was one of those meals where everything came together perfectly. I got a piece of meat that I normally never would have spent the money on, researched how to cook it so as not to ruin it, managed to carry out said painstaking method, served the meal with a perfect wine pairing, photographed it, prepared to blog about it...

And my camera disk was corrupted.

So I can tell you about tonight's meal, but there won't be any pretty pictures to go along with it. Nothing to draw your eye. Nothing to prove it was real. Nothing, nothing, nothing but the memory.

Here we go:

I found a .40 lb wild-caught tuna steak at Wegmans. This fish had spent its life cruising around the shores of Ecuador before it landed happily in my cart, half-price because it needed to be consumed in two days. So I got an $8 piece of fish for $4. Bargain!

I researched how to cook tuna. I guess it's temperamental because it can dry out very easily. So I created a balsamic glaze. Here's what you'll need to make tonight's dinner:

~ Tuna steak
~ Balsamic vinegar
~ Apricot jam
~ Garlic (one clove)
~ Pepper
~ Olive oil
~ Fresh rosemary

Before you turn on the heat, pour a larger-than-normal dollop of oil into your pan. Swirl in a bit of Balsamic vinegar. Place a good tablespoon and a half of apricot jam into the oil and vinegar - trust me. Place a sprig of rosemary in the whole thing. Pepper it. Thinly slice a clove of garlic and add that. NOW start it heating on a low flame.

Take the tuna out of the package. Revel in its texture and weight! Rub a bit of oil into the fish. Turn the heat down - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down. Place the tuna into the pan on top of the sprig of rosemary. Keep the heat very, very low. If you're using gas, keep the flame at that point where just a little less would extinguish it completely.

Move the tuna around the pan, turning it occasionally. Each time you turn it, spoon some of the sauce over it. Initially, the sauce is going to be kind of lumpy and separate. As it cooks, it will meld beautifully, turning into a concentrated, sweet glaze. Some people like their tuna completely uncooked in the center. Some like it cooked through. I'm right in the middle, liking the center not sushi-like, but not cooked through, either. This cooking method takes a bit of time and patience. Don't be tempted to turn the heat up to cook it faster; from what I've read, this will only dry out the fish.

Serve with whatever side you want; it won't really matter anyway next to an awesome, wild-caught piece of fish!

I debated about what wine to serve. Some say a good chard, others recommend a light and fruity pinot noir. I poured a bit of a South African chardonnay by Indaba and a bit of a shiraz by Cudgee Creek of Australia. The chardonnay won by a long shot. Don't get me wrong - the shiraz is wonderful (I drank it last night with the hard-to-pair meal of tortillas and fresh salsa with hamburgers - which, to my dad's horror, I topped with goat cheese) but with this meal it was overpowering. The chardonnay, on the other hand, was fruity to match the apricot in the glaze and played up the wonderfully fresh notes of the fish.

Sadly, the meal has disappeared with little left of it but the memory - but perhaps this post will serve to memorialize it... and I could always make it again, for the sole purpose of taking another photo... hmm... this could work!

Yours in the love of good food and wine and their fleeting existance,
AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.