Eighty-sixth Post ~ Pesto marinated steak

This is a quick and fool-proof way to create a savory, tender steak.  MARINADE!  As long as your marinade contains some acidic compound (such as wine or soy sauce, even orange juice) your odds of having a far more tender steak increase exponentially.

Tonight's marinade was thrown together so hastily, it felt like I was just taking a little of this and a little of that and dumping it in a bowl.

Which, actually, is precisely what I was doing.

Here's what you'll need for the marinade:
~ Olive oil
~ Soy sauce
~ Truffle oil (why not?)
~ White wine (I had some leftover vidal blanc that's a little past the enjoyable drinking mark)
~ Basil pesto (premade from Wegmans)
~ Dash of sea salt

Obviously, you'll also want a petite sirloin to put it on.

Combine the ingredients in a bowl that is just the right size to nearly submerge your steak.  Whisk together with a fork.  Marinate the steak for a few hours, turning every so often and spooning the marinade over it.

I broiled it for 8 minutes on one side, 5 on the other.  This is the magic number of minutes for a petite sirloin, I believe.  I served it with green beans sauteed in garlic.  I paired the meal with some more French Maid cabernet sauvignon - so yummy!  It was fruity enough to stand up to the savory marinade, but full-bodied enough to compliment the steak.  All in all, a quick, satisfying meal!

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.

Eighty-fifth Post ~ Savory Marinated Strip Steak

Easy to prepare, quick to cook - what's not to love?

Here's what you'll need for this meal:

~ Strip steak
~ Soy sauce
~ Garlic (jarred or crushed)
~ Whatever fresh herb you have on had (wait for it - OREGANO!)

Place the raw steak in a zip-lock bag.  Pour in an ample amount of soy sauce.  Not only does soy sauce add a delicious flavor to meat, but it also tenderizes steak!  One of my favorite meals as a child was my mom's soy-sauce steak over buttered toast - read about it here!  (And pardon the photo - that was before I had a camera with a "food" setting!)

Put about a teaspoon of garlic into the bag along with a sprig of whatever herb you might want - seriously - the herb could really vary anywhere from rosemary to sage to marjoram to thyme - the sky (er... earth?) is the limit!

Let the steak marinate in the refrigerator while you get some work done.  Get the steak out before you're ready to cook so it has time to get back up to room temperature.

Preheat a toaster oven or other heating apparatus on broil at about 375-400 degrees.  Put the steak - marinade, herbs and all - onto a tin foil lining and broil for around 5 minutes or until it's cooked to your preference.

I served the steak with some leftover ratatouille - a perfect pairing for the savory flavors of the salty soy sauce and zesty garlic!  Naturally, I also had a glass of French Maid with it...  Hey - I'm snowed in - give me some credit for varying the ingredients on hand!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Eighty-fourth Post ~ Beef Burgundy Soup

With the winter storm that blew across the U.S. this past evening, nothing makes me feel more prepared for bad weather than a pot of soup at the ready!

This soup was a quick meal that could be thrown together when I got home from my afternoon class yesterday and left alone until I was ready to eat in the evening.

Here's what you'll need for this easy-peasy soup:
~ Stew beef
~ One package mirepoix (or make your own quite easily by dicing up some onion, carrot and celery - but as I said, I was in a hurry!)
~ Handful cleaned and cut mushrooms
~ 5-7 beef bouillon, depending on your taste
~ Fresh herb(s) of choice (I chose thyme and oregano, since that's what I've got right now!)
~ A couple handfuls wild rice
~ Splash red wine

Fill a medium pot about half full of water and start it boiling.  Toss in the bouillon, mushrooms, package of mirepoix and stew beef.  Toss in some fresh herbs (don't bother pulling the thyme or oregano from the stem - I threw in three stems of thyme and two solid stems of oregano.  As it cooked, the leaves fell from the stems) and add a splash of red wine.  Stir it all around a bit.  Start it boiling and work on other things as you every so often check on the soup.  Turn down the heat after a little bit.

Simmer gently for a little over an hour, stirring occasionally.  Toward the end, toss in a few handfuls of wild and long grain rice (I opened a box of Uncle Ben's and only used a small portion of it, keeping the rest of the rice and the full seasoning packed in a ziplock bag for later use).  Simmer the soup with the lid on for about 10 minutes, then let it sit with the lid on and heat off.

Whenever you're ready for dinner, turn the heat back on and bring the soup to a simmer again.  I paired this meal with the same crusty bread I had with last night's ratatouille.  I also enjoyed another glass of French Maid cabernet sauvignon!  All in all, a hearty winter meal!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Eighty-third Post ~ Ratatouille

I will confess that around the new year of 2009, I watched a certain computer animated film by Pixar and Disney, and, well, Gusteau's catchphrase of "Anyone can cook" just may have helped push an idea of a cooking blog over the edge from "Hmm, I wonder..." to "That's it - I'm starting a cooking blog!"

This is, of course, the titular meal and a classic in its own right.  Ever since the film, I've been clipping out recipes for this Provençal dish; photos of beautifully arranged veggies are pinned up next to devil-may-care tossed ones.

So last evening, I decided to give it a whirl.

Here's what you'll need:
~ Garlic (jarred or a couple cloves)
~ 1 eggplant (a smallish one)
~ 1 zucchini
~ 1 golf-ball sized onion
~ 1 orange or yellow pepper
~ One small container roasted tomatoes in oil
~ EVOO
~ Coarse-ground sea salt
~ Herbs of choice (I chose fresh thyme and oregano)

Start a hefty amount of olive oil smokin' in a large skillet.  Chop up the eggplant and toss it around a bit.

: : PAUSE : :

I guess I had had a stressful day.  I hadn't realized it until that point, but chopping up that eggplant felt good.  Next came the zucchini.  CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP-CHOP.  Then the pepper.  CHOP-CHOP!  CHOP-CHOP!  Then the onion.  WHACK-CHOP-CHOP-CHOP-CHOPPA-CHOPPA-CHOP.  With each chop I felt a bit of the day's frustrations leave me.  And a bit more, and a bit more...  This is my new favorite "I've had a bad day" meal.

: : UNPAUSE : :

So - ahem! - toss the chopped eggplant around the oil a bit and add some garlic.  Chop up the zucchini, pepper and onion and add that all in turn.  Open the container of roasted tomatoes (hopefully they come packaged in oil - because the oil is delicious!) and it all in.  Add some fresh herbs at this point.  If it starts sticking, add a bit of water to create some steam.

Let the whole deal simmer, covered, until the veggies are tender.  I served this with a crusty loaf of pain de compagne and it was a perfect textural partner for this savory, filling meal.  I paired it with a cabernet sauvignon by French Maid (it seemed fitting!) and it was wonderfully fruity, balanced and bright.

All in all, a successful meal!
Yours in the love of good food, wine, and the outlets they bring us (both creative and physical!),
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.

Eighty-second Post ~ Afternoon Sweet & Salty Snack: "Snowfall on San Fran"

The salt-caramel sensation that's sweeping the nation has not gone unnoticed by the Accidental Chef!

So far, most of the salted caramel and chocolate combinations I've tried have been from the west coast, and are a little tougher to find out here.  So I've taken measures into my own hands!

I figured that Ghirardelli was a good chocolate brand to go with, since the chocolate is a great quality and the caramel is buttery but not too overpowering.

That, and they've got this nice little concave spot around the top that holds the salt nicely!

Salt from a shaker works great for this, but coarse-ground sea salt gives it an extra punch.  Grind on as much or as little as you like, then carefully nibble each piece so as not to lose the topping.

Now THAT'S an afternoon pick-me-up!

Yours in the love of good food and unexpected combinations,
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.

Eighty-first Post ~ Turkey Tenderloin with Savory Sautéed Veggies

This was a simple meal that satisfied my craving for veggies.  Walking through Wegmans the other day, I found that I kept gravitating toward the produce department and all the yummy, fresh foods therein.  This meal includes all the spoils of that shopping trip!

Here's what you'll need:

~ Mushrooms (cleaned and sliced Bellas)

~ Small orange pepper

~ Scallions

~ Roasted tomatoes (from the Mediterranean Bar from the last post - I had three left over!)

~ Avocado

~ Butter

~ Garlic (jarred will work!)

~ Turkey tenderloin

~ Dash white wine

In a stickfree pan, start a tablespoon or so of butter and some garlic sizzlin'.  Add the turkey tenderloins.  I bought a pack of three and sautéed all of them at once so I'd have some leftovers.  Put them to the side.  In the same pan, toss in some mushrooms, sliced pepper, leftover roasted tomatoes, splash of white wine and a dash of coarse-ground sea salt.  Sautée until tender.

While the veggies are cooking, slice up some avocado.  An easy trick I learned at a cooking seminar on my trip: Slice the avocado in half and then use a tablespoon to scoop each half out of the skin.  I'm not sure if this is standard operating procedure for avocados and I've just not caught on up to now or what, but this is easy AND mess-free.  A double-plus!  Arrange the avocado on the plate, set the turkey tenderloin alongside it and scoop the veggies over it.  Snip some scallions over the top of the whole thing to add a crisp, zesty finish.  Bon apetit!

I enjoyed this meal with more of the wonderful Portal Roble from earlier this week.  It heated up the flavors a little, giving the peppers a little bit of bite and the garlic a little more heat.  It was wonderful!

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.

Eightieth Post ~ Salmon Caprese

Due to an outpouring of requests for the return of the Accidental Chef (thanks Arun!) I'm back in the kitchen and back online!  After an awesome trip to Mexico (full of inspirational food!) I'm refreshed, rejuvenated, and excited about kicking things off with Post #80!

This dinner was easy, delicious, and fast.  I would, however, recommend baking the salmon after the initial sauté rather that continuing to cook it on the stovetop.  While this meal turned out yummy, I feel that a few minutes in the oven would have melted the cheese a little more.

Here's what you'll need for this easy, breezy aquatic Caprese:

From the Mediterranean Bar at Wegmans:
~ Oven roasted tomatoes
~ Roasted garlic cloves
~ Mozzarella ball

: : PAUSE : :

Now, I know what you're thinking.  "CHEATER!"  Sure, sure - this is a little bit of a cheater's dish.  I could have roasted the tomatoes and garlic myself, but honestly, when a busy day and late evening forced me to choose between Not Cooking and Cheating a Little, I choose the latter.

: : UNPAUSE : :

~ One salmon fillet
~ Prepared basil pesto
~ EVOO
~ Italian breadcrumbs
~ Veggie side of your choice

Open the paper that's wrapping  the salmon and sprinkle on the breadcrumbs.  Maximum flavor, minimum clean-up.  Start some EVOO smokin' and set the salmon carefully into the oil.  Let it sauté until it's nicely browned (but not necessarily cooked all the way through).  Arrange the mozzarella, tomatoes, garlic cloves and pesto over the top of the fish.  Here's where I'd recommend transferring it to a pan and baking it for about five minutes on 350 or so, or until the cheese is melted and the fish is cooked to your liking.  It turned out great on the stove, but as I said, it could have been a little more melted for my taste.

I paired this savory dish with Portal Roble from Spain (a cab, garnacha, merlot, tempranillo and syrah blend) and it balanced out the savory tones with deep berry flavors and cleansed the palate with a balanced finish.

All in all, a great dinner to kick off another great semester of studies AND cooking adventures!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Watch for the return of the Accidental Chef mid-January!

Last night, I settled down to a home-cooked family dinner that was as timeless and hearty as it was delicious.  A rustic beef stew paired beautifully with crumbly, sweet corn bread and baked cinnamon apples.   A Californian pinot noir highlighted the earthy tones of the stew and rejuvenated my pallet for each savory bite.

Naturally, my love of food led to thoughts about my blog.

These past few weeks, my life has been filled with end-of-semester craziness, final projects, Christmas preparations, family time and getting ready for a trip.  Needless to say, I've been one busy girl.

That doesn't mean I haven't made the time to do some pretty darn good cooking...

...I just haven't had time to blog about it!

But never fear - the Accidental Chef shall return to you mid-January once the dust has settled a bit with new dishes as well as some catch-up posts on those that have been sitting in a file of photos marked "To blog about"!

In January, you can read all about:

• Another Amanda and Meg wine feature starring a phenomenal Riesling
• A quick and healthy take on tortellini
• A delectable cranberry torte that I learned how to make from my mother this holiday season - and it's easy!!!
• Recipe inspirations I'm hoping to pick up from my trip abroad!

So in the mean time, my foodie friends, settle in for long winter naps, cook up some rustic meals of your own, and tune back in after a couple of weeks to read about what's new!

Wishing you a prosperous, happy, healthy New Year full of warm memories, and of course, fantastic food and wine!

AL

Seventy-ninth Post ~ Caramelized sirloin with port-stilton reduction

Tonight's meal was a complete experiment.  Well, most meals are; let's be honest.  But tonight's was just a fly-by-night, see-what-happens, try-it-out-and-see type of experiment.

It started with my mama.  Over dinner the other night, she reminded me that she still has some ground lamb in the freezer, which we traditionally cook in an orange-caramel sauce (more on that later - MUCH more...) which of course, set me to craving it.

I haven't any ground lamb in MY freezer (and it just wouldn't seem right to make it without her!) so I started a steak thawing and figured I'd try out some brown-sugar recipes on my own.

: : PAUSE : :

Now might be a time to remind you that one should always have a fire extinguisher handy in one's kitchen.  Not that I do.  And not that I needed one tonight.  But there was a moment there when I was afraid my petite sirloin was going to spontaneously combust, and during that moment, I rued the fact that I was not in possession of a fire extinguisher.  Especially since my house is about one hundred years old and made of wood.

: : UNPAUSE : :

Suffice it to say, my steak did not combust and my house did not burn down, AND the meal turned out to be quite yummy.  Hence the blog post.

So here's what you'll need to make tonight's meal.

For the steak:
~ Sirloin steak
~ Brown sugar
~ Fresh thyme
~ Coarse ground sea salt

For the reduction:
~ Stilton (just a little bit)
~ Dash of port
~ Dash of heavy cream
~ Dash of EVOO
~ Scallions - three bulbs, one stalk or so

For the side:
~ Frozen bean medley
~ Wegman's basil pesto

Mix some brown sugar in a bowl with some sea salt and thyme.

: : PAUSE AGAIN : :

Here's where I went wrong.  I treated the mix like a rub, much like I did here, but unfortunately, steak in a broiler behaves much differently than salmon in a pan.  I put the steak in the toaster oven set on broil and walked away for a few minutes, and when I came back, the brown sugar had bubbled up and caramelized such that it looked like some modern installation at the Corning Glass Museum.  So I would recommend perhaps starting the steak cooking and spooning some of the brown sugar mix over it just as it's finishing cooking.  Perhaps.  I think this recipe might need some tweaking.

: : UNPAUSE AGAIN : :

So I coated the steak in the rub and broiled it; as you can see above, alternate measures might behoove you, dear reader.  But in any case, the steak was beautiful in the end (after switching it to a different parchment lining and delicately spooning some of the glass-art off of it.

While you're dealing with your steak, here's the recipe for the reduction.

In a stick-free pan, slice in some scallion bulbs and one stalk with kitchen scissors.  Pour in a dash of port and a dash of EVOO.  Start it sizzling and add the stilton, crumble by crumble.  Rapidly stir in a dash of heavy cream.  Turn off the heat and let it sit until the steak is done (or blows up, whichever comes first).

The veggie is easy - in another stick-free pan, toss some frozen beans and a frozen chunk of pesto.  Toss around, salt, and heat again right before you're ready to eat.

The steak, as I said, came out great.  The stilton reduction complimented the sweetness of the brown sugar rub exactly the way I had hoped it would.  The scallions gave it a wonderful onion burst which added to the savory sweetness of it all.  I had a glass of a red called Cosmo (no relation to the cocktail) from Laurello Vineyards in Ohio (another fabulous find with Meg!) and it served to refresh my palate and compliment the steak!  The beans in pesto were surprisingly easy AND yummy.  I will definitely add them to my mental list of quick and simple sides!

All in all, a successful (albeit adventurous) meal!

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.

Seventy-eighth Post ~ Mussels in White Wine and Herb Butter Broth

Blame the dreary weather.  Blame flu season.  Blame the November tendency to burn the candle at both ends.  Whatever the source of blame, I found myself craving the simple, energy-packed joy of a dinner of mussels.

I took my inspiration for parting from my usual wine-and-tomato based sauce from recipes and memoirs from Mireille Guiliano's fantastic books and site.  Seeing as this was a month that ends in "-er" and therefore mussel season, I thought I'd seize the opportunity to revel in this dish cooked with her recommended white wine, butter and herbs.

Here's what you'll need for tonight's dinner:

~ Mussels (I find 15 is a perfect meal for me)
~ White wine (I got a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc by Terra Andina)
~ Garlic (crushed or jarred - I was in a hurry tonight, so jarred it was)
~ Fresh parsley
~ Fresh thyme
~ Scallions (about one full one, from bulb to tips)
~ Butter.  Salted.  Lots of it.  I'm German, not French, anyway.
~ Coarse ground sea salt
~ Crispy baguette (sliced)

In a shallow pan with a well-fitted lid, slosh in about a half inch of white wine and several tabs of butter.  Add all but about 4 inches of scallion and a small handful of chopped parsley with a sprig of thyme.  Add a bit of garlic.  Let it simmer as you wash the mussels.  Add a bit more wine if it starts looking like it's simmering into nonexistence.

Add the mussels and another tab of butter over all.  Slap on the lid and walk away for 4-5 minutes.  In the mean time, slice the baguette and pour your wine.

When the time is up, spoon them out into a bowl with the luscious broth and snip the remaining scallion over the dish.  Grind on some salt.  Savor every last mussel and every last drop of "liqueur."

: : PAUSE : :

I may have gone a little overboard with the scallions.  It made the dish quite oniony.  I LOVED it!!!  It was fresh and zesty and bursting with green flavor.

: : UNPAUSE : :

The wine was a perfect companion.  It was grassy and crisp, but mellow enough to compliment rather than fight the buttery broth.  It tamed the taste of the scallions and brought out the "fresh from the sea" taste of the mussels.

All in all, a very fulfilling, satisfying dish!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.