Post #101 ~ Roasted Yams with Herb Tenderloin and Crimini Mushrooms

This was a quick meal that went from ingredients to table in 30 minutes.  And half of that time was spent on my computer, so it's "walk-away" friendly!

Here's what you'll need:

~ 1 yam
~ Sesame oil
~ Honey
~ Cinnamon
~ Course ground salt
~ Butter
~ EVOO
~ 1 tenderloin steak
~ Fresh herbs of choice (I had oregano and savory on hand)
~ Crimini mushrooms

First, preheat the toaster oven (bake: 375) and wash and pierce the yam.  Then microwave it for one minute (my microwave is a 700 watt one, so time might vary).  Warming it makes it easier to slice.  When it's done, slice it into half-inch rounds.  Put them in a ziplock baggie with a dash of sesame oil, a bit of honey, some cinnamon, and some honey.

: : PAUSE : :

This was total improv work.  In our household, when we make sweet potatoes / yams for turkey dinners, we make a stringy, caramelly sauce to go with them.  It consists of butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and quite possibly more butter.  It's absolutely heavenly.  However, I have the tendency to have very little control when I'm around a pot of the stuff, resorting to eating it not only on my potatoes, but also on turkey, stuffing, spoons, and even, in one desperate moment, off of my own fingers.  So I have yet to prepare it in my own home, for fear I would go into sugar shock and die.

And then what would we do?

So I totally improvised, figuring that roasting made things sweet, and honey made them sweeter.  And cinnamon... well, cinnamon's just plain great.

: : UNPAUSE : :

So into your baggie goes the ingredients and the slices.  Shake them around really well, then lay them on a pan and bake them for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.  Spend the first fifteen minutes doing anything you like, but be on hand for the next 15, because that's when you'll cook your steak.

I decided to keep this really simple, so I did the steak and mushrooms in one pan on the stove top.  Into a pan I put a tab of butter, the herbs, and a dash of EVOO.  I quartered the criminis and tossed them in.  When everything was good and simmering, I put the steak right in in the middle.  I turned it a few times and cooked it for the remaining time until the potatoes were ready.  You may need to toss it back on for a few minutes, or it might be done enough for you at this point.

I enjoyed this meal with a glass of merlot from Red Rock.  This merlot is round, bright and fruit forward, tasting of ripe bing cherries.  It was the perfect companion for this meal - bold enough to stand up to the earthy flavors of the herbed steak and mushrooms, yet soft enough not to fight the sweet, roasted yams.

All in all, a good 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.

Ninety-fifth Post ~ Prep Ahead Mussels with White Wine, Garlic, Herbs & Tomato

After I get done lecturing, I feel emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted, in a really rewarding kind of way.  Typically, I do call-ahead take-out from Panera, where I can grab my healthy, foodie meal to go, drive back to my apartment, and collapse in front of my TV to dine on panini, salad and a nice glass of wine.

But I'm trying to think outside the lunchbox for some easy alternatives.

Enter mussels.

You all know my love affair with these mollusks - easy, inexpensive, quick and oh-so-yummy.  What's not to love?  It's a quick meal in and of itself, but I thought I'd do some prep to make it even quicker.  My efforts paid off.

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

~ Mussels (1 lb does it for me - unfortunately, Wegmans misplaced the special order I had called in early this morning, and I ended up having to wait for a while with two exceptionally apologetic and friendly seafood staffers while they painstakingly looked for the code to ring up a single pound of mussels, which is not a usual purchase.  Hence the call-ahead.  But we found it - #6755.  Immortalized herein)
~ White wine (tonight's was a lively Portuguese Gazela vinho verde - as clear and effervescent as sparkling water - but with a great deal more citrussy, fresh character!
~ Garlic (1 clove)
~ Fresh herbs on hand (savory, thyme and oregano for me!)
~ 10 or so pieces of oven-roasted tomatoes from the Mediterranean bar.  Super yummy.
~ 2 tbs. butter
~ Coarse-ground salt to taste

In the afternoon, I prepped the broth.  Into my pan went some white wine, garlic, tomatoes, herbs, two pats of butter and salt.  I slapped a lid on and put it into the fridge.

End of story.

I came home this evening with my pound of mussels and a baguette, let the pot come to temp while I greeted my puppy and set my bags down, and then started it simmering, rinsed the mussels and plopped them in.  They cooked covered for 3 minutes while I poured myself a glass of chilled wine and sliced the baguette.

Not 10 minutes in the door, I was sitting down to one heck of a savory meal.

Panera, you know I love you - and I'll probably see you Thursday.  But this was a great way to kick off my week!

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.

Forty-sixth Post ~ Savory Pot Roast

This is a pretty simple meal to put together in the middle of the day, then forget about until your day is done and you're ready for dinner.

Bear in mind that I'm cooking for one and my leftovers are designed to be relatively small - as good as pot roast is, no one wants to eat it for five dinners in a row. So realize that the picture above is practically a miniature potroast - a chuck eye that is a little under a pound, baby carrots, pearl mushrooms and fingerling potatos.

Here's what you'll need to prepare tonight's meal in whatever size you desire!

~ Chuck eye roast

~ Fingerling potatoes

~ Slices of a small cooking onion

~ Baby carrots

~ Baby pearl mushrooms

~ Beef boulion cubes to taste, dissolved in about 2 cups of water

~ Splash of whatever red wine you have laying around

~ Salt

~ Sprig each of rosemary and savory

The directions are pretty simple: wash and pierce your potatoes and add them to the slow cooker, add carrots and mushrooms, then the meat topped with two slices of onion, salt to taste, and a sprig of each of the herbs. Pour in your two cups of liquid into which you've dissolved the boullion, a splash of red, and you're good to go! Slap the lid on, get to class, and when you return (presumably between 4-6 hours later, depending on the size of the roast), heavenly aromas of a home-cooked meal await you!

The herbs added a nice fragrance to this meat. I put everything out on a plate once it was cooked and mixed the juice with a little dissolved corn starch on the stove to make a fast and flavorful gravy. Overall, it was a nice "mom's cooking" kind of meal, and went beautifully with a Sangre de Toros red table wine. The earthy old-world reds are SO good with roast beef!

The leftovers will provide about 2 meals for me, which is a perfectly desireable amount!

Yours in the love of good food and wine (and eating well, even as a singleton),

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.