Sixty-eighth Post ~ Lamb Wellington

Tonight I was in the mood for something special for dinner. I had gone to Wegman's to stock my freezer full of meat (never too soon to prepare for Autumn?) and I bought two lamb chops. I found in the refrigerated foods section a Pilsbury sheet of seamless roll-out dough - perfect for my next attempted creation:

Lamb Wellington. Beef Wellington has always caught my eye, and so I thought I'd try to improve upon something that's already pretty grand by changing it from beef to lamb.

Traditionally, wellingtons (of any sort, I suppose) are coated with pate or foix gras. I decided to make my own mushroom pate. Here's what you'll need for tonight's meal:

~ Lamb chops

~ Seamless pastry dough

For the pate:

~ Mushrooms (I used baby pearls)

~ Garlic

~ Dijon mustard

~ Fresh herbs (I chose oregano, rosemary and chives)

~ EVOO

For the side, I had a vegetable medley from the freezer section.

SO! Finely mince the mushrooms and herbs. Put them in a pan with some EVOO, garlic and a hint of Dijon. The aromas that will start to fill your kitchen will let you know pretty quickly that you're on the right track with this.

After the pate has melded, put it in a prep bowl. Briefly brown the lamb in the same pan. Pop the canister of dough (this has always made me jump, ever since I've been a child. It's like someone hands me a live grenade). By now, the pate has cooled. Cut two squares of dough and set a piece of lamb in each one. Top with the pate and wrap and seal the little parcel with the dough. Bake on 375 for about 15 minutes, longer if you like your meat cooked well. In the mean time, heat your veggies in the microwave, go downstairs to reset your breaker because you always forget you can't run two heating apparatuses at the same time, and uncork your wine.

About halfway through, I spread a little butter over the top of the wellington.

I served tonight's meal with a 2004 Italian red by Saladini Pilastri. It was oaky and enhanced the rustic taste of lamb that I've always found so appealing, and was fruity enough to refresh the palate between bites.

All in all, a good meal! Not a good picture, so much - I left my camera at my parents' house and had to resort to my cell phone. The next post will be better photographed, I promise!

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.

Sixty-seventh Post ~ Steamer Pot

I know that summer technically goes until the middle of September somewhere, but to me, the end of August always signaled the end of it. This meal was meant to be a celebration of the dog days of summer - and believe me - cooking it in my 90-degree third floor apartment kitchen really enabled me to welcome in the prospect of autumn and its crisp days.

This dinner was inspired by the steamer pots that my dad and I have shared at Joe's Crab Shack, a care-free restaurant chain that we have visited in Maryland and California. I really think that the act of slamming one pot down on a table and announcing, "Dinner is served!" sets a certain casual, laid-back sort of mood...

So here's what you'll need for tonight's meal (cook this for two - grab a friend, a S.O., a family member, a neighbor - honestly, it's just more fun!):

~ one 2-pound bag of mussels

~ any other kind of mollusk you want to add to the mix - I chose 10 steamer clams

~ one (or two) sausages

~ a good handful of fingerling potatoes

~ three or so ears of corn

~ EVOO

~ onion

~ half teaspoon of sugar

~ scallions or chives

~ garlic (I used three cloves)

~ coarse-ground sea salt

~ seasonings (I used dried thyme, cayenne, white pepper, curry powder and bay leaves)

~ one big ol' pot to cook and serve it in!

Start a large pot about half-filled with water boiling on your stove. Grind in an embarrassing amount of salt.

Chop some onion and start to sauté it in a small pan with some EVOO. My goal was to caramelize the onion and I've learned that there's a fine line between burning and caramelizing. Once they're browning nicely, toss in some sugar and grind on some salt and keep them going, tossing them occasionally. I made the mistake of crushing in the garlic with the onions at this point - all it does is splash hot oil back onto your hand as you crush it in, and then the garlic burns a bit. Injury + Insult. I would recommend waiting until the onions are done caramelizing, turn them off, and crush in the garlic and let it meld.

Once you've turned off the heat under the onions, cut the sausage in half and just set it in the pan with a lid over all so the aroma of the caramelized onions and garlic infuses the sausage.

Now that your water is rolling nicely in your pot, add three bay leaves, a dash of cayenne, curry powder, white pepper, dried thyme, and the pierced fingerling potatoes to the pot. Savor the aroma as you add each spice to the water! Set your timer for 10 minutes. During this time, rinse off your clams and mussels. Also, prep some spices that you'll want to sprinkle over the whole pot before you set it to steam. I mixed a dash of all of the spices listed above into a prep bowl so they were blended and ready for when I needed them.

Cut the ears of corn in half. As soon as the timer goes off, add the corn and reset the timer for 8 minutes. Get your table ready. I recommend large placemats and smallish plates - you're mostly eating out of the pot, anyway! Get some beverages and a large empty bowl for shells and corn cobs. Put some butter on a plate so you can use it on the corn and potatoes if you wish.

When the timer goes off, pour out all but about two inches of water from the pot. Put the caramelized onions, garlic and sausage in. Keep the burner going and put in your clams and mussels. Sprinkle with your spice mix and slap on the lid for 4 minutes.

When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let it sit for another minute. Then, unveil the steamer pot! Transfer it from stove to table (a trivet or strategically-placed place mat is helpful here). Snip in some fresh scallions or chives for a little fresh, crispy onion taste. Try not to burn your fingers, dig in and enjoy!

I served tonight's meal with a chardonnay by Casillero del Diablo - it was a perfect pairing for the mixture of spices and tastes in tonight's meal. It was refreshing with notes of citrus and vanilla.

All in all, a fun meal and a worthy send-off to summer!

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.

Sixty-sixth Post ~ "Italian Classics"-Inspired Tilapia

This post could be titled "An Ode to Wegman's Italian Classics." I have had a long-standing love-affair with Wegman's Italian Classics seasoned breadcrumbs. Just the right amount of parmesan. Just the right amount of basil. Just the right amount of salt. My habitual "comfort food" dish of late has been chopped chicken tenderloins rolled in these savory morsels and sautéed in EVOO... but I have found yet another use for them: fish!

In the mood for something home-cooked yet quick this evening, I grabbed a fillet of tilapia as I zoomed through Wegmans. At $1.87 for this hearty serving, tilapia is not just yummy - it's cheap! I had intended to do something fun with the leftover cilantro and lime I had in the fridge, but my attention was grabbed by something in the chilled prepared pasta aisle - Wegman's sun-dried tomato and basil pesto. Who could resist something that enticing? Into my cart it went. So here's what you'll need for this meal:

~ Fillet of tilapia (light and flaky is the key - you could probably substitute halibut, monkfish or catfish as well)

~ Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

~ EVOO

~ Wegman's (or your local wonder-market) sun-dried tomato and basil pesto

~ Green beans

~ Scallion

~ Jarred (or crushed) garlic

~ Coarse-ground sea salt

Dump some frozen french-cut green beans into a pot with some water. Snip in one scallion and some jarred garlic. I couldn't even be bothered to crush any fresh garlic tonight. Scallions are one of my new favorite on-hand items. They add so much flavor to a dish without being overwhelmingly oniony. Let those simmer until they're done to whatever level you like your beans cooked. I like french-cut green beans al dente, so I turned them off just about as soon as they really started simmering.

Into a pan put a little jarred garlic and about a tablespoon of olive oil. Start it heating. Generously coat the tilapia fillet in the seasoned breadcrumbs and set it carefully into the hot oil. As I flipped it, I would sprinkle some more breadcrumbs over it so that it gave it a little extra crispiness.

As soon as the fish is done (it won't take long!) serve it on a plate and spoon a bit of the pesto over it. A little goes a long way - believe me! I saran-wrapped the rest of the pesto and put it in the freezer - I am envisioning it tossed with some pasta (tortellini?) along with some breaded pork tenderloins for a quick and savory dinner sometime in the near future.

I added a little butter to the beans, topped the tilapia with pesto and served it with a Chenin Blanc from MAN Vintners of South Africa - a gift from Nozomi and her husband. It was fresh and citrussy but heartier than a Sauvignon blanc. It paired with the lighter tones of the tilapia but also stood up to the zesty, savory quality of the pesto. A good match!

Yours in the love of good food, wine, and occasional culinary shortcuts,

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.

Sixty-fifth Post ~ Salmon with Zesty Avocado-Peach Salsa

While searching for healthy yet filling summer dinner recipes, I happened upon a recipe for grilled salmon over mango salsa.

Now, I neither possess a grill nor a penchant for mangoes, so I decided to mix the original recipe up a little. And then I kinda got carried away "customizing" it to my personal tastes and preferences. So here's what I ended up needing for tonight's meal, when all was said and done:

(Note that I am preparing this for two, but if preparing it for one, I would make it exactly the same way but with one salmon fillet - I feel that the salsa would be wonderfully accompanied by tortilla chips for lunch the following day)

~ 1 or 2 salmon fillets (about 6 oz. each)

~ 1 large ripe Haas avocado

~ 2 peaches* (or one monster peach, which is what I ended up with!)

~ 2 roma tomatoes*

~ 1 jalapeño*

~ 1 lime

~ fresh cilantro

~ 1 can corn*

~ two scallions*

~ 1 clove of garlic

The asterisks indicate ingredients that I "customized" - I substituted peaches for mangoes, one and a half roma tomatoes for cherry tomatoes, a jalapeño that I seeded first rather than packing in all that heat, added a half a can of corn to give it a little more oomph, and scallions instead of onions, as they are a little milder in taste.

Set aside some time before you're actually going to bake the salmon. The salsa is best if it sits and melds for a bit. This dinner is quite easy to make, but it requires a bit of chopping, slicing and dicing. It is a task made much easier with the proper tools - in this case, a chef's knife, a paring knife, a peeling knife, and kitchen scissors, all direct from the beautiful knife set my dad gave me as a Christmas gift!

So time to get your get your slice 'n' dice on!

I started with the avocado.

:: PAUSE ::

Now here's a strange habit, but I'm going to share it with you, dear readers: my 60-second avocado hand treatment. Whenever I make anything with avocado, I end up with a ton of it on my hands. Instead of washing it off immediately, I rub the avocado all over my hands, then rinse it off under warm running water and towl my hands dry. It leaves my skin amazingly smooth. I also end up smelling a bit like an avocado, but there are trade-offs in life.

:: UNPAUSE ::

So after [ahem] dealing with the avocado, I diced up the peach, squeezing the juice out of the peel into the bowl. Next went the romas. I scooped out a little of the tomato "innards" first. I used my kitchen scissors to snip in a good handful of cilantro - which has to be one of my favorite fresh herbs next to thyme and basil. I added about half of a small can of corn, the scallions (which I snipped into the bowl rather than cut), a crushed clove of garlic, the juice of one lime, and the jalapeño.

:: PAUSE AGAIN ::

Sorry. But this merits saying. I have a medium-to-moderate spicy tolerance. I can eat jalapeños, but only in very small quantities - and I'm best if their seeded first. All the heat of a pepper resides in the seeds and inside pulp, so I scooped it out with the smaller end of a melon-baller (a trick I learned at one of Meg's Pampered Chef parties!) and then, with a very sharp paring knife, minced the bugger. Actually, I only added half of it to the salsa, reserving the other half in a prep bowl so that it could be added later by someone else who may have a higher spicier index than I...

And then I attempted to add the zest of lime. It turns out I lack a zester. I thought I had one; perhaps it was a dream. In any case, I decided to attempt to use a cheese grater. Remember what I had said about the right tools making a job really simple? Well, the wrong tool can really complicate things. Thankfully I was working over a prep bowl and NOT the salsa, as I ended up grating a good deal of my own knuckle along with the lime on my first pass down the grater. So there is no lime zest in this salsa. No blood, either.

:: UNPAUSE ::

So now you've got all your ingredients in the salsa - toss it a few times and then cover it tightly - trust me on this - and refrigerate it while you bake the salmon.

As previously mentioned, rather than grill the salmon, I opted to bake the fillets, which I had skinned by the helpful guy at Wegmans. I rubbed them with a juicy slice of peach and ground some salt over them and sprinkled on a bit of pepper before baking them for about 15 minutes. About halfway through the baking, I brushed them with some olive oil.

Serve the salmon atop an ample bed of salsa with a garnish of cilantro, if you so choose.

I served this meal with an amazingly refreshing sauvignon blanc from South Africa by Graham Beck. I got it on sale 50% off at Global Wine, my favorite wine shop (for reasons like that!). It was grassy, citrussy, and paired perfectly with the dish.

All in all, a successful meal!

Yours in the love of good food, wine, and the joy of customization,

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.

Sixty-fourth Post ~ Cheater's Duck à l'Orange

Duck à l'Orange has always been one of my favorite dishes. Pair it with a good oaky chardonnay, and it will make me swoon. I decided to try an easy take on this classic French recipe by using marmalade as my base. Here's what you'll need:

~ Duck breast (prepackaged ones by Maple Tree Farms from Wegmans are consistently delicious)

~ Marmalade

~ Heavy cream

~ Splash dry white wine (I used some leftover Brut)

~ One orange

For the sides, I made two dishes that are fail-safe and can be pretty much left on their own while I focused my energies on the duck:

~ Fingerling potatoes

~ Olive oil

~ Fresh (or dried) thyme

~ Coarse-ground sea salt

~ French-cut green beans (the bags from the freezer always come out crisp!)

~ Olive oil

~ One clove garlic

~ Coarse-ground sea salt

Beforehand, rinse and pierce the fingerling potatoes, drizzle them generously with EVOO, sprinkle some thyme on them and salt to taste. Pop them in a toaster oven on 350. They are best if they bake for about 45 minutes. I love fingerlings because A.) they're multicolored, which just makes me happy - especially the purple ones and B.) They are tiny, so 45 minutes of baking makes them taste just like those baked potatoes that have been in the oven forever absorbing all sorts of good flavors and getting all sweet.

Put the beans on the stove with some water and start boiling on low. I don't like beans cooked too long, so I just shut off the heat after they had boiled a bit. While I was prepping everything, I crushed a clove of garlic into some oil in a separate pan - but didn't turn it on until the very end when the duck was nearly done. At that point, I sautéed the garlic and tossed the beans around in it just before serving.

So back to the duck. Even though these particular duck breasts come pre-scored, I still scored them a little deeper to make sure I had a crispy skin. Place them skin side down in the pan and let them cook there for a bit, checking them every so often so they don't get too toasty. You may wish to drain out a little of the fat as they cook. Eventually, flip them over a few times to even out the cooking process and start making the sauce around them.

Dump in a few generous tablespoons of marmalade with a little bit of EVOO. Add a dash of salt and a splash or two of white wine. Cut off two slices of orange for a garnish, and squeeze the juice from the remaining fruit into the sauce. Stir it around a bit and allow it to begin simmering. After a bit, begin adding tiny amounts of cream, stirring it in immediately as you add it.

Now comes the easy part - just let the whole thing go for a bit! Turn the duck a few times and spoon some of the sauce over it as it's cooking, and insert a meat thermometer and turn off the heat when it reaches 160. Let the duck sit in the pan while you serve the potatoes with a dab of butter and the beans. Then serve the duck with a generous amount of sauce over the top!

I paired this meal with a chardonnay from Beachaven Vineyards Winery from Tennessee (a gift from JJ from a backpacking trip through the Smokeys). This chard is oaky enough to pair swoonably with the duck, with subtle vanilla and citrus notes that are a wonderful compliment to the orange sauce!

All in all, a successful first attempt at one of my favorite meals of all time!

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.

Sixty-third Post ~ Pasta Bolognese

I have always loved bolognese sauce over pasta. I typically get it on trips or in restaurants, and never paused to question what was in it that made it so extraordinary. I was on a mission for a Great Fridge and Freezer Clean Out today, and happened upon a quarter pound of hamburger and a half jar of spaghetti sauce in my freezer. I began to ponder what to do with it (beyond the obvious) when the wonderful word "Bolognese!" popped into my head.

So be it.

It turns out, my friends, that bolognese is given its distinctive taste by three surprise ingredients. Let us take the first:

Mirepoix. Mirepoix, as it turns out, is much less mysterious than I had given it credit for when I would encounter it in French recipes (and promptly click "NEXT" for what I assumed would be something easier and less cryptic). Fear not! Mirepoix is simply chopped onion, celery and carrots. It's the base for many French dishes. Now, when you say "onion, celery and carrots," I am immediately put in mind of my Mama's chicken soup. Given my firm belief in this dish's healing properties, it's no mystery to me why this combination of three vegetables is known as one collective noun and is so popular in so many dishes.

The second mystery ingredient needed to turn your spaghetti sauce into bolognese is red wine. I chose to use a generous splash of a Spanish tempranillo and I think it was a good call. I've always noticed that bolognese is a bit deeper of a shade of red than most tomato-based sauces, and I feel this is the reason.

The third mystery ingredient is milk. Now, here's where I am going to show my colors: I am German. Butter and salt are food groups for us. Where recipes I've encountered have called for a splash of milk, I have used heavy cream instead. I made the same call for this recipe, and have read that I'm not the first, historically, to do so. Anyway, there's red wine in it, so surely we've already counter-balanced the health aspect of the meal...

So here's what you'll need to make Pasta Bolognese à la Accidental Chef:

~ Hamburger

~ Spaghetti sauce (I used Wegman's tomato basil)

~ Mirepoix (minced onion, celery and carrots. It's perfectly okay to pick some celery and carrots out of the veggie tray sent home with you from a family get-together).

~ Olive oil

~ Red wine

~ Heavy cream (or milk)

~ Pasta

~ Coarse-ground sea salt

~ Pepper

Start your water boiling and cook your pasta as per usual. While the pasta is cooking, mince some onion, celery and carrot and toss it into some olive oil in a skillet. Savor the aroma of these so-called "aromatics" as they simmer. Add the hamburger. Salt and pepper to taste.

:: PAUSE ::

Here's where I should have been a little more patient: let the mirepoix and hamburger simmer for quite a bit. I hastily added the tomato sauce as soon as the hamburger was done, and it could have benefited from melding together a bit more. The end result was still good, but I'd recommend giving the meat and mirepoix a little bit of patience. Just a little.

:: UNPAUSE ::

After the mirepoix and hamburger have had a chance to simmer together lengthily in your pan, add some red wine and then some pasta sauce. After you've stirred it all together, add just a splash of heavy cream. Watch it instantly turn into a beautiful blend of Italian goodness.

Serve over spaghetti. Garnish with parsley if you wish. A true bolognese would have been served with a dusting of grated parmesan, but, alas, I had none; neither parmesan nor even pecorino romano remained in my fridge. A sad day, truly, but I have faith that I shall attempt this recipe again, and when I do, I will have a generous sprinkling of parmesan over all!

I paired this dinner with the last of a delightful Spanish red by Protocolo. This wine paired beautifully with a classic roast beef, and brought out the essence of the root vegetables and yet was strong enough to stand up to the beef and tomato sauce in tonight's meal. All in all, a great pairing!

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.

Sixty-second Post ~ Spaghetti alle Vongole

It started with a photo... While looking at a friend's travel photos, a picture of a pasta and seafood dish caught my eye and captivated my soul as only a foodie's soul could be captivated. She told me that it was a common dish in Japan, where there seems to be a prevalence of authentic Italian cooking (who knew?). The dish's name is spaghetti alle vongole, and is Neapolitan in origin. I decided that I must try it for myself.

So, with a tweaked recipe from the UK in hand (this was an international venture), a willing test subject at the ready (my boyfriend, John) and a Wegman's shopping list, I set out to recreate the meal that had captured me so (with the hopes that it would taste as lovely as it looked).

Here's what you'll need to take this virtual trip to the sunny Mediterranean shores of Napoli.

~ fresh clams (for two: about a pound or so - or maybe more - I got littlenecks from Wegmans as they are the sweetest)
~ spaghetti
~ dry white wine (enough for cooking and for drinking - I recommend buying a bottle to serve as the beverage and a mini bottle for cooking. Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi is a good single-serve wine for both drinking and cooking)
~ garlic
~ flat leaf (AKA Italian) parsley
~ scallions
~ lemon juice
~ extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
~ chili powder (cayenne)
~ white pepper
~ course ground sea salt
~ butter

To add a little more to the dish, I opted to roast some garlic that could be spread on a baguette. So, for the side that really compliments the dish with savory nuttiness:

~ one bulb of garlic
~ baguette
~ EVOO
~ coarse ground sea salt

Peel the garlic cloves and generously coat in EVOO and season with coarse ground sea salt. Wrap the whole bundle up in tin foil and roast in a toaster oven (or heating apparatus of your choice) on 400 degrees for about a half hour. Start this ahead of time.

Cook your spaghetti as per usual in salted water. As it's cooking, chop up some parsley and one large scallion. Set to the side. If you have a sous chef, ask him to slice the baguette and put it in a bowl and rinse the clams.

In a pan with a well-fitting lid, start some EVOO, lemon juice, two cloves of garlic and scallions gently sizzling.

Add a bit of cayenne - I used less than the quarter teaspoon that was called for, as I have a lower spicy threshold than most. I like to taste my food thoroughly, and I find that extreme heat can detract from that. Others love this taste/sensation, so you be the judge and add as much or as little as you like. The dish itself is typified by having a bit of heat (hence why it is refreshing on a hot Mediterranean day) but it would be delicious without it, as well.

Add the white wine, parsley, and clams.

:: PAUSE ::

The recipe from the UK calls for steaming the clams in less than two tablespoons of white wine. Obviously, American clams must be thirstier than British ones. That or the original recipe doesn't intend to yield a lot of broth.

The liquid that comes from shellfish as they open and cook is referred, in the foodie world, as "liquor." This is an appropriate name for it, as it is about as intoxicating and delicious as some finely distilled spirit. I like a lot of it. As you may recall, my mussel recipe yields more than enough, and is intended to be mopped up with the baguette after all the mussels are consumed.

I was sort of expecting the same deal with this recipe, but even after allowing for the pasta to absorb some of the liquid, there was not a lot left for dipping. To alleviate this tragedy, I would recommend adding a good deal more white wine to the pan, and definitely more clams that what was called for (6-8 per person).

:: UNPAUSE ::

So, whether or not you have gone the route of more broth, add your parsley and clams, season with salt and pepper, and slap on the lid for four to five minutes. At this point, your pasta should be sitting in a colander in your sink. Your garlic should be done, so unwrap the luscious gems and mash them up with salt to taste.

By now your timer should be going off, so take the lid off, revel in the aroma, and dump your pasta into the pan and toss it all around.

Serve in big bowls with crusty bread spread with roasted garlic. I paired this meal with a Soave from Vincentini Agostino, which was bright with citrus to compliment the garlic and scallions, light enough not to overpower the delicate clams, and cool in the face of the cayenne. It was a perfect partner for this dish, and made this the perfect meal for a hot summer evening!

Yours in the love of good food and wine (and the derring-do to take a culinary leap based solely on someone's vacation photo),
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.

Sixty-first Post ~ Simple (but pretty!) Insalata Caprese

Okay, dear readers, I understand that this is my third post about the simply joy of mozzarella and tomatoes.

But I think that it merits repeating that this is just about the freshest, most appealing combination of foods - especially in the hot summer months. And this presentation makes it all the more fun - your guests will think they're getting the royal treatment, and you'll think you've found the perfect solution to that question of "what to feed them while the meat is still cooking."

I saw this unique way of presenting insalata caprese on my cruise on the Celebrity Millennium. It was one of their every-night options for the salad course, and I've got to say I indulged quite regularly, and then bookmarked the concept to bring home as a "souvenir."

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

~ Roma tomato
~ Mozzarella ball (roughly the same size as your tomato)
~ Dash of olive oil
~ Dash of lemon juice
~ Dash of balsamic vinegar
~ Course ground sea salt
~ A few snips of fresh basil
~ Salad greens of your choice

Cut the tomato and mozzarella and place them on your plate. Drizzle a bit of the olive oil over it and add a few drops of lemon juice. Snip up the basil and arrange that around the caprese with your greens on the opposite side of the plate. Add a few drops of balsamic to the plate and grind some salt to taste over the top.

And here's the best part - you can pop it in the fridge ahead of time, so that as your guest enters you can whip it out for immediate dining joy!

Yours in the love of good food (and the wine that surely would come with the next course!),
AL

Sixtieth Post ~ Steak Shish Kebabs with Orange Soy Marinade

I'd like to call these "Shish kebabs," but if you were to research the etymology of the name of this summer-time treat, you'd call me a liar.

You see, loyal readers, the word "shish" is accurate (stemming from the Turkish "şiş" meaning "skewer") but the "kebab" part is where you'd get me. "Kebab" comes from the Persian "kabab" (کباب) and means "fried."

But if I were to call this a plate of steak "shishes" you wouldn't have any idea what I was talking about. So we shall concede to the modernization of language (read: borrowing words and completely changing their meanings) and call them "steak shish kebabs."

Here's how you make these particular food anomalies:

For the marinade:

~ Orange juice

~ Soy sauce

~ Sugar

~ Garlic

For the "shishes:"

~ Steak (cut into cubes)

~ Chunks of bell pepper

~ Mushrooms (I'm back to my baby bellas)

~ Garlic (jarred or crushed)

~ Sesame seeds

~ Fresh parsley

In a skillet, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, garlic and about a tea spoon of sugar. Simmer it so that all the flavors meld. Turn off the heat and let it cool. Preheat your toaster oven or other heating apparatus on 350 on broil. I accidentally had it on 300, and I had to pop these back in.

Dice up the steak and bell pepper.

:: PAUSE ::

I had trouble falling asleep last night. As I am a foodie, I would rather dream up recipes for lambs than count them leaping over fences. So I thought about the steak I had put into the fridge to thaw and considered how I might prepare it. In my subsequent dream, I saw it skewered upon a stick with mushrooms, garlic, orange, soy, and - peppers! Orange bell peppers! (Yes, I dream about food, and I dream in color!) Orange is my favorite color, so it could have just been channeled in through that path, but I have to say, when I found this incredibly bright orange bell at Wegmans today, I felt that it just might be kismet.

:: UNPAUSE ::

Assemble the shish-kebabs-which-are-not-to-be-kebabed and lay them in a shallow pan. Pour the sauce over them and sprinkle them with sesame seeds. Let them marinate for about 15 minutes, spooning sauce over them occasionally. Put them in the toaster oven for five minutes, turn them, and put them in for another five. When you're ready to enjoy them, garnish them with fresh parsley. It adds a wonderful light flavor to the meal.

I paired tonight's dinner with an Argentine Malbec by Elm Tree. It's fruity enough to match the whole "summer barbecue" feeling of the meal, but hearty enough to stand up to some seriously intense flavors. I was impressed by the fact that it never tasted tart next to the sweet orange-soy sauce, but also served to cleanse the palate as I enjoyed the fresh peppers, earthy mushrooms and steak. A good pairing, and a "dream-come-true" meal - even if its name is etymologically incorrect!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,

AL

Fifty-ninth Post ~ Breaded Pork Tenderloins with Herb Pasta

Tonight's dinner was a snap to prepare and filled my apartment with the wonderful aroma of fresh herbs - perfect for a stormy spring night!

Here's what you'll need for this quick and easy meal:

~ Pork tenderloin cut into 1" thick medallions

~ Italian breadcrumbs

~ Grated Parmesan cheese

~ Fresh herbs of your choice (I chose parsley, rosemary, thyme and basil)

~ Olive oil

~ Pasta of your choice

~ Ground sea salt

~ Tomato

Get your water boiling (with salt and olive oil, if you wish).

Chop up some fresh herbs. I am becoming incredibly attached to the fresh herb section in Wegmans. You can buy the prettily packaged ones for $1.99 or a massive rubber-banded bunch for $1.29. I usually go the route of the massive bunch, because if you wrap them in plastic and store them in the veggie keeper of your fridge, they last for weeks. I have far better success with that route than I do with potted plants. I am a plant serial killer. But that's another story for another time...

So I chopped up some rosemary, thyme, parsley and basil. Mmmm, the aroma! Positively intoxicating. Dice up a bit of tomato and set that to the side. Next, slice the pork into medallions. By now, your water should be well on its way to boiling, so dump in your pasta and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Start a good dash of olive oil heating in a skillet. Mix one part Italian breadcrumbs and one part grated parm in a prep bowl. Coat the pork medallions in this heavenly mixture and set them into the hot oil. Turn the burner on low and let them cook until they are done halfway up. Carefully turn them.

Drain the pasta and mix in the herbs and tomato. You may wish to heat it again for just a moment to let all the flavors meld. The tenderloin medallions should be done by now; serve it on a plate garnished with some extra parm (and extra sea salt, if you want!).

I enjoyed tonight's meal with the rest of my Negroamaro Rosato. It paired beautifully with the meal, complimenting the fresh herbs and turning fruity in the face of the salt and parmesan. A delightful pairing made even more delightful by the fact that I drank it out of one of my new Riedel glasses - a splurge from a recent cruise on the Celebrity Millennium. My wine appreciation has reached new heights!

Yours in the love of 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.