Valentine’s Day Dinner (minus Gluten)

Good thing I made the cookies Saturday because Sunday went by in a whirl. We squeezed some furniture moving in after lunch, which set me a bit behind, but our upstairs is now back in order following painting, floor replacement and crown moulding installation in the last bedroom. Kevin found a ruby-red cocktail recipe and so we had…..

The English Rose
For one serving:

3/4 ounce Apricot Brandy
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce dry Vermouth
1 teaspoon grenadine
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Rim a cocktail glass with sugar. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all of the ingredients. Shake well and strain into the glass. Garnish with a cherry.

For appetizers I made some recent favorites that have been posted within the past couple of months: Maker’s Mark Stuffed Mushrooms, Rumaki and Baked Brie with Fig Jam and Walnuts. Continuing on in the gluten-free mode, I left the Brie “naked” and did not enclose it in puff pastry. I put it in a shallow French White oval baking dish, topped it with the jam and nuts and baked it at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes. The cheese puffed out nicely, but held it’s shape. Blue Diamond brand makes some nice Nut -Thins made with rice flour, almonds and potato starch and they have a wonderful crunch. We tried the Hint of Sea Salt rounds the Sesame Seed squares. Both were very good and sturdy enough to support the melted Brie. The entire menu featured winter-time dishes suitable for the cold snowy day we had. The soup was cream of cauliflower. I don’t know why I don’t make it more often. I guess it has been overshadowed by it’s more popular relative, broccoli. I’ve converted the ingredients from the metric measures, so take the amounts with a grain of salt.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Sautéed Wild Mushrooms

1 large head of cauliflower, about 3 lbs., stalk discarded and florets chopped
1 large Yukon gold potato (or 3 small), peeled and chopped in chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
6 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste, white pepper if you prefer
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream, or more to your taste and preferred consistency
8 ozs. wild mushroom blend
1 – 2 tablespoons finely sipped chives (for garnish)

Melt the butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the cauliflower, potato and onion and gently heat until the vegetables start to sizzle. Cover with a lid and sweat over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should soften, but not brown. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use white pepper if you don’t want black specks in your soup. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Pour in the cream. Use a hand-held stick blender to carefully puree the mixture. The mixture is very hot, so don’t burn yourself with spatter. At this point you can cool the soup and refrigerate it if you do not plan to serve it right away. When ready to serve the heated soup, gently clean the mushrooms then trim the stalks and slice them to uniform pieces so that they cook evenly. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and sauté the mushrooms quickly to brown them, seasoning with salt and black pepper. Turn the heat off and set aside. Ladle soup into bowls and spoon mushrooms into the center. Sprinkle with a few snipped chives. I realize just now that I forgot the chives completely. Nothing was lost in flavor, but a little green would have been pretty at serving. We had his soup again as part of our supper tonight. I think the flavor actually improved after sitting in the refrigerator overnight.

I found a very attractive salad on Foodnetwork.com that is arranged on a platter then dressed with a warm raspberry – balsamic glaze. This salad was wonderful. Even our youngest guest, a 10-year old, ate the salad and asked for seconds!

Endive and Romaine Salad with Walnuts, Pears and Gorgonzola and Raspberry Balsamic Drizzle

To serve 4:

1 large head Belgian Endive
1 head Romaine lettuce, leaves torn
1 Bosc Pear
2 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped English Walnuts
Freshly ground pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Clean the endive with a dry paper towel and slice off the bottom to separate the leaves. Endive is like a stacking toy – you have to keep trimming the ends off as you peel to the shorter inner leaves. Arrange the leaves around the outer edge of a large platter. Fill the inside with the torn Romaine lettuce. Cut the pear into thin slices and arrange throughout the platter. I put the slices in a bowl of water with a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to prevent it from discoloring while I peeled the other pear (I doubled the recipe to serve 8). Sprinkle the Gorgonzola and walnuts and sprinkle with pepper if you choose. I warmed the jam and balsamic on the stovetop on medium heat until it liquified then poured it over the top of the salad before tossing it with tongs to distribute the dressing. You could also melt it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Serve immediately. Here are some photos courtesy of our guest, John.

Then it was on to the main course, Beef Burgundy. This is Chef Walter Staib’s recipe. I recommend his beautiful cookbook, Black Forest Cuisine. He is also host of the PBS Series, A Taste of History. I had the great pleasure of eating at the City Tavern in Philadelphia where his historical recipes are served.

Beef Burgundy

5 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
6 cups Burgundy wine, or other full-bodied red wine
5 medium onions, 1 peeled and quarted, 4 peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme
9 slices lean bacon, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used a gluten-free blend)
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
20 pearl onions, peeled or 2 cups frozen and thawed
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup herbed croutons
chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Read all the directions the day before you plan to serve the dish!
The day before serving, toss together the beef, wine, quartered onion, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, bay leaves, pepper and thyme in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, or when you are ready to proceed, remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a large saucepan and reserve. Heat the remaining oil over high heat in a large Dutch oven, add the bacon and sauté until crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and reserve. Add the beef to the hot pan and cook until browned. Stir in the chopped onions and garlic and sauté until golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring to incorporate. Remove from the heat and set aside. Bring the reserved saucepan of marinade to a boil over high heat. Pour 3 cups of the marinade over the flour-coated beef and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes. Stir the carrots, pearl onions, allspice, reserved bacon and remaining 3 cups of marinade into the simmering beef, raise the heat to hight and cook for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low; cover and simmer until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the mushrooms and sauté until browned and softened, about 5 minutes. Stir the mushrooms into the beef burgundy and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. You may serve with noodles or spaetzle and garnish with herbed croutons and parsley.

Gluten-Free Spaetzle

2 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Mix
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk

Bring a Dutch over or stockpot of salted water to a boil. Mix the gluten-free baking mix with the salt. Lightly beat the eggs and then beat the milk into the eggs. Add the egg and milk mixture to the baking mix and mix well. The dough will be very sticky. Use the flat side of a large cheese grater and put some of the dough on it and push it back and forth with a spatula over the boiling water, being careful not to grate the spatula! Feel free to use a spaetzle maker if you happen to have one. This, remarkably, will make small spaetzle noodles. Repeat this process until all of the dough is used up. Boil the spaetzle until they float. Add melted butter or parmesan cheese to the spaetzle or top with Beef Burgundy.

The finale of the meal was Cherries Jubilee with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and a Heart-shaped Chocolate Wafer cookie drizzled with melted (gluten-free) Guittard Cafe-au-Lai White Chocolate chips. We defrosted some Montmorency cherries that we brought back from Michigan and froze last summer and they worked very well. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get a more spectacular flame when I lit it. My Science Teacher friend attributed this to the liquids being too hot when I added the Courvoisier liqueuer. The recipe comes from The Two Fat Ladies cookbook, God rest their jolly souls.

Cherries Jubilee

1 lb. pitted cherries, fresh, canned or frozen
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar, divided use
1 large pinch ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons Kirsch liqueur
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup Cognac
vanilla ice cream
chocolate heart-shaped cookies for garnish

Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Mix the fruit with the lemon zest, half of the sugar, the cinnamon and the Kirsch liqueur and leave to steep until needed, at least two hours – the longer the better. When you are about to eat the dessert, blend the cornstarch with the steeping juices from the cherries until quite smooth. Add a few spoons of the reserved juice. Pour into a frying pan and stir over a low heat until clear and thickened. Pour in more reserved juice, if necessary. Stir in the cherries to heat through. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar, add the Cognac, and then set fire to the whole mixture, being careful not to get scorched. Spoon the juices over the cherries until the flames subside. Serve poured over scoops of ice cream garnished with a heart-shaped chocolate wafer cookie. Serve immediately!

Ringing in the New Year

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with good friends to ring in 2016. The theme was a “Kicked-up Retro New Year’s Eve”. Here’s the menu card I typed up to place on each dinner plate.

We started with a cocktail after everyone arrived. My daughter recently attended a cooking class and brought me copies of the recipes to try. She highly recommended this drink made with a ginger liqueur called The Big O . It’s available locally at Friar Tuck’s. Of course, the name piqued my interest. Here’s some background on this O-riginal spirit:

The Big O Liqueur

The cocktail is an homage to the author, Ernest Hemingway, who loved a good drink. A famous quote attributed to him is “I drink to make other people more interesting”.

Hemingway’s Birthday

Brut Champagne
Bourbon (we used Woodford Reserve)
Big O Ginger Liqueuer

Fill a tall champagne flute with champagne. Add a splash of bourbon and Big O Liqueuer. Serve immediately. Makes 1 serving.

With drinks in hand we moved to the dining room. For this special dinner we got out the vintage 1950’s Royal Jackson Margaret Rose china that was Kevin’s parents’ wedding china. The factory burned down years ago, but he’s been able to find serving pieces and additional place settings on eBay.

I’d assembled the appetizers earlier in the day and had poured on the bourbon and popped the half batch of stuffed mushrooms in the oven about 30 minutes before everyone was to arrive. A new Ikea store opened in St. Louis in September and when we went to check it out in November, I picked up some of their famous frozen Swedish meatballs and some packets of their gravy, Graddsas. That fit this menu perfectly. The meatballs only took a few minutes to heat in the microwave and I had the gravy sitting on the stove on the warmer burner, ready to go. The last of the trio of appetizers was a take on Bubba Hiers’ Crab Martini. I bought Uncle Bubba’s Savanna Seafood cookbook several years ago and had always wanted to make this fun appetizer because we found some miniature martini glasses on one of our weekend trips and they would be perfect for a small serving. Crabmeat is at a premium these days, so I cut it down to 1 lb. of lump crabmeat (Sam’s club carries it) and added about half of the mayonnaise, just to moisten the ingredients.

Maker’s Mark Stuffed Mushrooms

12 whole medium size baby Portobello mushrooms
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Maker’s Mark Bourbon
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a medium-size bowl in the microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds. Remove and chop the mushroom stems and add the to the bowl with the melted butter. Add the onions, garlic and parsley and mix well. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the top of this mixture, then add bread crumbs, sour cream, salt and pepper and stir until well blended. Arrange the mushroom caps, hollow side up, in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle a small amount of bourbon in each cap then fill each generously with the stuffing. Sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese. Add just enough Maker’s Mark to cover the bottom of the dish and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Uncle Bubba’s Crab Martini

12-15 fresh asparagus spears
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2-3 small tomatoes, diced
juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 lb. lump crabmeat, picked clean of shells
1 lb. claw crabmeat, picked clean of shells
lemon pepper and seasoned salt to taste
lemon wedges
Old Bay Seasoning, for garnish
Pimento stuffed olives, for garnish

This recipe makes 4 to 6 large martini glass portions or at least 8 smaller portions. Blanch the asparagus by placing the spears in boiling salted water for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove immediately to an ice water bath to halt cooking and preserve the fresh green color. Drain the asparagus and pat dry with paper towels. Trim the tough bottoms from the asparagus and discard. Trim the top 2 inches off and reserve for garnish. Finely chop the remaining asparagus. Combine the chopped asparagus with the mayonnaise, mustard, tomatoes, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Gently fold the crabmeat into the asparagus mixture and season to taste with the lemon pepper and seasoned salt. Place a tablespoon or two of the Old Bay Seasoning in a shallow dish. Run a lemon wedge around the rim of a martini glass and dip the rim into the Old Bay. Repeat with the remaining martini glasses. Divide the crab mixture evenly among the glasses.
I used a cocktail pick to spear a lemon wedge, sideways asparagus spear and an olive then laid it across the top of the crab mixture. I plan to have the remainder of the crab tomorrow evening when some friends who could not make it New Year’s Eve because they were out of town are coming over to help us eat the leftovers. I’ll try to remember to take a snapshot to post then. It’s visually appealing and equally tasty.

For the soup I made a recipe from the Pensacola Junior Service League’s cookbook, Some Like it South!

Tomato Bisque

2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes (may use 2 lbs. fresh tomatoes if you like)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp. butter
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsps. finely chopped fresh basil, or 1 tsp. dried basil
2 whole cloves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
chopped fresh chives or whole Italian parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

Sauté the onion in butter and add tomatoes (fresh or canned), bay leaf, sugar, basil, cloves, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are thoroughly cooked, about 25 minutes for fresh, less for canned. Remove bay leaf and cloves and transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree and strain (I skip the straining part because I like the fuller texture). Alternately, use an immersion blender to carefully puree the hot mixture until smooth. Add the cream and milk and heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with chopped chives or float a single large parsley leaf on top of the soup. Serve immediately. Makes about 6 servings.

For the salad we had a chopped iceberg and romaine mix topped with heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced hard-boiled eggs, cucumber slices and the homemade croutons. The dressings I made last night were served in a tri-bowl serving dish that we passed at the table. It was easy to sample one or all of the dressings.

The main course had been baking in the oven while we had the appetizer, soup and salad. I prepared the tomato relish earlier in the afternoon and we reheated it in the microwave just before plating the meatloaf. The tomato relish is awesome and really made the dish. I’ve never been a big meatloaf fan, but I definitely would make this again. It was moist and flavorful and very colorful. I could not believe that the grocery store was out of ground pork when we went shopping, but not to be deterred, I used my new meat grinder attachment and ground my own from a nice piece of pork butt. It yielded about two pounds and I only needed one so I made a pound of seasoned pork sausage using a spice blend I picked up at the Dutch Market on our trip in November in anticipation of receiving the grinder in the mail any day.

Tyler Florence’s Dad’s Ultimate Meatloaf

I have the Morton’s Steakhouse cookbook and knew that their Macaroni and Cheese would be the perfect side for the meatloaf. The cavatappi noodles are a elbow macaroni on steroids and add some whimsy to the usual standard pasta used for mac and cheese. The blend of cheeses is delectable and the bread crumbs result in a crunchy topping.
Morton’s Macaroni and Cheese
We needed a vibrant green period-authentic vegetable, so we went with creamed spinach. Here’s Robert Irvine’s recipe which was easy and very flavorful. Rather than steam the spinach, we pan sautéed it in batches, then pressed the excess liquid out in a colander before proceeding with the recipe. We actually refrigerated it in the covered serving bowl until I prepared the sauce then added it back in to reheat. This worked really well and saved some time as we prepared the courses at dinner time. I did not get a picture of the final plating but can recreate it tomorrow night when we do a repeat of this dinner.
Robert Irvine’s Creamed Spinach
I was disappointed with my rolls because I have a habit of preheating the oven to 170 degrees then turning it off then placing the shaped rolls in muffin tins in the oven to rise. I forgot to turn the oven off this time and the rolls dried out and deflated a bit, taking on a bit of a pruney appearance. They tasted just fine, but the texture and look was not up to my usual standard. I apologized but our guests had no concern for appearances and ate them all without hesitation. The bread basket was completely empty at the end of the meal. So much for appearances!

After dinner we paused a bit for conversation and after-dinner liqueurs then had some of the fabulous Junior’s cheesecake topped with some lightly sweetened sliced strawberries. I came out very pretty, even if I say so myself.

Cold Weather Cooking

Cold. Snow. Colder. More snow. A little warmer. Rain. Cold again.
We’re having a carry in at work tomorrow and the theme, befitting the weather, is soups. I decided on making a hearty beef and vegetable soup. Last night I slow simmered the beef with sliced and chopped onions and seasonings for two hours to make the broth. I let it rest overnight in the refrigerator to blend the flavors. Most soups improve with a day or two of aging. Tonight I’ve added the remaining ingredients and the soup is simmering away on the stove. I took a favorite recipe and made some modifications using ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe called for a chuck roast, but I substituted stew meat. Here’s my version of a soup that will stick to your ribs when the wind is howling outside.

Hearty Beef Vegetable and Barley Soup

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes
2 tbps. olive oil
8 cups of water
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced lengthwise
celery leaves from about 6 stalks of celery
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. Lawry’s seasoned salt
2 large potatoes, cut in 3/4-inch dice
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 small onion, chopped in small dice
2 10-oz. packages frozen mixed vegetables
48 ozs. tomato juice
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup pearled barley

In a large stockpot, on high heat, heat the oil until shimmering then add the beef. Stir frequently to brown all sides. Add the water, sliced onion, celery leaves, salt, black pepper and Lawry’s seasoned salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer covered for about 2 hours until the meat is cooked through and tender. Transfer the stock and meat to a covered container, cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. You can omit this step if you want, but the overnight resting period will enhance the flavor. The next day return the beef and stock to a large stockpot. Add all of the ingredients except the barley. Start on hight heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After the first hour add the barley and cook for another hour, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately with thick slices of home baked bread or cool and refrigerate until ready to reheat and serve.

I put the ingredients in my Zojirushi bread machine right after I got home from work because the cycle runs for 3 hours 40 minutes. I want to slice and package it to take along with the soup tomorrow. I picked the Italian Wheat Bread for a dense bread to go with the soup. The recipe is from the manufacturer’s manual.

We had a quick sandwich out while running errands this evening and as we left Penn Station Subs I could see the yearning on Kevin’s face as we passed the huge poster advertising cookies, “home baked if you lived here”. I thought about throwing a batch of brownies together and grabbed a random cookbook off the shelf to search for a recipe. The book was published by Eden United Church of Christ in Edwardsville in 1988. I ran across Swedish Brownies submitted by Sally McLauchlan. The ingredients did not include any chocolate. You may ask, what makes them Swedish? Why, because they’re blonde. Of course.
It’s a very simple recipe that took no more than 5 minutes to put together and throw in the oven. The instructions say to sprinkle with sugar and top with chopped nuts if desired. I used some Cajun Power Sweet Treat Cinnamon Vanilla sugar that we picked up on a trip to New Orleans to top it off. If you don’t happen to have any of this wonderful stuff, use cinnamon sugar, coarse Demerara sugar, or even just plain granulated sugar. I chose slivered almonds instead of the pecans or walnuts

Swedish Brownies

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 cup flour
walnuts or pecans (optional)
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs, add sugar. Fold in flour, salt, melted butter, and almond flavoring. Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch pan. Sprinkle with sugar and chopped nuts on top of brownies. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool and then cut into 16 small or 9 large brownies. Some might consider this to be just one LARGE brownie.

Christmas is Cancelled!

Sorry! Posted incomplete by accident when shifting the iPad to a table. Here is the full post.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from my Mom. At first I could barely hear her voice and I chalked it up to a bad connection. We hung up and I called back. The signal was better, but she still did not sound like herself. She was sick 😦
Fever, chills, sinus drainage and icky over all. Our Christmas Day family holiday had to be cancelled. Aside from not feeling well, she did not want to pass this sickness on to anyone else in the family (thanks Mom!). We quickly regrouped and planned to delay our family celebration until Saturday to give her time to recuperate.
We proceeded with our Christmas Eve dinner with Kevin’s Mom and our daughter while our son worked on duty protecting the country at his Air Force Base in Florida. This year’s Christmas Eve meal just didn’t come together smoothly. Our 5-pound prime rib had not completely defrosted and still registered a cool 60 degree F. internal temperature after an hour and a half in the oven. Much to my dismay it had not completely defrosted after 48 hours in the refrigerator. It ended up in the microwave roasting for the rest of the way to a 140 degree internal temperature. It was not the medium rare that we expected. It was more like medium. I forgot to put sour cream on the grocery list, so we ended up with bottled horseradish sauce instead of my favorite home made version. Kevin wanted Brussels sprouts and had picked some up at the grocery store. When I pulled the bag out of the refrigerator I observed that they must have had their growth stunted because they were miniature in size and a bit mealy on top of that. I cleaned them up and roasted them, but the pile that resulted was not enough for 4 people. Canned green beans to the rescue. We just used the balsamic glaze made for the Brussels sprouts on both of the green vegetables and it sufficed. At long last dinner was ready and we went to the table and ate, pondering what we could make for our Christmas Day meal as we had not been planning to cook. We had used all of our potatoes, mushrooms and milk and there was no fresh meat in the refrigerator. We found a beef tenderloin portion in the freezer, sweet potatoes and asparagus. A plan began to form.
This morning we went to pick up Kevin’s Mom to join us. The nurse aide reported that she woke up not feeling well and had asked to stay in bed and skip breakfast. They let her sleep in a bit, but then encouraged her to get up, bathe and get dressed. She was in the process of getting dressed when we arrived. With watery eyes, she insisted that she did not want to put us out or have us spend our day taking care of her. Despite her protests we, dabbed her tears, put her coat on and headed to the car. We had not eaten breakfast and she hadn’t either. We needed something light to tide us over so I pulled out a can of crescent roll dough, brushed the triangles with a little melted butter, sprinkled on some cinnamon sugar, and dotted the dough with some caramel balls. I carefully rolled them up and baked them for about 10 minutes. Voila! Instant pastry!

Next I started on lunch. Kevin found a recipe for poached tenderloin that sounded like an easy preparation. We substituted vegetable stock for beef stock (we didn’t have any in the pantry) and it turned out very nicely, It was a little more done that we prefer, but was still very tender and tasty.
Here’s Claire Robinson’s recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/beef-tenderloin-with-port-sauce-recipe.html

We prepared the asparagus very simply, tossed with some Sesame-flavored olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and pepper on a roasting pan, baked at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes. We warmed the soup leftover from last night’s dinner and it was just enough for everyone to have a small bowl.
This recipe comes from the Junior Auxiliary of Vicksburg, MIssissippi, the Vintage Vicksburg cookbook.

Elegant Fresh Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup butter
4 cups green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons flour
5 cups chicken stock
3/4 to 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, reserve a few for garnish
1 1/4 cups light cream

Melt butter, add onions, salt and pepper. Cover and cook very slowly for 10 minutes being careful not to let the onions brown. Remove from heat and stir in flour. When smooth, add the stock. Return to heat and stir until soup boils. Add the mushrooms to the soup and cook about 10 minutes more. Transfer soup to a blender and carefully blend until nearly smooth. Use caution as the hot liquid can pop the lid of the blender and cause burns through splatter – cover the lid with a towel. Return to the cooking pan and add the light cream. Heat until hot, but not boiling. Before serving garnish with the reserved mushrooms. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

The salad consisted of some iceberg lettuce, candied walnuts, Craisins and Mandarin Oranges dressed with a Pomegranate-Quince Vinaigrette. I used a recipe given to me by my friend Carol, many years ago. It is my go-to home made dressing. It is very versatile and the flavor can be subtly different depending on what type of flavored vinegar you use. Here is the original recipe. Thanks Carol!

Carol’s Vinaigrette Dressing

1 cup salad oil (may use olive oil if you prefer)
1/2 cup wine vinegar – Red Wine or Raspberry Vinegar are very good
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed

Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Toss with lettuce or spinach of your choice. May use nuts, avocados, mandarin oranges, strawberries, or blueberries or any combination that appeals to you.

Amanda made the sweet potatoes from this recipe she found on Pinterest:
http://carmelmoments.com/maple-whipped-sweet-potatoes/

With everyone helping in the kitchen the meal came together quickly and for not really planning anything ahead of time it turned out really well and we all enjoyed it.

A Taste from the Hill – Italian Dinner

Tonight we had a special dinner for my sister and her husband, who recently celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. They and their two children and my niece’s fiancee were our guests. We had talked about several themes for dinner and they chose an Italian Dinner, a taste of The Hill. We are fortunate to have The Hill neighborhood nearby in St. Louis where there are several grocery stores and bakeries that carry imported and domestic Italian foods. Yesterday we made a trip to The Hill and picked up the items we’d need to prepare the dinner. We went to DiGregorio’s to get the meat. There you take a number and the counter staff fills your order. There wasn’t a very long line and I didn’t get much time to peruse the cases before our number was called. I asked first for 1/2 pound of ground pork. The man helping me went around the L-shaped counter and disappeared. Several minutes went by and it seemed like it was taking a long time. I kept browsing the cases and when I went around the side cases, he was grinding the pork to order. It doesn’t get much fresher than that! Here’s tonight’s menu:

Bellini Cocktail
Antipasto Platter
Italian Wedding Soup
Caesar Salad
Sicilian Meat Roll
Baked Gnocchi
Sicilian Carrots
Easy-to-Do Tiramisu
Peach Panna Cotta

Moscato, Coffee, and Ice Tea

The cocktail recipe was taken from one of the Frugal Gourmet’s cookbooks. He was one of the early public television TV Chefs. In fact, I think I have all of his cookbooks. The cookbook is the Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian. I also used his recipe for Italian Wedding Soup. The cocktail recipe is for a single serving.

Bellini Cocktail

2 ounces peach nectar – I used Kern’s
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 ounce peach schnapps or peach liqueur
3 ounces Prosecco, dry Champagne, or Asti Spumante, chilled

In a tall fluted Champagne glass, add the peach nectar, lemon juice and peach schnaps/liqueur. Top off with the bubbly. Enjoy!

The Antipasto platter was made of purchased meats and cheeses. We picked up Volpi Genova Salami, mild cappacola, Asiago Cheese, marinated artichokes, marinated olives, hard-boiled eggs and marinated boconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls).

After the appetizers, we sat at the dining room table which we’d set with Royal Jackson China.

The soup was the next course. I used the Frugal Gourmet’s recipe, but I make the meatballs smaller, teaspoon-size instead of tablespoon-size and I add Acini Di Pepe pasta.

Italian Wedding Soup</strong>

For the meatballs:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and white pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1-pound head of escarole, washed and coarsely chopped
12 cups Chicken Stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Acini di Pepe pasta
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Mix the milk and bread crumbs together in a small bowl and allow to soak for 5 minutes. Combine the remaining ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl along with the soaked bread crumbs. Mix together thoroughly with your hands. Line a cookie sheet or cake pan with a piece of parchment paper. Using a small scoop, form teaspoon-size meatballs, rolling with your hands to round the shape. Refrigerate the meatballs while making the soup. Heat a 4- to 6-quart stock pot and add the tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced garlic. Sauté quickly, only about 30 seconds, so as not to burn the garlic. Add the escarole and sauté for 5 minutes, or until it wilts, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let it burn. Add the chicken stock and simmer gently, covered for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the Acini di Pepe pasta and bring to a boil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer. When barely bubbling, carefully drop the meatballs into the soup, but do not stir After about a minutes, when the meatballs have firmed up, carefully stir the meatballs. Poach for 6 to 7 minutes but do not bring back to a full boil to avoid breaking the meatballs. Serve in shallow bowls with Parmesan cheese as garnish.

Salad followed the soup. the Caesar salad is actually a Mexican recipe, not Italian, but it is frequently served with Italian food.

Caesar Salad

1 tsp. minced garlic
1 stick of celery, cut in chunks
1/2 of a medium onion, cut in chunks
1 2-ounce can flat anchovies, with their oil
3 whole eggs
several turns of fresh black pepper, about 1 teaspoon
2 cups canola oil
1 tablespoon Accent
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
croutons
additional Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on salads

This recipe uses raw eggs and should the dressing should not be consumed by pregnant women or others who might be at risk eating uncooked eggs.
The recipes makes 3 to 4 cups of dressing and should be refrigerated promptly. Any portion not used within 24 to 48 hours should be discarded.
In a blender, add garlic, celery, onion, anchovies, pepper, Accent, sugar, mustard and lemon juice. Pulse until the mixture is blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and blend. Remove the center of the blender lid and slowly pour the canola oil into the mixture. Add the Parmesan cheese and blend for another 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer the dressing to a sealed container. Place the lettuce in a serving bowl and pour dressing on to desired consistency. Add croutons at the last minutes to keep them from getting soggy. I tossed the salad tonight then put it on individual chilled salad plates.

The main course took some time to assemble. The recipe came from a cookbook published by the parish I attended as a child in St. Louis. Some Sicilian Meat Roll recipes use cuts of steak, but this one is a little easier and uses hamburger. I made two rolls because I wasn’t sure one would be enough. The recipe is for a single roll.

Sicilian Meat Roll

1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
3 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 slices cooked ham, thinly sliced
2 cups (8-ounces) shredded Mozzarella cheese

Mix the ground beef with the above ingredients except for the ham and cheese and knead until well blended. Spray a half-sheet pan or jelly roll pan lightly with non-stick spray. I took a sheet of parchment paper and drew a 10 x 16 inch rectangle on it so that I could get the correct size and thickness for the roll. Pat the mixture onto the parchment paper, making it as even as possible. Arrange the ham slices on top of the meat, overlapping the pieces and leaving a border about an inch wide on all sides. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the ham. Roll the meat like a jelly roll, lifting the parchment to help in the process. Roll the meat onto the prepared baking pan, seam side down, tucking in the ends to keep the cheese from leaking out as it melts during baking. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. allow the meat load to set for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into 1/2 to 1 1/2-inch slices.

I used Rachel Ray’s recipe for Sicilian carrots, but doubled it. Here is her single-batch recipe. There were exceptionally good!

Sicilian Carrots</strong>

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal about 1-inch thick
3 oil-packed anchovies, mashed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven at 425 degrees F. Place the carrots on a large baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt, until evenly coated. Roast in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Toss with the anchovy sauce and parsley and serve immediately.

Giada diLaurentis has the recipe for Baked Gnocchi in her Everyday Pasta cookbook:

<strong>Baked Gnocchi</strong>

2 17-ounce packages potato gnocchi
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 ounces baby spinach
3 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the gnocchi in a 9 x 13-inch pan lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, chicken broth, and flour over medium heat. Continue whisking until the sauce is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and stir to combine. Add the spinach and toss to coat in the cream. Pour the cream and spinach mixture evenly over the gnocchi and gently spread the spinach out to cover. Crumble the goat cheese over the spinach. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden in places, about 30 minutes.

We had a trio of desserts. We were at Vitale’s Bakery yesterday and picked out some Italian cookies. I did not have time to bake several different varieties, so we picked some up. I did make Paula Deen’s Peach Panna Cotta and Easy-to-Do Tiramisu from the Better Homes and Garden’s Specialty Magazine. This made a pretty plate and a sweet finish to a good meal.

Easy-to-Do Tiramisu

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup hot strong coffee
2 tablespoons Amaretto
2 tablespoons Hazelnut Liqueur (Frangelico)
2 8-ounce cartons mascarpone cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3 3-ounce packaged ladyfingers
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
fresh raspberries
chocolate-covered espresso beans, for garnish

For the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup sugar and the water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in coffee, amaretto and hazelnut liqueur.
For the filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the mascarpone cheese, the 1/3 cup sugar and the vanilla. In a chilled mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. fold 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. To assemble: Arrange half of the ladyfingers in a 9 x 9-inch square baking dish. Brush with half of the syrup. Spread with half of the filling. Arrange the remaining ladyfingers on to of layers in the pan. Brush with the remaining syrup. Spread with the remaining filling. Sprinkle with the cocoa powder. I keep some in a metal shaker for dusting. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours before serving. Garnish each serving with the raspberries and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Makes about 16 servings. This is very rich so consider serving in small squares.

Paula Deen’s Peach Panna Cotta

Winter Ham and Corn Chowder

Today is a cold winter’s day and we’ve had a fire blazing in the fireplace most of the day. It seems like a good day for a bowl of soup. I had some leftover ham in the freezer that had been diced from the remnants of a spiral cut ham so I settled on Ham and Corn Chowder. Unlike most recipes I make, this is an original recipe I put together after trying several different Ham or Corn Chowder recipes ranging from a recipe in the Colonial Williamsburg Cookbook to Colorado Cache, a cookbook published by the Denver Junior Service. I picked it up in the late 1980’s when I went to Colorado for a medical training class. I understand it has been published in the last few years in the 30th anniversary edition. It has a lot of good recipes in it and is available on Amazon.com.

Colorado Cache on Amazon.com

Ham and Corn Chowder

1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 quarts vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
2 cups diced ham
1 15.25-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 14.75-oz. can cream-style corn
1 can evaporated milk (may use evaporated milk made with 2% milk)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of nutmeg

In a 8-quart stock pot over medium-high heat, add the vegetable stock. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil then add the onion, carrot and celery. Sauté the vegetables until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables to the stock, then add the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, diced ham, whole kernel corn, cream-style corn, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are done. Add the evaporated milk and pinch of nutmeg and heat through until warm. Serve with a side salad or sandwich. Corn bread is also good on the side. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving,