The white plate…

To say I am an avid Facebook user would be an understatement – the site is almost always up if I’m on the computer or I often have it open on my iPhone.  I guess the fact that the very large majority of my friends are also addicted to it helps with the obsession.  One of the things that I have enjoyed recently is seeing my friends posting pictures of meals that they have cooked.  I too am uploading pictures of the many random things that I cook, but I’m not always happy with how the pictures turn out.  The majority of the time I feel the pictures don’t do the dish justice because the colors of the food do not pop against the dark blue plates that I own.  I see this same issue with my friends photos.  The solution – white plates!  The brightness of the white plates really enhance the myriad of colors of the food and photograph a thousand times better – the plates also give you more of a wow factor when serving to guests.  Case and point was this past Friday night when I had THE dinner for my boyfriend, ex boyfriend and my ex’s new boyfriend.  Let’s just say the theme for that dinner party – awkward.

So to shed some light on the background to all of this, prior to dinner I had met my ex’s new boyfriend briefly twice.  My ex had met my boyfriend once or twice, but had never had an actual discussion.   The boyfriends had never met.  Needless to say the thought of having a dinner at my place for the four of us made me very nervous and I can only imagine how it made the boyfriends feel.   My ex and I have been determined to stay very close friends since the break-up and are now at a point where we are comfortable with being around each others new relationship.  We both wanted to get to know each others new guy and thought this could be a great way to break the ice, in hindsight meeting up for coffee would have accomplished the same goal and been a hell of a lot less nerve wrecking.

Of course my competitive nature made me whip up something that not only tastes good, but would look wonderful when plated.  I made Pomegranate Roasted Pork Tenderloin served over Candied Potatoes and accompanied with Sage & Pancetta Haricot Vert.  I cooked the tenderloin basically the same way that I cooked the chicken in my last blog – to cook the pork perfectly insert a meat thermometer (buy one if you don’t have it, they are worth the $3 or $4) and cook until the center is at 150 degrees.  Once it’s done baste the pork again, cover with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  The green beans were simple to cook – steam the beans for 10 minutes (use the amount of beans you need to serve each person), saute 8 slices of pancetta in about 2 tablespoons of butter until slight brown and crispy, add in 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh sage, cook for a minute, add another tablespoon of butter and then add the green beans, add a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes for some heat, cook until beans are really heated through and then add salt & pepper to taste.

There was no way I could serve this food on my dark blue plates, it would just not pop they way I was determined to make it pop.  I had thought about this earlier in the day and made my way to Union Square on the hunt for some white plates.  At first, I thought I would just run into Crate & Barrel, but along the way I saw Ross.  Now, I’m not a big fan of “Cross Dress for Less”, but I knew they had some cookware and decide to pop in to see what they had.  The thought of a big hat and some Jackie O. glasses, along with an alias did come to mind, but I risked it and just went in.

The cooking section was huge!  I immediately found the white plates I was looking for and for $3.50 a piece you couldn’t go wrong!  I also picked up a few other kitchen “doo-dads” that I had been needing and bolted for the register.  $24 later I was a happy guy – well until I realized I would need to walk around holding a Ross shopping bag.  Thank goodness I had my backpack and shoved the bag into it – crisis avoided.

When plating dinner that night, I made about a 3 inch circle of the candied potatoes and fanned 4 slices of the tenderloin on top.  Off to the side I plated the green beans.  I drizzled a little bit of the pomegranate sauce over the pork.  I then scattered a few pomegranate seeds on top of the pork and sparingly around the plate.  It looked perfect and tasted delicious.  Success!  The food was great and the dinner conversation was a bit awkward, but all and all I think it went as well as could be expected.

After dinner we were treated to some delicious cupcakes that my ex and ex’s new boyfriend picked up from Kara’s Cupcakes.  Cupcakes from Kara’s are always delicious and I would highly recommend trying them!  Perfect way to round off a tasty meal.  I had the Chocolate Velvet (chocolate cupcake with a velvety bittersweet chocolate buttercream) and it was a little piece of heaven!

The ironic part of this is that I forgot to take a picture of the dinner plate – boo!!  I’m looking forward to the pictures that will be coming with the white plates!

Pomegranate, pasta and poussins…

Inspiration comes from a multitude of things in life and my most recent inspiration came from some very large pomegranates that my boyfriend had.  I’ve never been a huge pomegranate fan and have never cooked with them before, but since he loves them so much I figured I’d tackle the challenge.  Now it was a matter of figuring out what the heck I was going to make.

I saw a lot of recipes for lamb and pomegranate, which all sounded good, but just didn’t really strike my fancy.  Then I found it, a recipe for roasted poussins with pomegranate sauce.  I know, what in the world is a poussin?  In the United Kingdom, poussin is what a butcher calls a small chicken that is less than a month old.  Here in the States we usually call our small chicken Cornish game hens.

With the protein portion of the dish decided, I needed to figure out what was going to accompany it.  In a few blogs back I mentioned that I wanted to make homemade pasta, so I thought butternut squash and goat cheese ravioli would be a great flavor combination.

So it sounds great, but there was a change that I wanted to make.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really enjoyed being served something that I then need to dissect in front of my dinner companions.   It’s always awkward and usually ends up in being a bit messy.  I decided that I would use a full sized chicken cut into pieces instead of the poussins.  Not only would this result in a much greater ease of eating, but would also result in more meat.

There is also a trick that chefs use in making ravioli and tortellini – won ton wrappers!  These can be found in most markets and save you a ton of time.  They are basically little sheets of fresh plain pasta that are pre-cut and very inexpensive.  They are very easy to work with and the pasta tastes great.  I changed the recipes up quiet a bit, so here we go…

Pomegranate Glazed Chicken with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Glaze
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 cup sugar
½ cup water

Chicken
1 4 to 5 lb Young Chicken, cut into pieces (skin on and bone in)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons or more vegetable oil, for frying

Ravioli
2-pound butternut squash
1 teaspoons ground sage
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
3 ounces aged goat cheese, grated
1 medium onion, diced
Won ton wrappers, 1 package (about 40 wrappers)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut butternut squash in half-length wise and then remove all seeds.  Place squash flesh side down on a greased cookie sheet and roast for 40 minutes or until it is very tender.  Remove squash to cool.

While the squash is roasting, heat a medium frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add 2 tablespoons butter.  Once butter is melted add the 1 medium diced onion, ground sage, salt and pepper.  Cook until onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

When the squash is finished, scoop the flesh of the out of its skins; add to it the onions and add the goat cheese.  Mix together until completely mixed.  Set aside.

Reduce oven to 375°F.  Place medium sized roasting pan in oven.

Place a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the ½ cup water, sugar and pomegranate juice. Wisk together.  Leave uncovered and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 20 minutes until sauce reduces and becomes syrupy.

In a small bowl mix the cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper.

Rinse the chicken very well and then dry it.  Make sure it’s completely dry.  Rub the spices onto the skin of the chicken.

Place a large safe frying pan over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil.  Let the oil get hot, but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down in batches and sear until golden brown.  Once seared remove these pieces and continue to add remaining pieces in batches.  Add more oil if needed.  Don’t over crowd the pan.

Once all pieces are done, transfer them to the medium sized roasting pan that has been warming in the oven.  Pour all but a ¼ of a cup of the pomegranate sauce over the chicken pieces.  Roast in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.  When the chicken is finished make sure to baste it so that the pomegranate sauce forms a glaze on the chicken.

While the chicken is roasting we can make the ravioli.  On a lightly floured surface, place a row of 6 to 10 (depending on how much counter space) of the won ton wrappers.  Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center.  Brush the edges of the wrapper with water.  Grab a new wrapper and brush the entire surface with water.  Place this wrapper water brushed surface down on top of the wrapper with the filling. Press down to force all of the air out and seal the edges.  Place on a rack and finish remaining ravioli.  Place a large pot of water over high heat and add a few large pinches of salt. Bring the water to a boil.  Use a knife or kitchen scissors to trim edges of ravioli and make them look cute.  Add ravioli to boiling water in batches.  Cook for 5 minutes or al dente.  Ravioli will float when they are ready.

In a small pan add 3 tablespoons of butter and melt.  Cook butter (stirring often) until slightly brown, remove from heat.  Careful or butter will burn.

Add chicken to the plate and spoon the pomegranate glaze over it that it was cooking in.  Add 6 ravioli’s next to the chicken.  Drizzle ravioli with the browned butter.  Then drizzle the ravioli with pomegranate sauce that was reserved in the beginning of the recipe.

The chicken was moist and delicious.  The flavor combination of the spice rub along with the sweetness of the pomegranate glaze was delicious.  The ravioli was also very light and delicate.  The layers of flavor with the squash, goat cheese and sage along with the drizzle of the browned butter and pomegranate sauce are delightful.  You will finish this dish and be full, but not feel heavy.  It’s very good.

I had quite a bit of filling remaining from the ravioli.  I was considering all the different options that I had with this today.  Monday’s are typically very long, draining and frustrating days at the office – this Monday was true to form.  I knew I would be getting home later than normal, so whatever I did would need to be simple and quick.  I decided I would stop by the market and pick up a rotisserie chicken and that I would take some of the remaining filling to make fried squash cakes.   Needless to say I was a very happy boy.  Dinner took all of about 15 minutes to make and was delicious.  Frying the filling mixture added a new depth of flavor and went very well with the chicken.

To make the fried squash cakes simply heat up 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat.  Heat until hot, but not smoking.  Form the squash/goat cheese mixture into patties no larger than the size of your palm.  Place the patties into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, flip and do the same for the other side.  Sprinkle salt & pepper to taste.  Easy as that.  I also do this with left over stuffing or mashed potatoes.

Stay tuned for my next blog – it should be interesting.  I will be sharing the dinner that I am making for my boyfriend, my ex-boyfriend and my ex’s new boyfriend.  What does one make for a situation like this??

Crack Potatoes aka Candied Potatoes…

This is a recipe that I modified and boy let me tell you these little potatoes are so tasty!  I made this  a week or so ago for a dinner party and it is amazing.  The dish is simple to make, but will give you tons of accolades with your guests.  Be sure to use sweet potatoes and not yams – it truly does make all the difference in the world!

 

Candied Potatoes

3 pound large sweet potatoes – don’t use yams!
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup bourbon

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Peel the potatoes and then cut into fourths. Steam potatoes on a steamer rack set over boiling water, covered, about 15 minutes, then cool, uncovered. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish.

Simmer butter,  brown sugar,  water, and salt, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and syrup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bourbon. Drizzle syrup over potatoes and bake in middle of oven, basting often, until syrup is thickened, about 1 1/4 hours.

Once cooked move potatoes to a large mixing bowl and mash.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stacks, Croque Monsieur & Butternut Squash – what a yummy weekend…

Yesterday the boyfriend and I headed over to Stacks in Hayes Valley for breakfast. Neither of us had been before and I have heard amazing things. Needless to say we were both very happy and I highly recommend going – get there early though! We got there at about 9am and the place was already full. When we left at 10am there was a long line.

I had the biscuits and gravy, which being born in Kentucky is just part of my heritage. I still say that hands down my mom makes the best, but I might be a little biased. Stacks recipe was a little different from what I’m normally used to – they had very thinly sliced mushrooms in the gravy. It was yummy, but the light mushroom flavor did change the taste a bit. The boyfriend had the meat omelet which was packed full of breakfast meats! He loved it. The only part of breakfast we would have done differently would be to order a strawberry waffle to split – they look spectacular. We were tempted to take a bite out of the neighboring table, but refrained.

We started the day today with a delicious Croque Monsieur – my first time making it. I used one of Ina’s recipes that is posted on the Food Network website simply called Croque Monsieur. The recipe is simple to make and is perfect! I would say a must try – Ina never lets me down.

While I was picking up the ingredients needed for the Croque Monsieur this morning, I noticed all the fall veggies are out. I LOVE fall veggies, especially butternut squash! The butternut squash was a must for dinner today, but I was at a loss for what I should do with it. After some thought it came to me – risotto. I have been on risotto kick lately, so it makes sense. I wanted to make a meal out of the risotto, so I put together a recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash and Pork Risotto. It is wonderful, filling and very autumnal! It’s so good I just had another serving of it and I’m excited to have it for lunch tomorrow at the office.

The recipe is fairly simple and packed full of yummy flavor.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Pork Risotto
3 lb butternut squash
1 lb. boneless pork tenderloin
6 cups nonfat chicken broth
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Good olive oil
Salt and pepper
All purpose flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

We need to start by roasting the squash. Peel squash, then cut in half lengthwise and seed, then cut into 1 inch wide slices.  Lightly coat in good olive oil and place on baking sheet.  Season with salt & pepper.  Roast in center of over until tender and golden brown, should take about 45 minutes.

While the squash is roasting we can prepare the pork.  Rinse and dry well.  Cut into 1 inch pieces.  Season on both sides with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Dredge pork pieces in flour and shake off excess.  Sauté each side until browned and crisp.  Set aside on paper towels.

Now that the pork is done you should have about 10 minutes before the squash has finished roasting and we can start the risotto.  In a medium sauce pan, bring broth to a simmer, cover and keep at a simmer.  While that is doing its thing, cook onion over medium-high heat in butter until softened in 6-quart heavy pot – should take about 7 minutes.  Then add the rice, cumin and garlic.  Cook for 5 minutes.

Now add ½ cup of your simmering broth, stirring frequently until broth is absorbed.  Repeat this until rice is creamy looking, but still al dente – should take about 18 minutes.  You should have about a cup of broth left over.

At this point your squash should be out of the oven and cooled for a few minutes.  Add the squash, cheese, sage and parsley.  Stir together and break up squash, cook for 5 minutes. Add a little broth if needed.  Add in the pork and stir together. If the risotto is too thick add a little more of the broth to thin it out.

Season to taste.

CAUTION: Enter at the risk of your waist line…

I guess I should first start off by talking about the soup from my last blog Soup save me… The magical powers of chicken noodle soup prevailed and I do feel so much better.  The soup is a great meal on a gloomy day, but boy did it help to kick that little bug.  Try it!

The other day I was lost in the thoughts of life challenges, goals and figuring out what I want – soul searching if you will. I’m sure you’ve experienced and can relate – the process is very draining.  It really gave me the hankering for some good ole comfort food to cheer me up a bit.  The benefit of eating comfort food is that you are fully permitted to not consider the calories or fat count of the meal.  This is all about the taste, really enjoying the food and just being at peace.  These are dishes that you would normally feel very guilty about or are things that you just don’t eat very often. There is a huge ass caution that comes with such food – HUGE ASS.  Comfort food should only be used for those rare occasions to avoid such a condition.  As long as it is kept to these occasions – go to town.  Oh, you may not want to ask your personal trainer about this advice.  Just do more cardio that week.

One of my closest best friends was headed over for us to relax together and he was going to bring the movies and wanted something cheesy.  I was not really in the mood for a complex dish that takes hours to make – I really just wanted the food and to relax.   I had remembered a conversation with a different friend a week or two ago when she mentioned that she was watching Ina Garten make a Lobster Mac & Cheese…bingo!  Ina’s dishes are full of great flavors and are usually very simple to make.    Here is her recipe that she simply calls Lobster Mac and Cheese.   I decided to substitute lump dungeons crab meat for the lobster, because the market did not have lobster that had been cooked, and I was not in the mood to do that.  I used cinnamon instead of nutmeg (half the amount required), because I like the flavor combination with the gruyere.  Another nice trick is to replace the plain bread crumbs in the recipe with panko bread crumbs.  Panko are simply a Japanese style bread crumb and are at almost every market.  They make for more of a crunch than the plain crumbs.

The recipe is fast, simple and delicious.  Cook time is about an hour.  We both had a bowl in hand and were asleep during the movie within about 10 min after pressing play.  It was a perfect way to enjoy a lazy day and just feel great with delicious food and great company.  When my friend was  leaving he made sure to take a good portion of what was left with him.  I’m so glad he did, it makes a huge amount and I would have probably ate the entire dish – talk about HUGE ASS.

The next morning I took a portion of the Mac & Cheese and formed into the shape of a pancake.  I then heated up a tablespoon of oil and sautéed the “Mac & Cheese Pancake” on each side until golden brown.  Then I fried two eggs and served them on top…sooo delicious.  Once my belly was not so stuffed, it was off to the gym!  I have noticed that the further along I get in my culinary journey the more time I spend in the gym.

Soup save me…

I feel terrible today – scratchy throat, itchy eyes, congestion, my body just feels worn out – no fun.  The silver lining here is that I just created a chicken noodle soup recipe and it is absolutely delicious!  I’m hoping with a little luck the mythological healing powers will make me feel better.  Regardless it’s a chilly, foggy day here in San Francisco and I can think of nothing better than to be curled up on the sofa, with my soup, blanket and watching the entire first season of Mad Men – incredible show if you have not seen it.  Well there is one other thing that could make it better, but he is visiting his parents in Arizona.

The soup is a simple recipe and absolutely feels great in my belly.  Here’s the scoop…

What ya need…

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 6 cups water or chicken stock
• 1 chicken, quartered
• 1 cup thin egg noodles
• ½ teaspoon of fresh thyme
• ½ bay leaf
• ¼ cup of cream
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make it happen…

Heat the oil and butter in large casserole or heavy pot.  Add the onion and celery and cook until translucent.  Season chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper (make sure your chicken has been washed and dried, this will help it brown better).  Place chicken skin side down in pot and brown, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, thyme, bay leaf and cover with water/stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove chicken from soup and remove meat from bones and shred, discard skin (it is easier to shred the meat when it is hot).  Return meat to pot and stir in cream and noodles. Cook for another 20 minutes.  Correct seasoning.

The soup is creamy, buttery and very soothing.  It will taste even better the longer it sits and as the noodles continue to absorb the flavors of the broth.  It is exactly what was needed for today and now hopefully those magically powers will help this sick boy.

Through it all I have my casserole…

This past week was a whirl wind of a week with emotions, both great and terrible. I have a lot of things changing in so many elements of my life and it can be somewhat overwhelming at times, but through it all getting into the kitchen soothes my soul and tames the madness. I’m very fortunate to have really discovered what my passion is. Sounds like some Oprah crap, but since discovering it, it’s the one thing that I can completely lose myself in.

I’m not a huge astrology buff, but even my horoscope is reflective of where I am at: This is a good time to redefine who you are and what you want, and those of you born on or around September 17 are really feeling the pressure right now. On September 4 a full Moon highlights an issue pertaining to your significant other, while the new Moon of September 18 inspires you to take a new direction in life. So I am completely confident that my focus is in the right direction!

One of the highlights of the week was my dear friend visiting from Sacramento with her fabulous cousin. We went to Luce in the new Intercontinental Hotel. Dominique Crenn is the Executive Chef and the restaurant is beautiful. I must say all the food was amazing and the price was so affordable! All dishes were under $30 and on select dishes a portion of the profit goes to Meals-On-Wheels. The favorite dish of the night had to be the short ribs! My friend proclaimed that  she has said that the meat just melts in your mouth in regards to other dishes, but had never really experienced it until these ribs. I could not agree more. Dominique has been kind enough to talk with me about my move into the culinary world and chatted with us at the table that night. These delicious little ribs are brined for 72 hours and then slow cooked for another 48 hours – that’s 5 days. TRES BIEN!! Chef Crenn and Luce have just received their first Michelin star….CONGRATS!

The other big news of the week was Sunday Dinner at my place. I have decided that one Sunday a month I will make a feast for friends who would like to attend. This first dinner turned out great. I made bouef bourguignon with rustic bouef risotto. This dish itself is not the prettiest dish, but the layers and depth of flavors are great. Countless bottles of wine later we were all full with great food, surrounded by great people and laughing at the movie The Sweetest Thing. It was a great night. For those friends who have not had my cooking or for those who would just like to have it again…look for a dinner in Novemeber.

I will finally be making the Old Fashioned Chicken Fricassee and I need to come up with a special dessert. These dishes are being made to celebrate a very close friend’s birthday. He has been one of my main guinea pigs during my journey and deserves a special treat – this and he’s getting older so I want to make sure to serve him the great dishes before his memory gets worse.

I think my next big challenge will be home made pasta!

Gnocchi’s from heaven to hell…

I don’t know about you, but my life is usually way too busy to spend more than an hour on dinner during the week.  Eating out every night gets way to expensive and I am also really over the take out places nearby…not to mention all the extra fat they come with.  That extra fat creates more time needed at the gym, which cuts into time for everything else – it’s a vicious cycle!   I live in a great City with thousands of food choices, but alas I’m still not satisfied.  What’s a boy to do??

I had a good friend over for dinner and of course they want a “fancy” dish that they have heard about.  No time for an elaborate multi-hour masterpiece, so after a great deal of thought I came up with Filet of Boeuf with Bordelaise Sauce and Pommes de Terre Sautees – sounds fancy (amazing when you say something in French how fancy it can sound), but in reality it is pretty straight forward.  It’s just a nice steak with a brown sauce and a traditional French recipe for butter potatoes – might I say these lovely little potatoes are amazing – they taste like a french fry version of gnocchi when cooked right – little fried gnocchi’s from heaven is what they should be called!

So what sounds like a simple dish takes somewhat of a nose dive – I mucked up the potatoes!!  Lesson learned here: when you are cooking something that is somewhat time sensitive at certain parts of the cooking process DON’T decide that is the time that you should be trying to figure out your wireless internet connection so your guest can get online. My little fried gnocchi’s from heaven were my half “cajun” gnocchi’s from Dante’s Inferno. I was able to salvage them from the inferno, but then somehow over salted them!  Luckily the steak (I used tenderloin, yum) and bordelaise sauce were cooked perfectly.  The multiple glasses of cabernet sauvignon that I was able to get my friend to drink also helped the situation.  All in all it was a pretty good dinner and absolutely a great lesson.  Dinner was also ready in about 30 minutes and was a simple clean up! Bordelaise sauce recipes are easy to find online and most are similar – don’t let the bone marrow part scare you, you can skip it if you like.

I’m excited for tonight, it’s the neighborhood farmers market!  I’ll be making one of my absolute favorite chicken recipes, Jamie Oliver’s Fantastic Roast Chicken, slightly modified though, I don’t enjoy the potatoes that he includes with the recipe.  I usually will just chop up some carrots and onions and have the chicken finish roasting on those along with the celeriac.  Oh FYI, celeriac is more commonly called celery root here in the States and should be easily found in most markets.  It’s ugly, but adds a great layer of flavor.  I would suggest not skipping it!

I will also be grilling some fall veggies on the grill pan to accompany (fresh veggies that are chopped into 2 to 4 inch pieces and then lightly coated with good olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper). I will wrap it up with making a gravy from all of the drippings in the chicken pan.  Total cook time from prep to plate will take me about an hour and thirty minutes.  This is thirty minutes more than I want to spend, but the majority of the time the bird is roasting in the oven.  Since it’s one of my favorite dishes, it’s well worth the wait and I can get other things done during the roasting.  The chicken is so unbelievably juicy and delicious and grilled veggies are so dang tasty!

I’m working on more weeknight recipes that are easy to make, are fairly healthy and are done under an hour or so.  One of these will include the ever elusive perfect burger recipe.  I’ve came close a few times now, but I’m determined to make it even better.

Gotta start somewhere…

My move into the culinary world has been ever growing, changing and getting more real – I thought if I were ever going to share the experience that I had better get started…so here we go.

Up until fairly recent the majority of my cooking inspirations have came from the Food Network. I just love some Ina, Bobby, Paula, Guy and Ingrid – Rachel not so much. Food Network has really discovered the art of teaching folks to cook and with the big personalities – it’s just plain good TV.

Over the past 12 months or so I’ve really started to come into my own if you will. Making the boyfriend tryout whatever new concoction that rattles through my brain that day – sometimes waaaaay off the flavor mark, but fairly consistently yummy or “good, but needs a tweak or two”.

I have started to grow from this though and started to tackle some of the most classic masterpieces – thanks to the fabulous Julia Child and her glorious “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” a few weeks back I tackled my first Coq Au Vin. I must say it was a bit frightening because I had the brilliant idea to make this for a dinner party for some fairly new friends – nothing like just jumping right into it. I had no idea what it was even supposed to look like nor taste like. 4 hours later – viola – Coq Au Vin and it was dang tasty! Served over jasmine rice it was probably the best thing I have ever tasted or made in my entire life – of course I might be a little partial…but regardless it was really good. After eating I began to think of flavor combinations and thought how delicious it would be to make another Coq Au Vin, but this time use a great cut of beef. That sauce with its great depth of flavor would be wonderful with a nice hunk of steak.

A few days ago I decided it was time to move to my next challenge, Boeuf Bourguignon! Thanks to the movie Julie & Julia this had to be gotten out of the way. Before tackling this new feast I ventured out to hunt for my first casserole or what some call a dutch oven – personally I hate the term dutch oven because it reminds of two people, a sheet and gas, not what I want to think of when I’m thinking of food!

With my new casserole in place I gathered the my fresh quality ingredients and began. I quickly realized that this recipe is basically Coq Au Vin, but with beef. You can only imagine then sense of pride that came over me knowing that just a few weeks back that I thought conceptually this would be a great dish! So now as I wrap up my first blog post, my first Boeuf Bourguignon is safely nestled in the casserole in the fridge. It has been there for about 9 hours and has about another 6 hours to go before it is gently heated and served over some fingerling potatoes for dinner. The flavors were out of the world last night when I tasted it, so I can only imagine how it will taste tonight.