Parsnip and Potato Soup with Roasted Pear Puree

Last week I had intended on making Rachael Ray's Pear and Parsnip Bisque from her October Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  But I realized I had forgotten to pick up heavy cream at the store so my plan was foiled. But I did remember the parsnips that trip to the store so I needed to figure out something to do with them.  Rather than venturing to the store again I decided I would make something using ingredients I had on hand.  I also came across a recipe on epicurious last week when I was in search of recipes using bosc pears that sounded delicious, Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Roasted Pear Puree. Since I didn't have the complete ingredients to make each of these spearately, I came up with my own recipe which was inspired by both of these recipes.

Ingredients
1lb parsnips, peeled and cubed
5 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
3.5 cups of chicken broth
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup soy creamer

In a Dutch oven I heated 1 tablespoon of olive oil and unsalted butter and then added the shallots. Cook the shallots until they soften up a bit.  Add the parsnips and potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth.  Cook until the potatoes and parsnip soften up, they should be able to be cut with a fork.  Add 1/4 cup of soy creamer and begin to puree the soup with a hand blender   until it is smooth.  If you are not happy with the consistency you can always add a bit more broth to thin it out a little more.

For the roasted pear puree I followed the instructions from the second epicurious recipe but tapered the amounts back a bit.  The taste of the puree ended up being quite delicious, however I was a little disappointed in the coloring, I was hoping for something a little richer looking.  I think next time around I would roast the pears in a pyrex or corningware dish rather than on a cookie sheet with a baking mat.  I found that the juices just cooked to the pan so I wasn't able to use as much of the juice as I would have liked.

5 bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
2.5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey

I roasted these for about an hour in total, 30 minutes on each side and then added them to the blender and pureed. I did add a splash of apple juice to the roasted pear puree when I was blending it.

To serve, add a couple ladles of the soup to a bowl and then swirl in a little of the roasted pear puree. Salt and pepper to taste. I also garnished with a little chopped green onion.

Caribbean Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

I found this recipe on epicurious and it sounded very interesting so I thought I would give it a try, Caribbean Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup.  I followed the recipe for the most part but based on many of the reviews I noticed a lot of people said that it needed more spice, wish I would agree.  As a result I increased some of the measurements.  Please see the link above for the oriignal recipe, below I have included the tweaks I made.

Ingredients

·         2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree

·         1 15-ounce can black beans, drained

·         1 14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk

·         1 cup canned vegetable broth

·         4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

·         2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

·         3/4 teaspoon grated lime peel

·         a pinch of cayenne pepper

·         a teaspoon of chili powder

Preparation
Stir cumin in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat 30 seconds.  Add pumpkin, beans, coconut milk, broth and 4 tablespoons cilantro.   Bring soup to boil, stirring constantly.   Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 minutes to blend flavors.  Add chili powder and cayenne pepper.  Mix in lime juice and lime peel.  Season soup with salt and pepper.  In each bowl add a few drops of Cholula Hot Sauce.

The recipe says this makes 2 servings however I would say it's more like 4 servings

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Oktoberfest update

I was able to get my Sauerkraut made so its in jars just sitting on the counter.  I can't wait until I can give it a try. I got this recipe from my Farmer John Cookbook, its for Lacto Fermented Sauerkraut.

 Ingredients
1 small head of cabbage
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons of sea salt

Preparation
Put all of the ingredients in a large wood or stainless steel mixing bowl. Using a pounder or meat hammer or a can from the pantry, pound the cabbage in the bowl for a full ten minutes so that the cabbage starts to release its juices.


Before



After 10 minutes of pounding

Transfer the cabbage to 2 clean 1 quart jars, leaving a good inch of head space below the rim of the jar. Screw on the lids. Let stand on the counter for 3 days. By about the second day you'll notice the lacto-fermentation process taking place-you'll see bubbles in the jars and the jars will hiss-this is good.
 

The sauerkraut will be ready and will have a wonderful sour, tangy taste after 3 days. The flavor will only get better with age. After the first 3 days, store the jars in a cool, dark cellar or in your refrigerator. This will keep for at least 6 months.

Yesterday I got Nanny's Sauerbraten recipe, which is apparently her grandmother's recipe, since I knew it took a couple days for the meat to be ready to cook so you have to plan ahead on this one.  As a result I am posting the recipe now but we won't actually be eating this until Friday night.

4 lbs. of beef chuck, round, or rump roast
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 onion sliced
3 bay leaves
1tsp. peppercorns
2 cups vinegar
2 cups water

Rub meat well with salt and pepper.  Place in pan with onions and bay leaves and peppercorns.  Heat vinegar and water, pour over meat to cover.  Cover pan and place in refrigerator for 4 days, turning every other day.

Place in a roasting pan with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of liquid with onions. remove bay leaves. Save the rest of liquid for gravy.  Roast at 350 degrees for 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the roast.
Heat gravy.  Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup raisins and 6 crushed ginger snaps.  Continue to heat gravy and stir until smooth.  Then add 2 Tbs. sour cream.  Slice meat and serve in gravy.

Nanny says she ususally serves with mashed potatoes but her grandmother typically made potato pancakes. She also said its good with a beet salad as opposed to a green salad.

How could I forget...

In the midst of our crazy week last week I somehow forgot to post and foodograph the Italian beef sandwich recipe I made.

Ingredients
Rump Roast (I used a 3.69lb roast)
12 oz of Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 medium/large onion, sliced
12 oz pepperoncini
2 extra large beef bouillon cubes

In a zip lock bag add 6oz of the Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout, the 2 smashed garlic cloves and the rump roast. Let marinade overnight.

In the morning, place the contents from the the zip lock into a crock pot minus the garlic cloves.  Add the slices of onion and the pepperoncini including the juice.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  The meat should just fall apart with a fork.  Add the bouillon and season with salt and pepper.  Let cook on low for another hour or two.

Serve on italian bread rolls.  I have some leftovers in the freezer, I will have to foodograph next time around but I can assure you it was quite tasty!

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Oktoberfest

Being that Chris and I are both German I thought we could have an Oktoberfest celebration of our own.  I am going to attempt for the first time to make my grandma's (Nanny) Sauerbraten recipe.  In addition, I am  tonight I am going to attempt to make my own sauerkraut.  The recipe I found takes about 3 days until you can actually eat the sauerkraut so hopefully by mid-week we will be enjoying some German cooking.  Wish me luck because I have never made either of these before!

Sautéed Baby Kale and Swiss Chard with Radishes and Cremini Mushrooms

Menu
Maple Chicken Breasts
Sautéed Baby Kale and Swiss Chard with Radishes and Cremini Mushrooms
Long Grain & Wild Rice

Swiss Chard

Baby Kale

With the amount of fresh vegetables we have in our fridge I thought I should make something using up as many of them as possible.  In a sauté pan, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.  Add diced shallot, 2 minced cloves of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.  Cook until the shallots begin to soften up.

Add sliced cremini mushrooms and sliced radishes.  I used about 5 oz of mushrooms and 2 or 3 radishes.  Continue to sauté, salt and pepper for taste.  Add about 1.5 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar and continue to cook on low heat.

Add in your greens, I used Swiss Chard and Baby Kale but it would be good with spinach too.  Let the greens cook down and continue to stir in with the other vegetables.

Maple Chicken Breasts
Season two bone-in chicken breast liberally with The Gateway to the North Maple Sugar Seasoning from The Spice House.  This seasoning contains pure maple sugar, granulated brown sugar, coarse Kosher salt, Tellicherry pepper, garlic, onion, and green onion flakes.  Cook on 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the chicken breasts.  Be sure the internal temperature is 170 degrees.

I served this with a box of Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice Mix - Garlic Herb. The rice takes about 25-30 minutes to cook. So to time everything correctly you should start your rice when you are cooking the greens.

S loved the chicken and the mushrooms from the vegetable sauté.  Chris really liked the chicken but was not crazy about the vegetables, he is more of a corn and green bean veggie person.  I thought the vegetables were really good.

This meal was rated 3 asparagus spears

Homemade Apple Pie

I finally got around to making the apple pie on Thursday night and I am glad that I did! It was so good. I was a little hesitant since I was using the filling that I had put in the freezer a few weeks back. However I don't think you could even tell it had ever been frozen.  To make the filling check out my prior post, Apple Pie Filling.

I just used a freezer pie crust filled it with the defrosted Apple Pie filling.  For the topping, I took 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, approximately 3/4 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of light brown sugar and just continued to mix it together until it was like a dough almost.  Then just broke it up into pieces on the top of the pie. Bake on 400 for 30-40 minutes.

We ate it warm with a nice little scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Delicious!  We have so many apples and pears I think I am going to try and make some more tonight.

Bushel #8 of Veggies and 4th Fruit Delivery

The boxes we received on Thursday were definitely the heaviest boxes yet.

The vegetable delivery included:
 2 types of lettuce
 baby kale
 Swiss Chard
 Spinach,
a bunch of Radishes
Potatoes
Acorn squash
green tomatoes
an onion
a head of broccoli
a head of cabbage









Our fruit delivery included:
Thompson Seedless Grapes 
Valencia Oranges
Black Kat Plums
Bartlett Pears
Jonagold apples
Keitt Mangoes








I highly recommend making fresh squeezed orange juice with valencia oranges.  It's absolutely perfect, it has just the right amount of sweetness.

An oldie but a goodie...Beef Stroganoff

We have been a bit busy this week so I haven't posted in a while, this was a meal we had on Wednesday night.  My husband really enjoys comfort food and he always enjoys this beef stroganoff recipe. I don't know where this recipe originated from other than the fact that it's one that my mom always made growing up.  There is nothing fancy about this recipe at all, but it is quite tasty.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 can Campbell Soup Cream of Chicken Soup
2.5 tablespoons of sour cream
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 4 oz can of mushrooms pieces and stems, drained
4-5 oz fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
fresh parsley for garnish

In a pan, brown ground beef, garlic and onion and drain grease.  Add can of mushrooms and sliced cremini mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Salt and pepper the meat and mushrooms.  I also usually add about a teaspoon (maybe slightly more) of Montreal Steak Seasoning.  Add the can of Cream of mushroom soup and mix in well.  Then add the sour cream continue to stir and cook on a low heat.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley as a garnish.

Serve over egg noodles.

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears

Garlic Herb Pork Loin Roast

Our dinner last night was definitely a fall inspired menu.  There is something about a rainy day and comfort food that go together so perfectly.

Menu

Garlic Herb Pork Loin Roast

Mashed Potatoes

Acorn Squash
Baby Arugula Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes, Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Apple Pie

I had the apple pie filling ready to be poured into the pie crust and placed in the oven.  We however had no room so this is going to have to be made later this week. 

Pork Loin Roast

Whisk together the following ingredients to make the marinade:

9 cloves garlic, grated

¼ cup of rosemary leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon sage, chopped

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard with white wine

¾ cup organic apple juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon of Makers Mark Bourbon

2 tablespoon olive oil

Place boneless pork loin roast (mine was 2.22 lbs) in a zip lock bag and add marinade for 5 hours.

In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sear the pork roast on both sides until it is browned (approximately 5 minutes on each side). Add the remaining marinade and bring to a boil.  Scrape up any of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.

While the pork is searing, prepare the following:

Peel 20 pearl onions (place in boiling water for approximately 3 minutes, cut the top and the peel should come right off).

1 Macintosh apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 Bosc pear, peeled, cored and diced

Add the pearl onions, apple and pear to the Dutch oven. Add 3 teaspoons of brown sugar to the Dutch oven and bring marinade back to a boil.  Place top on the Dutch oven and put in the oven on 350 degrees for 45-1 hour.  Be sure the internal temperature of the roast reaches 145 degrees.

Acorn Squash

Cut Acorn squash in half and scoop out all of the seeds in the middle. Place upside down in a shallow baking dish in approximately an inch of water. Cook on 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.  You should be able to easily run a spoon through the squash to scrape the inside.  Flip the squash so that the inside of the squash is face up.  Add a small amount of butter and some brown sugar and put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

Clean 6-7 red potatoes, quarter and place in a pot of water. Add a pinch of kosher salt.  Bring to a boil. Potatoes are ready when you can they can be cut with a fork.  Drain and add back to the pot.  Begin mashing with a potato masher.  Add ¼ cup of skim milk.  Continue to mash and add 1 tablespoon of sour cream and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add a bit of kosher salt and approximately 2 teaspoons of Montreal steak seasoning.  Continue to mix until they are the consistency that you like.  I prefer a little lumpier of a mashed potato but if you can also mix with a hand mixer if you prefer a smoother texture.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Croque Madame

When we were in Napa a couple weeks ago Chris ordered a Croque Madame that looked heavenly so I thought I would give it a shot tonight.  I have made a Croque Monsieur in the past but never a Croque Madame; the only difference is a fried egg on the top.  I found a recipe on Williams Sonoma but also have a recipe that I have used in the past, I ended up kind of combing the two.

Menu
Croque Madame
Arugula Salad with Strawberries

Ingredients
Challah Bread
Unsalted Butter
Dijon Mustard
Black Forest Ham
Gruyere Cheese
Milk
Flour
Salt, Pepper and Cayenne Pepper

In a small pan melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and then whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour.  Slowly add in 1 1/2 cups of milk.  Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Cayenne pepper. The recipe recommends Whole Milk but I used Fat Free Milk (actually I use Lactaid). Continue whisking the so that the milk doesn't burn.  You will cook the roux for approximately 15 minutes or until the mixture thickens.  You are creating a béchamel sauce.  Once it thickens you will add the grated Gruyere cheese; I added approximately 1 cup.  Remove from heat and continuously stir so that the cheese melts into the sauce.  


Take your slices of Challah and butter one side of each slice.  In a warm skillet, place one of the slices butter side down. Add two pieces of ham and top with the second slice.  The second slice should have Dijon mustard on the inner side and butter on the outer side.  Cook until the first side is browned, flip and brown the other side.  You can remove and place the sandwiches on a foiled lined pan.  In the same skillet add a little more butter, melt and then crack in the eggs.  You will be frying one egg for each sandwich so be sure to keep the eggs about an inch apart.  You are making an over easy to over medium egg.  Salt and pepper the egg.  


Take some of the cheese sauce and smear it on the top of the sandwich, top with a small amount of grated Gruyere.  Place the egg on top and then add the additional cheese sauce; generously cover the top of the sandwich.  Sprinkle the top of the sandwich with chopped fresh parsley. Place under broiler until the cheese sauce browns a bit.  Be sure that the sandwich isn't too close to the broiler or you will burn the bread.


Serve with a nice green salad.  I used baby arugula, sliced red onion, sliced strawberries and Brianna's Blush Wine Salad Dressing.

This meal was rated 3 asparagus spears

S had a bit of the sandwich and she thought it was quite tasty. She loved the ham.  Again, you will have to excuse the foodograph, not one of the best shots.

Cinnamon Pear Filled Pancakes

We have a ton of apples and pears left from our last fruit delivery so I was trying to think of what I could do with them.  Last night I came across a recipe for Spiced Apple Filled Pancakes on the Williams Sonoma website. Chris said he would run to the grocery store for the few items we didn't have which included heavy cream, buttermilk and ground ginger.  In addition I added Gruyere and Black Forest Ham to the grocery list.  Well he went to the grocery store and came home with the Gruyere, Black Forest Ham and Bacon.  He mentioned that they didn't have buttermilk when he got home but I figured we could always run out in the morning to get it. So this morning I started getting everything out to make the pancakes and realized we didn't have the ground ginger or heavy cream either, so I scratched the Spiced Apple Filled Pancakes and decided to do my own thing.

Ingredients
2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and diced
Unsalted Butter
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a bowl combine the diced pears and the lemon juice, be sure to try and coat all of the pears with the juice. In a pan, heat up approximately 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and add the diced pears.  Cook on a medium low heat and stir regularly.  Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cook the pears until they are soft.  Remove from heat.

Since we didn't have all of the ingredients to make the pancake batter from scratch I used Stonewall Kitchen Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix.  I just followed the instructions on the side of the can for making the pancakes.

To make the filled pancakes you need a special pan, I used the Ebelskiver Filled Pancake Pan from Williams-Sonoma.  Coat each of the little compartments with some melted butter.  Add 1 tablespoon of pancake top, add your filling (approximately 1/2 tablespoon) and then another tablespoon of pancake batter on top.  Let the pancake bubble up.  I used a wood skewer to turn them.  It allowed me to go around the side of the pancake to loosen it if need be and then I was able to flip it over without making a mess out of them. The recipe for the Spiced Apple Filled Pancakes suggests that you need to let the bottom layer of pancake cook before adding the filling and the top layer of batter, however I didn't find that to be true.

I sprinkled the top of the pancakes with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon.

You will have to excuse the picture. I think my foodographer was more concerned about eating that he was about foodographing.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Fall has arrived!

Typically I am a big fan of fall weather. I love being able to put on a light sweater and enjoy a crisp breeze on a nice fall day but I am not ready for fall at all.  Fall means only one thing, winter is right around the corner!  Being that it was a little on the cooler side, I'm not sure if we even made it to 60 degrees today I thought soup would be appropriate.

Menu
Pancetta and Vegetable Soup
Heirloom Caprese Salad
Fresh Italian Bread

Ingredients

1/2 lb of Pancetta, diced
1/2 large Spanish onion, diced (approximately 1.5 cups)
3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, diced (approximately 2 cups)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Fresh Ground Pepper
14 oz can of Cannelloni Beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
Approximately 3 cups of Swiss Card, chopped
2.5 large vegetable bouillon cubes
10 cups of water
Parmesan Reggiano Cheese

Directions

In a Dutch Oven heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the diced pancetta. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes and then add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Season with fresh ground pepper.  Cook until vegetables begin to soften.

Add 10 cups of water and 2.5 large vegetable bouillion cubes.  Bring to a light bowl and continue to stir to break up the bouillion cubes.  Reduce to a simmer and add the cannelloni beans and diced tomatoes. Simmer on low for 30-40 minutes.  Add Swiss Chard, place the top on the Dutch oven and continue to cook on low for about 15 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Once the Swiss Chard has wilted, the soup is ready however you can continue to keep on low for a bit until you are ready to eat.  Just don't cook too long or your vegetables will get mushy.  Note: I did not add any additional salt as the pancetta provided some additional salt to the soup. You can always add some if you think it needs it but I would only add a small amount.

When you are ready to serve, grate a little fresh Parmesan Reggiano into each bowl.  Serve with some sliced French or Italian bread and a salad.  I sliced some fresh heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, topped them with some fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil.

3 B Chili ... Beans, Bison, and Beef

Yesterday was the first Bears home opener which means only one thing; chili was cooking on the stove. Chris's request for chili during football season has been a common theme for years. When we lived in the city we frequently had people over for chili, drinks and to watch football. The one thing that would drive Chris crazy was I would always switch up the way I made it. This was partially due to the fact that I never wrote the recipe down. So a couple of years ago I finally wrote down my "best batch of chili" recipe and much to my surprise, I was actually able to find it yesterday morning. But wouldn't you know, I decided not to follow it completely. So here is my new recipe. My theory on chili is that the flavor in meat is the key to the entire recipe.

Ingredients

Latern Pepper

1 1/4 cups Spanish Onion, diced
1 Latern pepper, seeded and diced
1lb ground bison
1lb grass fed ground beef
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons ground ancho chile
1/2 tablespoon ground guajillo chile
4 oz diced green chiles
14oz can of each of the following, light red kidney beans, dark red kidney beans, cannellini beans

Mexican Tomato Sauce

7 3/4 oz El Pato Salsa Chile Fresco (Mexican Tomato sauce)
8 oz Tomato sauce
28 oz Dei Fratelli Seasoned Diced Tomato
28 oz Dei Fratelli Whole Tomato packed in puree
2 teaspoons sugar in the raw
1 tablespoon honey
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon canola oil
Kosher salt
Cracked ground pepper

1. In a Dutch oven heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil, add onion, garlic, latern pepper, can of green chiles and ground bison and ground beef. Begin browning beef. Make sure to break up the beef so the spices get evenly distributed. Add ground cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and Montreal steak seasoning. Mix well, continue browning beef and drain grease. Salt and Pepper.

2. Drain and rinse all three cans of beans. Add beans to Dutch oven. Add both cans of tomato sauce and the can of diced tomatoes. When adding the whole tomatoes hand squeeze the tomatoes as you are adding, pour in puree. Add ground ancho chile and ground chile. Stir well.

3. Continue cooking and stir occasionally. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar in the raw. Reduce temperature to low and place top on Dutch oven. Continue to simmer and add 1 tablespoon of honey. Cook on low for at least 2 hours.

You can also cook this in a crock pot.  To do so, follow step 1 then transfer the meat to the crock pot and add the remaining ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for at least 4 hours.  The longer the chili cooks on the low the more the flavors have a chance to combine.
Garnish with grated cheddar cheese and chopped green onion.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Braised Chicken and Leeks

Menu
Braised Chicken and Leeks
Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root
Cinnamon Carrots









Ingredients

• 1 large leek, chopped
• Chicken Breasts, skinless and boneless
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Thyme
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sprig of rosemary leaves
• Red Potatoes, cleaned and cut into quarters
• Celery Root, remove skin and cut into chunks
• Milk (I typically use skim but only hand whole milk on hand tonight)
• Sour Cream
• Celery leaves
• Carrot, peeled and chopped
• Cinnamon Stick
• Nutmeg

Braised Chicken and Leeks
In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter add chopped leek and cook until leeks are softened.


Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and thyme. Remove leeks from Dutch oven and add seasoned chicken breasts. Brown chicken on either side, add 1/2 cup of wine, simmer and scrape off browned bits on bottom of pan. Add back the leeks, the sprig of rosemary and a small amount of butter.
 

Place top on the Dutch oven and cook in oven on 325 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of chicken registers 170 degrees.





Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root
Add chopped celery root and potatoes to a pot with water and a bit of salt. Cook celery root and potatoes until the pieces are soft enough that you can pierce them with a fork. Drain water and add back to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and begin mashing with a hand masher. Add 1/4 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of sour cream, continue mashing. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Montreal Steak Seasoning. Dice a small amount of celery leaves. Melt a small amount of butter and cook the celery leaves until they soften slightly, 1-2 minutes. Add to the potatoes and continue mixing. If you are not serving right away, transfer to an oven safe dish and place in the oven to keep warm.

Cinnamon Carrots
Place the peeled and sliced carrots in a pan with enough water to mostly cover the carrots. Add some brown sugar, a cinnamon stick and some grated nutmeg. Place a top on the pan and simmer.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Apple Pie Filling

The day before we left for Napa when I should have been packing, I came across this recipe for Freezer Apple Pie Filling on the allrecipes.com.  I had several Gala apples that needed to be eaten or baked so this seemed like the perfect recipe.  It even had a calculator to adjust all of the measurements for making larger or smaller batches which I found to be quite helpful.  It seemed pretty straightforward and not very time consuming so I went for it.  I followed the recipe almost exactly except for the cinnamon and nutmeg measurement.  I only had cinnamon sticks and whole nutmeg so I just grated each until it looked like a reasonable amount to add to the apples.

I will have to let you know how it turned out once I actually get around to making the pie, perhaps this weekend we can whip one up.

Quick Three Cheese Lasagna

I got home from work tonight and had no idea what I was going to make for dinner.  In fact other than the veggie and fruit delivery we just received, I wasn't really sure what we even had in the house.  So the search through the cabinets and fridge began.  Much to my surprise I had a new container of Ricotta that I needed to use and I also found some no boil lasagna noodles.  This made my decision very easy, we were having lasagna.  As I started getting out the other ingredients I did realize there were a few items I was lacking (i.e. fresh basil, shredded or fresh mozzarella) but I figured I would just improvise.

Menu

Three Cheese Lasagna
Sliced Heirloom Tomatoes and Baguette with Olive Oil
Caesar Salad

To make the Caesar Salad, I used the fresh lettuce we just received in our bushel tonight.  I added some Caesar croutons, some grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, fresh cracked pepper and for the dressing I used Brianna's Asiago Caesar which is quite tasty.

My sister picked up a fresh baguette for me so I thinly sliced some pieces and plated them on one side of my platter. On the other side I placed sliced heirloom tomato also from today's delivery.  Sprinkled the tomato with a little chopped fresh parsley and cracked pepper.  In the middle of the platter I poured a little Las Brisas Olive Oil which I then sprinkled with a little parmigiano reggiano and cracked pepper for dipping.

Three Cheese Lasagna
In mixing bowl I added 15 oz of Ricotta cheese, 1 egg,  a pinch of kosher salt and some fresh cracked pepper, a bit of chopped fresh parsley and 2 tablespoons of homemade basil pesto.  The pesto was my replacement for the fact that I didn't have any fresh basil.  I also chopped up in small chunks two pieces of mozzarella string cheese which was clearly my replacement for the fact I didn't have any fresh or shredded mozzarella.  I also grated in some fresh parmigiano reggiano into the bowl and mixed everything together.

In a 9x9 pan, add a thin layer of pasta sauce.  I used Cucina Antica Garlic Marinara.  I really like this sauce because there is no sugar added and only 36 calories in a 1/2 cup.  Layer your no boil noodles.  I overlap 3 and then break a 4th in half and place it across the top to completely layer the bottom.  Add your first layer of the ricotta mixture and spread across the noodles.  Add some more pasta sauce across the ricotta layer and add another layer of noodles.  Spread second layer of ricotta mixture and some more pasta sauce.  Add the third and final layer of lasagna noodles.  Cover with pasta sauce, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, mozzarella (I chopped another piece of string cheese for the top) and grate some more fresh parmigiano reggiano on the top.

Bake in a preheated oven on 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Just out of the oven

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears

3rd Fruit Delivery and 7th Bushel of Veg

We received an obscene amount of fruit and veggies today. I guess it's a good thing I haven't made it to the store yet following our return from vacation.  We won't be needing to purchase and fruit or veggies in the near future.

Our bushel included:

Pie Pumpkin
2 heads of broccoli
Sage and Parsley
An assortment of potatoes
Tomatoes including 2 heirloom
Swiss Chard
Lettuce
Onion
Latern Pepper

Red Grapes
A ton of Granny Smith and McIntosh Apples
17 Bosc Pears
1 Pineapple
4 Hass Avocados
2 Green Jumbo Limes

The Birthday Extravaganza Part II

We began our day at Oakville Grocery picking up sandwiches, olives and cheese for lunch. This is my kind of store. I picked up an olive and fig tapenade which I can't wait to try when we get home.


Our first winery stop was Newton Vineyard which was wonderful. The scenery on our tour was absolutely breathtaking. You can see a wonderful view of the Napa Valley from Spring Mountain. They have beautiful gardens, great views and delicious wine!













We tried their Red Label Chardonnay, 2008 Unfiltered Chardonnay, 2008 Unfiltered Merlot and 2008 Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2007 Puzzle during the tasting. They had some wonderful food pairings with the unfiltered wines and the Puzzle. I think this was my favorite winery visit on our trip.

We quickly got down Spring Mountain and headed over to ZD for our next tasting.



Prior to our visit I had only had their Chardonnay which is great, however I found out yesterday they also have some wonderful reds. I don't even think I could begin to go through all of the wines we tried on this tour because we had a lot of them.



Our next stop was just down the road at the Miner Family Vineyards. We had a blast on this tour/tasting. They also had some great wines.











We continued on to the Auberge du Soleil for drinks on their terrace where we met a friend who moved back to San Francisco a few years ago.





We ended our evening at Redd for dinner. The food was spectacular. We ordered the pork belly, lobster risotto and heirloom tomato bread salad for appetizers to start. Everything was delicious. We all thoroughly enjoyed our entrees and the desserts were phenomenal. This was Chris's favorite meal of the trip, which worked out well since we went for his birthday.

I would say our trip was a great success! We had some wonderful meals and phenomenal wines. Thanks to Becky for carting us around. We ended up only joining 3.5 wine clubs so we have a lot of great wines to look forward to enjoying. I also bought the Domaine Chandon cookbook so hopefully we will also have a lot of great meals to look forward to as well.

While I had a great time I'm definitely looking forward to getting home to my baby...I miss her so much!


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