Coaching Cooking

As a newlywed, I had a great recipe collection to begin with, but I didn’t have AB’s favorite sirloin tip pasta. It is one of his absolute favorite dishes and his mom (my wonderful mother-in-law, B!) gave me the recipe a few years before we were married.

This is the perfect recipe for a cozy dinner at home. Add a green salad with fresh, chopped herbs, red onion, cherry tomatoes and your favorite dressing plus a favorite red wine and a store-bought dessert (try a berry tart, pie or cherry cheesecake). Then settle in and watch a movie. Enjoy a date-night in the privacy of your own living room.

AB’s Favorite Sirloin Tip Pasta

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 butter
3/4 cup of red wine (try cabernet, merlot or zinfandel)
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
2 cans (10 1/2 oz. each) condensed, golden mushroom soup
2 tablespoons of finely-chopped shallot
1/2 cup of water
1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch plus 1-2 teaspoons of water
1 package of egg noodles, cook according to package directions and drain thoroughly

Directions:

In a nonstick skillet, brown the beef in butter then add the remaining ingredients (except for the cornstarch). Cover this mixture and cook over low heat for up to 2 hours until the beef is tender. Stir occasionally. Add the cornstarch and water (mix these together first) if the sauce needs thickening. Serve the beef sauce over the egg noodles. For an added flavor (and color) add some finely chopped chives on top.

Enjoy!

This post is dedicated to my dear sister, Lisa, who once thought that Thai food was pronounced “Thigh food.” I love you, Lisa!

I lament all those years that I missed out on eating Thai food. All those years devoid of cilantro, lemongrass, galangal, chilies and coconut milk while I ate bland, colorless meals seasoned only with salt and ketchup. Ahhh, how divinely Thai food now rests in that Top Five Best Cuisine file in my mind’s eye.

One of my foodie heroes, Ruth Reichl, once described an incredible encounter with this soup by explaining how it created an explosion of flavor in her mouth and she also found herself choking on a tiny piece of food! My experience with Tom Kha soup wasn’t quite as dramatic, but, let me warn you, those chili peppers will catch up with you! The lemongrass sneaks up on you too, although in a much more pleasant way, but those chili peppers are the silent assassins. I ate one chili pepper, last night, that was so powerful I could feel my inner ear tingling. So far Tom Kha soup has been the best sinus reliever I have ever experienced. Now let’s talk about taste…

Now, clearly, I have a problem because the Tom Kha soup that I had at Thai Chili in Sunnyvale is permanently fixed on my taste buds and I see no end to the craving in sight. I’ll have to stroll into that restaurant again and sit with bated breath while I await another fantastic spoonful of that flavorful, lemony concoction. The first spoonful smelled faintly of lemon and then a burst of coconut, fish broth and a light creaminess gave way to chilis, cilantro, that subtle hint of lemongrass and galangal (also known as Thai ginger). Watch out, Thai Chili, I may haunt your dining room with visions of Tom Kha dancing in my eyes!

Thai, Thai food, lemongrass, galangal, chili pepper, Tom Kha

Today, I ventured out into the hills for a bit of research with Farley from Wine Outlook. We met in downtown Los Gatos for some winetasting at Backyard Wineries, a new tasting room at 45 West Main Street that pours wines from the Fleming Jenkins Winery and Clos La Chance. Claire, the tasting room diva, answered all of our questions plus she had a fantastic music selection. I love my Beastie Boys with some 2004 Fleming Jenkins Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah!

Then it was lunchtime and we headed over to Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards for a picnic lunch and some good ol’ winetasting with our snappy host whose witticisms and old-school personality added some great humor to our experience.

The picnic lunch included some great bread from La Brea Bakery in addition to delicious picnic fare from Whole Foods. I have always loved the curry chicken from Whole Foods because it combines generous chunks of chicken wtih raisins, whole almonds and just the right amount of curry and other spices. Farley made a great appetizer spread with green olives, fresh chopped garlic, cream cheese and a touch of mayonnaise. We ate our picnic near the winery with a fine mist sprinkling over us (not quite rain, but getting close).

Teeth chattering and arms wrapped around our freezing midsections, we sought refuge in the tasting room which is housed in a quaint, farm-like structure with a large, sloping room and gorgeous, exposed ceilings. We also drank a tasty Syrah port to a classic Nirvana tune. So far, my purchase of the day: 2003 Savannah-Chanelle Estate Zinfandel Santa Cruz Mountains.

On to Thomas Fogarty’s where Farley introduced me to Mort, the cat, and to some great wines. I bought two bottles at this lovely place including the 2005 Gewurtztraminer and the 2002 Sangiovese Santa Cruz Mountains. We chatted up the manager who had some great restaurant recommendations for the SF Bay Area. And we looked out over the mist which made me long for this song (just played once and combined with the Gerwurtztraminer).

Thanks, Farley! I had a wonderful time. The fog and mist parted into a brilliant blue as I sailed down the windy road to Highway 9 and then home on 85 with Ok Go playing quirky tunes on my stereo and the faintest traces of wine still clinging to the corners of my mouth.

AB marked the beginning of our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple by opening the Rosenbaum 2005 Paso Robles Zinfandel:

Then we preceded to regale the day with a delicious Dungeness Crab cocktail and AB’s special, oven roasted prosciutto-wrapped asparagus:

The slight crunch and saltiness of the prosciutto (that had been roasted in the oven) perfectly complemented the asparagus and the wine (thanks for the recommendation, Farley!). Then we moved on to the main course: beef fondue. Here’s the wok heating up (we used a combination of peanut and canola oils). The wok we used is electric with a nice rack (yeah, ha ha) that really comes in handy for slightly cooling the meats and vegetables after they are cooked. We also opted to use chopsticks instead of fondue forks so we wouldn’t scratch the wok.

In addition to beef cubes, I also prepped mushrooms and AB prepped broccoli (which turned out to be the second most popular part of the meal). We cooked the beef and ate it with dijon mustard, tarragon/mustard sauce, barbeque sauce and a special balsamic reduction that AB made just for today.

We rounded out the meal with some roasted potatoes (from Trader Joe’s) and some shrimp (also cooked in the wok) along with Pellegrino and Moet & Chandon’s White Star (our fav champagne). Then AB used his fabulous barista skills to make lattes which we drank with these exquisite chocolates:

Thus, bellies full and foodie souls sated, we toast you to a wonderful February night while we lick the chocolate from our lips! Happy Valentine’s to you and yours…

Antipasto is a great way to avoid the pitfalls of a regular salad where the lack of flavor is sometimes REALLY apparent. I love antipasto salads because they usually include ingredients that I love: marinated artichokes, olives, italian meats, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and any other sliced vegetables that you feel that you must include. In short, this is a hearty salad with plenty of great Italian flavors. Yes, you can add more veggies, but why bother? It’s about the meats, cheeses and a scant amount of green items that add some crunch. And what about a wine pairing? Check below the recipe for a quick bit of advice.

Here’s a quick recipe (based on a delicious antipasto that AB made for me last week):

AB’s Antipasto:

Ingredients:

One whole-milk fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup of marinated artichokes
2 cups of chopped, washed romaine lettuce
6-8 slices of Italian salami
Optional: roasted red peppers, black olives, red onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 cup of Italian dressing

Directions:
Place the romaine lettuce on one large plate or two plates. Layer the mozzarella, salami and other optional ingredients on top of the lettuce. Salt and pepper the salad to taste. Serve with the Italian dressing on the side. Serves two or one really hungry person.

Buon appetito!

And now for some wine:

I went to WineAnswers.com for some helpful advice about pairing antipasto with wine. The answer I got was: Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. I’m also convinced that Pinot Grigio would work with the antipasto. And there’s always the convenient theory that you can just drink what you like and eat what you like and it all tastes good in the end. As long as I can have my tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and Italian deli goodies, I’m good…

Ahhh, the tastiest morsel of television this evening has to be the Top Chef Season 2 Finale:

Cheers to Ilan Hall for winning Top Chef Season 2!!!

I never would have forgiven the judges if they had voted in Marcel “Wolverine” Vigneron as Top Chef instead. His plates were beautiful, but he sucked as a human being.

In celebration of Ilan’s big win, I offer a few delicate sips of the bubbly plus some links to recipes featured in the Top Chef finale.

Korbel figured big in the finale as the remaining four chefs toasted before the second to last elimination challenge (yes, I laugh when I hear the word elimination…almost every time).

Anyway, I’ve never been a huge champage girl, but I never turn down a bubbly drink. My favorite of late has been Moet & Chandon’s White Star champagne. It has an apple-tart sweetness balanced by delicate bubbles and a crisp, rich finish.

So, to complement the few champagnes I’ve offered up to the readers, here are a few recipes from the last episode:

The featured recipe, Ilan’s, is the Moi fish with Macadamia Nut Gazpacho. It looks divine! I’m partial to the fish seared with crispy skin. Enjoy testing this recipe!

Both Ilan and Wolverine, ahem, Marcel, offered inventive desserts. Ilan created a tropical fruit dessert with tangelo soup, tropical fruit, surinam cherry sorbet and a bay leaf fritter. Even if you do not end up making this recipe, please check out the gorgeous picture at bravotv.com. It’s so amazing!

Marcel created a “caviar” dessert with blini, chocolate mousse and kona coffee caviar. Although I’m not a fan of Marcel as a person, I have to admit that this dessert wins for best creative dish. This is truly a dish to wow the guests with and also a fun experiment with chemicals (for those of you foodie-scientists out there).

Top Chef may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I feel that it is a good show because of the creativity that abounds in the various challenges (okay, and the catfights between chefs are fun in a “Dynasty” sort of way). Experimenting with food often leads to delicious and inspiring discoveries. So, rock on Top Chefs. Thanks for the memories…

One way to enjoy wine (in my opinion, one of the BEST ways) is to cook with wine. I love trying new recipes and I love trying new wines (tip: it helps to get through the new recipe with a great glass of new wine…).

Here are some wineries that offer delicious-sounding recipes:

Robert Mondavi has an official recipe search page including the sublime sounding Ancho-Glazed Halibut Tacos with Avocado

St. Francis has an equally attractive recipe search that includes a recipe for an inventive dish (that I am going to try very soon!): Gnocchi Stuffed with Mushrooms.

Fritz Winery has a few recipes to offer, plus they encourage their customers to send in recipes featuring their wines. Here’s a delectable recipe for Duck with Blackberry Sauce using Fritz Old Vine Zinfandel.

Mirassou Winery has a wine-inspired recipe page with pictures of recipes including Baby Wellingtons whose cuteness and potential deliciousness hooked me right away.

Bennett Lane Winery offers some tasty recipes including the Thai Lobster Rolls with Mango Sauce and some tempting photos of other great-sounding recipes.

Columbia Winery collaborates with the Barking Frog located right near the winery. Recipes include the Grilled Quail with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette and Grilled Watercress.

Cooking with wine is an adventure. Even if things don’t work out perfectly, there’s still wine to drink and good food to eat. What could be more satisfying?

Riesling is a wine that I am intrigued by because of its lush sweetness and its honey flavors. I haven’t really cooked with riesling before, but I’d like to present some links to recipes that include riesling as an ingredient.

Those of you interested in learning about wine should consider buying Joanna Simon’s book, “Discovering Wine.� Simon describes German rieslings as wines that have flavors of “crisp, green apple� or “sweet peaches and apricots.� Australian Rieslings often have a distinctive and “mouth-watering lime flavor, often with a touch of passion-fruit or guava.� That kind of fruitiness is enough to bring me in and to make me want to drink or to cook with rieslings.

Here are some mouthwatering recipes:

Rustic Pear Tart with Late-Harvest Riesling: this sounds like the perfect way to end a French bistro-style dinner

Oranges Poached in Riesling Syrup: I hope that I get a chance to experience this recipe given the sad state of California’s orange crop. This simple recipe would look fabulous served in goblets or any beautiful, stemmed glassware.

Chicken in Riesling with Prunes and Cabbage:all of these cold winter nights have me longing for a hearty, flavorful meal like this one

I know you’re all sick of hearing about Bonny Doon, but I must present the following recipe adapted from a BDV recipe I collected several years ago while living close to the BDV tasting room. It’s pretty quick and tastes spectacular.

Chicken Framboise (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/2 cup of framboise (Bonny Doon’s is the best, trust me…)
1 tsp minced thyme plus thyme sprigs for garnish
4 boneless chicken breasts with skin
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup of flour
3 T cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
1 T olive oil
1/3 cup of dry white wine (try Bonny Doon’s Big House White..it’s a screwcap which = easy to open)
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 shallot minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 T cornstarch mixed with 1 T water

Directions: Wash the raspberries and reserve at least 4 good-looking ones for garnish. Press half of the remaining berries through a sieve and stir in the framboise.

Prepare the chicken breasts by removing the tenders (the little pieces to the side of the chicken breast that are easy to pull off). Reserve the tenders for another use. Then cut each chicken breast in half, evenly. Place each half piece on a cutting board and pound with a large can or meat pounder until the breasts are half-inch thick (put Saran wrap on the chicken breast before pounding). After the mild workout place the chicken breast halves on a plate and prepare the saute pan.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (for keeping the chicken breasts warm after cooking).

In a heavy saute pan (non-stick is helpful in this recipe), melt 1/2 T of butter and 1/2 T olive oil over medium high heat. Place the flour on a large plate and flour each chicken breast half before adding to the saute pan (saute 2-4 chicken breast halves at a time, depending on the size of your saute pan). Cook for a few minutes so each chicken breast half is browned at the edges. Transfer the chicken to an oven-proof pan or plate and keep warm in the oven.

Add the wine, balsamic vinegar, chopped shallots and minced thyme to the skillet and boil on medium high heat while stirring to deglaze the pan. I keep the fat from the chicken breasts for added flavor, but you can also pour it out before preparing the sauce. Add the chicken stock and the cornstarch-water mixture and cook until the sauce is reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in the raspberry-framboise mixture. The sauce should be fairly thick (add a bit more cornstarch and water if it isn’t). Then remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2.5 T of butter. Salt and pepper to taste and remove the chicken breast halves from the oven. Top each chicken piece with the sauce and a few fresh raspberries and serve two chicken pieces per person. Thyme is also a nice, colorful garnish and it makes you look fancy!

This dish does not yield a lot of sauce so the ingredients for the sauce can be doubled if you prefer more sauce. I recommend serving this dish with buttered noodles or with creamy mashed potatoes.

Bon appetit!

For this first Wine on Wednesday, I’d like to present a quick dessert using the Muscat wine from Bonny Doon also known as Vin de Glaciere. According to Bonny Doon, this dessert wine has flavor notes of “tangerine, orange blossom and Meyer lemon.�

Apple Tarts with Vin de Glaciere Sauce

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry (about half a pound or half a box)
4 medium-sized apples (I use Braeburn, Fuji, or Granny Smith)
½ cup of water
¼ cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of butter
½ cup of Muscat dessert wine (particularly Vin de Glaciere from Bonny Doon!)

Directions:

Bring the puff pastry to room temperature (this takes about an hour or less) and roll out the dough with a rolling pin and a little flour so the dough is even (and so the entire sheet is connected together…puff pastry comes rolled into thirds so the edges often split to form three thin sheets).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by covering it with aluminum foil, shiny side up.

Slice the apples into ¼ inch thick pieces and set aside. Make the sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan and adding the Muscat wine, water and sugar. Cook the sauce over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.

Cut the puff pastry into small rectangles and layer the apples over the pastry in decorative patterns (I usually layer the apples on top of each other in a straight line). Use a pastry brush to put the sauce on top of the apples and fold the corners of each tart in so there is a small edge on each side of the tart. Reserve the rest of the sauce for after the tarts have baked.

Place the tarts on the baking pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the puff pastry is golden. Brush the finished apple tarts with the rest of the sauce.

This dessert is also fabulous with more Muscat wine and a rich vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!