Warm Goat Cheese Salad

This is a hard salad to pass up at a restaurant and seems difficult at first to make, as goat cheese is soft and delicate, but with a few simple steps the difficult gets easy.

Ingredients:

Panko Bread Crumbs

Goat Cheese

Olive Oil

The first, and perhaps most important, step is to take the goat cheese log and place it in the freezer approximately 30 minutes prior to cooking. This will do two things: first it will help in cutting the cheese* into patties, and second since it will be very cold when the cheese is seared it will prevent the cheese from cooking/running prior to the crust cooking.

Cut the cheese* into 1/4"-1/2" patties. Brush the patties in olive oil and coat them with the panko bread crumbs. Salt and pepper if desired.

Heat a non-stick skillet on high with 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp of olive oil (ok to eyeball). Make sure the pan is very hot and carefully add the goat cheese patties. Sear until browned on both sides, approx. 5 minutes.

Place the seared patties on top of some spinach or mixed greens, finish with Brunk Balsamic Vinaigrette.

*Ha, I got to say "cut the cheese" twice!

Grilled Swordfish with Citrus Marinade

Zest of one orange
Juice of one orange
2 T olive oil
1 T soy sauce
1 rounded tsp grated ginger
Salt & pepper
2 swordfish steaks

Mix the ingredients together and add the swordfish, turning to coat. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better.

Preheat the grill on high, and keep it on high in order to sear the steaks.Grilling swordfish can be tricky. Just a little on the short side and it is raw, just a little long and it is dry as a bone. The general rule of thumb is 3-4 minutes a side for every 1.5 inches thick. We aim for the medium side of medium-rare, but they should be cooked through.

This dish works well with some fluffy jasmine rice and a simple salad with vinaigrette.

And yes, if you are keeping score...we are grilling in the snow. :)

Artichokes with Hollandaise

Oh, artichokes with hollandaise. I wish I didn't love you so much. I resisted, hard, the first time Erich suggested making this for me. Anyone who knows me knows that if it ends in "aise" it ain't happening. But he convinced me to give it a try by showing me that there wasn't anything to hate about the ingredients (butter, vinegar, butter, lemon juice, butter, egg yolks, butter, butter), and it was comforting to be able to watch it made from scratch.

Anyhoo, this is really one of our favorite indulgences. It is fun to make and fun to eat. Perfect for this very weekend, snowed in with lots of time on our hands. Big cheers to Erich for planning ahead and stocking the fridge with these yummy treats!

Buying artichokes
Choose your artichokes based on their weight and density. The heavier the better, and the leaves should be tightly shut. Try to avoid 'chokes with dried out and cracked leaves.

Preparation
Wash the artichokes under cold water. If the leaves have spikes on the top, cut the tips off with scissors. Using a knife, cut off the top half inch of the artichoke, then cut off what is left of the stem.

Cooking the artichokes
Place the 'chokes in a large pot and fill the pot with water. Cover and boil for about 45 minutes.
Very carefully remove each artichoke using tongs, and hold it upside down over the pot or the sink to let the water drain out. I sometimes rest it on a slotted spoon to avoid dropping it back into the hot water. Let the artichokes sit while you make the hollandaise.

Hollandaise
2 egg yolks
1 stick butter, sliced up
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp white wine vinegar
dash white pepper
dash paprika

Heat the butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk. Once the butter is melted add the vinegar. If the sauce doesn't want to smooth, add a tiny bit of water and continue whisking.  Add more water if necessary.  Finish with the white pepper.
Pour into a bowl and sprinkle the paprika on top.

UPDATE: I realized that this recipe not only needs instructions for cooking, it needs instructions for eating!  First, pluck a leaf off of the artichoke and dip the bottom end in the hollandaise. I then use my bottom teeth to scrape the meat off of the leaf. Savor and repeat. Once you get through all of the leaves, you will be left with the bottom of the artichoke, covered in "fur". I use a knife to scrape off the fur. You can then dip the artichoke bottom in the hollandaise as well. Enjoy!

Salmon with a Pink Grapefruit Pinot Noir Sauce

Recipe: Emeril Lagasse


When thinking about the flavors of this dish I am inclined to put it in the category of summer dishes. The thing that makes this great in the winter is that fresh grapefruit tends to be so good this time of year. This dish is a great way to work some bright, fresh flavors and color into your usual winter menu.


We made this dish tonight to kick off our wintry weather weekend in Raleigh. We enjoyed a bottle of Hahn 2008 Chardonnay, which is just big and buttery enough to stand up to, but not overpower, this unique sauce.


Tips
 - We start by making the sauce, including adding the butter, and keep it warm while cooking the fish and spinach.
- Normally we use two grapefruit - one to juice for the sauce and one for fruit pieces on the plate. However, when cooking for two you can get away with only one grapefruit by reserving 1/4 of it for pieces and juicing the remaining 3/4 grapefruit.
- The recipe calls for unsalted butter, but we typically don't have that around the house so we use salted.
- We forgot to buy fresh basil (and it is winter so we have no plant) so instead of using fresh basil as a garnish we added a little dried basil to the sauce.
- "Continue to place the pan on and off the heat"...yeah don't bother. Just leave it on a super-low setting.
- Cleanup hint: rinse your juicer right away, that grapefruit dries on and is a pain to clean off!

Yellow Dog Eats, Windermere FL

What a charming place with yummy food! Yellow Dog Eats is located in an old country store in Windermere, Florida. It is the definition of eclectic with mismatched tables and chairs, photos of dogs on the walls, writing on the tables, and a mix of gourmet-style sandwiches that they pass off as casual comfort food. The menu consists of one page of sandwiches, one page of salads, and one page of pulled-pork sandwiches. I went with the Rufus: pulled pork, BRIE, cherry peppers, and a raspberry bbq sauce. Just...wow. I ate every last bite. Big cheers to Chef Fish and his team.
I am looking forward to going back next time I'm in the area...definitely during the day so I can enjoy the beautiful scenery and the back patio.

Baby Bok Choy

This is one of a few different preparations that we enjoy for baby bok choy. It is a great accompaniment to an Asian-themed entree.

Ingredients
2-3 baby bok choy, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
2 tsp Grapeseed oil
Dash of toasted sesame oil (very potent)
Sesame seeds
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp sugar

Heat the grapeseed oil in a wok. When the oil just starts to pop reduce the heat to med-high and add the bok choy. Turn continually. Depending on the size of your wok, you may need to do this in 2 shifts. It's better to take the extra time and give the food room.
When the bok choy begins to brown around the edges, add the toasted sesame oil. Cook for about two minutes and add the soy sauce. Once the leaves are wilted and the bulb is caramelized, add the sesame seeds and sugar. Heat for another minute and serve.

Pork Chops with mustard

Adapted from The Best 30 Minute Recipe

This dish has a very unique flavor, thanks to the combination of coarse ground mustard and tarragon. It is a simple, basic pan sauce that can be made quickly for a weeknight supper. The sauce is so flavorful that a simple steamed vegetable makes a good side.

Ingredients
Pork Chops
1 shallot, minced
ground black pepper
1/2 brandy
1 1/2 c chicken stock
1 tsp cornstarch
2 T coarse ground mustard
2 T butter
Fresh lemon or orange juice
Fire extinguisher*


Sear the chops in a non-stick saucepan. Remove when just cooked through, cover to keep warm.
Add the shallot to the same pan, cook until softened. Stir in the brandy. If you know how to flame the pan, go for it. If not,scrape up any brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Add 1 1/4 c chicken stock and reduce the liquid in the pan to about 1 c.

While that reduces, whisk the corn starch into the remaining 1/4 c stock. Then stir into the 1 c of sauce in the pan. Stir in any juice that has accumulated from the pork. Add the mustard and simmer until thickened.

Turn the heat to low and slowly stir in the butter, lemon/orange juice, and tarragon. Serve over the pork chops.

TIPS:
* Even if you aren't a flamer, keep your fire extinguisher close by. If the brandy overheats it might ignite!

Just had the perfect rainy-day lunch...chinese food and green tea at Wegmans!

Chicken Breasts with Mustard Sauce

Adapted from Cooking with the 60-Minute Gourmet

This has become one of our go-to meals for a chilly weeknight.

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned to taste with freshly ground black pepper
1 T butter
Splash of EVOO
One small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 T red wine vinegar
1/2 c Chardonnay
1/2 c chicken broth
1 T tomato paste
1/2 c cream or half and half
1 T Dijon mustard

Heat the butter and EVOO in a non-stick pan. Sear the chicken until golden on the outside and just cooked on the inside. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Add the shallot and thyme to the same pan and then add the vinegar and wine. Stir to scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the tomato paste and then cook down until reduced by half.
Add the cream and bring to a full boil, then add the mustard.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken to serve.

Tips
- We recommend serving a hearty green vegetable, such as broccoli, on the side
- If you also want a starch but are trying to avoid pasta, try serving this over chick peas

Seared Cod with Chive Butter Sauce

Adapted from Aaron McCargo Jr.

This is one of our favorite fish dishes, good for any time of year. We first came across it last year on our JetBlue flight back from "spring break" in Ft. Lauderdale, on which Erich was watching Big Daddy's House on Food Network.

This is not a hard recipe, but there are many small steps so the key is planning ahead and getting the timing down. To do it all at once we would need a 6-burner stove! The recipe as it's written on the web doesn't really do a good job explaining the timing, so we'll try to help with that. Speaking of timing, the recipe states that cook time is 20 minutes - that definitely does not account for prep time and even then is generous. Give yourself some time.

We have also made a few adjustments to the recipe, and our version is below. The biggest change is that we serve the fish over onion-strewn grits rather than pureed sweet potatoes. This is in part a matter of preference (although the sweet potatoes are really yummy), but mainly it makes the prep and cook time a lot quicker.

Step 1: Prep the fish
2 (6-ounce) cod fillets
Panko bread crumbs
1 egg, for egg wash
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash the fillets and dry thoroughly.

Place the bread crumbs into a shallow dish. In a separate shallow dish add 2 beaten eggs. Season both sides of the fillet with salt and pepper. Once seasoned, brush the belly side (not the skin side) of the cod with the egg. Dip the egg side into the bread crumbs.

Step 2: "Butter Sauce"
Just a few pats short of a Buerre Blanc...
We prepare the sauce in advance of the fish, but stop and keep the sauce on low before adding the butter. Save that for when the fish is coming out of the oven.

3 cups white wine (recommended: Chardonnay)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 shallot, sliced
2 clove garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons cold butter
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly cracked black pepper

In saucepan, add wine, sprigs of thyme, shallot and garlic. Set on back burner to allow the wine to reduce. Once the sauce is reduced to about 1/2 cup, strain and add the heavy cream, and lemon juice and bring to a slight simmer.

Step 3: Brussels sprouts

Using a vegetable steaming basket, begin steaming the sprouts. As they steam, move on to step 4 and begin cooking the fish.
When the sprouts are just soft enough to partially insert a fork, remove them from the steam. Heat up a little butter and oil (I use lemon olive oil from Wegmans) in a pan, and sear the sprouts until they just begin to blacken a little.

Step 4: Cooking the fish and the grits

In a cast iron skillet (or other oven-safe saucepan) add grapeseed oil. Before placing fish into pan, make sure the skillet is very hot. Sear only 1 side of the fish (the side with the bread crumbs). Once 1 side is seared, place the skillet in the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes until cooked.

Onion-strewn grits for two:
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c Quaker 5-minute grits
1/4 of a large red onion, sliced
Splash of fresh lemon juice

Sear the onions until nearly blackened. Boil the water and then slowly stir in the grits. Bring the water back to a boil then reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the onions and lemon juice to the cooked grits.


Once the fish is cooked, flip it over so that the golden breaded side is face-up. Let sit, and finish the sauce by whisk in the cold butter and once melted add the fresh chives and season with black pepper.

To serve, place the grits in the center of the plate. Place the fish, breaded side up, over the grits. Spoon the butter sauce over the fish. Arrange the sprouts on the side of the plate.

Additional tips

-We recommend a big, bold Chardonnay to accompany this meal - it stands up very well to the flavors of the dish. Tonight we opened a bottle of Muirwood 2008 Chardonnay, which was incredibly buttery and toasty, and a great value at only $10 from Total Wine.

-The recipe calls for grapeseed oil, but you can substitute EVOO. That being said, we do recommend the grapeseed oil for pan searing fish because you can get the pan hotter before adding the fish, and it has a nice nutty flavor.


"We're gonna need a bigger stove..." - Meesh

"We're gonna need a bigger fan too!" - Erich