I Love You More Than Food

Author: Caroline

  • Roasted Pork Provencal with Mustard Glazed Collards

    Roasted Pork Provencal with Mustard Glazed Collards

    1 pork tenderloin
    herbs de provence
    olive oil
    coarse sea salt
    cracked pepper
    1/4 C whiskey, brandy, or other liquor
    1 bunch collard greens
    deli/rustic mustard
    dry mustard powder
    cider vinegar
    macadamia or olive oil
    1/4 C walnuts
    home made apple sauce or chunky store bought

    Heat oven to 350. After trimming,coat tenderloin in olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and generous herbs de provence. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until firmed but not unresponsive to a squeeze with tongs. Add the liquor and put back in oven 5 more minutes.

    While pork is roasting, in a large pan heat 2 T macadamia oil (olive oil if you must) to medium/medium low heat. Add to it 2-3 T mustard, plus 1-2 tsp mustard powder, salt, pepper, and 1-2 T cider vinegar.  Blend it together with a spoon or whisk, then add trimmed, cut, clean collards. Cook until tender, 15 minutes, reducing heat at end so as not to brown them. Add walnuts shortly before serving.

    Serve on top of heated home made apple sauce (store bought if you must), in thin slices, with the collards.

    Wine: A spicy red such as a tempranillo or other spanish or sicilian red would be great.

  • Halibut with Fennel and a Roasted Beet Salad

    Halibut with Fennel and a Roasted Beet Salad

    Halibut with Fennel Recipe Photo

    1 head baby fennel (or half regular), with fronds
    1 piece fresh halibut, .5-.75 lb
    mixed salad greens
    juice of 1/2 lemon
    olive oil + macadamia oil if possible
    vanilla salt & pepper
    raw pistachios
    1/2 roasted red beet

    Heat oven to 350. Clean the fennel and cut off the fronds, placing the fronds on a parchment lined baking sheet in a pile. Add your fish skin down onto the fronds and top with 1 tsp olive oil, vanilla salt, and pepper.  NOTE: you may make your own vanilla salt by mixing sea salt with the core of 1-2 vanilla beans in a clean spice jar. The salt should be saturated, so you may  minimize the amount of salt you make at once. Leave the cleaned out beans in the jar with the salt, it will create a stronger aroma over time.

    Place the fish in the oven, you’ll be baking it 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. Should be opaque white and not jiggly when touched but the meat should not seperate when it’s done. Slice your fennel thinly from bottom to top, after removing the stiff core. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick pan on medium low heat; when heated, add the fennel, pepper, and vanilla salt. Toss occasionally until parts are golden and all is soft, about 15-20 minutes.

    Meanwhile, make salad dressing by combining 1/2 juice of lemon (or just scant), and 1/2 as much olive oil as there is lemon juice. Add a dash of macadamia oil or use it exclusively if you like. Add regular salt & pepper, and emulsify with a whisk.  Add your washed and drained salad greens, tossing. Add pistachios to taste and your 1/2 roasted beet in cubes (I had one leftover, you may omit it, probably not worth making on its own).

  • Peruvian Potato Pancakes with Homemade Apple Sauce & Creme Fraiche

    Peruvian Potato Pancakes with Homemade Apple Sauce & Creme Fraiche

    Peruvian Potato Pancakes with Homemade Apple Sauce and Creme Fraiche Recipe Photo

    4 Peruvian Potatoes
    3 large fingerling potatoes
    1 medium yellow onion
    2 eggs beaten
    2 T salt
    1 T fresh ground pepper
    6-8 heaping T flour
    1 tsp baking powder
    vegetable oil
    chives
    creme fraiche
    applesauce (store bought or recipe follows)

    After washing, shred your potatoes and add to a bowl. Mince your onion, and add it to the bowl. Cover mixture with water and soak 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly.

    Mix potatoes & onion with the eggs, adding salt, pepper, baking powder and 4 T of the flour. Mix and add flour as needed until you can see the mixture will stick together.

    Heat oven to warm. In a nonstick pan, heat vegetable oil to medium high heat. Add heaping tablespoon full of batter and push flat, repeating without crowding the pan (in my 12 inch pan I put no more than 4 small pancakes at a time). Flip when it’s holding together well, cooking golden on both sides. Add more oil as is needed keeping just enough to give color/allow sizzling.

    When cooked add to parchment lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven until serving. Serve with bowls of finely cut chives, sour cream or creme fraiche, and applesauce.

    Spiced Home-made Apple Sauce

    This recipe is forgiving and you may make a batch of any size with thoughtful adjustment. I used 8 or 10 apples of mixed varieties from my farm shipment.

    minimum of 5 apples (don’t use all red, they don’t have enough pectin)
    1-2 sticks cinnamon
    4-10 cloves
    2 T sugar – 1/3 C sugar
    1 tsp – 3 tsp salt
    Fresh grated nutmeg to taste

    Peel and core your apples and add the cores & peels to a pan that will accomodate the apples eventually. Add water until almost covered. Add the cinnamon and cloves, and bring to a simmer, cooking until reduced and all soft (15-30 minutes). Strain. Keep the juice, discard the rest in your compost preferably.

    Meanwhile, cube your apples. Add to the juice once you’ve made it, keeping the spices in. Cook at medium low heat or a slight simmer until softened, probably 1 hour. Stir in sugar, salt, nutmeg to taste. Put into clean or sterilized jars or containers. If canning, will keep for some months. If putting in a container to be used from refrigerator, will last up to 1 month. Throw out at first signs of changing taste, color, or visible molding.

    Wine: We had the Peruvian potato pancakes with a delicious and inexpensive bottle of dry prosecco. Any apply, dry sparkling wine will be great and cleans the fat of the oil & creme fraiche out of the mouth.

  • Vindaloo Curry with Fingerlings, Nantes carrots, Kale & Pea Shoots

    Vindaloo Curry with Fingerlings, Nantes carrots, Kale & Pea Shoots

    Forgive me, I used a mix.

    VIndaloo curry paste (an oil & spice mixture you can buy at a higher end store, or other spicy curry mix)
    1 small onion
    5 baby carrots
    1/4 lb fingerling potatoes
    1 cup kale
    1 cup pea shoots
    1/3 block firm or extra firm tofu, cubed and gently squeezed dry
    2 tsp cayenne pepper
    2 T vegetable oil
    cilantro

    Sautee the tofu in oil at medium heat, seasoning with salt & pepper. While sauteeing, blanch potato and carrot until tender. Once tofu is golden, remove and set aside. Add onions to remaining oil, season with salt & pepper. When transparent, add the carrots & potatoes, cayenne, and the curry mixture (with the water recommended on the packaging or coconut milk). Simmer until thickened, add the pea shoots, kale, and tofu, cooking until wilted. Server’er up with cilantro, no need for rice!

  • Valentine: King Crab & Fennel salad, Lamb Ribs with fingerling potatos & apples

    Valentine: King Crab & Fennel salad, Lamb Ribs with fingerling potatos & apples

    1/4 bulb fennel
    1 large radish
    1/2 lb king crab
    vanilla salt (recipe follows)
    1 T bergamot olive oil

    Dig the meat out of your king crab–it helps to have a thick wooden skewer handy to push stuff through. Shave the fennel into thin slices; if you have no way to do this, julienne it. Slice the radish very thinly (shave), alternately make a large julienne. In an empty spice jar, mix the pulp of one whole fresh vanilla bean with 1 T sea salt, shake vigorously to mix. Add plenty to taste, and toss it all with the bergamot olive oil. If you have no oil of this kind, use a small amount of regular, light, fruity olive oil or simply squeeze a bit of lime on it instead. I used double the crab in the above recipe but would suggest the amounts above as a better option.

    Serves 2-4 as an appetizer

    Wine: A yeasty bubbly without too much body (not the time for the Dom, people!), perhaps one from northern Italy (a prosecco, but make sure it’s a dry one; a spumante would be fine too–the difference, if you aren’t familiar, is that one is made carbonated by adding yeast and bottling int he Champagne method, and spumante is made as a “sparkling wine” is made).

    4 center-cut lamb ribs
    6 fingerling potatoes, halved
    2 spring “new” carrots, washed well but not skinned
    1/2 very small apple
    1 T fresh thyme
    salt & pepper
    1 T butter
    1/4 C soy sauce
    2 clove garlic, minced
    2 T good BBQ sauce

    Mix the soy sauce, garlic, and BBQ, coat your lamb chops, and turn the oven to broil.

    In a sautee pan, melt the butter at medium high heat, and add the potatoes cut side down, season generously with salt & pepper. Cook until golden, turn over. After 2-3 minutes, add the (medium thin chopped) carrots and thyme. Toss. At the same time, add the lamb to the oven about 6-8 inches from the broiler.  When carrots have brightened, turn the lamb chops over in the oven checking that they are not over cooked, and then add the apple to the potato mixture. Turn off the heat on the potato mixture.

    After 1-3 minutes on the opposite side, lamb should be done. Assemble!

    Wine: Great with a fuller merlot or a dry, earthy red.

  • Urad dal – a Quick Indian Snack

    Urad dal – a Quick Indian Snack

    A good friend of mine and his wife celebrated his anniversary recently, and welcomed a houseful of friends with this wonderful appetizer. He has an interesting history and a lot of experience with Indian food, being that he had years of involvement at a restaurant in a small town in India.

    Here’s the secret recipe:

    Urad dal (a white lentil available at Indian Groceries and not really anywhere else)
    Chat Masala spice mixture
    Vegetable oil for frying
    red onion
    lemon & lime
    salt
    cilantro
    raw cashews

    Soak the dal in water for 30 min-1 hour. Drain well. Heat oil to high and pan fry the dal, taking care to stir frequently so they don’t stick (use a nonstick if possible, or a wok). Once golden and oily, put into a bowl. In the bowl, add a tablespoon of masala seasoning at a time to 1C or more of the lentils. Juice the lemon/lime into it, keep extra handy for adjusting the flavor. Mince or finely dice 1/2 or 1 whole red onion. Mince the cilantro. Mix everything together with a few cashews, adding salt and additional ingredients as needed for taste to bring the whole thing together.

    Wine: a dry rose or a champagne without too much acid.

  • Treviso Radicchio & Red Onion Galette

    Treviso Radicchio & Red Onion Galette

    1 red onion
    1/2 head radicchio
    1/2 head beet greens (can sub chard or chiffonade collards, don’t overdo it though)
    salt & pepper
    olive oil

    Dice the red onion. Cut the radicchio into small squares. Chiffonade the beet greens. In a large sautee pan cook the red onion with the olive oil until translucent, adding plenty of salt & pepper, at high heat for 2 minutes and then to medium low heat until cooked through. Add the raddichio and cook 1-2 more minutes. Add the beat greens and cook until wilted. Adjust seasoning.

    In a tart pan or by forming a galette, place the rolled and chilled crust, and fill with mixture. For color and tenderness, brush outside of dough with egg yolk & water mixture. Cook at 425 for 20-30 minutes until golden.

    Touch it off with a bit of hard Italian cheese grated. I used something similar to Asiago but a little closer to Pecorino Romano.

    Wine: A sicilian red, such as Nero D’avola, will have enough punk to stand up to the bitterness of the raddichio and greens.

  • Brussel Sprouts with Ginger & Pear

    Brussel Sprouts with Ginger & Pear

    1 lb brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half
    1/2 pear, diced
    1 inch peice fresh ginger, grated
    2 T butter
    1 T olive oil
    salt & pepper

    In a nonstick pan at medium high heat, melt the butter and then add the brusselsprouts cut side down. Cook until colored nicely on the bottom and the green has brightened andb ecome glossy, then add olive oil, ginger, and pears, turn heat to medium and stir. Add salt & pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 C water or just enough to cover sprouts halfway in pan. Cover and cook for ~ 10 minutes. Remove the lid, cook off excess water and serve.

    Wine: A white blend such as a northern Italian white (Pinot Grigio blend, or dry Tocai blend) would balance nicely the sulfur of the cabbage without being intruding on the more delicate ginger flavor.

  • Roasted Green Romanesco with a Cajun Kick

    Roasted Green Romanesco with a Cajun Kick

    1 large head green romanesco (sub cauliflower, but not as beautiful)
    cajun seasoning blend (or make your own with herbs + chili powder etc)
    1/2 C – 1 C water
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice romanesco thoughtfully, making some slices thinner and none too thick to be unevenly cooked, also trying to keep them together as much as possible. Place them on a parchment lined jelly roll sheet (lipped) or other baking container with sides and a lot of surface area. Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and seasoning generously. Distribute for maximum surface area, and add the water. Roast for 35-45 minutes, until browned on tops and carmelized on bottoms.

  • Filet Mignon with Port Reduction & Golden Chard with Pancetta & Pears

    Filet Mignon with Port Reduction & Golden Chard with Pancetta & Pears

    Golden Chard with Pancetta & Pear with Filet Mignon Port Reduction Recipe Photo

    This is a meal to be shared by two people, heavy on the greens, lighter on the wallet than would be otherwise. Last night we were both exhausted and wanted to eat at home (mostly for economical reasons) but I really wanted a great Friday night date dinner, so we grabbed a filet from Andronico’s (love/hate) as well as a bottle of Tablas Creek‘s (Sister winery to France’s Château de Beaucastel) Cote de Tablas red rhone style and went to work at home..

    1 filet mignon ~ .5 lb
    1 large shallot
    1/2 comice pear (or other pear)
    1-2 T very cold butter
    1/2 C ruby port or dry red wine – sherry would probably be OK too
    1 bunch golden chard
    1 slice pancetta, 1/4 inch thick
    olive oil, salt, pepper

    Preheat oven to 350. Wash chard, cut stems away, slice stems into small peices and set aside, slice greens into large strips, set aside seperately. Dice the pancetta by unwinding it, and slicing it in half lengthwise, then cutting into bits on the short end. Place the pancetta & the chard stems into a hot nonstick skillet, adding salt & pepper.

    Bring a small, high sided pan (oven safe) to just high heat, adding a few T of olive oil. Add the salt & peppered steak, allowing to color. Once colored, flip over. Once colored again, put the pan in the oven until desired doneness (4-8 minutes). Do not allow the olive oil to smoke while on the range.

    Tossing the chard mixture frequently, once stems are nearly softened, add the pear in cubes. When the pear has colored, add the greens and cook until wilted and bright. Check seasoning and adjust.

    Take your steak out of the oven and place it on a cutting board to rest, placing the pan with drippings back onto the range at high heat. Add your shallot, minced, and cook until translucent. Add salt & pepper, and the port/wine. Reduce until astringent alcohol smell is gone, take off the heat and sit 1 minute. Add very cold butter and stir vigorously until melted.

    Slice steak and serve sauce over it with the greens on the side.