Zinfully Delicious

DaoXiao Noodles

Here's a video shot by my good friend and musical guru Mark Forman.
A fellow foodie, former New Yorker now living in Taiwan

Beer Dinners?

If you're going to be in the St. Louis area (Webster Groves to be specific) in March.  Clear your schedule for the Beer Dinner at Big Sky Cafe March 5th featuring beer from O'Fallon Brewery. 

I attended the dinner featuring beer from New Belgium Brewing and it was fantastic!

Menu

O'Fallon Gold Beer Battered Spring Rolls w/ peach red chile sweet & sour sauce
paired with O'Fallon Wheat

Duck Confit Flatbread w/ goat cheese, red onion & spinach
paired with O'Fallon 5-day IPA

Maytag Blue Cheese & Pepper Bacon Bison Sliders w/ Vermont white cheddar cheese & tobacco onions
paired w/ O'Fallon Smoked Porter

Hill Country Cooking w/ Greg & Avril

Usually I write an entry filled with my witty, humorous and semi-cute ramblings.  This time, it's all about the Chefs & the food.

Setting: Way out west where the jackalope roam
and the mule deer frolic North of San Antonio

Host:Jeanne & David offer their hospitality & kitchen
for the evening.

Chefs: Greg & Avril... Graduates of the Culinary School @ Johnson & Wells University
-Avril's a former sous chef with the National Press Club in Washington D.C. and now wife, mother of 2 and working as an Executive Asst to a P.I.T.A of a boss.
-Greg is the Instructor/Supervisor at the Air Force Services Academy (training the folks that cook and serve on A.F.1 and other assignments

Menu:
Appetizers
-Blue Corn Tortilla Chips w/ Salsa Verde
-Hummus w/ Pita Chips

Entrée’s
-Jerk Chicken & Shrimp Phyllo Triangles w/Mango Salsa
-Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/ Balsamic Glaze
-Assorted Grilled Vegetables
-Sweet Potato Rosettes

Dessert
-Pomegranate Sorbet & Lemon Sorbet







(As always, click any picture for a larger view)

The Last Supper - Lamb Stew w/ Spinach Noodles

My apologies for the scarcity of posts lately. I have been a bit preoccupied since January w/ a major and very important project... remodeling my kitchen!! I didn't realize how involved this process can be. Meeting w/ the contractor, lining up the financing, picking out fixtures, emptying the cabinets, and dealing w/ the little surprises that inevitably pop up! Getting all these things accomplished during my time off left very little time for blogging.

To say goodbye to my old kitchen I decided to have some friends over for "the last supper". Lamb stew served over spinach noodles sounded like a good choice for a cold winter evening, so that's what I prepared.

Lamb Stew w/ Spinach Noodles

Ingredients:

10 cloves garlic  - peeled and crushed (for marinade)

1 ounce dried morel mushrooms

4 tomatoes - 1 inch dice

1 bunch Swiss chard (1/2 pound) - chopped crosswise into 1 inch pieces

10 crimini mushrooms - sliced

3 pounds lamb stew meat (1 inch cubes)

2 mulato chiles - crumbled (for marinade)

1 butternut squash (1 1/2 pounds) - 1/2 inch dice

4 celery stalks (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

5 carrots (peeled, halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

1 leek (white part only) - 1/2 inch slices

1 bag red pearl onions - peeled (10 ounces)

1 tablespoon cumin (for marinade)

1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs of thyme, 10 black peppercorns, 2 cloves, 2 bay leaves all wrapped in a leek leaf tied w/ twine)

1 cup red wine (I used a nice red from Portugal)

1 tablespoon flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 pounds spinach noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Place lamb into 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish w/ garlic, chiles and 2 tablespoons olive oil; sprinkle w/ cumin, mix well then cover w/ plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1 to 2 hours

2) For veggie stock: In an 10 quart pot, pour in 1 tablespoon olive oil then over low heat sweat the carrots, celery, butternut squash, pearl onions, leek and crimini mushrooms for 5 to 7 minutes; add 6 quarts water and bouquet garni then simmer for 45 minutes; skim off foam periodically

3) Rehydrate morels in 1 1/2 cups warm water for half an hour

4) When veggie stock is ready, add tomatoes and morels w/ liquid; continue simmering

5) Remove lamb from fridge, heat a large pan, add the marinated lamb; when lamb is browned use a slotted spoon to place the lamb (w/ the garlic and chiles) into simmering stock

6) Deglaze the lamb pan w/ the red wine and cook until reduced to 1/3 cup; make "red roux" by adding flour to the pan, stirring frequently while roux is cooking (be careful not to burn the roux)

7) Add the roux to the stew pot and continue simmering the stew for 1 hour; add the chard during last 1/2 hour of cooking; salt and pepper to taste

8) Let stew cool, cover and place in fridge

9) The next day, remove stew from fridge 1 hour prior to service and reheat over gentle heat

10) For noodles: Fill a very large pot w/ enough water to cook pasta; bring water to a boil; salt the water well then add the noodles and cook until "al dente"

11) Strain noodles in colander, place in a large serving bowl and melt butter into noodles

12) Place a nice portion of noodles in each plate and ladle stew over the noodles

13) Savor your "last supper" w/ a delicious full bodied red wine (we popped open a bottle of 2003 K Vineyards Cabernet/Syrah blend, The Creator, Walla Walla Valley, Washington, as well as several other bottles of nice wines!!)

Farewell old kitchen....

 

To the future... and my new kitchen!!!

Until then,

Bruno

** dinner photos courtesy of Michelle

Chocolate and Wine Pairing

Myself and several other local food bloggers were invited to attend what I thought was a tasting of different chocolates and wines. Well it turned out to be a lot more than chocolate that was paired w/ the wines as you will see!

This was put together by Holly Cunningham of Hollyberry Baking Co. and Anthony Bommarito of A. Bommarito Wines of St. Louis. Holly prepared a sampling of her specialty desserts that have a local flair to go w/ Anthony's selection of wines.

We first sampled "Lemon Heaven", "Lemon Poppy Seed" and "Oatmeal Crannie" paired w/ Saracco Moscato d'Asti 2005 Sparkling Wine. This bubbly was a great match for these lighter, citrusy desserts.

Secondly we had "Cocoa Bliss" and "Marble Fudge Brownies" paired w/ O"Brien Seduction 2004 Cabernet-Merlot Blend Napa Valley, California. This was an enjoyable twist on a classic pairing. The wine was fruit forward w/ velvety tannins. It matched up very well w/ these chocolaty treats.

The last pairing consisted of  "Hollyberry Gooey Butter Cake" and "Holly Dolly Dessert Bars" w/ Chateau Doisy-Vedrines 2003 Sauternes, France. This gooey butter cake is super sweet and rich. I was amazed at how well the Sauternes blended w/ the flavors of this St. Louis favorite!

Hollyberry Baking has packaged these combinations in beautiful gift boxes. If you're interested go to their website for more information.

Ciao...

Bruno

Noel Chez Paula

Paula was one of my mom's best friends and since my mom died 3 years ago Paula has become a good friend of mine too. She loves to open up her house for great dinner parties, and it shows. She always has her table set so elegantly and on this occasion her house was festively decorated to celebrate Christmas! Lets take a look...

Menu:

Cheese appetizer (Pamela)

Herbed crown roast of pork w/ mustard seed sauce (Paula)

Potatoes Gratinee (Steve)

Shredded brussel sprouts w/ chestnuts, shallots and applewood smoked bacon (me)

Corn (Paula)

Chocolate mousse (Pamela)

Chocolate truffles - mint/tarragon; chai pistachio; earl grey (from my friend Beth who has started her own small chocolate enterprise, "Little Dipper Chocolate")

Calvados/Coffee

Appetizer

Let the eating continue...

                                    

Where's the mousse?!      

                                 

                                  

                              

   

                                    

Once the calvados kicked in, the wackiness began...

Still life w/ papillote

I learned something new... according to the salesperson at the cooking store where Paula bought the papillote, these are also called panties... so as the zaniness continued, one of the guests tried on the papillote/panties but they were too small!

                                    

Then I started spanking the monkey and we proceeded to corrupt our new friends the Worthingtons!

Me thinks it's time to go home...

Paula, thanks for the hospitality and friendship (and fun)!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Bruno

                                    

                                    

Thanksgiving Photos w/ Dessert Recipes (Pumpkin Gelato and Pumpkin Pie)

Hi everyone... I'm finally getting around to doing my Thanksgiving post! It's been a very hectic couple of weeks w/ all the additional holiday activities (parties, shopping, etc...) so I'm taking advantage of this window of opportunity to get this posted before I get swamped.

My friends, Michelle and Byron, graciously invited me to their home for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Michelle did a beautiful job w/ all the food as well as taking the photos of this sumptuous feast. My only contribution to the bounty was the pumpkin gelato w/ candied pecans. Hats off to Byron and Michelle for being such wonderful hosts for my Thanksgiving 2006!! (Thanks to Kristin and Bob too for inviting me over for Thanksgiving lunch - no photos of this delicious spread because I was too busy feeding my face!)

The Feast

                Crumb Patrol

The Veggies

               Dessert Action

Immediate Gratification

                         Dessert

Recipes:

Michelle's Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry dough (use your favorite recipe)

2 cups fresh pumpkin meat (see gelato recipe for procedure)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: pie weights or raw rice

Procedure:

1) Make pastry dough as directed.

2) Roll out dough into a 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate (4-cup capacity). Crimp edge decoratively and prick bottom all over. Chill 30 minutes.

3) Preheat oven to 375°°F.

4) Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and bake shell until pale golden, 6 to 10 minutes more. Cool in pan on a rack.

5) Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and salt, then pour into shell.

6) Bake pie in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set but center still trembles slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Pumpkin Gelato w/ Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup candied pecan halves

2 cups pumpkin meat (from 1 small pie pumpkin  - 8 to 10 inches in diameter)

1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 quart half + half

1 teaspoon Penzys cake spice

Procedure:

For  pumpkin:

1) Wash pumpkin, remove stems, cut in half and scrape out seeds

2) Place pumpkin halves on baking sheet, cut side down, add 1/4 cup water to the pan and bake in 350 degree F oven for 1 hour (the pumpkin should be very soft and slightly browned when done)

3) Remove from oven, turn halves over and set aside to cool

4) When cool enough to handle, scrape out meat and puree in a food processor (leave in processor in order to complete gelato mixture - see gelato procedure)

For candied pecans:

1) Roast pecans in 300 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, then let cool

2) Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 cup water in saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar is dissolved

3) Boil to 236 degrees F (soft ball stage), occasionally brushing sides of pan w/ water to prevent crystals from forming, then add pecans and stir until they are well coated

4) Pour onto baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper and quickly separate pecan halves w/ 2 forks (I began using my fingers because using the forks was too slow to separate the pecans before the sugar hardened)

For gelato:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and cake spice gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

3) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

4) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)

5) Cool in an ice bath

6) Add grated orange peel to pureed pumpkin, blend in 1 1/2 cups gelato mixture to pumpkin to thin puree, then stir puree into the remaining gelato mixture, blending well, and chill for at least 4 hours in fridge

7) Roughly chop the candied pecans (set aside a few whole pieces for garnishing and munching on while your plating dessert because they're addictive and damn good!)

8) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chopped pecans halfway through the churning process

9) Transfer gelato to a 2 quart plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Bonus recipe...

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh cranberries

2 mangoes - peeled and cubed

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Procedure:

Simmer in a pot to a sauce consistency

That's all folks! Until next time...

Bruno

A Menu for Hope

 

Menu for Hope is a holiday fundraising campaign involving food bloggers which is now in its third year.  The campaign was started by Pim of Chez Pim, who recently announced that this year's campaign will be benefitting the U.N. World Food Program. See Kalyn's Kitchen and Cream Puffs in Venice for more details.

Happy Holidays,

Bruno

Stuffed Flank Steak w/ Herbed Polenta and Broccolini; Milk Chocolate and Tarragon Gelato w/ Dark Chocolate Chunks

I was tagged by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen to participate in a meme called "Foodbloggers Welcome Dinner" started by Angelika at The Flying Apple.

I've prepared some new creations to serve at this cyber dinner. Hope you like them!

Stuffed Flank Steak w/ Herbed Polenta and Broccolini (serves 8)

 

Ingredients:

3 pounds flank steak (2 pieces)

1 box polenta

2 bunches of broccolini

10 oz. crimini mushrooms - sliced

4 large cloves of garlic - minced

7 oz. log of goat cheese (chevre)

2 quarts veggie stock

8 sundried tomatoes - rehydrated and chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Twine for trussing steaks

Procedure:

1) Pound out steaks to tenderize (or have your butcher put the steaks through their tenderizing machine like I did to save time)

2) Cook polenta using veggie stock, mix in herbs while cooking, season w/ salt and pepper, set aside enough polenta to stuff steaks then keep remainder on a warmer

3) Saute' mushrooms in olive oil w/ garlic and pepper flakes, season w/ salt and pepper

4) Lay out steaks, then on each steak spread polenta on end that is closest to you, sprinkle w/ 1/3 of mushrooms, 2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese and half of the tomatoes

5) Roll and truss steaks, then season exterior w/ salt and pepper

6) Brown the steak rolls on all sides

7) Finish cooking steaks on a barbeque grill until 130 degrees F internal temperature for medium rare

8) Remove steaks from grill, cover w/ foil and let rest for 8 minutes

9) While steaks are resting, steam the broccolini until tender then sprinkle w/ lemon juice

10) Melt the butter in a pot and gently toss the broccolini in it

11) Remove twine and cut steaks into 1 3/4 inch slices, then place on serving tray

12) Gently fold remaining mushrooms and crumbled goat cheese into polenta and place in serving bowl

13) Place broccolini in serving dish

14) Pour some wine and dig in!!

Milk Chocolate and Tarragon Gelato w/ Dark Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients:

1 oz. fresh tarragon - stemmed and chopped

1 quart half +half

1 cup sugar

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate - coarsely chopped

5 oz. milk chocolate - finely chopped

8 egg yolks

Procedure:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and tarragon gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the tarragon

3) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

4) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

5) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Remove from heat, stir milk chocolate into the mixture and while continuing to stir place back on heat to completely melt chocolate (again, making sure mixture temperature doesn't exceed 170 degrees F)

7) Cool in an ice bath

8) Chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

9) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the bittersweet chocolate halfway through the churning process

10) Transfer gelato to a 2 qt plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Now its my turn to tag a few people to keep this meme flowing...

I tag my co-blogger Duane at Zinfully Delicious

Sam at Becks & Posh

Barbara at winosandfoodies

Bron at Bron Marshall

and Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas

OK, it's past midnight and I'm going to get some sleep before I turn into a smashed pumpkin or something like that!

Bruno

Five Things to Eat Before You Go to the Big Kitchen in the Sky

I was tagged by Alanna of A Veggie Venture to participate in this fun assignment that has been making the rounds of food blogs worldwide. The meme was started by Melissa of The Traveler's Lunchbox. I wonder how many times it has circled the globe by now!! Narrowing my choices to just 5 items was a real challenge, as it seems to have been for most all who have done this before me. Well, after some pondering I came up w/ my list. So without furture ado I present my list to you...

1) Marron Glace'  -  I love the way candied chestnuts melt in my mouth and fill it w/ such a wonderfully unique flavor!! It would be doubly good to eat some of these delicacies in Paris at Christmastime!

2) Raclette - When I traveled to Switzerland in January 2004 to bring my mom's ashes to her homeland, I spent an evening at the home of one of my cousins. They prepared a wonderful feast consisting of raclette and all the fixin's. They had this amazing machine that fits an entire half round of that lovely cheese and melts the surface, then the melted goodness is scraped onto your plate... simply awesome!!

3) A Paper Towel and an Apple Core - A funny thing happened  as I was hiking in a redwood forest near Santa Cruz, California on New Years Day 2003... I got lost!! Well it wasn't very funny at the time, but I get a good laugh every time I tell this story to someone. I ran out of food and was starving, so I dug into my pocket and pulled out the remnants of the apple I had w/ my lunch earlier that day. The apple core was wrapped in a paper towel and it sure looked good at that very moment, so... I ate both of them! Well, believe it or not, this can be a veritable delicacy when you're lost in a redwood forest w/ nothing else to eat!!

4) A Cup of Hot Chocolate w/ a Big Hunk of Fresh Bread - This was what I was fantasizing about during the cold night that I spent shivering in the redwood forest!

5) My Mom's Homemade Pizza - My mom's pizza was, and still is, the best I've ever had!! The pizza parties she would have were such a great way to gather some good friends together for an evening of deliciousness!! This has since become a tradition in my home too! Thanks mom...

My turn to tag some people. I tag:
Duane - My co-blogger at Zinfully Delicious
Michelle - My food stylist friend
The Culinary Chase
HomeMadeS
Barbara at winosandfoodies

Later...

Bruno