72: Veal Chops / Tomato-Olive Jus / Rainbow Chard & Strawberry Salad / Parmesan Saffron Orzo

I’ve wanted rectangular plates with ramekins for a minute now, but I was waiting for them to go on sale at Sur La Table or World Market before buying them. Amber beat me to it, and she surprised me with a set this past week. I thought this was a good excuse to make a nice dinner, as if I needed an excuse.

I picked up some veal chops, orzo, and rainbow swiss chard, and then I set out to make a meal. Dinner tonight is amazingly flavorful. Each element builds upon the next, ranging from familiar to exotic, sour and tangy to bitter and sweet. The mildly rich texture of the veal is perfect for the acidic tomato and olive jus, swiss chard and strawberry salad, and the saffron orzo that takes on a gourmet mac and cheese feel with a flavor lift right at the end of the palette courtesy of the saffron.

Drink chardonnay with this dinner, and you will be utterly pleased with the entire experience.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 veal chops, 1 inch thick

10 grape tomatoes, left whole

3/4 cup orzo

1/3 cup Greek olive mix, diced

2 tbsp rosemary and thyme, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup white wine

3/4 cup orzo

Pinch of saffron

1 cup rainbow chard, chiffonade

2 strawberries, sliced into 8 pieces total

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp butter

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

Veal—Pat chops dry and dredge chops through 2/3 of the herbs and salt and pepper. Press seasoning into each side.  Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking, Now add chops and sauté them for 4 minutes per side. Don’t move veal while it’s cooking. Transfer to a plate after browning each side.

Sauce—Add garlic to skillet with another tbsp of olive oil and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 30 seconds. Garlic should be fragrant now. Add the wine, tomatoes, olives, remaining herbs, and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Gently press on tomatoes with spatula or spoon after 5 minutes. They should collapse easily.  Simmer for the remaining five minutes while stirring occasional.

Orzo—Boil well-salted water, and add orzo once water reaches a rolling boil. Add in orzo with saffron threads, and cook for 6-7 minutes. Drain well in a colander, return to pot, and stir in cheese and butter. Keep warm.

Salad—Heat oil over medium heat as orzo and sauce finish. Sauté chard for 2-3 minutes with a pinch of salt, turning often, until gently wilted. Serve strawberry slices over the swiss chard on the plate.

Reheat chops in sauce pan for 1-2 minutes. Plate the dinner as you like.

Enjoy!!

71: White Wine & Herb-Infused Chicken Noodle Soup

Yes, the unforgettable, the unmistakable and ever time-tested classic: Chicken Noodle Soup. This is my version, of course, with an updated flavor profile that will surely treat the senses. The woman and I had both recently been sick, and we were longing for the classic “I’m sick soup.” Taking a basic recipe, I update this classic with white wine and herbs.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 lb chicken breast, diced

1 large carrot, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

1 small fennel bulb, diced

1 small leek, diced

1 quart of chicken stock

1.5 cups egg noodles

1 cup of white wine

1 tbsp of minced rosemary, thyme, oregano and parsley

1 tbsp of butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

Chicken—Boil chicken in hot water for 10 minutes. This method allows the chicken to sweat out the impurities and mucus commonly found on chicken. Rinse with cold water in a colander. Set aside.

Broth—Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Lower heat to medium, toss in all veggies and half of the seasoning and herbs, and sauté this mixture for 15 minutes, stirring often to soften the mixture.  Adjust heat to medium high again, add in wine, and simmer for 10 minutes with the butter. Now add chicken stock, chicken, egg noddles, and remaining herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 45 minutes.

Enjoy!!

70: Rosemary Flat Iron Steak / Tomato Mushroom Risotto

I ended up with about a cup of leftover sauce from the Tuscan Veal Stew the other night, and I didn’t want such a flavorful sauce to go to waste. I had a couple flat iron steaks I needed to use, and found a cup of dry risotto in the cupboard. I also had two cups of chicken broth, so I came up with this dinner. I love nights when all I have to do is look through what I have and can come up with something blog-worthy.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 flat iron steaks

1 cup dry risotto

1/4 cup shallots, diced

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup leftover sauce (you’ll have to improvise here)

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup wild mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Olive oil

Butter

Salt + pepper

Risotto—Bring leftover sauce and stock to a low simmer in a pan. Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in olive oil with a little butter, salt and pepper. Turn off heat on mushrooms and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter in a pot over medium heat for a few minutes. Sweat shallots in this mixture for 3-4 minutes, and then add the risotto to the pot. Sauté for a few more minutes or until risotto is light golden brown. Turn heat to medium high, and add stock a 1/4 cup at a time, stirring continuously. You know you need to add more stock when the mixture in the pot seems dry, meaning the risotto has soaked up all the liquid, usually about 5 minutes. The whole process will take about 30 minutes. You must stir continuously, or your risotto will not come out nice. Stir in mushrooms and cheese for one minute before serving.

Steaks—Heat a dry pan on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes. Dredge steaks through a mixture of salt, pepper, and rosemary. Press the seasoning into the steaks. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and let warm for 1-2 minutes. Sear steaks on each side for 3 minutes per side for medium rare, depending on thickness. Our steaks were just over half an inch thick, so they didn’t need to cook long. Plate steaks up against risotto mound on plate.

Enjoy!!

64: Smoked Turkey Legs in "Liquid Gold" / Garlic Asparagus

Okay, so I cheated a little on this one. I didn’t smoke the turkey legs myself. I bought them, amongst other things, from an organic farm in Minnesota. It was actually a nightmare getting my order from this farm, but that is another story for a different type of blog.

If you haven’t had a liquid gold sauce, you truly are missing out on one of the culinary world’s delights. Liquid gold is a mustard demi glace sauce, and it matches so well with many meats. It’s also easy to make.  What are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen!

Ingredients and Directions:

2 pre-smoked turkey legs

2 tablespoons stone ground Dijon mustard

1 cup white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 stick butter

3 tablespoons total of Rosemary and Thyme, finely chopped

Asparagus

2 garlic cloves, minced

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Turkey Legs—Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and cook turkey legs for about 15 minutes.

Liquid Gold – Reduce the white wine by half over high heat, about 10 minutes or so. Add the chicken stock and reduce by half as well, about another 10 minutes or so. Add the mustard and herbs with salt and pepper, and simmer for a few minutes on high heat to meld the flavors. Keep warm.

Asparagus – Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté asparagus with garlic, salt and pepper for about 5 minutes.

Plate and enjoy!

60: Herbed Pork Tenderloin / Tomato Fennel Sauce / Zucchini Coins

Two recipes posted in one night! Aren’t you lucky?

Simple, quick, and incredibly delicious! The sauce alone is out of this world. This is another one of those meals where I didn’t have to buy anything extra because I had all of these ingredients in my refrigerator. Pork filets are coated in fresh herbs with a tomato fennel sauce made complete with zucchini coins sautéed in oil and breadcrumbs. We drank Sebastani Chardonnay with this – toasted oak for smoke, citrusy, and crisp on the finish.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 pork filets (about 3/4 lb)

2 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded, and sliced

1/2 a fennel bulb, diced

1/2 an onion, diced

1/2 a zucchini, sliced

Small handful of breadcrumbs

1 tbsp each of fresh thyme and rosemary, minced (save some for garnish)

Splash of milk or cream

Olive oil

Salt and pepper (add to each component)

Pork—Coat filets in salt, pepper, and minced fresh herbs. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, and sauté filets for a total of 8-10 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Thicker cuts will require more cooking.

Tomato Fennel Sauce—Sauté onion and fennel over medium heat for about 7 minutes. Now add tomatoes and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. The sauce is ready for the food processor once the mixture has broken down in the pan and the tomatoes almost look mushy. Puree in food processor with a splash of cream or milk, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Zucchini—Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add zucchini and bread crumbs, and sauté mixture for 3-4 minutes.

Plate as you wish, garnish with remaining herbs, and enjoy!

52: Fennel Seed-Crusted Lamb Chops / Caramelized Green Bell Pepper & Carrots / Rosemary Bacon Whipped Potatoes

Well, I figured out what to make for dinner tonight. It was just me tonight, so I surveyed the refrigerator and did my thing. Sometimes I have a bad habit of doing too much to each component of a dish. I felt like I was over-seasoning and that the flavors wouldn’t go well together. You be the judge.

The fennel seed imparts a lovely fragrance when slightly charred, adds texture, too. The caramelization of the veggies provides a nice nutty and bittersweet contrast to the richly flavored and slightly spicy feeling from the rosemary whipped potatoes. And, bacon – well, bacon just makes everything better.

I was going to drink a big California chardonnay with dinner tonight, but then I forgot to put the bottle in the fridge when I started prep. The alternative became one Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale. It’s missing a good dose of hops, but it did the trick with dinner.

Ingredients and Directions:

1/2 pound of lamb rib chops

1 tablespoon fennel seed, chopped

1/4 of a green pepper, sliced lengthwise into 8 strips

2 large baby carrots, quartered lengthwise (8 pieces total)

1 smallish medium potato, peeled and chopped into chunks

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 sprig rosemary, minced

1 slice of bacon

1/2 cup sour cream

 1 garlic clove, minced

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler. Cook bacon until crispy while boiling potatoes until very tender. Wrap bacon in paper towels when finished. While potatoes boil and bacon cooks, sauté bell peppers and carrots in olive oil over medium low heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Season chops with salt, pepper, and fennel seed while everything else cooks. Add sugar to vegetables when 5 minutes out to caramelize. Be careful not to burn the veggies. Turn off heat and keep veggies covered if not ready to serve everything yet when they finish.

Stick a cast iron plate under broiler for 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and mash with a fork. Add garlic, rosemary, and sour cream and puree with hand blender to desired consistency. Add bacon and stir to fold into potatoes.  Place on low heat to keep warm. Remove cast iron plate, add lamb chops, and stick back under broiler for 5 minutes for medium rare. Arrange your plate.

Enjoy!