Pip's Plate

After the brilliant success of our first Gourmet Club meeting back in January, I immediately went home and started scavenging the internet for braised short rib recipes – because it doesn’t get much better than that. And man oh man….it doesn’t.

Nicole and I were serving the main course this time, which also meant we would be hosting it at my house. I first thought an Asian inspired short rib recipe would be exactly what I was looking for. Until I found this recipe: Brasato al Barolo (Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata). YUM.

Then I thought…wait a second, this is from Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo cookbook…hmmm…why does that sound familiar? Then it dawned on me! I finished a book at the end of November titled “Heat” – which is now one of my favorite books – about Bill Buford working for Mario Batali and traveling through Italy. Well, this dish is mentioned in great detail. I looked it up, laughed at the descriptions (it’s violently vulgar), and said “sign me up! this is the dish!”

I read some more about the region this dish comes from – Emilia Romagna in northern Italy and discovered this from wikipedia:

The city of Bologna is famous for its superb cuisine. Perhaps less well known is the fact that it lies at the heart of Emilia Romagna, a region celebrated both in Italy and abroad for the range and quality of its culinary delights. From the Adriatic coast of Ravenna and Forlì to the inland plains and river vallleys of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena, Emila Romagna is richly blessed with prime produce and ingenious cooks.

We preordered short ribs (not flank style but the cut with one bone per rib) and picked them up early that Saturday along with all the other ingredients, then went back to my place to get everything prepped. Have you ever grated fresh horseradish? It is STRONG. And it’s fleshy and weird – it kind of creeped me out a bit.

Either way, the dish was hands down the best dish I’ve ever made. It was simple enough to do again, although somewhat time intensive as it requires a long time in the oven. Although the recipe says to braise at 375 for 2 hours, the next time I would braise at 350 for 3 hours.

The table setting had an Italian theme with reds, greens, and yellows.

Here is the menu:

First Course

Antipasto platter of assorted meats, cheeses, olives, and breads

Paired with: Tommasi Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo, Maremma Tuscana, 2004

Second Course

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

Paired with: Tamellini Soave, 2005 (excellent wine)

Third Course

Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata

Paired with: Josetta Saffirio Barolo, 2002

*A special note about the wine: there is this fellow who suggests wine at the place I love to go (Hennepin Lake Liquors in Uptown – their selection and prices are unbeatable) who, in the past, has had a very low success rate at suggesting wines for me. My strategy for Sat? Avoid him AT ALL COSTS. Well…that unfortunately didn’t happen as another worker pointed me directly to him and there was no one else in the store. F*****ck. He ended up suggesting this wine and it was excellent. Thank god. It was $40/bottle and we bought 2. Josetta Saffirio learned how to make wine from her mom and dad, who are both professors of winemaking in Italy. This is her second or third vintage and only makes 3,000 cases a year.

Fourth Course

Various Cheeses: Taleggio served with honeycomb, Pecorino ginepro served with balsamic reduction and olive oil, Sottocenere al Tartufo, Blu del Moncenisio with fig pear spread, Valsesia Toma with fig pear spread, La Tur with honeycomb

Paired with: Ruvei Barbera d’Alba, 2005

Fifth Course

Panna Cotta with fresh strawberries and blackberries

Paired with: Felsina vin Santo Chianti Classico, 1999

recipes after the jump

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Oh, man. I randomly found this on the NY Times website – how? don’t ask I have no idea. But it sounded good so I made it the other night. I’m soooo glad I did. Rarely do I make something the first time and want to make it immediately the following day.

Looking at the number of ingredients was kind of daunting – especially when I realized I was out of my usual stock of miscellaneous Asian necessities – but it ended up being pretty easy and most excellently balanced. Flavor-punch, lip-spanking good.

I upped the spice on this quite a bit…probably not by accident either. I would say it ended up being a 4 on a scale of 1-5. It was spank-your-lips spicy.

Drunkard’s Noodles – Pad Kee Mao

serves 2-3

time: 35 minutes

Soak noodles in cold water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Make the sauce: in a small bowl, combine 2T oyster sauce, 2T fish sauce, 2T sugar, 1T mirin, 1T rice vinegar, 1T Maggi, 1t sambal and lime juice. Mix well and set aside.

Place a large wok or skillet over high heat.

When the large pot of water is boiling, add the noodles. Cook until tender but still firm, about 8 minutes. Drain the noodles. These should be done about the time your wok-mix is done.

When the wok is hot, add oil. Add garlic, jalapeños and sliced scallion bulbs, and sauté to let flavors infuse oil, about 1 minute. Add chicken and cabbage, and stir-fry until chicken is opaque and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add basil, cilantro and scallion tops. Drain noodles and add to pan. Add sauce, and toss until mixed and well-heated, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot, with lime wedges for squeezing over noodles.

And if that isn’t spicy enough for you, add some Sriracha for crying out loud.

Note: Maggi or Gold Mountain sauce is a brand of very strong soy sauce. It can be found at Asian markets. If you can’t find it, tamari works as a substitute.

recipe source

It seems like my friends and I have been talking forever about starting a gourmet club. You get a group of people together, everyone cooks, you drink wine, and have a great time. I know, it sounds like every weekend with my friends. But honestly, this is different!

Last fall we finally got our shit together and decided to schedule the first one in January. Ten people decided to join, which includes 4 couples and 2 singles so we paired up into groups of 2. Nicole’s boyfriend wasn’t interested, so she and I got paired up.

The idea is that whoever hosts that night chooses the theme and main course. January was the month of Gascony, France. Home to luxurious ingredients like foie gras and duck confit, as well as fishing, wine making and brandy distilling. The host decided to make duck confit and sent us info on Gascony.

I was responsible for the third course and it turned out that would be salad for the evening. First course was hors d’oeuvres, second course was garlic soup (YUM!) and the last course was dessert.

So the evening turned out pretty nice. Until the oven broke. Hahahah. I know we’ll look back in a couple years and say, “Remember our first gourmet club and Molly’s oven broke? And we had to use her upstairs neighbor’s? Ha!”

We went through plenty of wine and plenty of food…

First Course

Radishes with chive butter

Warm olives with rosemary, garlic and lemon

Escargot in herbed cream served on crostini

Paired with Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne 2004

Second Course

Garlic Soup with truffle oil (yeah, forgot the truffle oil, woops!)

Paired with Chateau Grande Cassagne Rose – Costieres de Nimes 2006 (I’ve had this rose many times and it tasted absolutely scrumptious with this soup!)

Third Course

Baked Goat Cheese Salad

Paired with Villa Burdigala Bordeaux Millesime 2004

Fourth Course

Duck confit with cinnamon sauteed apples and carrots

Paired with 100% Cab Franc – Chinon Les Petites Roches 2006

Fifth Course

Apple Brandy Tatin

Paired with Larressingle Armagnac and Dow’s 10 Year Tawny Port

recipes after the jump

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Mashed potatoes to me have always seemed to be a fun, easy and versatile side dish. I’ve often made them with garlic, fresh herbs, cream cheese, a different kind of cheese, wasabi, etc.

But the other night, I made the most incredible mashed potatoes and they were so simple. I discovered the next day when talking to a friend at pre-thanksgiving dinner that the unforgettable taste of those potatoes came from the actual potato I used: buttercream.

I bought them on a whim. Maybe I was nostalgic and thinking back to 2 years ago when my best friend got married and everything, and I mean everything, was buttercream. Buttercream bridesmaids dresses, buttercream purses, buttercream frosting…you get the idea.

So I thought buttercream potatoes ought to be worth a try. Whoa – it’s going to be hard to go back to any other kind after those mashed potatoes!

When I was talking with my friend about the potatoes and told her how delicious they were yet how simple, I was still incredulous over them. Once I mentioned I used buttercream potatoes, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “Oooooooh….buttercream potatoes!”

Needless to say, she said they’re great boiled just on their own. Oops. I guess the extra butter, milk and sour cream I added was unnecessary? I think not.

Oh Glorious Mashed Potatoes

2# bag of buttercream potatoes

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 t salt

1/3 c sour cream

2 T butter

1/4 c milk

To prepare the potatoes you really have to do nothing other than wash them. However, I wasn’t really paying attention, so I peeled half of them and quartered all of them – this is unnecessary.

Place the potatoes and garlic in a pot with 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. When the water starts to boil, check the potatoes to see if they’re done. Simply stick a fork or knife through one of them and if it slides in easy – you got it, like butter – then they’re done. They may need a couple minutes at a soft boil.

Drain then place back in pot. Add sour cream, butter, milk and salt and pepper to taste. Mash it all up and serve.

Cook of course! I had Friday and Monday off this last weekend (I started a new job and am getting into a new schedule).

It was really nice to have 4 days off in a row, but more importantly it was incredible to have 2 days off when the majority of people are at work. I literally woke up and my first thought was, “What am I going to cook today?”

I made breakfast and coffee … then sat down on the couch with some cookbooks. I already talked about the mole I made on Friday (which was utterly delectably rich and savory and perfectly spicy). I’ll make mole again for sure.

I also made cinnamon rolls (which were somewhat unsuccessful – yeah. It turns out I can bake pies and some cakes, but not much else), pork tinga, and lasagna. Pretty much all over the place, huh?

Monday afternoon I was relishing my weekend. I got to cook all weekend! It was perfectly satisfying. And I realized this is what I get to do every Monday – cook all day. Whew – this makes me happy.

I’m quite sure I’m not the first to use that headline. But really, if you’ve ever made mole, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I finally made my first mole! And it was….extraordinary? Well, it was quite delicious, but I think I learned a few things from it.

I followed Lupe’s Mole Sauce from the Jimtown Store Cookbook (in Sonoma County) and it worked quite well. (you can find it here) NOTE: this is one of my favorite cookbook – I highly recommend it.

I had the day off and thought, “Well, what the hell, I’ve got the day off I might as well cook.” And I’ve been wanting to make this mole since August. Yikes. It’s about time, right?

So I made the mole all afternoon – it took about 4 1/2 hours – and then I brought it over to my friend Molly’s. She just had a baby so her sister and I made dinner for her and her fiance. Let me tell you…it was not as spicy as I had suspected. In fact, it was delicious and flavorful and … well … perfect.

And I have lots left over. Yay!

I made this the other night for a friend (on an electric stove no less- yikes!) and it was a huge success and quite tasty. I think this could be a contender for the menu for my someday restaurant. There is enough sauce for 4 servings. I served this with Spicy Green Beans and coconut rice w/cilantro (just cook the rice with coconut milk instead of water and add chopped cilantro at the end = yummy).

A friend recently turned me on to a new Spanish white wine- Albarino. We had that with this dinner and I thought it went quite well together. Although, I think a Gewurtzeminer would work too.

Roasted Halibut with Pineapple Ginger Sauce

1/3 c dry white wine

1/3 c orange juice

2 T tamari

1# halibut fillet

*mix the first 3 ingredients and marinate the halibut for 30min – 2hours. reserve the marinade

1/3c dry white wine

1T sesame oil

1T rice wine vinegar

2T tamari

1/3c orange juice

1 jalapeno, minced

2T minced fresh ginger

zest from 1 orange

zest from 2 limes

1 small red onion, sliced

2 cups diced pineapple

1 red bell pepper, julienned

2T chopped cilantro

2T sesame seeds

*preheat the oven to 400. heat a large skillet over high heat with a little bit of oil. when the pan is very hot, add the halibut. sear each side of the halibut for about 1-2 minutes. (this will help keep the fish moist and tender.) put the halibut in a roasting pan with a little bit of marinade (about 1/3) and place in the oven. the halibut will take about 20 minutes to cook – make sure you cook halibut all the way through.

*NOTE: if you’re making rice, this is a good time to get it started if you’re making Thai jasmine which takes about 15-20 minutes. brown rice takes about 40 minutes so make sure you allow plenty of time. (Joy of Cooking is always an excellent resource for cooking time for all the varieties of rice)

*in the same skillet, add the remaining marinade, the additional wine, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, tamari, orange juice, jalapeno, ginger and zest. let this gently boil for about 5 minutes then add the red onion. the sauce should start to reduce. once it gets thicker, add the pineapple and bell pepper.

*NOTE: the Spicy Green Beans take about 8-10 minutes so start these just before the fish is done.

*when the halibut is done, remove from the oven. place rice and beans on a plate, place the halibut on top, then put some of the pineapple ginger sauce over the fish. garnish with fresh cilantro and sesame seeds.

The color of these yams with the specks of green are a delicious side dish. For 2 people.

Roasted Garnet Yams with Tarragon

2 large garnet yams, peeled

1 T fresh chopped tarragon

2 t extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

1 t chili powder

Preheat the oven to 375.

Combine all of the ingredients other than the yams. Chop the yams into 1 inch chunks and combine with the sauce.

Roast the yams for 40-45 minutes, stirring often.

You can try this dish with fish, chicken or pork. You can also vary the citrus you use to get a different flavor everytime. I like the silkiness of the avocado that really comes through when you bake it. The fennel adds a nice earthiness to match with the citrus.

Citrus Chicken Tacos with Avocado & Fennel Slaw

tortillas (I like Rudy’s Organic Spelt)

3/4# chicken breasts

2 large oranges, juice 1 and segment the other

1 lime, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

2 avocados

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin

2 t chopped fresh tarragon

1 bulb fennel, sliced

salt and pepper

olive oil flavored with garlic

2 serrano peppers, minced

sour cream (I like using Tofutti soy sour cream)

ricotta

salsa (I like the hot variety)

romaine lettuce, chopped

Heat the broiler in your oven.

To make the marinade, combine the citrus juices, chili powder, cumin, tarragon, serrano peppers, salt, pepper, and 1/2 c of oil. Put the chicken breasts between plastic wrap and using a mallet or heavy skillet, flatten the chicken breasts. Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise into pieces 1/2# wide.

Marinate the chicken until the avocado and fennel is prepared.

Meanwhile, slice the fennel bulb into thin slices. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit then slice lengthwise and across to create chunks of avocado. Segment the other orange by slicing the 2 ends off until you can see the orange. (This creates a flat surface to work with.) Then set the orange on its bottom and start slicing off the rest of the peel. Then slice each segment out without getting the skin section. Combine the avocado, orange, and fennel together. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on 1 half of a baking sheet. Mix the marinade with the avocado mixture and pour that on the other half of the baking sheet.

Broil until the chicken is done- about 8 minutes.

You can either warm the tortillas in aluminum foil in the oven along with the chicken or you can heat each one over an open gas flame on your stove top.

To make the sauce, combine equal parts sour cream, ricotta and salsa. This will help to cool down the spice from the peppers.

To serve, make your tacos using what you just made: tortilla, chicken, avocado, salsa topping, and romaine lettuce.

I’m really excited to make this one again. It has more ingredients than other recipes on my blog, but it’s well worth it. You can vary the level of spiciness to your liking. Serves 4.

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

2 T oil (I usually cook with extra virgin olive oil, but peanut or sesame would work well for this recipe)

1 egg

8 oz soba noodles (you could also use udon or rice noodles if you have a preference)

8 scallions, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 T minced fresh ginger root

12 oz meat (you can use whatever you like: chicken, tofu, beef, pork)

2 cups veggies, julienned (I used cucumbers and carrots since that’s what I had on hand)

1 cup broth (homemade if you have it)

2 T smooth or creamy peanut butter

1 t Sriracha (or other hot sauce)

2 T fish sauce

2 T tamari

juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes

chopped fresh herbs: mint, basil and cilantro

Follow the directions on the noodles package to cook the noodles.

Heat some oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Scramble the egg and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the scallions, garlic and ginger root. Saute for 1-2 minutes, till fragrant.  Add the meat and saute till almost cooked through.

Meanwhile, combine the broth, peanut butter, Sriracha, fish sauce, tamari, and lemon juice. Add this to the skillet and continue cooking till the sauce is heated. Next, add the veggies. Cook until the veggies are tender and crisp, but not soggy.

Drain the noodles and add them to the skillet. Heat the entire dish then serve with egg and fresh herbs on top.