Keldon is from Hawaii, so we *must* have Spam! Did you know Hawaii is the largest consumers of Spam? Thank you, WW2 & Hormel.

Plus, with this menu we can use a lot of the great produce we got at the Kingfield Farmer’s Market this Sunday: cucumbers, zucchini, green onions.

This is what we’re planning:

Korean Beef Bulgogi rolled up maki style

Chicken Katsu rolled up maki style

Spam Musubi (hooray! it’s Spam!)

Kim Chee

Green Onion Salad

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with this Asian Dressing

Cucumber Salad

I suppose I’ll be making some sort of guava or passion fruit martini to go along with this, but I have yet to come up with something. Stay tuned.

And of course, I have to rival the Spam cake I made last year…. so there will be a surprise revealed later.

Virginique

makes: 1 mocktail

1 oz elderflower syrup

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

3 oz club soda

ice cubes

lime wheel for garnish

Directions

1. Mix together elderflower syrup, lime juice and club soda in a low ball glass. Add ice cubes and garnish with the lime wheel.

We served this alongside Grilled Turkey, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwiches.

Lemony Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese

makes: 12 servings (6 pieces of asparagus per person)

Grilled Asparagus

3 bundles of asparagus (enough for 6 spears per person)

juice of 1 lemon

3 T olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Garnishes

1 lemon for zesting

3 oz chevre goat cheese

Directions

1. Prepare the asparagus by bending it from each end to determine the ripe part of the asparagus. Snap off the woody ends – you don’t want to eat these.

2. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Dress the asparagus and let marinate in a plastic bag for at least 20 minutes.

3. Heat grill to medium high heat. Put asparagus directly onto the grill. Cook for about 8 minutes, turning occasionally to avoid burning.

4. Remove from grill. You can place them on a platter or you can put them on individual plates for serving. Either way, once the asparagus is on a plate, use a microplane grater to zest the lemon over the asparagus. You should use the entire lemon. Then, take the chevre and crumble it on top of the asparagus.

We served this along side the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps as part of the first course.

served in ramekins so the juice wouldn't run into the lettuce wraps

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

makes: 12 servings (about 1 cup each)

3 cups 2-inch chunks fresh watermelon

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 T chopped fresh mint

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl then serve. It’s that easy.

recipe adapted from epicurious

We served this with the Watermelon Feta and Mint Salad in a little ramekin side bowl.

This is a great summer salad recipe, too. You don’t have to put it in the lettuce wraps – instead, you can just mix it up, leave it in the fridge and have it around for a satisfying and pretty healthy snack.

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

makes: 36 lettuce wraps (plus some leftover salad for later)

Peanut Dressing

8 large garlic cloves

1/2 cup soy sauce

2/3 cup fresh lime juice

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or chunky – it doesn’t matter)

4 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger root

1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salad

9 oz rice stick noodles (vermicelli size – very thin)

2 pounds boneless, skinless hormone-free chicken breasts

3 medium carrots, peeled and julienned (cut into about 3-inch long pieces)

3 medium cucumbers, peeled seeded and julienned (cut into about 3-inch long pieces)

1 cup shelled edamame (soy beans)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts

2 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce, washed

Directions

1. To make the dressing, combine garlic through pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth, then add oil to combine all ingredients. Put half aside for the salad dressing, and use the remaining half to marinate the chicken breasts.

2. Cook rice noodles according to package. When drained, cut the noodles into 3-4 inch pieces using a scissors then add to a large mixing bowl.

3. Cook the chicken. You may grill or roast the chicken. We grilled the chicken since it was such a beautiful day and we didn’t want to heat the house too much before the guests came over.

• To Grill: Heat grill to medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 10-12 minutes, turning once.
• To Roast: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a roasting pan and roast for about 12-15 minutes.

When chicken is cooked through, move to a cutting board and slice. Add chicken to the noodle bowl.

4. Add carrots, cucumbers and edamame to the noodle and chicken bowl. Toss with the reserved peanut dressing.

5. To assemble, put about 1/2 cup of the noodle salad into one leave of lettuce. Serve with crushed peanuts as a garnish.

recipe adapted from epicurious

If you’re worried about the blue cheese overpowering the flavor in this sandwich, I wouldn’t worry. Mixing it with the mayo mellows the flavor. You can also choose a milder blue cheese such as gorgonzola. Even blue cheese haters at the table loved this sandwich! This would also be a great turkey sandwich with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

We served these with Lemony Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese.

I realize that damn green tray shows up in a lot of my pictures – as pointed out by the owner, Maxine. Apparently because it sits on top of her microwave, it tends to be the first thing I reach for. Oh well.

The sandwiches before hitting the grill

Grilled Turkey, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwiches

makes: 12 sandwiches

this can easily be cut in half to make only 6 sandwiches

18 slices bacon (not thick cut)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced turkey

1 small head of radicchio

12 large slices good bread (ciabatta works well)

1 stick of butter at room temperature

Directions

1. Cook bacon until crispy. I like to bake it in the oven at 400 for about 12-15 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.

2. Mix mayo and blue cheese together.

3. Create an assembly line to put the sandwiches together in this order:

• First, butter one side of all bread slices.
• Second, spread blue cheese mixture on the other side of all bread slices.
• Third, divide turkey slices evenly among 6 slices of bread.
• Fourth, add 2-3 pieces of radicchio on top of the turkey.
• Fifth, add 3 pieces of bacon on top of the radicchio.
• Lastly, top each sandwich with the other side of bread.

4. Heat your grill to medium (about 350 degrees). When it’s ready, put the sandwiches on the grill. Grill each side for about 5-6 minutes or until bread is nicely toasted.

5. Cut each sandwich in half and serve.

recipe from epicurious

But to top it off, I got to be part of the Cooking Team for the weekend. Holla! We ate like queens and kings. Feeding 23 people for an entire weekend is no small feat. Thankfully there were 4 of us taking care of everyone.

A rundown on the menu:

Friday Dinner

Grilled BBQ rubbed Pork Chops

Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts

Grilled Chile Pineapple

Greek Salad

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake (holy motherload this was delicious)

Saturday Dinner

Grilled Steak with Roasted garlic and thyme butter

Grilled Lemon Dill Salmon

Roasted Vegetables

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes and Olives (YUM)

Peach Brown Betty

Friday & Saturday Breakfasts

Scrambled Eggs

Potato Hash with jalapeno, onion, and garlic

Bacon

Fruit

Yogurt

Granola

]]> http://www.pipsplate.com/2008/08/12/up-north-on-the-cooking-team/feed/ 0 http://www.pipsplate.com/2008/04/26/gourmet-club-april-12-2008/ http://www.pipsplate.com/2008/04/26/gourmet-club-april-12-2008/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:43:12 +0000 pip http://www.pipsplate.com/?p=144 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

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

serves 2 (we doubled this and it was MORE than enough for 10 people – next time I would not double it for a 5 course meal)

from Bon Appetit June 2000 on epicurious

12 littleneck clams, scrubbed

12 mussels, scrubbed, debearded

1 cup dry white wine

8 oz tagliatelle or linguine (if you can find fresh or make your own, go for it!)

6T pesto (you could purchase this, but homemade is so much better)

1/4 cup sliced drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

14 t dried crushed red pepper

Combine clams, mussels and wine in heavy large pot; bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cover pot; cook until shellfish open, about 7 minutes (discard any that do not open – they were already dead when you put them in and you will seriously regret trying one of these!). Using tongs, transfer shellfish to bowl; cover with foil to keep warm. Reserve shellfish juices.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in medium pot of boiling salted water until just tender (dry pasta will take around 8 minutes while fresh pasta will take around 3 minutes).

Drain pasta, return to same pot. Add reserved shellfish juices, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Toss over medium heat just until sauce coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta among bowls, top with shellfish and serve.

Make sure to place an empty bowl on the table for discarded shells. To make this a little more exciting of an experience, when you serve this, freshly grate a hard, aged Italian cheese using a microplane grater per each person’s taste – a good parmesan reggiano or pecorino romano would be perfect.

Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata

Serves 4 (to make for 10, increase the ribs recipe by 2.5 for each ingredient; double the orzo recipe; leave the gremolata as is)

from Babbo Cookbook a la Leite’s Culinaria

SHORT RIBS

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

four 16-ounce beef short ribs

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion (white or yellow), roughly chopped

2 celery stalks (including the leaves – that’s where the flavor is!), roughly chopped

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 cups Barolo or other full-bodied wine (rule of thumb: there are 3 cups, 1 cup=8 fl oz, in a 750ml bottle of wine, so if you’re doubling or tripling this recipe, you’ll need 2 bottles of wine; this is different than getting five 6oz glasses of wine in a bottle)

one 16-oz can peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, with their juices (I like Muir Glen the best)

1 cup beef stock

1/2 bunch thyme

1/2 bunch rosemary

1/2 bunch oregano

GREMOLATA

leaves from 1 bunch of flat leaf Italian parsley

zest of 2 lemons, cut into julienne strips

1/4 pound fresh horseradish, grated

PUMPKIN ORZO

1/2 pound pumpkin or butternut squash, seeded and peeled

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T honey

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 cup orzo

1 cup chicken stock

PREPARATION

MAKE THE SHORT RIBS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). (NOTE: I would adjust this to 350 for 3 hours)

2. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and cook them over high heat until deep brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Remove the short ribs to a plate and set aside. Add the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the pan and cook over high heat until browned and softened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the red wine, tomatoes and juices, beef stock, and herbs, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge browned bits. Bring the mixture to a boil and return the short ribs to the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and literally falling off the bones. (NOTE: I would adjust this to 350 for 3 hours)

3. (NOTE: This is an additional note from Heat) When the ribs are done, remove from braising liquid and place on a pan. You could cover with foil to keep it warm. Strain the liquid to remove all the chunks of veggies and herbs. Place strained liquid into a pan and bring to a boil on the stove. Reduce by half – this is going to make the most wonderful gravy of your life.

MAKE THE GREMOLATA

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and horseradish and toss loosely by hand.

4. Divide the pumpkin orzo evenly among four warmed bowls. Place one short rib in each bowl, top with a little of the pan juices and a handful of the gremolata, and serve immediately.

MAKE THE ORZO

1. Cut the pumpkin or squash into 3 or 4 evenly sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the olive oil, and wrap in foil. Roast in the 375°F (190°C) oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then place the cooked squash in the bowl of a food processor. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper and pulse to form a relatively smooth purée. Set aside.

2. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Set up an ice bath nearby. Cook the orzo in the boiling water for 3 minutes, to blanch but not cook through. Drain the orzo and plunge it into the ice bath. Once cooled, drain it and lay it out on a baking sheet to dry.

3. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a 12-inch sauté pan. Add the orzo and squash purée and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the chicken stock is fully absorbed by the orzo. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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

Radishes with Chive Butter

16 medium radishes, trimmed and halved

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon minced chives

kosher salt

Blend the butter with the chives and season with the salt. Arrange radishes on serving plate and pipe chive butter with a pastry bag onto the radishes. These can also be served as small sandwiches.

Warm Olives with Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Zest from 1 small lemon (I used a big one!)

1 rosemary sprig

2 garlic cloves,thickly sliced

1 lb mixed oil and brine-cured olives, like Kalamata, Nicoise, Moroccan, green Sicilian and Cerignola about 3 cups

In medium saucepan combine the oil with the lemon zest, rosemary and garlic and cook over moderate heat until the garlic just begins to brown, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the olive and let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.

note: The olives can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated; warm gently before serving.

Escargot in Herbed Cream

I made the rustic version of this and served it on baguette instead of a puff pastry shell.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large shallots minced

1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup minced cilantro

1/4 cup minced chives

2 tablespoons minced tarragon

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 7-ounce cans large snails (about 3 dozen)

rinsed, 1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in large skillet, add the shallots and cook over low heat until softened but not browned about 4 minutes. Add the parsley,cilantro, chives and tarragon, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add snail and cook 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the cream and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Garlic Soup

serves 4-6 (I assume we doubled this)

from Kate Hill’s “A Culinary Journey in Gascony: Recipes and Stories from my French Canal Boat Trip”

In Gascony, this fortifying soup is traditionally served to newlyweds on their wedding night. Delivered in a new chamber pot to the bedroom by prankster friends long after midnight, the eggs, garlic, pepper, and vinegar serve as rustic aphrodisiacs. Because there is no stock involved, it is a perfectly simple and fast soup to prepare from the pantry.

1 t duck fat or butter

1 whole head of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 yellow or white onion, chopped

4 shallots, chopped

1 T all-purpose flour

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3 egg yolks

1 T wine vinegar

4 to 6 toasted bread slice, one for each bowl

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 1 1/2 quarts of water to boil. Meanwhile, put the fat in a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, onion, and shallots and let the begin to “sweat.” Stir the mixture often as the garlicky bits begin to soften, taking care to turn down the heat if they start to brown.

Sprinkle with the flour and stir. Cook slowly a little longer, but remove from the heat before the vegetables begin to color.

Salt and pepper the boiling water, add the vegetable mixture and simmer for about 20 minutes. When the garlic has given all its flavor to the soup broth and the garlic cloves are very soft, puree with a hand mixer in the pot.

Beat the egg yolks in a small dish with the vinegar. Alter adding a few tablespoons of the hot soup to the egg yolks, whisk the egg mixture into the hot soup and stir over medium heat until the soup just starts to look creamy. Do not boil or the egg will curdle.

Adjust the seasoning. Serve the soup ladled over the toasted bread that has been placed in individual bowls.

*Note: although this recipe doesn’t call for truffle oil, we intended to drizzle some over the plated soups…however, we forgot. (Hmmm…second course and too much wine? I think not…it was in the cupboard and we forgot. ‘Nuff said.) You could also put some finely chopped chives as a garnish to give it some color, cause gosh darn it’s yellow/white/tan.

Baked Goat Cheese Salad

tweaked from this recipe

serves 10

1 large log goat cheese (I think this is 8 oz? sorry, i’m not sure, but it’s the really big log)

1 T fresh thyme

1 cup evoo

2 cup breadcrumbs (we used Panko for extra crispiness)

2 large Mache salad mixes (we used the Earthbound large plastic containers, not the bags. would probably need about 3 or 4 bags if using that instead)

4 T balsamic vinegar

10 quail eggs

Divide the goat cheese log into 10 pieces and form them into little discs. Marinate these in 1/2 cup evoo and the fresh thyme (about an hour or more).

Put on a large pot of boiling water. When the water has boiled, add the quail eggs and boil for 2 minutes & 45 seconds. Immediately take them out of the boiling water and run cold water over them. You may chill them until you need them if you like.

Heat an oven to 450. Take the goat cheese rounds and dip them in 2 cups of breadcrumbs until covered. Place them on a wax paper/parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 4-5 minutes or until bubbly.*

While the goat cheese is baking, make the salad dressing. Combine 1/2 cup evoo with 4 T balsamic vinegar and dress the greens. Place the greens on 10 plates. Place 1 goat cheese round on each salad. Slice each quail egg in half lengthwise and place on either side of the salad.

*Instead of baking the goat cheese (like if your oven breaks) then you can lightly fry them in 2T evoo in a nonstick pan over med-high heat. Fry for about 30-45 seconds on each side.

Croustade with Apples and Prunes in Armagnac

source

Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, plus overnight soaking time for the prunes

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: Adapted from “The Cooking of Southwest France” by Paula Wolfert. Use filo sheets measuring 13 by 18 inches; measurements should be stated on the box.

2 chamomile tea bags

25 pitted prunes

3/4 cup plus 2/3 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons Armagnac, divided

2 pounds Granny Smith or Pippin apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced

2 strips orange zest

1 moist, plump vanilla bean, split

1/3 cup butter, melted

11 or 12 sheets of filo dough

Powdered sugar for garnish

1. Brew 2 cups of chamomile tea. Put the prunes in a small heat-proof bowl, pour the tea over, and let them soak for about 2 hours, until soft.

2. Drain the prunes, dry them with paper towels, and place them in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, combine one-half cup of the sugar with one-fourth cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Boil undisturbed for 2 minutes, then cool slightly. Pour the syrup over the prunes, then add two-thirds cup Armagnac to cover. Stir to combine, and push the prunes down so they’re submerged. (Add a little more Armagnac, if necessary.) Let the prunes soak, unrefrigerated, overnight.

3. Place the apples in a large saucepan, add two-thirds cup sugar and the orange zest. Use the tip of a small knife to scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean onto the apples, then drop in the pod. Stir carefully to combine. Cover and cook over low heat until the apples are soft (but not mushy), about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.

4. Drain the prunes, reserving the liquid. Cut them into quarters, place in a bowl and pour one-fourth cup of the liquid over them.

5. Mix 2 tablespoons of the melted butter with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon of the remaining Armagnac-prune syrup and 2 teaspoons Armagnac. Set aside.

6. Two to 3 hours before serving, place a baking sheet on the lowest oven rack and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush a 13- to 15-inch round pan (such as a pizza pan) with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.

7. Unroll the sheets of filo in front of you and cover with a damp towel. Working quickly so the pastry doesn’t dry out, brush the top leaf lightly with melted butter. Fold it in half lengthwise, and brush each side lightly with butter. Place one short end of the folded sheet in the center of the pan, letting the sheet hang over the side of the pan. Repeat with the remaining leaves, arranging them so that they look like the spokes of a wheel (with the inner ends stacked in a hub and the outer ends barely touching).

8. Very lightly sprinkle some of the butter-Armagnac mixture over the dough that extends over the edge of the pan. Place the prunes in a 6 1/2 -inch circle in the center of the pastry. Drain the apples, remove the vanilla pod and orange zest and place the apples on top of the prunes.

9. To enclose the filling, start with the last sheet placed on the pan. Lift up the outer end and bring it toward the center, twisting the piece once so that the underside faces you. Roll up the end of the strip loosely to form a cup-shaped “rose” and set it flat on the filling, pressing lightly so it adheres. Repeat with the remaining leaves, placing the flowers close together to cover the top of the cake. (Don’t worry if a little filling shows through.) Sprinkle the top very lightly with the remaining butter-Armagnac mixture, drizzle with the remaining butter and dust with 1 tablespoon sugar.

10. Place the pan in the oven on the hot baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until the croustade is golden and crisp. Slide it onto a wire rack. Sprinkle the final 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top and let it cool to lukewarm. Just before serving, dust it with powdered sugar. Serve the same day it is made.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

1/2# ground pork

1 1/2 t grated fresh ginger root

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small carrot, grated

1/2 c grated purple cabbage

1 T tamari

1 1/2 t sesame oil

1 egg beaten

salt + pepper

optional spicy version: add 1/2 t Sriracha

40 wonton skins

Boil water in a large pot with a bamboo steamer on top.

Mix together pork through salt + pepper. Put some warm water in a small dish. Lay out wonton skins on flat surface. Spoon about 1-2 t of pork mixture onto wonton skin. Wet your finger and run it along the edges of the wonton. Grab two opposite ends of the wonton and pull them up and connect them (the water will bind it together). Then grab the other two ends and pull them up and bind them with the other 2 sides. It will create a sqaure with a fluted top.

Place prepared dumplings onto bamboo steamer. Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

Serve with a teriyaki or sesame/ginger/soy dipping sauce.

If you’re looking to pair this with wine, try a Gewurtzaminer or Riesling. Those wines match very well with Asian foods.