Rare Steak, Brussels Sprouts, and Two Salads

Today I felt like salad, but I had the dilemma of wanting two different kinds. Suffice to say, I made them both. To try and make up for my salad mood, I made steak, which has been requested and since I had a little left over in the budget, I decided to splurge and got you guys $50 of meat. To accompany the steak is a mushroom gravy that I made from the reserved liquid from yesterdays meal and sauteed brussels sprouts. Enjoy!

Salad #1
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 big box of spring mix
2 persimmons, peeled cored and chopped
2 handfulls of snap peas
white wine pear vinaigrette

Preparation:
1. Coat leaves with dressing in small batches.
2. Layer heavy items on top of dressed greens.

Salad #2

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 big box of fresh herb mix

1 butternut squash, roasted peeled and chopped (left over from yesterday)

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup roasted squash seeds (see recipe bellow)

sesame ginger vinaigrette

Preparation:

1. Coat leaves with dressing in small batches.

2. Layer heavy items on top of dressed greens.

Roasted Squash Seeds

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 cup raw acorn and butternut squash seeds

salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

2. Wash and pat dry squash seeds, a colander is useful for this.

3. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil.

4. Lay out dry seeds so that none are overlapping, bake for 25 minutes or until the seeds puff up.

Rare Steak
Serves 12

Ingredients:
6 lbs of boneless New York steaks, thick cut
salt and pepper
2 Tbs olive oil

Preparation:
1. Season steaks with salt and pepper on both sides, with good quality meat that's all you need.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat until fragrant.
3. Place the steaks in the skillet and leave them be until they start cooking up the side, it will change color about half way up.
4. Flip the steaks and cook until they have a good caramel build up on both sides (that means they have a nice brown crust instead of just the gray of cooked beef).
5. Let rest for at least 5 minutes to allow juices to settle into the flesh before slicing the steaks. Serve with gravy.

Mushroom Gravy
Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:
juices from yesterdays chicken and mushroom dish
1/2 cup marsala cooking wine
1 Tbs cornstarch disolved in 1/2 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Heat juices over high heat, stir constantly.
2. Add wine and boil until the alcohol has all evaporated, salt and pepper to taste.
3. When the liquid is tasty, add the cornstarch slurry and stir to make everything equally thickened.
4. Remove from heat and serve with steak or other plain meats or mashed potatoes. 

Brussels Sprouts
Serves 12

Ingredients:
brussels sprouts, ends removed and quartered
2 Tbs olive oil

Preparation:
1. Heat oil over medium to high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the brussels sprouts and stir frequently until they turn a deeper color.

Granola with Yogurt and Fruit, Baby Kale Salad, Egg Cocottes

Breakfast is the name of the game this chilly Friday morning. This is something that was actually quite easy to make, the most difficult part was cracking eggs into the makeshift ramekins (tinfoil making cups). Healthy and delicious, what more you want in meal?

Granola with Yogurt and Fruit
Serves 12

Ingredients:
8 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup whole almonds
2/3 cup raisins
12 dried apricots, chopped
2/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sugar (I like evaporated cane juice)
8 Tbs maple syrup

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until completely combined.
3. Transfer to two tinfoil lined baking sheets.
4. Bake 25 minutes until lightly toasted, stir, bake another 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden.
5. Serve with yogurt and fruit (I used mangoes, blackberries, and strawberries) or in milk. After cooled, store in an airtight container for up to a month, a ziplock bag works well.

Egg Cocottes
Makes 12 individual servings

Ingredients:
6 oz chopped spinach (I used half a bag of Power Greens)
12 eggs
12 Tbs milk (lactose free milk to make the dish lactose free)
12 Tbs shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (use freshly ground if you can, it makes a difference here)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In buttered ramekins set on a baking sheet or buttered tinfoil baking cups placed into a muffin tin, place enough greens to cover the bottom of the cups (about 1/2 oz or about 1 Tbs, enough so that there's still room for the egg).
3. Crack an egg on top of spinach, add a spoonful of milk (lactose free milk for those who are lactose intolerant), sprinkle with parmesan and season with salt & pepper.
4. Bake for 6 minutes or until the egg no longer jiggles when you nudge, the top should puff up a little.

Baby Kale Salad
Makes 12

Ingredients:
10 oz box of baby kale
10 oz box of baby arugula
3 cups of 1 bag of shredded carrots
1 carton of yellow cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Ginger sesame seed dressing

Preparation:
1. Dress greens so that the leaves are lightly coated.
2. Layer carrots and tomatoes on top of salad to ensure that they don't sink to the bottom.

Watermelon Salad, Ceviche Verde with Corn Chips, and Herb Salad with Pistachios

With the sun shining today I wanted something with a really fresh taste. My original intent was to have everything raw, but the ceviche was taking too long to acid cook (that's where you cook meat through the use of an acid rather than heat) so I just popped the cubed fish into a pot with all of its liquid and simmered for a couple minutes until cooked on the outside.

Watermelon Salad

Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 seedless watermelon, rind removed and cubed
1 cantaloupe, seeded with rind removed and cubed
1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
3 Tbs lemon juice

Preparation:
1. Combined all ingredients and drain off liquid.
Optional: Liquid can be used to make a fantastic melon margarita (2 parts vodka, 2 parts melon juice, 1/2 part simple syrup, 1 part lemon juice; shake with ice, strain into martini glass and serve with a bit on melon in the glass.)

Ceviche Verde with Corn Chips
Serves 12

Ingredients:
3 lbs fresh snapper (or other firm fleshed white fish), cubed
3 tsp salt
9 Tbs lime juice
6 ripe avocados, cubed
2 large cans green olives, sliced
6 kiwis, peeled and chopped
2 lbs tomatillos, leafy bit removed and chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced (remember to wear gloves when handling hot peppers)

Preparation:
1. Sprinkle fish with salt and lime juice, let sit until the fish turns color (if it doesn't change color, dump into a pot over medium heat and gently stir until fish is mostly cooked).
2. Combine fish with other ingredients and gently mix.

Herb Salad with Pistachios
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 large box herb salad mix
Vinaigrette
1 carton golden cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 package shelled pistachios

Preparation:
1. Dress greens with vinaigrette to lightly coat leaves.
2. Layer tomatoes and pistachios so heavy items don't fall to the bottom.

Steampunk Birthday Tea Party!

This weekend I hosted a lovely tea party in celebration of the anniversary of my birth. An eclectic group of my dear friends came together to eat, drink, and be merry, in less than traditional attire. There were top-hats, goggles, bowlers, bustles, corsets, fishnets, and so much more. I simply adore costumes and steampunk is currently my favorite genre.

Enough about the fashion, I know you are more interested in the food. A selection of four tea sandwiches were nestled around a blackberry mixed green salad. Fresh made scones were a big hit. The cake turned out fine, though I feel like I could have been less lazy and made cupcakes, but time has a way of getting away from me when I prepare delicious food.

Tea Sandwiches
Serves 4

8 slices of sturdy white or wheat bread
mayonnaise
mini shrimp, cooked and shelled
sweet hot mustard
2 slices aged swiss cheese
horseradish
butter at room temperature
4 thin slices roast beef
1 cucumber sliced thin
cream cheese

Preparation:
1. Butter the bread to keep the fillings from falling out and to protect the bread from the spreads seeping in. This is not necessary if the sandwiches are to be eaten immediately.
2. Prepare one sandwich of each combination: shrimp and mayo, swiss and mustard, roast beef and horseradish, cucumber and cream cheese.
3. Cut off crusts, cut diagonally and diagonally again to make 16 small triangles (four of each sandwich type).
Optional: use excess cucumber to make cucumber water. In a large pitcher, add cucumber and ice to water, let sit for at least 2 minutes before serving.

Dried Cherry Scones
Makes 8 large scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar (I like evaporated cane juice)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbs cold butter
1/2 cup dried cherries (or other dried fruit in small pieces)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Cut in butter until completely incorporated, use a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers. There should be no butter lumps and the consistency should be of coarse meal.
4. Mix in dried fruit.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and egg until smooth.
6. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until there are no more dry pockets, you will probably have to use your hands for this.
7. Form dough into a 6 to 8 inch circle, 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 triangles using a sharp knife. Place triangles onto a cookie sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15-17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.
8. Serve with preserves and double devon cream (or butter, as a last resort).


Blackberry Salad
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 large box of mixed greens salad
2 cartons of blackberries
1 bag sliced almonds
2 handfuls crumbled feta
champagne vinaigrette

Preparation:
1. Dress mixed greens in a separate bowl a small amount at a time to ensure good coverage without drowning the salad.
2. Layer fruit, nuts, and cheese on top of salad so the heavy things don't sink to the bottom.


Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake with Apricot Raspberry Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 1 cake

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Heinz chocolate cake mix (yeah, whatever, it's easy)
oil as per box directions
eggs as per box directions
1 bag mini chocolate chips
butter for greasing cake pans
4-6 Tbs apricot raspberry preserves
1 tub cream cheese frosting
Tootsie rolls to make top hats
2 sugar pearls to make lenses for top hat goggles
1 package golden sugar crystals

Preparation:
1. Prepare the cake batter as per the directions on the box. Add chocolate chips to batter.
2. Pour batter into two greased 9 inch pans and bake as per the direction on the box.
3. Let the cakes cool completely before decorating.
4. Using thread or a very sharp long knife, cut off top of cakes to make them level. (I can't bring myself to waste cake like this, it feels like a sin to sacrifice substance for looks, but do it if you want a flat topped cake).
5. Put a layer of preserves on top of bottom cake, then layer the top cake, making sure that they are lined up.
6. Frost cake, paying particular attention to the sides, edges, and top. If you cut off the top of the cake, you will need a crumb layer of frosting, which just means a thin layer to trap all of the crumbs, then a thicker layer to cover the crumb layer.
7. Decorate with sugar crystals and top hats with goggles. Directions for top hats are here. I use sugar pearls for the eyes instead of the modeling chocolate to make these easier. Also, I'm lazy and don't paint the goggles with luster dust, these things are enough work without that, though the luster dust is awesome.

Roasted Pork Loin with Fennel and Apple with Spinach, Strawberry, Honey Mustard Salad

Today the windows in the kitchen were being replaced, so I made sure to concoct a dish that would be unlikely to get any dust or debris in it because it would be contained during the construction. The workers made many comments about it smelling really good in the kitchen and I felt bad that I couldn't offer them any. On a positive note, the dish was pretty easy to make, I managed to get everything from my cooking cleaned up before I had to drop off the food, and there are new windows in the kitchen so it won't be freezing in there when it gets cold outside.

Because it was a bit chilly in the morning, I was feeling like something a little hearty as well as healthy. There were also some things that came from the garden that were screaming to get used, like fresh rosemary & thyme and some beautiful exotic blue potatoes & yams. Besides that, I had a few different types of greens that I wanted to use up before they went bad and a bunch of strawberries that were on their last legs and a pomegranate that needed to be eaten asap. Here's what I came up with.

Though the pork was delicious, I think that next time I will have to reduce the sauce to make a lovely gravy rather than leave drippings at the bottom of the pan to drizzle. Find out how to do that yourself in the optional side note. Also, carrots and celery might make a lovely addition to the roasted veggies, so gauge the veggie level to your group

Roasted Pork Loin with Fennel and Apple

Serves 12 

Ingredients: 

3-4 lbs pork loin (or 2 average size loins)

4 Tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper

3 fennel bulbs quartered with ends removed

1 large white onion quartered with ends removed

6-8 medium sized potatoes and yams cut into fork sized pieces

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 cloves of garlic, smashed to release scent and flavor

6 small apples, cored and quartered

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 cup apple cider

2 Tbs grainy mustard 

Optional gravy:

1/2 cup white cooking wine

2 Tbs cornstarch

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Lightly coat the pork in freshly ground salt and pepper.

3. In a large cast iron skillet heat half the olive oil over high heat until it smell like olives, but not to smoking. 

4. Sear the pork loin in the skillet to seal in moisture. Be careful not to let the pork burn, just have a nice crust of brown on the 4 long sides. Use strong tongs to turn the meat, try not to pierce the meat.

5. Set aside the seared pork to let it rest. 

6. Add the remaining oil to the cast iron pan and saute the fennel, onion, potatoes/yams, rosemary, thyme, and garlic, stirring frequently until the veggies are browned and the whole kitchen smells good. 

7. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, apple cider, and mustard. 

8. In a large baking pan, place the apples and veggies at the bottom, then gently lay the pork on top, coat everything in apple mustard sauce. 

9. Cover the baking pan in tinfoil and bake until the internal temperature of the meat is 140 degrees F (about 30-45 minutes). 

10. Set aside the meat and tent with tinfoil. Return veggies to the oven until fennel and potatoes are soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. 

11. Slice the meat and serve over the veggies. 

Optional: To make gravy, transfer all but 2 Tbs of drippings from the bottom of the baking pan into a measuring cup so it is easy to pour later. Put the pan on the stove top over medium heat and deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup white wine (that means scrape off all the stuff from the bottom while cooking it in a liquid). Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of water to make a thin paste. Whisk the cornstarch and the deglazed pan drippings together until the gravy has formed a thick roux, then slowly add 2 cups of pan drippings you had set aside and whisk until combined. If you don't have enough drippings, use veggie stock to make up the difference. At right is a video on how to do it with flour, which is more traditional, but if you need gluten free, then the thickening power of cornstarch is what you will substitute for flour. 

Spinach, Strawberry, Honey Mustard Salad

Serves 12

Ingredients: 

1 large box of baby spinach (or 2 bags of baby spinach)

1 bag of shredded kale

1 bag of shredded cabbage

1/2 carton of strawberries, sliced with tops removed

1 pomegranate, seeds carefully removed (or a couple of handfuls of already separated pomegranate seeds, less work but use what you have)

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 large cucumber diced

1 bottle of honey mustard dressing (I like Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing because it's delicious and gluten free)

Preparation:

1. Combine the spinach, kale, and shredded cabbage by placing a handful of each into a medium size bowl with about a Tbs or two of dressing, mix thoroughly before transferring to serving bowl; repeat with all of the greens. 

2. On top of the greens layer the heavy items: pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, strawberry slices, and cucumber bits. 

3. Serve with extra dressing on the side so that people can put more on if they like.