Boeuf Bourguignon a la Julia Child

At some point in our lives, I think we've all had some Betty Crocker-esque version of Boeuf Bourguignon, or Beef Stew in Red Wine. A little onion powder, maybe some canned mushrooms - you get the idea. However, unless your mother got a lightning bolt of slightly crazed cooking inspiration in the 1960s, you've probably never tasted authentic Boeuf Bourguignon. This is the real deal - a 3 page recipe by the late Julia Child herself.

Ever since thumbing through my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1, I've wanted to try this recipe. With all the lengthy preparations and hours of labor, I've been more than a little hesitant to attempt this stew. After recently seeing the movie, Julie and Julia, and reading a bit of My Life in France, now seemed like as good a time as any to roll up my sleeves and make "the dish". I am very happy to say that I was not disappointed in the least.

The 3 cups of red wine in this recipe work their magic on the initially tough pieces of stewing meat, creating meltingly tender chunks of savory, rich beef. The aromatic vegetables and bits of bacon bring complexity to this stew, which practically begs to be paired with a big red wine. The sprinkling of fresh parsley brightens the entire dish and somehow makes it feel both traditional and extremely modern at the same time. This recipe really illustrates why some dishes are truly classics.

If you decide to attempt this dish, I would recommend preparing it on a day when you have plenty of time to spare and when you won't be bothered with any distractions. Naturally, pour yourself a generous glass of red wine while you are cooking so the stress level never rises to an intolerable level.

After making the dish for family, I have decided that it would actually be great for entertaining, as the stew can rest on the stove for quite a while before your guests arrive. Sprinkle the stew with chopped Italian parsley right before serving, and let everyone help themselves right from the pot.

Here is the link to the recipe:

http://knopfdoubleday.com/marketing/cooking/BoeufBourguignon.pdf

Enjoy!

Luscious Black Mission Figs

For what seems like a fleeting moment each summer, tree-ripened Black Mission figs hit the market in abundance. Glistening with a sweet, sticky nectar across the dark, leathery skin, the fig beckons with a promise of a honeyed, sexy filling of soft pink flesh. One bite into this ripe fruit leaves no doubt that it was the figs of Eden and not the apples that tempted Eve with sin.

Figs are some of the oldest described fruits in existence, synonymous with Middle Eastern culture and cuisine. Fresh figs have a honey-like flavor with a silky smooth texture, perfect eaten on their own or used in an endless array of simple desserts.

Everyone has surely eaten Fig Newtons at one time or another, but these delicious fruits are equally wonderful sliced and dropped over ice cream. Drizzled with a splash of late-harvest Riesling wine or some golden honey, a dessert doesn't get much better.

I picked up a package of figs this week at the local Trader Joe's. After eating quite a few on their own, I was inspired to use them in a simple, rustic tart - actually, a galette. Prepared in a pastry, the flavor of the baked figs intensifies and melds nicely with some exotic spices and a flaky crust.

I flavored the fruit in the pastry with a few tablespoons of brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a tiny sprinkling of ground cardamom for an aromatic, Arabian Nights kind of nuance. Once the tart was assembled, a drizzle of honey completed the decadent combination.

Fig Galette

1 rolled out, single-crust pie crust

1 T flour

18-20 ripe Black Mission Figs, halved

3 T light brown sugar

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t ground cardamom

2 T honey

Prepare tart dough and roll out to approximately the size of a large dinner plate on a piece of plastic wrap. Trim the dough into a round, and transfer to a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the dough with flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. Cover with halved figs, and drizzle with honey. Refrigerate tart for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F. After refrigerating tart, bake the tart for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F, and continue baking for 30 minutes more. Check the tart periodically, and cover edges with strips of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.

Cool cooked tart on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 6

Singing the Praises of Monastrell

Do you enjoy luscious, fruit-forward red wines with plenty of spicy character. If so, you must try a bottle of Monastrell. Monastrell is the Spanish name for the grape from France known as Mourvedre. This grape is grown all over the world and has a particular affinity for warmer climates. It is planted extensively in France's Rhone Valley and in the Jumilla region of Spain. The grape, at its best, displays black fruit flavors with hints of leather and spice.

We recently picked up a bottle of 2007 Castano Monastrell Yecla at a local wine shop. Being big fans of Spanish wine, we are always up for trying the latest bottles to hit the wine shops. This one, at ten dollars a bottle turned out to be an incredible steal.

The Castano Monastrell has plush aromas of jam and spice. The wine hits the palate with an intense rush of ripe blackberries and notes of cinnamon. The tannins in this wine are remarkably tame for its age. We would be perfectly happy to sip this smooth wine on its own, but it is even better with food to bring out its earthy qualities. You could easily pair this wine with slow-cooked barbecue or even pizza.

This Monastrell is yet another example of why trying new and unusual wines can be so rewarding. The next time you stop by your favorite wine shop, take a risk and try something "off the beaten path". You might just discover your new favorite wine.

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

As most of you know by now, I am a huge fan of the artisan bread baker and cooking school professor, Peter Reinhart. His award-winning book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, has received numerous accolades from the James Beard Foundation and other notable culinary heavyweights. Every recipe in this carefully-written book has been painstakingly developed to ensure success for the home baker. If you are at all interested in making bread at home, I would recommend picking up a copy.

After a recent trip to a bakery in San Diego (Con Pane Rustic Breads and Cafe) where I had the pleasure of tasting some amazing hazelnut-studded raisin bread, I decided to try making a similar bread at home. While the bread did take some time to produce (mostly waiting for the dough to rise), the result was a beautifully layered creation, heavy with plump raisins and deep cinnamon flavor. This not-too-sweet bread is perfect for a light breakfast or with coffee/tea in the afternoon.

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread - The Bread Baker's Apprentice

Makes two 1 1/2 pound loaves

3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour

4 t granulated sugar

1 1/4 t salt

2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t ground cinnamon

1 large egg, slightly beaten

2 T shortening, melted or room temperature

1/2 c buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature

3/4 c water, room temperature

1 1/2 c raisins

1 c chopped walnuts

Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cinnamon in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add the egg, shortening, buttermilk, and water. Stir together on low speed with the paddle attachment until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust flour or water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff.

Mix on medium speed using the dough hook for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and pliable. Sprinkle in the raisins and walnuts during the final 2 minutes (you will have to finish kneading by hand to fully incorporate the walnuts and raisins). Lightly oil and large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces and form them into loaves. Place each loaf in a lightly oiled 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch pan. Mist the tops of the dough with spray oil, and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes or until the dough crests above the lips of the pans and is nearly doubled in size.

Preheat the over to 350 F with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Place the loaf pans on a sheet pan, making sure they are not touching.

Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking another 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the oven. The finished breads should register 190 F in the center and be golden brown on top and lighly golden on the sides and bottom. They should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

Immediately remove the breads from their pans and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours, before slicing or serving.

Notes:

I made a "cinnamon swirl" in the center of this bread, as recommended. Before shaping the dough into loaves, roll the dough out to a 8 x 5 inch rectangle. Sprinkle the dough thickly with cinnamon suger (1/2 cup granular sugar with 2 T cinnamon). Roll the dough up as before. The cinnamon swirl gives the bread a sweeter flavor with a decorative look.

I made a few changes to this recipe:

- Substituted melted unsalted butter for shortening (I am not a fan of any type of trans fats).

- Used Vietnamese Saigon cinnamon where the recipe called for cinnamon. This type of cinnamon is sweeter and more intense than regular cinnamon. You can purchase the cinnamon from King Arther Flour (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/).

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Every once in a while, each of us tires of the same repertoire of weeknight dinners and yearns for something a little different. How many times can we eat the same grilled chicken breast without becoming completely bored?

In one of those moments of culinary monotony, I vowed that, "this week, we will have something new." After thumbing through some of my more recent cookbooks, I found a recipe for bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breasts. This recipe comes from a book I received as a gift last Christmas: The Ultimate Cook Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.

The chicken is roasted with a stuffing of dried fruits and rosemary leaves, and the breast is basted and moistened by the rendered fat from the bacon. Aside from some minor "surgery" required on the chicken breasts during the preparation, this relatively straightforward recipe certainly qualified as "weeknight fare." Here is my version of the recipe:

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts

3/4 c chopped dried plums (prunes)

1/2 c chopped dried cranberries

1 T chopped rosemary leaves

2 t olive oil

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 t kosher salt

4 6- to 8-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts

8 bacon slices

4 T balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 F, and center a rack in the oven.

In a small bowl, mix the prunes, cranberries, rosemary, olive oil, pepper and salt.

Using a very sharp paring knife, create a pocket in each of the chicken breasts along the longer edge. The best way to cut through the chicken is to repetitively create small slits in the chicken, enlarging the cavity without cutting through the other side.

Stuff one fourth of the fruit mixture into each of the chicken breasts, and wrap the chicken around the stuffing. Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each breast so that the edges of the bacon end up on the bottom of the breast. Place breasts in a rectangular baking dish.

Bake the chicken for about 40 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices. During the last 5 minutes, drizzle a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over each breast. Cook until the chicken reaches about 170 F. Remove the breasts, and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving to reabsorb the pan juices.

Serves 4

Wine Suggestions: The combination of chicken and bacon with woody herbs calls for an aromatic, earthy red wine that is not too tannic. A French Cotes du Rhone, a Spanish Tempranillo or even a California Merlot would pair well with this dish.

An Abundance of Blueberries

Last week at the local grocery store, the summer crop of blueberries hit, and they were almost giving them away. I bought a LOT more than I needed and decided to get creative, making something beyond the standard blueberry pie or pancakes. At the same time, I was regretting the fact that my ice cream maker had remained unused nearly all summer even though the temperatures are approaching 120 F in Phoenix this time of year. The result of my inspirations was a wonderfully intense blueberry gelato.

For this recipe, I googled "blueberry gelato" to find a basic recipe. After a little tweaking, the recipe was ready to go. The gelato was a welcome accompaniment to some leftover lemon butter cake from the previous night's dinner with friends, and the intense purple color looked great on the plate. Here is the recipe:

Blueberry Gelato

2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and destemmed

1/4 c blueberry preserves

1/4 c water

1/4 t salt

2/3 c sugar

3 egg yolks

2 c whole milk

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a heavy saucepan, combine the first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes at a slow boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and the sugar is nearly dissolved, about 5 minutes. Heat the milk in a separate saucepan until hot but not boiling. Slowly pour the milk into the egg yolk and sugar mixture, stirring constantly to avoid "scrambling" the eggs. Return the milk/egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir constantly.

Place the blueberry mixture in a blender with the vent open. Do not cover completely to avoid getting burned! Blend until smooth, using a towel to loosely cover the vent.

Add the blueberry mixture to the custard and let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate until cold.

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. This should take about 25 minutes. When processed, pour the mixture into a cold glass or plastic container, and freeze for at least 2 hours to allow the mixture to firm slightly.

Gelato is best eaten on the day of preparation to savor the silky texture.

Serves 4

Who Doesn't Love Cupcakes?

What is it about cupcakes that makes everyone's day just a little bit brighter? No matter what the occasion, a batch of homemade cupcakes just seems to make everyone smile.

Last Spring, Stephen and I took a trip to New York City for the first time and were amazed by the popularity of a wonderful shop in Midtown Manhattan called Magnolia Bakery. The line for this establishment was literally out the door. Cupcakes were the specialty of the house.

Each day, the bakers at Magnolia prepare an array of decadently rich, perfectly decorated cupcakes. Many of these cupcakes are prepared right in the window of the bakery for passersby to behold. Each one of these jeweled treats is little piece of heaven. We tried the vanilla and coconut cupcakes, both of which were sheer bliss to sample.

For this Independence Day, I decided to make a tradition of the fruit-topped, "patriotic" cupcakes which feature the ripe berries that are in season at the market in the middle of summer. The base for these cupcakes is a simple yellow cake that is perfect for any cake-worthy occasion. The frosting is a rich, not-too-sweet cream cheese topping that is adorned with fresh raspberries and blackberries. Needless to say, these beauties were a hit. Here is the recipe:

Yellow Cupcakes (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups milk

Line 2 cupcake pans (about 24 cupcakes) with paper cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter on high speed with the sugar and vanilla until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute after each egg. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed (or blending by hand) after each addition until just combined. Do not overbeat. Scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling about 1/2 full.

Bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire racks for at least 30 minutes. Frost with cream-cheese frosting and decorate if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 t pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese well until combined, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and beat 30 seconds more. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until spreading consistency is achieved.

Frost cupcakes using a small spatula or pastry bag fitted with a large star-tip.

Cupcakes can be decorated with fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or strawberries as desired.

Serve the day the cupcakes are make, keeping refrigerated.

Yields: 22-24 cupcakes

Wild Sockeye Salmon with Tomato and Corn Relish

Yesterday at the supermarket, we were picking up our weekly groceries, and the fresh, wild sockeye salmon immediately caught my eye in the seafood case. The brilliant red flesh of this fish stood out againt the background of precooked shrimp and unremarkable white fillets - perfect inspiration for a light summertime meal.

Right now, the markets are full of wild Pacific salmon from the annual early summer harvests. The difference in appearance and taste of this salmon is obvious when compared to farmed salmon. The wild salmon fillets are deep, dark crimson, and the flavor is pronounced with almost a lobster-like natural sweetness.

Keeping with the spirit of the season, I prepared the salmon in a very simple manner and topped the cooked fillets with a corn and tomato "relish" containing three of my favorite summer ingredients - sweet corn, grape tomatoes and basil. With a loaf of crusty artisan bread and a bottle of slightly chilled red wine, this light meal was a perfect complement to the blazing Arizona heat outside the door.

Roasted Sockeye Salmon with Tomato and Corn Relish

2, 6-ounce fillets of wild sockeye salmon, skin intact.

1 t seafood seasoning, preferably Old Bay

2 T unsalted butter

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Relish:

1 ear yellow or white sweet corn, shucked

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut into thirds

1/4 cup roughly chopped basil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepare relish:

Immerse corn in boiling water for 5 minutes. Immediately remove the corn and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When the corn is cool, slice the kernels off the cob into a bowl. Add the grape tomatoes and chopped basil. Season with a small amount of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 F. In a microwave, melt the butter in a glass container and pour onto the middle portion of a foil-lined baking sheet. Rinse the salmon and pat dry with paper towels. Season each piece generously with seafood seasoning, salt and pepper. Place the salmon fillet side down on the butter in the baking sheet.

Roast salmon for 6 minutes and then turn the fillets over with a spatula. Roast 5 to 6 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The salmon should barely flake when pierced with a fork. Avoid overcooking the fish.

Place each fillet of salmon on a dinner plate, and top with a generous portion of the relish.

Serves: 2

Blogger's Note: As many of you are aware, I have been on a nearly 4-month hiatus from blogging due to an illness. I am happy to say that I am back to blogging and look forward to writing many more inspiring posts about food and wine. Thank you to everyone for your concern and well wishes!

Braised Pork Chops with Garlic and White Beans

Last Christmas, I received a wonderful book from Stephen called Wine and Food: A New Look at Flavor, Williams-Sonoma. Being a Williams-Sonoma book, it is naturally filled with page after page of beguiling photographs of food and wine as well as tempting recipes for great food; however, this book takes a new approach to demystifying the art of pairing food and wine. Wines are broken out by what they refer to as flavor profiles, and dishes are dissected to highlight the main ingredients as well as companion ingredients that are the keys to pairing the food with wine. In addition, cooking methods are listed and associated with certain types of wine.

The wines themselves are also broken apart into categories such as soft whites, juicy reds and other terms that are a bit more approachable to those of us who are not editors for "Wine Spectator". This approach to pairing may seem somewhat more highbrow than the old rules of red wine with red meats and white wines with chicken and fish, but they actually make a lot more sense. This book has taught me to pay more attention to the flavors you add to a food rather than just the main ingredient to create an appealing combination of food and wine.

Last night, I tried a recipe from this book for pork chops braised with garlic and white beans. The book suggested several matches for the dish, including some rich whites (white Rioja or a Cotes du Rhone Blanc) and some alternative pairings, such as a Grenache-based rose or a Cotes du Rhone Rouge (a juicy red). Since we always prefer to drink red wines with dinner and we did not have a Cotes du Rhone on hand, we drank a Montepulciano de Abruzzo from Italy.

Montepulciano is a relatively simple wine with mild tannins, good acidity and flavors of dried cherries, earth and even some gaminess - perfect with a rustic, slow-cooked pork dish. The fact that I substituted fennel seed for the sage in the recipe created an even stronger link between the wine and the food. This wine is not what I would call a "sipping wine" but rather an old-world style wine that is meant to be enjoyed with food. As the book mentioned with the Cotes du Rhone, a juicy red wine such as this made the braised pork taste even meatier.

Here is the recipe for the pork, which has been altered slightly from the original:

Pork Chops Braised with Garlic and White Beans

4 center-cut pork chops (thick cut)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
8 whole cloves of garlic
1/4 t red pepper flakes
2 t fennel seed
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Season the pork chops all over with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the pork chops and sear, turning halfway until browned (about 6 to 8 minutes total). This is best done in 2 batches. Transfer chops to a platter.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add the onion, carrots, garlic and red pepper. Stir well, scraping the brown bits from the pan, about 4 minutes. Add the fennel seed and broth and bring to a boil. Nestle the pork chops back into the pan, cover and braise in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the pork is cooking, mash half of the white beans in a bowl with a potato masher or fork. Add both the mashed and whole beans to the pot after the pork has braised for 20 minutes. Uncover the pot and return to the oven. Braise for 15 to 20 minutes longer or until the sauce thickens slightly and the pork is tender.
Spoon the sauce into shallow bowls and top with the pork. Garnish with parsley. Serve right away with slices of rustic bread.

Serves 4

Country French Apple Galette

As many of you may have noticed by now, I have a peculiar obsession with French Country cooking. In October of 2007, Stephen and I traveled to the Loire Valley in France and had the opportunity to experience the inspiration behind this glorious cuisine. France's Loire Valley contains some of the richest farmland in the world, yielding what I consider to be the best possible ingredients a cook could desire. Tart apples, sweet butter, pungent soft cheeses, white wines bursting with minerality and ripe fruit and the freshest seafood - you will find it all there. A cook cannot help but be inspired.



While the ingredients are the best, the cuisine of this region is far from fancy. The dishes have a really casual feel and are prepared in a simple manner to highlight the natural beauty of the ingredients. This apple galette was made in the Country French style. A round of butter pastry (the same used for more complicated pie crusts) is rolled out in a circle and filled with sweetened apple slices and dotted with butter. The pastry is folded up around the apples to hold in the juices released by the heat of the oven. Imperfection is not only acceptable, but desirable.



The recipe is a slightly modified version of one found in Williams Sonoma's Cookbook, Pie and Tart:


Harvest Apple Galette

1 rolled out pie crust round
4 large, tart apples, peeled, halved lengthwise and cored (Granny Smiths work well)
2 T cold unsalted butter
3 T sugar
½ t ground cinnamon
¼ t ground allspice

Place the round of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with 1 T sugar and dot with pieces of 1 T butter.

Thinly slice each apple crosswise, keeping halves together. Flatten the apple slices slightly, and lay them cored side down in the middle of the pie dough round. Repeat with remaining apple slices, arranging them around the center apple half. Leave a border of about 1.5 inches uncovered. Sprinkle the apple slices with 2 T sugar and the spices. Pleat the edges of the dough around the apple slices. Dot the apple slices with small pieces of the remaining 1 T butter.

Cut 3 strips of aluminum foil, about 2 inches wide. Use these strips of foil to cover the edges of the dough if they brown excessively during baking.

Refrigerate the galette until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 F.

Bake the galette for 15 minutes, and reduce oven temperature to 375 F. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Be sure to cover the edges of the crust with the strips of foil to avoid over-browning.

Cool the galette on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Yields: 1 9-inch galette (about 6 servings)

Chicken "Shepherd's" Pie

This is the time of year when I crave winter comfort food. After the holidays feasts have passed and you've gotten over the guilt associated with New Year's weight loss plans, it's time to make those one-pot comfort dishes that cool weather seem to make just that much better. Even here in Phoenix when the February temperatures remind one more of spring than winter, this type of dish is just right.

Traditionally, shepherd's pies are made with lamb (hence, the name). Where we live, lamb can be difficult to find, but we always seem to have leftover roast chicken that is perfect for this dish. The pie is filled with winter vegetables and fragrant with herbs, complementing the chicken beautifully. The mashed potato topping is lightly browned with the juices of the filling bubbling up the edges of the dish. Plan on making this pie on a Sunday when you've got a bit more time to spend in the kitchen. If you are lucky enough to have both leftover roast chicken AND mashed potatoes in the house, this recipe easily becomes Monday night fare. Here is the recipe:

Chicken "Shepherd's" Pie

6 medium Yukon Gold or Russett potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 leek (white and pale green parts only), rinsed well and chopped
1/3 c dry white wine
2 cups leftover roast chicken, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
3/4 c chicken broth
2 t chopped thyme leaves (or 1 t dried)
2 t chopped rosemary leaves (or 1 t dried)
1 pinch grated nutmeg
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Sprig of rosemary for garnish (optional)

In a large pot of water, boil the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the potato boiling water. Drain the potatoes, mash with a potato masher and add 1 T butter, reserved water and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease a medium-sized baking dish (Corning-type is perfect) or 8 x 8 inch baking dish and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the vegetables over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until tender. Pour in the white wine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the wine is reduced. Add the chicken and 1 T of flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring well.

To the chicken and vegetables, add the chicken broth, herbs, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for 5 to 6 minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour the mixture into the baking dish.

Top the chicken and vegetable mixture with the mashed potatoes, and use a spatula to spread it around and cover the dish. Use the tines of a fork to decoratively "rake" the surface of the potatoes, and garnish the dish with a sprig of rosemary. Dot the top of the potatoes with small pieces of the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the potatoes are lighly browned. Cool slighly before serving.

Serves 4

Wine pairing: This is a hearty winter dish with strong-flavored herbs, perfect with a French Cotes du Rhone or a Spanish red. We drank the 2005 Finca Luzon Jumilla from Spain, which is a blend of 65% Mourvedre and 35% Syrah. It has flavors of blackberry and earth that really work with the rosemary and thyme in this dish.

Roasted Shrimp for One

I call this "Dinner for One" because, quite honestly, it is my favorite thing to eat when I have a weeknight home alone. The shrimp in this recipe are marinated briefly in lemon and garlic and flash-roasted to utter succulence. The red peppers seem to complement the dish nicely, and the crusty rustic bread is essential for sopping up all of the wonderful juices that are released from the peppers and the shrimp marinade. The shrimp and vegetables are all prepared in a single pan, requiring very minimal cleanup. By all means, feel free to "scale up" this recipe for a crowd. The shrimp, served alone, make a wonderful appetizer that really sing when paired with a dry, white sparkling wine.

This evening I picked up a bottle of Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from New Zealand to drink with the shrimp. The bracing acidity and flavors of grass, minerals and citrus are just right with the shellfish - a wonderful weeknight indulgence in just under 30 minutes!

Roasted Red Peppers

1 red bell pepper

2 t olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Core and seed the bell pepper and cut into long strips. Toss the peppers strips with the oil, salt and pepper on the baking sheet and roast for approximately 20 minutes. Peel away pepper skin, if desired.

Serves 2

Roasted Garlic and Lemon Shrimp

6 to 8 large peeled and deveined shrimp (thawed if frozen)

1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of half a lemon

1 T olive oil

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss all ingredients in a bowl and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dump the shrimp and the marinade on a foil-lined baking sheet and spread out to create a single layer. Roast the shrimp for 3 to 4 minutes, until just barely cooked and still tender. Serve immediately.

Serves 1

Serve the shrimp with roasted red peppers and plenty of crusty, rustic bread to soak up the juices from the shrimp.

Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet, 2005

A complex, elegant Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon under $15 a bottle? Not possible, right? Wrong!

Normally, I would not dedicate an entire blog post to a single wine, but this bottle inspired me to do so. The 2005 Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet is really something special. Avalon Winery makes only Cabernet and has succeeded in producing an earthy, complex wine under $15 per bottle. Good Napa Cabernet normally does not come cheap - $50+ per bottle is pretty standard.

The 2005 Avalon Napa Valley exhibits dusty, dark fruit aromas with flavors of black cherry, red pepper and a touch of vanilla. The best quality of this wine is its finesse. Many times, Cabernet is a really big, "muscular" wine. The balanced tannins and relatively low alcohol (13.8%) content of this wine gives it a restrained elegance, no doubt a result of the careful blending performed by the winemaker for this vintage: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, 6% Merlot and 1% Petite Syrah.

Avalon Winery has two Cabernets on the market - this bottling and a lower-priced one with an orange label. Their lower priced bottling is quite decent, but the Napa Valley Cabernet is amazing. This is definitely a wine to purchase by the case!

Pork Cutlets with Pears and Port Sauce

Pork and pears are a natural combination. Both are most appealing in the fall/winter months and conjure up images of the kind of delicious fare one might find at a farmhouse in France. This dish is what I would call quick comfort food – certainly practical for a weeknight, yet satisfying enough to make your family look forward to dinner. Here is the recipe:

Pork Cutlets with Pears and Port Sauce

2 Bosc or Bartlett pears, ripe but not soft, peeled, cored and quartered
2 T unsalted butter
8 boneless pork cutlets, sliced thin
flour for dredging
1 t dried thyme
2 T olive oil
¼ c minced red onion
½ c Tawny port
¾ c low sodium chicken broth
1 T flour
1 T unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet (not nonstick!), melt 2 T butter and saute pears on medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.

Prepare a dredging plate of several tablespoons of flour with the thyme leaves, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Heat 1/2 T of olive oil in the skillet until hot. Lightly dredge the pork cutlets in the flour and saute 1 to 2 minutes on each side until just cooked and lightly browned. Work in batches of 2 cutlets at a time with 1/2 T olive oil per batch and transfer pork to a platter kept in a warm oven.

When the pork cutlets are cooked, add the red onion to the pan and saute about 2 minutes until slightly tender. Pour in the port and deglaze the pan for 2 minutes, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour in all but 1 T of the broth and mix the remaining broth with the 1 T of flour in a small bowl for thickening of the sauce. Add flour mixture to skillet. Cook on medium heat until the sauce reduces by half, about ten minutes. Add 1 T butter to the sauce as well as salt and pepper to taste. Return the pears and pork to the sauce and combine.

Transfer the pork, pears and port sauce to a platter for serving.

Serves 4

Slowing Down Dinner

Slow down dinner...is he kidding? Shouldn't we be trying to speed things up? Yes, it is true, there are some days during the work week when nothing but the quickest, most efficient dinner preparations will due. However, on weekends and other days when we aren't as pressed for time, we can and should slow things down and enjoy the pleasures of a leisurely paced meal with our family. One of the best ways to do this is by preparing and sharing an appetizer and enjoying a glass of wine before even giving a thought to making the main course.

Appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, nibbles or whatever you like to call them need not be complicated or overly fussy. The days of trays of hot canapes passed by tuxedo-clad waitstaff are over. Modern appetizers tend to be more rustic and simple - small foods designed to whet the appetite and allow good conversation. A chilled glass of white wine is optional, but highly recommended!

The delicious plate of foods in the photo features a tasty spread of pureed edamame on slices of rustic bread. This appetizer sounds complicated, but it's a breeze to make. Here is the recipe, loosely adapted from a feature in Williams Sonoma's Wine and Food:

Edamame Crostini

1 c thawed and shelled frozen edamame (soybeans)
1/4 c olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T fresh orange juice
1/2 t kosher salt
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
3 T chopped mint
About 20 Crostini (slices of toasted rustic bread brushed with olive oil)

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan on medium and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant but not brown, no more than one minute. Add the edamame and saute for five minutes, until the beans begin to soften. Dump the contents of the pan into a food processor and add the orange juice, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper. Process until smooth, adding a bit more water or olive oil to make a cohesive paste, if required. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and stir in 2 T of the mint.

Spread the edamame puree onto the crostini and garnish with the remaining mint leaves.

Serves 4

Wine: We like to have these crostini with a glass of well-chilled Sauvignon Blanc. The grassy, herbal flavors of the wine are delicious with the garlic and mint.

Dinner with Friends

Last night, we had a couple of our close friends over for dinner and enjoyed a delightful evening of good food, wine and conversation. Having friends over for dinner is a wonderful way to personalize your time together and make sharing food and wine a special event. There really is not, in our opinion, a better way to spend an evening.

Inviting friends over for dinner does involve more work than going to a restaurant - making sure the house is clean, choosing food and wine that will please your guests and setting the table to let your friends know that they are welcome in your home. With a little planning ahead, you can easily create an evening that everyone (including the cook!) will enjoy together.

Last night, we ended dinner with poached pears and a small slice of Ciambella, an Italian ring cake. The pears were especially welcome after all those heavy holiday desserts of the past month. Here is the recipe:

Spiced Poached Pears

2 cups bottled orange juice

1/2 c dry white wine

1 c. water

1/2 c sugar

1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 t ground cinnamon

5 whole cloves or 1/8 t ground cloves

5 cardamom pods, lightly bruised

1 t vanilla extract

4 Bosc or other pears, peeled with stems intact

Combine the first eight ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the pears. The poaching liquid should cover about three quarters of each pear. Add a bit more water, if necessary.

Gently poach the pears for 20 to 30 minutes, keeping the liquid at a bare simmer. Turn the pears now and then to cook evenly. The pears are done when they can easily be pierced with a knife but are not falling apart. Allow the pears to cool in the poaching liquid when done.

The pears can be served warm, drizzled with the poaching liquid or can be chilled (overnight is fine) in the refrigerator to serve cold. Allow 1/2 to 1 pear per person.

Serves 4 to 8, depending on portion size

Variation: You can serve the whole pears as a dessert by themselves by slicing a small section off the bottom of each pear to stand upright on a plate. Drizzle with a thickened chocolate sauce, allowing the sauce to puddle around the bottom of the plate.