Showing posts with label milk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label milk. Show all posts

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Deconstructed Steak Poutine: Top Sirloin Steak with Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy for a 'Let's Poutine' #SundaySupper with Idaho® Potatoes #FWCon

Deconstructed Steak Poutine: Top Sirloin Steak with Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy for a 'Let's Poutine' #SundaySupper with Idaho® Potatoes #FWCon


Before I begin, let me be one of the last to wish you a Happy 2016!

To start this new year, I must congratulate Isabel of Family Foodie for a number of reasons. First, it's the fourth anniversary of her founding Sunday Supper Movement, but more than that, she was able to get January recognized as National Sunday Supper Month and, more specifically, the second Sunday of January National Sunday Supper Day, both occurring annually from this year going forward. You might have seen the National Sunday Supper Month Kickoff with last week's #SundaySupper event.

There are many ways to participate in National Sunday Supper Month. I highly encourage you to take the Sunday Supper Pledge to support the mission of bringing back #SundaySupper around the family table. Also, you can complete the sentence I cook because... in addition to a daily Instagram Photo Challenge. Click on the links above for more information.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

Another way to celebrate is to participate in the Idaho Potato Commission Recipe Contest for National Sunday Supper Month. To enter the contest, contestants must create a recipe inspired by a poutine using Idaho® potatoes, among other requirements. See the link above for complete details. The task of creating a poutine-inspired recipe using Idaho® potatoes was also assigned to the twenty participating bloggers in today's Let's Poutine #SundaySupper event. By now you might have guessed that this post is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are those of the individual bloggers. Please visit Idaho® potatoes website, 'Like' their Facebook page, and follow them on twitter, instagram and pinterest.


Let's discuss the dish for a moment. The poutine originates from Quebec and is comprised of French fries topped with a brown gravy and cheese curds. If I can be candid for a moment, poutine is considered fast food there in Canada and a Canadian friend of mine even went so far to call the dish drunk food. Many of my colleagues within #SundaySupper were introduced to the poutine at the Food Wine Conference last summer where Saturday's lunch was sponsored, in part, by Idaho® potatoes so it's a little ironic that the dish was so well received. I think that the dish's execution in addition to the various flavor pairings offered that day contributed to its warm reception. My story with the dish is a little different because my chef friend put a short rib poutine on his menu at his restaurant when it opened in 2011, so I was familiar with it when I attended last summer.

Dish Details

I've always been a little suspicious of the dish because a gravy is defined as a sauce made from the juices secreted from a cooked protein so the absence of one has always confounded me. It's the reason why I included a protein in my re-imagined dish here. One of the requirements of this dish is that I use Idaho® potatoes, so thankfully, the supermarket I usually patronize had them in stock:


I borrowed the red wine gravy recipe from myrecipes.com, but the other components of the dish are original.

Ingredients

1 pound russet Idaho® potatoes, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
4 8-to-10 ounce top sirloin steaks
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk plus more if necessary
2 cups baby arugula
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Bleu cheese crumbles, for garnish

Method

1. Boil the Idaho® potatoes. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and fill with enough water so that the potatoes are submerged by at least one inch, then season the water with kosher salt. Place the saucepan over high heat and boil until they are fork tender, approximately ten to fifteen minutes. Drain the potatoes with a colander and place them back in the saucepan.


2. Prepare the steaks. While the potatoes are boiling, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and season the steaks with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sear the steaks in the pan, four minutes per side for medium rare, then remove from the pan and set aside to allow for carryover cooking while the other components of the dish are prepared.


3. Prepare the gravy. Create a roux by reducing the heat under the skillet to medium and add an additional two tablespoons olive oil. Whisk in the all-purpose flour and continue to whisk frequently until brown.


Deglaze the pan with the red wine, loosening the fond from the bottom of the pan, then add in the beef stock and simmer until thickened. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as necessary.


4. Finish potatoes. While the gravy simmers, mash the drained potatoes or pass them through a food mill. Add butter and scoop some potatoes over so the butter melts. Once melted, stir in the milk until the potatoes absorb the fluid. More milk may be added until the desired consistency is reached.

5. Prepare the salad and finish the dish. Whisk together the remaining one tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice, then season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the arugula with just one or two teaspoons of the vinaigrette-just enough to wet, but not wilt, the leaves. Cut each steak diagonally in half, across the grain then place some gravy into a squeeze bottle. To plate, spoon some potatoes onto the plate towards the front but still in the center. Place a couple of dollops of gravy beside the potatoes, then put one half of the steak on the potatoes, then place the other half off center so the interior is exposed. Top the steak with the arugula salad and garnish with the bleu cheese crumbles.

Final Thoughts

Those that know me know that I rarely publish a dish without consulting my copy of The Flavor Bible first. I certainly did here but the flavor profiles noted were nothing unusual. Each of the main ingredients used were noted to pair well with each other: steak, potatoes, cheese (specifically, bleu cheese), arugula, butter and red wine.

I'm not the only #SundaySupper member that prepared a poutine-inspired dish. Check out the others below:

Breakfast:
Appetizers:
Main Dish:
Plus: Poutine Variations for National Sunday Supper Day from Sunday Supper Movement

Have you signed the #SundaySupper pledge to eat together as a family? Do it right here!

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It's easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.


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Sunday, December 14, 2014

Red Wine Poached Pears with Ricotta and Balsamic Glaze for a Libational #SundaySupper

Red Wine Poached Pears with Ricotta and Balsamic Glaze for a Libational #SundaySupper




A couple of weeks ago on Thanksgiving I spent the majority of the day watching football however I could not help but think of the things that made me thankful in 2014. One item that is high on my list from a food standpoint is the #SundaySupper Movement. It has provided me with several memorable experiences, most all of them positive. This tradition continued with a new experience this week when I volunteered to co-host with Alice of A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen. I was delighted to meet her in person a couple of months ago when she was in town for IFBC, but the only picture I have from that meeting is one where she is holding the camera and wasn't in the picture. I have hosted events in the past by myself so it was nice to divide the hosting duties, but beyond that it was a pleasure to work with her.

Speaking of hosting duties, I published my preview for this week's event with the intention of preparing a lemoncello tiramisù. It utilized a sabayon in what I thought was a creative way. Then I went looking for a small container of lemoncello and couldn't find one in time to prepare this dish. This issue was further complicated when I had to do a mad scramble to think of a replacement dish because the temperature gauge on my oven broke off this past week which eliminated any possibility of baking. To keep with the theme of Libational Recipes, I didn't want to prepare a savory dish with a wine sauce because I still wanted to challenge myself with a dessert. Then I remember a picture from Fabio Viviani's first cookbook that I thought looked elegant. It also provided an opportunity to update the process of making ricotta cheese from scratch.


The Challenge

This could almost be categorized in my Presenting: series because the challenge is to replicate the photo in Fabio's book.

The Source

Adapted from pages 24, 220 and 268 of Fabio's Italian Kitchen by Fabio Viviani with Melanie Rehak.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon whole milk
1/6 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pinch kosher salt
2 cups balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup molasses
3 cups red wine
1/2 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks
4 pears, peeled

Method

1. Prepare the ricotta. Bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan. Once the milk reaches a temperature of 181° Fahrenheit, immediately remove the pan from heat and add the vinegar, lemon and salt. Stir as the milk curdles to fully incorporate the salt and lemon. Cover and let it cool for approximately 2 hours. Once cool, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer, pressing lightly on the curds to ensure the whey is completely drained.


2. While waiting for the ricotta to cool, prepare the balsamic. Combine the balsamic vinegar and the molasses in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the mixture to the consistency of a syrup. Set aside to cool.


3. Poach the pears. In a large pot, combine the wine, honey and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Add the pears and simmer them in the wine for about 15 minutes. Remove the pears and set aside to allow them to cool, then raise the poaching fluid heat to high. Reduce the fluid to the consistency of a syrup. To plate, place one pair off to one side on top of the reduced poaching fluid with a dollop of ricotta and drizzled with balsamic.


Successful?

In my rush to complete the dish the evening I prepared it, I neglected to notice one word in the ingredient list: peeled. It would have changed the composition of the dish. Unfortunately, the pears did not soften sufficiently. Despite my troubles with it, the flavors of the dish complemented each other well.

Other Libational Recipes this week:

Libations
Savory and Sweet Libational Dishes
Libational Desserts
Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

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Sunday, July 6, 2014

Pluot Ice Cream for a Summer Chillin' #SundaySupper

Pluot Ice Cream for a Summer Chillin' #SundaySupper




Last Sunday while you were probably reading my London Broil dish, I was at the Irvington Farmer's Market in Fremont, California. I was there for an upcoming project but I couldn't help but notice some other items while I was there. It was a rare instance of allowing myself to be susceptible to impulse purchases. It was interesting because I had browsed the market a couple of weeks prior to my most recent visit and noticed a few ingredients that were there this time around that weren't there in the past. It's a great measure of what produce is in season and at its peak. One fruit on sale that day by many of the farmers present that had piqued my interest was the pluot. I inquired with one of the vendors selling them and she noted it's sweet flavor so, with this week's #SundaySupper theme in mind, Summer Chillin', (hosted by Alaiyo of Pescetarian Journal) I thought it might make a great ice cream.

The Challenge

Prepare a dish using an ingredient bought spontaneously

The Source

I adapted the pluot pureé from Earthbound Farm's website to the ice cream base from Fine Cooking magazine's website.

Ingredients

1 pound firm pluots (approximately 5), peeled, quartered and pitted
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
Juice from 1 lemon
5 egg yolks
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup 1% or 2% low-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

1. Prepare the pureé. Combine 2/3 cup sugar, pluot quarters, and lemon juice in a small skillet over low heat. Stir until the sugar melts and the pluots soften, approximately 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat to allow the mixture to cool. Transfer the contents of the skillet to a blender or food processor and pureé until smooth. Transfer the pureé to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.


2. Prepare the ice cream base: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar and the egg yolks until just broken up. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, milk and salt over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches a slight simmer, then reduce the heat. Whisk 1 cup of the cream mixture into the egg yolks slowly so the eggs don't scramble. Pour the egg-cream mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring continually until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and can hold it's shape when you draw a line on the back with your finger. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight along with the pureé.


3. Once cool, whisk the pureé into the base and churn according to your ice cream machine manufacturer's instructions. Once finished serve in chilled bowls.


Successful?

This dish will be the first of several dishes I will publish over the course of the next few weeks using the produce I brought home that day from the farmer's market. I was a little concerned that it might be too sweet due to the amount of sugar added to both the pureé and the base but thankfully, that was not the case. There was also another minor challenge of successfully taking photographs of the dessert before it melted. It definitely was one of my faster photo shoots, however what helped was the glass bowl I used which I put in the freezer the night before.

Before you go, check out the other chilled dishes that are offered for this week's #SundaySupper:

Brisk Beverages
Chilled Starters
Snappy Salads and Sides
Refreshing Main Dishes
Cool Confections
Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.





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Monday, June 2, 2014

Filet Mignon with Red Wine Reduction and Polenta #FWCon

Filet Mignon with Red Wine Reduction and Polenta




In my own observation, I've noticed that low to moderately priced steakhouses offer little in terms of plate presentation creativity. Last fall, I was surprised to find that even a fine dining steakhouse I patronized utilized such a simple presentation. Thankfully, A Land Remembered steakhouse and seafood restaurant at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel is a little more creative. No, I haven't dined there but I plan to when I attend the Food and Wine Conference this summer and a quick google image search yielded some beautiful dishes.

A quick check of their menu reveals options for steaks such as sauce Diane and Oregon bleu cheese but I was surprised by what was not on the menu: a red wine sauce. I also paired my steak with an Italian starch that isn't even on Rosen Shingle Creek's Italian restaurant menu because it not only complements the steak but provides visual appeal to the plate. Furthermore, I have demonstrated two different methods of cooking polenta but found a third and wanted to experiment.

From a presentation standpoint, I recall Chef Cat Cora noting something I hadn't even considered during an episode of America's Best Cook which went something like put round food on a square plate to create a contrast in shapes so I wanted to test out the theory.

This dish is my entry into the Rosen Shingle Creek recipe contest I referred to in my preview post last week.

The Challenge

Win the Rosen Hotels recipe contest described above.

The Source

For the dish composition, I used the roasting method (i.e. brown the food on the stovetop, add butter, baste with the pan fluids then rest the food for carryover cooking) described upon pages 32 and 41 of Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio in addition to the basic pan sauce method (i.e. sweat mirepoix, deglaze with vinegar, reduce, add stock, reduce again and strain out the vegetables) found on page 75. The Flavor Bible also played heavily into the frisee salad. I applied the method to prepare polenta as described in the kitchn to an adapted list of ingredients found on page 198 of Cook Like A Rock Star by Anne Burrell with Suzanne Lenzer.

Ingredients

For the salad:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small head frisee, green leaves only (discard the white root)

For the polenta:
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup yellow corn meal
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the filets with reduction:
4 six-to-eight ounce filet mignon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef stock

Method

1. Prepare the salad: Combine the vinegar with the olive oil and season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Cook the polenta: In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, water and salt, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, whisk in the corn meal slowly until the mixture thickens and the corn meal no longer sinks to the bottom of the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and cover, stirring every 10 minutes until the polenta is thick, approximately thirty to forty minutes. Once the desired consistency has been reached, stir in the butter and parmesan.


3. Roast the filets: While the polenta cooks, heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until smoking. Remove any moisture from the surface of the filets by patting them with a paper towel, then season them on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the filets in the skillet and brown for approximately two to three minutes. Turn the steaks to brown on the second side, but add two tablespoons butter and thyme sprigs to the pan and baste the filets with the browning butter until just before the desired doneness is reached. Remove from the skillet to a plate and tent with some aluminum foil to allow for carryover cooking while the reduction is prepared.


4. Make the reduction: Add the remaining tablespoon to the hot skillet used to roast the fillets. Once the oil shimmers, add the shallot to sweat, approximately two to three minutes. Add the garlic and sweat until fragrant but not browned, approximately an additional minute. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping up the fond left by the filets and bring to a simmer, reducing the wine by one-third. Add in the beef stock and simmer again until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the remaining tablespoon butter, removing the skillet from the heat if necessary to prevent the reduction from separating. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Strain out the solids.


5. Finish the salad and plate the dish: Whisk the vinaigrette again to combine, then toss with the frisee. For the presentation, spoon polenta in approximately the same diameter as the filet onto the middle of the plate, top the polenta with the filet then garnish the filet with the frisee salad. Spoon some of the reduction around the polenta then serve.

Successful?

We won't know who won this contest until it's announced at the conference, so I'm unsure if it's successful in that regard. The flavors of the dish certainly complemented each other. If you want to know who was chosen the winner, I recommend following Rosen Hotels on twitter, facebook, pinterest, instagram and Google+.

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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Light Stunt: Cheddar Ham Soup

Cheddar Ham Soup


Before I proceed, I have a confession. If you're a regular reader here, you know that one theme consistent throughout this website is me taking myself out of my comfort zone in an effort to learn something. Well, when I announced that I'd dedicate September to desserts, I never felt so out of place. A contributing factor in the number of dishes I produced is insufficient planning on my part, so I must apologize. Now that I have an ice cream machine, I'll publish one as I see fit.

Last week Mrs. Stuntman purchased a ham for our family that was rather large so I have been looking at recipes for leftovers, which is how this dish came about. I might equate this to a challenge on Chopped in trying to piece together a dish from odd ingredients. I like this dish from a conceptual standpoint because it's a creative way to use a Mornay sauce which is a derivative of a béchamel sauce. You might recognize a Mornay because it's a component of a Hot Brown sandwich and a macaroni and cheese.

The Challenge

Re-purpose leftover food

The Source

I used a recipe from Taste of Home's website.

Ingredients

2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups water
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% low-fat milk
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups (approximately 8 ounces) cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups cooked ham, cubed
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
1 tablespoon saltine crackers (for garnish)

Method

1. Prepare the base: combine potatoes, water, onions, and carrots in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.


2. Prepare the Mornay and finish the dish: While the vegetables are simmering, melt butter in a second saucepan. Create a roux by stirring in the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the milk then season with salt and pepper. Bring the béchamel to a boil and stir until thickened, approximately 2 minutes. Add the cheese and stir to melt. Add the Mornay to the undrained vegetables and then add the ham and peas. Serve immediately in warmed bowls, garnished with crackers and parsley.


Successful?

This dish would be perfect for a cold winter evening because it was a little rich, but the sweetness of the carrots balanced the saltiness of the ham well. I classified this dish a Light Stunt (appropriate for a weeknight) because I was able to finish cooking the dish in about 20 minutes, but please keep in mind that the mise en place is a little labor intensive.

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