Fresh Tart

Yesterday I caught an early version of Eric Asimov's The Pour column on the New York Times Dining & Wine page.  The headline - A New Course for Dessert Wine - jumped right out at me.  I prefer dessert-style wines paired with savory foods (foie gras, blue cheese), so I clicked through and was delighted to read about Madeira wines in particular.  Asimov acknowledges that "...serving a sweet wine with a savory dish may strike many people as odd - unless they live in one of the great sweet-wine centers of the world."  But he goes on to give several enticing examples of sweet wine/savory food pairings, all of which sounded delicious: Sauternes with lobster, auslese reisling with lamb vindaloo, and his own personal experiment, Madeira with skirt steak and pickled Vidalia onions.  He tasted the steak with two Madeiras, both from the Rare Wine Company's Historic Series.

I quickly sent the link to both Stu The Wine Genius Williams, and my husband John, who happen to work together.  A few minutes later my phone rang - Stu had read my email, and the article, and was just about to run an errand, so offered to pick up the Madeira mentioned in the article for us to try.  Yes!  (The Rare Wine Company's Historic Series Madeiras are distributed in Minnesota by the New France Wine Company, info@newfrancewine.net, 651-698-2533.)

Stu picked up and John brought home four Madeiras from the series, each named for a U.S. city where Madeira was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries: Boston Bual Special Reserve, New York Malmsey Special Reserve, Charleston Sercial Special Reserve, and a limited release New Orleans Special Reserve.  Since Asimov particularly loved the Charleston Sercial Special Reserve with the steak and onions he'd prepared, that's what we opened first, since I just happened to have...steak and onions already in the fridge, ready to go for dinner.

I decided to caramelize the onions to bring out their sweetness, adding sauteed mushrooms and a splash of the Sercial to finish.  Since our grill and deck are covered in snow, I just pan-seared the steaks on one side and finished them in a hot (500 degree) oven.  I prepared the onions first, set them aside, then prepped the steaks.  When the steaks were done, I transferred them to a cutting board to set up, then sauteed the mushrooms in the (fabulously crusty) steak pan.  After adding the splash of Madeira, I stirred the caramelized onions into the pan, sliced the steaks, and served the steak with the onions and mushrooms alongside.  The Sercial was as delicious with the crusty, salty beef and sweet onions as promised.  The mushrooms added an extra earthy note that complimented the sweetness nicely.  All good.

My next try is likely to be an Indian-style curry, with the Boston Bual (sweeter than the Sercial, which is the dryest of the group), which would be a stunning combination, I think.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, I plan to finish off the Sercial with some sort of fabulously toasted ham and cheese sandwich.  Or with another mushroom saute - I'm telling you, the splash of Madeira to finish the mushrooms was so delicious, I could have had just that for dinner.

Big thanks to Stu and New France Wine Company for all the fun!

I hit a monster pothole at high speed this morning and after I gratefully realized that I had escaped a flat, I started chuckling.  I'm now figuratively and (almost) literally stuck in a February rut - how perfect.  Man, it is time to switch things up a bit, bust out of the house, this cozy winter hibernating routine is starting to suck. It doesn't help that I've been nursing a knee injury for the last several weeks.  Or that our slightly warmer weather is accompanied by the darkest, grayest sky we've seen since November.  Or that I'm sick to death of everything I've been cooking.  Since I can't make my knee heal faster, or change the weather (although Lord knows I've tried with my complaining - sorry), I can dig around for some new twists on old favorites.  So I did.

I often make steak on Wednesday nights, with a side of broccoli and rice, blah, blah, blah.  Tonight I decided to stir-fry it, inspired by Lynne Rosetto Kasper's recipe for Stir-Fry of Hoisin Lamb with Cashews and Snow Peas (from her new cookbook, The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper).  I used beef instead of lamb, and peanuts instead of cashews, and added some broccoli along with the snow peas...LOVED the dish.  It's packed with flavor from Chinese five-spice powder and garlicky hoisin sauce and once you're done with some simple chopping, comes together in a flash.  I actually seasoned the beef, chopped the vegetables, and whisked together the sauce this afternoon.  Then while I cooked rice, I stir-fried the beef, followed by the veggies, and had it all ready to go in 20 minutes.

It wasn't as signficant as pain relief or sunshine, but the fragrance lifted all our spirits and mixing flavors up a bit was most definitely a day brightener.  That "variety is the spice of life" saying?  Along with Chinese five spice powder, totally true.

Recipe here.

Baseball, steaks, naan, and um, Volkswagen? Not quite as catchy (or kitschy) as the old Chevrolet jingle but the sentiment, while not pure Americana, is the same - man, there is nothing like a sunny summer's day, ahhh. We caught some actual heat today, which meant real pool time for Nathan and John, a long, sweaty walk for me, and some grilled goodies for us all. And then, to cap off the day, an evening baseball game. What a perfect night for a game! And Nathan's team came from behind to win! Just a lovely, fun end to the weekend. I hear it's going to rain again this week so I'm extra thrilled to steal one of these beautiful days.

So, as for the steaks - I grilled a top sirloin, one of my favorite cuts. On the leaner side, but juicy and full of flavor, particularly good on the grill. Although in my mind it needs nothing more than a generous sprinkle of Kosher salt before hitting the heat, top sirloin takes nicely to a marinade or generous rub of crushed garlic and spices - steak tacos, anyone? Oh yeah!

And because grilled bread in any form is one of the most delicious things on the planet, I grabbed some naan at Whole Foods, rubbed it with a bit of olive oil, gave it a light sprinkle ofsalt, and grilled until smokin' hot and soft. Soooo good. Works great with pita as well. And of course thick slices of baguette or other crusty bread is The Kill. With soup, or salad, or alongside grilled steaks, chicken, or fish - makes the meal, and that's not an exaggeration.

Now...I'm beat, guess I'm not much used to the heat. The plan is to sleep like a rock and move on into Monday... Happy June! And oh, Happy 50th Anniversary to my in-laws Dot & John - 50 years, my friends, incredibly impressive. Can't wait to celebrate in just a few short weeks!

Cooper! Stacey! Both kids! All my favorite things about Wild Wednesdays (you too Johnny!), love 'em. Add in some sunshine and we're jamming, woo hoo!

Good walk-before-the-snow this a.m., keeping food simple and relatively light for the day. Steak fajitas for dinner, as light or decadent as you want to make them, garnished with jack cheese, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, and lots and lots of grilled peppers and onions. Think I'll spice up some black beans to go with our ubiquitous Wednesday rice (oh how everyone in this house loves rice, the white version, they've refused my attempts at passing off less-processed brown, sigh) and call it a meal. Easy. Spicy. Nutritious. Tasty! Done.

Little exercise, plenty of veggies. Make sure to take good care of yourself today!

Glorious day, eh? Wow, spectacular. What a difference a break in the humidity makes - the air positively sparkles in this late-summer sun. Saucy Suz and her kids, Vivian and Sullivan, came over for a lovely swim today, and we just soaked it all in, knowing - and feeling, for the first time - that September is right around the corner. Sniff.

Tonight, John and I had big plans to go out for Date Night, but after I picked up my LaFinca veggie share, and saw all the lovely possibilities (carrots, new potatoes, baby cabbage, arugula, tomatoes, green beans), I called John and said, Dude, let's eat here! Nothing can beat a fresh vege-ful dinner on our own deck on a night as spectacular as this! So John's happily picking up a couple of killer NY Strips at Byerly's on his way home, and I'm roasting those new potatoes with fresh rosemary, garlic, coarse salt, and oil (400 degrees, for about 45 minutes, turn several times) until they're crispy little bombs, perfect for a dippy-poo in cool, creamy sour cream. Yeah, baby! Chopped arugula salad with lots of shaved Parm and cracked pepper, alongside tomato slices, should finish us off nicely. I'd better get to it, tee hee!

Well, I got to it, and it rawked! Especially with the Cain Five 2003 we sipped with all the tasties, ooooh, Napa Nice. And XM Satellite Radio tuned to the 70s, ha, I love it. We could hardly make a dent in the Cain Five, however, with its high alcohol content, ack. Too early to be drinking it, but we went ahead anyhow (decanted it a couple of times) with at least a bit of it, and it was delicious.

Tomorrow, I gotta come up with some way to use the 10 + cukes I now have in my fridge. Sauteed? Raita? Greek salad? All of the above? Ha. Stay tuned...

What can I say? Another lovely summer day. Sometimes Minnesota sneaks up on you and is a damn nice place to live. Sun, sun, and more sun! Visits (and jumps into the pool) with our neighbors the Hatzungs, and Nathan's friend Emmett (who spent the night last night after the close of our baseball season), and Stacey Pooh and Cooper too - all good. At some point I whipped over to Byerly's for, yes, more great steaks...and this time I didn't over-grill them - yay! - so they were juicy pink-n-prrrrfect. We ate 'em on the deck, with nothing more than a big salad. When you've got perfect steaks, it's worth keeping the rest simple.

And for dessert? 'Cuz you've got to have dessert to honor such a gorgeous day...strawberry shortcake, oh my. Everyone lovesstrawberry shortcake, including The Coopster! No secret recipe here - Pillsbury (frozen) Buttermilk Biscuits, hot out of the oven and filled with lots of fresh strawberries sweetened with a pinch of sugar, and lots and lots and LOTS of freshly whipped and sweetened cream. Summer Heaven...

The weather gods smiled (grinned!) upon us yesterday and There Was Sun. Lots of sun, in fact. So let's hear a big woo hoo for the weather gods, yeah! Wow, a gorgeous day, perfect for chillin' in the pool with Rudy& Ana and Stu & Debbie and (several, ahem) glasses of cold wine. It was so perfect, in fact, that I damn near forgot to make dinner! Three o'clock became almost-7:00 in what felt like 20 minutes.

So we emerged from the water and changed for dinner and made our way to the kitchen to snack on mini spinach-feta muffins, tasty with - yep - a glass of wine. (Recipe posted in comments, below.) And to scope out Rudy & Ana's pics from their recent trip to Italy's Amalfi Coast, the potential site of our next group trip. Paradise, man, we'd rent the home that Rudy & Ana just stayed in, on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. With a pool that is filled with sea water, pumped up the side of the cliff. Glorious, glorious, I hope we can make it work, I've never been to Italy, nor the Mediterranean, and that trip would be a very nice introduction, don't you think?

So, back to Minnesota, ha. Dinner was simple - panzanella (bread salad) with roasted green beans and tomatoes, crispy prosciutto, shaved Parmesan, and a garlicky-capery dressing. And steaks, baby. Gorgeous New York strips that I stunningly stupidly overgrilled by a few (several) minutes, uuuuuugh, I'm still kicking myself. They were such nice steaks that they were tasty anyhow, but with every bite I couldn't help thinking about how fabulous they would have been if I'd had one less glass of wine before dinner. Yeah. Ah, well, lesson learned.

And for dessert, we moved out onto the screen porch - where Debbie had graciously lit candles in my many pain-in-the-ass-but-pretty lanterns, sorry Deb! And thanks! - for round two of my Grandma Meyer's Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with whipped cream and strawberries (I had baked the cake in two 9" round pans on Thursday, served one half to Polly and Charlie on Friday, and the other half last night). Uff. We were all happily stuffed, and buzzy, and a little sunburned, which is a very good way to end an evening, I think. John and I were so happy and grateful to share a beautiful summer's day with such lovely friends. From Napa to Minneapolis to perhaps the Amalfi Coast (I hope, I hope!), we sure do have a blast together.

(PS, the spinach-feta muffins make a delicious breakfast. Think I'll have me another!)

And oh, Happy Father's Day!!! Especially to my own dad, of course, father of three daughters and a son, and grandfather to two boys. Hey, the count is even! Three girls and three boys! Niiiice...