Porcini-Crusted Tenderloin with Chocolate-Port Sauce

Another great find from our cooking class at Sur La Table.

TENDERLOIN
6 beef tenderloin steaks cut into 1 1/4 inch thickness
2 Tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 Tbs peppercorns
1/2 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs olive oil
Salt to taste

CHOCOLATE PORT SAUCE
2 cups of port
2 cups beef sauce
1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 Tbs butter cut in pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Grind porcini mushrooms and peppercorn to a fine powder. Pat the beef tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the beef with salt. Sprinkle each side of the tenderloin with the porcini dust.

Add oil and butter to a large oven-proof skillet and place over high heat. Allow the skillet and oil to get hot but not smoking - about 1 minute.

Place the beef tenderloin into the skillet and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes on one side or until a deep dark caramelized crust is achieved. Flip and place the skillet into the oven for about 4-6 minutes to cook meat to medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest. Use the skillet for the sauce.

SAUCE
Deglaze saute pan with port. Reduce by half. Add beef stock and reduce by half. turn heat to low and add chocolate whisking constantly until chocolate is melted. Whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons with Candied Walnuts

Charlie and I went to a faaaaabulous couples cooking class at Sur La Table. This was our favorite find!

4 trimmed medium red beets
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1tsp lemon zest
2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
2 Tbs walnut oil
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 4 oz logs of fresh goat cheese
1-2 Tbs cream
salt and pepper
2 cups mixed baby greens (preferably spicy)
coarse sea salt (such as Maldon)
1 cup candied walnuts (recipe below)

heart shape cookie cutter (if you have time)

Cook beets. Measure all ingredients except oils into a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in the oils until an emulsion forms.

Once the beets have cooled, remove the skins and slice crosswise into 18 1/4 inch thick rounds. Use the cookie cutter to cut slices into hearts. Gently toss the beet hearts with 2 Tbs of vinaigrette and set aside.

Blend the goat cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Put in a plastic bag and squeeze in between the beet hearts. Oooooor, just crumble goat cheese pieces in between chopped beets.

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette. Place greens next to heart/goat cheese napoleons. Garnish with Candied Walnuts.

CANDIED WALNUTS
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
1 large egg white, at room temp
1/2 pound walnut pieces

Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl mix both sugars with the salt, cinnamon, and cayenne. In a large bowl whisk the egg white until frothy. Whisk in 1 Tbs of water until combined. Add the walnuts and stir to coat. Sprinkle on the sugar mix and stir to evenly distribute.

Line a baking pan with a silpat. Spread the nuts in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes and then stir the nuts. Continue baking until the nuts smell toasted and the sugar coating is caramelized (about another 10 minutes).

Let the nuts cool on the pan, separating them as they cool. Transfer to air tight container (if not used immediately.)

Valentine's Pancakes

Thank you Trader Joe's for sampling these last week. I made these Red Velvet Pancakes for Valentine's Day. Oooooh man these were so creamy delicious. Even my husband who thinks pancakes are just okaaaay, fell in love with these. I can't wait to make them again.

RED VELVET PANCAKES
1 Cup flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or mascarpone)
3 Tbs unsalted butter elted
1 Tbs red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla

MASCARPONE SPREAD
4 oz Mascarpone, softened
2 oz of creme fraiche
2 Tbs white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Wisk together the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl wisk together the egg, buttermilk, and creme fraiche, melted butter, food coloring, and vanilla. Add them together and wisk just until combined. A little lumpy is ok. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat and cook away!

Carrot Soup

For Valentine's Charlie and I went to a couples cooking class at Sur La Table. It was heavenly. We made a Carrot Soup that was perfect. Although it wasn't in our recipe packet. So I used this one from Cooks Illustrated. Thank you!!!! Soooo good.

Carrot Soup

2	tablespoons unsalted butter , or the same amount of vegetable or olive oil
1	medium onion , 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
2	tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
1 1/2	pounds carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin (about 4 cups)
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth or low-sodium vegetable broth
1	teaspoon table salt
	ground white pepper
	pinch ground nutmeg
1 - 1 1/4	cups whole milk
2	teaspoons minced fresh tarragon , mint, chives, or parsley

1. Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sherry and carrots; stir constantly and cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Ladle carrot mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.

4. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced herb and serve immediately.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

Okay so I only used the Lemon Cups for my Gourmet Club in NYC. No I don't make them for just my family. Buuuut they sure looked cool didn't they? This is one of my faaaavorite desserts ... I mean ... side dishes.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

1 shallot minced
1 rib celery, chopped fine
2 T. unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/3 cups risotto rice, preferably Arborio

1⁄2 cup white wine
Approximately 1 quart chicken stock
1/2 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced
1 Tbs. Rosemary, chopped up
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish
1/3 cup mascarpone
Pepper
Salt, to taste

Put the shallots and celery into a mini food processor and blitz until they are finely chopped or cut up finely by hand. Heat the butter, the oil and the shallot and celery mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn't stick. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Add wine until and stir until evaporated. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.

Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need to add hot water from the kettle.

Mix the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready - when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite - take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy, lemony mixture, and salt, to taste. Serve with more Parmesan if you wish.

Cannellini Bean and Kale Soup

Another winner from Abundant Harvest Organics. Too bad I just canceled my weekly delivery with them. A 30 minute round trip visit on a Saturday morning with just a 30 minute window to arrive at the truck was just not working for us every week as a family. Soooo I found Farm Fresh To You and am hoping to get their weekly deliveries to my doorstep starting next week. BUT I will gladly keep my door open to Abundant Harvest if they ever have a delivery site closer to home.

ANYWaaaaay... to quote my husband while he was dishing his second bowl, "You've outdone yourself! This soup is Rockin'. And this is HEALTHY for you??? Seriously, this is right up there with your Wedding Soup. I don't know how you do it." =)

Serve with Garlic Toast ... slice toast and butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt and dried parsley. Heat in the oven at 450 for a few minutes until lightly browned. Mmmmm mmm ... that makes goooooood dipping toast.

Cannellini Bean and Kale Soup

• 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely chopped
• 1 medium celery stalk
  
• 1 leek finely chopped
• 1 ½ tsp rosemary
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch kale, center ribs removed, and leaves chopped
• 1 ½ tsp cider vinegar
• ½ lb Italian sausage, cut into bite size pieces (optional)

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery or leek, and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften. Add tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the broth, beans, kale. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender. Heat remaining oil in pan with Italian sausage. When browned and cooked through add to soup, stir the cider vinegar into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Potato and Cauliflower Casserole

Weeeeell, my husband wanted Steak and Potatoes tonight. And we recently watched Food Inc. This was sort of the nail in the coffin after other books and movies we've read/seen about the food industry. Sooooo we bought Organic grass-fed cow tonight. The last steak I bought on New Year's Eve was on sale for $1.49 per pound. This was $14.99 per pound. Ouch. Buuuut, it was delicious. A few years ago I tried wild-Salmon and now I have a hard time swallowing farm-raised. Soooo, is this the end of us eating beef most nights out of the week? And the end of our cheap beef love-affair? Time will tell. (I will also add that after we visited the Temple this week we did stop off at McDonald's for a reminder taste of our "Naive" to the food industry days, when we used to stop off there every Thursday night after working at the Temple 9 years ago.

So to embellish our new love of grass-fed cow, I cooked up my ginormous cauliflower that came in my locally-grown organic vegetable delivery. Thanks to Abundant Harvest, I found a new casserole recipe that well, at least the adults enjoyed (my daughter enjoyed it, and the other were alriiiight with it.) I'll be making this again soon ... since I still have 2 heads worth of cauliflower left on my one ginormous head.

POTATO and CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE

2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 Tbsp better
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

1 head of cauliflower (or one quarter in my case)
3 tbsp flour
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (but the good stuff)

Lightly grease a medium casserole dish and preheat the oven to 450. Boil potatoes until tender but still firm. Drain and set aside. Place cauliflower in a steamer basket and steam for 5 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Gradually stir in the heavy cream until thickened. Remove from heat and mix in 1/2 cup swiss cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange potatoes and cauliflower in dish. Pour cream sauce over veggies and sprinkle with remaining Swiss cheese. Bake 20 minutes until it gets bubbly and lightly browned. The brown stuff is the gooooooood stuff.