Chateaubriand: Beef tenderloin to you and me

My apologies to my Hindu and Vegetarian friends, but sometimes beef is so damn good. This is coming from a bacon loving member of the tribe.

The difference between Chateaubriand and the tenderloin is slight. The tenderloin is the center foot and a half; you can have the butcher cut a smaller section.  The Chateaubriand is about six inches longer on either side. And when a chef, server or home cook says Chateaubriand with an overcooked faux French accent they deserve to be slapped. That and Chateaubriand is almost impossible to spell correctly on the first pass.

Beef tenderloin is a pricey hunk of flesh. Pork also has a tenderloin. Both can be cooked the same way. Except the pork should be cooked for about half the time and you'll spend about 75 percent less. So I cook pork tenderloin with greater frequency and usually only cook beef tenderloin on special occasions like when I bribe a good friend to help me fix the plumbing in the kitchen.

Beef tenderloin is expensive because on any given steer there isn't much of it, making it kinda rare. Which is also the only way to cook tenderloin. Let me explain.  Beef tenderloin is not a flavorful cut. If you want flavor save yourself a ton of dough and go buy a sirloin.  What it brings to the table is sweet talking, long walk on the beach, watching a beautiful summer sunrise with your new hon following the evening of your third date tenderness. If you get my drift. If you cook a tenderloin past medium rare what you get is flavorless, used to be tender, "why did I ever marry that jerk" tough. Since it doesn't have a lot of flavor, tenderloins just love to get all buttered up and saucy. And that is called foreshadowing.

Tenderloin is easy to cook if you follow the rules. Deviate from the path and your road is a tough road. What separates tenderloin from tenderloin is a crispy charred outside holding in beef that melts in your mouth. So start with the crisp and worry about actually cooking it later. Yeah, you heard me, crisp first, cook later.  I like to show a tenderloin whose boss by tying it up with a bit of string. This step is not necessary. This is more important with pork.  Every 2-3 inches put a loop of string around the tenderloin to make it round. Now the important part starts.  Salt the tenderloin on all sides and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Leave it out on the counter for about an hour to come closer to room temperature.  No, you won't die from eating flesh that is growing nasty bacteria on the outside. Any evil bacterium will meet its maker soon.

After the hour is over, unwrap the beef. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, with the rack in the center. At the same time, heat up a big metal skillet on medium high to high.  Put in enough peanut or other non-smoking oil to easily coat the pan. What we are going to do is put the char on.  First, place one end of the tenderloin into the searing hot pan. Hold the beef with your hands or tongs if you are too freaking scared of the occasional oil splatter. You'll know when its ready, when the beef fairly easily releases from the pan. You might need to use a spatula to help it let go. It takes about 30-60 seconds. Do not force it. If you are leaving good chunks of beef stuck to the pan, it is not ready yet. The char is supposed to stay on the beef and not on the pan. Repeat the process with the other end and then on all four sides of the tenderloin. This whole process should take no more than 8 minutes. What you should have is a beautifully charred, essentially uncooked, hunk of meat.

There is an alternate technique. Use a blowtorch. Its brute force will do the job. And you can use it to sweat the pipes in your kitchen because you had to put in cut off valves so you can replace your counter tops but that is another story. Use the blowtorch to char the hell out it and any evil bacterium.

Place the charred tenderloin on a cooking sheet with a wire cooling rack. Coat the tenderloin with unsalted butter and spice if you wish. Place the tenderloin in the oven on the middle rack and let let it cook for 40-50 minutes, until an instant read thermometer reads 125 degrees. Cook beyond 135 degrees and you'll get shoe leather. Remove it from the oven and resist any temptation to cut into it for 10-15 minutes. It is still cooking and the juices are moving back deep inside the meat from the walls.  While the beef is resting, generously coat it with herbed or spiced butter.  After the tenderloin has rested, slice it into 1/2" thick medallions of goodness and serve.  I like to serve the tenderloin with extra herbed or spiced butter on top. I served this dish with veggies (red onion, bell pepper, apple and dried cherries) I cooked in the same pan that I seared the meat to add a beefiness to it. I drizzled the veggies with a basil and blood orange sauce. I placed the tenderloin medallions on cinnamon clove spiced quinoa- leave a comment if you want those recipes.

Herbed or spiced butter. Can be almost anything your imagination can serve up. Here's the basics. Use about 4-6 tablespoons of unsalted butter.  Bring to room temperature. Mash in whatever you are using to flavor it. Keep about 2-3 tablespoons to rub the tenderloin after its removed from the oven. The other 2-3 tablespoons can be shaped into discs, squares, swans, automobiles, bunny wraps....and then placed into the refrigerator to cool and harden. Use these miniature flavored butter sculptures as garnish.

Possible combinations for flavoring the butter: Use salt if you want.  Clove or two of garlic minced, 1 shallot, and 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley. Or, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass, 1 minced shallot and 1 tsp of cayenne pepper or 2 -3 minced fresh Thai chiles.  Or 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce, 2 chipotle peppers, juice from 1/2 half lime, and 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro and 1/8 onion minced. Or make up something yourself. Enough.

Beta Baguette French Toast

I love the idea of making french toast from left over baguette, but I've never liked the execution. The very thing that makes a baguette so satisfying, the chewy, crunchy crust, just gets too hard, making it too difficult to cut with a fork and too difficult to chew.

But I still like the idea. We really don't buy much bread, just baguette when we eat antipasto and the occasional roll for a sandwich.

After a night of antipasto we always have some leftover and a couple days later it's hard as a rock. The next day though, it's just stale enough to make the perfect french toast. I figured out how to make it work.

It's all in how you cut the bread- very thin. Keep in mind, I took the pictures very close-up, so the bread looks much thicker than it actually is. I'd say it's cut in about 1/2 inch thick pieces, if not thinner. I only used one medium banana, which was enough for two, so it is sliced paper thin. Use it for scale when viewing the pictures.

This recipe may be the simplest of all my breakfast specialties, in fact, I don't even measure. I made it up off the top of my head and I'm not the AlphaChef. Believe me, after reading this once you won't even have to refer back to the posting.

I made enough for two people, about eight small slices each, which ends up using a little more than a third of the baguette. Mix four eggs with some vanilla- about a teaspoon and a half, 1 tsp cinnamon and about a half cup of milk, but I didn't measure, just add enough milk to dilute the eggs into enough liquid to soak the bread. I heated, on medium-high, two skillets so I could make them in about two batches. I hate trying to keep them warm prior to serving. Put a pat of butter on each skillet when hot. Throw the bread into the egg mixture for about 30 seconds, just enough to coat and soak briefly. I then put the coated bread on the skillet and cook until each side is golden brown.

I piled the pieces on a plate, added bananas and strawberries because I had them around and thought it would look good and served with maple syrup. That's it. Takes about 15 minutes for the whole process. The result is a crisp, but just soft enough, sweet and savory, delicious version of french toast. You can cut it with your fork and chewing is not a problem. Dilemma solved- baguette will never again be wasted in our house.

Beef Stew: a perfect one pot meal

Our picnic table, photo taken by my neighbor Cathy

Just when I thought it was too late for winter comfort food, we get another 3 inches of snow, I am choosing to look at the bright side. Don't get me wrong, I am still holding on tight to the Spring fever that gripped me last week, I'll just have to wear my fabulous new wedge sandals in the house for a couple more weeks. Sitting at my kitchen table eating stew. That's called making the best of it, people.

My favorite thing about winter is comfort food. Big surprise, I know. There are a number of AlphaChef dishes we only eat when it's cold, and they happen to be some of his best. My favorites are a Mexican pasta dish we haven't named yet, but will post, Thai sweet green curry, chicken soup and beef stew. This stew takes a little planning and foresight, but is simple to execute, using the Minnesota favorite slow cooker aka Crock Pot. The best thing about AlphaChef's stews is he frequently uses fruits and vegetables most people wouldn't think about putting in. My favorites have apple, dried cherries, sweet potatoes and parsnips. Once you get the technique down you can use anything you want, the key is to think out of the box, meaning beyond carrots, red potatoes and celery. How boring. Ironically, this recipe follows the boring, standard fair, but is really delicious. You can add anything, as I named above, or you can stick to the tried and true. What is special about this dish is the broth. AlphaChef uses a technique used in Beef Bourguignon, a French dish which uses wine to marinate the meat and for half the broth. This allows for a layering of flavor that elevates it beyond the typical dish of stew. I'll forgive him for not using fancy ingredients...this time.

He does all the work the night before and the slow cooker does the work all day. Start with beef, we used a pound and a half of chuck, sliced into 2-3" pieces. The traditional way is to marinate the raw meat overnight and then braise it in the morning. AlphaChef is more efficient and wanted to be able to pour it all in the slow cooker in the morning, so he braised the beef first and then put in the dish to marinate with red wine overnight. It turned out amazing, so the shortcut worked. Don't worry about the quality of the wine, in fact if you use good quality red wine, you're wasting it. An inexpensive $5-$8 bottle is fine.

To braise the meat: heat a frying pan to medium high, add 2 tablespoons of oil, like peanut oil which won't smoke and not olive oil. Cut the meat into 2-3 inch sections and throw the meat into the pan. Brown each side of the meat using tongs to turn it. Repeat until the beef is browned on all sides and remove. In a dish with a cover or zip-lock bag , pour red wine over the beef until it's covered. Marinate the beef overnight.

AlphaChef puts all of the following ingredients into the slow cooker where is sits overnight in the refrigerator, next to the beef, marinating in red wine (got it?). For this stew he used some baby carrots, grape tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, 1 sweet potato cut into chunks, 3 cloves crushed garlic, 1-2 bay leaves, 4 cloves, 1 onion chopped into large pieces- sauteed in beef fat (from the braising) until clear. In the morning, put all the vegetables and the marinated, braised beef into the slow cooker. Cover the beef halfway with one part beef stock and one part red wine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours (while you're at work, or whatever you do all day). About 30 minutes prior to serving, add salt and black pepper to taste, 1 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1 tbsp dried oregano and mix.

I live in Minnesota, where the cold is very cold and stays around much longer than we like. There is nothing like the energy of Spring and Summer in the Twin Cities, which actually (sometimes just barely) makes the winter worth it. Warm fireplaces, dinner parties with friends, hiring someone to shovel the snow and, for me, rich, warm comfort food, are strategies for getting through. Right now my tulips are peaking out, (yes, they will survive the snow) which means Spring is coming and my fabulous new sandals will soon see the sun.

'Rajasthan' Oatmeal

The Ultimate Beta asked me what I wanted to name my oatmeal I made this morning. I said, "'Rajasthan' Oatmeal."  She wrinkled her nose. Her mouth pulled back into a slight grimace. I was pretty sure I was about to be the recipient of her dreaded German 'psttch' of disdain. Instead, she simply shook her head with disappointment and said, "No.  I don't think so."  I pleaded. "How's that any worse than Peking Duck?"

And now its 'Rajasthan Oatmeal'. For better or for worse.

Let me explain my logic. Across the Middle East and all the way to western India, rosewater is used in cooking.  As is cardamom. It's present in this oatmeal too.  When I was living in India and visiting the ancient city of Jaipur, there was a lassi shop near the famed Hawa Mahal. This shop made a really thick version of lassi with cardamom and rosewater. I was smitten by the combination ever since.  For those who don't know what lassi is, here's a brief description.

Is my version of oatmeal Rajasthani? No. Is it Indian? No. But my memories are.

The recipe is really easy. The measurements are for two servings.  Since if we add Ultimate Beta and AlphaChef together we equal two. Or one meal. Or one damn good couple. And then the Ultimate Beta who was reading over my shoulder went, "Ohhhhhh! Ooh. That's so sweet." Score one for the AlphaChef. Won't need to buy flowers this week.

In a pot with 2 cups of water add: 1 green cardamom seed (not the shell) crushed and ground. Use 1/2 or more of what was finely ground - your call. If it was up only to my taste buds I might use 1 1/2 seeds but the Ultimate Beta is a bit sensitive to cardamom.  [I don't use pre-ground cardamom but I suspect 1/8 of a teaspoon will do it. But don't blame me if its missing or overpowering if that measurement is wrong.] 1/2 teaspoon of dried orange zest. [I think it would be about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon if you use fresh orange zest. If you do use fresh then add it when you add the cinnamon.] 1 pinch of salt. 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Bring to a boil. Add 1 heaping cup of oatmeal. Turn the heat down so the oatmeal is at a very light boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Occasionally stir.

At about the four minute mark add 2 tsp of ground cinnamon and stir it in. I add the cinnamon late because otherwise a lot of it sticks to the side of the pot. Now a total of five minutes of boil time has occurred. Turn the flame off. Kill the heat. Remove from the electric heating coils.  The point is: STOP COOKING IT. Stir in 1 1/2 - 2 tsp of rosewater and 1 heaping tablespoon of ginger pear jelly. [If you don't got that, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger when you added the cinnamon, and stir in the pear jelly or apple jelly, or 1 tsp of honey. You get my drift.] Put the cover on the pot and let sit for 3 minutes. Now while the oatmeal is thickening, slice up a couple of medjool dates. After the 3 minutes is up, stir the oatmeal and place into two bowls. Garnish with the sliced dates, brown sugar and a few leaves of mint if you have them left over from another meal. I usually add a splash of milk too.

I served the meal along with Niman Ranch applewood smoked bacon. Oatmeal and bacon. Its one of our favorite combos.  Not as good as a beer with something or other.  But really close.

Antipasto: The Secret to Our Relationship

 The secret to our relationship, eleven years of bliss, by the way, is taking the time to eat together every night. Our dinner time is sacred. From approximately 7:30-9:00 we are together at one table, no phone calls, television or internet, just us. We talk about work, family, relationships. We wallow, opine (those who know us can only imagine), consult, strategize and ultimately, reconnect. When we skip this time everything feels more hectic, distant and stressful.

One of our favorite ways to eat together is a fabulous spread of Antipasto. It lessens the time AlphaChef is cooking, reinforces the act of lazily eating and sipping wine, and allows us to revel in the tastes and the conversation. With Antipasto the combination of tastes we discover throughout the meal are infinite ("wait, take a bite of this cheese and then a sip of the wine, do you notice the cherry that comes out??") and again, reinforces the act of simply sitting and eating. How could you go wrong?

We just happen to live near the best cheese shop in Minneapolis. Surdyks http://www.surdyks.com/  has the best selection of local and imported cheeses, meats, olives, chocolates, chutneys and condiments in the area. Beyond selection, their staff are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their product, which is obvious the minute you walk through the door. If you get a good cheese monger all you have to do is give the slightest hint that you like good cheese and ask for a suggestion and you'll be sampling all night. I have never felt hurried or pressured, even when the line is out the door. Surdyk's also has a liquor store so you buy your meats and cheese and bring them to a knowledgeable wine seller to pair it, it's foolproof. Below I will divulge some of my favorites, you can bring the names, so you're not flying blind when you go in there (dropping any names at the cheese counter is the hint that you like good cheese, by the way, so pay attention).

Olives d' Provence and Green Lucques

These are the olives. I discovered the Green Lucques some years ago at the Byerly's olive bar. I was addicted from the start. Their grassy green color is complemented by a firm texture and mild, but rich and buttery flavor. The flavor is crisp and clean, there is nothing like it in the olive world. When Byerly's stopped carrying them (and believe me, I anticipate every time like an excited child on Christmas morning and come away just as disappointed) I despaired, until my AlphChef brought them to me from Surdyks. The Olives d' Provence were his way of steering me away from my exclusivity with the Lucques and they stuck, now I buy both. Cured in oil, one goes a long way with an intense salty, herbal flavor.

In our house, protein rules, and while cheese has plenty of it, AlphaChef has to have meat. It just is. So I acquiesce. It's actually not that painful. The Fra Mani Toscana is a salami that begins with the expected flavors but has a surprisingly long lasting finish of garlic, pepper and herbs. We found it went quite nicely with a coarse ground mustard, adding just the right amount of vinegar to highlight the flavors.

French L'Eden Cleron

The cheese. I discovered this cheese by telling the cheese monger that I wanted a soft cheese that was mild but complex (are you getting the verbiage??). This was a lovely brie. It was mild, as suggested, but had a yeasty finish with notes of citrus and a little bit of sour, as one might expect from a blue cheese. It went perfectly with the red wine we paired. We added dates, Medjool dates we found at Trader Joe's to give us some fiber (let's be real) but also to complement and balance the cheese.

Finally the pate. Pate is an acquired taste, it is liver after all. My first experience with pate was stealing some my grandmother was eating and rinsing my mouth for hours trying to get the taste out (Granted, I'm German. It probably wasn't the best stuff). Now I crave it. I started with a truffle mousse, also found at Surdyk's, which is a chicken liver based pate with mushrooms. It was rich and creamy but without the overwhelming taste. Craftsman Restaurant has a fabulous charcuterie plate and I found myself loving the duck pate they serve, so I expanded my pate horizons and tried this Duck Mousse with Port Wine. It is amazingly good. It's creamy, rich and has just the right balance of spices to offset the liver. We tried to stage the picture with the lettuce, it still looks better in person. Let's face it, pate just isn't very photogenic.

All of this was served with a baguette (essential and also at Surdyk's) and a lighter bodied red wine. The food, although hopelessly indulgent, cost about $18 total. I still have half the mousse, a third of the brie and most of the olives left- it is luxurious, but cheaper than a burger and beer for two at most sports bars. Add ambient lighting, a random mix on our stereo and good conversation. It's love.  

"I don't want chicken again" chicken

Okay- I'm going to pay for the whole "AlphaChef gets naming rights" thing. We're in Trader Joe's deciding what to make for dinner and AlphaChef grabs another whole chicken, I said "come on, I don't want chicken again", he assures me it'll be good. I said he has to cut it off the bone, cause I don't feel like cutting it up tonight- he puts that in a blog posting (see the one in which he rails against cider) and then creates one of the most amazing chicken dishes I've had in a long time. I eat his food and, this time, my words.


This chicken dish was done in one pot, for Ruth, and made without excess ingredients and spices, hopefully meeting Venu's needs. You'll both have to try it.

Preheat your oven to 350-365 degrees depending on if your oven runs cold. Take a whole chicken, weighing approximately 3.5 lbs, cut into pieces, de-bone if desired. Or you could just buy chicken parts- legs and thighs are best- to make it even easier. Brown the chicken in a deep, dutch oven or oven safe high-sided pan over medium high heat with a small amount of oil. Put the skin side down first, fry for about 2-3 minutes, when you can ease a spatula underneath and it's browned, flip. Once you've done this with all of the chicken, set it aside. Pour and discard the extra chicken fat from the pan.

Mid-way through, after baking

Take 1 1/2 handfuls of baby carrots, 1 small red bell pepper chopped large, about 2 oz prosciutto in 1" strips, 1 medium white onion cut into 1" chunks, 2 handfuls crimini mushrooms cut in half, 3 cloves of garlic, smashed and 6 halves diced sundried tomatoes, place all in pan. Return the chicken to the pan, on top of the vegetables, add one can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, add 50/50 dry vermouth and chicken stock, so that chicken is half covered. Sprinkle a tbsp fish sauce, cayenne and black pepper to taste. Push 2 bay leaves into the broth.

With spinach, post broiler

Cook in the oven on the middle rack for 1 hour. Check periodically, about 3 times, if vegetables look too brown, submerse in liquid. After 1 hour, remove from oven, pull chicken pieces out, add 2 handfuls fresh spinach without stems (you''ll see in the picture, we didn't remove the stems, he was too lazy) and mix into vegetables. Put chicken back in, skin side up, on top of the liquid/vegetables, turn off the oven and turn on the broiler (high), cook under the broiler until the chicken is nicely browned. Pull out, remove chicken and vegetables, add 3/4 tbsp butter to the broth, bring liquid to a boil until reduced to half, plate and pour the broth on top. 

We paired the chicken with a bottle of red wine we discovered recently at Bar la Grassa (a fabulous place you'll hear more about when we work on our restaurant section).

It's a 2006, Weinert Carrascal, Mendoza. It was about $14, at Zipp's Liquor Store on Franklin and Riverside. A blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 2 1/2 years in french oak casks. It pairs well with vegetables, steaks, pasta and this chicken dish. We never remember wines we like and actually took a picture of the label at the restaurant, we were so impressed. Our memory was right and we really enjoyed the bottle last night with this dish.

Apple Schmarren; a Beta breakfast specialty

Sunday morning, Spring is coming!

For all my breakfast loving followers: I have another pancake recipe that is so easy but looks really impressive and tastes amazing. This is an Apple Schmarren aka Apple Puff Pancake. I've been making this for a number of years after discovering a recipe in the fabulous book "Jewish Cooking in America" by Joan Nathan. This recipe serves four, I cut it in half which is perfect for the two of us.

Preheat your oven to 350* and place an oven safe skillet to heat on your stove top on a medium/low flame. Mix 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt. I will often add about a tsp of cinnamon or a tsp of vanilla. Add 3 large eggs, 1 cup of milk and beat until smooth. Add 2 cored, peeled apples cut into eighths and stir into the batter. Once you've made this a couple times, start experimenting with different fruit. I have used pears, various berries, all with good success.

Brush the heated skillet with butter and pour in the batter. Place the skillet in the oven. I have found that it takes about 20-25 minutes to cook. Monitor it closely, as I've found the cooking time varies. You want the batter to rise around the apples, become crispy on the sides and the batter should appear cooked, not wet.



Once it appears cooked I remove the skillet from the oven and sprinkle it with raw sugar. I turn off the oven and turn on the broiler to high. I put the skillet under the broiler and watch it closely (once it starts to brown it goes fast!) until the sugar starts to brown and the pancake cracks around the apples. Remove from broiler and cut into pieces.

There are many options for serving- syrup, preserves, my favorite is to squeeze a slice of lemon and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

The result is light, crispy, a perfect balance of tart and sweet, ideal for a lazy Sunday breakfast. This is one you HAVE to try.

AlphaKvetch: You call this hard cider? I'll show you cidre bouche' brut

The Ultimate Beta and I were minding our own business when we were jumped by bad cheap commercial hard 'cider'. Not that we shop there much, at the Aldi brother's owned Trader Joe's, but we happened to be near by and dropped in. Its in the 'burbs', kinda of pretentious, but the staff are really, really nice and they have cheap decent quality tuna in olive oil. I digress. But then you've learned this about me by now.

Trader Joe's also has a wine shop, which has cheap dry vermouth that is going to part of a chicken dish I am making tonight. I am gonna have to cut all the meat off the bird because the Ultimate Beta ain't in the mood to use a knife with her dinner tonight. Oy, the labor. What demands. So, I grab a bottle of the aforementioned  dry vermouth and that is when my taste buds were mugged.

Trader Joe's tempts you in with the coy ploy, "Buy any single bottle for a buck."  I think, "Ooh, I can try something I have never had before without much investment."  My downfall.  There the little diseased maggots sat. Directly below the bait. I have never seen this brand of cider before and according to the sign above would only set me back a buck-a-bottle. I was hooked the moment I grabbed the first bottle Newton's Folly Authentic Draft Cider. The hook sunk into my flesh even deeper as I grabbed a bottle of the second version called Granny's Smith Draft Cider. I didn't know enough yet to grab my taste buds and scream in pain.  That happened a few hours later after I took the dreck back to my house to chill in the fridge.

We poured the first one. We took a sip. I have never realized the taste of nothingness could be so horrible.  It was like drinking existential angst, but sweet, artificially carbonated and without merit.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Wrong. In this case it did not make me stronger, it made me dispirited.  "Why, oh why?" I thought. "Why do Americans think this is good? Does anyone really think a Micky D's burger tastes like a real burger?" The rest of the swill was poured down the sink. Cost the same price as a Coke and it sure wasn't the real thing.

We still didn't learn our lesson. We poured the granny smith one. We tasted it. I poured my half down the sink. The Ultimate Beta said, "sorta tastes like something a 16 year old would drink to get drunk at a party if she doesn't like beer." Even Lite beer has more taste and less calories which would be the right choice because her insecurity is telling her she looks chunky in that dress.

Real hard cider tastes like a bottle of 2008 Organic Etienne Dupont, Cidre Bouche' Brut de Normandie.

It does cost more.

But it actually tastes like apples harvested at their peak of ripeness. It tastes like you just bit into a nice juicy apple. You can even taste the apple skin. Its naturally fermented. It can get you buzzed. Its real good. Its down fall, unlike Newton's falling apple. It has gravitas. You will likely need to special order it from a good liquor store. But like a truffle, you got to sniff it out.

Pork Lost in Mexico

My dream is for my man to be on Top Chef. He could do it, but he wouldn't because he hates reality TV. However, supporting my claim of being the ultimate beta, he has upped the ante on presentation and creativity since I started documenting his cooking. It's a win, win. I document, he continues to try to impress.  I should have thought of this a long time ago.

He is insisting on naming this dish "Pork Lost in Mexico" he created it, he has naming rights. Relationship tip: choose your battles. Check this out.

There are three components to this meal, pork loin, cilantro and tomato salad and black bean gratin. The pork is covered in an amazing sauce made with chipotle peppers. It is all much easier than it looks, or so he says.

For the pork: start with dry roasting (just drop in a pan without any oil) 3/4 tsp coriander seed, 1/2 tsp cumin seed and 1/8 tsp anise seed. Roast until fragrant, pull from heat and grind with a mortar and pestle. Put in a small food processor. Add to the processor the juice of a medium lemon, 2 cloves roughly chopped garlic, 1/2 handful fresh cilantro, 2 chipotle peppers. 1 1/2 tsp olive oil and 1 tbs of adobo sauce (I'll describe later). Blend all ingredients into a paste in the food processor. Smear the sauce onto both sides of the raw pork loin and set aside for about 20 minutes to marinate. Set aside 1/2 tsp of the sauce to use in the Black Bean Gratin.

To cook: heat a frying pan on medium to medium low heat, put the pork in the pan and scrape the remaining sauce into the pan, cover with lid and let cook for 3-4 minutes, flip the pork, cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Garnish with finely sliced red bell pepper marinated in balsamic vinegar and salt (let it marinate for the same amount of time as the pork, shake out excess balsamic before plating.

Salad: This is a fabulously simple, fresh tasting dish that provided a perfect counterbalance to the other dishes. Here's the formula- take 2 parts grape tomatoes sliced in thirds, 1 part cilantro, 1 part chopped green onion, add a little olive oil, salt and lemon juice to taste.

Burning the alcohol

Black Bean Gratin: Few would argue the merit of dried vs. canned beans, however, you can't argue the convenience. We like canned black beans, especially Kuner's brand, for quick, weekday cooking (I hope we don't lose too much cred with our foodie friends). Pour 1/2 shot (1 oz) of tequila and 1/4 shot cointreau into a sauce pan, heat pot until lightly boiling and then light on fire to burn off the excess alcohol.

Our favorite black beans and chipotle in adobo

Just before the flame extinguishes, pour in the can of black beans, add a 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp of the pork sauce, 1/2 tsp powdered garlic. Bring to a very low simmer, keep covered. Put into ramekins, add cheese (we used Cypress Grove Midnight Moon Goat Cheese) and place under broiler to melt.

Lillet

I love Lillet. According to Wikipedia, Lillet (French pronunciation: [li'le]) is a brand of French aperitif wine. It is a blend of 85% Bordeaux wines and citrus liqueurs made from a variety of sweet and bitter oranges and grapefruit peels. Lillet is good prior to a meal, after a meal and is a nice contrast to heavier or spicier dishes. It is best served well chilled, with a small slice of orange. You can find it at most liquor stores and keeps well for about a month in the refrigerator after you open it.

Chicken "Scampi" with Angel Hair

As promised, the recipe for the leftover chicken. Don't recognize it, do you?

Shred the chicken you have leftover from the fabulous roasted chicken you made. In a frying pan with olive oil, add 1 small, thinly sliced red bell pepper, 1-1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, cook until softened and add two cloves minced garlic. Add 1 large thin sliced shallot and 1 tbsp butter until garlic is soft, add crushed red pepper if desired for heat. Stir in shredded chicken, a handful of diced parsley, mix and cook on low heat. Add black pepper to taste. Cook angel hair pasta according to directions, top with chicken and vegetables mixture and add Parmesan, toss to coat noodles with oil. There you go, wasn't too hard was it? And you didn't have to waste any chicken.

Roasted Chicken

Vertical roaster

A really nice home cooked roast chicken is a beautiful thing, but it's hard to argue with the fully cooked, rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. Less hassle, SO convenient, but you don't get that roast chicken smell in your kitchen, like I do- and is it really fresh? You can do better. Let me introduce you to the vertical roaster. It's cheap, low tech and simple to use. It's job is simple, but crucial. It holds the bird up so it will crisp all the sides. The extra fat drips into the pan, preventing the dreaded sogginess. There's no basting, no fussiness and it produces perfect chicken every time, okay, maybe not for everybody, there is some monitoring to do, just didn't want to scare you off. We got our vertical roaster years ago at Linens and Things, you can probably get one at Bed, Bath and Beyond or an overpriced one at Williams Sonoma, probably don't have them at Target, but I could be wrong. I think it was $10.

The formula is simple, let your chicken come up to room temperature, set it on the counter for about an hour, rinse and pat dry with some paper towels. Pre-heat your oven to 440*. Put the chicken on the vertical roaster, the picture will make this clear.

Prepped, prior to cooking

To prep the chicken, tie the wings to the rest of the chicken with twine, if it didn't come that way. Lightly coat the chicken with soy sauce (we use the sweet variety, but light will do) and then any oil you prefer. Here's where the power of choice comes in, you can put on any spices you like for flavor. The oil is important as it helps the stuff to stick and browns the skin. On this one, chef sprinkled kanchai powder (otherwise galanga or lemongrass are in the same vein as the kanchai) and lightly dusted the chicken with white pepper and salt.

Done!

Here's the formula: you cook the chicken 10 minutes per pound, plus 10-15 minutes. When considering if it's done, the skin should be very browned, almost blackened, you'll know it when you see it. This is important: take the chicken out of the oven and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before you cut into it. Note from the Alphachef: You want to let it sit because when you cook any type of meat the juice moves towards the outside of the meat. If you immediately cut into it you'll lose all the juice and have dry meat.  By letting the meat sit the juices move back into the center of the flesh and results in a juicer piece of meat.

Still tempted by the grocery store chicken? This is better, I swear it. And you'll use the leftovers. To prove it I'll post a recipe tomorrow with a leftover chicken recipe-  you won't even recognize the bird. 

The finished product! We douse it in a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce for chicken (it's really called that). It should be in most grocery stores in the Asian section, otherwise pick it up when you go to United Noodle for the ingredients to the Szechuan Noodles you were planning on making. My Alphachef is an overachiever and put cilantro on top, it was worth it and highly recommended.

Moo Tooth

This is a shout out to my bros in Colorado.

And its about beer.

Left Hand Brewing Co. of Longmount Co. makes some really good beer. This isn't a review of their beers. Its about what you can do with two of them. And yes, you can have more than two as long as you're responsible, not driving, or taking Tylenol.

The two beers in question are Sawtooth Ale and Milk Stout. So, at this point if you have half a brain and have not currently imbibed more than 6 beers in the last hour, you should know where we are going.

Background for the beer ignorant. I don't mean those who have never drank beer. I am talking about those who have drank beer. Perhaps, copious amounts of beer. May have even used a beer bong. However, have never really thought about the thirst quenching frosty goodness of beer. Which means, most of you.

Now don't lie. We are talking about you.

Sawtooth ale is an American style ESB. ESB means extra special bitter. Now, don't you feel smart. At 5.3% ABV it doesn't get to be called an extra strong bitter. Although, most British bitters are as weak as Milquetoast. Go look it up, if you don't get the reference. To quote the Beer Advocate and no this rag isn't about peoples' sexual preferences. Just beer preferences. Well to continue, they say, "ESBs are essentially more aggressive and more balanced Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, but nothing overpowering."

So don't be scared.

And Milk Stout is a milk stout. And to continue to quote my more learned beer swilling brethren. "Milk / Sweet Stouts are basically stouts that have a larger amount of residual dextrins and unfermented sugars that give the brew more body and a sweetness that counters the roasted character. Milk Stouts are very similar to Sweet Stouts, but brewers add unfermentable sugars, usually lactose, to the brew kettle to add body and some sweetness."



So here's the recipe. Take one cold but not too cold (around 50.7 degrees Fahrenheit) Sawtooth Ale, or Milk Stout and carefully pour half of it into a 16 oz. glass or a pint if you will. Now pay attention. This is the important part. Pour an equal amount of the opposing, not yet poured, the second type that's not the same as the first beer. Its the other beer, you just cracked and haven't yet poured out half of it. Now take that beer. You know the one by now. And pour it ever so carefully that exactly half of it is mixed into the same glass as the first.

You should now have exactly 12 oz or 3/4 pint of beer in the same glass. A 50/50 blend of Sawtooth Ale and Milk Stout. It should now be referred to as a Moo Tooth.

Can't get any simpler than that.


Oh, what to do with the remaining two 6 oz. pours in the two half full bottles. Mix another one, you ignorant beer swilling drunkard.

Or share it with your friend and be considered sociable.

The PBJ Done Right

Sometimes easy, simple and lazy is best.

In this case, Bub's PBJ and cream cheese its not just true but truly rocks. Bub hated to cook. In most cases every bite of her food clearly and painfully reminded you how much she hated to cook. Her PBJ and cream cheese was the exception.

Every bite was damn good.

The rules were simple. Get your hands on a good bagel. Which in Minnesota can be almost impossible. However, a plain Bruegger's bagel will do in a pinch. At least they are boiled and reasonably chewy. Cut the thing through the middle. Its OK. It can't feel a thing.

Then schmear Philadelphia brand cream cheese across one side of the bagel. This is not the time to be conservative, but wildly, flagrantly liberal. Do not skimp on the cream cheese. Do not use whipped cream cheese. Kraft cream cheese just has the right tang. Almost all the other cream cheeses taste too sweet or have no taste at all. If you want food with no taste go to almost any Minnesota-based office's pot luck. The bag of frozen Swedish meatballs had 'tangy' on the label. yeah, right.

Next. Spread Jif creamy style peanut butter on the other half of the bagel. Skippy's will do in a pinch. No. No. No. Don't be fooled. High end, all natural, organic peanut butter is not the same . It doesn't taste as good. It must be the all the corporatist chemicals in Jif that makes it taste better. It really does. Even Cook's Illustrated Magazine agrees. So, it must be true.

OK, here's where you have some choice in the matter. The jam or preserves. Either half of the bagel is fine. You can use strawberry, or whatever you got around the kitchen. It can be cheap stuff. Imported stuff. Organic; fine by me. I happened to use one-year old red currant preserves that I bought for another dish. Used once and promptly forget that it existed in my refrigerator. Until presto, it rose from the dead and blessed my lunch.

I am telling you it rocks. How can just adding the cream cheese make such a difference? You gotta just trust me and try it. You'll be happy. I mean, just check out the picture. Its the centerfold of PBJs.




Options. Yes, there are options.

You could make it out of standard white bread. But if you do, you must cut it diagonally. Corner to corner. in honor of my old friend Aaron Schloff. Who wouldn't eat any sandwich which wasn't cut diagonally. Because that's how his mother did it.


Another option; you could make like Elvis and add bacon.

I have never done this. I am worried I would have a heart attack right there and then. I am not sure if that would be because of the accumulated effects of all the saturated fat or from the sheer bliss. Actually, I am worried if I did add the bacon, my poor dead Bub would spin in her grave. I can even hear what she would say. "Oy vey, You had to do it. You had to add bacon to the sandwich. What will the Rabbi think!" Actually, that's not true at all. She really say, "Bacon is such a pain in the ass to cook. Why waste the time? Now go turn up NPR. I wanna hear that piece by Mozart better."

Cold Szechuan Noodles and Steamed Haddock with Ginger

The Cold Szechuan Noodles are my favorite thing to get at the Tea House: http://ourteahouse.com/ in fact, my chef knows that if he goes here for lunch with friends and doesn't bring me take out noodles, there's hell to pay. Last night we decided to try making them at home. I started with Korean noodles I found at United Noodle (the best asian grocery store in town) http://www.unitednoodles.com/catalog2/. The noodles should be fresh or refrigerated and about 1/8 inch thick. Cook the noodles according to directions, about 4 minutes, you want them to be chewy. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and toss with sesame oil. In a bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp sesame oil, 3-1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (not the same as tahini, it can be found at United Noodle), 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp finely grated ginger and chili garlic paste, we also added extra crushed red pepper for more heat. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with cucumber, orange bell pepper and crushed peanuts. Enough for 4 people. Use processed, rather than natural peanut butter, you'd think the natural would be better, but it's not. In fact, Cook's Illustrated recently named Jif the best for cooking. We'll add protein, probably chicken, in the future.

Steamed Haddock with Ginger- we made too much food. We needed a protein to go with the noodles so I stopped by Coastal Seafoods after United Noodle (right across the street), http://www.coastalseafoods.com/locations they were out of cod, so I got haddock. We use an Asian bamboo steamer, it's really easy. Simply put the fish in the steamer, top with finely sliced ginger, place in a pot with boiling water covering the bottom and steam for 5-7 minutes. The chef then created a sauce mixed with both dark and light soy sauce, 2 tbsp of sesame oil, 1tbsp of peanut oil, heat almost to smoking and pour it over the fish. He topped the fish with the ginger, scallions and cilantro.

We topped the meal off with a sparkling wine, perfectly complementing the peanut and spice of the noodles as well as the delicately flavored fish. This wine came highly recommended by one of our favorite local liquor stores, the SAV http://www.stanthonyvillagewineandspirits.com/ and proved that you cannot judge a wine by its bottle- look at it, it's horrendous! It's called "Sparkling 9.5 Cold Wine" and was very, very nice, crisp, not too sweet, very nicely balanced. We recommend. Bon Appetit!

We always eat what we kill!

Oatmeal Cakes

One morning, at a local restaurant for breakfast I ordered steel cut oatmeal. I was a little taken aback when an oatmeal cake arrived instead. What a pleasant surprise. It was a perfect combination of crispy and chewy, served with a tangy fruit compote, it was a completely new experience in oatmeal. So, when it was eventually removed from the menu I challenged my chef to recreate the experience. I really should have started with him in the first place.

We're calling them Oatmeal Cakes with fruit and yogurt. Made a couple days ago when I was in dire need of yogurt. Start with a pot of Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal. Add approximately 10% more oats than specified on the recipe (without extra water), to make a thicker base. When adding the oats to the water, add 3-4 ground cloves, 1 tsp dehydrated orange peel, 1/2 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. About 1 minute before the oatmeal is done cooking, add 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp powered ginger, 1 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp brown sugar. Turn heat to simmer, cook 2-3 minutes to thicken, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Heat frying pan on medium high flame, add 1 tbsp butter. Spoon oatmeal by the heaping tbsp onto pan, flip when brown, place on plate, top with whatever combination of yogurt and fruit you prefer. We obviously chose bananas and blueberries, add bacon. Devine.

He Cooks...She Cooks

Breakfast is very important in our house. Pretty much any cured pork with eggs, oatmeal or pancakes will do. Featured is an english muffin topped with a fried egg, gouda, carmelized onion and confit of soppresata. I am a very lucky woman.

Breakfast is also the only meal I really get to cook, as it is probably the only time Alpha has little energy to micro-manage. My specialty is pancakes. These are my favorite. Made with sour cream and cottage cheese, lightened with beaten egg whites. Pre-heat a skillet on medium high. Take 1 cup sour cream or yogurt, 1 cup cottage cheese, mix together with 2 egg yokes. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt. Mix with wet ingredients. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry, fold into batter so they are incorporated, but still distinct. When the skillet is hot, add butter to the pan, when bubbly, spoon batter by the tablespoon with a bit of the egg white in each spoonful. Serve immediately with maple syrup or fruit preserves. Variations: I have added blueberries to the wet ingredients, lemon or orange zest is also very good. I have tried substituting ricotta for the cottage cheese, but it made the batter too heavy, I like the old school, Old Home full milkfat cottage cheese in the blue container. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg are also nice additions. Although these are lighter than expected, they are still a meal in themselves, I'll usually skip bacon.