m+m: December 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

The Only Plant We Have Kept Alive

Marty and I tend to kill any flower or plant that we attempt to grow, but for some reason this pepper plant is delightfully growing in our dining room!

They are great to cook with and beware: home grown peppers tend to be a lot spicier than store bought!

I'm Not a Baker, but...!

I decided to attempt baking Lemon & White Chocolate Pots de Creme! It was a very tideous process, but it was well worth it and they turned out DELISH!!
[Lindt white chocolate]

[The yolk, sugar and lemon zest mixture]

[Everything combined and sitting in HOT water.]

[Right out of the oven.]

Beautiful!

Recipe:

- 2 bars white chocolate chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (recommended: Lindt)
- 3/4 C heavy cream
- 1/4 C whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1/2 C fresh raspberries
- Ramekins or custard cups

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 300 degrees.

Put the white chocolate in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan, over low heat, add the cream and milk and heat until hot but not boiling. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth. In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and salt together until smooth. Slowly whisk the cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Ladle the custard into 4 (4-ounce) ramekins or custard cups. Arrange the ramekins in an 8X8 inch square baking dish. Pour enough hot water in the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes until the custard is almost set and still slightly soft in the center (custard will set as it cools). Let the ramekins cool for 30 minutes in the baking dish. Remove the ramekins from the water and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 1 day.

Garnish with fresh raspberries!

I made this dessert to go along with the following soup and steak recipes. All courtesy of Giada!

Asparagus Leak Soup w/Herbed Goat Cheese

When cooking with leaks, don't forget to completely wash them! They tend to have dirt inside of all the layers.
[Sliced leaks, chopped asparagus, chopped fresh basil & chicken broth]

Used the immersion blender for this soup!

[Goat cheese & fresh basil]

[Cute little goat cheese balls in the fridge chillin'!]

Ta-da!

Recipe:

Goat Cheese:
- 1/2 C (4 ounces) goat cheese, at room temp
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
- S&P

Soup:
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1 large leek (white and light green part only), thinly sliced
- 4 C low sodium chicken broth
- 2 lb medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 C chopped fresh basil leaves
- S&P

Using a fork, in a small bowl, combine the goat cheese and basil until smooth. Season with S&P, to taste. Form in to mini balls and arrange on a non-stick surface (I used a Silpat) and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In a dutch oven, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring constantly until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the broth, asparagus and basil. Season with S&P, to taste. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. Season with S&P, to taste. Keep the soup over low heat.

To serve: Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the herbed goat cheese ball.

Thanks, Giada!

Filet Mignon w/Rosemary & Mushroom Gravy

Chop up the rosemary!

Shiitake & baby bellas

Marsala wine mushroom gravy

Recipe:

Steaks:
- Vegetable oil cookingspray
- 2 (8 ounce) filet mignon steaks
- S&P
- olive oil

Gravy:
- olive oil
- 2 large or 4 small shallots, minced
- 2 C assorted mushrooms (I used shiitake & cremini)
- S&P
- 1/2 C Marsala wine
- 1 1/2 C low-sodium beef broth
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

Steak: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a small baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside. Season the steaks w/S&P, to taste. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and brown on all sides. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes for medium-rare doneness. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board.

Gravy: In the same skillet used for the steak, heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and mushrooms and season with S&P, to taste. Cook until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until imost of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beef broth and rosemary. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until half of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until smooth. Season with S&P, to taste.

Cutting across the grain, slice the steak and arrange on a platter. Pour the sauce into a serving bowl and serve alongside the meat.

[This is supposed to serve 4. Marty and I like our beef, so we used this amount of beef for the 2 of us ;)]
Thank you Giada!