Navy Bean Truffle Dip

Last week a friend brought some store-bought White Bean Truffle Dip to my house. Now I love truffle oil and salt. In fact, I bought a popcorn popper just so I could pop popcorn and drizzle with truffle oil and truffle salt. So of course, I loved the dip.  In honor of the Army-Navy game today, I thought I would make my own version.  Here it is. Go Navy!

RECIPE: NAVY BEAN TRUFFLE DIP

Ingredients:

§  2 (15-ounce) can navy beans,  drained and rinsed

§  1 head of roasted garlic (see below)

§  ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

§  1 cup olive oil

§  1  hand full of fresh parsley leaves

§  1 ½ tsp salt

§  ¼ tsp black pepper

§  1 tbsp White Truffle Oil

§  Pita Chips and/or veggies

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  
2. Cut of top of garlic head and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminium foil. 
3. Roast Garlic for 40 minutes. Then allow to cool.
4. Place everything but pita chips and veggies in food processor. Blend together.
5. Serve with pita chips and/or veggies.  

Singapore Shrimp Noodles

I love when I can throw together a dinner that is healthy, easy and very tasty. I didn't have rice noodles and the angel hair worked great. I also think this would well with chicken instead of shrimp. If you want more heat, you can add sriracha to individual plates or into the broth-soy sauce-sugar mixture. 

WINE: GEWURZTRAMINER OR RIESLING

As most of you know, I am pregnant. Therefore I did not have any wine with this dinner. However, I would recommend a semi-dry Gewurztraminer or Riesling with this dish.

RECIPE: SINGAPORE SHRIMP NOODLES

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

·         6  oz of skinny rice noodles or angel hair

·         1/2 cup  chicken broth 

·         3 tablespoons soy sauce

·         1 teaspoon brown sugar 

·         3  tsp peanut oil, divided

·         1 large egg, lightly beaten 

·         1 red bell pepper cut into strips 

·         1 tablespoon  fresh ginger, minced or grated

·         ¼ or ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper 

·         4  garlic cloves, minced 

·         1 tablespoon curry powder

·         8 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined (or sliced chicken thighs)

·         1/2 cup green onions, sliced

Directions:

1.      Cook noodles according to package directions, Drain.

2.      Combine broth and brown sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add soy sauce. Set aside.

3.      Heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

4.      Add egg; stir-fry 1 minute or until soft-scrambled, stirring constantly.

5.      Remove from pan.

6.      Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat.

7.      Add bell pepper strips, ginger, crushed red pepper, and garlic; stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

8.       Add curry powder and shrimp; stir-fry 3 minutes. (If you substitute chicken you will need to cook for a few minutes longer).

9.      Stir in noodles, broth mixture, and egg; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

10.  Sprinkle with green onions.

11.  Serve.

Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake: 3 Different Varieties

This Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. In fact, I love it so much that I have tried and succeeded in making a cake, cupcake, and cookie-like version.  Both the cake and cupcakes are great options for larger parties while the cheesecake squares are great for smaller parties or when short on time.

Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake Traditional Recipe

Ingredients:

·         ~3/4 of a bag of Oreo cookies (save remaining cookies to sprinkle on top)

·         6 tbsp butter, melted

·         24 oz. of cream cheese, room temperature (3 packages cream cheese)

·         1 cup sugar

·         3 eggs, room temperature

·         2/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream

·         1 tbsp vanilla

·         2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 325°F.

2.      Place Oreos and melted butter in food processor. If you don’t have a food processor you can crush Oreos in plastic bag then mix in butter with electric mixer.

3.      Press Oreo mixture into bottom and up sides of 10 inch spring form pan.  

4.      Bake for 8 minutes.

5.      Cool.

6.      Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth.

7.      Gradually beat in sugar until smooth.

8.      Add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth.

9.      Blend in Baileys and vanilla

10.  Pour batter over crust.

11.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips

12.  Place into 325° F oven.  I like to put a pan of hot water on bottom rack of oven to keep cheesecake moist.  Bake for 1 hour or until center has set and is springy.

13.  Cool completely then top with Espresso Whipped Cream and crushed Oreos (see recipe below).

14.  Refrigerate overnight before serving. 

Espresso Whipped Cream Recipe

This is also a delicious addition to your morning cup of coffee. I love making homemade whip cream. It is so easy and you can make all different flavors. Other good coffee flavors: Put a tbsp of baileys into whipping cream and beat. A tsp of raspberry extract, sugar and whipping cream is yummy too. Let your imagination run awhile.

Ingredients:

·         1 cup chilled whipping cream

·         2 tbsp sugar

·         1 tsp instant espresso powder (instant coffee will work well too)

·         ¼- 1/3 cup crushed Oreos

Directions:

1.    Using an electric mixer, beat whipping cream, sugar and espresso powder together until sharp peaks form. This usually takes about 5 minutes.TIP:  It helps to place bowl and beaters in refrigerator first to get them cold.

2.    Spread whip cream on cooled cake or cupcakes.

3.    Decorate with crushed Oreos.

Baileys Cheesecake Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients:

·         12-15  of a bag of Oreo cookies (save a few cookies to crush cookies and sprinkle on top).

·         ½ cup of mini chocolate chips

·         Pam for baking or butter for greasing

·         24 cupcake wrappers

·         24 oz. of cream cheese, room temperature (3 packages cream cheese)

·         1 cup sugar

·         3 eggs, room temperature

·         2/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream

·         1 tbsp vanilla

·         2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 325°F.

2.      Spray bottom of cupcake wrappers with Pam or grease with a little butter

3.      Crumble ½ an Oreo cookie into bottom of wrapper. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Make sure bottom of wrapper is covered.

4.      Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth.

5.      Gradually beat in sugar until smooth.

6.      Add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth.

7.      Blend in Baileys and vanilla

8.      Spoon batter into each cupcake wrapper. About 2/3 of the way up.

9.      Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

10.  Place into 325° F oven.  I like to put a pan of hot water on bottom rack of oven to keep cheesecake moist.  Bake for 25 minutes or until center has set and is springy.

11.  Cool completely then top with Espresso Whipped Cream and crushed Oreos (see recipe below).

12.  Refrigerate overnight before serving. 

Baileys Cheesecake Squares Recipe

This is a simplified and smaller quantity version of this cheesecake. I like making this when having a smaller dinner party 4 – 8 people.  It is not as heavy and is very easy.  Yet still delicious. 

Ingredients:

·         2 cups mini Oreos

·         1/3 cup butter, melted

·         ½ cup sugar

·         1  8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature

·         1 egg, room temperature

·         3  ½ tbsp Baileys Irish Cream

·         1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

·         ¼ cup crushed mini Oreos

Directions:

1.      Place 2 cups mini Oreos and melted butter in food processor. If you don’t have a food processor you can crush Oreos in plastic bag then mix in butter with electric mixer.

2.      Press Oreo mixture into bottom of 8’ x 8’ pan. Chill for 1 hour.

3.      Preheat oven to 350°F.

4.      Blend sugar and cream with electric mixer until smooth.

5.      Blend in egg and Baileys.

6.      Pour over Oreo crust.

7.      Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

8.      Bake 25-30 minutes until center sets (it will be a little springy).

9.      Cool then chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

10.  Cut into squares and serve.

Salted Caramel and Vanilla Cupcakes

I have neglected this blog since we have moved from Monterey, CA to Maryland. OK, even a little longer than that. However, I was asked for this recipe and decided that this was a good opportunity to try to revive this project. A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I were in DC and shared a divine piece of Salted Caramel and Vanilla Cake. I knew I wanted to recreate the experience. I read several recipes and below is what I created. I have to add that I am quite proud of how these turned out. Ridiculously yummy! Although I do think they taste better the next day as the cake absorbs the caramel.


Do set aside at least a couple of hours to bake, let caramel cool and assemble. I had to play with making the caramel. I threw away my first batch as it got too hard from over-cooking. I changed my method and now I have gotten the technique down nicely and it is explained below. Since I had not thought about writing these up I apologize that I didn’t take any pictures. I’ll try to remember next time I make them and add some then. In addition I did not sample these with any wine. Hard to believe, I know. However, I feel very comfortable in saying these would be delicious with a Brut Prosecco or Cava.

RECIPE: Salted Caramel and Vanilla Cupcakes
Yields 24 Cupcakes
Ingredients:
o 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
o 1 3/4 cups sugar
o 2 large eggs
o 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
o 1/2 teaspoon salt
o 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
o 2 1/2 cups flour
o 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder.
3. Sift in flour alternating with buttermilk.
4. Stir until batter is smooth.
5. Fill lined muffin tins with batter.
6. Bake at 375° for 18- 20 minutes.
7. Let cupcakes cool 45 to an hour before adding filling.

RECIPE: Salted Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
o 1 cup sugar
o 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
o 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
o 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat. The best way to do this is let it melt on its own. If it appears to be melting unevenly, stir it to spread heat. This may cause lumps, but they should melt.
2. Melt butter and cream in microwave

3. When sugar turns a deep amber color, SLOWLY add the butter and cream and whisk until the caramel is smooth. Whisk in salt. If there are any hard pieces, break them up with spoon. If some don’t break up, you can strain caramel into a bowl.
4. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

5. Using a large pastry tip or a paring knife, cut a small round piece out of the top of each cupcake.
6. Pour in around 1-2 teaspoons of caramel. You may have some leftover caramel. You can add this to the caramel for frosting.

RECIPE: Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
o 1/4 cup granulated sugar
o 2 tablespoons water
o 1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
o 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
o 1 cup butter, softened
o 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
o 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
o Sugar and a tiny amount of sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Make caramel for frosting. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water and cook over medium heat. Cook until it turns a deep amber color.
2. Remove from heat and slowly pour in cream and vanilla, whisking until it is very smooth. Return to heat if lumps. Strain if necessary.
3. Let cool for around 20 minutes, until it’s just barely warm and still pourable.
4. Meanwhile, beat butter and salt together.
5. Add powdered sugar and beat until thoroughly combined.
6. Pour in the cooled caramel and beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes.
7. Spread or pipe onto filled cupcakes (if frosting is too runny, the caramel was too warm when added – refrigerate for around 15-20 minutes until frosting is stiffer. If you leave it in fridge to long it will go to stiff, allow it to return to room temperature).
8. Sprinkle each cupcake with a small pinch of sea salt and some sugar.

Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Rolls and Orange-Peach-Mango Mimosas

“Will you marry me?” and “These should be illegal,” were some of the responses I received after serving these maple bacon cinnamon rolls.

“You never should have made these?” was my husband’s response. He didn’t mean they were bad. He explained that they were too dangerously good. This is a recipe that needs to be reserved for that once a year on Christmas morning kind of indulgence. These cinnamon rolls were inspired by a maple bacon funnel cake my husband had at a fair in Washington (Blues, Brews, and Beautiful Views post). The next day we went to Springhouse Cellars in Hood River, Oregon winery and loved a Syrah that had suggested pairings as bacon and pancakes with maple syrup. An idea was shaping... a delicious, naughty, absolutely not nutritious recipe was developed. I share it here.

These cinnamon rolls are not technically difficult, but take a long time to rise. You need two –three hours before they are ready to bake. My recommendation is to make these the afternoon/evening before you want to serve these and bake in the morning. You can also easily make the icing for the glaze in the morning too. Just refrigerate the buns once they have finished rising.

WINE: ORANGE PEACH MANGO MIMOSAS

Even though a Syrah inspired this dish, I felt mimosas were a better choice for breakfast. When making mimosas, I skimp on sparkling wine quality and get the cheap stuff. I am a huge fan of mango juice over plain OJ. Today, I could only find Orange, Peach, Mango juice which was also delicious. Just mix half a glass of sparkling wine (or champagne) and half a glass of juice.

RECIPE: MAPLE BACON CINNAMON ROLLS
Yields 1 dozen

Ingredients:
• 1 package dry yeast (3/4 tbsp)
• 1 cup half-n-half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 tsp Cinnamon and sugar mixture (roughly 2 parts sugar, 1 part cinnamon)
• 12 pieces bacon, cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces (I used nice thick slices of Apple Maple Bacon)
(FYI: Ingrediens for filling and icing are listed below with recipes for these)

Directions:
1. Put half-n half in microwave for one minute. Pour into large bowl.
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm half-n-half.
3. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of flour. Mix well.
4. Stir in one cup of flour.  I used a fork at this point to stir as it was too thick for my electric mixer.
6. Add fourth cup of flour. Knead in by hand. I transferred to a cutting board and kneaded for a couple of minutes. You may need to add ¼-1/2 cup of flour so it is not sticky. Knead the dough into a large ball.
7. Put in a bowl, cover with towel and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. This took about an hour and a half for me. While rising, make filling (recipe below) and cook bacon.
8. To make it easier to manage, I cut the dough in half before rolling out.
9. Roll half the dough out on a lightly floured surface or parchment paper . You want to get it as close to a rectangle as you can. You want the dough to be about ¼-1/2 inch thick.
10. Spread with half of filling (see recipe below).
11. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon & sugar mixture.
12. Spread out half of bacon pieces in six rows.

13. Start rolling the dough at the shorter end until you have one roll. Cut in half then divide the remaining pieces equally into 3 parts each (So you have six rolls).

14. Repeat steps 9-13 for other half of dough.
15. Grease two nine inch round pans.
16. Place six rolls in each pan around the edges leaving space between. Leave the center empty. This will allow for even baking.

17. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for another hour. You can refrigerate over night once they have risen in the pan.

18. Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
19. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.
20. While the rolls are baking, make the icing (see recipe below).
21. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing. Serve warm.

RECIPE: FILLING
Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter softened
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 ½ cups confectioner sugar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
1. Combine above with a mixer in a medium bowl.

RECIPE: ICING
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup half n half
• 4 cups confectioner sugar
• ½ tsp maple extract (or a little more to taste)

Directions:
1. Combine above with a mixer in a medium bowl.

Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Grilled Chicken and Grated Zucchini with Mercy Chardonnay

Here’s a good way to jazz up a simple chicken breast if you want something different or a little fancier –looking and tasting. The zucchini is also a fun and unique twist on this vegetable. Suggestion: the leftover goat cheese, basil and sun-dried tomatoes make excellent pizza toppings. Throw in some kalamata olives and you have one of my favorite pizza pies!


WINE: 2009 Mercy Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco (Monterey)

Mike and I discovered his Chardonnay at a recent wine festival. It was our favorite wine of the day. The aroma is full of tropical fruit with a hint of honey. The buttery mouth is simultaneously round, silky and creamy. It opens with pineapple and a touch of banana then finishes with butterscotch and a little vanilla. In a word….yum.

Chardonnay was a great pairing with this dish. If you want to try a red, I would experiment with a Grenache or Rhone blend. A medium body Pinot may be nice too. You need something with some body to stand up to the sun-dried tomatoes.

RECIPE: Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Grilled Chicken
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp pepper, divided
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup white wine
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 oz goat cheese (this works best if room temperature)

Directions:
1. Heat grill to medium heat
2. Brush chicken breasts with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper and thyme on each side.
3. Grill chicken on medium heat until cooked through. This will largely depend on size of breasts. I find that it usually takes 6-8 minutes per side.
4. Once chicken is on grill, sauté garlic in 1 tbsp of olive oil for 1-2 minutes in a medium skillet over medium heat.
5. Add wine and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium high until it begins to bubble then decrease heat to a simmer. Simmer until wine and juice has reduced to half.
6. Stir in butter to skillet.
7. Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper to skillet. Stir, remove from heat and set aside.
8. As soon as chicken is off grill, top each chicken breast with 1 oz of goat cheese. Spoon half of sun-dried tomato and basil sauce over chicken.

RECIPE: Grated Zucchini
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
• ~ 1 lb of zucchini
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup shallots, minced
• ¼ tsp of pepper

Directions:
1. Grate the zucchini, using a cheese grater. I cut the zucchini into quarters first.

2. Toss with ½ tsp salt.
3. Place in a colander and let drain for 5-10 minutes.

4. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter into the olive oil
5. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until shallots are tender.
6. Stir in zucchini and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes until zucchini is tender.
7. Serve.

Pesto Shrimp Quinoa Bowl with Thatcher Controlled Chaos

My day began with our coffee pot breaking, followed by a mad dash to Starbucks which caused me to be late to work. Throw in an unexpected and an especially busy day, and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was deal with dinner. This is a simple and healthy dinner that is perfect when you need a little lazy at dinner time. In addition to easy, this recipe is extremely versatile. You can use cooked shrimp, cooked chicken or langostino tails (I like the ones at Trader Joes). I have made this recipe with all kinds of different veggies: asparagus, broccoli, snap peas, green beans…whatever you like or have on hand. Tonight I went with langostino and asparagus! You can make your own pesto or use store bought.

Quinoa is one of those superfoods we keep hearing about. This whole grain is a complete protein and full of fiber. It is also higher in is higher in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc than other grains. It is also an anti-oxidant and is believed to fight diabetes and breast cancer. The only down side I have found with quinoa is that it needs to be rinsed before eating, and the seeds are so tiny that I have not found a way to do this without rinsing half down the drain. I solved this problem with spending a little more money on spouted quinoa at Whole Foods which doesn’t need to be rinsed.

WINE: 2007 Thatcher Controlled Chaos, Paso Robles

I wanted a lazy dinner, but I also wanted some wine. When trying to decide on a bottle, I saw this bottle of Controlled Chaos. After my crazy day, I had to select this 42% Zinfandel, 37% Mourvedre and 21% Grenache. The unusual blend was full of fruit, spice and all that was nice. Was it the perfect wine for my dinner? Probably not. Was it the perfect wine for my day? Definitely.

A Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc would be two good white varietals to try with this dinner. If you are looking for a red, I would suggest a robust Pinot Noir or a more traditional Rhone including GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre).

RECIPE: Pesto Shrimp Quinoa Bowl
2-3 Servings

Ingredients:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth (adjust if directions for quinoa call for a different amount)
• 12 oz cooked shrimp, langostino tails, or cooked chicken breast
• ~1 1/2 cups of chopped asparagus (1 inch pieces), snow peas, snap peas, broccoli or whatever vegetable you want etc
• ¼ cup Basil pesto (see below for recipe or buy some!)

Directions:
1. Cook quinoa according to package directions using broth instead of water.
2. Heat olive oil on medium heat.
3. Add shrimp, langostino tails, or chicken and veggie to pan. Cook about 5minutes until shrimp etc is heated and veggies are tender.
4. Drain any excess water from shrimp and veggie pan.
5. Stir in lemon juice.
6. Add cooked quinoa and basil to pan and stir. Serve.

RECIPE: Basil Pesto
Makes about 1 cup (you can freeze remaining)

Ingredients
• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Place all ingredients in food processor or blender.
2. Combine well.

Marinated NY Strips and Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes with Christopher Cameron Red Wine

I had a nasty cold for almost two weeks, so I was not preparing a lot of exciting meals. Now that I am healthy and caught up on everything else, I wanted to make my husband a special dinner. This marinade was inspired by some wine that was left over and forgotten from Friday night. If you want you can cook the remaining marinade and drizzle over the steaks themselves. The steaks were extremely tasty but the potatoes and the wine stole the show tonight. I have made several versions of these potatoes before. Tonight I actually used shallots instead of onions as it was what I had on hand. I have also used blue cheese instead of gorgonzola. I have peeled Yukon gold potatoes for guests who don’t like potato skins. It all works great. Tonight was actually the first time I added bacon to these. If you want a vegetarian option, I think you will still very much enjoy this dish without the bacon. However, the addition of the bacon took these mashed potatoes over the top. Ridiculously good! Now I just need to go to the gym.


WINE: 2005 Christopher Cameron Red Wine, Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma)
http://ccvwines.com/


This meal needs a substantial wine to stand up to the steak and the bold flavors of the mashed potatoes. A great Cabernet or Bordeaux/Meritage is the perfect accompaniment. Tonight I decided on this Christopher Cameron’s Bordeaux blend. Forgive me if I get ultra cheesy here as my taste buds are dancing. This wine is phenomenal!!! It smells so good that a couple of times I forgot to sip after breathing in the complex and delicious nose: berries, spice, hints of licorice, a little earthiness. Subtle cola and tea notes mingle with the plum, berry and spice on the palate. So smooth, so intricate. The the late spicy vanilla finish hits, and I can’t help but smile with every time taste. I am so glad I used some leftover Syrah in the steak marinade so I can savor every last drop of this bottle.

RECIPE: Marinated NY Strip Steaks
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
• ½ cup red wine, dry (not cooking wine)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 NY Strip steaks
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Whisk together everything but steaks and fresh cracked pepper.
2. Add marinade to Ziploc bag.
3. Place steaks in bag and marinate for `~8 hours.
4. One hour before cooking remove steaks from marinade and refrigerator. Let sit out at room temperature.
5. Heat grill to high. Wait about 10 minutes until grill is ~500°.
6. Carefully place steaks on grill, do not slide. Cook on covered grill about ~5 minutes letting them get a nice sear. Flip, uncover grill and cook for ~5 minutes. This cooked our steaks to a nice medium-rare.
7. Remove steaks from grill and let rest 5 minutes before eating.
8. Top with fresh cracked pepper and sauce if desired.

OPTIONAL: Sauce for steaks
Directions:
1. After removing steaks from marinade, save marinade in fridge.
2. When steaks are placed on grill, put marinade in small sauce pan. Bring to boil for about a minute then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until it’s time to eat.
3. Drizzle over steaks.

RECIPE: Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
o 11/2 lbs red potatoes, cut into sixths or eighths
o 1 tablespoon olive oil
o 3-4 shallots or 1 medium (sweet) onion, diced
o 3 cloves garlic, minced
o 1 tsp dried rosemary or 2 tsp fresh rosemary
o 3-4 pieces of bacon, pre-cooked and chopped
o ¼ cup butter
o 1/3 cup half-and-half
o 1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
o 1/2 tsp teaspoon pepper
o 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Caramelized shallots

1. Heat oil in a skillet at medium heat. Add shallots (or onions) and cook, stirring frequently. Cook until they caramelize ~15 to 20 minutes.

2. Bring potatoes to boil in a large pot of water, cook until tender ~ 20 minutes.
3. Add garlic to onion/shallots and cook 3 minutes.
4. Stir in rosemary and bacon to shallots/onions and garlic, cook for one minute and then remove from heat.
5. Drain potatoes and add to mixing bowl.
6. Add butter, half-and-half, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix with electric mixer until blended. Taste. You can add more of any of the following if like.
7. Stir in onion/shallots,garlic, bacon and rosemary mixture.
8. If timing is off, transfer to an oven safe dish and place in warm oven until steaks have rested.

Nutella Cookies with St. Barthélemy Barbera Port

I fell in love with Nutella when I spent a summer as a Nanny in France. I was searching recipes using the chocolate hazelnut spread, and I found several for biscotti. However, I like cookies soft and chewy, so I modified a biscotti recipe to make these cookies. And they came out just as I like them.


WINE: 2002 St. Barthélemy Barbera Port, Lodi

This dessert wine boasts floral notes on the nose. The palate is full of cherry giving way to licorice and spice. The body is full yet not as sweet as many Ports I have had. Port and chocolate is a natural pairing, but I like that this one is not too sweet. I also think a slightly sweet Prosecco or Cava would be a fun pairing too. And let’s be honest, any red wine will work with chocolate!

RECIPE: Nutella Cookies
Makes ~32 cookies

Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (~half a bag)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in sifter. Set aside.
3. In mixing bowl cream together the butter, Nutella, brown sugar and sugar. This is much easier to do this with an electric mixer as the Nutella is a little thick. With the mixer it takes a few minutes to get this well combined.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for another minute until smooth.
5. Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt). Stir until all is well-mixed. The dough will be very soft.
6. Fold in hazelnuts and white chocolate chips.
7. Spoon out about a tablespoon onto a cookie sheet.
8. Bake for about nine minutes until the edges are just beginning to brown. The cookies will not look done, but this is the key to soft cookies. Let cool then enjoy.

Spice Rubbed Maple Cedar Salmon and Spicy Potatoes and Asparagus and McIntyre Pinot Noir

I love recipes that are easy but also have a certain “wow” factor. Everything came together wonderfully with this meal. I had eyed the cedar planks at Whole Foods for a while and finally purchased a couple that came with salmon fillets. This salmon recipe is modification of the recipe that came with the planks and fish. The planks can be re-used until there is not enough left to cook on. You can wash them with soap and water and air dry after use. You do need to soak the planks for at least an hour before using. Click HERE to buy some cedar planks on Amazon.

I have also been doing quite a lot of reading about cooking salmon until it medium instead of cooking until it all flakes as this usually produces a dry fish. It is perfectly safe to cook salmon to medium and this will result in a more buttery, mouth-watering moist piece of fish. A good trick to knowing when the fish is cooked to medium is looking for when the edges begin to flake. If you want to test it you can stick a fork in the thickest part of the fish. Bring the fork to your lips or back of wrist (you want sensitive skin), if it is warm to hot, remove the fish even if it does not look done in the center. With this recipe it is especially important to remove the fish as they will continue to cook on the plank. In general, most salmon will cook a little bit more once removed from heat.

WINE: 2008 McIntyre Vineyards Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey)

My husband and I had the 2007 vintage of this wine at an event and loved it. I finally found this 2008 and was not disappointed. Smoky, cherries, robust…all the things I like in a Pinot Noir. And it was an amazing paring with this meal. This Pinot is made in limited production (the bottles do not even have bar codes), so it may be very hard to find. I am personally a big fan of Santa Lucia Highland Pinot Noir as well as Pinots from Russian River. In fact, these are the only two places I will buy Pinot from if I do not get to taste it first. Again, I like bigger Pinot Noirs and this recipe does need one with at least medium body to stand up to all the flavors.

RECIPE: Spice Rubbed Maple Cedar Salmon
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
• 2 cedar planks
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 salmon fillets
• 1 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp maple syrup, divided

Directions
1. Soak Cedar Planks for at least an hour.
2. Heat grill to medium-high.
3. Combine paprika , chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, brown sugar and salt in a small bowl.
4. Brush each salmon fillet with ½ tsp of olive oil and half of spice rub.
5. Place empty planks on grill. Close lid. After five minutes, flip over. Add salmon to heated side of plank.

   

6. With grill closed grill salmon for ~ 12 minutes (adjust for thickness of salmon and plank) or until medium (see above).
7. Drizzle ½ tsp of maple syrup over each fillet and serve.

RECIPE: Spicy Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
• 1 lb red potatoes, cut into eighths
• 2 tbsp chili oil (or olive oil)
• 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
\• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp salt

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400°.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together everything but potatoes.
3. Stir in potatoes, tossing to coat.

4. Add potatoes to cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until desired crispiness (I cooked them for about 40 minutes, but I like them crispy!).

RECIPE: Spicy Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:
• 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
• 1 tbsp chili oil (or olive oil)
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp Cajun seasoning
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (or more for extra spice)
• Salt, to taste (my Cajun seasoning has salt in it, so check this before salting)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400°.

2. Combine onion powder, Cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes.

3. Place asparagus on cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over asparagus.

4. Sprinkle with seasoning. I then distribute the seasoning and oil with my hands. Don’t be afraid to get messy.

5. Cook for 10-12 minutes until asparagus begins to caramelize.