Lynfred Meals and Wines

[lynfred]

Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Hey all, it's been awhile since we posted. We had a major fire in our home around two weeks ago - everyone is safe and OK (thank goodness!) but it was almost a total loss of our possessions, including the pictures we took for the Chocolate Chip and Bacon cookies from last month.

Anyways, I can't think of a better way to combat feeling down about something really bad happening than to have some chocolate chip cookies with bacon in them alongside a glass or two of wine :)

So, that being said, here's the recipe for them:

INGREDIENTS 

2 c. all-purpose flour 

½ tsp. baking soda 

½ tsp. salt 

¾ c. unsalted butter, softened 

¾ c. packed dark brown sugar 

¾ c. sugar 

1 tbsp. vanilla extract 

2 eggs 

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips 

1 c. cooked bacon, cooled and chopped into small pieces 

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 325F. 

Cream butter and sugars together with the paddle attachment of your mixer, just until light and fluffy. Sift dry ingredients together in another bowl. Beat eggs and vanilla extract together in a third bowl. Add of the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl with the creamed butter/sugar mixture and beat into the mixture until it is fully incorporated. Add half the egg mixture and another of the dry ingredients, then beat again until fully incorporated. Repeat; all ingredients except chocolate chips and bacon pieces should now be fully incorporated into the cookie dough in your mixer bowl.

Stir chocolate chips and bacon pieces into the dough. Scoop with disher* onto sheet pans with parchment paper or oven-safe silicon baking mats, leaving 2-3 inches of space between the balls. Will make 1-2 dozen, depending on the size of your cookies.

*If you don’t have a disher, you can use spoons to drop dough onto your cookie sheets, but their sizes will vary slightly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned and no longer give easily when touched.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast Roulade

to be paired with the Lynfred Viognier

One of these days I swear I'm gonna buy that miniature home picture studio.

http://www.amazon.com/Sakar-PS-103-Portable-Lighing-Studio/dp/B000UUR23S

Anyhow, there were a whole lot of bacon recipes during the month of February - and one more coming up this month. It was hard to choose which one to do at first but then we saw the word "roulade" and wanted to try it out again - this time with some plastic wrap over the meat.

http://lynfred.tumblr.com/post/162166913/italian-roulade-served-with-a-2006-barbera-and

Everyone knows that anything wrapped in bacon is better than anything else.

Anything wrapped actually is better than anything else - I already have talked about how much I love anything if it's wrapped in a tortilla. I don't see how you could wrong with making any kind of roulade either. The cool thing about roulade is you can use so many different kinds of meat and basically an infinite number of fillings and you'll get a different meal each time. Definitely try it out if you haven't yet. Ok let's get to it.

INGREDIENTS 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 6-8 strips of bacon 2 c. baby spinach ½ c. onion, diced ¼ c. red wine vinegar Fresh mozzarella, sliced

-> Fresh mozzarella has gotta be in my top 5 favorite food things in life.

1 tbsp butter Salt and pepper, to taste

PREPARATION Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in a skillet and saute onion until it softens and begins to brown. Add baby spinach and cook just until wilted, stirring as needed to cook evenly.

Deglaze pan with red wine vinegar and cook until most of the vinegar has evaporated. Allow to cool to room temperature.

While spinach mixture is cooling, butterfly chicken breasts and stick each newly butterflied breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound out thin and flat with a skillet. The plastic wrap will keep the raw chicken and its juices contained to minimize the mess.

-> The plastic wrap blurb above is one of the most important directions in a recipe that you will ever follow.

Pull the top piece of plastic wrap off of each chicken breast. Spoon cooled spinach mixture into the middle of each chicken breast; do not overfill. Put a couple of pieces of sliced fresh mozzarella on top of the spinach mixture. Gently fold the chicken breast up and over the filling, so the filling is completely surrounded. (You want the juices and melted mozzarella to stay inside the chicken breast as you cook it later.)

Wrap 3 pieces of bacon around each chicken breast. Depending on the size of each stuffed chicken breast, you may need a fourth piece of bacon to completely surround the chicken.

-> Don't be afraid to really get in there and wrap everything up tight. You can wash your hands later.

Place bacon-wrapped chicken breasts in an oven-safe pan and bake in oven for 45 minutes. Bacon should be cooked and chicken should no longer be pink inside. Enjoy immediately.

[lynfred]

Fried Coconut Shrimp

from Lynfred Winery Chef Chris Smith to be paired with the Lynfred Seyval Blanc

I've always said that really good cooks don't leave a clean kitchen after cooking. This one got messy but was delicious when all was said and done.  As you will see from the below pictures, I ended up just basically piling all the shrimp together into a big mound and tossing it with the coconut shreds and the batter.  The only thing I would really do differently is to spend the extra money on the large shrimp. 

I cheaped out like I normally do and bought about a pound and a half of the small shrimp around 12.99USD / pound instead of the larger shrimp which was at around 25 bucks a pound.  I quickly ran out of batter as well so I would say to double that as well.  Also regarding the shrimp if you get say 12 large shrimp it'll come in well under a pound so you might end up paying the same price.

What else?  Oh, the dipping sauce...this is the stuff you get when you go to a restaurant. I'm not a fan of it in general so really didn't use the sauce we made.  However if you like it, save the ingredients here because it was super easy to make from scratch.  Food!

Shrimp Ingredients

Vegetable oil for frying ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon baking powder 2/3 cup water 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut ½ cup panko bread crumbs

-> Make sure to specifically look for the panko.  It should be right by the regular bread crumbs. Panko is crunchier and bigger and is better to bread things.

1 ½ pounds medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined

-> See note above about the shrimp.  Also unless you have a lot of experience cooking shrimp I would just got the pre-cooked stuff - it's the ones that are already pinkish.

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

½ cup orange marmalade 4 teaspoons rice vinegar ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Shrimp Directions

In a large, heavy pot heat about 2 inches of the oil to 360 degrees.

-> It says to do this first, but I'd wait to heat up the oil until you're ready to start frying. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add the water and whisk until smooth.  Let the batter stand for 15 minutes.

In a wide, shallow pan, toss the coconut and bread crumbs together.

-> The coconut will probably clump up on you.  Make sure you break up all the clumps.

Put the shrimp into the batter, one by one, remove the shrimp and dredge in the coconut mixture, pressing to help the coconut adhere.

Fry the shrimp in batches in the hot oil for 1 ½ to 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Allow to drain for 1 to 2 minutes.

In a small, non-plastic microwave safe bowl, stir together the dipping sauce ingredients. Microwave on high about 45 seconds or until bubbly. Stir and serve with the shrimp.

ENJOY!

[lynfred]

Cannellini Bean Bruschetta

It's the return of the table!  Contrary to popular belief, the table DOES still exist, but it's usually covered by clutter.  It's amazing how much stuff a tiny human being requires.  Anyways on to the recipe!  Anyone will tell you that I love anything cheesy - in food and in life - and anything spread on bread is always good. We got the bread loaf frozen from Lynfred Wheeling, I think it was 350 for like 10 minutes and was it GOOD.   Onward!

We also did a lot of substitutions, like I said in the last post we're going to call in when we do.

Ingredients

1 cup dried cannellini (white kidney beans) or Great Northern beans, picked over

-> We've found that preparing dried beans takes hours that we don't really have, so we normally do canned beans.  1 cup dried beans = 2 cans of...canned...beans.

2 celery stalks, halved 2 carrots, halved 2 onions, halved 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 whole cloves 1 bay leaf 4 tablespoons olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

-> We usually just do some kind of Italian cheese mix.

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried 6 1/2-inch-thick slices from large crusty round loaf of white bread 3 garlic cloves, halved

Directions

Place beans in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover beans by 2 inches. Bring to boil. Boil 2 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans.

-> Because we used canned beans, we were able to just pour the beans into the saucepan (after draining them) and heat them up - only about 5 minutes or so.

Return beans to same saucepan. Add celery stalks, carrots, onions, pepper, cloves and bay leaf.

Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boil over high heat. Re duce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans are tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. (Beans and vegetables can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

-> Once again, if you used cans, just bring to a boil and simmer while you're prepping everything else...doesn't need to be 45 minutes.

Drain beans, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid. Discard vegetables, cloves and bay leaf.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add 2 cups beans (reserve remaining beans for another use), both cheeses, 3 tablespoons parsley, 2 tablespoons butter, rosemary, sage and reserved 1/3 cup cooking liquid.

Stir until cheeses and butter melt, whisking constantly and mashing b eans to form thick chunky sauce. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Arrange bread on large baking sheet. Brush top of each bread slice with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Rub with cut side of garlic clove halves. Broil bread until lightly toasted. Transfer bread to plates.

-> We didn't do all the broiling.  We just baked the bread and rubbed with olive oil and garlic and it was delicious.

ENJOY!!

[lynfred]

French Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

We've 3 weeks left in 2013, and 3 meals left...looking to do one a week and start anew with something different in the posts like we normally do until I forget.  The first thing you might be saying is "hey!  that's not a rack of lamb!"...I've been thinking about talking a bit more of how we do substitutions for ingredients either due to cost, time, or availability.  Will probably start here with this one...

Sauce Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 3 pounds lamb stew meat  

-> I believe we used two pounds, and it was ground.  Couldn't find stew meat (which I'm assuming means cubed)

1 pound onions, coarsely chopped 1 large carrot, chopped 4 large garlic cloves, chopped 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence 4 1/3 cups Lynfred Petite Sirah 3 cups low-salt chicken broth 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Lamb Ingredients

1 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh thyme 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage

-> OK here's a big one: we've pretty much made the switch from fresh herbs to dry or ground herbs (depending on what it is).  We didn't in particular here because it was so much, but did in next week's recipe where I'll talk more about the conversions, but conversion charts are legion online for anyone looking for a cheaper and easier alternative.

1 tablespoon ground black pepper 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

-> Remember, unless it says extra virgin, it's ok to use the regular stuff

3, 1.5-pound well-trimmed 8-rib racks of lamb, preferably frenched

 -> Racks of lamb by us run something like TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS A POUND.  So yeah we just usually substitute some type of lamb steak for the rack.

Sauce Directions

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add lamb and sauté until deep brown, turning occasionally, about 18 minutes.  Using tongs, transfer lamb to bowl. 

-> Since we were using ground it didn't take nearly as long, maybe 5-10 minutes.  And obviously used a spoon hehe

Add onions, carrot, garlic, and herbes de Provence to pot. Sauté until vegetables are deep brown, about 8 minutes. Add wine and broth to pot; return lamb and any accumulated juices to pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered 1 1/2 hours. Strain into large bowl, pressing on solids in strainer to release all stock. Spoon off any fat from surface of stock; return stock to same large pot. Simmer until reduced to 1 1/3 cups, about 15 minutes.

-> Below are pictures of the strained and skimmed stock and the solids.

  Mix butter and flour in small bowl to smooth paste.

Whisk paste into stock. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened and smooth, whisking constantly, about 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Transfer to small saucepan, cover, and chill. Rewarm before using.)

Lamb Directions

Stir fresh herbs and pepper in medium bowl to blend.

Add 2 tablespoons oil and mix until herbs are sticking together. Sprinkle lamb racks with salt. Firmly press 1/3 of herb mixture over rounded side of each rack to cover. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Place on large rimmed baking sheet. Cover; chill.)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

-> NOTE: this whole next paragraph can be skipped if you're not doing a rack of lamb.  It works just fine putting what-have-you into the oven.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 lamb rack to skillet, herbed side down. Sauté until browned, about 4 minutes. Turn rack over and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. Place rack, herbed side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Repeat, fitting remaining racks on same sheet.

Roast lamb until thermometer inserted into center registers 135°F for medium-rare, about 25 minutes. Let lamb rest on sheet 15 to 20 minutes. Cut lamb between bones into individual chops. Arrange 3 chops on each plate. Drizzle with sauce and serve.

ENJOY!!

[lynfred]

Zucchini and Ricotta Fettuccine

Another item in a bowl, yes!  (Longer-time readers know I love everything either wrapped in a tortilla or served in a bowl, in that order.  There's probably a third favorite type out there somewhere).

This was quite an interesting pasta dish.   The zucchini and lemon tastes, for me, actually didn't come to the forefront until the pasta sat in the fridge overnight.  The original taste was just kinda cheesy pasta.  But the next day, look out!  

It was like eating a completely different meal, and that's not a bad thing.  The zucchini stayed fresh and a little lemon goes a long way.   For what this meal is, I felt it was kinda too much work to be honest, not something in the everyday repertoire...but as always, I think everything should be tried once.  Go for it! 

Ingredients

Salt 1 pound pappardelle [the most elusive type of pasta known to man.  whenever we see pappardelle we just get the craziest shaped pasta we can find] 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated Zest of 2 small to medium lemons 2 medium- large or 4 small zucchini, cleaned and shredded, but not peeled Freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 1/8 cup chopped fresh mint [We didn't use mint] 1 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese, at room temperature

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.  For al dente, usually about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the garlic and saute until golden, about 1 minute. Add the lemon zest and cook for 30 seconds longer. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the zucchini and cook, stirring until tender, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  [I highly suggest prepping all this stuff before-hand]

Remove and reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and quickly toss with the zucchini, parsley, basil, and mint.

[pre-toss]

[post-toss]

Spoon on the ricotta and toss lightly again, add small amounts of the cooking water to lighten the cheese to the consistency you like, and serve.  [We basically just dumped all the ricotta on at once]

[and got a pretty good consistency]

*for a heartier meal, add grilled chicken breast or fish, such as tilapia or halibut.  [and last but not least, the dish smothered in chicken strips]

ENJOY!!

[lynfred]

Braised Lamb w/Horseradish

Wow, just a slight hiatus, huh? Not entirely sure what happened. Well, actually, I'm completely sure what happened. I got down in the dumps about my picture-taking skills AND Tiny Human Time-Suck Invasion continues. Tiny Human Invasion will continue (which is a good thing) AND I've been pointed to apps that make pictures look better without doing much (which is also a good thing). There are pictures for meals over the last 2 months but if past performance is any indication, I won't be going. Maybe when T.H.I. goes off to college. Anyways, we're back this month with Braised Lamb w/ Horseradish!

A couple of things here: the recipe calls for lamb cubes and we got totally lazy and just sizzled up some ground lamb. The recipe still worked. Also if you have trouble finding actual horseradish root, a 3 or 4 tablespoons of horseradish mixed in while you're cooking will perform the same trick. RECIPE TIME!

Ingredients

For the lamb: 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 pounds boneless lamb, from the shoulder or leg, cut into small cubes 6 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered 2 cups total combination chicken or lamb stock, white wine, and water 1 large horseradish root

For the parsley purée: 2 packed cups parsley leaves, roughly chopped 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

For the lamb: Combine the salt and pepper in a small bowl.

In a large, deep skillet with a tight-fitting cover, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add as many of the lamb cubes as will fit without crowding and cook, undisturbed, until they are well browned on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. (You will inevitably have to brown in batches.) Turn the cubes over, season with some of the salt and pepper mix, and brown on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a plate and repeat with the remaining meat (the browning will take about 15 minutes total if your skillet is 12 inches or larger). Adjust the heat so the pieces brown as rapidly as possible without burning. Turn off the heat and let the pan cool for 1 minute.

[As I talked about, we went the ground lamb route, then just put it into a bowl to sit while doing everything else.  -ed.]

Turn the heat back to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 1 minute.

Pour the stock, wine, or water into the pan, raise the heat, and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any cooked-on bits. Simmer for 1 minute.

Add the browned lamb, along with any juices that have collected on the plate. Bring the pot to a boil, cover, then reduce the heat until the mixture simmers very gently.

Peel the horseradish and cut it into 1/4-inch-thick slices (keep the root from your eyes and nose; it's pungent). Stir the horseradish into the pot. Simmer, covered, until the lamb is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (shoulder meat will cook faster than leg meat). Taste the lamb before serving and add more salt and pepper if desired.

For the parsley purée: In a blender combine the parsley with half the olive oil and the garlic cloves. Purée to a rough paste, then pour in the remaining oil while the blender is running and process to a smooth paste. Mix in the vinegar and salt, taste, and adjust the seasonings if desired.

Serve the stew, passing the parsley purée on the side.

ENJOY!!

[lynfred]

Steak and Potato Bun Burgers

So, I know I promised a pizza extravaganza, and we did do a few more home-made pizzas, but the original posts and pictures were just pretty much a pizza get-together, and since I haven't posted in awhile, I figured I would just move it on along.

Onward!  Steak and Potato Bun Burgers.  I had never in my life heard of using mashed potatoes to make any kind of bread or bun, but apparently it's a thing.  

The buns that came out were really good, but be forewarned that they are realllly thick.   They last a long time too (we had our extras in the fridge for almost 4 weeks).  As for the burgers, I mean, come on, anytime you get a chance to make a patty out of anything, you should just do it.

Potato Bun Ingredients and Directions

1 cup sugar

1 cup mashed potatoes

1/2 cup lard or shortening [use lard!  don't be a wimp!]

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 to 2 packs yeast

1 cup warm water

5 cups flour

Mix together well the sugar, potatoes, lard (or other shortening), eggs, and salt.

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup warm water; then add that to the above mixture.

Add dry ingredients into a stand mixer bowl with dough hook attachment and incorporate the wet. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky but moist. Let rise until doubled.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Measure out dough to 3 ounces each, and in a circular motion with cupped hands, form into bun balls of dough. Align onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, cover with a damp towel, and let proof slightly in volume.

Brush with milk.  [I more "deluged" with milk, I didn't brush]

Bake until lightly golden brown, about 12 minutes.   [we took em out kinda early, as you can see here.  They were still really good though, especially warm]

Steak Burger Ingredients and Directions

2 pounds ground chuck

1 pound ground sirloin

3 tablespoons steak sauce

6 extra-large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

caramelized onions and blue cheese crumbles (optional; traditional garnishes with a steak)  [we didn't use either of these but if you like either, go nuts]

Carefully mix the meats, steak sauce, egg yolks, salt, and pepper with gentle fingers, but do not mash it.

Lightly form each hamburger and lightly press into a patty shape. Make an indentation and put a thin slice of butter inside each hamburger, making sure the butter is entirely encased in the meat.  [I didn't encase the butter in the meat.  As you can see from the next two pics, I just let it melt all over, top-down]

Heat a grill, broiler, or sauté pan and cook the hamburgers for 3 to 5 minutes on each side until almost done.

Remove to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Allow the hamburgers to rest for 5 minutes and serve immediately on buns.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Potato, Asiago, Parmesan & Oregano Pizza

Pizza Extravaganza, Part 1!

This is the first of three pizza recipes that came right in a row.  Each one was crazy delicious in its own way.   There's a possible new thing to try as well:  if you've never made pizza dough before, now's the time.  It's so, so good. 

There are pizza dough ingredients here in the recipe, which I'll include, but I just went on google and used the following link to make the dough, and it was fantastic:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Pizza-Dough

Also, we didn't melt the onions, but raw onions on there worked as well.

DOUGH INGREDIENTS [see note above] 1 package active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup warm water 1 tablespoon kosher salt pinch Dia-mal (malt powder found in baking section – optional) Extra virgin olive oil 3 cups 00 flour, plus more for dusting [we just used regular old flour] PIZZA INGREDIENTS [we used a lot more cheese than the recipe calls for] 1/4 cup melted onions 1 yukon gold potato 1 cup grated fontina 2 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves 2 tbsp. grated grana padano Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Make the dough.

Spread dough with melted onions. Cut potato into 1/16" slices using a mandoline; spread slices over dough.  [you should be able to get a mandoline slicer pretty cheap from any gadgety kitchen store.  Or, use a knife...but watch your fingers.]

Sprinkle with fontina, oregano, grana padano, salt, and pepper.

Transfer pizza to a baking stone and cook pizza, under the broiler, rotating every 2 minutes with a long metal spatula, until edges are golden, 6-8 minutes.  Transfer pizza to a board; slice and serve. [We didn't do it this way.   We basically pre-heated the oven to 400, then just kept an eye on it until the cheese browned, worked swimmingly!]

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Pork & Pancetta Stuffed Mushrooms

Another cool recipe that had something I've never tried before, capping and filling mushrooms.  It was pretty simple once I got the hang of it, and the mixture inside was delicious.   I had/have plans to record a quick video showing how easy it is, but finding it difficult to get 90 seconds of quiet with a teething baby and two dogs.  Maybe one day...

Oh, also, I cheated and bought pre-cubed pancetta because I'm lazy.  Onward!

INGREDIENTS

Extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch dice 1 onion, finely diced Pinch crushed red pepper flakes Kosher salt 2 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped 1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned, caps reserved, stems removed and finely chopped [Remember: cremini is a fancy word for "regular ol' mushrooms"] 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 pound ground pork 1 large egg 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1/2 cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, add the pancetta, and put the pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the pancetta starts to become brown and crispy. [This happens really quickly, don't walk away from it]

Add the onion and the crushed red pepper, and season with salt, to taste. Cook until the onions are very soft and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the mushroom stems and rosemary and saute until they look very brown and wilted. Add the white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool. 

In a large bowl combine the pork, egg, Parmesan, and bread crumbs. Add the cooled mushroom mixture and combine well. Make a little tester patty and cook it to make sure the seasoning is correct. Season with salt, if needed. If the filling seems a little dry add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to really moisten things up.

Fill each mushroom cap generously with the filling.  Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is cooked through and brown and crisp on top, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to serving platters and serve hot.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Medallions of Pork Roast w/Pear-Apple Compote

Warning:  Don't eat the compote too fast on account of it being so delicious.

PORK INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon coriander 2 pork tenderloins, cleaned

COMPOTE INGREDIENTS 1 shallot, chopped 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced 1 Bosc pear, peeled and diced 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup apple cider 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Pinch cayenne pepper, about 1/8 teaspoon

DIRECTIONS

In a skillet heat the honey and spices until foaming.  [Note: this starts foaming almost immediately, so don't get freaked out]

Place the pork in the skillet and cook, turning occasionally. Transfer to a baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven until desired done-ness.

Place 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium pan and add the shallots. Saute the shallots over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the mixture until soft and thickened, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Transfer the compote to a serving bowl. Slice the pork into medallions and serve with compote.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Tuscan Sliders w/ Black Olive Tapenade

To reveal something about my classiness, or more specifically my lack thereof, I enjoy things in this order:  anything wrapped in a tortilla, anything in a bun, anything in a mini-bun (Slider Form).   This is the third one...anything in slider form is automatically good, and this is proved once again with this recipe.

As with anything where you need to stack a lot of things together, don't worry about getting messy, just go for it!   This was really easy to make and really fun.   It's one of those recipes that are a great take on a classic that people are gonna love.

...I had notes in my head, but I've since forgotten as we fall behind a bit.  I really need to get a notepad.  Oh well, ONWARD!

Ingredients

4 count 8oz burger patties, broken up into pieces 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated in hot water [skipped of course] handful fresh basil, chopped 1/8-1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese 64 count baby spinach leaves, 4 per slider 16 count miniature buns 1 large can pitted black olives, drained and minced 1/3 cup olive oil 1 pinch fresh chopped herbs

Method

In a large mixing bowl combine burger patties, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Thoroughly mix together, and then weigh out 16-count 2oz patties.

On a preheated grill, or in a preheated grill pan, spray grates with oil and place burgers on to cook. Allow 4 minutes per side.  Once flipped, sprinkle grilled sides of patties with Asiago cheese and let patties cook through.

Toast bun halves on the grill or in the pan; set aside. As patties are resting, combine the minced black olives, 1/3 cup olive oil, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper to make the tapenade.

To assemble, spread some of the tapenade on the bottom bun. Add 4 baby spinach leaves, followed by a patty andthen the top bun. Put them out for guests and watch them fly!

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Spiced Pear Cake with Brown Butter

The "make a bunch of small loaves of bread for various people" season is coming up (one of my favorite seasons!).   This would be a perfect candidate.   We didn't use nearly enough pears but other than that I'd say follow the recipe exactly...maybe adding a pinch more cinnamon if that's your thing.

Also, I attempted the brown butter thing twice and couldn't get it right, it was never the right consistency.  I think it should be tried out of course, but this is also good up to a week or two later, heated up for about 20 seconds in the microwave and slathered with your favorite butter product.

Ingredients

For the cake: 3 large, ripe Bosc or Anjou pears (peeled, cored, and cut small) 2 tbsp. sugar 2 tbsp. brown sugar 1.5 tsp. cinnamon ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 2 c. all-purpose flour 1 c. whole wheat flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1.5 c. sugar 4 eggs ¾ c. milk ½ c. vegetable oil ½ c. unsweetened applesauce

For the brown butter: ½ stick unsalted butter 2 c. powdered sugar, sifted 4-5 tsp. boiling water 1 tsp. vanilla extract

PREPARATION

For the cakes: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two loaf pans thoroughly. Toss pear pieces with the spices, 2 tbsp. of sugar and 2 tbsp. of brown sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

Whisk together all the wet ingredients and the sugar in a third bowl.

Stir dry ingredients into wet, just until combined – do not overwork the batter, or it won’t have a delicate crumb.

Fold the pears into the batter and divide between your two prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pans, and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. This cake is also good served warm. No matter how you choose to serve it, drizzle it with brown butter directly before serving.

For the brown butter:

[like I said, I didn't get this right...not even close] Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly to keep from burning; turn heat off once the butter starts to turn brown. Whisk in half the powdered sugar. Next, stir in vanilla extract and 3 tsp. of boiling water (hint to make your life easier: 3 tsp. = 1 tbsp.). Gradually stir in the remaining powdered sugar, adding more of the boiling water as necessary. You want an icing that is pourable, but somewhat thick. Drizzle finished icing over the cake just before serving.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Blue Cheese Flank Planks

6 years ago, my then girlfriend, now wife (and mom to our first kid!) and I said, "hey, these Lynfred meals are fun, we should take pictures of them!".  If you told me that we'd still be doing these, I woulda called you crazy.  I can't believe it's been so long.  We've learned so much about cooking through working on these meals.  It's been an unbelievably fun time and I hope it continues for a long time.   Okay enough about that, onward to the food!

Not only is this recipe fun to say, I would say that it's SO good that it would be on the magical menu for the seven course dinner party that we have been planning for 5 years...

Really the only note I would have for this one is the importance of getting actual flank stank.  Everyone that reads this knows that I don't care about substitution for pretty much any ingredient, but when you're making an appetizer-style dish like this that's meant to be bitten without the use of utensils, tenderness is the name of the game.  Get flank stank, get good flank steak, and have the butcher double-tenderize it (and if they don't tenderize, get your meat somewhere else).  And make sure not to overcook it.   You're gonna be rewarded, big time.

Ingredients [uh oh, ingredient pictures just might be back!]

1 French-style baguette, halved lengthwise olive oil 2 large cloves garlic 2ct 2# flank steaks salt and pepper 1 head curly endive 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced 8 oz blue cheese crumbles 1 cup dry-toasted pine nuts 2 red bell peppers, oven roasted

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Dress bell peppers with olive oil and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, or until skins shrivel. Cover with plastic film and let steam to remove skins.

(we had a difficult time getting the skins off, and gave up after a bit.  It didn't affect anything that we could tell, still very delicious)

Once removed, slice into strips and set aside. Slice each halved portion of baguette into thirds. Dress with a drizzle of olive oil and place into oven to toast. Upon taking out of oven, rub with garlic clove to season. Set aside. On a hot grill, or on a grill pan indoors, season flank steaks with salt and pepper and hit the heat.

Cook each side for 3-6 minutes, depending on thickness of steak cuts. Set aside and allow to rest.

In a dry skillet, toast the pine nuts (whoops!  forgot these!) over medium-high heat until lightly golden brown. To assemble, arrange curly endive on baguette portions. Follow with bell pepper strips. Continue with bias-sliced flank steak, yellow onion, and finish with blue cheese crumbles & pine nuts.

Lie out on a platter and watch them disappear!

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Lime-Crusted Tilapia

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the recipes that have you try something maybe a little different, a little bit outside of the comfort zone (or a lot outside).

That was the case with this recipe, using the ripped up corn tortillas as a base for a crust was simple but I would have never thought of it, which is part of the reason I'm not a professional chef.  Anyways, onward to the recipe!  

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets 6 corn tortillas, torn in pieces 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon lime juice 1/4 cup fresh cilantro 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon seasoning salt 1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place tortilla pieces, pepper, lime juice, cilantro and spices in blender.

Pulse until the mixture is uniform small crumbs. Spread on plate.

Beat egg in shallow dish. Dip each fillet in egg, then in crumbs, patting crumbs to adhere. Place on baking sheet.

Bake until fish flakes, about 15 minutes depending on thickness of fillets.

  ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Lynfred Blackberry Wine Cake

We made this for New Year's Eve.  Delicious!  And we definitely want to try to make it with other types of gelatin and wine.   Bakers, I'd suggest getting on this right away!   We also noticed that it was even better after being able to sit for a day or two so everything could soak into the cake.

Cake Ingredients 1  box white cake mix 1  3-oz.box blackberry gelatin 4  eggs 1  cup Lynfred Blackberry wine ½  cup chopped pecans ½  cup cooking oil Glaze Ingredients 1 cup powdered sugar (plus extra) ½ cup butter ½ cup Lynfred Blackberry wine Cake:  Combine cake mix and gelatin; add eggs, oil and wine.  Beat with mixer on low speed until moistened, then on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl often. Grease and heavily flour Bundt pan. Sprinkle pecans on bottom of pan. Pour in batter and bake in preheated 325 degrees oven for 45 minutes. When done, remove from oven and punch holes in the cake with a wooden spoon handle.  Pour half of the glaze over warm cake while still in the pan.

Cool for 10 minutes, then turn cake out of pan and cool.

Glaze:  Mix glaze ingredients together and bring to a good boil. More powdered sugar may be added if needed to thicken. Pour over cake. Serve with Lynfred’s Blackberry wine.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK

[lynfred]

Cheddar Dill Gougeres

Cheese Straws, meet your match.

Ingredients

1/2 cup water 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons Large pinch of kosher salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 4 large eggs 1 cup cheddar cheese, plus more for sprinkling 1 tsp. dill, plus more for sprinkling Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, bring the water, milk, butter and salt to a boil. Add the flour and stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan, and dries out a bit. Roughly two minutes.

  Turn the dough out into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one. Add the cheddar cheese, dill and pepper.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a half inch tip (or a disposable bag with the tip cut off) and pipe tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets at least two inches apart.

Sprinkle with cheese and additional dill.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm or room temperature.  The gougeres can be frozen or refrigerated. To reheat, cook in an 350 degree oven for at least five minutes, or until piping hot and crisped.

ENJOY!!

EK & LK