Sam is a vegetarian so, while we don’t necessarily eliminate meat when she is here, we try to plan meals that are either vegetarian or include some kind of seafood.  Tonight we are having a shrimp and veggie paella.  It will be loaded up with red and green pepper, asparagus, mushrooms, green onion and paprika shrimp.  Tomorrow night she has requested potato pancakes and fresh applesauce.  Also on the menu, Stir fried rice, stir fried veggies and crab wontons, and a smoked salmon and cream cheese frittata. 

With meals like this who misses meat?

Short ribs are a tougher cut and need to be braised.  I carefully seared the dried and seasoned ribs on all sides, added the liquid and put them in a 125 degree oven to braise slowly overnight.  The next morning I checked the ribs and found they were still stubbornly clinging to the bone.  In fact, a knife would even penetrate the meat.  So the dutch oven came out of the oven and onto the stove top.  I turned the heat on low and left them on top of the stove for the rest fo the day.  They were perfectly cooked by dinner time.  I will use the oven method again but will raise the temperature to at least 225 degrees farenheit.  So here is my version of the recipe ( of course I tweaked it – did you expect anything different?)

Braised Short Ribs – serves two

• 4 beef short ribs
• 3 tbs grapeseed oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 7 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 New Mexico Chile pods – these can be omitted
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tbl dried thyme
• 1 bottle of beer, pale ale works well.  I found a microbrew that was an IPA with coriander from Belguim Brewery out of Colorado Springs, CO.
• 2 qts chicken stock

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant.  Set aside. Dry the short ribs and season with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a dutch oven and sear the ribs on all sides.  Do not crowd the meat.  When the ribs are browned, remove them from the pan and add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onions are soft.  Add the spices, chiles and thyme and saute until fragrant.  Add the beer and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits.  Put the ribs back into the pan and cover with the chicken broth.  Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and place the dutch oven in the oven for at least 5 hours. 

The ribs are finally done – this is where I really deviated from the recipe.  Short Ribs are a pretty midwestern dish.  That means they are served with a starch and usually gravy.  So I decided to make a batch of noodles and turn the braising liquid into a really good gravy.  I removed the ribs to a covered plate.  I strained the braising liquid and discarded the solids.  I mix together some flour and water in a shaker and stirred it into the how braising liquid.  It turned into a perfect flavorful brown gravy.  I served it with some fresh carrots.  It was a hit.  George liked it so much he asked it I would make it again next month.  Will do.

Stuffed Baby Bella Mushrooms Serves 2

• 8 small or 4 medium baby bella mushrooms
• 2 – 3 tsp vegetable or grapeseed oil
• 1 cup grated swiss cheese
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic – minced
• mayonnaise to moisten
• sat and pepper to taste
• Wipe the mushrooms clean and remove the stem.  Chop the stem into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.  Using the edge of a spoon, carefully remove and discard the gills from the mushroom cap.   Oil the mushroom cap and place on a baking sheet.  Add the grated cheese, chopped onion and minced garlic to the chopped mushroom stems.  Mix in enough mayonnaise to make hold all the ingredients together.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Fill the mushroom caps with the cheese mixture and place under a broiler.  Broil until the cheese is melted and browned in spots.  Serve immediately.

This same cheese mixture can be placed in 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto Triscuit Rye crackers and placed under the broiler.  A great appetizer when you are serving only finger food.

And for those of us who are neither Giants nor Patriots fans; Wait until next year!

New Mexican Omelette – 1 Omelette

• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbl diced roma tomato plus additional for garnish
• 3 tbl diced green pepper plus additional for garnish
• 3 tbl grated sharp cheddar, Colby jack cheese, or Mexican Cheese
• 1/4 cup diced ham steak
• 2 tbl adobo sauce
• 2 tbl butter
• Mix the diced ham and adobo sauce in a  small bowl and set aside for 5 – 10 minutes.  You want the adobo sauce to penetrate the ham.  When it is time to prepare the omelette, melt  the butter in an eight inch omelette pan until the butter stops foaming . Do not let brown.  Put the adobo flavored diced ham and diced green pepper in the omelette pan and cook until the pepper is softened.  Remove pepper and ham from pan into a small bowl.  Beat the eggs.  Add more butter to the omelette pan if it looks too dry.  Allow the better to melt.  Pur the eggs into the omelette pan and swirl.  Cook the eggs lifting the cooked sides of the omelette and allowing the raw egg to move to the sides of the pan until almost completely set.  Sprinkle the cheese directly over the entire omelette.   Put the green pepper, adobo ham and tomato on the right half of the omelette and cover the pan.  Turn off the heat, leaving the pan on the unlit burner while you garnish the plate.  To plate the omelette; loosen the edges of the omelette with a spatula.  Tilt the pan and slide the omelette unto the plate; flipping the left side of the omelette over the right (filled) side of the omelette.  Finish the omelette by garnishing with the diced tomato and green pepper. 

I usually serve omelettes with country potatoes with appropriate seasoning – today it was a blend of chile powders.  The plate is garnished with a chiffonade of mixed greens (depending on what’s in season) sliced tomatoes and, depending on the omelette fillings, a bit of cheese or other vegetable.   My guests loved it.  Come visit us at the Sandhill Crane Bed and Breakfast and this could be your breakfast!

First, let me explain about bonus classes.  The Santa Fe School of cooking offers cooking classes covering the cuisines of New Mexico and Mexico with occasional rare forays into French.  They have a fairly extensive repertoire of different classes that are offered on a rotating basis.  Located right off the Plaza in Santa Fe, the classes are a great introduction to New Mexican food and a must for any visiting foodie.  I attended my first class at the school the very first trip we made to Santa Fe.  I was hooked. 

Over the last several years I have been going to the ‘Bonus” classes.  The bonus classes are only offered in January and February.  These demonstration classes are designed to allow the school to test recipes being designed for classes that may be added to the rotation.  The classes start at 10 am and conclude about noon; at which point you get to eat the food that was prepared by the chef/instructor.  So class and a lunch – not a bad way to spend a morning.  Not all of the Bonus classes yield “keeper” recipes.  Yesterday’s class certainly did.  Our instructor, Deena Chafetz, demonstrated the following recipes; Braised Beef Short Ribs, Tomatillo and Poblano Conserva, Toasted Cumin Cream Corn, Red Chile-Pistachio Filo Crisps with Lemon Curd, and, as a special bonus, red chile onion rings.

The beef short ribs were seared and then braised with garlic, onion, cumin, red chile pods, coriander, Mexican Beer, chicken stock, canela  and thyme.  Obviously, there is not enough time between 10am and noon to adequately braise the short ribs so she made a demo batch and then showed us the one she had made the day before.  This is comfort food for a midwestern girl like me.  The cream corn was made with fresh corn that had been roasted.  Onion, cumin (notice a theme here) garlic, and red chile powder were added to the corn in a pot with heavy cream.  Yummy goodness.  The Tomatillo and Poblano Conserva combines tomatillo and poblano with honey and lime.  It is cooked slowly until it starts to thicken.  Fantastic with the short ribs.  Our dessert was the Red Chile-Pistachio Filo Crisps with lemon curd.  She started the lemon curd at the beginning of the class and it had reached the proper consistency by the time we were ready to eat, around noon.  And for those of you keeping track, there was no cumin in the lemon curd!  The filo dough used for our dessert had been prepared ahead of time but she demoed the recipe and technique as we ate the entrée.  She had a lot of competition from the plates in front of us!

Sunday I will be preparing my version of the Braised Beef Short Ribs for dinner on Monday night.  I have already determined how I will modify the recipe to suit our tastes.   They will braise overnight in a slow oven.  I hope they make it to dinner!  I also plan on making a version of the cream corn. 

For those of you who think attending one of the classes offered by the Santa Fe School of Cooking  would be a great way to spend a day in New Mexico, you’re right.  We’re only about 50 minutes from Santa Fe, an easy drive.  You can have one of my great breakfasts and be on your way in plenty of time for a 10am class!  Oh, and next week I will be attending another bonus class.  This one feature quail in pomegranate sauce.  Can’t wait!

Tournedos with Tarragon Butter – serves 4

• Leaves from one small bunch of tarragon
• 4 Filet Mignon steaks – 4 to 6 oz each
• 1 – 2 tbl white wine
• 1 stick unsalted butter cut into eight pieces
• salt and pepper
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Heat up a large frying pan or griddle until sizzling.  While the pan is heating up, pat the steaks dry and season with salt and pepper.  Place the steaks in the hot pan,  Do not crowd.  Work in two batches if necessary.  Sear the steaks on both sides and place on a jelly roll pan.  Top each steak with some tarragon leaves.  Put into the oven to finish cooking  ( 5 to 6 minutes for medium rare at this altitude) while you make the sauce.  Deglaze the frying pan with the white wine.  Scrape up the bits and immediately add the butter.  Stir until the butter is melted.  Add the  remaining tarragon to the butter wine mixture.  Cook gently over low heat. Do not let the butter boil or turn brown.  Remove the steaks from the oven and let rest while you plate the vegetables.  Strain the butter into a gravy boat.  Plate the steaks and drizzle with the tarragon butter.  Pass additional butter sauce at tthe table.

That’s it folks. New Years Eve 2011.  I’ve got eleven months to plan for the next one!

Beet Salad with Tangerines  4 – Servings

• 12 baby beets or 4 regular beets
• 1 tbl pine nuts
• 1/8 cup plus 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
• 4  – 5 tangerines
• 4 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tbl raspberry vinegar
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, place beets in a roasting pan, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour or until they are tender.  Remove from the oven, cool and peel.  Cut into wedges.
• Mix the pine nuts with 1/2 tsp vegetable oil and toast until golden brown.
• Peel 2 of the tangerines and separate into sections.  Carefully remove as much of the membrane as possible from the tangerine sections.  Set aside.  Working with one of the remaining tangerines at a time; slice in half and juice.   Juice as many of the tangerines as necessary to achieve 1/4 cup of juice.  Place juice in small bowl.
• In a separate small bowl, toss the pine nuts, shallots and raspberry vinegar with a pinch of salt and let stand for 5 minutes.  Stir in the tangerine juice and the remaining 1/8 cup vegetable oil.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• Arrange the beet and tangerine sections on a plate.  Drizzle with the dressing and top with the toasted pine nuts. 

You could probably substitute canned mandarin orange sections if fresh tangerines are out of season, but I would substitute orange juice for the syrup the mandarin oranges come in.  This salad would also be great as part of a pork chop dinner.  Tomorrow, the New Years Eve entrée.

Crabe au Coulis d’Avocat – serves 4

• 4 medium tomatoes, ripe
• 1/2 lb of cooked crabmeat
• 1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped, use sparingly.  an aggressive shallot can overpower the crabmeat.
• 2  – 3 tbl mayonnaise, homemade if possible
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 small ripe avocado
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 5 drops Louisianna Hot Sauce
• 1 large tsp chopped parsley
• Cut a conical plug from the stem end of the tomatoes and discard.  Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds, drain under cold water and peel off the skin.  If the skin doesn’t peel well, return to boiling water and repeat the process.  Cut a lid from the smooth (opposite of stem end)  bottom of each tomato and set aside.  Using a melon scoop or a small spoon, remove the pulp and seeds from the tomatoes.  You should have 4 tomato shells when you are through. 
• In a bowl, mix the crabmeat, shallots,  and Mayonnaise.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Fill the tomato shells with this mixture and cover them with their lids. 
• Cut the avocado in half and remove the meat with a spoon.  Cut the avocado meat into pieces and place the pieces into a food processor.  Add the yogurt and salt and pepper to taste.  Process until the mixture is smooth with no solid pieces remaining, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the hot sauce and pulse the processor until all the ingredients are mixed. 
• To plate, put equal amounts of the avocado – yogurt mixture in the center of each plate.  Place a stuffed tomato on the yogurt mixture and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

• Appetizer Course – Chicken and Asparagus Molds
• Soup Course – Zucchini and Fennel Soup
• Fish Course – Crabe au Coulis d’Avocat
• Salad Course – Beet Salad with Tangerines
• Entrée - Tournedos of Beef with Tarragon Butter
• Dessert Course – Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Coulis

I find the soup course to be one of the most difficult choices in the entire menu plan.  First there are so many options to choose from; hot or cold, cream based, clear broth or in between.  Second, I want the soup course to be a perfect balance with all of the other courses.  As a result, it is usually the last recipe I decide on when finalizing my dinner menu.  This year I went with a hot (the courses on either side of the soup were served cold), vegetable based soup.  

Zucchini and Fennel Soup

• 1 large fennel bulb  – 8 small fronds reserved, bulb cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 tbl fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 lbs zucchini, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick – does not have to be precise but close.
• 1 large onion, sliced thin
•  1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 quart chicken stock
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• I begin by slicing the fennel, zucchini and onion on my mandoline.  All of the slicing is done at once as mise en place.  A knife works just as well but the mandoline is faster!  In a medium saucepan, cover the sliced fennel with water.  Add the lemon juice, a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer on low heat until the fennel is tender when pierced with a knife – at least 20 minutes, longer at higher altitudes. Drain the fennel and set aside.  In a large pot, heat the olive oil.  Add the zucchini, onion and garlic, season with salt and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just softened.  Take care not to allow the garlic to brown during this cooking process.  Add the chicken broth and the cooked fennel.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are completely softened.  Working in batches, puree the soup mixture in a blender.  Be careful not to overfill the blender as the hot mixture will erupt when the blender starts up.  I find it is best to fill the blender to a little over halfway and then start the blender in stir mode, increasing the speed to puree gradually.  During this process it is best to hold the top of the blender with a towel.  Place the pureed soup in a clean pot and repeat the pureeing process until all of the vegetable/broth mix is pureed.  Season with salt and pepper.  At this point you can either place the soup in the refrigerator to serve cold or gently reheat until hot and serve.  Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the creme fraiche and the reserved fennel fronds. 

This is a great way to use up the abundance of zucchini everyone seems to have in the late summer.  Served cold, with the chicken and asparagus molds, this would work  pretty well as a late summer dinner.  I’ll have to remember this in August!  Tomorrow, the Fish Course – Crabe au Coulis d’Avocat.

Chicken and Asparagus Molds  – serves 4 as a first course

• 8 oz skinned and boned chicken breasts
• 1 large sprig fresh tarragon plus 1/2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 strip lemon rind
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 8 slender asparagus stalks
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• 3 tsp powdered gelatin
• 1 3/4 oz cream cheese blended with 1 3/4 oz heavy cream
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• tomato and a green for garnish
• Place the chicken breasts in a sauce pan with the tarragon sprig, lemon rind, half the salt some pepper and 1/2 cup of water.  Cover the pan and gently bring the water to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer the chicken for 20 minutes.  While the chicken is cooking, blanch the asparagus in a saucepan of simmering water until just tender. Drain the spears and refresh them under cold running water and place on paper towels to drain.  Cut a 2 inch tip from each spear and set them aside.  Rough chop the remaining stalks and set aside.  Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and drain on paper towels.  Strain the stock through a muslim lined sieve increase volume up to 1/2 cup by adding cold water if necessary.  Stir the wine into the stock.  To make the aspic, dissolve 1/2 tsp of gelatin in 4 tbl of wine stock.  this gelatin must be completely dissolved. You can accomplish this by first mixing the gelatin and stock until the gelatin swells.  Then place the mixture in a sauce pan over simmering water and stir until all the gelatin is completely dissolved.  When a spoon inserted into the mixture comes out clean with no grains of gelatin the mixture is done.  DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL!  Boiling reduces the setting power.  Pour 1 tbl of the gelatin mixture into each of the four molds.  Leave the aspic to partially set in the refrigerator – about 5 minutes.  Arrange two of the asparagus tips on the partially set jelly and return the molds to the refrigerator until the aspic is completely set, about 10 minutes.  while the aspic is setting, roughly chop the chicken and process to a smooth paste in the food processor.  Dissolve the remaining gelatin in the rest of the stock and add it to the chicken together with the cream cheese/heavy cream mixture and the lemon juice.  Process briefly to blend the ingredients.  Place the chicken mixture in a bowl and add the chopped asparagus, tarragon, remaining salt and pepper and mix well.  Spoon the mousseline over the set jelly in the molds.  Chill the molds until the mousseline is set, about 1 hour.  To serve the molds, dip them briefly in hot water and unmold them onto the serving plates.  Garnish them with the tomato and greens.

We all decided this dish, served with a cold soup,  would be a great  dinner on a warm summer day.  It sounds so good I may have to make it again – soon!