Sunday Morning Goulash

Cheers to Dave, the breakfast guy. I have long since given up on breakfast. Something always goes awry, the eggs are overcooked, the bacon is burned, the hash browns are soggy. It's simply not my department. Dave on the other hand cooks breakfast like a champion. I inherited a skillet last night. Dinner at Bill and April's, it came to pass that they had two of the exact same skillet. April had been borrowing my 9x12 in casserole pan for quite sometime now. In what I consider a fair exchange, I offered her my 9x12 for her extra skillet. This morning was the first test and it was one of the best breakfasts I have had in quite some time.

Dave's Goulash

Serves 2

2 tbsp butter

2 small russet potatoes, cubed

1/2 onion, chopped

2 eggs

4 tbsp buttermilk or cream

1/2 lb cooked ground turkey

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat skillet over medium heat until warm. Melt butter in skillet and add potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onions and cook until soft, 10 minutes longer. Meanwhile, whisk eggs with buttermilk in a bowl. Straighten onions and potatoes so they form a slight bowl in the pan. Pour egg mixture into the middle of the onions and potatoes. Top with ground turkey.

Turn on oven broiler and put the skillet in the oven. Bake for 5-7 minutes until eggs are almost cooked through. Sprinkle cheese on top and broil for an additional 3 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and top with sour cream. Serve immediately.

Pork Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms and Baked Fennel in Cream

So I'm learning Italian. Don't ask me why. It's like learning Turkish. The language is only really valid in one country in the world. Why not French? I could get along in Montreal, Marseilles or Martinique with that handy language. Or Spanish? Nearly our second language...is it official yet? I haven't checked. I wouldn't be surprised. Not to mention the great country of Spain with its delightful Rioja's and all of that heavenly cured jamon serrano. Or what about Argentina and its beautiful Malbec's and seductive tango? Honestly I'm not sure why I am drawn to learn Italian. I suppose there is just something about the way the speak, the rhythm and sing-songy tone that allows the speaker to sound like a musical symphony each time they open their mouth. But more than just the language, the pure essence of la dolce vita, the sweet life, that everything in this moment is important, nothing else matters.

I suppose it's just a small cry to get myself back there one of these days. If I learn the language, I must go. Simple as that.

In the meantime I will take advantage of sampling my way through the Italian wine section at Decanted, the wine shop in which I call "my office" and exploring the cuisine of traditional Italian fare.

Friday nights have become kind of a ritual stay-at-home-and-cook-a-good-meal night. I have come to rely on a few select cookbooks and online resources. I now know how to read a recipe and can tell if it will turn out ordinary or extraordinary. I feel drawn to Italian cooking and most of my recipe selections are based around Italian ingredients.

Lesson 1 in Italian cooking: It's not all meatballs and marinara

The following recipes are traditional Italian (except for the Bechamel, which is of course French, but we will discuss that later). The pork part of this recipe I have made before. My aunt Leanne and I attended a cooking class in Seattle one rainy autumn night. Sabrina Tinsley, owner of La Spiga Italian restaurant in Seattle hosted a delightful class with traditional fall recipes of her husband's native Italy. There was so much I didn't know at the time about cooking pork. Rule #1, dry your pork throughly. Rule #2, lightly dust the pork with flour and pat off any excess, do not overcoat. Rule #3, cook the pork fast, sear on both sides and then only a few more minutes is needed until you have perfectly tender pork medallions. That's all that is needed, otherwise you will end up with shoe leather. I avoided pork for too many years because of just that, over cooked meat, dried out and tough as cardboard. Using a quality cut of meat such as tenderloin also helps. As always with cooking, I must have something to sip on, so I opened a bottle of Spanish white wine, Castello do Papa Godello. Godello is the grape and it's somewhere between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. There is a slight butteryness with fairly high acidity. We ordered it a few weeks ago at I.M. Tapas, a Spanish restaurant in Naples, and it paired wonderfully with the olives and cured ham we ordered. It is best drank with food.

This recipe calls for wild mushrooms, however I just used baby bella and white buttons. It also called for 2 tbsp fresh parsley and I substituted dried oregano. For so few ingredients, this recipe is bursting with flavor.

Pork Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms

Recipe adapted from La Spiga chef, Sabrina Tinsley

Serves 6-8

1 2.5 lb Pork Tenderloin

Flour

Salt and Pepper

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Sauce

1 1/2 lbs Mixed Wild Mushrooms

1 cup Chicken Sock

2 cloves Garlic, sliced

2 tbsp dried Oregano

For the Sauce

Slowly heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil with the garlic slices in a saute pan. When the garlic begins to sizzle add the oregano and saute on medium high for 30 seconds longer. Add the mushrooms and do not stir for several minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Saute the mushrooms until they are almost cooked through, about 10 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes longer or until the mushrooms are completely tender. This may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.

For the Pork

Cut the pork tenderloin into equal sized medallions. Salt and pepper the medallions and dredge in flour, removing any excess by patting the pieces with your hand. Heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan until very hot. Brown the medallions on each side, then, without turning down the heat, add the mushroom sauce and cook until the pork is desired temperature and the sauce has thickened a bit.

To serve, transfer medallions to a serving platter and pour the mushroom sauce over the top.

For the second course I prepared a baked fennel dish. For those of you unfamiliar with fennel, it is in the anise family, that black licorice flavor that is found in ouzo. But if you cook it long enough, the flavors subside and you don't even notice any licorice. I think it's fantastic. There are two ways to cook this dish, one on the stove top and the other baked in the oven. I find the oven version to be easier, set it and forget it.

Fennel Baked in Cream

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 lbs fennel (4 medium sized bulbs), stalks removed, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2" wedges

2 cups heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2

1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmesan

Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, toss together fennel, cream and 1 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 3 qt baking dish. Cover dish with foil and bake for 60 minutes.

Uncover baking dish, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake until fennel is tender and Parmesan has browned, about 30 minutes.

The third part of this dish was two beautiful artichokes I picked up on a whim at Fresh Market. I grew up eating artichokes, Dave had not had one until we met. I think they are one of the best foods in the world. We also grew up dipping them in mayonnaise.

I decided it was time to grow up, to branch out of dipping our artichokes in a prepared condiment with a snap lid. I'm all about making everything from scratch. I decided to make a butter based cream sauce, and what better sauce than Bechamel? I know it's not Italian, and I'm sure there is an Italian version of this sauce out there somewhere, but this was convenient. I will list this simple recipe, however, Dave has this thing about French cooking. I should have never told him it was a French sauce. Instantly he regarded it as bland and one dimensional. You can try it if you like, I thought it turned out great. But really, if you are going for an Italian meal, don't invite the French.

Steamed Artichokes

Trim the stems and cut about 1/4 inch off the top with a serrated bread knife. With scissors trim the remaining leaves to remove the spikes. Place artichokes in a large pot filled about 1/3 with water. Boil artichokes for 45 minutes or until the leaves pull away from the base easily and the ends are tender. Check pot occasionally to make sure the water has not boiled out.

Bechamel

Makes about 1 cup

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 cup milk, plus more if sauce is too thick

pinch of nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until medium golden brown (the more you brown it, the more the nutty flavor will intensify). Pour in half the milk, stirring vigorously until smooth. Stir in remaining milk, season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Served with dinner was a Sangiovese blend from Chianti Classico, Castello D'Albola. Fairly high acidity, medium oak and low tannin made this wine pair wonderfully with the pork. Rated in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2010 with 90 Points.

Chilean Sea Bass with Roasted Mushrooms on Three-Cheese Polenta

Well, I know that it has been entirely too long since I have written a post and I probably have lost interest from most of you. But I am here to make amends and give it another go. Now that we are settled into our new house in SW Florida, I feel like I can make my comfy little office and accommodating kitchen into a somewhat professional working space worthy of le blog superiore. Or at least have further motivation to cook some great meals and write about them. I feel terrible that I have missed many opportunities to post some fantastic blogs about outstanding meals I've done in the past months. I will try to make up for a small percentage of my slacking in this blog by posting this incredible meal that came out of my kitchen during the first week of our residence.

My dad, good ole Paul, came to visit us over New Years. As a great big thank you for his generosity and thoughtfulness for bringing a bottle of 1994 Quilceda Creek Cabernet to share, I decided to cook us all a dynamite dinner. I wanted to cook fish, however, I was having a hard time coming up with a method of preparation that wasn't too light or salty. I have a great recipe for a Spanish style topping with capers and green olives, but I knew the salt would completely ruin the taste of the wine. As I wasn't absolutely sure how a 1994 Washington Cabernet was going to hold up, if it was past its prime or big and bold, I decided to stick with my intended white fish with heavier accompaniments. This recipe out of Nordstrom's Entertaining at Home cookbook (with some minor tweaks) was easy, if a bit time consuming, but had all the components of what I was looking for. A simple tomato based red sauce with roasted mushrooms and a creamy cheesy polenta.

I went for the gusto and splurged on some Chilean Sea Bass, one of my most favorite fish. Our neighborhood fish market, Paradise Shrimp Company, had huge fresh steaks that just looked too good to pass up.

The dish was a wild success and the wine paired famously. Probably in fact, one of the best bottles of wine that I have ever had. Thanks Dad!

Chilean Sea Bass with Wild Mushrooms on Three-Cheese Polenta

Recipe from Nordstrom's Entertaining at Home Cookbook
Serves 8

Tomato Sauce
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
4 Cloves garlic, minced
5 Plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Roasted Mushrooms
1/2 lb portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, quartered
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Roasted Sea Bass
olive oil for brushing
8 Chilean sea bass filets (7 oz each)
4 tsp chopped fresh thyme
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Three Cheese Polenta
6 cups water
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup diced Brie cheese (all rind removed)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup stinky cheese (stilton or bleu)
1 cup heavy whipping cream


Preheat oven to 500 degrees

To make Tomato Sauce, in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it turns light tan, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and canned tomatoes with juices and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes to blend flavors. Stir in the basil, remove from heat and set aside.

To make the Roasted Mushrooms, in a large bowl, combine all of the mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet with salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly, and then arrange on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. Bake until well browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

To make the Roasted Sea Bass, brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and arrange the fillets on the pan without crowding. Sprinke each with 1/2 tsp of the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Bake until slightly browned and just barely firm but not cooked through, about 10 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven to 400 F.

To make the Three-Cheese Polenta, in a heavy 4 qt saucepan over medium hight heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the salt. Whisking constantly, add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream. Adjust the heat so the polenta doesnt splatter, then cook, stirring frequently until all the water is absorbed and the cornmeal no longer tastes grainy, and the mixture is creamy, 18-20 minutes. Add the cheeses a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the mixture begins to firm up, stir in the heavy cream. The mixture should be pourable. Remove from heat.

In a baking dish large enough to accomodate the polenta, or in two smaller dishes, spread the polenta in an even layer. Scatter the mushrooms evenly over the polenta. Using a wide metal spatula, lift the fish fillets from their baking sheet and arrange them over the mushrooms. Evenly mask each of the filets with the tomato sauce.

Bake until heated through and bubbling slightly around the edges, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.