Flavors in Love

As you all know, I love discovering new food products. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite past times. I spotted these Shirataki noodles at Gourmet Garage and I have been experimenting with them for a few weeks now. I am becoming more of a Flexitarian these days and often times want to have a meal without any meat. These noodles are great for a vegetarian entree and also make a perfect side dish. If you’re watching your carbs, this is a perfect pasta substitute. I decided to go Asian this time, using two recipes from my cookbook, but you can use Shirataki noodles with any kind of  sauce. The best part is that they are made of naturally soluble fiber which means they are low carb, virtually calorie free, vegan, kosher, and gluten free.

SHIRATAKI  NOODLES IN PEANUT SAUCE

Serves 4 people

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

8 asparagus spears, angle-cut into 2 inch pieces

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 packages of Shirataki noodles (you can substitute with 9 oz of regular pasta)

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

Peanut Sauce, recipe follows

2/3 cup chopped scallions

3 cups shredded purple cabbage

3/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook uncovered about 4 minutes, until crisp-tender. Transfer the broccoli with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water.

Bring the pot of water back to a boil and add the asparagus. Cook 3 minutes until crisp-tender. Add to the bowl of ice water. When the vegetables are cool, drain them and pat dry.

Bring a new pot of water to a boil and follow the cooking instructions on your noodle package. Cook just until al dente. Drain well and toss in a bowl with the sesame oil.

Add the peanut dressing, broccoli, and asparagus to the bowl with the noodles. Toss well. This dish will keep well at room temperature for 1 hour.

Spread the cabbage out on a serving platter and top with the noodles.

Garnish with the scallions, peanuts, and cilantro.

PEANUT SAUCE:

This sauce can be prepared several days in advance, which enhances the flavor.

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup vegetable broth

2/3 cup tamari or other soy sauce

1/4 cup dark sesame oil

4 teaspoons red wine vinegar

4 teaspoons agave syrup or sugar

4 teaspoons minced ginger

3 minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon hot sauce

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients. Process until smooth.

COLD NOODLE SALAD WITH SESAME-SOY DRESSING

Serves 4 people

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

3/4 lb snow peas, cut in half on the diagonal

2 packages of Shirataki noodles or 9 oz long pasta (such as linguine)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 cup scallions, finely chopped

Sesame-Soy Dressing, recipe follows

In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from the skillet and let cool.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the snow peas and cook 2 minutes until crisp-tender. Transfer the snow peas with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. Cool completely, then drain and pat dry.

Meanwhile, bring another large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook according to the directions on the package, until al dente. Drain very well. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame oil.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, saute the mushrooms in the olive oil. Toss occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the noodles. Add the snow peas and the sesame-soy dressing. Toss well. Garnish with the scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

SESAME-SOY DRESSING:

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup tamari or other soy sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon agave syrup or sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients, except for the olive oil. Then slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking.

I find Oscar night to be such a great escape, and we all need to escape and create as much pleasure in our lives as possible. What better way than by cooking and sharing a wonderful meal with good friends. This is what life is all about!

When I was trying to come up with an award winning menu, the first thing that popped in my mind was the movie Julie and Julia, and I thought it would be very apropos to make Julia’s Beef Bourguignonne because it was featured so prominently.

On Sunday I spent the day so incredibly happy prepping and cooking in my kitchen! Here’s the whole menu; We started out with some Rose champagne and smoked salmon blinis. This was followed by an amazing salad that one of my guests, John Gottfried, brought, consisting of Brussels sprouts leaves, parmesan and pecorino cheese, ginger, and garlic. Delicious!

This was followed by the main event, Beef Bourguignonne, roasted potatoes, greens with grapefruit, beets, and roquefort cheese, and of course lots of red wine! I even made Julia’s Apple Tarte Tatin for dessert!

Beef Bourguignonne is one of those French peasant dishes that was adopted by the upper classes and quickly became a staple of fine dining. Beef is braised in red wine for hours, then garnished with sautéed pearl onions and mushrooms. For my Oscar party I used Julia’s classic recipe, Bon Appetit!

Julia’s Beef Bourguignonne

Serves 12

10 ounce piece slab bacon

7 tablespoons olive oil

9 lbs lean stew beef, cut into 2 inch cubes

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 onions, peeled and sliced

4 tablespoons flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 cups Burgundy wine

7 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cloves garlic, mashed

1 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves, crumbled

40 small white onions

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 lbs cremini or button mushrooms, quartered

Remove the rind from the slab bacon and cut the bacon into lardons (strips the size and shape of matchsticks). Simmer the rind and the lardons for 10 minutes in 3 quarts of water. Remove and drain them, and dry with paper towels. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a heavy casserole with a tight fitting lid, sauté the lardons in 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Lightly brown the lardons, then remove them to a dish with a slotted spoon.

Heat the empty casserole until the fat leftover from the lardons is almost smoking. Add the beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until brown on all sides. When all the beef if browned, remove it with a slotted spoon and add it to the plate with the lardons.

In the same casserole, brown the carrots and onions. Then remove some of the excess fat with a spoon.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour all over the beef and toss to coat evenly. Put the casserole in the oven to cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir well and then cook another 5 minutes. Remove the casserole and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Add the wine to the casserole and enough beef stock to just barely cover the meat. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring it all to a simmer on the stovetop. Cover the casserole and put it on the lower rack of the oven to cook slowly for 3 to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the small white onions and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add about a cup of beef stock and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer slowly for 45 minutes or until onions are tender but still hold their shape and the liquid is evaporated. Set onions aside.

Wipe out the skillet with paper towels and heat the remaining butter and olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, tossing, for 5 minutes. Remove them when they are lightly brown.

When the meat is fork-tender, pour the casserole contents into a sieve set over a large saucepan. Carefully rinse out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Place the small onions and mushrooms on top. Skim the fat off of the sauce in the saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes. Keep skimming the fat as it rises. Get the sauce thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (boil it rapidly at a higher temperature to make it thicken up).

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the casserole. Cover and simmer 3 minutes.

I recommend using this Le Creuset casserole dish for your Beef Bourguignonne…

I was inspired to make this soup after my French friend, Zilia, made it for me on a recent Saturday afternoon in the Hamptons.  She is such a natural cook, and she has been making this wonderful soup since she learned how to make it from her own mother.  I think the tendency to make wholesome food from scratch is one of the reasons French women don’t have to worry about their weight!                                                                     

The only thing you will need to make this soup besides fresh, seasonal vegetables, is an Immersion Blender. It is an invaluable tool that every Chef has in their kitchen! This great tool can turn any ingredient into a puree with simply a flip of the switch.

This soup can be made with whatever seasonal veggies you happen to have on hand. You can use a vegetable stock to make the soup completely vegetarian, or you can use a chicken stock which may give you a richer flavor.

As your hearty soup simmers, you will have plenty of time to prepare the crunchy candied walnuts for your salad, and the toasted pine nuts for your soup. Nuts are SO important to incorporate into your diet…they offer the same nutritional benefits as a piece of fish, and we all know how heart smart fish is! Eating a handful of walnuts everyday will help lower your cholesterol, your risk of heart disease, and the level of inflammation in your body. Pine nuts are a rich source of amino acids and a handful supplies you with 31 grams of healthy protein, the highest among all nuts and seeds!

PUREE VEGETABLE SOUP

Serves 4 people

2 tablespoons olive oil

Half an onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

4 small zucchini, chopped

6 cremini mushrooms, halved

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 turnip, peeled and chopped

8 leeks, chopped

10 leaves of fresh basil, roughly torn

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock

Garnish: Basil Oil and Toasted Pine Nuts

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 handfuls of fresh basil

Sea salt

1 handful of pine nuts

Heat a large stock pot over a medium flame and add the olive oil. Then one at a time add the vegetables (in the order listed above). Give each vegetable about 10 seconds before you add the next one. Stir often. After you add the basil, season the vegetables with salt and pepper and stir again. Sauté about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the chicken or vegetable stock and let it come up to a strong simmer. Turn the heat down a little bit and cook for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.

Turn the heat as low as possible and puree with the immersion blender. Taste and season with more salt or pepper as needed.

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts just until they begin to brown, shaking the pan every few seconds so that they brown evenly.

In a food processor, combine the basil and salt, and with the processor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Scrape down the sides to be sure that all of the basil is incorporated.

Divide your soup into serving bowls and top with a dollop of the basil oil. Scatter a few pine nuts on top.

FENNEL SALAD WITH CANDIED WALNUTS

1 cup of walnuts

¼ cup of maple syrup

A few thin slices of red onion

2 radishes, thinly sliced

1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced

1 head of red leaf lettuce, roughly torn

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ lemon, juiced

In a small skillet combine the walnuts and maple syrup. Cook over medium-low heat until the syrup starts to bubble, and then continue cooking another minute. Pour candied walnuts into a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the red onion, radishes, fennel, and lettuce. Season with the black pepper to taste. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon over the salad. Toss well.

Plate the salad on individual plates and top with the candied walnuts.

If you do not already have an Immersion Blender, click on the image below to purchase one!

When I go grocery shopping in the winter, the bright colors of the citrus fruits just seem to leap out at me!The contrast of the vibrant oranges, limes, lemons and grapefruit against the dull gray of winter, call out to me.. Buy me! Buy me!!!  So I did.   Cold weather brings about the peak citrus season and that is what inspired me to create today’s recipe: Roasted Salmon with Blood Orange Salsa.

This dish is healthy, delicious, and perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Fresh wild salmon is roasted simply and topped with a beautiful citrus salsa (which can be made the day before to save time!)

Salmon is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat, due to the high levels of Omega-3s (which are fatty acids needed for a healthy heart), and Vitamin D (a vitamin that most Americans are deficient in!). Combined with the Vitamin C in the salsa, this recipe can’t be beat!

(And don’t forget to store all your citrus fruits at room temperature so that they can produce the most juice!)

ROASTED SALMON WITH BLOOD ORANGE SALSA

Serves 2 people

2 fillets of wild salmon, about 7 oz each

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Juice of 1 lemon

½ garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon agave syrup

Blood Orange Salsa:

2 chopped blood oranges (peeled, separated into segments, and halved)

Juice of 1 blood orange

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced red onion

Juice of 1 lime

1 grapefruit (peeled, separated into segments, and halved)

1 chopped lemon (peeled, separated into segments, and halved)

1 teaspoon agave syrup

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in a shallow baking dish and marinate with the cumin, lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, and agave. Let the fish marinate about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the Salsa: Combine in a glass bowl the following; chopped blood oranges, blood orange juice, white wine vinegar, minced red onion, lime juice, grapefruit, chopped lemon, 1 tsp agave, and the cilantro. Stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

When you are ready to roast the salmon, simply put it (in the same pan it’s been marinating in) into the oven for 15-20 minutes (25 minutes if you prefer your salmon a little more well-done). Then turn the broiler on, and broil your salmon for 4 minutes to create a nice caramelization on the top of the fish (this last step is optional).

When your fish is done, plate it on your individual dinner plates over a bed of arugula, and top it with the delicious salsa. Garnish it with the fresh cilantro and serve.

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