Cheese

I love cheese. Liss knows this, so I got a really nice cheese tray for Christmas. My kids love it as well, but tonight surprised me. At the store earlier today, I went to the cheese section to see what was new. I picked up a new wedge of parmesan to go with the smoked gouda and farmers cheese I already had. I spied a new offering - Bresso. I used to eat this stuff almost every day when I lived in Germany so I was glad to see it here, in our little desert town. Bresso is a cream cheese with garlic and herbs de provence, REALLY GOOD STUFF! Just as we were about to leave, I spotted another German import, a creamy brie-type cheese with mushrooms, which I bought.

Dylan had noticed a small box of cheese with goats on it, and had proceeeded to throw about a dozen or so of them into the basket.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I want these."

"Do you know what they are?" I asked.

"No , but they have a goat on them."

"Right. They're cheese made from goat milk."

"Mmm," he said, "I want to try them."

"Okay." I said, with more than a hint of skepticism!

I do not like goat cheese. I remember goats when I was growing up, as we had neighbors who had them, and their cheese always, to me, smells like a wet goat, I just can't stomach it.

Fast forward to tonight. Liss has gone to bed, as she worked last night, and the kids are hungry, so we have pears, cheese, and bread or crackers (for them, I had a nice foccacia!)

"Daddy, I want the goat cheese."

"Okay,'" I said, spreading some on Dylan's crackers. I watched eagerly as he took the first bite - heaven. The kid loved it and, at five, discovered a new taste to make him happy. I still could not eat the stuff, but Dylan loved it. Caitlyn thought it smelled like an old sock but, then again, she thought my mushroom cheese was the most vile thing she had ever smelled and stuck to her pears and parmesan.

I love that my kids are willing to try all of the stuff I cook, and have an open mind about eating something "different." Tonight's cheese experience was great, and I can't wait to do it again, though I think I will stay away from Stilton!!!

As they lay on the couch tonight, waiting for the sandman, we had a nice talk about food and what people around the world eat, from kidneys to palm grubs to cobras. I hope that I have instilled in them the idea that food is not just something to fill a tummy, but is something that should make your mouth happy and bring a smile. I hope that your food does the same for you.

Cheers!

Coq au Vin

Okay, I have made this a couple of times before - a bit different each time - but it has come out great. It's a classic French dish that is a lot easier than it sounds but there is a LOT of prep work. My brother-in-law and his family are going to be here for the next few days so I thought I would make it. Below is the basic recipe and the "plan," and I'll try to post photos tomorrow. So here is what I use (you will find a lot of variations if you search on-line!)

A whole chicken

A half pound of bacon (this is quite a bit more than most recipes call for but, damn, I loves me bacon!)

Flour

Salt, Pepper

About three garlic cloves and a half dozen shallots, chopped fine

Three large portabella mushrooms, sliced

A small bag of baby carrots

A bottle of pinot noir (actually three bottles, one for the dish and two to accompany it!)

Two to three cups of chicken broth

A handful of fresh thyme sprigs and a half cup of herbes de Provence - marjoram, basil, sage, and rosemary - chopped up fine (you may want to put the thyme and rosemary in a cheesecloth - a mouthful of rough rosemary stems ain't the best!!!)

A few bay leaves

A cup of fresh, chopped parsley

Also, keep the butter and even the olive oil (???) handy!

I know, I know. Those trained in classical French cooking are probably shaking their heads at my "interpretation" of this dish, but isn't that what cooking is all about? Regardless, this is really good! So here is what you do with all of this mess.

Cut that chicken up and throw it in some flour so it's coated well, than set it aside. Dice the bacon and fry it in a LARGE pan (I use a large stock pot) then set it aside to drain. Now, brown the chicken in the bacon fat (you might need to add some butter or oil - your choice). Once the chicken is all browned, set it aside for a minute. Now toss the garlic, shallots, carrots and mushrooms into the pot and cook them until the carrots are getting soft.

All you have to do now is add the stock and the wine (yes, a whole bottle!) then the herbs (NOT the parsley!) and simmer for at least an hour. After an hour, you can add some cornstarch, flour, or tomato paste (my favorite) to thicken it a bit, then serve.

Here is how I like to plate it. On a large, oblong serving dish, spoon out the chicken pieces in the middle, then surround them with the vegetables and some sauce, then top the whole thing with the chopped parsley and the crispy browned bacon that you set aside.

Serve, and watch even grumpy old Aunt Mabel smile - this stuff is so good, so give it a try and let me know!

Pictures to follow!

Baked Fennel with Ham and Parmesan

First of all, I have to say that the brie, walnut and honey pastries did NOT come out well. I wrapped the filling in phyllo dough and all of the honey ran out, leaving a rather dry, tasteless bite-size morsel of utter mediocrity! Next time, I will try doing it a bit differently. Now on to the fennel.

Fennel (anise) is a wonderful bulbous vegetable, with a nice crunch and a sweet, licorice flavor. It's great sliced into a salad, especially with more bitter greens and a viniagrette - the sweet fennel providing the perfect balance. Cooking it mellows the flavor a bit and in Italy it is eaten both raw and cooked.

I picked up a couple of fennel bulbs on sale a few days ago and decided to try this typical Italian country dish. Liss and I had it for dinner late last night and this recipe would probably serve four.

Take two large fennel bulbs, cut the tops off back to the main bulb, and cut them in half, down the wide part. Boil these for about thirty minutes or so, until very fork tender, check carefully, as the outer leaves take a bit longer. Drain them well, then cut each half into thirds.

I took an eight inch square baking dish and brushed it with olive oil, then laid the pieces in the dish, brushing more olive oil on them. Then sprinkle on about a cup of chopped ham and AT LEAST a cup of fresh shredded or shaved parmesan (I think I used closer to a cup and a half!) Bake at 400 degrees for twenty five to thirty minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Let sit for a minute or two and serve.

I think this would be a great side for something like grilled chicken or salmon with pasta in a cream sauce, gonna have to experiment a bit!

Cheers!!!

By the way, this is THE BEST book on Italian food - ingredients and recipes - that I have ever seen. I take it out often just to read through it. It's beautifully illustrated and, for what you get, really cheap (just like me!!!)

Apple Tartlet Filling ( I cannot bake at all!!!!!!!)

And it's a good thing, since Melissa loves to bake. I got this idea in my head that I would make some tartlets. I made them before and they were really good, so what the heck, right? WRONG!!!

My dough would barely stay together but I kept going, and the filling for the tartlets was actually pretty good. Once I managed to get the dough into some muffin pans I filled with with an apple-pecan mixture.

Take about three sweet apples, peel, core and slice them pretty thin. In a saucepan, bring three cups of Port wine, a teaspoon each of ground cloves and nutmeg, and two to three teaspoons of ground cinnamon to a boil. Boil for about five minutes until most of the alcohol is gone (you can tell by taking a big whiff of the steam!) then add your apples and a cup of brown sugar and cook for about ten minutes, until they are soft and the sauce becomes syrupy (is that even a word!!!). Then pull off the heat and add about half a cup of whole pecans.

This is what you fill the pastry shells with, baking for about twenty minutes at 375. They really are pretty good but I need to work on the dough - maybe I'll just buy it frozen next time.

Up next - a brie, honey, and walnut filled pastry (IF my dough works!!!)

AND - my wife makes a posole that will knock your boots off - check it out here! I could eat this stuff almost every day!!!!

The Reason...

...for this blog is that my other is quickly turning into a food blog. At the prompting of my wife (and a co-worker!) I have decided to go ahead and start a blog dedicated solely to food and all that goes with it. So here you will find recipes - those that work as well as the disasters! - maybe a bit about wine (though I am NO expert by far!), reviews of food books, farmers markets, gardening and growing food, and anything else that has to do with all of the wonderful stuff that we shove into our faces!!!

There won't be much as far as beef goes, as I prefer pork and chicken, so recipes for those will be here, as well as the occassional seafood and dessert. Anyway, here are some links to recipes I had on my old blog, and I promise to put more up soon!

Here is a wonderful recipe for a great linguine with a creamy chicken and parmesan sauce.

Here is a great butternut squash soup recipe.

And here are a few for pork loin. Here, and here.

Enjoy, and I'll get more up later.

D.