Grilled Onion Vinaigrette for Green Salad

Here's a quick and easy way to use leftover grilled onions: add them to a vinaigrette for a tasty salad dressing! This one is so simple it doesn't warrant an ingredient list; I'll just give you the basic idea. Start with a basic combination of extra virgin olive oil and vinegar, 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. For a salad to serve 2 to 3 people, I use 3 tbsp olive, 1 1/2 tbps balsamic vinegar. Stir vigorously to combine, add some salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of chopped fresh herbs if you have some on hand. I used oregano from our prolific plant.

Take your leftover grilled onions* out of the fridge, heat for 10 seconds or so in the microwave so they are about room temperature. Combine the onions with the oil and vinegar, let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld. I used one heaping tablespoon of the onions. I like to toss the dressing with the salad to get it to consistently cover the lettuce leaves. I used a nice head of local red leaf lettuce. All it needed in addition to the dressing was a bit of toasted nuts and parmesan cheese and, voila! Great example of how one can add a flavorful twist to an every day salad, and make it a real treat.

*Note: In case your not in the habit of grilling onions, a few words on that. I chop an onion in thin slices, toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I put the onions in a grill pan, which keeps it from sliding the the grates of the grill into the fire. I put the pan about half on direct heat, half on indirect, and stir occasional. It takes about 15 minutes to get them nicely caramelized. Great flavor boost to burgers and other grilled items.

A Tavola: An Italian Take on Fresh, Local Food

Not sure why it took me so long to try A Tavola restaurant in Winchester center. It's just a couple of miles from my house, has a good reputation and a strong commitment to fresh, local food. Plus, they have an innovative food education program for children called Seed to Plate. Oh well, glad I had the chance to finally get there last weekend for a dinner with my sister and her husband, who are fairly regular there.

burrata to the left, prosciutto on the right

They have a nice selection of "piattini", small plates for the table. We started by sharing duck prosciutto with foie gras and balsamic, Maple Brook Farm Burrata with Shaved Mushrooms and Pea Tendrils, and an arugula salad with pickled ramps (photo on top of post). I definitely had to try some salad when I saw they grow their own greens, and I wasn't disappointed with its peppery freshness. The burrata, a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, was especially tasty.

what's under here?

Pork seems to be a specialty of the restaurant, so I ordered the lightly smoked pork roast for my entree. It was presented with some flare, coming to the table with a cover that was dramatically lifted to let hot steam pour out. There were a couple different cuts of the pork on the plate. The larger piece was soft and tend, prepared with an herb blend of some sort. Then there was also what seemed to be a smaller chop. Very savory, and the grilled polenta side I ordered with it was a nice touch. It was also served over some well cooked kale, which soaked up the pork flavor well.

A Tavola has a pretty good wine list, primarily Italian, which certainly makes sense given their menu. My one critique of the experience was the red wine that we ordered was served warm, like it had been sitting around the kitchen. I certainly run into this issue at plenty of places, but one would like to see a restaurant which overall provides high quality food and service more aware of how to properly store and serve their wines.

Overall, A Tavola shows a strong commitment to well-prepared fresh foods. The menu offers a nice array of choices with the small plates, pasta dishes and meat/fish entrees. I look forward to a return visit!

The tasty pork roast was revealed!

Filet Mignon with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Some recipes don't require much introduction. I'd put this Filet Mignon with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms in that category! A great cut of steak like this doesn't need much to make for a special meal. One could simply grill it with the rub, but the mushrooms make a nice addition to the flavor. Save this one for a time your looking for a special yet simple summer meal!

cooking oil spray
2 portobello mushroom caps
4 filet mignon steaks, 4 to 6 ozs each
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

for the rub
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sage
pepper to taste

Combine the rub ingredients in a small ball. Rub both sides of the steaks so that it is lightly coated with the mixture. Heat the grill to medium high, and let the steaks sit with the rub for about 10 minutes.

Spray both sides of the mushrooms, then place them on the grill. After about 5 minutes, flip them over. Put the steaks onto the grill at this time. The mushrooms take about 10 minutes total to get cooked through, they should be nice and tender. Keep an eye on them so they don't shrivel up too much. Remove the mushrooms when done, let them cool a bit on a plate. Slice the mushrooms thinly when cooled slightly, toss them in a bowel with the olive oil and vinegar, along with salt and pepper to taste. Put the bowl of mushrooms at the table to serve on the the steaks.

The filets take about 4 to 5 minutes per side to get to medium rare. Keep a close eye on them, you don't want to overcook filet mignon! Remember they will cook a bit more as they rest. Remove from the grill when cooked the way you like, let stand for a few minutes before serving topped with the mushrooms.

Wine Pairing: I've really enjoyed the Cass Winery Grenache a few times, but Ray at Pairings Wine and Food had told me the 2010 Cass Mourvedre is even better. It's also about $10 more ($35ish total) so I waited to try it with a special meal. The filet mignon definitely qualified! I didn't capture tasting notes but just remember thinking the wine was a real treat and good match for the meal. Cass Winery provides a shining example of the high quality wines produced in Paso Robles, often giving traditional French varietals a tasty twist in the California sun. Cass is part of the SIP Certified network, meaning they use sustainable practices producing their wines; another reason to enjoy them.

Grilled Swordfish with Pineapple Salsa

I went to Whole Foods planning to get the tuna on sale to make this recipe. But I couldn't pass up the freshly caught swordfish that was being filleted to order when we got there (and it was on sale, too). I figured the basic approach to the pineapple salsa would work for swordfish too, so I converted the recipe and made Grilled Swordfish with Pineapple Salsa. We really enjoyed it, and also had enough of the salsa to go with some pork chops we had on hand. Double-yum! I generally just link to other folks' recipes I make, but there are enough changes I made--along with helpful tips--to re-blog it here. Not too mention the MyRecipes site was lacking tasty photos! I made another version of pineapple salsa recently for chicken, but grilling the pineapple as done here definitely enhances the recipe.

1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized chunks* see note below
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
1 swordfish steak, about 12 ozs
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (original recipe called for mint, bet that would be good too)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced

Pre-heat grill to medium-high. Boil orange juice in a small saucepan 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Beware: orange juice can quick boil over the sauce pan. Transfer juice to a small bowl; stir in soy sauce. Once it starts to boil, lower to medium high and keep an eye on it. Learned this one the hard way! I'm not a frequent boiler of orange juice.

Place pineapple and onion on a grill rack or grill pan coated with cooking spray. Grill 5 minutes on each side or until the onion is tender. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Coarsely chop, and transfer to a bowl.

Brush both sides of the swordfish evenly with oil; sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place fish on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; brush with half of juice mixture. Grill about 5 to 6 minutes; turn fish over. Brush fish with remaining juice mixture; grill another 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Note your grilling time for the fish will depend on the thickness of the swordfish steak. Mine was about an inch thick.

Add the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, basil,oregano, lime juice and serrano pepper and next 3 ingredients to pineapple mixture; toss.  Serve the swordfish with a generous topping of the salsa and enjoy! A side of couscous went nicely with this, along with some greens. I served with a Rioja rosé, which I think was the right idea, but the particular wine was a bit big for the dish. Something a bit more delicate and nuanced, but enough heft, like a Bandol perhaps, might be ideal.

*Coring pineapple: you can Google for more details instructions, but as you can see from my photo above, you basically twist the top off, chop off both ends, then start cutting off the sides to reveal the fruit. Cut the fruit off around the core and chop.

The Perfect #Wine? A Noble Quest!

When my friend and fellow wine aficionado offered to share a wine written up as "almost-perfect", I was intrigued. I eagerly accepted the opportunity, and set to planning a little dinner. The wine in question was the 2001 Mas de Daumas Gassac, Cuvée Emile Peynaud. The wine is labeled a "vin du pays" which typically implies a humble French wine, but here the term applies because this wine doesn't conform to the traditional French wine classifications. It's made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, produced according to the methods of the Medoc region of Bordeaux. They have found a way to make some pretty wines in the foothills of the Massif Central, a previously overlooked part of the Languedoc region. (source: "The World's Greatest Wines").

Typically I'd plan a special meal to go with such a wine. But the evening we landed upon for this wine coincided with Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, so I wanted a simple preparation that could be made and enjoyed before the puck dropped. A big Cab seemed to call for beef; Grilled NY strip steaks topped with grilled onions, along with some salad and couscous, answered the call nicely.

John and Liz arrived at the appointed time, and John eagerly set the bottle in a suitably prominent place on the counter for us to admire.  "Should we start with some white, and save this for dinner?" I inquired. This would be following be the typical approach to this sort of foodie gathering at our place.

John smiled, "I think we should get started with this now," proffering the Mas de Daumas, "It's going to take awhile to drink and enjoy this."

Now, this comment was a bit of a head scratcher at first. This was not a larger bottle of wine, and when several of us gather on such an occasion, there is usually more than one opened in the course of the evening. John continued, "It's a very big wine. We opened it at Pairings when I bought it yesterday."

Hmm, interesting. A substantial investment in a bottle of wine that's a dozen years old, and it was opened the previous day for a couple of small tasting pours? But John's confidence that the wine would hold up to being open that long was well-founded.

Now here's where I must confess the limited notes I do take were tossed somewhere during the quick post-dinner/pre-game cleanup. What I recall a week later was that this hit me from the start as being a huge wine, big bouquet of forest floor and blooming flowers. The first taste was a bit overpowering, I'm quite sure my first comment was simply, "Wow!". Never could have guessed that it had been opened for 24 hours nor that it was a 2001. Taste of leather, prunes and ripe berries. It evolved in the glass, softening a tad, showing great depth and complexity, various spices coming through along with the other tastes. It surely was a wonderful treat!

The production of this wine was extremely limited; 2,500 bottles according to this article. That low number along with the great quality means if you happen to find a bottle somewhere it is not likely to be inexpensive!

Now, on to this comment I read about this wine being "almost-perfect". That leads to an interesting question...is there such a thing as a perfect wine? It strikes me that a winemaker might might have some vision for the perfect wine that she might make from a particular vineyard. But I suspect that might be a quixotic quest. For those of us who simply enjoy good wine, what would constitute perfection? A top notch Bordeaux? Barolo? Or perhaps this interesting gem from the Languedoc?

Alas, I suspect we could not single out wine wine as being truly perfect. But I'm willing to try others that are associated with claims of perfection! Trying to coax the most wonderful wine out of a great vineyard is truly a noble quest, one that I'm happy to appreciate.

Pasta with Greens, Gruyere and Bacon

Gruyère is one of my favorite cheeses. The rich nuttiness makes it a tasty snack on its own, and it also melts nicely to impart a lot of flavor when cooking. So when I was asked if I wanted to sample  cups Emmi Kaltbach™ Cave-aged Le Gruyère®  I quickly agreed. Though I was tempted to just crack it open when it arrived and start nibbling, I waited a week or so to plot what I wanted to make with it. When last weekend's weather didn't look good for grilling, it seemed like a good time for a pasta dish featuring the Gruyere cheese. Collard greens were on sale, so I grabbed them to combine with the cheese and bacon, and I was well on my way to a tasty new dish! You can easily substitute other greens here. This method for fixing the greens along with the bacon is also my go-to way of fixing them as a side dish.

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, coarsely chopped
½ cup or so chicken broth
1 or 2 slices bacon
pinch salt & red pepper flakes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
bit of fresh oregano (or other fresh herb you have on hand)
1/2 cup Emmi Kaltbach™ Cave-aged Le Gruyère® cheese, shredded (plus extra to serve at table)
12 ozs elbow macaroni or other short pasta

Heat a large pot on medium high and spray with cooking oil (I use olive oil). Add the bacon and cook until it is nice and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and cool it on paper towel set on a plate to absorb the excess grease. Pour most of the extra grease out of the pan, but leave a bit for that bacon flavor! When the bacon is cool, crumble it into bite sized pieces and set it aside to add to the dish later.

Add a tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, heat on medium. Add the garlic, cook for a minute or so until it starts getting fragrant. Gradually add the greens in a few batches, stirring the greens as you add them so they get well coated with the oil and garlic. Add a light pinch of salt, then stir in the chicken broth and balsamic vinegar. (You could certainly use other cooking liquid in place of chicken broth). Heat the liquid until it begins to simmer, then cover to cook gently on moderate heat. Stir the greens occasionally. You'll want to braise the greens for at least 20 minutes, 30 is better if you have time, so they get nice and tender, absorbing the garlic and broth flavor. Add the oregano and red pepper flakes about halfway through the greens cooking time.

Start boiling the water for pasta after you've added the greens. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta when it's done, then toss the pasta with the greens. Be sure to use up all the good liquid from cooking the greens to capture all the nutrients and flavor. After mixing the greens and pasta, stir in the cheese followed by the bacon. Serve at the table with a bit of extra grated Gruyère , and enjoy! This can be a main course, though we did have a bit of salmon on the side, and served with a nice Greek white wine.

Full disclosure: The Gruyère was provided to me as a free sample. The recipe is my own creation!

Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

You don't mind easy recipes, do you? If not, I'll keep them coming! Been a busy spring, not much time for fancy or complicated here. But I am still coming up with some tasty new creations, like this Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa. I also used the salsa with mahi mahi I grilled the same night, which also worked nicely too.

Chicken Marinade
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
½ of a lime, juiced
1/4 tsp salt

3 chicken breast fillets, rinsed and patted dried

Pineapple Salsa
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces (I cut a typical pineapple chunk size into quarters).
1 small red onion & ½ green bell, coarsely chopped & grilled (see grilling note below)
bit of cilantro, chopped
juice of ½ lime
tsp chipotle in adobo sauce (optional, you could also add a pinch of cayenne for kick, or add a jalapeno to grilled onions and peppers)

Start by combining the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the chicken breasts, toss them to get the chicken well covered with the marinade. Cover and put the chicken in the refrigerator, unless you are doing a quick marinade (e.g. 15 minutes or less.  I marinaded for about an hour, which was came out well, but I'd say you could do up to 4 hours if you wanted.

Pre-heat the grill to medium high. Toss the onion and peppers with olive oil, then spread them into a grill pan. Grill them for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that get nicely cooked and a tad charred all over. If you don't have a grill pan, you can wrap the peppers and onions in aluminum foil to cook on the grill, though I really prefer the grill pan for the charring effect.

You can start combining the salsa ingredients as the peppers and onions are grilled. Toss those in with the rest of the ingredients when they are done and have cooled a bit. Set the salsa aside while you grill the chicken. You could also make the salsa in advance, it tasted great the 2nd day after the flavors had a chance to meld.

Get the chicken ready to grill by shaking off the excess marinade, reserving the extra in the bowl. Put the chicken on the grill, flipping the chicken after about 5 minutes. Brush the chicken with the extra marinade after flipping it to help keep the chicken moist. The chicken takes about 10 minutes to be ready, check for doneness at that time. I simply cut it open a bit to see that it is white all the way through, though you can use a thermometer too. Remove the chicken from the grill. Plate the chicken topped with plenty of pineapple salsa and enjoy!

The photo below is actually of the salsa served on the mahi mahi, along with some greens and blackeyed peas. We concluded the chicken came out better and more blog worthy, after eating it sans photo!