It's All About the Garnish!

Steakhouse Mac and Cheese with Spinach, Caramelized Shallots and Brioche Bread Crumbs

Here's my recipe from the 2009 Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese Cookoff - 1st Runner Up Winner:

Steakhouse Mac and Cheese with Spinach, Caramelized Shallots and Brioche Bread Crumbs

Ingredients

Steak, Shallots, and Spinach:
1/2 cup - Merlot
1 Tbsp - Soy sauce
1 tsp - Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp - Extra virgin olive oil
2 - Small/medium (or 1 large) top sirloin steaks, trimmed
1/2 tsp - Kosher salt
1/2 tsp - freshly ground black pepper
6 - Large shallots, chopped
3 cups - Spinach leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp - Lemon juice

Crumbled Brioche Topping:
1/4 cup - Tillamook® Sweet Cream Butter
2 Tbsp - Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups - Crumbled brioche crumbs
2 cloves - Garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp - Kosher salt
1/2 tsp - Freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp - Cayenne pepper

Cheese Sauce and Macaroni:
1 lb. - Ziti pasta (packaged)
1/2 cup - Tillamook® Sweet Cream Butter
6 Tbsp - All-purpose flour
2 cups - Heavy cream
2 cups - Milk
4 cups - Tillamook® Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
2 cups - Tillamook® Garlic White Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 tsp - Kosher salt
1 Tbsp - freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Place oven rack in the center position, and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set water to boil in a large stock pot.

Make Steak, Shallots and Spinach:
Mix merlot, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and olive oil into a shallow pan and coat steaks, turning a few times, completely drenching them. Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium-high and sear each side of the steaks, then continue to cook on medium for about four minutes per side, until medium rare (or your preferred doneness). Set aside to rest and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In the same pan, cook shallots on high heat for about five minutes, stirring frequently, until the edges begin to brown. (While the shallots are cooking, slice the steaks into bite-size pieces). Set aside. In the same pan, add spinach and lemon juice, cooking for about three minutes. Set aside.

Make Bread Crumb Topping:
Melt the butter in the microwave or on low heat on the stovetop, and mix with the mustard in a medium bowl. Add panko, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne.

Make Pasta and Cheese Sauce:
Cook pasta in the large pot of boiling (salted if desired) water, until al dente. While pasta is cooking, make the sauce:
In a medium saucepan on low-medium heat, melt the butter. Incorporate the flour, using a whisk. Continue to stir for about three minutes, then whisk in the heavy cream and milk, a little at a time. Bring to a boil, continuously whisking. Lower the heat to simmer and gradually begin to add the cheeses, stirring constantly until all cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper.

Assemble and Bake:
Mix the reserved steak, shallot and spinach with the pasta and sauce, making sure every ingredient is coated with sauce. Pour into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with bread crumb topping, and bake until the topping turns golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Serve.

Recipe from the Dinner Party: Fettucine Alfredo with Portabella Mushrooms and Tarragon

(Use the good stuff, or you'll be sorry!)

I've been making Fettucine Alfred for years, based on my Dad's recipe. What I do mostly follows his recipe, but I've made a couple of changes because it's not the prettiest dish on its own. In an earlier post (Bad Barilla), I chronicled how I discovered that using the right ingredients really does count. Let's move on and get to the good stuff:
In a medium sautee pan, on medium-low heat, sautee sliced portabella mushrooms with a couple teaspoons of butter. Add Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste.

Boil a large pot of water, with a few teaspoons of Kosher salt.

In a large saucepan set on the lowest heat possible, melt a stick of unsalted butter.
When it's melted, whisk in a half pint of heavy whipping cream.
Adding a little at a time, whisk in shredded asiago cheese.
When all of the cheese is melted, shake in some ground nutmeg and white pepper.
Important:  keep this sauce on LOW HEAT! You should be able to put your finger in the sauce and not get burned.

Cook pasta (a good brand!) according to package directions. Drain, plate and add sauce. Garnish with portabellas and a sprinkle of freshly chopped tarragon!

Bad Barilla

I promised I'd report back on the birthday dinner I made for my mother-in-law, and while I tried my very best, it wasn't as perfect as I'd hoped. The antipasto was great and the salad was superb (recipe next post), but I bombed on the Fettucine Alfredo.
The sauce was the wonderfully cheesy, creamy artery-blocker I always make. The problem was the pasta. I boiled the water with salt, and dumped in the fettucine noodles in bunches, stirring each time. They had plenty of room to move around, as I used my biggest stock pot. I cooked them for the time specified on the box, stirring a couple of times throughout. But, when I drained the pasta (after pulling a noodle out and checking it, finding it done correctly) I noticed that there were nasty clumps of glue-together strands. Of course, I dumped these out because I would never serve them. I proceeded to plate the rest and spoon the sauce over the top, finishing the dish with sauteed portabella mushrooms and a sprinkle of tarragon.
The MIL and the 13 year old child happily dug in, but I noticed something was amiss when I looked at the Husband across the table. The expression of disappointment on his face was heartbreaking. He had been so excited about one of his favorite dishes, and he wasn't happy. I asked what was wrong, and he told me to have a taste. I did and discovered that the noodles were gummy and cooked unevenly, rendering the dish pedestrian at best. Not my proudest moment.
I thought back to what could have possibly gone wrong. The sauce is an old family recipe, and I followed procedure to the letter. It was great. But the fettucine noodles themselves?  Horrible! What was different this time? Salty water? Check. Lots of boiling room? Check. Lid half on/half off? Check. Tasting the noodles before draining? Check. The only variable that was different from other times was the brand of pasta I used. My go-to-brand is DeCecco, but I was in a hurry and Safeway didn't carry it, so I bought Barilla.

 

So, this should serve as a lesson:  Never try a new brand when you're out to impress your dinner guests! If I had been making this on a random Tuesday, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Live and learn, I guess. Then blog it so others won't make the same mistake!

Upcoming Cookery: 3 Courses for My Mother in Law!

Okay, I know the term "Mother in Law" conjures up some stereotypical descriptions, but not for MY Mother in Law! She's one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet, and I want to do something special for her birthday. She's coming over tomorrow afternoon, and my goal is to make her a three-course dinner with wine pairings.

What to make? I'm sort of over the whole steak-as-the-main dish idea, just because I do love it and do it so often. Chicken? Meh. Fish? I've been practicing the Poke' of Tuna dish so much lately that it just doesn't sound good. Hmmm...I think I have an idea:  my super decadent and tasty Fettucine Alfredo. But what to serve with it? Because it's essentially cheese and starch, I can't really do any kind of bread-based or cheese-topped item, which really wipes out half of my repertoire. And, because it's deliciously fatty, I need to do something fresh. Okay, I've got it:  a mesclun salad. But what about a little bit of meat? I can't go TOTALLY vegetarian! Maybe a plate of meats, olives, etc.? Like a mellow antipasta? To just have on the table and pick at? And what about wine pairings? Sangiovese or Sauvignon Blanc? And dessert! It's her birthday, we must have dessert! But the dinner will be so sumptuous, we'll be really full! Gah!

I'm going to go calm down with a Newcastle and will report back on Sunday.

Regretful Risotto

For years, I've wondered about the hype regarding risotto. It's a regular feature on the menu for Fox's Hell's Kitchen, I see it offered in high-end restaurants and know that it's supposed to be some sort of heavenly rice-based dish that, when done correctly, transcends space and time.

I still don't get it.

I have a box of Arborio rice that has languished in my pantry for a couple of years now, as I chip away at it every time I make an attempt on rissoto. I've tried a recipe from the bible, Joy of Cooking. I've searched for the highest rated version on epicurious.com. I've asked friends what they do. I follow each set of instructions to the letter, which is rare for me, as I'm really not into recipes. Each time, my efforts fall flat and I end up with a plate of sticky, gooey, bland-ish rice.

Is it just me? Do I have a risotto retardation?

The last straw was Monday night. Faced with a lack of starch options for the night's dinner, I gamely cooked up another batch, with white wine, asiago cheese and fresh parsley. My husband valiantly pushed his portion around on his plate and hid the remainder under his abandoned cutlery. I believe I must admit defeat on this one dish and move on.

What about you, dear reader? Is there a dish you just can't seem to master, no matter how hard you try? Comments are open below!

Going Greek: Couscous with flair

Hi all - long time, no post. I found a really interesting package in the store the other day (Trader Joe's - can I say that here?), and came up with a fantastic recipie. The item is called Israeli Couscous. It's weird. Looks like the tapioca stuff in boba drinks. Large version of our traditionally tiny couscous, and completely different. I read the package, looked at the recipie ideas on the side of the box, and added it to my cart. Someday, I thought, I will play with this.

And then I got the call. Jeanne rented Mama Mia the sing-along for our friend's birthday party. Our mission was to potluck with a mediterranean theme. Oh and PS it was scheduled the same day as my good friends' moving-in day. Which I would never ditch out on because of how completely integral they were to my move and how much I wanted to help them. So I'd be going from one thing to the next and needed a good make-ahead dish. With a Greek flair maybe. What would this include.... I came up with lamb kabobs, puttenesca, anything tomato or cucumber, anything with good crumbly cheeses. Finally, I remembered my crazy couscous in the pantry. I could build off that and make a cold pasta salad with a regional (close!) flair. So I did. And it was Fabulous. Here it is - and a side note - I didn't think it out too far, I just did it and experimented and had fun with it and you can do this too with anything. Fear in the kitchen is silly - it's your domain. If you screw up don't worry about it. Eat it, mix in some cream or tomatoes, or toss it and run to the store. Just don't be scared to read a box and embellish. It leads to good things.

• 1 box of Israeli couscous or any large (pea-sized) couscous
• 1 small onion, diced very small
• 2 cans +/- of chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• garlic cloves
• partial can/jar of capers
• one very large or two small cucumbers
• carton of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• mint leaves

I don't know much about mediterranean foods. Did I even spell it right? Well I do know that they include odd flavors that are magical when combined. This was a complete eye opener for me. This combination is so great. Try it and then experiment later and make it your own.

We're going to do this like a risotto- first you brown a clove of garlic minced and the onion in a frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Let them get brown for a little while then toss in the package of couscous. Toss this around and let it get golden to bring out the nutty flavor. It will make your dish more flavorful and you'll still be able to taste the couscous against the other strong ingredients. Now add in that mysterious teaspooon of cinnamon and the bay leaf. Your nose will know why. It's that smell that you love about mediterranean foods but never could place. Not curry. Not garlic. Something earthy. And warm. It is so amazing how these ingredients combine.

You'll need to read the directions to know how much chicken broth will follow. It's probably 1:1 ratio so if you've got two cups of couscous you'll do two cups of broth. However, since you will be simmering this on low or medium-low without a cover, you'll lose some steam and probably need to check in on things to make sure it's done before you pull it from the stove. This is very subjective and whatever you decide is the right way to go. I have never used a stovetop or a pan that did risotto on the same time schedule. You just keep an eye on it, stir often so you don't burn things, and keep it going. Since a creamy risotto consistency is NOT desired here - you'll want to avoid stirring too often and be sure to pull it off the heat while it's still in individual grains. Oatmeal consistency would be a bad thing.

The rest is easy peasy. Pull it off the heat. Stir in a touch of olive oil so things don't clump. Refridgerate until you are ready to use it. In another bowl, slice cucumber and cherry tomatoes, add a small amount of capers (I believe we serve an overabundance of capers in dishes and I suggest using a maximum of maybe 25 in this entire dish for a more subtle taste), and stir. When you are ready to serve- finely chop a few springs (not too much or it's too much) of mint and add to the veges. Combine with the couscous. I also suggest that you splash the veges with some apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar, and some salt and pepper to taste. Mama Mia this is good!

Pasta! (No, you don't have to be old and hairy to make your own!)

The husband has been craving my homemade pasta sauce lately, so I'm going to cook it tonight. Before you roll your eyes and move on to another cooking site, WAIT! I swear, you don't have to be old, Italian and hairy to be able to make your own pasta sauce, and no, it's not going to take forever. I started making it when my brother came back from living in Italy for a year and couldn't believe I was using jar sauce. He showed me how to make it simply, easily and quickly, and I now pass it on to you:

Get out two saucepans. It's key to having your flavors and textures work. In one pan, swirl a little olive oil to coat and toss in:
About five or six ripe red tomatoes, chopped, salted and peppered.
Sautee on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In the other pan, swirl a little olive oil to coat and toss in:
Three to five cloves of crushed garlic
Half a minced yellow onion
Eight to ten sliced crimini mushrooms (or not, if you're a weird mushroom-hater)
Anything else you like, such as olives or bell peppers

Sautee on medium heat for about ten minutes. Dump all of this goodness into the tomato mixture and cook on medium for about five more minutes, adding a little red wine if you'd like.

Spoon it over cooked and drained pasta, and top with asiago cheese and a basil chiffonade.

(Wanna know how to chiffonade like a pro? The word merely means "ribbons" and here's how you do it: Stack your basil leaves on top of each other, roll into a tight tube and slice. You'll have 'ribbons' of basil. Easy and pretty, just the way we like it!)