It's All About the Garnish!

From the Valentine's Day Dinner: Sous Vide Pork Belly with Wine-Soaked Onions

(This is Post 4 in a four-part series on Valentine's Day Dinner)

In any multi-course dinner, the meat course needs to be the centerpiece. It's what all of the previouse courses had led to, had set the stage for so to speak. Pork belly is the new go-to for decadence so it was the natural choice. I had read enough of Thomas Keller's Under Pressure, the bible for sous-vide for professionals. He cooks it a 180 degrees for 12 hours, so I followed his lead.

 
Sous Vide Pork Belly with Wine-Soaked Onions

1 pound pork belly, trimmed

Smoked sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 teaspoons truffle oil, divided

1 small red onion, mandolin-sliced

1 cup red wine

Preheat sous vide machine to 180 degrees. Rub pork belly with salt, pepper and half of the truffle oil. Place in a foodsaver bag and cook for 12 hours.

Place onions and wine in a small oven-proof dish and roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes fluff with a fork.

Heat a cast-iron skillet to high heat and sear pork belly on all sides. Slice into portions and plate, topping with onions and remaining truffle oil. Serves two.

 

Competition: Best Burger Contest!

I've been in the kitchen all afternoon, prepping for tomorrow's burger contest at work. For those of you who may not know, I work at a winery. One day, we were talking about how we should film some content for the website showing how well burgers pair with our merlot. One thing led to another and we decided to film a burger contest between employees. So, for the past few weeks, I've been experimenting with burgers in an attempt to win the title.
The first effort was beef stuffed with sharp cheddar, slathered with bacon fat prior to cooking, topped with a creamy horseradish sauce and finished with focaccia buns. I also smeared the buns with roasted garlic butter and added some roasted onions and spring greens:

It was good, but it didn't have that 'wow' factor. Back to the kitchen for me! Finally, last weekend, I came up with a winner. We even had some friends over, one of which is a former chef, to taste them and everyone involved agreed it was the best burger they'd ever had. I'm not going to spill details until after the contest tomorrow, because some of my co-workers read this blog, but I can show you what they looked like:

I've since tweaked the recipe a bit, so the presentation will be prettier, and I'm hopeful that I'll at least place in the contest. Check back here soon for results and the recipe!

Street Food and Wine

Took a little trip to the Sonoma Farmers Market on Tuesday... In addition to the garlic hummus, heirloom tomatoes and torpedo onions, I also grabbed some dinner:

Mmmmm....Corndogs and cabernet...strange, but good. I'm sort of in a hand-held-food state of mind at the moment, and have been in training for yet another food competition. No, not the Napa County Fair Grilling Contest, but one that involves burgers and wine. More on that tomorrow!

Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party

I'm sure you're wondering how the dinner party went, and while I'm still recovering from it, I can at least give you a quick overview:
When we last visited this subject, I was still toying around with ideas on how to do the deconstructed Beef Wellington. I came up with a solution that worked and it tasted wonderful, but was really ugly, as you can see in the photo. Here's what I did:
I cut puff pastry sheets into four squares each (I had ten guests, but made twelve in case some came out badly) and draped them over upside-down ramekins placed on a cookie sheet. I cooked them until golden. I also made a mushroom duxelle, with criminis, onion, basil and garlic. As for the filet mignon, I marinated them in red wine, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce for a few hours. Then, about an hour before guests arrived, I put the filets in a couple of large skillets and sauteed them for about five minutes. I turned the heat off, let the pans cool down, then threw them in the fridge for two hours. When we were ready to serve the filets, I put them back on the stove, on high heat, for another seven minutes, turning once. I then placed them in the puff pastry cups, topped with the duxelle.
The taste? Simply divine. The look? Simply tragic. Because of the wine, the duxelle was purple. The filets were odd-shaped because I didn't think about making them round and holding them together with toothpicks. So, I will continue to play with this recipe, trying to find a way to make them prettier. Garnish ideas, anyone?

Flaming Yawn (Filet Mignon)

Or, Filet Mignon, as it's properly spelled. I went to Costco today (retail Disneyland!), shopping for beef for The Big Dinner this weekend. I looked at the ribeyes, sirloins and anything else that was red, but was uninspired. The only thing that caught my eye was the filet mignon, but the price was prohibitive. But then I saw the Beef Tenderloin, which is basically a beef log, made up of tenderloin, which you just cut up yourself, at a substantial savings. Now, all I have to do is cut off the junky stuff and slice it into 2-inch thick rounds. I'll also throw them into zip-top bags with my standard red wine marinade, as these guys aren't as big on flavor as they are on tenderness.

While I'm here, I might as well tell you about my thoughts on how I'm going to prepare this particular dish. Because I'm doing a three course tasting menu with wine pairings, I'm not going to be able to hang out in the kitchen while these steaks are cooking. I'm thinking I might use the principals outlined in the procedure for Beef Wellington: sear the meat, then chill it until ready to use, then cook it in the oven. I think I'll ask Dad. (BTW, if you haven't met Dad, I'll introduce you to him later, but suffice it to say he's where I get my cooking craziness.)

Upcoming Cookery

I'm throwing a fancy-schmancy dinner party for my husband this weekend (it's his birthday), and I thought I'd share my battle plan. He recently was awarded a magnum of Clos du Val 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, and I want to build a dinner around it. Three courses, wine pairings with each, and the grand finale with the cab. Here's my strategy:

1st Course: Salmon Pate Crostini with Source Napa Sauvignon Blanc

2nd Course: Shallot and Heirloom Tomato Salad with a Pinot Noir (TBD)

3rd Course: Sirloin in Puff Pastry with Mushroom Duxelle and THE CAB

Yes, it all sounds very fabulous, but if you really pay attention, it's not hard to do. I'll get someone to take pictures on Saturday, and soon after that I'll let you know how I did it, what pitfalls to avoid, and what garnish was the best!