Shiraz-Soy Tri Tip Roast

My husband loves tri tip...doesn't matter if it is steak or roast, he just loves it. And so do my kids. And so do I. Wonder of wonder, a meal we can all agree on! But the problem is that a friend of ours made a delicious tri tip years ago marinated in Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade overnight and that is the only way he wants it prepared. I come across recipe after recipe of delicious sounding tri tips and he will only have his Lawry's. Until now. This recipe from Sunset Magazine is easy, can be prepared the day before, and is delicious. Take that, stupid Lawry's.

And, about this photo...yes we like our cows walking to our table. I cooked it for 20 minutes...you may want to go another 5 or so.

Ingredients

3/4 cup Shiraz (Syrah) wine (I used a cheapie Yellow Tail from TJs...)
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 beef tri-tip (about 2 1/2 lb.), fat trimmed, rinsed and patted dry

Preparation

1. In a gallon-size zip-lock plastic bag, combine Shiraz, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard, and garlic. Add tri-tip and seal bag. Chill at least 2 hours or up to 1 day, turning occasionally.

2. Lightly oil a barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium coals or medium heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 4 to 5 seconds). Lift tri-tip from marinade and lay on hot grill; discard marinade. Close lid on gas grill. Cook tri-tip, turning every 5 minutes, until rare in center of thickest part (still pink; cut to test), 125° to 130° on a thermometer, about 25 minutes, or until as done as you like.

3. Let meat rest 5 minutes, then cut across the grain into thin, slanting slices.

Turkey Bolognese Ragu with Pappardelle

This recipe from a blog called the Culinary Chronicles is one of the few that make both me and my comfort food loving husband swoon. You know me...all veggies and fruits and fish versus my husband who never met an Italian Deli he didn't like. So we don't always agree. But on this recipe...best of both worlds. Turkey instead of pork, chunks of carrot, celery, low fat milk and onion so everyone is happy. Well, except the kids. Because they won't eat meat sauce. Sure, they will scarf down a steak, hamburger or unidentifiable hot dog meat. But somehow meat sauce is scary to them. But that is why god invented plain pasta. For wussie kids. Who will one day grow up to love meat sauce.

Warning: This is not a weeknight endeavor. Unless you happen to have a spare 3 hours on your weeknight. But you can make it on Sunday, serve it on Monday and freeze the rest for another weeknight.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
¼ pound Spicy Italian sausage, out of casing (I used chicken Italian sausage from TJ's)
1 cup white onion, finely minced
1 cup celery, finely minced
1 cup carrots, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes (or less depending on your heat preference)
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup lowfat milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 pound Pappardelle (thank you Trader Joes!), cooked
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped (I obviously forgot this as evidenced by the lack of greenery in the photo.)
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute until softened but not browned. Add chili flakes and sauté for an additional minute. Add turkey, Italian sausage, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the meat and break into small pieces.

Once the meat is no longer pink, add thyme and bay leaves. Add tomato paste and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering until all the milk has evaporated and only clear juices remain—about 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering until all the wine has evaporated—about 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes with its juices and bring to a boil, then place the heat at the lowest setting. Continue on this very low simmer for 2 – 2 ½ hours, stirring every 20 minutes until you get a rich, thick meaty sauce. Check for seasonings and add kosher salt and pepper accordingly.

Toss the cooked pappardelle in Bolognese sauce and serve topped with Parmesan cheese. Garnish with Italian parsley and Enjoy!

Apple Pie to End All Apple Pies

This recipe, officially called "All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie" hails from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From My Home to Yours," which is my baking bible. This pie is just about the best I have ever eaten, from homemade to fancy bakery bought. the crust is amazingly flakey, the filling is perfect and I cannot think of a better way to overdo it on the calories. It is so good that it doesn't even need vanilla ice cream. But if you do accompany the pie with said ice cream, I am not responsible for the funny looks you will inevitably get when you moan from happiness as you eat it.

Oh, and the best of all tricks: freeze the butter and the shortening before you chop them into little bits...so much easier than slicing cold and quickly melting butter.

For a 9 inch Double Crust

3 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ sticks very cold unsalted butter, cut into tbsp size pieces
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
About ½ cup ice water

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing- what you’re aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 6 Tbsps of the water- add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn’t look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a work surface.

Divide the dough in half. Gather each half into a ball, flatten each ball into a disk and wrap each half in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling (if your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge). You can stop at this point and continue the next day if you would like...I always do.

To Roll Out the Dough: Have a buttered 9 inch pie plate at hand.

You can roll the dough out onto a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in a rolling slipcover. If you’re working on a counter, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured. If you are rolling between paper, plastic or in a slipcover, make sure to turn the dough over often and to life the paper, plastic, or cover frequently so that it doesn’t roll into the dough and form creases.

If you’ve got time, slide the rolled out dough into the fridge for about 20 minutes to rest and firm up.

For the Pie

4 pounds (about 6 very large) apples (I used a couple of granny smiths, a couple of fujis and a couple of galas.)
3/4 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon (microplane is the tool for this folks. Bed Bath and Beyond, Williams Sonoma, et.al.)
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (seriously, grind your own...use the microplane on the nuts you buy at Cost Plus...much better and not too difficult.)
1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (or dry bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

For the Glaze (optional)

Milk or heavy cream
Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar

Getting Ready: Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate (I use a Pyrex pie plate). If you want to use a standard 9-inch pie plate, just reduce the amount of filling by about one quarter.

Working on a well-floured surface (or between wax paper or plastic wrap), roll out one piece of the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Fit the dough into the buttered pie plate and trim the edges to a 1/2-inch overhang. Roll the other piece of dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle and slip it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Cover both the circle and the crust in the pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, while you preheat the oven and prepare the filling. (If it's more convenient, the crust can be well covered and kept refrigerated overnight.)

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, core and slice the apples. You've got a choice for slicing: you can cut each apple in half and then slice each half crosswise or lengthwise into slices about 1/4 inch thick, or you can cut the apples into chunks about 1/4 to 1/2 inch on a side. In either case, put the apples into a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss everything together really well- I do this with my hands. If you've got a little time, let the mix sit for about 5 minutes, until juice starts to accumulate in the bottom of the bowl.

Remove the pie plate and top crust from the refrigerator and put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the crust-this will help keep it from getting too soggy (some sog is inevitable)- and then turn the apples and their juices into the crust. The apples will heap over the top of the crust. Pat them into an even mound. Dot the apples with the bits of cold butter. (The world will not end if you forget the butter...trust me.)

Very lightly moisten the rim of the bottom crust with water, then center the top crust over the apples. (If the crusts-top and bottom- are still very cold and in danger of cracking when you work with them, let them sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.) Either fold the overhang from the top crust under the bottom crust and crimp the crust attractively, or press the top crust against the bottom crust and trim the overhang from both crusts even with the rim of the pie plate. If you've pressed and trimmed the crust, use the tines of a fork to press the two crusts together securely. Really I just mush the two crusts together for an easy, I like to call it "rustic" look.

Use a sharp paring knife to cut about 6 slits in the top crust. If you'd like, brush the top crust with a little milk or cream and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake the pie for another 50 to 60 minutes (total baking time is between 65 and 75 minutes), or until the crust is gorgeously browned and the juices bubble up through the top crust. After about 40 minutes in the oven, if the top crust looks as if it's browning too quickly, cover the pie loosely with a foil tent.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let it rest until it is only just warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Best Ever Cheese Souffle

 

This recipe, from Alexandra Guaneschelli at Food and Wine Magazine, is impressive yet pretty darn easy when it comes right down to it.  It is not a low cal dish and, therefore, not one to make every week unless you have the cholesterol of a four year old.  But it presents well and who doesn't like cheese souffles?  Another note:  I spaced out at Trader Joes and purchased a sharp cheddar cheese instead of gruyere and it still tasted fantastic!

 Ingredients 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 large eggs, separated, plus 3 large egg whites
3 tablespoons dry sherry
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (2 packed cups)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (I forgot to put this in and it still worked!)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish and coat it with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually whisk in the cream and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking, until very thick, 3 minutes. Transfer the base to a large bowl; let cool. Stir in the egg yolks, sherry, Gruyère, sour cream, salt, Dijon mustard, dry mustard, cayenne and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmigiano.
3. Put the 7 egg whites in a large stainless steel bowl. Add the cream of tartar. Using an electric mixer, beat the whites until firm peaks form. Fold one-third of the whites into the soufflé base to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain.
4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared dish. Run your thumb around the inside rim of the dish to wipe away any crumbs. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the soufflé is golden brown and puffed. Serve right away.

Saffron Fingerling Potato Salad

This amazing salad keeps well for leftovers the next day...that is if there ARE leftovers.  This dish is creamy yet light, delicious and pretty darn easy AND you can get all the ingredients in one Trader Joes trip. The recipe came from Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients

3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch-thick coins
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
Pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 small fennel bulb—tough outer layer discarded, bulb cored and finely diced
8 cups mixed baby greens, such as arugula and mesclun (8 ounces)

Directions

In a medium skillet, combine the fingerling potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic, saffron and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add 2 cups of water to cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Discard the garlic. 

In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, tomatoes and diced fennel and toss. Add the mixed baby greens, season with salt and pepper and toss again. Serve right away.
 

The cooked potatoes can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Magnolia's Blueberry Coffee Cake with Vanilla Glaze

As many of you know, my husband brought home the Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook from the library and immediately set to work tabbing which recipes he wanted me to make.  But of course the first one that grabbed my attention was the zucchini cake (I promise to post another time!)  Which was delicious, except that Jeff doesn't like zucchini.  So, it being fall, I made another cake...the Pumpkin Bars.  Also delicious, but Jeff doesn't like pumpkin.  So I finally fulfilled my matrimonial obligations with this Blueberry Coffee Cake with Vanilla Glaze.  Twice.  And Jeff will now let me get the book for my very own.  Because he knows he will get this cake again.

This cake is easy to make, but plan ahead because it needs a lot of time to cool before you can slice it.  Make it the day before and it keeps beautifully.

Ingredients:

2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (preferably kosher..its a chemical composition thing, not a jew thing.)
2/3 c canola oil
1 c sugar
2 large eggs at room temp (nifty hint:  put eggs from the fridge into a bowl of warm water for 10 min or so to get room temp eggs!)
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c fresh blueberries, lightly coated with flour (so they don't sink in the cake)

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. confectioners (i.e. powdered) sugar, sifted
1/4 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease and lightly flour a 10 inch tube/bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt into a small bowl. 

Beat together in the mixer the oil, sugar and eggs for about 3 minutes until light and thick.  Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beating until smooth.  Fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.  Let the cake cool in the pan for one hour.  Remove from pan.

Make the Vanilla Glaze:  In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine the sugar, cream and vanilla and stir for about 2 minutes until well blended.  Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle over the cake.  Allow the glaze to set for one hour before slicing.

Grilled Shrimp and Vegetables with Israeli Couscous

 

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine June 2006 by Melissa Roberts-Matar

This is one of those ooh and ahh type recipes that come off as super impressive with not too much work.  It helps if you have the herb garden outside with the oregano and thyme, but I would definitely purchase those items rather than use dried to pull this off correctly. You can make the shrimp, veggies and couscous ahead of time and them combine them together with the feta just before serving.  Here is my handy dandy helpful tip:  when grilling shrimp, thread each of them on two skewers to prevent the shrimp from twisting around and it will be easier to flip over the fire.  Oh yeah, Israeli Couscous is available at Trader Joes, but is even cheaper at a kosher market.

 Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/4 cups pearl couscous (sometimes called Israeli couscous; 3/4 pound)
• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl ounces)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
• 2 lb large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined if necessary
• 2 medium red onions (1 pound total)
• 2 pounds large zucchini (about 4), cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 6 ounces feta, crumbled (1 1/4 cups)

Preparation

Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).  Toss shrimp with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and thread 4 or 5 shrimp onto each skewer (don't crowd, or shrimp won't cook evenly).

Peel onions and trim root ends slightly, leaving ends intact, then halve lengthwise and cut halves lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide wedges. Insert 1 wooden pick through each wedge to hold layers together while grilling, then put onions in a large bowl with zucchini. Toss vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. 

Grill shrimp skewers on lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over once with tongs, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer shrimp, discarding skewers, to a clean bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette.  Grill vegetables on lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over once, until just tender, about 5 minutes, transferring to bowl as grilled. Remove and discard picks from onions.

Whisk together vinegar, oregano, thyme, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl until salt is dissolved. Add 1/3 cup oil in a slow stream, whisking until vinaigrette is combined. 

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then toast couscous, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and pale golden, 3 to 5 minutes. While couscous toasts, stir together broth, water, and saffron in a large glass measure. Add to couscous with 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and couscous is al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Stir vinaigrette to combine, then stir 2 tablespoons into couscous and let stand, uncovered, at room temperature. 

Drizzle vegetables with remaining vinaigrette and toss to combine.

Spoon couscous onto a large platter or shallow serving bowl. Arrange shrimp and vegetables on top of couscous and sprinkle with feta. Serve warm or at room temperature.