Warm and Wonderful . . . .White Coq Au Vin

Winter has been flexing its muscle here for the last week with day time temps in the 30’s and nights in the teens. We have had some snow almost every day for a week and we are tired of it! Just saying . . . This dinner was the perfect antidote to our winter blues.

Much to Meg’s surprise and delight, Sue gifted herself with a new (and sharp) knife. Meg’s first comment when preparing to slice the vegetables was “Oh darn, I forgot the sharpener” where upon Sue smiled mischievously and whipped out the new weapon, aka the wondrous self-sharpening knife!

Self-sharpening wonder knife!

This white Coq Au Vin is a one pot wonder. It fills the house with enticing aromas for the entire time it is cooking and is a rich and comforting meal. The whole bottle of wine used to create this sauce combined with the vegetables is irresistible. You really need a crusty loaf of bread to dip in the sauce and wipe the bowl clean as we did. (Can you tell we loved it?)

Winter White Coq Au Vin

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Prep Time:  15 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  1 hr 15 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  4 servings

Ingredients

One 4 to 5-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1 stick butter
EVOO, for drizzling
1 cup freshly peeled or defrosted drained pearl onions
3 to 4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 ribs celery heart with leafy tops, finely chopped
1 baby fennel or 1/4 small bulb, thinly sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 large fresh bay leaf
One 750 milliliter-bottle dry white wine, such as white Burgundy
1 cup creme fraiche
2 to 3 cups chicken stock, if needed
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Baguette, warmed

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken, working in batches, and then transfer to a plate.

Add a drizzle of EVOO to the pot along with the remaining butter, onions, garlic, celery, fennel and leeks. Sprinkle the vegetables with some salt and pepper and cook until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the bay leaf and wine, return the chicken to the pot and cook, partially covered, over a low, rolling simmer, 30 minutes.

Stir in the creme fraiche, reduce to a simmer and continue to cook, 30 minutes longer. If the liquid gets too low, add the chicken stock. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter, and add the mustard and chopped tarragon at the last minute. Serve with warm baguette.

Notes
Cook's Note: Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Bring to room temperature before reheating over medium heat.

Chicken browning in pot.

Chicken simmering in sauce with vegtables.

The finished dish!

This is mine! 

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We used 4 large chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken and substituted fresh thyme for the tarragon, because it was what we had. We only used a total of 4 tablespoons of butter and we did not need any of the chicken broth. We also thickened the sauce, after removing the chicken at the end of the cooking time, with a roux of 2 tablespoons of flour in ½ cup of the cooking liquid and simmered it for another few minutes.

This is such an easy and quick to prepare meal that it would work mid-week and is also special enough for invited guests.

We baked small sour dough loaves for soaking up the lusciousness, but choose a crusty bread of your choice.

The recipe called for a white burgundy, and we learned that chardonnay from the Bourgogne region of France is another name for white burgundy. We chose a 2011 Macon-Villages, Les Mulots, recommended by Rebecca from Total Wines. This was nothing like some of the California chardonnays we’ve tasted. Although it was a bit over our usual wine budget at $15.99, we would buy it to drink with another meal. After tasting it, we chose the merlot to have with the meal.

Chateau St Jean Merlot, $8.99 on sale at Raley's.

Our parting thoughts for this year are of the fun we have every blog week, the wonderful shared meals, the new friends we have made through this blog and the anticipation of continuing this journey next year! Thanks for coming along!

Happy New Year!

Festive Shrimp Cannelloni

About a  week ago, we were setting up and decorating Sue’s mom’s Christmas tree. On her way from work Sue picked up a shrimp cannelloni dish at Costco to cook while we were busy with the tree. Score one for Costco, it was really good, lots of shrimp and a creamy sauce.  The addition of sautéed spinach with olive oil and garlic salt made it a delicious and very easy meal.  We liked it so much we decided to create our own variation for this blog.

This is not only a rich and delicious dish, but is also very festive and colorful on the plate. It can easily be made ahead, which makes it a great holiday recipe.

We chose to serve the cannelloni with our version of a wonderful spinach salad that we first had at “Black Rock Pizza” here in Sparks. We are sort of stuck on this salad, if truth be told, and always have it when we go there. Not to digress, but for all of you locals, they make a killer lemon meringue pie.

Cannelloni with Shrimp
Recipe developed by Sue & Meg For Saturday Night Specials 12/15/2012

Prep time:  45 minutes
Cook time:  55 minutes
Serves:  6

Ingredients:

1 lb. 16-20 count (headless) shrimp in their shells
1 box no-cook lasagna noodles
½ c unbleached flour
¼ c butter plus butter for baking dish
1 quart whole milk
2 cloves garlic
32 oz.  part skim Ricotta cheese
4 T sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 egg
1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 c Fontina cheese, grated
1 t red pepper flakes
Zest of ½ lemon
2/3 c Parmesan cheese, grated
bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Roast the red bell pepper over a gas burner or under the broiler until black and blistered.  Put into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until cool enough to handle.  Remove the charred skin and seeds.  Chop finely and set aside.

Bring the milk, one sliced garlic clove, and a teaspoon of salt to a boil.  Add the shrimp and cook until no longer transparent.  Remove shrimp and when cool enough to handle, remove the shells and return the shells to the cooking liquid and simmer, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes.  Remove the shells and strain the liquid. Depending on the size of shrimp you are using, cut them into ½ inch pieces, cover and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan melt the butter.  Add one clove of garlic, grated or pressed and stir until the garlic is slightly golden.  Add the flour and stir with a whisk to incorporate thoroughly.  Gradually add the milk to the flour, stirring constantly, until the roux starts to thicken.  You want the roux to be slightly thin at this point.  Add the grated Fontina cheese, chopped red pepper, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Ta Da, béchamel done!

Preheat oven to 375’.

 In a medium bowl combine the Ricotta, egg, chopped sun dried tomatoes, and ½ c chopped Italian parsley. Then add the shrimp. 

Butter a large (or medium) baking dish and spread about 1 cup of the Béchamel sauce on the bottom. (You want a dish wide enough to accommodate the length of the lasagna noodles.)
In a large pan bring 1 quart of water to a boil, add 1 t salt and add one or two of the lasagna noodles.  Watch carefully, and when the noodles become very pliable, about 5 minutes, remove to a plate and add two more.  Continue doing this until all are partially cooked.

Pat the top surface of each noodle with a paper towel before adding the filling. With a spoon, put about 1/3 cup of the ricotta/shrimp mixture down the middle of a lasagna noodle.  Overlap the long sides and lay, overlapping side down, in the béchamel sauce.  Continue filling the noodles and laying them into the baking dish, long sides touching, until the dish is full or you run out of cannelloni. 

Cover with the sauce and bake, covered, in a 375’ oven for 50 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 5 more minutes.

To serve, sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley.

Bechamel Sauce with Roasted Red Peppers

 

Shrimp Cannelloni

Spinach Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan
Serves 2 hungry women

Ingredients
approximately 3 oz. organic baby spinach leaves
½ cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Roast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until fragrant. Watch closely, as they will burn. Remove to a bowl.
In the same skillet, heat olive oil and garlic gently. Add the pine nuts and heat through.

Pour oil and pine nuts over the spinach and top with the shaved Parmesan.

Spinach Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan

Sgroppino

 

Ingredients

 

Haagen-Dazs Zesty Lemon Sorbet
Prosecco
Lemon peel for garnish

 

Put one scoop of the sorbet into a martini glass. Carefully pour Prosecco around the edge of the sorbet. Garnish and enjoy!

 

Sgroppino

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

 

We made this recipe our own by using a lot of our favorite ingredients, such as sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and Fontina cheese. You know, we can’t leave well enough alone.

Don’t be afraid of the teaspoon of red pepper flakes in the béchamel. This is not a spicy sauce. There is just a hint of heat.

We intended to add a touch of nutmeg to the béchamel, but forgot and added lemon zest instead to brighten the flavor. Picture us standing over the pot, taste testing, looking at each other, and saying in unison, “lemon zest”! 

 

The ends of our cannelloni touched the sides of our baking dish preventing the sauce from surrounding the ends. We strongly recommend that you allow room for the sauce. The pasta can easily be cut with a knife after par boiling.

This recipe will make 10-12 large cannelloni. Because of our pan sizes, we have left over filling. You could also make this into a great shrimp lasagna, which would save some prep time . . . . no rolling cannelloni.

Did we mention how much we love this salad? Maybe if we didn’t love it so much it would serve 4 dainty eaters. Just use our proportions and make as much as you want. (Pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic . . . you will want more!)

 

We so enjoyed the Prosecco from the last posting that we served it with this meal including dessert! Sorbet was a good ending for this rich dinner. It seemed only fitting to embellish it with some of the Prosecco.  Any flavor of sorbet with a dry sparkling wine would be good, but lemon seemed perfect for this meal.

We hope your holiday is merry and bright. Pop the cork on some bubbly and toast all the good things in your life, that is what we will be doing.

 

 

 

 

 

Party on Plate!

Can you believe it is December 1st?  We are kicking off the party season with a menu of appetizers. As a bonus, most of the prep work can be done ahead to make your party more fun for you!

Sue traditionally prepares a cioppino feast on Christmas Eve, and Meg brings appetizers. We frequently talk about appetizers, and you may have noticed that we usually have one while we are preparing the meal of the week. As it turned out, this was a really good dry run . . . we loved everything we fixed!

We tried a variety of new recipes, any one of which would impress your guests at a party. 

Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts

Rosemary Roasted Cashews
2003, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time:  5 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  10 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  approximately 3 cups

This recipe is almost directly from the Bar Nuts at Union Square Cafe in New York City and its wonderful cookbook of the same name.

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

Tumbled Tomatoes

Tumbled Tomatoes
Reno Gazette Journal
Serves: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Standing time: 3 hours

Ingredients:
1 T herbs de Provence
1 t coarse sea salt
½ t dehydrated garlic
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes

In a salt grinder or using a mortar and pestle, grind or pulverize the herbs de Provence, salt and garlic.  If you don’t have either, simply mix the ingredients together.  Set aside.

Wash the tomatoes in cold water, then remove all excess water, but do not dry.  In a large serving bowl, toss the tomatoes with the herb mixture until they are evenly coated.

Refrigerate the bowl, uncovered, until all water is evaporated, at least 3 hours and up to overnight.  “toss or “tumble” the tomatoes in the bowl occasionally until the herb and salt mixture has formed a crust on the tomatoes.  Serve chilled.

Marinated Dried Jack Cheese

Marinated Dry Jack
Raley’s “Extra” Magazine
Serves: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Chill: at least 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 c ½ inch cubes Rumiano Dry Jack Cheese
1/3 c olive oil
3 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme
1 t smoked paprika
¼ t crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, sliced

Stir together all ingredients in a jar or medium bowl: cover and refrigerated for at least one hour and up to 2 weeks, stirring occasionally.

Drain and serve with toothpicks.

Crab Salad in Crisp Wonton Cups

Crab Salad in Crisp Wonton Cups
2007 Ellie Krieger, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time:  25 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  10 min
Level:  Intermediate
Serves:  6 servings (serving size is 3 pieces)

Ingredients
For the Wonton Cups:
Cooking spray
18 wonton wrappers, thawed (if frozen)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the dressing:
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the salad:
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 cup finely diced mango
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.

Brush the wonton wrappers with oil, and place each wrapper into a section of a mini-muffin tin. Gently press each wrapper into the tin and arrange so that it forms a cup shape. The wrapper will overlap itself and stick up out of the cup. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned and crisp. Remove from the tin and allow wrappers to cool.

Meanwhile whisk together the zest, lime juice, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Add the oil and whisk until well combined.

In a medium bowl, toss together the crabmeat, celery, mango, scallion and cilantro. Add dressing and toss to combine. Fill each cup with the crab salad and serve.

Mushrooms before cooking

Mushrooms hot out of the oven.

Artichoke and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Prep Time:  30 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  20 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  8 servings

Ingredients
24 large (2 1/2 to 3 inches wide) white mushrooms
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper
2 cans sliced or quartered artichoke hearts
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
Pinch dried thyme
Handful grated Parmesan
Handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tub shredded Asiago cheese, 8 ounces

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place mushrooms in a large plastic food storage bag. Drizzle in just enough extra-virgin olive oil to coat – about 1/4 cup should do it. Shake the mushrooms to coat and scatter out onto a cookie sheet. Roast 10 minutes, round-side-up. Season with salt and pepper and flip over. Toss drained quartered artichokes with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, nutmeg, thyme, grated cheese, and parsley.

Generously fill the mushroom caps, mounding the filling up. Top the artichokes with shredded Asiago cheese and return to oven. Cook mushrooms 5 minutes more to melt cheese and set filling. Serve warm.

Wrapping shrimp

Jumbo Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto & Arugula

Jumbo Shrimp Wrapped with Arugula and Prosciutto
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Prep Time:  12 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  --
Level:  Easy
Serves:  18 jumbo shrimp, feeding 6 to 8 guests

 

Ingredients
18 cooked, frozen jumbo shrimp, defrosted
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, eyeball it
2 cups trimmed arugula leaves
9 slices imported prosciutto, 1/3 pound
18 grape tomatoes
18 party picks, 3 or 4 inches long

Directions
Place shrimp in shallow dish and add lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. Toss shrimp to coat evenly with dressing. Arrange the arugula in piles of 2 or 3 leaves, working with 6 piles at a time. Pile up 3 slices of prosciutto and cut in half across.

To assemble the shrimp, place 1 shrimp on each pile of 2 or 3 arugula leaves then wrap the leaves up with the shrimp using the prosciutto. Assemble 6 pieces at a time, like an assembly line. Nest a grape tomato into the curve of the prosciutto wrapped shrimp and secure into place with a party pick.

Arrange the shrimp appetizers on a platter and don't forget to put out a small empty bowl near the shrimp platter to collect the tails of shrimp and party picks, once guests finish the appetizers.

 il Cortigiano Prosecco

 

 Our biased and unsolicited opinions:

Do not discard the marinade from the dry jack as the recipe directs. If you serve it as we did with crostini, you will want to drizzle the oil on the bread and eat it with the cheese. Next time we would drain the cheese and serve the oil on the side in a small pitcher. Cutting the crostini into 1 ½ inch pieces after toasting, would be about the right size to serve with the cheese. We also think that you could use another semi-hard cheese of your choice with equally good results. This would make an excellent hostess gift.

We used 20 count shrimp, which were the right size for wrapping and eating. We cooked them the night before in very salty water in their shells and flash cooled them in ice water with a little salt. They kept really well in a Ziploc in the refrigerator until we peeled them and put them in the marinade. The tomatoes are not essential to taste of these appetizers, but give them a definite “wow” factor on the plate.

We used 1 ½ - 2 inch mushrooms, which are a good size for an appetizer, and diced the artichoke hearts more finely than recommended. This gave us a better mix of ingredients in each mushroom. We think these could be made ahead, cooled, covered on the baking sheet, refrigerated and then uncovered and popped into a 300 degree oven until warmed through.

The crab cups are another do-ahead dish. Bake the wonton cups and store in a paper bag for up to 2 days. You can chop the mango, celery, cilantro and scallions, add the crab and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Make the dressing ahead and store separately.  When the party starts, combine the dressing and the crab mix. Fill the wonton cups as needed to keep the bottoms crispy.  They will go quickly.

We used almonds, walnuts and pecans for our nut mix instead of cashews. Watch them carefully when roasting.  They burn easily. You will be amazed at how much 1 tablespoon of butter enhances the flavor in this amount of nuts. We loved the combination of sweet, salty and spice!

We did not refrigerate the Tumbled Tomatoes after tossing them with the spice mix. Our climate is very dry and we left them out in a bowl, tossing them about 3 times within an hour. These are like little jewels and very addictive!

There is nothing more festive than popping the cork on a bottle of bubbly – in this case chilled il Cortigiano Prosecco from Total Wines. It was slightly over our $10.00 wine budget at $11.99, but what the heck, it was a party!
 

Cheers!

Not Your Grandma's Thanksgiving Dinner

When we saw these recipes on Giada’s show last year, we both wanted this as a Thanksgiving meal. Fast forward a year and we still had these recipes on our minds.  While we are both celebrating a more traditional Thanksgiving this year with family and friends; we wanted to prepare a dinner that we thought would be an alternate choice. This is so adaptable to whether you are a dark meat or light meat fan, as well as serving any number of people. 

Giada’s original meal featured a whole cut up turkey. We both prefer dark meat, and used turkey thighs in our version. Who would have thought that a week before Thanksgiving, turkey thighs would be so unavailable? After visiting 4 stores on Wednesday, Meg called 8 grocery stores on Friday morning to secure the golden thighs . . . 

We loved the idea of the pomegranate juice in the Cosmo recipe being a good tie-in to the glaze for the turkey.  We substituted Grand Marnier for Cointreau, because that is what we had on hand. This is a killer cocktail and it is a perfect pre-dinner drink. It serves 6, or . . .  you can just forgo wine with dinner and drink the entire pitcher, which is what we did. (Chardonnay for another day.)

Pomegranate Cosmos

2006, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time:  5 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  --
Level:  Easy
Serves:  6 drinks

Ingredients

2 cups (16 ounces) good vodka (recommended: Stolichnaya or Finlandia)
1 cup (8 ounces) orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)
1 cup (8 ounces) pomegranate juice (recommended: Pom Wonderful)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
Lime peel strips, to garnish

Directions

Combine the vodka, orange liqueur, pomegranate juice, and lime juice in a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to use. Pour the mixture into frozen martini glasses with a twist of lime peel and serve immediately.

Pomegranate Cosmos

Cranberry-Orange Glazed Turkey

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:  1 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep Time:  35 min
Cook Time:  2 hr 0 min
Level:  Intermediate
Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients

One 11-pound turkey, cut into 6 pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cranberry Orange Glaze, recipe follows
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Assorted fresh herb sprigs, orange wedges and whole cranberries, for garnish
Special equipment: instant-read thermometer

Directions

Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse the turkey pieces and pat very dry with paper towels. Brush the turkey all over with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the turkey, skin-side up, on a baking sheet with the thick end of the breasts and thighs at the corners, the drumsticks in the center. Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Remove the turkey from the oven and brush with the Cranberry Orange Glaze. Pour the broth onto the baking sheet to prevent drippings from burning and roast the turkey, covering loosely with foil if browning too quickly, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F to 170 degrees F in thickest part of the thigh (do not let the thermometer touch bone), 20 minutes.
Transfer the turkey to a platter. Brush generously with more glaze and let rest 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, scrape all the pan juices and browned bits from the baking sheet into a large measuring cup. Spoon off and discard the fat that rises to the surface. Heat the pan juices in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk 2 to 3 tablespoons of the glaze into the pan juices (or more if desired) to make the gravy and bring to a simmer for the flavors to blend.
Slice the turkey and arrange on the platter. Garnish with herb sprigs, oranges wedges and cranberries, and serve with gravy.

Cranberry Orange Glaze:

1/2 cup frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 1/4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a small saucepan, bring the cranberry juice, orange juice, marmalade and rosemary to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the glaze thickens enough to coat a spoon, whisking often, 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the butter, then season the glaze with salt and pepper. Yield: about 1 1/4 cups.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:  15 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  40 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients

18 red pearl onions, peeled
2 large carrots, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/3-inch-wide pieces
2 large parsnips, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/2-inch-wide pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 5-ounce bag baby arugula
1 ripe pear, halved, cored, cut into thin wedges
Apple Cider Vinaigrette, recipe follows
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the onions, carrots and parsnips. Add the oil, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper; toss to coat evenly. Scatter the vegetables on a large nonstick rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the vegetables over and roast until tender and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Set the vegetables aside.
In a salad bowl, combine the arugula, pear slices and roasted vegetables. Add the Apple Cider Vinaigrette and toss until coated. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and serve.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar, honey, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually whisk in the oil. Yield: about 2/3 cup.

Vegetables ready for roasting.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
Prep Time:  15 min
Inactive Prep Time:  3 hr 0 min
Cook Time:  1 hr 0 min
Level:  Intermediate
Serves:  8 servings

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar, plus 4 teaspoons
8 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Arrange 8 (1/2-cup) ramekins or custard cups in a large metal baking pan.
In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy and lemon-colored. Slowly add 3/4 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot cream, and whisk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin, and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Divide among the prepared custard cups.

Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custards are just set in the center but not stiff, 45 minutes to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle each custard with 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar. (Alternately, preheat the broiler, and broil until the sugar melts and caramelizes, watching closely to avoid burning and rotating the cups, about 1 to 2 minutes.) Place on small dessert plates and serve.

Our biased and unsolicited opinions:

Talk about a do-ahead meal! With the exception of actually roasting the vegetables and the turkey, everything can be prepped ahead.  This dinner allows you to enjoy your guests and still serve a wonderful meal. Plus, it only uses one rimmed baking sheet. You can’t get much easier than that. People might actually volunteer to do the dishes!

We loved everything about this meal. We used frozen cranberry-pomegranate juice in place of plain cranberry with excellent results. We prepared 4 turkey thighs and had about ¾ cup of the glaze for serving. If you are cooking for more people, adjust the glaze accordingly. (You will want the extra glaze.)

The salad is seasonal, hearty and wonderfully delicious. The combination of the roasted vegetables and the slightly bitter arugula fills in for all the usual side dishes.

If you like pumpkin pie, you are going to love pumpkin Crème Brulee! The caramelized sugar crust makes this dessert! Meg happened to have a propane torch on hand and voila, brulee!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Almost Stroganoff . . .

One of our followers, Mary Ann, visited “the Tasteful Olive” in Overland Park, Kansas and sent us the most wonderful lavender balsamic vinegar and herbs de Provence olive oil. We thoroughly enjoyed them with slices of country French baguette and some herbed olives on Sue’s porch - possibly our last al fresco dining  for the season. However, if this temperate weather continues, we will happily sit on the porch, eat hors d’oeuvres and drink wine. 

Portabellas, stroganoff with goat cheese – we have been looking forward to this meal for at least two months. We generally don’t think that far ahead about a meal, but knew this was a “fall” dish and have anxiously anticipated preparing this recipe. 

Time-wise this could be a week night meal or a company dinner. The addition of a salad with a simple vinaigrette provides a good balance to the pasta. We constructed our vinaigrette with lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon, herbs de Provence and Frantoia EVOO from Italy via the Bella Italia store here in Reno.

Mushroom Stroganoff with Goat Cheese

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2012

Prep Time:  10 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  30 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
12 ounces extra-wide egg noodles
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 portabella mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bunch green onions, sliced and white bottoms and green tops separated
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
14 ounces beef broth
8 ounces sour cream
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground, plus more for garnish

Directions
Add the noodles to 4 quarts of cold water in a 6-quart pot, cover and place over high heat. Cook to al dente, 18 to 22 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Melt the butter in a 12-inch straight-sided saute pan set over medium-high heat. Increase the heat to high, add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Saute until they darken in color, soften and give off their liquid, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the white bottoms of the green onions and saute 2 to 3 minutes.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine. Cook until the flour disappears and the fond on the bottom of the pan turns dark brown, about 1 minute. Deglaze with the beef broth. Bring to a simmer and decrease the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, and then add the sour cream, goat cheese and black pepper. Stir to combine, and then partially cover and bring to a simmer to warm through, 2 to 4 minutes.

Drain the noodles, add to the pan and stir to combine. Garnish with the green onion tops and additional black pepper. Serve immediately.

Weight Watchers: 6 servings, 11 points -  8 servings 8 points 

We chose a cabernet to compliment the richness of the stroganoff and were pleased with the pairing.

 

It has been awhile since we had an elusive ingredient, and then came star anise. Not only was it hard to find, but also pricey. After tasting this dessert, we consider it an essential ingredient, and you will too. We are determined to find further uses for this “golden spice”. 

Baked Maple Pears

Recipe: Prevention magazine, November 2012
Serves: 4

Ingredients
4 firm-ripe pears
1/3  cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. coarse sugar
4 quarter slices of fresh ginger
1 star anise

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Trim the bottoms of the pears. Standup-right in baking dish just large enough to hold them. Drizzles with maple syrup. Sprinkle sides of pears with coarse sugar. Add slices of fresh ginger and star anise to syrup.

Tent pears with foil and bake until tender, 50 minutes. Discard star anise. Drizzle pears with syrup.

Weight Watchers: 5 points

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

This recipe immediately captured our attention, because it was a spinoff on a childhood memory, and we anticipated the creamy richness we remembered. While it tasted good, we wanted more depth of flavor and more sauce.

The goat cheese was completely lost; so either more was needed, or perhaps adding a bit of bleu cheese would boost the flavor. We also think that adding garlic while sautéing the mushrooms would enrich the overall flavor. Don’t’ get us wrong – it was good, and we both ate two servings – we just kept talking about what we would do differently.  Also, don’t start the noodles until you are half way done with the mushrooms. The mushrooms will hold, and the noodles won’t! We added extra salt and pepper at the table.

We fell in love with the baked pears. We used both Comice and Anjou pears, which were equally suited to this recipe. The ginger and anise combined with the maple syrup make this dessert! Our only change would be to dice the ginger before adding it to the sauce; so you can have a bite of ginger with each bite of pear.  This dessert is best served warm. We licked our plates. It is that good.

If you are doing a dinner party, we think a Prosecco or champagne would be really great with the pears. 

Enjoy!

My, Oh My, Chicken Pie

We are having a glorious Indian summer here in northern Nevada - warm days and cool evenings. Despite the temperate weather, our thoughts are turning to fall comfort foods, and who doesn’t like chicken pot pie? This one doesn’t include the traditional vegetables but is rich and satisfying.
 
Sue initiated the discussion for this meal after seeing this chicken pie on the PBS “Cook’s Country” show. They refine recipes through extensive testing and provide the best recipe for any given dish. After tasting this chicken pie, we applaud their process.   Despite the simplicity of the seasonings in this dish, it has a wonderful depth of flavor.

We had decided on roasted carrots to go with this pie and came up with the glaze to bring out their sweetness. A picture and recipe in the latest “Whole Living” magazine persuaded us to not roast Brussels sprouts as planned, but to “go raw” with a Brussels sprout salad.

We started off our cooking adventure this week with some very fine cheese and fruits. This meal is a labor of love and we needed sustenance. Meg had a Gouda she wanted to share, along with some brie and an American creamy blue cheese. This all went really well with a nice California merlot.

Moravian Chicken Pie
From Cook's Country
December/January 2012
Serves 8

If you get less than 2 tablespoons of fat from browning the chicken in step 4, supplement it with butter. The pie may seem loose when it comes out of the oven; it will set up as it cools.

INGREDIENTS

Crust
1/2 cup sour cream, chilled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

Pie
2 (10- to 12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE CRUST: Combine sour cream and egg in bowl. Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until only pea-size pieces remain, about 10 pulses. Add half of sour cream mixture and pulse until combined, 5 pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough begins to form, about 10 pulses.
2. Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and knead briefly until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw completely at room temperature before using.)
3. Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes. Working on lightly floured counter, roll into 12-inch round and transfer to 9-inch pie plate, leaving 1/2-inch overhang all around. Repeat with second dough disk and transfer to parchment–lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover both doughs with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. FOR THE PIE: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Pour fat (you should have 2 tablespoons) into small bowl; reserve. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin. Add broth, chicken, and bay leaf to now-empty pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding bones. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer into second bowl and reserve (you should have about 2¾ cups); discard bay leaf.
5. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat butter and reserved fat in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of reserved broth and half-and-half and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gravy until thickened and reduced to 1¾ cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine 1 cup gravy with shredded chicken; reserve remaining gravy for serving.
6. Transfer chicken mixture to dough-lined pie plate and spread into even layer. Top with second dough round, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Cut four 1-inch slits in top. Brush pie with egg and bake until top is light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes.
7. When ready to serve, bring remaining ¾ cup reserved gravy and remaining ¾ cup reserved broth to boil in medium saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve pie with gravy.

We use gravy to form the base for the filling in our Moravian Chicken Pie and also to serve with slices of the pie.
GRAVY FOR FILLING Combine 1 cup of thick gravy with the shredded chicken for a sliceable filling.
GRAVY FOR SERVING Thin the remaining thick gravy base with fortified chicken broth to make gravy for serving.

Weight Watchers: 17 points

Glazed Carrots
Recipe developed by Meg
For Saturday Night Specials 10/20/2012
Serves:  4
8 medium carrots, scrubbed
Olive oil for roasting
Salt & pepper for roasting

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. orange zest

Rub carrots with olive oil. Place on cookie sheet. Salt & pepper to taste.

Roast carrots in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, baste the carrots in the glaze and roast for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Weight Watchers: 6 points

Brussels Sprout Salad with Avocado & Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe: Whole Living, November, 2012
Serves: 6

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (1 tsp.)
1  ½ Tbsp. lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed, leaves separated
2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 avocado, sliced

Whisk lemon zest and juice and mustard in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking to emulsify, and season with salt and pepper.

Toss dressing with Brussels sprout leaves and pumpkin seeds. Gently stir in avocado and adjust seasonings.

Weight Watchers: 5 points

 

We had this Riesling for the first time with the Tandoori chicken and knew immediately that it would also be a great complement to this meal. (Those wine classes at Total Wine are paying off.)

Baked apples are a standard fall dessert. It took Meg five minutes to pick the prettiest apples from the store display. The clerk stocking the produce was watching her closely. After the apple selection she moved on to gourds.

Baked Apples
Recipe developed by Meg & Sue
For Saturday Night Specials 10/20/2012


Serves:  4
4 Macintosh apples
 ½ cup bourbon
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup walnuts, toasted
2 Tbsp. Honey
 Dusting of cinnamon and ground ginger
1 Tbsp. melted butter

Pour bourbon over raisins. Heat in microwave for about 30 seconds. Cover and let sit for at least 3 hours.

Wash apples and hollow out leaving bottom intact, and peel about ½ inch from top. Place in an oven proof dish. Stuff the apples with soaked raisins and walnuts, alternating until generously filled. Pour some of the bourbon from soaking the raisins over the filling. Drizzle the honey into the cavities.
Brush the exposed apple flesh with melted butter and dust with cinnamon and ginger.

Pour enough water into the baking dish to come up the sides of the apples about ½ inch. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and let sit until ready to serve.

Toppings of choice:
1-2  Tbsp. bourbon sauce per apple
Whipping cream
Vanilla ice cream

Bourbon Sauce
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com
Serves/Makes: 1.5 cups

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey

Directions:
Melt butter over medium heat, add sugar and water and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Gradually add butter and water mixture to egg, beating constantly. Slowly stir in bourbon.



Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We loved this chicken pie. We recommend that you do all the chicken prep the day before, including the gravy. This is not a week night dish, but it is totally worth the time investment for a special occasion.  The crust is wonderful.

If you like carrots, you will love this dish. The smoked paprika and the orange juice elevate them from “just roasted” to something special. Watch them closely after adding the glaze.

We really liked the concept of the Brussels sprout salad, however the raw sprouts were tough and didn’t really have much taste. We like Brussels sprouts cooked a variety of ways and were disappointed in this recipe.  Great vinaigrette, though. We are going to try this again and will blanch the sprout leaves briefly in salted water and then immerse them in ice water. We anticipate that this will develop more flavor.

The baked apples were like the best of  an apple pie. Total comfort food. Sue's only change to the bourbon sauce recipe was to cook the sugar mixture longer, about 4 minutes total, before adding the sugar to the eggs.

Right now we are very full and happy and glad we spent the time on this meal. Cheers!

A Taste of Mexico (or any excuse for another margarita!)

Our favorite dish at a Mexican restaurant is always chiles rellenos.  We judge a restaurant by this dish and  are tough critics when it comes to rellenos. We decided to take up the challenge, and this recipe pleased us, but we made a few changes. Are you surprised? 

Summer produce is still readily available, and we took full advantage by sautéing corn on the cob, sweet peppers and yellow summer squash for a side dish.  

Sue lobbied for one more return of the infamous margaritas from our “Cinco de Mayo” posting. Meg did not object.  

Meg had artisan tortillas in her freezer, which we converted to tortillas chips to complement our “how we like it” guacamole.  


Artisan tortilla home made chips

 

 

How We Like It Guacamole
Recipe developed by Sue & Meg
For Saturday Night Specials 10/6/2012

1 large and 2 small avocados, seeded and  coarsely mashed
1 lime juiced
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
Garlic salt and black pepper to taste

Weight Watchers:  8 points

Roasted tomatoes, onion and jalapeno for the salsa.

Roasted Salsa

Roasting the chiles on gas stove burners. Very handy!

A roasted chile, sliced open and seeded.

The stuffed chiles frying.

Stuffed Poblano Chiles ("Chiles Rellenos")

Recipe courtesy Marcela Valladolid
Prep Time:  20 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  15 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients

Sauce:
5 red plum tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 jalapeno pepper (added from the reviews)

Chiles:
1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon dried oregano
6 poblano chiles, charred, seeded, and deveined *see Cook's Note
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Sauce: Put the tomatoes, garlic and onion in a blender. Blend until smooth. In a medium saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chile rellenos: Mix the cheese and oregano in a small bowl. Cut a slit through 1 side of the charred chiles and fill each chile with 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture. Close with toothpicks to hold the filling in place. In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolk and continue to beat for about 1 minute.
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) Dredge the filled chiles in flour until fully covered. Shake off any excess flour, then dip the chiles into the egg mixture, until well coated. Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels.
Arrange the chiles on a serving platter, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

Notes
To char the chiles (or any fresh chile): Put the chiles over a gas flame or underneath the broiler and cook until they are blackened on all sides. Enclose them in a plastic bag and let stand for 10 minutes to steam, which will make them easier to peel. Peel, stem, and seed the chiles. Once peeled, the chiles may be chopped, sliced or stuffed.

Weight Watchers: 10 points per rellano with sauce

Stuffed chile with roasted salsa.

Pepper, Squash and Corn Sauté
Recipe developed by Sue & Meg
For Saturday Night Specials 10/6//2012 

15 small tri-color peppers, sliced in half and seeded

2 large yellow summer squash, sliced and cut in half
2 large ears, fresh corn on the cob, cut from the cob
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped for garnish.

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add corn and suate for 3-4 minutes. Add remianing vegetable and cook until squash and peppers are crisp-tender.

Weight Watchers:  3 points

Sauteed corn, peppers and yellow squash.

To round out the meal we had the most decadent Chile Chocolate Pecan Cookies served with one of our favorites --- Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka.  OMG!


Chile Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Makes: about 3 dozen
From: “Great Desserts of the American West, Frances Towner Gieldt, Lone Star Books

Ingredients:

2 c semisweet chocolate chips
6 T (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c plus 2 T sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 t vanilla extract
1 c plus 2 T unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t ground cinnamon
½ t baking powder
½ t salt
¼ c crushed dried New Mexican red chiles
2/3 c chopped pecans

Place 1 ½ cups of the chocolate chips in a 1 quart microwave-safe bowl, microwave, uncovered, on medium power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes, until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Let cool.

Preheat oven to 350’.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Beat in vanilla and cooled chocolate.
In a bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.  Gradually stir into egg mixture, mixing well.  Stir in ground chiles, pecan, and remaining ½ c chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool cookies on a rack.

Weight Watchers:  3 points per cookie

Chili Chocolate Pecan Cookies with Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka

Our biased and unsolicated opinions:

We changed up the salsa by roasting 7 quartered Roma tomatoes, 1 medium quartered white onion and 1 seeded jalapeno, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. The roasting brought out the sweetness and gave a smokiness to the salsa.  After roasting, we coarsely chopped them in a food processor and added them to the pressed garlic, which we had sautéed in a tablespoon of olive oil.  We served the salsa at room temperature and think it would be better on the chiles served warm. 

We used a combination of Monterey jack and pepper jack for our filling. After reading the comments on the Food Network, we chose not to char the peppers as much as we would have normally and put them in the freezer prior to coating them for frying. They were crisp-tender, and we prefer softer chiles. This calls for a re-do, oh darn.   

After removing the corn from the cob, we started sautéing it first, then added the squash and peppers. These were crisp-tender, which was our intention.  

We used a combination of La Tortilla Factory Green Chili, Corn and Wheat Chipotle, and Mission Flax  Seed & Blue Corn Blend tortillas, sliced into quarters, brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper. We roasted them for 20 minutes per side in a 375 degree oven. The chipotle tortillas were thicker and did not crisp at the same rate as the other tortillas. They should have been started sooner or roasted separately. We really liked the variety of flavors and textures with the guacamole.  

These cookies are like eating a chewy fudge brownie with a slightly spicy kicker at the end. Meg says she is going to start adding chiles to all her brownies. (OK by Sue.) We thought a quarter cup of chiles might be too much, but it seems just right. We didn’t have any New Mexico dried chiles; so Meg selected dried Guajillio chiles after taste testing 4 dried varieties. In the first bite you get the chocolate and the cinnamon. The chiles sneak in at the end. Soooo good, especially with the espresso vodka, although Meg says that they are equally good with a latte in the morning.

 An altogether wonderful meal.

Salud, amor, pesetas y tiempo para disfrutarlos.