RSS Feed

Category Archives: Cheese

Quiche Lorraine

Posted on June 1, 2010 by amydeline

I’ve got a fridge full of leftover cheese that I don’t want to waste, including a large tub of shredded gruyere.  One of my favorite ways to use gruyere is in Quiche Lorraine. Doesn’t get much better than gruyere and bacon in a pie crust! I like to add sauteed onions, but if you’re not an onion fan, leave them out. Quiche makes a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal! It reheats nicely in the oven, making it a convenient dish to prepare ahead of time.

Today’s schedule does not include time for making a pie crust, so I’ll be using a frozen pastry shell. But, if you’re feeling sassy, go ahead and whip up your own buttery pie crust for this recipe!

Quiche Lorraine

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

  • 1 pie crust, homemade or frozen
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 8 oz. bacon, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If using a frozen pie crust, allow it to thaw in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before using. Line pie crust with a piece of foil.  Fill with dry beans.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and beans.  Return to oven for another 5 minutes. (You can save the dried beans to reuse as pie weights.)

In a saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter.  Saute the chopped bacon over medium heat until it is cooked, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from the pan and place it over a double layer of paper towels to remove the excess grease. Sprinkle the bacon into the pie shell. Add onions to the bacon grease remaining in the pan.  Cook onions for about 5 minutes until they are soft and slightly caramelized. Drain over a paper towel. Sprinkle the onions over the bacon.  Distribute the gruyere evenly over the bacon and onions.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, and seasonings.  Pour over the bacon, onions, and cheese, being careful not to overfill.

Place the pie shell on a baking sheet. Bake on the bottom rack for 35-45 minutes, until the filling has set in the middle. (You’ll know because it won’t wiggle anymore.)

Allow it to cool slightly before serving.  Serve with a side of spring greens and balsamic vinaigrette.

Quiche will keep well in the fridge for a couple days.  You can reheat it in a 200 degree oven until warm.

5 Comments

Posted in Appetizers, Breakfast, Cheese, Eggs, Food, Main Course, Pork, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Grilled Ribeye Steaks and Grilled Fingerling Potatoes with Gorgonzola

Posted on May 31, 2010 by amydeline

I’m not a lawyer or anything, but I’m pretty sure there is a law that mandates grilling on Memorial Day. In accordance with this purported law, we shall be grilling steaks and potatoes tonight.

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Chipotle Butter, Grilled Fingerling Potatoes with Gorgonzola, and Corn on the Cob

I chose a thick, marbled ribeye steak and fingerling potatoes.  Russet potatoes would work well, but will need more cooking time. And, remember that chipotle butter we made last week?  Throw a dollop of that on the steak!  Sprinkle a little gorgonzola on the potatoes and serve with a piece of corn on the cob!

A little guide for grilling steaks:

  • Take the steak out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes prior to grilling to allow it to come up to room temperature. Allowing the steaks to come to room temperature facilitates even cooking.
  • Meanwhile, fire up your grill. Whether using a gas or charcoal grill (my preference), get it good and hot. Charcoal should have a coat of white ash and glow red in the middle. Distribute the coals unevenly, so that one side is stacked with coals and the other side has a lower, single layer of coals.
  • Remove the grill plate and rub it with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
  • Just prior to grilling, season your steak with a little salt and pepper. Avoid doing this until the last minute, as the salt will draw out the juices in the steak.
  • Sear the steak over high heat for a minute or two on each side. (If using a charcoal grill, sear over the stacked coals). Searing the steak over high heat seals in the juices.
  • If using a gas grill, turn the heat down to medium. If using a charcoal grill, move the steak over the lower heat, single layer of coals.
  • Allow the steak to cook for about 3-6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak and your desired doneness. Rotate the steak 45 degrees halfway through, to give it a nice quadrillage (diamond pattern).
  • You can check the steak’s doneness by feeling the steak or using a meat thermometer.  My preference is to insert a meat thermometer into the side of the steak.  (Rare: 125 degrees,  Medium Rare: 130-135 degrees, Medium: 140-145 degrees, Medium Well: 150-155 degrees, Well: 160-165 degrees)
  • Remove the steak from the grill about 5 degrees below your desired temperature, as the steak will continue cooking off the heat.
  • Cover the steak and allow it to rest for about 5 minutes before cutting or serving. Resting allows the juices to redistribute within the steak.

Using a chimney starter eliminates the need for smelly lighter fluid.

To Grill Fingerling Potatoes:

Pour a small amount of olive oil onto a large piece of foil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pierce each potato a few times with a fork. Place potatoes onto the oil.  Thoroughly wrap the potatoes in the foil.  Double wrap if necessary to seal in the oil. Grill for about 30-40 minutes, until fork tender. For larger potatoes, allow for longer grilling time.

Corn on the Cob:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Put the shucked corn into the boiling water.  Boil for about 5-8 minutes.

And for dessert…

Bordeaux Cherry Brownie Ice Cream with Fresh Cherries

2 Comments

Posted in Beef, Cheese, Culinary Techniques, Food, Ice Cream, Potato, Recipes, Vegetable and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

German Soft-Pretzel Sandwiches

Posted on May 27, 2010 by amydeline

My best friends from college joke about how they’d vocalize a craving and within moments, I’d have found everything necessary and be halfway done making it. To be honest, I can’t actually think of one example of doing this. But, it sounds like something I’d do. Nowadays, my husband holds the magic lamp which makes all of his food cravings appear. Most of the time he just waits to see what I put in front of him. But every so often, he gets a hankering for something and I do what I can to bring it to fruition.

Such was the case last night, as my husband was scrolling through his iPhone and ran across a New York Times article entitled, Making Soft Pretzels the Old-Fashioned Way. You see, my husband has got a tiny, little obsession with pretzels; doughy, salty Bavarian pretzels. It all began just after our college graduation. We lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany for the summer and worked at an American-owned hotel.  I was a waitress and bartender in the hotel’s main restaurant.  My husband worked in housekeeping. We spent most of our evenings at German beer festivals drinking huge glasses of Bavarian Hefeweissen and eating pretzels. On days off, we’d huff and puff our way up the Kramer Mountain (with little old German ladies swiftly biking past us) to our favorite biergarten, informally known as the Halfway House, perched halfway up the mountain, overlooking all of Garmisch.  A couple of beers and a pretzel later and we’d hike back down. What a summer! It’s really no wonder that a pretzel obsession developed.

Here in the states, good German beer is readily available. There is a wide selection of imported Hefeweissen, Dunkel Bock and Pilsners right at my local grocery store. But, pretzels are a different story. Good Bavarian-style soft pretzels are not as easy to find. Over the years, my husband has been on an endless search for good pretzels.  He buys a pretzel whenever he has the opportunity, whether it be at a baseball game, the mall, or from a street vendor. So far, the closest we’ve found to an authentic Bavarian pretzel is at the Hofbrauhaus in Las Vegas. Without fail, the very best part of every Vegas trip is our evening at the Hofbrauhaus, singing along with the live German music while consuming as much German beer, pretzels, and food as we can before taking turns rolling each other back to the hotel.

But, Vegas is far away and there are no Germany trips in our near future. And so, this morning, while my husband was busy at work, I decided to try my hand at pretzel making. I poked around online for a bit looking for an authentic soft pretzel recipe. Turns out that the key to making really good soft pretzels is dipping the dough into a lye bath just prior to baking.  Lye is a highly caustic substance, the use of which necessitates safety measures, such as gloves and masks, to prevent chemical burns. Lye is used in the curing processes of numerous foods.  It is also used in drain cleaners and soap. I’m all for adventurous cooking, but something about using a product in my food, which can be found next to the Drano, just sits funny with me.  Not to mention that I’m not wild about using something which can cause chemical burns, in proximity of my ever-present children. Either way, it doesn’t appear that lye is commonly available anymore.  One online pretzel recipe linked to Amazon.com as a source for food-grade lye, but the lye I found on there was listed in the Automotive section.  Yeah, that’s not really going to work for me. So, I did a little more searching around and found a number of recipes which use a baking soda bath, prior to baking, to achieve that pretzelrific exterior browning, including a recipe from Alton Brown.  Alton Brown knows his stuff! I trust his expertise completely. That, and 234 positive reviews of the recipe convinced me that it was worth a try. I followed his recipe exactly, only substituting coarse-ground sea salt for the pretzel salt. I made a few pretzels and several rolls to use for sandwiches.

Waiting for the dough to rise

Expert pretzel roller

Egg wash

Basket o' pretzels

Pretzel Roll with Smoked Gouda, Black Forest Ham, Thinly Sliced Pear, and German Mustard

Pretzel sandwiches would be outstanding with any number of fillings.  I chose to use Black Forest Ham, Smoked Gouda, thinly sliced pear, and German-style mustard. My husband is in for a real treat when he gets home for lunch!

Enjoy with your favorite German brew.

Prost!

Prost!!

3 Comments

Posted in Breads, Cheese, Food, Fruit, Main Course, Pork, Recipes, Sandwiches, Things I Love and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Cinnamon Apple and Brie Quesadillas with a Side Salad of Spring Greens with Prosciutto, Figs, and Walnuts

Posted on May 24, 2010 by amydeline

So, if you’ve been following this blog for the past few weeks, you may have started to notice some trends.

  • I love cheese.
  • I love to cook foods that I can eat with my hands.
  • I like to keep things pretty simple.

Don’t get me wrong…I love nothing more than to spend the day in the kitchen cooking up elaborate meals on special occasions, for dinner guests, or anytime I’ve got someone else to watch the kids. But, most of the time, I like to keep things simple. Just a few fresh ingredients, a little mixing and heating, and voila!  A delicious meal! (We’ll just save the boeuf bourguignon for Christmas!)

I’ve been thinking a lot about this adorable little bistro we visited during our stay in Clearwater Beach.  It was a small place with wine-lined walls. There was a long bar for wine tasting, a few indoor tables, and a large outdoor patio. The menu was simple but interesting; mostly salads, sandwiches, and pizzas, prepared behind the long bar. On Friday nights, they featured live music.  We even walked by a doggie happy hour (a yappy hour, if you will), taking place on the patio one night. I’m pretty sure that if I ever had the good fortune to open a little place of my own, I’d want a place just like that. Simple, but elegant menu in a casual, inviting atmosphere.  I’d feature fresh baked artisan breads and cheese from local farms, seasonal produce, and wines from the Finger Lakes region. I’d personally welcome each guest and offer complimentary wine tasting. And, I almost forgot… it would be spring all year long and I’d wear pretty skirts every day. Wouldn’t that be lovely??

But, I digress. Tonight’s dinner is inspired by one of the menu items at that adorable Clearwater Beach bistro. I love, love, love brie! Hands down, it’s one of my most favorite cheeses. I especially love brie when it’s paired with something fruity, like fig preserves or dried apricots. So, when I spotted the Cinnamon Apple and Brie Quesadillas on the menu, I stopped reading and just ordered. They’ve been on my mind lately, so I decided to whip up my own version.  On the side, I’m serving Spring Greens with Prosciutto, Figs, and Walnuts in Balsamic. Though I was hoping to find fresh figs at my grocery store, they’re not in season until later in the summer/early fall.  So, I picked up a bag of dried organic Calimyrna figs.  Dried Black Mission figs would do the trick too.

Enjoy with a glass (or two) of your favorite wine!

Cinnamon Apple and Brie Quesadillas

Cinnamon Apple and Brie Quesadillas

Ingredients

  • 8 soft taco-sized Flour Tortillas
  • 1 wedge Brie, about 8 ounces
  • 2 Granny Smith Apples
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • Honey

Directions

Peel the apples, remove the core and finely dice. In a saucepan, melt butter.  Add apples and cook over medium heat, for about 4-5 minutes, until apples are slightly softened. Add cinnamon, stir and cook for another minute. To compose the quesadillas, sprinkle cinnamon apples onto a flour tortilla.  Top with very thin slices of brie.  Cover with another tortilla. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and tortilla is slightly crispy.  Use a pizza cutter to divide the quesadilla into 4 parts. Drizzle with honey. Serves 4

Not too much to say about the salad…  Chop up some prosciutto and thinly slice some figs. Toss some mixed spring greens in a little balsamic or balsamic vinaigrette. Top with the prosciutto, figs, and some walnuts.  This salad is fantastic with crumbled goat cheese or gorgonzola!

Cinnamon Apple and Brie Quesadillas with Spring Greens, Prosciutto, Figs, and Walnuts in Balsamic

Leave a comment

Posted in Appetizers, Cheese, Food, Fruit, Main Course, Recipes, Salads and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

A Runner’s Victory Feast

Posted on May 16, 2010 by amydeline

Yesterday morning, my sister and I ran our first 5k ever! We ran for a cause that is close to our hearts, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  You see, 30 years and some months ago, when my mother was pregnant with my youngest sister, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  As a mother, I can not imagine the choices she was faced with. With two young daughters at home and a baby growing inside her, she was faced with risking her life to preserve the health of my unborn sister or choosing her own health, at a cost of my sister’s life. Against her doctor’s advice, she chose my sister’s life above her own. She is my hero. Her doctors treated the cancer as best as they could, with the baby’s life in mind. But, the cancer spread too rapidly.  My sister was born two months premature. Seven months later, my mother passed away. Today, my sister thrives, a testament to a mother’s love for a baby she hadn’t even met.

My family had other encounters with breast cancer after my mother’s passing. It touches so, so many lives. And so, yesterday morning, my sister and I tied on our running sneaks and hit the pavement. We ran in honor of those we’ve lost and in celebration of those who have survived. We ran for our aunts, and cousins, and sister, and friends. We ran for our lives.  We ran for the lives of our future daughters and granddaughters. We ran for everyone whose life has been touched by breast cancer.

A few months ago, it was a challenge for me to run half a mile. But, yesterday, fueled by the power of our cause, we were victorious. We certainly didn’t set any records for our lightening fast speed, but we ran that course with everything we had.

Today I offer you two of the recipes from yesterday’s victory feast.  Serve with a glass of your celebratory beverage of choice. Cheers to heroes and life!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

My dad is a pizza traditionalist. In his opinion, the only things which belong on pizza are tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and the standard list of meat and veggie toppings. Sorry, Dad…I have to heartily disagree with you on this one. I actually went through a phase where I turned all my favorite meals into pizzas; think Steak Bordelaise, Shrimp Scampi, and Chicken Marsala in pizza form. I’ll save those recipes for another day though.  Today, we get our pizza and wings in the same bite! This recipe calls for hot sauce and bleu cheese dressing.  I strongly recommend Frank’s RedHot and Marie’s Super Bleu Cheese Dressing (It has 25% more bleu cheese, so you know it’s good!).  This is a very hearty pizza, so be sure to use a thick pizza crust!

Ingredients

  • 1-2 Chicken Breasts
  • 1/2 cup Celery, thinly sliced
  • 1 12″ Prepared Pizza Dough, thick crust
  • 3/4 cup Hot Sauce (Frank’s Red Hot)
  • 2/3 cup Bleu Cheese Dressing (Marie’s Super Bleu Cheese Dressing)
  • 1/4 cup Crumbled Bleu Cheese
  • 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes. Once chicken is cool, cut or pull the chicken into small pieces. Toss chicken and celery in 1/2 cup of the Frank’s Redhot Sauce. In another bowl, combine bleu cheese dressing with 1/4 cup Frank’s Redhot Sauce (add more to make it extra spicy).  Spread sauce onto pizza dough. Top with chicken and celery mixture, discarding any excess hot sauce. Sprinkle with bleu cheese crumbles. Top with shredded mozzarella.  Bake in a 375 degrees oven for approximately 15 minutes until the pizza is hot and melty.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Steak Sandwiches with Sauteed Wild Mushrooms and Gruyere

Sauteed Wild Mushrooms

Typically, I make my steak sandwiches with caramelized onions and gorgonzola, but since we’ve already covered the pizza with bleu cheese, I decided to make a different steak sandwich variation, using sauteed wild mushrooms and gruyere. For this recipe, I use skirt steak, which is easily my favorite steak for sandwiches and quesadillas. Generally, skirt steak is known for being one of the toughest cuts of steak.  Color me crazy, but it always strikes me as being tender.  The key is to cook it quickly at high heat and slice it thinly against the grain. Prepared properly, skirt steak makes a great sandwich steak, because it comes apart easily when you bite into it, eliminating that awful steak sandwich situation.  You know…the situation when you bite into your sandwich, but can’t get through the steak and then a big slice of steak comes falling out and slaps you on the chin. (Does that happen to everyone or is it just me??)  Anyway, skirt steak is the way to go, but if you can’t find skirt steak, then flank steak makes a good substitution.

Ingredients

  • 1 Loaf of French Bread (preferably a batard, which is wider than a baguette)
  • 1 Skirt Steak (about 1/2 pound)
  • 2 cups Wild Mushrooms, sliced (cremini, shitake, oyster…)
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup Shredded Gruyere cheese
  • 1 Tbsp Butter (optional, for sandwich)
  • 1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place skirt steak on a baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.  Thinly slice the steak against the grain. **If preparing the sandwich immediately, turn heat down to 375 degrees after cooking the steak.

For the mushrooms, melt 1 Tbsp of butter in a sautee pan. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat for few minutes.  The mushrooms will begin to release their liquids. Continue cooking and stirring until most of the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms turn a golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice batard in half lengthwise. Spread 1 Tbsp of butter onto the bottom piece.  Top with sliced steak and sauteed mushrooms. Cover with shredded cheeses.  Replace top half of bread.  Tightly wrap the sandwich in foil and bake for about 20 minutes, until heated through and cheeses are melted. Cut into 2-4 pieces.

6 Comments

Posted in Beef, Cheese, Food, General Rambling and Such, Main Course, Pizza, Poultry, Recipes, Sandwiches and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Toasted Caprese Sandwich

Posted on May 11, 2010 by amydeline

What is it about the combination of fresh mozzarella with sweet, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil that is just so irresistible??  I have to admit, I’ve actually invited people over to my house, just to give myself a reason to serve fresh mozzarella with tomatoes and basil. Sprinkled with olive oil and balsamic, on a piece of toasted baguette…is there anything better??

Well, actually, I would argue that there is.  I’d like to introduce you to my Toasted Caprese Sandwich… slices of fresh mozzarella with slow-roasted tomatoes and fresh basil pesto on soft pain de campagne, toasted in the oven until warm and melty.

Fresh Mozzarella, Slow-roasted Tomatoes, and Basil Pesto on Pain de Campagne

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf of pain de campagne (sourdough, ciabatta, or italian bread would work)
  • Fresh Mozzarella

For the tomatoes:

  • Tomatoes (Baby Roma, plum, or cherry)
  • Olive Oil
  • 1-2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
  • Salt and Pepper

For the pesto:

  • 1 big bunch of basil
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup parmesan (or parmesan cheese blend)
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 6 Tbps+ olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions:

For the tomatoes: Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise.  Toss tomato halves in a few tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic, and a little salt and pepper.  Place tomatoes on baking sheet, cut side up. Cook on middle oven rack for about 3 hours until the tomatoes are deep red and reduced in size. **If you’re short on time, you can roast the tomatoes for about 25 minutes in a 425 degree oven.  Have a little extra time?  Try 200 degrees for 6-8 hours. Slow roasting at low temperatures allows the flavors in the tomatoes to concentrate, giving you a really nice, caramelized flavor. It’s worth the wait!

Watch out for sneaky babies.

Slow-roasted tomatoes

For the Basil Pesto: Pull the basil leaves off of the stem.  Place in a food processor and pulse slightly, giving the leaves a course chop. Add all other ingredients, except the oil, and mix until well blended. Gradually incorporate the oil until you reach your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. ** These measurements will give you a thick, speadable pesto. If desired, add more olive oil for a thinner sauce consistency, which would be delicious on pasta!

To compose the sandwich, spread pesto onto one slice of bread. Top with thin slices of fresh mozzarella.  Place roasted tomatoes on mozzarella, cut side down. (If your tomatoes are very moist, you may want to remove some of the seeds to prevent the sandwich from becoming soggy.) Top with another slice of bread.  Wrap tightly in foil and cook in a 375 degrees oven for about 20 minutes or until bread is lightly toasted and cheese is warm and melty.

Enjoy!!

3 Comments

Posted in Cheese, Food, Main Course, Recipes, Sandwiches, Sauces, Vegetable and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Steak Salad ala Amy

Posted on May 10, 2010 by amydeline

Since we’re just getting to know each other here, I thought I should make you one of my classic meals, a “signature dish”, if you will. It’s my Steak Salad with Poached Pears, Gorgonzola, and Glazed Walnuts in a Balsamic Vinaigrette. This is one of those dishes that friends and family request to have when they come over my house and it always hits the spot. It’s a delicious blend of sweet and savory flavors and the glazed walnuts add the perfect crunch. The best part is that it’s a cinch to put together!

I’m going to apologize to you in advance. Writing recipes is not one of my strengths.  I rarely follow a recipe as written and I hardly ever measure when I cook. I kind of go on automatic in the kitchen; mixing, stirring, adding ingredients, and tasting until it seems “right”. Every time I make something, it’s a little different than the time before. But, that’s the beautiful thing about home cooking…it doesn’t have to be the same each time!   I’ve tried to be as precise as I could be about quantities and cooking times,  but if you decide to make this recipe, I strongly encourage you to customize for your own tastes. (And, I promise I’ll try to work on my recipe writing skills for you.)

Ingredients

(Serves about 4 people)

  • Mixed Spring Greens
  • Gorgonzola Crumbles

For the Steak:

  • Flank Steak (about 1 pound)
  • Salt and Pepper

For the Poached Pears:

  • 2 Ripe, Firm Pears (Anjou, Bosc, Bartlett…)
  • 4 cups Poaching Liquid (water, white wine, champagne, apple juice…)
  • 1 Vanilla Bean (optional)
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick (optional)

For the Glazed Walnuts:

  • 1 cup Shelled Walnut Halves
  • 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 Tbsp+ Water
  • Pinch of Cinnamon
  • Pinch of Cayenne
  • Pinch of Salt

For the Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 2/3 cup Olive Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Poaching Liquid, reserved from the pears (optional)

Directions

For the pears: Peel pears, cut off tops and bottoms, and cut in half lengthwise.  Remove the core, using a melon baller or knife. Bring your poaching liquid to a simmer. Any combination of water, white wine, champagne, juice, etc. would be delicious.  I make mine a little differently each time depending on what I have in the house. Today I used 2 cups of chardonnay, 1 cup water, and 1 cup apple juice. Add a little lemon juice (about a tablespoon) for flavor and to help prevent the pears from browning.  If desired, throw in a cinnamon stick and/or a vanilla bean. Add pears to the simmering liquid and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove from cooking liquid and allow to cool.  Once cool, cut the pears into thin slices and refrigerate until ready to use. **You may want to reserve a little of the poaching liquid for the dressing.

For the Walnuts: Heat walnuts in a pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until they begin to toast.  Add 1 Tbsp of butter and cook for an additional minute.  Add brown sugar, spices, and about 1 Tbsp water to the pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until the nuts are glazed. **You may need to add small quantities of additional water to achieve a glaze. (Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe for Spiced Nuts)

For the Steak: Preheat broiler. Season steak with salt and pepper.  Place directly under broiler and cook for about 15 minutes, for medium.


For the dressing: Combine vinegar, olive oil, and dijon mustard. If desired, add a little of the reserved poaching liquid. Season with a little salt and pepper. Using a fork, whisk vigorously to blend. **The dijon mustard adds flavor and acts as an emulsifier to hold the oil and vinegar together.

Before serving, toss the mixed greens in a small amount of dressing.  Top with the sliced steak, gorgonzola crumbles, poached pear slices and glazed walnuts.

All components can be prepared ahead of time, which makes it a really great meal for entertaining!  And I’ll tell you a little secret…if you’re short on time, pick up some canned pear halves, a bag of Emerald Glazed Walnuts, and a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette.  You’ll have to cook the steak, but you’ll save a lot of time and it’s still a delicious meal!

Serve with a warm French baguette and enjoy!!

Now that I’ve told you how to make it yourself, will you still come over to eat??

3 Comments

Posted in Beef, Cheese, Food, Fruit, Main Course, Recipes, Salads, Vegetable. Bookmark the permalink.
←
Newer Posts →
Look, Feel, Live Beautiful

Beauty Awaits

The Gourmand Mom

Good food, seasoned with a dash of life