Red Wine Vinegar, Shallot and Cucumber Mignonette

Freshly shucked oysters are just the best....even better with a little mignonette. A mignonette sauce means "cracked pepper" and is usually used to top raw oysters on the half shell.  There are many different varieties, but the classic uses red wine vinegar and minced shallots with of course freshly cracked pepper.  This is a version of the classic, but with finely diced cool cucumbers and a bit of chopped parsley mainly for color.  Try this out at home with a dozen oysters from your local market.  Also, if you need some assistance in shucking, check out this video on my Oysters Rockefeller post. 

I'm used to making this in large batches for oyster bar events for my company, Denver-based Seattle Fish Company so I've had to scale down the measurements.  Luckily this saves for quite awhile since the main ingredient is vinegar.  Also, the shallot ratio may seem like a lot, but it really gives the mignonette it's flavor and can be opted out when you scoop some on your oyster. 

Ingredients: 

-1/2 cup red wine vinegar

-a few Tbsp. chopped parsley

-1 whole shallot, minced

-1/2 seedless cucumber (or seeds removed), skin removed and finely diced

-1 tsp. freshly cracked pepper

-1 tsp. salt 

PeteyBird Goat Cheese and Fig Ice Cream Roll with Short Bread Cookies

Photographing for Amanda at 5280.com means I get to meet some of the greatest chefs and entrepenuers in town.  My most recent assignment was to photograph these amazing mini ice-cream sandwiches from PeteyBird. Pete of PeteyBird uniquely crafted ice cream sandwiches is engineer turned baker which is fabulous for us Denverites. The creatively flavored sandwiches are ideally sized and will melt in your mouth...just in time for summer!  Pete has mastered all things ice cream and cookies during his lengthy R&D process and this was one of his fabulous creations.  Similar to a savory, spreadable cheese log and cracker duo, this sweet version is a perfect dinner party dessert. The recipe may look a bit daunting but Pete swears it's not that bad (it's really not!).  Well worth a show-stopping and interactive dessert. Also, here are a few of his few ice cream sandwiches first talked about on Amanda Faison's Table Talk blog post.

Springtime Radish Top Soup

This soup is the perfect springtime soup that uses the fresh green tops of radishes that usually get thrown away.  It's a filling soup without a drop of cream in the recipe.  The creaminess comes from the typical potager recipe which is a puree of vegetables and potatoes.  I first had this amazing first-course at a cookbook event at Frank Bonanno's local Lou's Food Bar in which cookbook author (a personal favorite), Diane Morgan hosted a 6-course meal straight from her new cookbook, Roots.  This is one of the amazing recipes from the book that focuses on the under utilized vegetable family, roots.

Ingredients:

-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
-1 leek, white and light green part only, thinly sliced
-1 carrot, peeled and diced
-1 yellow onion, diced
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
-4 cups water
-1 1/2 tsp sugar
-1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
-5 cups radish tops (from 3 bushy bunches)
-5 or 6 radishes, trimmed and cut into matchsticks

Sausage, White Bean and Hominy Cassoulet

A typical white bean cassoulet is an amazing blend of flavors and textures, but a mistake in the kitchen took this recipe to whole new level. I thought I grabbed two cans of white beans from the pantry but accidentally opened a can of cannellini's and hominy! Oops.  Add a few Italian sausages, tomatoes, onions and herbs to make a succulent one-pot meal. I followed this recipe...except for my maize mistake.

Ingredients:

-1 pkg sweet Italian sausage

-1 yellow onion

-1 pint cherry tomatoes

-1/8 cup olive oil

-1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

-3-4 springs fresh thyme

-1 can white bean, drained and rinsed (like canellini) 

-1 can hominy, drained and rinsed

-1/2 cups dry white wine

-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Pork Chops with Mushroom Sauce

The best choice for pork chops is bone-in thick-cut 99% of the time.  They are generally thicker and tend to not overcook as much as a thinner, bone-out cuts.  This recipe, from Food Network Magazine, has a simple but wonderful mushroom and green onion gravy to pair with your pork. I served this dish with pureed parsnips (a recipe coming soon) to take the place of carb-filled mashed potatoes.  They were silky with an earthy flavor from the under-utilized root vegetable.  This is a quick recipe for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

-2 or 4  1/2-inch-thick bone-in pork chops (depending on how many you are feeding)
-2 Tbsp flour (I used Wondra)
-1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
-12 ounces cremini or button mushrooms
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 bunch green onions
-1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
-2 Tbsp light sour cream

Sicilian Calamari with Italian "Mother Sauce" from Luca D'Italia

This recipe comes from Frank Bonanno's Luca D'Italia iCookbook.  The restaurant has been a local Italian favorite in Denver for years, so Frank picked his favorite recipes for the home cook and added pictures and videos to the interactive cookbook. I was recently invited to the restaurant with a few other food bloggers to taste some of the recipes and this was a favorite. It starts by making the "Mother Sauce", a wonderful red sauce simmered with a full bottle of chianti wine...yes please.  The sauce has unlimited uses but here it is ladled on top of calamari rings with capers and toasted bread crumbs. Much fancier than your fried calamari. 

Mother Sauce Ingredients:

-1 large onion

-1/2 stalk of celery

-1 bulb fennel

-1/2 lb carrots

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp black pepper

-1/2 tsp chili flakes

-1 cup extra virgin olive oil

-6 cloves of garlic

-1 (750 ml) bottle of good quality chianti

-3 sprigs of basil

-2 sprigs of oregano

-1 sprig of parsley

-2 (16 ounce) cans San Marzano tomatoes

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp black pepper

Sicilian Calamari Ingredients:

-1 lb calamari (I used tubes and tentacles)

-5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-2 cloves garlic

-1 Tbsp crushed red chili

-3 Tbsp capers

-1/2 cup white wine

-1 cup Mother Sauce (ingredients above, or other good Marinara)

-1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

-2 Tbsp butter

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs

-8 caper berries for garnish (optional)

Bison Bolognese

 

 

I love cooking with bison (buffalo meat) because it's so lean and lends a 'gamey' taste to this dish.  You can definitely sub the bison for ground beef, veal, or even venison (deer).  Bolognese is a red sauce that is cooked down into a rich, flavorful sauce.  In this recipe I add large slices of mushrooms and a little pancetta for flavor.  If you make a big batch you can freeze portion sizes for a quick and easy weeknight meal.

 

Ingredients:



-2 carrots
-1 rib celery
-1/2 yellow onion
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-4 ounces cubed pancetta
-4 cloves garlic
-1 lb. ground bison
-1/2 cup red wine
-1.5 cups beef broth
-2 cans diced tomatoes
-2 ounces tomato paste
-1 pkg baby bella mushrooms (mini portabellas)
-1 tsp dried basil
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1 pkg dried pasta of your choice