5 Star Makeover: Cooking with Wine Roundup

This month's 5 Star Makeover theme "Cooking with Wine" was a lot of fun to work with. Thanks to all the participants for creating their fabulous dishes. Please check the roundup of all the entries on my co-host Lazaro's blog @ Lazaro Cooks!. Enjoy!

5 Star Makeover: Virginia Ham Wellington with Apple and Honey Bordelaise

It is now a wine harvest season and accordingly our 5 Star Makeover group's theme this month is "Cooking with wine". Recently, we have discovered some new Virginia wines that we really loved, particularly the wines from Hillsborough vineyards in Northern Virginia. All of their wines are named after gemstones, and our favorite is the Ruby with 50% Tannat, 30% Fer Servaou, and 20% Petit Verdot grapes. It is a full-bodied red wine that tastes of tart cherries with hints of cocoa.

I decided to use this Virginia wine and a few other local ingredients to create a Virginia-style re-make of a classic Beef Wellington with Bordelaise sauce. I baked Virginia ham steaks in puff pastry, a simple preparation that did not require any other additions as Virginia ham is naturally juicy and flavorful.



The key component of the dish was the Apple and Honey Bordelaise sauce. I melted some butter in a saucepan and sauteed finely chopped apples (from a local Virginia farm) and shallots for about 2 minutes. I added Ruby wine and reduced it by half, then seasoned the base sauce with some salt and pepper, added a sprig of thyme, and reduced the sauce until the liquid was almost gone. Next, I poured the demi-glace in and simmered the sauce for about 5 minutes until it started to thicken. Bringing the sauce to boil, I swirled in butter and a tablespoon of local Virginia clover honey. The resulting sauce featured complex combination of sweet and savory flavors and complimented the Virginia Ham Wellington very nicely.

5 Star Foodie's Collection of Random Dishes

This week I'm taking a little break from 5 star style dishes and making easy weekday meals as I'm adjusting to my new full-time work schedule. Meanwhile, I found pictures of various random dishes which for one reason or another have never made it on the blog. I decided to share these with my readers while I'm on a cooking break. Enjoy!

Peach Muffins

Open sandwiches for wine tasting: Smoked Trout Pate for Pinot Noir, Hot Paprika Liptauer Cheese for Grenache, Truffled Mushroom Pate & Brie with Cabernet, and Pumpkin Seed Liptauer Cheese for Zinfandel

Savory Zucchini, Tomato & Gruyère Tart

My version of Le Bernardin's Bread Crusted Snapper, Saffron "Fideos", Smoked Sweet Paprika Sauce. I used Lane Snapper rather than a Red Snapper but otherwise it is very similar.

Penne with Salmon, Caviar, and Chives

Salmon Puff with Za'atar Spiced Yogurt

Veal Piccata

Fuba Acai Mini Cakes

Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Blancmanger

Blancmanger is a dish that was very popular at dining tables everywhere in Europe during Medieval ages. It is very different from a modern dessert with the same name, although the modern rice pudding dessert blancmanger actually originated from the Medieval dish. The original Blancmanger is a simple casserole of rice and ground meat, most commonly chicken, cooked in almond milk and garnished with sugar. Although Blancmanger is simple and inexpensive to make, it was a must dish to serve at royal banquets and weddings.

To make Blancmanger, I used Almond Breeze® Original almond milk. I received samples of different kinds of Almond Breeze® products to try, including both sweetened and unsweetened versions of Original, Vanilla, and Chocolate almond milk. The Chocolate and Vanilla almond milk were delicious to just drink, although I personally preferred the sweetened versions. Both Almond Breeze® Vanilla and Original almond milk were also excellent in cereals and smoothies, and the Original unsweetened almond milk was perfect for making Blancmanger.



Here is my interpretation of Blancmanger, based on the description of the dish in the book about Eleanor of Aquitaine that I recently read. For a bit of a modern touch, I added a drizzle of a special Caramel Flax Oil I found in a local organic store in Maryland.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1 1/2 almond milk
Salt to taste
2 poached or cooked boneless chicken thighs, ground or finely chopped
1/3 cup slivered almonds
2-3 tablespoons butter for frying
3-4 (or to taste) tablespoons sugar
Caramel Flax Oil (optional)

Directions:

In a pot, combine rice and almond milk. Bring to boil, season with salt, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until just a little bit of liquid is still left. Add ground chicken, mix well, and cook for another five minutes or until all the liquid is gone and the rice is tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet. Add almonds and fry in butter, stirring, until the almonds are golden on all sides.

To serve: place a large scoop of rice and chicken on a center of each plate. Top with almonds, and sprinkle generously with sugar. Drizzle with caramel-flavored flax oil or another sweet or nutty flavored oil if desired.

Fennel and Apple Gratin

Ocean Mist Farms, located in Northern California, is a fourth generation grower of specialty vegetables traditionally used in Italian cooking such as artichokes, fans, cardone, and fennel. Fresh fennel is now in season and I was fortunate to receive samples of this unique vegetable from Ocean Mist Farms.



Fennel can be used in many ways: raw, baked, or sauteed. It is terrific in salads or soups and a variety of dishes. Also, all parts of fennel can be used in cooking: the bulb, stalks, and fronds. I decided to make a Fennel and Apple Gratin that turned out to be a terrific side dish.



Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of salt
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and fennel. Cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and cover and cook for another five minutes. Add apples, stir, and cook until fennel and apples are getting soft, for another few minutes.

Add the fennel-apple mixture to a baking dish. In a bowl, combine cream, nutmeg, dry mustard, and salt. Pour over the fennel-apple mixture. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and fennel fronds. Pour the melted butter over and mix well until the breadcrumbs are moistened uniformly throughout. Cover the fennel-apple mixture with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Sesame Crusted Cod with Beetroot Cream and Garlicky New Potatoes

Green Valley Organics' brand new product is their sour cream. It is rich, creamy, and, at the same time, lactose free.



I decided to use the sour cream in a dish that was inspired by my recent trip to Scandinavia. For one of the dinners in Copenhagen, we went to trendy Bio Mio, a restaurant that features healthy fusion cuisine with 100% organic fresh ingredients and beverages. The dish I chose was called "Cool Fish" and it included sesame crusted saithe with beetroot cream and potato salad. Saithe is a white fish similar to cod or halibut, so I used cod in my version. Instead of potato salad, for the side dish, I served new potatoes, simply boiled and then seasoned with olive oil and roasted garlic bits. The star of this dish was the colorful and delicious beetroot cream, prepared with roasted red beets and Green Valley Organics sour cream.

Beetroot Cream

1 large red beet, or 2 medium beets
Olive oil
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
salt to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the beet on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper or foil. Sprinkle with olive oil. Roast until tender, for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Cool until ready to handle, peel and slice.

Place the beet slices in the food processor, along with applesauce, apple cider vinegar, red onion, sour cream, and salt to taste. Blend well. Strain if needed. Serve over sesame crusted cod with garlicky new potatoes on a side.