April 4th, 2010

While visiting the Asian grocery store I saw some nice pieces of Filet Mignon and suddenly got hungry :). I also wanted to try out the roasted cauliflower puree I had seen somewhere recently.
Beef: I cut the filet mignon into some nice 1.5 inch thick slices and wrapped them with bacon securing the bacon with a tooth pick. After adding a little salt & pepper I seared the assemblies in a pan and then put them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 F.
Sauce: While the beef was in the oven I sauteed some Bunapi (White Beech) mushrooms with some butter and salt/pepper. Then I poured some water into the pan I had used for the beef and used this as the base for the sauce. Now I combined the content of the two pans to make the sauce.
Puree: I cut up a head of cauliflower into florets and a tart apple into medium sized cubes. I placed everything on a baking pan, drizzled some olive oil over it and sprinkled salt & pepper over it. First I placed the pan for 20-25 minutes in the oven at 400F. Then I added half a can of chicken broth and put it back into the oven until the liquid was evaporated. Finally I put it all into the food processor and pureed it.
For plating I made some nice, round bases from the puree, placed a piece of filet mignon on top, added some sauce and topped it off with some chopped parsley from the yard.
We enjoyed this meal with a nice glass of wine!
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February 27th, 2010

T-bone steak with grilled vegetables (Click image to enlarge)
There was some T-bone on sale, so I brought some home and put it on the grill. In fact I did the whole meal on the BBQ on the patio.
I put the beef and slightly oiled (olive) vegetables (onion, bell pepper, king oyster mushrooms) on the grill.
While waiting I prepared some Chimichurri sauce: fresh cilantro, fresh Italian parsley, some olive oil, a clove of garlic, a little red wine vinegar, a little water, crushed pepper, some salt. For a hint of sweetness I added a tiny bit of agave sweetener.
When the vegetables were soft I took them off the BBQ and cut them. Once the beef was ready I plated and we enjoyed a good meal. What looks like sour cream in the picture is actually kefir cheese.
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February 23rd, 2010

Vietnamese Style Salad with Pork (Click image to enlarge)
A nice little summer salad.
Topping: Slice some onions lengthwise and fry until soft. Add about a pound of ground pork [I ground this myself to have better control over the fat content] and fry until it’s done. Add a tablespoon of curry powder, a tea spoon of sugar, some fish sauce.
Salad: Prepare a bowl with some shredded (thin slices) romaine lettuce, sliced carrots, sliced cucumber, celantro or whatever vegetables you have available.
Sauce: As a base I used 1/4 cup “Sweet Chili Sauce for Chicken” ( you can find this in an oriental grocery or even your regular supermarket; here is an example) to which I added juice of half a lime.
To serve put salad mix in a bowl, add some of the topping, pour sauce over it. A Vietnamese salad would be topped with crushed peanuts, I didn’t have any so I used some almonds.
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February 20th, 2010

Bratwurst-Brussel Sprouts Raclette (Click image to enlarge)
Another block of raclette cheese – another non-traditional raclette. For this one we replaced the potatoes with brussel sprouts and bratwurst.
Trim the stems of the brussel sprouds and steam them for about 15 minutes. I try to use the smaller brussel spouts, they seem to be more flavorful and more fun to eat :). For color and variety I also added some pieces of bell peppers and some baby carrots
Cut the brats into half inch slices and fry them in a little olive oil.
Put the brats and sprouts in a casserole dish and cover them with thick slices of raclette cheese. The dish is then placed in the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese and get a bit of a brown crust on top.
It turned out to be one of those dishes that one can not stop eating…
Posted in Baked dishes, Cheese, Sausage | 2 Comments »