Moroccan Birthday Dinner

We created this dinner for my Dad's birthday.  My mom was out of town so we thought we'd treat him to something good for his big day.  The menu consisted of fresh dungeoness crab legs with a butter pesto dipping sauce, Moroccan carrot slaw, Moroccan chicken pot pie, and salad.  The dungeoness crab was fresh from Oregon, and it was amazing.

Recipe - Morrocan Carrot Slaw (really easy and full of flavor)*

2 C carrots, shredded
3/4 C Golden Raisins
1/2 C Fresh mint torn into small pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Whisk together olive oil and red wine vinegar, pour over carrots, golden raisins, and mint.  Add salt and pepper.

*I think this recipe came from sunset, but not sure.

Recipe - Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie (from epicurious.com)

Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 lemon 3 tablespoons butter 1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 cup imported green olives, pitted, coarsely chopped 1/3 cup golden raisins 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 cup low-salt chicken broth 1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package) Preparation  Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix chicken cubes with paprika, cumin, and cinnamon in large bowl to coat. Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper. Cut lemon in half; remove seeds. Using small spoon, scoop out enough pulp and juice from between membranes to measure 2 tablespoons. Add to chicken mixture; stir to blend. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, olives, and raisins. Sauté until onion is almost tender, about 4 minutes. Add chicken mixture and stir 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add broth and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Transfer filling to 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. Place pie crust over dish and seal dough edges to rim of dish. Using small paring knife, cut several slits in pie crust. Bake pot pie until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling thickly, about 20 minutes.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Moroccan-Chicken-Pot-Pie-240752#ixzz2HcjyI0lu

Stuffed Beet Confit with Cranberry Apple Gastrique

It all started with one beet pining for company in the fruit bowl; it was empty inside.  The potatoes, bread and garlic tried their best to keep the beet from withering away, but with no success.  Molecule by molecule, the beet released its tears into the air.  It refused to hydrate, slowly dying.  Each day the beet reached out for help, rolling closer and closer to the precipice that is death.  Just as the beet was about to take the step from which it could never return, a strong, full-of-life tuber grabbed the beet, saving it from certain doom.  The tuber reasoned with the beet, convincing it that rehydration was possible, not with water, but oil. 

The beet, however, was still empty; it needed something the tubor could not provide.  It had a wild side that needed to escape.  It had a sweet side that needed to be loved.  It had a rich side that needed to be shared. It had an earthy side that needed to be expressed.  And, most of all, the beet had colorful side that needed to be seen.  Little did the beet know, just outside its bowl, hidden from view, were companions that would soon fill its hollowness. 

For the next two days the beet lamented that it would never be full of life. On the third day, the beet's depression broke.  All day the beet rehydrated in a warm bath of olive scented oil.  The bath removed the beet's old, scaly, grumpy shell, revealing its soft and tender side.  Feeling rejuvinated, the beet opened its heart to the world around it, finding friends in all places; the frigid arctic, the shallow streams, the chthonic undergrowth, the kazakh mountains, and the herbacious wood.  Together with these new friends, the beet rejoiced, feeling warm inside. 

Yet, over the beet a cloud still hung, it was warm and happy, but needed more.  As the beet pondered its last desire, a torrential downpour began.  The rain covered the beet and its friends, soaking them win their own desire.  As quickly as the downpour began, it ended.  Leaving the beet and its friends with rich rewards.

That is the story of my stuffed beet confit with cranberry apple gastrique, and here's the recipe:

Beet Confit (or beet poached in oil):
2 Beets
Lots of oive oil

Stuffing:
1 Medium apple, diced
1 C Wild rice (uncooked)
1/2 C Fresh cremini mushrooms, diced
1/2 Onion, diced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1/2 Tbsp dried sage
1/2 C Shredded gruyere cheese (I used swiss, but gruyere would be better)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Inexpensive wine pairing
$11/bottle

  Cranberry-Apple Gastrique (buttery goodness):
  1 C Cranberry juice
  1/2 C Apple cider vinegar
  1 Tbsp Honey
  1/2 C Chicken stock
  6 Tbsp Unsalted butter
  1 Tsp Cayenne (optional)

  Garnish
  Apple slices


Preparation

Cook the wild rice and let cool.

To make the beet confit, rinse the beets off and dry them thoroughly.  Place them in a baking dish with sides 2 inches taller than the beets.  Cover the beets completely with olive oil and cook in a 350°F oven for 30-45 minutes until tender with a fork.  Remove from oil and let cool.  Once the beets are cool, remove the skins, they should peel off with relative ease. Using a melon baller, or spoon, hollow out the beets, leaving a 1/8" - 1/4" of beet on all sides.

To make the stuffing, sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil -- you can use the olive oil the beets cooked in.  Let the onions and garlic cool and then combine them with half of the wild rice, the apple, mushroom, rosemary, thyme, sage, gruyere, salt and pepper.

To make the gastrique, place the cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, and honey in a pan and simmer until reduced to a syrup.  Add the chicken stock, reduce by 1/3.  Without boiling, swirl in the cold butter to thicken to desired consistency.  Add cayenne.

To assemble, use the remaining rice and cover the bottom of a chafing dish.  Stuff the beets with the stuffing and place on the bed of rice.  Cook the beets in the oven, 350°F, until warmed all the way through and the cheese is melty. Add apple slices to one side of the chafing dish for garnish (see picture).  Drizzle the cranberry-apple gastrique over the completed dish and serve.

Stuffed Mushrooms - the bacon kind

I have yet to meet a stuffed mushroom I don't immediately develop a rapport with.  So when the opportunity arose to make appetizers this week, I thought why not harken back to one of my favorites.  But, I didn't want to go with the standard bread stuffing; I wanted to branch out, but I didn't have the time to develop my own stuffing.  Fortunately, the epicurious app for my iphone is handy in a pinch.  I scrolled through about six recipes before I found this one, and boy did it look good. And it was!

We also used the leftover stuffing to stuff baked (350°F until tender) sweet potatoes, also pretty tasty.

8 ounces bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 10-ounce package chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 3/4 pounds button mushrooms (about 48; each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter), stemmed

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Coarsely crumble bacon. Discard all but 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons bacon fat (adding olive oil if necessary to equal that amount).

Heat 2 teaspoons reserved bacon fat in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl and cool; mix in bacon, spinach, feta, cream cheese, and crushed red pepper. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil. Toss mushrooms and reserved 1/4 cup bacon fat in large bowl to coat.  If you're looking to limit the use of bacon fat, use olive oil instead. Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms, rounded side down, in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake mushrooms until centers fill with liquid, about 25 minutes. Turn mushrooms over. Bake mushrooms until brown and liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes longer. Turn mushrooms over again. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon filling into each mushroom cavity. (Filled mushrooms can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake mushrooms until heated through, about 10 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to platter and serve warm.

I should probably read recipes all the way through before I make them, but that's no fun.  As it turns out, the first time I made this, I only roasted the mushrooms until the centers filled with liquid.  And, since I was in a time crunch, I just filled them with stuffing and did not rebake them.  Still tasted good.

The recipe is from Epicurious.com at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Mushrooms-Stuffed-with-Feta-Spinach-and-Bacon-105655#ixzz1mNif5C5I

Trout Chowder

What do you make with frozen Montana Trout? Well, I've been thinking about that for nearly 6 months.  Last summer I caught, and froze a number of brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout for winter eating.  Of course, as with anything I freeze, I tend to forget about it for nearly a year.  This summer, at one of Erin's softball games, her teammate suggested making a trout chowder.  I finally did, and it was pretty good, ask Erin.

5 10" Montana Trout
1 Can (12 oz) chicken broth
1 Medium onion
4 Cloves garlic, minced
3 medium red potatoes chopped
1 Can (12 oz) corn kernels
1 Red bell pepper
1 small jalapeno, diced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp cayenne
2 C milk
2 Tbsp butter

Start by sauteeing the onions and garlic in the butter until they just start to brown in a large pot Add the potatoes and chicken broth to the onions and garlic, turn the heat to medium.  Cook until potatoes are almost done.  Add the remaining ingredients, except trout, and let simmer.  Cook the trout, on the grill, in a pan, or any other way. Remove the skin and bones, and break up the trout.  Add the trout to the soup and simmer for  20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool overnight, allowing flavors to mix.

As a side note, I may not have listed all the spices, as I tend to forget what I added if I don't write it down immediately.  So, add whatever you think will taste good!

We enjoyed this with Gin and Tonics, I would recommend the same.

Baked Oregon

Being from the land of berries, we were always finding different dishes to whip up in appreciation of our local fruits.  With raspberries, I love to jam; with blackberries, I prefer milkshakes.  However, given the abundance of fruit we pressed to utilize fresh berries even during instantaneous sweet tooth eruptions. In moments in need of last minute desserts, my mother would throw together a crisp.  And, despite its simplicity, the fruit crisp is by far my dessert.  In fact, it’s unfair to both my waistline and my dinner guests that it is perhaps the easiest dessert to make.   Having permanently moved to Montana, I found myself somewhat homesick in the fall.  Rather than the celebration of colors that the changing deciduous offer in my native Oregon, Montana’s fall is a quick and brutal transition to a very long winter.  To ease my nostalgia, I crafted this cozy recipe in tribute to my favorite season.  Baked Oregon is named as such, not only because it’s the season wherein its ingredients are the ripest, but because it is composed of essential Oregon produce.  The pear is the Oregon state fruit; Hazelnuts, the Oregon state nut; and many of the worlds cranberries are produced naturally along the southern Oregon coast.   



I can't believe Rob didn't even put ice cream on it!



Recipe:

8 Bartlett Pears

2 C Flour

2 C Rolled or Quick Oats

2 C Brown sugar2 Tbs Cinnamon

2 Sticks butter½ tsp Nutmeg

¼ C Warm Water
1 tsp Lemon Juice

1 C Hazelnuts (also called “Filbert’s”)

½ C Dried Cranberries

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.Lay whole hazelnuts on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the shells start to crack and nuts begin to brown.  Hazelnuts will continue to cook after you remove them from the oven.  I tend to prefer mine well toasted, but it’s up to you.Peel and slice pears about a ¼ inch thick.  Place pears in bottom of 6 x 9 inch baking pan.  Combine cranberries with the pears and fold in warm and lemon juice. Combine flour, oats, sugar, nuts, and spices.  Melt butter and mix with all dry ingredients.  Although my mother took the no measure approach, I decided on increments of 2 that seem to provide a decent topping ratio (seriously, could this be any easier!).  Cover the fruit with the topping and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbling through.  Serve warm with Tillamook vanilla ice cream J

Chicken Roulade with Pineapple-Beet Salad

For some reason, I'm addicted to shows like Iron Chef or Chopped.  I'm not an addict in that I have to watch them all the time, or even that regularly.  I don't even have cable or internet, so I can't really watch them at all.  Yet, when I get the chance...I am stuck.  It's not those ingredients, or necessarily the ability of the chefs, that grab my attention.  It is the challenge of using something unknown to create a tasty and edible dish.

Last week, while we were in Kalispell, I watched more Chopped and Iron Chef than I had in a long time. The Food Network is gracious enough to air Chopped nearly every night, right around dark.  Those chefs inspire me to be creative, and use whatever ingredients I have lying around.  In Kalispell, we had an odd assortment of food stuffs: pineapple, yams, vinegar, brown sugar, olive oil, zucchini, green beans, sour cream, cilantro, an assortment of Chili Lime Spices, cheese, garlic, beets and cucumber. We had originally decided we were going to have a pizza, which we did, but we still had all of those ingredients left over, and I had told Erin I would make dinner.

Summoning my inner Chopped chef. I decided to create something unique: a pineapple vinaigrette, a rolled chicken breast (which is apparently also called a roulade), and a beet salad.  Later, I recreated the pineapple vinaigrette to put on a beautiful 16" rainbow trout Erin and I caught near Helena. See “Grilled Trout” for specifics on that menu. 

The Beet Salad recipe is an effort to cater to Erin’s recent obsession with beets.  As Erin will iterate, beets are tasty and a healthy source of vitamins and minerals, including iron.

Chicken Roulade*

2 boneless, skinless, organic chicken breasts

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 C sour cream,

1/2 C flour

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Stuffing

1 handful, organic, green beans (apparently you can call them Haricot Verts) grown in Helena.

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro

2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

*Roulade = a fancy term for rolling meat around stuff.  Roulade originates from the French word "rouler" meaning "to roll".

                                                                                                                                 

Pineapple Vinaigrette

See Grilled Trout with Pineapple Vinaigrette recipe

Beet and Pineapple Salad

1 Beet

1/3 Pineapple (diced), discard core and peel.

1 English cucumber, peeled - home grown, in Kalispell, by your friend's mom, the infamous Harriet from Harriet's Naughty Pavlova (good luck finding that one, talk to Norm, he can hook you up)

1 tsp Vinegar

2 Green onions

To make the chicken, butterfly the chicken breasts and pound them down to 1/8" thickness.  Set aside.  Warm the olive oil in a pan and sauté garlic.  After garlic is soft, but before it is brown, add beans, salt, pepper and cilantro.  Cook until the beans turn bright green, but are still al dente. Place five or six beans in each chicken breast and roll.  Place a dollop of sour cream where the breast wraps over itself to act as an adhesive.  Mix sour cream, flour, salt, pepper and garlic together. Roll each stuffed breast in the flour mixture.  Cook on a stove top in olive oil until the chicken is done, rotating to cook each side thoroughly.

To make the beet and pineapple salad, cut the beet, pineapple, and cucumber into 1/2 bite size pieces and mix well in a bowl with green onions.  Pour vinegar over the top and mix well. 

Grilled Trout with Pineapple Vinaigrette and Tomato Puff Pastry Tart

Our main dish was caught in one of the many small streams that drain into the Missouri River. However, this wasn’t just any fish….this was my nemisis.

The story begins about a year ago, when, never having fished around Helena before, I decided to test the waters of local streams.  I drove up and down this one before settling on a bridge access point.  I get excited when accessing small creeks from public easements, maybe it’s the lawyer geek in me appreciating how cool the legal argument for public recreational access is, or, maybe, I just like fishing a whole lot.  At first, the stream proved to be tougher than I'd expected; no strikes on a hopper in 100 yards on a meandering stream. To this day I still haven't even seen a fish rise in the first 100 yards.  My spirits were down until I dead-drifted my hopper right along some overhanging roots...and voila, fish on!

The first catch was a small brook trout.  Moving upstream, the fishing became amazing, at least one strike in every three casts.  After a while, the foliage got too thick to fish.  Putting my rod up, I hiked a bit and found a nice deep hole, where a culvert had piled up water.  I cast three times along the inside stream edge when, right next to the eddy line, a large fish slowly rose in one smooth motion to take my hopper.  Setting the hook, I stripped the monster in.  To my demise, as I was about to grab it, the fish leapt off my hook.  That was my first encounter with the elusive trout.

This year, I wanted vengeance. And, I got it, but not without missing the beast two more times.  On my next encounter, I was fishing a Madam-X, for no better reason than I’d never fished one before.  This trip was much different than my first, the water, even in mid-July was still nearly twice as high and fast as last year.  And, unlike the previous year, I had no luck from my access point up to my hole.  Even in the hole, the water was too fast for an effective drift.  To accommodate, I reached my 9’ rod and let my fly drift around in the eddy.  As it drifted up against the culvert, whack…fish on.  Once again, it was me vs. fish, and once again, I lost.  I had my archenemy all the way on the bank, only to have it slip out of my grasp as I took it off the fly. 

At last, a few weeks ago, I was showing Erin the hole.  She had already pulled a fish out and had a couple more strikes.  Being the sweet person that she is, she then gave me a shot.  I cast right up to the culvert, and lost the fly underwater.  As I went to strip in the line, there was a big fish on.  Who knew you could nymph with a parachute adams?  I brought the fish in, but as soon as Erin was about to net it, I lost it.  On the next cast, my adams stayed on the surface and the fish took it once more.  This time, I got the fish to Erin and her net.  As she had the fish in the net, the fish popped off the fly.  My nemisis was vanquished. 

Having noted that my adversary was not only attractive; it also appeared tasty, she suggested we call it a day and break for the grill.  It was a short trip, but a victorious end to a much longer fishing story and the beginning of a delicious meal!

Pineapple Vinaigrette

1/3 C Sour Cream

1/3 C Pineapple Vinegar - see below (pineapple, vinegar, sugar, reduced from 1 C)

1/4 Olive oil

1 Tbsp Fresh cilantro

1 clove Garlic (minced)

1 tsp Pepper

1/8 tsp Cumin

ONE MONTANA RAINBOW TROUT (Grilled).  Best caught around 16”, or, almost too big for the net and the stream that once held it.

1/4 C diced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp pepper

¼ tsp salt

To make the vinaigrette mix all the ingredients together and whisk with a fork until it is emulsified.   If you don’t have the vinegar which most people don’t, it is easy enough to make.  In a pan, place ½ C diced pineapple, with 1 C vinegar, and a pinch of sugar.  Reduce to 1/3 and strain off the liquid.  Now you have pineapple vinegar.

To prepare the trout, gut it and fill the body cavity with the pineapple chunks left over from making the pineapple vinegar, the diced onion, garlic and salt and pepper.  Grill the trout whole until it is flaky and done.

Tomato Tart:

2 Cups Fresh cherry tomatoes or 2 large heirlooms.  Cherry tomatoes may be halved while larger tomatoes should be thinly sliced.

1 Cup Fontina Cheese (grated)

1 Tbs Fresh thyme

1 tsp Lemon zest

1 Puff pastry sheet

1 Egg

*We used cherry tomatoes because they were fresh in the garden at this time of year.  Heirloon tomatoes also worked well and provide great color.  The taste of the tomato is essential to this dish.  Therefore, the tomatoes must be fresh.  If you wouldn’t want to eat the tomatoes raw, they are probably not fit for this dish.

Thaw the puff pastry sheet.  Be sure to set the sheet out with enough time to thaw and to check on the sheet throughout the thawing process.  As pastry sheets are packaged in a tri fold, you want to peel the pastry apart as it thaws.  If you forget about the pastry, the sides might stick together.  After thawed, the puff pastry dough can keep in the fridge until you’re ready to fire up the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Roll the puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper until the pastry sheets expands about an inch on every side.  If, like me, you do not have a rolling pin, you can make due with a full bottle of wine.  If, also like me, your bottle is less than full, be certain the bottle is tightly corked.  Line the puff pastry sheet with a butter knife to establish a “trim.” Mix the egg and brush egg mixture on the puff pastry trim. Place pastry sheet and parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Once the pastry sheet has “puffed” (not yet browned sufficiently), remove the sheet and position the toppings: cheese, tomatoes, thyme, lemon zest.

Return to oven for 3-6 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the puff pastry trim has browned.  Remove from oven.  Top with fresh cracked black pepper and serve immediately.