Beef Bourguignon

This was a repeat of a dinner we had earlier this year before leaving for India where we knew we wouldn't get quality meat. Beef Bourguignon is a perfect cold weather dish. You can find the recipe on our blog of: January 2, 2018. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Candied Walnuts.

Cheese Soufflé

We had Guillermo's Parmesan Cheese that he brought from Italy for us. What better winter dish then to make a fluffy Cheese Soufflé?  It looks impressive, and once you get the hang of it, Soufflés are easy to make (especially if you have a good mixer). You can get the recipe for the Soufflé from our blog of: February 15, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Baked Lasagne Alla Norma

This is one of my more favorite Lasagnes: Baked Lasagne Alla Norma. We have made it many times. You can find the recipe on our blog of: March 31, 2015. Click the date to get the recipe. I was brought up a meat eater and I always enjoy finding vegetarian meals that I like. We were lucky to have Parmesan Cheese that our friend Guillermo had brought from Italy. It makes it extra special! If you have left over Lasagne it freezes well and will make a great meal sometime when it is defrosted.

We stared with a Salad made with Dates and more of the Parmesan Cheese. Delicious meal!

Perfect Steak

We are still meat deprived from our trip to India. We saw a recipe in The New York Times for a Valentine Dinner of Rib-Eye Steak and Potatoes for Two  Interestingly we have never made an oven roasted steak before. You start by searing in a very hot cast iron pan. Then transferring the pan containing the meat to a hot oven. We decided to try this method rather than our traditional grilling outdoors. It was delicious! I am sure part of the success was we purchased a beautiful dry-aged rib eye from McCall's Meat and Fish. Loved it!

Rib-Eye Steak and Potatoes for Two

DAVID TANIS

New York Times

For a special occasion with a sweetheart, sharing a simple, luxurious dinner at home is even better than going to a restaurant. Splurge on a cut like rib-eye or tenderloin and open a great bottle of wine. It’s a simple, no-fuss endeavor, yet very special.

Ingredients

1      large boneless rib-eye steak, cut 2 inches thick (at least 1 1/2 pounds)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2      cloves garlic, sliced, plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic

1      rosemary sprig, roughly chopped

1      pound very small potatoes, rinsed

2      tablespoons butter

¼     cup finely chopped parsley

Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon

Arugula or watercress, for serving (optional)

Preparation

1.   Season steak generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with sliced garlic and rosemary and set aside to marinate, 20 to 30 minutes.

2.   Heat oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook at a brisk simmer until just done, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and keep warm.

3.   Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over high heat. Remove and discard sliced garlic from steak. (If left on, it will burn in the skillet.)

4.   When pan is hot, put in the steak and let brown well on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Wait until steak forms a crust and comes away cleanly from the bottom to move it.

5.   Flip steak and transfer pan to oven, uncovered. Roast until juices begin to rise on surface of steak (you will see the droplets) and internal temperature is 120 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove steak from pan and let rest, tented with foil, for 5 to 10 minutes. (Residual heat will continue to cook the meat to medium-rare as it rests.) Warm a serving bowl for the potatoes and plates for the steak.

6.   Melt butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and toss to coat and heat through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 1 minute or less. Gently stir in parsley and lemon zest and transfer to serving bowl.

7.   Cutting on a slight diagonal, slice steak into 1/2-inch slices, then transfer to plates. If using, place a handful of greens next to the steak. Serve immediately, passing potatoes at the table.

Yams and Date Salad

We had left over Expatriate Chicken. With the Chicken we made two great sides.  We first had the Date, Feta and Red Cabbage Salad when Doshi brought it to our house. We thought it was delicious. Here is the recipe. Gjelina’s Roasted Yams is another great side. The tangy Yogurt based sauce is a perfect foil for the Yams.

Date, Feta and Red Cabbage Salad

If you don’t like your cabbage too crunchy, dressing it as directed and letting it rest in the salad bowl for a while before adding the other ingredients will soften and wilt it a bit.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side

1 to 1 1/4 pounds red cabbage (1 small head or half of a large one), sliced very thin
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice (I use lime)
Salt and red pepper flakes (I used the mild Aleppo variety) to taste
About 1/2 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped or sliced
4 ounces feta, crumbled into chunks
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons well-toasted sesame seeds 

Toss cabbage with olive oil and first tablespoons of lime juice, plus salt and pepper, coating leaves evenly. Taste and add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. I do this a few times, making sure I really get this base well seasoned because it will be hard to do it as well later.

Toss dressed cabbage gently with half of dates and feta. Sprinkle with remaining dates, then feta, then parsley and sesame seeds. Dig in.

 Gjelina’s Roasted Yams

 New York Times

Time 1 Hour

These roasted yams are adapted from a recipe that Travis Lett, the chef and an owner of Gjelina in Venice, Calif., published in a 2015 cookbook devoted to the restaurant’s food. They are a marvelous accompaniment to a roast chicken, but they are maybe even better as a platter to accompany a salad of hearty greens, cheese and nuts. What makes them memorable is a technique Lett calls for during the cooking: tossing the tubers in honey before roasting them, which intensifies their caramelizing. The crisp, near-burned sweetness works beautifully against the heat of the pepper and the acidic creaminess of the yogurt you dab onto the dish at the end. It is a simple dish, but it results in fantastic eating.

Ingredients

3       large yams

2       tablespoons honey

1       tablespoon Espelette pepper, or crushed red-pepper flakes

3       tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

 Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½      cup Greek-style yogurt

4       tablespoons fresh lime juice, approximately 2 limes

2       scallions, both green and white parts, trimmed and thinly sliced, for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 425. Cut the yams lengthwise into 4 wedges per yam. Put them in a large bowl, and toss them with the honey, ½ tablespoon of the Espelette pepper or crushed red-pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, tossing once or twice to coat, as the oven heats.

2. Transfer the yams to a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and then bake until they are deeply caramelized around the edges and soft when pierced with a fork at their thickest part, approximately 30 to 35 minutes.

3. As the yams roast, combine the yogurt, lime juice and remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl, and whisk to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

4. When the yams are done, transfer them to a serving platter, drizzle the yogurt over them and garnish with the remaining Espelette pepper or red-pepper flakes, the scallions and some flaky sea salt if you have any.