Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Soup

Today was extremely stormy and made for the perfect day for some good homemade soup. Rather than do something traditional I wanted to switch it up a little. I love butternut squash, love sweet potatoes and who doesn't love some smokey bacon?! I just started tossing some ingredients together...the outcome was phenomenal! I should have snapped more pictures and a better end result, but honestly no photo would do your taste buds justice. Just got make yourself a pot :)

Ingredients:

4 slices thick smoked bacon chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 cup diced multi colored carrots
5 celery stalks diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground giner
1/2 tsp nutmeg
10 turns of a fresh pepper grinder
32 ounces chicken broth
32 ounces vegetable broth
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 large sweet potato (or yam)
1 large fuji apple

Start but heating a large stock pot on medium heat, add your bacon. Once your bacon begins to create grease add your shallots. Stir to combine, allow to simmer for 1 minute. Add your carrots and celery, stir to combine and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Add all of your spices and stir to combine. Allow your spices to really penetrate your ingredients at this point continue stirring as to keep your pot from burning, about 5 minutes. Add in your broths and then add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil and allow the soup to boil for 3-5 minutes. Turn your heat down to a simmer and allow to simmer on the stove top for roughly an hour. Your squash and potato should be very soft. You will need an emulsion blender once your soup is finished (you may also use a blender, but allow ingredients to cool before loading).  Puree all ingredients together. Serve with a dollop of creamy goat cheese or crumbled goat cheese.

Sweet Potato and Brie

All of my favorite food groups rolled into one dish? Why yes, please and thank you. Who doesn't love pasta, cheese, and sweet potatoes? Pair it with a fabulous glass of wine and to me it is the perfect evening meal.

 Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked pasta, I used a whole wheat penne
1 cup sweet potato puree. I used 1 large potato baked at 300 for 1.5 hours
1 cup milk or heavy cream
2 ounces cream cheese ( I used 1 ounce cream cheese and 1 ounce goat cheese)
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup good double cream brie cheese (rind removed, and cut into small cubes
Tiny pinch of nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta to your liking, I enjoy mine slightly al dente. Meanwhile over medium heat (too hot and cheese won't melt right) whisk together the sweet potato puree and milk. Reduce heat to low and whisk in cheese until fully melted. Stir in nutmeg, season with salt and pepper. Drain your pasta and add it to your sauce. Serve immediately and sprinkle with a touch of nutmeg, garnish with a basil leaf or two.

This pasta is very rich and with that being said a lighter wine would be its best companion.  I would suggest a Grenache or even a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc would be nice. Enjoy!!

Mongolian Beef

Short sweet and to the point, this was hands down the best Mongolian Beef Recipe! We live in an area where finding a variety of different foods is NOT an option. In order to keep my palate happy I have to create those tastes on my own. My goal in life, well many of them is to show my kids the vast variety of cultures and the food that comes with them. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as everyone in my family did! Yes that even includes my picky husband :)

Ingredients:

Coconut Oil
 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 (1-pound) flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 scallions (green parts only), sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 Bag Trader Joes Organic Brown Rice (Frozen)
1 Head Fresh Broccoli

Directions:

Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a small saucepot over medium-low heat. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté until golden, about 2 minutes.

 Add the soy sauce and water, stirring to combine. Stir in the brown sugar and increase the heat to medium. Bring the sauce to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch pieces, then toss it with the cornstarch. Place the coated pieces of steak in a sieve and shake off any excess cornstarch. Allow the steak to sit 10 for minutes.

Place a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat and add 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add the beef to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes until it is seared on all sides but barely cooked in the center. Remove the steak from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer it onto a paper towel-lined plate. Pour any excess oil out of the wok. Place your broccoli in your steamer and cook to your liking. We like ours slightly still stiff for more of an al dente taste.

 Place the sauté pan back over medium heat. Add the prepared sauce to the hot pan (it should come to a boil almost immediately), then add the reserved steak and cook at a boil, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.At this time prepare your brown rice according to the package, this should cook for 3 minutes.

Add the sliced scallions, stirring to combine. Spoon your brown rice onto the center of your plate, add your steak and then top with your broccoli. Best when served hot. If you want you can even prepare this ahead of time for lunches just slightly under cook all ingredients and add your rice frozen not cooked.

Blueberry Muffins

I don't know about you but I love to have easy mornings and being able to pull out pre made items from the freezer through out the week that are healthy and not full of chemicals is ideal. Here is a blueberry muffin recipe that is super simple and for the most part healthy too.

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line two muffin tins with liners, this recipe makes between 22-24 muffins.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup apple sauce
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

2 cups fresh blueberries

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients and then combine with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix or your muffins will be very dry. Once all the ingredients come together gently fold in your blueberries.

Place one large spoonful in each muffin liner. When you are finished sprinkle with just a tad bit of sugar.

Bake for 20-15 minutes depending on your oven.

Roasted Pork Belly

While recently wine tasting in Murphy's California I came across a new tasting room, Bunting Vineyards. This is the newest tasting room located downtown and I had heard great rumors about their wines so my girlfriend and I decided to check it out. Their tasting room manager was great for being so new to the area as well. Long story short he presented to us a fabulous Mourvedre from the Sierra Foothills and asked what I would pair with it. It got me thinking, as I let the wine dance around my taste buds I could taste all the bug red fruits. The tannins hit the back of my mouth with just enough to not leave your mouth puckered. This wine to me would be perfect with Pork Belly. The combination of the slight tartness from the wine and the succulent juices from the pork belly were sure to be a match made in foodie heaven.

So once I was able to hunt down so Pork Belly (yes it really did take me 5 grocery stores to get it, and I bought it all!) I began my hunt for the perfect recipe as I have only eaten pork belly in restaurants. I finally was pointed in the direction of the pork master himself, Michael Symon. I cannot wait to grab his book off the shelf "Carnivore".

The recipe I used was adapted from his moment on Jimmy Fallon (you can you tube it). This was tricky as he didn't use specific amounts of any one ingredient so be sure to know your flavors and what you want to be most prominent.

Pre heat your oven to 350

4.5 Pound Pork Belly Slab (room temperature)

Pancetta (diced)
Chili Flakes
Capers
Onions (diced)
Lemon Zest
Orange Zest
Garlic
Rosemary (fresh)
Parsley (fresh)

Puree all your ingredients in a food processor.  Place your pork belly fat side up on a baking sheet and slice a criss-cross design in the fat making sure not to reach the meat itself. This allows the fat to breath and come to a crisp easier. Turn your pork belly over and generously apply the rub you just made. Turn the meat back over so the fat is facing up and the rub is face down. You are now ready to place in the oven. Allow the meat to bake at 350 for about an hour and a half to two hours depending on the thickness.

I accompanied this meat with a four cheese mashed potato, sliced zucchini and of course a glass of Bunting Vineyards Mourvedre. Cheers!

Sweet Potato Cake and Eggs

I don't know about you but I love to have a lot of protein at breakfast. It keeps me fueled and satisfied through out the morning until lunch. I don't feel like snacking and that is always a plus in my book. One of my favorite things to eat are eggs, so this morning I made myself a sweet potato cake with eggs and avocado. What can I say besides that it just melted in my mouth.

Recipe:

1 Sweet Potato peeled and shredded
2 Eggs
1 Small Avocado
Fresh Basil for Garnish
Coconut Oil for frying

Heat a frying pan up with 2 TBS Coconut Oil. Place your shredded sweet potato in the pan in a round ball and smash it with a spatula to look like a pancake. Heat on medium heat for about 5 minutes each side or until the desired crisp has been reached. Place your cooked sweet potato cake on a plate. Take your eggs and fry them to your liking and place on top of your potato cake. Slice up your avocado and place on top of your eggs and garnish with your fresh basil. You can sprinkle with salt and pepper if you want.

Dinner Party take two!

I would have to say that the ladies night in dinner party was a success! I will make this one short and sweet as there are a lot of photos and the recipes will be quite long on this one. Our menu consisted of the following:

Caramelized onion and bacon tarts

Goat cheese with a slice of fresh fig drizzled with a balsamic glaze

Brie with fresh pear slices sprinkled with fresh rosemary and a hint of kosher salt

I also created a cheese plate to go along with these that consisted of the following:
Old Amsterdam Smoke Gouda
Goat Cheese
Brie
Manchego
Pickled Peppers
Brioche Toasts
Rosemary Cranberry Crackers
Fresh Sliced Baguette
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Raw Honey
Dukkah Dipping Spices
Raw Almonds
Traditional Bruschetta
Artichoke Bruschetta

Our dessert to finish off the evening was a lemon curd filled puff pastry topped with a spoonful of fresh whip cream.

We started the evening off with a glass of Tango from Castoro Cellars Castoro Cellars and then we finished off with a glass of Grenache from Cass Winery Cass Wines. Both of these wines paired excellently with all the appetizers, you could have stayed with either one of the wines through out the evening. 

~RECIPES~

I made puff pastry from scratch but for someone who doesn't want to spend two days making puff pastry I would suggest buying it pre made. It is less costly and certainly less time consuming. Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees and line some cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper you can always spray them just be sure to remove the puffs as soon as possible so they don't stick.

For the tarts I rolled out my puff fairly thin, a little thinner then you would a pie crust. This dough has many layers and tends to puff up pretty high so the thicker you roll it out the higher your puffs will be. Cut out small circles about two inches in diameter. Line them on one of your prepared baking trays. For the sweet puffs you will want to sprinkle them with sugar ever so slightly and bake them for about 15 minutes, you want them to be a nice golden brown on both the top and bottom of the pastry. When they are finished allow them to cool completely. Slice them in half ever so carefully place a spoonful of lemon curd in the middle put the top back on and finish off with a dollop of whip cream.

For the savory tarts you are going to need to complete a little prep work first. You will need the following:

Crumbled cooked bacon
Caramelized onions
Chopped Rosemary
Sliced pears
Kosher salt
Sliced Brie
Goat cheese
Sliced black figs
Balsamic glaze (Trader Joes)

Roll out and cut the puff pastry just as you did before and line them on the baking tray. For the first one place a small amount of bacon and onion in the middle of the tart. Be sure to try and keep your ingredients balanced in the middle and not too top heavy they will topple over if you have too much.
Bake them at 400 degrees for about 13-15 minutes, the bottoms should be a nice solid golden brown.

For the other two tarts it is the same process slightly. Layer your cheese down first then your fruit, then sprinkle with your rosemary. Do not drizzle the glaze on the figs until after you have baked them. They bake for 13-15 minutes as well. Once the pear ones come out of the oven sprinkle with just a hint of salt, lighter is better as it is there to bring all the flavors together.

Plate them after they have cooled and enjoy!