Chef Don’s Cured Filet of Beef and Wine Pairing

Recipe Comments:  I paired with Sobon Estates Zinfandel, and made the Sauce with a Sobon Zin Port. I wanted to do something a little more basic due to the current economic situation so many are in. I get a whole bunch of emails asking for nice things that hit a lower cost per person price point. 
Feel free to try out the dish as it’s a winner!
Cheers,
Don

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Dry Cured Filet of Beef with Potato Au Gratin and Grilled Asparagus

Shopping List:

Beef Tenderloin, trimmed
Black Peppercorns
extra-virgin olive oil
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Garlic
Ground White Pepper
Kosher salt
Gruyere Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Heavy Cream
Eggs
Standard Asparagus
Fresh lemon
unsalted butter
Shallots
Cognac
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Bay Leaf
Beef Stock, or 1 Cup demi-glace
Sobon Estates Rezerve, 2007 Paul’s Vineyard
Sobon Estates Zinfandel Port, 2008 Amador County

Day One  

1. Brine the Beef, Sprinkle entire surface of beef tenderloin with coarse kosher salt.
2.  Place beef on rack set over large rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.

Day Two

1. Make Potato:
   3 Pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, Peeled, sliced thin
   1 Clove Garlic, Minced
   1/4 Teaspoon Ground White Pepper
   1/2 Teaspoon Kosher salt
   1/2 Cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
   1 Cup Grated parmesan Cheese
   1 Quart Heavy Cream
   4 Eggs
2. Preheat oven to 325°F.
3.  Mix Heavy Cream, Gruyere, 1/2 Cup Parmesan, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and Eggs.
4. Add potatoes to mixture, and toss to coat evenly.
5. Remove Potatoes from Cream mixture, and place into Casserole dish . Pour cream mixture over the top of the potatoes making sure they are completely covered. Due to the shape of the dish this is not always the case, and additional cream should be added to cover the potatoes . Make sure to allow for the fact that the cream mixture will expand during the cooking process. 1″ from the top of the dish should be ok.
6. Cover, and bake for 35- 40 minutes. The cream should be reduced. When the cream is reduced remove the cover, and top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake another 20 minutes, or until brown on top.
7. Remove from oven, and allow to cool a few minutes prior to serving.
8. Portion Beef:
   Allow beef to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Portion as desired.
9. Make Sauce:
   4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, divided
   1 Clove Garlic, Minced
   1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
   3 tablespoons Cognac
   1 fresh Rosemary sprig
   1 Bay Leaf
   1 teaspoon coarsely cracked Black Pepper
   1 cup Zinfandel Port*
   2 Cups Beef Stock, or 1 Cup demi-glace
10. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, add garlic.
11.  Add cognac, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon cracked pepper and cook until liquid evaporates, 1 minute.
12.  Add Port; bring to simmer. Add all of beef stock, and Bay Leaf.
13. Boil until reduced to 3/4 Cup, or until it reaches sauce consistency.
14.  Strain into medium saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer.
15. Bring sauce to boil; whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve for Service.
16. Prepare Vegetable:
    1 pound fresh Standard Asparagus
    1 lemon
    1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
    Blanch your Asparagus in boiling salted water for one minute. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Brush with butter. Reserve to finish on grill.
17. Grilling:                                                                                                                                  Preheat your grill (my preference is wood fired, using mesquite wood chunks)
18. Rub the steaks gently with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of toasted black peppercorns, coarsely cracked in mortar with pestle.
19. Grill Steaks to desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat, and allow to rest at room temperature.
20. Grill Asparagus. Reserve
21. What to Drink:
    Sobon Estates ReZerve, 2007 Paul’s Vineyard
    *2008 Zinfandel Port, Amador County

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Makes 6 -8

1 deep pan with cover

1 small saucepan for puree

wooden spoon

spatula

fork

3 tbsp butter

2 onions finely chopped

2 lbs cubed lamb leg (can be shank as well)

2 garlic cloves minced

2 large green peppers seeded and chopped

2 large tomatoes seeded and chopped (I prefer roma)**

2 1/2 cups water, hot

1/2 tsp black peppercorns whole

2 tsp tomato paste

salt tt

Eggplant puree

5 oz  butter

3 tbsp flour

3 lbs eggplants

2 cups warm whole milk

4 heaping tbsp Ka-ar cheese or cheddar, grated

Nutmeg TT

S/P TT

1. Gently fry the onions in the butter until softened. Add the cubed meat and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionaly until the juice has evaporated.
2. Add the garlic, green pepper and diced tomato and cooked until the juice has evaporated and the tomatoes have softened.
3. Add the hot water, peppercorns, tomato paste and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about an hour, or until the meat is tender.
4. For the puree, melt the butter in a small saucepan and sprinkle the flour in until slightly colored, remove from heat.
5. Pierce the eggplant skins in several places and cook over a charcoal fire, gas flame or roast them in the oven until the flesh is tender.  It is important to get a char on the skin before roasting!
6. Holding the eggplant by the stalk, scrape away the skin, than cut off the stalk.
7. Add that mush to the flour/butter saucepan and mash it with fork
8. Place the saucepan over heat and cook gently, beating with a wooden spoon.  Gradually add the warm milk and salt/pepper.  When the mixture begins to bubble, remove from heat
9. Add the grated cheese and nutmeg, stir well.
10. When serving, put lamb mixture on plate first than make hollow in center to pour in the puree.

** On my upcoming web tv series “The Quest”, you will see some aspects of this dish made live! Please try to contain your excitement, saucies!

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Fat Head’s South Side Saloon, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, PA

www.fatheads.com

The legendary Fatheads is located on Pittsburgh’s vibrant south side, in the midst of many cool places to get your sauce on.  Conveniently, there is paid parking across the street.  Recognize this place by the big bloated mustached head with sunglasses

 Get Sauced: 4 out of 4

One needs to go no farther than here to go on a bender.  They have everything a booze lover could dream of.  It was like Fathead Wonka just opened up a oak barrelled door to his fantasy factory and blinded me with the IPA, Beligian Dubbel, Bock, Maibock, Pilsner and Wheat beer waterfalls, the whiskey rain, the scotch pond and the floofy area known as the wine flower garden.  Hopefully this dream world has a bathroom.  Seriously, one of the most impressive beer lists I’ve ever seen. Rogue actually brews an exclusive brand for Fathead only.  I guzzled the house-brewed Hunter’s Head IPA, which was hoppy with a good malt backbone and a diversity of flavor notes. I downed the house-brewed Heller Bock and immediately ordered a second.  This was my favorite. The Heller Bock tasted very similar to a dark wheat beer, but it had a lighter bread taste and a higher hop top note.  Utterly delicious.  I also tried their hand-pulled tap which was Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale from Cali, which I’ve had before, fantastic! Fatheads has a diversity of whiskeys and scotches and offers whiskey flights.  The wine list is as expected for a brewery.  If you go to Fatheads for the first time and order wine, I will personally come to your house and hide some stinky cheese under your pillow!

The Sauce: 4 out of 4

The menu is MASSIVE.  Normally, I would be turned off by such a large beast.  But, much like reading an exciting, adrenaline-pumping novel, I couldn’t put this bastard down (speaking of bastards, they actually have Arrogant Bastard battered onion rings!).  Take as much time as you need to figure out what you want.  The servers understand this, don’t worry. We started with the wings.  Fatheads offers 14 different wing variations from traditional favorites like honey-bbq and mild buffalo to creative new flavors like salt-n-vinegar and spicy parmesan.  My favorite was the spicy parmesan, a nutty and sweet topnote with a real tomatoey kick to finish it off.  My least favorite was the salt-n-vinegar, creative but tastes just like one would expect.  Now to the main course, the Headwiches! A Headwich is a gigantor sandwich inspired by a moment of genius of some member of the Fathead staff.  18 of these mouth-watering bad boys stared at me and it was damn hard to make a decision.  I pondered the Maxim award winning South Slope Headwich , made with pierogies, kielbasa and grilled onions.  I contemplated the Beer Camp Headwich, packed full of bacon, bbq sauce, sharp cheddar and house-made 1000 island dressing.  I salivated over the Artery Clogger Headwich, full of greasy goodness (bacon, fried eggs, mayo).  I ended up choosing the PCI Headwich, an italian style club with ham, salami, capicola, banana peppers and rosemary mayo.  This thing was spot on! The amounts of meat to veg ratio was perfect and the rosemary mayo provided a unique floral aftertaste.  I tried like mad to finish this tough puppy but (much to my chagrin) needed a woof-woof bag. I also sampled their cherry-pepper mayo and enjoyed the deep astringency of it with their crispy fries.

The Reduction: + 1  Ambiance  for  9  out of 10

Customer service was as expected.  The waitress knew the menu and did a great job giving me recommendations.  She was a bit slow on the beer refill take though, not penalty slow, just a tad bit molassely. The ambiance is unique in its simplicity, having a sports bar type feel inside a simple brick building.  I love all the hand-painted craft beer logos, word on the street says that the brewer himself does all of them.  There also is a aura of fun and awe (of what we are collectively experiencing)  by the customers, we immediately struck up a conversation with some British businessmen sitting next to us, just over the beer list.  The Sauced Chef will not rest until he’s tried every single headwich and makes it to the Fathead Elite.  You have to experience this place at least once in your life!

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Makes 6 -8

1 bowl

1 deep pan for frying

1 slated spoon

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon chopped finely chopped parsley (fresh)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 egg

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or as needed)

1 medium onion, minced (your choice, I prefer vidalia)

3 cups oil or fat for deep frying

1. Pour fat in frying pan and heat to around 300 degrees***
2. Mix or sift (sifting optional) cornmeal, salt, cayenne, soda and flour
3. Add egg and buttermilk until its the right consistency to hold its shape when rolled into ball
4. Mix in onion
5. Roll into balls about 1 to 2 inches across and drop in frying liquid
6. Fry until deep brown and crispy
7. Drain on paper towel and serve hot

*** If you don’t have a thermometer at home, just make a small test hush puppy first.  It should immediately bubble and start turning deep brown.  You should only need about 1 to 2 minutes maximum per puppy

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Serves 4

½  baguette sliced into ½ inch slices and toasted till firm

3 eggs

1 quart of water

1 cup of vinegar

1 white yam skinned and sliced thin (only need 3 pieces)

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 cup mayo

1 tbsp sricha chili paste

2 tbsp fresh cilantro

1 linguica sausage (opened and made into 3 patties)

1 oz olive oil

S/P TT

1. In a large pot combine water and vinegar, bring to a boil than simmer gently, this is your poaching liquid
2. In a small pan add oil and sauté the sausage patties, seasoning with s/p if necessary, when done put on paper towled plate and set aside
3. In the same oil carmelize 3 white yam slices and place on toasted baguette slices
4. Place the sausage patty on top of the yam slices
5. Gently poach 3 eggs and place on top of sausage***
6. Combine cilantro (save some for garnish), mayo , garlic and sricha to make aioli
7. Smear brush on plate for pattern, garnish with cilantro

*** Poaching eggs is an art form.  First, make sure your poaching liquid contains some acid (vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) in it. Secondly, never crack your eggs directly over the poaching liquid! Crack them into a small bowl, then individual and gently slide the raw egg into the simmering liquid.  Doneness is determined by the cook, so figure out what you like and do it! Good luck. 

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-TSC

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Chef Will’s Lamb Stew

 
1 1/2 pounds thick sliced bacon, diced
6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
4 cups beef stock
2 teaspoons white sugar
4 cups diced carrots
2 large onions, cut into bite-size pieces
3 potatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup white wine 

1. Cook bacon over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
3. Place meat into stock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.**
4. Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, and wine to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
5. Enjoy!

 ** Deglazing means to get all the fatty goodness from a cooked surface.  To deglaze just add water and put over heat.  As the water gets hot, use a spatula to scrape any carmelization so it mixes in with the water. The pan should look almost clean when you pour the water out.

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-TSC

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Bio (kinda):

TSC: Dawn, love your recipe… can you write a quick bio about yourself? I want to introduce you to the people before I publish it

Dawn: Sure………….
Well, we live on a farm and have 10 horses, we do a lot of camping in the summer and I do a lot of cooking in the winter!! love good old fashion home cooking as well as unique and different recipes. I have yet to find a recipe that I can actually follow without changing it and “making it my own”, LOL……..I should go on American Idol huh…(making it my own) ha ha

not much to tell other than that…………glad you liked the chicken pizza…………it’s different.

Recipe Comments: I use lots more cheese and I also add canned mushrooms to the chicken when I brown it.

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Dawn’s Spicy Garlic Chicken Pizza

Mama mia ready pizza crusts or Boboli crusts (they come 2 in a package
so i double this recipe)
12-16 oz. chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic minced
3T white vinegar
3T soy sauce
2T olive oil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1T olive oil
1T corn starch
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded (I use more of both)
1/2 cup Monterrey jack cheese shredded
2T pine nuts or sliced almonds

1. Marinate chicken in bowl with half of the onions, garlic, vinegar, soy
   sauce, olive oil (2T), and pepper for at least a half hour (or overnight).
2. Drain chicken and reserve marinade.
3. Stir fry chicken in 1T olive oil till no longer pink.
4. Add corn starch to the remaining marinade and
   pour into skillet with chicken. Cook till thick and bubbly.
5. Spread over mama mia ready crusts and top with cheeses.
6. Bake 12 minutes at 400 degrees.
7. Remove and top with the rest of the green onions and
   sliced almonds. Bake for 2 minutes more…………
8. Enjoy!

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food processor or blender

medium size baking pan (with a lip)

1 small bowl

1 small brush

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

2 salmon steaks (8 – 120z) or filets (sockeye perferred)

1 cup fresh walnuts

1/4 cup fresh parsley

2 vanilla wafers

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt TT

 Pepper TT

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine walnuts, parsley, vanilla wafers and cayenne pepper in food processor and thoroughly blend (until small and crumblike)
3. Taste the crust mixture and finish with salt/pepper to your saucy taste!
4. Beat egg and milk in small bowl to make an eggwash
5. Pour crust mixture on working surface or bowl (not the one you will bake in)
6. Have greased baking pan ready
7. Egg wash the salmon filets lightly with brush and throughly cover each one with crumb mixture and place in baking pan (be sure to use every last bit of crust mixture)
8. Bake in oven for 10 – 20 minutes or until salmon feels firm and begins to flake
9. Serve with rice and veggies for a healthy meal!

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 2 or 3 potatoes of choice, cut into thin square wedges (Yukon gold)

2 cucumbers of your choice, peeled, cut into thin square wedges

8 oz capers

2 green onions diced

1 cup fresh cilantro

½ cup cilantro vinaigrette

½ cup greek yogurt or tzichi sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Pinch cayenne pepper

Salt TT

White Pepper TT

1. Boil potato WEDGES until al dente set aside to cool
2. In large bowl combine all ingredients except taters
3. Once taters are just warm, add them and mix thoroughly
4. Cover, refrigerate at least 3 hours and serve
5. Garnish with some fresh cilantro

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Traffic Jam & Snug

Detroit, MI

www.trafficjamdetroit.com

This is truly one of the hidden gems of Detroit.  They make their own beer, cheese, bread and ice cream in house.  Despite the name, it is all one place.  Local lore (from the waitress) says that in the 70′s it used be separated with one part for the drinkers and the other for the kiddies. 

 Get Sauced: 4 out of 4

Wow, very impressive! This place made me wish that I wasn’t driving! They have a small but well-rounded wine list that fits.  They also feature a German mulled or spiced wine with hints of clove and apple.  The brewer had two beers on tap when we visited, an Altbier and a Pilsner (the Grand Theft Pilsner, to be exact). Naturally, I tried them both.  With its hop-forward bite and subtle malt finish, the Altbier was my favorite, but the Pilsner was done well too.  For those of you ready to drink hard, Traffic Jam has an extensive libation menu as well.  From spicy classic like the “Red Eye Bloody Mary” to unique experiments like “Chai One On” (a vodka, milk and chai martini) this place overs a variety of ways to get sauced!

The Sauce: 3 1/2 out of 4

Yahtzee! This chef speaks my language! Every sauce I had was unique and delicious.  We started with the egg rolls paired with a red pepper sauce.  The sauce was fantastic! I immediately tasted the heat that lingered (but didn’t overpower), followed by a gingery-sweetness then finished with the subtle tartness of the red pepper! I couldn’t get enough of this stuff. I tried the vegan lentil soup and was blown away by the heartiness of it.  The soup also had an understated tomato-curry flavor that was addictive.  For my main, I had the meatloaf with the Cumberland sauce.  The meatloaf was savory and had multiple notes of onion, carrot and currant.  The sauce was sweet and deep! A true decadence of umami coupled with a light and airy currant sweetness.  My only complaint was the quantity of sauce on the meatloaf, not enough! We also sampled 4 flavors of the homemade ice cream: coffee, mint chocolate chip, pistachio and vanilla.  The vanilla was superb, as well as the pistachio and mint chocolate chip.  I was disappointed in the coffee ice cream, it lacked a strong coffee flavor.  It tasted like coffee with too much cream and sugar in it.  I like my coffee ice cream to be have bitter strength followed by understated sweetness.  This didn’t do it for me.  Overall, the sauces at Traffic Jam are a force to be reckoned with.

The Reduction: + 1 Customer Service and + 1  Ambiance  for  9 1/2 out of 10

If you live in Detroit or are visiting, go here! The waitstaff was friendly, funny and courteous.  Our waitress had a mastery of the menu and made some educated recommendations tailored to our tastes.  She also knew a lot of the history.  This place is huge, btw! It has a real mish-mash of different designs and aesthetics that somehow work together in harmony. Its a fun place to sponge up the booze with a electric college atmoshphere on the weekends and a laid back vibe during the week.  Traffic Jam also sells its products, stop by to pick up some rich and pungent bleu and asiago cheese or a gallon of vanilla ice cream.  Either way, get your pampered little behind to the D and check out Traffic Jam & Snug!

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