Porcini Pizza with Truffle Oil

The other night, a good friend of ours came over to join us for dinner. He is single and doesn’t have too many home cooked meals. Typically Jack in the Box or Carl’s Jr. is his dinner entrée of choice. He shares his dating adventures with us and we give him our advice. Hopefully, our guidance is appreciated. We look forward to the day that he finds “Miss Right”, since we know he is a terrific catch for the right girl.

Now onto the food - I perused the refrigerator to see what creative dishes I could create quickly. I had been craving mushrooms and had a package of Lavash bread from Trader Joes. First thing that came to mind was a flatbread pizza.  The combination of the earthy porcin mushroom, nutty gruyere and peppery arugula, and of course the drizzle of truffle oil, I knew it would be a perfect combination. The lavash bread makes the absolutely BEST thin crust pizza and is super simple to make. The combinations are endless.

Porcini Pizza with Truffle Oil

1 Flatbread or Lavash
½ C. Re-hydrated Dried Porcini Mushrooms (04 oz)
1 ½ C. Grated Gruyere
Olive oil
Garlic powder
3 Sprigs fresh thyme
Salt
1 C. Arugula
Truffle oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a cup of boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes or until completely soft.

Tip: You can save the porcini liquid for a mushroom risotto.

Place the flatbread or lavash bread on a baking sheet. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons of good olive oil and using a pastry brush, spread over entire surface. Sprinkle garlic powder over entire surface lightly. Remove the thyme leaves and sprinkle over pizza. Place 2/3 of the porcini mushrooms over the pizza and then sprinkle the cheese. The remaining mushrooms can be strategically placed on top. Season the top with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 9 to 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and edges are brown. Remove from oven and distribute the arugula leaves. Lightly drizzle a tiny bit of truffle oil. A little sea salt on top enriches the flavor. Cut into desired number of slices and enjoy.

Let me know what your favorite combination is!

Roasted Chicken Soup with Riso Pasta

After my husband and I returned to the “real” world on Monday after some wonderful time off during the holidays, we knew the magical time of year had come and gone. Saturday was deemed the day to take down the holiday decorations. We put them up the day after Thanksgiving since we were hosting the annual Ornament Exchange party this year. They had been up long enough. We dreaded the task since there was so much to take down and put away. The good news was that we were extremely organized and efficient; it only took us just under three hours.

With all of this work behind us, we were famished. I had two leftover roasted chicken breasts in the refrigerator and all of the ingredients to whip up a quick chicken soup. It was overcast and chilly all day, so chicken soup was perfect. The Riso pasta from De Cecco is tiny and ideal for this soup. I believe the secret to making this soup extra special is adding fresh parmesan cheese. It adds a salty yet rich quality to the soup.

Chicken Soup with Riso Pasta

2 quarts of Chicken Stock
2 Roasted chicken breasts with bones, taken off the bone and shredded
5 Celery stalks, sliced into ½ pieces
1 Medium onion, diced small
2 C. carrots – shredded or coins
¼ C. Flat leaf parsely, chopped medium
3 sprigs of fresh thyme – just leaves
½ t. Lowry’s Season Salt
1 t. Garlic powder
½ C. De Cecco – Riso Pasta (Orzo is a good substitute)
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese – sprinkle on each bowl of soup

Roast two chicken breasts with bones and skin. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Put oven on for 375. In a large skillet, add a touch of olive oil and turn burner on medium high. Add chicken breasts skin down. Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes or until skin is golden brown. Turn skin side up and add about 2/3 cup of water. Put into the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and firm to the touch. Let cool, then shred the chicken.

In a large stock pot add the stock and bring to a boil. Once to a boil, turn down the heat to medium. Add the celery, onions, carrots, thyme leaves, garlic powder, season salt and chicken. Cook for about 10 minutes. Next add the chicken & flat leaf parsley, riso pasta and cook for 15 minutes on medium low heat.

Roast Beef Crostini with Blue Cheese

Roast Beef Crostini with Blue Cheese

1 Sourdough baguette
Olive oil
8 Large slices of deli roast beef
1/3 C. Blue Cheese
1/3 C. Crème Fraiche
Pepper
24 Flat leaf parsley leaves

Purchase your favorite sour dough baguette. Cut 24 slices approximately ½ inch thick. Brush each side with olive oil. Lie onto a cookie sheet and turn oven on broil. Place under broiler and toast each side until golden brown. Watch carefully so the do not burn.

In a small mixing bowl add the crème fraise and blue cheese. Mix well until most lumps are gone. Season with a few grinds of fresh ground pepper.

Lay the deli roast beef on a cutting board and cut each slice into thirds.

To assemble:
Lay out the toasted crostini and roll up each slice of roast beef. Lay each rolled piece of roast beef on top of each crostini. Add a dollop of the blue cheese mixture and garnish with a parsley leaf.

Creme Brulee

Crème Brulee

8 egg yolks
1/3 C. sugar
2 C. Heavy Crème
1 t. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
Caster sugar or fine sugar for caramelized tops

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, using a wire whisk, stir the egg yolks and sugar together until mixture is creamy pale yellow and sugar is dissolved well.

Cut the vanilla bean in half and with a sharp knife, scrape the vanilla bean and add to the egg mixture. Stir well. Add the cream, vanilla extract and whisk well.

Divide the mixture among 6 ramekins. Place in a water bath, so the water is half way up the ramekins. Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes until the custard is lightly firm. Remove from oven and let cool in the water bath. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and best overnight.

For the caramelized topping:

Sprinkle the sugar on top and with a hand held torch, melt the sugar. Re-chill the custards for about 30 to 60 minutes prior to serving.

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Pecans

While shopping at Trader Joe’s, I came across these intriguing stalks of Brussels Sprouts and had to purchase one. Besides the farmer’s market, how often does the average consumer see these? Typically there are large bins filled with all sizes of these little gems. Here is a quick and simple recipe for Brussels sprouts that have wonderful flavor, crunch and textures.

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Pecans
Serves 4

4 C. of Fresh Brussels Sprouts cut in half
3 T. Olive Oil
½ C. Pancetta, diced
¼ C. Pecans, chopped and toasted
Salt and Pepper

Prepare the Brussels sprouts by cutting off the bottom stem and then in half. Remove any of the extra leaves.

In a large skillet, add the olive oil and then place the Brussels sprouts cut side down. Toss in the olive oil using tongs and season with salt and pepper. Return to the cut side down. Add the pancetta. Cook on medium for about 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown and tender but not overcooked. You can add more olive oil if desired. Taste to determine if you need to add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the pecans just before serving.

Bouchon in Yountville

Bouchon in Yountville is part of the Thomas Keller restaurant empire. For Keller, great cooking is all about the virtue of process and attention to detail. Most notably he began his food dynasty with the iconic French Laundry. With his passion for Bistro cooking, he opened Bouchon. Bistro is to Paris as Bouchon is to Lyon. Parisian bistro food is typically slow-cooked (braised), whereas Lyonnaise cuisine revolves around cured and forcemeat processes. Lyon (and not Paris) has the reputation as the French capital of gastronomy.

Restaurant Club was making its final journey for 2009 and it was my turn to make the selection. After careful thought and keeping to the cardinal rule that we can only choose a place where none of us have been before, Bouchon was my choice. We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our 11:30 reservation. Visited the Bouchon bakery next door and selected a box of treasures to bring home. The chocolate Bouchon’s (corks) are to die for along with the macaroons. I even selected a couple doggie biscuits for Max.

We checked in for our 11:30 reservation and were seated right away. The restaurant is authentically French in décor and is a feast for the eyes. We were seated at a table for four in the middle of the restaurant with a large palm tree in the middle and the other three tables flanked the palm tree. Our server promptly arrived and let us know that the paper wrapped around the napkin was our menu – very cleaver. The bread and butter arrived shortly, just as you would expect, crunchy outside, fluffy inside, quintessential French bread with a twist.

The menu was robust with such wonderful choices along with the daily specials; it was a challenge to make our selections. We wanted to all choose different dishes, so we could have more to sample and enjoy. Bouchon highlights local vintners and has a “vin de carafe” board next to the bar. Today there was a Viognier and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Lynette selected the Viognier and I had the Cabernet. Both were outstanding and a value along with being unique.

For our starters, we had Salade de Celeri-Rave et Choux de Bruxelles which was a salad of caramelized celery root, black trumpet mushrooms, cranberries & Brussels sprouts with brown butter gastrique. It was an amazing dish and the gastrique and cranberries simply put the dish over the top. Next we had Salade de Saumon Tiede that was warm poached salmon salad with frisee, black truffle, potatoes & salmon roe with lentil vinaigrette. Final starter was a Lyonnaise Salad with frisee lettuce, crispy largons, soft poached egg and brioche toasts.

The first course was amazing and created quite a bit of chatter about what terrific selections we all made. Onto the main event, first was the Poulet Roti; roast chicken with crispy spatzle, winter squash, chestnuts & white wine poached pears with whole grain mustard jus. The flavor profiles were out of this world and the whole grain mustard jus was spectacular. People often do not order “chicken” at restaurants, since they think it is ordinary – well this was extraordinary!

Next delight was the Gnocchi a la Parisienne that was sautéed gnocchi with a fricassee of vegetables & beurre noisette. Final delicacy was the Truite aux Topinambours – pan roasted trout with roasted sunchokes, marinated mushrooms, toasted almonds & beurre noisette. This dish comes with the head on the fish and in an all-clad copper dish – outstanding presentation.

Even though we were quite satisfied, we needed to experience dessert. After much contemplation, we chose the Tarte au Citron. A large slice of lemon tart was placed on our table, that screamed meyer lemon, cream and butter. I ordered a cappuccino to complete the entire experience and to prevent a food coma.

Bouchon was a gastronomic dining experience that transcended us into France and left us wanting to return very soon. The service was outstanding. The food was amazing. Restaurant Club was very pleased with the experience and are already deciding on our next adventure to kick off 2010 .

Perfect New Year's Eve Party

New Year’s Eve is the one day of the year, where people want to celebrate, declare resolutions and be surrounded by close friends and family. For the eternal host, there is nothing more exciting than putting together a New Years Eve soiree. Planning early is the key to a successful and memorable New Years Eve party.

Here are a few key points and ideas to make your party unforgettable.

Theme - Traditionally, New Years Eve parties tend to be either black tie or cocktail attire, but to spice up the party, add a theme to your party. The perfect New Year’s Eve theme party will be subtle, classy, and easy to pull off. Choose a color theme like black and white, gold or silver. Choose a different era or place in the world and build your theme around it.

Food – A very important element to any party is what food to serve. For New Year’s Eve, best to stay away from dinner, buffets, or anything that requires people to sit down to eat. A better choice for the best New Year’s party is appetizers, both passed and stationary. Build your menu around handmade and store bought to ease the pressures. Consider asking your foodie friends to bring their favorite new appetizer.

Guest List – The perfect party requires a great guest list. Typically the ideal New Year’s Eve party will not include children since it is such a late event and is the one time of year for an adult party. Make sure that every guest invited to the party will know at least one other guest. You want all of your party-goers to feel included.

Adult Libations – New Years Eve is not complete without Champagne or sparking wine. Make sure there are other choices for the hours before midnight. Think about a “signature drink” and tie it in with your theme. Have a large enough selection of adult libations, but do not feel compelled to stock like a hotel. Make sure to have a large supply of ice to last throughout the night.

Decorations – To make your event space aesthetically pleasing, decorations are essential. If you’re having a theme, which you should, coordinate the decorations to the theme. The trick is finding the perfect amount of decorations, without over doing it. The goal when decorating is to stay classy.

Party Favors – Traditional party favors for New Year’s Eve parties are easy. All you really need are noise makers and New Year’s Eve hats and tiaras. Think about adding the extra touch by giving each of your guests a souvenir from the party. Something related to the theme or homemade by you will make it extra memorable.

Music – The type of music you play will depend on the kind of party you are throwing. It is important to get the volume just right. Create a special play list on your i-pod of the favorites from 2009.

Invitations – Best to plan ahead and choose the traditional paper invites with a RSVP date included. “Evite” is easy, but not quite as classy as the traditional choice. Make sure the theme matches the invitations – it gives your guests a peak into what the party will be like.  Sending out early is the key to a great turn out.

Entertainment – When people come to a New Year’s Eve party, they expect to have a good time. While the company, food, and alcohol are large components, you may also need some entertainment. If it’s a classy party, the television is on mute with the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square is probably enough. A smaller crowd could encompass a fun game or two.

Traditional New Year’s Kiss – Everyone wants that special New Year’s Eve and to have the perfect New Year’s kiss with that somebody special.

New Years Resolutions – Each year people take on lofty resolutions that are often forgotten by the end of January. Have each person bring their list and read them out loud to everyone. In addition, have them leave a copy with the host. In turn, you will compile and email out the entire group. Peer pressure tends to keep people closer to achieving their goals. Check in every quarter to see how the group is sticking to keeping them.

Happy New Year to everyone! 
May it be a year filled with prosperity, health, happiness, peace and success!