OK, so this is a fancy name for a very simple sauce — it’s just pomegranate red wine butter sauce. Easy as, well, heat and stir! This is my choice for pairing with Brian Carter Cellars new release of his 1 Malbec, a luscious wine with great complexity. I hope you enjoy!

pomegranate beurre rouge

 In a skillet over medium-high heat, bring the pomegranate juice and wine to a boil and reduce by half. Reduce heat to low, add pomegranate seeds. Gently swirl in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Season with salt & pepper; serve immediately over pan roasted salmon.

Sauce for 4.

pan roasted salmon

Dissolve salt and sugar in 1/2 cup hot water, then add 1-1/2 cups cold water. Pour into large resealable plastic bag or shallow dish. Divide fillet into 4 serving portions if necessary.  Place fish fillets in brine, seal. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Remove fish from brine, pat dry. Allow salmon to come to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Preheat oven and baking sheet to 425°F.

Heat butter and olive oil in large heavy skillet over high heat. Place fillets in heated pan, cook 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove to heated baking sheet; season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in preheated oven; cook 5 to 10 minutes, until internal temperature of salmon reaches 135°F. Remove from oven, tent with foil. Let stand 2 to 4 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 145°F.

Serves 4.

I like to use canned mango pulp, which I find at our local Indian markets. It is delicious, sweet, and most importantly for this dish, a great time saver!

Strain mango pulp to remove any large chunks, or puree in blender. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, mixing well. Cover and chill thoroughly, overnight is best.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s directions.

Makes 5 cups sorbet.

Back to the Couvillion research… After the pea soup I wanted something more, I just couldn’t stop there. The wine is also bright with just the right amount of acid, a bit fruity and crisp. Karen McNeil, author of The Wine Bible, says acid is like a bra – it makes everything perky! So, I’m thinking sharp cheese and crisp fruit. I found some Beecher’s Flagship in the fridge. MMmmm, it tasted salty and rich, a bit ‘piquant’ with the wine. The acid in the wine makes the cheese taste creamy and rich, the cheese makes the wine sing! And, there was a juicy Bartlett pear just waiting to be sampled. But a fruit tray is not called for here, I wanted something a bit more user friendly and composed, and decided to combine my flavors atop a square of puff pastry, with a bit of black pepper. The lot of which is topped of with a tiny drizzle of truffle honey just before serving.

After all of this, I set aside a time to prepare the dish or dishes and sample them with the wine, just to be sure, maybe share them with people I love, tweak the recipe if necessary — and this is why I LOVE MY JOB!!! Too bad I ate the research project before I thought about taking photos! Please send me yours….

pear & white cheddar tartlets

Preheat oven to  400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Arrange pastry squares on parchment. Brush LIGHTLTY with egg wash. Top with pears, cheddar, thyme and pepper. Bake in hot oven, about 12-15 minutes, until golden and puffed. Remove from oven; drizzle with truffle honey if using, cut in half diagonally. Serve hot.

Serves 8.

This weekend, I began the process of developing the menu for our upcoming winemaker’s dinner with Jill Nobel, owner and winemaker at Couvillion Winery in Wall Walla. It is a process I thoroughly enjoy, from the beginning of interacting with the winemaker to determine which wines will be showcased, then tasting the wines, checking out tasting notes, and developing a menu.

 For me, the focus is on showing off the winemaker and her wines – Jill makes very elegant, award-wining wines in her own unique style. The wines of Couvillion are very much like the winemaker, smooth, approachable and easy to spend time with. My goal in this exercise is to complement each of the wines with food that will show it off!

So, I start with the wine. I cannot change the inherent properties and flavors that are in the finished bottle – nor do I wish to do so. But, I can tweak and adjust the food to enhance the wine pairing experience. First, I taste the wine, close my eyes, swirl the wine around in my mouth, think about the flavors I am tasting in the wine and what might go well with them. Then I usually tour around my kitchen, looking for specific flavors that I have in mind that might be good matches. These are typically elements or ingredients that I am considering combining in a dish as the pair. It’s good to break the flavors down, and trying several different foods may lead to yet another flavor idea.

So, for example, I was working on a pair for the Couvillion Sauvignon Blanc, a very well balanced, smooth wine that showcases the delicious characteristics of its varietal – best described as “green.” Simply stated, it reminded me of spring, foods made with new green growing things, foods with medium texture, not too light, not too heavy, slightly sweet, slightly salty. The journey began. Recently I had made the scallops with green peas and tequila cream sauce. That would be a bit rich, but it was a starting point. I wanted to enhance the “green-ness” of the wine, so the peas were the beginning — sweet, green. Freshness came from the addition of mint and scallions, then a slight amount of zing from the buttermilk or crème fraiche. 

So, here goes. Serve this soup with Couvillion Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, and enjoy! I’d love to hear what you think! Next installment will be the pear and cheese tartlets….

minted pea soup

In large pan, heat butter over medium high-heat. Add scallions and a bit of salt. Cook until the scallions begin to brown. Drizzle over the honey; cook until bubbly. Add the peas and cook 5 minutes longer, until the peas begin to pop. Pour broth over; bring to a boil. Strip the leaves from one sprig of mint, and add them to the pot. Cook just until peas soften, about 10 minutes. Cool mixture to room temperature if serving cool. Otherwise, proceed.

Puree the pea mixture to desired consistency. Stir in buttermilk or créme fraiche and correct seasonings.

Ladle the soup into shallow bowls, garnish with the remaining mint leaves. Serve hot or cool.

Serves 4.

pear & white cheddar tartlets

Preheat oven to  400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Arrange pastry squares on parchment. Brush LIGHTLTY with egg wash. Top with pears, cheddar, thyme and pepper. Bake in hot oven, about 12-15 minutes, until golden and puffed. Remove from oven; drizzle with truffle honey if using, cut in half diagonally. Serve hot.

Serves 8.

I love limoncello and spring means icy sips of just finished, golden yellow nectar! I like to make my own, with this recipe, or with Chef Judy Witts Francini’s recipe, which is a bit faster. 

Limoncello

I like to use organic Meyer lemons for this recipe – no worries about pesticides on the zest, and terrific flavor!

Wash and dry the lemons, making sure that lemons are cleaned to remove any pesticides, dirt, or fertilizer chemicals, Using a potato peeler, peel just the yellow part of the skin off the lemons. Make sure you have NO white pith on the back of the peels, because this causes bitterness in the finished liqueur. Larger pieces of peel are easier to deal with later in the process.

Put the lemon peels into a gallon jar; pour the bottle of Everclear and the bottle of vodka over and stir gently. Cover tightly and put away in a cool (not cold) dark place for alcohol to extract oils from peels, creating an infusion. 

Day 10, 20, 30:

Gently stir lemon peels to refresh exposure to alcohol. Return to cool, dark place. 

Day 40:

Gently stir lemon peels. Scoop out one of the larger peels and test flexibility. If peel breaks like a potato chip, you will move on to the next step. If peel is still flexible enough to bend without breaking, return to cool dark place and try again in another week. 

Step two:

Day 40:

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Set syrup aside to cool. It must be room temp before adding to infusion. Using a very fine sieve, strain out the lemon peels from the alcohol mixture. Return filtered infusion to jar and add COOLED syrup. Pour into small bottles with tightly fitting lids. Return the bottles to cool dry place for 40 days to begin mellowing process that combines alcohol infusion with syrup to create limoncello.

Day 80:

Place a bottle of limoncello into the freezer for about 8 hours, to become icy cold. Enjoy!

I like to store my limoncello in the freezer, so it’s ready anytime. We also make grapefruit and blood orange ‘cellos’ using this recipe.

Once again, I have been offered the challenge to create recipes to pair with newly released wines from Brian Carter Cellars in Woodinville, WA. Always a big fan of Brian’s wines, I am eager to create. Here is one of the recipes I have developed for Brian’s new release, 2011 Oriana. The wine is a dynamic blend of Viognier, Roussane and Reisling, crisp acidity, fruity. I think it is a great match for this Asian dish.

Heat oil in heavy large shallow pot over low heat. Add garlic, shallots, lemongrass, Thai chile, red bell pepper, lime zest and curry paste. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add coconut milk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 10 minutes.

Stir in lime and orange juice, season with salt and pepper to taste. Return to heat, and bring to boil. Add mussels. Cover and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cook until mussels open. Ladle into bowls atop Jasmine rice. Garnish with spring onions, cilantro and lime wedges; serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Sounds decadent, right? Well, yes, but it is also delicious, downright effortless,  healthy, low-fat, low glycemic index, and gluten free — and, it doesn’t taste like cardboard. YES!!

In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cooled espresso. Let stand to bloom, 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, put cocoa powder into a medium saucepan. Add two or three tablespoons of the almond milk, and stir to blend into a smooth mixture. Stir in the remaining almond milk. Place the pan over medium heat, until seam begins to rise and small bubbles appear around the edges.  Remove the mixture from the heat; stir in the softened gelatin and your sweetener of choice, then add the vanilla. Pour into small serving bowls, and chill until set, about 45 minutes. 

A yummy treat for lunch or my favorite — watching football! We love it because it’s not the usual heavy food associated with gridiron groupies, but enough flavor and heft to tame even the most famished fans.

This recipe originated from the recent Do Ahead Divas class with Chef Ricky Flickenger and me — and it was a HUGE hit! So, I wanted to share it with you. Of course, it ‘s even quicker and easier with a roast chicken from the supermarket,  … and you can skip the steps in the first paragraph to save time!

In a shallow skillet, bring to a boil enough water to almost cover the chicken. Add the breasts and salt to taste and simmer the chicken over moderately low heat for 8 minutes, or until cooked through but still slightly springy to the touch. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let cool. Cut into dice.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken with the mangoes, green onions, lime zest and half of the juice. Add the mayonnaise and spices, and gently fold the mixture until it is well combined. May be prepared 1 day in advance to this point. Cover and refrigerate until ready to continue.

Toss the avocado with the remaining lime juice, then gently fold it into the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Split Hawaiian rolls, fill with salad mixture. Garnish with chili powder and pepitas.

I love risotto at this time of year, creamy, comforting, and this particular recipe is so very elegant. It was inspired by a favorite dish from Vicki McCaffrey’s fare at the now defunct Yarrow Bay Grill …  I plan to serve it tonight with the sizzling salt & pepper shrimp!

In small saucepan, heat chicken stock just to simmer; cover and keep hot. 

In medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion and salt, sauté just until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. While stirring, add rice, pouring it in “like rain,” so that each grain is separate. Continue sautéing and stirring about 4 minutes more. Rice will become slightly more opaque.  

Add champagne and grapefruit zest, stirring. As you stir, drag the spoon across the bottom of the pan; when you can see the dry pan at the bottom as you drag the spoon across, add about ¹?4 cup of the hot stock. It is important not to let the rice dry out at this point. Continue cooking and stirring. Each time you see the dry pan add about ¹?4 cup of stock until all of the stock has been added. Continue with grapefruit juice. This process will take about 20 minutes. Taste for doneness. The risotto should be slightly chewy in the center, or “al dente” as the Italians call it. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Correct the seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately if at all possible. If you must prepare this dish a few minutes in advance, keep warm, and stir in about 3 tablespoons of stock to restore the consistency before serving.

Makes 4 side dish servings.  

This recipe is a family favorite, quick, easy, and ohh, so delicious! It is from a place I visited many years ago in Hong Kong.

 Clean and devein shrimp, leaving tails on. Rinse under cold running water, then pat well dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar and chili powder.

Heat a wok over high heat to VERY HOT. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil, add the garlic and sliced chile. Sir fry for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and 1 tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until the shrimp just begin to turn pink. Swirl in the remaining oil, add the salt mixture, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes more, until the shrimp are just cooked. Stir in the scallions.

**Do not double recipe, prepare in multiple batches if necessary.