The first of this year's Thanksgiving posts

I've decided to make it a tradition to make useful Thanksgiving/holiday posts every November so here's the first for this year....http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/healthy-thanksgiving-side-dishes?xid=DISH110812HealthyThanksgivingSideDishes


Also, see my May 2012 pomegranate molasses sauce for use with venison, lamb or beef...I did it again recently and was reminded how perfect it is for Fall. 

And speaking of lamb, a new spice rub I discovered tonight is very simple but VERY flavorful and aromatic:

Freshly ground rosemary (one sprig), thyme (one sprig), mustard seed, coriander, cumin, turmeric, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and minced garlic.  Liberally season the lamb chops and let set refrigerated for an hour or so.  

Brown the seasoned lamb on the grill or stove top and finish in the oven at 350 for just a few minutes depending on the thickness of your chops; A nice reduction sauce can be made using the drippings from the pan, deglazed with red wine (a cab or Bordeaux is ideal), shiitake mushrooms, a dash of worcestershire sauce, butter and a little basic flour/water mixture for thickening.  If you've not tried lamb for fear it's too "gamey" I highly recommend you give it a shot.  Just be sure to not over cook and let it rest for about 5" after removing from the oven- a nice mid rare doneness is ideal.

Asian inspired idea for Summer

So I thought I'd end my Summer hiatus by sharing this simple marinade/sauce idea, great for Summer.  Be it grilled chicken, pork or fish this works well and is intensely flavorful.  Whatever marinade is left over can be cooked and use as a sauce or better yet separate into two equal parts, one for each.

Ingredients (I don't have exact measurements as I make these up through trial and error; also depends for how many servings you're cooking):

freshly grated or chopped lemongrass
chili pepper
lime juice of one lime
minced garlic
freshly chopped cilantro
freshly grated ginger
one shallot
2 tablespoons honey
EVOO (sesame oil is preferred actually but don't use as much due to its intense flavor)
Thai Kitchen Spicy Mango Chili sauce (Thai Kitchen brand can be found in the Asian section of almost all grocery stores and works well if you want a ready made marinade or sauce; I found just a little worked here)
couple dashes of soy sauce
white wine

I've done this both by simmering and reducing the ingredients in a nonstick sauce pan and draining the solids or just whisking everything in a large bowl and using it as is.  If you do the latter you will want to more finely chop the solids.  If you simmer the ingredients which will reduce and intensify the flavors I would let it cool down to room temp before marinating to prevent any premature cooking of the protein (esp fish). 
Just simmer (NOT boil) and stir until it reduces by half (the wine and lime juice will be the main liquid to reduce). If it gets too thin you could add a littel butter to thicken...do NOT use cornstarch etc as some like to do. Strain and cool.

I found it worked the best with Coho salmon (skin on)  vs chicken, pork or white fish such as tilapia. The uniquely delicious, meaty, intense yet "not fishy" taste of the Coho is complimented very nicely by the sweet and spicy nature of this sauce.

I would marinade in the refrigerator for several hours to even overnight.  Set out for 10 minutes or so before putting on the grill or grill saute pan to avoid temperature shock to the protein.  You can even just bake the salmon in a Pyrex glass baking dish.


Now the important part - alcohol. As for wine pairings, I would suggest a riesling (sweet: Alsace or Germany; dry, Australia) if you prefer a chilled white wine. Riesling pairs consistently well with Asian food.  If you like a medium bodied red I'd go with a pinot noir or Cotes du Rhone.  Of course, as with almost all Asian food, a good beer i.e. Sapporo is always a good bet....especially in Summer!!

Cheers and Bon Appetit!!

Pomegranate Molasses reduction sauce in time for Summer

To remedy yet another long sabatical I thought I'd share a recent sauce I "discovered" (more like modified as it's certainly not completely original).

If you want to try a new sauce for steaks, chops, ribs etc be them venison, beef, or pork try this one.

3/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup port wine (you could substitute a hearty red such as cab or red zinfandel)
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons honey
one whole/unchopped rosemary stalk
two whole/unchopped sage leave stalks
one clove minced garlic
medium size bunch of unchopped parsley
cayenne pepper to taste

Cook your chosen protein as you normally would; grilling, roasting, etc.

Combine the first four ingredients above in a sauce pan (the wider/bigger the better for reducing) and simmer on medium heat not quite to a boil.  Continue reducing and add the remaining four ingredients, making sure to continually stir and avoid a rolling boil. Think "low and slow". 

I don't have a definite amount of time as different pan sizes and desired quantity varies.  I find 30-45 minutes seems to work.   Strain/remove the solids when the sauce reduces by half or a little more. Return the sauce to the pan and turn heat to lowest setting and continue stirring occasionally.  If you want to thicken you could add some butter. To thin it I find  Breckenridge Vanilla Porter or the like does the trick and imparts related flavor. Alternately you could add more wine but I wouldn't add more pomegranate juice unless you really want that flavor. (You could actually modify the ingredients above: cut the wine volume to 1/8 cup and use 1/8 cup Vanilla Porter.)

If you want to use this as a glaze or barbecue-type sauce let it thicken more so.

I also find it works well to marinate the meat in the poma-red wine mixture along with sprinkling it with salt if you want to tenderize/impart the flavors more intensely. 


If you try it let me know what you think.  Bon Appetit'!!