Scallops over Brussels Sprout and Oyster Mushroom Salad

The last time I bought yellow oyster mushrooms I put them in a stir fry and pretty much killed them, they are so delicate that any bit of movement snaps them in half and hides any flavor that they may be coveting...when I was at the farmers market I asked the fungi guy the best way to prepare these and he said that they are great raw (I frowned because I hate raw mushrooms) but also that he liked to prepare them like ceviche...I thought I would give that idea a try, and I am glad I did!

Raw Brussels Sprout Mushroom Salad

what you need:

brussels sprouts

oyster mushrooms (i used yellow)

sweet pepper 

S&P

Dressing:

1T Olive oil

1tsp Honey

1T Lemon juice

Step 1: Slice the brussels sprouts with a mandolin or with a sharp knife.

Step 2: chop the sweet pepper and simply cut mushrooms off of their base.

Step 3: Mix dressing ingredients and toss with salad, put aside for it to marinate.

Scallops

Step 0: Prep Scallops by rinsing and patting completely dry, dust with S&P on both sides.

Step 1: Heat butter in a saute pan, once the butter is light brown in color add scallops on med. to high heat for about 1-2 min. (or until brown and not sticking too much) flip and cook for about 30 sec. remove from direct heat and allow to cook another 30 sec. remove and place on a paper towel. 

Plating:

Add marinated salad, and place seared scallops on top, dress with a mixture of the same dressing mixture as above with some added herbs.

Perfect POM-Pear Almond Tart

The best part about hosting a dinner is the desert at the end. Being in San Francisco we have some of the best pastry chefs in the world here, even the most unfoodie people in San Francisco can taste a wide array of decadent deserts and not think anything of it. So since I kinda cut sugar and gluten out of my life (for the most part) I really wanted to come up with something that would tie together some of the flavors of my POM Wonderful dinner, and still be amusing to even the most snobby of palates.

Follow this recipes three parts, poaching, tart crust and finally the frangipane.

Poached Pears

what you need:

3 Pears

24 oz. POM Wonderful Juice

1/4 C. Red Wine

sprig rosemary

2 cloves

1/4 C. Honey

Zest of 1 Lemon 

Step 1: Peel, and core the pears.

Step 2: In a pot boil the remaining ingredients, let it reduce slightly and then add pears simmer for 20min.

Step 3: Remove Pears and cover with poaching liquid into a tupperware container, place in fridge overnight- rotate for even absorption.

Gluten-Free Tart Crust

what you need:

2 C. Almond Flour

1/4 C. Butter

1 egg white

1/4 tsp. salt

Step 1: Cream butter in a stand mixer and then add flour and salt, blend till smooth add egg white and blend a little bit more.

Step 2: Put mixture into an 8" tart pan and spread evenly.

Step 3: par bake at 400˚ for 10 min. remove and let cool before adding filling.

Frangipane

what you need:

1/2 C. Butter

1/2 C Raw Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 C. Finely ground Almonds

2 T. Amaretto

1 tsp. Almond Extract

1 T. AP Flour (or coconut, rice flour for GF)

Step 1: In a stand mixer cream butter and sugar until fluffy, slowly add beaten egg, ground almonds, amaretto, almond extract and flour, mix till smooth. 

::Assembling your Tart::

Step 0: Pre-heat oven to 350˚

Step 1: Dump mixture into cooled tart shell and spread evenly.

Step 2: Remove your pears from the poaching juice and slice thinly cored end laying flat on your cutting board. Gently press your knife on top of the sliced pears allowing them to fan out, gently scoop them up with a wide blade and set them on top of the frangipane, continue this till the circumference of the tart is covered with the fanned pears. 

Step 3: Add a few Pomegranate Arils in the center of the tart.

Step 4: Place tart in oven and bake for 45min or until the frangipane has puffed up and the crust is a golden brown, remove from oven and let cool.

::Serving your Tart::

Caramel: with the remaining poaching juice reduce about 3/4 C. on the stove and add about 1-2 T of Raw sugar, reduce till it becomes a Caramel.

POM whipped cream: whisk (or with your device of choice) whipping cream with 1 tsp. Almond extract and 1 T. POM Wonderful. 

Cut tart and serve with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel....watch your friends be amazed!

Check my full POM Wonderful dinner party here!

poached pears and frangipane recipe from: cookeatshare.com

POM Braised Lamb Shanks over Israeli Couscous

I don't think there is any more of a perfect meal out there than braised lamb shanks, especially if they are done right...trust me I have had them stone cold and not so tender...these were not those. I braised the shanks for about 7 hours, so defiantly give yourself time....it is totally worth it, no knife required in the end!

I made this for 8, cut in half if making between 2 or 4 shanks.

What you need:

Lamb Shanks 

16 oz. POM Wonderful Juice

1/2 C. Red Wine

5 cloves garlic

3 carrots

3 celery sticks

1 Red Pepper

1 onion

1/2 C. Pomegranate Arils

3 bay leafs 

2 tsp ground cumin

2-3 C. Hot Veggie or Chicken Broth 

S&P

small can of tomato paste

Step 1: Clean and Pat dry Lamb Shanks, cover in S&P.

Step 2: Heat Dutch oven up with and right before you put in shanks add 1 T. EVOO, add shanks and brown on all ends, this took me about 30-45min to do all 8 completely.

Step 3: While browning shanks, give your vegetables a rough chop and throw into food processor, it's done when it looks like baby food.

Step 4: Once Shanks are Browned remove and set aside, wipe out dutch oven, add a bit of EVOO and add vegetable puree, cook it till all of the liquid is gone and the mixture starts to brown, this can take awhile so chillax.

Step 5: Once it's browned add tomato paste and allow that to brown as well, at this point add your seasonings. 

Step 6: Once the tomato mixture has reached a dark color, start to add liquid in small amounts, first the wine and then the POM Wonderful, allowing it to boil and reduce a bit.

  

Step 7: Put Shanks Back into Dutch Oven and add enough stock to cover the Shanks, some sprigs of fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme) shuffle them around and put in oven with lid on.

Step 8: Turn Shanks every 45min. to ensure the braise evenly, they are done once the meat is fork tender and looks like something Fred Flinstone would eat; all the meat on on one side of the bone. I braised my for 7 hours at a low heat 275˚, but you can do it quicker at 375˚. You will also notice the sauce reduce into a gravy consistency. 

When cooking is almost done pull them out and skim off fat that has risen from the top, I managed to get about 1 cup off.

yummers! 

Israeli Couscous

What you need:

Israeli Couscous

Water (1:1.5 to couscous)

1 Lemon Sliced

Dates Chopped

Mint Chopped

1/2-1/2 C. Pomegranate arils

S&P

EVOO

Step 1: Boil water and add lemon slices, S&P and 1 T EVOO.

Step 2: Once boiling add in couscous and remove from heat, let it sit for 10min and absorb.

Step 3: Fluff with fork and add in dates, mint and arils, drizzle with EVOO, add S&P and cumin taste.

Top your Lamb Shank:

Mix chopped mint, lemon zest, and pomegranate arils, place on top of shanks, the heat will combust the oils from the lemon and mint to add to the aroma of your meal!

drizzle with braising liquid and top with mint, lemon mixture.

plate and enjoy this hearty, rustic meal!

View the rest of my POM Wonderful Dinner here!

Garden Grass Fed Meatloaf

Who doesn't love meatloaf?! Well you might not if the only time you eat it, it is served on a Swanson's dinner tray. Personally I am a traditional meatloaf lover, I don't need bacon or cheese or whatever I just want lots of veggies and good meat covered in a tangy sauce...too much to ask for? I think not! From what I was told  "this is the best meatloaf I have ever had" lets see what you think.

what you need:

2 lbs. top quality Grass-fed Beef

1 1/2 C. Organic Oats

3 eggs

Mushrooms

Leek

Spinach

1/2 Onion Diced

2 Cloves Garlic chopped

Pepper

Tomato

Mustard

Tamari or Braggs Liquid Amino

1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder

S&P

Fresh Herbs of choice

1 T EVOO

Glaze

1/2 C. Organic sugar free ketchup or tom. sauce

1/4 C. Molasses

2 T. Apple Cider Vinegar 

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

The measurements for the veggies should all be about 1/4-1/2 C. when Chopped. I am a huge fan of the more the merrier when it comes to sautéing things and usually scarff what ever I don't use while I am waiting for the actual thing I am making to be complete.

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 375˚, Dice Onions and saute till soft in EVOO.

 Step 2: Chop the peppers, mushrooms, leeks and garlic in small uniform pieces and add to the pan, saute for a few min., add a pinch of S&P, chili powder and Cumin.

cook till soft

Step 3: Add Chopped Tomatoes and thinly sliced Spinach to saute pan, cook till most the moisture is out. Set aside and let cool.

beautiful toms

Step 4: In a big bowl whisk eggs, add meat, oats and chopped herbs (parsley, sage, thyme and basil), 1 T Ground Mustard and 1 T Braggs Liquid Amino or Tamari and a pinch of S&P. Mix completely using hands. Stop Complaining there is no other way!

Step 5: Put in a loaf pan. Put loaf pan in oven. Cook for 40 min. or until the internal temp is 160˚. You will notice there won't be much liquid coming out of the loaf unlike when you use grain fed meat. Grass fed is very lean, no need to drain it!

Step 6: Make the glaze by combining all of the "glaze" ingredients and covering the top, cook for another 10min. Once done let cool.

Plate and eat!

Kitchen Tip: If you are only cooking for 1-2 you can easily portion half of it and freeze the other half. This was enough for dinner and lunch the next day. Just cover the pan in plastic wrap and put what looks like half of the meat into it and wrap it up, put in freezer. Now you have meatloaf for another time. Just place it in the fridge before work and cook for about 1-1.5 hours till its internal temp is at 160˚

Deux Cheese and Green Quiche!

I was having a hankering for quiche last night, and figured what the hell, why don't I try and make my own. Never done it before but how hard can it be? I looked online for recipe after recipe and in every cookbook I own, everyone has their different take on it. One thing I did realize that cream is usually used and anywhere from 2-4 eggs. Since I wanted the richness of cream but not cream I used whole milk and a few dollops of goat cheese to thicken it up. I got a pretty clear consensus that my quiche kicked some major taste bud butt! 

Crust! Prepare a pie crust before you start this, here is my recipe it's pretty simple and the steps can be done while you are sautéing and custarding. Remember you will want to par bake your crust at 400˚ for about 10 min. and let it cool before adding the filling. You can cheat and use a box, but essentially making one from scratch will be about the same amount of time, and you will be putting less unknown ingredients into your body.

What you need for the filling:

1 1/2 C. Whole Milk

Bunch of Spinach

Bunch of Kale or other Green

1 Leek

Pepper

Mushrooms

3 Large Eggs or 4 small

1 Tomato

1 Clove Garlic

1 oz. Goat Cheese

1/2 C. Cheddar (or cheese of choice)

S&P

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

mixed fresh herbs of choice (parsley, thyme, oregano, marjoram, sage)

EVOO

Step 0: Pre-heat oven to 375˚ and start your pie crust.

Step 1: Chop and rinse Leeks and saute in 1 T EVOO, once they are soft add garlic. DON'T BURN!

Step 2: Add Chopped Mushrooms, peppers and greens (cut greens into thin ribbons and rinse well) to the saute pan a pinch of S&P, cook till all of the excess water is out. In the meantime start the custard.

Step 3: The Custard! Gently whisk Eggs, then lightly mix together Goat Cheese, Milk and Herbs S&P and Nutmeg.

Step 4: Building! On a cooled Pie Crust sprinkle some shredded cheese on the bottom, then add sauteed green mixture, more cheese and then the custard. 

crust, cheese, greens, cheese

custard on top

Step 5: Put in oven for 30 min. when the quiche is at the 20min. mark remove and place sliced tomatoes on top, sprinkle with pepper. Put back in oven for the remaining time or until it is brown and firm to the touch.

out of the oven par cooked

par cooked with tomatoes

Step 6: Remove from oven and cool, slice and serve with a salad to someone you love!

cooling

ready to eat!

 and for your listening enjoyment my favorite song about Quiche!