Ribeye and Roasted Fennel

I love fennel. I only discovered it about 2 years ago but with the nasty weather outside and tons of wrapping to get accomplished, I decided to stay in on Saturday night, and I wanted fennel. During my trip to the grocery store I also decided I wanted a nice juicy slab of red meat. I decided on a ribeye. I cut the fennel bulb into chunks along with carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes and mixed them all with olive oil, dried oregano, dried basil, salt and lots of fresh ground pepper and roasted them for about 30 minutes. The ribeye, however, became the star of the meal. I followed Alton Brown's method of cooking and it turned out to be absolutely the best meat I've tasted...and maybe the best meal I've had in a very long time! Alton's method is as follows: Let the meat come to room temperature (takes about 20+ minutes). Place a cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 until the pan is almost smoking hot. Oil the meat with an oil that doesn't burn easily (vegetable or peanut oil....do not use olive oil) and A LOT of salt and freshly ground pepper. Take the skillet out and place it on high heat on the stove top. Put the meat in the dry pan and sear for 30 seconds on each side. Return the meat and pan to the 500 degree oven and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side in the oven. 2 minutes gave me medium rare....I prefer medium so I cooked mine about 3 minutes per side. Take the meat out of the skillet and cover for 3-5 minutes. Ohhhh sooo incredibly yummy and juicy.....and so quick and easy!

Butternut Squash

Who knew a squash commonly used for decoration could be so darned versatile? Not me, that's for sure. Having my new found bravery for trying things I would normally avoid, I broke down and bought a butternut squash....yes just one, one seems to really go a long way, AND they are rather pricey at close to $3 for one squash. But after seeing Giada make a butternut squash soup and feeling the cool crispness in the air, I decided the soup sounded heavenly. I do believe it was the easiest thing I've ever cooked and ohhh so tasty. Here's the modified recipe from Giada from her show Giada at Home:

Butternut Squash Soup
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1 tblsp olive oil
1 butternut squash cut into cubes
Fresh sage chopped (about 1/4 c)
1 onion diced
2 carrots diced
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
6 cups of chicken stock (preferably homemade)
Splash of heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the butter and olive oil and add the onions and carrots. Cook until the carrots are tender. Add the squash and the garlic and cook for minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the sage and cook until the veggies are tender about 20-30 minutes. Add the cream, salt, and pepper (to taste) and cook for a few more minutes. Turn heat off and blend the veggies with either an immersion blender or food processor (in batches). I like to leave some of the veggies a little chunky just because I like it a little rustic, but if you want a smooth, pureed soup then by all means blend the heck out of it. Serve with crostini topped with the fresh sage, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper and baked until browned.

If you used store-bought chicken stock, you may want to add other seasonings when you add the sage (basil, thyme, oregano, etc.).

Other things to do with butternut squash:
cut into cubes, top with grated ginger, butter, salt, pepper, olive oil, ground cloves, cinnamon, brown sugar and bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes and serve.

Halloween 2009

Why is it that there's something barbaric, yet oddly satisfying about cooking an animal over an open fire in one's back yard? While I've never cooked one, I do love to eat of the meat. Enter Joe, our friend who dubbed himself a "Sow Chef" for his halloween costume. Joe cooked one at Susan's for Halloween, Sat night. The funniest part is that while discussing how to decorate for Halloween at her house I said, "We need scary stuff." Susan's reply, "My God, we have a dead pig over a fire in the back yard....how much scarier can you get?" Needless to say, the dead pig meat was incredible.

New Love

I've got a new love and his name is BRIOCHE. Yes he's French, and he's messy, and he requires a lot of attention, but geez, how have I escaped making and eating this wonderfully delicious bread for so long? After years of baking bread I always skipped the recipes and pages from cookbooks that even looked like they hinted at the word "brioche" for fear that I just may not be able to commit, but after reading a recent article in Bon Appetit magazine on how to conquer the fear of brioche, I decided I could handle it. So, on a rainy weekend I committed, and it proved to be the best relationship I've ever been in....and the best part? My son loves brioche too.

Andrea's Visit

My friend Andrea, her husband Mike, and I have been friends for over 20 years. She loves scones and every time I see a recipe for scones I think of her. Last weekend I watched Giada's new show and she was making strawberry rosemary scones and I knew I had to make them for Andrea who was coming to my house today. The scones were great but the glaze, not so much. The scones had such a very refreshing subtle hint of fresh rosemary (which happens to be my favorite scent) and the slight sweetness from the strawberry jam on top. We both agreed, however, that the lemon flavor from the glaze would be better suited as lemon zest in the dough instead of in the glaze.

The recipe below has been modified from Giada's Strawberry and Rosemary Scone recipe from a recent show:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup strawberry jam or jelly
  
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, salt and butter in a food processor until coarse. Place the mixture in a bowl and stir in the cream. Roll the dough onto a floured surface and roll to 1/2 inch thick. With a cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out the scones and place on a baking sheet. Make a small indention in the top of each scone and fill with strawberry jam. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Tex Mex Night at Susan's New House

My friend Susan and I love to cook and often host dinner parties at one of our homes. Our most recent menu was a Tex Mex theme dinner at Susan's beautiful new home. Susan made chicken enchiladas (adapted from a Tyler's Ultimate), guacamole (which I watched her whip up in less than 5 minutes while telling me the latest gossip...no recipe so I'm not sure what she added but it was awesome), and 5 layer Mexican dip that my son could devour in less than 2 seconds flat. I made a spicy rice recipe adapted from Ingrid Hoffman's Black Beans and Rice, guacamole vegetable salad from Ina the Great, and mini-chocolate meringue cupcakes drizzled with chocolate.

Advice from an ex

I have often told people, and it's true, that I learned to cook from the men in my life (sorry Mom). My ex-husband is an incredible cook and has a very creative sense about him and rarely follows a recipe, a trait of which I am very jealous and one that I see in my son when he cooks. My last boyfriend opened me up to meats that I had never even eaten, much less thought of cooking, for example, thick slabs of pork and beef....lamb and duck. Gone were the days of just cooking chicken and fish. After our break-up, my ex-boyfriend told me once that he had cooked an elaborate meal for himself, which I found odd. When I asked him why his answer was "why not?" He said that he cooked to escape the boredom of his new found single status (yes we are still friends...I just can't learn to hate my ex's). Having time on my hands that I haven't always had, I took his advice and returned to cooking as well. I learned to try dishes I would have feared in the past and have found it to be a very rewarding hobby.