Art-inspired Dinner 2 - Oct 2013

So fun. So delicious.

A Vietnamese style caprese with grape tomatoes,
fresh mozzarella, cucumber, basil, spicy meatballs over
a bed of rice noodles in tomato water
(inspired by John Chamberlain's auto metalsculpture)

A mixed greens salad with grapes, marcona almonds and
shaved manchego with a grape/sherry/balsamic vinaigrette in a
romaine lettuce leaf
(inspired by Dale Chihuly's glass art
 in boats)

Fresh squid pasta with meatballs
(inspired by Adolph Gottlieb's work
like Pink High)

Salted caramel ice cream with caramel shards
(inspired by Robert Smithson's work
like Mirror and Shelly Sand)

Steak Cuts - Hanger, Skirt and Flank

I was flipping through back issues of Bon Appetit Magazine pulling out recipes and had flagged p. 24 of their June 2013 issue.  I think they did a good job explaining the following 3 cuts of meat:

• HANGER STEAK:  Off-the-charts flavor.  Just add a marinade and a charcoal grill.
• SKIRT STEAK:  Traditionally used for fajitas; also great as a main-course steak.  Serve with a bracing, herbaceous sauce like chimichurri.
• FLANK STEAK:  Very lean, so the high heat of the grill is ideal for a hot, smoky sear.

Recipe: Strozzapreti with Spinach and Preserved Lemon

The Strozzapreti with Spinach and Preserved Lemon recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine (Sept 2013, p. 139 - photo is on p. 134) caught my eye.

Overall, we sort of followed the recipe.
Here's what we did differently:

• Added hot Italian sausage, sauteed onion and mushrooms
• Used dried Italian trottole pasta (fun curly pasta)
• Used an entire bag (10 oz) of spinach
• Didn't use preserved lemon peel

It was a GREAT hearty dish that we will definitely make again!

Recipe: Cider-Poached Apples with Candied Walnuts, Rum Cream, and Cider Syrup

We made this Cider-Poached Apples with Candied Walnuts, Rum Cream and Cider Syrup for friends we had over for dinner.

It was overall pretty good, but I would make the following changes next time:

• Rather than poaching the apples in apple cider, I prefer this recipe from Bon Appetit that poaches the apples in red wine, orange juice, cinnamon, etc.
• Insider of the cider syrup, make some homemade caramel to drizzle over the dessert.
• If you do want to use the cider syrup, make it yourself!  (Don't buy a bottle of boiled apple cider!)  Take about 1 cup of apple cider, boil it, and take it off the heat when it becomes syrupy -- that's it!  All it is = reduced apple cider.
• Add more sugar to the walnut mixture to sweeten it a tad bit.
• Double the amount of rum cream ingredients as noted below.

By the way, the rum cream is amazing.  I'm going to start making it to accompany other desserts.  

Rum Cream

Beat the following ingredients using an electric mixer until you get soft peaks:

• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

A 3-D Printed Dinner

3-D printed architecture models.  3-D printed art.  And now 3-D printed meals?  Is this the future of dining?  I rarely read the Points section in the Dallas Morning News, but this past Sunday, "Dinner is printed" caught my eye.  Check out the article to see what menu items the author and his wife tried for dinner (it's pretty entertaining).

Note:  If the link to the article forces you to sign up for a free trial of the paper, go to Google and search for "dallas morning news 3-d printed meal," and the article should come up in the first search results where you can read the entire article without signing up.

The future uses of this technology is fascinating:

"There’s talk of embedding medicines in meals. In his book Fabricated, Lipson dreams of digitally driven dinners, where the printer uses your body’s up-to-the-minute data to create the perfect lasagna for your nutritional needs, with, say, extra protein or vitamin A.

Junk-food makers hope 3-D printing will allow them to patent a new way to combine salt, sugar and fat. Animal-rights activists hope printers will squeeze out pork chops made from the lab-grown stem cells of pigs. And idealists believe that the technology will help solve world hunger. The hope? We can more efficiently ship powdered food to developing countries, where it can be printed into a variety of meals. A group of Dutch researchers is working on inexpensive bases made from algae and insect protein."

The Greyhound

I admit, I LOVE complex cocktails.  When we go out to restaurants, I often order the craziest drinks that are on the menu . . . drinks that have strange combinations of ingredients (ingredients like thyme, peppercorns, bacon, rhubarb, jalapeno, ginger -- not all of those together, of course, but hey that combination might be interesting).

But as the phrase goes, sometimes less is more and simple is best.  The Greyhound is that go-to drink when I want something simple yet refreshing.  It's grapefruit juice (must must must be freshly squeezed grapefruit) and vodka (Ketel One is my preferred choice).  That's it.

Plus, I get my vitamin C so it's healthy, right?

Starbucks Launches the Duffin

I just read that in the U.K., Starbucks is launching the duffin -- part muffin, part donut, yet another "Franken-pastry" like the cronut.

According to the Business Week article: 
The duffin uses a buttermilk base, and tastes like a moist, cakey muffin, not the coarse, bready type. It looks like a muffin, but it’s filled with raspberry jam and coated in sugar, like a jelly doughnut.

Wonder when it'll make it to the U.S. . . ?

I love blog contributor the grandcruman's creations (though, he hasn't contributed in a while, ahem).  I don't have a recipe to share for this unless he would like to comment on this post with more details!

It's a pan-seared sea bass that was marinated in miso, seasoned rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce (I think that's what he said) served on top of a bed of rice and topped with carrots, celery, cucumber, chives and cilantro.  Cremini mushrooms are in a miso glaze served on the side.

Paired it with a non-sweet riesling, and it was a phenomenal meal!

Recipe: Chocolate Espresso Mousse

Chocolate mousse lovers that also love coffee!  This recipe is for you.

Chocolate Espresso Mousse -- a recipe I happened upon while searching for the best gluten-free desserts for blog contributor FoodFiend's bridal shower.  It turned out quite lovely especially with the addition of the raspberries (raspberries can do the trick as I learned from this article "Wick Allison's Raspberry Secret Is Out").  A dollop of fresh whipped cream would be a nice touch too.

Mousse is quite easy to make.  I mean, the ingredients include just chocolate (make sure to use good quality chocolate), egg yolks, sugar, heavy cream, and in this recipe -- instant espresso powder.  Not a recipe to be scared of making.  And, it's a classy dessert to serve at a dinner party especially if presented in a martini glass or other glassware.