Sherry Mac ‘n’ Cheese, served with a Lynfred 2010 Pinot Grigio!
Well, we’ve been doing this blog for going on four years now (craziness), and I’ve been wanting to switch things up a bit to make it easier on me and to just have some different things on here. I know, many will say “make a MONTHLY blog EASIER? Come on, you slacker!” but believe it or not it’s a lot of work to get everything together…I don’t know how you daily bloggers do it. Anyways some changes:
-no more ingredients pictures. It doesn’t really add anything and it frees up a picture space..
-gonna try for 6 pictures each recipe, each one representing some part of the cooking process from start to finish.
-keeping the recipes in their original formats.
-we tried one time to post what we were listening to while cooking the meal, gonna start that up again.
OK, so on to the recipe! This one was relatively simple compared to some others we’ve done. Standard mac ‘n’ cheese casserole, but adding the sherry (we threw in quite a bit more than the recipe called for) does give it a different taste…you can really taste the sherry.
Just a couple of things to note: don’t forget to dot the top of your bread crumbs with butter if it’s not already buttered! I always forget to do that and the bread crumbs don’t crust onto the top like they should. Also, don’t use low sodium and fat free foods to make your recipes which is what we tried here. It never works out exactly right. Other than that not much to say, really good comfort food here! Also coming this month: Risotta Alla Milanese.
Listening to: The Hunter’s Lullaby by Raine Maida
Sherry Mac ‘n Cheese
Recipe from the Kitchen of Diane Koehler, Tasting Room Manager
Ingredients
· 3 T butter
· 2 T flour
· 1/4 cup minced onion
· 1 3/4 cup chicken stock
· 1/4 cup dry sherry
· 2-3 cups grated mild Wisconsin Cheddar
· 4 cups cooked macaroni
· salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste
· buttered bread crumbs to top (optional, but tastefully necessary)
Method
Preheat oven to 375. In a large cooking pot, melt the butter & stir in the flour until smooth & incorporated. Add onion, chicken stock, & sherry. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils & thickens, about 10 minutes.
Add Cheddar, stirring over low heat until melted & smooth. Add cooked macaroni, stirring to coat. Turn into a buttered casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes, topping with the buttered bread crumbs at the last 5 minutes of cooking.
*Can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, keeping the bread crumbs separate until ready to bake. Cover tightly with plastic wrap & store in refrigerator. Before baking, preheat oven to 375 & allow prep to come to room temperature first. Serve with a glass (or three) of our delicious Petite Verdot! [ed.note - yeah I know, we didn’t drink it with the Petite Verdot, that’s because we didn’t have any]
Papparedelle Arrabiata di Guiseppe, served with a 2007 Cabernet Syrah Reserve!
So after going so long without having a top 20 breakthrough, we have 2 in two months! See ya, Minty Lamb Skewers!
The meal this month as Pappardelle Arrabiata di Guiseppe. I’ve mentioned this before, but the last time this meal come up we actually didn’t do it for whatever reason, so resolved for sure to make it. Also the recipe seemed slightly different from the last time (although I think the ingredients were the same). Anywho, if you’re look for a great pasta dish with sauce made from scratch this is a definite must to be into your rotation. Items and recipe below…and please recommend us if you’d be so kind.
ITEMS!
! As mentioned in previous post, pappardelle is a type of wide fettucini. I couldn’t find it anywhere, so we used fettucini.
! The recipe calls for 2-3 teaspoons red pepper flakes. I would suggest 3 only if you reallly like spicy food. During the process of cooking the sauce, the red pepper flakes infuse throughout the sauce, so it’s important that you don’t put too much in…start with 1 to 1.5 and pepper the top after you’re done if it’s still not spicy enough to you.
! After adding the tomatoes and allowing to cook down, feel free to mash them around a bit to speed up the process. I’m a notoriously impatient cook so that’s what I did and it worked very well.
! Item from original recipe: If you’d like to give the red pepper flakes a jump start, toast them dry in a separate small sauté pan and then add them to the developing sauce.
! Item 2 from original recipe: *Note: pappardelle noodles - as with ANY pasta - are fun and easy to make [ed.note, I’ve never tried so can’t vouch for how fun or easy it actually is]. Score yourself a good recipe for pasta dough and make your own; if you have a little extra time!
Recipe from the Private Kitchen of Lynfred Chef Joe Hetman INGREDIENTS 1 - In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pappardelle noodles to package directions. Once the pasta is al dente, drain all but a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Set aside back in the stock pot.
Makes as many servings as a pound of pasta makes (that’s what we used)
1 package pappardelle noodles
2 (15 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1/4 cup red wine
handful fresh chopped parsley, basil, and tarragon
1 large shallot, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2-3 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
2 - While the pasta is cooking, sweat the garlic and shallot in olive oil.
3 - As the heat comes up, hit the pan with the red wine and reduce.
4 - Add in the whole peeled tomatoes as well as their juices. Allow to cook down and let the flavors integrate.
5 - Next, add in the tomato puree. Whisk together and let cook for a few minutes to thicken up.
6 - Add in the red pepper flakes, and drop the heat to medium-low. Let the sauce simmer to REALLY get the heat going.
7 - Next, whisk in the olive oil. Let cook for a few minutes. Finish the sauce with your fresh herbs.
8 - Once you feel that your sauce has developed the flavors you like, simply pour it into the stock pot with the awaiting pappardelle. Gently toss with a pair of tongs. Plate up and enjoy!
Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon, served with a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon!
As the name suggests, if you like macaroni and (lots of) cheese and bacon, you’re going to love this dish.
Along with starting a weekly Tuesday post and hopefully ramping up from there in October, I’ve really gotta start taking notes while we’re cooking the meals instead of trying to remember them afterwards. Also, if you check out our actual page you’ll see our top 20 Favorite recipes. Well, since I’m blanking in the overall impression section, if you’d like to recommend us, please do so here.
Coming today as well, wine history and info.
On to the items!
ITEMS!
1 - Make absolutely sure your bacon is nice and crispy before moving on. And the thicker the bacon, the better.
2 - I personally thought there were too many bread crumbs in this recipe. Next time I’m probably going to use about a half a cup less, maybe even more than that. Ah forget it, cover it with bacon!
3 - As you can see from the pictures, this just baaaaarely fit our 16x9x2…so if you have one slightly bigger, I’d use that instead.
4 - There are many names for Fontina cheese, so look them up before shopping in case you can’t find something exactly named Fontina. The taste of the Fontina right out of the packaging is very swiss cheesy, but adding the other ingredients and cooking brings the taste down quite a bit…so if you don’t like the taste of it right away, don’t worry.
Recipe from the Private Kitchen of Lynfred Chef Chris Smith
Makes many, many servings
INGREDIENTS
1 - 4 cups large elbow macaroni (about 11 ounces) - we used one medium box (see ingredients picture)
12 thick-cut bacon slices, diced
3 cups fresh coarse breadcrumbs made from French bread
1 cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups (packed) grated Fontina cheese
DIRECTIONS
1 - Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 - Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
3 - Cook macaroni in heavy large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse and drain again.
4 - Cook bacon in heavy large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes.
5 - Transfer bacon and 1/4 cup pan drippings to large bowl.
6 - Add breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup parsley to bacon; toss to coat.
7 - Add minced garlic to remaining pan drippings in pot and sauté over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
8 - Add flour and whisk 3 minutes.
9 - Gradually whisk in whole milk, then egg yolks, salt and pepper. Cook until mixture thickens, whisking constantly, about 12 minutes.
10 - Add 2 cups Fontina cheese and remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese; whisk until cheeses melt. Remove from heat.
11 - Mix in macaroni and remaining 1/4 cup parsley. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups Fontina.
12 - Transfer macaroni mixture to prepared dish. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead).
13 - Cover macaroni and breadcrumb mixtures separately and refrigerate.
14 - Before continuing, bake refrigerated macaroni mixture, covered, at 350°F until just heated through; about 30 minutes.)
15 - Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over macaroni mixture. Bake just until topping is golden, about 15 minutes.
16 - Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Pad Siew, served with Lynfred Kiwi Rose!
We’ve been doing these great recipes for a few years now, so it’s often rare that we come on something new that we haven’t cooked yet (in terms of ingredients) or processes we haven’t bulled through yet (see the smashing of the steak during the Italian Roulade).
However, with this Pad Siew recipe, we tried wok cooking for the first time. It was really nerve-wracking and fast, but overall it rocked, and so did this recipe! It’s so good it’s going into our active rotation for regular dinners, lunch, snacks, second breakfast, and so on.
Some notes:
1 - As mentioned above, wok cooking is FAST. Have EVERYTHING measured out so you can just dump them into the wok as you’re going crazy mixing everything around.
2 - Add more broccoli.
3 - The recipe calls for 2 different types of soy sauce, but we were unable to find them. However, we used normal soy sauce and it was still delicious.
4 - Keep stirring! High heat is essential to this dish, so you must move quickly.
Also, as always, if you’d like to recommend Lynfred for the food directory, please do so here.
Recipe from the Private Kitchen of Lynfred Chef Janaki
Makes lots and lots of servings but everyone is just going to pig out on it so you can’t make too much.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 pack of fresh wide rice noodles (chow fun)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. chicken broth
¼ c. thin soy sauce
¼ c. sweet soy sauce
¼ c. distilled white vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
2-3 c. chopped gai lan (Chinese broccoli) or regular broccoli
Freshly ground black pepper for serving
DIRECTIONS
1 - Slice chicken breasts thinly.
2 - Cut noodles into wide strips or if pre-packaged, prepare noodles.
3 - Chop broccoli roughly.
4 - In a wok over high heat, drizzle a little oil around the outside.
5 - When the oil is sizzling, add your chicken breast strips and stir quickly so as to avoid burning.
6 - When chicken is partially cooked, add eggs, stirring to break the yolks and constantly scraping so as to avoid burning.
7 - While eggs are still slightly liquid, add noodles, chicken broth, both soy sauces, white vinegar, and sugar.
8 - Cook and stir until noodles are soft and all liquid has been absorbed; serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper over the top if desired.
A note about fresh chow fun: they like to stick together. Rather than fight them, make sure they’re thoroughly immersed in the cooking liquid; as they steam and begin to cook through, they’ll come apart on their own. While they’re still mostly uncooked, they can be stirred roughly and they won’t break, but as they become softer, you’ll have to be more gentle with them or they will break apart on you.
Beef Stroganoff, served with a 2007 Zinfandel!
Okay, never had beef stroganoff before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. One thing is for sure though: I don’t know how to cook egg noodles and I don’t know what the consistency was supposed to be. So therefore I think the noodles came out a lot sloppier than they should have…they also might have been overcooked. These type of noodles might be part of stroganoff but next time we’re probably going to serve them with a regular wide, flat noodle. It’s not possible to screw that up, right? Anyways, if you haven’t cooked egg noodles before, read the packaging and directions carefully. Because I cooked them like I cook regular pasta, and that just didn’t work.
The beef portion of the stroganoff, however, was DELICIOUS. Up until the very end, it seems like just a normal beef stew, but adding the sour cream is what seems to give it its trademark look and taste. Very good overall, but like I said, regular noodles next time. That or rice.
Zinfandel info being posted shortly.
Recipe from Private Kitchen of Lynfred Chef Chris Smith
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 (16 oz) pkg egg noodles
2 T butter, softened
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8 oz) pkg fresh white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound beef loin steak, cut into strips
1 (14 oz) can beef consommé or beef stock
1/4 cup red wine (optional)
3 T lemon juice
2 T all-purpose flour
2 T cold water (add more as/if needed)
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
DIRECTIONS
1 - Fill a large pot with water, lightly salted. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook 5-7 minutes.
2 - Melt butter in a large sauce pan over med-high heat. Stir in onions and garlic, cooking until slightly tender.
3 - Add in mushrooms, cooking for another 2 minutes.
4 - Place steak strips in the sauce pan and cook for about 1 minute.
5 - Mix in red wine, beef stock, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
6 - Blend flour with cold water in a small bowl.
7 - Reduce heat to low, and slowly pour in the flour/water mixture while stirring continuously.
8 - Gradually return sauce pan mixture to a boil while stirring rapidly, until sauce has thickened and is smooth.
9 - Cover sauce pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10 - Remove from heat, let cool slightly, & then stir in sour cream. Serve with egg noodles. (NOTE: see above on egg noodles).
Black Trumpet Mushroom Ravioli, served with a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon!
Ok, so we didn’t actually make the ravioli this month, but we decided that if we don’t make the meal, the recipes should still be posted with the wine info. It was the turkey that threw everything off. So without further ado:
Recipe from the Private Kitchen of Lynfred Chef Joe Hetman
INGREDIENTS
1 package pasta skins *
1 6-8 oz container ricotta cheese
1 pound black trumpet mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon creamed garlic
1 tablespoon minced red bell pepper
2 slices prosciutto, chopped
egg and water, for egg wash
fresh sage leaves
1 pound butter
* Pasta skins can be found in the freezer section or you may use a homemade pasta recipe. Won ton wrappers may be substituted.
DIRECTIONS
1 - In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mushrooms, garlic, bell pepper, and prosciutto.
2 - Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3 - In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with a few tablespoons of water to create an egg wash.
4 - Lay out your pasta skins (or freshly made rolled out pasta) and, using a small spoon, portion out your mixture among every other pasta sheet.
5 - Brush the edges with egg wash, and come back through by placing the empty pasta skins on top of the filling; seal the edges closed using your fingers.
6 - Pinch them shut by using the end of a fork to crimp closed. Place on a sheet and set in the fridge to rest.
7 - Get a pot of water on for the ravioli; once to a boil, season with salt.
8 - In a large skillet, gently melt the butter. As it melts, add the sage leaves in to infuse (tip: before placing the leaves in the melting butter, twist them to let some of the aromatics and oils out). Keep an eye on this, so as it does not turn brown.
9 - Take your ravioli out of the fridge and hit them with the boiling salted water.
10 - When they float to the top, they are cooked. Using a slotted spoon, take them out of the water and onto a platter.
11 - Removing the sage leaves first, follow by pouring the melted infused butter among the ravioli.
12 - Garnish with minced parsley and fresh sage.
Wine Information
Aroma: Warm aromas of cinnamon, hazelnuts and cassis capture winter memories.
Palate: Full-bodied with flavors of dried plums, berries and warm spices. A velvety and balanced finished.
Foods: Delicious with lamb kabobs, prime rib, Gorgonzola, dark chocolate, venison, mushrooms, lentils and walnuts.
Pappardelle Arrabiata di Giuseppe, served with a 2006 Merlot!
Well, OK, that’s what it was supposed to be. And if I’d taken the time to look it up Pappardelle is a type of wide fettuccine (I included a picture).
So instead we made steak with a side of cavatappi. However, because it seemed like a really good recipe for making pasta sauce from scratch, I included the original here.
INGREDIENTS
1 package pappardelle noodles
Two 15 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1/4 cup red wine
Handful fresh chopped parsley, basil, and tarragon
1 large shallot, minced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
2-3 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1 - Cook noodles.
2 - Sweat garlic and shallot in olive oil.
3 - Add red wine and reduce heat.
4 - Add in tomatoes and juices.
5 - Add tomato puree and whisk together, cooking for a few minutes to thicken.
6 - Add in red pepper flakes and drop heat to medium low.
7 - Let sauce simmer for a few minutes.
8 - Add the herbs and toss with the noodles.
“Not Your Mom’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese”, served with a 2007 Viognier!
What this really was was sorta like a cheese and pasta casserole topped with an tasty layer of Ritz crackers and butter. Probably in my top 3 favorites.
The crazy expensive Manchego cheese makes another appearance as the base cheese here, but again I’m sure any cheese would have worked. Also, in case anyone hasn’t had leeks, after cooking they have an oniony taste. Very good.
The poor quality of the pictures in this post is because we forgot the camera.
The wine is pronounced “vee-oh-nyay”.
Makes 6-8 servings
Recipe from Lynfred Chef Chris Smith
Adapted from a recipe from Food and Wine magazine
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup butter
1 bunch of leek greens, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sour cream
10 oz Manchego cheese
1 pound fusili pasta (or pasta of your choice)
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1 - Preheat oven to 350.
2 - Melt 2 tbsp butter in large skillet.
3 - Add the leeks and cook over high heat until wilted…should only take a few minutes.
4 - Season with salt and pepper and cook on low (very low) for about 20 minutes. If leeks start to turn dark, remove from heat.
5 - In a large saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add flour and cook over moderate high heat, whisking for 2 minutes.
6 - Add the half and half and bring to a boil, whisking until thickened (about 5 minutes).
7 - Remove from heat and add 2 cups of the cheese and the sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Whisk the cheese sauce until melted.
8 - In a large saucepan cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and combine pasta, leeks, and cheese sauce and stir well.
9 - Transfer pasta to at least an 8 x 11 broiler safe baking dish and sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese on top, then crush ritz crackers and combine with melted remaining butter.
10 - Top cheese layer with cracker layer.
11 - Bake 40 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes.
12 - Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Mushroom and Thyme Orzo, served with a 2007 Chenin Blanc!
The recipe calls for certain type of mushrooms, and I know I’m making some imaginary mycophile somewhere have fits, but I couldn’t find the mushrooms the recipe called for, so I substituted a mixture of 3 or 4 kinds I could find at the store.
Never had orzo before, but it wasn’t too bad. This would probably be more of a side dish than a main course though. I would also suggest doing some spices on this to your own taste because it could be (at least ours was) a little bland.
Makes 2-4 servings
Recipe from the private kitchen of Lynfred Chef Joe Hetman
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dried porcinini mushrooms (about 1 ounce)
2 sprigs fresh time
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups mixed wild mushrooms, washed, dried, and chopped (about 4 ounces)
Pinch of salt
Couple grinds of fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons dry vermouth
1 1/2 cups orzo
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
DIRECTIONS
1 - To prepare mushroom stock, in a small pot immerse porcinis into about 4 1/2 cups of water and add the sprigs of thyme.
2 - Bring mixture to a boil and then remove from heat for about 5 minutes.
3 - For the orzo, heat olive oil in medium saucepot.
4 - Add onion and cook over low heat until it softens.
5 - Add wild mushrooms and stir. Saute on medium heat until mushrooms brown.
6 - Season with salt and pepper and keep mixing until mushrooms have reduced and colored.
7 - Take the pan off the heat and add vermouth. Stir and then add back to heat until a sauce forms at bottom of pan.
8 - Remove again, add orzo, mix well.
9 - Remove thyme sprigs from mushroom stock and throw out.
10 - Add mushroom stock to orzo mixture.
11 - Return to heat and bring to a low boil, stirring well.
12 - Turn heat down to low and keep at a low bubble for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
13 - The orzo is done when it’s swelled, tender, but still a bit al dente. Keep orzo wet before serving.
14 - Remove pot from heat. Add butter and mix well.
15 - Add cheese, parsley and thyme and mix well.
16 - Serve with spices and top with more cheese and parsley if desired.
