Happy Belated Birthday to Me

Well, last week I celebrated my 28th birthday! It started a few days early with dinner at Fearing's with Brian, my best friend Lauren and her husband Michael who was also celebrating his 28th birthday. It was a fabulous dinner with lots of wine and great food!

My actual birthday falls on the 23rd of December. I have always loved my birthday and love that it is 2 days before Christmas. The season is filled with holiday spirit and warmth and everyone is excited and ready for the best holiday of the year. This year, I really just wanted to relax and cook a fancy dinner for Brian and me. I decided on filet mignon with bearnaise sauce and a potato and brussel sprout hash with a bottle of Silver Oak.

I seared the filets in a super hot cast iron skillet on all sides then transferred it to the oven to finish cooking, then I began the hash and sauce. I have always heard how wonderful bearnaise sauce is with steak, however Brian and I had a really bad experience with tarragon when we were dating and tried to make a nice dinner of tarragon chicken. The licorice flavor was way too strong. I decided to give tarragon a second chance and the bearnaise sauce was incredible. I am so glad I decided to experiement with it. The flavor paired so perfectly with the steak. I know it is such a classic sauce, and I can't believe I have never had it, and if you haven't either...please do!

Bearnaise Sauce (recipe by Tyler Florence)

1 bunch fresh tarragon
2 shallots, minced
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 egg yolks
1 stick butter, melted
salt and freshly ground pepper

Make the bearnaise reduction first. In a small saucepan, combine half of the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Blend yolks and bearnaise reduction together in a blender. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter. Add the remaining half bunch of fresh tarragon leaves, season with salt and pepper and give it 1 more buzz. Set aside in a warm spot to hold the sauce.

A Simple Red Sauce

Tonight is the big Christmas celebration with half of our family. Brian and I are spending the evening with my mom, step dad, 2 step sisters, 2 brother-in-laws, 1 step brother, 2 nieces, 1 niece on the way, and a partridge in a pear tree...

We decided to have a casual evening with a laid back comforting meal. We have had the big turkey with all the sides at Thanksgiving, a ham and all the sides at a family Christmas party last weekend with some of our extended family, and there are many more gatherings on the way with this type of feast on the menu. So...I have volunteered to make a homemade lasagna that makes my mouth water just talking about it with some garlic bread on the side. My mom is preparing the salad and my step sisters are making the desserts.

I decided to prepare the sauce this morning because I love to let it simmer for an hour or so to get nice and thick. It will also make my life that much easier later today when I am ready to build my lasagna.

I absolutely love this sauce. I love altering it every time I make it, depending on the dish. I use it with pastas, on pizza, in casseroles, on chicken parmesan, you name it...it is so versatile.

Start by heating about a 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium high heat. I of course use a Dutch Oven for this, but you can use a large sauce pan of your choice.

Then begin chopping a small onion and a couple cloves of garlic.

I add the onion to the oil once it has heated through and saute it a few minutes before adding the garlic. Saute the onion and garlic until they are translucent. About 5 - 10 minutes.

Chop a carrot and a celery stalk while your onions and garlic are cooking. Quick tip: I like to cut slits in the celery and then chop my pieces all at once. I think it is easier because the strips are still being held together by the stalk.

Add the chopped carrots and celery and some salt and pepper to the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 - 10 minutes. Basically until the vegetables are soft and tender.

Next, add 2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, some dried basil, parsley, oregano, and 2 - 3 bay leaves and simmer on low heat for about an hour or so to let the sauce thicken. (Sometimes I add red pepper flakes here for some heat.) I like to use an Italian brand of canned tomatoes, but you may have to experiment with brands. I definitely like some brands better than others.

Here is the reduced sauce. I like to taste it after it has reduced for seasoning because the flavors have had a chance to concentrate. Today, the tomatoes were still tasting a little acidic, so I added a couple of sprinkles of sugar and a drizzle of honey. I also added a couple tablespoons of butter. Remember that the sauce will sweeten slightly after pureed due to the carrots.

I like to use my immersion blender for pureeing the sauce, but you could use a blender or a food processor and do this in batches. Once pureed, you can use the sauce immediately or store it in the refrigerator. If you are not planning on using all the sauce soon, you can let it completely cool and freeze it in smaller portions.

More to come...lasagna!

Coq Au Vin - I'm Mastering the Art of French Cooking...

This weekend was packed full of holiday parties, which meant lots of cooking and baking...I made a wonderful mac & cheese, some blondies (which we actually got to enjoy this time), Coq Au Vin, Garlic Bread, and some Day and Night Cookies for a party on Tuesday. WOW! My kitchen was in constant use for the few hours I was actually home. I want to focus this post on the Coq Au Vin though. This was my idea for a relaxing and incredible meal to wind down the busy weekend. This is one of my favorite meals to prepare and eat and Brian even said last night that he thinks it is his favorite dish I make. The sauce is rich and velety, the chicken is tender, and the vegetables pop with flavor. This dish is super simple and delicious and it really focuses on the use of layering flavors to result in a truly delectable chicken.

Coq Au Vin (recipe courtesy of Ina Garten)

2 tbls good olive oil

4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced

1 (3-4 lb) chicken, cut in 8ths

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lb carrots, cut diagonally in 1 inch pieces

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy

1/2 bottle good dry red wine, such as Burgundy

1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade

10 fresh thyme sprigs

2 tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided

1 1/2 tbls all-purpose flour

1/2 lb frozen small whole onions

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat fo 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lighly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Weekend Holiday Baking

This weekend I decided to make these German Chocolate Cookies from Paula Deen's 2008 Holiday Magazine. I woke up Saturday morning just dying to sqeeze something else into my day, so why not whip up some cookies. I had 30 minutes to spare...and chocolate makes everything better. I had a crazy busy weekend and next weekend will be even crazier. The month of December is definitely one of my favorite months of the year because I love the holiday season and shopping, but I don't know how I (and everyone else) does it. We wake up early and we go go go all day and almost every night is filled with a holiday party or dinner. Exhausting. Anyway, these treats are super simple and super delicious. The recipe states you will get 3 dozen cookies...I did not get near that, but I never do, I must make them too big, but I don't like small cookies.

German Chocolate Cookies (recipe by Paula Deen, 2008 Holiday Baking Magazine)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 4oz bar German Sweet Chocolate, melted
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the ove to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the melted chocolate and stir until combined.

In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating until combined. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Drop batter by the spoonful on to the cookie sheet.

Bake in oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies are done.

Snow Day

I woke up this morning to find it snowing outside! How wonderful. This so rarely happens in Texas, but I so enjoyed seeing all of the white flakes fluttering through the air. I was tempted to call in sick and curl up on the couch with Dutch while drinking a latte and watching the Today Show. That obviously didn't happen and I was off to work, driving with the flurries hitting my windshield. By the time I got to the office, the snow had stopped, but it was a great morning anyway, and cold enough to bust out my long, black, wool coat that I so adore. I was excited to listen to my Josh Groban Christmas CD and wear my new scarf knitted by my mom's dear friend Sharon.


Do you ever make dinner that is a total flop? Last night I made a Turkey Meatloaf that was just not stellar. I guess I should have known it wouldn't be considering I was using ground turkey breast, but I thought since I was using Ina's recipe (and everything of hers is top noch by the way) that it would be successful. I use ground turkey breast all the time to healthify dishes, but I am usually careful and cautious to make sure I keep moisture in. The turkey meatloaf was just kind of bland and dry. I am going to have to turn the leftovers into a sloppy joe cause there is just no hope for it any other way...