Cream of Vegetable Soup

Another fantastic soup from Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions cookbook. This is a meal in and of itself and takes less than an hour to make. However, you will need to plan in advance to make sure you have 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock on hand. Additionally, I highly recommend investing in a handheld blender to make pureeing simple with whole lot less mess.

2 medium onions or leeks, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons butter
3 medium backing potatoes or 6 red potatoes, washed and cut up
2 quarts homemade chicken stock (click link for recipe)
several sprigs fresh thyme, tied together
1/2 teaspoon dried green peppercorns, crushed
4 zucchini, ends removed and sliced
sea salt or fish sauce
pepper
piima cream or creme fraiche

Melt butter in a large, stainless steel post and add onions or leeks and carrots. Cover and cook over lowest possible heat for at least 1/2 hour. The vegetables should soften but not burn. Add potatoes and stock, bring to a rapid boil and skim. Reduce heath and add thyme sprigs and crushed peppercorns. Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft. Add zucchini and cook until they are just tender–about 5 to 10 min. Remove the thyme sprigs. Puree the soup with a handheld blender. If soup is to thick, think with filtered water. Season to taste. Ladle into heated bowls and garnish with cultured cream.

Side Note: Make sure that the soup has cooled down and you can taste it without burning your tongue before you add the cultured cream. If you put the cream in while the soup is to hot, you will kill all the enzymes and lacto-bacteria that aids in digestion. According to Sally Fallon, “Cultured dairy products provide beneficial bacteria and lactic acid to the digestive tract. These friendly creatures and their by-products keep pathogens at bay, guard against infectious illness and aid in the fullest possible digestion of all food we consume.” It basically turns into a dead food.

Raw foods enthusiasts point to scientific evidence which shows that when cooked foods are consumed, the white blood cell count immediately rises, while no such increase occurs when eating raw fruit or vegetables. The white blood cells function as immune system scavengers, removing foreign organisms and any chemical compounds the body considers invasive. The conclusion is drawn that, therefore, cooked foods are bad because the body considers them invasive and toxic, and raw foods are good because they evoke no immune system response. However, one can look at the same results and conclude that the cooked food is stimulating the immune function and causing the increase in white blood cells not because the food itself is toxic, but because a function of cooked food is to “exercise” the immune system in producing white blood cells for real emergencies, somewhat akin to a biological fire drill. Indeed, it is quite natural for the body to use the invasion of low doses of microorganisms or chemical poisons to immunize itself against greater danger. And on one level food is a foreign substance that the body must “overcome” through the process of digestion and assimilation. In this sense cooked food can be seen to strengthen the system while raw foods simply do not have the same white-blood-cell-stimulating effect. – Marc David Nourishing Wisdom

Michael Chiarello’s Flavored Oils and Vinegars

While I was in Napa working with Orin Swift, I ate lunch at the famous Bottega Ristorante, Michael Chiarello’s restaurant in Yontville. After dinner I wandered over to his store Napa Style to see if I could find some of the ingredients and dips I had tried with my small plates.

I walked into heaven! With a wide variety of sea salts, meat rubs, olive oils, vinegars, sauces, spreads, salumi, cheeses, accessories, books and more, I was like a kid in a candy store! Forget purses, clothes, and shoes…this was my kind of shopping!

I picked up several books on my trip and this was one of them. If you have an olive oil fetish like me, and want to learn how to make your own flavored olive oils and vinegars than this is a book you are going to want to add to your collection. Michael gives you a quick education on Olive Oil, how he used to make his own, how it is made, where it is made and how he incorporates it into his everyday cooking. He then lays out how to make your own flavored olive oil’s and vinegars for daily use and then tells you how to use them. Chalked full of tips and recipes, 100 in fact, to please every olive oil addicts habit. It is very user-friendly and fun!

I really appreciate farm to table cooking and friendly cooking that brings people together. I’m a huge supporter and believer in good gastronomy.

Recently, Michael was featured in Wine Spectator and the article gives you great insight into his life and his cooking. He has a great story.

You can purchase a signed copy from Napa Style. I was fortunate enough to run into him and get my copy signed in the flesh.

Pan Seared Seasoned Cod, Black Pepper and Smoked Paprika Topped with Pan Roasted Corn

Menu: Pan seared Seasoned Cod, Black Pepper and smoked paprika topped with Pan roasted corn

Wine: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir

What You Will Need:
2 cod steaks or filets
1 large corn on the cob

First take the large corn on the cob, cut into two and boil until corn is cooked, set aside to cool. Next, lightly coat cod with olive oil, rub all over so it is evenly coated, it’s easier if you do this on a plate. Next, you want to sprinkle with your favorite seasoning, cracked pepper and smoked paprika. Spray pan with non stick spray and heat pan. Set cod in and cover. Reduce flame to medium, turn over when you have a good crusting, do the same on other side.

Now, cut corn from cob. Remove cod from pan and plate and cover. Place cut corn in same pan you cooked your fish in. Turn up heat and cook just until you get a nice coating on the corn and you can smell it has been roasted, add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over cod and serve with a crisp cool salad .

Bon Appetite!

Recipe compliments of Katie Mahanes head chef at Don’t Forget To Kiss The Cook!

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Cold Asian Noodle Salad

Recipe: Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/ Cold Asian Noodles

Wine: A crisp, refreshing Viognier like the one from the Viognier Queen, Morgan Clendenen, of Cold Heaven Cellars. You can’t go wrong with the 2008 Le Bon Climat Viognier| $30 bottle with flavors of peach, pear, apricot and vanilla. On the nose and in the mouth there is wet stone and stone fruit pit. The structure is completely natural and is the product of Santa Maria’s long cool growing season.

Recipe compliments of Jennifer Cox, head chef at Occasions By Jennifer.

This culinary trip found me visiting the far off land of Vietnam, which is actually the birthplace of my husband, who was adopted by an American family at the age of 6 month – right at the very end of the war.  Having been integrated into all things American, my husband had never so much as tasted foods from his native culture until I made this dish for the first time a few years back.

To his delight, the flavor profile was not as foreign as he had imagined it and he enjoyed the meal immensely.  Well, there was one thing.  The fish sauce.  Of that ingredient he was not a fan.  I tried to explain to him that it added depth to the marinade – a complexity that you couldn’t get from anything else – but it didn’t matter.  From that point forward it was requested that any Asian dish I cooked be “fish sauce free”.

Well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.  I snuck it in there, but just to the point where if there were one more drop he’d pick it out.  Sneaky, I know – but so worth the outcome.  My personal ingredient confusion was with the combining of cilantro, mint and basil.  I couldn’t figure out how those three could possibly marry and make sense.  I think you’ll agree with me once you’ve tried it that it is one of the most surprisingly amazing trio of tastes your tongue has ever met!

This dish is the perfect summertime meal as it utilizes the ease of outdoor cooking (no hot kitchen!) with clean and bright ingredients that come together beautifully.  The contrast of the sweet and spicy pork with the light, cool flavors of the noodle salad is just right, especially with the combination of the fresh cilantro, mint and basil.  Pair with a Gewurztraminer to keep the whole thing harmoniously refreshing.

Cheers!
Jennifer

(Side note:  Make sure you make enough for leftovers as this dish is even better the next day – and you will want more – trust me . . .)

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Marinade

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon shallot, minced
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced or 1 teaspoon hot chili oil
• Asian fish sauce, to taste
• 2 teaspoons toasted or black sesame seeds, optional

Place pork tenderloin in heavy duty zip-top storage bag.  Mix together all nine marinade ingredients and pour over tenderloin.  Seal bag and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Remove bag from refrigerator and let pork come up to room temperature before grilling.

Heat grill to 400.  Remove pork from bag* and place on grill grate.  Grill for approximately 4 minutes on each side or until desired doneness is reached.  Remove from grill and let rest for approximately 5-10 minutes before slicing.

*You can either discard the remaining marinade or you can bring it to a boil in a sauce pan until it reduces by about ½ and then you can use it to glaze pork as it cooks on the grill.

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

• 1 package rice noodles (vermicelli)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot chili oil, optional
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced or julienned
• 2 green onions, greens and whites, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced or julienned
• 3/4 cup julienned English cucumber
• 1 cup bean sprouts, optional
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh mint
• 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh basil

Optional

• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish
• 4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, for garnish

Boil noodles according to package directions and drain.  Rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process.  Gently toss noodles with the first 4 ingredients, coating thoroughly.  Add the remaining eight ingredients, distributing as evenly throughout the noodles and dressing as possible.  Refrigerate for approximately 45 minutes to an hour or until chilled through.

Environmentally Friendly Cooking: GRILL | Grilled Chicken Portabello Jack Burger

As we all know, summer temperatures can be down right brutal and some states get a double whammy with humidity that make curly hair go straight and an edgy woman postal. So why slave over a hot oven and waste precious energy when you can stoke up the grill, chill and have a nice relaxing, home cooked meal right from your grill?

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Portabello Jack Burger

Wine: For starters I recommend Avanthia Godello | $30 bottle, or I would grab a South African Bay Sauvignon Blanc | $11.33 bottle (this is the $11.00 bottle of wine that taste like $50.00) while your chillin and preparing your grillin. This is a very crisp, fresh, wine that is sure to wet your whistle while your waiting for the food to cook.

Dinner is ready, either stay with your white or if you like me, you’ll pull out some reds. I would go into my cellar and grab me a Syrah like Rockblock Syrah|$45.00 bottle from Domaine Serene or perhaps maybe a Pinot Noir like Ici La-Bas “Les Reveles” Pinot Noir | $26.00 bottle, a little less expensive but equally delightful.

Now sit back relax and enjoy and realize this is the good life!

What You Will Need:
2 chicken breasts seasoned and grilled
1 clove garlic minced
2 medium portabello mushrooms sliced
2 pieces of Monterey jack cheese or your favorite
2 whole wheat buns

Add a little olive oil to a medium saute pan, add garlic and then add portabellos, season lightly salt and pepper. Saute them until they are a nice golden brown. Grill chicken and then toast buns. Add cheese and then portabello. Serve immediately with your favorite salad I added BBQ beans and corn on the cob on the side. If you have a side burner on your grill you could easily do all of this outdoors and keep the house cool

Recipe compliments of Katie Mahanes head chef at Don’t Forget To Kiss The Cook!

Memorial Day Cookout: Smoked Gouda Burger & Light Elbow Macaroni Salad

Menu: Smoked Gouda Burger & Light Elbow Macaroni Salad

Wine: Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot

Smoked Gouda Burger
4 burgers grilled to your liking
4 kaiser rolls split and toasted over fire
Mayo
Smoked gouda
Lettuce
Tomato
Stack it

Light Elbow macaroni salad
1/2 (1 pound) package large elbow macaroni
1/2 cup olive oil best foods mayo
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. Let cool under cold water. Stir together mayo, milk, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover, chill thoroughly.

Bon Appetit!
Katie Mahanes
Don’t Forget To Kiss The Cook!

Light & Easy Caesar Salad

Menu: Ceaser Salad

Wine: Dry Rose, Italian Pinot Grigio, Verdicchio, American Chardonnay, or a Cava

by Katie Mahanes

A Caesar salad with a lighter dressing without the customary egg. It’s a very respectable and delicious version.

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon
4 sardine fillets
2 large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3 grinds of pepper
1 large head of Romaine lettuce
1 cup homemade croutons

1. In a blender or food processor, combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, anchovies, garlic and mustard. Add Parmesan cheese and black pepper blend well. Transfer to small bowl and set aside at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Whisk Thoroughly before serving.

2. In a large bowl, place lettuce and croutons. Add dressing and toss well to coat salad. Divide among 4 salad plates and serve at once.

Become an Insider and get more recipes and wine and food pairings like this!

Schnitzel, Riesling & Deconstructed Black Forest Cake

Main Course: Schnitzel (pork), potato pancakes (with both russet and sweet varieties) with warm spiced apples and crème fraiche and beer braised purple cabbage with caramelized onions and bacon

Dessert: Deconstructed Black Forest Cake

Wine: Riesling

I awoke just a short while ago, panicked and severely jet-lagged from my flight (of fancy) from Germany last night. My mind is still all twisted, much like a pretzel, as I sit here and attempt to condense the trip’s highlights into some sort of cohesive rambling. I see by the end of that last sentence that this is going to be a bit of a challenge. Wundabar.

Ah, yes . . . Germany. When Freda sent word that my services were needed once again, she didn’t specify where I’d be journeying to; she only gave me a deadline by which I’d need to complete it. I seized this opportunity and messaged back, suggesting that, perhaps, this time I wave my flag of surrender and go white. It was a bold move that I was hoping she’d eagerly embrace, and moments after I hit the reply button, I was charged with the investigative duty of all things Riesling.

How perfect! Light, crisp, fresh and so very springy. I’m a seasonal wine drinker, meaning that I primarily drink reds through fall and winter and pick up the whites in spring and summer. However, it has been a long while since I’ve had a Riesling, so this was a nice diversion from my standard repertoire of Chards, Pinot Grigios and Sauvignon Blancs.

Now, this is installment No. 3 of my food and wine pairings for The Wine Wench, and if you’ve been following me around the globe, you know what my next moves are. Yes, I’m pretty predictable for an undercover operative. It’s a good thing the target subject is merely a bottle or two of wine! Say it with me, now: surf the web for regional specific menu ideas; hit the grocery store, the wine shop and then it’s back to headquarters.

JOIN our newsletter to finish this delicious story and get the fantabulous recipes!

Stuffed Mushrooms, Rosemary Shrimp & Scallop Skewer

Menu: Stuffed Mushrooms & Rosemary Shrimp & Scallop Skewer

Wine: Full bodied Chardonnay, a good Sauvignon Blanc

What You Will Need:
12 large white mushrooms
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Salish Salt
1⁄4 cup red wine of choice
1 1⁄2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 cup grated pecorino romano
2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Remove and coarsely chop stems from mushrooms, reserving caps. Heat olive oil in a large, deep, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped mushrooms, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushroom mixture is dry, about 5 minutes.

2. Slowly add wine. Cook until wine has evaporated, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in bread crumbs. Set aside to cool, then add pecorino romano, parsley and garlic. Mix thoroughly.

3. Place mushroom caps in a single layer (rounded side down) on a greased cookie sheet. Spoon filling mixture into caps, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, season with pepper and bake until golden, 30–45 minutes. Serve warm.

To get the additional recipe for the Rosemary shrimp & Scallop Skewer, JOIN our Newsletter!

Grilled Chicken Taco’s with Roasted Garlic Salsa from Arriba

Menu
Grilled chicken taco’s with roasted garlic salsa from Arriba (for 2)

Wine: Chardonnay or Pinot Noir

What You Will Need
2 chicken boneless chicken breasts
4 corn tortillas
sprig of cilantro
1/4 cup smoked Gouda cheese or cheese of your choice

Grill chicken breasts. Chop chicken into small cubes or chunks. Heat tortilla’s on a cast iron skillet. (Gives it that rustic flavor) Fill with chicken, a few leaves of cilantro top with salsa and add cheese…hmmm my mouth is salivating! Compliments of Katie Mahanes.

There’s more where this came from, like her Taco Salad… become a VIP Wench or join one of our Mix & Match Wine Clubs to become and insider and get these and other recipes!