Monthly Archives: March 2011

Asparagus with Blood Orange Syrup

Posted on March 29, 2011 by cityfoodcountrykitchen


The asparagus looked great and was on sale, so I had to pick some up.  While I like asparagus simply done, it is nice to spice things up now and again.  I happened to have a blood orange in the fridge, so I thought it would dress up my green vegetable a bit.  I had never bought a blood orange before, but I will be buying them again for sure.  What a striking fruit!  After slicing in and exposing the bright red flesh, I almost didn’t want to juice it and disturb its beauty.

Blood Orange Syrup

     

  • Juice from one blood orange (mine yielded about 3/4 cup)
  • Scant 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Scant 1/4 teaspoon turbinado (or other) sugar
  • 2 teaspoon  olive oil
  • A few turns of the pepper mill
  • Zest from orange

  • Place juice in small saucepan and let cook over medium for 5 minutes.  Add sugar and salt and let it dissolve.  Reduce heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes or until juice resembles a syrup.  Stir in olive oil and season with pepper to taste.  This will be salty…but you will not add any other salt so this will season the asparagus well.

Simple Indoor Grilled Asparagus

  • 1 lb. asparagus (cleaned, ends trimmed)
    Heat a lightly oiled grill pan over medium-high.  Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes on each side depending on size and preference.  I like mine to be flexible, but still crisp. 

    Drizzle syrup over asparagus and garnish with the zest.  I found the zest to be very mild, yet delicious–so feel free to garnish generously. I must admit I let my syrup reduce a little too much, so I had to move mine around to coat the spears.

    In review, this little spontaneous creation was tasty, easy…and something different, which was what I was going for.

     

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    Brussels Sprouts Perfection

    Posted on March 27, 2011 by cityfoodcountrykitchen

    I love brussels sprouts.  Why this great little vegetable has gotten such a bad rap is beyond me.  Of course, as a fan I often want to try new recipes using the sprout…but I always come back to this easy preparation.

    This is more of a technique, than a recipe.

    Perfect Roasted Brussels Sprouts

    • Brussels Sprouts (cleaned, towel dried, and sliced in half)
    • Good Olive Oil
    • Salt and Pepper

    Before Roasting

    Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Brush foil with olive oil and lightly cover with salt and pepper.  Place sprouts cut side down onto sheet.  Brush top of sprouts with more oil and lightly sprinkle with more salt and pepper.

    Roast these for about 15 minutes.  The edges of the top leaves will be starting to brown.
    These were particular large and beautiful brussels sprouts and took a little longer than normal– 18 minutes on the dot.

    After Roasting

    Here’s a shot of the finished product.  I turned one over to show the comparison. The cut side will be perfectly caramelized.

    Keep in mind that these will brown up a bit more while sitting in the pan, so if you aren’t plating them all right away, you may want to transfer to another dish.

    These are great topped with some finely grated parmesan for an extra treat!

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    Seared Lamb Chops with Sauteed Spinach and Polenta Cakes

    Posted on March 27, 2011 by cityfoodcountrykitchen

    While perusing the latest issue of Food and Wine, I couldn’t help but notice there was not one lamb recipe…but three!  It seemed like a sign that lamb would be on the menu for dinner.  Of course, in typical fashion I couldn’t commit to one of the recipes given and went my own route.  This will make enough for 4 small plates or 2 dinner sized plates.  Given the price of the chops, I like to go the small plate route and serve with salad and some cheese for snacking.

    The polenta cake was inspired by my favorite pizza.  A wood-fired California style pizza topped with sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, and a generous sprinkling of fresh rosemary.

    Sundried Tomato, Rosemary, and Goat Cheese Polenta Cake

       

    • 2 cups water
    • 1/2 cup cornmeal
    • 1/4  cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
    • 1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary
    • 2 oz. goat cheese
    • 1 T. Butter
    • Salt & Pepper to taste

    Bring salted water to boil.  Slowly add cornmeal to water while whisking constantly.  Turn down to low heat and cook for 5 minutes while regularly whisking.  Add remaining ingredients and cook for an additional 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer polenta to a buttered, non-stick baking dish.
    (I used a tart pan with a removable bottom.)  Let cool for a few minutes and then move to freezer for about 20 minutes.  (If you have more time, 4o minutes in the refrigerator will do the trick.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees while waiting for polenta to cool and set.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then cut into desired shapes.  Broil cakes on both sides until a very lightly browned. These would be great pan fried too.  While tasty, I might try with broth to add some additional depth next time.

    Spinach Saute

    • 2 cups of chopped red onion
    • dash of crushed red pepper
    • 8 cups loosely packed chopped spinach

    Saute onions and red pepper over low heat until soft.  Add spinach and combine.  Cook for a few minutes and then place lid on pan and remove from heat until ready to serve.  I like to wait to salt sauteed spinach until the end.  (It’s way too easy to over salt greens when you salt right away…it looks like there is so much more in the pan than you’ll end up with after they’ve cooked down.)

    Lamb Chops

    • 4 lamb chops
    • Salt & Pepper
    • 3 T. aged balsamic vinegar
    • 1/2 T. each finely chopped rosemary & thyme

      Take chops out of refrigerator about an hour before you’re ready to cook.  Dry them thoroughly and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in pan and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes total making sure to cook all sides.  I take these off the heat at 110 degrees and cover with foil to rest for at least 5 minutes for medium rare.  (This temp may sound low for medium rare, but the small size of the chops will make them quickly rise to their intended temperature after removing from heat.)

    Remove pan from heat and stir in vinegar and herbs to warm.  Use as a finishing glaze for the dish.


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