Pork Loin alla Porchetta

This is from Mario Batali’s Simple Italian Food, the stuffing is all about fennel and is very good, but ultimately I found the pork to be very tough. I attribute the toughness to the high roasting heat (425 F) the recipe calls for. Next time I’m going to try a much slower temperature and see how things work out. Our good friend Nancy was over for dinner and being Italian I thought I’d give her the full experience by making a truffle infused polenta. I also served some simple boiled carrots. Until next time mister Porchetta.

DSCN2917-20-Dec-2005

USDA Prime, Strip Loin

You could boil this steak and it would taste good. It’s hard to compete with a well marbled piece of USDA prime steak. The steak was pan fried and a sauce made from the pan juices, which used shallots and Cremini mushrooms, porto, white wine and veal stock (my wife and I shared this steak). The mashed potatoes were finished with cream, butter and white truffle oil and fresh shaved white truffle (and at $10/gram for the truffle, this was an expensive dinner, but very tasty) finally we finish with some sautéed white asparagus.

DSCN2903-19-Dec-2005

Rack of Lamb (Mushroom Battle)

The text of this dinner was lost in translation from blogger.

Chicken Parmesan

A classic Italian dish, breaded chicken cutlet, baked with a tomato sauce and Mozzarella di Bufala (to make it a little more special) linguini. I made the bread crumbs from scratch grinding up light rye bread and seasoning them with paprika, Italian seasoning and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

DSCN2862-17-Dec-2005

Bay Scallops and Fennel with linguini

Sweet bay scallops sautéed with onions, fennel, white wine and touch of Pernod, finally 35% cream is added to thicken the sauce; Simple and very easy to prepare.

DSCN2848-14-Dec-2005

Chicken Stew

This could almost be a stir-fry dish, simple chicken stew made with the left over braising liquid of the ox-tail of a few nights ago along with some fresh vegetables like carrots and celery, the one thing I should have added was some peas, next time.

DSCN2815-13-Dec-2005

What’s for Dinner 1 Year Anniversary

Well it’s been a whole year of “What’s for dinner”, so to celebrate we had my favourite, beef tenderloin with Cremini mushroom and veal stock sauce. The starch is Rosti made from scratch, pretty easy to do with the right tools, and some boiled carrots.

DSCN2810-08-Dec-2005

Ox Tail and Fennel Ragu

This is a very tasty but simple dish to prepare, totally a fabric of my imagination. Braised ox tail is shredded and then the sauce is made from sautéed fennel and onion and the shredded meat along with some of the braising liquid. Although you can’t see it, there is polenta pan fried in rosemary olive oil, under all that ragu. This is great on a cold and windy winter night. There is also a side of steamed green beans.

DSCN2791-07-Dec-2005

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala, my wife and I never get tired of this, paired with polenta the traditional way, i.e. no instant polenta or polenta in a tube, just lots of elbow grease. Included in the polenta: goat cheese, milk, chicken stock and Parmigiano-Reggiano, served soft. The veg is medallions of zucchini sautéed in balsamic vinegar and white wine.

DSCN2779-06-Dec-2005

Brom Lake Duck Breast

Brom Lake duck breast cooked medium rare served with a thick brandy cream mushroom sauce. Accompanied with couscous cooked in chicken stock steeped with red bell pepper and cilantro; finally, some sautéed asparagus in butter and white wine.

DSCN2775-04-Dec-2005