Anniversary Spread




White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Gorgonzola & Honey Crostini

Filet with Red Wine Sauce & White Asparagus

2002 Tannat & Filet

Piece de resistance!



This past Tuesday marked two wonderful years with my amazing husband. We had a swelteringly hot but perfect wedding at Autumn Creek Vineyards near my home town of Eden, NC. McDorman photography chronicled our perfect day with a fabulous video.  We decided to travel to Texas wine country this coming weekend to celebrate our anniversary and take part in our favorite libation; however, I still wanted to make the actual date special so I decided to prepare a special dinner to thank my husband for everything he continually does for me! I went with an easy four course meal with wine pairings for each course.

First course was an easy appetizer that I beg ALL of you to try. Seriously, if you can't even make toast you can make these crostini. I paired these fantastically easy bites of heaven with a 2009 Bogle Chardonnay. The rich oaky flavor and butter undertones paired nicely with the rich Gorgonzola and honey. We moved on to a spinach salad (not pictured) with candied walnuts, cranberries, and bacon vinaigrette. We were still working on the chardonnay at this point and it actually paired nicely with the crisp spinach and rich bacon vinaigrette. The third course was a filet mignon with red wine sauce and braised white asparagus that I paired with a really special purchase. When Brett came home from Afghanistan we visited the heart of Virginia wine country and purchased a 2002 Tannat from Horton Vineyards.With rich berry flavors and hints of smoke and tobacco, this red stood up to the hearty sauce and flavorful meat. To finish the evening we had a light moscato di asti and a raspberry white chocolate cheesecake.

Besides needing to be rolled out of my chair the dinner was a success. I do have a few criticisms of the recipes I used. First, Giada - I know your beloved Italian culture cherishes tomatoes but tomato paste has no place in a red wine sauce. I couldn't shake the flavor and wanted more red wine, butter and shallot flavor and less tomato. Secondly, while I appreciate many aspects of German culture, the blandness of their "traditional white asparagus" is not one of them. I need more salt, fat, oil, acid, something. I would recommend a roast or saute for sure. Not withstanding, the night was still a success and I'm excited to restock our wine stores with some selections from the heart of Texas.

Gorgonzola & Honey Crostini
1 french baguette, slice diagonally into 1 inch slices
4-6 oz crumbled gorganzola
2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp honey

1. Spread a thin layer of butter on each baguette slice
2. Add the Gorgonzola to the baguette slices and drizzle honey on top of each.
3. Broil on high for ~5 minutes until edges are slightly dark and cheese is melting.

Filet with Red Wine Sauce
recipe courtesy of Food Network: Giada de Laurentis

6 (4 to 6-ounce) filet mignons

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 1/2 cups dry red wine

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.Generously season the steaks with salt and pepper and drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Grill to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the wine. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer and return the sauce to the saucepan and bring back to a slow simmer. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Place filets on each of 6 dinner plates. Drizzle the sauce over the filets and serve.

German White Asparagus
recipe courtesy of Saveur

16 cups water
2 tblsp salt
4 tblsp fresh lemon juice
3 tblsp butter
1-2 lbs fresh white asparagus

1. Bring water, salt, lemon juice, and butter to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, trim about 1/2'' from the ends of white asparagus. Lay spears on a work surface, then peel thin skin from each with a sharp swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting 1 1/2'' from the top and running the length of the spear. (Spears are brittle and can snap when peeled in midair.)

3. Gather spears into 2-4 bundles, tie loosely with kitchen string, and lower into simmering water. Cook, increasing heat to medium-high to maintain a simmer if necessary, until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8-30 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus. Lift bundles from simmering water with kitchen tongs and drain on paper towels.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs

3 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup water

2 cups white chocolate chips

1/2 cup half-and-half cream

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

Date Night Take Two

If you're familiar with The Sculls' Spread then you know that my weightlifting-Arnoldesque husband really likes his red meat. We are on a new kick in the Scull household - trying to limit as many carbs as possible which can make a romantic night at home slightly more difficult. No garlic bread? No smashed potatoes? No pasta? The one exception to our new diet is cheese. I just can't seem to give up my beloved dairy products regardless of the fact that it may help me tighten something before the already-upon-us-Texas-swimsuit-season. I think the answer to our date night dilemma is finding places to replace fat or calories with flavor! While I love a good plate of lasagna or pasta bolognose on a special Friday night just as much as the next girl, sometimes I'd rather those extra calories go towards, oh-say, a nice pinot noir? Another key that helps boost flavor and helps the price tag of our usuals is to look for what's in season and fresh.
I have been in asparagus heaven here in Texas. Grown locally or in close-by Mexico, asparagus is fresher, greener, and cheaper this time of year. This asparagus stuffed steak takes full advantage of that and the zucchini "pasta" is a creative veggie solution that you'll literally crave. So the next time you want to plan a date night at home this is sure to please.

                                            

Beef & Asparagus Roll Upsadapted from Everday with Rachel Ray

1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed
2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
salt & pepper
2 lbs steak Milanese ( very thinly pounded steak) cut into four long pieces
6 oz goat cheese
1 package McCormick grill-mates, flavor of your choice.

1. Prepare marinade packet according to packet directions. Marinade steak for 1-4 hours in fridge. If your market doesn't have steak Milanese you can use thin flank steak, skirt steak or ask your butcher to pound some for you!
2. In a large pot, fill half way with water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Rinse with cold water to maintain color.
3. After marinating, lay each steak out flat. Starting at about 1/4-1/2 inch from edge sprinkle goat cheese on each steak. Lay 5-6 pieces of asparagus on top of each and roll up. Secure closed with tooth picks.
4. In a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, about 2 minutes.
5. Add mushrooms and season with salt & pepper and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Cover & keep warm.
6. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium heat and cook steak roll ups until medium-medium/rare and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
11. Serve a steak roll-up over top of mushrooms.

Serves 4

Zucchini Linguine with Almonds

4 oz hard Parmesan cheese
2 lemons, zested & juiced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tblsp prepared pesto
3 medium zucchini
1 cup slivered almonds

1. Using a mandolin with a julienne blade or a food processor attachment slice the zucchini into strands. This can be done by hand by first slicing thin slices lengthwise then further slicing each into spaghetti sized strands.
2. Mix lemon juice, pesto & mustard.
3. Combine pesto mix, almonds, lemon zest & zucchini.
4. Use a vegetable peeler to add Parmesan curls to top of "pasta."

Serves 4-6

Veggie Rut

Moroccan Carrot Salad



Grilled Squash & Zucchini Salad



Spring Vegetable Salad

   Apologies for the month-long hiatus! It's not as if I have a cooking blog to keep up with, right? I thought that after our move things would settle but it's been a flurry of unpacking, decorating and most importantly: job hunting. Now that I've secured gainful employment for the 2012-2013 school year (watch out CE King Panthers, your worst Physics nightmare is soon upon you ...) I am back and ready to share more of my culinary prowess.
One of the biggest problems I've been tackling recently is vegetables. Let's be honest, there's only so many ways that one can cook broccoli, green beans or squash before getting tired of them. After alternating between sauteing (can that be a gerund?), grilling, steaming and roasting with various spices I had fallen into a serious vegetable rut. Obviously, veggies are packed full of fiber and vitamins so they're absolutely necessary in a meal; I just needed to reinvent some ways to prepare them to get me excited again. Many people's first instinct in a veggie salad is to coat it in mayonnaise. I'm terrified of mayonnaise and avoid it at all cost for a myriad of reasons including but not limited to an egg allergy and the nagging intuition that I'm directly negating the positive effects of veggies by covering them in some sort of oil based lubricant I'm sure works better than WD40. Ergo, I've developed some healthier, lighter and fresher options for fresh vegetable salads and hope they help get you out of a rut as well!

Moroccan Carrot Salad
1 bag carrots (about 1 1/2 lbs), grated
1/2 cup roasted salted cashews
1 lemon, zested & juiced
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

splash apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

1. Grate carrots (use a food processer if possible - this takes a LONG TIME by hand - trust me!)
2. Whisk vinegar, olive oil, salt pepper, curry, lemon juice and zest together in a small bowl.
3. Combine carrots, cilantro, cashews & vinegarette. Toss well & chill for 30 minutes - 1 hour before serving.

Serves 6

Grilled Squash & Zucchini Salad

2 zucchini, halved
2 squash, halved
1 onion, sliced razor thin
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried dill, or 1-2 tsp fresh dill
splash apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat grill pan or grill to medium heat and spray with nonstick spray. Place squash and zucchini halves on grill cut side down.
2. Grill for 10 minutes until nice char marks appear on veggies. Turn and grill for an additional 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Slice zucchini and squash into 1/4 inch slices.
4. Using a mandolin or food processor on the thinnest setting slice onion. Add to zucchini.
5. Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over top of veggies. Toss to coat and serve room temperature.

Serves 6

Spring Vegetable Salad
1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1 1/2 cups fresh peas or 1 small bag frozen peas, thawed
4 oz parmesan cheese, shaved
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4  cup olive oil plus 1 tsp
3 tblsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup italian parsely, rough chopped
salt & pepper to taste

1. Fill a large pot half way with water and heat until boiling. Blanche green beans by adding to boiling water and cooking for ~5 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain beans and add to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking process (if you're less picky about losing color you can skip this step!).
2. Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium heat with 1 tsp olive oil. Add peas and saute for 3-4 minutes until also crisp tender.
3. Chop cloves of garlic and whisk with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth.
4. Combine beans, peas, parsely and vinegarette. Top with parmesan shavings.
5. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled.

Serves 6