Grilled Salmon with Mushrooms, Sweet Onions and Pinot Noir Sauce

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup sliced yellow onions
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
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3 pounds fresh salmon filets
3 cups sliced portobello mushrooms, inner gills removed
3 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
3 cups slived sweet onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons mustard seed
4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
2 cups pinot noir
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cold water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

To make marinade, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk thoroughly. Marinate salmon for 2 hours. Remove salmon from marinade and pat dry.

In a large saute pan or skillet over medium high heat, saute mushrooms, onions, 1 tablespoon thyme and mustard seed in 3 tablespoons oil for 7 to 8 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Season and keep warm.

In a medium saute pan or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add shallots an suate for 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Add stock, 1 tablespoon thyme, mustard, and cornstarch mixture and reduce until sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Season to taste. Keep sauce warm until ready to serve.

Prepare hot charcoal fire and grill salmon for 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness, making sure not to overcook it. Alternatively, salmon can be broiled for about 6 to 7 minutes on a broiler pan.

To serve, divide mushrooms-onion mixture on warm plates. Place salmon fillets on top. Spoon sauce over the salmon. Serve with brown-suger glazed, parslied carrots.

New Project: PlumpJack at Home

I'm joining the legions of home cooks and cooking my way through a cookbook. I've selected PlumpJack's cookbook which includes recipes from their PlumpJack Cafe and Balboa Cafe. Given my affinity for wine and food this seemd like an obvious choice.

Here's the blog: PlumpJack at Home.

Thomas Keller's Boeuf Bourguignonne

I never thought I'd have the urge to make a meal which consisted of 42 ingredients. Then I saw "1 750ml Bottle of Red Wine" and Thomas Keller so I was like "hell yeah"!

This quest actually started when I received a recent Wine Spectator which had dedicated a large portion of the issue to Julia Child. In it were also several Julia Child inspired recipes and this was one of them. They were standard french recipes that Julia Child made famous then interpreted by now famous chefs (Emeril, Keller, and that Julie chick, barf). I sat there staring at Keller's final dish then flipped back three pages (Yes 3!) to read the ingredient list. Yikes.

French Part 1: Coq Au Vin

There is nothing more I love than a recipe that calls for a full bottle of red wine.

Tonight we mad 'Coq au Vin', aka - Rooster in Wine. This is a traditional French peasant meal using an elder rooster slow cooked in red wine with pearl onions and mushrooms. Given that I don't have a rooster, we used the more a more modern recipe with chicken. Due to the youthfulness of the chicken, the slow cooking time is condensed to 45-60 minutes rather than 1 1/2-2 hours. The tougher elder's meat is much more tough, hence the longer cooking time.

After studying several Coq au Vin recipes, I settled on a straight forward recipe out of a Williams-Sonoma cookbook. I read over Richard Olney and Alice Waters which both called for ingredients I didn't want to hunt for all day. It was Sunday which, after all, means football. I wanted to split my time between cooking and watching a game or two. Thankfully I succeeded in both.

Ingredients:

• 3 oz lean bacon, cut into strips 1/4 inch thick and 1 inch long
• 12 pearl onions
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 chicken, 3 1/2 lbs, cut into serving pieces
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons Brandy
• 1 bottle red Burgandy or other full bodied red wine (Cabernet)
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 3 fresh flat-leaf parsley springs
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lb fresh white mushrooms

Directions:

• In a suacepan over medium-high heat, combine the bacon strips with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain, then rinse the bacon under cold water, and pat dry.
• Fill a suacepan three-fourths full with water and bring to a boil. Add the pearl onions and boil for 10 minutes. Drain, cut off the root ends, slip off the skins, and trim off the stems.
• In a deep, heavy pan with a lid, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. When it foams, reduce the heat to a medium-low, add the bacon and onions, and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon and onions to a plate. Add the chicken and raise the heat to medium. Cook, turning as needed, until the chicken begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and, turning from time to time, continue to cook until the chicken and the flour are browned, about 5 minutes. Work in batches if needed. Pour the brandy over the chicken, ignite with a long match to burn off the alcohol, and let the flames subside. Return the bacon and onions to the pan. Pour in a little of the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring to dislodge any bits clinging to the bottom. Pour in the remaining wine and add the thyme, parsley, bay leaf, pepper, and salt. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 45-60 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. When it foams, add the mushrooms and saute until just lightly golden, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the hear and set aside. About 15 minutes before the chicken is done, add the mushrooms to the chicken.
• When the chicken is finished cooking, using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, onions, mushrooms, herb sprigs, and bacon to a bowl. Skim off and discard the fat from the pan juices. Increase the heat to high and boil until the liquid is reduced by nearly half, about 5 minutes. Return the chicken, onions, and mushrooms to the pan (and the bacon, if you wish). Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer to a warmed serving dish and serve.
  

Serves 4.

Next: French Part 2: Boeuf Bourguignonne

Halloween Dinner Party

Rainy Day Beef Stew

Braised Short Ribs - 2 Ways

This past weekend I spent an hour or so at the Dallas Farmer's Market getting all sorts of fresh vegetables and fruits. Everytime I go to the DFM I can't help but think of this and chuckle.

I wondered into Koster Cattle Company's shop to pick up some various meats. I noticed they had short ribs which I've wanted to cook for awhile so I grabbed four standard size ribs for braising. I also got a strip steak and bone-in pork chops for later.

After doing research this week on various braised short rib recipes, I settled on attempting two versions. One is Tom Colicchio's (of Top Chef and Craft fame) and another from Epicurious. They vary based on two things - braising liquid with or without red wine and the use of an oven versus stove top. There's also debate about weather beef stock or chicken stock is better for braising. Suprisingly, chicken stock seemingly won in terms of taste. I'm using chicken stock for both recipes I found.

Another interesting note is whether to use bone-on or not. Both of mine have bone which increases the flavor but also the fat since there is more attached with the bone on. I trimmed some fat off before cooking though.

I've read that braised short ribs are better the NEXT day. So I'm cooking them today and reheating them tomorrow for dinner. This also allows additional fat from the ribs to accumulate at the top which can then easily be removed.

The great thing about braised short ribs is that there's about 30-45 minutes prep time then you just let them cook for 3 hours while you do something else. Short ribs are generally a tough cut of meat due to the tissue so they need this time to tender up. They're also a cheaper meat compared to your steaks and tenderloins; four meaty short ribs were $12.

The set-up:


Tom Colicchio's Braised Short Ribs:



I'm going to store both in the frig overnight for dinner tomorrow. I'll make the final touches and have more photo's and directions then.


The verdict was definately in favor of Tom Colicchio's short ribs. The SR cooked in red wine and on a skillet over low heat seemed to cook the meat more then in the oven. This resulted in a "steak" versus a "brisket" in terms of texture. The TC short ribs just fell apart at the sight of a fork. The final verdict hinged only on the texture of the meat. Both short ribs had great flavor and I personally preferred the flavor of the wine braised ribs.

I was also rather disappointed in Koster's short ribs as those are the ones that turned into a "steak". Right now, I'm nor sure if it was the quality of the meat or how they were cooked. I'll have to try this again to determine if I did something wrong with the skillet short ribs. Anyone want to taste test with me!?

Either way these were a hit and enjoyed by all!