Red Wine Poached Pears

I tend to go a little overboard when I cook for guests. As much as I love cooking for just Gavin and me, I don't usually go all out when it's just the two of us. But when we have dinner guests, I want all aspects of the dinner to be great. I plan out my menu, pick some good wines, and usually start preparing in advance. I like to do as much of work ahead of time as possible so that I can actually enjoy my company instead of spending the entire time chopping, cooking and worrying that everything will come together. In general, I focus mostly on the dinner and possibly some appetizers or a really good salad. Dessert, on the other hand, usually gets left out. Sometimes I'll pick up some cookies or ask my friends to bring a dessert. I don't do a lot of baking and by the time I have to figure out a dessert, I'd rather not have to do a lot of work.

However, I recently saw a chef on the Cooking Channel (I can't remember which one), making pears poached in red wine and I knew I had to make them. I love pears, especially this time of year. Add some red wine and spices and I'm definitely sold on this dessert. So I scoured the Internet for a recipe that looked good and found a great one on Epicurious. Fortunately this dessert benefits from sitting in the fridge overnight so I could make them the day before our guests were coming and then just let them reheat while we enjoyed dinner. Served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, these pears were warm and sweet and the perfect ending to a great dinner with friends.

Red Wine Poached Pears (serves 4)

• 1 750 ml bottle dry red wine (I used Merlot)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp grated orange peel
• 1/2 cup orange juice (from 1 orange, zest before juicing)
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 firm pears, peeled, stems left intact
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

In a large pot, combine everything but pears and ice cream.
Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to simmer.
Add pears and simmer slowly until pears are tender when pierced with a knife, but not falling apart, about 35-40 minutes. If liquid is boiling, turn heat to low.
Transfer pears to a plate and set aside.
Boil liquid until it has reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes.
Once pears have cooled, cut in half and scoop out cores with a melon baller or small spoon. (You could leave them whole but that makes them a little harder to eat).
If making ahead, store pears in poaching liquid in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Heat pears and liquid over medium-low heat until warmed through.
Serve 2 halves to each person with a scoop of ice cream with extra liquid drizzled over.
Save the extra poaching liquid to serve over ice cream another night.

For a printable recipe click here

Apricot-Corn Chutney and Cilantro Sauce: Two Sauces Make a Great Meal

Gavin and I are looking to buy our first house together. A fun, but somewhat overwhelming, process. We want something that's in a great neighborhood, reasonablely priced and will accommodate the family we want to have. But most importantly, it must have a good kitchen. Not only do I spend, what feels like, most of my life in the kitchen, but a kitchen is truly the heart of any home. No matter how nice your dining room or living room, people always end up in the kitchen. We love to have people over for dinner or drinks and we always congregate around the bar area in our apartment's kitchen. This works out great for me since I'm usually making something or putting the finishing touches on appetizers or dinner for my friends. This way I get to hang out with everyone while I'm cooking. So for us, an open kitchen with plenty of space for sitting, gathering, talking is a must.

Because I spend so much time in the kitchen, I try to keep things interesting by making new things. For one, new recipes give me something to write about. And for another, no matter how much I love to cook, I get bored by doing the same things over and over. Since we try not to eat a lot of red meat and stick with leaner proteins like fish, pork and chicken, I have to get even more creative with how I prepare them. Chicken is a great, lean protein as it acts like a blank sheet with endless possibilities for preparation.

However, there are times when breading, or spice-crusting, a piece of chicken just isn't enough. Most people consider chicken a staple of their weekly dinners. It's healthy and can be made in so many ways that it can be made more often than most meats. However, even with a ton of recipe options, chicken can get boring. Sometimes, the best thing to do is focus on the things surrounding the chicken and use it as merely a base for other unique flavors. This apricot and corn chutney does just that. It's sweet and savory at the same time and takes a plain piece of baked chicken to a whole new level. This chutney is good enough to use one day over chicken and the next day spread on a turkey sandwich: think turkey with cranberry sauce, a classic combo. This chutney would also work well with pork tenderloin or a firm, white fish like grouper or cod. If you want to get even more creative, you can also make this simple cilantro sauce. The two sauces compliment each other wonderfully and make for a unique meal, even if it is the third time you've had chicken that week.

Apricot and Corn Chutney

• 8 oz dried apricots
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 cups corn kernels, from about 4 ears of corn
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar (apple cider vinegar would also work)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425F. Rub canola oil onto bell pepper.
Roast pepper on a cookie sheet or in a small pan for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until skin begins to blister.
Place the pepper in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit until it cools enough to handle.
Remove skin and seeds from pepper and roughly chop.
Soak apricots in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes. Drain and thinly slice.
Blanch the corn kernels in boiling salted water for one minute. Shock in ice water to stop the cooking.
Drain corn and mix together with roasted pepper and apricots.
Stir in olive oil and vinegar.
Puree about 1/4 of the mixture in a food processor.
Add the pureed mixture back into the chutney. Mix in parsley and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Can be made a few hours ahead of time; cover and chill until ready to use.

For a printable recipe click here

Cilantro Sauce

• 1 bunch parsley, stems removed (less 1 tbsp for chutney)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 3/4 - 1 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

In a food processor, combine parsley, cilantro, pine nuts, lemon zest and 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Puree for a few minutes to let everything combine.
With the processor running, stream in olive oil until it reaches the desired consistency: not a thick pesto but not runny.
Add remaining lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

For a printable recipe click here

Recipes adapted from the Gluten Free Girl's cookbook

Sunday Morning Treats: Oatmeal Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

Breakfast in our house is usually a simple affair. Don't get me wrong, I love breakfast. I just tend to prefer easy options: a bowl of cereal, yogurt and granola, something that is quick and easy. Most of my cooking efforts are concentrated on dinner and when breakfast rolls around, I don't want to work that hard. But when Gavin randomly requested bacon for breakfast one morning, I decided I could break my usual habits and make something more exciting for breakfast. I didn't have any bacon on the morning of his request but I promised I would pick some up for him.

 So this morning I got up a bit earlier than usual and got to work. Since I couldn't just serve my new husband bacon for breakfast--not that he would mind--I decided to also make some pancakes. Since I'm eating gluten free, I went with an oatmeal pancake recipe from Gluten Free Girl. The strawberry "syrup" is a great alternative to regular syrup since it only contains a little added sugar and adds some healthy fruit to the breakfast. And if you aren't gluten free and have your own favorite pancake recipe, feel free to just use the strawberry syrup recipe to mix things up a bit.

With some freshly brewed coffee, these pancakes with a side of crisp bacon made for a wonderful Sunday morning treat for Gavin and me, and I didn't even mind the extra work. And, as another bonus, our place has smelled deliciously of bacon all day.

Oatmeal Pancakes (8-10 small pancakes)

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal*
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil

*I recommend cooking the oatmeal first, or even the night before, to allow it to cool a bit before adding it to the other ingredients.

Mix together oat flour, rice flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs.
Add milk to the cooked oatmeal. If the oatmeal is still warm, add a little to the eggs to bring the temperature of the eggs up without scrambling them. Slowly incorporate the remainder of the oatmeal in with the eggs.
Add the oatmeal mixture to the flours, stirring to fully combine.
Heat a large pan over medium-low to medium heat.
Add enough butter or oil to just coat the bottom of the pan.
Pour about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, as many as will fit in the pan without touching.
Allow the pancakes to cook until bubbles begin to show on the surface.
Flip over and cook for another minute or two.
Remove pancakes and keep warm. Add a bit more butter to the pan and continue with the remaining pancake batter.
Top with Strawberry Syrup.

Strawberry Syrup

• 12-16 oz strawberries, stems removed and quartered
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup orange juice

In a small saucepan, heat the strawberries and sugar over medium heat.
Once they begin to break down a bit, add cinnamon and orange juice.
Simmer for about 5-8 minutes.
Syrup will be runny but soaks into the pancakes perfectly.

For a printable recipe click here

Honeyed Figs with Roasted Rosemary Goat Cheese

Exciting news here in the home of Bull City Food: my hubby passed his citizenship exam! Gavin hails from our friendly neighbor to north, Canada, and has been in the US for about six years. But getting his citizenship gives us a sense of security and we couldn't be happier. So obviously this was reason to celebrate and in our house, we celebrate with food and wine. As soon as I heard the news, I began pulling out recipes I have been wanting to try and thinking of some of his favorite things to put together a meal worthy of such an occasion. Although I don't usually make an appetizer when it's just the two of us, I really wanted to try this honeyed fig dish I found on The Sensitive Pantry, a food blog featured on Foodblogs.com. Fresh figs are very perishable and only in season for a short time so I've been trying to get my hands on some while I still can. They are available now at most grocery stores but tend to sell out quickly. If you can't find fresh figs, dates would also be delicious or even ripe peaches would work with these flavors. Grilling the figs brings out their natural sweetness as does the drizzle of honey and lemon. The goat cheese is creamy and slightly tart, making it a perfect pairing with the sweet figs. Besides tasting delicious, these figs look absolutely beautiful and would make an impressive addition to a cocktail party or buffet table. If you are serving them to guests, do everything except grilling the figs ahead of time and then grill them quickly right before service. You want to eat them warm as they taste the best this way and it also helps to slightly melt the goat cheese. Roasting the rosemary first mellows its flavor and adds a great dimension to the goat cheese. If you don't have figs, or don't like them, I would recommend just making the goat cheese and serving it with toasted bread or crackers. Any extra roasted rosemary could be chopped and spread onto grilled meat or sprinkled on top of focaccia. As this was only the appetizer for our celebratory dinner, I will have more to come on the rest of the meal soon.

Honeyed Figs with Roasted Rosemary Goat Cheese

• 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 2-3 tsp honey, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 6-8 figs, cut lengthwise
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.
Place rosemary sprigs on a piece of parchment paper big enough to fully wrap the rosemary.
Add the crushed garlic; drizzle with about 1 tsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Wrap the rosemary in the parchment paper and then wrap the parchment in aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, turning over half way through.
Allow the rosemary to cool before removing the leaves and chopping finely.
Combine 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, 1 clove of chopped roasted garlic (optional), goat cheese and 1 tsp honey in a small bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp honey and 1 tsp olive oil. Drizzle this mixture over the figs and season with salt and pepper.
Place the figs on a preheated grill or grill pan on medium heat, cut side down. Grill for 2 minutes, turn over and grill for another 2 minutes.

Plate the figs, cut side up, and sprinkle the goat cheese mixture over top. Drizzle with more honey if desired, for added sweetness and presentation.

For a printable recipe click here