Non-Traditional Corned Beef Dish

Next year when you are trying to do something for St. Patrick's Day that is a little different, you may want to try my Corned Beef Cabbage Rolls with Cream Mustard dip.


First I cooked my 3.5 Pound Brisket in the crock pot and added the following for flavor:

1 12 oz Bottle of Weeping Willow Belgian Wit Beer (a slightly sweet and spiced beer from NC)
1T mild curry powder  (You can add hot or just add more if you like, this is a conservative amount)
1/2 cup lite Brown sugar
4 cardamom pods - crushed
1 large bay leaf

Set it on high for 4 hours the down to low for another 2-3 hours.

I then took approx 1 lb of the corned beef and made a hash.
approx 1 lb of the corned beef and chopped fine
1 large potato  cut in 1/4 inch cubes  ( par boil until slightly soft)
1 large onion chopped fine

Saute' the onions until soft and add the potatoes and beef and cook while stirring until done.


THEN....... I made the cabbage rolls

1 med head of cabbage (leaves separated)  Steamed until mostly done.


Take a leaf and put the hash in the middle and roll like regular cabbage rolls and secure.  Place in a fry pan with olive oil and brown the roll.  Serve them with  the mustard dip.


Mustard Dip

1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
1/4 cup of heavy cream
3T  Gaelic Ale Mustard (from Crooked Condiments of Asheville, NC)

Gently warm the cream cheese and cream in a small sauce pan.  Stir until smooth and creamy and add the mustard then whip.  The taste is incredible and when you dip the cabbage roll in it your mouth will thank you.

As the Irish would say "Bainigí sult as an bia"

Janet

Rolled Chicken Breast with Cheese and Spinach Filling

During the winter, traffic in the shop slows down significantly;y so we only cook once a month.  Saturday Feb 18 was the night.  I wanted to create something and as usual for me, I make a list of ingredients that I think will blend well for a great dish and mark down the amounts as I go.  There are 3 recipes from that session.  One was a chicken breast filled with ricotta and spinach, the second was a vegetarian crepe and the third a sweet mustard and wine sauce to pour over both.  Hope you enjoy.

Rolled Chicken Breast with Cheese and Spinach Filling

6 chicken breasts pounded flat

1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese (I like the whole milk but you can use part skim if you choose)

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 egg

2T chopped garlic or 5 cloves smashed

3T fresh parsley

1/2 cup frozen spinach drained and pressed to remove all water

5T Basil Pesto (we sell Elki brand and it gives a great punch to the dish.)

EVVO

Mix the ricotta with Parmesan, garlic, spinach and pesto until blended well.  Gently whip the egg and add to the mixture.  Lay the breast on a flat surface and spread the cheese mixture, starting at the pointed end, on 2/3 of the meat. Add a touch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle some chopped parsley over the cheese and roll tucking the sides in and secure with a toothpick.  Saute' in EVVO until outside is gently browned then place in a dish and bake for 20 minutes.  Insure internal temperature is 160 degrees.

You can serve the chicken with any side as is or make the creamy wine sauce in my next posting and pour it over the chicken.      Serves 6.  cooking and prep time approx 45 minutes.

Shitake Risotto with Wild Rice

Last Week we did our usual cooking demo and I wanted to make something different than what I had done in the past. As usual, I stroll around the shop and check my pantry to see what I have to work with. I found some wild rice, white rice and saw the More than Gourmet products we carry. I immediately salivated when I thought of a rice dish with mushrooms. So this is what I cooked.

2 stalks of celery chopped fine
1 small onion or 2 shallots chopped fine
2 med carrots chopped fine
2 T extra virgin Olive oil
1 stick butter
4 ounces Shitake mushrooms washed and chopped int 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup white rice
1/4 cup wild rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup parsley chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 oz container Essence de Champignon Gold (R) dissolved in 3 cups of hot water

Preboil the wild rice and set it to the side. Saute the celery, onion and carrots in the olive oil until soft and set aside. Add the butter, mushrooms and the white rice to the pan. Slowly cook at a low temp until it begins to turn golden then add the wine. Cook the rice mixture until most of the wine is absorbed.

Add back the celery, carrots and onions to the pan and add 1/2 cup of the mushroom essence and stir frequently. Add the remaining broth to the pan 1/2 cup at a time allowing the rice to absorb each addition before add the next. When all the broth has been used, the mixture should be smooth and creamy in texture. Add the cooked wild rice and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy,
Janet

Fall Inspiration Chili

I never was happy being one person in a crowd, especially when I get the chance to experiment. I was a scientist before we opened our gourmet shop so cooking to me is much like being in the lab. I usually pick one or two key ingredients then punt from there on.

I got inspiration earlier in the week from one of my Facebook Followers who suggested I do a chili this week for our Saturday evening Cooking Demo. This is what I came up with.

Spicy Apple Chipotle Chili

1 lb cubed pork

1 large onion chopped

3 T chopped garlic

¾ cup Stonewall Kitchens Maple Chipotle Sauce

2 cans Red Kidney beans, drained (15 oz)

2 cans Black Beans, drained (15 oz)

1 can navy beans, drained (15 oz)

1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz)

4 med apples chopped

1 ½ T chili seasoning

1T Chipotle powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown pork then add onions and garlic and cook until onions are soft. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 2 hours until the pork is tender and the sauce thickens. Sever with fresh hot bread. It will also taste good with shredded cheddar topping.

Cookin' In Dillsboro

Well, I have to say we really have started a following for our Saturday evenings. Allen Field, who is a retired chef, has been creating dishes with the products we sell in the shop. We are going to post them here and I link this to our Facebook Page.

This recipe was created 2 weeks ago. The featured product was Lemon Curd from Stonewall Kitchens.

Lemon Curd Carrots

1 lb baby carrots

1 t lemon zest

2T Lemon Curd

2 oz dry white wine

2T butter

Parboil carrots until they are just barely cooked then drain liquid.

Add the wine, butter & lemon curd stir until the butter melts and the curd mixes with the wine.

Cook the carrots for 10 minutes in the sauce then add the lemon zest to serve.

Bon Appetit,

Janet

Spring is Coming

The great thing about spring is the anticipation after a long hard winter. Nothing could be truer this year. We had lots of snow and very frigid temperatures. However, the last few weeks have been absolutely beautiful. We will be posting a calendar of events soon with weekly information about happenings at the shop. I will blog it's location when it is ready.
Another great thing about spring is that my cheeses will be available again. We carry goat and cow cheeses from local dairies that will knock your socks off. I have some great recipes to post using them.
We are adding a new event to our calendar "Cornhole" or bean bag toss tournaments These will be on Friday and Saturday evenings. For more infor on Cornhole and the rules (which are very simple) can be found at www.playcornhole.org.
We are also joining forces with other businesses in town to make our food and wine pairings special.

Tapas anyone?

I was trying to think of something different to make for my wine and food pairings we have on Saturday afternoon. I remembered one time when traveling, for my job at the time, going to a restaurant that served tapas. According to Wikapedia, " Tapas (Spanish Pronunciation:['tapas] is the name of a wide variety of appetizers or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as chipitos, which are battered, fried baby squid.) In select bars in Spain and maybe in North America or the United Kingdom, tapas has evolved into and entire, and sometime sophisticated, cuisine. In Spain, patrons of Tapas can order many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal."

We recently added products from Elki that were great tasting examples of tapas ingredients. Roasted red peppers, grilled artichokes and a sun dried tomato and olive relish among them. I made 4 combinations using the following items:

Combination 1:

1 roasted red pepper
plain Chevre cheese
dried basil
crostinis made with herbs and cayenne pepper.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of basil into 1/2 cup chevre cheese. Cut the pepper in half and fill each with half the cheese mixture. Roll the pepper to enclose the cheese and refrigerate for 1/2 hour to firm the cheese. Slice the peppers in 1/4 slices and lay on top of the crostinis.
These were very flavorful and I paired these with Childress Cabernet Sauvignon or Childress Syrah and the taste was great.

Combination 2:

grilled asparagus
Savory Pecan & Herb Wind& Willow Dip mix
Crostinis with herbs and cayenne pepper

Mix the Dip as directed using 1 cup Mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream. Spread the crostini with the dip mix then cut a section asparagus long enough to reach the length of the bread and split down the side. Lay the asparagus over the dip mixture. I paired this with Mattie Hatchet Semi-sweet Red wine from Valley River Vineyards. The smooth gentle sweetness blended well with the herbs and spice from the tapas.

Combination 3:

grilled artichoke
Greek Seasoning Blend (a lemony blend of herbs and spices)
plain crostinis

Pull the leaves of the artichoke apart and sprinkle lightly with the Greek seasoning. Allow them to marinate for about 20 minutes. Spread the leave over the bread to cover. This was great with Our Dog Blue Riesling from Chateau Marchette or Autumn Leaf Gold from Old North State Wineries. The light sweetness from the wines and the lemon flavor was a great combination.


Combination 4:

Stonewall Kitchens Sun dried Tomato and Olive relish
Plain chevre goat cheese
plain crostinis

Mix 1/2 cup chevre with 3T of the Relish mixture. Allow the mixture to sit for 20 minutes to let the flavors combine. Spread the mixture on the crostinis. The relish has a sweet taste that blended nicely with the cheese. I paired this one with Rockhouse Meritage. A dry blend of Cabernet, Merlot and petite verdot. The dryness of the wine made the cheese and sweet taste even better.

Why not have a Tapas party and get a few friends to bring thier own versions. Good food, good friends , it doesn't get any better.For Questions or more info, you can call us at the shop at 828-586-1600.

Happy Eating,
Janet