I LOVE MY VALENTINE!!!!!

Today was Valentine’s Day. We spent the day browsing through little towns in the Charlotte area – Davidson, Cornelius, Concord, Belmont - looking for antique shops. Unfortunately, most were closed on Sunday, except for a lovely little shop in Belmont. When we got tired of antiquing, we went to Ross Dress For Less. But we had the most wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner.

We started with shrimp with Cava, a first course without compare (unless we had Wellfleet oysters, which unfortunately, we didn’t have…..

We then followed the first course with

FILET MIGNON WITH MULTI-ETHNIC SAUCE AND SMOKED BLUE CHEESE,
LOBSTER AND CHIVE WHIPPED POTATOES

Eric prepared a sauce from 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 Tbsp. lingonberry preserves (from Ikea), whole cherries, and garam masala. The sauce was simmered until reduced by half. The filet mignon was broiled until medium rare. Over the sauce we crumbled some smoked Blue Cheese from Dean and Deluca (any rich smooth Blue will do).

The meal was accompanied by lobster-whipped potatoes, using a chopped lobster tail, butter and chives in mashed potatoes that Sherry prepared. Awsum!

Dessert was a Raspberry-infused Chocolate bar.

Pre-Valentine's Day Dinner

While having lunch at the Cabo Fish Taco restaurant in NoDa (Charlotte), we starting to think about our plans for a pre-Valentine's Day Dinner. Sherry came up with the idea of a stuffed pork chop with a fresh salad of greens, seared goat cheese and blueberries. Her creativity led to making a stuffing of hot Italian sausage and Andouille sausage, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, panko and brie! She cooked up the sausages, chopped them up in a bowl, and added chopped pieces of brie, capers, sun-dried tomatoes and panko. She made cuts in the fairly thick boneless pork chops, stuffed them, and then cooked them in the skillet (using the sausage juices) until done. A little white wine added to make a reduction, poured over the chops, and finished with some balsamic glaze.

The salad was simpler, with a mix of baby spinach and red butter lettuce leaves, grape tomatoes, and blueberries. She cut pieces of goat cheese, covered them with panko, and then cooked them in canola oil until browned on both sides. A simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, canola oil and powdered garlic, zapped for 45 seconds in the microwave, accompanied the meal.

Just a spectacular meal! I can’t wait for Valentine’s Day dinner tonight.

Buying Spices - Punjabi Chhole

While we were in Wellfleet, we drove up the road to Atlantic Spice Company, in Truro. This place has an amazing selection of teas, spices and other foodies stuff. We started off buying spices by the jar, but more recently we go there to buy spices in bulk, since we use them so regularly. On this pilgrimage, we brought back cumin, coriander, Hungarian paprika, smoked paprika (the best for making paella), hot curry powder and garam masala. I would have loved to buy some powdered tomato, sage, rosemary or basil, just to experiment, but could only get them in one pound bags.

One of the best uses for the variety of spices is in Indian cuisine. We tend to mix up a melange of spices to make a simple but very tasty dish called Punjabi Chhole, made with chickpeas, onion, and tomatoes. Here's the recipe:

Punjabi Chhole

Olive oil, to coat pan

1 regular onion, chopped

2 large (or 3 regular) cans chick peas, drained

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, drained

Couscous, cooked

Spice Mix (you can use other spices as well, such as five spice powder, chili powder, cardamom, allspice, etc):

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. black pepper

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. curry powder

1. In large sauce pan, heat olive oil, then add onion and cook, stirring, until soft.

2. Add chick peas, tomatoes, and spice mix. Stir well, and cook over low to moderate heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until hot.

3. Serve over couscous.

A Great Cape Cod Food Day!!

Wellfleet 2009

Sunday, September 6^th:

So today we decided to bicycle from the house to Great Pond. We rode through town, and then out Cahoon Hollow Road to Great Pond. Only one car in the lot at 10:30 in the morning. We walked down the fire road to Dyer’s Pond. No one else around; very peaceful and quiet. When we got back to the bikes, we talked about going to Provincetown for brunch – Bubula’s on the Bay is our favorite place to eat outside in Provincetown. But we decided to eat leftovers for lunch, and then go up to Provincetown; we thought the waits for tables on a sunny Labor Day weekend would be long.

Sherry rustled up leftovers for us. She made salmon burritos with goat cheese, black beans and cucumber salsa for Katie and me, and she had a grilled chicken sandwich with a hot cilantro-mint sauce. A great lunch to eat outside on the deck!

We spent a lovely day in Provincetown, and wanted to end the afternoon with Wellfleet oysters and drinks. The best place for Wellfleet oysters is, of course, Wellfleet, so we ended up at the Bookstore Café, on the porch, eating oysters and drinking an assortment of drinks, including a limited edition of Sam Adams Oyster Stout, a Grey Goose gimlet, and a Portuguese Douro Reserve. There is no sweeter oyster than a fresh Wellfleet oyster! Katie was rapturous, having learned about another food hedonistic pleasure. Horseradish also helped.....

We had wanted to eat dinner at home, so had purchased some large scallops and locally-caught bluefish at Hatche’s. Sherry was being adventurous, having downed the Gimlet, and she made a creative dinner: she rubbed the bluefish with olive oil, coated it with a mix of mayonnaise and wasabi, and we grilled it. We also grilled some leftover figs on the grill. Sherry dusted the scallops with corn meal, cumin, and Emeril’s Essence, then sprinkled paprika over the scallops, and then pan-sauteed the scallops until done. She served it with a balsamic graze. Heavenly! We also made red beans and rice (caramelized onions, red beans, brown rice and Essence). All of this wonderful food, served with a nice South American Chardonnay. Sherry sure knows how to make wonderful meals when she’s on the Cape!!!