Today, for our Christmas dinner 2009, we'll be cooking a 14-lb Diestel turkey that we've dry-brined this week using this recipe from an article in the Los Angeles Times. Dry brining requires thinking ahead - like three days ahead when the turkey needs to be salted and tucked away in the back of the refrigerator.

We'll be cooking the bird today using our high-heat upside down roast turkey recipe, a family favorite that produces wonderful results.

Friends are bringing a couple of side dishes to have along with the stuffing we'll be making. Yum! - getting hungry already!

While they personally say they prefer a great aged Cabernet Sauvignon with their turkey, many folks prefer the lighter Pinot Noir. They note that "Pinot Noir, at its best, has elegant, sometimes earthy tastes that would pair well with Thanksgiving dinner without adding yet another big, challenging taste to the table."

What's on their list? (Click here for the complete article):

• Au Bon Climat 2007
  
• Domaine Serene 'Evenstad Reserve' 2006
  
• Robert Mondavi Winery 2007 (2008 shown)
  
• Erath Winery 2007
  
• La Crema 2007 Sonoma Coast
  
• WillaKenzie Estate 'Estate Cuvée' 2007

We're also partial to the Navarro Pinot Noir Méthode à l'Ancienne from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino county. Navarro is one of our favorite wineries and their Pinot is a delight! Enjoy!

Are you doing the cooking the turkey this Thanksgiving and looking for a great recipe? Be sure to checkout our all-time most popular recipe: Scott's High Heat Upside-Down Roast Turkey Recipe!

Looking for something other than turkey? Here's another all-time favorite: Scott's 'Lazy-S' Easy Oven-Roasted Tri-Tips!

On one of our morning walks last week, Chris Gulker started talking about his new Weber Performa BBQ and how he had cooked a pair of very tasty thick cut pork chops on it last weekend. Naturally, my ears perked up - pork chops are an old favorite but mostly pan fried with some sauerkraut, not BBQed.

Taking Chris' excellent results to heart, we tried our own version on the Weber tonight. The result was superb - just great - and simple. I was cooking two thick cut chops - about 1.7 lbs of meat that we had picked up at a local butcher yesterday (priced at $5.99-$6.29 a pound in our neighborhood).

About 45 minutes before my intended cooking start time, I coated the chops with Penzey's Galena Street Rub. This is a delightfully spicy rub that every Penzey's fan seems to know about - we used it for the first time a few weeks back on our "ultra lazy" baby back ribs recipe.

I lit the charcoal with some newspapers in a chimney - we've been using a new Trader Joe's hardwood charcoal that is a high heat version and very flavorful. After about 20 minutes in the chimney, it was ready to spead across half of the bottom of our Weber. I let it sit for another 10-15 minutes - and it gets very hot - almost full scale (>550 degrees) on the Performa's built-in thermometer. Then, it's time to sear the chops.

I seared them about 2 minutes on each side directly over the hottest part of the fire. After that, I moved them over to the indirect heat side of the Weber and cooked them for another 6 minutes without turning. By that time, the internal temperature was about 135 degrees. I removed them from the fire, covered them with foil and let them sit another 6-8 minutes during which the internal temperature continued to rise to over 145 degrees. At that point, they were ready to serve.

We cooked some sauerkraut with bacon and BBQ sauce in a skillet on the stove and served that with the chops along with some more of that tasty BBQ sauce. What a treat! - a very nice and relatively low cost Sunday BBQ. Served with a little summer rose wine, it was just delicious!]]> Meat Scott Loftesness 2009-07-12T19:02:57-07:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/07/scotts-perfect-charcoal-bbq-thick-cut-pork-chops.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/2-jmdibpZIo/scotts-ultra-lazy-baby-back-ribs.html We've got a wonderful local Penzey's Spices store here in Menlo Park that opened about six months ago. Yesterday afternoon, while the rest of the family was shopping nearby, I browsed Penzey's - with nothing particular in mind. While looking... We've got a wonderful local Penzey's Spices store here in Menlo Park that opened about six months ago. Yesterday afternoon, while the rest of the family was shopping nearby, I browsed Penzey's - with nothing particular in mind.

While looking around, I picked up one of their Early Summer 2009 catalogs and noticed the rib recipe inside the back cover. While I love to eat ribs, I've never really made them - for some unknown reason! I guess my perception was that they took a long time to cook and, in particular, on a BBQ you always had to worry about overcooking them, etc. Too much hassle.

The Penzey's recipe, Teddi's Grandpop's Ribs, looked super simple to prepare - right up their with my other super simple recipe for slow roasted pork shoulder. Both of these recipes involve just seasoning the pork and putting it into the oven - for several hours. No fussing around worrying about how they're doing, etc.

For the ribs, I used Penzey's Galena Street Rib and Chicken Rub (great stuff!) and seasoned thoroughly one rack of baby back ribs from Trader Joe's with the rub. Put the rack into a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees and you're basically done. I did turn them twice - once at the two hour point and again at the three hour point. The rack was ready to eat at the four and a half hour point - and the ribs were delicious. A little BBQ sauce on the side and you're good to go!

To accompany the ribs, I made Ridge Ever's recipe for Bacon and Corn Chowder - a much more involved recipe but with a very delicious result! This wasn't the best meal for a diet - but it sure was good!]]> Meat Spices Scott Loftesness 2009-06-14T18:45:55-07:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/06/scotts-ultra-lazy-baby-back-ribs.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/n3NB8J-Sedo/grilling-tri-tip-on-the-weber-bbq.html Yesterday, we had a big family get together at our house - and grilled three tri-tip roasts on our Weber BBQ as one of the main courses. Roasting tri-tip in the oven is super easy - see my Lazy-S Oven... Yesterday, we had a big family get together at our house - and grilled three tri-tip roasts on our Weber BBQ as one of the main courses. Roasting tri-tip in the oven is super easy - see my Lazy-S Oven Roasted Tri-Tip recipe) but it was a beautiful late Spring day and just called out for firing up the Weber and grilling instead.

For the meat, I picked up two plain tri-tips from our local meat market (Bianchini's Market in Portola Valley) along with one of their dark, marinated versions (they sell four different tri-tip marinated versions - tough choice!) In total there was about 6 lbs of tri-tip.

For the fire, I used the local Lazzari Mesquite Charcoal - not the usual briquettes. The Lazzari is very chunky stuff - with pieces of charcoal of all sizes - and it adds great smoky flavor to the meats! I used the chimney starter to get it going and then added a couple of large chunks to the fire once I had emptied it out of the chimney starter.

The key to grilling tri-tip on the Weber is to have the coals only on one side of the grill - with the other side completely devoid of any coals. This provides a super-hot source of direct heat for searing the tri-tips and then a large area of indirect heat for finishing the grilling.

Once you've spread the charcoal over half of the grill, sear the roasts about 5-7 minutes on both sides. Then move them to the indirect heat area and let them cook over the indirect heat with the Weber top closed for another 20 or so minutes. Then, check the meat temperature with a meat thermometer - I removed ours yesterday at about 130 degrees - turned out just perfect for medium rare beef.

Importantly, wrap the tri-tips in foil and let them sit for another 15 minutes to allow the meat juices to reintegrate into the roast. Then slice thinly, across the grain, and serve. We had small buns for yesterday's event - allowing mini sandwiches to be made - or not if you just wanted to taste the tri-tip by itself!]]> Main Dishes Meat Scott Loftesness 2009-06-08T07:15:40-07:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/06/grilling-tri-tip-on-the-weber-bbq.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/-r5WGewI_H0/strawberry-season.html Prompted by a post earlier this week on the Oliveto Community Journal titled "Lucero Strawberries Have Hit Their Peak", I headed out to the Menlo Park Farmers Market this morning to pick up 6 pints of Seascape strawberries from Ben... Prompted by a post earlier this week on the Oliveto Community Journal titled "Lucero Strawberries Have Hit Their Peak", I headed out to the Menlo Park Farmers Market this morning to pick up 6 pints of Seascape strawberries from Ben Lucero - 3 pints for $9 today.

We're having a bit of a celebration at home today - and these very flavorful strawberries are on the menu. Yum!

This afternoon, with family company coming, we needed to put something quick together for Saturday supper - and, as it turned out, we had a package of ground turkey in the fridge.

We also had a package of Trader Joe's "Fire Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Butter Sauce" in the freezer. (These veggies are also our favorite as a base for a quick chicken and rice stir-fry!)

So, we tried a new variation on Elise's Mom's ground turkey recipe - using these ingredients we had on hand - along with an 8 oz can of Muir Glen Tomato Sauce that was in our pantry. The result was great - in about 20 mins - with a bit more liquid/sauce than in Elise's original recipe. We served it over a package of Trader Joe's brown rice - so easy to cook in 3 mins in the microwave. Very tasty indeed!

1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the Fire Roasted Vegetables and cook until softened - about 5 minutes.
2. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Add the ground turkey to the skillet in small "chunks", sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chipotle chili powder. Add the Italian parsley and cilantro.
4. Cook the ground turkey until it is browned on one side, then turn over to cook on the other side. Add the tomato sauce.
5. When the turkey is cooked through (3-4 minutes), add back the vegetables and warm mixture. If serving with rice, cook the rice in the microwave for 3 mins.
6. To serve, spoon the rice into bowls and cover with the turkey/vegetable mixture.

[First posted: June 6, 2009]]]> Main Dishes Meat Poultry Scott Loftesness 2009-06-06T20:06:20-07:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/06/scotts-saturday-ground-turkey-and-veggies-supper.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/uNpEe4jzsaY/barley-soup-with-mushrooms-and-kale.html Out of a can, a couple of my favorite soups are barley-based - either chicken or beef with barley, I'm not picky! Good flavor, good fiber - and there's something about barley that "beefs" up a soup in terms of... Out of a can, a couple of my favorite soups are barley-based - either chicken or beef with barley, I'm not picky! Good flavor, good fiber - and there's something about barley that "beefs" up a soup in terms of chunkiness and flavor.

Recently, I came across this recipe in the New York Times for Barley Soup With Mushrooms and Kale - which I made in a modified form for dinner Monday evening last week - it was delicious!

Kale wasn't easy to find - and being a regular Trader Joe's shopper I had noticed they carry a small box of "microgreens" - so I substituted those for the kale.

Trader Joe's also sells a dried mushroom medley (which includes some porcini mushrooms) which I used to replace the dried porchini's ($1.99 for the medley vs $5.99 for the pure dried porcinis!) I also had a cup of beef broth left over so it went into the soup along with a quart of chicken broth instead of just chicken broth. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the rest of the recipe.

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a Pyrex measuring cup. Pour on two cups boiling water. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. Strain the water and the mushrooms out of the bowl.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until just tender, about five minutes, then add the sliced cremini mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are beginning to soften, about three minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Continue to cook for about five minutes, until the mixture is juicy and fragrant.

3. Add the reconstituted dried mushrooms, the barley, the mushroom soaking liquid, and the stock or water. Salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes.

4. Add the microgreens into the soup and continue to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. The barley should be tender and the broth aromatic. Remove the bouquet garni, taste and adjust salt, add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and serve.
   

[First posted: March 22, 2009]

The inspiration for this recipe came from Giada De Laurentiis - but I made a bunch of modifications - basically to make it simpler and easier. I really don't like recipes that use amounts that result in wasting portions of ingredients you buy in standard size packages. So, I adjusted - and simplified using some Trader Joe's items - and the result was great!

1. Season the short ribs with flour, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the pancetta until golden brown - about four minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Brown the short ribs in the same pot - on all sides. Remove and set aside.
4. Add the Mirepoix to the pot. Add the garlic and parsley. Cook for 5-7 minutes until vegetables have softened a bit.
5. Add the diced tomatoes and the tomato paste. Stir.
6. Add the Herbs de Provence, beef broth, and wine. Add back the pancetta and the short ribs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
7. Remove the lid and simmer for another 1 hour and 30 minutes.
8. Remove the short ribs and bones from the pot. Discard the bones. Shred the meat and return it to the pot. Season to taste.
9. Cook the pasta (8-10 minutes in boiling, salted water for dried pasta).
10. Drain pasta, combine into pot with meat and sauce. Stir.
11. Serve in bowls - optionally add 1 tsp shaved dark chocolate (we tried this - it was too much - we'd skip the dark chocolate!). Serve with a good Zinfandel!

[First posted: March 14, 2009]]]> Main Dishes Meat Pasta Scott Loftesness 2009-03-14T20:27:17-07:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/03/scotts-short-ribs-with-pasta.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/UD8yyHZP5Jw/recession-era-slow-roasted-roast-beef.html For some weird reason, earlier this week I happened across an old Cooks Illustrated article about Slow-Roasted Beef (link works for those with subscriptions to their online edition). Perhaps because of the current state of the economy or who knows... For some weird reason, earlier this week I happened across an old Cooks Illustrated article about Slow-Roasted Beef (link works for those with subscriptions to their online edition).

Perhaps because of the current state of the economy or who knows why, I found the recipe particularly interesting - as it described a cooking technique for cheap beef roast cuts (eye-round, etc.) that made these normally tough roast cuts of beef turn out tender and delicious.

Yesterday, I started doing some more web research into this technique and stumbled across a much older Cooks Illustrated slow-roasted beef recipe as well as this recipe from 2005 on Elise Bauer's Simply Recipes.

Further research taught me that some of the old-time deli's used to slow roast their beef as well - for their sliced roast beef and sandwiches. For them, slow roasting had another important benefit - it minimized the weight loss from cooking the beef - meaning they had "more" to sell of the final product!

So, we decided to try it for our Sunday evening dinner tonight. Yesterday, while out running errands, we stopped by the local supermarket and picked up a 2.2 pound eye-round roast. They had lots of rump roasts but this was the only eye-round left in the market, so that's what we ended up with. We were worried that it might be a bit on the light side - but it worked out perfectly.

When we got home, I opened it up, salted it well and then put it into a ZipLoc bag and into the fridge. 18-24 hours of salting time was the recommendation.

Today, about 3:30 PM, I pulled out the roast and browned it in a skillet on the stove using in 2 Tbsp olive oil with a good coating of ground pepper all over. I browned the roast on all sides - 3-4 minutes per side.

Once browned, the roast went onto a rack sitting in a small pan and into a pre-heated 225 degree oven. We used our trusty digital meat thermometer and inserted the probe into the center of the roast, set the temperature limit for 115 degrees (for medium rare) and let it go.

About 90 minutes later, we got the 115 degree beep alert and then turned the oven off completely. We reset the alert temperature to 130 degrees (also for medium rare) and about 20 minutes later removed the roast from the oven. We wrapped it in aluminum foil and let it sit another 15 minutes to let the juices settle.

Then, slicing the beef as thinly as possible, we sliced the whole roast to a platter and served it with a quick tossed Caesar salad and some Navarro Vineyards Anderson Valley Pinot Noir (we found a bottle of the Navarro 2002 Deep End Blend Pinot Noir in our library - what a treat that wine turned out to be!).

This slow-roasted roast beef was tender and delicious - a great treat for a 2009 recession-era Sunday dinner!]]> Main Dishes Meat Wine Scott Loftesness 2009-03-08T19:13:15-07:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/03/recession-era-slow-roasted-roast-beef.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/uD6LAIuiEoU/adjusting-the-williams-sonoma-cooking-probe-thermometer.html This post goes in the "notes to self" category. We have a Williams-Sonoma Cooking Probe Digital Thermometer - and lost the manual eons ago. This thermometer was apparently actually made by Polder and private labelled to Williams-Sonoma. Anyway, it's the... This post goes in the "notes to self" category. We have a Williams-Sonoma Cooking Probe Digital Thermometer - and lost the manual eons ago. This thermometer was apparently actually made by Polder and private labelled to Williams-Sonoma.

Anyway, it's the one with the 3 foot long cord to a probe that goes in the oven and into the meat. The problem I have with it is the somewhat arcane user interface it has for setting a different alarm temperature than the various defaults it comes pre-programmed with for the various types of meat. So, here's how you do it!

Using the Meat button, scroll to the UI page. Hold down the Memory button until the Alert temperature starts blinking. Then, using the up/down (+/-) keys, set the temperature you want for the alert. Hit the Memory button again to store the new value, turn on the Alert switch, and you're now set.

Happy cooking! ;-)

This is one of those super easy Saturday or Sunday afternoon dinner dishes. Basically, you slice a red onion, cut small red potatoes in half, mix them in some olive oil, rosemay, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and balsamic vinegar and combine with a well seasoned (kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, rosemary) beef roast in the same 9x13 Pyrex dish.

I went shopping early this afternoon for the "beef rump roast or top round roast" that the recipe called for. The butcher at our favorite local market (Bianchini's Market in Ladera/Portola Valley) said he'd be happy to cut one of either of those for us but instead recommended their sirloin tip roast. Never one to turn down a professional's recommendation, I bought a 3 lb sirloin tip roast and it turned out to be a great choice.

The original recipe called for fennel - but we don't particularly like the fennel taste so we just left it out. We agreed that the next time we make it we'd either add more red onion or add shallots instead of the fennel. Not that it needed either - it was delicious the way we made it without the fennel! [Update: a friend suggests throwing in a few beets to roast as well - great idea!]

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Thinly slice the red onion.
3. Wash and halve the red potatoes.
4. Toss onion and potatoes with 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper.
5. Brush the beef roast with 1 Tbs of olive oil and 1 Tbs of balsamic vinegar. Place roast into the center of a 9x13 Pyrex dish.
6. Spread the onion/potato mixture around the beef roast.
7. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes until beef registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer.
8. Remove beef to cutting board - let rest for 10 minutes. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees and continue roasting vegetables for 10 minutes.
9. Thinly slice the beef and serve with the roast vegetables. A side salad goes nicely with this combination.

[First posted: February 21, 2009]]]> Main Dishes Meat Scott Loftesness 2009-02-21T19:35:02-08:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2009/02/saturday-supper-roast-beet-with-balsamic-vegetables.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/xFxja0e-ptg/update-baked-penne-with-sausage-beef-and-red-wine-sauce.html I made the Baked Penne with Sausage, Beef and Red Wine Sauce recipe that I posted last weekend again today - this time substituting whole wheat penne pasta for the traditional penne. While whole wheat pasta is undoubtedly healthier, we... I made the Baked Penne with Sausage, Beef and Red Wine Sauce recipe that I posted last weekend again today - this time substituting whole wheat penne pasta for the traditional penne.

While whole wheat pasta is undoubtedly healthier, we all seemed to agree that the original version of this particular recipe was preferable from a taste standpoint.

If you're into the "nuttiness" of whole wheat pasta, you'll probably find the substitution works just fine - otherwise, stick to the original recipe!

At the local market I also noticed that DeCecco makes a spinach penne - called "penne rigate con spinaci" - we might try that next time! Note that DeCecco doesn't make a whole wheat penne.

It's a great comfort food dish. Takes me about an hour to prepare it from start to serving. The inspiration for this recipe came from Lynne Char Bennett's column in the San Francisco Chronicle titled "Dry Creek Zinfandel makes a penne-wise partner" - January 23, 2009.

I've modified the recipe to a) reduce the mushrooms, b) add red wine to the sauce, and c) simmering the sauce longer to reduce the extra liquid (from the wine addition) and concentrate its richness - along with some other minor tweaks. But the core of the recipe remains Bennett's.

1. Heat oil on large skillet over medium-high heat - I use a large, 12-inch All-Clad Stainless Nonstick Fry Pan . Brown sausage and ground beef, seasoning to taste. Break the meat up into smaller pieces as it browns.

2. After the meat is mostly browned, push the meat to one side of the skillet and add the onion - cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook briefly.

3. Add mushrooms to the onion-garlic mixture. Season to taste. Cook about 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender.

4. Stir together the meat and mushrooms. Add brandy and cook for about a minute.

5. Add the can of crushed tomatoes, the red wine, oregano, basil and marjoram to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally. Let sauce simmer for 25-30 minutes until richer and thicker. Taste and adjust seasonings along the way.

6. While sauce is simmering, preheat over to 350 degrees. Boil salted water for the pasta - cook about 12 minutes in boiling water. Drain, mix into sauce along with the Parmesan cheese and the Italian parsley. Mix well together.

7. Spoon mixture into 9-by-13 inch casserole disk, top with the grated Gruyere cheese and bake for 15 minutes until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Some pictures from today's preparation (taken with my iPhone!):

After browning the meat and cooking the onions and garlic, we add the mushrooms.

Here's the brand of crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning that our local Safeway carries (28 oz. can).

After adding the tomato sauce into the skillet.

Adding the pasta and parmesan cheese into the skillet.

I've setup a public room on FriendFeed called Scott's Kitchen Recipes as a trial. I'll be posting interesting recipes there that I find across the web. If you're interested, join the room and then add you own links and comments! Or follow the activity in the room's RSS feed.

Included in Bennett's column was a recipe for "Baked Penne with Meat & Mushroom Sauce" which we made - with minor variations - tonight.

Her recipe minimizes some of the fat that might otherwise be present - we used 97% lean ground beef, for example, when we cooked it and the mushrooms help extend the flavor along with the herbs that simmer into such a flavorful sauce.

Turns out this recipe was a real family crowd pleaser - we all really liked it, helped ourselves to a couple of servings, etc. We served it along with a simple Caesar salad - yummy! We paired a Ridge 2006 Dusi Ranch Zinfandel with the penne - a great combination!

We'll certainly be making the baked penne again - and are already looking forward to some left overs tomorrow night!

I came across one - a modified Food & Wine recipe - at The Kitchen Sink. I've always loved apple cider - and this one looked interesting. So, we made our own version earlier this evening and really loved all of its flavors. We paired the chicken with some sauteed vegetables with a splash of balsamic vinegar and fresh lime juice - yum!

Here's our version of Apple Cider Braised Chicken. Our version uses skinless chicken (lower fat, healthier!) along with simplified ingredients (a whole bottle of Martinelli's cider, a full 32-oz package of free range chicken stock, etc.). It's a great treat for a Saturday dinner at home or a Sunday afternoon with friends and family. Serves 4 as is - add a couple more chicken pieces to serve 6.

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Season chicken with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, add to skillet and cook over medium heat about 7 minutes. Turn and cook another 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a platter for now.
   
3. Add onions to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened - about 5 minutes.
4. Add sage, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper to the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden - about 5 minutes.
   
5. Add the apple cider and simmer over moderately high heat for about 25 minutes until cider is significantly reduced and syrupy.
6. Add the apple cider vinegar and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Add the chicken stock and chopped parsley to a French oven. Transfer the onion sauce to the French oven, arrange the chicken in the sauce - ensuring its covered by sauce.
   
   Set the French oven, uncovered, in the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Roast the chicken for 50-60 minutes until cooked through.
8. Transfer the chicken to a platter, cover with foil.
9. Set the French oven over high heat on the stove and boil the sauce until the liquid is reduced - about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and pour into a serving dish to serve with the chicken.

Enjoy the flavors!

Note: about 25 minutes before the chicken was ready to come out of the oven, we sauteed a mix of fresh vegetables with chopped garlic in olive oil and added a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar and fresh lime juice at the end.

We started with the Dungeness Crab Cakes and an Asian Chicken Salad - followed by a curried chicken, the quaking beef, and rare ahi. All of the dishes were great - lots of flavor in the Asian "fusion" style - and the quaking beef was especially good. A bottle of Thomas Fogarty Chardonnay rounded out the meal.

We'll definitely be back to Red Lotus after such a great first visit!

(We seem to be in a festive "red" mood these days - our last review was of Red Lantern in Redwood City!)

For years, we've been making this dish based upon an older version of the recipe that we had found in Fine Cooking magazine almost 10 years ago. We came across this new recipe on the Relish web site and decided to try it instead.

The primary difference is in the marinade - with the new version including parsley and not including lemon juice. We made and applied the marinade ahead of time and let the chicken rest in the refrigerator for about 5 hours before starting cooking.

The result? Clearly a very moist, tasty chicken - with a different flavor in the skin crust from the parsley. The juices - including about ten roasted and crushed garlic cloves along with added lemon juice - added a final touch of flavor. We cooked the chicken with onions and roast potatoes along with roasting some tomatoes and green beans for sides.

All in all, it was a delightful winter meal on a cool and grey New Year's Day afternoon.

The food overall was very good - see the dinner menu. A fascinating blend of flavors - and reasonably priced. We shared a Chiang Mai Salad to start - and began to appreciate the variety of flavors in these dishes. For the main course, I had the Cambogee Beef (Wok-Tossed Cubes of Beef Tenderloin seasoned with Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Galangal and Fresh Herb Salad) and it was delightful. Others had the Chicken Rendang and the Rangoon Clay Pot (sea bass) - both were delicious. The only disappointment of the evening was the Gulai Kambing lamb shank - which was a bit tougher than expected.

To accompany the food, we had the Rosenblum “Chateau La Paws" Viognier/Marsanne/Rousanne blend (Sonoma, 2006). This wine's crisp acidity and fruit forward style went very nicely with the other flavors of the food.

The restaurant is on Winslow St., about a block's walk from the downtown Redwood City theatre complex - so you can park once and have a nice evening of it.

[Note: for a (somewhat dated!) list of some of our other favorite restaurants, see this page.] ]]> Restaurants Scott Loftesness 2008-12-30T16:38:56-08:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2008/12/restaurant-upda.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/F1RlA7rqMig/aunt-maxines-st.html We had this special - and delicious - Strawberry-Blueberry Spinach Salad with our ham and tri-tips on Christmas Eve this year. The combination of flavors is just amazing! This is a delicious and easy to make spinach salad that everyone... We had this special - and delicious - Strawberry-Blueberry Spinach Salad with our ham and tri-tips on Christmas Eve this year. The combination of flavors is just amazing! This is a delicious and easy to make spinach salad that everyone will enjoy.

1. Mix dressing ingredients until well blended. If necessary, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. In large salad bowl, mix and toss the salad ingredients.
3. When ready to serve, pour dressing over salad to lightly coat.

Enjoy! ]]> Holiday Salads Scott Loftesness 2008-12-26T17:30:29-08:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2008/12/aunt-maxines-st.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/_Wq9brYIAdk/a-christmas-roa.html For years, we've enjoyed a roast pork loin recipe titled "Roast pork loin with roasted apple compote" that was originally published in Barbara Kafka's cookbook "Roasting-A Simple Art ". Much of Kafka's book involves roasting at high heat - typically... For years, we've enjoyed a roast pork loin recipe titled "Roast pork loin with roasted apple compote" that was originally published in Barbara Kafka's cookbook "Roasting-A Simple Art".

Much of Kafka's book involves roasting at high heat - typically 500 degrees - and her recipe of coating the pork loin in mustard, salt and pepper at the start and then roasting with apples at that high temperature has always worked out well for us. Sometimes (depending upon how clean your oven is), roasting at that high a temperature can result in some smoking - so it takes some care.

On this Christmas Day, though, we're trying some variations - something a bit different.

Brining is easy - start with a mixture of something like 2/3 cup of salt combined with 2/3 cup of sugar in steaming hot water (we have one of those faucet water heaters - so that's easy!) along with some pepper. Cool it down (adding ice and some cold water seems to do that nicely) before putting the brine and the pork loin into the plastic freezer bag and putting everything into the refrigerator for a few hours.

Next, I decided to brown the pork loin roast before putting it into the oven. I like the bits of extra flavor that browning meat seems to generate. By browning the roast in our Le Creuset 6-3/4 Quart French Oven , we can brown the meat and roast it in the same pot, minimizing cleanup. After browning and removing the roast, the apples, and shallots are placed into the pot with the roast then placed on top. Cover and into the oven it goes.

Directions

1. Prepare the brine by mixing sugar and salt with 1 cup of piping hot water. Add pepper. Add ice cubes and 2-3 cups additional water to cool down brine. Place pork loin roast in 1 gallon freezer bag, fill with brine mixture, and seal bag. Place bag in bowl and place into refrigerator until time to cook (no more than 24 hours).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove roast from brine and pat dry all around. Season with salt and pepper (or your favorite rub).
3. Place French Oven on high heat. Add olive oil, heat until shimmering. Sear the pork loin on all sides. Remove from heat and remove roast to plate.
4. Place the three halved apples cut side down into French Oven along with the shallots, rosemary and bay leaf. Place the roast on top of the apple mixture, cover the pot and place into the pre-heated oven.
5. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the lid and continue roasting until the roast's internal temperature reaches 140 degrees - perhaps 10-15 minutes more.
6. Remove French Oven from oven, remove roast to cutting board, cover roast with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
7. Scoop out the apples and shallots into serving bowl. Deglaze the French Oven with a bit of white wine or brandy and add the apples back into the pot. Mix in the cream and the mustard and season to taste.
8. Carve the pork loin roast and serve with the apples/shallots compote.

We just finished our Christmas dinner - and this dish was a hit! The pork, even with just a few hours of brining, was moist and not dry. The pork was ready earlier - only needing an additional 5 minutes after removing the top from the pot. We let it rest the full 15 minutes before carving - and it was just great. The apple/shallots/mustard/cream compote is the perfect semi-sweet complement to the pork!

Originally posted December 25, 2008. ]]> Holiday Meat Scott Loftesness 2008-12-25T13:31:11-08:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2008/12/a-christmas-roa.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/gVXG1HMo5Uc/christmas-eve-o.html We'll be hosting Christmas Eve again at our house this year - and we're handling the just main courses while the rest of the family is bringing salads, side dishes, and desserts! Last year, we were about to head for... We'll be hosting Christmas Eve again at our house this year - and we're handling the just main courses while the rest of the family is bringing salads, side dishes, and desserts!

Last year, we were about to head for Hawaii for another family reunion - and didn't cook anything! But, this year, we're back with our favorites again: a combination of honey-baked ham along with our easy Lazy-S easy oven-roasted tri-tips.

We first shared our approach to this Christmas Eve menu back in 2005 - and we'll be following the same approach this year. The honey-baked ham is basically just a warm up exercise - nothing complicated about preparing it.

For the tri-tips, we'll have one plain (unmarinated) tri-tip along with a couple of marinated tri-tips. Our favorite local meat market (Bianchini's Market in Portola Valley) highly recommends their Zinfandel-marinated tri-tips - so we'll be giving them a try this year. But, the unmarinated version - with just lots of salt and pepper several hours ahead of roasting - is pretty special too!

See the directions here for how we like to prepare the tri-tips (in the morning) and then cook them (in the late afternoon)!

Yum! And, Merry Christmas!]]> Main Dishes Meat Scott Loftesness 2008-12-21T20:55:30-08:00 http://www.scottskitchen.com/2008/12/christmas-eve-o.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ScottsKitchen/~3/l7Emzy1IsL4/scotts-less-fam.html It's late on Thanksgiving weekend (back to work tomorrow - ugh!) and time to use up some of those turkey leftovers making homemade turkey noodle soup. Unlike us, braver souls actually make turkey stock from the bird's carcass on Thanksgiving... It's late on Thanksgiving weekend (back to work tomorrow - ugh!) and time to use up some of those turkey leftovers making homemade turkey noodle soup.

Unlike us, braver souls actually make turkey stock from the bird's carcass on Thanksgiving evening (frankly, we were falling asleep after dinner and struggled to get just some of the dishes cleaned up that night!). But, if you're looking for that real turkey noodle soup make from real homemade turkey stock, be sure to checkout Elise's Mom's Turkey Soup!

In our case, we took the easy way, just slightly modifying our Scott's Famous Homemade Chicken Soup with Pasta recipe by replacing the chicken with turkey.

In our just made Sunday afternoon version, we also tossed in some left over green beans and sauteed some special cremini mushrooms that we also had left over from the Thanksgiving feast. They all went into the pot.

We also used rotini pasta again - rotini is turning into our favorite pasta in soup for its ability to fit easily into a soup spoon when eating! So much easier to eat than real noodles!

So, that's it. Our "less famous", easy homemade turkey noodle soup. Still delicious - and very helpful in cleaning out some of the refrigerated leftovers from Thanksgiving!