Bacon wrapped venison tenderloin with mustard cream sauce

Surprise – another venison recipe. This time we’re working with the good cuts, although irregularly sized since Aaron did all the butchering himself in our kitchen. There’s nothing you can’t learn from YouTube these days.

Ingredients:
4-6 cuts of venison tenderloin or New York strip
3/4 lb hardwood smoked bacon
Salt & pepper
3 tsp coriander
3 tsp cocoa nibs, ground medium fine
Toothpicks to hold bacon in place

For the sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot, sliced
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Make spice rub with salt, pepper, ground cocoa nibs*, and coriander
Take bacon and wrap around the narrower edge of tenderloin, and secure in place with a toothpick
Rub the top and bottom of the loin cuts with the spice rub, and set aside until ready to put on the grill

Prepare the mustard cream sauce:
Heat oil in a small thick bottomed saucepan
Add shallots to oil and saute until soft and just turning brown
Add mustard and stir vigorously until thoroughly mixed
Add heavy cream and stir until mixed, then set aside until ready to serve

The menu

When ready to grill the steaks, preheat grill, then cook on high, turning once, until internal temperature is 125-130 degrees (medium rare). This usually takes about 4-5 minutes on the first side, and 2-3 minutes once you turn them. Bacon will be crispy on the edges.
Spoon mustard sauce over steaks and enjoy!

*if you’re unable to find cocoa nibs (the raw form of cocoa straight from the plant) substitute the darkest possible specialty chocolate you can find – it will still be delicious

 

Vegetarian boniato (yam) tacos

Our good friend recently relayed a story of her brother losing 30 lbs after drastically reducing the amount of meat in his diet. Granted, we don’t have 30 lbs to trim, but we’re rapidly approaching bike racing season and one of the cheapest, easiest way to get faster on your bike is to drop a couple of pounds. It sure beats investing thousands of new dollars in a lighter carbon frame. I tentatively proposed this idea to Aaron and expected a reaction of no less than, “what the hell for?” Yet he was intrigued and we’re going to start experimenting with some vegetarian dishes.

I love roasted yams and this recipe is simple and quick. After returning from spin class, I chopped up some peeled yams, coated them in olive oil and spices, and roasted them in the oven while getting cleaned up. In exactly the time it takes to wash and dry my hair, the yams were perfectly cooked.

Ingredients:
3 medium boniato potatoes or yams, peeled and cubed into 1/2″ chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp sage
Salt & pepper
1 Anaheim chile, halved and seeded
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado
Cotija cheese (I used Bulgarian feta as a substitute which is quite salty and crumbly like Cotija)
Lime
Shredded cabbage
Sour cream
Hot sauce
Chopped cilantro
Corn tortillas

Directions:

1. Peel and cube the yams, toss them with olive oil, generous pinches of salt and pepper, cumin, and sage. Heat oven to 400 degrees and spread yams on a baking sheet. Nestle 2 halves of the Anaheim chile alongside. Roast for 30-40 minutes.
2. Remove skins from chile halves and slice into thin strips.
3. Heat corn tortillas and assemble tacos. Our favorite method is starting with sour cream as the base the piling on the rest of the ingredients on (including sliced chiles).

Chinese New Year hot pot

I’ve always associated hot pot with special occasions and big family gatherings. Every year for Christmas Eve dinner, my mom and aunts assemble a huge variety of raw sliced meats, fish balls, vegetables, and tofu that maxes out the surface area of our dining table. My mom claims it’s the easiest way to serve 15+ people but the preparation and presentation still require a bit of work and flair. On one memorable Chinese New Year my mom made egg dumplings and inserted a dime into one of them; the lucky person who found the select dumpling would be rewarded with a prosperous year, and perhaps a chipped tooth.

Even though this past Christmas Eve I got food poisoning from a rogue undercooked fish ball, this culinary experience is still one of my favorites and I remain undeterred in using raw eggs as my dipping sauce. Here’s a list of recommended ingredients and requisite equipment.

Equipment:
Table top single burner propane stove & butane canisters
Divided shallow stock pot
Wire mesh basket (for retrieving hard to grab fish balls)

Ingredients:

The menu

Thin sliced beef shortrib
Thin sliced beef tongue
Thin sliced Kurubota pork
Whole snow or king crab legs, cut into sections with butcher knife
Frozen fish and pork balls
Egg dumplings
Firm tofu
Bok choy
Enoki mushrooms
Bull Head BBQ sauce (which is actually fish/shrimp paste and lots of salt)
Low sodium soy sauce
1-2 eggs per person
Chopped scallions
Spicy hot pot broth (in the freezer section at most Asian grocery stores)

Directions:
For the dipping sauce – mix 1 raw egg with 1 tbsp of bbq sauce, a couple dashes of soy, and a handful of green onions; the egg will naturally cook a bit when the steaming hot meat and veggies hit the bowl. Assemble all the ingredients around the hot pot and let guests cook and enjoy!

Niu Rou Mien (spicy beef noodle stew)

This recipe comes from our Aunt Shine who showed Aaron how to prepare this dish over winter break. We look forward to checking out the origins of this recipe when we make it to Taiwan.

Ni Rou Mien is a hearty delicious Taiwanese noodle soup

2 lbs beef cuts cut into 1″ cubes (any assortment of short rib, belly, shank, chuck steak)
1 Tomato, quartered
2 onions, quartered
3-4 slices of ginger
1 rice bowl of soy sauce (about 2/3 cup)
7 rice bowls of water (about 4 2/3 cups)
Spice cloth packet (or make your own with star anise, peppercorns, stick of cinnamon, coriander seeds, mandarin peel)
5-6 Tablespoons Chili Bean Sauce (toban djan)
2 dried chilis crushed (or 1 tsp of red pepper flakes)

Fresh taiwanese noodles
3 heads baby bok choy
pickled mustard greens (usually near the kimchee and pickled cabbage bags)
Chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Put everything except the noodles, bok choy green onions and mustard greens in a pot and boil for 2 hours. While it’s boiling, chop the mustard greens and green onions and set aside.
2. At 2 hrs, remove the solids with slotted spoon, then strainer. Separate beef and put back in the soup, continue to simmer.
3. Use a large pot of water to boil the bok choy for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Then put noodles into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
4. Put the noodles in the bowl first, then the soup. Serve with chopped pickled mustard greens, bok choy, and additional hot sauce at the table.



Cuban style pulled pork with mojo sauce

We rarely used to eat pork until a year ago when Aaron bought a whole Berkshire pig through Swinery in West Seattle. We split the pig 3 ways between friends but still ended up with all kinds of bits and bobs, including half a head, trotters, the tail, pig skin, and various cuts which we’d never cooked before. Aaron, being raised Kosher, never enjoyed bacon or pork chops until college though he liked to delude himself that ballpark hot dogs were always 100% beef. Undaunted, Aaron set out to conquer pork. We currently have a 40lb. ham leg that is curing in our guest bedroom closet and is on its moldy way to becoming prosciutto (but that will be covered in a later post).

Tallying up the pork

One of our favorite cuts is pork shoulder which can be braised until it’s fall-aparty (that’s our unofficial term). Here’s a surprisingly easy recipe that can be cooked on a weeknight and left to simmer for a couple of hours. However, be aware that the pork needs to marinate for a few hours (or overnight) and needs at least 2.5 hours to braise.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 pork shoulder (2-2.5 lbs)
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1.5 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
4 lemon wedges
2 sliced jalapenos
8 whole garlic cloves, crushed

For the mojo sauce:
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1.4 cup orange juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 315 degrees
2. Rub pork shoulder with cumin, garlic powder, salt, and brown sugar. Let marinate in a freezer size Ziploc bag for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Heat olive oil in 2.5 quart or larger dutch oven and brown all 4 sides of pork shoulder
4. Add white wine, chicken broth, white wine vinegar, sugar, lemon wedges, jalapenos, and garlic cloves
5. Bring to a simmer; cover and let braise in oven for 3 hours
6. Let pork rest for 10 minutes after removing from oven and use tongs and fork to pull the meat apart

For the mojo sauce:

1. Heat oil on medium high and add garlic until light brown
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until slightly reduced

We like to serve the pulled pork with the mojo sauce on corn tortillas with avocado, pico de gallo, and sour cream. This dish works just fine with a side of black beans, cabbage slaw, and cilantro/cumin rice.

Cuban pulled pork tacos

Alsatian venison stew

Again, this dish was inspired by a Saveur recipe, seeing as we have 100+ lbs of venison in our chest freezer and are constantly looking for creative ways to dish it up. I came down with a sore throat on Sunday afternoon and was craving a hearty stew to feed (and hopefully stave off) my cold. I was a little skeptical the flavors would come together after Aaron brought home a bottle of two buck Chuck from TJ’s. I suppose even the cheapest wine can be made anew with some spices and organic, free range deer.

2 lbs venison stew meat, cut into small chunks
1/4 lb hardwood smoked bacon
1 cup unhulled barley*
2 carrots, diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1/2 lb white button mushrooms, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 bottle dry red wine (i.e. côtes-du-rhône)
3-4 cups beef stock
10-12 sprigs of parsley
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp canola oil
Salt & pepper
Sour cream

1. Soak barley overnight in water to soften the hulls
2. Toss stew meat in flour, salt and pepper
3. Fry and julienne bacon, drain on paper towels
4. Using reserved bacon fat, fry venison on medium high heat until browned on all sides
5. Add carrots and onion; saute until light brown
6. Add beef stock, red wine, and herbs and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes until meat is fork tender
7. Add mushrooms and barley approximately 15 minutes before serving
8. Remove herbs and serve with sour cream and a slice of toasted crusty bread

*I found unhulled barley from PFI; their source is Lentz Spelt Farm in eastern Washington which specializes in heritage grains.

 

Paella a la Marinera (fisherman’s paella)

Fisherman's paella

After Aaron’s successful salmon fishing trip to Sekiu, WA last September, I made 8 quarts of fish stock. We’ve been pondering what to cook with this and settled on either bouillabaisse or paella. Both seemed intimidating but there’s nothing we love more than to test out new recipes on willing friends. Last week we found paella rice (Valencia or bomba) at Big John’s Pacific Food Importer in SODO and followed Saveur’s recipe which can be found online.

Open faced crab sandwiches

Ingredient List

1 Dungeness crab – meat picked clean
2 large slices crusty bread
Lettuce
Butter
Olive oil
Mayonnaise
Vinegar
Salt & pepper

1. Combine crab meat, mayo, and olive oil
2. Salt & pepper to taste
3. Toast bread and butter
4. Assemble and enjoy!