brunosdream

My little cat w/ the biggest heart in the world! Thanks for being my friend and companion for almost 18 years.

You’re now reunited w/ your buddy, Barnaby.

Bye Clover, I love you and miss you immensely…

Bruno

I had the opportunity to help friends harvest their grapes this year at their vineyard near St. Genevieve, Missouri. They have 3 acres of chambourcin vines planted. The grapes are taken to a winery next door for crushing, aging and bottling. Chambourcin thrives in the hot humid Missouri climate and is resistant to the hard freezes of our winters. This year produced an abundant harvest for their small vineyard even after thinning the grape clusters throughout the summer. The vines produced approximately 7 tons of grapes (almost twice the yield of 2008!). This was my first time harvesting grapes and I had a great time!!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

 The entry sign

 Beautiful clusters

 Harvesting

 Harvest lunch

 Random beauty

 To the crush room

 Crush room

 The winery

 Tasting patio

 The B & B

 The B & B

 Winery cat

A votre sante’!

Bruno

… or what I did on my summer vacation. A few weeks ago I went to New Mexico for 5 days w/ my best friends, Bob and Kristin. We stayed in Santa Fe and took day trips to explore the beautiful places that surround that enchanting city. We also found some great places to eat and drink. I took many, many pictures but I won’t bore you w/ all of them… just some of my favorites!

Day 1: Drove up from Albuquerque, checked into the hotel and got settled. Walked along Canyon Road to look at the galleries and visit the leather shop, Desert Son, to have a belt made for a silver belt buckle I bought 4 years ago. We then had dinner at Bert’s La Taqueria which was recommended to us by the owner of  Desert Son. The food there was not your typical Mexican fare and the chef/owner, Fernando Olea, took time away from the kitchen to explain the cuisine he was preparing that evening. We sampled pork w/ a  traditional red mole from the Puebla region of Mexico; beef tongue w/ a spinach based green mole from the Quintana Roo region; and some unique desserts that we promised not to share the main ingredients so other customers can guess as we did. The food was so good we went back the next day for lunch!

Bert’s sign, front door and patio

Beef tongue w/ green mole; pork w/ red mole; desserts

Day 2: Started the day w/ a cup of coffee from Holy Spirit Espresso, which uses delicious beans from Caffe D’arte (their northern Italian roast called Firenze), then went to Desert Son to pick up my belt. In the afternoon we drove to Chimayo and Taos. We visited the Santuario de Chimayo where miracles have occurred, then headed up to Taos to see the famous multi-level pueblo there. Unfortunately the pueblo was closed for the day so I don’t have any pics. Got back to the hotel late in the day, starving, looked at the menus at a few restuarants, then settled on a great Japanese place that had a fantastic price for bento box dinners. Kohnami Japanese Restaurant – another great find! Didn’t take any pics but click the link for their menu.

Outside of Holy Spirit Espresso; window shopping; picturesque window

Santuario de Chimayo

Day 3: In the morning we drove up to San Ildefonso Pueblo to look around and check out the famous black pottery made there. Had lunch in at La Casa Sena which has a beautiful courtyard and a great wine shop next door. Spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Santa Fe. then stopped in at a new restaurant that had just opened that weekend, Milagro 139, for appetizers and a glass of wine.

San Ildefonso Pueblo

…more pics from San Ildefonso

La Casa Sena courtyard and wine shop

Walking around town

Day 4: Drove up to Bandelier National Monument to hike around the cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians that date back to the 11th century. A very interesting and beautiful area! After hiking the dwellings and having a picnic lunch there, we drove back to Santa Fe for our last dinner of the vacation. We decided to eat at a restaurant that we looked at earlier that had a great menu w/ great prices – Dinner for Two. We chose their Monday dinner special which is a three course meal for $19 – the food and service was excellent!   What a perfect way to cap off our last evening in Santa Fe!!

Bandelier National Monument…

…more Bandelier

…and more

… and more

Dinner for Two

Salad; grilled dry aged New York Strip; stuffed chicken breast & tornado of beef

Day 5: Said goodbye to Santa Fe and drove back to Albuquerque. Before heading to the airport we stopped at a winery – Casa Rondena – to sample some New Mexican wines. The estate is beautiful and the wines are very good!

Casa Rondena Winery; tasting room…

…and the estate

That’s all folks! Until next time…

Bruno

…or “3 men and a pasta” as my friend, Kristin, named it because she watched as her husband, Bob, make the sauce, her brother, Greg, make fresh egg noodles and me peel, devein and saute’ the prawns! It all came together for a beautifully delicious meal!!

(pardon the resolution of the pics, they were taken w/ an i-phone)

Pasta Puttanesca w/ Prawns

Ingredients:

1 pound freshly made egg noodles

2 pounds fresh prawns

8 roma tomatoes – blanched, peeled and smashed

6 cloves garlic – sliced

1 shallot – small dice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon Italian herb mix

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Saute’  shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes

2) Add tomatoes, wine and herbs; let simmer for 5 mnutes, add butter, then salt and pepper to taste

3) Saute’ prawns on lightly oiled griddle until opaque

4) Add prawns to sauce and stir

5) Cook pasta in well salted water until “al dente” – approximately 3 minutes

6) Plate, then top w/ freshly grated parmesan cheese and mangia (eat)!!

Alla facia di qi me vol male’ (sp?)…

Bruno

The resolution of the photos is not that good because they were taken w/ my friend’s i-phone. Sorry, no photo of the individual plating… we were too busy pigging out!

Thai Coconut Curry w/ Pork

Ingredients: 

5 carrots – peeled, quartered and cut into ¾ inch pieces

1 red onion – julienned

6 asparagus spears – cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tomato – ½ inch dice

1 medium broccoli crown ­- cut into small florets (stem cut into 1 inch pieces)

¾ pound crimini mushrooms – halved and sliced

1 bunch chard – stems and leaves cut into 1 inch pieces

1/3 pound green beans – cut into 1 inch pieces

1 green bell pepper – cut into ½ inch squares

6 cloves garlic – minced

2 ears yellow corn – kernels only

zest (minced) and juice of 2 limes

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger – minced

1 1/4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

½ medium butternut squash – peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup veggie stock

2 ¼ pound pork loin – trim off excess fat and cut into ¾ inch cubes

1 + 1 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 Procedure:

1) In a wok, over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent; add mushrooms and sauté until soft; add garlic and sauté for 1 minute

2) Add all other ingredients, stir and let simmer until all veggies are soft, stirring occasionally (approx. 1 ½ hours); salt to taste

3) In a separate pan, sauté pork w/ 1 tablespoon olive oil until browned and cooked through; salt and pepper to taste

4) Serve w/ steamed brown rice (and the pork on the side so your vegetarian friends can partake and enjoy this delicious meal too!)

Here’s the menu:

Jumbo shrimp w/ spicy cocktail sauce

Rib eye roast stuffed w/ spinach, crimini mushrooms and goat cheese

Oven roasted potatoes w/ rosemary and garlic

Shredded brussel sprouts w/ fresh chestnuts and applewood smoked bacon

Snow peas and carrots

Beer bread

Cardamom and clove gelato

Cookies and chocolates

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Best wishes for 2009!

Bruno

The other day I was invited for a barbeque at a friend’s house. I volunteered to bring a dessert. As I threw around some ideas, he mentioned that didn’t like the eggy flavor of gelato but did like bananas. Thus, an idea was born – banana ice cream. This was my first try at making ice cream. Bananas, dark chocolate and almonds – what a great flavor combination!! My friends were calling it “chunky monkey” but I dubbed it “bananarama”!!! Whatever you call it, if you like bananas, it’s worth a try! It’s easier to make than gelato because you don’t have to make a custard… just blend the ingredients and voila!!

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds

1 cup sugar

4 ripe bananas

1 quart heavy cream

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (roughly chopped)

Procedure:

1)  Place almonds on a parchment lined baking pan, sprinkle w/ cayenne pepper and sugar, then roast in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes  – let cool

2) Puree bananas in a food processor, add cream and sugar, pulse until well blended, then chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

3) Churn mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding nuts and chocolate during last 10 minutes

4) Pour ice cream into a 2 quart plastic container and quickly stir to evenly distribute the nuts and chocolate

5) Place a piece of parchment paper cut to size on the surface of  ice cream (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of the ice cream), seal container and freeze until firm 

 Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Here’s an unusual dessert that incorporates some of the best flavors of summer into a cool, palate cleansing treat! My friends’ friends brought them back a bottle of 15 year old balsamic vinegar from a trip to Rome last year. Ever since then they asked me to come up w/ a dinner menu to showcase this delicious vinegar. I came up w/ a menu but it’s been difficult to get everyone together due to our schedules. So last night we did the dinner, minus the friends who brought this gift from Rome… oh well, some other time for them. We’ll be sure to tell them what they missed! The main dish and vegetable that I planned to make wasn’t made, but we did put together a delicious spur of the moment pasta dish w/ shrimp, tomatoes, asparagus and a light sauce of olive oil, roasted garlic, herbs, red pepper flakes, white wine and butter. The dessert was the only showcase for the aged balsamic vinegar.

I know, you’re probably thinking “caprese gelato – yuk…that’s weird”, but it actually tasted good… very much like a sweet caprese salad. A small drizzle of the vinegar on the plate added an extra component of sourness and twang! My friends’ kids, ages 14 and 11, even liked the gelato (minus the balsamic vinegar drizzle), so despite being weird conceptually, in reality this recipe is worth making if you like the flavors of caprese. Try it and judge for yourself!!

Caprese Gelato

Ingredients:

2 cups tomato puree

1 cup sugar

1 quart half and half

6 egg yolks

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 

1 cup fresh mozzarella pearls

Procedure:

1) Blanch and peel 2 large tomatoes, puree in a food processor then press through a fine mesh  strainer to remove the seeds

2) In medium saucepan heat half + half gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

3) In a large mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

4) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

5) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Cool in an ice bath

7) Stir tomato puree into custard and liquify in the food processor so the puree is well incorporated

8) Place custard mixture back into bowl and chill in fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight like I did)

9) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the mozzarella pearls and basil 3/4 of the way into the churning

10) Pour gelato into a 2 quart plastic container and quickly stir to evenly distribute the mozzarella and basil

11) Place a piece of parchment paper cut to size on the surface of gelato (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of the gelato), seal the container and freeze until firm

 Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Enjoy the flavors of summer!

Bruno

I’m crazy about pizza! When my best friends, Bob and Kristin asked me where I wanted to go for my belated birthday dinner I suggested the new pizza place just east of the U. City loop, Pi. I was curious to taste their pizza, which was being described as San Francisco style. During the 2 1/2 years I lived in San Francisco I had never heard of this style of pizza.

One of the owners, Chris Sommers, stopped by our table to say hello, so I took the opportunity to ask him about San Francisco style pizza. He explained that there is a pizza restaurant there called Little Star which opened about 3 years ago. They make a unique deep dish pizza using corn meal in the crust. Chris said the corn meal not only gives the crust a great flavor but also makes it sturdy enough to support the weight of the extra ingredients of deep dish pizza. Pi purchased the rights to the dough recipe and introduced it to the St. Louis pizza repertoire.

With my curiosity satisfied, my friends and I proceeded to place our order. We decided to create our own deep dish pizza w/ roasted garlic, mushrooms, campari tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. We also ordered one of the signature thin crust pizzas – The East Loop – which is topped w/ mozzarella, pesto, roasted chicken, mushrooms and onions. 

The pizzas were both delicious! I preferred the thin crust, but Bob and Kristin loved the deep dish so much there was a battle over the last piece!! We ordered a bottle of the Renwood Syrah to go with our pies. A great match! To finish off our meal Chris brought out a complimentary  piece of apple pie which is also baked w/ the deep dish corn meal crust. The apple pie was exquisito!

The service at Pi was excellent and the atmosphere is laid back and fun!

Deep dish; thin crust; apple pie

Shots of the interior

The side room; the patio out front; Bob and the birthday boy

Thanks Bob and Kristin for treating me to a delicious birthday meal!!

Ciao,

Bruno

This is a first for me… making a meal at my friends’ house which included items from 2 previous posts – Julia Child’s French bread and biscotti. We hit a trifecta w/ this meal! We had the bread w/ the main dish and the biscotti for dessert. All in all, it was a delicious meal, and best of all, I didn’t have to do the dishes since I did the cooking!

Ingredients:

5 chicken breasts

8 oz. crimini mushrooms – slice half  and rough chop half

1 bag baby spinach

1 large butternut squash - peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes

5 slices proscuitto – cut into 3/4 inch squares

5 cloves garlic – minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 quart veggie stock

4 dried sage leaves – crumbled

1 large shallot – brunoised

1 tablespoon buerre manie (equal parts flour and butter blended into a paste)

olive oil

salt + pepper

Procedure:

1) Gently pound chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap until 1/2 inch thick.

2) Lightly saute’ proscuitto in a non-stick pan; let cool.

3) Saute’ spinach in olive oil w/ 2/3rds of the garlic and all of the red pepper flakes; salt to taste and let cool.

4) Saute’ chopped mushrooms in olive oil w/ remaining garlic; salt and pepper to taste and let cool.

5) For sauce: Sweat the shallots in olive oil until opaque, add sliced mushrooms and lightly saute’ until soft, then add veggie stock and reduce to 1 1/2 cups. Once reduced, add buerre manie to thicken; salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

6) Blanch squash for 3 minutes in well salted water. Strain and set aside.

7) With wide side of chicken breast towards you, spread in a line 1/5 of the spinach, chopped mushrooms and proscuitto, roll up the breast leaving seam side down then secure w/ kitchen twine. Repeat process w/ remaining breasts.

8) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

9) Brown chicken rolls on all sides, place in an oven pan, cover w/  foil and bake for 25 minutes or until internal temperature is 150 degrees F.

10) Remove chicken from oven and let rest, covered, while you finish preparing the squash.

11) Add butter to a large, deep pot and heat until it turns brown; add squash, sprinkle in the sage and toss to coat w/ butter. Continue tossing occasionally until squash is warmed through; pepper to taste and add salt if needed.

12) Reheat sauce, remove twine from chicken rolls and slice 1 3/4 inches thick.

13) In a large serving dish, place squash in center, then arrange chicken slices around the squash.

14) Place sauce in a small bowl and serve w/ chicken.

15) Dinner time!

Happy Spring!!

 Bruno