brunosdream

I was tagged by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen to participate in a meme called “Foodbloggers Welcome Dinner” started by Angelika at The Flying Apple.

I’ve prepared some new creations to serve at this cyber dinner. Hope you like them!

Stuffed Flank Steak w/ Herbed Polenta and Broccolini (serves 8)

Ingredients:

3 pounds flank steak (2 pieces)

1 box polenta

2 bunches of broccolini

10 oz. crimini mushrooms – sliced

4 large cloves of garlic – minced

7 oz. log of goat cheese (chevre)

2 quarts veggie stock

8 sundried tomatoes – rehydrated and chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Twine for trussing steaks

Procedure:

1) Pound out steaks to tenderize (or have your butcher put the steaks through their tenderizing machine like I did to save time)

2) Cook polenta using veggie stock, mix in herbs while cooking, season w/ salt and pepper, set aside enough polenta to stuff steaks then keep remainder on a warmer

3) Saute’ mushrooms in olive oil w/ garlic and pepper flakes, season w/ salt and pepper

4) Lay out steaks, then on each steak spread polenta on end that is closest to you, sprinkle w/ 1/3 of mushrooms, 2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese and half of the tomatoes

5) Roll and truss steaks, then season exterior w/ salt and pepper

6) Brown the steak rolls on all sides

7) Finish cooking steaks on a barbeque grill until 130 degrees F internal temperature for medium rare

8) Remove steaks from grill, cover w/ foil and let rest for 8 minutes

9) While steaks are resting, steam the broccolini until tender then sprinkle w/ lemon juice

10) Melt the butter in a pot and gently toss the broccolini in it

11) Remove twine and cut steaks into 1 3/4 inch slices, then place on serving tray

12) Gently fold remaining mushrooms and crumbled goat cheese into polenta and place in serving bowl

13) Place broccolini in serving dish

14) Pour some wine and dig in!!

Milk Chocolate and Tarragon Gelato w/ Dark Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients:

1 oz. fresh tarragon – stemmed and chopped

1 quart half +half

1 cup sugar

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate – coarsely chopped

5 oz. milk chocolate – finely chopped

8 egg yolks

Procedure:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and tarragon gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the tarragon

3) In medium size 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 F or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Remove from heat, stir milk chocolate into the mixture and while continuing to stir place back on heat to completely melt chocolate (again, making sure mixture temperature doesn’t exceed 170 degrees F)

7) Cool in an ice bath

8) Chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

9) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the bittersweet chocolate halfway through the churning process

10) Transfer gelato to a 2 qt plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Now its my turn to tag a few people to keep this meme flowing…

I tag my co-blogger Duane at Zinfully Delicious

Sam at Becks & Posh

Barbara at winosandfoodies

Bron at Bron Marshall

and Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas

OK, it’s past midnight and I’m going to get some sleep before I turn into a smashed pumpkin or something like that!

Bruno

As summer fades into the sunset and the basil begins to wilt in my garden, let’s take another look at the bounties of Soulard Market. After previously doing a post on the market in which I complained about the slim pickin’s, I decided to give the market a second look a few weeks ago, this time on a Saturday rather than a Wednesday. What I found was a bustling market w/ farmers and customers galore! What a difference a day makes!!

Here are a few photos from my recent visit…    

Previous visit:

This visit:

                  

              

              

              

              

              

The new fish store at the market that was under construction is now open for business too…

                   

On a farm somewhere in Missouri, a Farmgirl is still managing to squeeze out some nice crops (see her Oct. 14th post) so I guess even now you might find some farm fresh goodies at Soulard Market!

Until next time, some words to ponder: Water separates the people of the world, food unites them… and so does a nice glass of wine, perhaps a hardy zinfandel!!            

Bruno

After originally doing this post, Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice suggested I submit this recipe for World Bread Day. World Bread Day is on October 16th and is being hosted by Zorra of Kochtopf.

In order to meet the requirements for Bread Day I had to bake some bread (done!) and share some of my personal preferences for bread. So here goes… My favorite bread is typically one w/ a substantially crispy crust and made w/ whole grains. I consume bread on a daily basis. Variety is the spice of life, so some days I’ll eat homemade bread if I have it on hand, other days I’ll eat store bought pita or some other type of bread such as pugliese. I try to bake my own bread every week if I have time, and bake enough to share a loaf w/ friends. One of my favorite ways to eat bread is toasted then topped w/ creamy peanut butter and preserves loaded w/ berries! I’ll usually have this for breakfast 3 or 4 times a week. So there you have it and here’s my bread…

I was messing around w/ my usual bread recipe and came up w/ this variation.

Here’s the recipe…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oven toasted oats (I use the kind from Trader Joe’s) 

1/4 cup raisins   

2 cups whole wheat flour 

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup  plus 1  1/4 cups warm water

1 rounded tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons salt

Cornmeal for dusting work surface

Procedure:

1) Mix 1 rounded tablespoon of yeast and ¼ cup warm water

in a large mixing bowl, add 1 teaspoon honey then let stand

for 3 to 4 minutes.

 

2) Then add to bowl: ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ stick melted butter, 1 ¼ cups warm water, 2 teaspoons salt (make sure salt is dissolved before adding flour).

 

 

3) In a separate bowl mix 3 ½ cups flour (2 cups whole wheat, 1 ½ all purpose) and 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup raisins, then add to yeast mixture – mix in up to ½ cup more all purpose flour if dough is too moist.

 

4) Knead dough thoroughly, form it into a ball

and return it to the bowl (dust bottom of bowl w/ flour first),

dust top w/ flour, cover bowl w/ plastic and moist towel

and let dough rise for 1 hour (in a warm spot in your kitchen).

 

5) Split dough ball in half, split each ball into thirds and roll out into strands long enough to braid, then braid.

 

6) Place on corn meal dusted surface, dust tops w/ flour, cover w/ plastic bag and let rise for ½ hour.

 

 

7) Meanwhile, preheat oven and pizza stone to 425 degrees.

 

8) Place loaves on stone and pour 2 ounces of water onto bottom of oven to delay crust formation so the bread can expand rapidly and evenly.

 

9) Turn bread after 20 minutes for even baking, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 13 to 15 minutes.

 

10) Remove from oven and let cool on pie rack.

 

Share a loaf w/ your friends, or if you really like it, hoard it all for yourself!!

Enjoy your weekend…

Bruno