orecchiette bolognese

ingredients:

ground beef
ground pork
bacon
garlic
shallots
onions
carrots
sweet basil
red wine
heavy cream
canned san marzano tomatoes
tomato paste
red pepper flakes
dried oregano
nutmeg
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
orecchiette

directions:

1.  prepare the mise en place.  finely mince the shallots, garlic, onion, carrot, and bacon.

2.  mix the ground beef and pork together.

3.  slowly render bacon bits in pot.  after bacon fat has rendered, turn heat on high and saute the ground meat.

4.  when meat is nicely browned, add in the carrots, garlic, shallot, onion, a pinch of chili flakes, some dried oregano, and season with salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

5.   after a few minutes, add in some red wine and the tomatoes.

6.  simmer the sauce on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.  then add a pinch of nutmeg, a splash of red wine, a dash of heavy cream, and the basil.

7.  while the sauce is reducing, cook the orechiette in salted water.

8.  drain the orecchiette and spoon into a big serving bowl.  top with the meat sauce, garnish with more basil and serve immediately.  (freshly grated parmesan optional)

japanese tapas: wagyu beef nigiri, grilled maitake mushroom

ingredients:

wagyu beef- buy the super marbled
sushi rice- see recipe in "sujiki, uni, sushi rice" post
maitake mushrooms
meyer lemon
scallions
shabu shabu sauce
ponzu
olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper

tools:

blowtorch

directions:

1.  drizzle maitake mushrooms with olive oil, toss with salt and cracked black pepper.  place on grill. you
want it to be slightly charred for a nice smoky flavor.

2.  make sushi rice into nigiri.  you can always look at youtube to leanr how to make nigiri. practice makes
perfect. top nigiri with slices of the marbled wagyu.

3.  thinly slice scallion tips and meyer lemon for garnish. mix half parts shabu shabu sauce and ponzu together.

4.  torch the top of the beef until the top is slightly charred but still a bit rare underneath.  season with fine sea
salt and garnish with scallions.

5.  plating: place grilled maitake mushrooms on the side of a white plate. garnish mushrooms with a slice of
meyer lemon. place wagyu nigiri next to mushrooms and top beef with shabu/ponzu sauce. serve
immediately.

seared filet, bone marrow, butter braised yukon gold potato and rutabaga

ok... so there are six components to this plate. i will give directions for each component and then give directions on how to put it all together.

1. seared filet of beef
2. roasted bone marrow
3. sauteed spinach
4. butter braised yukon gold potato/ rutabaga
5. black trumpet mushroom and golden chanterelle garnish
6. red wine jus

don't worry, it's pretty straightforward.

ingredients:

filet mignon (preferably grass-fed)
bone marrow segments
bacon
spinach
rutabaga
yukon gold potatoes
black trumpet mushroom
golden chanterelles
garlic
chives
rosemary
thyme
red wine
beef stock
chicken stock
butter
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt/ maldon sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper

directions:

1. prep red wine jus first.  pour red wine into saucepan over medium heat. smash garlic cloves. toss garlic and a sprig or two of rosemary into wine and let it simmer till it's reduced by half. when reduced, add in beef and chicken stock to taste, salt, and a couple good grinds of black pepper.  strain through a fine sieve and set aside.

2. brunoise the yukon gold potato- i like using this variety of potato because it holds very well and the yellow is a great contrast to the orange rutabaga- and brunoise the rutabaga.  heat up a pan, sear off bacon slices to render the fat and flavor from the bacon, add in rutabaga, and saute for a minute or so before adding in lots of butter.  keep in mind you need enough butter to cover the vegetables.  cook over medium heat for a bit before adding the potatoes in.  braise till rutabaga and potatoes are tender and cooked through.  add salt to taste. keep warm.

3. drizzle olive oil into heated pan and lightly saute spinach with minced garlic. salt and pepper to taste then set aside.

4. prep mushrooms and saute with olive oil over high heat with a bit of minced garlic and thyme.  (its better to saute the black trumpet mushrooms and chanterelles separately) set aside.

5. place bone marrow in an oven safe dish and roast for 17-20 minutes at 450 degrees.

6. season the filets liberally with salt and freshly cracked pepper then sear off the filets to your liking.  (medium rare or rare plus is what i like) let the beef rest for 5 or so minutes under foil.

plating directions:

before plating, heat up red wine jus, sprinkle chives into the potatoes and rutabaga and warm through. mound some of the spinach on a white plate.  top the spinach with the filet, and top the filet with some of the black trumpet mushroom and golden chanterelles.  carefully place bone marrow segment next to the filet.  using a spoon, plate the potato and rutabaga in a horizontal line in front of the filet and marrow.  to finish, spoon the red wine jus over the filet.  finish the bone marrow with some maldon flaky salt if desired.

then pig out.

*first photo taken without the red wine jus, this one with