New Food Venture 1: Poached Pears

In my down time I tend to be a foodnetwork junkie. From Thanksgiving to Christmas I have seen poached pears made over and over AND over again. They look so elegant and light...what a nice way to end a meal. I always have to have something sweet after dinner and the holiday season has left me all cookied and cheese-caked out, so I decided for my first new food venture I would attempt poached pears. Typically pears are poached in a sweet wine and spice mixture. After studying a few different recipes, I decided to put my own spin on it and threw a bunch of things I thought would work into a pot, hoping for the best. I chose a Madeira wine and added sugar, honey, whole all-spice berries, a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, orange peal and vanilla to it. I decided to use Bosc pears; I really like their shape and they are sturdier than other pears.

The boiling wine and spice mixture made the whole house smell like winter--it was fantastic. Madeira was a good choice for a base; it is sweet enough that it really doesn't need much else to make a great sauce, and the color is wonderful. I considered using a Riesling but I don't think it would have made as much of a statement. I served the pears with the warm poaching liquid (after reducing) and vanilla ice cream, which combined into creamy-syrup sauce that was delicious. Unfortunately, I don't think I poached my pears properly, as they were still a bit hard and caused eating to be both challenging and messy. I know the pears were ripe because I purchased them about 3 days in advance, so that couldn't have been the issue. The poached pear is supposed to be very tender just break with a spoon...I needed a knife to cut mine.

Next time I am going to poach the pears for a longer time or use Anjou pears which are a bit smaller and naturally more tender. I guess this was lesson number one for the New Year. I will definitely attempt these again. They are so simple to make, can be done in advance and would surely impress company. This dessert is the perfect dinner party dessert for the fall/winter. Lesson learned, and still waiting to master this method.

Staying committed,

Nora

Love Me Some Concord

Concord grapes are in season and popping up everywhere from seasonal items incorporated into grocery store products to center pieces on fall harvest menus. It is a fantastic pair for all the flavors of Autumn. Concord grapes have an intense grape flavor, both sweet and tart. They tend to be the best grape source for juices and jams. Recently, I have enjoyed these grapes in a few unusual fashions: pureed into a pie filling, as an ice cream and a sauce over fish and roasted butternut squash.

When it comes to ice cream, I tend to stay away from the "premium" fruity flavored ones. To me, there is not a better base than the indulgent flavors of vanilla or chocolate. I've seen everything from orange ice cream to blueberry ice cream, and they all fail to live up to the traditional vanilla and chocolate. I made an exception for a hand crafted Concord grape ice cream. It was so unusual that I just HAD to try it. The flavor combination reminded me of grape soda topped with a creamy vanilla ice cream (not that I've ever had a grape soda float...gross.). The Concord grape gave the cream a potent flavor and was well bound in the smooth texture and consistency of the iced cream. It was full bodied and had a luxurious mouth feel.

Grape pie is not a particularly unusual product, but I had never tried it before. I was in love. The strong flavor and jelly-like consistency of the grape puree was a well suited filling for buttery flaky pie crust. If you think about it, grape jelly is a magnificent pair for buttery biscuits and croissants so it was no surprise that it would be a perfect match for a pie. It was a dessert worthy of any fall menu.

The most surprising flavor combination of the three items I tried was the Concord grape sauce, served over seared halibut and puree of roasted butternut squash. The fish was phenomenally cooked; light, moist and flaky. The butternut squash was roasted and pureed giving it a nice consistency, texture and sweetness. The Concord grape sauce really pulled the dish together. It gave an added flavor to the fish and the tartness of the grape was exhibited through the sweetness of the butternut squash. It was such a fantastic combination that I wanted to savor...the last bite came all too quickly.

If you haven't tried this grape, you are in for a treat.

Grape-o-licious,

Nora

Swiss Chard: A Must Try

How I have managed to go 21 years without trying Swiss Chard... the world may never know. As I mentioned before this green intrigued me and was on the top of my "must try" list. The leaves are broad and look stunning on their colorful stalks. The striking yellow, orange, pink and red of Rainbow Chard look too beautiful to eat. I found a bunch of Swiss Chard with a red (almost a purple wine color)stem at my local grocery store and decided to give it a try. It was extremely easy to prepare, looked gorgeous on my plate, tasted great and to top it all off, it is good for you! How could you go wrong? It is high in vitamin K (1 cup= 306% of your daily value!) which promotes bone health, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and iron.

How I Prepared:
Wash; Strip leaves away from stems and slice into strips; Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on a Medium high heat; When pan starts becoming hot, add about a teaspoon of garlic to the oil to infuse; add the Swiss Chard and Saute until wilted (about two minutes).

I used tongs to move the chard around the pan, and as the chard wilted, the garlic took on the bold purple color from the veins of the leaves. The contrast of the dark green with the purple was very eye pleasing. The taste of chard is slightly bitter and salty; a perfect canvas for garlic or crushed red pepper. Sauteing the chard gave it a subtle tenderness but it still maintained it's sturdy composition. It was a substantial side dish and a delight to eat. (I served it with fresh coho salmon, pan-seared and finished with a lemon dill butter and flavored basting oil...I know I felt like a chef when I plated it all...I should have taken a picture it looked very professional.)

Wine Pairing: Riesling. The the bitter/salt complex along with the spicy notes in garlic (or red pepper..whatever you choose to prepare it with) need something fruity and clean to refresh your palate.

Explore Your Produce,

Nora

You Deserve The Best. Buy Local.

I am a farmer's market junkie. I know where all of the small markets are during the week and live for waking up at 6am on Saturday morning to battle over fresh produce. I am friendly with the pasta man, dessert lady, fish monger, granola bakers, yogurt cultivators, produce farmers and wine sellers (I should probably learn their REAL names some day). I love having conversations with all of them and learning the stories behind their food. The granola bakers only use locally produced ingredients, the dessert lady comes from Buffalo and hardly sleeps before coming to the market and the yogurt cultivators make small batches of yogurt so each tastes slightly different. I like the idea of supporting local growers, but to me there is NOTHING better than products tended to with love and devotion. I know my granola bakers spent hours in their small production center creating the perfect concoction and that my produce farmers tend to their crops religiously to ensure they are superb and flavorful. Farm-fresh yogurt has a unique flavor that will never be duplicated by mass produced products and my dessert lady makes things that could never be trumped by generic desserts found in grocery stores.

During the summer months, the produce at farmer's markets is unbelievable. I recently have been enjoying blueberries the size of my head (I'm not joking), beautiful and succulent heirloom tomatoes, fresh sweet corn and zucchini that are large enough to feed a small village. Not only are these products superior to those sold in grocery stores, but they are also wallet friendly. Do yourself and community a favor: buy local.

Shop on,
Nora