Something Different...

No recipe today, just a cute poem I found in an old book:

Oh - Good Lord

The Horse and Mule live thirty years,

Yet know nothing of wines and beers.

Most Goats and Sheep at twenty die,

And have never tasted Scotch or Rye.

A Cow drinks water by the ton,

So at eighteen is mostly done.

The Dog in milk and water soaks,

And then in twelve short years he croaks.

Your Modest sober, bone-dry Hen,

Lays eggs for Nogs, then dies at ten.

All animals are strictly dry,

They sinless live and swiftly die.

But sinful, Ginful, beer soaked man,

Survives three score years and ten.

While some of us, though mighty few,

Stay sozzled till we're ninety-two.

~Origin unknown

Cheers!

Chicken Tequila Fettuccine

This is what we had for dinner last night.  Every time I make this,

there are never any leftovers!  It's that awesome!

You really must try it. 

Here's the recipe:

1 (16 ounce) package fettuccine pasta

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2-3 jalapeno peppers, minced

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

3 tablespoons tequila

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves or seitan, sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1.In a medium saucepan, saute the cilantro, garlic and jalapeno

pepper in 2 TBSP butter over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the broth, tequila ,and lime juice.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until reduced to

a paste-like consistency. Set aside.

2.Pour soy sauce over the chicken and set aside for 5 minutes.

In a medium sized skillet, brown chicken and remove from pan. 

To that same skillet, add the onion and the red, green

and yellow bell peppers with the remaining TBSP butter

and saute.

3.Meanwhile, cook fettuccine according to package directions.

4.When the peppers have wilted, add the chicken.

Toss and add the reserved tequila/lime paste and cream.

 Bring to a boil. Gently simmer until sauce is thick.

Toss with well drained fettuccine and garnish with cilantro.

 

5.  Sit back and enjoy the compliments!

 

Since you have the tequila out anyway,

why not make some margaritas?

Cheers!

Spicy Szechwan Shrimp

This dish has a nice spicy kick to it.  So, if you can't handle

the heat, I suggest you try something else!

Marinade:

2 TBSP dry sherry

1 TBSP dark sesame oil

1 TBSP hoisin sauce

1 TBSP dark soy sauce

1 TBSP honey

2 tsp. Asian chile sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP fresh ginger, minced

3 TBSP green onion, minced

2 TBSP cilantro, chopped

1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed

2 TBSP grapeseed oil

1. In a medium bowl, prepare marinade by combining the sherry,

sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, chile sauce,

garlic, ginger, green onion, and cilantro.

2. Add shrimp to marinade; cover and refrigerate

anywhere from 30 min. up to 8 hours.

3. Preheat a wok to high. Add grapeseed oil to coat the wok.

Add shrimp to the wok, reserving marinade.

Stir-fry until shrimp are pink, 1-2 min.

Add marinade and toss to coat the shrimp.

Serve immediately over rice.

This is great with a sweet white wine,

 like a chardonnay

to contrast the spiciness!

Cheers!

Tortellini Stew with Red Wine

Open a bottle of red and get ready to make a
hearty and delicious stew!

This is what we had last night along with some
herbed biscuits for dipping. 

Don't worry about leftovers.  This soup freezes really well!

1 pound sausage (or veggie protein crumbles)

3/4c. chopped onion

1c.sliced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

5 c. vegetable broth

1/2c. red wine

1 (14.5 oz.) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, with liquid

1c. ketchup

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup zucchini, sliced

1 pound fresh tortellini pasta

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Brown sausage in Dutch oven; drain off fat.  Add onions and saute until tender. Add carrots, celery, vegetable broth, red wine, tomatoes, ketchup, Italian seasoning, and garlic.

Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, prepare tortellini according to package directions; drain and set aside.

 

Stir in the zucchini, tortellini, red bell pepper, and parsley.  Simmer, covered, for about 25-30.

Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
prior to serving.

Pour yourself some red wine and enjoy!

Dark Rum Cake

You know how there are some recipes in which you really don't notice the fact that it contains alcohol at all?  This is not one of those.  The rum flavor is bold.  That's why it's called Rum Cake.  ;)

So, if you can handle it, here's the recipe:

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1/2 cup dark rum

4 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

Glaze:

1/2 cup butter

1/8 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup rum

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch tube or Bundt pan.

Sprinkle nuts over the bottom of the pan.

2.Mix together the cake mix, 1/2 cup dark rum, eggs, 1/2 cup water, oil, and vanilla pudding mix.

Pour batter over the nuts in the pan.  The rum aroma will be STRONG! 

3.Bake for 1 hour. Cool, and invert cake on a serving plate.

Prick the top of the cake all over with a fork.

4.To Make The Glaze: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in 1/8 cup water and the 1/2 cup sugar.

Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove glaze from heat, and stir in 1/4 cup rum.

Drizzle over the top.    

 

 

Pan-Fried Steaks with Mushroom and Wine Sauce

I impressed myself with this one! Mr. Tipsy was equally impressed and quickly declared this

"The Best Steak" I've ever made! ;)

The butter, shallots, mushrooms, red wine.... it really was amazing.

Here's the recipe:

paprika

salt

black pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme

steaks, your choice but make sure they're semi-thick (less than 1")

sliced baby bella mushrooms, 1/2 pkg.

1 minced shallot

2 TBSP real butter

2 TBSP red wine

1 1/2 TBSP olive oil + 1 1/2 TBSP butter

1. Sprinkle steaks with paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme.

2. Heat 2 TBSP butter in skillet over medium high heat.

Add shallots and stir approx. 1 min. Add mushrooms and cook until tender.

3. Add red wine and cook until thickened slightly.

4. Heat olive oil and remaining butter over medium high heat.

Add steaks and cook until desired doneness.

5. Top with mushroom sauce and serve immediately

with the red wine you opened especially for this recipe!

Pork Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce

This is one of those entrees that looks like it it took alot more work than it actually did.  ;)

1 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin

salt, pepper, and garlic powder

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2c. sliced mushrooms

3/4c. red wine

3/4c. chicken broth

1 packet dry brown gravy mix

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350*.

2.  Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste.

3.  Add butter and olive oil to medium high skillet.  Once butter is melted, add pork and sear on all sides.

4.  Remove to a prepared 9x13" baking dish.

5.  Top with onion, celery, and mushrooms.

6.  Pour wine and chicken broth over the top.

7.  Bake approx. 45 min., or until internal temp. reaches 160*

8.  Remove meat to serving dish.  Add gravy mix to wine mixture and stir until thickened slightly.  

9.  Spoon sauce over pork and serve immediately. 

I like to serve this with garlic mashed potatoes, peas, and, of course,

the remaining bottle of red wine.

Gin Martini Chicken

You don't have to be a big fan of gin martinis

(personally, I prefer vodka) but you do have to love olives!

2 TBSP olive oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

4 TBSP real butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup gin

2 TBSP dry vermouth

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the skillet, and cook

until browned on each side, about 5 minutes per side.

3.Reduce heat to medium, and add the butter and garlic.

Saute for about 5 minutes, until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant.

4. Pour in the gin, vermouth, lemon juice, and olives;

simmer for about 20 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

For serving, I like to pile the olive mixture on top of chicken breasts, drizzling with extra sauce.

Garlic infused angel hair pasta is an excellent side dish.

Rice Wine Vinegar Substitution

I love it when I learn substitutions for ingredients. 

Last night, as I was preparing the rice for my (awesome!) homemade sushi, I discovered that I did not have enough rice wine vinegar.  It's not something I use very often so it didn't occur to me to check that I had enough prior to cooking the rice. 

Anyway, it turns out that you can substitute an equal amount of sweet vermouth for the rice wine vinegar.   

The flavor was good and I would definitely
make the substitution again.

Cheers!  

On Pairing White Wine with Seafood

We've all heard about how you're supposed to pair

white meats with white wine

and red meats with red wine  

Well, I just read why white goes so well with fish. 

According to the March 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine,

white helps to make the fish taste less "fishy".

Here's exactly what is says:

"Diners have long paired fish with white wine, and now scientists know why:  They've discovered that iron present in red (but less so in white) brings out seafood's fishy aftertaste."

So now, next time someone says they would prefer something else,

you can come back with a scientific explanation for your wine choice.  ;)