Thursday Dinner - Tahoe Edition

So, a long and overdue dinner was finally constructed this past Thursday eve.  Amidst the blizzards and heaps of snow, a small group of good people made it over for a wonderful dinner.  I had the itch to cook and try new things, and take whatever Safeway could provide to throw together a fun winter meal.  Everyone had just finished an epic day of skiing & riding and hungry for a big meal.  
Ali P provided the wonderfully refreshing spinach salad with feta, asparagus, and strawberries.  The main course was a roast chuck which I treated like roast beef, seasoned, seared and then roasted in the oven.  Because the piece of meat wasn't exactly ideal, I decided to try and flavor it up a bit.  I covered the roast with bacon after searing, and then used a few cups of red wine in the base of the cast iron to help keep the moisture in.  Along with an onion quartered, the roast cooked in the oven at 325* for about 2 hours. All told, it came out great.  I deglazed the pan with a touch of balsamic vinegar and more red wine. I then added the bacon back to the reduction with the onions for a sauce/relish. This was definitely the highlight of the dish!

I had the idea of using a chimichurri sauce as a side for this roast, but instead I decided to use it as a dressing for the starch & veg portion of the meal.  So, I roasted some Yukon gold potatoes and quartered brussel sprouts.  Once cooked, I took some of the chimichurri sauce and coated the side dish.  
And to finish off, I cooked some radishes (thanks Frankie B.) to use as palate cleansers. (if you haven't tried cooked radishes, they are amazing.  Cook in butter & olive oil until golden brown).

A few bottles of wine, some good records, and pumpkin bread & neoploltin ice cream for dessert made this night a blast!  Thanks for braving the storm! 

Sunday night inspiration

After neglecting a few posts and recipes, I finally got a chance to take a night and cook a nice meal after a long day of snowboarding. A quick back log moment; I was recently placed on the personal chef list for Tahoe Luxury Properties (www.tluxp.com). For the lovely ladies that work at TluxP I cooked them an array of dishes I had made before: Traditional Tuscan Bruschetta, Crab Bisque, and Vietnamese Sandwiches (pork loin marinated in soy, plum sauce, mirin, ginger, sirracha, sesame oil, and cilantro).

Anyhow, I was craving something that I knew I wouldn't be able to stop eating. Inspired by San Francisco's Zuni, I put together a chicken & bread salad dish that is usually a summer treat. Every time I've been to Zuni, I have always figured that the chicken was just a vessel for its bread salad, and not the other way around. Bread salad is something that we don't usually order or make, but man is it delicious. I think it should take the place of a lot of sad salads you see on restaurant plates.

The method to the madness was a technique I read about in the NY Times a few years ago. By roasting chicken on day old bread. Well, I skipped that step this time because I wanted to reduce the cooking time. Instead, I seared some drumsticks which had been marinating in the vinaigrette listed below, and then ripped apart the bread and placed it around the chicken in the cast iron pan. After drizzling the bread & chicken in the marinade and a bit of white wine, I put the pan in the oven at 400* for 30 min.

The chicken came out fabulous. I deglazed the pan with the rest of the marinade and used it to dressed the ripped crusty bread. Something a bit different this go around, I added a few julianne leaves of basil and chopped Italian parsley. Usually, I like to add roasted corn, however its not corn season sadly.


This is a great and easy recipe. Eat some bread salad! (not the best picture...)

Chicken - Zuni style

Marinade/Dressing:
1 orange
2 limes
balsamic
olive oil
honey
pepper
salt
cayenne pepper
dijon mustard
italian parsley
one basil leaf

Marinated, then seared drumsticks in cast iron pan in butter & olive oil
Rip bread and add to cast iron pan