what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?: November 2006

Thursday, November 30, 2006

White Bean Cassoulet, Roasted Broccoli, French Bread, Braised Leeks, Bistro Salad

Dinner 11/30

White Bean Cassoulet
(onions, garlic, hickory smoked tofu, soyrizo, cannellini beans, tomato sauce, tamari, pepper)

Roasted Broccoli

French Bread

Braised Leeks

Bistro Salad

The white bean cassoulet is one of our son's favorite meals, this time tweaked a little with the addition of -- you guessed it -- hickory smoked tofu. ;)

The hickory does bring that added extra "oomph" to the party going on in your mouth on this one...

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Mini-Pizza with Hickory Smoked Tofu

Dinner 11/29

Mini-Pizza
(red chile tortillas, hickory smoked tofu, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, button mushrooms, "follow your heart" soy cheese)

The mini-pizza were sort of like the pizza we had from Karyn's Cooked in Chicago last August -- the Lavash bread we were going to use wasn't playable (note to self: read the expiration dates on packages before buying). Two layers of the tortillas worked just fine in their place.

As you can tell, we're digging the hickory smoked tofu pretty hard this week ;)

oh, yeah -- and I bought a new car today.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Tofu Marsala, Brasied Fennel, Bistro Salad

Dinner 11/28

Tofu Marsala
(hickory smoked tofu, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, tomato paste, marsala, lemon juice, salt and pepper)

Braised Fennel

Bistro Salad

The hickory smoked tofu adds yet another layer to this dish that we've made in the past. After smoking, it's marinated with tamari and pepper, then floured and pan-fried which seals in the flavor. The shiitake mushrooms boost the umami and pair nicely with the reduced marsala.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Grilled Tofu, Deep-Fried Rice Balls with Red Curry Coconut Sauce, Hoisin Green Beans, Jasmine Rice, Tofu and Garlic Noodle Soup

Dinner 11/27

Grilled Tofu, Deep-Fried Rice Balls with Red Curry Coconut Sauce

Hoisin Green Beans

Jasmine Rice

Tofu and Roasted Garlic Noodle Soup
(stir-fried tofu, roasted garlic, tamari, chili oil, vermicelli noodles, veg stock, pepper)

Again, we made the dish Liz had at Dragonfly in September, this time with a larger slab o' grilled tofu, along with the deep-fried rice balls. I have to remember the next time we make sushi or risotto to save the extra rice for these guys -- you can make the rice stick together with enough rice flour and water, but I think the starch from the short grain rice is better suited...

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Deep Dish Pizza (version 3)

Dinner 11/26

Deep Dish Pizza
(Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack vegan soy cheese, garlic, black olives, Tofurkey Italian sausages*)

Once again into the deep dish pizza fray... a couple of tweaks this time around -- we dimpled the dough about three minutes into the par-baking (10 minutes at 425F) to keep it from puffing up in the middle too much. We added a little less sauce / filling this time around so it doesn't overwhelm the structure. And finally, we added cornmeal to the bottom of the pan to keep from sticking (which we should have done the last time).

* The kids like the sausages, so that's why they're on there -- also, it looks like they've changed the composition, with chunkier sun-dried tomatoes studding the inside...

1. pressing out the dough.

2. after par-baking...

3. spreading on the tomato sauce.

4. black olives, soy sausage, garlic.

5. adding the soy cheese.

6. baked for 30 minutes at 425, removed from pizza pan, baked directly on the pizza stone for another 7-8 minutes.

7. cooled for 5 minutes and sliced.

the final verdict: very, very close... the bottom crust structure was excellent and held up well, even after sitting out for 20 minutes. Next time we may try baking some cheese into the crust ;)

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Crudite Plate, Celery Root Salad, Artichoke Dip, Roasted Garlic and Ciabatta

Dinner 11/25

Crudite Plate
(black and green olives, carrots, red bell pepper, miso and garlic dressing)

Celery Root Salad
(shaved celery root, capers, pickles, vegenaise, sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley -- via Jamie Oliver)

Artichoke Dip
(artichoke hearts, vegenaise, red pepper flake, red bell peppers, pepporcini, vegan parmesan)

Fava Beans with Mint
(...don't say it)

Roasted Garlic and Ciabatta

A collection of small plates tonight, going through the fridge and pantry and using up some leftover Thanksgiving items (bread, carrots, dressing).

Friday, November 24, 2006

Black Friday Stir-Fry, Jasmine Rice

Dinner 11/24

Black Friday Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, tamari, pepper)

Jasmine Rice

It's time for the annual post-Thanksgiving Stir-Fry -- about all I could muster after shopping... I'll skip the horror story of shopping for a new TV set for another time. Let's just say that it was going really well up until the point where it all went bad... very, very bad.

The good news is we picked up the second season of Dr. Katz and that helped... ;)

Thursday, November 23, 2006

What The Hell Does A Vegan Eat For Thanksgiving Anyway?

Thanksgiving 2006

Shepherdess Pies
(smoked tempeh, tofu, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, flour, veg stock, salt, pepper, topped with mashed potatoes)

Braised Carrots

Braised Brussel Sprouts

Bourbon Cranberries

Ciabatta Bread

Roasted Beets and Mixed Greens Salad
(with White Miso Garlic Dressing)

Potato Tomato Soup

Dessert

Pumpkin Cheesecake

All I need to say is that no one walked away hungry from the table... and I need a two day nap...

And, if I had the choice of one dessert to eat for every Thanksgiving in the future, this would be it. Here's the preliminary recipe...

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust

1 3/4 cup vegan gingersnaps
2 oz. dark chocolate (vegan chocolate chips)
5 tbs. soy margarine

Grind or crush the gingersnaps. Melt the chocolate and soy margarine together in the microwave or double boiler, then combine with the gingersnaps.

Press mixture into a 9" springform pan, then bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Filling

4 oz dark chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate
16 oz vegan cream cheese (two containers)
2 cups brown sugar
12 oz soft tofu (aseptic box)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract
15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 tbs. ground ginger
1 tbs. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg

In a mixer (or food processor), cream the cream cheese, sugar, tofu, flour and vanilla extract. Add pumpkin puree and spices and mix to combine. Reserve one cup of mixture.

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler, combine with the reserved 1 cup of pumpkin mixture and set aside.

Pour pumpkin and cream cheese mixture into springform pan. Then place 6-8 dollops of the reserved pumpkin and chocolate mixture on the surface, and with a knife, swirl from top to bottom (being careful not to disturb the crust) until a swirl pattern emerges.

For the Bain-Marie

Cover the bottom of the springform pan completely with 2-3 layers of aluminum foil, folding the foil so it reaches about halfway up the side of the pan. This is so the water will not seep into the springform pan while baking in the bain-marie.

Place the springform pan into a roasting pan big enough to hold the spring form pan comfortably.

Carefully place 1/2" of boiling water in the roasting pan. Be sure that the water is below the aluminum foil and will not leak into the springform pan.

Place entire roasting pan into a 350F oven for 75-90 minutes (check after 75 minutes) until it just starts to pull away from the edges of the springform pan. Turn off oven, remove the cheesecake and gently run a sharp knife around the edge of the springform pan. Return the roasting pan to the oven for 1 hour. Remove and allow to cool completely (and we mean completely)*. Cover the top of the springform pan with a paper towel (don't let it touch the top of the cheesecake, this will catch any condensation that might build up) and then cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Best the next day. Can be made two days in advance.

* once we didn't let it cool completely (it was just barely warm), and the condensation that built up in the refrigerator ruined the top...

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Taro Burger @ Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Dinner 11/22

Taro Burger
(taro burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard)

yep, we went out to dinner tonight -- *gasp* -- I was meeting our good friends Patrick, Genevieve, Chris and Bridget for drinks in Cleveland at McNulty's "Bier Markt" on 25th, and Liz and the kids went over to Great Lakes Brewing Co. where they had the vegan Taro Burger -- even marked on the menu as such. Who knew? Anyway, I had mine to go and ate it when we came home -- it was very tasty, but it had a slightly odd "vegetal" aftertaste... not that I'm complaining -- kudos to GLBC for even having a vegan item on the menu to start with...

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Red Lentil Dosa, Black Pepper Tofu Curry, Spicy Chickpeas, Basmati Rice

Dinner 11/21

Red Lentil Dosa

Black Pepper Tofu Curry

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry

Spicy Chickpeas

Basmati Rice

This was our first attempt at making dosa -- a kind of southern Indian sourdough crepe. Despite the 36 hour lead time needed to allow the batter to ferment, it was surprisingly easy to make and turned out even better than we expected.

We stuffed them separately with both the Black Pepper Tofu Curry (adapted from Maya Kaimel) as well as some leftover Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry from Sunday.

It's really fun to learn a new technique like the dosa -- it's the kind of thing we love -- trying different foods that open up a whole new (tasty) vegan world to explore...

Monday, November 20, 2006

Pasta Puttanesca, Braised Red Cabbage

Dinner 11/20

Pasta Puttanesca
(onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, olives, soyrizo, tomato sauce, rigatoni)

Braised Red Cabbage
(olive oil, onion, garlic, red cabbage, salt, pepper, fennel seed, beer vinegar)

A quicky dinner tonight as we conserve energy for Thursday ;)

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Tofu Korma, Red Lentil Pancakes, Pistachio and Currant Pulao, Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry, Papadums

Dinner 11/19

Tofu Korma
(fried tofu with cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder in a soy yogurt sauce)

Red Lentil Pancakes
(recipe below)

Pistachio and Currant Pulao

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry
(a test recipe for Terry and Isa's next cookbook...)

Papadums

AOL Keyword: Red Lentils ;)

The Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry is a Terry test recipe -- and the spices make it feel like there's a Bollywood film going on in your mouth.

The korma was fab as per usual, with the soy yogurt making an guest appearance to liven up the party along with the supporting cast of regulars (pulao, papadums, red lentil pancakes). Speaking of which...

Red Lentil Pancakes
(makes approximately 12 pancakes)

1 cup red lentils
2 cups of water
1/2 onion studded with a clove
1 tsp. canola oil
2 curry leaves (or 1 bay leaf)

2 tsp. salt

1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. cumin seed
1/4 tsp. fennel seed
pinch of sea salt
1 tbs. canola oil

about 1 cup besan (chickpea) flour

canola oil

In a pressure cooker, over med-high heat, place scant 1 tsp. of canola oil and clove studded onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is just starting to show some color. Put the rinsed and sorted red lentils into the pressure cooker along with the 2 cups of water, close the lid and and bring to a boil, cooking on the lowest setting (or ring) for 10-14 minutes. Let cool and remove the onion. Add the 2 tsp. of salt and mash the lentils together (or use a stick/immersion blender).

In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, red pepper flakes, turmeric, cumin seed, fennel seed and a pinch of sea salt into a paste. Heat the 1 tbs. of canola oil in a small frying pan and cook the paste for 30-45 seconds until fragrant (careful, the garlic will want to burn). Add the cooked paste to the lentil mixture and stir to combine. Check for salt.

Remove the lentil mixture from the pressure cooker and place into a large bowl and let cool to room temp (or if making in advance, refrigerate).

In 1/4 cup increments, add the besan flour to the lentil mixture and stir to combine. If you want to use your hands, careful, it's sticky. You may need to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour if it's still very sticky. You should be able to form the lentils into roughly 1" balls without them sticking to your hands too much.

In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbs. of canola oil. Place four 1" balls of lentil mixture, spaced evenly, and press down with a spatula, until they're about 1/4 - 1/2" thick. Cook for 3-5 per side until a light crust begins to form. Repeat for the rest of the lentil mixture. Serve hot.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Alder-Smoked Grilled Tofu, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy, White Asparagus over Fusilli Pasta

Dinner 11/18

Alder-Smoked Grilled Tofu

Alder-Smoked Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

King Oyster Mushrooms

Mushroom Gravy

White Asparagus

Fusilli Pasta

Welcome to "beige" food night... ;)

The smoker box got quite a workout with both the Russian Fingerling Potatoes and Spring Creek Tofu getting a turn with the alder wood. The tofu was then marinated with a little tamari, salt and pepper and grilled, and the potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbes de provence and roasted in the oven.

But the key to tonight's meal was the gravy -- and it all started with the King Oyster Mushrooms (again). The roux was formed from the mushrooms drippings, fond and flour -- then the addition of shallots, rosemary, veg stock and wee bit of tamari... and it tied all the food together on the plate.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Stir-Fry with King Oyster Mushrooms, Jasmine Rice, Hoisin Green Beans

Dinner 11/17

Stir-Fry with King Oyster Mushrooms
(onion, carrot, yellow bell pepper, garlic, ginger, alder-smoked tofu, King Oyster mushrooms, tamari, pepper)

Re-fried Jasmine Rice with Sesame Oil

Hoisin Green Beans

Again with the mushrooms and simplicity -- the King Oyster are so good, you just want to get out of the way when cooking them. And what could be simpler? Stir-fry!

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Seitan and Chanterelle Mushrooms over Spaghetti, Seared and Steamed Green Beans

Dinner 11/16

Seitan and Chanterelle Mushrooms over Spaghetti

Seared and Steamed Green Beans

Liz scored some Chanterelle mushrooms (as well as some King Oyster for tomorrow night), so we simply sauteed them in some olive oil and soy margarine, with a little salt and pepper, and a splash of tamari at the end to "up" the umami factor... that a bottle of unfiltered pinot noir and... heaven. ;)

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Avocado and White Asparagus Salad with Macadamia Nut Dressing, Yellow Beet Ravioli stuffed with Cashew "Cheese", Raw Pizza with White Asparagus

Raw Food Wednesday 11/15

Avocado, White Asparagus and Spinach Salad with Macadamia Nut Dressing
(macadamia nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic and shallots)

Yellow Beet Ravioli stuffed with Cashew "Cheese"

Raw Pizza with White Asparagus

Tonight Secret Theme Ingredient: White Asparagus...

(announcer voice whispering)... white asparagus

The white asparagus was very crunchy and tasted surprisingly "clean". It was peeled and marinated in olive oil, sea salt and pepper for the pizza, but just peeled for the salad.

The other surprise was the macadamia nut dressing -- extremely creamy, to the point of almost tasting like a bottled dressing... yummy.

TrailBlaze Oatmeal Energy Bars -- Chocolate Chip and Cranberry

The nice folks at Matisse & Jack's sent us a couple of boxes of their energy bars for us to try out. They're vegan (and packed with plenty of dietary fiber), so we decided to give them a spin...

You can either mix them with applesauce (as we did for the cranberry version) or (soy) yogurt (which we made for the chocolate chip version). The instructions couldn't be much easier -- mix the wet ingredient with the dry, pour into a 8x8 pan and bake @ 350F for 30-35 minutes. They pulled away from the edge at 30 minutes, we let them cool for awhile and cut them into squares (as seen in the picture).

After the picture, the kids inhaled two of the chocolate chip bars apiece -- I'll take that as two enthusiastic thumbs up... ;)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Pasta Puttanesca, Cherry Tomato Focaccia

Dinner 11/14

Pasta Puttanesca
(onion, garlic, soyrizo, green olives, black olives, red pepper flakes, tomato sauce, chiocciole pasta)

Cherry Tomato Focaccia

yep, it Monday all right... but the focaccia was still rockin' ;)

Monday, November 13, 2006

Enchiladas, Bistro Salad

Dinner 11/13

Enchiladas
(fyh monterey soy cheese, ancho chiles, cumin, veg stock, tamari, pepper)

Bistro Salad
(romaine lettuce with a dressing of vegenaise, shallots, soy parmesan, white miso, garlic, salt and pepper)

the anchos in the sauce were particularly hot tonight -- and that's a good thing -- most of the time it's a crapshoot in regards to the heat level, but all things being equal, I'd rather have the heat...

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Stir-Fry, Jasmine Rice, Baby Bok Choy

Dinner 11/12

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, tamari, pepper)

Jasmine Rice

Baby Bok Choy
(steamed, then seared in a little oil with a tamari, topped with sesame seeds)

When the afternoon gets away from you (cleaning the house in anticipation of re-painting) and you realize that it's after 6pm on a Sunday evening -- it's time to break out the stir-fry ;)

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Lentil, Seitan and Asparagus Crepes, Fig Tart

Dinner 11/11

Lentil, Seitan and Asparagus Crepes
(lentil, seitan, onion, garlic, herbes de provence, salt, pepper, veg stock)

Dessert

Fig Tart

The crepes are the recipe from VwaV (chickpea flour!), the asparagus was blanched first, then grilled. The French lentil and seitan mixture is pretty standard (lentil, onion, garlic, herbes de provence, tamari, pepper, veg stock) done in the pressure cooker.

We love our pressure cooker -- it's one of those invaluable items in a vegan batterie de cuisine -- given how many beans we prepare every year, plus we use to make the veg stock every weekend (45 minutes and it's done...

The tart was very elegant -- Liz made this (naturally) and it has that refined old world flavor (i.e. not sickenly sweet). At the botom is the lone Chai Cupcake left over from the morning -- recipe from Isa and Terry's "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World".

Friday, November 10, 2006

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce, Smoked Eggplant, Roasted Broccoli, Endive Salad, Steamed Artichokes, Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread

Dinner 11/10

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

Smoked Eggplant
(smoked with hickory, then grilled, then stir-fried)

Roasted Broccoli
(coated with olive oil, salt and pepper, 450F for 15 minutes)

Endive Salad

Steamed Artichokes

Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread

The Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread was from the September issue of Olive (a BBC Foodie mag) -- simple to make but a spectacular presentation. This goes on the holiday party menu immediately.

The smoked eggplant was almost (dare I say it) "bacon-y" due to the hickory smoking, grilling and then a quick dice and faster stir-fry -- crisp, smoky and salty. Really worked well with the tomato sauce and the spaghetti...

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Soupe a la Bonne-Femme, Red Cabbage and Toasted Pistachio Salad with Sherry Vinegar and Walnut Oil Dressing, Fava Beans, White Bean Cassoulet,

Dinner 11/09

Soupe a la Bonne-Femme
(Potato and Leek Soup)

Red Cabbage and Toasted Pistachio Salad with Sherry Vinegar and Walnut Oil Dressing
(recipe from James Peterson's "Glorious French Food")

Fava Beans
(pan fried with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley)

White Bean Cassoulet
(soyrizo, onion, garlic, tomato, cannellini beans, smoked paprika, smoked salt, parsley)

Starting off old-skool with the soup -- straight outta Escoffier (751), baby! ;)

The cabbage salad was elevated with the addition of the sherry vinegar and walnut oil -- plus the toasted crunch with the pistachios gave a nice contrast.

The Fava Beans are a lot of work, and are one of those things you only make for the people you love...

The cassoulet rounds off the evening in fine style -- smoky, sultry, stick to your ribs food washed down with some Coturri Syrah.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Raw Food Wednesday: Nopale Salad, Chiles Rellenos, Tostadas

Raw Food Wednesday 11/08

Raw Tostadas
(Onion Bread, Cashew Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Walnut Filling, Avocado)

Raw Chiles Rellenos
(poblano chiles stuffed with a mix of very ripe plantain, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes, cumin and coriander seed, garlic, mexican oregano, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper -- dehydrated at 115° for 8 hours)

Raw Nopale Salad
(from Matt Amsden's RAWvolution: shredded red cabbage, diced nopale (cactus), corn, celery, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cayenne)

The Nopale Salad was wonderful -- a very colorful (and filling) display... and hey, cactus! ;)

The rellenos are a stand-by, but I freestyled the filling with the plantain and the addition of pumpkin and sunflower seeds -- the filling went a long way to quell the heat from the muy caliente poblano.

The tostada used the last of the onion bread from a few weeks back -- still rockin' that walnut filling -- I want to put it on everything these days...

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Sweet and Sour Seitan over Jasmine Rice

Dinner 11/07

Sweet and Sour Seitan over Jasmine Rice
(seitan, onion, carrot, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, baby corn, pineapple)

The classic Chinese take-out favorite gets tweaked -- the sauce was 2 tbs. ketchup, 2 tbs. tamari, 1 tbs. agave, 2 tbs. apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of water, and then thickened with 1 tbs. of cornstarch mixed with enough water to make a slurry. It definitely helps to lighten the sauce (and the dinner)...

Monday, November 06, 2006

TLT Sandwich, Baked Potato, Spinach Salad

Dinner 11/06

Tofu, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich

Baked Potato

Spinach Salad with Creamy Garlic Miso Dressing

A "TLT Sandwich" if you will ;)

The tofu was fried with smoked paprika, and the rest of the fixin's included vegenaise, spinach, onions and tomatoes...

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Tofu for Almodovar, Deep-Fried Baby Artichokes, Frito Misto

Dinner 11/05

Tofu for Almodovar

Deep-Fried Baby Artichokes

Frito Misto
(oyster mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli)

Tofu for Almodovar -- yes, an adaptation of the Rachael Ray recipe again -- we haven't had it since January, but as with all yum-o things, it was time to drag it out and make it again...

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Braised Carrots, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Potato and Tomato Soup, French Bread

Dinner 11/04

Braised Carrots

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
(recipe from VwaV)

French Bread

Potato and Tomato Soup
(potato, onion, garlic, herbes de provence, salt, pepper, tomato, olive oil)

There's no mistaking what season it is, eh? ;)

The soup is a favorite, and pretty easy to make, 4 cups of water, about 3-4 cubed potatoes, 1 chopped onion, about 10 cloves of garlic, 1 tbs. salt and 1/2 tbs. of herbes de provence -- toss in a soup pot and bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are cooked through (about 15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, add 1 tbs. olive oil and 2 chopped medium tomatoes and a pinch of salt -- cook down the tomatoes until they're released their water and have started to thicken.

In a blender combine the potato mixture with the tomato mixture and puree (you may need to do this in two batches) -- check for salt and serve hot...

Friday, November 03, 2006

Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots over Pomegranate Tofu

Dinner 11/03

Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots over Pomegranate Tofu

a test recipe from Isa and Terry's upcoming book... the underutilized israeli couscous works really well in this pseudo-tagine setting -- toasted and loaded with apricots and the crunchy pistachios, it's a natural with the pomegranate tofu.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Coturri Tasting at Riverside Wine and Imports

Coturri Wine Tasting Dinner 11/2

(click for larger pictures)

Raw Pizza paired with Coturri Charbono
(buckwheat shells, cashew "cheese", tomato sauce, walnut spread)

Seitan Bourguignon with Mushrooms in Phyllo paired with Coturri Lost Creek Pinot Noir and Coturri Jewel Pinot Noir

Shepherdess Pie paired with Napa Syrah and the Napa Cabernet
(smoked tempeh, tofu, corn, carrots, peas, smoked paprika, veg stock, flour)

Chocolate Madeleines with White Chocolate Pearls paired with the P. Coturri Family Zinfandel

Once again time for Riverside Wine and Imports annual tasting for Tony Coturri's awesome group of wines.

We did four dishes tonight to pair with the wines listed above -- and yes, we went with the raw pizza as the opener. Risky perhaps, but it worked wonderfully with the wine -- I think you'll see more raw foods sneaking into the tastings from now on ;)

We also went with Isa's test recipe for the Shepherdess Pie -- and it came through perfectly with the Cab/Syrah combo of wines. Good comfort food on a cold and snowy evening...

The seitan bouguignon is a classic -- I used the Coturri Lost Creek Pinot Noir in the making of the dish which enhanced it further, making the sauce extremely aromatic.

Liz made the chocolate madeleines and white chocolate pearls, which were extremely elegant and matched the always tasty P. Coturri Family Zinfandel.

By the way, Tony and his brother Phil were featured in the Nov. 15 issue of Wine Spectator ("Sonoma Mavericks") and is a good overview of their wine making philosophy...

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Red Chile and Soy Cheese Enchiladas, Mixed Green Salad with Tomatoes

Dinner 11/1

Red Chile and Soy Cheese Enchiladas

Mixed Green Salad with Tomatoes
(Green Goddess Dressing)

We used ancho and guajillo chiles (toasted, mixed with tomatoes, pureed in the vita-mix, reduced on the stove by half, then add 2 cups of stock and reduced again to a smooth sauce).

The corn tortillas were not the usual ones we have used in the past (from Cleveland). Those, it appears have vanished, which makes us very sad. Commerical tortillas just don't have that suppleness that the local ones did...

(Happy World Vegan Day!)