A Valentine's Menu for Carnivores, and the gift of Teton Chocolat

First, a gift idea.  Then, a Valentine's menu for carnivores, if you are so inclined to cook a special meal for your sweetie.

I just received this exquisite box of chocolates.  "Made by girlfriends for girlfriends", the card said.  I was intrigued, and so was my 13 year old son who kept peering at the nude on the front.  

Teton Chocolat is the collaboration of local gals Kristen Simpson, a chocolatier, and Shannon Troxler, a fine artist.

A limited edition print of Shannon Troxler's gorgeous nude adorns the refurbished cigar box.  Shannon Troxler is an accomplished local artist famous for her beautiful images of women.

'Art and chocolate. The bare necessities of life', according to the women at Teton Chocolat.

Look inside, and you find the most beautiful chocolate flowers, dark and milk chocolate, with almonds, all in various iridescent shades of flowers.

Live Simply. Eat Chocolate. I love the mission statement of Teton Chocolat.

Teton Chocolat: to order call (307) 413-6109, or email info@tetonchocolat.com.

Now, we can get down to business.  If you are in love with a carnivore, this is the Valentine's Day menu for you.

                        Short Ribs of Beef with Red Wine and Port 
                                  and Cilantro/Orange Gremolata
                                               Celery Root Puree
                                 Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad
                                 French Green Beans with Bacon
                        Cocoa Brownies with Brown Butter and Walnuts

Your carnivore will adore eating Short Ribs of Beef in Red Wine and Port; the aroma alone seeping through your home will signal something special is in the works.  The tender beef falls from the bone, and the red wine and port-infused sauce pools over the creamiest celery root puree, all brightened with an unexpected dash of cilantro and orange.  

Short Ribs of Beef with Red Wine and Port, Celery root puree, and Cilantro/Orange Gremolata

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad will make the impossible possible:  rich and ripe tomato flavor in the dead of winter.  When's the last time you had a good tomato?  Oh, so long ago for we Wyomingites.   

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

French green beans with bacon are so handsome standing straight up on the plate, they no doubt will put you both in a good mood.

French Green Beans with Bacon

And for dessert....brownies.  Not just any brownies, but my new favorite brownies, Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts.  These brownies adorn this month's Bon Appetit magazine.  Is anyone else susceptible to the power of suggestion?  I've been making them every other day since my issue came in the mail, and now I've got it perfected for altitude.

How to tackle the menu without destroying your ardor by having a kitchen full of dirty dishes?  The Short Ribs of Beef are actually better if made a day or two ahead.  The celeriac puree can easily be done while the Short Ribs are being prepped (both take about an hour), or can be replaced by mashed potatoes from your favorite take-out emporium, buttered noodles, or rice.   

The French green beans with bacon are awfully cute, but you could also prep the beans, then toss them in a pan later with chopped crispy bacon; it will be just as tasty.

See my last post "Fear of Celeriac" for the recipes for celery root puree and French green beans with bacon.

The caprese salad is also great done ahead; the tomatoes will roast in a slow oven for 2 hours, and the rest is a snap.  Or you could buy some slow-roasted tomatoes at Jackson Whole Grocer in the deli case.

The brownies....well, you just have to make the brownies. 

Short Ribs of Beef with Red Wine and Port and a Cilantro/Orange Gremolata

This recipe serves 6, but you could easily reduce all ingredients by half if you are preparing dinner for two, and have leftovers. You will want leftovers! 

I've adapted this recipe from Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan, my new favorite cookbook of all things French.  

To save time, you can chop the vegetables very roughly; they will be strained out of the sauce at the end, so they need not be pretty.

This recipe looks long but it is very straightforward.  You will broil the ribs, cook and reduce the sauce, then braise the ribs in the sauce in the oven for 3 hrs.  If you have time, you can chill and reheat later, or you can proceed to remove the ribs, strain the sauce, and finish by broiling the ribs again to glaze them with sauce.  Whew!  It's really not that hard!

Ribs are broiled under a hot broiler until browned on all sides. Foil keeps you from having to scrub the pan!

• 2 sprigs each of parsley, thyme and rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced roughly
• 12 short ribs of beef, each with one bone, about 9 lbs.
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 parsnip, trimmed and roughly chopped
• fresh ginger, 1 12/ inch piece, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 5 big cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 750 ml bottle of red wine, such as an inexpensive crianza, rioja or syrah
• 1 1/2 cups ruby port, likewise an inexpensive brand
• 4-6 cups of beef broth, unsalted

For the Gremolata:

• Finely chopped zest of 1 orange, or 2 tangerines
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

I have coarsely chopped the vegetables to save time. They will be strained out of the sauce later anyway.

Stir for 2 minutes after you add the tomato paste.

I know it is hard to sacrifice an entire bottle of wine in the name of cooking, but you won't regret it. This was a $10 Syrah Red Biciclette.

It can be even harder to sacrifice a nice port; just don't use the expensive vintages.

I didn't have any cheesecloth to make a proper bouquet garni, so I just wrapped the herbs in twine and through them in the pot. They were easy to retrieve later.

Place the broiled ribs bone end up into the pan in a single layer.

Add enough beef broth to almost cover the ribs. Now cover the pan tightly with foil, then with the lid, and braise in the oven for 2 hrs, and then another hour without the lid.

1. FIrst, broil the short ribs.  Line a baking sheet with foil, then place the ribs bone side up on the sheet.  Broil for 5 minutes each side, until all sides are nicely browned.  Transfer the ribs to a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Lower the oven rack to the middle or lower third, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
   
3. Now, gather your herb sprigs, star anise, and celery leaves into a piece of cheesecloth wrapped in twine to make a bouquet garni.  No cheesecloth?  Just bundle them best you can and set aside.
   
4. Pour the oil into a large casserole large enough to hold all the ribs in one layer.  Toss the vegetables, garlic, and ginger into the pot and cook, stirring now and then, until all are soft and brown, about 10 minutes. 
   
5. Season with salt and pepper.  Add the tomato paste and stir well, cooking for another 2 minutes.
   
6. Pour in the wine and the port, add the bouquet garni, and bring to a boil.  Boil over high heat until reduced by about one third.
   
7. Return the ribs to the pot, placing them bone-up in a single row.  Pour in 4 cups of beef broth.  The broth should be almost to the top of the ribs; if needed add more broth.
   
8. Cover pot with foil tightly, then place lid.  Cook, undisturbed, for 2 hrs.
   
9. Remove the lid and let some steam escape.  Return to the oven with just the foil loosely on the pot for another 1 hour.
   
10. If making ahead of time, cool and set aside.  Once ready to reheat, carefully remove the ribs from the sauce, and remove any congealed fat.  Skim the fat from the sauce, then pour the sauce into a saucepan over a large fine mesh sieve to separate off all the solids.  Press with a spoon on the solids to get out all that great sauce.  Warm over medium heat to reduce and thicken a bit.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.
    
11. Prepare the gremolata by finely chopping the orange zest, garlic and cilantro, and set aside to serve at the table.
    
12. Preheat the broiler, and place the ribs into a foil-lined roasting pan.  Spoon some sauce over, and broil to warm them up and glaze them with the sauce.  Turn over to broil both side.
    
13. Transfer the ribs to a platter, and spoon some sauce over.  Sprinkle with gremolata at the table.  
    

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

This version of caprese salad makes good use of those uninspiring plum tomatoes available all winter at the grocery.  

FIrm, mealy tomatoes such as these are de riguer here in the mountains in mid-February.

This recipe comes from the genius of Ina Garten in her Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook.  It serves 6, and feel free to make just half for your Valentine's Day dinner.

• 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, but leave cores intact
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (not your best, it will cook off in the oven)
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. sugar 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 16 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/2 inch thin
• 12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

1.  Preheat oven to 275 degrees Farenheit. 
2.  Prepare the tomatoes: cut out the stem core, and halve lengthwise, keeping the core intact.

Theses tomatoes still don't look too promising, but just wait.

3.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

Starting to look a little more appetizing.

4.  Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramalize.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.

These homely plum tomatoes become irresistible after slow roasting in the oven for two hours.

5.  Cut the mozzarella slices into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Arrange the tomatoes on a plate topped with the mozzarella and the basil chiffonade.  Drizzle with more olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. and more freshly ground pepper if you like.

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad. You could just have this for dinner and skip the rest.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

Recipe by Alice Medrich, author of Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, one cookbook I do not have (but maybe I should get it!)  This recipe appeared in the February 2011 issue of Bon Appetit.  

I have made some minor adjustments for altitude, which I will note.  Also, I have made these brownies with chocolate chips instead of walnuts with great results.

The brownie of my dreams.

• nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 10 Tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cup sugar (reduce to 1 cup at altitude)
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, spooned into a measuring cup, then leveled
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, chilled
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour (add another Tbsp. flour at altitude)
• 2 tsp. water (4 tsp. at altitude)
• 1 cup walnut pieces, or chocolate chips

Sadly, I have used up the last of the Perugina Cocao I brought back from Italy in my suitcase. Does anyone know where I can get some more? I have also made these brownies with Hershey's cocoa with great results.

1.  Position rack in bottom third of oven.  Preheat to 325 degrees Farenheit.  (345 degrees if you are at altitiude).
2.  Line a 8x8x2 inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing firmly against the sides of the pan, and leaving a 2 inch overhang.
3.  Coat foil with nonstick spray.
4.  Now to make the browned butter:  Melt all the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  First it will foam up, and then it will settle down, leaving bits of brown butter at the bottom of the pan.  Stir constantly while this happens for about 5 minutes. 

Butter foaming up as it heats.

The foam subsides, and the browned butter solids settle to the bottom of the pan. Time to take the pan away from the heat.

5.  Remove from the heat.  Immediately add sugar, cocoa powder, water, vanilla, and a heaping 1/4 tsp. salt.  Stir to blend.  Let cool for 5 minutes.

The browned butter flavor is what makes these brownies so special.

6. Add eggs to the warm sugar mixture one at a time, stirring vigorously to blend after each addition. When the mixture looks thick and shiny, add the flour and stir until just blended.  Beat vigorously for 60 strokes.  
7.  Stir in nuts or chocolate chips.  Transfer batter to prepared pan.

The foil overhang that you lined the pan with becomes important here, as you lift the cooled brownies from the pan.

8.  Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool in pan on a rack.  Using foil overhang, lift cooled brownies form pan.  Cut into 4 strips.  Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies.
9.  Store airtight at room temperature.  Try not to leave yourself home alone with the brownies!  Believe me, I know how dangerous they can be. 

Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Singles Awareness Day! Whichever you are celebrating, a brownie is always appropriate!

Bouquet garni:  a bundle of herbs: thyme, parsley and bay leaf,  for flavoring soups, stews, sauces and braised meat and vegetables.  If the herbs are fresh, the parsley is bundled around them and tied with a piece of string.  If the herbs are dried, they are tucked into a piece of cheesecloth and tied. If others herbs or vegetable are to be added, then it will be specified in the recipe. 

from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.