This recipe comes from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, brought to my attention by the Wine Spectator magazine. I chose it because the seasonings are ones that I don’t often use. In the end the flavors are so deep and complicated I became an instant fan. I believe Wine Spectator suggested a reisling for this dish, but I decided to try another wine. The charbono I chose was beautifully matched, bringing forward the clove and pepper notes. Enjoy!

Serves 4

3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. water
2 1/2 Tbsp. barberries (or currants)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced (2 cups in total)
2 1/4 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, or 1 whole chicken, quartered
Salt and freshly ground pepper
10 cardamom pods
1/4 Tsp. whole cloves
2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two
1 2/3 cups basmati rice
2 1/4 cups boiling water
1 1/2 Tbsp. parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup dill leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/3 cup Greek yogurt, mixed with 2 Tbsp. olive oil (optional)

1. Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, add the barberries, and set aside to soak. (If using currants, you do not need to soak them in this way.)
2. Meanwhile, heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions have turned a deep golden brown. Transfer the onions to a small bowl and wipe the pan clean.
3. Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with 1 1/2 Tsp. each of salt and pepper. Add the remaining olive oil, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, and use your hands to mix everything together. Heat the sauté pan again and place the chicken and spices in it. Sear for 5 minutes on each side and remove from the pan. (This is important, as it partially cooks the chicken.) The spices can stay in the pan, but don’t worry if they stick to the chicken. Remove most of the remaining oil as well, leaving just a thin film at the bottom. Add the rice, caramelized onions, 1 Tsp. salt, and plenty of black pepper to the pan. Drain the barberries and add them as well. Stir thoroughly and return the seared chicken to the pan, pushing it into the rice. Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat, remove the lid, quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan, and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot or warm, with the yogurt and oil mixture if desired.

Wine served: 2007, Shypoke, Charbono, Napa Valley

Today’s lunch depended on what was in the fridge. One pound of mushrooms purchased for another dish that I could not find the meat for screamed out to be the main ingredient. I still have scallions in the garden and a wide variety of cookbooks at my disposal. So….this recipe is courtesy of A Feast Of Soups by Jacqueline Heriteau. If you are a vegetarian, just replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
And in case you’re wondering what the little red dots are, scattered in the center of my bowl, it’s Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. As the saying goes “I put that shit on everything”!

Serves 6

1 Lb. mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
4 Tbsp. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
6 scallions, chopped
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups hot chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
3 to 6 white mushroom caps, sliced
Chopped chives (instead of garnishing with them I stirred them into the soup at the end)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute’ the mushrooms in the butter with the garlic and scallions for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring. Stir in the flour, lower the heat, and remove the saucepan to let it cool down a bit. Return to heat, and stir in the hot broth, beating constantly. Cook, stirring, until bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, and add salt and pepper to taste, then sliced mushrooms. (I cooked the soup for a few more minutes to soften up the mushroom slices)
Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with chives. Serve with rustic bread and wine.

Wine served: 1999, S. Andrea in Colle, Chianti Classico Riserva

This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook The Silver Spoon. The dish turned out beautifully, but as with most recipes I had to adjust. In this case I doubled all of the baking times. I also cut out some pastry decorations and added them to the top. Outside of that….perfection!

Olive oil, for brushing
2 1/4 Lbs. beef tenderloin
3 1/2 ounces pancetta, sliced thin
9 ounces store-bought puff pastry dough, thawed if frozen
all-purpose flour, for dusting
3 1/2 ounces truffle pate’
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush an oval ovenproof dish with oil. Wrap the beef in the pancetta slices and tie with kitchen string, then place in the prepared dish. Cover and cook in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter. Untie the beef and remove the pancetta. Carefully spread the pate’ over the whole roast, then place the meat on the dough and wrap it around to enclose the meat, crimping the edges to seal. Beat the egg yolk with the milk in a bowl and brush the mixture over the package. Make two small holes in the dough to let steam escape during the cooking. Place the package on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and transfer to a warm serving dish.

Wine served: 2002, Bourgogne Passetoutgrain

This scallop recipe is from the November issue of Food and Wine magazine. Their recipe does not call for it to be served over pasta and it also calls for larger sea scallops. I used the smaller bay scallops because I wanted to turn this recipe into a sauce for my pasta. Enjoy!

Food and Wine Recipe

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sea scallops
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium fennel bulb-trimmed, halved and thinly sliced, fronds reserved for garnish
2 Tbsp. drained capers
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the scallops and cook until just opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.
2. Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the sliced fennel and capers and cook over high heat, stirring, until the fennel is crisp-tender and lightly golden, 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the fennel around the scallops and garnish with chopped fennel fronds. Serve with lemon wedges.

I recently bought some stacks from Fante’s in Philadelphia. This is, also, where I found my beautiful corzetti stamp. In any case, I thought it’s time for me to be more creative or to “play with my food”. So, serving with our filet mignons this afternoon, I decided to stack the vegetables.
Here’s what I did: My friends Judy and Peter brought back for me, from Barcelona, dehydrated porcini mushrooms, so I rehydrated a few of them on the stove with red wine. I made mashed potatoes and boiled some fresh green beans cut into 1 inch pieces. I also made a shallot, port wine reduction sauce. (I’m leaving the salt and pepper amounts to your discretion)
In the stack I first put a couple of tablespoons of mashed potatoes, then a layer of porcini mushrooms, topped that with a layer of green beans, then another few tablespoons of mashed potatoes. I finished the stack off with a few pieces of green beans then smothered everything in the shallot, port wine reduction sauce.
Beautiful….delicious and, fun!

Wine Served: 1999, Vignamaggio, Chianti Classico Riserva

I sautéed minced baby bella mushrooms, shallots, fresh parsley and, fresh oregano in extra virgin olive oil, a tad of butter, a touch of red wine and a smidgen of heavy cream! How’s that for a recipe!
I think you cooks out there can figure out how much of this combination you need for as many ravioli’s you choose to create. The same goes for the béchamel sauce. I had plenty of sauce left over which I’m going to use, in the next couple of days, on a vegetable omelet. This recipe is from Mario Batali.

5 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture one cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg and set aside until ready to use.

Wine served: 1997 Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Grand Cru Bordeaux