Six New Recipes! Eat your heart out!


Oh my gawd ya'll, have I got a slew of recipes for you! I've been delinquent on providing my wonderful Wine Club Thirst members from Dedalus with a digital place to find the recipes I've been suggesting with their wine club wines! I know, I'm such a jerk! So here are 6, yes 6, recipes for the last few months. I'm including some random pictures of my annual St. Patty's Day Day-Drink-a-Thon along the way, just for shits!



January, you remember January right? Snowy, cold, icky (sounding a lot like February and March too...hmmm) Anyhoo, these two recipes are good even when it warms up a touch. One is an elegant and more complex meal and the other is quick and easy! Here ya go...

Braised Lamb Shanks with Blood Orange Relish
3 Tbl. Olive Oil
4 Lamb Shanks
Salt and Pepper
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp juniper berries
1 tsp whole peppercorns
5 cups chicken broth


1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add olive oil and heat. Pat the lamb shanks dry and season generously with s&p. Add lamb shanks to hot oil and brown on all sides, in batches. Transfer shanks to a plate. Add garlic, celery, carrot and onion to the pot and stir occasionally until browned, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the red wine to vegetables and stir, scraping up browned bits. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, cook until the wine is syrupy, about 5 minutes. Cut a square of cheesecloth and place herbs and spices in the center. Tie into a bundle with kitchen twine and add, along with broth and shanks and any collected juices to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is just falling of the bone.
3. Transfer the shanks to a plate. Scoop the vegetables from the liquid and discard. Boil the cooking liquid over high heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with s&p to taste. Return the shanks to sauce to warm over medium heat, turning to coat evenly. Serve shanks over creamy polenta with sauce and a bit of Blood Orange Relish

Blood Orange Relish:
2 blood or navel oranges
1/2 cup granny smith apple, small dice
1/2 cup thinly sliced fennel
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Cut both ends from the oranges. Stand them on a flat end and cut away all of the peel and white pith. Quarter them top to bottom. Lay wedges on their sides and slice them thinly crosswise.
2. Gently toss the oranges with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Season with s&p.

Skirt Steak Tacos with Grilled Tomato Salsa
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 lbs skirt steak
2 Tbl canola oil
salt and pepper
1/2 head romaine lettuce, shredded
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, diced
8 oz sour cream

1. Heat grill to high, wrap tortillas in foil and put on the top rack of the grill while the steak is grilling.
2. Brush steak with oil and season with s&p on both sides. Grill on one side until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3-4 min. Turn steak over and cook to medium-rare doneness, about 3-4 min longer. Let rest 5 minutes then slice against the grain into 1/4-inch slices.
3. Fill each tortilla with some lettuce, 3-4 pieces of meat, onion, grilled tomato salsa, sour cream and avocado.

Grilled Tomato Salsa
2 Tbl canola oil, plus more for brushing
2 serrano chiles
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
6 plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
salt and pepper
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat grill to high. Heat oil in a small saute pan and saute chiles, onion and garlic until soft.
2. Brush tomatoes with oil and season with s&p. Grill on both sides until slightly charred and soft. Transfer tomatoes and serrano mixture to a food processor; add the lime juice, cilantro and s&p and process until smooth.


I got a lot of mixed feelings with one of February's recipes, some people loved it, some...uh...not so much. See if you can guess which one is the controversial one!!!

Liver and Onions with Bacon
Serves 4
1 lb calf's liver (1/2 inch thick) cut into pieces
1 cup whole milk
8 bacon slices, chopped
3 medium onions, sliced very thin
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 1/2 Tbl butter
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 Tbl chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1. Soak liver in milk in a bowl 20 minutes, this will mellow the liver's flavor.
2. While liver is soaking, cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, reserve 2 Tbl fat in skillet.
3. Cook onions with salt and pepper to taste in bacon fat over moderate heat, stirring frequently until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Transfer onions to a bowl and add bacon. Keep warm, covered.
4. Pat liver dry and discard milk. Stir together flour and s&p and dredge liver in flour mixture, shaking off excess.
5. Add butter to skillet then saute liver, turning once until browned but still pink inside, about 4 minutes total. Put on platter, cover with bacon and onion mixture then tent with foil to keep warm.
6. Add white wine to skillet and deglaze, scraping up the browned bits and boiling until liquid is slightly reduced. Pour sauce over cooked liver and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Fettucine with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Serves 4-6
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 large shallots, chopped
1 oz dried mushrooms, porcini, crimini, shitake etc.
2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
12 oz fresh fettucine, freshly made or store bought
Grated Parmesan Cheese

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add shallots and saute until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir to coat. Add broth and cream and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and boil until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 min. Season with s&p.
2. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta to sauce, adding reserved cooking water by tablespoonfuls if pasta is dry. Season with s&p and a sprinkling of cheese, toss to incorporate. Serve, passing extra cheese along.


March was all about braising! After meeting Molly Stevens, (author of "All About Braising" and "All About Roasting") at an event at Pistou, I was totes inspired by her plethora of cozy, slow cooked meals. Molly lives in Vermont btw and is perfectly lovely, as are her cookbooks. We dined that evening on goat, prepared by Chef Max Mackinnon. If you haven't had goat and you're all wishy washy about it (why are you even reading this?) you can substitue lamb. Also, I know goat isn't the most readily available but I've provided some helpful goat shopping hints below, aren't I helpful?!

Braised Goat - by Chef Max Mackinnon of Pistou
One whole goat shoulder, deboned, sub lamb for goat if preferred
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tbl tomato paste
2 cups red wine
2 quarts veal stock, or beef stock

Herb paste for stuffing:
leaves from one bunch of parsley
3 sprigs of rosemary
zest of two lemons
1 chopped shallot
4 cloves garlic
extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Make herb paste in food processor, spread paste on the inside of the shoulder, then roll and tie with kitchen twine to make a nice compact log.
3. Sear outside of shoulder in a hot dutch oven with grapeseed or olive oil until brown on all sides. Remove from pan and reserve.
4. Lower heat to medium and add onions, carrots, celery and garlic. When nicely browned, about 10 min. add tomato paste, stir for one minute, then add the red wine.
5. Reduce liquid by half, then add stock. Add goat and it's collected juices to the liquid, cover, and place in oven for about 3 hours, or until tender.

Serve with hearty grains or vegetables such as polenta, farro, potatoes (roasted or mashed), celery root, carrots, etc.

*Goat is not the easiest meat to find, it's not exactly stocked up at every grocery store. Lamb is much easier to find and can definitely be substituted. However here are a few tips on finding goat. Check local farmer's markets and online. Vermont Chevon Meats located in Danville, VT has had their goat meat used at various restaurants in the area as well as being distributed to food cooperatives/hubs, ethnic markets and CSA's!

Braised Pork Shoulder
Serves 8
2 Tbl coriander seeds, toasted
2 Tbl cumin seeds, toasted
One 4-pound boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
Pinch crushed red pepper
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups dry white wine
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 bay leaves
1 bundle fresh thyme
3-4 cups chicken stock

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Using spice grinder, grind the coriander and cumin seeds until they are a fine powder. Sprinkle the pork shoulder with the ground spices and salt.
3. Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Brown the pork on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan and reserve. Lower the heat to medium and toss in the fennel and onions and season them with salt and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and very aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
4. Add the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the mustard and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the pork to the Dutch oven and add stock to the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pork. Add salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and put Dutch oven in preheated oven.
5. After 1 hour, turn the pork over and add more liquid to the pan if the liquid level has gone down. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour. Turn pork back over and return to oven without the lid and cook for 45 more minutes. The liquid should concentrate.
6. Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pork and reserve for 15 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Skim any excess fat from the pan and reduce the pan juices, if needed.
7. Slice the pork and serve with onions, fennel and juices.

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