What are you cooking for the Big Game?

Killer Sausage Sliders

Chili … seen it. Wings … been there, done that. Hoagies or subs … boring! Serve something unique and may I just say delicious for the big game this weekend! Chorizo Sliders with whole grain mustard and Pork/Apple Sliders with caramelized onions. You will be such a big hit.

Oh and if you’re wondering what to serve to drink, here are our suggestions (all 83% off for case of 24): Ace Pear Cider, Leffe Blonde Beer, Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold Pale Ale and Cigar City Jai Alai IPA.

Chorizo Sliders
1 lb chorizo, removed from casing
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ cup whole grain mustard
12-18 dill pickle chips
6 dinner rolls, cut in half

Preheat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil. Form ground chorizo into 6 small burgers.  Add to the preheated skillet and cook 4-5 minutes per side.

While sliders are cooking, lightly toast dinner rolls. Split mustard between all 6 rolls, adding a little bit to both halves. When sliders are cooked, add one burger to each bottom half of roll, top with 2 or 3 pickles (your choice) and top half of roll. Press down lightly to bring it all together. 

Pork and Apple Sliders
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 lb pork sausage, removed from casing
½ gala apple, cut into ½ inch chunks
6 slider or dinner rolls

Add butter to a non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add onion.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until softened and translucent.  Stir in honey and vinegar. Reduce heat to low and cook until completely browned, 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While onions cook, add sausage to a large bowl. Gently mix in apple chunks until well combined. Form into 6 small burgers. Add sliders to same cast iron skillet, still over medium-high heat.  Cook 4-5 minutes per side.

While sliders are cooking, again lightly toast rolls. When sliders are cooked, add one per dinner roll, top with onions.

A Red AND White Friendly Appetizer

Beef Spring Rolls

Pair with Wolftrap White Blend 2009 and Champault Sancerre Les Pierris 2010

I am not going to lie to you – I originally wanted to pair this recipe with a heavy red blend from Portugal. I know I’m crazy. And let me tell you, it didn’t work.  I have another confession: when I first starting pairing food and wine I really couldn’t tell whether or not the food was pairing well with the wine.  The good news is, you WILL absolutely be able to tell when a wine does not pair well with a meal.  You’re taste buds will let you know.  That is exactly what happened with this pairing. I tried a bite of spring roll and a sip of my Portugese red blend and my mouth filled with a strong acid flavor – almost to the point of sour. Not great.

That slip-up did lead me to discover that the perfect pairing with these springs rolls could either be a red or white wine. A lighter, medium bodied red; such as a Pinot Noir from France or a medium bodied, fruity white; such as a Chenin Blanc.  And yes! I redeemed myself. Great pairing and perfect for a dinner party.  Some guests will want white, some will want red – why not give them both and a great appetizer to snack on!

Spring Rolls
2 lb sirloin steak
¼ cup steak seasoning
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 medium carrots, julienned
6-8 sun dried tomatoes, patted dry and julienned
6-8 leaves fresh basil, julienned
8 spring roll wrappers

Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated (about a 1 inch piece)
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, grated
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt/pepper, to taste

Dipping Sauce: Add first 3 ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly stream in olive oil, continuing to whisk until completely combined. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Let meat come to room temperature. Season generously with all the steak seasoning (it sounds like a lot but a thick cut steak needs a lot of seasoning).

Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over high heat.  Sear steak, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pan into oven and continue to cook, about 10-12 minutes for medium rare and 15-17 for medium.  Remove from oven, remove steak from pan, tent with aluminum foil and set aside to rest. Once the steak has had time to rest (about 20 minutes), begin to slice into thin strips, across the grain.

To start building spring rolls, first dip wrappers into warm water for 30-60 seconds until soft.

Lay wrapper on a clean, damp kitchen towel.  Arrange a steak slice and few of each vegetables in the middle of the wrapper.

Fold the bottom of the wrapper up, over the filler. Tuck in each side and begin to roll upward to form the spring roll. Dampen the seal with some warm water to hold it together. Set each roll aside and cover with a wet paper towel.

Serve spring rolls immediately with dipping sauce. (If you can, try not to stack the rolls on top of each other, they tend to stick together.)

A Tuscan Meal for a Tuscan Wine

Honey Pistachio Pork Chops with Saffron Potatoes Au Gratin

Enjoy with: Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino 2006

Brancaia Tre 2009

Many times when I pair food with wine I concentrate on the how the wine smells and how it tastes in order to match or complement it with the food. Obviously that is a very important part of food and wine pairings, they have to taste great together. But what is often overlooked is where the wine is from. Think about it; the soil, the weather, the water of the wine’s appellation all has an effect on it’s taste.  It’s a no-brainer that ingredients from that same region would work well with the wine.  Yes that’s right I shipped in ingredients from Tuscany just for this recipe! Not. But I did study the cuisine of that area in order to match the flavors they create.

Enjoy your culinary trip to Tuscany

Ingredients
2 whole russet potatoes, peeled and cleaned
2 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon to grease baking dish
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lowfat milk
Just a pinch of saffron
Salt/pepper, to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 bone-in pork chops
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios (salted)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut potatoes into ½ slices, set aside.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes until the garlic has melted into the butter.

3. Add flour and whisk until combined.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in milk, then heavy cream.  Add saffron and season with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes until thick.

4. Layer 1/3 potatoes in the buttered baking dish. Cover with 1/3 of the saffron cream. Continue to layer with remaining potatoes and cream.

5. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove foil and continue to cook 20 minutes. Top potatoes with grated cheese and cook until melted and oh-so-oozy delicious, about 5 minutes.

6. While potatoes are cooking, season pork chops with salt and pepper. Set aside and allow to come to room temperature.  In a large non-stick skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add p0rk chops and cook 2-3 minutes per side for medium rare (if your pork chops are particularly thick, you may need more like 5-6 minutes per side).

7. Once chops are seared on both sides, add honey. Remove from heat and turn the chops in the pan to cover with honey. Top with pistachios.