Cooking with Wine, Homemake Pasta & Tenderloin

Mediterranean Layered Salad with Red Wine-Herb Vinaigrette

Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Red Grape Wine Sauce

Homemade Pasta with Chardonnay Cream Sauce

Tiramisu

Mediterranean Layered Salad

  As with any dressed salad it is best to wait until just before serving to dress as the acid in the dressing will begin to wilt the lettuce immediately.

Salad:

1 cup chopped Romaine lettuce

2 oz chickpeas

½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

½ cup English cucumber, diced in ¼ inch cubes

¼ cup red onion, julienned

¼ cup Kalamatta olives, coarsely chopped

4 marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

Dressing:

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon oregano

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt and ground black pepper

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Chilled salad plates

  In a small mixing bowl combine honey and lemon juice. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking vigorously. If oil begins to pool, stop adding and whisk until fully incorporated. Taste and adjust flavor with salt and pepper. Add parsley and whisk. Set aside.

  When ready to serve, toss Romaine with half of dressing until lightly coated. Create a bed of dressed Romaine lettuce on a chilled salad plate, staying within the inner rim of plate. Spread hummus over Romaine or add small spoons full until greens are mostly or fully covered. Arrange tomato quarters over hummus, and repeat with diced cucumber, artichoke hearts, red onion and olives. Using a spoon, drizzle some or all of remaining dressing over salad based on your preference. Serve immediately.

Tenderloin with red grape wine sauce

  yield: 2

TENDERLOIN

1 teaspoon veggie oil

½ cup red grapes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup red wine

¼ cup  stock

2 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper then place in hot skillet and cook until desired temperature is reached.

Once tenderlin is done remove to rest, add a bit of more  oil, when simmering add grapes. Cook grapes until they burst open, add garlic and cook until aromatic. Add red wine and stock then reduce by half. Turn burner off and add butter. Swirl pan around until butter is melted and fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper then serve over tenderloin.

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pasta

yield: 2 servings

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

  Making fresh pasta dough is fun and very easy. Traditionally, the dough is mixed directly on a board or counter but it is acceptable to begin the dough in a bowl to limit the cleanup. Laminate counter tops are fine for kneading dough but natural or engineered stone is best as it is non-porous and maintains constant temperature, especially important when working with yeast doughs.

  In a bowl or on a countertop, combine the salt and flour. Using your fingers, create a well in the center of the mound, being sure that the well’s walls are equally thick and high. In a separate container, combine eggs and olive oil. Scramble eggs with a fork to incorporate oil.

  Add 1/3 of egg/oil mixture to center of well. Using a swirling motion, pull flour from inner walls of well into eggs and mix until it forms a thick paste. If working on a countertop, be careful not to break through the walls of the well as egg will run out over the work surface. When center is no longer runny, add half of remaining egg mixture and stir to paste. Add remaining liquid and repeat. Continue to mix until fork is no longer effective and then turn dough out onto work surface.

  Knead dough by flattening, folding it in half and pressing hard with the palm of your hand. Rotate 90’ and repeat over and over until dough is a consistent color (no patches of flour or egg mixture) and begins to feel springy. Pasta dough should be visibly bumpy but soft and smooth to the touch. To test, press a finger into dough. The depression made by your finger should spring back almost entirely. Flatten dough into a disk 1 ½ inches thick, wrap with saran and place in cooler to rest for 20-30 minutes or until finger divot does not bounce back. This means that the gluten that was excited in the kneading process has relaxed and the dough is ready to be rolled and cut.

White wine cream sauce

  yield: 2

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup parmesan

½ cup white wine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon veggie oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat add veggie oil and garlic, as soon the garlic is aromatic Add white wine. Cook wine down until the pan is almost dry then add heavy cream and cheese. Mix until cheese is fully melted then season with salt and pepper.

Tiramisu

yield: 9

6 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 ¼ cup mascarpone cheese

1 ¾ cup heavy cream

2.7 ounces lady fingers

1 cup cold expresso or strong coffee

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a double boiler. Whisk and cook for about 5 minutes. Whip until eggs are a light yellow color. Allow to cool slightly then add mascarpone. Whisk together. in a stand mixer add heavy cream. Whip until a stiff peak forms. Fold egg mixture into whipped cream then set off to the side. Dip lady fingers in coffee then place in ramekins or brownie pan, place half of the cream mixture on top, spread evenly. Add another layer of lady fingers dipped in coffee  then the rest of the cream mixture. Dust with coco powder and chill until ready to serve.