Break is Over! Veal Chops w/Garlic Mashed Purple Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans

It has been about 9 months since I have updated my blog. Well, this year has been a bit crazy for me.  In January, my family and I were coping with the Haiti earthquake.  Then, in February, my mother was hospitalized and had to have emergency surgery.  Then, in March, one of my best friends Evelyn was diagnosed with Leukemia and immediately began chemo treatment.  Feeling helpless (but surely not hopeless), I decided to join Team in Training to train for the Nike Women's Marathon and raise money to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).  I trained from May to October.

While training, I certainly cooked and had some wine (I couldn't give wine up all together until a few weeks before the Marathon).  But, unfortunately, with work, kids' school and extracurricular activities, official team training runs 3 times a week, well, you know, updating my blog had to take a little bit of a back seat.  Anyway, I completed (successfully!) the full Marathon on October 17, 2010.  I also raised close to $4,200 for LLS. 

This week, I had a chance to go the Farmers' Market and I got some beautiful purple potatoes and fresh green beans.  This update is nothing fancy, but I wanted to highlight some of nature's best and healthiest side dishes.  I made garlic mashed purple potatoes and sauteed green beans.  To go with those, I picked up a couple of veal chops from one of my favorite butcher shops (Ver Brugge on College Avenue in Rockridge/Elmwood neighborhood). 

To make the veal chops, I seasoned them with salt/pepper and steak seasonings.  Then, I browned them on each side for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat, and then finished cooking them in a 350º oven until medium for me (and medium/rare for Patrick).

For some extra delicious flavor to go with the veal chops, I made a mint-pine nut-garlic puree.  Basically, I took about 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves(another Farmers' Market favorite!), 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts, and about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.  I blended everything together (you can use a small food processor if you have one).  I stirred about a tablespoon of feta cheese in it.  I topped each veal chop with a desired amount. Ummm. . . delicious!

For dessert, I baked some pumpkin bread using a box from Trader Joe's (hey, I am not a baker!).  I made my own whipped cream though using 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of amaretto.  I garnished it with a sprig of mint.  Voilà!

To drink, Patrick and I had a glass of one of our favorite meritage wines, which I had already written about in this blog back in September 2009: Nine Points Meritage (Sonoma, CA 2006).  Safeway had it on sale a couple of weeks ago for about $11 with the purchase of 6 bottles.  It's normally about $25.

Nine Points Meritage is a Bordeaux-style blend and a cheaper version of Stags Leap wines, for those of you who enjoy Stags Leap but can't afford to have a few bottles on your wine rack.  The Meritage is smooth on the palate when you first taste it. Then, you get some nice berry flavors and it leaves a wonderful dry (some may say jammy) aftertaste.  It goes well with everything, but I particularly liked it with the veal.

Well, Patrick and I had a very relaxing evening at home -:)   Cozying up by the fireplace made us forget that it was pouring rain outside.  I am glad that it's raining this weekend since I am fighting off a little cold (postponed from the week of the Marathon!).  The rain forces me to rest at home. 

Until next time . . . Cheers! ZinAdel

Pork Legume with Black Beans and Rice: A Haitian Tradition

Last weekend, I was in the mood for some delicious and comforting Haitian food.  So, I decided to make black beans and rice and legume.  Legume is a traditional Haitian dish that I make with succulent pork meat that is first marinated for 1/2 hour in lots of aromatic and delicious spices (such as thyme, cilantro, parsley, garlic, cloves, fresh ground black pepper, Essence or Creole seasoning), onions, and tomatoes, then braised for about 2 hours in a dutch oven, and then cooked for another hour with a medley of vegetables that include fresh spinach, cabbage, eggplant, coyote squash, and carrots.  Once the vegetables are cooked, I mash them (except for the carrots, which I slice) and mix them back in the pot with the pork and simmer for about 1/2 hour. The result is a mouthwatering piece of heaven on earth.  I don't make this dish often because it takes about 5 hours to make, including preparation time.  But, when I make it, I feel so warm inside and so comforted.  It reminds me of Sunday dinners that my family used to have in Haiti when I was growing up.

Well, I had planned to post the pictures of this dish online early this week.  But, on Tuesday (January 12), my world came crashing (literally and figuratively) with the devastating earthquake in Haiti that took the lives of so many people, including some family members and friends, and left so many more homeless and helpless.  For 3 days, we had no idea if any of our family members had survived.  I went through so many emotions.  We were most worried about my grandmother. Luckily, she is alive.

I am posting the pictures of this dish because this dish is a reminder of the great memories that I still have of my homeland.  No matter how chaotic or sad things may be right now, I want to keep the good memories alive through things that I enjoy such as food.

Until next time . . . Cheers

ZinAdel

A Plea for Help Locating My Family in Haiti

News on Haitian relatives trickles in to Bay Area

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Rutherford Hill Cabernet: A Surprising and Enjoyable Start to the New Year

Sometimes, when I go to the grocery store or to a wine shop, I just walk up and down the wine isle, browse the wine selections, and see what looks interesting to me.  Every once in while, I find a bottle of wine with a label that looks very inviting.  Then, when I read the Winemaker's description, I think to myself: "I should try this wine."  Well, that's what happened this past week.  I was doing some grocery shopping at Safeway.  I decided to browse the wine section, not looking at any wine in particular.  Then, I came across a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon by Rutherford Hill (Napa, CA 2002).  What is interesting about this discovery, besides the fact that it is a 2002 vintage, is that the bottle of wine was in the Zinfandel section (totally out of place).  The label was really eye-catching. Then, I read the description, which I found very humorous and just fun.  So, I decided to try it out.  I tried to find the price label for the wine, but could not find it.  A manager helped me look, but could not find it either.  He rang it up at the Register, and it came up $26.  I told him that, although I want to try the wine, I did not wanted to pay $26 for the bottle.  Besides, I told him, we could not find the price label.  So, how did I know that it was not on sale.  I reminded him that Safeway has this advertisement that states most of their wines priced at $20 or more are automatically 30% off.  After thinking about my "reasoning" for a while, he said he would give me 30% off.  Then, I told him "this is your last bottle, as far as we can tell.  What if I don't like it?"  He said: "okay, I'll take $2 more off, plus I can get the 10% off for buying 6 bottles of wine/spirits (mix and match)."  So, I ended up getting the wine for about $16.  Plus, the manager challenged me a bit. He said, if I did not like it, I could return it for a full refund.

When I got home, I looked up the wine online, and found out that the retail price is about $36.  Patrick and I tried it on New Year's.  It was amazing.  This Cabernet is a full-bodied Cabernet, with beautiful garnet red color.  It explodes with aromas of fresh ripened berries and black cherries.  When you taste the wine, it resonates flavors of juicy fruits (such as juicy ripe blackberries), vanilla, fresh roasted espresso, chocolate, nutmeg and cinnamon.  It has smooth and silky tannins, with a lingering finish on the palate.  This Cabernet was a great way to ring in the New Year! 

The Winemaker's Tasting Notes read:

Rutherford Hill produces a rich and well-balanced example of what Napa Valley Cabernet can be at its best.  Ripe, sleek and elegant with intense aromas of berry, cedar, ripe black cherry and cassis flavors.  Ample acid and soft broad tannins provide both fullness of mouth and longevity. 
 [http://rutherfordhill.com/winecatalog/cabernet-sauvignon-2002.htm]
 
One wine merchant describes this Cabernet this way:
This superb wine is the full expression of Napa's finest vineyards. This is achieved by allowing the grapes to reach even and full ripeness. This added "hang time" enabled this wine to become a classic Napa Valley Cabernet. This wine has a bright concentrated blackberry and cassis fruit core enveloped in aromas and flavors of dark chocolate, vanilla, French roast coffee, and cedar that fills the palate with both flavor and texture. The fruit flavors linger after you swallow and slowly melts into the elegant layers of flavor provided by the finest French Oak barrels. The abundant mature tannins are rich, making this wine enjoyable now, and balanced with the fruit insuring this wine will drink well for over a decade. Enjoy. 

[http://www.worldsgreatestwines.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showDrilldown&productid=59e857a2-1b78-7bfc-760f-51cf0d93058b&ProductCategoryID=82b5e78e-f0aa-c8a2-e44b-485b43d5a7c7&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder+Asc,+P.Price1&B=10017818&C=97811408&A=f0304fb984f743558bb77844482942485c78&CFID=10017818&CFTOKEN=97811408&jsessionid=f030f7f03253e5649ef41d1a22163a78652d ]

We had this wine with a simple Pesto Tortelloni dish that I made with mild Italian sausage and a vodka sauce.  The Tortelloni is from Trader Joe's (you can find it in the fresh pasta/cheese section).  So is the vodka sauce (which you can find in the dry pasta/sauce section).  After a hectic schedule leading up to Christmas, and traveling to Disneyland with the kids after Christmas, by the time New Year's came around, we just wanted to make dinner easy and simple, but delicious.  The pesto filling in the Tortelloni is superb - full of flavor.  And, paired with the vodka sauce and the Italian sausage, that was a very hearty and comforting meal. 

Cooking Instructions
To make the sauce, I browned 1 package of sausage (about 4) in a sautee pan, with about 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (I seasoned it in the pan with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, some fresh ground black pepper, and about 1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning).  Then, I drained it on a paper towel, and discarded the grease from the sausage.  Then, I sauteed 1/2 red onions and 1 clove of garlic with about 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (I also seasoned it with some salt and pepper).  Then, I added the vodka sauce, stirred it while it heats through.  Then, I added the sausage back into the pan, and simmered the sauce for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, I cooked the Tortelloni according to the package instruction (it takes about 5 minutes once your water is boiled).  When the sauce was heated through, and the seasoning was right, I stirred in the Tortelloni directly into the sautee pan.  I grated some Parmasan cheese in the pan.  Then, I served it with a side green salad. 

Here are pictures of the sauce and the Tortelloni (in case you want to try them):

I hope you had a wonderful New Year's celebration with your family.  And, I hope the weeks ahead are calmer and life gets back to normal for you after the holidays, which can be hectic at times.  Next time you are at the grocery store, just take a few minutes to (leisurely) browse the wines.  Who knows? You may discover something amazing.  Remember: To know wine is to discover what tastes good to you.  So, don't be afraid to try new wines.

Until next time . . . Cheers!

ZinAdel