Fusilli Lunghi topped with Fennel Sausage and Mortadella Vodka sauce and Shaved Smoked Caciocavallo

Ah, the joys of getting old and boring.  The first Sunday of SXSW  we headed out for an evening of fun and music, or so we thought.  Upon getting to the venue, the line was extremely long and we just weren't down for mingling and waiting in line with that many local and import hipsters on our Sunday evening.  Since Alex had several SXSW shows the upcoming week, we decided it would be a good idea to relax at home with a good meal.  On our way home we stopped by Mandola's Italian Market.  In the true tradition of Dinner Nightmares, he was to choose several random ingredients for the creation of a meal.  The ingredients are so fresh and fabulous at Mandola's that it wasn't a hard task!

Canned and fresh tomatoes, pistachio mortadella, fennel sausage, smoked caciocavallo cheese, fusilli lunghi pasta, salt packed capers, marinated sweet red peppers and baguette

Pistachio Mortadella, basically like bologna with pistachios.  Yum...

Fennel Sauage

Salt packed capers, that disgustingly I could eat as is.  They are much superior to brine packed capers.  When using salt packed capers be sure to rinse well, or soak.  If not you will end up with a tremendously over salted dish. 

Sweet red peppers

I found this not so good bottle of Vodka in our freezer that nobody would drink.  It was left over from making homemade vanilla extract for Christmas presents. I was inspired to use a dash of it in my pasta sauce. 

To use the sausage for pasta sauce, I slit the casings and emptied the filings out. 

Fennel sausage was browned until just cooked.

In a pinch, the only thing I could think to do with the pistachio mortadella was to chop it up and cook it into the sauce sort of like a bacon.

Parsley, sage, garlic, onions and mortadella were added to the browned sausage.

Once the meat, onions and herbs were nicely browned, I added fresh and canned tomatoes along with Vodka and a dash of cream.  The capers were rinsed and peppers chopped, then added as well.

I love a good bread dip.  In this simple one I combined garlic, sea salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and herbs de provence.  Add some Extra Virgin Olive oil and you have a tasty topping for your baguette.

I thought this fusilli lunghi was so pretty.  It reminded me of long flowing ringlets of blonde hair, or telephone cords (if you can remember those).

I miss my garden lettuce.  The sorrel made such beautiful and vibrant salads.  Here fresh greens are mixed simply with tomato, carrots and a parmesan vinaigrette.

Fusilli Lunghi topped with Fennel Sausage and Mortadella Vodka sauce and Shaved Smoked Caciocavallo

Venison and Brisket Chili

A simple but delicious meal, this chili goes way back to Super Bowl Sunday.  It's a little warm to think about having a nice bowl of chili in Texas right now, but it's always a good time to think about football season.  In case you are curious, it is only 126 days until The University of Texas season opener and 130 until the Thursday night NFL opener.  Once basketball season is over and all we have is (boring)baseball, I will be marking off the days on my calendar.

Chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin seeds, ancho peppers, cinnamon sticks, jalapenos, poblanos, limes, garlic, onions, masa, tomatoes, chipotles, Mexican chocolate

Venison chili meat and leftover brisket.

I can smell the delicious spices browning!

After the spices are slightly browned, finely chop them in a spice grinder or food processor.

Cook the chopped onions in olive oil until transparent.

Chop the peppers and garlic and add them to the onion mixture.

Brown the chili meat, then combine in a crock pot or large stock pot with onion and pepper mixture, brisket and spices.

Add the tomatoes and chipotles.

Cook for at least 2 hours, adding masa and additional water if necessary to get to an ideal consistency.

White Wine Coq au Vin

As I wait for my the "engagement chicken" i am preparing tonight to finish up cooking I thought it would be a great time to post a nightmare.  Everyone is familiar with the French classic, Coq au Vin.  It is generally prepared with red wine but why not try it with white wine?

Whole roaster chicken, red potatoes, Brussels sprouts, green onions, bacon, Swiss cheese, lemons, pear, carrots, white wine, chicken stock, cooking oil, carrots, white onion

I have never "frenched" a chicken before but gave it my best try.  You know, you really can do anything if you just watch Youtube.  Not too bad for my first attempt.

 

The chicken pieces were first seared in oil to cook in the juices.  White wine, chicken stock, green onions, white onion, carrots and potatoes were added to simmer.

This was my ridiculous idea for a salad topping.  Take a pear, slice it, then pair it with Swiss cheese and wrap in bacon.  Healthy.

We still have like 10 grocery bags of pecan in the garage.  Why not use them?  For anyone interested, I ship within the continental United States.

I just thought this was a cool picture of the Red Wine Vinaigrette.  Looks like a science experiment.

Lettuce garden, which is long gone by now.  Back to buying lettuce at the store :-(

By this point I had added just a bit of creme fraiche to the chicken in order to make the sauce a bit more creamy.  It was the perfect complement to the white wine.

Salad topped with random pear contraptions and pecans.

Blue Cheese and Date Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Yes, I am still here.  It has been over a month since I have posted a Dinner Nightmare and I feel really behind. Spring Break came and went, and the end of the school year is nearing.  For all of you teachers (and parents), you know what that means - TAKS and kids starting to go a bit insane.  Needless to say, I have been a tad bit busy.  I have nearly 50 meals in need of being posted so I took this morning and much of this afternoon to upload the pics to my blog.  Now all I have to do is write and post.  That is the part I am not so good at.  Cooking, I can do it with my eyes closed.  Writing, blech!

So, here it is.  The first of many meals to be coming your way really soon.  Blue Cheese, Raisin and Date stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Garden Chard Pockets and Broccoli Soup. 

Golden raisins, dried pitted dates, blue cheese, fillo dough, artichokes, tomatoes and fresh cut chard from the garden

My plan was to use figs for this recipe, but I didn't have any on hand and really did not want to go to the grocery store.  I had golden raisins and dates on hand so I made the substitution.

Chop dates and raisins coarsely.

Cut pork tenderloin through the middle but not all of the way.  Flatten out with a meal mallet or roller.  Top with blue cheese and date/raisin mixture.

Roll it up.

To make a sauce for the pork tenderloin I mixed apple butter, balsamic vinegar, Poblano Jelly (Thanks John & Linda) and more of the dates and raisins.  Simmered low and slow until mixed perfectly.

Chop chard into bit sized pieces.

Saute with red onions, EVOO, salt and pepper. 

I cheated and did not make my own fillo dough.

Roasted tomatoes were chopped and put in the chard mixture.

Chard, onion and tomato mixture ready to be enveloped in fillo.

Make sure to always brush fillo dough with butter in order to make sure the dough crisps perfectly. 

Placed dollops of the mixture on the fillo, folded into triangles, brushed with more butter and baked until golden brown.

Before cooking the tenderloin in a hot oven, I brushed it with some of the apple butter sauce. 

For the broccoli soup I purred green onions, broccoli and garlic in the food processor. This is because I do not have an immersion blender with would have been way more handy.  After the veggies were pureed, I added to a pot of warmed butter and chicken stock.  These ingredients were mixed well and then heavy cream or milk (i can't remember which i used, both do the job just fine) was added.  The soup continued to warm until ready to serve.