Weekly Nosh - Orecchiette with Grilled Asparagus, Chanterelles, Heirloom Cherrys and Chicken

Feeds 2

I was at the farm stand in Manchester the other day and saw some magnificent heirloom cherry tomatoes. Not only did they look outstanding, but they were sweet, and had a great burst of concentrated tomato goodness. My first thought was to make a caprese type salad, but then got to thinking I have not made a pasta dish in quite some time. Later in the evening I went with my brother to check out a new grocery store, and found some great looking chanterelles and thin asparagus. The evenings nosh was decided upon, and after browsing the rest of the store (My brother and I take a long time in the grocery store), I was ready to begin the dish. Chanterelles are usually expensive, and although I only got a small amount for about 5 dollars, you can substitute any kind of mushroom in place of the chanterelle.

Ingredients:

1 cup orecchiette
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white table wine
4 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed
1/2 bulb garlic skinned and finely minced
1/2 pound chicken breast
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 pound chanterelles
1/2 bunch asparagus (as thin as you can find)
1 lemon
1/2 cup ricotta salatta (parm or romano will do too)
1 cup table wine
1tbsp oregano
1tsp chili flake

Instructions:

Fill your pot with cold water add a pinch of salt and glug of oil set on back burner to to boil.

Heat up pan with 1 tbl olive oil, while heating mince your garlic and cut your chicken into bite size pieces. When your pan is hot add 1/2 of your minced garlic and stir for a minute our so until fragrant. Add your chicken, oregano and chili flake brown with garlic for 3-4 minutes until almost cooked. Remove chicken and garlic mixture and set aside.

Heat up a grill pan or a grill if available to high. Toss your asparagus with olive oil s+p. When grill is hot put on your asparagus. The asparagus should only take a minute or two depending on size. Your looking to put some grill marks and give a smokey flavor to the dish, but not lose the crunch so do not overcook your asparagus.

By now your water should be boiling so put in your pasta and cook according to instructions.

Heat up 1 tbl olive oil and 1 tbl butter in a pan on low heat. Roughly chop your mushrooms and put them in your pan cooking for 2-3 minutes, then add your chicken to the mushroom pan and add in your white wine and juice of 1/2 lemon. Let reduce.

Take off your asparagus and chop into bite sized pieces. Drain your pasta and return to pot. Add in remaining olive oil, chicken, mozz and all vegetables.

Serve topped with grated cheese and grated lemon zest.

Nosh with gusto.

** for grating cheeses, citrus, and even larger spices like nutmeg, a micro plane is an invaluable tool!

Weekly Nosh - Aleppo Marinated Skirt Steak With Chimichurri

Aleppo is a popular pepper in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. When dried it makes for a great meat rub, and as you will find with this recipe does have some heat (I would say a little less then dried jalapeno). If your steak has too much fat on it, trim some, but leave a little for flavor. Skirt steak has lots of connective tissue so its important to slice your steak away from the grain for a most tender bite. As a note for the chimichurri, chimichurri is an herbaceous olive oil based sauce that is a wonderful topping for meats. If some of the fresh herbs I list are not available, substitutions can be made, be creative and if you put in herbs you like, chances are it will come out quite nicely.

 Feeds 4-5 as a main course

Ingredients:

Steak:

2 lb skirt steak
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbl aleppo pepper
2 tbl oregano
1tlb chili powder (if sensitive to heat omit this)
s+p to taste

Chimichurri:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup basil
1 cup cilantro
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup mint
1/4 cup oregano
3 cloves garlic
3 scallions
1tbl crushed red pepper (optional)
juice of one lime/lemon ( which ever citrus you prefer I chose lime)
s+p to taste

You will want to marinate your steak for at least 24 hours but up too 3 days. Put your steak in a large pyrex then rub down with marinade ingredients ( don't be shy, you really wanna get your marinade into your meat so give it a nice massage). Cover in fridge for 1-3 days.

When steak is ready, start your grill and heat it up to its highest setting. While grill is heating, buzz up your chimichurri ingredients in a food processor or immersion blender until it reaches a nice almost pesto like consistency, put aside.

Put steak on your grill for about 4-5 minutes a side ( again this is for a rare steak, if that's not your preference cook longer.) When your steak is done take off the grill and let stand for 5-10 minutes, then cut against the grain ( this is important!!). Drizzle with chimichurri and nosh while hot.

Weekly Nosh - Buffalo Tacos with Avocado and Sweet Potato

Feeds 2-4 as a main course: 

I was perusing the Market Basket in Manchester while visiting my brother, when I noticed some Buffalo Steaks in the Meat Department. They were $6 for two, 8oz portions, and having only had good experiences with Buffalo in the past, I decided to buy and nosh.

These tacos are quite easy to make. The meat could stand to have an overnight marination, but I was in a rush to nosh, so I gave them a quick and simple dry rub consisting of: cumin, salt and pepper, chili, and oregano.

Ingredients:

Buffalo steaks (for tacos I would say 4 ounces a person will do)
1 large sweet potato
1 avocado
1/2 cup Queso Fresca ( and Mexican cheese will do justice, but any cheese will do in a bind)
Tortillas ( I used store bought but will post an easy and cheap tortilla recipe later)
pinch of: cumin, chili, oregano
Lime and radish for garnish

Instructions:

Take out your steaks and rub them down with the dry rub ingredients, set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and peel and slice your sweet potato into half moons. Toss your sweet potato in oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated then put them in your 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until tender.

After your potatoes have been in for ten minutes heat your grill pan on high (you can use a regular pan or even better a grill if you have one). Once your pan is smoking hot throw on your steaks for 3-4 minutes per side. I like my steak rare, but if you don't cook your steak according to your preference. Take your meat off and let rest for 5-10 minutes, you want the juices to leak out then seep back in, cutting before letting meat rest will result in a loss of juice and therefore a loss in flavor.

Crisp your tortillas on your cook top until warm. Assemble your tacos with your cut radish and lime as garnish, nosh.

**This recipe would pair magnificently with the Toasted Lady with the substitution of tequila for gin.

Drink Burlington - Dark Side Tea

The Dark side tea is a variation of the standard Long Island Ice tea, but better. The drink should be served out of an ice filled star wars pint glass, but in a pinch a standard pint glass will do ( I am not responsible if the drink's taste is thrown off by the lack of star wars glass). I am listing the types of liquor I used, but I am confident that substitutions will not alter the taste drastically.

Ingredients:
1 oz New Amsterdam Gin
1 oz Espelon Tequilla repasado
1 oz Crown Russe Vodka
1 Oz Ten Cane Rum
splash grenadine and roses lime juice

Instructions:
Combine all of your liquids into your shaker, shake till frosted. Pour into ice filled Star Wars pint glass. Repeat. Enjoy.

Drink Burlington - The Toasted Lady

I was once told that a toasted lady was a lady who could be " Sweet, sour and sometimes drunk".  Make this drink and you will soon understand.
Served in a pint glass filled with ice.

Ingredients:
3 ounces gin
half ounce grapefruit and pineapple juice
1 tbl or 2  finely minced jalapeno (depending on your spice preference)

Instructions:
Add your liquids to your shaker then add your chopped jalapeno. If your not super into spicy drinks use a strainer to get only the essence of jalapeno. Shake until frosted then pour into you tall glass.  Garnish with a slice of jalapeno. Repeat. Enjoy.