Thanksgiving Pâté de Campagne

This recipe gives purpose to your turkey giblets, extra Thanksgiving spices, and all that ham. Easy to make in the morning and then refrigerate all day while everything else cooks.

Photo of giblets by Flickr user jpwbee, used under Creative Commons license by-nc-sa

Makes one terrine, 8-12 appetizer-side servings.

Ingredients:

1 turkey liver
1 turkey gizzard
1 turkey heart
1/2 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1/2 cup whole milk
1 pound ham, chopped
2 eggs
1/4 cup well-chopped celery
1/4 cup pistachios, shelled and whole
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons brandy, preferably cognac
2 sprigs fresh thyme, destemmed
1/2 cup Italian parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons gray salt
1 tablespoon freshly-ground black pepper
about 12 slices smoked bacon

Clean the turkey liver, gizzard, and heart, removing any connective tissue. In three separate bowls, soak the turkey liver, gizzard, and heart in 1/2 cup each of whole milk for two hours. Drain, rinse, and pat dry.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Roughly chop the liver, gizzard, and heart. Combine half of the ham, liver, gizzard, and heart in a food processor. Pulse until very well chopped but not puréed. Reserve. Combine the remaining ham, liver, and gizzard in the food processor. Process until a rough purée.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the processed meat, eggs, celery, pistachios, garlic, brandy, thyme, parsley, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, gray salt, and black pepper. Mix well, until the ingredients become a single sticky ball.

Line the bottom and sides of a terrine with bacon. Leave enough bacon overlapping on the sides so that the bacon can be brought up and across the top of the pâté.

Fill the terrine with the pâté mixture, pressing down with a spoon to ensure a compact fit. Fold the bacon over the top of the mixture.

Place the terrine in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with hot water. Place in the oven and bake until the bacon is rendered and bubbling, the juices run clear, and the meat is cooked through to an internal temperature of 170°F, about 90 minutes.

Remove from oven. Pour off the rendered fat. Place a two pound weight on top of the terrine. Let cool to room temperature. Remove weight, cover, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours.

To serve, cut into 1/2 inch slices and plate with toast points, wholegrain mustard, and cornichons.

Pappardelle, Mushroom Ragù, Cebollitas, Truffle Oil

A satisfying winner in all its mushroom and umami goodness. The big, eggy pappardelle is the perfect mate for the bold mushroom ragù while the grilled green onions make a great contrasting garnish. Possibly the Tim Tebow of pasta dishes.

Pappardelle with Mushroom Ragù, Cebollitas, and Truffle Oil

Makes four servings.

Ingredients:

2 cups mushroom ragù (recipe)
1 pound fresh pappardelle
4 cebollitas (recipe), chopped
1/4 cup finely and freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio
4 teaspoons white truffle oil

In a saute pan, bring the mushroom ragù to a simmer. Keep warm.

Bring a large pot of heavily-salted water to boil. Add the pappardelle and cook until just tender, only 60-90 seconds. Drain.

Add the pappardelle to the saute pan with the mushroom ragù and gently toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Plated, garnished, and ready to serve

Plate, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano and garnished with the cebollitas. Drizzle a little white truffle oil on top. Serve immediately. Pairs well with a Barolo from Italy's Cuneo province in Piemonte.

Ragù di Funghi: Mushroom Ragù

Like my ragù alla bolognese, this recipe is bold and delicious. This version offers intense, concentrated mushroom flavor in a thick, creamy condimento. As much as I love the big, meaty punch of ragù alla bolognese, most days I would rather adorn my pasta with this umami-rich ragù di funghi.

My mushroom ragù calls for three types of mushroom: dried porcini and fresh shiitake and crimini. You can certainly substitute your favorite fungi, but the mushroomy woodsiness and umami notes from porcini and shiitake are hard to beat. Good porcinis, in particularly, are incredible fresh or dried and worth a hunt. The most exquisite are fungo di Borgotaro and porcino nero (tête de nègre in French). The former is a prized PGI-protected variant of the standard porcini, Boletus edulis. The latter is a related but different species of bolite, Boletus aereus. But are excellent fresh or dried.

Mushroom Ragù

Makes about 3 cups, sufficient for four servings.

Ingredients:

2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
3 cups warm water, filtered or spring
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, thinly-sliced
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and chopped
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, destemmed and chopped
1 cup brandy, preferably Cognac
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
4 tablespoons (about half a tube) tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup heavy cream
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground white pepper, to taste

Inspect the dry mushrooms, removing any grit. Place the dried mushrooms and warm water in a bowl. Let soak for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, squeezing out as much excess water as possible. Chop them. Set aside and let dry. Strain the soaking water through a cheesecloth or coffee strainer and into a second bowl. Reserve.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and saute, stirring, until soft and translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant but not brown, about 1 more minute.

Raise heat to medium-high. Add the reconstituted porcinis, the shiitakes, and the criminis. Season with sea salt and white pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms sweat most of their liquid and deflate, about 10 minutes.

Add the brandy and, scrapping the bottom of the pan, deglaze.

Slowly cooking until the liquid reduces and flavors concentrate

Add the thyme, tomato paste, and reserved mushroom liquid. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and the mushrooms form a thick ragù, about 30 minutes.

Add the Italian parsley and heavy cream. Stir to incorporate. Cook until warmed through, thick, and integrated, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve as a condimento to fresh pasta or polenta, garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Cebollitas: Grilled Green Onions

Cebollitas, grilled green onions (scallions), make a great snack or side dish. They are also an excellent addition or garnish to many recipes. If using in another dish, omit the lime juice.

Cebollitas: Grilled Green Onions

Makes four servings.

Ingredients:

one bunch scallions (green onions), root-ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice, optional
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat grill to medium-high or set broiler to high.

Scallions, tossed with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper

In a small mixing bowl, combine the scallions, olive oil, and sea salt and black pepper to taste. Toss to coat.

If grilling: Place scallions on heated grill and cook until softened and beginning to char, about 2 minutes. Remove.

If broiling: Place scallions in a bed of aluminum foil and place in preheated broiler. Cook until softened and beginning to char, 3-5 minutes depending on your broiler. Remove.

If not using as part of a larger dish, return to the mixing bowl and toss with the lime juice. Serve immediately.

How to Use Pasta Sheets to Cut Your Own Pasta

Making your own fresh pasta is not hard and is certainly worth the trouble. But it is often not easy to justify tossing dough when a local purveyor sells quality fresh pastas. Unfortunately, however, even the better specialty shops often do not stock odder cuts, such as pappardelle, which is similar to fettuccine but much wider.

Pasta sheets

A quick tip: You can buy pasta sheets (rolled pasta dough that is ready to cut) or even fresh lasagna and cut it yourself.

To start, toss your working area with semolina or all-purpose flour. Arrange your pasta sheets on top of each other, with semolina or all-purpose flour coating each side, so they do not stick.

Cutting the sheets

Using a fluted pasta or pastry wheel, cut height-wise the sheets into the desired shape. Using your other hand, or with the help of a partner, keep the sheets taught and straight. You want to evenly cut through all of the sheets only once.

Pappardelle

Fettuccine is 1/4" (0.65 cm), tagliatelle is 2/5" (1 cm), and pappardelle is 1.1" (3 cm) wide.

Thai-Style Nantucket Bay Scallop Ceviche

Ceviche is a refreshing Latin American citrus-marinated seafood dish. In addition to flavor, the citric acid pickles the seafood, denaturing the proteins. This recipe prepares a ceviche of scallops alla Tailandese: We marinate raw scallops in lime juice and Thai aromatics and then serve the scallops with lime, coconut milk, and Thai peppers. Sweet, light, and a tad spicy—this is a delicious dish, and a perfect showcase for Nantucket bay scallops.

Thai-Style Nantucket Bay Scallop Ceviche

Nantucket bay scallops are smaller than other bay scallops, with a soft, tender meat and almost velvety texture. Nantucket's are also sweeter than other scallops, offering a fresh and delicate taste best appreciated raw. They are only dredged in the cold waters of Nantucket harbor by relatively few fisherman operating out of small skiffs. While their limited supply guarantees that they are not cheap—Nantucket bay scallops are often more than double the cost of sea scallops—they are worth every penny. Nantucket bay scallop season starts in November.

For more, see my how to on buying scallops.

Nantucket Bay Scallops

Note: Nantucket bay scallops, small and tender, are best barely cooked, if not raw, and this dish capitalizes on that. Of course, the ceviche process "cooks" the scallops in acid, but the scallops are nonetheless not brought to temperature. Consuming raw seafood, particularly shellfish, may increase your susceptibility to illness.

Makes four servings.

Ingredients:

1 pound dry bay scallops, Nantucket bay if possible, cleaned and dried
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
3 fresh kaffir lime leaves (bai makrut), hand-torn in half
2 stalks lemongrass (takhrai), only the lower white portion, bruised
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon palm sugar (nam taan pep)
1 shallot, minced
1 red thai bird's eye chili pepper (prik ki nu), sliced thin
2 tablespoons Thai basil (bai horapha), chiffonaded
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons peanuts, crushed

In a bowl with a lid, combine the scallops, lime juice, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass. If all of the scallops are not at least partially submerged in the lime juice, add more. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove the marinade from the refrigerator. Strain and reserve the liquid. Carefully separate the scallops from the kaffir lime leaves and the lemongrass, reserving the former and discarding the latter. Combine the strained liquid with the coconut milk, palm sugar, shallot, and red pepper. Stir well to integrated.

Plated, garnished, and ready to serve

Divide the scallops and prepared liquid among chilled serving bowls. Top with the basil, cilantro, and peanuts. Serve immediately. Pairs well with a citric Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre appellation in the Loire Valley.

Ten Things Everyone Should Try

In no particularly order.

Black Truffles

1. Aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena
2. Dry-aged (at least 30 days), well-marbled rib eye, cooked barely medium-rare
3. Parmigiano-Reggiano stravecchio
4. Foie gras prepared au torchon
5. Sashimi of fatty bluefin tuna belly (toro)
6. A high-quality olive oil
7. Crispy duck confit (confit de canard) with pommes sarladaise
8. A homemade mole poblano
9. A dish with copious amounts of black Périgord truffles
10. A dessert made with copious amounts of high-quality vanilla bean

Nearly everyone has had Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, steak. But the difference between the mass market and the artisan is night and day.

What is on your list?

Prosciutto-Wrapped Roasted White Asparagus with Sunny Side Up Eggs

Asparagus spears wrapped in prosciutto are delicious but nothing new. This recipe kicks that up a bit: We use white asparagus, which we roast, our prosciutto is from Parma in Emilia-Romagna, and we top the whole thing with an egg fried sunny side up. Tasty and unique, this makes for a serious side dish.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Roasted White Asparagus with Sunny Side Up Eggs

White asparagus, sometimes called Spargel, from the German word for asparagus, derives from the same species as the more common green asparagus, grüner Spargel. The difference is photosynthesis—white asparagus grows covered in soil, a process called hilling, with the entire spear hidden from sunlight. The result is a sweeter, more subtle taste. For this recipe, you can certainly use green—or try a mix of half and half.

White asparagus, trimmed

Makes four servings.

Ingredients:

16 spears (just under 1 pound) white asparagus, bottoms trimmed
4 teaspoons olive oil
8 slices of prosciutto di parma, ask your butcher to slice it paper-thin, cut in half length-wise
4 sunny side up fried eggs (recipe)
4 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley, to garnish
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Asparagus spear lined up and tossed with olive oil and black pepper

Line a half baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay out the asparagus spears in a single file across the sheet. Toss with olive oil and black pepper. Forgo salt as the prosciutto is sufficiently salty.

Place in the oven and roast until tender and just starting to brown, about 15 minutes.

Prosciutto di parma, cut in half

Remove from oven and let cool until able to handle. Wrap each asparagus spear in a half-slice of prosciutto, leaving the tip exposed.

Prepare the sunny side up fried eggs.

Plated in a single file line

To plate, arrange four spears in a tight single file.

Place the sunny side up egg on top

Place a fried egg on top.

Plated, garnished, and ready to serve

Season the egg lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with Italian parsley. Serve immediately. Pairs well with a Verdicchio from Castelli di Jesi, Marche, Italy.

Sunny Side Up Eggs

My favorite egg preparation is fried, over easy, in a sandwich my mother makes when I am home for the holidays. For other uses, however, I like my fried eggs "sunny side up," which means the egg is not flipped during cooking. The whites set, but the yolk remains intact, uncovered, and rather runny. Great for breakfast with toast, or serving atop vegetables or even soups.

A Sunny Side Up Egg

Next time you are preparing vegetables and the dish seems a bit short of perfect, drop a sunny side up egg on top of each serving. From pedestrian to epicurean in minutes.

Makes two fried eggs.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the butter.

Drop heat to low and cook just until the whites set

Once melted and hot, gently crack the eggs into the pan, keeping them separate. Lower heat to low. Cook until the whites are set but the edges are not brown and the yolk remains runny, 60-90 seconds.

Using a plastic spatula, remove the eggs from the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. If eating alone or on toast, garnish with a little chopped chive or Italian parsley. Serve immediately.

Caldo Gallego: Cuban White Bean Soup

Most Cuban dishes trace their provenance far outside of Cuba—to Spain of course, but also to Africa and even China. Caldo gallego, Galician stew, is no different. Originating in Spain's Galicia region and reinterpreted in the new world, caldo gallego is a potage of white beans, greens, garlic, ham hock, and sausage. Rustic yet complex, this dish is a great starter, but also a hearty main course for the winter.

Caldo Gallego: Cuban White Bean Soup

Growing up outside Miami, my fondest weekend lunch with my father was a cup of caldo gallego, a medianoche sandwich, and a demitasse of café cubano. Inspired by my favorite Cuban cafeterias, this is an authentic approach, but it is mine.

Makes 6 soup course-sized servings.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil, preferably Spanish
1 large Spanish yellow onion, diced
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 smoked ham hocks (about 1.75 pounds), skin scored
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (pimentón dulce)
1 teaspoon hot paprika (pimentón picante)
10 cups water, filtered or spring
1 pound (about 2 cups) dried cannellini beans (alubias), rinsed, soaked overnight, rinsed again, drained
1 tablespoon gray salt, plus more to taste
1 pound new potatoes, peeled and diced large
1/2 pound fresh Spanish chorizo, sliced on a bias
1 pound turnip greens, coarsely chopped
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Sauteing the onion, celery, and ham hocks

Heat a heavy stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the yellow onion, celery, and ham hocks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the ham hocks are brown, 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring constantly, for 60 more seconds. Add the sweet and hot paprika and black pepper to taste. Stir to infuse. Add 10 cups of water.

Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour. Occasionally stir the liquid and rotate the ham hocks.

Simmering the cannellini beans

Add the cannellini beans to the pot. Raise heat to high and return to a boil. Immediately lower heat to a simmer. Cook at a simmer, uncovered, until the beans are just tender and edible, but still holding their shape firmly, about one hour. If needed, add more water, a cup at a time, to allow the beans to fully cook.

Remove the ham hocks from the pot. Set aside and let cool.

Add the gray salt and diced potatoes and cook for 20 minutes.

Smoked ham hocks, not fries

Meanwhile, once the ham hocks are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the hock. Shred the meat and reserve. Discard the bone, the skin, and any remaining large pieces of fat.

Adding the turnip greens

Remove the bay leaves. Add the turnip greens, chorizo, and reserved ham hock meat to the pot. Stir.

Simmer until the potatoes, beans, greens, and chorizo are perfectly cooked

Continue cooking until the potatoes are tender, the beans are cooked and beginning to lose their shape (but are still intact), the turnip greens are cooked down, and the chorizo is cooked through, about 15 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Plated and Ready to Serve

Consume immediately, or let cool and reheat for a thicker, tastier soup. Serve in warm soup bowls with a fresh French baguette—or, if possible, Cuban bread. Pairs okay with a Carmenère from Chile's Cachapoal Valley.

Gnudi with Tomato Sauce, Cream, Onions, and Cracked Pepper

The light, fluffy ricotta gnocchi (gnudi) marry beautifully with tomato sauce cut with cream and layered with sauteed onions. This is a hearty and substantial dish, but all you will notice while eating is the lightness and balance.

Gnudi with Tomato Sauce, Cream, Onions, and Cracked Pepper

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

2 cups tomato sauce with cream and onions (recipe)
1 batch gnudi (recipe)
4 teaspoons cracked or coarsely-ground black pepper, plus more to garnish
1/4 cup freshly and finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio

In a saute pan, bring the tomato sauce to a simmer. Keep warm.

Add the gnudi and the cracked pepper to the saute pan. Stir to integrate.

Plated, garnished, and ready to serve

Plate, garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano and more cracked pepper.

Gnudi: Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

Gnocchi, from the Italian for "little lump," are delicious dumplings cooked like fresh pasta and then served with sauce or added to soup. Despite the name, gnocchi should not be lumpish, but light and fluffy, with an airy, fresh texture. The most common gnocchi are made of potato, but, while good, I love the less-common gnudi, which are made primarily of ricotta. How can you go wrong with a dumpling of cheese?

Gnudi: Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

This recipe is for dumplings of spinach and ricotta. Light, fluffy, and cheesy, this is as tasty as it is easy to make. You can knock the whole preparation out in minutes, yielding a light and fluffy dumpling wholly different from store-bought gnocchi.

Makes four servings worth of gnudi.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh spinach, stems trimmed and rinsed well
1 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons freshly-ground white pepper
1 cup ricotta, di bufala if possible, drained of excess water
1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly and finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg

Rinse the spinach one more time. Do not dry. In a saute pan with a lid over medium heat, add the wet spinach, one teaspoon of sea salt, and white pepper. Cover and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the spinach. Once it is sufficiently cool to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible.

Chop well the spinach. Set aside on paper towels to further dry. Let cool to room temperature.

Combining and mixing the ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta, and 1/4 cup of flour. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, egg yolks, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Stir together. Unless your immune system is weak, taste and adjust salt.

Forming the gnudi

Fill a small mixing bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Dust your hands in the flour. Form the mixture into small oblate spheroids (slightly-flatted balls), about 1/2 to 3/4 an inch across. You do not need to roll gnudi across a fork, as they are already rather absorbent.

Lightly dredging the gnudi

Lightly dredge the gnudi in the flour, shaking off excess, so that they have a thin coat.

To cook: Bring a stock pot of heavily-salted water to boil. Add the gnudi in batches, about a half dozen at a time. Cook, gently stirring, until the gnudi rise to and remain on the top, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a colander. Continue with the remaining gnudi.

Tomato Sauce with Cream and Onions

This sauce builds on my basic tomato sauce to create a creamy pink sauce with sauteed sliced onions. A good alternative to the usual tomato sauce when pairing with gnocchi, gnudi, and fresh pastas.

Tomato Sauce with Cream and Onions

Makes about 3 cups, sufficient for 4 pasta servings.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large Spanish yellow onion, sliced
2 cups basic tomato sauce (recipe)
1/2 cup heavy cream
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter. Once hot and bubbling, add the sliced onions. Saute until soft and translucent and just starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the tomato sauce and heavy cream. Stir to integrate. Lower heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, until warmed through and incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.

If preparing with pasta, remove pasta from water and add to sauce about one minute before al dente. Cook the pasta in the sauce for 60 seconds. Serve immediately.

A Note on 'To Taste'

When a recipe says to taste, and specifically when one of my recipes says to taste, the author does not mean add as much as you want. Instead, the recipe is calling on you to taste the food as it stands and add (more of) the ingredient until that ingredient is balanced and sufficient in the food.

What is the point of a recipe if not to specify quantities? Why do recipes say to taste? Generally, its for seasonings, most often salt, sometimes pepper, and the recipe author is not sure how much of the ingredient has already been added, or other details that effect the perception of the ingredient. For example, depending on the stock you used, or exactly how much you reduced down a liquid, or what type of salt you used, you may need more or less salt to finish a dish. Thus, to taste. In any case, the amount left unspecified is generally small—just a teaspoon or two.

Serving salt on our dinner tables has conditioned us to think of salt ratios as a preference, but there is an ideal, perfect balance with salt—as with all of the flavors in a dish. Most home cooks undoubtedly under-salt their food, although plenty of eaters then over-salt their food once it hits the table. Salt early, salt often, and remove the salt from your dinner table.

Bavette a L'échalotte: Bistro Steak with Shallots and Red Wine Jus

Bavette a L'échalotte, occasionally called Bavette a la Bordelaise, is a bistro-style beef steak with carmelized shallots and a red wine reduction. Juicy, served barely medium rare, this dish is satisfying and savory, despite its rustic pedigree.

Bavette a L'echalotte: Bistro Steak with Shallots and Red Wine Jus

Like most steak dishes conceived in the French bistro, this one is pan-seared with butter, but only on one side. We then flip the steak, top it with the caramelized shallots, and finish it off in a hot oven. The steak is served with a red wine reduction alongside a salad and, traditionally, cornichons. Although Bavette a la Bordelaise seemingly demands to be consumed with Bordeaux, I like this dish with the bold, ripe profile of a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wagyu tri-tip

The bavette cut is traditionally a flank steak—bavette literally means bib or flap—but you should use your favorite pan searing steak. I prefer flank's close relative, the skirt steak, for this dish, but use what you like. In these photos, I am using a thinly-sliced Wagyu tri-tip.

Makes two servings, easily halved or doubled.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup red wine jus (recipe)
2 ten ounce skirt steaks, about 1 inch thick, trimmed of fat
1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons grape seed oil
4 shallots, sliced whole into rings
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely-chopped
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Delicious

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Let the steaks rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

In a small saucepan, bring the red wine jus to a simmer. Keep warm.

Sauteing the shallot and garlic

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add one tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add the shallots to the pan, stirring, and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and one tablespoon of butter. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until the shallots caramelize but aren't yet deep brown, about 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and seat aside.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add two tablespoons of grape seed oil and one tablespoon of butter. Once the butter is bubbling well, add the steaks and sear for 2 minutes, until browned on one side.

Seared, flipped, topped with caramelized shallot, and ready for the oven

Flip the steaks. Baste the steaks in the pan juices. Spread the shallots over the steaks. Place the skillet in the oven and cook until barely medium-rare, 6 minutes.

Plated with cornichons and salad and ready to serve

For each plating, spread a small amount of red wine reduction on the side of a plate. Using a slotted spoon, plate the steak over the reduction, covered in shallot, with red wine reduction spooned atop and around the plate. Serve with a salad of watercress or arugula. Pairs well with a big, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon from California's Napa Valley.

Red Wine Jus

This red wine and beef stock reduction is wonderful over steaks and roasts. Unlike other recipes, this approach is simple, as I don't see the value in simmering more aromatics—your beef stock should already offer those flavors.

Makes about one cup.

Ingredients:

1 bottle (750 ml) Cabernet Sauvignon
4 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
sea salt, to taste

Bringing the wine and stock to a boil

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the Cabernet Sauvignon, beef stock, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer until reduced to a syrup, about one cup.

Taste and adjust salt. Let cool. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Cauliflower Gratin with Prosciutto and Peas

This recipe yields a beautiful, bubbly gratin, with a crisp cheesy top contrasted with the cooked cauliflower, bright green peas, and salty prosciutto. An excellent base for roast pork or fish, this dish also performs admirably as a main course, served with a small salad.

For a special treat, bake each serving individually in oven-safe bowls, such as the classic lion's head bowl.

Cauliflower Gratin with Prosciutto and Peas

Makes four larger or six smaller servings.

Ingredients:

two medium heads cauliflower (about two pounds total), cut into medium florets
2 cups Sauce Mornay (recipe)
3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed and drained
3 ounces prosciutto di Parma, chiffonaded
1/2 cup Panko-style breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Gruyère
ground cayenne pepper, to taste
freshly-ground white pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Bring a large pot of heavily-salted water to boil. Add the cauliflower and cook until just tender, but still firm, about five minutes. Drain.

Reheating the Sauce Mornay

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the Sauce Mornay to just a simmer. Keep warm.

Gently mixing the ingredients

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower, green peas, and prosciutto di Parma. Add the Sauce Mornay in batches, gently folding together with a silicon spatula to incorporate. Add more sauce until the ingredients are heavily sauced, but not swimming.

Add the sauced ingredients to a medium gratin dish or individual oven-safe bowls. Knock the dish or bowl against the table to remove any air bubbles.

Ready for the oven

In a small mixing bowl, combine the Panko-style breadcrumbs and Gruyère. Add sea salt, white pepper, and ground cayenne pepper to taste. Sprinkle the breadcrumb-cheese mixture over the top of the gratin.

Bubbly and golden brown

Bake until bubbling and golden, about 30 minutes. Remove and let rest five minutes. Serve hot. If serving alone, pairs well with a full-bodied Californian Chardonnay.