Can anyone guess what I did for Mike for Valentine's Day? You get three chances, but the first two don't count. That's right! I made a special meal for Mike at home. I know, that's my M.O., but making dinner for your special person shows that you're really putting in some effort. Plus, all the dishes I made were brand new. I loved them all. Mike...well...he had mixed reviews. To save time, I'm only including pictures from one dish.
Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon: Yay! I'm so glad Mike liked this one, especially because I spent about $20 on fish. I know that sounds like a lot, but that was for both of us. A single salmon dish in a restaurant would set you back even further than that. The glaze is really simple and easy, and the fish took less than half an hour to cook.
Broccoli Salad With Walnuts and Currants: Okay, Mike didn't like this one so much. I don't understand why, but he generally doesn't like sweet and savory combos. I used dried cranberries because I don't know where to find currants, and the dressing is sweet, while everything else is savory. I loved this stuff. The perpetual crunchiness of the walnuts, the sweetness of the dressing with just a little kick from the chili flakes, so good!
Barley Risotto: Mike and I love risotto, but I'm always looking for healthier alternatives. This was a great choice because Mike really likes barley, and the broth imparts so much flavor. I did leave the ham out, but I'm sure it would have been even better, if that's even possible.
Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears
2 cup dry red wine, such as cabernet or merlot
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1 orange, juiced (about 1/2 cup)
1 (1 by 3-inch) strip orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
4 firm, ripe pears
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While liquid is simmering, peel pears, leaving stem intact and being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears. Slice 1/2-inch off the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place pears in poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until pears are cooked but still firm. Remove saucepan from flame, uncover and cool with pears upright in pan. Once cool, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally, if desired. Gently remove pears from liquid and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, reduce liquid by about half over a medium-high flame for 15 minutes, until liquid is thicker and slightly syrupy. Remove from flame and let liquid come to room temperature. Drizzle each pear with 2 tablespoons syrup and serve.
Here are our players. The sugar is already in the wine, and I used mulling spices I had on hand to flavor it instead of the cinnamon and cloves. That's half of what goes into mulling spices anyway.
The trickiest part of this dish, in my opinion, is getting the zest away from the pith. What I did was take a very sharp utility knife, held the orange peel flat, and then very carefully cut the peel in half all the way across it. Again, be very careful doing this.
See, look at all that pith that came away. Also, I prefer my sideways peeler for almost any peeling job. Once the pears are peeled, cutting the bottom off is easy. By the way, I used Bartlett pears for this.
Hey, look at that, hot, simmering wine. Safety first, kids. Tongs are your friend.
Cool. Color changing pears. This is where your dish starts to look really impressive. By the way, you should read the entire recipe before making this. I should have too. Had I done so, I might not have had to wait until the next day to make it. Honestly, though, I think you could get away with not chilling the pears and be just fine.
Why do I say that? Because that gooey, delicious sauce turns to candy on semi-cold pears. Don't worry, it turns back to sauce eventually, but it was just kind of a pain at first.
It does look pretty cool all solidified there on the pears, though. I still think I'd have skipped the chilling part if I had to do it again.
Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon: Yay! I'm so glad Mike liked this one, especially because I spent about $20 on fish. I know that sounds like a lot, but that was for both of us. A single salmon dish in a restaurant would set you back even further than that. The glaze is really simple and easy, and the fish took less than half an hour to cook.
Broccoli Salad With Walnuts and Currants: Okay, Mike didn't like this one so much. I don't understand why, but he generally doesn't like sweet and savory combos. I used dried cranberries because I don't know where to find currants, and the dressing is sweet, while everything else is savory. I loved this stuff. The perpetual crunchiness of the walnuts, the sweetness of the dressing with just a little kick from the chili flakes, so good!
Barley Risotto: Mike and I love risotto, but I'm always looking for healthier alternatives. This was a great choice because Mike really likes barley, and the broth imparts so much flavor. I did leave the ham out, but I'm sure it would have been even better, if that's even possible.
Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears
2 cup dry red wine, such as cabernet or merlot
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1 orange, juiced (about 1/2 cup)
1 (1 by 3-inch) strip orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
4 firm, ripe pears
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While liquid is simmering, peel pears, leaving stem intact and being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears. Slice 1/2-inch off the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place pears in poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until pears are cooked but still firm. Remove saucepan from flame, uncover and cool with pears upright in pan. Once cool, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally, if desired. Gently remove pears from liquid and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, reduce liquid by about half over a medium-high flame for 15 minutes, until liquid is thicker and slightly syrupy. Remove from flame and let liquid come to room temperature. Drizzle each pear with 2 tablespoons syrup and serve.
Here are our players. The sugar is already in the wine, and I used mulling spices I had on hand to flavor it instead of the cinnamon and cloves. That's half of what goes into mulling spices anyway.
The trickiest part of this dish, in my opinion, is getting the zest away from the pith. What I did was take a very sharp utility knife, held the orange peel flat, and then very carefully cut the peel in half all the way across it. Again, be very careful doing this.
See, look at all that pith that came away. Also, I prefer my sideways peeler for almost any peeling job. Once the pears are peeled, cutting the bottom off is easy. By the way, I used Bartlett pears for this.
Hey, look at that, hot, simmering wine. Safety first, kids. Tongs are your friend.
Cool. Color changing pears. This is where your dish starts to look really impressive. By the way, you should read the entire recipe before making this. I should have too. Had I done so, I might not have had to wait until the next day to make it. Honestly, though, I think you could get away with not chilling the pears and be just fine.
Why do I say that? Because that gooey, delicious sauce turns to candy on semi-cold pears. Don't worry, it turns back to sauce eventually, but it was just kind of a pain at first.
It does look pretty cool all solidified there on the pears, though. I still think I'd have skipped the chilling part if I had to do it again.
Well, sadly, Mike wasn't a huge fan of this dish either. What can I say, he's a man of simple tastes. Good thing I loved these, because I got to eat three of them all by myself. Shame. :-) You have to admit, though, they look really cool. Well, maybe I can test out some of my more exotic recipes on my family when I'm home in a few weeks. I think they'd make good guinea pigs.
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