Last night’s main attraction came courtesy of our new subscription to Cooking Light: Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza . Your Sommelier’s opted out of the chicken in deference to Mrs. S, but the final dish was still tasty and filling. We opted for a whole wheat crust to help us feel like we were doing something much healthier than, you know, eating pizza. It took us two shots to get the balsamic reduction sauce “right;” the first batch, thanks in part we are sure to our extremely temperamental gas burners, bubbled up and reduced to a consistency somewhere between liquid cough medicine and Vegemite (Mrs. S actually tried this sauce before throwing it out – it was NOT a pleasant experience); the second batch could have probably used about one more minute on the stove, but – with the memory of the first taste freshly seared into our minds – called it perfect and turned off the stove.

To accompany the pizza, we decided to make a sweet cucumber and radish salad we found using the ever-trusty epicurious smart-phone app. The aggressive tang of the radishes with the cooling cucumber and sweet and sour dressing is very pleasant and refreshing.

We rounded out dinner with a couple of glasses of a summer favorite: Cupcake Prosecco. “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. S, what’s the occasion?” you may ask. Sunday dinner. It’s never a bad time to celebrate a lovely evening in the kitchen – oh, and welcome summer  with open – if slightly sweaty- arms.

For starters (see what I did there? …starters…heh), we decided to make a salad that would satisfy a recent craving for apples. We turned to the handy-dandy epicurious smartphone app to help us find a good recipe to try, and came back with this result: Red and Napa Cabbage Salad with Braeburn Apples and Spiced Pecans. We decided to skip the Spiced Pecans and simply forgot to buy the cherries; we more than made up for the missing ingredients though by adding some pine nuts we had left in our cabinet into the mix and topping it off with a bit of crumbled goat cheese. The combination of sweet (apples), spicy (mustard), and tart (lemon juice) is really pleasant. This is a super-easy salad that might just break into our regular rotation.

The main event (get it? …main…heh) was Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Penne Salad with Goat Cheese. The hardest part of making this recipe was waiting for the oven to heat up and our water to boil (we have very weak gas burners), and the result was absolutely delicious. I’m sure there are instances where taking some of your favorite things to eat and putting them in a bowl together is a bad idea…but this is not one of those. We will definitely be breaking out this recipe again.

In honor of our return to the Sunday kitchen, we broke out a known performer: Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc. If you’ve never had the pleasure of giving a New Zealand Sauv Blanc a taste, this is one to try. It has a wonderful tropical smell, a well-balanced taste of citrus and minerals, and a very reasonable price.

Till next time, cheers!

The recipe is called Argentine Lentil Stew. We used one can of vegetable broth instead of the water/ bullion combo called for in the recipe, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. OK, honestly, we followed the ingredients part of the recipe as directed, but had some trouble following the directions.

First, Mrs. S worried that the lentils needed more liquid to cook fully. Rather than risk cracking a tooth on a rock-hard lentil, she added more water to the pot. Then, after the fruit and veggies were added and the barbeque sauce and paprika stirred in, she still thought it needed more liquid.  She added almost two more cups of water later and started the simmer. Suddenly, as the veggies released their own liquids, she had a soupy mess on her hands.

To change the consistency of the mess back to something resembling stew, your Sommeliers upped the heat on the simmer, grabbed a clean cup, and started bailing water out of the pot and into the sink. Once the extra water was out, Mr. and Mrs. S added a touch more barbeque sauce and paprika to balance out what was lost in the flood.

The end result was, surprisingly, very good. And very filling. We did not do a wine paring, but, if we make this again, would try a Reisling to match the sweet note the apples and barbeque sauce gave the stew.

One of the perks of Mr. Sommelier’s job is he can work anywhere with a cell phone connection, functioning laptop & an Internet connection. That includes home. Today, Mr. Sommelier was working on two articles and forgot to pick up a can of soup to complete his lunch. Much like the teevee chef-testants, he had to improvise — while dealing with a limited amount of time before running out to an appointment. So, today’s (at-home) “Quickfire Challenge” was to concoct a soup with only ingredients found in the apartment.

To the cabinet, where Mr. Sommelier found a can of chicken broth mistakenly purchased in the place of vegetable broth. (This was a find that got things started nicely.) Next, swivel around the tiny kitchen to the fridge. Carrots, check. Part of a leftover onion, check. To the freezer: remnants of some surprisingly delicious frozen red, green & yellow pepper. Another surprising, yet welcome, find. After some quick chopping, into a soup pot went the carrots, onion & peppers, where Mr. S sautéed the mixture for about 10 minutes before adding the chicken broth. With more time on the clock than he expected, it was time to impress the judges — okay, perhaps we’re taking this “Top Chef” thing too far… How about time to make it taste pretty darn good. Mr. S added a tablespoon or coriander (plus two extra pinches) and about a teaspoon of cumin. Mr. S threw together a sandwich while he let the soup flavors simmer and come together. And he filed another story to feed the ever-hungry news Web site.

The result: Well, this improvised lunch would not have won Mr. S immunity on “Top Chef.” But it was pretty de-lish. The coriander and cumin amounts could have been adjusted a bit, and Mr. S thinks doubling the onion & cooking the onion a bit longer would have been solid improvements. But, overall, a success. Too bad Tom Colicchio, Mr. S’s favorite “Top Chef” judge, wasn’t in town to have a taste…

Your Sommeliers decided to pump up the veggie factor on the recipe – without adding a bunch of prep work (see guideline 1) by adding 1/2 of a sliced onion and pre-cut pieces of cauliflower and broccoli from a veggie medley bag we usually pick up on our weekly grocery trip. We also pumped up the cinnamon by adding ground cinnamon, and the called-for cinnamon stick, into the pot.

We served the final dish — which was prepared start-to-finish in under 35 minutes (see guideline 2) — with brown rice and a lemon/cardamon greek yogurt sauce Mr. Sommelier whipped up (the base of the sauce can be found here).

Between the pots we used for the rice and the chickpea concoction and the bowl for the yogurt sauce, we had a couple more dishes to clean than we had aimed for (see guideline 3): two out of three ain’t bad, though. In the end, we had a great dinner and a great time in the kitchen together.

Till next time, cheers!

Your Sommeliers both had Sunday off this week (thanks, Presidents Day), so Sunday dinner happened on Monday. The menu for this particular dinner was set last Friday when Mrs. Sommelier’s sister-in-law (or, Mrs. Eat as our loyal followers – Mom – know her) sent her a recipe containing a few magic words: sweet potato, chili, and – oh yes – Cheddar Biscuits.

I’ll go ahead and fill you in on the good stuff first: Cheddar Biscuits. Mrs. Eat sent along this recipe with a couple of tips: use fat free cheddar, sub in fat-free buttermilk for whole milk, and add scallions. Those sounded like good suggestions to us, so off we went.

First, we should say that neither of your Sommeliers are big “biscuit” people. We both grew up in the South and ate our fair share of them as kids…and young adults. Now we tend to go the healthier, whole wheat-y way of things. This recipe sounded so good, though, and – thanks to Mrs. Eats suggestions and our substitution of vegetable spread for butter – fairly easy on the diet. (We also skipped the butter spread at the end). Totally worth it! These things are scrumptious, and leave the entire kitchen smelling of cheesy goodness (which the cat appreciated too).

We added a couple more vegetables to the sweet potato and black bean chili recipe: one chopped red pepper added to the sautee and a strained can of corn added with the tomatoes. And, what can we say, the “chili” turned into more of a soup… a delicious soup though…If you try this recipe at home, try using less water or leave the lid off to simmer the stew.

We paired dinner with an elegant Volver Tempranillo. It’s a big juicy wine with just enough sweetness and a hint of spice to stand up to a spicy chili…I mean soup.

Till we post again, cheers!

Well, not so well. In case you are eager to replicate this, uh, um, less-than-gourmet lunch, don’t. The mustard and moisture from the delicious deli meat turn the usually-crunchy rice cakes into something just short of soggy. “Soft” is the adjective Mr. S settled on after several bites. And “chewy” — but not in a good way. There was one bright spot: The flavors were surprisingly good. The white cheddar and the slice of sharp cheddar contrasted nicely, and the arugula paired well with the unique flavor that is pastrami. But the flavor cocktail didn’t come through in every bite, most of which were dominated by the softness of the rice cakes, and the odd interaction of the spicy mustard and the cakes.

Grades:

- Quick-thinking: B-

- Saving a few bucks: B+

- Final product: Epic fail

We found our recipe courtesy of Epicurious, but couldn’t help making a few tweaks of our own. After picking up our ingredients, we noticed a definite deficiency in the “fresh vegetables” section of the shopping list. We decided to amp that up by sauteeing diced red peppers and zucchini with the onion. We also opted for non-fat Greek yogurt over sour cream as an accompaniment.

The final result was a massive (please feel free to halve this recipe), delicious bowl of chili. The orange and cinnamon really do shine and add a nice, cool element to standard chili.

Once again, no wine pairing to report (although we did enjoy a nice Becks Light – sometimes even wine lovers need a break).

Since your Sommelier’s couldn’t locate soba noodles in the massive warehouse filled with food and aggressive shoppers, commonly referred to as Shoppers Warehouse, they swapped them out for a packet of pre-cooked Thai noodles found in the “World Market” section of the store.

Once we finally made it home and finished prepping the ingredients, we decided to add another twist: change the salad into a stir-fry. Mr. S. pulled out the wok and we were off. We went ahead and added a little soy sauce and ginger to the wok to begin to develop fl0avor and simple sauteed the vegetables.  The pre-packed (and surprisingly delicious) noodles were added to the stir-fry. The sauce, which was whisked together as per the recipe, was drizzled over the final product.

No wine pairing to report, but we can report that this dish is super-easy and very yummy!

First on our list to cover: a variation on a Roasted Zucchini with Ricotta and Mint recipe ( courtesy of  Food and Wine Magazine). Your Sommelier’s decided to keep the heart of the dish the same, but play around with the accouterments. Instead of ricotta cheese, we subbed in a lemony Greek yogurt that is one of our favorites. We also skipped the mint in favor of oregano.

We are happy to report our intentional tweaks turned out beautifully. The yogurt cut the heat (which turned out to be very important thanks to an unintentional tweak) and the oregano added a rich herb flavor (which is want you want from a herb, right?).

About that unintentional twist…your Sommelier’s use one of those restaurant-sized tubs of hot red pepper, and Mrs. S. accidentally dumped A LOT of it into the zucchini pans. Did you know that when you roast red pepper flakes, they release even more hot pepper flavor? They do. We swear. Do not try this at home…

Luckily, we paired dinner with a sauvignon blanc that helped cut that heat even more. Even without the extra heat, this is a good pairing. If you try this at home, try to find a sauv blanc that has both citrus and herb notes to match the dish.