Venison Medallions with Cream Sauce

Venison Medallions with Cream Sauce

We have a couple of friends who are big hunters, which means every now and again we are the recipients of venison.  I have not cooked venison in a really long time, so I searched my extensive recipe collection for something that sounded good which would not result in a too gamey flavor in the venison.  These medallions turned out great and the idea was based off a recipe in Black Forest Cuisine by Walter Staib.  Ironically, this cookbook came from a used bookstore.  Ironic because I have German cookbooks in German from when I lived there, but I was excited about this cookbook because it brought me some new recipes but others that just reminded me of my time in Germany.

These medallions are served over garlic mashed potatoes.  My husband is the mashed potato maker in our family.  He tried his hand at it a number of years ago and had success which led to the lead mashed potato maker.  Between the venison medallions and mashed potatoes this is definitely a heavier meal, which I offset with my roasted brussel spouts.

Venison Medallions in Cream Sauce

1 pound venison medallions of even thickness

1 1/2 cups burgundy wine

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1/8 teaspoon dried sage 

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon unsalted butter

1 leek, trimmed and sliced into strips (1.5 inched by 1/4 inch wide)

1 cup sliced mushrooms (about 5-6 mushrooms depending on size)

2 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Marinate venison in burgundy, rosemary, sage, garlic and 1 chopped shallot.  Turn throughout the day to ensure all has been marinated.

When you are ready to cook, discard the marinade.  Melt the butter in a pan over medium high heat.  Cook the venison medallions until browned, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove the venison and cover while continuing to cook.  Turn heat to medium and add the other shallot and saute for about a minute until softened.  Stir in the leeks and mushrooms and saute for 2-3 more minutes.  Add a little of the beef stock to work up the bits of browned pieces.  Turn to medium low and add the rest of the beef stock.  Simmer for about 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool just a bit.  Add in the sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over mashed potatoes.  Places the medallions on the mashed potatoes and pour the cream sauce over the top.

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

When you have a lot of vegetables and are not sure what to do with them, try this recipe.  The orzo reminds me of a rice based dish, but in reality it is more like a pasta salad.  You can mix up any kinds of vegetables to get a different taste or feel.  I meant to put kale into this salad, but once the roasted leaves came out of my oven, I devoured them.  If you can resist try them in this salad.  Roasting the vegetables sweetens the vegetables which makes this salad.  If you haven't cooked with orzo before, you should try it.  It cooks up easily and mixes well with any variety of vegetables and dressings.  The inspiration for this salad came from 101 cookbooks author Heidi Swanson.  If you haven't checked out her blog you should.

Roasted Veggie Orzo Salad
Roasted vegetables (I used brussel sprouts, broccoli, leeks, garlic and onions)
olive oil
salt
1 1/4 cups orzo (uncooked)
plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line  1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper (depends on how many vegetables you are roasting).  Cut all the vegetables (about 5-6 cloves of garlic) into similar sized pieces so they will all roast at the same rate.  Toss all the vegetables with olive oil and salt.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  Toss once or twice to make sure everything is roasted evenly.

Put water on to boil to cook the orzo.  Add salt.  When boiling add the orzo and cook according to package instructions.  Remove and run under cool water.  Toss with a little olive oil.  For dressing, remove the shell from the roasted garlic and mash it with a little salt and yogurt.  Add more yogurt (about a half cup in total) and add more garlic to taste.

When ready to serve, toss the orzo, roasted vegetables and yogurt (start with half and adjust for taste).  For topping you can use toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds, and/or scallions.

Quinoa Salad with Leek, Bacon and Parsley

I have an obsession with collecting cookbooks.  Therefore, every Christmas there always are a few cookbooks on my wish list.  I love to read through them, learn new ingredients, and to give me inspiration to try even more different types of things and to think of new flavor combinations.  This past year I have also come to love farro a lot, but I went to buy some this summer and strangely enough there were problems with the supply, so instead I turned back to quinoa.  So with more quinoa in my cupboard and my mother-in-law wanting to try something with quinoa in it while she was visiting, I found this recipe based off of one in Homemade Winter by Yvette Van Boven.  My husband was a little bit cautious as he thought there were too many things going on, but I disagreed and the flavors seemed like they would go well together with the hearty quinoa adding some filling to otherwise not very filling salads.  In the end, it was a hit and the topping of bacon made everyone happy.

Quinoa Salad with Leek, Bacon and Parsley

Salad:

5 smaller leeks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

salt

2/3 cup quinoa, soaked

5 oz. bacon

2-3 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 bunch parsley

arugula (3-4 cups)

Dressing:

juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a non-stick skillet, fry the bacon.  Remove when crisp and let cool on a plate covered in paper towels.  Reserve the bacon fat to cook the leeks over a medium heat heat.  When they are hot, but not yet browned, add the white wine and lower the heat and braise with the lid on the pan for about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt.  Cook the quinoa for 10 minutes.  Immediately drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Make sure quinoa is well drained.  Check on the leeks.  If they are done, place on a plate to cool.  In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, leeks, sesame seeds and most of the parsley.  (Leave a little parsley for garnish.)

For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice and garlic.  Continue whisking as you add the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the quinoa and leek mixture.

Arrange the arugula in a bowl, then place the quinoa and leek mixture over the top.  Finally, garnish with the rest of the parsley and bacon.

Fight Snow Day Woes with Fresh Bread and Soup

So what do do you do when you have the day off of work unexpectedly and it is freezing cold out with even colder winds?  You dig in and make soup!  Since I had the ingredients to make fresh homemade soup and I thought a wonderful addition to it would be fresh bread.  Plus, an excuse to turn on the oven was also welcome given the cold wintery day outside.  My boyfriend said this soup only rated 3 stars in his book because everything else we have been eating has been so much better.

So today's variation of Irish Clam Chowder comes from New Covent Garden Soup Co.cookbook which was given to me years ago by a friend from Scotland.  The twist on the Irish Soda bread was found on the 101cookbooks.com website.  Both recipes have been modified as that is just my way.

Irish Clam Chowder
Serves: 6

About a pound of scallops

3 leeks, sliced very finely

2 medium potatoes

About 5 slices of bacon

12-16 oz of sweetcorn

6 oz sour cream

1 cup cream

2 cups chicken stock

2 oz. butter

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons flour

Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley to garnish

Saute leeks, potato and bacon in butter for about 20 minutes until soft.  Add 3/4 of the stock and cook for 10 minutes, then add sweetcorn. Mix flour with remaining stock and add to the saucepan and heat until warmed through.  Add the sour cream, cream and scallops.  Heat gently until the scallops are firm.  Be careful not to cook too quickly or for too long or the scallops will become tough.  Add honey just before serving and season to taste.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Seeded Soda Bread

Seeds: 12 Tablespoons seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, flax etc.)

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine chosen seeds.  Sift flours, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in all but 2 -3 Tablespoons of the seeds.  Make a well and pour in the buttermilk.  Stir just until combined.  Add extra buttermilk if needed.  Knead on lightly floured surface for one minute.  Place dough on a lightly floured baking sheet and mark with an X cutting 2/3 of the way through.  Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle remaining seeds.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Cool on a wire rack.  Makes 1 loaf.