Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

While visiting our kids in Cary, North Carolina recently, we were treated by them to dinner at [One] restaurant in Chapel Hill.  It was their birthday gift to the two of us.  Kristen’s brother David is the sous chef there, shown above.  My David is conferring with David and our able server about wine pairings.  [One] is an open concept restaurants where the best seats in the house are at the bar.  All of the action in the kitchen is visible.  It is a fascinating orchestrated dance that produces seemingly effortless works of art on a plate.

Watching the interplay in the kitchen was great entertainment.  It was obvious that executive chef Sean McCarthy and his staff act as a well oiled machine.  The food was not only innovative, but beautiful to behold.

I fell in love with foie gras while in France this year.  One of the first courses at [One] was Hot and Cold Foie Gras with Mexican Chocolate.  Wow, what a concept;  foie gras with chocolate.  The presentation was amazing.  In the front you see a pan seared duck liver with spiced mole’ along with a smear of the mole’ chocolate and nibs of chocolate.  In the back is a cold tin of foie gras pate with a dark chocolate gelee on top served with toast points.  I dug in with gusto.

David started with Smoked Cobia Filet with Wild Mushroom and Apple.  Cobia is a firm-fleshed flavorful fish that is favored by many well known chefs.  Thomas Keller of The French Laundry has Cobia on his tasting menu.  The presentation, done on a slate board, was stunning.  It was garnished with meyer lemon puree, fresh herbs, shaved pear and ginger sorbet.  I can still taste those harmonious flavors.

We had expected to go directly to our entree choices, but the kitchen gave us a gift from their tasting menu.  I received a Snapper Consomme with Honey Thyme-Glazed Shrimp.  It came with crab and asparagus stuffed agnolotti, brown beech mushrooms, scallions and smoked paprika oil.

David received Spicy Pork and Shrimp Laarp Salad with Mango.  It was garnished with rice dumplings,chili foam cilantro oil, toasted rice and roasted peanuts.  What a bright combination of ingredients.

Are you getting full yet?  I certainly felt that way.  Here is my main course.  I am a sucker for cassoulet.  [One] featured a deconstructed version of the dish.  A casserole of rosemary scented cannelini beans was served along side crispy skinned duck pieces with boudin blanc sausage.  It came with 5 chutneys, two of which I remember, raisin and onion.  They were all delicious.

David’s main course was Potato Crusted Red Snapper with Artichokes, Shell Beans and Saffron.  It was garnished with butternut squash puree, roasted tomato jus and shaved cucumber salad.  Everything in this dish was stellar, fresh and good for you.  To me it is an example of celebrating all that can be good about cooking and dining well.  We celebrated our birthdays very well indeed.

No room for dessert for us, but the kitchen presented us with this chocolate birthday wish with sorbet.  Thank you [One] Restaurant, David, Michael and Kristen for a perfect birthday dinner.  If you are ever in the Chapel Hill area you must try this amazing restaurant. Try to sit at the bar for an evening of great entertainment.  You won’t be disappointed.

There is nothing more versatile than a pork tenderloin.  OK.  Some of you may say that a chicken breast is better suited to imaginative preparations.  But there are so many things you can do with a pork tenderloin;, so many flavor profiles that marry with it.  The added advantage is that it is always moist and tender, as opposed to the tendency of chicken breasts to dry out.

This simple preparation is a snap.  Cut a pork tenderloin into 8 individual pieces, coat with Dijon mustard, bread it in panko crumbs and seasonings and saute with a brief turn in the oven until done.  It remains moist and succulent.

Served with oven roasted butternut squash and green beans, it is one of those meals that I will remember and make again.

The recipe came from Cooking Light.  Today I am making pork tenderloin pulled pork in the crock pot.  If you can’t tell, I am taking advantage of a great sale on pork tenderloins.  I am also working on stocking my empty freezer here in Florida.

CRISPY PORK MEDALLIONS ( Cooking Light )

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 8 medallions
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Rub mustard evenly over pork medallions.  Combine panko, thyme parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Dredge pork in panko mixture.  Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add pork; saute 2 minutes or until golden brown.  Turn pork.  Place skillet in oven; bake for 8 minutes or until pork reaches 145 degrees F.  Let stand 3 minutes.

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It is good to be back in The Sunshine State.  As much as we love the North Carolina mountains, a change of scene can be invigorating and cleansing.  My thoughts on cooking change with the environment also.  I left my Kitchen Aid mixer and food processor in the Lake Lure kitchen.  The meals I fix here are usually simple and straight forward.  We eat more seafood and try to get more exercise.

The local market had some beautiful wild jumbo shrimp so I adapted a Cooking Light recipe to make this pasta dish.  While visiting the kids I made a run through Trader Joe’s to pick up pantry staples for Florida.  Their lemon pepper pappardelle pasta goes very well with seafood.  Add a bunch of baby arugula and you have a meal in a dish.

So simple and easy!  There are changes coming to my blog.  I am in the process of moving over to Word Press so I hope you will stick with me.

SHRIMP AND ARUGULA PASTA

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
12 ounces pasta of choice, fusilli, linguine, pappardelle
3 cups (packed) fresh baby or regular arugula

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes.  Add the red pepper flakes and white wine and bring to a simmer.  Simmer until the wine reduces by half, about 5 minutes.  Add the shrimp and cook just until they are pink, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta, saving some of the pasta water.  Add the pasta and the arugula to the skillet.  Toss to combine.  Season the pasta with salt and pepper and add a little pasta water if dry.  Transfer to a large bowl and serve.

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Written two days ago:

It is time for us to travel to Florida for the Winter.  The weather in North Carolina held its warmth and beauty until a few days ago.  Now the winds are howling and the leaves are being ripped from the trees in riotous swirls, Tree Removal Service in some areas were badly needed. There are whitecaps on the water and a drifting canoe banged into our dock this afternoon.  We were able to find the owner by the registration number, so it will find its way home.  There is a chance that we will lose power and there is a possibility of snow.  So there is nothing better to do in this chaotic weather than cook and keep the fire going in the fireplace until we have the opportunity to leave.

One of David’s favorite meals is chicken tarragon with rice pilaf.  Chicken and tarragon have a natural affinity and when flavored with the addition of wine and cream the dish is subtle and lovely.  I have made it so often over the years that I haven’t had the enthusiasm for it lately.  But somehow it now felt like an appropriate meal to make to say goodbye to the lake.  With it I served my French peas and sauteed red cabbage with apples; all things that needed to be cleared from the refrigerator.

Eating this meal by flickering candles while nature made herself known was like finding shelter, warmth and peace in a violent world.  My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of Hurricane Sandy.

I will be gone for a while.  We are spending Halloween with the kids in Cary, NC and then traveling to Florida.  See you there.

CHICKEN TARRAGON

1 4 pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (breasts cut in half). skinned
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, plus additional if needed
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half (optional)

Wash and dry chicken pieces.  Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet.  When butter begins to foam, add chicken pieces and cook until browned on both sides.  Add tarragon, salt and pepper and wine and chicken broth.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover skillet and cook over low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Remove chicken to a plate and bring liquid to a boil in the skillet.  Cook until reduced slightly.  Adjust seasonings adding more tarragon to taste and add cream if you would like.  Cook until sauce is heated through.  Return chicken to pan and turn to coat with sauce until reheated.  Serve chicken with sauce.

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