Farro with Cranberries and Swiss Chard

 To make the Farro dish from our post "Soiree Gastronomique",

you'll need:

1 cup of farro

2 cups of chicken broth or stock

3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1/4 cup of dried cranberries

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

A splash of olive oil

3 leeks
2 Tblsp pine nuts

a bunch of Swiss chard

 Finely chop a bunch of Swiss Chard into a chiffonade.  You want the chard

interspersed in the farrow with no big chunks.

 Saute the garlic, 2 of the sliced leeks, and the farro in a splash of olive oil.

Add chicken stock and chard, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat

to simmer until the broth is absorbed and the farro is soft, but still firm and not mushy.

In another pan, caramelize a sliced leek in a knob of butter on low heat 

until the leeks are crunchy and sweet.  This takes time, do not rush it.

 Remove from heat, stir in dried cranberries, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts.

Garnish with caramelized leeks and serve.

Recipe copyright K. Cyriacks 2014
Partying with Christine at
Rustic and Refined

Joining Diane at
An Extraordinary Day 

Soiree Gastronomique

 

Le Menu par le soiree gastronomique 

Shrimp cocktail over crushed ice with

fresh dill garnish.

The shrimp were

boiled with seasonings of bay laurel,
a dash of chipotle pepper,

and celery seeds.

Voila!

Kimberly, in very serious fashion, photographs the
table amidst a chorus of "Let's Eat!!!"

Apple, radish, and rutabaga julienne 

over raw Brussels sprouts leaves 

with a lemon, ginger, honey vinaigrette.

 Farro with Swiss chard, cranberries, pine nuts, 

garlic, Parmesan garnished with caramelized leeks.

Get the recipe HERE

 

The main event, Alaskan King Crab legs with

lemon wedges and drawn butter.

Kim said he looks forward to this meal for 364 days every year.

Bartender extraordinaire.

Notre verre après le dîner...Brandy Alexanders!

Happy New Year!

Kimberly and Kathy

We're linking up with Susan at
Between Naps on the Porch 
for Tablescape Thursday

Lazy Girl's Solution to the Food Pyramid

OK, I have actually never been accused of being lazy, so maybe I am just plain tired out from all the shoveling and snow removal this winter.  We got another 12 inches on top of the nearly 2 feet we already had, and the wind is howling.  What's a girl to do?  

Make a quick, easy meal to enjoy in the cozy warmth of the house.

 The roads are impassable, so I had to use what I had on hand.  With every meal, my goal is to have a protein, a carbohydrate (the good-for-you kind), and a vegetable or three.  A quick check of the food on hand revealed sugar snap peas, spinach, and a beautiful lime.  I removed the zest of the lime with my trusty Microplane, then cut it and squeezed out all the juice.  You get a much more intense lime flavor if you use the zest in addition to the juice; just don't grate down too far, you don't want any of the white part, it's bitter.

 Here's my zesting Microplane.  Couldn't cook without it.  Well, OK, I could, but it is an indispensable tool in my kitchen.  I have another with larger holes, too, for grating hard cheeses, chocolate, or vegetables.  A note of caution:  please be sure to handle these carefully, or plan to have a Band-Aid at the ready.  They are super sharp!

 I blanched the spinach and the beautiful mange-tout peas together in the same pan.  Mange-tout is French for edible podded sugar snap peas - 'eat it all'.  The farro was simply pulled out of my freezer, as I generally cook a large batch, portion it into zippie bags, and freeze.  Actually, I do this with all of my grains.....wild rice, pearl barley, farro, brown rice, etc.  Note to the Ziploc folks:  Please stop printing that block at an angle.  It makes me crazy.

 To the lime zest and juice, I added some extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, sea salt, black pepper, and an avocado.  A quick spin with the immersion blender and the dressing was ready.

The final ingredients were some freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped pistachios.  That was a thinly veiled bribe to entice my hubby, as he loves pistachios but doesn't like cooked spinach.  

Mission Accomplished:  A Protein, two vegetables, and a grain.  The entire meal took about 30 minutes from start to plate.  This salad paired beautifully with the seared sea scallops, which I did with crispy shallots and a squeeze of lemon juice. At the last minute, I tossed in a couple shrimp, again to appease the big guy, who isn't crazy about scallops, but are my favorite!  Bon Apetit!

The Recipe

The Dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

dash of sea salt

couple grinds of black pepper

juice and zest from one lime

1 avocado

1 clove garlic

1 minced shallot

Add all to bowl, blend with immersion blender until smooth.  (disclosure:  this makes more dressing than you'll need for 2 people, but it will be great on a lettuce salad tomorrow)

The Salad

1 cup sugar snap peas

4 cups washed spinach leaves

1 cup cooked farro (Emmer Wheat)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

1/3 cup chopped pistachio nuts

Add spinach and snap peas to boiling water and cook briefly, about 1 minute.  Pour into strainer and douse with cold water to stop the cooking and maintain color. Squeeze a bit with your hand to get rid of as much excess water as possible.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, add enough dressing to cover.  Serve cool or at room temperature.

Recipe copyright K. Cyriacks 2014