Venison Tenderloin with Smoked Duck Bacon

 

 Once in a while we stumble upon some special ingredients in the store and we just have to see what we can do with them on the grill.  Such was the case last week at Buffalo's Wegman's.  Having a well-stocked pantry made it easy to throw a marinade together, and Kris found a clever way to secure the duck bacon onto the venison by weaving bamboo skewers along the edges.  After a long morning snowshoe with our dogs we were ready to tuck into this high protein lunch!

Venison Tenderloin with Smoked Duck Bacon

2 venison tenderloins

For the marinade:

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons vermouth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

10 strips duck bacon, or regular bacon

Combine the marinade ingredients in a flat glass dish and add the tenderloins, turning to coat well on all sides.   Let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hour. Lay 5 strips of bacon side by side on a cutting board. Place the tenderloin on top, sideways and centred on the bacon. Wrap each slice of bacon around the meat, then thread a long wooden skewer weaving the ends of the bacon to secure it in place. 

Preheat the barbecue and set to MEDIUM LOW.  Grill the tenderloins for 20 minutes turning every 5 minutes to brown evenly. Let rest for five minutes before carving into thick slices. 

We served the meat with just a touch of leftover red current and wine sauce that works well with both lamb and venison.

Red Current Jelly and Red Wine Sauce

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 shallot, finely minced
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup red current jelly
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 additional tablespoon butter

In a small saucepan heat the butter or olive oil.  Add the minced shallot and sauté until translucent.  Add the beef broth and wine and simmer briskly until reduced to 1/2 cup and add the red current jelly and thyme.  Heat until melted, then turn off the burner and whisk in the remaining butter. 
 

Swordfish Steaks with Grilled Pineapple and Grapefruit Salsa

 

 We had a lot of fun this weekend in Ellicottville.  On Saturday, Ted led us on an amazing cross-country ski trek, through the beautiful hills and forests behind Holimont. It was an incredible workout, for both the humans and the dogs! Happily, a great meal is always the reward at the end of these adventures! Andrea had stocked the refrigerator with some wonderful foods, so we were able to quickly prepare a delicious meal. It was an early night, then back out on Sunday morning, this time on snow shoes!!  After exploring the forest for 3 hours, even the puppy was tired out!!    

 Swordfish Steaks with Grilled Pineapple and Grapefruit Salsa

For the salsa:
1/2 pineapple, cored and cut into long spears
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ruby grapefruit, peeled and cut into sections, then chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
 1 red bell pepper
1 red cherry pepper or other hot pepper, minced
1 teaspoon each chopped fresh cilantro, mint, tarragon and chives
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon honey 
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

Preheat barbecue on MEDIUM HIGH and place the red bell pepper on the grids.  Cook until charred on all sides and move to a cutting board to let cool. Reduce the grill temperature to MEDIUM LOW.
Brush the pineapple spears with vegetable oil and grill them until slightly caramelized and tender, about 8 minutes, turning 3 times for perfect grill marks.  Transfer to a cutting board and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss the pineapple into a medium bowl with the remaining ingredients and let stand to combine flavours. 

For the Swordfish:
4 swordfish steaks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the marinade:

Juice of 1/2 lime
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons grapefruit infused white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon infused olive oil
1 teaspoon grate fresh ginger root 
1 teaspoon each chopped fresh tarragon, cilantro, chives and mint
 Pat the fish dry with paper towels, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  In a flat glass dish just large enough to hold the fish, combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the swordfish steaks, coating well on all sides and let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the barbecue on MEDIUM-
 HIGH.

Reduce the heat setting to MEDIUM LOW and brush the grids well with vegetable oil. Cook the fish for a total of 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes for perfect grill marks. 

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

6 baby bok choy, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large clove garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sambal olek
1 teaspoon honey

Brush or spray the bok choy with olive oil and grill lightly on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.  Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a few minutes. Add the grilled bok choy and toss to coat. Serve hot.

Wally and Baldur are true snow dogs!!

Roasted Cauliflower and Sauce Vierge

Baby Baldur knows that the secret to making friends with Briar is by sharing his toys!

Things are starting to settle down after the great upheaval of Christmas and New Years. We had so much fun with family and friends flowing through the house in an endless stream. Not, to mention the fluffy new addition to our family. This week, I decided to set some time aside to try a few recipes from a new cookbook that I received from Luke and Georgina for Christmas. The book  is Modern Sauces, 2012, by Martha Holmberg. Perfect for grilling, since we like to keep it simple on the grill, and then dress things up with a sauce. This is right up my alley!! I tried the Sauce Vierge with Roasted Cauliflower and Veal Chops last week. It was so delcicious, that I have already made it again, and used the leftover Sauce Vierge on pasta.  Then, I thought that I should try to develop a new recipe for this week, so stuck with the roasted cauliflower theme, since it is so simple and delcious when roasted on the grill. The flavours really come out when the cauliflower caramelizes as it roasts, so soup seemed the perfect dish with which to highlight it.

Roasted Cauliflower with Sauce Vierge

2 large heads cauliflower, cored and cut into florets
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Sauce Vierge

Preheat barbecue on HIGH for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to MEDIUM.
In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a grilling tray and place on the grids. Roast for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender.


Reserve half, in order to make soup the next day. Place the rest in a warmed serving bowl and drizzle generously with the Sauce Vierge.


Sauce Vierge

1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup pitted green olives, finely chopped
2 tbsp gherkins, finely chopped
1 tbsp shallots, mince
1 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 tsp jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tsp preserved lemon, chopped
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, toss together the parsley, basil, olives, gherkins, shallots, capers, jalapeno pepper, preserved lemon, anchovies and garlic. Stir in the olive oil, then stir in the lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper. This highly savoury sauce should rest for 30 minutes, to allow the flavours to develop. It is best used within the hour. Store leftover sauce in the refirgerator in an air-tight container and use the next day on pasta or grilled meats, such as Grilled Veal Chops, as we did, or on roasted chicken.

Grilled Veal Chops

4 thick veal chops, approx. 400 grams each
2 tbsp your favourite rub
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat barbecue on HIGH heat for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to MEDIUM. Prepare veal chops for grilling by basting them lightly with extra virgin olive oil, and rubbing both sides with your rub. Allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes prior to grilling.
Place on grids and cook for 12-16 minutes, depending on the thickness, turning every 4 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes and serve with Sauce Vierge.

 Roasted Cauliflower Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 sweet potato, cubed
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp red curry paste
1/2 cup white wine
8 cups chicken stock
1 head roasted cauliflower

 Heat the oilive oil in a large heavy bottomed stock pot. Add the diced carrot, celery onion and sweet potato and saute gently for 15 minutes. Add minced ginger, garlic and red curry paste and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Carefully add the white wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and roasted cauliflower and simmer for 20 minutes, to allow flavours to develop. Using and immersion blender, puree the soup. Serve with a nice light salad for a satisfying lunch or light dinner.

New Year's Eve Fun

  

Over the course of the holidays the hills around Ellicottville changed from green to white, then back to green under driving rain, and now we’re back to 6” of snow! While the weather roller coaster made winter sports a bit more challenging, it couldn’t stop the fun over New Year’s Eve at our cabin.  We had a great gang who were up for anything:  hiking, snowboarding, and a whole array of board games:  Anomia, Boggle, Cranium and Settlers of Catan among the favourites.

Samantha and I were here ahead of the masses and prepared a platter of smoked salmon and Grilled Shrimp Summer Rolls.   With help from Reid and Jannell we had a very simple dinner including Lemon Rosemary Grilled Crown Roast of Lamb.  We continue to enjoy the shortcut of using flavoured oils and vinegars in our preparation.  This week lemon infused olive oil was the secret ingredient in both dishes.  

Grilled Shrimp Summer Rolls

Ordinarily we would also include some rice vermicelli in these rolls, but since we couldn’t find any at the small nearby grocery store we just used more lettuce, and the results were light and tasty. 

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons lemon infused olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 red pepper, cut into thin strips

1 cucumber, cut into thin strips

1 mango, cut into thin strips

1 small bunch green onions, cut into thin strips

mixed baby greens

¼ cup finely chopped cashews

3 tablespoons each chopped cilantro and mint

½ cup hoisin sauce

rice papers

for the dipping sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon sambel olek

  

Preheat the barbecue on MEDIUM HIGH for 10 minutes.  Rinse and pat dry the shrimp.  Toss them in a medium bowl with the lemon oil, salt and pepper.  Reduce the heat and set the shrimp on the grids.  Cook for 1 ½- 2 minutes per side.  When cool enough to handle, cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.

Fill a large pie plate with very hot water.  Soak 1 rice paper at a time until soft and pliable, then transfer it to a cutting board.  Arrange 3 shrimp halves in the centre, then cover with a small handful of lettuce.  Spoon some hosin sauce over the lettuce, then layer with a small bundle of pepper, cucumber, mango, and green onion.  Sprinkle with cashews and herbs, then roll them up as follows:  fold in the sides, then fold up the bottom, pressing down to condense the fillings and continue rolling up into a cylinder.  Place the rolls on a platter lined with a damp kitchen towel and repeat until all the ingredients are used up.  Then cut each roll on the diagonal, arrange on a platter and serve with the dipping sauce. 

Lemon Rosemary Grilled Crown Roast of Lamb

Cooking the lamb over indirect heat means less tending, and less chance of flare-ups. 

4 racks of lamb, frenched

3 tablespoons lemon infused olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the oil, herbs and spices.  Rub the mixture on all sides of the lamb racks.  With the help of an extra set of hands, bend 2 racks together to form a crown, and tie them with butchers twine toward the base of the meat.  Repeat with the other 2 racks.  Let stand at room temperature for ½ hour.

Preheat the barbecue on MEDIUM HIGH for 10 minutes.  Turn off the centre burner, and reduce the setting on the outside burners to MEDIUM LOW.  Set the lamb over the unlit burners and grill for 45 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before carving.