My parents’ anniversary was September 10th. While their son is a [culinary] genius, they have only allowed me to cook for them about three times in my life. My mother doesn’t approve of all sorts of things I do, including quite a bit in the kitchen. Well, anyhow, this year they accepted an offer for me to take care of their celebratory evening. Below are the recipes.

Appetizer: Wine Poached Pears

Recipe was from an old friend of mine (from memory), melded with one from a cookbook for precision.

1 1/2 cup red wine or burgandy
1 cup raw sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves (whole)
4-6 pears (whole, peeled)

In a pot combine all ingredients except the pears over med-high heat until boiling. Reduce to low and simmer, covered for 3-5 minutes (should be noticeably thickened). Lop off the bottom of each pear so they will sit upright on the plate for serving later.

Add the pears on their side if possible, and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or until tender, turning frequently.

Remove the pears to small serving plates, upright. Bring reserve sauce to a boil, uncovered, over med-high/high heat, until reduced to a thick glaze, ~5-8 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves with tongs. Drizzle over pears and serving plate.You may serve chilled if climate dictates.

Serves: 6. Prep time: ~2 minutes.Cook time: 25 minutes.

Salad: Goat’s Medley w/ Walnuts

I can’t overstate the value of baby spinach, dandelion greens, and clover sprouts. Simply the best salad you can make. The ratios can be varied for taste.

1/2 lb baby spinach
1/2 lb dandelion greens (shredded or chopped)
1 bunch radishes (sliced, chopped, or shredded)
2-3 carrots (sliced or shredded)
1/2 lb sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups freshly cracked walnut pieces

Combine. Toss. Serve with your favorite version of raspberry vinagrette.

Serves: 6-8 humans, or 1 goat or llama. Prep time: 20-15 minutes.

Entree: Peppercorn-rubbed Filet Mignon

Purists and book-wise chefs would crucify you for rubbing down a tenderloin filet with anything more than simple salt. I’m neither.

Peppercorn Rub

Regular peppercorns can be subbed-in here, but it changes the dynamic. This rub is great on any cut of beef. Double, triple, etc. as needed. Keeps well in sealed container for several weeks. Omit sugar until just in time, to keep for several months.

2 tbsp szechuan peppercorns (whole)
2 tbsp coriander (whole)
1/2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp allspice (whole)
1 tsp sea salt

In iron skillet, over grill or med-high burner, cook szechuan peppercorns and coriander until you can smell them well, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, combine with rest of ingredient in a food processor or spice grinder. Pulse-grind until evenly-blended but coarse.

Coats 4-6 filet mignons lightly. Prep time: ~2 minutes. Cook time: 3 minutes.

Grilled Filet Mignon

If you don’t know the difference between tenderloin cuts, that’s ok. Filet mignon is the tip of the tenderloin: very small, and very pricey. I recommend 2″ cuts because that yields about 7 oz of meat. If you can’t afford all mignons (will run you about $50 for 6 little cuts) then you might want to purchase a whole tenderloin, which any reputable butcher will gladly slice up for you: 1″ cuts of the upper tenderloin with a single 2″ mignon at the bottom will run you about $40, but net 6 good-sized steaks plus the mignon. Do not buy packaged filets wrapped in bacon. If you’re going to pay for tenderloin, make sure it’s being chopped fresh just for you.

4-6 2″ thick filet mignon cuts of tenderloin beef
or
4-6 1″ thick upper tenderloin cuts

Preheat grill on high. Trim visible fat from filets. Rub down filets by hand with peppercorn rub, coating evenly but lightly. Turn grill down to medium. Meat should be flipped every 5 minutes. Should be served medium-rare (135 degrees), medium (145 degrees) at most… but well-done brutalizations are also possible (165 degrees). All temperatures are taken at the center of the meat.

Serves: 4-6. Prep time: ~5 minutes. Cook time: varies by thickness and doneness, 7-25 minutes

Dessert: Raspberry Tart

This lovely was made from scratch by my lovely, following a copyrighted recipe I can’t legally reprint here. Excellent ending to a great meal.

I used to make these all the time, but recently played them again. Fairly quick yet very satisfying. Serve alongside 2 cups of rice.

Marinade:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lime, peeled and crushed well
pinch of curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin (ground)
several twists of black pepper from a pepper grinder
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped fine)
2 large cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 jalepeno or 3 serrano peppers (chopped)
2-3 drops Dave’s Insanity Sauce

Fajita:

1 lb. flank steak, or very thin sirloin
8 oz sharp cheese (shredded)
1 cup salsa
8 medium-sized corn or wheat tortillas (flour if you must)
lettuce, olives, other veggies as desired

Lay out steak in glass pan. Thoroughly mix all of the marinade ingredients in glass Pyrex container, pour over steak. Cover steak and allow to marinade in refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours.

To cook, get grill or cast-iron grill plate sizzling hot. Add steak quickly, cooking 2-3 minutes, flip, cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully cut into strips using knife and tongs.

To serve, add 1/8 of steak, cheese, salsa and other toppings to each tortilla, roll, and serve aside 2 cups white or jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6. Prep time about 15 minutes, 1 hour -to- 1 day marinade, ~10 minutes cook time.

Always a favorite. Great on the stove or grill.

2 lbs boneless chicken
1 cup barbecue sauce (I recommend Dinosaur BBQ Slathering Sauce, or Wango Tango (hotter))
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 assorted smallish hot peppers (quartered)
1 tbsp ground chipotle, habeñero or cayenne pepper

Mix syrup, ground pepper and sauce thoroughly in 2 cup measure. Cut chicken into chunks or bite-sized pieces. In chef skillet mix everything together. Cook over high heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice, potatoes or cous-cous and a side of seasonal veggies.

Serves 4 usually. Prep time <5 minutes, cook time about 15 minutes.

Roughly translated means: “you’ll cry like a baby grilled steak”. If you’re afraid of flavor fear not – all of the heat is in the dipping sauce which you can moderate at meal time. Try it, please. This does require some non-trivial prep and marinate time, but it’s one of my favorite Thai refinements. Steak can be cooked over a wood fire, charcoal grill, gas grill or on a stove top as desired. Goes great with rice, rice noodle or cous-cous (culinary faux paux, I know).

Sauce:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar (raw preferred)
3 tbsp kao kua
3-4 small green onions (minced)
1/4 cup crushed chili peppers

Steak:

2 lbs lean steak (thinner is better, but whatever)
2 tbsp sugar (raw preferred)
1/2 Cup soy sauce or Kikkoman Less Sodium Teriyaki Sauce

Steak prep: In a large bowl dissolve the sugar in soy sauce (stir). Add steak, cover and let marinate for at least one hour (overnight is great too), tossing about 3/4 of the way through. Go make the sauce while you’re waiting.  When ready to cook, get your heat hot: if cooking on a stove, an iron grill plate or skillet is suggested as opposed to non-stick cookware. Until it sizzles a drip of water, it’s not hot enough. Add the beef using tongs (bamboo preferred) quickly and sear meat, cooking to desired doneness. Generally best to get a medium to medium-well, ~5-10 minutes. Cooking it fast and hot is the key to keeping the flavor locked in.  Skip down to serve.

Sauce prep: In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in the lime juice and soy sauce (stir). Stir in onions, kao kua and crushed chile.

Serve: Meat should be plated immediately, and cut into thin slices or bite-sized pieces. Sauce should be divided into small bowls or mini-cups for dipping. There might not seem like “enough”, but a little nahm jeem goes a long way.

Serves 6-8. Prep time is an active 20-30 minutes in the midst of a 1 hour marinade, and about 10 minutes to cook.