Cauliflower

Recipe courtesy of Merkin Vineyards Old Town Scottsdale, www.merkinoldtownscottsdale.com

Ingredients:

2 oz. each color tri-colored cauliflower

2 oz. Romanesco

1 oz. or 3-4 cloves roasted garlic

1-2 Tbsp. golden raisins

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup red wine

1 cup vindaloo

¼ serrano pepper

¼ shallot

1 small, juiced lime

1 Tbsp. puffed quinoa

½ cup olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fresh parsley for garnish

In small saucepan, cover garlic cloves with olive oil and bring to simmer and turn off. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. In small pot, heat olive oil to smoke. Add quinoa; it will fry quickly. Turn off heat, strain through fine metal mesh strainer, and set aside on paper towel to cool. Combine wine, sugar and a dash of salt in small pot and bring to simmer. Add raisins; cook until raisins soak up most of the liquid. Strain and set aside. Blanch cauliflower & Romanesco. Combine vindaloo, serrano pepper, shallot, juice of small lime into blender. Puree until smooth. Slowly add olive oil until emulsified. On small sheet tray, roast cauliflower and Romanesco with olive oil, salt and pepper at 500 degrees for 10 minutes or until it begins to char. Remove from oven, toss with raisins and garlic. Drizzle with the vindaloo and top with puffed quinoa. Garnish with fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Sun Valley Harvest Mushrooms

Recipe courtesy of Merkin Vineyards Old Town Scottsdale, www.merkinoldtownscottsdale.com

Wild or harvested mushrooms variety (we prefer oyster, beech, hen of the woods and king trumpet)

1 Tbsp. or 3 pearl (or cipollini) onions

3-5 cloves garlic

Baby lettuce blend (baby arugula, baby mustard greens, baby kale, or what’s fresh from the garden)

Soft cheese (we prefer smoked ricotta or crescenza)

1 cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup olive oil

2-3 Tbsp. honey

1 small shallot

Salt and pepper

In small saucepan, cover garlic cloves with olive oil and bring to simmer, then turn off. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Peel onion, roast with olive oil at 400 degrees for 12-16 minutes or until caramelized and golden. Set aside. Combine vinegar, honey, shallot, salt and pepper in blender. Puree until smooth. Slowly add olive oil until emulsified. Break down mushrooms in large bite-sized pieces. Remember they will reduce by almost half during roasting. Toss mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper, and place on sheet pan. Add onion and garlic on top. Roast at 500 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until edges of mushrooms crisp. Remove from oven. Toss with balsamic vinaigrette. Spoon soft cheese around plate and on top of mushrooms. Garnish with fresh baby greens tossed with oil, salt and pepper.

Avocado and Black Bean Salad

Recipe courtesy of Cuisine by Celine, www.cuisinebyceline.com

Ingredients:

1 avocado

1 tomato

1 cup black beans

2 scallions

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro + 2 stems

1 tsp. chopped oregano + 1 stem

1 tsp. chopped parsley + 2 stems

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tomato into small dice. Strain and rinse the beans and slice the scallions. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the avocado and herb stems. Cut the avocado in half and slice each half in a plate. Place the mixed ingredients on top of the avocado and garnish with the herb stems.

Grilled Steak Salad

Recipe courtesy of Thirsty Lion Gastropub, www.thirstyliongastropub.com

Ingredients

4 weighted oz. top sirloin

1 tsp. steak seasoning

½ weighted oz. roasted garlic herb butter

3 weighted oz. salad, house mix

1 weighted oz. rugula

1 weighted oz. radicchio

2 weighted oz. caramelized pears

1 weighted oaz. gorgonzola cheese

1 ½ fluid oz. blue cheese vinaigrette dressing

Garnish

½ weighted oz. gorgonzola cheese

½ weighted oz. spiced pecans

⅛ weighted oz. red bell pepper curls

½ fluid oz. blue cheese vinaigrette dressing

Season top sirloin with steak seasoning on both sides. Place on broiler. Cook to create marks. Turn over and repeat procedure. Cook to desired temperature, baste with roasted garlic herb butter. Place salad ingredients in a mixing bowl, add 1 ½ oz. dressing, and toss well. Place salad in the center of a chilled 9” bowl. Mound high for presentation. Place cooked steak on a cutting board and slice into ¼” pieces, and shingle around the lower perimeter of the salad. Garnish the top of the salad with gorgonzola crumbles, candied pecans, and red pepper curls in the center. Drizzle blue cheese vinaigrette over the lower section of the steak around the bottom.

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