Valentine Meal Ideas for People You Love

02/13/2009

“Out of all those kinds of people,
you’ve got a face with a view.”

We hope you all have someone to love this holiday: your sweetheart, your mom and dad, your dog…we have been stocking up at Marczyk’s so you can cook for a crowd of friends, or just the two of you.

Valentine Dinner suggestions: easy, pretty, and pretty delicious too.

Live lobsters at market price. Call 303 894-9499 by 4:00PM Friday to order.

Filet mignon with bordelaise sauce, recipe below, and sexy veggies like:

Romanesco broccoli. This Italian varietal from the 16th century has pointy little heads in a vivid chartreuse color. It’s so beautiful you might want to save it as a centerpiece, but its nutty sweet taste warrants cooking.

Arugula, Avocado, and Blood Orange Salad, recipe below.

Eat-with-your-hands food like prosciutto-wrapped shrimp with garlic dipping sauce (recipe below). Steam an artichoke with butter and lemon, or roast asparagus and serve with Life in Provence Hollandaise…you get the picture.

Market-made fondue for two. Dipping crunchy bread, sweet apples, or roasted potatoes in soft melted cheese by candlelight…sweet.

Paella is spicy and warm and welcoming. Recipe below.

Poached Bosc pears: 6 cups water, 2-3 Bosc pears, ripe but not soft! 1 cup sugar, juice of 3 oranges, and 1 lemon, zest of three oranges and lemon. Combine sugar, juices, water and pears (we like to add some spices too: star anise, a cinnamon stick, and a few whole cloves) in a saucepan just large enough so pears are almost covered and standing upright. If necessary, cut off bottom of pears so they stand straight. Bring liquid to simmer and poach pears for 25 minutes until tender, but not too soft! Serve with chocolate sauce.

How about a Marczyk brownie sundae: brownie, vanilla gelato, fresh berries and Blosm flavored whipped cream? At least get the whipping cream…

Huge chocolate dipped long stemmed strawberries, made here, the real deal no waxy chocolate! Banfi Rosa Regale, a sweet sparkling wine, is the perfect wine with these.

Tonight’s the night to bake a King Arthur Chocolate Cake, it’s like no box cake mix you’ve ever had, rich flavor, no creepy ingredients. As the ad says: “You’re worth it.”

Valentine’s Day Flowers from Dana. Tulip (Colorado grown) and Hawaiian orchid bouquets; roses, and other bright blooms. Special requests? (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

New new new!

Honey for your Honey

100% raw real variety honey from Bee Raw in 5 flavors: Colorado Sweet Yellow Clover, Colorado Star Thistle, Florida Orange Blossom, Maine Wild Raspberry, and Washington Buckwheat Honey. Each one is unique and intensely flavored. We’ve heard a spoonful of local honey daily helps with allergies.
Maestri Pastas from Italy, you’ll especially love the cuorcini 5 colori: heart shaped pasta in 5 colors, how cool is that! Great price too, $4.99.
Old fashioned Bake Sale Taste from baker John Hinman. Go back in time with our American classics: chocolate chunk, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and white chocolate macadamia cookies, ridiculously chocolate brownies, and more. Made from the finest ingredients sold in the market, made right here in our little kitchen. And of course our Marczyk signature cookie: Niman Ranch bacon and chocolate chip. So for Pete’s sake, get yourself a cookie! $.99 - $2.99
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing our new and improved Frequent Shopper Program! So very easy: For every $250 worth of food you buy in a quarter, 3 months, get a $10 gift card. (It comes in the mail, no Ed McMahon and his Prize Patrol but exciting none-the-less.)

Buy $500 in a quarter, get a $20 gift card; $750, get $30; $1000, $40; $1250, $50…and on and on. We’re not counting visits anymore, just dollars spent. T-shirts count too! Make sure we get your card swiped, carry it with you

always

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A Panini grill in the deli! http://www.marczykfinefoods.com/blog has the soup of the day and the Panini of the day. Staff fav so far: the pastrami and cheese Panini-ed.

Valentine’s wine suggestions

All bubbles are

15% off

through Saturday Feb. 14th. Cava, Prosecco, Champagne…

We’ll have wine suggestions for the fondue kits here at the market.

Our Lady Mead, Amor, Chocolate Pomegranate Mead, $17.99.

Locally made, extremely small batch mead, which is fermented honey. Norma Solomon, mead maker, will be in the shop Friday, February 13th from 5:00-8:00 PM tasting her wares. Stop by and taste this wonderfully modern twist on an ancient creation. Ever wonder where “honeymoon” came from? Go to www.marczykfinefoods.com/blog to find out.

Recipes

Arugula, Avocado, and Blood Orange Salad

• Juice of 1 blood orange (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tablespoon shallot, minced (from 1 small shallot)
• 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 firm but ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 2 cups (1 ounce) loosely packed baby arugula leaves
• 1 blood orange, peeled, segmented, and seeded

In small bowl, whisk together blood orange juice, shallot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Gradually add olive oil and whisk vigorously to combine. Divide avocado between two plates, fanning out slices over half of plate. Top with arugula and drizzle with vinaigrette. Top with blood orange segments and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Bordelaise Sauce

• 1 cup red wine
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 tbsp. Demi glace (Culinarte veal demi in the freezer)
• 2 6-oz. filet mignons, cooked how you like them
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

In a 2-qt. saucepan, combine wine, thyme, shallots, and bay leaf. Reduce wine over medium-high heat until almost completely evaporated. If using a gas stove, tip pan to ignite wine; this will aid in evaporation. Discard the thyme and bay leaf; stir in demi-glace. Cover, remove from heat, and set aside.

Sauce the steak: Return saucepan to medium heat. Whisk in butter. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in parsley and season sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer steaks to cutting board; add juices from plate to pan and stir. Spoon 2 tbsp. sauce onto each of 2 plates. Slice steak into 1/4”-thick slices; divide between plates. Sprinkle with rosemary and thyme; drizzle each steak with 1 tbsp. sauce. Yields 3/4 cup sauce. Saveur Magazine

Paella

• 1 Palacios dry chorizo, sliced into 1” disks
• 1/2 cup Spanish olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 peppers, chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic, diced
• 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 16oz can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 4 cups paella rice
• 8 cups hot broth, Pete likes pork demi-glace and water for the broth
• 1 generous teaspoon saffron
• 3/4 lb white fish, rinsed and cut into small portions
• approx. 16 fresh uncooked shrimp, rinsed
• approx. 10-12 fresh mussels or 12-15 fresh clams (or a mixture), rinsed
• piquillo peppers or green asparagus, as a garnish
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges
• Chicken can also be used.

Paella is best cooked in a large shallow paella pan. It can also be cooked on top of a stove and transferred to the oven once the water has been added.

Heat the oil in the paella pan over med-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until slightly crispy. Add the fish and lightly brown on all sides. Remove the fish and suasage and put aside. Add the onions to the oil and stir fry until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the artichokes, tomatoes and garlic and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

Add the saffron to the hot broth and stir. Slowly add the broth to the paella. Move the rice mixture around gently until it is evenly distributed throughout the pan. It is important to NOT stir the rice after this point. This is what makes paella so distinct from other rice dishes, such as risotto.

After about 10 minutes place the seafood into the mixture one by one, evenly distributing the seafood throughout. After another 10 minutes add the garnish. Once the water has been completely absorbed, approximately another 15 minutes, remove from heat, gently cover with tinfoil and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Place the paella in the middle of the table and serve directly from the paella pan. Serve with wedges of lemon. Serve Rioja with this!