Last night we could not decide whether we should have a salad of freshly picked Arugula or some type of pizza.  We then decided why not have both.

The end result was an arugula salad on top of a white cheese pizza. Awesome and very tasteful.

The Arugula and rest of the salad

The Prosciutto Ready for the Cheese Pizza

Cheese Pizza with the Prosciutto

Arugula Salad on a White Cheese Pizza

To ring in the new year last night Jo Ann and I wanted to recreate one of our old favorites that we have not had for ages, Veal Chops with Roasted Shallots, Arugula, and Polenta. This excellent meal is from Bon Appétit and it has been years since we have made it.

Part of the problem is that we can not find veal here in Morelia or Pátzcuaro so this was going to require us to improvise for the meal.

First we decided that the best meat alternative we could choose over a veal chop was a very marbled rib eye steak.  We grilled this on the BBQ and achieved a mouth watering tasty main course.

For the shallots and arugula Jo Ann was able to go out to her garden and hand pick fresh shallots and arugula.  Then we made the potenta from scratch and roasted the walnuts which added a great flavor to the meal.

Bottom line, you can’t always get the culinary items that you can in the US or in Europe, but if you are creative and willing to do a lot from scratch, you can enjoy just about any meal that you want.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

The final plated meal

Rib Eye Steak, Roasted Shallots, Arugula, and Polenta

One of our favorite wines from the Valle de Guadalupe

Roasted Shallots and other vegetables.

Jo Ann and I have always tried to break the mold when we plan our weekly meals. Whose to say that an evenings meal must be completely French or Northern Italian? I am guessing this is how the whole fusion concept evolved.  To just give you a few examples, two nights ao we had a fairly light dinner of BBQ salmon, a wonderful Mediterranean rice pilaf paired with a full bodied yet inexpensive Malbec. Now I would classify our BBQ salmon as a standard American recipe as it is only seasoned with olive oil and pepper. However the rice pilaf is really a standard Mediterranean fare. Then pairing this meal with a full bodied Malbec, I don’t think this would fit anyone’s definition of a “traditional” meal.

Last night we continued to break convention as we had an excellent Sopa Tarasca with some excellent asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto which was then grilled on the BBQ. These two recipes were then paired with an inexpensive Grenache from Spain, which is typically paired with gamier birds or country stews.

Sopa Tarasca together with BBQ asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto

Sopa Taraca on the stove

Ready for the BBQ

Chilies grilled and ready for the soup

Toasted tortillas

Toasting the tortillas

Grilling the chilies

Some colorful vegetables that I just thought looked cool together.

Basmati Pilaf with Dried Fruits and Almonds together with BBQ Salmon

Basmati Pilaf with Dried Fruits and Almonds cooking on the stove