Tofu Red Onions Walnuts And Blue Cheese Food

TOFU, RED ONIONS, WALNUTS, AND BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring the rice and water to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the walnuts on a baking dish, and bake 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. Remove from heat.
• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in the broth, and season with sage, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Heat the oil in a separate skillet. Dredge the tofu in the toasted walnuts, and cook in the skillet about 4 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Mix any remaining walnuts and the onion and broth mixture into the skillet. Cook until heated through. Serve over rice, and top with blue cheese.

FARFALLE WITH ASPARAGUS, RED ONION, WALNUTS & BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in plenty of salted boiling water according to the package directions. Three (3) minutes before the pasta is done, add the asparagus. Drain.
• Meanwhile, over medium heat, toast the walnuts in a large dry skillet until they are aromatic and lightly browned. CAREFUL not to burn. About 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Once cooled, either leave halved or do a rough chop but leave some big pieces.
• Over medium heat, heat 2 T of olive oil in a large skillet, add onion and cook until onion is softened and translucent, about 7-9 minutes. I prefer to cook longer until they are caramelized.
• Toss the pasta & asparagus with the onion, walnuts and blue cheese. Stir in remaining 1T olive oil. Add salt & pepper, to taste.

ORZO WITH BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to a boil.
• Add the salt and orzo and cook until the orzo is tender and has absorbed almost all of the cooking liquid, 8 to 9 minutes.
• Stir in the butter, Parmesan and blue cheeses and walnuts.
• Serve immediately.
• * Note: To toast nuts, spread them on a baking sheet and place them in a 350-degree oven, shaking the pan occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully because nuts will burn quickly.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND WALNUT BISCUITS WITH BLUE CHEESE BUTTER

Steps:

• For the caramelized onions: Heat the olive oil and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to caramelize and brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Lower the heat as needed to prevent burning. Stir in the thyme and remove from the heat. Let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the chilled butter and mix in with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the caramelized onions and the walnuts and mix gently with your hands.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the milk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the egg mixture into the well, then mix gently with a rubber pastry scraper or spatula. The mixture will be shaggy; it will not come together into a smooth dough.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it forms a cohesive dough. Do not overwork or the biscuits will be tough. Pat or roll the dough into a round about 1 inch thick, flouring lightly as needed to prevent sticking. Cut out the biscuits with a lightly floured 1 1/2-inch round cutter. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. You can gather and reroll the scraps once. Refrigerate the biscuits for 15 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• For the blue cheese butter: In a small bowl, mash the blue cheese and the butter with the back of a spoon until the mixture is spreadable.
• Cut the warm biscuits in half horizontally and spread the bottom half with a little of the blue cheese butter. Replace the top half. Arrange on a platter and serve warm.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon or another powerful red wine from Bordeaux varieties.

LINGUINE WITH ONION CONFIT, GOAT CHEESE, AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet.
• Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoons salt; saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion begin to soften and release their juices.
• Add the garlic and continue to cook over medium heat, gently scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to keep the onions from sticking as they caramelize.
• After 40 minutes, the onions should be a rich golden color and very sweet.
• At this point, add the wine to deglaze the pan and simmer over low heat.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Chop or break the toasted walnuts into pieces with your hands.
• When the water is boiling, add 1 teaspoon salt and the linguine and cook until tender, about 1 minute.
• Just before draining the pasta, add 1/4 cup of the cooking water to the confit. (This will make the sauce juicier without adding more oil.)
• Immediately drain the pasta, then add it to the confit along with the walnuts and basil.
• Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few pinches of pepper.
• Crumble in the cheese and serve immediately.

TOFU, RED ONIONS, WALNUTS, AND BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring the rice and water to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the walnuts on a baking dish, and bake 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. Remove from heat.
• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in the broth, and season with sage, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Heat the oil in a separate skillet. Dredge the tofu in the toasted walnuts, and cook in the skillet about 4 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Mix any remaining walnuts and the onion and broth mixture into the skillet. Cook until heated through. Serve over rice, and top with blue cheese.

RED-COOKED TOFU

Steps:

• Cut the tofu blocks into 1-inch squares that are ½-inch thick. Pat dry with a paper towel.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until it is just beginning to smoke, about 395°F. In two batches, deep-fry the tofu pieces until a brown skin forms on the outside, about 5 minutes. Use a skimmer to transfer the tofu to a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil from the wok. Add the garlic to the wok and stir-fry until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork and continue to stir-fry for another 30 seconds or until it is completely cooked.
• Add the shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, 1½ cups water, the wine, both soy sauces, sugar, and pepper to the wok and bring the liquid to a boil.
• Put the tofu in a saucepan and pour the contents of the wok over the tofu. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover and braise the tofu over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the tofu has absorbed the flavor.
• In a small bowl, mix the tapioca starch with 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Stir this into the braising broth and cook until the broth has thickened, about 1 minute. Serve the tofu garnished with the julienned scallion.