Yum!

Here is a recipe I’ve been working on for a little over a year. This is one where I have take a recipe for ingredients and proportions only and worked to give it my own spin. I’ve put it together it with different vegetable variations–all of which turned out great getting the overall flavor right, but needing to work on the consistency of the gravy. It has always come out too watery in the past. I remembered a cooking show I saw years back where they added some corn starch to a stir-fry to make the sauce thicken, so I tried it in the past and ended up with small balls of corn starch. This time I dissolved the corn starch in some water and added that to the mix, and it came out just right!

I also added something I saw on Julie & Julia, peas! And they worked out great! The trick is to add them at the end, a little before serving–frozen peas work nicely–and they’ll be perfectly firm with the meal.

Without much further ado, here is the recipe…

Ingredients

• 1-2 lb. cubed chuck
• 1 large onion
• 2-3 large carrots
• 2 celery ribs
• 2 potatoes
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, quarted
• 1 bag frozen peas
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 3 sprigs minced parsley
• salt
• pepper
• flour for dredging
• 4 tsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup water
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup red wine (Burgundy works well)
• 1 12oz can beef broth
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can sliced tomatoes

Directions

1. Chop the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms and potatoes in large chunks and add them to the crock pot.
2. Crush and chop the garlic and add to the pot along with the thyme and parsley.
3. Put the flour along with some salt and pepper into a gallon-sized zip-top bag and dredge the beef, shaking off any excess flour.
4. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides, add to the pot after.
5. If the flour didn’t burn too badly, you can deglaze the pan with the wine and add that to the pot along with the broth, tomatoes and paste
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. Dissolve the corn starch in the water slowly so as not to make any lumps and add that to the pot.
8. Mix the ingredients together with a large spoon inside the pot to get everything coated and well blended. I usually do all the preparations at night before bed and let the ingredients mingle in the pot overnight and cook it the next day.
9. I then set my crock pot for 4-6 hrs. on medium. My crock pot will automatically switch to “warm” once the timer is over, so I leave it on warm until we’re ready to eat.
10. 10 to 20 minutes before serving, mix in the frozen peas. They’ll warm up nicely before you eat, and will not get mushy.

Variations:

This is the basic recipe I use, though, there are other options I’ve been known to use. Butternut squash makes a great substitute for potatoes, I’m sure any firm vegetable will be good in lieu of or along side potatoes. Sauteing the mushrooms in butter before adding them is also a good thing. I’ve also toyed with the idea of adding a little balsamic vinegar to give it a little more depth.

Well that’s it, I’m sorry I didn’t get any good photos of the stew, maybe next time I make it I’ll get some to add.

Albodingas Soup (credit: simplyrecipes.com)

If fresh mint is not available, you can use a couple teaspoons of dried mint from herbal mint tea. You can also vary the vegetables depending on what you have on hand. Spring peas in their pods instead of shucked peas, for example. Or you could add some chopped fresh zucchini or corn. My mother often puts a couple extra tablespoons of chopped fresh mint directly into the soup. Feel free to substitute ground turkey for the ground beef, we do it often.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 quarts of chicken stock or beef stock OR water OR a mixture of both (we usually use half stock half water
• as the meatballs will create their own stock)*
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
• 1/2 lb of string beans, strings and ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/3 cup of raw white rice
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• 1 raw egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• A dash of cayenne (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh peas
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crumbled, or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*If using prepared stock, be sure to use gluten-free stock if you are cooking gluten-free.

METHOD

1 Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot (5-qt) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add broth mixture and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add carrots and string beans.
2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix rice into meat, adding mint leaves and parsley, salt and pepper. Mix in raw egg. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

3 Add the meatballs to the simmering soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the peas towards the end of the 1/2 hour. Add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne, to taste.

Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Serves 6-8.

Found this recipe here. Another one I haver to try.

Homemade Goat Cheese
Tweaked from Over the Rainbeau, Living the Dream of Sustainable Farming

Feel free to experiment with your herb(s) of choice and any other flavor combinations that float your boat. The sky’s the limit! Be careful not to drain your cheese for too long, as it may begin to dry out and lose that supple, smooth consistency you’re going after.

Music Pairing: Don’t Stop, Fleetwood Mac

Ingredients

• 1 quart goat’s milk
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 clove freshly grated garlic
• a few pinches herbs de provence
• freshly chopped parsley
• coarse salt, to taste

Method

In a medium saucepan, slowly heat milk until it reaches 180 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let stand until milk starts to curdle, about 15-20 seconds. If milk does not curdle, add a little more lemon juice.

Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Ladle milk into colander. Pull up and tie the four corners of cheesecloth together and hang on the handle of a wooden spoon, set over a stockpot or very deep bowl. Allow to drain until the consistency of slightly dry cottage cheese is reached, about 1-1.5 hours. Transfer to a bowl and fold in salt, herbs and garlic. Serve immediately atop warm crostinis. Can be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 1 week.

In preparation for Chili Bowl 2010, here’s the recipe for the spiced mulled wine we make every year (this is the regular recipe, but for the party we double or triple the recipe):

Ingredients
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
10 whole cloves
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine (burgundy works well)

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the OJ, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.
Cut the orange in half, and squeeze the juice into the simmering water. Push the cloves into the outside of the orange peel, and place peel in the simmering water. Continue simmering for 30 minutes, until thick and syrupy.
Pour the syrupy mixture and the wine in a large Percolator or Crock Pot. Using the Percolator is best because you can put the cinnamon sticks and clove-studded orange peels in the coffee grounds section of the Percolator so that the wine mixture is continually cycled through the spices for more flavor. If you don’t have a large Percolator, maybe you could tie up those items in cheesecloth and place in the Crock Pot, so that guests don’t inadvertently scoop up a clove into their cup (ouch).
Serve hot.

Found here, had at Saigon Express on Main and always wanted to try.

makes 2 sandwiches
Ingredients
Carrot Daikon pickle condiment:
1/2 cup carrot matchsticks (or thin coins like I did)
optional 1/2 cup white daikon radish matchsticks
Generous pinch of salt
1 TBS sugar
2 TBS rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
Marinade:
1 TBS finely minced garlic
1 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 TBS high heat cooking oil plus more as needed (divided)
1 lb (500 g) sirloin, top round, or rib eye (as thinly sliced as possible)
Sandwiches:
1 shallot thinly sliced (or you can use some red onion)
2 8 in hoagie rolls or baguette sections
4 large pieces green lettuce
10-15 leaves of cilantro, parsley, basil, or other fresh herbs

Instructions
Toss carrots and daikon with the salt, sugar, and vinegar. Let sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes. If not using immediately, add enough vinegar to cover veggies, stir, and store in glass jar or plastic container up to 1 month.

In a bowl whisk together garlic, fish sauce, sor sauce, sugar, black pepper and 1 TBS of the oil. Add beef slices and mix well to coat each slice. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.

Set a large frying pan or grill pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, pour in 1 TBS of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. You’ll be cooking the beef in batches, how many depends on how big your pan is.

Add the beef slices, laying them flat and in a single layer. Fry 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on how thinly it’s sliced. Flip and fry other side 30 seconds to 1 minute. Edges of the beef should be just slightly charred, but cooking time should be kept to a minimum to avoid overcooking meat. Pour any juices left in the pan into a small bowl. Fry additional batches of meat slices the same way, adding a touch more oil if necessary, and reserving pan juices.

Return pan to stovetop on high heat. Add a touch more cooking oil and when hot, add the sliced shallots. Fry for 30 seconds, until just softened, mopping up any remaining pan juices and caramelized bits during the frying.

To assemble sandwiches, slice the hoagie rolls or baguettes in half lengthwise. Brush each side with some of the reserved pan juices. To each sandwich add a layer of lettuce, then grilled beef, carrot daikon pickle, grilled shallots, and finally sprinkle on the herbs.