The secret to my beef stew!

So for the most part I am willing to share my recipes.  Most of them aren't mine to keep secret anyway.  So I'm fine with sharing them.  This one, well...it was a tough decision because it's not my recipe to begin with, but I've made so many changes to it, I consider it mine anyway.  So here you go, my special beef stew.

Mac’s Beef Stew

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found from Bon Appetit, originating from Fidel Murphy’s Irish Pub on Grand Cayman. Adding Worcestershire and red wine to the recipe gives it a much richer flavor, something no beef stew should be without.

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ¼ lbs stew beef, cut into 1” squares

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

¼ cup flour

6 large garlic cloves, minced

5 cups beef stock or broth

1 can tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons butter

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” dice (about 7 cups)

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups ½ inch pieces peeled carrots

½ cup merlot wine

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Dust beef cubes with four, salt and pepper, tossing to coat, then add to pan, sautéing until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion, and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Add vegetables to beef stew. Deglaze pan with wine, then add to vegetables and beef. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan to spoon off fat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cream Cheese Croissants

I love Red Monkey Foods (http://www.redmonkeyfoods.com/).  They have some truly delicious creations.  I found this recipe on their site and decided I would make it with the kids in my cooking classes at school.  But first I had to make my kids be guinea pigs.  Of course, I had to guinea pig myself too!

The result?  Tooooooo sweet.  But, with some alterations, I'm making it my own and I'm sure on Monday it will be well-received by all the kids!  And short of having an adult take the tray in and out of the oven, most of the kids can do this on their own!

CREAM CHEESE CROISSANTS

2 packages refrigerated crescent dough
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp raspberry or blackberry preserves
2 tbsp butter, melted
cinnamon sugar blend

Remove crescent dough from package and separate triangles on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Combine cream cheese and sugar, stirring to blend.

Place some of the cream cheese mixture on each croissant triangle, then put some of the preserves on each, swirling with the cream cheese.  Place another triangle on top of each and pinch the edges to seal.  Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown.  Serve warm.

Alternatively, you can pinch together the seams of two triangles to make a square, then put the cream cheese mixure in the middle and fold the edges together to make it a turnover style roll.  Bake as directed. 

Beer and brauts

These are so yummy!  And so quick for a weeknight dinner.

Brautwurst with sauteed peppers and onions

1 pack Johnsonville beer-flavored brautwurst
1 small onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, sliced (or 1 tbsp. sliced pickled jalapenos)
1 tbsp peppercorns
2 cans of beer, any flavor (cheap is fine so you don't waste the good stuff!)
water
2 bell peppers, any color
1 large onion
3 tbsp butter

Poke holes in the brautwurst all over with a toothpick.  Place brauts in a large pan, then place the onion, jalapeno, and peppercorns on top.  Pour the beer into the pan, then add enough water to cover.  Bring to a slow simmer over medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the peppers and onions.  Melt butter in a large saute pan.  Place peppers and onions in pan and cook over medium heat until soft, almost caramelized, stirring often.

Preheat a grill or large grill pan over medium high heat.  Cook brauts until golden brown, turning once. Keep a squirt bottle of water handy as you watch for flare-ups.  Serve on outdoor rolls with peppers, onions, and desired toppings.

Chicken salad sandwiches with blue cheese

I made these tonight on a leap of faith, knowing my daughter loves blue cheese.  My son, not so much, so I left it off his sandwich.  But we all agreed this was a good, quick dinner and if you can spare the cash for a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, it'll throw together that much quicker!  We, however, rubbed the chicken breasts down with salt, pepper, and Red Monkey Food's Mango Habanera rub before grilling it.  It had a little kick to it but not enough to overpower the flavor of the blue cheese.  VERY yummy!  Lauren says "It's a DEFINITE do-again, Mommy!"

Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Blue Cheese Bon Appétit

July 2006
Lovoni Walker
Using roast chicken from the grocery store makes this recipe super-easy. Improv: Add sweet and crunchy accents by mixing a few chopped toasted pecans and some dried cranberries into the chicken salad. Instead of rolls, use crusty French bread or thick slices of sourdough bread.

Yield: Makes 6

Cut in half horizontally:

6 soft rolls (such as kaiser)
Divide evenly among roll halves:
6 ounces creamy blue cheese

Combine in large bowl:

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2/3 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Spoon chicken mixture atop roll bottoms. Cover with top halves of rolls. Wrap sandwiches tightly in foil and chill before packing.

Pork Chops with Maple Mustard Glaze

This is a recipe that has made it into our permanent repeat cookbook.  We use a mustard made in Fox, Alaska (about 30 minutes from me), called Moosetard (check them out at http://www.moosetard.com/ ....they make some truly wonderful mustards, and they ship!).  It really enhances the flavor of the sauce more than a regular Dijon. 

Pork Chops with Maple Mustard Glaze

Maple syrup makes a fine stand-in for honey or sugar in sauces. Here, it adds a rich, sweet note to herbed mustard sauce. This sauce goes nicely with sautéed chicken breasts as well.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and about 1 tablespoon sauce)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter

4 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops, trimmed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons heavy cream

Preparation

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt and pepper; add pork to pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.
Add broth and next 4 ingredients (through thyme) to pan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in cream, and reduce heat to medium. Return pork to pan; simmer 3 minutes or until pork is done, turning once.

Definitely NOT your traditional pulled pork

After a trip to Maui in 2008 and going to a Luau, I was inspired to cook a Kalua pig.  Not really finding a recipe that got the reviews I look for, I bagged the idea.  Until I was reminded of it again while watching Food Network.  So I searched again.  I found two recipes that I wound up merging together and came up wtih something pretty phenomenal!  So, here it is!

Kalua Pig

1 4-8 lb. Boston Butt pork roast (these range in size and are frequently sold in a 2-pack)
4 Tbsp Hawaiian sea salt (look online for this, otherwise use Kosher salt, although Hawaiian is WAY better!)
4 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
2 cups water
Heavy-duty foil

Pierce pork with a knife in 1" intrvals, about 1/4" deep, all over pork.  Rub pork down with sea salt, then with Liquid Smoke.   Wrap tightly in foil and place in a roasting pan big enough to fit pork.  Pour 2 cups water into pan.

Place pork into a preheated 275 degree oven for at least 4 hours.  (We had an over-7 lb roast and I put it in for about 8 hours).  Once it's done, remove pork from oven, remove foil, and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.  Shred pork with forks.

While pork rests, drain off the juices into a fat-separating measuring cup.  Alternately, you can place a large zip-top bag in a measuring cup, pour juices into bag, and let set for a few minutes.  Once the fat has risen to the top, snip off a small corner of the bottom of the bag.  Drain juices into a medium saucepan, stopping before the fat drains.  Season juices with 1 Tbsp Hawaiian salt.  Add more water if too concentrated.  (Original recipe...or combo of two recipes...said to add 2 c water into a pan and season with salt.  I did the 2 c and added the juices and salt instead.)  Bring to a boil and let simmer for a couple of minutes.

Place shredded pork into a large saucepot.  Pour enough of reserved juice/water mixture into pan to moisten.  Cook just enough to heat through.  Serve on burger buns.  You may also want to serve alongside some barbecue sauce. 

I do not recommend cooking it this way in a crock pot, unless you can still wrap it in foil.  I'm not sure as I don't do a lot of crock pot cooking.  I double-wrapped it in foil, then put in a pan lined with additional foil (for easy clean-up).  It came out super tender, juicy, and flavorful.  I will definitely be making this again.  The best part is, 7 pounds of pork butt yielded 5 sandwiches and enough leftovers for another dinner, plus some for my husband to take to work for lunch for himself and to share with co-workers who love my cooking! :)

Round two: blueberry oat scones

So the scones were attempted again yesterday, this time with the addition of the Kosher salt.  I can honestly say the scones turned out a deeper golden brown, but as for taste, texture, and rising, it's all the same.  Either way, they're, well....okay.  I think if I had those tiny little Maine blueberries instead of big fat ones, then I'd have more blueberry flavor.  But that's not what is available right now.  They're a good breakfast food, but they're not all that impressive.  I don't think I'll be making these again unless I can find the smaller blueberries, like they pack in the boxed muffin mixes. 

Menu for the week

Oh, thank Heaven for spring break!  This means I have all the time in the world to prepare dinner...something I love!  This past quarter has been filled with either prepping dinner so Rob can cook it and have it ready when we get home from our After-School Programs at 6:00, or something quick and easy for the nights he's at school.  Although I sure am happy to have a husband who knows his way around the kitchen as well as I do!

As for meals for the week, this is what I have planned:

Steak tips with peppered mushroom gravy
Grilled chicken with oregano, cinnamon, and paprika
Chipotle bean burritos (possibly with chipotle-cheddar scones...dunno, too much chipotle??  LOL!)
Pork chops with maple mustard glaze (made with Moosetard, not the Dijon it calls for)
Grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches (ironically enough I'll make these on a night DH is at school!)
Barbecued cowboy steaks (FABulous dish!)
Zesty citrus chicken (another super yummy dish!)

So we have a few of repeats (the grilled chicken, pork chops, steaks, and citrus chicken), but I have no problem with that because of Rob's schedule at school!  Most of the time I usually look for new recipes, it usually has to be uber-galactically good to make it into my repeat cookbook!  Regardless, you now know the repeat recipes I've listed are worth every single bite!!

Fudgy Mocha Toffee Brownies

This is another huge favorite in my house as well as everyone who has tried them.  Even my husband, who is not a big fan of desserts, said these are a keeper.  Personally, I could eat these all day.  I do have only one recommendation: sprinkle half the toffee chips over the brownie mix before you bake it, then toss the other half on about 10 minutes before they're done.  This would be a good time to rotate your pan as well!  Oh, and you can freeze these for later!

Fudgy Mocha-Toffee Brownies

Coffee and toffee give these rich chocolate brownies a unique twist. If they haven't all been gobbled up, store leftover brownies in an airtight container for up to a week or wrap tightly in aluminum foil and freeze for up to four months.

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons instant coffee granules

1/4 cup hot water

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup toffee chips

Preheat oven to 350º.

Coat bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine coffee and hot water, stirring until coffee dissolves.

Combine butter and chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 1 minute or until butter melts; stir until chocolate is smooth.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine coffee mixture, butter mixture, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coffee mixture to flour mixture; stir just until combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with toffee chips. Bake at 350º for 22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 20 servings
CALORIES 145 (30% from fat); FAT 4.8g (sat 2.4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.3g); IRON 0.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 30mg; CALCIUM 23mg; CARBOHYDRATE 24.9g; SODIUM 121mg; PROTEIN 2.2g; FIBER 1.1g
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2005

Peanut Butter Temptations

These cookies are tried-and-true by my family and co-workers.  They are so good, they don't last long in my house.  I made them for the staff at school once, put them in the teacher's lounge...came back 30 minutes later and there were 3 left!  Okay, so the teachers at our school are like vultures, they can smell food a mile away.  But still...

Peanut Butter Temptations II


Thanks to Sally, who submitted this recipe to Allrecipes.com.

Servings: 18

"Peanut butter tarts with a chocolate covered peanut butter cup in the middle. You will need a mini muffin pan to make these."

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

36 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and butter. Stir in the peanut butter, then the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the peanut butter mixture until the dough comes together. Shape into 1 inch balls and press them into the cups of an unprepared mini muffin pan.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a mini chocolate covered peanut butter cup down into the center of each cookie until only the top is showing. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from their pans.

Don't forget to add the salt!

Did you know salt plays an extremely important role in baked goods?  It helps assist the baking soda or baking powder (or both) in improving both the taste and texture of confections.  In some recipes it is crucial.  Others, it plays only a minor role and its' presence is hardly missed, if at all.  In today's case, it didn't seem to matter. 

After dinner Lauren and I decided to whip up a quick batch of Blueberry Oat Scones from Epicurious.com.  One of my favorite web sites, hands down.  I found this recipe in the March '09 edition of Gourmet magazine.  Since blueberries are finally starting to make their way into our grocery stores up here, I bought a couple of tubs and used one to make these:

Blueberry Oat Scones


Bon Appétit
July 2009

by Molly Wizenberg

This version of the scone is based on the recipe from the Standard Baking Company. Molly tweaked the recipe slightly in her home kitchen. If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them before folding into the batter.

Yield: Makes 11 to 12 servings

3 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (about 5 1/2 ounces)

1 3/4 cups chilled half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 teaspoons raw sugar*

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and coarse salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add 1 cup oats and blueberries; stir to blend evenly.

Stir half and half and vanilla in small bowl. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing until dough just comes together (dough will be very moist).

Using 1/2-cup measuring cup for each scone, drop dough in mounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 tablespoons oats, then raw sugar.
Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking until scones are golden and tester inserted into center from side comes out clean, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer scones to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Also called turbinado or demerara sugar; available at most supermarkets and at natural foods stores.



We also didn't read the directions properly and added all the oats at once instead of dusting the top of the scones with some of them, but they still turned out just fine.  Although I have one warning: no more than 6 scones per sheet pan (NOT cookie sheet!).   They spread a LOT!  However, since the salt acts with the baking powder and baking soda to make the scones rise, maybe they won't spread as much.  I'll make these again though, hopefully the way they are supposed to be made!

Tomorrow: the second half of the blueberries I bought, making blueberry pancakes!