Beef Daube

We enjoyed this version of beef stew. It made about 4 - 6 servings. My one thought on it is that it had too much Worcestershire sauce, however, it has no Worcestershire sauce in it. Hmmm...not quite sure about how that happened. I am guessing it was the wine and herb combination. I really liked it though and it was a nice variation of our typical beef stew. I was very excited to have fresh herbs from my flower (herb) beds to use for this. We ate this with roasted beets and warm homemade whole wheat bread and strawberry freezer jam.

Beef Daube
from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

1 T extra virgin olive oil
4 oz bacon, diced
2 lbs stew meat, cut into 1 1/2- 2" cubes
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 lg onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
5 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
3 - 4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 t dried rosemary
2 - 3 strips orange peel
1 c rough red wine (like one from the Cotes du Rhone region of France)
1 T red wine vinegar
beef or chicken stock (or water), as needed

Cook the bacon in the olive oil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Brown meat, working in batches in leftover bacon drippings in pan. Turn cubes as they brown and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove browned beef with slotted spoon and set aside. Turn the heat down to medium and saute the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, rosemary, orange peel, and more salt and pepper. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar, and boil for 1 minute. Return the beef to the pan (not the bacon though).

Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour, then add the bacon. Continue to cook until meat is tender, another 30 - 90 minutes (my grass fed stew meat took about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Add stock or water if mixture starts looking dry (the meat should be mostly covered with liquid).

Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve.

Brownie Buttons

It's been awhile (a week or two maybe) since I've posted a dessert recipe. I just discovered these in the past week and have made them twice already. These are, in fact, the perfect brownie recipe. What makes these better than the other perfect brownie recipes? you may find yourself asking. Well, let me tell you.

These are very easy to make (especially if you leave out the orange zest). You can make the whole thing in the time it takes to preheat the oven. You only need one pot (in which to melt the butter, brown sugar, and chocolate). Plus, they only take 15 - 18 minutes to bake.

These brownies pair oranges and chocolate. Mmmm....

These make a small batch. Come to think of it, that may be problem. There is no picture because of the small batch problem. They were eaten before I had a chance to photograph them. Very rarely, do I want to make a 9 x 9" pan of brownies or worse, a 9 x 13" pan of brownies. These are bite sized and make only 12 little cupcake size of brownies. Perfect for an evening snack.

I am craving chocolate just thinking about Brownie Buttons.

Brownie Buttons
adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Grated zest of 1/2 orange (optional)
1 t sugar (optional)
1/4 c plus 2 T all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/4 c butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/3 c (2 1/2 oz) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 large egg

In a small bowl, using your fingers, mix together the orange zest and sugar. Set aside. Meanwhile, over very low heat, melt butter, chocolate and brown sugar, watching frequently to be sure nothing overheats or burns. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, egg and orange zest. When the mixture is well blended, stir in the flour and salt, stirring only until it is incorporated.

Spoon the batter into 12 lightly buttered mini- muffin cups (one pan's worth). Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 15 - 18 minutes, or until the tops of the brownies spring back when touched. Cool for 3 minutes and then remove from pans and cool on racks as long as you can wait (which is not at all. Warm brownies...).

Not Very Orange Chicken

(Sorry about how dark this picture is. Photographer error).

I loved this recipe because it represented a couple of accomplishments for me. One, I again successfully fried something (woohoo!! Maybe there is hope for my biscuits.....not related to frying, just related to things I have a hard time doing in the kitchen). Two, I made something that tasted as good as or better than something I could have bought at a Chinese restaurant (which is rare, because I tend not to cook much Chinese food).

I choose this recipe to serve as the main course for the scallion pancakes. The kids really liked it, as did Curtis and I. It took a lot more time than I expected. I read the recipe and thought, that's easy, it will take no time at all. Not the case. I ended up frying 3 or 4 batches of chicken before it was all cooked which took quite a while. In the future, I will probably allot myself 45 minutes to fry the chicken. That was the only time consuming part of the recipe. The rest was easy and fast. My only complaint about the recipe itself was that it didn't have much of an orange taste. The sauce was wonderful, just not particularly orange. I will make this again sometime, though. I just won't expect it to be orange.

This recipe will serve 4 - 5 people.

Not Very Orange Chicken
from blogchef.net

Chicken
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2" cubes or so
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 - 2 eggs, beaten (use one to start with and then a second if you need more)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
canola or vegetable oil

Sauce
1 1/2 c water
2 T orange juice
1/4 c lemon juice
1/3 c rice vinegar
2 1/2 T soy sauce
1 T orange zest
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 t ginger root, grated
1/2 t garlic, minced
2 T green onion, chopped
3 T cornstarch
1/4 c water

In a 9 x 9" pan or other shallow dish, combine flour, salt and pepper. Beat egg in a small bowl. Dip chicken, one piece at a time, in egg mixture and then place in flour mixture, turning to coat entire piece of chicken. Fry chicken in batches of canola or vegetable oil heated to 375 degrees (I used my black skillet for this, you can use a deep fryer if you have one). Turn as necessary (oil should mostly cover each piece of chicken) and fry until completely cooked. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 c water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, and onions. Bring to a nice rolling boil. Combine cornstarch and 1/4 c cold water. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce. Stir and boil until sauce thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken. Garnish with green onions and orange slices. Serve over rice.

Scallion Pancakes

I combined Shrove (Fat) Tuesday, the Chinese New Year (2 days late), and celebration of China's gold in pairs figure skating (they were incredible!!! I love the fact that they have been skating for many, many years and aren't just a pair of teenagers.)

We all really enjoyed these. It reminded me a little of naan. M even eagerly devoured them because she remember Mae on Sid the Science Kid (PBS kid's science show) loves scallion pancakes. We dipped these in lemon wasabi sauce I received free at the grocery store last week. I think just plain soy sauce would be good with them too. The dough needs to rest 30 minutes. Mine ended up resting much longer than that and turned out just fine. If you would like good pictures of the process of making these, check out this website.

This recipe makes 8 pancakes.

Scallion Pancakes
from thekitchn.com

2 1/2 c white flour
1 c warm water
Canola or vegetable oil
Kosher salt
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

Mix flour with water until it forms a smooth dough. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic (I didn't know a non-yeast dough could feel like this, but it does!). Coat lightly in oil, return to bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each section of dough out into a thin rectangle at least 12 x 9" on a lightly floured surface. Lightly brush the top of the dough with oil, then sprinkle it evenly with scallions and kosher salt. Starting at the long end, roll the dough up tightly (creating a long snake). Cut the rolled dough in half. Coil one half into a round bundle. Roll out the bundle into a flat, smooth, round pancake. Heat a 10" skillet over medium high heat, and oil it lightly with canola oil. When the oil shimmers, lay the pancake gently in the pan. It should sizzle (not burn). Cook for 2 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side, or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining dough. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with soy sauce or another dipping sauce.

Steak Diane

I don't know if this is actually French or not, but I decided it could be since it had a cream sauce over top. I made this for Valentine's Day using some beef tenderloin I discovered in my freezer a couple of weeks ago. This was wonderful. I'll definitely consider this again next year when I am trying to decide how to use my beef tenderloin. This will serve 4.

Steak Diane
from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

4 tenderloin fillets, 4 - 6 oz each (I suspect mine were much smaller than that, about 4 oz tops)
freshly ground black pepper
3 T butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 T minced shallot
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c cream
salt and pepper, to taste

fresh chives or parsley for garnish

Flatten the steaks to about 1" (or slightly less) thick. Sprinkle steaks liberally with pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature for up to one hour. Melt 2 T of butter into the skillet. Once melted and no longer foamy, turn heat up to medium-high and put on steaks. Cook for about 3 per side (for medium-rare steaks, longer for more well done steaks). Remove from pan and set aside. Wipe out the pan. Add 1 T butter to the pan and saute the shallot until it softens, about 1 minute. Add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and cream to the shallots and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce at a steady bubble and add the seared steaks and any accumulated juices to the pan. Cook, turning 2 - 3 times, until the meat is done to your liking. Transfer to serving platter and spoon sauce over meat. Garnish with fresh chopped chives or parsley

Nanaimo Bars

Before this recipe was featured on thekitchen.com, I had never heard of Nanaimo Bars. It turns out that most people in the US haven't heard of Nanaimo Bars unless they've been to Vancouver and happened to have them there. Nanaimo Bars is a regional specialty of Vancouver. Curtis, being a Canadian citizen whose mother lived in Vancouver for years, had heard of these and was excited when he heard I was making them in honor of the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.

My one warning about this recipe is this: Be prepared to share these bars. It makes a lot of bars. By a lot, I mean a cookie sheet worth....an entirely covered cookie sheet. Cut up, it makes between 72 - 100 bars, depending on how small you cut these (and I would recommend pretty small because they are rich).

Curtis and the kids loved these. I had mixed feelings toward them. I think I would like them much better if I had left out the coconut entirely. I don't love them, but I am working very hard to put a dent in our remaining 40 bars that are hanging out in my refrigerator. Next time I make this, I will definitely cut the recipe in half.

Nanaimo Bars
from thekitchn.com

Bottom Layer
3 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
2 c shredded coconuts
1 c almonds, pecans, or walnuts, chopped fine
1 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c plus 2 T cocoa
2 large eggs, beaten
Middle Layer
1/2 c butter, at room temperature
4 c confectioners' sugar
1/2 c heavy cream
1/4 c vanilla instant pudding powder
Top Layer
12 oz (about 2 c) finely chopped semisweet chocolate
1/4 c heavy cream
2 T butter

For the bottom layer: stir together graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts. In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt butter, sugar, and cocoa. Once the butter is melted, add the eggs. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until mixture reaches 160 degrees (this is to reduce the risk of salmonella poisoning because the bars aren't baked). Immediately pour over the graham cracker mixture and blend thoroughly. Press firmly into an even layer in a 12 x 18" cookie sheet (a half-sheet pan with sides).


For the middle layer: Beat together the butter and confectioner's sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and instant pudding powder. Add to the butter mixture and beat 1 - 2 minutes. Spread in an even layer over graham cracker mixture and refrigerate. This is easiest to do using your fingers as the layer is rather thick in consistency. Once spread out, the layer will be thin.

For the top layer: In a top of double boiler over simmering water, combine chocolate, cream, and butter. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool until just barely warm, but still liquid and pour over vanilla middle layer. Spread evenly and smooth the surface. Refrigerate until chocolate topping is firm, then cut.

Teriyaki Salmon

This was the main course for my Vancouver Olympics Opening Ceremonies. I recognize Teriyaki Salmon may be a bit of a stretch, but there are a lot of salmon in Canada and Vancouver has major Asian influences. So, teriyaki salmon it was.

This was great. We all loved it, but in my family, I can almost never go wrong with fish. Curtis cooked this on the Big Green Egg. I'll include the cooking instructions from the original recipe, but I am sure you easily grill this as well on a gas or charcoal grill.

Teriyaki Salmon
from Gourmet

1/3 c soy sauce
2 T mirin or medium-dry Sherry
2 1/2T cider vinegar
2 T sugar
1 1/2 T (or 1/2 t dried) peeled ginger root, grated

1 1/2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces

In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, mirin, cider vinegar, sugar and ginger, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer until reduced to about 1/2 c and cool to room temperature. Place salmon steaks in a large baking dish in one layer. Pour sauce over top and marinade for 15 minutes.

Cook salmon in preferred method until it easily flakes and is cooked through. Our preferred method is to grill. However, you can cook it on the stovetop. Heat a 10 inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat with a little oil. Add salmon, letting marinade drip into baking dish (in other words, reserve marinade) to pan and reduce heat to medium. Saute, turning once, until just cooked through and browned well. Remove from pan. Add reserved sauce to pan and boil, stirring, 1 minute.

Serve with rice (wild rice is good!).