Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
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Posted in Beef, on March 16th, 2009.
This is what I’m cooking up today. We’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today. There’s still time for you to create a celebratory dinner with corned beef, cabbage, onion and carrots using my favorite recipe, from my friend Linda. I wrote it up previously. But once I have a recipe that works, I’m not likely to change.
A year ago: Fumi Chinese Chicken Salad
If you’re a beer lover, then this steak will be right down your alley. I don’t drink beer, but recognize its value for marinating and in stews and braises. You won’t really know there even IS beer in the marinade, but it helps to tenderize any meat and give it a deeper flavor.
The recipe came from the cooking class (thanks to Cherrie for faxing me her copy of the recipes) last week, with Phillis Carey, one of my most favorite cooking teachers. The steaks we enjoyed at the class only marinated for a very short time, and they definitely weren’t very tender, but the flavor was good. (Just make sure you buy better-quality steaks if/when you make this.) Phillis is a master of creating pan sauces to go with just about any kind of meat, be it chicken breasts, beef, pork, fish or lamb.
The steaks go into a whole-grain mustard and beer-enhanced marinade – overnight, if possible. While the steaks grill, you prepare a white wine and peppercorn based pan sauce to which you add some heavy cream at the end. If you prefer a thicker sauce (this one is quite thin) you might want to add about 2 teaspoons of flour to the shallot mixture before you add the broth, so you’ll end up with a slightly thickened sauce. If you like sauce, you might want to make a larger quantity of it (more than indicated in this recipe) so you’ll have ample to drizzle on the side potatoes too. I’ll be posting a recipe for mashed potatoes that went with this perfectly, also prepared at the class.
printer-friendly PDF
Recipe: Phillis Carey
Servings: 6
NOTES: Be SURE to use low-sodium broth for the sauce, because once you reduce that sauce, it will concentrate the salt. It would be inedible if you used regularly salted broth.
6 whole steaks — New York or Ribeyes
12 ounces dark beer
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons onion — minced
6 whole garlic cloves — minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger — peeled, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
SAUCE:
1/2 cup white wine
1 whole shallot — chopped
2 tablespoons peppercorns — mixed colors, crushed
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 3/4 cups low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1. Place steaks in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Whisk beer, sugar, lime juice, onion, garlic, Worcestershire, mustard, oil, ginger and hot pepper sauce in large bowl to blend. Pour marinade over steaks. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, turning once. (May also be made in a ziploc plastic bag, turning bag at least once during the overnight marinating time.)
2. In a heavy, medium-sized saucepan bring white wine, shallot and the crushed peppercorns to a boil; simmer until mixture is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and beef stock and boil until it is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 25 minutes. Add the whipping cream and cook until the sauce coats a spoon. Set aside at room temp, then strain out the peppercorns.
3. Prepare barbecue to medium-high heat. Remove steaks from marinade and allow to sit out at room temp for about 30 minutes. Slather grapeseed oil on grill grates to prevent sticking. Blot the steaks with paper towel, then grill to desired done-ness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. If using a meat thermometer, remove at about 123 degrees. Meanwhile, bring peppercorn sauce (strained) to a simmer. Drizzle the sauce over the steak and potatoes.
Per Serving: 534 Calories; 35g Fat (58.7% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 96mg Cholesterol; 216mg Sodium.
It took about a nanosecond for me to decide to make this today – one of my all-time favorite recipes. My friend Norma who isn’t feeling all that great, asked for comfort food. I knew just the recipe. A kind of soup/stew thing I’ve been making for about 45 years (yikes) with ground beef, celery, onions, cabbage, kidney beans, garlic, cumin, chili powder, then served with a little mound of mashed potatoes in a soup bowl. Just the ticket I hope, for her to eat many little bowls of it, to give her strength. I make this several times a year, and don’t blog about it much because I already HAVE blogged about it. More than once, I think. But since I made it today, tasted it, and we’re having it for dinner, I just thought I’d share it. Again. This is such a simple recipe. Can be made in quantity. Freezes well. Even the mashed potatoes (freeze separately). And in today’s tough economy, it’s an inexpensive meal too. You can make it with ground turkey if you’d prefer, or eliminate the meat altogether. Very adaptable. Make it up and keep it in the refrigerator for days on end. Easy to heat up in the microwave, even with the mashed potatoes on top, scooped right out of the cold container, plopped on top.
If you want to read the first posting about this recipe and to print out the PDF recipe only, go to Cabbage Patch Stew.
See all that good stuff in that pot – the red kidney beans, tomato chunks, cabbage shreds, celery, mushrooms, onion, ground beef. Yummy is all I can say.
A year ago: Pumpkin Praline Custard (easy and VERY low cal)
Posted in Beef, on February 25th, 2009.
When I grew up, as I’ve mentioned here before, casseroles were the “rule of the day.” Nearly everyone made them. Even for entertaining. And because my parents were products of the Great Depression (unlike the nearly-great-depression we’re on the brink of right now), frugality was the name of the game in my mother’s cooking. And she frequently made tamale pie. I hunted through my mother’s recipes trying to find her version, and did find a couple, but can’t tell if they are hers. Both are very similar to this one, just baked in a casserole for an hour at 350, instead of made in a slow cooker.
But, since I’d just read a recipe over at Al Dente (a blog), made in a slow cooker, and with a tube of that ready-made polenta, I thought aha. I’ll make that version. Ever since I read the recipe a week ago, my mouth has been watering. The recipe is from a new cookbook: Slow & Easy: Fast-Fix Recipes for Your Electric Slow Cooker by Natalie Haughton. I don’t own the book, but may need to because this was really good.
This recipe is really quite simple – the only cooking you have to do is to brown the ground beef and onion. The rest is merely layering the ingredients in the slow cooker and setting it to simmer on low for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Done.
Since there isn’t any chemistry involved in making a casserole (like there is with baking a cake) I, of course, had to change things just a bit. The necessary ingredients are all there – ground beef, corn, olives and cornmeal (polenta). Oh, and tomatoes too. I added some celery flakes (a Penzey’s product I had to try) and some dried red bell pepper (I didn’t have a green pepper on hand). I opened a can of what I thought were yellow tomatoes, only to find they were yellow peppers, so I added some of those to the mix as well. And I had to add a bit of garlic too.
What makes this so easy is that you layer the polenta slices in the bottom of the slow cooker, pour in the meat mixture and add more polenta slices on top (my slow cooker is wide, so there were only a couple of them to go on the top. At the end of the slow-cook time, you add a whole mound of grated cheddar cheese, mostly cover the slow cooker to melt the cheese, then serve it with sour cream and chopped cilantro on top as you spoon it onto a plate. A VERY easy dinner, and it was delicious, that’s all I can say. Reminded me of my childhood. My mother’s version had cornbread on the top, as I recall, but I think I liked this polenta-on-the-bottom-style better. More moist, for sure. This would make a GREAT family meal. It’s got kid-friendly food in it, I think.
printer-friendly PDF
Recipe: Slow & Easy: Fast-Fix Recipes for Your Electric Slow Cooker by Natalie Haughton, via the Al Dente blog
Servings: 6 (maybe 7-8 )
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion — chopped
1 large garlic clove — minced
1 whole green bell pepper — chopped (or red bell instead)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
28 ounces crushed tomatoes — undrained
1 cup ripe olives — coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups corn kernels — frozen, or canned
24 ounces pre-cooked polenta (tube)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro — for garnish
1. In a large skillet, sauté the ground beef with the onion over medium-high heat, breaking up any large lumps of meat, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.
2. Stir in the bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes to toast the spices. Stir in the tomatoes, olives, and corn. Mix well.
3. Cut the polenta roll crosswise into 10 to 12 rounds about 3/4-inch thick. Use half of the slices to line the bottom of a 4-quart electric slow cooker, trimming the rounds as necessary to fit. Spoon the meat mixture over the polenta, spreading it evenly. Top with the remaining polenta slices.
4. Cover and cook on the low-heat setting for 4 to 4-1/2 hours. Remove the lid and sprinkle the cheese over the top of the tamale pie. Raise the heat setting to high and cook with the cover ajar for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve the tamale pie hot, garnished with sour cream and chopped cilantro.
Per Serving: 485 Calories; 25g Fat (46.0% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 42g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 77mg Cholesterol; 1094mg Sodium.
A year ago: Warm Bean Brie Dip
When we were out at our desert house last week we were invited to some friends and I offered to bring soup (they did all the rest). I have a cookbook collection at our desert house, but they’re mostly my not-so-favorite ones. With hundreds of cookbooks in my collection I surely should stock the other house with a bit more variety. But anyway, I have a couple of soup books there, and I turned to Lee Bailey’s Soup Meals. Sure enough, found a recipe that would work – fairly low carb and healthy to boot.
Here's the escarole, barely cooked at this point
This soup is a beef brothy kind of one – redolent with oodles of onions (too many, actually, so I’ve altered the recipe), mushrooms, escarole, and boosted with beef concentrate. We liked the soup. Very flavorful. We bought a pack of New York steaks at Costco – for that’s the only way I’d consider using such beauties in a SOUP, for goodness’ sake! I doubled the recipe and used three. You could easily use stew beef in this (and cook it much longer, of course), but don’t add the escarole until the last couple of minutes. If you did use a tougher cut of meat, I’d also add some more carrots, celery and onions in the last 10 minutes so you’d have some veggies that are still toothsome.
The first night we ate this we just sprinkled the top with grated Parmesan (not in the recipe). The soup was good, but not sensational. Our friends served some fresh bread right out of the bread machine. I had divided the soup in half, so with the leftovers I broiled some Parmesan on baguette slices and floated them on top of the soup. Also added some more Penzey’s beef soup base. What a difference! The Parmesan is absolutely that umami taste – it made this soup really, really good. If you don’t remember about umami, click HERE for my post about it. The toasts also gave the soup added texture.
The steaks, cut into cubes, are just browned in a separate pan and only added to the soup during the last 2-3 minutes. Having learned with the first serving of it, the second time around I cut up the browned (only) steak cubes even smaller (each 1-inch cube in about 4 pieces) and dropped them into the soup a mere minute or two before serving. If you add it earlier the steak definitely goes from tender to tough. And you certainly don’t want to do that with New York steak! Don’t be put off by the number of ingredients – it really comes together fairly easily. The most tedious part was slicing and chopping the mushrooms and onions.
printer-friendly PDF
Recipe: Based on a recipe in Lee Bailey’s Soup Meals
Servings: 8
1 1/2 pounds steaks — New York strip, cut in 1-inch cubes
MARINADE:
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce — dark, if available
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large clove garlic — minced
SOUP:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion — coarsely chopped
1 medium onion — quartered, thinly sliced
2 small carrots — diced
2 stalks celery — diced
1 pound button mushrooms — thickly sliced
1/4 cup flour — for dredging meat (may need more)
1 large bay leaf
6 cups beef stock (or beef concentrate and water)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 pounds escarole — washed, torn into pieces, stems broken
2 cups water — if needed
PARMESAN TOASTS:
1/2 medium baguette — sliced (about 16 slices)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Whisk marinade ingredients together in a bowl (or combine in a plastic zip-seal bag) and add cubed steak pieces, being sure all are submerged. Set aside for at least an hour, turning once or twice during that time. If doing this a few hours ahead, refrigerate the meat.
2. Meanwhile, heat half the oil and butter in a large stockpot. Add the chopped onion (reserve the sliced onions for later), carrots and celery. Cook over medium to high heat until nicely golden, but not burned, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until they are just wilted, just a few more minutes. Add the beef stock and bring to a simmer.
3. Heat a large skillet and add the remaining oil and butter, Toss steak cubes in flour. When pan is hot, add steak cubes in batches (probably 2) to the skillet to brown only (do not cook them through), turning onto at least two sides, about 2-3 minutes total. Do not burn. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add the escarole and the sliced onions to the soup broth and continue to simmer for just about 3 minutes until the greens are cooked (about 5-7 minutes). If you’re making this ahead, cool at this point and refrigerate overnight. Add water to soup if it seems too thick.
5. Taste for seasoning (add salt or pepper as needed). The onions will still have just a tiny bit of crunch. Turn off heat and add the steak to the simmering soup.
6. Meanwhile, turn oven on to broil. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of each baguette slice and broil toasts just until bubbly and browned around the edges.
7. Scoop soup into wide flat bowls and place Parmesan Toasts (2 per serving) on top. Serve immediately.
Per Serving (assumes you consume all the marinade, so this is way off): 623 Calories; 45g Fat (65.7% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 63mg Cholesterol; 2597mg Sodium.
A year ago: White Lady (a fancy drink)
We’re having a dinner for nine at our house on Valentine’s evening. All friends and the sister of one of our guests who is visiting from the Midwest. Couples who probably will be very happy not to have to vie for a waiter’s attention on a very busy holiday evening. It’s been some years since we have gone out for Valentine’s Day. It’s just not worth it. Too busy. Hectic. Competitive. Not always good service. Food sometimes compromised because of the crush of people all wanting to eat at about the same time. So it was my idea to hostess a Valentine’s Dinner at our home.
But I got to thinking that if any of YOU are planning to cook at home, maybe you need a few ideas for the menu. I certainly have ample recipes to choose from. And especially some chocolate desserts, since chocolate is one of my favorite things. So, here’s a short list of appropriate items for the 14th. When I think of Valentine’s Day, I think beef, because that’s probably my hubby’s favorite, and I think of salads with a bit of fruit in it, and I think CHOCOLATE. Here you go:
Filet Mignon on a Portabello Mushroom with Blue Cheese
Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Steak Diane Flambe
Tenderloin in Puff Pastry
Ribeye Steaks with Amazing Glaze (can’t get enough of these guys)
Cajun Steak with Creamy Creole Sauce
French Hamburgers (if you’d like a lower-cost, but elegant dish)
Other entrees:
Chicken Breasts with Spinach and Gorgonzola
Dijon Chicken, Panko Crust
Chicken Breasts with Bacon and Mushrooms
Pork Roast with Spicy Apricot Glaze
Shrimp and Pasta a la Pizziaola
– – – – – – –
Spinach & Berries Salad
Spinach Salad with Fresh Mango
Apple, Cherry & Walnut Green Salad
Raddicchio, Belgian Endive Salad (no fruit in this one)
– – – – – – –
Bittersweet Mocha Roll
Chocolate Citrus Almond Torte
Chocolate Grand Marnier Decadence Cake
Flourless Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce
French (Chocolate) Silk Pie
Pear & Chocolate Tart
Raspberry-Almond Truffle Tart
Triple Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Sauce
– – – – – – – – – – – –
In case you’re interested, here’s the menu I’ll be serving for our dinner:
Gorgonzola, Grape & Nut Crostini (a new recipe)
Ginger Picks (a Ham, Pear & Ginger Tower on a toothpick)
Filet Mignon on a Portabello Mushroom with Blue Cheese (in list above)
Mushroom Bread Pudding (a new recipe)
Spinach & Berries Salad (brought by one of the guests)
Chocolate Sponge Roll (an old favorite of mine)
Posted in Beef, on January 31st, 2009.
Flemish Beef Carbonnade - serve over egg noodles
The title sounds kind of pretentious, doesn’t it? Well, it really isn’t. The Belgians aren’t noted for very much in their cuisine (except chocolates, perhaps) and this dish. If some of you readers are Belgian, my apologies to your cuisine, but I’ve just not heard about much else. Oh, well, maybe Belgian Endive. That is certainly something worth remembering.
I first had this dish back in the 1960’s, and was dutifully impressed with the flavor. It comes from the dark searing of the meat and the addition of beer. But in actuality, it’s not much more than a beef stew with beer. I wasn’t able to put my hands on the old-old recipe I used to use, but had two others that were very similar (beef, beer, onions), so I just used a combination of 3 different recipes. One called for thyme. Another for bay leaves, and the third for thyme and nutmeg. I used the latter combo.
We were taking dinner to our adult kids who live nearby, and I only had a few hours, so decided to make this in the pressure cooker. It was scrumptious, if I do say so myself. You don’t have to own a pressure cooker to prepare this, though. Just cook it longer on the stovetop (or oven), that’s all. I added mushrooms to it, although it’s not traditional. I did not include them in the recipe below, but you can certainly add them into the pressure cooker if you like them.
First you render a bit of bacon, then sear the beef cubes in the bacon fat (or some added butter and olive oil) until they’re all nice and brown on many sides. It took me three batches to brown 3 pounds of beef. Meanwhile I chopped up one heck of a lot of onions. I must say, although I’m certainly an experienced cook, 3 pounds of onions is a LOT, and I decided not to guess, but to weigh them.
Once you add the onions and cook the whole thing, the onions nearly disappear into the sauce. I cooked the whole thing in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes, then did the last fillip of adding the butter/flour mixture (to gravy-ize the liquid) while it bubbled on the stovetop. We served it over noodles, because that’s the Flemish way, but you could serve it over potatoes too if you’d prefer them. And in case you’ve never cooked with beer, there is absolutely no TASTE of beer. Just a rich sauce. This is a homey kind of dish, but would be perfectly acceptable for guests.
printer-friendly PDF
Recipe: A combination of several recipes.
Servings: 8
2 slices bacon — minced
3 pounds chuck roast — cut into 1″ cubes
3 cloves garlic — minced
3 pounds yellow onions — sliced thinly or chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dried thyme — crushed
3 tablespoons beef concentrate (Trader Joe’s little sticks)
20 ounces light beer
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons soft butter
1/4 cup Italian parsley — minced
1. Add the minced bacon to a heavy duty lidded pan and render until the bacon is brown. Remove bacon and drain. To the drippings in the pan add the pieces of beef. Do not crowd the pieces as you don’t want them to steam, but to brown. Keep the heat moderately hot while you brown the meat. Turn the pieces over at least once and brown one more side before removing to a plate and reserve. Repeat process until you’ve browned all the meat.
2. If there is no more fat in the pan add a little butter and olive oil as needed. Add the sliced onions and stir and cook until the onions have begun to brown just a bit. Don’t burn them. Cook about 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the salt, pepper, Worcestershire, nutmeg, thyme, beef concentrate, sugar and beer. Bring to a boil, add a lid, turn down heat and simmer for about 2-3 hours. Test the meat occasionally to see if it’s tender. Do not overcook it.
PRESSURE COOKER: If using a pressure cooker, for step 3 bring the pot up to pressure and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool down gradually. Continue on without using pressure.
4. For either method of cooking: Mix the soft butter and flour together in a small bowl and drop by small bits into the stew. Turn on the heat and allow to simmer just until the flour/butter mixture has disappeared and stew is thickened. Serve over egg noodles and garnish with a generous amount of Italian parsley.
Per Serving: 494 Calories; 31g Fat (58.3% calories from fat); 30g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 108mg Cholesterol; 1019mg Sodium.
A year ago: Pork Chops with Apple Cider Sauce
I was reading through a rather lengthy article in the January/February issue of Cooking Light, and was quite fascinated by some of the info. No matter how much I think I know, there’s always more to be learned about the different cuts, the methods of cooking, and how lean or fatty any cut is . . .
The article was titled “How to buy the best beef,” and was written by Aliza Green, the author of a new book titled Field Guide to Meat. Photo at left is from the article itself.
How about these factlets: (1) we Americans consume 63 pounds of beef a year (wow, no kidding?);(2) In 1976 we ate 89 pounds per person per year (yikes); (3) 90% of the beef we eat is grown right here in the U.S., with most of the balance coming from Canada; (4) cattle weigh about 1000 pounds at slaughter, and are 18-24 months old.
The article went on to explain about what info you can get from the new labeling laws. I knew most of that part. But it also gave a more detailed explanation of grain-finished– cattle fattened on grain, usually corn, during the 3-6 months before slaughter. Problem is that cattle don’t instinctively eat corn, so when they do they experience “stress” and other ailments, therefore they’re routinely fed antibiotics. And they also receive growth hormones (remember DES?) to increase their size (larger cattle = higher weight = more profits into pockets of producers). Grain-finished, however, means more value for our consumer dollar. Then there are the grass-finished. These cattle forage on grasses and legumes and the meat is leaner, lower in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. This meat generally has a more gamy flavor. Problem: it’s more time consuming to raise, which therefore increases the expense. Most of such beef is imported from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil. Many people believe that grass-fed cattle are a more sustainable choice. Lastly, there is dry-aging. It’s a traditional process preferred by many steak lovers. It concentrates, or intensifies flavors, as it hangs in temp- and humidity-conrolled rooms for 10 days to 2 weeks (longer the better). Most dry-aged meat is sold in large vacuum-packed packs. The time in-bag is called “wet aging.”
The article also stressed budget-friendly, lean and flavorful cuts. In addition to the usual that we probably know about already (tenderloin, flank and sirloin) it recommended the Bottom Round (best if marinated); Hanger Steak (rich and beefy, for searing, grilling or broiling); Tri-Tip (rich flavor, affordable, for roasting or grilling whole, then sliced); Shoulder Tender (like pork loin, to be sliced into medallions for grilling); and Shoulder Center Steak(moderately tender, to be served whole or sliced). Since I go for ribeyes, I generally don’t even look further, but perhaps I should.
Lastly, I was intrigued with the list of the top-selling cuts of beef. I think they did not include ground beef (60% of our beef dollars go to ground beef), since the list below is about “cuts” of beef:
(1) top round steak, boneless
(2) ribeye steak, lip on, bone in (yes!)
(3) ribeye steak, boneless
(4) loin top sirloin steak, boneless
(5) bottom round roast, boneless
(6) chuck under blade pot roast, boneless
Posted in Beef, Veggies/sides, on January 12th, 2009.
You know, this blog thing is always fun for me. I like to write. I enjoy cooking. And not that this post wasn’t fun – it was – once I got past the angst over wanting to write up this dinner at all. So you say, what’s the problem? Well – I’ve already written up these two. Instead of making something new and different, I craved the tried and true. Two of my/our favorite things. The Amazing Glaze steaks and the garlic green beans. You see, we food bloggers are somewhat driven – to keep making new and different things, to keep you, our loyal readers, interested. But just in case you haven’t made these two recipes from my previous postings, I’m telling you again, YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE TWO DISHES. Okay. Whew. Got that off my chest.
THE GREEN BEANS: they’re so easy. So garlicky. So delicious I have a hard time keeping my fingers out of the skillet after dinner is all overwith. Even when the green beans are room temp cold. The other night was no exception. I can eat these refrigerator cold too. Since they’re coated in extra virgin olive oil, they’re just as easy to eat chilled as room temp, or hot. But hot is my favorite. These call for an abundance of garlic, smashed and minced with salt on the chopping board, then lightly sauteed in a big skillet. The green beans are simmered in water until they’re just under-done, drained, and added to the garlicky skillet. Cook until the beans are done and serve hot with just a tiny glitter of kosher salt on top. Click HERE for the write-up about them.
THE RIBEYE STEAK: nothing short of awesome. I spotted some USDA Prime ribeyes at Costco the other day and that’s all it took. Had to have them. And there was no question what I’d do with them. Amazing Glaze. The best part is that I still have some of the sauce (the glaze) leftover from months and months ago when I made them last. It hasn’t even been in the freezer – just in a small container in the refrigerator. In all its barbecue-y, smoky chipotle goodness. My DH fired up the grill, and he used the Hugh Carpenter method of grilling the steaks – over the heat long enough to get grill marks on both sides, then on a rack on a pan off the heat for a few more minutes until the ribeye registers 123° or 124° on the meat thermometer. Briefly it rested under a foil tent (and I spread some of the amazing glaze over the steaks while they rested and re-absorbed all their juices), then we dug in. Click HERE for the write-up about the steaks and the amazing AMAZING GLAZE.
Posted in Beef, on January 8th, 2009.
Check refrigerator:
Yes, I had zucchini.
Yes, I had cottage cheese, Parmesan, garlic, tomato sauce.
Yes, I had ground beef in the freezer.
My head said: “oh yes, I could make that easy moussaka!”
So I did.
This is an old, old recipe. Given to me by a friend of my mother and dad’s. Kay Barstow was in her 60’s when I was a child in the 1950’s. And she wasn’t much of a cook, really, but she knew a bunch of fairly simple dishes of which this was one. She wasn’t cooking anymore when I got this recipe from her in about 1970 when she probably was in her 80’s. Good recipe!
If you’ve ever made moussaka, it’s a fairly laborious dish. Sliced eggplant lightly sauteed for the bottom layer. Ground beef and/or lamb in a tomato sauce, then a Bechemel sauce must be made to go on top of that. Kay obviously didn’t go through all that work. And where this recipe came from, I don’t know. Maybe it was her very own, but I rather doubt it. But in any case, it’s easy. Certainly quicker than the real thing.
Here are the steps:
(1) Lightly saute zucchini in olive oil and layer that in the casserole.
(2) Saute some onion, ground beef and garlic, then add tomato sauce and some seasonings and put that in the casserole on top of the zucchini.
(3) Stir up some cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, eggs, Feta and ground cinnamon and pour that on top, then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top. Bake. Done.
It had been a few years since I’d made this, so I decided to make this a little bit more my own. Some of the things were my additions: the added Feta cheese and Greek yogurt to the cheese mixture; some seasonings to the meat; a prepared tomato (seasoned) sauce rather than just plain canned tomato sauce. If you wanted to use more vegetables, you certainly can – just use a deeper dish. You could also use ground turkey instead of beef, and low-fat cottage cheese too. I used what I had on hand. My DH thought it was fabulous. I did too.
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Recipe: Adapted from Kay Barstow, an old friend of my mother and dad, probably dates to about 1970.
Servings: 5
NOTES: This is not an authentic moussaka. Instead, it’s a similar dish using a bunch of shortcuts. To be authentic it would likely be lamb, not beef. It would be eggplant instead of zucchini. And you would have made a rich bechemel sauce for the topping.
Serving Ideas: This is a simple dish, ideally served with a green salad which includes some Feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers. Some crusty bread on the side would also go well.
ZUCCHINI LAYER:
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3-4 whole zucchini
GROUND BEEF LAYER:
1 large onion — minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 whole garlic clove — minced
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce — or marinara or jarred spaghetti sauce
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
CREAMY TOPPING:
1 cup cottage cheese
2 small eggs — beaten
1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup feta cheese — crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet heat oil and add diced onion. Allow to sizzle for about 4-8 minutes until starting to brown very slightly. Add the ground beef and continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Add the oregano, thyme and tomato sauce. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper to suit your preference. Simmer until you’re ready to prepare the casserole.
2. Meanwhile, cut each zucchini in half crosswise, then cut each half into slices about 1/4 inch thick. In a second skillet heat just a bit of olive oil and add the zucchini slices. Allow to saute until they’ve developed just a bit of color, turn. Do not cook the zucchini all the way through as it will cook some more in the oven.
3. In a medium bowl beat up the eggs, then add the cottage cheese, yogurt, Feta and ground cinnamon.
4. In a casserole dish (about 2 quart) layer the semi-cooked zucchini, the meat mixture, then pour the cottage cheese mixture on top and spread around to cover the meat. Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes until the cheese has melted and slightly browned. Allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.
Per Serving: 506 Calories; 33g Fat (58.3% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 177mg Cholesterol; 1114mg Sodium.
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