Gratifying Guinness Stew

 

As the leaves change and autumn approaches I find myself craving warm hearty comfort foods. Nothing fits the bill better than a hearty stew full of delicious root vegetables and tender meat. So when I recently hosted a dinner night for friends my choice for the main dish was this gratifying Guinness Stew. 

Guinness stout forms the base for your flavor pallet in this stew and it's rich deep roasted barley flavor is perfect for a comfort food dish. Add to that a rich beef broth and sweet carrots and parsnips and you are well on your way. You do need to be careful though because Guinness has a touch of bitterness that balances it's hearty richness and with cooking this can dominate so a touch of extra sweetness is necessary. You can adjust the spices to your taste but I have found the recipe below, my own compilation, to produce consistently delicious results!

  

Gratifying Guinness Stew

Ingredients:

 

(Makes approximately 12qts)

1 bottle of Guinness stout (1pint 6 oz)
3 lbs beef cubed (chuck roast or similar cut appropriate for stewing)
3 parsnips (about 2 lbs) chopped
4 medium carrots chopped
2 large yellow onions diced
4 ribs celery diced
2 cans of beef broth (14.5oz ea)
1 can diced tomato (14.5oz)
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp bay leaf crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4-1/3 cup flour (for thickening)

Preparation:

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Toss the cubed beef with some flour and add to the pan browning slightly on all sides. Remove meat from heat and deg-laze the pan with some of the beef broth or a small amount of the beer. Prepare all the vegetables and add to your slow cooker. Add the meat, seasonings and liquid but not the flour. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. In the last hour taste for seasoning and adjust as needed also add the flour slowly by sifting small amounts into the pot and stirring until you reach the desired consistency. ( I found just under a 1/4 cup of flour was enough and you do have to let it cook a bit before you can tell if it needs more so add with a light touch and be careful not to over do it.)

 

This dish is fantastic served with mashed potatoes, col cannon, yorkshire pudding soda bread or any other delightful starchy goodness you have on hand. Sometimes I put potatoes in it but I like having them mashed on the side a bit better because then you still have the chunky root veg in the stew but you can pour it over a nice bowl of buttery mashed potatoes for extra richness.

Spice Up Your Weeknight

This week most of the kids in my neighborhood started back to school and I thought what better blog topic than a healthy, easy and delicious weeknight dinner. For inspiration I turned to a relative newcomer on the foodie scene Aarti Sequeira, the winner of Food Network Star season 6. She not only has a delightfully bubbly personality but the girl is not shy with her spices! Aarti takes every opportunity to bring here Indian roots into easy dishes anyone can tackle and this one makes plain old ground beef really come to life. 

This week I made Kheema, which is Indian Ground Beef with Peas. You can find Aarti Sequeira's original recipe here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/kheema-indian-ground-beef-with-peas-recipe/index.html
 

I highly suggest following her exact recipe. However I am an opportunist and sometimes that means I have to adjust recipes to reflect what I have on hand. So, below you'll find that I did make a few changes. For one I like the flavor of onions sauteed in butter so I switched that out, then I didn't have fresh ginger on hand and I had to rely on tinned tomatoes. I must say I actually prefer the tinned tomatoes since they come packed in juice that lends itself toward a great sauce. Additionally I didn't have fresh Cilantro as mine has gone to seed. I substituted Parsley but the Cilantro would have been much better. It has a particularly beautiful flavor that goes so well with these spices. Finally I didn't have any pita bread on hand so I served this over pasta but I also thought macaroni would be a great way to get kids to try something new!

So here is a slightly altered version of Aarti Sequeira's Kheema recipe. Please enjoy and of course take time to try the original as well!

 

Kheema: Indian Ground Beef with Peas 

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp ginger
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala, (a recipe can be found by following the link to Aarti's original recipe)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, (Aarti lists this as optional, I used the 1/2 tsp and would suggest less to anyone who doesn't tolerate spice well)
1 pound ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoons of your favorite vinegar (I used Basil)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, plus a few extra leaves for garnish
1/2 package macaroni

Preparation:

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the beef, and saute until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the coriander, paprika, garam masala, cumin, cayenne and tomatoes, including the juice. Stir well making sure the spices are well incorporated.Add the peas and simmer until softened but still bright in color, 5-10 minutes approximately. Stir in the vinegar and chopped parsley. Garnish with more parsley leaves and serve over plain macaroni.

Simple Sugar Cake

  

As I said in last weeks blog I had a plan for my beautiful bounty of berries and here is part two, a delicious and simple cake from the Finnish coffee table. Let me explain a bit before I go forward. In Finland taking coffee with a friend is nothing like stopping by your local coffee joint and grabbing a cup of joe to go. It's much more personal. When someone comes for coffee you lay the table with good cups and saucers, prettily folded napkins, plates, spoons and platters of goodies. Even at it's least formal "coffee" is a sit down affair. I remember my host mother's friend coming to coffee many times and she never arrived empty handed. She always brought a little something for her hostess and my host mother always had a table laid out with cookies or pulla or some other treat to enjoy with their coffee and conversation. Beatrice Ojakangas explains it beautifully in her book "The Finnish Cookbook" and it is from that same book that today's recipe harkens.

The first time I had this mildly sweet baked good I wasn't sure what to make of it. It looked more like blondies than cake to me and it wasn't nearly as sweet. However I was won over after the first bite. The simple "Sokerikakku" or "Sugar Cake" batter can be paired with any fruit making it the star and providing a delicious and unobtrusive backdrop. Since I have an abundance of blackberries I altered Ojakangas's recipe for Apple Sugar Cake or Omena Sokerikakku (found on p. 55 of "The Finnish Cookbook") to fit my needs. So here you have it Berry Sugar Cake or Marja Sokerikakku!

Berry Sugar Cake - Marja Sokerikakku

Ingredients:

1/4 c butter (at room temperature)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
3/4 cup light cream (milk will do if you don't have cream on hand)
1 tbsp vanilla
2 c fresh berries of your choice

Preparation:

Cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and combine well. Sift the dry ingredients and add alternately with the cream. Add the vanilla. Mix well until the batter is smooth. Pour into a well greased 9x13 pan and top with the fruit spreading it as evenly as possible over the batter. Bake in a 350 degree (F) oven for 50 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Make sure to not stick it in an area with lots of berries.) Allow to cool before serving.

 

This is wonderful served with vanilla cream which is not easily found in the states to my knowledge. Basically it is heavy cream infused with vanilla and sweetened. I have not, but I imagine you could make this by warming some heavy cream on the stove with part of a vanilla pod or just some good vanilla in it and some sugar. Heat the cream until the sugar dissolves and remove it from the heat. Then serve chilled over the cake. You could also make whipped cream and of course that would be fantastic as well.

Basic Blackberry Jam

As the summer begins to turn toward fall, the limbs of fruit trees and vines are heavy laden with rich ripe fruits. It takes me back to days of picking blackberries and raspberries behind my grandparents house and trips to a local orchard to pick apples and sip fresh cider. This summer, I got to revisit some of those memories by picking blackberries with a friend and as when I was younger I ended up with more than I knew what to do with. I had however gone into the endeavor with a plan. A plan for jam.

I am relatively inexperienced in food preservation, what you might call a dabbler. This means you won't see recipes for canned meat or soup or salsa but if it can be pickled or jellied or made into jam I'm your girl! So with my plethora of delicious ripe fruit I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to encourage others to answer the call of home canning as well.

Many call this a dying art but I think it has a niche and it's slowly catching on in a more mainstream way. It may not be canning as your grandmother did it but with easy recipes, plastic freezer jars and simple kits it isn't all hours of sweating over a hot stove in midsummer either. This recipe is the "Berry Jams Without Added Pectin" from the National Center for Home Food Preservation which offers a wealth of information on how to can, safety guidelines and recipes. Once you get a handle on the basics you can let your imagination run wild and oh the fun you will have.

Blackberry Jam

Ingredients:

9 cups berries
6 cups sugar

This recipe makes 7-8 half pints or 4-5 pints. (I got approximately 4 1/2 pints)

Gear:

Canning jars of your choice with lids
2 large non reactive pots
Canning tongs (Preferred but regular tongs will do in a pinch)
Wooden spoon
Funnel (make sure it fits your jars)
Ladel

Preparation:

Start by washing your berries. I washed mine in a sink full of cool water spiked with some white vinegar (to kill anything that might have hijacked a ride home, these are fresh berries after all) about 1/4 cup. I let the berries sink and skimmed off anything that floated to the top then added more water for a rinse and scooped them out gently with a spider (wire cooking tool - a slotted spoon would also work but remember to be gentle and not to crush the berries) and laid them on paper towels to dry.

While you are doing this it would be a good idea to set your jars on the stove to sterilize. You need to have them ready and still hot when your jam is done so timing is important. I suggest you read the section on sterilization here http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_01/sterile_jars.html but the basic are as follows.

To sterilize empty jars put them right side up in the bottom of a pot large enough that you will be able to completely submerge them in water. Fill the pot and jars with hot but not boiling water to about an inch above the tops of the jars. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. There are adjustments to be made for different altitudes so please follow the link if you live more than 1000ft above sea level.

Now to the jam. In your other large pot combine the fruit and sugar over a medium to medium low heat slowly bringing it to a boil. (Adjust the heat as necessary but do not put it on high it can get out of control quickly.) Stir often and once the sugar has dissolved cook to the jellying point. This should take about ten minutes. Stir constantly during this time and do not leave your jam unattended. The jellying point is when the jam has reached a consistency where it sheets (instead of dripping) off a spoon dipped in the hot mixture or a temperature of approximately 220 degrees F. You can see more here http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/jelly_point.html.

Remove the jam from the heat and the sterilized jars and lids from the water bath. (This is where you'll want the tongs for the jars.) Drain the water from the jars (down the sink) and fill them with the hot jam using the funnel. You will want to leave "head space", about 1/4 inch of clear space between the top of the jam and the top of the jar. Make sure to wipe the rim of the jar with a clean damp paper towel and place lid and ring on top. Repeat till all jars are filled. Tighten the rings and carefully lower them into the still boiling hot water bath. make sure the water still covers the jars.  This step is called processing. Leave the jars in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Then remove carefully and wait. The jars should seal with a pop in short order as they cool. If you use jars larger than a pint or smaller than a half pint the processing time may be different again please refer to the NCHFP website for more information or guidance on the subject. They have a chart along with the original recipe for this jam here http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/berry_jams.html.

I highly recommend reading the various articles offered on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website before jumping into canning for the first time. There is specialized equipment available if you want it but you can also do some basics with a couple of good heavy non-reactive pots. So look around and decide what is best for you. I do recommend a basic canning utensil kit that you can find at your local grocery or big box store. It has a jar lifter, a lid lifter, a funnel, a bubble remover, and a headspace tool. They aren't expensive and it's better to have the right tools than to drop a hot jar of hot water on yourself or the floor while trying to use regular kitchen tongs. It can be done but at your own risk.

I hope this is inspiration enough to do a bit more research and to try your hand at canning. Don't let it intimidate you, it isn't as hard as it seems at first and there are some great sites out there where you can ask all sorts of questions from experienced canners if you are unsure about something or if things don't turn out as planned. The results are worth it as is the fantastic sense of accomplishment you will feel when you hear those seals ping!

Marvelous Moroccan Inspired Chicken

 So now that you know how to make Peerless Preserved Lemons, what do you do with them?  Well as I said there are dishes from around the world that call for them but my favorite is this Moroccan Inspired Chicken hotpot. A hotpot is basically an all in one dish where the flavors blend and meld in one big pot which is perfect for when you want something you can throw in the crockpot and forget about until dinner. The bonus with this dish is that it tastes exotic enough that people might believe you spent the day slaving over a hot stove to make it!

Now you may ask why I call it Moroccan Inspired and not just straight Moroccan chicken. Simply put I didn't follow a recipe exactly but I was inspired by a few. It started with Dorrie Greenspan's book "Around My French Table". I had received the book as a Christmas gift from my husband and I was dying to try some of the recipes. One in particular caught me eye and sounded divine, "Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes." I could taste it in my mind the sweetness of the potatoes and the prunes with the warmth of the spices, it spoke to me. You might wonder what this has to do with preserved lemons, but I'm coming to that. You see as simple as the recipe was, I didn't have a number of the ingredients. However they put me in mind of the many recipes I had seen online for Moroccan Chicken. the spices were similar as was the cooking method and the general flavor profile wasn't far off. So I scanned dozens of recipes online and took bits and pieces from different ones that I liked until I had an ingredient list that I liked and had on hand. I decided also that this would work well in a crockpot so in it all went and a new household favorite was born. 

As I said I sort of threw this together the first time so feel free to adjust the seasoning to suit. This recipe serves 4.

Moroccan Inspired Chicken

Ingredients:

4 Chicken thighs browned (bone in)
3 Cloves garlic crushed and roughly chopped
1 Preserved lemon roughly chopped
2 Medium onions roughly chopped
4 Carrots chopped (1/2 in pieces)
1 Orange peeled, sectioned and chopped
1 12oz can Low Sodium Chicken broth
1 Star Anise (remove before serving)
2 Bay leaves (remove before serving)
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayanne
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Cinnimon
1-2 tbsp Honey
4-6 Prunes quartered

Preparation:

In a pan brown the chicken, skin side down, in a small amount of butter or oil. Add the carrots and onions to the Crock Pot. Next add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients. Ideally you want the liquid to just cover everything in the pot. If it doesn't at first, check back later and as things start to release their own juices you will be able to press anything above the surface down a bit deeper. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken comes away easily from the bone.

This is delightful served with rice or couscous or even a nice crusty bread. The chicken will melt in your mouth and you will want to sop up every last drop of the delicious rich broth. Enjoy!

Peerless Preserved Lemons

One of my foodie weaknesses are the delicious flavors of the East. The rich sweetness of dried fruits, the warm sensuality of the various spices and the bright punch of citrus and fresh herbs. One of my favorite ingredients are the beautiful and opulent citrons confits or preserved lemons.

These delicious beauties are lemons picked at their peak and preserved in salt and their own juices. They are used in dishes all over the world but most often are linked to Indian, Middle Eastern and Moroccan cuisine. In Cambodia there is an entire dish centered around these golden gems called Ngam nguv. It is a chicken soup using the whole preserved lemon, kafir lime leaves, cilantro, garlic and chili. It looks delicious and I hope some day to try it. Until then I have to settle with the hundreds of other delicious recipes that call for this beautiful and simple ingredient.

Now if you go to your local specialty food market you will find citrons confits will cost you a pretty penny and you won't get a lot for your money. Truthfully this is strange as the method of preservation is one of the simplest and oldest known to man. Preserved lemons are basically just lemons packed in salt.

What you will need:

2 - 1qt sterilized canning jars (or more of a smaller size jar if you prefer)
12-14 fresh medium lemons (I used about 6 per jar)
non-iodized salt, (I used Kosher) about 1/2 cup

To get started you will want to find the best quality lemons available to you.  If that means just what the grocery store has on hand so be it but the better the quality of the lemon the better the quality of your end product. Make sure to wash them well but don't scrub hard enough that you loose the essential oils in the skin. 

Next cut 10 of the lemons almost into quarters leaving just a bit of rind to hold them together. Spread each lemon open and generously coat with salt before packing into the sterilized canning jar. Repeat until you have just a half inch of head space left in the jar. I layer the jars like a trifle. Lemons, salt, more lemons and so on. Press the lemons down to release their own juices. If there is not enough juice to cover them completely juice one of the remaining lemons and ad the juice to the jar. Repeat with the second jar and remaining lemons.

Now comes the hard part. Set the jars in a window and wait. The jars should be rotated daily and given an occasional shake but they need to sit for a month before they are ready to use. These can be stored in your refrigerator for about six months.

It's as simple as that to have this delicious condiment to hand whenever you want it. Enjoy!

Almost Aloof Apple Cake

 
When I think of fine dining images of fancy French cuisine come to mind, Souffle, Beef Tartar e, and Foie Gras. The reality is that while the French have some of the most exquisite cuisine it is not all fancy, or difficult to master at that. A prime example is Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake from Dori Greenspan's book "Around My French Table". Greenspan masterfully describes each dish and makes it completely approachable to any home cook by keeping her writing casual. It's as though you were literally sitting around her kitchen table sipping coffee and swapping favorite recipes. Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake is in fact just that, a recipe she got from a friend. Keeping with the spirit of sharing here is my adaptation of Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake from Dori Greenspan's book "Around My French Table".

The best part about this cake is that it will look like you spent hours on it but it takes just a few minutes to throw together.  Happy Baking!

Almost Aloof Apple Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large apples (the original recipe calls for four different kinds if possible, mine were all Gala)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract*
1 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon orange juice*
8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled

* Note: The original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons dark rum and 1/2 teaspoon  of vanilla. Since I didn't have any rum on hand I used more vanilla and the orange juice though I would like to try it with the rum next time for a more complex flavor.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Generously butter an 8 inch springform pan and place in on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. In a small bowl combine the Flour, baking powder and salt. Core the apples and cut into 1-2 inch chunks (Greenspan calls for peeling the apples but I like to leave the skins on, it's your choice). In a medium bowl combine the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients to make a smooth thick batter. Fold in the apple chunks and transfer the batter to the pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rake for 5 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the sides of the cake before releasing the springform and removing the pan. Allow the cake to finish cooling on the pan bottom then transfer to a plate or piece of wax paper to remove the bottom before finally transferring it to a pretty cake stand for serving.

This cake is delicious. The outside edges are gloriously golden and slightly caramelized and the center is smooth and almost custardy with lovely chunks of sweet apple that burst on your tongue like little bits of summer. It's the perfect dish to serve with coffee or as dessert after a light supper. I can see it also working very well with summer berries and it would be delightful topped with a vanilla cream sauce.

 Whatever you do, don't forget to make it your own and enjoy!