Cooking during the Holidays

During the holiday's, we were fortunate enough to have family fly in and visit. Now, even though it was nice to be able to spend time with them, it meant that I had a lot mouths to feed. So, I went to the grocery store and stocked up! It was easier for me to shop for what I needed because I planned out a menu for an entire week of what I was going to feed everyone. I made everything from French Onion Soup to Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas to Beef Bourguignon. Unfortunately, I was not able to take photos of all the food I made because once it was ready to eat, it was gone in minutes!!! My family and relatives really know how to eat well.

Hopefully everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year! Enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs beef rump or sirloin tip steaks, cut into 1 inch cubes

olive oil

1 large carrot, julienned

2 cups sliced onions

3 cups strong red wine, such as Burgundy wine

2 cups strong beef stock or canned beef consomme

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon thyme

1/3 teaspoon dried orange peel

1 large tomato, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2-3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

1/2 lb fresh sliced mushrooms (or more)

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup water

1. Combine onions, garlic, 1/4 tsp whole peppercorns, and red wine with beef cubes. Marinate up to 24 hours.

2. Heat oil in large skillet.

3. Add as many pieces of beef to the pan as will fit without crowding.

4. Brown on all sides on fairly high heat.

5. Add more oil if needed.

6. Repeat until all beef cubes are browned; transfer meat to a sprayed oven-proof casserole.

7. Add onions, carrots, and garlic cloves to the skillet, and brown briefly; transfer to the oven-proof casserole. Set casserole over heat.

8. Add wine, stock, bay leaf, thyme, orange peel, tomato, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, taste, and salt if necessary.

9. Take off the stove, cover, and bake at 325F for 2-3 hours, checking for tenderness.

10. Trim, clean and slice mushrooms; saute briefly in 2 tbs. butter.

11. Finishing the stew: When meat is tender, combine flour and water and blend until smooth.

12. Stir into stew, until blended and add mushrooms.

13. Cover and bake another 20-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

14. Remove and enjoy! I like to serve this over garlic mashed potatoes and then top that with sauteed green beans with bacon. It's so delicious.

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This is a quick sandwich I made one day while prepping food for Christmas day. Basically, I sauteed up a Portobello mushroom in red wine and balsamic vinegar on low heat until tender. Once tender, I topped with 2 year aged Parmesan cheese and served on crunchy french bread. It was so easy and very tasty.

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This recipe is based off a soup I used to make for the French Restaurant I worked for in Chicago. Many other recipes have you saute the onions on the stove top, but when busy in the restaurant kitchen, you find anyway to cook food quick. So, the following involves caramelizing the onions in the oven.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

5 yellow onions, sliced

½ cup flour

Salt and white pepper, to taste

1 1/3 gallons beef stock

1. Add onions and oil in large roasting pan and caramelize in 500°F oven.

2. After caramelized, mix in flour and cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and add to large pot along with the beef base and water.

4. Reduce for 30 minutes over med-low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Top with toasted baguette and gruyere/swiss cheese and melt.

Sourdough Bread made with Grape Sourdough Starter

Sourdough bread is one of my all-time favorite breads to eat and to make. If you have never made it before, it takes a little practice before getting the hang of it and having it look like it's fresh from the bakery. Now, to get the tastiest bread out of your own kitchen, it takes some time, practice, and patience. To start of with, I will give you the basic sourdough starter recipe.

Grape Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:

1 bunch organic grapes
2 cups white bread flour
2 cups water

Equipment Needed:

glass/plastic bowl
wooden spoon
clean towel or bowl lid
cheesecloth
kitchen twine/string

1. Gather about 2 cups of clean grapes and slightly crush into a glass/plastic bowl. Take the grapes and place them in cheesecloth and tie shut. Add the flour and water.

2. Mix with a wooden spoon until the batter has become thick and sticky.

3. Cover the bowl with a clean towel or a lid and let it sit at room temperature overnight. (NOTE: if you are using a lid, DO NOT seal it completely. The starter will give off gasses and if the container is sealed, it could explode. There is nothing worse than having a sourdough explosion to wipe up! This happened to me once; it was all over the walls, counter top, appliances, and cabinets. I learned my lesson.)

4. The next day, check the starter for bubbles of gas coming to the surface, the sign the fermentation is taking place. This is where patience comes into play. The fermentation process can take as long as 5 days, depending on the temperature and climate. Once the starter has begun to ferment, remove the grapes tied in cheesecloth and “feed” the starter with a bit of flour and water.

5. You can use the starter right away, or you can let it sit for another few days. The longer you let the starter ferment, the stronger the flavor of your bread will be. There are some restaurants that still use starters that they have continually "fed" for years. And for this reason, many of these restaurants are well know for their breads.

6. If you are ready to make bread right away, then there is a recipe that follows. If you are not ready or if you’ve made too much starter, you can freeze your starter and save it for later. Simply divide it into 1-cup portions, wrap each one in 2 layers of plastic, and put them in the freezer.

This is a smaller batch of starter that I made. As you can see, the grapes have been wrapped in cheesecloth, which makes the removal easier.



Classic San Francisco Sourdough Bread

2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees F)
7-1/2 cups to 8 cups all-purpose Flour, unsifted
1 cup sourdough starter batter at room temperature
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Bread Wash Recipe:
1 teaspoon cornstarch brought to a boil with 1 cup water,
then cooled to room temperature

hot water for the oven
spray bottle filled with water

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine water, sourdough starter batter and 4 cups of the flour. Mix well and cover with clear plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place (85 degrees F) 8 to 12 hours.

2. Stir in salt, sugar and enough remaining flour (about 4 cups) to form a very stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (2 to 2-1/2 hours).


3. Punch down and divide in half. Knead gently until smooth. Shape each half into a round ball. Cover the sourdough bread loaves lightly with a damp rag; let them rise in a warm place until puffy and almost doubled in size (1 to 1-1/2 hours).

4. Carefully place a small pan on the shelf, below the oven baking rack, and fill it with hot water. This is what gives the bread its nice, crunchy crust.

5. Place your sourdough bread loaves on the baking rack, close the oven door and bake in a preheated (400 degree F) oven for 10 minutes. Then brush your sourdough bread loaves with the baste mixture and place back in over. Before closing, using a spray bottle with water, spritz the bottom of the oven a few times and then close the oven door and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes more until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. The spraying of the oven with the water will also aid in giving the bread its crunch.
*See note below*

6. Remove the loaves from the oven and place on a cooling rack until cooled down to room temperature. Allow the loaves to cool completely (about 2 hours) before cutting into it.

7. ENJOY!


*NOTE: To get the pretty slices on top of the bread requires a Lame or bread slashing tool. This allows you to cut clean ridges into your loaf, to facilitate rising of dough. A razor blade may be used as well. This part takes some practice. Before placing the dough in the oven, you take the lame and very quickly slice across the top of the dough. The first few times you may mess up and end up making your bread collapse, or hopefully, you will have no problems at all and will end up with beautiful bread.

On the right is part of the Grape Sourdough Starter and on the left is the sourdough resting, covered to double in size.


The finished product. Now, unfortunately, I was too impatient and sliced into the bread early without letting it rest long enough and that's why the bread above looks smashed in the middle. It is very important to let the finished bread sit not only for this reason, but because the flavors will develop more from resting and cooling.

Cookies for the Neighbors!

Today, I decided it was time to get around to baking cookies for all our neighbors, as well as for the family and friends that will be visiting soon. As is tradition, cookies, treats, and gifts are given among our close neighbors and friends in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, we don't always have time to talk with all of our neighbors as much as we would like to, so giving treats out during the holidays gives us time to catch up and say hello. So this year, I have decided that our neighbors should receive more than just one type of cookie on the treat tray we will deliver in the next few days. Below I have listed three of the cookies that I baked today; and there will be more posted hopefully tomorrow.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

For rolling:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture just until combined.

Stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape dough into balls. Using a cookie scoop makes sure they are uniform in size. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place on a Silpat (more info below about Silpat) or parchment-lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cups white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 10 oz bag of Andes mint chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the mint chocolate chips. Using cookie scoop, drop onto Silpat or ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are set. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Easy Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
Courtesy of Great American Brand Name Recipes Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
granulated sugar
Hershey's Kisses

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In large mixer bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter until smooth. Add biscuit mix and vanilla; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets, or a Silpat mat. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove and press a Hershey's Kisses candy in center of each ball. Bake for another 2 minutes. Remove and cool. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

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Now what exactly is a Silpat mat?
Silpat is the brand name of a popular silicone mat used in baking and in the production of candy to provide a non-stick surface without fat or parchment paper. Silpats contain a glass fiber weave that reinforces the silicone. It was invented by the French chemist Guy Demarle and is produced by the company he founded, called Demarle.
I reccommend that anyone who enjoys baking a lot to purchase a Silpat. Ever since I have started using the mat, I have never gone back to using parchment paper for my baking needs. You can melt cheese on the mat and it will come off with ease. I can't stress it again, I love it and everyone needs one. Find out more information at http://www.silpat.com/.


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This is some Vanilla Extract brought back from a trip to Mexico.

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Instead of buying the small bags of flour and end up running out halfway through cooking or baking something, I like to stock up with the big 25lb bag of flour from Sam's Club. If I'm lucky, the bag will last for about 3 weeks. Its very nice to have handy, especially becuase of all the bread baking that I do. I make bread at least 3 times a week. There is nothing better than fresh bread, and it tastes so much better than store bought.

BBQ Pork Ribs with Roasted Potatoes

Pork Ribs were on sale, so I picked up a few pounds and baked them into some of the most tender ribs I've had in a while. After letting them cook low and slow for 7 hours, them came out of the oven falling off the bones. Ribs don't only have to be a dish enjoyed during the warmer months. Along with the ribs, I served oven roasted potato bites and creamed corn. I hope you give these recipes a try. Enjoy!


BBQ Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

4 lb. pork ribs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 onions, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Season the ribs with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Layer in buttered pan with the onions. Pour the BBQ sauce over (recipe below).
3. Cook for 6-8 hours.

BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup prepared mustard
14 oz ketchup
2 Tbs melted butter
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp chili powder

Mix all ingredients together, adjusting to your tastes. I added a little more sugar to make the ribs sweeter.

Oven Roasted Potato Bites

For these, I just took 5 potatoes, large diced them, and then seasoned with the following ingredients: pepper, dried thyme, dried basil, and seasoned salt tossed with olive oil. Then, I put them in the oven during the last 1 1/2 hours of cooking for the ribs.

Photos of the Garden/Kitchen

Below are just some pictures I snapped while out in the yard. Also, there are a few pictures of my kitchen.

Close up of the one vegetable that always gets a bad rep; it's really a good vegetable when cooked properly. I usually boil mine until tender, and then saute then with garlic, bacon and shallots and deglaze with some white wine. They always turn out great. I have actually made a few haters into lovers!

These are the four plants that produced hundreds of sprouts the last few months.

Lucky decided he needed to roll around in the snow!

This is a view of whats left in the garden; nothing. But, it did produce some great things this year. I planted leeks, onions, tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage. About 10 seconds after to snapped this photo, a rabbit ran out of the garden. He was hiding well, because I had no clue it was in there.

This lovely "thing" me and my twin brother found at a thrift store and decided it was a must have for the yard. We always joke about it, but many of our friends and neighbors actually want it for their back yards/gardens.

A side view of the butcher block in the kitchen. This is the knife rack that was on the block when we got it. The only knife not used is the cleaver on the far left; also came with.

Two utensils that were used when this butchers block was in service.

And this is a full view of the butcher block. Now, I'm told that this butchers block is about 80-90 years old and was used at the butchery in downtown Charleston, IL. And even though this is a great item and conversation piece, it's a pain to move. It took 4 full grown men and all their strength to get it into the kitchen. I love having this because it gives me ample amount of space when doing my prep work or when I'm actually cooking.

This Has NOTHING to Do with Cooking, but Interesting

I recently got an email that I thought was really interesting. So, here it is:

Fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid, too.
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

If you are one of the 45 that cant read it, sorry!

What the Fork???

This is what people said when they saw the pasta dish I made today. What I whipped up today for lunch was a Christmas inspired pasta dish: Green and Red Pasta, made without using any food coloring.

For starters, I needed to find an ingredient that would give me the desired red color I wanted. So, I settled on using beet juice. I got the juice from draining canned beets and mixing it in with flour and eggs until I got the desired consistency. There really was no recipe that I used for the dough; I just eyeballed it and adjusted the ingredients as needed.

Here is the dough being rolled out. Like I do with most of my pasta's, I took it down to the #7 notch.

Here is the end result. Not exactly bright red, but everyone got the concept of what I was wanting to do.

Next was trying to find some ingredients to use for the green dough. With this, I ran into a few problem; there are not many items that can be used without being overpowering. I had thought about using some pureed chives and basil, but after tasting the puree, I realized it was was too strong and would not be enjoyable. So, I went to the fridge and found some Brussels sprouts that I picked right before the first snow. In a pan, I boiled the sprouts in salted water until tender. When ready, I pureed them in a food processor and added in some seasonings along with a little olive oil and a tiny bit of water. The puree came out great. After combining it with the flour and eggs, I came out with the product pictured above. The flavor was surprisingly very subtle.

Passing the dough through the pasta roller.

Dough ready to be cut.

All the Brussels sprouts dough cut up and floured.

After boiling the pasta for just a few minutes, I transferred them to a saute pan that I had shallots, tomato and garlic in. A very simple dish that is colorful and festive. Unfortunately, the Brussels sprouts dough it not a darker green, but again, everyone understood the basic idea.