Daring Cooks December Challenge: Beef Wellington

Beef wrapped in mushrooms, wrapped in prosciutto, wrapped in a buttery, flaky crust. What could be better? The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online Well apparently.. I'm not the beef wrapped in mushrooms, wrapped in prosciutto, wrapped in a buttery, flaky crust kinda gal. This just didn't thrill me. Not only did I have HUGE problems with the pastry dough, but the final product just wasn't very "BOOYA" if yanno what I mean? Which kinda floors me, because okay - so the crust sucked, pick it off and eat the rest for crissakes, yes? But the Parma ham just got all greasy tucked in there.. the mushrooms were okay, but they were minced so kinda hard to enjoy them.. and the steak, although done perfectly and seasoned well.. just wasn't all that tasty. Did it all steam too much in it's pastry shell? Are my tasters off? I just don't know.. This is not to say that I am saddened by this month's challenge. I am always grateful to learn a new technique and recipe.. and a shortcrust pastry dough was something I'd never heard of before. And yes, I am grateful that I learned a new dough recipe, but this is one I won't be trying again. Gah. After we had dinner that night, I thought to myself that I MUST have screwed up - because, hey, that's what I do. Especially when it comes to baking and doughs, right? So I just sat on it for a day but it bugged the bejebus outta me, so I went back over the recipe and I know I didn't screw up.. but, I still ended up with uhmm.. cracker crumbs? Have a look! Sorry for the poorly lit photos - but it gets dark here at like 9 in the morning! (okay well not that early, but way too fakkin early these days [5ish in the evening]) See? Crumbly dry bad juju stuff. And this photo was taken after it had been wrapped in cling wrap and refrigerated for a few hours. I weighed my ingredients AND I even put in more water than called for! So yous guys tell me.. what. the. hell.? Anyhoo.. I ended up having to smoosh more water in there to get it to come together and roll out.. and that did work.. but I assume having done that plus the extra kneading, didn't make for a flaky crusty outcome. I also vented my dough to let the steam out.. but everything inside was still.. uhhh.. steamy. Maybe I'm just a grill or pan fry steak kinda gal? Maybe I like my beef crusty - as in crust from seasoning and a cast iron skillet or over a hot grill. I dunno. I do know that lots of members had great luck with this and I have to say that the challenge was to make whatever filling we decided on, be it beef, salmon or another fish, vegetable, pork, chicken, you name it, wrapped in dough. We did not have to make the shortcrust pastry dough recipe that was given to us by Simone. We could have used store bought or another recipe for the crust.. so I do not count this as a failure. I did learn how to make wellington and maybe on some special (it'd have to be pretty damned spectacular) occasion I'll make it again with another dough recipe and maybe I'll really crust up that meat with lots more seasoning and leave the prosciutto out.. and maybe I'll like it a lot better. And before I end this.. I have to say one more thing. HERE'S A BIG F.U. TO TRADER JOE'S FOR DISCONTINUING THEIR PUFF PASTRY. BITE ME! YOU SUCK TRADER JOES' PERSON WHO DECIDES WHAT IS KEPT ON THE SHELVES AND WHAT ISN'T BUTTWAD. Course I'll still shop there.. cuz I love it.. but damn, it was the ONLY place where I live that I can get puff pastry made with REAL BUTTER and not disgusting shortening. *sigh* And please.. don't even tell me to make it myself. Have you ever read my Daring Baker posts?? I'd have better luck milking my own breasts, churning my mammary gland juices into butter using a bucket and a broom handle and then paying someone else to fold it into a dough 5000 times. GAH. xoxo

You'll Be Missed WCC!! :(

So I gots this friend.. her name is Sara. Sara writes i like to cook. I love Sara. We clicked from the very beginning and although we've only known each other for a few years, it feels like I grew up with her.. we've got lots in common and she's just as warped as I am in the humor department. hehee! Anyhoo, my friend Sara, well she runs this lil monthly event that some of you may have heard about (if you haven't.. well where the hell have YOU been?) called The Weekend Cookbook Challenge or WCC. I've had a soft spot in my heart for this lil monthly event and even got to host it once! Aside from adoring the creator of the event, I think what drew me to it is how it's very laid back, meaning hey if you want to contribute but you didn't use a cookbook recipe, sokay. Your submission is kind of a stretch according to the monthly theme? Fogeddaboutit! It's welcomed warmly into the round-up. This group is more about the joy of food and playing with people who share your common interest in sharing recipes than about rules and regulations - and for me, that's a joyous reprieve. ;) BUT with all of this said.. I'm a slacker. I didn't participate nearly as much as I wanted too and I missed out on a lot of excellent, fun themes over the years. *sigh* But I could not WOULD NOT miss this last "Hurrah!" for the WCC. This round-up is the last one, my friends. Sara has decided to shut the WCC down. Alrighty then, the last theme for the WCC is LOVE. Of course my first thought was to make something chocolatey.. but after the last Daring Baker challenge, I got my chocolate fix and then some :) So next was something savory - but all of the foods I truly love LOVE, I've blogged about already.. so what to do? WHAT TO DO? I was going over some recipes on my hard drive that I've collected through the years - because seriously, I've only got about 100 cookbooks.. the event is called Weekend COOKBOOK Challenge.. and yeah, I don't think I've ever used a cookbook for a recipe submission to the WCC so why start now, right? Gah. Anyhoo, lately Hubbs and I have been into pickles. Oh we love 'em. I slap those pickle Stackers from Vlasic on anything that doesn't move too quickly. So when I came across a recipe that my friendJohn had made and raved about, I knew this would be a dish of Love. Called Romanian Garlicky Ground Meat Sausages (Carnatzlach) with Sour Pickle Vinaigrette and Roasted Red Peppers. Say that fast TWO times and you'll get a brain aneurysm. No.. no you won't. I don't think. :P Okay so this is a dish all about homemade sausages without casings. It's very well seasoned ground beef, or as John says, ground turkey would be excellent as well, shaped into a sausage link and grilled, broiled or pan fried. The sausages are served over roasted bell peppers and topped with his very own pickle vinaigrette. Super easy to make.. you just have to remember that the ground meat should "marinate" with all the spices for at least 4 hours before shaping into sausage link shapes. Hubbs did the marinating part.. and he followed the recipe to a T EXCEPT for the allspice.. we don't have any and frankly, I'm not a fan of it in savory dishes. He mixed it well in the food processor and we let it sit in the fridge for about 6 hours. When I came home from work, I shaped them into links, made the vinaigrette and *cough* roasted some bell peppers. When I say I "roasted" them.. I mean that I picked them out of a jar with a fork. Sue me. It was cold and rainy, I was home for the night and not going back out. :) Anyhoo.. I might have made the links a lil big because I only got 12, and the recipe said 14 to SEVENTEEN (bahahahhaa!). 'kay at 1.5 lbs. of ground meat, if you get 17 sausages.. I'd have to say they'd look a bit more like gherkins. ;) I chose to pan fry in my cast iron skillet, as John prefers. They cooked quickly and smelled wonderful! Then I plated them, "nestled" in the "roasted" red and yellow peppers and poured spoonfuls and spoonfuls of that AMAZING vinaigrette over them. To say we were salivating when it came time to sit down in front of our faithful TV (the kitchen table is more of a place to dump unopened mail, thankyouverymuch). The first thing we said to each other was "MEAT DOGS!" I about choked. So funny! These "sausages" are mighty tasty but not very "sausage-y". What we both thought was that this recipe would make a might fine turkey burger instead. But what we both flipped over was John's pickle vinaigrette. Holy mother of a bald goat! This stuff is to die for.. I want it on EVERYTHING now! Much MUCH better than any relish we've ever had.. super easy to throw together and just NOM NOM NOM SO GOOD! All in all it was a dish we did like very much and will make again - but we'll try ground turkey or chicken next time.. and grill instead. Just to see. In the meantime, try ripping the bowl of pickle vinaigrette from my hands - JUST TRY. :P Romanian Garlicky Ground Meat Sausages (Carnatzlach) with Sour Pickle Vinaigrette and Roasted Red Peppers Recipe copied from John with my changes included. Yield: 4 to 5 Servings If you're cutting down on beef, well-seasoned turkey is a good substitute here. 2 to 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic, or to taste 2 teaspoons sweet paprika About 1 teaspoon salt (more if using ground turkey) 1 teaspoon dried oregano or marjoram 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; or fresh, hot but not searing, while (preferably Fresno or serrano, but Hungarian wax, jalapeno, or other varieties will do fine), roasted (see Cook's Note), peeled and finely chopped (be sure to use rubber gloves when preparing) 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (you can substitute ground turkey - the ground thigh meat will work best - with fine results, but you may want to increase the seasoning slightly) Oil for greasing the broiler rack or pan, if needed Accompaniments: 2 large red bell peppers, roasted (see Cook's Note), cut into strips, and seasoned well with salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and a little vinegar or lemon juice to taste Chopped scallions (both white and green parts) Sour Pickle Vinaigrette (recipe follows) Half-sour or garlic dill pickles, sliced lengthwise; garlic dill tomatoes In a food processor combine the garlic, paprika, salt, oregano or marjoram, allspice, black pepper or chile, and 14 cup water and pulse until the garlic is chopped very fine. Add a third of the meat and process until thoroughly incorporated with the seasoning. Add another third of the meat and pulse a few times. Add the final third and continue pulsing, stopping to scrape down the bowl, if necessary, until the mixture is well combined, very soft, and almost pasty. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight so that all the vibrant flavors will meld together. When ready to cook the carnatzlach, set out a small bowl of cold water and a large platter. Moisten your hands with the water, take a small lump of the meat mixture, and roll it into a sausage 3- to 4-inches long and i-inch wide (about the size of your middle finger, but a little wider). Place the shaped carnatzlach on the platter and continue making more, wetting your hands as necessary, until all the meat is rolled. You'll have approximately 14 to 17 sausages. Preheat the broiler, outdoor grill, or (my choice) a heavy ridged cast-iron skillet on top of the stove, to high temperature. (Spray rack or pan lightly with oil first, if not nonstick.) Grill or broil the sausages until beautifully browned, crusty, and cooked to desired doneness, 5 to 7 minutes per side. To serve, arrange some roasted red pepper strips and chopped scallions on a plate. Nestle a few carnatzlach attractively over them, and spoon a generous amount of sour pickle vinaigrette over everything. Garnish with pickles and garlic dill tomatoes. Cook's Note: To roast peppers, spear them with a long-handled fork, and roast like marshmallows over an open flame (a gas burner or outdoor fire). Or place the peppers on a roasting rack set directly over the flame. Keep turning the peppers until the skins are lightly charred on all sides. You can also roast them under the broiler. Place the peppers on a foil-lined rack under a preheated broiler, as close as possible to the heat source. Turn the peppers as the skins blister and blacken. Put charred peppers in a paper bag and twist the bag closed, or put them in a covered bowl. Let them steam until cool enough to handle-this will make them easier to peel. Rub the skins off with your fingers (if preparing chiles, make sure you are wearing rubber gloves). Don't worry if you don't remove every piece of charred skin-a few bits here and there will add smoky flavor. Although this is messy and the peel will stick to your fingers, I don't recommend peeling the peppers underwater, as some suggest, because it washes away the flavorful oils, making the peppers soggy and flat-tasting. Instead, dip your hands into a bowl of water every so often or wipe them on a paper towel to clean them. Pull out and discard the stem, seeds, and ribs. The peppers are ready to be used in a recipe. Sour Pickle Vinaigrette Yield: 4 to 5 Servings 1 cup coarsely chopped half-sour or garlic-dill pickles I went with all dill) 2 tablespoons liquid from pickle jar (include peppercorns and other flavorings, if desired) 3 tablespoons best-quality extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper Fresh lemon juice Amazingly I had no lemons.. so I used a lil bit of red wine vinegar Place the pickles and pickle liquid in a blender and process at high speed until pureed. With the machine on, slowly add the oil. Continue processing another minute or two, until the mixture is smooth and emulsified. Transfer to a bowl, and add salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed. You can serve the sauce right away, but it's best to allow the flavors to mellow for a while in the refrigerator. Stir the vinaigrette before serving. I wanted more of a crunch, as you can see from the photos, so I just diced everything small and mixed with the juice, EVOO, red wine vinegar and S&P xoxo

Free Grass Fed Beef!

Hi ya'll :) I'm still kickin'.. barely keeping my head above wedding waters.. Jebus. Is there any other fakkin event in the WORLD with THIS MANY DETAILS?? I am so never doing this again. :P To all of my vegetarian and vegan friends.. please.. shut your eyes and/or your browser... My love to whine is not why I popped into me lil blog this evening.. no, a friend of mine has been asked to host a contest to promote grass fed beef from a company in Montana. And I'm here to help get the word out :) Click on over to Mike's magnificent blog, Mel's Diner and read all about it. After you leave your comment (because what carnivore could pass down free grass fed beef?) take a gander around his blog.. the writing is terrific, the knowledge of all things MEAT is plentiful and this guy can cook! :) Hugs! xoxo

Mario Batali, Have I Told You Lately How Much I Love You?

And not so much for your cooking - although it looks scrumptious. No, I love you for being one of the many celebrity chefs that put out their own line of cast iron cookware. Yours is affordable, well made and the colors in your line are perfect for my kitchen! So, thank you Mario Batali! Thank you for my gorgeous and sexy Dutch Oven that I heart so very, very muchly! :) Oh hells yes, the love of my Dutch Oven is another reason why I chose Crockpots, Dutch Ovens and Pressure cookers for the theme of this months WCC, just so I could show off the sexiness once again! Behold and be dazzled.. My GOD is that not the cat's meow in cast iron cookware?? Everything I make in this bad boy always turns out spectacular. I'm not exaggerating either. For instance.. my very Irish mother, makes the best Spanish rice ever and I've never been able to quite get it as good as hers - until just a few days ago. And I totally credit my success to my Mario Batali 4 quart Dutch Oven in Chianti (damn you Crate & Barrel for discontinuing to sell that color). This time it was perfect.. I dare say better than my mother's. *gasp* DON'T TELL HER!! It turned out creamy with such a fantastic flavor. You could really taste the tomato, peppers and onion this time. In the past when I've made it, we've always had lots left over for freezing (and then eventually throwing out because of freezer burn) but there was none left this time. We had it for dinner that first night as the main course and the next night we had it as an accompaniment to Ben's Enchiladas Verde uhh Rojo. Damn store didn't have one fakkin tomatillo in the place! So we had to go with tomatoes. Not that that was a bad thing, as the sauce turned out beautifully. Thanks, Ben!! Deeeelicious! :) Awww lil wilty Cilantro :P Mom's Spanish Rice 1 lb. lean ground round or sirloin 1 medium Spanish or Vidalia onion, diced small 1 medium bell pepper (whichever color that floats your boat), diced small 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 TBS. olive oil 1 32 oz. can of plain tomato sauce 1 32 oz. can of water 1 scant TBS. dried oregano 2 Bay leaves Salt & pepper to taste 1 TBS. garlic powder (optional) 1 1/8 c. short grain white rice, uncooked Sauté the onion, pepper and garlic in the olive oil until just translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the ground round and cook until browned, then drain any excess fat (although there shouldn't be if you are using lean round or sirloin). Once the meat is browned, pour in the can of tomato sauce, then fill the empty can with water and pour that in. Season with the oregano, bay leaves, salt & pepper and the garlic powder if using. Add the uncooked rice and let simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the rice is tender. You should end up with a pot full of thick and creamy Spanish (Americanized) rice with not a lot of sauce left over. We love it this way as it resembles risotto, but it might be dry to someone else, so you can thin it by adding a little water or low-sodium chicken broth. And with Ben's Enchiladas.. Delicious chicken Enchilada, Rojo sauce, Spanish Rice and Corn Cake. *swoon* Another fantabulous, you won't be sorry, recipe to make in your sexy Dutch oven is Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon - a big bowl of this with crusty bread for dipping.. let's just say you will want to make out with Ina afterwards. ;) xoxo

What Makes our Toes Curl?

The Kitchen of Love in this household is open 24/7.. 99% of the time the foods both myself and Hubbs prepare are foods that the other loves, and we're thinking about each other when we cook. True story. (awwwwwww) I keep him pretty informed of the goings on in my blogging life, because he likes to help out when he can and he loves to give suggestions on what I should make for certain events. He also enjoys mocking me when it comes to the food I want to highlight on my blog. For instance, he's just tickled - to the point of giggling - when he cooks something, uhmm.. mundane. You know.. a pb&j sammich, a bowl of cereal, or when he opens up a can of his favorite corned beef hash - he'll plate it up and then ask where my camera is so he can take pictures. He'll search through the veggie crisper of the fridge until he finds the perfect twig of parsley to lay on top of his peanut butter & blueberry jam sammich. And then to top the mockery off.. after he's finished eating his "creation" he'll jump up and exclaim, "I need to go blog about this!" Yeah I know.. you'd think I fell in love with a stand up comedian, eh? (this is where I'm rolling my eyes) But mostly he's very supportive of my blogging and really does love to get involved. So when I told him about "Peaches'" aphrodisiac-ally wonderful event called Kitchen of Love he decided to do a lil research to find some foods labeled as aphrodisiacs so he could choose which tripped his trigger, so to speak. Ohh if you're wondering who Peaches is - well that's the simply gorgeous and incredibly sweet Chris of Mele Cotte. She's known as Peaches in this house due to the fact that she came to my aid a few months ago when I was craving a good peach and sent me a big box of the most delicious peaches I've ever had. So Hubbs dubbed her "Peaches". :) Anyhoo.. when he came to me with the foods he thought we should make, I wasn't surprised to see he chose vegetables. The man loves his veggies. He chose sweet potatoes and asparagus - which just happen to be two of my most favorite veggies as well, so this worked out nicely. Since he's a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy, we decided to pan fry a couple beef tenderloin steaks while we roasted the veggies. There is no recipe in this post, kids. It's a pretty simple preparation - and in my opinion simple preparations for veggies are always so much better than long, involved recipes. Here's what you do.. pick a nice bunch of asparagus - try to buy the thinnest you can find. Seriously. There is nothing better IN THIS WORLD than roasted thin asparagus - it gets crunchy and nutty.. it's like eating the best "good for you" French fries in alla world. If asparagus wasn't so expensive throughout most of the year, we'd probably eat it more than potatoes. It's that good. Okay so you've got your bunch of asparagus. Trim off the woody ends, although you don't need to trim a lot off for roasting because they will get really tender. Now arrange them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then drizzle some good olive oil over them. Add a generous sprinkling of either kosher or sea salt (we love sea salt) over them and then give them a lil shuzz to coat them well and pop 'em into a preheated 425º F oven for about 18 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip 'em over and roast for another 10-15 minutes. *swoon* The stalks get melt in your mouth tender and the tips crunch up.. OH MY GOD they are SO GOOD - and from the reaction that he and I have every time we eat our asparagus this way, completely defines why this vegetable is known as an aphrodisiac. 'kay well not in the way it was meant to be defined.. but we get all melty, shuddery, toe curling-ly happy when we get to indulge in these babies. ;) Now the sweet potatoes.. same prep exactly although they don't need quite as long in the oven - you can give these a flip after about 10-15 minutes and then take them out after an additional 5 to 10. I guess it really depends on how big you chunk them. Less time in the oven for the smaller chunks. He eats his plain, but the lily gilder over here likes to drizzle a little honey over her sweet spuds and sometimes a sprinkle of Vietnamese cinnamon knocks her socks off too. ;) The steaks were prepared simply as well. Seasoned with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper only, they were pan fried in a little olive oil and butter combo until they were a buttery tender medium rare. We could almost cut these steaks with our forks.. and talk about flavorful. A good tenderloin, with a nice marble of fat throughout, was just the perfect accompaniment to our roasted veggies. After dinner last night there was definitely some purring going on in our living room.. we were both very happy campers to say the very least. ;) And by happy campers, I mean we both passed out in a fuzzy fog of satisfaction about 20 minutes after we ate.. what the hell were you expecting? We're an old married couple. :P What a great idea for a foodie event, Chris - thank you so much for hosting, my love! And I apologize for being late, but am very happy you agreed to sneak me in. You rock, Peaches! :D xoxo

Swiss Steak and an Update

Hey ya'll! Have I told you lately that you guys are looking SPECTACULAR this holiday season? Well you do! Sexy and saucy.. How can you people stand yourselves? ;) heee! Quick update.. my mom is getting better and better each day, I'm happy to say! The nurse is only visiting once a week now and her physical therapy is going well. She's able to walk around her apartment without getting winded. Yay! We've a bit of a scare to deal with as of late.. the cardiac guy has ordered an ultrasound on her carotid artery, because he thinks there might be a blockage there as well. We're hoping not, of course, but I'm pretty sure (I think??) that unblocking a carotid is a relatively simple procedure, yes? But we won't know anything until she gets her results back on Tuesday - so keep your fingers crossed, pretty please! Also.. FISH. Dear sweet Jebus, kids start eating more fish and vegetables! Put down that greasy burger!! Fakkin cholesterol is a total biatch. Sheesh. Ugh, I just heard my cat hork up a hairball. Just thought I'd share the visual with ya'll. Anyhoo.. now that I've grossed yous out, let's talk Swiss Steak! Mmm mmm good! I'm keeping this brief.. basically because I made it over a month ago so that "brand new recipe" excitement has kinda dwindled. Yanno? But it was quite excellent in both taste and tenderness, so give this a try! And you know what?? Just how has the love of my life, the apple of my eye, the cream in my coffee, Ms. Paula Deen NOT had a myocardial infarction? Now I'm kinda hoping she only guzzles butter for the cameras but ingests only olive oil in her "real life".. Paula!! Everything in moderation, ya hear? I don't know if I could live a proper life without being able to watch new episodes of Paula's Home Cooking! Where was I? Ahhh yes.. Swiss Steak. As per usual I found the recipe on Recipezaar and as per usual I tweaked it to our liking. Hubbs helped me with this recipe and I think he got a lil too much enjoyment out of it.. My man.. pounding his meat. :D Here's the recipe, with my changes: Swiss Steak Courtesy of Karen from Colorado and Recipezaar Original recipe here Makes 6 Servings 1 1/2 lbs. beef round steak, cut 3/4 inch thick 2 TBS. flour 1 tsp. Kosher salt 1 tsp. dry mustard 1/4 tsp. pepper 3 tsp. garlic powder 2 tsp. olive oil 1 (16 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice 1 small Spanish onion, sliced 3 stalks celery, sliced 2 medium carrots, sliced 4 Portabella mushroom caps, sliced 1 TBS. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 c. red wine - (I used Pino Noir) 1/4 to 1/2 c. hot beef stock 1 to 2 TBS. cornstarch Hot cooked noodles, mashed potatoes or hot cooked rice - (I omitted all of it and just served it by itself with garlic bread and salad.) Cut meat into 6 serving pieces. Combine flour, salt, mustard, pepper, and garlic powder. Pound 2 T. of the flour mixture into the meat. Brown the meat in the olive oil on both sides. Drain off excess fat. Add undrained tomatoes, onion, celery, carrots, Worcestershire sauce and red wine. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes then add the portabello mushrooms and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Remove meat to a serving platter and keep warm. Combine 1/4 to 1/2 c. (depending on how much juice you already have in the skillet) hot beef stock and the 1 to 2 TBS. cornstarch, whisking until there are no lumps. (The original recipe calls for 3 TBS. of flour - using the last TBS. to thicken the sauce with water, not beef stock. I have never ever had luck thickening sauces with flour, so I always use cornstarch.. and I figured why use water when I can add stock to give it more depth, yanno? If you do go my way, heat the stock as it makes it easier to get the lumps out of the cornstarch when mixing.) Stir into tomato mixture until thick and bubbly. Place the meat back in with tomato mixture. Serve meat and sauce with hot cooked noodles or rice. Or by itself. ;) Crock pot directions: Prepare swiss steak as above except cut meat to fit your crock pot. After browning meat, transfer to crock pot. Stir remaining flour into pan drippings in the skillet. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook until thick and bubbly. Pour over meat in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Serve with hot cooked noodles or rice. Oven directions: Place meat in a baking dish. Cover with thickened drippings and veggies as above. Bake, uncovered, in a 350º F. oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve with hot noodles or rice. Enjoy! xoxo

*tap* *tap* Is This Thing On?

What the hell is wrong with me?? Where the hell have I been?? Is the love affair with my blog waning? Am I getting that 7 year itch 5 years early? Have I stopped cooking and/or baking? I mean, seriously, WTF? I don't have a good answer. I've got at least 4 recipes I'd like to share, but the thought of sitting down and writing about them hasn't been a priority for me lately.. and really, I don't know why so much. Lots of little things, I guess? Anyhoo, I'm hoping that my leave of absense (of sorts) is over and that I'll fall right back into my normal groove.. at least an update once a week for cryin' out loud. Hopefully more though. ;) Have you missed me???? Ya'll had better of missed me. Yeah.. I'm looking at YOU. Okay well the first recipe I want to share has probably gone around the foodie blog circuit many a-times. It's an Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe. Her Beef Bourguignon. Holy cow. I'm pretty sure she is known for her take on this classic French dish, and she should be.. it was.. delectable. This is a very easy stew to put together and there aren't any fancy tricks or techniques to making melt in your mouth beef & veggies in a delicious gravy - but for me it was an awe inspiring occasion as this Beef Bourguignon was the recipe I chose to christen my brand spankin' new 4 quart cast iron dutch oven. WOOT! If you people had any idea how badly I've wanted one (all) of these things, you'd be shocked. Or maybe you'd be shocked because no matter how badly I've wanted one, and even if I could afford one.. I refused to spend $200.00 on a Le Creuset dutch oven. I know! I know.. the money is well worth it.. they last forever and a day.. I know all of this, but still just the thought of laying down close to a car payment for a pot.. *shudder* Well on our last day together, Helene and I (after dropping Mary off at the airport) decided to go see what Crate and Barrel had to offer.. you know, I always poo-poo this store - over priced crap! But what I never remember is that every time I've went in, I've managed to find the deal of the year. And their stuff really isn't crap - I'm just jealous that I don't have a $500 a month budget for kitchen gadgets & equipment, dinnerware, glasses and oh anything else that sends me in delicious shivers as I imagine how good it'd look in my wee kitchen. And imagine my complete shock and utter delight when I found a Mario Batali cast iron, enamel coated, 4 quart dutch oven in a shade of red that matched my kitchen walls perfectly? 'kay now imagine how I peed my pants when I saw it was over 50% off - and I got the thing for $59.99!! Yes, Kmart shoppers - I found the blue light special!!! Le Creuset Le Schmeuset :P Here.. drool with me! Oh how I love you little Mario Batali Dutch Oven *smooches* Oh yeah, I totally believe that my Beef Bourguignon tasted that much better all because of my new Dutch oven! squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Beef Bourguignon Courtesy of Ina Garten and FoodTV Serves 6 1 tablespoon good olive oil 8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced 2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks 2 yellow onions, sliced (I used 1 lg. Spanish onion) 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves) 1/2 cup Cognac (I omitted) 1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir (I went with Pinot Noir) 1 can (2 cups) beef broth (I went with beef stock) 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried) 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 pound frozen whole onions 1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced For serving: Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate. Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside. Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste. To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley. My Notes: Okay the only thing that didn't work for me was the gravy thickening after I threw in the butter/flour mixture. So what I did was take a ladle full of the thin gravy and mixed it with a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl until it was smooth. Then I poured it back into the pot and continued to cook until the gravy thickened - about 3 minutes. And my only suggestion for next time would be - unless you are a HUGE pearl onion fan? I'd cut that down to 1/2 pound or even a 1/4 pound - because 1 pound was way, way too many onions. =) Not only did I choose this recipe to make to christen my sexy hot new Dutch oven, but this recipe also fell right into place when figuring out a weekly meal plan for $40.00 - which just happens to be this month's theme for that sexy thang, Sara's Weekend Cookbook Challenge! How good am I? AND it's an EARLY submission! Let's all wait for Sara to regain her composure and pick her cute lil butt up off of the floor... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Okay! I decided to take this challenge to see if I really could figure out a weekly plan for $40.00 - and if so, then why the hell are my grocery bills so freakin' high?? Well.. I don't think I could do this every week. To come in at $40, we had to eat the Beef Bourguignon two nights in a row. That's something that doesn't happen in my household often. Hubbs is a strict non-believer in left overs. Yeah, he makes not wasting food a bit of an art for me. Thank God for my mommie and my co-workers. *sigh* But this stew was so amazingly good, that he did not complain. Okay here's my menu: Monday: Chicken wings with peppers, corn and salad. $4.00 (for 2 people - peppers & salad free from garden) Tuesday: Beef Bourguignon with toasted sour dough. $15.00 (for 2 people 2 nights in a row) Wednesday: Beef Bourguignon Thursday: BLT sammiches with sliced cucumbers and chips. $2.00 (for 2 people) Friday: Baked Walleye with onions & spinach, mac & cheese and salad. $4.00 (for 2 people - Walleye free from Lake Erie, onions & salad free from garden) Saturday: Grilled pork shoulder steaks, smashed potatoes and green beans. $7.00 (for 2 people) Sunday: Marinated chicken breast chef salad, bread sticks. $7.00 (for 2 people) Grand Total: $39.00! Not too shabby, eh? :D Start looking on WCC and this month's hostess, Cady of $40 a Week's blogs around the 19th for the round up - should be quite interesting to see what everyone's meal plans look like. Also - if you are interested in participating (and you should be!) get your submissions to Cady at "gambini at gmail dot com" on or before Nov. 18th =) xoxo

A Festival of Burgers!

Or.. Paul's Big Burger Ballyhoo of 2007! When I first read of Paul's (half of the dynamic duo of Paul & Freya's Writing at the Kitchen Table) idea, I thought it to be fabulous - I mean, really, loads of burger recipes at your fingertips? What could be better? I knew I'd be submitting but I wasn't sure which burger I would be passing along to the internets. What appeared to be an easy task, ended up being not so much. As per usual, I didn't think about my standard burger, I wanted something with a lil more pizazz, yanno? And as per usual, I hit my favorite recipe sites and quite a few more when it was all said and done. I found myself 2 burger recipes that I knew would put me in the running for the Goat Saliva that's being offered as a prize. *gurgle* *horf* *beeuuuickkkk* *kurrrdddddddd* We tried both recipes.. one involved a fried egg! The other involved cheese.. and lots of it. After trying both we realized, ehhh? They were okay but not really our cup of tea. (Although I did love the fried egg - it's just the rest of the burger was so bland) What we both learned from this experience is that we are pretty much burger purists. We want our burgers to be flavorful without a lot of accessories to "beef" up that flavor. We're not big on lettuce, cheese, tomato, etc. A pickle once in a while is a good thing, maybe a big slice of raw onion too.. but that's about it. And as for the hamburger bun? Unless it's a home made, fresh from the oven bun, we're not too interested. We like garlic bread instead of a traditional bun, actually. Be it thick or thin, as long as it's garlicky, a lil buttery and toasted, we are happy campers! And so, my submission is not the big show stopping, goat saliva worth winning burger - it's just our favorite burger that we make 9 out of 10 times. I don't even know if Paul & Freya are going to be able to try out this recipe, as it includes powdered ranch dressing mix and those lil french fried onions that come in little cannisters.. can you even get those items in England? Well.. I hope so! =) Lisa's Ranch Onion Burgers Makes 4 burgers Ground sirloin is just not a good choice for burgers.. it's too damn dry. If you are going to have a burger - then go for a lil fat. It's that moderation thing, right? =) For the burger: 1.5 lbs. ground round 1 packet of ranch dressing mix (I use Hidden Valley) 1/2 - 3/4 c. French Fried Onions (I believe I use Durkee brand?) 2 TBS. Worchestershire sauce Pinch of salt Ground black pepper For the garlic bread 8 slices of thick or thin sliced Italian bread 4 TBS butter 2-3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press 1 tsp. dried parsley 1 TBS. grated Parmiagiano or Romano cheese Heat the grill up to temperature (We usually go up to 350º - 400º and then turn down the heat when the burger are ready to go on). Meanwhile in a large bowl mix all the burger ingredients well. Sometimes when I've got extra time or am feelin' a lil saucy, I'll run all the ingredients through the grinder attachment of my Kitchenaid. Separate the hamburger mixture into 4 baseball sized hunks and flatten each with the palm of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick. When placing the burgers on the grill, you can brush on a little extra Worchestershire sauce first. Totally optional. Grill the burgers for about 4-5 minutes (guestimate?) on each side, do NOT, press down on the burger - just let it sit there and get all grill-marky delicious. While the burgers are cooking, mix the pressed garlic in with the butter (roasted garlic paste is also wonderful instead of the raw pressed garlic), then add the parsley & cheese. Spread the garlic butter mixture on one side of each slice of bread and either place butter side down in a hot skillet until golden brown (like you are making a toasted cheese sammich), or broil them, butter side up, under the broiler until goldeny brown. Leave the other side alone, or if you wish, lightly toast that side as well. Build your burger as you wish - we just like a lil ketchup and a pickle and/or slice of raw onion. Devour.

Ruth's Presto Pasta Night No. 6

The very sweet Ruth, of Once Upon a Feast holds a little round up each Friday with the theme of pasta.. one of my favorite subjects! Thanks Ruth! =) I actually made this dish a couple weeks ago with every intention of getting it to Ruth back then.. and somehow I lost track somewhere and so the pictures sat on my Flickr account and the post was never written.. until now. Quite possibly one of the easiest and quickest pasta dishes I've ever made. My tummy was grumblin for mac & cheese that night - but the Mr. whined that he wanted something more substantial. Go figger. And so with a quick check into my many freezers and many pantries *blush* I decided to add some ground round and a lil salsa.. give basic mac & cheese a Mexican kick if you will. Truly this one isn't rocket science in the least. Take your favorite mac & cheese recipe, brown some ground with a lil onion and a lil garlic, toss in your favorite salsa and you've got yourself dinner - in less than 30 minutes! Take THAT Rachael Ray! :P This quick dish was quite tasty - and there are practically a ZILLION ways you could change it up to make it your own. I think the addition of some corn kernels would have been nice, as well as some sliced black olives. He added jalapeno slices to his PLUS a few dashes of his favorite hot sauce. Instead of using cheddar cheese on top, Manchego probably would have been divine. Now that I'm thinking about it.. instead of the ground round, maybe use some Serrano ham, cut into strips - THAT sounds really good! I should probably remember that next time, eh? =) Or hey, keep it vegetarian and use black beans in lieu of the meat? The Italians use beans and pasta together for a variety of tasty dishes (bless their carb loving hearts).. why not in a Mexican type dish? The only thing I regret about this dish is that I had no fresh cilantro in the house that night. The zing cilantro lends would have been just the perfect touch. If you don't have a favorite mac & cheese recipe, here's the one that I used - it's pretty basic and the cheese can be changed out for whichever kind you like, but try to use cheese that melts well - you don't want grainy cheese sauce. 2 TBS. flour 1 1/2 c. milk 1/2 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese 1/2 c. grated Fontina cheese In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the flour and milk until it comes to a boil. Continue cooking a minute longer. Add cheeses and remove from heat, stirring until cheese has melted. After I browned the meat, garlic and onions I added 1/2 a bottle of salsa, and combined it well. Then I poured the cheese sauce over the beef mixture and stirred until it was just combined. I combined this with my pasta which was cooked al dente and threw it all (not literally) into a greased 9" x 13" glass baking dish. Sprinkled a 4 cheese Mexican blend on top and baked for 20 minutes in a 350º F. oven. This dish is complimented perfectly with a garden salad dressed simply in olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

Author Tells Shocking Secrets!!

I'm going to be candid in this post. I'm going to admit a few things, that I don't know if you are ready to hear, kids. But for the sake of keeping you fine people entertained, I am willing to bare my soul. For you. I am a closet (guess no longer, eh?) The Girls Next Door addict. I can not explain my infatuation with 3 busty blondes and one 81 year old pervert. I'm at a loss. But I can't stop DVR'ing it!! And if that wasn't enough.. my favorite girl? Kendra. I KNOW. She is the epitamy of every and all blonde jokes EVER. And she whinessss ohh lord how she whines.. but her laugh? I crack up every time I hear it. And she can't pass a mirror without shaking her heiney and looking at it. har! I heart her so. And then there's Bridget - She's sunshine wrapped up in cotton candy. I want to be her best friend. But only if I don't have to hang out with her a lot or listen to her baby talk. Did you know she's got a master of arts degree in communication?? Finally, Holly.. I haven't made up my mind about her (3 seasons into it) yet.. sometimes I like her a lot.. other times I see her as a conniving bitch and I want her to go away. So anyway back to my girlfriend, Kendra. Did you know her favorite restaurant is the Olive Garden?? She lives in a mansion with a billionaire.. but she prefers the Olive Garden. You just have to love that. And so.. my 2nd soul baring secret - Now, keep in mind, this is comin from a gal who worked 11 years in her family's ITALIAN restaurant... best food in all of Ohio, too! But I also love the Olive Garden. *gasp* *blink* *blink* Yes it's true. So true, that I have tried to recreate the last meal I had there.. it was a plate of fettucini covered in alfredo sauce with medallions of beef tenderloin laying on top. It was fab. So I don't make alfredo often.. he doesn't like it much and I find it to be a lil rich, even for me, if I eat it much. Therefore I don't have a good recipe for it, so I checked out my usual haunts and I think I pretty much just picked a 5 star from allrecipes.com.. I know I read quite a few of them, and they were pretty much all the same.. melt an obscene amount of butter in a saucepan, add garlic and heavy cream.. then add your cheeses and stir until the cheese melts and the sauce gets thick. I used Fontina and Parmigiano. It was a decent alfredo, although slightly grainy.. which is how all of my alfredo sauces turn out when I make them at home - regardless of the recipe or the cheese I use. Why is that? I had also just been to my favorite Italian market, where I purchase some fresh Tagliatelle, so I used that in lieu of Fettucini.. and to make it my own, I sauteed crimini mushrooms in some butter and garlic until they were nicely carmelized and added that to the sauce.. grilled my tenderloin, sliced her up and voila! I had a reasonable facsimile of the Olive Garden's whatevertheycalledit. Will I make it again? Doubtful.. well, at least not very often.. he liked it (which shocked the hell outta me) so I might make it again on a special occasion. Mebbe. =)

Steak Tips with Mushroom Sauce

Please forgive my lack of posting of late. It's been a strange beginning of the new year for me regarding my kitchen activities. Other than my submissions for a couple foodie events, I just have not cooked anything new that I haven't already blogged about until this past weekend! I really don't know what my problem is (hopefully was). Thankfully this past Sunday morning, I woke with a huge desire to spend most of my day in the kitchen. It was cold and rainy outside and the only things that I wanted to do was cook and wash clothes. I know.. the clothes thing.. I'm weird.. but I love how my house smells in the winter while doing laundry, call me kooky. =) And so I took out a very nice sirloin and made up my mind that I was going to do something different with it. I spent a good portion of my morning going through some of my cookbooks and then online - and as I'm finding more often than not, I found the recipe I wanted to make on allrecipes.com. Steak Tips with Mushroom Sauce - yum! I haven't had that in YEARS. This recipe was quite good and we've decided that I'll need to make this again. The mushroom sauce is dark, rich and hearty. The flavor is outstanding - beefy, mushroom-y & onion-y. It was a snap to pull together with hardly any prep and I had dinner on the table in less than an hour. I chose to serve these over buttered noodles, but rice or smashed potatoes would work nicely. A nice sized hunk of crusty bread is also recommended to sop up the last of the delicious sauce. Steak Tips with Mushroom Sauce Courtesy of AllRecipes.com and Amy The recipe below includes the changes I made. To see the original recipe, click Amy's name. l pound sirloin steak, cut into bite sized pieces 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef consomme 16 oz. of a good beef stock 1 small carton white button mushrooms, sliced 2-3 TBS. butter 1 clove garlic, chopped 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste 1 shallot, finely chopped 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour Preheat a medium skillet to medium-high heat and melt 1 TBS. butter. Add sirloin pieces and cook until desired doneness. Remove steak and keep warm under foil. In same skillet, melt another TBS. of butter and sautee the shallot until transparent, then add mushrooms, and cook, uncovered, until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms from pan, and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the can of beef consomme and half the beef stock. Increase heat, and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil until it has reduced by 1/3. When the sauce is reduced, stir in the remaining beef broth, and garlic. Return to a boil, and continue to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Sauce will be thin like au jus. Whisk in flour, and cook until the sauce is the desired thickness. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Stir in the mushrooms and steak. Serve over buttered noodles, rice or smashed potatoes. My Notes: I only used about a pound of sirloin steak for the 2 of us and substituted more beef broth and a can of consomme for the wine in the original recipe due to the fact that I was too lazy to run up to the store to buy a bottle. :P I also subbed button mushrooms for the portobello because they are what I had on hand - but next time I'll most definitely use portobello, as I'm sure they add so much more flavor. A HUGE, GIANT THANK YOU!! To my dear, sweet friend Meeta who went above and beyond to teach me how to take a focused picture with my new camera. lol Seriously, I was ready to take the damn thing back and buy a disposable camera until she taught me the correct way to use it. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Now I heart my new lil camera. :) Ohh and someone asked.. it's a Canon PowerShot S2 SI, very different from my lil Olympus C150 that only had 2 bottons. heee!