The man likes beef and lots of it.

I’ve been told that the best beef stew should really only include one item. Beef. No potatoes, no carrots and for heaven sakes no peas! Unfortunately, stew such as that would be sorely missing in a myriad of ways.

Once again I cracked open the Cook’s Illustrated cook book and found a recipe for Modern Beef Stew. It had some unusual ingredients in it and I was intrigued. It called for a paste comprised of garlic, tomato paste and of all things … anchovies. So, this a.m. I whipped it together with a few modifications. I don’t keep salt pork on hand and no packets of gelatin. I used flour and a bone in pork chop instead. I had to have mushrooms and potatoes but I did leave out the peas. I like peas in my stew but I didn’t have any on hand, they won’t be missed. You can’t make beef stew without red wine. Thank God for Charles Shaw’s Merlot. Two buck Chuck I love you!

Here is what the result looked like.  Rachel's Amazing Beef Stew!

We shall see if D approves. I think it’s AMAZING!

I’m going to serve this with a garnish of parsley, horseradish in sour cream.

I can’t wait to eat it!

Okay, breaks over …

So, the holidays were crazy and I haven’t posted a single thing. Truth be told, I didn’t cook a single thing over the holiday. That was weird. Since we stayed at Derek’s parents there wasn’t much for me to cook. I wanted to cook but it’s weird to do so in someone else’s kitchen. My mother-in-law-to-be is a gracious host and a great cook so I have no complaints on that score (except she doesn’t keep horseradish in the house).

I did show her how to make biscuits. It’s all in the baking powder, you have to use a lot of it! Oh and a touch of shortening helps too.

January 9 is the anniversary of Derek finding me on Facebook. I celebrated by making one of D’s favorite foods, Gumbo. Cook’s Illustrated comes to the rescue AGAIN! I am telling you that there is nothing they do poorly. They are correct about the roux being the  trick to good gumbo. I have been making roux’s a long time but I have never cooked a roux that long. It made the gumbo rich and layered in flavor. The Andouille sausage I used was also really good. It has come back to haunt me once and that’s amazing!

Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Gumbo!

I didn’t have any okra to put in mine but I will next time. Yum-mee! We paired this with the 2004 Montebuena Pinot Noir. Wow! It’s our favorite right now. It’s so good! We also finally drank the champagne that was given to us at my going away party in KC. Chandon does a great champagne!

I suppose I need to get a plan together for 2012 and I do have one. Get a job and get married that’s a big plan. Yippee!

Happy New Year Ya’ll!

Three Days until Christmas …

So this year brings and entirely new Christmas experience. For the first time in over ten years I have a man to share Christmas with. I am all at once excited and nervous. We’ll be staying at his parents home and my family will celebrate on the Eve not the Day. I have no plans to cook. Which is even more weird. Perhaps I’ll get to do that at my mothers Christmas Eve day.

I haven’t posted anything in more than a week. I haven’t been cooking much. Well, nothing original anyway. I have made a few things out of the Cook’s Illustrated book. Last night I made poached salmon with a maple brandy glaze. It was delicious! Monday I made Beef Stroganoff. It was amazing. D, of course, adored it because it has a lot of meat in it. I’m telling you this cookbook does it all right. From what I can tell all the recipes are accessible to the average cooks home. Some of the ingredients may not be staples but they are usually available in most grocery stores I am going to bake for my nephews. They’ll love the peanut butter / chocolate cake I learned to bake. I made one for D’s birthday and it was amazing.

I found a blog like and think you should check it out too. Hopefully, she won’t mind the plug. http://londonfoodieny.com/

So, last weekend D took me to Chicago as our Christmas present to one another. I have never spent any time in Chicago so I was thrilled to be able to go. I loved it of course. We played to tourist role perfectly. A colleague of his got us a discount at the Palmer House Hotel. We had a suite. It was simply elegant, opulent and lovely. Our suite has a Christmas tree even.

City life amazes me. I love the crowds and the voices you hear in the passers-by. So many languages and accents. It’s inspiring. D took me to Billy Goats Tavern

Billy Goat Tavern

where we ordered cheeseburgers, because that’s kind of all you can order I think. It’s the restaurant SNL mimicked back in the 70’s where Dan Ackroyd and Jim Belushi bellow “cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger”. It was greasy and dark and I wouldn’t want to see the joint in full light but the burgers were salty and crispy and wonderful.

We also ate at a place called Miller’s Pub. The atmosphere was great. The food, uh, so-so. It’s been around for over 50 years and there are pictures of the owner with every big celebrity name you can imagine. It’s a fun place.

The best meal though was at Sixteen in Trump Tower. Now I know how the 1% live. No prices on the menu. Mushrooms with names like “hen of the woods”. I had Nantucket bay scallops with osetra caviar, lemon confit, golden and red beets as an appetizer and for dinner I had the butter poached Maine lobster with kohlrabi gratin, turnips, bone marrow espuma, lobster jus, and chanterelles. See what I mean? Mouth watering and indescribable flavor. Wow.

Sixteen in the Trump Tower

So, that’s where I’ve been. With the holiday coming up I may not have the opportunity to post much. I hope my four readers have a wonderful, blessed holiday and may you know the spirit and peace of Christmas!

Much love,

Rachel

They said it was good for my fingernails . . .

I was reading an article online about how eating Swiss Chard three times a week will make your fingernails stronger. So off to the store I went. I found some Rainbow Chard at  Whole Foods. It looked so pretty and green with dark red stems. I couldn’t wait. Upon returning home I searched my cookbooks and internet for tantalizing recipes. They all looked similar and from the recesses of my mind I had visions of my grandmother cooking greens with bacon grease and fried eggs. Rather than following a single recipe I decided to improvise. Of course I fried up some bacon (three strips), browned some pine nuts, onions and chopped dates in the bacon grease then threw in the stems. Once they all started to soften I added the chopped leaves and garlic. I cooked them until they “wilted”.

It was so very tasty. Well, except for the stems. To me they taste a bit like dirt, very earthy. The leaves are wonderful … next time I’ll leave the stems out. Oh and I took a picture. The steak I cooked looks sad so don’t judge.

Try it you'll like it. Just skip the stems.

 

Today I made Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. OH MY GOODNESS. If you haven’t tried this recipe then you just have never baked cookies before. They are hands down the VERY best cookies I have ever had. Ever!

I really did bake these! They are perfect!

Wow your holiday guests with … Lavender/Thyme Mushroom Turnovers.

So, you’re having a holiday party and want to serve something out of the ordinary and delicious. I have the perfect recipe for you. It may seem time consuming but let me tell you it is worth the effort. Your guest will rave over these and ask you to make them for every occasion. This recipe has been in my family for years. Only recently did I add the lavender to the mix. What a wonderful addition.

Lavender is my favorite herb, period. It’s my favorite scent and every time I’ve tried it in my cooking experiments I’m wowed by the wonderful taste it provides. It’s on par with rosemary as far as I’m concerned and I’m surprised it doesn’t garner the attention some other herbs receive. It is subtle and soothing to taste and smell. It’s wonderful as a calming tea, in scrambled eggs (amazing actually) or simply mix some into goat cheese and serve with water crackers. I grow my own lavender so I always have it on hand but if you don’t have any on hand you can buy it at Dean & DeLuca or order it online. Keep it in your staple of herbs.

Lavender/Thyme Mushroom Turnovers.

  • 8 oz soft cream cheese
  • 1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 lb. minced mushrooms (button & crimini)
  • 1 + 3 tbsp stick softened butter
  • 1 medium minced onion
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 tsp dried lavender petals
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
  • 1 egg beaten

1. In a large bowl mix together cream cheese, flour, salt and stick of butter until smooth. Shape into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

2. Using a sauté pan melt butter and cook onions until they begin to soften, add garlic and mushrooms, sour cream, thyme, lavender, salt and pepper, cook until all are cooked and mushrooms are soft. Let cool before assembling turnovers.

3. On a floured surface roll the dough so that it’s about 1/8 inch thick, then using a 2-3/4 inch cookie cutter cut into circles. Fill each with round with 1 tbsp. of the mushroom mixture. Seal the turnovers with the beaten egg and brush the top with egg as well.

4. Bake at 350, 12-14 minutes or until golden brown, makes about 20 turnovers.

So, how was your Thanksgiving?

Mine was such a blessing. I was exhausted from working everyday prior but my mother and father were here. I was with my wonderful fiance in our lovely home and I was able to spend the a.m. cooking for them.

Since Mom and Dad were here I made biscuits and gravy again. Well, Mom made the gravy because she makes it perfectly every time. Yum-mee! We cleaned up the breakfast dishes and started in on Thanksgiving dinner. I followed the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Herb Roasted Turkey. Wow! It was perfect. Here’s a picture …

Extremely tasty and moist turkey.

I also made their pumpkin pie recipe. It called for candied yams (which I didn’t have) so I used a sweet potato instead. It was truly one of the best pumpkin pies I’ve ever tasted. Mom bought me an immersion blender for my birthday so I made the whipped cream with it. Love that new gadget!

Best pie ever!

Those people at Cook’s Illustrated seriously know what they are doing over there. If you buy no other cook book, buy that one.

Moving to Kentucky has messed up my routines. It didn’t feel like Thanksgiving since I wasn’t in Republic. I loved every moment of it since I was able to cook with Mom. Saturday night D took me out for a date to Louisville. When we were coming home, our neighbors has put up their Christmas lights. It took my by total surprise.  Guess I’ll get my Christmas tree up this week. How exciting!

I hope my four readers had a blessed Thanksgiving. I am thankful for your encouragement and support.

Comfort food, it’s the simple things really.

I love Saturdays. D and I sleep in and take our time getting around. It’s my favorite part of the week. Since I have to work on my birthday D is letting me have today as my “do whatever I want to day”.

Today I choose reruns of “Angel” and  Biscuits and Gravy. I am so grateful to all the grandmothers and mothers of this world teaching us how to make comfort food. It’s been months since I’ve had it and I was craving it something fierce. If you don’t know how to prepare this basic breakfast food, you are missing out. I have worked on it for years and it seems like each time I do it’s slightly different. Today, however, I did it completely right. The gravy was perfect, the biscuits were fluffy and light. D even mooned over me having made it.

Cooking is so gratifying. I love watching someone respond with excitement to something I’ve prepared for them. Now I’m the first to tell you I am my own worst critic. I can find a flaw in even my most perfect dish. When someone smiles and says, “wow this is amazing”, well that’s just fun.

If you want to learn how to make this … I can hook you up. It’s not nearly as difficult as you might imagine.

Happy eating! Yum-Mee

Less about cooking and more about Thanksgiving …

If I had a lot of disposable income would I be more inclined to enjoy “Black Friday?” I hope not. I stand by my belief that there is nothing on this earth that I need so desperately that I’m willing to be at a department store at 4:30 a.m. (or earlier). I love people and being around them, so I don’t want to fight you for a $20 waffle maker. I’d rather pay more for it and not have to hassle with a throng of crazy people for it. Black Friday is an awful example of how the media has trained us to be a lover of THINGS and not each other. Even if you’re entire family goes to the store to buy these things … it’s less about being together than the “things”.  Maybe I’m bitter because rather than getting to spend the day with my family, I have to work at a place that encourages you to grow more debt and buy those things. Thanks Wall Street.

Okay, okay … I am so thankful that my parents are going to drive 16 hours round trip to spend one day with me. I’m thankful that I have a beautiful man who loves me beyond reason who has provided me with an amazing home. I have family who despite differences and the usual disagreements love one another. I have two lovely cats who bring me immense joy. I have a faith that is solid and has given me friends beyond numbering. I suppose I’m the one being greedy wanting to spend more time with them rather than a bunch of crazy shopping people.

I have employment. No, it doesn’t pay for much more than gas to and from the site. I have  to change my attitude and be thankful for that. No one else has been inclined to hire me so I at least am good for manual labor if not intellectual.

This Thanksgiving I will be preparing a traditional dinner for my darling fiance, his kids and my parents. I am so blessed to have the resources to do so. I am blessed to have these amazing people in my life. They have encouraged, supported and blessed me abundantly. It’s amazing to me that in a time of such blessing I have still found something to grumble about.

I hope that all those I love will have the same blessing. I hope that those who choose to shop will as well. All those “things” they buy can’t replace the blessing of home, family and a well cooked turkey.

Rainy Day and Nothing Cookin’

I have two days off and D is out of town. No cooking being done now. Instead, I’m kind of experiencing a diet/cooking rebellion. I’ve eaten fast food two days in a row. I know, I know … BAD. There are times though when I don’t feel like cooking. I managed to get to Louisville yesterday to shop at Trader Joe’s. I love their chocolate covered banana’s. So, I bought two boxes. I kind of hope D doesn’t enjoy them because he’ll have them devoured before I can blink. He is an eating machine! I also bought a case of their Three Buck Chuck. Now I can cook with it without worrying I’m using some of D’s expensive wines.

I also made my monthly pilgrimage to Aldi’s. I love their Costa Rican blend coffee. They also have their annual Stollen in stock. Yum. You may say it’s a fruit cake but it’s SO much more than that. I bought it for Thanksgiving, which you may say is too early but they’re designed to last a long time and it’s hidden away so that we’ll be less tempted to dive in until next week. I’m really hoping D won’t enjoy it.

It turns out Mom and Dad are coming here for Thanksgiving! Yippee! I was afraid I wouldn’t get to cook with her this year. Now I need to figure out what we’ll eat. I also need to buy a turkey. It can’t be too big because I don’t have a pan big enough to cook one in. Hmm … what to do, what to do. I’ve registered for one at BB&B but that’s not for another year. Perhaps Mom will bring hers.

I guess it’s time to get out the cookbooks.

A movie and a pizza …

I’m making a goat cheese/pesto, mushroom, spinach and chicken pizza on whole wheat crust for dinner. It’s the first time I’ve added whole wheat to my pizza crust. Let’s hope it’s not a failure. It smells divine. Add a glass of white wine, the latest Harry Potter movie on blue-ray, and you have the making of date night. Even on a Sunday that’s not so bad. I am blessed.

UPDATED

The pizza was fabulous. I can’t believe I made it. I’ve learned to preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees. I baked the pizza on the lowest rack which insured a crispy crust. Also, I blended the pesto into the goat cheese and let it rest for an hour before spreading over the dough. I love making my own crust and each time I do it comes out a little different every time. I think I could eat that every day. Yum-Mee!