On the Spot Beef Bourguignon

during the hurricane i decided to take action!  i have a recipe for beef bourguignon but i did not follow it.

my recipe:

2 - 3 lbs of chuck roast
bouquet garni
1/2 bottle of red wine
2 cups of veal stock
onions
carrots
flour
salt
pepper
mushrooms
bacon


1.  sear the beef in olive oil and remove
2.  save the oil and saute the onions and the carrots.  add the flour and bouquet garni
3.  add the wine and veal stock
4.  when thickened, put in the seared beef.
5.  let it cook to about 2 - 3 hours
6.  remove the vegetables and discard, reserve the sauce.
7.  in a separate saute pan cook the bacon.  when that's done add in the mushrooms
8.  return all of the ingredients to the pot and let simmer for about 30 - 45 min.

in the last 30 - 45 min, you can add carrots and/or potatoes.

Sugar Cookies

Today we went shopping before the imminent hurricane. I decided to make sugar cookies and watch Harry Potter.

My recipe:

1 cup of flour

¼ tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

¼ cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

½ an egg

¼ tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp almond extract

mix the first 3 ingredients. Set aside. In another bowl, mix the the rest until well blended. Combine the two bowls. Set in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Preheat the oven at 350F. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop about 1 tbsp on to the parchment paper. Bake for 10 min.

Trofie with Garlic, Black Pepper, Asiago, Parmesan, and Olive Oil

it's just me tonight so i will do something simple.  it's my own recipe.

Trofie pasta (i used about a 1/2 lb.)
lots of black pepper
kosher salt
1 garlic clove finely chopped or use a garlic smasher or mortar and pestle
1/4 - 1/2 cup or so of  Parmesan and/or  Romano and/or Asiago (total)
1/4 cup olive oil (depending on how much pasta you make)
(you can use a little heavy cream of you like.  i added about 2 - 3 tbsp of heavy cream).

cook the trofie until al dente.  saute the garlic in olive oil.  put in black pepper and asiago and/or parmesan and/or romano.

Note:  this particular pasta goes good with pesto.   i've made it with fresh pesto also.

Panera Bread's Spinach Artichoke Baked Egg Souffle

this particular dish i got though a blog, http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com/2012/10/recipe-swap-panera-breads-spinach.html 


it's was quite simple to make.  i did not use red pepper.  instead i cooked the onion, artichoke hearts and spinach in butter.  i put the cheeses together (asiago, cheddar and parmesan).  i rubbed butter on the inside of the ramekins instead of cooking spray.  

i did what the recipe instructed. 

 

Creamed Spinach

with the left over bechamel sauce i made creamed spinach.  i add to the bechamel sauce, about 1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 crushed garlic cloves, salt, pepper, nutmeg and parmesan cheese.  when the cream sauce was done, i removed the garlic in put in the spinach.

Hamburgers from Scratch

tonight i'm made fresh hamburger.

i have a meat grinder so i might as well make good use of it.  i've ground meats before but not but not recently.

in my recipe i use 1 lb chuck to a a 1/4 lb sirloin.  you'll want fat from the chuck but the sirloin gives it texture and is less fatty.

i freeze the cleaned meat grinder at least 1 hour prior.  before that i cut the meat into chunks and then freeze to for about 15 min.  you want the beef nice and cold but not frozen.  i do this to eliminate as much bacteria as possible.

start by grinding the meat.  simple!

i add some parsley, salt, and pepper in the already ground meat.  enjoy!

Béchamel Sauce

i made béchamel sauce this evening to put on the stuffed peppers.

my recipe:

1-2 tbsp of butter
2-3 tbsp of flour
1 -2 cups of milk
1/4 cup (about) of cheese.  i chose swiss.

melt the butter, put the flour and make a roux.  on a low flame put the milk in and stir briskly.  when that mixes, place the cheese in and mix good.  that's béchamel!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9chamel_sauce

Chocolate Mousse

this morning i made chocolate mousse for a special friend of mine.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_34754_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

Customizable bread bowl breakfast

mike is hungry so i made him breakfast.  you can put a variety of fixings in this but i chose to use cheddar cheese and bacon.  i cooked the bacon separately and broke it up and diced the cheese.  then i buttered the inside of the bowl.  i stuffed the bowl with bacon and cheddar and the egg on top.  then i baked it.

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breakfastbrunch/customizable-bread-bowl-breakfast/

Coq au Vin

my parents are coming over this weekend  for dinner.  this evening is the preparation of coq au vin.  chicken legs and thighs (attached) are submersed in  red wine, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and bouquet garni.

these are the steps to making Coq au Vin.

 saute chicken in olive oil.

 brown the vegetables.

and the bacon.

and the mushrooms.

add in the pearl onions.

and there you have it!

Coq au Vin actually doesn't smell good at first but as it develops it becomes more fragrant.  i added 1 tbsp of dark unsweetend cocoa powder.

http://www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/recipes/20101105/

Enjoy the post!

Bouquet Garni

a little bit about a wonderful taste to stocks and stews.  i use fresh bouquet garni in many french recipes.  you might not think it's not much (at least i thought so) until you've used it.

you take either tied up cheesecloth or a bouquet garni bag.

http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Supply-Bouquet-Garni-Bags/dp/B0006SYA3E

the bouquet garni is basically bay leaf, thyme and parsley.  you can add more spices depending to what the recipe calls for like peppercorns, rosemary, tarragon, etc.

as the stew or stock is cooking, you place it in which makes for easy removal when the dish is done.

Eggplant Surprise

this evening i tried something different.  i took a whole eggplant and cut it in half.  scraped out the insides.  i stuffed it with yellow peppers, onion, garlic, tomato paste, olive tapenade, gruyere cheese, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, salt, pepper, chopped beef, olive oil.  then i baked it at 350°F for about 30 min.  i might add that all these vegetables were from the Inwood farmers market.

this is how it turned out before and after.

Acorn Squash

yesterday evening we decided to to make an autumn meal.  we cut an acorn squash lengthwise, buttered the outside and salted all around.  baked the squash for about 45 min on 375°F.  it was filling and delicious.  we simply just spooned out the squash!

Spinach, tomato, and feta cheese quiche!

Mike made a quiche this morning.

and after.

Mac & Cheese with Beef

i made this tonight and it was a simple dish.  i baked it in the lovely casserole dish that Alma gave me.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/waynes-beef-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Rainbow Cookies

making cookies on a cool day is the best.  this is how the cookie looks before the chocolate covering,

and this is after,

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/05/rainbow-cookies

Caprese Salad & Red Onion/Green and Red Peppers

i have the day off recuperating from surgery.  i'm a little tried.  i thought about doing something a little lite and easy.  i decided to make Caprese Salad with fresh pesto and fresh basil and Red Onion/Green and Red Pepper salad. 

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2012/10/roasted-pepper-and-onion-salad-with-blue-cheese

Quiche this Morning

mike is in the process of making a quiche this morning.  its' a wonderful mix of artichoke hearts, parsley, cherry tomtos, red onions, seven Italian cheeses (mozzarella, parm, asiago, prov, romaine and fontina).  it's baking in the oven.

boy i'm glad to cool outside.  cooking in the summer is hellish!  but we all do it anyway.

Veal Stock

i drank too much wine and limoncello last night.  i'm tired today but not too tired to make veal stock.  i got up at 7:30 on a sunday morning to make the "mother of all stocks".  it's a 12 hr process so you can understand why i started to prepare this early.  i'm taking another nap!

not one, but two pots of this stuff!

we just finished to veal stock at 9:15 pm.  the stock is really rich and dark.  good job mike and francie!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Brown-Veal-Stock-100593

Lapin aux Olives Cooked to Perfection

It's done and all eaten.  rabbit is an interesting flavor.  it's sort of like chicken.    i'm happy.

Lapin aux Olives

it not as bad as it seems.  veal stock is more complicated!  it's a process as you go.  right now it's cooking on simmer for about 1 - 2 hours.

Patting the rabbit as you remove it from the marinade.

Flour the rabbit and cook it in olive oil and butter.

take out the rabbit and put in the reserved vegetables.

caramelized them, put in tomato paste, red wine vinegar and flour.

put the rabbit back in.  cook for about 1 - 2 hours.

Mushroom Soup

I went to the post office this morning.  what a horror.  if you don't get there early enough you can kiss the morning goodbye.  i got there by 8:40.  luckily i had recipes to read.

this morning i'm making fresh mushroom soup to go along with the rabbit.  it's a simple recipe.

i'll post pics when its done.

mushroom soup puree!  not done yet.

all done.  excellent!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mushroom-Soup-231145