That skinny chick can bake!!!

Beef Stew with Red Wine and Carrots~

2012-02-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Oh, the house smelled fabulous as this simmered away in the oven. Served on a bed of buttery mashed potatoes, this was an amazing meal. I wouldn't hesitate serving this for a dinner party...the depth of flavor is incredible.

Chuck roast is the best cut for beef stew. If you want to get rid of a lot of the fat, refrigerate the cooked stew overnight and the solidified fats will be easy to remove. The resting time will actually help the favors meld and the stew taste even better. We couldn't wait, though, and dove right in!

Beef Stew with Red Wine and Carrots...adapted from Molly Stevens

3 pound boneless beef chuck roast, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8-10 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons Cognac
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (2 to 3 tsp.)
2 sprigs of thyme (if your sprigs are just single strands add about 8)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 cups hearty red wine
1 14 1/2-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
4 strips orange zest (2 1/2 inches long, removed with a vegetable peeler)
1-2 pounds slender carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, optional

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Heat the oil and bacon together in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until the bacon is browned but not crisp. Transfer the bacon to a plate. Season about one third of the beef with salt and pepper, and brown in a single layer in the pot. Cook till all sides are brown. Transfer the beef to the bacon plate, and season and brown the remaining beef in 2 more batches.

When all the beef chunks are browned, pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of drippings. If your pan is dry, just add an other tablespoon of olive oil. Add the shallots, season with a large pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper, and sauté until they just begin to soften. Add the brandy and let it boil away. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs, stirring to incorporate, and sauté for another 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and juice and using a spatula cut the tomatoes into pieces. Add the orange zest, and return the beef, bacon and juices to the pot. Finally, add the carrots, bring to a simmer, cover, and place into the oven.

Cook the stew, stirring every 45 minutes, until the meat is tender, 2 to 3 hours. Before serving, skim off any surface fat, taste for salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley if using.

Serves 6.

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Spaghetti Pie~

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'd never heard of spaghetti pie till I moved to Indiana. This seemed to be a popular dish among families here...and typically made with a crust of spaghetti, a layer of cottage cheese followed by ground beef, spaghetti sauce and cheese. I clipped this recipe from the paper years ago...this version appealed to me as the cottage cheese was replaced with sour cream. It is one of those dishes I whip up when I have a cup of leftover spaghetti sauce in the freezer. I think my favorite part is the very edge of the crust...slightly eggy, with few crispy noodles.

Spaghetti Pie...source unknown

6 ounces spaghetti, cooked and cooled
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 cup sour cream
1 pound ground beef, cooked, crumbled and drained
4-8 ounces shredded mozzarella
8 ounces meatless spaghetti sauce/marinara

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Combine spaghetti, eggs and Parmesan. Pour mixture into pie plate. Top with sour cream, then ground beef, spaghetti sauce, and finally the mozzarella.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Serves 4.

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Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream~

2012-01-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

I had a Nutella cookie set to post today...but they were nothing extraordinary. And I like present you with a fabulous recipe to start the week. So you may never see those dull devils...but after you take a gander at this amazing ice cream, you should be delighted they were shelved. Ultra chocolaty, silky and decadent...perfect for Valentine's Day or any day.

"Terrific" was mumbled more than once, but mostly silence as the bowls of glossy, chocolaty goodness were emptied. This one will be made again and again...and I'm thinking it would be a good filling for the few remaining Nutella cookies.

Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream...from Gourmet

6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

3 egg yolks

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cocoa. Whisk in cream and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Take off heat while preparing the yolks. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks till smooth. Slowly add a thin stream of the hot chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly so as not to cook the eggs. After a cup or so has been incorporated, add the egg liquid back to the pan and cook, stirring constantly till the liquid reaches a temperature of 170º (mine was there almost immediately). Pour liquid through a sieve into a clean bowl, cover with plastic and chill for at least 3 hours.

After the custard has chilled, transfer into an electric mixer and beat till thick and fluffy. Freeze ice cream in the ice cream maker. Mixture will still be soft. Place in an airtight container and freeze till firm.

Linked to Meatless Mondays~

Broth Braised Potatoes~

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Fingerling and new potatoes are quite common on our menu. Roasted, sauteed or grilled...but never boiled in broth till today. Dorie's recipe instructed us to make a flavorful cooking liquid by combining chicken broth, lemon zest, bay, garlic and thyme (or sage or rosemary). Simmered for a few minutes to infuse the broth with the seasonings, the potatoes were then added and cooked till just tender. The potatoes were removed and the broth reduced...to be served over the spuds. Easy as can be...and well received by my potato loving gang, but, honestly, they weren't special enough to be repeated.

Recipe can be seen here.

Today is a rare double post day...the Daring Bakers' Challenge landed on a French Friday! So be sure to check out my earlier post...Caramel Apple Scones.

Caramel Apple Scones...Daring Bakers~

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens! My favorite scone recipe so far has been the Cook's Illustrated Cream Scones, so I was looking forward to comparing this recipe to my standard. Apple and caramel are one of my favorite combos, so I figured this was a chance to be daring and add some grated apple instead of my typical fruit choices.

These were outstanding...tender with just a touch of decadence from the caramel drizzle. Definitely the flakiest scones I've ever made...don't you just want to pop one in your mouth????

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)~
My additions for the Caramel Apple Version are in italics.

Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
Recipe can be doubled.

Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk (cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup shredded apple (I used Golden Delicious)
optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones
Caramel for drizzling

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)

3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

Variations on the Basic recipe:
Buttermilk – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, increase the fat to 4 tablespoons, in Step 3 aim of pea-sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 fold and turn the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with buttermilk.

Australian Scone Ring (Damper Ring) – follow the Basic recipe above but decrease the fat to 1 tablespoon, in Step 3 aim of fine beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, in Step 7 form seven rounds into a ring shape with the eighth round as the centre, glaze with milk.

Cream – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with cream, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, in Step 3 aim of beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with cream.

Cheese and Chive – follow the Basic recipe above but add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, after Step 2 add ½ teaspoon sifted mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon sifted cayenne pepper (optional), ½ cup (60 gm/2 oz) grated cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives into the sifted ingredients, in Step 3 aim of beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are widely spaced in the baking dish, sprinkle the rounds with cracked pepper.

Fresh Herb – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add 3 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (such as parsley, dill, chives etc).

Sweet Fruit – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) dried fruit (e.g. sultanas, raisins, currents, cranberries, cherries etc) and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar.
Wholemeal – follow the Basic recipe above but replace half of the plain flour with wholemeal flour.

Wholemeal and date – follow the Basic recipe above but replace half of the plain flour with wholemeal flour and after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) chopped dates and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar.

Better Than Milky Way Bars~

2012-01-26T05:35:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm guest posting over at my friend Kim's blog, Cravings of a Lunatic. If you haven't visited her site before, you are in for a treat. Kim is warm and welcoming...and her sense of humor cannot be beat. She puts a smile on my face every time I read one of her posts. So please go check out my guest post...and these decadent bars. And pardon me while I go get on my treadmill...I just ate one of these devils!

Better Than Milky Way Bars...adapted from recipes from Hugs and Cookies and Dinners, Dishes and Desserts

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips
3 tablespoons cream
1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme

1 14-ounce bag caramels
3 tablespoons cream

1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300º. Line 8 x 8 inch pan with nonstick foil or greased regular foil.

Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. Press evenly into pan...you may need to flour your fingers to prevent sticking. Prick crust with fork. Bake 35-40 minutes till crust is golden. Cool.

Melt 12 ounces chocolate chips in microwave, starting and stopping to stir at 30 second intervals till melted and smooth. Add 3 tablespoons cream and marshmallow creme, and stir till well combined. Pour over cooled crust and spread with off set spatula. Cool in fridge while preparing next layer.

Put caramels and 3 tablespoons of cream in microwave. Stop and stir at 30 second intervals till melted and smooth. Pour over chocolate layer and spread with offset spatula. Refrigerate for a couple hours.

Melt second bag of chocolate chips as directed above. Add vegetable oil when melted and pour over caramel layer. Place in refrigerator till firm.

Use foil to remove from pan, peel off foil and cut into bars to serve. Store in refrigerator.

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Linked to Torview's Tea Blog Party~
Linked to Super Bowl Sharing Party~

Light Fettuccine Alfredo~

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

This post may be somewhat of a shocker to my devoted readers, but it's actually a healthier version of our favorite fat laden pasta dish. Typically made of cream, butter, Parmesan and parsley, decadent Alfredo sauce is not for the calorie conscious. I made this lightened version first a few years back...and when nobody even noticed the changes, I knew it was a winner.

Light Fettuccine Alfredo...adapted from Cooking Light

1 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon flour (I used Wondra)

1 1/3 cups 1% low fat milk

1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces fettuccine, cooked and drained

2 teaspoons chopped flat leaf parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook just till fragrant, about a minute, stirring frequently. Stir in flour, then gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly till mixture thickens. Add 1 cup of the Parmesan, cream cheese and salt, stirring till cheese melts. Add hot pasta and toss. Serve with a sprinkle of the remaining Parmesan, flat leaf parsley and black pepper to taste.

Serves 4.

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