Where's the beef?

Why in my stew, of course. Have I mentioned how much I love my dutch oven? This has been my best stew to date. Not to toot my own horn, but hey why be modest TOOOOT TOOOT!!!! Here is the recipe (serves 4):

1 1/2 Pounds lean beef round (cut in bite size cubes)
4 Cloves of Garlic (minced/crushed)
4 Shallots (thinly sliced)
1 large celery stalk (thinly sliced)
3 Cups of water
4 Medium sized carrots (sliced)
5-6 Yellow fleshed Petite Idaho potatoes (cut into quarters)
2 tsp mild yellow curry
3 Medium to large bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste.

In either a medium sized dutch oven or stew pot, heat 1-2 TBSP of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the garlic, shallots and celery and saute until fragrant. Add the beef cubes, allowing the meat to brown. Add the water followed by the carrots, potatoes, curry, bay leaves and salt and pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and allow the ingredients to simmer for about 2 hours stirring every 20 minutes or so. Uncover for about 10 minutes at the end of cooking time to allow the juices to reduce and thicken a bit. Serve and enjoy.

Date, Ricotta and Parmesan Stuffed Pasta

 Pasta dough disks

Date, Ricotta & Parmesan Filling

Filling the pasta disks

 

Shaping the filled pasta disks

 

Pasta ready to go into its jacuzzi

 

The end result

 This is a recipe that I concocted to try to match a dish that my husband and I loved from MORE in Dubai. Their dish is called the celebration pasta, which I mentioned in my other blog. The dish consists of tri-colori tortellini filled with a date ricotta filling. Since I only knew the two main ingredients involved in the filling I winged it a bit. I also have never attempted making tortellini before so I apologize for the amateurish looking ones I made. Here is my adapted filling recipe as well as the link to the recipe I used to make the pasta for the tortellini:

Filling:


1 Container of whole milk ricotta cheese - 15 oz (425g) 
15 to 20 large, plump dates
2 TBSP fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:



If you have a food processor (I am jealous) put your ricotta in and add the dates pulsing to ensure the dates are integrating evenly into the cheese. Then add the remaining ingredients until they are well integrated. 

If you (like me) do not have a food processor, start by dicing your dates as small as possible. Place your ricotta in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the  diced dates and integrate them into the cheese as evenly as possible. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients into this mixture as evenly as possible.


Set filling aside and get your pasta ready.


Pasta:


After you make your dough separate a third of the dough, set the remainder aside and take the necessary precautions to ensure the rest  remains moist. Roll out your dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thin or thinner if possible (the thinner the less time it will take for the pasta to cook through).


Once the dough is well rolled use a circular cookie cutter (about 3" diameter max recommended) to cut out as many dough disks as possible. Set disks aside ensuring that they remain moist by placing them in a container with a moist towel on top. 


Repeat the steps above with the dough set aside earlier.




Now it is time to fill your pasta. 

Place a small ball (about 1/3 the diameter of your pasta disk) in the center of the disk. Wet the edge of the pasta disk. Fold the disk pressing the edges of the disk firmly together starting at the top center and then doing one side at a time so that you will not trap air in the pocket where the filling was placed. 


Shape the pasta into the tortellini shape by pinching and folding the sides. 


Place the tortellinis on flat dishes or baking sheets in rows with some room between each piece so that they will not stick together.

The yield on the tortellini will probably be about 4 1/2 dozen

At this point you can either make your pasta or you can store it in your freezer in an air tight container for up to two weeks. 


When you do decide to use it I recommend a nice garlic butter sauce, and top it off with fresh grated Parmesan.
.
 

Why I Love The Farmers' Market

More Comfort Food, Because I Am Worth It

Today I was really craving something that would lift my spirits. Nothing can lift spirits up like food that reminds you of childhood, and nothing reminds me of childhood more than red beans. I used to love when my mom made these for me. I get the feeling my daughter feels the same way when I make them for her. Perhaps this is becoming a tradition. Here is my recipe:


1 Bag Red Kidney Beans (aprox 1 lbs, cleaned and rinsed) (I highly recommend Goya)
4 Cups of water
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Large Cloves of Garlic (crushed or minced)
2 Green Onions (sliced thin)
1 large celery stalk (sliced thin) 
1 Plum/Roma tomato (De-seeded and diced)
1/2 Red Pepper (diced)

1 Large Carrot (grated)
2 Bone in Pork Chops
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put the red beans and 4 cups of water in a deep pot. Turn on burner on high heat and let the water reach a boil. Lower the heat and allow the beans to continue to simmer.

In a medium to large dutch oven add the oil, heat and add the garlic, onions, celery, tomatoes and red peppers and sweat them stirring frequently until the celery becomes translucent. Add the carrots and allow them to sweat and integrate into the other ingredients to form a nice thick base. 


Add the beans, pork chops, and about 1 more cup of water into the dutch oven with the vegetable base. Cook on high until everything is simmering. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat to medium low and allow the ingredients to stew, stirring every 20 minutes or so until the beans are tender and the meat on the pork chops falls off the bone. Enjoy.

Oh Mother of Sweetness!!!

Crumbs bakery has done it again. Yup, they nearly killed me with an overdose of delicious, delivered via their cupcake of the month Chocolate Pecan Pie. If you are into the traditional southern pecan pie, you will also appreciate this adaptation. A delectable chocolate cupcake, with a rich chocolate ganache center topped off with a caramely, chocolatey, pecan drizzled cream cheese frosting. I almost fell into a sweet induced coma and was only brought back by their great coffee. I totally recommend this cupcake and the ensuing experience to anyone needing a little sweet lovin'.

Comfort Food Day: Lentils

 As the weather gets colder I find myself craving the type of comfort food that used to make me feel warm and fuzzy when I was a child. Of course I have adapted my old favorites, incorporating spices as my mood might dictate. One of those favorites is lentils, which I favor not just because they reek of childhood memories, but also because they are a great, no-fuzz nutritious meal. Here is my recipe:

2 1/2  Cups Green Lentils (cleaned and rinsed)
5 Cups of water
2 Large Boneless Pork Chops (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Garlic cloves (crushed/minced)
3 Green Onions (sliced thin)
1/2 Large Red Pepper (diced)
1 Large Carrot (grated)
2 Large Yukon Gold Potatoes (Cubed)
1 TBSP Mild Yellow Curry
Salt and Pepper to Taste


In a large pot add the lentils and water and cook on high heat until boiling. 
In the meantime start cooking the pork chop cubes in a large pan on medium high heat, stirring frequently  until they are golden brown on the outside and cooked through. Please (and I cannot emphasize this enough) make sure that your boneless pork chops have a nice fatty edge. This will be important as you cook the meat in order to render the fat to allow the meat to cook in its own fat. 


Remove the pork from the pan, making sure to leave behind whatever fat the meat has released. Add the pork to the pot with the water and lentils.

Add the olive oil onto the pan where the pork was cooked, followed by the garlic, green onions and red pepper. Saute these ingredients for about five minutes to allow them to sweat and release their aromas and flavors into the pan. Add the carrot and allow it to sweat for two minutes. Add this mixture to the pot of lentils, followed by the cubed potatoes, curry and salt and pepper.

Lower the heat to medium low and allow the lentils to cook and the flavors of the meat and vegetables to mingle. Cook until the lentils are soft. Serve and enjoy.

Chicken Thighs in Coconut Curry cream

I know I have been posting a lot of Chicken recipes lately. It is partly due to having a restricted budget. It is mostly because I have also renewed my love for it because it just tastes so darn good and because it is so flexible and can be made with so many different sauces. Today I am sharing a very easy recipe because it is made with a few store bought pastes. Here are the ingredients and recipe:

Half a dozen medium to large chicken thighs (skin on is OK and preferable)
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Two large cloves of Garlic (minced)
1/2 cup of water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can of coconut milk
3 tsp Green Curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
4 tsp Roasted Red Chili Paste (Thai Kitchen brand)
1 tsp mild yellow curry powder (get this from your local indian/spice market)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger (sliced thin)
1 Blade of fresh lemongrass (sliced thin)
4 large Basil leaves
1/2 large red pepper (in thin slices)


Heat the olive oil in a large roasting pan or medium dutch oven add the garlic and chicken thighs and cook until the skin is a light brown color. Add the water, salt and pepper and cover the pan. Simmer on high heat for 20-25 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through and render its juices. 

Remove the chicken and the rendered juices from the pan leaving only about 2 Tablespoons of the rendered liquid in the pan. (At this point you can also remove the skin from the chicken if it had any on it) Set the Chicken aside while you make the creamy curry sauce.

Put the coconut milk in the roasting pan with the 2 TBSP of juices that were left in it and allow it to warm up on medium high heat. Slowly incorporate the green curry paste, roasted red chili paste and yellow curry into the coconut milk. Incorporating the ingredients slowly ensures that your sauce will be creamy and smooth by allowing you to break up any lumps that start forming (especially when you add the yellow curry powder). Bring to a simmer and add the ginger, lemon grass and basil and allow the flavors to seep in for 5 minutes.

Put the chicken thighs back in the pan and coat with the curry cream. Cover the pan and allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce for about ten minutes. Add the red pepper slices and cover again for an additional five minutes.

Voila! your chicken is ready to serve with whatever accompaniments you feel like having. I usually like serving it over rice so that the rice can absorb any sauce that drips down from the chicken.