An Irish Feast for the non-Irish Joie

I do not have a lick of Irish in me, but I love the food and festivities associated with the day.
Even if you are like me and lack the Irish gene, St. Patrick's day is a day where we can all be Irish.  So lift your glass of Guinness high and get cooking!

On the menu:

Guinness braised corned beef
Whole wheat Irish soda bread with butter
Colcannon
Steamed carrots with butter
Guinness


Guinness braised corned beef by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 corned beef roast
the spice packet that comes with your corned beef
1 bottle of Guinness

Directions:

1.  Place your corned beef in the insert of your crock pot.
2.  Open the spice packet that came with the corned beef and sprinkle on top of the beef.
3.  Pour the bottle of Guinness over the corned beef.
4.  Cover the crock pot and set on LOW for 8-10 hours.
5.  Remove the corned beef from the crock pot.  Trim off all of the external fat and slice the roast into pieces going against the grain of the meat.

Colcannon by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-2 inch chunks.
1 bunch of scallions (about 8), white part only, sliced thinly
1 small head of green cabbage, cored and sliced thinly
2 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 scant tsp. salt
black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  In a tall soup pot, place the potatoes and add cool water until the potatoes are just covered.
2.  Sprinkle the scallions on top of the potatoes
3.  Layer the shredded cabbage on top of the scallions
4.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
5.  Drain the contents in a colander and return them to the pot.
6.  Add butter, milk, salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher until potato chunks are thoroughly mashed.

Greek Beef Casserole while camping!

Towards the end of summer, I was fortunate enough to attend a demonstration on Dutch oven cooking at a campground where we were staying. I was already familiar with Dutch oven cooking having inherited one from my father-in-law last summer. I bravely made my son's birthday cake in it last summer while camping!

However, attending the demonstration was an eye-opener for me at how easy Dutch oven cooking could be! I had always thought of my Dutch oven as sort of a fun thing to occasionally wow people with while camping and to show off a little. I had seen it as this bulky pot that I could barely lift and that had to sit under my feet in the car for lack of space. When I told the demonstrator that I had inherited a 14 inch deep Dutch oven, his response was, "Whoa, that's 10 quarts of food!" It was his disbelief that I was actually using a pot that big that inspired me to go buy a "baby" 10 inch Dutch oven. This pot completely changed the way I feel about Dutch oven cooking. The techniques I learned made the Dutch oven a joy to use, and with the smaller pot it is completely manageable! For our last camping trip of the season, a six-day trip to Fort Stevens, OR, I used the pot 4 times!

Here is one of the dishes I made, a greek beef dish called Stifado inspired by Beatrice Ojakangas' book, The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever, that I adapted to work in my Dutch oven. Hands down, it was the best dish I've ever made while camping.

Greek Beef Casserole in the Dutch oven by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1/4 c. canola oil

2 1/2 lbs. top round beefsteak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

3 Tbls. red wine vinegar

1 c. water

1 tsp. rosemary

2 Tbls. tomato puree

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 cinnamon stick

5 whole allspice berries

2 small onions, chopped roughly

4 potatoes (I used white ones) cut into large bite sized pieces

Directions:

1. To make cooking while camping easier, chop your meat at home before placing it in a doubled Ziplock baggie in your ice chest. Also, pre-measure and place the rosemary, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and allspice in a little ziplock baggie prior to your trip.

2. Preheat your Dutch oven by placing it over your chimney starter while your coals are lighting. Make sure to leave space for oxygen to get to your coals and be careful of your arms! Make sure Dutch oven is steady. When the Dutch oven is pre-heated, add the canola oil and the beef. Stir the beef until it is browned.

3. Drain the beef and add all of the remaining ingredients. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and cook at 350 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes. (*A Note about Dutch Ovens* You can get 350 degrees in a 10 or 12 inch Dutch oven, by placing about 7 coals underneath, and about 10-12 coals on top. Use long handled tongs to move the coals from your chimney starter to the bottom and the top of your Dutch oven. Every 15 minutes or so, turn the pot a quarter of a turn clockwise, and turn your lid a quarter of a turn counterclockwise to ensure even heat distribution. After 45 minutes, you will need to add fresh, hot charcoal briquettes to the bottom and top of the oven to ensure even heat as well.)

4. When dinner is getting close, saute some sliced green, yellow and red peppers.
5. Expect some hungry and nosy neighbors to come calling when you pull the lid off this masterpiece! Enjoy, and if you try this, let me know how it goes for you!

Trip and Food photos from Santa Fe, NM

First of all, I want to give a big thank you to all of you for reading my blog!  I was able to post every day in February and your lovely comments kept me motivated!  I had so much fun doing it, I plan to post every day in March as well.  It wasn't easy towards the end as I was actually in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a few days last week.  Thanks to the feature on Blogger that allows you to post things in the future, I was able to meet my goal.  I'm feeling a little rusty as I type this.  It's been a few days (for me) since I've posted, but I thought you'd enjoy some pictures of Santa Fe.  It was so good for me to get away.  My hubby had a work conference so I was able to spend some quality girl time with myself (the kids were at grandma's) walking around the Plaza in Santa Fe and getting a massage and facial at the spa at our hotel.  Jealous?  I haven't even gotten to the food part yet!

My first morning in Santa Fe, I wandered.  I happened across the state capitol building.  It isn't much to look at from the outside, but I took a little tour and it is quite large inside.  They were having "Las Vegas, New Mexico" days in the lobby, so the place was just jammed pack with police, firefighters, school principals, etc. all from Las Vegas, New Mexico.  In addition to that, they were having some tribute to soldiers from the Vietnam War, so retired veterans were all around as well as members of the Lyons Club.  After my little tour, my tour guide was preparing to show 120 elementary school kids around.  I would not want to trade jobs with her!

San Miguel Church, just off of the Plaza, is the oldest church in the U.S.A.  There is evidence in the foundation of it being built on an Indian temple site from the 1300's.

The outside of San Miguel Church

The inside of San Miguel Church

I cannot remember the name of this church right now (San Lorenzo?).  It's claim to fame is this "miraculous" staircase.  It's miraculous because it defies the laws of physics by making two complete revolutions without any external supports.  I thought it was miraculous that they actually got $3.00 from me to come see the darn staircase!

Okay, enough of the travel shots.  I know what you're really interested in seeing...the FOOD!

My first breakfast in Santa Fe.  This was a little shop right off of the Plaza that I happened to wander into.  They made all of their pastries and breads on site.  I steered clear of the pastries in favor of their crepes though.  I actually went back there with my hubby our last morning in town as well!

The animal breads...aren't they cute?!  I wouldn't want to eat them for fear of ruining them!

More animal breads

My first breakfast in Santa Fe, a mushroom, chicken, and spinach crepe.  Less than half was plenty and the waitress was very good at refilling my coffee.

My last breakfast in Santa Fe at the same creperie.  A chorizo, egg, and cheese crepe.  Again, less than half was plenty.

This is me and hubby standing outside of Bert's La Taqueria on one of his lunch breaks from the conference.  We stumbled across this restaurant on the backside of a church a few blocks from our hotel and it ended up being my favorite restaurant of the trip.  We sat next to a pair of fellow foodies (unfortunately the only other people in the restaurant) who took our picture.

I'm not even sure what this is!  I ordered some local specialty off of the menu that they were almost out of.  They had a little bit left which they shared with us.  There were beans and green peppers in it, stewed a long time, and it had a wonderful smokey flavor.

Hubby and I shared so this is a combination of the fish, beef and pork tortillas.  My mouth is watering just remembering this dish!

Friday night dinner was at a restaurant called the Pink Adobe.  Very cute atmosphere.  We sat in this little room next to a fireplace where the waitress would put another log on the fire every time she passed.

We shared the crab enchilada.  Yes, this is the portion that has already been halved!

The Pink Adobe is famous for its apple pie.  We had to taste it.  The rum sauce it is floating in was fabulous.

Saturday morning we again stumbled across this restaurant, Tia Sophias, off of the Plaza.  There was a little bit of a wait so I casually started chatting with someone waiting next to me.  "Have you been here before?" I ask.  "Oh yes," was the reply, "I come here every week.  In fact, I've been here twice this week!"  How can you go wrong with an endorsement like that!  We got there at a good time as this place soon became packed with locals.  We were seated relatively quickly, oh it was so good.

My breakfast, the huevos rancheros with rice and beans.  The beans were a PERFECT accompaniment to the eggs.  The green chili sauce was spicy and delicious.

Lunch was just okay at someplace called The Burrito Bar (?).  Actually if we had been in town here we would have considered it exceptional, but in comparison to all of the excellent restaurants we ate at, it was my least favorite.  A chicken and avocado burrito with green chili on top.

Our final dinner in Santa Fe was at a place called The Bull Pen off of the Plaza.  Hubby and I split again (yes, this is the half portion that has already been split!) a steak with sauteed mushroom, crispy onions, and green chili floating in a pool of sizzling butter.  We split a loaded baked potato and a side of au gratin spinach (which was more like a little bit of spinach floating in a pool of melted, gooey cheddar cheese)

Santa Fe was beyond fun for me to go to.  Reliving the trip through food, I already feel myself going back to "vacation mode" and relaxing.  I would totally recommend going if you are able. Now I need to get out my Rick Bayless cookbook and start trying to recreate some of these dishes!  

Love is Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

I know you're thinking, "Oh no she didn't!" and the answer would be, "Oh yes I did."

My husband's favorite dinner is meatloaf.  I hardly ever make this simple pleasure for him because I feel there are so many other worthy things to make.  For Valentines day however, I indulged him by making his favorite.  It was actually really yummy and my 5-year old loved it too.  I may have to start making it more often!  Served alongside is sauteed spinach with garlic (for which you can find a recipe here).  Enjoy!

Love is Sweet and Sour Meatloaf by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 package Lipton onion soup mix

1 c.  LaChoy rice noodles

1 c. seasoned bread crumbs

1/3 c. ketchup

2 eggs

2 1bs. ground beef

1/2 c. sweet and sour sauce

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together by squeezing with your hands, the onion soup mix, rice noodles, bread crumbs, ketchup, eggs, and ground beef.

3.  Spread and pat this mixture into a 9" x 13" baking pan.

4.  Pour 1/2 c. sweet and sour sauce on top and spread evenly.

5.   Place meatloaf in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

6.  If desired, use cookie cutters to cut meatloaf out in cute shapes.  (You know you want to)

Football food

I am laughing at how ironic it is to follow yesterday's "Weight Loss Weekly" with today's "Football food".  All things in moderation though, right?  These Chili dogs are a take off another recipe from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook.  Fixing these chili dogs in the crock pot made them a perfect food for grabbing during a commercial break.  (Not that I am endorsing eating in front of the T.V., but I know it happens)  These were very rich and cheesy.  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Chili Dogs adapted from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook

Serves 8

1 lb. hot dogs

2 15 oz. cans chili

1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies, in your preferred hotness level

1 15 oz. can Nacho cheese condensed soup

8 hot dog buns

1 chopped onion

Shredded cheddar cheese

corn chips

1.  Place hot dogs into the slow cooker insert.

2.  Mix together chili, green chilies, Nacho cheese soup and pour over hot dogs. 

3.  Cover and cook in crock pot on LOW for 3-4 hours.

4.  When ready to serve, place a hot dog in a bun, ladle some chili over the top, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and onions and serve with corn chips.

Vegetable Beef Soup

When I was in college, I used to attend a weekly soup supper put on by the Lutheran/Episcopal campus group.  It was a chance to get away from campus for a little while, commune with other like minded students, and enjoy a warm bowl of something wonderful.  When I read about Souper Sundays, a weekly soup round up hosted by Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen, I got the same feeling that those weekly soup suppers used to bring me.  This soup, although admittedly not one of my best, is my attempt to share a bowl of soup with those other lovely cooks.  I say it's not my best soup because although it tastes lovely and homey, the alphabet pasta keeps sucking up all of the liquid.  I added more stock to the leftovers and the next day it had been absorbed into the pasta again.  This makes it more of a pasta dish rather than a soup, but you'll still enjoy it.

Vegetable Beef Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. stew meat

2 lbs. potatoes, chopped

1 tsp. salt

3 carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 15oz. cans "chili ready" chopped tomatoes

1 (1 lb.) can whole-kernel corn, drained

7 oz. package alphabet pasta

1 qt. chicken or beef stock

Directions:

1.  Place beef, potatoes, salt, carrots, celery, tomatoes and stock into the insert of a slow cooker. 

2.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 1/2  hours or on high for 3 1/2 hours.

3.  Stir in pasta and corn and re-cover.  Cook on high for 30 minutes.

4.  Adjust the seasonings to taste. 

Economize-One roast, three meals!

I fall deeper in love with my crock pot every time I use it.  Not just for the time saving aspect it brings to getting dinner on the table, but also for the grocery budget cost cutting side to it.  It takes cheap cuts of meat, and turns them into mouth watering masterpieces!  The following are three dinners made from one 4-5 lb. beef chuck roast.  The chuck roast will probably run you about $10.00, but since it makes three dinners, it's really a steal!  All of the work is done the first night so for the subsequent two nights, your only job is to reheat.  Enjoy!

For Night 1:  Beef Pot Roast (shown above with a green salad and a fruit salad) from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good

Ingredients:  

4-5 lb. beef chuck roast

1 garlic clove, cut in half

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 carrot, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 small onion, sliced

3/4 cup sour cream

3 Tbls. flour

1/2 cup dry white wine.

1.  Rub roast with garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in slow cooker.

2.  Add carrots, celery and onion.

3.  Combine sour cream, flour and wine.  Pour into slow cooker.

4.  Cover.  Cook on Low 6-7 hours.

5.  Slice for dinner the first night.  With the remaining roast, shred using two forks and split the shredded meat into two tupperwares.

6.  Prepare dinner for Night 2 and 3 and place in refrigerator.

For Night 2:  Pepper Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients:

One tupperware with shredded beef from above

16 oz. jar of sliced pepperoncini peppers, mostly drained

Hamburger buns

Slices of your favorite cheese, pepper jack recommended.

To the tupperware of beef, add the jar of pepperoncini peppers and a little of the juice.  Cover and refrigerate for Night 2.  When ready to eat, reheat in the microwave.  Serve on hamburger buns topped with your favorite cheese.

For Night 3:  BBQ beef sandwiches

Ingredients:

One tupperware of shredded beef from above

Bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Hamburger buns

Add enough BBQ sauce to the shredded beef to make it saucy.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.  When ready, reheat in the microwave.  Serve the BBQ beef on hamburger buns.

Three meals for about $10.00 with minimum prep and minimum cooking.  Can't beat that!  Happy New Year everyone!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

My mother, living in Hawaii, likes to use her slow cooker a lot to avoid heating up her condo.  Because I was doing a lot of the cooking while we were visiting, I adopted her cooking habits.  I came upon this recipe for slow cooker lasagna from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook, which is fast becoming my new go to book for quick and cheap dinners.  It made an absolutely HUGE amount that we ate for a few days and then threw out, I'm sure you could halve it.

Convenient Slow Cooker Lasagna adapted from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook

Serves: 6-8

Cooking time: 4-6 hours on LOW

Use a 6 quart slow cooker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

2 29oz. cans tomato sauce

1 onion, chopped

10 oz. elbow macaroni

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

3/4 cups water

1.  Spray the interior of the cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line with a slow cooker bag.

2.  Brown the ground beef and the onion in a nonstick skillet.  Drain off the drippings.  

3.  Stir in the tomato sauce.  Mix well.

4.  Spread one-fourth of the meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker.

5.  Arrange one-third of the noodles over the sauce.

6.  Combine the cheeses in a bowl. Spoon one-third of cheeses over the noodles.

7.  Repeat these layers twice.

8.  Top with remaining sauce.

9.  Add water.

10.  Cover and cook on LOW 4-6 hours.

Papaya and Cottage Cheese Salad

My mother made this simple salad of a halved papaya filled with cottage cheese to accompany the lasagna.  At first I wasn't sure about it but the combination of the sweet/salty, lumpy/creamy consistencies really works.  Of course it helps being able to find papayas this sweet and ripe at the local farmers market.

Taco Soup

My diabolical plan to set myself up with leftovers for an easy weekend of cooking is complete.  Mwah ha ha haaaa....  Last night we had taco soup made in the crock pot and it was quite tasty if I do say so myself.  We have enough of this soup leftover for one more dinner and a few lunches.  I love planned leftovers.  Not only is it economical, but I know that I can just kick my feet up this weekend, rely on the microwave to heat things up, spend time with the boys, and have the only dinner dishes be our plates and bowls.  Ahhhh....

A disclaimer:  my oldest didn't LOVE this soup, but he ate it because it had sour cream and cheese on top.  My youngest contented himself with the tortilla chips and little sips of soup when prodded.  So this may not be a kid favorite yet (although one would sure think it was).  However I loved it and would call it a winner myself, my husband loved it too.  Try it and let me know what you think!

Taco Soup by Joie de vivre

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef

1 envelope dry taco seasoning

2 16oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 16oz. can of corn, drained

2 quarts of tomato juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

black pepper according to taste

tortilla chips, optional

shredded cheddar cheese, optional

sour cream, optional

1.  Brown the meat and onions in a skillet until onions are slightly brown (the meat doesn't need to be cooked completely).  Drain and add to the slow cooker insert.

2.  Add taco seasoning, black beans, corn, tomato juice, sugar, salt and black pepper to the slow cooker insert and give everything a stir.

3.  Cook on Low in your slow cooker for 6 hours.

4.  Ladle into soup bowls and top servings with crumbled tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired.

Italian Beef au Jus

Oh crock pot, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

I find as I try to save on our grocery budget, I have been pulling my crock pot out more and more.  Not only does it turn cheap cuts of meat into masterpieces, it is just such a time saver.  I love being able to get dinner started in the morning, do the dishes, and know that I can be playing with the kids right up until dinner time.  Plus, whenever I cook in the slow cooker, I always have leftovers!

A few weeks ago I found a crock pot cookbook at Costco titled:  Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook:  1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes.  I used it for the first time yesterday to make Roast Beef Sandwiches au Jus and was so pleased.  It was easy, inexpensive, the boys loved it, and I shredded the leftover beef, added some barbecue sauce and we will have barbecue beef sandwiches sometime this week for another super easy supper.   One cheap cut of meat, one easy day of crock pot cooking, two delicious dinners.  A stay-at-home mom's dream come true.

Italian Beef au Jus  modified by Joie de vivre from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook

3-5 lb. boneless beef roast

10 oz. package dry au jus mix (found with the other one package mixes)

1 package dry Italian salad dressing mix

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1.  Place the beef in the slow cooker insert.

2.  Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the roast.

3.  Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours

4.  When ready to serve, slice the meat and place on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls to make sandwiches.  Strain the liquid in the slow cooker and spoon off the fat or place in a fat separator to keep only the beef juice.  Ladle the juice into small bowls and serve alongside for dipping.

*Leftover ideas*

Shred any leftover roast with two forks and mix with barbecue sauce until a good, saucy consistency.  Serve the next day on hamburger buns.

Mummy Dogs

My kids are finally reaching an age where they appreciate comedy in their food.  I've been seeing this recipe around in different women's magazines this year and it was the prodding from a friend who said they were really good that got me to go for it.  You know, they actually were pretty good.  The buttery sweetness of the crescent rolls really complimented the saltiness of the hot dogs.  Plus, it was easy and fun.

To try it yourself, buy a can of crescent rolls and a pack of hot dogs.  Unroll the crescent rolls and press the seams to seal them.  Cut the crescent roll dough into strips and wind around your hot dogs leaving a little space free for the "eyes".  Place the rolled dogs onto a baking sheet and place in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 13-15 minutes (until crescent dough is nicely browned).  Decorate with mustard "eyes" and enjoy the giggles of your children.

Goulash Soup

In order to fuel my cookbook obsession and not break my bank account, I have started to rely on my public library.  Every couple of weeks I load up my basket with all sorts of cookbooks that I would probably never buy, but just want to peruse.  Every once in a while however, I come across a book that I can't bear to return.  The first was a cookbook called The African News Cookbook that had the best recipe for injera I have ever found and a Doro Wat recipe I crave.  Splendid Soups by James Peterson, found just this week, may be my second.  Now that the weather is turning colder, I have been craving soup.  My library selections this week all revolved around soup as I was seeking out some warm comfort.  I found a recipe for Goulash Soup that fit the bill for me.  It used up some of the fall vegetables we have been getting in our CSA basket and was nice and hearty.  I adapted James Peterson's recipe quite a bit to fit my cooking style, ingredients on hand, and to make it quicker and it turned out quite tasty.  It made a huge pot of soup so we had the leftovers tonight which were just as good if not better than the first night.  Enjoy!

Goulash Soup by Joie de vivre

Serves at least 8

3 lbs. beef chuck cut into 1 inch cubes

2 Tbls. olive oil

2 medium sized onions, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. caraway seeds

2 Tbls. paprika

2 quarts beef broth

4 tomatoes, chopped, or 1- 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 lbs. potatoes chopped coarsely 

1 recipe miniature dumplings (see below)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat.  Add the meat, garlic and onion and cook until onions are softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the caraway and the paprika and stir over the heat for 1 minute more.  Add the broth and the tomatoes.  Add the bay leaf and bring soup to a gentle simmer.  Partially cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours.  After 2 hours, add the potatoes to the soup and continue simmering for 30 minutes.  Drop teaspoonfuls of dumpling batter onto the top of the soup and simmer for 5 minutes.  

Miniature Dumplings adapted from Splendid Soups by James Peterson

4 large eggs

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. melted butter

Wisk eggs, flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Stir in melted butter.  Let the batter rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator until ready to drop a teaspoonful at a time onto soup.

Sunday night comfort food

I've been on a vintage cookbook kick for a little while now.  You gotta love eBay and the books you can find for dirt cheap.  I justify my cookbook obsession in terms of entertainment.  For $0.99 plus shipping, I get a week of reading entertainment.  You can't beat that.  Sometime in the spring, I bought The Meat Stretcher Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens, copyright 1974.  Although overall it didn't offer too much inspiration outside what to cook in the future for two ravenous teenager, I was introduced to recipes for cuts of meat that in 1974 were cheap, and now, almost impossible to find.  Of course, my desire to try the weird and wonderful from cookbooks lead me on a non-intensive search for some of these cuts of meat, like beef heart and tongue and tripe.  A few weeks after reading this cookbook, I was ambling through the slim spring pickings of the farmers market, when I happened upon a beef rancher who was selling these cuts of beef.  I settled on an oxtail thinking I would find some way to cook it, and put it in the freezer.  There it has languished since spring, calling my name ever so quietly.  The recipes I was finding for oxtail were very uninspiring to me.  I just couldn't bring myself to make the unappetizing sounding Oxtail Gumbo (from the same Meat Stretcher cookbook) or the Oxtail Stew from a 1965 Betty Crocker vintage called Dinner in a Dish.  It wasn't until I was perusing The Gastronomy of Italy by Anna Del Conte that my inspiration came to me, Coda alla Vaccinara (Braised Oxtail).  The picture looked so comforting and homey, I was salivating and knew I had found the recipe.

Oxtail is a very tough and gelatinous cut of meat and needs the long cooking time that braising gives.  Sadly, when I mentioned to my neighbor that I was making oxtail, she said that oxtail is her Filipino father's favorite dish but she had always been too afraid to try it.  Go ahead and try it!  It is well worth it.  Since I started this dinner Saturday morning for a Sunday night supper, it made the big family dinner extremely easy come Sunday.  My mother-in-law called it a keeper.  I'll definitely be making it again.

Coda alla Vaccinara (Braised Oxtail) adapted from Gastronomy of Italy by Anna Del Conte

You need to make this dish a 1-2 days before you are planning on serving it to let the flavors meld.

2 1/2 lbs. oxtail

1 lb. pork belly (unsmoked bacon)

3 Tbls. olive oil

1 Tbls. chopeed fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

scant 1 cup dry white wine

2 Tbls. tomato paste diluted with 1 cup beef stock

salt

2 cups thickly sliced celery 

freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Cut the pork belly into 1 inch strips.  Put the pork belly, olive oil, parsley, garlic, onion and carrot into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven and saute until soft.  Add the oxtail and fry gently for a few minutes longer.  Splash with the wine and boil rapidly to reduce, turning the meat over a few times.  Add the diluted tomato paste and salt to taste.  Cover the pan and place the casserole in the heated oven.  Cook for about 2 hours unti the meat is tenter, turning it over 2 or 3 times.  Remove the pot from the oven and leave to cool, then put it in the refrigerator until required.

On the day you are serving the dish, remove and discard the solidified fat (it was all solidified for me so I couldn't remove anything, everything in moderation right?) from the surface.  Put the Dutch oven on the stovetop and bring to a boil.  Add the celery and cook, covered, for 20 minutes longer.  Add a generous grinding of pepper, taste and check salt before serving.

Camping food Part III

As summer is winding down, we are enjoying these last few warm weekends for all they are worth by filling our souls with the joys of camping, and filling our bellies with camping food!  Last week, we took our longest camping adventure yet (3 nights!).  My menu was not as fancy as it had been in the past because frankly I didn't know if I could fit 3 days worth of food in our cooler if I cooked fancy, but I thought you might enjoy the menu and some recipes for ideas for your next camp-out.  

Sunday dinner:  Flank Steak burritos with salsa, sour cream, guacamole and cheese.  Marshmallows.

Monday breakfast:  Cranberry Flax Muffins (we ended up pulling the leftovers out the next two mornings as well), coffee and juice.

Monday lunch:  Hot dogs and chips

Monday dinner:  Salmon cakes, melon, black beans.

Tuesday breakfast:  cereal with rice milk, leftover cranberry flax muffins, coffee and juice.

Tuesday Lunch:  Tuna salad with crackers

Tuesday dinner:  Hamburgers

Wednesday breakfast:  I cheated and bought Jimmy Dean frozen ham hash that you add eggs to and fry it all up.

Wednesday lunch:  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips.

As you see, the fare was more traditional, but we did feel quite fancy with our salmon cakes for Monday's dinner and our flank steak burritos for Sunday's dinner.  Also, the muffins were a homey touch and very quick to prepare when all the boys wanted to go fishing early Monday morning.

Cranberry Flax Muffins  adapted from Taste of Home Muffins and Quick Breads

Yeild 1 1/2 dozen muffins

1 1/2 cups bran flakes cereal

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 Tbls. whole flaxseed

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients.  Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, honey and oil; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.  Stir in cranberries.  Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill two-thirds full.  Sprinkle with whole flaxseed.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.  These do not necessarily "look" finished, use a toothpick if unsure.

Beef Flank Burritos by Joie de vivre

1 1/2 lb. beef flank steak

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 Tbls. molasses

2 tsp. stone ground mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Place soy sauce, water, molasses, mustard and garlic powder in a ziplock bag.  Squeeze to combine, then add steak, remove the air and seal well.  Place in your cooler.  When you are at camp, light your coals and wait until they are ready.  Cook the flank steak approx 5-6 minutes per side.  Cut flank steak into strips.  Layer tortilla with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese and flank steak and roll up.

Salmon cakes  (pictured above)

Ha!  One of our fancier meals and I got it off of the back of the can of salmon!  The can was super cheap (between 1-2 dollars for a 15 oz. can of salmon).  Add bread crumbs, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and onion and fry.  

We still have one last camping hurrah planned for this year so I'll post Camping Part IV before we settle into fall.  Enjoy!

Camping food Part II

Perhaps my penchant for eating good food has gone too far (or maybe, not far enough?).  On my last blog post, I had a friend ask where I bought the freeze-dried salmon.  Blech!  When I say we eat fancy when were camping that means no freeze-dried foods!   (I must confess though that for the second morning of our camping, I did plan a cold cereal day.)  I think the secret to eating well while camping is just advanced preparation and a good storage technique for cold foods.  That being said, our most recent camping adventure sported this menu:

Friday night:  Black bean salad, Grilled Steak tacos with salsa and guacamole.  Roasted marshmallows  (pictured above sans marshmallows, served with a glass of red wine (don't tell the camp host!))

Saturday:  Breakfast:  Egg and cheese sandwiches

   Lunch:  Hot dogs, chips, birthday cupcakes, leftover black bean salad

   Dinner:  Beer marinated pork shish kabobs with zucchini, squash and red onion, crusty bread, White beans with chanterelle mushrooms

Sunday morning:  Cold cereal with rice milk.

My advanced preparation consisted of making the black bean salad, marinating the steak for the tacos, pre-cutting the cheese and wrapping up the eggs for the egg and cheese sandwiches, marinating and cutting the pork and veggies for the shish kabobs and putting all the ingredients together for the white beans with chanterelle mushrooms.  I then packed everything in the cooler starting with Sunday's breakfast items on the bottom and ending with Friday's dinner items on the top.  The beer marinated pork shish kabobs was definitely my favorite meal and the white beans with chanterelle mushrooms smelled as heavenly while cooking as they tasted.  Here are some of the recipes to try on your next camping adventure.

Black bean salad  adapted from Campfire cuisine:  Gourmet recipes for the great outdoors by Robin Donovan

Juice of 3 limes

2 Tbs. honey

1 Tbs. ground cumin

1 Tbs. ground coriander

1 Tbs. dried oregano

2 14.5 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 green bell peppers

6 green onions, thinly sliced.

Mix the lime juice, honey, cumin, coriander and oregano in a large ziplock bag until well combined.  Add the beans, diced pepper and onion and toss until well combined.  Close this ziplock and then put this ziplock into another one to get it ready for the ice chest!

Red wine Marinade for steak taken from Campfire Cuisine:  Gourmet recipes for the Great Outdoors by Robin Donovan

Juice of 3 limes

1/2 cup red wine

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbs. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients in a large ziplock, drop in the steak, seal the bag making sure to get most of the air out.  Put this bag into another bag to ready steak for the ice chest.

Grilled Steak tacos by Joie de vivre

After your coals have gotten hot, put the steak on the grill and grill on each side for about 7 minutes, remove steak to a plate and loosely cover with foil for a few minutes.  Thinly slice steak, put into a tortilla with guacamole and salsa.  Wrap up and enjoy!

Beer-Marinated Pork and Veggie Kabobs adapted from Campfire Cuisine:  Gourmet recipes for the great outdoors by Robin Donovan

For the marinade:

1 1/2 cups water

1 bottle beer

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbs. dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs. course salt

1 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients in a large ziplock bag and mix.

Add to marinade

1 1/2 lb. pork loin cut into 2 inch chunks

Shake bag to combine.  Seal well removing as much air as possible and put this ziplock into another ziplock to ready meat for ice chest.  Once ready to cook kabobs, thread meat chunks onto skewers with cut onion, zucchini, squash, etc that has been drizzled with olive oil.  Put on grill over hot coals!

White beans with Chanterelle Mushrooms taken from Campfire Cuisine:  Gourmet recipes for the Great Outdoors by Robin Donovan

2 14.5 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 lb. chanterelles, sliced

1 small red onion, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 Tbs. chopped thyme

1/2 tsp. salt.

Olive oil spray

Heavy duty foil.

Mix beans, mushrooms, onion, olive oil, thyme and salt in a ziplock bag.  Seal, removing as much air as possible.  Seal this ziplock into another ziplock to ready beans for the ice chest.  When ready to cook, make a foil packet by taking a long piece of foil, folding it in half, and then crimping the two sides.  Spray the inside of the foil packet with the olive oil spray and put the bean mixture in.  Crimp the remaining side of the foil packet to seal leaving enough room for steam to circulate.  Put the packet over hot coals for 20 minutes.  

My weakness and laziness in camping is definitely breakfast foods (I think it's the lack of coffee so early in the morning) so for my next post, I'm going to be researching and trying some out.  Bonne chance with the camping food and let me know if you try anything!