Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Snowy day in Madison.

It was definitely a Beef Stew kind of day.
The Cheddar Cheese Scones were the perfect addition.

I had a recipe that I cut out from a magazine years ago (do people still do that?), but I could not put my hands on it. So I googled Old Fashioned Beef Stew and this recipe from the New York Times popped up. This was just delicious. Rave reviews from the other side of the table. 

Ingredients-

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes

5 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 cup red wine

3 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

2 bay leaves

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 teaspoons salt

Method-

Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. 

Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. 

Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. 

Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.

Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. 

Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. 

Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.

Cover and cook, skimming the broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. 

Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. 

Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Vacation Day Five - Pasta and Zucchini Salad

Vacation days are perfect for sitting on the deck reading a book and having a cocktail. Today's cocktail was a Blueberry and Basil and Vodka and Soda. Oh, it was very good.

Today it was a little warm so I made a pasta salad and picked up a rotisserie chicken. Tried to keep the house as cool as I could, no we have not turned the air on yet.

The recipe for this pasta came from the New York Times. The recipe was adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's first cookbook, “Plenty. I made a change using snow peas in place of the Edamame.

Ingredients-
Salt
Black pepper
⅔ cup sunflower oil
3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
¾ cup snow peas
2 cups basil leaves, shredded coarsely
¼ cup parsley leaves
⅓ cup olive oil
9 ounces  penne pasta
Zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ tablespoons capers
7 ounces buffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks

Method-
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium saucepan, heat sunflower oil over medium-high heat. Fry zucchini slices in batches (do not crowd them) for 3 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a colander to drain. Tip zucchini slices into a bowl, pour vinegar on top and stir, then set aside.

Add the Snow Peas to the oil and fry until they look cooked, about 3 minutes. Drain and add to Zucchini slices.

In a food processor, combine half the basil, all of the parsley and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and process until smooth.

In boiling water, cook pasta until al dente; drain and rinse under cold water. Return pasta to pot. Pour zucchini slices and snow peas and their juices over pasta. Add basil sauce, lemon zest, capers and mozzarella. Stir together gently, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Before serving, stir in remaining basil.

Hello Old Friend

Again we go to the binder of forgotten recipes. From the New York Times, June 1998. This was printed right before one of our 4th of July picnics. We sent out the cutest invitations, well cute for late 1990's. Yes, this was pre-Evites.

I usually make a variation of this recipe using lemon and oregano. But when Chris walked in the house tonight and said, "What are you cooking?" I was glad I made this original recipe. It is too easy and ready in less than an hour and a half. Of course, it helps when you can ask your butcher to cut up a whole chicken for you!

Savory Baked Chicken

Ingredients-
1 cut-up chicken
Juice of 2 lemons
6 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
pinch of allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce

Method-
Put the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl. And add the remaining ingredients and toss to coat all the pieces.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet that has sides, or a roasting pan, with heavy-duty foil.
Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet. Put in the oven and bake an hour, turning the pieces as they brown. Remove the chicken from the oven . Allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing the chicken from the pan to a platter.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

And another recipe from the binder. Spinach Pie. It was suppose to be individual Spanakopita but I was not into making individual portions so I made it into one pie. The recipe is from the Daily News, June 19 2005! Yeah back then we read the New York Times, The Daily News, and The New York Post on Sundays. How did we have so much free time??!!??

Spinach Pie

Ingredients-
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
olive oil

Method-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Saute the spinach and onion for 10 minutes. Mix in the cheese, salt, and pepper.
Layer a pie dish with sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each layer with olive oil. Fill the center of the dish with the spinach filling and fold over the sheets of dough to form the crust.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown.

Porchetta Sandwich

Slow roasted pork. What else can I say...

Other than click here for the recipe!

Well I can say something... like it was really good.