New year, new concept

You may or may not have noticed that I have been slacking when it comes to my posts as of late.  This is partly due to the holidays, but is also due to the fact that I'm starting to find this "recipe of the week" format a little boring and have been trying to think of a new way to go about writing this blog for 2014.

That's right, I'm going to continue writing into 2014.

I'm not sure yet what the new concept will be, but I can tell you that I will no longer  be posting on a guaranteed weekly basis.  I hope to post at least every two weeks, and I feel like I'm going to focus more on making weeknight cooking seem a little less daunting to those who do not already cook on a regular basis (and less on recipes that I find simply delicious).

For now, ring in the new year with some of my favourite recipes from the last 365 days...

Chicken pot pie

Slow cooker marinara sauce

Creamy corn risotto

Pasta with beets

And...the recipe that has made it back onto my weekly menu more times than any other....

Gooey...creamy...delicious...macaroni and cheese.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Low & slow

It's snowing today.  I don't know about you, but I think that days like this call for stew.

While it is quite easy to make a good stew in a relatively short period of time, nothing really beats the taste and texture of something that has been braising for hours.  "Braising" involves cooking a piece of meat in some liquid at a low temperature (just barely simmering) for a very long time (ideally several hours), resulting in meat that is oh so tender and flavourful.

At first glance this recipe seems really involved...but then you realize that the meat is going to spend three hours in the oven, so the prep time isn't really that bad.  The meat portion of this recipe could easily be made in a slow cooker (though slow cookers aren't that great at baking biscuits...if you wanted to make the biscuit topping you would have to do that separately in the oven).  Also, since this recipe comes from a cookbook dedicated to beer that is what makes up the braising liquid...if you're not a beer fan you could try substituting an equivalent amount of wine, beef stock, or onion soup (from one of those powdered onion soup mixes).  Basically: braise your meet in something that you like the flavour of, because that is what it's going to taste like at the end.

Ingredients

Beef
-2 lb beef roast, cut into cubes.  Because you're going to be braising this for quite a long time you can go with one of the cheaper cuts...those cuts are usually less expensive because they have a lot of connective tissue/fat and are difficult to cook (and are therefore the perfect cut for this kind of braise)
-3 tbsp butter
-4 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
-1 onion, diced
-2 cups of English brown ale (Newcastle is a readily available variety).  If you're using a roast that is bigger than 2 lbs, increase the amount of beer.
-2 cups beef or chicken broth
-3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
-1 bay leaf
-12 to 14 cremini mushrooms, halved
-1/2 cup frozen green peas
-1 large carrot, diced
-salt and pepper to taste

Biscuit topping
-1/2 cup milk
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1/4 cup melted butter
-2 cups all purpose flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 grated cheddar cheese
-1/2 cup English brown ale (helps the biscuits rise, so if you're not going to be using the beer in this particular instance you will want to find a different biscuit recipe.  Alternatively, you could just top the beef with mashed potatoes, shepherd's pie style)

1) Heat the oven to 300 degrees F; set the rack in the second lowest position.

2) On the stove, over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large Dutch oven (if you do not have a Dutch oven a heavy stainless steel pot will do...it just needs to be something with a fitted lid that you are able to put into the oven.  If you are going the slow cooker route a frying pan will also do the job.)  Divide the beef into at least two batches and sear the outside of the pieces until deep brown and caramelized (the goal here is not to cook the beef all the way through, it is to add some nice browned flavour).  Remove from the pan and set aside.

It's tempting to add all the beef at once and just stir it around until it is brown...but don't.  If you overcrowd the beef it will actually steam instead of searing, and you won't get that delicious browned flavour into your meat.  It takes more time, but it's totally worth spreading out the pieces and taking the time to brown each piece.

3) Add the onions and bacon.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon has begun to crisp.  Remove the onions and bacon (drain off some of the fat if there is lots in there) and add the beer to deglaze the pan (use a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits off of the bottom).  Add the browned beef, onions, and bacon back into the Dutch oven.  Add the broth, thyme, and bay leaf.  Cover and move to the heated oven.  Cook with the lid on for two hours.  Then remove the lid and cook, uncovered, for one more hour (if at any point the pot dries out add more liquid).

It will be in the oven for three hours, and you don't have to stir it, giving you time to do other things.

If you're going the slow cooker route, follow the above directions as far as using the beer (or whatever liquid you have chosen) to deglaze the pan.  However, instead of adding everything back into the Dutch oven, put all of the ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

4) During the final hour of uncovered cooking, prepare the mushrooms and the biscuit topping.  For the mushrooms, melt 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and toss to coat.  Cook until they have shrunk noticeably and have turned dark golden brown; set aside.

For the biscuit topping, start by combining the milk and lemon juice in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cheese.  Add the melted butter and beer to the milk and lemon juice mixture, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until just combined.

5) After the hour of uncovered cooking, remove the thyme and the bay leaf from the Dutch oven.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the frozen peas, diced carrots, and mushrooms.  Drop the biscuit batter over the top of the stew.

Leave some room around the edges for the steam to escape.

Return the pot to the oven and cook for another 45 minutes or so (until the biscuits are nice and brown).  Let stand for 15 minutes until serving.

If you've decided to go the slow cooker route you have a couple of options for the biscuit step.  First, you could omit them all together and just serve your stew with mashed potatoes.  Second, you could choose a different biscuit recipe (I've provided a nice one here) and just serve them on the side.  Finally, after mixing in the veggies you could transfer everything from the slow cooker to a 9x13 baking dish, cover with the biscuits, and bake as directed (400 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until brown).  The choice is yours!

Letting it stand is the hardest part, because by the time you get it out of the oven that final time you've been subject to the delightful aroma for hours.  Dig in and enjoy your warm (and comforting) stew!

Everything's better with bacon

Bacon has been a food trend for some time now...it pops up in the expected places (with fish, for example) as well as the unexpected ones (candied...or in a brownie).

So what's the big deal?  Why is everything better with bacon?  The answer is surprisingly straightforward: bacon contains both salt and fat, and these both make food taste better.

The reasons for the role of fat in this are fairly simple: things that are fatty contain many calories, and we need calories to survive.  Therefore we are, in essence, biologically programmed to enjoy fatty foods (much to the chagrin of anyone attempting to diet).  This also explains why, as Julia Child famously said, everything is better with butter (again....fat).

The deliciousness of salt is a slightly more complicated matter...because it's not simply that salt itself is delicious, but rather that it makes other things taste better.  The reasons for this are varied and complicated, but the gist of the idea is that salt "wakes up" our tastebuds and helps us experience the full flavours of food.

(For those of you, like me, who may like to watch the odd cooking show or six...this is why the word "underseasoned" is the kiss of death: when something is underseasoned it usually means that there is not enough salt, meaning that the flavours just don't pop as much as they should.)

(If you want to know more about why salt does the things that it does, check out this link...)

All that being said...there's a good reason why people love bacon as much as they do.  It adds salt and fat to the meal...as well as that undeniable "cured pork" flavour, with just a hint of smokiness.  

Here are two ways that you can put more bacon on your plate.....

#1- Prosciutto wrapped chicken

Prosciutto is an Italian dry-cured pork product similar in nature to bacon, but not as fatty...which makes it perfect for wrapping around things.

(The problem with wrapping other meats in bacon being that the meat on the inside often overcooks before the bacon has become beautifully crispy...making the timing difficult.)

It's a super easy process: simply take the chicken, and wrap some prosciutto around it.  Then bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes (or until the chicken is done).  Or, for something a little fancier, wrap the prosciutto around a stuffed chicken breast...

This chicken breasts were stuffed with provolone cheese and just a little bit of pesto...makes it a bit of an inside out chicken cordon blue.  Yum.....

#2- Bacon and Egg Udon 

The original recipe that I used for this (from Fine Cooking) called for 225g of bacon...but I find that you don't need that much.  Adding some chicken would be a great way to bulk up this soup if you don't find it filling...you could cut the chicken into strips and poach it in the broth before adding the noodles.

You will need...

-eggs (1 or 2 per bowl of soup, really depends on your personal preference)

-4 to 6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

-a bunch of green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or Sriracha...something to give the broth some heat)

-1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

-4 cups chicken broth

-1 cup water

-2 tbsp soy sauce

-udon noodles or, as the original recipe suggested, ramen noodles (discard the flavour packs if using the Sapporo Ichiban or Mr. Noodles variety)

-baby spinach (as much as you want...kale would also be delicious)

First: poach the eggs and transfer them to a plate (set aside for later).

Cook the bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until just browned and crispy.  Carefully pour off most of the bacon grease, reserving about 2tsp (and leaving all of the bacon in the pan).  Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, and chili sauce.  Cook, stirring constantly, for -2 minutes (until the garlic begins to brown).  Add the chicken broth, water, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (where are the salty bacon flavour is).  Add the noodles and cook until they are done (2-3 minutes).

Put some baby spinach in the bottom of two deep soup bowls.  Divide the udon and broth among the bowls, and top with the poached eggs.