Beef Stew with Bourbon

I made this recipe for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It's easy to make and it tastes terrific. The piece de resistance ingredient is the bourbon. Fifteen minutes after I added the bourbon, I opened the lid to sneak a peak. The steam that hit me in the face smelled like I stuck my head in a still. I was worried that the bourbon would be too overpowering and ruin the dish. My concerns were unfounded. After the full 30 minutes the aroma was tempered, and the flavor was perfect.

Serve the stew over brown rice or egg noodles.

Ingredients
3 Tbs unsalted butter
2 1/2 lbs beef stew meat (such as boneless beef round) cut into 1" cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 fat carrots, chopped
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tbs tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. In a large casserole, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the beef from the casserole with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Add the onion and carrots to the casserole and cook until the onion is translucent and sticks to the bottom, 7 to 8 minutes. Return the beef, with its accumulated juices, to the casserole and let the juices deglaze the casserole for a few minutes, scraping the bottom.
3. Add the beef broth, wine, and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to very low. Cover and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 4 hours.
4. Add the bourbon and cook for 30 minutes more. Check the seasoning, stir in the parsley, and serve.

from Real Stew by Clifford A. Wright.

Alton Brown's Pot Roast

I made a couple of small modifications from the original recipe found on the Food Channel's website. Alton's ingredient list included 1 cup of chopped cocktail olives. I absolutely hate olives, and I omitted them. He also had the oven temperature set at 190-200 degrees. I was afraid with such a low temperature and after 3 1/2 hours of cooking, the meat would be still raw in the middle. I raised the temperature to 225 degrees.

I was very pleased with this recipe and my changes. I would certainly make this again. The meat was so tender, you could cut it with a spoon. The flavors were very unique. The rub gave the meat a slight bite. The raisins gave the sauce a hint of sweetness. The dish had a very elegant, sophisticated flavor, but nothing was overpowering. The spice rub and gravy complimented each other very nicely.

I was fooled by this recipe. One of the items I liked was the tin foil pouch. I thought clean up would be a breeze. I was wrong. While I could just throw away the tin foil, I could not throw away the blender nor the cooking pan! I'm not a good "clean as you go" cook to begin with, so I rely heavily on the dishwasher. Unfortunately our dishwasher was broken and everything had to be cleaned by hand.

Ingredients

• 1 (2-pound) blade cut chuck roast
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt.
  
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• Vegetable oil
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 to 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup tomato juice
  
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup dark raisins

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Place a wide, heavy skillet or fry pan over high heat for 2 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, rub both sides of meat with the salt and cumin. When the pan is hot brown meat on both sides and remove from pan.
   
3. Add just enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan then add the onion and garlic. Stir constantly until onion is softened. Add the tomato juice, vinegar, and raisins. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half.
   
4. Create a pouch with wide, heavy duty aluminum foil. Place half the reduced liquid/chunk mixture on the foil, add the roast, and then top with the remaining mixture. Close the pouch, and wrap tightly in another complete layer of foil. Cook for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until a fork pushes easily into the meat.
   
5. Remove from oven and rest (still wrapped) for at least 1/2 hour. Snip off 1 corner of the foil pouch and drain the liquid into a bowl or measuring cup. Add some of the "chunkies" and puree with a blender. Slice meat thinly, or pull apart with a fork. Serve with sauce.

Cornish Pasties

Sunday mornings if I ask Julie what she would like me to make for dinner that night, nine out of ten times I get the enthusiastic response "Pasties!". This recipe comes from the Reader's Digest "Grandma's Home Cooking" Cookbook. The cookbook traces the history of this recipe to Pennsylvania in the late 1800's. Pasties were hardy pocket meals miners would take with them into the mines.

This version is a little too delicate to put in one's pocket. Nevertheless, it's incredibly simple, and has a "home cook" flavor to it.

I've never done it, but if your feeling adventurous, you could substitute your "from scratch" pie crust recipe for the store bought. Personally, I think you would be wasting your time. I've made this many, many, times and never have I longed for a better crust.


Ingredients
1 lb stew meat, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium-size potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup, peeled turnip
1/2 cup, chopped yellow onion
2 Tbs. minced parsley
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 store-bought pie crusts
Low-fat (1% milk fat) milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a medium-size bowl, combine the meat, potato, turnip, onion, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, basil, salt and cayenne pepper.
2. Place 1/4 of the meat mixture on half of 1 pie crust, then fold the crust over the meat mixture, forming a semi-circle. Crimp to seal edge. Repeat with the remaining crusts, and remaining meat mixture. Cut slits in the top of the pasties. Brush with a little milk.
3. Place on an ungreased large baking sheet. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each into wedges and serve with catsup or pizza sauce.
   

Beef Stew with Basil Tomato Paste

Fall, means football and stew in the Przewoznik/Minor household. Sunday night I made "Beef Stew with Basil Tomato Paste" served with "Homemade Whole Wheat Honey Bread". The recipes for each follow. Bon Appetite!


Beef Stew with Basil Tomato Paste

1 tbs. olive oil
Nonstick cooking spray
1 lb stew meat or bloneless lean chuck steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 can (1 lb) low-sodium tomatoes, pureed with their juices
2 medium-size stalks of celery, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 3-inch strips orange peel
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. dried basil, crumbled
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crumbled
1 bay leaf
2 medium-size yellow onions, quartered
2 medium-size turnips, peeled and quartered
2 medium-size potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 medium-size carrots, peeled and sliced 1 inch thick
3 tbs. minced fresh basil or 2 tbs. minced parsley plus 1 tsp. dried basil, crumbled
2 tbs. low-sodium tomato paste
6 oz fresh or thawed frozen snow peas

1. Heat the olive oil over moderate heat for 1 minute in a heavy 10-inch skillet that has been coated with the cooking spray. Season the stew meat cubes with the pepper, add to the skillet, and brown for 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the beef to a 4-quart Dutch oven.
2. Add the wine to the skillet and boil, uncovered for 2 minutes, scrapping up any browned bits. Add the beef broth, tomatoes, celery, 3 cloves of the garlic, the orange peel, fennel seeds, basil, thyme, and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer, stirring. Pour all into the Dutch oven, cover, and simmer 1 1/4 hours.
3. Discard the bay leaf and orange peel, then add the onions, turnips, and carrots; cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender -- about 45 minutes.
4. Using a fork, mash the remaining garlic with the fresh basil, blend in the tomato paste and set aside. Cook the snow peas for 1 minute in boiling water, drain, and set aside.
5. Just before serving, stir the basil - tomato paste mixture into the stew along with the snow peas. Heat for 1 minute. Serves 4.

Homemade Whole Wheat Honey Bread


1 1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup honey
3 tbs. butter
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2-3 tsp. dry yeast.

Place all ingredients in order into baking pan of bread machine. Set machine to 1 1/2 lb loaf, and wheat bread setting. Press start.