Crock Pot to the Rescue - Again

There are days I am just unprepared. No ideas in mind for dinner at all. It's already after 10:30 AM and I have nothing thawed. What to do?

I went to the freezer and mulled a bit. We have a freezer full of a half a cow, so it isn't that there aren't options. Still. It's been such a long winter. Far too cold except very recently to even consider grilling. I have made my One Skillet Hamburger Meal about 15 times in the last few months. At least it seems that way. I've made stews over and over. A couple of roasts, either in the crock pot or oven. The trouble is that most of the meat is either hamburger or roasts. Some of them are cut strangely and look far different than what you see in the supermarket. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, I got out a chuck roast.

Crock Pot BBQ Chuck served on Root Vegetable Flatbread

The roast was probably about 2½ or 3 pounds, though I forgot to weigh it to see. It was very thick, but small enough around to set into my crock pot. To speed things up just a bit, I put the roast into the microwave to defrost just a little. I never thaw something completely in the microwave. I hate to even use the microwave at all, frankly. With that in mind, I set it to defrost something that weighed 1 pound. I turned it over twice during that short period. It was still hard as a rock when I was done, but I know it had to have some effect. 

Next I wondered what to do for flavor. My husband has always loved roast beef, but since he had some bad teeth, then had to have one extracted, and it didn't heal as well as it might have, due to constantly chomping down on things, he has been rather resistant to the idea of a roast. The pieces are larger, and it's too much bother to cut them smaller for eating. So I have made a couple of roasts, but he doesn't come back for leftovers. Not good, because that usually means I need to make something else. And who gets to eat the leftovers? 

I recently had made a new batch of my:

Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce

Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce

Makes 5 cups

2 tablespoons olive oil (or other cooking oil of choice)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 jalapeno, seeds & membranes removed, finely minced
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons Barbecue Spice Mix (below)
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
½ cup honey
3 cups ketchup
1 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes

Mince the garlic and the jalapeno together and set aside. Heat a large saucepan. Chop the onion finely. Put the oil into the hot pan and add the onion, along with the salt and sauté at medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the onion is deep golden brown. Add in the reserved garlic and jalapeno and sauté for 5 minutes more. Add in the juices and stir to dissolve any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in the Barbecue Spice Mix, black pepper, ground ginger and celery seed and stir to combine. Add in the mustard and tamarind paste and stir to dissolve the tamarind. Add in the honey and ketchup, with the liquid smoke if using. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, being very careful it does not splatter on you. Cover the pan, reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, remove lid and add in 2 little cubes of the cold butter at a time, stirring to dissolve before adding more.

Allow the sauce to cool before storing in the refrigerator. If desired, it may be frozen until needed. 

Barbecue Spice Mix

Barbecue Spices

Makes ½ cup

4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons smoked paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cassia cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground thyme
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon ground dried ginger
¼ teaspoon dried chipotle powder

Directions: Combine all herbs and spices together and store in a glass jar with tight fitting lid.

NOTES: If using as a spice rub for a meat, mix into the entire amount: ¼ cup each of Kosher Salt and light brown sugar. Mix well and rub all over one whole chicken, cut up and allow to rest overnight, refrigerated, before grilling.

I was thinking BBQ, though I had never really done this with beef. I decided to chop a half onion left in the fridge and threw that into the bottom of the crock pot. I set the roast on top of the onions, to allow some juices to get underneath the meat while cooking. I poured on 1 cup of the BBQ Sauce. I happened to have a bottle of Fonseca Bin 27 Port setting on the counter (we hadn't gotten around to finishing the bottle), so I poured in 1/2 cup of the port. I added 3 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly, 2 little bay leaves and a teaspoon of salt. Put the lid on, turned it to the higher temperature and hoped for the best.

After 6 hours, the meat was tender and there was plenty of sauce in the pot, though it was thinner than my husband likes. It did have a lot of fat floating on top, so I took some paper towels and did a quick slide over the surface to pick up fat. It took quite a few of those half-sheets sized paper towels to get most of the extra fat off there. I took the roast out and mixed up about 3/4 cup of water with a half cup of flour and whisked that into the pot. Still on high, it came back to a simmer quickly, so I covered it and let it go. Meanwhile, I started pulling the meat off the bones and other thick things in there - I tell you, this "chuck" looks nothing like chuck in the grocery. All in all, there wasn't that much meat, considering the size of the original roast. It was still plenty though, so once I had it off bones, and took off any fat, I shredded the meat and added it back to the pot. It tasted really great. I am sure the port was not 100% necessary, but it would add just that little sweetness, so it's up to you.

Crock Pot BBQ Chuck

Crock Pot BBQ Chuck

Serves about 6

1 chuck roast 2½ to 3 pounds
1 cup Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce, or your favorite brand
½ cup port, or other liquid
1 small onion, diced
2 - 3 gloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

To Thicken:
½ to ¾ cup water
½ cup flour

Place the onion in the bottom of the crock pot and set the roast on top. Pour the BBQ sauce and port over the roast and add in the garlic, bay leaves and salt. Cover and cook about 6 hours on high if the roast is frozen or mostly frozen, or on low if the meat is thawed. Turn the meat over once during this period so both sides are flavored well. 

Once cooked through, remove the roast from the pot and set on a plate until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, whisk together briskly the water and flour. If it is too lumpy, pour it through a strainer into the crock pot to thicken the sauce, whisking at first to blend well. Cover the pot while working with the meat, allowing the sauce to thicken and the starchy taste to cook out.

Remove any bones or large chunks of fat from the meat. Shred the meat as desired, then add it back to the pot to reheat through. This is good on a bun, or on my Root Vegetable Flatbreads.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Sometimes it Works, Sometimes it Doesn't

I have been busy experimenting with recipes for the upcoming April 12th Wine Tasting Event for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen. I have 6 wines I will be pairing with appetizers created especially for that particular wine. Learning to rate a wine will be a part of this process of finding out what one likes about a wine, or dislikes. Finding if the wine is great all on its own, or better/worse with a food. 

I go about the pairing of food to a wine by using a list of appropriate foods that are best with a particular varietal or style of wine and selecting items that would pair well to create an appetizer. I wrote a few days back about the empanadas I created. Aside from the mess I made of the edges before getting the crimping and folding right, the flavors were excellent. While I have not tasted the wine that these will pair with, I have tasted this brand of wine in the past and I believe the flavors will be excellent. 

Normally, I create a recipe and the execution is relatively flawless. Last evening I was making an idea of an appetizer to pair with some very high end Italian wines, and the flavors were just perfect. The way it was put together, however, was most definitely not. The Porcini & Coffee Rub made the flank steak just scrumptious. The Garlic Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes were delicious. But... I used Yukon Gold potatoes and they just came out too soft to work with. I am going to experiment tonight with Russets and see if they work better. Nothing wrong with the flavors though! If you are having a nice strong red wine, such as a Cabernet or a strong Italian wine, these potatoes are the ticket!

Roasted Garlic & Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Serves 3 - 4, for a meal

3 - 6 cloves roasted garlic
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced, cooked in salted water
4 ounces Gorgonzola or Blue Crumbles (1 cup)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Put the potatoes through a ricer or whip with a mixer, adding the rest of the ingredients to blend well.

Beautiful presentation, but impractical

My original idea was to see if I could roll the slices of flank steak into a cone shape, pinning the edges with a cocktail toothpick, and then piping the mashed potatoes into the cone. That idea was a complete, total no-go. There was no way to secure the cone so it wouldn't fall open. Instead, I tried rolling the meat slice into a tube and piping the mashed potatoes into the tube, but the mashed potatoes, while delicious, were far too soft. Strike two. I had some fancy cocktail bread in the freezer so I got that out and sliced it very thinly. The bread was about 3-inches in diameter. I brushed the bread with olive oil and toasted both sides under the broiler for a minute to crisp. I cut a piece of the thinly sliced flank steak about 3 x 3-inches, set it on the bread, then topped with a piped rosette of mashed potatoes. This was a beautiful presentation, so I went with that. I invited my sister-in-law, Sherri over and along with my husband, we all ate these appetizers for dinner, discussing flavors, presentation and practicality. 

We all agreed the flavors were perfect. The presentation was lovely. However, the actual eating was a really big problem. Flank steak is a nice cut of meat, if you slice against the grain. Once a piece is as large as the 3 x 3-inch square I set on the toasted bread, there is far too much of the long grain of the meat. It was hard to take a bite. The whole piece of meat wanted to drag along, and with the mashed potatoes so very soft, they tended to want to slide off and make a mess. Not good when one is walking around with a glass of wine in one hand at a party or event.

So, we spent quite a while discussing how to remedy this problem. For one, the slice of

New idea: Flank roll atop potatoes

toast was too big. Setting any meat on a toast that size means 2 to 4 bites - large for my purpose. I will make small diameter baguettes to fit my need. (In fact I made a starter batter already to that end.) I will make the baguettes, hopefully, about 1½-inch in diameter, making a tiny bite when sliced. Instead of a flat slice of flank steak, I am planning to use sirloin, cut into cubes. I will pipe the rosette of potatoes onto the bread, and set the cube of meat on top of the potatoes. Hopefully this will make small enough bites to make them easier to eat. 

If you can find dried porcini mushrooms, I would truly recommend making the Porcini & Coffee Rub for Beef (Flank Steak, thick sliced Strip Steak, to coat a Rib Eye Roast, etc). The flavors were stupendous, though I could not truly taste the coffee. I may try this using espresso powder when making again.

Porcini & Coffee Rub for Beef 

Makes enough for 2 flank steaks

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 - 2 Starbuck's "VIA" instant coffee, French Roast or Bold
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon alder-smoked sea salt, or other salt of choice
1 tablespoon black peppercorns 
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder (more if desired)

Grind the mushrooms in a coffee grinder used only for spices. Remove to a clean jar. Place the alder smoked salt (usually in larger crystals), the peppercorns and the onion flakes in the spice grinder until fine. Add these to the porcini powder along with the coffee powder, sugar, garlic powder and ancho powder. Cover the jar and shake to combine the ingredients thoroughly. Sprinkle onto each side of the steak and press in well. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight before proceeding with your recipe.

For flank steak, I set a rack under the broiler so the meat will be about 4-inches from the element and broil for 6 minutes per side. Tent with foil for 15 minutes before slicing thinly, at a strong diagonal, across the grain of the meat.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Empanadas to Pair with Malbec

April 12th is the date of the upcoming Winefest Rennaisance Wine-tasting event for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen. I will be hosting a wine rating and food pairing in one area, in order to try and help people better pinpoint what they like or dislike in a wine, and to see what a correct food pairing can do with the flavor of the wine. Many people like wine, but know little about it. Many will blacklist a whole grape varietal on the basis of tasting a wine made from one vintner's interpretation. Others will believe a Riesling is synonymous with "Piesporter" - one very tiny area - knowing nothing of the grape and its possibilities. I try to rectify these misapprehensions wherever I go.

For this wine tasting event, I will have six different wines, from all over the world. I have fairly well made decisions on the foods to pair with each of these wines.

1. Prosecco from Italy will pair with Smoked Salmon Mousse atop a Savory Hazelnut Blue Cheese Wafer
2. Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc) from France will pair with Individual Chicken Artichoke Cheese Balls atop baguette slice
3. Conundrum White blend from California will pair with Chicken and Raisin Samosas
4. Pinot Noir from California will pair with Chicken, Pear and Onion Tartlets with Chevre Cream
5. Malbec from Argentina will pair with Smoky Beef & Currant Empanadas
6. Port from Portugal will be paired with a dark chocolate, still undecided in form. 

I had recently made the Chicken, Pear and Onion Tartlets, (see my blog of February 24, 2014) to pair with a Chenin Blanc. In this case these same flavors will pair as well with a Pinot Noir, so I have that recipe already, with the flavors well paired in my mind. The two wines causing more angst over the pairing were the Conundrum and the Malbec. I decided to try the empanadas first. A little while back (blog of January 7, 2014) I made empanadas with leftover Barbecued Pork, and using puff pastry as the dough. While these tasted wonderful, there was too much pastry dough-to-meat-ratio. At the time I filed that concept for later. Yesterday I finally got around to checking out other possibilities.

Smoky Beef and Currant Empanadas

The particular Argentinian Malbec's flavor profile is "smoky, rich with black fruits, cocoa, hints of tobacco and leather. . . fat, layered and boldly rich." I read in many places how Malbecs go exceedingly well with sausage and richly spiced foods. At first I thought of creating my own sausage, but as usual, my ideas morph continually over a period of days as my mind cogitates. What I ended up deciding on was using my own "Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub" with an extra dose of Smoked Paprika to really pick up on the smoky aspect as well as the cocoa flavor. I added currants to the flavors to bring in a subtle sweet fruitiness. I first thought of using pork, changed to pork and beef, and then, finally just beef. 

October 22, 2019 Update:  These were originally paired with a Malbec wine, and there was nothing at all wrong with that pairing. I converted some people to Malbec on that basis. However, at another wine tasting, with the same empanadas, meant to pair with a Malbec, again that pairing was very good. But!

In the course of the tasting, I happened to try these empanadas with a Predator 'Old Vine' Zinfandel. This wine has a slightly smoky note and it was the absolutely most fabulous pairing for these empanadas, ever.

Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub 

Makes 1⅓ cups rub mix
 
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Spanish
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika (Pimienta de la Vera)
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder, or more to taste
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chipotle powder, optional
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
 
Mix all ingredients until thoroughly blended. If storing, use an airtight container and keep in a cool, dry place away from heat or light.

I had no real empanada dough recipe, so I looked online and found an Argentinian woman's site with recipes for real Argentinian Empanadas and the dough. I am not using the filling recipe in any way, shape or form, but the dough recipe intrigued me. Not a yeast dough, yet kneaded for 10 minutes to build the gluten. I know my way around yeast doughs, but had rarely seen a dough where kneading was so important without yeast. The closest thing to this idea is when making pasta or noodle dough. I had to try it out. The woman's recipe was in Spanish (see her site here), but as I spoke Spanish very fluently for a good 10 years, I had no difficulty with that part. Her measurements were in grams and milliliters, so I weighed and measured it to cups and ounces.

Empanada Dough

Enough for about 40 or more (4 - 5 inch) rounds

3¼ cups all-purpose flour (use an extra 1/4 cup aside if needed)
½ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons milk
⅔ cup lukewarm water

Left, sealed edge; Right, folding and crimping

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, place the flour and salt. Add in the butter pieces and with a pastry blender or whisk attachment, cut in the butter. Switch to a dough hook (or use a spoon if by hand) and mix in the egg, starting from the center, as when making noodle dough. Add in the oil and milk and continue to mix. Begin adding the warm water. When the dough comes together, if kneading by hand, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, allow the dough hook to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Once kneaded, set the dough aside in a bowl, lightly covered, and set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

When ready to work with the dough, I found the dough to be very elastic, which made it easy stretching it over the filling without holes. Roll the dough thinly. Being so elastic, after cutting 5-inch rounds, they shrunk back to about 3-inches. After cutting out all the circles, I rolled each one individually to about 5 inches before filling. Exact roundness is unnecessary. Moisten all around the edge of the dough, place a rounded tablespoon of filling in the center, then stretch the one side over to completely enclose the filling, pressing very firmly to seal. 

After sealing, begin folding and crimping the edges, again pressing very firmly, creating an almost braided appearance. I had never done this before, so it wasn't until about my 30th empanada (out of 38) that the folding process began to be remotely even. The empanadas can be baked or fried. I prefer baking. Brush the tops well with one beaten egg. Prick the tops with a knife in 3 or 4 places. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes, until golden and glossy.

Smoky Beef & Currant Empanada Filling

Enough for about 38 empanadas

Smoky Beef & Currant Empanadas, out of oven

2 tablespoons bacon fat or other oil
1½ pounds sirloin, cut into very tiny cubes
1 teaspoon salt
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced or through a garlic press
¾ cup currants
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon bacon fat or other oil
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 can (8-ounces dry weight) mushroom stems and pieces, minced
2 tablespoons Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub, above
1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
½ teaspoon salt

Dry the meat well on paper toweling. Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the first 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and then the meat. The meat will begin to leach out a lot of liquid. Generally this is to be avoided, but I wanted enough of the liquid to soften the currants later. Sprinkle on the first teaspoon of salt and cook the meat until there is just a little bit of liquid left. Add in the garlic and toss well, then the currants, cooking until the liquid has evaporated. Remove the mixture to a bowl. 

Add the tablespoon of bacon fat to the pan with the onions and cook, stirring frequently until the onions begin to look golden, but not browned. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms and onions start to brown. Return the meat mixture to the pan, along with the Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub, smoked paprika and the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss well to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool to at least lukewarm.

Fill the empanada wrappers with this mixture; seal, crimp, brush with egg wash, prick with a knife and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.

These empanadas came out far better than I even hoped. The flavors are spectacular, and I can easily (in my mind) taste the flavors with a Malbec wine. The use of bacon fat to fry the meat and onions was to incorporate more of the smoke and sausage idea. All the flavors married perfectly. My crimping may be pitiful, but the flavors were precisely right.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Fantastic Beef Stew with Sour Cream

I was inspired yesterday. I knew I was going to make a stew. I asked my husband what he'd like and he said "beef stew, with lots of potatoes". Okay, I could do that. I got 2 (1-pound) packages of beef stew meat from the freezer early yesterday. By 2 o'clock it was just barely thawed enough to break apart. Then I was pondering what sort of stew to make. I need to go grocery shopping. My vegetable drawer was almost empty - not something that happens often. Did i want to just follow a tried and true recipe or try something new? I looked through some recipes but nothing really called me.

Beef Stew with Sour Cream

Basic ingredients

I figured I would just start with the meat and add whatever sounded good! I started with all the vegetables left in the fridge - bell peppers and celery, and some garlic and thyme and a little parsley. I don't use celery in stew very often, but it is a good filler. I had 2 onions left and potatoes in the pantry. I thought I would use mushrooms, since I had cans of them, and frozen peas. And then I thought about the sour cream in the fridge. Okay, I had basic ingredients, and I was ready to start. I like some of the quasi-Hungarian types of goulash, though any recipe for "goulash" I have tried to make has failed to please my husband. We used to frequent a German restaurant in Orlando, which had something they called "goulash soup". It was slightly thickened, had a lot of shredded beef and potatoes, and was deep in color with an obvious tomato base of some kind. No recipe I have ever tried - and I have tried many ways to duplicate this "soup" - has ever remotely satisfied my husband's memory. Oh well.

So, that was not the goal for last night's stew. 

Steps 2 & 3: Brown meat - add to stew pot

Still, the thought of a tomato base with the sour cream at the end was sort of there in my mind. Proceeding with that idea, I browned the meat. I have a wonderfully large braising pot with a lid, and love to use it for stew. It is wide and low, so it has a lot of surface area. Somehow, stews just seem to get done nicely in that pot. I got it out and set it next to the stove. I used a large nonstick skillet to brown the onions and then the meat. I added flour after the last batch of meat was browned, for a little thickening. All that went into the braising pot once done. Adding in the celery and peppers, thyme, some salt and pepper and bay leaves, I thought of Hungarian paprika. I love paprika; it is another spice that was often used during my childhood. Once the skillet was emptied, I added water and stirred up the browned bits, then added tomato paste. I had first thought of canned petite diced tomatoes or maybe tomato sauce, but ended opting for the paste. I stirred that into the water in the skillet and poured it over the meat and vegetables in the braiser. Into the oven went the covered pot and the stew simmered for 2½ hours.

To finished the stew, I cooked cubed potatoes on top of the stove, added frozen peas to the stew straight from the oven, so they thawed nicely. Sour cream at the end was the perfect final touch. The stew was so amazingly delicious. My husband loved it, too, which makes it just that much better. Comfort food at its best.

Beef Stew with Sour Cream

Serves 6 to 8

olive oil or bacon fat for browning, as needed
2 onions, in ½-inch cubes
3 - 4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 pounds beef stew meat, in 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 green bell peppers, in cubes
3 large stalks celery, sliced

Steps 4 & 5 add flour to pan, remove to stew pot

1 large can (about 13.25 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
½ cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 - 2 bay leaves, depending on size
1 teaspoon sugar to round out flavor
2 - 3 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons flour
4 cups water
1 small can (6-ounces) tomato paste
2 pounds potatoes, peeled, about 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups frozen peas
1½ cups sour cream

Have ready a large stew pot or braising pot, with tight fitting lid. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Steps 6 & 7: Add water and tomato paste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in some oil or bacon fat. Add the onions and saute until they are just translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Remove the onions and garlic to the stew pot. Add more oil to the skillet if needed and brown the meat in 2 or 3 batches (Steps 2 & 3), taking care not to over crowd the pan or the meat will not brown properly. Brown all the meat, removing to the pot with the onions once done. With the last batch of meat (Steps 4 & 5), add in the flour and toss to completely moisten, then remove the meat to the stew pot.

Steps 8 & 9 all ingredients mixed together, ready to cook

While the onions and meat are cooking, chop the peppers and celery and add them to the stew pot, along with the mushrooms, parsley, paprika, thyme, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper (Step 8). Once the last batch of meat has been added to the stew pot, add some of the water to the skillet, stirring to pick up any browned bits in the pan. Add the tomato paste and stir until completely blended (Steps 6 & 7). Add this liquid to the stew pot, along with the remaining water. Set the stew pot on the stove to bring up to a bare simmer (Step 9), then cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place the pot in the oven at 300 degrees, or whatever temperature will just maintain a simmer, for about 2½ hours, until the meat is tender.

Just before the stew is done, prepare the potatoes and cook them in water to just cover, with 1 tablespoon of salt until they are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes. Remove the stew pot from the oven. Remove lid carefully and add the cooked potatoes and the frozen peas and stir to combine. Allow the peas a few minutes to completely heat through. Stir in the sour cream, garnish with more parsley, if desired, and serve.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Warming Vegetable Soup on Another Cold Night

We had a brief spate of warmer weather, getting into the low 40s for about 3 days, but that is gone again, and we are back to sub-zero temperatures. It was at -12 when I went to bed last night, and tonight may reach -21. Again. Sigh. So, a nice warming soup is always appreciated on nights such as these, and yesterday I made my vegetable soup; a one-pot meal at its best!

Beef Vegetable Soup with Beans & Barley

My vegetable soup varies depending on what I have available. It could be beef vegetable or chicken vegetable. It might have more, or just other vegetables, depending on what is in the fridge when I decide. I like lots of flavors, all lending their goodness to the finished product. My husband likes a soup you can just about stand a spoon in, so adding everything but the kitchen sink is not a problem. He is a picky eater and likes

Saffron

few vegetables, most of which are the starchy ones like potatoes, peas and corn. When I add veggies all cut small, I can add things he would not normally eat, and he still enjoys it immensely. I find this a terrific opportunity to add vegetables to his diet. He also loves things like barley, beans and/or lentils added in the soup, as do I.

Some of the veggies I might add or substitute if they had been on hand are butternut squash, parsnips, green beans, zucchini, Napa cabbage and/or sweet potato. Things he won't tolerate, even when all mixed up like this are broccoli or cauliflower, but those could be added also, if they are favorites of yours. When I was in Guatemala, a favorite soup that was made often was called "Cocido", meaning "Cooked". Not that exciting a name, yet the resultant soup was similar to mine in flavors, but with all the vegetables left mostly whole. They would cook a chunk of beef with whole onion, carrots, a quarter or half of a cabbage, potatoes, some kind of squash, corn on the cob (maybe cut into 2 or 3 chunks), and many other things. I loved that soup. Another inspiration was my paternal Grandmother's soup. She added far less vegetables, but the broth was stupendous! Saffron was one of her

Figures 1 & 2: Browning meat & onion; adding vegetables

magic ingredients, and I love saffron with a passion, ever since that early introduction.

So, over the years I have made a vegetable soup, with ever-changing ingredients as the contents of my fridge or the seasonal availability changed. This is the soup I made last evening. During winter, I make this soup with a can of corn, where in the summer I might cut the kernels off fresh cobs. In summer I might add fresh tomatoes, chopped, where in winter I use a can of petite diced tomatoes. Dried beans can be added instead of a can, if desired - the soup will cook long enough that the beans will cook through. Be flexible. Be warned though: this makes a huge pot. By the time all the vegetables are added, you have a very large pot full and could feed at least 8 or 10 hungry people.

Beef Vegetable Soup with Beans & Barley

Makes a large pot of soup, to feed 8 to 10

Figures 3 & 4: garlic, ginger, cilantro, parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 or 2 pounds beef stew meat, more or less as desired
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 - 4 stalks celery, sliced
2 - 3 carrots, diced 
1 large bell pepper (or more than one, using different colors)
¼ of a cabbage, cubed 
1 - 2 potatoes, depending on size, peeled, diced8 cups water (2 quarts)
1 can (14.5 ounces) petite diced tomatoes with liquid
1 can (15.5 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
3 -4 cloves garlic, finely minced
fresh ginger, equal to the volume of garlic, minced
1 large handful each cilantro and parsley, minced
2 bay leaves
a few sprigs of fresh thyme (leave whole and fish out later, or strip leaves and add)
3 - 4 teaspoons salt
a few grinds of black pepper
¼ - ½ teaspoon saffron, crushed

Figure 5: Bring to a boil

½ cup pearl barley (I prefer the long-cooking kind) 
1 can (15.5 ounces) white beans, drained and rinsed 
1½ cups frozen peas
 
In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil on medium high. Add the meat cubes and cook quickly, browning thoroughly. Add the onion and toss quickly, browning lightly. You want to see a fair amount of brown in the bottom of the pan. This gives both flavor and color to the soup. Add in half the water, to start, stirring up the brown in the pan. Begin adding in vegetables: celery, bell pepper, carrots, cabbage, potatoes (Figures 1 & 2). Add in the cans of tomatoes and corn.

Beef Vegetable Soup with Beans and Barley

Chop together the garlic, ginger, cilantro and parsley until fine and add to the pot (Figures 3 & 4). Add the bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper and saffron. Add the pearl barley if using the long cooking kind. If not, wait for at least an hour before adding the barley. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer (Figure 5). Keep the soup simmering for at least 2 to 3 hours on very low heat. Wait to add the drained and rinsed beans and the peas until about 10 minutes prior to serving, just to heat through.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Another Wine & Food Pairing

My Garrigue Seasoning Mixture

Yesterday I wrote about the mini tarts I made to pair with a Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc. Today I am going to describe my thinking on the food pairing I made for the 2003 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape.

As I mentioned in my post on February 18th, I learned a new term when researching the flavors to pair with this Rhone / Southern France wine. While the term "garrigue" has been around for a while, I have not been reading the different wine publications as avidly as I once did, and missed ever hearing about this new descriptor. It is used to describe all the bouquet of aromas from the wild herbs that grow in that region of France. Any time a grape grows in a very specific soil and environment, this affects the grapes' flavor, and therefore the wine made from them. It is said that many Rhone wines retain some of this garrigue aroma. It was a bouquet of scents I was unfamiliar with, as a whole, and so I had never been able to detect this bouquet in a wine.

Showing long, lengthwise grain of the meat

I had drunk this particular Chateauneuf before; we had various bottles in our cellar. This time would be a brand new tasting, with this new idea in mind. I had created a sort of spice seasoning mixture I creatively called "Garrigue Seasoning." I know - not so creative, but what else could I possibly call this kind of mixture? I intended to use this dry spice mix to flavor a flank steak, with the idea to also marinate the steak in a mixture of currants, balsamic and olive oil. I dry-rubbed the meat with the spices first, then poured over the wet mixture and marinated it a full day. Once I broiled and sliced the meat, it didn't have nearly the flavor I hoped for, though it was very good, and paired well with the wine.  I believe if I were to make this again, I would dry rub the meat, possibly with even more of the rub than I used, and a little olive oil to marinate. 

Cheddar Rectangles

Other foods I chose to pair with a wine that is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) were sharp cheddar and arugula, with its peppery flavors. I broiled the meat and sliced it very thinly across the grain, at an angle in order to make each slice more than double the width it would be if slicing straight down. If you have never used a flank steak, it is a very thin piece of meat. It can be a little tough because it is very lean, but cutting across the grain of the meat makes all the fibers of the meat very short, and therefore edible.

I looked for the sharpest cheddar I could find, and sliced it into ¼-inch slices. Then I cut those slices to make them ¼-inch widths by about 1¾ to 2-inches long, approximately the width of one of the slices of the steak. I got a box of baby arugula and selected  enough leaves to use 2 per steak roll. 

Garrigue Rubbed Flank Steak Rolls with Cheddar & Arugula

This makes 50 or so rolls

Garrigue Rubbed Flank Steak Rolls with Cheddar & Arugula

1 flank steak, about 2 pounds
4 - 6 tablespoons Garrigue Seasoning (post of February 18)
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
baby arugula leaves
 
Rub the flank steak well with the Garrigue Seasoning on both sides. Sprinkle the olive oil over and rub into the seasonings and meat. Wrap well and set in the refrigerator overnight. Prepare the cheddar by making little rectangles 1/4 x 1/4 x 2-inches. These can be cut and stored in the refrigerator until needed. Select nice, small arugula leaves.
 
When ready to prepare the meat, heat the broiler and set the rack on the second level down. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, for easy cleanup later. Set a small rack onto the foil and place the meat on the rack. Place under the broiler and broil for 6 to 7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the meat. When done, tent with foil for 15 minutes before slicing.

When ready to cut the meat, set the steak with the length of the grain crosswise in front of you (as shown in picture). Hold a sharp chef's knife or carving knife at a 45 degree angle. Slice at this angle, creating thin slices, much wider than if slicing straight down. These lengths of meat will need to be cut into 2 or even 3 pieces each. The length needs to be just wide enough to roll around the cheddar and arugula leaves, crossing enough to insert a toothpick to hold them in shape.

When serving these with a good wine, always try to serve slices of bread along with, as the bread helps to absorb the alcohol. It becomes very difficult to taste and rate a wine when a few sips make you tipsy. I served these flank rolls with little slices of bread, brushed with oil and broiled lightly. The meat went well with the Chateauneuf du Pape. We also smelled the garrigue seasoning and them smelled the wine, and found that these smells were definitely apparent in the wine's bouquet. Hurray!


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.