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| Seared beef chuck, onions, carrots, celery, can of diced tomatoes whole garlic cloves, red wine, beef stock, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, & bay leaves |
It has Been SO long since I have checked in, but a few things have happened (nothing big so don't get excited).
I signed up immediately for level II of my Sommelier and I failed miserably, so not ready...I picked up some bar tending shifts at The Hideaway, which has been great!! And I am figuring out my next steps in my career path. When people ask me what I want to do I really have no one answer. There are so many things that I can/want to do for a living it's crazy! I do know this, the first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do before I go to bed is think about what I am going to cook today/tomorrow/Sunday...
This week has been epic! I went shopping on Sunday and fed three people lunch and dinner for FIVE DAYS!!! These pictures are of a beef stew I made, so delicious!
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| This is all of the impurities that I continuously skimmed off of the top |
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After 3 hours, I then added local potatoes and Hakurei turnips (also local)
This is where the photos ended, but the stew cooked for 5 hours and I garnished
it with a dollop of full fat sour cream...mmm!
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I also made Chicken Masala that my dad had made recently with shrimp and was oh so delicious, of course his was better than mine (as usual). Last night I made an amazing salad and risotto dish, the risotto is one that I have cooked for a few years now and is a serious favorite. Please do yourself and your family and friends a favor and make this recipe! You should probably double it since there are never any leftovers. I also threw together a seasonal salad of radicchio, endive, fennel, pomegranate seeds, red grapefruit, and oranges. You segment the citrus over the salad bowl and it starts the base of your dressing-just add good olive oil and salt and pepper. I garnished with some peels of Parmesan-awesome! The brightness and tartness/bitterness of the salad was beautiful with the risotto.
Another fun thing I brought home was awesome red Reuben fixins'! This one's sentimental from my childhood. Danzer's is a place near where my aunt and uncle lived in Syracuse, NY. We would go there every time we went to visit and order the same thing; Reuben egg rolls (yeah, I said it) and a "big red Reuben" without fail. These are such staples that when I moved back from Chicago I stopped in Syracuse to see my family and had to purchase a cooler to bring home an order of egg rolls and a big red Reuben for my brother. So this week I recreated, or tried to at least, with some local marble rye, Drew's all natural thousand island dressing - Russian dressing is typically used, but close enough - thinly sliced pastrami, Swiss, and some turkey - for the non-pastrami lover in the house... - and some pickled red cabbage, which I couldn't find next to the sauerkraut, but found in the international section near the Kosher section. I also got some fresh coleslaw, deli style for the non-cabbage lover in the family...(you know who you are). These turned out to be a HUGE hit and we just finished the last of it today - open faced ;)
Today, I decided to make butternut squash soup, which is unbelievably easy. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and bake face down in an over for 30-35min or until fork tender. I spray a foil lined baking sheet with non-stick spray and drizzle a little amount of olive oil and salt over the squash. I have the over at around 350-400 degrees. Then I sauteed chopped onion and fennel in some olive oil for a while then added some ginger, whole cloves of garlic, a peeled apple, and some chicken stock. After I took the squash out to let it cool so I could peel it I added some bay leaves, cracked pepper and sage to the onion mixture. Once cool enough to handle, I peeled and chopped the squash and put it in the blender and covered in the stock mixture - don't forget to remove the bay leaves!! I had to do two batches but then married them in another stock pot and let cool. I then ladled them into 4 mason jars for easy grab and go lunches or something to enjoy before dinner :) I didn't put any additional salt so adjust accordingly.
Anyhoo, I'm sorry it's been awhile and I just had to share my experience of feeding simple, healthy, and flavorful meals to my family. It is so rewarding and feels so great. Until next time!
P.s. I am grilling bacon-wrapped steaks and finishing them with Gorgonzola and making some mashed potatoes with truffle butter and honey...oh yeah and some green beans too ;)
Cheers!
Jody
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