Carne con Papas: Cuban Beef Stew
Fall is in the air and so to me that means it is time to slow cook and braise meats!
I have been really craving some good Cuban Stew. My old boss, Audry, introduced me to Cuban food when I worked for Adobe. I remember the beans, fried plantains, stews, slow cooked meats and fresh fish. My favorite dish was a stew that had these large olives dotted throughout the stew. I love olive anything, and well.. olives in stew is something to die for. I remember how everything tasted so yummy in the rich sauce. This recipe is not exactly Havana Cuba, but it works for me. I think it’s a great change of pace from the standard American style winter beef stew. I hope you try this recipe it is so homey and the richness and complexity of the sauce is well worth trying something new.
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Amy’s Italian Pot Roast
Hello Readers! I have never been a fan of pot roasts or meals that are cooked in one pot. I guess I’m a walking contradiction because the more I think of it I do like braised food, I guess I was just biased against pot roast. So I digress. After having surgery cooking was really not something I could do. Mostly because the pain medicine and using a sharp knife did not mix. So I was left sitting on the couch trying to think of something I could cook that would take minimal effort and that I could delegate most of the work to Aaron. My idea for pot roast for dinner was born.
I decided that I would give it a try mostly because I don’t like the way most people cook pot roast. I like mine with mash potatoes and sauce. I like it saucy, I must get that from my Dad. So Aaron’s first task was to hit up the store and fined me a chuck roast. He came home with a large boneless rump roast, I made it work and it was delicious. The meat just flaked apart and it was so easy to get a perfect bite with a little tomato, onion, celery, and mashed taters topped with melt in your mouth roast.
Full RecipeSteak and Kidney Pudding (Daring Bakers Challenge Apr, 2010)
The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.
For this challenge I drew inspiration from Esther, Audax and from this video. I went whole hog in and found suet from a butcher shop in Los Gatos, Ca. I had to render the fat down and turn it into a lard type substance, I did not post any of those photos because I don’t think people really want to see that part. If I make this again I will just use vegetable shorting or butter. I am glad I had a chance to cook with suet; however, it is just not healthy, or a practical ingredient for me to use again. I also chose to do a savory pudding instead of a sweet pudding.
Full RecipeAmy’s Mini Burgers
For my Birthday Aaron took me on a surprise weekend trip to Napa, Ca. I will blog about the trip later. One of the stops was Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery. On Sunday morning before we left, we made one more stop back at this truly magical dreamland bakery. I picked up a 12 pack of Brioche Rolls and a few more Macaroons for the trip home. We also hit up a local market in Napa on our way out, and picked up some Salami, Black Forest Ham, Aged Smoked Gouda, and Cheddar. So, after are long drive home our Easter dinner was yummy. Brioche Roll Sandwiches with Meats and Cheese.
I had more than a few rolls left over so I decided to store them in the refrigerator and make Mini Burgers with them for Monday nights dinner. I really like using Brioche for Burgers and for French toast. Trader Joe’s sells a larger Brioche Roll that can also work for larger size Burgers.
Full RecipeCorned Beef and Cabbage
Growing up, Corned Beef and Cabbage was something I never looked forward to eating. To this day I won’t eat boiled cabbage, I mean if I am someones guest I will be polite and try to find the smallest piece to put on my plate. My mom often made sauteed cabbage, we would eat it with polish sausage. I could deal with cabbage cooked this way and in fact I actually enjoyed it. The flavor of the browned cabbage with the onions and garlic is just so yummy. This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. So it sure comes in handy if you need to make dinner ahead of time.
After doing some research I decided to bake my Corned Beef. I really liked this recipe here and I decided to simplify it. Boiling just did not sound good to me so I skipped that part, and I had some yummy apricot jam in my refrigerator so I decided to use that as well. This is one of those days, I looked in my pantry.. Went to the store and picked up a Corned Beef and a head of Cabbage. Everything else was on hand. My $10.00 Corned Beef and Cabbage was born, and it was delicious.
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