Braised Short Ribs

You should learn how to  braise if you don’t already know.  It’s easy and rewarding.  My secret is a large Le Creuset pot.

You will need:

• Several short ribs (6-10)
• 3 carrots
• 5 celery stalks
• garlic cloves
• 1 large can of tomato paste
• 1 yellow onion

Let the short ribs warm up,  salt them, brown them in a mix of olive and vegetable oil,  remove and set aside.  Add the puree of one onion, five celery stalks, three carrots and several cloves of garlic combined in a food processor.  Cook it down in the same pan, add a large can of tomato paste and keep cooking it, scraping the bottom often.   Add about a 1/4 of a 750 ml bottle of Cabernet and a half a box of beef stock plus salt, pepper and a bay leaf.  Close lid and let it cook low and slow in a 300 degree oven for at least 4 hours.

When the ribs are done, meat will fall of the bone.   Remove bones, shred the meat and put the pot under a low broiler.  This reduces the sauce and keeps things warm.  I added some roasted boiler onions and mushrooms.

I served the meat and sauce over potato puree with lots of heavy cream and butter.

Not bad to come home to on a rainy night.

We’ve had two moves, one significant home renovation and well two kids under the age of three.  I have several obstacles and by the end of the day frivolous food blogging isn’t something I’ve got the patience for.  That explains the hiatus.  On the other hand, today turned out to be a good day.

Sloppy Joe’s

My Canadian mom friend was chatting me up this morning while the kids were playing in a church basement and she mentioned Sloppy Joe’s.   The hot topic was how to hide vegetables and make them unidentifiable.  My almost three year old will not eat it if it’s green.  Meals are a challenge for me, actually they are excruciating.  Meal time went from my favorite to least favorite time of day.  It’s so despised that I try to avoid it all together and make beans + rice, scrambled eggs or peanut butter + jelly.

Tonight I was inspired to make Sloppy Joe’s.  You’ll have to use your imagination on how to prepare it.  I’ll just disclose what I put in it:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground venison
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 bunch Toscana kale, chopped
• 1 box Pomi crushed tomato
• 3 carrots, shredded
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp. coarse mustard (Maille)
• 1 jigger of rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 or 2 shakes of Tiger Sauce (hot pepper sauce)

If you must “hide” the vegetables, puree them with an immersion blender after they are cooked down a bit and before you add the browned meat. Serve with toasted potato rolls.

Outcome:  The toddler tried one bite and decided she wanted peanut butter + jelly on her potato roll.  The baby decided that it was great and ate one very large serving plus a roll on the side.   He likes anything though, really.

King Cake

I suppose that our King Cake isn’t totally traditional, but it has the right colors.  I thought that baking the miniature baby inside might cause a toddler choking hazard so that was omitted from this cake too.

The frosting consumption of this toddler activity was certainly most entertaining.  I have many happy memories of licking the beater and I hope my little ones do too.

For my observance of Mardi Gras I intend to make two huge filet mignon steaks and crack a very nice bottle of wine I’ve been saving.  The kids can have the cake.

Enter Amy’s Organic Soups…

It’s a good alternative when souped up with a little cream or yogurt.   Storkbite really enjoyed dipping her grilled cheese sandwich and apple slices in the soup.

One of these days we will get back to the way things used to be when the 2 month old and 2 year old grow up.

Hopefully I won’t loose my mojo.

Now that we have regained control (ha-ha!) in the household with our now two month old and two year old, we are eating and cooking again.

In other news I just sold our apartment along with my beautiful kitchen.  All my supplies are packed and we are in a temporary place for six months.  The days, weeks and months ahead will be more like cooking at a camp out.  We’re not starving though.  I baked some delicious date and walnut cinnamon buns, turkey and spaetzle, and a giant zante currant challah.

Here’s our new bun, Ed.  With that I dedicate the new year to cooking for four!

Smoked Salmon

Enter Frank Hederman…

Several years ago I read Colman Andrews’ article on the food revolution going on in West Cork in Saveur magazine. I have since been inspired to seek out these small artisanal producers.

My husband and my toddler decided on a whim to head to West Cork, rent a car and drive around.  The only rule we had was to stop at every sign that said “Honey For Sale” and that was our idea of an ideal family vacation.   Throw in a rented farmhouse, some sheep, cows and a quest for the finest smoked salmon and that is how we spent two lovely weeks which we can’t wait to repeat soon.

On this quest I went looking for both Frank Hederman of the Belvelly Smoke House and Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery.  Ms. Barnes proved impossible to find and after asking every farmer, sanitation worker and school kid getting off the bus in Castletownsend, we aborted our mission.  I’ve had Ms. Barnes’ salmon before at a bridal shower in Connecticut and it is indeed unforgettable.

Mr. Hederman on the other hand has a well marked smokehouse and a fancy little room where you can sample his wares.  It’s behind the house where he and his family seem to live.  He will even give you a demonstration of the cold smoke house which literally blows cooled smoke through a vent in the floor.  We saw oats being smoked for these delightful little Ditty’s Irish Oatcakes which are the perfect accompaniment to the smoked salmon.

Frank greeted us by telling us that Alice Waters rings him up every Christmas asking for his salmon which is her favorite.  And after sampling it, it’s my favorite too!  I’m telling you that this smoked salmon is a dream come true — it’s rich, buttery, silky, supple, fleshy and distinct of all other smoked salmon I’ve ever had.

I think I spent close to 60 euros on two small pieces and three slabs of mackerel as my only souvenir from our trip.

After my big purchase I had to shepherd this prize around Ireland as we traveled a bit before coming home.  The smoked salmon was a stowaway in a communal refrigerator at the Dzongchen Beara Buddhist meditation center where I was concerned that both my salmon and I would be tossed at any moment harboring a dead fish.  From there it traveled to the end of the Dingle Peninsula and on to Bunratty before our flight home.  We constantly checked it’s temperature and hoped for the best.   Of course it survived — it’s smoked!

We enjoyed it here in our own home kitchen alongside the first French breakfast radishes of the season and Ditty’s Irish Oatcakes with a nice white wine and some creme fraiche.  We savoured each piece and are very eager to return to Frank for more.

Grilled Chicken and Boursin Sandwich

First slice up your onions and add them to olive oil in a hot pan on medium heat and caramelize.  I find that adding a bit of honey once they begin to turn color helps them along.

To build your sandwich, start with a toasted bun slathered with Boursin cheese, crispy bacon, a grilled chicken breast, caramelized onions and lettuce.  Sometimes the night calls for Boursin cheese slathered on both sides of the bun which was the case here.

It’s pretty darn tasty and a very good excuse to buy the sweet Vidalia onions that are in stores now.

Grilling in your home kitchen can be done but it makes for a smoky mess.  Such is life for apartment dwellers like us.  We were finally reminded of the pleasure of great simple food after attending an Italian produced barbecue.  I had some fantastic grilled zucchini there and decided that I needed more. Together with some butter rubbed bone-in pork chops we had quite a great feast and it was almost like being outside, well except for the smoke detector of course.

For the chops, rub with some butter, salt and pepper then grill.  For the zucchini, slice thick lengthwise brush with olive oil, salt and pepper then grill.  10 minutes later, consume.

Cobb Salad

Nothing in this salad was local, not the bacon, bleu cheese, avocado, chicken, lettuce, nor the cranberries.  It was very delicious and gave us hope that spring is on the way and soon little lettuce and arugula shoots will sprout and fill our CSA box once again.  In the meantime I have to buy my lettuce for $3.49 a head at our local rip-off Met Foods.

To make a Cobb, just arrange all the items I mentioned above over lettuce dressed with a simple vinaigrette.  It will make you feel like you are dining at a country club on a bright sunny day.

Egg Rolls with Pork
You can put just about anything you want in an egg roll so I used whatever I had.  Roll them according to the directions on the package and seal them with egg wash for good results.

For mine, use 1/2 lb. ground pork, browned; 1 small cabbage, shredded; 2 large carrots, shredded; 6 scallions, chopped; 1 tsp. celery seed, and 1 sprinkle curry powder.

You may be curious to know why I used curry powder?  Well, it’s all I had and oddly enough it worked and made our little egg rolls much more compelling than they would have otherwise been.

Fry them in about 1/2 inch of screaming hot vegetable oil until browned and bubbly.  Let them rest of paper towels and serve with a chili or plum sauce.

It was better than being at a Chinese restaurant for me!