Tag Archives: dinner

Nov4

Fresh Boiled Tongue with Assorted Winter Veggies Served with Mustard Sauce

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Fresh Boiled Beef Tongue

Fresh Boiled Tongue with Assorted Winter Veggies Served with Mustard Sauce

Serves 6-8

 OK—I was bored with the usual and when I encountered a beef tongue decently priced at Atkinsons’ Valley Market, I bought it with gusto.  20 degrees outside is perfect for an interior made tongue dish.  As I was cutting away the skin, I had warm memories of my mother serving my first introductory tongue at the table—skin on-in full glory and I was only 5 or 6.  Oh my—I couldn’t believe it however when my mother was done peeling off the skin and serving it, I thought differently.  It was delicious and still is—but the memories are strong and I had a good laugh today as I was pealing the skin—in memory of my dear mother. (Hint: You really are supposed to peal the skin pre-serving it.)  Oh well, leave it to the Dutch.

Ingredients for the cooking of the tongue:

  1. One Fresh Beef Tongue
  2. 2 Medium Sized Onions—Peeled and Left Whole
  3. 1 Large Peeled Carrots Cut into Large Pieces
  4. 4 Celery ribs with Leaves
  5. 8 Peppercorns
  6. 1 Tsp. Salt
  7. 6 Sprigs Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
  8. 1 Small Green Cabbage cut into small wedges
  9. 10-12 Small Red Potatoes
  10. I More Large Peeled Carrot Cut into Large Pieces
  11. More Flat Leaf Italian Parsley to serve as garnish (this is really delicious to eat with the tongue)

Instructions for the cooking of the tongue:

  1. In a large deep pot, place ingredients # 1-7 mentioned above in the pot and barely cover all with water.
  2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a rolling simmer; cover and cook for about 3 hours. Do watch to make sure you aren’t simmering to much or that the water level is still adequate.
  3. At the 3 hour point, remove the tongue (it should be fork tender at this point) and add to the pot the cabbage, small red potatoes and 2nd carrot.
  4. Peel the tongue and remove the roots.  Place the prepared tongue back in the pot on top of everything.
  5. Simmer fairly briskly covered for another 1/2 hour or until the potatoes, 2nd carrot and the cabbage are done.
  6. When they are done, turn off the heat.
  7. Now is the time to make the mustard sauce.

Ingredients for the mustard sauce:

  1. 3 Tblsp. butter
  2. 2 Tblsp. flour
  3. 1 Tsp. prepared mustard—which ever kind you wish
  4. 1 C. of the tongue broth.

Instructions for the mustard sauce:

  1. In a pan, over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour till totally dissolved.
  2. Add the prepared mustard and slowly add in the tongue broth.
  3. Bring to a gentle boil and take off heat.  If there are still lumps in your sauce, strain it.
  4. Serve in a gravy bowl for guests to pour for themselves or pre-plate for guests with the sauce over all.
  5. 5.       Make sure to add more roughly chopped flat leaf Italian parsley to your servings. 
Oct19

Veal Meatballs with Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Black Olives

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veal mealballs with tomatoes, black olives and mushrooms

Veal Meatballs with Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Black Olives

Serves 4

It’s nice to see different kinds of ground meats at the markets today.  I just made a wonderful free form ground lamb puff pasty tart and now that I spied ground veal at Atkinsons’ I thought that I would do something with that.  This is an easy recipe with some variations for you to choose that will make the end result zing in different ways and is pretty enough to serve for company.

Ingredients:

  1. 3/4 to 1 Lb. ground veal
  2. 5 large whole white or brown mushrooms—one finely chopped
  3. 3 garlic cloves –diced
  4. 1 egg-well beaten with some  salt and freshly ground pepper
  5. 1 Tblsp. grated Parmesan
  6. 1 medium onion diced
  7. 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
  8. 1 Tsp. minced fresh sage leaves or a pinch of dried crumbled sage leaves or instead with a pinch of nutmeg
  9. 1/2 C. (or more) plain bread crumbs
  10. 5 rinsed plum tomatoes-cut long ways in quarters
  11. 3 Tblsp. olive oil or butter or a combination of both
  12. S&P
  13. 1 large bay leaf
  14. 1 C. white vermouth or white wine and possibly some chicken broth
  15. 1 Tsp. minced fresh rosemary or fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 Tsp. of dried of whatever you choose)
  16. 1/2 Tsp. Turmeric
  17. 1 C. pitted black olives (optional if you don’t care for olives)

Directions:

  1. For the meatballs, combine the ground veal with 1 finely chopped mushroom, 1 diced garlic clove, 1 Tblsp. grated Parmesan, 1 Tblsp. diced onion, 1 Tblsp. chopped parsley, the sage (or pinch of nutmeg) and the well beaten egg.  Mix well with your hands and then add 1/2 C. (or more if you feel necessary) breadcrumbs. Form the ground veal into 1” diameter meatballs.
  2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil/butter and then gently place in the meatballs.  Turn them gently with a fork or tongs till they are nicely browned (about 5 minutes). Remove them to a plate.
  3. In the same pot you should have enough oil and juice to brown the remaining onion.  Stir the onion till softened (5 to 10 minutes) and then add the remaining garlic and cook one minute more.  Add the S&P and the wine; if you would care for more liquid you can add 1/2 C. or more chicken broth.  Let come to a slow simmer and add the tomatoes, 2 Tblsp. chopped parsley, bay leaf, turmeric and rosemary or thyme.  Stir gently and then add the meatballs.
  4. Turn the heat to very low, cover and cook, stirring very gently every now and then for about 45 minutes.  Add the whole mushrooms and black olives at the very end; continue simmering with a cover on till the mushrooms are tender and done (about 5-10 minutes).
  5. I like this stew served on top of fluffy white rice and a green salad for a side.  Crusty French bread is always a nice addition.
Oct13

Ground Lamb, Greens and Cheese Puff Pastry Torte

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ground lamb and greens puff pastry tart

Ground Lamb, Greens and Cheese Puff Pastry Torte

Serves 6 to 8

 

It was the time of the Trailing of the Sheep Fest here in Ketchum, ID and just the sound of the baaaa’s made me hungry for a little lamb.  So, I found some nice ground lamb at Atkinsons’s and inspired by a recipe from my “Puff” cookbook by Martha Holmberg, I made this yummy dish.  Ground lamb is usually not that cheap but honestly, when you consider that I had so many servings of it for myself and even for a guest one evening, I bet that I didn’t spend more than $2.00 a night for my healthy and lovely meals.  I had a little salad on the side and a bit of my homemade coffee ice cream accompanied by our tasty fall pears; the whole repast was perfect. And by the by, I did have this dish several nights in a row and did NOT get tired of having it—because it was so light and flavorful.

 

This is a 3 part recipe—one for the lamb filling, one for the greens and one for the puff pastry assembly:

 

Ingredients for the lamb filling:

  1. 3/4 lb. to 1 Lb. ground lamb
  2. 2 Tblsp. for the lamb browning and another 2 Tblsp. olive oil for the sauce
  3. S&P
  4. 1 small onion, finely chopped
  5. 4 garlic cloves, minced
  6. 1/2 C. white wine or vermouth
  7. 1 C. chicken broth
  8. 1-14 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained HOWEVER RESERVE 1/4 C. of juice for later use
  9. 1-5 inch. sprig of fresh rosemary or 1 Tblsp. dried
  10. 1/4 Tsp. nutmeg
  11. 1 Tsp. balsamic vinegar
  12. 6 drops Tabasco or more according to your taste
  13. 3/4 C. plain breadcrumbs
  14. 1/3 C. finely grated fresh Parmesan
  15. 2 Tblsp. chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

Directions for the lamb filling:

  1. Heat 2 Tblsp. of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the lamb, breaking it up so that there are no large pieces.  Season with S&P and cook till it’s no longer pink.  Remove the lamb and set aside.  Pour off the remaining grease.
  2. Add the remaining 2 Tblsp. oil to the skillet and place on medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook stirring until very soft and fragrant—but don’t let brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the wine and boil till the mixture is glazed (about 1 minute). Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and the 1/4 C. reserved tomato juice, rosemary sprig and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.  Adjust heat to a lively simmer and cook until it has a nice thick consistency—like a marinara sauce (10-15 minutes).
  3. Remove from the heat, stir in the lamb, balsamic vinegar, hot sauce, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and optional sun-dried tomatoes.  Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, vinegar or hot sauce.  Set aside and if you wish this can be refrigerated and saved till the next day.

 

Ingredients for the greens:

  1. 1 Lb. (roughly) fresh Swiss chard, kale or spinach
  2. 1 Tblsp. olive oil
  3. S&P
  4. 1 Tblsp. sweet butter
  5. 1 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
  6. 1/4 C. half and half
  7. 1/4 Tsp. nutmeg
  8. 1 egg, well beaten

Directions for the greens:

  1. Clean well and rough chop the greens.
  2. In a large skillet or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, add the greens and toss with tongs until wilted; cook them until tender. Hint: if you are using kale, it will take longer than the chard or spinach, the latter which will take the least amount of time.  Squeeze out the juice from the greens by pressing against the side of the pan and pouring off the juices.
  3. Over medium heat add the butter to the greens in the skillet/wok and toss to blend ; then add the flour and toss to blend; add the half-and-half stirring frequently until the greens are coated by a nice creamy sauce (2-3 minutes).  Season with S&P to taste and nutmeg.  Taste, adjust the seasoning and stir in the well beaten egg.

Ingredients for the final assembly:

  1. One sheet puff pastry, unthawed—per package directions
  2. 1 C. crumbled feta or 1 C. grated parmesan plus 1/4  to  1/2 C. chopped ricotta—your choice
  3. 1 plum or juicy tasty tomato, thinly sliced
  4. 1-10” Pyrex pie dish or something similar which is oven proof (you don’t need to pre-oil)

Very Final Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. On a lightly floured board, roll one sheet of pastry into a 14-inch square and transfer to your pie dish with the pastry edges sticking over the pie dish.
  3. Spread the bottom of the pastry with 1/2 of the cooled lamb filling ; spread half of the cheese of your choice next; top with the greens then repeat these layers once again ending with the greens and very lastly finishing with the sliced tomatoes.
  4. Crimp the edges from the pastry over the filling.
  5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes till filling is hot and edges are browned; let it rest about 15 to 30 minutes before serving.
  6. If you have left over’s, you can reheat the remainders in the dish at the same oven temp for about 20 minutes.
  7. You can also pre-make the sauce and the greens without the final addition of the egg the day before and then add the egg to the greens and assemble it all the next day.
  8. If you wish to make it into a real pie, you can unthaw and roll out the second sheet of puff pastry and use that as your topping.  I frankly like the open face look and feel that the extra crust is unnecessary both for pretty presentation and calories.  However, if you choose to place a top crust, make sure to make slits in it  for the steam to escape before baking and cut the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.
Oct7

Eggs in Mini Pumpkins with Squash or Sweet Potato Hash

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Eggs in Mini Pumpkins with Squash or Sweet Potato Hash

mini-pumpkin, egg and squash hashegg in mini pumpkin w sweet potato hash

Serves 4

Left picture with squash; right one with sweet potato

This is probably not a dish that you will make more than once or twice a year, but for around Halloween or Thanksgiving, it’s a colorful and yummy dish with which to surprise your family and overnight guests for a breakfast or brunch. It’s a pretty and unique dish to serve and I think just plain memorably fun.

Ingredients:

  1. 4 mini orange pumpkins (4 inches in diameter) which you’ve cut about 1/3rd of the way down, seeded and spoon-scraped clean the insides so that an egg will fit in nicely. The pumpkin inner flesh is delicious to eat with the egg. SAVE THE TOPS FOR DÉCOR and if they have a stem, all the better.
  2. 1-2 Tblsp. olive oil for the frying pan
  3. 1 small package cut up fresh squash and cut up even smaller by you into 1/2 inch diced pieces or 1 sweet potato peeled and coarsely shredded or grated.
  4. 1/2 C. onion or shallot, minced
  5. 1 red pepper cut longwise into slender strips
  6. 1/2 C. uncooked bacon, diced or Black Forest ham diced
  7. 1/2 C. olive oil
  8. 1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
  9. 1-2 Tsp. red chili flakes
  10. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  11. 2 Tblsp. fresh sage or rosemary, minced
  12. S&P
  13. 4 large eggs

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 the day of serving.
  2. In a small bowl whip together the olive oil, vinegar, chili flakes, garlic cloves and sage or rosemary. Reserve about 2 Tblsp. to either brush on the bottom of the pumpkins before placing in an egg or to drizzle on top of your egg when the egg is cooked.
  3. In a medium sized frying pan, heat up the 1-2 Tblsp. olive oil and sauté the onion or shallot along with the red pepper strips until both are softened (about 5 minutes).
  4. Add the vinaigrette to the onion/red peppers and quickly add the sweet potato or squash; gently stir everything so well mixed.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, uncovered until softened and tasting pretty good (about 10 minutes).  At this point you can put a lid over the skillet to keep warm until you serve your egg/pumpkin or you can refrigerate it and reheat it with the pumpkins and eggs when you cook them. If you refrigerate the hash, let it come to room temp before putting in the oven with the pumpkins. Baking the hash in the oven will crispen the hash and you may prefer it like that.
  5. The day of serving, for the pumpkins, line a baking sheet with foil and place them on the foil lined baking sheet, cut side down.
  6. Bake the pumpkins on the sheet for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
  7. Turn the pumpkins right side up on your baking sheet and if you wish, brush the inside of the pumpkins with a little of the leftover vinaigrette and season with S&P or save the vinaigrette for top of the egg drizzle when the egg is cooked. Crack one egg into the center of each pumpkin and if you wish to have a crisper hash or need to reheat your room temp hash, single layer that around your pumpkins.
  8. Return the baking sheet to the oven and continue baking until the eggs are almost set—around 15 minutes.  Start keeping a close eye on them about 10 minutes on and remember that when the pumpkin is out of the oven, the eggs will cook a bit more inside the hot pumpkins.
  9. To serve: Spoon the hash onto plates and nestle the pumpkins in the center. Lean one pumpkin top on the side of each pumpkin.  Drizzle a bit of the vinaigrette on top of the egg if you desire.
Jun24

Tongue and Potatoes Baked in a Mustard Horseradish Sauce

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tongue w. mustard horseradish sauceTongue and Potatoes Baked in a Mustard Horseradish Sauce

Serves 2-6 depending on the tongue-one large and a couple of small ones

The beef tongue cost $20 (I remember long ago buying a tongue for just a dollar or two) and the 4 small pork ones were priced at $3.27 so as far as I was concerned, the decision was easy.  This dish turned out very tasty indeed so give it a try.  I know the recipe seems a bit tedious (3 steps) and it can be a bit of work, but if you enjoy tongue (and many won’t even realize that it is that) and a very lovely horseradish and mustard sauce, you’ll really appreciate the results.

STEP 1:Ingredients for boiling the tongue:

  1. One fresh beef tongue (3 lbs.) but I cooked my 2 lbs. of 4 pork tongues
  2. 1 Tsp. salt
  3. 1 onion studded with 3-4 cloves
  4. 6 sprigs of fresh parsley
  5. 3 celery stalks with leaves
  6. 2-3 peeled carrots cut in large pieces to put in the very beginning of the boiling of the tongue.
  7. 3-4 more peeled carrots reserved to put into the stock the last half hour (to be used for your final presentation so when tongue is done save these to warm up just before serving your tongue platter).
  8. Few whole pepper corns
  9. 1( or more) bay leaf
  10. Water to cover (and watch to see if you need to add more after an hour or so)

STEP 2:Ingredients for the mustard horseradish sauce: (this makes about 1 cupful and you might need more; you can always use this delicious left over sauce over something else—even poached eggs)

  1. 3 Tblsp. sweet or salted butter
  2. 2 Tblsp. flour
  3. 1/2 to 1 tsp. Dijon styled mustard (per your taste buds)
  4. 1/2 to 1 tsp. prepared horseradish (per your taste buds)
  5. 1-2 Tsp. capers (optional)
  6. 1 C. of some strained tongue broth

 

STEP 3: Ingredients for the final baking and serving:

  1. 1 or more baking potatoes cut in medium size pieces
  2. Brussels sprouts cut into fourths (optional)
  3. Mushrooms-sliced thick (optional)
  4. Cauliflower-some of the florets (optional)
  5. Chopped parsley for garnish
  6. Capers for garnish (optional)

STEP 1:Instructions for boiling the tongue:

  1. Place the tongue and the listed ingredients in STEP 1  in a tall pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover the pot and simmer until the tongue(s) are fork tender—about 2 ½ to 3 hours.
  2. Remove the tongue(s) from the water and cool slightly. DO NOT START THROWING AWAY THE STOCK AND THE LAST BUNCH OF CARROTS THAT YOU HAVE BOILED.  Strain the stock (you can discard the old carrot, onion, etc.) and put the reserved now strained stock back in the same pot for further potential use; set aside your last bunch of boiled carrots to be reheated briefly for the final presentation.
  3. When the tongue(s) have cooled a bit, if need be, cut off the bones and gristle at the thick end; slit the skin from the thick end to the tip on the underside.  Use a paring knife to loosen the skin at the thick end pull and peel off the skin from the thick end to the tip.  The pork tongue skin is definitely harder to pull off than that of the beef, so don’t be alarmed.  You’ll just loose a bit more of the meat.  (Well, it didn’t cost that much did it?)
  4. Slice the tongue(s) in somewhat thick slices and place in a baking dish.

STEP 2:Instructions for the mustard-horseradish sauce: (You might have to double this amount if you have a lot of tongue slices).

  1. Preheat oven to 375F  for the baking of this dish for preparation for STEP 3.
  2. In a medium sized skillet or pan, melt the butter and add the flour.  Stir over medium heat till well blended. Add the horseradish and mustard and optional capers, stir till blended and add the tongue stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer till sauce is smooth and thickened.

STEP 3: Instructions for the baking and final preparation:

  1. Place the tongue slices, potatoes and optional veggies in STEP 3 listed ingredients into an appropriate correct  sized baking dish to fit it all in. Pour sauce over all.
  2. Cover well and bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 50 to 60 minutes.
  3. Remove all to a pretty platter (it could be silver—oh so passé I know) and top it with chopped parsley and optional capers and surround it with your saved, set aside and briefly reheated boiled carrots. ( hint: The carrots could be reheated in your leftover stock if you bring the stock back to a brief boil. Or if you wish you could cook the carrots in the stock 30 minutes before your tongue oven dish is done. )
Jun23

Roasted Cornish Game Hens and Grapes

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pic grapes

Roasted Cornish Game Hens and Grapes

Serves 4

 

This is a very light and deliciously healthy dish and if presented correctly, a gorgeous looking one as well.  So enjoy and go for it!!!!! Perfect for just you if you cook just one hen or for guests—if you cook more of these little guys. 

 

Ingredients:

  1. 1 ½ lbs. mixed red and green seedless grapes
  2. 8 shallots, root intact and halved if large
  3. 6 sprigs thyme, plus leaves for hens
  4. 2 Tblsp. olive oil
  5. S&P
  6. 4 Cornish game hens-1 to 1 ¼ lbs. each

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450.
  2. On a rimmed baking pan, toss the grapes and the shallots with the thyme sprigs, oil, 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. ground pepper.
  3. Nestle hens among the grapes on the baking sheet, breast side up.  Brush hens with some more olive oil and season them liberally (or as you wish) with some more S&P; lastly sprinkle them with thyme leaves.
  4. Roast the hens in your preheated oven basting them occasionally with pan juices until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest past of the leg (avoiding the bone) registers 160 degrees—30 to 35 minutes but could be as long as 45 minutes.  So watch diligently but try not to overcook.
  5. Serve on a pretty platter surrounded by the grapes and shallots. I usually serve this dish with a side of wild rice which has been enhanced with some of my favorite green fresh veggies such as snappy pea pods or long string beans—but it could be any kind of veggie that you love including maybe some more colorful ones.  Imagination is always a good ingredient to use for this kind of presentation.
Jun22

Chicken or Rabbit–au Vin–Up to you

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Zivi’s Lapin au Vin

Feeds 4-6

I do love this dish made with rabbit, however, you can easily make it with chicken.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 large FAT PLUMP rabbit—cut up in pieces (or chicken)
  2. 1/4 C. flour
  3. S&P to taste
  4. 1/4 Tsp. Paprika
  5. 4 Tblsp. combination of butter and olive oil
  6. 1/2 onion—chopped
  7. 1 garlic-diced (optional)
  8. 1-2 C. chicken stock
  9. 1/2 to 3/4 C. hearty red wine
  10. 1-2 bay leaves
  11. Thyme, Basil or Rosemary to taste (optional)

 

Directions:

  1. Wash and pat dry the rabbit.  In a bag, place the flour, S&P and paprika, shake to mix well; put rabbit in bag and shake once again till rabbit is well coated.
  2. In a heavy such as a cast iron deep sided skillet or pot, heat the butter/olive oil; stir in the onion and garlic for about 4 minutes, over medium heat, till soft and glistening.  Remove to a side plate.
  3. If you need more butter/olive oil at this point, add some.  Make sure the oil is hot before adding the rabbit.  Brown thoroughly on all sides over medium heat (about 5-8 minutes).  Be sure your heat is not too high so that you are not burning the rabbit.
  4. Add the stock, wine, set aside onion and garlic and bay leaves and other optional spices if you wish and place a cover on the pot.
  5. Cook at a simmer for about 1 hour. Do check it every now and then to see if it might need more stock or wine.
  6. I serve this with white rice and a nice fresh vegetable.
Jun17

Blanquette de Poulet

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chickens

Blanquette de Poulet

Serves 4-6

My mother was not that crazy about cooking however, every Sunday, this is what she made.  So, of course, I grew very fond of it and now have to make it so as to remind myself about the good and sociable Sundays that she created around this dish.  She teamed this up with fresh veggies or sometimes, I hate to say, canned, a nice salad and her really splendid rice, a sort of risotto. To top off our mid-Sunday repast, she served her excellent open faced apple tart or a zabaglione or some home made meringues with ice cream.  To start off the whole affair, it was either a slice of cantaloupe or canned fruit cocktail. The cantaloupe would be doused by our European friends with sugar.  So, now when I mention the canned stuff, you’ll know that the era was the 40’s and 50’s.  This is not a complicated dish and it’s the sauce that makes it—or at least that’s what I think. Blanquette equates to a totally white sauce in French culinary terms. There is also a more famous version of the blanquette—Veal en Blanquette. The recipe for that is a bit different.  Anyway, here’s to memories and I hope that you’ll enjoy this dish.

 

Ingredients:

  1. 1 nice sized whole chicken, rinsed
  2. Water–enough to cover the whole affair
  3. 2 or 3 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
  4. 2-3 celery stalks, washed and cut in half or thirds
  5. 1 onion-peeled and cut into quarters
  6. Several cloves of garlic-peeled and chopped
  7. 3-4 sprigs of garlic
  8. Some peppercorns
  9. A couple sprigs of fresh thyme or tarragon or rosemary—your choice of one
  10. S&P to taste
  11. 2 Tblsp. flour
  12. 2 Tblsp. butter
  13. 1 C. heavy cream (but ½ and ½ will do it except it won’t taste as wonderful)
  14. 2 egg yolks put in a small bowl that will also hold the heavy cream
  15. 1/2 Lb. small mushrooms, sautéed in a bit of butter (optional)

 

Instructions:

  1. In a large pot, place the chicken, water to cover and the ingredients mentioned from item #3 through item #10.  Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for at least one hour or till chicken is done. (You can also put all of these ingredients except the carrots in a large cheesecloth bag and place that in the stock).
  2. Set aside the chicken and carrots. Strain the stock, discard the strained ingredients (or the cheesecloth bag) and put the stock back in the pot.
  3. Bring stock to a boil and reduce to a slower boil until broth is reduced about 2/3rds.
  4. In a small bowl, cream the butter and flour (I do this with a fork) and add a bit of the hot broth and mix well till smooth and no lumps remain.
  5. Add the flour/butter mixture to the broth in the pot and boil 1-2 minutes.
  6. In the meantime, mix the cream with the yolks with a whip. If you wish, you can add some lemon juice to this mixture.  As I remember, mother didn’t.
  7. Reduce heat of broth till barely simmering and add the cream/yolk mixture. DO NOT LET BOIL or it will curdle (YUK!)
  8. Whip the broth until it’s nice a smooth.
  9. Place the chicken on a platter with the mushrooms and carrots around and pour the sauce over all.  Or if you would rather, serve the chicken, carrots and mushrooms plain and put the sauce in a gravy boat and let your guests pour the sauce themselves on their individually plated dishes.

 

P.S.  There are many other excellent and a bit more complicated recipes for Blanquette de Poulet however the one I gave you is the one my mother made and frankly, I enjoyed the simplicity of it because it made the sauce really stand out.    

Jun16

Veal Stew With Mushrooms, Cauliflower, Onions and Sour Cream

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veal stew in skillet

stew on plate

Veal Stew With Mushrooms, Cauliflower, Onions and Sour Cream

6-8 servings

I do love veal.  It’s a bit pricey but it has such a delicate flavor (as opposed to its parents) that I’ll many times bend my budget to accommodate it.  There are a lot of good recipes for veal, however, this is one that I really like because it makes the dish go round a bit more; that’s because there are plenty of good included veggies here.  So here you go:

Ingredients:

  1. 1/4 or more C. of flour for dredging
  2. S&P to taste to add to the flour
  3. 3 lbs. boneless veal stew meat
  4. 1/2 C. olive oil
  5. 3 medium onions, peeled and cut into quarters
  6. 1 C. sliced celery
  7. 1 ½ C. hot water
  8. 1/2 C. white wine or vermouth
  9. Thyme to taste (dried or I used several threads of the real stuff)
  10. 1 small head of cauliflower, broken in small flowerettes
  11. 12 small mushrooms, quartered
  12. Butter
  13. 1 C. sour cream
  14. 1/4 C. chopped parsley

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized bag, shake the flour with the S&P and then put the veal pieces in it and shake some more to coat them all evenly.
  2. In a heavy deep skillet, add the olive oil and heat.  When heated, add the stew meat and brown on all sides (about 5-8 minutes).
  3. When meat is browned, add the onions, celery, hot water, wine and thyme.  Simmer stove stop with a tight lid for 1 ½ hours.
  4. After 1 ½ hours, add the cauliflower and simmer for 1/2 hour more.
  5. Before the stew has finished simmering for the 2 hours, in another skillet, add and heat some butter so that you can brown the mushrooms.
  6. When the stew is cooked and the mushrooms browned, add the mushrooms to the stew along with the sour cream and parsley.  Stir so that the mixture is well blended BUT DO NOT LET BOIL!!
  7. This is excellent over rice or noodles.

 

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help or hosting

 @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

 

Jun11

Fusion Veal Stew

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Fusion Veal Stew-(a little Italian, German, Greek, Vietnamese, & Mexican Influencing)

Serves 6

Fushion Veal

Now, don’t turn up your nose at this combination because it really tastes good and is pretty healthy as well.  Fusion is fun and often can yield wonderful results.  This is a yummy veal stew that I served over Vietnamese My-Tho Large Noodles (Wide Oriental Style) to save calories.  They are half the calories of normal noodles and were easy to prepare (noodles was the German/Vietnamese influence).  I used fresh cilantro,( I sort of always think Mexican for this green topping even though I know a lot of other nationalities use it for their culinary cuisine as well)  for the topping because I didn’t have fresh parsley and it turned out to be a nice tasty addition. The olives are the Greek or Italian influence.  So, here’s the recipe for you brave and adventuresome readers:

 

Ingredients for the stew:

  1. 2 Lbs. lean veal stew meat (I found some very well priced at Atkinsons’)
  2. Flour for dredging
  3. S&P to taste and to add to the flour for the dredging
  4. 1/4 C. olive oil
  5. 1-2 Cloves garlic-chopped
  6. 1 Small onion, sliced
  7. 2/3 Tsp. dried rosemary or twice that amount of fresh
  8. 1/2 C. dry white wine (I used white vermouth)
  9. 1 Tblsp. tomato paste
  10. 1 C. or more of  hot chicken stock
  11. 12 pitted black ripe olives, sliced
  12. Chopped parsley or cilantro

 

Directions for the stew:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 300
  2. Dredge the veal with the flour, S&P
  3. In a heavy oven proof skillet, over medium high heat, bring the olive oil to a light sizzle.  Add the veal to it and brown well over medium heat (about 5 minutes). Then add the onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes more stirring often.
  4. Add the rosemary, wine, tomato paste and the hot chicken stock so that the veal is totally covered with the liquid.
  5. Cover and bake two hours.  After one hour peek in to see that there is enough liquid and if not, add more wine and chicken stock.
  6. After 2 hours add the sliced olives and bake half hour more.
  7. Sprinkle parsley or cilantro over before serving.

rice noodles fusion veal

Directions for the My-Tho Wide Large Noodles:

  1. Place the amount of the dry noodles you wish to serve in a tall container (I used a juice container that would safely hold boiling water).
  2. About 5-10 minutes before you will be serving the veal, pour BOILING water over the noodles and stir every minute or so.  Keep tasting because you don’t want the noodles to get mushy. When they are firm but just right to eat (5- 10 minutes) drain them in a colander and run cold water over them so as to stop their cooking.  Put them back in the container and add some olive oil.  Stir well.
  3. They won’t be really hot but when you put the stew on top, you won’t notice the difference except that they will be half the calories of regular noodles.

 

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help or hosting

@ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.