The best damn Beef Stew I've put in my mouth

*disclaimer: hasty post is hasty. No lifeguard on duty.

Seriously. This one borrows heavily from Damn Delicious' slow cooker method and tips its hat to kitchn's advice on searing the beef.

ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
3 pounds stew meat (beef chuck), cut into 1-inch cubes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, cut into 1/2"(ish) thick cubes(ish)
6 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2" thick slices
3 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1/2" thick slices
small bag frozen green peas
1 medium/large white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (more is always okay)
4c beef broth
6 oz tomato paste
3T Worcestershire sauce plus more, to taste
1t dried thyme
1t dried rosemary
1t smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup all purpose flour
red wine, optional, for delglazing
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, optional, for serving

______________________________________________

 prep 

In a medium sized shallow bowl, roll beef in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper.

Add olive oil to a large preheated frying pan, followed by a single layer of prepared cubed meat. (This step may be done in batches in order to prevent overcrowding. A friendly deglazing swish of a decent red wine between batches is a great move- just be sure to scrape those tasty crusty bits right onto the growing pile of seared meat.) Let cook over medium/medium-high heat for five minutes before turning. As meat browns, add garlic and half the white onion. Continue to cook until the meat is evenly seared on all sides.

In a large pot, over medium heat, add beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, bay leaves and vegetables* until well combined. Stir in beef, garlic and onions and season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.Or, you know, more Worcestershire.

Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

May be garnished with parsley and served with crusty bread or egg noodles.

*add them ALL now,  add them all at the hour point, or add half now/half then- it simply depends on your crisp-to-mush veggie texture preference.

Cranberry, Ginger and Orange Chutney recipe

This is a halved, lazy version of a recipe I discovered via Food & Wine.  And it's AMAZING.

ingredients

1 large navel orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup turbinado sugar (white or light brown work fine, too)
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper

2. prep
   

   Using a sharp knife, cut the orange in half and juice. Reserve pulp to add later.

   In a medium non-aluminum saucepan, combine the cranberries and water with orange juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

   Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped (about 10 minutes). 

   Add vinegar, sugar, ginger and orange pulp and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until thick (about 5 minutes).

   Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

3. *Will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for one week. 

Gingersnaps

Less talk, more recipe:

Cookie dough:

3/4 cup coconut oil (or butter, or shortening) 
1 cup dark muscovado sugar (or plain ol' dark brown sugar)
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 T ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t cardamom
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 large egg
1/3  cup molasses

Finishing*:

1/4 c sugar (light brown or white work fine)
1 t ground cinnamon 
1/2 t ground ginger 
1/2 t cardamom 

Directions: 

Set racks to the middle of oven and preheat to 350°F.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir well to mix.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and at medium speed, cream together coconut oil and sugar for about 5 minutes.

Add the egg and continue beating until smooth.

Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then add the molasses.

If necessary, stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater with a silicone spatula.

Then add remaining dry ingredients, mixing until well combined.

Remove bowl from mixer and, if necessary, use a large silicone spatula to finish mixing the dough.

In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and spice mixture for cookie coating.

Use a teaspoon or small scoop to scoop out 1-inch diameter pieces of dough. Roll into balls, then roll in the sugar mixture.

Place the balls of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches all around to allow for spreading.

Bake for 12 minutes (longer for a crisper cookie- but in my oven on my old school IKEA cookie sheets, 12 mins gives me the perfect crisp outside/chewy inside combo). The cookies will spread and crack on the surface.

Slide the papers from the pans onto cooling racks. Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in an air-tight container.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

*Note: add a pinch (or whatever) of cayenne to the finishing mixture for even MORE kick!

This recipe mash-up borrows heavily from Food Network and King Arthur Flour, with a little help from Brannon. 

Happiness in bakery.

note: I do a little eye-roll whenever I pull up this blog. It's turned out to be not at all what I'd originally planned (light on the DIY/heavier on the recipes/overall pretty quiet). But... it doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. It is a handy resource when I'm out shopping or for having a recipe at arms reach within seconds, regardless of where on earth my arms might be! And now for something completely different:

This weekend I was reminded how wonderful baking for someone you love can be, from beginning to end.

From prep cleaning the stainless steel table, gathering ingredients, measuring and staging them to be ready within reach with intended recipient[s] in mind...

To the production process going smoothly due to the diligent prep work... then the warmth of the oven and setting the timer...

To washing up the prep bowls, measuring cups and spoons... while delicious smells come from the oven...

To smiling at the sight of those good things coming out of the oven and placing them on racks to cool...

To those finishing touches and packing it all up for travel...

To the final clean up, wiping down the stainless steel table again with a cleaning solution I made myself, thinking about the friend who shared that particular recipe and about all the good things that were created upon that very table and the happy times sharing good food/drinks/company around it.

Then... the waiting is the hardest part. This cake is going to be amazing!

The Great Pimento Cheese Experiments Begin!

[Another work in progress- I'm getting it down before I forget what I did! ]

Today I finally got around to the first attempt at making Pimento Cheese. I loathed the stuff until about a year and a half ago I tried some AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS stuff at one of my fave pubs. While I won't go near super mayonnaise-y stuff, I love the chunky, a little on the dry side, very cheese-y Pimento Cheese. A lot. 

Mother's Everyday Pimento Cheese recipe at epicurious sounded quite yum and was declared the winner for the first go.  Of course, I made a few changes:

ingredients:

• 1/2 lb extra-sharp Wisconsin white Cheddar
• 1/2 lb extra-sharp Wisconsin (orange) Cheddar
• 1 (7-oz) jar whole pimiento, drained 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/3 cup Duke's mayonnaise

prep:

Grate cheeses in food processor. Once complete dump it in a bowl, allowing yourself to toy with the idea you're gonna mix it by hand.

Change food processor blades from grating to chopping blade, then add mayo, black pepper, paprika, and garlic salt. Let the processor take those guys for a spin 'til well blended.

Then add the cheese back to processor bowl, chopping and blending a bit, and finally add pimiento for one last dance.

Once everything is well mixed, spoon into a covered container and chill for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop. 

yield: about 3 cups

note: Pimento cheese keeps, tightly covered and chilled, 4 days.

Note: this was ridiculously good, which has prevented me from tweaking it any further!