Warm Up with a Hearty Dinner

Time for a cold weather recipe to warm you. Below is another favorite of Studs. Your family is sure to love it, too. Don’t worry about alcohol content. It cooks away, leaving behind a rich taste to enhance the meat.

Beef Braised in Stock & Red Wine
Egg Noodles
Fresh Hard Rolls or a loaf of French bread from your local bakery and you won’t need butter
Red wine – Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon

Beef Braised in Stock & Red Wine
1 tsp. garlic pressed
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
¼ cup coarsely chopped carrots
8-10 half-inch pieces of bacon
¼ cup coarsely chopped celery
3 pounds English Cut Roast or Rump Roast
½ cup dry red wine
3 tbsp. butter
2 cup beef stock
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped onions
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix the garlic, oregano, pepper, and bacon together. Make deep incisions in the beef and insert the bacon.

In a heavy 10-12 inch skillet melt 1 tbsp. butter with the olive oil over moderate heat and brown the beef evenly.

Melt the remaining butter over moderate heat in a Dutch oven. Combine the onions, carrots, and celery on a cutting board and chop them together until fine. Stir this mixture into the butter in the Dutch oven, stir frequently, for 10 minutes or until it’s soft and lightly colored. Place the browned beef on top.

Discard most of the fat from the skillet, pour in the wine and boil it briskly over high heat, stirring and scraping in the browned fragments. When the wine’s reduced to about ¼ cup, add it to the Dutch oven with the beef stock, chopped tomatoes, and bay leaf. The liquid should come about a third of the way up the side of the beef. Add more stock if necessary. Bring it to a boil over high heat, cover tightly, and braise in the middle of the oven for 2 hours or until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

Next, and this is really important, pour yourself a glass of the red wine, grab a good book, and read for the duration of the cooking time.

To serve, transfer the meat to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for at least 10 minutes.
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a serving bowl, pressing hard on the vegetable to extract all their juice. Skim off as much fat as possible. Slice the meat and arrange so the slices are overlapping. Moisten the slices with a little of the sauce and enjoy.

Your stove and countertop will be a mess from boiling down the wine. No problem! Grab the glass cleaner. A few sprays and it wipes right up.

Don’t worry about the quantity if you and your favorite partner are the only ones at the dinner table. Slice off just the amount of roast you think you’ll eat, and freeze the rest. It’s great for those days when you’re too busy to bother with more work.

Egg Noodles
Fill a large pot with water and follow the package directions to cook. If the noodles are done before the Stroganoff, drain them in a colander and set the pot or lid on top of the noodles to keep them warm.

REMEMBER: all noodles/pasta can easily be re-warmed by running hot water over them before serving.

To serve, scoop egg noodles onto dinner plates, then lay slices of meat alongside. Top with a hearty serving of sauce.

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
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It's Wednesday. So, What's Cooking?

Damned Good Pot Roast and Asian Salad

It’s freezing here in the Midwest. We had two days of Indian Summer and now I’m digging out turtlenecks and checking mittens for mates. The good thing is I can use the oven and not only enjoy the extra warmth, but also the marvelous aromas.

Damned Good Pot Roast
Asian Salad
French Bread
Dry Red Wine – Cabernet Sauvignon

Damned Good Pot Roast
3 – 3 ½ pound boneless chuck roast
1 cup or so of beef broth
1 clove pressed garlic
5 red potatoes quartered
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 medium onion quartered
½ tsp. lemon pepper
15 mini carrots
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cornstarch
¼ cup beef stock

Preheat the oven to 325°

Combine garlic, oregano, and lemon pepper to form an herb paste. Rub evenly over the meat.
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. When the oil has a film carefully put in the roast and brown on all sides. Add the beef stock until it is half way or so up the meat. Add the onion. Cover and bake in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes.

Add the potatoes and carrots. Roast for another 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Remove the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Keep warm under foil while you prepare the gravy.

Strain the liquid and skim off any fat. Return the liquid to the Dutch oven. Heat on medium. Combine the cornstarch and remaining beef stock. Pour into the simmering liquid. Increase heat and boil the mixture for 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Serve the roast and vegetables with the gravy on the side. The French breads is marvelous for dipping!

This is a perfect leftover for another dinner or lunch. It freezes beautifully.

Asian Salad

Dressing:
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire
1/3 cup ketch-up
pinch salt
1 small onion chopped

Beat all the ingredients together well.

Salad:
1 lb. mixed lettuces
3 hard boiled eggs chopped
1 can bean sprouts, drained
½ lb. bacon diced, fried crisp
1 can water chestnuts, drained and sliced

Use a variety of lettuces for more texture and taste. Toss all the ingredients, in a large bowl.

Refrigerate until meal time. Scale this down to the right number of people you plan to serve as it does not last for the next day.

I'll be back Monday with Sara Daniel. Until then...

Enjoy!

Sloane Taylor
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Amazon Author Page

It’s Wednesday, so what’s cooking? Leftovers.

That’s right, a tasty way to use those bits of beef you’ve frozen and promised yourself to reheat before they ended in the trash. This recipe works well with all types of beef and pork, or a combination of the two. Be sure to include any of the juices that have collected in your container.

Shepherd’s Pie
Salad
Fresh Italian or French Bread
Beer – for this menu, my favorite is Harp

The Filling
2 TBL olive oil
1 TBL butter
1 large onion chopped fine
1 large carrot chopped fine
3 gloves garlic pressed
1 ½ pounds leftover beef chopped bite size or smaller
4 sprigs rosemary leaves removed or 1 teas. dried
4 sprigs thyme leaves removed or 1 teas. Dried
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teas. Worcestershire Sauce
½ can tomato paste
¼ cup dry red wine
½ cup beef stock

Pour olive oil into a large, hot frying pan and stir in butter. Sauté onion and carrot until the onion is translucent and tender, but not brown, about 5 - 7 minutes.

Add garlic and stir for about 30 – 60 seconds.

Blend in the meat, herb leaves, and pepper.

Stir in Worcestershire Sauce, stir, tomato paste, stir, red wine and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour the stock into the pan and heat through for 3 minutes.

You don’t have to be adamant on all the times. They are merely guides so you don’t rush the process.

Mashed Potatoes
5 russet potatoes
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
3 ½ TBL soft butter
1 egg yolk
Freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup Parmesan cheese

Peel and quarter potatoes. Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender. Drain pan.

Add sour cream, some of the milk, all of the butter, and the pepper to the pan. Mash the potatoes. Add small amounts of additional milk until you achieve the consistency you prefer. Add the egg yolk and half the Parmesan cheese. Stir well.

Cover with aluminum foil to keep from drying out until you assemble the pie.

Assemble the Pie
Preheat the oven to 400F

Scoop the meat into individual ovenproof dishes or a deep casserole. I prefer the individual dishes as this recipe freezes well or will hold in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Fill bowls no more than ¾’s.

Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top and spread to the edges. This can be a little tricky. Don’t press down on the spoon or the juice will flood over the potatoes. Sprinkle with a generation portion of Parmesan cheese.

Set bowls on a cookie sheet to protect the oven should they boil over. Bake 20 minutes or so to lightly brown the potatoes and set the pie.

If you use the individual bowls, serve them on a dinner plate to protect your tabletop from the heat. The pie is extremely hot. Be sure to warn your diners so no one burns their mouth.

Tossed Salad
Lettuce from 2 different types torn into bite size pieces, red leaf and head are excellent choices
Tomatoes chopped
Cucumber peeled and sliced
Zucchini diced
Green Onions sliced, be sure to add some of the green
Mushrooms sliced

Combine everything, or any grouping you like. Cover with a damp paper towel and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Toss with your favorite dressing, for this menu I prefer Italian. Be careful not to add too much dressing or the lettuce will get soggy.

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Are you a Vin Diesel fan? If so, my good friend Yasmine Phoenix is blogging about The Chronicles of Riddick at on her website. Check it out.

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I'll be back Monday with Raine Delight and her thigh-clenching book STICKY MAGIC. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
www.sloanetaylor.com

WHAT'S COOKING?

How about an eye of round roast cooked to perfection and all the tasty fixings? The beautiful aroma from this meal will draw your family to the table ready to feast.

Eye of round is a lesser priced beef roast that can be tasty and tender if prepared the right way. Give these recipes a try and, please, let me know what you think.

Eye of Round Roast with Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Sautéed Broccoli
Red Wine - Bolla Valpolicella

Roast
2 ¼ - 3 pound eye of round roast
2 TBL olive oil
1 cup beef stock

Remove meat from refrigerator 2-3 hours before cooking. Meat needs to be almost room temperature for this dish to work.

Preheat over to 325F

Heat olive oil over medium high heat until it shimmers. Using tongs or wooden spoons, brown the roast on all sides. Set a cooking rack in a roasting pan. (If you don’t have a rack, line the roaster with aluminum foil being sure to have it hang a little over pan sides.) Lay beef on rack or foil. Pour beef stock into bottom of the pan, not over the meat.

Topping
4 TBL mustard either yellow or Country Dijon
2 large garlic cloves pressed
¼ cup parsley chopped fresh or dry
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix above ingredients in a small bowl. Spread over the top and a little on the sides of the beef.

Roast in oven for 1 hour or until 140F on the meat thermometer. Don’t overcook or the meat will be tough. Check the liquid level and add more stock if it runs dry or the pan will burn. When meat is cooked, remove from oven, set on a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm.

Sauce
¼ cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 TBL red current or seedless raspberry jelly
1 TBL butter

Time to deglaze the roasting pan. It’s very easy and requires little effort.

If you used the aluminum foil, carefully remove it from the pan and discard.

Place the pan over a burner set on medium. Add the red wine and scrape in all the browned bits clinging to the pan.

Turn the heat to medium high. Pour in the stock. Boil until sauce has reduced to about half while scraping in anything that clings to the side of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in butter. Keep sauce warm on very low heat while you carve the roast.

Carve into thin slice. Dribble sauce over meat to moisten. Serve extra sauce on the side.

If you have leftovers, freeze the meat and sauce separately. Next week, I’ll have a dynamite recipe to use them, so be sure to stop back.

Makes 4 servings or two with great leftovers

Mashed Potatoes
1 russet potato per person
Sour cream - a very large dollop
¼ cup milk set out to reach room temperature
3 TBS butter
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Peel and quarter potatoes. Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender. Drain pan.

Add sour cream, some of the milk, all of the butter, and the pepper to the pan. Mash the potatoes. Add small amounts of additional milk until you achieve the consistency you prefer.

Keep warm in the turned off oven while you assemble to meal.

Sautéed Broccoli
1 bunch broccoli
5 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut the flowerets off the broccoli. Save or freeze the remainder to make cream of broccoli soup.

In a heated medium frying pan, add the olive oil and butter. Heat until the oil shimmers. Add flowerets and stir them through the oil until they are coated on all sides. You may need a little more oil, but be careful not to drown the broccoli. Sauté until crisp tender, about 7 minutes.

Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

I'll be back Monday with Jennifer Loy and her new release SUNSET SIZZLE. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
www.sloanetaylor.com