Secret Ingredient Beef Stew

Yesterday's rainy weather in LA called for beef stew.  So I did a little recipe digging and came up with the most delicious, savory rich stew that included a secret ingredient that normally does not belong in a beef stew...anchovies.  This secret ingredient combined with smoky bacon gave the stew a smooth complex finish that is indescribable.

Since I didn't have all day to tend to the stove, I simply made this in my crock pot after browning the meat.  So easy and so delicious!

Yield: 8-10 servings

• 2.5 pounds beef stew meat
• 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon season salt 
• pepper
• olive oil  psst...I splurged and used schmaltz (chicken fat) and bacon to grease
• 2 thick slices of smoked bacon
• 2 shallots, small dice
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 pound of Dutch yellow potatoes
• 4 ounces of white mushrooms, sliced (half a container)
• 1/4 cup of tomato past
• 2 anchovies
• 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup of red wine, save the 1/2 cup for deglazing the pan
• 3 cups of beef broth
• 1 cup canned whole tomatoes with juices
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley

In a 1-gallon ziploc bag, add flour, season salt, pepper.  Toss meat into bag to dust cubes with flour to season.

In a large skillet, add oil (schmaltz and 1/2 of the chopped bacon, in my case) and brown meat over high heat.  Remove and place in slow cooker.

Deglaze skillet with 1/2 cup of red wine.  Add about a couple tablespoons of remnants into the slow cooker.

Add all the vegetables and remaining bacon.  Stir in tomato paste and anchovies.  Mix the meat and vegetables to distribute evenly.

Add wine, vinegar, and tomatoes with juice.  Top with beef stock (reserve any remaining for later).  Put salt, bay leaf, and thyme, set slow cooker on to high.  Reduce temperature to low once stew brings to a boil.  Simmer for 4-5 hours.  Serve with nice, hot crusty baguette.

Painter's Cupcake

For my daughter's 6th birthday, we had a pottery painting party at Color Me Mine. It was one of the best and easiest events that I had ever done.
Step 1: booked the event at my local Color Me Mine

Step 2: send out evites

Step 3: Order cupcakes. I had my baker, Gigi-Belle Cupcakes create simple cupcakes with buttercream frosting and dipped them in colored sanding sugar resembling sparkly paint colors. My soon-to-be 6-year old I wanted something girly and sparkly for her birthday party.  By the way Gigi-Belle does great custom designs.

Step 4: Go shopping (a task I am extremely great at). Target: paper plates, coordinating napkins, birthday candle, juice boxes, and bottled water. Michael's: painter's palette ($8 but had a 50% off coupon). I LOVE Michael's iPhone app!! Yes, I love it so much that I have to emphasize the word LOVE in multi-colors.  You don't know how many times I have gone to Michael's and ended up paying full price because I forgot that stupid coupon. I always end up conning myself that I am going to go back and get an adjustment when I bring my coupon in. But then I get busy with LIFE and forget that I need to go back to save myself that extra $10.

Step 5: Show up to Color Me Mine on the day of the party.  Order pizzas and appetizers from a pizza place across the street.  In our instance, we ordered from Fresh Brothers Pizza.  For those of you who don't know about Fresh Brothers Pizza, they are a pizza chain here in Southern California that makes great wholesome delicious pizzas using fresh ingredients (maybe that's why they called themselves Fresh).  Anyway, they are known for their Fresh Kids Pizza, where they grind mixed veggies into their sauce (they also do gluten free pizza folks).  So if you have a picky eater who doesn't like their greens - have they got a pizza for you!

What I loved about this party was I didn't have to buy party favors which every parent dreads because they end up with a roomful of crappy toys made in China (it's bad enough that we have Happy Meal toys littered around our house).  I loved it because it eliminated the additional $5+ per child I needed to cough up for party favors.

The children ended up with beautiful party favors they created and they all seemed to have a lot of fun spending a Saturday afternoon painting.  The parent's loved it because I encouraged a drop off party.  Our local Color Me Mine is small and manageable where it doesn't take more than 3 parents to keep an eye on 12 children.  Several moms took off and did a little shopping and lunch nearby.  Who can blame them.  As much as we all love pizza, it's really nice for us moms to take off and enjoy the day and not be stuck at some birthday party.  I was recently at a birthday party where I dropped my daughter off, got my nails done, and did a little shopping.  After 6-years of doing the birthday party circuit, this is so refreshing.  I don't know how moms of multiple kids do it...

Wonderful Banana Nut Muffins

A moist and flavorful banana-nut muffin with half the fat. I make this muffin recipe with mostly organic ingredients.

Yield: 1 dozen

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1/2 cup (less 2 tablespoons) organic cane sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla bean yogurt)
1 large egg
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into large bowl. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, oil, yogurt and egg in medium bowl. Mix into dry ingredients. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining macadamia nuts. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack and cool.

Play Dough Recipe

Great Play dough recipe that is not for eating.

3 cups flour
3 cups water (put color in with water)
1 cup of salt
4 tablespoons of oil
4 tablespoons of Cream of Tartar
8 drops of Essential Oil (I love l'Occitane Lavender Essential Oil)

Heat the water until bubbles appear at the bottom of pan. Add the salt and color. Wait a minute for it to dissolve a bit. Remove the pan from heat and add oils, Cream of Tartar, and flour Knead until smooth and pliable.

French Chicken in a Pot

French Chicken in a Pot (Poule Au Pot) [video]
Serves 4. Published January 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.


The cooking times in the recipe are for a 4 1/2- to 5-pound bird. A 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-pound chicken will take about an hour to cook, and a 5- to 6-pound bird will take close to 2 hours. We developed this recipe to work with a 5- to 8-quart Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. If using a 5-quart pot, do not cook a chicken larger than 5 pounds. Use the best chicken available, such as a Bell & Evans. If using a kosher chicken, reduce the kosher salt to 1 teaspoon (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt). If you choose not to serve the skin with the chicken, simply remove it before carving. The amount of jus will vary depending on the size of the chicken; season it with about 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice for every 1/4 cup.

INGREDIENTS
1 whole roasting chicken (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), giblets removed and discarded, wings tucked under back (see note)
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion , chopped medium (about 1/2 cup)
1 small stalk celery , chopped medium (about 1/4 cup)
6 medium garlic cloves , peeled and trimmed
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary (if using) around chicken. Cook until breast is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon inserted into cavity of bird, flip chicken breast-side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat; place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, 80 to 110 minutes.

2. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and rest 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids (you should have about 3/4 cup juices). Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then pour into saucepan and set over low heat. Carve chicken, adding any accumulated juices to saucepan. Stir lemon juice into jus to taste. Serve chicken, passing jus at table.

Beer-Braised Beef

Courtesy of GQ Magazine

3 lbs. Beef chuck in chunks
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Beer
Chopped carrots and onions
3 sprigs of parsley

1. Generously season the beef with salt and pepper.
2. Over medium flame, heat enough olive oil to evenly coat the base of a large heavy-bottom pot. When the oil is hot, add the beef and cook on all sides until evenly brown and crispy. Remove and place on a plate uncovered.
3. Pour in a bit of beer. Let simmer and scrape up the tasty brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the vegetables. Use enough to make a deep bed. Maybe two large onions and 3 big carrots. You can also add unpeeled garlic. Fennel and ginger are a nice touch with pork. Cook on low flame, stirring occasionally for about 45 mins. til well-carmelized.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Place the beef back in the pot nestled among the vegetables. Add the parsley. Pour in the rest of the beer so it comes about half way up the sides of the meat. You may need more than 1 can.
6. Cover. Place in the oven and cook for 2-3 hours until the meat is meltingly tender.
7. Remove the meat and place on a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Pour the cooking liquid through a mesh strainer and discard the vegetables. At this point you can serve the liquid as is or you can put it back on the stove in a smaller pot over medium heat to intensify the flavors.
8. To serve, keep the meat in chunks or shred it, and place it on a platter. Pour some of the cooking liquid over it. Serve the rest on the side.
*(suggested sides) Serve with buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes or pureed celery roots.

Chocolate Souffle

Ingredients:
unsalted butter and granulated sugar for souffle mold
4 ounces (115 g) Valrhona "Le Noir Gastronomie" chocolate
4 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter
4 large grade "A" eggs, separated
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Leave butter, chocolate, and eggs out at room temperature 45 minutes ahead for consistent melting.

Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Butter and sugar souffle mold (ramakins). In double boiler, combine chocolate and butter and melt over low heat. Remove from heat, whisk in egg yolks. In another large bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. With a whisk, fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate. Fold the remaining egg whites with rubber spatula. Pour mixture into prepared souffle mold (about 3/4 full). Bake the souffle on the lowest rack of the oven for 5 minutes. Lower temperature to 425-degrees and bake for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the souffle has risen halfway above the top of the mold and is springy to touch. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve the souffle immediately (serve with homemade whipped cream).

***The mixture can be made in advance and served chilled as chocolate mousse.***

Serves four