Good old Meat and Potatoes!

Since my family has been so tolerant of my recent run on vegetarian recipes, I decided to "reward" them with a good old comfort food meal of meat and potatoes.

I read good reviews of a pot roast recipe on the CLBB, so I gave it a try. I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven - it's not oval, but the chuck roast (2.5-3 pounds) fit in it just fine. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, but I used little white creamer potatoes instead of Yukon gold.

Classic Beef Pot Roast

Once everything was finished cooking I had DH shred the meat while I dealt with the potatoes. Instead of eating the potatoes as is, I decided to mash them - along with a bit of light sour cream, a bit of cream cheese and a bit of butter. This was a great way to make mashed potatoes - cooking the potatoes right along with the roast allowed them to soak up a little more flavor and saved an extra cooking pot to wash later. They were delicious.

Overall, the recipe was very good, but I think we might prefer the Merlot Pot Roast. However, I'm glad we tried this recipe - I definitely will cook the potatoes like this again.

Celery Root with Capers

.
In life, there are some people you wouldn't mind being stuck in an elevator with.

And as with life, there are some people that you fear being stuck in an elevator with.

I have found myself "stuck in the elevator" over the years, with some profoundly boring people, or worse...the ones who don't like food. But in a wonderful change of pace, I was recently cloistered up with someone who changed my life, changed my perspective and offered me the opportunity to take hold of my dreams. A pretty lucky thing, indeed.

And that, darlings, is how my 2007 ended. I hope yours was as good.

Viva 2008.

Now try this wintery delight my peaches, and rejoice in the prospects of your new year.

1 large celery root
3 teaspoons real mayonnaise
3 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup capers
Salt and pepper to taste

Carefully peel the celery root. Slice into thin matchsticks.

Drain and rinse the capers and rough chop.

Toss all the ingredients together, then let rest five minutes to let the flavors meld.

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve at room temperature.

Makes enough for four as a side dish.

_____________________________

"Depending on your gut bacteria, that doughnut might have more calories for you — possibly as much as 30 % more — than for your neighbor.” and "the liver best detoxifies booze between 5 and 6 p.m" Facts from “Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream,” by Jennifer Ackerman

Invented in St. Joseph, Missouri and introduced in 1889; Aunt Jemima pancake flour was the first commercially sold, ready-mix food.

The 13th annual Great Fruitcake Toss is taking place in Manitou Springs, Colorado this weekend

A few good recipes that got lost along the way....

There were a few recipes we tried and really liked that I never got around to getting a photo of, but I want to share them just the same. All of these recipes made our top 20 favorite new recipes of 2007.

The first recipe, Smokey Mushroom Ragout from Cooking Light, is a vegetarian dish with a layer of polenta that is topped with a tomato, mushroom and chipotle mixture and finished with a sprinkling of queso fresco. The polenta is baked in a 9x13-inch dish in the oven which takes more time than the more traditional stovetop method, but it does free you up to tackle the mushroom layer. I really enjoyed the flavor combinations in this dish. I used a combination of cremini and shiitake mushrooms which worked just fine in place of the harder-to-find oyster mushrooms. If at all possible, do not skip the queso fresco on top; this cheese was the perfect flavor complement to the spicy mushroom mixture - not too strong, not too salty, not too mild - just right.

A while back, I tried a stuffed chicken breast recipe from Cooking Light and was very pleased to discover just how easy they are to prepare - they always look and sound fancy or complicated. Encouraged, I have been meaning to try more recipes and finally tried Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Garlic and Goat Cheese. We had plain goat cheese on hand (I buy large logs and vacuum pack them), so instead of spending money on herbed goat cheese, I simply mashed our plain goat cheese with some dried Italian Herb seasoning. The only hard part about this recipe is remembering to start far enough in advance since the garlic needs to roast for an hour. I also love the flexibility of stuffed chicken breasts - it's very easy to accommodate my son who dislikes goat cheese - he can have provolone or mozzarella instead.

Over the holidays, we tried two new salads. For Thanksgiving, I was in charge of bringing the salad. I wanted to try something new and stumbled on one over at Epicurious - Mixed Green Salad with Oranges, Dried Cranberries and Pecans - that sounded perfect for a Thanksgiving meal. Not only did oranges, cranberries and pecans pair well with the rest of the meal, it was a nice, light complement to all of the other carb-heavy foods. The salad really couldn't be simpler - just a few ingredients and very little prep work, but lots of fresh flavors. This one will definitely stay on our repeater list. Note: I did not boil the dried cranberries - I agreed with the other reviewers who said they thought the dried cranberries would add more texture as is, rather than softened.

Right after Thanksgiving, we prepared dinner for family visiting from out of town and tried another Epicurious salad - Almond-Crusted Goat Cheese Salad with Raspberry Dressing. Another Epicurious salad, another winner. The goat cheese was luscious - warm and creamy with a pleasing crunch from the almonds. The raspberry dressing was a huge hit, especially with my youngest - he was dragging out the bag of mixed greens for several days afterward, just so he could have more dressing. The goat cheese rounds are a bit time-consuming and messy to assemble, but they can be done ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you are ready to bake them. Note: I added much less olive oil then the recipe indicates - I just added oil until I thought the dressing was thin enough.

I hate posts with no pictures, but these recipes were just too good not to share.

2 More Vegetarian Recipes....

Here are two more from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen.....

My DH and kids have been liking these new recipes pretty well, but as they finish, they often say, "This would be really good with sausage." Ah well, at least they are adventurous and pretty willing to try it all. And they do like it, they just like a nice meat and potato dish better - but then again, sometimes, so do I!

Seared Tempeh Wraps with Thai-Style Peanut Sauce

These two dishes revolve around tempeh. The first is a wrap - the tempeh is marinated in a peanut sauce and then seared (though I cook it longer to get the bitter taste out) and is then paired with a simple salad tossed in the leftover peanut sauce. We liked it, but the peanut sauce is a bit gummy - I think it could use a tablespoon or two of oil to help make it more fluid. Jack Bishop doesn't tend to shy away from using oil in this cookbook, so I'm not sure why he didn't put a little in this sauce, I really think it would help. Of course I could always just use Cooking Light's Finger Lickin' Peanut Sauce instead - it's delicious. These wraps also made nice leftovers for bringing to work.

Curried Tempeh with Brown Rice and Peas

Next, it was a tempeh curry dish. I really liked the method of cooking the tempeh in this recipe. You boil the tempeh in a mixture of water, tamari and Indian spices. You could use any spices you like best here - again, a very adaptable recipe. The tempeh is then fried in a little canola oil for added flavor and even better texture. The tempeh is added to a mixture of rice, onions and peas. Nothing earth-shattering as far as flavors go in this recipe, just a nice mix of Indian spices and a method of cooking tempeh that really appeals to me - boiling it in the flavorful mixture really imparted great taste to the tempeh with little effort. And you could easily skip the frying and just add the tempeh as is if you are looking to reduce our fat intake - it would still be plenty flavorful enough.

Later this week, I will share a recipe we tried last night from this cookbook that was out of this world - Red Lentil and Basmati Rice Croquettes with Romaine-Mango Salad and Cucumber Raita........yum!

Spicy Szechuan Green Beans

Ingredients:
1 dish of green bean, tip trimmed
¼ pound ground beef
Minced garlic, ginger, shallot (2-3 table spoon total)
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
Chinese dried shrimp (soaked)

Seasoning:

Cooking oil
Xiao-shing wine
Dark soy sauce
Ground black pepper
Sugar
Sesame oil

Preparation:

Deep fry green beans on high heat until slightly golden colour, drain and set aside.

Add oil to wok and heat wok over high heat. Sauté garlic, ginger, shallot, jalapeno pepper and Chinese dried shrimp.

Add ground beef and sauté until brown.

Add green beans.

Add Xiao-shing wine, dark soy sauce, sugar, and ground black pepper, stir fry until mixed.

Add sesame oil to taste.

Skillet Strata

Before I share this delicious recipe, I wanted to point out that I've added a couple of things to my sidebar. I've added a search feature, so that you can search this blog and I've added a cookbook library. I know I've said that I'm not really big on cookbooks and don't have very many, but I've found that I'm using them more and more lately. I'm also adding labels to my sidebar for any cookbooks I post recipes for.

On to the recipe.....

I got 2 cookbooks for Christmas and one was Cook's Illustrated's The Best 30-Minute Recipe. I had not had a chance to hit the store since we returned from our Christmas trip, so when I flipped through it on Thursday, I was pleased to find a recipe that not only sounded yummy, but we had everything we needed on hand.

I love stratas, but you usually need to plan ahead since most require a soaking period. This recipe intrigued me because it's a strata that does not require an overnight stay in the fridge and because you start it and finish it in the skillet. So not only is it quick, it's a one dish meal - bonus!

The Cook's Illustrated recipe lists several variations to their skillet strata - it was the spinach variation that caught my eye. The recipe calls for 5 slices of quality sandwich bread - we used leftover sourdough scraps.

Digression alert! (Side story: On our way home from Virginia on Wednesday, we stopped at Panera for lunch. Panera serves a piece of sourdough baguette as a side to most of their sandwiches, salads and soups. We often don't have room to eat this yummy bread, so I told everyone to save their bits of leftovers, knowing I'd be able to use them for something - even if it was just to make breadcrumbs. Then this recipe popped up the next day. So, save those scraps of bread - you never know what you might be able to do with them.) End of digression.

Skillet Strata with Spinach and Smoked Mozzarella

The other changes I made were to substitute skim milk for whole, sub scallions for onion, cut down on the butter, and to use smoked mozzarella instead of smoked Gouda. No problem. That's the beauty of recipes like these - you can use whatever breads, cheeses, vegetables or meats you have on hand. The cookbook also recommends several variations, leaving out the spinach and using 1 small onion, chopped: sub 1 cup of cheddar for the mozzarella; 4 slices of bacon, omit thyme, use pepperjack cheese and 2 scallions; 8 ounces of sausage and 1 cup Gruyere.

The results were quick and tasty. It's so nice to know that we can have strata on a last minute impulse.

Vegetarian Recipes to Share....

DH decided that it was high time that our local library got their copy of A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen back, so he bought me my very own copy. As we joked, this purchase is something that he'll enjoy as much as I do because he gets to eat the results.

The biggest wow to come out of this cookbook so far for me, was the Creamy Tomato Soup (which really has no cream at all). All of the other recipes have been very good, but that one was truly stellar. Although I will say that the photography will not reflect the yummy tastes in some of these photos. I miss the summer when there is plenty of natural light - that and some foods, like tempeh, just don't tend to photograph all that well. But anyway......

It's been fun having lots of time to blog - even if I didn't get much of anything else done - but tomorrow it's back to work, so I'm going to knock off a couple recipes at a time here. The first two I'll share are Mexican-flavor inspired dishes.

The first recipe - Black Bean Chilaquiles - is one of those dishes where the photo doesn't translate so well. Chilaquiles are a Mexican dish where corn tortilla chips are simmered in a spicy sauce (chile, bean, etc.) and then topped with cheese. The resulting dish is flavorful and yummy, but it's sort of a mish-mosh and therefore not very easy to photograph.

Black Bean Chilaquiles
(It's hard to see through all of the cheese, sour cream and avocado,
but the black beans and tortillas are under there somewhere!)

In this version, you make your own corn tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into triangles, coating them with oil and baking them in the oven. As the tortillas bake, you start on the black bean sauce, adding the crisp tortillas in at the end to form a thick mixture. The black bean and tortilla mixure is topped with queso fresco, a sour cream-lime sauce and diced avocado.

We liked this dish quite well and it certainly has a lot of room for tinkering - you could use different sauces, veggies or meats and have a slightly different version every time. I kept everything in the skillet instead of transferring it to a platter (no need to dirty another dish when it's just us) and one other thing I'd do differently is to stick the skillet under the broiler briefly to melt the cheese before adding the sour cream and avocados.

Garlicky Mushroom Quesadillas with Tomatillo-Chile Salsa

Continuing on the Mexican theme, we also tried a recipe for mushroom quesadillas. These quesadillas pair garlicky cremini mushrooms with Monterey Jack cheese inside flour tortillas that are topped off with a tomatillo-chile salsa. A very simple dish that goes together quite quickly and reminds you that you don't need to get very fussy to produce yummy food.

Tune in tomorrow for tempeh...........