Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Slow Cooker Beef Stew, originally uploaded by essgee51.

With a Christmas Amazon gift card from John's aunt and uncle, we finally bought a slow cooker!

Our first project, based on this recipe, was a success - the meat was tender, and the sauce was rich, silky and savory in a way that only slow-cooked food can be. Next time, we may experiment with more/different herbs -- and definitely add more mushrooms. Tweaks below.

• 2 tbsp. oil (used peanut this time)
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves,chopped
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme (orig. 1/2 tsp. dried, but in an unusual reversal, I didn't have any)
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper, plus more as needed
• 1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast
• 1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered
• 2 c. low-sodium beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lb. frozen peas
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Put the oil in a large pan over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the celery, carrots, onion and thyme. Cook till the carrots begin to soften, about 7-10 minutes.

Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Cook another 3-5 minutes or so, till the tomato paste starts tasting a bit roasted. Add wine and mustard, then stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook till wine's reduced by about half, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Cut the roast into 1-1/2 in. cubes. Put the meat and mushrooms in the flour mixture and toss to coat.

Put the meat, mushrooms and any excess flour into the slow cooker. Add the wine and vegetable mixture, and a bay leaf. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook till meat is pierced easily by a fork, 5-6 hours.

Add peas and cook till heated through. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Beef Stew a la Bittman

Beef Stew a la Bittman, originally uploaded by essgee51.

While I typically make stew the lazy way, this time I bothered to brown the meat. It made a big difference, and I'll definitely be making the time investment in the future. The stew turned out to be rich, comforting and flavorful, but next time I think I'll use a fattier cut of meat and up the umami quotient (perhaps with Worcestershire or soy sauce, anchovies and/or tomato paste). Recipe, with my modifications, below.

• 2-4 tbsp. neutral oil (used grapeseed - started with 2 tbsp. but had to keep adding more because of the lean meat)
• 2-1/2 lbs. stew beef, in chunks
• 1 clove garlic, crushed + 4-5 cloves (1 heaping tbsp.), chopped
• 2 large onions, cut into eighths
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 3 cups liquid (used 2 cups beef broth from a very good concentrate I found + 1 cup red wine)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme
• 6 small/medium potatoes, cut into 1-2 in. chunks (used Yukon Gold)
• 5 medium carrots, cut into 1-2 in. chunks
• 8 oz. mushrooms, quartered
• 1 10-oz. package frozen peas and pearl onions

Heat large pot or Dutch oven on medium-high for 2-3 minutes;. Add oil, then wait another minute. Add crushed garlic clove, then remove once it begins to turn golden-brown, about a minute.

Brown meat, working in batches and seasoning the meat with salt and pepper as you go. Remove meat and reserve, then drain excess oil if necessary (wasn't in my case, since the beef was very lean).

Lower heat to medium. Cook onions, stirring often, till softened, about 10 minutes.

Add flour and stir till completely incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

Return meat to pot. Add liquid, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes undisturbed.

Add carrots, potatoes and mushrooms to pot. Cool till vegetables are tender, anywhere from 30-60 minutes (closer to 60 on my finicky stove). Adjust texture of sauce to taste, adding liquid if you want it soupier and boiling for 5 or so minutes if you want to reduce it.

Add peas, pearl onions, chopped garlic. Simmer for another 10 or so minutes, till peas are warmed up and garlic has infused stew. Adjust seasoning, then serve.

Caldereta

The dish so nice I packed it twice - pictured here with the rest of today's bento: rice and a spinach-red onion salad with homemade red wine-Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

I was hankering for some home cooking, and so created a riff on this recipe. Alas, the butcher stand was out of goat, but I made do with what was left of the stew lamb and some beef to make up the difference. Turned out wonderfully - rich and umami-filled from the long-simmered meat and soy sauce, tangy from the vinegar and tomato sauce, and just a tad sweet from the vegetables. Next time, I'll probably add another bell pepper, more peas and carrot; I'll also add some garlic during the vegetable sauteing process and remember to use either liver pate or the liverwurst we had in the fridge.

• 2 lbs. stew meat, cubed  (I used 1-1/2 lb. lamb and 1/2 lb. lean beef and cut it into 1 to 1-1/2 in. pieces)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 heaping cup garlic, minced (most of a plump head)
• 2-3 tbsp. oil (I used peanut)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 cups water or broth
• 1-1/2 medium carrots, chunked (about 1-1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1-1-1/2 lbs. potatoes, chunked (about 3 heaping cups)
• 1 cup peas (frozen were fine)
• 1 small can liver pate (couldn't find any, alas, so skipped this)

Marinate the meat in the soy, vinegar and garlic for at least an hour. Pat the meat dry (forgot to do this) and put in a bowl; reserve the marinade.

Put the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the meat briefly, in batches (got about halfway through this and raised a decent amount of fond despite the added moisture from the marinade). Remove from pot and set aside.

Add more oil if necessary. Saute the onion and bell pepper till onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce and simmer till slightly reduced, about 3-5 minutes.

Return meat to pot. Add reserved marinade and water or broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, till meat is tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Add carrots, potatoes and peas. Simmer till vegetables are tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir pate (next time!) into dish. Adjust seasoning and serve over white rice.

Dinner: Pasta with Butter and Chives + Peas with Olive Oil and Mint

A quick, light dinner, made even tastier with the addition of fresh herbs from the garden. John made the peas (from this recipe), while I made the pasta - they were ready at about the same time. The dish was one of my grad school go-tos, but having fresh chives instead of dried makes a lovely difference.

Pasta with Butter and Chives

• 12 oz. pasta (used a box of tricolor rotini)
• 2 tbsp. butter, or more to taste
• about 1/3 cup chopped chives (a healthy handful from our flourishing plant)
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta till al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add butter, chives and salt and pepper to taste (be generous!). Mix well and enjoy.

Leftovers for Lunch!

After a hard morning of playing Fallout 1 playing Torchlight cleaning, what better and more convenient way to refuel than with leftovers? Couscous from yesterday, John's vinegary cabbage salad and Magic Bag peas from Monday, plus a few slices of Spam fried so they're crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Turned out to be a wonderful mix of sweet (peas), sour (salad) and salty (guess which one?), as well as a colorful meal.

Fried Rice with Saffron, Ginger and Tomatoes

Have never cooked with saffron before, and so couldn't resist adding this recipe (from Serious Eats) to the fried rice chronicles. It turned out a tad too brassy from the healthy dollops of salt and pepper (mistakenly heavy in the case of the latter), but still flavorful and good served cold the next day. Will definitely try it again with a couple of modifications (in parentheses); may also adopt this method of cooking the egg for fried rice.

• small pinch of saffron (used two)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, pureed
• 1-1/2 tsp. ginger, minced (used 2-1/2 tsp.)
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas (used about 2/3 cup)
• 1-1/4 tsp. salt (will halve this next time)
• 1/4 tsp. pepper (will actually use this next time - ended up with about 1 tsp.)
• 3 cups cooked rice, crumbled
• 1/4 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1/3 cup scallions, chopped
• soy sauce to taste (skipped this)

Put saffron in a small bowl with 1 tbsp. water. Stir gently, then set aside.
Put 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crack egg into a bowl and whisk in 1 tbsp. water. When skillet's hot, pour in the egg, tilting the pan to spread it so it coats the bottom (like an omelet). Once the egg has set, which should take somewhere between 2-4 minutes, scrape the egg into a bowl and break up into bite-sized pieces.
Pour the rest of the oil into the skillet and turn the heat to high. When it's hot, add the ginger; cook for about 15-30 seconds, stirring often.

Add the saffron water and tomato puree. Cook, stirring often, till most of the water evaporates - about 3-5 minutes.

Add the sliced onions. Cook for one minute.

Add the rice, salt, pepper and oyster sauce. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring to homogenize the mixture.

Add the peas and cooked egg. Stir for another minute.

Add soy sauce to taste and garnish with scallions.

P-p-p-pasta with Pancetta, Pecorino...and Peas

Modded der Bittman's "Pasta with Pancetta and Pecorino" (from the 2nd edition of How to Cook Everything) - where we diverge, the original proportions are in parentheses.

• salt
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 4 oz. pancetta
• 13.8 oz. whole wheat spaghettini or other long pasta (1 lb.)
• about 1-2/3 cup frozen peas
  
• about 3/4 cup grated Pecorino-Romano (1/2 cup)
• freshly-ground black pepper

Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil.

Put the oil and pancetta in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, till the meat's crisp and nicely browned, about 10 mins. Turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water till tender. Drain, reserving a bit of the cooking water (I always forget to do this - fortunately, there wasn't any need this time).

Prepare the peas (mine were frozen, so I just followed the directions on the package).

Toss the pasta with the pancetta and its juices; stir in the cheese and the peas (these dudes were a pain - alternately congregating at the bottom of the pot and hopping out when I tried to distribute them evenly. In the end, I sort of gave up and scooped the recalcitrant ones out to make a sort of topping). Adjust the seasoning, then add the black pepper (a lot of it!) and serve (or pack into Tupperware for tomorrow, in my case).

The Fried Rice Chronicles, Vol. 2: The Meh Lab [MEH]

Time to clear out the sundries and dispose of excess day-old rice again. The final product turned out...alright, I guess. Lessons learned? More garlic. More anchovies. Frozen peas instead of canned, because khaki is a color that should be worn, not eaten.

Ah well. At least I got the idea for a new tag out of it.

• 3 tbsp. peanut oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot (about 1/2 cup), diced
• 4 anchovy fillets, minced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1 tbsp.)
• 1 cup peas
• 3-4 cups day-old rice, well-crumbled
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 3-4 scallions, chopped

Beat the eggs and set them aside (NOTE: The 2nd egg I cracked was my first-ever double yolker!).

Put the oil in the Dutch oven on high heat. When hot, add the onion and carrots. Cook for a minute or two, then add the anchovies. Turn down the heat if necessary and stir relentlessly for a minute or two more, till the anchovies are evenly distributed and at the point of disintegration; the vegetables should be soft, but not brown.

Add peas; stir around till warmed.

Add garlic. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or so (as Bittman advised, I wanted to keep the garlic flavor strong).

Add rice, stirring to coat it thoroughly with oil and distribute the vegetables. Cook for a few minutes, till rice is heated through.

Dig a well in the middle of the rice, and pour the egg into it. Belay the stirring and cook for a minute or so, until some of the eggs begin to solidify at the bottom, but the rest is still liquidy (maybe a minute?). Then, rapidly stir the egg into the rice mixture. (Bittman likes to scramble them fairly thoroughly before incorporating them into the rest of the dish, but I like the creamy, faux-risotto-y texture this method produces).

Season with salt and pepper; correct seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat.

Garnish with scallions and serve.