Thursday, August 24, 2006

Beef Bourguignon

Many times in cooking, I will change a recipe. For either personal prefrence, dietary reasons, etc. This is NOT a recipe you can change! You need to use REAL bacon. You need to use peppercorns. You need to use fresh herbs. If you do not, it absolutely will not come out mouth watering delicous! Please don't email me and tell me you "have" to make changes, and can you substitute "xyz" for "abc". It won't taste right. End of discussion.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups Burgundy wine
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 sprig fresh parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 10 whole black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pounds cubed beef chuck roast



  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/4 pound bacon, cubed
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced


DIRECTIONS:
1. For marinade: In a large bowl, combine the wine, cognac, onions, carrots, parsley, bay leaf, garlic, peppercorns and salt. Mix well and add the cubed beef. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 days.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
3. Strain the meat from the vegetables and marinade; reserve marinade. Dry meat with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
4. Add the meat and saute for 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Transfer meat to a separate medium bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside.
5. In the same skillet, add the bacon and saute until lightly browned. Transfer the bacon to the bowl with the meat. Drain the skillet and return it to the heat. Pour a cup of marinade into the skillet to deglaze the skillet, scraping the bottom to loosen up all the little bits. Return this liquid to the reserved marinade.
6. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the onion and carrot from the marinade, along with the additional onion that you've chopped, and saute for 5 minutes, or until tender. Transfer this mixture to the bowl with the meat and bacon, again using a slotted spoon, and return skillet to the heat. Add the flour to the skillet, combining with the oil and stir until well mixed and brown, about 2 minutes.
7. Now add the tomato paste, garlic, beef broth, reserved marinade and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and whisk to remove any flour lumps. Add this to the meat and vegetable mixture. Place entire mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.
8. Bake at 300 degrees F for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. About 15 minutes before meat is done baking, melt butter in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. When meat is done, add the mushrooms to the meat mixture, stir well and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Serves 8

This recipe is from allrecipes.com and not an original creation.

Chicken Penne Pasta

This recipe serves 6, and is very nice for summer.


INGREDIENTS:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 onion, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 small yellow squash, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
3 carrots, diced
12 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
8 ounces penne pasta
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.

2. In an electric skillet, saute garlic and onions in olive oil till onions are soft. Over high heat, quickly saute cut up chicken. Sprinkle with paprika, and cook until chicken is nicely browned.
Add vegetables and tomatoes. Simmer untill vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add pasta to mix and stir into sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Chicken Coq au Vin

This is a favorite, even for my four picky little eaters! This recipe feeds 8

INGREDIENTS:

  • 5 pounds chicken legs or thighs
  • 4 slices of bacon, chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely sliced
  • 2 containers of sliced mushrooms
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 TSP dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • Salt and pepper


DIRECTIONS
1. Remove and discard skin from chicken; rinse chicken and pat dry. Pull off and discard lumps of fat
2. In a electric skillet, stir bacon until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions and mushrooms and stir often until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add chicken, broth, wine, mustard, and thyme. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is no longer pink at the bone (cut to test), 20 to 25 minutes. Cook at 250 degrees.
3. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken from pan; set aside. Increase heat to high and boil liquid and vegetables to concentrate flavors, about 5 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, blend cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Add to broth mixture and stir until it boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.