Yesterday was rainy, and this morning, after the rain ended (with the possibility of more to come this afternoon), the weather is on the cool side. (Well, cool for Florida.) Seems like the perfect day for homemade soup and bread.
Soups can be intimidating for those who've never made homemade soup; then again, so can homemade bread. But both are really relatively easy to make. Here are a few offerings that would taste great any time - especially on a rainy, snowy or otherwise cool day. Enjoy!
PUMPKIN SOUP RECIPE
From About.com's British and Irish Food blog. Elaine Lemm, who writes the blog, wrote, "This lovely recipe from Simon Hopkinson's book, Vegetarian Option, 1 is a cross somewhere between a baked pumpkin and a pumpkin soup. Simon first encountered the recipe in the seminal book, Great Chefs of France and over the years has adapted it to a more manageable recipe for the home-cook...This Pumpkin Soup recipe is perfect for an autumn or winter supper, great for Halloween and for Bonfire Night it is perfect." Actually, it's perfect anytime, as far as I'm concerned.
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 2 hours; Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 lb pumpkin
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 1/4 oz Gruyere or Beaufort cheese, freshly grated
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 395°F.
Cut off the top quarter of the pumpkin to make a lid and set aside. Scoop out the seeds and stringy membrane using a spoon.
Heat the cream with the garlic and seasoning almost to a simmer, then take off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
Strain the infused cream into the pumpkin cavity. Mix in the cheese, put the lid on and place in a roasting tin. Bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until the pumpkin flesh is tender when pierced with a fork and the outer skin of the pumpkin is nicely burnished; you may want to turn the heat down slightly if the skin is becoming too brown.
To serve, with a spoon, scoop a good layer of the pumpkin flesh inside the cavity into the hot cream and cheese and stir taking care to not pierce the outer skin.
Serves 4
Recipe Courtesy of Quadrille Books from Simon Hopkinson's Book - Vegetarian Option
CREAMY FRENCH LENTIL & HAM SOUP
This is from Macrina Bakery's email list. If you're not on their email list, you're missing out on some great recipes!
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup onions, diced small
1 cup carrots, diced small
1 cup celery, diced small
1/4 cup leeks, diced small
1/2 cup fennel, diced small
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
1/2 cup ham, diced into
1/4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
2/3 cup French green lentils*
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
*Available in specialty shops and some supermarkets.
Preparation
Serves 4
Place olive oil and butter into a medium-sized, heavy- bottom soup pot. Over medium heat, warm the oil and melt the butter.
Add onions, carrots, celery, leeks and fennel to the pot. Cover and cook, sweating the vegetables for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the cover from the pot, and add the garlic, ham, thyme and tarragon. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes, reducing the liquid by half. Then add the lentils and stock. Bring everything to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream, cooking for 8 to 10 more minutes or until the lentils are tender.
Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
POTATO AND ONION SOUP
From Roadfood.com . The recipe starts off with, "Cooking potatoes in beef stock gives the starchy vegetable a savor that all carnivores will appreciate. A sprinkle of Parmesan on each serving adds just the right zip."
Recipe Source: Harry Caray's; Preparation Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Servings: 6
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups peeled and sliced Spanish onions
3-1/2 cups homemade beef stock or equivalent amount of canned, low salt beef broth
3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and add the olive oil.
Add the onions and sauté until they become clear and turn a light brown. Set aside.
In a large stock pot, bring the beef stock to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the diced potatoes. Simmer over medium heat until the potatoes are soft. Add the onions to the stock pot and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Salt and pepper the soup to taste.
Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese on top and serve.
CARROT AND ZUCCHINI SOUP
From About.com's low fat cooking blog. Fiona Haynes, who writes the low fat cooking blog, writes, "Why settle for canned soup when you make your own heartier fresh-tasting soup without all those additives? This carrot and zucchini soup is pureed to make a deliciously filling soup to warm you on cool Autumn days. Enjoy with a slice of crusty whole-grain bread."
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-lb carrots, peeled and sliced
1-lb zucchini, unpeeled and sliced
2 tsp curry powder
3 1/2 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
Preparation:
Sauté onions in a soup pot for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add carrots and zucchini, followed by curry powder. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add chopped parsley. Transfer soup to a blender and blend until smooth, working in two batches.
Makes 6 servings.
Per Serving: Calories 81, Calories from Fat 16, Total Fat 1.8g (sat 0.2g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 65mg, Carbohydrate 13.4g, Fiber 4g, Protein 2.8g
FRAGRANT FRENCH ONION SOUP
Really not sure where this came from. The recipe starts off with, "A classic that’s so simple, you’ll wonder what you did before you started serving this staple soup."
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or water
2-3 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
4 slices French bread, toasted, or croutons
Preparation:
Heat the oil or water in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir until the onions are well coated. Add the water and soy sauce or tamari and stir well. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer, covered, until the onions are tender. Add more water if the soup becomes too thick.
Serve in individual bowls topped with the French bread or croutons.
Makes 4 servings
BASIC ROLLS
YIELD: About 30 rolls.
From one of my favorite cooking shows, Breaking Bread with Father Dominic. It's no longer on the air (that I can find, anyway), but his cookbooks are still for sale.
Ingredients:
1 package FLEISCHMANN's Active Dry Yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
5 to 5 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, divided
Directions:
Sprinkle yeast over warm water in small bowl; stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy.
Heat milk in a saucepan until lukewarm; do not boil. Add butter, sugar and milk; mix well.
Combine milk mixture, yeast mixture and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer fitted with dough hook. Add 2 cups of the flour; mix with dough hook until blended. Add 2 cups flour and mix until blended. Add 1 cup flour and mix on medium speed 2 minutes.
Remove dough from mixing bowl and place on a floured surface. Knead, adding as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as needed to form a smooth, elastic dough. Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
Punch down dough. Knead 2 minutes to work out air bubbles. Let dough rest 10 minutes. Shape dough into desired rolls. (For shape variations, visit Tips & Techniques.) Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes, or until doubled.
When dough is nearly finished rising, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake rolls 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD
YIELD: 2 loaves.
Another recipe from Breaking Bread with Father Dominic.
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening or butter
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 packages FLEISCHMANN's Active Dry Yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
Filling:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Directions:
Combine milk, sour cream and shortening in a saucepan over low heat; stir occasionally until sour cream and shortening are melted and mixed in. Remove from heat. Let cool to lukewarm.
Combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl; mix well. Blend milk mixture, vanilla and eggs into flour mixture; beat about 3 minutes. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 5 minutes, adding flour as needed to make a smooth and elastic dough. Lightly grease the surface of the dough; place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough. Knead 2 minutes to work out the air bubbles. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface or pastry cloth, roll each piece of dough into a rectangle about 14 by 7 inches. Spread softened butter on dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; sprinkle over butter. Starting with the short edge, tightly roll up dough; seal the edges. Place in greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Cover with a clean towel and let rise 45 to 60 minutes, or until nearly doubled.
About 15 minutes before end of rising time, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake bread 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden and bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Remove from pans and let cool on a wire rack. If desired, while loaves are still hot, brush the tops with additional butter and sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
St. Patrick's Day Food
It's that time of year again when everyone seems to be just a little Irish, even those who aren't. Yes, seems like just last week, we celebrated the new year, and now it's time for St. Patrick's Day. Believe it or not, there are those who don't celebrate it as a day remember a necessarily great person, but I'm not going to discuss politics here. (Maybe I should start a political blog, but being decidedly....well, wait, didn't I just say I wouldn't discuss politics? lol Sorry!)
Well, back to the food. Whether you celebrated March 17 as St. Patrick's Day or anti-St. Patrick's Day, my motto when it comes to good food is this: Let's eat!
SWEET IRISH POTATO ROLLS
From about.com's bread baking guru, Elizabeth Yetter, who wrote, "Sweet Irish potato rolls are made with mashed potatoes and the water you use to boil the potatoes. These rolls are soft, moist, and slightly sweet. They taste great with salty dinners, such as ham, and with most stews. The rolls can be made ahead of time, cooled, and frozen. This recipe for sweet Irish potato rolls makes 18 medium sized rolls."
Prep Time: 2 hours; Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup potato water
1 tbsp (2 pkg) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
5 cups bread flour, about
Preparation:
Melt stick of butter in small saucepan.
In large bowl, add mashed potatoes, potato water, and melted butter. Mix and let set until lukewarm.
Add yeast, sugar, salt and eggs to mixture. Stir well.
Stir in 2 cups bread flour. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes in warm place.
Stir down sponge and add enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until soft and smooth. Put dough in greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk.
Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead out air bubbles. Divide and shape dough into 18 rolls. Put rolls on 2 greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.
Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or cold.
COLCANNON
Possibly from one of about.com's channels. Not sure, though. Whoever came up with this recipes wrote, "Leeks and bacon flavor this traditional Irish side dish recipe of mashed potatoes with cabbage."
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 pounds russet potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 leek, rinsed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1/3 cup butter
1 cup hot milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Preparation:
Peel potatoes and cube. Place in saucepan and cover with cold water. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large saucepan until crisp and browned, turning often while cooking. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain; crumble. To drippings remaining in saucepan, add olive oil. Cook onion, garlic, and leeks until crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes. Then add cabbage, cover, and cook for 6-10 minutes until cabbage is tender.
When potatoes are cooked, drain and return potatoes to hot pot; shake over low heat for a few minutes to dry. Add butter and mash. Add milk and salt and pepper; beat until combined. Stir in bacon and cabbage mixture. Serve immediately, or place in serving dish and keep warm in 200 degrees F oven for 1 hour. Serves 6-8.
VEGETARIAN "BEEF" AND GUINNESS STEW
Jolinda Hackett is about.com's vegetarian cuisine guide. She wrote, "Beef and Guinness stew, an Irish pub favorite, gets a vegetarian makeover in this recipe, using seitan instead of beef to absorb all that rich stout flavor. Yum! The flavor of the beer is very strong in this recipe, so I've suggest using half the amount of Guinness and adding an equal amount of vegetable broth if you aren't a Guinness fan."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
Approx 14 oz seitan, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp steak sauce
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1 onion, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 12 oz bottles Guinness Stout OR 1 bottle plus 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sautee seitan in olive oil and soy sauce until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, add steak sauce and stir until seitan is lightly coated. Remove from heat and aside. In a large pot, sautee onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic in butter or margarine for 3-5 minutes, or until onions are slightly soft. Reduce heat and slowly add Guinness, gently stirring to combine. Add flour, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper and stir well. Add seitan and allow stew to simmer until Guinness reduces and stew thickens, about 40-50 minutes.
Add more salt and pepper if desired and enjoy!
CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE TARTS
Linda Larsen runs about.com's Busy Cooks channel. Linda wrote, "I love this recipe for these individual little Corned Beef and Cabbage Tarts. The creamy cheese, crisp-tender cabbage and sweet red onion blend so well with the corned beef and the flaky pastry. You can omit the corned beef entirely for a nice vegetarian entree."
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 55 minutes; Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 crust pastry recipe
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1/4 large head red cabbage, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked cubed corned beef or ham
1 cup cubed Swiss or Havarti cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Prepare pie crust and divide dough into four pieces. Roll out each between waxed paper into 7" rounds. Fit each into a 4" tart ring, or simply put the crusts on two cookie sheets. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute onion in olive oil in a large skillet until soft. Then add cabbage, vinegar, honey, and water. Cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes, until cabbage is soft, stirring frequently. Then uncover pan and cook for 5-8 minutes longer on medium high heat, stirring frequently, until liquid is absorbed.
Divide half of the cabbage mixture evenly among the pastry circles, using about 1/2 cup for each. If you aren't using the tart rings, just mound the mixture in the center of the circles of pastry. Divide the corned beef evenly onto the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with Gruyere cheese cubes and grated Parmesan cheese, and top with remaining cabbage mixture. Fold crust edges over the top of the cabbage mixture, pleating to form a ruffled edge. Bake tarts at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove tart rings and serve.
CROCKPOT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
Linda Larsen wrote, "For St. Patrick's Day or any cold winter day, this recipe for classic Corned Beef and Cabbage is delicious and super easy too."
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 10 hours
Ingredients:
6 carrots, cut into chunks
2 onions, chopped
2-3 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
12 oz. can beer (non alcoholic is fine)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
8 wedges cabbage
Preparation:
In 4-6 quart crockpot, combine carrots and onions. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Pour beer over brisket and spread mustard on brisket. In small bowl mix brown sugar with water and pour over brisket. Cover crockpot and cook on low setting for 11-12 hours. Remove corned beef from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Add cabbage wedges to vegetables and liquid in crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on high for additional 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender. To serve, cut corned beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with corned beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard on the side. 8 servings.
IRISH MINT BROWNIES
Linda Larsen wrote, "These fabulous brownies with a rich mint topping are perfect for St. Patrick's Day or anytime. I like to bake these brownies in a 9" round cake pan and cut it into wedges for a slightly fancier presentation." All I know is that they're yummy!
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup fudge ice cream topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tub vanilla ready to spread frosting
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Few drops green food coloring
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1-1/2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In heavy saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and blend in fudge topping with wire whisk. Add sugar, beating well. Then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and mix well. Stir in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Spray bottom of 9x9" square cake pan with baking spray containing flour. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Cool completely. In small bowl combine frosting, green food coloring, and mint extract and beat well until frosting is evenly colored. Spread over brownies in pan.
In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa and mix with wire whisk. In microwave safe bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. butter and 1-1/2 Tbsp. water and microwave for 30-45 seconds until butter melts. Add to powdered sugar mixture and beat with wire whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. You may need to add more water to reach a pouring consistency. Then carefully pour this frosting over the green frosting and gently spread to cover. Don't worry if some of the chocolate frosting mixes with the green frosting; that just looks pretty! Yields 16 brownies.
Well, back to the food. Whether you celebrated March 17 as St. Patrick's Day or anti-St. Patrick's Day, my motto when it comes to good food is this: Let's eat!
SWEET IRISH POTATO ROLLS
From about.com's bread baking guru, Elizabeth Yetter, who wrote, "Sweet Irish potato rolls are made with mashed potatoes and the water you use to boil the potatoes. These rolls are soft, moist, and slightly sweet. They taste great with salty dinners, such as ham, and with most stews. The rolls can be made ahead of time, cooled, and frozen. This recipe for sweet Irish potato rolls makes 18 medium sized rolls."
Prep Time: 2 hours; Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup potato water
1 tbsp (2 pkg) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
5 cups bread flour, about
Preparation:
Melt stick of butter in small saucepan.
In large bowl, add mashed potatoes, potato water, and melted butter. Mix and let set until lukewarm.
Add yeast, sugar, salt and eggs to mixture. Stir well.
Stir in 2 cups bread flour. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes in warm place.
Stir down sponge and add enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until soft and smooth. Put dough in greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk.
Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead out air bubbles. Divide and shape dough into 18 rolls. Put rolls on 2 greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.
Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or cold.
COLCANNON
Possibly from one of about.com's channels. Not sure, though. Whoever came up with this recipes wrote, "Leeks and bacon flavor this traditional Irish side dish recipe of mashed potatoes with cabbage."
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 pounds russet potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 leek, rinsed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1/3 cup butter
1 cup hot milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Preparation:
Peel potatoes and cube. Place in saucepan and cover with cold water. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large saucepan until crisp and browned, turning often while cooking. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain; crumble. To drippings remaining in saucepan, add olive oil. Cook onion, garlic, and leeks until crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes. Then add cabbage, cover, and cook for 6-10 minutes until cabbage is tender.
When potatoes are cooked, drain and return potatoes to hot pot; shake over low heat for a few minutes to dry. Add butter and mash. Add milk and salt and pepper; beat until combined. Stir in bacon and cabbage mixture. Serve immediately, or place in serving dish and keep warm in 200 degrees F oven for 1 hour. Serves 6-8.
VEGETARIAN "BEEF" AND GUINNESS STEW
Jolinda Hackett is about.com's vegetarian cuisine guide. She wrote, "Beef and Guinness stew, an Irish pub favorite, gets a vegetarian makeover in this recipe, using seitan instead of beef to absorb all that rich stout flavor. Yum! The flavor of the beer is very strong in this recipe, so I've suggest using half the amount of Guinness and adding an equal amount of vegetable broth if you aren't a Guinness fan."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
Approx 14 oz seitan, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp steak sauce
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1 onion, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 12 oz bottles Guinness Stout OR 1 bottle plus 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sautee seitan in olive oil and soy sauce until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, add steak sauce and stir until seitan is lightly coated. Remove from heat and aside. In a large pot, sautee onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic in butter or margarine for 3-5 minutes, or until onions are slightly soft. Reduce heat and slowly add Guinness, gently stirring to combine. Add flour, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper and stir well. Add seitan and allow stew to simmer until Guinness reduces and stew thickens, about 40-50 minutes.
Add more salt and pepper if desired and enjoy!
CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE TARTS
Linda Larsen runs about.com's Busy Cooks channel. Linda wrote, "I love this recipe for these individual little Corned Beef and Cabbage Tarts. The creamy cheese, crisp-tender cabbage and sweet red onion blend so well with the corned beef and the flaky pastry. You can omit the corned beef entirely for a nice vegetarian entree."
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 55 minutes; Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 crust pastry recipe
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1/4 large head red cabbage, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked cubed corned beef or ham
1 cup cubed Swiss or Havarti cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Prepare pie crust and divide dough into four pieces. Roll out each between waxed paper into 7" rounds. Fit each into a 4" tart ring, or simply put the crusts on two cookie sheets. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute onion in olive oil in a large skillet until soft. Then add cabbage, vinegar, honey, and water. Cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes, until cabbage is soft, stirring frequently. Then uncover pan and cook for 5-8 minutes longer on medium high heat, stirring frequently, until liquid is absorbed.
Divide half of the cabbage mixture evenly among the pastry circles, using about 1/2 cup for each. If you aren't using the tart rings, just mound the mixture in the center of the circles of pastry. Divide the corned beef evenly onto the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with Gruyere cheese cubes and grated Parmesan cheese, and top with remaining cabbage mixture. Fold crust edges over the top of the cabbage mixture, pleating to form a ruffled edge. Bake tarts at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove tart rings and serve.
CROCKPOT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
Linda Larsen wrote, "For St. Patrick's Day or any cold winter day, this recipe for classic Corned Beef and Cabbage is delicious and super easy too."
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 10 hours
Ingredients:
6 carrots, cut into chunks
2 onions, chopped
2-3 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
12 oz. can beer (non alcoholic is fine)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
8 wedges cabbage
Preparation:
In 4-6 quart crockpot, combine carrots and onions. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Pour beer over brisket and spread mustard on brisket. In small bowl mix brown sugar with water and pour over brisket. Cover crockpot and cook on low setting for 11-12 hours. Remove corned beef from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Add cabbage wedges to vegetables and liquid in crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on high for additional 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender. To serve, cut corned beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with corned beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard on the side. 8 servings.
IRISH MINT BROWNIES
Linda Larsen wrote, "These fabulous brownies with a rich mint topping are perfect for St. Patrick's Day or anytime. I like to bake these brownies in a 9" round cake pan and cut it into wedges for a slightly fancier presentation." All I know is that they're yummy!
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup fudge ice cream topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tub vanilla ready to spread frosting
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Few drops green food coloring
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1-1/2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In heavy saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and blend in fudge topping with wire whisk. Add sugar, beating well. Then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and mix well. Stir in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Spray bottom of 9x9" square cake pan with baking spray containing flour. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Cool completely. In small bowl combine frosting, green food coloring, and mint extract and beat well until frosting is evenly colored. Spread over brownies in pan.
In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa and mix with wire whisk. In microwave safe bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. butter and 1-1/2 Tbsp. water and microwave for 30-45 seconds until butter melts. Add to powdered sugar mixture and beat with wire whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. You may need to add more water to reach a pouring consistency. Then carefully pour this frosting over the green frosting and gently spread to cover. Don't worry if some of the chocolate frosting mixes with the green frosting; that just looks pretty! Yields 16 brownies.
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