Beef Stew

 Beef Stew

Ingredients
3-4 pounds beef chuck roast
Montreal steak seasoning

1-3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 medium onions, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire, divided
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cup red wine, plus extra to finish
1 teaspoons dried Thyme 

3 bay leaf
can of chicken stock
can of beef both

3 carrots, diced
1 ½ pounds red bliss potatoes, cubed
2 Tbl of Honey

1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Cube the beef. Trim off any large pieces of fat from the outside of the roast, then cut it into small bite-sized cubes. This is most easily done if you cut the roast into slices, each slice into strips, and then the strips into cubes, season with Montreal steak seasoning. Warm the pot and begin searing the meat. Set a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat and film the bottom with oil. When hot enough that a drop of water sizzles off the surface, work in batches to sear the beef. Add a single layer of beef cubes to the pan, being careful not to crowd the cubes too closely, and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper.
Continue searing all the meat. Let the cubes of beef cook undisturbed for 4-5 minutes, until the undersides develop a dark brown crust and come away easily from the pan. Toss and continue searing on all sides, another 4-5 minutes. Transfer the seared meat to a clean bowl and continue searing the remaining meat in batches. Add another teaspoon or two of oil between batches if the pan looks dry.
Watch for the "fond," a.k.a. sticky dark glaze, to form: A sticky dark glaze will start to form on the bottom of the pan. This is technically called "the fond," and it is a major source of deep, caramelized flavor in your stew. We'll get back to it in a few more steps. However, if at any time you think the crust smells smoky or is starting to burn, dissolve it with a few tablespoons of water and pour over the seared beef.
Cook the vegetables. Once all the meat has been seared and transferred out of the pan, cook the vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium and warm another teaspoon of oil. Add the onions and celery, and cook until the onions are softened and translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste, salt, and one tablespoons of the Worcestershire sauce to coat.
Add the flour. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables. Stir until there is no more visible flour and the veggies look slightly mushy from the flour coating.
Deglaze the pan with the wine. Raise the heat back up to medium-high and pour in the wine. The wine should immediately start bubbling and steaming. Scrape the sticky fond from the bottom of the pan; the wine will help it to dissolve. Continue scraping and stirring until the wine has reduced and thicken slightly.
Return the meat to the pan and add the broth. Return the seared meat to the pan and add the whole thyme sprigs, the bay leaf, and the broth. Stir to combine. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Once the broth has been added, bring the stew to a simmer, cover, and cook in the oven. Cooking times are the same.

Cook everything in oven 2 hour at 300 degrees, then add peas,Taste seasoning, serve.

Grilled Pork Chops

THE ULTIMATE PORK CHOPS

INGREDIENTS:
1 TBL kosher salt
1 TBL brown sugar
1 cups water
1 cups ice
2 (1-inch thick) bone-in pork chops

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large pan, combine salt, sugar and  water. Cook over medium heat until sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from heat. Add ice to cool brine to room temperature.
Place pork chops in a resealable plastic bag; add cooled brine. Seal bag. Refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.
Remove pork chops from brine. Rinse and pat dry.
Sprinkle on both sides of pork chops with pepper.
Prepare the grill and cook pork chops until they reach an internal temperature of 145ºF.

Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding

Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding

Serving is about 3 or 4

A simple and sinful dessert, self-saucing chocolate pudding is like a cross between pudding and sponge cake with warm ripples of melted chocolate. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 lg egg room temperature

2/3 cup flour

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

for the syrup

1 cup water

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and cream on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides.

Add the egg and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Sift together the dry ingredients and add half to the butter mixture, beating on low until just mixed.

Pour in the milk and mix on low until incorporated before adding the rest of the flour mixture.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until just incorporated.

Pour batter into a thoroughly greased 8x8 baking dish and set aside while you make the syrup.

Add the water, brown sugar and cocoa to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, watching to make sure it does not boil over.

Pour syrup over the batter and bake on the center rack of the oven for 30 minutes.

Serve warm. Top with a dollop of cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

Filling:

1 cup plus 1 TBL  granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

⅛ teaspoon salt

1½ cups water

6 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest plus ½ cup fresh lemon juice (2 1/2 to 3 lemons)

2 tablespoons butter, cut into 2 pieces

Meringue:

⅓ cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ cup (3½ oz) granulated sugar

Pie crust:

1 recipe single-crust pie dough, fully baked and cooled

Getting started:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.

Grate first and then zest lemons, reserving a tablespoon of the zest and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Use a fine grater and cover the zest so it doesn’t get dry and it will be unnoticeable in the pie.

Divide eggs: note you’ll need six yolks and only four whites, so use another small bowl for the extra two whites. This is best done by working with one egg at a time over a small bowl or cup. Crack the egg, let the white drip into the cup, then put the yolk in one bowl and the white in another. Repeat, breaking the egg over the now empty bowl.

For the Filling:

Have all ingredients ready and within easy reach.

In a heavy medium-sized pan, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in water and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. When the mixture starts to turn translucent, (it will still be whitish, but you’ll see the difference) working quickly and whisking vigorously, add in egg yolks, two at a time. Whisk in lemon zest, juice and butter. Return mixture to brief simmer, whisking constantly, then remove from heat. Lay sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling to keep warm and prevent skin from forming.

For the Meringue:

Mix together cream of tartar and sugar, set aside.

In a small saucepan, add the tablespoon of cornstarch, then whisk in 1/3 cup water. Bring to a bare simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until it becomes just thickened and translucent looking, 1 to 2 minutes at most. Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl (so it doesn’t continue to cook from the heat of the pan) and let cool slightly to barely lukewarm as the eggs are being whisked.

If using a stand mixer, fit it with the whisk. Beat egg whites and vanilla at medium low-speed until foamy and frothy. Turn the speed up to medium-high and add, a tablespoon at a time, the cream of tartar and sugar mixture. Beat until incorporated (it won’t feel grainy when you run a bit between your fingers) and the mixture forms soft, billowy mounds.

While continuing to whip, add the cooked cornstarch mixture, about a tablespoon at a time. As it’s added, place it between the beaters and the side of the bowl. Continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about two to three minutes longer.

Assemble

If filling is not still hot, during the last minutes of beating the egg whites, remove plastic and return to very low heat for just a moment or two to warm.

Pour warm filling into cooled pre-baked pie crust. Working quickly, dollop meringue in small mounds across the hot pie filling. Using rubber spatula, immediately distribute meringue evenly around the edge first and then the then center of pie, attaching the meringue to pie crust to prevent shrinking. Top off with any remaining meringue.

Using the back of the spoon, create attractive swirls and peaks in the meringue. (I personally like to use the spoon to make small “scallops” with only a very few peaks which prevent the peaks from over baking before the rest is nicely browned.) Bake until meringue is light golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool to room temperature on a rack (at least two hours, but count on three & half). This pie is at it’s best the same day.

Baby Back Ribs

Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon chili powder 

1 teaspoon garlic powder 

1 teaspoon onion powder 

1 teaspoon paprika 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

One 3-pound slab baby back ribs 

2 cups BBQ sauce 

Directions

Preheat the oven or grill to 300 degrees F.

Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl (I did 30 grinds). 

Place the ribs on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal, then place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the dry rub all over the top of the meaty side of the ribs. Wrap the foil around the ribs and seal tightly so that no juices can escape during baking. Bake until the meat is tender and can easily be pulled away from the bones with a fork, about 2 hours. Doing this on grill at indirect heat.

Heat the BBQ sauce in a small pan over medium heat until warm. Remove the ribs from the oven and open the foil pack. Remove the ribs from the foil and pour any juices that have accumulated into the BBQ sauce and mix to combine. Continue to simmer the sauce until thickened, about 7 minutes.

Heat a grill or grill pan for cooking at medium-high heat.

Slice the ribs into 1-bone pieces. Brush all over with the BBQ sauce. Place the ribs on the grill and cook until grill marks appear, a few minutes on each side. Brush with more BBQ sauce and remove from the heat, then serve with the remaining BBQ sauce on the side.

Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

Feeds about 6

INGREDIENTS:

½  pound Italian sausage, casings removed

½  pound ground beef

½  chopped small onion

2 crushed cloves of garlic

1 teaspoons brown sugar

1 (6 ounces) can of Hunt’s Tomato Paste.

1(28 ounces) can Hunt’s diced tomatoes (I use one can of Hunt’s San Marzano Style whole peeled tomatoes). Watch for peels on tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) cans Hunt’s tomato sauce

1 cups of water

1 ½ teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

½ teaspoon salt

⅛  teaspoon ground black pepper

⅛  cup red wine

Directions:

Brown meat and Italian sausage (break it up as you stir it)

Add onions to meat mixture and continue cooking. stirring occasionally until onions are softened.

Next, add your Hunt’s tomatoes that you break up, Hunt’s tomato paste, and Hunt’s tomato sauce.

Next, mix in the spices, sugar, and garlic.

When the sauce has started boiling, add your wine and water.

Simmer on low (stir often) for an hour.

If you want to cook the sauce a little longer, that works, too! Sometimes I’ll let it simmer for 3 hours or so.

I just add another 1/2 cup of water to keep it from getting too thick. (be sure to keep an eye on it to prevent it from burning).You can use this sauce on pasta or lasagna. It’s really the best sauce.