A Miniature Rose Bush & Stew

Yesterday was perfect in the way that only gloomy Sundays can be.    I went to the grocery store to get ingredients for stew - it doesn't call for anything fancy - and it's simplicity is the sort of meat and potatoes goodness that is healthy but still filling.   I was also excited to find a miniature rose bush in the prettiest light pink.  The perfect find to brighten up a dreary day.  Rose bush and groceries in tow, I headed home to make my stew.

Stew has always been my favorite meal to have when the weather gets chilly.
This is my grandma's recipe that my mom always made us growing up and this was my first time attempting it.  It was easy, and turned out perfectly.  I made it on the stove, but you can make it in a slow cooker as well.

Ingredients:
1 lb stew meat or round steak cubes
1 can beef consomme
1 yellow onion chopped
4-5 carrots
2-3 potatoes

Directions:
Shake the meat in flour until it's coated.
Brown the meat.
Add the can of consomme, 3/4 cup of water, and the onion to the meat and let simmer 1 hour.
Add the potatoes and carrots and simmer one more hour.

By the time the stew is done, the meat and vegetables will be coated in a delicious gravy.  For a more thin gravy, cook for less time.  Serve with crusty French bread and enjoy.

Hot Toddies

Last week I was sick.  The kind of sick where it's an effort to move from the bed to the couch, and several days were spent in a cocoon of blankets and pillows drifting in and out of sleep.  When my throat was sore and I couldn't stop coughing, I decided it was time for a hot toddy.  When I was little my parents would make them for me - and drinking them now leaves me feeling instantly comforted.  Of course, back then they were mostly lemon and honey (and just enough brandy to make it easy to fall asleep).   I've enjoyed several of these in the past week and have tweaked the recipe to a fine perfection.  I've substituted whiskey for the brandy, added a cinnamon stick and a few cloves and am certain this will be a drink I'll be enjoying all winter.

Here is how I make mine...

- 3/4 cup of green tea
- 1 shot brandy or whiskey
- Juice of a quarter to a half of a lemon (depending on size)
- Honey to sweeten (I use around a spoonful)
- A cinnamon stick to stir
- A few whole cloves

PS, how cute is this idea for a winter party? 

Spring Taste Buds

I've had enough of casseroles and soups.  I'm ready for light meals that involve quick preparation and lots of flavor.   In the winter months, I don't mind spending hours on end in the kitchen.  I actually love it.  However, the exact opposite holds true when temperatures start to get a little warmer.  These recipes are quick and look wonderfully flavorful.

{Fruit-schetta - toasted bread, creamcheese, fruit, and honey. Recipe here.}

{Blueberry Green Iced Tea - combination of my favorite things. Recipe here.}

{Cuban sandwiches are my favorite food ever.  Found a 'skinny' version & am so excited to try it.  Recipe here.}

What's your favorite spring dish?

A Scrumptious Little Cookie

This is my absolute favorite time of year to bake and be in the kitchen.  With Christmas carols blazing and a glass of vino close at hand, it's the best way to wind down, but still feel as though you're doing something "Christmas-y" and productive.  I've tried a couple cookie recipes this year, and this one is hands down my favorite.   Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with "Benne Wafers".  These delicate little cookies have the most amazing texture and flavor, I can't believe I wasted 25 years of my life without them.  They are made of sesame seeds and little else and couldn't be simpler to make.  They are my new go to, and I have a feeling I'll be eating theses chewy/crunchy little morsels year after year.  Crowned cookie of the year in 1952, I'm not quite sure how they never got to be as popular as the chocolate chip.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 Cup Sesame Seeds
- 1 Egg
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (softened, but cool)
- 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Salt

Tools
- Parchment Paper
- A butter knife submerged in a glass of ice water

Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix the butter and the brown sugar until it is thoroughly blended.
- Add the egg and beat till combined.
- Add flour, salt, vanilla, and sesame seeds till combined.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place quarter-sized dollops about two inches apart.  These will look extremely small, but trust me, they expand.
- Flatten the cookies with your butter knife so that they are nice and flat.
- Cook for approximately 6 minutes.  Cookies should be a bit darker around the edges but still a nice golden brown.
- Let cookies cool for several minutes before attempting to remove them from the parchment paper.

*Makes about 4 dozen.

Cool Weather, Warm Apple Crisp

Apple crisp is one of those delightful little foods that has the ability to take me back in time.  My grandma always made it to accompany our kulberwurst dinners and there is something about that chewy crust,  buttery apples, and savory cinnamon that is the epitome of comfort food.  My mom made it for me the last time I was home and I knew that this was a recipe I had to master.   This was my great aunt and great grandmother's recipe and I couldn't believe how simple it was.  Paired with a cup of hot tea, there is no better indulgence on a blustery, autumn afternoon.   

Ingredients:

- 5 to 6 apples (I used Fuji) peeled and sliced

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cup flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 egg

- 1 stick butter, melted & cooled

- cinnamon 

Directions:

- Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt.

- Add the egg to the above mixture.  It should turn into a crumbly consistency.

- Line the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan with your apples.

- Cover the apples with the mixture, and create furrows (small divets so the butter doesn't run to the sides).

- Sprinkle the top with cinnamon.

- Poor butter onto the top, evenly coating it.

- Bake at 350 degrees until apples are thoroughly cooked and top is golden. The time can vary, but I cooked mine about 40 minutes.

- Serve with whipping cream, ice cream, or half and half.  

Zitti Alfredo

When I first saw the book Lunch In Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Baird I knew I'd love it. I knew it even before I read the back cover.   My prediction, was unsurpisingly correct, and it is definitely on my list of top ten favorite books.  The combination of reading about food and romance was a dreamy pairing. It's amazing how connected food is to one's life, and it's a point that Baird made wonderfully clear throughout the book.  It's something I never really thought about until now, but certain dishes can take you back to a moment in time.  It makes me want to write my own novel with recipes.

There are about twenty dishes from the book I'm dying to try.  The first one I have attempted was the recipe for the alfredo sauce. Although I've always heard how easy alfredo sauce is to make, I've never had the desire to do so, because, well, buying a can is a heck of a lot easier.   But my opinion is forever changed.  This sauce was amazing and beyond easy to make. We were out of fettucine, so we used zitti - I was a little never because it's such a thick pasta, but the sauce held it's own.  So creamy, cheesey, and peppery - I will make this again and again.  See the recipe below!

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons salted butter

2 cups heavy cream

6 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (don't skimp!)

2 egg yolks, unbeaten

1 1/2 pounds De Cecco fettucine or orecchiette (or in my case zitti)

Directions:

In a large stockpot boil the water for the pasta.  Add enough salt so you can taste it.

In a sauce pan, over low heat, melt the butter. Then add the cream and stir to heat through. Then add cheese, stirring to combine.

Add the pepper, stir and cook 5 minutes.

While sauce is cooking, put the pasta into the boiling water.

Whisk the egg yolks into the sauce, continuing to whisk until the sauce slightly thickens.

Cook pasta until al dente.  Drain, then quickly return to the pot. 

Toss pasta with sauce and serve immediately.

Serves 6.