Saturday, October 8, 2022

Gaston Beef Stew

From The Joy of Cooking


 

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Brown Rice

Bring to a boil at least four cups of water for every cup of brown rice you plan to cook. Exact measurements are not necessary. 

Rinse the rice in a colander for 30 seconds. 

Boil, uncovered, on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, 

Remove from heat, pour rice and water into colander, let drain for 10 seconds. 

Put the rice back into the pot, away from the burner, cover tightly for 10 minutes. 

Fluff with a fork, add salt as needed. 


It took me so many years to learn this simple method.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

1 cup of butter, room temperature

1 - 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt or buttermilk, or a combination of any of these)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt


1 - 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 - 1/2 cups blueberries

Mix first six ingredients in a stand mixer, beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the creamed mixture. Don't mix it in yet. 

Carefully pour the blueberries on top of the flour, Gentle stir with a spoon until the blueberries are covered with flour (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Then stir all together until well mixed. 

Prepare the bundt pan. Use a piece of waxed paper to grease the pan, even if it has a non-stick coating. I use coconut oil. Pour out any excess oil. Dust the interior of the pan with granulated sugar. Don't forget the center column. Pour out excess sugar. I like using sugar rather that a dusting of flour, because the flour looks unattractive on the surface of the cake. Sugar, on the other hand, gives the cake's crust a bit of crunch. 

Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top. Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes or until done. Remove pan from oven, let it rest on a rack for 15 minutes. Gently slide a spatula down the sides to loosen the cake, cover the pan with a serving plate and turn the whole thing over, releasing the cake. Let cool completely. 

Drizzle with Lemon Glaze: 1 - 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbl. lemon juice, 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir well, add a tiny bit of milk to make the glaze liquid enough to pour.

Friday, May 20, 2022

Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Note: This makes a pretty acidic sauce. To lessen the bite, take a small amount of this sauce and add some plain chocolate syrup to taste. 

Drizzle over vanilla ice cream; or over watermelon and feta cheese chunks for a cool salad. Also good over fresh berries. 


1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark chocolate, broken into pieces


Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar has been reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in chocolate pieces until dissolved. Serve warm or store in refrigerator in a covered jar.

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Grumpy Cutter's Flaky Square Buttermilk Biscuits

If you read the book, you will love the description of gruff Deputy U.S. Marshall Arliss Cutter teaching his young nephews how to make his Grandpa Cutter's biscuits. I am quoting the entire recipe from Marc Cameron's Alaska novel, Stone Cross. 


3 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tbl. sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 sticks of butter, frozen (16 tbl.)

1 1/2 cups of buttermilk


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with a light spray of oil or cover with parchment.

In a bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda.

Grate the two sticks of butter and add to the dry ingredient mixture.

Gently combine until the butter particles are coated. 

Next add the buttermilk and briefly fold it in.

Transfer this dough to a floured spot for rolling and folding.

Shape the dough into a square then roll it out into a larger rectangle. Fold by hand into thirds using a bench scraper. Press the dough to seal it. Use the bench scraper to help shape the dough into flat edges. Turn it 90 degrees and repeat the process of rolling it out into a bigger rectangle and shaping it again. Repeat this process for a total of five times. The dough will become smoother as you go. 

After the last fold, and if time allows, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Otherwise, cut the remaining dough into [12] squares and place one inch apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with melted butter. 

Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 24 minutes. Let cool on a rack before serving--if you can wait that long. 

Tips to remember:

  • A buttermilk substitute can be made by adding one teaspoon vinegar to one and a half cups regular milk and letting it stand for a few minutes. 
  • Handle the dough lightly--don't overwork it.
  • Freeze the butter. It make it easier to grate and distribute it throughout the dough.
  • For the very best results, your bowl and other utensils should be cold. 
  • Rolling and folding the dough five times produces the flaky layers--again, don't get too heavy handed.
  • Shaping the dough into a square and cutting it into squares avoids waste and rerolling (and overworking) the scraps. 
  • If time allows, let the dough rest for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge before you cut into squares. This helps them rise tall in the oven without slumping or sliding. 
Makes about a dozen biscuits. 


Grumpy Cutter's Venison Stew

This recipe comes from Marc Cameron's thriller of an Alaskan novel, Stone Cross. I will quote it as written. 


Note: Grumpy's version calls for venison and a Dutch oven. Arliss uses caribou and cooks it in an Instant Pot. Moose, bison, Dall Sheep, musk ox... or even beef may be substituted. 


1 1/2 pounds of caribou cut into cubes

3 tbl. olive oil

1 - 2 tsp. salt

1 - 2 tsp. pepper

2 - 3 cloves minced garlic

1 tbl. Montreal Steak Seasoning (or similar)

1/2 cup red wine

1 large onion, chopped

2 - 3 tbl. Worcestershire sauce

3 - 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into big chunks

4 - 5 carrots, cut into big chunks

2 tbl. corn starch

1 - 2 tbl. of water to add to the corn starch to make a slurry


Add 2 tbl. olive oil to the Instant Pot and turn on the saute function. When the oil starts to sizzle, add the meat and season with the salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak Seasoning. Stir until the meat has browned on all sides. 

Scrape the bottom of the pot for brown bits as you deglaze with the red wine. Add the last tbl. of oil, onions and garlic and cook on the saute setting for two minutes, stirring with the meat. 

Turn the Instant Pot off. 

Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes and carrots. 

Lock the lid and check that the valve is set to seal. Set to cook for 35 minutes on HIGH pressure. It will take 7 to 10 minutes to come up to pressure. Cook on HIGH pressure for 35 minutes. 

Allow for a natural release of pressure for 10 minutes, when the cooking time is up and then move the valve for a final quick release of pressure [be sure to be wearing an oven mitt when you do this]. Meanwhile, whisk the corn starch and water together to make a slurry. 

Add the corn starch slurry to the steaming hot stew, stirring continuously as it thickens. Stew is done and ready to serve. 

Monday, August 30, 2021

Grumpy Cutter's Cowboy Chili Pie

This recipe is from the novel Stone Cross, by Marc Cameron. 


 2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbl. oil


2 tbl. chili powder

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tbl. flour


1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice

1 7 oz. can diced green chiles

2 to 3 cups grated cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste


1 8 1/2 corn meal muffin mix

1 12 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

2 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream


Cook beef, onion, garlic in oil in a large iron frying pan until meat is done. Drain excess oil


Combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, and flour. Sprinkle over meat. Stir while cooking over medium heat for one minute. Mix in chiles and tomatoes with juice. Cover with shredded cheese and set aside. 


Mix eggs and sour cream into corn muffin mix and stir until combined. Add drained corn and stir. Space rounded spoonfuls of corn bread mixture on top of cheese. 


Bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes, until corn dumplings are browned and mixture is bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Serve.


Sunday, August 29, 2021

Brownies Diabolique

From the kitchen of Auntie Bucksnort.  


Cream:

¾ cup butter

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tbl. vanilla


Sift & fold in:

1 cup flour

¼ cup cocoa

½ tsp. salt


Fold in:

2 ½ cups chocolate chips


Bake 350 for 40 minutes

Friday, March 26, 2021

Mother's Sesame Seed Dressing v.2.0

This is my sister Jean's version of our mother's recipe from the 1950's.


In blender:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. hot paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp Sriracha (or other hot sauce)

3 drops sesame oil

3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbl. toasted dry minced onion

1 cup olive oil

3/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbl. toasted sesame seeds


Buzz once or twice.