Guinness Beef Stew

 Today is the first day in a long time where the temperature won't climb above the 50's for the high and the low will be in the 40's. Naturally my thoughts turn to cool weather food. Beef stew was what we decided on. 
Beef and Guinness Stew
1 1/2 lb. beef, cut into bite size pieces (I had London Broil that I cut up, but you can use stew meat from grocery store)
2 tsp canola oil
1 bottle Guinness beer
enough beef broth to make 4 1/2 cups of liquid when combined with beer
2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in beef broth and beer
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 large potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
3 carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into small pieces
4 oz mushrooms, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp cold water

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil. Add the meat and cook until browned. Add the rosemary and pepper. Then add the beef broth/bouillon/beer mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let it simmer for 1 hour.

Add the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion and bring back to boil. While waiting for it to boil mix cornstarch with cold water. When stew starts to boil add cornstarch mixture and let it boil for 1 minute, while stirring. Turn back down to simmer. Let simmer for at least 1 more hour. The longer it cooks the better it is. This is one of those meals where it is even better if you reheat it and eat it the next day.

Sausage Ratatouille

One of the tricks of making ratatouille is cutting the vegetables into even sized pieces, so that everything cooks evenly. This is hard to do as vegetables don't seem to grow in nice even sizes. If you notice in the pictures I was able to get zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant the same size but when it came to tomatoes I had to get large ones or small ones. I went with the smaller Roma tomatoes and cut them into thicker slices and separated them into a layer of their own when I layered the vegetable slices.  This worked better than I expected as the tomatoes gave off a lot of juice as they cooked adding additional flavor.
Sausage Ratatouille
2 or 3 Japanese eggplants 4 to 6 inches or 1 standard eggplant 8 to 10 inches, cut into thin coins
1 yellow squash 8 to 10 inches, cut into thin coins
1 zucchini 8 to 10 inches, cut into thin coins
12 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
Olive Oil
salt & pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Italian sausages, hot or sweet, cases removed, I used turkey sausage
1/2 small onion, chopped finely
1/4 red pepper, chopped finely
1/4 yellow pepper, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

After cutting the eggplant, zucchini, squash and tomatoes put them in a bowl drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and oregano. Arrange them in a shallow baking dish, I had 2 circles of tomato and 2 of eggplant, zucchini and squash but the sausage covers the smaller circles. Cook until vegetables take on color, about 30 to 40 minutes.

While vegetables are baking add sausage to sauté pan and cook until meat starts to brown. Add the onion, peppers and garlic. cook until meat is browned and onions and peppers are soft.

When baked vegetables are done top with sausage mixture. and serve.

Grilled Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala has been a family favorite for years. My dad found a recipe somewhere, probably in the Detroit Free Press and started making it. The recipe doesn't call for Marsala, but a dry white wine. Growing up I didn't even know Marsala was a wine. Eventually I figured out the wine thing. Then I took a cooking class with Paula, from bell' alimento and learned the Italian way to make Chicken Marsala. Paula's version was incredible and became my new favorite. This weekend I invented a new version, that takes most of the fat and calories out of the dish but leaves a lot of flavor. The 2 previous versions have between 3 to 6 tbs of butter plus 3 tbs to 1/4 cup of olive oil. My version uses 1 tbs of butter and no olive oil.

Grilled Chicken Marsala
2 chicken breasts
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup Marsala wine
1 tbs butter
1 tsp parsley, chopped for garnish

Preheat grill to medium high.

Take one 3 foot long piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half. Fold each of the 2 sides over about 1/2 inch. Repeat so the sides have been folded twice. Then fold the bottom up about 1/2 inch. This will give you 3 sides folded over and the top with an opening. Add all of the ingredients, except butter and parsley, then fold the top over twice each time about 1/2 inch. Cook for about 10 minutes, then flip over and cook another 10 minutes. If you have bigger or smaller chicken breasts you will have to adjust cooking time. The breasts will be poached/steamed at this point. Open the packet , be careful of steam. Dump the contents into a skillet, except the breasts. I left the breasts on the grill to add a little color to them. Take the skillet and place on a stove over high heat. If you only have a little liquid add more Marsala to the pan so you have about 3/4 cup of liquid. Cook until liquid evaporates to about 1/2 (3/8 to 1/2 cup). Add the butter and cook until butter is melted.

I served this over polenta, you could also serve over rice. Put breast on top of polenta or rice. Then cover with Marsala, mushroom and onion mixture. Sprinkle with parsley.

Breakfast for Dinner

During the remodel we never knew if we were going to get into the kitchen to cook at 5:00, 8:00 or even if we were going to be able to cook anything at all. As result we never had meals planned and usually a meal was whatever we could throw together quickly. Breakfast became a popular choice as frittatas, pancakes, etc were quick and easy. For Christmas Annette bought me a ton of cookbooks, one of which was the Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. Ree dedicates a whole chapter to breakfast. When I saw the hash browns, I knew I had to have some. While I did not use her recipe, I was inspired by her photography. Fellow bloggers I recommend this book for the photography as much as the recipes. I wasn't going to publish this a just made hash browns and topped with a slice of ham and a fried egg and anybody can make that, but I liked my photograph of the results.

Hash Browns with Ham and a Fried Egg
2 baked potatoes, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 red pepper, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into a small dice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil to medium in a heavy pan, cast iron is good if you have one. Add the onion and peppers and cook until translucent. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper. Let the potatoes sit until they start to brown and then flip them. Don't stir them a lot or they won't brown up and they will fall apart. When they are golden brown they are done.
While the potatoes are finishing warm up a few slices of ham and fry the eggs.

Grilled London Broil and Vegetables

As I was grilling the London Broil, I could look down and see the daffodils and crocuses in bloom. I am hoping winter has made its final appearance.

Grilled London Broil and Vegetables

London Broil:
1 lb London Broil
1 tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp Oregano. dried
1 tsp Basil, dried
1 tsp Marjoram, dried
2 cloves garlic, minced

Vegetables:
1 pound mixed veggies cut into bite size pieces. I used a potato, mushrooms, a zucchini, red onion and cherry tomatoes.
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp Oregano. dried
1 tsp Basil, dried
1 tsp Marjoram, dried

Preheat the grill to medium high.

Place the London Broil in a resealable plastic bag and add the oil, garlic and dried herbs. Set this in refrigerator for a couple of hours so flavors can be absorbed by the meat.

For the vegetables, after they are chopped add them to a bowl. Toss with olive oil and herbs. You may not need all of the oil, only enough to coat the veggies and make the herbs stick.

About 1/2 hour before you are ready to start grilling remove the meat from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Place on grill and cook until the meat has reached desired doneness. I cooked mine for about 12 minutes for rare. London Broil is a meat that can be tough so don't over cook this. Let meat rest for a few minutes and then slice into thins slices. Serve 3 or 4 slices per person.

The veggies can be cooked on a piece of foil or in a grill basket so they don't fall through the grill grates. Cooking time will vary by the size and type of veggies you cook. Potatoes take longer then a zucchini or a tomato. I cooked the potatoes for about as long as the steak and the other veggies about 7 or 8 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Cacciatore

A nice cool fall day, so I decide to make Chicken Cacciatore while watching football. What do you mean it hit 80 degrees and now my wife wants to grill out. Now what? You improvise and make grilled Chicken Cacciatore, turned out to be very good.

Grilled Chicken Caccitaore

2 chicken breasts
1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4 oz mushrooms, cut in 1/2 or 1/4 depending on size
1 Small Onion, cut into chunks
1 tbs plus 1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tbs Italian Seasoning, I used marjoram, oregano, and thyme plus a pinch of red pepper flakes
Rice or pasta to put the chicken on.

Preheat the grill.

Place all of the cut up vegetables in a bowl then add the tbs of olive oil and Italian Seasoning. Toss the vegetables to coat with oil and herbs. Set them aside.

Sprinkle the tsp of oil over the chicken breasts and salt and pepper them.

Now put everything on the grill, I kept the chicken separate from the veggies. Grill until they reach the desired tenderness.

To serve put the rice or pasta on the plate, then the chicken and vegetables.