Whew!! What a great Christmas break we had! I finally feel like I am getting back into the swing of things! Kids are settled back into their school routines and I finally feel caught up.....a little! I made many fabulous meals over the past couple weeks but have not had time to post anything! This post is going to include a little of everything.
First off, my absolute favorite meal that I made over break was Beef Bourguignon. I finally watched Julie and Julia and I just loved the movie! A movie about food is for me!! A lot of the dishes she made in the movie I have made myself. I had never made the beef bourguignon though and I instantly wanted to try it! It is really not hard to make. You just have to prepare things ahead of time and realize it's going to take a couple hours. Most of the time the beef is in the oven anyway! An important item you must have is a heavy dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. I have a Le Creuset. It is cast iron with enamel over it. I bought mine several years ago. Back then you could only really find them in specialty stores. And they are very expensive. (I actually saved up for mine and was so excited the day I bought it.) Now you can find other brands at any store. Khols, Target and JC Penney all have really good ones for good prices!
The beef bourguignon recpie I used was from Ina Garten. It is very similar to Julia Childs. I promise you that you will love this dish. It is so hearty, warm and comforting. A little fills you up and the flavor is so phenomenal. Once you've had it, you will dream of it and crave it! At least I do!!
Here is the link to the recipe:
I served the beef bourguignon over mashed yukon gold potatoes. Ina served hers over toasted bread which is really good too!
Another great, healthy meal I made over break was a vegetable soup. I got this recpire from Martha Stewart. I do love her! Her recipes are always great. I have made a lot of her stuff and you just can't go wrong with Martha! The soup is packed full of vegetables and fresh herbs. Soup is such a great way to get your needed vegis in your diet. This soup also has chickpeas in it which adds more fiber to the soup. This soup does require some chopping of vegis. Don't be afraid! Make sure you have a sharp, appropriate chef's knife and that you are holding it the proper way. It makes all the difference in the world! Here is a link that explains the proper way to hold a chef knife:
This recipe made a lot of soup. It was great to have leftovers for lunch the next day!
Here is the recipie:
Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup
serves 10-12
2 T. extra- virgin olive oil
4 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, cut into 1 inch,
and washed well.
3 celery stalks, cut on the bias into 1/2 inch thick pieces
3 medium carrots, cut into cubes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
5 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cuos water
1 small (1- 1 1/2 lbs) butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
2 yukon gold potatoes, cut into cubes
1 head escarole, cut into i inch thick ribbons
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. thinly sliced fresh mint
2 T. thinly sliced fresh dill
1. Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium heat. Cook leeks, celery, carrots, garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1 t. salt, stirring occasionallly, until leeks are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add stock and water, and bring to a boil.
2. Add squash and potatoes. Return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in escarole and chickpeas, and return to a boil. Stir in lemon juice and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Well, as most of you know I love anything Italian! Shoes, clothes, dishes and of course food! A lot of Italian food is very easy to make. Italians know how to combine simple, fresh and few ingredients for a fabulous dish. When most people think Italian food they think spaghetti and meatball and lasagna. While those are very good and I make them often I really like to cook authentic Italian dishes. Chicken Marsala is one of those dishes! I like to serve it over angel hair pasta with a big cesear salad. It is so easy to make and comes together quite quickly. I made this for Sunday dinner and we had our group of close friends over who also love Italian food. There is nothing better than sharing a big Italian meal with the people you love!
The chicken marsala recipe comes from Tyler Florence here is the link:
I also made fresh focaccia bread. I will never forget when we were in Italy and we were in the town of Siena. It was one of my favorite places in Italy that we visited. We got there early in the morning and we were looking for a place to get some coffee. We stepped around the corner and smelled a wonderful freshly baked bread smell. We found the shop it was coming from and went in. In this bakery we had the most delicious freshly made focaccia bread right from the brick oven. The bread had indentions all over it with sea salt and rosemary sprinkled on top and in the indentions the olive oil pooled. I will never forget it!! Can't wait to go back one day and get some more!
This focaccia comes from Michael Chiarello. It is very good and worth taking the time to make! Try it!!
Here is the link:
I hope you all try and enjoy these recipe!! Arrivederci!!
1 comment:
yum-o! I can't wait to make em all! THANKS FOR INSPIRING AS ALWAYS! And see you on Superbowl!
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