Wine Marinated Beef Stew

Published on by carol lou Category: Main dishes, Recipes

When I think of beef stew, I think of the ultimate comfort food.  The one thing I have changed from my mother’s original recipe is marinating the beef cubes in red wine.  The addition of the wine makes a very rich broth that sends this stew over the top.  My husband says this is better than any restaurant meal.  To me, that is five stars!

 wine marinated beef stew

 

 

Beef Stew
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pounds stew meat, beef chuck, cut into 2 inch pieces
  2. 1/2 bottle of red wine
  3. 1/3 cup flour
  4. Salt and pepper
  5. 1 tablespoon canola oil
  6. 2 tablespoons butter
  7. 1 medium onion, diced
  8. 1 large clove of garlic, minced
  9. 1 - 2 cups beef broth
  10. 1 teaspoon allspice
  11. 2 bay leaves
  12. Sliced carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and frozen peas
Instructions
  1. Marinate beef in wine 12 - 24 hours.
  2. Drain beef and reserve marinating wine. Dry meat on paper towels. Combine flour, salt and pepper. Dredge meat in flour mixture. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and canola oil in a dutch oven. Brown meat. Once brown, remove meat. Add remaining tablespoon of butter to pot and saute onion and garlic. Cook until onion is transparent. Add 1 1/2 cup of reserved wine. Heat and scrape browned bits in bottom of pan. Add 1 cup beef broth, bay leaves, and allspice. Return beef cubes to pan. Bake covered, 325 for 1 1/2 hours.
  3. Remove from oven. Add vegetables, cover and bake for an additional 45 minutes. If you desire more sauce, you can add the additional 1 cup of beef broth. Remove bay leaves prior to serving.
Notes
  1. This is delicious to serve with a crusty bread, delicious dipped in the wonderful wine sauce.
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Caramel Muffins

Published on by carol lou Category: Breads, Recipes

Entertaining extends beyond setting a beautiful table and having friends and family over for dinner.  Entertaining includes hosting the unexpected house guest, neighbors stopping by and even taking a sweet treat to a friend who is under the weather.  Whatever the occasion, it is always nice to have a stash of recipes that are easy to prepare, use ingredients from your pantry, and yield terrific results.  This recipe for caramel muffins is just one of those recipes.  You can make these muffins in under 30 minutes from the first mix to the finished product.  Your house will smell great and these muffins are just delicious.  No butter, jam or honey accompaniment needed, these are just perfect just as they are.  One important note, these need to be removed from your muffin pan immediately after removing from the oven.

caramel muffins

Caramel Muffins
Yields 12
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Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup butter
  2. 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  3. 1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
  4. 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  5. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  6. 1 egg, slightly beaten
  7. 3/4 cup milk
  8. 2 tablespoons canola oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425
  2. Grease 12 muffin cups
  3. Combine butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar until mixture is crumbly, divide among muffin cups.
  4. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and the cinnamon. In another bowl, combine egg, milk and oil; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 15 minutes. Immediately remove muffins from pan and invert onto serving tray.
Notes
  1. As a substitute for 1-1/2 cups self-rising flour, place 2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a measuring cup. Add all-purpose flour to measure 1 cup. Combine with an additional 1/2 cup all-purpose flour.
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Zucchini Tomato Bake

Published on by carol lou Category: Recipes, Vegetables

 This is a one dish wonder.  Combine all of the ingredients in your casserole dish, bake as directed and you have a baked vegetable casserole that is perfect to serve with chicken, fish or beef.  The croutons add a wonderful crunch.  A very different and delicious side dish. 

vegetable casserole

 

Zucchini Tomato Bake
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
  2. 3 cups small croutons (I use seasoned croutons found near the salad dressings)
  3. 4 cups sliced zucchini
  4. 1/2 cup chopped onion
  5. 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  6. 3 tomatoes, cut in large chunks
  7. 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the croutons.
  3. Mix remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into greased baking dish and top with remaining crouton and cheese mixture.
  4. Bake, covered for 1 hour, serve hot
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Oven Barbecued Chicken

Published on by carol lou Category: Main dishes, Recipes

This recipe is easy to make and the results are outstanding. A great alternative during the winter months when you really do not feel like battling the weather to go outside and grill.   This recipe lends itself to all cuts of the chicken.  I prefer skinless chicken thighs for this recipe.  The sauce leaves a wonderful glaze and the chicken just falls of the bone it is so tender.

bbq chicken

 

Oven Barbequed Chicken
Serves 6
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Ingredients
  1. Flour
  2. Salt and pepper
  3. Assorted chicken pieces to serve 6, I used skinless chicken thighs
  4. 1/3 cup melted butter
  5. Paprika
Barbeque sauce
  1. 1 cup catchup
  2. 1 cup water
  3. 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
  4. 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (optional)
  5. 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
  6. 1 tablespoon vinegar
  7. 1 tablespoons chopped garlic
Instructions
  1. Combine flour, salt and pepper is a large zip bag, add chicken and shake to coat. Place floured chicken in a greased baking dish, drizzle chicken with melted butter.
  2. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour.
  3. Combine sauce ingredients, pour over chicken and bake and additional 30 - 45 minutes until the sauce has reduced and glazed the chicken. Baste chicken frequently.
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Herb Pita Chips

Published on by carol lou Category: Appetizers, Recipes

I opened my freezer and discovered a package of pita bread.  I also had quite an assortment of fresh herbs in my refrigerator, so I wanted to try something different with pita chips.  I have tried the basic recipe of drizzling pita triangles with olive oil and sea salt and baking, they are very good but quite basic.  I brought out my herbs and some butter and tried a different approach to baked pita chips.  I have to say they were amazing.  When my husband came home from work; I had just brought a batch out of the oven. It was all I could do but to take the photo below before we decided we needed to try my creation.  Can I just say, not sure how to recommend storing these since we ate the entire batch with a great class of wine!  Off to the gym tomorrow…

pita chips

 

Herb Pita Chips
so much better than pita chips in a bag!
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Ingredients
  1. 3/4 cup butter, softened
  2. 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
  3. 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
  4. 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  6. Fresh grated pepper
  7. 6 pita rounds
Instructions
  1. Cream butter, add remaining ingredients, except pita bread. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 450.
  3. Halve the pitas, spread with butter mixture, cut each pita into 6 triangles.
  4. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer, bake 5 - 7 minutes until lightly browned and crisp, watch closely so they do not burn.
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Peppadew Goat Cheese Appetizer

Published on by carol lou Category: Appetizers, Recipes

When I was in Atlanta last week, I had an amazing Peppadew appetizer at one of the BBQ restaurants we visited.  It was so good, I came home and  tried my hand at recreating it.  I served my creation this past weekend and all agreed it was delicious. A Peppadew is a sweet piquant pepper grown in the Limpopo province of South Africa.  Interesting how combining a few basic ingredients, you can produce such fantastic results. This appetizer is very unique and if you are not familiar with Peppadews, what a good time to give them a try.  It is very easy to make, you can make this ahead and pop in the oven when your guests arrive.  I served this with water crackers.

peppadew appetizer

Peppadew Goat Cheese Appetizer
You can find peppadews in jars at your local market or many times on the olive bar
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Ingredients
  1. 1 10.5 oz. log of goat cheese
  2. 1 jar Peppadew peppers, drained
  3. 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  4. 1 tablespoon, honey - I used bourbon infused honey
  5. Fresh cracked pepper
  6. Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Drain peppers and place on a cookie sheet, broil until the skins begin to char. Watch carefully, this does not take very long.
  2. Preheat oven to 400
  3. In an oven proof serving dish, crumble goat cheese, top with peppers and pine nuts.
  4. At this point you can cover and refrigerate, if you are making this ahead.
  5. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until the goat cheese has melted.
  6. Remove from oven, drizzle with honey and olive oil, sprinkle with cracked pepper
  7. Serves 8
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Italian Sausage Cannellini Bean Stew

Published on by carol lou Category: Main dishes, Recipes

I recently entertained and served this stew as one of many Italian courses with focaccia bread, hot from the oven. The next morning, text messages and e-mails arrived asking for the recipe.  I used a combination of hot and sweet Italian sausages, you can adapt to your taste using all hot or sweet sausages, if you prefer.  This was a spur of the moment recipe that I came up with when I knew I wanted an Italian sausage dish.  Good thing I am recording this recipe here, I certainly have a tendency to make a dish and then never make again, since I always want to try new recipes.  This one is so good, I will definitely repeat this dish.italian sausage

 

Italian Sausage Cannellini Bean Stew
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Ingredients
  1. 8 Italian sausage links
  2. 1 tablespoons olive oil
  3. 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  4. I fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  5. 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
  6. 1/2 cup white wine
  7. 1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans
  8. 1 28 oz. can San Marzano or Roma tomatoes
Instructions
  1. In a Dutch oven, over medium high heat brown sausages in olive oil.
  2. Remove sausages and sauté onion, fennel, and garlic until the onion is transparent.
  3. Add white wine and scrap up the browned bits left in the pan from the sausage. Continue stirring until the wine is reduced by half.
  4. Add the tomatoes and beans, stir to combine.
  5. Nestle the sausages in the sauce.
  6. Cover and bake 350 for 1 hour.
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Grand Marnier Fudge Sauce

Published on by carol lou Category: Desserts, Recipes

This seems to be the week of chocolate.  Everywhere you turn you see chocolate.  I thought I would post one of my favorite fudge sauces.  This sauce is very easy to make, keeps indefinitely (it won’t last that long!) in the refrigerator and delicious on ice cream, pound cake or anything else that says “top me with chocolate”.  Warm prior to serving, not too sweet and definitely will cure that chocolate craving.  I topped mine with a ‘tipsy cherry’ – cherries in bourbon and slivered almonds.

 chocolate sauce

Grand Marnier Fudge Sauce
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Ingredients
  1. 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
  2. 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
  3. 3 tablespoons strong coffee
  4. 2 cups whipping cream
  5. 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Instructions
  1. Melt chocolate in coffee in a bowl over simmering water. Add cream and Grand Marnier; whisk until smooth. Store in refrigerator. Reheat prior to serving.
Notes
  1. Yields 4 cups
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Cut Out Cookies

Published on by carol lou Category: Desserts, Recipes

Cut out cookies are a breeze to make when you have a recipe that is easy to work with.  This butter recipe is a cinch to make and they come out perfect every time.  For years, I can remember making valentine cookies either to send to school or to cheerleading practice with my daughter. You would be surprised how many people love cut out cookies.  I think they are quite a throw-back, probably appropriate since I am writing this post on a Thursday!  Get those cookie cutters out, time to put them to use.

cut out cookies

Cut Out Cookies
Yields 30
Do not substitute the butter, butter is the star of this recipe.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup butter, room temperature
  2. 1 cup sugar
  3. 1 egg
  4. 1 teaspoon vanilla
  5. 2 teaspoons baking powder
  6. 3 cups flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. Cream butter and sugar on low speed for 1 minute, then beat at medium speed for 1 minute.
  3. Reduce speed to low and add the egg, vanilla, and baking powder. Add flour one cup at a time until incorporated. The dough will be stiff. On a floured surface roll out 1/2 of the dough approx. 1/8 inch thick. Flour cookie cutters before using. Bake cookies 6 - 8 or until slightly browned around the edges.
Notes
  1. The icing I use is
  2. 2 cups of powdered sugar
  3. 3 - 5 tablespoons water (or more is needed)
  4. Slowly add water, 1 tablespoons at a time, until you have a smooth spreading consistency. This icing will dry hard and shiny.
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Wild Rice Casserole

Published on by carol lou Category: Grains, Recipes

Here is my favorite wild rice casserole; perfect to serve with my Pork Tenderloin with Maple Mustard Sauce recipe.  Enjoy!

Wild Rice Casserole
Serves 6
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed
  2. 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  3. 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  4. 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
  5. 1/2 cup butter
  6. 3 cups chicken broth
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Combine all ingredients except broth in heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice turns golden. Place in 1 1/2 quart casserole; add broth. Cover and bake 325 for 1 hour.
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