Sunday Dinner, Vol. 7

Hello, I'm back, and I hope all (three) of you are still around. I also hope everyone had a decent (or better!) summer. I hope you all are immersed in a passable, or even delightful autumn. I thought it would be nice to get back into this blog with a recipe for a delicious Sunday Dinner.

Today I am inspired by Anthony Bourdain's television show, No Reservations.

Beef Bourguignon
6 servings
Ingredients:

* • 2 pounds beef shoulder or neck, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
(or use any stew beef, I also think venison would be good in this.)
* • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* • 1/4 cup olive oil
* • 4 onions, thinly sliced
* • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* • 1 cup red Burgundy (If you're alcohol free, use red grape juice.)
* • 6 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
* • 1 clove garlic
* • 1 bouquet garni (a tied bundle of herbs, usually thyme, bay and parsley)
* • A little chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Stage One: Season the meat with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat until it is almost smoking. Add the meat in batches -- NOT ALL AT ONCE! -- and sear on all sides until it is well browned (not gray). You dump too much meat in the pot at the same time and you'll overcrowd it; cool the thing down and you won't get good color. Sear the meat a little at a time, removing it and setting it aside as it finishes. When all the meat is a nice, dark brown color and has been set aside, add the onions to the pot. Lower the heat to medium high until the onions are soft and golden brown (about 10 minutes). Sprinkle the flour over them. Continue to cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the red wine. Naturally, you want to scrape up all that really good fond from the bottom of the pot with your wooden spoon. Bring the wine to a boil.

Stage Two: Return the meat to the pot and add the carrots, garlic and bouquet garni. Add just enough water (and two big spoons of demi-glace, if you have it) so that the liquid covers the meat by one-third -- meaning you want a ratio of 3 parts liquid to 2 parts meat. This is a stew, so you want plenty of liquid even after it cooks down and reduces. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, and let cook for about 2 hours, or until the meat is tender (break-apart-with-a-fork tender).

You should pay attention to the dish, meaning to check it every 15 to 20 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure the meat is not sticking or, God forbid, scorching. You should also skim off any foam or scum or oil collecting on the surface, using a large spoon or ladle. When done, remove and discard the bouquet garni, add the chopped parsley to the pot, and serve.

I found the recipe here. As you may know from my older Sunday Dinner posts, I tend to use the crock pot/slow cooker on Sundays because I am very busy with church responsibilities. So I have modified the recipe to suite the slow cooker. I did sear the meat, and followed stage one as the recipe dictates. However, stage two is transferred to the crock pot, and put on high for about an hour, and then will be on low thereafter. This is dedicated to my baby brother, the chef, who taught me to sear meat, and turned me on to shows like No Reservations. There will be a few less seats at the family table because prodigal sons (and brothers) must wallow in the pig pen or nurse their scars in hospitals, but when they finally come home, there will be a seat and a good meal, and no need for reservations.

Sunday Dinner - part 6

The good news: We made it to the dining room this week.
The bad news: Nobody but me was thrilled about the dish. Big Daddy is a very picky eater, and I should have known better. In my defense, he's branched out the past few years, I thought I could get him to be more adventurous. But I went too far, cream sauce AND sweet potatoes were too much for him. I will tell you - I thought that this dish was good. If you like creamy sauces and the other ingredients, try it. I soaked the chicken in the brine overnight and I really liked it, and would consider doing that again and modifying the dish without the cream sauce, more of an olive oil oven roasted chicken. I got the recipe from here. It's from Jamie Oliver. You know it has to be good.

Tray-Baked Chicken
Marinate the chicken in brine for at least two hours (overnight is best). It will become outrageously soft and juicy.

Servings: 8

For the brine:
1 quart water
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1/3 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs fresh sage, leaves only
1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
Juice and zest of
1 lemon

For the bake:
4 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
2 slices smoked bacon, finely chopped
3 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 sprigs fresh sage, leaves shredded
Olive oil
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
1²/³ cups chicken broth, preferably organic
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
A few pats of butter

Directions:
1. Mix brine in a large bowl; add chicken. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 to 8 hours.

2. Remove chicken; let come to room temperature. Drain chicken, discarding brine, and pat dry with paper towels.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a roasting pan, toss the bacon, veggies, garlic, and sage with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour in broth. Cook 30 minutes.

4. Remove veggie pan from oven; pour in cream and sprinkle with pepper and Parmesan. Add chicken, dotting pats of butter on each piece. Cook 35 minutes, or until chicken is golden.

Sunday Dinner #5

Above picture by Mundo Desconcertante
I wrote about my goals for this new year, one being homemade Sunday Dinners. We made a nice simple paella. It was OK. It seemed to be missing a little panache, but it was certainly passable. We ate in the kitchen, so I'm still aiming for the dining room, but we're getting there. It was a hearty, home cooked meal. By the way, please note that the paella in the above picture looks much better than mine, you may as well get a good looking version of this tasty dish!

I cut some boneless chicken breasts into strips, browned them on med-med high heat and removed it after about 10 minutes of cooking. Then I added some diced onion and garlic to that pan, and sauteed that for a minute. In a large, shallow baking dish, I poured out a package of family sized Vigo Yellow Rice. Added the onions and garlic to it, and added the amount of liquid the Vigo rice directions called for. I used water and chicken broth for that. I stirred it, and then stirred in one diced green pepper and one diced red pepper and the chicken, cooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp, and chorizo sausage. I did not use clams or mussels, but they are usually part of a traditional paella. I also added about half a 16 oz. package of frozen peas to the top and a jar of drained pimentos. I covered with aluminum foil and cooked at a temperature of 350 degrees for about an hour. I just realized that perhaps I should have added a little olive oil or butter, which the rice package directions call for, and I didn't add because I thought the fat and flavors from the sausage and chicken broth would be enough. It needed a little more something, but I enjoyed it well enough.

I like to make one dish dinners on Sundays. Sunday is the busiest day of the week for us, we have a morning and an evening service. We like the time in between to be quiet and easy for rest (NAPS!) and a little study and prep for the evening service. I like food that is delicious and simple to prepare with minimal clean up. That is why I like to use the crock pot on those days, but this paella is practically a one dish meal and works really well. I have an oven that I can program, so I set it for and hour of cook time for the paella and when I came home the oven was off, but keeping the food warm.
I modified the recipe from one I found in this cookbook.

10 Little Goals for the New Year

In no particular order.

1. Master Hula-Hooping and do it almost every day.

2. Read more chapter books aloud with my children.

3. Walk outside more.

4. More Sunday dinners, home-made, in the dining room on the good dishes.

5. Pare down various things in my life and house, to try and have a simpler life. Get rid of excess things.

6. Try to start a small internet and flea market business.

7. Continue in my weight loss and fitness, it'd be cool to lose one full clothing/dress size by the end of the year.

8. Focus on the women's and girl's ministry ideas I have been given.

9. Do art daily - sketch, draw and even paint.

10. Canoe more often.

Sunday Dinner, vol. 3

Today I served my simple chicken curry in the crock pot, brown rice and fresh Cuban bread.

Turn crock pot on high and use enough olive oil to coat the bottom of it. While the pot is heating. Get chicken ready. I used 6 smallish boneless, skinless breasts. You could use thighs or breasts with or without the bone. I mix curry powder to taste with enough flour, salt, pepper and sometimes a dash of garlic powder to coat the chicken. I recommend at least 2 tablespoons of curry. Coat the chicken in the flour curry mixture, and then add to the hot oil. If there is not too much of the flour mixture left, throw it over the chicken. Let cook for awhile, 20 minutes to an hour, whatever's convenient for you, I think that browning the curry before you add the tomatoes & water makes it even more flavorful. You can even use tongs to turn the chicken after they've been browned on one side. Then add a can or 2 of diced or stewed tomatoes and pour over chicken. Add about half a tomato can of water. I also peeled 2 large carrots and grated them in the cheese grater and stirred them into the sauce a little. Cook in crock pot for a couple of hours. Add some raisins about 10-15 minutes before serving. I used three of the larger individual snack size boxes. Serve over rice, with plenty of the sauce. It very hearty and homey.

In the past I have used diced green peppers.

Sunday Dinner, vol. 2

In light of our pinched budget, and my return to full time stay-at-home-parentage, I vow to try and be more regular about the home-cooked Sunday dinner. I wrote about it recently here. I would like to get back into making a nice family meal on Sundays, and making it a little more special than usual. The Miami Herald has a weekly food section and this recipe tempted me. Try this link if that one does not work.

I modified it a bit because I didn't want to have to run to the store and spend more money. I'm using a large chuck roast, which is marinating now (the night before). I'm using ham rather than chorizo. I also used apple juice instead of wine, because it's what we have on hand, Pentecostal teetotalers are we. (Sometimes I use cooking wine in recipes but we have none.) Since I was a little low on garlic I used a generous shake of garlic powder to supplement. Rather than sour oranges, I squeezed and used the juice of three Valencia oranges, and added some key lime juice. I will cook this in the crock pot after I sear it as described in the recipe.



I hope this dinner turns out better than the last Sunday Dinner I posted about. I think we will just have some mashed potatoes and fresh veggies with it.

Prepping the meat with the marinade

Edited to add: It was VERY good. I recommend this recipe.

Sunday Dinner

Since I began working full time I have been sorely lacking in the Sunday Dinner department. Frankly, the last thing I want to do is plan a meal and cook it on Sunday, right now. I am exhausted after getting through the work week, doing many chores on Saturday to catch-up, and then being so tied up with two church services. It's just easier to go out, but it results in added expenses (tips, etc.) or fast, junky food. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to go out once in awhile, but we've just been doing it way too much lately.

In the interest to improve myself with better organization and get back to family time and economize, I am going to make an effort. This Sunday I am planning a simple Barbecued Chicken in the crock pot, using this recipe as my start off point. I will tweak it for personal taste. I never really have soda around, but since there is a soda machine close by, I sent Adam for a can. The rest of the ingredients we have on hand. I think I might use our favorite store-bought bottled barbecue sauce rather than the catchup and delete the brown sugar, because you know the bottled stuff is full of sugar and corn syrup.

*edited to add: I did not like this particular recipe, and I don't recommend it.