For St. Patty’s day I made an Irish beer beef stew. Originally I wanted to make stout braised short-ribs, but it turns out short-ribs were a little more pricey than I originally thought. We ended up purchasing a single bottle of Smithwick’s (an Irish red ale) and some beef shanks and enjoyed every bite.
A few things are going on here (1) squeezing in mild autumn grilling, (2) using CSA thyme and kale, and (3) grilling cheese for the first time though I have wanted to for quite a while. I got some bone in pork chops in order to use some thyme that was nearing its end and also my mom gave me a package of havarti grilling cheese. Throw in some CSA kale and another fall themed meal easily came together!
This was a quick and easy soup to prepare that packed some great flavor with very few ingredients. 6 to be exact. It was also the first time I have ever cooked with leeks. I’ve been meaning to for a while and now that I have I don’t know how or why I waited so long! Leeks are like jumbo green onions, but you don’t use the dark green parts. They have an onion flavor that is nice and mild. They are really pretty too.
You see that gravy on the plate there? I have been calling it liquid gold because it was so, so good. You will be licking your plate clean, I can almost guarantee it. We recently received a Staub and this is another recipe from Molly Steven’s All About Braising using the cocotte. This was definitely a dish of a lot of firsts for me. This was the first time I ever cooked a whole chicken before, made stuffing from scratch (cooked inside the bird), and made such a delicious pan sauce. This may have been the best thing I ever made and it really was not too difficult at all. Like the pot roast it entailed many steps and a good few hours, but nothing was too technical or intimidating to take on. Again, this was a time consuming Sunday cooking event. I tried to time it so we ate before the AFC Championship game, but it took a little longer than expected and we ate at half time. Luckily since the Steelers had taken such a big lead my nerves were calm enough that I was able to eat!
Tagged All About Braising, bacon, baked ham, bay leaves, brasied, bread stuffing, carrots, cocette, gizzards, heart, homemade, lemon zest, Molly Stevens, neck, onions, recipe, rendered chicken fat, rosemary, schmaltz, staub, thyme, whole chicken
I found this recipe in the February 2011 issue of Bon Appetit and was instantly intrigued. I think I ended up making it the very next day after first reading it! It was a nice twist on a weekend breakfast and tasted rather gourmet when in reality was a breeze to make.
Posted in Breakfast
Tagged bon appetit, bread crumbs, creamed spinach, dijon mustard, dippy, eggs, mustard, olive oil, recipe, sunny side up eggs, thyme
For lunch I decided to make chicken salad. We had a leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge and some leftover thyme that needed to be used. I decided to try to make a healthier version of chicken salad and used nonfat Greek yogurt and light mayonnaise instead of using tons of full fat mayo. Also, I included some pungent spices to supplement that lack of flavor that could have come from the lack of fat in this recipe. I placed the finished salad into a “cup” of cabbage leaves and it was ready for me to grab in the morning to take to work.
The recipe made about three servings and it came out really good. I ran out of curry powder, which is why it’s not super yellow. However, the flavor was still very present. The cabbage leaves provided a nice crunchy base and I used them like I would a tortilla or cracker. I also discovered that the plain Greek yogurt tasted a lot like sour cream and may be a good substitute for that down the road.
As soon I as walked in the door this evening I was pleasantly greeted by the aromatics of this dish! Greg prepared the chicken by stuffing it with some sprigs of thyme and putting a serious coating of McCormick’s rotisserie chicken seasoning all over the bird. I definitely recommend this seasoning!
The chicken had a lovely self-timer on it and took about 2 and half hours to roast. We added some of my homemade creamed spinach and Greg made one of his favorites- instant mashed potatoes (which he spiced up with some remaining thyme and red pepper flakes).
Bird in the oven
We have made roasted chicken so many times before, but this was definitely the best one yet. It was so juicy and flavorful. The recipe for the creamed spinach is very easy also and you can pretty much use whatever cheese you have in the fridge, though the recipe calls for parmesan.
Starving Kitten 