A Beef Stew with a Beet and Kimchi Stew

I have been bored with cooking lately. There. I said it. I guess it is because I am not really too hungry these days. Bad allergies and lots of Pseudoephedrine does that to a gal. So, I will give to you the two dishes that I haven't already shared that I have actually cooked in the last couple of weeks. I don't suppose you want the phone number to the local pizza place.



When I saw this recipe had beets in it AND horseradish, I was intrigued. I had some beets in the refrig that I wanted to use so it was a perfect choice. The meat was from Whipporwhill Farm and I wanted to make something good.



The verdict? It was good. Not company fare but a solid meal that was perfect for a cold day.

Want to see the cutest boy ever? Yes you do!



(Waving to Parker! Grammy loves you more than anything in the whole world!)

Ok, onto the Kimchi (Parker and Kimchi are my favorites)



Enter: Pork Belly.



Exhibit B: Kimchi that I made a while back.




Got this recipe from the book "Kimchi Chronicles" Have I ever told you how much I love Marja Vongerichten? I do. This is the woman that guided me (when I was in New York) through tweets (that was before my NO TWEET policy) to her favorite Korean restaurants. I ate at both.



I really loved this. I will make it again for sure.

Ok, one more Parker moment. After all he is the cutest little boy ever.








Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)
Kimchi Chronicles


2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 pound pork belly, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 cups coarsely chopped kimchi with a bit of its liquid (use the most pungent, sour kimchi available for best flavor)
1 tablespoon fish sauce or dashida
1 slice American cheese (optional)
5 scallions, thinly sliced
About ¼ cup thinly sliced gim for garnish





Beef, Beer, and Barley Stew

Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 2002


2 tablespoons olive oil $
1 pound beef stew meat $
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper $
3 cups coarsely chopped onion $
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups (1 1/2-inch-thick) slices carrot $
2 cups chopped peeled turnips (about 1 pound) $
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
5 garlic cloves, minced and divided $
2 (8-ounce) packages mushrooms, quartered $
3 cups water
3 cups low-salt beef broth $
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer (such as stout) $
3 small beets
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Preparation

Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add beef to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. Add onion, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover; stir in tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high. Add carrot, turnips, barley, 4 garlic cloves, and mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes. Add beef, 1/2 teaspoon salt, water, broth, Worcestershire, and beer; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

While stew is simmering, trim beets, leaving root and 1 inch stem on each; scrub with a brush. Place in a medium saucepan, and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until tender. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain; cool. Leave root and 1 inch stem on each beet; rub off skins. Cut each beet into 6 wedges.

Combine parsley, thyme leaves, and 1 garlic clove. Ladle about 2 cups stew into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 3 beet wedges, about 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley mixture, and 1 teaspoon horseradish.

Thankful...

I just want to wish my friends and family Happy Thanksgiving. I wish we were all together celebrating but I am so thankful for all of you. I just wanted you to know that.

What? No, I am not being sarcastic. I mean it.

(waving to Julie)

Love,
Janis

My new best friends... A goat and a piece of Opah

Hi! What? I was a grump in my last post? Well, I have a sinus infection that won't go away. I will be nicer in this post. Ok? No, really. Here is the conversation I had in my head:

Head: I hope no one was insulted by my last post.

Me: Pfft, as if anyone really gives a damn.

Head: You never know. You might have hit a nerve for some.

Me: NO ONE reads this blog.

Head: Oh yes they do and the last post made you look like a drama queen. Mom even said that she never saw me be mean in a post before.

Me: SHUT UP...My theory was right.

Ok lets move on.



GOAT! We have a freezer with lots of goat in it. So, this weekend when we wanted to cook we decided on a goat curry out of Vij cookbook.



This recipe was really good. I would make it again for sure.

e

This dish was Eggplant and Butternut squash. I have to say that it looked just like the Goat Curry. Don't tell Dr. Food but I didn't like it. Ew. The texture of it grossed me out. Ew ew ew... Ok, I tend to be a little dramatic (but not about Twitter. THAT was for a good reason that I broke up with it).



The green onions were good.



Next recipe that I wanted to share (No, we didn't have it the same night) is Opah. We bought it at Wegman's and gave it a try. I loved it.



It was made with a mayo mixture of Siracha and mayo. The panko was seasoned as well.



Monday night dinner. Not real exciting but really good.




Vij’s Stewed Cinnamon-Scented Goat or Lamb Curry

4 to 5 tbsp ghee (purified butter) or canola oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 large onions, chopped
7 large cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 oz)
1 tbsp finely chopped or lightly crushed ginger
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
10 cloves
1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long (add another stick if you prefer a stronger taste)
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 tbsp salt
5 ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 cup plain yogurt, stirred
1 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
2 lbs leg of lamb or goat, fat trimmed, cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Melt Ghee (or 4 tbsp of oil) on medium heat in a large, heavy stockpot. Add cumin seeds and sauté until they sizzle, about 45 seconds. Add onions and sauté until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in ginger. After 1 minute, add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt. Cook on medium heat, stirring regularly, for 5 to 10 minutes or until ghee (or oil) separates from the spices. Add another tablespoon of ghee or oil if spices are sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add tomatoes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until ghee (or oil) separates again and glistens. Stir in yogurt and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, then add water (add an extra cup of water if serving with rice). Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.

In another large, heavy frying pan, add 1/4 cup oil (make sure there is enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan). On medium to high heat, sauté lamb (or goat), stirring regularly, until you notice small, thin lines of blood on the meat. Remove from the heat and transfer meat to the stew.

Return stew to medium-low heat and cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or until meat is cooked through. Add more water, 1/2 cup at a time, if the stew becomes dry while cooking. This should be a moist, thick curry.

Just before serving, remove cinnamon stick and cloves. Stir in cilantro.


PANKO CRUSTED OPAH
Tate Edward

4-6 good sized Opah fillets

Spread:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 loose Tbl fresh chopped dill
1-3 cloves minced garlic depending on how much you like garlic.
1+ Tbl(s) Sriracha brand hot chili sauce, just how hot do you want it adjust to your taste if it gets too hot add a little more mayonnaise.

salt and pepper to taste but go a little light on the salt, a pinch of each is good.

Seasoned Panko breadcrumbs:
3 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbl dried parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano crushed
salt and pepper to taste


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. mix together the ingredients for the spread and let sit in the refrigerator for 10 or 15 minutes

2. place tin foil on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan and lightly spread with olive oil

3. sprinkle salt and pepper on the foil and place Opah fillets on foil place them together on pan as if making one big fillet then salt and pepper the fillets

4. take spread and cover fillets generously

5. take seasoned Panko or regular seasoned breadcrumbs and cover the fillets, pat then add more if needed, there should be no spread showing.

6. place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets) check for doneness by touch (should be slightly firm but with some give) or with a fork in the middle fillet cover hole with crust. If crust is browning too quickly cover with foil. If not quite done, place back in oven and check again in about five minutes… if crust needs additional browning broil quickly for no more than two minutes—taking care that crust does not burn!

Ahem... Ok, here it goes

I am not sure where to start. I don't want to sound snotty or mean or anything. I just want to be honest. I am pairing way down on social media. No really. This means that I no longer will be on Twitter. The friends I have made know that they can reach me. If they are friends they will and if they aren't then it just goes to show ya...show you what I am not sure.

Here it goes...
I started out on social media back in the day of BBS's. Yup. I had my 1200Baud accoustical modem and away I went. David's Amazing BBS. Run by a very quirky David Dennis. Son of Jack Dennis. Come on, didn't any of you read The Cuckoo's Egg? So I was hooked. Back in 1985 I was in geek heaven. It then took a turn. My life changed and so did I. I ended up on Usenet and spent time on RFC (rec.food.cooking) and RFC (Recipes.food.cooking) I met Dr. Food on RFC. I met friends that I am still friends with. At the time I worked at RAND as a typesetter. As time went by so did technology. I was asked to learn HTML since it was a stupid cousin of a Unix language I was using. I learned. I played. I turned into their Web Women.

Lets fast forward to now. I am on Twitter. I am on Facebook. I hate both of them but can't stop looking. I am deleting Twitter. I am paring down Facebook to a list of people who are really my friends (goodbye high school people that never communicate with me anyhow). I am actually deleting anyone that I don't talk to via phone, email or who otherwise I have a current connection.

1. I am sick of self promotion. I don't care about listening to you tell me how amazing you are.

2. I am sick of being sold something.


3. I am sick of attention seekers.

4. I am sick of phoney.

5. I am sick of the self importance when none of it really matters.

6. I am done.

So, if you want to keep in touch that is great. You have my email. You might even have my phone number. If you don't have either, chances are you don't need to talk to me.

This blog? I do this blog for the people that really love me in real life. I also do it for others that like reading it. I do it for the practice of writing. I do it to amuse myself. Ok? I do NOT do it to get "famous" (which in this medium means a book deal) or to make people like me.

Thanks to you know who for putting shit into perspective for me. Your approach stunk but it made me open up my eyes. (No it wasn't Dr. Food)

Love Janis
janis@earthlink.net



Crow Pie:

1 crow
stuffing of your choice
salt and pepper
shortening
flour
2 Pie crust mixes
2-3 hard-boiled eggs

Stuff the crow. Loosen joints with a knife but do not cut through.
Simmer the crow in a stew-pan, with enough water to cover, until nearly tender, then season with salt and pepper. Remove meat from bones and set aside.
Prepare pie crusts as directed. (Do not bake)
Make a medium thick gravy with flour, shortening, and juices in which the crow has cooked and let cool.
Line a pie plate with pie crust and line with slices of hard-boiled egg. Place crow meat on top. Layer gravy over the crow. Place second pie dough crust over top.
Bake at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour.

Collected by Bert Christensen
Toronto, Ontario