Caribbean Beef Stew

I admit that I am not the world’s best food writer or photographer.  Maybe I will get a little better over time, or maybe not. I won’t spend too much time or energy fretting about it. 

 I mostly started this blog odyssey just for my self and my own sanity. I have so many cookbooks and so many recipes bookmarked on the internet (hello!!  my epicurious.com recipe box has close to 800 recipes in it) that I would lose track of where my favorite recipes were from and what recipes I had already tried.   It also gives me a way to link friends to the recipes I’ve made and my thoughts on the books I read.

I have a Crock Pot that I got as a wedding or shower gift from my mother.  I like to break it out every few months to cook dinner on the weekend.  My commute to work and working schedule being what it is, slow cooker meals aren’t really something I can do on weekdays…since I am away from the house for too long.  So…weekends it is.

This Caribbean Beef Stew has an interesting combination of flavors and is loaded with great color and texture. 

Caribbean Beef Stew

• 1 lb stew beef
• 3 1/2 cups diced butternut squash (or pumpkin)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 cup beef broth
• 14 oz canned chopped tomatoes
• 14 oz canned pigeon peas, drained and rinsed
• 14 oz canned black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Trim visible fat off beef, then dice the meat into 2 inch pieces.
2. Heat a large heavy pan without adding any oil.  Add the meat and cook, stirring constantly for a few minutes until browned all over. 
3. Stir in the pumpkin, onion, and bell pepper and cook for 1 minute, then add the paprika, cayenne, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.

1. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours. 
2. Add the pigeon peas and black-eyed peas to the stew and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
3. Re-cover and cook on high for 30 minutes.

(serves 6)

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Dip

Dips can be mega-easy to make and can usually be prepared a day or so ahead of when they are served…and be all the better for being prepared ahead since it gives time for the flavors to meld and develop.   I am all for not going completely crazy on the day of an event. (even though despite all my prep work ahead of time I do still tend to veer towards the loony bin in the hour leading up to a party…someday I will learn to calm down, really!)

I found the original version of this recipe on Epicurious.com but altered it since at the time I didn’t have whole cumin or caraway seeds on hand.  This Roasted Pepper and Garlic dip takes a little more work than some other dips, that are basically one step of throwing everything in a bowl and mixing it. For this dip you first oven roast a red pepper and garlic cloves.  These roasted veggies are then blended with the remaining dip ingredient to create a lovely orange dip with a ton of flavor.

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Dip

(serves 6)

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 small head garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne/red pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F
2. Quarter bell pepper lengthwise and discard stem, seeds, and ribs. In a shallow baking pan arrange quarters skin sides up.
3. Separate garlic cloves, leaving skins intact. Wrap together in foil. Add garlic package to pan with bell pepper and bake in upper third of oven 20 minutes.
4. When cool enough to handle, peel pepper and transfer to a blender. Remove garlic from foil and squeeze pulp into blender.
5. Add remaining ingredients to blender and puree until smooth.
6. Serve with veggies such as carrot sticks, zucchini spears, fennel crudites, or celery sticks.

Dip can be made 5 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Middle Eastern Chicken Kofta Pockets

Kofta Kebabs have been a favorite of my husband’s since he was a little boy growing up in Pakistan.   For those who don’t know kofta are kebabs made of  spiced ground meat.  We make them several times a month in our house….all different varieties. I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes.  I found this recipe in FOOD Everyday magazine.  I tweaked the amounts on the spices a little bit to meet our taste preferences.

The recipe came together fairly easily and is perfect for a weeknight meal.  Give them a try if you are looking for something new to add to your dinner rotation!

Middle Eastern Chicken Kofta Pockets

(adapted from FOOD Everyday magazine)

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pita pockets, for serving
• lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and sliced cucumber, for serving

Minted Yogurt Sauce

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• coarse salt
• ground black pepper

1. Heat broiler, with rack in highest position.
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, egg whites, breadcrumbs, onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and spices and mix until well blended.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.
4. Divide chicken mixture into 8 portions and place on sheet. Shape each into an oval patty and use your hand to flatten slightly. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over patties.
5.  Broil until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked though, about 4 minutes more.
6. Yogurt Sauce:  In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, mint and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Serve patties in pita pockets with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and yogurt sauce.

Review: The Devil and Miss Prym

The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Paulo Coelho‘s The Alchemist book is one of those books that I categorize as having a rabid, zealous following…much like Ayn Rand’s books, and to some extent The Catcher in the Rye…books that some people claim they love or were life-changing.  I read The Alchemist years ago hoping that it would be a book that I loved.  I enjoyed it but angels didn’t sing and fireworks didn’t go off while I read it. It was okay but not the best book ever (in my opinion).

A couple of years ago I read Coelho’s Veronika Decides to Die and ended up really liking it.  It made me decide that I really should read more of Coelho’s books…so I took The Devil and Miss Prym out from the library and set off. I picked this particular book because it is also on the list of 1001 books to read before you die. 

Once again, Coelho has written a fable. This one is set in a remote mountain village. A stranger shows up in the village one day and talks with Miss Prym, a villager who works at the local inn and bar.  The stranger show Miss Prym a fortune in gold and tells her that if the villagers kill one of their own, they can have all of the gold.  The stranger is trying to find out if people are at their core good or evil.

So how did I feel about The Devil and Miss Prym?  Once again, this was a book that fell into the “it was okay” camp.  I didn’t love it.   It felt a little flat to me.  The characters were one-dimensional and not very believable. Nevermind that none of the characters were likeable in any way.  Deep down I didn’t care what decision they made or what happened to them.  The book was loaded with parables but the main story line was lackluster and did little to pull me in.  It would have been better if it was edited to be at least 100 pages shorter. In a nutshell: this book was just ‘meh’ to me.  I will cling fondly to my memories of “Veronika Decides to Die”: my past and still current favorite Coelho book.

Review: Austerlitz

Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Translated into English from the original German, Austerlitz is filled with beautiful, complex prose that is best read slowly.  The novel features an unnamed narrator recounts his encounters and discussions with a man called “Austerlitz”.  Austerlitz is a middle-aged man in search of answers about his past.  His past is slowly uncovered through a series of digressions and fractured narratives.  At every meeting with Austerlitz the narrator finds out more about him through discussions about memories and architecture.  We learn about how the Holocaust tore apart Austerlitz and his family and how a young Austerlitz repressed those memories to the point that he actually thought he was the son of the Welsh couple who took him in.

This book was a challenge to read, especially in the beginning and it definitely isn’t for everyone. There were sentences that went on for 5+ pages and the narrative style is far from what you usually find in novels.  But if you are up for a reading challenge with a book that requires your full attention you should consider reading Austerlitz.

My Top Music of 2010

A couple of weeks late for this 2010 round-up post, but here goes.  According to Last.FM my top 10 most listened to artists of 2010 were:

1. The National – I particularly like the song Conversation 16.  What is not to like about a song that mentions eating brains??
2. New Order – one of my all time favorite groups
3. Arcade Fire – along with The National’s latest album, the new Arcade Fire album was one of my most listened to new albums of 2010
4. Radiohead – another favorite I can listen to over and over again each year
5. The Beatles – my mom loved them and so do I!
6. Iron & Wine–  good music to relax to. sure to calm you down….maybe a bit too much. Plus you gotta love that beard. 😉
7. Bjork – love her unique sound
8. LCD Soundsystem – always gets me up and moving
9. Joy Division – with New Order on this list it is not that unexpected to find their spawn Joy Division here as well.  Listening to Joy Division always makes me think of the movie 24 Hour Party People. It also makes me think of the Wombats song “Let’s Dance to Joy Division”
10. Amy Winehouse – I know she isn’t the ideal role model, but I still like her music. It sets a certain mood.

 

What music did you find yourself listening to a lot over the past year?  Discover any new music that you love and care to share with me?

Mexican Layered Dip

I was looking for a starter that was super easy, festive looking and didn’t take up excessive amounts of space in the fridge (fridge space is precious during the holidays!!).   I found it in this Mexican layered dip. We’ve all have layered dips and they come in varying degrees of difficulty. This one was pretty simple using some prepped items but letting you feel like you were kind of making it from scratch. (I love to prepare things from scratch but occasionally like tho be able to take a few shortcuts.)

I altered a recipe from Bon Apetit’s Outdoor Entertaining cookbook by subbing veggie refried beans for the kind with bacon, upping the spices, and tweaking other ingredient amounts.  The assembled dip looked bright and festive on the buffet table and received lots of comments from guests.

Mexican Layered Dip

(altered from recipe in Bon Appetit Outdoor Entertaining)

• 2 cans of vegetarian refried beans
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 1/2 cups guacamole
• 1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (salsa verde)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese (about 8 oz)
• 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes with jalapenos, well-drained
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 1/2 cups reduced fat sour cream
• 2/3 cups chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
• Tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix beans and chili powder in a medium bowl to blend.  
2. Mix guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and garlic in another medium bowl.
3. Spread half of bean mixture in bottom of 8 – 10 cup glass bowl. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.
4. Spread guacamole mixture over. Spoon half of drained tomatoes over the guacamole.
5. Sprinkle with green onions.
6. Spread remaining bean mixture over.
7. Stir sour cream in container to loosen. Spread over bean mixture, covering completely.
8. Arrange cilantro, remaining cheese, olives, and remaining drained tomatoes in concentric circles on top of the sour cream. 
9. Cover; Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
10. Serve dip with chips.

NOTE: Dip can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.

Spiced Cucumber Salad

There aren’t too many vegetables, in my opinion, that are more refreshing than a cucumber.  We eat cucumbers in some form with dinner at least twice a week, usually in a chopped salad…sometimes grated and mixed in yogurt for a nice raita.  Cucumbers pair nicely with the spicy cuisine of Pakistan that we eat so often in our little house.

I love leafing through Indian cook books looking for inspiration.  I took out the beautiful cookbook Mangoes and Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid  from the library because I had heard such great things about the book. It is loaded with fantastic photography and tempting recipes from the Indian sub-continent.  If you never heard of or seen this book and are at all into cooking or learning more about Indian food, then you should track down this book!

A recipe in the book for a spiced cucumber salad immediately jumped out at me as something I had to try.  It is a salad made of chopped cucumbers tossed in a spiced mustard oil and yogurt dressing.  I altered the recipe to work with the ingredients I had on hand instead of running out and buying some additional spices.  The end result is still very impressive.

Spiced Cucumber Salad

(adapted from Mangoes and Curry Leaves)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound English cucumbers
• 2 Tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard oil
• 1 green chili cut lengthwise
• pinch of cayenne powder
• pinch of tumeric
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons minced cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut cucumbers into quarters lengthwise and then cut again into 1.5 inch long pieces.
2. Put cucumbers in a strainer/colander in the sink (or over a bowl) and sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons of salt. Let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a heavy skillet, dry roast the sesame seeds until golden. 
4. In a small bowl, mix sesame seeds, cumin, and yogurt to make paste. Set aside.
5. Rinse cucumbers with cold water. Squeeze them gently to get out any excess water. Put cucumbers in a bowl.
6. Add spice paste to cucumbers and rub all over to coat them. Set aside.
7. Heat mustard oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the green chili and cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Add the cayenne and tumeric and stir.
8. Pour the flavored oil over the cucumbers and toss gently.
9. Add the lemon juice and toss.
10. Set aside for 10-20 minutes to let the flavors blend.
11. Just before serving add the cilantro leaves and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Toss gently to mix.

The Sunday Salon: Overeating & Over-reading

I don’t know about you, but I’m stuffed.

This year I hosted my first Thanksgiving.  My son is now 10 months old so I knew this would be a very special holiday season for me.   He is just starting to venture into the world of table food. He loves to feed himself and try new things.   I spent a lot of time reading cook books this past week planning the meal.    I love reading cookbooks and planning out menus. It combines some of my favorite hobbies: cooking/food, reading and making lists. The menu I came up with included Goat Cheese Rosemary Toasts, cranberry nut rolls, roasted root vegetables with parmesan gremolata, caramelized shallot mashed potatoes, roasted turkey (of course), wild rice with butternut squash, and Cranberry Almond bundt cake…. as I said, I. am. stuffed.

This weekend I am also reading Anthony Bourdain’s follow-up to Kitchen Confidential: Medium Raw.   I loved Kitchen Confidential when I read it years ago so just had to grab Medium Raw when I saw it on the NEW shelf at the library.  I am about half way through the book so far. In this collection of essays Bourdain rants about everything from The Food Network, the effect of the recent economy on restaurants, celebrity chefs and more.  Bourdain is his usual self, very raw (Medium Raw, you might say), honest, and entertaining.  I am getting some good chuckles from Medium Raw so far and am enjoying it.

I hope to read another chapter/essay or so while the baby takes his afternoon nap.

Once I finish Medium Raw, I plan to start on One Day by David Nicholls.

What have you been eating and reading this weekend?

Lemon & Thyme Couscous

I am not sure if there is anything that much easier to make than cous cous.  Basically it involves boiling water, stirring in some cous cous and removing from heat…waiting a few minutes and then fluffing the cous cous.  That being said, plain old cous cous can be kind of…well…plain.   But it is so simple to add some flavor to cous cous. One way, is to add some ingredients to the water you cook the cous cous in. For this recipe chicken broth, lemon zest and fresh thyme are added.   This cous cous makes a good accompaniment for a chicken stew.

Lemon & Thyme Couscous

(serves 6)

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 3/4 cups cous cous (about a 3/4 pound box)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. In a 2 to 2 1/2 quart heavy saucepan bring water, broth, thyme and zest to a boil.
2. Stir in couscous.
3. Cover pan and immediately remove from heat.
4. Let couscous stand covered, 5 minutes.
5. Fluff couscous with a fork and stir in oil and salt and pepper to taste.