Beef Stew

     I don't know about you but I love a great beef stew, and tonight I made the best beef stew that I have ever had. Sometimes when I cook supper it turns out awful, but sometimes it just all comes together in perfect harmony. Well, tonight was a harmonious night! I try to remember to pray over the food before I start cooking it, but I do not always remember. Praise the Lord, He helps me out even when I forget to ask for help until I am in the middle of cooking or dishing up the food. God is so good! I hope that you enjoy this beef stew as much as my family has. Enjoy!

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs. stew meat
3 sweet onions, chopped
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
24 oz. mushrooms, washed and quartered
2 cans of green beans
7-10 new potatoes, depending on the size, cut into bite size pieces
4-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 c. chicken broth, homemade if you have it
1-1/2 c. red wine, I used a merlot
salt & pepper
olive oil
flour

Directions:

Heat an 8 quart stock pot over medium to medium high heat. Pat your stew meat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Lightly coat seasoned meat with flour. Add 1-2 T. of olive oil to your stock pot and cook the meat in batches, making sure to get a good sear but not cooking it through. Add more oil before cooking each batch of meat. When all of the meat has been seared add the wine, scraping up all of the yummy brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add in the onions, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, garlic, chicken broth, salt, and enough water to cover everything, plus about 3 extras inches. Cook on medium, covered, for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Add the potatoes, cover, and cook for another 1 - 1 1/2 hours. If you have too much liquid just cook uncovered until some of the liquid has evaporated. Serve with sourdough bead if you have it or all by itself if you don't. I didn't have any sourdough bread, but I was sure wishing that I did!

Fresh Ricotta Cheese

     Ok, so I wanted to try something new today. I watched Wolfgang Puck make Fresh Ricotta Cheese the other day and it looked so easy and sounded so good that I just had to try it. Well, it was very easy and oh so good! Yummy!!! I've had ricotta cheese before but this was heavenly. (sigh) You just have to try this warm. It's delicious! Below is Wolfgang's recipe exactly as I found it, I did not change one thing! Go figure!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups cups whole milk
• 6 ounces live yogurt
• 6 ounces heavy cream
• Pinch of salt

Method

Instructions

1. In a nonreactive saucepan, whisk together all the ingredients. Over medium heat, slowly bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat, stir once, and leave it to settle for 2 minutes.
2. Line a colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Slowly pour the mixture into it and leave it to drain for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese in the cheesecloth is thick. Transfer the fresh ricotta into a covered, non-reactive container and refrigerate until needed.
   
   Makes 1 1/2 cups

Gotta love gumbo!

     Well, it has been a very busy week! My youngest son has been sick for the whole week. Praise the Lord, he is starting to feel better! My family loves gumbo, and I have to admit that I love it to. I watched Emeril Lagasse make this one day and thought how easy it looked. Of course I had to change the recipe some, but I almost always do that's just how I am. My picture did not turn out too well, but the gumbo did! This is very good and very easy. I love recipes that are easy. I hope that you love it as much as we do.



Gumbo

Ingredients:

1 cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1 chicken (sometimes I add a couple of bone-in chicken breasts, it depends on how many people I am feeding), free-range is best
2 chopped medium sweet onions
4 chopped green bell peppers
1 1/2 chopped celery hearts
24 oz. andouille sausage, 1/2 chopped and 1/2 sliced thinly on the bias
salt and pepper to taste
4 to 5 quart water
Cooked brown rice, for serving (I like brown jasmine myself)

Directions:

In a large, heavy pot place the chicken, water, and 1 teaspoon salt in the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, partially covered, until the chicken is tender, about 2 hours. Remove the chicken and set aside. Strain and reserve the broth.

In a large, heavy pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat, combine the oil and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is a dark, chocolate brown color, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add the chopped onions, bell peppers, celery and sausage. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the reserved chicken broth and stir until the roux mixture and broth are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1/2 hour to 45 min.

Meanwhile, remove the skin from the hen and pick the meat off the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Coarsely chop or tear the meat into bite size pieces. Add the chicken to the gumbo. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve the gumbo in individual soup or gumbo bowls over hot, cooked brown rice.

Enjoy!

Mini Potato Gratins

     Today for lunch we had grilled steak, sauteed asparagus, and mini potato gratins. This is one of my families favorite meals! The mini potato gratins are always a BIG hit. I saw Melissa d'Arabian from the Food Network make some one day and I thought they were a great idea. Of course I had to change them a little bit but I usually do that anyway. I don't have any pictures right now, so you will have to use your imagination!

Mini Potato Gratins

Ingredients

• several new potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheese (I like a combination of colby, montery jack, and asiago)
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4-1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 12 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices and cheese into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 2 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Let set for about 5 minutes and then run a knife around the edge of each gratin and lift out. Enjoy!