Beef Stew alla Kim ! (recipe)

I have made boeuf bourguignon many times... even made Julia Child's recipe from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" once but I wanted to make another type of stew. When I make a beef stew I sometimes add pearl onions, mushrooms or baby carrots but tonight I did something different again. I like the addition of the balsamic vinegar and the orange zest.


Ingredients
3 lbs of beef, cut into 2" chunks, stewing beef or chuck roast
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 Tb Butter
10 whole garlic cloves (a lot I know, but I love garlic)
4 Tb spoons of tomato paste
1/4 cup balsaminc vinegar
1 cup of red wine, I used pinot noir (It was open becasue I was having a glass already)
1 can beef broth
zest from one orange


The Side : Buttermilk Blue Cheese Mashes Potataoes


4 medium red skinned potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2-3 Big TB sour cream
2 Tb of whipping cream
4 Tb of Buttermilk Blue Cheese
kosher salt

HOW TO :

- lightly dust beef chunks with flour and pepper
- drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish
- saute beef chunks on both side until brown
- into the casserole dish, add the butter, garlic, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, red wine and beef broth

*** I didn't add the zest of the orange until the stew was almost cooked, in the last half hour.

I cooked in a 325°F convection oven for about 2 1/2 hours. From my experience, the time will vary for when the meat will be tender. Keep an eye on it. Also, I find the stew always taste best the next day.

Potatoes :
Boil potatoes. When done, keep skins on, mash, add butter, sour cream, whipping cream and blue cheese. The tang of the blue cheese compliments the beef dish nicely.

Plate It :

Place some of the stew on a plate and a nice big dollop of the mashed potatoes.

ENJOY EVERY BITE !

Alaska Summer Fish Soup (recipe)

July 17-2009

It's raining , it's pouring, my old man is snoring (the Hubs)...so I'm going to make a fish soup while he sleeps.

We are on Kodiak Island, Alaska for the Summer and wanted to start cooking seafood dishes right away. I feel good when I am cooking and in my element when I'm in the kitchen. Off to the market - I bought some shrimp, scallops , crab and tilapia. I also check out the stock and broth aisle to see if there is anything interesting and I find a wine and herb stock...impressive for a small city such as Kodiak, I buy it !

This is my fish soup!

Ingredients & How To

3 cups of the wine and herb stock
1 cup water
1 cup white wine
3 red potatoes, diced
Cook potatoes until tender.
Add :
1 cup small shrimp
1 cup chopped crab meat
2 cups of chopped tilapia
2 cup of chopped scallops
Add :
2 carrots, shredded
2 large can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion, diced
1-2 Tb of garlic, minced
pinch of saffron
zest of an orange
1 TB of Herb de Provence
4 Tb of olive oil
1 Tb kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper to my tasting.

These are guessed estimates... I don't have a recipe that I go by.... adjust to your own taste as you go along.
The soup was delicious and I have to say the best soup I think I have made or a close second. I'll share the first favorite with you another time. I love the saffron flavor and the burst of orange zest. I tasted the wine and herb stock beforehand and it was a rich stock full of flavor.... probably played a role in the taste as well. I served this with a warm crusty sourdough baguette. I ate slowly...savoring every bite. Simple to make, oh so easy to eat !

Enjoy every bite !