Tuesday, May 18, 2021
WWND - What would Nora do? Ephron that is.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Memories of Grandma's Beef Stew
Take a moment, pause, put down your phone, let go of
the mouse, sit still and take a few breaths. Now, visit your very earliest memories
– no, not that traumatizing injury but can you remember a meal or the smell of
something delicious cooking? I can think of a few but one that hits me right in
the feels includes my paternal grandmother who I didn’t have enough time with to
get to know very well.
I was about four or five, sitting with a coloring book
and crayons at one end of her long kitchen table. I remember the room fairly
clearly as only having lower cabinets along one wall that had to be ten or more
feet long. I once wondered if someone could lay on top of what seemed like a
never ending countertop. My grandma was at the other end of the table, transferring the
contents of a large pot to a bowl.
I heard squishing.
The sound, to my post toddler yet inexperienced
with life brain, translated to, “ew.”
I made the sound out loud.
“Ew.”
I immediately realized my mistake and looked down at
my coloring with feigned intensity designed to convince my grandmother when she
invariably brought her attention to me, that she would doubt she heard me
correctly or hopefully question if she heard anything at all.
It didn’t work.
“It’s not ew,” she said. “It’s beef stew and it’s delicious.”
Damn it.
I looked up as if I were seeing what she was doing for
the first time. The thick brown gravy had cooled into a pudding consistency. I
could see the mixture punctuated distinctly with green peas and for me, their
presence alone was a real deal breaker.
“I wasn’t talking about the food. I was talking about
my coloring.”
Ah – my first memory of a clear, premeditated lie.
Although an argument could be made for not only the desire to save my own ass
but to spare her any bad feelings both toward me and about her cooking.
The memory becomes blurry from here but what I wouldn’t
give to go back, just to that moment, and take away that, “ew.” And replace it
with, “Can I try it?”
Imagine what that could have felt like instead.
As a grandmother, I know for a fact I would stop whatever I was doing to feed my grandson or granddaughter and if they asked for something I made from scratch? Well. The world would simply stop turning while I attended to this request.
Beef Stew
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of beef
- A possible combination of fresh carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms
- Flour, salt, pepper
- Maybe a bit of tomato sauce if the mood strikes
- Beef broth
Vague Grandma-like directions:
- Toss all ingredients in flour to coat
- Brown the beef in a tablespoon of vegetable oil
- Add the onions
- Once the onions are softened, add the remaining vegetables and stir
- Add the rest, cover and simmer in an oven for hours – slow and low
Serve over egg noodles or rice or with large chunks of
potatoes.
Hold the peas.
I only have a small handful of other memories with my grandma. Many of those are tied to the few pictures I have or stories that were handed down. She died young. After this birthday, I will have lived longer than she did and yes, I am very much aware of it.
I absolutely know I would very
much have loved to have more time with her – we would have been Fed Well.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Mother's Day Brunch: The Results
- Three types of grilled luganega - Italian sausage sold in a spiral. We had hot, with cheese, and a no fennel version.
- Baked ham
- Two casseroles with egg and cheese, one with sausage and the other with bacon.
- A veggie frittata - no dairy.
- Deviled eggs
- Pancakes - plain and blueberry
- Breakfast potatoes
- Fresh fruit bowl
- Cranberry sauce because my grandson currently cannot get enough of it.
- Prosciutto bread
- Raspberry sorbet champagne punch
- Chocolate torte with berry sauce
- Crumb cake
- Cherry pie
- Chocolate chip pudding cake
- fresh apple slices with caramel and chocolate dipping sauces
- cinnamon rolls
Friday, April 30, 2021
Have grilling questions? Grilled & Seasoned Bread can be the answer.
Grilled & seasoned bread
- Slice the bread in approximately ½” slices
- In a bowl, whisk together olive oil with salt and pepper to taste (do not skip this opportunity to season)
- Use a pastry brush to lightly coat each side of the bread slices – immersing the bread in the oil mixture to save time will result in soggy crostini
- Grill bread on both sides at a low enough temperature to allow the entire slice to warm through as well as have a crispy texture with visible golden-brown color.
Monday, April 26, 2021
Comfort Foods
More than Mashed Potatoes
Turn creamy, smooth mashed potatoes into an entrée by adding a few fun toppings!
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds of peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 2” chunks
- 1 cup of milk (or heavy cream)
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 pint of sour cream
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Bring potatoes to a boil and let cook until they are fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes and let them rest in a colander.
- Add milk and butter to the warm pot.
- Once the mixture is melted and combined, add the potatoes back in.
- Mash with a masher then add the sour cream, salt, and pepper and mash until creamy.
Dairy free? Substitute a cup of chicken broth and omit the milk, butter, and sour cream.
Once the potatoes are mashed, scoop a serving into a bowl and top with any combination of the following:
- Black beans
- Corn
- Crumbled, crispy bacon
- Chives
- Cheddar cheese
- Chopped parsley
- Gravy
- Jalapenos
- Pulled pork
- Roast chicken or beef that has been shredded
Whether in a bowl or on a plate, treat your mashed potatoes like the ice cream base in a sundae and load them up with savory toppings!
Looking for more comfort food recipes? Click here for Everything's Better with Cheddar Pasta, Unbirthday Milkshakes, and Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits!
I know I have seasonal favorite foods but sometimes a dish like mashed potatoes really can be re-worked to be warm weather friendly and paired with grilled meats or turned into a meal on its own. The comfort level will be high and feelings of being Fed Well will be shared by all who share these foods with you.
Friday, April 23, 2021
Cloud Bread - what it is, how to make it, and serving ideas!
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Separate the eggs into two bowls.
- Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.
- In the bowl with the yolks, add the cream cheese and mix well.
- Fold (use a spatula to gently lift the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl then cross over the top rather than stirring) half of the egg whites into the yolks until just combined. Add the remaining egg white mixture and fold until incorporated.
- Spoon one heaping tablespoon at a time to create a ½” thick circle onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The paper will help keep the bottoms of the bread from becoming too brown or sticking to the sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
PIE! Savory or Sweet - PIE is the answer!
WEEKNIGHT SHEPHERD’S PIE
The Shepherd’s Pie recipe in vintage cookbooks may include lamb stew meat. Today, ground lamb, or ground beef, are the more commonly used protein. Locations around the globe may also refer to the use of beef as a Cottage Pie and the use of lamb as Shepherd’s Pie. Although this dish does not use a traditional pie crust, the mashed potato topping acts in a similar way as a pastry crust – the potatoes keep their soft, pillowy inner texture but develop a crisp crust and work by holding the heat in and letting the filling cook to create a craveable comfort dish.
Filling Ingredients:
- 3 – 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into similar size chunks
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 2 cups of vegetables – carrots, celery, corn, peas
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup of beef broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender.
- Drain potatoes then mash them in the pot with half of the stick of butter. Leave the mashed potatoes in the pot until needed.
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet until brown. Drain beef and set aside.
- Place half of the stick of butter in the same skillet the beef was cooked in (ensure no grease remains in the pan). Add the onion and carrots.
- Once the onion is soft, add celery if desired.
- Combine beef, cooked vegetables, corn and peas, beef broth, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce in a pie dish.
- Top mixture with a layer of mashed potatoes.
- Use a fork to create stripes in the potatoes. This step is a non-negotiable for my husband. I was just going to put it in the oven when he came in the kitchen and asked if I was going to make the lines. I had no idea this was important to him.
- Place the Shepherd’s Pie in the oven on the middle rack and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until potato topping is golden brown. Broil for the last 2 – 3 minutes if desired for crispier potatoes.