Luncheon for a Winter Day

I hosted a luncheon meeting yesterday for my Master Gardener committee.  I kept it very simple:  a beef stew that I've posted about here before, Beef Daube Provencal and the best and easiest cornbread ever, Homesteader Cornbread.  Since this was a meeting, we needed to get started, so Fresh Market came to the rescue for dessert with an assortment of their fantastic cookies for easy eating.  They were out of the Kitchen Sink cookies, but the ones I got were almost as good.

I made two batches of the stew, one in the oven per the recipe and one in the crockpot, on low for about 8 hours.  I couldn't tell the difference.  Since I wanted a thicker stew, I coated the beef with flour before I browned it.  There was plenty for my group of 10 plus leftovers for dinner.  My husband hates leftovers, but I told him it was new to him!  He cleaned his bowl.

The bonus?  A great meeting!  I'm so excited about what we're going to accomplish this year in Master Gardeners.  Check out our blog:  Garden Musings.

Red Cooked Short Ribs

Red-Cooked Short Ribs Red cooking refers to a Chinese technique of braising meat in a soy sauce and sherry mixture. The "red" comes from the color soy sauce acquires after long cooking. Steamed rice and green onions are classic accompaniments. Yield:  8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup rice, 1 rib piece, 1/3 cup mushroom mixture, and 2 tablespoons onions) Cooking spray 2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 8 equal pieces 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup dry sherry 2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 3 1/2 ounces) 3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 1 tablespoon honey 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 (8-ounce) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained 1 (4-inch) cinnamon stick 1 (8-ounce) can diced water chestnuts, drained 4 cups hot cooked short-grain rice 1 cup (1-inch) slices green onions Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add half of beef to pan; cook 3 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining beef. Add ginger, rind, and garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in sherry, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add beef, broth, and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon); bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 1/2 hours or until beef is very tender. Stir in water chestnuts; cook for 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon. Serve over rice; sprinkle with onions. CALORIES 331 (26% from fat); FAT 9.4g (sat 3.9g,mono 4g,poly 0.4g); IRON 3.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 46mg; CALCIUM 26mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.1g; SODIUM 370mg; PROTEIN 19.8g; FIBER 2.7g Cooking Light, JANUARY 2008

This recipe is subject to copyright protection and may not be reproduced without Cooking Light's consent

Copyright ©2010  Time Inc. Lifestyle Group. All rights reserved.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Other Time: 40 minutes minutes Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 1 steak and about 1/4 cup gravy) 1/3 cup grated onion, divided 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 pound ground sirloin Cooking spray 1 tablespoon butter 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered 1/3 cup dry red wine 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar1. Combine 1/4 cup onion, pepper, salt, garlic, and beef. Shape into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) patties. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. 2. Melt butter in pan. Add mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Stir in wine and remaining onion; cook 2 minutes. Combine broth and flour; add to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until thick. Add patties and vinegar to pan; cook 2 minutes. CALORIES 192 ; FAT 7.9g (sat 3.8g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.7g); CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 20mg; CARBOHYDRATE 6g; SODIUM 380mg; PROTEIN 24.9g; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 2.3mg Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2010

This recipe is subject to copyright protection and may not be reproduced without Cooking Light's consent

Copyright ©2010  Time Inc. Lifestyle Group. All rights reserved.

Merry Christmas!

We woke this morning to a lovely snowfall and as I write this at about 5:00 pm, it's still snowing.  We're supposed to get 6-12 inches by Monday evening, which I'm afraid will delay the delivery of our Murphy bed.  Oh, well.

I haven't posted very much about cooking this week.  Mostly we've been cycling through some stand-bys like spaghetti and beef stew.  This morning we had my family's traditional Christmas morning breakfast:

Fried oysters
Bacon
Scrambled eggs
Biscuits

Walter's plate at the point I thought about a picture

 After breakfast we took a walk through the town and around our house.



Walter beside our lamppost

Me in front of The Last Straw in downtown BR



The lake at Broyhill Park - frozen over!

My bottle tree - Save your blue bottles!





My new red-winged blackbird sculpture out in the snow!



Martha's simple and beautiful gate decoration

Our friend Martha had to spend last night in the hospital because she was having trouble breathing as a result of a tumor pressing against her wind pipe. She's home now and resting and will start chemo on Monday.  Walter's sister was admitted to the hospital this morning due to severe cramps in her legs and nausea.  We're waiting to hear from them.  Our friend Dan is in Houston for the next four to six weeks undergoing another round of chemo.  Please keep these friends and family in your prayers.

On a cheerier note, my son Cort proposed to his girlfriend Emily last night, the anniversay of their first date, seven - yes, seven - years ago!  She said YES, so we're very excited and so happy.

For our Christmas Dinner, we fixed:

Best Ever Beef Tenderloin (Walter pulled the grill into the garage and managed to keep it hot enough)

Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole (from the Commercial Appeal)

Sweet Potato Souffle

Yeast Rolls

Cheesecake (rolls and cheesecake from Stick Boy Bread)

We took a meal over to Albert and Martha and Martha's sister, Becky, who is here from Wilmington to help Martha.  Feel better soon, Martha!

I hope that your Christmas Day 2010 has been festive and full of family and love. 

Best Ever Beef Tenderloin

Best Ever Beef Tenderloin

Ingredients

• 4 1/2-5 lbs filet of beef (whole) or 4 1/2-5 lbs beef tenderloin ( whole)

Marinade

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 bay leaves

Directions

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in heavy saucepan; mMix well.
2. Bring just to boiling point.
3. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.
4. Place beef in a glass, enamel, or stainless steel pan.
5. Pour cooled marinade over beef, and cover.
6. Allow to marinate overnight in fridge.
7. Remove from fridge several hours before roasting.

Preheat oven to 450°F.   (We grilled this outside on a charcoal grill.)

8. Place meat in shallow baking pan, and pour marinade over it.
9. Roast for 20 minutes, basting with marinade from time to time.
10. Reduce heat to 350°F.
11. Continue roasting another 20 minutes (or until beef reaches desired doneness).
12. Remove from oven and let cool in marinade.
13. Cut into thin slices and serve at room temperature.
14. NOTE: This is best served rare to med-rare. It is most often done after 40 minutes of roasting, so please be careful not to overcook.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (313 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 8

Amount Per Serving   % Daily Value

Total Fat 80.9g            124%

Saturated Fat 32.1g     160%

Cholesterol 238.8mg     79%

Sugars 23.7g                 95%

Sodium 1556.2mg          64%

Total Carbohydrate 32.1g  10%

Dietary Fiber 1.1g          4%

Protein 64.2g               128%

© 2010 Food.com. All Rights Reserved. http://www.food.com/199504

Week of December 5 - December 11

I'm kinda mixing up the length of my weeks, aren't I?  It just depends on when I get a chance to sit down and put the menus and recipes together.  I'm doing this on Sunday (12/12) morning, which seems to be working out to be the best time.

I forgot to mention that December 4 was my sister's birthday - Happy Birthday, Allison!

Clockwise, Allison (with glasses), husband Doug, son in law Chance and daughter Cara

So, going back to last Sunday (12/5), I intended to fix the slow cooker barbeque that our nephew, Todd, prepared for us over Thanksgiving in BR, but got busy that morning and didn't get it started in time.  So, Memphis Pizza Cafe to the rescue!

On Monday I finally fixed the barbeque.  Easy cheesy - well, not cheesy, but you get my point.  I bought Schnuck's creamy coleslaw from their deli and also gussied up some canned beans to go with it.  It was gooood!

Tuesday night I fixed this Stuffed Pepper Casserole from a Schnuck's recipe.  Frankly, I've been shocked to find that I like a lot of their recipes!  They have a Schnuck's Cooks kiosk set up in the store I usually go to (on Truse) and you can taste the recipe of the week there.  And I also want to put a little plug in for that store.  The employees there are so nice.  They always say hello and ask if they can help you find something.  Even the manager has walked aisles with me.  And - this is big, iPhone users - Schnuck's has an app called "Aisle411" that you can use to find things in the store, scan barcodes, get coupons, and more!  I don't know if Memphis has it yet, but I read about it on their website when I copied the casserole recipe.  I didn't spend a lot of time on the website, but it looked like it had good stuff.  If you're a Schnuck's customer, you should check it out.

On Wednesday Walter had a dinner meeting so I just had the leftover casserole.  It was better the second night.  Oh, remember my post about cleaning up around the Poplar-White Station Library?  I had contacted the library director on Nov. 19 about the sad state of the trash and weeds there.  Well, Ms. McCloy emailed me within a couple of days and told me that the district director would be contacting me.  So Wednesday I met with Ms. Norvel Adams-Walker and the branch manager and we discussed ways to improve the curb appeal of this branch.  You know, it's the same old story, not enough people and not enough money.  But we came up with a plan to get started.  Hopefully, you'll see some improvement there soon.  I was very gratified to have such a quick response and these ladies are genuinely interested in doing a good job with the limited resources they have.

Thursday night I went to a Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting at the main library to help give input for the Imagine 2040 transportation plan.  This evening was one of a series of public meetings hosted by the MPO and Livable Memphis.  I was thrilled to see the turnout, mostly young people who are intensely interested in improving Memphis.  Gives me great hope.  Walter says we're wasting our time because the MPO will do what it's always done, but he's so cynical.  The MPO staffer who facilitated our small group was definitely on board with our ideas and helped us articulate them.  He said that they had been hearing the same things at every public meeting:  less sprawl, take care of what we've got, better public transit, better walk/bike opportunities, more greenways.  So we'll see.  But if you don't ask, you'll never get, right?

Ok, back to food.  Thursday morning I made this Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup that I've made many times since the recipe was in Cooking Light in 2006.  Walter was able to just warm it up when he got home.  He also made a grilled cheese sandwich, judging by the dirty dishes...

A big day for us on Friday.  We sold Chase the house that he's been living in while he went to college.  He finally graduated, has a great job that he loves, and he's ready to be a real grownup!  Congratulations, Chase!

Friday night we went to the Half Shell and ran into Barney and Becky, so we sat together and visited.  Barney's daughter, Ellie, is getting married next Saturday night, so this is a busy and happy time for them.

Saturday morning I had another episode of some muscle spasms in my back, so Walter helped me go to the grocery store, then he headed off to Dallas to visit his Aunt Nell.  I just scrounged around for supper, cause I wasn't feeling too hot.  Took a muscle relaxant and went to bed at 7:15!  As I write this on Sunday morning, I'm feeling ok, but the spasms are still there.  Very annoying.

Ok, everyone, we're on the countdown to Christmas!  Are you about ready?

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Prep: 15 minutes • Bake: 25 minutes • Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 pound Meat Masters 90% extra lean ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 package (8.5 ounces) precooked whole grain Santa Fe rice (I couldn't find this at my Schnuck's, but I found some pre-cooked brown rise in a two-cup package.)
1 jar (26 ounces) Culinaria tomato basil pasta sauce
1/2 teaspoon Culinaria Italian seasoning
1 cup Kraft finely shredded Italian five cheese blend, divided
Crushed red pepper, to taste (I added this.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef, garlic, bell pepper and onion over medium-high heat until beef browns and onion is tender, breaking up meat with side of spoon. Massage bag of rice to help separate grains. Stir in rice, pasta sauce, Italian seasoning and 1/2 cup cheese.

Transfer beef mixture to 9 x 9-inch or 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and sauce bubbles around side of pan.

Each Serving: about 380 calories, 17 g total fat (8 g saturated), 65 mg cholesterol, 630 mg sodium, 34 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 23 g protein

Week of November 28-December 4

It takes nine hours to drive from BR to Memphis.  Walter grudgingly allows a stop whenever I request one, but he makes us get lunch and gas in one place and eat on the road.  So it's a pretty hard nine hours without BR to look forward to at the end.  We got back to Memphis about 4:00 Sunday evening and both of us were dog-tired. I pulled some Costco lasagna out of the freezer and we had that for dinner with some buttered bread.

Monday night I tried a dish that was one of the Cooking Light Reader Recipe winners: Spicy Chicken Sausage Cacciatore on Creamy Polenta.  It was so easy and very good.  This will be a new staple!

Tuesday was Walter's birthday!  We went to dinner at Andrew Michael on Brookhaven Circle.  He had the Maw Maw's Ravioli and I had their lasagna (can't have too much lasagna!)  Theirs has a white sauce instead of a red sauce - different and good.

Wednesday I just sauteed some shrimp in some olive oil and seasoned it with Tony Chachere's seasoning.  He's my relative in some way, you know.  My maiden name is Shassere, so we're different branches of the same tree!  Added a salad and we were good to go.

Thursday.  Oh, man.  I made one of our favorite comfort foods, Beef Daube Provencal.  Just throw away all of your other beef stew recipes, cause this is the one.  Make it and let me know if I'm not right!

Friday (aka International Date Night) we headed over to DCI Gallery for their open house.  Our friend Ami Austin recently purchased the Designers Choice business and she's making lots of great improvements inside and out.  You need to check it out!  Then we went to Grove Grill for dinner. The bar was hoppin' - lots of partying going on in there.  But the dining room wasn't crowded and we had a nice time.  I had the Butternut Squash/Lobster Bisque and couldn't really detect much lobster in it, so I'll have to take their word for it.  And I have to say that I was disappointed in my crab cake.  Usually they're good, but this time it tasted floury, if that's a word.  Walter had the rotisserie chicken and cleaned his plate, so I guess he liked it.

Saturday afternoon we drove over to Jonesboro to visit with Walter's Uncle George and Aunt Margaret.  He's 93 and she's 83, and both are sharp as a tack.  Margaret is an insanely good cook.  She put together a spiral bound collection of her favorite recipes and we started paging through the book while we were there.  I've had a copy that I got about 10 years ago, but it's kinda slipped my mind.  No more.  I'll be getting that baby out for sure.

Saturday night we ate at Salsa and got to catch up with our friends, Ann and Jules Wade.  We sat at their table til our food arrived and thereby avoided eating our usual two baskets of chips and dip!  Then we went to see Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguilera.  The story line was totally predictable, the acting was so-so and the singing and dancing were spectacular!  The movie ran for an hour and forty minutes and Walter slept for an hour and thirty minutes. 

This morning we got out early and walked the new section of the Wolf River Greenway.  We couldn't go over the new bridge 'cause it doesn't open til this afternoon.  But we got an idea of how it's going to work and it's awesome.  I'm worried about parking, though.  We parked on a street in River Oaks and walked about a block to get there, crossing Humphreys Blvd.  What's going to happen when lots of folks want to be there at the same time?  I guess someone smarter than me is in charge of this.  Wouldn't you know I didn't take my camera.  I'll get some shots next time.

When we got home we put out our Christmas decorations with the exception of the front door wreath which I will go purchase shortly.  Look at this wonderful wreath that we bought at The Last Straw in BR last year on the day after Christmas for half price!

We hung it on the french doors in the breezeway so you can see it from the living room, or even from the front door.  It's 26" across and gorgeous!

Here's the back door.  I'm going to do a front door wreath just like it.  Wish I could find another wreath-hanger like this one.  We got it half price, too.

We don't do a whole lot of decorating because we're not usually here during most of the holiday.  But this year we'll return from BR early as Matthew and Martin are coming in from Seattle for a few days at the end of December.  We last saw Matthew when we went to Seattle in April, but we haven't seen Martin in forever!  He was in Budapest in April, doing a mathematics seminar - very smart guy and we're very proud of him, maybe you can tell.  So we're really looking forward to having all our boys in Memphis at one time. 

Have a great week!

Beef Daube Provencal

Beef Daube Provençal


Best Beef Recipe. This classic French braised beef, red wine, and vegetable stew is simple and delicious. It stands above all of our other beef recipes because it offers the homey comfort and convenience of pot roast yet is versatile and sophisticated enough for entertaining. Garnish with chopped fresh thyme. --Recipe by Lia Huber (November 2004)

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat olive oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic to pan; cook for 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high.

Add beef to pan. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan, and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add garlic, beef, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf) to pan; bring to a boil.

Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve over noodles. Garnish with chopped fresh thyme, if desired.

Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours.

Wine note: This satisfying beef stew deserves a rich, earthy, and soulful wine--one with a soft, thick texture. I love the complexity and juiciness of the Kuleto Estate Syrah 2004 from Napa Valley, California ($45), which elevates this stew into a princely dinner. --Karen MacNeil

Yield:  6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup stew and 1/2 cup noodles)


2 teaspoons olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup red wine
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
3 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked noodles)
Chopped fresh thyme (optional)

CALORIES 367 (31% from fat); FAT 12.8g (sat 4.3g,mono 5.8g,poly 0.9g); IRON 4.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 105mg; CALCIUM 76mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.4g; SODIUM 776mg; PROTEIN 29.1g; FIBER 3.9g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007

Week of November 14-20

Last week the Commercial Appeal had an article about slow cookers that included several recipes.  I love my crockpot!  A couple of them sounded good and I had a weeknight things to do this week, so I clipped them out to try.

Tuesday night was my Search class (this week was Homer's The Iliad - good stuff!) and I made African-Style Braised Chicken in Peanut Sauce.  Delicious!  But the chicken literally falls off the bone, so you have to be careful eating - little bones were everywhere. 

Wednesday I made Beef and Wine Stew.  Again, the meat was fork tender.  However, I didn't think it had much taste.  Maybe more seasonings next time?  I used red wine, but the recipe also suggested a dark stout beer and maybe that would be better. 

Thursday night I had a Grants Review meeting for the Women's Foundation, so Walter was on his own.  He had leftover beef stew (shock) and said it was better than the night before.  I haven't tried it as leftovers, so I can't say.

Friday I went over to Broad Street and spent a few hours helping them set up for their New Face for an Old Broad event this weekend.  I worked like a dog!  Got home about 4, then Becky picked me up and we hit the Potters's Guild Show and Sale at the Botanic Garden, then the Holiday Bazaar at Memphis College of Art.  I got a very nice casserole dish by David James Johnson at the pottery sale; unfortunately, I was on a beeline to a couple of paintings by Michele Pinstein at the Bazaar only to have them snatched them out from under my nose.  But I bought a "whimsical" candy dish and some really neat notecards.  Here's a picture:

We went on to meet our cute boys at Cafe 1912 for dinner.  I'm sorry to say that our service was less than stellar and it was so noisy I could hardly hear Becky, who was sitting on my right.  And I had to decline my onion soup because it was burned and way too salty.  But my crabcake was wonderful, Becky loved her grouper, Barney had a huge, and I mean huge, plate of mussels that he scoffed up, so all was ok in the end.

Today I want to get back over to Broad Street to see it in action.  Very exciting stuff!  It's so wonderful to see a neighborhood pull together to try to improve their area.  Would that every neighborhood would take that initiative.

Oh, one other thing I did on Friday.  The Poplar-White Station Library has been driving me nuts with the weeds and trash all around it.  So Friday morning I went over and picked up all the trash, then emailed Keenan McCloy, the Library Director, to ask her to send Public Works over to trim the weeds.  I also offered to meet with her to come up with better landscaping.  No reply as of yet.  Mark this date, folks.  We'll see how long it takes...

Beef and Wine Stew

I think this needs more seasonings, so just experiment.  Walter said it was better the next day.

Beef and Wine Stew

1 lb. bacon, cut into pieces

3 lbs. boneless beef roast, cut into 1-inch cubes or 3 lbs. beef short ribs (see note)

1/2 cup flour, lightly seasoned with salt and black pepper (see note)

1 cup sliced shallots

2 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

8 oz. cremini or white mushrooms, wiped clean, cut in half if large

2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced

1 1/2 cups full-bodied red wine or 12 oz. stout beer

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp. water

Cooked noodles or rice or garlic mashed potatoes, optional for serving

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until just crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon pieces, leaving the drippings in the skillet and keep heated over medium heat. Reserve the bacon pieces for another use. Place the beef cubes in a large bowl and sprinkle with the seasoned flour. Toss to coat the beef cubes lightly with the flour.

Working in batches, brown the beef cubes on all sides in the bacon drippings. Remove to the slow cooker. In the same skillet, sauté the shallots, celery, carrots, mushrooms and garlic until just lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the wine, bay leaf, salt and pepper and stir. Cover and cook for 7 to 9 hours on the low setting (or 4 hours on the high setting).

The meat should be falling-apart tender. About 30 minutes before serving, if the sauce needs thickening, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cover and continue cooking until thickened. Remove the bay leaf, and serve the stew with some sauce, over cooked noodles, cooked rice or mashed potatoes. Serves 8.

Note: If using short ribs, omit flour. Sprinkle short ribs with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides before adding to the slow cooker.

Source: Jonathan John, tested by Susan M. Selasky in the Free Press Test Kitchen

Monday in the garden

Monday I worked ALL DAY LONG in the yard at Chase's house.  I ordered some stacking stones and they were delivered Monday morning.  I just wanted to do a little border around a Japanese maple and I asked the folks at Barden Stone how many linear feet would one of those containers do.  They weren't sure, but said maybe 40 linear feet stacked two high.  So I got one container.  It was 3200 pounds.  The border is done and you can't even tell that we used any of the stone.  I may have over-ordered. 

When we first installed the vegetable garden two years ago, we bordered it with that composite edging that you see at Home Depot and Lowe's.  Big mistake.  It flopped over, it warped, it looked horrible.  So I bit the bullet and bought the green steel stuff.  It looks so much better.

I need seven wooden pallets to build this neat three-bin compost system.  Anyone know where I can get some?  Oh, yes, the stone was delivered on a pallet, but who knows when we'll get down to it?

Needless to say, I was beat up Monday night, so I fell back on another family favorite, Szechwan Beef Stir-Fry.

Szechwan Beef Stir-Fry

Szechwan Beef Stir-Fry

1 lb beef flank steak

2 T soy sauce

4 t dark roasted sesame oil, divided

1 ½ t sugar

1 t cornstarch

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 T fresh ginger, minced

½ t crushed red pepper

1 red bell pepper, cut into ½” pieces

1 10 oz pkg frozen corn

¼ lb snow peas, julienned

1.  Cut steak into 2 pieces lengthwise.  Slice across grain into 1/8” strips

2.  Combine soy sauce, 2 t sesame oil, sugar & cornstarch; stir into strips

3.  Heat remaining 2 t sesame oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic,

         ginger & pepper; cook approx 30 sec.

4.  Add bell pepper, snow peas & corn; stir-fry until heated.

5.  Remove vegetables.  Stir-fry beef strips (1/2 at a time) until browned

6.  Return vegetables and beef to skillet and heat through.

Serve over rice.  Four (4) generous servings

Dinner with Bud

My father and stepmother are making their fall move from their farm in Arkansas to their "fishing shack" in Florida.  They arrived about noon on Saturday and spent the night with us, leaving early this morning.  For dinner we had:

Beef Filets with Pomegranate-Pinot Sauce

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (you can do this, right?)

Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton

Bananas Foster Bread

All of these recipes are in the October, 2010 issue of Cooking Light.  Are you seeing a theme here?  When I get the new issue, I immediately try new things!  As the month progresses, I'll use other sources or go back to old favorites.  As a matter of fact, my plan for this coming week draws from a different source every night with nothing from Cooking Light. 

But back to Saturday night.  I've never bought a pomegranate before and I must say I'm not that impressed.  The seeds had a texture that I didn't like that much and I really couldn't taste the pomegranate.  I guess I'll stick to Walter's famous Pomegranate Martinis in the future!

Everything else was great, though.  I chose the Bananas Foster Bread because I'm always on the lookout for good banana bread recipes.  We buy bananas every week and often end up with "ripe" ones that I hate to throw away, even if they do go into my compost.  Plus I figured that I could wrap some up for Daddy and Grace to eat on the road. 

Here's how I started.  I like to get everything out first, what the French call mise-en-place.  That way if I'm missing something, I can make substitutions or go back to the store before I start cooking.  Which happened, by the way, when I started making the Pomegranate-Pinot Sauce.  Who would have thought I'd be out of pomegranate juice?



I've really become a convert to weighing flour instead of measuring it.  So much easier!

My friend Leslie Hanna bought this great yogurt for me - Thanks, Leslie!

And here's the finished product - everyone liked it!

Here's Bud and Grace as they were leaving Sunday morning + a picture of Bud with his brown-eyed girl in her jammies!