fall session: classic beef stew

Sauteeing beef chuck meat in olive oil at high temperatures is a smell that lingers on your clothes.  But the smell of beef stew braising in the oven with rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, red wine...that is a smell you could bottle and spray on a winter day to evoke cozy family snuggling over a fire, beef stew in their bowls.

Ok, enough corny imaginings.

I always used to make beef bourguignon for my classic beef stew.  A delicious, traditional, french braise.  The problem was that the french like to cook stews (coq au vin, osso bucco, boeuf bourguignon, lamb stew) with vegetables in the braise that then get strained out and new vegetables, non mushy, perfectly cooked, get added in.  That is all fine and great if you have a lot of time and don't mind arthritic hands from fishing out every little last morcel of beef stew so it does not get strained and thrown away.  BUT, this recipe, has the meat cooking with diced celery, onions, garlic and fennel that just melt into the sauce and don't need to be strained out.  Then, about half way through the cooking, you add in your dice of carrots, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas (or whatever root vegetables you have on hand).  Still a delicious beef stew, with a lot less work.

I use beef chuck for my meat.  I look for the cheapest per pound price, either in bulk slabs that I cut up into stew size, or pre-cut meat.  You just want to make sure they are all the same size so they cook in the same amount of time.  For this week's class, the best meat deal was pre-cute beef stew from Costco, $5.88 a lb.  If you figure 1lb makes 2 servings, basically $3.00 a person, you are looking at a reasonable dish, even adding in the cost for the other ingredients.

Happy Braising.

Classic Beef Stew by The Family Table

fall session: beans, white bean and escarole soup

Today in family table cooking we made beans.  A lot of them.  A lot of different ways.  I cooked pinto beans 3 ways: in the crock pot, over night for 7 hours on low; in the pressure cooker for 3 minutes after coming to full pressure (then letting natural release happen for 15 minutes after); and in a plain old pot, for about 1 1/2 hours at a simmer.  Conclusion: pick the method that fits with your personality.  Planning ahead and cooking in a crock pot is not for everyone, more for advanced thinking people.  Using the slightly scary pressure cooker is also not for everyone, you have to follow timing and directions very precisely and have to trust the times as you can't look and stir.  Maybe the good old fashioned pot cooking is a happy medium, although you have to be home for the time it cooks to test bean doneness.


We also made bean burgers.  You can make them with any type of bean, add any type of herbs, but here is the  basic recipe to launch from:

1 1/2 C cooked beans of choice
1 1/2 egg
1/2 C chopped herb of choice
1/4 C grated cheese of choice (parmesan, gryuere, combo of two)
2 tsp. dijon mustard
salt, pepper
squeeze of lemon juice
3/4 C breadcrumbs, mix of fine and panko
panko breadcrumbs for dusting patties with

Mash the beans with a potato masher or fork.  Add in egg, herb, cheese, salt, pepper and lemon squeeze, mix.  Add bread crumbs and test for consistency, adding more breadcrumbs or lemon juice to make it drier or wetter.  Shape into patties, dip into a bowl of panko to coat.  Put in fridge until ready to saute or put in the freezer if you are planning to eat them later.  When ready to cook, heat up a couple of Tbl olive oil, get the pan and oil hot, add in the cakes and brown on both sides.  Remove to a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes at 325.  Serve on a bed of greens with a squeeze of lemon and mashed avocado relish.

I had a very hard time choosing the recipes and the bean types, there are so many good ones around.  I am going to attach a lot of links to some great recipes, so anyone wanting to have a bean bonanza can have fun.

Herbed White Bean and Sausage Stew

Giant Lima Beans with Stewed Tomatoes and Oregano Pesto

Giant Lemon Fennel Beans

Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans

Porotos Granados
(yummy Chilean bean soup with winter squash, green beans, corn and smoked paprika)

Enjoy this recipe for White Bean and Escarole Soup

TFT, SOUP Cannellini Bean and Escarole

fall session: pot roast with honey roasted root vegetables

A rutabaga:

A cross between a turnip and cabbage.  The farmer's market is brimming with them and I found a recipe for making farm fresh rutabagas and multi-colored carrots meld into a pot roast with chuck roast.  Cook in the crock pot for 5-6 hours on high, perfuming the whole house.

Serve with a wheatberry salad and you have dinner.

TFT, BRAISE Pot Roast With Rutabagas and Carrots by The Family Table

fall session: coq au vin

Coq au Vin is not as complicated as people anticipate. I think it is just the fancy name that throws them: "Coq au Vin". No one says "old chicken in wine", who really would want to eat old chicken in wine? Yet the name "Coq au Vin" evokes parisian bistros, waiters with long aprons, beaujolais nouveau and chocolate mousse (or it does to me).

Coq au Vin is perfect served for a fall dinner with buttered egg noodles, a simple green salad and crusty bread to lap up the sauces.  And, like all braises, make extra as it even tastier the day after.  Bon appetit.

The Green City Farmer's market was the perfect place to buy the lovely cippolini onions, the multi-colored carrots, the fresh grown celery and garlic and all the lovely wild and button mushrooms.

This was slab bacon from Fresh Farms in Morton Grove.  It was fantastic.  It added a smoky flavor and was so tender.

Coq Au Vin by The Family Table

split pea soup with ham

Split peas.  So simple, so inexpensive, so good for you.  A member of the legume family, split peas are a really great source of fiber: which helps lower cholesterol and maintains even blood sugar balance.  They are also a good source of protein and have potassium and B vitamins. 

This recipe has some smoked ham in it, which does add a rich smoky flavor.  But feel free to sub in onions and fennel instead for increased vegetable flavor.

Split Pea and Smoked Ham Soup by The Family Table

braising: chicken cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore is a traditional "Hunter's Stew" from Italy.  Chicken thighs (bone in or bone out) are dusted in flour, sauteed in hot olive oil until brown, then braised with onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes and white wine with oregano, rosemary and thyme.  It is a very aromatic dish, making your kitchen and house smell like a rainy day in Tuscany (one can imagine).

Buon Appetito!

Chicken Cacciatore by The Family Table

spring session: pork pot roast with root vegetables

The last spring class...pork pot roast.  This is a recipe I have used for both the dutch over and a crock pot.  Both ways come out nice and succulent, falling apart.  You can use any root vegetable here.  I added celery root, but I think turnips or sweet potatoes would also be delicious.

Enjoy.

Braised Pork Pot Roast by The Family Table

To go along with the pork, we made a quinoa salad, with orange zest, dried cherries, pine nuts and fennel.  See my last posting for the recipe with israeli couscous.  I like it better with the couscous (especially as I overcooked the quinoa in class!)

spring session: braised chicken thighs with swiss chard and balsamic vinegar

Spring and the swiss chard is stretching out in the garden...

A really delicious and nutritious dish is Braised Chicken with Swiss Chard and Balsamic Vinegar.  You sear the chicken, saute the colorful stems along with onions and garlic, and then deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and diced tomatoes. 

This is cooked in the crock pot or a dutch oven and you have a meltingly yummy dinner for less than $3.00 per person (with free range chicken thighs). 

Braised Chicken and Swiss Chard by The Family Table

To accompany the chicken, we made an Israeli Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries, Arugula, Pine Nuts with an Orange dressing.  I started with the recipe from the blog, "the Kitchn" but subbed in dried cranberries for the dried cherries, pine nuts for the walnuts and we mixed in orange zest as well.  It is a really tasty salad, one that I will go back to over the summer.  It was nice with the juices from the chicken.

spring session: saffron braised chicken with fennel and carrots and a spring couscous salad with asparagus and peas

Spring colors are the theme for this week's braised dish.  Saffron Braised Chicken, with fennel and carrots.

Saute the sliced onions and fennel in saffron and butter...

The stunning apron lady, aka Tracy, adds carrots to the saute...

After searing the cumin, coriander and paprika crusted chicken thighs, you add diced tomatoes, chicken stock, sherry and sherry vinegar.  The stew is then braised in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or in the crock pot for 4.

Chicken With Saffron, Fennel and Cilantro by The Family Table

Making the most of the spring produce coming to market, we made an Israeli Couscous Salad with fresh peas, asparagus and snap peas.  The salad is dressed with a lemon vinaigrette and tossed with chives and freshly grated parmesan.  This can be made ahead and served room temperature with the chicken or would be nice eaten warm as well.

spring session: barbecued beef brisket, kale salad and biscuits

The Family Table Spring session has started.  I am going back to simple, easy to prepare, good tasting family dinners, inspired by Michael Pollan and his new book "Cooked".  I particularly liked the editorial that Mark Bittman wrote on this book in the New York Times.  He wants to start a home cooking movement.  As Michael Pollan says: "Cooking is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your diet. What matters most is not any particular nutrient, or even any particular food: it’s the act of cooking itself. People who cook eat a healthier diet without giving it a thought.”

I am going to post whole family dinner menus in this spring session of the Family Table.  I hope that you will grab a friend, shop and chop with them, laugh and share while your family dinner simmers away!

Wednesday, we made Barbecued Beef Brisket in the crock pot (or dutch oven, both work great).  The advance prep time is very short (see the lovely Tracy pricking the meat before she slathers the marinade on), then into the crock pot for 9-11 hours.

Slice the meat, drizzle on the sauce, and you are good to go.

To complete this meal, I would add a kale salad, roasted sweet potatoes and either home made biscuits (these are very easy and lighter than normal biscuits) or store bought parker house rolls. You can print out the recipes below. 

Barbecued Beef Brisket by The Family Table

Kale Salad by The Family Table

Sweet Potato Wedges by The Family Table