Month: January 2022

Pan Seared Ginger Chuck Roast

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Ingredients:

  • 2 pound Beef Chuck Roast
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, smashed, or chopped
  • 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of Hoisin Sauce
  • 1/8 of a cup of Honey Barbecue Sauce
  • 3 cups of stock (Chicken, or Beef)
  • Ghee for frying
  • Salt, and pepper

Pat dry the chuck roast, season each side with salt and pepper, then dredge in seasoned flour. Using the Ghee, pan sear the chuck roast in a medium sized sauce pan.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Allow roast to brown on all sides, then put in deep baking dish. In the same pan, sauté the onions until slightly translucent, then add in ginger, cook for about another minute. Add equal parts ghee, and flour to make a roux. Once brown, add in stock, garlic, soy, hoisin, and bbq sauces. Once combined, take mixture and pour over the roast in the baking dish. Liquid should cover about half the roast. If not, add more stock. Set pan aside, you’ll use it again. Cover with oven safe lid, or foil. Bake for 65 minutes, flipping roast, and turning pan once.

Pull roast from baking dish, and place on cutting board. While allowing meat to rest, pour juices into the sauté pan used earlier. Over medium to medium high heat, allow to drippings to reduce. Cook for about 10 minutes, allowing mixture to thicken. Slice beef thin, against the grain. Serve hot. Basting juices over meat slices.

Pairs well over ginger rice, and steamed vegetables, or coconut rice with green beans.

Farfalle (Bowtie pasta) Vegetable Alfredo Sauce

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 1 cup of half and half
  • 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/8 cup of sweet white wine sweet
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • 1 16 ounce package of mixed veg, cooked
  • Parmigiano Reggiano (grated cheese)
  • Olive oil for frying
  • Salt, and white pepper

Directions:

In a medium sided pan, sauté onion in oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once caramelized, add butter, and flour to create a roux. Allow flour mixture to cook for about 30-45 seconds. Add in wine, allow alcohol to burn off. Then add in stock, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and half and half. Reduce heat, allow sauce to reduce, stirring occasionally. Be sure to not burn the sauce. Once thick, season to taste. Remember the cheese will contains salt. Once thick, toss in al dente pasta, mixed veg, and grated cheese. Serve hot. Top with shaved cheese.

Serves 8

Coconut Rice with Green Beans

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of medium grain white rice
  • 2 cups of Coconut Milk
  • 1/2 cup of chicken stock
  • 16 oz of cut green beans
  • 2 teaspoons of onion powder
  • Salt, and Pepper

In a medium sauce pan, warm milk, and stock. Add rice, and par cooked green beans (if frozen). Season with salt, and pepper. Stirring only once, simmer on low, covered for 10 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked off. Serve hot.

Ginger Rice

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of medium grain white rice
  • 2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped (sub 1 teaspoon of dry ginger)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of parsley
  • Oil, or butter for frying
  • Salt, and Pepper

In a medium sauce pan, sauté onion until caramelized, add rice, ginger, and parsley. Season with salt, and pepper, then add stock. Simmer on low, covered for 10 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked off. Serve hot.

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

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Ingredients:

  • 5 lbs of potatoes, grated
  • 3/4 of a cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 small onion, grated
  • Oil for frying

Combine all ingredients. Set griddle to medium heat, or utilize a sauté pan. Use about 2 tablespoons of oil per pancake. Place dollop of batter in pan. Brown each side. Serve hot.

Traditionally these are served with apple sauce, or sour cream.

Chicken Francese

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb. chicken cutlets
  • 1/4 cup of flour, seasoned
  • 3 eggs, seasoned, and beaten
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup of semi sweet wine (I used a Pinot Grigio from Aldi)
  • 1 stick of butter
  • Fresh lemons (about 1/2 a lemon for every three cutlets)
  • Salt, black pepper, and white pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium sided bowl beat eggs, and buttermilk together. Season with salt, and black pepper. Set aside. Place flour in a separate bowl. Season with salt, and black pepper.

Butterfly, and pound cutlets to achieve an even constancy. Dredge cutlets in the seasoned flour mixture, and then egg. Sauté cutlets in large pan starting with a teaspoon of butter, on low/medium heat. Lightly brown on each side. Add butter as needed to cook all cutlets. Once all cutlets are browned, add more butter, and two table spoons of butter. Raise heat, and mix it well. Don’t burn it. Allow roux to thicken, and add white wine. Once the wine cooks off, add stock, and then the chicken back to pan. Add lemon. Simmer for about five minutes, rotating cutlets, until chicken is softened. Season to taste with salt, and white pepper. Serve immediately.

Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of short grain white rice
  • 4 cups of nonfat milk
  • 4 sticks of cinnamon
  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 vanilla bean, split, and scrapped
  • 3/4 of a cup of dark rum
  • 1 cup of golden raisins

Wash rice under cold water, until water is clear. Drain well. Put milk, and cinnamon sticks in a small sauce pan. Bring to a slow boil. Add rice, return to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook for 12-15 minutes, or until al dente (barely soft throughout), stirring occasionally. Add sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla bean. Continue to simmer, covered, over low heat for another 10-15 minutes, or until rice is tender, and sauce has the consistency of heavy cream. Chill in a bowl over an ice bath to stop from cooking.

Place rum, and raisins in a pot. Simmer over low heat, until raisins have plumped, and rum is almost gone. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, fold into chilled rice pudding. Place pudding in the fridge, allow to set. Serve cold, top with a dash of cinnamon.

Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shanks)

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Ingredients:

  • 8-10 large 1 1/2″ thick veal shanks, rinsed, and patted dry
  • All purpose flour (for dredging)
  • 7 tablespoons of butter
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped onions
  • 3/4 of a cup of finely chopped carrots
  • 3/4 of a cup of finely chopped celery
  • 1 teaspoon of minced garlic (fresh, not jarred)
  • 3 1/2 cups of broth (beef, or chicken)
  • 1 1/2 cups of peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato (alt 1 1/2 cups of canned plum tomatoes, drained, chopped)
  • Cheesecloth bag with 6 fresh parsley sprigs, 4 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

For the Gremolata

  • 1/2 cup of minced fresh flat leafed parsley leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of freshly grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

Season the shanks with salt, and pepper. Dredge them in seasoned flour, be sure to shake off any excess flour. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the butter, and 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium/medium high heat. Brown shanks in small batches. Add in additional butter, and oil, as needed. Place the browned shanks (one layer) in a large, deep, ovenproof casserole/banking pan.

Preheat over to 325º F.

In the same skillet, cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter on low heat. Stir occasionally, until the veggies are soft. Create a roux with equal parts fat, and flour. Cook for approx 30 seconds, or until brown while scraping the bottom, and sides of the pan. Add wine, allow to boil, and cook off the alcohol. Continue to scrape, and stir to prevent burning, combine with some of the broth. Pour mixture over browned shanks. Add additional broth which should almost cover the shanks. Spread tomato over shanks, add in the cheesecloth bag. Cover shanks, and place in oven for about 2 hours, or until the veal is tender. Basting, flipping, and rotating as needed.

Remove the shanks from the broth. Keep warm. Discard the cheese cloth bag.

Skim any fat, then put the broth back into sauté pan, make sure you have all the pan drippings. That is where all the flavor is. Bring mixture to boil, allowing to reduce for about 15 minutes. Season with salt, and pepper, as needed.

Baste shanks with reduction. Place back in the over, continue to baste. Bake them for another 10 minutes, or until the shanks are glazed.

Serve with veg, and a starch. See sides page for some great pairing ideas.

Apple-Raisin Bread Pudding

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  • 2 cups of whole milk
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon of salt
  • 7 slices of crustless white bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 3 1/2 cups)
  • 1 large granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2/3 cup raisins
  • Additional ground cinnamon
  • Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter 11″x7″ glass baking dish. Whisk first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Fold in bread, apple, raisins. Pour batter into prepared dish. Bake pudding for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Bake pudding until top is golden, and center is set, about another 35 minutes.

Spoon pudding into bowls. Top with vanilla ice cream, and serve.

Old fashioned Pancakes, with a twist

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  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups of milk
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons of melted butter

The Twist – which can vary depending on what you have available, or what you’re craving! Below are some ideas to add on. Try one item, or multiple at once!

  • Sub 1/2 cup of the flour with protein powder. I love the chocolate, and the kids love the berry
  • Lemon zest (thanks uncle Thom), it adds a nice flavor, and lightens up the cakes
  • 1/2 cup of berries – mixed, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, or whatever is fresh in your area
  • 1 banana, cut in two long ways, and then sliced
  • Chocolate syrup, or coco-powder
  • Strawberry syrup
  • Chocolate candy: from kisses, to M&M’s, to broken up candy bars. They are all great sugar bombs for the littles.
  • Skittles
  • Sprinkles
  • Spices: Pumpkin spice, Cinnamon
  • Extract: 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, almond
  • Marshmallows

In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Then slowly add in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix until you have a smooth constancy.

Heat up pan, or griddle to medium/medium high. Lightly oil, or spray with your favorite nonstick spray. Pour batter, in small batches onto hot surface. Flip once bubbles appear. Brown on both sides, serve hot with maple syrupy, or agave.

Note: if adding in sprinkles, or smaller candy: don’t add into the batter, as they will just disappear, and turn the batter a different color. I prefer to drop on top, after pouring batter onto surface.

8 servings

Don’t have all the ingredients, have a mix, but want to jazz it up? Try sparkling water, or lemon lime soda in place of water. Then add in some the items listed as a twist!