JBug's Kitchen Antics

Ina's Beef Bourguignon

If you're thinking there's nothing new in the zoo about a stew, you haven't tasted this one. 

Ina Garten's version of beef bourguignon is loaded with all the stuff a good stew contains including bacon, well browned chunks of beef and a flavorful base of onions, garlic and carrots but it really is put together in a rather beautiful way. Braised in a sea of red wine and beef stock in a low oven for several hours, pearl onions and sauteed mushrooms are added at the very end of the cooking time for an amazing treat of varied textures and flavors. 

I'll admit I made a few changes to the recipe so be sure to hit the link and head direct to the source for the original.  Personally, I like a thicker, more intensely flavored braise so I used only half the red wine called for and substituted canned beef consomme for the beef stock. I didn't use cognac to flame my veggies either before reintroducing the meat to the pot, mostly because I didn't have any on hand; however, I finished the stew with a glug of dry marsala and boy did it ever pick up the flavor. Served as Ina suggested on a bed of crispy toasted garlic bread, it is absolutely knock your socks off delicious. 

The best part as far as I'm concerned is there's no way on earth you could make it in anything but a nice big heavy Dutch oven in a low slow oven so it cooks for hours and warms the house with lovely aromas. In other words to be perfectly blunt, it won't work worth a darn in one of those electric slow cooker contraptions so don't even go there. Just sayin'. 

Beef Bourguignon (from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Ina Garten, foodnetwork.com)

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound thick cut applewood smoked bacon, diced

3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1 pound carrots cut into 1 inch pieces

2 large onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups good red wine (I used Cabernet)

1 – 10 ounce can beef consommé

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoon butter, divided

1 – 12 ounce package frozen pearl onions, thawed & drained

1 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered

2 tablespoons instant blending flour mixed with 1/4 cup water

1/3 cup dry marsala wine

Preheat oven to 300. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium low heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon begins to crisp. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Increase heat to medium high. Dry beef with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper. Brown in batches on all sides, removing to a bowl when done. Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from Dutch oven. Add carrots and onions and cook until onions begin to turn brown. Add garlic and cook additional 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Return beef and bacon to the pot. Add wine, consommé, tomato paste and thyme leaves. Heat to boiling, then cover and place into oven for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until vegetables and meat are very tender. Remove pot from oven and place on low heat.

Heat a large sauté pan and when hot add butter. Add pearl onions and sauté until golden. Add onions to beef. Reheat sauté pan with butter and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms have given off moisture and are golden brown. Add to beef. Mix together flour and water and stir into pot. Bring pot to a low simmer and cook until sauce has thickened, stirring often (about 5 minutes). Stir in marsala wine and cook another minute. Serve over toasted garlic bread.  Makes 6 servings. 

A year ago - Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding

Two years ago - Pasta with Duck and Cranberries

 

Butter and Salt Jammers

 What do muffins, cupcakes and cookies have in common? Are you stumped? They're all made in the same kind of pan. I tell you no lie.  

 

Imagine my surprise when I saw these fabulous cookies on one of my favorite blog sites "Dinner With Julie". Thanks to her, I gave these beauties a try. Never mind that she's a trusted source, but the kicker is these "Beurr et Sel Jammers" are created by Dorie Greenspan herself and I happen to adore that woman and admire her kitchen talents.

Now, picture little balls of shortbread dough pushed into the bottom of muffin tins, topped with jam and finished with a buttery salty streusel. Baked until golden, the only difficult part about making the darn things is the wait until they're barely lukewarm so you can take 'em out of the pan. I solved that little issue though. I made mine in silicone muffin forms (I can't in all conscience as a Canadian call them a pan or a tin because they're not)...and when they came out of the oven, I shoved them in the freezer for 10 minutes so they cooled PDQ and they popped out quick and easy like nobody's business.  I mean why wait?

The rich and tender little morsels of buttery bliss keep beautifully in an airtight tin, given they hang around long enough. Personally, I think they rival Dorie's Apple Cake (here) for her very best ever, though you can take that with a grain of salt because I'm still working on making "all" of her other creations. I'm going to be at it for a while. Just sayin'. 

Incidentally, I did what Julie suggested and instead of rolling the dough out and cutting it to fit the cups, I dropped a little morsel into the bottom of the pan and pressed it in with a floured glass. I put them in the freezer to firm up, then finished 'em with jam and streusel before they hit the oven. 

If you haven't made these cookies yet, you absolutely have to give them a try. They're amazing!

Beurre et Sel Jammers from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Dorie Greenspan via Dinner with Julie)

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter, sugars and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour and stir just to combine. Form one inch balls and press into bottom of muffin tins. Freeze for 10 minutes or until very firm.

Streusel:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

5 tablespoons hard butter, cubed

Combine flour, sugar, salt and vanilla. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Set aside.

To finish cookies:

Chunky jam (I used raspberry)

Preheat oven to 350. Remove muffins tins from freezer and using a teaspoon, drop a small spoonful of jam into the center of each cookie. Surround the jam with streusel crumbs leaving jam uncovered. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool in pans then remove from pan.  Makes about 2 dozen.

A year ago - Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage and Bechamel

A year ago - Sun Dried Tomato Pesto on Halibut

Two year's ago -  Fettucini Alfredo with Crab

Quiche Lorraine

I'm really tempting fate by calling this what it is instead of simplifying the moniker and renaming it a bacon and onion pie; however, Big Guy enjoyed it so much last night I figured he'd cut me a little slack. I keep telling him real men do eat quiche and he's living proof.

A JBug original recipe, we've made it before using Ham and Swiss but this time it's loaded with all manner of other good stuff including some of our home cured bacon. I changed it up a bit too by using Jarlsburg cheese instead of regular Swiss but the cheese was lite instead of whole milk which means it didn't melt quite like it should but the flavor was still stupendous, the texture light and fluffy and the crust as crisp as could be.

In case you're wondering how I could reinvent a common quiche of all things, I use half and half instead of heavy cream and add plain unflavored no fat yogurt with the eggs to make the custard - oh, that and the fact it's made in a giant 12 inch fluted porcelain quiche dish. 

Should you be using a regular 9 inch quiche pan, just cut the recipe in approximately half. Oh, by the way I've said this before but I'll say it again - if you're looking for a light fluffy texture to your finished pie, be sure to cube the cheese rather than grating it. Also in order to avoid a soggy crust, be sure to pre-bake and cool it on a wire rack before adding the filling. You'll be amazed with the results!  

It's a great dinner solution along with a crisp salad, and best of all - the leftovers make for memorable lunch fodder too - hot or cold or a fabulous appetizer cut into tiny little triangles and served cold with a glass of white wine. 

A Giant Ham and Swiss Quiche an original from JBug’s Kitchen

Pastry for a 12 inch single crust pie

1 large onion, finely chopped

6 ounces bacon diced

1/2 pound Jarlsburg quarter inch cubes

6 eggs

1-1/2 cups half and half

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425. Arrange pastry in a large 12 inch ceramic pie dish, flute edges and prick all over bottom of pie shell with a fork. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375.

Cook bacon in a large saute pan until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Reserving 1 tablespoon bacon fat, disgard the rest then saute onion until softened and slightly golden. Cool. Whisk together eggs, half and half, yogurt, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg until well combined.

Arrange bacon in bottom of cooled crust. Top with cooled sautéed onion and cheese cubes, spreading out evenly. Pour custard over top and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

A year ago - Sausage and Pinto Bean Chili 

Two year's ago - Braised Beef and Olives

Croque-Madame

I'm convinced there's no such thing as a bad sandwich, but there sure are some that are better than others. Leave it to the French to come up with this one because it blows any other grilled ham and cheese right smack out'a the water.

I've been meaning to make it again for some time and while we've also enjoyed the Monsieur version, in this case the feminine far outdoes the masculine which is as it should be. I mean aren't we also the ones that can do more than one thing at a time AND know how to ask for directions? Boy, am I gonna' be in trouble for that one. LOL

This sandwich starts with a cheesy white sauce slathered on soft bread slices, followed by Dijon mustard, shaved ham, and grated swiss. By the way, I used Madrigal which is France's version of Swiss. Grilled until golden in a touch of butter, topped with more white sauce and finished under the broiler, it's crowned with a fried egg with a soft runny yolk. It's the ultimate knife and forker..a superlative dinner for one along with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Life is good!

Croque Madame (adapted from Gourmet)

2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1-1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

dash salt & pepper

dash freshly grated nutmeg

2/3 cup grated Swiss cheese (I used Madrigal)

 

4 slices firm sandwich bread

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 pound thinly sliced ham

2 large eggs

Sauce – melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook whisking for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil stirring constantly. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat stirring every now and then. Turn heat off. Add cheese and stir until melted. Set aside.

Heat a non stick skillet over medium heat. Spread mustard over 2 bread slices, top with ham, then grated cheese. Spread 1-1/2 Tablespoons of sauce over last slice of cheese and invert to make sandwich. Brown in 1 tablespoons of butter in a hot skillet. Remove to baking pan and add 1/3 cup sauce on top of each sandwich. Place under broiler to brown. When sauce is bubbling and golden transfer pan to bottom of the oven and turn off broiler. Reheat skillet and quickly cook 2 eggs leaving the yolks quite runny. Top each sandwich with an egg. Serve with knife, fork and salad on the side!

Makes 2 sandwiches.  Download Croque Madame