Budget Beef Bourguignon

When the weather cools, and I see football on television, I think of two things; hey, look at the size of that guy's neck, and, this is a great time of year to make stew. This video recipe for Beef Merlot is one of my favorites, and a take-off on the venerable Beef Bourguignon, beef braised in Burgundy wine. Whenever I see wine on sale it always seems to be Merlot. It's usually stacked at the end of the aisle, a tall pyramid of bargain booze. Why Merlot? Is it easier to grow? Have sales gone down because of what that guy said in the movie Sideways? Who knows, but it's usually good quality, and makes a great cooking wine for this stew recipe.

The other trick in this video is putting the stew on top of mashed potatoes, instead of cooking them in the sauce. As I say in the clip, I hate to see little chunks of broken potatoes in this stunningly beautiful sauce. Besides, what's better than mashed potatoes and gravy? And, as far as gravies go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Enjoy!







Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut in 2-inch cubes
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 bay leaf
4 springs fresh thyme
2 cups merlot, or other red wine
2 cups beef broth
mashed potatoes

Pumpkin Pancakes

I know what you're thinking. I'm in the pocket of Big Pumpkin, and have been using so much canned pumpkin lately, not because I like it so much, but because I'm being paid to. I wish! (Big Pumpkin, call me ;-)

No, the truth of the matter is, I'm simply using the time-honored strategy of turning any recipe into a "holiday recipe" by adding some pumpkin. It really does work – whether chili, bread, soup, or cookies – just plop in a spoon or two of pumpkin, and you are in seasonally appropriate heaven!

Here we are taking a very standard pancake recipe, and with the addition of pumpkin, and a few classic pumpkin pie spices, have turned it into what would be a memorable holiday brunch item.

I also have it on very good authority that this works quite nicely as a winter breakfast-for-dinner special. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

 

 
Pumpkin Pancakes Ingredients Mix in one bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 tablespoons brown sugar 
1 tablespoon white sugar 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon table salt Mix in another bowl: 
1 cup pumpkin puree 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
1 egg 
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
2 teaspoon grated lemon zest Combine and make pumpkin pancakes!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

When I was asked to join some of my fellow foodies on YouTube, to produce a video for a special seasonal playlist called “Halloween Sweet Treats,” I sat down and considered all the scary sweets recipes in my repertoire. After several minutes of deep thought, I realized I had nothing. Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but sticking broken pretzels into a marshmallow and calling it a “scary spider,” just isn’t my thing. So, instead of trying to figure out how to make a chocolate truffle look like a bleeding eyeball, I made a batch of pumpkin cinnamon rolls. They may not be scary (what’s the opposite of scary?), but they are seasonal, and incredibly delicious.

I used to joke that when Halloween/Thanksgiving time rolls around, the only thing a chef has to do to make a recipe seasonal is to add some pumpkin to it. Chili with a spoon of pumpkin stirred in? Halloween chili! Dinner rolls with a spoon of pumpkin kneaded into the dough? Thanksgiving dinner rolls! Well, that’s exactly what I did here, and while it may be formulaic, it also produced the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tasted. One key is a nice soft, sticky dough. Be sure to only add enough flour so that the dough just barely pulls away from the side of the bowl as it kneads. You can certainly embellish by adding some chopped walnuts or pecans to the cinnamon-sugar layer, but since I decided to garnish with pumpkin seeds, I went sans nuts. Anyway, despite not being very horrifying, these really would make a special treat at any Halloween party. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
 
Ingredients for 16 Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls:
(I used a deep 13 x 9 baking dish) Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes) 

For the dough:
1 package of dry yeast 
1/4 cup very warm water (about 100-105 degrees F.) 
1/2 tsp white sugar 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) 
1/4 cup heavy cream (can sub milk, but cream is better) 
1 tsp fine salt 1/4 cup melted butter 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp allspice) 
1 large egg 
1/4 cup granulated sugar 
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour (divided), or as needed (add enough flour to mixer so that dough just barely pulls away from sides, and a very soft, slightly sticky dough is formed) *knead for at least 6-7 minutes

Ranch Dressing – "The Ultimate"

After five years, and a few thousand requests, I’m finally posting my “ultimate” ranch dressing recipe. What makes it the “ultimate?” Nothing, except that’s what I’m calling it, and in the world of dips and dressings, that makes it so. By the way, ignore those other roughly 65,000 “ultimate” recipes; this one is the actual “ultimate” ranch dressing. It’s been ages since I made homemade ranch dressing, and I’d forgotten how much better it is than the bottled stuff. Don’t get me wrong; I like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and preservatives as much as the next low-information voter, but this really is significantly more delicious. As you’ll see, I used some crème fraiche (which we showed you how to make in this video), but relax, sour cream will work perfectly. However, I do believe the buttermilk is crucial. That some of my peers are calling their ranch dressings “ultimate” without using buttermilk, really makes me question their grasp of the word “ultimate.” Anyway, hyperbole aside, this really is the best ranch dressing I’ve ever had, and I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!



Ingredients for about 2 cups Ranch Dressing:
1 1/3 cup real mayonnaise 
1/3 cup sour cream or crème fraiche 
1/3 cup buttermilk 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper pinch of cayenne pinch of salt 
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed 
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon 
2 teaspoons sliced fresh chives 
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley 
2 drops Worcestershire sauce

Duck Leg Adobo

If you’ve worked in restaurants before, you know that every night before service the staff sits down to what’s called the “family meal.” One of the younger cooks is usually charged with scraping together something filling and, more importantly, not expensive. It was during one of these meals that I first had adobo. When I worked at the Carnelian Room in the late 80’s, much of the kitchen crew was Filipino, so chicken and pork adobo was a very common dinner. One of the dishwashers made a particularly great version, and I fell in love with the bold, simple flavors. I also remember being pretty annoyed that the dishwashers there were better cooks than I was at the time, but that’s another story. Anyway, I happened to have some duck legs around last week, and all it took was a well-timed email wishing for adobo to inspire this video. I understand that most of you will not use duck for this, but if you do, be sure to save the fat.

Duck fat is prized by chefs, and more heart-healthy than people realize. It can be used for just about anything you’d normally fry in butter or vegetable oil. I roasted some Brussels spouts with mine, but it also will make just about the best homefries you’ve ever tasted. Like I said in the video, no duck, no problem. If you can simmer it in a sauce, it will work in this recipe. Because of the high soy sauce content, be careful about over reducing, but other than that, not much can go wrong. This is cheap, easy, and very flavorful, which is why it makes for such a great “family meal.” Enjoy!
 
Ingredients for 6 duck legs:
6 duck legs (or about same amount of chicken or pork) salt and pepper to taste 
1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp reserved duck fat 1 large onion, sliced 
8 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup seasoned rice vinegar (if not seasoned, use a little sugar to taste) 
1/2 cup soy sauce, or to taste (this is a fairly salty dish, so if you're not into that kind of thing, add less and adjust later) 
1 1/2 cups chicken broth 2 tsp sambal chili sauce, or other hot pepper sauce to taste 2-4 bay leaves

Lemon Berry Tartlets - Puff and Stuff

About 30 years ago, I made puff pastry from scratch in culinary school. It came out really, really well, and I haven’t made it since. Why? Because frozen puff pastry is so readily available, so consistently perfect, and so easy to work with, that the thought of going through all the time and trouble to make my own seems kind of crazy. Of course, that’s a poor attitude for a cook, and one I’ve been fighting against all these years as I convince people that making your own bread, dressings, cheese, crème fraiche, etc. is a worthwhile pursuit. So, eventually I will show you how to make puff pastry, and hopefully somehow reconcile this obvious hypocrisy, but for now, we defrost.

By the way, I realize that berry season is probably over where you live, but fresh California blackberries were still around a few weeks ago when I filmed this video, and so I’m posting it anyway, seasonality be damned. This is really about the technique for making little puff pastry tart shells anyway, and I’m very confident you’ll figure out how to fill them.

Speaking of which, don’t limit your brainstorming to sweet treats. These lovely little cups make for a stellar base for all kinds of savory bites. I’ve filled these with sautéed mushrooms, chicken salads, and smoked salmon, just to name a few. Regardless of what you fill them with, they will be very well received. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 tartlets:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, partially thawed (you should get
12 tartlets if you use a 2-inch cutter like I did)
1 beaten egg 1/3 cup lemon curd, vanilla custard, chocolate mousse, whipped cream, or other appropriate filling
12 fresh blackberries powdered sugar, as needed
*Bake puff pastry at 400 degrees F. for 13-15 minutes, allow to fully cool before filling.

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