Mom's Beef Stew

This is what it says on my recipe card - or rather, my torn, stained and waterlogged scrap of paper I use as a recipe card. Whenever I want to make something from my childhood, I call my mom and scribble it down on whatever paper happens to be close by.

This beef stew is perfect for cold dark autumn and winter nights. It's hearty, simple and oh-so-good. It's also really easy to make because it's only about 7 ingredients and you just throw them all into one big pot. You can also adjust anything you want, based on what you like in a stew. Don't like carrots? No problem! Want mushrooms or tomatoes? Throw 'em in! However, it does take 2.5 hours in the oven, so plan for it. I'm sure this can be done in the crockpot, but I don't know what the timing would be (4 hours on low? 6 hours on high? Any suggestions?)

Serve with some crusty bread and a salad and you're set!

Ingredients:

1 lb cubed or stew beef, trimmed into bite-sized pieces

1 medium onion, cut into chunks

2 large sliced carrots (or 15-20 baby carrots sliced up)

2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 cup ketchup mixed with 1/4 cup water

3-4 TBS worcestershire sauce (depending on how much you like the taste of it. We like a lot!)

Salt & Pepper to taste (optional)

Bay leaf (optional)

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 325. Put everything into a casserole dish with a lid. Pour the liquid all over everything and mix it up so that all the ingredients are coated in sauce. Season with S&P and toss in the bay leaf. Cover the dish in foil and then cover with the lid. Cook 2.5 hours, until the meat falls apart.

What kind of cupcake are you?

I don't normally do quizes, but I couldn't resist this one! And of course, I'm vanilla. It's the finest of the flavors.

The Dozen Cupcakes Quiz

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcake "in this buttery cupcake, vanilla is the star: a delicate swirl of vanilla bean buttercream atop our rich yellow cupcake" You are the average joe, but not in a bad way. You aren't loud or spontaneous, but everybody loves you because you are always there and always welcoming. You are a comforting presence and children love you. And best of all, you look good no matter what color you wear!

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

I'm a wuss

Yup, that's right. I admit defeat. I've run two half-marathons, earned my Masters degree, taken the matrimonial plunge, and backpacked through Europe...yet I'm still intimidated beyond all get out by one teeny little thing:

The iPod Nano. Alex got me this beautiful little item for my birthday and while I am amazed by it, I'm still a little bit terrified. It's so tiny and powerful. What if I break it? I feel like my Zadie must have felt when he first looked at a computer. My old Walkman sits in the corner, rejected and probably very angry with me. He's surely conspiring with my Discman to secretly short-sheet our bed or something.

Now if someone can tell me how this whole iTunes thing works, that would be great!

TWD: "Hot" Chocolate Cupcakes & Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Who doesn't like cupcakes? When Clara from I Heart Food 4 Thought selected Dorie's Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes, I was thrilled. Especially since I would get to bake them for my birthday! Well, it was yesterday, but it was still really fun to bake cupcakes for my birthday like I was a kid again. However, these are a little more grown-up.

Since I've gotten more confident in my baking skills, I was able to look at these cupcakes as a blank canvas - open to possibilities like flavored fillings, different toppings, etc. One of the Nesties on the Money Matters board suggested that I stick an Andes mint in the middle, which was totally brilliant! Alex suggested that I use our Spicy Hot Cocoa for some, which was also brilliant. I bought the Spicy Hot Cocoa at a conference expo in August from an organic fair-trade company and it's absolutely delish.
It added a great chocolaty flavor and spicy heat to my "Hot" Chocolate cupcakes. I also sprinkled in just a little more cayenne to balance out the extra chocolate. For the Chocolate Mint Cupcakes, I pushed one Andes mint down into the batter, and then smoothed it over to cover. I also melted a few Andes mints into the glaze. In the end, the mint in the cupcake didn't melt like I had hoped, so I think next time I might break up little pieces into the batter.

Many of the Dorie bakers said that these cupcakes were dry and there was a lot of speculation on the posting board about the chemistry of flour by volume or weight and butter versus oil. I decided to replace the 1/2 cup of buttermilk with 1/2 cup of plain yogurt to increase moisture. The baking time was also listed at 20-25 minutes, so I tested them at 18 and found that there were done. I'm so glad that we have the Questions and Comments sections on the TWD site. It's been incredibly helpful with all the recipes.

The only things I weren't crazy about was whisking the butter into the glaze (hello tired arms!) and the buttery taste that came as a result. I think that 2 tablespoons were a little too much, flavor wise. The actual butter taste was pretty prominent compared to the chocolate and I didn't like that. The mint glaze didn't have that problem because of the extra candies mixed in, but next time, I might cut down on the butter. Could I possibly say "butter" one more time in a paragraph? Butter. Butter. Butter. Parkay. (anyone? anyone? Bueller?)

Overall, I liked how they were densely fudgey and more adult tasting than everyday fluffy cupcakes. The added yogurt really kept them moist and I'm glad I didn't over bake them. The Andes mint in the middle was fun, and I liked the spicy back-of-the-throat-heat that we got on the "Hot" chocolate ones. I was surprised that I ended up liking the glaze more than I like regular frosting. That's tough for me to admit because I'm a frosting girl all the way! The ganache glaze was rich without being too sweet, and it really upped the sophistication on the cupcakes. Great selection, Clara! I will definitely make these again.

***This will be my last TWD post for a few weeks. That makes me very sad, since I was so excited about baking next weeks Rugelach. I travel for part of my job and most of my November will be spent on the road. I'll be sure to try lots of baked goods along the way and report on the oh-so-exciting life of a grad school recruiter. "Ooooh, this hotel room has cable! Fancy!"

Happy Birthday To Me!

::knock knock::

"Who is it?"

"Hi, it's 30. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here with 31-39, waiting for you. So yeah, we'll see you soon."

"Um, wait, what? No, that's not right. I can't be almost 30. I still feel 17!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. The others really wanted to sneak up and scare you, but I talked them out of it. People don't always welcome us immediately, but I think once you get to know us, you'll change your mind. Enjoy 29, she's really cool. I'll see you next year."

It definitely runs in the family...

What did I tell you? My nephew has mad skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills and now, baking skills.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I was puttering around in the kitchen the other night, making veggie chili, when it struck me how much I adore my tomato paste in a tube. Silly, right? It's a tube of tomato paste, but it makes me so happy. In the past, I used to have a can of paste, open it for a measly teaspoon or two, and then have all that paste just hanging out. Now, I can use what I need, cap it up and toss it in the fridge or freezer.
In honor of my new found love, I'm going to list some of my favorite kitchen things. If I did non-kitchen things, this would be a post about shoes and well...that's not as exciting to everyone as it is to me.


1) My tomato paste! I got it for $1.99 at a local kitchen store that was going out of business.

2) My Bubbie's (grandmother) Kitchen-Aid Mixer. After she died in 2002, my Zadie (grandfather) sent me her mixer because he knew that she wanted it to be in good baking hands! I love using it for all my recipes and it has a place of honor on my counter.



3) My Le Creuset Utensil Crocks - in Red and Blue. I actually went "squeeeee!!!!" when I got these off our wedding registry. They are beautiful crocks for our meat (red) and dairy (blue) cooking utensils. I love having everything in easy reach and they are so darn pretty!



4) One of my biggest kitchen pet-peeves are crappy dishtowels that DON'T DRY ANYTHING! I mean, what's the point? I was so fed up until a wonderful Nestie told me about the Williams Sonoma Bar Mop Towels. Seriously, these things are amazing. They actually dry your dishes, instead of just push the water around. I have 9 of them, and still want more. I do wish they came in other colors, though.

5) Our knives. I love them. All I have to do is lightly touch the skin of a tomato and it slices right open like magic.



6) My dishwasher. See that guy right there? He's the best dishwasher ever :-)



What are your favorite kitchen things?

Top o' the Muffin to Ya! (TWD Pumpkin Muffins)

Everytime I see a muffin, I think of this hilarious commercial

The first time I saw it, I just about spit out my drink.

Anyways, I was very excited to make this weeks TWD recipe. Kelly, from Sounding My Barbaric Gulp, picked this one and it was a good break from the cookies and other crunchy sweets. I've said it before, but I just adore all fall-flavored things (apples, spices, pumpkin, squash, etc). I also love how putting pureed pumpkin into a recipe makes it really moist and yummy. It's all about complimenting it with spices and Dorie's recipe most definintely does that!

During my pre-baking shopping trip, I totally forgot about the buttermilk. The only thing in my fridge was a totally cliched Kosher home staple: non-dairy sour cream.
From the lovely folks at Tofutti, it's a great thing for us to use on chili and other meat meals. I was a little worried how it would affect the muffins, but I shouldn't have worried. The other good thing is that I could make these muffins totally parve if I had the chutzpah to actually use a whole stick of margarine.
I made the first batch with mini-chocolate chips because I liked the flavor combination of the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies, and the second batch with walnuts and a little bit more ginger. I wasn't sure how much to fill the cups because usually you fill cupcakes only 2/3 the way; however, with these muffins, you don't have to worry - fill the cups all the way to the top! I was so happy with the way these came out. So flavorful and spicy with the perfect muffin texture. Check out what other muffin creations the TWD bakers came up with! What can I say? We're just a bunch of muffin top lovers.

One Year Ago Today...

Alex and I met in December 2000, my junior year and his sophomore year, at the University of Maryland. We had both come to an after-party of the Maryland Generics with our friends, and I spotted him across the room. He was tall and adorable, shy and slightly overwhelmed with all the chattering ADPi girls near him. I made my way across the room to meet him and "accidentally" stepped on his foot, just so I could say "Oh, sorry! Hi, I'm Beth." He knew the punchline to my favorite joke* and that just clinched it for me. Our friend, Matt, gave me Alex's AIM information (hey, we were college students? So what?) and I IM'ed him the next day with a few more jokes. IMing lead to lunch at the Bagel Place, which lead to many emails exchanged over winter break. We had our first date in February 2001 and never looked back.

He is my everything. He laughs at my jokes, listens to my stories, rubs my back, compliments my shoes, makes me smile, loves me with all his heart and is the best husband I could have ever wished for. Marriage is a fantastic adventure and I can't wait for more.


*Favorite Joke: What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese!

Operation Baking GALS - you know you want to!

We're all signing up for Round 4, and we'd love more bakers! If you love to bake, but don't really know what to do with all the leftovers, or if you're looking to do your good deed for the day, visit http://www.bakinggals.com/ and sign up. You don't even have to be a talented kitchen goddess! If you can make mix brownies or break n'bake cookies, we want you :-)

It's so easy and it makes the soldiers so incredibly happy. Once you've registered on the Baking GALS site, you can browse through the Teams and pick whichever one you want. The team leader will email you with the mailing information.

This round is going to ship b/w Oct 30-Nov 6. It's only about $8 to ship, and you can fill the package with all sorts of fun Halloween or Thanksgiving related stuff. Some of the soldiers don't have any family to send them care packages, and this might be the only contact they get from home.

C'mon...you know you want to!

http://www.bakinggals.com/

TWD #5 - Lenox Almond Biscotti & Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

I admit it...I'm a total perfectionist when it comes to certain things. If the spacing on a post is off a little bit, it'll bother me until I go back and fix it. So when I whipped up these biscotti on a Sunday afternoon and then proceeded to burn them during the 2nd baking, I knew that I wouldn't be satisfied until I re-did it.

Luckily I got out of work early on Monday. While I was driving home, I passed by a Starbucks and thought "Mmmm...pumpkin spice latte" which lead to "Mmmm...I bet pumpkin spice biscotti would be awesome" which then lead to "Wait, I bet I can buy some pumpkin spice syrup at Starbucks!" I banged a youie (as we Bostonians call it) and ran into buy some syrup.

It only cost me $.32 cents and little bit of dignity as I realized that my blue sweater and khaki pants exactly matched the uniforms of the private middle school kids that were milling around the shopping center. Nothing like feeling 13 years old again.

I was very excited to make biscotti for this weeks TWD. If you've read my blog, then you might have read about my Bubbie's Mandel Bread recipe, which is a family favorite. It's pretty much like a biscotti, but with a cinnamon and sugar coating. Dorie's recipe was familar enough to relax me, which is probably why I burned the first batch. I don't know why she included cornmeal in the batter, but I don't question what tastes good. And it does!!

After reading the comments by the other posters on the site, I only added 1 tsp of almond extract and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. I like a good almond flavor, but I didn't want to overpower them. However, before I mixed in the flavors, I put a little of the batter aside to make the pumpkin spice ones. This was a bit of trial and error, with the Starbucks creepy orange syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. I also chilled the batter and lightly oiled my hands (like I do for Mandel Bread) in order to mold it easily. The batter does spread, but that's what makes the final product long and lean - like biscotti should be.

The Lenox Almond ones had a really light and sweet flavor and I knew they'd be great dunked in coffee or chocolate. I had to add about 3-4 tsp of the pumpkin syrup to my other batter in order for the flavor and color to show, but it really came out once I tossed in the spices. They had a spicy light pumpkin flavor that I really liked. And the orange color is pretty cool. I highly recommend kitchen experimentation! It's a new concept to me, as I'm usually too much of a perfectionist to go off-recipe, but so far my experiments have turned out well. I will definitely make these again! I think I'll even swing by Starbucks for more syrup flavors :-)

I nibbled quite a few pieces from start to finish, so these non-burnt and actually quite pretty biscotti are going to work tomorrow with Alex. To see how the other TWD bakers fared, check out the blogroll here! This recipe was chosen by Gretchen, of Canela & Comino. Please visit her blog for the delicious and easy recipe.

Kunafa (A scrumptious Arab pastry)

I'm always up for a baking challenge! This past Yom Kippur, my sister-in-law, Mariel, decided that she wanted to bake a really yummy Arab pastry that she had eaten in Jordan last summer. She drove all around Towson looking for a Middle Eastern market in order to buy some of the unique ingredients, such as Rose Water and kataifi (shredded phyllo dough). After all this effort, how could I not want to help her make this? We had to make a few modifications to the filling, since we didn't have farmers cheese. Mariel has this awesome Arab cookbook and they had a short blurb on how their Arab-American friends mix it up with some ricotta, powdered sugar and milk.

Kunafa is a really delicious dessert: layers of buttery sweet shredded dough baked over a sweet cheese filling, covered with rose water flavored sugar syrup and salty pistachios. I have a special place in my heart (and stomach) for all Middle Eastern foods and I couldn't wait to try this.

Ingredients
Dough:
Kataifi (found in Middle Eastern or Greek markets)
1/2 lb clarified butter (instructions to follow)

Sugar Syrup:

1 - 2 tsp Rose Water (if you can't find it, vanilla flavoring would be okay, I think)
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water

Filling:
32 oz ricotta cheese
2 TBS whole milk
3-4 TBS powdered sugar

Chopped pistachios (optional)
Red food coloring (optional)

Instructions:

Clarified Butter
This is butter that has all the milk solids removed. Melt the stick of butter in a saucepan, over medium heat. Be careful not to let the butter brown. Once all the butter has completely melted, removed it from the heat and let the pan sit for 3 minutes. Then, using a spoon, carefully remove the frothy layer on top. The golden liquid underneath is the clarified butter.

Syrup:
In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, mix the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and let it simmer to a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat, let cool and add rosewater or vanilla.

Filling:

Mix the ricotta with milk and powdered sugar. At this point, you can add either vanilla or rose water to this filling mixture, if you would like a little extra flavor. I sprinkled on the rose water because I was so fascinated with it.

Dough:
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter either a 12-inch round cake pan or a 12-inch baking dish. Some people mix a drop or two of the red food coloring with the butter to give the kunafa a pink tinge, but this is optional.
Take the kataifi and place it on a large cutting board. Using a knife, gently break it up into smaller pieces, about 1/2 inch long or so. Put it all into a large bowl and pour the melted clarified butter on top. Using your hands, gently mix the butter and kataifi together, so all the pieces are well coated. This is messy, so have a towel nearby!

Take 1/2 the buttered dough and press it gently into your pan, being sure to evenly cover the bottom and up the sides. Spread the cheese mixture onto the dough, and then cover with the remaining dough. Press down gently. Bake until golden, 30-40 minutes.

Let it cool completely to room temperature. Invert onto serving plate, and drizzle the cooled syrup all over it. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios, slice and serve!

No TWD for me

Sorry, folks, I just couldn't bring myself to make the amazingly drool-worthy Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie cake. It looks so delicious, and I knew that I would want to eat the whole thing. I've been doing really well with my WW points (so close to my goal!!) and this could be my downfall.
I love caramel. I love brownies. I love peanuts. Put them all together, and well...I'd probably want to marry this cake. Sorry, Alex.

I'll be back to baking next week! For the tantalizing results of the other bakers, check out the blogroll here.

Wok and Roll! General Tsao's Chicken

Who was General Tsao? Why did he love chicken so much? I'm not sure, but I do love this dish - all crispy and tangy with delicious chicken inside. There is a great Kosher Chinese restaurant near my job and I used to order it everytime I went. Until....Weight Watchers. Did this mean I had to give up my (and Alex's) favoritest dish? NOPE!!!!!

I was so excited to try this recipe and it did not disappoint. It was really easy and quick, as well. It took me about 25 minutes from start to finish, not including the 10 extra minutes I spent waiting for the rice to finish in the cooker. The chicken is still tender, and the sauce is tangy/sweet, with a slow heat that made my tongue tingle. It sounds dirty, but it's not...just yummy.

It's only 6 points per serving, too! Thanks General Tsao! I love you, man.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup canned chicken broth

1.5 TBS cornstarch

2 TBS sugar

2 TBS light soy sauce

1 TBS white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp peanut oil (I used vegetable)

2 scallions, chopped

2 medium garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I used 1 whole tsp b/c Alex likes it spicy!)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked, and cut into 2-inch cubes (I'm sure you could use dark meat if you wanted)

2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

In medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Set aside.

Using a wok or medium sized skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add in scallions, garlic, and pepper flakes, cooking for about 2 minutes.

Add chicken, toss to coat with oil, and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Mix up the sauce again (it will have settled) and then pour it over the chicken. Simmer and allow to thicken while the chicken finishes cooking, about 3 minutes.

Serve sauce and chicken over the rice. Serving size is 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup chicken/sauce (6 delicious points)

Blintzes, and Blintzes and More Blintzes...oh my!

That's right, 135 blintzes to be exact. I spent today with my great Aunt Shirley and my cousins Pam and Erin, making piles and piles of blintzes for the upcoming Yom Kippur break-fast meal. Ironic, no? We bake and cook furiously for a day of fasting. Gotta love it! People will almost always have a light dairy meal after breaking the fast, because even though you're beyond hungry, you can't eat nearly as much as you wish you could. It's the classic Eyes Bigger Than Stomach problem.
I had a blast learning how to make blintzes, but by the end of the day, I felt like I had butter and Crisco all over me and my clothes. I guess this is how a short order cook feels at the end of a shift!
If you've never had a blintz, then you're missing out! It's similar to a crepe, but made in a totally different manner. The basic blintz is a thin pancake filled with a variety of fillings - sweet cheese, blueberries, strawberries, really anything your little heart desires.
I don't have my Aunt Shirley's recipe, so I grabbed a very similar one off the internet. The batter is a simple mixture that you can whir up in your blender quite quickly. Don't be intimidated by the idea of making crepes; it's really quite easy once you get the hang of it. Warning, this is NOT a WW friendly recipe!

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons, approximately, sweet (unsalted) butter

A stick of butter for buttering the pan

Filling:

Sweet Cheese:

1 1/2 cups farmer cheese

2 cups cottage cheese

1/4 cup sugar

cinnamon to taste

2 TBS flour (optional)

For fruit fillings, you can just use a basic preserves with big pieces of fruit. Blueberry is my personal favorite, but anything tastes good in a blintz!

Instructions:

Put all the batter ingredients into a blender and whiz together until well-blended. Transfer to a large bowl. Line your countertop with a clean dishtowel.

Heat a small skillet (8-inches) over medium-low heat. When it's hot, grease the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of butter (or you can use Crisco).
Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the hot pan, swirl it around so that the batter covers the whole bottom, and then pour the excess back into the waiting batter bowl. The batter should be thin enough to almost see the pan through it before it sets.

After a minute or so, slowly loosen the edges of the pancake to see if it's browned on the bottom. If not, let it cook for another minute.

Once the pancake is set, turn the pan over the dish towel so the pancake comes out, browned side up. Repeat until you have used all the batter. The pancakes cool very quickly and you can stack them up without sticking.

Making the Filling:

In a food processor, process the cheeses and sugar until smooth. If too liquid, add the flour to thicken.

Stuffing the Blintz:

Take the pancake, browned side up, and spoon a generous spoonful of your filling onto the edge. Roll up the filling, twice, and then tuck in the sides. Continue rolling as if it were a burrito, and place on a waiting baking sheet.

If you want to freeze them, they will keep well for a few months, even up to a year if you do it correctly. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay them on it, not touching. Put them in the freezer overnight until they are frozen, and then you can pack them in bags or plastic containers.

Cooking the Blintz:

Some people let them defrost, some people just put the frozen ones right onto a pan. It's really up to you! Grease a skillet with a little bit of oil or butter, and cook them until they are golden brown and crispy on each side. Treat them very very gently when cooking them, b/c the pancakes tear easily. Serve with sour cream, apple sauce, or anything else you think will taste good.
Seriously, the possibilities are endless! Traditional blintzes are sweet cheese, but its fun to be creative: blueberry with lemon sauce, apple cinnamon with caramel sauce, cherry with sour cream....mmmmm....