beef

Dinner Divas Weekly Menu Plan: Week 17

August 11, 2017

Dinner. How many of you have stood in front of an open refrigerator trying to figure it out? You’re not alone. In other words, I’m guilty of this as well. It’s not always easy and therefore, we tend to get in a rut. Our primary goal is to make dinner a stress-free endeavor by giving you menu ideas every week. I fell off the wagon myself and now, I’m trying to get organized again. I know many of you have kids back in school, which means that organization is paramount. So, let’s do this!

How it works: Every Friday morning, a new meal plan will show up in your email. It will consist of 5 dinner options, plus 2 extras. Those two extras could be side dishes, dessert, drinks, etc. The Dinner Divas weekly menu plans will feature (mostly) healthy, seasonal foods that don’t take all day to prepare. Getting the weekly menu delivered to your inbox on Friday morning gives you the chance to make your shopping list and get organized for the week ahead. I’d love to hear from you & see your creations! Post a pic using #DinnerDivas and tag @pookspantry! I hope this weekly menu plan provides inspiration and makes life a little easier… one meal at a time.

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Espresso Bourbon Steak & Grilled Sweet Potatoes

July 31, 2017

Steak sizzling away on a hot grill is my kryptonite. It will (and has) stopped me dead in my tracks, prompting me to fill my nostrils with that delicious aroma. Brush on a simple espresso and bourbon glaze and you have just upped your grill game exponentially.

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Dinner Divas: Week 15 – 30 Minute Meals

July 28, 2017

30 minute meals. When I ask my people on Facebook what they’d like to see more of, that is the Number One Request. I get it, we are all busy and tired. The thought of standing in the kitchen for an hour after a long work day doesn’t appeal to many people. This week, the Dinner Divas have put together a week’s worth of 30 minute meals.

30 MINUTE MEALS

First up this week is Pastry Chef Online’s Pasta with easy Creamy Marinara (or Vodka) Sauce. This is the perfect way to ease into the week. Check out the secret ingredient in her sauce!

Next is this amazing Korean BBQ Rice Bowl from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. This is exactly what I crave after a long day. A few minutes the night before to prepare a marinade and the rest comes together in a snap. Bring on those spicy flavors and pickles!

The following day brings us to midweek with One Pan Greek Beef Pasta from The Chef Next Door. I love the flavors in this filling one pan meal!

Next is my Queso Fundido Chicken. Although it might be about 35 minutes from start to finish, I hope you’ll forgive the 5 minutes over the time limit because it’s worth it! Pull out some leftover rice or veggies that are hiding in the fridge and your meal is complete.

Last, but certainly not least is 15 minute Weeknight Pasta from Comfortably Domestic. This is a great recipe to have in your back pocket for those nights when you have very little time or energy.

Finally, we’ve come to the end of the week and that means dessert. This week, we have two incredible sweets to fulfill that craving.

This Salted Caramel Turtle Fudge Swirl Ice Cream is my sweet tooth’s dream. Pastry Chef Online is an ice cream genius.

The last dessert this week are Mini Walnut Cinnamon Buns. These would be a perfect weekend treat, thanks to the Chef Next Door!

Thank you for joining us this week! We hope these 30 minute meals help make the week a little easier… one meal at a time.

The Dinner Divas

Instant Pot Shiner Bohemian Black Lager Beer Beef Chili

March 7, 2017

Chili. It’s a crowd pleaser for a reason and it just got even better. With the addition of dark beer and an Instant Pot, it’s magical. Chili that tastes like it lazily simmered away half of the afternoon in 30 minutes.

My original intention with this chili was bison instead of ground beef, however I didn’t embrace the idea of a $12 serving of chili. When did that happen? I’m used to paying a little more for food, but the price of bison has gone up quite a bit since the last time I purchased it. Once I regained my composure and the mothers of young children took their hands away from the delicate little ears, I set off toward the ground beef.

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Picadillo (Cuban-Style Hash)

November 12, 2016

Picadillo is Spanish for “hash” (or “mince”). Essentially, this is a Cuban version of the good old American mélange, eaten on its own or used as a filling for empanadas. Spanish influences, specifically Andalusian, are obvious due to the addition of olives and raisins. Picadillo is often served topped with hard-cooked or fried eggs and is usually accompanied by fried plantains.

Where are my fellow chile heads?!
Although I love peppers, I’m not one of those crazy people that shoves whole habaneros in her mouth… funny story about that, actually.
The year was 1993 and I was living in Guadalajara, México. I was a student at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara and a group of us were out strolling the Mercado Libertad, which is a huge multi-level market. It houses everything from food to shoes to flowers. Here we are, a bunch of 20 year old kids walking around with eyes popping out of our heads. This was the first time most of us had been on our own in a foreign country. We happened upon this vendor of chiles. You know where this is going, don’t you?! A girl in our group stated that she could handle really spicy food and was going to buy a few peppers. We tried (in vain) to warn her that these were seriously hot and she shouldn’t pop the entire thing into her mouth. Let’s just that the afternoon took a turn… to the Emergency Room! I guess I shouldn’t have said a “funny” story, just “a story”.

I’m not one to eat a whole habanero, but I do enjoy a little heat. The kind that makes your lips and tongue tingle, not the kind that feels like someone lit a match on them. I seem to have a higher tolerance for heat than some, which means that I may not be the best person to ask if something is spicy. We burn through jars and jars of chile paste like it’s going out of style (I assure you, it is NOT). Most of the spicy food we eat happens to be Asian. Bowls of noodles in fiery broth are my happy place. Food from Latin America is a close second and for good reason: I’m married to a Texan, I used to live in Mexico and we currently live in Florida. I chose this particular recipe to share because I love picadillo. I know, I’m totally selfish. I make big batches of this delicious filling to make empanadas. The saltiness of the olives with the sweetness of the raisins is really good.

My very favorite thing about this book is its inclusion of food from around the globe. I love exploring cultures through food and this book is a peek into how chile peppers really are a global ingredient. It’s fun to try new recipes and flavors, especially when the recipes are so varied and enticing!

Below is a short list of some of the 250 recipes you’ll find in this book. I have my eye on the Spinach and Tomato Dal next… What would be your first choice?
– Middle Eastern Walnut Dip (Middle East)
– Castilian Garlic Soup (Spain)
– Chinese Hot and Sour Mushroom Soup (China)
– Paella (Spain)- Tagine of Chicken with Apricots (N. Africa)
– Cuban style hash (Cuba)
– Original San Antonio Chili (US)
– Indonesian-Style Fried Rice (SE Asia)
– Cape Verde Sausage Stew (Africa)
– Spinach and Tomato Dal (Indian)
– Calabrese-Style Fried Potatoes with Peppers (Italian)
– Thai-Style Grilled Chile Salsa (Thai/SE Asia)
– Kimchi (Korea)
– Mexican-Style Tomato Juice – (Mexico)
– Chile-Spiked Chocolate Pots – (French)

Picadillo (Cuban-Style Hash)

2016-11-09 11:50:18

Serves 4

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Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 each - red and green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1⁄2 habanero pepper, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1⁄4 lbs lean ground beef
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
1 piece (2 inches/5 cm long) cinnamon stick
1⁄4 cup dry sherry
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomatoes, with juice
1⁄2 cup dark raisins
12 large pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For Garnish

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, red and green bell peppers, habanero pepper and garlic and stir well. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 10 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Add oregano, cumin and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add sherry and cook, stirring, until almost all of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and juice, and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in raisins, olives, and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook until olives are heated through, about 1 minute.
Transfer to a large deep serving platter. Sprinkle chopped eggs over top. Garnish with parsley. Serve hot.

Notes

Gluten-Free Friendly!

Tips

You can substitute Cubanelle peppers for the red and green bell peppers if you like.
I have used a habanero here because these peppers are common throughout the Caribbean, and I like the slightly fruity flavor they impart to this dish. However, it may be more common to find picadillo made with jalapeño peppers, even though purists suggest that jalapeños are not used in Cuban cooking. Both chiles do a fine job of bringing heat to this dish, so use whatever is easiest or suits your taste. If you’re using jalapeños, you’ll need 1 to 2.
Instead of garnishing the entire dish with chopped eggs, transfer individual servings to warm soup plates or deep bowls and top each with a fried egg. Garnish liberally with parsley.

By Judith Finlayson

Adapted from The Chile Pepper Bible

Pook's Pantry https://www.pookspantry.com/

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You can find Judith on Pinterest, Facebook & Instagram!

This recipe has been reprinted courtesy of The Chile Pepper Bible: From Sweet & Mild to Fiery & Everything in Between by Judith Finlayson © 2016 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission. Available where books are sold. I received one copy compliments of the publisher. No other compensation was received. Links to the book are affiliate links.

If you’d like a chance to win a copy The Chile Pepper Bible of your own, make sure to enter the giveaway below! Thanks to the publishers Robert Rose for providing a copy for the giveaway. It is open to US and Canadian residents!

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Food Wine Conference 2016 Recap #FWCon

May 23, 2016

Where do I even begin? This past weekend was a whirlwind.

I arrived in Orlando on Thursday afternoon so I could spend some much needed time with old friends before the conference went into full-swing. There were so many hugs and smiles followed by raucous laughter, eating and drinking. Some of my friends I actually know in real life and some of them I met IRL for the first time last week. We “talk” to each other every week online, in groups on facebook, through emails, etc. But we are spread out across the globe, so we rarely have the opportunity to see each others faces and just hang out and talk like friends do. That was the absolute highlight of my weekend. “Meeting” people I have adored for years and finally getting to wrap my arms around them.

Work Hard, Play Hard

This year, I was a brand ambassador for Idaho Potato and I have to tell you, it was a match made in (potato) heaven. I spent the majority of my weekend with the folks from Idaho Potato and I had a blast with them. They were some of the most wonderful people I have ever met in my life. Here’s evidence of how much fun we had –
See those awesome potato gloves in the top right? Part of my swag bag from them… I love them! And Don & Linda!!! The people from Famous Idaho Potatoes know how to have a good time!

Thank A Farmer

One of the sessions I enjoyed most was our sponsors speaking about farming. As you know, I grew up in a rural community and I was fortunate enough to be aware of the source of my food. I was surrounded by local farms and many of my classmates were farm kids, so the sight of dirt-caked boots is not unfamiliar. One common theme from each of the sponsors: Idaho Potato, Certified Angus Beef, Cabot, CK Mondavi and Florida Strawberry Growers Association was their passion and commitment. Dan from Idaho Potato said something that really rang true : “You have to love what you do to be a farmer”. There is so much care and love that goes into what they do everyday and the amount of work that it entails to produce what they raise/grow on their farms is staggering.

Friendships, New & Old, are Good for the Soul

So Much Fun with these Gals! Copious amounts of food (and drinks!) were consumed this past weekend, all with these beauties by my side. This really is the BEST part of the conference for me. It’s not all play… we’re WORKING! It might look like we are just hanging out and having fun all the time (and we kinda are), but we are also talking shop most of the time. How to grow our blogs, what photo editing program works best for us, what we learned in the session we just attended, etc. Oh, and pass the margaritas, please…

Oui, Chef!

On Sunday, there was a cooking competition. We had a handful of mystery ingredients and had about 10 minutes to figure out what to do with them. There was Certified Angus ground beef, Fingerling Idaho Potatoes, Blueberries from Wish Farms, wine from CK Mondavi and cheese from Cabot, a tomato based vinaigrette dressing and a sweet and spicy sauce… Everything had to used and the focus of our dish had to be blueberries. We put our heads together and came up with a menu, I was nominated to cook (I had 15 minutes!) and then make 3 identical plates. It was a little crazy, but we pulled together and made it happen with time to spare!

Here are a few more shots from this amazing weekend!
From making facial masks with Greek yogurt to dressing up for our Denim and Diamonds bash, a great time was most certainly had by all!

A huge thank you to Idaho Potatoes for making my first experience as a Brand Ambassador so fantastic! They provided an AMAZING lunch for us and were gracious enough to give me links to the recipes so I could share them with all of you!!!

Thai Curry Idaho Potato Soup https://idahopotato.com/recipes/thai-curry-idaho-potato-soup

Carnitas & Potato Hash: https://idahopotato.com/recipes/dos-caminos-carnitas-and-idaho-potato-hash-1

Penne with Arugula Pesto, Idaho Red Potatoes and Spring Vegetables: https://idahopotato.com/recipes/penne-with-arugula-pesto-idaho-red-potatoes-and-spring-vegetables

Potato Cakes with Mint Chutney: https://idahopotato.com/recipes/potato-cakes-with-mint-chutney

Salmon Calcutta with Idaho Fingerling Potatoes: https://idahopotato.com/recipes/salmon-calcutta-with-idaho-fingerling-potatoes

Chocolate Potato Donuts with Creme Anglaise: https://idahopotato.com/recipes/chocolate-potato-donuts-with-creme-anglaise

Idaho Potato Pound Cake: https://idahopotato.com/recipes/idaho-potato-pound-cake-gluten-free

Italian Sausage and Peppers Burger #BurgerMonth

May 6, 2016

When I realized that after 5 years of doing this blog, I didn’t have a single burger recipe on here, well… you can imagine my dismay. I have failed. In an attempt to make it up to you, I made a burger with the flavors of Italian sausage and peppers.
My most awesome carnivorous friend, Kita of Girl Carnivore put this epic #BurgerMonth event together and this is my contribution.

It’s the quintessential Brooklyn street fair food. There are food trucks at every single fair or festival selling that spicy sweet mix of sausage, peppers and onions. The scent of it wafting through the air brings back memories of walking through booths of games, cotton candy vendors and frozen lemonade stands.

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Franklin Barbecue

January 10, 2014

It’s a rather unassuming-looking place, isn’t it? Don’t let that fool you. The incredible things that happen on this little corner down a nondescript side street will blow your mind.

We all have those places on our “food bucket list” that we hope we will be able to get to someday. One of mine was Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas. It is the epitome of what barbecue should be. Smoky, full of flavor and soft as butter. The brisket was so tender I nearly wept, the ribs literally fell off the bone when picked up… This was it, this was what I had been waiting for.

It was our first stop on the “Tour de Tex”. We had checked the website and unfortunately found that due to the holiday schedule, there was only day they would be open while we were in Texas. So, here is how it went: We woke up at 3:45 in the morning, got on a plane to San Antonio (our original destination), went straight to the rental car place from baggage claim, made an hour long drive on a wing (or a rib) and a prayer to arrive at Franklin Barbecue by 11:45 am. If this seems like a reasonable time to arrive, you’d be mistaken. The line started at 8:00am, which means we were pretty far back and it wasn’t looking good for us.

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Praise the Braise…

December 23, 2011

It’s no secret that winter is my least favorite season, however it does get serious bonus points for the kind of cooking that it ushers in… the braise! Culinary comfort, the only real benefit of freezing temperatures.

Braises are perfect for winter. It’s a long, slow process (which is how winter feels to me) and it is usually comfort food cooking. What is a “braise” exactly? In its most basic definition, it’s cooking something (usually meat) in a liquid (usually stock, wine or a combination thereof) for a long period of time on a low heat. Most often, braises are tough cuts of meat that benefit from long, slow cooking turning them into the most succulent and flavorful of meals.

Another benefit of braising is, it’s easy. Many braises are one-pot meals, some with a side of starch (and we all know how I love that…) which means you aren’t left with an entire sink of dirty dishes, something else I can really appreciate.

I have a particular pot that I use for braises, it is a Le Creuset enameled cast-iron pot. I have had this pot for almost 15 years. It has made hundreds of meals and looks almost the same as the day I bought it. This is one very good example of “you get what you pay for”. These are expensive, but it is something you only buy once.

I wanted to do a post about braising and was searching for short ribs that would make the cut. It took some time, but I found locally raised organic meat with beautiful marbling and so in went the ribs… deciding what to put with them was easy. I had been craving rutabaga, which I know is not something you hear everyday, so once I had my veggies I was ready to get this braise going.

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