Stout-braised beef short ribs

My mom has become famous for this recipe, and I wish I could say she created it out of thin air or from some old family recipe, but that’s not the case. Mom found the recipe in a newspaper, but because I don’t know what paper that was, and it was years ago, I give the credit to mom. Thanks mom.

This recipe is great for so many reasons. It doesn’t take too long to prepare, doesn’t need to be babysat, can be made in advance and be frozen. It’s also really freaking delicious. Don’t let the combination of spices scare or confuse you, it all really works well.

Because it’s a braised dish, it’s not a quick weeknight dish, but makes a great Saturday or Sunday dinner and can easily be adjusted to feed a large crowd. Be sure to serve with something that will help soak up the sauce, it’s great with polenta, short pasta, mashed potatoes and/or a hunk of yummy bread.

Stout-braised beef short ribs

Serves 6

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp smoked paprika (not hot paprika)

1 Tbsp curry powder

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

4 to 4 1/2 pounds short ribs cut in 4-inch pieces

Approx. 3 Tbsp olive oil

4 medium leeks cleaned and chopped

4 medium carrots chopped

3 celery ribs chopped

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup chopped garlic

Approx 2 cups beef broth

2 12-oz bottles stout (Guinness)

1 14 oz cans diced tomatoes

-Combine the spices in a bowl.

-Dry off the ribs with a paper towel, then coat with the spice mix and chill for at least an hour.

-Put one rack of the oven to the lower third and pre-heat to 375 Celsius.

-Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and brown the meat on the three meat sides. Depending on the size of your dutch oven, you’ll likely need to do this in batches. Set the meat aside.

-Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

-Add the liquid, stir to combine and then add the meat. Bring to a boil, uncovered.

-Cover the pan with tin foil AND a lid then place in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Skim any excess fat and discard the bay leaves before serving. Season with salt/pepper if you need.

TIPS: This is sometimes too much liquid, so you may not need all the beer or stock…. If the pot is really full, put a sheet pan beneath it in the oven…. It’s really important to cover the pan with foil and the lid, keeping the heat in is what makes the meat really tender.

Slow and easy pulled pork

One of my first blog posts was about making slow roasted pork, and it’s a good recipe. It takes a few hours and the end result is tasty.

However, this recipe is way better. I was told about it by my friend Brian who loves pork and cooking large amounts of meat. The recipe he gave me is from Sean Brock’s cookbook Heritage.

A giant pan of pulled pork. things don’t get much better.

I’ll give you two warnings. Warning #1: It takes a really long time. Warning #2: It makes a lot of pork. The good news, however, is the pork isn’t sauced so you can do more than just make barbecue pulled pork.

14-hour pork

7 lb (approx) Pork Shoulder – skin removed, but some fat left

Approx 2-3 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp kosher salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp thyme (or other spices you have around and like)

-Heat oven to 200 degrees (yes, that is all). Score the pork fat into a diamond pattern. Paint the entire pork shoulder with mustard. Combine the spices then rub onto pork.

-Put the pork in roasting pan. Roast for about 14 hours (if you have a smaller piece, reduce the time). During the last few hours baste with some of the liquid in the pan. If the pan is dry, add some water, wine or beer and pour some over the meat.

-You’ll know it’s done when the meat falls apart when you try. Let it rest at least 20 minutes before pulling the whole thing apart.

-Use meat for sandwiches, soup, sauce, stir fry, burritos, tacos. Be sure to put some in the freezer for later.

Mmmm pork.

NOTES: Yes, this is a long time to have your oven on, but it’s a very slow temperature. It’s a great recipe to make when you know you’ll be home or day or you could leave it on while you’re asleep (if you trust your oven). If you have a barbecue with good temperature control you could use that also.

Chorizo, chicken and saffron potatoes

Having friends come for dinner on a weekday always sounds like a great idea, but then comes the challenge of finding something to cook. On the rare occasion I entertain during the week I try to approach it the same way I approach weekday cooking for myself (but eliminate the microwaved leftover option). I want something I can make in advance and doesn’t need a lot of work for the actual cooking.

This has several make-ahead options, which I’ll outline in the recipe. This may appear to have a lot of steps, but it’s very easy and making even some of it in advance keeps this from being overly time consuming.

It should also be stated, that my friends who I made this for loved it so you’re not just taking my word for it.

Chorizo, chicken and saffron potatoes seems fancy, but is an easy make ahead dinner.

Chorizo, chicken and saffron potatoes

Serves 4

Chicken

1 package (approx 1 lb) chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp dried oregano

1 lemon juiced

1 Tbsp capers + 1 tsp of the liquid

1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust for your spice preference)

2 tsp mustard powder

2 Tbsp olive oil

salt/pepper

-Cut chicken into 1/2 inch chunks, mix with all ingredients and marinate overnight. OR put chicken in marinade in the freezer and freeze until the day of cooking.

Saffron Potatoes

4-5 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled

1 lemon – zest and juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp mustard powder

pinch saffron

1/4 cup potato cooking water

1 tsp paprika

salt/pepper

-Cut potatoes into big chunks, about 1.5 inches, and put in large pot with water, bring to boil and cook until potatoes are almost cooked. About 10-15 minutes. (If you overcook the potatoes they will fall apart in the marinating liquid).

-While potatoes cook, mix spices, lemon, oil together in a bowl.

-Drain potatoes, saving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Let cooking water cool slightly and add to the spice mixture.

-Put potatoes in the mixture, let marinate for 10 minutes, or overnight.

Assembly

1 package (approx 500 g) Spanish chorizo – chopped in to 1/2 inch chunks

1/4 cup grated manchego or iberico cheese grated

1/2 cup chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley for garnish (optional)

-Heat oven to 400 degrees

-In a 9″ by 13″ (lasagna) pan combine the chicken, potatoes and chorizo with a little bit of the potato marinade. You don’t want the mixture to swim in liquid, but enough to meld flavours and keep things moist.

-Cook for 10 minutes, stir and increase temperature to 425 degrees and cook for another 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

-Garnish with a sprinkle of cheese and parsley.

Serve with a simple green salad.

NOTES: If you don’t eat pork, you could use a turkey sausage instead of chorizo…. If some of your guests eat pork and others don’t, you can split into two pans – one with chorizo and one without.

Mini chicken pot pies

A friend of mine has been very into cooking in muffin tins lately. She’s made meatloaf cupcakes, lasagna and enchiladas. Using muffin tins for other things is a great idea for a lot of reasons including monitoring portion size, but my favourite is you get more crispy edges.

When I was talking to this friend one day recently and she was making chicken pot pie I had the lightbulb moment of making chicken pot pie in muffin tins. Every pot pie recipe has a different take on if the crust should be on the top or the bottom or both. If you couldn’t tell, I want crust all around.

A muffin pan filled with mini pot pies. Yum.

Please note the filling has to cool before being put into the crust, so consider that in your timeline.

This recipe makes a lot of mini pies (24 to be exact), but they freeze really well and so are great for lunches (especially if your office has a toaster oven) or just something yummy in the freezer.

Mini chicken pot pies

Makes 24 muffin size pies

1.5 Tbsp butter

1/2 onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

3/4 cup celery chopped

1 cup carrots (about 3 carrots) chopped

1 Tbsp dried sage (or about 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage)

1 tsp dried thyme  (or about 2 Tbsp fresh thyme)

4 cups swiss chard finely chopped (spinach or kale would work)

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped

2 cups mushrooms chopped (optional)

2 cups chicken (about 3 large breasts) chopped

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp (approx) flour plus a little more for dusting chicken

3 cups (approx) chicken stock*

Puff pastry – package with two sheets, defrosted

1 egg

-In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp butter with garlic, onion, celery carrots and sage over medium heat and saute until veggies are starting to soften. Add in the mushrooms if using and cook for 2 minutes – season with salt/pepper.

-Add the chard, parsley and thyme and a splash of chicken stock. Cook until the chard has wilted to half its size. Put all the veggies in a bowl and set aside.

-Dust the chopped chicken in flour just to coat it. Put another 1/2 Tbsp butter in the saucepan, once melted increase to medium-high heat and add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned and mostly cooked. Then add to bowl with veggies.

-Reduce heat to medium (you may need to take the pot off the burner for a couple of minutes) and add 2 Tbsp of butter, once melted add in 2 Tbsp of flour while stirring to combine and prevent sticking. Cook butter and flour for about a minute.

-Slowly start adding the chicken stock. Stir or whisk while adding the liquid so everything is evenly combined. Start with about 1/4 cup, once first round of liquid is thick (it won’t take long) add about a 1/2 cup and do the same. Slowly add the stock as the gravy thickens. You may not need a full 3 cups of stock, or you may need more. You want it to be about the consistency of gravy. (If the gravy isn’t thickening combine equal parts flour and stock or water in a jar or bowl and mix to combine and add it into the gravy, bring to a boil and it should thicken after a few minutes)

-Once gravy is thickened add the chicken and veggies back in, simmer until chicken is cooked. Taste for seasoning, add more salt/pepper as needed. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray muffin tins with cooking spray (unless you know they’re super non-stick).

-Roll out the puff pastry slightly, not so thin you can see the counter, but enough to get 12 squares/rectangles out of each sheet.

-Place the pieces of pastry into the muffin cup and gently press to the shape of the cup. There will be excess pastry, which will be folded over the filling to make the topping.

-Add in about a 1/3 a cup of filling to each cup. Fold over the excess pastry. The tops may not be perfectly covered and that’s OK.

-In a small bowl mix up the egg with a splash of water. Use a pastry brush and lightly coat the pastry.

-Bake for 25-40 minutes until tops are lightly brown.

NOTE: You could replace the puff pastry with pie crust if you prefer…  You could also use the filling for a full-size pie, but it would be less fun.

Moroccan inspired chicken and sweet potatoes

This recipe popped into my head randomly the other day, inspired by something similar I’d had a while before. As I made it, I realized it’s definitely more of a fall dish, but sometimes you just want to eat what you want to eat. This is a good Sunday dish because you can put it in the oven and do other things while it cooks.

I used chicken thighs, because that’s what was in my freezer and I find they stay moist better than chicken breast for a baked dish.

This is more of a fall dish, but it’s tasty no matter what the season. As you can see, I added zucchini to this dish, but wouldn’t recommend it.

2 Tbsp Ras el Hanout spice blend (available in some grocery stores, specialty markets or there are a lot of recipes online for it)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicier less if you like it not that spicy)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp white wine (or water or stock)

salt/pepper

olive oil

5 or 6 chicken thighs

2 medium sweet potatoes cubed

1/2 medium onion chopped

-Heat the oven to 375 C.

-In a large bowl combine the 1/2 the Ras el Hanout, and all the cinnamon, cayenne and brown sugar, oil and wine as well as salt and pepper. Mix together and transfer to large baking dish (I used a lasagna pan).

-In the same bowl, add the chicken, the rest of the Ras el Hanout and salt and pepper, and mix together. Place chicken on top of the potato mixture

-Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes covered, then uncover and cook another 15-20 minutes until potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked.

TIPS

-You can add other veggies to the sweet potatoes if you like. Other root vegetables (beets/turnips/celery root) would work well. I added mushrooms and zucchini, I probably wouldn’t use the zucchini again.

-If you want to use chicken breast, add a Tbsp or so of flour to the spice mixture, turn it at the halfway point and maybe baste it with some liquid from the pan. Both of these will prevent it from drying out. Neither option would hurt chicken thighs either.

-This recipe is great for the freezer too. You could mix it up and freeze it uncooked (IF you’re not using chicken that was already frozen) or cook it and throw it in the freezer for reheating later.