About Feast Everyday

Based in Corning, New York and the beautiful Finger Lakes. Started in 2009 by Barbara Blumer with her family and friends. Her husband, Tom, now regularly contributes, too.

Over 900 Recipes and still growing

From muffins to curries with step-by-step photos and how-to tips: see recipe index https://feasteveryday.blogspot.com/p/recipes-index.html

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Friday, November 10, 2017

Baked Apple with Salted Caramel Sauce

Individually wrapped apples in dough

We went apple-picking in October and like everyone else I know, we picked way too many.

So, when I saw the idea for wrapping apples in Lisa Caponigri's "Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner?" cookbook, I thought, we'll that sounds interesting. Maybe I can use up a few more apples...

But when I got to the store, I couldn't remember if she had said phyllo dough or puff pastry.  I came home with puff and of course, that was wrong.

So, I googled the idea and found out there are oodles of recipes for apples wrapped in dough.  The oldest version being an apple dumpling, which uses pie crust, but  there are lots of recipes for apples wrapped in all kinds of doughs, including Pillsbury crescent rolls, as well as puff pastry.  Many are called apple bombs.

The one I ended up using is from a food blog called A Spicy Perspective.

Sommer's recipe incorporates a salted caramel in the middle of the apple, which we did not have, but we DID  have some store-bought sauce, so that became my theme.

Well, mine weren't pretty but they were indeed tasty.  You can see, if you click, how nice they should look if you go to Sommer's blog.  https://www.aspicyperspective.com/baked-apple-recipe/

Tom and David really liked them, so I will try again.  And not use so much puff pastry.  It seems ridiculous to me that each apple takes a half of sheet.

B

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Easy Beef Stroganoff (Mary Berry)

Flank steak is used in this version

Our weather has turned rainy and colder, so I was looking for something hearty and comforting for our Sunday dinner this past weekend.  David was coming over after running a half-marathon, so I knew he would be hungry.

We recently received a cookbook by Mary Berry (of British Baking Show fame) as a gift, and this was the first recipe I made from it.  The book has a wide variety of simple, straightforward recipes.

Stroganoff has basically four components:  beef, onions and mushrooms, finished in sour cream.  We served ours over rice but it is also frequently served with buttered noodles.  Parsley for a garnish.

It was easy, and fast, to use flank steak for the beef.  Yes, it is an expensive cut of beef, but it was worth it.

In advance,  I sliced the beef, sliced the shallots, opened the large tub of pre-cut mushrooms and the tub of sour cream.  Washed and chopped up the parsley, too.

So, while Tom made the rice (he used beef culinary stock instead of water which was a great idea), I made the stroganoff.  We finished at the same time. About 1/2 hour.  Pretty fast!  I started by browning the beef, then sauteeing the shallots and the mushrooms until dark and golden, and returning the beef to the skillet and stirring in the sour cream.  Adding parsley on top.


Served it with a nice salad, roasted carrots and an apple bomb for dessert (more on that later.)

---Barbara

Beef Stroganoff
(Cooking with Mary Berry)

Serves 4 (generously) 

2 T. butter
1 T. safflower oil (I used olive)
1 1/4 pound flank stead, trimmed and cut into strips (see note below)
8 shallots, quartered  (I sliced mine) (small onions would work, too)
10 oz. button mushrooms, halved ( I used 14 oz.  pre-sliced)
salt and black pepper
1 1/4 cups sour cream
chopped parsley to garnish

Note about the beef:  Slice it across the grain into thin strips, 1/4 inch thick and then cut into 2-inch lengths.  Be sure to use a very sharp knife.  The meat will slice better when the meat is very cold.  Then, you can let it warm up for sauteeing.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan.  When the butter is foaming, add the steak strips, in batches if necessary, and cook over high heat for 5 minutes or until browned all over.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes until browned.  (Mine took longer, more like 10 minutes.)

Return the steak strips to the pan and season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the sour cream and heat gently.  Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve at once with boiled rice.

B

Friday, November 3, 2017

Red Curry with Beef, Sweet Potato, and Onions by Tom

2017 Version with Worcestershire Sauce

2021 Version with Tamarind Concentrate

UPDATED 2021
In 2017, we went to Ireland.  While in Ireland I did have a couple of curry dishes, but we never ventured out to a real curry restaurant.  Hence, my desire for curry dishes remained.  With the new cookbook Barbara brought home from the library book sale,  I thought I could give a couple of the recipes a try.

This was the cookbook that I found this recipe.  If you notice, there are many orange tabs protruding from the top of the cookbook.  These are all recipes I want to try.


This was actually the second curry recipe I tried.  And, if I do say so myself, this one was quite good.  It had a very good red curry flavoring, which also added some heat to the dish.  But not too much.

This recipe was very easy to make.  I will definitely make this one again.

Fast forward to 2021.  Barbara challenged me to make a curry dish with some remaining red curry paste that we had in the refrigerator.  The first place I looked for a red curry recipe was Feast Everyday.  And, voila, here was this recipe that we really liked from 2017.  So, why not make it again.

I did and it was even better than I remembered.  This time I had tamarind concentrate, which I did not have the first time.  I added Worcestershire sauce in 2017.  I really believe that the tamarind concentrate improved the taste as well as added a little shine to the dish.

We had plenty of leftovers for the next day.  I added more pearl onions and Brussels sprouts to the leftovers.  I also added a can of chicken stock, about one tablespoon of tamarind concentrate, about a tablespoon of yellow curry, and a dash of fish sauce.  I brought the whole mixture to a low simmer, and simmered for about 30 minutes.  Served with more rice, it was really good.

Good the first day.  Good the second day.  I am really glad I rediscovered this recipe form 2017.

---Tom



Red Curry with Beef, Sweet Potato, Onions
(adapted from New Curries)

Serves 4

~2 pounds flank or skirt steak, cut into 1 1/4" pieces
2 cups beef stock
5 cardamom pods, bruised
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 star anise
1 1/2 tablespoons grated palm sugar or dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
27 ounces (2 cans) coconut milk
3 tablespoons red curry (yellow curry can be substituted)
8 baby onions, halved, or 12-16 pearl onions whole
1 medium to large sweet potato, peeled, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup roasted lightly salted peanuts
2 green onions, thinly sliced

This is a two step cooking process.  The first step of the process is flavoring of the beef.  The second step is actually creating the curry and combining the majority of the ingredients.

Step 1: place the beef, 1 1/2 cups of the beef stock, the cardamom pods, cloves, star anise, sugar, fish sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the tamarind, and one can of the coconut milk into a large sauce pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours uncovered.  The beef should be tender.  And the braising stock should have cooked down considerably.

A note about cardamom pods.  I found them in a bag in the Asian section of the grocery store.  They are about the size of a pistachio.  To bruise them, I used the flat side of a knife and gently pushed down on the cardamom pod.  This cracks the soft shell without removing it.
Step 2:  Strain the beef over a large bowl.  Reserve the braising liquid and throw out the solids.  This will be the cardamom pods and the star anise.

Cook the red curry paste until it is fragrant in the same saucepan that you cooked the beef, stirring to prevent burning and sticking.  This will only take a minute or two.  Now add the remaining can of coconut milk, the rest of the tamarind, and beef stock.  Bring to a boil constantly stirring, and cook for about one minute.  The mixture should be smooth.  Return the beef to the sauce pan, and add the onions, sweet potato and one cup of the braising liquid.  Simmer uncovered for about 30 - 45 minutes or until both the beef and the vegetables are tender.

During this last step, I cooked basmati rice to serve with the curry dish.

For plating, I put down a bed of the basmati rice in a shallow bowl and then added the beef curry mixture.  Sprinkle the peanuts and green onion slices over the top of the curry.

Start to finish took about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.  About 20 minutes preparation time, and a little over 2 1/2 hours of actual cooking.  There was lots of time to do other things while this dish was cooking.

I really enjoyed making and eating this red curry dish.  The aromas from the braising step created by the cardamom pods and the star anise were really appetizing.  And the taste satisfied my desire for a good curry dish.

This one is a keeper!

---Tom

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Vietnamese Beef and Green Bean Stir-fry by Tom

Aromatic from Cardamom and Star Anise
UPDATED 2019
From the new cookbook that Barbara brought home from our recent library book sale titled "New Curries", this was the first recipe that I made from it.

This recipe did not really have the flavors that I would call an actual curry.  As the cookbook itself says "Vietnamese food is influenced by both French and Chinese cuisines."  I would agree that both influences can be found in this dish.  A stir-fry predominantly versus a long simmering curry-based concoction.

It was very mild but had good taste.  It was quite aromatic from the cardamom and star anise, so perhaps that is why it is included in a curry cookbook.

In any case, the dish, served with rice, was good and not hard to make.


---Tom

Vietnamese Beef and Green Bean Stir-fry
(adapted from New Curries)

Serves 4

3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 3/4 pounds beef strips - I used a strip steak trimmed of excess fat
1 medium onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 long red chili chopped finely
4 inch stick of fresh lemongrass chopped finely
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods bruised
12 ounces green beans cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
3 tablespoons Thai or Chinese bean sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup almond flakes (thinly sliced almonds)
1 navel orange, zest and juice (Barbara's addition)


Heat half of the peanut oil in a wok or shallow skillet.  Stir fry the beef until browned.
Remove the beef from the pan and cover to keep warm.
Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and stir fry the onion until it is soft.
Now add the garlic, red chili, lemongrass, star anise, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods to the onions.
Next add the green beans.  Stir fry until the beans are tender.  This will only take a couple of minutes.
Now add the beef with its juices from the plate, the bean sauce and the fish sauce.  Stir fry until thoroughly heated through.
Turn off the heat.  Stir in the chopped cilantro and the almond flakes.  Remove the star anise and cardamom pods before serving.

Grate the orange, and add the zest to the pan.  Slice the orange, and squeeze the juice over the pan, and stir.
Plate the beef stir-fry over a bed of rice, and enjoy!  If desired, grate a little more orange zest on top of each dish. 

Total preparation time is about 15 minutes, and cooking time is only about 20 minutes.  So this meal can be prepared pretty quickly.

---Tom