Cooking woes
Jan. 31st, 2015 01:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arenee1999Our oven stopped working just after Christmas. We've replaced the ignitor and the thermostat and it's still not working. It will likely be summer before we can start looking for a new one. *sigh* In the meantime we've had to rely on recipes we could cook on the stove or in the slowcooker. I've spent a bit of time going through some of my recipes to see which ones that go in the oven could be adjusted to work on the stove or in the crockpot. I've also been combing the recipe sites for new ones.
I found a couple really good beef stew recipes so I thought I'd share. The first one can be left on the stove to cook on a low heat. The second can be done in a crockpot/slowcooker as long as you brown the meat on the stove then add everything to the crockpot.
Jamaican Beef Stew with Rice
from seriouseats.com
serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 pounds boneless beef stew meat (such as chuck), cut into 1 inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 habanero chilies, seeded and minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup rum
2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons steak sauce, such as A-1
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
Procedures
1
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat until smoking. Season beef with salt and pepper. Add beef to pan and cook without moving until well-browned on one side, about 6 minutes. Stir to loosen meat, and add onions and carrots. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, reduce heat to medium and add habaneros, garlic and rum. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes before adding chicken broth, allspice, cinnamon, hot pepper sauce, thyme, bay leaves, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, tomatoes, soy sauce, and steak sauce.
2
Return to a boil, cover and transfer to oven. Continue cooking until meat is tear-apart-tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 1/2 hours longer.
3
When stew is done, remove from oven and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. If stew is not thick enough, reduce over the stovetop until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately with rice.
* I leave out the habaneros and only use a few drops - 1/8 teaspoon of the hot pepper sauce because none of us can eat really spicy food anymore. For the Rum, I have used white, spiced and black spiced and they all taste great, they just give slightly different flavors.
Beef Stew with Leeks
from epicurious.com
Serves 4 to 6 family-style, with potatoes, rice, or orzo
Ingredients
3 tablespoons blended oil (90 percent canola, 10 percent extra-virgin olive)
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 large Spanish or sweet onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large leek, cut into thick rounds, washed well in cold water, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 to 5 cups water
1 fresh bay leaf or 2 dried leaves
1 large sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig sage
2 cinnamon sticks
Extra-virgin olive oil
Grated orange zest
1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
Preparation
Place a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the blended oil. Season the beef aggressively with kosher salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the beef and sear on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Add all the chopped vegetables to the pan with the beef and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and red wine vinegar, and let them reduce completely away.
Add 3 cups of the water, 2 teaspoons salt and a generous grinding of pepper, the bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, sage, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pan. Simmer gently for about an hour. Check and, if the mixture is dry, add another cup or two of water. Keep simmering for 15 to 40 minutes more, until the meat is tender and the braising liquid has reduced to a saucy consistency. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil, and scatter with a little orange zest and the parsley.
*I only use a minimal amount of salt and pepper on the meat, there are plenty of flavors in this stew so you don't need the salt. I use broth (beef or chicken) instead of water.
I found a couple really good beef stew recipes so I thought I'd share. The first one can be left on the stove to cook on a low heat. The second can be done in a crockpot/slowcooker as long as you brown the meat on the stove then add everything to the crockpot.
Jamaican Beef Stew with Rice
from seriouseats.com
serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 pounds boneless beef stew meat (such as chuck), cut into 1 inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 habanero chilies, seeded and minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup rum
2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons steak sauce, such as A-1
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
Procedures
1
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat until smoking. Season beef with salt and pepper. Add beef to pan and cook without moving until well-browned on one side, about 6 minutes. Stir to loosen meat, and add onions and carrots. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, reduce heat to medium and add habaneros, garlic and rum. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes before adding chicken broth, allspice, cinnamon, hot pepper sauce, thyme, bay leaves, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, tomatoes, soy sauce, and steak sauce.
2
Return to a boil, cover and transfer to oven. Continue cooking until meat is tear-apart-tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 1/2 hours longer.
3
When stew is done, remove from oven and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. If stew is not thick enough, reduce over the stovetop until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately with rice.
* I leave out the habaneros and only use a few drops - 1/8 teaspoon of the hot pepper sauce because none of us can eat really spicy food anymore. For the Rum, I have used white, spiced and black spiced and they all taste great, they just give slightly different flavors.
Beef Stew with Leeks
from epicurious.com
Serves 4 to 6 family-style, with potatoes, rice, or orzo
Ingredients
3 tablespoons blended oil (90 percent canola, 10 percent extra-virgin olive)
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 large Spanish or sweet onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large leek, cut into thick rounds, washed well in cold water, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 to 5 cups water
1 fresh bay leaf or 2 dried leaves
1 large sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig sage
2 cinnamon sticks
Extra-virgin olive oil
Grated orange zest
1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
Preparation
Place a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the blended oil. Season the beef aggressively with kosher salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the beef and sear on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Add all the chopped vegetables to the pan with the beef and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and red wine vinegar, and let them reduce completely away.
Add 3 cups of the water, 2 teaspoons salt and a generous grinding of pepper, the bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, sage, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pan. Simmer gently for about an hour. Check and, if the mixture is dry, add another cup or two of water. Keep simmering for 15 to 40 minutes more, until the meat is tender and the braising liquid has reduced to a saucy consistency. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil, and scatter with a little orange zest and the parsley.
*I only use a minimal amount of salt and pepper on the meat, there are plenty of flavors in this stew so you don't need the salt. I use broth (beef or chicken) instead of water.
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no subject
Date: 2015-02-01 02:34 pm (UTC)We had a week of variations on stews and curries.
Is your slow cooker or crockpot like a dutch oven? If so there are many online recipes for these which you could try.
When I was little and the oven died Mum just switched to using one until we could get a new cooker.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-01 06:44 pm (UTC)Finding recipes isn't a problem, finding recipes everyone in the house will eat is nearly impossible. I do a lot of substituting in almost every recipe I have, when I find one everyone likes just as it is I tend to cry with joy.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-01 05:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-01 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-01 07:47 pm (UTC)And the first recipe sounds yummy! In the second is too much cinnamon ;-) Though I have to ask: What is "Allspice" ?
no subject
Date: 2015-02-01 08:04 pm (UTC)The great thing about stew recipes is the ability to modify ingredients easily, you can cut down on the amount of cinnamon and it should still taste just fine. :)
Allspice
no subject
Date: 2015-02-03 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-05 07:21 am (UTC)glitter-graphics.com
I hope you've either fixed or replaced the oven. And I hope you have a gloriously fabulous birthday!
Gabrielle