Tea and Scones

Slow-Cooker Braised Short Ribs

teaandscones — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:59:31 +0000

I have rediscovered the slow-cooker. And I wish I had done it sooner. I haven’t really used it much in the last four years when I inherited one with a removeable crock from Mom. My old one was really old – all one piece and IMPOSSIBLE to clean. And it seems the crock-pot, or slow-cooker, is making a comeback. There are so many places for recipes out there….

But this one I found in The Best of America’s Test Kitchen (2011) and adapted it to our tastes.

Slow-Cooker Braised Short Ribs

1. Cut the meat from the bones and set aside. Arrange the bones in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and microwave until well browned, 10 to 15 minutes, rearranging the bones halfway through. {My short ribs were different than the ones they used so I skipped this step.} Transfer to the slow cooker.

2. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook the meat until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to the slow cooker.

3. Cook the onions, carrot, and celery in the empty skillet over medium heat until browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and thyme and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and vinegar and simmer, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, tapioca, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Transfer the sauce to the slow cooker with the meat.

4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the meat is fork-tender, about 8 hours (or cook on high for 4 to 5 hours). Transfer the meat to a serving platter. Strain and defat the cooking liquid and discard the solids. {I discarded the bay leaf and kept the cooked onions, celery, and carrots to pour over the ribs with the sauce.} Stir the parsley into the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the meat. Serve, passing the remaining sauce at the table.

I wish you have had supper with us last night. THIS was delicious. The balsamic vinegar and the concentrated wine really added a tremendous depth of flavor. Served with plain mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus, it was perfect comfort food.

The article (page 54) contains all the trials and errors usually found in their magazines that make them almost perfect, but I left all that out. So if you want the whole scoop you need to subscribe to their magazine. (And get the review issue for free!!)

{CEinMB} Spicy Chicken Rice with Peanuts

teaandscones — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:11:18 +0000

Ellie, you are my Hero!! Stir fry with less oil.

YES!!!!!

Spicy Chicken Rice with Peanuts

Craving Ellie in My Belly is trying hard to get back in the swing of things. But we made another change. Seems we all like a litle structure so while we have free choice three Fridays/month on the last Friday one member chooses a recipe for everyone to share. This month it was Chaya’s choice and it was a really tasty choice.

While many fried rice recipes use lots of oil Ellie says,

“This aromatic rice dish is a meal-in-a-bowl you can really cozy up with. It is chock-full of tasty treasures—sweet bell peppers, crunchy water chestnuts, peanuts, and chunks of cooked chicken all stir-fried with just the right spicy kick. Made with a fraction of the oil typically used, you certainly won’t miss the grease—or the extra calories.

Using pre-cooked chicken {Ellie didn’t specify HOW to cook the chicken so I browned mine in just a smidgeon of EVOO} , this rice has just the right balance of crunch {and would have been crunchier if I had actually remembered the peanuts!!}, sweetness, and spice. Perfect!! Thanks, Ellie.

And thanks Chaya, for this pick. You can find the recipe on Chaya’s page or in Ellie’s newest book – Comfort Food Fix: Feel-Good Favorites Made Healthy

If all the recipes in this new book are this good I will have to add it to my shelf!!

{I’m sitting here imagining how good it would be with SHRIMP!!}

{30 Minute Thursday} Fettuccini with Spring Vegetables

teaandscones — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:10:34 +0000

Well, it isn’t EXACTLY Spring in the Deep South but with the weird weather we have been having {It was 73 yesterday!} it sure feels like Spring. Which is why I decided to fix this particular Hazan Pasta for today.

~~Fettuccini~~ Penne Primavera

That doesn’t look like Fettuccini, you say! Seems when I went to fetch it from the pantry it wasn’t there. So Penne looked like the next best one to use. And it was. The little tubes held little splashes of the sauce and veggies: asparagus, red pepper, zucchini, celery, carrot and onion which had been sauteed. Well, I steamed the asparagus while I was cooking the pasta…

…over the pasta water. {Hazan says to gently boil it but I like steamed veggies better. I wish, now, I had also steamed the zucchini and peppers so they would have not gotten quite so soft while cooking.}

After all the veggies are cooked you add cream and parsley and cook until the cream is reduced then toss it gently with the pasta. Sprinkle with Rarmigiano-Reggiano and you have a wonderderful veggie meal, or a filling veggie/pasta side. Either way, it is very tasty!!

You can find the recipe on page 46 – 47 of Hazan’s 30 Minute Pasta. Check with Peggy and Kayte and see which pasta they chose for 30 Minute Thursday.

{TWD2} French Pear Tart

teaandscones — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:18:16 +0000

Think back to January 6, 2009. Do you know what was baking in your oven?
If you were a member of TWD that year, you had THIS lovely tart in there.

French Pear Tart

This tart was special because Dorie chose it for the group to bake. And hers is beautiful (DUH!!)
The tart calls for one of Dorie’s crusts – either the Sweet Tart or the Sweet Tart with Nuts. I had some shortbread crust left so I used that. It did add extra sweetness but just made the tart even better. The pear halves are sliced thinly and fanned out over the almond cream.

When out of the oven you can either brush with an apple jelly glaze, or, as I did, dust with powdered sugar.

The recipe is on Dorie’s Site so go there. This is so simple to put together you will want to make it EVERY nite!!!

I’m catching up on the TWD treats I missed before joining so you will be seeing still more of Dorie’s treats over the next few weeks.

{Malgieri Monday: Modern Baker} Raisin Pecan Spice Bars

teaandscones — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:40:45 +0000

If you like the flavor of Molasses, pecans, and ~~raisins~~ cranberries then you will really like these spicy bars from Nick’s the Modern Baker.

They are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and nicely spicy. Since I am NOT a raisin fan I used dried cranberries and liked the result.

Recipe says to bake 20 – 25 minutes, but mine took 40 minutes. Just sayin’….

This was another cookie I made with Kayte, Phyl, Abby, Renee that weekend before the Christmas holidays. They are one of 25 cookies found in the Cookies, Bars, & Biscotti section of…

The Modern Baker Challenge – Cookies.

{ Slow and Steady BBA} Vienna Bread

teaandscones — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:26:58 +0000

I am really enjoying making bread again. It is just relaxing to put it all together, knead it into a soft supple dough, and watch it rise into a beautiful loaf. And the fragrance in the kitchen is worth the hour or so wait for it to rise. There is nothing better or more comforting than the smell of fresh bread.

And this one was no different.

Reinhart says that while we spend a lot of time with Italian and French breads we tend to ignore the fact that most of the French breads came via the Austrian bakers who arrived in different parts of Europe . What makes the Vienna Bread different is the inclusion of certain enrichments in the breads of Austria. In this case, diastatic barle malt powder which causes the crust to brown faster.

Loaves or pistolets are suggested with this dough, but I chose to make rolls. 1/2 of the recipe gave me 6 lovely rolls. Perfect for sandwiches.

The rolls were a beautiful yellow with a slightly sweet taste. You need two days to complete the bread. One day to make the pâte fermentée and one for the actual bread baking.

Thse are in Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (page 261)

Kayte and I are finishing up the BBA challenge so check out her bread, too.

{CEinMB} Fetticcine Bolognese

teaandscones — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:12:30 +0000

Pasta is one of the favorite meals in this household. It is not something we eat every night, but we eat it often. So finding a new pasta dish is exciting. Finding a new pasta dish that is healthy is extra exciting. Finding a new pasta dish that the family actually wants to eat again is Da Bomb!!

Ingredients:

{Hubs doesn’t like so left them out}

2 teaspoons dried

{I had some canned tomatoes from a friend so I used them, diced}

regular whole milk

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil, and cook the fettuccini according to the directions on the box.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, ground beef, and thyme and cook until the meat is browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and broth and cook for 5 minutes, or until sauce is thickened. Stir in the milk and cook for 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper.

When the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pasta pot, add the sauce and stir the sauce and pasta together. Put into serving bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. {I am including the recipe because it is on the FoodNetwork Channel}

This was so very good. The lightness of the sauce is a lot different from the sauces I usually make. And the carrots and celery added a lot of flavor. Even the Hubs said it was good. Usually it is, “It’s alright!” Win/Win!!

Check out the CEinMB members and see what they are cooking this month.

You can find this recipe on page 163 of Ellie’s The Foods You Crave.

{TWD2} Catching up with Hidden Berries

teaandscones — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:47:22 +0000

On January 15, 2008, TWD bakers celebrated their third week in existance by making this little fruity cheesecake like dessert…

Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

The choice was April’s of Abby’s Sweets for that week. Everyone who made it that week had a beautiful dessert on their hands. And mine was very tasty, but looked nothing like theirs – at all.

I used some Raspberry Plum Preserves and it fit very well with the Cheese-cake like tort. I think I used too much preserves and it took quite a while for the torte to bake enough to be done. That meant mine was nice and BROWN on top {Sound familiar?}

One-forth of the recipe was enough for a 4″ mini springform pan.

Definitely going to make this one again. Full size. Strawberry Jam!!

I know other TWD members are catching up on the recipes they missed. Check around. You won’t be sorry.

{Modern Baker Challenge} Caramel Crumb Bars

teaandscones — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:48:05 +0000

Do I really need to go any further than the picture?

Okay, Fine…

Before Christmas Kayte, Phyl, Abby, Renee, and I were baking cookies and this was one we made.

Caramel Crumb Bars

These cookies begin with a sweet crust pressed into a 9″ x 13″ pan.

While the crust is chilling you crumble the remaining dough for the topping and set aside.

The filling is made with butter, corn syrup, dark brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix these really LOW calorie ingredients together, simmer, boil, thicken, and cool. When cooled the filling is poured into the chilled crust, covered with the crumble topping and baked at 350° until the filling is bubbling, a deep caramel color and the dout is baked through. About 30 minutes.

What you end up with is…..

.. whole lot of caramely deliciousness!!!

I may have over baked these a tad, the crust was a little brown, but the caramel was deep, dark, and delicious.

If you want to see the other’s Crumb Bars, visit The Modern Baker Challenge – Cookies.

And if you want to join in the fun, contact us.

{BBA} World of Bread: Swedish Rye (Limpa) and Tuscan Bread.

teaandscones — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:12:33 +0000

Kayte and I are still working our way through Reinhart’s Bread Bakers Apprentice. Last week we made the Stollen. This week we made Limpa and Tuscan Bread.

Swedish Rye

aka

Limpa

I like rye bread and this one is no exception. It is slightly sweet due to the molasses and brown sugar. The recipe calls for fennel, anise and cardamom as well as orange peel or oil {which I used}. I didn’t have any fennel, but the 1/2 tsp for one loaf didn’t really change the flavor.

The dough was not easy to work with. It is very firm and I kept thinking I had failed totally at this bread. But in the end, it came out just fine. Even the top slashes were good!!!The Limpa reminded me a lot of pumpernickel. But sweeter.

**************************************

The other bread is this Tuscan Bread.

This was a beautiful simple bread to make. But it is different from other breads. And it is different for one reason. It contains NO salt. None!! Which means there wasn’t a lot of taste in the bread. According to Reinhart this makes it perfect for “…lavishing it with intensely flavored spreads and pastes, or eating it with flavorful dishes…”

I followed Reinhart’s suggestion and ‘lavished’ it with a Cajun Olive spread.

I also tried it with EVOO flavored with roasted garlic and other spices.

But now I have another idea for this bread – but that’s another post!! {and now you are curious!!}

The bread had a beautiful texture and with a tsp of salt it would be a perfect bread.

Check out Kayte’s Limpa and Tuscan Breads while you are browsing around.