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| Cooking with Wine and Beer |
I never really took the opportunity to cook with wine or
beer until recently, and wow!!!! does
it make a positively delightful difference in sauces, stews and chili! Flavors and spices, when used in balance, will
meld together to yield a new symphony of taste; When spices and fermented
alcohol are harmonious, you will not likely be able to distinguish individual
flavors. Adding a little wine or beer
will contribute another layer of depth to your cooking.
I like to follow the basic culinary rules of combining white
wine with chicken dishes, red or burgundy with beef, and beer with chili.
All of these dishes
freeze well, so feel free to make a bunch and then portion them out as desired
for later meals.
Chicken and White Wine
If you are time limited in cooking, you can combine all of
these ingredients into the crock pot and bake together for several hours. If you have the time and enjoy cooking,
follow this step by step recipe:
- 4 chicken breasts, pan seared in a pre-heated skillet with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper
- Add 1 sliced onion, 2 cloves minced fresh garlic and sauté with chicken, adding a small amount of oil as needed
- Add sliced fresh mushrooms and continue to sauté (Tip: To clean mushrooms, use a damp cloth and brush off any dirt)
- Add 1 cup of white wine, 1 can of drained artichoke hearts and 1 jar of drained capers
- Bring to a low, gentle boil
- Cover and cook until chicken is completely done
- Serve with steamed rice and enjoy!
Healthy and Delicious Marinara Sauce
Never again will you want to use manufactured spaghetti
sauce, my friends. This marinara sauce
is fun to make and versatile to use in cooking a variety of dishes. It is really quite healthy as well as so very, very yummy!
Fresh, local and
organic ingredients are key to the success of this sauce. Use farmer’s market or home-grown tomatoes,
freshly picked basil and oregano and other ingredients that are as full of life
that you can obtain. When I don’t have
fresh tomatoes, I use canned or frozen local tomatoes that I’ve stored from
last season. When I don’t have any access
to any local tomato stash, I use store bought organic canned fire-roasted or
regular tomatoes.
Tip: Using a castiron skillet when cooking tomatoes will release a healthy bit of iron into thesauce.
In a large skillet, heat up a bit of olive oil and sauté
together:
- · 4 -5 cloves freshly minced garlic
- · 2 - 3 sliced leeks and/ or 1 chopped onion (leeks are slightly sweeter and less biting than onions, I’ve found; I love to use them when possible)
- ·
2 - 4 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (Tip: if using dried herbs, use half of the
amount you would for fresh)
A Spice Grinder is great for tacky herbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and seeds - · 1 – 2 tablespoons freshly chopped oregano
- · Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
- · 1 tablespoon onion powder
- · 1 tablespoon garlic powder
At this point, if I were making a meat marinara, I would now
add pork sausage and cook until done.
You can also use ground beef or turkey if you prefer.
Add sliced zucchini and/ or yellow squash and sliced fresh
mushrooms to the sauté and cook until soft
Unless you have an extra-large cast iron skillet, transfer
the sauté into a large soup pot to make room for adding the tomatoes.
If you are using fresh tomatoes, be sure to wash, core and
quarter. Leave in the seeds; leave on
the peels. These pieces of the plant
have nutrients in them that you will want to consume. For cherry and smaller tomatoes, wash, cut
and toss in as-is. 12 or so large fresh
tomatoes ought to do it, or a variation of fresh and canned tomatoes and tomato
paste if you like.
As you heat up the stove to medium and the tomatoes start to
cook down, stir and occasionally mash the tomatoes with a potato masher. Wear a heat resistant glove and beware of
steam while mashing. Also, watch your
eyes- sometimes a whole cherry tomato may be squashed and squirted who knows
where during this process (taken from one whom has had this happen on
occasion).
After the tomatoes are cooked down most if not all of the
way, add ½ cup of red wine or burgundy then turn down the heat to a low
boil. Do not cover, as you want the
liquid to simmer down and your sauce to thicken up. Yes, you might have to clean up bubbled up
tomato splashes on your stove top because the sauce is gently boiling and there
is no cover, but it’s so worth it!
Stir occasionally, mindfully ensuring that the bottom does
not burn or scorch. Tip: If you notice the bottom of your sauce or soup has been scorched,
STOP stirring up the bottom of your pot; you may be able to save most of your
work as long as you avoid scraping the scorched bottom section and contaminate
the rest of it with the overpowering flavor.
When you are happy with the taste and scent of your sauce,
pull it off the stove and let it cool and mellow for a while.
Take ¾ of your marinara sauce and puree it in a food
processor before adding back to the ¼ of un-pureed sauce. This method of pureeing most of the sauce ensures
that it is smoother, thicker, and slightly chunky and it will not scare away anyone who is afraid of zucchinis or
mushrooms in their marinara because they’ll be pretty much hidden from view!
Serve over pasta with a higher end grated cheese mix of Romano,
parmesan and asiago. Using good quality
cheese is imperative to highlight the integrity of your sauce.
Use this sauce with chicken parmesan and lasagna. Marinara freezes and cans well for future use,
so feel free to make plenty while local tomatoes are in season.
5 Hour Beef Burgundy Stew
I believe this recipe is from a cookbook my mother got from
the Dayton Art Institute. It’s quick and
easy, and yes, a little cheaty too, since it calls for 1 can of tomato
soup. I have yet to proactively prepare
my own tomato soup prior to making this stew because often when I make it, I’m honestly
pressed for time. Using processed tomato
soup will lend a slightly sweeter flavor than if you make your own tomato soup
and use it in this beef stew.
- · 1 can tomato soup
- · 1 cup burgundy wine
- · 1 package dried onion soup mix
- Mix together well to make sauce before adding meat and vegetables.
- 2 lbs stew meat – I usually get whatever beef roast is on sale and cut it up into bite sized pieces.
- Variety of cut up vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, cabbage, kale, mushrooms, etc.
- Toss together. Place in a covered dish and cook for 5 hours at 250 degrees.
A hearty stew that will surely satisfy! Freezes very well for future use. Make this stew when you notice that beef
roasts are on sale J
More Chili, Please
Some like it hot, others may not. You can temper the heat of your chili by how
much red pepper and chili pepper that you add.
For meat chili I like to use either ground round, beef roast
or steaks cut into small bite sized pieces.
In a large preheated skillet add:
- · A little olive oil to keep ingredients from sticking
- · Meat (or meat substitute or no meat at all)
- · 1 diced onion
- · 1 grated carrot
- · 2 cloves freshly minced garlic
- · Several dashes of onion powder and garlic powder
- · 1-2 teaspoons crushed oregano (sometimes I will throw in a pinch or so of dried basil too, just for fun)
- · 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
- · A few dashes of ground red pepper to taste and/ or crushed red pepper flakes
- · Several tablespoons of chili powder to taste
- · Ground black pepper and salt to taste
After the meat is finished cooking and the onion and carrot
are soft, you can drain any grease that may be in the pan. If you are using a less fatty meat like
ground round, you probably don’t have to drain it at all.
Add the following:
- · 2 cans kidney, black and/ or pinto beans
- · 2 cans of diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
- · 1 can of tomato sauce
- · 1 small can of tomato paste
- · ½- 3/4 cup cheap beer – I have a tendency to cook chili with cheap beer because at times when I have chosen a more expensive beer, it comes with a stronger flavor which may detract from your overall palatable experience.
Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally, and let cook
for at least 30 minutes or more.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream
and tortilla chips.
Freezes well!
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