Super Bowl & Valentine's Day Ideas

I've had a crazy month  week-- from being sick with a winter cold to dealing with a broken water heater, a flat tire that needed repair and needing new brakes on my car.  Somehow I managed to twist my body in the wrong way, which required a visit to my chiropractor. On top of that, I did something funky to my ankle, during a water aerobics class, and I'm limping a little bit.   The dust is settling, and I'm on the mend-- and it's all good.   I have some new recipes to post, but -- as you can see-- I have run out of time. Instead, I've decided to post a few recipes that are some of my husband's favorite meals. Maybe I can inspire someone to make a special Valentine's Day dinner for your loved one-- and that includes a spouse, family member or great friend.

Valentine's Day holds a very special place in my heart.  My husband proposed to me on Valentine's Day 2005, after dating for more than a year-- and we were married almost a year later.  Yes, he's a very romantic guy and I am a very lucky woman. Do I hear an "awwwwwwww"?   In truth, I prefer to not go out on Valentine's Day.  I don't particularly care for the hustle and bustle and price-inflated Valentine's special menus.  Instead, I like to make a special dinner for just the two of us-- at home.  There is a catch though-- I collect a rain check for us to enjoy a romantic dinner after February 14th.  You bet! 

Filet of Beef Au Poivre is a dinner I posted about 1 1/2 years ago (my, how time flies).  The Cognac-Cream sauce was easy to make, and so delicious.  So far, this is the dinner I'll most likely prepare since Valentine's Day falls on a week night.  How can anyone go wrong with roasted asparagus served on the side? The cost of making this dinner is a fraction of what we'd pay at a nice restaurant.  The only downside is having to do the cleanup-- but, my husband is always willing to help out. 

Chicken-Fried Steak isn't as fancy a dinner- but I can tell you that my husband loves this deep-fried steak.  The crust (dipped in buttermilk and seasoned flour) has a nice crunch to it, and the gravy is manly meal that pleases him very well, indeed.  Served with creamy mashed potatoes and green beans (rather than broccoli), he would be a very happy husband. 

Last year, I made this Coeur a la Creme dessert for my sweetheart.  We both enjoyed the silky texture of this cream cheese and heavy whipped cream dessert.  These two rich dairy products are whipped together with heavy cream, with the added brightness of lemon zest.  A Raspberry-Chambord Coulis Sauce is very easy to make.  It's such a light dessert and the bright red of the dessert sauce says "Happy Valentine's Day". I'm making this again, since it was a success (and so easy to do).

But, before Valentine's Day, we have our Super Bowl Sunday munchies to think about.  Guacamole is a given, of course.  There are a few recipes that I will be making, so I thought I'd share them with you.

 Shredded Pork Taquitos-- I love these!  I sear and roast a pork butt roast and then cook this in a pressure cooker with a Chili Verde Sauce. I've made my own chili verde sauce, but Trader Joe's sells a great bottled one. Why not take a short-cut.  This can be cooked in a Dutch Oven, nice and slow or in a slow-cooker, too.

I miss our summer tomatoes, so that I can make fresh Pico De Gallo.  However, this easy restaurant-style salsa is very easy to make.  I'll be whipping up a big batch for Super Bowl.  

We keep things simple on Super Bowl Sunday.   Of course, I'll make my Chili Con Carne (with pinto beans and ground beef, thank you very much).  I'll do my best to write down measurements and to take photos, since I've never posted the recipe.  

I have a few recipes to share with you in the coming week.   Hopefully, I'll have a much lighter work week ahead.   I think Murphy's Law has hit me enough times, that the coming week should be smoother sailing. I'll be back!

I'm curious-- do you have any special dishes you like to make for either Super Bowl or Valentine's Day?

Liege Belgian Waffles for my Baby Boy

When my son was in first grade, we used to spend time at lot of time at the Border's Book Store at our local shopping center.   There was a quiet little man who had a cart stand, where he'd sell freshly made Belgian Waffles.  He'd take a square of dough and make a fresh, hot "Liege Belgian Waffle" and my son would happily receive it with a hop, skip and a jump.  As the mother of an only child, the price was worth the smile on my son's face as he chewed on this special treat.  I remember that I was a divorced mom at that time, so affording this treat meant that I wouldn't buy one for myself.  My son would give me a bite, and I remember that the waffle had a rich taste of butter, with a hint of vanilla. The caramelized sugar left a chewy and sweet mouth feel.   One day, we realized that the man with the cart no longer set up business at the shopping mall-- sadly, we never saw him again.   Every so often my son-- who is now 22 years old-- would ask me if I remembered those delicious waffles.  Yes, I did, but my memories are more connected to that sweet little boy who delighted in his special treat. I miss those years, but I don't miss those teen years!

This  waffle is different from our traditional American Waffles. The Belgian Sugar (or “Liege” Waffle) is a popular street-food across Europe. Served warm, plain or garnished with chocolate, Nutella, fruit, ice-cream or whipped cream, it is enjoyed by thousands of shoppers and sight-seers.  I decided to do a little internet research on the history of the Liege Waffle and this story is consistently shared:

 "According to legend, it was invented in the 18th Century by the Prince of Liège's cook. At the Prince's request, he experimented with cooking a kind of bun by adding polished sugar to the dough. Seduced by the appetising odour of vanilla that emanated during the cooking, the Prince fell for the new cake's charm." Source

I did most of my Christmas shopping on Amazon, and I stumbled across this Belgian Pearl Sugar.  Since I qualified for free shipping I decided it was time to see if I could recreate a childhood memory for my son.  After looking at several different recipes, I decided to use the one on the very back of the box of pearl sugar.  You might wonder if you can just crush sugar cubes.  You could, but I wanted to be authentic.  Having read other recipes, I'm told that there's something special about this Belgian Pearl Sugar.  You really want the sugar to melt, and get that wonderful caramelization, don't you? The ingredients are: milk, yeast, eggs, butter, flour, salt, vanilla and eggs.  Cinnamon is optional, but I decided to skip that.

For those of you who are afraid of working yeast, this is a great beginner recipe.  I used Rapid-Rise Yeast.  They key is that you don't heat the milk to be scalding hot.  Using my beloved therma-pen, you can see that 96 degrees was just right.  You also want the butter and eggs to be at room temperature. Yeast likes warmth!
Begin by dissolving the yeast in the milk.  That's easy enough, right?

Gradually add all the ingredients to the flour, except for the pearl sugar. (My stand mixer works great to do this.)

Let the dough double in size (about 30 minutes). I let mine sit for about an hour. (Bottom right corner photo.)
NOTE: I turn my oven on to WARM for a few minutes, then turn it off. I cover the dough in a bowl, and place it into the warm and cozy oven to help proof the dough.

• Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle and add the pearl sugar.
• Fold the dough over, in thirds (my own technique to distribute the sugar throughout).
• Divide the dough into small patties, about 3-4 oz each.

NOTE: To be more traditional, Liege waffles are shaped into a rectangle.

I have an inexpensive non-stick Belgian waffle maker. Yes, there are special waffle irons for this, but I didn't want to invest in one.  To prepare: Bake in a greased and heated waffle iron. Be very careful, as the sugar will caramelize and can be extremely hot. Allow them to cook for a few minutes, before biting into them.

I presented these to my son and waited as he bit in.  Ah!  That beautiful smile of his grew wide, and he said that these were exactly as he remembered!

TASTING NOTES: The are rich and buttery.  You need to be careful to not eat them the very second that you remove them from the waffle iron.  The sugar has melted and can be very hot.  I tasted vanilla and the yeast is very subtle. The texture is moist, a little dense and did I mention how rich these are?  I ate a half of one, and my son polished off two-- and my other half.  So, what was I supposed to do with the remaining five pieces of dough?

SOLUTION:  I figured that if that cart vendor could pull out a package of dough and make fresh waffles, then he must prepare them in advance. I wrapped each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerated them.  The next day, I brought them to room temperature (about 30 minutes). 

I greased the waffle iron and watched the steam as the sugar began to melt...

Does this picture need words?  Really? Look at that bubbling sugar!

...and these were delicious!  In fact, I think they tasted even better!  Of course, I only took one bite (this time, because I'm cutting back on my sweets to lose weight). My son loved these.  I made the rest on Day #3, and they turned out perfectly.

VERDICT: I can see why Liege Belgian waffles are a special treat.  I can't imagine adding anything extra to these, but go for it if you want ice cream, or nutella, or fresh whipped cream.  I recommend a fresh cup of coffee.  A cup of Belgian Hot Chocolate would be even better!

I'll make these again as a special treat for my boy grown son. Something tells me that when he's older, and married and has started a family of his own (in about 20 years) -- that I can lure him over to visit mom with the promise of these treats.

It's what mother's do for their boys.  

A printable recipe is at the bottom of this page. 

From mom's kitchen,

Slow Roasted Beef (Cook's Illustrated)

I am a huge fan of roast beef sandwiches.  I prefer that my roast beef is rare, while my husband prefers medium. Either way, a fresh sourdough roll with mayo and deli mustard, Swiss cheese and sweet pickles is my winning formula. The problem is finding good deli roast beef. I often wonder how long the beef has been in it's shrink wrap package, and I prefer to eat grass-fed beef.  I spotted a recipe in a food magazine (and I won't name it) for Salt-Encrusted Beef. I've always wanted to try the technique of making a salt-flour dough and wrapping it around beef.  The magazine photo looked delicious. But...

..I ended up with an unappetizing piece of gray meat.  I was so disappointed that even though I had cooked the meat to 130F, the meat continued to cook until it was well past done!  Contrary to the recipe, I should have taken the meat out at 120F, and maybe I would have had better luck. In short, this recipe was a total bust, and  I ended up caramelizing a lot of onion so I could make a palatable sandwich out of gray shoe leather.  Unfortunately, the meat was very dry and I never posted that recipe. You can thank me for that!

While flipping through one of my many Cook's Illustrated cookbooks,  this version of Slow Roasted Beef (January 2008) caught my attention.   I always enjoy reading the article that precedes their recipes because Cook's Illustrated does a lot of homework to perfect each recipe-- and I have to say that I have yet to be disappointed.  Here's a portion of the article, so that you can understand why this recipe worked:

First step: selecting the best cut for our roast. Our favorite, the eye-round, has good flavor and tenderness and a uniform shape that guarantees even cooking. Next step: choosing between the two classic methods for roasting meat—high and fast or low and slow. Low temperature was the way to go. Keeping the meat's internal temperature below 122 degrees as long as possible allowed the meat's enzymes to act as natural tenderizers, breaking down its tough connective tissue (this action stops at 122 degrees). Since most ovens don't heat below 200 degrees, we needed to devise a special method to lengthen this tenderizing period. We roasted the meat at 225 degrees (after searing it to give the meat a crusty exterior) and shut off the oven when the roast reached 115 degrees. The meat stayed below 122 degrees an extra 30 minutes, allowing the enzymes to continue their work before the temperature reached 130 degrees for medium-rare. Final step: seasoning. Salting the meat a full 24 hours before roasting made it even more tender and seasoned the roast throughout.

I made this recipe several months ago, but I wasn't thrilled with the photos.  Since I'm home, healing from a winter cold, I'm editing some of the numerous food photos that I've been too busy to work on.  I'm going to make this again, so I thought I'd share it with you-- overexposed photos and all...

On Cook's Illustrated's recommendation, I bought 2 pounds of grass-fed eye-round.  The cost was $5.99 per pound, and I think it's well worth it.  Grass-fed beef is leaner, by the way.  It also tastes better,  has a nice texture to it and it's hormone-free.  What's not to love about that?

Sprinkle all sides of roast evenly with salt. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 18 to 24 hours.

Pat roast dry with paper towels; rub with 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle all sides evenly with pepper.

Heat remaining tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until starting to smoke. Sear roast until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.(Sorry, the shot is a bit out of focus. I was using my older camera, which didn't shoot well in low light.)  Now, Roast until meat-probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 115 degrees for medium-rare, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours, or 125 degrees for medium, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours.

Turn oven off; leave roast in oven, without opening door, until meat-probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees for medium, 30 to 50 minutes longer.

 

I have to say that my therma pen is one of my many favorite kitchen tools.  It's accurate and has saved me from overcooking a lot of meat dishes!  Now, that's what we're talking about! The color is beautiful and appetizing.  Transfer roast to carving board and let rest 15 minutes.

Slice meat crosswise as thinly as possible and serve. The beef was juicy and flavorful.  Next time, I'm adding garlic powder or my Susie-Q seasoning to give it more of an Italian flair.

This would be excellent served with creamy mashed potatoes and peas-- how traditional is that? This roast beef was destined for sandwiches....

I'm not thrilled with how the sandwich photo turned out. You'll have to take my word that I am very pleased to be able to make my own roast beef, at home.  My hat's off to Cook's Illustrated. This one is a winner. In a way, this beef reminds me of the Santa Maria Tri-Tip recipe (without the unique smokey flavor) that I got from Cook's Illustrated.  It's too cold to grill, so an oven method like this is a great winter substitute. A printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.

From my kitchen to yours,

Cal-Tex Mex Chili Stew with Pinto Beans

Is chili meant to be served with or without beans? Ah, that's an unresolved issue-- depending on where you're from and how you were raised.  As a kid, my mother made Chili con Carne, because my father was Mexican.  My mother never used kidney beans. Ever.  She always soaked pinto beans and added them to seasoned ground beef, with lots of onion.  The chili was always served with hot flour tortillas and a side bowl of salsa.  Mimicking my father, I'd tear each tortilla into quarters, fold over the pointed end and fold it into a scoop to hold a mound of my chili --and eat it with great relish.  To this day, I must have flour tortillas when I eat re-fried or chili beans, or something feels like it's missing.  I love me some beans, and I do make a delicious pot of chili beans, if I do say so myself. Super Bowl Sunday wouldn't be complete without a pot of my chili con carne. 

A year ago, I caught watched a pre-recorded show on the Barefoot Contessa.  Ina's friend ("Devon") was showing how she made her award-winning Tex-Mex Chili.  I forgot about these photos (which are taken with my old camera), but I do think this recipe is worth sharing.

I was intrigued, because she used brisket, and I happened to have one that was frozen in my garage freezer. Once thawed, I cut it into bite-sized pieces and made sure they were patted very dry. 

I also liked that she used fresh tomatoes, bell peppers ...

 and strong coffee...

I haven't used any of those ingredient in my own chili, and I've heard that coffee adds another layer of flavor to the spices.  Before I made this recipe, I decided to read the review. Whoa! I was taken aback at the backlash of  true Tex-Mex lovers who said that this recipe was in no way Tex-Mex!  Many reviews said that a Texan would never use beans.  Okay.  Now, I will agree that I found it very strange that Ina's friend used basil to flavor the sauce. Really? While I love basil, I nixed that idea. Instead, I opted for my beloved cilantro (which Ina Garten strongly dislikes).   As a result of my tweaks, I have renamed this recipe to be Cal-Tex Mex chili, because I'm going to use beans.  Hopefully, this will give me some leeway in my tweaks and I won't get spanked by my Texan friends.

I also used my own standard seasoning blend of chili powder, oregano, garlic powder and cumin.  I keep a bottle of this on hand, as my quick way of seasoning my taco meat, chili or anything I want to give a South of the Border spice.  Let's begin:

 Once the cut-up beef brisket was patted dry, I seasoned it with salt and pepper.  I heated olive oil until right before it started to smoke and then added the meat in batches, so as not to crowd them.

Searing is one of my favorite cooking techniques.  I rarely put any kind of meat into a slow-cooker or Dutch oven, unless it's been seared. I think it adds a lot more flavor to my braising liquids and it's worth the extra time.  (The printable recipe I will post at the bottom is for 5 pounds of brisket. I actually used 3 pounds and cut the ingredients in half.)   Once the meat has been seared in some vegetable oil, set it aside.

All those brown bits are going to give this chili a lot of flavor.

Now, I added the vegetables and I decided to add about a cup of beef broth (which wasn't in her recipe) because I wanted more braising liquid and I wanted to deglaze all of that lovely fond.

After adding a little more oil, I cooked the onion until tender (about 5 minutes). Next, I added the garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute).  I added 2 Tablespoons of my Mexican Spice Blend  If you like your chili to be really hot, you can add cayenne.  I like my chili slightly hot, but not fire-breathing so I don't add cayenne.  I felt I had enough liquid, but I love a chili that has a rich red color, and I love to taste tomato.  I decided to add two tablespoons of tomato paste.

I also added 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. 

At this point, you could transfer this to a slow cooker. Since I was home, I let this simmer for about a couple of hours.  I tasted it.  It was good.  Dear Texans, I'm sorry.  I must have beans with my chili!  Kidney beans won't do. I must have pinto beans.  I keep an assortment of canned beans on hand, because there is nothing wrong with them-- especially when I don't think to soak dried beans the night before.  I always rinse and drain canned beans, though, because I don't like the slimy film from canned beans. 

I added two 15-ounce cans...

That's more like it! This smells delicious, but I'm going to add strong coffee. Why not?

1/2 cup strong coffee (and I drink dark roast every morning) should do it. I added the coffee after the beans, instead of before.  I don't think it matters, really.  No, you can't taste "coffee", but I think it made the sauce taste richer with more depth of flavor.  I let this simmer for 2 1/2 hours and it was time to serve this:

The chili con carne that I make is very thick, with a rich and spicy sauce.  I would call this more of a "stew", since the sauce has more liquid to it.  The brisket was very tender, since I cooked it low and slow for more than two hours.  You can leave out the beans, and I still think this would be delicious.  Would I make this again? Yes, because anything with Mexican seasoning, a sauce with the background of tomato and bell peppers is a winning combination.  Searing the meat can take up to 30 minutes, but I think it's well worth it.

I do need to make a batch of my own chili con carne. It's been far too long, and I don't have a recipe. I just grab some of this and some of that.  I'll have to take the time to measure it so I can share it with you.   Then, I'm ready for a Chili Throwdown with Ina's friend.  Basil in chili? Really?  That must be a Hampton thing. So while Ina's friend, "Devon" showed how two make her award-winning Tex-Mex Chili, I think I'd made enough tweaks to call this my own Cal-Tex Mex Chili!  To see the original recipe, click here. Otherwise, a printable recipe (with my own tweaks) is at the bottom of this post.

King Arthur Flour , and Baked Doughnuts -- The Non "Krispy Kreme"

Who doesn't love a fresh doughnut?  I recall the first time I walked inside a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. It was the late 90's and we were in Southern California.  My son's eyes grew as big as doughnuts as he watched freshly baked doughnuts coming out of vats of oil, and then roll down a conveyor belt and into a glaze "jacuzzi".  As we both bit into a warm doughnut, we were in sugar heaven.  I don't want to think about how many fat grams we indulged in, but they sure were good! It's a very good thing that we don't have a Krispy Kreme store anywhere less than a 90-minute drive away.  There is a local doughnut shop (Red's Doughnuts) where we live that makes some of the tastiest assortment of doughnuts I've ever had.  I avoid that place, because I wouldn't be able to decide between their custard-filled bar with chocolate glaze, applesauce, devil's food or glazed old-fashioned doughnuts.    By sheer willpower, I've avoided doughnut shops for a few years, because I don't need the guilt of over-indulging. I love baked goods far more than I should.  I have another weakness, however.  It's called "Cost Plus/World Market" stores.  We have two within 15 minutes of where I live and work.  They send me coupons, and I can't let them go to waste. 

At World Market, I spotted a Mini-Doughnut pan for about $10.00. I must have picked it up and set it back down several times.  King Arthur Flour sells them for $15.95, plus shipping...and I had a coupon.  I gave in, and it came home with me. This is the time of year when many of us try to lose those extra Thanksgiving and Christmas pounds.  Still, a baked treat can't be all that bad. Can it?  I settled on making a recipe for baked doughnuts that I found on the King Arthur Flour Recipe Website.  I carefully read the reviews, many of which were positive.  Whenever someone writes a negative review, I try to figure out what might have gone wrong and what can I do to improve it.  I have a bag of Arrow Mills Organic Pastry Flour, so I decided to use that instead of cake flour.  According to their website site, "it is made from soft wheat berries grown each Spring in the fertile San Luis Valley of Colorado, Arrowhead Mills Pastry Flour provides a finer texture and lighter consistency with low gluten content. It's perfect for flaky and delicate pastries and cakes." I keep 1% buttermilk on hand, so I decided not to use buttermilk powder.  

Since the doughnuts won't be deep-fried, I read that it's important to heavily grease use a non-stick spray-- even though the pan is non-stick. Done.

The pastry flour is unbleached (and I never buy bleached flour).  Though it has whole grain, it's milled very fine.

So, here are the dry ingredients-- pastry flour (you can use unbleached all-purpose, but pastry flour is supposed to yield a tender cake), nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and sugar. For the wet ingredients, I used 3 Tablespoons of 1% Buttermilk, and 3 Tablespoons ofcanola oil (instead of vegetable oil). 

I believe I've mentioned my addiction to the King Arthur Shopping Website, and I'm not paid to say so.  I've also touted my fondness for their Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsion.  I can best describe the aroma as smelling like yellow cake batter. Trust me, you want to drink it, but I add a teaspoon of this to most of my baked goods.  (Otherwise, I recommend adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.) I've been using their Cake Enhancer with great success. I don't fully understand the chemistry behind why it works, but it does-- it makes my cakes stay extra-moist, for several days.  Pour the liquid ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. 

I gently folded the batter, but didn't work up the gluten. (That makes for tough pastries, ya know).  You can see the wheat in the flour, because of the dark brown color.  There is pastry flour that has less wheat it in it, so use that if you prefer. Some reviewers suggested pouring the batter into a ziploc bag (I was too lazy busy to dig out my pastry bags).

I was cautioned not to overfill each well, or the "whole" would fuse together and it won't look like a doughnut. I think you could spoon these in just as well.

Bake the doughnuts in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. When done, they’ll spring back when touched lightly, and will be quite brown on the top. (Mine took about 9 minutes.)

Remove the doughnuts from the oven, remove them from the pan, and allow them to cool on rack. To me, they looked like flat muffins. I wasn't sure if I was impressed.  I could have dipped them in melted chocolate and called it a day.  I could have sprinkled them, and that would have been lovely.  But, I'm trying to make these as guilt-free as possible.

I decided to go with cinnamon-sugar. Since the doughnuts weren't fried in oil, I decided to spritz them, lightly, with some water (rather than melted butter).

 

That did the trick!  I brewed a cup of coffee and decided to give these a taste test.

VERDICT:  At first bite, I thought the doughnut was less than exciting.  I questioned my wisdom in using a whole wheat pastry flour.  They were tender, yes, but I wasn't digging the wheatiness of the flavor.  I was underwhelmed, as was my husband. But, wait!  The very next morning, something magical happened when I tried them again.  The doughnuts were stored in an air-tight container, the night before.  The flavor had changed, and to the better!  In all honesty, these baked doughnuts won't fool any kind of doughnut connoisseur.   But, with a cup of hot coffee these remind me a bit of Mexican Churros (without the grease).  

 I see possibilities with this recipe, and I'll try them again.  Next tie,  I'll use regular pastry flour, or a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose.  Rather than glazing these, or dipping them in melted chocolate-- I'll just make the real thing if I'm going to spring for a fat and sugar-rush of that caliber.  Sometimes, you just have to indulge in a traditional doughnut and I plan to make traditional doughnuts, in the future-- just so I can say I learned how to do it.  This recipe is certainly quick to put together, and a lot less messier than heating oil.  They're also easier on the arteries and waistline, and that's a good thing.  On a scale of 1-5 for flavor, I give these 3 1/2 stars. With some tweaking, next time, I think these could earn an extra star or two.

 

Healthy Healthier Baking!