Stew from Kebabs

Bear with me here, I'm slogging through a bunch of recipes I meant to post AGES ago.  

Back in November (ages), I made Kebabs for a tailgate.  A lot of kebabs.  They were delicious.  But after about a week, we still had leftover kebabs in our fridge.  My general rule of thumb is that after a week, it's best to throw things out.  Even without this rule, after the first few days, those kebabs started looking a little desiccated.  So as the 1-week mark came up, I was frantic to come up with some way to make them yummy again; I hate throwing out food, especially meat.  Staring at a stick of grilled beef, tomatoes and a potato, I realized that I've seen those ingredients together before: stew!

Before I get to the stew, though, a quick run-down on how the kebabs were made:  

I marinated the meat overnight in a red wine-based marinade: red wine, oil, lots of garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning.  Nope, I didn't measure anything.  In the morning, I boiled some small potatoes, skin-on, until they were just tender enough to be easily skewered.  I skewered the meat, potatoes, some onion and bell pepper pieces, and cherry tomatoes.  A friend of ours was grill-master, and he cooked them to a lovely, even, medium-well done.  They were so good on game day.  But the doneness meant that they were difficult to warm up without drying them out; another reason I went for stew.

Leftover Kebab Stew (Individual Serving)

2-ish kebabs, including beef, onion, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Skimpy 1/4 C red wine 

1/4 C beef broth

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp corn starch

Salt and pepper

Chop the kebab components into smaller bite-sized (with a fork at dinner bite-size, not finger/tailgate size) pieces.  Keep them separate, because they won't all tolerate the same amount of cooking.  In a pan over medium-high heat, combine the meat, Italian seasoning, and liquids.  Simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the onion and pepper pieces.  In a small dish, combine the corn starch with just enough water to dissolve it.  (The water will be cloudy, so it's not necessarily a true "dissolve".)  Add it immediately to the stew and stir to distribute.  This is your thickening agent.  Allow it to simmer and thicken.  Finally, add the tomatoes and potatoes.  Let it simmer a minute more so they can pick up some flavor.  Or, do what I did, and dump it in a container to be reheated the next day for lunch-- this allows even more flavor blending.  

This was an interesting flavor, actually.  I think it still needs some tweaking, but it was good.  I liked having the grilled, smokey flavor infused in my stew, and the wine and vinegar gave it a nice acidity.  It was not a typical stew by any means, but it wasn't bad.

Meatballs: Stretch that protein!

Meatballs.  Popular around the world, good as an appetizer, a perennial favorite for pasta, and available with a variety of seasonings and sauces.  Chances are, unless you're a vegetarian, you can find a meatball recipe that will appeal to you.  Personally, I'm partial to "porcupine meatballs", which include rice.  They were part of the inspiration for this recipe.  

I'm also a fan because they are a hands-on food.  I'm sure you can make meatballs without your hands, but it would be a horrific bother.  When I was a kid, helping my mom make meatballs was one of my favorite things.  I got to play with the food!

Yet another nice feature of meatballs is that they are best made with the cheapest, fattiest hamburger you can find.  Otherwise, they have a tendency to be dry.  Hooray for cheap meat!  Want to stretch your food budget even further?  How about incorporating another protein, such as lentils?  That's what I did here.

Lentil-meatballs

1 piece bread

1/4 lb hamburger

1/3 C cooked lentils, cooled

1 egg

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp chopped onion

1 Tbsp (a hearty, 4-finger pinch) grated cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Before you get started, preheat your oven to 350˚F.

First, you're going to need to dry out your bread.  If you have stale bread sitting around, you're in luck and can probably skip this step.  If you don't, turn your oven on to the lowest temperature setting, and put the bread in for a few minutes.  In the meantime, you can get all your other ingredients together.  Just combine them in a bowl.  When the bread is dried out (or at least mostly so) crumble/tear it into the bowl with the other ingredients.  You want the pieces to be as small as possible, because you don't want a hunk of soggy bread in the middle of your meatball, but don't worry too much, because you're going to further mash it in a bit.  

Once all your ingredients are in a bowl, be sure you have clean hands (I'm everyone washes their hands before cooking anyway, but just to make extra-sure here.), reach in there, and sort of squeeze everything together.  Do this a few times, until everything is well-combined and homogenized.  Form into spheres and arrange on/in a baking pan.  Bake until the center of the meatballs are 170˚F (USDA recommendation).  Pick the largest meatball to be your tester, so you only have to poke holes in one of them.  

As you can see in the photo (left), they look a little funky after cooking-- the fat liquifies and solidifies, and it's not a pleasant thing to see.  Don't worry.  As you remove the meatballs from the pan, the nasty stuff wipes right off, and you'll be left with a presentable meatball.  That's the disadvantage to baking meatballs on their own.

I thought these turned out quite nicely.  I ate them over spaghetti squash (as you can see in the photo), and with pasta.  My fiancé ate them plain.  He said they were good, but he also asked why I always put weird things (like lentils) in my food.  So, taste-wise, I think they were a success.  However, the lentils remain obviously lentils, so they may not be the thing to serve a picky eater.  

Shepherdess Pie

After making runzas (see previous blog), I had some leftover filling to use up.  Oh, what to do with beef!? (So many options!)  I had some potatoes, too, so it looked like a variation on Shepherd's pie.  So, here's a version for one person, using pre-cooked meat.  Quick and easy.


Shepherdess Pie
~3/4 C leftover runza filling
1 potato
3 Tbsp half-and-half


Preheat your oven (or toaster oven, if you've got one of those) to 375˚F.

Peel and chop the potato, throw it in a pot, cover it with water, and add some salt.  Bring it to a boil and cook it until you can easily poke the potatoes with a fork.  (The amount of time with vary based on how  big the chopped potato pieces are.)  Drain the water, add the half-and-half, and mash the potato, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  If you have some butter or margarine, it never hurts to throw that in, too, but you don't necessarily need it.

Put the leftover runza filling into a ramekin, and spoon the potato over the top, making sure to press it up against the rim, sealing a neat edge.  This is super-easy if you use a scraper (rubber spatula) to spoon the potatoes, because you can just drag it across the edge of the ramekin, both sealing the edge and getting all of the potato off the scraper.  Pop your ramekin into the oven for about 15 minutes, until the top is just slightly golden-brown, and everything is warmed through.  TA-DA!





It's been a while since I actually made the variant described and photographed here.  However, I do make little 1-person shepherd's pies fairly often.  Other variations to consider include cheesy potatoes, different veggies in with your beef, and the addition of seasonings, such as an Italian herb blend or a steak seasoning. Experiment; you only need at most 1/4 pound of hamburger.  
Also, if you have more leftover meat and/or a large potato, you may want to make 2 of these little pies.  You can keep them unbaked in the fridge, and then when you want to eat it, it only takes as long as you need to heat up your [toaster]oven and cook it.

Almost-Runzas

If you've never been to the great state of Nebraska, you've probably never heard of runzas.  Heck, you could probably drive through and not hear of them.  And trust me, you are missing out.  If you get the chance, go there.  Stop at a Runza.  Yes, they are not only a food, but a food chain.  Don't get a burger.  Get a runza.  You won't regret it.  It's basically meaty deliciousness baked directly into a bun.  Now, a true runza is made with cabbage and onions as well as beef.  Don't let that put you off; I am certainly not a cabbage fan myself.  Which is part of why I used celery instead.   The other reason, if you must know, is because I had some celery that needed to be used up-- it was starting to go limp, which is a terrible thing for celery to be.  Even with the substitution, these turned out really well.  

Quick Almost-Runzas

2/3 lb. Ground Beef (I used somewhere between 1/2 and 1 lb. for this recipe)

1/3 Onion, diced

4-ish stalks Celery, diced

Salt

Pepper

dash Worcestershire Sauce

1 package pre-made Biscuit Dough

This starts out ridiculously easy-- throw the meat and veggies in a pan, and cook them until the meat is brown and the veggies are wilted.  I suppose if you really wanted to, you could pre-cook the onions and have some lovely caramelized flavors, but it's not necessary.  The juice/fat from the beef gives everything such wonderful flavor.  Drain off the excess meat juices/fat, and season everything with salt and pepper.  I have a friend who swears the pepper is the secret, and you just have to be liberal with it, beyond what you might think is necessary.  I don't know.  I just keep adding them until it tastes good.  Throw in the worcestershire sauce, too, and stir it around so everything is well-distributed.  The sauce is really going to give you umami taste and kick up the flavor an extra notch.  If you don't have it, it's not the end of the world, but it's not quite right, either.  Set the meat mixture (filling) to the side.

Preheat your oven to the temperature specified for baking by the biscuit package.  Take the biscuits out of the tube.  Split them mostly in half (see photo), and push/pull them a little until they're thinner and wider.  Spoon the filling into the biscuit, fold it back together, and pinch the edges tightly shut.  Arrange the almost-runzas on a cookie sheet (or in some sort of baking pan if you can't find a cookie sheet) and bake until the biscuits are lightly browned.  TA-DA!  Midwestern Deliciousness.

They're not chocolate chips, but they're not bad: Pancakes

Generally speaking, I am decidedly against raisins in baked goods.  I love raisins.  They make a great snack on their own.  They're good on salads.  They're excellent in trail mix.  But they have no business, as far as I am concerned, in baking.  It just does nasty things to their texture.
But there are some exceptions.  Mostly, they involve alcohol.  No, I don't mean getting drunk enough that you don't care what went into the cookies.  I mean soaking the raisins in alcohol.  (Oh yeah, this is another bourbon blog.)  The only way I like to cook with raisins is when they have been partially re-hydrated in booze, because that not only changes their texture, but it gives them some lovely flavor.  I first grudgingly made this concession with a recipe for scones, which suggested using raisins soaked in orange liqueur.  It wasn't half bad.  So I've since tried a few more things.  This latest is pancakes!  Pancakes made an ideal guinea pig for bourbon-soaked raisin use.  Since pancakes can be cooked one at a time, I got to taste it right away and decide if I liked it, or if I was just going to have some "grown-up raisins" as a snack.  I liked it.

Bourbon-Raisin Pancakes
Skimpy 1/4 C Raisins
Hearty 1/4 C bourbon
1 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp oil
1 egg
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla extract



Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder, then add the oil, egg, milk, and vanilla.  It might be worth noting that I never measure the vanilla in this recipe.  I just splash it in.  Give everything a good mixing, making sure you don't have too many clumps lodged on the bottom of you bowl.  It doesn't need to be smooth as silk, but biting into a baking powder blob is not tasty.  Trust me.  Also, if you prefer a fluffier pancake, measure a little heavier on the baking powder.  Add a little extra milk for a thinner cake.

Now, if you just wanted regular pancakes, go ahead and skip this paragraph.  But if not, this is the part where you add the raisins.  I went ahead and dumped everything in, including the excess bourbon.  Alternately, you may want to wait and sprinkle them on after pouring the pancake, because the raisins don't spread with the batter.  In this case, you could drain the excess bourbon into the batter if you wanted (it just gives a hint of flavor, like the vanilla does).

Start warming up your pan (or griddle) over medium heat.  You'll also want to grease it.  Here's where I get in disagreements.  I prefer to have a minimally-greased cooking surface, so I pour maybe 1 Tbsp of oil, then use a paper towel to wipe up the excess.  I then give the cooking surface a quick rub with the oily paper towel between pancakes.  I do this to avoid a splotchy appearance-- my pancakes come out a uniform, matte brown.  If you have excess oil, you wind up with rings or splotches that are lighter than the rest of the pancake (see photo at left).  I know people who prefer their pancakes to look like this.  I don't really mind (they taste great either way!), but I try to avoid it nonetheless. 

If you have a mixing bowl with a spout, you can pour directly into the pan.  I don't have one right now. So I either use a ladle or a measuring cup.  For smaller pancakes, I usually use the 1/2 C measure, because it's already dirty.  For larger ones, I get out the ladle (those things have surprising capacity).  Pour your pancake, and take a few deep breaths, because now you have to wait a bit.  I have gotten in the habit of making sure I have something else to do, because I hate waiting for food to cook.  Growing up, my mom always told me to look at the bubbles.  When the pancake starts looking spongey (see photo, right), it's probably ready to flip.  Check by lifting an edge.  If it's golden-brown or brownish, you're in great shape.  Flip it!  If it is burnt, you're checking too late or cooking on too-high heat.  If your batter is thick, you're more likely to have problems with burning, because that center will take a long time to cook.  (Experience:  I love a fluffy pancake, so I added extra flour once.  I had to cook those cakes at a low temperature so that the center wasn't raw, and it took about 2 hours to finish all the cakes.  WAY too long!)

After flipping, it doesn't take long for the pancake to be finished.  When the edges look set, peek underneath.  If it is dry and brownish, you've got a finished pancake.  Pull it off, and if you're using the minimal greasing technique, swab the pan with some fresh oil (if you had excess oil, you don't need to re-grease every time) and pour the next one.

A couple more great things about this recipe: it freezes well.  Whenever I make pancakes for myself, I end up freezing most of them, because this recipe makes enough to feed a family (assuming they're not ravenous).  I also frequently find myself making double or triple batches-- this recipe multiplies well.

Honey-Bourbon Glaze

So, now that I bought a bottle of bourbon to make a batch of cupcakes, I'm using it for other things.  Because it is delicious.  One of the first things I tried was a glaze.  Simple, uses about 5 ingredients, took about 2 minutes to make, plus cook time for the chicken: a good weeknight meal with lots of flavor.  The recipe that follows makes enough glaze for 1 generously flavored chicken breast.

Honey-Bourbon Glazed Chicken Breast
1 Tbsp Honey
1 1/2 Tbsp Bourbon
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 chicken breast
1 Tbsp oil for cooking

Combine the honey, bourbon, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  It should form a liquid with a viscosity similar to oil; fluid, but a little thicker than water.  Spoon a little of the glaze over the chicken breast.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and place the chicken, glaze-side down, in the pan.  Spoon most of the remaining glaze on the upper side of the chicken (it will flow down into the pan and thicken as the chicken cooks).  After the bottom half of the chicken is cooked, flip the chicken over, and pour the remaining glaze onto the cooked side of the chicken.  Be sure to periodically stir the chicken and glaze around the pan to prevent burning of the glaze.  Cook until the chicken is done, plate it, and pour the thickened glaze over.

As you can see in the photo below, I served this simply with potatoes.  I sliced them thin and cooked them in oil in the same pan I had just used for the chicken (without rinsing-- if there was any more glaze in there, the potatoes were going to get it), and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  The simplicity of the potatoes (and fresh veggies on the side) allowed the glazed chicken to really stand out.

As for the chicken: WONDERFUL flavor.  I was really pleased with how this turned out.  I used a little bit more pepper than I probably meant to, but that actually gave it a nice kick.  It had a sweet and savory balance, and I found myself wanting to wipe every last bit off my plate.  I would like to try marinading with the bourbon next time; it gives an additional tenderness that you don't get with a glaze.

Beginning of Bourbon Blogs (CUPCAKES!)

 

      For my 21st birthday, I was given Booze Cakes, by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone (ISBN: 9781594744235). It features a fantastic selection of cakes baked with alcohols, ranging from traditionally spiked cakes (Lane Cake), to traditional cakes spiked for kicks, to traditional cocktails reinvented as cakes. I decided to make myself Mint Julep Cupcakes for my birthday this year; I happen to think mint julep is a fantastic drink. Bourbon has a sweet, almost syrupy quality that is balanced by the addition of ice and/or water. The mint makes it even more refreshing and summery. I adapted Castella and Stone's recipe a little bit to better suit my needs. My version follows:

Mint Julep Cupcakes
1/2 C butter or margarine
1 C sugar
4 eggs
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 C flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp mint extract*
1 Tbsp bourbon

     Begin by melting the chocolate, preheating the oven to 350˚ F, and prepping the baking pan. Put the in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it on about 50%power for 30 second intervals, stirring thoroughly between intervals until all chocolate is melted. Grease and flour a 12-cup cupcake pan.
     Cream together the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy (see my 1st blog for a picture of what that should look like). Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the chocolate, flour, and extracts. Once those are well-combined, stir in the bourbon. Spoon the batter into the cupcake tins and bake about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let it cool completely.

Whipped Bourbon-Cream Frosting
1 1/2 packages of cream cheese (12 oz. total)
1/2 C confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1 C heavy cream
1 tsp mint extract
1 Tbsp bourbon

     Combine the cream cheese, sugar, and cream, and stir together until the sugar is mostly moist. Switch to egg beaters and mix everything to a uniform, fluffy consistency. Add in the mint extract and bourbon, and adjust to taste.

     Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, slice the top and bottom halves apart.  Spread the frosting between the halves and on top.  I recommend using a piping bag-- it allows a thicker layer and looks prettier-- but you don't need one.  Top it off with a mint leaf.


     *I was unable to find mint extract at the grocery store I went to.  So I improvised and made some myself.  It was not the same as what you would get from the bottle, but it worked for this recipe.  Basically, I made a simple syrup by boiling a quarter cup of water and dissolving the better part of 1/8th cup of sugar in it.  I poured this over 2 or 3 sprigs of mint, mashed them a bit with the back of a spoon, and let it sit for about an hour or so (I went grocery shopping).  It gives a nice minty flavor, and works well in drinks, too.  I don't know how long it will last-- I used it up in 1 day, mostly in the recipe.  Because I don't know how it compares, strength-wise, to mint extract that you purchase, I sort of tasted everything I put it in and added more as I felt was necessary.

     I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet baking chips for the recipe, which I thought melted VERY nicely.  Chocolate can be quite tricky, especially (in my experience) darker chocolate.  These not only melted beautifully, they taste excellent.  I happily noshed on the remaining 3/4 of the bag.

     I liked the cupcakes a lot; my roommate was a fan of them as well.  They weren't too boozy; actually, I wouldn't have minded more bourbon flavor in the cupcake.  The frosting I was able to adjust as I made it.  The cupcakes were quite dry, but that's probably because I baked them about half an hour (double the recommended time.)  I thought they looked underdone, and figured my oven must've been running cold (it was the first time I used it).  After a while, I noticed they didn't look that much different, and had the bright idea to actually TEST them.  (Whoa!!)  Buy then, alas, they were quite dry, but fortunately not burnt.  
     I thought the frosting recipe yielded an awful lot-- I ended up eating about half of it on waffles.  Next time I'll probably try leaving the cream cheese at a single (8 oz.) block, which I hope will give it a more whipped cream taste/texture and slightly decrease the yield.  
      I'll make these cupcakes again sometime, for sure.