breakfast casserole

Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve.  Middle age is when you’re forced to.  ~Bill Vaughn

I can’t drink as much as I used to. Well, I can drink all the wine I want; but, the misery I live through the next day depletes all of the fun of doing it. Wow, when did I become responsible and mature? Unfortunately, I have to think about every slice of cheese and french fry that crosses my lips because pounds add up on a daily basis now like they never did before. I used to be able to eat anything and never gain an inch around my waist. I am turning 40 in a couple of weeks; and yes, along with the above mentioned limitations, it is getting difficult for me to stay up past midnight. I remember when staying up late was so exciting. Now, I am more thrilled with lying in bed late into the morning or sneaking in a nap. So, with New Year’s Eve around the corner, I have to start planning ahead and my planning always involves food.

We generally spend New Year’s Eve with the kids. Our friends love this because this gives them a place to bring their kids. We love it because watching the kid’s enthusiasm is contagious. Also,  I know in a few years, they won’t want to spend it with us. I am taking advantage of it while I can. It’s a lot of fun spending it with the kids. We watch movies and play games. I make a big festive dinner. Everyone discusses their resolutions. Then, at midnight we sip champagne and hug and kiss. The kids drink Martinelli’s sparkling apple juice, of course. We all head to bed sometime around 1 a.m.

Although I am no good at staying up late anymore, I am really looking forward to turning forty. For some odd reason, I have always believed that my forties are going to be fantastic. I know this is going to be a great decade for me. Just the thought of the kids being a bit older (but still at home), being happily married for over a decade, feeling comfortable in my own skin, and especially realizing that I don’t know as much as I used to believe I knew, feels happy to me. I’m feeling more peaceful. So, I am fine with being a wimpy drinker and going to bed earlier then my younger sisters or most of my friends. I get made fun of a lot. Oh well. I’m at the age where I can be comfortable with this.

Knowing that waking up early to make everyone breakfast after staying up late would be difficult, I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a recipe which could be prepared the night before and then popped into the oven on New Year’s Day. This way, whether you are going to bed shortly after 1 or many hours later, you won’t have to put too much effort into breakfast.

This recipe doesn’t include meat; but, sausage or bacon could easily be added to this dish. I actually made this Christmas morning at my mom’s house last Saturday.

It’s perfect because it only takes five minutes to prepare and then one hour in the oven. You could put it in the oven and crawl back in bed for another hour.

We put it into the oven and then watched the kids open their gifts. Once it came out of the oven, it was a great gift to the adults.

This casserole is fluffy and cheesy. It is really delicious and perfect if you had a bit too much to drink the night before. It is not low fat, that is for certain. It includes several cups of cheese, lots of milk and cream, twelve eggs, and bread. However, it could be your last hurrah before that diet starts, if you are thinking about dieting. I don’t recommend it…dieting, that is. I have been thinking about New Year’s resolutions. For me, I would like to get to my yoga class more often, take more long walks with Claud and the kids, stress less, read more, take more bubble baths, be a good mother and wife and friend and boss. I want to think less about money and weight and concentrate more on love, laughing, and time with family. Finally, I want to learn how to make so much more delicious food to share with everyone I love. I recommend waking up on New Year’s Day, putting this casserole into the oven, placing the “Love Actually “DVD into your DVD player. Then, watch “Love Actually” while eating this casserole in bed. This would definitely start your year off right. Happy New Year!

New Year’s Day Breakfast Casserole
Serves: 8
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

6 slices bread, toasted and cubed
4 cups shredded cheese
12 eggs
3 cups milk
2 cups cream
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon mustard
6 pieces bacon or sausage (optional)
2 tomatoes, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish. Place the bread cubes into the dish. Whisk together the eggs and milk. Whisk the salt and pepper into the egg mixture. Whisk in the mustard. Pour this over the bread. Sprinkle on the meat if you are adding meat. You can leave the dish in the refrigerator until the morning when you are ready to bake it. Bake in the oven for one hour. After thirty minutes, place tomato slices on top. Continue to bake for thirty minutes more.

So many different references have popped up since we watched the movie. Now the kids understand what it means to be a Scrooge or who The Ghost of Christmas Past is or Marley’s Ghost and Tiny Tim. Jack said, “oh, is this what the movie ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’ was about?” “Yes!! This is what they were referring to.” I am so happy they know about this amazing story. Some day, I hope they will read Charles Dickens’ book. Although I didn’t get to watch my 25-30 movies, I was able to watch this one classic and share an amazing tale with the kids.

There is one part in the story where Tiny Tim’s mom places a goose on the table and tells the Cratchit family that she hopes one day to have a big turkey for Christmas dinner. This got me thinking about Christmas meals. We always have a prime rib for dinner at my mom’s house. My amazing friend, Jules, makes a duck on Christmas Eve, a turkey on Christmas day, and a ham on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas). That’s a lot of meat. Well, I decided to make a duck to write about here. I made a duck about a year ago and that was my first duck. So, I am no expert at duck cooking. I went to the store to make sure they even had a duck. I didn’t remember seeing them. I found the ducks, right next to the geese. I looked at a goose to see how much they cost. The goose was $78. Mrs. Crachit would have been amazed. A goose cost this much? She wanted a turkey, and nowadays you can get a turkey free with a tank of gas. Things have changed.

Well, I went with the $18 duck. I decided a goose at that price is meant for royalty. We are more like the Cratchit family. Duck is a bit pricey; but, I decided to splurge. I wanted to come up with a recipe which was simple and tasty. I asked Claud if he had any good ideas for my newly purchased duck. He said to incorporate bacon. Great idea, I thought. I decided to wrap the duck like a gift in the bacon and just roast it with a bit of salt and pepper. Then, I thought I would serve it with crispy kale.

I have been reading a lot about kale lately. We used to use kale a lot at holiday dinners to dress up the platters. I always thought of it as a garnish. I hadn’t considered eating it. However, lately, it is all the rage for its health benefits. Kale is loaded with nutrients and compounds that aid in warding off diseases and ailments. Phytonutrients in kale help the liver to neutralize cancerous substances in the liver. It is also rich in Vitamin C and beta carotene. Normally, kale has a pretty bitter taste, if eaten raw. However, I have come up with this incredible way to eat it where all of the bitterness disappears. All I do is chop it up, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Then, I spread it on a cookie sheet and slip it under the broiler for five minutes. It comes out crispy and crunchy and so tasty. It might not be for everyone, Daphne thinks it’s gross; but, Claud and I love it. I make it all of the time as a snack.

I served the duck with crispy kale, roasted potatoes, garlic, onions, and artichoke hearts. I roasted the vegetables until they were very crispy. It was absolutely delicious. Oh, don’t forget the sauce. I removed the duck from the roasting dish. Placed the dish right on the stove top, added chicken stock and red wine. Then, I let this simmer for about five minutes. Thicken the sauce up with a melted butter and flour mixture and you are all set.

Roasted duck with vegetables and crispy kale

Now, they are 11 and 12 years old. I threw the Disney towel idea at them and they weren’t going for it this year. Oh well, I’ll think of something we can afford. I have plenty of time. There are 11 shopping days left. I’m hoping to come into some huge windfall of money by then. It could happen.

As a matter of fact, my sister just received a phone call fromwww.giveanon.org. This is an organization which facilitates giving to people who you want to help without letting the recipient know who is doing the giving. What an amazing idea!

So, she is to expect a check in the mail from who knows who. It’s killing her not to know who its from; but, so much fun.

Sometimes I think about what it would be like to have lots of extra money to give. Sure, the kids and I still volunteer at the shelter a few times each month; but, what would it be like to really give big? How fun would it be to change peoples lives through a generous donation of money, especially right now when times are tough for so many families?

I think that would be a wonderful thing to do during the holiday season. Imagine sending out a check to cover all of the household expenses for the month of December so a family can have a Christmas celebration without worrying about the expense.

If we aren’t in a position to do something like this during this holiday season, let’s just give in other ways.

Keep your spirits up with everyone you come into contact with. Even that annoying uncle who will be there for the Christmas dinner, or the cousin who always drinks too much and causes problems. Keep your patience in the long lines while you shop. Don’t fret over the guy who cuts you off on the street. He didn’t really mean it. Tell everyone you love that you still love them. People like to hear this and be reminded. Call old friends. Hug new friends. Enjoy your children. Really enjoy them and look at them and realize how fast they grow.

If you can’t afford to get the gifts you wish you could give to everyone you love (I’m a member of this group), give what you can and make up for it in love. In the long run, this will be what sticks. They will remember the time spent watching Christmas movies, buying a Charlie Brown style Christmas tree, stringing popcorn garland, smelling the turkey baking, and making mulled cider more than receiving a laptop or Nintendo DSI XL…I hope.

This week’s recipe is inspired by making something inexpensive and turning it into something special for the holidays. It’s just a roasted chicken.

However, by adding bacon, spinach, garlic and cheese, you can turn it into something fabulous.

I whisked together melted butter and honey and coated the top of the chicken with this mixture so the skin would come out super crispy and so tasty.

The result was one of the best chicken dishes I have ever cooked.

Claud was so impressed. If Claud loves it, I know I did something great.

I created this dish after reading an article where the cook was stuffing bacon under the skin of a chicken. I had never heard of such a thing; but, I thought, how can you go wrong with bacon?

I have wrapped bacon around poultry and it always turns out fabulous.

I just added a few extra things to this idea: spinach, cheddar, garlic, etc…and made it my own.

Plus the green of the spinach looks festive when you slice it up.

whole chicken, taken off the bone (watch my video, “taking chicken off of the bone” on www.youtube.com/simplyfoodify).

5 strips of thick cut bacon

2 onions sliced (for gravy)

Two cups of fresh spinach leaves

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons butter, melted

sprinkle salt and pepper

Fingerling potatoes or red potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take the chicken off the bone. Set aside. Cook the bacon until it is crispy. If you want to make a gravy for this dish, slice an onion and saute it in the bacon grease. This will be the start of your gravy. In a food processor, combine bacon, spinach, garlic, cheese, and bread crumbs. Gently lift the skin apart from the chicken and place this spinach mixture in between the skin and meat of the chicken. Place the onions on the bottom of an oven safe dish. Place the chicken on the onions. In a small bowl, whisk the butter and honey together. Pour this over the top of the chicken. Spread the potatoes around the chicken in the dish. Place into the oven for one hour. Check every 20 minutes to baste the chicken and to make sure the skin isn’t burning. If the skin gets too black or crispy, just cover with foil until the chicken cooks through. Remove chicken from dish. Place it to rest on a cutting board. Pour the juices from the dish and the onions into a skillet. Whisk in two tablespoons of melted butter combined with a tablespoon of flour and it will thicken up. This can be your gravy for the dish. Slice the chicken.

Serve with potatoes and gravy.

Spiced Carrots

This week I am thinking about balance. It’s important to have fun; but, not so much fun that you aren’t productive. On the flip side, you don’t want to work so hard that you have no fun in your life. Jack Nicholson told us that in “The Shining”.

Recently, my jeans are getting tighter. I’d like to think they are shrinking; but, rational thought tells me I am growing. Darn that rational thought. I know my growth in all the wrong places is due to the fact that II have neglected my gym membership for two months now. I keep thinking I am going to go tomorrow, tomorrow, then tomorrow. I have just been so lazy. Yet, I haven’t cut down on my calorie intake. Now, that we are in the midst of the holiday season, I am quite possibly eating more than usual.

So, yesterday, I decided to start a diet. I should have gone to the gym instead; but, I saw this diet recommended by Gwyneth Paltrow and thought, “well, I would love to look like her, sing like her, act like her, make the sort of money she makes, have a daughter named Apple (no, not really)!” Thus, I was successfully lured into the plan. Yesterday morning I made the green detox drink which is supposed to start your day on the right track. It consisted of an apple, spinach leaves, watercress, cucumber, celery, and pretty much anything green you could find in your fridge. Then, I blended it all up and sipped it until it was gone. It wasn’t too bad, believe it or not. For lunch, I brought a homemade salad to work. At around 1:30 p.m., I was hungry again. By 3:00 p.m., I was getting dizzy. I ate an orange and a few nuts to keep my sanity.

This was a Wednesday. Jack has hockey practice on Wednesday evenings. In Las Vegas, the hockey rink is connected to a bar. Brilliant! So, while Jack practices, Claud and I can play video black jack and sip wine. We can even watch every now and then through the glass wall that separates us from the arctic chill of the ice rink. This is exactly what we did. Then, as a special treat, I suggested we buy some chicken strips for Jack since I knew the salmon and kale I planned to cook for dinner would never reach his lips. Claud agreed and a few minutes later the to-go container arrived. It smelled so good. I couldn’t resist opening it up and peeking inside.

Keep in mind that I had only really eaten fruit and vegetables all day. Furthermore, I had two glasses of Cabernet in my system. All reason was pretty much gone. I opened the box and decided to have just one french fry. Then, I decided I should open the ranch and have one dipped in there. About five fries into it, I thought, “I can eat anything for dinner, right?” I had eaten so well all day, I should be able to have a reasonable dinner. I don’t need to have salmon and kale.  I asked Claud if he wanted to order something from the bar to eat. We decided on the “Butcher Block” pizza, large of course. “Butcher Block” meant it had every type of meat on it: sausage, peperoni, Canadian bacon, you name it. Heck, I ordered another glass of wine to wash it down. Then, I decided to get another ranch to dip each bit of pizza into.

By the time I finished the last bite, I was incredibly full. I told Claud he would need to wedge me into the car and then roll me into the house. I thought this was very funny at the time. On the drive home, I moaned about needing to be in something with an elastic waist. I plopped myself onto the couch, and a few minutes later, I fell into a pizza induced coma. Claud woke me up to go to bed soon after.

I woke up in the middle of the night wondering what happened to me. I realized that life has to have balance. If you have too much of one thing, i.e. vegetables, you are likely to want to overdose on cheese and meat. It’s all about balance. Also, its never a good idea to drink wine after all you have eaten is leaves and apples. Besides, I like to chew my food and a diet consisting of two liquid meals is out of balance for me. I realized what I already knew, I need to eat healthy with occasional treats (cheese and wine) and get my lazy self to the gym. If I didn’t have a headache from the wine, I would have gone this morning. Tomorrow I hope I will go. If not, maybe the day after or the next day.

This recipe is based on the concept of balance. It combines vitamin and nutrient rich carrots with deliciously sweet brown sugar and butter.

sliced carrots

It is a great side dish for a holiday meal and sweet enough that the kids will eat them.

A bowl of carrots

I love the citrus flavor that combines with these sweet carrots. Also, the orange will add amazing color to any holiday feast.

Carrots simmering in butter and citrus

Spiced Carrots
2 pounds carrots. If you use the small peeled carrots, cut into quarters lengthwise.
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon cayenne

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the carrots and cook in the butter for five minutes. Add brown sugar, water, lemon, salt, cinnamon and cayenne. Mix together. Let this simmer for ten minutes. Let the juice simmer and reduce to half.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Maple Syrup

All of the build up and Thanksgiving is over as quickly as it came. Luckily, it will be back around in no time since years seem to fly by. I am still basking in the glow of all of the delicious food… and so are my thighs, butt, and belly.

I had to eat everything as I was cooking it. A good cook has to sample everything before she serves her guests. So, by dinner time, I had been eating all day long, for two days. Then, I just piled everything on my plate, poured on the gravy and ate even more.

Claud made the most amazing gravy. It was well worth it. I read recently that it is OK to let yourself go as long as you can get yourself back. That is the philosophy I am living by for the holidays. Sure, I will be able to get myself back, right?

At my mom’s house, everything went smoothly. The food looked beautiful and tasted even better. I spent two days cooking pies, cheesecake, biscuits, ham, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, spiced carrots, brussel sprouts, and more. I had the best time cooking dish after dish. Some people enjoy watching movies, reading books, taking walks, etc… For me, the best relaxation is cooking food. So, I was in heaven. You can see all of the food on my Facebook fan page, “Simply Foodify.” If you see a photo of a dish which you would like the recipe for, just comment and I will get it to you. I am also going to be posting holiday ideas each day leading up to Christmas on this page.

Brussel Sprouts

Thanksgiving 2010 is officially over; but, this is just the beginning of the holiday cooking season. Thank goodness for that. I don’t even want to talk about the shopping that needs to happen. I am putting that out of my mind for the time being. That’s another great thing about Thanksgiving, no gifts. It’s all about the eating and the drinking. Unless, of course, you went Black Friday shopping, which I never do. I saw some of the car lines piling out of the malls on Black Friday and didn’t envy any of those people. Some people love the holiday shopping and need to get started straight away.

Browning the Pancetta

I like to go Christmas shopping a day or two before Christmas. Yes, I am one of those crazy people you see in Target at the last minute. You might be picking up some last minute tape or wrapping paper and I am just getting going on the gifts. I do get going early on the food planning and preparation. I also get started early on the Christmas music. Last week, I had a few complaints from people at my work telling me that it was too early for the Christmas music which was coming from my office. I shrugged it off, sang quieter, and smiled. I love Christmas music. There is nothing like a little Nat King Cole to lift my spirits. I also like spending the whole of December watching Christmas films like: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, White Christmas, Four Christmas’, Elf, and It’s a Wonderful Life, to name a few favorites.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

I have four weeks of food articles to write until Christmas day. I plan to write about recipes which are holiday inspired. This week, I am writing about the brussel sprouts we made for Thanksgiving dinner.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

These would be a great dish to bring to a holiday pot luck, to cook for Christmas dinner, or to make any time. They are so simple to cook and taste delicious. It’s the Pancetta that really makes them delicious. The Pancetta is salty and crunchy.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Maple Syrup

Besides, what doesn’t taste better with bacon? Pancetta isn’t really bacon but it is pork belly which has been salt cured and spiced. It is a combination of the salty pancetta and the sweet maple syrup that makes these brussel sprouts so delicious. You won’t believe how good these taste.

Brussel Sprouts w/Pancetta & Maple Syrup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound Pancetta, thinly sliced and cut into ribbons

2 pounds brussel sprouts, stems trimmed and cut in half

1/4 cup maple syrup

A pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Fry the Pancetta for about ten minutes, until it is crispy. Pour the brussel sprouts in the pan with the Pancetta and mix together. Pour this mixture onto a cookie sheet. Pour the maple syrup onto them and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Place in oven and bake for twenty minutes.

Spaghetti Squash

There is nothing more humbling than a sudden realization that you aren’t as good of a person as you thought you were. Don’t get me wrong; I never thought I was perfect. Everyone has areas of their character that need improvement. I knew there are parts of my character which I could develop. However, I was under the impression that I am quite an easy going person. I love to meet new people. I don’t mind moving around a lot for my husband’s job. I love going to new places and learning about new cultures. I try to understand where people are coming from and not to judge easily. That sounds easy going, right? Then, I had this discussion with my husband and mom a few months earlier which startled me.

We were all sitting around the table after a delicious meal, sipping wine when the subject of an easy going person came up. I chimed in with, “Well, I KNOW I am an easy going person.” My mom and Claud looked at each other and laughed. I was so confused. I knew they were wrong. I didn’t know if they were joking with me or what was happening. Since that day, I have brought it up again several times, “Were you two joking?” I would ask Claud. “You weren’t serious, right?” I’d question my mom. Finally, I think Claud said, “Yes, it was all a big joke,” just to get me to stop talking about it. I didn’t realize then that bringing it up so often was far from being easy going. I just wasn’t getting it.

Then, this week, I had an epiphany. I was going back and forth in an email conversation with one of my clients. The discussion escalated into an uncomfortable battle of he said she said. It was ridiculous. I finally picked up the phone and had a real verbal conversation which straightened everything out in a matter of minutes. UgghI have such difficulty with email conversations sometimes. Anyway, the person I was speaking with said something that triggered my epiphany, “when I write to you, sometimes you respond as if you are being attacked.” I told her that I felt attacked. She was absolutely right. Her criticism makes my chest tighten up, my head ache and my stomach starts to hurt. She said she never meant to make me feel that way and that she wasn’t attacking me at all. Huh?

I hung up the phone and sat there in silence thinking, wow, I do this. I can’t take criticism very well. I am NOT easy going. This needs to end now. I felt so relieved. This is what Claud and my mom were talking about. I immediately called my mom and left her a message, “Mom! I am NOT easy going. I get it. Call me.” All of these instances of my feeling attacked and reacting badly flooded my mind. Oh, how I wish I could take that all back. I can’t. All I can do is improve on this today. I gave up on work that day and decided to focus on what I love insteadcooking.

I went to the market to figure out what I would make for this article. I walked through the produce aisle and spotted a prominent display of squashes. It’s that time of year when all of the different squashes make their appearance. They looked so pretty; but, they also looked like hard work. I bet a lot of people pass them up because they look difficult to work with. I have cooked many squashes and know they aren’t really that difficult to work with. I thought it would be a good idea to show people how easy going they can be. Sure, they have a tough outer protective rind that seems impenetrable; but, all it takes is a little heat to loosen that baby up and make it easy to work with.

Spaghetti Squash

I decided to cook a spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is also known as noodle squash and gold string melon. I think gold string melon is appropriate because it resembles gold string more than spaghetti once it’s cooked. It is high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin C. They can be baked, boiled, cooked in the microwave or cooked in the slow cooker. How’s that for easy going? Once you have cooked them for a bit, they are soft and easy to work with. All you do is add a little salt, pepper, and butter and you have a delicious and nutritious side dish. I served mine with chicken and potatoes.

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Chicken

However, you could serve it with any meat or fish. Once again, squash reveals its easy going nature. I hope to some day be as easy going as squash. With a conscious effort, I think I can accomplish this.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash

Cup butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Place it rind up in an oven safe dish with about an inch of water at the bottom. Place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for about ten minutes. Scoop out the inside of the rind into a bowl. Add the butter, salt and pepper. Mix well. Serve.

Oxtail Stew

Many years ago, my husband was asked to be an apprentice for a well known chef in London, Simon Hopkinson. This was a great opportunity for him.�Claud was young and eager to learn everything he could from this amazing chef and his team of cooks. �He had been working at an oyster bar beneath the restaurant for a few years, shucking oysters and serving champagne.

On his first day, one of the other cooks told him he needed to prepare a water reduction for the chef. They told him to boil a series of huge pots of water and let�them boil until each pot reduces to one inch. They explained to Claud that these were�meant to create the perfect water reduction that the chef would use for his sauces later that evening. Claud did as he was told and filled several huge pots with water and placed�them over high heat. He watched the pots boil for a very long time until there was only one inch left of water in each pot. Later in the evening, the chef walked in and Claud told him that his water reductions were ready. Simon gave him a puzzled look.

All of the other cooks broke out into hysterical�fits of �laughter. They pointed and laughed at Claud. Claud realized he had been tricked. There is no such thing as a water reduction. You reduce sauces and stews when you want to create an intense flavor but a water reduction doesn’t make any sense. Claud was embarrassed but knew he was a rookie and this was part of the game. He had been�officially hazed. Now he was a true member of the team.� After this episode, he went on to learn what a reduction was really about and how to make some of the most amazing sauces and stews using this method.

As I made oxtail stew this week and the sauce was reducing, Claud recalled this old story about when he was fooled by the other chefs and told me and the kids all about it. I chose oxtail stew this week because I ran across oxtails in the market and remembered how delicious they were last time Claud made this stew.

oxtail stew ingredients

I thought oxtail stew would be an interesting recipe to discuss because you don’t see it very often. However, oxtail stew has been around for a very long time and can be found in the recipes of many cultures. There are recipes for oxtail stew in Chinese, Greek, Indian, Spanish, English, and Jamaican cookbooks to name a few. It is difficult to find a culture which does not have a recipe for oxtail stew.

deglaze

The dish is very simple to make; but, takes four hours to cook. You don’t need to watch over it while it cooks. It might be a good idea to make it in a crock pot if you aren’t going to be home for the four hours. Some people may be squeamish about eating meat off of a tail. If you can get past that part, the end result of this stew is so rich and full of flavor. The meat falls off of the bone and almost melts on your tongue. It is a hearty and filling way to warm up after a cold fall day.

Oxtail Stew

Time: 4 1/2 hours

Serves: 6

4�pounds oxtails

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced in half and smashed

3 cups red wine (I used cabernet)

6 cups beef/chicken stock

8 oz. tomato sauce

3 bay leaves

4 large potatoes

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon butter

sprigs of parsley to garnish

Spinkle salt and pepper on the ox tails. Heat the olive oil over high heat in a dutch oven. Once the oil is quite hot, add the oxtails. Brown the oxtails on all sides. Take the oxtails out and place on a plate. Place the onion into the dutch oven and saute for five minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another five minutes. Pour in one cup of wine to deglaze the pot. Scrape any of the browned meat from the bottom of the pot. Pour in the rest of the wine, the stock and the tomato sauce. Add the bay leaves. Let this simmer for three hours. Add in the potatoes, carrots and celery for the last hour. During the four hours of cooking, the stew will reduce, you should see that the liquid has lowered a few inches from the start. This creates a richer flavor. Melt the butter and mix it in with the flour. Whisk this combination into the stew to thicken it. Add any more salt and pepper if it needs it. Serve and enjoy.

Related articles

• Recipe: Pairings: Oxtail-Stuffed Peppers (nytimes.com)
• Kare Kare Filipino Recipe (notecook.com)
• Slowly does it: Mark Hix uses less well-known cuts of meat to create warming autumn broths (independent.co.uk)
• Chilean Pinot Noirs & Oxtails (wine-by-benito.blogspot.com)

The past weeks have been consumed with my daughter Daphne trying to make it into the talent show at her school. The woman who is in charge was quite brutal during the audition process. Often times, kids would stumble into the hall after trying out, sobbing because they, “just aren’t good enough for this show.” I think she was trying to be Simon Cowell.

Monday afternoon, I picked Daphne up and she was on the verge of tears. The teacher told her that she was probably not good enough but to check the call list just in case she makes it. I told her not to worry if she didn’t make it in the show and that if she did, it would be a mixed blessing. She had never heard of a mixed blessing and asked me what I meant by that. “Well,” I told her, “in this situation, it would be an advantage to you if you get into the show because you really want to be in it, you love to sing, and it would be a lot of fun for you. However, it might come with disadvantages because this teacher doesn’t seem very nice and might be very critical of you and your performance. That is a mixed blessing…a little good and a little bad.” She nodded in acknowledgement.

The next day, Daphne texted me with, “It’s a crossed blessing.” I laughed and was relieved she made it in. I love it when kids get the words wrong. Jack used to call seagulls sea eagles. It makes sense to call them sea eagles because they are big birds at the sea, like eagles. Here, a crossed blessing makes sense too. At least she understood the meaning.

In the end,�Daphne made it into the show and has been practicing really hard to prove she deserves to be in it. The teacher has been really nice ever since. I guess it wasn’t a mixed blessing after all…just a blessing.

Later that evening I made my chicken picatta. I tried to remember how it was prepared so long ago in that delightful little restaurant. I decided to make it my own by adding peppers, onions and garlic to the butter and caper sauce.

I thought this would make it more colorful and tasty. The battered chicken in butter seemed too beige to me.

About half way through the recipe, as the chicken was baking in the oven, I looked at Claud and said, “Oh no, I forgot to pound the chicken into flat pieces.” Claud gave me a horrified look. “What, is that a big deal?” I asked him. “Yes, that is how chicken picatta is made.” Well, it was too late to worry about that. The sauce was almost finished and�the chicken was nearly ready.

I had to go with it. I put everything on the plate. First I placed the lightly battered chicken breasts along side the roasted eggplant. The chicken looked so overweight. I was a little sad. Then, I poured over the buttery pepper and caper sauce. Then, it looked really good.

We sat down to taste it. We were both very quiet. A few bites in, I had to ask, “is it okay?” Claud said, “I think not pounding out the chicken was a crossed blessing. Sure, you are teaching people the wrong way to cook chicken picatta, but this is quicker and tastes just as good.” Ahh yes, maybe my chunky chicken is�a crossed blessing.��

Chicken Picatta (fat style)

2 large chicken breasts, butterflied

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 garlic clove, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup chicken broth

juice from two lemons

3 tablespoons capers

flat leaf Italian parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the salt and pepper into the flour in a bowl. Place each piece of chicken into the flour mixture. In a skillet, heat the olive oil on high. Just before the oil smokes, turn the heat down to medium high. Place the chicken breasts into the skillet to brown. Turn over after four minutes and brown the other side for about four minutes. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and put this into the oven. In the same skillet, saute the onions and peppers for five minutes. Add the garlic for another three minutes. Add the butter and melt it completely. Pour in the chicken broth. Simmer for five minutes. You can thicken it up by adding a mixture of 1 tablespoon of melted butter and two tablespoons of flour. Whisk this into the sauce. You may not need to thicken it. You decide. Add the capers at the last minute. Take the chicken out of the oven. Make sure it is cooked all of the way through. Place the chicken on a plate and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with parsley. Serve it with a vegetable. It tasted wonderful with roasted eggplant.

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Well, Wednesday afternoon did not turn out as planned. Imagine that! To make a long story short, one of my kids decided to test the limits of my sanity. I won’t discuss the details and embarrass the child here; although, I probably should to teach that little stinker a lesson. �No, retaliation is never the answer. By the time Claud came home from work, I was drained. We sat down together and talked about the situation and what the consequences would be for the child. I�felt a tiny bit better and�went upstairs to take a bath and to regroup. The thoughts of sending the child to boarding school or military school were no longer streaming through my mind. I calmed myself down.

As I headed back downstairs, refreshed and ready to cook lamb, I smelled something wonderful wafting in front the kitchen. Claud was cooking. I love it when Claud cooks. He is an artist in the kitchen. He tosses together ingredients like its second nature. He has a natural ability to combine food that not only works but sings. Everything he makes tastes magnificent. I think he felt sorry for me and decided I needed a break from cooking that evening. I didn’t ask any questions. I grabbed my camera and documented his meal. Of course, he had�found my lamb meat.

Claud always begins a meal with an onion. He plans his recipe while he chops. So, onions were sauteing in the skillet along with celery. He never looks at recipes for ideas. All of his ideas are in his mind. He cooked the lamb meat in mustard seed, mustard, Worschestershire sauce, turmeric, thyme, basil, salt and pepper. I don’t think I would have come up with that combination had I cooked it myself; but, I knew it would taste perfect.

As the stew was almost ready to serve, he said he needed to thicken it up. Usually, Claud mixes some flour in water and slowly whisks this into the stew to make it thicken. I told him that I learned from Julia Child‘s cookbook last week that you can mix the flour into melted butter and whisk that into the stew to thicken it. It works much better. He did it and was impressed. This technique really works. I couldn’t believe I actually taught him something about cooking.

Finally, he plated the stew. He made the rice look beautiful by placing it in a bowl and then inverting it onto the plate. She spooned the stew around the rice, added a side of grilled polenta and garnished it with a sprig of basil. It looked beautiful. It tasted even better. The meat was tender and flavorful. I was relieved; because, I thought stew meat might be tough and bland. The combination of fresh herbs and mustard seed was the perfect combination of tastes. Claud and I sat at the table together and ate this delicious stew. “What are we calling this?” I asked him. “Feel Better Spicy Lamb Stew, ” he replied and I smiled knowing I did feel so much better. Then, we ate in silence. Only an�occasional, “mmmm” was heard.��

Feel Better Spicy Lamb Stew

Serves: 6

Time: one hour

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 pound lamb stew meat

1 tablespoon mustard seed

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

1 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped

1 cup red wine

2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Saute onions and celery for about ten minutes. Take the celery and onions out of the skillet and place in a bowl. Turn the heat on high. Brown the meat in the skillet for about ten minutes (until it is browned on all sides). Add the mustard seed, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, turmeric, garlic salt, salt, pepper, thyme and basil. Add the onions and celery back into the skillet. Lower the heat to medium high. Let this brown a little more (for about five minutes). Pour in the wine stock to deglaze the pan. Scrape all of the seasoning off of the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken stock. Bring the stew to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for a half an hour, allowing the liquid to reduce. Melt the butter and mix it in a glass with the flower to form a thick mixture. Slowly wisk this into the stew. It will immediately thicken. Serve with rice and grilled polenta. Garnish with basil.

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I was a little concerned about using pearl onions.

A few years ago, I helped my mom prepare a Thanksgiving�feast. One of the recipes called for pearl onions. I thought I should treat these tiny onions just like smaller versions of regular onions. So, I peeled about a thousand of them. My fingers hurt and I had tiny little paper cuts from the skins. It was horrible. I haven’t bought pearl onions since. I walk by them in the market and give them a sour look while thinking, “little meanines” to myself. Most coq au vin recipes use pearl onions. I�decided to forgive and forget. Then, as I opened up the bag, I read through the directions on the label.�You are supposed to soak them for three minutes in boiling water and then the skin peels right off with a squeeze. Are you kidding me? I tried this and�it worked marvelously.�

The recipe I finally decided to use as my guide is�Julia Child’s. About this time last year, my mom gave me a copy of her cook book,�”Mastering The Art Of French Cooking,” as an anniversary gift.

Image via Wikipedia

�

I haven’t given it much attention over the summer. However, with Fall here and the temperatures dropping, Julia’s deliciously rich French dishes sound perfect.�I added�carrots and celery to the pearl onion recipe and I used Shiraz instead of Burgundy. I also used a tomato sauce�instead of paste and omitted the cognac (although lighting it on fire sounded exciting). Truth be told, I forgot to buy the cognac. Other than these minor adjustments and a few variations on amounts used, this recipe is all Julia Child‘s. No disrespect to Julia; but, I did remove a few steps too to make it a bit quicker. Some recipes I read used egg noodles and ladled the coq ou vin on top. I decided to use roasted potatoes as Julia recommends. �

The literal translation of this dish is cock of the wine. It used to be peasant’s food. There are�a few different legends as to the origin of this dish. Undoubtedly,�this was a way to cook�rooster meat and to make it tender and tasty. Apparently, rooster meat is tough. Since people without a lot of money did not want to waste the meat of a rooster, they had to come up with a way to cook it and still enjoy it. Now, coq au vin is typically cooked with chicken and should be called poule au vin (chicken of the wine); but, it is still called coq au vin and is served in the finest french restaurants.

Coq Au Vin:

3/4 pound thick cut bacon

2� Tablespoons butter

1 whole 2 – 3 pound chicken (or chicken pieces)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 cups red wine (Julia suggests Burgundy. I used Shiraz)

2 cups chicken stock

8 ounces tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, mashed

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

If you are using a whole chicken, cut it off of the bone. You can visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/simplyfoodifyand watch a video where I show you how to do this. I always use a whole chicken so I can make homemade chicken stock. If you are using precut chicken, don’t worry about this step. Dry the chicken with paper towels. Cut the bacon into one inch pieces. In a dutch oven, saute the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned. Take the bacon out and set it aside.

Brown the chicken in the fat from the bacon (about five minutes each side). Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Pour the bacon back in. Cover and cook for ten minutes on medium high heat.

Pour the wine, stock, tomato sauce, garlic and thyme into the pot. Make sure the chicken is covered in liquid. If not, add more wine until it is just covered. Bring this to a simmer. Cover and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Take the chicken out and set aside.

Mix together the melted butter and flour to form a creamy mixture. Pour this slowly into the liquid and whisk it in briskly. This should thicken up the sauce. Serve with sauted mushrooms, pearl onions (recipe follows) and roasted potatoes.

Pearl Onions

2 tablespoons olive oil

24 pearl onions, 3 minutes in boiling water and peeled

2 carrots,�chopped

2 celery stalks,�chopped�

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 Tablespoon herbs de provence

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Saute the carrots and celery in the olive oil on medium high heat for about ten minutes. Add the melted butter. Add the pearl onions. Once the pearl onions are browned, add the herbs de provence, salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

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