Reader shares ‘incredibly unusual and delicious beef stew’ recipe
Good morning, friends. The frost may not yet be on the pumpkin, but the pumpkin is definitely on the menu and probably also on your front porch. Keep reading to find out more.
But first: Today we are in cleanup mode, hoping to clean up these unanswered requests: homemade corned beef hash, Betty Taylor’s lemon chicken to serve hot or cold, whole “fried” okra without cornmeal, and vegetarian soups.
Now comes the new news. Dan Cobb of Soddy-Daisy sent a favored, savored recipe through a couple of translations to get it to you. “I have a friend from the Netherlands who makes incredibly unusual and delicious beef stew. I asked him to share the recipe and he said he would — but he had to translate it from Dutch to English first. Then I had to translate from his English to mine. Here it is, I think I translated correctly because it’s good.”
Belgian Beef Stew
2 large onions, roughly
chopped
4 tablespoons oil, divided 2 tablespoons balsamic
vinegar
2 tablespoons brown
sugar
2 tablespoons butter
3 or more pounds beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon flour 2 tablespoons Better
Than Beef Bouillon 2 pouches beef gravy mix 1 large bottle of dark beer 1½ cups dry red wine 2 tablespoons Dijon
mustard
4 bay leaves
Sauté onions in large skillet with 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar and brown sugar, 10 to 15 minutes or until very soft and slightly browned. Set aside.
Melt butter in skillet on high heat. When bubbles subside add remaining cooking oil. Sprinkle pepper and salt on beef to taste. Brown all sides of the beef cubes (in batches if too crowded) about 5 minutes. Put beef in crockpot, sprinkle with flour and mix. Add the caramelized onions; do not stir.
Gently heat beer and wine in a medium pan, stirring in beef bouillon (do not boil). Stir in both pouches of gravy and mustard. Gently add the broth to crockpot. Add bay leaves on top.
Cook 6 -10 hours on low until beef falls apart.
Today the pumpkin arrived in a mousse from food blogger Rosemary Palmer, who may be followed at notjustpaperandpaint.com. Her first offering is a special-occasion delight for those who like to make food look tasty, not just BE tasty. Palmer described this one as “a delicious alternative to pumpkin pie with something extra.” Palmer included the recipe for candied pecans, noting that they are great by themselves and are a good foodie gift.
Pumpkin Mousse with Candied Pecans and a Little Chocolate
Mousse Filling: 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups heavy cream
3⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon 1⁄4 teaspoon all spice 1 tablespoon vanilla
extract Candied Pecans (Recipe follows.)
Combine pumpkin, 1 cup heavy cream, sugar and spices in a medium saucepan.
Heat until it comes to a slight bubble and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour mixture into a medium mixing bowl to cool.
In a medium size bowl, whip remaining 2 cups of heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold approximately 1⁄3 of the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. After this is incorporated well, fold in remaining whipped cream, being careful not to overmix.
Spoon mixture into individual ramekins or glasses. Top with candied pecans. Refrigerate until serving time.
Chocolate Accents:
1 cup Wilton Chocolate Candy Melts (I used Dark)
1⁄2 cup Chocolate Sprinkles
Melt Candy Melts in the
microwave, using a microwave safe bowl.
Heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time, until fully melted. Stirring well also helps to get all pieces melted. After one minute, heat for only 15 seconds each time.
Be careful not to overheat these. These should just be melted but not hot to the touch. Spoon half of mixture into a piping bag with small tip.
(If you don’t have a piping bag, a quart-size zipper freezer bag works well too. A freezer bag is a heavier weight than just a sandwich bag and works better. Snip a small bit of one corner off.)
Swirl chocolate inside each glass, making your own design, or just a random pattern. Set these glasses aside to let the chocolate harden, which only takes about 5 minutes.
For chocolate rims, spread the remaining chocolate onto a small plate. The chocolate will harden quickly on cool surfaces, so if you have your plate warmed ahead of time it will help. You can do this by just running under hot water and drying well. Water and melted chocolate don’t mix well. Invert your glass into the chocolate and twist a couple of times to make sure your edges are covered. Immediately dip into your chocolate sprinkles. If your chocolate begins to harden, place the plate into the microwave for 5-10 seconds at a time. 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1 pound pecan halves Preheat oven to 275 F. Mix together sugar, cinnamon and salt in medium mixing bowl.
Whisk egg white just until frothy in a small mixing bowl.
Add pecan halves to egg whites and stir until all are coated.
Using a slotted spoon, move your coated pecans into the sugar mixture.
Mix pecans in the sugar mixture until all are evenly coated.
Spread onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Transfer hot pecans to another baking sheet for cooling. Candied pecans can be made ahead of time and stored in airtight container. These are also great for parties or to give as gifts.
Here’s an answer to the request for a crockpot pork tenderloin with white beans, and we can thank V. B. F. for sending it. The sender’s instructions were general, but seasoned cooks can adapt.
Crockpot Pork Tenderloin and White Beans
Dried white beans Rotel tomatoes with
green chilies
Pork tenderloin
Soak beans overnight. In the morning, drain off water, rinse and put in crockpot. Cover with water. Add tomatoes and green chilies and lay pork tenderloins on top – one or more, depending on amount of beans and size of crockpot.
Cook on Low about 6 hours. After a couple of hours, check to make sure you don’t need to add more water. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
Can’t you just imagine the aroma in the kitchen with these goodies heading for the table?
Thanks to you all, and please come back.