Beef Roast with Carrots, Onions and Dried Plums

This dish is beloved by the French, and one whose ingredients I would not have put together on my own. Who knew prunes and beef paired so well? Sure, I’m up on fruit and meat: pork and apples, chicken and apricots (tagine), and the American favorite, turkey and cranberries (to name a mere few). Somehow, though, prunes and beef seems novel, unique, even a bit racy. The prunes punctuate the roast with a sweet caramel note, which is also pleasantly musky.

I find it lovely how the dried plums provide visual contrast to the carrots and the earthy broth.

BEEF COOKED WITH CARROTS, ONIONS, AND DRIED PLUMS
Adapted from Cooking Light

I know prunes are a controversial dried fruit, as in you either tend to love them or hate them. If you’re a hater, this may not be the dish for you. No worries, I have the perfect traditional stew to post soon.

I cooked this in my crock pot on low for 8 hours and might opt for the Dutch oven method as outlined below in the future. If you do use your crock pot don’t add the carrots until the last hour and prunes until the last half hour or they’ll get super mushy.

1 (2 1/2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
salt and pepper
extravirgin olive oil
2 yellow onions, sliced into rings
4 cups water
1 rosemary sprig
5-10 thyme sprigs
1 sage sprig
2 bay leaves
1 pound carrots, rinsed and peeled (I think its nice to leave them whole)
1 cup pitted dried plums

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Generously season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat a splash of oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef, cook 10-12 minutes, browning all sides. Remove meat from from pan.  Add onions and water to deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits. Add the beef back to pan.
• Make a little bouquet with the herbs and tie the bottom stems together with twine (or floss). Add to the pan. Cover, reduce heat and bring to a simmer.
• Once the stew comes to a simmer, move to the oven and bake at 350 degrees 1 1/2 hours. Flip roast; bake, covered an additional 45 minutes. Add carrots and dried plums; bake, covered, an additional 45 minutes until carrots are tender.
• Move contents to a platter and keep warm, reserving liquid. Discard bouquet of herbs.
• Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour reserved cooking liquid into bag; let stand 2 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into measuring cup, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Slice roast and serve.

Piedmontese Peppers

I have a new favorite blog. You should check it out.

www.racheleats.wordpress.com

Rachel combines British wit and sophistication with the pleasurable simplicity of traditional Italian food.  I love her unfussy approach. Who needs a fancy, staged backdrop when your broccoli looks like this? And your soups look like this? She has inspired quite a lot of cooking the past two weeks. Not to mention the time I’ve spent stalking her blog reading and re-reading every post.

I made her Piedmontese Peppers the other night and they were one of the single most amazing food pairings I have ever experienced, beautiful to the eye and rich on the palate, a perfectly executed combination. I had to make them again to share.

Those Italians, they’ve been doing this food thing a long time, they know their stuff.

PIEDMONTESE PEPPERS
These were so bold in flavor and complexity that I might have to wait a few weeks to eat them again. They would certainly make a wonderful appetizer, especially served alongside good salami and olives (oh goodness, there I go salivating again!). We had them as a nice side dish, which was equally delightful.

Note: my final product this second time turned out a bit more charred than I would have liked (see top photo).  If you follow the temperture and cooking times outlined below (I did not) you shouldn’t have any trouble.

4 bell peppers, a mix of red and yellow (about 1 per person)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved horizontally
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Half the peppers top to bottom. Using a paring knife, remove the white pith and seeds, leaving the green stem in place.
• Sprinkle a few slices of garlic into each pepper half.
• Drizzle the inside of each pepper with a bit of olive oil and then top with a dash of salt and pepper.
• Place 3 – 5 cherry tomato halves cut side up in each pepper.
• Transfer stuffed peppers to baking sheet and roast at 425 for 30 minutes.
• Turn oven down and continue to roast at 350 for another hour until tender and slightly charred.

Monday Muesli

I have been pondering a gluten free, oat free granola for a while. There have been attempts that end in disappointment (and the trash). Finally, yesterday I made some headway and have something in the works. The recipe needs tweeking: less honey and agave, less raisins, and more grain. Millet and crisped rice are the base. I will tinker a bit more and post something lovely soon. Something that makes getting out of bed on Mondays (groan) a little more enticing…

Peppermint Patties

These are a little homemade gift for my Mom  Mom and Brother-in-law (see comments below). She loves They both love peppermint patties.

We used to find the treats in our stockings on Christmas Day, and for me they just taste like the holidays. The candies are surprisingly easy to make. The only problem I’m having is not eating every last one before I get home! Hey, it’s part of my job when makin’ Roma Roma to taste test and critique…just not the whole batch.

PEPPERMINT PATTIES
Adapted from Gourmet

I thought the directions, as written, were fine.  I did tweak the ingredients a tad, opting for pure coconut oil (there’s only a bit, so the flavor goes unnoticed), omitting the salt (otherwise you end up with salty bites since the filling is never heated), and doubling the peppermint extract. The resulting peppermint patties are gluten free, soy free and vegan.

Now, for a word on chocolate.  Anyone with dietary restrictions, especially dairy and soy, will know how difficult it it to find chocolate that is safe to eat. I have two favorite brands.  When I need a semi-sweet chocolate I go for Enjoy Life’s allergen-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. The folks at Enjoy Life are dedicated to serving those with food allergies and they have an extensive line of other goodies, too. When I need a dark chocolate I always buy Theo chocolate bars.  I’m really impressed with this company. They are one of the few chocolate manufacturers to use real cocoa butter instead of soy lecithin, which just seems like a no brainer. I purchase their Origin Bars and the Jane Goodall 70% dark chocolate bars, as these are all dairy and soy free. I’m not sure if all of their chocolates are soy free and many do contain dairy, so be sure to read the labels closely!!

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (less than 1 pound), divided
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (I doubled, and would recommend doing the same)
1 tablespoon coconut oil or Spectrum organic, trans-fat-free vegetable shortening
10 ounces 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Make Filling:

Beat 2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract, and coconut oil using an electric mixer (with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium speed until just combined.  Taste a pinch of the filling.  Does it need more peppermint? If so, add a few drops more to your liking.

Knead dough on a work surface dusted with remaining 1/4 cup confectioners sugar until smooth, 5 minutes. Roll out between sheets of parchment paper on a large baking sheet until about 1/4 inch thick. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove top sheet of paper and sprinkle round with confectioners sugar. Replace top sheet, then flip round over and repeat sprinkling on other side.

Cut out as many rounds as possible with 1″ round cookie cutter, transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, gather scraps, reroll, and freeze, then cut out more rounds, freezing them.

Temper Filling and Coat Chocolate:

Melt three fourths of chocolate in a metal or glass bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove bowl from pan and add remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool until thermometer inserted at least 1/2 inch into chocolate registers 80°F (I didn’t us a thermometer, I just waited until the chocolate felt pretty warm to the touch)

Return water in pan to a boil and remove from heat. Set bowl with cooled chocolate over pan and reheat, stirring, until thermometer registers 88 to 91°F (again, I just tested with my finger to see if it felt about 90 degrees). Remove bowl from pan.

Balance 1 peppermint round on a fork and submerge in melted chocolate, letting excess drip off and scraping back of fork against rim of bowl if necessary, then return patty to sheet. Coat remaining rounds, rewarming chocolate to 88 to 91°F as necessary. Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

***I’ve been storing my patties in a container with parchment paper between the layers in the freezer.

 

Caramelized Banana Cake

Serendipitously, I was flipping through a magazine in the dentist’s chair last week, all sorts of specialized dental gadgetry filled my mouth, when I stumbled upon this little number.

You had me at caramelized.

CARAMELIZED BANANA CAKE

Adapted from Rachel Ray’s Everyday

I successfully adapted this to be gluten, dairy, soy and egg-free, with out Ener-G egg replacer, too (cuz, the jury is still out on whether that stuff sits well with my little old tummy.) I used clarified butter for the caramelization, but I really think coconut oil would work beautifully, too. And then it would be vegan.

I was nervous that this might be cloying for my tastes, but it was not. As a matter of fact, it had a wonderful balance between caramel sweetness and whole grain goodness. I just might have to make this again on Christmas morning.

3 or 4 large bananas
3/4 cups cane sugar
2 tablespoons clarified butter, coconut oil or butter if you can have it
2/3 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
3 tablespoons potato starch (not potato flour)
2 tablespoons tapioca, arrowroot or cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder (add a pinch more, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon if you’re at sea level)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons canola oil or 1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon vinegar
3 tablespoons sparkling water

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan. Cut the ends off of the bananas using the bottom of your loaf pan as a guide (see above photo) and reserve the ends. Slice the long banana pieces in half, lenghtwise and set aside on a plate.
• Bring 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water to a simmer in a large, heavy bottom skillet. Do not stir the mixture, simply swirl your pan to keep the water and sugar mixed. The water will evaporate and the mix will begin to turn amber. Once it has a nice caramel color remove from heat and stir in the clarified butter or coconut oil with a fork. Lay the long banana pieces in the pan cut side down (see below photo) and continue to cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes. Transfer the banana slices to the prepared loaf pan, laying them cut side down. Drizzle the remaining caramel on top.
• Mash the reserved bananas and measure out 1 cup (this used all of my pieces). Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the mashed banana pieces with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Add the vinegar and sparkling water (this is your egg replacer) and mix until incorporated.
• In a large bowl mix the remaining ingredients: sorghum flour through salt. Add the banana mixture and the oil. Scrape into loaf pan on top of bananas. Spread batter into pan. Bake 50 – 55 minutes until top is firm to the touch and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes. Then run a paring knife along the edges of the pan. Place a plate over the pan and invert the loaf onto the plate.