Buffalo Chicken Dip-- From Amy!

Here's a recipe from my good friend Amy and the Big Apple.  I haven't tried it yet Amers, but I know Sean would love it!!!  Maybe for the Sugar Bowl!

* 1 block of cream cheese (8oz)
*1 jar Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing
*6 oz Franks Buffalo Hot Sauce (more if you want to be hotter)
*2 or 3 pieces of chicken (I usually grill it and then pull it a part but you could bake it in the oven)


*Mix everything together and put in bowl, top with Monterrey Jack shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 30 or so minutes. It should be bubbling.  Skim off any excess grease.

Winter Dessert Idea

Mint and chocolate go together like peas and carrots!  During this time of year, I love to make a chocolate cake... something completely rich and devious like a devil's food cake.  I frost it with vanilla peppermint frosting.  I buy vanilla frosting pre-made and stir in a 1/2 of a teaspoon of peppermint extract, then I frost my chocolate cake.  YUM! 

A cooking hangover

My success with the boeuf bourguignon has me completely pumped about the next big project!  Any ideas??

Boeuf Bourguignon--- OMG don't miss this!!!!

Boeuf Bourguignon is a rich beef stew cooked in red wine.  I've made it before in the crock pot, but man, that could not hold a candle to this recipe.  This might be my new favorite dish!

a drizzle of olive oil
1/2 lb of bacon, crumbled
2.5 lb of lean beef cut for stew (1-inch cubes)
1 lb of carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 tsp of fresh thyme
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of dry red wine (I used a Burgundy)
about 2-3 cups of beef broth, just enough to almost cover the beef
1 tbls of tomato paste
5 tbls of unsalted butter, room temp. and divided
3 tbls of flour
1/2 lb of frozen pearl onions
1 lb of white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb of frozen peas- optional

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. In a large dutch oven, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and slice and cook bacon until it's crispy.
3. While the bacon is crisping, dry the beef with a paper towel and season it with salt and pepper.
4. Remove bacon from the dutch oven with a slotted spoon.
5. Drain all but about 2 tbls of the oil from the pot
6. A few pieces at a time, put the beef into the hot pan with the remaining oil/bacon drippings and brown all sides of the beef.  Remove the beef and set aside... repeat until all the beef is browned on all sides (set it aside with the bacon).
7. While the beef is browning, slice the yellow onion and chop the carrots.
8.  In the remaining oil, saute the onion and carrots until the onions are soft.
9. Add minced garlic to the vegetables and cook for about 1-2 minutes more.  Garlic is bitter with it burns, so pay attention.
10. Return the beef, bacon, plus any excess juices to the pot with the vegetables.
11. Pour in the wine and enough beef broth to almost cover the beef, but not completely.
12. Add tomato paste and thyme.
13. Bring to a boil, then cover and put the dutch oven into the oven for approximately an hour and twenty minutes
14. After the hour and twenty minutes in the oven, the beef should be tender, remove the dutch oven and return it to the stove.
15. In a mug, combine 2 tbls of butter, 3 tbls of flour, and a small spoonful of the broth from the pot of stew.  Stir it until it's smooth then slowly pour it into the stew while stirring to thicken the sauce.
16. Add pearl onions and peas (optional).
17. As the onions simmer, saute the mushrooms with the 3 remaining tbls of butter, when soft, add them to the stew, try to omit the excess liquid.
18. Bring the stew back to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 20 more minutes.
19. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

20. Serve with potatoes, rice, or buttered noodles....  I served it with mashed potatoes, peas, and crusty, French bread...  It was delicious!

Onion Apricot Sauce! Amazing on Pork Tenderloin.

Bring the flavor of a French bistro home with this very elegant onion apricot sauce.  It will wow your guests.  I have always served it with pork tenderloin, but I think it would be great on fish or any other white meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet valdalia onion, sliced into very thin rings
• 2-3 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of fruity white wine
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 2 heaping tbsp of apricot jam
• 1/4 tsp of herbs de Provence (or a pinch of each: thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, basil)
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp of sugar to add extra sweetness
• Salt and pepper

In a large sauce pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Carmelize the onions, garlic, and shallots in the butter/oil with a bit of salt, pepper and sugar.  When the onions have softened, add the wine, chicken broth, jam, and herbs.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes until the sauce has thickened.  Season with salt and pepper and serve over pork tenderloin.

Eggplant and Sundried Tomato Spread

I made this one Friday evening for an appetizer for Sean and me.  We started eating it with toasted baguette slices which I drizzle with olive oil.  It was so good, that we ate it all and skipped dinner!!!  It would be a perfect hors d'oeuvre for a holiday party.

Ingredients:

• 1 baguette, sliced and toasted with olive oil drizzled on it.

Spread:

• 1 eggplant
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1.5-2 table spoons of sundried tomatoes, its fine if a little of the oil goes into the food processor.
• 1 TBLS of fresh basil
• about 2 TBLS of olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Cut the top off the eggplant and cut the eggplant in half from the top to bottom.
2. On  a cookie sheet, drizzle both sides of the eggplant with olive oil, and broil it on low, skin side up.
3. When the skin starts to wrinkle and the eggplant is tender, remove it from the oven.  Let it cool for a few minutes before handling.
4. Remove the eggplant skin or scoop out the center with a spoon. 
   Discard the skin.
5. In a food processor, combine the eggplant and the ingredients above, puree until smooth.  If necessary add more olive oil.
6. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.

Ratatouille with Cannellini Beans

Ratatouille is traditional dish from Provence, France.  Basically, it's a hearty vegetable stew.  It can be eaten hot or cold and you can eat it alone or over pasta or rice.  It's extremely healthy and full of fiber!  I add cannellini beans to make it more substantial and to add extra fiber and protein.


Ingredients:
a few tbls of extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion-diced
4 cloves of garlic-minced
1 green bell pepper-diced
1 zucchini- sliced or cubed
1 eggplant- cut into cubes or sliced if you buy the mini eggplants (about 1 lb total)
1-2 yellow squash-sliced or cubed
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes- don't drain them
1 14 oz can of cannellini beans- drained and rinsed.


Seasoning:  I use fresh herbs from my garden, but if you don't have them, dried herbs are fine.  I didn't measure anything, but about a teaspoon of each maybe.
thyme
basil
oregano
rosemary
parsley
salt and pepper


In a large pot, drizzle about 2 tbls of olive oil (med high heat).  Saute the onion, pepper and garlic until it has soften.  Add zucchini, squash, and eggplant to the pot and saute them until they start to soften as well.  Add more olive oil if you need to.  Season with herbs, salt and pepper, and mix in the tomatoes and cannellini beans.  Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.  The longer you simmer it together the better!

Enjoy.