comfort food :: beef stew

it's been rainy and COLD and overall kinda miserable here in my corner of new england. we're wishing for spring, and it comes way to slowly! so, i turn to comfort food.

for me and the husband, beef stew is good, cold weather comfort food. and of course i made martha's fab layered biscuits (again) because they are just too damm good.

have you seen the movie Big Night? it's about a pair of brother's trying to keep their little, authentic italian restaurant alive when they are across the street from a much more american italian place that's kind of the neighborhood hot spot. there's a line in that movie about one of the dishes being "so good you have to kill yourself!" it's classic. the movie is a must-see for the many many classic lines. anyway, that's this meal--the biscuits are perfect and the beef stew is just so rich and warm and flavorful. it's good eats on a cold cold not-winter-but-not-yet-spring night.

i've tried many'a beef stew recipe and i've found this one from emeril (around here we just refer to him as "bam!"). it's simple and it's delicious. and here it is:


SAM'S BEEF STEW
courtesy of emerils.com

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 4 cups dark veal or meat stock
• 1 large Idaho potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the vegetable oil. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Toss the beef with the flour. When the oil is hot, add the meat and cook until the meat is browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the onions, celery and 1 tablespoon of garlic and continue to cook until the vegetables are wilted and golden about six minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Deglaze the pan with the stock, scraping the browned particles away from the pan. Add the potatoes and carrots. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. Stirring occasionally.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. Reseason the stew if necessary. Yield: 4 to 6 servings

buttermilk biscuit recipes :: part 3

so, this installment completes my foray into biscuit-making. sure, there are more kinds out there, but i have satisfied my need to get to know the biscuit. the final recipe is for Martha's basic buttermilk biscuit. the kind you see sidled up to a fried chicken dinner. potatoes, cole slaw, corn on the cob and these. soft, buttery, flaky pillows of yum is what they are. and they are great for little hands to help you with. they can press the dough together and cut out the biscuits, too!


i found them to be a tad bit salty for my taste. i recommend cutting the salt down a bit, but that's just me.

if you try them, let me know how you like them!

buttermilk biscuits
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces 2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat (French nonstick baking mat) or parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
2. Transfer about 2 1/2 cups flour mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add butter, and pulse until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Return butter mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture. Use your fingers to combine.
3. Add buttermilk, and stir just until mixture comes together; the batter will be sticky. Transfer to lightly floured work surface; use floured fingers to pat dough to 1-inch thickness. Use a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut biscuits as close together as possible to minimize scraps. Gather scraps together once, pat together and flatten, and cut out.
4. Transfer biscuits to prepared baking sheet; bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.

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there's still time to join the february fun!

buttermilk biscuit recipes :: part 2, cornmeal

probably the most popular biscuit in this 3 part biscuit series is the cornmeal biscuit. the reasons are these: they are easy to make (my 3 yr. old loves to make these with me), i nearly always have the ingredients on hand, they're super tasty as they are or with any number of toppings--butter, jam, honey, peanut butter--whatever you like! as i mentioned last time i've had a bee in my bonnet about biscuit-making lately. see, i'm a collector. i have stacks of pages ripped out of magazines--pages of recipes. one month, years ago in Living, martha stewart did a spread on biscuits. since then, i have held on to the pages vowing to someday make all the biscuits in the spread. and so now, i'm trying to make good! and i've made these 3 times now. and yeah, they're GOOD.

Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the butter, and, using a pastry blender or two knives, cut it in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add milk, and stir until just combined
3. Spoon 10 mounds, about 1/2 cup each, onto baking sheet 1 inch apart; bake until biscuits start to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.

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there's still time to join this month's cookie carnival!