Thai Curried Beef Stew

A taste of Thailand! A very yummy curried stew for a chilly fall day. I used a food processor to make the curry and found all of the ingredients I needed from the Lotus store in the Strip. Pedro and I made a special trip down this morning in the rain. I served the stew over rice noodles for a filling one-pot meal. Definitely not a quick meal - the curry paste alone took over an hour... But very, very worth it.

Thanks for another great recipe Bon Appetit! http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/curried-beef-stew

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4

Curry Paste

• 6 dried puya or 3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bottom 4' only, tough outer layer removed, cut into 1' pieces
• 2 tablespoons sliced peeled fresh galangal 
• 2 tablespoons sliced peeled fresh turmeric 
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup halved garlic cloves 
• 1 tablespoon Thai shrimp paste

Stew

• 2 pounds trimmed beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2'–2' cubes 
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably Thai thin soy sauce (such as Healthy Boy)
• 2 tablespoons ground dried Thai chiles
• 9 cups beef broth, preferably low-salt
• 1 cup halved shallots
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4'-thick half-moons (about 1 cup)
• 6 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves
• Chopped fresh cilantro 
• Thinly sliced Thai basil

Preparation

Curry Paste 

• In a mortar, pound chiles and salt with a pestle until pulverized, about 5 minutes. Add ingredients one by one in order listed, fully pulverizing each before adding the next, about 15 minutes total. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead; cover and chill.

Stew

• Combine curry paste, beef, soy sauce, and ground dried chiles in a pot; stir to evenly coat beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender but not falling apart, 2–2 1/2 hours
• Stir in shallots, carrots, and lime leaves. Simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. If broth is too salty, add water a few tablespoonfuls at a time. 
• Garnish with cilantro and basil.

Pittsburgh Salad

The Steelers are playing Monday night football in San Diego tonight and Pedro and I are enjoying a Pittsburgh salad. For those who have been living in a cave for the past decade, a Pittsburgh salad is any sort of "garbage salad" with steak and French fries on top. 

A lot of native Pittsburghers put hard boiled egg and a creamy dressing on their salad, but I prefer an acidic salad so I add bacon, olives (I prefer green), blue cheese, bell peppers, onion and tomatoes with a mustard vinaigrette. Tonight's salad has leftover New York strip steak that we cooked in the pizza oven over the weekend.

Whatever your preference, load up and go Steelers!!

Mediterranean Farro Salad

An easy, fresh and filling one pot meal. Add chicken if you desire more protein. And mix up the veggies you throw in for a great variety of color, texture and flavor. I added an organic tomato to the mix below and substituted green olives for the kalamatas (again, using what I had on hand). I threw in some extra mustard for the dressing along with a little garlic powder (everything is better with garlic!). Tastes even better the next day.

Thanks, Giada! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mediterranean-farro-salad-recipe.html

Ingredients

• 10 ounces farro (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips (about 4 ounces or 1 cup)
• 3 ounces Parmesan, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 small bunch chives, snipped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of water with the farro. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the farro is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and simmeruntil the farro is tender, about 10 minutes longer. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 2 minutes. Drain the green beans.

Once the farro has cooled add the green beans, olives, red pepper, Parmesan, and chives. Stir to combine. In a small bowl mix together the sherry vinegar, olive oil, mustard, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Pour the sherry vinaigretteover the farro salad. Toss to combine and serve.

SERVINGS: 4 (SIDE); Calories: 334; Total Fat 15 grams; Saturated Fat: 3.5 grams; Protein: 13 grams; Total carbohydrates: 38 grams; Sugar: 5 grams Fiber: 7 grams; Cholesterol: 13 milligrams; Sodium: 888 milligrams

Hot pickles!

I love pickles. And I love all things spicy. So why not combine the two and make a delicious, fresh, crunchy, salty treat?! These babies are spicy!

Follow the below recipe and add sliced jalapeños to the jar of cukes before pouring in the boiling water/vinegar mix. You could really pickle anything with this... Add red onions, red cabbage or green beans. Experiment with different veggies and have fun!

FRESH DILL PICKLE SPEARS

1 or 2 cucumbers, sliced into spears and placed in a glass quart jar with a few sprigs of dill

Heat to boiling

2 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 cups water

cut- up clove of garlic

Pour the mixture over the cukes, cover with jar lid and when it cools, refrigerate.

To avoid breaking the glass jar, run hot tap water on the outside of the jar just before pouring the boiling liquid in.