Beef Bourguignone

This is a great little stew. If at all possible, you should start making it a day in advance, adding the vegetables 2 hours before dinner.
The only problem I have with this, is trying to find a wine good enough to use, but not so expensive.Normally I have to open at least two bottles before choosing which one to use......... It sucks to be me.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

2 ½ lbs stew meat.
6 slices of bacon, cut into bits.
1 large yellow onion, rough chopped.
1-cup baby carrots.
4 cloves of Garlic, smushed up and then minced.
2 cans, Swanson’s beef broth.
8 to 16 oz. sliced mushrooms.
2 tbsp tomato paste.
2-½ tsp fresh Thyme.
3 bay leaves.
2 16 oz packages of frozen pearl onions.
¼ cup all-purpose flour.
Kosher Sea Salt.
Fresh ground Black Pepper.
Olive oil.
¼ cup Courvoisier Cognac.
1 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
1/2 tsp sage.

Some assembly required:

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt and pepper.
Cover the meat on all sides.
Over a high heat, put half the bacon into a large saucepan.
Add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
Cook until crispy.
Add half of the stew meat, and brown on all sides.

(This part is optional, if you like scaring your girlfriend)

Wait until most of the meat juice has evaporated.
When you have nothing but hot sizzling oil and meat in the pan, pour in half of the cognac and set it on fire. Shake it about until the blue flames go out, making sure you don’t spill any of that blue fierey shit on your hands, (Important safety tip).

Place the meat in a large soup pot, over medium heat, add broth.
Repeat the above step with the other half of the meat, then add ½ cup of water to the saucepan and scrape up all the little crunchy bits off the bottom of the pan.
Pour that into the pot as well, then put over a medium flame.

Jullienne the carrots, (That means cut them up like so they look like matchsticks).
Add mushrooms, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and chopped onion.
Pour all but one glass of the wine into the pot, (drink the last cup).
Add one package of onions, simmer for 2 hours uncovered, then add remaining onions.
Simmer another 45 minutes, or until beef is tender, thicken if required.
Pour over egg noodles, or roasted Red Potatoes.
Enjoy.

Stuff you shouldn’t be without

These are some things that I think no kitchen should be without. This is by no means a complete list, so feel free to call me an idiot and send me a list of the shit YOU think should be included in the well-equipped kitchen, (then go ahead and start your own damn website) :)
Most of the following items are basic stock items that will keep for a long time in the ‘fridge, or are fresh things that are inexpensive to keep replacing.

Kikkoman’s Soy Sauce.
Tiger Sauce.
Hoi son sauce.
World Harbor’s Spicy teriyaki sauce.
World Harbor’s Jerk sauce.
Chinese Five spice.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Fresh Lime.......(goes good with Coronas, salad dressings, and marinades).
Minor's Beef Base, by Nestlé.
Dijon mustard.
Tabasco sauce.
Worcestershire Sauce.
Fresh garlic cloves.
Garlic Powder.
Sesame oil.
Emeril’s Essence.
Cooking Sherry.
Port wine.
Christopher Ranch minced Garlic in olive oil.
Kosher sea salt.
Hot chili oil, (Easy to make, just add lots of hot red pepper flakes to olive oil, and let sit).
Cayenne pepper.
Rice wine vinegar.
Red wine vinegar.
Balsamic vinegar.
White Balsamic vinegar.
Nutmeg.
Vanilla extract.
Italian seasoning mix.
Shallots.
Cheese cloth.
Kitchen twine.

Hamburger Stroganoff

This is a great idea for a simple dinner that is fast, simple, and TASTY.
Credit for this one goes to Penny Matulich, and Stephanie,( By the way, Curtis had nothing to do with this entry). Add a salad, fresh bread, and you will go to bed with a nice warm brick in your tummy. I hope everyone likes it….
Serves 4

You will need:

1 large white Onion, rough chopped.
2 Tbsp Olive Oil.
3 cloves Garlic.
1 lb lean Ground Beef.
1 can of Campbell’s Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup.
2 cups White Cooking Sherry.
Worcestershire Sauce.
8 0z. Sour Cream.
8 0z. sliced Mushrooms.
Black Pepper.
1 Tbsp ketchup.
1 Tbsp Minors Beef Base.
Egg noodles.

Some assembly required:

In medium sized skillet over a medium high flame..
Add Olive Oil, and Onion, (rough chopped).
Add Garlic cloves, (smushed up and then finely chopped).
Cook till onions are translucent, then add ground beef and brown, approximately 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix Sherry, Cream of Mushroom soup, Beef Base, Ketchup, a splash of Worcestershire Sauce, and Sour Cream. Whisk it all together until there are no lumps left, then add it to the pan with the meat.
Throw in the “Shrooms”, and bring to a low boil for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat, then let simmer for 30 minutes.
Pour over Egg Noodles, and ENJOY.

Boar de Lazy

Secretly known as "Bordelaise" Sauce by the French, this makes an excellent steak sauce, as well as a great thing to pour over roasted red potatoes, sauted mushrooms or anything else you can think of. It doesn’t suck. This adaptation of the real thing is easy to make, tastes great, and all the credit goes to Stephanie for finding and adapting a recipe that does not take 4 hours to make.

You will need:

1 Shallot, finely chopped.
2 tbsp of real butter.
1 ½ tbsp all-purpose flour.
1 can of low sodium beef broth, from Swanson.
2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon, (half a bottle).
½ tsp dried thyme.
¼ cup Madeira or Port wine.

Some assembly required:

In a small pot over a medium flame,
Sauté shallots in butter for 5 minutes.
Add 1 ½ tbsp flour, cook for 3 minutes.
Whisk in beef broth, (making sure that flour does not clump up).
Add wine.
Add ½ tbsp dried thyme leaves.
Throw in ¼ cup of fortified wine, (Port or Madeira).
Simmer at half heat for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the entire concoction reduces by half.
Remove from heat and let cool about 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Garlic Spread

This is a damn good garlic spread. Just make sure that you make your girlfriend eats as much as you do, otherwise you won’t get kissed after dinner.

You will need:

A couple of Heads of Garlic.
Olive oil.
Tin Foil.
A hot oven.
Kosher Sea Salt.
Fresh ground Black Pepper.
Dried Rosemary leaves.

Some assembly required:

Take the head of Garlic, and chop off the very top of it.
Do this to as many heads as you think you will need.
Take tin foil and make a container that will contain all the Garlic.
Drizzle olive oil over the top of the garlic heads.
Add a pinch of Salt, Pepper, and Rosemary on top.
Cover with foil.
Bake at 375 degree’s for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and spread over bread. Roasting the garlic this way makes it sweet like butter, but with a very good taste.
If you really want to kick it up a notch, smear a bit of olive oil over the top of the bread before you spread the garlic.
ENJOY

Blue Cheese Butter

S&P
1C Unsalted Butter.
1/3#  Bleu Cheese. 
2t Thyme.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

This is an easy one to do, but I thought I would include it here anyway.

You will need:

Ears of sweet white corn.
Butter.
Salt.
Pepper.

Some assembly required:

Light up the grill and preheat it to about 475 degrees.
There are two ways of roasting corn on the grill.
#1 shuck the corn, rub it with butter, salt and pepper, and wrap it in tin foil.
#2 pull the leaves down, remove all the silk, rub with butter, salt and pepper, and
pull the leaves back up, (prefered method).

Place the corn on the grill, and let cook with the lid down for 5 minutes per side.
Secretly, that is 20 minutes. (5 minutes a side X 4 sides)
Remove the tin foil or the leaves, let it the ears rest for 5 minutes, and then serve.
ENJOY.

Leeky Sausage soup with Cream

Credit goes to Kara and Jennifer for this one. If this was a German dish, it would be called
"Fharfrumsucken". A good salad and fresh bread will make this something to be happy with.
Serves 8 or more.

You will need:

3/4 lb of mild Italian sausage.
3/4 lb of hot Italian sausage.
1 leek, chopped (approximately 1 cup).
1 large clove of Garlic, smushed up and then diced.
4 lbs Red or White potatoes, chopped into small bits. (Absolutely NO Russet potatoes).
2 cups of rough chopped Collard greens, or Swiss chard.
12 cups of chicken broth.
2 tblsp of real butter.
6 Bay leaves.
Seasoning salt.
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract.
White Balsamic Vinegar.
Heavy whipping Cream.

Some assembly required:

In a big soup pot…..
Sauté Leek with Garlic, and butter.
Add Sausage and cook until done, breaking up the meat as you cook it.
Do not drain anything from the pot, (trust me on this one).
Add 6 cups of Chicken broth and bay leaves.
Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Heat up remaining Chicken broth to a low boil.

(If you throw the broth in cold, you will bring the whole project to a screeching halt)

Add heated broth to the pot, along with the potatoes.
Throw in the Vanilla extract.
Add 3 Tblsp of White Balsamic Vinegar.
Simmer approximately 30 minutes.
Throw some seasoning salt in, if you think it needs it.
Add Collard greens or chard when the potatoes are ALMOST done.
When potatoes are done, turn off the heat, wait 10 minutes then add 1/3 cup
of Heavy Whipping Cream.

(Be sure to check out the links for cholesterol medication )

Ladle it into bowls, and ENJOY.

Dry Rub for steaks

This is a great way to prepare steaks for the grill.

You will need:

Any number of steaks.
Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce.
Kosher sea salt.
Granulated garlic powder.
Paprika.
Ground Cayenne red pepper.
Fresh ground black pepper.
Lawry’s seasoning salt.

Some assembly required:

Take the steaks out of the ‘fridge and let them warm up to room temperature.
Cover with Worcestershire sauce.
Sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of the steak, covering completely.
Sprinkle Garlic powder on both sides, covering completely.
On one side of the steak, cover with Paprika.
On the other side, cover with Cayenne pepper.
Cover with Black pepper on both sides.
Throw it on the grill, and make sure not to over cook it, ‘cause that sucks.
Remove meat from the grill when desired doneness is reached, then let sit for
10 to 15 minutes before serving, so the meat wont dry out and leak blood all over your plate.
Slice it up and ENJOY.

Creamy Pesto Salad Dressing

Stephanie gets the credit for finding this one. I've put it here because, if I just post the link, you will get a ton of java scripts, and pop-ups, and no one wants that kind of shit to happen.

You’re welcome. :)

You will need:

3/4 cup of vegetable oil.
1 cup mayonnaise (not lite mayo either).
3/4 cup buttermilk.
2 tablespoons of grated Romano cheese.
2 and 1/2 tablespoons crushed dried basil.
1/4 teaspoon salt.
1 clove garlic, peeled, smushed and minced.
Tabasco Sauce.
1/4 tsp Fresh ground Black Pepper.

Some assembly required:

In a large bowl, whisk together mayo and oil.
Add buttermilk.
Add cheese, basil, salt, pepper and garlic.
Add a bit of Tabasco sauce, (a splash or two will suffice).
Cover and place in the ‘Fridge for at least 6 hours before using, (preferably over night.)

Be sure and check out the cholesteral link above, it MAY save your life.

Enjoy.

Costa Rican chicken soup

I’m not really sure if this really comes from Costa Rica. I’m not really sure if Costa Rica even REALLY exists, because it sounds a bit too perfect if you ask me.
Credit goes to Jennifer for this one, and although I’m not really sure if she has ever been to Costa Rica, she did show me how to make this soup.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

You will need:

2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into small bits.
1 medium sized white onion, chopped into medium sized bits.
5 14 oz. cans of Swanson’s chicken broth.
4 regular sized Red Potatoes, cut into small bits.
1 7 oz. Can of diced green chilies.
1 large clove of garlic, peeled, smushed and diced.
1 and a ½ tsp of cumin.
1 and a ½ tsp of Mexican Oregano.
¼ cup of finely chopped fresh Cilantro, (optional), as garnish.
¼ cup of finely chopped fresh Parsley, (optional), as garnish.
Sour cream.
Grated Cheddar cheese.

Some assembly required:

Pour the broth into a large pot, over a medium flame.
Add all the vegetables.
Add the chicken.
Add all the spices.
Add the green chili,( I’m not sure if chilies are considered a vegetable, or a spice).
Do not add the Parsley or Cilantro, as it will be overpowering if cooked in.
Cook until the vegetables are tender, and the chicken is cooked,
Approximately 1 and a half hours. Before serving, use a wooden spoon to smush up
some of the potatoes and larger chunks of onion.

Ladle soup into a bowl, and add a large dollop of sour cream.
Add some cheese, and stir it around a bit, till it melts.
Sprinkle a pinch of your preferred garnish on the top, and ENJOY.