20lbs

What do you do with twenty pounds of tomatoes?

HOMEMADE SAUCE!!

My chef sister processed the organic red globes using my mom’s crazy tomato sauce machine (actually from Italy). The onions in the sauce were grown in my garden. One of the few things the deer did not eat.

Add some grass fed beef, a bit of pasta. Voila! You have a meal.

Delish!

We had quite a bit of extra “meat sauce” as well as tomato sauce. We mixed it, let it rest over night in the fridge then poured the goodness over polenta for dinner the next night. It was amazing!!

 

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Beer and Beef, of course…

My sister made us corned beef and cabbage for St. Patty’s Day. Aside from cooking the brisket, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage in a beer only “broth” I have no idea how this was done. It was amazingly delish!

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Taco Bar

There is a meal that defines my family. It’s called Taco Bar. And it is awesome (Mitra, you know what I’m talking about).

So Taco Bar involves everyone. Mom makes ridiculous good salsa. My chef sister makes chunky meat with a perfect meat to grease ratio. Dad makes tortillas. Me…well I provided the vino and learned from the masters. NOTE: One person was missing tonight – my older sister who is also a talented cook.

First up:

Salsa!

 

Tomatillos

 

 

1. Wash all veggies which include tomatillos, a roma tomato, a jalepeno, a poblano, and scallions.
2. Fire roast the poblano and jalepeno.

 

Roasting the poblano over the stove flame

 

3. Once the poblano and jalepenos are charred, wrap them in damp towels and leave them to steam.
4. In a blender chop garlic and salt, then add quartered tomatillos and blend together until chunky.
5. Add the roma (this gives additional liquid) and blend. I prefer my salsa to be somewhat chunky rather than completely smooth.
6. Using your hands peel the charred skin off of the peppers, slice them into strips, and add them to the blender. Mix once more.
7. Chop cilantro into fine pieces and stir into the salsa. Salt to taste

 

Salsa Verde!!

While mom and I made salsa, MM (the chef) sautéed onions and garlic for the meat. She added the grass-fed ground meat, salt, pepper and cooked until brown . I didn’t watch, but I can assume this was all that happened. Somehow, in her vast chef knowledge, she knew exactly how to balance the grease so that the beef wasn’t too greasy, but still full of taste.

 

Meanwhile, dad made tortillas out of water, salt, and masa. I won’t even try to detail this as it is impossible to explain and involves some sort of magical cooking power that only my mom can pass on.

 

Dad's Corn Tortillas

 

Along with the salsa, ground meat, and tortillas we slice up an avocado and shredded some Colby Jack cheese. The rest is food history…

 

Completed Taco Bar, in all it's glory.

Pairing notes: Dad enjoyed with a Real Ale Coffee Porter (his favorite). The rest of us enjoyed Palladio Chianti 2008 which was elegant and well-developed. As my mom said, “Now that’s some good wine.”

 

 

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Shepherd’s Pie

Another family favorite for cold weather is Shepherd’s Pie. This is probably one of my all time favorite dishes (that’s not Italian).

Normally this dish is all about layers. First a layer of beef, then a layer of veggies, and finally a layer of mashed potatoes. This time around we decided to mix the beef and veggies together to better unite the flavors.

Beef, onions and garlic.

1. In a cast iron skillet, saute olive oil, onions, and garlic. Add grass-fed ground beef. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Once the beef is fully browned, transfer it to a pot with a cup of beef broth and add peas, carrots, and corn (organic of course).
3. Let simmer for 30 minutes to allow for the flavors to merge. Salt and pepper to taste. Set the oven to 350 F.

Beef and veggies simmering with broth.

4. Boil water with salt. Add chopped up russet potatoes (with the skin on) and boil them until they just about fall apart when you stick a fork in them.
5. Mash the potatoes up. Salt, pepper, and spoon some of the broth from the beef and veggies into the potatoes. This will fully unite the flavors.

Mash the potatoes...I like to do it by hand.

6. Once you are happy with the flavors of both the beef/veggies and the potatoes, spread the beef and veggie mixture into a pan.

Make sure the mix is evenly distributed around the pan.

7. Cover the beef and veggies with the mashed potatoes. Use a knife to smooth out the potatoes, much like icing on a cake. Top the potatoes with butter.

Nice big pats of butter. Yum Yum!

8. Cover loosely with foil and bake the shepherd’s pie for 45 min to one hour. For the last five minutes uncover it and turn heat up to 400 F to toast the top. Let cool for a few minutes, serve hot.

Pair with a Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot. If you prefer beer the Real Ale Coffee Porter is pretty much the perfect pairing.

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homemade

Mom's homemade apple bundt cake

All sour thoughts seem to dissolve when one walks into a home where homemade food smells are permeating the air. I stepped into my house this evening and was greeted by the scent of boiling beef and beer broth. Beef and Barley stew!! Mixed in with the heavy beer notes was the faint hint of apples and cinnamon. Apple Bundt Cake.

When the weather turned a bit chilly (in the morning and late evenings) my mom turned into a cook. Monday we had shepherds pie, which is my favorite dish. The house smelled like Scotland. Wednesday was heirloom tomato Bruschetta. The house smelled like Italy. Tonight was the earlier mentioned stew and cake. The house smelled like heaven. If Scotland was heaven. Which it might be.

We turned off the TV and sat around talking. Dad and I sipped beers. We all teased each other. I think this is what family is all about.

 

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