cozy fall dish

Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year.  The weekend chill seemed like the perfect time to make some braised beef short ribs and butternut squash risotto. 

I began the short ribs by seasoning them with salt and pepper then searing them on all sides in a very hot dutch oven.  After removing the short ribs I added onion, garlic, diced carrots and celery to dutch oven to cook for a bit.  To add warmth to the dish I added a combination of ground guajillo chiles, cumin, and Mexican oregano along with red wine as the braising liquid.  I returned the short ribs back to the dutch oven and cooked low in the oven for 3hours.  The meat was falling off the bone and the pan sauce was rich with flavor.

Short ribs waiting to be cooked:

Short ribs just out of the oven:

The second half of my dish consists of a risotto featuring butternut squash, a fall vegetable!  I first diced the butternut squash and simmered it in some chicken stock in order to add a bit of squash flavor to the liquid.  I removed the butternut after a while to avoid overcooking it.  To prepare the risotto I first fried bits of bacon in a pan to be used later with the risotto.  I removed some of the bacon fat and sautéed arborio rice with onion and garlic before adding white wine.  I continued to prepare the risotto by allowing the wine to absorb into the rice, then adding the  chicken broth a bit at a time, waiting until it gets absorbed before adding more.  After a while the rice doubled in volume was al dente, and very creamy.  To finish the dish I added butter, nutmeg, the bacon from earlier, and stirred in the diced butternut squash

Risotto cooking away:

I placed the beef on top of the risotto and spooned some of the pan sauce on top.  To complete the dish I made a quick arugula and radish salad with lemon juice to put on the side along with thick slices of bread.  The acidity and bite of the salad counterbalances the richness of the beef and the bread was good for sopping up any juices.  My favorite thing about this dish is how warm and comforting it is, perfect for the fall weather.

mmmm pork!

Pork shoulder roast is amazing because it is so inexpensive but yields delicious porky goodness.  This is definitely a winner anytime since it is really hard to mess this up.

To begin I rubbed the pork in a combination of brown sugar, garlic and crushed pistachios.  I let the pork sit with the rub for a couple of hours before placing in the slow cooker.  I added sliced red onions, anaheim chiles, and beer to the slow cooker and set to cook on low for 7 hours.

I moved the roast and some of the chiles from the slow cooker to a very hot oven.  I blasted the pork roast to crisp up the outside to achieve a texture somewhat similar to carnitas.  I reduced the leftover cooking liquid, added apple cider vinegar, garlic, paprika, red pepper flakes, and mustard to create a quick barbecue sauce.

The pork was delicious and luscious, the sauce added a bit of spice and sweetness to really bring out the flavor.

food for a lazy day part 2: dinner

The second dish that I made involved a couple of things that I have been wanting to try for a while know.  For dinner today I made beef brisket with a sweet corn tamales, potatoes, and cole slaw.

I started the brisket this morning by placing it in a slow cooker with potatoes, wine, onions, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and some beef broth.  After cooking for 8 hours I placed the brisket and potatoes in a hot oven to crisp up the edges.

To make the sweet corn tamales I combined pureed sweet corn with masa harina, butter, salt and a bit of sugar.  I spread the dough on some parchment paper and placed a few slivers of serrano chile in the center before steaming for an hour.  The tamales were salty and sweet like cornbread with added heat from the serrano.

To accompany dinner I made a cole slaw that I dressed in a lime vinaigrette.  I actually saw this in an episode of Aarti Party on Food Network and decided to give it a try.

I was happy with how dinner worked out and how all the components worked together.  There are plenty of leftovers for dinner tomorrow which will make the first day back to work just a bit easier.

food for a lazy day part 1: breakfast

So today being labor day I figured I had a bit extra time to be a bit  ambitious and cook a few things I've been wanting to make.  Believe it or not, I find the most relaxing thing I can do on a day off is work in the kitchen.  I made two meals with my free time today.  First up: steel cut oats with pear ginger compote, honey roasted pistachios, cottage cheese and fresh raspberries.

I first prepared the compote by cutting up pears into a large dice.  I thinly sliced ginger and cut it into little matchsticks.  I added both of these items into a pan with some lemon juice, water, and sugar.  I set this to simmer for about a half hour.

For the honey roasted pistachios I placed peeled pistachios on a cookie sheet to warm up in the oven.  In the meantime I combined butter, honey, and cinnamon and simmered in a saucepan.  I pulled the pistachios out of the oven and tossed in the honey mixture to coat.

Both the compote and the pistachios were used with the oats as toppings to mix in along with some cottage cheese and fresh raspberries.

To make the oatmeal I first took steel cut oats and I toasted them in a pot with a bit of butter.  I added boiling water and let it simmer until the oats were soft.  After the oats finished cooking I added some kefir, brown sugar and cinnamon to finish it off.

Breakfast this morning was a great departure from the usual egg and pork fat savory breakfast that I tend to go for, but it was very nourishing and filling.  A great way to start off the day!

green coconut curry with shrimp, potatoes and peas

A friend dropped off a good deal of these huge great looking serranos and I thought that green coconut curry would be the perfect way to use a few of them.  Now, I’m not expert on curries or the exact spices that are involved, I have a general idea and I’ve been trying to approximate the flavor as much as possible.  I feel that this version has been the most successful so far.

To start I made a green sauce by throwing tons of cilantro, spring onion tops, serrano chiles, poblanos, garlic and ginger into a food processer until it formed a paste.  I then added tumeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt, pepper and a bit of water to complete the green sauce.

In a hot pan I melted some ghee and sautéed some onion and coconut flakes.  I added coconut flakes early on so they would toast and get a bit caramelized.  This added enough sweetness to the dish to avoid adding sugar.  To this I added diced potatoes and the green sauce.  Once the potatoes softened I added some coconut milk and my frozen peas.  The last step was adding the shrimp.  I continued to cook the entire dish until the shrimp got pink and cooked through.

The pungent green sauce with the cool sweetness of coconut milk worked great together and really went well with the shrimp.  I served with some basmati rice on the side to soak up the delicious sauce.

Overall, I really enjoyed the dish, it makes for a good meal.  I think I would’ve preferred it a bit more spice and tang to the sauce so for next time I’m going to add more chiles and a bit of lime to the sauce.