It’s cold and wet outside. You want to make something hearty that smells great when everybody gets home. Me, I’m getting out my big pot some northern white beans and the left over ham, onion and cayenne pepper. Served with soft sweet cornbread.
Pretty simple:
Sort and clean beans
Cook slowly with one or two bay leaves
When soft (about two hours) add ham, onion, 1 table spoon of cayenne pepper (I also like to add a generous amount of the skin, cut into small pieces)
Continue cooking for about another two hours
Remove Bay leaves before serving
If you don’t know how to make cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread works great with this meal/
Sweet pork adobo. A pound of pork, onions, red peppers, half-cup vinegar, two cups water, couple tablespoons soy sauce, couple more of olive oil, anywhere from a clove to a head of garlic, and a half cup of sugar. Simmer for an hour or three, serve it over rice. Yum.
Lamb shanks braised for three hours in a simple tomato/garlic sauce. Add a sprig of fresh rosemary and a few pitted kalamata olives, and serve with noodles.
Big ol’ pot of mixed vegetable soup. Be sure to include something strong and cabbagey, like kale and rutabagas, and use a good rich meat stock.
When I get home I’m going to have a bowl of split pea soup with smoked turkey that I made last night, alternating with a bowl of burgundy beef stew (sans carrots) I put in the crock pot this morning. If I have time to stop off at a store for some sourdough rolls to bake in the oven it should really top things off…
I don’t usually measure this, more of a by sight thing.
Take a plate covered with flour, add some salt and pepper, mix. Roll stew meat cubes in flour to coat. Fry for a few seconds on each side to brown.
Throw meat in crock pot along with potatoes (usually quartered) carrots and onions. Put in enough beef stock to cover. Throw in a few cloves of garlic, some oregeno, basil, rosemary, thyme and a bay leaf. Cook on low for about 8 hours.
Three-Alarm Chili: Use the kit. With cubed rather than ground beef (if you’ve got the time to do the cubing) & a bit of pork. Cook separately: Beans or rice or pasta. (I’m no purist.) Garnish creatively. Cornbread?
Or Carbonnade (from the classic New York Times cookbook.) Slice & Saute 6 onions until limp. Set aside. Dredge 2 lb cubed stew meat in seasoned flour, brown in pan used for onions; may need to add more oil/fat/whatever you used for browning. Dump onions in with beef, add a can or bottle of beer. (Guinness is good for you!). Add bayleaf, thyme, whatever. Cook until cooked. Serve with potatoes or pasta. Vegetables on the side, if you insist.
Pot roast. Sear it on the stove top (coated with flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper) - throw it in the oven with quartered onions, beef broth, worchestire (I know I probably spelled this wrong), perhaps a bit of A1 if I’m feeling peckish, and braise. Add carrots towards the end and make a big pot of mashed potatoes - make gravy - eat.
