1 Tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, cut in chunks
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
Heat oil in a dutch oven. Add veggies and saute for five minutes.
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 lbs. polish or smoked sausage, cut into 1/2″ slices
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Add to pot, and cook for 2 minutes.
6 yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
3 cups chicken broth
Add to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
What all pot roast wishes it could be. Kumy loves this.
5 lbs. chuck or round roast or whatever you use for pot roast
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
Heat oil in a dutch oven. Add meat and brown it all over. Remove from pan.
2 carrots, halved and chopped into 2-3″ sections
1 large yellow onion, chopped
Heat a little more oil in the pan. Add carrots and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3 cups dry red wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
beef stock
one large tomato, diced or 1 can chopped tomatoes with juice
1 Tbsp parsley
6 peppercorns
3 cloves
4 allspice berries
1 tsp thyme
3 cloves garlic
Add all else to pot and cover with foil and a lid. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for 2 – 3 hours.
Remove meat, cover with foil and let rest.
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water
Strain the veggies out of the pot, and stir in a cornstarch slurry of cornstarch and cold water. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until gravy thickens. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve roast beef with gravy, strained veggies and roasted potatoes. So delish!
My Mom always added quartered potatoes to her pot roast, and you can do that, too.
Ali started making pizza from scratch and has now perfected his pizza dough and sauce recipes. Today he is making pizza at our house. Thanks, Ali for sharing this recipe and for making supper tonight!
Dough:
2 tsp yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 heaping tsp flour
Mix in a glass container, cover with a towel and let sit someplace warm. After 20 minutes or so, check to make sure it’s all bubbly. If it isn’t the yeast may be dead.
Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add 1/4 more warm water to the container and swish it around to get all the yeast starter out.
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 more cup warm water
Add the flour, salt and warm water and start the mixer. Ali says to watch the dough, and if it’s really sticky, to add up to 1/4 cup more flour. He lets the mixer knead it for a few minutes, until the dough is all gathered up on the dough hook and just a little is still stuck to the sides of the bowl. You want the dough to be nice and soft. Ali doesn’t have a stand mixer but said it’s pretty easy to mix it with a spoon.
Oil or butter a glass bowl or baking dish, dust it with flour and put the dough in. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place until it rises and expands. This may take a few hours, depending on the temperature.
Meanwhile, start the sauce.
1 large onion, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp crushed garlic
Heat oil in a medium size stock pot, and add onions. Cook until onions are very soft – about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook a couple of minutes more.
3 14-oz cans diced or crushed tomatoes, or about 5 cups diced fresh tomatoes
12 peppercorns, ground in a mortar (about 1/2 tsp.)
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar (Can add another Tbsp or so to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.)
1/8 cup fish sauce (available at Asian store)
1/4 tsp each parsley, sage, rosemary
1/2 tsp each oregano and basil
1 tsp salt (to taste)
2 dry red peppers
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
sugar to taste (about 1 tsp)
Add all but the sugar to the onions and stir well. Simmer on low heat with the lid cracked for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. The house will smell amazing. Add sugar at the very end to taste, and check seasonings.
Toppings:
1 lb. hot Italian sausage, cooked and excess grease drained.
1 red bell pepper, diced (Ali roasted it on the grill.)
mozzarella cheese
Once dough is risen, divide it in two. Grease and lightly flour a baking sheet. Spread the dough on it and roll it out. Crimp the edges to form a nice crust. Brush dough lightly with olive oil. Take roughly half of the tomato sauce and spread it out. Sprinkle half meat and whatever toppings you want over it. Then sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 450 or 500 for 10 minutes, or until the cheese just starts to brown. You can make the other pizza at the same time with the remaining dough, sauce and toppings. (You may have a little sauce leftover which is great on pasta later.)
Let rest a few minutes before you cut into and start devouring. This was so good.
Barely any notes with this recipe – must have been improvising. Dated August, 2008
2 chicken breasts
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
Sprinkle spices over chicken and saute in olive oil for 10 minutes.
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 whole jalapeno pepper, sides slit, but not actually open
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
Add all to chicken in pan, and cook together until the chicken is done, I suppose.
Serve over white rice with peas. (Make rice with chicken stock instead of water, and add fresh or frozen peas.)
My extended family always gets together for a potluck on Christmas Eve. 20 years ago, we decided that it would be fun to choose a different country each time and have everyone try cooking recipes from that country. The year we chose Brazil was really outstanding and the first time I made Feijoada. That was also the year of our fabled introduction to the national drink of Brazil, Caiparinha’s, which is another story altogether. This dish is a very simplified version, but we love it.
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
Saute together for 10 minutes.
4 cans black beans, rinsed and drained or 1 lb. black beans, soaked and cooked the night before
1 lb. kielbasa sausage, cut into small bite-sized pieces
2 cups of chicken broth
2 chipotle peppers, chopped fine
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves.
Add all to onions, and cook on low heat for 25 minutes.
Serve on white rice, garnished with diced fresh parsley
Just made this last night for dinner with friends. It was easy and delicious -plus you just let it marinate until it’s ready to cook. So you can hang out with your friends instead of messing around in the kitchen. What more can you ask?
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp vinegar (I used cider vinegar.)
1 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce (use less if you don’t like it too spicy)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated, or 1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp Sesame Oil (Check the Asian section of the grocery store.)
2 large Salmon fillets
Mix glaze ingredients and pour into a large baking dish (I used a big rectangular pyrex dish, but you can also use a big, flat baking pan.)
Rinse fish, and shake off as much water as possible. Lay the fish skin side up in the glaze, so the actual fish meat is in the glaze. Lift it up from both sides to be sure it’s all in contact with the glaze. Let marinate at least 20 minutes.
Flip the fillets back over (skin side down now) and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, until the fish just flakes with a fork. This is also a great fish for grilling.
Remove from pan and drizzle glaze from the pan over the fish with a spoon.
The glaze is also good on chicken. I served this last night with Brown Butter Potatoes, and a spinach and strawberry salad. Love it when the plate is so full of color!
I needed a super quick supper and had absolutely nothing to work with, except…
Frozen Burritos! So this recipe was truly born of desperation, but I’ve made it several times since then, and it’s actually pretty good. One of the few semi-homemade type of recipes I make.
8 – 12 frozen Green Chile and Beef Burritos
1/2 cup salsa
1 can chili with beans
1/3 cup water
several slices Colby-Jack Cheese (or really almost any cheese you have on hand.)
Pour salsa into a baking dish. Take individual burritos and dip them in water for a second. Lay burritos in baking dish. Mix chili and water and pour over the burritos. Top with slices of cheese and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
Do you ever just want to thrown something together quick? I probably first made this recipe when I had frozen hash brown potatoes, chicken, cheddar cheese and parmesan to work with. But it’s still delicious, filling and truly a comfort food!
3 large potatoes, grated or 1 package shredded frozen hashbrowns
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (any kind is fine)
BBQ sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Saute onions in oil until translucent, add salt, pepper and potatoes. Cook for several minutes, flipping to brown both sides as best you can. (It does kind of fall apart, but that’s okay.)
Add in cheese and place in a medium sized casserole dish. Salt and pepper the chicken and lay it on top. Generously slather BBQ sauce on the chicken.
Bake at 400 for 25 – 30 minutes.
Made this on Christmas Day, 2006, with basmati rice. It makes a pretty spicy curry, so if you’re not sure, halve the dry spices. You can always add them back later if you want to. Just cook them for a couple more minutes if you do.
This recipe is cooked in a process adding ingredients every couple of minutes. I wrote it in sequence to help keep it easier to follow, and you may want to keep the additions sorted into little bowls so you can just add them as you need them.
1 lb. cooked, peeled shrimp
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vinegar
Mix in a bowl.
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, very thinly sliced
Saute onions until very soft and lightly brown.
1 tbsp garlic puree
2 tsp ginger puree
Add to onions, and saute a couple of minutes.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add less if you don’t like it too spicy.)
Add to frying pan and saute a minute or two.
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Add to frying pan and saute for a minute.
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 can coconut milk
1 cup water
Add shrimp, tomatoes, coconut milk and water to pan and cook five minutes.
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 tsp chopped cilantro
Add to pan and cook 2 minutes. Serve over hot rice.
Israeli couscous is much bigger than regular couscous and takes a longer to cook. It’s often available in the Kosher section at the grocery store , and has a nice chewiness we really like.
1/2 lb Israeli Couscous
2 Vidalia onions, finely chopped (can also use regular yellow onions)
2 tsp garlic puree
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 heaping tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 lb. chicken tenders
salt and black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
Saute onions in oil and butter until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute a little longer. The add cous-cous and saute for 2 minutes. Add everything else but the chicken and cook for 5 minutes.
Salt and pepper the chicken and lay it on top of the Couscous. Cover the pan and cook on low heat 10 more minutes, until chicken is done.
Toss gently with a fork and serve.
Little Brown Cookbook 