Eat the Best Food Ever

I threw this together from stuff I had in the fridge, and it was so so good that I thought I should write it down. There’s not a single component here that couldn’t swap out—lentils for the beans, Italian dressing for the chimicurri, chicken for the beef….use your imagination!

1 1/2 c white beans, cooked

3T chimicurri

6 oz cooked steak, cut into bite-sized pieces

10 cherry tomatoes

2 roasted cippolini onions, sliced

Blend, eat. Damn, that’s tasty!

Makes two crusts

2.5 cups/12 oz. all-purpose flour

1 c water+ 1/4 cup cider vinegar (add ice cubes to make it colder, but don’t get them into the dough)

1 T sugar

1 t salt

1/2 # unsalted butter cut into 1/2” pieces

Making the dough:

Put all dry ingredients plus butter into a bowl and work with a pastry cutter until the butter is in pea-sized pieces, inspecting with your hands to make sure there are no large clumps. (if it’s warm outside or things are getting soft, refrigerate it at this point to harden the butter back up.) This first part can be done in a food processor, but the next part has to be done by hand. Add a little water at a time, working the dough with your hands until it looks “shaggy.” Some parts will get there sooner than others, so push the finished dough aside as you go. Flick drops of water in at the very end to keep the dough from getting too wet.

Then shape it into a big cylinder and cut it in half. Form each piece into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before rolling.

Rolling out the dough:

Lightly flour the working surface and roll out your dough. Roll in one direction only, back and forth, not side to side, turning and flipping dough as needed. It should be about 1” bigger than the pie plate.  Check the thickness with your fingers, adjusting if you have thin or thick spots. Brush off flour with a pastry brush and slip it into the pie plate. Gently press, without stretching, the crust into the corner and sides of the dish.

Trim off raggedy bits, then fold up the excess so that it stands vertically on the rim of the dish.

Then crimp, using three fingers.

Pro Tips:

Premade pie crust (either stored in a disc or rolled out into a pie plate keeps for 1 day in the fridge and for up to 3 weeks in the freezer.

Blind baking or proofing (same thing): Roll out crust into pie plate, then freeze for 1 hour minimum. Line with foil, getting the foil all the way around the edge of the crust. Fill all the way up to the rim with rice/beans/whatever (you can keep reusing them until they start to smell) and bake at 375F for 30-45 minutes, checking at 30 minutes. The crust should be completely cooked and brownish.

Edit: My mom used this set of instructions and had issues with her crust sliding down to the bottom of the pie plate. Here’s some expert advice on how to avoid that from Rachel Coyle, of Coyle’s Bakeshop.

Pie crust advice: Allison Woods, I love this question. There are a few things: 1) Make sure the rolled crust is rested and chilled before you try and pre-bake. I like to freeze it through for at least an hour. 2) When you pre-bake, line the crust with parchment or foil and then fill up to the top with your pie weights/rice/beans. This will help keep the sides from falling. 3) Don’t take the pie weights out until the crust looks like it’s dry on the bottom. Your crust really won’t overbake during the second bake (with filling), especially on the bottom, so you can and should bake it basically all the way through on the pre-bake. Hope that helps!

I was inspired to make this after my friend Paul Clark reminisced about eating it in London. I’d never tasted it before, but after looking up a recipe online, decided to give it a spin. This recipe was inspired by one originally printed in Food and Wine. It’;s sinfully easy, and tastes great.

Serves 4-6, 45 minutes prep and cooking time

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 pounds good-quality ground beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons Madras curry powder

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas

Chopped cilantro

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the ground meat and cook over high heat, stirring to break up the lumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and curry powder and season with salt and pepper. Taste, and add more curry powder if needed. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the potato, broth, coconut milk and the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the potato is tender, about 15 minutes.

Using the back of a spoon, lightly crush some of the potato. Add the peas, and cook just until heated through. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top for serving.

Serve with naan and  plain basmati rice or Cumin Basmati Rice.

This recipe, adapted from allrecipes.com, came my way via my CSA, Boistfort Farms. The box often contains fresh herbs (in this case, lavender) and also comes with a sheet of recipes to help you navigate through sometimes-unusual produce. I don’t cook a lot with lavender because it can make food soapy if overused, but this recipe keeps it moderate. These are delicious with a spot of vanilla ice cream.

makes around 2 dozen cookies

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened

• 2/3 cup white sugar

• 1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cornstarch

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the lavender, mint and lemon zest. Combine the flour, cornstarch and salt; mix into the batter until well blended. Divide dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten to about 1inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Cookie stamps will work well on these too. Place on cookie sheets.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, just until cookies begin to brown at the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Beef Stew with Rice, Onions, and Tomatoes (Boeuf A La Catalane)

Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol I, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck — Copyright: 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf
Serves 6
1/4       pound  chunk of bacon

2         tablespoons  olive oil
3         pounds  lean stewing beef — cut into squares 2 1/2″ across and 1″ thick
1 1/2    cups  onions — sliced
1         cup  raw white rice — unwashed
1         cup  dry white wine or dry vermouth
2         cups  beef stock or canned beef bouillon

salt to taste
1/4       teaspoon  pepper
2         cloves  garlic — mashed
1/2        teaspoon  thyme
Pinch   saffron
1          bay leaf — crumbled
1          pound  tomatoes — peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped –
(about 1 1/2 cups pulp)
1          cup  Swiss cheese or Parmesan cheese — grated

Preheat oven to 325°

Remove rind and cut bacon into lardons (1 1/2-inch strips, 3/8 of an inch thick.) Simmer in 1 quart of water for 10 minutes. Drain, dry, and brown lightly in oil in the skillet. Remove with a slotted spoon to a Dutch Oven.

Dry the meat on paper towels. Lightly salt and pepper the meat.  Brown the meat on all sides in the rendered bacon fat. Once browned, place it in the Dutch Oven.

Lower heat to medium-low, and brown the onions. Place in Dutch Oven.  Add additional oil to the skillet if too dry and cook the rice over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns milky in color. Transfer to a bowl and set aside until later.

Add the wine and stir over medium heat to dissolve any fond in the pan. Add stock or bouillon almost to the height of the meat in the Dutch Oven.  Stir in the pepper, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, cover tightly, and set in lower position of preheated oven for 1 hour.

Remove casserole from oven. Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, cover, and return to the oven for an additional hour of simmering. When the meat is almost fork-tender, remove pot from oven. Raise oven heat to 375°.

Skim off any excess fat. Stir in the rice. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, cover, and set back in the oven for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Do not stir the rice. At the end of the time it should be tender and have absorbed almost all the liquid.  Just before serving, fold the cheese into the beef and rice. Adjust seasonings as needed.