Beef and Sweet Potato Stew with Homemade Spaetzle

I know that I have been AWOL since before Thanksgiving, but I have a really good excuse. I've been sick since the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing life threatening. Just a very bad cold. But when you're old like me, a cold can really take its toll on your body.

I'm finally on the road to recovery and cooking.

We've had lots of rain since October and November, so I've been craving comfort foods like soups, chowders and stews, all of which have been on the menu at least twice a week.

Rather than serve the stews with just crusty bread on the side, I decided to use this spaetzle maker that had not seen the outside of my kitchen cabinet since it arrived in the mail a year ago and try the simple spaetzle recipe posted on Elly Says Opa! It is so easy, fast and delicious. It's actually faster than boiling dried noodles....and a whole lot tastier.

After removing the spaetzle from the boiling water, I strained it and put it in a frying pan with a little butter and chopped parsley. This batch browned a little, but it was still delicious and perfect with the stew.



The marsala wine adds just the right touch of sweetness to accent the flavor of the sweet potatoes.



Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, finely minced
1 cup Marsala wine
4 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

To season and coat the meat:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked hot paprika

Put all the beef seasoning/coating ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a whisk, then transfer to a large zip-lock type bag. Add the beef chunks to the bag, close the bag securely and shake until all the beef chunks are evenly coated. Remove the beef chunks from the bag to a plate or bowl, shaking off excess flour. Set aside. Discard flour mixture.

In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, rosemary and thyme and gently saute until the onions are tender and translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one more minute, being careful not to brown or burn the garlic.

Turn up the heat to medium high and add the coated beef chunks to the pot. Cook until the beef is browned on all sides, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the Marsala wine and beef broth to the pot, making sure to stir up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring the stew to a full boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and simmer the stew for one hour.

After an hour, add the sweet potato chunks to the pot, cover and simmer on low heat for another hour.

Keep stew warm while making the spaetzle.

Spaetzle
Adapted from Elly Says Opa!

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg (I always use freshly grated whole nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter butter
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 teaspoons of the salt. Reduce to a gentle boil/simmer.

Using a whisk, mix the flour, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Add the eggs/milk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Secure the spaetzle maker over the simmering water and position the basket portion in the middle of the spaetzle maker. Add the dough to the basket and gently move the basket back and forth over the grater base. The dough will be thin enough to be forced through the grater base with the back and forth action and drop into the simmering water. Continue until all the dough is used. Cook just a few minutes until the spaetzle are done and rise to the surface. Lift the spaetzle out with a mesh strainer or slotted spoon.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the spaetzle. Stir to coat the spaetzle and cook about 2 minutes or until they start to get a little color. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup

Winter has hit Arkansas pretty hard. Yesterday was our third snow storm in as many weeks and that's highly unusual for this part of the country. Plus, temperatures haven't exceeded freezing for several days. When it's cold outside, I crave soup.

I'm not one to choose a brothy soup. I like a hearty thick soup. The kind of soup I grew up eating. Peas. Beans. Lentils. Potatoes. This soup is rich, hearty and very flavorful. The spice of the Mexican chorizo compliments the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. Served with cornbread or warm tortillas, this is a satisfying meal.

This recipe calls for a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. When using straight olive oil for cooking, it is important not to heat the oil over its smoking point (the temperature at which the oil begins to break down) because it gives food an unpleasant taste. I avoid this by blending the two oils together. I generally use an oil dispenser bottle in which I've mixed equal parts of each of the oils to have it readily available to use for sautéing.



Sweet Potato Chorizo Soup

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 - 10 oz. tube of Mexican chorizo (not smoked)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 yukon gold potatoes, washed well and cut into 1/2-inch dice (no need to peel)
• 6 to 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 - 9 oz. box of frozen chopped spinach (I've also used kale with great results)

Heat both oils in a large pot. Add the chorizo and cook until done, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks (about 8 to 10 minutes).

Add the onion and celery to the pot and cook until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently (about 6 or 7 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the all the potatoes to the pot and stir until the potatoes are coated well with the chorizo, onions and celery. Add 6 cups of chicken broth to the pot and stir well, scraping all of the browned bits from the bottom. Bring to a boil and simmer at low heat until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the frozen spinach and bring the pot back to a simmer and cook a few minutes more until the spinach is thawed and fully incorporated into the soup. If the soup gets too thick, add another cup of chicken broth.

Correct seasoning with salt and pepper and stir well. Serve.

Country Breakfast in a Cup

I'm not much of a breakfast eater. I am just "Coffee, please," first thing in the morning and then usually wait until 9:30 or 10:00 before I can even think about something solid. Most mornings I have either a toasted English muffin or slice of toast with a couple of slices of avocado, or a turkey sausage patty, or a slice of turkey bacon. But, Tom has always been a great breakfast eater, so we go out to breakfast often on weekends.

Generally, for breakfast we wind up at Cracker Barrel, where I will order a breakfast much larger than I would generally eat simply because I like to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Grandpa's Country Fried Breakfast is my favorite because I get just what I want and I can pick my way through the eggs, country fried steak, hashbrown casserole, biscuits and gravy. At least, that's what I usually do, but I might have to rethink my choice.

This morning as I was perusing the internet I wandered onto The Daily Beast and into a media gallery entitled "This Is Why You Are Fat." The ninth photo is entitled "Country Breakfast Parfait" and contains nearly all the components of my beloved Cracker Barrel breakfast in one tall glass. . .

The caption for this photo reads: "this winner contains all the elements of a country breakfast shoved into a cup as a parfait would be. Those elements include tater tots, fried eggs, chicken-fried steak bites, buttermilk biscuit chunks, sausage gravy, and bacon.

It's one thing to see your breakfast laid out nicely on a plate, with a separate plate for your biscuits and a nice neat bowl for the gravy.

It's quite another thing to see it layered and mushed all together like a gravy, potato, egg and meat milkshake.

I may never eat breakfast again.

 

Hanger-On: n. A person who remains in a place or attaches himself or herself to a group, another person, etc.

Or is it Hanger-On-er? Either way, I can't believe I have done this. Me...the former executive director of student fiscal affairs for a private college...a presumptuous, unabashed follower. Nothing creative is happening for me, so I shamelessly latched on to someone else's idea.

No, I'm not part of the Friday Friends group. I don't know Debbie personally, but I have been to Winnemuca, Nevada, for a street fair, I think sometime in 2002 before we moved from the Lake Tahoe area back to Arkansas. Sadly, I don't think that counts. Anyway, I have somewhat attached myself and given myself permission to participate in the What's Outside My Kitchen Window postings.

And, I am about to also answer her questions about hamburgers... that simple summer food on a bun, with potato salad or macaroni salad or french fries or onion rings. Aren't they incredibly versatile?

So, Wednesday, I will once again post What's Outside My Kitchen Window. I'm actually excited to do that because my yard is changing daily. I just love this time of year! But, for today...

What do you put on your hamburger? Mayo, mustard, ketchup (it's a McDonald's secret sauce thing from the early 60's), always request cheddar cheese, sliced onion, tomato and sometimes dill pickle slices. Lettuce is completely optional. Although, I did really like the Carls Jr. low carb burger with no bun and wrapped in lettuce. So maybe it's the bun that's optional.

Do you even eat hamburgers? Yes, but not very often. Maybe three or four times a year. It's not that I don't like them very much. In fact, it is the opposite. I absolutely love them if they are flavorful, hot and juicy!

Is there a special place from your youth....that made great hamburgers. Your "hang out" joint, if you will. The place that made the burgers of your dreams? When I started high school in northern California, my mom got a job as a clerk at Los Gatos Pharmacy, a small town, family owned pharmacy that not only dispensed drugs and other sundries, but also had an old fashioned lunch counter. They made the very best hamburger I've ever eaten in my life. The ground beef was fresh and the patties were hand made, as was the "sauce" they used. You could have your burger with french fries or salad with a homemade roquefort cheese dressing, which I have tried repeatedly to duplicate with little success. I used to love when my mom had to work Saturday mornings and she would take us to the pharmacy where we would have lunch and then explore the sidewalks outside until it was time to go home. I've never tasted a better burger since, but I'll keep trying.

Casseroles = Comfort

Debbie over at The Friday Friends posted an entry about casseroles.

Now, while I love a simple Beef Wellington with Truffled Mushroom Sauce, or Grilled Salmon with Herbed Cream Sauce, or Veal Picatta, or Chicken Marsala, you could prepare a casserole for me for dinner and I'd be a happy camper.

Like Debbie, when I was growing up, my mom made lots of casseroles. I also prepared tons of casseroles when my kids were growing up. Casseroles were, and still are, fast, filling, tasty and cheap. Back in the day, I remember shopping for the week for only $25 or $35. Now, I can't walk out of the market without spending at least that for just a few items. But, that's another post.

Now what can you do with a little hamburger, a few potatoes and some cheese? How about Cheesy Shepherd's Pie...

Cheesy Shepherd's Pie
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup flour
1 can tomato paste
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup cream
grated cheddar cheese (2 large handfuls into potatoes and 2 large handfuls for the top)

In a large saucepan, add potatoes and enough water to cover. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 12 to 18 minutes. Drain well and place back into the hot pot. Cook over low heat, stirring, until any excess liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add the cream and 2 large handfuls of grated cheddar cheese. Mash to desired consistency, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the carrots, celery, onion and thyme and cook until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring until crumbled, until cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, flour and tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the beef broth and let simmer for about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Coat a 9 X 13 baking pan generously with cooking spray. Scoop the beef mixture into the baking pan and spread into an even layer. Drop dollops of the mashed potatoes all over the top of the beef mixture and gently spread evenly over the beef mixture. Sprinkle the top with 2 large handfuls of grated cheddar cheese.

Bake in preheated oven until the cheese on the potatoes is almost browned and the filling is hot, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

" When the bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves - Welcome wool sweaters." ~ B. Cybrill

I don't particularly love winter, especially in Arkansas. We don't get a lot of snow and snow, I think, is what makes winter bearable because it makes everything look beautiful; never mind the ice, the brown slush, the chains and snow-tires, the snow shovels, wet shoes and boots. I never think of those things when I think of snow. Instead, I think of the snow-covered trees, the beautiful snow flakes, warm fires, hot tea or chocolate and everything outside white and beautiful. As you can tell, I'm much more into the fantasy than the reality. But, for me, if it's going to be really cold, then let's have some snow.

No matter if it snows or not, cold weather makes me crave comfort food ~ pots of soups and stews or big hearty casseroles. I've been seeing lots of stews and casseroles on other blogs lately and it seems one of the most popular is Beef Bourguignon. Every blog I've visited lately tempted with photos of the rich beef stew. Some recipes contain brandy, other cognac. Some cooks use shallots, other use pearl onions, still others use the standard yellow onions. But, what gives this stew it's richness is combining the beef and red wine.

Here's my really simple version:

Beef Bourguignon
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

3 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into about 1-inch cubes
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
6 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, diced
½ pound mushrooms, sliced about ¼ inch thick
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 cups beef broth
2-1/2 cups of a full-bodied red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat and, when hot, add the diced bacon. Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook until almost crisp. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel and set aside. Add olive oil to the bacon drippings in the pot.

Sprinkle the beef cubes lightly with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the beef cubes and toss until they are coated well.



Brown the beef cubes in the pot a few at a time, removing the cubes when they are browned and adding the rest of the cubes in small batches until all the beef is browned, adding more olive oil a tablespoon at a time, if necessary.



Remove all the beef from the pan.

To any remaining drippings (if no drippings remain, add a little olive oil), add the onion and saute about 12 to 15 minutes until nicely browned and caramelized. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté about another minute or two. Pour the wine into the pot, stirring constantly to deglaze the pan. Stir in the beef broth and add the beef chunks and bacon back into the pot. Add the tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf to the pot and mix well.

Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pot tightly, lower the heat to a very low simmer and allow to cook about 2½ hours, stirring occasionally. When done, the meat and vegetables should be very tender and stew should have thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I prefer to serve this over mashed potatoes, but you can serve it over pasta, polenta or even grits.