So, why not make Baby Burgers with Blue cheese and pear topping! Its elegant enough for the Oscars, and you can always go for the ketchup and mustard if you make extra burgers

Blue Baby Burgers

1 package dinner rolls

1lb ground beef

1TBSP Soya sauce, and Worchesisire  sauce each

1TBSP garlic Powder

3TBSP Parmasan cheese (from the can people)

1/4cup breadcrumbs

3 ripe pears, cut into slices

blue cheese

Mix together meat, spices, breadcrumbs and parmasan, and form small 1inch thick, 2inches wide burgers. Grill or fry burgers, and 5 minutes before they are finished add blue cheese to the top and let melt. Add pears and then serve everything neatly tucked into a dinner roll!

… I have no quote because the blue people scare me a little. I appreciate its cinamatic genius though.

liss

Beouf Bourguignon Tartlets

12 tartlet shells, browned in the oven

1lb stewing beef

1 carrot and one onion chopped small

4 slices bacon, chopped

2TBSP flour

1cup Small peeled Pearl onions (put then in a bowl of water, and the skins should just pull off) **half them if they are too large for the tartlet shells**

4 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped

1TBSP tomato Paste

1Cup red wine,

1TBSP butter

1Cup beef stock

Pinch Rosemary

Saute bacon and Beef with 2tbsp of Flour, cooking on high, until browned on every side. Add vegetables and saute until they are browned as well. Remember that this stew is eventually going into a tartlet shell, so all ingredients should be small enough to put into them without making a mess. When the vegetables are browned, add the Wine, beef stock and tomato paste, as well as the garlic. Add 1 TBSP butter and the pinch of rosemary, and let it cook down until the stew is thick. Serve this stew hot, in prepared tart shells.

“Bon Appetite!” -Julia Child

liss

I am really enjoying using Rapini as a regular vegetable. I included the spinach because it adds a different texture when cooked, as well as a contrasting taste with the steaks. My dear mother bought me some pre-cut steak strips and They fry up in 5 minutes. They add a bit of iron and protein to the diet, as well as helps give you that “full” feeling.

Hot Steak Salad

2cups spinach

1/2bunch Rapini

1cup Steak strips

2cloves chopped garlic

2TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

In a hot pan, add oil garlic and steak strips, S&P. Cook on high until outsides of meat are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add in Rapini (ends trimmed) and spinach, and cook until everything is wilted and hot. Add salt, pepper and Balsamic vinegar, heat for 1 minute and serve.

It truly does take only 10minutes from start to finish, and I feel like Popeye with all the Iron

liss

Welcome back everyone!

Liss’s French Onion Soup

2 large sweet onions, sliced into rings

2 cloves garlic

2TBSP butter

1TSP oil

4cups Beef Broth

1/2cup Red Wine

1 Baugette (Instruction: Thinly slice (1/2inch slices) bread diagonally. Brush with oil, Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy).

1cup shredded cheese (whatever’s in your fridge is fine)

In a large pot, melt butter and oil together and add sliced garlic and onions. These bad boys need to cook down for 10-15 minutes, or until they are a caramel brown colour. A trick here is to add a small amount (3TBSP water each time) to the pot while the onions and garlic are cooking down.The steam forces them to cook faster! Add salt and Pepper to taste, as salt also draws water out of the onions. Continue cooking for 15 minutes, and then deglaze the pan with the red wine. Let the red wine cook down until all the alcohol is out of it, then add the beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes. If you have one on hand, add a bay leaf here while simmering. Ladel into bowls, and add hot baugette slices to the top, top with cheese and microwave for 15 seconds until the cheese melts!

I know what Im having for supper tonight. You should too now

Liss

We used pan fry steaks for this recipe, they are inexpensive ( i paid 3.50 for 4 huge steaks), and are the butchers choice of meat. Its very lean, and cook very quickly. Watch for the potatoes, they will take atleast 45 minutes on 400 F

Steaks with White wine and Cherry tomatoes, and Roasted Veg

2lrg Potatos, cut into small-ish chunks ( the smaller they are, the faster they cook. however, don’t make them too tiny. about the size of normal hash browns)

1 green pepper, cut into large chunks

4 cloves garlic, chopped (seperate them into 2-clove piles, one is for the potatoes and one is for the sauce)

3TBSP oregano

1TBSP pepper

1TSP salt

4 Pan fry steaks

1cup white wine

1/2cup cherry tomatoes

In a large bowl, combine 1/2cup olive oil with the chopped peppers, potatoes, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix well to coat evenly with spices and oil, then spread out evenly on a baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes on 400F or until they are crispy outside, and soft in the middle. Broil for last 15 minutes. In a large pan, fry steaks in a small amount of oil. Remove when cooked through, then de-glaze pan with wine. De glazing is basically getting all the yummy fried brown beef bits off the bottom of the pan to make the sauce delicious! Add the cherry tomatoes, then let simmer until the wine has evaporated by 1/4. Add the steaks back into the pan, and continue simmering until the sauce has reduced by half. Serve the sauce on top of the steaks, and the crispy spiced potatoes on the side.

4 More days till christmas!!!

WHOSE EXCITED?!?!

yum yum, might as well eat well all the way leading up to Christmas too right

liss

Unfortunately, due to time constraints on my exams, I will not be able to post 4 separate blogs. However, I have been salivating over an idea I had not long ago. My family is having boeuf bourguignon for our Christmas. A Christmas tradition our family is  to never have a normal Christmas Turkey or Ham. This tradition has led my Nanna to create a slow braised beef stew. However, I started thinking… How can I make this faster.

Don’t you dare all say ‘thats what she said’.

haha Moving on, I have created a recipe for the most delicious, hearty boeuf bourguignon for you to snack on during exams. All this cold sure has me wishing I had a pot of this on downstairs!

Liss’s Quick and Easy Boeuf Bourguignon

1/2lb Cubed Beef Chunks (mouth-sized cubes)

2stalkes Celery, cut into 1 inch peices

1cup pearl onions, peeled (to peel, place in boiling water for 5 min, then quickly put into ice water. Cut off one end and squeeze the onion out the other)

4cloves Garlic, sliced Thick

4TBSP Butter

3TBSP flour

Salt, Pepper, Thyme and 2 Bay leaves

1cup Red or White wine (preferably a red for this, but white works as well)

1cup Beef Broth

Using paper towels, dry off all of the moisture from the beef chunks. In a large zip bag, toss the dried beef chunks with the flour and coat evenly. In a high sided pan, add the butter, and then add the beef when the butter is melted. DO NOT MOVE THE BEEF AROUND! You want the beef to brown, and for the beef to be crispy. After you have browned once side of the beef chunks, turn them over, and add the celery, onions and garlic in between the beef. Cook these until almost tender, then add the spices, wine and beef broth. Cook down until veggies are soft all of the way through and the meat is tender -about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve hot.

This stew gets better with more cooking time, so if your in a rush, cook until everything is cook thoroughly, but if you have time to spare cook for up to 45 minutes, until the veggies melt in your mouth.

Hope this makes up for my unfortunate exam absence!

liss

Liss’s StewPendous Stew

1 Carrot, chopped

2Stalks celery, chopped

1Onion, Chopped

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Can potatos, sliced (drain first)

1 Can Corn, drained

1/2 Can Green Beans

1LB Ground beef

2 Cans Beef Broth

Heat and oil a Medium sized pot, and cook ground beef through, cutting it up with your spoon to get it into small pieces. Add Celery, Carrots, Garlic, and Onion and cook thoroughly until all the vegetables are tender to bite. Add drained vegetables and broth, and simmer on medium high for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn heat down to medium low, and let simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve hot

I looooove this recipe! Try it out, its very simple and tastes deliciously homemade

liss

Hearty Italian Stew

Italian-style Beef Stew

1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat, dried and salted and peppered
Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup cabernet sauvignon
1/2 a large can of whole plum tomatoes (5 of the tomatoes chopped, and 2/3 cup of the tomato juice in the can) or you can use 1 small can of chopped tomatoes.
2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut in medium-sized pieces
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut in medium-sized pieces
1 pack of mushrooms, cleaned and cut in halves or thirds
A few dried mushrooms, soaked in a little hot water
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a little oil and brown meat on all sides, making sure that there is air space all around the meat and the pan is not crowded. Cook meat in batches if necessary and set aside.

Turn down heat to medium, add a little more oil, and brown onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic at the last minute of cooking.

Add back meat to the pot and add beef broth, wine and tomatoes. Keep the skillet you used to brown the meat and onions to use for the mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and cook until beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (You can also do this in pressure cooker and cook the beef for 35 minutes).

While the beef is cooking, heat up the skillet over medium-high heat and add a little oil. Cook the mushrooms until they’re browned. Salt and pepper and set aside.

When the dried mushrooms that you have been soaking in hot water have softened, cut them in small pieces. With a fine strainer, strain the mushroom water to remove any dirt and then add the chopped mushrooms back. Set aside.

When the beef is tender, add the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and mushroom juice, and cook at a simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

Adjust seasonings and serve with noodles or rice.

My mom’s Beef Stroganoff

100g/person Egg Noodles

1 strip steak sliced

1 shallot

1/4 cup butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups beef broth

salt and black pepper to taste

3tbsp white/red wine

1 plain yogurt cup

1/2 cup peas

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, cook shallots and steak in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until soft; remove from pan.
Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth, and cook until slightly thickened. Add steak and shallot mixture; stir in yogurt, peas and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is thickened. Serve sauce over egg noodles.