lovely jubbly london

Guinness Beef Stew

With the freezing weather and snow happening on and off all week, it's the perfect time for hearty Guinness Beef Stew.

Guinness Beef Stew by Cooks Country

3 T vegetable oil

2 onions, chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T tomato paste

1/4 c flour

3 c chicken stock (I used 4-5)

1.5 T dark brown sugar

1 t thyme

2 lb stewing beef, 1.5 inch cubes

1.5 lbs potatoes, unpeeled and cut in 1 inch cubes

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 T fresh chopped parsley

Guinness

Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Salt and pepper beef. Set dutch oven on stove on medium-high heat and add oil. Once simmering, add onion and cook 10 minutes or until well browned. Stir in tomato paste and garlic, cook for 2 minutes or until rust coloured. Add in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock, 3/4 c Guinness, brown sugar, and thyme. Ensure you scrape up browned bits on bottom. Allow to simmer until slightly thickened. Add beef, return to simmer and then remove from stove to finish cooking in oven. 

Cook for 90 minutes, stirring halfway through to allow beef to brown evenly. Add potatoes and carrots, stirring to fully incorporate, you may need to add more stock at this point to ensure vegetables soften. Return to oven and cook for further 60-90 minutes, stirring at 30 minute intervals until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven, stir in 1/2 c Guinness and parsley. Serve and enjoy!

American Chop Suey

American Chop Suey or American Goloush wasn't a dish I had heard of before Cook's Country. However, it looked like something the husband would enjoy so I whipped it up on the weekend. Flavor was a bit lacking for me so next time I'll spice it up.

American Chop Suey

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

1 T tomato paste

1/4 t red pepper flakes

28 ounces tomato sauce (passata in the UK)

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 T soy sauce or worcestershire

2 T oregano

1 T basil

2 bay leaves

ground beef (I used Quorn faux mince!)

3 cups elbow pasta

oil, salt and pepper

parmesan for topping

In dutch oven, cook pasta. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside. In now empty dutch over, add oil and cook beef. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Add more oil and cook onion and bell pepper. Add tomato paste and allow to cook for 2 minutes until rust coloured. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, cooked beef, basil, oregano, soy or worcestershire and 1-2 cups of water. Bring to simmer and cook uncovered 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Add pasta and heat through. Serve -or- refrigerate overnight and reheat gently on the stove. Top with parmesan.

*If using Quorn or beef alternative, follow package instructions. Quorn is seriously the best thing ever. I was never really a fan of ground beef and you can't tell the difference. I served it to my carnivore and he didn't know!

Olive Garden Comes To England

Totally got you excited with that title, right?

Don't be too mad at me for teasing you.

I promise you this Pasta E Fagioli and breadstick recipe will have you thinking you're at the Olive Garden even though you have to do all the cooking yourself.

Nectarines with Marscapone

One of my favourite desserts is having nectarines or peaches topped with a mixture of marscapone and amaretti biscuits.

Simply crumble the biscuits into the marscapone and top each half of fruit. Sometimes I like to drizzle in a little something extra like blackberry reduction or a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar. Bake at 350F or 170C for around 12 minutes and you're done.

You can use a little of the mixture if you're concerned about calories:

Or a lot if you're not:

Either way, it's easy and delicious.

Ina's Double Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ina's cake in one word? Divine.

This is my new go to chocolate cake recipe.

Ina's Double Chocolate Layer Cake recipe here.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Philadelphia Cadbury cream cheese

2 oz good chocolate, melted

1 stick butter, softened (113 g)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3-4 cups icing sugar, sifted 

1-2 tablespoons milk or coffee

Beat cream cheese, chocolate, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugar to taste. Add milk or coffee if needed.

*ignore the empty picture frame in picture 1!

{faux} Hostess Cupcakes

 

Every since I saw these in an issue of Cook's Country last year, I have been thinking about these cupcakes. I will admit to still eating the originals whenever I am in the US (it's an expat thing), but the homemade filling in these is amazing. Seriously. I ate it by the spoonful with crumbled cupcakes. Don't hate me for sharing this with you.

Cream Filling

3 tablespoons water

3/4 teaspoon gelatin

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (56 grams)

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups marshmallow fluff (I used the whole jar)

Measure water into large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Allow to sit for a minute or two to soften. Microwave for 30 seconds or until mixture is bubbling around the edges. Stir in butter, salt and vanilla. Let mixture cool 5 minutes then whisk in fluff. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.

*Recipe by Cook's Country. I'm not going to share the cupcake recipe they use because I didn't think it was as good as my usual. Use your favourite and top with a mixture of melted butter and chocolate. Reserve some cream filling for swirls.

The Best Egg Sandwich

Egg sandwiches aren't exactly hard to make but the technique used for this one is a winner.

All you need is this:

1. Beat 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of water and salt & pepper with a fork.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon of butter over medium in a large frying pan. Swirl around the pan to coat evenly.

3. Pour in egg mixture and ensure bottom of pan is covered evenly like you are making a crepe.

4. Add cheese to the center of pan.

5. Wait for the egg to cook and then fold up the egg towards the center.

6. Transfer egg to toasted bread and enjoy! 

You end up with a sandwich so good the husband said he would pay for it! 

 

found on Cup of Jo, technique by Smitten Kitchen

I'm Loving {January Edition}

Call the Midwife

The BBC's newest drama set in the 1950s. Why did I wait so long to start watching it?!

 

 

Spiced Roasted Chicken by Gourmet

Delicious, quick and easy! Double up on spices and add some wine to the deglazing process and you've got a winner.

 

Cold Weather

Call me crazy, but I do love cold weather in winter. I want a winter that feels like winter. If it would only snow...

Cooking Conversions {US to UK}

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, I thought I would share my conversion chart with all of you. Downloadable PDF below.

Download Conversion (note this is designed as a 5"x7")

 

Saturday Stew {Ina's Chicken Stew with Biscuits}

If you like chicken pot pie and southern style biscuits, make this tonight. Easy and delicious, it's an all around winner.

Ina's Chicken Stew with Biscuits