Slow Cooker Feijoada Recipe

Feijoada is Brazil's national dish.  It is usually served in restaurants throughout the country every Saturday.   This dish can be traced back to the early days of Brazil.  Slaves that worked the sugar cane plantations used the undesirable parts of the pig that were discarded to make this hearty pork stew.  They served it with Kale, rice and farofa (made from casava root) to make a perfectly well rounded meal.  Combine it with a few caipirinhas or caipiroskas and you will learn why this is the most popular dish in Brazil. 

Ingredients:
3/4 pound pork ribs
1/2 pound smoked bacon
2 ham hocks
1 tbsp tomato paste
8 oz. chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
28oz. can of black beans
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound of pork filets
4 cloves garlic,minced
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 pound linguiça or chorizo sausage, chopped into thin slices
1 4oz. can of green chiles
4 scallions, sliced lengthwise and then sliced across into 2 to 3 inch pieces

Preparation:

1. Put the pork ribs, smoked bacon (slices unseparated), and ham hocks in the slow cooker.  Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, black beans, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
2. Cover with lid and cook on low for 7 hours.
3. Remove the ham hocks and ribs from the slow cooker.  Remove any bones that you can find and then place the pieces of meat back in the slow cooker.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Remove the smoked bacon from the slow cooker and place it in the skillet.  Skim off the fat and add crisp bacon back to the slow cooker.
5. Add the olive oil to the skillet along with the onions and garlic.  Cook the garlic and onions until the onions are translucent.  Place the onions and garlic in the slow cooker.
6. Slice up the linguiça or chorizo into 1/4 inch slices and add them to the skillet.  Brown the sausage and then add it to the slow cooker.
7. Add the can of green chilies to the slow cooker and cook on low for another hour.
8. Chop up the scallions lengthwise and then into 2 inch slices.
9. Serve the feijoada over steamed rice with the scallions as garnish.

Serve with couve or just lightly steamed kale and fresh orange slices.  Farofa, rice, and heart of palm are also served with feijoada as they taste great along with the pork and black beans!! 

Brasil  [ print this recipe for Slow Cooker Feijoada ]

Jackie Kennedy's Beef Stroganoff Recipe

If you're looking for something to make for dinner on election night, we recommend this one direct from Camelot. You can fill up the slow cooker before you head out to the polls on Tuesday and by the time the election results begin to trickle in, you will be enjoying one of Jackie's best recipes.

From Holiday Slow Cooker by Jonnie Downing....

Was there anything this amazing woman wasn't good at?  Try the first lady's delicious beef stroganoff recipe and judge for yourself.  While this version is modified for the slow cooker, you'll still need to do some prep work.  It's worth it.

Ingredients:
2 pounds top sirloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch strips
1/4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn pepper
1/4 cup grated yellow onion 
1 1/2 cups sliced baby portabello mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tspn onion powder
egg noodles, for serving
1/2 cup sour cream

Preparation:

1. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Season the beef strips with the salt and pepper and place in the slow cooker.
3. Lightly saute the onions. 
4. Add the onion, mushrooms, broth, tomato paste, and onion powder.  Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, until the beef is tender.
5. Shortly before serving time, cook the noodles according to the package directions.  While they are cooking, mix the sour cream into the meat mixture in the slow cooker.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, as needed.
6. Serve the hot stroganoff over the noodles. 

Russia  [ print this recipe for Jackie Kennedy's Beef Stroganoff ]

Garlic Bread Recipe

Everybody loves warm bread when it arrives at the table, and when it has the scent of garlic wafting from it, you know it has the Italian touch.  The goal in making a good garlic bread is to rub the bread with the crushed garlic clove, not to load it with chopped garlic; remember, just the essence is enough to gratify your senses.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
12-inch loaf Italian bread without seeds
1 tspn dried oregano
Kosher salt for seasoning

Preparation:

1. Combine the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl, and steep about 30 minutes, to let the flavors mingle.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Split the bread in half lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise, to make four pieces.  Set the pieces, cut side up, on a baking sheet, and brush the bread with the flavored oil, rubbing with garlic cloves and leaving them on top.  Sprinkle with the dried oregano.
3. Bake until the bread is golden and crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove any large garlic pieces, and lightly season the bread with salt before serving.

Variation:
Garlic Bread Topped with Cheese (Pane Strofinato con Formaggio):  substitute 1/4 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano for the oregano.

Variation:
Garlic Bread Rubbed with Tomatoes (Pane Strofinato con Pomodoro):  Cut some ripe tomatoes in half crosswise.  While the baked bread is still hot, rub cut surfaces of the bread with the tomato halves, until the bread has absorbed the tomato juices, and the tomato pulp has rubbed onto the bread.  Season lightly with salt, drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil on top, and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Lidia's Favorite Recipes by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali.

Italy  [ print this recipe for Garlic Bread ] 

Wild Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Everyone thinks of mashed potatoes and gravy or mac and cheese as comfort foods. But after tasting this risotto, you may just have a new favorite.

Ingredients:
6 cups beef stock (or substitute chicken or mushroom stock)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and julienned
1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1 pound Principato di Lucedio Arborio rice
1/2 cup Courvoisier cognac
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Preparation:

1. Pour the stock into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
2. In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil and butter in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Pour in the cognac and keep stirring until it is completely absorbed. Using a large ladle, add the stock one ladle at a time, stirring constantly, until absorbed. Continue this process until all the stock is used and the rice is creamy.
4. Add the mushroom mixture to the risotto and continue cooking and stirring. Stir in the heavy cream and cheese and continue stirring. Risotto should have a very creamy texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with chopped parsley.

Serves 8

Recipe courtesy of Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns by Sabra Ricci

Italy [ print this recipe for Wild Mushroom Risotto ]

Paglia e Fieno (Straw and Hay) Recipe

This colorful pasta dish has been on restaurant menus as far-back as I can remember.  Patrons love the two-tone pasta, crispy peas, prosciutto bits, and creamy sauce.  Your family and guests will ask for second helpings every time.  But, as traditional as this dish is, feel free to change the vegetables according to seasons; for example, I love adding fava beans in the spring, corn in the summer, mushrooms in the fall, and cooked chestnuts in the winter.


Ingredients:
salt for the pasta pot
4 scallions
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup shelled fresh peas, blanched or frozen baby peas, defrosted
6 to 8 slices imported prsciutto, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick ribbons
2/3 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound fresh paglia e fieno fettucine, or 1/2 pound dry egg fettucine and 1/2 pound dry spinach fettucine
3/4 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Trim the roots, tips, and any yellow or wilted leaves from the scallions.  Cut them in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 3-inch lengths.  Cut the scallion pieces lengthwise into thin strips.
3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the scallions, and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.  Scatter in the peas and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.  Add the prosciutto, and toss until it changes color, 1 to 2 minutes.  Pour in the chicken stock, and bring the liquid to a boil.  Reduce the sauce to a simmer, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.  Add the heavy cream, and continue to simmer until the liquid is lightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Stir the pasta into the salted boiling water.  Return to a boil, and cook the pasta until al dente.  Fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer, and add it directly to the sauce in the skillet, stirring to coat the pasta with the sauce.  Cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced enough to form a creamy sauce.  Remove from the heat, toss in the grated cheese, and serve immediately in warm bowls.

Recipe courtesy of Lidia's Favorite Recipes by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali.

Italy  [ print this recipe for Paglia e Fieno (Straw and Hay) ]

Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe

From the Essential James Beard Cookbook by James Beard.....

As the first course for a company dinner, or as a cold-weather lunch, cream of mushroom soup is very versatile.  Crimini (baby portabello) mushrooms are more flavorful than white mushrooms, and can be used, but they make a darker soup.

Ingredients:
1 pound white mushrooms
4 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp sherry or Cognac (optional)
1/4 tspn Tabasco
Kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth and break off the stems.  In a large pot, simmer the stems in the stock for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the mushroom flavor has thoroughly permeated the stock.
2. Strain the stock through a sieve into a bowl;  discard the stems.  Return the stock to the pot.
3. Mix the flour and butter into a paste, beurre manié, and roll into tiny balls.  Bring the stock to a boil; drop in the balls of beurre manié and beat in with a whisk until the beurre manié is absorbed and the stock is slightly thickened.
4. Slice the mushroom caps thinly and add them to the thickened broth.  Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the cream in another pan, stirring, until just at the simmering point.  Add the sherry, if using, and stir in the cream.  Stir in the Tabasco and season with salt.
6. Reheat the soup until hot, but not boiling, and serve in heated soup plates or cups.

Makes 6 servings

Recipe courtesy of The Essential James Beard Cookbook by James Beard.

France [ print this recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup ]

Book Review: Kitchenability 101 - The College Student's Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food

You have spent the last decade or more trying to save money and prepare your child for college.  You have taken them shopping for the basic things that they will need to survive during their first year away from home.  But if you think that you have all of the bases covered, you need to check out Kitchenability 101:  The College Student's Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food by Nisa Burns.

This book includes 65 easy, affordable, and healthy recipes designed with high school and college students in mind.  The book offers personal and practical advice to improve your student's abilities in the kitchen.  It helps students discover the satisfaction of cooking on a budget for themselves and for their friends.

Author Nisa Burns is a culinary graduate of the Art Institute of Virginia Beach and CEO of Kitchenability, Inc.  Her company was founded with the goal of giving students the confidence and skills to make easy, healthy, and delicious foods suited to their lifestyles.  Burns contends that if colleges had a mandatory introduction to cooking class, more students would become lifelong healthy eaters.

The book begins with a wealth of information devoted to setting up a basic, working kitchen designed for the students specific living accommodations.  Author Burns includes sections on dorm room essentials, must-have utensils, and basic pantry staples.  She also provides QR codes that point the reader to her instructional videos where she provides information from basic cooking techniques to shopping advice.  Here is one example of these videos:  how to cut an onion and stretching your budget by shopping at a farmer's market.  Kitchenability is divided into several chapters with a multitude of fundamental recipes that help students gain confidence as they develop their culinary skills.  

As part of our review, we prepared two dishes:  Creamy Hummus Dip and Bananas Foster.  The hummus was very easy to make.  Within 5 minutes we had fresh homemade hummus that tasted better than the brand that we usually buy at the store.  The author's suggestion of adding sun dried tomatoes to the mix would make this recipe even better.  This was a simple, fundamental recipe that can serve as a quick and easy snack or a building block for a more complex dish.  Next, we tried Bananas Foster another classic recipe that was easy and affordable to prepare. This dish has a long history and was first prepared back in the early 1950s at Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans.  This was a great tasting, simple dessert that we put together in a matter of minutes.  Overall, Kitchenability 101 provides the essentials for college students to explore and develop their culinary skills.  In her debut effort, Author Nisa Burns has provided an outstanding collection of healthy, easy, economic, and fun recipes for students to explore.  We give Kitchenability 4 out of 5 stars.