Some comfort food time with Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin

As the weather begins to get cooler, familiar and inviting comfort foods can lift our spirits and bring warmth to our beings. Soothing, soul-satisfying comfort foods can bring back special memories and meaningful connections. Steaming chowders, mashed potatoes, hot soup, hearty stews, warm chocolate chip cookies and fresh baked pies are all foods many associate with comfort. Simple foods that evoke fond memories, and bring joy and comfort to everyday meals.

Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin

(Serves 4)

1 1/2 lbs (750 g) stewing beef, cut into cubes

3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup (250 mL) red wine

2 1/2 cups (625 mL) Knorr Beef Broth

3 tbsp (45 mL) Hoisin sauce*

2 each: carrots, parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

Pat beef dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown beef on all sides working in batches, adding more oil as needed. Transfer beef to a bowl.

In the fat remaining in the pot, sauté the onions and garlic until tender. Add red wine, and bring to the boil while scraping any bits stuck to the bottom. Stir in Knorr Beef Broth and Hoisin sauce; bring to the boil. Return beef to pot, bring to a simmer and cook covered for 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Stir in carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes; cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables tender. Serve over steamed rice.

*Hoisin Sauce: A thick, reddish-brown sauce that is sweet and spicy, and widely used in Chinese cooking. It can be found in Asian markets and many large supermarkets.

Recipe for a classic spinach dip

1 pkg (300 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 can (10 oz/284 g) water chestnuts, drained and chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 pkg Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix or Knorr Leek Soup Mix

2 cups (500 mL) sour cream

1 cup (250 mL) mayonnaise

1 round pumpernickel loaf

Squeeze excess moisture from spinach. Combine all ingredients excluding bread in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours to blend flavours. Spoon mixture into hollowed pumpernickel round loaf. Reserve remaining bread and cut into squares for dipping. Can also be served with fresh vegetables.

Recipe alternative: Broccoli Cheddar Dip.

Substitute, 1 pkg (300 g) frozen chopped broccoli for spinach, omit water chestnuts and green onions and add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. In sieve, rinse frozen broccoli under warm water to thaw, squeeze to drain well.

Buttons of chocolate!

Try out this yummy chocolate buttons recipe:

1/2 cup (125 ml) butter, softened

1/2 cup (125 ml) dark brown sugar

1/3 cup (75 ml) granulated sugar

1 egg

4 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped

1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla

1 -3/4 cup (425 ml) Five Roses All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp (2 ml) baking soda

1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt

Coating:

12 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped

3 squares White Chocolate

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). In a bowl, cream butter. Beat in brown sugar and granulated sugar until very smooth. Beat in egg. Microwave chocolate on medium for 1 min. Stir until smooth. Stir chocolate and vanilla into creamed mixture. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Roll teaspoonfuls (5 ml) of dough into small balls. Place on lightly buttered baking sheet and set in freezer for 5 min. Bake cookies for 10 min. Cool completely on rack.

Coating: Microwave semi-sweet chocolate on medium for about 2 min. Stir until smooth. Set bowl of melted chocolate over pan of steaming water. Dip cooled cookies into melted chocolate. Once chocolate is firm, microwave white chocolate on medium for about 45 seconds. Stir until melted and smooth. Decorate cookies by drizzling with white chocolate.

All about preparing chicken...

Chicken recipes are a stable in many people’s diets. Many of them are recipes we have made time and time again and others, are special recipes, maybe a favorite Christmas recipe or even a special fondue recipe using chicken. Americans consume more chicken then any other meat, but we still want new recipes to use! Spicing up old recipes or creating new ones is easy when you have the right tools. Finding new free recipes is easy if you are using the Internet. Simply searching for recipes in your favorite search engine will produce many sites you can choose from. Within those sites, you can search for chicken recipes or any other that you may be looking for. Most of the time, you will receive many choices to choose from. Choose those that you have the ingredients for or are willing to purchase. If you do not have the ability to search online, check your local library for books and magazines on chicken recipes.

How will you cook the chicken? Bake it? Grill it? Stir fry? You can even use a slow cooker recipe to cook your chicken. There are many ways to prepare the chicken. There are also many types of cuts of chicken. Will you use a whole chicken? Half? Just thighs or wings? Maybe you will want it boneless or skin less. A good tool to invest in is a How To Cookbook. A book like this will teach you how to know these differences. It will teach you many important techniques you will use over and over in any baking or cooking you do. Another aspect to consider is when or how you will serve the chicken recipe. Will you prepare an appetizer recipe?

Will you make a soup or will it be a main dish? You have many questions to ask yourself. Once you come to these conclusions and know what your goals are, you will be able to find the perfect chicken recipes. Cooking with chicken you also need to understand how to prepare chicken safely. Chicken does contain bacteria that you need to avoid exposing yourself and your diners too. Always wash hands thoroughly after touching or handling chicken. Use the hottest water you can and an antibacterial soap as well. Ensure that you do not touch any equipment or items before washing your hands. This will prevent cross contamination as well.

When cooking chicken, make sure to cook it until it reaches the proper temperature. Chicken cannot be eaten raw. But, cooking it thoroughly will kill any bacteria that may be on your chicken. Again, make sure to use utensils that are clean and sanitary each time you touch the chicken. Following your directions correctly will provide you with the best possible outcome for your chicken recipes. Using the correct ingredients, properly cut and thoroughly clean, will deliver a great meal for whoever you are cooking for and whatever you make!

Chicken korma, a dish fit for kings.

The Royal chefs of the great Moghul Emperors made an enormous contribution to the richness of the celebrated Northern Indian cuisine, using cooking techniques which were mainly similar to those of the western world but raising them to new heights with their exquisite blends of spices and herbs.

Kormas were created for festive occasions and are considered by many experts top be the greatest expression of the master chef's skills. A korma is mildly spiced and enriched by cream and ground almonds.

The korma technique can be applied to meats or to vegetables and calls for a thicker braising sauce than that normally used in western cooking. The use of butter and cream in the preparation results in a thick, savoury sauce that clings generously to meats and vegetables.

Chicken Korma, reduced to simple terms, is nothing more than braised chicken but the judicious blending of spices that are used to create the braising sauce makes it one of India's most popular dishes. There are many great and complicated recipes but this one is simple, quick to prepare and will have your tastebuds dancing:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cubed

1/3 jar of Sharwood's Curry Stir Fry Sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp ground almonds

3 tbsp light cream

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a wok or deep-sided frying pan, add the chicken and stir for 5 minutes until almost cooked. Add the curry sauce, chicken stock, ground almonds and cream. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately with plain boiled Basmati rice, garnished with the cilantro. Delicious with spoonfuls of Sharwood's Major Gray Chutney. Preparation time: 5 minutes; cooking time: 10 minutes. Serves 3-4.

What exactly is Shrove Tuesday? The time for this recipe!

For the British at least, Shrove Tuesday is probably better known as Pancake Day. Those wonderful delicacies, smothered in sugar and lemon and often tossed around in village competitions. As you will see from the recipes below, the Brits certainly don't have the monopoly of this type of fare for the occasion:

REBANDAS DE CARNAVAL

This a great way to use up stale bread at any time.

Ingredients:

1 "yesterday's" Canarian loaf (any crusty white bread like a French stick or baguette will do just as well), 1 egg, 1 cup of milk approx., Sugar, Sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Method:

Slice the bread diagonally into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and discard the ends of the loaf. Beat the egg, milk and cinnamon together in a bowl then soak the bread slices briefly in the mixture. Lift them carefully and fry gently in oil in a shallow frying pan, turning once. Remove when golden, arrange on a plate and sprinkle with sugar. Watch them disappear fast!

(A variation on this recipe is to substitute half the milk with white wine.)

TORTILLA DE CARNAVAL

Ingredients:

Gofio, Plain Flour (optional), Three or four egg yolks, Ground cinnamon, Half a litre of milk, Sugar, Aniseed liqueur or Marie Brizard.

Method:

Mix the egg yolks with the milk, cinnamon and sugar (the amount of which you can vary according to taste), along with a dribble of the aniseed liqueur. Beat well, then add the gofio a little at a time, until you have a consistency resembling custard. (You can mix flour with the gofio, again according to preference). Fry small amounts of the mixture until golden in hot oil to make little pancakes. It is customary to eat them at Carnaval time, accompanied by coffee.

No more boring brown bag lunches, please!

One way that money slips through our fingers without our realizing it is by eating out at lunch every day.

Did you know that by taking your lunch 3 days a week instead of eating out, you could save as much as $800 a year? Think what you could do with that much extra money!

Your lunch doesn't have to be a sandwich and chips, either. With just a little bit of creativity and planning, brown bag lunches can be pretty delicious!

Try these ideas for starters:

Invest in a few of those 1-serving plastic storage containers with lids. These are so handy--when you have just one serving left of any dish at dinner, put it in one of these dishes. Designate a shelf in the fridge for these leftovers. In the mornings, anyone in the family can choose what to put in their lunch bag!

Those little containers can also be used to hold dip for carrot or celery sticks; fill with peanut butter and pack a zipper bag of pretzels for dipping. Maybe salsa for dipping tortilla chips (not so healthy, but really good!)

Or make your own pudding cups with your homemade pudding!

Fill tortillas or pita pockets with egg or tuna salad.

Spread cream cheese on a tortilla, add a little salsa, and top with sliced turkey or ham. Place another tortilla on top, cut in fourths and put in zipper top bag.

A good way to carry deviled eggs (that lunchbox staple)-- after filling, put the two halves back together, and wrap in plastic wrap or put in a small container!

Muffins hold up well in a lunch bag or box as do slices of banana nut bread, or most any other quick bread. Great for morning or afternoon breaks.

Of course, if your workplace has a microwave oven,(lucky you!)you can always bring leftover soup, stew or chili. A quick recipe for Chicken Corn Chowder:

1 pouch Chicken Noodle Soup Mix with diced chicken

2 1/4 cups milk

1 can cream-style corn

Combine all ingredients in saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are tender, uncovered, stirring frequently, because it will stick!

Mix this up in the evening or on the wekend and store in serving-size containers. Just grab a container in the morning, along with some crackers, and you're good to go!

Try some of these ideas for your lunches this week and start saving some money!

And at the same time, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you and/or your spouse will be having a more nutritious meal than you would get at a fast-food restaurant.

Cuban food? Absolutely delicious, I tell you.

The Internet is a great resource for food lovers. You can find everything from recipes to home delivery of gourmet meals. International foods are a real treat that you can explore and enjoy.

In this article, we will explore Cuban food and offer you an easy recipe. There is a wonderful variety of Cuban food available such as coffee, fruits & jellies, rice dishes, sauces, spices, teas, meats, seafood, desserts, cookies & crackers.

Explore the tastes of light and dark coffee and cappuccino; Café Bustelo, Café Pilon, Café El Pico and several others.

Mango and Guava are used for a variety of fruit dishes and jellies such as Conchita Guava Shells, La Cubanita Mango Cream and La Fe Guava Paste.

Rice dishes are very popular, including those produced by Goya; Paella Dinner, Rice & Black Beans, Rice & Pigeon Peas and tasteful Yellow Rice.

Several sauces and spices add variety to the meals. Brands include Badia, Batey, Conchita and Goya. There is a little bit of everything to add additional flavor to your meals.

Teas are a favorite in the Cuban food line; several varieties from Chamomile to Mango are available.

Even meats can be purchased, Goya Chorizos (sausages), Pamplona Mussels in Brine, Pamplona Octopus in Oil and Sauce.

For dessert, there is Goya Flan, Majarete and Tembleque . Enjoy a variety of Gilda and La Estrella crackers and cookies with a cup of your favorite coffee or tea.

Declare an International Food night and include the Cuban dish below.

Spanish Sausage and Peppers

1 Goya Chorizo Sausage

Olive Oil

1 Pepper (Your choice of sweet, red, cayenne, chili, etc.)

Sherry vinegar

Fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Chop sausage into bite size chunks. Put olive oil into a frying pan and fry sausage on high heat. Let the fat from the sausage come out into the oil. Cut the pepper into bite size squares. Turn the sausage and add the pepper to the pan. Add a splash of vinegar and the parsley and then mix everything. Skewer pieces of sausage and pepper with toothpicks and put onto a warm plate and serve.

Steaks grilled to perfection every time, just follow these tips!

There's nothing better than a nicely grilled juicy steak.

But how come I can't duplicate that restaurant, expensive, juicy, melt-in-your mouth, perfectly grilled steak?

Well, I found out how to grill steak perfectly - and here's how you can too.

1. The choice of meat is important!!! Just because the supermarket has labeled the steak "good for grilling" doesn't mean that it is. Lean meat does not do well. You want a piece that has marbling throughout. And these are good cuts: fillet (mignon), top loin (rib eye) - basically the same cuts that are the ones you love in the restaurant.

2. Next, proper heating of the grill is vital. If you are using charcoal, spread 2/3 of the bricks on one side and 1/3 of the bricks on the other. That way you have a hotter side for searing the meat and a cooler side for cooking the meat.

If you are using a gas grill, you will lose some of the flavor, but you will want to turn the heat down for the cooking portion.

3. Next, rub both sides of the meat with oil and cover with salt and pepper. Be generous with the salt and pepper because it will fall off during the grilling.

4. Place your meat on the hot side for searing. Cook on each side for three minutes to get the nice grilled meat crust color you love. For a hand test, I've been told that you should be able to hold you hand over the heat for 3 seconds before you can't take it!

5. Place your meat on the cooler side for cooking to your taste. The hand test for the cooler side, I've been told, is 6-7 seconds. You will want to use a timer to cook the meat - or use the slice and peak test to see if the meat is done enough for you. Just don't cut and peek too often or you'll lose all the juice!

6. When the steak is done, take if off the grill and let it set for at least 5 minutes. Some people call it "resting". It allows the juices to spread back out so that you'll have a juicy steak with a nice crust.

Follow these steps and you'll be enjoying perfectly grilled, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth steak that will impress and satisfy the most discriminating steak eater!

Strawberry jam in five minutes flat

Nothing tastes better than fresh picked strawberries. For many people, making homemade jams and jellies conjures up memories of grandmother in the kitchen preparing bushels of fruit, stirring and straining, and sterilizing jars. Actually, nothing could be simpler. The key to making jam is small batches. Do not double the recipe. The jam will not set up. This strawberry jam keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. But, we’ve never been able to keep it around that long! It’s also great as an ice cream topping.

Try this quick and easy recipe with your kids. It makes a great Mother’s Day present for family and friends. And, if you’re lucky, they may even save some for you.

Ingredients

* 1-pint strawberries, hulled and sliced

* 2-tablespoons fruit pectin

* ½ teaspoon butter

* 1-cup sugar

* 2 8-ounce jelly jars

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl, crush the strawberries with a potato masher

2. In a skillet, combine the crushed strawberries, pectin, and butter.

3. Stirring constantly, cook over medium-high heat, until the mixture boils.

4. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and remove from the heat.

5. Pour the jam into the jars. Seal. Refrigerate until the jam is set, approximately 6 hours. Keep jam refrigerated. It will keep for up to 3 weeks.