Every winter in fall we all suffer from the same food ruts. Those are the dishes we make week after week. The same way over time simply because we do not know any other way to fix our favorites. I grew up where my Mom brutalized stew. It was the greasiest worst stuff ever! In fact, I can say I never ate it. I chose to have PB&J. Well, when I met my husband he wanted me to make stew all the time because for him that was how he liked to spend Saturday’s watching football. Eating stew. So, I had to figure out why I did not like stew and fix it. The secret was that I like a thicker broth with very little grease. Only using lean beef and then slow cooking the stew with beef stock. Add a little fresh bay leaves and thyme! Perfect every time!
Thick and Rich Beef Stew
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound sirloin steak, cubed
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
4 cups beef stock
2 bay leafs
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 1/2 cups small yukon potatoes, cubed
In a large skillet, over medium heat add the meat and then sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and sear the meat. Pour about 1 cup of stock into the sauce pan to help deglaze the pan. (Meaning…get the brown yummy bits off of the bottom of the pan) Pour the meat mixture into a slow cooker. Add the rest of the beef stock as well as the roasted tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery and potatoes. Sprinkle the thyme and add the bay leaves and then place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. To thicken broth: add 2 tablespoons corn starch to 1/2 cup water. Pour the cornstarch into the stew and cook an additional 30 minutes to thicken!
I have made a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my day. Meaning I started with the Toll House classic and have been all over the place from there. Now, these cookies are to die for! Maybe I am getting older and like a deeper more decadent chocolate…so the bittersweet chocolate does the job perfectly! The other secret to this cookie is the flours. In the past, I just used good old all purpose flour! I dabbled a bit with cake flour but never found that I really liked the cookie texture. This recipe calls for bread flour as well as cake flour. Bread flour is much higher in protein whereas the cake flour has a much lower content. By combining these two flours, it makes for a perfect cookie texture. Firm yet chewy. Basically, for me this is the perfect cookie texture. I cannot encourage you enough to buy the BEST chocolate your budget can afford. Do not skimp and not use bittersweet. It is what takes this cookies from ho hum to life changing!
Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Leite Culinaria)
2 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 sticks Braum’s unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla paste
1 1/2 (10 ounce) packages bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter and sugars till light and fluffy. This takes about 3-5 minutes. Do not skimp! In a medium sized bowl combine the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk together lightly. Once the butter is done beating add in the eggs and vanilla paste and mix together for another minute. Add the flour mixture one cup at a time. Taking a moment to mix each cup in before adding the next. Continue till all of the flour is added. Slowly add in the bittersweet chocolate and mix till it is evenly distributed. You can now add the pecans at this point too!
To make evenly sized cookies use a cookie scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup. Place rounded cookie dough portions onto baking sheet allowing at least 2 inches between the cookies. Lightly flatten with the palm of your hand (i mean LIGHTLY!) and then sprinkle with a smidgen of sea salt. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until wrinkled and lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on parchment lined counter top or cooling rack. Enjoy with a big glass of milk!