recipe

Rosemary Bean Stew: Final Version

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Remember my Rosemary Bean Stew awhile back?  I think I got it figured out!

  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 medium-large sweet yellow onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp crushed garlic (about two cloves)
  • 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes or equivalent (A bit over 1 1/2 cups), drained.
  • 1 can (14 oz), about 1 1/2 cups, low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 can (14 oz) low-sodium white beans, drained and rinsed.
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp crushed, dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp ground thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

 

  1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begin to soften and become transparent.
  2. Add tomatoes.  Saute until onions are soft and transparent.
  3. Add broth, beans, black pepper, rosemary, thyme,bay leaf. stir.
  4. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove bay leaf.
  6. Add balsamic vinegar, stir in.  Cook another minute

What I added was thyme and the bay leaf, which seemed to push it over the edge.  The two together add an interesting “sweet plant/wood” flavor to the whole affair.  Depending on your taste you may want to add a dash of salt.

This makes about 3 main course servings or about 4-6 small side dishes.  I’m pairing it with a spinach salad with my homemade Italian dressing (well, it’s kind of Italian – I use rice wine vinegar).

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

 

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup: Curry Cheese Log

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This is a great recipe for creating something different than your usual cheese log; a spicy, layered, deep taste that has a lot of facets.  It’d probably go well with the right wine – like a Syrah.

I’m also considering cutting it with a little butter/butter substitute, olive oil, or something else to make it into a spread.  Its also a bit hard to coat the roll in stage 9, so I wonder if there might be a better way to do it.

8 oz cream cheese
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (may need a bit more)
1 Tbsp dried Basil

  1. Put cream cheese in a microwaveable bowl.
  2. Sprinkle curry powder over cream cheese.
  3. Cover cream cheese and curry powder with blue cheese.
  4. Microwave the bowl with the cheese and curry in 15-second increments until soft enough to blend.
  5. Mix the cheese and curry thoroughly with a no-stick spoon or spatula until finely blended – it’ll take on a pale yellow or orange color.  You might need to microwave it occasionally.
  6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator.  Keep there for 2 hours at least in order to set.
  7. Mix pecans and basil, spread out on foil.
  8. Roll the cheese and curry mix into a log about an inch thick.
  9. Roll the cheese log in the mixture of pecans and basil until well coated.  You might need to do a bit of work to patch “holes”
  10. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  Serve on top of crackers or toast.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup: Super Turkey Baste

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Here’s my recipe, derived from a “Taste of Home” recipe from some years back.  It’s pretty much how I make turkey now, and has been for years.

1/4 cup butter
2 cups champagne (or sparkling white wine)
1 cup condensed beef consomme
2 medium onions, diced.

Spices:
2 tsp celery salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried sage
2 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram

1) Combine celery salt, butter, pepper, 1 tbsp of parsley, sage. apply all over turkey.
2) Bake uncovered at 325 for 30 minutes.
3) While cooking combine champagne, onions, 1 TBS parsley, consomme, thyme marjoram.
4) Base with mixture, applying regularly throughout cooking cycle (probably about 3-4 hours), until center of meat is 180.

The turkey comes out juicy and spicy, and any fatty parts are just delicious as the soak the flavor up.  However, all the marinating is going to dilute the drippings so you may not want to use them for gravy (or you may like it, dunno, but it’s going to be more a beef gravy).

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.