Barefoot Contessa's Filet of Beef Bourguignon

Maybe I should start my introducing myself.  My name is Natalie, I write this blog. I have not written in ages which makes me a sucky blogger as of late, and if you have moved on to some other foodie blog I don't blame you.  However, I may just have the ticket to bring you allllllll back with restored faith.

When it comes to dinner parties, I tend to always be the one hosting.  Other than family, I had yet to be treated to a home cooked meal by anyone else - until a couple weeks ago when hubs and I got the invite by one of our "couple" friends to join them for dinner and see their new lovely home.  After a very impressive, homemade feast, I insisted on the recipe for her main dish of filet of beef bourguignon.

Barefoot Contessa my friends... - another culinary domestic goddess to be praised.  While most of her recipes have one single secret ingredient - butter - this recipe is surprisingly toned down on the butter overload but nevertheless absolutely delicious.  I made it for hubs and my parents and it was a total hit.  Perfect for these cold months we have ahead of us.

Ingredients (Serves 6):
1 3-pound filet of beef, trimmed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 pound bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups good dry red wine, such as Burgundy or Chianti
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 pound pearl onions, peeled
8 to 10 carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick (domestic or wild)

With a sharp knife, cut the filet crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Salt and pepper the filets on both sides. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan on medium-high heat, sauté the slices of beef in batches with 2 to 3 tablespoons oil until browned on the outside and very rare inside, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove the filets from the pan and set aside on a platter.

In the same pan, sauté the bacon on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon and set it aside. Drain all the fat, except 2 tablespoons, from the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook on high heat for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Strain the sauce and return it to the pan. Add the onions and carrots and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and the vegetables are cooked.

With a fork mash 2 tablespoons butter and the flour into a paste and whisk it gently into the sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms separately in 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil for about 10 minutes, until browned and tender.

I decided to add some roasted potatoes to the dish to add a little starch into the mix as well - but the original recipe does not call for them.

Add the filet of beef slices, the mushrooms, and the bacon to the pan with the vegetables and sauce. Cover and reheat gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not overcook. Season to taste and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

Pizza Bianca with Mushrooms, Pears, Thyme, Parmesan & Truffle Oil

Since you literally can never have enough pizza, I decided to throw another one in to the mix.  Even though my Pizza Bovanese was a fairly recent post - I know most people won't have an issue with another pizza love entering their life so soon.

This pizza was thrown together by hubs as an impromptu, improvised but nevertheless impressive project one Sunday night.  Now that the leafs are back to rape my television for another season, hubs knows the best way to make this a fun experience for me is to bribe me with food and alcohol.  Ergo, we decided on a pizza, wings and beer night at home a couple weeks ago to "enjoy" a leaf game together.  After realizing that we have too much dough - one pizza became two - and number two came out as a random assortment of ingredients thrown together into a fantastic accident.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 ball fresh dough (found in bakery section of your local grocer) - rolled out as thin as possible
1 pear (sliced very thin)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
salt
2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
truffle oil for drizzle
EVOO

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a pan, melt your butter over medium heat.  Add your mushrooms in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides - lightly salt and then remove from pan.

Top your pizza w a thin layer of EVOO using your hands to spread evenly.  Top the pizza with your mushrooms, pear slices, thyme, a few pinches of salt and cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bottom is slightly golden.  Drizzle with truffle oil before you are ready to serve.

Pair with a leaf game and an abundance of booze and you'll have yourself a jolly ol' time.  I know I did.

Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

Mushroom Ravioli with Leeks & Guanciale in Butter Sauce

 

As the week comes to an end you may be looking for some culinary inspiration this weekend.  Maybe for a special Saturday night dinner at home? Family dins on Sunday? Or maybe you just want something delicious to look at before you spend your weekend dining out.  Either way, this is by far one of the best stuffed pastas I have ever had - not just made - but ever had anywhere.  My brother is a big mushroom ravioli fan and after he told me he made some a couple weeks ago, I couldn't get the craving out of me.  I decided to make a batch for a special birthday dinner for hubs and they were just delightful.  The salty and slightly crisp guanciale, mixed with the beautifully brown mushrooms and creamy leeks and butter sauce is a combination to die for.

Ingredients: serves 4

For the filling:

600g assorted mushrooms

2 shallots (minced)

1 large leek (chopped)

1 1/2 tbsp thyme leaves (chopped)

1/2 stick unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves (minced)

3/4 cup ricotta (buffalo ricotta from the village cheesemonger is best obvi)

1 egg

kosher salt

EVOO

For the pasta:

Fresh pasta dough - recipe here

or use wonton wrappers

For the "sauce":

1 stick unsalted butter

8 oz guanciale (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces) 

200 of the 600g assorted mushrooms

1 large leek (sliced thinly) 

chopped italian parsley for garnish

Begin by making your filling.  In a pan, heat up the butter on medium heat and then add your mushrooms.  Do not crowd the mushrooms.  Let the mushrooms brown and then stir to brown and cook the other side.  Once they have a nice golden color, lightly salt them - remove from pan and set aside setting 1/3rd of the mushrooms separate to reserve for the "sauce".  In the same pan, add your shallots, leek, thyme and garlic and a pinch of salt.  Add a tbsp of EVOO and cook the mixture - stirring frequently, until the leeks are nice, soft and translucent. Mince 2/3rds of your cooked mushrooms while the rest of the mixture is cooking.  When the leek mixture is done - add it to a bowl with the mushrooms and stir it together along with the egg and ricotta.  Set mixture aside.

Next - make your pasta dough following the recipe link above.  Roll out the sheets and cut the dough into rounds for the ravioli.   If you are using the cheat route and using wonton wrappers you can skip this step.

Scoop a tsp of filling into the middle of one pasta round.  Using your fingers, spread some warm water around the edge of the round and then press another round on top making sure to seal out any air.

When your ravioli are filled - set aside to make the "sauce"

In a large deep bottom pan over medium heat, cook your guanciale until just slightly crisp.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Add in your leeks and cook until soft.  Remove and set aside.  In the same pan, melt your butter over medium heat - when the butter is melted add back in the leeks, reserved mushrooms, and guanciale and keep warm.

Cook the ravioli for 2 minutes in a pot of boiling salted water.  Add the cooked ravioli to the large pan and gently mix in with the butter, guanciale, leek mixture. 

Serve Immediately with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley and some Parmesan (optional)

Enjoyyyyy!

xo Chef Natty

Pizza Bovanese

I hmm'd and haaa'd alot about sharing this one with the world.  Truth be told - this pizza is like my childhood all wrapped up into one dish.  Anyone on my Dad's side of the family is familiar with this pizza since we all grew up on it.  It's a very special recipe and the most important ingredient without a doubt is love - so cheese - but true.  Back in uni I used to make batches of it and stash it in the fridge to nibble at for days at a time.  However - I never could figure out how it disappeared so quickly.  That is, until my roommates (post graduation obviously) told me that they used to sneak into my pizza stash after I went to sleep at night and hoard it for themselves - ever so carefully unwrapping the tin foil like sneaky little gremlins - and devouring my za' as a post bar snack. 

After they told me and the initial shot of pizza thieving rage passed through my body - I decided to let it go.  Mainly because Belle, I used your milk for cereal almost every day and lied about it...oh and your peanut butter.  Mellag, your labeled whole wheat pasta ended up in my belly on more than one occasion, and Lala,  I used your olive oil everyday - literally.

Ahhh... that feels better.

Moving on to the famous family pizza bovanese.  It is SO easy to make - it tastes even better cold - and is a perfect dish for anything.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizer, hor'derve.  Love it.

Ingredients
1 ball of white dough (found in the bakery section of your local grocer)
10 plum tomatoes (seeded) and chopped into 1 inch, mixed shaped pieces (note - you want to cut the tomatoes in half first, remove the seeds and some of the flesh, and then cut the rest of the tomato with each piece containing some skin)
1/4 cup fresh oregano (leaves only, chopped)
7 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
1/3 cup EVOO, plus more for drizzle
Salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Begin by rolling out your dough into an even sheet.  On a large baking pan (don't use a non-stick pan or the bottom will not brown), drizzle some EVOO down and spread it around the pan in a thin layer - making sure not to miss any spots or the dough will stick.  Spread out the dough covering the whole pan.  Take your tomatoes and squish them into the pizza SKIN SIDE UP.  Cover the entire pizza with tomatoes - there should be barely any dough showing through.  Sprinkle your oregano, garlic and olive oil evenly all over the pizza and then - with a generous hand- salt the entire pizza.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bottom is lightly brown (lift up and check).

Cut into square pieces - serve & enjoy!

From my Family to yours.

xo Chef Natty

chickpea n' truffle oil crostini

Don't you hate it when you get home from a grocery shop only to realize you forgot something?  Even worse, if you are throwing a dinner party - get home - and realize you forgot something crucial for that dinner?  I've learned from experience that asking hubs to go out and quickly grab me some milk, eggs, the forgotten parsley...  only results in alot of huffing and puffing.  For a recent dinner party, the whole hor'derve thing slipped my mind.  I was making such a big dinner that I forgot that my guests might like a little taster when they arrive to nibble on with their welcome cocktail.  The solution?  what is in my pantry and fridge that I can whip up as a pre-dinner snack?  Since I am a mega chickpea fan, I decided to slice up some bread from a nice crispy baguette a la Village Cheesemonger, toast it, and make a little spread.  It actually ended up being quite delish and a perfect little amuse bouche.  I highly recommend them for a quick, easy and most importantly, tasty snack - suitable for any time!

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 onion (finely chopped)
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper
truffle oil for drizzle
1 baguette (sliced on an angle and toasted in the oven until slightly brown)

In a hot pan, heat up your EVOO and add in your onions.  Cook until soft - do not brown.  Add in the chickpeas and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.  When the chickpeas get softer, use a wooden spoon to smash them down to create a little chickpea and onion chunky paste.  Add the thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

When you are ready to serve, simply spoon out some of the chickpea mixture onto a crostini and then drizzle with some truffle oil for that perfect finishing touch.

Serve & Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

the brussel recipe for people who hate brussel sprouts.

I know what most of you are thinking...  but before you 'x' this page and deem this post totally disgraceful, I urge you to take a closer look and give these lil brussel babies a chance.  I sure did and now I am obsessed with this recipe.

I was a brussel hater my whole life.  proud of it.  I sneered while passing them in produce at metro - sometimes flipping them off - I scorned the unlucky chef that ever dare try and serve them to me at Thanksgiving or Christmas alike - and I would certainly never bring them into my house to litter my fridge.

Oh how the tables have turned.  These little snugglies have finally tippy-toed their way into my heart and they are here to stay.  Shout out to my Mother-in-law who introduced me to this recipe last Thanksgiving.  I didn't think it would be appropriate to scream profanities at her and throw her bowl of brussels on the floor so i gave em' a shot - and so should you.

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 heaping handfuls of baby brussel sprouts (halved)
1 tsp fresh ginger (finely chopped)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp EVOO
salt and pepper
1 cup chicken stock

In a large pan, heat up your EVOO on medium heat and add your ginger and brussel sprouts.  Stir to coat and cook for 5 minutes.  Lightly salt and pepper and then add your maple syrup.  Stir to coat and cook for 10 minutes until they start to caramelize.  Add your chicken stock and keep cooking until all the liquid has absorbed - stirring occasionally.

VOILA!

easy peasy right?  and oh so tasty.

Serve & Enjoy

xo Chef Natty

sweet n' sticky chicken drumsticks

Happy Tuesday Everyone.

There is something special about this recipe that brings you right back to childhood.  If you are a parent, your kids will love this one - and even if you are not - this is a delicious chicken recipe suitable for all ages.  They are sweet n' sticky n' tasty and an instant favorite guaranteed.

Ingredients:
10-12 chicken drumsticks (skinless)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
7 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

In a medium bowl, mix together the marinade (all elements except the chicken, parsley and sesame seeds).  In a large resealable bag, put your chicken in and then pour the marinade in.  Seal up the bag with as little air as possible and then massage the marinade into the chicken - covering as much as you can.  Place in the fridge and let marinade for 3 hours (note - if you can allow to marinade overnight - do it).

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  On a baking sheet lined with foil, lay your chicken drumsticks out (reserving the marinade) and then bake for 35 minutes (the outside should have some very dark spots when they are done).

While the chicken is baking, pour your marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and reduce for another 15 - 20 minutes.  Reserve.

When the chicken is done, brush some of the reduced marinade on each one and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped parsley.

Serve & Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

Copycat Cobb

  

Hellloooooooooo there.  I've boycotted the blog for the past week because I was wrapped up in a much needed 4 day detox.  After my brothers wedding in July, hubs and I decided to go on an obscene eating spree for about a month.  That, paired with a serious hiatus from the tredmill and yoga =  this in my agenda...

Now that the 4 day detox is done and I feel much better, I decided to blog a recipe that falls somewhere in between crazy detox and pasta coma - a fabulous cobb salad.  Why is it a "copycat" cobb you might ask?  It's because I replicated the cobb salad from ONE restaurant (my fav.).  It's filling ,it's delicious, its easy to make and it won't grow you a second ass if eaten regularly.  yumyum.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 handfuls chopped romaine lettuce

2 handfuls frisee lettuce

2 grilled chicken breasts (sliced)

1 handful cherry tomatoes (tossed with salt and EVOO and roasted for 15 minutes at 375 degrees - allow to cool in the fridge)

1 ripe avocado (pitted, peeled and sliced)

2 hard boiled eggs (quartered)

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

4 pieces of panchetta

1 heaping handful cubed french bread (to make crutons)

2 cloves whole garlic (peeled)

EVOO

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a baking sheet, spread the cubed french bread and toss with EVOO, salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven until slightly brown and crisp, turning once.  Remove from oven and rub the raw garlic on to the crispy croutons.  Set aside.

Place the panchetta on the baking sheet and place in the 400 degree oven until crisp.  Remove and set aside.

To make the dressing, put the lemon juice, thyme, a couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl.  Using a whisk, slowly pour the EVOO into the bowl and whisk it into the mixture to emulsify.  You want about 1/2 cup of dressing.

In a large bowl, toss together both lettuces with the dressing.  Plate the lettuce into two bowls and arrange all other ingredients on top.

Serve & Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

Hearty Fall Beef Stew

Hello Foodie Friends.  So sorry it's been so long since we last spoke - I didn't realize how long it had been until I looked at the date on my last post and was immediately shamed.  I bet for most of you it's been alot of canned tuna and mr. noodles lately - not having a rolling recipe blog to guide you and all.   Wouldn't it be great if I was actually that useful? 

Nevertheless I wanted to come back with a bang - and in doing that - I decided to stroll right along into fall.  I am gunna just boycott the final days of sunshine we are being graced with and blog a meal that's perfect for a rainy, snowy, windy, grey shitstorm that's surely just lurking around the corner for us - goodie.

Ingredients: (serves 6)
2-3 lbs stewing beef such as chuck - cut into 1 inch cubes fat trimmed
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 turnips - peeled and cubed
4 carrots - cut diagonally
1 large or two small onions - coursley chopped into wedges
1/2 lb white mushrooms (halved or quartered)
1 lb small potatoes (red or white) halved
6 garlic cloves - peeled and smashed
1 can corn (optional)
salt and pepper
one bottle red wine (burgandy or chianti)
EVOO
3 cups beef stock
1 bunch fresh thyme (tied into a bundle)
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Generously salt and pepper your meat and place into a large bowl.  Add the flour and toss the meat to lightly and evenly coat each piece in flour.  In a large dutch oven heat 1/4 cup EVOO over medium-high heat.  Working in batches (so you do not crowd the meat) sear the meat on all sides until you create a nice golden crust.  Remove the meat and set aside as you put in the next batch.  Repeat until your meat is all seared. 

Add the wine to the pan and simmer also scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.  Once the wine is simmering, add your bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, garlic, beef stock and beef and let the mixture simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.   Cover the pot and place in the oven to cook for 2 hours. Stir a few times.

After two hours, add in your potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips and mushrooms.  Stir everything together and let cook for another hour in the oven.  In the last few minutes add the corn.  Remove from the oven and season with salt and pepper.  Remove the thyme, bay and rosemary - stir and taste for seasoning.

Serve hot along with some fresh, toasted crusty bread.

Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

pizza wars

Taking a little break from recipe posting - I got to thinking about delivery pizza.  This past Saturday the girls and I had a little pizza, wine and sweatpants party as an early birthday celebration for my good friend lala.  In planning for this, there was a debate over where to order our pizza from (this is a very serious decision for us as food is generally the glue that holds together these types of evenings).  With all the options out there I want to know what my lovely readers have to say on the issue.  As it's obviously a very serious one.  Pizziaolo is a classic choice these days - with all the gourmet options it can be hard to beat.  But what about a classic pie from pizza pizza?  Their creamy garlic dipping sauce tastes like the good ol' highschool days and sometimes I crave it like a newly sober crack addict alcoholic craves their fix.  And how about the underdogs?  Dominos cracker crust? Pizza Hut stuffed crust?

I'd love to know what the consensus is.... all opinions welcome