Pot Roast

               There is nothing like an old fashioned 3 hour pot roast in the dead of winter. Deep and  rich and luscious. The pan juice is sweetened with carrots and onions. Garlic, red wine and herbs de Provence add character and complexity. The meat is a chuck or blade roast( same thing), which requires hours of cooking in order to become tender. It is perhaps the most flavorful cut of beef because of the amount of fat and connective tissue, which melts and dissolves during the roasting process. Done correctly, the meat is tender and juicy and melts in your mouth. The rich broth is great on the vegetables and for dunking artisanal bread.

Ingredients for roast: feeds 4 to 6 people

chuck roast - 3 to 4 lb
salt and pepper
3 cups water
1 cup red wine
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons herbs de Provence
oil for browning meat
             1) Salt and pepper the meat and brown on both sides in oil in a black cast iron pan.
             2) Add water, wine, garlic, bay leaves and herbs de Provence.
             3) Cover pan with foil and place in 350 degree oven. Check every hour and add water as necessary. You do not want the broth to boil dry. Add cut up vegetables after 2 hours.

Vegetable ingredients:
              4-6 quartered potatoes
              2 med large yellow onions, quartered
              4-6 med large carrots, quartered
              mushrooms - 1/2 lb or more, halved
Method for vegetables
               1) Salt and pepper vegetables and add to roasting pan after 2 hours, checking broth level. Add water if necessary. Cook 1 more hour, remove pan from oven and test meat and vegetables with a fork to ensure tenderness. Remove what is done and cook what is not done until done.
                2) Serve family style with artisanal bread or hard rolls and butter to dunk in the pan jus.

Classic midwestern goodness .An all time favorite recipe.
















              .
           

Spaghetti Pie

 

             

         

               My daughter had spaghetti pie at an Old Chicago restaurant in the old town waterfront area of  Duluth Mn last fall. An easy recipe to figure out. Cook your pasta, angel hair here, drain w/o rinsing and place in an olive oiled glass pie dish. Press down pasta and top with spaghetti sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted -  15 or 20 minutes. Or top with spinach in an alfredo sauce. Endless combinations of pastas and toppings are possible. Great for leftovers, too, by the slice.

 



Swedish Meatball Nachos w Lefse.

 Mom did not cook modern Scandinavian food. She was born in 1911. Her Dad arrived in Minnesota in 1882 when he was 2 years old. 35 years later his daughter, my Mom spoke only Swedish when she attended 1st grade.
       Her Swedish meatballs were adequate. We liked them. We never would have thought to eat them on top of fried lefse with cream cheese and lingonberries, as adapted Scandinavian nachos. Garnished with fresh chives or green onions .Lingonberries  are really just tiny cranberries.
       The tart and sweet berry sauce,  soft sweet cream cheese and savory Swedish meatballs over crisp fried lefse is a perfect balance of taste, texture and flavor.
       I don't know if it is modern, but it is really good. A classic re combination of traditional ingredients.                                                                                                                                                                                             

 Paprika Schnitzel 

              

 

                    With  braised cabbage and red potatoes The meat in this picture is pork loin slices  pounded thin with a meat hammer or the back side of a French knife. Tenderizing. Season with salt and pepper . Dredge them in flour and pan fry in med hot oil till bronze on each side. A couple of minutes per side.. Add to paprika gravy and simmer 20 minutes. You can use boneless chicken breasts or pheasant or grouse or even venison chops.  Pound them even and thin.                                                                                                                                                         



Paprika Gravy

 

 

                      1 cup chopped onions

                      1 cup chopped bacon or sausage of choice\

                      3 tblsp oil if you are using already cooked or cured sausage

                      2 1/2 cups chicken broth - 1 bouillon cube per cup of water

                      1/2 cup red wine

                      2 cloves garlic minced

                      3 tblsp paprika

                      1 tsp brown sugar

                      2 tblsp flour

                      2 bayleaf

                      sour cream as preferred or yoghurt to stir in to serve or as a garnish on top 

 

Method:

                   1. Cook onions over medium low heat in oil until translucent and add chopped sausage and garlic. Get hot and add paprika and brown sugar. Stir and simmer a couple of minutes till it smells sweet and smokey and deep and rich. Low heat . You do not want to burn the paprika, as it will then be bitter.  Take your time  with the onions. Have a glass of wine, a smoke outdoors or a chat with your 16 yr old daughter. Walk to the mailbox with Woody your dog and back.

                   2. Add flour, stir to moisten as to make a roux ( oil and flour mixture, cooked), cook a minute, add red wine, stir till hot, add chicken broth and bayleafs, stirring till even and smooth.

                   3.Add cooked meat cutlets to the paprika gravy and simmer till mouth tender / Add more broth or water as necessary.to maintain a medium smooth  consistency. - 20 minutes or so.  Stir in sour cream or yoghurt or serve on the side.

                    4. Serve with boiled red potatoes and braised cabbage with gravy for all.

                    5.Beer or red wine of choice. Or an apple juice spritzer for the kids and those who don't drink

 

Note: If you are using bacon,  put it in with the onion and don't use additional oil. Be sure to cook slow. Add paprika and other ingredients per recipe when the bacon is half  done and the onions are soft.  

 

 

This is good. A Recipe that I got from the Black Forest Inn in Mpls , Mn  from back in the 70's when I worked there. Adapted.

                    

 

 

                      

  

            

 

                                   

 

 



 

 

Antlers And The Meat That Accompanies Them.

                   An unusually wide whitetail rack that I just acquired at a family auction of a  10pt buck( photo does not show all the tines) via my great Uncle Otto or his son Clifford from Gowan, MN, about 7 mi towards Duluth from Floodwood,  shot likely  pre 1960's back to the 30's.
                   I never ate a piece of venison in that rural backwoods home that was either tough or wild tasting. 40 plus years later, I may have finally unlocked the secret . It is a buttermilk and salt marinade, a hydroponic solution that removes the wild taste, tenderizes and adds juiciness to the meat.
                                                                 Buttermilk Marinade

1 qt buttermilk- or 1 quart whole milk plus 2 tblsp vinegar
1/4 cup salt
 4 tablespoons sugar or molasses

Marinate venison for 30 minutes to 24 hrs according to the size of the cut of meat, the largest requiring the longest.

               After you have marinated it appropriately, cook your cut of venison in your favorite recipe. I think you and yours' will notice a large difference. Venison does not need to be an acquired taste.
Or try some recipes that I will be posting during this hunting season.

                    

Macaroni and Cheese w/ Garden Tomatoes and Fresh Basil

             Make your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe and add fresh garden tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese. A seasonal treatment of a year round favorite.

Mixed Outdoor Grill

      What's better than a mixed outdoor grill of sausages, shrimp, chicken breasts,and  steak
 and potatoes? The late light on the lake is pink and lavender to the east and the loons are singing. The occasional hoot of an owl. The hum of mosquitos.  Family, friends, good food and a cocktail or more. Distant thunder.