Mini Sheperd’s Pies #PiDay — Cheese Curd In Paradise

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It is March 14th, as in 3/4 or 3.4……or as in 3.14159265359. Happy Pi(e) Day my friends! In honor of Pi Day I am serving my delicious and delightful Mini Sheperd’s Pies. 24 more words

via Mini Sheperd’s Pies #PiDay — Cheese Curd In Paradise

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Carne de Res con Tomatillos

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Comfort food Mexican style! Adapted from Mexican Cooking from Roger Hicks.

 

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds round steak
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  •  2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 12 ounces chorizo
  • 1 or 2 fresh serrano chili, or canned, sliced
  • 1 handful fresh coriander or use parsley as a substitute, chopped
  • 10 ounces of fresh tomatillos
  • salt and pepper
  • 12 new potatoes
  • 1 cup beef stock, add water if needed

 

Directions

  1. In a heavy stock pot, heat up the oil and brown the meat on all sides. Set aside. In the same pan cook the onions and garlic, until translucent. Add the chorizo and cook for a few mintues more.  Add the beef back into pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the potatoes. Cover and simmer for about 2hours, until the beef is tender.
  2. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a salted water. Add to the beef and cook for another   5 to 10 minutes.

 

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the fashionista cook- Paris

Paris Fashion Week

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My picks from Paris Fashion Week.

 

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Chanel

 

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Anais Jourden

 

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Louis Vuitton

 

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Cyclas

Okra with Plantain (Quimbombo’)

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Quimbombo, a dish I remember seeing at the kitchen table many times. My mother assisted me by making the plantain balls. She recalled that it was a stew that was made with whatever was on hand. Here I used the recipe below as a reference, but the rest is  from my family to yours.

Adapted from Cuba, The Cookbook by Madelaine Vazquez Galvez and Imogene Tondre

 

 

Okra with Plantain

  • Servings: 4 to 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 large half-ripe plantains
  • salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cubanelles peppers, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  •  1 medium red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 2 chorizo links, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
  • 1 cup ham, cubed
  • 2 cups sliced okra
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 to 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine

 

Directions

  1. Peel and cut the plantain into pieces. Set in a pot with lightly salted boiling water. Boil till soften, about 12 minutes. drain and when cool enough to handle, mash it up, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and roll into balls about 1 1/4 inch in diameter. Set the dumplings aside.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, garlic, and onion. Cook till fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and cook stirring regularly for about another 2 minutes. Stir in the chorizo, ham and okra. Add the lime juiced stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and wine, lower the heat and cover. Cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. Add the dumplings gently stirring for a few minutes till heated through.

 

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Chickpea Stew with Spinach and Chorizo — the fashionista cook

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This is part 2 of my winter soup series. This hearty soup comes from the Catalonian region of Spain. I ended up adding more of the liquid from the cooked chickpeas . So you may want to reserve about 2 cups of the liquid instead of 1 cup. If you want to add grated cheese, […]

via Chickpea Stew with Spinach and Chorizo — the fashionista cook

Oven-Baked Vegetables

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Great side dish! Part 2 of my recipes adapted from Cooking with Loula, Greek recipes from My Family to Yours by Alexandra Stratou. I did change the oven temperature to 400 instead of 350, what the original recipe called for. It might depend on the oven, I would keep an eye on it, in case it dries out.

 

Oven-Baked Vegetables

  • Servings: 4 to 6
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Ingredients

  • 2 small potatoes
  • 2 green peppers
  • 1 large eggplant
  • 1 leek
  • 2 tomatoes
  •  1 onion, sliced in half-moons
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes, optional

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Dice the potatoes, peppers, eggplant, leek, and tomatoes to roughly about the same size, about 1-inch. Place in a large roasting pan. Combine the onion, whole garlic cloves, and parsley. Add a generous amount of olive oil, about 1/3 cup. Toss to coat well. Season with salt and pepper, sugar, and chili flakes. Pour about 3/4 cup of water.
  2. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the vegetables are dark, and no evidence of water.

 

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Beef Stew with Smoked Eggplant Puree

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This is a great comfort food recipe! It takes some time to make but well worth it.  Maybe for one of those snowed in days or family Sunday dinners.  Adapted from Cooking with Loula, Greek recipes from my family to yours, by Alexandra Stratou.

 

Beef Stew with Smoked Eggplant Puree

  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless beef brisket, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 onions
  • 3 whole cloves
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3/4 cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 pounds eggplant
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ground nutmeg [/recipe=ingredients]

 

Directions

  1. Season the beef with salt. Peel one of the onions and stick the cloves into it. Finely chop the other onion. Add about 1/2-inch of oil to a large pot set over high heat. Add the beef and brown on all sides. Set the beef aside.
  2.   To the pot add the chopped onion, garlic, the whole onion. Reduce the heat to medium and cook till the onions are golden. Add the wine and bring to a boil until the alcohol has evaporated.
  3. Add the beef back to the pot, along with any accumulated juices. Add the tomato paste, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and some pepper. Add water barely covering the meat. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour 1/2. Check occasionally and add water if needed.
  4. Add the tomatoes, season to taste and cook for another hour, uncovered., on low heat. Taste, season and add the sugar.
  5. While the meat is cooking, prepare the eggplant. Pierce the eggplants all over, then smoke them by putting them in a broiler. Turn over constantly until charred and soft. Cut in half and scoop out the inside flesh. Place in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to collect the juices.
  6. Make a béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and all the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes golden. Whisk in the milk and eggplant juices. Cook for 20 minutes infill it becomes a thick béchamel. Remove from the heat and add the cheese and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Chop up the eggplant flesh and add to the béchamel. Season to taste once more.
  7. Remove the whole onion, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf from the meat before serving. Make a mount of the eggplant puree on a platter and top with the beef.

 

 

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New York Fashion Week

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My picks from New York Fashion Week.

 

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Lela Rose

 

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Zadig & Voltaire

 

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Anna Sui

 

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Zimmermann

 

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Cong Tri