Beat The Chill

The flavorful way to beat a cold snap, cook with curry. This will definately warm you up from the inside out. A good curry spice mix has a well rounded balance of flavors with a touch of heat!

Curry powder is more of a generic term for a blend of different spices. As with many things, curry powder can have more spices added to the mixture, to suit your the taste. Most recipes and producers of curry powder usually include; coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek (like clover), and red pepper in their blends. Depending on country origin, the curry recipe may also include additional ingredients such as ginger, garlic, asafoetida, fennel seed, caraway, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, green cardamom, black cardamom, nutmeg, long pepper, and black pepper may also be added. 

Curry Spinach Bean Soup

Makes 6 servings 

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2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 Italian sausage links, hot or sweet, removed from casing

1/2 cup chopped onion 

1/2 cup chopped carrot 

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 cup tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon curry powder

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped 

1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes, more if you like it spicy 

1 cup potatoes, peeled and chopped 

3 cups chicken broth 

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 

2 cups baby spinach, washed, dried and chopped 

Fresh ground black pepper to taste 

Pre heat a large soup or saucepot to a medium heat. Add olive oil, sausage meat, onion, carrot, garlic, hot pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes until the sausage is light brown and vegetables are tender. Add the potato, tomato sauce, broth, thyme, curry and beans. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer, cover and cook about 30 minutes. Puree one half of soup in food processor. Return pureed soup back to soup pot. 

Bring soup back to a boil, turn down to a simmer and add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Add pepper to taste, serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

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Jacob's Ladder

On one occasion when I was cooking for a client’s media event in the UK, I wanted to prepare a spin on a dish that was very popular with my viewers on my TV series - short ribs, but I had a heck of a time finding the cut of beef I required for my recipe. When I expressed to the British butcher my needs, he explained that in the UK it is known as Jacob's Ladder because of its 12 ribs; when laid on its side the bones look like the rung of a ladder. (There is of course a biblical reference to Jacobs Ladder, but I’ll stick to the short ribs foodie version for this post.) 

Short ribs are best cooked in the pot-au-feu method, meaning ‘low and slow’ (low heat, with a long period of braising) to tenderize the tough cut of beef. 

Short Ribs of Beef with Orange Ginger Sauce

Makes four servings 

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4 pounds Beef short ribs, bone in 

1/4 cup flour, for coating beef short ribs 

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin 

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 

1 leek, whites only cut into one inch pieces 

2 teaspoons sesame oil 

2 teaspoons sherry 

2 teaspoons soy sauce 

juice of one orange 

1 1/2 cups beef broth 

Coat beef ribs with flour, shaking off any excess. 

Pre heat a braising or sauce pot to medium high temperature. 

Add olive oil and sear beef short ribs until well browned, turning only once on each side. 

Drain any excess oil. Lower temperature of pot, add garlic, ginger, leeks, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce, orange juice and beef broth. Bring sauce up to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2- 2 hours or until meat is beginning to fall away from the bone. 

When short ribs are fully cooked, remove meat from pot. Raise the temperature of the sauce to a low boil. Reduce the sauce to naturally thicken. 

Serve with steamed rice or creamy mashed potatoes. 

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Low and Slow Beef Short Ribs

This is a warming, one-pot-dish which is so full of flavor. The key to this fall off the bone, melt in your mouth beef dish is a slow, and low braise. The delicious aroma it creates in the kitchen is an added bonus. Enjoy.

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Low and Slow Beef Short Ribs

Makes four servings

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4 pounds Beef short ribs, bone-in

1/4 cup flour, for coating beef short ribs

1 teaspoon each dried thyme and oregano

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1/4 sweet white onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup fennel, chopped

1 leek, whites-only cut into one-inch pieces

2 Tablespoons crushed red tomatoes

2 cups full-body red wine

1 1/2 cups beef broth

2 bay leaves

fresh ground pepper to taste

- Coat beef ribs with thyme, oregano, rosemary, sea salt, and flour, shaking off any excess. 

- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

- Preheat a heavy gauge oven-proof braising or cast iron skillet on the stovetop to medium-high temperature.

- Add olive oil and sear beef short ribs until well browned, turning only once on each side. Drain any excess oil.

Lower temperature of pot, add garlic, onion, leeks, carrots, and fennel. Cook at medium heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

- Add tomatoes and cook two minutes, then add red wine, simmer, reduce down by half. Add beef broth and bring the temperature up to a simmer, add short ribs back into the pot. Bring the sauce up to a boil, cover, and place pot in the oven. Cook for 3 hours covered, then uncover for one additional hour, or until meat begins to fall away from the bone.

- When short ribs are fully cooked, allow the meat to cool and "rest" for 30 minutes inside the sauce. Remove meat from the pot. Skim any fat or grease from the top of sauce. Raise the temperature of the sauce to a low boil, reduce the sauce to naturally thicken.

- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. 

Tip:

Cooking short ribs low and slow at 250 degrees F keeps the flavorful juices inside the meat. If really pressed for time cook at 350 degrees, but there will be some loss of flavor as the natural juices boils out of the meat. 

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GameDay Gumbo

A good gumbo takes time, a great gumbo takes longer…

Whether it’s a stew or soup-like, there is nothing more satisfying than a hearty bowl of Gumbo..

Gumbo is truely Cajun and the official state dish of Louisiana; one that celebrates their heritage of sustenance off the land. There are numerous ingredients that can be added to a gumbo, but it's really all about utilizing what’s on hand. Chicken, duck + rabbit are the usual meats, along with ham and sausage. A seafood gumbo can contain shrimp, crab and oysters. However, the basics ingredients used in any gumbo are the “holy trinity” consisting of onion, celery and green peppers, thickened with a dark roux.  

Additionally, the make up of a Cajun Gumbo is the use of heritage ingredients such as the African vegetable okra, together with the cooking influences of local Choctaw Indians, French, German and Spanish settlers. The addition of tomatoes is more Creole and not of Cajun influence. I believe the addition of tomatoes with all the other ingredients in the gumbo pot provides a wonderful mix of culture and full flavor. With such a rich culture as Louisiana has it is important to note that the preparing of a gumbo goes far beyond the making of this ‘stew’ and really brings together the community.  

This new kind of gumbo may just be stepping back to the Cajun way - with everyone contributing to the pot for the goodess of the stew.

For MY GUMBO RECIPE

A good gumbo takes time, a great gumbo takes longer. 

So what’s the hurry? I learned this lesson first hand from some good Cajun friends who take the better part of a day assembling, cooking and stirring the gumbo pot. Results of this time honored patience is a great ol’ time exchanging conversation and stories with friends along with a brat or two and some chilled long necks until the gumbo is served.  

GameDay Gumbo Recipe | Adapted from Gather ‘round the Grill

Makes 8-10 servings 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces; or substitute 4 boneless thighs or breasts

1 pound andouille or smoked sausage, chopped

3 Tablespoons Butter

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

8 cups chicken broth

1 Tablespoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon thyme, sea salt

2 bay leaves

1 cup okra, fresh or frozen, sliced

1/2 pound small shrimp, peeled & deveined

2 teaspoons gumbo file powder dissolved in 1/4 cup chicken broth

2 Tablespoons Italian (flat leaf) parsley, rough choppedf

Fresh ground black pepper

Heat a large soup pot to a medium temperature. Add olive oil and chicken and cook on all sides until light brown. 

Add sausage and brown. Add butter, melt then add flour and cook for 10 minutes stirring until the roux (flour & butter) is light brown. 

Add the onion, and cook until a light golden color, stirring occasionally. Add the green bell pepper, green onion, celery, and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. 

Add the canned tomatoes, chicken or vegetable broth, parsley, hot sauce, thyme, bay leaves, sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Bring the gumbo to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. 

Remove chicken and reserve until cool. If using bone-in chicken remove meat from chicken bones and chop chicken meat into 1/2 inch pieces  and return meat to soup pot. Simmer gently for 2 additional hours. 

Remove bay leaves, add okra and simmer ten minutes. Add shrimp five minutes before serving. Mix in the dissolved gumbo file. 

Serving suggestion: Serve with a scoop of steamy hot rice, top with additional parsley and chopped green onions. 

Note: Gumbo file can be found in the spice section of your supermarket.

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Weeknight Dish

If you are looking for that under thirty minutes to-cook-to-table dish without compromising flavor for time, this is it. And, variations on this recipe are very easy to do. My Eggplant sauce recipe is without a meat/protein in the ingredients, but feel free to add grilled sausage, chicken, or shrimp if desired.

This pasta sauce is great served warm or chilled added with a tube shaped pasta.

George's Eggplant Sauce

Makes 4 servings

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1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups eggplant, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

6 plum tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup pitted calamata olives, chopped

1/2 cup white whine

1 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano, thyme, hot pepper flakes

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

2 Tablespoons fresh basil

parmesan cheese to taste and fresh black pepper

Preheat a large nonstick saucepan.  

Add half the olive oil; then eggplant, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and bell pepper.  Cook until light brown.  Add the wine, chicken broth, olives, dried basil, oregano, thyme and hot sauce.  Cook for 10 to 12 minutes.

Top with remaining olive oil, fresh basil and pine nuts.

Excellent with a rigatoni or tube shape pasta.

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