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Polly Motzko’s Christmas Eve Stew 2009
By Paulette Le Pore Motzko, Copyright December 2010
Join my new Cooking Blog entitled: Cooking Up A Storm in Southern CA!
I realized that after the soup was on the last leg of simmering on the stove, that I stayed with the festive theme of green in the zucchini and the red grape tomatoes…really looked great and tasted even better. I was just cooking with what I had on hand. I would have used the wine called for in the original but I couldn’t get the wine bottle open! I laugh about this one, because I ran out of so many things I thought I had and kept improvising, but it made it almost better than the original! Through being creative and using new ways with what I had in my pantry, “Christmas Eve Stew” was born! I served this with my new Italian Cream Biscuits with Mozzarella for my parents who were very appreciative.
Greatly Adapted from Burgundy Beef Stew on BettyCrocker.com website. You can see the original framework that I created my version from at:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/burgundy-beef-stew/67cfedf8-c8fe-4b49-9d46-e05f4fdcff4d
| 3.5 | lb beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces |
| 1/2 | All-purpose flour-or enough flour in a bowl for dredging the meat you have |
| 1 can | Cream of Mushroom soup plus enough water to cover meat and vegetables |
| 2 | Tablespoons Emeril La Gasse’s Basic Seasoning-deepens the color and flavor |
| 1 1/4 | teaspoons salt |
| 1 | Pack Knorr Au Jus Mix-really gives a good, rich flavor to the roux mixture mixed with the beef juices |
| ¼ cup | Extra Virgin Olive Oil |
| 1 lb. | Frozen carrot slices-no need to thaw-they will cook as the stew simmers |
| 8 | Very small zucchini, sliced with a mandoline |
| 6 | Small, uniformly sized red potatoes-using a mandolin to get nice thin slices |
| 1 cup | Grape tomatoes-added the last hour of cooking-use tomatoes that are not mushy but slightly firm |
| 2 cups | Pearl onions-parboiled and peeled (I would use frozen if I had to do again because peeling these are very time consuming!) |
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| . | In very large Emeril La Gasse stockpot or better yet-non-stick large skillet-heat the extra virgin olive oil and then add the meat, that has had all the fat removed and then dredged in a little all purpose flour-to the pan. Brown until the juices of the meat are locked in and you actually see a browned look on the meat. |
| . | Add all the vegetables, except the grape tomatoes, to the pot and cover with a mixture of the cream of mushroom soup-full strength-and water….enough to cover all the meat and vegetables. Once you get the meat and vegetables to a simmer, then add the Knor Au Jus seasoning package. It was an emergency substitute but it came out really great! |
| . | Reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 1 hour 30 minutes or until beef is tender. |
| . | Add 2 Tablespoons of the Emeril La Gasse basic seasoning mix or you could probably add any one of his and it would be good. That is the only one I have…right now anyhow. This seasoning really made the stew. |
Piccolini & Cheese with Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Created January 2010 by Paulette Le Pore Motzko (Polly Motzko)
http://www.CookingUpAStormInSouthernCA.blogspot.com
http://www.GroupRecipes.com/people/pollymotzko
Ingredients:
12 oz. 2% Velveeta cheese, cut into small cubes
I weighed mine on a small kitchen scale
2 cups mini piccolini pasta wheels-these are great because they cook in only 7 minutes!
1/3 cup half and half
Half of a 1 pound bag of Fiesta Vegetables or your choice of veggies-steamed in the microwave in the bag for 1 minute.
2 cups of Black bean and corn salsa-I used Wal-Mart Blend, which was great and half the price of most brands.
Directions:
Microwave the cheese and half and half until the cheese melts, which will vary depending on the wattage of your microwave. Just melt it in a microwave safe very large dish-like a 9 x 13 square.
By melting it in the dish, you are eliminating the step of cleaning out a saucepan and waiting much longer to do it over the stove. The microwave excels at doing sauces and you can melt it in the pan that the cooked pasta will go into.
By putting it in a large, flat dish, it will be easier to mix the sauce throughout evenly too.
After the 7 minutes cook time, drain the cooked pasta and then add it to the melted cheese sauce.
Then, stir in the black bean and corn salsa until blended throughout and then stir in the cooked veggies.
This is a much lower fat version of the Macaroni & Cheese we all grew up with. I like using the Velveeta verses making a roux and white sauce mixture, then adding the shredded cheese to it.
I had never seen the 2% Velveeta and it saves a substantial amount of fat by using it, and with the other flavors and ingredients you’ll not only be eating more vegetables, which we should all do, but you will get full faster-eating less overall.
You can vary the salsa to any of the thousands that there are out there.
One of my favorites is Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Salsa-and it would be great in this dish too.
Enjoy! My parents loved this dish and this lasted 2 days around my house!
Pastitsio-12 Servings
Out of the Recipe Collection of Paulette Le Pore Motzko
http://www.CookingUpAStormInSouthernCA.blogspot.com
The Complete Book of Greek Cooking by The Recipe Club of Saint Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Pastitsio is a layered pasta casserole that is extremely popular because it uses simple, basic ingredients.
THIN CREAM SAUCE
4 Tablespoons butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cups hot milk
2 egg yolks
THICK CREAM SAUCE
4 cups milk
4 eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
FILLING
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 pounds ground beef
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
Dash of ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1-1/4 pounds tubular pasta like ziti #2
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 cup grated kefalotiri or Parmesan cheese
Prepare the sauce:
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and cook until mixture turns golden. Gradually stir in hot milk and cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth and hot. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks, and then briskly stir in 1 cup of hot milk mixture. Pour egg milk mixture into remaining sauce. Stir and remove from heat without cooking the eggs.
Prepare thick sauce:
Heat milk to a simmer and set aside. In a bowl, beat eggs with flour. Gradually stir hot milk into egg mixture. Return to saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is quite thick. Do not boil after eggs have been added.
Brown chopped onions and meat in butter. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, spices, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed. Cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta according to package directions, and drain. Sprinkle breadcrumbs into a buttered 11 x 14 x 2-inch baking pan. Place a layer of pasta in the baking pan, then add half the thin cream sauce. Add meat. Sprinkle with ¼ cup grated cheese. Add another layer of pasta and sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese. Cover with remaining thin cream sauce. Spread thick cream sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden.
Let stand 15 minutes to cool, and cut into squares. (Note that you cannot cut the Pastitsio easily unless you cool it for 15 minutes.) When ready to serve, reheat in hot oven.
NOTE: This dish can be prepared a day in advance, adding the thick cream sauce just before baking the dish.
Hello ladies and gentleman,
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Paulette Le Pore Motzko
Polly Motzko