Quick Recipe: Mexican Spiced Roast Beef

I love writing recipes.  My computer programmer type brain loves listing out commands in specific order.  I envision putting the recipe into a cooking machine (or the hands of a good cook) and if my recipe is well written, precise & elegant (programmer speak), only great food can come from it.

My sister asked me about the Mexican Spiced Roast Beef I was making to turn into chile this week.   I typed this up with my thumbs, on my iPhone, as my husband drove us to Mammoth yesterday.  Can't think of a better way to kill drive time than writing recipes!

Mexican Spiced Roast Beef

Ingredients:

 5lb roast beef

2 TBSP oil,
1 TBSP each coriander, cumin, Mexican oregano & salt, some pepper.
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced.
1 Beer

Method:

Rub the roast with all the spices. 

Brown the roast in the hot oil in large Dutch Oven. 

Add the onion & garlic and cook for 2 minutes. 

Add the beer. 

Cover it & bake in oven at 325F for 3 hours. 

(I added carrots & potatoes for last 40 minutes. Yum!) 

Remove from oven. Let roast rest for 20 minutes, slice & serve with the jus from the pot.

"Bottle it!"

 Goat Cheese Dip with Sun-dried Tomatoes & Thyme

Back in the late 1980's, when I first made this dip, sun-dried tomatoes were a very popular ingredient for Americans.  I served this on toasted baguette slices that had been slathered in garlic butter and lightly toasted.  At one dinner party, the now CEO of Symantec, Enrique Salem, loved it so much he thought it should be marketed and sold: "Bottle it!", was his advice.
I'm not sure how you could bottle goat cheese dip.
Instead I turned it into a cheese ball this year, recipe is over at the LybationNation blog.
Recipe for Chevre Dip with Sun Dried Tomatoes & Thyme

Enjoy!

Get Well Chicken Soup

The weather is beautiful here in Southern California.  But we still have the cold & flu season to battle even in the sunshiny weather. When I heard a friend had been down with pneumonia since before Christmas, I felt compelled to make some soup to share. Once I started I couldn't stop and I've made three batches this week, handing it out to the not so well as they each raised their hands as willing acceptors of the healing liquid.  A longtime friend requested the recipe so she could share with her family and friends & here it is, my Get Well Chicken Soup.

Get Well Chicken Soup

(Feeds 6-10 depending on sickness) 

 

Get Well Broth Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
4 garlic cloves
4 slices of ginger
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 sprig of flat leaf parsley
10 peppercorns

Soup Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
Salt to taste
8 oz wide egg noodles

Special Equipment
Cheese cloth for straining

Method
Rinse the chicken in cold water and place it in a big soup pot. Trim the onion, carrots and celery & cut into large chunks. Put them in the pot with the chicken.  Add the other broth ingredients to the pot (ginger, garlic, bay, thyme, parsley & peppercorns). Fill the pot within 1" of the top with water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat and keep at a very low simmer for 2 hours.  Remove the chicken from the broth and let it cool.  Turn off the heat on the broth. Remove the meat from the chicken and pull apart into bite sized pieces.

In another large pot, heat 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil over medium heat. Saute the diced onion, carrot and celery until they begin to soften. Turn the heat to low.

Drape cheesecloth over a strainer and place over the onion, carrots & celery.  Ladle the broth into the strainer and keep adding broth until you have 3" of liquid over your vegetables. Remove the strainer. Add the chicken meat and stir gently. Bring to a boil.  Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste.

Add noodles in last 10 minutes of cooking - OR cook noodles separately and serve the soup poured over the noodles. 

Add more strained broth as necessary and to your taste.

Don't waste any extra broth. Strain and reserve for other use or drink it!

Enjoy!