I saw this recipe on SeriousEats and thought it would be a good match for us. I had all of the ingredients in the kitchen except for the Chinese wine and peanuts so I used sherry and cashews instead. The meal has some nice bursts of flavor in it. It is a good leftover meal, too. Here is the recipe list if you are too lazy to go over to Serious Eats.

Ingredients

This recipe for Brothy, Garlicky Beans comes courtesy of Food52. One of our favorite week day meals is roasting a whole chicken over a bed of vegetables. Typically we have the legs, thighs, and back left over from the meal so we freeze the leftovers. Last Saturday I combined the chicken with vegetable scraps I collected during the week and simmered these ingredients for about six hours. I tasted it during the day and I may have added a few fresh vegetables to balance the flavor. Voilà , I have four cups of excellent chicken stock looking for an idea. Thursday is our soup/light meal day. Before I went to work I put 1 pound of white beans into a pot and covered it with an inch of water. When I got home I drained the beans and started the soup recipe. Since I had some very fine Andouille sausage in the refrigerator I sliced up two links and added it in the last ten minutes to add a little pizazz. I combined the soup with a few slices of toasted French bread and we had excellent comfort food for a rainy day!

Brothy, Garlicky Beans

Serves 6

1 pound white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups chicken stock (homemade or low sodium)
2 medium shallots, halved and peeled
4 fat cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 stalk of celery, preferably with its leaves, cut into 3-inch lengths
1 large carrot, peeled and halved
2 scallions or spring onions
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
Sea salt
Parmesan rind (optional but recommended)
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
Grated Parmesan for serving

1. Put the beans in a large heavy pot and cover them by about an inch with cold water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Let the beans boil for one minute, then remove them from the heat and cover the pot. Set aside for one hour.
2. Drain the beans and return them to the pot. Add the chicken stock, and if the beans aren’t quite covered in liquid, add a little bit of water. Add the shallots, garlic, celery, carrot, scallions, thyme, rosemary, Parmesan rind, olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat until the beans are just simmering. Cook uncovered for about 40 minutes, until the beans are almost tender. Add the tomatoes and cook gently for another 10 to 20 minutes.
3. Remove the aromatics and extra vegetables if you like (or save them for yourself like I do), taste and add more salt if necessary. Serve drizzled with a little olive oil and a shower of Parmesan.

Okay, this the Buffalo Chicken Nachos I mentioned earlier. Buffalo chicken, cheddar and blue cheese, celery and black olives on top of Cool Ranch Doritos. It is really good but too much for two people. It is an interesting combination of flavors. I drank my California Steam lager with it. I have a love-hate affair with this beer. I initially thought I had screwed it up since it has a little sweet taste on the first sip. That sweetness may be because I forgot to decant the fermented starter liquid before pitching the yeast. I tried it a couple of days later and noticed that the beer was much clearer than my ales and it had a nice lager taste. The initial sweetness was less of a problem. So it has gone from one of my worst beers of 2013 to one of my best.

Here is what I am cooking for the Super Bowl. This week we were talking about taco salads at work and one person mentioned how much he like taco salad with Doritos. Another person disliked the idea of a taco salad made with Doritos. I was curious. When I saw this recipe on Ziplist I knew I had to try it. I had all of the ingredients in my refrigerator except for the Doritos and blue cheese crumbles.The source for the the picture and the recipe is the The Girl Who Ate Everything who got it from the Food Network. No better recommendation than a well traveled recipe. I plan to pair it up with some California Steam Lager I bottled last month. So without further adieu, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 8 cups Ranch flavored tortilla chips (I used Cool Ranch Doritos)
• 4 cups cooked chicken shredded
• 1 1/2 cups Frank’s Buffalo Wing sauce
• water
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces blue cheese crumbles
• 1 cup chopped celery

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spread tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet or in a shallow dish.
2. Bring wing sauce and 1/2 cup water to a simmer. Add shredded cooked chicken; heat through. Strain the chicken (reserving the sauce) and spread over ranch-flavored tortilla chips. Top with shredded cheddar.
3. Bake in the upper third portion of the oven until cheese is melted for about 5-7 minutes. After nachos are baked top with blue cheese, chopped celery and the reserved wing sauce.

Notes

Note: All these measurements are approximate. As with any nachos, adjust ingredients to your personal preference.

Source: adapted from Food Network

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/02/buffalo-chicken-nachos.html

This recipe caught my fancy last month. For me apple cider is a drink I associate with winter. My wife liked it so much I made another batch this month. The recipe is simple. You add a gallon of cider and a couple of cinnamon sticks to a large, 6 quart crock pot. Cook on low for about eight hours and then add a bottle of Everclear. In Ohio Everclear is 151 proof and costs about $16.  Mix thoroughly and then transfer to 5 quart jars. When you add in the apple cider and cinnamon the cost of a quart jar of Crock Pot Apple Pie Moonshine is about $4.80.

With the cold weather we have had recently, the hoses in our barn are now frozen. As a result I spend about thirty minutes hand watering the horses every night. It is cold. After this chore I enjoy a glass of this spiked cider as I let my body work its way back to room temperature.

There is something about cold weather that makes me want Hot Chocolate. Back in December I picked up a Hot Cocoa mix from Meijer but it was missing something. I wanted more  chocolate flavor. Then I found this lifehacker article talking about an AmericasTestKichen recipe. Here is the recipe.

The video does the storytelling here, but the recipe is pretty simple””you’ll need a 12oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips””whatever brand or cocoa percentage you prefer””one cup of heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a mixing bowl. Microwave for about two minutes, then stir, and repeat the process until it’s nice and smooth. Cover it over, pop it in the fridge for a few hours until it’s firm. Then you can scoop 2-inch (3 tablespoon) single servings out of it, wrap them in plastic, and then pop them into a plastic baggie for later.

The recipe has the chocolate flavor I was seeking. The recipe is easy but it is hard to keep in the refrigerator. Unbeknownst to me, she has taken to eating the chocolate balls.

Like last year I am cooking Hoppin John. It has a little ham, bacon, onion, celery, and black eye peas. It a nice comfort food and tastes good as a leftover. Here is the picture I took. I used the same Cook’s Country recipe as I used last year.

I found this recipe for Grilled Thai Beef Salad on ziplist.com. I made it for our family meal today. This Thai beef salad recipe is bursting with spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors. The beef is grilled, sliced thin, and tossed with lettuce. Here is the recipe I followed from Leite’s Culinaria. Since my grocery store was out of basil and the cilantro was pretty dismal looking, I substituted cucumbers from the garden and cherry tomatoes. I brought a little Sriracha for those who wanted a bit more spice.

INGREDIENTS

For the marinade and dressing

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce

For the salad

• 1 pound top round London broil or flank steak
• Canola oil
• 1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 5 cups lightly packed) or mixed lettuces
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
• 1/2 marinade and dressing mixture

DIRECTIONS

• Make the marinade and dressing
• 1. In a bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce. Pour half the mixture into a resealable container and reserve as the dressing. What remains in the bowl is the marinade.
• 2. Rinse the steak and pat it dry. Place it in a resealable plastic bag or a glass baking dish and pour the marinade over the steak. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal or cover and refrigerate, turning the meat occasionally, for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Make the grilled Thai beef salad
• 3. Coat a grate or a grill pan with oil and preheat over medium-high heat until hot. Cook the steak until the desired degree of doneness, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare depending on the thickness. Let rest for at least 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak on the diagonal against the grain.
• 4. Combine the lettuce, shallots (reserving a few slices for garnish), cilantro, basil, and steak in a large serving bowl. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates and garnish with the shallots.