Episode #105 - Beef Stew served over Polenta, with a side of String Beans cooked on a bed of Cherry Tomatoes
This is the first episode in which Deb and I will cook a full meal, all at the same time.
Please remember: Getting ready is half of the Job!
If you do a smart grocery, if you know the ingredients you are going to use (which are pretty basic and already have been covered several times on these pages), you should not have problems at all. Make sure you have enough time to buzz around the kitchen to stir the stew, do not overcook the string beans, and wait until last minute to prepare the polenta.
Also, it is a brilliant
idea to take advantage of the time it will take you
to cook: CLEAN UP!!!
If you are like me...well, you probably will start
sipping the wine as soon as the bottle is open...
you can use the excuse that you like to "feel the
taste changing"...
By the end of dinner, after the wine and a couple of
generous servings...you still have the plates on your
table...but if you do not have the pots and pans to
wash...trust me you'll be happy!
Least but not last:
A shout out to Epicurious.com!
One of their crew visited us last week, and in a few
days this very same recipe will be featured on their
web pages, in a different and shorter edit.
Enjoy your cooking session, come back soon and,
Buon Appetito
Debi and Gabriele
BEEF STEW
Serves
4
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 2 hours
Ingredients
2Lb Beef for stew, cut in 1 inch cubes
3 ripe tomatoes
3 carrots
3 celery stems
3/4 red onion
2 handfuls of Thyme
Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper
Two glasses of wine
Getting Ready
Peal and chop the onion medium fine.
Rinse well the celery and chop it in 1/2 inch pieces.
Peal the carrots, cut them length wise if they are
big enough, and then chop in 1/2 inch pieces.
Rinse the Thyme well.
Episode #103 - Risotto with Sausage and Asparagus
Today we had lunch with a delicious Risotto with Sausage and Asparagus to celebrate the arrival of Fall, and we popped open two bottles of wine!
Risotto is a very nice, comforting and filling dish; you might like a light appetizer before you get to it, or a fresh salad right after...either or, it will be a great meal.
We drank: Yellow Tail - Pinot Grigio Reserve 2003 and
Chianti Ruffino - Il Ducale Reserve 2003.
Ingredients:
1 cup
of risotto (Arborio)
rice
3 Pork or Turkey
Sausages; 2
Mild &
1
Hot
1 Lb asparagus
1 cup
of dry white wine
1 cup
of broth or asparagus
water
1/4
onion
1
handful of
parsley
Episode #102 - Turkey Sausages with Spicy Kidney Beans in Fresh Tomato Sauce
In Italy, when we talk about sausages we usually refer to pork meat, it is very rare to come across anything different, at least not in Tuscany...oh, well, yes...boar sausage...still pork is!
This dish is a powerful
one: it's a filler, it's hot, it loves wine and
toasted garlic bread...and it makes a great left
over.
In all this, we completely forgot to give more info
about the wine...We drank a Villa Antinori from 2002,
and we will post more informations about it asap.
Ingredients:
8 Sausages (pork or turkey).
1 Lb of cherry tomatoes.