Food Breakthrough!

Tonight little j ate dumplings from Marco & Luca, a Charlottesville institution. She loved them! A whole new food world has opened up for us!

Snowy Weather Cooking

This is day two of no driving because of the snow storm. By about 9 last night we had two feet of snow and we weren't getting out any time soon. In fact, the snow plows didn't even make it to our road today. It is likely that we will be able to get out tomorrow, but we can't be positive. We were running low on eggs and milk today, so Big J made the trek to the neighborhood store. It was surprisingly well stocked given that people in town tend to go crazy and buy up milk and bread before any weather event.

I asked Big J to look at the meat selection because we didn't really have any for dinner. He said that the meat section was pretty well picked over, but he did bring home a nice smoked ham. So I cooked that up and am making plans for additional meals with the leftovers: black bean and ham soup, quesadillas with ham, ham biscuits, and some sort of ham with grits dish. The possibilities are pretty endless and I realized that the ham was a really great choice in case we are snowed in a couple more days -- a distinct possibility.

To bake the ham tonight I made a glaze of apple butter, orange juice and Grande Marnier. It was perfect combination of sweet and salty and not a bit dry. Kudos to Big J for the ham. Now, about those 4 kiwi fruit he picked up . . .

The Great Beef Stew Search Continued

Last week I got the a new issue of Cook's Illustrated and there was a recipe for "The Best Beef Stew." What makes it the best? Well, probably the fact that they make many, many pots of stew to come up with the right recipe and the fact that this one is modeled after Thomas Keller's stew. I can't pass up any recipe that mentions Keller, so last night I tried it out.

Here is what I learned in the process:

• They don't sell frozen pearl onions at WalMart. (Don't ask.)
  
• Anchovies boost beef flavor.
• Bacon is not a substitute for salt pork.
• Russet potatoes are not a substitute for Yukon gold potatoes.
• I do not like peas in my stew. (Technically I didn't learn this in the process, I already knew it and, therefore, left them out.)
• The secret to rich, glossy sauce is gelatin. No, seriously.
• I really need to make veal stock.
  

Was this "The Best Beef Stew?" I don't think I would go that far. But there are a few things that I am going to keep from this round of cooking: anchovies, gelatin, and Yukon golds.

My next recipe to try is the recommendation from Sherri, perhaps incorporating some of my new found stew knowledge.

Also, coming soon: Chicken and Dumplings -- a rich sauce, sweet vegetables, and dumplings that don't stick to the roof of your mouth.