Sort-of birthday dinner

Beef Stew

Pour the olive oil into a large heavy pot (like a cast iron or enamel Dutch oven). Warm the oil in the pot, and chop the onion, and wash and slice the leek, and add them to the pot. Dice the panacetta and add it too. Stir over medium-high heat until everything is starting to brown. Combine the flour, paprika, and salt & pepper in a shallow bowl, and dredge the meat in it, a few cubes at a time, shaking off the excess and dropping the meat into the pan. When the meat is all in, continue to cook and stir until everything is browned.

Add the roasted red pepper puree and enough water to cover the meat. Stir well, scraping up all the browned bits, cover and simmer for about 2 hours, until the meat is tender, stirring form tiem to time, and loosen anything sicking to the bottom.

When the meat can be cut with a spoon, peel and chop the potatoes, and add them to the pot. Cook for another 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender. Serve hot.

Biscuits

I like Marion Cunningham's recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook the best - with vegetable shortening, not butter. Use no-trans fat shortening if you must.

Brownies w/ mint glaze

Use my regular brownie recipe, but leave out the chocolate chips. Make a layer of mint chocolate on top when the brownies come out of the oven - I used some mint chocolate chip disks I got from the baking supply store that were pleasantly not too mint-y, but mint chocolate chips, or a bar of mint chocolate broken up, would work fine - and then set the brownies back in the oven for about 2 minutes, to melt the chocolate. Spread into a smooth layer, and cool until the chocolate is firm before eating.

Back to Deb's Lunch