HAPPY NEW YEAR..Merlot Beef Stew

                                                             HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hard to believe that 2013 is now upon us! I wish you all the best in looking forward to this new year! I didn't post earlier as we always do the same every year for New Year's Eve, surf and turf. I made Montreal grilled porterhouse steaks and lemon butter diver scallops with baked red taters, Parmesan green beans and coleslaw. New Year's Day is always pork and sauerkraut with mashed taters, and dumplings. For that recipe, refer back to

 http://www.pennsylvaniacooking.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=17

We are having a cold snap with single digit temps here in NEPA (Northeastern PA), so hearty comfort food is a must. Here is a great easy slow cooker recipe that is absolutely delicious and that really takes the chill out of the air for you. An added bonus is that your house will smell divine all day long!

Slow Cooker Merlot Beef Stew

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup celery
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups boiling water
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
3 tablespoons butter
3 onions, sliced
1/2 cup red wine (merlot)
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Place meat in a large plastic bag. Combine 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour into the bag with the meat, and shake to coat.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper.

In a small bowl, stir together 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.

In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened; remove to the slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.

Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork tender. In a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water. Stir into stew, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.

CHRISTMAS EVE

                                                           Merry Christmas Eve!

It's a white Christmas  Had a lovely mass and dinner with ham, plain and sauerkraut pierogies,

 cranberry salad, orange fluff, cheesy salsa beer bread with spinach dip, clam dip and crackers, potato casserole, broccoli salad, Swedish meatballs, Mexican BBQ beans,  tiramisu, deviled 

eggs, and a host of other goodies. Merry Christmas, everyone!

                         Christmas Promise

You made outdoors Thy temple, Lord, to fit our simple prayer
That Christmas time may touch the hearts of all men everywhere
With Thine own brand of mercy, human kindness and the best
of good old freedom feelin's that we hold to in the West.

Don't let no hearts feel hopeless, Lord.  No matter who they are,
Help them look up for comfort to the Promise of the Star.
We ask no special favors, Lord, except to hope You'll bless
The friends and kin whom we hold dear, with Christmas happiness.

© 1966, S. Omar Barker, reprinted with the permission of the estate of S. Omar Barker, further reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited. 

Elsa and S. Omar Barkerphoto courtesy of the estate of S. Omar Barker

A COUPLE OF CHRISTMAS GOODIES -- MONKEY BREAD

I have a friend whose family always makes this for Christmas morning. It's easy and very yummy, the easy version of sticky buns.

Monkey Bread for Easter Breakfast

You are less than an hour away from a sweet and delicious caramel monkey bread that no one will be able to resist!

Contributed by:Jessica Walker
www.lilmissbossy.com

Nothing makes you want to get out of bed more than the smell of Monkey Bread baking in the oven. This super easy and delicious pull-apart bread is a great addition to your Easter brunch or any family breakfast!

Here is what you will need…

Open up the cans of biscuits and lay on a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the round biscuits into fourths.

In a large freezer bag (or covered bowl), mix sugar and one teaspoon cinnamon. Add the quartered biscuits and shake or stir. It is helpful to do only a handful at a time so they are evenly coated.

Once you have coated the biscuits, spread in a greased fluted tube pan. Sprinkle excess sugar mixture from the freezer bag over the top.

Add brown sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to a saucepan.

Bring to a boil until frothy.

Pour brown sugar and butter mixture over sugared biscuits...is your mouth watering yet?

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. After taking from oven, invert on a serving platter. What a great addition to your Easter breakfast or brunch table!

This delicious breakfast treat will be a hit with every member of your family. My favorite part? The caramel drips that are on the serving plate...I don't even need the biscuits! Enjoy!

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS?

What is Christmas to you? To some folks, it's just another day. To others, it's all about stuff....commercialism and sales and earthly "stuff".  Or Santa and elves and toys. And to others, it's a birthday celebration for the namesake, Christ. There are numerous holidays around this time, I discussed Hanukkah, and the Winter Solstice etc. But Christmas is supremely special as is Easter. In fact, you really can't have one without the other. After all, as the Bible says,

Luke 2:8 
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
Luke 2:10 
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Luke 2:11
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:12 
And this [will be] the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:13 
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
Luke 2:14 
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

It is the greatest gift ever given, and I LOVE celebrating birthdays!

So this has me also thinking about the things I love about Christmas. I hate the commercialism and "stuff", and I don't step foot in a store after Thanksgiving. For me, besides Christ, it's about family, tradition, life and joy, and of course...FOOD.

I make wassails in my tea pot, a mix of water, sliced orange and lemon, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Just bring this to a slow simmer through out the day makes you think of all things warm and cozy. Beautiful orange pomanders with cloves hung around and the scent of a fresh pine tree fill the air. Add to it the smells of cooking and baking Christmas goodies, and the smells wrap you in a comfy warm blanket of comfort, safety, tradition and and anticipation. I also love Christmas decorating with lots of lights. I LOVE Christmas lights and thankfully, here in the country, many folks do up pretty displays that we'll ride around to see. It is a such a bright spot in the otherwise dreary winter landscape. It's also a time for family, and we all get together on Christmas Eve with a finger food buffet and go to church for the Christmas Eve service, which is one of the most beautiful all year. Christmas Day brings the Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Special things you don;t get all year round always make this an anticipated meal.

There have been lean years some time ago where I couldn't afford a tree, or presents, or a Christmas Dinner. But I still had  my family, health, a warm house and clothes on my back, and according to recent statistics, that made me among the top 7% of the wealthiest folks in the world. Sobering.

I'll share a few pics of my decorating this year......it's nothing grand but always cheers me up. When I was growing up with my folks on the farm, we always had a Christmas Brunch. This gave us time to do the milking and get the animals all squared away, then we could come up to eat and unwrap gifts etc. As a rural kid back in those days, it was special to get fresh citrus, Canadian Bacon and other goodies that some take for granted, at least here in the East. Some folks just look at me funny when I tell them about those days. It was wonderful.

The supper was for friends we had over one night, a fish supper. A seafood supper with tossed salad, parsleyed potatoes, grilled marinated tuna steaks, diver scallops in lemon butter, and cod fillets done in butter and old bay, home made pumpernickel bread and butter, an olive and herb cheese ball with crackers, and home made coconut custard pie!

A COUPLE OF CHRISTMAS GOODIES -- CLAM DIP

                                                        CLAM    DIP

Clam dip is made with minced clams, cream cheese, garlic, Tabasco, and other ingredients. I make this every year and it's always a hit!

Ingredients:

• 1 can (8 ounces) minced clams
• 1 clove garlic, cut in half
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• drop or two of Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch pepper

Preparation:

Drain clams, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Rub a medium serving bowl with the garlic halves. Add cream cheese; beat with fork until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients and the reserved 1/4 cup of clam juice. Blend well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Serve as a dip with crackers, chips, or vegetable dippers.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups of clam dip.

A COUPLE OF CHRISTMAS GOODIES -- KIFFLES

While I'm not Hungarian, I do have Hungarian friends and I LOVE these. I am posting the true deal that are Kiffles, but if you don't have everything and want to cheat, you can come to a very acceptable substitute.

Easy Kiffles--

4 C flour
1 lb butter
1 pt sour cream
2 tbs sugar

Chill, then roll out like regular pastry dough.

The filling in these is jarred mincemeat with a little rum added to taste. Then bake. Easy and so yummy. The proper version is more refined and also very delicious. 

{ Hungarian Cream Cheese Cookies – Kiffles }

When I was growing up, the the holidays were marked by my Hungarian grandmother’s homemade cream cheese cookies (or Kiffles, as they are called in Hungarian). They would make their first appearance on Thanksgiving, and then she would continue to bake them until Christmas day. I couldn’t get enough of these little cookies, eating them by the plateful (and always getting caught because of the powdered sugar trail I would leave behind).

A kiffle is a moist and delicate pastry dough filled with lekvar (tart prune) or apricot preserves. This year, I have decided to continue the family cookie tradition here in Buenos Aires by making my great grandmother’s original recipe (yes, this is it). It is a simple recipe to make because only a few ingredients are required and no “special equipment” is needed!

NOTES: It is very important that you be patient and allow the ingredients to properly soften before beginning, or the dough will not come together right. Also, I suggest using King Arthur flour in this recipe because it is the best flour for baking. Since the dough is composed of so few ingredients, it is really important those those couple be of a very high quality. Splurge on the King Arthur if you can, but the recipe will work if you can’t find it (I couldn’t here in Argentina, and my cookies still came out fine).

{ Ingredients }

**Makes about 48 cookies

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 stick of margarin, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups King Arthur flour
• Lekvar or apricot preserves
• Confectioner’s sugar

{ To Make the Cookies } Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using and electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the softened butter, margarin, and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract and continue to mix until light and fluffy.

Add 3 cups of flour and mix with hands. The dough should be smooth but not sticky. If it is too sticky, continue to add flour until the right consistency is achieved. Divide the dough into four balls, cover in plastic wrap and put in freezer for 20 minutes.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and then cut the dough into small squares. Place a dollop of lekvar or apricot preserves in the center of the square and then bring two of the opposing dough corners together atop it.

Arrange cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve!

A COUPLE OF CHRISTMAS GOODIES -- BRAZTELI

This is a family recipe. My grandmother was from Interlaken, Switzerland, and these came with her.

BRAZTELI

Description:

Brazteli is a thin, wafer-like cookie. It can be served flat, in a roll or in cone shape. In the latter two shapes, it is often served with a filling. In Italy it is called Pizelle or Pizzelle, in France it is called Bricelet, in Norway it is called Krumkake or Krumkaker, and even in Germany and Switzerland it can be called Brezeli, Bratzel, and Cracknel.

What you will need:

1 stick butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lemon rind, grated
4 eggs
3 cups flour

Swiss Bratzeli Iron (if one is not available, a Norwegian Krumkake iron or an Italian Pizelle iron will suffice.

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add lemon rind and eggs, one at a time. Add sifted flour and work it well into dough. Cover. Let rest in a cold place until firm or overnight. Form small walnut size balls. Place on hot Bratzeli iron and bake until golden on both sides. Cool on wire rack or while hot, swiftly roll around handle of wooden spoon or form cones by wrapping around wooden cone. Rolls and cones could be filled with whipped cream and berries.