Rita's stroganoff to celebrate good things

I was thinking about 2015 these days and about everything that has happened so far, of how my feelings and emotions fluctuated from one side to another, back and forth all the time. I was sad in the beginning of the year because I’d lost a job I liked and could not find another – the whole country is going through a bad phase and many people are out of jobs.

Then my nephew was born and brought so much love and joy to my life, and exactly because I was unemployed I was able to be around him and help my sister in law look after him ever since his first days of life. We have such a strong bond that he smiles and throws himself at me every time he sees me.

I kept thinking that sometimes what at first might seem like a bad thing might actually turn into something good. And I think about my family, how great it is to have my brother, my sister in law and my nephew so close – it fills me with joy to look at table and see everyone together, sharing a meal, laughing, being a family. I made this stroganoff weeks ago for lunch on a Sunday and it was a hit – when I was cooking I saw this big pot of food on the top of the stove and even thought it was too much for 4 people and that there would be some left for a packed lunch on Monday, but everyone liked it so much it was all gone - we ate it all while talking, laughing and being a family. <3

Rita's stroganoff
from the lovely Rita Lobo

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
700g sirloin, cut into 5x2.5cm strips, room temperature
250g button mushrooms, cut into 3-4 slices each lengthwise
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups (360ml) heavy cream
1 ½ tablespoons tomato purée
1 ½ tablespoons ketchup
1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tablespoons cognac – I used sherry
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and add half or 1/3 of the beef – do not fill the pan or the beef will cook in their own juices instead of brown. Brown all the beef in batches, adding more oil after each batch is browned. Set aside.

Add ½ tablespoon of the oil, then the onion and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally to avoid burning – scrape the bottom of the saucepan to remove all the browned bits. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the tomato purée and ketchup and stir to combine. Return the beef to the saucepan, add the Worcestershire sauce and the cognac and stir to combine. Gently stir in the mushrooms.

Drizzle with the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately with rice or pasta.

Serves 4

Onion soup – a classic dish for a chilly fall

Classics don’t become classics for nothing: there must be something special, different, unusual about them to be considered as such; I’m particularly fond of some: movies, music bands, wardrobe items, and for that reason I do not know why it took me so long to try a classic dish like this soup; it is delicious, rich and comforting, not to mention simple and easy to make – everything classic food should be.

Onion soup
adapted from the great Feed Me Now and Jamie at Home

¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 large onions, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced in half-moons
salt
15 sage leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 liter vegetable, chicken or beef stock
4 slices sturdy bread (ciabatta, sourdough, etc.)
unsalted butter, to taste
150g fontina, cheddar or gruyère cheese, grated

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan* over high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the onions with a little salt and the sage leaves and cook for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 25 minutes or until onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally.
Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until the vinegar has evaporated. Pour in the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C. Lightly butter each bread slice and place onto a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, spread the cheese over the bread slices and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until the cheese melts.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls, top each with a slice of cheesy toast and serve.

* I halved the recipe and had to use a very large saucepan to hold so many onion slices; make sure to use a very big saucepan if you’re making the recipe as it is printed here

Serves 4

Marmalade bread and butter pudding

Yesterday I did two things for the first time in my life: I made bread pudding and watched “Fargo”.

Let’s just say that the dessert was a thousand times better than the movie – and for the record, I like the Coen brothers. Even though I’m 14 years late for this, I think Frances McDormand should mail her Oscar to Kristin Scott Thomas, Brenda Blethyn or Emily Watson – the award should have gone to any of the three.

 

Marmalade bread and butter pudding
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

softened butter, for spreading
8 thick slices bread
1 cup marmalade
2 cups (480ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) single (pouring) cream
3 eggs
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons demerara sugar
custard, ice-cream or double (thick) cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Butter the bread slices, spread half with marmalade and sandwich with remaining slices.
Cut in half and arrange in two 3 cup-capacity (720ml) ovenproof dishes. Place the milk, cream, eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk well. Pour over the bread. Allow to soak for 1–2 minutes. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and place in a large deep baking dish. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes or until just set. Serve with custard or cream.

Serves 6

Apple and passion fruit crumble

Are you tired of my apple recipes yet? :)

I know I’ve been using apples like crazy lately, and must confess that I still intend to make a couple of recipes with them before the end of their season.
Let me tell you one delicious thing I found out the other day: I never knew apples and passion fruit were so good together. Luckily, Bill did. :)

Apple and passion fruit crumble

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced – I used Gala
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
pulp from 8 passion fruit*

Topping:
1 cup (115g) rolled oats
2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (129g) brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
100g unsalted butter, softened
vanilla ice cream or heavy cream, to serve – yogurt goes really well, too

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter a 2-liter baking dish. Mix together the apples, sugar and passion fruit pulp and put in the dish.

Using your fingertips, rub together the oats, brown sugar, flour and butter to make a crumbly topping. Sprinkle over the fruit and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
Serve with ice cream, cream or yogurt.

* the passion fruit I used were huge (there’s a photo here), so 4 were enough

Serves 4

Old fashioned apple pandowdy

From the food-with-irresistible-names series: pandowdy. :)

You already know I choose recipes because of their unusual names, so no secrets here. And just to prove you I’m not that shallow, I can’t wait to try all the other desserts on the link the pandowdy came from. If you want to know more about pandowdies, Elle has a great post here, with a delicious recipe on the side.

Old fashioned apple pandowdy
from here

Filling:
1/3 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice – I used lime juice
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
5 Gala or Granny Smith apples (900 to 1.2kg / 2 to 2 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into 1.25cm (½in) wedges
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup (100g) sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Biscuit top:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder – oh, yes, that much
3 teaspoons sugar, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (85g/6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1.25cm (½in) pieces
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream plus additional for brushing
heavy cream, extra, to serve

Start by making the filling: preheat oven to 190°C/375°F with rack in middle. Stir together molasses, water, lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Add apples and stir to coat, then stir in flour and sugar.
Transfer apple mixture to a buttered 22cm (9in) square baking pan and dot with butter. Bake, covered with foil, 25 minutes.
Now, make the biscuit top while filling bakes: whisk together flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and stir with a fork just until a dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times to bring dough together. Pat or roll dough into a 20cm (8in) square. Brush with a little additional cream and sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.
Cover hot fruit with dough and bake, uncovered, until biscuit is just golden, about 20 minutes. Use a spoon to break up biscuit top and mix slightly with filling, drizzling some of apples and liquid over biscuit.
Continue to bake until apples are tender and biscuit is golden brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool to warm, about 20 minutes. Serve with cream.

Serves 6 – I halved the recipe above, used 3 Gala apples and a 20cm (8in) round flan dish

Baked rice pudding with honeyed apples

As you can see, I’m still on comfort food mode on. :)

I remember seeing these apples on the magazine and thinking “wow, they look so good!”, but did not feel as enthusiastic about the porridge; don’t get me wrong, I love oats, but those golden, beautiful apple slices deserved more – so I decided to pair them with rice pudding. And that was absolutely brilliant – modest mode off. :)

Baked rice pudding with honeyed apples
recipes adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Rice pudding:
½ cup Arborio rice
4 cups (960ml) whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
4 tablespoons caster sugar
2 pieces lemon zest – 5cm (2in) each
ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Honeyed apples:
3 red apples, sliced
3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Place the rice in the base of a 7 cup-capacity shallow ovenproof dish. Combine the milk, vanilla bean and seeds, sugar and lemon zest, pour over the rice and stir to combine. Cover tightly with foil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour, remove the foil and stir. Bake, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until al dente.
Make honeyed apples: heat a large frying pan over high heat. Cook the apples for 1 minute each side. Add honey and cook for a further 1–2 minutes or until golden and caramelized.
Divide the rice pudding among 6 bowls, dust with the cinnamon, top with the apples and serve.

Serves 6

Strawberry crumble

This cold weather makes me crave hearty, comforting food, both savory and sweet. On the savory side soups get all my attention, but when it comes to sweet recipes crumbles are THE winter dessert to me – I could easily have one a day. :)

This delicious crumble comes from Valentina’s fabulous blog – and just so you know it, I’m just getting started on strawberry recipes around here. :)

Strawberry crumble

185g strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon caster sugar
½ tablespoon lemon juice – I used lime
3 ½ tablespoons (49g) cold unsalted butter, chopped
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) all purpose flour
3 ½ tablespoons (42g) caster sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Butter two 1-cup capacity ovenproof bowls and divide the strawberries among them. Sprinkle each with ½ tablespoon sugar and drizzle with the lemon juice.
Place the butter, flour, sugar and salt in a small bowl and, using your fingertips, rub them together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the strawberries, place the bowls on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm with cream or yogurt.

Serves 2

Vanilla rice pudding with Port syrup

One of the things I love about watching now movies I saw for the first time on my teen days is seeing known, acclaimed actors at the beginning of their careers. I watched “Witness” last week again, after so many years, and saw Viggo Mortensen as one of the Amish guys (those of you who have been reading me for a while know I’m a huge fan – he is part of my acting Olympus, along with Mr. Fiennes and Mr. Roth). :)
I did not remember Viggo was at that movie, but I once read something here that I completely agree with: even then one could see he had potential, and now, after working with great directors – pairing up beautifully with another favorite of mine – he’s one of the best out there.

I guess I can say the same about this dessert: rice pudding is already good and comforting, but gets even better made with real vanilla and topped with this Port syrup.

Vanilla rice pudding with Port syrup
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1 cup Arborio rice
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
4 cups (960ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (212g) caster sugar

Sticky Port syrup*:
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
¼ cup (60ml) Port wine

Place the rice, cinnamon, vanilla (seeds and bean), milk, cream and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-35 minutes or until rice is al dente. Discard the vanilla bean**.
Make the syrup: place the brown sugar and the Port in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute or until syrupy – it will thicken as it cools.
Divide the rice pudding between six cups or small bowl and top with the sticky Port syrup.

* the original recipes calls for Marsala

** rinse the vanilla bean and remove any traces of cream/milk. Let it dry naturally then place it in your sugar jar

Serves 6

My mom’s rice pudding

Valentina is hosting an event for blogs in Portuguese called “My Favorite Dish”. We are supposed to cook and post our favorite food as kids - savory or sweet.
This is the recipe I chose to participate.

My mom used to make this sort of rice pudding – it was more liquid and I would eat it hot, sprinkled with tons of cinnamon, to keep warm in cold days.

The thing is I loved this rice pudding so much that I would ask my mom to make it even in hot, sunny days. :D

I hadn’t had this dish in ages and I was so glad to eat it again.

Thank you, my dear friend, for presenting the opportunity for such a special moment.

My mom’s rice pudding

60g rice, washed and dry – I use long grain
350ml water
150ml boiling milk – I used low fat
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 cinnamon bark
ground cinnamon to taste

Boil the water with the cinnamon bark and add the rice. Cook over high heat until it’s al dente – 8 minutes or so.
Add the milk and sugar and cook over low heat until the rice is tender – 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve at once, hot, sprinkled with ground cinnamon.

Serves 2 – or 1 very nostalgic heart.