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What Is A Late Afternoon Meal? - Yahoo Recipe Search
Food52I'm going to say right up front that this is a project, and while it can absolutely be assembled in a single session, it wouldn't hurt to consider dividing the labor over two days, or between morning and late-afternoon/early evening (i.e., around dinnertime). Not because it's particularly complicated--don't be intimidated by length of the ingredient list; it's mostly the contents of your spice rack--but because after the initial busywork, it's mostly waiting around for the meat to slow-cook at low heat over an extended period. And don't stews always taste better the next day? Anyway, the back story: I was home sick (read: hungover) from work one day about five years ago, trying in vain to find a Law & Order marathon on the tube, when I came across Good Eats on Food Network. The episode was "Beef Stew," and Alton Brown was preparing a goulash in a way I had never seen before. He took several pounds of English-cut short ribs and seared them on a griddle pan. Then he blended tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, paprika, and herbs, and coated the browned meat in it. Then he sealed it in foil and cooked it in the oven for 4 hours at 250. The meat was then separated from its juices, which were refrigerated until a fat cap formed and could be easily removed (and saved). He then cooked onions and potatoes in a little of the reserved fat before returning the meat and de-fatted sauce to the mixture and stewing them together briefly to complete the dish. I became fascinated with this technique and decided to try adapting it to the classic Hungarian Szekely Gulyas, which is a pork and sauerkraut stew, usually seasoned with paprika and caraway, sometimes cooked with tomatoes and banana peppers, and always finished with sour cream. I've tried this method several times now, with varied cuts of pork including cheek, butt, shoulder, neck, belly, and sparerib. A combination of belly, butt, and neck has yielded the best results so far, so that is what I call for here. Some notes about esoteric ingredients: Lecso is like a Hungarian version of ratatouille. It's a stew of tomatoes, peppers, and onion, usually seasoned with garlic and paprika, and if you're into canning, it's a great way to preserve the late-summer bounty. (In the colder months, many Hungarian cooks substitute lecso for the out-of-season fresh tomatoes and peppers in their recipes.) It's admittedly not the easiest ingredient to source, but there are two varieties I have seen: the one by Bende is like a chunky sauce and has a sweeter, more tomato-y flavor than the Gossari brand, which is slightly more bitter and emphasizes the pepper flavor, while also having a higher oil content, which gives it good body when pureed. If you can't find either of these, stewed tomatoes make an acceptable substitute. But if you want to be really DIY about it (and have the basis for another meal altogether--lecso is really good cooked with smoked sausage and/or eggs), it's super-easy to make. These are good recipes: http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/lesco.html OR http://zsuzsaisinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/10/hungarian-ratatouille-lecso.html OR http://www.thehungarydish.com/lecso-recipe-guest-post-by-peter-pawinski/. The basic rule of thumb is a 2:1:1 (by weight) ratio of peppers:tomatoes:onions. Cook the onions (and garlic, if using) in a little lard or bacon fat until soft, then add some paprika to taste (do this off heat so as not to burn the paprika), then throw in the peppers and cook a few minutes before adding the tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and simmering until a saucy consistency has been achieved. As for which peppers to use, traditionally you'd use Hungarian wax, a mixture of sweet and hot to taste, but you can use banana, bell, cubanelle, green Italian frying peppers, whatever is available, basically. If you do make your own, you can omit the stewed tomatoes and banana peppers when finishing the goulash and substitute an equivalent amount of lecso. Dill seed is, yes, the seed of the dill plant, and it has a flavor reminiscent of caraway, but lighter. Information here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/11/spice-hunting-dill-seed-how-to-use.html As mentioned above, this is an adaptation of Alton Brown's "Good Eats Beef Stew" recipe, which can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-beef-stew-recipe/index.htmlFood and WineSometimes called the vanilla of Southeast Asia, pandan leaves offer a sweet grassy note and faint nuttiness to both desserts and savory dishes. I’ve tasted their unique flavor in steamed rice at Southeast Asian restaurants, wrapped around grilled chicken and fish, and baked into a surprisingly delicious Thai-style durian custard. My favorite health spa even adds it to their water instead of cucumbers or lemons. But I find the leaves particularly delicious infused into creamy ingredients like coconut milk and dairy.This recipe is inspired by a trip I took to Vietnam and my resulting obsession with pandan tea. One day I was frantically putting together a menu for an impromptu dinner party, but I was stuck on what to do for the dessert finale. On this particular day I was sipping my late-afternoon cup of pandan tea (a souvenir from that trip) when the idea struck to steep some of the dried leaves into cream and make a pandan-flavored panna cotta.Panna cotta is my go-to quick dessert. It’s simple to throw together before friends show up and does its magical congealing thing in the fridge while the evening progresses. Aside from the ease in making it, I find the cool, ethereal lightness is really nice at the end of a big meal; it manages to be rich without being heavy. The key is to avoid adding too much gelatin—we’re going for just barely holding its shape and super jiggly here, as opposed to the springy texture of Jell-O.One of my favorite Thai treats is mango sticky rice, and the best version I know has pandan in the coconut sauce that’s spooned on top. With that in mind, I chose mangos for the topping for this pandan-scented dessert. March is prime Ataulfo—aka Champagne—mango season, so be sure to search them out. They are those smaller, kidney-shaped yellow mangos you’ll find at any grocer with a good produce section, but especially at Asian or Latin markets. With extra sweetness and richer flavor than other mangos, they’re perfectly delicious just diced—no need to macerate in sugar or employ other such tricks. But a sprinkling of crushed pink peppercorns on top does add pretty color and a little fragrant punch to complete the dish.I first tried this recipe with the dried pandan leaf tea I’d brought back from Vietnam, but stateside it’s easier to find frozen pandan leaves in the freezer aisle at Asian markets; they revive beautifully once thawed.Food52How is it when harvesting during the fall there is a “sure” feeling that come winter all this deliciousness will run out? Yet after the holiday indulgence there seems to be PLENTLY left to fold out into winter recipes and carry us into the beginnings of growing season again. Life is so good. A favorite New Year’s resolution for me is to make a conscious effort to cook most of our meals with ALL the yummy goodies we spent hours putting up, either by freezing or by canning. Funny, when we are going through the harvesting process we are absolutely SURE we will never forget the labor of love put in but as the months pass, somehow the time spent fades in our memory…. It was a Sunday afternoon and I went out to refresh my memory on what treasures were hidden away. As I hung over the side of my deep freezer digging away, I saw an entire box of frozen roasted tomatillo sauce I had completely forgotten about! For us, this is one of the easiest things to grow and if I didn’t figure a use, I could easily see filling another 20 jars next year…. Since we are a soup lovin family, I decided I wanted to make posole. I LOVE traditional posole but this time I wanted a bit of a change and these frozen tomatillos would be perfect! I would make posole verde and add some shredded roasted chicken and then pile on a bunch of fresh crunchies such as radish, cabbage, tomato, and avocado! I was starting to drool….it sounded so fresh and delish! In I went and prepped the chicken to roast. While it was roasting, I pulled out some poblano chiles, jalapenos, onion, and garlic; these were the perfect sofrito for the posole. I love to get that “char” on the skins of the chile and infiltrate the broth with that flavor…ooohhhhh I was getting jazzed! Once those flavors melded, I added the oregano and cilantro and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then came the chicken stock and hominy. It was looking awesome! Now for the star of the show, straight from our garden, the roasted tomatillo sauce, the smell brought me right back to harvest, right back to the memories of those long days preserving our garden treasures… Lastly I put in the shredded chicken, you could leave this out and add it along with the garnishing’s on top, but I decided to marry all the flavors and fold it in. I seasoned a bit more and heated it through. I hadn’t told Enrique what I had made so when dinnertime came, I served it up in big bowls and topped it with the fresh goodies and toasted up some fresh corn tortillas. I brought it to him and his eyes got as big as saucers, this is his soul food and when I shared that the base was all of our tomatillos, he grinned from ear to ear……. It’s nights like this, many months later that I easily see the circle of life……YummlyWhen the sun sets in the late afternoon and temperatures chills, our pappardelle with spicy arrabbiata meat sauce is a one-pot meal that spooks the winter blues. You get slow-simmered flavor that's ready in 15 minutes, which is exactly what you need when the season begs for warm food and snoozing early.Food NetworkThis favorite of mine dates back to when I first came of age to order a cocktail in a restaurant. The sophisticated sound of the name made this drink fun to order ("I'll have a Kir Royale, please"), and made me seem like I knew what I was doing (I didn't). It was served in a tall, elegant flute, which made every occasion feel like a celebration, and still does. And, of course, the light effervescence of this drink -- i.e. the bubbles -- made me feel grown-up. It's still a favorite before-meal starter, pleasant accompaniment with a weekend brunch, or treat for a late afternoon visit with girlfriends. Though traditionally made with Champagne, I substitute prosecco. This Italian bubbly and the fresh berries dropped in the glasses, along with the cassis, provide a hint of currant flavor that trumpets your taste buds to attention, as is the duty of a first-class aperitif.Food.comWhen I was a child in the late 50’s, my grandmother became ill. My parents and I made the long trip from Norfolk, Virginia to McPherson, Kansas in our old black Buick. During our weeks in Kansas, I remember visiting relatives, riding tractors, and eating amazing meals in farm kitchens. We had to-die-for fried chicken and many Swedish dishes that were all new to me. One hot summer afternoon, my mother sat down in my Great Aunt’s kitchen and handwrote many of those old recipes in a spiral bound notebook. When my father passed away, I was delighted to find Mom’s notebook. I am passing on these recipes to my family and, of course, to you! This is a wonderful holiday recipe since you can make the mix in advance. When guests visit you can whip up a plate of fresh cookies in about 15 minutes. I love it when the aroma of baking cookies fills the house. Each batch can produce a different tasting cookie depending on what you add to them. Use quick cooking oatmeal for smooth textured cookies or regular oatmeal for chewy. Optional Add-ins: Chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, M&Ms, raisins, nuts, crushed corn flakes, cinnamon, etc. Use your imagination. Each of the 6 batches makes 8-12 cookies depending on drop-size and number of add-ins.
