Winter

steak and ale pie

February 28, 2011

Steak and Ale Pie 650

This is a British pub classic and a brilliant winter warmer that you’ve got to try…tonight.

When Dan and I were still just boyfriend and girlfriend he used to visit me in Sheffield, in the north of England where I was at university while he was studying abroad in Spain. Heady days, I tell you what.

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On one of those trips we drove out to Castleton, a village near Sheffield in the Peak District. Castleton could definitely win a Most Quaint English Village award. It’s been around since 1198 and has a Norman castle, stunning scenery, and some pretty awesome caves. Plus it has some stellar pubs. Mm hm, I have my priorities straight.

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That afternoon, me and Dan had gone on a long, chilly walk. We stumbled across a flock of sheep and being the cool kids that we are thought it would be funny to chase them, trying to get photographs. I, of course, promptly slipped in the mud and ended up on my arse feeling pretty stupid, while Dan oh-so-kindly took photos of me before helping me up. And to think I married him.

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Anyway, back to pubs and pie. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn in Castleton serves up a stonking good steak and ale pie. I took Dan there, I’ve taken my Mum there…they don’t mess around when it comes to a good pie and that’s what I tried to emulate here.

Browned steak, mushrooms, and carrots cooked in ale for a good couple of hours and topped with crispy, buttery puffed pastry.

We ate this after watching our beloved football team Arsenal go out of the Carling Cup Final. Commiseration pie, if you will. I’m sorry, did I lose you? Just know that this is a brilliant winter warmer, and if you use ready-made puffed pastry like I did, it’s a cinch to throw together.

The biggest thing with these kind of pies is getting the pastry/meat ratio right. Next time I try it I think it would be fun to do individual ramekins – like they serve in pubs – to control the amount of pastry everyone gets. Yum.

Steak and Ale Pie
serves four

Ingredients

  • 2lb braising steak or stewing beef, diced into small cubes
  • 1oz flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for dusting
  • 3½oz butter
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 5½oz button mushrooms
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 14fl oz good-quality English ale (I found Hobgoblin at our local liquor store)
  • 17fl oz beef stock
  • dash of Worcestershire sauce
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 whole egg beaten
  • 10½oz ready-made rolled puff pastry

Directions

  1. Place the flour in a medium-sized bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Roll the beef in the flour to coat.
  2. Place a large lidded pan on the hob.
  3. Heat half the butter in the pan and add the meat. Sear all over until golden brown.
  4. Add the vegetables and herbs, then pour in the ale and stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and gently simmer on the stove for 1½ hours.
  5. Remove the bay leaf and discard. The mixture should have thickened up and reduced quite a bit. If yours is still really liquidy then I recommend adding some corn starch (mixed with cold water first) to thicken it up quickly.
  6. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  7. Once cooked, season the stew with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Add the remaining butter and tip into an ovenproof serving dish or pie dish. Brush the edge of the dish with the beaten egg.
  8. Roll out the pastry and cover the pie. Scrunch the pastry round the edge of the dish and trim around the edge, leaving a little overhanging. Pinch the edges of the dish so that the pastry will stick to it and trim off any remaining pieces of pastry from around the edge.
  9. Brush the pastry top thoroughly with beaten egg and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown on top and serve immediately.

Note: a couple of readers have noted that they seemed to end up with a disproportionate amount of liquid in their pie so you may want to adjust accordingly. This hasn’t been a problem for me but if you’re worried about this I would recommend reducing the amount of beer and stock you begin with.

cardamom-scented oatmeal pancakes

February 21, 2011

We’re snowed under here in Minneapolis. Our second big snow storm of the season hit last night as Dan and I were driving back from a weekend up north at a friend’s cabin.

We had so much fun up there, snow shoeing, drinking beer, cooking, playing games, making s’mores by the fire, and hanging out in the toasty-warm cabin. Such a good reminder of why we live in Minnesota. It’s awesome.

We arrived back in the city just as the snow was really ramping up and woke up this morning to a good foot or so of beautiful white stuff. As Dan was shoveling and snow-blowing our driveway, I made these pancakes for us.

The cardamom definitely gives them a really spiced flavour. I think I made ours a little on the thick side so go for a little less batter in the pan if you’d like them to be flatter and more distinguishable as pancakes.

Cardamom-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes

from Mark Bittman (via the NYT)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup chopped almonds
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 cups cooked oatmeal
  • 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
  • Vegetable or olive oil, for frying
  • Honey, for serving.

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine the flours, oats, almonds, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk; stir in the cooked oatmeal and the apricots until just incorporated. Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently; don’t overmix. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter; add a little more milk or whole-wheat flour as needed.

3. Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of vegetable oil and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until they’re browned on the other side, a couple of minutes more. You may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on the heat source and pan. As they finish, transfer them to a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with honey.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Butternut Squash Risotto

January 12, 2011

I love ristotto.

My first experience of eating it was at a friend’s parents’ house in Bristol. Her Dad made an incredible mushroom risotto as an afterthought post-pub when we were all tipsy and hungry at 11.30pm. Nothing has ever tasted so good.

I remember being so impressed at how quickly this fancy-looking, perfect-tasting meal came together.

A few years ago Dan cooked me what is still the best mushroom risotto I’ve ever had for a valentine’s day dinner…with a side of pork tenderloin. As you do. That meal was just the best.

Dan’s risotto skills mean that I have never, ever made it for myself. Trust me to find something with squash to make for my first attempt.

In the end, I liked the idea of this risotto more than I actually liked the final result. Sometimes that happens. It was tasty and rich with that sweet, autumnal squash flavour, but it just didn’t do the job in the way that Dan’s beloved mushroom version does.

Either way, if you’re up for something new and slightly different in the risotto realm, give this a go. It certainly works, it’s merely a matter of taste.

Some Risotto Rules (as taught to me by Dan and as partially ignored by me during the cooking of this dish — to its detriment)

1. The heat should be up pretty high – higher than the recipe calls for – so that the liquid really is getting cooked off quite quickly. This means you have to be constantly stirring to avoid it burning. It’s a good arm workout, trust me.

2. Once you get the desired “bite”, stop. I added about another cup of liquid after I’d reached that optimum point and my risotto lost the lovely bite it should have had and became a wee bit soupy. Taste it as you go. It should have bite but not be crunchy; and it certainly shouldn’t get to the point where it tastes like normal cooked rice. If it is, you’ve gone too far.

Butternut Squash Risotto

adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth, mixed with 1/2 cup water and heated
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dried), plus more for garnish

Directions

  1. In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add squash; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until edges soften, 6 to 8 minutes.
  2. Add rice; stir to coat. Add wine; cook until almost all liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low; add 1/2 cup hot broth mixture. Cook, stirring, until almost all liquid is absorbed. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding more, 35 to 40 minutes total.
  4. Stir in Parmesan, sage, and salt to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with more Parmesan and sage, if desired.

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