Beer Bread and Beef Stew with Hearty Broth (and yes, beer in it)

Ok. So, remember how just yesterday I wrote a whole post about how I get so tired of winter dishes? The kale salad solution apparently cured me of that so much that today I came home and made the heartiest of winter soups, with warm, fresh bread to go along with it.

The beer bread is from Gerald Norman on Food.com, and I didn't change the recipe one bit. It turned out phenomenally, and went unbelievably perfectly with the soup.

Beef Stew 
(loosely adapted from Mark Bittman)

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 garlic clove, smashed but kept whole
• 2 lbs stew beef, cut into 1" cubes
• 3 onions, diced
• 3 tbs flour
• 4 1/2 - 5 c veggie or beef broth (though it's up to you how thin or thick you want your soup, and how much broth)
• 1 12 oz. bottle of beer (however much of it you want to put in)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 4 medium potatoes, diced
• any chopped veggies you want to put in (I used a carrot or two and some chopped green peppers that I froze from the market last summer)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté the garlic clove in the oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add the stew beef and cook for ~10 minutes or until it's cooked and pink in the middle. While it's cooking, add salt and pepper. Remove the garlic clove and beef from the pan, but keep the juices in the bottom. Sauté the onions in the juices until transparent and slightly browned. Add the flour and cook for two minutes, then add the broth, beer, meat and seasonings. Adjust all the seasonings to taste--you're the one who's going to eat it!

Let it come to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and let cook uncovered for 30 min. Add the potatoes and veggies, and let come to a boil again. Turn the heat down, cover, and let simmer for anywhere from an hour to two or three (the meat will get more tender and the flavors will meld with longer cooking time, but I got hungry....).  Serve with beer bread and parmesan if you desire.

Zucchini Mushroom Tomato Barley Soup

A few weeks ago I was asked to prepare a dinner for the Jewish holiday Tu B'Shevat (a kind of Arbor Day). I usually hate tomato barley soup, as it always feels too sweet and heavy. I looked all over the internet for barley soup recipes, as I wanted to incorporate the seven species into some part of the meal (barley, wheat = bread, olives = olive tapenade, jam bars for the figs, pomegranate juice and then wine for the grapes). I didn't find one that was quite right (Isa Chandra Moskowitz's was the closest, but we're in the dead of winter and I didn't have the fresh herbs!), so I made this one up.


I got lucky--it was wonderful. It was somehow tangy and hearty at the same time, filling bur not heavy. While I didn't write down what I did, here's an approximation: I first sautéed onions and garlic in olive oil in the bottom of the pot, then threw in some finely chopped mushrooms. When the mushrooms released their water and cooked down (2 minutes or so), I added the chopped zucchini.  I seasoned this mixture with sage, basil, salt and pepper.  After letting this cook for a few minutes, I added the barley (a cup or a cup and a half?) and then a large can of tomatoes a bit later. I was given a jar of Kosher Better Than Bouillon--I made the broth first and then added it to the barley-veggie mixture. At first I wasn't crazy about the flavor of the plain broth, but it really worked for the flavor of the soup.  I let the whole soup simmer--covered--for about 30 minutes.  I recommend google-ing how to cook barley if you are worried, but this soup is hard to mess up and is delicious!  Especially if served with a warm loaf of french bread....

White Bean and Collard Soup with a Tomato-Balsamic Base

My mom used to make this dish for me all the time when I was little, and with over a pound of fresh collard greens on hand, I decided it was my time to try it. 

About six months ago, I discovered a wonderful little antique store on the way up to visit my grandparents in Rochester, NY (also where I will be attending med school next year!). I bought a cast iron Dutch oven for $25, as well as a set of three vintage pyrex cinderella bowls and a beautiful vintage pyrex loaf pan.

In the past several years, my mom has transitioned from making the dish in her own cast iron Dutch oven to cooking in her all-purpose enamel coated Le Creuset. Somehow, the flavor is slightly different with the enamel coating. When I made the dish in my cast iron Dutch oven, it took on the same delicious tastes that I remembered from my childhood. While this can be made in any kind of pot, I wholly recommend trying it in a cast iron Dutch oven!

White Bean and Collard Soup with a Tomato-Balsamic Base

• I tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 lb. collards, washed and chopped coarsely
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar, or to taste
• 1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes
•  2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 4-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2-1 tsp. thyme
• 1 bay leaf

In a large dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil.  When they are golden, add the greens and sauté until wilted and coated with the oil.  Then add the tomatoes, beans, broth, vinegar, bay leaf and thyme. 

Simmer, covered, for about 3/4 hour, then another 1/2 hour uncovered, making sure that the beans don’t dry out. Continue cooking until beans are creamy and soft, and flavors are melded. When  you remove from the heat, season with  salt to taste, pepper and balsamic vinegar.