A Hungry Bear

chambord vodka soda

30. October 2009

My standby drink when I don’t want to mess with muddling or mixing is an ordinary vodka soda with lime. If you’re feeling too lazy to slice a lime, you can make an even easier but more exciting version by adding a splash of raspberry flavor from Chambord.

Ingredients: vodka, Chambord liqueur, club soda.

Fill a highball glass with crushed ice. Fill it one third of the way with Chambord.

Then fill the next third of the glass with vodka. Top with club soda and stir.

stout-braised brisket

27. October 2009

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To use up the rest of the stout I got for the chocolate stout cupcakes I made last week, I turned to Epicurious. I’ve always thought of brisket as a vehicle for barbecue sauce, so the depth of flavor this dish had without any tomato-based sauce was pretty surprising. Next time I make it I’ll serve it over a pile of mashed potatoes, or with a hot baguette to scoop up the extra sauce. I made this on a Sunday afternoon, but put it in the fridge for a day so the flavors developed more. It also made it easy to scrape the fat out of the dish, and made a fairly hands-off weekday dinner.

Adapted from October 2009 Bon Appetit (I made a few changes and adapted for a 3 pound brisket, enough to serve 4-6).

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, 3-pound brisket, 2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat (or olive oil), 3 cups chicken stock, 1 12-ounce bottle porter or stout, 4 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1 large thinly sliced onion, 6 whole garlic cloves, 1/2 pound mushrooms, 3 carrots, 1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon malt vinegar. (more…)

asian barbecue drumsticks

26. October 2009

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Chicken drumsticks are about 1/4 or less the cost of boneless skinless chicken breasts, and have a lot more flavor. But did you know that they can also have almost the same nutritional value (in terms of low fat and high protein) as a chicken breast, if you just remove the skin? (If skinless drumsticks aren’t available at the meat counter, you can ask the butcher to remove it for you.) Combine that with a recipe that only takes about 15 minutes of hands-on time and I’ve got a chicken dish that will definitely be going into the regular weeknight rotation.

Adapted from October 2009 Food & Wine.

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder, 10 skinless chicken drumsticks, 1/2 cup hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons red chili pepper sauce, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, sesame seeds. (more…)

chocolate stout cupcakes with bailey’s cream cheese frosting

21. October 2009

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I’ve had this recipe bookmarked since I saw it back in March on one of my favorite food blogs, Closet Cooking. I like the way this blogger picks a theme or single ingredient and then makes several different things back to back with it. In this case he was doing a lot of St. Patrick’s Day-related recipes, and he modified a few recipes to create a Guinness cake with Bailey’s icing. I adapted his recipe even further by substituting a chocolate stout for the Guinness, and by dividing the batter into cupcakes instead of a single cake. (I also doubled the icing to have enough for 24 cupcakes.) These were every bit as good as I imagined they would be, and A has had at least 3 for breakfast every day since I made them. Oh, and I should mention - they are ridiculously easy to make!

Ingredients: (for the cupcakes) 2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 cup chocolate stout beer (or Guinness), 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1.5 teaspoons baking soda, 3/4 teaspoons salt, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup sour cream; (for the icing) 1 8-ounce package cream cheese softened to room temperature, 3 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature, 2 cups powdered sugar, 4-6 Tablespoons Bailey’s Irish. (more…)

stir fry bok choy with ginger and garlic

20. October 2009

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You might have noticed the greens peeking out under the steak I posted yesterday. They were a perfect complement to the steak, since it lent some extra ginger garlic sauce for dipping the meat into. This dish could also work with a little rice and maybe some simple grilled salmon. I found the recipe on our CSA farmer’s blog.

Grocery list: 1 head bok choy (also called pak choi), 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 1.5 Tablespoons soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon peanut oil. (more…)

korean sizzling beef

19. October 2009

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I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post! Work has been so busy I haven’t had much time for cooking - it feels like our household is single-handedly keeping Mellow Mushroom in business. Now that it’s getting colder, I won’t be running out to grab takeout as often. Good thing I found several great - and fast - recipes in October’s issue of Food & Wine. This one marinates strips of flank steak overnight so they are incredibly tender, and the spiciness will definitely warm you up. A says this might be his favorite flank steak ever.

Adapted from October 2009 Food & Wine.

Ingredients: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons dry white wine, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, 2 pound flank steak, 1 bunch scallions, vegetable oil, salt. (more…)