Recipes from 4/28/10

Thought I should probably add the recipes I used for yesterday's meal that way anyone who is interested can try them.

Slow Cooker - President Ford's Round Steaks

8-12 beef round steaks (I used 8)
1-2 bell peppers, cut into strips
2-3 tsp. minced garlic
1 onion, diced
1/2-3/4 tsp. of the following mixed together:
dried thyme
dried rosemary
dried basil
dried sage
onion powder
granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
salt
pepper

1/2 all purpose flour (for dredging)
1 c. beef stock
1 c. red wine (any kind as long as it is fit to drink)
1 can diced tomatoes w/the juice

Place onions, garlic & pepper into bottom of crock. Poke steaks well with a fork on both sides and rub with the seasoning mixture. Dredge in flour and sear quickly in a hot frying pan with a bit of oil. Remove steaks as they brown into the crock. When all steaks are seared, deglaze the pan with the stock, wine & tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce for just a couple of minutes and pour into crock over the meat & veggies. Cook slow & low for about 5-6 hours.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

1 c. oats
1/2 c. wh. wt. flour
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. real maple syrup (B grade is perfect)
2-3 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. salt
2 c. boiling water

Mix the above ingredients all together in a small bowl and let cool to about 110 F.
When the mixture has cooled, add the following to a large mixer bowl (I use my KitchenAid):

1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar

Mix together and then add oatmeal mixture. Add 3-4 cups of whole wheat flour and turn on mixer to slow speed. Add flour gradually until the dough starts pulling from the side of the bowl. Turn dough out onto well floured surface and knead dough with more flour until it is no longer sticky. Turn dough into a well oiled bowl and let rise for about an hour.
Once dough has risen, punch the dough down and separate into two equal parts. You can either put the dough into well oiled loaf pans or free form the loaves and place on a large pizza stone or greased sheet pan (I free form & use the pizza stone).
Bake the loaves at 350 for approx. 30 minutes. The tops should be a dark golden brown when done.


Triple Lemon Cake

Lemon curd (filling):
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest (about one large lemon)
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice (about two large lemons)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 c. sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten

In medium saucepan mix together the zest, lemon juice and cornstarch until smooth. Add in the butter & sugar and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute & reduce heat to low. In a small bowl, whisk the yolks until smooth. Whisk in a small amount of hot lemon mixture to temper the eggs and then add the eggs into the pan whisking continually. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Pour curd into a bowl, cover the top of the curd with plastic wrap & refrigerate until cold.

Cake:
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. canola oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
4 egg whites (left over from making curd) plus 1 whole egg
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice (about one large lemon)
2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 F
Grease & flour two 8" cake pans.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil & sugar. Add in the eggs, a bit at a time, until well blended. Add the lemon extract & zest. Add the flour and the milk/lemon juice mixture alternately until all are incorporated into batter.
Pour equal amounts of batter into each cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes (toothpick should come out clean). Cool completely before removing cake from pan.


Once cake is cooled, cut each cake into two layers (you will have 4 layers of cake).

Spread 1/3 of curd onto bottom layer, add the next layer and repeat twice. Put final layer onto cake and frost.

*Here is where I tell you that I used a lemon flavored butter cream on this cake and it sucked. It was way too sweet. When I make this cake again, I will use a lemon flavored whipped cream frosting made with cream cheese. The frosting will be as sturdy as a butter cream, but not nearly as sweet.*

April 28, 2010

Welcome to my first food blog entry.
On tonight's menu:

President Ford's Round Beef Steaks in the slow cooker
Whole wheat oatmeal bread
Mixed frozen veggies (OK - so we ended up with some broccoli)
Triple Lemon Cake

I found the recipe for the round steak at www.allrecipes.com and then tinkered with it to my liking. It wasn't a slow cooker recipe, but I turned it into one because I needed it to be. Tonight is a busy taxi night for me and I won't have time to cook the recipe traditionally on the stove top.

Whole wheat oatmeal bread is a recipe of my own that I've morphed from two different oatmeal bread recipes. It is made with mixture of whole wheat flour, molasses, maple syrup, honey, oatmeal, butter, salt, cinnamon, yeast & water. It is truly one of our all time favorite breads. When we have company, we have served it with honey or maple butter.

The frozen veggies are standard fare around here. It has been proven that frozen veggies have retained more vitamins & minerals then their fresh counterparts. We do eat fresh as well especially when our garden is in full swing, but I'm very happy with frozen.

The cake is also from www.allrecipes.com. It was actually some one's spin off of a popular lemon cake. It has four layers of light lemon cake with a filling of homemade lemon curd and topped with a homemade lemon butter icing. I bought a big bag of lemons at BJ's. I can't let them go bad, right?

The steaks came out fork tender. The onions, peppers & tomatoes broke down considerably, but they all tasted really good. Bread was as yummy as ever and the broccoli was perfect.
I'm bringing the cake over to my in-laws and having tea with my MIL, SIL, & GMIL. I'll let you know how that is later.