In A Stew

One of the nicest aspects of cold weather is hearty cooking and eating. There's  nothing more satisfying than a homemade stew, chock full of meat and veggies.Add dumplings and it's a full meal. It's the best comfort food on a chilly day, warming from head to toe.

What is the best stew? That's up to the home chef making it along with individual tastes.Chicken stew is the most classic and has a nice, light flavor. Because of this , any combo of veggies pairs well with it. You can even use fresh or frozen ones. Since this is autumn, think about adding butternut squash .It's taking chicken breasts and cooking them with four cups of squash. Diced tomatoes are also thrown in to give color and a boost of flavor.Fall spices such as sage and thyme are also included, along with garlic and onion. That leftover Halloween pumpkin can be cut up and added to a chicken stew as well.Cooked pumpkin has a lovely creamy texture  and a sweetness that  compliments the bird. For a fancier take on this humble dish, try a coq au vin inspired one. This is an easy one,laced with red wine , garlic and a variety if different herbs. The last is one found in Gallic cooking, oregano,thyme and bay leaves. Top it with herbed dumplings laced with more thyme, chives and parsley. Can turkey be made into a stew? Yes! In fact, many of those Thanksgiving birds will be repurposed into tasty stews. Turkey stew can even be made in a skillet. It's just taking the meat cooking it with whatever veggies you want. You can even use leftover potatoes and yams.along with those herbs you used for the stuffing.

Many home chefs enjoy  making a good beef or lamb stew. This is the most traditional recipe. Meat lovers enjoy a good traditional beef one, chock full of flavor and texture. Where the meat comes from is crucial to creating a good stew. Remember to get cuts from the front shoulder or rear end, A chuck shoulder or a rump roast is a good choice. This also applies to lamb too. You could also try top chuck or eye round roast too. An old-fashioned beef stew has everything from sugar (!) to Worcester sauce.Spices are crucial. Stick with the traditional one such as allspice, ground cloves, along with paprika for color. Vegetables are also traditional too. Use celery, along with carrots and celery.Pork can be turned into stew as well. Melissa Clark gave a good recipe in her column A Good Appetite column in Wednesday's New York Times Food section.She puts  the spicy garam masala along with cinnamon and cumin, spices not normally connected with the dish,Cayenne is also added for heat, again, unusual for a stew.Another ingredient, also out of the ordinary for this dish, coconut milk is used for tying the entire dish together, She also tosses in chick peas and green peas for some creamy texture. Tomatoes, that stew staple are included to give it color and some acidity.Instead of dumplings , try warm naan with it instead for sopping up the gravy.

This is stew weather. Try a homey chicken one, or a spicy pork, loaded with curries. Anyone is a rib sticking one, warming  a happy eater from head to toe.

Yummy Luxury Omaha Steaks

This is the second installment of luxury foodie gifts. While we drooled over champagne and chocolate last week today we can smack our lips over steak. Omaha Steaks in particular. This company gives the world a variety of different cuts at over the top prices.

Omaha Steaks is one of the oldest food mail order companies in the United States. It started in 1917 by the Simons , a Latvian family who settled in Omaha. They came up with the idea of shipping steaks throughout the country after a son in law convinced Union Pacific to showcase their cuts in their dining cars. By the late 1940's the company had gone national By the mid 1970's stores were added. Omaha Steaks does sell some bargain packages starting at $39 but most are over the $80 range.

What can you buy at Omaha Steak? A lot of great cuts of beef. you can buy the combo which is filet mignon and Porterhouse steaks. You can also try filet mignons and T bone steaks shipped together. Omaha Steaks has some good sirloin cuts as well . There are also a variety of flavors such the whiskey ribbed and the Caesar one. Omaha Steaks also has poultry and seafood along with desserts.

There's nothing as delicious and intoxicating as an aged, juicy steak. Omaha Steaks fulfills that fantasy with their delicious cuts of beef. Order some for yourself for a yummy holiday treat.

Steaked

There's nothing like a juicy cut of steak. What foodie hasn't enjoyed sinking his or her teeth into tender meat, seared on the top and tender on the inside.It's the carnivore in us. Yet a wonderful cut of meat can be rendered inedible with the wrong cooking methods. Another result of meat gone bad is buying the wrong cut. What's the best cut of steak ? That depneds on what you buy and howyou cook with it.

The first aspect to look for in buying steak are the grades. There are prime, choice and select. Most prime grade beef ends up in restaurants. What's left for the groceries and private butchers are choice and select. The best bet for your money is choice. The second facet of a good steak is marbling . The more fat it has, the tastier the cut will be. Yes, this is unhealthy so you can try for a leaner steak (but you won't have the rich flavor) A happy balance is one with a few veins of fat running through it. The cut of be f is also important as to what you want to do . There are the ribs, the short loin and the sirloin. The rib gives you the rib roast,the rib steak and the rib eye steak along with back ribs. This is the toughest of all the cuts and can be quite chewy if not cooked well. The short loin produces the T-bone, top loin steak, tenderloin and the Porterhouse. The sirloin gives us the sirloin steak, and the top sirloin. Other steaks like the chuck, round and flank steak come from those respective areas and tend to be tough cuts of meat. Strip steaks, like the New York cut is derived from the T-bone portion. Most people prefer this last for dinner because it is easy to pan fry and serve .

What's the best way of cooking steak? Everyone has their own ideas. Some love it seared over the grill with a charred exterior and juicy pink inside. Other, like myself, enjoy a pan fried steak. I usually fry mine in a combination of olive oil with a dab of butter along with some very small pieces of chopped garlic. This last is done to give the meat a more robust flavor. I also sprinkled fresh ground sea salt and cracked pepper over the meat as it's cooking too.

Steak is a wonderful treat. You just have to know what you're buying. This helps in creating the best lunch or dinner ever. A good steak done well is the perfect meal.