Sunday, November 25, 2012

Spiced red cabbage with cloves, red currant jelly and red wine

The holidays are over (for now) and things are getting back to normal – until we are gearing up for the next holidays, which are not too far off. This was a dish I brought to this year’s thanksgiving holiday dinner; it is a bit of different, interesting and still fabulous side dish that compliments any holiday dinner. It is a traditional German holiday feast or Sunday roast side --- sauteed spiced red cabbage, based on my mom’s recipe here.

red_cabbage

Spiced red cabbage with cloves, red wine, and red currant jam

(makes a large pot, about sides for 10 people)

  • 1 medium sized head of red cabbage (ca. 2-3 pounds)
  • 1 red onion, diced finely
  • 1 TB butter or ghee (my mom’s recipe actual calls for bacon fat)
  • 1 medium sized tart apple, finely diced (not peeled but core removed)
  • 1/2 TB whole cloves (or 1/2 ts ground cloves, whole one are better)
  • 1/2 TB juniper berries
  • 1/2 cup of red wine (e.g. cabernet sauvignon or a good table blend)
  • 1/4 cup of apple juice (if not using red wine, use more 1/2 cup of apple juice)
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1-2 TB red current jam or black currant jelly(e.g. Bonne Maman or Schwartau)
  • 1/2 TB beef broth concentrate, diluted in 2-3 TB of water
  • optional: 1-2 TB  aged good balsamic vinegar

red_cabbage_ingred

Prep: quarter the red cabbage head, remove the core, and slice the quarters really thinly with a sharp knife (or use a mandoline) – the finer shredded, the better.

red_cabbage_prep

In a large cast iron pot, dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, melt the butter or clarified butter and add the diced onion, and saute until slightly browned. Now, add the shredded cabbage, the cloves, juniper berries, the bay leaf, and the diced apple to the pot, and mix all ingredients well.

red_cabbage_in_pot 

Add the red wine and the apple juice, and close with the tight fitting lid (there is no other liquid and make sure the steam from the gabbage does not evaporate but helps steam the cabbage). Turn heat on medium-low, and cook for ca. 20-25 min depending on how ‘crunchy’ or ‘well-done’ you like the cabbage to be cooked. Nevertheless, stir once in a while to make sure it does not burn on the bottom. If it gets too dry, add more apple juice.

red_cabbage_pot

Once the cabbage is tender, turn the heat to low, and add the red or black currant jelly or both, remove the bay leaf, add more salt and pepper to taste, and a half TB of beef broth concentrate (or bouillon) dissolved in some hot water. Mix well, and add a glug of balsamic vinegar to round out the flavor. Enjoy!

red_cabbage

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Beef Bourguignon

It is US Thanksgiving holiday week, work is winding down (I wish) and it is time to focus on cooking, turkeys, side dishes, buy good wine, and invite friends and family and/or be invited. To warm up, I cooked a beef bourguignon with some grass-fed local organic beef from the farmers market.

Beef Bourguignon (makes ca 4 not too large servings):

  • 4 oz smoked bacon, diced
  • 1-2 TB olive oil
  • 1 – 1 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 pound carrots, cut into larger cubes
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 1 cloves of garlic, microplaned 
  • 1/4 cup cognac
  • 1/2 bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 2 cups of beef broth
  • 1 TB tomato paste
  • 1 ts fresh thyme leaves (1/2 ts dried)
  • 1 bay leaf, fresh or dry
  • 1/2 pound fresh whole pearl onions
  • 1 TB butter
  • 1/2 ts thyme, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
  • 1/2 TB butter
  • 1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Add the diced bacon to a large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is releases the fat and is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate. Add the olive oil to the pan.

BB_meat

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside. Add more olive oil if the pan gets too dry.

BB_braise_meat

Again, add more olive oil if the pan is too dry at this point, and add the carrots, and onions to the dutch oven, 1 ts of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned and the carrots caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol (or just cook off). Add the braised meat and bacon back into the pot with all the juices.

Now, pour the 1/2 bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme and stir in. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 3-4 hours until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork (*).

BB_wine

Meanwhile, prepare the pearl onions. Peel them, and heat 1 TB butter in a pan. Add the pearl onion and brown from all sides for 10 min, gently roll over for even browning. Add salt, pepper and a bay leaf as well as the thyme. After browning, add 1/2 cup of broth, cover, and simmer for 45-60min until tender and most of the liquid is evaporated. Discard the bay leaf.

BB_onions

Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove the dutch oven from the oven and add the sauteed pearl onions and the mushroom. Also, sprinkle 1/2 TB of flour and stir into the beef stew. Heat, stir and see that the stew starts to thicken. Optionally, add a 1/2 TB butter. Serve with crusty bread, or boiled potatoes.

beef_bourguignon

(*) I used a very low-fat beef, and even after 4h in the oven it was still not tender. So, I placed the stew in a pressure cooker, the wonder weapon to get any meat tender, and cooked under pressure for another 30min. It was not perfect, but tender enough. If you are short on time, you can also cook the entire stew in the pressure cooker for about 45min.

beef_bourg

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Streuselkuchen (German crumb cake)

It was my late great aunt Jenny’s 100th birthday yesterday (10-11-12, and suddenly it was 100 years later), and in her honor and to remember her I baked one of her most famous cakes (famous across generations in our family) – the streuselkuchen. 

No one could make this cake like my great aunt. It is involved, you have to have patience, nurture it, and it richly rewards you. Just like my great aunt was, one of the best cooks and bakers and gardeners I’ve ever known. Aunt Jenny, this is for you!


Streuselkuchen (German Crumb Cake)
this is a 1/4 of the original recipe, but the original recipe makes a whole large 8x13 inch cookie sheet. This fills the bottom of a small spring form; if using a 10 inch spring form, double recipe.
Special equipment: standmixer with dough hook (can also be kneaded manually), 7 inch spring form
Base layer:
  • 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 TB warm milk
  • 1 ts fast rising yeast
  • 1 ts + 3 ts sugar (20 g altogether)  (divided: 1 ts for the yeast + milk, 3 ts for the dough)
  • 1 TB bakers milk powder (optional, but helps the yeast to rise)
  • 2.5 TB (20 g) unsalted sweet cream butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 egg (reserve other half for the crumbs)
  • pinch of salt
Mix the yeast, 1 ts of sugar and the lukewarm milk in a small bowl, and wait until yeast starts to get bubbly (ca. 15min).
In the bowl of a standmixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, 3 ts sugar and the bakers milk powder, and mix all three ingredients. Make a well in the flour, and pour the milk yeast mixture in it. Turn on the standmixer, and on slow mix the dry ingredients with the yeast mixture (do not yet add: butter, egg or salt since it interferes with the yeast). Once the yeast is well incorporated and distributed in the flour mix, add the butter, 1/2 egg and salt. Knead the dough on medium speed until it comes together as a ball (it will be crumbly for quite a while, ca. 10 min). If it does not come together after 15min of kneading, add 1 TB of warm milk.  Once the dough forms a ball around the hook, continue kneading for another 15min on medium speed.
base_layer
Now, remove dough from bowl of standmixer, and place in a metal, glass or ceramic bowl, and let rise for ca. 30min at a warm place. Time to make the crumbs!
Streusel (crumbs):
  • 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
  • 60 g sugar
  • 60 g unsalted sweet cream butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 egg (reserve other half for the crumbs)
  • 1/2 ts bitter almond extract
  • 1 pouch Dr. Oetker Vanille sugar (or 1/2 ts liquid vanilla extract)
  • pinch of salt
In the bowl of a standmixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, sugar, and the butter, cut into small cubes. Start the mixer on low speed, until the flour/sugar and the butter start to incorporate. Add all the other ingredients, and let the mixer run for about 10-15 minutes until uniform-sized crumbs are form. At the beginning, the butter will be large lumps, and the flour has only tiny crumbs, but over time the butter distributes over the flour more evenly, all crumbs are about equal in size. When it doubt, just let it run a little longer. Patience!
Stop the mixer, when the crumbs are at equal size.
streusel
Preheat the oven to 50-80F (warm). Spray a spring form with baking spray, and distribute the base dough into the pan.
dough_1
Take a fork, and gently poke the dough all over the pan. Once done, brush lightly with some warm milk.
dough_1.5
Now, distribute all the streusel on the cake evenly.
dough_2
dough_3
Place in the oven at 50F for about 45min for the yeast-based base layer to rise to about 0.5-1 inch thickness. After that, remove cake from oven, and preheat to 425F, and bake the cake for ca. 20-25min.
Before serving, sprinkle wit granulated sugar.
streusel_cake
cake