beer beef stew.

i've probably tried to cook beef stew more times than i can ever recall but i could never get that kind of taste and texture that you get at a restaurant. not to mention sometimes it turns out to be too thick and sickening to eat after awhile.

this is an accidental discovery. i've never thought about stewing the beef in beer because i use red wine all of the other times. it has proven to be amazing because beer gives you the stew a very light flavor, almost like a thick soup. if you love stew, this is a great recipe to try!

500g braising beef
3 large potatoes (or how ever many you like), diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 box of cherry tomatoes/plum tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 stalk of fresh rosemary (dried is fine)
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 pint beer
2 beef cubes
salt and pepper to taste

(serves 4)

in a large pot, fry the garlic in olive oil over high heat and add in the chopped onion. cook the onions until soft over the high heat, so as to remove any fluids from the onions and slightly carmelise them to help add sweetness to the stew.
add in the beef and cook for 5 minutes before adding in rosemary, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. pour in the pint of beer, let the foam bubble away and simmer slightly before adding in the potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and the beef cubes. place the lid over the pot and let it stew for 1 hour.


serve with crusty bread or white rice.

spinach and mushroom quiche.

27 nov 2010

i was thinking of making this quiche again since i made it for the advance christmas party i had weeks ago because i was craving for it.

and i did!




it is such a simple recipe really. buying a frozen short-crust pastry from the supermarket will save you all the need to make the pastry base. all you need is:

250g bag of spinach
500g mild cheddar (grade 2 cheddar from waitrose would be perfect)
100g closed-cap mushrooms (or other mushrooms you fancy), chopped
200ml fresh whole milk (i insist on full cream)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 eggs
1 sheet of frozen short-crust pastry
salt and pepper for seasoning

(generously serves 4)

blanche the spinach in hot water until soft. do not leave for too long else the spinach would be discolored and turn disgustingly yellow. make sure all excess liquid is drained from the spinach. set aside.
beat 4 eggs until pale orange and add the chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms and half of the cheddar. season the mixture with salt and pepper according to discretion.
butter a square sandwich tin and lay the short-crust pastry until all sides have been covered. trim off the excess pastry with a knife. use a fork and score the pastry till you have even holes all round.
pour in the egg mixture into the tin and strew the blanched spinach evenly round the mixture. evenly sprinkle the remaining cheddar all round.

preheat the oven at 200 degrees celsius for 15 minutes. place the tin in the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked and surface is brown.

love for food.

my boyfriend always tells me how i only think about food.

i do!

i think about food all the time; i think about what to eat the next day before i go to bed each night and i wake up everyday looking forward to buying groceries. the thing i love best is to spend loads of time at the local supermarket and plan what to cook over the next few days. being in the supermarket is like a kid at the toy store.

the possibilities are beyond believe.

so i thought to myself: since i spend so much time cooking, why don't i just have a food blog to keep track of what i've cooked? which is kinda like a late proposition since i've been cooking for a long time now.

but as they always say, better late than never!

i hope whoever's reading this blog enjoy it as much as i enjoy cooking!

*disclaimer
when i cook i go by gut feel most of the time so if you ever think about following any recipes, do know that it is not of the most precise of measurements. i don't really believe in measurements cos we're all cooking for leisure!