My First Food Blog Post

Jenn asked me to participate in this blog. I figured that I better actually get busy with it. This was not really the best month for me as I was on vacation last week. I do enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. The only thing that I don't really like is cleaning up after. I am a big fan of the food network especially Michael Smith. For my birthday Jenn bought me his cook book "The Best of Chef at Home". I have tried a bunch of different recipes and they have all been good. He encourages his reader to freestyle his recipes, allowing us to use our imaginations or leftovers from the fridge. One of my favorite recipes is Orange Ginger Beef. On Saturday we had Jenn, Darryl, Lucas and Nathan over for dinner. I did freestyle it as the first time I made it according to the recipe and found it to be a bit soupy. Here is the original recipe:

Orange Ginger Beef

a splash of vegetable oil
1 lb for stewing beef (I use round steak and dice it myself)
a sprinkle of salt and pepper
2 onions peeled and chopped
a small knob of ginger, thinly sliced (I have no idea what a knob is I used about 10 thin slices)
one 10 oz can of beef broth
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of orange marmalade
a generous splash of soy sauce
1 tablespoon five spice powder
another sprinkle of salt and pepper
10 oz bag of baby spinach
a handful of bean sprouts
1 bunch of green onions (I always seem to forget to add these)
a handful of cilantro leaves ( don't use, I hate cilantro)

Preheat a large pot over medium high heat and then splash in enough vegetable oil to thinly coat the bottom. Season and then sear the meat until it is evenly browned on all sides. Searing the meat first adds lots of rich carmalized flavors before adding the liquids. Remove meat and set aside. Add the onions and ginger to the ban and stir for a few minutes. Then add the meat back. Add the broth, orange juice and marmalade, soy sauce and five spice powder. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat for lowest setting that will maintain a simmer. Place a tight fitting lid on the pot to contain the tenderizing steam. Simmer for about an hour Taste and season the broth. Divide the spinach and bean sprouts evenly among four - six bowls. Stir the green onions and cilantro into the broth and then spoon onto spinach and sprouts.

I free styled it by using a bit of cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce and then stirred in the spinach and bean sprouts. I served it with rice.

Tonight we had chicken cooked with mushrooms, mashed potatoes and green beans. I found a recipe for a fruit crisp type dessert so I made that tonight for dessert. Sorry didn't get a picture.
I used frozen blueberries tonight but I think you could used the mixed berries as well. What I liked about the recipe is that you could make individual servings and how ever many you want. So I filled each ramekin with frozen blue berries almost to the top. Then I mixed some 1 tsp of corn starch with 4 tsp of water and divided it equally between the two ramekins. (If you were making four you would double the starch and water) I put a little bit of honey on each ramekin. Then I sprinkled granola on top and put in a 375 degree oven for about 35 min. I put the ramekins on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper so I wouldn't make a mess in the oven. Then I served it warm with a scoop of ice cream. Yummy !!!!!