Spicy Ground Bison with Green Beans & Tofu

My oven has been fritzy for a while now; it either won't hold the heat or won't ignite at all. It's SO frustrating, especially when I planned to make things that need to be baked...like a savory butternut squash & sausage bread pudding or AN ENTIRE THANKSGIVING MEAL.

So, I decided this past Friday morning, sort of spur-of-the-moment, to just buy a new stove already, dammit. It will be delivered on Saturday. It's nothing fancy, but at least it will ACTUALLY COOK FOOD.

Until then, I'll be making strickly stovetop dinners: sauteed lentils with sausage, tilapia piccata with steamed broccoli, mushroom soup, & spiced rice with stir-fried pork (recipe to be posted soon).

I'd dog-eared the recipe below in this month's Food & Wine magazine, picked up some ground bison at Whole Foods this weekend, and made it for dinner tonight...with a few additions & substitutions. It was very easy to make and tasted really good, flavorful and just a tad spicy. I'd never eaten bison before, and I was a little leery about a possible gamey taste. There was none; in fact, I really couldn't even tell that it wasn't beef here.

 Spicy Ground Bison with Green Beans & Tofu

adapted from Food & Wine

Winter 2011-2012 Cooking Classes

Kitchen Conservatory's winter schedule is now posted online. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online.

Here are the newest classes that I am teaching:

GIRLS NIGHT OUT: HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU - Friday, January 20 @ 6:30-9:00 pm (demonstration)

• This is my "anti-Valentine's Day" class. Whether you are in or out of a relationship, enjoy a laugh poking fun at romance! I'll offer a quirky take on love gone awry, as you sip on a bittersweet Campari and Prosecco cocktail. Then, I'll prepare garlic bread knots, grapefruit and fennel salad with parsley and mint, fresh pasta with salty and spicy puttanesca sauce, plus wine-soaked strawberries with black pepper and balsamic ice cream.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: SALSA SALSA DINE AND DANCE - Saturday, Jan. 21 @ 6:00-9:00 pm (hands-on)

• Grab your partner and join us for a unique experience of dancing and dining. The evening begins with a one-hour Latin salsa dance lesson with a dance instructor from COCA, that will spark your appetite for an incredible evening in the kitchen. Afterwards, refresh your thirst with a mojito, as you prepare fried plantain chips with black bean dip, grilled shrimp quesadillas with smoked tomato salsa, grilled pork tenderloin with papaya-mango salsa and yellow Cuban rice, plus banana cream pie.                          

 

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: SUPER TAILGATE PARTY - Friday, January 27 @ 6:30-9:00 pm (hands-on)

• Before football season comes to an end, learn to tackle a fun menu perfect for a tailgate party or Super Bowl Sunday. This class will create a refreshing lemon-ginger beer shandy cocktail, crispy cheddar coins with bacon jam, bratwurst burgers with sweet onion and grape relish, spicy kimchi slaw, plus chocolate chip cookie dough brownies.

 

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: 1960'S COCKTAIL PARTY - Sunday, January 29 @ 5:00-7:30 pm (hands-on)

• Inspired by Mad Men and the pop culture of the 1960's, this class will create modernized versions of vintage recipes for a divine cocktail party: Tom Collins cocktail, caramelized onion dip with winter white crudités (including cauliflower, endive, fennel and jicama), clams casino, Swedish meatballs with black currant dipping sauce, cheddar-gorgonzola cheese ball with bacon and smoky almonds, deviled ham canapés, plus mini dark chocolate bundt cakes with spiced rum glaze.

 

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: THE BIG CHILL-I COOK-OFF - Sunday, February 19 @ 5:00-7:30 pm (hands-on)

• Let the battle begin, as couples create and choose their favorite chili for a spirited evening of cooking, fun, and a little beer to wash it down. Learn to make roasted corn and jalapeño dip with fresh tortilla chips, Carolina pulled pork chili, Cincinnati chili with spaghetti, "real" Texas chili (without beans), and root beer sorbet.

Braised Korean Short Ribs

Hi there. Yep, I'm still around. Just been a little quiet lately...and fairly busy. Once again, my life has undergone a dramatic change. After only a year and a half of marriage, I am divorced...again. For the past 6 months, I've been trying to...well...I guess I've been trying to find happiness. For me, happiness wasn't in marriage, so I made the difficult & painful decision to end that marriage. 

I've finally gotten into the groove of solo living and have started cooking more regularly. Just last night I made an apple pie with salted caramel sauce that was probably the best pie I'd ever made. I got such comforting satisfaction from cooking again. I'll definitely get back into the kitchen soon, especially now that fall weather is finally here. 

Cooler temperatures always signify the beginning of comfort food season for me. And, I love it...soups, stews, casseroles, hearty pastas, braised meats...I love it all! 

This recipe, which I made earlier in the year for a cooking class I was teaching, is going to be one of my "go to" dishes this winter, for sure. Braising meat until it is fall-off-the-bone-tender usually takes several hours to achieve. However, with a pressure cooker, you can get the same result in a matter of minutes.  Braised short ribs take 6-7 hours on the stovetop but only 45 minutes in a pressure cooker.

I was a bit scared to use a pressure cooker at first; I had visions of the thing blowing up in my kitchen and boiled hot food straying everything. But, it was very easy and safe to use. You simply add your ingredients to the pot, seal the lid in place, cook on high until the pot is pressurized (a knob will pop up), lower the heat, then cook the prescribed amount of time. To release the pressure, you just set the pot in the sink and run cold water over the lid. In seconds, the pressure knob will go down and you can safely unlock the lid. I am a total pressure cooker convert.

You can also cook apple sauce in 10 minutes, chutneys in 20 minutes, whole artichokes in 15 minutes, dried/unsoaked beans in 30 minutes, pork shoulder in just over 1 hour, steamed veggies (including corn on the cob) & stewed greens in less than 5 minutes, steel cut oats in 11 minutes, & oxtail in 45 minutes. 

Braised Korean Shortribs

Fall 2011 Cooking Classes

Kitchen Conservatory's fall schedule is now posted online. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online. 

Here are the upcoming classes that I am teaching:

HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN - Sunday, September 18 @ 1:00-3:30 OR Sunday, October 16 @ 1:00-3:30 OR Sunday, November 6 @ 1:00-3:30 (hands-on)

• Attention all Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as I help you prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce, and Aunt Petunia's individual berry-pudding trifles. Before you apparate home, you'll make edible wands to help ward off He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEERS - Sunday, September 25 @ 5:00-7:30 OR Friday, December 9 @ 6:30-9:00 (hands-on)

• Forget the porridge, chair, and sleeping - the three tastings of beer will be just right and plenty cold! Join me (aka “goldie” locks) in a fun evening designed for couples. This hands-on class will prepare beer cheese fondue with soft pretzels, local lager with spicy Sriracha chicken wings, fruity Belgian wheat beer with grilled scallops and corn salad, plus creamy stout with chocolate hazelnut cake and vanilla ice cream.  

PHOTO FINISH WITH FOOD - Saturday, October 15 @ 11:00-2:00 (hands-on)

• Whether you are a food blogger or love to cook and then capture pictures of beautiful food, this class will be the perfect photo finish. Join me in creating radicchio-Brussels sprouts-apple panzanella with pancetta and cider vinaigrette, red lentil-pumpkin soup with spicy caramelized onions, bittersweet chocolate tart with a pretzel crust, plus pomegranate-red wine sangria. Professional photographer Corey Woodruff will "focus" on capturing each dish with simple techniques and available lighting, using your own cameras to discover tips on exposure, composition, plus how to make a simple homemade reflector and lightbox. Please bring your cameras. Nothing fancy is required; even phone cameras will work!

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: PORK AVENUE - Saturday, October 22 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)

• If farm living is not the life for you, and you would rather have a penthouse view, relax while I shares my passion for pork. Enjoy bacon-infused bourbon and maple old fashioned cocktail, cherry-bacon-pecan snack mix, apple-fennel salad with crispy prosciutto and creamy goat cheese dressing, egg yolk raviolo with pancetta-spinach-ricotta filling, sweet-and-salty kettle corn, plus bacon cookies with maple glaze.

Cherry Sploosh Ice Cream

St. Louis in July: With the heat index above 110 degrees, it's too fucking hot to cook. Hell, it's even too hot to eat. Or move. Or breath. So, I've been sustaining myself with fruit smoothies, salads, sandwiches, and ice cream. Here's my most recent creation:

Sour Cherry & Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

aka "Cherry Sploosh"

 For the cherries:

2 cups sour cherries, pitted & roughly chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

• Mix the cherries, sugar & water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the juices are thick. Remove from heat & cool. Strain out liquid. Reserve both the cherries and the syrup.

For the ice cream:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup cream in a medium saucepan just until the sugar melts & the mixture is steamy.
• Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. 
• Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then add the custard back to the saucepan.
• Stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, heat over medium heat until thick enough to coat the spoon. 
• Strain into a bowl. Add the remaining 1 cup of cream, the vanilla, and the reserved cherry syrup. Cool in an ice bath or in the refrigerator until ready to churn.
• Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker.
• While the mixture is churning, melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. 
• During the last possible moments of churning, drizzle the melted chocolate in a very thin stream into the ice cream. 
• Remove the ice cream to a bowl and fold in the reserved chopped cherries.

Why "Cherry Sploosh"? A few reasons, actually...

1. Sploosh is a funny word.
2. You add a lot of stuff to this standard vanilla ice cream base. That is, you sploosh in some cherry syrup, melted chocolate, and chopped cherries.
3. This: