Beef Stew Night

God it's cold.

Last night I decided had to be a beef stew night. With the winter finally in full swing, something warm and hearty was necessary.
Stew meat, fennel, carrots, celery, garlic, beef broth and a delicious Shiraz came together to create a full-body warming effect.

With a side dish of roasted fennel, squash and zucchini my friends and family were excited. Excitement stemming not only from not having to cook, but also from the prospect of a delicious warm meal on a terribly cold day.

It seems funny to me. Taking "Garde Manger" (The Art of the Cold Kitchen) in the middle of winter, while I had to take "Fundamentals" (a class filled with hot soups and stews) in the middle of summer.

Stovetop Smoker

Today in Garde Manger we used the smoker to smoke some pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, chicken tenders, and trout filets.

Feeling inspired I returned home and used the stovetop smoker to smoke a butterflied leg of lamb. Cherry was my wood of choice and it actually worked out pretty well. Sadly, in my haste I was unable to marinate it for quite as long as I would have liked. Even so, it was delicious. Accompanied by fingerling potatoes roasted with olive oil and a store-bought baguette with olive oil and pesto. Mmm!

I'm not totally sure what else will be going into the stovetop smoker in the near future, but without a doubt I'll be using this piece of equipment a lot from now on.

Hello all,
First post of the new blog. Well actually it isn't a NEW blog per se, but I deleted all the old posts since they were all from 2006 and have no application to my life now.

This could be fun though. You never know!