Monthly Archives: March 2011

UCS Food Week – Baked Beef and Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Onions

31st March 2011

10 Comments

I know…I lost you at ONION, didn’t I? That’s OK! Really, because yesterday I apparently lost someone at BEEF, or they lost it at BEEF…yes that’s how it went…they lost it. Yup, in the words of my dog’s therapist (border collie, don’t even ask), the guy gave me the dew claw…all because I blogged about BEEF! Well, I guess I should post a warning so that no one is offended if they read further. THIS BLOG CONTAINS BEEF, and PORK, and ONIONS…

Whew, consider yourself warned, my duty is done!

Now I know you’re thinking, “I will never get my kids to eat this,” aren’t you? Well I have the most onion-phobic child on earth (even at 27  YEARS old), and a close second is his Missie and they both ate it…and loved it…mind you they ate the stuffing out of the middle and left the onion :) . But I still got a “that was great Mom” even though I know they would have preferred no onion (maybe by the onion cups still on their plates). But I will let you in on a little trick. After stuffing the onions, I had about a cup of stuffing left over, so I threw it into the mashed potatoes because I didn’t know what else to do with it, and that was a huge hit (it maybe even overcame their hate of onions cause they ate all of their mashed potatoes and said I should make a recipe out of that)! And if my opinion and that of the Mr’s counts, we loved the stuffing in both the onions and the potatoes! [How many times did I say onion in this paragraph?]

So, this recipe is a variation of yet another one of the “Heirloom Cooking with the Brass Sisters” treasure trove of historical North American cultural foods. But once again, I changed a few things to suit my own taste.

Baked Beef and Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Onions (makes 6)

3 large sweet onions, with root and tip end removed, peeled and cut in half horizontally (see photo below)

1 lb. extra lean ground BEEF

1/2 lb. hot Italian chorizo sausage meat (about 3-4 sausages removed from their casing

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c. diced sweet onion

1 Tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 c. shredded white cheddar cheese

1/2 c. bread crumbs

2-3 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. flour

To start the onions cooking:

1) take the sweet onion halves and pop a large part of the center portion out of the middle and leave a few layers of the outer ring. Reserve the middles to chop the 1/2 c. for the stuffing and extras for other uses.

2) pour 1-2 c. chicken broth into the bottom of a 9 X 13 casserole dish and place the 6 onion rings inside. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 30-40 min until onions are soft.

To make the stuffing:

3) while the onion cups are baking, prepare the stuffing by sauteing the 1/2 c. diced sweet onions in 1 Tbsp. olive oil until they are translucent.

4) Add in the chorizo and ground BEEF and saute until cooked through. Drain the fat from this mix, then add the thyme, salt, and pepper.

5) Next add 1 c. of the shredded cheese and the 1/2 c. bread crumbs.

6) Remove the onion cups from the oven, uncover and stuff with the meat stuffing mix. As I said earlier, any leftover stuffing can be stirred in to mashed potatoes (this is really yummy).

7) top each stuffed onion with an equal portion of the remaining 1/2 c. grated cheese.

8) Place back in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes to heat through.

If you wish to have gravy with the stuffed onions:

9) When removed from the oven, you can plate the onions, cover to keep warm, and strain the chicken stock in the pan to remove the stuffing that has fallen out. In a separate small pan, melt 2-3 Tbsp. butter and stir in 1/4 c. flour to make a roux. Pour the strained chicken stock into this and whisk until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I had another loaf of the jalapeno cheese bread left, so we ate all this with it and the mashed potatoes with extra stuffing mixed in, plus a caesar salad (my old stand-by salad).

From one onion lover to (hopefully) another!

Love,

Suzie

UCS Food Week – Suzie’s Short Ribs of Beef Baked Beans

30th March 2011

6 Comments

Who needs pork and beans? I say beef and beans all the way! Well, actually…I am pleased to admit that this absolutely delicious meal was a happy accident. I had seen a recipe for baked beans with ribs in them, so when I was at the grocery store I picked up some chunky cut beef short ribs and came home all ready to make them. Then I read the recipe again and realized they were using pork ribs! Well, I already had the beef, and know that beef and beans together rawks!, so I thought “why not give it a whirl”. I phoned my Dad and asked if he’d like to be the guinea pig for this experimental cooking project and he agreed, so off I went.

I looked up a Boston baked bean recipe on line (I had noticed that the original recipe I was looking at had ketchup in it and I like old school molasses baked beans better so I abandoned that version). I started off using the internet formula…kind of :) …and wasn’t loving the flavor profile of that…so…I added a few things along the way to build it up a little. See, it was one accident after another and here’s what all that led to:

Suzie’s Short Ribs of Beef Baked Beans

2 c. dried navy beans

6 slices bacon, cut into 2″ pieces

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 c. water, plus 1 c. cooking liquid reserved from beans

1/2 c. molasses

2 Tbsp. hot mustard

1 tsp.  sea salt

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

10-12 chunky cut short ribs, seasoned with a little flour, sea salt, and pepper

1/2 c. black strap molasses

1/2 c. brown sugar

To make the beans:

1) The night before making this recipe, rinse the beans and pick through to remove any discolored ones. Place in a large pot and cover with water 3 inches above the beans. The next morning drain and rinse again then again add water to 3″ above the beans, place on stove and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Reserving 1 c. of the cooking liquid, drain the beans and set aside. Preheat the oven to 300F.

2) Saute bacon pieces in a  large Dutch oven pot, remove and drain on a piece of paper towel.

3) Place the short ribs in a large bowl and dust with flour, season with sea salt and pepper then brown them in the Dutch oven in the bacon fat. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

4) Drain all but about 1 tbsp of the fat from the Dutch oven, then saute the diced onion until transluscent

5) Turn off the heat on the stove top and add the beans, crisp bacon, the 2 c. water plus 1 c. reserved cooking liquid, and the first 1/2 c. molasses and the salt and pepper. Give it all a stir then embed the browned short ribs in the pot, cover and place it all in the oven.

6) After 2-3 hours, take the beans from the oven, remove the short ribs into a bowl, cover them and place them in the fridge for now. Skim the fat from the top of the bean mixture, which will still be liquid enough to do this. Add the second 1/2 c. of molasses and the brown sugar, stir and return the beans to the oven. Continue to bake for another 2 or so hours.

7) Remove the beans from the oven, they should be getting to be a nice dark brown by this point. Taste the mix and add more salt and pepper at this stage, if you like. Take the short ribs from the fridge and place them back in the pot. Cover and return it to the oven, turned down to 275F for another hour or so until the ribs are heated through. What you will end up with is a delicious, sweet, savory dish!

I served up this happy accident to my Dad and step Mom along with a Caesar salad and that Jalapeno Cheese bread I made yesterday. Dad said to let you all know it has his seal of approval and that he’ll be my guinea pig any time!

From my house and home to you and yours,

Love,

Suzie

UCS Food Week – Jalapeno Cheese Bread

29th March 2011

6 Comments

Who doesn’t love bread? I know I love the smell of it baking, so when I saw a recipe for Cheese Bread in the Heirloom Cooking cookbook I told you about yesterday, I knew I had to make it…even though bread making is not my thing! Of course, I changed their recipe up a little (not sure why I use recipes because I almost never follow them properly-blame my problems with authority figures ;) ). I added pre-canned jalapeno peppers and jalapeno monterey jack cheese, as well as the cheddar.  Following is the recipe for my version.

Jalapeno Cheese Bread (makes 2 loaves) * as adapted from the Cheese Bread recipe in “Heirloom Cooking with the Brass sisters”.

To make the bread dough you will need:

1c. milk

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 c. grated, extra-sharp white cheddar

4 c. flour

1 1/2 c. jalapeno Monterey Jack cheese, cubed to 1/2″ dice

1/2 can jalapeno peppers, chopped

Melted butter to brush the tops

For yeast sponge:

1 package dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water (115F)

1 tsp. sugar

To make the bread:

1) Scald the milk in a pan then whisk in butter. Add the salt and sugar then let come to room temperature.

2) Once the milk mixture is at room temperature, make the yeast sponge by dissolving the yeast in the warm water then add the sugar. Let it sit in a nice warm corner for about 10 minutes. It will bubble up and get all spongy like this:

3) In a stand mixer, using a dough hook attachment, pour in the milk mixture (make sure it is not too warm or you will melt the cheese that you add in this step). Add the beaten eggs, yeast sponge, 2 cups of the flour, and the grated cheese. Beat until mixed through, then add the last 2 cups of flour and continue to beat until a soft dough is formed.

4) Turn the dough out and form a ball, placing it in a bowl pre-greased with vegetable spray. Spray the top of a piece of saran wrap, cover the bowl, and place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

5) Remove the dough from the fridge and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half and press each half out to about an 11 inch square. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cubed Monterey Jack and jalapenos evenly on each square, then fold in thirds to make a loaf.

6) Spray two loaf pans with vegetable spray, then place the newly formed loaves, seam side down, into the pans. Let them rise in a nice warm place for about an hour and a half, or doubled in size. I use the center of my stove when I have the oven on for other things.

7) Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven, then pre-heat the oven to 400F.

8) Brush the loaves with melted butter for a nice dark crust (optional) then bake for 20-25 minutes.

9) Remove the pans from the oven, turn the loaves out onto a cooling rack and let cool a little. Now…gobble it all up!

After trying this bread, it is a great egg-rich loaf and is the perfect base recipe to build many different types of breads on. I’m thinking raisin bread or cinnamon buns next time :)

Happy Tuesday All!

From my house and home to you and yours,

Love,

Suzie

UCS Food Week – Stuffed Roasted Pork Loin with Cider Cream

28th March 2011

4 Comments

This weekend we had a family get together to celebrate our son’s and my mother-in-law’s birthdays. Earlier in the week, I had seen a recipe on WhatKatieAte that I wanted to make for the occasion (you can click her site under Links I Love to the right). It was for a stuffed pork tenderloin with apple cider cream sauce and it looked and sounded delicious. The problem was, I was having dinner for 10 and this recipe seemed finicky for that number of people, not to mention those little things can dry out quite quickly if not timed/held perfectly [in my family someone is always late so this is not a good feature]. So, instead I adapted Katie’s recipe and had my butcher cut two,  12″ long pork loins and used the same method to stuff this larger cut that she used on her tenderloins. I changed the stuffing up a bit as well by adding rum to the prunes, plus I was not prepared to grate all the apples by hand so I opted to chop them up to a fine dice. And since I like a rich stuffing, I added buttermilk to mine as well.

Stuffed Roasted Pork Loin

To make the stuffing (note this stuffs one 12″ loin and I doubled mine)

1/2 large sweet onion, diced fine

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced, skin on

1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs, dried

1/2 c. pine nuts

2 tsp. fresh thyme, plus a few sprigs for garnish

1 Tbsp. dried sage

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/2 c. pitted prunes, finely chopped

1/4 c. rum

1/3 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. apple cider

Method:

1) Add all of the ingredients up until the pitted prunes to a large mixing bowl.

2) In a separate bowl, pour the rum on the prunes and let it stand for 10 minutes

3) Mix in the prunes to the other ingredients and pour on the apple cider to moisten the bread crumbs.

4) Pour the buttermilk into the mix and give it a good stir.

To stuff the pork:

1) lay out several pieces of kitchen string on a cutting board and place a pork loin that you (or your butcher) have sliced almost through lengthwise.

2) Stuff as much of the stuffing along this cut line as you can pack in there and, starting at one end, tie it up and snip the excess string. Don’t worry about the stuffing falling out as you can press it back in after you tie it.

3) place the stuffed pork on a baking sheet and pour a good glug of the apple cider vinegar over the stuffing then drizzle olive oil over the entire loin, including the stuffing.

4) generously sprinkle the whole thing with sea salt and pepper

5) place in a 375F preheated oven and bake for about 1 1/2 hours,or until done, giving it a good glug of apple cider and olive oil again at the halfway mark.

6) when the pork is done, remove it from the pan to your serving platter and add a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. Tent the platter with foil, seal tight, and just let the pork rest while you make the cider cream sauce.

To make the cider cream sauce:

1) Take the baking tray you cooked the pork on, place it on an element on the stove top, and give it another good glug of apple cider.

2) Turn the heat on medium high and deglaze the drippings from the pan.

3) In another pot warm 1 cup of apple cider and 1 cup of cream.

4) Once the pan is deglazed, carefully add the pan drippings to the cider and cream and taste for seasoning. You may need to add a little sea salt to adjust the seasoning to your taste. Also note, while I serve this like a gravy, it is not thick like one. Plus, the bits of stuffing that fall out of the pork will be in the drippings so if you want to strain the final mixture you can, but I like those tasty tidbits so I don’t strain mine.

To complete the feast, I served the pork with these:

Yukon gold smashed potatoes

I use small ones and because the skin is thin there is no peeling is required, just scrub clean, rough chop and boil them up. When done, smash with butter and I like to add double Devonshire cream to mine :) .

I also roasted up these because they looked so beautiful.

I only use sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and and some olive oil and toss them in the oven for about 30 min. at 375F as the roast is resting.

I also added a green salad and some fresh sourdough bread and simply served it all up buffet style. For a large crowd, this recipe made for an easy feast for me too!

As soon as the cream sauce is made and the potatoes smashed, there is little left for you to do other than enjoy your company!

And yes, we had the coconut pie for desert :)

From my house and home to you and yours,

Love,

Suzie

UCS Food Week – Oh My it’s Coconut Pie

27th March 2011

16 Comments

I promised I would start off UrbanCountryStyle Food Week with this recipe for an absolutely sinful coconut pie. I’ve chosen Sunday because everyone knows you don’t start a diet ’til Monday so if you make it today you’re just fine! Both the pie filling and the pastry recipes come from a new cookbook I just purchased called “Heirloom Cooking with the Brass Sisters”. Next to magazines, I’m a cookbook hoarder (ok, well next to shoes, next to magazines, comes cookbooks in my collecting obsessions)

Sweet Crust Pastry (Double Crust)

2 1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 c. cold butter cubed

1/4 c. ice water

1 egg, beaten

1) Place the dry ingredients in your food processor and pulse it 3 or 4 times to mix together.

2) Add in the cubed cold butter (make sure it’s really cold)

3) Keep pulsing the processor until you get a crumbly mixture

4) Stop the processor and add the wet ingredients (which you’ve mixed together first). Replace the lid and process just until the dough is about to start forming a ball. You will see it trying to cling to the sides and come together, but stop pulsing just as it’s about to or by the time it does I find you’ve gone too far. It should look like this

5) Take the dough out and divide into two lumps. Wrap one of them and put it in the fridge.

6) I roll out my dough between two pieces of saran wrap without the addition of extra flour (if you wipe the counter with a slightly damp cloth before you put the bottom piece of saran down then it will stick to the counter and not slide around while you roll it)

7) Then I simply peel off the top layer and place my pie plate upside down on top of the dough and slide my hand under the bottom piece of saran wrap and flip the whole thing over, remove the wrap and crimp the edges all pretty.

I must say that for years I have used the pastry recipe on the back of the Crisco can, but I will be switching to this one from now on because it is the nicest pastry I’ve worked with and eaten! There is a savory version for meat pies as well…which I might be sharing later in the week!

Coconut Pie Filling (to fill 2 – 9″ pies)


1/2 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

2/3 c. buttermilk

4 large eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 package (about 200-300 grams) unsweetened coconut (the recipe calls for sweetened, but I like unsweetened better, and trust me this pie is sweet enough)

1) Cream together the butter and sugar then add in the eggs

2) mix the eggs in and then add in the vanilla, salt, and buttermilk

3) fold in the coconut then pour the filling into the pie shells

Note that the pie plates I was using were very large so this amount fit perfectly into one. If you were using smaller pie plates (such as the ones that come from the freezer section of your grocery store ;) then this would be just the right amount for two of those).

Bake at 350F for 40 minutes if using the smaller pie plates and 50 minutes when you use the larger one. The top and pastry crust will be a nice golden brown when it comes out of the oven, but the center will not seem fully set up. Don’t worry because it sets as it cools.

Let this pie come to room temperature before digging in. While you’re waiting you could whip up a little bit of cream to pop on top of a slice or two…it is Sunday after all!

From my house and home to you and yours!

Love,

Suzie

My Hoppy Puppy

26th March 2011

13 Comments

First, thank you all for making Fashion Week such a success! I cannot believe how many folks read, commented, and subscribed throughout the week. And I had a blast doing it. Honestly, I loved waking up each day and knowing what I was blogging about and wondering who I would meet as I was doing it!

I liked the structure of those posts so much that starting tomorrow, and for the next 7 days, I’ll be blogging on some of my favorite meals, along with some new recipes I am dying to try. Yup, it’ll be UCS Food Week! I hope you will all  join in on the fun.

Meanwhile,  as I’m prepping for Food Week, I’ve upgraded the site to allow for HD video posting, so I’m testing it out and leaving you with this short clip of the UrbanCountryStyle little old dog Jesse. You should know before you watch it,  it may not seem remarkable until you realize that Jesse is 15 1/2 years old and only has one eye!

And sorry but I do not know how to flip the movie so you don’t have to crook your neck or turn your laptop to view it, but I hope he made you smile like he makes me smile when I see him do this every day!

Happy Saturday Everyone,

Love,

Suzie

UCS Fashion Week – Friday SuzieStyle

25th March 2011

6 Comments

Yes! This is the last day of USC Fashion Week! You must all be so pleased that this is the last day of havin’ to look at me. I know I’m getting tired of seein’ my face on here too ;) !! So next week I’ve decided to do 7 days of food! Yup, I am working on UrbanCountryStyle’s first ever Food Week as we speak. Till then, the Alberta saying “suck it up buttercup” comes to mind as I prepare this last post (I’m talking to myself here). This is the last day after all…

1) Jeans-William Rast; 4) Scarf-Joe Fresh, Spring 2011; 5) Boots-Le Chateau; 6) Coat-Suzie Shier (Note: I don’t think the boots and coat are real Alberta Beef, if you know what I mean ;) ) 7) Necklace-my Aunty Lorraine just gave it to me.

Thank God It’s Friday! And thank you Aunty Lorraine for my new jewels!

Stay tuned for UCS Food Week next week!

Love,

Suzie

UCS Fashion Week – Thursday SuzieStyle

24th March 2011

6 Comments

A few weeks back I showed you all my Spring 2011 inspiration “pictures”. This was one and I know some thought I was crazy…

because she’s all of 16, right!?!  So… I thought I needed to adjust for this anomaly and take an age handicap or something! If I  was going to recreate this lookbook for me, it needed some work or I needed serious plastic surgery :) . I settled on the non-knife related work!

I know…it’s CrazySuzieStyle for some…but that’s probably an accurate description for me! [Side note: my sister just told me that even as a little kid my style was always "different"...not sure how to take that?!]

1) Overalls – thrifted; 2) Blouse – Ralph Lauren Sport; 3) Shoes – Christian Louboutin; 4) Purse _ Halston Heritage; 5) Necklace – garage sale!

Happy non-plastic surgery Thursday All :/

Love,

CrazySuzie

UCS Fashion Week – Wednesday’s Wrock – SuzieStyle

23rd March 2011

4 Comments

What do I say about Wednesday? It’s too far from Monday to complain and not close enough to Friday to get excited. It’s a normal day. No special events. Maybe the grocery store. Maybe stop at the drycleaner. No LouBous or peep toes required.

If I were a true fashionista, I’d wear Vogue-worthy pieces on Wednesdays…especially during USC Fashion Week! But that’s not real life and we real girls need a Wednesday wardrobe too…just something to get us through the day that doesn’t involve going out in sweat pants. My recipe for this is always the same tried tested and true formula: jeans, boots, a white shirt, and a sweater if there’s a chance it will turn chilly.

1) Sweater-Tristan years ago 2) Long Sleeved T-Costco Spring 2011 3) Jeans- 7 for All Mankind 4) Boots-Arnold Churgins, Calgary Alberta 5) Belt and Buckle-Lamlees Western Wear, Calgary Alberta 6) Scarf-street vendor New York City.

“And the Landslide brings me down” (sorry but that sweater is so Stevie Nicks)

Wednesdays Wrock!

Love you all!

Suzie

UCS Fashion Week – Tuesday SuzieStyle

22nd March 2011

12 Comments

How long after the holidays does one have to wait to wear the blingy things again? Is there a rule like the “no white after Labor Day” law that says pretty shiny sparkly things have to stay tucked away until next November??…not that I’ve ever paid any mind to the rules! I’ve been on the island and Mr. Salmon has been in Vegas so we haven’t seen each other since last week. [I know you're wondering "what does this have to do with blingy things??!!"] Well, I figured this calls for tonight to be date night, and for me date night calls for  bling bling bling ;) . Now bear in mind that, unless we want to drive into the city, in my little suburban heaven the fine dining establishment [note no plural on this] is a jeans-are-the-attire-d’ jour kind of place. So I thought “rise to the challenge Suzie and mix your bling with some jeans” [sometimes life is so simple]. And while I was at it, I thought “this is also the perfect opportunity for me to do a little remix on those holey jeans I love”. Even better, I thought “if I’m breakin the rules and wearing something twice in a row I could actually wear the shoes that I had to abandon yesterday because of the rain too!” [two wrongs make a right don't they math kids?]. So I thought about the shoes…and the holey jeans…and the bling…and this is what happened…

Shoes-Michael Kors; Jeans-Gap Always Skinny; Necklace-The South Dakota Cowgirl custom order; Scarf-gifted…pashmina from a friend who brought it from Ecuador; Blingy Sweater-Snob purchased at a little boutique in my town trying to help our women dress up their blessed jeans; Purse-Vintage bling; Red Ring-H&M.

So you still have time to save me from myself before I head out tonight. Is this going to cut it? Or should I change? And while we’re at it…do I look fat in this :) (family joke)?

Seriously love you guys!

Suzie