Dinner and Dessert! Two New Recipes for Your Eating Pleasure!

Beef Stewed in Red Wine with Onions

1. Cut up into 1 inch chunks a 2.5-3 lbs chuck roast (trim the fat).

2. Put in a large sealable plastic kitchen bag (support in a bowl if necessary).

3. Mix into the bag 1 bottle dry red wine, 2 medium onions halved and sliced lengthwise, 1 t. fresh chopped thyme, 1 bay leaf, 4 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 carrot thinly sliced, and a heavy pinch (1/2 t.) of salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Gently mix by hand.

4. Marinate 16-24 hours.

5. Drain the beef in a colander (discard the onions, carrot, etc), reserve the liquid in a bowl; sautee the beef in an oven proof casserole pan a little bit at a time in two or three batches (with 2-3 T. vegetable oil), removing each batch on a plate after it’s browned.

6. Throw in 2 cloves of chopped garlic and 2 large chopped shallots, and briefly cook, then add 2 T. flour and thoroughly cook.

7. Add the marinade juices (wine, etc.), and stir well with the flour mix.

8. Add in the beef, put a lid on it, and simmer it.

9. Meanwhile, chop 6 oz. thick sliced bacon and sautee in a separate skillet. Add the bacon to the beef, but reserve the bacon fat.

10. Braise the beef in the oven for an hour and a half.

11. Meanwhile, blanch a 1 lb. bag of frozen pearl onions in boiling water for a minute or two; drain, add to the bacon fat, and cook until golden. Then pour off any excess fat and add ¼ c. water, scraping up any brown bits.

12. After the meat has braised for 1.5 hours, add the onions and ½ t. each salt and pepper.

13. Cook another half hour in the oven.

14. Serve with buttered noodles and parsley on the side.

Pear Tart Tatin

1. Mix together 2 c. flour, 1 t. salt, and cut in 1 c. butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse meal.

2. Add in 1 egg yolk and 2 T. water. Mix with a fork into a ball and refrigerate about an hour.

3. Now peal 4-6 medium/large pears and core the fruit. Place in a bowl with some lemon juice and set aside.

4. In a 10 inch oven proof skillet, melt ¾ c. sugar over medium low heat. When sugar starts to melt stir until a pale gold and most sugar is melted. Take off heat momentarily.

5. Place pears in pan cut side up, round sides in sugar, with the narrow ends towards the center of the pan. Place remaining pears in center and top fruit with 4 T. chopped butter.

6. Cook 15-20 minutes over medium heat until the sugar is a deep carmel color.

7. While the fruit is simmering, remove dough from fridge to soften it, and then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a disk of about 11 inches – you may only want to use half the dough for this.

8. When the fruit is finished cooking, place the rolled dough over the pan and tuck down the edges.

9. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown) and remove and let sit 10 minutes.

10. Cut around the edges with a knife and invert the pan onto a large plate. This need to be done with great care, skill, and dexterity.

Cut and serve with whipped cream.

The pure flavors of the fruit, carmalized sugar, and butter, make this a stupendous dessert, and the pears can be substituted with all manner of fruit, such as apples or peaches.