Category: recipe

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Whiskey Beef and Bacon Hash

This dish became very popular with my staff and our friends.  Very delicious and decadent, this dish will be very popular with your friends.  I really hope you will enjoy it. 

Ingredients
½ of a medium sized well-marbled chuck roast, cut into thin strips no longer that 2”
¾ lb. of bacon, cut up

Whiskey Beef and Bacon - 11/02/11

½ lb of red potatoes, thinly sliced
½ lb of carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, roughly diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of whiskey
1 tbsp of rosemary
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
salt to taste

Heat up a large fry pan (or wok) and begin to fry the bacon with the garlic and onions.  When the bacon is about medium done, begin to add the beef to sear.   Take 1 cup of whiskey and begin to deglaze the pan with the bacon and beef and add the rosemary.  Add the potatoes and carrots and continue to stir.  Cover the pan briefly, checking and stirring every 5 minutes.  After about 15 minutes, add the rest of the whiskey to finish.  The fats from the bacon and beef combined with the whiskey makes a great and tasty glaze on the food.  While still cooking, add the black pepper.  Once the whiskey has cooked down, add salt to taste and serve heartily with some nice ale.

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Young Octopus with Saffron Rice & Lemon

Many of the recipes posted of late were prepared and demonstrated at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  We cooked each of these dishes on an open fire. 

I mentioned in an earlier blog that we did several unusual dishes for the final weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  Among them were Whiskey Beef and Bacon Hash, Oxtail Soup, and Young Octopus with Saffron Rice & Lemon. 

The nearby grocery store was having a special on octopus and I thought it would be an unusual cooking demonstration for our audience.  Little did I know this dish would be so tasty.  The timing is crucial; the saffron rice should be the first part of the preparation. 

Saffron Rice with Lemon

Young Octopus with Saffron Rice and Lemon - 10/01/11

2 cups of white basmati rice
3 ½ cups of vegetable stock
½ tsp of turmeric
½ tsp of saffron threads
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon, zest and juice
¼ tsp sea or Kosher salt

Pour the vegetable stock into a medium sized pot with a tight fitting lid and place over high heat.  While the stock comes to the boil, add the turmeric, garlic, lemon juice and half of the zest.  Stir well and add the rice and salt.  Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to low and cook for 12-15 minutes.  Turn off the heat, but keep the lid on for an additional 5-10 minutes. 

Young Octopus
½ lb. young octopus
1 cup rice flour
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of ground cardamom
¾ tsp of ground cinnamon
¾ tsp of fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp of chili powder
½ tsp of salt
3 cups of olive oil

Rinse the octopus in cold water and cut into thirds (roughly a tad larger than bite-sized).  Once done, add all of the spices to the flour and blend well.  Pour the oil into a medium sized pot and put on medium to high heat.  The goal is to get the oil to 350 – 375 degrees. 

While the oil heats up, dredge the octopus in the seasoned flour, until completely covered in flour and flash fry the octopus for about 10-30 seconds.  Do not add more than two octopi into the pot to fry at a time, once it has curled up and cooked on all sides, remove from the pot and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Once fully cooked, fluff the saffron rice with chopsticks and add to a plate.  Add the octopus on top of the rice and use the remaining lemon zest on top of the dish.  Now it is ready to serve. 

Serves 2 – 3 people.

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Cock-a-Leekie Soup (15th century)

Cock-a-Leekie Soup  (15th century)

Cock-a-leeky soup

Ingredients:
1 chicken, deboned
1lb leeks cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 pints vegetarian or chicken stock or water
1/2 cup long grain rice
One teaspoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper
bay leaf, parsley, thyme
1/4 lb chopped bacon

Fry up the bacon in a large saucepan and add the chicken once the bacon is about half done.  Continue stiring until the chicken is about half done (7 minutes).  Add broth/water and cover.  Add three-quarters of the leeks, (green as well as white sections), herbs (tied together in a bundle), salt and pepper and return to the boil. Simmer gently for 2-3 hours, adding more water if necessary. Add the rice and the remaining leeks and simmer for another 30 minutes. Check for flavor and serve with a little chopped parsley. Serves 6/8 people.

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Lamb Stew and Farrells

The following recipe was made during the final weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on October 1 – 2, 2011.  This particular recipe (and the farrells) are a favorite at the family’s dinner.  I hope you enjoy it too! 

Lamb Stew 

Lamb Stew with Boxty and Farrels - 10/02/112 lbs of lamb stew meat

2 lbs of lamb stew meat
1/4 cup of butter or oil
1/4 cup of flour
1 lb of sweet potatoes, 1” cubes
2 lbs red potatoes, 1” cubes
1 lbs of carrots, 1” pieces
1 lbs green beans (optional), halved
1/2 lbs onions or leeks, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 tsp. Thyme
Kosher salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)

Make sure the stew meat is cut up into 1” cubes.  Preheat oil or butter in soup pot.  As it heats, coat the meat with flour until browned. Once browned, add enough water to cover the meat, bring stew to simmer for 45 minutes.

While cooking, cut up vegetables.  After the meat has cooked for 45 minutes, add the vegetables, spices and herbs.  Add more water if needed (should only cover the stew).  Continue to cook until vegetables are fork tender.  Stew should have a think consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Let stew rest off of heat for 15 minutes prior to serving.  Serves 6-8 people.

Potato Farrells
Ingredients:
2 cups of mashed potatoes
2 cups of flour
2 eggs
2 TB softened butter
1 tsp of baking powder
3 TB Chopped chives
bacon fat or oil (it tastes a lot better with bacon fat!!)

Mix the potatoes, flour, baking powder, eggs butter and chives together in bowl to form soft dough. Flour your cutting board to continue to work dough so that it bounces back from finger press.

Separate the dough into farrells (quarters) and roll each section out to the size of a small salad plate. Heat oil/bacon fat in fry pan and fry each “patty” until golden brown on each side. While finishing the final side, cut it in to quarters again and serve like biscuits. This is a TRUE Irish dish and is usually served with a stew.

If you want the dough may be rolled out and biscuits may be cut. It is important to press down and lift up to remove the biscuit. If you twist the cutter, the biscuit will not rise properly.

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Beef in Claret

Beef in Claret

Beef in Claret

Ingredients:
1/4 lb lean bacon
6 to 8 small, young onions
two cups chopped button mushrooms Ingredients for the meat:
3lb stewing steak
4 tablespoons oil
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons flour
1 bottle of fruity young claret (Burgundy or Beaujolais)
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Bunch of fresh herbs

Cutup and cook the bacon in a frying pan until it is lightly brown. Add the onions and cook uncovered for roughly ten minutes. Then add the mushrooms, stir, cover and cook gently for a further ten minutes.

Cut the stewing steak into cubes roughly 1½” square. Add the beef to the bacon, onions and mushrooms and begin to brown the cubes of meat. Add the garlic and sprinkle the flour over the meat.  Stir from time to time.

Add wine, light seasoning and herbs. Cover and simmer for 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Serve with boiled potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley or mashed potatoes.