Expensive goods from cheap ingredients: Bone Broth

Bone broth has become all the rage. Google it up - you'll find plenty of information I leave to you to sift through. 

It's basically stock that's been simmered in a way to draw more minerals and protein out of it's components than the usual pre-soup simmer. The how is pretty simple: addition of acid, and long simmer time. Of course you can buy it (my personal fave), but it gets pricey. To benefit from bone broth, it's supposed to be a frequent, if not daily, treat. Good bone broth is richly flavored but not strong. Good for daily fortifying, and great when you're not feeling well. Also worth noting: it's not the same as bouillon, which is typically high in salt/sodium. 

So, how to have enough bone broth without stealing dollars from your movie budget (hey, priorities!)? Enter: the conversation with your favorite butcher. I found out today that our local fave sells chicken backs for a whopping 50 cents a pound. Squee! 

Chicken backs from the butcher - who knew?!

Setting up to make two batches, because it's a little labor intensive and freezes well. One beef using oxtails, one chicken using chicken backs (I've read you can include chicken feet for extra collagen; maaaaaaaybe I'll get there, maaaaaaaybe not). 

One tray each, light S&P sprinkle only.

First, roast them lightly. I did 25 mins/turn/20mins at 350deg w/convection. Not very scientific, but I'm pushing browning over tenderness. This is going to simmer a very, very, very, very long time, and all I want is the broth anyway.

Roasted up!

Then into the crockpot with some seasoning buddies, water, and trick #1: acid. Include a couple tablespoons apple cider vinegar in the simmer to draw out minerals. Be sure to use the good stuff and not apple cider "flavored" vinegar. 

Seasoning buddies, plus vinegar.

Leading to trick #2: simmer for what seems like an obscenely long time: crockpot low for 36 hours. Some recipes also say 18hrs is long enough, some say go the full monty 48hrs. I say it's flexible. You can do this on the stovetop, but I have a gas stove so I'm not keen on leaving a gas burner running unattended for that long. You probably could speed this up using an InstantPot (which I don't own, yet....). If someone tries/has tried that, please let me know! 

Go time: 1:30pm. Now, we wait. 

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Next morning, still waiting....

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Simmering over. 

Beef broth after simmer.

Chicken broth after simmer.

Next: strain the broth, and chill overnight for the fat to settle out and congeal. 

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Lift the fat out - a spatula works nicely. 

I think this would keep in the fridge maybe up to a week (I'm not an expert - use your own judgement). For longer storage, I'm freezing it in glass canning jars. Fill them about 2/3 full to allow for expansion. I figure 1 pint jar is good for a couple days' worth. 

It's not as gelatinous as I expected. I don't know why. I've read including chicken feet really boosts the gelatin content. I think I needed more bones in general. 

Still,tasty, soothing, and surprisingly satisfying on these cold Wisconsin winter days. 

Did someone say snow?

Winter Omelet

Nothing beats cold weather like a big breakfast!

Asparagus*, mushroom & swiss cheese omelet with maple-linkies** alongside.

*Yes, I do recognize that asparagus is not technically winter food... but a girl can only go so long with something green on her plate!
Well, something that's supposed to be green. 

**We are hooked on Jones Dairy Farm sausage goods - must try if you can. It's a reason to stay in Wisconsin. Doesn't quite make up for the cold... comes close.

Polenta Cakes

Polenta Cakes

One of the things I enjoy so much about polenta is how the same concoction takes on different textures. Fresh polenta is rich, creamy comfort food at its best. But if you let it set awhile, it gels up in a very easy non-sticky kind of way. Totally lending itself to putting into shapes. 

It starts out looking a lot like bird food. Or something we would mix into the horse feed. Completely inedible. But liquid, fats, and time will make it better than merely edible. 

It takes shapes so well - I made little individual bundt-shaped servings - great for a dinner party. 

I have some Pampered Chef shaped bread loaf pans to try out next and make some slices of star-shaped or flower-shaped slabs of creamy corny goodness...

Stay tuned!!

December 5 is National Comfort Food Day

I kid you not - Friday December 5th has been designated Comfort Food Day. 

I think comfort food means different things to different people, but in general it seems to mean something warm and filling. I'm sure there are people out there that find salads a comfort food, but they are vastly outnumbered by the soup-chili-mac n' cheese-casserole crowd. The idea itself is as old as the human need for comfort, but the phrase was only added to the dictionary in 1977.

My ultimate comfort food is a grilled cheese sammich and tomato soup. As a kid, that meant plastic-wrapped squares of Kraft cheese and white bread toasted in a pan with butter and pressed down until the cheese bonded with the bread, and Campbell's condensed tomato. In college they served grilled cheese & tomato soup every few Fridays; they also had Carmelita Bars. Sort of like an oatmeal, chocolate chip caramel cookie bar, and I was addicted to them. I've never found a recipe to replicate them. Maybe that's not a bad thing, aging and metabolism being what it is. This recipe is pretty close.

Pillsbury Carmelita Bars

There are so many ideals when it comes to comfort foods - everyone has their favorite. In case you are looking to change up your comfort food, here are some tasty options from around the web:

• Jamie Oliver's Insanity Burger over at Serious Eats
• Macaroni and Cheese Seven Ways over at the Food Network
• Baked Ziti over at Simply Recipes (a whole bunch more here)
• Southern Living lists 101 Favorite Comfort Foods - that's enough to me comforted twice a week!

• The Thrillest can tell you the comfort food for every state!

What's your favorite comfort food? Do tell!!

Warm-up with Baked Oatmeal

Mornings lately here in Wisconsin have felt a lot more like January and a lot less like mid-November. The result is that I've been craving something warm and comforting beyond the usual morning coffee. I'm not much of a morning-meal person - not a morning person in general, and I'm just not hungry right away. Sometimes, when I do wake up hungry, if there's time, we like to do a big brunch. But if the agenda is full and impatient, grab-and-go is better. We often have muffins of eggy goodness around, but when baby it's cold outside, I want something that feels a bit more like comfort food. 

Enter stage right: Baked Oatmeal.

It's rather like a warm bowl of fresh-from-the-oven oatmeal raisin cookie that's been dunked in warm milk. The recipe is super flexible. I've tried different dried fruits, walnuts or pecans in it or on top, adding ground flax seed, vanilla yogurt when we're out of plain. I also like that it's low in added sugars, thanks largely to the applesauce (use the good stuff!) and the cinnamon & vanilla. For the version in the photos, I used our homemade Spiced Pear Sauce instead of applesauce. Once I tried dried apricots and pecans - very, very tasty. Next up I'm going to try craisins and walnuts and include a bit of orange zest for a deep fall flavor. Bonus: it's gluten-free (just make sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you're super-sensitive).

I like to bake a batch and freeze it in servings. Perfect for busy mornings or a quick snack. It heats up quick in the microwave, and tastes so good with a splash of milk (or heavy cream, or in this case half & half - use what ya' got!). Easy peasy comfort. 


Baked Oatmeal
Adapted from Gourmet magazine, December 2007


Dry Ingredients                                   

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins*                                           
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk**
• 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients

• 2 packed tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil/butter/spray an 8-inch square glass baking pan. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl until smooth; add to dry and mix well. Pour into baking dish and distribute evenly. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting into serving pieces. Serve with milk. Or heavy cream. Or half & half. Whatever you've got. 

Notes
Double the recipe for a 9x13inch pan version.
I've not tried egg substitutes, but you might try 2 tablespoons of ground chia seeds in 1/2 cup water. 
*Raisins: we've used both golden and dark and both are fine. I like to rehydrate and plump them up a bit by warming gently in some apple cider. Drain well before using. 
**Milk: the original recipe called for whole milk. That works. So does 2%, skim, lactose-free 2%, and both original or vanilla almond milk (haven't tried chocolate). For us, soy milk didn't quite have the right flavor. 

Mary Lou's SoMil Oxtail Soup

Soup weather is upon us here in Wisconsin. I say that despite the beautiful fall days we’re having right now. Soup still seems to suit the mood, and the right flavors match the colors of the day.

Some months ago, the spice company catalog contained a recipe for Oxtail Soup. I keep trying to push our meat boundaries - so many chefs extol the virtues of the offing in the offal and snout-to-tail eating. Snouts don’t show up at the butcher (at least not that I’ve seen). Oxtails, however, are a regular feature.

I will warn you, this is not a fast recipe. The slow caramelizing of the roasting meat bones and vegetables, and then the even slower simmer to make stock is absolutely key to the flavors here. I usually make it on a day off or over 2-3 evenings. It's low maintenance until finishing; easy to get it going and then work on other things. 

There’s something incredibly beefy about the smell of oxtails roasting.

After they are good an roasty-toasty, they get combined with water and some spices and veg for a few hours of really, really, really low simmer.

The stock needs to cook until the oxtails are falling apart. At this point, the strained stock out is spoon-worthy in its own right. Deep, beefy, rich, red-brown goodness. Perfect food as is. Made even better by adding back the meat and a fresh round of vegetables of your choice.

I’m still not sure we’ll try the snout. But I can tell you, the tail is definitely divine.

Mary Lou’s SoMil Oxtail Soup

Our recipe is a blend of a version from the Penzey's catalog, and the beef stock recipe in Julia Child’s The Way to Cook. It doesn’t include any starches, making it low in carbohydrates and perhaps even “paleo.” I think the recipe is pretty forgiving for the final soup, so use whatever vegetables you like. The mix for the stock is critical and ultimately makes the flavor, so I would recommend staying closer to the recipe. In the end, this is homestyle cooking at its best, and what comes out of your kitchen can be, and should be, entirely your own.

The roasting part:

• 3-4 lbs beef oxtail pieces
• 2-3 carrots, cut in half longwise
• 2-3 stalks celery, cut in halves
• 1 medium onion, cut in large chunks
• 1 medium tomato, quartered
• Sea salt

The simmering part:

• 1 medium tomato, quartered (yes, another one)
• 2-3 large sprigs of parsley
• 2-3 cloves unpeeled garlic, smashed
• 6-8 whole black peppercorns
• 4-6 whole allspice berries
• Onion, carrot, celery if needed
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

The finishing part:

• Strained stock*
• Meat from oxtails
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 medium bell pepper, finely diced
• 2-3 carrots, finely diced and par-steamed in the microwave**
• ½ to 2/3 cup sliced okra (I use frozen)
• ½ to 2/3 cup peas (frozen - fresh if you’ve got ‘em)
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place meat and veg in a large open roasting pan. Sprinkle meat lightly with salt. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, turning the meat every 15 minutes or so to get it caramelized on all sides. Baste the veg and meat occasionally with any fat that renders out.

Transfer the oxtails and veg to a large stockpot (I use a heavy enameled cast iron dutch oven); leave out any veg that got too dark (or eat it for a mid-cooking snack - yum!). You want anything that’s a dark mahogany brown, but not black. Add tomato, parsley, garlic, peppercorns, and allspice berries. Sprinkle salt over. Add fresh carrot and celery (1-2 each in large chunks) and onion (half a large onion) depending on how much veg you have left after roasting. Add water to cover by about 2 inches, bring to boil, then turn the heat way down to maintain a slow simmer. And walk away. It will need to simmer for about 4 hours. Check it every so often, add in a little water if the level gets low (which it shouldn’t if your heat is low enough). Turn off the heat and allow 30-45 minutes to cool.

Remove the oxtails to a platter; pick out the meat and set aside***. Strain stock and discard solids. Wipe out the stockpot/dutch oven, heat olive oil to a shimmer. Add onions and celery; sprinkle lightly with salt and sauté lightly until becoming translucent. Add bell pepper and cook until beginning to soften. Add stock, meat, pre-steamed carrots, okra, peas, etc. Warm through. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

*You can reduce any fat in the stock by chilling it overnight and lifting the hardened fat off the remaining liquid, although I think this also reduces the richness of the flavor.

**Pre-steaming the carrots means you don’t have to cook the whole soup as long. You really don’t want to cook the meat for long at this point as is it already very, very tender.

***We save all the non-bone, non-meat bits for our dog and mix a small spoonful in with her meals; too much would be too rich, but the extra fats help keep her skin and joints in good condition. She looks pretty good for being 12, don’t you think?!

Our regular Weekly Randomness model, Miss Nora Pooh herself.

An Old Leek and Potato Soup: TBT

ThrowBack Thursday: Old-timey recipes, modern kitchen

Image: TheGraphicsFairy

September 25, 2014  
An Old Leek and Potato Soup
From James Beard's American Cookery, ©1972

Soup weather has come to Wisconsin a bit early. Too soon to tell if it is here to stay, but what's not to love about a good soup?!

Approach
The recipe was almost too simple. I've made passable potato-leek soup before, but this one was more obviously leek-potato. Leeks, potato, broth. The veg from our CSA; spices from our favorite spice shop. The nutmeg was a surprise as was the cayenne. Roux thickened; no cream at all. 

Result
Wonderful. Thick, creamy, leeky goodness. It must be the leek-to-potato ratio that makes it; far more leeks and fewer spuds than I have used before. I was surprised at the creaminess despite the lack of cream; using a roux in this way is something to try more often. Depending on the broth and fats you use, this could easily be made vegetarian if not vegan. 

Verdict 
Keeper. Hands down better than any more recent potato-leek soup recipe I've made. A perfect light supper with a side of cheese and crackers. 

Bowl fave: personal casserole with "ear" handles in navy glaze from ByBee Pottery. 


An Old Leek and Potato Soup
from James Beard's American Cookery, ©1972

5-6 small or 3 large leeks, white and pale green parts
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups diced peeled potatoes (Yukon Golds, or Reds)
1 quart broth (chicken or veggie)
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, or to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour

Split the leeks lengthwise to rinse well, cut into slices. Heat butter in large stockpot; add leeks and sauté lightly until softening, 4-5 minutes. Add potatoes and broth; bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer until potatoes are tender. Remove 1 to 1 1/2 cups liquid portion of soup. Purée remaining soup either in batches using a regular blender or right in the pot with an immersion blender. 

Make roux in separate small skillet: melt butter, add flour and mix well; stir for 1-2 minutes to cook flour and coat flour grains in fat. Add reserved broth slowly, whisking as you go to incorporate and prevent lumps. Cook for 2-3 minutes to thicken; add back to pureed soup. Add salt, cayenne, and nutmeg to taste. 


James Beard's American Cookery, ©1972

This cookbook is a soft cover edition from the first year, but I don't know if it counts as a "first edition." Not strictly old-timey, but at 40 years old it qualifies as antique in some circles. It was a gift during a past relationship, and most obviously the best thing to come of it.  

Throwback Thursdays features a recipe from an antiquey style cookbook. Hard to know what age to put on it, but you know an old-timey  one when you see it. I have at least 10 oldies now, a number which, being greater than 3, implies a collection. It also means they need their own shelf in the cookbook bookcase.