Changing The Recipe – Kitchen Sink Mama O’Donnell’s Hamburger Stew

I’ve made my Grandmother’s Hamburger Stew for years.  Sometimes I’m 100% to the recipe but other times I need to make changes.  My wife isn’t a fan of tomatoes so I usually omit them when I’m making a batch for the family.

This week I was missing many of the usual items like Potatoes and certain spices.  I decided to add rice instead as my starch.  I had a can of stewed tomatoes so I cut those up finely to make them not stand out so much and added corn.  It was worried that the corn and carrots would make the broth to sweet.  It didn’t, so SUCCESS 🙂

It was a big hit.  The broth was very light and tasty.  I omitted the bay leaf and put a little more pepper onto the meat.  I personally loved the tomatoes and the wife, well she didn’t hate them.  I felt it needed a little more salt.  I don’t like to add too much salt to my creations because not everyone likes as much seasoning as I do.  It’s a personal choice.  The Wife said the salt level was fine for her.  When I cook I take the eaters into consideration.  After all, they are eating it, lol.

I think I would make this ‘kitchen sink” version of Mama’s Hamburger Stew again 🙂

My Dream

In the next couple of weeks I want to try to make hollandaise sauce.  It might not seem like a big deal to people but it is to me.  I respect butter that much, 🙂

It is also my dream to make the classic Eggs Benedict.  If done correctly, they say the hollandaise is delightful.  I would love to be delighted by my attempt too, LOL.  Some people might find these goals stupid but you know what…they aren’t!

It’s my dream one day to cook like Julia Child and Jacques Pepin.  I never thought of myself as loving french food but after watching these two chefs create the most delectable morsels I too want to try my hand at it.  After I do the hollandaise and Eggs Benedict my lofty goal is to make Beef Bourguignon and I hope it tastes just like Jacques’.

I will post pictures of my creations.  It’s a nice distraction from current politics plaguing my life, LOL.

I Don’t Always Complain About Stuff

I was reading some of my recent posts and boy do I complain a lot about politics.  It annoys me so, both the complaining and the politics, lol.

What do I really like in this world.  Well beside the obvious answers of my family I’m really into cooking shows.  It started with Julia Child and moved on to Jacques Pepin.  The man is a genius with food.  When I watch him I feel like I could totally make what he’s making.  Not too many ingredients and it looks so yummy.

He started one episode with “Today we will make a Tar-Tar”.  I was like…yuck…I’m totally not into raw.  Then he pulled out a home run.  Tomato Tar-Tar and it was not only genius but so tasty looking.  I thought I would totally eat that kind of Tar-Tar.  He made me rethink what I once thought about food in general.  He also taught me I’ve been sharpening my knives incorrectly.  He does all this teaching from only 1/2 hour videos.  Amazing!

I love the idea of cooking but I’m such a fussy eater that I ruin it with my lack of palate.  When I see him cooking a Dover Sole in butter I think….that looks amazing and so tasty.  But when I actually eat fish I’m like…um, no thank you.  My deaden palate exposed.  Why? Why? Why?

It’s the same with lobster.  Glistening in butter, so delicate and luscious, and it’s all lost on me.  I did learn from Chef Pepin that 1 lbs of lobster gives you .4 oz of meat.  WOW!  Mind blown officially!

It’s a secret dream to take cooking classes one day.  That will only happen if I expand my palate.  So I need to not be so stuffy and try new foods.

Happy Cooking!

 

FOSP: PJ Whelihan’s

I recently went to dinner with my Sister at PJ Whelihan’s.  Since they had FOS on the menu I had to get it.

It was a very tasty fare.  They use more than one type of cheese and as long as the cheese isn’t bitter I’m good.  It was a tasty broth too.  I would totally get this again.

Not a FOS matter but they have delectable Pot Stickers too 😉

Sunday Dinner

I watch too much Chopped so I was nervous about cooking my first meal for my In-Laws.  I think things went okay.

I made a Turkey with stuffing and potatoes.

I tried to make my Mom’s gravy but I need more practice there.

My MIL made her world-famous sweet potatoes…

and Bean made a tasty Carmel Cake.

Everyone was so nice and no one got sick so that’s a good sign.  I’m more of an eater than a cooker but I do like to cook.  It’s like science in the kitchen.  You never know what goes with what until you try it.  If it blows up the kitchen…try something else, lol.

FOSP: It’s Not Called French Onion Soup

We went to a new restaurant that had some tasty morsels to offer.  As you know I’ve been in search of the bestest French Onion Soup in the world.  If it’s on the menu when we go someplace new I get it.  The new place is called “The Metropolitan”.

They do not call this FOS at the Metropolitan.  They call it Truffled Five Onion Soup.  I found it to be a fancy name for French Onion Soup.  But I digress.

The soup was delicious.  It had all the standard fair of FOS but with the slightest bit of mushroom in it.  Thankfully it didn’t overrun the taste of the Onion Soup part.

The flavors were all there and it had the bread at the bottom like FOS with the melted cheese on top.  I’m going to give this a 4-star rating out of 5.  I ordered other food but after having the Onion Soup and the wedge blue cheese salad I was quickly filling up.

They make their own Blue Cheese Dressing which was very nice.  I’m not a fan of BC but I will always give it a try even if I don’t like it and have to pick it off the salad.  It’s part of my process.

Wonder Woman and Bean got the fried pickles.  It’s like their FOSP.  They liked them but felt the pickles were cut to thick and had just a touch too much breading.  But over all they enjoyed them.

My main course was a flatbread cheesesteak with the best fries I’ve ever eaten.  I was extremely filled by my soup and salad choice that I didn’t really eat my sandwich then.  I brought it home and reheated it for lunch.  It was very good.  It was an interesting take on the Philly Cheesesteak.

Bean really enjoyed her Pulled-Pork sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries.

Wonder Woman got the Grilled Reuben sandwich also with sweet potato fries.  I loved that the menu read like the food list on Chopped.  Very cool 😉    We enjoyed all of our picks.  My only comment would be that I need to go back so that I can actually eat my food there, lol.  I get too filled to quickly, lol.

UPDATE: Stuff Happened…I was on Vacation – Trilogy Ended

The nice thing about Holidays is getting to eat a lot of stuff.  We went out a lot and ate at other people’s houses and it was awesome!

This was a tasty Beef Stew from Iron Hill.  It felt a bit more like chilli to me but what do I know of food classifications.  If it’s tasty I will eat it!

Bean got these tasty Crab Cakes from Dawson’s on NYE.  She liked them.  I’m not a seafood eater so I’ll take her word for it.

I got the all you can eat ribs.  This was only $4 dollars more than the regular full rack but alas I didn’t eat more than this rack.  I was battling my meds and lets just say it didn’t taste as good coming out as going in.  They were so tender and delicious I was so made at the waste 😦

I’ve talked about the Cheesesteak Rolls at Iron Hill before but they are the bomb!  Very flavorful and yummy.  Over the holiday we had ham at my Brother-in-laws house.  My MIL made this glaze for the ham that was so freaking awesome I wanted to lick the bowl, that’s how delicious!  I consumed many other treats from cookies to dips to meatball sandwiches with the tastiest marinara I’ve had in a long time to Turkey with all of the trimmings.  It was an eating-fest of mythic proportions!  After all of the food I’d consumed over the holidays I lost 3.5 lbs.  Thank you Methotrexate for making that moment possible, lol.

Now that 2013 has arrived we’ve pledged to eat home more.  Cooking healthier meals and enjoying our culinary expertise. Never fear though, we got a ton of gift cards to eat out and let me tell you…the pictures…they will be posted!

Happy New Year People of the Blogosphear!

French Onion Soup! It’s Just That Awesome!

I’m still chasing the perfect French Onion Soup.  FOS is probably my most favorite meal.  When it is made to perfection it is glorious but when not it is…well…it’s a huge letdown 😦   I’ve been in pursuit of the best FOS ever and not to long ago I started taking snaps of my FOS finds.  If it’s on the menu I will order!  So here are those offerings.

I can’t remember what restaurant this was from but I remember the soup. I give it 2-1/2 Stars.

PJ Whelihan’s in Blue Bell, PA has very good FOS. I enjoy this place because over all the food is very good. I give their FOS 3-1/2 to 4 stars…I’m on the fence about the extra half, lol. Worth trying thought, for sure!

MaGerks Pub in Fort Washington has been my least favorite FOS. Their other food is fine. I had a wonderful Veggie Quesadilla but the FOS was what I was looking forward to the most. Their FOS get’s 1/2 star. Sorry kids!

Pizzaria Uno’s FOS is okay. But I hold everyone to the very high standards when it comes to FOS. I give them 2-1/2 Stars. It’s good but it has to be Rio Good to get the big numbers. Sadly this isn’t Rio good.

Waterman’s in Rock Hall, Maryland has excellent FOS. It is divine. I give it 4-1/2 Stars!

The best FOS I’ve ever had is the Rio Station in Wildwood, New Jersey.  It is the standard for which I judge all FOS.  I’m looking forward to our trip to NJ this summer so I can take a picture of it to share with you to make you jealous 😉

Michael Flattley and The Perfect Hoagie

First let me tell you that today I had the most perfect hoagie.  For me the perfect hoagie starts with the roll and let me tell you that was some fine bread on that hoagie!

Now on to DWTS.  I’m enjoying Michael Flattley as the guess judge.  He’s positive and constructive as well.  Carrie Ann was mean and what was with Bruno tonight.  Len’s gone so you get to be a bumhead?  I don’t think so Scooter!

Game 5 of the World Series is underway.  It’s cold…rainy and they are playing outside.  Gosh I love this.  Let’s go Phillies, let’s go!!!!