FruHubs Food: Braised Short Ribs

FruHubs has, once again, created a plate of delicious brown food.  Eat up, buttercup.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 3- to 4-inch-long meaty beef short ribs (about 4 pounds)
Coarse kosher salt
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup cubed, peeled carrots
1 cup cubed celery
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 750-ml bottle Zinfandel
2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Orange zest (optional)

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 325°F.
2.  Heat two tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy, large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.
3.  Sprinkle ribs with coarse salt and pepper.
4.  Add to pot in single layer and sauté until brown on all sides, about three minutes on each of four sides.
5.  Transfer ribs to large bowl, reserving oil. 
6.  Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and sauté until brown, about six minutes. 
7.  Add in garlic, then add tomato paste and stir until brown. 
8.  Add rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. 
9.  Add wine and broth; bring to boil.  Don’t forget to scrape up the delicious brown stuff from the bottom of the pot!
10.  Return ribs and any accumulated juices to pot, arranging in single layer.
11.  Bring to simmer; cover and place in oven.
12.  Braise until ribs are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
13.  When there are about 20 minutes left, zest the peel of one orange into the sauce.
14.  Using tongs, transfer ribs to clean bowl. 
15.  Remove fat from pan juices with a spoon.
16.  Boil juices until just beginning to thicken, about 10 minutes.
17.  Mix 1 tablespoon oil and flour in small bowl to smooth paste.  Whisk into the juices in pot; simmer until thickened enough to coat spoon, about 5 minutes longer.  Season the gravy with salt and pepper.
18.  Return ribs to pot and spoon gravy over them.

FruHubs served this with Mushroom Risotto and Kale cooked using his famous greens recipe.  One day, FruHo hopes to force that recipe out of him because it is the best thing ever.  Until then, enjoy these dinosaur bones short ribs.

FruHubs Food: Irish Lamb Stew

The Frugal Hostess has really been falling down on the job lately, man.  All of the old standbys have been ignored, the faithful, go-to columns disregarded.  That ends today.  It's time for another installment of:

Have you ever noticed that FruHubs food tends to be brown?  Well, today is no different.  It is freaking cold in The Frugal Homestead today, and TFH has been whining about it and trying to put her cold hands in warm places like FruHubs' pockets all day.  He finally had enough and decided to bring it.  That's right.  He's bringing the stew.

Now, please note, FruHo is not a huge fan of stews as a family.  They tend to be gross and mushy and filled with yuck.  Just to ratchet the sacrilege up a few more notches, she also hates pot roast.  And cooked carrots (with some exceptions) and cinnamon.  And, she's never seen "The Princess Bride."  (Although, she's had that movie quoted to her enough times that she could probably recite the dialogue from start to finish.  Which is neither here nor there, except insofar as it underscores the number of traditionally beloved things that TFH does not relish.)

So, you may be wondering why The Frugal Hostess is so excited about her FruHubs' stew.  Here's why: It rules.  It's delicious.  It takes your breath away.  TFH has no idea how he is able to take things that, in lesser hands, are extra repugnant, and turn them into delicious magic, but that's exactly what he does.  And so can you.

Ingredients

1.5lb of lamb stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces

1 medium onion [Seriously, what happens to all the large and small onions?  Recipes only ever ask for medium.  Does anyone even know what another size looks like?]

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 bay leaf [Another silly ingredient.  Make two batches of something - one with and one without a bay leaf - and see what happens.  Nothing, that's what.]

2 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of beef stock

1 can of Guinness

4 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces

4 white potatoes (about 1lb)

Salt, pepper, Worchestire, and Tabasco to taste

Directions

1.  Brown lamb in a Dutch over over medium-high heat.
2.  Add sliced onion and brown with meat (that has been salt-and-peppered) for two minutes.
3.  Add minced garlic and brown for a minute.
4.  Add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir until liquid is absorbed and lamb is coated.  Everything will be super hot.
5.  Pour in beef stock and deglaze the yummy brown stuff sticking to the bottom.
6.  Put in spices and seasonings.
7.  Pour in can of Guinness, bring to a boil, stir once, then reduce heat to simmer.
8.  Simmer for 1-2 hours or until lamb is tender.
9.  Add carrots and potatoes to pot; let simmer for 30 more minutes or until fork tender. [This is the trick, dudes.  This is what takes stew from disgusting elementary school slop to glorious deliciosity.]
10.  Eat, lick bowl, and then eat more.

The Frugal Hostess is seriously SO.  FREAKING.  COLD. Please comment. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.

DIY XMAS: Caramels

The Frugal Hostess can't stop making candy.  Really.  This was inspired by the Betsy-Tacy books that TFH read when she was little.  For some reason, the main characters found making caramels as easy as blinking.  Not so.  TFH has tried it a thousand times, albeit with most of those times involving one or more wrong ingredients, and she's never had much success.  That is, until now.  Reader, FruHo presents: caramels!!!

Now, TFH is not going to pretend to have her own recipe or one adapted from someone else's.  When you're dealing with boiling hot sugar and soft ball stages (who knows), it's best to leave it to the experts.  This website has the recipe FruHo used, and it also has great explanations of all of the weird terms one encounters during candy-making.  Really, check it out; TFH will wait for you. 

Good, right?  So, here are a couple of helpful hints.

1.  Wax paper is not the same thing as parchment paper.  Bastards.

2.  If you want those cute little cubes of caramel candy a la Kraft or whatever, you should double this recipe, as it only makes enough for little flat squares that are half the size.  No idea whether doubling it will work, BTW.  But try!

3.  That thermometer thing in the recipe, you know, the one that you were planning to ignore?  Yeah, don't ignore it.  FruHo had every intention of judging the caramel by eye alone until FruHubs insisted otherwise, and she would have been SCREWED if she had.  FruHubs set up one of those thermometers that has a digital read-out and an alarm.  He set the alarm for the desired temperature and then told TFH to hold the stick part in the center of the (hot, boiling, arm-scarring) concoction without touching the pot.  (No, not that kind of pot.  Geez.)  It was hard, and FruHo needed to wear pot-holders on both hands so she could switch every so often, but the results were great.  The point at which she would've thought it was done and when it was actually done (when the alarm sounded) were miles apart.  Seriously.

4.  The Frugal Hostess recommends refrigerating the final product (after you've cut it, etc.) and then letting it come to room temperature before eating.  They taste very buttery and yummy, probably more buttery than you would expect.  But in a good way.  You'll love 'em!

The Frugal Hostess is getting fatter by the minute from eating all this candy.  Soon, she'll have to be fork-lifted out of the house. Please comment. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.

FruHubs Food: Chuckwagon Baked Beans

Cutting to the chase before you fall asleep after what would have been a very long story about meat, The Frugal Hostess.....  Wait.  How many stories have you heard recently that start like that?  Since when is there such a thing as a long story about meat?  But, honestly, TFH has more long stories about meat than she does short ones.  It's exhausting.

So...where were we?  Ah, yes.  Meat.  So, The Frugal Husband wanted to smoke some ribs for his Weekly Football Extravaganza, but the ribs he bought (from Eden Farms, an ethical pork producer) had this weird and inconvenient extra flap of meat on them.  Known as, well, that flap of meat.  He wasn't really into chowing down on ribs plus meat flap, so he cut it off to use later.  (The long version of this has something to do with St. Louis - is that possible? - and the pros and cons of the Cardinals, and some other confusing stuff, so consider yourself lucky that TFH is here to edit).  FruHubs decided to use the flap in some Chuckwagon Baked Beans.

What?  What do you do with your extra meat flaps?  Hmmm???

These Chuckwagon Baked Beans are freakin' delicious.  Delishable.  You would stab your dad for some; they're that good.  If you don't have a meat flap to add, try adding 6-8 ounces of another type of meat - pork loin leftovers, ground beef, grilled flank steak (yum), etc.  You know, four ounces would be enough, if you only had leftovers....

Ingredients

1 pound dry pinto beans
4 slices of bacon
Medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 minced jalapenos
14 oz. can of whole organic tomatoes, pureed
Meat flap (or other meat, or nothing at all)
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
4 cups stock (pref. chicken or pork - but you can use all water if you're out of stock)
1 can of Coke (NOT Diet!!!)

Directions

1.  Soak pinto beans in water overnight (different water than in ingredients above).  Do not, FruHubs insists, try to do a quick soak or four hours or anything else but overnight, or you and everyone around you will regret it.  A lot.

2.  Fry bacon in stockpot.  (From FruHubs: Bacon is kind of bullshit lately, leaner than it used to be.  Add a spoonful from your bacon fat jar or some olive oil if you aren't getting the fat you need.)  Add chopped onion and cook until translucent.  Then add garlic and jalapeno.

3.  To bacon and cooked vegetables, add can of tomatoes and let caramelize for a few minutes.

4.  Add dry ingredients.  Cook for a few minutes.

5.  Add water, stock, Coke, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, as well as meat flap.  Cook this into a sauce for a while.

6.  Add soaked beans that have been drained, bring to boil, and then reduce heat.

7.  Simmer for one hour or until desired consistency and taste.

This is delicious with corn bread, either the Jiffy or the old-fashioned skillet kind.  FruHubs puts jalapenos and cream cheese blobs in corn bread, while TFH coats the top with salt and Tabasco and mixes cheddar cheese inside.

The Frugal Hostess gets lonely. Please comment. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.  If you get bored, you could also peruse FruHo Holidays.

FruHubs Food: Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta

Remember how The Frugal Hostess said that she was on the road to redemption?  That she was slowly gaining FruHubs' respect back with her beet-slinging ways?   HA!

The Frugal Husband is not one to rest on his culinary laurels.  (Except that he just now almost set the house on fire with hot oil.  Which is not exactly resting on his laurels, but neither is it very Top Chef behavior.  Just sayin', FruHubs.)

So here's what he made for dinner on Thursday.  As usual, The Frugal Husband is opposed to recipes, so he found a couple and tailored them to his preferences.   In other words, don't be offended if this is your family's contribution to the Smithsonian Institute, and he changed it.


 

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
2 tablespoons half and half
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 oz diced pancetta or bacon (FruHubs used pancetta but he says, "Next time I'm going the bacon route.")
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock (make your own, yo)
Pinches of curry, cumin, cinnamon, brown sugar, basil, salt, pepper
(Pinch means like 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.  TFH doesn't particularly love cinnamon, or curry, or brown sugar in savory food, so she would err on the side of a very, very, very small, perhaps invisible, pinch.  But don't tell FruHubs.)  [From FruHubs: Now, now, you need 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar,1/4 a teaspoon of the cinnamon, and touch of the other stuff.  And she loved this or else it wouldn't be posted.] (This is his nice way of saying that TFH gobbled up every bite.)
2 tablespoons (or whatever - seriously, could there ever be too much?) Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons cold butter
Crushed pistachio nuts & chives for topping

Directions

1.  Cook squash in boiling water until fork tender.
2.  Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in the olive oil until crispy.  If you're using bacon, you know how to fry it.  Reserve two tablespoons of fat in pan (And you know that means save the rest in your bacon fat jar.  What?  Sorry, didn't hear you - what do you mean you don't have a bacon fat jar?  Are you in need of an intervention, or perhaps some methadone?).
3.  In reserved fat, cook onion until it's translucent, adding garlic when you're almost done.  (Garlic cooks so much more quickly than onion, so please ignore anyone who tells you to throw those two ingredients in the pan at the same time, as said anyone is freaking cra-zay-zy.  And you know which f-word really belongs back there.)  Add the rice and stir until coated with fat.
4.  In a surprising second "meanwhile" move, bring the stock to a simmer.
5.  Now's where it starts to be a big risotto pain, because you have to stir non-stop for 25 minutes.  So, do some stretches, pour a glass of wine, and put someone on standby in case you have to pee.  Careful, now: Add a ladle-full of stock to the rice and cook, stirring nonstop (you heard correctly) until all the stock is absorbed.  Then add more, and do it again.  And again, and again, and again until the rice is tender and lovely.  This will take fo-evv-ah, so be ready.  Oh, and did TFH mention that this takes a while?
6.  After your arm is about to fall off from the constant stirring, add the spices, squash, cheese, butter, half & half.  Stir some more.  Don't let it burn!  Be sure to scrape down those sides!  Don't screw it up in the home stretch!!!
7.  Put that delicious risotto in some bowls and top it with pancetta (be generous), pistachios, and chives.  Eat it.  Die happy.

The Frugal Hostess realizes she is the luckiest woman in town. But still, please comment. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe (over there, to the left) so that you always know when a new post appears.

Brilliant Idea: Tomato Paste

Dude.  This is a brilliant idea.  Pass the Fritos.

Imagine that you need a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.  You're at the store, walking the aisles and doing the higher math it takes to determine a price comparison.  You look at the cans of tomato paste.  There's that tiny can, which costs a price, and then there's that bigger can, which costs a different price.  That different price turns out to be significantly less per ounce.  Huh.  But, what the freak are you gonna do with 15 ounces of tomato paste?

Enter this brilliant idea.  Cue super-hero music played by large orchestra.

Buy the bigger, cheaper can.  Hell, even if it's the same price per ounce, by the bigger can so that you're dealing with less packaging to recycle.  Use the amount that you need for your recipe, and then parcel it out in single tablespoon portions.  Using the tablespoon measuring spoon, plop the tomato paste out on wax paper at intervals.  Then cut the wax paper into squares, twist the squares into little packages like beggar's purses, and put into an air tight container.  Presto, pre-measured tablespoons of tomato paste at a cheaper price, and none has to go to waste!  Brilliant!

FruHubs may or may not have thought of this.  Jackass has all the good ideas. 

The Frugal Hostess is not very smart. Please leave a comment that will increase her brain power. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.

FRUHUBS FOOD: A New, Semi-Regular Recipe Column

Well, you had to have known it was coming.  The Frugal Husband is a bad-ass chef, and The Frugal Hostess would like to exploit that for her own benefit.  You know, aside from eating everything he cooks, which is delightful.  Thus, FRUHUBS FOOD.

Today's episode is Pulled Pork and Barbecue Sauce (please sing that the way the deep-voiced fellow does in the old Chili's commercial for baby back ribs).  (And then sing the falsetto part "Chi-iiii-li's..baby-back ribs.")  (Then the deep part again, "BAR-BA-CUE SAWSSSE.")

Good times.

OK, so, remember how FruHo talked about smoked pork butt recently?  Well, The Frugal Husband decided to whip one up, as it were, and smoke it for eight hours after giving it a good rub down with a rub he made.  Then he had to show it up by making his own barbecue sauce.

Here's how:

Ingredients

7-8 lb. pork butt

2 quarts of water, or enough to cover the butt

8 oz. molasses (Be sure it’s not made of high-fructose corn syrup, yuck.  If you don’t have molasses, use 16 oz. of brown sugar.)

8 oz. salt

1 tablespoon peppercorns

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

Directions

1.  Heat two cups of the water.

2.  Dissolve the salt, then add the molasses and other ingredients.

3.  Once everything has melted, let it cool to room temperature.  If you’re short on time, put in ice cubes.

4.  Add remaining water and pork butt.

5.  The pork butt should stay in the brine overnight or a minimum of six hours.

After you brine it, rub it with some rub.  The Frugal Husband has a Secret Recipe for butt rub (ha!), but here’s a hint – all of the ingredients in the picture above are in the rub.  Aye, there’s the rub.  Ahem.

So, rub your butt (but not someone else’s butt, unless you have permission), and then smoke the pork for eight to ten hours.  Whew.  FruHubs usually gets up super early to make this.  It’s worth it.

OK, once your butt is juicy and tender (seriously, TFH can’t stop herself – what do you expect?), pull it apart with forks and put it on sandwiches.  It’s good with a delicious sauce and some coleslaw on the sandwich. 

Sauce?  Do you mean Barbecue Sauce?  FruHubs won’t come off his sauce recipe either.  Seriously, FruHubs, what’s the point of having a recipe column if you won’t give out your recipes?  But he says that there are a number of great recipes for both rub and sauce, and you should look them up.  What a pain -- a pain in the butt!!!  (Wow, this topic is comedy gold.)

Enjoy your butt!

The Frugal Hostess has a secretive husband. Any comments? Join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.