Oh, so Frito! Nofrito Sofrito - Sorta Sephardic Meat Stew

Oh, so Frito!

Thursday, Day 17 - I spoke too soon.  This morning has been dreadful, an unpleasant throwback to pain and mental fuzziness.  Crap, I hate this.

The news is so bad I want to cry.  The Middle East is imploding.  A plane goes down in the French Alps killing 150 people and it appears the co-pilot crashed it deliberately.  The President gave away five very dangerous terrorists in exchange for a deserter.

Sofrito

I'm trying to peel garlic cloves and I am starting to shake.  My vision is foggy, and that is with the stronger eyeglasses. I am finally starting to prepare this beef stew, and anything I ever knew about mise en place has flown right out the window.  My kitchen looks like the Spice Agent ran through and tossed a bomb in his wake.  I set a dishtowel on fire.

Yehezkel Mizrahi, the Spice Agent

I took a perfectly straightforward recipe for a Sephardic meat stew and turned it into a complicated affair worthy of Mario Batali.  That's one of the reasons my kitchen looks like somebody's Ground Zero.  But as I am typing this, the sofrito is in the oven on the last leg of its cooking journey. I'm not even sure it's a sofrito anymore.  But it smells good, whatever it is.

I found the recipe on a blog called "The MuffinTin Post", and I got hooked by the spices.  As I read through the post,  I noticed the author referred back to the original recipe  and its author, Janna Gur.  The main difference between the recipes was that the MuffinTin did not fry the potatoes.  Fry the potatoes before adding them to a stew?  Ooh, yes!  Let me find that original recipe, please!

Ah, but this morning I couldn't see right, much less fry right.  Which is how I decided to oven roast - the potato wedges, the rainbow carrots, and some mushrooms.  Never mind that neither recipe included carrots or mushrooms.  Mine does, along with a chopped red onion.  So, no sofrito, technically speaking.  But I have now had the opportunity to taste the finished product and it tastes good.  Really good.  Awesome freaking delicious.

Nofrito Sofrito - Sorta Sephardic Meat Stew

4 tablespoons roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
2 1/4 pounds beef stew meat
1 medium red onion, rough chop
2 tablespoons sofrito spice blend - recipe below
1 cup water
10 whole cloves garlic
20 frozen white pearl onions
Oven Roasted Potatoes - recipe below
Honey Roasted Baby Rainbow Carrots - recipe below
Oven Roasted Button Mushrooms - recipe below

So, this is kind of a sofrito, which is a dish that Sephardic cooks prepare any time of the week, and sometimes for Shabbat, as it will hold for a number of hours like hamin, which is the Sephardic version of our Ashkenazic cholent.  It is kind of a stew, but not a stew like I usually make. There is no copious amount of fairly thin gravy, although there is an amazing sauce sufficient to keep the meat moist.  The root vegetables are layered on top of the sofrito, instead of being stirred into the gravy along with the beef chunks.  The textures are different.  The spices are wildly different and wonderfully exotic, and they pair well with the touch of sweetness from the honey roasted carrots.

Sofrito Spice Blend
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 tablespoon curry
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1/2 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper

Combine the spices and stir well to blend.

Oven Roasted Potatoes
8 buttercream potatoes, cut into 4 wedges
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tablespoon Sofrito Spice Blend
granulated garlic
dried thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Put the potatoes into an aluminum baking dish, and pour the canola oil over them.  Stir so that they are well coated with oil.  Add the spices.  Turn the potatoes so they are all skin side down. Place in the oven and roast for about 60 minutes.

Honey Roasted Baby Rainbow Carrots - source
1 pound baby rainbow carrots
1 tablespoon orange blossom honey
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground mixed peppercorns
dried thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients in an aluminum baking dish.  Spread the carrots out evenly in one layer.  Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through.  Drizzle on a bit more honey after turning.  Carrots should be soft and sweet.

Oven Roasted Button Mushrooms - source
8 oz. white button mushrooms
1 tablespoon roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed
kosher salt
freshly ground mixed peppercorns

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut off the stems flush with the cap of the mushrooms, discard the stems.  Put all of the ingredients into an aluminum baking dish and mix together.  Add more oil if needed.  The mushrooms should be lightly and completely covered with the oil.  Turn the mushrooms stem side down and roast for 30 minutes.  Turn over and roast another 5 to 10 minutes.

Now, the sofrito:

Heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof skillet.  Brown the beef cubes on all sides in two batches; remove to a baking dish and set aside.  Add the chopped red onions and cook them until they start to soften.  Add more oil if needed.  Add 2 tablespoons of the spice blend and stir well, cooking another minute.  Pour in the water, and stir, and start bringing the liquid up to heat.   Add the garlic and the pearl onions.  Return the beef to the skillet along with all cooking juices.  Bring the liquid up to a boil, then lower heat and cover.  Simmer for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Stir the sofrito to baste the beef.  Add the mushrooms to the sofrito. Layer on the potatoes.  Baste them with the the cooking liquid.  Layer the carrots on top of the potatoes.   Cover the skillet and place in the oven.  Cook for 2 hours.  Once or twice during the cooking, baste the potatoes with the cooking liquid.  When done, the beef should be very tender and the potatoes should be soft, but still hold their shape.

You will have leftover spice blend.  I am saving mine for another sofrito, or for chicken, or just to make oven roasted potatoes.

Nofrito Sofrito

Sound and fury, signifying nothing

Macbeth:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28

Wednesday, Day 16 - Ahhh, my peeps miss me - I have emails to respond to.  I miss them so very much, but I can't go back.  Not yet.  I find the thought overwhelming.  I want to go back, but I am very concerned about losing whatever improvement I've managed to garner.  Reportedly, the judicial transition is still not going well, and that is a very big issue, for me and for my peeps.  As hard as we all work, for all that we sacrifice, we deserve better.  This is not the only contributing factor to my extreme stress and resulting meltdown (think of Dorothy throwing that bucket of water) but it is a big one.  Before I even think of taking this on again, I need to deal with my multitude of unresolved medical issues.  I need to find out what my leave status really is, and if it is realistic, given the sneaky nature of the CPS.  I need to look within myself and decide if I can face down the major source of the stress and come out of it with my license to practice law still intact.                  

So when we last met, I was considering how to best utilize a 4 pound package of beautiful stew meat.   First I researched Belgian stews, feeling close to my Dutch roots. The timing was good, as Cory had just arrived home with a 12-pack of Stella Artois.  I am enamored with a recipe for Hachee, Dutch Beef and Onion Stew, but I have a wandering eye which led me to a recipe called Sofrito, a Sephardic Meat Stew.  The flavor profile created by the many spices in the Sofrito is unique and won my vote, if not my heart.  So maybe tomorrow.  Today I did food shopping and it was fine. Spent a good amount of time in Whole Foods, really just to pick up my smoked whitefish salad, but I can never resist a peek at everything else. That's where I found these impossibly cute baby rainbow carrots, which will find their way into a saucepan or a crockpot. Definitely tomorrow.

Schrödinger's Cat Doesn't Live Here Any More Or Maybe He Does

Tuesday, Day 15 - So after several week's wait, today is the day I have a pipe shoved down my throat.  I am, through my insurance carrier, paying for this privilege.  Now at the Outpatient Surgery Center, I am waiting again - or still.  I can't wait until I have to wait for the colonoscopy.

This is the easier procedure; I was able to eat and drink up until midnight, and did not have to engage in any cleansing rituals.  Still, I wish I could have had a cup of coffee.  One single, caffeine-laden cup of coffee.  I really missed my cup of coffee this morning.  No caffeine = crankiness.  Food is not an issue.  Coffee is always an issue.  Must. Have. Coffee.

Well, I waited but I was warned, and the wait fell well within the warning.  The staff was excellent, the procedure without incident.  No reaction to the anesthesia, which is kept very light.  I also received a written report of the results, which I deeply appreciated.  Very professional, and the colonoscopy is already set for March 31.  There's a 2-day cleansing ritual for that one; I can't wait.  Looking forward to it like root canal.

First thing I did when I got home was make myself a cup of coffee.  Then I read the endoscopy report and did some research to help me understand the findings.  There were three biopsies taken - one appeared to be S.O.P. (standard operating procedure); the second one seemed to be A.O.C. (abundance of caution - yes, I just made that up); and the third one was indicative of a genuine concern for something potentially serious.  So now it is my gastroesophageal junction as well as my right ta-ta enjoying the same existence as Schrödinger's cat.  I will know more - and understand it all better - after the colonoscopy.  That's when I will meet with the doctor.  

My PCP sent me a message letting me know that the CT brain scan came back fine.  Good to know.

                                   

So I've got the colonoscopy on March 31 and the mammogram and breast ultrasound on April 2.  Multiple follow up appointments in my immediate future.  No real answers as to how to manage the CPS. No idea as to when or if I can return to work.  I've got to get all of these medical issues resolved first, at least to the point of knowing if I will require any kind of treatment.  I am feeling lucky, but not wanting to give myself a kinehora (Yiddish for "evil eye"), that's all I'm going to say right now.

I'm tired of dwelling on health issues so I'm going to dwell on food instead.  What shall I do with 4 pounds of lovely stew meat, eh?  I found a recipe with an interesting collection of spices.  But that's another blog post.

Waking Up Is Hard To Do - Shiny Spaghetti Sauce and Soapboxes

Monday, Day 14 - I did not vote for Barack Obama.  Not because I am a Republican - I'm not.  Not because I'm a racist -  seriously, dudes, look at my family portrait.  Not because he has conducted his rather short and unspectacular political life with more lies and subterfuges than Bill Clinton - what kind of president fights to have their college records sealed?  Who plays fast and loose with their birth certificate?   Not because I'm suspicious of any politician out of Illinois, although that might be closer to the truth.  Not because I was a gung-ho supporter of John McCain and Sarah Palin - it actually hurt to cast a vote for that ticket, and if memory serves me correctly, I walked out of the voting both without doing so. I liked Romney and Ryan quite a bit, so that preference is definitely close to the truth. I felt, and continue to feel that Barack Obama was horribly inexperienced in both domestic and foreign affairs.  A law school professor?  I've known quite a few of those in my day, and the only one who might have qualified to run for President was former Dean Howard Glickstein.  I also felt that after eight years of George W. Bush, we the people deserved much better, not a second term of Jimmy Carter. I felt that Mr. Obama was no friend of Israel, and it turns out I was right.

In conclusion, I feel that Barack Obama is a childish, petulant, ill-tempered man with a pen in one hand, a cell phone in the other, the proverbial stick up his nether-region, and is dangerously unsuited to be the leader of the free world.

I read the news this morning, and it pissed me off, and so did the President.  And that's all I'm going to say about that, except - if you are a regular reader, and also a strong supporter of this President, anything I say is not going to change your opinion.  All I ask is that you respect my right to express my own.

Before I read the news, however, I woke up and remembered that I go for the endoscopy procedure tomorrow morning.  This left me feeling sad and scared at the same time.  Definitely made it hard for me to crawl out of bed.  Walking up is hard to do.  Oh, and did I mention it was raining?  On a Monday? As my grandmother-who-raised-me would pronounce, this is a Mizzo Day.  As the Carpenters would sing, Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.  Pick your own ear worm today, my friends.

Speaking of my grandmother - well first, let me explain that after careful kitchen courtroom direct examination on my part, I discerned that the meatloaf, having been reheated for Robert's lunch, was a trifle dry.  Fair enough, and I am ALWAYS on the lookout for dry meatloaf.  It is a relatively easy matter to cure, and given the prominent role that Campbell's tomato soup presented in the original recipe, I thought I would turn to my grandmother's recipe for - ahem - shiny spaghetti sauce.  Except it wasn't shiny and that's not what she really called it.  What she called it was ethnically self-deprecating, in a humorous, Mel Brooksian sort of way, but even Mel couldn't get away with it these days, nor should he even try.  I am not one who believes anyone should use any word that is derogatory to any ethnic or racial or religious group, even if you happen to belong to that particular group.

Will someone PLEASE get me off this soapbox?  First President Obama, and then President Skroob.  Enough already.

I like this sauce, but I like anything that involves fried onions.  I also like Campbell's tomato soup, and have been known to actually eat the stuff, besides cooking with it.  Since I dislike eating most canned soups, that's fairly extraordinary.  This sauce is ridiculously easy to prepare; try it over spaghetti or with this meatloaf (or any meatloaf) or on mashed potatoes.

3-4 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 can Campbell's tomato sauce
water
kosher salt
ground black pepper
granulated garlic
a pinch of sugar

Cook the onions in the canola oil until tender.  Add  the salt, pepper, the sugar, and very small amount of the granulated garlic. Continue to cook the onions until they start to turn brown around the edges.     Stir in the soup, and thin with about half a soup can of water.  Let simmer about 10 to 15 minutes; taste and re-season if necessary.  The flavor is all about the sweet caramelized onions.  Let simmer a few more minutes.  Spoon over the meatloaf, or serve on the side.

I Love The Flower Girl - Crockpot Meatloaf Cordon Bleu

Kissimmee street sculpture from yesterday's walk

Sunday - Another quiet day, spent with my favorite husband.  I have convinced myself that the lump on the side of my right ta-ta is nothing but a fluid cyst. I've had them before.  No big deal. Stay tuned.

Flashback to an ear worm from December 6, 2014 - "flowers in her hair; flowers everywhere"

My gorgeous hibiscus, just planted and already blooming!

All seafood buffet - yes.  All dessert buffet - hell no. (Watching the Travel Channel.)

My sweet Magic are playing the Denver Nuggets, whose record is as bad as ours.  (Our record was a lot worse, but then we got rid of Jacques Vaughn). Should be a great game, especially as Jameer Nelson, one of my all-time favorite players, is playing for the Nuggets tonight.  We saw him a few months ago at Amway when he was playing for the Celtics.  Before that, he was playing for Dallas.  Three teams in one season - after 10 years with the Magic, and he would still be here if some loser in the Main Office hadn't traded him.  And that's tonight's rant.

A better shot of that misplaced plaque 

I have no idea why, but the thought of making meatloaf invariably sends me running to my pantry and grabbing cans and packets and collection of crumbs.  I've also got this thing about stuffing meatloaf - with hardboiled eggs, mashed potatoes, hot dogs, kielbasa, cold cuts, and/or cheese. My grandmother-who-raised-me made the best meatloaf and did none of these things.  She also cooked her meatloaf on top of the stove, so as to not heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven.  All of these factors swirled around in my head (which has been working a little bit better the past few days) and this is what I came up with.

Crockpot Meatloaf Cordon Bleu

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 can Campbell's tomato soup
2 extra large eggs
1 packet Lipton Recipe Secrets Vegetable Soup and Dip Mix
1 tablespoon dried thyme
kosher salt
ground black pepper
1 - 5 oz. bag Chatham Village Garden Herb Croutons, crushed

6 slices Virginia ham
6 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 soup can red wine

Combine the first nine ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix well.  Pat, then roll out the meatloaf between two pieces of wax paper, using your judgment as to size based on the size of your crockpot.  Mine came out to be around 12 by 16 inches,, with 12 inches being the intended length of the rolled meatloaf. The final result should be about 1/4 inch thick.  Lay the sliced ham first, and then the Swiss cheese.  Using the wax paper to assist, roll the meat over and around the ham and cheese.

You should still have a can of tomato soup with half the soup removed.  Pour in just enough wine to fill the can back up and stir together with the soup.  Set aside for just a moment.

Line the crock with aluminum foil with ample overlap, so that you can lift out the finished meatloaf.  Pour about 1/3 of the soup wine mixture and use the back of a wooden spoon to spread it across the bottom.  Carefully move the meatloaf roll into the prepared crock, seam side down.  Pour the remaining soup wine mixture over the entire meatloaf.  Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or until internal temperature registers 155 to 160 degrees.  I needed the full 7 hours.  Baste the meatloaf several times during cooking.  When the meatloaf is cool enough to handle, use the aluminum foil to lift it out of the crockpot, and move it into a serving dish, topped with any remaining sauce.

I find that meatloaf is particularly difficult to photograph ...

... but that flowers are not.

Beautiful 100+ year old oaks next to the Old Courthouse:

Including the infamous "Hanging Tree":

During the terrible hurricane season of 2004, downtown Kissimmee was left looking positively post-apocalyptic - trees broken in half, lying in the street and on top of houses.  The Hanging Tree was practically untouched, just a single branch cracked and was easily removed.

Places to go, people to see - Next Year in ...

Saturday - What the frog is wrong with this blog today??? I have had to delete my last two attempts to start the paragraph with the letter "I".  The damn thing keeps freezing - in Florida, no less!  Sheesh - all this just to tell you I am roasting a whole tomato. Not any tomato, mind you, but a yellow heirloom that has been sitting around at room temperature for at least a week, waiting for its proper disposition.

While the tomato is giving its all for culinary science, my mind wanders to Passover, the quintessential Jewish Eating Holiday.  This year, the first night of Passover falls out on April 3, 2015.  All Jewish holidays start at sundown, as does Shabbat (our Sabbath).  Why? The answer is in Genesis  1:5 (And there was evening, and there was morning, one day). There is no Passover service that takes place in temple; this is a home service, and it is all about eating.  Food is always symbolic, but never more so that for Passover.  It has been a long time since I planned a proper seder and under the circumstances I'm not even up to an improper one. One box of matzo should do us for the entire holiday, yup.

By the way, the roasted tomato was a bust.  Feh.

At the conclusion of the seder, we say "next year in Jerusalem."  At the conclusion of  this year's "seder", which will probably be meatloaf eaten at the kitchen counter, I'm going to say "next year in Anchorage!"  My cousin Maura and I are planning this for 2016, and God willing we are going to make it.

Today it was Indiana's turn to accompany me on my walk.  It was a rough day, as the humidity was much higher than I anticipated.  He wanted to walk on the leash rather than ride in the stroller, but he's not a great walker, pulling me this way and that to look at things.  I got some good photos, though.  No cooking today.  Rob and I had cheese and crackers for dinner, and I gave Chelsea a much-needed bath.  She loves her bath, but hates the blow dryer.  I'm not sure she's speaking to me.  A quiet day.

Some different views of the Old Courthouse

The angles caught my eye, and my camera caught the angles

The site of the last execution in Osceola County

An odd place for this plaque

I never tire of looking at this building

Indiana Jones, setting hat fashion yet again

Seafood and Eat Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Friday, Day 13 - I think I ran out of reasons to whine, after yesterday's let-me-beat-up-on-myself post. I just have one doctor phone call to make today, and then I can concentrate on meatloaf.  Unfortunately, I am not going to make it to the flash dance mob for my friend Donna.  It's a secret (or it was - I won't publish this until it is over), and something to cheer her up after her damn cancer fell out of remission.  But right now, I cannot deal with crowds, and do not want to chance having a panic attack while out in Celebration (in my mind, a really stupid name for a town. It should have been named Stepford) which is a good 10 miles from home.

Right now I am having a grand inner debate over whether or not I should include a sautéed onion in the cheese sauce.  That's apparently the highest level of cogitation I am capable of engaging in.

I did decide, and the onion is in there, and the dish is finished, and it is good.  Feel free to add another half cup of shrimp, I think it could use it.

Seafood and Eat Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

1 - 16 oz. bag frozen cauliflower, cooked according to package directions, substituting seafood stock for the water
1/2 cup frozen green peas, defrosted in hot water
1 1/2 cups cooked, frozen salad shrimp, defrosted according to cold water method on package
1 - 4 oz. tub crumbled feta cheese
1 - 12 oz. box Barilla Casarecce pasta, cooked 2 minutes less than package directions (7-8 minutes)
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Combine the drained cauliflower, green peas, and shrimp in an aluminum baking dish.  Add the feta cheese and toss gently.  Drain the cooked pasta and add it to baking dish.  Toss gently with the other ingredients.  Sprinkle on the grated Pecorino Romano and toss again.  Set aside.

Now prepare the sauce:

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
kosher salt
white pepper
nutmeg
rubbed sage
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup shredded Sargento Four State Cheddar
1 cup shredded Sargento Extra Sharp Cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Combine these three cheeses and set aside.  In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the onion and garlic. Cook just until the onion is getting soft and a touch translucent.  Now add the flour and whisk for a minute, or until the flour no longer has a "raw" smell. (Congratulations, you just made an onion roux, or what my great-grandmother-of-blessed-memory would call an einbrenne).  Pour in the milk and continue to whisk over medium high heat until the white sauce bubbles and thickens.  Take it off the heat and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sage, and stir in the Dijon mustard. Stir in 2 cups of the combined cheeses until the sauce is melted and smooth.  Pour the cheese sauce over the contents of the baking dish, and carefully fold the sauce in.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

It was Romeo's turn to accompany me on my walk, and we had a fine time. He would not get into the stroller out of the gate, but about a half mile into our stroll, he stopped, looked at me with tired eyes, and let me place him in the seat.  We walked further than usual, passing the traffic circle and along the walkway of the older section of the lakefront, where Muscovy ducks rule.  It seemed to help that I had the stroller to lean on, even slightly, and I did not suffer as I had the day before.  It may also have
helped that I wore somewhat better shoes.

I got quite a bit more photos, with and without Romeo.  I expect there will be even more pretty flowers now that we are officially out of winter and into spring.  At least here in Florida ... it was snowing in Brooklyn, according to a video posted by my cousin.  I wonder what happened to the crocuses?  I love the crocuses in Brooklyn.  I also love azaleas and lilacs, neither of which grows well in Florida.   Oh geez, I've been bitching about those lilacs for almost 24 years.  Time to move on.

By the way, the flash dance mob took place, and it was just what Donna needed to cheer her up.  She's a fighter, that girl - after all, she's Sicilian - and I have no doubt she will kick that frakking cancer in the butt yet again.