A Winter Fun With Food Day

The weather guessers had been predicting a cold, windy and snowy weekend and that is how Saturday started. I had been waiting for a day like this so I could have "Fun With Food".

Richard knew this was coming and once I had my coffee poured on Saturday we got right to work in the kitchen.

I used 2 cookbooks, The New German Cookbook and Crockery Favorites. From the German cookbook I made an Oxtail Ragout. From Crockery Favorites I made a Beef and Winter Vegetable Soup.


I got almost all of my ingredients together and set them on the counter.


Oxtail Ragout

4 1/2 lbs oxtail, cut into 2-inch lengths
10 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs with green tops, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I used dried parsley)
6 whole peppercorns
3 whole cloves
3 medium Bay leaves

Combine everything in a large heavy kettle or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, skim off any scum that accumulates. Cover and simmer for 4 hours, until the meat is fork tender.

After the meat is cooked remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid, removing and discarding the solids. Skim as much fat as possible from the liquid. When the meat is cool enough to handle remove from the bones and coarsely chop.

Next melt 4 tblsp butter in the same pot, once melted add 4 tblsp flour, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add in the strained cooking liquid, bring to a boil, then cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring and skimming often. Smooth in 3 tblsp tomato paste and 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (preferably German). Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. Return meat to the pot and stir in 1/2 cup of room temperature sour cream. Heat through and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Makes 4-6 servings.

Oxtail Ragout ready to cook.



Beef and Winter Vegetable Soup

1 lb top round, well trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tblsp olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 lge cloves garlic, chopped (we used 4)
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used turnip)
2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium celery ribs, chopped
1/2 lb button mushrooms thickly sliced
1 tsp crumbled, dried Thyme leaves
1 lge bay leaf
1 qt beef stock
1/4 dry red wine.

In a large skillet, brown the meat in the olive oil for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer beef to crockpot (I used a 6 quart). Top with onions and garlic. Add in layers the parsnips, potatoes, carrots and celery. Scatter mushrooms over the top and sprinkle with thyme. Pour in stock and wine. Do not stir. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. **Unfortunately after 10 hours on low all the vegetables were still fairly hard so I transferred the entire mess to a stock pot and simmered on the stove for 2 hours.

Crockpot ready to be turned on.


Next I turned my attention to the garlic on the counter. Garlic is a major food group in our house and we buy it in 2 lb. bags at Sam's Club. I keep some of the garlic on the counter and roast some for future use.


To roast the garlic I rub off all excess skin, cut the tops off so the tips of all the cloves are exposed. Then pour some olive oil over each bulb, wrap tightly in foil. I place the foil on a cookie sheet just in case and roast at 400 for 45 minutes.

Garlic ready to be wrapped up and put into the oven.


Once the garlic is roasted I open the foil and let it cool until I can handle it. I squeeze each bulb onto a small piece of plastic wrap, seal it up and freeze them in a Zip-loc bag. Anytime I want roasted garlic for mashed potatoes, garlic bread or soup I just pull a package out of the freezer and let it thaw for a few minutes.


Here is the Oxtail Ragout on top of roasted garlic mashed potatoes for dinner.


Once the soup was cooked I ladled some into a container for lunch at work.


Here is another tip. It seems like most recipes call for only a tablespoon of tomato paste. I scoop the rest of the can out in tablespoon portions and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Like the garlic when a recipe calls for tomato paste I go to the freezer and pull out the number of tablespoons I need.


Before I go I need to give a HUGE shout-out to my sweetheart Richard. Not only does he play sous chef and cut up all the vegetables for me he also cleans up after me