Kroyt (Cabbage Borscht)

As a child, I was always very suspicious of old world, Eastern European Ashkenazi food (that's my heritage). When I found out what kishke really is (stuffed intestines) I thought my parents were trying to trick me into eating something scary every time traditional food was served up by parents and grandparents. Also, I loved my grandma's chicken papperkash till I questioned the rich, irony flavor...I'd been tricked into eating liver, gross (I've never been much of an offal-lover)! Borscht was another Ashhkenazi delight that made me nervous. The crazy florescent purple color and the fact that it's generally made with beets made my apprehensive childhood self apprehensive. Luckily, I've come around to kishke, papperkash (sans liver) and borscht, among others. I didn't have any beets in my veggie drawer, so I opted for a southern Russian rendition made with cabbage. The characteristic sweet-and-sour flavor come from the addition of brown sugar and lemon juice at the end.

Ingredients:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 cups beef broth
5 cups water
28 ounce can of whole tomatoes, with juice
1 medium red cabbage, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
2-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
2-4 tbsp brown sugar, to taste

Heat the oil in a large stock pot and add onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Add broth, water, cabbage, bay leaves, tomatoes with their juice (break up tomatoes with hands to smaller pieces), salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, covered for about an hour and a half. Add lemon juice and brown sugar, starting with a lesser amount, add more to desired taste. Remove bay leaves. Serve either hot or cold, whichever you prefer.

Hungarian Beef Goulash

Goulash is one of the most satisfying cold weather foods I can think of. Hell, I love it so much I'll eat it in 90 degree weather. When it's in the single digits as it has been in my neck of the woods, I've got hearty Hungarian stew on the mind.

Ingredients:
1 1/2  pounds  boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
1 tbsp   butter
2 white onions, chopped
2  garlic cloves, minced
2  tablespoons  paprika (I've said it before, I'll say it again -- smoked paprika is the best!)
1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar (or really whatever thinner vinegar you have on hand, I don't think it makes a huge difference if you sub with apple cider or a white balsamic. I'd avoid a rich, dark balsamic vinegar)
24 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon  caraway seeds, crushed
3  whole bay leaves
1  cup  water
14 oz can fat-free, low-sodium beef broth
6 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 peeled carrots, cut into 3/4 inch disks
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Dredge beef in flour and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add beef to pot and cook until brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan and reserve.

Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté until lightly browned, then stir in paprika and vinegar. Cook mixture for 4 minutes before returning beef to pot. cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, crushed caraway seeds, bay leaves, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup water and beef broth. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add chunks of potato and carrots;  cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about an hour and a half). Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and lemon juice. Discard bay leaves.

Serve with crusty bread and a dark beer. Kyler picked up an amazing rustic rosemary garlic potato bread from Uprise Bakery and we drank Founders Breakfast Stout (Currently my fave beer in the whole wide world. It's a damn shame that it's seasonal and the season just ended...thus we stocked up).

Bully Porter Braised Beef

It's been frigid in Columbia these days, which makes me want nothing more than to spend my days filling my apartment with scents of home cookin'. Also, we have one of those old school stoves that heats up our apartment whenever we use it -- a definite plus.

I bought some gorgeous local cippolini onions and decided that they NEEDED to be braised and served over polenta. Perhaps using them in a 3-4 hour braise wasn't the best idea, because in the end the onions melted into the braising liquid (my bad). I used Boulevard Bully Porter as a sauce base, but you can use whatever dark beer you have in your fridge.

I used:

2 pound rump roast

1/2 pound of quartered  cippolini onions  

1/2 pound of sliced baby bella mushroom

1/4 pound of sliced shitake mushrooms

(any combo of your favorite mushrooms would work)

2 tbsp olive oil

3 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme (dried)

2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

12 ounce dark beer

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

salt and pepper to taste

(served 3, with leftovers)

My method:

Coat the bottom of a deep skillet (deep enough to cover to put a lid on after all the ingredients are the it) with olive oil. Once oil is heated (medium high), brown roast on all sides. After browned, add vegetables, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, brown sugar and beer.

Reduce to a low heat and cover pot with lid. After 1 hour of cooking, remove roast and slice into thin pieces (I was worried that the roast wouldn't reach my desired tenderness if it remained whole) and return to pot. Continue cooking for at least 2 hours (the more time you have to braise, the better).

30 minutes before serving, reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid and mix in corn starch before returning liquid to the pot. Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This braise went wonderfully with polenta, but would also be tasty over noodles, gnocchi, rice or any other starchy side.

End result:

Side note: This meal made me want a slow cooker...badly.