Projo Football Food & Spirits

October 28, 2007 - November 3, 2007 Archives

The photo is one of five at Paulchen's Food Blog.

Shin and shank are interchangeable terms at the butcher shop. If you can dedicate a recipe, this one's for the Patriots kickers.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Shin Stew
Olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks of celery, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
A small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
1 cinnamon stick
2 lb 3 oz (roughly) shin of beef, preferably free-range or organic, bone removed, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp flour
1 28-ounce can of good-quality plum tomatoes
2/ 3 of a bottle of Chianti

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, porcini and cinnamon for five minutes until softened slightly.

Meanwhile, toss the pieces of beef in a little seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Add the meat to the pan and stir everything together, then add the tomatoes, wine and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Gently bring to the boil, cover with a double-thickness piece of tinfoil and a lid and place in your preheated oven for three hours or until the beef is meltingly tender and can be broken up with a spoon. Taste and check the seasoning, remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs and serve.

Note: I'm going to serve it over wilted spinach tomorrow for the Colts game.

-- From Cook With Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook by Jamie Oliver.

Florida Shrimp Cocktail
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon fresh hot pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups honeydew melon, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cups diced mango

Over medium-high heat in a large skillet, combine honey, paprika, hot pepper and salt. Add shrimp and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are opaque. Remove shrimp, reserve and chill honey mixture. On wooden skewers, alternate shrimp with melons and mangoes. Place in a glass container and pour honey mixture over the skewers. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Serves 6
Recipe adapted from Wild American Shrimp

The Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese has offered ideas for six fine cheeses along with their beer recommendations, and a few wine ideas too.

Chèvre with herbs or pepper (Vermont Butter and Cheese Company)
A classic fresh soft chèvre made from pasteurized goat’s milk, it is ideal as an appetizer or an accompaniment to salad.

Beer recommendations:
Pilsner-style beer, Wheat beer, Pale ale

Les Pyramids or La Roche (Lazy Lady Farm)
Made from pasteurized goat’s milk, these soft-ripened cheeses make great beginnings for dinner or an ideal part of a dessert course.

Beer recommendations:
Amber lager, Brown Ale, Double ale

Two-year Cheddar (Shelburne Farms)
Made from Brown Swiss cow’s milk, this aged semi-firm cheddar goes well with many different foods or simply by itself.

Beer recommendations:
India Pale Ale, Steam beer, Christmas Ale

Vermont Shepherd (Vermont Shepherd)
One of the pioneer, aged, semi-firm, sheep milk cheeses in the United States, it deserves a prominent place in any feast.

Beer recommendations:
Doppelbock, Double or Triple ale, Oatmeal stout

Traditional Cheddar Wheel (Cabot Creamery)
The traditional country-store cheddar, made from pasteurized cow’s milk, delivers rich, full-bodied, moist flavors to a great meal.

Beer recommendations:
Porter, Double ale, Fruit beer

Boucher Blue (Green Mountain Blue Cheese)
One of Vermont’s pioneering blue cheeses, made from cow’s milk, it combines classic flavors and moist textures that appeal to every palate.

Beer recommendations:
Triple ale, Imperial stout, Barley wine

The Egg Nutrition Board shared some recipes for the incredible edible egg. These look yummy.

Marvelous Mushroom Devils

6 hard-cooked eggs
1/4 cup low-fat dairy sour cream or plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons minced green onions with tops
Fresh mushroom slices, optional
Fresh dill sprigs, optional

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise.
2. Remove yolks and set whites aside.
3. Mash yolks with fork.
4. Blend in sour cream and seasonings.
5. Gently stir in mushrooms and onions.
6. Refill whites using about 1 tablespoon yolk mixture for each egg half.
7. Garnish with mushroom slices and dill sprigs, if desired.
Makes 6 servings

"The (Toledo) Blade tested this recipe and found it had a mild, but not overly sweet flavor. It's a great way to use fresh cranberries and fresh squash at this time of the year."

It will look festive, too.

Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash
3 acorn squash, cut in half and seeded
¼ cup water
8 ounces fresh cranberries
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch dice
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place squash cut side down in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with ¼ cup of water in the pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until the squash is just tender. Remove squash from oven and turn them bowl side up in a baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine stuffing ingredients and distribute evenly among the acorn squash halves. Return squash to oven to bake an additional 15 minutes.

Source: Calphalon