Candied Orange Peel and Toffee

I like candy. So does Pooh.

Candied Orange Peel:
6 oranges
4 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups water
chocolate

Peal the oranges and slice them up.  Put the peels in cold water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, drain them, put in more cold water and bring to a boil again.  Do this 3-4 times to take out some of the bitterness.  Put water and sugar in a pan and bring to a simmer. Add peels and let simmer for about 45 min.   Pull out orange peels and coat in sugar.  Dip or drizzle with chocolate and enjoy!

Toffee:
butter
sugar
chocolate

So, after making the orange peels I had a bunch of melted sugar just sitting there so I added butter and made toffee.  It's a 1:1 ratio of  sugar to butter - just add the right amount of butter and simmer.  You want to simmer it until the temperature reaches 285 degrees and it gets to the color brown you're looking for.  Dump it out on a foil wrapped cooking sheet (with edges) and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  The toffee will melt the chocolate and then you can smooth it out with a rubber spatula for a nice even coat.  Cool, break into pieces, and eat.

Why Just Coffee?

So, the link below will guide you to a humorous website promoting the versatility of a conventional coffee maker: http://www.geekosystem.com/coffee-maker-food/
What caught my attention was the last item, beer. In addition to cooking I am an amateur homebrewer and so I was naturally skeptical. But, after re-reading the instructions a number of times, I have come to the conclusion that it is totally plausible! If anyone tries this please please please let me know how it goes.  It sure would be a lot of work for 8 cups of beer but who knows, could be the best 8 cups ever.  Micro-brew? More like a nano-brew.

Beef, Potatoes, and Gravy

This was a lazy man's version of a recipe from Cooks Illustrated.  I made it as simply as I could so my sick girlfriend could just throw it in the oven a few hours before I got home.

Beef:
3-4 lb chuck roast
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
garlic
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
1-2 Tbs tomato paste
1 tsp anchovy paste
salt

Put it all in a heavy dutch oven with a lid and bake at 300 for 3-4 hours.  If you have time, salting the beef and letting it sit for about an hour at room temp before adding everything else is supposed to add to the beefy flavor.  The anchovy also enhances the beef flavor.  the recipe said to saute' the onion and celery before adding the beef and liquids to the pot but I didn't and it was still tasty.

Gravy:
beef drippings
flour
balsamic vinegar
red wine

the recipe said to puree the veggies as a method to thicken the gravy but I didn't have a blender so I just used a rue the old fashioned way.  Adding some more red wine and a little bit of vinegar brightens up the flavors in a nice way.

Potatoes:
potatoes
garlic
butter
milk
salt

Boil the potatoes, add everything else and mash it up.  Yum.

The biscuits were great too but I didn't bake them. The recipe will be posted on this awesome baking blog soon: http://www.chipsandsugar.com/

Sick Girlfriend Chicken Noodle Soup

Gents, this soup will make her love you.  If she already loves you, she will love you at least 56 units (metric) more.  Don't forget to mention you made the broth from scratch for a bonus 10 units of love.

homemade broth (see past soup entries)
white wine
6 chicken thighs
noodles
mushrooms
carrots
celery
sweet onion
garlic
thyme
salt pepper
fresh lemon juice

I usually make my stock fresh but I had some in the freezer from another soup and I was in a hurry.  Thighs were on sale so I baked them while I worked on the rest of the soup and then picked the meat off the bones and added it at the end.  To start, saute' the onions and garlic, add mushrooms and then celery.  Then add liquids and carrots.  One could add potatoes or kale as I had planned to but my pot was getting pretty full.  I like to cook the noodles separately and add them at the end. This way they aren't over cooked and my broth isn't all starchy.  Fresh lemon juice right before eating is optional but I really liked it - personal preference.